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uriel-is-best-girl · 2 years

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Kingdom two crowns orv AU

Maybe spoilers??? Idk

Featuring yjh with a golden crown, black horse, black clothes and a white fur cape or coat bc f the color schemes I think that looks cool. And kdj wearing the opposite color scheme, with a white shirt and long black cloak with white fur around the edges that hangs down to cover his eyes.

!!!OPTIONAL INFODUMP ON HOW KINGDOM TWO CROWNS WORKS!!!!

Ok so first things first for anyone who doesnt know what kingdom two crowns is its a side scrolling videogame where you play as a monarch rebuilding your kingdom from scratch and every night these monsters called the greed cone out of portals to attack you, and they slowly get stronger. They take your money, and can turn your workers into homeless peasants by stealing their money. You 'die' if the greed steal your crown. You move through different islands by repairing your ship and each island will have stronger mounts or hermits which can help you (and these are unlocked with gems). Every island will have a final portal that defeating will stop the greed from returning on that island. You cant beat the first island without going to different islands first (as far as ik anyway).

!!!AU STARTING HERE!!

Yjh as the monarch rebuilding/building a kingdom ti fight against the greed. Kdj as one of the hermits/ the dude who will hold onto your gems for you. The vibes im feeling are yjh struggling in what feels like a hopeless battle, exploring ruins to find anything that could help his kingdom survive. Hes just repaired his boat to move on to another island in search of a stronger mount when kdj appears wearing a cloak and looking sketchy af. Yjh still has some gems on him and kdj, with his untrustworthy smile, offers to hold onto them for him. Yjh is suprised bc in all his regressions (yea, regression is happening :/) hes never seen kdj. Yjh doesnt trust kdj or believe him about holding onto his gems, but he wants to know why kdj has nvr appeared b4 so he asks kdj to join him. Kdj is like nah, and blah blah eventually yjh ends up giving kdj 1 gem to see what happens. He thinks worst case scenario hell just start over. Then next island yjh cant find kdj again for weeks and hes pissed. But then kdj appears again by that half rebuilt boat with that grin of his and with yjhs gem.

And kdj stays there, offer always open to hold onto the gems. Sometimes kdj will even offer yjh advice. Advice that turns out to be life-saving. Anyways so yjh gets attached to the mysterious man, and everytime he travels to a new island he is worried about kdj not reappearing. But he always does.

Hmm ok so why dont the greed chase kdj? Bc hes a wizard, magical boy, whatever, and can cast a spell that makes him hidden from the world, so he can watch as an observer. Before the regressions began, kdj lived in the woods with his mom. Non of the cannon trauma, kdj's dad was killed when he was young bc kdj's mom was a witch and modern laws and law enforcement werent there so he dead b4 kdj can rlly remmeber him. However we do have some trauma with how isolated kdj was and also his mom was shunned from the current kingdom (of which yjh was the prince) for being a witch and idk ppl also probably tried to kill them for that and all. So that means that the hidding magic is one of the first things kdj is taught. Bc he had to use it so often he can cast this spell w/out a book or other ritual aids, but all other spells he needs extra materials for andd his spellbook. So that means he totally gets yjh to essentially go on fetch quests for him with the reward of stuff like "strengthened city walls", or "a boutiful harvest".

Anyways, back to the backstory, when kdj becomes an adult, he goes off on his own, wandering through the woods and being a hermit, collecting books/exploring ruins and avoiding ppl bc he has trust issues ofc. Hmm, need an origin story for the greed, do they appear out of nowhere? Ummm, so one day the earth trumbles and the air crunches and outside of the kingdom black rocks fly together to form arcs, and with a firey woosh purple illusory flames appear inside the arcs, and out of these portals run these black and oily child sized figures which begin to wreak havoc and the apocalypse starts.

Yjh cannot even begin to save his kingdom this first time because its so sudden, hes caught up in the havoc of just trying to survive like everyone else. Then, just as hes about to pass out from blood loss or smthing, a cloaked figure appears before him and asks him "do you want to save your kingdom?" When yjh blearily answers yes, kdj smiles and says cryptically "many have failed, but perhaps, you will be different".

So then yjh blacks out and bc he was dying he forgets this. Kdj takes him away and heals him, then leaves him somewhere safe with only his crown and a horse to try and rebuild and survive. He fails, and when he dies he wakes up again with only his crown and a horse. He doesnt remmeber kdj.

Okay okay more backstory time, not only was kdjs mom a witch, but also their family are some of the only ones who had records of and knew about the coming apocalypse, some generations try and stop it, others mearly standby. So when it comes around again kdj decides he wants to try and help, that maybe this time will be different, and will end the apocalypse for good.

So yjh continues on, this mysterious yet helpful man coming and going, working to defeat a the portals on every island. Finally he makes it back to very first island, where it all began. This time when he goes to attack the last portal, kdj appears and tags along. Used to kdjs sporadic and confusing behavior, yjh thinks nothing of it.

But at the end of this final portal, on the very first island, is the king who was supposed to be dead. Yjh looks at the father he barely knows or recognizes with horror, and, the truth beggining to dawn on him, anger. The truth of the apocalypse was that it was always caused by a previous king who had defeated the previous apocalypse and, in the height of their kingdom and success, become corrupt with greed, until when they die their spirits cant accept it and they bring about the apocalypse once again. This is the secret that kdjs family knew, and he helped yjh not knowing him but hoping he would be different. And he was right, yjh would be different.

Anyways after that yjh forces kdj to come back with him, and having helped in the fight kdj is too exhausted to actually fight or run away like he ussually does and then they live happily ever after in their kingdom (yjh gives kdj a crown and makes him a ruler as well, claiming that kdj helped just as much but we all know the real reason he does that is bc he wants kdj to stay and also ppl will think theyre married which yjh does not mind).

I forgot to add but the reason kdj only appeared after a couple regressions is bc of that underlying fear from his youth about ppl hating him. And the only reason he appears at all is bc he wants to help and finally decides to risk trying it.

Once again im sorry to anyone reading this bc i am not editing...

#can I not make everything I play or watch about orv?#ofc not #kingdom two crowns #orv #orv au #kdj #kim dokja #omniscient reader's viewpoint

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opalthea · 7 months

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regarding the sagau post, i was wondering what route that could go on because being unable to change parts of the story would make them want to rip their hair out.

imagine: dreading going to inazuma after finishing your talk with zhongli, and generally everything that goes down there. wanting, praying, begging to whoever sent you here that at least something changes and it isn't an entire drag to go through.

getting to sumeru and hoping that you can somehow free nahida faster and not letting her rot inside the sanctuary of surasthana for any longer than a second (i personally imagine reader wanting to smack the hell out of alhaitham bc i wanted to while playing sumeru DFABWEGSD)

these are just a couple thoughts i had though!! just some thoughts

OH YEAH OKAY,, YEAH DEFINITELY!! Reader would definitely want to rip out their hair from the frustration because it is SO EASY to not mess up... from a player's perspective.

This is SO orv-esque.

But I'm sure with Reader as an additional character (that has not been determined by the game itself), there are some parts of the game that is changeable. Like maybe fights, wars.. the outcomes would be different with an extra person.

Zhongli still fakes his death, and the Traveler still has to defeat Childe. You still fight the war between the Resistance and the Shogun Army, but maybe Teppei doesn't have to die. Because you knew about the Delusions before he did. You hastily grabbed it from his person with such a scowl and threw it into the blue — watching it sink into the depths as Teppei cried out.

The samsara still happens in Sumeru, but you know how to break free from the first time. You couldn't say the same for the Traveler, even though they're the main character and they're equally as smart — perks of being a player. They asked you how you knew this was a repeat, even though they did not go through multiple cycles just yet, but you find yourself at a standstill.

#visitors from tevyat : vennnnn diagram #ae rambles about: her sagau concepts!#genshin isekai #sagau genshin #genshin sagau

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teecupangel · 14 days

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Based on @wisecloudnightmare’s tags in the Altaïr and Desmond commits identity fraud (on each other) idea:

#this makes me think of that one comic where joonghyuk keeps saying going away kim dokja and then when kim dokha really disappears #he says don't you ever leave again or I'll kill you asfghjkbijgds #ugh but altaïr with 999th joonghyuk's personality would be so fascinating too #the one where his mind is really fragile but he's still a beast to fight with. only kdj can tame him.

(Absolute spoilers to ORV underneath)

I believe you are talking about the 1863rd Yoo Joonghyuk. 999th Yoo Joonghyuk is the best boi who sacrificed his limbs and life so his companions could reach the ending even without him by making a pact with a certain Outer God (which I think would be a fun idea to play with as well).

We’ll focus on 1863rd version for this one and we’ll make it so that Altaïr is regressing over and over again and he has no idea why.

He’s caught in a time loop that starts every time he died (doesn’t matter when, where or how, what matters is he dies) and he doesn’t even have a goal to focus on.

He always regresses to the same point:

The moment he killed an innocent man underneath the Temple Mount, Malik saying the same words again and again.

Nothing worked.

Getting the Apple of Eden during this time did not help.

Saving Kadar did not do anything.

Killing Abbas before he orders the death of his family and friends did not end this cursed life.

His first life was not perfect but it was a fulfilling one.

His later lives?

He could not bear to watch his sons grow and die before him.

He could not bear the thought of that family of his from long ago become just another part of this wretched tragedy.

That’s when the Apple whispers to him of what he must do.

It never did that before.

So he agrees to it as long as the Apple promises to find a way to finally kill him without any chance of returning to that point.

The Apple only says “Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad’s greatest wish will come true in this ‘round’.”

The Apple’s instructions gets Altaïr to kill Al Mualim early on, branding him a traitor and pitting him against his own brothers. This culminates in pretty much a ‘me versus the world’ with Malik being ordered to hunt him down together with Abbas.

During one of the three-way fight between Altaïr, some Assassins and the guards of the city they are in, Desmond appears.

Now…

Desmond survived the Solar Flare but how he did it was hazy. What he does know is that something is terrible wrong with Altaïr because he doesn’t look like the Altaïr in his memories.

This Altaïr is both more savage yet also more tired than Desmond remembered.

There is a resignation in his movements even as he dodged everything. As if he had given up on life but knows he must continue to move forward, ignoring the pain and tiredness of his mortal body.

Desmond doesn’t know about the regressions until the Apple tells him that this is the 1863rd ‘loop’.

Because of this, Desmond tries to help him and Altaïr leans on him because he is an anomaly. He knows of Altaïr’s first life.

He only knows about Altaïr’s first life, reminding him about it when he himself barely remembers it.

Desmond was from the original timeline.

Desmond was the real key to end this, not the Apple.

And so Altaïr started to depend on him.

Protecting Desmond was the most important thing in this entire world because he was Desmond, the key to ending all of this and the first person to ever get pass the darkness that has clouded Altaïr’s mind for so long.

Desmond was important.

Desmond’s words were law.

All he needed was Desmond.

On the other corner…

The Apple just lets Desmond use it like it was Desmond’s personal Google.

It does, however, give an error every time Desmond asks why he’s been transported to this timeline and the truth about the loops.

Desmond knows that Altaïr is getting a bit… well…. obsessed with him. But it brought life back in his eyes and that was enough for Desmond. He’d deal with the rest as they come up. (famous last words)

The twist is the loop is an unintentional byproduct of the Reader and the Heir trying to find clues to how to save the world by checking the other unused timelines that the Calculations had also found and more timelines that the Calculations didn’t catch the first time.

They didn’t know that Altaïr’s constant use of the apple made him the closest being to them and he gets sucked into their research, but didn’t get to the Grey. Instead, he was taking over the consciousness of the Altaïrs in those timelines they’re ‘skimming’.

Time was inconsequential to the Reader and the Heir. It was not to Altaïr.

They only learned about Altaïr around the end of the 1862nd turn.

The Apple? That’s the Heir staying in the Gray and connecting with the Apple to guide Altaïr into bringing the solution into the 1863rd worldline.

Unfortunately, something happened and what he brought was an incomplete solution.

Because Desmond forgot that he was the Reader.

#you know what #nah #i would be lying if i don’t tag this as #altdes #so no usual tags for this one XD #did you know i was going to make the twist hidden in the tags?#but it grew too long so yeah #it’s there now XD

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astranauticus · 2 months

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orv 🤝 asteroid city

stories about stories that left a surprisingly large impact crater in my brain

anyway some more (frankly far too extensive) thoughts under the cut for an au i dont forsee myself drawing for again (cw: mention of suicidal thoughts and lots of talk about death)

for anyone reading this who hasn't watched asteroid city: it's a movie documenting the making of an in universe fictional play called asteroid city written by conrad earp (kdj) directed by schubert green (hsy) lead actor jones hall (yjh) who plays augie, very emotionally repressed guy whose wife (lsh, kinda) just died and is trying to figure out how to tell his children about it. anyway jones shows up at conrad's house for auditions and the two fall in love, then conrad dies from a car crash 6 months into the shows run and jones is left to play a character mourning the death of his wife while irl mourning the death of his lover and it drives him up a wall trying to figure out if he's doing conrad "right" (hence 'i still don't understand the play')

anyway for this au like everything that happens in the movie also happens i think but the character motivations are a little bit different like in the movie conrad earp writes the play before he ever meets jones hall so we don't really know why it's Like That but i think in the au kdj is either like. having suicidal thoughts or just fully believed he wasn't gonna live for very long in the like cptsd symptom kinda way lmao. so like it's not really that he wrote the play to help yjh process his own death (i think if that were the case the message of the play would be way different lmfao) but it's more like he just had death and grief on the brain and was also writing stuff. and like the answer he arrived at was that he didn't actually arrive at anything in the end. sometimes tragedy just happens and there's no meaning to it you just kinda have to live with that. like i know this is not how the process of play production works but if there's one change to the original movie plot in this au i want to make it's that kdj still dies by car accident but before the script is 100% finished or after he's been talking about rewriting the ending or something because i think he also doesn't figure out an answer he's satisfied with in the end about like death and grief and mourning. like you just know that in kdj's ideal world his loved ones wouldn't mourn him at all if he dies because he doesn't want them to be sad because of him and maybe he still hasn't fully 100% internalised that he has people who would care if he dies. anyway i think yjh kinda understands like subliminally that kdj was trying to Say Something with the play he just isn't sure what because he's looking for An Answer like some kind of meaning to everything that's happened but the point is there isn't one and if there is kdj hasn't found it either lmao. and like i think hsy understood immediately like as soon as she heard the news of his death she's figured out what kdjs thought process behind the play was and like she's absolutely not holding it together as well as she appears but she also sees yjh driving himself insane every night trying to find The Meaning or whatever and like whether or not she even agrees with kdj aside this is the only way she can think of to help him get out of that hole bc she can't exactly tell yjh like 'the point is that there is no point you just have to live with The Everything' so she's just trying her best to make him understand on his own. idk i just need someone who's watched asteroid city to see this and tell me if ive gone completely insane LMAO

#omniscient reader's viewpoint #orv #kim dokja #yoo joonghyuk #han sooyoung #joongdok #art i made #my contribution to the time honoured jdj fanwork trope of kdj pairing yjh with lsh against his will #that one last hsy looks so much like qiao ling from lc what the fuck #took some liberties with the outfits and the poses bc #ok honestly for most of this i was just drawing whatever felt right based on my memories of the movie like i only looked it up near the end #so i can get all the lines right #and also. im not drawing that fuckin outfit margo robbie was wearing in that scene christ alive #god some of the anatomy is so wack

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erytherion · 3 months

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I knew watching it again would probably result in some different perspectives from when I watched as a kid, but I remembered the film really well already and wasn’t expecting anything particularly ORV-related to suddenly hit me out of the blue, but like. Right at the end. RIGHT at the end.

Sing-Shong (or Han Sooyoung and KimCom, if you’d rather - or maybe both!) really did put so much thought into everything that got included, didn’t they?

You could say that ORV itself is exactly the same to them as this story was to the Rose who shared her story - Jack’s story.

I guess the idea is that, without ORV, we would never have known about Kim Dokja at all, because nobody would have remembered him. Maybe without those specific people surviving, there would not be any other record of him at all. Maybe that is part of the change between what may have ‘actually’ happened and what we read. Maybe he really, truly is ‘just some guy’ trying to survive like Jack Dawson, but nobody even knew he was a part of their story in the first place? What we read is a story saying ‘he was there, here is evidence of him being there’, but maybe he was just like Jack, there unplanned and undocumented, even in the <Star Stream> itself.

And they are still there, telling every world line outside of their own: He was here too. We want to find him. As the only ones who know he was there - maybe without any statue, any documented heroism. Just like everyone in the background of the film, saving each other, dying together, trying to survive.

And a promise, of course, to never let go. Not of a hand, but of a promise: A promise to survive, to live to an old age, and die in a warm bed.

I think a young Kim Dokja would appreciate the kind of message that provided, even in film form. Or at least, it’s one Han Sooyoung (or Sing-Shong, if you’d rather) would consider would want to convey to her readers.

Maybe they don’t even have a picture of him either. Maybe the only record of him exists within their memories. And that was the only source they had with which to try and recreate the ‘him’ that they knew, whilst knowing that, as with the film Titanic, the story would out of necessity become somewhat dramatised to sell the story as plausible or to make it popular enough to reach him.

Anyways, this quote (from the movie transcript - couldn’t find screenshots to do it justice) was what really hit me the most as being relevant to his story, too. Since they were there too, in the theatre dungeon, on the Titanic. It being a fictional rendition of a historical event makes it even more relevant too, and even as a kid I wondered - how can everyone be so okay watching these people die so horribly? But it’s because it’s fiction, it’s fiction. But, in this case, was it? How much of it?

Interpretations of fiction could still be close to reality, in universes where these things did happen, in their reality. As history. So are the things we read, watch, play all the same, in the end? Artists’ renditions, dramatised documentaries, or similar? Fiction, yet also reality.

Like ORV. Fiction, yet reality. Always both and the same.

And they always say ‘it feels like a dream’, too. What do dreams count as? Fiction, or reality? The memories stay in your head from them too. Does that mean they are or are not real?

Just some guy dreaming of the helping his friends through the apocalypse, who came out of nowhere just like Jack Dawson on that ship, walking the fine line between fiction and reality that never had any distinction to him in the first place. It’s always been both, for him, with his story.

Anyways I am crying right now so feel free to cry with me! We have many tears with all these stories and histories, I think.

#orv #orv spoilers #omniscient reader’s viewpoint #titanic #reminder that I have psychosis and some strange thoughts/beliefs at times #fiction is not purely fictional to me either #it’s just happening somewhere else than here #in another dimension or universe #getting dramatised during retelling #inspiring actions that create ‘spiritual successors’ of the original plotlines #like handing stories down to sponsored incarnations #the message wasn’t for me but it’s a good message to keep you going #never let go of the promise to survive please #maybe we promised someone else something similar in another universe #in a fragment of a story we took part in in our sleep #look after yourselves dear readers

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mae-i-scribble · 2 years

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Random thoughts on the orv epilogue part 4/??? AKA: why I will forever believe orv ends happily.

You see a lot of different interpretations of what happens after that hospital door opens, and rightfully so since that’s literally what the authors intend for us to do as readers. After scrolling through all available pages of fanfic for kdj/yjh I noticed that you tend to see imaginings that lean towards that happy ending, even with struggles along the way. Every now and again you’ll see a sort of “bad ending” fic that just dives head first into that depressing what if of kdj never coming back, or coming back but never to be the same. While these are fine and dandy, power to those who write them, personally a happy ending where kdj does come back (if not whole nearly enough to say he truly is whole) and lives his life happily with everyone in the end just fits better with the emotional strokes of orv’s writing.

Orv is about a lot of things, its incredibly fast paced giving us a convoluted plot and numerous characters to meet and watch grow or impact the narrative, its a meta thematic novel on epic proportions. But to me, really and truly, orv is a story about love and is in it of itself a love letter to every story. From the get go orv is a celebrator of stories and their importance to people, the hope and love and power they give people. It’s a narrative paying homage to any and all narratives before it, for their flaws and their triumphs. Beyond stories though, orv is about the love between people, no matter what label is applied, involving each and every one of the cast.

It’s about how kdj, through all his bluster and unreliable narration, can barely remember what it is to give or receive love, or what it means to be genuine, that he’s left fumbling constantly, met with problems his emotional intelligence cannot parce out. About how jihye and the kids become a trio of their own, all them far too young in a world that has made them adults, and how jihye fights to preserve the small spark of innocence those kids have. About how when hyunsung has to save heewon from her own demon he says that he will bear her wrath on behalf of the world, even if it means literally melting as he pushes through her flames to cover her with his steel shields. It’s Jung Heewon falling into despair as kdj leaves her behind again and again because loving a person who values themselves so little is a wound that keeps on growing, pain made all the worse by the fact that kdj means none of it, and would rather nothing happen to heewon, and she knows this, but cannot accept it because that is what her love means. It’s Sangah sacrificing herself over and over again to get their group more information on the future, to protect them in kdj’s place and make sure they all survive. It’s the entire group coming together to teach the kids important skills. It’s kdj waiting at yjh’s bedside after the reveal of ways of survival, for the first time willing to lay everything out on the table and just *talk* to yjh. And when yjh leaves, kdj accepts yjh’s anger and is more than willing to take it all without fighting back until hsy steps in between them. It’s jang hayoung tells dokja that even if you can’t reach at other person, to try anyways, because even the act of reaching out has value, even if it isn’t seen, even if it isn’t heard until it’s too late, it matters. It’s how lee sookyung loved kdj with everything she had, and how that love hurt him more than anything else in the world. About how even when kdj doesn’t consider lee sookyung to be his mother, he still loves her and wants to understand her. It’s how the adoration han myungoh has for his daughter makes him a fundamentally different person. How hades protects persephone until his last breath while persephone plays the ode to their love.

About how kdj saw a world where everything was nearly perfect, everyone was happy even the people he couldn’t save, and couldn’t accept that world because it was one where yjh was unhappy. It’s about hsy taking one look, one fucking look at kdj in that hospital stretcher and realizing that no, he never was lying when he said that ways of survival saved him, and that in turn she had to do whatever it took to make sure he kept living, the world be damned. About how kdj dies at the hands of the person he loves most after fighting yjh over which one of them will be the one to save the other. It’s the way that the 999 round companions travel the worldlines all for the sake of meeting the man who loved them enough to sacrifice everything for them. About how yjh first reacts with betrayal and hurt after finding out that kdj had read about his life, asking kdj why, when yjh is right here in front of him, is kdj still reading. About how yjh then goes on to say that he is the only one who can pass judgement on kdj for enjoying ways of survival, and he has long since forgiven kdj because that is how kdj lived, and yjh accepts that part of him. It’s about how secretive plotter, upon meeting the oldest dream, reacts not with violence but with understanding, and he and the 999 rounds are finally able to be at peace because of it. It’s the way that countless people, not just kdj’s company, went back for another life because they all had things they loved and wanted to save.

It’s about the way that even as kdj is dooming himself to a life of endless dreaming, he wants the people he loves to be happy.

There’s so much love in this novel, such care and loving detail put into describing its many facets and complexities. My rambling here only scratched the moments that I remember most clearly, and even then it wasn’t all of my favorites. In a story so full of love that centers around a protagonist who cannot, for the life of him, even imagine himself living in such a world peacefully, of course I want him to have his happy ending.To love without sacrifice, to love mundanely, simply, and to have all the time in the world to learn what it means. And for his companions, who traveled time and space to bring him home and spent years grieving him, to finally get that chance as well.

Part 1| Part 2 | Part 3 | ... | Part 5 (upcoming)

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ryxkenkxgami · 2 years

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okay finished my first orv reread. i am still a broken person. actually i think it was worse the second time, knowing what was coming, so under the cut are just some thoughts...very disjointed. just very personal thoughts

for someone like me orv is indescribable. there’s a million other people with a similar story to mine - abusive household, bullied heavily in school, tried to kill themselves, found hope in a story they loved and held on to it until they could survive on their own. or maybe they couldn’t, maybe they kept holding on to that story to get them through everything.

i got lucky, in a lot of ways. my husband and i met when i was 14. his family took me in when i ran away from my abusive mother. i didn’t die when i tried to kill myself - all seven times, despite having permanent heart damage because of one of those attempts. when i was in that household, i was barely alive. and i got lucky because i found stories that resonated with me. games i loved, manga i couldn’t stop reading, anime that made me feel something. because of those stories, i was able to live. i was able to survive the horrific abuse my mother threw at me - all her insults, all the physical assaults, all of the control. i was able to keep on going because when i was alone, i could escape it. when i was reading, or playing video games, or watching something... i wasn’t me, on earth, hiding out with my dresser in front of my door in hopes my mother wouldn’t try to push past it. i was whoever i wanted to be, in whatever story i wanted. whatever story i found something in. when i say i really understand kim dokja, i really understand kim dokja. had i been left alone in my situation much longer... well, sometimes i think about if i would’ve done what he did, too.

but because of those stories, i was able to live to the point where i met kyle, where i could physically escape, where i finally could grow into my own person. i’m not joking when i say i wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for those stories. kyle helped me once we met, but for those first lonely years of my life?

kim dokja really resonates with me, more then any other protagonist, i think. and it’s not mean, the way the narrative treats him. it’s not cruel, the fact that he latched onto a story to survive. it’s a wonderful thing, and at the end, where they write a story of his life in order to save him once more...

i’ve had the understanding for a long, long time that people are never able to fully understand each other. that because we are different, we are living separate lives in our own realities, we can never meet each other fully. it was isolating, for a long time. this is a reason i’ve always loved twewy, since the first time i played it, btw.

but orv gives another perspective: that we are all made up of everyone who knows you. all of their thoughts of who you are, what you do, it’s all there to someone. and each of those parts combine to create a whole you. and even if they can never understand you fully, that doesn’t mean you matter any less. and i... find a lot of solace, in that. that if even if someone can’t always understand me, i am still someone worthy of their attempts. because i’m a person they love. a person worth knowing, even if it’s just that 2% difference.

and just... idk. orv is such a wonderful love letter to people like me. people who had nothing but the stories they could escape to in order to get through life. people who loved reading. who loved to listen, to hear, to consume. and the connections you can make through sharing a story with someone... it’s a way of understanding someone. you can understand someone a little bit better because of what a story means to them, how they interpret it, what they take from it. and you can use that to make friendships, lasting bonds, and it’s... a wonderful, beautiful thing.

so many of my most important relationships were forged over our shared love for a story, for a world that wasn’t our own. i know that’s the same for almost everyone in fandom. i love that orv is a celebration of that, the very thing that’s kept me going for so many years. i started writing fanfiction when i was 6, because i wanted to tell a story of characters i loved, even back then. and because of that... i am here. because of those characters, those stories, and those friends i made because of those stories, i survived. and i was able to live a so far, pretty fulfilling life.

idk. i’m just really glad. i love orv a lot. i’m glad i got to stay alive to experience it.

#mitzi.txt #/#////#/////#//////#idk man i just.#i love orv.#i love orv so much and it makes me feel like i belong on this planet #just so i can experience it #thats. pretty special. idk

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luxaofhesperides · 3 years

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slow dancing in tune to our hearts

in which lee jihye and na bori make a cake, dance, and confess their feelings in under an hour. it’s called being efficient.

for ORV RARE PAIR WEEK 2021 @orv-week; day four, prompt: dancing.

also on ao3.

. . .

Lee Jihye’s parents were out for the weekend, which meant there was no one to stop her and Na Bori from making a mess in the kitchen at 11pm. Theoretically, making a cake is easy. It’s just mixing ingredients and baking it. In practice, neither of them are particularly detail-oriented and they could not slowly pour flour into a measuring cup; no, they dumped a bunch of flour out and coating everything around them in white.

This includes themselves.

Lee Jihye takes one look at Na Bori’s stunned face, coated in flour, and bursts out laughing. And then she starts coughing because there’s still a lot of flour in the air and she inhaled most of it.

That, in turn, makes Na Bori laugh; hers is a full body laughter where she curls into herself and slaps the nearest object or person until she can calm down. This time, Lee Jihye is spared from Na Bori’s uncontrolled shoulder slapping since she clings onto the counter to hold herself up.

It’s impossible to resist laughing; Na Bori is full of joy, easily shared, and Lee Jihye can’t help but start laughing again once she’s stopped coughing. They keep setting each other off, with their laughter and flour covered faces, and Lee Jihye ends up sitting on the floor, trying desperately to catch her breath.

“This,” she gasps, “is terrible. We’re so bad at baking!”

Na Bori giggles, leaning most of her weight on the counter. “Your face when you dropped the flour--!”

She sinks down, shoulders shaking as she tries to reign in her mirth, and collapses on top of Lee Jihye.

“See if I ever try to make you something nice,” Lee Jihye pouts, rubbing her sore cheeks. “Cake isn’t supposed to be hard to make.”

“Yeah, you’re just terrible in the kitchen. Come on, let’s try to save it somehow.”

They have to pull each other up, both feeling weak from the force of their laughter. The kitchen is going to be hell to clean up later, but that’s a tomorrow problem, and Lee Jihye fixes her attention onto Na Bori instead, who has flour coating the hair around her face and a sparkle in her eyes. She has to look away quickly, trying to keep her composure and not collapse again from how cute Na Bori is.

They try to follow the rest of the recipe as best they can, only getting one small egg shell dropped into the batter from Lee Jihye cracking the egg a little to hard, which is a successful endeavor in her eyes. Na Bori pours in melted chocolate carefully and shoves the spoon into Lee Jihye’s mouth so she can swipe a finger through the remaining chocolate in the bowl. Her heart melts a little at this, and Lee Jihye can’t stop herself from grinning around the spoon.

The batter comes together and actually looks… okay? Lee Jihye holds out a hand for a high five, which Na Bori grants her.

Na Bori also yells at her to stop before she pours the batter into the pan, because they both forgot to grease the pan and Na Bori waves a can of butter spray like she’s wielding a weapon. Another disaster averted.

The batter goes into the over and the time is set. Lee Jihye turns and faces the rest of the kitchen. Ingredients and bowls clutter the countertops, flour coats on section of the counters, as well as the floor, and bit of the batter are splattered around from Lee Jihye’s enthusiastic mixing.

She really doesn’t want to clean this up.

Na Bori is evidently having the same thoughts as her, since she turns up the volume on her phone, which has been quietly playing music in the background, easily drowned out by how loud they are in the kitchen.

“Oh!” she says as one of the newer pop songs start to play, “Let’s do the dance to this one!”

“I don’t know the dance,” Lee Jihye protests, but still goes along with Na Bori easily. It’s true, she doesn’t know this dance, but she has seen it online. Plenty of trending videos are people doing dance covers, but Lee Jihye is not much a dancer.

She’s not much of anything besides a runner and lazy student.

“We can learn,” Na Bori insists, pulling up a dance tutorial video because she knows Lee Jihye never really says no to her.

Which is fair. Lee Jihye herself knows that she’d do anything for Na Bori without much complaint. But she will complain if she has to, she’s not that gracious.

They both watch the tutorial, moving hesitantly as they try to follow along, slowly and then speeding up. Switching legs here, a step there, clapping their hands together twice then spinning to face the side; Na Bori stumbles often, but she’s laughing so Lee Jihye keeps going, leaning into Na Bori when she falls against her.

It’s actually not a hard dance, now that they know what to do. Na Bori goes back to her playlist and unpauses the song, then drags Lee Jihye to the middle of the kitchen.

She adds more dramatic flairs to the moves that make Lee Jihye grin, following along as they dance besides each other. No wonder everyone is doing dance covers these days; she never wants to stop if it means Na Bori keeps smiling and spinning, joyous and glowing.

The song ends far too soon, but Lee Jihye doesn’t have any time to be disappointed before Na Bori grabs her hands and asks, “Keep dancing with me?”

“Sure, if you want,” Lee Jihye says, trying to act as though her heart isn’t going to beat out of her chest.

They don’t do any coordinated, choreographed moves. No, Na Bori entwines their fingers and swings their hands around as they turn in lazy circles around the kitchen. Lee Jihye can’t help but hum along to the song, and in a sudden burst of courage, frees one of her hands from Na Bori’s grip to hold her waist.

Na Bori lets Lee Jihye bring them closer together, mouthing along to the lyrics, swinging her head in beat with the music.

It’s so easy being with her like this. Lee Jihye tries not to think too much while with Na Bori because she’s sure to get too flustered to function, but she also never really has to put in the effort to not think. Being together feels so natural that Lee Jihye is never flustered or uncomfortable until she thinks about it later.

The timer is only halfway through but the sweet smell of chocolate cake is already wafting through the kitchen.

“Oh, it smells good,” Na Bori says, and falls against Lee Jihye’s chest, tucking her chin over her shoulder.

“We should make chocolate frosting while the cake cools down.”

“We could also just melt more chocolate and pour it over the cake.”

“That’s so much easier, let’s do that.” Lee Jihye feels Na Bori’s smile against her neck and feels her stomach twist into excited knots.

They keep dancing. Or rather, they keep lazily turning in circles as they hold each other, which seems less like dancing and more like hugging with extra movement. Not that she’s complaining.

“I like doing this,” Lee Jihye confesses, quiet with the weight of her feelings.

Na Bori hums and squeezes her hand. “Doing what?”

“Being with you. I’m always happy when you’re around.”

Na Bori pulls them to an abrupt stop. Lee Jihye feels her heart leap into her throat, the sourness of fear on the back of her tongue. When Na Bori looks at her, she has no idea what her expression means. She wants to believe that their friendship is strong enough to withstand anything, even a sudden confession that also wasn’t really a confession, but now that she’s faced with the possibility of things changing, Lee Jihye is terrified.

“I…” Na Bori trails off, cheeks pink. She looks away and bites her lip. Lee Jihye can’t help but watch the action, eyes fixed on her lips. “I really like being with you too. I want to always be with you.”

Lee Jihye can’t remember moving. One moment she’s staring at Na Bori’s lips, and the next, she’s kissing her, using the arm she has around Na Bori’s waist to pull her closer, keep her steady when she leans back a bit. And Na Bori slides a hand up Lee Jihye’s shoulder, around the back of her neck, and keeps Lee Jihye from moving as she kisses back.

Another song starts playing. There’s still flour in their hair, on their clothes, on their cheeks. The time goes off and the smell of chocolate cake fills the air.

Lee Jihye barely notices over the feel of Na Bori’s lips, and the matching beat of their hearts.

#orv #omniscient reader's viewpoint #orv fic #lee jihye/na bori #lee jihye #na bori #my writing

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punknmonkey04-blog · 5 years

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Wonka & The Bible

In honor of the person to blame most for my existence and a good percentage of everything that makes me who I am I dedicate this post to my best friend and mother. If you would like to make a formal complaint or praise contact me.

As an adult I have been reflecting on this one hell of a ride and how I got here today and I realized that in almost every aspect and experience I tell can more than likely include my mom, maybe in some ways any mother daughter combo can relate but I don’t know many moms that will take her daughter out joyriding an ORV trail in an S-10(I’m still not convinced that it was by accident but rather just another learning tool to use to her advantage), celebrate their 18th birthday in a strip club with a group of men who have watched me grow up (I’m not sure who was celebrating the most still), party like a rockstar together from the hood all the way to the zoo, crash weddings and leave our mark on every landmark and adventure we’ve encountered together. If you have a mom like this please submit a dna sample to be sure it’s not the same mom!

As I started my reflection and the journey of seeking answers some questions I had regarding the memories I have one critical one kept coming to mind: religion. I remember as a child I would have “dreams” of going to heaven in a hot air balloon escorted by Disney characters and having a tea party with God. If you know me you might understand why this memory has been eating at me. For one, a tea party?!?! Why a hot air balloon?? Why heaven and god?? The only other memory I have as a child that relates to religion is going to church with my great grandmother and hearing that my mom siblings and I were going to Hell due to her sins and that’s why we were disabled (it shouldn’t be said and that’s why I’m saying it 😆 but certain people couldn’t understand why my sinning mother didn’t want this respected church member officiating a funeral for a woman who took years trying to convince us that what was said was wrong...so there’s a little tea from those crazy parties with God). It wasn’t until the man I call my dad came into the picture that religion tried becoming a part of our lives but the damage was done. Then I lost an important man and religion became important. I can’t tell you what I believe in or if it’s right but I can say that my mother taught me that there’s a higher purpose and a higher reason for everything and if you don’t see the message right away there’s always a possibility of seeing a better bigger message next time. She’s taught me compassion and patience, attempts to teach me right from wrong but maybe it was a mental reminder or a little last resort to prevent a reoccurring reaction she would say “....the Bible says honor thy mother AND father not one not the favorite not when you want ...” ok great you just made me have to figure out a way to get mad but still honor y’all fools. So to sum this part up I might be going to hell but at least I got to party with God and though it’s been awhile I had the understanding that I’m always welcome back, my mom and dad are probably alive and well because I don’t know how to get mad/even without dishonoring them. We should have moms as interrogators because mom guilt you hear in your sleep!! Your probably wondering ok but what about Wonka. Thanks for the reminder! As I tune in and out of the movie playing (the original) I realized how much educating the songs are towards bad behavior and manners and jokingly said was I bad kid that I was forced to watch this in hopes I would learn something? So like any good child I called my mom to question her parenting and I have it on good authority that I was and have never been or will be bad. Okay she said not bad enough to warrant that punishment because mom guilt and flicking was enough....at least until she wasn’t looking again!😁 And that’s what makes my mom better than yours. She’s the only person that can make parenting look easy with Wonka & The Bible with grace and sass!

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thekaijudude · 6 years

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The True Nature of Orb's Light

A Consolidation: The Orb Dark Theory

Ever since I knew Orb Dark being involved in R/B, I've been very intrigued as to how Orb suddenly will play a role in the series.

Of course he's gonna be some sort of antagonist (as of what we know now at least) but the real question here is, how does did the Orb we all know and love become like this?

I've been thinking about about virtually all the possible ways that could be let into this development, from retcons to corruption or Orb Dark being a completely separate entity from the Orb we are familiar with (An alternate reality Ultraman Orb if you will)

But then, after getting asks about this particular issue:

https://thekaijudweeb.tumblr.com/post/175168525278/maybe-dark-orb-comes-about-when-the-light-on-the

https://thekaijudweeb.tumblr.com/post/175248738773/okay-so-continuing-from-my-earlier-ask-whowhat

I realised that the possibility of a 'corruption' was something I can consolidate with one of the unanswered questions we had in the Orb series.

Which was:

What was the upgrade to Orb from Orb's Light after he had successfully stopped Maga-Tano-Orochi?

For those who didn't watch the Origin Saga, the Orb's Light will basically give Orb tasks to complete and after doing so, Orb gets an upgrade in his abilities

(For example, after managing to prevent the 'Kugutsu apocalypse', Orb got an upgrade from Orb Origin the First to Orb Origin)

Now with regards to the latest completed tasks of the extermination of Maga-Tano-Orochi, throughout the rest of the Orb Saga (Ultra Fight Orb, Orb Movie or even the Geed Movie where Orb was featured) we still did not see what rewards did Orb reap from completing that mission (or did he even went to claim it from the light at all as of yet)

So basically this is what I'm thinking

The Orb's Light is actually an Evil entity that is looking for a host to reside in as a container to enact out its plans for its sinister purposes.

Here me out it'll all make sense once we actually look at the tasks it gave Orv to complete and what we know so far about Orb Dark.

1. Beginning: Choosing a suitable container

Remember in the Origin Saga, Juggler was rejected by the Orb's Light while Gai wasn't?

Of course the explanation we got was that the Orb's Light only chose the most 'righteous'

But in the series, we actually saw that Juggler was as well, but perhaps he's just blinded by his own jealousy, rather than Hatred.

So what if, the Orb's Light was choosing only based on how strong the host's 'inner darkness' were?

That's perhaps why Juggler was not chosen as his drive for commiting his evil plans are mostly just fueled by jealously, not pure evil.

But Gai on the other hand tho, how is he even evil at all tho? He was literally the main protagonist?

Who knows really cause we werent really introduced who Gai really was before all this, even the origin saga just jumped straight from the Warriors Peak. Perhaps a past trauma? Or is it simply just that there were some exchange during Gai and the Orb Light when Gai was enveloped in the Orb’s Light which we were not aware of? Thats what I think may be coming our way, an explanation.

But for now, one of the answers lie in the difference in power level during the initial TB transformation saga against Maga-Orochi and then against Sadeath

If we would take a look at the fights of TB against Sadeath first, in short, TB was somehow being sent flying by Sadeath’s punch.

While against Maga-Orochi, TB was seemingly unstoppable with his brutal and menacing assault.

Why am I comparing those two fights in particular? Because one fight was when Gai’s inner darkness was at its strongest peak (as it was first being ‘forcefully brought out’ by Belial’s power of Darkness) whist the other is when Gai has more or less gotten it ‘under control’

As Ultraman Orb, by in and of itself, a ‘derivative power’ bestowed upon by the malevolent entity that is the Orb’s Light, some sort of ‘resonance’ may have occurred during the first access to the power of Darkness (during TB debut)

So what I am suggesting is that, since Gai always has his inner darkness within him but he ‘sealed it away’ (albeit being perceived by the Orb’s light for being worthy) which was why Orb didn't just go berserk straightaway. So, perhaps that the Orb’s Light needed a ‘catalyst’ to reawaken his inner darkness, which was why it provided Orb an opportunity to gain access to Belial’s card.

Although Gai said that he has this power under control by the second half of the Zeppandon Saga, but perhaps all the Orb’s Light needed to do at that moment, was just to allow his ‘avatar’ to wield some powers of darkness for a start.

Therefore since Gai has managed to not go berserk subsequently, which meant that he has ‘sealed’ his inner darkness. And we can totally see that even the TB form was nerfed (which was especially true against Zeppandon and Sadeath)

2. The Real Reason behind each Missions

Mission 1: Exterminate the Bezelbs

Remember that Psychi and Queen Bezelbs wanted to spread the Kugutsu Infection to the whole Universe.

That probably wont sit well with the Orb’s Light considering that it may have the same intentions of causing a Universal Threat so it may be a simple rivalry issue.

Or, although Orb was cleansed from the infection, perhaps he wasn't ‘fully cleansed’ and the Orb’s Light is keeping it in Orb’s system as the Orb’s Light wanted Orb to get exposed to the Kugutsu Infection in an attempt to somehow slowly weaken Gai’s self resolve to keep in his inner darkness as step 1?

Reward: Upgrade from Origin the First to Orb to Origin

Mission 2: Gather the Elements for the Orb Calibur

The obvious answer as to why the Orb’s Light may need Orb to wield the other elements may be ‘Cause to make his own avatar stronger!’

But I believe it goes deeper than that

Remember the uncanny coincidence that the 4 elemental forms that the R/B Ultra Brothers will attain?

So I believe that we will get a thorough explanation as to the true significance behind this mission to the Orb’s Light.

Reward: Orb Ring

Mission 3: Stop the Awakening of Maga-Orochi

Note that the mission wasn't to stop the awakening of Maga-Tano-Orochi?

What if the Orb’s Light saw Maga-Tano-Orochi as its only threat when it finally assumes total control of Orb? I mean, MTO was basically indestructible with the ability to absorb any energy-based attacks you throw at it and shrugs of any physical attacks.

Perhaps it was due to dumb luck that MTO was formed when the sacred tree was present to give it a weakness?

Reward: ???

Also note that everything that Orb did, from the events of Ultra Fight Orb up till the Geed Movie, was of his own accord? And he wasn't there cause the Orb’s Light sent him to?

Which likely means that Gai himself hasn't went back to claim his reward which is crux of how will Orb Dark come to be.

Maybe after the events of the Geed Movie and just before the R/B Saga, Gai returns to the Warrior’s Peak to claim his upgrade from the Orb’s Light.

Now with his only threat (MTO) exterminated, along with the weakening of Gai’s resolve from the Kugutsu Infection and now with his avatar wielding all the elements.

The Orb’s Light’s true nature is now revealed as he now begins to assume control of his champion by first unleashing his inner darkness as it totally corrupts Orb’s body into Orb Dark!

And its also no surprise that Orb’s suit becomes covered more in Dark portions after every mission

And I believe that the appearance of Orb Dark is just The Beginning of the End, until when the Orb’s Light finally assumes total control and becomes the final boss of the R/B Saga.

Will Maga-Tano-Orochi, presumably the Orb Light’s nemesis be revived by the R/B Ultra Brothers to stop him?

Will this be a multiversal threat?

Will Orb ever regain his true form or even be ‘Orb’ again once the source of his power, the Orb’s Light is gone?

Yep, we’re gonna be in for a ride starting from July 7 guys

#ultraman #ultraman r/b

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inanxterra · 7 years

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End of Plowed Road: Winter camping for the New Year!

Perhaps one of the most frustrating things about winter, outside of those dreadful family get-togethers with the side of the family you’ve spent the last 12 months avoiding, is cabin fever. There’s nothing on Netflix funny enough and no channel on YouTube catchy enough to feed that desire of exploration that often just sits and grows when the daytimes shorten and the temperatures fall. If you’re like me, you take a bunch of awful tasting Vitamin D gummies in the morning, but still find that even One-A-Day vitamins have a serving size of two if you look at the back of the bottle. Although it’s only been a few months since our last expedition, our tolerance for the rude people of Ann Arbor has reached it’s breaking point. It’s wonderful that many dress their leased Ford Escape up like Rudolph, but at least reindeer have the fucking decency to park on the roof, rather than in the middle of an entrance to a parking lot like these assholes. Wait, maybe I’m the rude one? Regardless, it was time to escape mindless-consumer-copia, to a part of the world that haven’t been told cars are driving themselves nowadays. Michigan’s beautiful upper-peninsula.

The ride up, all 4300 pounds of truck, drove against some intense winds on US-23 that began in Brighton, and lasted even after we crossed the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace. The fuel mileage on this truck is already bad. Like less than 15mpg bad, but taking 15mpg and pointing it against 30mph winds for 4 hours, well, I had friends in college that wouldn’t even drink that much.

On the way up, we saw an amazing rig at a gas station fueling up. Picture a lifted Ford E-Van, with some minor exo-skeleton welded around it, an empty roof-rack, a rear spare-tire carrier, ARB-like bumper armor, and a huge tool box in the back. The license plates said Washington, but the rig looked like it was ready to go across the world. We didn’t have a chance to stop the owners for a chat, or take photos, but with a rig like that you could easily live out of it and call the whole world your backyard (ignoring vast portions of ocean of course)!

Another good sign of things to come were the number of trucks hauling snowmobile trailers. Although there are plenty of trails in the lower mitten, the real fun happens in the UP, where portions of the state become accessible to snowmobiles only.

Our plan from the start left us with 3 options for a place to stay once we reached St. Ignace (4.25 hours north of Ann Arbor): Mackinac Straits State Park St. Ignace (just over the Mackinac Bridge) DNR said this was open all year. Bathrooms/Showers?

Little Brevort Lake State Campground Charming town of Brevort DNR said maybe you could get in, even though it’s closed We hate campgrounds

Garnet Lake State Forest Naubinway (an hour west of St. Ignace) Nobody answered when we called for information What happened to the survivors at the summit?

Alternatively, because we are sleeping inside the truck after-all, we just find a spot and claim it as ours.

When we arrived in St. Ignace, we found that the Straits State Park was closed. Little Brevort, for as thrilling as it sounded, might be closed as well, and Garnet Lake was too far away. So we drove around, using our HemaMaps app to look for trails and roads that led to the coast. Sure enough, we found a spot near the Kewadin Casino, that was right on the coast of Lake Huron! It was down a dirt trail that nobody had been on in the last few snows so it appeared, and eventually turned into some deep frozen tracks that we’d need to safely maneuver to get to the point.

Finding the spot isn’t even half the battle though. When the temperatures are at 20 degrees, and the windchill is strong enough to cut even that in half, there’s still a lot of work to do. This was the first time, Maia and I, had ever camped during the winter. Sure, as kids we can each remember staying out in our snowforts well after the sun had set, but this time nobody would have a hot bowl of soup ready for us when we were done playing.

The most important and initial step in this one-night escape would be beer and dinner, in that order. Usually we’d cook, but we had an unshakable taste for pizza. On our way out of B.C’s Pizza in downtown St. Ignace, we asked the delivery driver with the lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee, where we could find firewood. Due to the danger of emerald ash borers, an invasive ash-tree murdering beetle, it’s illegal to transport wood from the lower peninsula, into the upper peninsula, but luckily there was a “guy.”

Jim, who’s retired, but sells firewood on the road just before you reach the Quality 8 Hotel, has a red and white spaniel with a nub for a tail. It’s a delightful dog, and will even open the door of Jim’s mobile home to say hello to you if you’re in need of lumber, before Jim is even aware you’re at his home. I had interrupted his night of women’s basketball, a sport he repeatedly told me he enjoys watching. That’s great Jim, but why? Why does this sport fascinate you to the point you’re explaining to me who’s playing who while standing in freezing cold temperatures in your pajama pants as your spaniel also has it’s own fascination with sniffing crotches and poking butts? Jim finally admitted that he likes women’s basketball because it’s slower and easier to watch; part of me feels like he may have come to this conclusion because he doesn’t pause men’s basketball when it’s on television.

Nevertheless Jim was a huge help in finding cedar, that would light quick, and burn hot for us while we setup the truck. Maia was set on bringing a thousand blankets and sleeping bags. I argued before we left, it would be a waste of space to carry that much, and the camp-detector-test determined, I was wrong.

When you winter camp, everything you attempt takes a few extra steps. Unlike previous camps, we couldn’t just throw things on top of the truck overnight, or else they would freeze or blow away. Running around barefoot, was also an obvious, but big, no-no. Peeing; the second night I had to pee so bad, but the temperatures were so cold, I just said fuck this I can wait. I later regretted waiting when I had to bend my body to put pants and shoes on, with a painfully-full bladder.

As Maia built the fire with wood potentially sponsored by the WNBA, I began building the bed. We would end up sleeping in the truck for two nights this weekend, experimenting with bed setups both times. This night though, we had our usually foam padding across the platform, a comforter above those, each of us sleeping in one sleeping-bag inside another sleeping bag, with a comforter on top of that. The rear passenger windows, would have a blanket hanging against them on each side to help knock some of the cool air down. The seats up front, a thick comforter laying across it hung from the ceiling to create a small fort/room in the back to keep us warmer.

It would drop to 10 degrees with the windchill where we were parked, and although all the blankets and bags keep body warms, if you don’t fall asleep before the temp in the truck drops, the cold air creeps into the cabin in a suspicious way, like a warm fart works its way around a dining room table when the in-laws are over. It takes its time, its in no rush to escape. Everything exposed, your face, your hands, and each breath of cold air you take burns your lungs a little. It’s pretty awesome. I don’t know how people do this in tents (no I’m not going to use a pun here, but I’m aware I could).

Having a fire while you setup is an amazing mood-booster, even if it’s too cold to enjoy like you normally would in the summer. The heat coming from that flame, is so important, and you’re using it for more than just entertainment or a place to melt marshmallows. We had enough wood to burn a fire before bed, and again in the morning as we got ready to head out. For breakfast, we had a dehydrated bag of Biscuits and Gravy with a hot chocolate. With 2,000mg of sodium, it would leave us thirsty for the rest of the day. But it was delicious!

On our way out, as soon as we started to head west of St. Ignace, the snow flurries began. The lower parts of the UP didn’t have too much snow on the ground, but as we navigated further north on country roads, the the snow on started to pile up!

Many of the country roads up there, like many of the ORV routes, become snowmobile only. Not because of laws, but because of conditions. Narrow unplowed roads that still curve and dash between tall pines and cedars can become pretty tough to navigate through without getting stuck. And some of the trails, we learned, would become too narrow to even turn around in once you do go too far down the unbeaten path. But how will you ever really know how far your rig can make it if you don’t try it? Try it!

We attempted to reach the coast of Lake Superior, at the mouth of the Two Hearted River where we planned to crack open a few ice-cold Bell’s Two-Hearted Ales, and call it a night. The further north we went, the worse it became. In fact the only other traffic we ran into were folks on snowmobiles. Without even a lifed Jeep in sight, we kept going, but only made it a few hundred feet passed an enormous sign that read END OF PLOWED ROAD. They weren’t kidding. With the last little bit of light left in the day hitting the snow in a way that made it seem as though you were driving through a friendly cloud, when the trail went from road, to all snowmobile trail, I could feel the traction from the gas pedal lose grip on the land below, as we the Xterra began to dig its own grave.

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Once we became slightly stuck, I took upon myself to set the truck into 4LO, and dig us even further down, in a sort of fighting fire with fire sort of way. The snow had gone above the lower control arms, and at that point there’s not much you can do but dig yourself out. We did, thanks to our handy full-size shovel, it wasn’t too much work, but once freed from that tragedy, I somehow managed to back us further off the trail, and down into the ditch, where the truck would sit for roughly an hour, with all four wheels spinning.

Luckily for us, some snowmobilers we had passed earlier returned to help push us out of the ditch! We turned around, and went back to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls for the night! This is a campground that’s open all-year round, and even has electricity hookups. We were one of three people staying there for the night, and the only ones without an RV or snowmobile. For food, we just heated canned soup. It’s easy to pack, cheap, and doesn’t require much clean up. For drinks, the Two-hearted Ale we wanted to enjoy at the Two-hearted River went quick.

Sleeping in the truck that net wasn’t as cold as the previous night. For this sleep, we unzipped both sleeping bags, and spread them flat across both our bodies. With this technique, we’d have shared body heat, and even if the tips of the blanket did become cold, the extra pair of legs was helpful in keeping those spots far and few between.

In the morning the truck was covered in a thick blanket of snow, and we used our last few logs of firewood for breakfast, and heat, while we packed the truck. Soon we’d be ready to backtrack a few miles to the Lower Tahquamenon Falls, that still had a surprising number of people visiting it, especially since most weren’t traveling via snowmobile.

Once in Marquette we checked into a hotel because we needed a shower big-time. Can you smell that smell? It was us. You know you’ve gone far too long without touching the ivory cellphone when you can smell your armpits without lifting your arms, and they smell a lot like wet feet. More beer was also inorder.

It’s here we would celebrate the new year! Marquette, MI has a cute ball-drop downtown, where they play music from what I assume is a Now Thats What I Call Music 13 compact disc. It’s all in fun, especially when you’ve been drinking.

InAnXterra is a blog about two people in Michigan with a Nissan Xterra from Craigslist as they journey to the Dakotas!

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