#but everything else is true

[thek1ngtalks]

Some backstory info/your inspiration/or what drove you to writing Mountain To No One?

Also, why that title specifically?

Gimme some TNE crumbs here.

I have been really patient in waiting for chapter 3 y'know... 🥲

okokok I have been WAITING for an ask like this

warnings!!! Spoilers! For the end of The Novel's extra and stuff under the cut! also i yap. SOOOOO much. (+bonus drawings to beg for ur forgiveness TT)

so backstory? I finished the novel and lost my fucking mind at the ending. I was GUTTED that such a small group of people remembered Hajin and that Suho wasn't one of them despite LITERALLY FINDING OUT HIS WORLD IS A NOVEL AND HAJIN IS GOD !!! like that is canon! and yet! he doesn't get to remember him! i felt wronged.

My inspiration hit me in the middle of the night in which i wrote two simple sentences before falling asleep.

There's a number on his smartwatch that leads to nowhere. Suho's gotten in the habit of texting it throughout his day. Today, it texted back.

"k1ng, isn't that just the description of MTN?" why yes, yes it is. because i was NOT gonna make a new summary when the original inspiration worked so well

And for what drove me to actually continue writing it when I had (literally) a dozen other ideas for TNE fanfics?

Not sure, actually. I just kinda got inspired, wrote another hundred words and it sort of grew from there. Then i had to make a outline for what I wanted from the story and the ORIGINAL plan was for 2-3 chapters in total of a quick, sweet reunion.

Then I wrote 7k words for the first chapter and 14k for the second. You can see where that went down the drain.

So, to summarize, 1) Finished the novel, hated the ending. 2) Wrote a prompt I ended up liking. 3) Got WAY too deep into it to stop

The title... the title... well originally the title was Mountain to Nowhere. Super similar to Mountain to No One, right? WRONG. Mountain to Nowhere was just a name that sounded nice, felt vaguely interesting and was easy to remember (it's also why i shorthand it to MtN instead of MtNO, it's what i called it in the drafting phase).

Mountain to No One, though, that's different. It doesn't roll off the tongue as easily, implies something FAR different than 'nowhere' and honestly felt more meaningful to me.

I might sound pretentious (if I haven't already) but when I write 'No One', I think of it like the myth of Odysseus. He used the name Outis (Nobody or No One) so i just kinda nabbed it, figuring someone might make the connection one day. I fr thought, "Oh i am COOKING" because i did basic comparisons between two morally ambiguous heroes with hidden identities and (questionably) good intentions. Kim Hajin and Odysseus. but i mean, i wasn't wrong. i was kinda cooking with that one

So 'No One' refers to Kim Hajin. The title essentially means 'Mountain to Kim Hajin' which is why it felt more meaningful than 'mountain to nowhere' which did NOT have that background when i thought it up

IM SO SORRY IT'S BEEN 7 MONTHS. i know, i know. seven months! IM SORRY. im also sorry for yapping. but im offering a few drawings as repayment and this week im officially posting teasers for the new chapter (which should go out by halloween! (hopefully)) so i hope u forgive me anon

[vincentaureliuslin]

quincy :3

self explanatory next question

[epiales06]

The only reason why transphobes always ask “what is a woman” instead of “what is a man” is because we all know that a man is a featherless biped.

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

“I’m a boy” “I’m a girl” ok well I’m a friend, Arthur. The best friend you have right now. The only friend you have right now. Relax, take a deep breath, relax. Calm down, friend. I’ll tell you everything you need to know, okay?

[egophiliac]

EGO EFO EGO OVERBLOT SSR ANNOUNCED OVERBLOTS SSR ANNOUNCED MALLEUS' HAS BEEN SHOWN BANGS POTS AND PANS EGOOOOOO

OH NO

[mail-me-a-snail]

TRUE BLU iv.

They would've known me. Wouldn't that have been enough? You tell me.

in which we find sniper crossing enemy lines ‧₊˚ ⋅ if you saw this this morning, no you didn't. in other words, the tumblr scheduling system has harmed me once more. anyway happy reading and as always, comments are much appreciated!!

[starry-bi-sky]

Out of Context Stuff for a Danyal Al Ghul au i haven't posted - Pit Beast Danyal

Damian, 13: Look, Danyal, -- I am so sorry for everything that happened between us in the League, I hope you can forgive me.

Danny, 10 (allegedly): (has been secretly plotting to murder Damian this whole time, is still gonna do it obvs, but is going to make it significantly less painful now)

Danny: I-- of course, older brother. :]

--------

Bruce: what do you have there, Damian?

Damian:

Danny: (a hulking 10ft pit beast standing beside him, growling idly with ram horns gouging out his eyes and a second set of horns jutting into the air, spines down his back, and a long, spiked tail with an animalistic, skull-like face)

Damian, who smuggled him in (they've made amends): a smoothie, father

----------

Damian: this is my little brother Danyal, i murdered him when he was five. He festered in rage for the last half-a decade, took over a League mountain base in Switzerland, murdered everyone inside and then tried to murder me when I went to investigate with Drake.

Danny: hello!

Damian: we're cool now

----------

Damian: thoughts on resurrection

Danny, (a full ghost): i will succeed in murdering you if you try it

Damian: we'll put a pin in it then

----------

Danny (still instilled with League values): why don't we just murder him??

Damian, on patrol (Danny followed him): we don't murder people, Danyal

Danyal:,,,,are you sick, Dami?? Have you been possessed? Why not!?

(There is raucous laughing through the comms)

----------

Danny, five, pre-death: Dami! :D

Danny, dead, vengeful: Older brother (:

Danny, post-forgiveness: Dami! :]

-------

For some actual context: Danny is fully dead in this au, its a result of the classic DPxDC Demon Twins "death duel" trope but instead of Danny getting revived, he stays fully dead. Danny was five, Damian was seven. His ghost lingered though, and due to the proximity of the pits his ghost steadily absorbed the ambient energy it was letting off. The pits are not corrupted ectoplasm in this au, it's just liquid ecto.

Which means Danny's corruption from an angry and hurt little ghost boy to an unrecognizable monster is from his own doing. It's a result of him stewing in his hurt and anger for years, it physically warped him. He's very powerful. Danny can travel between League Bases but chose a small, out-of-the-way base in the Swiss mountains to fester in and then just. Never Left.

His influence steeped into the very foundations of the building, allowing him to transform and warp the rooms and hallways for his own bidding, Meaning he could turn it into a seemingly unending labyrinth if he so wished to, and block the entrance.

Eventually, blinded (both metaphorically and physically) by his own rage, Danny grew powerful enough to appear physically in the living realm and attacked everyone in the base, slaughtering them all and leaving the base abandoned. He attacks anyone who dares enter -- whether that be other league members, or the unfortunate hiker who stumbled across the base. His conscious is steeped into every nook and cranny of the building, there is nowhere you can hide where he can't find. Nobody leaves without his explicit say so. Nobody ever does.

Him appearing as ten years old before Damian in the skits above is his own physical doing. First it was to prevent Damian from being suspicious of him. Damian initially thought Danny was revived with the pits, he was too busy with his own training afterwards to notice that Danny never showed up again, and when he did notice, he assumed it was because Danny was too ashamed of his loss to face him. He'd always forget to ask about him.

Then it becomes a personal choice to appear as ten. It's how old he would've been had he been alive.

danny forgiving Damian is kinda for an offshoot branch of the main au. Whereas the main au takes the form of a ps4 first person horror game where Damian and Tim are investigating the Base for Plot Reasons. There's no sign of the rumored "monster" living inside until the end, where Danny, who was found inside the Base and has been happily "helping" them look around, manages to persuade Damian into splitting off from Tim in order to "show him something."

This something turns out to be Danny revealing that he never really forgave Damian for that fight, and he reveals through a horrifying transformation, that he was the monster the whole time. Which the game subtly hints at throughout as Danny's strange behavior becomes harder to ignore.

First from his insistence to only refer to Damian as "older brother" (when before the duel he always called him Damian or Dami), to him right off the bat denying the existence of a monster when questioned. ("There's no monster here, older brother. It's just me.") To other various things, like his knowledge of the outside world not matching up to modern times or things going on with the league outside of the base, or what happened to the other league members.

This whole idea was inspired by the song "Scylla" from Epic the Musical, with Danyal being the voice of Scylla as well as Odysseus, while Damian stands as Eurylochus. The instrumentals after Scylla says "hello" is him turning into the pit beast, and Scylla's "drown in your sorrow and fears" part is danny, as the pit beast, snarling at Damian while he attacks him.

There's a Good Ending, a Bad Ending, and a True Ending. The Bad Ending results in Damian being killed by Danny, it happens when Damian decides not to question or suspect Danny and treats him kindly. The Bad Ending is a cutscene, where Danny kills Damian quick and painlessly.

Meanwhile the Good Ending is Damian killing Danny. This is a boss fight, and it happens when Damian treats Danny coldly and suspiciously the whole time. Danny as a result, decides to make Damian's death painful as he had planned to, which is why it's a boss fight because it only causes him to double down on his anger.

The True Ending is Damian escapes with Tim. It happens when you treat Danny warmly up until the last minute, where when Danny proposes to Damian that he wants to show him something, Damian goes to talk to Tim and finally, reluctantly agrees that something is off with Danny, and that he'll be careful going in. It starts off with the boss fight until a third through, where it then changes to a cutscene where Tim manages to get the door open and Damian escapes out. It's then a chase scene down a never-ending hallway as the building actively works to keep you trapped inside. But you eventually make it to the exit so long as you avoid all the projectiles and doors.

Remember when I mentioned that Danny only lets people leave when he wants them to? That's where the treating Danny kindly throughout the game comes into play. It causes him to second guess himself and, eventually, reawaken and strengthen the love and admiration he had for Damian prior to his murder. It's why in the Bad Ending he kills Damian quickly -- because by then, he loves him enough that he doesn't want him to suffer, but is still so consumed by his rage and need for vengeance that he kills him anyways. That quiet part is what allows Damian (and Tim) to find the exit, because some part of Danny still loves Damian enough that he wants him to live.

The True Ending ends with a cutscene of Damian and Tim tumbling out into the snow/grass outside of the base. Damian looks up back to the entrance to see Danny standing there. But rather than a ten year old boy, there's a little five year old Danyal Al Ghul instead. He stares at Damian emotionlessly, blood seeping from his chest, staining his clothes, and little, bloody sword in his hands and tearstains on his cheeks, before he turns away and disappears back into the building.

[mischiefwife]

[braveblackbutterfly]

i’m over 5'5 / i wear glasses or contacts / i have blonde hair / i often wear sweatshirts / i prefer loose clothing over tight clothes / i have one or two piercings / i have at least one tattoo / i have blue eyes / i have dyed or highlighted my hair / i have or have had braces / i have freckles / i paint my nails / i typically wear makeup / i don’t often smile / resting bitch face / i play sports / i play an instrument / i know more than one language / i can cook or bake / i like writing / i like to read / i can multitask / i’ve never dated anyone / i have a best friend i’ve known for over five years / i am an only child

Thanks for tagging me @lilorockz

Tagging @datfearlessfangirl @devils-minion @moonage-gaydream

I was tagged by @cffeine in a tag game where you only color whats true abt you!! Ty for the tag :)

i’m over 5'5 / i wear glasses or contacts / i have blonde hair / i often wear sweatshirts / i prefer loose clothing over tight clothes / i have one or two piercings / i have at least one tattoo / i have blue eyes / i have dyed or highlighted my hair / i have or have had braces / i have freckles / i paint my nails / i typically wear makeup / i don’t often smile / resting bitch face / i play sports / i play an instrument / i know more than one language / i can cook or bake / i like writing / i like to read / i can multitask / i’ve never dated anyone / i have a best friend i’ve known for over five years / i am an only child

And im taggingggg @lotus-reblogs @evilkaeya @emtearzz @seukorei :)! No pressure ofc 🫶

[velvet-games]

fucking losing it over this skinamarink review

[future-crab]

It's been said before, it will be said again, but it's still worth saying: the fact that art centering on straight romance is allowed to just be bad, but art with queer romance in it always has to be indicative of A Serious Problem With the Way We Tell Queer Stories makes being a queer person making queer art deeply stressful

[lunepools]

[chimerafeathers]

i love that isafrin can be the most straightforwardly romancey, wholesome pairing on a surface level and then you go one (1) level deeper and run into siffrin’s seething guilt and convoluted feelings around touch and intimacy and the extent to which they want or don’t want those things in a specifically romantic way or if he was trying to seek connection and love in any way he could once he knew that Isabeau wanted those things from him in that context, and the combined power trip/self disgust at “manipulating” Isabeau’s desires without his knowledge to make themself feel wanted and in control. and then you keep going and there’s also Isabeau’s own warped self image (still, in spite of all his changes, fearing that he’s someone that would be shameful to know), his “emotionally stable pillar” role and self-taught therapy talk masking his deep fears of real confrontation (struggling loop after loop to confess, not wanting Odile to confront Siffrin about their weird behavior in the sus quest bathroom talk) and how Siffrin’s fear of vulnerability and Isabeau’s fear of Pushing Too Hard allow both of their issues to fester unspoken long after it’s clear that the problems exist.

all this to say. duality of isafrin. makes my heart full and warm and happy to see the sweet, fluffy, silly love and connection between them (mutually romantic or otherwise). and then also. the delicious, delicious complications. gnawing on them like a dog with a beloved bone

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Going to get into the habit of carrying my journal everywhere w me bc I truly want to soak up every snapshot of this transitional period where I’m just a 22 year old girl finding my footing and the only thing I’m tied to are the decisions I make and the path I carve for myself

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

“Yeah, you see, my boss is directly responsible for my wife getting captured by a dark church of the deep that worships the very eldritch god I took part in slaying several years ago. So now most of the time my wife’s body is controlled by a separate consciousness that comes from the black crystals they implanted in her spine, and that consciousness believes itself to be of a nun of the church of the deep, which means she worships the very dark god that I slayed. And to make matters worse, when I killed the eldritch god it’s blood mixed with mine and now I’m its vessel and I have to resist giving in to its corruption to avoid bringing about the cataclysmic demise of the entire world as the oceans would swallow the land and creatures of the deep would devour and assimilate everything until there was nothing left at which point the hivemind mass of the dark god will spread across the cosmos seeking more worlds to devour. On top of all that, the nun in my wife’s body has my wife’s insatiable libido. and ever since she found out that I’m the vessel of her god she’s been constantly begging me to ‘fill her with my divine seed’ and to be honest the whole thing is making our weekly game nights really awkward for everyone.”

[mythalism]

hmmm. thinking about how veilguard seems to subscribe more to the more traditional "video game as personal power fulfillment fantasy of heroism" than any other dragon age game, except perhaps origins, though origins does it more artfully.