#not to say Basil is a bad person for that of course

[cowardlychimera]

staring at Basil /j (psst read tags it's easier for me to ramble there)

#okay but for real. anyone else think it's interesting how black space entities or whatever seem to behave similarly to Basil #with the not wanting Sunny to leave thing #and no I don't think it's just about Basil btw the similarities also fit with Sunny too and his fight with problems with Mari #but it's likely the reason Sunny seemed so scared of Basil in game events was because of this #I'd be pretty scared too if someone was acting like the monsters in my nightmares.. #not to say Basil is a bad person for that of course #or that any of them are monsters #just thinking from Sunny's skewed pov #I don't think it's fair to decide who's actions are worse when they were both struggling #they're like 2 terrified animals if anything #okay ramble over #hope I was able to phrase all the properly </3 #chimera babbles

[thethirdromana]

A few people in the Dorian Gray Weekly tag have observed that Oscar Wilde doesn't make it clear what he wants us to think of Dorian. I'd like to dig into that a bit more, because I think it's true, and fascinating, and weird.

Because if you take everything so far at face value, then Wilde has made it abundantly clear that Dorian is a terrible person. His actions have resulted in a young woman's suicide. He has a visual record in his attic of his moral degradation and that record has become "evil". The picture is covered in "signs of sin", and it's pretty clear that Wilde means that literally. It's not just that Dorian is being spared the realistic physical consequences of his misdeeds, like bags under his eyes after a heavy night out. His sins, which he is unquestionably committing, are visibly altering the appearance of his portrait, like that Roald Dahl quote:

If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.

We don't know exactly what his sins are. But we know how they cause people to act around him:

It was remarked, however, that some of those who had been most intimate with him appeared, after a time, to shun him. Women who had wildly adored him, and for his sake had braved all social censure and set convention at defiance, were seen to grow pallid with shame or horror if Dorian Gray entered the room.

The only reason that there isn't more scandal around him is explicitly because he's rich and attractive. Not because there's any hint that he's sometimes a good person. While Wilde doesn't say "Dorian was evil and his portrait looked evil because he was an evil person who did evil things", he comes pretty damn close to it.

And yet...

Despite all that condemnation, it's hard to come away from reading this novel with the impression that Wilde is actually condemning Dorian's actions, as the commentary in the tag demonstrates. (Which is handy, because this is vibes-based analysis and tricky to prove otherwise).

I think there are two reasons for this. One is the lavish, indulgent descriptions of everything Dorian is doing. The details feel like they're shared in a spirit of appreciation, not judgement. Post-Sibyl, Dorian's crimes are presented in an innuendo-laden, nudge-nudge way that lets you imagine whatever level of debauchery you find titillating. (It's always fun to see where adaptations choose to draw the line here). Dorian's life is shallow, but it's vivid and luxurious - and more than a little enviable. And sometimes it's fun to read about rich people doing bad things!

(Of course, that means that the reader ignores Dorian's sins in favour of his wealth just like his acquaintances do).

The other reason is the weird relationship between Dorian's life and Oscar Wilde's own. Wilde puts what feels like an uncomfortable amount of himself into Dorian - the book that Dorian "could not free himself from", that contributes to his moral degradation, is one of Wilde's own favourite books. Wilde also lived an indulgent, hedonistic lifestyle that took him into sordid parts of London, where he did things that, once revealed, would see him shunned by society, some of which we would still judge harshly.

Wilde was writing for an audience who didn't know as much about his life as we do, but he was already an established celebrity when The Picture of Dorian Gray was published, so I think his readership would see an echo of Dorian's decadence in Wilde himself. Like Basil Hallward, he put a lot of himself into his art. Like Basil Hallward, it revealed more of him than he perhaps intended - but he did intend some of it.

I can't quite imagine writing a character who shares a lot of my interests and enthusiasms, plus some of the worst of my behaviour, and then explicitly describing that character as evil, but that's what Oscar Wilde did. Dorian Gray doesn't feel like it's written in a spirit of self-loathing, but nor does it feel like a demonstration of cognitive dissonance. So I'm no closer to figuring out what the hell is going on here. But for me, the chewy complexity of exactly how Wilde wants us to feel about Dorian - admiring, judgmental, condemnatory, detached - is a significant part of why I enjoy this novel so much.

#dorian gray weekly #oscar wilde #the picture of dorian gray #apologies to my followers for the tonal shift from beetleposting but this was taking up space in my brain and i needed to get it out #and i have an irrational dislike of queuing things

[andrewwtca]

the Aubrey problem (or how Omori's writing failed her)

Also available to read on Archive of our Own.

I really like video games. If the fanfiction, theory posts, and occasional essays weren’t enough, here’s me saying it—I really like video games! They’re a conversation between writing, art, music, and human interaction, between the player, the game, and the characters in them. Of course, not all games have all of that, some being only text-based, some being lifeless wastelands, but whatever they end up choosing to work with, they often do something amazing.

Sunny is one of my favorite protagonists in any realm of media—video game, movie, book—and he genuinely changed the way I view the world. Not just him, but the entire world built around him, Headspace and its charming inhabitants and the wondrous sights and music, the creative bosses that leave so much insight, the beautiful overworld that is Faraway and a nostalgic look into what we leave behind, and what we return to.

So that’s why I’m so disappointed I don’t like Aubrey.

This game blew my mind away when I first saw it—my first experience with the game wasn’t even my own playthrough, but sitting through a 20-hour longplay!—and I lost so many hours of sleep twisting and turning and trying to make peace with the grief it left me feeling. And after finishing, I realized that its flaws were plenty, but not enough to drag me out of my enjoyment. But Aubrey? Aubrey didn’t make me feel the way I knew she was supposed to.

That frustrated me, especially as I became a bigger and bigger fan of the game. I had no qualms about liking her archetype, the feminine bully with a tragic backstory, and yet I do with her.

As someone who craves literary analysis and in-depth looks into every media I consume, I just needed to know: what made me dislike Aubrey?

And after over two years of being a fan of the game, I’ve finally figured it out: it’s a good mixture of 1) lack of explanation, 2) rushed self-awareness, and 3) lackluster narrative choices. And I’ve found the words I needed to explain these concepts, so please join me on my messy journey to understanding what went wrong with Aubrey.

preface

If you’re an Aubrey apologist, this essay is not for you. I’ve heard plenty of arguments about why Aubrey was actually in the right, not limited to “Basil deserved it,” and, “Aubrey was hurting too,” so I’d like to begin by stating that Aubrey was a bully very clearly.

Rejecting the notion that she actively harmed others is rejecting a core component of understanding her character. Before we dive into her character and how the writing failed her character arc, I would like us all to be on the same page: she physically, verbally, and socially bullied Basil. It was not Basil’s fault, and it will never be a victim’s fault to get bullied. She is not the victim of her own crime, just like how Sunny is not the victim of Mari’s death, and Basil is not the victim of Mari’s hanging. We, as the player, are to recognize their responsibilities in their actions. The same must be extended to Aubrey.

Some people feel the need to deny this aspect of her character to justify her actions and/or justify liking her. Firstly, the purpose of this essay isn’t to villainize anyone for liking Aubrey. I’m simply analyzing what was attempted with her character and why it didn’t strike a chord with me and so many others. Secondly, as Kel wisely said, “Just because you did something bad, doesn't make you a bad person.” I’m not here to say that Aubrey is a bad person—no, nobody in Omori is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and labeling characters as such is taking away the nuance they possess. And I’m certainly not saying liking a character who did something bad makes you bad, either!

Liking Aubrey is in no way a problem (which makes me a tad bit sad that I need to clarify), and I’ll even go as far as to say kudos to you, but if you bend and twist to stop her from holding any responsibility for her actions, that’s when problems arise. Basil is a fictional character and won’t care if you think it was his fault he was bullied, but for the people around you who may have been in similar positions to him?

And lastly, I want to say that if you cite sexism as the reason people don’t like Aubrey… actually, this is the perfect transition into the analysis.

gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss

Femme bullies are not a new phenomenon. Perhaps it’s the break from the stereotypical sweet feminine girl that makes them so fascinating, using their femininity to not sing to animals or wish for a man, but pull down others and advance their status.

I, for one, adore the femme bully trope. Especially if they’re one who used to be extremely kind and underwent some sort of ‘fall from grace’ that led to a bastardization. But, as for all bullies, if they are left without a proper backstory and motivation, I’m turned off from them. Most humans are not mean just because they can be but rather are products of how they were raised. When these causes are ignored, the trope falls flat, and instead of being a good reconstruction, it’s a flat stereotype.

The best way to analyze this is by comparing Aubrey’s character to good examples of femme bullies in the past. Specifically, I’m picking my favorites: Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nanami from Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Sophie from The School for Good and Evil. I’m going to do a quick (and a bit sarcastic) overview of their characters in their respective media, but a quick warning for suicide in Asuka’s overview, and animal cruelty in Nanami’s.

Asuka is a pilot for one of the mechas, the Evangelion, and she always thought of herself as better than everyone. Well, of course, she would: she studied hard, worked harder than everyone around her, and she’s just naturally talented. And yet, she’s still always threatened by others and how they can ruin her status. Specifically, for the course of the show, she targets Shinji—he’s this nobody from nowhere who could suddenly pilot an Eva, while she had to fight her whole life to get here! How is that fair? And what has that asshole been through anyway? Did he have to see his mother’s corpse after she committed suicide as a small child? Did he fight for his mother’s love his entire life just for her to kill herself? Does he have to fight for male attention just so he isn’t thrown aside? No, of course not! So how is any of it fair?

Nanami is the sister to the wonderful student body president Touga, and she wants nothing more than his attention. And with her being the youngest of the cast, one cannot be mad at her for not understanding the severity of violence and finality of death, so her anger as a small child with a kitten whom Touga adored is also understandable. One simply cannot be mad at her for drowning it. So, of course, you cannot blame her for wanting to punish the ever-elusive Anthy and Utena, who Touga has become fixated on. What does Anthy or Utena have that Nanami doesn’t? They’re stupid girls, not Touga’s sister. No matter what, Nanami is going to win her brother’s affection (and in her pursuit, ignore how horribly he’s been manipulating her the entire time).

And Sophie is the Witch of Woods Beyond, capable of powerful spells beyond the imagination, from a place that few know of. And she wants nothing more than for her own fairy-tale ending—why do all the princesses around her get princes and castles and beautiful dresses, and she’s doomed to being hideous and alone for the rest of her life? Who decided that for her? She’s beautiful, after all, so she should be a princess! It doesn’t matter who stands in the way of her happily ever after; especially not if it’s Agatha, her lifelong best friend. No matter what, Sophie will not end up like her mother who died all alone, with her husband forgetting her and moving on. Sophie will be loved, no matter who she has to hurt.

What do they all have in common? Firstly, they’re all girls. As stated, femme bullies are different from masc bullies, especially as they reveal aspects of femininity and womanhood in general that many people—see, a male audience—will neglect to face, and overall uncover sexism that's still present in both media and society. Secondly, they’re all bullies, and they targeted someone in particular who they saw as detrimental to their happiness. And thirdly, they all had specific upbringings that conditioned them to have their ‘falls from grace’. What is this third, unidentified thing?

Mommy issues!

(Sorry, I know Nanami technically has a brother complex, but I just wanted to say mommy issues.)

A pattern has been developed with all of these girls. They all start fairly, what one can call, ‘feminine’ or at least, per standard stereotypes. They’re gentle and sweet and shine when needed. And they all have a ‘fall from grace’—a moment, or sequence of moments, that leads them to reject traditional femininity and embrace a more vengeful version of it. And a final moment, where they are faced with their opposite, who represents all that they do not have.

Asuka was sweet and kind and bubbly until her mother killed herself. After that, she dedicated herself to her studies and getting adult male attention through means of the over-sexualization of herself. And then, she began to bully Shinji.

Sophie was sweet and kind and bright until her mother died. After that, she idolized her mother’s false display of femininity and became obsessed with becoming a princess. And then, at the School for Evil, she began to bully Agatha.

Nanami was assumedly sweet—she deviates from this pattern slightly, being built off assumptions of a good past rather than showcases—until she was brought into this family and became obsessed with her brother and was manipulated by him. After that, she became desperate for his attention, fighting any other who could take it. And then, she began to bully Utena (and Anthy.)

While Nanami does deviate from this pattern, they all have clear origins. They were not bullies from the start. As aforementioned, in the face of an adversary, the majority of people do not turn to hurting one another. Something in their pasts, their ‘falls from grace’, was the foundation of their actions, what led them to believe what they were doing was okay. It’s not justification—it's a much-needed explanation. After all, if you do not understand, how can you empathize?

Still, you may fail to see my point. The game has lots of hints of Aubrey’s troubled upbringing. And that’s exactly what the problem is. These girls have clear origins while Aubrey’s is muddled.

Of course, I don’t expect Omori to have spoon-fed me details of her past. You can put the pieces together by walking through her home and seeing bottles laid on the ground. But, even in a game dependent on nuance and having the player put certain things together, it’s better to leave things out directly rather than to work a way around.

To build up a good femme bully, we need a good origin story. What happened to her that made her turn to violence? Why should we care? We know Aubrey probably had a troubled childhood. But the game doesn’t supply enough. It leaves too much to fill in the blanks. I know that Asuka saw her mother’s corpse, I know that Sophie was forced into a misogynistic viewpoint upon her mother’s death, and I know that Nanami was manipulated to hell and back. I know what these girls have been through so I know why they ended up walking their paths.

But the game simply doesn’t reveal enough about Aubrey. Fan speculation is not enough. Canon interpretation should not be confused with fan interpretation—according to the fans, Aubrey’s father is a deadbeat, and her mother is an abusive, neglectful alcoholic. According to the game? Aubrey’s dad is “strict”, and her house is an absolute disaster. The house is one of the biggest clues as to Aubrey’s childhood, and while some may praise this as ‘showing and not telling’, the game never tries to make workarounds for the other characters (which I will dig deeper into later). I can assume what happened in her house but it’s not my job to find ways to empathize with the character; that is the story’s job.

This is the first of Omori’s three sins and we haven’t even scratched the surface.

actions speak more than words, or something like that

I recently saw a post that I thought would make a good intro for this section. It’s an apologist post for Aubrey, discussing how the game did treat her with just enough harshness—that because she’s been beating herself up, because she’s suffered a public breakdown, because it took kindness to help her heal, it’s proof of her regret. There’s some good Basil blaming in there too, with a strange turn saying that she refused to leave Basil’s house because of her willingness to turn over a new leaf. And it ends with a weird claim that she was a “good person all along,” (implying an argument otherwise), but I’m not here to rat on that post.

Despite how frustrated the post made me, I am inclined to agree. It’s black-and-white to state that Aubrey didn’t change at all. If you compare her first Faraway appearance to her final scenes, she’s a completely different person. Which would've been nice if the change didn’t take two scenes.

Much like how I compared Aubrey’s backstory to that of other femme bullies, I’m going to compare Aubrey’s redemption to that of my favorite redemption story in all of media: Riku from Kingdom Hearts (the fact that I’m so in touch with his story may also explain some of my disappointment with Aubrey’s).

Riku starts off his journey on Destiny Islands. He’s always wondered what lies beyond his small home and dreamed of taking a sailboat with his best friends, Sora and Kairi. However, jealousy is an awful thing—Sora and Kairi are close. And it seems that Riku has been hearing about how they’re thinking of leaving him behind. So, he does what any teenager dealing with larger-than-life feelings does: he gives in to the magical Darkness and effectively kills everyone on the islands, separating him, Sora, and Kairi (don’t worry—everyone comes back.)

By the end of the game, he’s come to his senses, but it takes a lot of time. He fights with Sora a lot because he just knows, deep down, that he’s right and Sora is wrong, and if Sora would just listen…but no. Sora keeps abandoning him. So he has to work through that and all the feelings that accompany those abandonment issues, he has to work through the question of “What is even making me want to kill my best friend, anyway?”, and he has to work through “Wait…can I kill my best friend?” So, it takes a lot of time for him to get to his senses.

And then, he goes through hell. Literally and metaphorically. He dedicates himself wholly to making up for what he did. How? Well, he first identifies what he did wrong—he separated from his friends, he gave in to his jealousy, and he submerged his home in Darkness. He apologizes for it directly—although he doesn’t have a chance to speak with Sora right away, he's constantly apologizing for the fact that he gave in to the Darkness, so much that it became a running gag to some fans. He put up distance—he didn’t feel like he was owed forgiveness right away (or at all, but that’s a different matter) and didn’t stick at Sora’s side to wait for his best friend to forgive him. He worked hard to show that he’s changed—it would be a much longer essay if I attempted to explain the lengths he went through, but it’s not limited to allowing himself to be possessed, going to literal Hell, forcing himself into isolation, and enduring multiple handicapping injuries.

Long story short? He really, really tries to make it up to Sora. And when he and Sora finally talk (it took three years in real life, took perhaps a year in the game), Sora doesn’t even hesitate to forgive his friend…though it may be in part to Sora just being Sora. Nevertheless, Riku had earned that forgiveness.

And then, after that, Riku continues to give himself hell! He never stops to sweep what he did under the rug. It’s a part of him, after all, an ugly past but his past nonetheless. It does not define him but it cannot be forgotten, otherwise, he hasn't learned anything at all.

Deep breath. We talked a lot about Kingdom Hearts in an Omori essay. But it’s important to understand the sheer depth put into his redemption: identification, distance, and work.

What’s most frustrating about Aubrey’s arc is that fragments of this good writing exist, but that’s what they are: fragments. I would like it to be stated for the record that everything I explained for Riku’s arc wasn’t me creating speculation based on what the games said. It’s what the games literally came out and said. Aubrey however…

Identification—she apologizes to Sunny, Kel, and Hero by saying “I’m sorry, guys… I’ve been acting like such a jerk.” While I may give her grief for the usage of the word ‘jerk’ when perhaps a stronger, more evocative term would’ve done a better job, it’s certainly better than what she said in front of Basil’s door: "I just wanted to say that… I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you.” Completely separating herself from the issue at hand. 

Distance—none. She's immediately reintroduced to her old friend group, at a rate that ended up giving me whiplash the first time around. The question, “What about the Hooligans?” is never brought up, and things are back to how they always were, with no problems at all.

Work—Aubrey stayed the night at Basil’s house, wanting to make sure he was safe. To which, if you end up getting the neutral ending, you get the most insightful message of Aubrey’s arc (which is technically non-canon): “I'm so sorry, Basil. Please forgive me…” If getting the good or bad ending, her staying the night meant literally nothing, as Sunny’s fight took the reins.

These are fragments of a character arc. These are fragments of good characterization. While I praise Omori for how often it appears realistic, this kind of exponential growth simply isn’t. In what world, does someone who’s been bullying someone for four years, take less than two days to realize she’s been a bully and decide to change the entire course of her life?

While I could rat on Aubrey, this isn’t her problem. This is the game misreading what makes a good redemption. Redemption means work. It means effort. It is not a character simply changing their ways. Those characters feel cheap and empty—there’s a reason, after all, why the majority of fans always characterize Aubrey as the mean girl she’s shown to be when she first appeared in fan works. It’s because the ‘new’ Aubrey, the Aubrey buried under layers of hurt, hasn’t earned the right to exist.

The Riku I love in Kingdom Hearts III has earned the right to be angsty and gay and happy and his new self because he’s put in 17 years' worth of effort to become that person. It’s beautiful, it’s inspiring, it’s hopeful—you can make a mistake and go past it. It doesn’t define you. You can be forgiven. You can have hurt and have been hurt and still be worthy of love and loving.

The Aubrey at the end of Omori has not earned the right to be there, simply put. She’s the product of lazy, or ignorant writing, and it feels harsh to type out, but there’s no other way to describe it. Her self-awareness happened too quickly. She passes by Sunny’s house every day, sees Kel playing basketball every day, and could freely visit Mari’s grave whenever she wants—there were four years for her to change who she was. If Kel wasn’t able to give up his toxic positivity until the bitter end of the neutral ending, it’s quite hard to believe that a few hours of just talking made her change her ways. Especially considering that the Hooligans were characterized as her new, accepting friends, who love her and hear her out.

And again, the best fragment of an arc that could’ve been appears in the neutral ending! While it was not directly Aubrey’s actions that led Basil to take his life, it’s very impactful to see her begin to blame herself. It’s not right for her to blame herself—but that’s perhaps the only scene in the entire game where I really sympathized with her. It’s the only scene in the entire game where I truly saw that she wanted to change.

A quick note I wanted to pull out before finishing: the inclusion of the Hooligans. They were, again, fragments of an amazing arc. While they could’ve been a good way to show how kind Aubrey still is, they are thrown aside and mainly included in scenes where Aubrey is still being a bully. It’s in content outside of the game (see: Aubrey birthday comic) that they contrast Aubrey’s harsh exterior and show her sweet insides. But no, they’re underdeveloped and unutilized to make Aubrey’s arc feel doable.

There seems to be a very clear culprit to both this and the femme bully problem, and a solution that should’ve been considered more deeply.

rome wasn’t built in a day

There’s a loud rumor in the Omori fandom that Omori was originally supposed to take place over ten days rather than three days. While I’m not sure how much merit this rumor has, the fact that it exists leads me to my ultimate point:

Omori should’ve been longer.

Specifically, Omori should’ve taken place over a longer period.

EDIT: Before we continue, I just had an excellent conversation with a friend ( /ᐠ ._. ᐟ\ﾉ ). This solution only applies to if one is unwilling to change Aubrey's core character; essentially, the extent of her bullying. By making her someone who goes out of her way to torment Basil, significant screen time is going to be needed to properly unpack all that's been given. Making the base game ten days is only my opinion of the best choice, but there are other ways to solve this. However, the best course of action would be to change the extent of Aubrey's bullying on Basil—in other words, changing how Aubrey's anger presents itself.

For example, she would simply hold a grudge over what she believed was Basil destroying the photos, being extremely passive aggressive towards him. It would make a reconciliation between her and Basil, much, much more doable as well, perhaps him seeking her out in the first place in a peaceful manner to look for the photos. The lake scene could be an emotional explosion for her, perhaps finding out Basil just gave the photo album to Sunny, who is literally about to leave, and then pushes him into the lake. Then, the reflection she has next would fit what has tonally been established, seeming doable. She had, after all, been on good terms with Basil, even if for a little while.

By ‘lackluster narrative choices’, I am referring literally to the belief that Omori should not have been a game that took place in three days. I’m not here to argue about the game's mechanics—should Headspace have been that long? What is the point of a world created to serve as escapism, which should be fleeting moments of happiness, when it ends up being longer than the real world?—as much as I’m here to argue that this is a flaw of the game’s writing as opposed to a game design standpoint.

I’m not going to pretend I know how to make a video game. I’m enthusiastic about them, I follow their development and creation, and I strive to learn as much as I can about the ones that are dear to me, but I’m not going to pretend I know the first thing about making a video game. Omori’s development is one of the most infamous parts of its legacy, and the notion of extending the game would’ve only been another strain on the extended period between its announcement and its final release.

But, I know how to tell a story. Or, at the very least, I know what makes a good story. Now, the three days format of the game serves its other protagonists amazingly.

Sunny, whose arc mainly develops through the interfering ideas established in the real world and the ones previously established in Headspace, doesn’t need an extended time in the real world. His story takes place in his dreams, and the foundations of Headspace are already extremely insecure, based on the idea of covering up the truth. But when faced with a separate truth in reality, despite only a brief exposure, the lies created to protect Headspace fall apart. So Sunny’s arc does not depend on how long he spent in the real world.

Kel and Hero, on the other hand, have a very small arc. They are not flat and are very much dynamic when you compare how they started and how they ended up. However, the majority of their arc had taken place off-screen. The majority of their characterization does not occur through direct interaction with Sunny—we don’t learn about Hero’s depression because of him having a breakdown, but rather Kel discussing it. And in that same scene, we learn about Kel’s toxic positivity and the strain it’s taking on him, rather than through the game. This recontextualization is perfect for Kel and Hero. The change that occurred after Mari’s death is not easily seen by Sunny, and through it being slowly revealed instead, we learn the nature of their changes. Nonetheless, their changes occurred after Mari’s death and another change will occur most likely after the revelation of the truth—either way, their character arcs do not depend on the length of the three days. No amount of time would’ve changed them without Sunny revealing the truth (and as aforementioned, Sunny’s time was well spent in Headspace).

And finally, Basil. He's in the same boat as Kel and Hero, having an arc that occurs entirely off-screen. The difference is, however, the amount of emphasis the game puts on what happened to him as opposed to a few cutscenes with the brothers (though it is understandable, given his role as the game’s deuteragonist). His arc is a downward spiral, from an already unstable boy to an insecure mess who becomes obsessed with the sole idea of keeping his best friend safe. While it’s a progression of who he used to be, it’s development nonetheless, and it also happens off-screen. Given Basil’s fragile mindset, furthermore, the appearance of Sunny suddenly was enough to throw him off, given he was already planning on taking his own life. His rapid spiral into an even worse mess which leads to the fight between him and Sunny, therefore, is understandable. And, similarly to Kel and Hero, his real change will only occur after Sunny reveals the truth. Basil’s character development does not at all depend on how long the game would be.

The simple fact is that the other characters do not go through a drastic change on the days that Sunny comes out, and Sunny’s change was fueled by the existence of Headspace, not by the real world. The game taking place in three days does not affect the others. That is good storytelling. Using the game’s time frame to properly convey their arcs having occurred off-screen.

Aubrey, however, is not subject to that same praise. Her arc occurs on screen—while she descended to becoming a bully after Mari’s death, the arc we the viewer are supposed to acknowledge is her redemption. And three days just isn’t enough time.

The last two problems I covered, a lack of detailed backstory and a general lack of redeeming actions, lie in the same problem: the game went past those scenes far too quickly, as though Aubrey’s redemption is not essential to understanding her. It’s as though the game is trying to place importance on relationships and the joys of rekindling, rather than having to actually rekindle a relationship, having to put in the work. If the game had been slightly longer, Aubrey’s story could’ve been dealt with in a far more effective manner.

I am not Omocat, nor am I a part of the development team. I do not have the ideal solution for what could’ve been. I do, however, have a few ideas that I’d like you, my audience, to consider. How much do you think the game would’ve changed if it was ten days instead of three?

As already explained, Sunny, Kel, Hero, and Basil would not have had any significant difference if the game took place longer. Perhaps, there would’ve been a more natural awkwardness present that accompanies talking to someone for the first time in four years, but aside from that, the events of the game would’ve just taken longer.

Aubrey, however, would’ve had some actual thinking time. Her fight in the church would be her turning point, and her then isolation would feel like she had time to think things over. For a few days, Aubrey would have to be absent, and given the impression she left on the players, this absence would be heavily felt. It would be her return so much more effective, especially if she returns as someone who is unsteady due to their actions.

For the next few days, leading up to Aubrey deciding to stay the night at Basil’s house, we have the chance to know and forgive her better—perhaps, similar to Kel talking to Sunny about Hero’s depression, Aubrey can explain what it was like growing up in her household. Not as a defense, but as an explanation. She would do things with the rest of the group, and she would at a more natural rate, be integrated once again. And not just anything! She would actively help them with whatever the ten days would have to offer, and it would show that she is hurting over her actions.

And, finally, when she would decide to stay at Basil’s house, it wouldn’t feel like the game was just trying to have the cast together for one last moment, but it would feel like she’s trying to bridge the gap of all the hurt she created. When she would go to Basil’s door, it wouldn’t feel like the game was just trying to convince us to forget about her actions, but it would feel like she’s reflected and attempted a new leaf. And hopefully, the game would offer a more heartfelt apology, given more context and material to work with.

Four years of bullying can’t go away in ten days. But that’s not what the game was trying to argue in the first place—it wasn’t fully erasing Aubrey’s action, but trying to create the stepping stone for a way back. But the three days poorly argued her case, with a rushed and lacking version of redemption, and it made her ‘final character’ feel poor.

At the very least, ten days would have allowed the audience to empathize and begin to understand her. And, more importantly, it would’ve made sense that she understood the weight of her actions. And the Aubrey she became, whoever that girl would be?

She would’ve been so, so loved.

a little love in our lives

This has been on my mind for an awful lot of time. Sunny, as aforementioned, is one of my favorite characters of all time (if not my favorite), but the entire cast has a spot in my heart and is very dear to me. That includes Aubrey, but she benefits from association, which hurts me—I hate when girls in media are defined by their relationships with other guys. I wanted to get to the heart of why I couldn’t get her to stand on her own.

To summarize: Aubrey’s character was criminally mismanaged. Instead of it being a hopeful story of redemption, someone finally breaking the cycle of abuse and breaking free of her toxic household, seeking forgiveness by taking an active part in Basil’s healing, she is let off too quickly and makes all her further scenes feel twice as empty. The ideal solution would have been to have the game take place over a larger period, rather than a rushed three days, to allow the audience to empathize and relate to her.

Aubrey apologists truly astound me. I find so many flaws in her writing, and yet other people manage to see those flaws as perfections. I see people making very absurd, ableist arguments, and it makes me question the humanity of many fans, but I’ve always been intrigued by how many different perspectives there are surrounding her. I’ve seen some who relate to her because they were bullies or because they’ve been abandoned by others; so some valid reasons, and others very concerning. But it’s telling how our own experiences make us relate to different characters and help us understand why someone stands in the places they do.

…do you see what I did there? I started talking about relating backgrounds and how that benefits our understanding and— yeah, I suppose you understand, if you got this far (almost 6k words, you should be proud of yourself). If you’re still unfazed and believe that Aubrey’s writing was splendid, all the power to your fannish behaviors. But if I’ve opened your eyes a bit as to the flaws in her writing or if I’ve been able to explain your dislike of her, then I’m glad. It’s important to discuss things that didn’t stick the way they were meant to so that we can do better and we can learn.

Omori’s writing failed Aubrey. Some fans took that as a challenge. I’ve said before that canon interpretation should be separate from fanon interpretation, but I’d have to be heartless (Kingdom Hearts pun intended) to say that many fan’s interpretations didn’t get me to feel with her. I think Aubrey could’ve been brilliant, and while Omori didn’t fully capture that, a lot of fans did. So to everyone who makes art, whether it’s a drawing, a written work, a video, a song, an edit, or whatever, thank you for sharing it. Thank you for telling your stories.

I feel like writing these analysis pieces without connecting them to our own life experiences is pointless. So, to everyone else, please tell your stories. Tell your stories of redemption and love and forgiveness, because that’s what Aubrey’s story was meant to be about, and that’s what we all need in this world. Tell your stories, no matter what they are, because that is what ties us all together. We are made of stories and we return to them. We learn from them and we become better people. We become kinder—and we could all use a little more kindness in the world.

Thanks for reading!

#omori #omori meta #omori analysis #aubrey omori #media analysis #meta essay #literary analysis is my special interest #andrew's essays

[averagekanadekinnie]

I'm craving some angst right now so here it is.

This is the scenario:

The arguement still happened. But there was two witnesses instead. Basil and Y/n.

When Sunny pushed Mari out of the way, Y/n immediately ran upstairs. Causing them to get killed.

Thanks to Mari still being alive, she told the both of them to call the ambulance. Unfortunately, Y/n ended up in a deep coma and died months later.

How would Sunny and Mari react to this?

(Note: Sunny had a crush on Y/n and Mari sees Y/n as their little sibling.)

(OMORI) SUNNY reacting to Y/N’s sudden appearance on the day of the recital/coma/death

Featuring BASIL and MARI the most!

Small featuring HERO, KEL and AUBREY!

Type: Angst

Warning: Death, Coma, and of course OMORI SPOILERS.

Proofread: No.. sorry

Note: HOLY CRAP my first request, I hope I don’t disappoint!! <3

BASIL had asked you if you wanted to come with him to check up on SUNNY and MARI, since today is their recital.

"Oh hey Y/N! If you’re not busy, would you like to come with me to check on SUNNY and MARI before their recital? It’s okay if you don’t but.. everyone else is busy so.."

So yeah, obviously you agreed! Nothing wrong with that, yeah?..

…

OH BOY

You both were literally outside their house door when you heard a loud feminine voice, both of you recognizing it was MARI’s.

"Oh jeez, what’s happening in there..? Let’s take a look, Y/N.."

BASIL slowly opens the door, letting you go first before he does.

The fighting seemed to come from the other room, specifically the upstairs room..

So, being curious kids, you and BASIL walked over to check it out, poking out both of your heads before slowly walking in.

It seems like both MARI and SUNNY were too busy to notice you both so MARI kept yelling while SUNNY stayed quiet, looking down.

You and BASIL looked up at them in shock, mostly at MARI but then—

"Y/N, look..!"

BASIL pointed out the broken violen near you two.

Wait its— broken?!—

"SUNNY, how could you break it?! Do you know how expensive it was?! We all chipped in to buy for you, even Y/N! And yet you wasted it like it was nothing!"

MARI yelled out to her younger brother, yet SUNNY said nothing as he continued to look down at the ground, as if he wasn’t listening.

SUNNY broke it, but— why?!

The look on his face when he first got it for Christmas.. was it fake?

Did it really mean nothing to him?

"Y/N.. we have to do SOMETHING!! O-Or—"

You sprang into action, dashing up the stairs.

If you were gonna be honest, you were pretty angry at him.

But you just wanted answers..!

"W-Wait Y/N?! What are you—"

It all happened so fast.

SUNNY had enough and went downstairs the same time you ran upstairs.

When you both bumped into each other, SUNNY got upset, and without even knowning..

He pushed YOU down the stairs.

You obviously fell backwards, then landed on the broken violin.

Both MARI and BASIL were screaming your name, but it was all a blur.

…You didn’t say anything.

You weren’t even breathing.

SUNNY snapped back into reality, while MARI slightly pushed him aside to reach you.

Once she did, she lifted your upper body and sobbed.

She sobbed like she just lost a close family member.

You and MARI were close, really close! To the point where she would call you her little sibling as she gave you a ton of hugs.

"Aww Y/N, you’re my cute little sibling! I love seeing you happy!~"

SUNNY on the other hand..

God, he had a little— no, BIG crush on you!

Don’t let his stoic expression fool you, just by looking at you his expression softened, making a ":0" face!

Even if he’s bad at communication, he really loves talking with you, even if your conversations are one-sided with just you talking.

Only if you talk a lot though!

If you’re quiet like him, then it would just be both of you making eye contact without saying a word.

But that’s okay! Just by staring at each other’s eyes, one can understand each other’s feelings.

The eyes are windows into peoples hearts, as one person would say.

Plus, he LOVES giving you tiny gifts to show how much he cares.

You felt a pat on your shoulder, but as soon as you looked over, it was SUNNY looking away with a red face as he held a DANDELION close to you, hoping you would take his sweet gift.

O-Oh! SUNNY, you’re giving me a DANDELION?" He simply nodded, his face still red. You smiled as you took the DANDELION away from him, holding it close to you.

"Thank you so much, I’ll cherish it forever!"

Though you were too busy paying attention to the DANDELION to notice, SUNNY was slightly smiling.

He would always want to hang around you the most, inviting you to his house to watch him practice with his sister, getting you whatever you want at HOBBEEZ, he would do anything for you!

…But now..

You’re gone..

"BASIL, hold onto Y/N for me and keep checking their pulse! I’ll go get my phone and call an ambulance!"

"R-Right..! Their pulse, I think it’s still there..!"

Thankfully since MARI was there, BASIL wouldn’t think of anything insane like.. you know.

As I was saying, MARI was talking with the ambulance while SUNNY ran over to your body.

He was in denial, you’re not dead!

You’re just.. sleeping for now right?

BASIL could only looking at him with guilt.

"The ambulance is coming, oh my god please don’t be dead Y/N.. BASIL, do they still have a pulse?"

"Y-Yeah!.. Yes they do.. thankfully.. hang in there, Y/N, help is coming!.."

Yeah, SUNNY really doesn’t want to believe you’re dead.

But thankfully you’re not though, as long as you still had a pulse right?

"They’re sleeping, right? They’re not dead.."

SUNNY spoke quietly as he kept shaking your body gently, as if he was trying to wake you up from a nap.

"Hey.. Y/N.. wake up.. please.."

MARI gently pulled him aside to talk with him.

"SUNNY, they’re not sleeping! They’re unconscious, because—" MARI stopped before breathing in and out to calm herself down. "Listen, Y/N is gonna go to the hospital and hopefully they’ll be better, okay? So don’t worry, everything is going to be okay."

SUNNY slowly nodded to his sister, before crying on her shoulder, realizing what he had just done.

He basically killed his crush.

MARI comforted him until the ambulance arrived to take you away.

MARI, SUNNY, their parents, and BASIL were already at the hospital when HERO, KEL, their parents as well and AUBREY heard the news and came as fast as they could.

Everyone was worried sick, even your parent guardian(s)!

AUBREY and KEL were crying their eyes out, MARI trying to comfort them, HERO wiping some tears away, BASIL in literal shock as he stared into the floor, and SUNNY..

Oh jeez SUNNY is having it worse.

SUNNY was crying onto your body as it laid on the hospital bed.

He’s quietly apologizing for what he’s done, hoping once you wake up you’d forgive him.

Everyone did their best trying to comfort him but it was unsuccessful.

Of course everyone was relieved you’re not dead (right now) and just in a coma.

But they’re still worried! You’re just a kid, you don’t deserve this!

Everyday, the group would visited you and give you little gifts.

AUBREY would just stare at you as she cried, hoping you’d wake up like everyone else was hoping.

"Please Y/N! Please wake up, everyone is so worried about you, even me! I’ll let you play with MR. PLANTEGG like old times!.. Just— Sniff.. sniff.. WAAAAAH!!"

BASIL would place a pot of a flower that reminds him of you next to you and waters it every time he visits, telling you all the facts about the said flower.

"You know Y/N.. the flower reminds me a lot of you..! Which is why I picked it, hehe.."

"…"

"I’m so sorry for inviting you that day.. if— if I didn’t, you would still be awake and happy and— sniff sniff.. I’m just— so sorry Y/N..!"

KEL and HERO would talk to you about their day and how KEL made it chaotic.

"Yeah, and KEL wouldn’t stop barking back at HECTOR! It’s like he could understand dog language! Haha..!"

"Well, HECTOR started it! He wanted to start a dog argument so I’ll give him what he wants! Hmph!"

"…"

"I hope you wake up, Y/N, then maybe you can have a dog fight with HECTOR too.. haha.."

"And I could laugh at you two.."

MARI would hum the music she was gonna play at the recital that day to you, hoping that can wake you up.

"I really wish they had a piano here, so I can play you the song again!.. I just hope I won’t mess it up for you, Y/N, heehee!"

"…"

"Y’know.. I really hope humming would wake you up, but that’s just silly isn’t it? This isn’t a Disney movie after all, where the problems would just disappear if the princess sings, haahaa.."

And oh boy.. SUNNY..

SUNNY would be talking up a STORM to you, which is so surprising, even for him.

Sometimes when he visits, he’d either talk a lot about his day or just simply cry on you.

He just

He just misses you bro

"You know, sometimes I wish this was all a movie.. remember SLEEPING BEAUTY? Like when the princess was sleeping eternally until the prince came and kissed her and she woke up? I wish that could happen with me and you.. I wish— I wish this never happened.. I just want you back Y/N, please.. please forgive me for pushing you, I swear I— I swear I didn’t mean it..! Please, Y/N..!"

To make this whole thing worse, you unfortunately passed away..

When everyone heard the news, they all cried, especially MARI, BASIL, and SUNNY.

If only they could’ve prevented it happening.

The funeral was filled with guilt, depression and sadness.

Literally everyone cried.

SUNNY did the most.

After four years, everyone is still pretty upset.

SUNNY has had it worse.

Like in the original game, he would shut himself out.

But sometimes he would come outside, because MARI is still there.

But now she’s at college with HERO, so he’s stayed in his bed for those years.

KEL would try getting him outside, sometimes AUBREY and BASIL would help out too..!

Oh yeah, everyone is still okay with each other after 4 years.

But since KEL was the first to accept your death, AUBREY was sort of pissed off at him that he moved on, but BASIL talked with her so I guess they’re fine.

Unless MARI would visit and get him out herself, SUNNY will literally stay inside all day, on his bed.

For headspace, everything is still the same.

MARI would still be a save point, but this time you’re with her as one too!

To make sure you’ll never be harmed, of course.

OMORI would be extra nice to your HEADSPACE counterpart, always sitting to you whenever him and the gang took a break to have a picnic.

Since MARI didn’t die, OMORI’s SOMETHING would NOT resemble MARI, but you.

But however, since REAL WORLD BASIL didn’t stage your death as.. yeah, but was still there the day of the incident, his HEADSPACE counterpart will still go missing.

MARI will be more.. quiet when BASIL goes missing.

So when SUNNY actually opens the door for KEL, AUBREY and BASIL, they’ll all try to hang out, for your sake right?

And thankfully since MARI is still alive, their parents won’t be divorced and they won’t move away so they have all the time in the world!

So when MARI and HERO visit, they all have a picnic next to your grave, all of them imagining you’re still here.

SUNNY would make sure he’d sit the closest to your grave like old times when he’d tried to sit next to you.

Once everyone comes to terms with your death, it’ll be a lot better! Everyone’s always visiting your grave though! Talking to your grave as if they were talking with you!

The grave reads:

Y/N L/N

"Their sun shined brighter when they were here."

Their sun referring to SUNNY, who still loves you till this day.

SUNNY will never fall in love again, he felt like he would betray you if he did.

#omori #omori sunny #sunny omori #omori x reader #omori sunny x reader #omori sunny x reader angst #angst #sunny x reader #i hope i did great!! #HOW DARE you start off with angst asker /J /J #coughs sorry if i make some of these characters ooc

[girlfromthecrypt]

i really love that your characters aren't like perfect and conventionally attractive if that makes sense? like basil having top surgery scars and just BEING trans and still being someone who's implied to be attractive, or small stuff like flo not being super toned idk it just makes me feel really happy that for once it's an IF whos potential romantic interests aren't "bland actual fucking supermodel", "bland actual fucking supermodel but with red hair" and "bland actual supermodel but 5'10"

sorry for rambling it's just like a game where I feel comfortable, that like in universe I wouldn't be given shit about what I look like y'know

also I liked Basil's joke about the MC (I assume this is only when picking the short option) being the same size as some of the kids. it made it feel like friendly and real

THANK YOU I'm serious this particular thing means so much to me.

I very much intend for my characters to be attractive, but each in their own way, not like the "bland supermodels" you described. Bc that's so real. In most romance fiction (not just IFs), I find that sooo many characters are just boringly beautiful. I have a hard time falling in love with the characters bc of that.

Also, I want each of my ROs to look according to what they do. Their appearance should suit their personalities and needs. Besides, "flaws" totally add to a character's charm imo.

-RO ramble incoming!-

To me at least, the SHC ROs are very attractive, but like in a normal, approachable way. I put a lot of thought into their specific kinds of attractiveness.

Basil is very attractive!! In a fox-like, impish kind of way, with his fairycore vibes and whatnot. I also love that you said "supermodel but 5'10" like 5'10 is short or sth lol. But I see what you mean! Basil, of course, is like 5'8 but I like to think anyone who meets Basil would be too distracted by the entire rest of him to even consider height. Besides, to me (I be gremlin) that's still kinda tall.

I figure being trans doesn't really factor into his attractiveness at all. From your ask, it sounds like trans people get described as ugly in a lot of fiction?? I wouldn't know, but if that's what you were saying, then that's a sorry state of affairs.

Flo is also attractive, in more of a "conventional masculinity"-type of way. But he's not well-dressed because he hates the feel of most fabrics, so he's only ever in his sweater. And of course he's not super defined! He has NO interest in being super handsome (aside from keeping his hair and beard shiny). He wants to be a tank. And he is a tank.

And if you consider how much food he consumes in the fairground-sequence alone (cheesecake, around five deep fried candy bars).... Yeah he loves to eat. Hence, he's got a bit of padding lol. There's no technical reason for the large nose ofc, I just thought that was cute.

Reem is the most "supermodel"-esque out of the ROs, I think. Although that's subjective. She's actually toned, but like... also very noticeably muscular. In that defined kinda way I might have intentionally avoided with Flo! But like, it makes sense that Reem would build abs and stuff for herself. She values her stage presence. She does want her performances and looks and outfits to be memorable, and HERSELF to be memorable. She's just raw, brutal magnetism. (Also I might have gotten inspired by BG3 Karlach when I first came up with Reem.)

Anita is pretty, too, but in like... a "cute" way. A Velma kind of way. With her, like, really thick glasses. Anita's appealing in a wispy, ethereal kind of sense. Or perhaps even slightly girl-next-door-ish, with an added academia vibe. Also, she's slim, not model-slim but "I forgot to eat/I'm stressed and have no appetite"-slim. This is really important to me. Will come up in the story, too. With that also comes her bad posture. She slouches a lot.

So yeah the ROs' attractiveness is rly something I put thought into, and I'm super happy you noticed. Makes my entire day whenever I get an ask like that. Thank you!

Also yeah hehe I was proud of that joke

#if: such happy campers #romanceable characters #ro rambles #kind asks #I went wayyy off the rails here

[coinandcandle]

Rule of Thumb for Learning Witchcraft

This post is not for those who create witchy content, but rather for those who consume said content.

Not every tumblr post is an educational post. Sometimes people are just sharing their experiences.

Of course it'd be nice if everyone could clarify whether a post is educational or not but with the amount of posts that witchblr sees in a day that'd be too much to ask of every single blogger.

So a good rule of thumb when navigating tumblr:

If you don't see someone saying that a post is educational or informative then don't assume it's educational or informative.

It's very likely someone is simply sharing their experience. If you aren't sure if the post is meant to be educational then you should just ask, I don't know of many bloggers who would be upset by the question "Is this meant to be an educational post or a post about your personal opinion and experiences?".

If someone says that a post is educational it’s perfectly acceptable to ask for their resources if they aren’t provided.

If they share incorrect information (and you have the energy for it) then it’s also perfectly acceptable to politely correct them and share the correct information. 

I want to share some examples:

Opinion or personal experience: I prefer basil rather than mint for prosperity spells.

-> This is someone sharing their experience with a type of spell and the herbs they've used in said spell.

Fact: Humans have been using herbs for mystical and magical purposes across cultures since even ancient times and many of these herbs have different correspondences based on the culture.

-> We have texts and traditions backing this statement that can be easily found.

Opinion or personal experience: Artemis enjoys chamomile tea as an offering.

-> This person's personal experience with Artemis shows that she enjoys chamomile tea. However, this is not something we can prove nor is it something we can render invalid.

Fact: In ancient Greece, deities were often offered honey or olive oil. Artemis in particular was offered locks of one’s hair as well as animals from a hunt.

-> We have writings from those who lived during ancient Greece to back this up. Solid resources for this can be searched for fairly easily.

Facts are something we have evidence for. Opinions and personal experiences aren’t rendered invalid in light of these facts, but it’s generally in bad taste to try to teach your personal experiences as facts.

TL;DR

Rather than looking for a statement saying that a post is an opinion/ post about personal experience, it’s better to assume that if you don't see someone saying that their post is educational then you shouldn’t see it as trying to be educational or informative.

#thoughts from coin #tips #witchy tips #baby witch tips #beginner witch #learning witchcraft #beginner witchcraft #researching witchcraft #witchblr #new witch

[morrak]

Untitled Wednesday Library Series, Part 146

Long overdue: Tar for Mortar: The Library of Babel and the Dream of Totality (which book you can read for free here) published in 2018 by Punctum Books as written by Johnathan Basile (whose website you can read for free here).

The How

Until a few minutes ago, I had it in my head that this has been on my shelf for, like, eight or nine years. Apparently it's only been six. Hmm. At any rate, I don't remember how I found it. I do recall this print copy being much cheaper than the publisher's current $19 tag.

I might've found a link myself on Basile's (to me) classic project libraryofbabel.info, but that dates back to 2015 and I couldn't say whether I was checking it when the book released. Maybe word of mouth? Doesn't really matter.

The Text

An exploration of Borges' classic (to lots of people) 'La Biblioteca de Babel' (an English translation of which you can read for free, e.g., here), more or less. Of course Basile is not the only person to have done such a thing, but he is the only person to have built a working proof of concept. This book is motivated by, though only partially about, that task.

This reads and thinks more or less like you'd expect from someone with the requisite interests and a background in comparative literature, by which I don't intend to mean anything especially good or bad. Thoughtful, broadly founded, and possessed of a good eye for irony. Of the recent Borges discussion I've read, this sets out to have — and actually has — the clearest head.

Lots of fun and extensive footnotes including the likes of links to the author’s stashes of unpublished/out of print translations by Borges’ frequent collaborator Norman Thomas di Giovanni. The PDF version is, for this and other reasons, maybe the better option.

The Object

Very handy, and it ought to be so. Although it's only 98 pages at 12.5 by 20 cm, it has some presence. Maybe not striking, exactly, but it fills space and the hand alright. A $19 paperback had better.

Small type, smallish (sorry, web-optimized) illustrations, and some interesting choices with header spacing, but overall pleasant and readable. I did some shockingly sloppy work on it with some self-adhesive reinforcement, but it's held up well in spite and because of that.

The Why, Though?

I really like a project retrospective; I really like hearing what people think their projects mean; I really like it when even those things don't seem like enough to get it out of someone's system. I only somewhat care about the conclusions this comes to about Borges and the (in)finite. I mostly just think it's neat.

#images #untitled wednesday library series

[sixpossumsinatrenchcoat]

Talking to Ghosts

A postgame Omori epilogue exploring the way each member of the gang would cope after learning the truth. This time, Kel takes the wheel.

After Sunny gets into his mom’s car and leaves Faraway for good, Kel sits on his porch and Doesn’t Think About Anything. 

It isn’t easy. Kel just had one of the craziest nights of his life. Everything Sunny said in that hospital room is bouncing around in his brain like one of those DVD screensavers. Except instead of a tacky color-changing logo, it's the worst thing he ever heard. 

Luckily, Kel is very good at this game. He kicks off his shoes and digs his toes into the dirt. He plucks blades of grass and shreds them into spindly little threads. The bloody wreckage of Sunny's eye keeps surfacing in his mind, but it's way more fun to think about what he could IM Sunny about, now that Sunny has AIM. It’s even nicer to remember how tight Sunny hugged him before he left. 

…Man. It's dumb, ‘cause it’s not like he didn’t already, but. Kel is really gonna miss that guy. 

The sun climbs higher in the sky. The clouds scud by in no particular hurry. By the time the cool of morning heats to day, Kel is feeling sort of normal, actually. 

So, of course, that’s when Aubrey shows up. 

“Sunny,” she spits. 

Kel does a double-take. “Wh— Huh?? Where???”

“No, you fucking moron, I’m asking. Where the fuck is Sunny.”

Right. Classic Aubrey. Skipping straight to ‘physical violence’ is an insane first resort, but it’s par for the course, for Aubrey. When Aubrey feels bad, she can’t just hide it, like Hero, or swallow it, like Basil, or—freaking—think about literally anything else, like Kel. Aubrey would rather forge her hurt into a warhammer and swing it at anyone dumb enough to get close. 

They’ve had this fight a million times already. At this point, Kel could do it in his sleep. 

Even after all this time, he can’t help letting Aubrey piss him off. But he does manage to bail out before she can break all his bones with her nail bat, so. That’s probably personal growth. 

Kel gets all pissed off and stomps off and then stops being pissed off, because he hates being pissed off. He’s always hated feeling angry. It feels like poison in his blood. He doesn’t get how so many people can do it so much of the time. Why would you choose to feel bad when instead you could just… look at something else?

###

On his way inside, Kel blunders right into Hero.

“O-Oh! Sorry, bro!” 

“All good,” Hero says automatically. Reflexive. His eyes are rimmed with red, but he obviously doesn’t plan on talking about it. “You okay?”

Kel has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Clearly, Hero is taking the news way, way, way worse than anyone. (Including Aubrey, who is currently, actively committing property damage about it). But of course he’d rather die than say so. 

“Totally,” Kel reassures him. “All good.”

###

It was the same when they were kids. 

Oh, Hero acts like he never gets mad. He acts like he’s too grown-up for that kind of thing. He’s even pretty good at it. He’s got Aubrey fooled, and Sunny. And obviously their parents (not that that one was much of a challenge. Mamá and Dad would believe anything if Hero was the one who said it). 

But Hero could never fool Mari. Mari was sharp, like Sunny. Perceptive enough to smell the lies on your breath. If you were hiding something, she could always draw it out of you. She’d soften Hero up with teasing and flattery and then hit him in his weak spot at the exact right moment, the perfect jab at the perfect angle to split him open like a fish. The good cop and the bad cop, all in one. 

Kel used to hear them sometimes. Once in a blue moon, when Hero and Mari were sure that no one was listening, they would even let their hair down a little. Take off their disguises and let themselves be less-than-perfect for a change. Sometimes it was Hero who was crying, and sometimes it was Mari. Sometimes both of them at once! 

But most of the time, they weren’t crying. They were pissed. 

Like in fourth grade, after Kel’s practice got rained out. Kel was soaking wet and past exhausted. All he wanted was to lie down and close his eyes and not even think about the stupid math test that he definitely flunked this morning. 

He was already reaching for the door when he heard the voices: pitched low and stretched taut, like a rubber band about to break. 

“—even matter!!” Hero was whispering. “If I’m too busy, it’s my fault for not helping; but if I do tutor him—instead of studying for my own finals!! By the way!! Which I really need to be doing!!!”

“I’m familiar with the concept,” Mari said drily.

“—then it’s still my fault for—what? Not helping well enough? I mean, what??? What do they expect me to do? Freaking… crawl inside his head and make him smarter?” 

Mari snickered. “You could hide a walkie-talkie in his hat. Like that Spongebob episode where he goes to driver’s ed.”

Hero huffed a tired laugh. “I just don’t get what they expect me to do. I’m not the one who still can’t do long division in fourth grade.” 

Kel froze with his hand on the doorknob. Okay. Yeah. He wasn’t sure for a second, but—yeah. They were definitely talking about him. 

Some people would probably pick a fight about it. Some people (cough, cough, Aubrey) would storm in guns a-blazing. And where would that get her? All the mean stuff she heard would still be in her head. Nothing would change, except that everyone would know that everyone knew that everything was worse than it looked. Kel didn’t want any part in it.

He backed away from the door. He backed all the way down the hall, and halfway down the stairs. Then—louder this time—he stomped up the steps and burst through the door to their room.

“Oh!” Hero looked very briefly panicked. “H-Hey, little bro! Short practice today?” 

“Uh huh! We got rained out! But look!!!” Kel bared his teeth, showing off the ragged hole where his canine used to be. 

Hero turned faintly green. 

“Grooossss!” Mari giggled. “Did you twist it out yourself?”

“Uh huh!”

She ruffled his hair. “You’re so cool, Kel. Don’t ever change, okay?”

Kel grinned up at her, gap-toothed and beaming. “You got it!!”

###

But everyone changes.

###

Kel opens his eyes in Basil’s room. 

It’s not how he remembers. Basil’s room used to be wall-to-wall leaves and vines and memories. Now it’s vacant. No photos. No sticky note reminders. None of Sunny's sketches on the walls. Just white paint and beige carpet and a pool of inky dark, slowly swallowing the floor. 

In real life, Kel wasn’t here for this part. He had to hear about it from Aubrey while they huddled outside the ICU, clutching each other’s hands hard enough to cut off the circulation and taking turns telling each other that it was going to be okay. But Kel’s brain must not know that. Because this time, he can see everything.

Basil kneels over Sunny’s chest. Sunny’s face is eyeless mush. A mangle of ground meat. 

There’s a blur of motion as Hero tackles Basil against the wall.

“Kel!” he bellows. He kicks the shears across the floor. “Kelsey! Now!!”

Oh. This is where he comes in. 

Kel jerks around to stare at Hero, who’s got Basil pinned by the throat. “Wh–What?”

“Hold him!!”

“Huh???” Basil isn’t even struggling. He's just dangling there. Bleeding.

“NOW!!”

On his way across the room, Kel almost trips over something on the floor. A body. Sunny’s. But Sunny was sleeping in the living room. Why would Sunny be on Basil’s floor? 

Kel looks closer. 

Sunny’s face is red. Sunny’s hair is slicked flat and his face is all red, only red without any eyes at all. His face is torn red and he’s—moving. He’s moving. He’s awake. He’s bleeding out and he can feel it happen because he’s still awake. 

Sunny looks at Kel without any eyes. Red sputters through his teeth. “Khrrrh—”

###

Kel wakes up gasping. Scrambles for his phone before he remembers that he doesn’t have Sunny's number. Does Sunny even have a phone? Would Kel even know if he did?

He stumbles downstairs to the family desktop. Sunny’s online. Big surprise. Sunny is always online, and never answers. 

Kel is so freaked out, he almost types, ‘Hey, are you okay?’

‘Hey, Sunny! Sorry, I don’t want to stress you out, but I’m really scared. I’m really scared for you Sunny. I can’t stop feeling like something bad is going to happen. I can’t stop dreaming that something bad is going to happen. But they don’t feel like nightmares. They feel like visions. Premonitions.’

‘Hi Sunny. Long time no see, haha. Hey, weird question: are you okay? Are you hurt? Please tell me if you’re hurting but please please PLEASE don’t lie. Sometimes I get so scared you’re going to die. Are you going to die? You have to tell me if you’re—’

Kel doesn’t type any of that stuff. 

He types, snnyyyy! u up? lol

He types, cant sleep haha

He types, wanna sneak out 2 hobbeez? ;) ;) ;)

Sunny doesn’t answer. Because he lives three hours away, and because he never answers. Whatever it is that Sunny wants, it’s obviously not to go to fucking Hobbeez.

Kel types, misss u bro. gna try 2 sleep. wishme luck :/

###

When he pads downstairs, he’s met with the hissing crackle of frying eggs.

“Mo~rning!” his mom sings out. “Thought I’d make breakfast, since it’s your brother’s last day!”

Right. Hero heads back to college tomorrow. Kel knew that. “Heck yeah! Can I help?”

“Vaya, vaya! I don’t need any more mess! Oh, and your friend got home from the hospital. You should go say hi! I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”

“My—” Kel sputters, before he remembers that she couldn’t possibly be talking about Sunny. Sunny lives three hours away. “Who??”

“The little blanquito. Que siempre parece como conejito mojado.”

Well, that’s definitely not Sunny. Which means that, by ‘hospital,’ Mamá meant ‘psych ward.’ Specifically, the wing for kids who tried to murder their best friend.

Kel’s eyes unfocus a little. The last time he saw Basil, it was—

(—pinned to the wall with Hero's elbow pressed into his throat. Beads of red dripping from his fingers. Even later, blanched and bloodless on the gurney, Kel could still see the blood crusted under his—

Basil wasn’t even very badly hurt, after. It looked a lot worse than it was, but that’s just ‘cause all his wounds were on his face. It’s not like Sunny’d had any way to defend himself. Just his own two hands. At worst, the marks might have got infected from all the grime under Sunny’s unwashed nails.)

“You should go see him!” Mamá says encouragingly. “I’m sure he’d be glad to see a friend.”

…Right. That’s what Kel is. A friend.

###

Basil really is back. He’s coming to school and everything. It’s—weird.

Not bad. It’s not bad. It’s just that talking to Basil is— Um. It’s sort of like playing a videogame about talking to Basil. Like Kel is watching himself from outside-in.

It was the same after Mari. Kel couldn’t wrap his head around why she did it. He couldn’t even stand to think about why she did it. So, he didn’t. He spent months on autopilot. Controlling his body remotely, like a mech pilot or something. ‘Press A to get out of bed.’ ‘Press B to put on your clothes.’ ‘Press X to bring your brother another meal that you both know he isn’t going to eat.’

“K-Kel?” Basil says again.

“Haha, sorry! Guess I spaced out for a second. I just wanted to say that it’s, uh. You know. It’s good to have you back! And if you ever need anything—someone to talk to, or to back you up if someone’s messing with you, or whatever—just, like, let me know.”

Basil doesn’t look up. He just keeps fidgeting with his fingernails, chewing a scab on his lip that’s already started to bleed. He obviously isn’t convinced.

“Hey, c’mon!” Kel whacks him on the arm, making Basil flinch. “You know we’ve got your back. If anyone gives you a hard time, you tell them to talk to me.”

If anything, Basil looks even less convinced. “...R-Right. Um. Thank you. I’ll… do that.”

Kel has to stop himself from scowling. He’s aware that he’s fucking this up. He just doesn’t understand why.

For a few years there, Kel was pretty sure that he was a good friend, at least. If nothing else. Now it turns out he couldn’t even get that right. In the end, it’s like everything else. No matter how hard he tries, it never seems to be enough.

What is it about friendship that he isn’t getting? Isn’t being friends just, like… hanging out, and going on adventures, and having a good time and stuff? Why is everyone so determined to make it into this big exhausting thing?

###

Kel is hanging out on Sunny’s porch again. Though technically it isn’t Sunny’s porch anymore. The For Sale sign is gone, so the sale must have gone through. But no one’s actually moved in yet, so. Not like there’s anyone to kick him out.

Kel isn’t moping, if that’s what you think. Being here is just a habit. Somewhere he goes to be alone. If anyone saw him here, they’d feel too awkward to approach.

…With one obvious exception.

Aubrey stalks across the lawn with her bat slung over one shoulder. The storm brewing in the air frizzes her hair to angry spikes. As usual, she doesn’t mince words.

“Are you seriously still doing this?”

Kel buries his face in his hands. “Why are you still so mad at me?”

“Why do you think?”

Thunder rolls. Lightning rends the sky, a violent gash in the dark.

“I don’t know!!” Kel shouts, too-loud in the ensuing quiet. “That’s why I’m asking!!”

Just for a second, Aubrey’s bat lowers. “...Are you actually fucking stupid? You totally iced me out. For years. In the worst time of my life.”

“I already apologized for that!!”

“I don’t care,” Aubrey snarls. Her goodwill has officially run out. “That doesn’t do anything! I’m not gonna get any less mad until you make it make sense!!”

Kel grimaces. “It’s— It was just…”

…It’s just that she was being so awful. At home, Kel was swallowed up by the black hole of Hero’s grief. And the second he clawed his way out into the light, there was Aubrey, choking, totally coming apart. Kel just wanted to feel okay for two seconds. Was that really so much to ask?

Wasn’t it bad enough that Mari was gone? Wasn’t it enough that Sunny left with her? There were plenty of times when Kel couldn’t get away from it. When he had to lock himself in the shower to keep from breaking down. But did it really have to be all the time? Always? For every second of every day?

Kel couldn’t even laugh at a joke without feeling like a jerk. Like feeling okay for a second was an insult. (Not to Mari, obviously. Mari was like Kel: she found the fun in every moment. Mari would be thrilled to see him whoop after landing a free throw, or laugh because a butterfly landed on his juice-stained shirt. And she’d hate how Hero and Aubrey were acting. So why was Kel the only one who was wrong?)

“I gotta go,” he mutters, jerking to his feet.

Aubrey barks a cold laugh. “Yeah. That’s what I thought.”

You can read Kel's chapter here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43929270/chapters/123048562

Or start from the beginning: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43929270/chapters/110454879

#omori fanfic #omori suntan #omori photobomb #omori kelbrey #omori epilogue #true end #this shit is effectively therapy (but only for me) #omori spoilers

[batmanfruitloops]

I decided to share a bit of backstory on Basil, and that includes his girlfriend, Gem!

I won't say that Basil had a particularly bad relationship with his father, but his dad projected a lot of pressure onto Basil to be perfect and never let anyone see the "monster" that truly dwells inside oneself. Because of this, Basil always showed off the best parts of himself, never really letting himself express any negative emotions that he felt. This also meant that he never formed any genuine connections with his piers, despite being a total socialite and growing up popular in school.

This perfectionism affected Basil on a deep level, as they believed that nobody would love them if they were to be honest about their feelings. On a bit of a side note, Basil was bitten by a neighbor's dog when he was younger, hence the scars near his left eye. He's deeply insecure about them and tries to keep them covered up.

Basil's father was also a film actor, and Basil wanted to follow in his footsteps. Along with this, Basil always took theatre classes in school, never landing leading roles, but consistently receiving supporting ones. This continued on as Basil grew up, moving from primary education classes to Gotham's university and community theatre. This also happens to be where they met Gem, who was a theatre tech, mostly working on makeup, and helping with costuming.

Gem is the closest person that Basil has been to ever, especially because of her laidback but bubbly nature, making it easier to spend time with her and transition to dating. Still, Basil's fear of his self image means that he's not as open with Gem as she'd like. She won't pressure him, but it bothers her to know that Basil is lying her to face whenever she asks if he's okay. The best she can do is continue to try and break down the barrier that he put up to protect himself,

Basil also gets so absorbed into the roles that he plays, it can be easy to forget that Basil has a personality outside of who he's playing. Of course they're their own person but, nobody really knows who "that" is.

-Sarsee

#batmanfruitloops #anewgothamau #batman #dc #batman villains #batman rogues #dc fanart #gotham rogues #clayface #basil karlo #gem karlo #batmanfruitloopslore #klaykiln

[mossnrocksnbogwater]

thinking about Kel’s grief-- its just. it’s interesting to me as a neurodivergent person. Kel gives Extreme Neurodivergent Vibes and the way that he grieved Mari’s death only really enhances those vibes. I’m not sure about other people’s experiences, of course, but I have noticed that neurodivergent people I’ve seen (and of course factoring in my own experiences with grief) tend to experience grief in different ways than other people. (of course. everyone experiences grief differently yada yada, etc.) in my experience we tend to bottle up all those feelings until they explode at a later date, and try to act as though it’s either not effecting us or hasn’t happened. When you look at the Omori game, at first it might seem that Kel was the one that was ‘least affected’ of the friend group, since Sunny and Basil were like That, Hero went into a depressive state, and Aubrey’s anger issues got worse and she found friends that were more supportive to her emotional needs. Comparatively, Kel didn’t have a period of (visible) depression or anger issues, he assumably threw himself into sports and making other friends while still having a soft spot for those that were left behind in the aftermath of Mari’s death. 

And like-- first of all that’s a valid way to proceed after that. Kel’s allowed to try to move on quickly like he can escape grief if he just throws himself into sports and other friends and making other people happy. Of course. But he’s still Grieving. To me, at least, its clear whenever he’s interacting with Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey. He’s trying to act like nothing’s changed with Basil and Sunny, and with Aubrey he keeps appealing to their friendship. for the one that initially seems to have moved on the quickest, to me it feels like Kel is still hardcore holding onto those old feelings, sort of like Sunny and Basil to an admittedly lesser degree. He’s the one knocking on Sunny’s door, he’s the one that’s ‘protecting’ Basil by confronting Aubrey, and when confronting Aubrey in the church he tries to apologize. 

at this point i am just. saying things. my bad 

anyway the point that I sort of lost is that Kel feels really neurodivergent to me in his grief with his oscilation between trying to move on quickly and ignore his feelings of sadness over Mari, and then trying to keep his old friends together when given the chance as though they can just return to those happy days of being childhood friends

in conclusion: yes. I love Kel Omori dearly  

#omori #kel omori #omori kel #sunny omori #grief #omori analysis #kel analysis #Kel my beloved

[h4amarch]

uh oh sisters! I’m back with more Kel Angst… but more like a Kel Character Study.

I’m sure Kel appreciators are already familiar with my analysis of how Kel thinks people value Mari’s theoretical opinions more than his real ones. But since that was at the end of a longer post which was just a “List of Fun Kel Facts :)” I think I didn’t really get to touch on the fact of why this has come to be.

Someone in the tags of that post wrote that Hero does this too, that the two brothers were raised to be people-pleasers and naturally tend to ignore their own feelings. And I absolutely 100% agree with this!!! But consider now: Kel was the little troublemaker, and Hero was the responsible one. To some degree, I think you can also make an argument as to how Hero’s role as the responsible one allowed Kel to be the troublemaker, and vice versa; whether it was by their own will or not, Kel traded positive attention for more freedom, and Hero did the opposite.

Hero is the one to handle responsibility first, and he’s older, too—so it goes that, inherently, Hero has made the better suggestions of the two of them during their childhood, from hangout ideas to problem solving. Kel is the one that makes the silly suggestions, the one that’s a little less realistic, the one that’s still filled with childish fantasies of Captain Spaceboy and renegade stories.

Until he isn’t. Until he’s grown up a little, until he’s slapped in the face by a tragic death, by a despondent, unresponsive brother—by nobody else knowing what to do any better than him.

So he tries—

“Hey Aubrey! Do you want to come to my birthday party? I know we haven’t really talked, this past year, but—”

“Helloooo, Sunny? It’s time for school, and I heard we’re gonna play basketball during gym! You don’t have to play, I can just shoot hoops and you can watch! I’m getting real good at it, I swear—”

“Morning, Basil! Did you need any help doing gardening stuff? I just wanted to see if anyone was free to hang out, but—”

“Hey Hero. Are you… feeling a bit better today? I was just wondering… if you wanted to go get Gino’s with me. Because I’m hungry, and I think it’d be fun if we went together—”

—and he fails.

“—you want to hold a birthday party? Are you- Are you serious?! Tomorrow’s the day she- and you- I- Did she mean nothing to you?!” (He wanted to distract Aubrey from it. But of course she wouldn’t forget.)

“—oh, Kel, good morning! I’m sorry, but I don’t think Sunny can come see you right now… We’re thinking of homeschooling, but… I’m sure he’ll come out to see you one day.” (School was just an excuse to ask for Sunny. Now what is he supposed to do?)

“—ah, um- I’m- I’m okay! I have to… to, um, check on the m-more delicate plants today so, um— m-maybe not today… I-I’m sorry.” (If he were better at not being clumsy, would Basil still have turned him away?)

“—I’m not hungry, Kel… Not today. It’s late anyway.” (He’s never hungry when Kel asks.)

Kel tries to handle things on his own, and it fails. He is confronted with the fact that, on his own, his ideas really are as stupid as Aubrey used to call them, and as silly as Basil and Sunny used to say they were, and as unrealistic as Hero used to tell him.

And Mari…

“—Hi, Mari. Sorry I couldn’t make it last week. But, uh… I was just wondering… if you… if you could maybe… tell me this is all a bad joke…? Because- they all said you- you did it on purpose, but… but I don’t think you would have wanted this, right…?”

(“Well, Kel! You’ve just made a very convincing point. Now I don’t know who to believe!”)

…

The only person who believed in him, the only one who bothered to indulge his ideas even a little bit, is gone.

And yet, just like when they were younger, the one time things work is—

“Mari wouldn’t have wanted to see you like this, Hero…”

—when Mari steps in.

“…what?”

And again.

“I can’t just leave here knowing that this is the person you’ve become. I mean… What would Mari think?”

“Why do you keep bringing her up?”

Granted, the reactions are always a bit rough. But it’s what makes people react, it’s what gets things to change.

So… yeah. Kel’s opinions don’t matter. They’re not supposed to—they’re supposed to make people laugh, or deadpan, or call him stupid so that he can start bantering and bickering, because it’s familiar, because it’s normal. It makes things a bit difficult if he wants to be all serious, but as always, Mari is there for him when his mind comes up blank.

Until she isn’t. Until Sunny says something, and Basil corroborates it. Until every little success he’s been able to achieve with Mari’s help dissipates like the cheap discount foamer in Sally’s bubble baths. Until Kel isn’t sure what Mari would have wanted.

Until Kel is left with only himself. Mari would have wanted—

—he wants—

—everyone to be happy. Everyone to stick together this time. Everyone to help him figure out what the hell he’s feeling right now. Everyone to help him figure out how to stay together when all he wants is to run. Everyone to come back to the room so they can talk, before they split apart again. Again. Not again. Not again.

But how will he do it without Mari?

#kel omori #omori kel #omori #omori (game) #kel angst #the box files #witness: me going wild with the colored text function #oh MAN could you imagine if this were here in 2012 #we would have all gone BUCKSHIT WILD

[prodigal-explorer]

*materializes into existence*

Hey, my dear moot :D

Putting some positive things in ya ask box.

I want to hear more about Aubrey! I know she's one of your favs, so feel free to infodump and rant about her <3

I'm also curious to hear your thoughts about Hero and Kel! From what I remember, they're brothers, right? I love brother relationships in media, like Roman and Remus (SaSi). But yeah, wanna hear your thoughts.

Anyway, have fun with this :D

aww thank you so much!!!!

i would LOVE to talk about these three amazing characters! sunny and basil are the main characters (for good reason considering that the main tragedy of the game revolves around their journey), but these three side characters are just as engaging and interesting as them! and those three are aubrey, hero, and kel!!!

let's start with aubrey. ladies first, after all!

so this is going to be as close to a spoiler-free post as i can make it, though i'm sure you've seen my posts enough to have like a full beginning middle and end of the game LMAO

one thing i do have to mention though is SPOILERS FOR MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. i can't really write about these guys without mentioning it so if you don't know of any deaths in omori don't read yet!

anyway- AUBREY.

for me, the main thing about her that i love is her loyalty to herself and her values. some people are flighty. they do whatever everyone else seems to want, or they're unstable when it comes to their own opinions on things. there's nothing particularly wrong with those people, but i've always greatly admired people who always know who they are, and aubrey, like it or not, always knows exactly who she is.

that's why she gets so ANGRY when people don't know who she is, or choose to misconstrue who she is for their own benefit. the entire TOWN does this, painting her as some brutish, stupid, rebellious bully character just because she comes from a rough part of the neighborhood, she doesn't have a lot of money, and her parents aren't there for her. of course she's going to get mad at people who further perpetuate that image of her.

aubrey has nobody on her side in her teenage years. her parents are deadbeats who don't give her the time of day. her best friend, the only person in the world who truly loved her and treated her like a sister, was ripped from her when she was a little kid. and when that happened, all of her other friends faded away too. aubrey was left alone, just like she had been before she found those friends.

god, she is just such a tragic character because the thing about her is that as a young child, she gave and gave all she had to her friends. she tried so hard to be a good kid, a good friend, a good little sister figure. but none of it paid off in the end. she still ended up alone. she gave and gave, but the only things in the whole world she really wanted to take, true friendship and unconditional love, was completely out of reach because the sad truth of it was that everyone seemed to care more about each other than about aubrey. everyone else had parents or guardians they could turn to. everyone else had a support system when tragedy struck. aubrey's support system was erased by said tragedy.

people give aubrey a hard time, but she was a little girl. she was learning about the world just like everyone else. and when everybody you love either willingly leaves you to fend for yourself or is ripped away from you by cruel force, you start to harden and turn uglier, in a metaphorical sense.

also, another thing i love about aubrey is that she OWNS UP. she knows she's flawed. she can be impulsive, she can take arguments too far, her temper isn't under control all the time. but the important thing is that aubrey has the maturity and emotional intelligence to get up, SAY SORRY, promise that she won't do that bad stuff again, and then actually adhere to that promise. aubrey is so noble, and her being is filled to the brim with such integrity and dedication.

really, aubrey never wanted to stop giving. it sort of happened against her will. but the second she found the ability to start giving again, she did. i just love aubrey. she was an adorable, sweet little girl who grew into a smart, wonderful, incredible teenager. her journey is so special to me, especially as an afab person. aubrey often gets pushed aside due to being a girl (people try to deny it but it's the truth), when really, her journey is a perfect coming-of-age arc that fully encompasses the game's message: self-forgiveness.

aubrey knows how to forgive herself, and she doesn't expect forgiveness from anyone else. she does the best she can, and then continues on, always aiming higher, always trying to be better. sometimes, she makes mistakes. sometimes, she falls into holes and has to dig her way back up to where she started. but she never STOPS.

i just love aubrey so much.

okay! hero and kel!

so while i am obsessed with their brotherly dynamic, i regret to inform you that they are not really all that similar to roman and remus in my opinion? i see some similarities, but their relationship to me is extremely different, in a cool and interesting way!

hero is the older brother. he is around three years older than kel i believe, and he is responsible, charming, dorky, and the poor guy is a bit of a people-pleaser. he has a strong passion for cooking, and he loves taking care of his friends and his brother, making sure that everyone's safe and happy. he takes on the role of the sort of parental friend alongside his late girlfriend, mari, and he always acts with a royalty-like decorum.

until his girlfriend passes away, and he is left all alone.

hero blames himself. he hates himself for not being there for his girlfriend in her last moments. he thinks it's all his fault that she's dead to begin with. and he starts to become very, very depressed. he stops cooking and decides to give in to his parents pressuring him to go to college (for either medicine or law, i don't remember). he can't get out of bed. he can't move on. he's frozen in time.

eventually, hero heals with the help of his large support system. being an extremely likeable person, hero has a lot of people by his side as he struggles with mari's death. and when he's able to, he tries hard to be there like he was before. to be responsible, to be charming, to be the perfect oldest child, the perfect friend, the perfect son. everything has to be shining and perfect, and- oh, he's still in the trenches and he's pretending to cope when really, his grief is taking on the form of intense perfectionism? oh dang, okay, then.

but in all seriousness, hero's story is one that shows that healing is not always linear and that everything is not as it seems. he's also such a sweetheart, and i love how he tries so hard to support kel and his friends through everything.

speaking of kel! let's talk about him! now kel is not my favorite character, but he's far and away the most similar to me. he's sporty, he's got energy for days, he never thinks before he speaks, he does crazy shit, he's curious, he explores, he always tries to find the how, the why, and the solution. he's a problem solver and a go-getter.

the problem?

everything he's expected to do, every problem he's expected to solve, hero's done it already.

hero is clearly the child who gets more positive attention in the family, and kel can't deny that he deserves it. hero gets perfect grades, he's so kind and smart and gentle and perfect, how is kel supposed to keep up?

it's heavily implied that kel has some form of adhd. he struggles with sitting still and impulse control, he feels very strongly about fairness and justice. he struggles in school, but adores being active and playing sports like basketball. kel is the kind of person who tries so hard, even though things don't come easy.

and he is endlessly loyal. honestly, i think that's one of kel's biggest flaws. he's very loyal, to the point where he'll support somebody who's blatantly wrong just because they're his friend. while this is a bit of a dangerous trait to have, it is admirable in its own way because this makes kel a very trustworthy person. it's easy to tell where one stands with kel. he isn't the kind to be a very convincing faker.

he and hero seem very different, but they truly fit together like a glove. despite occasional tensions, they love each other more than life, and their weaknesses and strengths balance out so beautifully. kel tries to pull hero out of perfectionism, convincing him to relax and enjoy life instead of stressing over whether or not everything is perfect. hero reassures kel that he's enough, no matter what people say. hero makes sure that kel gets all the love and attention he deserves, since he knows the playing field isn't even, and he knows that it's not right.

i just love them.

i love all three of them so much.

thank you for asking!! this was so fun to make!

#omori #omori game #omori fandom #omori aubrey #aubrey omori #omori kel #kel omori #omori hero #hero omori #prodigal omori #omori analysis

[hugemilkshake]

Today on what’s happening in my silly lil story, we rag on basil. That man can’t get a break

Conversations

-platonic-

Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 6

With Y/N Cookie…

You, Adele Penguin, Bubbling Oil, Grilled Tomato and Shimmering Onion were conversing about Powdered Basil and how he never is around when Adele Penguin spoke up.

“You know, Powdered Basil doesn’t seem to be that nice of a guy if I’m being honest… he seems kinda careless when it comes to others..”

Everyone was about to defend Powdered Basil but didn’t. There was a tense silence as everyone thought before you spoke up “He dose seem like he’s lost his compassion for others…”

“Well… I don’t really notice anything” “Shimmering Onion, no offense but you are a bit dense. But I have noticed that Powdered Basil purposely avoids others when they need help, which has caused me to start helping others a lot more than I should” Bubbling Oil said

Grilled Tomato suddenly stood up and snapped “The next time I see Powdered Basil I’m giving him a piece of my mind!”

You knew that this wouldn’t end well…

With Gingerbrave…

“Wait… your not going to help up?” Gingerbrave said in a very confused tone. Scorched Garlic nodded. “Yes… that is my decision… now I do feel bad that your dealing with this ‘Dark Enchantress’ person but the thing is, I don’t want to risk anyone’s lives, and we’ve not even seen what’s beyond the forest so how could we help?”

The group was silent until Pure Vanilla spoke up. “I understand where you’re coming from. It is quite unreasonable for us to ask you to help in a battle you’ve not even heard of.”

“Thank you… I’m glad you understand… but trust me when I say this, if this battle gets to a point where innocent cookies are getting slaughtered, I will step in and do my best to help, you have my word..”

“…Thank you Scorched Garlic Cookie! We won’t forget this!” Strawberry Cookie chirped. “It’s no problem, now let’s head back outside, its nice outside today”

POWDERED BASIL

Laying on a thick tree branch Powdered Basil was talking to himself. But no bird, mouse or snail dared to approach him.

“I’ve never gotten a gift before… it feels weird… I mean… the others probably get gifts…” his tone dropped into an envious tone “Of course they get gifts, they are the ones who have time to socialize, while I’m here rotting away, protecting the forest. I mean who would even care if I got hurt, I know they wouldn’t, so why should I care if they wonder in here and run into a wolf?”

Powdered Basil moved to where he was hanging from the branch he scoffed. “They think they are sooooo important and cool because of all the praise they get because they help the townsfolk when it’s ME who should be getting that praise, I keep those selfish townsfolk safe for goodness sake!”

“And all they do is take from me! Do they want to take everything I hold dear?!” He soon jumped down from the branch, pulling on some of his hair as he spoke. “They really want to take everything away from me! I… I can’t let that happen! I rightfully deserve everything the kingdom has for my services! I shouldn’t be getting that taken away from me!”

“…I can’t let them take everything from me…”

#crk #cookie run #crk x reader #crk oc #crk ocs

[omori-aus-archive]

Omori: Recovery Route (A Coma-Mari AU by pyroanime2k16)

A/N: Sorry. No special cover this time. Also, this will primarily focus on Mari and Sunny's interactions, as that's what I write best.

-------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Case Of Awareness

Mari would've had to be a fool in order to NOT notice what her brother was going through.

Even now, as they were practicing for the recital one more time, the girl could tell how stressed Sunny seemed.

She could tell that he was growing tired and frustrated with the constant practice of the recital. Her perfectionism and their father's expectations certainly weren't helping and she knew it....

The older of the two siblings wanted to apologize in some way. A way that could actually be felt.

Mari was also worried about straining or ruining her sibling relationship with Sunny.

Eventually, the practice ended and Sunny quietly left the room. Mari felt a sickening feeling in her abdomen.

....

And then there was the sound of something shattering on the floor, cuing Mari to immediately stand up and rush to the foyer, spotting a broken violin at the bottom of the stairs.

The teenage girl paled. She screwed up. She was certain that she had fucked up now....

Especially when she turned to face Sunny, who was struggling to calm down. He was heaving, his arms shaking as he tried...and failed to take in deep breaths.

Mari went up the stairs. She had to fix this. She let this happen for too long. She had to do something to make up for it.

"Sunny...?" The teenager called out, cuing the boy to instinctively turn away. "Sunny, please look at me."

The boy didn't say anything for a few moments, before mumbling, “Please leave me alone….” His sister shook her head, “Brother, please talk to me…!”

“Mari, please stop….” The boy mumbled at a volume that was to quiet to hear. He was struggling to keep himself calm.

He wanted to run. He wanted to leave.

"Please just...talk to me, Sunny...!" The teenager pleaded. "Please let me try to help...!"

The boy shook his head, trying to block the words out. He needed to leave. To be alone to calm down.

Eventually, after a few more moments of back and forth, Sunny just...couldn't take it anymore and chose to push Mari away to give him some distance....

...Except both parties forgot that they were on top of the stairs. Upon being pushed, Mari's bad knee ultimately buckled painfully, causing her to fall towards the stairs....

Almost on pure instinct and in a state of shock, Sunny lurched forward and grabbed Mari's hand with his left, holding the railing with his right.

Almost immediately, the boy's weak grip began slipping, cuing him to tighten his hold as much as he could. The two siblings looked at each other, still in shock by what just happened.

The older of the two siblings, much to Sunny's surprise, just gave a weak and sad smile as the boy's grip ultimately failed.

The boy could only watch in horror as his sister collapsed on the stairs and tumbled to the floor.

The boy stood in fright and silence, before eventually working up the courage to walk down towards Mari. Of course, he understandably assumed that she was dead....

That he accidentally killed his own sister....

Then he heard the very faint sound of breathing. After kneeling down and putting his ear near his sister's face, he was able confirm it.

The breathing was obviously strained...as a result of severe pain and a near-fatal incident....

But Mari was miraculously alive. Unconscious, but alive....

Though, before he could react to that, Sunny realized that there was another person in the house...right in the front doorway as he glanced up.

"Basil...?" The boy whispered, noticing the equally shocked and frightened blonde.

Basil then asked in a shaky voice, "I-Is she...?" "She's...alive.... Needs help. NOW...." Sunny responded as attempted to control his breathing.

"Get Kel and Hero's mom or dad...." The boy pleaded, which resulted in the blonde rushing next door in a panic....

...Leaving Sunny alone to hold Mari in his arms and whisper apology after apology....

#omori #mari omori #omori au #omori mari #omori sunny #sunny omori #recovery route au #omori omori #omori basil #omori kel #omori hero #omori aubrey #tw coma #tw hospital setting

[mizoosis]

みんな… おやすみなさい🖤 This is a few days late, but happy second anniversary OMORI! I posted this on Twitter and of course can’t write much, so I'll do the honors here.

TW for talk of mental health, hospitals and self harm. Please move from this post if you are uncomfortable with such topics, for your own sake. Thank you❤

I discovered OMORI in 2014. I saw that little trailer in my recommended as a kid and watched it. I got super inspired by it, but never did much else. 2018 rolled by and I found out about the Kickstarter. I couldn't back it up because y’know, I'm a broke teenager, but I still tried to follow its development until I just lost interest. It's now early 2021. My friends are talking about OMORI and begging me to play or watch it. I eventually caved in and didn't expect anything special. Boy was I wrong. I came into the game completely blind, and experienced everything raw. - The first ending I got was the 'true ending', where Sunny and Basil accept their actions and trauma. I cried so much near the end, especially during the Final Duet (but I'm sure that got most people). I had expected a cheesy rpgmaker horror game but instead I got an experience I will never forget. It's themes stuck with me. I hadn't played a game like it before. A game that accurately represents mental illness, trauma and anxiety. I have been suffering from depression basically since the fourth grade. A lot of bad things happened in my life and I was becoming aware of it. I started to feel down and hopeless, often resorting to sleeping all day, drawing and slipping into my own imagination and disassociating. - I soon realized that this wasn't working, and only felt worse. I'd say around fifth grade was when I started to hurt myself. And I couldn't stop. I slowly fell deeper into my depression as I eventually came to terms with the fact I was a transgender person. The first time I tried ending my life was only a few years ago. That led me to be forced to out myself to my family, which thankfully went well and they pledged to help me transition, which they still do to this day. - Despite being able to transition, I still felt like things were missing. I still felt depressed. I realized that I was suppressing my trauma from years prior to the point of forgetting it. And once I was reminded of it, I spiraled further. That leads to early 2022. I was close to ending my life. I was very close to death. But it failed. I gave up and decided to reach out for help. The day after reaching out I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I would go to two hospitals in the span of almost six months. Those months were some of the worst of my life. But somehow I grew as a person. And as time went on, I improved despite the challenges I faced while inpatient. My head became clearer. Because not only was I taking medication and therapy, but I thought of Sunny. - Yes it's kind of silly that I was inspired by a fictional character but Sunny's recovery and journey through his mental health and trauma pushed me to keep going. And ironically, I eventually met someone there named Sunny who also liked OMORI. We became really close and I think about them often. They were the only person from that horrible hospital that had a positive effect on me. In August of 2022, I was finally released. Shortly after my discharge my family moved across the country at short notice. I once again became depressed, having to leave my old friends and life behind, but I realized by moving, I can start anew. And that's what I've been doing ever since. I'm the happiest I've ever been and I'm about to turn eighteen in a week as of writing this. I never thought I would live to adulthood. - As cheesy as it is, if I never found OMORI I probably wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have been encouraged to get help sooner. I would most likely already have killed myself or ended up in the hospital for hurting myself. As harsh as that is, it is sort of true. This seemingly silly game about a boy dreaming up adventures with his friends has changed my life completely. I'm grateful for the OMOCAT team for working on this game and putting so much love into it. And I love a majority of the community as well. I have met so many kind and creative people through Discord and Twitter. Why am I opening about this on the internet then? I want to show that things do get better. No matter how old you are, no matter how bad things are either. - I used to think I would never make it anywhere but here I am, I have amazing friends, I'm working on passion projects with others and I draw all the time and enjoy it. My drive has improved because of this game. I don't know what I would have done without it. This game means so much to me and so many other people. I can't believe its been two years since it released already. I'm hoping to continue to love it for more years to come. Thanks so much to OMORI and the fandom that loves it so much.

#omori #omori game #omori fanart #omori fandom #omori sunny #omori mari #omori aubrey #omori hero #omori kel #omori second anniversary #mental health #personal vent #vent post #vent tag #artists on tumblr #digital art #art #fanart

[pineappleciders]

it’s so rare when a writer will write for sh stuff so i get it if you’re tired of writing these but can i request a gn reader going to omori characters confessing to relapsing and asking for help? i totally get it if you don’t want to write this so don’t force itself to do anything u don’t want to. have a nice day/night!

TRIGGER WARNING: self-harm, relapse

G/N READER CONFESSING TO RELAPSING TO RW OMORI CHARACTERS HEADCANONS// INCLUDES: SUNNY, KEL, AUBREY, BASIL, HERO, MARI

A/N: of course! i like to write these kinds of things in the hopes that it can comfort anyone struggling :) and i'm sorry if there are any grammatical errors, i wrote this late at night

SUNNY

if you tell him and he doesn't know about your s/h, he will be shocked.

he feels a bit guilty, like he should've been there for you more.

if he already knows about it, he'll be sad, but not disappointed. in fact, he's proud of you.

(not proud of you for s/hing i meant like for making it so far U KNOW WHAT I MEANT))

he'll definitely listen intently if you want to talk to him about what's going on.

if you want to get professional help, he'll encourage it! he'd love to help u with it but to be honest he's never gotten therapy himself so he really doesn't know what to do

he will subtly pay attention to your arms and such, and if he notices marks/fresh scars, he'll talk to u about it in private, and comfort you.

"i'm proud of you, Y/N. remember you can always talk to me, okay?"

he loves u vry much, but it is kind of difficult for him to express emotions, but he's trying his best

KEL

when you tell him, he hugs you quickly.

"oh, Y/N..."

he isn't great at this kind of thing, esp considering he doesn't even know how to deal with his own emotions, so he might be a bit frustrating at times

if he doesn't know beforehand, he really doesn't know what to say.

he'll hug you tight, and tbh he'll probably cry. KEL does not like the idea of you hurting at all.

if he knows, again, he'll hug you, but this time he'll reassure you a lot.

"Y/N.. i'm proud of you for doing so well. we all have bad days, just please remember me whenever you feel bad, okay? i'm always here."

he tries to distract you a lot, like purposely getting injured and coming to you for help, so instead of focusing on your own emotions, you can focus on patching him up 

he encourages you to come to his basketball games, and watch him practice (not only is it more time with u, he also doesn't want to leave you alone)

he will be sleeping over at your house often, no questions asked (or vice versa)

overall, he cares a lot about you, but he has a hard time understanding, so be patient!!

AUBREY

AUBREY feels pretty bad about it. she knows deep down it wasn't her fault, but she still feels like maybe she could've done something to prevent it.

if she doesn't know about it and you tell her, she'll hug you and tell you how much you mean to her. she can't afford to lose another person, especially not you.

if she knows, she'll hug you again and tell you it's okay. that we all have fuck-ups sometimes, and that you aren't weak.

she likes to come to your window at night and invite you to come outside, and you two go for walks, listen to music, hang out with her gang, go to the gas station, whatever.

not only is it quality time with you, she gets to distract you from your thoughts swarming you at night.

she holds your hand and squeezes tight when she thinks you're feeling down, as if it's a way of reassuring you that she'll always be there.

BASIL

if BASIL doesn't know about your problem and you tell him, he probably cries. not like wailing but just soft, small sniffles.

he hugs you, tight, and lets you know that you don't have to do that to yourself. that you're amazing, and you don't deserve that pain.

if he knows, he'll take your hands and sit down with you. tells you that nobody wants you to suffer alone. to think of your friends, and all of your memories together.

he asks to see your wounds and helps you clean and bandage them if they aren't always patched.

your well-being is always important to him, but sometimes he doesn't know how to help you.

encourages you to start counseling if you're comfortable with it

tells you very often how much u mean to him, and honestly worries a lot about you

HERO

feels immense guilt either way. he wants nothing more than to protect you.

he'll hug you, and cry into your shoulder. he doesn't like to be vulnerable, but he simply can't help it this time.

he definitely wants you to get professional help, because he knows full well he can't save you from everything

he likes to do simple things for you, like cooking you breakfast, doing your chores, and it's ramped up once he knows you're struggling.

he will constantly remind you how much he loves you, and will always listen and help the best he can

you mean the world to him, and it hurts him a lot when you hurt yourself. he feels guilty for it, but he'll probably tell you anyways (considering there's a chance to make you stop, he'll take it)

cares for u so much, and lets you know a LOT

"Y/N, i know it's hard. but please, talk to me when you feel the need to, okay? if somethings bothering you, or if you feel the need to hurt yourself, remember that i am always here. i am by your side."

MARI

if she doesn't know, she'll hug you and tell you how much you mean to her. she can't imagine how much pain you've been through to harm yourself.

encourages the rest of the group to check up on you more, but she doesn't specify why. she never wants to breach your privacy

invites you to picnics often and listens to you talk about anything and everything, and will give advice if you ask for it

tells u she loves u a lot

if you want professional help, she'll schedule an appointment with a therapist/psychiatrist and will even come with u to it if you need it.

it really makes her sad to know you're struggling, so she'll help you with everyday tasks like laundry, cleaning, etc. she knows it isn't easy for you and doesn't want to put any more pressure on you

"you know, Y/N, i cherish you deeply. i know it's hard for you. i know everything hurts, and that you're scared. but, always remember that it's never as scary as you think. you're strong, Y/N."

brings you on walks and makes you eat healthier to try and improve your mood

she'll always be proud of you.

#omori #omori x reader #omori aubrey #aubrey #aubrey omori #aubrey omori x reader #omori aubrey x reader #omori basil #basil omori #omori basil x reader #basil omori x reader #sunny omori #omori sunny #sunny omori x reader #omori sunny x reader #hero omori #omori hero #omori hero x reader #hero omori x reader #hero x reader #sunny x reader #aubrey x reader #basil x reader #mari x reader #kel x reader #mari omori #kel omori #omori mari #omori kel #mari omori x reader