VotV Nightmare Analysis
I promised Bluesky an analysis of Kel's Nightmares awhile ago. I finally finished it, decided to give it to you guys too! :3
⚠️ Spoilers (?) for Votv ig
The forbidden nightmare analysis is finally here! Sorry for the long wait...haha...enjoy I suppose...
This is a heavy read btw, a lot of words without a lot of images sorry for that.
Don't take this too seriously btw I suck at explaining myself haha, take this more like a base for your own interpretation of Kel's psyche. The dreams are on the order of the wiki. Remember, dreams can be interpreted however you want I'm just giving you possibilities I consider interesting lol. 🦐🦐
THE DREAMS.
The Boulder Dream.
"The player spawns on a steep incline with boulders rolling down it. As the dream goes on, the boulders begin to move faster. To win, Dodge the boulders for 60 seconds without getting hit."
According to what I investigated, dreaming about rocks falling could be about instability, a lack of control or impeding danger. It also could mean a sense of vulnerability or emotional turmoil.
If we take all the meanings I guess it's a bit obvious why would Kel have this dream, not feeling secured even on a concrete bunker, fearing that something completely out of his control could attack or kill him. And you know, anyone on a situation similar to his would be vulnerable or unstable, the stress, anxiety and paranoia of feeling like there's someone or something else there when you're supposed to be alone. Hell, it could even mean there's something wrong with Kel himself.
The Burger Dream.
"The player spawns on a platform made of burgers, and must collect the ten floating burgers without falling off within a time limit."
Although obvious of why Dr. "I forget to eat most of the time" Kel would have a dream about burgers, taking this dream just a tad bit more seriously; dreaming about junk food (and food in general) tends to have lots of interpretations, from physical needs to more symbolic stuff like unhealthy habits (unhealthy relationships, spending habits or lack of self-care), emotional needs, the focus on trivialities or a lack of control. All I said has to do specifically with junk food in dreams.
The Climbing Dream.
"The player spawns in a tall room with thin towers with pillars sticking of the sides and one large tower with a door on it, alongside rising water. To win, Enter the door at the top via climbing before the water reaches you."
First dream here that has water, notice that water appears a lot on Kel's dreams as something you need to escape from. I'll elaborate about this at the very end of the thread but I'll still explain what it could mean in it's respective dream.
Dreaming about "climbing out of water" tends to mean a desire for a more stable and controlled life, overcoming challenges, gaining control.
To the specific of climbing alone; symbolizes overcoming challenges and striving for goals or achievement, the climb itself can represent the journey required to reach said goal. Reaching the top may indicate success, recognition or just a feeling of accomplishment. In the cases were the top is not reached or there's a big struggle to reach it; it might reflect feelings of frustration, hesitation or a fear of taking a leap irl. Specifics vary on what you're climbing and why but as a general analysis is that.
The Flooding Dream.
"The player spawns in a massive room with large walls while water rises. A random wall in the room has the base door, and the player must reach it before the water completely submerges them."
When we talk about the Flooding itself; it often symbolizes being overwhelmed with emotions, stress, or a feeling of being out of control. Could also represent a need for emotional cleansing (letting go of old patterns or traumas), letting go of negative emotions, or embracing new beginnings.
If we talk about trying to escape said flood; being overwhelmed by emotions once again, a difficult situation or a feeling of being trapped in life, the flood would be a...flood...of emotions or a sudden change in circumstances that you're trying to navigate. The act of trying to escape might represent a desire to break free from a challenging situation or feeling stuck. A desire of escape from a relationship, job or obligation that might feel restrictive or overwhelming.
The Furfur Dream.
"The player spawns on a circular platform with four Furfurs surrounding and staring at them. This dream will always occur next if the Deer Skull is burned."
Ok...this is one is "easy", Furfur's influence over Kel or just a way of telling Kel "get out and stay out". But I guess I can give it something more...eh... let's see...I took the burger dream seriously I have to overanalyze this too...
Eh ok... Dreaming about "Satanic figures" (I'm not really sure if Furfur is a satanic figure btw it's just the most relation I could find really...sorry if this is wrong); can reflect internal struggles, fears or unresolved issues. Could also be a representation of your "shadow self" (the darker or more destructive parts of one's self), unconscious desires, past traumas, fear and anxiety. The figure itself can represent temptation, greed or other negative impulses. Be aware that all of this depends if the person is or not religious and their own interpretation of said figures.
Btw, can sources decide if Furfur is a Grand "Countess" or Grand "Count" pls?, I don't wanna miss gender the demon </3 /j
The Hallway Dream.
"The player spawns in a small cramped hallway with water rushing in through behind them, from the start they must sprint immediately forwards to keep themselves ahead of it and reach the door in time."
I was gonna explain here the running away/escaping aspect of the dream itself which is also a constant on the dreams but I'll explain it in the next one.
Again flooding. Go to the flooding dream section, Either way...
Hallways on Dreams can symbolize a transition, change in the way you think, or change in the circumstances of your life as you progress to the next stage also could be exploration of one's inner self or external environment.
The Mannequin Dream
"The player spawns in a room with small pillars everywhere and four connected rooms that spawn large shadow mannequins. To win, survive for 2 minutes."
The Mannequins coming alive (aside from the in-game event) could symbolize a shift in one's personal identity, a desire for a new role, or a feeling of being "dead" inside (omg me). The Mannequins could represent aspects of oneself that are dormant or unfulfilled which are starting to wake up and becoming more vibrant. Could also represent a desire to try on new roles or lifestyles, exploring different possibilities before making a commitment.
Escaping and running away on dream could represent a desire to avoid dealing with difficult emotions or decisions. A period of transition or change.
Dreams of being chased can symbolize feelings of anxiety, worry or the avoidance of a difficult situation. Underlying fears, traumas, emotions, or stressors that one is trying to avoid. The pursuer in the dream can represent the source of the anxieties, and the chase itself can reflect the desire to avoid it instead of confronting.
The Parkour Dream.
"The player spawns on a pillar in a room with several other pillars, and one of the pillars has a door on it. Below the player is a large amount of water, falling off will wake the player up. The player must jump on and climb over the pillars carefully to reach the door."
Dreams of parkour over water can symbolize taking risks, overcoming obstacles, and potentially a feeling of being out of control or in limbo. The water itself can represent emotions or the subconscious (this applies to most appearances of water in dreams btw), while the parkour could indicate a desire for mastery and control in overcoming life's challenges.
The falling into water aspect can represent feelings of fear, anxiety or a sense of being overwhelmed. It can also symbolize a fear of being unsupported or feeling like one is in limbo, unsure of your place in a situation. Falling into might indicate a need to confront or process strong emotions.
The Shed Dream.
"The player spawns in a wooden shed on a flat plain. After a few seconds of waiting outside, a UFO comes by to abduct the player."
Kel's obsession with Aliens. There. done. Jk ok...
Of course it's a bit silly to overanalyze this dream considering it comes from a game where there ARE aliens. But eh, treating all dreams equally ig.
The alien abduction could mean unresolved traumas or ongoing challenges that need to be addressed. Using dreams about being kidnapped as example, a loss of control, powerlessness and a fear of manipulation could be also be represented.
If we interpret it as a alien invasion (I'm reaching, I know) it could symbolize feelings of being threatened or overwhelmed by unknown forces in life.
The Work Dream.
"The player spawns in a compressing room with a table and various items. The best strategy to survive the room condensing is to pull everything out from inside the table and crouch inside of it, usually allowing the player to survive the dream."
Dreaming of being crushed to death often symbolizes a strong feeling of being overwhelmed, losing control or forcing an impeding or unavoidable change or ending in life. It could also represent feeling powerless in am situation or being forced into a change you're resisting. Also some emotional suppression too apparently.
As a personal interpretation; it could be a feeling of being trapped in work, I mean, Kel IS trapped in work after all, this considering the work items in the center of the room.
THE EXTRAS.
General Visual Aspects.
I know that the way the dreams look could just be an artist decision (including the dreams themselves btw, I could again be just overanalyzing things that originally didn't have any meaning), but since we are analysing everything, might as well...
Although dreaming in black and white is not common, it can suggest a lack of emotional engagement or a need to step back from a situation to gain a different perspective. It may indicate a feeling of emptiness, monotony or a preference for simplicity in life.
The checkered patterns can symbolize order, duality or a sense of being trapped or confined. Of course depends on the person but taking Kel's life as an example, it could mean a feeling of being trapped or overwhelmed by a situation. Also in a psychological aspect they could mean recurring thoughs, feelings or behaviors due to the repetition of the pattern.
The blurry vision can symbolize confusion, a resistance to accepting a situation, or feelings of being overwhelmed. Of course here we can also relate it to Kel's Visual issues (if you noticed, I didn't add Kel's glasses in any of the little doodles in the dreams section).
The muffled/distorted hearing can symbolize a feeling of being unheard, misunderstood or feeling like one's voice is being suppressed, a lack of confidence in one's own voice, feeling that one's ideas or feelings are not being acknowledged.
The "rumble" that we can hear in the dreams could mean a heightened sensitivity to the environment and a need to prepare for potential challenges, it could also mean suppressed feelings or emotions trying to surface. It can also mean tremors and shit.
Kel Jumping/ Throwing Himself Out Bed.
Nothing to do with the dreams themselves but a curious thing none the less...
The way he just suddenly awakes from any dream, even if they "win" it, could be due to stress, anxiety, sleep apnea or night terrors (feelings of being terrified and confused).
Something short before I just throw everything out of the window with my own personal theory of Kel's possible Hydrophobia.
ℹ️ I'm Afraid Of Water.
Ok so...Water. Dear God the Water.
There's a SHIT LOAD of references to Water on this game. The whole tutorial is build like the pool rooms, the "arg" in said tutorial being themed around water and a fear for it and the past, dying because of drowning has it's own achievement, Kel's inability to dive deeper into the pond without an oxygen mask, whatever the hell is that asshole looking thing in the bottom of the pond, the tiny water hole next to the pond that sucks you down if you enter, the old well with a skeleton in it, and of course, the reason why this is here, the constant appearance of water in Kel's nightmares.
Water in dreams often symbolizes emotions, the subconscious and the unconscious. It can represent various aspects of one's emotional state, from purity and calmness to chaos and turmoil. Depending of the situation or state of the water it means different things, in Kel's dreams (based on my personal interpretation) the water looks murky and so it could represent troubled emotions or feelings of being overwhelmed. It appears as floods a lot of the time, so it could mean the release of negative emotions or the need for a fresh start. Take this whole paragraph as personal interpretation mixed with research and a shit load of bias of course.
I personally believe Kel might be Hydrophobic (scared of water) or Thalassophobic (scared of the sea) maybe on a literal sense (as in I can't get into water for fearing what's on it or what could happen to me if I stayed there.) or as a "metaphor" (being scared of the Void in own world, but being fascinated by the void above us). But that's just a Theory, A GAME THEO-
CONCLUSION.
Anyways. Thank you a lot for reading this whole thing, as I said in the start, dreams are highly interpretable and they depend on the person who has them and their situation. We don't know what truly happens on Kel's head at all or what has happened to him in the past before coming to the ASO aside from a few details. Use this whole thread as a base for your own analysis and theories if you wish to.
Sorry once again for the long wait on this, life happens and you just have to work around it. I'm glad I was able to finish this before going back to class. If there's any spelling mistake or weird redaction I wrote half of while staying up late until 5 am, and I just suck at writing in general so yeah...
Obligatory "Mucho texto" mention what the hell...
