This Episode Changed My Life

cant stop thinking about sunrise on the reaping. a revolution IS really just trying again and again and again and having HOPE that itll succeed this time. and oh god plutarch talking about how they would need better timing ... the 75th hunger games arena being a clock... im SICK

songbird, mockingjay and dove

The Reluctant Victor, inspired by The Reluctant Bride by Auguste Toulmouche - I just thought that this painting was SO perfect for Katniss and I had to draw it!

I first started writing this story for a friend way back in 2014, at which point it was just a couple thousand words long (and not very good, in all honesty, but I forgive myself). After a dozen revisions and rewrites down the years I finally finished working on it in late 2022. Somewhere along the way it grew to be about 220k words, and it remains to date the largest piece of fiction I've ever completed.

It was always my dearest ambition to try and bind it by hand as a gift, but, you know, time passes. Unfortunately my friend and I fell out of touch around COVID but the characters (a mixture of hers and my own) are still very dear to me and I wanted to make a physical copy to commentate the special place they will always occupy in my heart.

I was aiming for a look similar to Everyman's Library / the style of some 19th century half bindings and I'm pretty happy with the result. Used rather a lot of open source woodcut illustrations for the chapter headers and the title page, and the whole thing is bound in red leather and some 19th century reproduction marble papers.

731 pages and typeset in 10.5pt Crimson Roman

I’m ok, I’m fine, I’ve been handling Sunrise on the Reaping very well -I’ve been crying non stop.

hecate

Seen on my walk home

I don't know if anyone's mentioned this yet but... Jace, while still alive, is probably going to jail, which leaves Aguefort without a Sorcery teacher for next September.

Do you know who: 1. just came to town, 2. is staying for at least a year, 3. seemingly has innate spellcasting, and 4. has actual experience taking care of and stewarding teenagers?

Picture it: First day of Senior Year, Gorgug Thistlespring walks through the halls, a rockstar drummer, pioneer of the Barbificer multiclass, and four time savior of the world. He's feeling great, this is gonna be a good year. Then he turns a corner and sees him.

There he is, in all of his High Elven glory, trying desperately to wrap his head around to whom his new students are referring to when mentioning this "chat" person. Professor Telemaine Lomenelda, Aguefort’s newest Sorcery teacher.

Back again to expert cursed book hunting duo, Gerry and Mike, cause I just enjoy having an excuse to get the avatar and avatar-adjacent characters to interact. ✨ Also experimenting with short hair Jon, I realized I've never actually drew him like that.

Hobie should have a little old lady who adores him