Wunderkammer by @dear-monday and @tw0-ravens / illustrations by @dont-offend-the-bees
Wunderkammer, noun. Translated from the German as wonder room and more commonly known in English as a cabinet of curiosities.
HELP WANTED: Maintenance Worker (late hours)
Seeking a person of steady disposition and keen intellect. Generous compensation. Room and board available upon request. Not suitable for those possessed of a delicate constitution or nervous temperament. Mechanical aptitude a must, fast runners strongly preferred. Priority will be afforded to candidates with no dependents or other living relatives. Applicants may report to Mr. Edwin Payne, acting head curator and recondite warder of the London Athenaeum.
Office hours: 11:30pm – 5:30am, Mondays only.
It’s the weirdest bloody job interview Charles has ever done.
(some rambling and more pictures under the cut)
God this was. An adventure. Mostly the typeset, I definitely bit off more than I could chew with this one, and trying to do this in libreoffice was. Well. A bit insane. Do not recommend.
I tried to go for a bit of an art nouveau vibe. I think it fits the story perfectly, with its asymmetry, its flowing, organic movements, how it highlights the beauty of nature by reveling in its untamed chaos. Plus, of course Edwin was born and grew up right during the height of the movement. How successful I was is not for me to judge.
I used about a million fonts, let's see. Eckmann - the other really well known art nouveau font - for the title and chapter numbers, EB Garamond for the text body, several handwritten fonts (Charles, Edwin, and Jenny), this typewriter font, and Baskerville (beloved <3) for in-book book pages and such. Once again I have Dieter Steffmann to thank for helping me out with initials and a bunch of adorable little guys for decoration. Also these vectors for ornaments.
Please appreciate these gorgeous illustrations.
This was my first time trying to put pictures into the text body, and I only attempted because the original drawings are stylized enough to work with my medium quality printer. I love illustrated books so much and I'm very happy I could keep them in (even though the printing quality of course leaves a lot to be desired).
Overall, I am not entirely happy with how the typeset turned out, but I did put everything I am capable of into it. It may be flawed but it's the best I can do.
The backs are a bit stiff, these won't lie open nice and flat like they ought to. The only difference is the new glue I used; I hope they will get a bit more flexible with use.
Endpapers are printed sheets I got here and there.
I tried a bit of a different technique for this and the last project. Normally, the fold of the endpaper sits right at the hinge, where the book cover is connected to the spine, and where the most stress occurs during reading. This leaves them very vulnerable to breaking, and in older books, the endpaper is usually worn through there, even if the binding itself still holds up perfectly fine.
To prevent this, I glued the fold around the first signature, so it sits tucked away in the book block, then put the shirting over that to hide it. Then I sewed through everything.
The trick is having good tension; first time I tried this, the tension was too loose and the stitches are a lot more noticeable.
This means there's a break in the pattern, but I think it's worth the tradeoff (and not that noticeable anyway, certainly less so than a break that has the gauze peeking through).
For the edges, I used gouache because that's what I use for paste paper too and I didn't want to go out and buy a ton of new paints. Diluted with water and a tiny bit of starch paste it works well enough. They're not perfect yet, I need to be more careful when sanding the edges down and work on finding the balance between too much water (bad because it leaves spots) and too little (bad because the paint will flake off). Well, that's what spraying edges is for - hiding a subpar paint job. And for sparkles. (Metallic gouache and food glitter)
The cover is the usual - paste paper and bookcloth. I tried to go for a bit of a subtle collage thingy,some flowing lines to keep with the theme, and I like how it turned out.
Silk bookmarks and double-core headbands! The metallic embroidery floss I used for the bookmarks is a nice effect but unfortunately the yarn was kind of shit and I doubt it would hold up to heavy use. For now it looks very cute though.
And that's it! This was such a fun bind, even though it cost me some nerves. Can't wait for part 2 😊
everyone says demisexual edwin, but i propose Demiromantic Edwin!!
Think about it: he was sexually attracted to The Cat King when they first met, however he did not develop romantic feelinings towards him or Monty. (I think the cheek kiss in ep8 was edwin being a cheeky bastard but thats my opinion), but Edwin did say he was in love with Charles, who he's known for 30 years.
I’ll buy in. Personally I wanna see a demiromantic Charles fall for his bestie in the aftermath of the confession.
Charles talks a big game, Mr ‘I’d miss kissing’ but not only do I think he’s not been with very many people I think for him it is kinda performative. He finds Crystal hot so he knows he’d be expected to go after her, he doesn’t develop real romantic feelings about her which is why he sad but not heartbroken by being turned down.
However his intimacy with Edwin could easily cross a line into romance when he is presented with a newer more confident version of his partner who is embracing his sexuality and has already expressed romantic interest him.
Just make em both the most demi boys to ever demi.
They both experience sexual attraction and feel forces in opposite directions on how to express it (Charles feeling he should openly act on it and Edwin feeling he should surpress it) but neither of them fall for anyone but each other. A love born out of time and familiarity.
I think one of the funniest moments in the show is when that skeleton grabs edwin's ankle. and charles just reflexively SLAMS the *important* enchanted dandelion shrine vase on it. shattering the vase instantly. he then prompty shouts "BOLLOCKS" when he realizes what he just did. it was a skeleton... it was practically decayed into the ground still... he could have just stomped on it... I love him so bad
I actually have a headcanon that seems to be contrary to popular opinion. I think Charles is actually the better one at using the mirrors.
Yes, it seems to be the task assigned to Edwin in the opening case, but that can be easily explained as he reaches the mirrors first. Edwin is able to run ahead of Charles and Charles (as The Brawn) watches his back. Because, Charles would struggle to get there first and Edwin wouldn’t be able to fend anyone off once Charles was through the mirror.
We see Edwin make mistakes while mirror traveling twice in the first episode. He sends them to a hotel instead of the office in the opening, and he stumbles while coming out of the mirror after retrieving Becky’s shoes (probably not a big mistake for someone else, but Edwin really doesn’t seem like one to stumble). We don’t see him mirror travel much past that point due to the Cat King’s trap.
Charles never makes a mistake while using mirrors, and he’s able to use the mirror to look in on a different location (something we have no proof Edwin can do). Granted, he did describe mirror travel as tricky to Crystal when Edwin retrieved the shoes, but describing something as generally hard is not the same as admitting you personally struggle at it.
I also see Charles as the better one at “physical” or item magic in general, like his enchanted cricket bat and his infinite bag. While, Edwin is better at “academic” magic, like spells and potions. But, I digress.
Whoever invented "open in app" links that redirect you to the app store instead of actually opening the app even when you already have the app installed on your phone should be involuntarily turned into a beanbag chair
Angsty plot idea. In a second season, Death more or less starts following Charles. He notices her and he runs away like he always has, but it's a lot more close calls than he's had over 30 years, and it's usually when he's alone. It gets to a point that he actually yells at her to leave him alone. He's not done yet! He still has the agency to run, and unfinished business - only he doesn't actually have unfinished business now, does he? He couldn't say when, but somewhere along the line his unfinished business became keeping Edwin safe, and free from Hell. Now that Edwin is safe from Hell, that part of Charles' soul is ready to move on, and it keeps calling Death to him.
Ok but what if the way he shakes it is that he realizes his feelings for Edwin and his unfinished business becomes telling Edwin and then eventually simply not moving on without him.
you're sixteen.
you know how to hold your breath underwater, and you know how to take a hit and get up again, and you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy, unless he keeps his mouth shut.
you're sixteen.
you know how to make yourself smaller, to shrink, and you know how to run and keep running, and you know that a boy who likes boys is a damned boy, even if he keeps his mouth shut.
click here for the full poem | click here for other with apologies to richard siken edits
inspiration below the cut; bolding mine for emphasis.
“The blond boy in the red trunks is holding your head underwater because he is trying to kill you, and you deserve it, you do, and you know this, and you are ready to die in this swimming pool because you wanted to touch his hands and lips and this means your life is over anyway. You’re in eighth grade. You know these things. You know how to ride a dirt bike, and you know how to do long division, and you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy, unless he keeps his mouth shut, which is what you didn't do, because you are weak and hollow and it doesn't matter anymore.”
― Richard Siken, Crush
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