"This Paper Is Too Short To Describe My Love For You."

A Modern Danmei Exploration Zine

About Our
Zine Concept.

Forever Young or 纸短情长 (zhǐ duǎn qíng cháng) is a SFW discovery zine that aims to introduce readers to the modern danmei genre. The zine's concept seeks to capture that butterfly feeling of liking someone: shy glances, red ears, heart beating fast, endless fantasies, a soft peck on the lips, the words "I like you."

The blooming of love came in many different forms in the books we like. That's why as avid danmei readers, we want to spread the joy of reading modern danmei, making this zine a bit different from the ones you have seen so far.

Building off of this idea, our zine will feature novel reviews ranging from 500 to 750 words instead of the typical fics you’d find. Each review will be a short summary of the novel and will be accompanied by some corresponding art.

If this first edition is successful, future editions will be made with different themes in mind.

INFO DOCUMENT

Schedules

All dates are tentative and subject to change

✦ Project Announcement ✦

June 4, 2022

✦ Interest Check✦

June 11, 2022 - July 8, 2022

✦ Interest Check Results ✦

July 22, 2022

✦ Contributor App ✦

July 24, 2022 - August 20, 2022

✦ Contributor App Results ✦

September 2, 2022

✦ Zine Onboarding ✦

September 10, 2022

✦ Pitch Submission ✦

September 17, 2022

✦ Pitch Approval ✦

September 20, 2022

✦ 1st Check-In ✦

October 20, 2022 - October 25, 2022

✦ 2nd Check- In✦

November 15, 2022 - November 20, 2022

✦ Final Check-In ✦

December 10, 2022 - December 15, 2022

✦ Zine Pre-Order ✦

January 2023

Meet The Moderators

Our team

A team of six modern danmei-enthusiasts excited to get the zine's journey started.

Jin
Concept Design & Formatting

"I love dancing, just like how I love this rich, fertile earth, the joy of harvest, the drizzle in the mountains, and my friends and family. But I love you even more. My soul is forever unable to be free, because it belongs to you." — Salad Days

Boba Order: Oolong tea with milk cap, pudding, crystal boba, 50% sugar, less ice.

Favorite Books: Seizing Dream, Salad Days, and Your Distance.

An
Finance

"Xie Yu. And I don't paint my nails black." — Fake Slackers

Boba Order: Rose milk tea w/ pearls + 50% sugar.

Favorite Books: Mr. Dior, A Certain Someone, Saye, and The Short Story of ShaoWang.

Gumi
Organization & Social Media

"He was already in his heart. No paint stroke in this world would be able to recreate him. How would another painting be necessary, then?" — The Missing Piece

Boba Order: Taro milk tea w pearls, 75% sugar

Favorite Books: Don't Pick Up Boyfriends From the Trash Bin

Jade
Shipping

"I’m not gay. I don’t like men. You’d better find someone else. But Zhou Luoyang is my wife, and you’re going to cause us to fight." — Tiandi Baiju

Boba Order: Regular milk tea, brown sugar boba, 75% sugar, regular ice.

Favorite Books: Seizing Dreams, Tiandi Baiju, Saye, and Silent Reading.

Trashie
Art

"I exist in the sunlight, the wind, between
the heavens and the earth, and also in dreams. I've always been around and have never been separated from you. Goodnight." —
Seizing Dreams

Boba Order: Mixed fruit tea, 50% sugar + less ice.

Favorite Books: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, Seizing Dreams.

Kuro
Writing

"Two thousand, three hundred and twelve days later, they met again amidst the snowstorm. They thought it was their first meeting, but it was in fact a reunion." — Global University Entrance Examination

Boba Order: Oolong milk tea w/ pearls 50% sugar, less ice.

Favorite Books: Global University Entrance Examination, Little Mushroom, Saye, The Earth is Online, and A Certain Someone.

Frequent Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions concerning the zine and contributors

 What is considered a modern danmei?

Our definition of modern danmei includes not only the typical high school danmei that you’d find (like SaYe, Mou Mou) but also novels with transmigration, futuristic, entertainment, survival game, and (half) fantasy elements in them. Basically anything where the primary setting is in the modern era.

What is the theme of the zine?

The focus of this zine will be introducing readers to the world of modern danmei, thus the main theme of the zine will be modern.

Will the zine be for profit?

The zine will be not-for-profit. After much consideration, the mods thought that it would only be fair for the contributors to get a copy of the zine that they’ve worked on. Consumers will be only paying for the cost of production, packing supplies, shipping fees, and contributors’ zine copies. Any leftover funds will be used to cover contributors’ shipping and any additional merch they wish to have.

What are the zine specs?

This is to be determined after interest check.

What format will the zine be in?

ZDCQ will have a physical zine accompanied by various merch options. A PDF version of the zine will also be released once all physical orders have been delivered.

Will the zine be shipped internationally?

Yes, the zine can be shipped internationally, as long as you are willing to pay the shipping fees. Our shipping mod is located in the US so shipping to places outside of the USA is estimated to be around $15-20USD. We highly encourage you to join a group order in order to save on shipping.

Are AUs allowed?

AUs won't be featured in this zine as the purpose of the zine is to get you interested in the modern novels we are recommending.

What is a CP and are non-CP ships allowed?

A CP is the official couple(s) recognized by the author in their novels. Non-CP ships are not allowed in the zine since we want to make sure we're introducing the novels as accurately as possible.

How many contributors will be accepted?

This has not been determined yet due to the nature of this zine but we will have an answer once we send out an interest check. Please stay tuned while we fine tune this zine and will update this accordingly once the mods make a decision.

What requirements will there be in order to apply to be a contributor?

As the topics in some of the modern novels are mature, we will be requesting that all applicants be 18 by the time the zine reaches its creation period, i.e. 8th May 2022. In addition, we will request that all contributors join the discord server during the server.

How will contributors be compensated?

All contributors are guaranteed a physical and digital copy of the zine. However, a physical merch bundle is not guaranteed. A donation pool will be opened during the pre-order period to fund contributor bundles and shipping.

Will contributors be allowed to apply for multiple positions?

Yes, contributors will be allowed to apply for multiple positions, but will have to submit an application for each role. Contributors will also be able to indicate if they’d like to be accepted to contribute to more than one position if they feel like they have the time and energy (completely optional!!!).

How many pieces will contributors be expected to contribute?

This is to be determined after interest check.

Will previous experience be needed in order to apply?

No experience will be needed in order to apply! The only requirement to applying for the zine will be knowing the basic gist of the novel you’re contributing for (artists) and knowing the entire novel you are reviewing for (reviewer).

What is a portfolio?

A portfolio is a collection of the pieces you are most proud of. Contributors may choose to submit a portfolio if they feel like the sample pieces aren’t able to portray their entire skill range.

Still have questions?

That's ok! Come and chat with us!