Seekrit Project!
Aug. 11th, 2024 09:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daemonlunaI'm posting this here and locking it down to everyone BUT Zulu and Bell (filter codename: shh-zulu-sekrit) because I want to share the full saga with them when all is known, and I will forget things in the meantime. (Zulu and Bell, if my filter did not work and you see this, look away now!!) So...
I am awash in feelings this weekend. So, as I think those few of you still here know, we're losingzulu to cancer. This sucks so, so much. She is one of my friends-like-family. But, here we are.
I think you all know about my latest hobby. My first fanbind was a pamphlet fic of her crackfic. I've bound her an anthology of some of her recent fic, and presented her with her rarepair mpreg from a decade ago for Christmas last year. Last week she asked me, "Soooo... could you do something for me? Could you do another pamphlet, of this particular fic?" Yes, I said, yes I will. I will make you a pamphlet. I will make you TWELVE pamphlets. A HUNDRED AND TWENTY pamphlets, and more. (Spoiler alert, I did not make a hundred and twenty pamphlets. I haven't made it to twelve QUITE yet, but I'm up to three to print.)
Last week, I said to a good fanbinding friend, I want to bind more of Zulu's fic, I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Her response: "Can I help? Do you want me to typeset something?" Me: (ALL THE EMOTION) "... yes. But also, I was thinking of asking the Renegade guild if anyone else would be bind a few of her fic, too, maybe a few quick pamphlets?" Her: YES, do it.
I did it. I posted. She immediately started a spreadsheet organizing what I'd already bound, and to let other people sign up for things, and put herself first on the list. The fact that someone else was organizing for me made me a bit weepy. By the time I went to bed an hour later, I think we had half a dozen people signed up to participate.
And then the next morning came. And a few more people signed up. I tentatively suggested that if anyone wanted to include a card or note and maybe some stickers forbell and their kiddo L, it would be welcome. And people started asking me questions. Like, what fic does she like best? Where should we start? Can we make a care package? What does her wife need? Can I send her a prayer shawl I knitted? She was doing chemo, what about knitted caps? Can I knit socks or booties? (We have a decent fibre arts contingent.)
I started asking some surreptitious questions of Bell and Zulu. I'd asked Zulu a few weeks before about granting blanket permission for anyone to bind her fic, and for the typesets to be shared. I casually said, "Sooo I mentioned this to the fanbinding group. If someone does want to send you something, can I share your address? And can I suggest they send cards/stickers to L?" (Yes, and yes.)
And then I emailed Bell, because I thought she could use a nice secret to look forward to. An excerpt:
... Which is to say, there is a spreadsheet now (and other people have stepped up to organize which just about made ME cry) and there will likely be a few book-shaped packages in your mail in the next couple months. Also, some cards for L with stickers. They're just all being really lovely, and have made me teary with it today, so I thought I'd share a few snippets of things I have had in response:
There is an organized effort to ship to one person for mass mailing from the US, and assorted other people mailing on their own. A couple people have donated to mailing costs. (I offered to cover the US to Canada postage for the mass mailing. They would not let me.) We are not actually going to have the person with the horse ride over the border to deliver it, though the mental image is highly entertaining. A couple person reached out and asked me if I'd like them to make me a copy of what she's binding as well, and that definitely made me cry.
The general planning and chatter is such that it's required its own thread to be created in the Discord server, to keep from overwhelming the main general one. Knowing the people in the server, and their general kindness and enthusiasm, I should not be surprised, I really shouldn't. It just hits differently when you're the one who's the recipient, you know?
I am awash in feelings this weekend. So, as I think those few of you still here know, we're losing
zulu to cancer. This sucks so, so much. She is one of my friends-like-family. But, here we are.I think you all know about my latest hobby. My first fanbind was a pamphlet fic of her crackfic. I've bound her an anthology of some of her recent fic, and presented her with her rarepair mpreg from a decade ago for Christmas last year. Last week she asked me, "Soooo... could you do something for me? Could you do another pamphlet, of this particular fic?" Yes, I said, yes I will. I will make you a pamphlet. I will make you TWELVE pamphlets. A HUNDRED AND TWENTY pamphlets, and more. (Spoiler alert, I did not make a hundred and twenty pamphlets. I haven't made it to twelve QUITE yet, but I'm up to three to print.)
Last week, I said to a good fanbinding friend, I want to bind more of Zulu's fic, I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Her response: "Can I help? Do you want me to typeset something?" Me: (ALL THE EMOTION) "... yes. But also, I was thinking of asking the Renegade guild if anyone else would be bind a few of her fic, too, maybe a few quick pamphlets?" Her: YES, do it.
I did it. I posted. She immediately started a spreadsheet organizing what I'd already bound, and to let other people sign up for things, and put herself first on the list. The fact that someone else was organizing for me made me a bit weepy. By the time I went to bed an hour later, I think we had half a dozen people signed up to participate.
And then the next morning came. And a few more people signed up. I tentatively suggested that if anyone wanted to include a card or note and maybe some stickers for
bell and their kiddo L, it would be welcome. And people started asking me questions. Like, what fic does she like best? Where should we start? Can we make a care package? What does her wife need? Can I send her a prayer shawl I knitted? She was doing chemo, what about knitted caps? Can I knit socks or booties? (We have a decent fibre arts contingent.)I started asking some surreptitious questions of Bell and Zulu. I'd asked Zulu a few weeks before about granting blanket permission for anyone to bind her fic, and for the typesets to be shared. I casually said, "Sooo I mentioned this to the fanbinding group. If someone does want to send you something, can I share your address? And can I suggest they send cards/stickers to L?" (Yes, and yes.)
And then I emailed Bell, because I thought she could use a nice secret to look forward to. An excerpt:
... Which is to say, there is a spreadsheet now (and other people have stepped up to organize which just about made ME cry) and there will likely be a few book-shaped packages in your mail in the next couple months. Also, some cards for L with stickers. They're just all being really lovely, and have made me teary with it today, so I thought I'd share a few snippets of things I have had in response:
- One person says she would be bringing over casseroles and filling your freezer if she could
- My good friend R. would absolutely be showing up to cook for you. (She offered to typeset things for me before I even asked.)
- In terms of shipping and mailing things, one of the people in the rural midwest US has a horse she often talks about. The current "plan" is that she'll collect everything, load it into Epona's saddle bags, and show up on your doorstep like the Pony Express.
- Several people are in awe that Zulu has so much fic and that her AO3 user number is in the double digits!
- At least three people so far have asked me to send love to Zulu's wife too. So here I am doing that. All the love!
Now. What I did not share is the full SCOPE of the enabling server. "A few people," ha. Renegade LOVES a project. I underestimated the sheer force of goodwill. Oh yes, there's a spreadsheet.
Now, Zulu has 351 fic on AO3 at last count. Lots of short fic for prompts and exchanges! Lots of drabbles! Right now, if you include the bits I've already bound for her and the fact that one person is doing a full-fandom collection of 46 drabbles, there are over a hundred of Zulu's fic on their way to being captured in some form of physical print media and mailed to her. Almost twenty people are participating right now, and I think my last rough count of number of pamphlets/tiny books/full-sized books being made was in the twenties. A few people are doing two! Some people are pairing up with one person typesetting, and someone else doing the binding! We've got international participation from four continents right now.
Now, Zulu has 351 fic on AO3 at last count. Lots of short fic for prompts and exchanges! Lots of drabbles! Right now, if you include the bits I've already bound for her and the fact that one person is doing a full-fandom collection of 46 drabbles, there are over a hundred of Zulu's fic on their way to being captured in some form of physical print media and mailed to her. Almost twenty people are participating right now, and I think my last rough count of number of pamphlets/tiny books/full-sized books being made was in the twenties. A few people are doing two! Some people are pairing up with one person typesetting, and someone else doing the binding! We've got international participation from four continents right now.
There is an organized effort to ship to one person for mass mailing from the US, and assorted other people mailing on their own. A couple people have donated to mailing costs. (I offered to cover the US to Canada postage for the mass mailing. They would not let me.) We are not actually going to have the person with the horse ride over the border to deliver it, though the mental image is highly entertaining. A couple person reached out and asked me if I'd like them to make me a copy of what she's binding as well, and that definitely made me cry.
The general planning and chatter is such that it's required its own thread to be created in the Discord server, to keep from overwhelming the main general one. Knowing the people in the server, and their general kindness and enthusiasm, I should not be surprised, I really shouldn't. It just hits differently when you're the one who's the recipient, you know?
(no subject)
Date: 2024-08-13 07:21 pm (UTC)