The author (@the-stars-will-do-the-telling) received their copy so I can post! A fanbind of The Long Way Home by itsnatalie, using the typeset by @sammialex (Fingerpaint the Dawn Bindery).

I asked my friend @jerslix for their favorite fic to bind and they chose this one, so of course I had to read it before I bound it and it is a lovely, haunting, forge-a-friendship-in-adversity Tim Drake & Jason Todd fic. It is centered around a labyrinth, which became a big element of the design as you can tell. I was especially proud of how I fit the little Red Hood and Red Robin symbols into the Os on the spine. :-) The pullquote on the back winds a path through the labyrinth.

Black bookcloth from Amazon I think, metallic foils, endpapers from Sustain and Heal on etsy I believe, and bookmark charms from Michael's.

No parts of it extended beyond the lines, and the paper ticket was clearly displayed, impaled on a horn.

Ilya always had been a light sleeper, so no matter how lightly they stepped he was awake moments after the first shocked gasp.

Ilya knows it’s over for him. There’s no mistaking that there’s a man asleep on his chest in a clearly non-platonic cuddle. Usually Ilya would be punching the intruder, threatening violence to try and ensure they kept their mouth shut but he has quickly realised something far more important. With the way they are sleeping, Ilya on his underneath on his back and Shane on his stomach on top with his face pressed into the gap between Ilya’s neck and the couch, they can’t see his face.

He quickly pulls Shane’s hood up over his head to hide hair and rests a hand over it to gently discourage Shane from moving it should he start to wake up.

So Ilya just stares down his team and goes “you can be upset, but are going to be fucking quiet about it because if you wake my guest I’m sending all my blackmail on you to your wives, and then start fucking them to help them get over the divorce.”

So the whole “You’re fucking gay!” “No, I’m a fucking bi who is fucking a gay” conversation happens at a furious whisper, with Shane blissfully sleeping on Ilya’s chest as life implodes around him.

Shane may be a deep sleeper - and the argument in whispers - but even he starts to stir at the noise.

Ilya can’t have him moving his face into visibility now, so he just scruffs the back of his neck harshly and pressed him deeper into his shoulder.

Shane lets out a pleased (and not at all quiet) moan, and - worried that he is going to start talking - Ilya realises he needs to shut him up.

So he glares at the Bears to be quiet, while suddenly putting on the softest voice they have ever heard him use as he goes, “shhh quiet time now mоя любовь. Back to sleep.” And then shoves his fingers into Shane’s mouth.

Bound: Do Every Stupid Thing by @thepartyresponsible

Typeset and bound by: me, @phoenixortheflame

Featuring art by: @minhyongi and @adayka

Whew! This one was a doozy. Four fics, two volumes—and two copies to boot, since I made a set for the lovely @sammialex.

In the end though, it was worth it, and I'm fucking thrilled with how these turned out, especially the typeset (more on that later) and the dust jackets, which were inspired by Hayley Williams' single art for "True Believer."

I knew I wanted to do a Bucky cover and a Tony cover (since the fics are from Jason's POV), and I scoured social media trying to find the perfect art. Bless @minhyongi for letting me use the piece featuring a young Tony Stark and @adayka for the Bucky Barnes art.

The dusties were fully—and painstakingly—designed on Affinity. The "lockscreen" photo on the back of volume 1 is of a floor drain—a visual cue for torture, and one I couldn't get out of my head thanks to this series. The photo on the back of volume 2 is of a car battery because THEY TAKE TONY.

The theme for this bind was "Tony's metal band t-shirts" but mostly that translated to lots of upside down crosses and the New Rocker title font.

The upside down crosses on the cover are meant to look random, like they're falling form the sky...rain or, better yet, bullet casings.

The endbands nearly killed me, as did hand sanding the top and bottom edges of three out of four books, but—look how pretty!

Endpapers were Crepaldi (I KNOW) but also thank god one of my besties, @maleekamolscreates, is a superstar paper marbler because at the last minute I decided to scrap my original case idea which meant sacrificing one pair of endpapers. Her replacement papers are on the far right.

The typeset is perhaps my favourite I've ever made and the biggest drop caps I've ever attempted.

A massive thank you goes out to @thepartyresponsible for writing this amazing series (and please reach out if you'd like copies, I'd love to make you a set!).