#sometimes I do bookbinding

[n7punk]

does anyone have a link to personal (aka no special machine needed) bookbinding/bookmaking resources? i’ll probably just research it on my own but i KNOW there’s a perfectly written out tumblr post on it or a great aggregate of resource links

[headphonemouse]

Everyone look at my mushroom notebook I love it very much

[simply-sithel]

Bound Clean by olivieblake on request for a fan.

Accidentally used 28lb paper 😰 never again! Oak gal base on edge of pages- you can see some air bubbles interrupted the marbling of the fore edge but the black base makes it not-so-bad. The green tint to the marbling was completely lost to the black however. Win some/lose some. 

[blujayonthewing]

I don’t want to give up any of the active campaigns I’m in but I do sometimes think about how much more creative stuff I could do for DnD if my attention and energy wasn’t divided in ten different directions

[ostreatus]

Ficbinding: Wake Me Up To Say Goodbye by ZombieRed

This was my first ever multi-signature ficbinding project! It was a birthday gift for the author, ZombieRed aka @redead-red with artwork by @emotigonecreative used with permission.

The fic is Wake Me Up To Say Goodbye, created for the @invisobang Danny Phantom Big Bang 2021. It has 23345 words, which when typeset was ~120 pages; I bound those in 5 signatures. The font used was Showcard Gothic for the title and chapter titles, with Malgun Gothic chosen for the body text. The pastedown features cute ghosts (of course!) and the bookcloth is a nice shade of green I thought matched the Danny Phantom colour-scheme throughout.

I consulted the ficbinding tutorial How to Make a Book by @armoredsuperheavy for typesetting and formatting tips as well as Bookforms: a complete guide to designing and crafting hand-bound books by the Center for the Book Arts (2019).

I learned a lot through this process and am very, very pleased with the final results! :D

Additional progress photos and notes under the cut:

Since it was my first project I used what I had on hand (I wanted to ensure it would arrive sometime in the birthday month, COVID and other postal delays accounted for). I bought bookcloth and book boards; otherwise, I got a bit creative with my materials, which included Tacky Glue, a relatively strong sewing thread, and yes that is bias tape used for the spine tape reinforcements.

I’m pleased with the way I prepared the book boards and cover, and the neatness of my corners!

I’ve since ordered additional supplies from my local bookbinding and paper shop (which I’ll have to go pick up sometime this week when they’re ready) but all in all I’ve got the bug now. I have a couple of colleagues at work who do bookbinding (professionally or for a hobby, including book repair) and they were delighted to see me interested in the skill, so I have mentors at work if I need them!

I’ve done a pamphlet-style single-signature works as well, and am typesetting another -- but I definitely want to do more.

Happy birthday, Red! Congratulations to you and emotigonecreative on 1000+ kudos and a really awesome fic (I don’t even go here and I loved your fic, and it made me really nostalgic for this show!) You and your artist make a heck of a team.

[theskeletonprior]

It has come to my attention that the cool kids make introductory posts these days. I have many names, but you can call me Harrowben (“Harrow” or “Ben” for short) or Prior, if you feel so inclined. One time I wrote a text post that got quite a ways out of hand. The Basics

30s. They/them. He/hymn. Biracial. Nonbinary. Polyamorous. Skeleton. Exceedingly married. BA English Language and Literature. Perhaps but probably not actually Guillermo del Toro.

What I Do

I’m a bookseller day-to-day. I’m also (slowly) learning to bind books. Sometimes, I even try to write them. Occasionally, when the mood takes me, I also write fanfiction. I like to make digital layouts for books, and dabble from time to time in tabletop game design. Books are my whole life.

What You’ll Find

Many queer and trans things. My OCs are all queer in some way or another. Transmascs. Transmascs everywhere. Ramblings about original work and characters, skeletons (of course!), bookbinding, and book arts, spooky nonsense, nature being its beautiful terrible self, monsters and the people who love them, that sort of thing. I do reblog fandom things from time to time, chiefly when the aesthetic vibes well with mine, or when the brainrot becomes too severe to contain. If you need anything tagged, feel free to reach out, anon or otherwise. It’s important to me that my blog is as safe and comfy as it can be.

What I’m Working On

My major ongoing project is The Bishop of Black, which is a high fantasy web novel that I’m writing with my husband. It’s about two kingdoms that have been at war for centuries, trapped together inside a magical barrier, a healer embroiled in deadly court politics, and of course, the mysterious Bishop of Black, who is not all that he seems. You can check it out on Patreon, if you like. I’m also working on RAVENOT, a dark fantasy novel about a skeleton knight who ventures into places where the living can never go, to safeguard the balance between life and death. You can read the first chapter here for free!

Links: AO3 | Instagram | Ko-Fi | Twitter

[myeclecticjourney]

Book Of Shadows

Hi guys! As I'm hoping all of you had an amazing 2021, and hopefully a wonderful 2022, I decided to post once again.

It has been honestly quite a ride and a while since my last post. I've been dealing with a lot of stuff lately and thought it might be a really nice way to start this 2022 with a post about my BoS. Some witches believe you shouldn't share it, but I don’t find anything negative about sharing knowledge. I'm hoping some of you find it useful and might get some ideas from it. I know that sometimes it might be hard to figure out what to write on it. As a Mexican witch, most of it is in Spanish, but you'll get the idea :). 

I've been thinking on starting a series of blogs about it, so here’s the first one: “BoS: Useful Information”  

✨ Long post with pictures.

So this is my Book Of Shadows. I bought it a few years ago at a small book shop in Tallin, Estonia. I fell in love the moment I saw it. The store it's called "GILD Bookbinders" all of the journals are handmade. Later on I drew a pentagram with white paint for protection. You'll see a lot of the things I've posted in here in my BoS. I tend to write everything down before or after making any magic. 

JOURNEY

The first few pages are dedicated to the beginning of my journey. The Wiccan rede and the witches creed. When I wrote them I really didn't knew what path I would like to take. But a few months later, I found myself being an Eclectic Wiccan. 

SABBATS

6 years ago, as I began doing my first research about Wicca, I came up with the Wheel of The Year, that consists of 8 different Sabbats. I wrote a small description about each (I’m only showing two pages, but there’s a few more). That way I would always remember the associations, colors and dates. Nowadays it comes way easier, but it's nice to have them in there.  

CASTING A CIRCLE

I normally cast a circle every time I'm doing magic. For protection, cleansing or blessing materials. Wrote about the elements, how to invite them and what things I can use to represent them. For example: Salt = Earth.

CANDLE COLOR MEANINGS

One of the first things I learned was to use the power and energy of candles. I dedicated these two pages to label each color with a small description. 

MAGIC WAND

I was eager to have a magic wand when I started. So I wrote about what I would use it for, how would I use it, and how to bless it. Tho I never found the right one, until probably two years ago, I decided to make my own. It took me 4 years to have one, lol. But now it's perfect.

PENTAGRAM

As part of my research, at some point I encountered the inverted pentagram. I didn’t knew what it was, nor it’s uses. Later on I discovered it was the Sigil of Baphomet. Used, mostly, in satanic rituals. Even tho I have never used it and probably never will, I thought it was really interesting to have it in my BoS and the compare it to the Wiccan pentagram. 

THE MOON

I love the moon. I use it so much in my witchcraft. It’s full of positive energy that we can always relay on. I wrote about the moon phases and what do they mean. Then dedicated some pages on how to make Moon water and Moon oil.

SYMBOLS OF WICCA

As a baby witch my biggest struggle was remembering the symbols, so I decided to draw some of them. There’s one more page to this section. Here’s also where I keep an envelope with the meanings of the runes aswell (I’ve talked about this on one of my first blogs on Tumblr). 

So this is pretty much to my first post about my BoS. I think it covers a lot of useful information that might be needed at some point. As a witch I think it’s important to do plenty of research before doing any kind of magic. 

I really hope you liked it!

I think next post of this series might be about herbology or deities 🤔.

Image source: My camera 📸

Blessed be,

- May xo.

[askaalaska-vdeppressed]

Tender Love and Care Part 10

Master List

Yeah I know I just posted a chapter yesterday. And? What about it? You gonna look a gift horse in the mouth?

As it turned out your heat had resolved itself by the next day. Things around the keep were… not as awkward at you had expected them to be. Everyone had found out about the two of you by the time you showed your faces at breakfast the next morning. You had sat down with your porridge, staring down at it, refusing to look at anyone else at the table near you. You felt the table shift slightly as someone sat directly across from you. You hazarded a glance up, eyes connecting with your brother. He sends a small smile your way. His eyes sparkling slightly. You had discussed your feelings for Eskel with him the week before. Jaskier was happy for you. The joy in his eyes at seeing you evident of that.

He then had to ruin it by cocking his head to the side and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at you. You wanted to reach across the table and smack his shoulder, but the damn thing was too wide. You sent a small jolt of magic under the table at him, giving him the fairy equivalent of a kick to the shins. He straightened up right away, giving you a glare.

Breakfast commenced with casual conversation, everything seeming to fall back into place from before this all started. You took up your space in the library once more. Realizing you were probably more a seamstress at this point than a bookbinder. Now in charge of mending the clothing of five men. The morning past without note. As afternoon rolled near there was a knock at the library door, your beloved standing there. An odd pile of blankets and pillows in his arms.

“Please tell me I don’t need to mend all of those” you remarked from the desk you were perched on.

“No, no” Eskel said, placing the blankets down in your usual spot near the fireplace.

“I just want to uhhh” Eskel stammered for a second.

“Well, I’ll show you.”

He began to unravel the pile, pulling a bottle of wine and some dried fruits where they had been stashed inside. He then set out to rearrange the blankets, trying—and failing—to recreate your nest from before. He stacked pillows onto one side, sitting with his back against it. He then playfully patted the spot next to him for you too join. A small snort came out of your nose at the childish patting and smile that took over his face. It felt so good to see Eskel smile. To know that that smile was always going to be a permanent addition to your life. You made to move your way over before he stopped you.

“Wait, get a book first.”

“What book do you want me to grab?” You leaned your hand on your hip.

“Whatever you want”

You walked over too the rows of books, skimming a finger over the spines. You landed on an old collection of short stories. Making your way back over to Eskel and settling yourself into his side. He grabbed some pillows and used them to prop the book onto his chest so you could both see.

You spent the afternoon in bliss reading with him.

The next several weeks had been heaven. You would spend your time fixing books, chatting with Jaskier and Vesemir while the boys trained. Eskel always insisting on spending lunch with just the two of you. Sometimes you would read. Others you would listen to each other tell stories. Sometimes you would just sit and look at him. The way the sunlight would illuminate the smile lines in his skin. How it played in-between strains of hair. If Eskel staring at you lovingly in the sunlight was the last thing you saw, you would die happy.

It had been such a normal day when it all fell apart.

You had gotten up that morning invigorated, deciding to bake something for the boys since they would be inside most of the day. And nothing was better than the smell of baking. To a fae or human. The cookies you had made were almost cooled when Lambert came up to you. Grabbing one quickly before you could protest, not that you had planned on it.

“What’s the special occasion? You’re one month anniversary or something?” He mumbled out through the mouthful of baked goods.

“No, I just thought you would all appreciate something good to smell while you were inside” Lambert grabbed a few more before you stopped him.

“Save some for your brothers” You scolded. Walking off to resume your work in the library. Lambert’s eye’s saddened as you walked off. You were so sweet. Too sweet to lose.

His brother would be crushed when you eventually died, and Eskel was cursed to outlive you. Lambert made it a mission to talk to Eskel about it. Not before taking all your cookies and stashing them in a jar in one of the kitchen’s many cupboards. Mischief in Lambert’s eyes. His brothers can’t miss out on something they didn’t know was there.

The boys had been in the lab. Vesemir taking stock of the potions and ingredients, having Jaskier take notes. Jaskier had no clue what he was writing down but he was glad to help. Geralt, Lambert and Eskel were also down there. Supposed to be cleaning, however it was more an excuse to have an easy day off of training. Lambert was leaned against a wall inspecting an unlabeled jar. Geralt was trying to fix some sort of grinding tool. Eskel was wiping down shelves.

“So you’re sure you’re alright with this then?” Lambert asked, head directed toward Eskel.

“Alright with what?”

“Being mated to a mortal” Eskel paused in his actions, letting his shoulders droop for a moment.

“I’m confident in y/n. She’s not fragile and she’s a hell of a lot smarter than any of us.” Eskel moved to put a bottle back on the shelf.

“We will be fine” Lambert nodded, tsking before looking at his brother once more.

“You know I only mention this because I’m looking out for you, but you’re aware it’s all temporary.” Lambert got himself off the wall and walked closer to Eskel. The older man having stopped cleaning completely and stared at the shelving before him.

“Humans only get so long, there not like us. I just….” Lambert looked off to the side a moment, his eyebrows creased.

“I just want you to be prepared when it all ends”

Jaskier had been half paying attention to the conversation behind him. Feeling the angst roll of the brothers in waves. He threw a hand up gesturing to the Witcher’s behind him.

“Oh stop with the moping y/n’s probably going to outlive you anyway.”

“What did you say bard?” Lambert growled from behind him. Jaskier realized a second too late that his wording may have been a tiny bit insinuating to Eskel’s abilities as a Witcher. He spun on his heel only to be met with an angry Lambert stalking towards him. Jaskier quickly put his hands up in defense.

“No no that came out wrong. I was just saying that since she’s fae and all your lifespan’s probably shorter than hers and you’ll die before her anyway.” The words came out of Jaskier’s mouth in rapid succession. Someone unadjusted to the fast talk may not have been able to make out what he said. But the Witcher’s were more than adjusted.

  The room ceased all activity. Every pair of eyes directed at Jaskier. All waiting for a clarification that would never come.

“Y/n’s a fae” Eskel’s voice was small, his brow furrowed, eyes pleading for answers to the confusion.

Jaskier slapped his hands over his mouth, eyes going wide. The scene could have almost been comical if it weren’t for the bombshell just dropped.

Eskel walked briskly out of the room, intent on reaching the library in record speed. He sped through the halls quickly. Foregoing his usual knocking for ripping the door open. You were stood at your desk, arranging the pages of a book back into order. You glanced as Eskel was entering.

“Is it lunch time already I must have…” You sentence petered off as you took notice of Eskel’s intent stare and labored breathing.

“What’s happened, what’s wrong?” You came out from behind the desk stopping midway between it and Eskel.

“Are you fae?” Eskel asked, his whole face devoid of emotion.

“Eskel I don’t-“

“Are. You. Fae?” His words more emphasized this time. You didn’t back down from the intimidation, however.

“Yes I am. Is that a problem?” You asked confidently, not breaking eye contact with Eskel.

“Is that a proble- yes it’s a problem! I’m a Witcher y/n I kill monsters you-“

“Oh so I’m a monster now?” You felt anger well inside of you, jaw tensing in anger.

“Don’t put words into my mouth.” Eskel retorted.

“Oh no do go on, I want to hear what you’re going to say here Master Witcher” you had known the residents of the keep may not take it well but you had never expected this.

“Y/n I’ve seen fae trick and kill. I’ve had to kill them.”

“Humans trick and kill too Eskel. I thought you out of everybody would understand that people are more than what they seem.  I don’t see why your so upset over this.”

“I’m upset because you lied to me y/n”

“I never lied to you” You tsked “You never asked.”

“Oh come off it with the semantics.”

“It’s not semantics Eskel. I never said anything because you never asked.” You pursed your lips. You weren’t just angry at the situation anymore. You were angry at Eskel. It was anger that fueled your next comments.

“So don’t go trying to pin this on me Mr. “Simple Witcher”, it’s not my fault you have the observation skills of a rock and the wits of a stone.” You knew it would sting. Your angry reassured you that that was the intention.

“Yeah” Eskel said, dipping his head down before lifting it once more and starting again.

“Well at least I don’t have to pretend I’m something I’m not because I’m some freak that my own people apparently don’t want.”

You bit down hard on your cheeks, trying to focus on keeping your emotions at bay as you stormed off. Once behind the safety of your room’s door you let the tears spill over. Gripping onto your sides as you slid down the wall. Curling in on yourself.

How did it end up like this?

The next few days were miserable. Your fight with Eskel having split the castle’s residents into three camps. Geralt who was solely on Eskel’s side. Jaskier who was solely on yours. And Lambert and Vesemir who couldn’t choose between two people that were meaningful to them. Though Vesemir still slightly favored Eskel and Lambert slightly favored you.

Much like your heat you did not leave your room. Jaskier being the only one to come up and give you company. If it was an alright day you would spend the time writing or reading while he worked on songs. If it was a bad day you would spend the time crying desperately into his shoulder. He has assured you to give Eskel time. That he just needed time to cool down and think rationally for a bit. This had given you a glimmer of hope to cling to. That this whole ordeal was just a growing pain and soon you could return to falling asleep in your lovers arms.

You figured four days was enough time and Jaskier had agreed with your sentiment. The evening of the fourth night you went out in search for Eskel. Creeping around the keep in hopes of bumping into him. Luck was on your side as you found him fairly quickly in the armory. You knocked against the doorframe as you entered. Shyly standing in the doorway and hand coming up to rub your arm.

“Snows uh really coming down today huh?” You said, giving a small laugh to try and ease your nerves.”

Eskel did not look up from where he was bent over a work bench.

“Get out”

“Listen Eskel I just want to-“

“I said get out y/n”

“Eskel if you would just hear me out i-“

“What part of leave do you not understand!” Eskel’s voice boomed in the walls of the armory. He had turned to face you but it was not the gentle face of your alpha. His brow furrowed, lip in a snarl as anger radiated off of him.

You held your breath for a moment before turning around a walking out. Seeing the anger in the eyes that not so long ago held such love breaking your heart. Breaking wasn’t a good enough term though. The hands you had entrusted your heart too had let go and let it fall. The whole thing shattering on the ground in a million wishful pieces  

Taglist

@writingmysanity @ab-haya @just-a-sad-donut @seidenbros @deliciousblackfatcat

[castielofchitaqua]

A labor of love, or: hand-binding Map of the World

I first read this fic sometime in the beginning of December of last year, which felt cosmically and comically appropriate: a story about the end of the world during the last month of what felt like, for a lot of us, the end of the world. But it was a hopeful story and something about the relentless optimism to keep fighting, to make the world around you not just survivable but a world in which you wanted to make an effort to try and live in was, well, timely. I don't think this story could have possibly fallen into my lap at a better time and it struck something in me that I think I'll be carrying for the rest of my life.

If anyone has talked to me about anything in the past seven months, there's a good chance Down to Agincourt has come up, in some way or another. I'm always thinking about it, and aside from talking nonstop about it, I haven't really been able to give back in any meaningful way to touch what this story has meant to me, so I decided, why not take my amateur budding interest in bookbinding and make it a reality?

(more images and rambling below.)

Some other people have already typeset manuscripts and generated books through a printing service, but I wanted to do this from the ground up. I even bought a laser printer for the job. So I typeset the story, printed it out, folded and sewed together all the pages and then built the case. There were plenty of bumps - for one, I didn't take into account that space was necessary between the boards and the spine when initially gluing them together and the boards came up far too short. I had to tear off the silk spine cloth and recover the boards with paper, but it worked out in the end.

If I were to do it again, there are things I would change, undoubtedly, but I think it came together pretty nicely in the end, all things considered. I'm pretty fond of the visual gag with these endpapers, for starters. Above, the beginning of the book; below, at the end.

I even started construction on a pocket folder in the back for this antique map I snagged off etsy, but I was worried it would get stuck if I closed it off on both sides, so for now it's more like a folder.

Anyway, this project was an undertaking and I learned a lot by doing it. I plan to do the rest of the series and already have papers picked out for them, though I think I'm going to focus on The Game of God, next, just to have it in my hands. It isn't done, yet, of course, but it will have to be several volumes in and of itself, so I've got time to work out the divisions.

Seperis, if you do see this: thank you for writing this story and sharing it with the world. It means more to me than I can properly articulate, so hopefully these photos will do some justice. I was actually going to contact you to see if you wanted this copy, but it has many flaws and I've become sort of weirdly attached to it. But I would be more than happy to make you another copy, if you'd want it.

Some detail shots and close-ups to follow.

[nicecream]

Question about ur bookbinding: ive done blank journals before but i cannot figure out how to get printed stuff in the right order. Are you manually editing pdfs? is there an easier way? (please tell me theres an easier way than manually editing pdfs)

hi! yes i’m manually editing them. it’s not the easiest way but it gets the best results.

if you don’t want to do that you may find this video tutorial for printing pdfs helpful: https://youtu.be/EGuED0m51lc

if you decide to typeset it yourself here’s what i did, using libreoffice: start by copy/pasting the entire body of text, then style it, then format for print. i followed this doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Boa-vauo-Sig10zuqAVpA3fuOPPFsVNiV-gSkmcCE0s/edit i would say page numbers are absolutely necessary so be sure to add them, although you may want to exclude them from title pages, table of contents, etc. so set them to a different page style than your main one/s (you can either have just one for simplicity’s sake or left and right styles which can also help with assembly).

either way, printing and assembly goes like this (this is for at-home, have no idea how this would work if you used a copy shop):

-make sure you know what size paper you’ll be printing on. i used 8.5x11 because it’s simple. it’s important to know the difference between a sheet of paper and a page, because with this technique (which is the one i used and the one in that video) 1 sheet holds 4 pages, since they’ll half-sized (5.5x8.5) and double sided.

-you don’t print the entire book at once, you print one signature at a time. i did 24 pages per signature, which was printed on 6 sheets of paper (twice, since they’re double sided). to do this open the print menu (i’m talking specifically about libreoffice but most editing and reading software is similar), type in the “pages to print” as 1-24 (to start), set it to “booklet” or “brochure”, and “flip on long side”. (i’m not sure whether it’s libreoffice or my printer, but i had to rotate it in addition to flipping because the second side would print facing the other way). if you did it correctly, you should see that the page on the top of the stack has two very far apart page numbers (1 and 24), and the one on the bottom has page numbers that are right next to each other (12 and 13). and remember that title pages/table of contents/etc sometimes make the page number inaccurate/not literal so be sure to figure out if you need to adjust for that.

-the next signature is pages 25-48, then 49-72, 73-96, 97-120, and so on. be sure the keep them in order with paper clips or alternating the orientation you stack them in (like in the pic i posted). you might end up with a bunch of blank pages at the end of the very last signature because it has to be a multiple of 4 (if you’ve ever wondered why mass-produced books have that, that’s why). i think it will adjust for those blank pages automatically if your document doesn’t have the right number of pages, but if you’re editing it yourself i would add in the number of blank pages you need to be safe.

-now on to folding them. i start from the bottom of the stack (12 and 13) and work to the top (1 and 24), with each new sheet wrapping around the one before it (the second sheet should have both the previous page and next page from the pages on the other side of the first sheet, which i think would be 10 and 15?). when you’re done 12 and 13 should be facing each other in the middle and 1 and 24 should be on the outside. repeat for all the signatures, make sure their last page (24) goes to the next signature’s first page (25), and then you’re ready to sew them together

i think that’s pretty much it. it’s definitely confusing, i had some trial and error before i figured it out. once you crack it it’s a great skill to have so i’d suggest continuing to hunt for instructions until you find some that make sense to you (like i watched sooo many youtube tutorials but what finally made it click for me was 2 sentences on the adobe help forums)

[lordoftherazzles]

ALSO! You should do the dinner scene of the new Bookbinder chapter from Nori and/or Dwalin’s POV. 👀👀

Hey look I'm finally posting this!!

This was in response to a Wednesday Word Play where you write a scene from a different POV. AND, doing this for a Wednesday Word Play to write a new character/ship/etc that you've always wanted to try.

Two word plays, one stone!

It gave me an excuse to get off my ass and finally answer this ask, so without further ado, have some Nwalin (primarily Dwalin POV) from Chapter 7 of Bookbinder//Songwriter!

Dwalin had tried to warn Thorin that weaseling in on he and Nori’s dinner date for Valentine’s was a recipe for disaster, or at least it was likely to be one knowing Nori’s cheeky behavior. However, being the absolute best friend that he was to Thorin, Dwalin was doing his part in ensuring some of that tragedy never came to light. He didn’t mind Bilbo, and he certainly liked seeing his best buddy in high spirits, so it was an effort he was willing to make.

Which meant a chat with Nori before the two lovebirds ever showed their faces.

“I’m begging you, please act like…I dunno, a normal human being tonight?” Dwalin huffed a bit, swirling his glass of water around as he eyed those coming and going within the restaurant.

“You’re begging me, hm?”

Dwalin’s gaze shifted to the side to catch a glimpse at Nori’s shit-eating grin, and nothing about Dwalin’s expression seemed to shift from that neutral look it had. “It’s their first Valentine’s together and I get the holiday is a bunch of shit, but it’s kind of a big deal, I think. We like this one, remember.”

“Yes, I know. Not that was a high bar to reach to surpass the last man of Thorin’s life. Thrandumb Oropher was a fellow with poor taste, even for me. Really bendy though, if you want my opinion.”

“I don’t want your opinion on him whatsoever.”

“I will be on my best behavior, but if there’s low-hanging fruit, you know it’s only natural for me to grab at it,” Nori chimed in a sing-song voice as he leaned against his boyfriend’s arm. “It will be a fun night, I promise and don’t worry so much. Thorin does enough of that for all of us.”

With a small sigh of acknowledgment to Nori’s words, Dwalin finally spurred a small grin, leaning into Nori’s touch against his arm before the two special guests to join their dinner table just stepped inside the restaurant.

==========

Low-hanging fruit was always something Dwalin had to watch out for it seemed. While the evening had gone primarily well, there was always the hiccup or road bump that seemed to cause a little pause within the conversation. Small comments from Nori, a bit of blushing from the two across the table, and Dwalin felt more like a third wheel than anything, even if he was one quarter of this double date thing happening.

He was watching from the sidelines, just waiting to have to grab Nori by the scruff and haul his ass out, but no such moment came. Perhaps it was foolish on his part to assume that this meant they could relax. All of them were chatting a bit over wine and poking a little fun at how Thorin and Bilbo had met. The exact details of the story were still rather hidden. No one knew why, but Nori was currently needling in on that to try and fish out as many details as possible.

It was harmless, mostly.

“Yeah, and I hope he learned a lesson on showing up late to practice,” Dwalin huffed, amused in tone as he eyed Thorin and Bilbo from across the table as a grin was sneaking across his own lips at the memory. “Though it wouldn’t be the first time I’d tossed his ass into a dumpster.” Sometimes those punishments were deserved, and sometimes they weren’t even remembered, it all depended on the bullshit of the hour. In this case, Thorin didn’t show up late to practice and didn’t have to end up picking garbage out of his hair. A lesson learned.

“Just taking out the trash, I see!”

And that’s when Dwalin’s sense of comfort and ease at the dinner table began to melt. It was like placing a challenge down on the table, just ready for Thorin to pick at and he knew it. Side eyeing his boyfriend for a moment and noticing that very impish look, Dwalin wasn’t sure what to say to get them back on track–Thorin had spoken up far too quickly in unknowing retaliation.

Every good relationship starts with an interesting story, and yadda yadda, Dwalin wasn’t listening as he rolled his eyes and tried to focus on the expression of both Nori and Thorin, wondering just when that particular volcano of agitation was going to erupt. Sometimes it was a curse to be far too knowledgeable about their tell-tale signs in expressions. Nori always got a particular sparkle in his eyes when he was ready to make a verbal leap, and Thorin’s eyes always seemed to darken to something deep and thunderous like rain clouds whenever he was ready to go for the kill.

There it was, that mischievous little sparkle that had Dwalin straightening up in his seat some with his hands resting behind his head.

“Nori I wouldn’t–”

But the other man just kept going. Nori even went so far as to bring up a piercing that had….an embarrassing tale to it, which made even Dwalin pause!

Watching Thorin fly out of his seat and ready to leap over the table–if not for Bilbo’s interference–Dwalin reached over and latched a hand onto Nori’s thigh with a death grip to keep the auburn-haired menace seated.

“I want my bill.” And there went Thorin, stomping off and looking like a mess of embarrassment if Dwalin didn’t know any better.

Fixing Nori with a glare and removing his hand, while Dwalin could admit that this could have been a lot worse, Nori clearly didn’t know what ‘best behavior’ truly meant. “Great job,” Dwalin hissed.

“What? He never talks about these things and it’s nice to know he’s being taken care of, yes?”

“You have zero tact.”

Though as attention shifted to Bilbo, noticing the blushy look the newcomer was wearing, it didn’t seem as if he was completely put out by everything that had been said. Dwalin knew more than he was letting on about Thorin and had an inkling as to why it had bothered his best friend so much. It wasn’t so much the content as it was…well, the actual doing. It had been a fleeting conversation, what with Thorin asking for advice on how to properly approach the subject of intimacy and what not with Bilbo, but it seemed that both Thorin and Bilbo were of the same mind, but having issues getting to that point. Well, at least they were on the right track, and then Nori had to open his fat mouth.

“Well, to be honest…that was something I wanted to approach with him tonight, you know? Not just because of the holiday but…you know, I just wasn’t sure when the right time would be after the utterances I’ve heard about his relationship with Thranduil.”

“Oh, Bilbo, I don’t think you need to worry about anything. Thorin knows I love to jerk his chain, but if you want to jerk something else, I’d say he wouldn’t complain–ouch!”

Dwalin wasted no time in jamming his elbow into Nori’s ribs with a scowl.

“If it helps, he’s been considering the same thing. He even asked for advice. I don’t think he liked my ‘take him in the bathroom before dessert’ suggestion though,” He chuckled lightly. “It was a joke, but in all honesty, don’t compare yourself to Thranduil. All I ask is that you treat him right.” And now the ‘best friend’ voice came out. “I should have snapped that platinum blond twig long ago, so don’t fuck it up.” It was one of many threats that entered Dwalin’s tone whenever he spoke to Bilbo, or around Bilbo, or that had anything to do with the nerdy little book lover. Like Nori had said before, it wasn’t a high bar to reach when it came to Thorin’s choices in men in comparison to Thranduil, but by god, Dwalin would not see his best mate destroyed by yet another heartless piece of shit. Thankfully, Bilbo truly did seem above that.

Thorin had returned with a box, and a paid bill and was leaving without so much as a proper goodbye, not that anyone could blame him, but as the table was abandoned, Dwalin flagged down their server to take care of his portion of the bill.

“You really couldn’t keep your mouth shut tonight, huh?” He grumbled a bit before feeling a pinch at his leg. “Don’t try and weasel out of the doghouse, man, did you see Thorin’s face?”

“I did, but did you hear what Bilbo said? They’re both pining for it, and so now that he knows, perhaps that really good fuck will become a reality.”

Dwalin sighed. There was some truth to Nori’s words, but it would be foolish to admit as such. Nori would never let him hear the end of it otherwise.

“I want Thorin to be happy too, you know. Sometimes it takes a none-too-gentle push to get someone there. He can deck me at band practice on Thursday if he still has any of that pent-up agitation left by then. I did them both a favor.”

“You’re gonna apologize.”

“What?” Nori practically screeched, eyes wide and latching onto Dwalin’s arm. “Like, genuinely? Or in a ‘sorry for bringing up the piercing’ way?”

“Genuinely, or you’re on the sofa tonight. Might be nice having the big bed to myself and not being latched onto by a little gremlin all night,” Dwalin teased, but there was some sternness to his voice as he finished signing off on the bill and removing himself from his seat. “Just say sorry, and you’re out of the doghouse.”

“And into your bed?”

“I’ll allow it.” Leaning down and pressing a raspberry of a kiss to the top of Nori’s head, and earning a hissy fit in retaliation, Dwalin was sure that the night wasn’t totally ruined due to a vulgar mouth. So long as Thorin got some form of apology before Thursday’s practice, that’s all he cared about. Besides, would he have actually kicked Nori out of bed for tonight? Probably not, it was one of the few places where Dwalin didn’t mind Nori’s vulgarity.

And it was Valentine’s Day, after all.

==========

“How does this sound? ‘Hey, sorry for bringing your dick into the conversation. Happy Valentine’s Day.’”

“Try again.”

“Too late, already sent it.” Nori was in high spirits regardless of being halfway in the doghouse, but it was an attempt at a truce at the very least between the bass player and bandleader. No doubt the topic of conversation later in the week would be interesting. “If he doesn’t reply within the next ten minutes, I can only assume my theory was correct.”

“Which was?”

“My prodding and finally making Bilbo open up about his intentions was just the push they both needed to finally do the deed. I bet they’re having a really great time.”

“You better hope that’s what it is, or Thorin’s still gonna wring your neck.”

“Trust the process, Dwalin dear, I know exactly what I’m doing here. I’m sure we’ll hear something about it on Thursday, or at least you will, and then you can share with me the juicy details.” Nori pinched at Dwalin’s arm as they pulled into the drive of their shared, and very small, home. “Now, there’s a card waiting inside for you–”

“It’s not another ‘my dick springs forward for you’ card is it?”

“Even better! Now run along, I’ll be right behind you.” Likely in more ways than one if Nori had it his way.

“You’re a fucking menace,” Dwalin grinned after putting the car in park, leaning over to press his forehead to Nori’s in a small loving gesture that the two both delighted in, soft as it was. “But I love you anyway.”

“I know you do, just as I love you, Dwalin dear.”

[messengerhermes]

How to Change Your Suit

Content Warning: This post discusses coping with suicidal thoughts (also known as suicidal ideation)

I'm gonna speak from experience here. Suicidal Thoughts (ST) show up in my life when I find myself feeling trapped in my life rather than living my life. This started in childhood for me and over time I've learned to recognize these feelings of hopelessness and being stuck as indicators that my metaphorical suit isn't fitting anymore. It is helpful to realize "oh, I don't actually want to burn this suit, but I definitely don't want to wear it as it is anymore," but it's also daunting. After all, I put so much work into that suit, and people in my life have helped me get that suit to how it is, and now I'm saying I don't like it? Who am I to reject a perfectly good suit? And also, where the hell do I even start in changing it? What if I change it and I still hate it? Darlings, your suit is yours. If it does not fit right, if it's scratchy, if it doesn't suit you, you have the right to transform and play with it a hundred times over to find a style that fits. And you don't have to do it all at once. Especially if you're finding yourself in the pit of depression when your bones ache and all the world tastes like ash. As always, take what works from this post and leave what doesn't, but here are some of the guidelines I keep in mind when I start to notice my suit not fitting:

Assess things by categories: What are the parts I am happy with in my suit? What are the parts that bother me, and how do they make me feel? What things are internal (a thing that comes from within me, ie my thoughts, my skills, my emotions)? What things are external (my living situation, support system, job/school, et al)? Make note of things I want to keep and things I want to change.

Start Small: It's a lot easier to swap out the buttons on a suit than replace the lining. Looking at my "stuff I want to change" section, I come up with "fast, medium, slow" changes I can make. For example, if I'm unhappy about my appearance, a fast change is buying myself clippers and cutting my hair how I want, a medium change might be phasing out wardrobe items that I no longer like and introducing new ones, and a slow change might be exploring HRT. Some items may be solved in a single quick fix, some may be slow fixes that you switch up halfway through. The point is to get yourself to think of these things as changeable instead of fixed in stone.

Invite others into the process: I get this is scary as shit and your mileage may vary on this. Others does not have to be your family of origin. It can be friends, it can be found family. If you have access to counseling in some form, whether group or individual, that can be a huge help. It can be looking up online support groups for depression, for an identity you would like community around (parenting, gender, divorce, neurodivergence, et al). Having access to places where you get to share about struggling and wanting to change, and also witness folks sharing about their own paths, helps break down isolation and create spaces for mutual care. You are not in this alone.

Seek out new additions. Sometimes the tricky part about feeling stuck in your suit is feeling something is missing, but you aren't sure what. This is where I start writing down all the shit I've wanted to try and what the barriers are to me trying it. Once I have my list, I repeat steps two and three. For example, I've felt ashamed of envying cosplayers who could make their own costumes for years. I had a sewing machine from childhood, and a couple years ago, I looked up free patterns online, bought some clearance fabric, watched a fuckton of videos, and sewed my first dress. Now sewing is a big part of my creative life. On the flip side, as a teenager, I got curious about bookbinding. So I checked out some resources from the library, looked at some blogs, stitched a couple books from dollar store sketchbook paper and lost interest. But I still enjoyed bookbinding when I was doing it, and it was not a waste to learn it. Explore things where you feel called to, let yourself pick things up and put them down. Engage in community, online and in meatspace.

Create a space of security. This is another tricky one, particularly if you're in an abusive environment or one where you don't have a lot of control. Maybe your safe space is not where you live. Maybe it's a swing at the park. Maybe it's a forgotten corner of the library. Maybe it's a cafe. Maybe it's inside your journal and between a pair of headphones. Maybe it's a playlist. But, whatever sense of security you can build for yourself, prioritize spending time in that space even for just five minutes a day.

My suit has looked so many different ways throughout my life. At times, I've felt like it would never fit right again, or would never be anything other than a joke to other people. And maybe some people would find my suit funny. But my suit belongs to me. I have the right to make it what I wish and to use whatever agency I have to transform it how I please. Everytime I have the urge to burn it, I pause. I consider who stands to benefit from me hating my suit, from me hating myself. I consider what radical power there might be in becoming. I will not throw my suit or myself away. I will remake us, as many times as we need. I hope you snatch your suit from the fire, every time. I hope you keep making something new with it. I'm excited to see what you will do. Again and again and again. I know they'll be brilliant.

[celestial-sphere-press]

About me:

Hello! My name is Desmothene, or Des. I'm a fanbinder, and a member of Renegade Bookbinding Guild! (@renegadeguild) What this means is that I have sworn myself to Renegade Publishing's Code of Conduct in how I conduct my binding practices.

I mostly bind works of fanfiction for myself and their authors (and sometimes as gifts). If you're interested in learning how to bookbind for fannish purposes yourself, please check out Renegade for free help, resources, and community!

If you are an author who previously declined a copy and have changed your mind or your situation has changed, feel free to reach out at any time! Any offers to send an author copy remain open indefinitely. All author copies are a gift and do NOT require any form of payment, including shipping, from the author.

I do not accept fanbinding commissions (or commissions of any type at this time).

I have two imprints: Celestial Sphere Press, and Canis Sanguine Press. The '#celestial sphere press' and '#canis sanguine press' tags will get you my work for those imprints. Videos and how-to discussions are tagged with '#in progress review'.

Bound Fics by Fandom (due to tumblr screwiness, these will include reblogs of others work in the fandom):

Star Wars

Star Trek

MXTX

Temeraire

Bleach

Naruto

Good Omens

The Witcher

[spockandawe]

i saw that you don’t accept money for book binding so how does your process work?

Can someone request a book binding and do a different form of payment??

Ahh, I can see how that would be a bit ambiguous. The long and short of it is that I don't accept commissions! I make books sometimes for friends, so like, my two friends and I have been following this one star wars fic for a while, and whenever it finishes, I'm making them copies as well as myself. and if a fic absolutely blows my mind, I'll sometimes reach out to an author and offer them a copy. And very, very occasionally, I'll reach out without plans of my own to offer authors hard copies of their work.

My main priority is that I bind what I want, when I want to! My secondary priority is that for writers doing hard creative work for free and publishing online, getting physical copies of their work is upsettingly expensive, and is extra inaccessible for anyone who's obviously writing fanfic. And my background priority is that I don't know how much it comes through online, but I am deeply socially anxious, and simultaneously deeply vain and deeply insecure about my own skills in any creative arena. The idea of some form of commission where I am beholden to a customer's tastes and satisfaction, where I will have to negotiate as to what my work is worth... it sounds absolutely unbearable, I would Die.

And also, let it be said that I feel nothing but sympathy and support for people who have to participate in the gig economy to make ends meet, or who have to choose between that and thankless underpaid labor, but I am also wildly uncomfortable with the increasing commodification of hobby spaces. It's not an issue I have with individuals, including the ones who take commissions! But it's like the knitting dot com nonsense, where econ bros are looking at a craft field with a long storied past and a history of a strong gift economy going hand in hand with a money economy, and seeing a soft target they can use to teach other econ bros how to rake in the dollars. Aggressive marketing, hustle culture, and being territorial over skills and brand image isn't so much a thing in tumblr bookbinding circles, afaict, but I hear weird shit about tiktok sometimes, and twitter periodically gets ugly too. I have enough dollars to live on, so I have made the deliberate decision to avoid making this a job. It's the equivalent of me and my tablet, drawing whatever nonsense I feel like, or occasionally asking my friends if they wanna see art of any particular ships.

That being said!!! Lemme point you towards the renegadepublishing tumblr, where you can find a list of affiliated bloggers, some of whom do take commissions (those should be marked on the sheet). These crafters are fantastic, the blog is fantastic, I highly recommend following it and checking out the artisans it puts on your dash. And because this is a hobby, like yarn arts, where mass produced goods have skewed expectations of the cost of handmade ones, the blog also has a document with resources for getting your bearings on trying the hobby yourself. I am escalating with time, because I am on a constant search for novelty and challenge to make me feel less dead inside, but it's possible to experiment with bookbinding without digging a huge financial pit. And especially if you were a Book Kid, like I was, the delight of holding a book that you just made in your hands is absolutely indescribable, even if you messed up, even if you glued it in upside down, even if the cover boards are crooked. I recommend this hobby so strongly.

[fanoftheimagines]

Elsa’s Song

Elsa’s Song

Pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Reader

The Amazing Devil Writing Challenge

Reader Gender: Gender Neutral

CW: death, no dialogue

Word Count: 301

Summary: Geralt visits your grave.

A/N: This was not my proudest work, but I wrote it.

Masterlist

The Amazing Devil Writing Challenge Masterlist

GIF: https://yenvengerberg.tumblr.com/post/670860633231736832

Geralt stood in the blossoming green field on the hill – your and his hill. An old, decaying headstone stood at his feet. The engraving had long faded. It’d been a long time since he’d visited you. That regret had always sat heavy in his chest whenever he so much as thought of you. He twisted the colorful ribbon tied to his wrist – your old hair ribbon. The way you screamed when he died still haunts his dreams sometimes. And as you bled out in his arms, you’d begged him not to forget you. And as long as it had been, he’d planned on keeping that promise.

The wind blew his hair into his face. A fleeting memory crossed his mind. Where you held his hand and told him you loved him. He’d been stubborn then – told you that you were wrong. That love did not exist for him, that monsters like him had no feelings. No matter how many times you’d say the words, it didn’t change anything. How he wished he could go back and change it all.

Geralt sighed and squatted to pull some of the rotten, dying flowers from around your headstone. He’d planted sage and lilies and roses around the stone years ago. Always forgetting forget-me-nots, which he knows you would’ve found humorously ironic. They were all plants you’d loved in life. Plants to remind him of the life you once had. The life you’d once had together.

He looked out on the horizon, just watching the sky. You would’ve loved the view he’d given you from your old spot on your hill. The sky was painted with the beautiful warm red hues of the sunset. He reached out and touched your headstone – a way of goodbye. He’d return, keep his promise, he would not forget you.

Do not copy to another site. Ask for permission before bookbinding. I EXPLICITLY FORBID ANYONE FROM FEEDING MY FICS TO AI. All rude comments will be blocked and deleted.

Buy me a coffee?

[tciddaemina]

an index for filtering purposes, direct from your favourite procurer of counterfeit copper ingots

any original posts and asks are tagged [te talks], while anything that’s more extensive, along the lines of fic resources/analysis/headcanons is tagged [actually just gonna shove a whole book in there].

all fic writing can be found under [my writing], while my original fiction can be found on [the gods-bound] sideblog. what else? ah, most big series of mine have their own tag as well, so like anything relating to come all ye mighty can be found under [rise of the shining towers]. 

i do [fic recs] sometimes. i’ve also recently been getting into bookbinding for the purposes of binding my own fics, so i have a tag related to that under [fanbinding]. look there if you want peeks at my typesetting projects and where i’m up to with actually printing things.

if i don't answer an ask immediately, i'm sorry, i'm just terrible at checking my inbox on tumblr. ps, you can also find me on wordpress, or like, you know, go read my stuff direct on ao3. heads up that most of my fics are currently used locked, but if you ever want to read something and can't get access dm me and i'm happy to unlock it for you 🦑