#orv sure is the novel ever

[everyones-least-favorite-bard]

this is just a collection of highlights from my last Goofy Presentation Night in which i discussed (read: forced my audience to listen to) orv/yhk thoughts for two hundred and ten minutes

ill add more and rb/tag accordingly n stuff later bc its a lot of words to post and i am one very eepy boy

ON DOKSOO

In 1973, Ursula LeGuin wrote the short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, which, if you’ve been around the English side of ORV fandom for long enough, might recognize due to jomeimei, our yhk scholar’s writings. If you don’t know it, the basic premise of the work is that there exists in some far-flung imagined world, a utopia called Omelas that is perfect in every way, save for the fact that its perfection is maintained via the constant suffering of a small child. (One can surmise from the title of course, that there are those who upon learning this, choose to leave the city and live elsewhere.)

One of the ways this intersects with ORV comes in the Epilogues and what happened to the Avatar of Han Sooyoung living in the 1863rd round. The Han Sooyoung of that round, if you recall, found post-suicide attempt Kim Dokja in the “real” world while looking for the author of Three Ways. Judging by her reactions, we see she has two epiphanies:

EPIPHANY ONE: There was no tls123. It was nearing the end of the year that Three Ways was published (in her and Kim Dokja’s memories), but the novel had not been published yet. The only people with knowledge of the original Three Ways timeline in the world were herself and the Dokkaebi King. If she didn't do anything, if she simply sat back and let the year finish out, she could leave WOS as an unpleasant memory and nothing more. She could save the world.

EPIPHANY TWO: Kim "Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World saved my life" Dokja would not survive without that story.

She is faced with the same dilemma those who left Omelas were faced with: does she condemn the world to save this child, or does she save the world but condemn this child?

Let's leave that thought to simmer for a while.

Now the moral quandary that she’s dealing with is similar in structure to the Trolley Problem. (Which, if the reader of this has been living blissfully unexposed to 20th century philosophy and 21st century bastardizations of such, is a moral thought experiment in which a tram is headed down a track towards five people, with a lever allowing one to switch the tracks placed before the subject. However, the second track has one person on it who will also surely die from a direct hit by the trolley. Does the subject choose action or inaction?)

And this decision, which, according to other iterations of the Trolley Problem (in which the one person is someone the subject knows and cares about) is still not even in line with those theories or justifications.

ORV is utterly rife with these sort of fun moral messes. There are countless moments in which characters are faced with needs-of-the-many versus needs-of-the-few. Kim Dokja, for one, is perhaps most memorable for these given his propensity for (continuing with the Trolley Problem metaphor) throwing himself onto the track before the tram can reach the fork.

The events of the 1863rd round (and its aftereffects) are the most direct parallel of the experiment. 

As has been established, Han Sooyoung of the 1863rd round only knew Kim Dokja for a week, if even that, and yet she is fully willing to burn the world to make sure a life in which he might be happy is given to him. This decision is even further warped when we consider that the moment of her epiphany(s) is not the first time this Han Sooyoung was faced with the Trolley Problem.

We know that (based on the conversations she has with Kim Dokja) in the 1863rd round, Han Sooyoung was operating in a utilitarian space in order to seamlessly complete the scenarios. She chose to sacrifice Yoo Joonghyuk and put him in the position of a “villain” (thereby making him spiritually “dead” to all his loved ones and peers) in order to make sure she made a perfect run. And arguably she did–upon arriving in the 1863rd round Kim Dokja (loathe though he is to admit it) cannot find fault with how she has completed the scenarios thus far, and is even (if I remember correctly) somewhat jealous of her for being able to orchestrate such a clean run.

But instead of working with her to finish her run, to draw the period marking the end of the story she’s made, Kim Dokja’s desire to save Yoo Joonghyuk outweighs his desire to save the world, and he steps in and tears it into a comma. (Yes, I’m deliberately referencing the epilogues. No, I haven’t stopped thinking about the fucking period/comma scene. Don’t talk to me.) He switches the lever back to the track with five people because he refuses to sit back and allow the one man to die.

Now, based on what we see of Han Sooyoung in this round and her immediate reaction to Kim Dokja’s dickery, she would have continued operating in her ends-justify-the-means space. She obviously does to some extent as she reaches the end of the scenarios and wrangles the Dokkaebi King into granting her a wish. Upon arriving in the “real” world she is fully prepared to kill tls123 and save the world. But she doesn’t, she has the key to saving the world in her hands, she could so very easily keep Yoo Joonghyuk from suffering a thousand lives, she could save billions of people and live a wildly successful life as a famous webnovel author but! She! Doesn’t!

Why?

Imagine for a moment, if you will, sitting in a hospital room across from a fifteen year-old boy, sleeping or unconscious, fresh from a suicide attempt. Imagine for a moment, if you will, having met this fifteen year-old boy in another life when he was no longer quite so small or physically close to death, but was equally (if not more) close to it in spirit. Imagine for a moment, if you will, knowing the exact thing that will keep this boy if not happy, then at least surviving, for long enough that you might meet him again. Imagine for a moment, if you will, knowing that withholding that thing is certain death for this boy.

How could she condemn him then? How could she, after knowing the depth with which he will love and will fight to save those he wants to save, leave him here to die, alone?

We see therefore, that as a result of her interaction with Kim Dokja, that she is fundamentally changed in her worldview: she is no longer utilitarianally or unilaterally doling out unambiguous justice, sacrificing Yoo Joonghyuk for the world, but rather sacrificing the world now for Kim Dokja. 

It is by this that we know that written into the very condemnation of the world that Kim Dokja uses to justify his consistent self-flagellation is a story of love. Han Sooyoung does not walk away from Omelas--no, she reaches in and says to that lonely, suffering child, I will save you. I will love you as you are. The three ways to survive in a ruined world have always, always been love.

#heaaaagshhahahaha woooo raaaa #i want u all to know there were shitty graphics that went with this #like badly edited twt ms paint reaction images #superimposed on like #official blackbox art #man. head in my fucking hands #orv sure is the novel ever #orv #omniscient reader #omniscient readers viewpoint #yhk #yoohankim #kim dokja #kdj #han sooyoung #hsy #yoo joonghyuk #yjh #orv spoilers #hghghghggjghgjh there is still so much to add to this istg #maybe ill add it. tomorrow. later today. whatever #im eepy guys #orv meta

[dreampearls]

I have no idea why but out of all the fanart I've ever drawn my genshin stuff for some reason stays the most consistent & I literally can't figure out why

#its not even something im consciously trying to accomplish either i rarely ever think about trying to maintain a consistent style #my two priorities when i draw are always 1) have fun and 2) make it look pretty . art style ''consistency'' is negligible in the end #and something thst just happens naturally as a result of you learning yo draw more things #hence why i hate the idea of consistency tk begin with its more of a marketing tool for yourself than anything #But anyways enough of my tangent. i think it is so weird that my genshin art looks like it was all actually drawn by the same person #my orv art is so 😭😭😭 its everywhere help #though that is partly bc i like experimenting more w orv the novel provides a vast amt of material to work w #if i had to actually logic out a reason behind my genshin art staying consistent then id say its probably smth im just doing subconsciously #since all my genshin stuff is quarantined here in the first place #Worried face. im pretty sure genshin is now the media property ive drawn the Most fanart of #next to hxh. Worried face

[biggiedraws]

thinking about joongdok in the early chapters......

rereading the orv novel and seeing things from yjhs perspective is so. augh. the first time you read it its soooo easy to trust kdjs perspective when he reads yjhs mind. his skill even tells him! "your understanding of this character is very high" surely hes interpreting him correctly :) then you read it again and realize how much kdj is filling in the gaps...... he expects yjh to be more callous, more jaded, more hardened than he actually is. hes been through 1863 regressions with yjh but this yjh is still only on the 3rd. and of course kdj learns this lesson himself much later on, but hes been misinterpreting yjh from the very beginning. hes just very good at justifying it.

this scene for example. (i am talking about the novel btw i just have. way more webtoon screenshots on hand. you understand.) kdj thinks it would be out of character for yjh to consider him an actual companion, so he rationalizes it. but once youre able to take yourself out of kdjs perspective, its really obvious by this point that yjh considers them companions??

he tested him with the sea monster (and waited by the river for 3 days for him to emerge, btw), and then again with the monsters in chungmuro. yes, he thinks about killing kdj quite a lot (out of caution) but its not like he ever follows through on it (something yjh from a later regression would be much less hesitant about). i havent gotten very far with my latest reread, but from memory - when hes paralyzed by poison he specifically asks for kdj. they fight side by side on several occasions, and specifically, kdj saves yjhs life multiple times. yjh criticizes him fairly often, but hes not needlessly cruel - just blunt. pointing out his flaws so he can work on them (and to keep him humble, lets be real). and of course, he desperately tries to save kdj when he gets blasted by 41!sys, and then flies into a mindless rage when kdj dies in his arms.

yeah, yjh isnt exactly upfront about his feelings, hes often off doing his own thing, and he gets PISSED when kdj manipulates him into doing his bidding (which happens fairly often in the early chapters) (he just wants you to communicate with him, damnit!) but like. its very very clear if you know where to look. and kdj DOESNT. but he thinks he does!!! augh i cant wait to get to the scene where they reintroduce themselves....... especially since its not like yjh knows kdj any better - he still thinks hes a prophet! there are so many levels of miscommunication going on here, but the important thing is. they care about each other. thats always what it comes down to, isnt it? they love each other. they want the best for each other. they would do anything to save each other. aughhhh orv.....

#ill never be normal again #orv #orv spoilers #lol i just remembered i had this in my drafts..... if i dont post it now ill forget about it again #kinda unpolished. not really sure if it gets any kind of point across. but anyway. enjoy

[bidokja]

orv is genuinely one of the most well done and nuanced examinations of trauma, depression, fiction as an escape, media as a tool, stories as a connection, communication, capitalism and its resulting commodification and consumerism, and (very importantly) healing and the necessity of interconnection, that i have ever seen.

and it's all packaged up as this. cliche web novel. like, oh look at me i'm just another series stuffed with currently popular tropes, surely i won't change you forever with a deeply impactful and highly emotional experience :)

the genius. the audacity. the meta of it all.

#mine #orv

[metanarrates]

I'm interested to know what "protagonist" is defined as here. usually a protagonist is a character who gets major plot focus and whose viewpoint drives the bulk of narrative involving them. (im speaking in basic terms here; the definition of "protagonist" is one that can be endlessly litigated.) a character can be the protagonist of a subplot without appearing again in the main narrative, but...

it's interesting to me that, before now and after the events of this arc, kim dokja rarely speaks or thinks about jang hayoung at all. this is really weird, considering that she is a protagonist in his favorite novel. he thinks WAY more about characters like lee jihye and lee hyunsung than he ever does about her. granted, part of this is due to their membership in his party, but I would argue that even kim namwoon seems to be more emotionally significant to kim dokja, and that guy has been dead since the start of orv. what's the reason for this?

I can think of two:

1. "protagonist" is defined very loosely here. twsa, from kim dokja's descriptions, sounds very oddly structured as a novel. jang hayoung is considered a protagonist by the novel because she stars in her own subplot and because she represents one of the three ways to survive. however, she might not get a ton of screen time in twsa itself.

2. kim dokja is just fucking weird about jhy. since he had a hand in creating her character, he has almost shameful emotions towards her. maybe he's embarrassed by how she reflects his youthful cringiness, similar to how he feels about knw. or maybe she reflects something else about him that he doesn't like to see. we'll get back to this later in my reread, since I'll have a much better grasp on how he views her by then. regardless of his reasoning, though, and regardless of how much screentime she has in twsa, the end result is that kdj doesn't like to think about her.

i suspect it's a mix of both, but I can't say for sure. this is going to be something I'll keep mulling over during this arc. it is an arc i don't remember very well, for the record, so I'm interested to see what happens here.

(as an aside, it is REALLY interesting for me to think about how twsa is written and structured. there's not a ton of info given on how it actually functioned as a novel, since most of the story is filtered through kdj's perception of it. i wonder what kind of arcs it had and how character focus was handled...)

#nic's great orv reread #i LOVE plumbing the depths of a fictional text we only know about through a reader. its an interesting exercise to think about for sure #i dunno if i would want to Read twsa but im so fascinated by how kdj percieves it versus how it actually might have been

[ravs6709]

no WAY that’s how the novel ends. i hate this so much like yes there’s epilogues but what the ACTUAL fuck i hate everything i’m gonna punch smth this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me ever i regret ever hearing about orv i hate my life

I'm 99% sure you discovered orv independent of me BUT I definitely encouraged you to read the novel you're welcome <3

#orv #astra's asks #roshan #roshan reads orv #orv spoilers

[onirique-amaranth]

Hi! Do you take ORV requests? If so can I request KDJ or YJH x Dom Male reader and they’re fwbs or just a very fluffy scenario with them?? If you don’t, sorry for wasting your time and have a nice day :D

⎮We meet again⎮

⏤ Characters: Dokja⎮reader

⏤ Including: nsfw (-17) & sfw

⏤ Warnings: sub! Dokja, top! Male reader, size kink, belly bulge, overstimulation, dacryphilia, mind-breaking, mention of blood, creampie

⏤ 2.500 words

You have known Dokja for a long while, since the seventh grade, actually. You had always been the popular guy while Dokja was just considered as less than a support character. He had always been bullied and ignored by everyone, nobody would talk to him and if they do, it would be to make fun of him. You felt pity for him many times but never tried to do anything, like anyone else, you would let it happen since you did not want to lose your status.

One night, after school, you discovered an interesting web novel, surprisingly, before the first 100th chapter, all readers stopped reading and only one continued to. You spend days and nights reading it, in class, at home, before going to sleep till you would nearly pass out and early in the morning. As you were reading one of what seems like the most recent chapter, you unknowingly sat next to Dokja and were forced to put your phone down when the teacher arrived.

As you push your phone to the side to get your notebook out of your bag, you hear a gasp next to you. You turn around with a frown, noticing how Dokja was looking at you with stars in his eyes. It was the first time you saw him make a face like this.

“You read it too?!”

Your eyes widen as you see him point out the novel still open on your phone. And for the first time, your eyes really met, and you see an unmistakable passion in his eyes for this story. And that's how you end up talking for the entire hour, not caring about anything but this passion in common. Slowly by surely you became friends, spending more and more time together, he would still avoid you at school, so you don't get in trouble because of him, but you would see each other outside.

This friendship blossomed over a year, and at some point, the line between this friendship, sexual relation and love blurred, making you unable to see its real limit. What should be innocent meetings to go shopping and have fun, was always ending up in Dokja being bent over some furniture. Whenever someone would get too close to you, it would end up with Dokja being jealous and annoying you so badly till you would fuck him out of frustration. If he ever felt bad, he would knock at your door, ignoring the hour, and spend the night here, watching series and eating snacks before living the next morning after kissing you on the lips.

In your last year of school, your friendship has changed a bit, in a way you never thought was possible, everything turned into something more intimate. Sadly, you got separated after the entrance exam that he failed, as he got into a third-rate college, and you got into the college you dreamed of for years.

You tried to stay close, but it was difficult. After some time, you stopped talking, but you kept sending him messages in the hope he would reply, he never did. You kept trying, texting mostly about the only thing you had in common, that story, you did not care if he was not going to reply, you just wanted to show him you were still there.

You could still see him comment after each chapter was published, always at that same hour, which you understood was when he finished his work. After some time, you started to do the same, but always one hour before him, so he could see them at the end of each chapter.

-----

This day was supposed to be the end of TWSA. And it was with this inexplicable anxiety that you opened the chapter, reading it with so much joy and also pain as if a chapter of your life just ended with this novel. And finally, you were on the last panel. As you close the app, you received a message from whom you think was the author, which was thanking you, and at the same time sends you an attached file, the novel.

And that's how the nightmare started, in this car, the 3707th. The man in front of you, who seemed familiar, was Junghyeok Yu. You were shivering, was it already your end? The nightmare has just started, but it was already your turn, or you thought so. Before the main scenario starts, you run away, the door of the car in front of you half-opened. As you escape, you turn your head before leaving, your eyes meeting with dark black eyes, looking at you suspiciously. But before he could attack you, the main scenario started, and you were already out of his reach.

Surprisingly, you still felt his eyes on you as you hide in the crowd, you look back and see him standing behind the half-opened door, observing you. You can't help but offer him a big smile before giving him the finger, snickering as you run away.

Thankfully as you were panicking, you noticed a fly on a seat, and quickly, you crush it with your hand. It was disgusting, but you were alive, and you had completed the task.

-----

The first time you saw Dokja again, was on that bridge, you were hiding from Junghyeok. But you never thought you would see Dokja being grabbed by the neck, as his legs were swaying over a blank space. There was no need for you to scream as it seems they both sensed your presence, turning their head in sync, one looking at you in hatred and the other in shock, a single tear sliding down his cheek. Suddenly, he tries to escape from Junghyeok's grip, choking out your name with a desperate smile as he cries.

Too focused on Dokja, you missed the other man's expression and all of a sudden, Junghyeok lets go of him, and Dokja falls into the river, without thinking, you run to him, passing Junghyeok and jumped. Before Junghyeok could grab you, you were already falling down with Dokja, and he felt a terrible feeling take over his heart, but it was too late.

This decision would be dumb in any other situation, but you were a reader, and you knew what would happen and how to prevent it. So, before Dokja could drown, you grab his hands, pulling him up to the surface. Together, you got out of this giant sea commander, unscathed or at least, not dead.

-----

As you were resting at the Geumho station with the others, you're suddenly aware of how the feeling that you suppressed for years came back, and at full force. Your thoughts started to get mixed up, fortunately, you walked away before it could happen, so the others would not worry about you. As you lose your calm, you feel a hand run through your hair, you raise your head, eyes meeting Dokja's.

It was impossible for you to ignore the tenderness in them, it was too obvious, too powerful, and with this discreet and sincere smile of his that was making your heart warm up. And after so many years without seeing each other, he just kisses you calmly, without saying a word as if it was natural.

A gasp was heard from behind you, Huiwon was there, with her hand over her mouth, but you could still see the dark blush on her cheeks and ears. She giggles before doing a thumbs up, running away from the two of you. You stand there, as you process the information before you start to panic, you could feel your cheeks warming up as you cover them with your hands.

“Ah. I thought I left without them noticing… Whatever.

I missed you.”

His words moved you, but you came back to the others like nothing happened. You see Huiwon smirks at you but does not say anything. You send her a playful glare before sitting next to Hyeonseong, yawning as you rest your head on his shoulder, you should leave the station soon so why not take a little nap before.

-----

You had already passed the sub scenario with the illusory prison, and you were now much closer to the next station. Thankfully you knew how to get out of this zone, but it still took you some minutes, and it affected you greatly. Without you noticing, instead of Dokja walking in front of all of you, he was staying beside you, walking at your pace.

Huiwon who was behind Dokja nudged him, pointing at you with her finger and after, linked her hands together with an amused smile. As you were oblivious to what was happening, conversing with Hyeonseong, you suddenly feel something warm engulfing your hand. You did not need to look to see what it was as you just tighten your hold back, a discreet smile taking over your face as you continue to converse with Hyeonseong.

You were finally able to have a rest at Chungmuro station, the atmosphere was strange. There was this tension in the air that you could not ignore but could not identify either. The others were searching for a nice place to sit down and relax, and you also left with Dokja to do the same. But nothing looked fine, either there were too many people or it was just a disgusting place filled with rubbish.

You continue to take random turns, Dokja following closing behind you in silence, as you hope to find somewhere at least proper to rest when you stop in front of a dead-end, you sign and ruffle your hair in frustration. It felt like hours passed, and you were getting annoyed, but before you could turn around and leave, an arm wrapped itself around your waist. You feel a head nuzzling against your back, the other free hand sliding down your torso to your crotch.

Your eyes widened, body tensing up under Dokja's touch. You look around in panic, what if someone could see you?

“There is nobody here. We are all alone.

I was getting frustrated. We haven't seen each other for years…

Haven't touched each other for years… And you don't even look at me.”

You wanted to reply something, at least to calm his urges but nothing came out of your mouth. It was as if he stole your breath away at the same instant he stole your heart.

“Don't push me away. We weren't lovers before, but you loved me, right?

Ever since we started playing around…

So, why can't we be lovers now? Nothing can separate us.”

And that's you ended up with a naked Dokja, as you pushed him against the wall. Hoisting him up, and let him wrap his legs around your waist before you slid your cock into him. Your larger body hides him from possible prying eyes, beside you, he looked ridiculously small but deliciously tempting. When your cock entered him, you could only admire how his body tightened around you, slutty moans being ripped from his throat, and how you could see a lump in his stomach, becoming more pronounced as you push yourself deeper into him. What could have been a lovely reunion between old friends turned out to be a more sexual one driven by lust.

With each thrust, you would hit his prostate dead-on, not caring about how loud he was being. His tears and screams turn you on ever more as you destroyed his inside. His nails that were dragging up your back were starting to dig into your skin, and drops of blood were falling on the floor. But it was as if nothing could reach your mind right now, the pain subdued by the pleasure coursing through your veins, the only thing you wanted to do was to make Dokja forget his name. You roughly grab his face, observing how his eyes looked dazed and cloudy, seems like he would not come back to his normal state for a while.

You wanted to take revenge for all the years he left you behind, not trying to contact you again. And now he was coming back like nothing happened? You could not accept it, he had to pay. But you loved him too much to hurt him, so you did what you could do best, make his mind go blank and force him to submit to you. That thought alone made your body react on its own, you grabbed one of his legs, holding it up before plunging as deep as you could. The loud moan you received confirmed he did not mind that one bit.

You were filling him so nicely, Dokja could feel himself go dumb on your cock, he only wanted to be filled to the brim, marked by you as if he was just your plaything. Why hasn't he contacted you before? How could he let someone like you get away from him, you that he loved so dearly? He was glad you never forgot him because now, he could become yours again, and this time, he won't leave.

The next thrust made him moan out loud, he was not able to stop crying, the tears drying on his cheeks immediately being replaced by new ones. His head was blank, he could only see you, hear you and smell you. Your scent, either it was a perfume or your natural smell filled his nostril, it was suffocating him. Each thrust forced the air out of his lungs, mouth wide open to let out noises he would be embarrassed about after.

As you continued to fuck him, his eyes lulled to the back of his head, his body was on fire, and he could not think or breathe. Everything was blurry around him as came for the first time, his cum landing on his stomach, but you did not stop moving. Even after he begged you to slow down.

Some time has passed, and you had already came once in him, but it did not stop you. You could feel your legs giving out, but you refused to give up now, you were too far lost in your pleasure to notice how you had already broken him completely.

He was a mess, his body marked from his legs to his jaw, blood dripping out from the bites, the view made heat pool to your crotch. You feel your body tense up before you pump your cum deep into him, reaching places both of you never thought possible. Another load followed quickly, the previous bulge that was showing through his stomach now inflated with your cum.

His stomach was covered in a watery fluid, he cummed so many times that he was not able to orgasm correctly anymore. Only some drops would get out of his cock. The only way you knew he was cumming was the scream ripping out of his throat and how he would tighten around you as if he was trying to coax your orgasms out of you.

And suddenly, Dokja passed out, he never had enough stamina to endure you till the end. Thankfully, you were also exhausted, and so, you managed to pull out before you fall on your knees, Dokja sleeping in your arms. You clean him with the tissues that he had in his pocket before dressing him back up. You replace your clothes correctly, covering the best you could the stains of cum Dokja left on your shirt and pants before picking him up.

You lay down on the first bench you see, placing Dokja on top of you. You sigh and decide to kiss him gently before you fall asleep. Unbeknown to you, he woke up some moments before, and as you were sleeping while holding him close to you, he watches your face with a lovesick expression. He moves the collar of your shirt out of the way before biting down hard on your neck, making sure it would be a mark that will not disappear for a long while. And now, with a small smile, he kisses you once or twice, or maybe more before snuggling into your hold. Your body's warmth envelops him and coaxes him into falling asleep.

When the others came back, they were greeted with the sight of you and Dokja cuddling up on the bench. As Sangah and Gilyoung were looking at the two of you with stars in their eyes, murmuring to each other about how cute you were; Hyeonseong would just stare in jealousy on the side, him who thought you had something for him from the way you were acting. He turns around and leaves in heavy silence.

Huiwon was looking fondly at you at first before noticing something… How your hair was dishevelled, the collar of your shirt had been pulled down to expose bite marks and also the wet patch on Dokja's pants that she could see from here. With a sigh, she forced the others to let you have your privacy. When you will wake up, she plans to scold the two of you so badly you will cry.

⏤ Thank you for reading! I wish you a great day.

⏤ here is my masterlist & ko-fi ⏤

#male reader #kim dokja #omniscient reader's viewpoint #omniscient reader webtoon #top male reader #seme male reader #x male reader #male reader insert #kim dokja x reader #omniscient reader x reader #x reader #dom male reader #sub dokja #bottom dokja #dokja x you #dokja x y/n #orv kim dokja #orv smut #orv x reader

[mhaynoot]

[ tw suicide , suicidal thoughts and intentions - orv spoilers - epilogue joongdok ]

yjh progressed so much and so far through 1863 regression turns not only to cut down the constellations and systems that made him suffer but also to find a way to either save the world or die permanently, whichever came first.

out of all the yjh and the regressions, the one who achieved that goal was the half slain by himself in the 1863rd round, the one who encapsulated all yjh's feelings of "i want to die".

the one that said "i want to live" was all that was left.

yjh remembers renouncing his regression status. his character trait.

"yoo joonghyuk, former regressor."

but he who hated his regression the most, who experienced suffering like no other because of it, chooses again to regress once more to save kdj. he tries not to think why but does anyway when the the scenario nights once again drag on long and agonising.

"are you sure?" people had asked right before the group regression. as if he would have ever brought it up as a suggestion if he hadn't been sure.

was he sure?

yjh closes his eyes.

he remembers renouncing his regressor status. he remembers delcaring not only that he will lived this round - this life - fully but that he will live solely for the ending in which kdj was an anomaly. he remembers kdj too. the little twist to his lips, the downcurved tilt, and his eyes, yjh was always reflected into his eyes. but they only saw him then. "I was twenty-eight, and I was an employee of a game company. my hobby was reading web novels…"

yjh remembers.

"yes, I'm sure."

but more than reliving the hellish nightmares of the scenarios once more, it only completely breaks him when regressing still fails-fails-fails-

(like kdj had told him over and over again)

two years passes by. time is supposed to ease grief. he should have moved on.

yjh breaks into the museum to grab the broken [final ark] with no real plan and fights hsy with his all so she could kill him because that's what he wanted. because yjh wants to fucking die and had tried everything from clutching a gaming mouse to training to talking endlessly with his teacher and sister but still- still he finds no purpose in life after the failed regression.

he imagines that guy yelling at him, calling him a sunfish.

even though he was free from the scenarios, free from the regression skill, can grow old normally with all his loved ones into a happily ever after. in a world surely and carefully forgetting the secnarios, erasing almost everything of that nightmare. today, the night sky is forever dark with only the glimmer of weakened constellations. yjh had saved the world and his companions and his sister and himself. it was everything he had ever wanted. everything that could have ever made him happy.

kim dokja, he grieves and grieves and grieves.

it is only the dumb blind faith and hope of a hacked brained plan that lets him live until he's shooting through space with a faint, infinitely burning wish.

and because of course nothing ever goes right, the ship breaks down and then everything else is breaking down and he's drifting through space in the vast loneliness and hollowness of his own dying stories.

1, 2, 10, 100, 333 days of drifting.

it is the kdj's story that revitalises him again and again as he reads and rereads and reads more and more

until, finally, he could understand kdj just a little more.

he wonders if this is what it means to have a soulmate. to have someone who completed him so much. who is his everything and to know he is everything to that guy too.

they are each other's beginning and end, salvation and damnation, life and death.

and then,

on death's door, he draws his sword. he regrets but he does not give up.

words echo between his ears in his final moments. that guy was right in the end. of course.

he dreams of fighting and that damn journey to the west remake and he dreams-

his eyes search around, always desperately searching. it's like chasing a ghost. like trying to bridge a bridgless gap between him and-

"where is kim dokja?"

"captain!"

everything in him knows it, knows what happened even if it remained a dream in his memories. the stories vibrantly holding him together was proof enough that he got saved by that bastard. he'll be damned if he ever reveals the truth to biyoo that though.

they crest and bob through the ebb and flow of the wordlines and the universe.

some worlds a peaceful. no scenarios.

yjh wonders if the stardust reincarnated in these worldlines is happy. selfishly, he hopes not and that they'll always wish to come back. to stay. he's already doomed countless worlds for this purpose. spreading this dream of destruction for a single man.

its with these selfish wishes, they drift through space and the brief stops along the way.

some, he leaves faster than others. it depends on how quickly he and biyoo can find a suitable webnovel author. but it doesnt always go all that quickly. authors. they're reclusive annoyances. yjh thinks of hsy and her first appearance and edits the latest update with particularly brutal comments on her prose. so some worlds, they linger on.

somehow, he finds himself on a high building in every world. sometimes they're in seoul but not always. all cities eventually start looking the same anyway. similar but foreign concrete city scapes. large, open skies.

that guy had said the view was beautiful.

"wake up, yoo joonghyuk."

centuries and world lines drift by.

he was not the 41st yjh and she was not the 41st shin yoosung. they had lived and grown to become the them they are now. had both been touched by that guy and his actions. her more so than him.

sometimes, he gets caught in her visage. on the way she smiled or her eyes gleamed. nebulae dwarfed in comparison. every bit of her father.

more than her eyes and her smiles, it was the way she talked. that slightly annoyed, flippant wit. she talks so much now, babbling, scheming, or just talking for the sake of talking. like she was making up for the years of being pretty much nonverbal. or the years of travelling alone. although, her father had always able been to understand her quite well. maybe it was a connection between parent and child.

yjh didnt try to remember his own child, they were always there. a small swaddled thing. it was a worn out grief. memories so bright it faded. a life too short.

biyoo's dad had said he understood. he had never lost child. had sacrificied himself over and over again to ensure not a single one of his went through that cut fate.

yjh knows that kdj had never experienced it. but yjh understands kdj too.

every world, she finds recent trends in webnovels and the world news and what strange "gimmick" the world operated on. some had game systems like the star stream. some had an old apocalypse lingering. some were in the middle of a breaking world. nothing quite bad enough to not find an author, of course.

he wonders if kdj was thriving in those less peaceful worlds like he thrived in the star stream. yjh selfishly hopes not. hopes that something is irreversibly missing in a life without his companions, without yjh.

even if they only stopped in the world for an hour, biyoo always finds the time to report her findings to him. she settles into the arc beside him and rambles on about how the different systems compared to each other or talks about a popular webnovel and the characters in them. the arcs they go through.

something in his chest loosens at the fimilarity. it wouldnt do to get lost in the memories of another person in someone else but he was a regressor.

maybe she understands that too because she always continues to talk even when he stops responding, stops looking quite at her.

he was glad she was there with him. in this long journey.

in the arc, through the worldlines, on the highest points of city buildings, he edits the story, he adds his own chapters. he finds their memories and their stories and writes it all down. he types with fingers tracing only a singular name.

he reads more.

he writes more.

protagonist, reader, author.

the star stream seems to be finally over. their epilogue was upon them.

that pivotal last chapter had not be written yet. the one where kdj comes home.

yjh settles his hands on the keyboard.

as he enters the stratosphere, as the cockpit burns and lights through earth's blue skies like a shooting star, and he finally breathes in the air his and kim dokja's world again, yjh thinks about his long journey. about his 0th turn. about 1865 regressions. about answers and questions and the future. about his happiness.

the [ark] slams into the ocean. he can already see lee jihye screaming at him in the distance. the rest of his little nebulae wait for him. his little sister looks ready to beat him up.

he looks at them and smiles.

as he's pulled towards his and kim dokja's companions, moved back into their embrace and circle as if he's never left, he thinks about his long journey. about his 0th turn. about 1865 regressions. about answers and questions and the future. about kim dokja.

yjh thinks about every stardust that scatters through the wordlines that he had visited. some of them had been peaceful. some of them less so.

yjh hopes each stardust reincarneted into these worldlines are doing well. that they are warm and eating well and are loved. and, yjh hopes that he could still find the ending where he can love that guy and show it to him too. tell him, eventually.

#orv #orv spoiler #joongdok #hawrites #sad yjh hours #sorry #someone said yjhs nickname for kdj was that guy #and now im abusing that #grief #tw suicidal thoughts #very rought first draft i wrote on the chrome app

[lizhly-writes]

here you go more normal orv fan knw.  you could probably view it as an extension of this, if you like.

Kim Namwoon does not have a copy of Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint at his disposal.

He does, however, have the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint fandom at his disposal, which feels like the weirdest fucking flex ever.  It’s a statement by an author who really wants to piss him off: here, you can have everything except what you actually really need.

You can look at the fanart on twitter.  Postype and tumblr too.  Hey, did you want to read the fanfic on ao3?  Covered.  Oh, look, there’s a wiki too.  That was a major win, having a source of information more canonical than fanfic, but it’s not like it has every detail he needs.  Not like actually being able to read the novel himself.

Better than nothing.  Kim Namwoon has assigned himself homework, and that homework is to go through the fucking wiki in the hopes he won’t run headfirst into a horrible death because of something he forgot about.  

Of course, the moment he has to do something is the moment he loses interest in actually doing it.  Procrastination!  Ha.  And this weird bastard skill he has offers lots of methods of procrastination.

He types out a message –

 [so in scenario 1 if person 1 pushed person 2 into the path of a car person 3 was driving, and person 2 dies, who officially gets the credit for killing person 2? ] 

– and sends it out.

It takes a minute.  Maybe two.  And then –

[ Several people are typing…]

[ i mean they both do take part in killing person 2.  maybe it’s like split credit?]

[ person 1 because person 1 has the intent to kill.  person 3 is just a vessel ]

[ ok but what if person 3 sees what person 1 is trying to do and slams on gas to more effectively murder person 2 ]

[ well then ]

Apparently Kim Namwoon’s got access to the fandom Discord server, too.  

That’s what’s fucking him up.  Kim Namwoon missed it the first time he opened Twitter, but looking on Discord, it’s patently obvious that for some reason, he’s got an active connection to the real world.  Sure, it’s limited.  Any social media accounts with his actual name?  No.  Phone numbers?  No good.

But if he wants to ask Discord people how the fuck Yoo Joonghyuk got his shiny magical coat or what happened to Ricardo von Kaixenix’s consciousness or hey, how did everyone end up in Dark Castle to begin with?  Fine, sure, what-the-fuck-ever.

Kim Namwoon doesn’t understand.  That’s his own Discord account he’s using.  The people he’s talking to, they’re people he actually knows, even if he’s never met them in real life.  The timestamps on the messages don’t match his current date and time, but he bets anything that that’s how time’s passing in the real world.

What does this mean for him?

#omniscient reader's viewpoint #omnsicient reader #kim namwoon #orv #knw #my writing #mine #normal orv fan knw #everything

[dysiver]

So I finished The Earth is Online.

Lemme start by saying that I started this novel because a lot of ORV fans were saying that the MCs were similar and also their relationship was similar, let me say that this is all bullshit. The two MCs from The Earth is Online and the two MCs from ORV are completely different. They aren't even close to being the same in the slightest. Unless people think that smart people = all similar. So if someone tells you to read this novel cuz it is "similar" to ORV then you'll be highly disappointed.

With that out of the way The Earth is Online was great and a very fun read!

Tang Mo is a very easy-to-follow MC and the kind of guy that doesn't like dealing with bullshit. He is here to do one thing and one thing only: Survive. And he does this very well and in very entertaining ways. He isn't the kind of guy that likes to fuck around unless he's fucking someone over. He is also very serious most of the time and is only playful once he gets into a relationship with Fu Wendou. Without a doubt, he is following the stoic-cold and logical MC trope and I think he fills that role extremely well.

Fu Wendou is a cool and powerful ML and the secondary MC. He is calculating, smart, and very powerful. He is without a doubt busted, OP, and the one that highlights the MC Golden Halo the most, sometimes more than Tang MO. He is very tactical due to his military background but he also has an awkward fun side to him in which he likes to tell jokes but no one ever gets them or seems to understand that he is trying to joke. He is also a stoic-cold face and logical MC but add that to the fact that he's busted.

Honestly, when I first started reading this I wasn't sure how these two were going to get together when both of them pretty much share too many character tropes to the point that they feel far too similar at times, but that's the point. The two are very similar and that's why they work so well together and know how to fulfill a role that the other might be lacking and that's because they know each other so well.

Now, I say that I wasn't sure how the two were going to get together but to be honest, that isn't the point of the novel at all. The Earth is Online might be BL but it is obviously a novel that wishes to be a story first and foremost and not a romance or a trope of the BL genre. The Earth is Online cares more about the story than any of its characters and relationships and it shows. The novel is the strongest when they are playing deadly games, or when they are fighting the tower and the bosses and to be honest, that's what I was the most hyped about.

Yeah, sure, I wanted Fu Wendou and Tang Mo to develop their relationship but midway through the novel, it was obvious that this was gonna be a deadly, and hot slow burn. In fact, the relationship between Fu Wendou and Tang Mo starts very slow, and then steps on the gas and runs off a cliff cuz as it turns out the two are already into one another and once they find out who they are, the relationship develops even faster. Fu Wendou and Tang Mo aren't romantic either, and they aren't big on words, they have a few moments here and there but nothing that's praiseworthy tbh.

But I was having the most fun when reading the games they were playing and the deadly battles and that's why you should read The Earth is Online, because the core plot is amazing. Some of this shit was too high IQ for me and my pea brain but I was still so invested that I couldn't put the book down until I was done.

A solid 9/10 as a Shonen story, and a rough 6/10 as a BL. Finally a solid 8/10 as a whole. The reason why it isn't higher is cuz of the lack of character development and also the relationships in between characters felt too fragile at times, which I understand makes sense due to the setting but it still left you feeling thirsty for some kind of development or attachment.

If you read this expecting the gay Shit Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk have got going on then no, this isn't it chief, in fact Dokja and Joonghyuk are more romantic and gayer than these two gay men.

#Tang Mo #Fu Wendou #The Earth is Online

[auuwmk]

PLS READ ORV RIGHT NOW IM BEGGING YOU

I'm not good at explaining, so here's a post on what orv is about:

Tl;dr my reading experience and how orv changed the trajectory of my life (if you even care °^°)

the chokehold this novel has on me is not to be understated, like, this usually doesn't happen often because I'm so picky with what media i consume but...ORV.

Idk what happened to me but i felt like i was possessed while reading orv, like, i would be staying up all night and forgetting to eat or drink. It'd be the only thing I'd do everyday, i didn't open any other app unless I needed to.

I literally even read it at school every time a lesson requires me to bring an electronic device (LIKE KDJ SNEAKING OFF TO THE JANITOR'S CLOSET AND SECRETLY USING HIS COUSIN'S LAPTOP TO READ TWSA OMG)

NOW I CAN'T ESCAPE FROM ORV. ITS STUCK IN MY HEAD SAVE ME!!!!

After neglecting art for almost 2 years, i picked it up again just so i could draw orv. It was also the first time i was confident about sharing my art

All my socmed platforms are used solely to share my love for orv, it was the first time i was ever so open. I write about my thoughts on orv everywhere I go, I listen to music and subconsciously try to figure out if the lyrics remind me of orv, i keep comparing every other piece of fiction to orv (im always convinced orv did it better, orv out here setting the standard)

IM PRETTY SURE I MADE A POWERSCALE CHART OF KDJ'S STORIES AT SOME POINT LMAOOO

Everything is orv to me, i can't stop 😭

Literally everyone that's close to me KNOWS im obsessed with orv. HELL, i made a short film inspired by orv (the relationship between a writer and a reader) (its for a school project)

This was the first time I've ever recommended my dad a piece of fiction, my parents don't usually know my interests (it went: PLS READ IT. NOW. ITS SO GOOD PLS) (he didn't)

I think about orv every waking and sleeping moment i dont wanna stop obsessing over orv PLS I NEVER WANNA FALL OUT OF LOVE. My world revolves around orv, i love all the characters, the story, the message, EVERYTHING.

In conclusion, read orv. I cry myself asleep every night thinking about kimcom. I love them and i love the story to bits I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. I'm sure this isn't just me but a lot of others too.

#orv #omniscient reader's viewpoint #kim dokja #help me #this is the orv collective experience right #there is NO WAY im the only one #pls help me i have the orv pdf file pinned on my laptop #im very normal about orv actually #the orv reading experience #IM A REAL KDJ FRAGMENT

[bethialyn]

Me and my cousin were having an interesting conversation about stories. I told her about the story im writing and how i wanted to be better at writing metaphors. Simple sentences that portrayed deeper meanings. After that, she told me i should try poetry, ive never tried poetry before. I looked at her a bit hesitantly before asking,

"How do i start writing poetry then?"

Where do i begin?

She gently smiled at me.

"Just write about anything."

"Okay but what should i write about..."

"how about this then?" She gave me a thoughtful look. "Write a poetry about that something you love.. hm. ORV right? You keep talking about that novel. Write a poetry about that. "

That happened a few days ago, Honestly.. i don't know where to begin. I love that story, thats for sure. But still, I dont know how to begin my sentence.

***

Misfortune dripped down from the boy's lip.

The stinging wound gripped.

Perhaps, the warmth of blood was the only warmth he have ever felt.

The poor boy wept.

"Mom?"

A longing of comforting hands wiping his tears away dwelled.

"Mom."

Those hands were shackled.

"It's not your fault."

Time slowed down. After that event, his memories felt like a blur.

The boy's extended relatives took him under their care.

Kim Dokja had a roof under his head and clothes to wear.

Despite this care, warmth was not there.

The hand handing him food was stiff.

Even if Kim Dokja was young, he understood what their gazes meant.

After all, he cannot allow himself to naive in a harsh environment.

Because, childlike innocence came with a hefty price.

And Kim Dokja, who was born with nothing, could not afford anything.

*

One day, his name suddenly became known.

Underground killer.

A book his mother wrote, a story about Kim Dokja's tragedy.

Their tragedy as a family.

In a swift, everyone started looking at him with pity.

The feeling their glances brought was nasty.

Murderer's Son.

Stop.

Stop looking at me with that god-awful expression.

I said stop fucking looking at me.

All I am to you is a tragedy, Am I wrong?

It was sickening. Everything was.

Inside and out, he was stained by a collection of unremovable blemishes.

Stained. Soiled. Wounds that do not heal.

Scarring was a privilege. Everything remained as fresh as when it was first induced.

It was itchy on his skin, However, no matter how much he tried. No bandages can remove the suffering it caused.

The blood that trickled down these injuries were plentiful.

Regardless of this red fluid being the embodiment of his helplessness,

It kept him alive.

What happens if he runs out of blood because of his wounds?

What happens when...

A survivor gives up on surviving?

Kim Dokja stood by the window.

He was driven by sorrow.

The swoop of wind was gentle on his skin.

It became tempting to jump in.

The breeze was cold, not warm. But it was still comforting.

Is it okay?

···.

I'll be okay.

I hope so.

I hope I'll be okay.

---

Kinda lazy to continue ehe ill come back :33

#orv omniscient reader's view point #kim dokja #orv kim dokja #orv #kdj #orv poetry??? #man idek #AHHH

[the-music-maniac]

I'm relatively new to ORV, I got into it a while back and then ran out of time to continue (the novel is long AF lol) but as I'm getting back into it, I've realized that ORV is one of the most main character centric fandoms I have ever encountered before.

And tbh I think that's why I've been having so many issues getting invested in ORV fanworks. Specifically shipping ones. It's super rare for me because usually I love reading fanfics.

Before I start talking about my thoughts I just wanna make a disclaimer that I'm not trying to attack anyone. You should interact with media and create stuff however you wish to! Lord knows that I'm not exactly unbiased about my blorbos (I would die for them and you can tell from my posts) but I just kinda wanna talk about this because it's such a unique experience. Never before have I encountered a fandom that is so centered on one character.

Like I hope y'all know what I'm talking about and that I'm not just talking out of my ass. Everything in the ORV fandom is super Kim Dokja centric. On one hand, I really do get it, he's a great character. He's not my favourite character but he's a lil rat bastard and I think he's so fucking neat. And how centred the storyline and moreover the people in the story are on Kim Dokja is to a certain extent, canon. He's their leader and also the person keeping them safe. He's the one who reached out in their darkest moments and pulled them to the light. And he's a traumatized little bitch. Oof. A certain amount of hero worship and protectiveness is valid.

What I can't really wrap my head around though, is the lack of development between other members of the group in a lot of fanworks. This is specifically fandom interpretations of the characters btw, I haven't finished the story fully, so I can't speak on how they are canonically but I have seen people's stories and thoughts. And this isn't always the case of course, I have read fics before where our protagonists all appear to have relations with each other outside of their care for Dokja but it... wasn't as much as I was expecting. Which is weird to me because ORV is super good at writing like. Well written and thought out characters that would be super fun to play with in writing. In developing connections and care for each other - creating a found family. At the beginning they're all tied in by the need for survival and circumstance, they don't even necessarily like each other, and so of course they all gravitate to Dokja, that's to be expected, that's who they're familiar with. But eventually I expect they would learn to care about each other too, y'know? It's difficult to not get to know each other when you're living together daily, fighting alongside each other to survive. I don't believe that they wouldn't develop care for the other members of the group, and people who care about each other don't tend to genuinely threaten each other anytime Dokja gets hurt, especially when it's not anyone's fault - like usually it's in response to one of them "not doing enough to protect him" which makes no sense to me. You don't guilt trip people you care about for things outside their control. Moreover, Dokja is his own person - he will do what he will do and you can try and prevent it because you care about him, sure, but it's also unreasonable for others to expect anyone to be his keeper enough that they get angry when Dokja gets hurt due to his own actions or to situations outside of their control. People in general also don't have their entire character and world centered on loving one person. There are fics I've read where all the characters don't even seem to have any hobbies outside of spending time with Dokja, and I say this because they all literally fight, tooth and nail, over Dokja's time. It feels out of character to me. And yet this characterization is also so common???

I don't usually mind fics that so clearly have a bias towards one character because it's valid to write what you wanna see, but I think it's how saturated the fandom is with those types of works that makes me feel weird. It makes me stop seeing all the characters as individuals in their own right. Having no wants or needs or hobbies outside of Dokja makes it seem like they're just accessories to the story of Dokja's life. The story itself becomes less compelling to me, because it becomes less of a narrative of how Dokja has helped these people and their responses, and more of a world that bends over backwards to worship this one character, using all the other characters as tools to do so. Because if this is meant to convey gratitude and love, its illogical to how it usually works. Specifically in that, you don't lose your own identity or your connections to other people because of it. And I find it hard to interact with this level of saturation of those tropes because at a certain point, I start losing sight of the canonical writing of these individual characters as their own people. I start losing the idea I have in my mind of their canonical personalities. And I don't like that feeling. And because Dokja also isn't my favourite character in this story - I still like him, don't get me wrong - I start feeling indignant on the behalf of all the other characters that are not getting development BC of the concentration on Dokja.

I also don't like it when the banter goes away. Like you can care about people and still enjoy messing with them, I'm not sure why caring about dokja translates to hero worship??? I annoy my friends all the time, and they do it back. It's fun. Like that thing the group does where they can't see Dokja's face and just unanimously decide to tell him he looks bad when he asks about it? That's peak friendship. Peak messing with your sibling energy. As far as I've seen Dokja isn't self conscious about that either (then again I haven't read the entire story yet), so like. What gives? It's canonical that they mess with Dokja - but a lot of fics just get rid of that element.

I also find it especially hard when it comes to shipping, specifically Joonghyuk and Dokja. The reason why I love Joonghyuk and Dokja's dynamic so much in the first place is because they view each other as equals. It would be very easy to place either Joonghyuk or Dokja onto a pedestal - but they don't do that to each other. They know each other pretty damn well and they care about each other even though they're so in denial about it. And you know that thing they do where they act like the other is the worst person in existence and then negates it all by repeatedly devoting themselves to saving them? That's my shit. That whole "you're so fucking annoying but if you died I would kill everything in this room and then myself." The whole "what was that?" "Affection." "Disgusting. Do it again." THAT SHIT. I love that about them. And like the platonic relationships, a lot of shipping works get rid of that type of banter when they shift to a romantic relationship. Like yeah, sweet talk and honesty is important. You should let your partner know you love them. But that's not gonna be all there is. I don't see a need to get rid of the banter because as the story goes on, it's clear that even in canon, eventually the harsh words they say to each other stop being genuine because their actions negate the words. They don't mean them in the first place, so why would that banter change once their care shifts from a platonic to a romantic one? And I could perhaps be okay with that shift from banter to sweet talk if it was MUTUAL, but too often I see a situation where Dokja continues to insult Joonghyuk but he doesn't return it in kind. Joonghyuk is very blunt about his love for Dokja - which is good - but Dokja doesn't do the same back, and for some reason that's fine, and then Joonghyuk also no longer has those very human moments of annoyance when Dokja does some stupid shit. Like I guess I could understand the characterization of Dokja being emotionally constipated cause he's kind of a traumatized control freak and I can see how getting him to talk about his feelings is like trying to get a cat into a bathtub, but it's not like Joonghyuk isn't also like that? It's not really as much of a compelling relationship if one person is telling the other everything, giving care in words of affection and the other person isn't returning it. And you could depict that returned care in other ways, absolutely, but again I don't see it in other ways either, because those stories are still so Dokja centric.

Another factor is that I find that I can't really like a ship in a work where one of the characters is elevated to a point where they can't do anything wrong. Where their own needs are always at the forefront and their partner is always catering to it. Like a relationship is a give and take. We focus a lot on Dokja's trauma - which I love, that man needs sO MUCH THERAPY and it's an interesting topic to explore - but we don't focus on the amount of shit Joonghyuk has had to go through. I very rarely see a shipping fic where Dokja tries to address Joonghyuk's trauma or his hurt. Physical hurt sure, maybe, but that other shit that Joonghyuk bottles up?? Never talked about. My man has had to keep living lives over and over again. Has had to see people he love die, make hard choices. There is no way he's not traumatized to shit, and I'd like that to be a focus some of the time, y'know? Moreover, of all people, Dokja would be the one to understand him the most? One, he's the only one who really knows the whole truth about Joonghyuk, or as much of it as you can, and two, they both have taken on very burdensome leadership roles in a situation where few would be able to understand their position - it makes sense for them to lean on each other mutually, and so far there's a very prominent skew, only an exploration on one side.

And I pretty much haven't seen a shipping fic with Dokja and Joonghyuk where Joonghyuk has recieved any form of platonic comfort from the other characters. I've seen plenty for Dokja. Where he gets comforted/helped by both Joonghyuk and all the other characters. But not for Joonghyuk. If y'all have any recs where Joonghyuk has that, PLEASE recommend it because I need. And sure, it can be argued that Joonghyuk is a hard man to know considering his prickliness but regardless, he DOES have canonical platonic relationships. People who care for him. Who would be protective over him if he were to get hurt. That is not something only Dokja has, and yet it's something I only ever see written for Dokja. Y'all need to remember that technically Dokja doesn't act like any less of an asshole sometimes than Joonghyuk. He's more outwardly approachable sure, but he's not necessarily sweet 100% of the time - he has grit and he's a rat bastard and that's my FAVOURITE FUCKING PART ABOUT HIM. The fact that he's a rat bastard and the fact that not everyone likes him. His interactions in a world where he does have to make hard choices or say things that put people at odds, or hurts others when he didn't mean to. I love that about Joonghyuk too. They suck and they both have so much capacity to be kind despite all the shit they've gone through, but they're not able to see that in themselves and they do bad things because they have to, and I think they're so fascinating.

Y'know out of all of this, I think what cracks me up is, knowing Dokja's character, he would be absolutely appalled at how centred all of it is on him only. Like. Like that's literally the opposite of what he wants 🤣🤣. Like I get that makes people want to do it more because he deserves it and whatnot which is valid but like. He would be quite disgruntled 🤣🤣🤣

#omniscient reader's viewpoint #omniscient reader #joongdok #dokjoong #kim dokja #yoo joonghyuk #shipping analysis #fandom analysis #minor spoilers for omniscient reader

[yellowocaballero]

hi! i know that i'm fated to read your every work despite not knowing the media half the time. this time i would like to finally be one step ahead. so uhh. where do i read orv? do i go for the webtoon or the novel? to clarify, i did try to search, but got confused by reddit. also i am going to watch trigun. i've been eyeing animorphs too but the 54 (?) books are making me go hmm. thank you for existing you're pretty great. you're like the spiderman of writing but instead you got asbestos rat'd.

THIS ASK IS INSANE. WE'RE REFERENCING MY LORE NOW?

But thank you, you're insane. People ask why I have stupid high standards for the fics i post on AO3 and it is because there are people like you who will just read whatever regardless of whether or not it's good. I have a responsibility.

This ask also made me wonder if I have good taste. Because every time somebody says this my first reaction is "oh god and the source materials aren't even good". I read a lot of trashy stuff (but, like, define trashy), and I consume too many bad things to be able to say I have discerning taste. If I enjoy something I almost never call it bad, because things were made to be enjoyed and I enjoyed them then they had value in at least one aspect. If you were to ask me if my favorite TV show of all time the Incredible Hulk 1974 was actually, unironically, good, then I'd break into a cold sweat. Is somebody bad because it's camp? Is something bad only if it's unintentional camp?

Regardless, I never write fic for something that isn't only like 80% good - there's a sweet spot of 'good enough for me to obsess over' and 'bad enough that I'm rewriting it in my head'. It's rare I write for anything I find completely good. Which is why I feel bad when people say that they're reading this thing I'm writing fic for jalksdf there's better things out there I SWEAR.

ORV is in the sweet spot of "this isn't high literature" and "this has given me brain worms". Definitely for sure start with the webtoon - the webnovel is clunkily translated, you don't read it for the writing at all, and it is also a literal million words. Don't read the webnovel unless you're like "I'm going insane and I need more of this". It starts off kind of slow ("This is a well executed very banal isekai") and you're like a frog in the pot of it slowly going more insane until you're a ways in and you are in a tangle of ridiculously complicated gambits and convoluted storytelling. There is literally no other way to describe it than the Homestuck of webnovels. If you're completely unfamiliar with isekai that's fine, but as a warning - ORV being your first webtoon/webnovel isekai is like your first shoujo manga being Ouran High Schol Host Club, or your first magical girl show being Madoka, or your first mecha anime to be Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's one of the best works in its genre but it's supposed to be viewed in context of the genre. Or maybe it's more like if Homura starred in Evangelion, which was Ouran. I'm just saying words.

Animorphs is kind of like Mother 3 in which everybody who has ever read/played it said that it changed them as a person, it changed their relationship with media and storytelling forever, if you read/play it you will be born again from the world's egg, etc. Works that genuinely become part of your personality. I also never recommend it to people because it is incredibly hit or miss. I remember using a spreadsheet of just "what books are skippable or not" because some of them are incredibly weird and some of them are incredibly weird in the bad way. The only Animorphs fic I've ever written is from 2019 so it's also not that great. Each book only takes an hour to read and the pdfs are free online, so it's incredibly accessible in terms of the reading experience, but it's kinda the Animorphs gestalt that changes you forever and not the individual books. I try not to recommend stuff that's like 25% bad.

Watch Trigun if you like what Trigun is - it's not going to deliver on something it's not. Also watch 98 first. Watch Stampede/read Trimax if you want more Trigun. The Trigun fic is based off Stampede but refer to my "I only write fic for smth that's 80% good and not 100% good" statement.

Also I think being bit by an asbestos rat just means that I probably have mold and drywall in my lungs, which would explain a lot about this blog. Thanks for the ask I love it.

#you have to feel kind of guilty saying “this is the homestuck of webnovels” and reccomending it with a straight face #and like i wouldn't outright reccomend it #it has plenty of problems. but also you dont care about the problems much ya know. #my asks #my writing #it is genuinely so funny that Animorphs and M3 girlies are Like That #sir this is a children's novel where a teenager vomits crocodiles #and it's not as good when you just hear people describe it like “oh read animorphs its sooo fucked up and edgy and people die” #like. yes its good because its fucked up. but also #the humor and levity and silliness is important and makes the fuckery meaningful #i think mostly it's the fact that animorphs will present to you some very shallow stuff and then ask you to engage with it like its real #its not realism or grittiness or edge #it just presents you with Very Basic Children's SciFi and goes #these are real children. all life is real sentient life. #yes the CIA really did do that. #when the enemy is killed the enemy is dead. do you understand. #thats what makes it a rly good childrens novel but also what makes it so disturbing as an adult #whose been asked to fictionalize suffering countless times in scifi #and on the tv. and in the news. and from each other. #and when we're presented with normal fictional suffering and the narrative is like No - Look At This #it changes how you engage with scifi and media in general #there's a lot of 'Jake' characters out there. but you can't look at them the same way. #did not expect the tag essay to be about animorphs this time.

[yue-muffin]

*cracks knuckles* Here we go.

I have been quite curious about ORV for a while, though I had absolutely NO idea what it was about until I finally decided to take the plunge. I mostly keep finding interesting playlists, quotes that promise lots of pain and suffering, and cool fanart. I avoided it until now because it's long. Really, really long. And long series either go one of two ways with me: I either binge the entire thing at the cost of my sleep (and sanity) or read it so slowly I forget what happened in the first half by the time I get to the midpoint.

Anyways, something overcame me this weekend and I decided to finally read it.

Chapters 1-6: Prologue + Starting the Paid Service

I was genuinely surprised to learn the story is about a book becoming reality with death game shenanigans because, again, I've only ever seen pretty fanart and vague quotes that revealed nothing about the plot. Immediately, I was like 'okay, I'll read a bit and give it a chance'. This isn't normally my type of genre, but I do read outside my comfort zone sometimes (and enjoy it, like SVSS which is transmigration + comedy which is usually not my thing).

The opening lines caught my attention, actually, they work really well as a hook despite being the ending of the webnovel in the book. It leaves you with a lot of questions

"There are three ways to survive in a ruined world. I have forgotten some of them now. However, one thing is certain: you who are currently reading these words will survive."

Also, not that you really need the reminder with the page count right below, but it definitely implies this is going to be a looong journey. If there are only three ways to survive and you've forgotten some already, that must have been quite the journey...Anyways, I just really like the tone of the opening lines.

So, like, Kim Dokja is sadly relatable haha. The struggle of the daily grind is real. So is wondering how your coworkers can have so much energy or be such go-getters when you're just trying to get through the day.

However, his reaction to the whole 'fiction becomes reality' or even the traumatic head-bursting deaths right in front of him just isn't normal. And also sliiightly worrisome. Genre-savvy he might be, that's some traumatizing shit right off the bat! Although, that kind of goes for anyone in this story who survives past the first few chapters.

But Kim Dokja is surprisingly chill about the whole thing. The whole scene with the crickets also shows that he's intelligent...and also kind of good at messing with people. He might monologue to us, but he certainly doesn't go into detail with any of the people around him, or explain much about why he's doing something.

The story also shows a pretty realistic range of reactions to all the traumatizing crazy going on.

And for a story I wasn't sure I was going to like, it sure is a page turner. I'm not terribly used to all the game mechanics, but they're actually pretty fun. The game commentary just sparks joy in me, for some reason.

The whole "sole reader of this entire novel" thing is also interesting. One, it does put him at an advantage to literally everyone else "canon" to the story or not. But on a meta level, who do we write stories for? Sometimes it's for oneself, but most of the time stories are made to be shared, they're tools used to communicate with others. So, that makes the "final" line in the novel even more impactful. To you who are reading this story...

Next up will be chapters 7-11: Protagonist...

#omniscient reader's viewpoint #i'm actually further along at this point #but i wanted to go back and blog a bit about each “arc”

[lee-hakhyun]

when 1863!hsy was writing TWSA, her dreams got sent back to child hsy since, you know. they were sharing a body. so hsy wrote SSSS-grade regressor, a story that she absolutely INSISTS is not plagiarised, because as far as she knew, it wasn’t. the stories came from her dreams.

if lee hakhyun took the world of ORV from his dreams, too, does the fact that the dreams came from somewhere else make it any less his own work? the same way that just because 51 and 49 were split, did that make 49 not ‘really’ kim dokja? it’s still his story, in the end, but in both instances the person who was deemed the ‘liar’ was made to believe that he did not have the right to believe it was part of his identity. even though it was. even though he had more right to it than anyone else.

when it comes to a person’s past, it’s near impossible to completely deny it happened; it leaves a mark of its own, even if you change your name or your appearance. it’s still a life you lived, and so its claws will always reach out for you again. but you can re-define it. you can’t cut out the pages, but you can always make the story your own again.

in the future, were lee hakhyun’s past life ever to come to light, he might find himself trapped in a state of self-doubt again; ‘I’m not even really Lee Hakhyun, was I ever really who I thought I was?’ but he was, and he is; just as he is a fragment of kim dokja (same as many other readers, just a bigger fragment than anticipated), he is also an author of orv (who… actually, when you remember the theory of kim dokja himself having added in the bits that none of kimcom could have known, this has horrifying implications). he wrote stories about a wish still being your story, he made drafts that didn’t make it into han sooyoung’s ‘final cut’ but still managed to come fuck him over anyway. a wish becomes a self-exploration becomes discovery of the self. everything that came before remains a part of your story, but you can still write something new and choose what it means for yourself.

i am projecting my own gender issues, yeah :D talking as a person that wrote a non-binary character to find out if that was really what i wanted or not,,, writing is good for that. it helps you explore situations in a safe space that doesn’t physically harm you or others

even if he wasn't the original author he is still an author. and even if not of the main story, this side story is definitely his. multiple times it's mentioned that the story has left han sooyoung's hands at this point, and she even mentions that she doesn't like the story continuing with developments she's no longer aware of

for his identity issues, he really just needs someone to affirm to him that he's himself. when kim dokja told him 'you're lee hakhyun' it really affected him (in a good way), i'm sure his companions will help him out if anything goes wrong (he just needs to. actually tell them...) maybe being in orv will actually help him find a sense of self. even before he transmigrated, it seemed like after orv, he didn't really have any idea of where to go

incitement or not, he's still making his own story

also, about lhh's orv. him having stuff in the manuscript that was cut out later, that means that not everything that was uploaded to the cloud was put into orv. han sooyoung also mentioned that orv failed on some worldlines, so i'm thinking that orv might have been written differently depending on the author. the major story would still be there, but small details might have been omitted/changed.. maybe even the orv we read is different from the one that lhh wrote. if this is true, the orv that lhh wrote would be successful in part because of his writing (and ji eunyu's editing!) ..that might also be an explanation for the original/web novel changes, different versions of the story due to authors writing orv a different way with the information they were given from the cloud.

and since i don't feel making a separate post, i have an idea on what might appear in the side story lee hakhyun mentioned a collaboration with his previous works in the prologue chapter.. there's a chance that might come true in the side story. other author's stories can show up in orv (peaceland), so why not lee hakhyun's?

#ask #orv side story #orv spoilers #orv #so much to think about