writing in a journal just isn’t the same as getting attention online for being insane
A friend requested that I post some ORV thoughts on Tone and Themes from discord. I have edited the messages for better organization and clarity below:
There are a lot of quotes that you could argue are the culmination or distillation of ORV. You could also argue that ORV itself is not reducible to a single quote because of the sheer enormity of it, and how that size is a component of the story itself. But if I were to convey the specific melancholy of ORV-- my most fundamental read on the Feeling of ORV-- I would choose one quote to do so.
I’d fall back on, “In a world turned upside down, where monsters were rampant, we still had to clear the snow.”
Throughout the immense battles of good vs evil or gods and demons, ORV remains a story about people doing the things they have to in order to continue living.
And there is a distinct melancholy to that: the grief stricken “is it just this forever,” everyone being a regressor, and the mundane tragedies of struggling on in a world that will build a narrative around you regardless of your input or desires. However, all of these things are part and parcel to ‘surviving’ in a ruined world
It's about taking those small steps forward, regardless of cataclysmic tragedy and world-rending stakes. You still have to clear the snow. You still have to take care of the people around you. You still have to cook dinner. You still have to live.
It's the melancholy of a 'nevertheless', and that's a hopeful kind of melancholy. Reaching out and trying again and again. Leaving a mark on the wall because someone might read it. Regressing so that one day you won’t have to. Iterating and changing and trying again and again. It’s about making attempts.
It's about finding ways to survive, even if you've forgotten a few.
So like when they discover OD and KDJ tries to kill himself is he like... going to shoot himself with a broken piston (?) or something. And YJH is going to catch the fucking bullet with his bare hands or
they were supposed to match
[ID: An Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint comic. Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung are standing together, both looking angrily in the same direction. Joonghyuk has little pigtails and a trans coloured scrunchie. He’s wearing a t shirt over his coat that says “I (Heart) My Bisexual… Wife + Husband”. Some text is cut off by his crossed arms, and the heart is the bi flag colours. Sooyoung is shouting with angry disbelief, wearing a matching t shirt that says “I (Heart) My Bisexual War Criminal Husbands” and a trans-coloured sweatshirt around her waist.
Kim Dokja is shown laughing like he’s pleased with himself. Action lines radiate off him, showing off that he’s wearing his usual coat with a shirt that says “Ally” and has the ally flag. End ID.]