So I've had to keep this quiet for far too long but finally, finally I have @toyouhellohowareyou in my goddamn house and could thrust this beauty into her hands. So here. Have Constellate in physical form.
I am actually so proud of how the design for this book turned out. It was one of those times where you have a vision, and the vision turns out almost exactly as it is in your brain.
Those dragon scales did try to kill me though.
Anyways thank you Serbii for writing this phenomenal fic that introduced "do you need to go back in the river" into everyone's daily vocabulary.
Listen, no one said the art had to be a drawing for the @linkshipping-big-bang ...
I had the absolute pleasure of being paired with @cloudyskies48 and their absolutely bittersweet vidow retelling of the Four Swords manga, The Shadow and the Light. I really hope I managed to capture the longing and tragedy of your fic in the bind.
Just when I bet you thought 'oh, Gia just made a book, it'll probably be a while before she binds another and shares', BAM!
Have an absolute gorgeous ghost story by @tashacee because this story is so beautiful and she is also currently in my house so I could just hand this to her in person!
This was a thicc book to bind, not as bad as This is an Adjuration however. I absolutely fell in love with the matte black bookcloth I was working with, it was so beautiful to touch and just behaved so nicely. The cover design is actually Tash's own artwork which I modified to work for the cricut, so thanks for doing half my job for me Tash! Also the bookmark ribbon I used should not have been as easy to work with as it was, I'm so happy about that.
Back in October last year, I started reading This is an Adjuration by @not-freyja.
By the time I had made it to chapter 5, I had already started typesetting this story as I read because I knew this would be one of those stories that I needed to have on my shelf.
When I finally caught up to the story at chapter 31, I begged the author to let me bind this when it was finished.
Nearly a year later, and what is probably the most important bind of my life is finally finished. Check out these glamour shots, and if you want to hear more about the actual binding process and about how this fic actually changed my life, see below.
So funny story, before I get into the technical side of this bind, but this fic actually changed my life. Not as in I was greatly emotionally moved by the story, though don't get me wrong I absolutely was, but genuinely this fic introduced me to some of the best people I have ever had to privilege of knowing (Hello Class, you know who you are 🩷), and also, it introduced me to Freyja, the incredibly talented author, who, as I type this, is curled up in bed next to me fast asleep after flying half way around the world to go on a two week long date with me.
Moral of the story folks is comment on the fics you like. You might accidentally meet the love of your life on, and I can't believe I'm saying this, AO3.
Anyways, about the bind!
This bind was a challenge from day 1. I had to do the typeset for this 300k word fic 4 times, and had to split it across 2 volumes. This was the longest fic I have ever attempted to bind, and it was so thick I couldn't get it in the paper trimmer.
To make this book as durable as possible, I attempted a few techniques. I secured it with 3 tapes, I made an Oxford hollow, I rounded the spine, I made a slipcase and I used 2.3mm boards where normally I use 1.8mm.
The slipcase is covered with embossed faux leather, buckram and plain ribbon, and lined with gold satin fabric. I've never made a slipcase before so this was an experience.
The books are covered with an emerald green silk finish bookcloth which really gave the books the luxury they deserved. I foiled custom end papers as well as every chapter title page using heat reactive transfer foil on toner ink (never again I am never doing that again omg it took days). Huge thank you to @la-sera for letting me use her artwork which helped inspire this fic!
The grey flashback chapters I had to use HTV for the border decoration and I'm very happy with how that turned out because it was so easy and straight forward, unfortunately it just wasn't viable for the whole book.
It feels weird to finally have these books done. They have my blood, sweat, tears and my heart poured into them, and I've been working on them for so long that it's odd to actually have them finished. I'm so proud of this bind, and feel like I've grown so much as a fanbinder by making these.
Anyways, if anyone has any questions about the process, please don't hesitate to ask!
(and if you are an Linked Universe fan and haven't read Adjuration yet, this is your sign!)
I've never worked so fast on a book in my life, but when I realised @undertheopensky's birthday was only days after mine, I absolutely knew I needed to gift them a bound copy of their truly incredible Linked Universe Whumptober 2023 anthology, Heart and Soul Asunder.
I wanted a subtle gothic vibe for the design of this book to help capture the eeriness and sometimes quiet horror of these stories. I was absolutely enraptured by this series from the moment I read it, would excitedly rant and theorise to Skies in the comments, sparking a wonderful friendship that I now hold very dearly. The only thing better than this fic was finding out that by some bizarre twist of fate, Skies lived only 10 minutes drive from me, and I so I got to hand them their book in person.
Skies, thank you for writing such a truly incredible fic, happy birthday, and any LU fans who haven't read this series yet, this is your sign.
