So last week I posted abut the importance of downloading your fic. And then three days later AO3 went down for 24 hours. No one was more weirded out by this than I was. But while y’all were acting like the library at Alexandria was on fire I was reading my download fic and editing chapter eight of Buck, Rogers, and the 21st Century. And also thinking about what I could do to be helpful when the crisis was actually over.
So first off, I’m going to repeat that if you’re going to bookmark a fic, you really need to also download the fic and back it up in a safe place. I just do it automatically now and it’s a good habit to get into.
But let’s talk about some other scenarios. Last October I lost power for over a week after hurricane Ian. Apart from not having internet or A/C I did find plenty to do, I collect books so I had plenty to read, but maybe, unlike me, your favorite comfort reads aren’t sitting on a bookshelf. So let’s do something about that, shall we?
In olden times many long years ago around 1995 we printed off a lot of fic. It was mostly SOP to print a fic you planned to reread and stick it in a three ring binder. And that’s totally valid today too, but you can also make a very nice paperback with a minimum amount of skill and materials.
Let’s start with the download; Go to Ao3 and select your fic, we’ll be working with one of mine. This method works best with one shots, long fic tends to need a more complicated approach. Get yourself an HTML download
Open up the HTML download and select all then copy paste into any word processor. Set the page to landscape and two columns, then change the font to something you find easy to read, this is your book, no judgement. This is all you have to do for layout but I like to play a little bit. I move all the meta, summary, notes to the end and pick out a fun font for the title:
No time like the present to do a quick proofread. Congratulations, you’ve just created your first typeset. On to the fun part.
Now you’re going to need some materials: 8.5x11in paper ruler one sheet of 12x12 medium card stock (60-80lb) scissors pencil pen or fine tip marker sheet of wax paper white glue two binder clips 2 heavy books or 1 brick butter knife
You’ll also need a printer, if you’re in the US there is almost a 100% chance your local library has a printer you can use if you don’t have your own. None of these materials are expensive and you can literally use cheap copy paper and Elmers glue.
Print your text block, one page per side. Fold the first page in half so that the blank side is inside and the printed side out:
use the butter knife to crease the edge. Repeat on all the sheets. When you’ve finished, stack them up with the raw edge on the left and the folded edge on the right. I used standard copy paper, because you’re only printing on one side there’s no bleed to worry about. Take the text block and line everything up. Use the binder clips to hold the raw edge in place.
Wrap the text block in the wax paper so that the raw edge and binder clips are facing out. I’m going to use my home built book press but you don’t need one, a brick or a couple of books or anything else heavy will work fine.
Once the text block is anchored down, take off he binder clips and get out the glue.
You can use a brush but you don’t need one, smear some glue on that raw edge.
Go make a margarita, watch The Mandalorian, call your mother. Don’t come back for at least an hour
In an hour smear some more glue on there and shift your brick forward so that the whole book is covered. This keeps the paper from warping. While glue part 2 is drying we’ll do the cover. Get out your 12x12 cardstock
Mark the cardstock off at 8.5 inches and cut it. Measure in 5.5 inches from the left and put in a score line with the butter knife (the back edge not the sharp edge)
Carefully fold the score line, this is your front cover. You have some options for the cover title, you can use a cutting machine like a cricut if you have one, you can print out a title on the computer and use carbon paper to transfer the text to the cardstock. I was in a mood so I just freehanded that beoch. Pencil first then in pen.
Take your text block out from under your brick. Line it up against the score mark and mark the second score on the other side of the spine
Fold the score and glue the textblock into the cover at the spine. Once the glue dries up mark the back cover with the pencil and then trim the back cover to fit with your scissors.
Voila:
I’m going to put this baby on the shelf next to the Silmarillion.
The whole process, not counting drying time, took less than an hour.
If you want to make a book of a longer fic, I recommend Renegade Publishing, they have a ton of resources for fan-binders.
Hey yeah in the midst of all the hype and the strikes, can we PLEASE fucking talk about this
I’ve said it before and I’ve said it again, fuck Nolan. This is the same man that forced his movie to release in theaters at the height of the pandemic because it was too “important” for streaming
Here’s the real problem, it’s not just Nolan who does this, it’s an industry issue. This probably didn’t just happen with Oppenheimer, but probably with Barbie, Mission Impossible, and every movie in between.
Why? Because VFX artists aren’t unionized.
As this article states, “Not crediting the VFX crew is actually fairly common practice in Hollywood, and because VFX artists aren’t unionized, there is no recourse for the worker and no penalty for the studio when credits are omitted or misrepresented.”
You wanna talk about this? Then let’s not just focus on one movie, let’s talk about the whole industry.
Hey, hot take, but if a company decides they no longer want to distribute a piece of media they own the rights to, then they should be legally required to sign the rights back over to the creator.
They shouldn’t be allowed to just sit on the IP for the rest of time, especially if they have no intention of ever releasing it again.
You know what, that’s also a valid take, let’s add that to the post
In computer gaming there’s a concept called Abandonware that runs on this premise. That if the company isn’t making it and selling it anymore, it’s acceptable to copy/download/pirate it.
Applied in a wider sense, if there’s no way for you to access it legally, then illegally is fuckin’ fine.
But yes, if the owner isn’t using it they ought to be obligated to make it available to someone who will.
My favorite thing about online queer discourse is that it literally repeats every year but with a different identity and so many people just go along with it. It’s like watching a series of people literally never learn their lesson.
Let’s see if I can make a timeline so if I remember correctly it was bisexuals first right because y’all wanted them to pick a side (no irony there, clearly forcing people into a sexuality they don’t fit with has historically worked great and been a net positive)
Then pansexuals because people had the audacity to experience multi-attraction but not identify with your specific label
And then there was the ace discourse about how people who are ace/aro aren’t REALLY lgbt because?? Y’all said lack of attraction wasn’t a sexuality and clearly they were just?? Broken??? (Again, no irony in this. Telling people with sexualities you don’t understand that they’re broken has always been a net positive and worked out great for everybody in the end)
Oh and then y’all came for bi-lesbians because y’all forgot people can experience different romantic and sexual attraction
Then y’all started calling trans women pedophiles (AGAIN WITH NO IRONY, NOT LIKE THE COMMUNITY HAS A RAMPANT HISTORY OF QUEER PEOPLE BEING CALLED PEDOPHILES AS A FEAR MONGERING TACTIC)
And then y’all started insulting trans men for speaking out about possibly suffering from their own set of issues that comes with being trans men (god forbid people have their own set of issues they wanna address separately, everyone knows the queer experience is universal right?)
And literally every single time all I hear is:
Like maybe I’m crazy but perhaps the biggest threat to our community is not people making up labels or mixing labels or talking about their own personal forms of oppression they face - but maybe. Just maybe. It’s the hoards of just genuinely straight up homophobic bigoted people who are actively trying to cut trans health care and take away gay marriage. Idk maybe that’s just me.
There’s ppl in the notes unironically saying “OP I was with you until [group I think deserves to be excluded]” like you’re the exact ppl this post is about holy shit 😭
Tfw when men do that thing where they pretend they have no control over their temper. LOL It’s so funny like am I supposed to pretend that I don’t know you’re completely self-aware and present during this rage performance. Or should I pretend you’re the tortured hero in a movie, possessed by a series of fabricated flashbacks of the war and your father
