#i just googled 'affine'

[b0tster]

how many people have asked "is it *really* psx if you're using floats?"

because i love the artstyle but the lack of low-precision warbling is a bit offputting, adding it with, like, randomize verts would solidify it for me imo

nice passive aggressive comment dipshit. also, ur wrong. maybe actually pay attention to the video before making that pathetic attempt at showing off the fact that u googled 'psx vertex jitter integer based' once ☺

[gaydryad]

had the desire to draw Fancy Outfits and it got out of hand, and so I now present : the full pantheon of my novel’s world, in matching (ish) outfits !

the Excuse behind which is that this is from right before Universe (center) (They/Them) finished reviving Life (right) (she/her) and Death (left) (he/him) and therefore decided to put Their kids in outfits that They thought were suitable

[harukapologist]

after discovering this game less than a month ago, me at any point in time: man i wish I was playing limbus company rn

[opencommunion]

this call was released anonymously (understandably) but my local Palestinian organizers who I literally trust with my life have endorsed it, and it seems to be gaining momentum in multiple cities, so I encourage you all to get involved:

"A proposal to coordinate a multi-city economic blockade on April 15th in solidarity with Palestine recently received overwhelming commitments to participate around the US and internationally.

The proposal states that in each city, we will identify and blockade major choke points in the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation with the aim of causing the most economic impact, as did the port shutdowns in recent months in Oakland, California and Melbourne, Australia, as just a few examples.

There is a sense in the streets in this recent and unprecedented movement for Palestine that escalation has become necessary: there is a need to shift from symbolic actions to those that cause pain to the economy.

As Yemen is bombed to secure global trade, and billions of dollars are sent to the Zionist war machine, we must recognize that the global economy is complicit in genocide and together we will coordinate to disrupt and blockade economic logistical hubs and the flow of capital."

ETA: since I posted, organizers in St. Louis, Seoul, Brussels, and the Netherlands have signed onto the agreement, so if you saw this before and your city wasn't listed look again. anyone with the capacity to do some outreach, and a few connections to start with, could take the initiative to bring their city or region on board. read the solidarity agreement and check out the resources, and if you know trustworthy people in your area who might be interested in this sort of thing, talk to them about it.

remember that this isn't a series of protests (although some cities are organizing protests in conjunction), it's a commitment to take mass direct action and to maintain a united front in the face of any state repression. many organizers are (and have already been) using an affinity group model to actually coordinate those direct actions. autonomous groups can take action on April 15th whether or not others in their city/region have committed to this agreement. just do your homework (look up know-your-rights info specific to where you live + general direct action safety tips) and take good care of each other Blockades: a short guide to getting in the way Basic blockading Practical Protest Techniques: using your body Blockading: a guide ACT UP civil disobedience guide

[rathayibacter]

Ok so how does one MAKE a tabletop game because this is something I want to try!! Are there good references out there for non-d20 systems or how to balance mechanics yourself?

oooh, hell yeah! honestly the big thing is to just do it, unlike board and video games the gap between idea and execution in ttrpgs is incredibly narrow, so if youve got an idea just start writing stuff down and see where it starts pulling you, where it feels like something's missing, find what excites you and what you feel isn't working. but that's not very specific, so let's get into it!

first off, read games! read weird games! there's tons of free ttrpgs on itch, lots of people sharing their work here and on other social media, there's 200 word rpgs here and here, and lots of system reference documents written specifically for people looking to hack games. reading other games is a great way to enrich your work whether you're building systems from scratch or working in an existing framework, because every game you read will show you a new way of approaching design problems.

on that note, draw inspiration outside of ttrpgs too! i pull a lot from video, board, and card games in my work, as well as poetry, novels, movies, etc etc etc. im autistic, and ive spent a lot of my life thinking about and dissecting unwritten social rules, so that's another big source of material for me. take your passions, whatever they may be, and put them in your work!

next up, think about the core of your game, sometimes called the minimum viable product. this is whatever the fundamental idea at the heart of your work is, and it's important to keep in mind because it keeps you from spiraling down unnecessary tangents. the core of your game can change, don't get me wrong! in fact, it likely will. what you want to do isn't prevent your work from growing and changing, but have a point of light you can always refer back to and ask "is what im doing important to this game?" you might be surprised by what you find isn't actually as important as you thought at first, and what turns out to be vital to the experience you're going for.

next up, once you start working, don't throw things away. if youre working in a word processor or google docs, it can help to have a section at the bottom of your document that you copy anything youd otherwise delete into. i do the same with my Affinity documents, ill have a few pages i dont export to store all my scraps. i know other folks who keep a dedicated scraps document that they use across projects. whatever works for you! the reason you do this is twofold: it makes it easier to cut things if you know you can always put it back later if you change your mind, and it gives you a lot of raw material that you can pull from in the future. months or years from now, you might find yourself looking to fill a gap in a new design and realize that some cool toy you set aside is exactly what you were looking for.

lastly, i wanna strongly encourage you to practice finishing things. that's often the hardest part for people, cuz we have a lot more experience starting projects than finishing them. here id like to once again direct you to 200 word rpgs, because that strict limit means you wind up with a finished first draft really quickly, and the rest of it is polishing and editing. once you've finished some bite-sized projects, you'll have a better idea of what it entails, what parts you're good at and what parts you struggle with, when to keep working and when to cut yourself off. i find it really helpful to add arbitrary limitations and deadlines on my work because that helps me push myself to finish something when otherwise i'd just keep adding and tweaking, but you'll find what works best for you!

[canon-in-too-deep]

Free Typesetting Template (Letter Folio)

So while I try to get some designs set, I thought I'd clean up and share the template I use for typesetting!

Templates save lots of time, and let me keep 'tools' where I like 'em. Free template here on my google drive ✨.

(As with all my stuff, Personal Use Only!) This file is for Affinity Publisher ONLY. I highly recommend getting Affinity Publisher if you're doing a lot of typesets and want a high degree of control over details. It has most of the features of Indesign, and far more capabilities than Word or Google Docs. There is a learning curve at the start, but overall it is a great program for typesetting and is a one time purchase, versus a subscription like other services. Please note, this template is set for my own personal preferences, and I always adjust it according to the text I'm working on. You can make whatever changes you want to suit it to your needs; I just included the normal settings I tend to use. See below the break for template details! (How to use/notes)*

This template is sized for half letter pages.

140% Leading, 11pt Font Size (Body Text)

The baseline grid is set for these exact preferences. If using a different font size/leading, I change these to match and play with the text boxes for 'Master Body' to make them look nice.

The template has the text boxes set up for where I usually insert text, copy, and headers/footers. I usually fill these out with the relevant details, and adjust the placements and sizes as needed.

I put X down where I usually write my name/imprint. The copyright page has a lot of blank space because I like to include my personal logos on there.

Main text gets copied and pasted into page 9, then flows into the rest of the pages.

The paragraph and character styles I use are all included.

Very important, after pasting in your text, go to Find and Replace, and turn all italics to 'Emphasis' character style to preserve them.

'Body Divider' is how I include dinkuses.

'Special' paragraph styles are for when texts have things like letters or songs included.

Typically, I use 'Chapter Heading' + 'Chapter Character' for chapter titles, and set a table of contents on page 7 using these settings.

You'll notice that on page 9 I have a text box that links into the Master Body pages. This is my sort of 'test' page for chapter titles. I can freely change the size and layout on this specific page. I move it around based on what design I come up with, then copy that design into my 'Master Chapter Heading' spread to apply to the rest of the chapter title pages.

At the very end of a file, I'll usually put in a colophon. This is not in the template, but it's just a blank page at the end with my stamp and notes on the size of the typeset and what fonts I used. *I don't have a fully written tutorial at this time, but I recommend joining Renegade Bindery's discord, where a lot of very talented people have shared their tutorials, and provide very helpful live answers. Edit 9/20: Tutorial post here!

[greenhorn-art]

All The King's Horses | As You Are Now, So Once Was I by @samwpmarleau (grumkinsnark)

All The King's Horses [LiveJournal ch1] [Fanfiction.net ch1]

As You Are Now, So Once Was I [LiveJournal ch1] [Fanfiction.net ch1]

Fandom: Supernatural, Criminal Minds

Rating: Teen | PG-13

Category: Gen

Words: ~36,192

All The King's Horses: Protect and Serve. Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity. To what lengths would you go to uphold those oaths? When it comes to a particularly brutal and unsolvable case, the BAU just may have to resort to some more unorthodox methods. SPN/Criminal Minds crossover.

As You Are Now, So Once Was I: Sequel to "All the King's Horses." When Dean catches J.J.'s press conference on the news about a current case and notices a few...inconsistencies, he realizes the BAU is definitely going to need his help. Again. ON HIATUS

About the Book

FORMAT: Letter quarto, flatback bradel binding, french link stitch, no tapes

FONTS: EB Garamond [via Google Fonts], Supernatural Knight [via DaFont], D-Din [via Font Squirrel], Daniel [via DaFont], Permanent Marker [via Google Fonts], Arial

IMAGES: Seal of the FBI [via Wikipedia], Dean's handprint scar [by greenhorn-art]

MATERIALS: 24lb Xerox Bold Digital paper (8.5"x11"), 80pt binder's board (~2mm), 30/3 size waxed linen thread, embroidery floss (DMC #721), 1.9mm cording, brown cardstock, black Cialux bookcloth, gold foil transfer sheet (came with We R Memory Keepers hot foil pen)

PROGRAMS USED: Fic exported with FicHub, word doc compiled in LibreOffice Writer, Typeset in Affinity Publisher, imposed with Bookbinder-JS, title pages designed in Affinity Designer/Photo

.

I first read these stories on LiveJournal back in 2013, some time after I first encountered Tumblr, Supernatural, and the wider world of online fandom. Once I discovered SPNxCriminal Minds crossovers I devoured so many of them. Something about POV Outsider on the Winchesters, the existing connections with investigating monster vs human-crazy cases, and run-ins with the FBI... it's just works so well.

Of all the SPNxCM fics I read and enjoyed, All The King's Horses is among those that bookmarked themselves in my brain. Since it's been living there all these years, I thought it deserved a place on my bookshelf too.

(Rambling below)

Sourcing the Fic

I used FicHub to download the fics off of Fanfiction.net as HTML. Then I pasted them into LibreOffice Writer and created rich text documents of each fic, so I could Place them into Affinity Publisher.

The stories were crossposted, first on LiveJournal and then Fanfiction. I included the metadata from both sites in the appendices.

(It's fascinating to see the differences in the same work between platforms. FFN requires genres, so if the author doesn't add them on LJ then by default there's more info on FFN. But FFN limits listed characters to 2, so authors have to pick and choose the most important. Then there's the author's amusing disclaimers and spoiler warnings for these fics, which are only included in the LJ version)

Shoutout to the author for how they linked/listed their accounts on other platforms! Thanks to that I was easily able to track down all the tags/metadata for the fics, and find them here to express my appreciation for their stories!

Typesetting

Fonts

EB Garamond is my new favourite body font, 11pt as per my usual.

The title page is entirely Arial: 1) it was the closest match I have to the case file prop I was copying, and 2) if it was a government doc they wouldn't be using anything but the most basic fonts.

Headings and the the bullets bracketing the page numbers are set it Supernatural Knight, a free font in the style of Supernatural's title.

The location segments are in D-DIN, the closest free match to the font Criminal Minds uses (which is probably DIN).

Daniel is used for Dean's 'rushed but legible' note.

Permanent Marker for the 'thick black Sharpie' case file labels.

Artwork

Title pages designed as FBI case files, copied from a prop found online (specifically Etsy's propfictionstudios', but it's all over the web so no idea who actually created it). I had fun plugging in all the fanfic/bookbinding meta!

The ID# above the author's name is the FFN story ID, and the date is the date originally posted on LJ.

The handprint used in the headings of ATKH is Dean's scar. I traced off of a screenshot from s4e01 Lazarus Rising. I chose to use the handprint instead of the anti-possession tattoo or a Devil's Trap as my SPN art element because 1) it's specific to Dean, and 2) indicates/reminds that the story is not set during the season 3 Agent Henriksen/FBI arc.

Grabbed the FBI seal off of Wikipedia.

Construction

Both fics typeset and printed separately, then sewn together into one book. Title page for the sequel was tipped in like an endpaper prior to sewing.

Endbands sewn with orange embroidery floss (DMC 721) around 1.9mm cording. I chose orange because Dean's being in jail brought to mind the orange prison jumpsuits Sam and Dean wore in s1e19 Folsom Prison Blues.

Black bookcloth for the cover, like the Winchesters' beloved black '67 Chevy Impala. (I'd wanted a Supernatural reference to balance out the Criminal Minds-ness of the FBI case files).

I'd originally planned to make lineart of the front of the car, and have it stretch across the bottom of the cover (maybe even wrap around to the back). Even found a useful reference to trace [from here], but it didn't look as good as I'd hoped. Instead I reused the FBI seal and swapped out its text with the titles.

(The effect of shiny foiled FBI symbol on small black book reminds me of one of those FBI badge wallets!)

The foiling process was an unnecessarily long and gruelling affair. My laptop served as a massive power bank for the hot foil pen as I spent 2hrs ever so slowly tracing the image, and then 15mins on the author name and touch-ups. Did it need to take so long? Moving slowly, pushing down hard, going over everything at least three times? I'm sure it didn't. BUT I did not want to chance peeling up the foil to check how I was doing and risk shifting it. It was worth it in my books (haha) ‒ I feel giddy and kick my feet like a schoolgirl whenever I see it!

New Things

Used 24lb paper for the first time, and I love it! It's a little thicker and heavier then regular 20lb printer paper, feels more substantial.

The page numbers & running/section headers are along the outer margin, instead of in the header/footer. This was my way around Affinity's buggy-ness regarding pinning things inline in master pages. (More about that below). If I had been thinking, I could have formatted them like the tabs on a file folder and cut the textblock to match. Oh well, the things you notice once it's printed 😔

This time I also started new chapters/sections using text flow & paragraph spacing settings, instead of using a master. As always, there are pros and cons.

Pro: much faster and less involved. (find chapter start, apply paragraph style VS working from the end cutting text, inserting a frame break, unlinking frames, inserting new pages with master, relinking, pasting, and adding chapter title to a different text box)

Con: images need to be added manually (whether by adding image directly, or by applying a master with the image). I forgot to do this for the second fic, so only ATKH have Dean's handprint scar.

Difficulties Encountered

Affinity Publisher is fighting me on pinning things inline on master pages. They like to disappear on regular pages I've applied the master to. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it only works on some of the pages. Idk what's up. (The bullet character only faces one way so I had use textboxes, flip/mirror one, and pin them inline to the page number).

So instead of having page numbers in the footer, bookended left and right by text boxes with Supernatural Knight's bullet, I put it vertically down the side.

Updated Publisher and all my paragraph styles' fonts changed/went funny. Something to do with the update's variable font support, I think. What was previously 'EB Garamond' regular, was now something along the lines of 'EBGaramond-Regular' which isn't a font. Issue seems to have ironed itself out in my original (near-complete) doc while I was busy remaking it. 😐

On the bright side, the update brought QR code generation to Affinity!

[riririnnnn]

As I mentioned in my post earlier:

His cuff (that thing around his neck) is near transparent which gives us a lot of room to ponder since we don't exactly know what this chain even represent.

Taking Hiori as an example, let's suppose the chain represents the burden that holds back someone's true ego.

His cuff being transparent gives us two things:

1. It might be plastic which doesn't really make any sense if I were to be honest.

2. It is glass which makes a lot of sense because how's glass? Hell yeah, my geniuses, glass is really fragile which completely fits into what he said:

Further, in that volume cover, he has pulled down his collar which puts a lot of spotlight into his blue rose tattoo, and we all know what that tattoo symbolises for Kaiser.

In case you don't remember: Kaiser got this tattoo as a reminder to himself to never fall back into his weak mentality because Blue Rose symbolises the achievement of impossible, and he saw it as an example to turn impossible to reality since Blue Rose, itself, is artificial and defies the natural order.

What is said above can be found with a quick Google search:

But what grabbed my most attention is this panel:

WHY?

If he only wanted to push the soccer industry to despair, then why he is adamant about winning the Champions league and the World Cup?????

Also, contrary to popular beliefs, I don't actually think Kaiser has a superiority complex because, look:

What Chris said could be considered as an exaggerated way to rile someone, but isn't this, indirectly, exactly what Kaiser says after the Manshine City match ended?

Kaiser said something along the lines of, "BM's main character is Noa and it's impossible for me to be the current number one, that's why I came to NEL to use Isagi as a way to increase my value." He even went as far as to say that he is a secondary character in BM because BM is Noa's team.

I don't think so that anyone with superior complex will admit such real facts.

Further, why did he got so angry when Chris said those things? Isn't someone bound to be angrier if the other one was to point out their obvious weak point? So, does this mean, Kaiser actually got an inferior complex?

I'm not a psychologist, so I'm not dwelling too much into it.

However, there is another thing I want to point out:

So, because of that spreadsheet/official art of a very damaged soccer ball beside Kaiser's foot, the Fandom widely believes that Kaiser was poor while growing up .

BUT!

Being poor as a backstory has already been used three times: Naruhaya Asahi, Noel Noa, and Lorenzo Don.

I understand that in any sector with a lot of money and/or fame, there are many people who come from a poor economic background, but this is fiction, baby. No author wants anything be repeated to the point it feels overused.

That's why, I highly believe that Kaiser was either bullied or mistreated by his seniors when he started playing soccer which explains that he practiced fucking hard that the soccer ball was damaged, and also his supposed hatred towards the soccer industry. It also explains his long, unkempt hair because he was too indulged in practice.

OR!

It goes a bit darker, so proceed with caution:

Soccer somehow destroyed his family's peace just like the brotherhood of Itoshi brothers.

I may write about others in another post, but in this post, I would like to think that the person who destroyed his family's peace was his own father. It could be that his father was a soccer player himself and due to some circumstances, he fell off the soccer industry which took a toll on his mental health, and he started physically abusing either Kaiser, his mom or both.

Why physical abuse? Because Kaiser is shown having an affinity to choking.

If we get our minds out of the gutter, then there have been instances when he choked himself because he was frustrated. Also, didn't he say that he stroked his rose tattoo as a good luck before matches and compared it to, "as if tightening a noose," or something.

That's why, I kinda think that, AT LEAST, someone has choked Kaiser as abuse/bullying.

I'll rant about the above thing in another post tomorrow or some time later because I don't want this post to be too long, and also because I'm hungry af.

.

.

.

I remember a vivid dream when Kaiser threatened me to join BM.

[peppermint-moss]

'title page' assignment for my graphic novel illustration class! At this point in the semester I was itching for some text and panels haha so I incorporated the title into the last panel C:

feat. my beloved Candle Light and her mother Hazel! and Sergeant Green. Zahrati means 'my flower' in arabic; or at least that's my intention anyway, google gave me some conflicting answers (so if anyone knows arabic and wants to confirm or deny I'd appreciate the knowledge! Hazel speaks egyptian arabic specifically, if that's important info)

also I tried lettering this in affinity designer (equivalent to adobe illustrator) as I heard that was a typical professional comic process; I'm glad I tried it but in another assignment I did the lettering right in clip studio paint and that went much easier and felt I had more control over the speech bubble shapes... But augh i just wish CSP would come out with a spell check feature!!! I like typing the text right into the program orz

commission info || ko-fi (tip jar)

[bluejayblueskies]

Do you have any advice/suggestions for getting into bookbinding? What is the process like if you don't mind sharing?

Hello! Very happy to share bookbinding advice/resources 💜 it's a wonderful and delightfully rewarding hobby, and while it can be complicated and easy to get stuck in the weeds with it, you can also get started with some really simple binds with materials you may already have around your living space.

Info below the cut:

First off, there are a lot of instructional videos and guides out there for bookbinding. My favorite YouTube channel for those just starting out bookbinding is Sea Lemon, who has a ton of instructional videos for various styles of bookbinding. Her method of explaining things is clear and concise, and she tends to work with simpler tools and materials that don't cost much and that you may already have on hand. She is not a professional bookbinder with professional tools (afaik) but in my opinion, that's perfect for a beginner because it's not as overwhelming and has a much lower barrier to entry. Perusing her channel and watching a bunch of videos was where I started before even picking up tools to start my first bind.

Another guide I highly recommend is How to Make A Book, by ArmoredSuperHeavy. This is a wonderful step-by-step guide for taking a fic from AO3 and turning it into a book. The most helpful part of this guide, for me, was the typesetting instructions. Typesetting is the act of taking a piece of text (eg. a fic on AO3) and formatting it in the correct way for printing and binding into a book. Note that this guide is specifically for MS Word, though you can also typeset in Google Docs, Libre Office, Affinity Publisher, InDesign, and other programs (even LaTex!).

(Pro tip: save yourself the headache of trying to use Word's bookfold option and just set your document page size to the page size of your finished book (if you're printing on letter paper, this is 5.5" x 8.5") and then use this software to put your pages in the correct order: https://momijizukamori.github.io/bookbinder-js/)

A final resource that I recommend, but that can also get a bit overwhelming, is the Renegade Guild Bookbinding Discord. It's a space specifically for people doing fanbinding, and there are a ton of resources within it, including typesetting guides for various softwares, guides for where to get the tools you need and which tools are best, and people who can answer any questions you may have along the way. It's gotten quite big since I joined, and it can be overwhelming since there's so much information available and so many people who have been binding for a while and thus often offer up solutions or advice that's hard for beginners to understand, but it has never failed me when I've had a tricky question that I needed answered that I couldn't find information on anywhere else.

All that said, here's some more advice from me when just starting out!

Start with a simple bind. A single-section pamphlet bind is easy, cheap, and quick. Here's a Sea Lemon video for how to put together a pamphlet bind.

If typesetting seems intimidating, you can bind blank notebooks. This is also a good way to practice new binding styles if you don't want to go through the hassle of typesetting, imposing, and printing for something you worry you might mess up.

A good word count range for fics when you're learning how to bind case-bound books (ie, the typical hardcover books you see in stores) is 25-50k. Shorter than that, and your books will be thin and a bit fiddly to work with. Longer than that is probably fine, but it will be a quicker process for a thinner book, which is nice when you're just starting out. (And then you don't have to worry about rounding and/or backing, which can be complicated.)

There are very, very few tools that you absolutely need to make a book. There are quite a few tools that will make your life easier, or that will make your book look nicer, or that will make your book last longer, but when you're just starting out (especially if you're trying to minimize cost or deal with space constraints), you can forgo a lot of "required" tools. I'll include a list below of the general bookbinding tools you'll want and some substitutions for them.

You might hear talk about the grain direction of paper or bookboard. When you're just getting started, don't worry about this. Once you get more comfortable with the bookbinding process, then you can start ensuring that your bookboard has the correct grain direction (parallel to the spine) to reduce the warping of your covers. The grain direction of your textblock paper matters the least, and I didn't start using "proper" textblock paper (ie short grain) until about 2.5 years after I started binding.

Bind something you like! Pick one of your favorite fics and bind it, even if it's your first bind and you're worried about it turning out ugly. The excited feeling of having bound your first book will be that much more exhilarating when you're able to put a story that you love on your shelf for the first time.

So you're ready to bind a hardcover book! Here are the tools you will want/need:

An awl, for punching holes in your signatures (groups of paper). You can use a thumbtack for this, or even a strong needle if you have something to cushion the end of it that you'll be holding, like an eraser. Awls are typically pretty cheap, though. You'll want a thinner one so you don't make huge holes in your paper. I have this one and it's worked just fine for me.

A bone folder, for creasing the pages. Historically, these are made out of actual bone, and the reason for using one is to get sharp creases in your paper without tearing or damaging it. You can also use basically anything else in your house that can accomplish this task. When I'm feeling lazy and just need to crease one piece of paper, I use my thumbnail. Bone folders are also cheap, though--I have this one. (As a tangent--when you're making your signatures for your book, you're going to be folding and slotting together usually between 4-6 sheets of paper. Fold the paper normally without creasing with the bone folder, slot them together, and then use the bone folder to sharply crease them all together. Trust me on this--the pages will fit together much better if you crease after putting the signature together.)

PVA glue, for all aspects of gluing involved when making the book. You can, I've heard, use Elmer’s glue for this in a pinch, but I've never tried it. PVA will dry flexible, which is what you need for your book, especially when gluing the spine. For things like attaching decorative paper to your covers, this is less important. If you're making a book that doesn't require gluing the spine (like a pamphlet or coptic stitch book), you may not need PVA. There are also lots of other glue mixtures you can use when bookbinding (paste is a popular one) but I've been a straight PVA guy for over three years now and I can't offer any advice when it comes to other types of adhesives. One note about PVA is it dries quick, so once you've stuck something to it, that's that. Prepare yourself for some crooked books until you get the hang of it.

Gluebrush/paintbrush, for applying glue. I recommend something with bristles; the foam brushes technically work but will absorb most of the glue and will probably cause you a headache. Silicone brushes are wonderful, as you can just wait for the PVA to dry and then peel it off, but a regular glue brush will also work; just be sure to put it in water immediately once you're done with it, otherwise the PVA will dry on it and ruin your brush.

Ruler + pencil, for measuring. Any kind of ruler will do, but if you have access to a quilting square or something similar, this will help you get nice and even right angles.

Needle and thread, for sewing the signatures together. You can use regular sewing needles and sewing thread (doubled up for more strength) if you don't want to buy anything specific for this. An easy step up from this that I recommend is buying a block of beeswax (I got mine for like $4 from a farmer's market) and waxing your thread (running the thread along the block a few times). This will keep your thread from tangling and make it easier to work with. You can also use embroidery thread, especially if you're doing a pamphlet or coptic stitch bind and want some color. I recently upgraded to linen thread (thread weight 35/3), which is the standard for archival-quality books, but you absolutely can use cotton thread and it will be fine.

Paper, for the textblock. You can use your standard white copy paper for this and all will be well. Or, if you want to get a bit fancier, you can use cream-colored paper; 8.5 x 11 hammermill 20lb cream colored paper is easy to find and relatively cheap and will make your books look better, as plain white paper can look almost blue in a book. (That said, I also have some actual published books that use white paper, and I've never noticed anything off about them.) If you decide you want to get really into the proper grain direction, I get my short-grain cream-colored paper from Church Paper. They have both 20lb (typical copy paper weight) and 24lb (slightly heavier) weight. I have both and I actually really like the 24lb; it has a luxurious feel to it, with less bleed from my inkjet printer. If you feel like springing for nice paper, check out their site!

Book press, for pressing your book while it dries and pressing your folded pages before sewing. There are a lot of different kinds of book presses out there, many of which are very very expensive. You can usually make do with some heavy books to weigh down your book while it dries, or thin boards and C-clamps if you have those on hand. If you have access to basic power tools, it's also super easy to make your own press with carriage bolts and cutting boards (this is what I did). There's a lot of videos out there with instructions; here's one from Sea Lemon.

Printer and ink, or a printing service/print shop like Staples. Print shops can get expensive in the long run, and it's nice to have your own printer so you can do test prints of your typesets. If you're going out and buying a printer, I highly recommend either a black and white laser printer (if you're not planning on printing in color; Brother is a good brand) or a tank inkjet printer (like the Epson Ecotank). Do NOT get a new HP if you can help it; their ink subscriptions are brutal. I'm upgrading to a black and white laser this year, but I've been using a very old, cheap HP inkjet that I got off Facebook marketplace for the past few years and it's been reliable (if a bit restrictive). If you do have an inkjet currently that takes cartridges, I highly recommend looking up how to refill your own cartridges. Buying one set of genuine HP cartridges and then refilling them with generic brand ink until they die has saved me probably hundreds of dollars by this point.

Book board, for the covers. Otherwise known as chipboard, which is easy to find on Amazon or at craft stores. This is NOT the same as corrugated cardboard; that will not work. You can cannibalize old three-ring folders, which have chipboard inside them, or even old hardcover books/textbooks. Don't bother with genuine bookbinding chipboard; imo, it's overpriced and unnecessary. You can find chipboard on Amazon for relatively cheap; I recommend the 12x12, as you can get a front and back cover out of one sheet with the correct grain direction. You can use chipboard for your book spine, if you're making a flatback, or you can use a thinner material that you can bend if you're making a rounded book (or for flatbacks as well). For this, thin cardboard (eg. old cereal boxes) or thicker cardstock will work just fine; you don't have to go out and buy genuine bristol board, and I've never bothered with it.

Exacto knife, for cutting things. You could also use a boxcutter, but a craft knife will be easier to handle. You will probably need to frequently change the blade, as cutting chipboard will dull it quickly, so get one that comes with a bunch of replacement blades.

Bookcloth and/or decorative paper, for covering your book board. Bookcloth is basically fabric with a paper backing on it. You can make your own using heat and bond, tissue paper (I use white tissue paper), and fabric; iron the fabric so it doesn't have any wrinkles in it, then iron the heat and bond onto the fabric, then iron the tissue paper onto the heat and bond. There are other methods out there that you may find easier/better, but this is the one I use. The purpose of the paper backing is to prevent glue from striking through the fabric; if you use a thicker fabric or paper, this is not necessary. For your first books, you may find it easiest to just use paper, or to go out and buy some premade bookcloth.

That's a lot of information, but I hope it was helpful! I'm more than happy to answer any more questions you (or anybody else) might have, and happy binding!

[evereverest2]

Little Monster Q&A + author fun facts !!

hello new followers and fans of Little Monster. first of all, i just have to thank everyone for the crazy support ive been getting as of late. thank you everyone. every like, comment, and reblog just pushes me to keep writing, even when it feels like every word i write is garbage.

so i decided to make this little special! idk if anyone will be super interested, so ill put all the stuff under the cut, but i also wanted to add this little drawing i did of terzomega as like extra content. if you arent interested, thanks anyway and enjoy the art!

—

to everyone who stayed, i have no idea why you’re interested, but thanks lmfao. this shit will be long.

Questions

Is your most recent oneshot about the mirror related at all to Little Monster? (from @ofthemorningstars)

i'm glad you noticed that !! in The Mirror, i very purposefully left two hints at the end of the fic to indicate its connection to Little Monster, which was the taco ring reference and Terzo's use of "mostriciatto". to me, mostriciatto will always be the Little Monster version of terzomega. no matter when i finish that fic or if i write more fics after, i will never again use mostriciatto unless im purposefully writing these versions of terzomega. i havent seen anyone else use it (i hope they dont), so i like to imagine this can be forever my impact on terzomega fics lmao. anyway, the purpose of me leaving those references isnt necessarily to say, "this is a future scene of little monster" bc it isnt exactly that (while i have plans that line up with this oneshot, i cannot anticipate that everything will fit perfectly by the time we get there in the canon). the purpose of doing that was to show u cuties that yes, terzo and omega will eventually have a better relationship, and i will be extending this timeline into papa terzo era. just a fun little teaser for my more observant fans.

also, fun fact about how i came up with that pet name. i was writing the first part of Little Monster (that part is now titled Spilled Wine as featured on my Ao3) and i knew i wanted to give terzo an affinity for using pet names, but i didn't know quite which ones to use. i didn't want to be boring, so i googled some. i have no idea where, but i found mostriciatto, meaning, of course, "little monster." i had yet to even really start writing it, but i knew i wanted it to be DARK with a very unhinged omega, so i thought, perfect. ill talk a bit more about the writing of part one later on

2. How many parts do you currently anticipate writing? Do you have a set ending point, or will this perhaps be an ongoing project for the foreseeable future? (from @ofthemorningstars)

i have 12 major plot points (including the first five parts i have written) that loosely translate into parts. this could mean 12 parts, or it could be more depending on what i write. i kinda plan on expanding this to 18 (6 parts per “era” or “act” [you’ll see what i mean]) though i dont quite have a set ending yet, so really its up in the air. i am, however, planning on having a definitive ending, ergo not an endless project. from there there may be some oneshots in this universe, but they will have an ending.

3. In the first part of little monster you put a disclaimer with something along the lines of "if you're expecting comfort I'm sorry to disappoint". The angst is MWAH but do you like plan on giving Terzo like any sort of comfort or happiness?? (from anon)

before i begin rambling, here's your answer: there will be hope and good times as mentioned above, and you might have even picked up on that in part 5. i may have wrote a fucked up versions of terzomega but whats a good story without character growth?? i havent determined the direction of the ending, but rest assured, if it all burns down, they will hold each other close (for the minute it takes).

but also.... funny story about that disclaimer....

soo i wanted to write ghost fanfic to impress my friend who is a VERY avid member of this community. however, i failed to realize they DO NOT like angst without love and care and fluff, so after i showed it to them, buddy did not like it. i took that as a sign that maybe this shit was a little TOO dark.

but my god, i could not stop thinking about it, as the caption said, and i dont always feel that away about what i write. i had recently started to post semi often to tumblr, and i just thought. well, theres gotta be someone else as fucked up as me, and i posted that shit. that disclaimer was a result of taking my friends reaction seriously and realizing that i needed to make it VERY clear that this fic is NOT for everyone. there was a different og caption that was longer and more grave, but i cut it down for aesthetics bc little monster has already seen more success than i ever anticipated.

4. What is your favorite ghost album, and what song introduced you to ghost? (from anon) & Favorite ghost song (or songs) (from @ask-enso-ghoul)

my favorite album is Infestissumam!!! the vibes of the album are so fucking immaculate, even if terzo is my favorite papa.

of course, of course, the first song i ever heard from ghost was Mary on a Cross. it blew up when it did and i loved it. the second song that really made me start getting into ghsot was square hammer, which will secretly also be my favorite ghost song but ive heard it so many times i have to give it now to the future is a foreign land. some of my other fave songs are jigolo, respite, body and blood, faith, twenties, and year zero (there’s just so many)

i want to take a second to say my least favorite album though, which is opus eponymous, or as i call it, pope pussy. it’s ok. it’s just ok. mk. i’m not a fan of that sound. the best song on there is genesis. I FUCKING SAID IT—

5. how do you get into the zone of writing smut-? I’m trying to get into it but it sounds cheesy when I do, so do you do something specific? (from anon)

im gonna level with you. i have been writing for almost a decade, since i was 12, and the first thing i started writing was smut. sex has always been a HUGE creative force for my writing and art in general. as stupid as it sounds, writing smut to me is more than just that. its my art. its my greatest and most inspirational subject. i love being creative with it, bending it to the niches and intricacies of the duo im writing, just playing with it as a medium of expression, of storytelling, of how DEEP it can be.

that being said, one of the easiest ways to get into the zone of smut specifically is being horny ! you imagine your pairing doing some illicit bedroom activity and you pick them up liek dolls and smush their faces together ! let it be fun, and let it be yours. dont write it to please the kinks of your audience, write it to your own taste and enjoyment.

as far as it being cheesy, yeah, it will feel that way. the most important thing is to be confident with your language and don’t shy away from calling a dick a dick, a pussy a pussy, an ass an ass. it feels stupid, but it will read worse if you make up artsy names for them every other line. don’t be afraid to be descriptive either, because that’s what the people want to see, trust me.

apologies if that was unhelpful, ive just been writing smut so long i can hardly tell you how i do it. im jsut super passionate about it and it fuels me creatively….. can u tell lol

6. Favorite work you’ve ever done? (from anon)

so.... ive written many things and that depends. its definitely not anything ive posted on here.

i think my favorite "serious" work is a short story i wrote for a creative writing class, called Abel and Sally. it was an modern inversion of the bible story of abraham and sarah, with a really dark ending (i love to shit on catholicism)

the other work that comes to mind is the first story i wrote about my oc anson, called Anson's Prison. that is something i would potentially post on here, its pretty short but its a good one. its oc content, tho, so i doubt many ppl would be interested lel.

8. will you draw more drawing for your stories in the future? (from anon)

well. heres my thing with art.

ive been drawing as long as ive been writing. but im not an artist; i never learned ANYTHING beyond like drawing itself, i.e. i dont know how to shade, pick colors, do bgs, etc. (can u tell??? do u see that art up there???? can YOU TELL??) thus, i have a sort of love hate relationship with drawing, and i usually dont like my own stuff. i didnt pick up drawing as easy as i did writing and its not nearly as intuitive to me.

that being said, it is sometimes fun when the drawings turn out just right and i get super passionate about something i draw and i can create the image in my head. so if the mood strikes me, i probably will draw more terzomega stuff in the future.

but why do i need to?? feeds you all SO WELL with little monster stuff you dont need my shitty art lmfao

9. MILK OR CEREAL FIRST? (from anon)

cereal. bc the moment the milk hits that cereal u are on a speedy ass countdown to devour that shit before it gets soggy, and brother, u better eat quick.

Things I wanted to share

Little Monster was supposed to be a one shot

so, Little Monster started as one thing and turned to something else entirely. originally, i wrote the beginning of the first chapter (where they are flirting in the church) in about april of this year. in this version, they were supposed to already be in love, though hiding it, and terzo was not drunk at all, just teasing. i eventually scrapped it because i wasnt very passionate about it and got p bored. then, in july, i had the itch to write something dark, but none of my projects at the time had characters i could really write that with. i came back to that scrapped fic and i thought, damn, i could really fuck these guys up, and i did.

little monster immediately became more successful than i thought it would be, and that was only about 10 notes and a comment in. i was happy to leave it at that, but then, i just started writing part two on a whim. if you look at the og post in the comments, i mention that im writing a "follow up". thats bc even when writing part two, this was not going to be a series !! but then, as i kept writing, part two became so long i had to split it in half, meaning there were suddenly 3. by the time i posted part three, though, i was shocked at the sheer amount of attention i was getting. at the same time, part three ended in such a way that i knew this story needed to keep going, to give these two a resolution. now, little monster will be a full fledged story thanks to all the support ive received :3

2. im an english major

yeah, you got me, im a college student majoring in english creative writing. is it obvious? my penultimate goal is to one day be a published author. it’s crazy surreal to me how much people express to me how they enjoy my writing~~ i hope i can one day make my dream come true 🥰 the unfortunate part about this is i go back to college next week and im uncertain how that will affect my writing schedule :p i’ll stick to weekly uploads for little monster tho dw !!

3. this is the first time i’ve written fanfic in several years

when i first started writing it was frerard and peterick fanfics on wattpad in middle school (huge shoutout to the ones that know lmfao). i stopped writing those before hs and haven’t written fanfic since. i think it’s very funny that i have come full circle back to writing band fanfic, altho ghost ofc is way more intricate with its canon

4. I LOVE YOU GUYS

i know i’ve said it a dozen times already on this post, but god it’s crazy. it’s nuts !! i’ve already made a handful of super sweet mutuals who i appreciate with all my heart, and even if you’re just a lurker, I STILL APPRECIATE YOU. EVERY SINGLE NOTE MAKES ME SO HAPPY. EVERY COMMENT AND RB HAS ME BURSTING WITH JOY.

it is entirely thanks to you all that i write terzomega and ive become so passionate about it. if it weren’t for your support, i would probably still be writing my silly little stories that no one but me could possibly understand, rotting away and wondering if anyone would even like my writing. terzo and omega are such a unique pairing compared to what ive written before, and writing them is a really cool feeling. i truly love it, and i hope i can continue to feed this side of the fandom for a long time.

from the bottom of my heart and with all my writing soul, thank you. i want to keep writing for u guys, and i want to satiate ur dirty terzomega fantasies >:) this is such a sweet and inclusive fandom and im glad i’ve been welcomed in so quickly. i hope i can continue to grow my talent here :3

ok that’s it bye teehee

[donelywell]

September 16 2023

I think it would make complete sense if Big was a Capybara.

1 He's well... big. Capybara's are the largest rodent species.

2 He seems to be chill with everyone. Like a Capybara.

3 He has an affinity to water, and you can't go 5 google image searches before you spot a capybara in water.

4 It'd be really fun to see a bunch of Orange imagery in his design, like his fishing bobber.

5 Sega already uses odd animals for their characters, like making the main character a hedgehog or making an echidna the guardian of a plot device rock (and be the last of his kind). So it'd be nice to see some Capybara appreciation that isn't just a driving test instructor in a short story.

I might draw him as a capybara more than I draw him as a cat, I dunno.

[ponett]

Here's a weird one for you: What's your fursona's alt form if she's a transformer?

I'll avoid the obvious answer of a canine beast mode and instead go the Robots in Disguise 2015 route, where vehicle transformers can have random animal theming in robot mode just for fun, like so

With that in mind, I think she'd be an Autobot mini vehicle type bot and turn into some kind of small, round car (but still have a Samoyed head and tail in robot mode). Maybe something like this Google self-driving car. I don't really have any affinity towards self-driving cars, I just think this little thing looks silly in a fun way

For something a little larger, I coincidentally also kinda dig this Toyota self-driving concept car. No idea how I'd feel seeing this thing roll down the street, but it would work for a Transformer

[sgiandubh]

What about Grandma then? In recent days, that Barbour issue has been discussed in several corners of this fandon, as you said. Well, the day before yesterday Garance was posting stories showing off his Barbour coats...Obviously those two also follow the topics discussed on Tumblr. 🤷‍♀️

Dear Garance Anon,

You will have to forgive me for the very, very late answer. I wanted to give it my full, undivided attention, because I believe we never spoke seriously about Mrs. Mariline Fiori, aka Garance Doré.

The short answer to your comment is 'oh, but we know they do, as we know they are not the only ones'. Unlike S&C, though, the McGrandmas might see us as a free, useful toolbox of sorts, where readily available ideas congregate. Remember they have deliberately calibrated their public couple personas on exactly what SC are unable and/or unwilling to give/show this fandom. To some extent, it works and, as any good Frenchwoman, Garance understood she was savvy to play the atout charme joker card. Which is exactly what she does - also, being French, she knows exactly what type of European public is instantly attracted to the Barbour reference: a public whose wallets she needs.

But as I just said, your post made me think about Mrs. Doré. Who is she, really? So, sorry, Anon, if I use you as a springboard for my musings.

She was, as I said, born Mariline Fiori, on May 1st (same day as JAMMF, LOL) 1977, in Ajaccio, Corsica's main town and birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. Not a Corsican, though (same as Napoleon, LOL): Italian father, French/Algerian mom. People who left Algeria when it became independent, after the Evian Peace Accords, and whom the metropolitan French still call, to these day, 'pieds-noirs' (literally and quite derogatorily, 'black feet'). Her family's social status is, however, a bit unclear, as Mrs. Fiori successively played with her personal story in interviews, in what the French also sarcastically call 'des petits arrangements avec la vérité'/ a bit of tinkering with the truth.

In this 2019 interview to Elle UK, for example, her parents are described as owning a restaurant in Corsica (https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a29758314/garance-dore-original-influencer/):

But in another 2013 interview to The Talks, her mother was a shrink (https://the-talks.com/interview/garance-dore/):

Also, for the sake of clarity:

Oh, well: different country, different crowd/market, different agenda and perhaps older and wiser when talking to Elle UK, you would think?

Not necessarily and still a divisive figure for the international press/blogosphere. People did not appreciate her frequent flying and luxury travels during COVID, for example, along with her 'white, bourgeois woman entitlement'. Both in New Zealand...

(Source: https://www.ensemblemagazine.co.nz/articles/garance-dore-new-zealand - I think you should read the entire article, as it is absolutely enlightening, also something I wouldn't go polemic about, you make up your own mind, really).

...and in France, where they apparently are not very fond of her 'cult of personality' approach to social media, to say the least:

(Source: https://www.madmoizelle.com/a-t-on-vraiment-besoin-de-preter-attention-aux-conseils-antivax-des-influenceuses-1145916 Non Francophones could use Google Translate, but considerably lose in doing so the ferocity of the writing - but then, again, the French press is particularly sarcastic & ferocious, when set against someone or something. I love them to bits.)

The translation is clear, and I deliberately did not insist on the political stance of the article, whose title gives a straightforward idea: 'Do we really have to pay attention to the influencers' antivax advice?':

'This influencer cannot singlehandedly convert a part of her fans to antivaxing, via Instagram, but this comforts those who already thought so and keeps them even more hooked. This is because Instagram is a social media whose model heavily relies on shared affinities, meaning that it congregates likeminded people and creates bubble phenomena, of which GD is a good example.

GD, who built an empire around her handle which she turned into a brand and transformed her own lifestyle into her best product might very well turn her cult of personality into an economic model. Many celebrities already do so and are perfectly entitled to. But in her case, we are not talking about sending a birthday personalized cameo, we are talking about dispensing health advice during a pandemic.'

Truly, Ha-wa-wee 2.0 sounds like kindergarten compared to the above and never made it so far and wide in the international press. But hey, don't we know, double standard is the law of this land.

But to cut the story short, because it's 5 AM in here and we'd be talking about Mrs. McGrandma until tomorrow evening, do we really imagine someone so well versed in the ways and means of social media not following Tumblr?

Yeah, thought so, too.

[imadumbshark]

The Senju Kekkai Genkai

I'm pretty sure the senju kekkai genkai isn't actually mokuton, that's just a by product of their actual kekkai genkai which was proably a genetic predisposition to nature chakra.

I believe the mokuton is a specific alignment of factors that correlate to create the perfect circumstances for it to present. Namely, a water and earth nature affinity, VERY good chakra control (which is clearly a trait of the main family senju line, if hashirama, tobirama, and tsunade are any indication), AND a predisposition, or at least a learned ability, to passively absorb nature chakra (which even Naruto couldn't do, he absorbed it actively).

That would explain why the mokoton is so rare despite kekkai genkai usually being dominant genetic traits in large blood-related family groups (Uchiha, Hyuuga, Hoshigaki, etc) because even if all the senju family could passively absorb nature chakra, few of them hit the rest of the necessary factors.

Take for example Tobirama, hypothetically he hit 3 of the 4 required factors to create mokuton (water affinity, chakra control, nature chakra) but because he was missing that 1 single factor (earth affinity) his kekkai genkai presented as an incredibly powerful water affinity and skill over healing and seals*, but no mokuton.

As well as that, despite being much smaller than the Uchiha, the Senju as a whole were able to compete with them on the battlefield. If we assume the disparity caused by the Uchiha's size and kekkai genkai was being bridged by a boost from nature chakra to each individual Senju, the Senju's ability to keep up is much more feasible.

It is also generally agreed within the fandom (never officially confirmed), that when the mokuton becomes too strong, the user gets turned into a tree. Now, that sounds VERY similar to nature chakra imbalance which Naruto was threatened with when he was was learning Toad Sage Mode, adjusted to suit a Tree Sage of course.

It would also explain why so many Shinobi (Orochimaru, Madara/Zetsu) throughout the Narutoverse struggled to recreate mokuton despite having direct access to Hashirama's cells. Unfortunately, I'm not overly familiar with cellular biology, but at least with kidney transplants (with modern science) the rejection rate is about 15% (correct me if I'm wrong, I googled it), not the ridiculous 99% we see when Orochimaru attempted to recreate it under Danzo's orders. Even accounting for the likely uptick in deaths due to adjusting genetic code being considerably riskier then a simple kidney transplant, it is not unreasonable to assume that most of the transfers were probably successful. Therefore, it is possible that the 99% fatality rate was due to the sudden and overwhelming influx of nature chakra into small bodies and minds that did not know how to handle or balance the sudden intrusion. In fact, we even see this when Tenzou's neighbour eventually succumbed to the experiment, and roots and branches grew out of her. Much like the cost that is described for those that wield mokuton, and also an imbalance of nature chakra.

Finally, that would explain why Sakura doesn't have mokuton when, if the show's description of the kekkai genkai is too be believed, she definitely should. Kishimoto's explanation for mokuton is that it is a perfect balance of earth and water nature affinities which, when combined, can cause plant life and vegetation to be manipulated and grow at extraordinary rates*°. However, if this explanation is to be believed, then there is no reason why Sakura should not have mokuton. It is generally agreed (again, never confirmed) that Sakura has earth and water affinities, and her chakra control is considered one of the greatest in the history of the Shinobi nations (canonically the greatest during her time). Therefore, if we're going by kishimoto's explanation, logically, Sakura should be able to use her chakra control to balance her water and earth affinities. However, if we rather consider it with the theory that the Senju kekkai genkai is nature chakra, then Sakura suddenly needs 4 prerequisites, not just 3. And Sakura has never shown any proclivity to nature chakra, so she does not hit the last requirement.

So. Yeah. The Senju had a genetic green thumb that gave them superpowers, not just trees. I think I had more points somewhere rattling around but I've forgotten them lol. I was also going to do a TL;LD but ehhhhhhh too hard. Do with this information as you like, thank you for coming to my TED talk.

*it is generally believed that one must have a certain mental predisposition towards healing and seals to be able to fully master them. Hence why the Uzumaki were so feared, because it was quite literally impossible for any other Shinobi (even other seal masters) to master some of their work because the logical progression (seals work somewhat like code, except WHERE you put each line of code mattered almost as much as WHAT it said) was incomprehensible

*weirdly enough, hashirama's mokuton generally uses pre-existing plants and seeds to create his constructs whereas Tenzou most often creates them from himself. Perhaps less control/balance over the nature chakra? Rather then using it in the traditional sense, he has weaponised the nature chakra's own side effect? Would also explain why his mokuton is weaker and why he's never shown to have Tree Sage Mode. Could also simply be because neither had formal training and simple made the mokuton entirely their own in how they used it lol

°according to kishimoto's explanation, mokuton is more akin to a release, like D's storm release (water and wind) or Mei's lava release (earth and fire), not a true kekkai genkai which CANNOT be recreated without the necessary genetic code, much like most dojutsus', the hoshigaki's sharklike appearances and skills (although that is often argued to be more as a result of their summons), and the hozuki's naturally transformative cellular structure (which is BONKERS by the way)

[canon-in-too-deep]

A Tutorial On Typesetting In Affinity (With Template)

This is an semi-abbreviated guide to typesetting in Affinity Publisher, using the template I posted here.

While this is not a comprehensive tutorial, I tried to be as detailed as possible, and hope this help folks with their typesetting journeys! Note: there are different ways to to do this, these are just the ways I've used personally. (And by 'used', I mean all the features and functions I've bashed my head against till something readable came out). Second Note: these steps do apply specifically to the template I posted. This is the template I use to save time when typesetting, as it already has all the Paragraph and Character Styles and text boxes and margins I've made in previous works. Warning: wall of text below the break!

Part 1

Importing your text into Affinity. First things first, this step all depends on where you are getting your text from. If you are typesetting something from Project Gutenburg or a similar site, copy and paste the text into Google Docs. If you are typesetting from AO3 or a similar site, download an html file of the text, then copy and paste that into Google Docs. Once in Google Docs, download the file as Rich Text Format (.rtf). Open the .rtf, and copy and paste that into the Affinity Template. Just stick it into any of the body pages on page 9 or up. It'll 'flow' automatically to fill the pages. Whew. Okay. Now, you can actually work on your text in the template.

Document size (optional). So the template I made is for half letter (letter folio). Letter is the size of the page I would be printing on, and folio is the imposition (which means if I was making it into a physical book, I would fold that page in half. Folio = the page is in halves. Quarto = page is in quarters. Octavo = page is in eighths etc.). You want your document size to be the size of one single page in your book. - Now, again, the template I have is all set up for a single page size equal to half letter. If you want to change the size, you can go to File -> Document Setup -> Dimensions. If you change the size, you will have to go in and change the text boxes and margins I have left in the template to fit your new dimensions.

How to Auto Flow your text. You will notice that the template only has 50 pages. Chances are, you can't see all your text. To get it to automatically appear, just hold down Shift and click the red triangle on the right of one of the text boxes with your body text in it. It should automatically generate the pages you need with your text. - If you need to manually get your text to flow from one text box to another, just click the little triangle on the right of the text box your text starts in, and then click the text box you want it to flow into. Bonus: To make a text box, click the image of the T in the white square on the left, and draw it on the page. This is the Frame Text Tool, or the text box maker, To add a picture, click the rectangle with an X through it. This is the Picture Frame Rectangle. Draw a frame, then go to File -> Place, and add your image.

Your text is in the template. Time to get it dressed. Okay, now you need to set up your Text Styles. Text Styles should be located on the right hand tool bar. Text Styles are essentially how you tell Affinity how you want the different parts of text to look like. You can change your fonts, spacing, justification, etc, by playing around in the settings of a Text Style (to do so, just click the three lines next to the text style's name, or create a new one by clicking one of the + symbols at the bottom of the Text Style tool bar. Now, there are two types of Text Styles: Paragraph Styles (have the backwards 'P' looking symbol) and Character Styles (have the underlined 'a' symbol). Think of these like jackets and shirts for your text to where. The Paragraph Styles go on over the Character Styles, but you can still see the Character Styles underneath. - First thing to do is go to Find and Replace. It should be next to the left hand tool bar. - Click the cog to the right of 'Find'. Then click 'Format'. This should bring up the screen below. - Click the box next to Italics so it turns into a check mark. Now hit Ok. This will now allow you to find all Italics in your text. - When you find the Italics, you can now Replace them. Hit the cog next to 'Replace with'. Click Character Style. Click Emphasis. -Find and Replace all.

This will save all your Italics while you work on the text. Note, do NOT select all your text and use a Character Style on it. It will override and remove your Italics. You can only have one Character Style and one Paragraph Style applied to specific text. Because of this, I don't really use any Body Character Styles, and make all my changes usually in Paragraph Styles. Part 2

Chapter Headings. Find and Replace is one your best friends in Affinity. After I have Italics saved, I do the Chapter Headings in the text next. I Find and Replace the Chapter Headings if I can, or manually select them. Then I apply the Chapter Character Style to them. Now, if I ever want to change them en mass, I can just Find them using that Character Style to apply a new Paragraph Style or whatever I want to them.

Body Text. Now is the time to finally use a Paragraph Style. I select my text, and apply the Paragraph Style labeled Body to it. While I have it selected, I can change my font type, size, and leading to whatever I want. If I change leading, I do have to go in and edit the Paragraph Styles to have the same leading across all of them. The template is setup for 11 pt font and 140% leading. - To change leading in a Paragraph Style, click the three lines to the right of the Style -> Edit 'Name' -> Spacing -> Leading. - If you change font size/leading, you will need to change the Baseline Grid. Baseline Grid is the underlying grid that your text will snap to (you can disable this in a Paragraph Style, but I like to use Baseline Grid to make sure the Body Text is all lined up the same). To change Baseline Grid, click the button in the top middle of Affinity that looks like an A with blue lines behind it. Then go to Grid Spacing. I usually set it to whatever is my body text leading equal to.

Back to Chapter Headings. At this point, I usually use Find and Replace again, and Find the Chapter Headings with their Character Style. I use Replace to apply the Paragraph Style 'Chapter Heading' to them.

Other Styles. Okay, so Chapter Headings are set. Body text are set. But there's still text that need different formats, like where there's a body divider/dinkus, or the start of a chapter where there's no indent. From here, I manually go through the text, and start setting the little things that weren't covered by the Body or Chapter Heading styles. I use Body No Indent Drop Cap (Paragraph Style) for the first paragraph of each chapter. I use Body Divider (Paragraph Style) wherever there's a section break. I use Body No Ident (Paragraph Style) wherever there's a new paragraph after a section break. And I use Body Special as needed, if there's unique bits of text in the work, like letters, or poems, or songs, to make them stand out more. - This part of typesetting is a lot of me just going through manually, while scrolling through and checking the original text I am typesetting to see if there's any places that need special attention or different paragraph styles. Lot of side by side scrolling and comparing how the original author/publisher had the fic looking, and making sure my typeset matches in a way that I like.

More on Body Dividers. You can check out my book of dinkuses for potential fonts for section breaks/dividers. Once I find the dinkus I like, I copy and paste it into my text, or use find and replace. Just make sure that the Body Divider Paragraph Style is applied to whatever you put. - Now, you may need to adjust the dinkus because it's not centered or spaced how you like. To do this, click the three lines to the right of Body Divider under the Text Styles tab on right hand side of your screen. This brings up the Text Style Editor Box (see the picture below). - To get the divider looking how I want, I go to Paragraph and then adjust the Leading, Space Before, and Space After until the Body Divider looks how I want. Sometimes you might want a section break with a lot of space, sometimes you might want it narrower. This is the place to do it.

Part 3

Next step: Working in Master Pages. Master Pages are great. You can apply them to your text to make your text look uniform. Whatever the Master Page is, the other pages must follow. -To apply a Master Page, right click the page you want on the left sidebar under Pages. Then click apply Apply Master. Then choose what Master to apply. The body text pages all have the Master Body text applied to them already, but you may need to change one because it's the start of a new Chapter. -If you want different margins in your text, this is where to do it. I have mine set up for .8 outer and inner margins, and slightly narrower on the top and bottom margins to account for leading. If you want to change this, just drag the text box to whatever size you want to fit your margins.

Headers/Footers. In the Master Page titled Master Body, you can change the placements and formats of the headers/footers. I usually just have these all centered, but you can put them and size them however you like here, and it will apply to all the main body pages of your text. - The template is setup so you can just fill in your title name and author name in the header locations of the Master Body pages. Click the text boxes and type in whatever you want. If you don't want to use these, you can delete them on the Master Pages, and they won't show up at all.

Master Chapter Heading. The Master Chapter Heading pages are not applied to the text. In the template, you will see that page 9 does not have the Master Body applied to it. This is because I like to play around with different text box sizes and chapter heading designs here, then copy and paste them into the Master Chapter Heading when I have one I like. Then, I can just apply the Master Chapter Heading to wherever there is the start of a new chapter.

Part 4

How to add a Table of Contents. Okay, once all the Chapter Headings are formatted and everything is on the page they should be on, you can put in a table of contents. To add a table of contents, put a text box down wherever you'd like your table of contents to be located. This is usually on page 7 of the template for me, but it may be different for you based on your text or how you do your front matter. - Click in that text box. Then, click Text (on top of your Affinity Screen, towards the left). Go to Table of Contents. Then Insert Table of Contents. - See the picture below. Your screen should look similar to this. - On the left, you can see we are in the Table of Contents tab now. Under Style Name, check the one that says Chapter Heading. Now, everything that had the Paragraph Style Chapter Heading will be in our Table of Contents. - Click the three lines to the right of where we checked Chapter Heading. You can then check Include Page Numbers here.

Part 5

Alright! Now we have pretty much everything done. Almost. There's just the front matter to do now. These parts are pretty much just pasting/typing in your information. The front matter in the template I made is set up for Project Gutenburg public domain stuff. When I typeset things from AO3, I put the stats here instead.

Front matter. What is it exactly. The front matter included in the template is as follows: bastard title page (just the name of the book), blank page, full title page (title and author; you can include publication/imprint info here as well), copyright page, book bound by page (this is not an official thing, just something I decided to add to my templates since mine as free to use), blank page, table of contents. Sometimes a text has a preface or dedication. You can add these pages to the front matter, and if you need more pages to add them, just right click on the left hand side under Pages wherever you would like the new pages to go, then click Add Pages. I use Master A for front matter pages. These are just plain, blank pages with nothing on them.

Title Pages. Title pages. You can pretty much do whatever you want here. I've posted links before to places you get free to use images/art, but you don't need to include any images/art at all. It's all totally optional, I just like to have a bit of fun on my title pages and put in little extra bits.

Anyway, hope this helps and I didn't ramble tooooo much (this started as a short post to just talk about how to import text). If you're looking for more detailed help, I do recommend joining the Renegade Binder discord. I learned how to use Affinity Publisher from someone's tutorial there. I can also try to make more posts in the future further explaining things.