Zero's Book Binding - Seasons
Seasons by @stinglesswasp
Fandom: Call of Duty (Video Games)
Ship: John "Soap" MacTavish/Simon "Ghost" Riley
Start Date: 01/03/2025
End Date: 02/24/2025
Second Printing: 07/11/2025
Pages: 127
Ok. So, surprise, it's a paperback.
Season's provided a very specific challenge for me that I haven't face before - which is, technically, that it's a short fic. 'Short' as in this fic is 51K words - so it's not actually a sort fic, it's just shorter then the fics I have bound till now. Additionally - Wasp is a artists as well as a writer. I found them on twitter when I first fell into Ghost/Soap, and I instantly was obsessed. So when I asked if I could bind their fic, I also asked if I could use their art as well.
So! I spent a lot of time weaving the fic art into the typeset. I….need the practice, truly - there is a skill to inlaying images that i have not had the pleasure of practicing yet. I did the best i could and im...really happy, actually.
Ok! I pulled quite a few topographic maps from the rough areas where each chapter takes place. I jazzed them up, surprise, and added color and overlays to better matched the season that was being referenced. I did my best to match the typical font that Wasp uses for their art too in the drop caps and chapter headers - so that everything was as consistent as possible.
Should i have offset the gutter more for this print - so that I didn't cut off the word CHAPTER for every single header? Sure should have. Put it on the list of lessons learned.
Inline breaks match the cover design - which started out fucking crazy, but I pulled back with the design stuff and kept the map idea to be consistent. I printed the cover on 80LB marker paper, which…works for what i needed it to do. It's heavy enough to feel pretty good in hand, but not to heavy to go through my printer.
Is the spine text in the wrong place? Sure is. Could I have fixed this when I reprinted the fic again? Sure could have. Did the spine glue down in a curve that I couldn't fix? Yep.
I followed a DAS Bookbinding tutorial on making soft covers to put this book together. Its….easier then you think? And less expensive. Is it perfect? No, but until I get a better handled on how to do it, it'll just keep working at it. Say it with me: Ya can't be good at a thing the first time you do it.
So I need a better printer, for sure. Especially if I'm going to do more things like this. Some of the images really did not print well, and with the SotM bind in the wings I'm gonna NEED a better printer to chew threw that m o n s t e r.
Thank you again, Wasp, for being cool about me binding your stuff. If you like Goap and haven't read Seasons? My dudes - please go check it out.
