#on the one hand.... the header makes it look like her wings are sprouting from my icon

[demonio-fleurs]

hmm. might redo the header bc i always forget how different the headers look on desktop vs mobile... but i do like the icon.

[chubsonthemoon]

Last Binderary book is DONE!!!! This is the incredible Maybe sprout wings, by @moorishflower.

This post is going to be a doozy, so gonna just skip straight to the cut!

INTERIOR

INTRODUCTION

I really wanted to model this bind after my own copy of the Odyssey, (which is all highlighted and bookmarked and annotated to hell from my Great Text courses in undergrad ehe, so this bind was such a fun trip down memory lane!). But beyond just the cover/general aesthetic, I also wanted to give the book a similar feel to these kinds of editions of classics--there's usually an introduction, translation notes, and other supplementary materials, right? Like, a physical manifestation of the work of many, many people, all having conversations with one another across time and space.

So that's what I did! I wrote a short introduction (I will also probably post it to my AO3/my blog as well, in the name of preservation etc. etc.) and began reaching out to folks in the fandom who I knew had created art and meta for the fic. The result? 18k words of analysis, comments, and meta, and nearly twenty pages of art!

And this is what I love most about this bind, I think! This book is the work of several people--truly a collaborative work by the fandom--all of whom I will now be shamelessly calling out below :D

CHAPTER HEADER ART

First and foremost, this book would not be what it is without the gorgeous header art by @fancy-rock-dove! Thank you so much Dove for letting include your work, and for being so supportive and kind these past few weeks about this bind <3 You in particular have contributed so much to this book (which I will be getting more into in the next section ehe), and I'm so psyched I get to hold your art and words, too!

NOTES ON THE TEXT

This section was divided into four parts: Asks and Answers, Meta, Selected Comments, and Chapter Heading Art: Process

For Asks and Answers, I trawled Heather's blog for meta she had written in response to questions and other meta about the fic. Asks came from @fancy-rock-dove, @quillingwords, @kulapti, and myself! (I THINK I got all of them--tumblr's search function is finnicky even on its best days, so so sorry if I missed something T_T) I first got hooked into reading this fic because of one of these asks, so I'm very fond of this section in particular :D

For Meta, I included two wonderful essays written by @pastrypuppy (also known as @kulapti) about Hob as an author figure and the Disrupted Fisher King narrative in MSW. Her analyses were so fascinating and I just had to include them in the book! (And thank you as well for your permission, friend!) (also hello fellow Renegade comrade 🫡)

For Selected Comments, I owe everything to (once again :3) @fancy-rock-dove, whose insights are the epitome of transformative fandom at work. I'd look for their comments after I read every chapter to see what their takes were on this or that element of the story, and every single time I would go "!!!!! I didn't even realize!!!" or "OOOOOOOH I hadn't thought of that!!" It was like being in a lecture hall and always whipping your head around when one of your classmates raised their hand, because you knew they were going to say something fascinating that you hadn't considered before.

Aside from one of my own comments, Dove's comments make up the entirety of this section (for which I owe you my life--your long-form responses to fics are a gift to this world) but GOSH was it also so much fun going through the comments section while typesetting and seeing all the keyboard smashing, yelling, and crying from the other commenters. Communal nature of storytelling and ongoing meaning-making of fanfiction, babey!

And finally for Chapter Heading Art: Process: once again Dove coming in clutch with some wonderful insights into the design of each of the chapter heading art pieces! This kind of stuff is honestly my favorite: meta about art for a fic which is, in turn, a transformation of an existing story (not even to mention that The Sandman is its own kind of fanfiction of existing mythologies and histories)--I just!! Think it's all really, really neat :'D (for more coherent/polished thoughts on this pls see my introduction asjdfkls)

ART

The art gallery!!! A million thanks to @fishfingersandscarves, @honeyseller, @jazzpsych, @doctor-rainbowfoxey, and (HI AGAIN DOVE) @fancy-rock-dove for granting me permission to include all of your beautiful pieces!

As usual for artworks in my binds, I printed each piece out on specialty photo paper to really make the colors pop, then sewed each page separately to the text block! Behold, everyone's beautiful beautiful pieces!

The art gallery also satisfies the certain "oooh shiny" part of my brain that always activates when I see pictures in a book, so am also very fond of this section :3

CONSTRUCTION

And now on to the nitty gritty stuff! I used the German Bradel binding technique again, my second time using it. Even though it's more complicated than the case bind, I really love how it gives you the full board space for the cover designs (~it's free real estate~). Keep it a secret but I kiiiiiiind of made a small goof in the last few steps (I did the turn-ins a step too early and so had to paste an extra sheet of cardstock to secure the spine to the boards, whoopsie), but it's a pretty small difference, aesthetically speaking, so it wasn't the end of the world XD

Edges are once again fake gilded, but this time I tried something new with the colors! I did two layers of acrylic paint--one watered down shade of red for the base, then one metallic gold on top of that. I really like the red/gold effect! I'll have to keep experimenting with this kind of layering:

ALSO. Y'ALL! I think I'm finally getting the hang of endbands!!! Many thanks to the folks at Renegade who hosted all the endband workshops last month--I'm still working through them, but even the few sessions I've seen have been TREMENDOUSLY helpful. I learned that tension is Very Important, as well as thread thickness, so I tried doubling my thread and keeping a Very Close Eye on how I was holding the threads while doing the beads. And behold! I still have a ways to go (and one day I would LOVE to do the fancier designs), but I'm v happy with the progress I've made so far!

And finally the covers!! ARCHIVAL MOD PODGE MY BELOVED. I printed on the same matte presentation paper that I used for the art, then did several coats of archival matte mod podge + a pass of gloss mod podge over the title strip to make it ~shiny~. Then once those had dried and I'd adhered them to the boards, I sprayed two layers of matte clear acrylic sealer (also mod podge!) to finish it off. I had some issues with the paper tearing when I handled it before it was fully dry, but luckily the blemishes were small enough that it was easy to do spot corrections with my black acrylic paint. And now I know to be more patient next time LOL

(some non-photoshoot shots that show the shine a little better!)

FINAL THOUGHTS

I had a lot of thoughts while I was binding this book--about Sandman fandom, about Dreamling fandom, about the Odyssey, about storytelling, about fanbinding, about Binderary, about Renegade, about my friends--but really what came to mind the most was gratitude!

Simply put, I'm so grateful to everyone I've met both in this fandom and throughout the years I've been active online--this is SO fun, y'all. It's so much fun to love stories together--to talk about them, to write them, and of course to bind them! I hope I've adequately conveyed that gratitude.

But of course, this book would not exist without the wonderful words of @moorishflower. Heather, thank you so, SO much for sharing your stories, thoughts, and time with us--it is always a happier, better day when I get an email notif from you and when I see you on my dash. I love your work so much, and I'm so happy I finally get to put it on my shelf! So thank you so much again, for everything <3

and OKAY THAT'S IT FROM ME FOLKS!!!!! Binderary 2023 is officially a wrap! I had SUCH a blast--will probably write up a reflection post on it uhhhh after I take a very long nap ajslkdfjslk _(:3」∠)_

all my love! <3

[pcareielle]

Pandora

Since I lack an actual name at this current moment, I have come to think of Persephone’s homeland as Pandora from James Cameron’s Avatar. When I decided upon her being from the mountains, I initially envisioned them looking much like the mountains I have explored in my lifetime but bigger. 

In order to be seen as adults in the eyes of the Areille Clan, one must delve deep into the mountains by themselves, hunt a dire bear down to its cave, and kill it with their bare hands. Now adults, this cave can serve as the individual’s new home should they choose to branch out from the tribe and start their own tribe. 

No part of the bear is wasted. The tribe becomes even more of a flurry of activity as everyone gets together to prepare to perform the coming-of-age ceremony as soon as possible. The fur is sewn into beautiful new cloaks that can last them their entire lifetime and are later used for their newborn baby’s blankets and clothing. Teeth, claws, and bones are used to create jewelry, weaponry, tools, and affixed to clothing. Blood is mixed into ink made from ashes from the bones and tattooed onto the celebrant’s hands to identify them as member’s of the clan and bestow upon them the strength of the bear.

Infants grow up running underfoot their elders while playing games in the clouds; pretending to be the scary dragons that eat naughty children in their bedtime stories. Meanwhile, older children are allowed to leave the watch of the elders and explore the mountains; playing hide-and-seek in towering waterfalls and developing the skills that will help them learn how to hunt for the tribe.

Persephone did not also grow up playing in Neff’s Canyon. She grew up in a d&d world that reflected the image I have in my mind of where a civilization of celestial-touched barbarian-warrior guardian people would reside. All adults of her people are at least level 3 Zealot Barbarian and continue upon that track, unless they find their talents are better served in other directions; in which case, they often learn Druidic magic and become better attuned to the earth, or dedicate themselves to the songs and stories of the tribe and learn Bardic magic.

Hallelujah Mountains

Something more like the Hallelujah Mountains from Avatar made more sense. Not necessarily floating islands, however. Whether or not that would make sense in the world, I envision them as gargantuan mountains in the clouds.

 The Hallelujah Mountains were inspired by the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The picture I chose for the blog’s header is from Bao Feng Lake within the Park.

Upon googling Zhangjiajie caves, I immediately found images of the Yellow Dragon Cavern. Of course, these colors are achieved by more magical means. Prospective-adults often explore caves such as these deep in the mountains on their hunts. Whether or not they survive depends on their strength and if magic they encounter is malevolent. 

The ancestors of these Aasimar were guided by their angelic guide to settle upon the mountains and protect them. After the coming-of-age ceremony, new adults are brought to the highest mountains to learn the truth of their heritage and the secrets hidden within the mountains that they have been entrusted to guard. 

Then they must pass the true final test of worth. The child is thrown from the top of the mountain to their death. If they do not respond to the power of the resurrection magic, it is seen as them not being strong enough to serve their god and their bodies are left there to rot and become nutrients for the mountain. Alternatively, many times the stress of the fall and the will to live often causes them to activate their Radiant Soul for the first time; unleashing the divine energy within themselves and causing two incorporeal wings to sprout from their backs to fly themselves to safety.

Persephone never got to undergo that part of her coming-of-age ceremony. She drank the celebratory mead and received her tattoos, but the slavers found her tribe as she was en route to the highest point. One of the druids managed to send a message through an animal message, and she and her guide turned around. Returning to the site of her tribal grounds desecrated and seemingly no survivors, she tracked the slavers to extract her revenge, but was overpowered.

It has been several years since she woke up and got her last look at her home from the porthole of the slavers’ ship. Maybe one day she will return. If Ilmater so desires it. She has thought of returning to see if there were any survivors or from her tribe, or at least from the clan as a whole, but never pursued the thought because the memories hurt too much. 

At this moment, Persephone knows of her angelic ancestry, but does not know of her people’s task. She does know the name of the clan translates from Celestial into “lion of the gods.”