#tmabb21

[bugeaterzz]

my contribution to the @tmabigbang for @shutupeiffel‘s wonderful fic ‘When I Grow Up’ (link is below). I had such a blast creating this- thanks for letting me participate :0)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35062744/chapters/87335920

image ID:

[ID: A digital painting of Jon and Melanie from the podcast The Magnus Archives. The painting is fully coloured, cartoonish in style and in landscape format. The two characters are depicted as 8-year-olds sitting on chairs in a school hallway. Jon is abrown-skinned Jordanian boy, with floppy brown hair and large glasses. He is wearing a white button-down shirt, knitted green vest, dark trousers and brown shoes. He is holding a black backpack on his lap with folded hands. He is sitting on the second chair to the left and looking across one empty seat at Melanie with a nervous expression. She is depicted as white British with pale skin and an uneven, messy mousy-brown bob. She is in her school uniform (a white blouse, black skirt, white sockc and black shoes with a buttoned-up blue cardigan). Melanie is sitting eith one arm slung over the back of her chair and her legs crossed, displaying bandages on her shin and knee and a tooth gap as she speaks to Jon with an unimpressed expression. On the wall behind them, there is a cork notice board with various posters and papers. The Book Club meets on Wednesdays during lunch and the Library needs more helpers. There are two posters with spiderweb imagery and two posters with eye imagery. The eyes are all looking towards Jon. /End ID]

[jonsimswannabe]

and now i'm infected with disbelief and blasphemy

written for @tmabigbang

Rating: Teen

Ship: Jon/Martin

----

Martin forms a ritual of bringing Jon tea, day after day.

It's no surprise then, that after some time, their fingers accidentally brush. Initially, Jon isn't even aware that it had even happened, mistaking Martin's warmth for that of the tea, and thanking him without another thought. It's not until a few minutes later, halfway through the mug, that they realize what had happened.

Against their better judgement, the next time Martin brings tea, it isn't an accident when Jon's fingers brush his.

-

Or,

An anthology of a touch-starved Jon and their various interactions with touch, both positive and negative.

-----

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34915003

----

Shoutout to my lovely betas @bisexualoftheblade and @jawbonemage who both kept me on task and ensured I stayed in the same tense <3

--

And art!! Art by the amazing @pocketsizedquasar and @saorsart !!!

here is Sahar's art: https://pocketsizedquasar.tumblr.com/post/666859425020149760/my-two-pieces-for-jonsimswannabe-s-lovely

at least three of my friends, including my roommate, have witnessed me absolutely freaking out over these incredible pieces, and the serotonin each time i got a progress update? *chefs kiss*

here is Sea's art: https://saorsart.tumblr.com/post/666861275499872256/its-here-heres-my-piece-for-jonsimswannabe

look at them look at how soft they are how did you capture this scene in my minds eye

[gruhukens]

[ID: A photograph of a London train station with the blurred image of a train filling the background. Written at the top in Garamond font are the words “on the subject of our former selves”. In the foreground facing the train stands Martin Blackwood, a heavyset Filipino man with greying hair. He is wearing a long yellow jacket, red scarf, and large black backpack. END ID]

on the subject of our former selves, for the @tmabigbang 2021. complete, rated t, ~35,000 words, jonmartin post-canon.

art by @tifaria and @horse-doeuvres, beautiful header and podfic by @bisexualoftheblade, story by @gruhukens, beta’d by @iceeckos12.

you know that scene in your name where the protags spot each other from across two train carriages and i instantly start crying? what if that but jonmartin?

“Have we met before?” the other man says, scrutinising him closely. “You’re from here? From London? Where?”

“Firstly,” Martin tells him, ticking off his fingers, “no, I’m not. Secondly, fuck off am I telling a stranger where I live. I have lived in London long enough to pick up that much, at least. Thirdly, who are you? And how do I know you?”

“I—“ the man says, frowning. “I don’t know either. But I know you.”

-

Somewhere else, through a train window, Martin spots a familiar face.

[theineated]

Jonathan Sims and the Bookhunting Goth

My fic for @tmabigbang! It has been so fun to take part of it as a writer!

Lots of thanks to @lablade512 for betaing!

See the amazing artworks for the fic here:

@toothflowers: x

@neliakey: x

Thank you so much for the pieces! It has been a pleasure to work with you!!

Read the fic here!

"Hey." A voice cut through Jon's train of thought. "Do you have a problem?”

The goth was standing right in front of him. And Jon's eyes were fixated on the goth. He quickly averted his gaze, embarrassed. He had probably been staring at him the whole time.

"No, not at all, I'm sorry. Your…" Jon pointed at his outfit. "Whole thing, is nice. Reminds me of when I was, er, young."

Jon tapped a corner of the box of files he was carrying to the archive while the goth stared at him in silence. He was blocking his path, and Jon was too embarrassed to ask him to move after having made him uncomfortable. It didn't help that he wouldn't keep his eyes off of him. His gaze gave him goosebumps. It was too piercing, almost didn't feel human. Then, his brow unfurrowed and the ominous feeling faded. His voice came back gentler but still solid. Even grounding.

“You work in research, right? I’ll need your help this afternoon. At two, in the corner nearest to the Institute’s front door.”

[areafae]

[Image IDs: The first image is a digital painting of characters from The Magnus Archives in an alternate universe based on Stardust by Neil Gaiman. The characters from left to right are Tim, Sasha, Jon and Martin. They are on the deck of a ship at night, lit by lanterns and the glow coming off of Jon. 

Tim is a buff, tanned white man with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He is facing to the right of the screen with his back to the viewer. He is wearing a fantasy style pirate outfit with a red half cape and a tricorn hat with two feathers stuck in it. One is a peacock feather and the other is in the colours of the bisexual pride flag. He is flourishing a rapier in front of him with his right hand and has his left arm extended behind him. 

Martin is a fat white man with red brown chin length hair and scruff on his chin. He is facing Tim, front on to viewer in a more casual fantasy adventurer outfit. He had his left hand raised to his chest and is holding a rapier towards Tim in his right hand.

Sasha is a slim, dark skinned woman with black hair in two long plaits either side of her head. She is in a colourful pirate outfit with a bright red bandana and is sitting cross legged on top of a barrel. She is looking at Tim with an excited grin.

Jon is a thin, brown skinned man with dark curly shoulder length hair. He is wearing a long, blue dress. He is looking at Martin wistfully and is giving off a soft, cool light.

The second image is a close up of the first picture, focused on Tim and Sasha.

The third image a close up of the first picture, focused on Jon and Martin. End ID]

*******

Here it is! My artwork for the incredible ‘by candlelight’ - a Stardust AU written by @splitting-infinities for  @tmabigbang which you can read HERE

I had a real Time Of It with art block and life events and nonsense all the way through the process of this but it was all so worth it and I am SO HAPPY with how this piece turned out. Please read this wonderful fic.

[atroquinineml]

Falling in Love in (just about) 190 Days

Hello there! I am so happy to finally be sharing the first chapter of my fic for the @tmabigbang! I’ve had such a great time working with the wonderful team of: - My beta, @makeroomforthejolyghost, who made sure all my words made sense and kept my tangents in check!  - My artists; @citricghost, @bisexualoftheblade and @vanroesburg, who’ve all made me some beautiful art that I’ll be reblogging as it’s posted!  My fic is essentially slapping all of our favourite characters from TMA into a British high school very similar to the environment I grew up in as teachers! I hope I manage to entertain some people with what I’ve written! I just want to thank everybody who took part in the Big Bang again for making my first BB experience enjoyable + to turn your eyes to the beautiful title graphic Cai (@bisexualoftheblade​) made for this promo post that’ll be at the bottom of the post with an image ID posted under the picture! Please enjoy my fic if you do decide to read it and go check out everybody else's art as well that will be posted on the TMA Big Bang account! READ HERE! 

[ID: An edited photograph of a white brick wall, with dark blue paint creating a square in the centre. Written in a white stencil like font are the words "falling in love in (just about) 190 days)". The words cover three lines, with the words in parentheses right aligned and everything else left aligned. END ID]

[elledritchorror]

[image ID: A title card with a plain black background. In slightly blurred white font, it reads "the years to come seemed waste of breath". The word "breath" is at the bottom and angled slightly, it is also made to look like a neon sign. Below that is more plain white text that says "elledritchorror". End ID]

the years to come seemed waste of breath

on ao3 HERE

My tmabb fic is here! Please heed the content warnings in the tags for this one.

Thank you to my fic team:

Joey @desert-lily for beta-ing

Parker @mininacl for the title card (above)

Ella @it-is-polite-to-knock for the gorgeous artwork I am about to reblog

Also bless you mods I adore you with all my heart.

[ventisettestars]

Maybe You’ll Dream

AO3 link

Fic I've been working on for the TMA Big Bang 2021.

Big thanks to Ai and Be for beta, and Micah, An, and Scri for making such stellar art! They all were super awesome in helping me out with this fic and super excited to finally be able to post this!

Art for chapter 1 by Scri

Drawing of Oliver and Sue by Micah

Teasers: art for chap 2 by An

art for chap 4 by Micah [coming soon]

art for final chapter by Scri

Fic Summary:

Oliver and Jon meet in their dreams first, then later in a café. A friendship is formed and some things change while others stay the same. -- Or how Jon gets to know Oliver before the end of the world

Chapter 1 start: A Meeting with Nobody Present. [word count 2174]

[art by @makeroomforthejolyghost​]

A ship on open water greeted Jon as the dream shifted. He stood on the deck, taking it all in, trying to recall, all the while, he Knew it was a statement given. 

A stranger looked Jon in the eyes, and lacked the fear that should have been. “Well, this is new.” Roots crawled at the edges of their vision as he spoke. “I never thought I’d be back here again. Normally my dreams start in my room.” Statement #0151403 came to Jon’s mind, and the Eye provided that Antonio Blake was False. He is Oliver Banks and this was his statement. 

Jon couldn’t speak. He wanted to. But he wasn’t even sure if he had a mouth here, and if he did, he’d forgotten how to use it. How long had it been since he’d done more than watch?

“Not the most talkative, are you? I mean, our first interaction you didn’t have much of a choice I suppose, but now?” Oliver relaxed against the railing, not bothering to look at the water below. “Are you even aware or just?”

Jon found he could nod. 

“Oh, Okay. So you are able to communicate. Yes or no questions I suppose. Does asking you questions bother you?” 

Jon shook his head no. 

Oliver paused in return, but nodded to make sure Jon knew he understood the response. “Huh, you know, I don’t actually have much to talk about? No idea how to do small talk, never been good at it. So um. I suppose it's more your thing to have all the questions.” 

Jon nodded again. Feeling less trapped in his body and more just annoyed he’d forgotten how speaking worked. He understood how vocal cords needed to vibrate with the airflow and how the muscles of the mouth flexed to create sound. Like just understanding wasn’t enough for Jon to actively force his body to participate. 

“I’m still in London. Will be for a while.” 

Jon seemed to perk up from his thoughts. Had Oliver been saying more?

“You could ask your questions once you’ve got a little more space from the Eye. Can you Know when I’m free, or-?” Oliver paused to give time for Jon to respond. Some of Jon’s eyes seemed to look focused? Hard to tell if that was a Jon’s thinking glance or if Jon was distracted. 

Then Jon gave a slow nod. 

“Lovely. If you don’t just show up in the next few days, I’ll just sleep again, ‘bout this time and we could figure something out? I know this sweet little coffee shop not too far from the institute. I could probably swing by there a few times this week.”

---

Jon watched the smoke rise to join the colors of the sunrise. Melanie was in a bad mood, and Basira was out. Smoking was the best thing he could think to do with his time, so he took to the alley. 

There was a lingering nag at the back of his mind that he shouldn’t have picked up smoking again. The Eye had provided him with a steady stream of facts when he picked up his first after returning. How much damage had been done to him from the years of habit. How his body was no longer addicted to nicotine. How him reaching for a pack was entirely habitual at this point.

“Christ I can’t even enjoy this…” Jon took in a deep breath of the smoky air. 

It wasn’t long like that till The Brigade started to congregate by him. Within the minute, four of its outstanding members were in petting distance, with the largest rubbing against his leg. Jon could already hear them purring. 

“That time already? I suppose you’re here to rob me blind.” Jon let out a laugh as he pulled a little baggy from his satchel. He knew the drill much as they did.

All four of the alley cats were upon him, an onslaught of chirps and meows demanding the contents. The one with the shortest tail pawed at Jon, aiming her claws at the bag as Jon bent down. He poured the contents out on the ground for them, making sure to aim for the spot that was the cleanest. 

“You cleaned me out of the kibbles I had in the archives, so I hope you enjoy the leftover chicken.” He ran his hand through the fur of the only one that tolerated pets. The other three weren’t okay unless it was on their terms. 

Once they cleaned up the chicken, the smallest of the four started to aim for Jon’s jacket pocket, trying to get his face in to search for more. 

“Sorry sir. I don’t have infinite bags of chicken. I’ll need to run to the store tonight to get you lot some more.” Jon figured they could understand him, but he had a very good idea of what they wanted. He remained slightly unsure if it was something he knew, or if he Knew it. He kind of assumed that it was the first. Cats weren’t so hard to read after getting to know them. 

Two of them ran off once Jon proved he didn’t have any more food for them, but the smallest and the largest remained a little longer. The larger one demanded pets, while the smaller remained near. They purred like a motor, watching Jon contently. 

They remained that way till Jon’s cigarette burned down to the butt and he put it out on the institute’s brick work. As he did, he got a flash of Oliver entering a coffee shop down the block. 

Jon was still technically on the clock. Just a short smoke and cat break, and he could feel the statements behind him. Not like he could get fired if he took an extended break.

Jon was off to get some coffee.

---

“Thank you for the invite? I, ah, I don’t normally get coffee with someone after I start haunting their nightmares.” Jon stirred his coffee, the cream trailing behind the spoon. 

Oliver sat, leg crossed over the other while he waited. “Good news for you, you don’t need to change that record. It’s not exactly nightmares. Just Dreams. Pretty pleasant all things considered.”

“But I’m making you relive something as horrible as your death, how is that pleasant?”

“Hmm, well I don’t exactly consider the ordeal unpleasant. Just is what it is. I welcomed it, and the dreams are just a reminder of my choice while you feed the Eye. That is what you do there? Observe the fear?” 

“Yes. I- fe-” The swirling got a little faster, even if it wasn’t needed anymore. “Yes. It’s the fear.” 

“Well, do I seem scared?”

“No. It’s- there's nothing for me to Watch. Reacting to you is more- It’s the first time I’m able to do anything other than that.”

Oliver nodded, sipping his tea to give Jon a moment to find the words. 

The pause was all Jon needed ‘til it looked like something clicked. “There isn’t anything for Beholding to feed on, so it’s hold on me is looser? So I’m able to be more there.”

“That’s sort of what I was thinking. Either that or maybe it’s frightened, at least as much as the entities can be frightened? Maybe it’s even the End that’s getting something from the dreams.”

“Interesting. I wonder if- This is entirely up to you and you can say no, but would you be willing to help me out a bit? Experiment, or show me the ropes when it comes to autonomy in dreams. You normally walk them freely, right? You’d mentioned in the statement-”

“I believe I might have. Easy to tell it all. I don’t mind, not sure how much I could help you with it, if at all. Different situations. But it’s kind of nice to dream of Point Nemo again. So a good exchange.” Oliver, despite the coffee, still looked tired. “It’ll be a nice break for both of us I think. We could also meet up more often like this as well. If you ever wanted company.”

“I think I’d like that.” They both spent the rest of the time in the cafe talking about various non-fear related topics. 

---

The jangle of keys before the click of the lock were all it took to signify Oliver’s return to his flat. A scurry of claws on hard wood chased to the door.

“Sue, I hear you there. Back up. Come on now.” The nose that had pushed through the opening door withdrew, followed by the sound of scuffling of claws. 

“That’a girl.” Closing the door behind him, a large german shepherd sat patiently, tail doing all the talking while she waited. “Alright, good girl.” 

A small pat on his leg was all the signal needed for the lady of the house to be at Oliver’s side, nose under his hand. 

Oliver scratched behind her ear, squatting to her level. “Been keeping a good eye on the place while I was out? I’m sure you have.” 

Sue wagged her tail, eyes showing an intelligence that she didn’t have a clue of what he said, but that she understood the positive undertones. 

“Bet you’re ready for it to be your turn for a break.” Oliver reached over to a lead that hung on the coat rack and attached it to her before she could get so excited that catching her became an event. 

---

Mary Anne, an older lady from down the hall, intercepted Oliver with a cheerful smile. “My, starting your walk a bit late in the eve now, aren’t we. So odd Sue let you.”

“Oh, yeah. Wasn’t much of an option. I’d been out today meeting with an old friend and it ran long. She held up well I think.” Oliver did a motion with his hand, one meant for Sue. Seeing it, she sat in the hall.

“I do hope that old friend will be around more often. Be nice for you to have some friends your own species- Not that Sue isn’t good friend material, but she can’t be much for a conversation. Not that you’re much for one either.”

“Never been one to have much to say I’m afraid.” Oliver laughed. Conversations with Mary Anne tended to run in that direction. Her worry over the weather, or her worry that Oliver never seemed to fit her idea of men his age. 

“Oh that’s fine. Having company and having conversation are very different things. Why me and my husband could go days without him saying more than a few words here and there, and I’d never had a lonely moment with him.” She started heading to the hall door. “Come now. I was about to hit up the market so keep me company at least half the way.” 

Oliver nodded. “You heard the lady. Come on Sue.” with a light tug on her leash, she was up and leading the way for the humans. 

“It's so sweet that you were able to take her in after everything that happened with that old man.“

“Yeah, was such a shock that he’d passed so suddenly. I’m just happy I’d gotten to know them both when I did. Can’t imagine Sue doing well in a shelter…”

Mary Anne made a clicking noise. “Indeed. Not often they’re able to find homes for such a large dog in London. What with all the tiny flats and business sort with too much time away from home.”

Mary Anne reached into her handbag to pull out a jerky strip for Sue while Oliver got the door for them both.

Sue took the treat eagerly.

“You know,” Mary Anne’s voice had an edge of playfulness to it. “My son is single.”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned before. I’m sure he’s lovely.”

“Oh he is. I’m so proud of him. He's a transplant surgeon, but he doesn't just specialize in one, he can do almost any organ. That's a quite rare skill, you know? And he is darn good at it. His patients are always sent home in better shape then they came in, and rarely do they come back with any complications. The organ is always just perfect for them.”

Oliver smiled. “I sure hope they would be in better shape. Think he might have a little advantage though if he takes after you.” 

“Not sure what you mean about that.” She gave him a coy smile as the call of Flesh danced behind her eyes. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to give it a go? He could understand some of the going’s on as it were.”

“I’m sure.”

Sue starts to tug on Oliver to head to the park across the way.

“Looks like someone has places to be.” He held the lead tightly and reached to pet Sue. 

“Doesn’t she always. Have a pleasant rest of your walk dear.” Mary Anne continued on to the store down the way while Oliver and Sue went in the direction of the park.