The Painstar Zine is a zine about love and loneliness, and the relationship that they have with each other. I was inspired by my own personal experience with abandonment, as well as other works of art like the album Twin Fantasy by Car Seat Headrest and the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. The zine follows a very loose, conceptual narrative of the Painstar, a mythical star that causes unfathomable pain when touched. This was a device to illustrate how badly love scarred me. However, touching the star and experiencing the pain is not necessarily a bad thing, and the protagonist does not regret it in the end. This symbolizes that no matter how difficult and painful love may be, we still need it to add meaning in our lives.