I love pieces of media that have dark concepts but are still hopecore. Like they are classified as spooky or dark or fucked up because fucked up things so happen but they're also so hopeful in spite of everything. It makes you feel an urge to be good to be better to be more human. My best examples are Searching for a world that doesn't exist, omori, and Alnst.
Spoilers for part 2 of the arg but throughout the video Derek and Avery are both so hopeful. Avery is determined to find Derek he spends the time breaking a neathite block to find him. And Derek goes into the code of the game and breaks the rules to find a way back to save Avery. Derek leaves Avery the signs, you are real you are special. The note that Derek leaves Avery. They have some much hope in spite of the weird and scary stuff they're experiencing.
And in omori most of the games is technically fun and happy but its still a horror game and its still really dark at times (especially if you know the omori route content) but its still hopeful. All the characters in the real world constantly talk about mending relationships and making new memories together. And even stranger in headspace is often depicted as a scary figure but most of their dialouge is push sunny towards making the right choice. It makes you want to forgive yourself and let others forgive you. There IS a good ending, you just have to choose it.
And in alnst even though they go through so so much. Being forced to sing by the aliens and navigating relationships while struggling with all this. Theres a lot of dark stuff mizi's inner thoughts, everything about the aliens in general, Luke's experimentation. All the experimentation. How characters like Ivan, Luka, mizi, and sua all have these unconventional kinds of love and ways of expressing it that often seem weird to us viewers. But despite all this both till and hyuna have a mindset that is so unbelievably human. All the other human characters are victims of the system their in and it shapes them. But till and hyuna are able to still flourish and smile and have a good human experience with the rebels. We can see it in hyuna's healing sequence in weige and in All-In. She was flawed sure but she was also so free. And till even after all he went through he is able to work through it and I think its so meaningful that the end of Karma, the last music video, the last animated scene of the show, is Till smiling a genuine smile. Despite all of this there is still hope. For people.
So yeah a little rant about my fav hopecore media that I disguised as grim nihilistic media
I know it's pretty widely discussed how Sunny is a bit lazy and a bit of a coward and a bit selfish but sometimes I feel like the conversation stops there when I really think that should only be the starting point of discussion of his character traits
Because to get the most satisfying ending available, you as Sunny have to pretty consistently make the decision to be active or brave or selfless even when the immediate result of those actions is pain. He isn't being lazy or cowardly or selfish when he jumps into the lake after basil during two days left
Maybe this is just something that everyone else just implicitly understands so it doesn't need to be discussed and I'm the odd one out here lol, these traits of his definitely do exist, it's pretty much the reason things got to this point and they even still show themselves throughout the Sunny route, like with the bathroom scene
Idk maybe I'm just feeling a little emotional because thinking of the moments where Sunny overcomes his instincts to run especially right after remembering the truth makes me want to choke-cry
One part of the game that really got to me my first time playing is the real-world shoes photo
You see the first one at the start of the game, and it singles Omori out from the others while also making all the rest of them indistinguishable from each other (because, as you soon find out, he's the only "real" one while the rest are constructs of his imagination -- they're all the same because of the limits of one person's imagination, and the fact that they're all filling the same "purpose" in his fantasy: to be a supportive friend)
You see the second one near the end of the game, on the last day. It's the opposite of the first one: Sunny's shoes do not stand out, but every one of them is unique and distinguishable. And after 3 days of interacting with the real world, it feels like the last nail in the coffin of the message "reality is much more diverse and complicated than your imagination and can't be reduced or simplified, especially the people in it, and that is what makes it better." It's so simple, but it hit me effectively.
It's also kinda related in my brain to a similar thing that happens much earlier in the game with Basil. In headspace, he wears a whole flower crown, but in the real world he only wears a single flower in his hair.
Which immediately communicated to me that the Basil that I'd seen at the start of the game was a flanderized version of the real person, but that exaggerated personality did come from a seed (or, flower) of truth. But there's so much to him that's not represented by that idea that I had no idea what to expect from the real Basil when I first saw him.
Which also makes it significant when he loses that flower (losing that aspect of himself), and that you can tell from the silhouette of the "stranger" that he doesn't have a flower crown either (because he's the version of Sunny's perception of Basil that is more truthful about who Basil is).
Structural Dissociation theory, and Basil and Sunny
The Structural Dissociation theory proposes that rather than parts forming from chronic trauma, the chronic trauma keeps them from forming You.
The theory works on the assumption that people are not born with an integrated personality. Instead, infants have separate parts that handle their needs — attachment to a caregiver, survival and basic needs, exploration of the world around them, and expressing their needs. As the needs of the infant are met, they eventually coalesce and integrate into a single, yet flexible Self.
An infant cannot form a single Self when caregivers are inconsistent with their needs. When the needs of the infant are chronically unmet, the integration of parts fails due to their conflicting needs. A single, yet flexible Self cannot be formed, and the parts become ‘separate’ due to a failure to integrate.
This disruption of the integration process of the Self is possible not only in children, however, the extreme disruption of the Self found in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) can and will only happen before the Self has ever developed. Trauma that happens after integration may not cause full disruption of the self, but can cause traumatic materials (memories, perceptions, learned reactions), to blur and fail to integrate to the forming Self. There are three ‘levels’ of Structural Dissociation. (1) Primary Structural Dissociation (2) Secondary Structural Dissociation (3) Tertiary Structural Dissociation.
Based on the game itself, and in the OMOCAT interview, it is plausible that Sunny experiences Primary Structural Dissociation, and Basil experiences Secondary Structural Dissociation.
PRIMARY STRUCTURAL DISSOCIATION AND SUNNY ── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──
Primary Structural Dissociation refers to the presence of one Apparently Normal Part (ANP) and one Emotional Part (EP). The ANP is the part responsible for everyday life, social engagement, and basic needs and functions. The EP is the part responsible for holding emotions associated with trauma; the memories associated with the trauma; and the flight, freeze, and submit responses. The EP is dissociated from the ANP because it holds memories and emotions that impedes the ANP from functioning in daily life.
This allows the ANP to remain numb and avoidant towards the traumatizing event for the most part, except for when the traumatizing event and the emotions associated with it is brought to the forefront of the mind by the EP through dissociative flashbacks, nightmares, emotional outbursts, etc.
Primary Structural Dissociation develops as a result of a single traumatizing event happening to the person with a stable life beforehand. We know, from OMOCAT’S words, that Sunny has a very idealized childhood.
While it does not mean that his childhood was perfect, we can assume that his parents were at least consistent with providing for his needs as an infant, and for his needs later on. Any of the hurtful behaviors his parents have are displayed after Mari’s death, and most were when they were still fresh from the grieving process. Like the friend group, they were also deceived into thinking that Mari hung herself, and that they failed as parents.
It has been confirmed that some of the characters in headspace predate the headspace, which can be attributed to Sunny’s tendency to daydream. His tendency to daydream makes it easier for him to create characters in his daydreams that align with what he feels and what he represses, without necessarily being a separate part from himself. The entirety of his headspace primarily exists to hold Sunny’s desires, as well as his memories. Rather than the characters in his headspace being literal people within Sunny’s head, each are a mixture of representations of certain aspects of him (mainly, his perceptions on them and what he wants them to be and/or do), and characters that add to the imagined ‘lore’ of his headspace.
Black Space is the part of headspace that holds the repressed memories from the traumatic event, as well as other memories unrelated to the event, but have been repressed to form Headspace. It is not separate and distinct enough from headspace to count as another EP — it is only a ‘level’ of the headspace, underneath. Multiple headspace characters have also commented on it intruding on Headspace, confirming its existence as something tied to Headspace rather than separated from it.
Omori is more of an idea in the story, than he is a character. The headspace is more an extension of Omori as the EP than he is separate from it and it, separate from him. It holds what Sunny does not want to feel at the moment. Rather than different parts holding different feelings, they count as one because headspace is ultimately part of Omori. At multiple times, the headspace has conformed to what seems to be Omori’s goal — which is, keeping the truth from Sunny. The first moment headspace Basil discovers something tied to the truth, he disappears without any trace of where he could have gone. Before headspace Basil is able to say anything related to the truth, he is killed time and time again, which aligns with the goal of repressing that emotion.
Secondary Structural Dissociation refers to the presence of one Apparently Normal Part (ANP) and multiple Emotional Parts (EP). Same with Primary Structural Dissociation, ANP is the part responsible for everyday life, social engagement, and basic needs and functions. Instead of one EP holding the emotions associated with trauma; the memories associated with the trauma; and the flight, freeze, and submit responses, different clusters of traumatic materials, personal characteristics, etc. are held by different EPs, and each EP may be more formed than that of those who have Primary Structural Dissociation.
Similar to Primary Structural Dissociation, the ANP remains numb and avoidant towards the traumatic event for the most part, except for when that event and the emotions associated with it is brought to the forefront of the mind by the EP through dissociative flashbacks, nightmares, emotional outbursts, etc. However, the ANP in Secondary Structural Dissociation typically presents with self-destructive and/or maladaptive coping mechanisms.
SECONDARY STRUCTURAL DISSOCIATION AND BASIL ── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──
Secondary Structural Dissociation develops as a result of repeated and/or longer-lasting trauma experienced at a young age, and is usually perpetrated by a family member, and guardian. It is likely that Basil’s needs were not met as a child given the presentation of these EPs, and what Polly said about his parents. Living and growing up with a elderly person (grandmother, grandfather, etc.) as a parental figure is a different experience from living and growing up with an adult (mother, father, aunt, etc.). There are certain things that elderly people can and cannot do.
His grandmother will not have the enough energy to facilitate play, which is an essential need of an infant. His grandmother will not have enough energy to watch over him at all times, which leads to accidental neglect that will still be traumatizing for him as a toddler. He might have also realized earlier on, that he might lose his grandmother early — that she might die before he grows up, like his grandfather presumably did, given the flavor text of this vase, that implies that there are ashes in this vase.
Basil has also shown to be lonely prior to the game. Headspace, while unreliable in characterization, is somewhat reliable with backstories of the characters. Basil has vented to Sunny multiple times, and has been shown to have issues even before the main plot, most notably in his actions in the incident. The knot that Basil did could not have been anything other than a hangman’s knot — if it were a square knot, like what is used to hang flowerpots, it would have broken easily because they are not stable enough, nor are they made to hold the weight of a person’s body.
There is an abrupt shift in behavior and thought displayed in Basil's monologue before, and his words in fight — the cause of that, in the lens of the Structural Dissociation theory, is that his different EPs are interacting. The conflicting needs between each EP causes a disarray inside his head, and shows in his speech.
The EP that holds the Fight response is initially destructive, both to the individual, and to others. It is the part of the Self that is angry with the individual’s situation, and judgemental and mistrustful about the people around the individual. Basil displays this during his breakdown, where he expresses feelings of anger and betrayal over how Sunny abandoned him for years, only to leave when he finally came back. He also expresses similar frustration and anger when Sunny kept fighting back.
The EP that holds the Flight response is avoidant. It is the part that makes the individual distance themselves from others, and the part that makes the individual pull away from others. This is seen through his avoidance of the party. On Day 2, he isn’t at his house, but doesn’t try to interact with them, despite seeming desperate for Sunny not to leave the day prior.
This is also seen through his avoidance of a closer relationship with Polly despite having known her for a while. Polly, herself, is a stressor in Basil’s life, even if she does not intend to be. She is someone foreign to him, whom he does not know intimately but has to live with regardless.
The EP that holds the Freeze Response is fearful. It is the part that shuts down and becomes numb, and does not respond to stimuli. It is the part that locks down as a result of exhaustion. This is seen through Basil becoming unresponsive at the end of the game, after his grandmother dies. He does not even respond to his friends coming back for him, nor does he respond to Aubrey’s apology.
The EP that holds the Submit response is filled with self-hatred, and often makes the individual take on the role of caretaker and protector in order to stop feeling like something shameful. Basil has, on multiple occasions, taken on a caretaking role for Sunny, and has sacrificed his well-being just so that Sunny doesn't take any of the blame for what he did.
(note the way Basil says that Sunny wouldn’t do that. It seems more like he’s convincing himself rather than he is convincing Sunny)
Whenever he isn’t in this role, he feels ashamed, worrying over if he’s selfish for what he’s doing (it also points to there being some selfish intent with what he’s doing, if the feelings of betray expressed by him prior to the fight doesn’t make it obvious)
The EP that holds the attach response is desperate. It wants to be loved, and wants to be able to rely on anyone that isn’t themselves. Basil expresses this through how he calls for Sunny to stay, both in the bathroom after Basil learns that Sunny is moving, and in his monologue before the fight itself.
TERTIARY STRUCTURAL DISSOCIATION ── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──
Tertiary Structural Dissociation is what is described here. It presents with multiple Apparently Normal Parts (ANP), and multiple Emotional Parts (EP). Tertiary Structural Dissociation is experienced by those with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).
An infant cannot form a single Self when caregivers are inconsistent with their needs. When the needs of the infant are chronically unmet, the integration of parts fails due to their conflicting needs. A single, yet flexible Self cannot be formed, and the parts become ‘separate’ due to a failure to integrate.
RELATED LITERATURE ── ⋆⋅𖤓⋅⋆ ──
Fisher Janina’s model that I used as reference for analyzing Basil’s EPs
and a link to the book where this comes from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z243BjIPuWcgzeC_rpkudpUYHikVXh3z/view
For further reading: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1u1xobTNUw58x3MiftURLsz1ZlfwBO7O3
Other sources:
When people are not supported in processing trauma, they may struggle to integrate the trauma into their narrative and acknowledge its effec
The goal of the present study is to empirically explore the potential benefits in using a conceptualization lens that contemplates a Structu
Something I find really interesting in OMORI is the stylistic choice of Kel's emotions. More specifically his ENRAGED emotion in Headspace. Because compared to the other party members, minus Omori/Sunny of course.
His is the only one with whitened eyes. Same thing when everyone is AFRAID! Aubrey and Hero have their eyes closed, but Kel, his eyes are open. And what makes this even more interesting is when you compare HS Kel's AFRAID, ANGRY and ENRAGED emotion to RW Kel's.
For the ANGRY emotion, both are basically the same.
But for the ENRAGED emotion, there is a very noticeable difference. To me, it's almost like HS Kel's is meant to be FURIOUS instead of ENRAGED.
And for AFRAID, this one is also really interesting to me, RW Kel has the same sprite as his defeated. While everyone else shows noticeable fear, RW Kel seems like he's trying to distract himself or not be afraid.
And while I'm not sure what any of this means, I still think it's important to point out because OMORI is a very well made game, and every little thing can mean so much in the bigger picture. So the fact that these artistic choices were chosen for Kel's emotions is very, very interesting to me.
So, I think not everyone is picking up on how much of this there is in this game. That stuff immediately caught my eye. Tbf might be familiarity on my behalf - I know for sure Omocat was raised christian though so I don’t think this stuff can be coincidental
Not a super elaborated piece, just pointing some stuff out
Orange Oasis / Breaven
in Omori, dead bodies become bread.
Specifically toast, because pun, but I think it goes deeper
In Breaven (bread heaven), the game’s most devoutly christian characters are tasked with the transsubstantation. Reaching that place requires ritual sacrifice.
I think this place is there to establish the imagery/symbolism necessary to understand the part of
Black Space
Where Omori enters a church in which Basil is being held captive by something, in crucifixion position, exactly where an actual crucifix should be. Even though you decide to save him, Omori ends up litterally immolating him, then lets him fall down and tramples his body, to go sit in his place on a literal throne of hands.
The first church scene
Sunny and Kel enter the church immediately after the eucharist. The singing has stopped, the church is silent, everyone is at their pew praying, introspecting, and more likely than not, silently grieving. Especially Aubrey.
there’s definitely more religious symbolism in there (the apple on the coral, maybe humphrey himself, a lot of triple prompts, and all the heaven/hell stuff and associated windows) but I feel like this is the most important one
Daphne and Bowen's get well gift to Sunny is a eucharist reference too
