#1864th

[1chaerry]

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

"In a world where sadness and joy were useless, we had to continue the story."

choose your story fragment

Kim Dokja [ Demon King of Salvation ]

"As long as they read something something, humans won't be lonely, I probably wanted to believe this."

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Yoo Joonghyuk [ Supreme King ]

"You fool, you are not reading it alone."

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Han Sooyoung [ Black Flames Demon Ruler ]

"The story changed every time I read it. The story was over but it wasn't over. The story wouldn't end unless the reader gave up on the story."

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Kim Dokja's Company

"This story is just for that one reader."

Poised and Reckless (KimComXreaderXConstellations)

Constellation Banquet

"Let us take you to the stars."

Secretive Plotter [ King of Outer Gods ]

【Why, why is it not me, but you??】

the end you deserve • birthday oneshot

Sun Wukong [ Prisoner of the Golden Headband | Most Ancient Liberator ]

"However, even if we know it's impossible, we still have to read the Story. That is what it means to exist as 'Constellations', as the stars of the heavens."

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Persephone and Hades [ Queen of the Darkest Springs and Father of the Rich Night ]

"That was when we first began thinking about this that we wanted to become your parents."

[ platonic family love ]

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Uriel [ Demon-like Judge of Fire ]

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is embarrassed.]

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[c11tto]

your ■■ is

[metanarrates]

ok kim dokja did not die and come back wrong. he's always been weird and fucked up and his incessant deaths were a SYMPTOM of his issues, not a cause of them. in fact he usually seems rather refreshed when he comes back from the dead lol. the only time he came back wrong was when he was sent back as a SQUID and that was an involuntary transformation :(

now, YOO JOONGHYUK on the other hand-

[freyadragonlord]

Every time Hakhyun calls Demon King of Salvation his brother, i gain 50 HP and then cry for 2 hours

[oseike]

I've been hurting myself with this thought that just won't leave me so I'm sharing it so others can suffer with me, hi

But

The one who suffered the most from the group regression was Yoo Joonghyuk.

Let's look at it this way: When 49!kdj collapses, the party ends up with the knowledge that someday, the Kim Dokja in front of them will just disappear. He won't wake up, and will remain as he is until that time. So, they band together under Yoo Joonghyuk, who has evolved his skill into allowing a group to regress, and they go back to save the rest of him. At this time, Yoo Joonghyuk regains his memories of his Turn Zero, and he realizes his sponsor - that silent force that has been watching him all 1864 rounds - was Kim Dokja all along, likely observing from that train.

Then they get there. They reach him, they dig him out of that subway car....and they have already failed. The end result is Kim Dokja in a coma, now looking younger as well.

To the rest of the party, it really is a zero sum, or maybe slightly better even. They started with a comatose, incomplete Kim Dokja who would never wake up and would someday disappear. They ended with potentially even less of Kim Dokja, still in a coma never to awaken, but without the surety that he would disappear. Essentially, nothing was gained, but also nothing really was lost.

Except for Yoo Joonghyuk.

To Yoo Joonghyuk, he intended to rescue Kim Dokja - to complete his own original desire to finally meet the person who led him through his first life, to face the one who has been watching him since then, and rescue his life and death companion.

But what he is left with is so much worse. Not only does he fail, but after they return, that sponsor, that gaze that had been watching him - a gaze he had come to hate but now no longer could - was also gone. He has to live with the knowledge that Kim Dokja had watched him sink into hatred for him, had sworn to kill him, and then in the moment when he had returned at last, intending to save him, he instead fulfilled the dark wish he had made for countless lives instead. There is a black stain on his sword he can't get rid of that is proof of that.

If he had not regressed, if he had not gone to save Kim Dokja, then Yoo Joonghyuk would not have been the one to strike down the last remnants of him. The gaze of that sponsor would have simply faded away with the system, and he wouldn't know what happened to Kim Dokja. He would probably believe he would just keep living to watch over the world lines forever.

Instead, he has to live with the knowledge that he rushed Kim Dokja to his death, and cut him down at the last. The comatose Kim Dokja he has now is a cold reminder of what he truly lost, and the sky that used to be alive with that silent gaze is now wholly empty. For the first time in 1865 rounds, he is alone, and that fact is not a celebration, but a dirge.

[luolii]

imagine you're in a down bad competition and 999kim namwoon shows up

[emoyuuta]

finished ORV epilogue 3 and I must say that seeing not one but TWO versions of han sooyoung doing batshit crazy things to save kim dokja...she's not full of love she's love herself at this point...no one could do what she did

[tls12lessthan3]

as much as we like to make fun of kim dokja for having just dogshit media literacy and frequently misunderstanding everything about what yoo joonghyuk is doing, i do think he generally understands his character very well. kim dokja just suffers from two main things - a) recency bias, where he's spent too long with the yoo joonghyuk of 1000+ regressions and can't seperate him from 3rd/1864th yoo joonghyuk and b) a complete and utter inability to recognize when someone has affection or even just tolerates him. i genuinely think that if any other character had acted towards yoo joonghyuk the way he does, and yoo joonghyuk had responded in turn, kim dokja would have gone 'oh! yoo joonghyuk really likes that guy!' (and then possibly complain about ooc due to reason a)

but because its him? impossible. inconcievable that yoo joonghyuk could be sad about his death for any reason other than coins

[echoed-salvation]

One thing I love about orv is that it initially bait and switches you by convincing you early on that the constellations are the "big bad" of the story - voyeuristic beings that gain enjoyment off the suffering of others - until the reveal that they are also going through their own scenarios. This mirrors how us as the readers are going through our own lives and our own struggles yet we consume media highlighting the experiences of others. We root for these characters, we follow their journeys, we see ourselves in them. And yet we're not villains - we're just surviving. We're escaping the struggles of our own lives by indulging in these worlds created by human imagination. Similarly, many of the constellations in orv do not have malicious intentions despite living off stories - uriel cares greatly for the incarnations she supports (as the "fangirl" archetype) and sun wukong and abfd also greatly support kimcom throughout their journey.

This is further solidified in the reveal of the oldest dream. Despite unintentionally creating worldlines through his imagination, the younger kim dokja was never a villain or "monster". He was simply a child who sook to escape the tragedies of his life through a webnovel. He depended on that novel to survive. And that was in no way the sin he thought it was - not even secretive plotter who had gone through countless regressions and witnessed the despair of the universe could hold it against him. Nor han sooyoung, nor yoo joonghyuk of the 1864th round, nor yoo sangah, nor anyone else in kimcom. No one thought dokja needed to atone for anything - they loved him and cared for him even when he couldn't love himself.

Just like kim dokja and just like the constellations, we are readers seeking an escape from the struggles of reality. And we too are loved - regardless of whether we know it or understand why.

[lunaxstrange]

Can we talk about love in orv?

[SPOILERS]

Okay so, I am aware that Kdj loves the "story" but I really wanna point some things out individually because it's 2am and ORV is on my mind.

Kdj had the easiest way out of the 1863rd turn. The most perfect turn (at the time) but he really went I'd let the world burn for Yjh? Yeah, everything is "part of his plan" but let's talk about the 73rd Demon King arc. My man would do anything to make sure Yjh finishes his story. Apart from this, it's the fact that while everyone else dislike any other version of Yjh (even he hates himself lol), Kdj loves every. single. one. I mean 3rd turn (1864th) Yjh? Yes. Hsy's 1863rd turn? Yes. Frickin' Secretive Plotter? Got off to a rough start but yes. You simply cannot make Kdj hate his beloved protagonist. I mean, this man risked his whole existence to make sure the 0th turn is actually the most perfect one. He didn't want Yjh to regress but became his sponsor anyway because it's what Yjh wanted. He would do anything to see Yjh happy. This type of love isn't romantic or platonic or anything else, it's the most inexplicable form of love. Love in its purest form. I'd like to take the time to compare it to Achilles and Patroclus because while we can fight over whether these two were gay or not, we cannot deny the sheer love they had for each other. No strings attached. Kdj is in awe of Yjh.

Yjh. The regressor. The protagonist. The person Kdj loves the most. Yjh had everything (0th turn) but he really gave it all up just to meet Kdj. Suffered the "Hell of eternity" just to see him. Bro didn't even love Lsw the way he loves Kdj. Tbf, 0th turn Yjh didn't know what the real struggle of passing the scenarios without help was but I'm sure he got the gist. Okay, sure, you can call it "curiosity" that led to Yjh keeping Kdj alive during the 3rd (1864th) turn. But my guy didn't choose Kdj to go to Peace Land because he had "someone he loved" like bro, YJH!? THE COLD REGRESSOR??? HE DID THAT FOR KIM DOKJA! Not to mention the fact that Yjh didn't even care that his whole life was a mere novel. He just despised the fact that Kdj chose the 1863rd turn over him. I'm gonna cry. Bro wanted Kdj so bad that he kept fighting the Secretive Plotter. Not only this, he gave up the 3rd (1864th) turn for Kdj too. Went from Supreme King to terrorist just to save Kdj. When everyone else - even Hsy - gave up. After all, what is a protagonist without a reader? The whole astronaut ordeal might've been to "find his purpose" but we can't ignore their connection. He gave up everything he could ever ask for twice (0th and 3rd/1864th turn) for Kdj. The attachment these two have with each other is insane.

I could go on about them for eternity but we have another person to talk about - Hsy. This woman spent 10 years exhausted, stuck in a world-line and body not her own for one person. Even if it's only Hsy with half her memories, she gave up her perfect world-line because she missed Kdj. Just like Kdj loves Yjh, Hsy also loves every version of Kdj. She wanted to meet him, no matter what the world-line. My girl had only a few hours where she was in control and decided to use off all those hours to write TWSA - a story she herself disliked. Hsy wants to see Kdj happy, every part of Hsy loves Kdj. There is nothing a writer could love more than an avid reader who loves their story. And let's talk about the fact that Yjh and Hsy absolutely hate each other. He is literally her creation (more or less) but their relationship is questionable. Why? Because a protagonist has no value without a reader. Kinda like Asuka Ren and Kyrgios Rodgraim. They have no special relationship despite being creator and creation. Since there is no reader, Asuka and Kyrgios are as distant as two people can be. Alternatively, what brings Hsy and Yjh together is Kdj.

I just can't get enough of the way ORV relationships are written. If I had to describe love as a writer, I'd cite ORV as an example.

[jilted-love]

More screenshots because it was only before the first regression that Yoo Joonghyuk became the incarnation of the Demon King of Salvation. But this confirms that the ??? means DKOS because that's what 0th turn Yoo Joonghyuk agreed to.

Oth turn Yoo Joonghyuk: Tell me, you fool. If I continue to regress, will I ever get to meet you again?

1864th turn Yoo Joonghyuk: *sees the Demon King of Salvation for the first time with his own eyes, reunites with his constellation sponsor, doesn't fucking remember who he is*

[orviposition]

what if I am on my deathbed but then I feel like my life was completed by someone else who loves me unconditionally so I express desire to meet this person and to learn why I exist even though I get warned I will need to repeat the end of the world for 1864 times

what if in the 1863rd round I meet him, do not recognize who he is, but he helps me and breaks me and hears the inner voice of me that wishes to live even though what I say out loud is "I want to die" ! what if he shows me the world of the 1864th round where everything is better and I wish to go to that world more than anything else

what if I go to that world with no memories intact again and I meet that person, I start trusting him and rely on him and it's natural. I kill him and I refuse death for him. I learn that I exist solely to keep him alive and I'm happy and relieved because of it

but he leaves and my life feels like it has ended, that person leaves my side and it feels like i didn't earn anything. i go to my creator to die because i no longer know how to live. i take a journey to bring back the million fragments of his soul but i expect to die and fail. i meet his reincarnation and don't recognize him. my journey is far from over

[missjuniora]

I wonder about Han Sooyoung a lot. How could someone (3rd round) who had only met and known you for less than 4 years would be willing to wait for you for 50 years and then regress and experience hell all over again just to bring you back? How could that someone's other self (1864th round) in another timeline who had also only met and known you for a couple of weeks would be willing to spend 13 years of their remaining life writing a story for you everyday and doomed the entire world just so you could survive?

But when I really think about it—for Han Sooyoung—it did make sense.

Ever since she was born, she was neither wanted nor needed by anyone. Her parents would rather have her not exist. At some point, she also had a friend who set her up to blind dates but with how HSY only mentioned her once and never again throughout the story, perhaps that person wasn't really important to her either. So for the past 26 years, HSY had lived her life alone thinking if the world didn't need nor want her, then she didn't care for the world either.

Perhaps, at some point, she would even think that even if she were to disappear, no one would miss and mourn for her.

So imagine her surprise, when—for the first time ever—someone told her that she was needed. That he didn't want her to become a character. That he was willing to leave his life in her hands. That even if she ran away and hid somewhere, he would still look for her. That he believed in her to take care of the companions he left behind. That he didn't want to extend her 50 years of suffering if he could help it. That he wouldn't let her go because he hadn't heard the conclusion of the story from her yet. That he would cry if she died.

Their relationship might have started out of necessity—they were in an apocalypse after all—and HSY understood that they were merely using each other for their own benefits (plus they were enemies at first, too!). But then Kim Dokja lied about her being his friend before the scenarios (which when I think about it is technically not a lie because she was basically his confidant from his teenage years through adulthood during their exchanges in [Ways of Survival]'s comment section and DMs but they both didn't know that) when he didn't have to and the rest was history. She ended up being his companion for real.

KDJ might have only needed her at first but now he wanted her to be there in the ending he envisioned.

For the first time, HSY was needed and wanted. For the first time, someone was glad that she existed.

So even if it were measly 4 years for her 3rd round and a couple of weeks or so for her 1864th round, meeting him was enough to make an impact in her life. The amount of time spent together was not important but the short time that mattered did.

She didn't care for this world to begin with anyway so if it meant bringing her sole reader back, then she would destroy more universes just for him and him alone.

For that 'small world' she didn't wish to disappear...

[ORV Chapter 533 - Epilogue 3: Author's words (2)]

[within-ur-intro-verse]

Favorite Ongoing/Unfinished Joongdok fics

Canon Universe

running up that hill by aevum; Multi-chapter, Unrated; Joonghyuk Role Swap AU

Echos of the Future and the Past by Akeara4; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; KDJ meets YJH pre-scenarios.

Hidden Scenario - [Dramatis Personae] by Anonymous; Multi-chapter, Rated: Mature; A reaction fic - KimCom reacts to the events of ORV from KDJ's POV.

unendurable, unendurable by aryelee; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; KimCom get caught in a sub scenario. No one sees it ending well.

A Former Regressor's Otome Struggles by fourthrisen; Multi-chapter, Rated: Gen; YJH gains a new (dating sim themed) skill.

so long to load by Frill; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Teen friends Joongdok started the scenarios one train cabin away from each other.

new game (+) by illusionedwhite; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Role Reversal AU where TWSA is an unpopular RPG game.

Say it Again by Moreta; Multi-chapter, Rated: Mature; YJH fails to resist regressing and starts his (alleged) 4th regression. He fears he will never meet KDJ again, but they meet again in the subway. But something is strange about this turn...

[Story, ‘Life and Death Companions’, is continuing with its storytelling.] by pythia (eireneo); Multi-chapter, Rated: Mature; Canon Re-write - YJH decides to stick a little closer to KDJ. Something about him is familiar.

Kim Dokja’s Epic Rewrite Extravaganza by Sasala; Multi-chapter, Unrated; KDJ takes a different route with 0th Regression YJH by saying screw it to the rules.

Eternity Soulmates by tsukithewolf; Series, Rated: Teen, Story 1 Complete (23,583 words)/Story 2 Ongoing; Soulmate AU - KDJ manifests as a ghost-like apparition while he's reading TWSA and becomes YJH's one constant companion throughout his 1863 previous regressions. They meet in the flesh for the first time in the 1864th regression. YJH remembers their time spent together, KDJ doesn't.

Fragments by tsukithewolf; Multi-chapter, Unrated; KDJ is still in a coma recovering. YJH learning he can use their shared story to enter Dokja's dreams.

One Half of a Whole by WindsOfTime; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Soulmate AU - How ORV would play out if TWSA had established soulmates in universe and KDJ was YJH's.

Alternate Universe

Second movement by aeber; Multi-chapter, Rated: Explicit; Modern AU - If the scenarios never existed, and they met on the train as how the 0th regression went.

a seven pointed star by Anonymous; Multi-chapter, Rated: Explicit; Modern AU - After getting cancelled for being homophobic, CEO of Supreme Games Yoo Joonghyuk meets his future husband

A Dreamer's Love by byami; Series - Story 1 (Complete - 8,405 words; Unrated), Story 2 (Complete - 26,756 words; Rated: Mature) & Story 3 (Ongoing; Rated: Gen); Fantasy AU - Prince YJH meets "mage" KDJ while hunting demons.

That's the Spirit! by cherryousama; Multi-chapter, Rated: Mature; High School/Supernatural AU - KDJ is an exorcist. YJH is a new transfer student who is a magnet for ghosts.

In other words, by dokjaless; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Modern AU - Ways to accidentally become a book editor to a progamer.

a streamer’s guide to gaining the favour of the gacha gods by erisky; Multi-chapter, Unrated; Modern AU -ORV is a gacha game. Steamer YJH is a simp for the character KDJ, based on the man of the same name.

I am NOT the Imperial General's Ex-Boyfriend by feriket; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Sci-Fi/ABO AU - Kim Dokja was busy working a boring office job and pointedly not thinking about a certain man that he ghosted, when the said man suddenly showed up at his workplace as if he was summoned by some higher beings who wanted to torture Kim Dokja for fun.

superstition and the wishing fountain by fourthrisen; Multi-chapter, Rated: Gen; Modern/High School AU - Even with the ability to read minds, KDJ still manages to entirely miss recognizing that YJH is crushing on him.

Pixelated Abyss by Frill; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Esper/Guide AU - YJH wants KDJ to be his personal Guide because no one else is compatible with him.

lights, camera, action by heliotrope; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Modern AU - Every single one of everyday cubicle worker KDJ's friends is a rich and influential public figure, and the only one in the dark about it is himself.

Imaginary Truths by Mythril (fantacination); Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Modern/Actor AU - KDJ is a talented actor that likes to fly under the radar and succeeds. Until YJH starts paying attention.

let the end credits play by NoteInABottle: Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Modern AU - TWSA is a game. KDJ is the game's programmer. It's Pro-Gamer YJH's favorite game.

How Pro Gamer Yoo Joonghyuk's Twitter Alt Became a Thirst Account by scintifeli; Multi-chapter, Rated: Explicit; Modern AU - YJH gets sponsored to play a game. He plays and on an unfortunate early encounter with a boss, somebody swoops in and saves him from death. YJH falls hard.

thrice is poison by sIackerlife; Multi-chapter, Rated: Gen; Modern AU - Streamer KDJ meets Pro Gamer YJH during a Valorant match while he's playing his sister's account.

My Neighbor is a Sleep Deprived DILF by SkylerSkyhigh; Multi-chapter, Unrated; Modern AU - Older KDJ/Younger YJH - College Gamer YJH becomes neighbors with DILF KDJ.

Guardian by smooth_jade; Multi-chapter, Rated: Explicit; Modrn AU - KDJ never pictured himself as someone who would ever be a father, but before he knows it, he is the adoptive father of a traumatized SYS.

Heels Over Head by timegoesby; Multi-chapter, Rated: Gen; Modern AU - Younger Pro-Gamer YJH and older CEO KDJ become new neighbors.

The Main Character Arrived Half-Dead at My Castle After Abandoning His Role and Now He Won't Leave by tsukithewolf; Multi-chapter, Unrated; Modern/Fantasy AU - Gamer!YJH is isekai'd into a fantasy game as the protagonist. KDJ is the main villain in this game.

and at the very least, the wall will change. by your__isgayrights; Multi-chapter, Rated: Teen; Modern/Soulmate AU - KDJ and YJH are soulmates that can write message to each other on their skin. The only thing KDJ wrote to YJH was goodbye. YJH keeps writing to KDJ, not knowing if he's alive or not. 15 years later YJH and KDJ meet for the first time.

[orphiclovers]

I've been wondering how 1863rd Han Sooyoung got the modifier of 'Director of the False Last Act' and I had a HORRIBLE thought.

So we know that Kim Dokja got his modifier after being killed as the 73rd demon king and that the nickname directly references this event/story (as theoretically all other constellation names do), AS WELL as being broadly true to his whole characterization (Someone who saves, but is a 'demon' - 'Kim Dokja's salvation was cruel. Like rescuing a drowning person with a blade, those saved by him were inflicted an unhealable wound' etc etc.)

The previous is ALSO related to the whole Star Stream concept of a Constellation's stories repeating again and again in an endless loop. ('The effects of the ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ were absolute. The history of defeat would only go on to create yet another history of defeat.' is a phrase that appears multiple times. Also, the whole of Gigantomachia arc. also also regression. this is a huge throughline in orv.)

So a Modifier has to be: 1. referencing one event. 2. true for the constellation broadly 3. a sort of 'reprise' of the first event has to happen.

The second point, being a 'Director of the False Last Act' is true for 1863rd Han Sooyoung in a very obvious way. She, 'the director', took her world to the 99th scenario, the 'last act', but planned to put it in permenant stasis, in that way making it 'false'.

BUT, at this point she already had this modifier, meaning this is a 'reprise' of a previous event that must have happened. And that lead me to thinking. What if she got it the exact same way Kim Dokja did?

As in, she was the 73rd demon king.

Similarities between Kim Dokja and 1863 Han Sooyoung are deliberately drawn: same white coat, same sword, both leaders of their similarly named companies, both constellations - they both went about the scenarios in a similar way and some of the same events and scenarios happened. (For example, Kaizenix, existed exclusively in 1863rd and 1864th rounds.)

And the modifier of 'Director of the False Last Act' fits perfectly with the 73rd demon king scenario.

Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk both individually get awful premonitions that one of them might have to die in the next scenario. And if even they got this vibe, Han Sooyoung with 'Predictive Plagiarism' definitely did too. Like Kim Dokja, she would have prepared her companions to fight the demon king, perhaps knowing she would become it. 'The Director' deciding how the story will go.

And the 73rd Demon King sceanario is a 'last act' of sorts. 'Defeat the Demon King, the final boss at the top of the castle' and escape the Seoul Dome. It is known as 'the end of the prologue' for a reason.

But she, of course, figured out a way to survive, to hack the system, as Kim Dokja did. Maybe said to her companions something along the lines of "I don't know why you're so serious. Have you forgotten who I am? I am Han Sooyoung. I won't die even when killed."

As a plagiarist writer who has escaped and found a way through all the tough scenarios up to this point. It was not 'the Last Act' where the leader sacrifices herself for her companions, despite that being the story she had constructed for the constellations.

Ergo, 'Director of the False Last Act.'

[bytedykes]

voted god's favorite sacrificial lamb for the 1864th year in a row!