#metafictionalism liveblog

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Integration of real-world capitalist ventures and phenomena into kdj's causative motives definitely deserves its own analysis. His experience working in an exploitative and abusive environment actively helps him manipulate ORV's world to his advantage

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Pray tell what sort of things went down in the Ways of Survival fandom when it existed. Also very eloquent dialogue comparing your favorite character who's been with you through the worst lows and the okay highs to a sibling you have a complicated relationship with 👍i think it would resonate with a lot of people

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He knows these characters and he knows their pain and he must endure the despair of being unable to intervene. He’s the reader after all… another one in the audience…

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Im fucking back 🎉 also this is so devastating the poignancy of a literal fight to the death in which neither party has true agency is a little bit sick in the head

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Yoo Joonghyuk 🤯 the way he can't bring himself to blame anyone for anything

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Something something. Ellipses. The Fourth Wall breaks down when he isnt able to divorce his past from the immediate present -> something like an allegorical panic attack or similar ? Kinda spitballing here but i am very invested in the trauma angle of his Fourth Wall skill

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Self Insert (literal) (the 4th wall rendered obsolete) (to participate in a narrative you must become that which drives it) (the impassable becomes passable)

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Kim "we are companions separated by life and death" and "he wasn't someone who would call me a 'companion'" Dokja... it's sooooo obvious how he doesn't wanna be perceived at all. He predicated his actions on the assurance that yjh wouldnt have a bone in his body that would get attached to him ;-; pushing people away

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Ysg hasnt really changed fundamentally from her introduction, i dont think-- she's always worked to mold herself into someone who could thrive in a society that was hostile to her. Dokja assumes her temporary rut was because she was simply out of her element, but i dont think it was just that that caused a decline in her self-esteem, but also her own helplessness and lack of agency. She's used to being able to overcome situations through her own power, so i imagine being forced to rely on anyone at all would really beat her down emotionally. At the same time, i imagine this would cause her to respect whoever is capable enough to look after themselves and others in the literal apocalypse, since she views her own shortcomings as being the result of her own choices entirely, regardless of whether or not that sentiment reflects her reality

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I think maybe. Dokja is projecting his own nihilism onto Yoo Joonghyuk. Every objective fact i know about yjh has thus far led me to believe he's more idealistic to a fault rather than incapable of deducing consequences. He repeatedly places his faith in others and each time he's hurt he just does it over with the belief that he can help the people and world around him become better. Him putting up an aloof and unemotional front seems to demonstrate his awareness of circumstance... as in, he makes an active choice to let others percieve him a certain way.

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I bet jihye gets along soooooo well with hsy later on

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Okay so. I am basically completely convinced that yjh's "regression" is time looping. The character conflict is pretty fascinating though; dokja being forced to adapt to a scenario that not only doesnt line up with the original Ways of Survival, but also the main character of that original series acting out of character and defying his expectations directly. I get the sense dokja feels somewhat entitled to yjh's predictability as a caricature of what he means to him rather than viewing him as a whole person at this point in time

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Not sure about name symbolism as far as orv goes but im curious what the hanja for syg's given name is, because it can mean either "deity" or "new" as i feel both are incidentally appropriate for the narrative here.

+ we see the idea of faith in other come up again; syg's recieves kdj's faith and returns her own in kind 🤔

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Me 🤝 Kim Dokja Slight Inconvenience

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Hiiii shin yoosoung.... haiiii 😁👋👋👋

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"Things That Can't Be Changed" is a rather aptly named episode. It's also the first time orv really digs into the implications of defying a narrative and in turn defying the institutions in place to maintain that narrative. This arc ends in tragedy and goes out of its way to show Kim Dokja (and consequently you, the audience) the grain of violence that he seeks to subsume. Sys's upcoming role in this fascinates me as well but i don't have very many coherent things to say on her yet