she/her. est 1990. personal blog so anything goes. i write a lot. video games, film, tv shows, whatever. header by behindxa ----- my fics & my writing tag for everything else.
Wow. I never thought I'd ever make one of these lol. But there has just been such a huge outpouring of love and dedication to this fic, including artwork, fanfic, and music, that I wanted to give it all the overview it deserves. (Banner made by @virgo-dream!!)
Firstly, you can find anything fic related (including memes and asks) under the tag fic: bolt in the blue along with the tag bolt in the blue vibes for posts that i was tagged in along with posts that... gave me BitB vibes lol
But for a thorough breakdown...
THE FIC: Bolt in the Blue [COMPLETE]
ARTWORK:
by @designtheendless -
Dream playing the Bass
An Endless album
Endless performing live
Instagram posts
Endless at the Grammys
Endless album cover from ch.6 & just the front cover
More Instagram posts
Endless beauty shots
Lucienne, Merv, and Mazikeen
Desire & crew - Instagram
Despair - Instagram
More Instagram ft. Hob
Dream and Hob
by @ambarden aka @wolf-and-raven-dreaming -
DTIYS ver. of Endless album cover
Hob and Dream from ch.4
Dream and Hob outside The New Inn from ch.5
Dream
Dream thirst trap from ch.6
Hob looking up at Dream from ch.9
Another Endless album cover
by @virgo-dream -
Dream's fit from ch.16
by @voidfishtattoo -
Dream from ch.2 + bonus him shirtless
by @foxish-draws -
Hob and Dream feisty from ch.3
by @rainy-days-and-nights -
Dream's thirst trap from ch.6
by @endlessdoodles -
Dream live
Death live
PHOTO MANIP/MISC. ARTWORK
by @virgo-dream -
The Yellow Sweater Controversy pt.1, pt.2, and pt.3
by issylra -
Fanfic gifset
A tour poster
by @rexwrendraws -
Endless promotional poster
by @imaginariumpress -
Physical book binding
FOOD:
by @carnelianmeluha -
All the Nepali food from chapter 19
MUSIC đś:
A Hob Gadling playlist (full of easy rock/folk, romance, travel, good vibes)
Bolt in the Blue Official Playlist (chapter-by-chapter setlist for the fic)
Endless' Personal Playlist (what Endless might sound like, full of a variety of rock new and old)
Encore (by request, a playlist of songs mentioned by name throughout the fic)
FANFIC FOR BOLT IN THE BLUE:
Safety Net: A Bolt in the Blue Story by virgodream
Reason in the Noise by sanyumi
where I'm supposed to be by Delta_Pavonis
Defiance- A Bolt in the Blue fan story by yourstruly_datura
FINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I am so, so incredibly honored and stunned stupid by all the attention this fic has gotten, y'all have no idea lol. Thank you to everyone who left comments and shared my story. As well as those who left me asks here on tumblr or reached out to me on Discord. I know I tend to be an antisocial hermit crab, but I'll never take for granted, nor forget the connections and friendships I've made in this fandom just because of this fic! Ahh!
Gosh, I think I covered everyone, but if there's a contribution I missed, please let me know! And in the future if anyone creates something new for BitB, please also let me know so I can add it here!
Twitter thread by Melissa Caruso about a labyrinthine magical bookstore in Syracuse, NY. Link to the first tweet in the thread; most pictures have image descriptions! Now here are the screenshots of that thread:
And then a hero of the labyrinthine magical bookstores of the world put all the bookstores that people listed in the replies on a map! (Google Maps link)
Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything! I've been doing a lot of nonfanfic projects, which has taken up most of my time (especially because the fanbinds don't usually have deadlines), but I'm finally finding a balance between commissions and personal/fandom projects. For this particular project, I was able to make a copy for both myself and the author.
I've been wanting to bind @arialerendeair's Rewrite the Stars fic for a long time, and now I've finally gotten around to it! I know nothing about figure skating, but this story still managed to captivate me. The art on the front cover is @mayhemspreadingguy's work, and I'm very grateful they allowed me to use it!
I was originally going to try and print the art on Shrinky Dink film, to give it an almost stained-glass appearance, but ended up going with a fake Polaroid look instead (with mixed results: I should have used thicker material so the paper texture wouldn't show through!)
I went with a relatively simple Bradel binding, using leather on the spine but forgoing the traditional corner pieces in favor of metal corner protectors. There's two kinds of shimmery/iridescent paper used for the cover and endpapers, making this a very shiny book, but that works for the figure skating AU!
The typeset is fairly simple: the pair of skates hanging from each chapter title is as fancy as it gets. I tend to make very minimalist typesets because I'm the furthest thing from a graphic designer. That being said, this fic doesn't need a fancy typeset to be fun to read!
I got to bind @valeriianz's Bolt in the Blue: a Sandman/Dreamling fic where the Endless are a rock band and Hob is a stage manager that impulsively becomes Dream's tech when they go on tour. The chapter art was done by @five-and-dimes, and many more artists contributed to the mini posters in the back cover pocket.
This bind was a challenge for me, as I had the idea from the start to try and make it evoke Dream's guitar. That led to the raised bands on the spine (painted to look like guitar strings) and painted wood veneer on top of the leather covers.
For the typeset, I wanted to distinguish the singing from the speaking, and so went with both a different font and color. Since the chapters didn't have titles, I called them "Tracks" and the table of contents ended up as the "Setlist" to be part of the theme.
It was a lot of fun (if stressful at times) to experiment with so many different new techniques in one bind. I'm not sure if I'd repeat some of these techniques in the future, but for this, they worked out really well and I'm happy with how they came out.
âOh!â Viktor gasps, completely taken with the photo on the next page: an adorably flustered Jayce, covered in lipstick kisses, looking to the camera as if i could help as several sets of hands tug on his clothes. It had taken some cajoling to convince Jayce to pose like this, but every wheedle had been worth it: the picture was stunning.
ââŚOh,â Viktor says, his voice falling when his eyes manage to leave Jayceâs abs and register the content of the page, âthis one.â He remembers this particular interview question now. Jayce had gotten a little annoyed with him for this.
In Viktor's defense, heâd be very well-behaved up until that point in the interview, despite the journalistâs irritating manner and the way she pressed and prodded, waving her voice recording device in their faces as if they were coin-fed machines that you input personal questions until a marketable sound bite fell out. Viktor had just got a little fed up, and somethingâŚslipped.
âOh god, I canât look,â Jayce says, putting his hand over his eyes. âI canât read it. Did they fix it? They didnât print it, did they?â
âFix what?â Viktor asks innocently.
Jayce rolls his eyes. âYou know exactly what Iâm talking about.â
Viktor bites his lip and tries to keep a straight face.
âStop with the smirk, I know youâre smirking under there. You just canât resist being clever, can you? Youâre the one who nearly gave the game away, Viktor. I might be the one who picked you up for that last photo, and Iâll admitâthat was incriminating. But your little quip is probably where the author got the idea we are together in the first place, you realize.â
Viktor scratches the back of his neck.
âWhat, now youâve got nothing to say, wise guy?â
Viktor glances quickly over the page. âYou donât need to worry, they were smart enough not to publish it. Looks like it's edited clean out. And on the bright side: you look very cute in the picture, at least.â
Jayceâs irritation quickly dissipates under the warmth of Viktorâs praise. âYou really think so?â
Viktor nods. âAlthoughâŚâ
âAlthough what?â
âI just think it probably didnât help our case for discretion that you only agreed to do this pose as long as I was the one who printed the lipstick kisses on you.â
Jayceâs cheeks flush an adorable shade of pink. âWellâŚI suppose you may have a point.â
PRE-PUBLICATION INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION FROM THE PILTOVER DAILY ARCHIVES:
PD: As you know, we here at The Piltover Daily are all about asking the real questions. Weâre the publication that dares to get personal and dig into the nitty gritty. So, Jayce: on behalf of our female readers everywhere, we need to knowâdoes Piltoverâs most eligible bachelor prefer a lady whoâs trimmed from top to tail, or do you go for the nuance of a natural beauty? Donât be shy, now.
[VR: Neither, if you must knâ]
[JT: Stop, Viktor, oh my god. Just stop. You swore if we did this youâdâ]
[VR: What, I didnât even say anythâ!]
[untranscribable]
[untranscribable]
[untranscribable]
[JT: Sorry, I just had to remind my partner here of a few things we previously agreed upon. You can cut that, right? You wonât publish any of this? Thank you, I owe you one. Can youâViktor, can you not behave yourself for all of five minutes? Please? Pull it together, stop laughing. Okay then. Ahem. ]
JT: I think beauty is more than skin deep. All women are beautiful in their own way, and itâs up to them how they choose to let it shine.
PD: Mr. Talis, youâre every bit as charming as everybody says.
Happy birthday!! I hope you don't mind, this art is so gorgeous and their smiles are so soft and this scene just screams to be written and so... I did. It's not a birthday but I hope you enjoy it regardless my friend! <3
-------------------------------------
âDo you often think about the world, outside of all this?â
Hob looks over at Dream, his lips naturally curling at the sound of his voice. At the way he talks, like peeling a line from a poem. Voice deep and rich, like melted chocolate.
âLike, what weâll do after we graduate?â Hob guesses, taking a sip from his red solo cup. The sounds of music thumping and loud chatter behind them muffled over walls and closed doors.
Dream lolls his head sideways, his eyes full of contemplation. Heâs slouching back against the steps, his own cup sitting empty next to him.
âPerhapsâŚâ Dream muses, his head tilting imperceptibly, regarding Hob with crystal blue eyes that had captivated Hob since day one. âAre you not intimidated by whatâs to come? Are you not⌠uncertain?â
Hob cracks a grin. âAlways, mate.â He downs the rest of his rum and coke, setting the cup down and turning to sit sideways, facing Dream now. âBut thatâs what makes it all exciting.â
A small, barely there smile curls Dreamâs lips. âYou find uncertainty exciting?â
Hob shrugs, his smile unfaltering. âBetter than being afraid. Better to embrace uncertainty, change, all the things that make life⌠life, than to shrink away from it. Makes it fun.â
âFunâŚâ Dream huffs, looking down into his lap, where heâs tapping his fingers along his hands.
Hob watches silently, realizing all at once that Dream is nervous. About graduating tomorrow, about the future⌠or something more immediate. Something that is happening right now.
Hob taps Dreamâs knee. âHey.â
Dream looks over just as Hob reaches out and takes Dreamâs hand, pulling gently and encouraging him to face Hob as well. And instead of allowing Dream to fidget alone, wiggles his own fingers on Dreamâs palm, getting them tangled together. Dreamâs long, pale, pianist fingers against Hobâs sun-kissed digits with cracked knuckles and blunt, choppy finger nails.
Hob lifts his lashes with a smile when he hears Dreamâs huff of amusement.
The party rages on inside, but outside, under the pale moonlight, Hob finds solace in their own quiet bubble. Lounging on the stoop, fingertips dancing along Dreamâs wrist and feeling just a bit too warm from the alcohol. A little too comfortable.
A little too brave.
The wiggling stops and now Hob is just holding Dreamâs hand, thumb pressed along the top, caressing his knuckles and veins that protrude slightly against milk white skin.
âAfter tomorrow,â Hob starts, licking his lips, eyes glued to how Dreamâs hand fits in his. âWhatever we do, weâll find each other again, right?â
Hob was moving across the country. Heâd been offered a job in his field, something deeply coveted amongst his peers; obtaining an entry level job right out of college. While Dream currently interned at a publishing company, a place they both knew would hire him in no time once he had his degree in hand.
Dreamâs grip tightened, a reassuring squeeze that encouraged Hobâs gaze up, struck down again by those inscrutable eyes.
âI donât see why not,â Dream spoke, keeping his voice low and melodic. âWe will still be friends, Hob.â
Hob took a deep breath through his nose, the air filling his chest, steadying himself.
âFriends, eh?â
Hob felt his heart crashing in his rib cage. So many unspoken feelings, so many moments that heâd let pass by. Opportunities to tell Dream how he really felt. They slipped away every day, the clawing belief that they could be something more. The fear of rejection, of ruining what they already had, keeping Hob at bay. Forcing him to appreciate what he had. Hob had Dream, and that was enough.
But it wasnât anymore. And soon heâd lose Dream. In 12 hours they would walk across that stage and graduate and Hob would probably never see Dream again, and regret screamed through his veins, flooded his insides and threatened to pour over and past his lips.Â
Dream said nothing, though his own fingers began to move, causing Hobâs breath to hitch as he felt Dreamâs delicate fingers tickle his palm, soft writerâs hands that were stronger than they looked, circle around Hobâs wrist and pull him in closer.
Hob felt his heart thrashing in his rib cage, jaw dropping in wonder as he followed along, scooting closer, transfixed by Dreamâs impossibly hypnotic gaze, darkening as the space between them slowly closed.
The silence between them felt tense, but in a good way. In a way that made Hob dizzy. Especially as Dreamâs gaze flicked down, causing Hobâs pulse to jump.
Dreamâs voice, when he spoke, was so soft Hob wasnât sure he even heard him.
âYou could stay.â
Something fiery hot burned in Hobâs belly, licking its way up and seizing his heart.
Hob felt himself shaking his head without being fully conscious of it, all of his attention focused fully on Dreamâs face, his neck, his collar bones peeking out from his long sleeve shirt. And his hand, still in Hobâs. Warm and sure and safe.
 âI canât.â
Dreamâs eyes are back on Hobâs.
âThen Iâll come with you.â
A laugh tumbled from Hobâs lips, unbidden.Â
âDream, be serious.â
âI am.â
Hob gasped as Dreamâs other hand suddenly slips up his jaw, cupping his cheek, a thumb swiping just under his eye.Â
Standing as a rotten tooth, the Gedächtniskirche (full name: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche) as a memory of World War II. The new extension was built in the 1960. Scanned from 'Berlin - Faszinierende Städte', 1991.
