September 2025 Check-in
BAQZF Virtual Fest starts TODAY!
Click here to browse the LotusCarp online store! And remember to stop by the OACC on 9/14 for the in-person fest! All online prices are adjusted for shipping, which means the zines will be slightly cheaper at the table :)
1000 Lotuses
Launch date is now set for 9/13/25. I had to delay it slightly because for several days in August I was dealing with a carpal tunnel flare-up in both wrists. I’m not precluding the possibility that another flare-up will cause further delays.
On the bright side, I’m quite happy with how these zine-ified 1000 Lotuses excerpts came out…
“The Plum Blossom Gambit” is a standalone adventure featuring two men who are attracted to each other, though at least one of them doesn’t know that that he’s gay just yet. There are evil ghosts and a daring rescue.
“The Camellia and Her Sun” features two lesbians who do quite a lot of kissing, once their misunderstandings are sorted out. A doctor helps her new patient, and they mutually succumb to unprofessional temptations (they fuck).
Color illustrations by Zaozao. Printed on 12 sheets in folio with cardstock front and back covers. 4-hole binding in red string. I think they’re pretty cute.
A brief reflection on pain
I’ve never had a carpal tunnel flare-up this bad before, and never in both hands at the same time. I usually dismiss and try to push through my pain—partly because I’m autistic with poor body awareness, and partly because I was raised to believe this was the right thing to do—but somehow, with this flare-up, I sensed that if I pushed too hard, my capacity would end up permanently diminished.
So I put on the wrist braces and seethed in front of my computer, or in bed if my knee was also giving me trouble. Sometimes my fingers twitched involuntarily because I was thinking so intently about writing that my hands wanted to start typing. I tried to find out if writing with a pen while wearing a wrist brace would be feasible. I think so, but I need more practice.
There are a lot of things I still want to do with these hands. They’ve already accomplished so much for me in the past 28 years. And I treat them like shit, honestly.
I’m going to put my wrist braces on now. Then I’ll probably watch some more video essays about bad isekai.
— Zaozao 藻藻 (she/they/他)