worse0mens

[worse0mens]

What lovely work! I’m always amazed and flattered by how much more art my stories have inspired. Every detail, from the colour choices to that silk that looks like wood grain to the snake paragraph break, is incredible. So much thought and care and craftsmanship went into this and I am so honoured by it. I’m only sorry that I don’t have more words for it! Ironic for a writer I know, but seriously. I’m speechless. Amazing work.

It's been a month since Binderary ended but I've still got books to share! This is @worse0mens's (hi!) wonderful Good Omens series, The Blossom Realm, which starts with Omens of Another Kind. This is very much a longtime favorite of mine, an AU with a really compelling combo of worldbuilding and characterization. This is a believable grand romance that's also a court drama and a fairy tale, and it's really long (the full series is about 220k words) so it will keep you reading for a long time. This is one of the fics I learned bookbinding for, and it was the first really long fic that I typeset (and redid once I learned more about typesetting). It's been a long road but it was so worth it.

More photos under the cut!

Couple of photos of the spines. The series doesn't divide easily, with one very long work, one medium-length one, and several shorter pieces. The main story is nearly 200k on its own, the longest single volume I've ever made (about 500 pages), and I was worried about it getting too unwieldy, so I put all the other works into their own volume of about 100 pages. They make a disparate set but I love them. The cover is done in skiver green faux leather from Hollander's; I've never worked with this brand before but I loved it, and one sheet was big enough to do both books. The titles are done in cricut brand gold foil htv. There were some issues with that, as I'd bought a multi-pack with a few different colors and only found out after applying the front cover graphics on both books that one, I didn't have enough to do the backs and spines; two, that the gold in that pack is a totally different color than the gold they sell on its own; and three, that no one in my area stocked it anymore and I had to order it from Europe. Here's what the back looks like:

It's the same graphic as the front but without the title in the center, and it's one of the fanciest backs I've ever done and it took forever to weed all those little cutouts. The graphic was free to use on rawpixel. The font I used on the spines and front is a basic Microsoft font called Harrington that worked incredibly well on the cricut, even at small sizes; a lot of basic fonts are too thin, especially fancy ones, so this was a delightful surprise.

Photo of the top, with ribbon bookmark and handmade double core endbands. The endbands didn't come out as well as I'd have liked; they're a little uneven and the color changes aren't that evenly spaced. Double core ones are harder than I expected and I need more practice. The endpapers are chocolate silk moire, and I chose them because there's a very important massive tree in the fic and I thought they looked like wood grain. I did a little experimenting with the shorter volume that's visible around the edges of the endpaper. I wanted gilded edges but the longer book had to be rounded, and I thought I'd try paint instead of foil since I don't know how to foil a curved edge. But I did my experiments on the smaller volume and I couldn't get good coverage, so the edge had to be trimmed off. The watered-down paint had leaked into the edge of the silk moire too far for me to trim, so it's still there. But it's kind of pretty, so I'm going to call it an aesthetic choice.

The title pages are the same, with free graphics from rawpixel. I got lucky and found a similar set of roses that I used for the chapter headers:

These had to be positioned by hand for each chapter so they'd fit around the text properly. It was a pain but they look so pretty. The final photo contains a story spoiler, so proceed with caution if you don't want that:

The scene break image in both volumes is this tiny snake. This was one of the first aesthetic choices I made for the books. A lot of the plot is centered around a prophecy about a monster snake that everyone thinks will destroy the kingdom, and of course in the manner of Good Omens fic it's a wildly inaccurate misinterpretation and not a threat at all. I wanted something like this because the snake is not only non-threatening but it's been here the entire time and there was never any reason to freak out about it. It was surprisingly difficult to find a snake image that was both simple enough to still be clear at this size and also didn't look dangerous or like a cartoon character. I looked at so many snakes before I found this one, it's ridiculous.

And that's it! I hope the author likes it (and remembers me since I asked to do this almost a year ago). There are three more binderary posts forthcoming, though I don't know how long it'll take me to get to them. It was a busy month.

#bookbinding #fanbinding

[worse0mens]

Ineffable Dads #6

Crowley is the kind of dad who:

- tries to be cool, misses slightly, and invariably comes off as endearingly cringe

- teaches his kid how to drive (before swiftly being banned by Aziraphale)

- instead of reading at bedtime, he makes up wild stories of his own (he does the voices too, and has way too much fun with them)

- conducts a hostile takeover of the PTA

- storms into the school to put the fear of God into the headteacher because “MY CHILD IS BEING BULLIED AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO STOP IT?”

- keeps a height chart

- takes all the family photos & keeps the baby teeth

- is not afraid of PDA with Aziraphale, no matter how many times their child whines “ewwww dad stoooooop!”

- would definitely childishly imitate his kid’s petulant complaining (such classics include: “But I don’t wanna!”, “I’m not tired!” and, of course, “But daaaaaad...!”)

- surreptitiously high fives his kid when they get into trouble because “Look, I’m supposed to set a good example, but that was awesome”

- patiently endures the “But Why?” phase

- is often the one getting into trouble alongside his kid (usually with Aziraphale)

- is always the most enthusiastic and animated crowd member at all sports events, plays, concerts, competitions, prize givings, etc...

- dresses the baby in a tiny leather jacket & sunglasses

- “go ask your father” — Crowley, every day

#anthony j crowley #Crowley #dad Crowley #ineffable dads #good omens #self reblog

[worse0mens]

Ineffable Dads #7

Aziraphale is the kind of dad who:

- horrendously misuses modern slang (intentionally? Probably.)

- reads to his child at night

- brings his kid & their friends a tray of juice and cookies while they play

- would definitely bring out the embarrassing baby photos when his kid brings home their first partner... and every partner after that

- “I’m not angry... I’m just disappointed.”

- throws a FIT if his child does something unsafe, but only because: “You could have been hurt! I was worried sick, have you any idea how dangerously stupid that was? ... oh, but I am so glad you’re safe.”

- gets very tearful when his child reaches a new milestone in their life because “Oh, Crowley, they’re growing up! It’s all happening far too fast...”

- would let his kid drink in the house, because it’s safer at home than it is where he can’t keep an eye on them

- organises a BBQ for the whole neighbourhood every summer (miraculously, it’s always sunny that day)

- helps his child with their homework, and often finds himself learning a thing or two in the process (“Oh, is that how humans think the Great Fire of London happened...?)

- does a magic show for the first six birthday parties (eventually gets banned by Crowley)

- “You are NOT learning to drive, cars are DEATHTRAPS. What’s wrong with a good old bus, hmm? God gave you legs for a reason. Oh, and there’s the train. Planes. Skateboards. Bikes. Erm... horses?”

- is the one who caves in when a stray kitten follows his child home from school, and they’re faced with the classic “Can we keep it? Please?” dilemma. Crowley says no, but Aziraphale always wins.

- hardly ever understands his child’s hobbies and interests, but does his best to listen and be supportive

#ineffable dads #dad aziraphale #aziraphale #good omens #self reblog

[worse0mens]

“I am so tired, Crowley.”

“… tired of what?” he asked, pushing his sunglasses up onto his forehead, and looking up at Aziraphale’s face from where his head lay in his lap.

Aziraphale didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I didn’t think freedom would be so difficult. I had always supposed, that… it would be a wonderful thing, to choose things for myself.”

“You don’t want to be free?” Crowley asked, with thinly veiled tenderness.

The grandfather clock ticked on, the pendulum endlessly swinging as the angel stared, hypnotised by the passing of time. “I didn’t say that,” he murmured. “It seems too much to ask of myself, to decide what to do for… well. Forever.”

“Now we know why humans go mad with it,” he said, his voice barely rising above a murmur in the dim filament-bulb glow that staved off the night. “Maybe we ought to learn a thing or two, from them. They’ve been at it longer than us.”

A faint smile curled his lip. “I suppose they have, haven’t they?” he said, with a wry look at the serpent in his lap. “I wonder whose fault that is.”

He arched a brow. “What?” he said. “Think I did the wrong thing?”

Aziraphale reached over to stroke his hair, and shook his head. “I wouldn’t change it,” he said, grateful, at least, for this; for the soft moments in-between the hard choices, his safe haven, high above the cold, endless sprawl of everything else. “Not for the world.”

#ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #good omens

[worse0mens]

🦆

#ducks #crowley #anthony j crowley

[worse0mens]

Ways Crowley Could Safely Enter A Church

- pogo stick

- a skateboard and a walking stick, punting himself along like he’s in Venice

- platform shoes

- piggyback from Aziraphale

- stilts

- being carried bridal-style by Aziraphale

- literally just a fucking motorcycle

#damn I’ve got MORE than one heritage post? #good omens

[worse0mens]

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Aziraphale...

Aziraphale not that close, that’s too close

AZIRAPHALE

AZIRAPHALE NO

#heritage post seriously? wow #legitimate honour #aziraphale #incorrect good omens #aziraphale no

[worse0mens]

Just wanted to say I discovered your outsider pov fics after watching Season 2 and I’m obsessed. I haven’t read much in a long time due to attention span issues, but I stayed up until 3am reading your fics. You are marvellously talented.

Thank you so much, that’s very kind ❤️ I’m taking a break from the fandom atm but I hope to return at some point and write more

#good omens #ask

[worse0mens]

I’ve not watched s2 yet and I’ve seen a couple spoilers cause I’ve been stressed about what’s gonna happen in it… and honestly idk if I even want to watch it, now. Cause it really sounds like it’s done exactly what I didn’t want it to do

#gos2 #gos2 spoilers #good omens

[worse0mens]

😈: Tell me, when was it again? 😇: Tomorrow! One Day Left! 😈: You know it, angel 💕

ONE DAY LEFT UNTIL SEASON 2 I CANNOT WAIT, Y'ALL!!!🤩

Yesterday's countdown piece was by the fantastic @cliopadra and tomorrow it's @owlygem's turn with the gorgeous finale!

[worse0mens]

@persophoneschild just saw your tags and thought to chip in — it’s actually both. Good Omens is a parody of The Omen, hence why Crowley is the demonic nanny (not the gardener, as the fandom often scratches its head over) because of the nanny in that. However in the Good Omens book, it does also mention that Nanny Ashtoreth is in part inspired by Crowley’s knowledge of Mary Poppins.

I would guess that more people have read the book than seen The Omen in the fandom, so more people make the Mary Poppins references, and far fewer know why Crowley’s the nanny and not the gardener

Scary Poppins My Beloved~

(Ya’ll remember how Nanny Ash had a hellhound in the book? Bc I do!)

A few of you suggested that I could do Huevember, and while I certainly won’t get to do it every day - today’s color was a nice warm red, so I prettied up an old sketch from 2019!

#good omens

[worse0mens]

I present pocket-sized Ineffable Husbands ✨

[worse0mens]

Finally finished binding one of my favorite fics, Omens of Another Kind by WorseOmens.

I'm a little miffed at the title coming out not quite centered, but overall I think it turned out well. I'm very happy to have added it to my library. C:

[worse0mens]

Oh wow!! Thanks @sadlynojellybeans for the tag, this is awesome! An embroidered book cover, that’s just gorgeous. What beautiful craft! I’m endlessly shocked and honoured when people with such talent bind my silly little fics, thank you so much 😊

Third book I’d ever bound was the wonderful Omens of Another Kind (actually entire Blossom Realm series) by WorseOmens. First and only time sewing endbands and the cover art and title was hand embroidered-though I’ve never done that before either.

#good omens #bookbinding #fic rec #omens of another kind #seriously though if I’d known how much this fic would blow up I’d have put more effort into the title and summary #those were just placeholders then I decided to post them as is cause ‘eh who’s gonna read this shit anyway’ #lots of people apparently

[worse0mens]

Even though I know Crowley doesn’t canonically listen to Hozier (as the playlist is more of a vibes of the character not what they listen to, also personally I just don’t see it), it’s really funny to imagine Crowley casually listening to “From Eden” for the first time and then just going into a catatonic state

[worse0mens]

did you just say good omens badly cropped onto shitty roblox screenshots? no? too fucking bad.

[worse0mens]

Holy fuck. I just… wow. This is incredible. They look so perfect, beautiful colours, beautiful set. It’s been a dream of mine to be properly published one day and find physical copies of my books in a shop somewhere, so seeing two of my works made real like this is… yeah. Making my heart do funny things. I feel pretty unworthy of it to be honest, but also deeply honoured by the hard work and artistry that went into it. Thank you so much for making these and I wish you much joy of them. I cannot wrap my head around the fact you found my Mermay fics good enough to bind into real books, especially such beautiful ones.

Books! The ongoing project I've had half-finished since March continues to thwart me, so I want to show off a project from May that turned out incredibly well. I'm extremely proud of these!

Ta-da! Look at my creations! Are they not beautiful?? This is a set of two related works, From the Deep and Into the Deep. They are by the same author, @worse0mens, and they share a lot of worldbuilding but are not a series and can be read independently. They are siren AUs with very solid characterization, both for everyone's favorite main characters (three guesses who I mean; this is a Good Omens work) and for the secondaries as well (Eve in Into the Deep is a particular favorite for me). The worldbuilding is another star; I would read non-fanwork originals in this universe and that's not something I usually say.

More photos and process talk under the cut! I had to make a lot of adjustments to the design while it was a work in progress, so this post got even longer than usual.

Since these are so closely related even without being a series I really wanted to make them look like a set, and I honestly think I nailed that. I found the pale blue scale-patterned paper on ChibiJay before I even started the typeset and knew it would be perfect if I could match it in black, given that those colors are so heavily associated with our two viewpoint characters. The original plan was to have one in all blue and one in all black, but that blue paper was kind of a nightmare for color-matching. It clashed horribly with the blue book cloth, so I switched that to the black book, and then it also clashed with the black cloth I had chosen. So it got charcoal in the end, and it ended up coming together quite well. The titles are HTV, first time using that on cloth, and that also did not go well. It very much did not want to stick, took more than twice as long as it should have to press, and I still ended up with some wrinkling. Further experiments are needed, I think. It was worth it in the end, though--colors and fonts are perfect, and I like the vertical orientation even more than I thought I would.

Endpapers are solid brown on both books. Another nightmare of color matching. Black is easy! Everything looks good! But that blue was really stubborn about what I could match it to, and this was the only paper that I could find that looked good with both. It's ludicrously thick and was hard to trim even with my plow. Endbands and bookmark are solid black and solid blue respectively, the only easy match in the entire project. Even then, I had originally wanted a gold bookmark on both, to match the gold lines on the covers, but I couldn't find one that was thin enough. Everything in the right colors was wider than the spines. I was very glad to find that blue ribbon, and it was an exact match for some endbands I got ages ago as part of a variety pack. Stroke of luck, there.

Interiors. As I said above, I wanted them to look like a set, so the same fonts, sizing, and text ornaments are used throughout both copies. All the images came from rawpixel, all I did was resize them and I think adjust the color. I was originally planning a much simpler look for these, and the typeset reflects that sort of stripped-down look; there are fewer text ornaments than I normally use, and the title fonts are less curly and ornate than my usual. The plain endpapers were also chosen with that thought in mind, but the covers turned out way more ornate than I thought when I first pictured them in my head. I don't think the insides match the outsides terribly well, but both came out so nicely that I don't mind. I could never regret those covers, they are too gorgeous for that.

Top view on both books. I had some issues with the boards warping on this project, which you can see in the first two pictures. The one on the left is how it looks normally, and you can see that the boards curve away from the text block in the middle, leaving a gap. If you squeeze the book (middle image) this gap goes away. It's present in both books, though more visible on the blue one. I think I made an error with the grain direction, possibly in the endpapers. Or the very heavy endpapers just have more pull to them than the much lighter chiyogami on the outside, and it can't compensate. Hopefully it won't lead to any structural issues further down the line. It's just less than ideal, is all.

I've toyed with the idea of making a slipcase for these. They're already a set, but they could be a BOXED set. Very fancy. I've never done boxes before though, so I'm a bit intimidated. I may revisit them someday to do that.

#bookbinding #fanbinding #snek makes books #good omens #fic rec #into the deep #from the deep #worseomens