#fan fiction binding

[unsupervised-bullshit]

This past week my little adhd brain decided to fixate on book binding

So naturally I bound one of my favorite victuuri fics- Falling (Victor’s Story) by proantagonist on ao3

I did this purely for personal use just because I love this fic and Winter Song (same author) so so much.

I made a tiktok on the process if you’re interested in that

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRG5aUER/

It took me a few days and I finished it at 2am lmao but

Here are the results!

I’m very happy with it, I can’t wait to do more

(also proantagonist if you see this thank you for literally changing my life I love you)

[itsnotillegalyet07]

@sodaspons

Waiting for things to be delivered. Finished the second part faster than expected and my materials got delayed. Gonna be a week or so till I can keep working on this one. Sad face.

[mpchev]

Dissertation on Fanfiction Bookbinding — Looking for participants! [EDIT: Thank you so much, participants found!!!]

[Edit continued: I'm still sorting through emails and setting up meetings, will reply to everyone very soon, I can't even begin to thank everyone enough for the visibility that's been given to this 💜 I'll keep the updates coming as I work on the dissertation (and learn how to bookbind), in case anyone would like to follow along. For any questions about the research or comments/suggestions/resources about ficbinding, my asks are wide open. Thank you thank you thank you!!!]

Hi! My name is Marie Chevrier, I’m currently doing my postgraduate dissertation on fanfiction bookbinding, and I’m looking for people to talk to about it!

If you’ve ever taken a fanfic from somewhere online and turned it into a physical copy, either for yourself or as a gift, I’d love to know more. From printer paper stapled together to typesetting and painted edges, nothing is too simple or too complex — I’m interested in the whole process, what motivates readers or authors to bring the story to a different format, and how it’s one more way to interact with stories actively and creatively. This will be the final project of my MLitt in Folklore and Ethnology with the Elphinstone Institute (University of Aberdeen, Scotland).

What to Expect

To participate, you must be 18 or older and speak English. I’ll give you more details and answer any questions you might have via email, and will then set up individual video calls with participants (if you happen to be in North-East Scotland, we could also meet at an agreed public location). I’ll tell you more about the dissertation and explain how what you share will be used, which depends entirely on what you agree to, including if you would prefer your contribution to be credited or anonymised. I will ask you about your experience with fanfiction bookbinding and if you have some examples to show me, I would love to see them! Meetings will last approximately 45–90 minutes and take place in June 2024. You have the right to withdraw your participation at any time.

Contact Information

If you’d like to participate or have any questions, please send me an email at m.chevrier.23@abdn.ac.uk

To know more about the Elphinstone Institute, please visit https://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/

To know more about me, here's an intro post for you.

If for any reason you don’t wish to participate but still have comments/suggestions/resources/musings you’d like to send my way, please do!

[darkodomain]

one of the more obscure projects i’ve been working on (i think—i don’t know how well-versed the average internet user is in danny phantom fic)

PHANTOM OF TRUTH :: HAIJU

i tried a couple new techniques on this one bc it was a smaller project so i felt i had some room to play around and while it was an immensely frustrating time working on it, i’m not unhappy with the way it turned out <3

now onto shadow of a doubt, already typesetted and printed and ready to be bound!

[starblightbindery]

This is the bookbinding kit that I wish I had when I first started out. The goal was to put all of the hard-to-source supplies in one newbie starter kit--only the good stuff that we fanbinders actually use. (Also, I really, really wanted a storage pouch celebrating our hobby.) THE FANFIC BOOKBINDING STARTER PACK

So we've got:

Bone Folder

Awl

Hole Punching Guide

Bookbinding Needles

100% Linen Thread

Raw Beeswax

Linen or Ramie Tape

Mull

Pre-Made Endbands

Corner Miter

Resource Brochure

Fanfic Themed Pouch

Olfa Knife (optional, but so useful!)

I figure most people already have things like rulers and brushes at home, and other things like glue and boards are easier to source separately. I'm hoping this kit takes the stress out of finding all of the fiddly bits from people who are new to the hobby. (Seriously, why are Lineco products so expensive!!!)

I'm hoping to use this space to blog more about the kit as time goes by. It was several months in the making. Local fanfic binders in the SoCal area helped me figure out what to include and what to leave out. Their feedback on what to include in the resource brochure was invaluable.

I sourced materials from China, India, Poland, Lithuania, and even my local farmer's market. I taught myself 3D modeling to design the corner miter. I corresponded directly with linen and mull manufacturers. I learned a lot about bone folders. Fanbinding is an act of resistance, liberation, and celebration. We're creating codices and preserving what we love. I don't bind in the fandom that inspired v.2.0's theme, but I know a lot of my fellow binders do. It was important for me to put the progress pride flag and trans pride flag on the kit to stick it to you-know-who.

[inkstainedforever]

“Somewhere between standing still and running on air - Harry started to feel something for Draco.”

𝑅𝓊𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒪𝓃 𝒜𝒾𝓇 by eleventy7 @tinyhistory

This started out as a blind bind for me but I started reading while I was typesetting and just fell in love with this story and now it’s one of my favorites 🥹

I made my own bookcloth using fabric from spoonflower. The painting on the fabric is Van Gogh “Wheat Field with Cypresses.” Endpaper art is by @lyrablack1883 whose Drarry art is unmatched 😍

#drarry #handbound #handboundbook #fanfiction #fanficbinding #ao3 #dracomalfoy #harrypotter #dracoxharry #eleventy7 #runningonair #roa #binding #bookbinding #vangogh #spoonflower

[minhyebindery]

This was my first time binding an incredibly long fic, Descent into Perdition by @dreamsofspike-blog. This is one fic separated into 4 volumes. I sent this off to a mutual friend because I wanted to practice this bind before trying again with the final copy. For the repeat of this fic I am definitely going to split this into 5 volumes which I think will make it a little more manageable.

I learnt a lot from this run, volume 4 ending up the best but the others aren't too bad. It's easy for me to focus on the imperfections, especially after all the time I spend looking at them and I do want them to be perfect. However, I think I have to focus on the good things and be proud of how far I have come in my book binding journey.

For those in the Good Omens fandom I matched each volume to associated colours for each of the characters. Blue for Aziraphale and then black (for those who have read the fic you'll know why), purple for Gabriel and red for Crowley. The symbols on the front of the book match certain items or themes within the book.

I love being able to wrap the packages ready to send off to the recipient and add little personal touches here and there. I hope it brings a smile to my friend's face when they get to open each package.

I've just ordered a finishing press from Affordable Binding Equipment, I can't wait to get it so I can properly round and back the books. I've been using two wooden planks with some clamps and I just haven't been able to achieve the tension I need to round and back properly.

A few notes for future me:

Don't glue the spines if you aren't going to back them until later (much later) it makes it a lot harder -> hairdryers are your friend

Glue your endpapers closer to the end of the board otherwise you end up with that gap

If trimming the ends take into account that the board will then be shorter

Sometimes you make mistakes...make sure you have enough materials to redo bits and pieces

I think these volumes could've benefited from zigzag endpapers but maybe that is something to add next time

(I did fix the purple headband as I noticed it was lifting a little)

[singwith-love-at-our-throats]

nothing safe is worth the drive (follow you home) by @yoursummerfrost is all finished and bound!!

[flowerhawk-highinthesky]

A Wolf‘s heart by mizdiz

AO3

This one broke me while reading.

It broke me again while binding.

Started crying during the edit of the typeset. Be warned if you haven’t read it, the MCD hits hard.

I had to redo everything.

So printing, sewing, glueing and cutting. Did cut to much aaaaaand I started printing again.

The HTV burned and did not stick at the same time. So I did the whole cover again and ordered new and different HTV ( probably way to pricey, but it kinda worked).

[daniwib]

Blown away

I was stunned and amazed to be shown this today. Someone liked my Merman Buck fic so much that they used it to practise learning how to book bind (for personal use and enjoyment only, no selling dw).

LOOK HOW PRETTY IT IS!!! omg. If you've read the fic you will know just how apt this cover is. I am so honoured and touched and just utterly gobsmacked that someone liked something I wrote enough to do this. Just... wow.

Here's a link to the fic if anyone is interested: Cherish

Summary:

After surviving the tsunami with Christopher, Buck found himself suffering the consequences of his actions during the lawsuit. Isolated from his loved ones, plagued by nightmares and a deep fear of water, once his most cherished element, he begins a solitary journey to conquer his water-based trauma. Months later, Buck has long ago reconciled with the 118, and he and Eddie have grown closer than they’d ever been.

Then Buck’s plans to unveil his new hobby to his fire family are abruptly thwarted by an unforeseen accident, leaving everyone in a state of shock – and the future of any relationship with Eddie uncertain.

Rating: Teen, wordcount: 21k

[chryseiswriting-blog]

A little detour from my usual AFTG content today. I’m just so proud of it ;-;

Presenting my first book bind ever, Manacled by Senlinyu

[creativitycache]

Another day, another fool trying to steal fanfic to sell.

For those unaware, there’s a current growing problem with people trying to sell fanfics they print out and bind. Fanfics they don’t even write.

This TikTok person in the Reddit post has taken their wares down, but it’s a growing problem on Etsy, Ebay, TikTok, and Shopify. It is also against all of these sites TOS’s because it’s illegal so if you see it report it.

Somehow it’s gotten into some godforsaken pond of the internet that it’s a loophole to sell printed fanfic and a “legal gray area”.

It’s not.

It violates the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

the nature of the copyrighted work;

the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Fanfiction itself survived via the Fair Use doctrine and a hell of a lot of legal fights including the work of the tireless Archive of Our Own legal team.

Fanbinding falls under very fucking similar rules because it’s the same goddamn rules as fanfic. It’s not a fun easy side hustle that’s never been thought of before.

When is it ok to print & bind fanfic?

For personal use

To transform into an art piece substantially different than the original

To sell, when you wrote the fanfic and have sole copyright over the original source material and you’ve told your lawyers in advance it’s really you doing this

To sell, when you wrote the fanfic and have written legal permission from the copyright owners and are prepared to defend it in court

To sell, when you got written legal permission from the fanfic writer and the copyright holders of the original works and you are prepared to defend it in court

When is it NOT ok to print & bind fanfic?

To sell, if you wrote it but don’t have written legal permission from the original source material’s copyright holder(s)

To sell, if you didn’t write it but don’t have written legal permission from the author or the original source material’s copyright holder(s)

To sell, if you wrote it and the original source material but do not own the sole copyright

To sell, if you did not write it and got written legal permission from the author but not the copyright holders of the original work

To sell, if you got written legal permission from the the copyright holders of the original work but not the fanfic author

[hanna-hhhhhh]

Can someone teach me/explain to me how to book bind, because I want to bind some of my favourite fics (NOT TO SELL) but I obviously will not be using websites and shit where I have to pay for it so if someone could that would be so helpful

[scifrey]

What a kind and thoughtful article about people's amazing passions and crafting!💜

It's nice to read an article about a fan activity that doesn't deride or tease or make fun of the people who participate and love it.

[sliceocheese]

lololooollolol poll for all my fan fic writer amigo’s

[tsyvia48]

Genesis 22, Good Omens style

Avraham was nervous. God had sent angels to speak with him before, but never this many. And the one in the center was frightening. He seemed to be in charge, but from his posture to his eyes—the color of a wine stain—there was nothing kind or welcoming about him.

Avraham’s eyes moved from face to face. None of them were kind and welcoming. They looked…bored? But wait, there near the back was Israfel. They met eyes and smiled at one another. Avraham hadn’t seen him since that hot day in Mamre. He’d been the only one of the three who actually ate of the cakes Sarah had labored over. Israfel had enjoyed the food heartily, and it had brought comfort to Sarah.

Avraham relaxed. If Israfel was here, surely all was well.

“Avraham” boomed the head angel with the wine-stain eyes and the sharp jaw line.

Avraham looked around. They’d been standing there for quite a long moment. Avraham was the only human there, but the angel said it as if he was commanding attention. “Here I am” replied Avraham. It was the correct answer to the divine call of one’s name.

Continues after the break.

“Take your son,” the angel continued.

“My lord, I have two sons.”

The angel looked at him, seemingly for the first time. “Your favorite one”

“Begging your pardon, my lord, I do not have a favorite,”

The angel looked a bit annoyed. Avraham tried to find Israfel’s eyes in the assembled. Israfel was looking down and wringing his hands.

“The one that you love, then,” said the angel, frustrated, looking at his companions with indignation.

Before Avraham could protest, Israfel shuffled meekly to the head angel and whispered in his ear.

“Yitzak!” Said the frightening angel as Israfel returned to his place at the back of the small formation.

Avraham nodded.

“Go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that God will point out to you.”

A burnt offering? Yitzak? Surely this was a mistake. God had never requested human sacrifice. Never. Avraham searched their faces. There was nothing there but cold indifference. His eyes found Israfel who averted his gaze. Avraham thought he saw tears in Israfel’s eyes.

“It is a test.” The center Angel declared. The others broke out in polite applause.

Avraham choked back a sob.

x

Aziraphale paces in the Judean night. He mutters softly to himself. “Surely Gabriel misunderstood the Almighty. Human sacrifice?”

“Alright, Aziraphale?” growls a familiar voice.

Aziraphale spins quickly, surprise and relief on his face. “Crawly! Oh, dear. You’re here. Tell me, do you know Avraham?”

“Hmm, I do. I convinced him to tell people his wife was his sister,” the demon grins. “Twice, actually.”

“You what?” The Angel stares in disbelief.

“Well, I -“

Aziraphale cuts him off. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter, look, Gabriel’s delivered a ‘test.’ Avraham is meant to offer his son as a burnt offering.”

“Ngk.” Crawly scoffs. “It wasn’t enough to send my side to kill Job’s kids. Now She’s making them do it themselves?”

“Oh, I don’t think She wants the boy killed. I can’t believe that.”

The demon looks at him, eyebrows raised over wide eyes. “I mean,” Aziraphale stammers, “I’m sure She told the host to test Avraham. Part of the ineffable plan…” he falters… “oh, Crawly, I feel just awful about it. I was the one who blessed Sarah so she could have a baby at all! She was 90 years old!” The angel meets the demon’s eyes, forehead creased in worry, “I’m supposed to accompany Avraham to Moriah. And report back on the results of the test,” the angel wrings his hands.

The demon purses his lips. “I could come along and try to thwart you, I suppose,” he says nonchalantly, looking away from Aziraphale to punctuate his indifference.

“Oh, would you?!” Aziraphale smiles, starts to reach for the other’s hand, thinks better of it, and clasps his own hands together.

“I’m a demon,” Crawly says, shrugging and suppressing a smile, “it’s what I do.”

“Quite right,” Aziraphale beamed. “Avraham will be taking two servants on the journey to Moriah. We leave in the morning.”

“Right,” says Crawly, looking around. “I’ll disguise myself. Not sure old Avi will be glad to see me again. Shall I be Bildad the Shuhite, once more?”

“Oh, yes!” Aziraphale beamed. “I quite liked Bildad.”

“Good. That’s settled, then.” With a wave of his hand, Crawly conjures a small campfire and settles himself on a small boulder, which conveniently scoots itself near the fire. “Might as well get comfortable.” He gestures for the angel to sit on a miraculously placed second rock. “I trust you don’t mind if I have some wine,” the demon is pouring wine from ceramic jug into ceramic cup, neither of which were there moments ago. When the cup is full, he sets the jug down near his feet, between himself and his companion.

“Would you like a taste?” the demon quickly glances at the angel who sits on his rock, straight-backed.

Aziraphale looks at the cup in Crawly’s hands. His own hands are clasped tightly together in his lap. He doesn’t answer.

“In my opinion, it’s better than ox meat” the demon says quietly, not looking at Aziraphale as he takes a small sip. The angel makes a barely audible “oh” and Crawly tries not to smile. He slouches into his rock, robes pooling around him, and sips again, rather more audibly than is strictly necessary. He smacks his lips in satisfaction.

“Surely it wouldn’t hurt to taste it,” the angel says quietly, “to know what the fuss is about.”

“Surely,” Crawly repeats back, seriously. “It is your job to understand humans, isn’t it, Principality?”

“Quite right,” Aziraphale nods. His face quickly clouds. “You aren’t tempting me are you?”

“Aziraphale, we’ve established angels can’t be tempted, haven’t we?” Crawly is already pouring wine into a newly-formed second cup. He holds it out to his companion. “You’re doing your job. You’re understanding humans and their experience, so you can better serve Heaven…as far as you can.”

Crawly doesn’t wink as Aziraphale tentatively reaches for the cup.

“Well, just one cup. To know what it’s about.”

“Of course,” says the demon, “just one.”

Several hours later, the fire is mostly embers. Angel and demon share conversation and silence by turns.

“What’s with the name change?” Crawly asks, apropos of nothing. “I thought Avram was a fine name.”

“Oh that!” The Angel brightens, “that was my idea, actually. I thought a new name would help really convey the new relationship between the human and the almighty.”

“But it’s so close? Why bother with such a small change?”

“My dear Crawly, sometimes the small changes are the most profound, don’t you think? It was the almighty Herself who suggested adding a letter from her NAME for Avram and Sarai’s new names. I thought that was delightfully clever.” Aziraphale wiggles happily and looks into his cup, which should have been empty hours ago, given all that he’d drunk. Finding it still half full he smiles into it and takes another sip.

Crawly brows knit together. “What did you say just then?”

“What, that the almighty is delightfully clever?”

“No, no, before that. Something about small changes.”

“Hmm, yes. Small changes can be the most profound.” Aziraphale takes another sip of his wine. “This is quite pleasant,” he says, pointing to the cup. “I don’t know why I was so averse to it.”

Crawly doesn’t respond. He is now sitting on the ground, using his rock as a backrest, and sprawling in impossible angles. His foot waves absently.

“I say, Crawly. Are you listening?”

“What? Oh.” Crawly refocuses his reptilian eyes on the decidedly tipsy Angel. “Of course I’m listening. This is Pleasant. You are Averse.”

As the sky lightens, Crawly sobers up. Aziraphale watches with bleary eyes and, after one failed attempt (and a rather loud passing of wind), the angel manages to expel the wine from his corporation.

x

With the breaking of dawn, Avraham saddles his ass and takes with him two of his servants and his son Yitzak. He splits the wood for the burnt offering, and he sets out for the place of which God had told him.

They set out in two pairs, Avraham and Yitzak flanking the donkey and Aziraphale and Bildad following behind. Yitzak tires after several hours of walking. He’s only a boy, after all, and not used to this kind of exertion. Bildad offers to carry some of the donkey’s pack so Yitzak can ride. Avraham looks at him with gratitude as the redhead shoulders a heavy pack. When Yitzak falls asleep in the saddle, Bildad helps Avraham tie the boy into his perch so he won’t fall out and get hurt. They walk on either side of the beast keeping an eye on the sleeping figure as it sways above them. Their talk about goats and sheep eventually turns to Avraham’s sons. Bildad smiles as Avraham tells stories about the boys making one another laugh and generally making mischief. Aziraphale walks quietly behind, smiling to himself.

In the evening, after Yitzak and Avraham are asleep, Aziraphale and Bildad sit by the fire and drink wine.

As the night drags on, Bildad sinks lower and lower in his slouch until he’s lying on his back looking up at the sky. Aziraphale glances over at him and then up at the night’s sky.

“They are beautiful from here.”

“Hmm? Wassat?” Crowley rolls his head drunkenly toward the angel.

“The stars,” Aziraphale says, pointing and looking up, “they’re beautiful.

“Are they?” Bildad asks, wistfully.

“Well, look at them!” Aziraphale replies, breathless, “they’re gorgeous.”

“Tell me,” Bildad turns all of his attention on Aziraphale. “Tell me, Angel? Please?” His voice is quiet, wistful.

Aziraphale stares back, incredulous. Bildad looks expectantly over the rims of the dark glasses. Aziraphale meets that golden gaze and his breath catches. “You can’t…you haven’t…all this time” he whispers, trails off, looks up at the sky and back to Bildad.

Bildad waits, watching, inebriated but patient.

“Well, I…” Aziraphale looks away from Bildad’s face again and lies back, fully prone. He discreetly wipes away tears. “There are so many of them.” He starts. Bildad settles back down, face toward the stars he cannot see. “From here they appear as white lights, twinkling and sparkling. They are pin pricks in the darkest black,” Aziraphale points, “right now I can see the Milky Way just there, and the Argo Nevis skimming along it.”

Bildad smiles and sighs. He closes his eyes and listens as the angel describes the constellations.

x

The second day of travel, Aziraphale and Avraham walk together talking quietly as Bildad and Yitzak walk ahead with the donkey, playing games and laughing.

“Surely God doesn’t want me to actually hurt him,” Avraham whispers so only Aziraphale can hear.

“Yes, well. It is not for me to know what God wants,” Aziraphale whispers back. “This is meant to be a test, but be not afraid.”

“Be not afraid? I’m afraid, Israfel. I’m very afraid,” Avraham’s whisper edges toward anger. Bildad looks back at them and quickly looks away.

“Shh,” Aziraphale places one hand on the patriarch’s arm. “It’s a test, and surely there is more than one way to pass a test. We will figure something out.”

Avraham allows himself to be placated. Israfel has that effect. He doesn’t know how this will be alright, but he trusts that the angel doesn’t want to hurt him or his son.

The afternoon is spent in silence, all four travelers tired and lost in thought.

x

On the third day, Aziraphale hears the heavenly trumpet and sees a beam of light streak on to a mountain in the near distance. He points it out to Avraham who looks up and sees the place from afar. Avraham sighs, frowning.

“You stay here with the donkey,” he says to Bildad and Aziraphale. “The boy and I will go up there. We will worship and we will return to you.”

Avraham takes the wood for the burnt offering and gives it to his son Yitzak to carry. He himself takes the firestone and the knife; and the two walk off together.

Before they’ve walked more than five paces, Yitzak says to his father Avraham, “Father!” And he answers, “Yes, my son.” And he says, “Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

Avraham looks back toward the two man-shaped beings with the donkey. He finds Aziraphale’s eyes as he replies, “It is God who will see to the sheep for this burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walk on together.

Aziraphale and Bildad tie the donkey to a tree, and follow father and son. They blink themselves further up the mountain. They watch the two approach, careful to remain unseen.

“So the test is whether or not Avraham is willing to kill his kid, right? It’s about the intention, not the, um, execution?” Bildad cringes at the pun, his attention fixed on the two figures walking up the side of the mountain.

“Well…that is to say…the instructions were less than explicit” Aziraphale replies. “But, yes, one could argue, that it is the intention, the willingness, that is being tested.”

“Hmmngh” Bildad scoffs.

Between the humans and their watchers, a shaft of sunlight illuminates a spot in Avraham’s path. Avraham builds an altar there. He lays out the wood. Crying, he binds his son, Yitzak.

“Father, what are you doing?” Yitzak’s eyes are big with confusion as fear creeps in, but he does not resist his father’s hands.

“May God forgive me,” Avraham whispers as he lifts his son and lays him on the altar, on top of the wood.

With tear stains on his dusty face, Avraham picks up the knife to slay his son.

“Surely he’s passed the test!” Bildad hisses at his companion with urgency bordering on desperation, “Stop him, Angel!”

“He’ll need a substitute offering,” Aziraphale spits it out quickly and strides toward Avraham, hand outstretched “Avraham! Avraham!” He calls out.

“Here I am!” Avraham cries with relief.

With a wave of Bildad’s hand, a ram appears. As it wheels in confusion, its horns catch in a thicket. Its nostrils flare and its eyes widen with fear.

Bildad places a hand on the animal’s head. “You don’t deserve this,” he says, “I can’t save you, but I can make sure you don’t die afraid.” The animal’s breath settles. Bildad slinks away, hiding behind an outcropping of rock.

Below him Aziraphale is radiating a full body halo. He’s turned on all the theatrics.

“Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.”

Avraham backs away from his son who stares in disbelief at the knife. They make eye contact, and Avraham knows he and Yitzak will never be the same. He looks down, away from his son, and resists the urge to curse God.

When Avraham looks up, his eye fall upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Avraham goes and takes the ram and offers it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Inspired in part by this post about the significance of Crowley’s name.