#hero and basil friendship

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

When Sun Shines Again Chapter 4: "To Lead A Better Life:" Part 3

⛅CHAPTER 4⛅ "To Lead A Better Life" Part 3

Chapter Description: When Hero visits Basil one last time before returning to college for the fall semester, Basil gives him a letter that forces him to confront bittersweet memories, painful truths, and the complicated feelings that Hero had tried so hard to bury.

This Chapter is Hero & Basil's Friendship-Centric.

Chapter Word Count: 6700. Link to Chapter 4 on AO3.

Description (for the entire work): When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended.

⛅Tags For The Story As A Whole (So A Lot Of These Are "Eventual" Tags):

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship. Hero & Aubrey Friendship. Hero & Basil Friendship. Hero & Sunny Friendship. Hero & His Family.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Other Included Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

Rating: T for some heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

Warnings: Major Spoilers for OMORI! Heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Link to Entire work on AO3.

⛅ Link to the "When Sun Shines Again" Masterlist. ⛅

Full chapter text below the cut. Thank you for reading! ⛅

“Do you have any sevens?” asked Kel.

Twisting her mouth to one side, Aubrey frowned at her cards, but she shrugged her shoulders. “No. Go fish.”

Curiously, Hero glanced down at his own hand, then at a nearby clock on the wall. They had been playing Go Fish for nearly an hour, and Hero couldn’t for the life of him understand how no one had managed to win yet. Even thinking back on the many rounds of Go Fish he and his friends had played in their youth, he couldn’t remember a game that lasted more than half an hour, at the most, but it seemed that ever since they had started playing cards with Basil whenever they visited him in the hospital the games were growing longer and longer.

Hero wondered if that was on purpose—if his companions were somehow purposely dragging the games out so they would have something to do, something to keep Basil distracted so he wouldn’t start crying again. After all, their first couple of visits had mostly consisted of Basil weeping in tearful apologies, and Hero was certain he was not the only one who wanted to avoid that going forward.

Something ached in Hero’s chest whenever he thought of how emotional things had been in the beginning—how fragile Basil had been and that heartbreaking look on his face like he was always on the verge of tears. If Hero was being honest, it scared him, and though it made him feel overwhelmingly guilty to admit it, somehow he couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what his family had seen every time they had looked at him after Mari had died: a shaking, shivering shell of a person they had once known and loved. It was painful to watch, and as much as his heart ached seeing Basil suffer, he could only imagine that his family had suffered even more in watching Hero, himself, suffer in the same way. Knowing he had put his family through that… It was nearly enough to make Hero not want to get out of bed in the morning.

There was something surreal in being on this side of it all. Even having gone through a similar period of deep depression himself—even knowing firsthand how painful and hopeless that darkness and numbness could be, Hero felt completely helpless when it came to Basil and his suffering. He had no idea what to do—if there was even anything he could do to make Basil feel better. This feeling of helplessness coupled with the sickening, twisting feeling in his gut whenever Basil burst into tears at the mere sight of him had given Hero a new and incredibly painful appreciation for Kel and what his brother must have been through these last couple of years stuck on the periphery of his loved ones’ collapsing world. But maybe that was Kel’s strength. He could be so supportive and attentive to the needs of the other people around him, and he just had this way of knowing what might help someone, even someone at their lowest, feel better. It had been his idea to start playing cards to cheer up Basil, after all.

After a long and ongoing debate about whether or not the three of them should just stop visiting Basil altogether, Hero, Kel, and Aubrey had sat down with Polly to discuss whether or not their visits were actually helpful or were just hindering Basil’s recovery, which, Hero knew, was the last thing any of them wanted. When Polly had told them that she thought that it would be much more hurtful to Basil if his friends never came around, Kel had suggested that they try to think of activities to do when they visited so Basil would be too busy to think about being sad.

It turned out Kel was right. They soon found that their visits with Basil at the hospital went much more smoothly if they all did an activity together—sometimes a puzzle, other times arts and crafts. They quickly settled into playing board games or, more frequently, cards just like they used to when they were kids.

As time went on, Basil seemed much happier, especially when he was distracted. The color slowly returned to his face. He started tending some flowers in the hospital’s garden and even started taking some photos again. Most promising of all, the last time they had visited, Hero saw Basil laugh for the first time in possibly years at a silly joke Kel had told them about a pirate’s pet parrot of all things. It was good to see Basil beginning to heal and come back to his old self again. Still, they didn’t want to undo any progress so they kept playing infinite games of cards which, if Hero had to guess, they probably did drag out on purpose, at least on a subconscious level.

“Are you sure you don’t have any sevens?” asked Kel, pulling Hero out of his thoughts. His brow furrowed as he glanced over at Aubrey with narrowed eyes.

“No,” she huffed, growing more exasperated. “I don’t have any sevens, Kel.”

 “I—I have sevens,” sniffled Basil “You—you can have my sevens…”

“Sweet!” exclaimed Kel, reaching across the table to take Basil’s cards, but Hero gently stopped him with a pat on the arm.

“Kel, that’s not fair. You can ask Basil for sevens on your next turn.”

Basil sniffled again, pulling his sweater tightly around his shoulders. “It…It’s okay. I don’t mind. Kel can—”

“You’re ruining the game!” Aubrey interrupted with a huff. “It’s just Go Fish. There’s no reason to get so competitive about it!”

“Competitive?” Kel repeated so loudly that Basil practically jumped. “If anyone’s getting competitive, it’s you!”

As Kel and Aubrey began to bicker, Hero looked over at Basil with a certain concern in his eyes. Hero had always known that Basil was almost as conflict avoidant as him, and it was obvious from the way he cowered at Kel and Aubrey’s bickering—twisting his hands and biting his lip—that he would give just about anything for this fight to be over, including an entire hand full of sevens, if he’d had them. If Hero was being honest, he felt the same way.

“C-c’mon now,” Hero gently interrupted, trying to keep the peace “This is just supposed to be fun. We’re here to visit Basil and spend time with him. There’s no reason to start fighting.”

Kel and Aubrey stopped—each letting out a heavy sigh as they stared down at their hands of cards. “Hero’s right,” said Kel “Who cares about this stupid card game—we’re just happy to see you Basil. We can even do something else if you want.”

Basil’s eyes widened, but a smile twitched in the corners of his mouth. “I don’t care what we do—I’m just glad you’re here. It’s really good to see you guys.” Basil paused and sighed. “It gets…kind of lonely here sometimes.”

Something ached in Hero’s chest, and his expression softened. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Basil all alone in the hospital far away from his family and friends. Even if he knew it was the best thing for him and was glad that he was getting the help that he needed, it made Hero sad to think that Basil was going through such a difficult time alone.

Hero sighed. He supposed Basil had been suffering alone for a very, very long time, and regardless of the complicated feelings that Hero himself may have been feeling towards Basil and everything that had happened, it was more important to him that Basil wouldn’t have to suffer by himself anymore—that he would never have to suffer by himself again.

He supposed Aubrey had eventually realized she felt this way too. It wasn’t long after their conversation about Basil and her complicated feelings towards him a couple of weeks ago that Aubrey had started visiting Basil again. She had never talked to Hero about it, but he could only assume that, like him, ultimately the love, friendship, and concern she had for Basil far outweighed her own hurts and feelings.

It meant a lot to Hero to see Aubrey offer Basil forgiveness, even when it was hard, and he knew how much it meant to Basil that she was there for him—that they were all there for him, even after everything that had happened. These days, it felt like the only person who hadn’t forgiven Basil was Basil himself, but Hero knew that would be the hardest part of all.

“Don’t worry, Basil,” Kel reassured him, patting his arm. “I’m sure you’ll get to come home really soon.”

Basil bit his lip but nodded as he quietly admitted, “I hope so…I uh…I’ve been really worried…about my flowers.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about those. Hero has been taking care of them for you!” Kel beamed at Basil, giving him a pat on the back.

Basil’s eyes widened, but his hands began to tremble as he turned towards Hero. “Oh…you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Hero gently insisted with a slight smile. “Your house is on my way home from the pool, so I stop by on my way home from work. It barely takes any time at all, and it’s nice to have a hobby. Besides, Polly has been doing most of the work.”

“Aubrey and I have been helping out too,” added Kel. “But we’re not as good at gardening as you or Hero.”

Basil cleared his throat. “Well, thank you—all of you. I really appreciate it. I just…”  He paused, biting his lip and staring at his twisting hands. “I just…hope it’s not ruining your summer or taking up too much of your time.”

Aubrey, Kel and Hero quickly glanced at each other with somewhat awkward smiles—silently agreeing not to tell Basil that this had probably been one of the worst summers of their entire lives even without having to look after his garden for him. Hero had spent most of it working long hours at the community pool, cleaning his house, tending Basil’s garden, going for runs around the neighborhood, and desperately looking for anything else that would take his mind off of things. He craved being busy, but more than that he craved a distraction from his crumbling world. Sunny had moved. Basil was in the hospital. Kel and Aubrey were struggling. Everything in Hero’s life seemed to fall apart again this summer—collapsing under the weight of the truth. He could only imagine that Aubrey and Kel felt the same way. They couldn’t wait for this summer to finally be over…but they could never say that to Basil who stared up at them with frightened but hopeful eyes.

“How—how are you all doing?” Basil stumbled, in what Hero could only guess was a desperate attempt to fill the silence. “Is there…anything new and exciting in Faraway Town?”

Hero wracked his brain, but he couldn’t think of even one piece of good news to tell Basil. From the look on Aubrey’s face, it seemed she couldn’t think of one either. They both turned to Kel, who twisted his mouth to one side—his brow furrowing thoughtfully as if he, too, was scrounging to think of something positive to say.

“Uhhh… Hero got a postcard all the way from Venice, Italy.”

“Well…that’s pretty cool” said Basil with a slight smile.

Hero shrugged his shoulders. He supposed it was kind of sad that the most exciting thing that had happened all summer was that he had gotten a postcard from Italy, but his family, Kel especially, had been very fascinated by it. They had never gotten something in the mail from somewhere so far away before.

“It was really cool!” exclaimed Kel “It had a bridge on it.”

“Who was it from?” asked Basil.

“My friend from college, Kyle, sent it to me while his family was on vacation there,” said Hero. “It has the Bridge of Sighs on it. Kyle said he always buys postcards with bridges on them because one of his best friends is a civil engineering major and wants to build bridges someday. He gets her postcards of local bridges from all of his vacation destinations, but he had an extra one this time so he sent it to me.”

Basil smiled. “That was really nice of him. I think my parents went to Venice once. I saw pictures of it, and it was really pretty. I’ve always wanted to go someday”

“Then you should!” interjected Kel “We should all go. Someday when you get out of this place and we’re all grown up and stuff, we should all go to Venice—and then we can ride on those cool boats they have there!”

“They’re called gondolas, Kel,” Aubrey corrected with a huff.  

Kel rolled his eyes, but he beamed at Basil. “Sunny can come too. It’ll be an adventure!”

Aubrey sighed. “It’ll be years before we’ll be able to go to Venice, Kel. We might not ever be able to go there.”

“Well…” said Kel. “In the meantime, maybe Hero can bring his postcard to show Basil the next time we come to visit.”

“Oh wow!” Basil’s face seemed to light up as he smiled at his friends. “I’d love to see it.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Hero tilted his head and gave Basil a bittersweet smile. “I’d love to show you my postcard, Basil. I’m sorry I didn’t bring it. I didn’t know that you wanted to see it. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to come visit you again because I have to go back to college next week.”

Basil’s face fell, but Hero could tell he tried his best to smile at him. “That’s okay” he said. “The doctor doesn’t think I’ll have to stay in the hospital for too much longer anyway. He hopes I’ll get to go home by the time school starts again.”

“That’s awesome Basil!” exclaimed Kel, and Aubrey nodded in agreement.

“I’m so happy to hear that,” said Hero. “I’m sure Kel and Aubrey will take really good care of you and help you get settled back in when school starts.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kel “And if anyone gives you weird looks or something, Aubrey will just beat them up with her nail bat.”

“Kel!” huffed Aubrey.

Before anybody could say anything more, however, the nurse came by to tell them that visiting hours were almost over and that they would have to leave soon. Aubrey and Kel both got up from the table to go to the bathroom before their long drive back to Faraway Town, leaving Hero and Basil alone.

“Are you excited—to be going back to college?” asked Basil.

Hero bit his lip. The honest answer was yes. In fact, he had never been happier to go back to anywhere in his entire life—though he supposed that wasn’t an entirely fair statement. It wasn’t going back to college that Hero was looking forward to—it was the idea of this long, horrible summer finally being over.

He didn’t want to upset Basil by telling him that, however, so he merely shrugged with half a smile and said “A little. It’ll be hard to leave my family again but…I missed school and my friends in the city. Plus, I made plans to see Sunny”

“Really?” asked Basil.

“Yeah. I called him last week and asked if I could take him to one of my favorite coffee places near campus. It’ll be nice to see him again and see how he’s settling in after the move.”

Basil’s expression softened, and he smiled. “I’m so glad to hear that. I’m sure it will mean a lot to Sunny that you want to visit him.” He paused, fumbling around for something in the pocket of his sweater. “That reminds me, I have a letter for Sunny. Do you think you could give it to him for me?”

Hero nodded. “Of course”

“I have one for you too,” Basil continued, handing Hero two envelopes. They were both heavy and lumpy like two small packages rather than letters. Whatever letters were inside must be several pages long.

Hero swallowed hard—trying his best to calm himself with a deep breath. He could only imagine what his letter said, but the truth was, he didn’t want to imagine it. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to read it.

For the entire summer, Hero had been trying his absolute best not to think about what Basil had done. He hadn’t lied to Aubrey when he told her he wasn’t angry with Basil, but he knew there were still complicated feelings, hurts, there under the surface. He supposed he had been running from them—pushing them aside like a kind of self-preservation or, perhaps more accurately, a somewhat desperate attempt at triage.

Triage, Hero thought. That certainly seemed like a good word for it.

In a medical ethics class he had taken last semester, Hero had learned about disaster triage or how to prioritize individual emergencies during a large-scale disaster. It was the best metaphor he could think of for how this summer had felt, especially as far as Basil was concerned. Whatever Hero may have felt or may have been dealing with on his own—it was small and inconsequential compared to Basil’s well-being when he was so fragile and such a danger to himself. Hero knew that he, himself, was hurting. He accepted that, but he couldn’t accept that that mattered, so he had buried his own complicated feelings so deep that he wasn’t even sure what he felt anymore. As he stared at the envelope in his hands, however, his stomach coiled and twisted with the sickening, sinking feeling that as soon as he opened that letter, he wouldn’t be able to run from it anymore.

“Do you…uh…want me to read this now?” Hero stumbled with a crack in his voice. He tried not to sigh too loudly in relief as Basil shook his head.

“It’s kind of long… You should probably read it when you get home. Or uh…”—his voice hitched—“you don’t have to read it at all, if you…”

As Basil’s voice tapered off, Hero reached out to gently pat his twisting hands. “No, um…I will. I’ll try to read it tonight. Thank you.”

“I have letters for Kel and Aubrey too, but I’ll see them when I get to come home so…” Basil’s voice trailed, but Hero nodded.

“I’m really glad that you’re going to get to come home soon, Basil. I’m sure Aubrey and Kel will look after you, but I’m always here too. If you need anything, just call” He reached for a nearby pad of paper and a pen, which Aubrey had been using to keep score during their card game and wrote down his phone number “This is my phone number at college. Feel free to call me anytime.”

As he handed the piece of paper to Basil, Basil smiled and muttered a quiet but grateful, “Thank you.”

Hero sighed. From the look on Basil’s face, he knew that Basil was never going to call him. If Hero had to guess, Basil was probably thinking that as soon as Hero read whatever he had written in that letter, he would regret giving him his phone number and would never want to speak to him again. Hero wished there was a way to reassure Basil that this wasn’t the case, that there was nothing that Basil could possibly say that would ever make Hero abandon him, especially when he needed him most. But as it was now, Hero just didn’t have the words…so he hugged Basil goodbye, wished him well and headed back home to Faraway Town, where he spent the rest of the evening staring at that thick envelope wondering when he would ever have the strength to open it.

When the clock at the bottom of the stairs chimed 8:00 PM, Hero, finally, tentatively reached towards the letter. He held his breath—biting his lip as he carefully opened the seal with trembling hands, bracing himself for whatever might be inside. He pulled out a dense stack of notebook paper which he slowly unfolded counting not two or three but ten pages filled with small, delicate script on both the front and back sides. Thankfully, the pages were numbered.

Hero swallowed hard and staring down at the paper in front of him, began to read.

Dear Hero,

This is the fourth time I have tried to write this letter. My doctor suggested that it would be good for me to be honest with you about my regrets to try to make amends and move forward. I don’t think I’ve been doing a very good job of that, and I’m really sorry if I, or this letter, am a burden to you.

I want to start by saying that I have always looked up to and admired you. I’m sure you know that my family wasn’t ever really around. For a long time, it was just me and my grandma. I never had any brothers or sisters, but I had you and the rest of our friends. You were all like a family to me, especially you, Hero. If I ever had a big brother, I imagine he would be a lot like you—always looking out for me.

You are one of the kindest people I have ever met in my whole life. You always think of everyone else before yourself and try to take care of everybody. Even now, when I know that you’re really hurting, you’ve still come to visit me. You still talk to me and take care of my garden. That really means a lot to me, more than I have the words to say, but I want you to know it’s okay if you’re angry with me. I know I would be. I really hurt you—hurt everybody with what I did, and I am so, so sorry.

I know there’s nothing I can say or do to make amends for what I’ve done, and I’m not writing you this letter to make any justifications or excuses. I only want you to know that you mean so much to me—that my whole life all I ever wanted was to be like you. I never meant to hurt you and knowing that what I did hurt you in ways that I can’t even imagine breaks my heart. But what hurts even more is knowing that even now, even after everything I did, you’re still trying to protect me like you always have.

But you don’t have to do that anymore, Hero. If after you read this letter, you never want to forgive me and never want to talk to me again, I completely understand. There are certain things that can’t be fixed with apologies and regrets. I have a lot of regrets—one of the biggest is hurting the one person in the world I knew would always be there for me. I am so, so sorry…

Hero’s breath got caught in his throat. His eyes burned. He couldn’t read anymore.

“I’m going on a run,” he choked out—frantically reaching for his running shoes. Kel looked up from the video game he had been playing with a confused tilt of his head.

“You’d better bring a jacket. It’s cold out there. I heard on the radio that there’s supposed to be a cold snap tonight.”

Hero nodded, but he couldn’t say Kel’s words really registered with him until he was running against the chilly wind. He wished he had listened to his brother and grabbed his jacket, but at the time he had just been so desperate to get out of there—or, he supposed, more accurately to get away from that letter. There was perhaps something poetic in literally running away from it, but Hero hadn’t really been thinking of that at the time. His jogs were his one lifeline—sometimes the only thing that kept him sane, kept him together when he was about to fall apart. It seemed like the only thing he could cling to now.

As Hero turned the corner out onto the main street again, a cold gust of wind blew past. He shivered. It was far too cold for this time of year. Cold snaps weren’t particularly common in Faraway Town, but they generally happened in the spring rather than the fall, at least as far as Hero could remember. He couldn’t recall a lot of cold snaps. As much as it pained him to admit it, a lot of his memories from before Mari had passed away were becoming hazier and hazier, but he could remember a particularly nasty cold snap from about five years ago…

*-*-*

“And watch out for that unexpected cold front,” said the disc jockey on the radio. “Temperatures will drop to the low 30s and below tonight, so you’ll want to get your coats and sweaters back out for the morning.”

“So much for that spring weather…” huffed Aubrey shaking her head as she stared at her hand of cards. “Also, go fish.” 

Kel groaned seemingly upset about both the upcoming cold snap and the fact he was losing at cards. “I don’t even know where my coat is.” 

“I’ll help you look for it,” said Hero patting his brother on the arm. “I think I just saw it hanging up in the closet.”

As Kel just shrugged and reached to draw some cards from the pile in the middle of the table, Hero felt a hand tugging at his shirt sleeve. Sunny blinked at him then motioned to his coat in the corner where he had left it weeks earlier, back when the weather had finally started warming up.

“That’s very nice, Sunny, but you don’t have to loan Kel your coat. He has one at home, and you’ll need it yourself tomorrow.”

Sunny nodded though his eyes widened in surprise as Mari snuck up behind him wearing his coat and wrapped her arms around him. She giggled as she playfully waved the sleeves around, and Hero stifled a laugh as she teased, “This coat is a little heavier than usual, isn’t it?” 

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Sunny’s mouth, and he let out two quick, heavy breaths—which Hero knew meant he was laughing. Seemingly pleased with herself, Mari’s smile widened, and she ruffled her brother’s hair before slipping out of the coat and handing it to him.

“I already boxed up my coat,” said Basil, nervously twisting his hands. “I think it’s under my bed. I’ll have to go home and check.”

Hero tilted his head at him. Somehow Basil seemed more nervous than usual. Mari seemed to notice as well as her face softened, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

“How about I walk you home?” she suggested. “So I can help you look for your coat.”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to do that, Mari,” sniffled Basil. “I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t mind at all. It’ll be easier to look for it with several people helping.”

“I can help too,” said Hero. “After I walk Aubrey home, I’ll stop by and help you look for your coat.”

Basil’s eyes widened, and he held up his hands. “Oh no. You don’t have to do that. It’s really not a big deal at all.”

“And you don’t have to walk me home either,” huffed Aubrey with a slight frown. “I just live a street away.”

“But it’s dark out. I just want to make sure you get home safely.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but her mouth twitched in the corners as she shrugged her shoulders. “Alright, fine, but we should probably get going, huh? It’s getting late.”

As they all started to say their goodbyes for the evening, Hero watched as Mari gave him a reassuring smile and a look that said, “Don’t worry. I’ll find out what’s bothering, Basil.”

Hero sighed. Of course she had noticed there was something bothering him beyond just his lost coat. Mari was so good at reading people. She always knew when something was wrong and what to do to make someone happy again. It meant a lot to Hero to know that Basil was in such good hands—though he was sure he would feel a lot better once Aubrey was home safely and Mari had helped Basil work through whatever was troubling him.

After dropping Aubrey off at her house, Hero headed to Basil’s house where he was surprised to see Mari and Basil, who was now wearing his winter coat, out in the yard.

“Basil is worried that his plants will get too cold overnight so we’re going to cover them with some tarps and old picnic blankets,” Mari explained. How she had managed to get Basil to tell her this in such a short amount of time amazed Hero, but he supposed that was just Mari’s way with people. He always admired that about her.

Hero reached for one of the tarps and covered a nearby flowerbed. The cold wind biting at them, loosening the coverings as soon as they had been placed, made the task more difficult than it needed to be, but eventually every flowerbed in Basil’s garden was properly covered, warm enough to survive the cold night.

As the three of them surveyed their work, Basil sniffled. “Thank you so much for helping me. You really didn’t have to do that, but it means a lot.”

Hero smiled as Mari threw her arms around Basil and hugged him tightly.

“It was no trouble, Basil,” she said. “We’re always happy to help. That’s what family’s for.”

Tears pooled in Basil’s eyes as he choked out, “Family?”

“Of course. You’re like our little brother.” Giggling, Mari beamed at him and gently ruffled her hand through his hair. “If you ever need anything, we’ll always be here to help you—no matter what.”

Hero nodded in agreement and patted Basil’s shoulder before giving him a hug himself. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Basil sniffled again before saying his final thanks and goodbyes and heading back into his house.

As Hero and Mari started to walk home, Mari reached for Hero’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Hero smiled at her, but watching her shiver in the wind, he immediately let go of her hand and tried to disentangle himself from his jacket.

“Here, you can take this…” he said holding out his coat to her.

Chuckling, Mari wrapped the jacket around her shoulders and playfully teased, “What a gentleman! Thank you.” She took his hand again—intertwining their fingers. “You’re always so sweet, Hero.”

Hero blushed. He watched his feet shuffling on the sidewalk as his face grew warm. “You’re sweeter,” he gently insisted. “What you said to Basil back there was so kind. I could tell it really meant a lot to him.”

Mari’s expression softened, and something bittersweet passed over her eyes. “I feel so sorry for Basil. It’s just him and his grandma. He must be so lonely…and he’s such a gentle-hearted person. I…” She paused. “I worry about him sometimes. He needs somebody to look out for him.”  

Hero nodded solemnly, but he gave Mari’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Hero?” As Mari looked up with him with wide, kind eyes, Hero’s heart could have melted. A smile twitched in the corners of her mouth as she quietly continued, “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

As Hero nodded, a bright smile once again spread across Mari’s face. “Of course, Mari. We’ll always take care of Basil…and his flowers too.”

*-*-*

Hero stopped. Basil’s flowers. What if it got too cold for them and they froze before Basil even got to come home and see them?

Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he took off running towards Basil’s house where he found Polly out in the yard putting tarps over some of Basil’s flowerbeds.

“Hi Polly. Can I help?” asked Hero with a slight smile. “I was out on a run when I remembered Basil’s flowers and…with this cold snap coming in…” His voice trailed, but Polly smiled.

“Oh that’s so sweet of you, Hero,” she replied. “I’m just about finished, but if you want to cover that flowerbed over there”—she paused, motioning to her left—“that would be a big help.”

Hero nodded, and he reached for a nearby tarp. His brow furrowed as he turned towards the flowerbed—his chest aching at the sight of the clusters of lilies. Lilies had been Mari’s favorite flower, and Basil had always used to say they reminded him of her. When they were kids, Basil had had flowers that reminded him of all of his friends. If Hero was remembering correctly, his flower had been roses—though he had never felt he deserved it.  

Hero’s eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head. There were rose bushes in this flowerbed too. When had Basil planted these?

“This is one of Basil’s favorite flowerbeds, you know?” Polly said quietly. “When I first came to work here, I once found him curled up in it in the middle of the night during a cold snap like this. He had covered the plants but was worried they still weren’t going to be warm enough, so he took the blanket off of his bed and dragged it out here and curled up next to them himself.”

Polly sighed. “When I tried to tell him that they were probably warm enough now and he could come back inside, he wouldn’t. He said he planted these flowers for his big brother and sister, and he wasn’t going to leave them. I was so confused because Basil is an only child, but…after everything that happened this summer…I started thinking…”

Polly stopped and turned to look at Hero. She didn’t say anything more, but she didn’t have to—Hero knew what she was thinking. He was thinking the same thing.

With a heavy sigh, he sunk to the ground. Something coiled and twisted in his chest as he thought about what these last four years must have been like for Basil. Not only was he grieving the loss of Mari, blaming himself for her death and everything that had come after, but he was grieving the loss of his family too, worrying that as soon as they knew the truth, they would see him as he saw himself: unredeemable, unforgivable, and unlovable. Hero could picture him shivering in the garden, desperately clinging to his few remaining memories of the only family he had ever known—waiting for the other shoe to drop, for them to learn the truth and leave him behind forever.

As Hero stared at the flowerbed, the carefully tended roses and lilies that had always reminded Basil of him and Mari, Hero’s eyes burned and his vision grew blurred and misty. He could hear Mari’s words, “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

Hero watched as Polly’s eyes widened in concern. As she leaned forward with an outstretched hand, his brow furrowed. He reached up and touched his cheek—cold from the chilly wind and damp from the tears that had finally struggled free.

*-*-*

“H—Hero?” stammered Basil in surprise as he walked into the hospital’s common area.

Hero gave him a slight smile. “Hey, Basil. How’s it going?”

“I…I thought you were going back to school.”

“Yeah…I…I leave Thursday, but I…” He paused—twisting his hands around the handles of the gift bag he had brought with him. “I wanted to see you one more time. I hope that’s okay…?”

As Hero’s voice trailed, Basil blinked at him with wide eyes, but he managed a brisk nod.

“I brought this for you,” Hero continued, handing Basil the bag. “They’re from your garden.”

Basil pulled out a jar filled with roses and lilies that Hero had carefully picked from his garden with Polly’s permission of course. Hero stared down at his hands and took a deep breath. “Polly told me that flowerbed was one of your favorites. It’s still in bloom and really pretty. I hope you’ll make it home in time to see it before the Fall.”

Basil nodded again but sniffled. “You…you didn’t have to do this. And you didn’t have to come either. I…I know you’re really busy.”

“I always have time for you,” said Hero with a smile. “And after I read your letter, I just…I wanted to come see you because…there’s…something really important that I have to tell you.” He swallowed hard with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I tried writing it down, but I just couldn’t find the right words and I—”

“It’s okay,” Basil quietly interrupted him with a wavering voice. “You can…say whatever you need to say. I’m ready.”

“No. Uh…um…Basil…I—” Hero stopped abruptly. As he watched Basil tremble, watched the tears pooling in his eyes as he braced himself for the worst, his heart ached. He completely forgot all the words of reassurance he had planned to say and practically leapt forward, wrapping his arms around Basil and holding him tightly. He could feel Basil’s shoulders stiffen—could feel him gasp in surprise.

“He—Hero?” choked Basil—his voice cut off by a strangled, garbled sob in the back of his throat. As he started to shake, Hero knew he was crying, and it broke his heart but not as much as his whispered, “I’m so sorry…”  

Hero pressed his chin to Basil’s shoulder as tears began to prickle in his own eyes. He hugged him tighter—hoping that simple gesture would say everything he didn’t have the words to until finally, at long last, he took a deep breath and said, “I forgive you.”

“What?”

“I forgive you, Basil,” Hero repeated in a trembling voice—taking a deep breath to brace himself for the next part, the hardest part, of what he knew he had to say. “I…what happened…it…it hurt me.” He paused—suddenly struck by the weight of those words and of finally saying them aloud. “But…but that doesn’t make you unforgiveable and that…that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you anymore. I forgive you, and I know it’s probably not my place to say this but…I think…Mari would forgive you too and…she’d want you to forgive yourself. It’s…it’s what I want too.”

Hero’s throat grew dry and burned, but he took a long, shaky breath and continued, “You’ve suffered enough, Basil—punished yourself enough. I know you think that’s what you deserve, but that’s not what Mari would want for you. She really loved you, and all she ever wanted was to take care of you. Beating yourself up about what happened, only hurts you…It’s not going to bring her back. I…I”—his voice hitched— “I know that better than anyone. Believe me…if it did, she’d be here.”

Hero stopped—a lump forming in the back of his throat as his eyes burned with tears. “Mari—Mari isn’t…here…anymore…” he stumbled over his words, until finally he pulled away from Basil, placed both hands on his shoulders and met his teary eyes. “But I am, and I will always be here for you.”

At these words, tears began to pour down Basil’s cheeks as if he had never needed to hear something more in his entire life. He threw his arms around Hero and broke down sobbing. Hero’s face softened, and he pulled Basil close. As he gently patted his back, as he often did whenever he comforted any of his siblings, he caught sight of the jar of flowers on the table: the much loved lilies and roses. Hero sniffled, wiping a tear from his eye, as he thought of Mari and her wish: “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

“I will always take care of you,” Hero gently whispered. “For both of us…”

[woodchipp]

yeah! maybe you could've tried to visit him at the hospital while he was with his dying grandmother and lent a shoulder! but I suppose that listening to Aubrey rant and having arguments about expired soda was more of a priority

>>"Maybe he just needs some time alone..." >>"Could you guys try to talk to him?"

peak caretaker, truly

"We're all here to see you!' have you considered that he may not want to see you? y'know, because he's having a rough patch right now? oh sorry, I forgot that the narrative only cares about Basil when it needs to use him as a punching bag

"Maybe he just needs some time to himself..." then why did you let them into the house in the first place

love the implication that Kel somehow didn't know friends should be there for each other until these past few days. that'd explain why he started giving a shit about Sunny only after he learned that the latter is about to move town lmao

given the characters' behavior towards each other during the game's events, this supposed showcase of True Friendship™ is so shallow it becomes disgusting. I'm impressed!

"we just want to know that you're okay 🥺" you bullied him for four years because you couldn't be arsed to clear up a misunderstanding and then nearly killed him. what the fuck do you think?

"will you please say something? 🥺" he doesn't need to say anything to you

oh, so you, who previously admitted to barely knowing the kid you've been taking care of despite being his caretaker for two years by that point, suddenly know he's going to appreciate his friends crashing on his couch? while he's grieving?

Fuck you and fuck this game's writing.

[stoopystuppy]

bndkawnfanjwfasf i really wanna do this nijisanji x omori au i have lying around 😭😭

[fishysplayhouse]

Doodle from the otther day because Hero and Basil friendship art is scarce 😿

[prodigal-explorer]

why i hate sunflower (sunny x basil) - a rather unprofessional essay

spoilers for omori below

and also i'm not gonna tag this as hate because it's literally just the truth. cry about it.

respectfully, it's a horrible ship. i might just be saying that because i hate basil, but i just cannot see it ever being healthy. basil destroyed everybody's lives with what he did, and even if they decide to forgive him, what happened to them won't just be reversed. not to mention the codepedent/abusive aspect of the whole situation.

basil expects sunny to dedicate his entire life to him and his emotional well-being. you shouldn't be responsible for anyone's emotional well-being when you're fifteen years old except for your own.

even in the game, there is evidence of something codependent. basil can't function like a decent human being when sunny explains that he's going away. basil literally HURTS SUNNY to the point where he needs to be hospitalized in an attempt to make him stay. and you think that would work romantically? heck no.

yeah, they smile at each other at the end, but does that really mean anything? forgiveness is great, but it doesn't take back what happened and the effects it had. sunny will always remember when he tried to leave and got his eye taken out.

and the fact that sunny is so heavily traumatized because of what basil decided to do to his dead sister is just insane to me. he's always going to see that image. i get that basil had good intentions or whatever but intention doesn't equal effect. if i ran you over with my car, it doesn't matter that i was twelve or that it was an accident. you would still have to go to the hospital.

and when people say "but he was just a kid he didn't know any better!". if basil had the cognitive ability to think of doing that, he had to cognitive ability to stop, or AT LEAST to admit what he did. if he did, then hero wouldn't blame himself for years and years, aubrey wouldn't have been abandoned, and mari would have been respected after she died. what basil did was extreme disrespect to the dead and it gives me chills just thinking about it.

and he did it to sunny's SISTER.

i just don't see why you guys don't care more about that? that's a bit more than a little red flag that is like a red ocean.

end of story, sunflower is a horrible ship and i don't get why the fandom is so obsessed with it. it makes me sick just seeing it.

especially when this is such a beautiful story when you look at it from a friendship pov! why does everything have to be about romance and uwu little gay boys? i know damn well if basil was a girl nobody would be shipping him with sunny, you guys just want a gay male relationship to fixate on and infantilize because that's what toxic fandom people DO. but that's a digression.

anyway if you like sunflower you're a threat to society. womp womp go cry. or better yet stop shipping it that would be lovely.

[bitchliteraria1906]

I don't know if this is a hot take or not, because I haven't interacted with the Omori fandom enough, but I don’t think Kel would forgive Sunny and Basil that easily. I'm not even sure if he'd be the first one to forgive them.

The way I see Kel, he's a very loyal, community-oriented person. He's extroverted, comes from the biggest (and apparently closest) family in the main cast, was the one who made Sunny go out again, and is just overall the glue that holds everyone together and someone who is used to community and friendship and needs these things to feel good.

Mari's death literally took that from him in multiple ways. One friend is dead, the remaining friend group fell apart due to everyone coping so differently, Hero isolated himself and stopped talking to him in the process.

He was the first one to have a birthday after the event, and he spent that birthday completely alone.

I just don't see him taking the revelation that all of this happened because of Sunny and Basil lightly.

There's also the fact that Kel knows how it feels like to have an older sibling who you don't always see eye to eye with, but still love a lot. He has that in Hero just like Sunny did with Mari. This could make him sympathetic towards Sunny and his guilt and grief, but it could also make him more horrified with the whole situation:

"Basil suggested hanging her? And you were okay with it?!"

I can definitely see him trying to face the whole thing with a "What would I do if that was me?" mentality, and coming to the conclusion that Sunny is too cold, because if he was in Sunny's shoes, if he had accidentaly killed Hero, he would never feel okay with lying about it the same way for years.

Ironically, this thought process could also make him more sympathetic towards Basil. Kel is, again, very relationship and community oriented, so maybe he could come to the conclusion that in Basil's shoes, he would also have done anything to protect a friend. He'd still be angry at the lie, though.

Idk, just a thought.

[lilac-gold]

hero & mari's friendship has so many more layers than people typically consider, and it's genuinely so painful to think about.

to begin, they're both people pleasers, determined to impress everyone and act as role models to the younger kids. they settle for nothing less than perfection, mari practicing her piano for countless hours on end, hero earning solely first place awards. they both feel the pressure of everyone's expectations, of knowing that they're obligated to go above and beyond, to do more and more to impress. but nothing is ever enough, not when those expectations just get higher and higher the more they strive to meet them, so it builds up to the point where they can only feel satisfied achieving flawlessness. but flawlessness isn't possible, not when there's always something else to criticise, something that could have been better. they're both placed on pedestals because that's where they want to be, they need to be. they take it upon themselves to be perfect, so perfect is how they appear.

mari is gentle, caring, funny, wise. she offers bountiless good advice at only the cost of your love-- because she needs love, needs the validation that she's doing well or else her efforts will have all been for nothing. she's the perfect older sister, looking out for her little brother and protecting him where necessary. she's the perfect musician, dedicated and quick-fingered, composing masterpieces at the age of fifteen. she's the perfect student, spending hours after school studying to ensure that she does the best she can in her exams.

hero is compassionate, talented, charming, helpful. he offers assistance to anyone, all they have to do is ask-- because he can't say no, not when that would be letting people down. he's the perfect older brother, joking around with kel, setting a good example, keeping him out of trouble. he's the perfect hobbyist, taking an interest in cooking, each meal as good as the last as he puts his all into making them delicious. he's the perfect student, incredibly hard-working and doing his parents proud.

in the real world, hero and mari don't seem to have many friends. they spend all of their time in the group of six. they feature in the vast majority of the photo album's photos, and are often implied to be together in the scenes neither of them feature in. hero isn't particularly close to anyone when he returns to faraway, not seeking out anybody his own age to catch up with. when mari dies, it's sunny, kel, aubrey, basil and hero who are affected deeply.

but they have each other. they talk together, have fun together, work hard together. they understand each other in a way no-one else does, because they're in the same position.

hero isn't just "mari's malewife". mari isn't just "hero's girlfriend". their relationship goes so much deeper than just an implied romantic connection, because in the whole world, these two lean on each other the most. they're both older siblings. they're both straight a students. they're both masters at what they love. they're both the pride and joy of their parents. they're the same in so many ways, and that means they can trust each other.

hero and mari grow up together, and they grow up always trying to impress people. always avoiding disappointing them. they bottle everything up and hide it under warm smiles because they have to be perfect. they can't be anything less, or else they risk losing the images they've worked so hard to build, the images they can't afford to lose. not now, not ever.

they can't tell anyone about their struggles. about how hard a perpetual state of perfection is to preserve. about the crushing weight of expectations that never leaves their shoulders. about the endless responsibilities seizing hold of them in a vice grip, and their own steadfast refusal to burden anyone with their "problems". they're not supposed to have problems. they're supposed to be perfect.

they can't tell anyone, except for each other.

so that's who they go to. they each know the other inside out, know every intricacy and detail of their trains of thought, because their minds work in the same way. they're able to connect, to provide those pillars of support they can't get anywhere else, because they've always been a shoulder for someone else to lean on with no wall behind them to catch any falls caused by the weight.

they listen to each other. there's no judgement, no fear of disappointment. only the burning need to let out the fears plaguing their minds, to be allowed to feel bad, to have someone that won't be disappointed or shocked about their problems. they're teenagers with what feels like the weight of the world atop them, but together, they're able to share the burden.

looking at the other is like staring into a half-faded reflection, because hero and mari are both broken mirrors showing only the images people want to see. the cracks are hidden by their light, any imperfections masked and obscured by the awe brought forth via their achievements. but hero sees mari's silently shattered shards, and mari sees hero's. and they're always, always there for each other to slowly start mending the cracks.

and then mari "kills herself". and hero's left alone.

there's always been an unspoken vow between them, a promise that they'd support each other no matter what. that they could trust each other with anything. and hero stares up at a limp, lifeless corpse, and he doesn't know why mari couldn't trust him with this.

the worst part is, he knew there could have been signs, because he knows mari's endless cheerfulness isn't all genuine. he knows she gets irritable when she doesn't achieve flawlessness. he knows she won't let anyone else see her cry. he knows she's been battling the voices inside of her head for ages now.

but it's only in the months succeeding her death that he truly knows what depression feels like. for a while, there's only his suffocating devastation and grief, only the world-shattering fact that his best friend, his confidant, his pillar, is gone forever. and without her, he crumbles.

he goes to her funeral, and sees a never-ending array of black umbrellas on a cold, wet, miserable day. he holds no umbrella of his own. the water trickles into the unfeeling fabric of his black suit, sends shivers down his spine that should have forced him to react, plasters unbrushed hair to his forehead, mingles with the salty tears spilling down his cheeks. the sun shined brighter when she was here, and now that she's gone, he can only let the chill of the rain seep into his skin.

he returns home, and crawls into bed, into the empty embrace of heavy blankets and a darkness he wishes would consume him, and spends hours upon hours upon hours simply sobbing into his pillow. it seems impossible that she's gone. that the only person he could count on, the only person who understood him, the person he'd vowed to face the world with, the person he's relied on so heavily, is gone. gone forever. gone of her own volition, because she could see no reason to keep living.

hero wasn't reason enough. he wasn't good enough. he's tried so hard for so long not to let anyone down, but it's clear to him now that he's failed her. and that's his breaking point, when the half-sealed cracks all burst back apart. there's no point in trying anymore. there's no way to win. he can't fathom keeping up the picture of perfection without her.

mari wasn't the perfect older sister. she snapped at sunny when he got distracted during practice, brushed off aubrey when the girl offered to help out with the recital, spent her days too preoccupied to offer advice. she wasn't the perfect musician. she couldn't bear the thought of hitting even one wrong note, obsessing over the cursed piece she'd created even as it continuously refused to meet her sky-high standards. she wasn't the perfect student. she didn't even live beyond the start of freshman year.

hero's no longer the perfect older brother. he doesn't respond when kel tries to reach out to him, any words buried under the dirt covering a grave he slowly digs for himself over the next year. he's not the perfect hobbyist. he can't bring himself to so much as think of indulging in his passions, believes that he doesn't deserve to have nice things and no longer finds that spark of joy appear at the prospect of cooking. he's not the perfect student. he doesn't go to school over the next year, completely sectioned off from everyone else as he rots out of sight of the sun.

mari was gentle, caring, funny, wise. mari was stubborn, secretive, secluded, sensitive.

hero was compassionate, talented, charming, helpful. hero was silent, selfish, subordinate, spineless.

hero is all alone. mari is dead dead dead dead dead.

he finds himself following in her footsteps, and holds it all in. really, what else can he do? his only confidant is gone. he refuses to face a world without mari in it. he shouts at the one person who still sees him as someone to admire. he breaks down time and time and time again, a constant disappointment.

but he's seen how mari's death has affected his little brother. he knows how his own would, too. and he can't do that to kel. that would extinguish the one bit of light he has left. the sun may have shined brighter when mari was here, but with kel, some of its glow still remains.

so he gets up. he learns to try again. and this time, he does it all alone.

he reconnects with kel, as false as his efforts feel to himself. he tries not to think of how much better mari was at this, how much easier it had been to put on a grin with her in his life. he watches out for kel, notices when his smiles flicker just a little too much and offers to take him to gino's. perfect older sibling.

he takes up every extracurricular he can find, and brings home trophy upon trophy in each to demonstrate his capabilities. he works hard and learns fast, and is handed shiny plaques of silver and gold that indicate his mastery of skills he can't bring himself to truly enjoy. perfect hobbyist.

he makes up for the year of school he's missed by dedicating hours upon hours to studying. he passes with honours and goes to one of the best colleges he can find. he takes the course he's expected to, and pretends the sight of blood doesn't sicken him to his core. perfect student.

he upholds mari's legacy. he does everyone proud. it's a hollow sentiment.

throughout it all, he doesn't visit mari's grave once. he doesn't so much as mention her name, despite her haunting his every waking and sleeping thought. he misses her more than words can say, but he can't handle looking back on their memories. he claims he's doing just fine without her. he's a liar.

hero's always had a tendency to bottle things up, but after her death, that gets infinitely worse. he doesn't risk getting close to anyone, lest he fail them too. he closes himself off. people like him, people know him, but he doesn't have friends. not really. he's always been a little disliked, a little ostracised, a little different. he cares so much about how others perceive him, but the one group he's never managed to win over is those he was expected to be closest to. that was where both he and mari had struggled.

at least before, they'd had each other. now, hero makes it through the dull, monotonous cycle of his life by himself. he finishes high school, but moves onto college. he leaves behind faraway, but brings a huge piece of it with him. he tries to manage. he keeps it all hidden in neat little rows, fragile bottles on slanting shelves he does his very best to balance. he teeters precariously on the edge of a breakdown with every step he takes, but doesn't let anyone take notice. he wraps it all up under charming smiles and silken words. without the sun to guide him, he fades into the shadows as easily as he breathes. he's just another student, nothing particularly special about him, and while it's different and strange, it's in plenty of ways relieving. average people don't let anyone down. now it's only his parents he still has to impress. he pretends to be happy, and ignores the ghost he seems to be following every footstep of.

hero's alone, but it's better that way. mari died because he wasn't good enough to save her. he won't let anyone else down. never again.

he hopes mari would be proud of him. (he knows she'd hate what he's become.)

i feel like these two are often dismissed due to the lack of focus on their arcs and characters in canon, but there's so, so much about them to unpick that's lying in the subtext. hero and mari are such tragic, interesting, complicated characters, and it's sad to see them be brushed aside. no matter how you see their dynamic, there's so much to explore surrounding them, both separately and as a pair, and i'd love to see more people discussing just how brilliantly complex they really are.

[eepdream-art]

Omori: Fairies au

okay so I cooked this up in like the dead of 6am then blacked out and now it's 1pm for me, let's first show the art I made

first the designs, very nice very cool yea so lemme tell yall abt the design choices!!

-I based the clothes off of the flowers they're associated with (except Omori, because she's not a fairy she's a human)

-Mari in this au has a broken wing from an accident an so her friends painted a lily of the valley plant in the other one

-I kinda dislike Kel's design but I can't think of any way to fix it so he's cursed. I'm sorry Kel.

-the bracelet on Omori is like a friendship bracelet made by all the fairies and it has colors I associate them all five of the faries with (Basil green, Aubrey pink, Kel orange, Hero[you can't see it here but in the next drawing] blue)

OKAYOKAY so next up, big drawing then some random lorestuff!!!

okay so all the fairies like in a place I dubbed "Fairy Garden" (creative name I know) and basically Omori kinda takes a care of the faires and Fairy Garden and also Omori is a girl in this au because why not

yea that's kinda all yea!!!!!

edit: FUCK ALMOST FORGOT fairy types :)

Basil is a plant fairy, Aubrey is an animal fairy, Kel is a fast flying fairy, Hero is a water fairy, and Mari is a light fairy!!

[tosteur-gluteal]

Omori mlb AU make my brain go brrrr

Question: how different does basil act when he's stranger/mint from his regular self and is he purposefully doin' that or does the kwammi transformation just affect his personality that much?

Glad you asked, anon! Yes, Basil's personality changes whenever he's either his civilian or his hero self, just like RW Basil and Stranger are different. Yet in a sense, they're facets of Basil, the person he really is:

Before Basil turns into a superhero, he's constantly under pressure (parents + bullying) and his only way of surviving this environment is by being overly nice, overly modest. He's trying to stay as unnoticed as possible, while having the best grades and participating in a way to make him look smarter than everyone else. And that irritates a lot of people, because as a results he's perceived as "fake". He has to be that perfect obedient son for his parents; as a result he's really struggling to even know what is his real self.

Being Catmint is really liberating to him. He can be negative, he can be bad mouthed. He can be obnoxious... And yeah, he tries to play it cool. Yet, it doesn't feel like his true self yet.

At the end of the day, it's really his friendship with Sunny/ partnership with Ladybug that helps him through that. When he met Sunny, he noticed that his overly polite self wasn't what Sunny found endearing about him. It was his little quirks he didn't even know he had before, it was his centers of interests, and yeah, his flaws. He noticed that it's exactly what made him love Sunny as a friend and as a crush: He's just a dude. He's just a dude who likes art.

For Ladybug: He realised he doesn't have bare everything by himself. He realised that he can be vulnerable, he can show kindness without the fear of getting percieved as weak. And yeah, he realised he can trust Ladybug.

While he always tried to push Ladybug away, he learnt that actually, there's nothing wrong with camaraderie at work (and god knows how if Ladybug didn't have a crush on Catmint, he definitely wouldn't have the patience to deal with that angsty boy... Or maybe yes, IDK)

So yeah! He's kinda doing it on purpose. Thank you for the ask, anon! Tell me what you think!

[ratqng]

Dude just went through your block and your Midnight!AU sounds fucking awesome. We love Basil angst 😁

How did different members of the group cope with the loss of Sunny? (If you haven't already talked about it)

Also your art is hecking amazing lol

Thank you!

Okay so, we'll start with Mari.

Mari- After the death of Sunny, Mari became more selective of her friends, only trusting a very certain amount of people, more specifically Hero. She still has a liking for musical instruments, though it is a slightly tarnished passion post recital. She is still extroverted in a sense and usually goes out with Hero as well as holding onto that strong core trait of kindness and caring. However, she has a hard time controlling her emotions and usually relies on Hero for emotional support.

Kel- Very similar to the Canon Kel, but after Sunny's death, he matured quickly, although he still puts a big smile on, Kel struggles with processing heavy emotions such as depression. He visits Sunny's grave frequently to update him on what's going on in Faraway. Kel wants the friend group to go back to how it was before and wishes for Hero and him to be closer like before.

Aubrey- She took it very rough, not only did she lose her crush, but her relationship with her role model shattered too. Luckily she did have Kim bring her back to a normal level. In the present, she will avoid any topic in her past, especially when it comes to Sunny or Mari. She denies feeling any sort of negative feelings when it comes to her grief and says how she is just over it. [She is a part of the Idol Gang and uses singing as a way of coping that deep pain inside her.]

Basil- Probably took it the worst, not only did Basil see the incident before hand, but he also noticed Sunny deteriorating. After hearing Sunny committed suicide, he isolated himself more and more, scribbling over the photos of Mari and believing that Mari is solely to blame. He uses gardening as a way to cope, but it's very hard to brush off those feelings of Anger towards Mari. Over the years, he mended his friendships with Kel and Aubrey. Although it is very awkward with Hero and very poor with Mari.

Hero- Took it the easiest. Although it was still a huge blow to him when announced. Deep down, he feels like he failed Sunny and failed the group when they shattered. He has mostly learned to live and let go, accepting that what happened happened, but he is still sad about losing Sunny. However, he usually is more preoccupied with Mari now, usually with her on days he's off.

Sunny - I've been living here for as long as I can remember. I am now perfected.

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Hero’s Messy Desk Drawer: An Unsolicited Fic Excerpt

(A/N: This fic excerpt is from a story that utilized our OCs (in an AU separate from our “When Sun Shines Again” series) but wasn’t posted to this blog because it didn’t follow our strict side ship rules and wasn’t really about Hero (aside from a brief subplot). We mods have agreed that this short, Hero-centric excerpt is acceptable, however, and have decided to post it since Mod Acacia’s headcanon about Hero’s junk drawer was just discussed in this post.)

OMORI SPOILERS but no other warnings just friendship and messy desk drawers here. Thank you for reading! 💙🧡🩷

There was something familiar, almost cozy about Hero’s room. In a way, it reminded Kel of the room they had shared back home. The left side of the room was bright and colorful with chaotic clusters of photos and posters on the wall. It was cleaner than Kel generally kept his room, but just as cluttered with books, CDs, school supplies, and bottles of something or other haphazardly strewn across the dresser and desk. Though the bed was made, the duvet was crinkled, wrinkly, and the pillows looked like they had been scooped up and thrown at the headboard in a hurry. Sunny would probably give it a 4 out of 10.

To be perfectly fair, however, it probably would have just looked “lived in” if it wasn’t for the right side of the room: simple with pale, muted colors, but perfectly pristine like something out of a catalog. Nothing was out of place, and there was no clutter to be had: no knickknacks, no mementos, and just three photos in matching gray frames on the desk. Every book, every record, every CD had been carefully placed on the shelf and all office supplies were housed in drawers or an unassuming gray pencil holder. The blue duvet was perfectly smooth with pillows perfectly arranged. Even their coats and bags that had been placed on the bed had been carefully, thoughtfully lined up in a neat order against the wall.

“No guessing which side’s Hero’s, huh?” quipped Aubrey as she climbed over the mattress for her purse. “Always neat as a pin.”

As she began digging through her bag, most likely for the case for her contact lenses, Kel turned towards Hero’s desk to search for the first aid kit. Like everything else belonging to his brother, it was clean, sanitized, boring though Kel felt badly for thinking that. He was happy to see the photos though—the only truly personalized things of Hero’s in the room. One was of him with his group of college friends—laughing together probably at some party just like this one by the look of it. The second was their most recent family photo, and the third was of their group of friends in Faraway Park when they were kids back when Mari had been alive.

Kel’s chest ached. They looked so different back then—especially Aubrey. He glanced over at her now, still digging through her bag, long pink hair rippling down her back rather than the dark brown locks she had sported in that photo and for the majority of her life. Her eyes were different too—an icy teal now from her colored contacts. That reminded him…he had better start looking for those eyedrops.

As he pulled open the bottom left drawer of Hero’s desk, he paused—blinking in surprise.

“Woah!” he exclaimed before he could stop himself.

“What?” asked Aubrey.

“This drawer is a mess,” he mumbled, so stunned he wasn’t even able to look up at her. In an entire lifetime of knowing Hero, Kel had never known anything of his brother’s to be a mess. He sighed and supposed that there really was a first time for everything. Kel’s brow furrowed as he began sifting through odds and ends—a whole junk drawer of papers, notebooks, books, a couple CDs, even some receipts, a few pictures, and who even knew what else. “There’s all kinds of crap in here…”

Aubrey snorted a partially stifled laugh. “I didn’t know Hero could make a mess.”

“Me neither,” quipped Kel, pushing some of the papers around looking for anything resembling a first aid kit.

“Hey uh…” She sighed. “Speaking of Hero…do you think he’s…”—she paused as if trying to think of the right word—“worried that we’d all be upset if he…if he was, you know—dating again?”

Kel stopped, but he sighed heavily. He had just been wondering the same thing after all. He shrugged his shoulders—focusing his attention on digging through the desk drawer, but he answered, “I think Hero worries about a lot of things he doesn’t have to worry about.”

“I just wouldn’t want him to feel like he couldn’t put himself back out there, you know… because of what we’d think or because he’s scared we’d be upset or think he was disrespecting Mari…” Her voice trailed. “I wish there was a way we could tell him that we’d all be happy…without it sounding like we were prying or making assumptions.”

Kel nodded, but let out a heavy, somewhat helpless sigh. “Don’t look at me. I’d probably just say the wrong thing,” he chuckled, self-deprecatingly—rubbing his hand across the nape of his neck.

“Kel…” Aubrey’s tone softened, but he didn’t look up at her, instead choosing to quickly shrug it off and change directions.

“Besides he says he’s not interested in having that kind of relationship anymore anyway, so he probably just isn’t—no matter what we’d think about it. You know how Hero is. He’s been…”—he paused, unable to think of the right word—“really weird about that kind of thing ever since Mari died. I just…I don’t know if he’ll ever want that again…”

As Kel continued rifling through the drawer, Aubrey sighed. “I know…and I understand that. I wasn’t suggesting we push him or anything I just…didn’t want to be part of whatever was holding him back.” She paused, sighing again. “He looked so happy, and…I really like her.”

“Me too. I’m pretty sure she’s the only reason I’m not failing math right now,” Kel bantered with a laugh before his face softened. He knew he didn’t have to say the rest—didn’t have to say how much he loved Zoey for being such a good friend to Hero, for always studying with him or going on runs with him at the crack of dawn, for helping him do the dishes at their college parties or talking to him about his favorite foods or favorite kinds of music, for being that lone voice of reason in Hero’s somewhat chaotic group of college friends, for making him laugh and smile, and, most of all, for bringing something out in him that they had never imagined they’d get to see again.

“But it’s really not like that,” Kel added, though he wasn’t sure if was reminding himself or reminding Aubrey. “They both swear they’re just friends, and I believe them. I mean, I wish…Maybe someday, but I just—it’s Hero. I don’t know if he’s ever gonna be ready for it.” Kel stopped with a heavy sigh—brow furrowing as he pushed some of the papers around in Hero’s messy desk drawer. “I mean…he’s got a bunch of books about widowers in here…”

“Kel, don’t snoop through Hero’s stuff,” Aubrey scolded with a huff.

Kel’s face flushed, but he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not trying to. It’s just such a mess in here. There’s papers everywhere and notebooks and books and CDs and…ooh! A present!” Curiously if also a little impulsively, Kel picked up a small, wrapped box tied with a red ribbon. “It’s heavy. I bet it’s jewelry.”

“Kel! Stop snooping,” Aubrey snapped at him. He fumbled around with the box before placing it back in the drawer.

“Look, I’m not being nosy. I’m just looking for the first aid kit. It’s not in here.”

Aubrey huffed. “You’re looking in the wrong drawer. Hero said lower right not lower left.”

Kel took a step back to stare at the desk—tilting his head. “Okay but…my right or the desk’s right?”

“Just check the other drawer!”

Kel closed the messy drawer then opened its identical twin on the other side of the desk—nearly empty except for a neat stack of blank notebook paper, a metal pencil case, and a first aid kit. “Found it!” he declared triumphantly—ignoring the way Aubrey was shaking her head at him.

[woodchipp]

So. The friends.

A somewhat popular topic of discussion in the OMORI friends seem to be (or have been when the game was still fresh for discussion) the reaction of the gang at Sunny's confession before he gets to start his life anew and away from all the people he hurt.

Most fans, who mostly care about how Sunny feels, seem to assume that they will, eventually but surely, forgive him and Basil because Power of Friendship, or "but they didn't mean to and they suffered enough :<"

But I'm sure you have a different opinion, right? :)

Oh, I definitely have.

In general - The group would dissolve, for real this time. There is no way they could stay together after learning the people they considered close friends were willing to lie to them on such a scale, no matter their reasoning.

Kel - At first, he’d obviously react with disbelief that his friends would even do something as vile. Then I think he’d be torn between empathy for the two’s situation and empathy for Hero (and, more distantly, Aubrey). He’d be the only one who’d somehow try to understand their point of view (mostly the “we didn’t mean to” part), but at the end of the day, the fact they are the ones who made his beloved big bro so miserable would still stand, and I don’t think he’d be willing to forgive that. 

He might try to imagine what he would do if he hurt Hero, and the thought of pretending he killed himself would repulse him. I can also see him blaming himself for getting Sunny to go outside - from his perspective, if he wasn’t such an idiot and reached out to the latter, his friends wouldn’t be hurt like that. (Wouldn’t be the first time someone got hurt because he cared enough to reach out.)

Lastly, given how much he values the group’s friendship, I think he’d feel awful that neither Sunny nor Basil seemed to consider him (and, by extension, the rest of their friends) trustworthy enough to tell them the truth immediately.

Hero - Wouldn’t beat Sunny and Basil to death like in all the memes but wouldn’t ever forgive them either. After the four years he spent blaming himself and trying to live with the idea he will never get an answer as to why his girlfriend decided to leave him the way she did, the guilt he felt would very much not be assuaged by Sunny randomly revealing that he cut Mari’s life short and then let Basil defile her corpse but chose not to tell him that for those four years. On the contrary, he’d most likely refuse to associate, much less speak, with the two of them again.

Aubrey - I don’t see any other outcome for her than reverting to the violent and unstable girl she was after the first time she got the news about her surrogate older sister’s “suicide” except she’s a thousand times angrier now. She’d get even bigger trust issues because her two best friends - one of which she introduced to the group in the first place - turned out to have ruined her life in every single way possible and, combined with the group’s dissolution, would feel even more abandoned. Even with the fact the character development she went through was miniscule aside, she had just put on the band-aid on her wound before Sunny ripped it off and poured lemon juice on the wound - do you really think said development would stick?

Also she absolutely would beat both of them to death. With her trusty nail bat 💖

[hug-kiss-marry-kill]

List of already polled characters:

2b/YoRHa No. 2 Type B - Nier: Automata: Hug

A.B.A - Guilty Gears: Hug

Abe - The Oddworld Series: Hug

Abed Nadir - NBC Community: Hug

Aborto - Filler Bunny: Kill

Abramar - The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood: Kill

Abuela Claudia - In the Heights: Hug

Adam - Hazbin Hotel: Kill

Adonis “Donnie” Creed - Creed movies - Rocky franchise: Hug

Adrian Andrews - Ace Attorney: Hug

Adrien Agreste - Miraculous Ladybug: Adopt

Aeryn Sun - Farscape: Hug

Ageha Hijiri - Hirogaru Sky PreCure: Hug

Agnea Bristarni - Octopath Traveler 2: Hug

Aidan - The Illuminae Files: Kill

Aiden Clark - School Bus Graveyard: Hug

Aiden Sousuke - Bleach: Kill

Aigis - Persona 3: Hug

Akane Sonozaki - Higurashi: Kill

Akira Kenjou - KiraKira PreCure à la Mode: Hug

Alan Wake - Alan Wake: Hug

Alexandra Trese - Trese: Kiss

Alex DeLarge - A Clockwork Orange: Kill

Alex Taylor - Good Game: Kill

All Might - My Hero Academia: Hug

Almalexia - Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind: Tribunal: Kill

Alphonse Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist: Hug

Alucard Tepes - Castlevania: Marry

Amanda Ripley - Alien: Isolation/Alien franchise: Hug

Amane Momose - MILGRAM Project: Adopt

America/Alfred F Jones - Hetalia: Kill

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader - Star Wars: Kill

Anacostia Quartermaine - Motherland: Fort Salem: Hug

Anders - Dragon Age 2: Hug

Andrew Minyard - All For The Game: Hug

Andy Knightley - The World’s End: Hug

Angela - Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruin: Hug

Angelica Schuyler - Hamilton: Hug

Angoramon - Digimon: Hug

Anthony "Tony" Prince - Grand Theft Auto: Kill

Antonio Madrigal - Encanto: Pat on the head

Applejack - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Hug

Apple White - Ever After High: Pat on the head

Aragorn - The Lord of the Rings: Marry

Archer - Pokemon: Kill

Argan - Winx Club: Hug

Aristotle - Billie Bust Up: Hug

Arthur Dent - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Hug

Arthur Lester - Malevolent: Hug

Arthur Morgan - Red Dead Redemption 2: Marry

Arvin Russell - The Devil all the Time: Hug

Ashe Bradley - Witch's Heart: Kill

Ashley Graham - Resident Evil: Hug

Ashley Williams - Mass Effect: Hug

Ashlyn Banner - School Bus Graveyard: Pat on the head

Astarion - Baldur's Gate 3: Hug

ASTRA - The Entropy Centre: Pat on the head

Astro Boy - Astro Boy: Pat on the head

Atlas - Cryptid Crush: Hug

Atropal Scion - Dungeons & Dragons: Kill

Atsushi Nakajima - Bungo Stray Dogs: Hug

Augustus Sinclair - Bioshock: Kill

Avicenna - Some Desperate Glory: Kill

Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back to Reality Oops There Goes Gravity - The Locked Tomb: Kiss

Aya Maruyama - BanG Dream: Hug

Ayame Sohma - Fruits Basket: Kill

Aziraphale - Good Omens: Hug

Baba - Baba is you: Pat on the head

Babe - Pit Babe: Hug

Bai Wuchang - Word of Honor: Kill

Bandit Heeler - Bluey: Hug

Barbara Kopetski/Barb Wire - Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Comics: Kill

Barbra - Night of the Living Dead: Hug

Barnaby - Billie Bust Up: Hug

Barney - Barney and Friends: Kill

Barry Klemper - The Boys Next Door: Kill

Bart Simpson - The Simpsons: Pat on the head

Basil - Omori: Hug

Basil Exposition - Austin Powers: Kill

Battler Ushiromiya - Umineko: Kill

Bayonetta - Bayonetta: Marry

BD-1 - Star Wars Jedi (Survivor / Fallen Order): Adopt

Beatrice - Umineko: Marry

Becka - Scarlet Hollow: Hug

Beebee - Adventures with Anxiety: Hug

Benoit Blanc - Knives Out: Hug

Bernd das Brot - KiKa/German TV: Kill

Bernkastel - Umineko: Hug

Bibble - Barbie: Kill

Bierce - Dark Deception: Kill

Big Hill - Reservation Dogs: Hug

Bill Cipher - Gravity Falls: Kill

Billy Coen - Resident Evil 0: Kill

Blazer - Stray: Hug

Blitzwing - Transformers Animated: Hug

Bloaty - Invader Zim: Kill

Blood Pet - Magic the Gathering: Kill

Bob Newby - Stranger Things: Hug

Bob Pancakes - The Sims: Kill

Bog King - Strange Magic: Hug

Bolt - Disney's Bolt: Adopt

Bonnie - In Stars and Time: Hug

Boyfriend - Friday Night Funkin: Kill

Bradley Nicholson - Milo Murphy's Law: Pat on the head

Bradley Uppercrust III - An Extremely Goofy Movie: Kill

Brad Meltzer - Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: Pat on the head

Brahms Heelshire - The Boy: Kill

Brainy Smurf - The Smurfs: Pat on the head

Breezepelt - Warrior Cats: Pat on the head

Brian Flanagan - Cocktail: Kill

Brian Robeson - Hatchet: Pat on the head

Brian The Prethinker - Toontown Corporate Clash: Kill

Bridget - Guilty Gear XX: Hug

Brooklyn - Gargoyles: Hug

Bruce Wayne - Batman: Hug

Bucky Beaver - Shipwrecked 64: Hug

Buffy Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hug

Buggy - One Piece: Kill

Cale Tucker - Titan A.E.: Hug

Camila Noceda - The Owl House: Hug

Camille Saroyan - Bones: Hug

Candace Flynn - Phineas and Ferb: Hug

Captain Pip Bernadotte - Hellsing Ultimate: Hug

Captain Haddock - Tintin: Hug

Captain Takeo Masaki - Call of Duty: Zombies: Hug

Carlos the Scientist - Welcome to Night Vale: Hug

Castiel - Supernatural: Hug

Catherine - The Gregory Horror Show: Kill

Catra - She-Ra: Hug

Cecil Palmer - Welcome to Night Vale: Hug

Celty - Durarara!!: Hug

Cerise Hood - Ever After High: Pat on the head

Cersei Lannister - Game of Thrones: Kill

Charlene "Charlie" McGee - Firestarter: Pat on the head

Charles Calvin - Henry Stickmin Collection: Hug

Charlie Cutter - Uncharted franchise: Kill

Charon - Hades: Hug

Charon - John Wick: Hug

Chelsea - Royal Scandel: Hug

Chibiusa/Sailor Mini Moon - Sailor Moon: Pat on the head

Chikai Kuji - Sarazanmai: Kill

Chilchuck Tims - Delicious in Dungeon: Hug

Child - Young Justice: Kill

Chloe Bourgeois - Miraculous Ladybug: Adopt

Chloe O'Brian - 24: Hug

Chococat - Sanrio: Pat on the head

Choi Chul-woong - Oasis: Kill

Chrom - Fire Emblem: Marry

Chrome - Dr. Stone: Pat on the head

Claire Fisher - Six Feet Under: Hug+Kill

Claud - Fire Emblem Genealogy of the holy war: Kill

Clay Puppington - Moral Orel: Kill

Clea - Doctor Strange: Kiss

Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Marvel: Hug

Clive Handforth - LittleBigPlanet/LittleBigPlanet2: Hug

Cloud Haetae Cookie - Cookie Run Kingdom: Pat on the head

Cogimyun - Sanrio: Pat on the head

Clyde ‐ Dreams of an Insomniac: Hug

Coco - Witch Hat Atelier: Adopt

Cole Brown - Martin: Hug+Kill

Colette - The Thea Stilton novels: Hug

Conan Edogawa - Detective Conan: Pat on the head

Coraline - Coraline: Hug+Adopt

Cordell Walker - Walker 2021: Hug

Cormag - Fire Emblem: Kill

Coro chan - Sanrio: Pat on the head

Crash Man - Megaman 2: Hug

Cream the Rabbit - Sonic: Hug

Crow Strider - Homestuck/Crow Strider AU: Kill

Crying Child - Five Nights at Freddy's 4: Adopt

Cully Barnaby - Midsomer Murders: Hug

Cynthia - Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum: Marry

Daijin - Suzume: Pat on the head

Daisy Johnson - Agents of SHIELD: Hug

Daisy Tonner - The Magnus Archives: Kill

Dale Cooper - Twin Peaks: Hug

Damian Wayne - DC Comics: Pat on the head

Damien Darhk - Arrow: Kill

Damon Salvatore - The Vampire Diaries: Kill

Dana Scully - The X-Files: Marry

Daniel - Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope: Kill

Daniel Matthews - Saw: Pat on the head

Danny "Danny Boy" Archuleta - Predator 2: Kill

Danny Butterman - Hot Fuzz: Hug

Danny Fenton - Danny Phantom: Hug

Da Quing - Guardian: Hug

Darcmon - Digimon: Hug

Darkiplier - Who Killed Markiplier: Kill

Dash Parker/né Arkadin - Minority Report: Kill

Dave - Total Drama: Kill

Daxter - Jak and Daxter: Hug

Dean Winchester - Supernatural: Hug

Death - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: Kiss

Death the Kid - Soul Eater: Hug

Delenn - Babylon 5: Hug

Desmond Hume - Lost: Kill

Detective Noel/Charlie Dowd - Malevolent: Hug

Dewey Duck - Ducktales: Pat on the head

Dexter Morgan - Dexter: Kill

Diana of Themyscira | Wonder Woman - DC Comics: Marry

Dib - Invader Zim: Pat on the head

Dick Grayson - DC comics: Hug

Dieter - Monster: Kill

Digby - Dead Estate: Pat on the head

Doctor Strange Supreme - Marvel's What If...?: Kill

Dogday - Poppy Playtime: Adopt

Dominique de Sade - Vanitas no carte: Hug

Donald Duck - Ducktales 2017: Hug

Donald Trump - Real Life: Kill

Donald Trump - Real Life: Fuck

Donatello Splinterson - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003: Hug

Don Ramón/Seu Madruga - El Chavo del Ocho/Chaves: Hug

Doorstopper - Animatic Battle/Object Fool: Kill

Dorana - Winx Club: Kill

Dr. Boris Habit - Smile For Me: Hug

Dr. Claire Finn - The Orville: Hug

Dr. D Light - It's Not Me, It's My Basement: Hug

Dr. Flug ‐ Villainous: Hug

Dr. Herbert Lankmann - Dreams of an Insomniac: Kill

Dr. Loboto - Psychonauts: Kill

Dr. Ludwig/The Medic - Team Fortress 2: Kill

Dr. Temnova - PAFL/Parties are for Losers: Kill

Dr. Two Brains - WordGirl: Hug

Dragon - Shrek: Hug

Draco Malfoy - Harry Potter: Kill

Dream of the Endless - The Sandman: Hug

Dylan Lenivy - The Quarry: Hug

Echidna - Fire Emblem: Marry

Echo - Star Wars The Clone Wars/The Bad Batch: Hug

Ecolo - Puyo Puyo: Hug

Ed - Shaun of the Dead: Kill

Edd - Eddsworld: Hug

Edie Finch - What remains of Edith Finch: Kill

Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist: Pat on the head

Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate - One Piece: Hug

Ego Core - Meet the Cores: Kill

Eileen Leahy - Supernatural: Hug

Eisen - Sousou no Frieren: Hug

El Chapulín Colorado - El Chapulín Colorado: Hug

El Chavo/Chaves - El Chavo del Ocho: Kill

Elena Shimabara - THE iDOLM@STER Million Live: Pat on the head

El Huachimingo - 31 minutos: Hug

Elias - Noli Me Tangere: Kill

Elias Bouchard - The Magnus Archives: Kill

Elizabeth Swann - Pirates of the Caribbean: Marry

Emily Kauffman - Gylt: Hug

Emperor Belos - The Owl House: Kill

Emu Otori - Project Sekai: Pat on the head

Ena Shinomome - Project Sekai: Hug

Entrapta - She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Hug

Eowyn - The Lord of the Rings: Marry

Eri - My Hero Academia: Adopt

Eric Foreman - House M. D.: Hug

Ericht Samaya - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury: Pat on the head

Eric Matthews - Saw: Kill

Eric Wynn - Cube Zero: Kill

Erik (The Phantom) - The Phantom of The Opera: Kill

Eucerin - Object Fool: Kill

Eva Ushiromiya - Umineko: Hug

Evan "Buck" Buckley - 9-1-1 TV Series: Hug

Ezio Auditore da Firenze - Assassin's Creed: Hug

Ezra - On Air Island: Hug

Fan - Rockman Strategy: Kill

Fantoccio - Billie Bust Up!: Hug

Felix Fathom - Miraculous Ladybug : Pat on the head

Felix Kranken - The Walten Files: Kill

Feng - Balls of Fury: Kill

Fernando Vera - Mr. Robot: Kill

Fezzik - Home Movie: The Princess Bride: Hug

First Aid - Transformers Animated: Hug

Fitz Vacker - Keeper of the Lost Cities: Pat on the head

Five Pebbles - Rain World: Hug

Flowey - Undertale: Pat on the head

Floyd - Trolls Band Together: Kill

Flynn - Shin Megami Tensei IV (Apocalypse): Hug

Folca - Pathfinder: Kill

Fox Mulder - The X-Files: Hug

Francine "Fran" ("Flygirl") Parker - Dawn of the Dead: Hug

Francis Mosses - That’s not my neighbor: Hug

Frank Fontaine - Bioshock: Kill

Franklin Saint - Snowfall: Hug

Freddy Fazbear - Five Nights at Freddy's: Kill

Frisk - Undertale: Pat on the head

Fubuki Shirou - Inazuma Eleven: Hug

Fukase - Vocaloid: Hug

Furina - Genshin Impact: Hug

Future Edd - Eddsworld: Kill

Fyodor Dostoevsky - Bungo Stray Dogs: Kill

Gabe Ugliano - Percy Jackson: Kill

Gabriel - Ultrakill: Hug

Gale Hawthorne - The Hunger Games Franchise: Kill

Gamzee Makara - Homestuck: Kill

Garden of Thorns Gregor - Limbus Company: Marry

Garfield - Garfield: Pat on the head

Garry - Ib: Hug

Garu/Karu - Nu:Carnival: Hug

Gary King - The World’s End: Hug

Gelus - Death Note: Pat on the head

General Sarah Alder - Motherland: Fort Salem: Kill

Geno - Super Mario RPG: Hug

Gideon Nav - The Locked Tomb: Hug

Giles - The Shape of Water: Hug

Gilgamesh Wolfenbach - Girl Genius: Hug

Ginpachi-Senpai - Gintama: Kill

GLaDOS - Portal: Marry

Glenn Close - Dungeons and Daddies: Kill

Godzilla - Godzilla (Monsterverse): Hug

Gomamon/X-Antibody - Digimon: Pat on the head

Gonta Gokuhara - Danganronpa: Hug

Gorōbei Katayama - Seven Samurai: Hug

Gosha - Beastars: Hug

Grant Ward - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Kill

Gray Wing - Warrior Cats: Kill

Gray Yeon - The Weak Hero Webtoon: Kill

Greg Heffley - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Kill

Gregory - Five Nights at Freddy's, Security Breach: Kill

Gretchen - Scarlet Hollow: Pat on the head

Grillby - Undertale: Marry

Grimora - Inscryption: Kill

Guardener - Undertale Yellow: Hug

Gummigoo - The Amazing Digtal Circus: Hug

Gundham Tanaka - Super Danganronpa 2: Hug

Hal 9000 - Space Odyssey: Marry

Halsin - Baldur's Gate 3: Marry

Hal Stewart/Titan - Megamind: Kill

Haruhi Fujioka - Ouran High School Host Club: Hug

Harrowhark Nonagesimus - The Locked Tomb: Adopt

Hau - Pokemon (Sun/Moon, Ultra Sun/Moon): Hug

Heath - Blackstar Theater Starless: Hug+Kill

Heathcliff - Heathcliff Comic Strip: Hug

Heather Mason - Silent Hill 3: Hug

Heinz Doofenshmirtz - Phineas and Ferb: Hug

Hello Kitty - Sanrio: Pat on the head

Helob - Cult of the Lamb: Kill

Hernan Alvarez/Shades - Luke Cage: Kill

He Who Gets Slapped - He Who Gets Slapped: Kill

Heywood Floyd - Space Odyssey: Kill

Hideyasu "Sōki" Yūki - Onimusha games: Kill

Hikaru Sulu - Star Trek Continues: Hug

Himiko Toga - My Hero Academia: Pat on the head

Hinata Shouyou - Haikyuu!!: Hug

Hiro Hamada - Big Hero 6: Hug

Holston Becker - Silo: Hug

Homelander - The Boys: Kill

Homer Simpson - The Simpsons: Kill

Homura Akemi - Puella Magi Madoka Magika: Hug

Horrid Henry - Horrid Henry: Kill

Howard "Bunny" Colvin - The Wire: Hug

Huey Duck - Ducktales: Pat on the head

Hug Kiss Marry Kill Tumblr blog - Tumblr: Hug

Husk - Hazbin Hotel: Hug

Hwoarang - Tekken 7: Kill

Hyuk Lee - Sweet Home: Kill

Hyun Cha - Sweet Home: Hug

lan jingyi - The Untamed/cql: Pat on the head

lcb Sinner Gregor - Limbus Company: Marry

Ignatz Victor - Fire Emblem Three Houses: Pat on the head

Igor Grom - Major Grom: Hug

Ilya Oblomov - Oblomov: Hug

Indika - Indika: Hug

Inosuke Hashibira - Demon Slayer/Kimetsu No Yaiba: Pat on the head

Inuyasha - Inuyasha: Pat on the head

Invidia Bat - A Little Vice: Hug

Iris Black - Countdown to Countdown: Hug

Iron Giant - The Iron Giant: Hug

Isaac - The Orville: Hug

Ivan - Alien Stage: Hug

Izaya Orihara - Durarara!!: Kill

Jack Horner - Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: Kill

Jack Kline - Supernatural: Hug

Jaime Lannister - A Song of Ice and Fire: Kill

Jaime Reyes - Blue Beetle: Hug

Jak - Jak and Daxter: Hug

Jake Carter - The Marine movies/WWE: Kill

Jake Holling/Megaforce Black/Super Megaforce Green - Power Rangers Megaforce / Power Rangers Super Megaforce: Kill

James Wilson - House MD: Hug

Janet - The Good Place: Hug

Jason Todd - Batman: Hug

Jason Voorhees - Friday the 13th: Hug

Jax - The Amazing Digital Circus: Kill

Jay - Beyond Two Souls: Kill

Jeanne - Vanitas no carte: Hug

Jedah Diamond - Tokyo 7th Sisters: Hug

Jeff Whitman - The Devil in Me (The Dark Pictures Anthology): Kill

Jerry - Undertale: Kill

Jessica "Jess" Riley - Until Dawn: Hug

Jester Lavorre - Critical Role: Hug

Jiang Cheng - Mo Dao Zu Shi / The Untamed: Hug

Jim Phelps - Mission Impossible: Kill

Jiro Yamashita - The Idolmaster SideM: Hug

Jobin Higashikata - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Kill

Joe Biden - Real Life: Kill

Johan Liebert - Monster: Kill

John Coffey - The Green Mile: Hug

John Crichton - Farscape: Hug

John Doe - Malevolent: Hug

John Gaius - The Locked Tomb: Kill

John “Soap” MacTavish - Call of Duty - Modern Warfare series: Marry

Jonathan Sims - The Magnus Archives: Hug

Joshu Higashikata - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 8: JoJolion: Kill

Josh Washington - Until Dawn: Hug

Jotaro Kujo - Jojo’s bizarre adventure: Kill

Joyce Barnaby - Midsomer Murders: Hug

Juan Carlos Bodoque - 31 Minutos: Hug

Judy Hopps - Zootopia: Hug

Julian - Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja: Pat on the head

Juliette - Mushoku Tensei: Pat on the head

Kabru - Dungeon Meshi: Hug

Kagamine Len - Project SEKAI: Pat on the head

Kagome Higurashi - Inuyasha: Hug

Kakashi Hatake - Naruto: Marry

Kaladin Stormblessed - The Stormlight Archive: Hug

Kanba Takakura - Mawaru Penguindrum: Pat on the head

KAngel/Ame-chan - Needy Streamer Overload: Hug

Kankri Vantas - Homestuck: Kill

Kanta Higurashi - Zom 100: Hug+Kill

Kaoru Hakaze - Ensemble Stars: Kill

Karkat Vantas - Homestuck: Kill

Karma Akabane - Assassination Classroom: Hug

Kasane Teto - UTAU: Hug

Kata Akuna - Star Wars Jedi (Survivor/Fallen Order): Pat on the head

Kat Neese - Raising Dion: Hug+Kill

Kayne - Malevolent: Kill

Kazuya Kinoshita - Rent a Girlfriend: Kill

Keiju Tabuki - Mawaru Penguindrum: Kill

Keine Ron - UTAU: Pat on the head

Kel - Onori: Hug

Kellyn - Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: Pat on the head

Ken - Barbie: Hug

Kendall Roy - Succession: Hug

Kensuke Kurosaki - Corpse Party: Pat on the head

Kermit the Frog - The Muppet: Hug

Kestrel - Wings of Fire: Kill

Kevin - Welcome to Night Vale: Kill

Kevin McCallister - Home Alone: Pat on the head

Keyleth - Critical Role: Hug

Khalida - Motherland: Fort Salem: Pat on the head

Kikunojo - One Piece: Marry

Kikuchiyo - Seven Samurai: Kiss

Kikyo - Inuyasha: Hug

Killua Zoldyck - Hunter x Hunter: Pat on the head

Kim - Kinnporsche: The Series: Hug

Kim Dokja - Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint: Hug

King Andrias - Amphibia: Kill

King Randolph - Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses: Kill

Kinito - KinitoPET: Pat on the head

Kinzo Ushiromiya - Umineko: Kill

Kira Seijirou - Inazuma Eleven: Kill

Kirby - Kirby: Pat on the head

Kitty Jones - Bartimaeus Trilogy: Hug

Klaus von Reinherz - Kekkai Sensen: Marry

Klavier Gavin - Ace Attorney: Hug

Klutzy - Club Penguin: Pat on the head

Kohaku - Dr. Stone: Pat on the head

Kokichi Oma - Danganronpa V3: Kill

Korosensei - Assassination Classroom: Hug

Korra - Legend of Korra: Hug

Kotoko Yuzuriha - Milgram: Hug

Kou Minamoto - Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun: Hug

Kris Dreemurr - Deltarune: Hug

Kurokumo Clan Captain Gregor - Limbus Company: Kiss

Kuzco - The Emperor's New Groove: Pat on the head

Kyle Drako - Milo Murphy's Law: Kill

Kyubi - Puella Magi Madoka Magika: Kill

Kyungsoon - Purrgatory: Hug

L - Death Note: Hug

La Chilindrina/Chiquinha - El Chavo del Ocho/Chaves: Pat on the head

LadyDevimon - Digimon: Kiss

Lady Eboshi - Princess Mononoke: Marry

Lady Sio - Afro Samurai: Kiss

LaFawnduh Lucas - Napoleon Dynamite: Hug

Lance - Pokemon Special Edition: Pat on the head

Lance Serrano - Voltron: Hug

Langly (X-Files): Kill

Lantern Gregor - Limbus Company: Hug

Lara Vega - Minority Report: Hug

Lee Doo-hak - Oasis: Hug

Lee Everett - Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Hug

Lenore "Lenny" Busker/The Breakfast Queen - Legion: Kill

Leo Valdez - Heroes of Olympus: Hug

Leshy - Inscryption: Hug

Lestat de Lioncourt - Interview with the Vampire: Kill

Lev Myshkin - The Idiot: Hug

Licorice Cookie - Cookie Run Kingdom: Hug

Lila - Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022: Hug

Lili Zanotto - Psychonauts: Pat on the head

Lisa Simpson - The Simpsons: Pat on the head

Liu Qianqiao - Qord of Honor: Hug

Lloyd the Lion - Indigo Park: Kill

Logan Fields - School Bus Graveyard: Hug

Luke Trapper - The Marine movies/WWE: Kill

Lonely Wizard - Inscryption: Hug

Looks to the Moon - Rain World: Hug

Luan Loud - The Loud House: Kill

Lucia Villanueva - Snowfall: Hug

Lucifer Morningstar - Hazbin Hotel: Marry

Luigi - Super Mario Brothers: Hug

Luisa Madrigal - Encanto: Hug

Luke Carder - Inscryption: Hug

Luke Skywalker - Star Wars: Hug

Lumine - LUMINE: Pat on the head

Luna Lovegood - Harry Potter: Adopt

Luz Noceda - The Owl House: Hug

Mabel Pines - Gravity Falls: Hug

Mademoiselle Anastasie "Tasi" Trianon - Amnesia: Rebirth: Hug

Madoka Kaname - Madoka Magica: Hug

Madotsuki - Yume Nikki: Pat on the head

Mafuyu Asahina - Project Sekai: Pat on the head

Maggie Simpson - The Simpsons: Hug

Magnificus - Inscryption: Kill

Magolor - Kirby: Kill

Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter - Sailor Moon: Hug

Malak - Dark Deception: Kill

Malcolm Merlyn - Arrow: Kill

Mallow - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars/Super Mario RPG: Pat on the head

Manny Heffley - Diary of a wimpy kid: Kill

Man with the yellow hat - Curious George: Hug

Marceline Abadeer - Adventure Time: Marry

Marge Simpson - The Simpsons: Hug

Maria Ushiromiya - Umineko: Adopt

Marie Whitman - The Devil in Me/The Dark Pictures Anthology: Hug

Mark Beaks - Ducktales: Kill

Marnie - Stardew Valley: Hug

Martin Blackwood - The Magnus Archives: Hug

Martin Payne - Martin: Hug

Martyn InTheLittleWood - Life Series: Kill

Mary Schmidt - Five Nights at Candy's 3: Pat on the head

Master Kohga - Legend of Zelda: Kill

Matcha Cookie - Cookie Run: Hug

Matsudappoiyo - UTAU: Hug

Matt - Eddsworld: Kill

Matty - Witch's Heart: Kill

Max Goof - An Extremely Goofy Movie: Hug

Max Madigan - True Jackson, VP: Kill

Medkit - Phighting!: Kill

Melchior - Riot Kings: Hug

Mia Dolan - La La Land: Kill

Miae Hwang - After School Lessons for unripe apples: Pat on the head

Michael - The Good Place: Hug

Michael Afton - Five Nights at Freddy's: Hug

Michael J. Caboose - Red vs Blue: Hug

Michael Kaiser - Blue Lock: Hug

Michael "Mike" Munroe - Until Dawn: Kill

Michonne Grimes - The Walking Dead: Hug

Mike Horvath - Saving Private Ryan: Hug

Miki Sayaka - Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Hug

Miko Nakadai - Transformers Prime: Pat on the head

Millennial Tree Cookie - Cookie Run: Hug

Millie Fitzsimmons - FNaF Fazbear Frights: Hug+Pat on the head

Min - Parallel City: Hug+Kill

Mina Harker - Dracula: Hug

Mini Yaemori - Rent a Girlfriend: Kill

Minish Cap Link - The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap: Pat on the head

Mion Sonozaki - Higurashi: Hug

Miorine Rembran - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury: Hug

Misa Amane - Death Note: Hug

Misaki Ayuzawa - Kaichou wa Maid Sama: Hug

Miss Circle - Fundamental Paper Education/Basics In Behavior: Kill

Miss Kobayashi - Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Hug

Miss Piggy - The Muppets: Hug

Mithrun - Dungeon Meshi: Hug

Mitty - Made in Abyss: Kill

Miwako Sakurada - Paradise Kiss: Hug+Kiss

Miyo Takano - Higurashi: Kill

Molar Boatworks Fixer Sinclair - Limbus Company: Hug

Momo - Stray: Hug

Monika - Doki Doki Literature Club: Hug

Mono - Little Nightmares: Adopt

Monsieur Tidbits - The Who Was? Show: Kill

Moonwatcher - Wings of Fire: Hug

Mo Ran - The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha): Hug

Morgan Yu - Prey: Hug

Mothwing - Warrior Cats: Pat on the head

Mr Bean - Mr Bean: Hug

Mr Peanutbutter - BoJack Horseman: Kill

Mr. Puzzles - SMG4: Kill

Mrs. Asahina - Project Sekai: Kill

Mr. Scratch - Alan Wake: Kiss

Munehisa Iwai - Persona 5: Hug

Murmukusmon - Digimon: Kill

Mustache Girl - A Hat In Time: Pat on the head

Mylene Farrow - Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Kill

Narrator - The Stanley Parable: Hug

Naruto Uzumaki - Naruto: Adopt

Nastasya Filippovna - The Idiot: Hug

Nastya Rasputina - The Mechanisms: Hug

Natalia - The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls: Hug

Nate Wright - Big Nate: Hug

Natsukage Suoh - 1bitHeart: Pat on the head

Natsuki - Doki Doki Literature Club: Hug

Natsuki Shinomiya - Uta no Prince-sama: Hug

Near - Death Note: Hug

Ness - Earthbound: Pat on the head

Newton Pud - Little Big Planet: Hug

Nicholas Angel - Hot Fuzz: Hug

Nick - Zootopia: Hug

Nick Valentine - Fallout 4: Marry

Nico Robin - One Piece: Marry

Nicumond the Red aka Santa Claus - Violent Night: Kill

Niffty - Hazbin Hotel: Pat on the head

Niki Sanders - Heroes: Hug

Niko - Oneshot: Hug

No.96 Dark Mist - Yugioh Zexal: Kill

NOAH - Lancer TTRPG: Hug

Nobara Kugisaki - Jujutsu Kaisen: Hug

Noe Archiviste - Vanitas no carte: Hug

Norma Jennings - Twin Peaks: Hug

Norman - Honey I'm Home: Hug

Nurgle - Warhammer: Kill

Nurgling - Warhammer: Pat on the head

Obi - Akagami No Shirayukihime: Hug

Obscurum/Dark Argan - Winx Club: Kill

Oh Jung-shin - Oasis: Hug

Omnimon/Omegamon - Digimon: Hug

One-One - Infinity Train: Pat on the head

Ongsa - 23.5: Pat on the head

Onion San - Undertale: Pat on the head

Orel Puppington - Moral Orel: Adopt

Oroboros - Honka: Star Rail: Kill

Oscar - Malevolent: Hug

Ozen ""The Immovable"" - Made in Abyss: Hug

P03 - Inscryption: Kill

Pal Percy - Playtime with Percy: Kill

Patrick Star - Spongebob Squarepants: Hug

Pavel Yudin - Fear and Hunger Termina: Kill

Peacock - Skullgirls: Pat on the head

PearlescentMoon - Double lifesmp/Traffic life series: Hug

Peter Washington - Dawn of the Dead: Kill

Phaya - The Sign: Kiss

Philippines - Hetalia: Hug

Phillip Price - Mr. Robot: Kill

Phoebe Spengler - Ghostbusters: Pat on the head

Phosphophyllite - Land of the Lustrous/Houseki no Kuni: Hug

PicoDevimon - Digimon: Pat on the head

Pink - Everhood: Hug

Pinkie Pie - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: Hug

Playtime - Baldi’s Basics: Kill

Pomni - The Amazing Digital Circus: Hug

Popeyes Employee - RDCWorld1: Hug

Poppy - Poppy Playtime: Kill

Portgas D. Ace - One Piece: Hug

Princess Leia - Star Wars: Marry

Priya Singh - Tenet: Hug

Prospera Mercury - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury: Kill

Qifrey - Witch Hat Atelier: Hug

Quark - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Hug

Quico - El Chavo/Chaves: Kill

Rachel Green - Friends: Kill

Radahn, Consort of Miquella - Elden Ring: Kill

Raelle Collar - Motherland: Fort Salem: Kill

Rainbow Core - Portal Stories: Mel: Hug

Rambley the Raccoon - Indigo Park: Hug

Ramona Flowers - Scott Pilgrim: Hug

Randy Random - Rimworld: Kill

Ranko Mannen - Akiba Maid War: Hug

Ranma Saotome - Ranma 1/2: Hug

Ranpo Edogawa - Bungo Stray Dogs: Hug

Rantaro Amami - Danganronpa: Kill

Rasputin IV - X-Men: Kiss

Rasta Beast - Everhood: Hug

Ray - The Promised Neverland: Hug

R.B. Sous-chef Gregor - Limbus Company: Kill

R. Daneel Olivaw - The Robot Series: Kill

Red Harvest - The Magnificent Seven: Hug

Reese Kelly - Scarlet Hollow: Hug

Regina - Dino Crisis: Hug+Kill

Regina George - Mean Girls: Kill

Reigen Arataka - Mob Psycho 100: Kill

Reimi Sugimoto - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Hug

Rei Sakuma - Ensemble Stars: Hug

Rem - Death Note: Hug

Ramy Hassan - Ramy TV show: Kill

Retsuko - Aggretsuko Anime: Hug

Riamu Yumemi - The iDOLM@STER Cincerella Girls: Hug

Rider - Centaurworld: Hug

Riku - Kingdom Hearts: Hug

Ringo Oginome - Mawaru Penguindrum: Pat on the head

Roadhog - Overwatch: Hug

Robert E. O. Speedwagon - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Kill

Robert Freeman/Granddad - The Boondocks: Hug

Robin - Honkai Star Rail: Hug

Robin Scherbatsky - How I Met Your Mother: Kill

Rod Sullivan - Ice Scream: Kill

Ronald Novikov - Jackson's Diary: Hug

Rory - Morgana and Oz: Hug

Rosa Ushiromiya - Umineko: Kill

Rose Quartz - Steven Universe: Hug

Rozy/Rozana - The Guy Upstairs: Hug

Ruby Rose - RWBY: Hug

Runaway Kid - Little Nightmares: Adopt

Ryland Tate - Good Game: Hug

Ryo Akizuki - The Idolmaster: Pat on the head

Ryotaro Dojima - Persona 4: Hug

Ryuji Sakamoto - Persona 5: Hug

Saburo Yamada - Hypnosis Mic: Pat on the head

Sakuna - Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin: Pat on the head

Sakura Haruno - Naruto: Pat on the head

Samantha "Sam" Giddings - Until Dawn: Hug

Sam Drake - Uncharted Franchise: Marry

Sammy Lawrence - Bendy and the ink machine: Kill

Samuel J. Stuhlinger - Call Of Duty:Black Ops 2 Zombies: Kill

Sam Winchester - Supernatural: Hug

Samwise Gamgee - Lord of the Rings: Hug

Sanetoshi Watase - Mawaru Penguindrum: Kill

Sans - Undertale: Hug

Sarah Lynn - Bojack Horseman: Hug

Sara Lance - Legends of Tomorrow: Marry+Kill

Sasara Nurude - Hypnosis Mic: Kill

Sasha Nein - Psychonauts: Hug

Sasha Waybright - Amphibia: Pat on the head

Satoru Gojo - Jujutsu Kaisen: Marry

Saturday Tasogare- vivid/stasis: Hug

Savannah - Milo Murphy's Law: Kill

Sayori - Doki Doki Literature Club: Hug

Scissors - Paper Mario the Orgami King: Kill

Scrappy Doo - Scooby-Doo: Kill

Scrooge McDuck - Ducktales: Hug+Kill

Scylla Ramshorn - Motherland: Fort Salem: Kill

Seliph - Fire Emblem: Hug

Senku Ishigami - Dr. Stone: Kill

Sergei Dragunov - Tekken: Marry

Sergey Razumovsky - Major Grom: Hug

Serial Designation N - Murder Drones: Hug

Sesshomaru - Inuyasha: Kill

Seungha - Odd Girl Out: Hug

Severus Snape - Harry Potter: Kill

Shaggy - Scooby-Doo: Pat on the head

Shannon LaFae - Heart Fragment: Hug

Shauna Shipman - Yellowjackets: Hug+Kiss+Marry

Shaun Riley - Shaun of the Dead: Hug

Sheryl Luria - Evil: Kill

Shigaraki Tomura - My Hero Academia: Hug

Shinobu Sengoku - Ensemble Stars: Pat on the head

Shinra Kishitani - Durarara!!: Kill

Shin Sato - The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls: Hug

Shion Sonozaki - Higurashi: Pat on the head must

Shirogane Ryo - Tokyo Mew Mew: Pat on the head

Shouko Komi - Komi San wa komishou desu: Hug

Shouto Todoroki - My Hero Academia: Hug

Shrek - Shrek: Hug

Shu Itsuki - Ensemble Stars: Kill

Shuji Ikutsuki - Persona 3: Kill

Shuya Nanahara - Battle Royale: Pat on the head

Siffrin - In Stars and Time: Hug

Simon Keyes - Ace Attorney: Kill

Sir Pentious - Hazbin Hotel: Hug

Six - Little Nightmares: Pat on the head+Adopt

Skull Kid - Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Pat on the head

Skyler White - Breaking Bad: Hug

Slate - Outer Wilds: Hug

Slaymate - Dungeons & Dragons: Pat on the head

Snow White/Red Shoes - Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs: Hug

Sojiro Sakura - Persona 5: Hug

Soldier Boy - The Boys: Kill

Solomon - Obey Me: Marry

Sonya - Fire Emblem: Marry

Sora Harukawa - Ensemble Stars: Pat on the head

Spamton G. Spamton - Deltarune: Kill

Sparkle - Honkai: Star Rail: Kill

Spencer Reid - Criminal Minds: Marry

SpongeBob SquarePants - SpongeBob SquarePants: Hug

Stanley Poole - Bioshock 2: Kill

Stan Pines - Gravity Falls: Hug

Stardust Cookie - Cookie Run: Kingdom: Hug

Star Flower - Warrior Cats: Pat on the head

Starscream - Transformers Prime: Kill

Stephen "Flyboy" Andrews - Dawn of the Dead: Kill

Steve Harrington - Hug

Stokely Mitchell - The Faculty: Hug

Stonemover - Wings of Fire : Hug

Strider Hiryu - Strider: Kill

Subspace - Phighting!: Kill

Suletta Mercury - Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury: Hug

Sypha Belnades - Castlevania: Marry

Taichi Fujisaki - Danganronpa: Ultra Despair Girls: Hug

Taiga Kagami - Kuroko No Basket/Kuroko's Basketball: Hug

Takuto Maruki - Persona 5 Royal: Hug

Tali'Zorah - Mass Effect: Marry

Tally Craven - Motherland: Fort Salem: Kill

Tamaki Suoh - Ouran High School Host Club: Hug

Tangerine - Bullet train: Kill

Tarvek Sturmvoraus - Girl Genius: Hug

Taylor - Simulacra: Hug

Taylor Hebert - Worm (Parahumans): Hug

Taylor Swift - Real Life: Kill

Teddy - Among the Sleep: Kill

Terry - Deltarune: Kill

Teruki Hanazawa - Mob Psycho 100: Pat on the head

Teruteru Hanamura - Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair: Kill

Tessa James Elliot - Murder Drones: Hug

Testament - Guilty Gear: Strive: Marry

Tetsuya Kuroko - Kuroko no Basuke/Kuroko's Basketball: Pat on the head

The Collector - The Owl House: Adopt

The Dud - The Simpsons: Kill

The Emperor - Baldur's Gate 3: Kill

The Goose - Untitled Goose Game: Pat on the head

The Grim Reaper - The Sims: Marry

The Maker/Reed Richards - Ultimate Marvel: Kill

The Mask - The Mask Animated Series: Kill

The Ninth Doctor - Doctor Who: Hug

The Nowhere King - Centaurworld: Kill

Theodore "Teddy" McDonald/Reed Thompson - Snowfall: Kill

Theodore Peterson - Hello Neighbor: Kill

The Once-ler - The Lorax: Kill

The Princess - Slay the Princess: Hug

The Puppeteer - Five Nights at Candy's: Kill

The Second Coming - Animator vs Animation/Animation vs Minecraft: Hug

The Shade - The Longing: Pat on the head

The Shapeshifter - Odd Squad: Kill

The Snatcher - A Hat In Time: Kill

The Stalker - Stalker: Kill

The Survivor - Rain World: Pat on the head

The Test - Baldi's Basics: Kill

The unnamed salesman who recruits participants for the Game - Squid Game: Kill

The Wandering Trader - Minecraft: Kill

The Works - The Works: Kill

Thomas Richardson - The Apostle: Kill

Thorn - Wings of Fire: Hug

Tien Shinhan - Dragonball: Hug

Tifa Lockhart - Final Fantasy VII: Hug

Tippi - Super Paper Mario: Hug

Titania - Fire Emblem: Marry

Tom Barnaby - Midsomer Murders: Hug

Tony Tony Chopper - One Piece: Adopt

Tord - Eddsworld: Kill

Toya Aoyagi - Project SEKAI: Hug

Trevor Belmont - Castlevania: Kiss

Trevor Garbo - Smile For Me: Kill

Tsubasa Yuunagi - Hirogaru Sky PreCure: Pat on the head

Tsukasa Okino - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim: Hug

Tulio Triviño Tufillo - 31 Minutos: Kill

Tulip Olsen - Infinity Train: Pat on the head

Turbo - Wreck It Ralph: Kill

Twelve - Zankyou No Terror: Kill

Twice - Boku No Hero Academia: Hug

Ubel - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End: Kill

Ukitake Jushiro - Bleach: Hug

Umi - Sharkgirl Umi: Pat on the head

Uncle Iroh - Avatar: The Last Airbender: Hug

Unpleasant - Regretevator: Kill

Uraume - Jujitsu Kaisen: Hug

Usami - Danganronpa: Hug

User Friendly - 3DV: Kill

Uta - One Piece: Hug

Vanessa - A Hat In Time: Kill

Vanitas - Vanitas no carte: Hug

Vasily Petrovych Goloborodko - Servant of the People: Hug

Vee - The Owl House: Hug

Vegas Theerapanyakul - KinnPorsche: Hug

Vertin - Reverse: 1999: Hug

Victoria Best - Wordgirl: Pat on the head

Vigilante - My Friend Pedro: Hug+Kill

Vinegar Doppio - Jojos Bizarre Adventure: Hug

Virgil - Portal Stories: Mel: Hug

Vriska Serket- Homestuck: Kill

Wabuu - Wabuu the cheeky raccoon: Kill

Wade Wilson - Deadpool: Hug

Wallace - Pokémon ORAS: Hug

WALL-E - WALL-E: Pat on the head

Wally Franks - Bendy and the Ink Machine: Hug

Warren the Eagle - Don't Hug Me I'm Scared: Kill

Wednesday Addams - The Addams Family: Pat on the head

Wes - Pokemon Colosseum: Hug

Wheatley - Portal: Kill

Whitty - Friday Night Funkin: Hug

Will Solace - Heroes of Olympus: Hug

Winry Rockbell - Fullmetal Alchemist: Hug

Winfrey/Speciment 02 - Dreams Of An Insominiac: Hug

Winston Byrd - Toontown Corporate Clash: Hug

Wombat - Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!: Hug

Wooly - Rune Factory: Pat on the head

Wu Xie - Daomu Biji: Hug

Xavier - Xavier: Renegade Angel : Kill

Xavier Riddle - Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: Pat on the head

Yadina Riddle - Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: Pat on the head

Yagami Eiji - Danball Senki: Kill

Yamato - One Piece: Hug

Yang Xiao Long - RWBY: Hug

Yato - Noragami: Kill

Yellow - Malevolent: Hug

Yellow/Amarillo del Bosque Verde - Pokemon Special Edition/Pokespe: Pat on the head

Yoda - Star Wars: Hug

Yoo Joonghyuk - Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint: Hug

Yor - Yor, the Hunter from the Future: Kill

Yor Forger - Spy x Family: Marry

Yoshino Himekawa - Date a Live: Pat on the head

Youhei Sunohara - Clannad: Kill

Yui - Sakuna: of rice and ruin: Pat on the head

Yukito Ayatsuji - Bungo Stray Dogs: Gaiden: Kill

Yuki Yoshikawa - Horimiya: Pat on the head

Yura Beletsky - Pafl: Kill

Yuri - DDLC: Hug

Yurika Hakonaka - Yuri Kuma Arashi: Kill

Yu Shu Lien - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Hug

Yusuke Urameshi - Anime House: Hug

Yuugo Tennouji - Steins;Gate: Hug

Zenkichi Hasegawa - Persona 5 Strikers/Scramble: Kill

Zeus - Greek Mythology: Kill

Zhang Chengling - Word of Honor: Pat on the head

Zhou Zishu - Word of Honor: Hug

Zim - Invader Zim: Pat on the head

ZombieCleo - The Life Series: Hug

Zuko - Avatar The Last Airbender: Hug

[kiisaes]

Are Mari and hero dating in the catholic school au or do they not know each other?

they're neither! they're best friends teetering on dating, but aren't officially an item. they knew each other from high school (went to the same catholic school as sunny, kel, aubrey and basil do now) and shared a few honors/AP classes together. they found out they went to the same college through random coincidence and grew closer there!

i'd imagine that since hero and mari weren't extremely close buddies growing up, there was less of a reason for them to hang out outside of school. they were both super busy with academics and religion and mari's dad wouldn't let her hang out with any boys anyway. gotta love that good ol' conservative separation of the sexes (totally not speaking from my own experience here)

in college, they're content with being friends, even though both are pining for each other pretty non-discretely tbh. like they're platonic enough but also lowkey flirty and their college friends all think something going on here. since their relationship started later in their lives than it does in canon, i like to think that both are almost too self-aware at this stage in life where they don't want to risk their stroke-of-fate friendship

anywayyyy here's some catholic school au heromari, bc holy shit? i haven't drawn them at ALL????

they're kinda just college interpretations of the characters, not directly connected to catholic school au, since the catholic school aspect of this au doesn't regularly relate to them anymore. but this is how i imagine they'd look and act

(also, bc hero and mari didn't hang out outside of school during their high school years, neither of them have properly met the others' sibling, making sunny and kel's meeting more coincidental too. not like hero or mari could ever inform kel or sunny about their friend's sibling prior to meeting; they're in college lol, why would they care)

[humornaut]

Chef Sunny’s Kitchen: Hobbies of an Unreliable Narrator

Hey all! Just wanted to do another little post that I’ve seen toyed with but never explored to it’s fullest potential. Spoilers for Omori ahead!

So Omori as a game is no stranger to the concept of unreliable narrators, but often, I see people using that term pretty liberally to explain away situations that don’t really make all that much sense (example, I’ve seen someone say that Sunny’s fridge isn’t actually empty, he’s just refusing to see the rest of the food because he feels he doesn’t deserve it). However, if you spend any amount of time examining the game, you will find that the ways in which Sunny (and Basil) are unreliable narrators are fairly consistent.

To spend a little bit of time on Basil, there are two main reasons that he is an unreliable narrator. Firstly, he is in a massive state of denial throughout the real world sections of the game, not that that is that big of a deal, since we already know the Truth by the time he gives his account of what happened the night of the recital. However, there is another big way that Basil is an unreliable narrator.

Basil’s photo album is one of the primary ways that the player, and by extension Sunny, is familiarized (or re-familiarized) with the past. But there are several ways that Basil’s photo album can be misleading. For instance, the photo album is from Basil’s perspective, so we don’t often get views of what other characters thought about certain events. In addition, things like Sunny and Kel sneaking out to go to Hobbeez or Sunny and Aubrey talking on the swing set aren’t going to be mentioned in the photo album, since Basil would not have been present. Beyond that, unhappy memories such as the Lake Incident won’t be included. Finally, Basil is often noted for enjoying the act of keeping secrets, which is something we see highlighted in nearly every memory during Memory Lane.

To give an example of where stuff like this comes up, we should start at the Rainy Day memory, or rather, the pictures that are associated with it.

(4/29): Just KEL being KEL again... We went to HOBBEEZ, but the shop owner told KEL to leave his jacket outside since KEL was getting all his comics wet. Sorry, SHOPKEEP.

From here, we know that after the Rainy Day memory ends, the four friends head over to Hobbeez to read comics, and then Kel had to leave his jacket outside. But what we don’t see, due to Basil not talking about it in the album, is that they actually split up afterwards, with Aubrey and Kel staying at Hobbeez, and Sunny and Basil going to the secret hangout spot and hanging out at the dock.

They don’t even have the umbrellas, showing that they are intentionally in the same outfits, since they couldn't just re-use the same sprites.

Likely, Sunny and Basil split off from the group to have some kind of private conversation away from Aubrey and Kel. It could’ve been related to Sunny’s crush on Aubrey, since this would’ve been the day that Basil figured it out. Sunny clearly never talked about his crush with Mari, since Mari is shown comparing Aubrey and Kel’s friendship to her own relationship with Hero, so perhaps Sunny was feeling a little frustrated at how close Aubrey and Kel were. He does canonically just walk ahead of the group after Basil calls out his crush, after all. It doesn’t really matter what specifically they talked about, because what does matter is that this is an event that Basil purposefully left out of the photo album, so we are completely left in the dark on what actually happened in this conversation.

But I want to get on to the main thing I wanted to talk about here.

Sunny

So Sunny is such an unreliable narrator that it is sometimes painful. There are two main reasons that Sunny is an unreliable narrator:

Sunny is repressing the Truth, so things like the existence of the closet are ignored, and within Headspace, how important Basil is to Sunny specifically is being repressed until later in the game. This causes quite a few oddities. The Headspace friends (and Hero in the real world) say that Omori has a good memory, but based on things we see throughout Headspace, it seems like a lot of the things that Sunny “remembers” are actually just things about Basil. (e.g. the Headspace photo album shows that Sunny has forgotten that Aubrey’s favorite fruit is watermelon. Meanwhile the least effective smoothie is the Banana smoothie, while the most effective non-dino smoothie is the Strawberry smoothie. Basil is shown in the real world photo album to dislike a banana popsicle, and outright says that he loves strawberries during the Birthday Memory. I may do another post expanding on this concept, because I think it is incorrect to take the statement about Sunny/Omori having a good memory at face value.)

Sunny is an imperfect human that hasn’t seen his friends in nearly four years. The way that his friends are portrayed in Headspace is in many ways, an ideal, and is not representative of how they act in either the current day, or back before the incident.

However, there is one last way that Sunny is an unreliable narrator, and that’s the simple fact that Sunny hates himself.

See, Sunny hates himself on a subconscious level throughout the game. Due to this, many of the things that Sunny does for others or himself were cast away, as they were just no longer important in the face of what he did. Even if he does remember that he did things for his friends growing up, they are never brought up because he no longer sees those things that he did as important. Within Sunny’s mind, the fact that he would listen to Basil talk about anything and everything is repressed until the player enters Blackspace, when Stranger uses that information to guilt Sunny for leaving the real Basil behind. The fact that he did this for Aubrey as well is something that is kept away from the player until he’s having a version of his friends remind him of their bonds shortly before entering a battle within his own mind to keep from losing the will to live in the battle against Omori.

Due to a mixture of all these reasons, Sunny’s relationships with each of his friends can often seem one-sided, especially when it comes to Basil, since so much more of him is being repressed than the others. You will often see the idea floated around that Basil’s liking of Sunny was one-sided, and that Sunny actually considered Kel his best friend, but this simply isn’t the case, it’s just that Basil kept a photo album and Sunny is actively trying to forget everything related to the Truth.

To illustrate what I’m talking about, I’d like to expand on a topic that I briefly mentioned in my previous post: Sunny has a small cooking hobby.

It wouldn’t be surprising for someone like Sunny to have an interest in cooking and preparing food. After all, two of the people that he looks up to the most are Mari and Hero, and both of their food preparation abilities are put on a pedestal within Headspace. Also within Headspace is an extremely wide range of food. A notable exclusion from the Snack list is steak, Sunny’s favorite food (according to his mom). Within the Foe Facts! journal, we can see that Sunny knows nutritional information for cilantro (this is attributed to Kel in the journal, but remember, this is Sunny’s mind, so Sunny would have to know it), and we can also see information about ginger and celery. According to the Headspace description for chocolate, we know that Sunny knows the difference between baking chocolate and regular chocolate. Sunny also has a concept of vegan food, and seems to be preoccupied with what can be considered vegan when it comes to several of the different Bunnies that appear within Orange Oasis.

Bread and toast are also given a large importance within Headspace, which likely stems from the summer before the photo album, when Hero and Mari were working at the bakery. He knows about different types of bread, has a technique called “Bread Slice” in Headspace, and is at least somewhat familiar with the process for making bread, as seen in the area where the Bread Twins are located.

In order to get any deeper into this analysis and talk more about why this information is somewhat hidden from the player, we need to get into just who it is Sunny cooks for.

The table that Basil and Sunny always sit at is one of the most adorable easily-missed details in the game, in my opinion, but I personally find that it connects to Sunny’s cooking interest quite well. After all, there would be no other reason for them to have this table in here if it was just for eating and homework and playing, as there is a full table in just the other room. The fact that this table is seen in a version of the house seemingly taken shortly before the incident is also relevant, because Mari and Hero would have been much more busy and likely wouldn’t be cooking or setting up picnics as much.

I’d like to put forward the idea that many of Sunny’s culinary escapades, outside of the group cooking situations that are mentioned by Hero, were shared specifically with Basil. This is because there are two primary food items that are associated with Sunny’s abilities.

Tofu

Tofu appears a whole lot in Headspace. It is loved by the Sprout Moles, and it is the cheapest food item, since you can get it for a single clam. The description for it calls it “Soft cardboard, basically.”

In the 2018 demo of the game, Basil’s grandmother directly states that tofu is Basil’s favorite food. Since this does not appear in the final game, I would like to point out that Basil’s fridge in Faraway is still the only fridge that has tofu in it, so it can still be assumed that this is intended to be the case.

During the Hikokomori route, there are two books that Sunny is shown to own that are relevant to this analysis. The first is one entitled “The Food Pyramid”, which is just another piece of evidence of Sunny’s cooking interest, and the second, “The Benefits of Tofu”. Sunny having this second book is very interesting, as he himself is shown to dislike tofu greatly. The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that Sunny specifically learned how to prepare tofu for Basil’s benefit.

And indeed, despite tofu healing the least amount of health and costing the least amount of clams, it is still the most clam efficient way of acquiring better snacks in Headspace, as 10 can be traded in Orange Oasis for a random other snack. I like to imagine that this references Sunny trading tofu with Basil for other foods, with the time commitment involved in the exchange referencing the fact that Sunny could’ve just learned how to make the other foods, but he is going out of his way to make something Basil likes, for his benefit.

Pictured: a normal amount of things about tofu for someone that doesn’t like tofu themselves to know

However, the other food that we know about Sunny’s proficiency with is far more interesting...

Strawberry Cake

So this is something that I’ve seen brought up a lot recently, the fact that Sunny knows step-by-step instructions on how to prepare a strawberry cake within Headspace implying he was involved with the preparation of Basil’s birthday cake in the real world, as it is the only time one is seen in the real world, but I think this idea deserves to be examined a little bit further.

First: Sunny knows how to make a strawberry cake, one way or the other.

Second: Sunny is not given credit for making Basil’s strawberry cake during the Birthday memory.

So, here’s what we know:

Hero is given credit for making the cake by Aubrey. However, Hero never actually responds to either Aubrey or Basil’s compliments during the memory.

Aubrey did not help with the cake, otherwise she wouldn’t have given credit to Hero specifically. In addition, we can assume Kel did not help, by virtue of him allowing Aubrey to not compliment him as well. Aubrey also likely does not believe that Mari was involved, because Aubrey would’ve complimented Mari if she knew.

Not everyone would’ve been at Basil’s house while the cake was being made, as this party was a surprise party being held at Basil’s house, so a few members of the group were likely on distraction duty.

Mari teases Sunny for being “camera shy” and tells him that he will get used to it soon enough. Indeed this does seem to be the case, as it doesn’t take long at all for Basil to take a picture of Sunny once he gets his camera back.

“Hehe...” indeed, Mari.

Finally, I would like to point out that just like the visions for the Rainy Day memory, there is a vision for this memory. In Faraway Park, you can find Hero and Kel playing, while wearing their outfits from the Birthday memory, implying that Hero and Kel were not spending their time before the party making a birthday cake.

There are two adorable conclusions that can be drawn then, from Sunny knowing how to make a strawberry cake. I’ll let you take your pick.

Sunny himself made Basil’s cake, either with instruction from Hero or on his own, then was too shy to take credit for it, or even appear on camera with it, with Hero and Mari covering for him and Hero staying silent as he is complimented by Aubrey and Basil. Aubrey is either also covering for Sunny, or is just mistakenly assuming that Hero made it. Sunny may have even told Basil that he made it later, because the photo album says “My friends surprised me with a strawberry cake”, rather than Hero.

Sunny, after seeing how happy the cake made Basil, decided to learn how to make a strawberry cake later.

Either way, Basil’s smile from that day is certainly something that stuck with Sunny, considering Basil’s birthday is covered in Memory Lane, and his own isn’t.

Sunny even has knowledge that Basil doesn’t really like sweets that much, as seen through what Mari says in Orange Oasis. This is something that Sunny only seemed to do for Basil. Sunny’s favorite food is steak, and his way of preparing that is to put it in the microwave. I would like to point out that most people would learn how to cook their own favorite foods first. You don’t have to see it this way, but you could read clear romantic undertones to this behavior. Sunny and Basil’s table in the kitchen is right next to the counter where Mari and Hero like to do their homework. Sunny also looks up to Hero a great deal, and if you interact with the stove in Sunny’s kitchen, he specifically makes a big deal about how Hero is always trying to cook for Mari but makes too much and the rest of the friends get the leftovers. Not to mention that the unknown ingredients involved with the Hero’s Kitchen area of Black Space 2 are linked to Basil in the game’s data, and the sprites are all tofu sprites.

To loop back around to the central point here, due to Basil’s love of keeping secrets, Sunny’s little hobby would not have been recorded within the photo album, because this was just for Basil. Sunny, in the modern day, doesn’t think about the fact that he did this for Basil, because to do that would be for Sunny to value what he brought forward to their friendship, and he can’t do that if he hates himself. And remembering how close he is to Basil at all would be to allow himself to feel guilty for leaving him alone to deal with the fallout of Mari’s death. Sunny and Basil are two unreliable little gremlins, so you need to look a little closer to see how their friendship went both ways, but I promise you, the game does give you a lot to work with if you just look for it.

[traumafactory28]

OMORI

There are five stages of grief.

Denial- sunny

Willing to create a whole new world within his head to believe that his sister is still alive and with his friends and overall, still happy

Anger- Aubrey

This one is obvious. She feels anger over a loss that does not seem fair, leaving her feeling frustrated, trapped, and hurt with in her own vicious cycle of regret and grief.

Bargaining- basil

Willing to put behind Maris death if it means to keep sunny as a friend. He didn't only lose mari in that accident. He lost his best friend, and he's willing to do anything to stop him from leaving too.

Depression- hero

He became severely depressed to where he stopped taking care of his basic needs and withdrew from his hobbies. He stayed like that for a year until he got emotionally charged from a fight with his brother.

Acceptance- kel.

Instead of lashing out, or isolating himself, he seemed to be the one most able(not willing) to accept Maris death. Of not for himself, but for the others. He became the mascot they needed because he had to. He put all of his energy into having fun and making other happy

A lot of people don't realize that the stages of grief don't have to be in order, it's just a list of different ways people react to it. And this game shows all of them. Grief can also extend to a loss of friendship, relationship, etc. It doesn't always have to be about death. Because grief is a feeling of loss. A hole in your life that makes you act in a certain way in response to the change. Thank you, Omocat, for making this masterpiece.