i had such a clear vision for the typeset of this fic as i was reading it, and i really wanted to pull it all the way through the bind. every chapter header (and title and half-title pages) features fragmented portions of winslow homer paintings (one of my faves, most famous for his gorgeous lake/seascapes). the bulk of the fic is from tsukasas POV, but the case and typset are modeled after ryuusui--i really wanted to carry the story's main "theme" of ryuusui gradually engulfing tsukasa's life with, like, comfort so it felt fitting design-wise. the only chapter from ryuusui's pov is one of homer's few "landscape" paintings of mountains to emphasize the contrast :3

and of course if i was going to style a bind after the king of desire himself it had to have a million moving parts and a bunch of decadence. the case itself is 11 pieces and features three different styles of papermaking for the front/back/endpapers alongside a silk moire spine.

i also added hand-sewn endbands (medieval style, with some tension issues but we stay silly), a 4mm silk bookmark, 10k gold clasp, and $100 bill charm--and speckled edges with three shades of hand-mixed paint. i experimented a bit with gold HTF but ultimately settled back on ol' faithful and the titling is all gold metallic HTV

overall, im really happy with this bind and i had a wonderful time making it for such a lovely friend. merry christmas, happy new year, and happy (almost) birthday!!

some samples of the typeset~