Melting Pot: A charity fanzine celebrating the romantic, platonic, and familial love of the characters of Dungeon Meshi!
Melting Pot is an unofficial fanzine celebrating the platonic, familial, and romantic love & relationships between the characters of Ryoko Kui's Dungeon Meshi. It will be accompanied by two digital side zines, In The Kitchen, a behind-the-scenes zine looking at the creation of Melting Pot, and Midnight Snack, an 18+ pin-up/suggestive content zine. Learn more about our project below!
Learn more:
frequently asked questions
What is a zine?
Zines (pronounced like the third syllable in "magazine") are a tradition of collecting artwork, prose, and/or other forms of content centered around a theme together into a combined booklet. Fanzines, zines centered around existing media, are a tradition dating all the way back to the late 1960s with fans of Star Trek. They often include a combination of fanart and fanfiction, but can also include other forms of fan content such as cosplay photos, in-universe written works, poetry, and more!
will this zine be physical or digital?
The main zine, Melting Pot, will be a physical zine with physical merch. The zine will likely be standard A5 sizing, perfect bound, and softcover. These specs are subject to change slightly as this project develops.Our two side zines, Midnight Snack and In the Kitchen, are both fully digital zines.
where is the money going?
All profit not used to pay for production or compensating contributors with bundles will be donated to a reputable charity. The charity has not yet be determined, but we will likely choose one combatting food insecurity.
what type of content will be included?
Melting Pot will be a mixture of art, writing, and comics about of the characters from Dungeon Meshi, focusing on the romantic, platonic, and familial relationships of the characters. We are open to all shipping content which depicts romantic relationships which follow our guidelines. Shipping pitches for the main or side zines that include pedophilic or incestuous relationships or themes of rape, extreme violence, or similar topics will not be included.Midnight Snack, our 18+ digital side zine will contain adult content centered around pin-ups and other suggestive content. Nudity will be allowed, but we will likely avoid including strongly NSFW content (IE depicting very explicit sex). More details on these guidelines will be shared soon as we use contributor pitches to gauge what is most wanted.In the Kitchen, our behind-the-scenes zine, will include sketches, works-in-progress, scrapped ideas, and other content giving a peak into the creation process of Melting Pot. It will also include exclusive Dungeon Meshi art not featured in the main zine.We currently plan not to include AU (alternate universe) content. There may be spoilers included in the zine and contributor server.
If there is an 18+ side zine, can I only apply to contribute to it?
We will not be selecting any digital side zine-exclusive contributors. Instead, we will be sourcing side zine content from our pool of main zine contributors. This helps keep the project a manageable size. If you are interested in contributing to Midnight Snack with pin-up or other work, we ask that you apply to the main zine and we will ask for interest once the contributor team is finalized.
I want to apply to the zine but don't want to see nsfw content. can i still apply?
Not to worry--no contributor will be forced to interact with or see content from the 18+ pin-up side zine or other NSFW content without their consent. All 18+ content will be restricted to locked channels and banned from the main server. Contributors may choose to opt-in to participating in or seeing these channels or not.
Are you planning to have contributor applications and how many contributors will you accept?
We will have contributor applications! They will open May 8th and close June 12th. The majority of our artists and writers will be chose via this application process.We will likely include 30-40 artists, ~8 writers, and ~5 merch artists. These are subject to change. Our project also has a number of invited guest contributors.
how will contributors be compensated?
All contributors are guaranteed a digital PDF of the zine. Should sales permit, all contributors will be compensated with a full bundle of the book and merch free of charge. If we cannot meet this goal during pre-orders, contributors will be able to buy all items at production price (highly discounted from sales price). Beyond this, contributors will receive no financial compensation as any profit will be donated to charity.
Who can apply?
For contributors, we ask that all applicants be 18+ at the time of application. Applicants will be graded on the quality of their submitted pieces and portfolio. Zine experience is not required! Applicants just must be sure that they can meet the posted deadlines.You may apply for more than one position so long as you feel able to meet deadlines with the additional workload. Additional information and recommendations about applying and contributing can be found under contributor info.
I have additional questions. Where can I ask them?
We're happy to answer any questions you may have. You can ask anonymously through our Retrospring or email us at [email protected] (both linked below), DM us on any of our social media accounts, or send an ask on our Tumblr. We also have an opportunity for questions in our interest check and application forms.Please be respectful! We are volunteering our time. If you send multiple rude or hateful messages, you'll be blocked!If we think the question may be helpful to more people, we may also make a public Q&A post with the answer (the asker would remain anonymous).
Timeline
All dates are subject to change
| Project announcement | Feb 25 |
| Interest check | Mar 10-Apr 21 |
| Moderator applications | Mar 10-Apr 25 |
| Contributor Applications | May 8-Jun 12 |
| Contributor results sent | ~Jun 18 |
| Contributor acceptance deadline | June 23 |
| Pitches due | Jul 3 |
| Check-in 1 | Jul 25-Jul 29 |
| Check-in 2 | Aug 25-Aug 29 |
| Check-in 3 | Sept 25-Sept 29 |
| Final Piece Deadline | Nov 1 |
| Pre-Orders Open | Late Jan |
| Shipping | TBD |
| Leftover sales | TBD |
Moderator Team
Mod Ray, Head & graphics
She/her
Hi! I'm an artist who uses art and animation to keep me sane as I go to school to get my medical degree. I've been involved with zines for almost four years now and adore the community around them. I read all of Dungeon Meshi in two days during my exams and don't regret it at all.
Mod JUBE, finance & shipping
Any Pronouns
JUBE is an artist and writer who has been reading dungeon meshi since chapter fifteen and adorea the world that Ryoko Kui has created. They have been involved in zines on a moderation level since 2016.
Mod Kay, production
She/her
Hello! I'm new to the Dungeon but not new to zine managing! This will be my ninth project and in one of my favourite roles - Merch Production! I'm excited to work with the team and hopefully get myself some cute monster girl Falin merch.
Application and contributor guidelines
General Contributor guidelines
All accepted contributors are expected to produce a new and unique work (art or writing) for this zine. This work cannot have been published or shared elsewhere and cannot be publicly shared during the creation process. If there is evidence that a work is created with AI or otherwise plagiarized, this could result in expulsion from the project.
Contributors are expected to meet their check-in and submission deadlines or else quickly communicate to mods if they need an extension or other leniency. A contributor missing multiple check-ins with no communication may force the mods to remove them from the project.
Contributors are expected to join the contributor discord and regularly check for updates and other information shared there. They are also expected to follow the server rules including remaining respectful to fellow contributors and mods and not engaging in hateful or offensive speech. Breaking these rules may result in expulsion from the project. We want to keep the server a happy and creative space for all!
Whether or not this project includes an NSFW side zine, all NSFW conversation is expected to remain off of the main channels.
Artist guidelines
Page artists are expected to produce either a one-page illustration, a two-page spread, or a 2-4 page comic (this may be done with a writer). All must be completed, in full color, and have a background or backgrounds.
We may include spot illustrations to accompany feature fics. In which case, spot artists are expected to produce 2-3 small "spot" illustrations by working together with a writer. These are not required to have a background but should blend with the page around them. Artist-writer teams will be made by the mods.
Merch artists are expected to design 2+ original merchandise designs. This may include digital merch. Product types will be assigned by the mods.
Again, work cannot contain elements generated with AI and/or be traced from others' art. These constitute plagiarism and are serious cases for expulsion from the project.
Writer guidelines
Feature fic writers are expected to produce an original written piece of 2k-3k words. They will also potentially collaborate with a spot artist to illustrate it.
Comic script writers are expected to work with an artist or artists to produce a 3-4 page comic script which will then be illustrated.
All written works are expected to be polished and contain no grammar or spelling mistakes. Contributors may receive help proof-reading from the writing mod.
All written works must be original and, again, any evidence of usage of AI or plagiarism will result in expulsion.
Page art application guidelines
Potential page artists are required to submit 3 samples that best display their artistic ability and the quality and style they plan to use for this project as well as a portfolio of 3-10 additional works.
A Dungeon Meshi example is not required, but is highly recommended.
At least one featured piece must contain a full background.
If applying for a comic art position, please have at least one featured art or portfolio piece be a page of comic work you have done, colored or otherwise.
Google Drive links are preferred (though not required) for the three feature pieces and portfolio. Please double-check that these are set to public sharing.
As for all zines, we recommend that your featured art and portfolio contain "zine-style" works that are colored, polished, and have a full background.
Because of the content of Dungeon Meshi, we recommend that you demonstrate skill at drawing a wide range of body types, food, and monsters/animals.
Merch art application guidelines
Similar to page artists, potential merch artists are required to submit 3 samples of merch designs that best display their artistic ability and the quality and style they plan to use for designing merch for this project as well as a portfolio of 3-10 additional merch designs. These can be any merch items, prints and digital merch included.
A Dungeon Meshi example is not required, but is highly recommended.
Mock-ups and photographs of physical merch are not required, but are encouraged.
Google Drive links are preferred (though not required) for the three feature pieces and portfolio. Please double-check that these are set to public sharing.
Because of the content of Dungeon Meshi, we recommend that you demonstrate skill at drawing a wide range of body types, food, and monsters/animals.
Writer application guidelines
Potential writers are required to submit 3 writing samples of 1-3k words that best represent their work as well as a portfolio of 1-3 additional works.
At least one feature or portfolio piece must be a complete work (within the word limit.
A Dungeon Meshi example is not required, but is highly recommended if possible.
Features can be full-length fics (max 3k words), excerpts from larger fics, or samples of other creative writing.
Google Drive links are preferred (though not required) for the three feature pieces and portfolio. Please double-check that these are set to public sharing. If sharing links to works on AO3, please make sure they are viewable by the public.
Works will be judged on grammar, style, flow, and characterization.
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