Flower Blooming in the Slums

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Zine
Title: Flower Blooming in the Slums
Publisher:
Editor(s):
Type: Fanart, Fanfiction
Date(s): 2020-2022
Medium: PDF, Print, EPUB
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Language: English
External Links: Twitter carrdarchived
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Flower Blooming in the Slums is a charity zine centered around the character Aerith Gainsborough from the video game Final Fantasy VII.

About

The project was announced on November 11, 2020. Shortly after on the same day, an interest check was posted and would run until December 1, 2020. Mod Applications ran from December 2 to December 15, 2020, while contributors could begin applying from January 22 to February 13, 2021.

At the beginning of the project's inception, the team had not yet decided on a charity and prompted followers to suggest charities. The project's choice of charity organization would be made later on December 30, 2020, where the team announced that they would donate zine profits to The Nature Conservancy [1].

As for the concept of the zine, the project did not have an established theme from the beginning. In answer to a fan's question about the zine's theme on November 12, 2020, the team said that the zine's had not yet been set but wanted to celebrate the character and her complexities [2]. The team later announced on April 1, 2021 that they would change the direction of the zine, presenting the zine's title, Flower Blooming in the Saucer, with the tagline "a love worth betting it all..." [3].

Preorders opened on June 19, 2021 with the following pricing tiers:

  • Princess Guard ($15 USD) - Digital Zine, Zine Epub, Digital Color Pages, Emojis
  • Healing Wind ($25 USD) - Physical Zine
  • Planet Protector ($35 USD) - Physical Zine, Sticker Sheet, Bookmark, Print, Die-cut Stickers
  • Great Gospel ($55 USD) - Physical Zine, Sticker Sheet, Bookmark, Print, Die-cut Stickers, Wooden Charm, Acrylic Charm, Washi Tape, Acrylic Standee

The Princess Guard bundle was available as a digital add-on for physical purchases for the prince of $5 USD. Stretch goals included bonus items for physical orders, such as a button if the project reached 50 orders, a new print for 100 orders, and an enamel pin at 150 orders.

A giveaway was run from July 7, 2021 to July 17, 2021 for an Aerith prize pack [4]. In collaboration with witchtomez, the prize for the first winner was an Aerith-themed necklace, bracelet, and pair of earrings. The second winner would would receive a set of Aerith-themed floral earrings. The winners were announced on July 18, 2021: HaldyKnox as the first winner, and comaliesvii as the second winner [5].

Preorders ended on July 17, 2020, marking the beginning of the project's produciton period. Originally, the mod team expected to receive the ordered merchandise in a timely manner and begin shipping around September to October 2021. However, the team reported on November 23, 2021 that they had run into an issue with customs for the shipment of some of their merchandise [6]. On December 13, 2021, the team sent out a new update that they had been informed by their zine supplier that their shipment would be delayed, forcing the team to change their schedules to ship orders after the end of the year [7]. Shipping for physical orders eventually began on January 8, 2022, and the digital bundle was released on February 21, 2022.

Leftover sales opened on June 16 to June 30, 2022, then opened once more at greater discount on October 3 to October 30, 2022.

The raised $5000.00, and the donation was between two charities, The Nature Conservancy which received $1000.00, and the Clean Air Task Force which received $4000.00. This decision was made because there was some concern about The Nature Conservancy and its practices at the time.[8]

Project Schedule
Start End
Interest Check November 9, 2020 December 1, 2020
Mod Applications December 2, 2020 December 15, 2020
Contributor Applications January 22, 2021 February 13, 2021
Preorders June 19, 2021 July 17, 2021
Shipping January 8, 2022 February 21, 2022
Leftover Sales June 30, 2022 October 30, 2022

Contributors

The following names were taken from the final copy of the zine/the project's social media account.

Page Artists

Merch Artists

Writers

Mods

  • Rinny (IdolRinny) - Head Mod, Social Media
  • Meg (lunarbrace) - Head Mod
  • Noct (yeollie-bells) - General Organizer
  • Bliss (BlissyNightRain) - General Organizer, Finance
  • Miki (quasarquirks) - Finance
  • Amber (Amber_Shirelle) - Publishing
  • January (januarywren) - Publishing
  • Kar (skelletory) - Graphics
  • Chofitia - Beta Reader
  • PoH (iris_keyblade) - Beta Reader
  • Kim (eliestarr) - Beta Reader

Former Contributors

  • Xhirien (xhici_thefujo) - Graphics Mod

On January 29, 2021, the social media account announced that Xhiren stepped down from being a staff member on the project [9].

Gallery

Fan Reception

The following posts are a sample of posts retweeted by the project's social media account about the zine.

koda wrote on Twitter

My @Aerith_Zine arrived today 🌼

The standee has also moved into sector 5 on my bookshelf![10]

ZomZie wrote on Twitter:

UM can we talk about how freakin pretty the @Aerith_Zine is????

Mine actually got buried in the snow yesterday so I had to let the outside dry, but I opened it today and OMGGGGG🌸🌸🌸🌸[11]

Nat wrote on Twitter

My copy of the @Aerith_Zine arrived over the weekend and everything looks amazing!! Thank you so much to all the artists and organizers for putting together such a lovely project for my favorite girl 🌸💕[12]

Klepto@眠い wrote on Twitter

The @Aerith_Zine arrived and it’s gorgeous!

So much beautiful art and writing! What a perfect way to celebrate her birthday week! 🌸

エアリスジンが届きました!めっちゃめっちゃ綺麗〜!

タイミングがいい、エアリスの誕生日週間にこうやって祝えて嬉しい🌸[13]

Azeld S wrote on Twitter

@Aerith_Zine I received my AerithZine today! It's perfect! Can't wait to read the stories! Illustrations are beautiful and goodies are so cute ! Big thanks to all the people who worked hard for this project! (◕ᴗ◕✿)[14]

References