How it all started: [link]

Here it is, the finished product. It didn't turn out as cool as I wanted it to, but given that it's due this tuesday I think I did okay pulling it together.

The cover is made from a fake leather over mat board. The pages are scrap matboard covered with stratmore 400 paper that I aged by wrinkling and soaking in a brown ink wash. The overall feel of this book is supposed to be "Aged...tattered...worn...lonely..." On the front cover in black ink is "Red" in calligraphy. The tie is made from the same leather. The line going vertically down it is fake sinew. Beside it you can barely see my name written in katakana. On the back cover you see that kooky cat. I frayed the edges of all the pages.

I miscounted the pages and ended up having to sadly scrap the Leviathon page because it was the only one that didn't have text relevant to the story on it.

On the last page you see the cat on the top of the mountain, and the dragon flying towards the moon. Red's hairclip is floating down. But where is Red? And why the skull on the opposite page? That's the mystery of this book. Where Red went, what happened to her, is up to you.

You could interpret this story as a story about growing up. Red and the cat, a figment of her imagination, set off on a journey. Along the way they meet many fantastical creatures that seem surreal. Towards the end of the journey Red seems a tad worn, but she's determined to find what she is looking for. And in the end you are left wondering why she left her imagination (the cat) behind, and exactly where she went. Did Red grow out of her imagination, out of childhood? If so, what did she find in exchange for it? With the dragon there is adventure, but there is death. If she flies toward adult hood does it mean that she must leave her imagination behind? In the journey of life everyone is looking for something, sometimes without knowing what. But do you stop to think about what you might be leaving behind on the mountain top?

Ponder that. I told you this was deeper than you thought it was.

Now here is the entire story:
00: Tell me Dear Traveler...
[link] 01: Where are you going?
[link] 02: On and adventure.
[link] 03: Why?
[link] 04: I'm looking for something.
[link] 05: What will you find?
[link] [link] 06-07: How do you know that it's there?
[link] 08: I believe
[link] 09: But what...if it's not there?
[link] 10: Then I will keep searching.
[link] 11-12: Forever?
13: If that's what it takes...Yes
End: What will you find at Journey's End?


This Red Melancholy series is (c) Rebekah "KatDrama" Wicklund and may not be used without permission.