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Before we go over the submission guidelines, I want to make sure that folks are aware that this is going to be a digital-only zine and it's not for profit. Nobody is getting paid for participation, and I'm not going to be putting money into making it either. This is a passion project of mine, and while I do want to create the best zine I can, please understand this is largely going to be a community oriented project, made solely by and for the love of the community and the game that we all care about.

Submission and Application Guidelines

All contributions must remain SFW/PG-13. This means that all pieces should not incorporate excessive gore, sexual content, etc. That said, emotional depth and darker tones/themes are encouraged. Just be mindful when creating your piece. If you are unsure about the limits or have any questions regarding the content of your submission, please do not hesitate to send asks in the ask box.

Only canon characters, locations, and events are permitted as subject matter. So long as it depicts Overblot somehow as the theme, go ham!

Shipping content will not be accepted in this zine.

Artists applying will be required to submit 2 fully rendered examples of their work in the anticipated style for review.

Comic artists applying will be required to submit 1 fully realized example (between 1 and 7 pages in length) for review. Color is not required, but tones/shading of some kind is.

Writers applying will be required to submit 1 fully written and edited example (500-3k words) for review.

Applications will close on March 20th. Acceptance emails will be sent out by April 5th.

Selected contributors will be required to submit 1 final piece.

Final art pieces must be fully rendered.

Final comics must be fully realized. Minimum 1 page, but no longer than 5-7 pages in length.

Final fanfics must be fully written and edited. The word count should be between 500-3k words.

Final art pieces, comics, and fanfictions must be submitted by June 28th.

There will be intermittent check ins at the end of April and the end of May. Proof of concept will be required during the April check in. Proof of a WIP will be required during the May check in.

No Gen AI permitted. Plagiarized/traced works will not be permitted.

If you have any questions, feel free to send in an ask! The askbox will be open for any inquires you might have!

TAGLIST:

@ceruleancattail @squidwen @thecosmicjackalope @vaporvipermedia @writing-heiress

@oya-oya-okay @k-looking-glass-house @thehollowwriter @rainesol @cyn-write

@heartscrypt @br3adtoasty @jackiecronefield @ruggiethethuggie

@hoboyherewego @achy-boo @oreoskys @oseathepebble @ramshacklerumble

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@hallowed-delights @kimikitti @cyanide-latte @thetwstwildcard @atwstedstory

@comingyourlugubriousness @ice-cweam-sod4 @twst-the-night-away @nammanarin @scint1llat3

[Not sure. However…] For a brief moment, static flickered across the dullahan's monitor, indicating they were thinking. [It looks like it might have come from the other side.]

"Now that you mention it," Ortho said, "I do think someone's room is on the other side…"

At once, the mention of that brought to mind one thing for Ren and he let out a long groan as he kicked himself into motion, immediately turning and power-walking through the place. He knew exactly whose room that was now that it had been brought up, and it made almost too much sense why this would have happened. He heard his friends following in seconds, Ortho flying and Oisín using their fae speed to catch up. It hardly made a difference. He was going to get to the bottom of this, because he couldn't do anything until that damn hole was taken care of, and that started with confronting the individual who was no doubt behind it.

Stopping outside the offender's door, Ren had to take two deep breaths before knocking, and even then it was a close thing to make sure he controlled the knock.

The door hissed open and a large pair of eyes stared up at him.

"Well howdy!" Macadamia Nightwatch said, a bright smile blooming on his face as he beheld the three visitors outside his door. "Uh, what brings you here today?"

Working his mouth for a second, Ren managed to get out, "Macadamia. Are you aware that there is a hole in your wall?"

The vulture beastman's eyes widened and he said in mild awe, "Really??"

A long second passed as the two of them gaped at one another, Mac amazed and Ren agog. Perhaps sensing this wasn't going to get anywhere without a slight push, Oisín wedged their way in and interjected.

[We saw it from the opposite side, in the lounge wall. Did something happen?]

"Did you have an accident of some kind?" Ortho piped up, bracing his weight on Ren's shoulder as he too, took in Mac Nightwatch and his bedroom. There was just the faintest hint of sarcastic irony in Ortho's tone, as it was well known to the entire dorm that Mac was a walking disaster on the daily, and of course that sarcasm immediately went completely over Mac's head.

"Nope!" Mac said proudly, shuffling aside to let the three of them in. "Not all day! Maybe the hole got lost wherever it was goin'?"

At this remark, Ren let out a close-mouthed sound of distress and Oisín's monitor produced an alarming noise that sounded like multiple static pops that only those closest to them recognized as Oisín's equivalent of a physical snicker.

"Oh, bless you!" Mac said pleasantly to them, and the dullahan turned away as Ortho floated further in to inspect. Ren took a second to massage his temples, wondering how it was possible that his entire brain could hurt so much just around one person.

"I'm not detecting anything immediately out of the ordinary," Ortho remarked.

[Well, wait, what's this?]

They all turned to Oisín together, where the dullahan had walked over to the side of Mac's bed and indicated a large object wedged into one of the hexagonal wall cubbies. At the sight of it, Mac's brain-melting, delighted expression grew even more happy.

"That's m'geode!" he exclaimed, like he was just seeing it up on being reunited with it after a long separation. "Ain't it purdy? Marshall's big brother, Mr. Gideon, he gave it to me! He always brings me 'n' Wes'n gifts when he visits!"

Immediately Ren stifled a tired groan. Of course Marshall Eton was somehow involved. Macadamia and his twin, Wesson, always hung around the Pomefiore junior, like the three were glued at the hip. And while Mac himself was a handful, and Mac and Wes together were a pain, throwing Marshall in the mix made it a nightmare. Of course…of course that guy would be involved somehow, even if he wasn't present.

"You were just given an entire geode?" Ren managed to ask instead. What he didn't add was "how could anyone think that's a good idea?"

"Yee."

[Ren, Ortho, do you think…?] Oisín suggested, gesturing towards the geode. They came closer to get a good look at what the junior was indicating, and stared at a cluster of crystals before glancing towards the wall. If it was at the correct angle…and a powerful enough, concentrated form of light passed through it...

"Real shame m'laser pointer ran outta batteries," Mac suddenly said, sounding like a kid bummed out that he missed something he was only mildly excited for. "Was usin' it to make it shine all over th' room."

As one, the three of them turned to look at the vulture beastman.

"Your laser ran out of batteries?" Ortho repeated.

[Can you show us this laser?] Oisín asked before Ren could make a remark.

"Oh sure!" Mac immediately went rummaging through his belongings, calm and casual as could be. Ren moved away from the geode to inspect the hole, crouching down to examine it at eye level before he glanced back at the crystal cluster and humming pensively.

"It does appear to be at a precise angle for that to work," Ren spoke over Mac's noisy continued searching, "provided the laser is strong enough."

"Hey, is someone over there?" a new, muffled voice cut in from the other side of the wall. Ren immediately straighted up his spine and stared towards the hole. Unless he missed his guess, the speaker was Lázaro Muertinez, a fellow dormmate.

"Lázaro? Is that you?" he called loudly.

"Oh, hi Laz!" Mac chimed in, just as he turned with the retrieved laser pointer and showed it to Ortho and Oisín with a "here it is!" Ren didn't have time to turn and take a peek before he heard a response from the other side of the wall.

"Yeah, it's me!" Laz shouted back, before delivering a direct blow with "Hey! Did you guys know there's a hole in the wall??"

Ren had to take a second to master himself before he managed to say, "Please trust me, we're very aware."

"Yup," Ortho said in a tone of weary resignation. "The output specs on this laser definitely are high enough to burn a hole straight through a wall if the light beam is concentrated through something like the crystals in that geode."

[I can't decide what's more impressive:] Oisín mused. [That the geode is still intact, or that you got your hands on a high-grade laser like this, Mac.]

The beastman shrugged. "I dunno, just showed up in m'room one day. Say, any of you got any batteries?"

Ren finally got up from his crouch and crossed the space in a single massive stride, coming to loom over Mac with an intensity that would make most people cringe and whimper in fear. Mac only craned his head back to look curiously up at his fellow sophomore.

"Absolutely not happening," he huffed, crossing his arms. "I'll tell you what's going to happen. First, we're confiscating that laser to take to the Housewarden."

Mac's face immediately fell into a pout that would make most people wince and slowly crumble their willpower. Ren only bore down harder, unfazed.

"Then, we're going to fix that hole in the wall," he continued. "And after that, if I'm feeling calm enough and if there's a way to make one that won't turn into a complete disaster, we'll see about building you something like a disco ball, if you absolutely must have some infernal light show in your room."

You had to give Macadamia Nightwatch credit: he bounced back fast.

"Well that sounds swell!"

"Ren, why are you making that face?" Ortho asked.

[Remember to breathe, Deartháirín.]

Struggling now to keep what little composure he could muster in the face of this complete whirlwind of low-level disaster, Ren followed Oisín's advice and took a few breaths before reaching out and closing his hand around the laser pointer.

That Mac was still holding onto.

"Alright, then let's go," Ren said, giving the laser pointer a tug. Mac's grip only tightened as he looked up at Ren in confusion. "We're taking the laser to the Housewarden."

He gave another tug, and this time Mac yanked back, just enough to resist.

"Macadamia."

"What?"

"Let go," Ren said slowly, patience wearing thinner with each passing second. "Of. The laser. Now."

"But it's my laser," Mac said in the sulky tones of a child as he tried to pull it free of Ren's grip and utterly failed to do so.

"Didn't you just say it appeared in your room one day?"

"Ayup!"

"Then it isn't your laser, it was wandering, just like the hole in the wall," Ren groused, and with a tremendous yank, pulled the laser free as Mac attempted to process the logic behind the statement and missed the sarcasm yet again. Immediately Ren took the opportunity to power-walk out of the room at top speed, fuming with barely suppressed irritation, the others following behind one by one.

"Oh, waitaminute!" Mac said, clearly having some great epiphany. "Dya think the laser and the hole know each other?"

Ren let out a long groan through his nose.

None of them were paid enough to deal with Macadamia Nightwatch.

Final notes: this was the fic that almost got lost due to an issue I was having with Ellipsus and I'm so glad I got it retrieved. I had too much fun writing this, I would've been crushed if I had to rewrite the whole thing.

(Dividers used found here)

Taglist: @elenauaurs @inmateofthemind @ramshacklerumble @tixdixl @winterweary

@distant-velleity @rainesol @thehollowwriter @theleechyskrunkly @twst-migraine

@cyanide-latte @inmateofthemind @winterweary @thehollowwriter @harryinramshackle @theleechyskrunkly

@skriblee-ksk @boopshoops @the-trinket-witch @twistedwonderlandshenanigans @kimikitti @s-t-y-x

@nightwingshero @water-writings @beneathsakurashade @oya-oya-okay @scint1lat3 @twstinginthewind

@cyanide-latte @inmateofthemind @winterweary @thehollowwriter @jovieinramshackle @theleechyskrunkly

@skriblee-ksk @boopshoops @the-trinket-witch @twistedwonderlandshenanigans @kimikitti @s-t-y-x