#mbb2023

[ber-go]

My pieces for @malevolentbigbang ! It's been super fun illustrating for @watchersfavorite's lovely fic, Celestial Navigation (Or, finding ourselves under the stars)

I'm not good with words but the lines in this fic,,,the imagery,,, the intimacy,,, hoooo boy !!! good stuff !! do give their fic a read !

[samglyph]

My pieces for this year’s @malevolentbigbang, based on the fic Wait Through the Night for the Dawn Light to Break by @cappurrccino! It was an utter delight getting to work on these, and I’m begging everyone to go read this fic. And make sure to check out @captaincravatthecapricious, who also did some wonderful art for this fic.

IDs in Alts

[trashie-can]

this is my art for @spacestationdaedalus' fic bloodstained heart and mind (an album cover based on @smallsies's song stay gold, doe) for the @malevolentbigbang !! please go check out both of their incredible works via the links ^o^

[arsbones-kw]

Soooo, I was (am?) participating in @malevolentbigbang and that's my work for Dreaming wide awake fic (which you def should read)

Can't say I talked to people much, but I sure enjoyed reading the fic and drawing for it :>

(upd: I forgot to mention that @soggycroutons04 also made an artwork for this fic and you should check it out too)

[marimo-art]

My art for the @malevolentbigbang I had the honor of participating in! The art goes along with this lovely, hurty little fic here called Stranded by Who_First on AO3 [ID An image of Arthur huddled into a knelt ball on the left hand side. He is sitting on a rock with snow piling on his back and head. There are messy style footprints leading to the spot he sits. On either side of the piece are two trees with snow piled up at their trunks and twigs sticking out of the snow. In the middle right side of the piece floats a four paned window with one broken pane, the window panes are black. /end ID]

[eyes-of-nine]

[ID: an illustration depicting john in arthur's body traveling through the dark world and looking a a figure playing a stark white piano, he appears to be crying. The whole environment is shades of black and green with a heavy mist obscuring the background, though there a few ruined building peeking out from it. The piano appears to be the only source of light, it's image even reflecting on the mirror-like surface on the ground. /End ID]

MALEVOLENT BIG BANG TIME YEEHAW!!!

I had the amazing opportunity to work with @falloutcoys and their incredibly gut wrenching fic, which you should totally go and read hehe. And shout out to @wormthist who I collaborated on the art for this fic, check out their art too!! It made me cri ywy

And of course big thank you to the @malevolentbigbang crew for having me and organizing this whole event!! you guys did an incredible job

[captaincravatthecapricious]

Image one:

[ID:A digital, grayscale drawing of a young, thin, Caucasian girl in oversized clothing with short, dark hair and several missing fingers kneels on the stomach of Parker Yang, a solidly built Chinese man in a rumpled suit.  They both look alarmed. /end ID]

HEY IT'S TIME FOR THE MALEVOLENT BIG BANG! And I had the absolute pleasure of working with the incomparable @cappurrccino on her wonderful fic! WHICH EVERYONE SHOULD READ! It can be found:

(And do you know else did some absolutely beautiful art????? @samglyph!!!!!!!!!!! So go over there and see it!!!!!!)

Now for the rest of my pieces because I got carried away!!!!!

Image Two:

[ID: A digital drawing of Parker Yang, a solidly built Chinese man in a rumpled suit,  being dragged by the ankle into a kaleidoscope of colors from pitch blackness by Biter, a long creature with multicolored tentacles and fins and big teeth.  On the back of Biter sits “Me,” a young girl with short hair, she is pale and dressed in drab colors.  Her eyes are closed and she holds a bag.  The girl looks nonplussed and slightly annoyed.  Parker looks to be screaming and queasy.  The lineart of Parker and “Me” are phasing between bright colors and black, much like the background of the piece. /End ID]

Image Three:

[ID: A grayscale, digital drawing of Parker Yang, a solidly built Chinese man with ragged hair  in a rumpled suit pulling Arthur Lester, a tall, thin, Caucasian man in a crumpled button down shirt into a hug against a vague, dark background. /End ID]

Image four:

[ID: A mostly grayscale, digital drawing of “Me,” a young, thin, Caucasian girl in oversized clothing with short, dark hair, freckles, and several missing fingers, looking frustrated and holding out a bag towards Parker Yang, a solidly built Chinese man in a rumpled dress shirt and tie and Arthur Lester, a tall, thin, Caucasian man with a scruffy beard and freckles in a crumpled button down shirt.  Parker and Arthur are sitting on the floor.  Parker has an arm around Arthur, trying to calm him down.  A yellow halo appears around Arthur’s eyes and John’s hand.  Parker looks worried, but Arthur looks very afraid.  /End ID]

Image five:

[ID: A mostly grayscale, digital drawing of Parker Yang, a solidly built Chinese man in a rumpled dress shirt with Arthur Lester, a tall, thin, caucasian man with a scruffy beard and freckles in a crumpled button down shirt thrown over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry.  Arthur has a blindfold over his eyes to dampen the yellow halo around them, and John’s hand is clutching his own, a halo emanates from John’s hand as well.  Behind them, teeth gleam in the darkness, slick with saliva.  /End ID]

PSSSST GO READ THE FIC!

[bluejayblueskies]

Song Number Three | shadow0haven

[ID: Three photos of two hand-bound books. In the first, one book--which is approximately a quarter of the size of the other--is stacked atop the other book. The spines are facing the viewer. The binding style is exposed-spine coptic, and the folded edges of the paper are exposed as well as the stitching. The stitching is half green and half yellow on the bottom book, as if the book has been cut in half vertically. This stitching matches the bookcloth on the covers, which is green with mushrooms on the green stitching side and yellow with bees on the yellow stitching side. Paper wraps around the covers with the title, Song Number Three, and the author name, shadow0haven, on them as well as green and yellow patterns. On the top book, the stitching is a dark green and the cover material is maroon with a tree root pattern on it. There is a silver, maroon, and green braided bookmark sewn to the top with a bronze bead at the end of it.

In the second photo, just the bottom book is shown, standing upright with the spine facing the viewer. In this position, we can see that it is a tete-beche binding, with one cover right-side up and the other upside-down so the book can be flipped over and read from both directions. In the third photo, just the top book is seen, standing upright with the spine facing the viewer. /End ID]

I had the pleasure of binding Amai (@shadow0haven)'s fic Song Number Three for the 2023 @malevolentbigbang event! It's a separate-bodies omegaverse AU where John undergoes a type change from beta to omega, and I wanted to represent that in my bind, so I decided to do a tete-beche binding with two different typesets and cover designs for the story, placed back-to-back in the same book. You can read it, then flip it over and read it again from the other direction!

The designs for the two sides of the book are inspired by the scents for betas and omegas, which feature in the fic. Betas are described as having a grassy, earthen scent, while omegas have a sweeter scent, like vanilla and orange. Alphas additionally have heavier scents, like spices or oak, which is what the additional mini bind of the fic is inspired by! I wanted to complete he trio, so I did another bind of the fic in a smaller size that fits in the palm of your hand.

In addition to the visual design, there's a component to these books that doesn't photograph: they're scented! I mixed essential oils into the glue used to construct each side's coverboard--orange and vanilla for the omega side with the honeybee fabric and moss and dirt for the beta side with the mushroom fabric. The alpha book has spice and teakwood scents infused into it. I was really excited to experiment with scented books (as strange as they may sound), and I'm very happy with how they turned out! The scents are subtle enough not to be overpowering, but they're very much present and distinctive.

More information about the bind and photos of the typeset beneath the cut!

Each typeset is designed so that it is distinctive from the others but with certain shared elements to tie the three versions of the story together. Each title page of the tete-beche book uses the same two fonts in different combinations, and the petite book borrows certain fonts from the tete-beche book while also introducing new ones.

Each set of images has, in order from left to right, the omega typeset, the beta typeset, and the alpha typeset.

[ID: Three photos, each of which shows a different style of title page from a hand-bound book. All three title pages have the title, Song Number Three, and the author name, shadow0haven, on the righthand side of the righthand page. In the first picture, the title is in a sans serif font and the author name is in a script font, and there is a watercolor image of oranges on the lefthand side of the page. In the second picture, the title is in the same script font as the first picture and the author name is in the same sans serif font as the first picture. There is a watercolor image of ivy on the lefthand side of the page. In the third picture, the title is in a sans serif font with extra lines along some of the letters and the author name is in the same script font as the first image. There is a watercolor image of an oak tree on the bottom lefthand side of the page. /End ID]

The summary pages are also similar, with the same body font used for the summary (and the rest of the typeset) and different images used for each typeset.

[ID: Three photos, each of which shows a different style of colophon page on the left and summary page on the right from a hand-bound book. All three colophon pages have copyright information about the fic and the publisher, Blue Skies Books, as well as a description of which fonts were used in the bind and where photos were sourced from. All three summary pages have the same summary of the fic on them in the same font. In the first picture, there is additionally a watercolor image of a vanilla flower on the summary page. In the second picture, there is additionally a watercolor image of a mossy rock on the summary page. In the third picture, there is additionally a watercolor image of oranges, cinnamon, and star anise on the summary page. /End ID]

I wanted a washed-out watercolor vibe for all of the images, and I'm really happy with how they turned out!

[ID: Three photos, each of which shows a different style of chapter header page from a hand-bound book. All three chapter header pages have the same text from the beginning of chapter two in the same font, the word 'Two' at the top of the page in differing fonts, and drop caps at the beginning of the chapter in fonts that match the font that the word 'Two' is in. In the first picture, the word 'Two' is in a sans serif font and there is a watercolor image of oranges in the top left. In the second picture, the word 'Two' is in a script font and there is a watercolor image of ivy in the top left. In the third picture, the word 'Two' is in a sans serif font with extra lines around parts of the letters and there is a watercolor image of an oak tree branch with acorns on it in the top left. /End ID]

The fonts used are:

Body: Perpetua

Titles: Raspberry Brush, Aura, Neon Magic

And most images are sourced from rawpixel and are public domain or creative commons.

Finally, here are some face-on images of the covers for the tete-beche book. The title and author are printed on a piece of cardstock, which was then wrapped around the cover and glued together on the inside. I wanted a way to put the title and author on the cover of the book without directly committing it to the bookcloth, which consists of two very busy patterns, and I like the look of this! And they're removable should one desire to remove them and just have the bare book covers.

[ID: Two pictures of the double-sided book, each of which shows a different cover. The first shows the cover bound in green mushroom bookcloth with a strip of paper across the middle that has the title, 'Song Number Three,' in a sans serif font, the author name, 'shadow0haven,' in a script font, and a green floral pattern. The second shows the cover bound in yellow bee bookcloth with a strip of paper across the middle that has the title, 'Song Number Three,' in a script font, the author name, 'shadow0haven,' in a sans serif font, and a yellow flower-like pattern. /End ID]

[hasturs-fanboy-number-one]

i can finally show my piece for @malevolentbigbang, i'm so excited!!!

i worked with an absolutely amazing author @kellanswritingblog whose fic that you can read right here was so inspiring i went above and beyond in my fanart, and a wonderful artist @threearmsally who also made a stunning piece for this fic you should check out!

anyways, here's mine!

it is an amazing event with amazing people and i had so much fun working with them and drawing this, i'm glad i had the honour TwT

some closeups under the cut!

yes i got obsessed with the fic

[genderfluid-draws]

[ID: A redraw of the 1970 Jane Eyre movie poster. Bust portraits of John Doe, Arthur Lester, and Faroe Lester are drawn in sepia tones against a dark background with a filigree border. The title, “To Perish Twice”, spans the top of the image in yellow with an ornate drop cap. Above that are the top credits: “Arthur Lester” and “John Doe”, “in a story by theinkwell33”, “a Malevolent Big Bang 2023 Production”. Across the bottom it says, “art by Rawkingbunny, Genderfluid-Draws” and “beta read by Cosmya”, with the hashtag “MBB2023”. End ID]

I had the privilege to work with @splitting-infinities as an artist on their Jane Eyre-inspired fic, “To Perish Twice”, for the @malevolentbigbang! Check it out to get your fill of gothic heroine John Doe and brooding recluse Arthur Lester! Also check out @rawkingbunny, who did a great art piece as well as a WHOLE PODFIC! LIKE, ALL 28K WORDS, IT’S INCREDIBLE.

And here are a couple of boys meeting by the fireside:

[ID: Digital painting of John Doe and Arthur Lester by the fireplace in Henley Manor. Arthur is seated in a big red Victorian armchair, one leg crossed over the other. He wears white slacks and a dark blue suit jacket with a sky blue scarf. John stands across from him in front of a second chair. His arms are crossed behind his back, and he wears a charcoal grey doublet and slacks. End ID]

[doggogills]

hey so I participated in the @malevolentbigbang over the past few months!!

I was partnered with @laser-rabbit and his fic The Park!

big thanks to the mods and organizers, this was a super fun project with a bunch of lovely folks

[ID: a series of images featuring Arthur, a man with short brown hair and a mustache, a large scar over his eyes. He's wearing a white button up under a brown vest. John Does, who has curly dark hair with some stubble. He is wearing a yellow checkered dress with a white collar and ribbon around the waist. The first image is above with Arthurs soaking wet and laughing, his glasses perched on his head with john smiling, a hand on his shoulder. The second image is right below it, them sitting on a beach, Arthur's head on John's right shoulder with his coat draped over his left shoulder. They're looking out over the horizon ahead with a hat and glasses along with a Yellow scarf in the sand behind them. The third image is of them walking along the sand, John's hat hung behind him as arthur links his arm with his, noth of them barefooted and leaving imprints behind them as they walked. The series of images is featured on a sandy beach background during the day with fluffy clouds in the distance.]

[johnmalevolent]

Hi! I got to illustrate a scene from Stranded written by the awesome Heather for @malevolentbigbang ! Make sure to check out the fic, it's got your John & Arthur investigation with a twist! :3

[realityphobia]

I participated in the @malevolentbigbang as an artist for the fantastic @vmprsm 's work, Speak of Divine Bodies.

It was so much fun to work on this project with vmprsm and my fellow artist, @energyember , who did 4 (!!!!) wonderful pieces to accompany a truly excellent fic. Everyone did such an excellent job--be sure to check them out!!

[spacestationdaedalus]

The tumblr post is a tad late, but my fic for the malevolent big bang! Featuring gorgeous art from @trashie-can here and an amazing fan song by @smallsies here. And thank you to lars (@romanticslimecreature) for their fabulous beta-ing! This was an amazing event to be a part of <3

Summary:

As long as he’s known Arthur – as long as he’s hated and tolerated and liked and loved him – John has wanted his own body. An identity all his own. When he and Arthur find a way to make it happen, it should be perfect. It needs to be perfect. But Arthur still can’t see, and John makes some unfortunate discoveries about his new body, and they’re both having a hell of a time of it. They aren’t alone, but it’s hard to remember that when you don’t share the same moral frame anymore. Hard, but not impossible.

[partoftinystar]

Like tinder feeding a fire. Isn't it?

Hello i had the honor of being a part of @malevolentbigbang

Here is the piece i did illustrating this amazing fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/50329039 written by stonekey.

Truly amazing work yall should give a read <3

ID under read more!

[ID: Digital painting of Arturh Lester looking in a mirror, to show this the image is split in the middle. on the right side, we see the profile of Arturh leaning his forehead against the mirror, his medium-length hair is curly and very messy as well as wet from sweat, he has both a mustache as well as slight stubble. his skin is flushed and there's visible sweat dripping from him, his visible eye is closed, he's frowning and has a slightly open mouth, his expression reads that of both annoyance and pleasure. Both of his hands are in silk gloves, his right hand sits flat against the mirror surface while the left hand controlled by John traces against Arturh's throat scar, there's lines to indicate that there's steam coming from Arthur's breath, and other ones to show that he is trembling. Under Artur is writing that indicates what he is saying written in grey "John if you're going to touch me do it already." Under follows "Or help me get this fucking glove off". On the left side we see a mirrored version of the same picture with slight changes on this side rather than frowning has a smug smile, the eye is open, iris is glowing gold. Here there's also no lines to indicate Arturh shaking and steam. This side symbolizes and shows John. The text lowering then the one on the right, to show its a reply to what Arturh is saying reads as "Who said I want to touch you?" under it "Maybe I prefer when you want to be touched". This handwriting is much more fancy compared to previous one. The entire piece is black and white besides the text and iris of John that are gold. /End ID]

[bog-teeth]

hello one and all! here is my piece for the @malevolentbigbang featuring a scene from @captaincravatthecapricious 's fic a night at the cinema

(ID: An illustration of Arthur Lester, crouched on a street with a panicked expression and clutching at his shirt. He wears a suit and has cheek-length wavy hair. Golden light is cast over his shoulder; chromatic afterimage-like silhouettes of himself are shown over his shoulder, grimacing and grabbing his lapels. /End ID)