So this bind was a wild ride, with experimentation galore. It’s my 10th bind (HURRAY) and I started this bind knowing I wanted to play with thread, given I had so much fun with the stab binding. I had some red thread which i had originally purchased for the VTE bind - and just the right shade i was going for so i went for it.
the original idea i was going for was ‘red thread of fate, but make it MURDER’ and so this tidy little concept was born. half way through the design conceptualization phase i had a little epiphany while watching season 3 of hannibal that blood spatter stringing was ALSO red thread and i just couldn’t resist (yes i know hannibal’s little murder tableaus seldom have blood but the string! MORE STRING!)
More photos under the cut.
Statistics:
115559 words || 426 pages
Body Text: Crimson Text
Chapter Headers: Cormorant Garamond
I quite like the experimentation with body fonts and trying to divert away from regular Garamond. So far, I’ve only used Baskerville, Garamond, Liberation serif and Cardo, but I do like this one. I lack the typography terminology but it feels fancy and posh and something Hannibal would enjoy.
I also aggressively rounded this book - boy is it ROUND, perhaps a little too so. i had a difficult time getting the spine piece to be as round as I liked.
Also, it was my first time putting a quote on the first few pages - i have zero regrets. Also featuring my new imprint page with AN ERROR (IT’S DECEMBER 2022 NOW OOPS).
I didn’t have enough heat-reactive foil and this fic has 40+ chapters so I could only foil the last couple of chapters which were actually short mini-sequels to this fic which I also added in. I have to say, using a laminator over an iron for heat-reactive foil is MUCH superior. I didn’t have to work myself into a frenzy trying to get an even layer of foil on it.
Endpapers are a little bunchy because of the thread. But i had to put butterflies because THE CHRYSALIS has hatched (i will never tire of hannibal metaphors).
See below for the conceptualization phase on cricut and er paper. I have zero art skills and have aphantasia so I had to print it out to try and figure out where everything needed to go.
This bind is also the bind where I won my blood sacrifice badge - don’t use rusty tools guys. The spouse had borrowed my rotary cutter to cut wrapping paper for christmas wrapping and is RIGHT-HANDED. Self is LEFT-HANDED. Tool returned to me as is and I did not check if the blade protector was on the correct side as the tool will get flipped direction wise depending on the handedness of the user. So guess who needs to get a tetanus shot today? :joy:
All in all, still a successful bind. It is a little busy, and if I had to do it again, I might not put the titling on the spine (always a little crooked, cause I roll that way). The Siser gold and silver metallic HTV for the hands fought me the entire way, and I’d probably not use it for such delicate lines - only part of it adhered and it made me very upset at first but since the bind is for myself it’s fine.
I’d also use a thinner red thread next time (the thick waxed linen thread for leather work doesn’t fuck around, WILL NOT BUY AGAIN) because as you can see 3-4 rounds around the finger looks like it’s choking it and i had some space limitations at the edges.
Well, a fun idea, with less than perfect execution but I’ll probably do it again one day if i ever summon up the courage to consider making this again (perhaps for the author if i get over my massive to-bind pile). PROBABLY NOT IN WHITE - gad WHITE IS SO SMUDGEY - nothing to remind you how dirty your hands are than white bookcloth. this is off-white pearl BUT fingerprint smudges!!!
Resources: Page dividers made by evil-robot-cat here.
EDIT: THE AUTHOR WANTS A COPY!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 🥳 😱 🫠 yessss AUTHOR COPY!!!!
Fanfic Rec #15 Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal) part 2
teen hannibal ficlets by emungere
What it says on the tin: a collection of ficlets about teen Hannibal and Will. This is the original prompt: AU where Hannibal never meets Lady Murasaki and is somehow found by Will Graham and Will raises him instead. As Hannibal gets older he becomes obsessed with Will and so Teen Hannibal tries to seduce Guardian Will who is just like oh god someone save me. It's pretty accurate.
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The underage warning is for kissing and discussions only, but they do have sex eventually, when Hannibal's much older.
Totally Functional by Phenobarbital
Will Graham was a relatively happy and overall average Alpha, which, as Alpha’s went, was not a bad thing.
What he wasn’t…was straight.
Six Minutes In Heaven by mokuyoubi
Beverly has somehow roped Hannibal into joining in on drinking games, and she has one clear objective in mind for him and Will...
The God of Appetite by mokuyoubi
Professor William Graham of Georgetown University is travelling through Europe on behalf of Doctor Jack Crawford, who hopes to find proof of the existence of the killer who has been preying on young men and women for nearly a century. Though others would attribute the deaths to multiple killers and wild animals, Crawford insists that they are after one creature--a vampire. Will isn't sure what to believe, but with his unique gift of empathy, he's gained some insight into the mind of the killer...and what he's seen unsettles him greatly. With the help of Hannibal Lecter, a doctor in a small village near the epicentre of the attacks, Will hopes to find the responsible party.
Astronomical Odds by xzombiexkittenx
Based on the joke: Picked up a hitchhiker last night. He said, “Thanks! how do you know I’m not a serial killer though?” I replied, “The chances of two serial killers being in the same car are astronomical.”
Hi friends! For my first Hannibal fic rec, I’ve chosen the first fic I read in the fandom, A Great and Gruesome Height by Mokuyoubi. Judging by the number of hits on this, if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve probably read it already! Whether you’re a newbie to the fandom or have been around since day one and read everything already, it’s worth a look, or a second look-- I’ve read parts of it an embarrassing number of times already!
Details UTC:
Word count: 115,508 in this piece and 129,916 in the verse.
Rating: Explicit
Relationship: Will/Hannibal
Warnings: canon typical violence, canon typical gore, canon typical cannibalism, mentions of noncon, one sex scene that could potentially be read as noncon/dubcon (although the author notes it was not written with that intent), the usual m/m sex iterations.
Complete: Yes! The author’s notes hint at a possible sequel, but this stands alone.
Setting: Canon, post S3.
Why it’s great: I’m #blessed that I found this fic the way I did and that it was my intro to Hannigram fic. The opening scene, which takes place immediately after the events at the end of season 3, is so gripping and emotional and intimate and descriptive, not only was I immediately hooked, but i had goosebumps and achey sighs before they even made it out of the damn water. I hesitate to say fic is “in character” because in fandom that can mean such different things to different people, but to me they felt very true to canon for me-- I could hear them speaking the same lines, see them going through the same motions, clear as day in my head. The evolution of Will and Hannibal’s relationship takes center stage, but there’s some very relatable side characters (it’s fun seeing how differently the boys interact with them) and suspenseful side plots. There’s also some really satisfyingly deserving murder victims. Also: dogs.
Overall, great pacing and flow to the story, consistent characterization, dialog with the same depth and flow as canon, fluffier than I’d expected, hot and plot advancing sex, and clever revelations. And dogs, lots of dogs. Ideal S4 to be honest.
Now go, give it a read (or reread), a kudos, or a comment!
Comments and recommendations welcome! Drop by my ask box or comment below!
For FFWAD, Renegade Bindery runs an event where we bind copies of fics for their authors, and I was super excited to participate and help mod for the event this year.
I had the great pleasure of binding A Great and Gruesome Height for @moku-youbi this year. I had initially bound a copy for myself sometime last year, but had done so in the early days of my fanbinding experience and oh boy, there were so so many flaws with the construction of that book.
I was so excited to be able to update it and make a nicer, fancier copy for the author.
I decided to go with colibri graphite instead of white this time - i had a terrible experience with the white cloth and I was very excited to do this version entirely in black. For the usage of the thread design on the cover - i used a thinner, less waxed linen thread this time and kept up the tension of the thread as I was stitching the design on the cover, and it looks much better now.
I have also gotten significantly better at doing endbands - and the crowning glory of this bind are its venomous snake endbands (not entirely intentional, but I AM GOING WITH THE VIBES WITH THIS ONE). they look really fucking great with this bind, I love them so so much. I used Crepaldi endpapers from hollanders (with a design that felt very reminiscent of a blood film so i was very excited to use it) and I foiled some of the chapter headings for the additional added-on fics at the end.
All in all, I think the bind turned out well and i faffed about minimally with it, so I was proud to be able to give this copy to an author as an example of my work. I was definitely very thrilled that the author enjoyed the copy and as always, I am absolutely enthused to be able to preserve someone's beautifully written work in a physical form.
