About Surprise Baptism!

Surprise Baptism! will be a sfw project showcasing our shared love for Mondstadt's very own pink twink, Deacon Dahlia. This is going to be a very small scale production. The number of contributors will be limited.This won't be like the typical "fanzine" that you're probably used to seeing within the community! With Surprise Baptism!, This is a very experimental project, with everything printed at home and bound by hand. I am by no means a professional or even experienced hobby book-binder. This is all very new to me, so this project will have many imperfections.This project might resemble a "junk journal" more than the professionally produced fanzines generally seen within the community. Please keep in mind when applying that your own art or writing may be subject to minor printing or binding errors, or be slightly obscured by design elements.

Production

This zine will be available physically to contributors only.Each product will be printed in full colour at the local library, hand-bound by the head mod, and shipped out to contributors at minimal Production + Shipping Cost.There will not be A, B, or C grade items, since each piece will be inherently imperfect. Damaged or improperly made items will not be sent out intentionally, but all items may have percieved damages or be improperly made, compared to the current "industry standard."Many merch items will also be handmade.A digital zine will be made available, for free, to everyone.No two books will be exactly the same.

FAQ

Some answers may change as a result of our Interest Check. The FAQ will be updated before Apps open to reflect any changes resulting from IC results.

Are AUs going to be included?
Yes! We will allow AUs in this project. However, we will aim to keep the amount of AU-related content below the amount of canon adjacent content, representing less than half of the zine's works.
Will ships be allowed?
Yes! SFW ship content will be allowed. Contributors are free to portray Dahlia in all kinds of relationships, including but not limited to platonic, familial, and romantic relationships.
The variety of ships will be determined by our applications, and we will aim to approve a balance of romantic and platonic content.How old do I need to be to apply?
This project will require applicants to be at least 18 years old to participate.
Is this zine “Pro-ship?"
"Pro-fiction" and "anti-fiction" terms really don't apply to the project. This project space follows the SALS model. Ship and Let Ship. Applicants will not be rejected on the basis of identifying as pro- or anti- fiction. However, this zine is anti-harassment, and members will be removed from the project if they engage in the bullying or harassment of other members, regardless of anyone's "ship" stance.
However, some members of the Mod Team are proship, and any applicants who have an explicit 'proship DNI' in their social media bios may be rejected out of respect for their DNI's. All applicants must be able to interact with the mod team, and respecting a proship DNI renders this impossible.Otherwise, anyone is welcome to apply and contribute sfw pieces for the zine. Discourse won't be tolerated in the Discord, and contributors must respect the "Ship-and-let-Ship" stance of the collaborative space.Will contributors be compensated?
All contributors will have the opportunity receive a physical copy of the zine at shipping and production cost, as well as physical merch if any is made.

Zine Guidelines

There will be four primary types of art accepted into the zine.
Page Art: Fully rendered illustrations. Can be digital or traditional, but any traditional pieces must be scanned.
Spot Art: Small illustrations paired with a writer's story, displayed alongside the story. It does not need to be fully rendered!
Merch Art: Art used for printable merch items, such as: planner inserts, bookmarks, paper dolls, paper games, colouring sheets, etc. with the possibility of stickers.
Art may be slightly obscured by:
i) Trimming and cropping edges to fit the zine pages
ii) Decorative elements such as stickers, washi tape, decorative art, pasted or written lines of poetry or dialogue, etc.
Writing
Writing within the zine can be fiction, non-fiction (character study, gameplay guide, lore theories, meta, etc), recipes, epistolaries, poetry, etc. There is no minimum wordcount (you could submit a one paragraph poem). The maximum wordcount for submitted pieces is 1500 words.
Other
Other contributions are welcome! Whether that's cosplay, photography, crafting, or anything else. Feel free to submit your creations in your application, with a note about what you would like to create!
Note
This zine will resemble a "junk journal" or "art zine" more than the professionally produced fanzines generally seen within the community. Please keep this in mind!

Application Guidelines

🦇 You must provide three examples of your best work. A portfolio is encouraged but not required.🦇 One of your samples must be from Genshin Impact. It is highly suggested, but not mandatory, that one sample feature Dahlia.🦇 Please, no NSFW samples.🦇 All application pieces should be complete pieces, not excerpts or WIPs.🦇 Samples must be accessible to the mod team. All links should be active, valid links with viewing permissions shared. Any applications with broken or unviewable links will be disqualified.Page Artists
🤍 Art is expected to be fully rendered and reflective of your style. If you work in greyscale or abstract backgrounds, this is acceptable, but your piece must not look unfinished.
Spot Artists
🩷 Spot Artists will be paired with writers, and expected to create 1-3 pieces of spot art per writer. Spot artists will be creating art based off the stories they are paired with, and not their own creative pitches.
🩷 Art should be "complete," but does not need to include backgrounds. Rendering can be whatever you consider finished. ie: WIPs are not allowed, but sketches and doodles are okay! Art can be any style or medium.

Merch Artists
🖤 Merch Artists are expected to produce 1-3 merch items based on their own creative pitches.
🖤 You may provide digital files, or photographs of physical merch items.

Writers
❤️ Writers will be expected to create one fanfic for the zine with a maximum wordcount of 1500 words. Alternately, writers may create multiple pieces (poetry, flashfiction, etc) with a maximum wordcount of 1500 across all pieces.
❤️ Application pieces should be below 2k words.

Disqualifying Conditions🦇 Any applications containing generative AI will be disqualified.🦇 Any applications with broken or unviewable links will be disqualified.🦇 Any applicants with any form "proship DNI" on their profiles will be disqualified. You do not need to be proship to apply, but some moderators are, and out of respect for DNIs, will not accept any applicants who are uncomfortable interacting with our mod team.

The Cinderninja

-`♡´-
Uh oh! I think I'm in love with Dahlia! Oopsie!

Head & Zine Production ModHello! I'm The Cinderninja. You might also know me as Barde. I primarily make, buy, and trade anarchist paper zines, and I want to bring some of that homemade feeling into my fanzines.I want to foster community and connection within my fandom spaces.Also, I think I'm in love with Dahlia.

Formatting ModHeyo! I'm Fei, mixed-media artist, serial layout mod, and Genshin Impact enjoyer. Excited to help bring this project to life!

-`♡´-

don't ask me about my paper collection

Kari

-`♡´-
Is this about Mondstadt? No? Then I've lost interest.

Finance, & US Shipping ModKari is a member of a critically endangered species of old-world fandomgoers that were native to platforms known as "forums". Though her original habitat has been mostly wiped out, Kari can still be found lurking in sparsely-populated journal settings when she is not angrily lamenting the loss of fandom community with the onset of social media commodification on microblogging platforms.

Estel

-`♡´-
Diagnosed bird at birth.

Merch Production & Int. Shipping ModHi there, I'm Estel! I'm newer to the online zine space, having mostly partaken in community zines in person. I have experience with both factory manufacturing, and shipping in the form of a personal pinmaking business found here. I'm very excited for this project given my more classic zine roots!

Writing Mod(guy who used to write in and collect traditional zine and chapbooks) hell yeah get me in the handmade home-printed zine team. exceedingly excited to work on this project! thank you for having me!

-`♡´-

i am very normal about venti genshin impact :)

Schedule

Interest Check-`♡´-Oct 31 - Nov 22
Applications-`♡´-Nov 30 - Jan 4
Results go out-`♡´-Jan 5 - Jan 10
Check-In One-`♡´-Feb 14
Check-In Two-`♡´-March 10
Check-In Three-`♡´-April 4
Check-In Four-`♡´-May 2
Finals Due-`♡´-May 25
Production-`♡´-Summer 2026
Shipping-`♡´-TBD