#i love orv but this is so much better on so many levels and its being slept on smh

[its-no-biggie]

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.....

[carlyraejepsans]

Out of everything you have read/watched (e.g ORV, Homestuck, I think you saw Mob Phsyco, etc) in the past year or two, what would you say your most recommended is (and even your favourite if you can decide one?)

ORVVVV ORV ORV ORV (< sound of me imitating a seal)

lol seriously though orv is straight up undertale levels of "metanarrative that fucks your entire life sideways". i cannot recommend it enough to at least give it a try. another thing that orv does like UT is that it filters its own audience so that its story has maximum impact. ie: you won't replay the same game dozens of times with minimal changes to the gameplay unless you 1) really love the characters and 2) want to absorb every crumb and bite that the game has to offer -> flowey's story will hit like a truck. in much the same way, orv develops a narrative crafted to emotionally devastate people who dedicate their heart and souls to stories and fiction (especially as a coping mechanism), which... you kinda have to be if you're willing to read a novel so fucking long HAHAHAHA. so hmmmm preeetttty please :pleading: give it a shot? you don't have to read much if it doesn't hook you in but i promise it is SO much better than you can possibly imagine

okay orv screaming fit over. i haven't watched mp100 yet but i HAVE read the manga! which i wholeheartedly recommend. i don't have a good way to express it but the way the plot unravels is so... light? not as in fluffy, but as in it doesn't weight you down. it's FUN to read, and while it definitely has characters that will rattle around your head forever, it doesn't exhaust you with it.

also utena. no cap, no kidding, if more people watched this series it would dramatically improve the reading comprehension of this entire website. nothing, and i mean NOTHING, has sharpened my literary analysis skills quite as much as the symbolism in rgu. one of those few pieces of art where i looked at it, experienced it, and it made me go "i want to create something that affects people in the same way this has affected me"

homestuck was also fun! it eventually lost me when the troll saga was fully integrated into the main plotline, too many characters introduced at once and too little time to care about them enough to keep track (at least for me). i would still recommend it. the early story is still incredibly solid, the sburb reveal is fun, and it plays with its own medium in some genuinely incredible ways. also it is quite funny. alas.

also. read ted chiang's sci-fi short stories collection. one of my favorite authors alive