Sometimes i draw shit, sometimes i write shit, sometimes both at the same time.♠ Aro/Ace, (They/Them), Chaotic Good Disaster, definitely a human person
A TMA Fantasy AU where 'Swan Lake' meets 'Beauty and the Beast' (with just a touch of mythology and folklore thrown in for flavour). If you're like me and have been pining for more Fantasy AU content for The Magnus Archives, then buckle up and strap on in because I've got one doozy of a longfic just for you.
Complete with Teaholding, curses, quests, crumbling ruins, and a miriad of hidden dangers lurking deep within the woods.
(For real though, this au fic has been a damn long time coming, and I'm increidbly excited to share it all with you! Especially since this is the first time I've ever approached a project like this that's really solidly clicked in my mind plotwise, so it'll definitely be a bit of a more ambitious an experiment for me compared to some of my other works.)
If you want to see more: links to the fic on AO3 is below + additional info/art is under the cut, and all tagged under #the watching beast.
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Link to the Fic on AO3:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
"When Martin Blackwood was exiled from Greymoor with the condition he only be allowed to return with the head of The Watching Beast, he was under no illusion that his lord had sent him there to die.
But having uncovered the knowledge that lord of Greymoor had been sacrificing his subjects to the Mysts, and being the only one of them with nothing left to lose, his resolve to return to his homeland and expose the true nature Lukas's rule is the only thing on his mind when he braves the Deep Woods to find and slay the beast of legend.
However, as Martin will soon find, there is far more to his quarry than first meets the eye, with the monsters of the Deep Woods growing restless as a plot centuries in the making is finally reaching its conclusion...
And at the centre of it all, is a mysterious library and a man cursed and burdened with a quest of his own."
Concept Art & Roughs
Earliest Jon Drawing
Some Early Martin Doodles
Early AU Michael Distortion content for Michael Fans
Official Cover Art Post
Fic Cover Art Process
Watching Beast Design Exploration
The Village Idiots + Ramblings
Some of the Deep Woods Spookies + Ramblings
Teaholding Designs
First Meeting
Jon's wanted poster
The Sillies
The Watching Beast in a shellnut doodle
[you better believe I've made a whole bunch of memes already that I can't share bc spoilers]
If you have any questions, please feel free to send them my way as my asks are well and truly open. Though I will ask that you be respectful and hold off on asking anything explicitly plot related, as I don't want to ruin the surprise. (I will warn you though, i can and will yap well beyond my means when it comes to the many obscure references to fairytales and mythology I've left tucked into the margins of this world and its story. And I've had way too much time to think about all this).
Also! If you'd like to make any of your own art or content inspired by my work, please feel free to credit and tag me as well with @jcryptid on Ao3/Tumblr, or @jcryptiddraws on insta. I'd absolutely love to see it and share it, and like most small creators out there, it's a non-zero chance that you might send me vibrating with enough joy to break the sound barrier and inadvertently convince my friends and family to take away what little caffiene I have left.
Also big shoutout to my Beta Reader and everyone who has supported me along this journey. Who knows what the future may hold, but by God I know its going to be interesting!
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Popping this here as a mini announcement / clarification regarding The Watching Beast fic:
I’m currently writing a few chapters ahead and have already gotten all of the fic planned out from beginning to end (bc I’m probably a bit insane actually) and am currently shooting for a fortnightly upload schedule for each chapter (as I have additional creative projects that I’m actually getting graded on, so I kinda gotta prioritise those first ya know?)
But I have terrible impulse control and actually managed to get a chapter ahead of where I expected to be last weekend, so it looks like just this once I’m rolling it out early.
All this is to say that you all can expect to enjoy Chapter 2: ‘The Witch and The Lantern’ this Friday!
(And I for one, can’t wait to see what y’all think of the strange and terrible things Martin will meet on his quest)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood & Sasha James, Georgie Barker & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Sasha James & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood & Sasha James & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Tim Stoker, Oliver Banks & Georgie Barker, Martin Blackwood & Melanie King, Melanie King & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Peter Lukas, Elias Bouchard | Jonah Magnus, Annabelle Cane, Michael | The Distortion (The Magnus Archives), Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Not-Them (The Magnus Archives), Oliver Banks (The Magnus Archives), Naomi Herne, Tessa Winters, Basira Hussain, Alice "Daisy" Tonner
Additional Tags: Dark Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, tma fantasy au, Alternate Universe - Swan Lake Fusion, Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Alternate Universe - Magic, fairytale AU, Adventure & Romance, Monster Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Curse Breaking, Cat Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Asexual Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Lonely Avatar Martin Blackwood, BAMF Martin Blackwood, Whump, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Identity Reveal, Slow Burn, Werewolf Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Minor Basira Hussain/Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Minor Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Sasha James Lives, Fantasy Quests, everyone gets to have their revenge on canon, The Fears are old gods, Obscure Fairytale references, The infamous TMA spiderweb lighter, the 'K' in Martin K Blackwood stands for Knife, or I guess in this case sword, Unreliable Narrator, Get ready for at least 200000 words of an aromantic person who's never been in a romantic relationship trying to write a, slowburn fairytale romance, Art, do not feed my work to ai, I will make sure this fic is a choking hazard and that is a threat, please don't spit on my hard work like that, the ammount of worldbuilding and art i did for this ISTG, happy endings, Martin gets to experience the fantasy of getting to cuddle a giant fluffy cat that doesn't want to eat you and I'm so jealous, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, References to early european occultism, Canon-Typical The Lonely Content (The Magnus Archives), Canon-Typical The Spiral Content (The Magnus Archives), Canon-Typical The Beholding Content (The Magnus Archives)
Summary:
When Martin Blackwood was exiled from Greymoor with the condition that he only be allowed to return if it be with the head of the dreaded Watching Beast, he was under no illusion that his Lord had sent him out there to die.
But having uncovered the knowledge that the Lord of Greymoor had been sacrificing his subjects to the Mysts, (and being the only one of them with nothing left to lose,) his resolve to return to his homeland and expose the wicked nature of Lukas's rule is the only thing on his mind when he braves the dangers of the Deep Woods to find and slay the beast of legend.
But as Martin soon shall find, there is far more to his quarry and the circumstances of his quest than first meets the eye. The monsters and magics of the woods are growing restless, and a plot centuries in the making finally is at last reaching its conclusion.
And at the centre of it all, is a mysterious library and a single man, cursed and burdened with a quest of his own.
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Part 2 of me doodling some roughs for more TMA characters in the world of The Watching Beast
Masterpost
It's so hard not to gush about all the obscure references I've packed into this baby, so I'm going to take a moment to infodump just a little.
Annabelle Cane/The Spider Witch is our classic "Witch in the woods" fairytale archetype of course, but her characterization and role in the story draws a hell of a lot from The Moirai / The Norns / The Parcae (aka the three weavers of fate) with a touch of the myth of Arachne thrown in for flavour (though mostly due to just the spider and tapestry connection). I imagine whatever her backstory was, she definitely started out as a normal humble weaver, and then somehow was guided into the loving arms of The mother of puppets as one of it's many servants.
Oliver Banks is a bit more direct in his reference to the story of Godfather Death, along with thanatos and other such psychopomps in mythology / personifications of death in folklore more generally. I don't know yet if it will at all be touched on directly in the story itself, (because I don't really know how to make it fit without making it a tangent) but I imagine his story is a lot like his canon one in terms of how he became an avatar. Only in this world, Oliver was a respected physician who found himself becoming a servant of death itself, guiding lost souls onwards to the afterlife).
Michael is kind of my favourite in terms of mythological references though. He's kind of a combination of Dionysus (as the greek god of intoxiation yes, but also crucially, a terrifying god of Madness) and Pan, who was said to be a god of the wilds who would drive people to lose their way with mindless panic through his screams. He also kind of serves as our "big bad wolf" or "Wolf in sheeps clothing" so to speak, tricking weary travellers off course and leaving them to drive themselves to madness, exhaustion, and death as he changes the woods around them. Whether they were ever human or were always some kind of incarnation of the greater power they represent (taking on human guise to trick people) is purposefully going to be left up to interpretation. Though if they ever were human, then it has certainly been a very long time
As for the Changeling though (aka the Not!Them)... their exact story and powerset is going to be kept a mystery for now. Beleive you me it's a bit different from canon, but I don't want to spoil anything just yet. Just know they are going to be having a hell of a lot more fun than they do in canon.
quick doodle I did on a whim of my take on Lance from @pendragonsgallery 's fic 'Asterism' because sometimes you need something to do with your hands while you're stressing
Some roughs I did for my Watching Beast AU, because I am way too excited about all of the obscure fairytale references and tropes I've wrapped up in all of them. Everyone here has their own sideplot stuff going on, and i'm very excited to reveal it all in the fic itself.
Masterpost
Explanation under the cut:
Unfortunately, i am one impatient son of a bitch, so I'm going to gush a little and give you a preivew:
Tim is a Woodsman, his tale is inspired by the Goblin Market and the role of the Woodsman in tales like Red Riding Hood.
Sasha is a Scholar, she's a little based on stories like the sorcerer's apprentice, but she's got her own thing going on really that's a lot more wrapped up in the central plot. Her tale draws on a lot more on stories of travelling and exiled philosophers throughout history, particularly those who spoke out against their rulers and paid the price. Alongside figures like Prometheus & mythological figures stealing fire from the gods.
Georgie's tale is primarily inspired by that of Godfather Death, though she doesn't take to becoming a doctor like the protagonist of the original story. She's the primary Innkeeper at The Phantom's Queary, a name that took on a rather unfortunately personal meaning to her after the fateful encounter she had on her 16th birthday.
Melanie King is a forcibly retired ex-adventurer and something of a bard, though her story is at least a little inspired by that of Gretir the Strong and Adrocles & the Lion, (though that last one is mostly just because of the paralells of taking the painful pointy thing out of the thing that wants to kill you).
Basira is quite obviously a knight in shining armour, but she has her own love that she's lost and is waiting on from afar, so at least in theory she's our princess in the tower archetype. That doesn't mean she's hasn't been keeping herself busy at the watchtower she's stationed at though. She doesn't quite have a specific tale tied to her, but i like to imagine she's more thematically tied to the fable of the Lion and the Mouse than anything else.
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"When Martin Blackwood was exiled from Greymoor with the condition he only be allowed to return with the head of The Watching Beast, he was under no illusion that his lord had sent him there to die.
But having uncovered the knowledge that lord of Greymoor had been sacrificing his subjects to the Mysts, and being the only one of them with nothing left to lose, his resolve to return to his homeland and expose the true nature Lukas's rule is the only thing on his mind when he braves the Deep Woods to find and slay the beast of legend.
But as Martin will soon find there is far more to his quarry that first meets the eye, with the monsters of the Deep Woods growing restless as a plot centuries in the making is finally reaching its conclusion.
And at the centre of it all, is a mysterious library and a man cursed and burdened with a quest of his own."
Link to the first chapter of the Ao3 Fic here
(There's something spectacular about having a plot for a fic finally click in your brain.)
... there lived a lonely young man, living simply with his mother as many did in a small house in a village on the domain of their lord in Greymoor.
Not much can be said of those early years, not much this young man would have wanted to repeat that bore mentioning at least. All that can be said was that one day his mother fell ill, and with the rumoured sightings of a strange woman in a red skirt, face hidden by a cloak and smelling of death, bringing with her to his door nothing more than rake whilst he was away...they should have known there was nothing that could be done.
But that certainly didn't stop him from trying though. Working hard and long each day on their farm and on the properties surrounding it. Selling their only cow, their chickens and what little of value they could spare to afford the herbs that could ease her pain, only to return to scorn and stubborness in her delirium with a soft smile on his face as he tended to her, nevertheless.
All the same it didn't change her fate. Nor the fate of the lonely young man, now adrift and lost without much in the way of direction.
Untill at least, he was approached one misty afternoon by their Local Lord of Greymoor, who spoke to him with hollow geniality, and offered him a job as a servant in his castle.
And so, with nothing in the way of excuse to prevent him from doing so, he accepted. And soon, Martin Blackwood found himself selling what was little was left of his mother's small slice of domesticity in Greymoor, and like so many others was whisked away to live and work at the feet of their lord. Bouncing between fetching food from the kitchens or fixing pots of tea; setting kindling alight to warm cold rooms that made your breath fog up if left to themselves too long; keeping clean what he could when he was ordered and keeping his head down whenever he could.
All the same he found something of a friend in that castle more than once, and had to himself the gift of an extra hour each day to sneak away and write poetry on a little rock in the shade of a willow tree by the loch. One of the few things he could say was truly his.
Of course even setting aside the whispered legends of the figure of pestilance that had taken his mother, Greymoor, just like the other lands just on the other side of the Deep Wood, was no stranger to monsters of its own. So much so that despite the dissmissals and denials of their Lordship for as long as anyone can remember, there have always been the mists.
Not much is known, as with any of the beings that creep along the shadows of rumors and heresay and children torn from their beds before they can so much as scream. What can be said, was that at least once a year, maybe more than once, should someone be caught out too late at the wrong time, they would find themselves lost to the mists. Alone and forever wandering between a state of life and death to wither away as nothing more than ghosts on that very same moorland from which they dissapeared.
And so it was, that after a time of keeping his head down and doing what he was told, Martin would one night find himself staying out a little too late by the loch into nightfall; and in doing so soon found himself running into one of his fellow servants, a woman named Naomi Herne; who'd go on to explain, had been sent on orders from Lukas to pick berries under the cover of moonlight from the nearby woods (having found his supplies empty of such fruits despite the supply run they'd made just earlier that day).
Of course, finding the request rather unreasonable given the dangers of ventering out too late into the night by one's self, he offered to help her in her task, and not too long after, the two ran afoul of the mists, and knowing the legends, and hearing the whispers on the gentle wind that only one of their number need be lost, handed the only stubborn flame that hadn't gone dark to Naomi, and told her to run back to the Lord's castle.
Naomi, despite her hesistance to leave her only companion in the misty darkness, complied, and ran back with their only light to the Castle in a panic and raised all the nearby servants she could from their posts to come and help him. Immediately, despite the fear, a few rose to help her. Some stepping in to calm her down and ascertain what had happened, a few of the others grabbing their coats and lighting lanterns to aid in the search, despite their fears and the insistence of a few that there was nothing that could be done. But not a foot had breached the doorway when their Lord and employer Lukas stepped into the room and forbade them from going. Demanding they stay and not risk themselves catching a cold or getting lost in the dark. Ordering them wait and do nothing more than pray that by morning Martin found his way back to them on his own time.
No one beleived he would of course. The mists were like that you see. Those who wandered too far would never return to them, they never had.
And then, three days later, Martin returned to them.
Stumbling up the grassy hill just as the sun was setting. Freezing cold to the touch; dispondant and pale, with hair turned a snow white and breath misting even in warmer in air. Changed, or so it seemed, by his time alone in those mists.
The others were astounded of course. The head of them sending some of them off to fetch warm cloths and furs to warm him whilst they let him sit by the fire of the servants quarters. Asking him what happened despite his barely there eyes and the and the shaking hands cupping a hastily made mug of tea.
All the same it didn't take long for the news to find it's way to Lord Lukas, who at once demanded Martin's presence in his study despite the soft protests of those who could tell he was not well.
All the same Martin stood without a word from his place, still hardly warmed from his time by the fire, to meet with him.
"I saw you in the mists," he said once they were alone, "You told me I would forever be alone,"
And then he asked, simply, though by no mean masking the anger in now cold blue eyes, "You sent her out on purpose didn't you? You knew the mists were out that night."
Not a moment later, in a sea of fog that swept through the room and drained the life and colour from its walls, and the Lord Lukas was alone. Martin nowhere to be seen when he opened the door and stepped out, refusing to answer anyone's questions when they inquired on his health.
This time, it takes two days for Martin to return, and when he does Lukas gives them all new orders.
Namely that Martin Blackwood, not be allowed to return to the Grey Moors, lest it be with the head of the Watcher Beast, residing so they said, in ancient ruins found in the deep woods by the borders of land Panopticon.
He's given a day to prepare his leave.
And so it was, with nothing more than a single short sword, a map and some rations put together by those that asked after him, Martin was sent away without so much as the chance for a goodbye.
Martin himself, under no illusions that their Lord of Greymoor, had sent him there to die.
"Let them try," he'd whisper to himself as the foggy outline of a cold stone castle faded away by the rhythm and rumble of a horse pulled cart. "Let them try," even as the thought came again, that maybe this really was nothing more than a good way to get killed.
Needed a break from uni work, so I decided to do some more concept art exploration for a Monster Jon design I've been sitting on for a while for what I will hesitantly call a swan lake au.
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