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ineffable-obsession · 13 days

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90s Crowley Cosplay

So! I'm working on a S1 shoulder-length hair Crowley cosplay costume for Ineffable Con 5, and I've really been getting into the details of the costume. Let's look at this guy:

I'm getting lost in the weeds a bit, but! He has at least two different snake belts used in the same damn costume! And a different one in s3!

The top (s1:e1, antichrist delivery) has a golden sheen to the head and prominent raised oversized scales.

The middle one (s1:e1, park) has a satin black finish and paired holes over the entire length (presumably, we never see the back but they wrap around).

The S2 belt also has a golden sheen on the snakehead buckle, high gloss finish but more more subtle scales, visible rivets attaching the head to the belt, and top stitching along the edges.

Reproducing the belt

The easy part: you can just order exactly that snake head buckle off Etsy, the very same one used in the show. Available here for $20 (resin) / $90 (aluminum cast).

It has little black jewels for eyes you can glue on once it's painted (1/4" diameter).

At this point, I'm not entirely convinced that the first belt is real snakeskin; it might be embossed leather or PVC. Python scales look like rounded diamonds up close; cobras are more like ovals, vipers have the sharp diamond shape with the raised center (like the vein of a leaf).

If you go looking for viper skins, basically nothing comes up, but! Rattlesnakes are in the viper family and you can find both Western and Eastern diamondback hides quite easily. And they have the leaf pattern to the scales.

But if you compare the snakeskin in the costume belt and the real hide (bottom left) or a real belt (bottom right), Crowley's belt is overly regular in its pattern and doesn't have spacing between the scales the way real hides do. Crowley's belt is ~9 scales tall (top to bottom), the rattlesnake is ~15 scales, meaning the show's belt has scales 1.66x the size of a natural hide. Real snakes have much, much smaller scales. The more I look at real rattlesnake hides, the faker those scales look to me.

I'm fairly certain the S2 belt is real snake skin -- the smaller scale size and the flatter scale matches python belts nicely.

Embossed leather can give you nice deep grooves between the scales, and an even pattern, matching the belt in the park.

I cannot find a viper print embossed leather anywhere on the Internet. Faux snake vinyl / PVC fabric, however, has huge scales -- the same ~9 "scales" per inch, and there's likely one somewhere with that leaf-texture.

Conclusions

I can't say for certain, but I think the first belt seems really likely to be PVC wrapped in order to get that texture.

The middle one was likely made of embossed strap leather, the more durable material supports all those extra holes without being weakened, and the single layer doesn't require top stitching. The scales are an extremely regular pattern, and still fairly oversized. Plus you can get those very deep grooves between the "scales" when they're stamped into the leather.

The final belt looks like actual snakeskin wrapped leather -- you wouldn't use rivets like that on PVC, it's not strong enough, but riveting leather is just fine. Plus, it has a line of machine stitching near the top and bottom, which makes sense if you're joining two very different materials together (thin skin and hide). The scales are the smallest and flattest of the bunch, which matches actual snakeskin. And, the budget of S2 was a bit higher, so maybe they had more money to blow on a $300 snakeskin belt?

My suggestion for a belt?

This is currently $12 and not overly terrible, it's got an ok pebbley grain to the scales, at 1.3" wide it's pretty close to the buckle size.

If you have access to some dye that will work on pleather, you could try dying this one, $13. It's not particularly embossed though, so the snakeskin pattern might just disappear on you.

If you have money to spend, a 1.5" wide, men's python skin belt will run you about $56, this one is quite close to that s2 look.

Happy crafting and dress up!

#good omens #good omens costumes #crowley #cosplay #costume design #costume deep dive #snek #snake belt #everyone's favorite demon #i am perhaps somewhat unhealthily obsessed

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theviridianbunny · 5 months

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NETWATCH'S ACCOUNTS OF ARASAKA'S RED RABBIT - JANUARY 11TH 2075

After an encounter with the netwatch agent Bryce Mosley- secrets are bought out into the light. Viridian must re-live a part of her past she tried so hard to run from. She must re-live the trauma and angush of being held in the jaws of the viper. Viridian centric emotional hurt and little comfort fic- featuring Victoria Crane, who belongs to @another-corpo-rat (thank you for trusting me with your beloved evil corpo rat~) This fic is intended for mature readers (18+ please!) fic can under the cut - or can be found at my A03 here

“Mercenaries are leaving- they’ve joined the team… so, be nice. Don’t want any problems” Bryce spoke on coms to a fellow agent- then cutting the connection.

Turning to the pair of mercs. The ex valentino and a brutal netrunner… Jackie welles and Viridian Miller.

“Good luck to the both of you. Got a feeling we’ll be seeing each other soon…”

As the pair went to leave the cinema - Viridian heard Bryce cough- like he was trying to peak her attention. She turned back to him- as he spoke - there was this gleam in his eyes- the ambient lighting catching at his keiroshi 5 implants

“Just one last thing…Viridian, are you as brutal as you were in your days at arasaka?”

Bryce watched how Viridian’s turned on the balls of her heels. Her body language shifted oh so slightly- how her cybernetic hand reached her face- digging at a patch of skin on her jaw.

"I don't know what you're talking about-" she questioned- raising an eyebrow.

"oh really?" He asks - coldly. He raised a cybernetic hand and snapped his fingers.

The looping cowboy movie on the silver screen stuttered to a stop - flickering and almost ripping apart- several SYSTEM ERROR warnings popping up over and over.

With another snap of his fingers the screen changed to CCTV footage.

The footage was paused- In the top right corner the arasaka logo is in bold. The time stamp reads 23:27 - the date- January 11th 2075.

"This may refresh your memory - little rabbit " his voice is almost coy- cocky.

The netwatch agent snapped his fingers for the final time - and the CCTV played.

The blood in Viridian’s veins ran cold. There was nothing she could do now- unable to cut the recording - her internal ram frozen and depleted. Her eyes met with Bryce’s and Viridian scowled. She knew all too well what was coming - she looked away - across to Jackie. His eyes were fixed on the screen.

“Victoria Crane sends her regards” Bryce spoke over the hum of cctv static.

He smiled and watched the colour drain from the netrunners face.

–

2075 was the year of Viridian’s downfall - her smoke out of Arasaka. The year she realised just how she could snap. Having been held in the vipers jaws for too long- Arasaka’s red rabbit finally broke free and fought back.

What Viridian called “ the final nail in the coffin” happened After a six hour deep dive into the net.

On January 11th 2075 , after a data breach …. In the depths of the web- they were sifting through data to fish for intel.

Two of Arasaka’s best netrunners surfaced from the dive- Viridian Miller, the brutally efficient red rabbit, and Victoria Crane, the Viper, - Adam Smasher’s personal runner.

Golden optics pierced Viridian’s soul as she jacked out of her chair- feeling her college's piercing gaze over her.. Victoria Crane was so much taller than Viridian- caramel skin melding with golden chrome. A white - snakeskin embossed netrunning suit covered the majority of Victoria’s chrome. Her gilded neck and forearms were the only visible gold- that shone so magnificently under the red lighting of the netrunners alcove.

“I’m surprised you managed to keep up with me” Victoria poked.

“What do you mean?” Viridian asked - her gaze availing Victoria’s as she spoke- turning from the older woman as she stood from her chair.

Victoria tilted her head- looking at the smaller woman as if she were dumb. She smiled ever so slightly as she pulled off her oculeset, standing , the older woman placed it down on her chair. Stretching out her arms and neck. Her cybernetics gleaned in the light. She watched like a hawk as Viridian slung her lover's bomber jacket over her shoulders. As Viridian reached into the inside pocket for her cigarette case- Their eyes met for just a moment as Victoria spoke.

“Oh- You just seemed distracted before we began.” Victoria continued. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Valentino brute-”

“He has a name Vic- His name is Jackie- and he’s not a brute-” Viridian cut in- inbetween grabbing a cigarette from the case .

She furrowed her brow as she shut the case with a clack - and delicately placed it back into her pocket. Viridian placed the neatly rolled cigarette behind her ear- to smoke once she was outside.

Jackie was due to meet her in half an hour. She had to get going soon. It was date night for the couple. Jackie was due to meet her- they’d have a quick smoke and then they’d catch the metro to heywood. They’d grab buck-a-slice pizza and hang out- have a cosy time together.

“Oh really? Well he sure looks like one” Victoria laughed. Taking joy in watching Viridian’s fuse grow shorter and shorter.

“Well he’s not. He’s not a brute. Jackie Welles is the kindest man I know” she protested.

Viridian watched as Victoria rolled her eyes

“Oh, 'you can lie to yourself all you want, little rabbit, but it won't change the fact that he likely doesn't even have two brain cells to rub together”

A smile twisted onto the golden netrunner’s lips

“Is that what you want? A dullard so you appear smarter than you actually are?” She asked, stalking closer to Viridian.

Sharp toothed smile over her lips as she reached to her. ... Taking a lock of the younger woman’s teal hair and tucking it behind her ear- Victoria’s cold golden fingers hovering for a microsecond before slowly tracing the smaller woman’s jawline.

“I wonder what the man sees in you… with all this“ Victoria’s voice was as cold as her fingertips- that Intentionally pressed down on the raw patch of acne that Viridian tried so hard not to pick at.

Victoria saw the panic rise in Viridian’s eyes as she pulled herself away from the taller woman- but found herself backed against one of the walls of the alcove. The red lighting seemed all the brighter as Victoria closed herself in.

Viridian was trapped.

“You do know you’re dealing with street scum, rabbit… Valentino men don’t bother with women like you ”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about- what do you even mean by saying women like me-?!” She spoke- trying to project her voice.

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t be dumb.” Her weight shifted as she slid her metal fingers down Viridian’s jaw for a final time. Removing her hand- her gaze softened as she spoke her next words.

“You’re a prude, a stuck up virgin. I’m surprised that tower of a man hasn’t fucked you into his whore and then left you to rot-. ”

As Victoria opened her mouth to continue prying her colleague- viridian cut against her. Sharp- like the edge of a mantis blade.

Through gritted teeth grit and sharp exhale, viridian spoke with determination. Though Victoria could see the panic behind the mask.

“Firstly- Jackie is not like that- he would never do that. - Se-secondly- You have no right to talk to me like this Victoria- you have NEVER had the right to. “ she took a quick breath .

“You have no right or place to comment on the relationships I have formed with others- You need to respect me- you need to respect my friends and the people I have in my life, you need to respect the relationships I have formed with others-..- for fucks sake open your mind to the idea that- I don’t know- maybe some people don’t want to whore themselves out like yo— ”

A golden hand clutched Viridian’s jaw- craning her head up and back.

“What was that last part?” Anger could be heard in her voice.

“You. heard. me. But- I’ll say it again- seeing as you’re that old- '' viridian struggled under Victoria’s grip. “you’re probably losing your hearing- -” she choked as Victoria’s grip tightened as she spat out that remark

“Maybe- some people don’t want to whore themselves out like you do- you know that getting into people’s pants isn’t the only way to make a deal-”

Viridian was cut off by her head being slammed into the wall behind her- a slam not hard enough to cause blunt force trauma- but hard enough to shock-

Victoria forced eye contact with Viridian as she spoke her next words.

“Tell me, Viridian. Tell me, what have you ever done to be worthy of my respect”

Her grip tightened.

“Go on, Tell me,- little rabbit.” she geered.

Viridian’s kiorshi optics flickered. She reached for the knife strapped to the inside of her bomber. A gift from Jackie. Without stopping to think, she broke free of Victoria’s grip and threw herself at the taller woman. Knocking her against one of the towering server blocks. Sparks flying and circuits breaking-

An animalistic - guttural cry escaping the teal haired netrunner. Something inside her had snapped.

“You’d like to know what I’ve done-?” Viridian’s voice strained and broke-

The knife in Viridian’s cybernetic hand cut into Victoria’s cheek. Ripping through her perfect skin- cutting deep. It stayed static for a millisecond before it dragged deep through Victoria’s skin.

Blood oozed to the surface of the cut- out over - down Victoria’s skin. Victoria fought Viridian off of her- but it was no use- it just made the red rabbit madder.

“This is what I’ve done.” She screamed. “This is what I’ve fucking done Victoria” her voice quivering .

Viridian’s heart was racing - adrenaline and fear rushing through her veins- pushing her on.

Pin prick tears formed in her eyes as she watched the knife rip through flesh.

She wanted this to hurt. She wanted Victoria to bleed.

Viridian wanted the years of anguish and torment to be thrown back to Victoria.

“This may not earn your respect- but it’s showing you I am no longer afraid. “ Viridian twisted the knife as it met the edge of Victoria’s lip. “I am no longer afraid to get my hands dirty or bloody” was all she spoke as she quickly drew the knife from Victoria’s skin.

She spat in Victoria’s face. Then she spoke once again.

“I’m no longer allowing you to step over me- it’s all you’ve done for years.”

Bracing herself- backing away- shucking off her lover’s bomber jacket- hearing how leather and the metal of her emerald green cigarette case hit the floor. A number of menthol scented cigarettes rolled all over the tiled flooring.

She watched as Victoria wiped the spit from her face,- one shining hand applying pressure to the gaping wound- gold and red melding to make such a horrible masterpiece.

The red rabbit never stood a chance- as the viper bore its fangs.

“Congratulations Viridian” Victoria hissed- - she looked utterly horrifying under the red ambient lighting. Usually a picture of elegance and beauty - the mask was peeling- the monster finally coming into the light.

“you’re finally capable of the barest fucking necessity of working here-” her voice shook as a manic grin plastered her face “ oh my sweet little rabbit- I’m so so proud” these words laced with anger- malice .

The smile turned into a snarl as Victoria took her colleague by the neck and slammed her into the side of one of the netrunning chairs- winding the smaller netrunner. A golden fist then collided with her nose-

An audible crunch could be heard over the ambient machinery humming- Victoria had broken Viridian’s nose.

“You mother fuc-fucker” Viridian swore-

Victoria laughed. She marvelled at the pain she caused Viridian as she gasped- Hearing how Viridian’s breath rasped over the sound of machinery. She was s o blinded by onset rage that she failed to notice the knife still gripped in Viridian's hand…

In desperation- with brute force and ignorance - Viridian swung the knife into Victoria’s side and dragged down- She didn’t care how shallow or how deep this cut was- she just needed to get one final blow.

As she pulled the knife out of Victoria’s side- she dropped it to the floor - Viridian felt the panic finally set in as she scrambled to her feet and felt the blood drip from her nose. The cry that came out of her mouth was inhuman, as the reality of what she had done kicked in.

Trying to focus on anything- she locked onto the sound of heavy booted foot steps - then the sound of the net running room door opening.

Then finally- the Saka soldiers and their guns pointed at the two net runners.

Viridian was cuffed and taken by gun point to be treated as an animal going to slaughter.

–---

“Shit-” the teal haired merc swore under her breath. The CCTV footage playing before her and Jackie cycled on a loop. She heard Bryce snap his fingers and a new window opened- the cinema screen splitting. One half still played the cctv footage- the other showed a trauma team medical template. Medical illustrations of Victoria Crane’s injuries. X Rays and clinical photography showed the extent of the damage Viridian had caused her old colleague.

Viridian almost threw up in her mouth at the sight of the gaping open scars. For a split second- Viridian thought she could still smell the iron in the air. Her body language tense as she turned away from the cinema screen. Having not seen Victoria since that day- she never truly realised the damage she had caused her. She swallowed down what bile had come up- and glared at the netwatch agent.

“Why are you showing me this-” she choked.

The corners of the netwatch agent’s mouth turned up into this sly smile.

“The viper wanted me to remind you just what you did to her….” He stood from the table ledge he leant against and stalked closer to the teal haired netrunner.

“Think of this as a greeting. She’ll be in touch soon… I’m just the messenger here….”

Viridian took two paces back as took out her pistol - aiming it at the taller man.

“You take one step closer to me and i’ll put this bullet right between your eyes”

“Is that a threat?”

“What the fuck do you do you think-?!” Viridian cocked the gun - finger over the trigger.

Visibly shaking now- Viridian’s breathing quickened - she felt her lover’s hand over her shoulder- pulling her back. His other hand clutching at the pistol- Viridian automatically releasing the grip - almost submitting into the motion.

“It’s not worth it Viri-” His gaze not on his love- but still to the cinema screen - “Come on, let’s get out of here” His tone… unreadable to the netrunner.

She glared at her love- then to Bryce. Biting the inside of her lip- she shucked herself free of Jackie’s hold and took one last look at the netwatch agent- before she paced as fast as she could out of the back room of the cinema.

Being unable to read Jackie’s tone only made things worse for Viridian… Was he upset? Was he angry? Did he think his beloved was this vile monster for what she had done to her old colleague? Viridian couldn’t tell!!

The trailing anxiety spiral was cut short by the feeling of bile coming up the back of her throat again.

Viridian threw up into the nearest empty bin she could find. Eyes screwed shut - coughing and choking. Opening her eyes and averting her vision to the bile inside the trash can- the acidic smell and foul taste in her mouth knocking her for six. She tried to stand back up straight- but one wrong move had her doubled over again. The content of her stomach empty- the netrunner dry heaved in between trying to breathe

At that moment she really did feel like she was going to die. That was until she felt a large hand softly placed between her shoulder blades- rubbing gently.

Once she was able to stand up again- Viridian faced away from Jackie- unable to make eye contact the pair quickly made their way out of the mall.

Viridian stumbling and losing her footing- almost falling until Jackie caught her.

“Sit with me V-”

The two sat down on the curb side - Viridian’s eyes to the tarmac of the empty car park. Her attention peaked by the sound of leather and metal shucking - moving-. She looked to Jackie- who had taken off his bomber - and was now offering it to his lover. Viridian’s silent reply came as a subtle nod.

The weight of Jackie’s bomber over her shoulders felt like such a comfort. Like returning home to a warm meal on a bitterly cold day.

“Thought you’d wanna wear it-” he offered his hand to Viridian - who took it and squeezed tightly “know it helps ground you…”

Viridian nodded again- Jackie feeling how her fingers brushed and fiddled against one of his golden rings…

The two stayed sitting together - not saying words- just decompressing .

Jackie was the one to break the silence as the sun began to set. Letting go of Viridian’s grip- he reached to the pocket of his jacket- still draped over Viridian’s shoulders. He grabbed the golden etched lighter and a pack of smokes from the pocket.

“It’s ok if you don’t wanna talk about it…. But how long did you put up with that bullshit from Vic?” He asked softly- shucking the carton to grab a smoke- offering the pack to his girl.

Viridian shook her head at the offer of a cigarette- pursing her lips.

“I-…” she began- involuntarily reaching to her jaw and starting to pick at the skin- “I think it was… near enough five years Jac- I-… I thought I was finally free of her- but-… I thought wrong…”

The smell of Jackie’s menthol cigarette assaulting her nose- she scrunched her nostrils and wafted the smoke away from her.

“Can you put that out please?” She asked abruptly. Normally viridian did not mind the smell of menthol smoke- but at this moment it made her want to throw up again.

“Yeah sure-” Jackie snuffed his cigarette out on the curb side and threw it into the empty car park. He felt viridian slump herself against his shoulder - Jackie instinctively pulling her closer and holding her waist with one of his hands.. slowly massaging in small soft circles through leather and the tough fabric of her net running suit.

Viridian stayed quiet for what felt like an eternity- before her composure began to break- a quiet sob- which then grew louder and louder- her body tensing up as each breath felt like she was in hailing chlorine.

“I —- fucking hell- fucking hell- fu-fuck-fucking hell-... I-I’m nev-nevvv-never gonna be free of her Jac-” her voice was rushed and panicked. A frail cry escaped her- she was like a wounded animal.

Jackie held her closer. He noticed how Viridian balled her cybernetic hand into a tight fist as she struggled to get her words out.

Trying again to speak- but her words just wouldn’t come out- she grit her teeth- screwing her eyes shut and punching herself in the leg- as she went in for another punch- Jackie’s hand took hold of her balled fist. The hold was tight - but not in a threatening way.

“Hurting yourself ain’t making things better Viridian -” his thumb brushing over metal and chrome.

“Come on- deep breaths with me …” he spoke softly as he let go of Viridian’s balled fist - and watched it, open like a blooming flower. Taking her hand in his - he felt her pain, her anguish and heartbreak.

Jackie breathed in deeply- Prompting for viridian to mimic the pattern- albeit stuttered and unsteady- they breathed together- even as Viridian cried. She pressed herself up against Jackie’s bicep and broad shoulders.

Everything felt like it was falling apart. Her composure finally broke into thousands of tiny pieces, as the sun set and the night drew cold.

#bunny's fanfic tag #oc: viridian #victoria crane #jackie welles #bryce mosley #otp: to this #ao3 #cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #cbp2077 #cyberpunk 2077 fanfic #archive of our own #arasaka's red rabbit

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alki-studio · 7 months

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HxH manga rebinding! (vol. 1)

(project master post here)

Let me just start this off with that from my 7 years of experience bookbinding, a LOT went wrong with this project. Like, almost everything that could've went wrong. It is not to my usual standard of work, though I tried to make up for errors where I could.

Nonetheless, I'm doing this for practice and to document my progress, so here's how it went!

⍔ (More final pics at the end) ⍔

I absolutely adore the cover of the first volume as-is. It's really great graphically: the palette pops and gives a clear hierarchy to information in different areas, the illustration of Gon on the frog is super cute, it's overall just fun.

My first design decision was to retain the green/yellow/red color palette. I don't think I've ever done anything with these colors, I don't really gravitate towards them, so I definitely wanted to keep them in the design.

I didn't have a piece of leather large enough in any of these colors-- all the leather I use is industry scraps and remnants, so I don't really purchase full hides. So, I had to get creative with it:

I did have enough of this laurel green leather to cover a front and back board, but I'd need to hide the seam along the spine. I also have this really cool tie silk jacquard, I want to guess it's from the 80's (I got it for a dollar at a flea market). Technically I'm using the backside of this stuff, but I like it better because of how vibrant the colors are. I only need a thin strip for the spine, so I cut out a matching green, yellow, and orange section.

Here are some reject cover material contenders: different leathers, vintage kimono silk, and snakeskin!

I didn't want to just copy the cover for the board design, so I looked at the panels for some inspiration. My favorite panel from volume 1 is actually of the tunnel from the Hunter exam (left), but since this is the first volume, I really wanted to pay homage to this being the beginning of Gon's journey. So, I included this panel of Whale Island (right), along with a wave pattern.

Here's the design I sketched out, and it carved into chipboard:

Normally I'd just sketch directly onto the chipboard I'm carving, but I wanted to have a template to use for gold foiling. This is my first attempt at doing so; I don't actually have the proper tools for traditional hot stamping, so I'm using a hot foil pen (video on the tool/technique).

First mistake: Trying to brute force the original cover off the block. Lesson: Use a heat gun.

Removing the text block from the original softcover was pretty straightforward, except I originally tried to get the cover off the block by gentle tearing/cutting away at the original glue, which resulted in me just destroying the attached page anyway. This volume doesn't give you many "junk" pages to sacrifice, so it meant I'd have to glue my end paper onto the last page of the volume D:

For the other cover, I hit it with a heat gun for a few seconds, and it peeled right off.

Here's a progress shot of attaching the leather to the boards, smooth sailing there:

Second mistake: Not backing fabric with Heat n' Bond Lesson: Always make bookcloth properly

I have made my own bookcloth before (video on how to do it), and really, truly, know better than to apply liquid glue to fabric. Nonetheless, I was stupid and did it anyway. I even diluted the glue with water, thinking that would mitigate the effects of glue seepage? It didn't. My spine fabric lost all its vibrancy and was just an ugly, goopy mess.

Before I attached the board and spine to the block and endpapers, I added the foiling. At first, that came out pretty well, but then I lost patience, and started freehanding Whale Island on the back.

Third mistake: Not sticking to the template Lesson: Stick to the fucking template (and start saving for a CNC)

The drawing itself was fine, so normally this wouldn't be an issue, but because I have Whale Island sitting on top of a raised embossed silhouette, it was painfully obvious that my drawing wasn't in the position or scale it was supposed to be. My freehand lettering also leaves something to be desired, though I don't think the template would have helped a lot with this either. Honestly, for a position-sensitive blind transfer for lettering like this, using a CNC like a Cricut or Silhouette would be best. This might be my push to finally invest in one?

The endpapers are actually paper I had marbled myself, a while back, and met the green/yellow criteria. Attaching those to the block went smoothly, though I had to slightly glue over the panels at the back of the volume T^T... I used some of the spine fabric for head/endbands as well. It's... pretty ugly up close. Glue seepage, and the next mistake.

Fourth mistake: Gluing the entire fucking block upside down Lesson: Anything but that

The cosmetic mistakes on the cover this book are pretty forgivable, but the inside is a genuinely disgusting mess. I was working on getting this done before a friend came over, and was pretty happy to get the block glued in and the whole thing in the press before she arrived. I decided to take it out of the press show her when she arrived, only to realize I HAD GLUED THE BLOCK UPSIDE DOWN. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I tried to remove the block nicely, but the glue was already half dry and tacky and it was an awful awful mess, and I was already SO DONE with the project. So, I just cut the block out along the middle of the endpaper, and stepped away for the evening.

I really wanted to use the marbled paper I made, and I had no scraps to use over the seam where I had to flip the block, so I had to find a complimentary alternative. I just used some chiyogami, with, once again, green/yellow/red. Slapped that on the seam. Probably could've done a better job with it.

I had been saving the original covers, and wanted to incorporate them, so I decided to use them as sort of bookmark pages? Not sure how to call it, but like how hardcovers with a paper cover will have those folded flaps on the inside usually with an about or review section.

As for the cosmetic fixes:

First thing I did was properly make bookcloth with the sliver of extra silk in the right colorway that I had, and glued that over the lumpy fucked up original spine. It's not perfect by any means, but it's definitely a lot better.

When I started writing this, I had only done gold foil on the covers. But as I was looking back at early design process photos, I remember how much I wanted to incorporate the red into the design, which mine was absent of. So, I started to accent Gon and the frog with red paint.

It looked absolutely horrifying.

So I kept painting, and painting, and painting, trying to make it look good, and it was 4AM and I was tired, and I'm used to oil paint so I forgot you can't just leave ugly globs of paint wherever and wipe them up later, and it just kept looking worse and worse.

I got jumpscared by this monstrosity this morning:

Don't paint while tired!!

I tried to salvage my awful paint job the next day, and kept adding more colors and paint into the design until I had ended up just repainting the original cover. I didn't get the lettering perfect or anything, but I got it to a presentable point at least. I really wanted to make some semblance of a re-interpretation of the original illustration, but oh well, the painted version was a necessary fix.

It's not perfect by any means, (honestly, it's not even good either), but I did what I could, and I'm ready to move onto the next project. Here's the final pictures!