Curate, connect, and discover
Yeah!!! This is why I love this game so much (same reason I love Fnaf as well- LOREEE) :D plus, it’s really fun to talk about it with people and theorize and infodump! :3
Edit: I found out that apparently Polly says that Basil lived with his grandma since he was a toddler so I did end up editing this post TvT
Currently, my timeline idea of the wilted flower theory is:
Basil's parents were never really around. We don't know his exact backstory of history with them, but he’s been living with his grandma since he was a toddler. It’s HEAVILY implied that Basil didn’t have many or any friends until the friend group sort of took him in. As someone who struggled a lot with friendships around the same age as Basil would’ve been, that really does make you feel lonely. He had his grandma, of course, but I can imagine it’d still be hard without his parents. This bit is more speculation, but that might’ve partially led to his apparent fear of abandonment.
Little Basil is friendless. Maybe even bullied at the time- after all, it’s a small town that’s very religious, and Basil isn’t exactly the definition of masculinity. There’s a possibility that could’ve led to bullying, though I have no real evidence for that. His parents aren’t around, and he has no friends. Especially at his age in development, that could easily lead to feelings of loneliness and depression. Not to mention, we still don’t fully know what Basil’s relationship with his grandma was like, even if it was a good one. All of this combined could very well lead to su!c!dal thoughts. Big traumas aren’t the only thing that can cause mental illness.
So when the friend group takes Basil in, he’s finally found people who don’t make him feel so lonely. They’re people who love and accept him like family. He’s especially close to Sunny, who makes him feel listened to. We can clearly see the bond they have, whether platonic or romantic- in the majority of the Basil’s photos and the scenes we see in the Final Duet, he and Sunny are often shown closer together. Basil shares his hopes, his dreams, and his greatest fears to Sunny, the closest friend he’s ever had.
And then... The incident. Basil sees Sunny, that friend who he trusts, possibly more than anyone in the world, arguing with his sister, and that dreaded moment when Sunny pushes her. She falls down the stairs, and eventually it becomes clear that she's dead. Basil doesn't want anything to happen to Sunny; he doesn't want to lose him, to lose the person he cares about possibly more than anyone else. He doesn’t want to be alone again. So he does the only thing he can think to do. The first thing to come to his mind is the n00se, because that's something that is or was frequently on his own mind. And he finally does it- he ties the n00se, but it's not for him, at least, not this time.
Soon after, the friend group falls apart. The only friends Basil has ever had, and from his perspective, he was the one who ruined it for them all. Which is why he so desperately clings to Sunny as a friend, the one lifeline that shows he’s not alone. And when his grandma’s condition deteriorates? That made him feel even more alone.
Not only does this storyline explain how Basil knows how to tie a hangman's knot, but it also explains a lot about his character. Fear of abandonment, and reason that framing Mari's death as a su!c!de was the first thing to come to mind to protect his best friend, because the thought of su!c!de never wandered far from his mind.
So- Omori rant rq since I'm listening to some VAs play through it cause I can't sleep.
Spoilers Below, obviously.
So- it's canon that Sunny was daydreaming of his little headspace FAR before Mari's death. It's in one of the books in the Forgotten Library (the place you fall into after defeating SweetHeart).
Headspace was an escape for him so that he could have his friends back, before they gave him the violin- hence why it never happened in the headpace timeline. To escape the pressure of not wanting to let them down, he created Headspace- but he got addicted to it and started to use it to avoid paying attention during school or whenever he was feeling pressured.
When Mari passed, Headspace took over his life- his parents split up, he was wracked with immense guilt, he couldn't bring himself to leave the house or even bed at first. His mother was forced to withdraw him from school since he had missed so many days, in order to prevent legal action being taken and her risking losing her only child left to his father or to CPS (logical guess, no actual proof other than he was taken out of school).
Sunny dived so deep into Headspace, that he was forced to create his Omori persona when he had gone too far and his brain created BlackSpace once it ran out of ideas- the place his guilt, regrets, and grief went to die everytime he allowed himself to sleep.
Sunny was always a maladaptive dreamer, but it steadily got worse overtime. As a maladaptive dreamer myself- I sympathize heavily with him and his coping mechanisms. His friends and family failed to see the signs that he was losing touch on reality, and when his big sister died- by his hands no less? He lost himself entirely. You can see when it happens in the photos you see of the truth.
When he realizes Mari isn't going to wake up? When he realizes she isn't breathing? His world shattered and he was paralyzed in his guilt- since he was so unresponsive, Basil did the only thing he could think of and tried to protect Sunny. In the process, gaslighting himself into having seen Something pushing Mari instead of Sunny.
Which, honestly, is also highly concerning. Why did Basil previously know how to tie a noose when he was only twelve..? My thoughts immediately go to his neglectful parents- maybe he had attempted before and that was the whole reason he was sent to live with his grandmother? To keep an eye on him, until she got sick and they hired Polly. Idk but that'd make sense.
ANYWHO- if anyone would like Omori oneshots, send in some requests. Be it tooth rotting fluff or heart wrenching angst- send it my way, I need a break from my books.
Exactly!!! There’s just no way for Basil to have just figured out how to tie a hangman’s knot (thanks for giving me the slightly-less dark term for it :P) on the fly like that… and now that I’m thinking about it, without practice. I tried to use a piece of thread the other day that I’d found (strange ik but eh) to make that knot, just to see if I could, and I didn’t use a guide or anything. Basil wouldn’t have had a guide with him- the chances of that are INCREDIBLY unlikely. And it’s not like he could’ve just googled it with ease, given the time period. Which probably means he’d tied a hangman’s knot before :C My poor little beannn 😭
So I feel like it’s not a leap to conclude that Basil had probably either attempted even before the incident with Mari, or he’s seen someone else do it. Either way, it means he’s probably seen death before, or tried to go to it T^T
Ughhhhhshfyyvdyyfyf and this is why I hate it when people say Basil is terrible
(<3 You’re awesome-ER!!! :D)
So- Omori rant rq since I'm listening to some VAs play through it cause I can't sleep.
Spoilers Below, obviously.
So- it's canon that Sunny was daydreaming of his little headspace FAR before Mari's death. It's in one of the books in the Forgotten Library (the place you fall into after defeating SweetHeart).
Headspace was an escape for him so that he could have his friends back, before they gave him the violin- hence why it never happened in the headpace timeline. To escape the pressure of not wanting to let them down, he created Headspace- but he got addicted to it and started to use it to avoid paying attention during school or whenever he was feeling pressured.
When Mari passed, Headspace took over his life- his parents split up, he was wracked with immense guilt, he couldn't bring himself to leave the house or even bed at first. His mother was forced to withdraw him from school since he had missed so many days, in order to prevent legal action being taken and her risking losing her only child left to his father or to CPS (logical guess, no actual proof other than he was taken out of school).
Sunny dived so deep into Headspace, that he was forced to create his Omori persona when he had gone too far and his brain created BlackSpace once it ran out of ideas- the place his guilt, regrets, and grief went to die everytime he allowed himself to sleep.
Sunny was always a maladaptive dreamer, but it steadily got worse overtime. As a maladaptive dreamer myself- I sympathize heavily with him and his coping mechanisms. His friends and family failed to see the signs that he was losing touch on reality, and when his big sister died- by his hands no less? He lost himself entirely. You can see when it happens in the photos you see of the truth.
When he realizes Mari isn't going to wake up? When he realizes she isn't breathing? His world shattered and he was paralyzed in his guilt- since he was so unresponsive, Basil did the only thing he could think of and tried to protect Sunny. In the process, gaslighting himself into having seen Something pushing Mari instead of Sunny.
Which, honestly, is also highly concerning. Why did Basil previously know how to tie a noose when he was only twelve..? My thoughts immediately go to his neglectful parents- maybe he had attempted before and that was the whole reason he was sent to live with his grandmother? To keep an eye on him, until she got sick and they hired Polly. Idk but that'd make sense.
ANYWHO- if anyone would like Omori oneshots, send in some requests. Be it tooth rotting fluff or heart wrenching angst- send it my way, I need a break from my books.