Is dream Aubrey a fantasy? - OMORI　考察、解説などメモ置き場

The three party members in HEADSPACE each have their own way of appreciating OMORI. Some of these behaviors aren’t present in the real world, and some of them are actually even more pronounced.

In HEADSPACE, the one who is emotionally closest to OMORI is AUBREY. HERO and KEL’s behavior toward SUNNY in reality is not so different from their HEADSPACE counterparts, but AUBREY is openly affectionate toward OMORI in HEADSPACE, which appears to be different from her disposition in the real world. This gives the impression that SUNNY is romantically interested in AUBREY. In the memory of the rainy day, when SUNNY realizes that he has a crush on AUBREY, most players probably assume that the feeling is one-sided.

However, looking at that same scene, some people may realize that AUBREY isn’t behaving that differently from how she does in HEADSPACE. Let’s take a look at some of the details of that memory.

Re-examining the rainy day memory

After asking BASIL to photograph her in her raincoat, AUBREY primarily talks to SUNNY.

This line shows that the reason AUBREY wants to dye her hair is because she and MARI were talking about doing it. When KEL hears that the color she chose was pink, his reaction is negative.

After this, BASIL tells AUBREY that he thinks pink suits her, and asks SUNNY for his impression as well. AUBREY stares at SUNNY, waiting for his response.

What made her decide for sure to dye her hair was BASIL and SUNNY telling her that she’d look good with pink hair. Of course, we can’t know if this or MARI’s influence was a bigger part of this decision. The narrative doesn’t make it clear outright what AUBREY is thinking here.

However, looking at this scene, which boy does she seem most interested in? KEL, who thinks pink would be a weird color? Or is it SUNNY, who she talks to directly and who says that pink would suit her? From this interaction, we can see that it’s possible that SUNNY’s crush is not one-sided after all.

BASIL’s album has this event dated as April 29th.

About 2 months later, the friends go to the beach together to celebrate the first day of summer vacation. The date is 6/22. From what MARI says here, it sounds like she’s implying (maybe more than implying) that KEL has a crush on AUBREY.

SUNNY and AUBREY aren’t in many photos together in BASIL’s PHOTO ALBUM, but in this photo the ear on the left appears to belong to SUNNY. According to one of the books in the abandoned HEADSPACE library, the two sat next to each other on the way home and SUNNY rested his head on AUBREY’s shoulder.

It’s difficult to know for sure based on the little we get to see, but it seems that SUNNY and AUBREY are pretty close. Looking back at the scene, KEL and SUNNY both have their own affection for AUBREY. But as for which one AUBREY herself feels closer to, it appears to be SUNNY.

Differences between AUBREY’s feelings in HEADSPACE and reality

Though AUBREY is usually thought to be clingy toward OMORI in HEADSPACE, she is also often close to HERO.

We can see AUBREY’s trust in HERO in their tag photos.

In reality we have these scenes. On the right, we can see AUBREY and HERO chatting.

Looking at SUNNY and AUBREY’s interactions in the real world, they are actually frequently close to each other. This isn’t very different from HEADSPACE.

In HEADSPACE, AUBREY is always nearest to OMORI and HERO, and farthest away from KEL. In reality, their behavior and arrangement is similar.

They are also positioned the same way when sleeping over at BASIL’s house.

AUBREY’s bed

When trying to get AUBREY to come out of her house, KEL and HERO comment that they have never actually been inside themselves. Despite this, there is a perfect replica of her bed in HEADSPACE. The color, shape, comforter, and even the crumpling of the sheets are the same. All of the beds in HEADSPACE appear to be exactly the same as they are in reality.

SUNNY appears to already know AUBREY’s pet’s name. Though HERO and KEL have no memory of visiting AUBREY’s house, this is evidence that SUNNY has been inside before. If true, this would indicate that SUNNY and AUBREY had a very trusting relationship. There are scenes where BASIL, KEL, and HERO all talk to SUNNY about secrets and dreams that they haven’t shared with anyone else. It seems that AUBREY is not an exception here.

Related to this, the RABBIT? from the ORANGE OASIS has “an abomination” written in its FOE FACTS! entry. Could this be because of its connection to AUBREY’s house, which isn’t supposed to exist in HEADSPACE?

AUBREY in BLACKSPACE

First, a little background

The BASILs that are killed in BLACKSPACE all have something in common: they have memories that they weren’t supposed to possess.

These memories are of SUNNY’s house, school, the secret hangout by the lake, the treehouse, etc.

In the WEATHERVANE AREA of BLACKSPACE 2, there are events related to HERO, KEL, and AUBREY that also share this characteristic.

HERO is cooking in SUNNY’s kitchen, which shouldn’t exist in HEADSPACE.

KEL is swimming in a pool of 20 dollar bills, which themselves don’t exist in HEADSPACE and which hints at KEL’s problems with borrowing money, which is a trait his HEADSPACE counterpart doesn’t exhibit.

Both of these WEATHERVANE AREA are derived from real events that happened, which we can learn about in SUNNY’s memories and in present-day reality.

So, what about AUBREY’s BLACKSPACE event?

In BLACKSPACE 2, there is an event where OMORI interacts with a love letter and then finds himself in a school hallway. As he goes down the hall, he passes several AUBREYs who are all after his attention, including one who says she has given him a love letter. After realizing there are multiple AUBREYs with OMORI, they proceed to battle each other and destroy themselves.

Like the other events in BLACKSPACE, there is an element in this event that shouldn’t be there – the school. But unlike the other events, there is no way to know if this was based on something that happened in reality since there aren’t any direct examples of memories of AUBREY at school.

What we do know is that there is a memory of SUNNY and AUBREY on a swing set in the park, and that there is an equivalent event in the present day with AUBREY as well. As previously discussed, there is evidence pointing to the possibility that the two had a closer relationship than is revealed directly in the story. We can see that it might not be necessary for SUNNY to have wished for AUBREY to ask him out on a date for the event in BLACKSPACE to make sense – it is possible that a similar event actually happened in reality.

When looking at BASIL’s album, we don’t see any pictures that make it look like SUNNY and AUBREY were anything more than friends. This means that if there were any developments in their relationship, they would have had to take place after the first day of school, which is the last picture we have of AUBREY.

Since SUNNY, AUBREY, KEL, and BASIL are all 12 years old, they probably were starting middle school the year that the photos were taken. The school in headspace has lockers, which aren’t normally found in an elementary school. If there was a real memory of AUBREY giving SUNNY a love letter, it probably happened after they started middle school.

Reading emotions from behaviors

AUBREY nervously asks SUNNY, who she hadn’t seen in four years and reconciled with, to come back and visit after he moves away.

We can see that there are many scenes where AUBREY is glancing at SUNNY in the real world. Looking closely, there are also times where her face is red and she won’t meet his eyes.

There are also the scenes where the two of them are talking while on the swingset and where they are alone for a moment after KEL and HERO go to see the treehouse. Though it’s unlikely that she would have a one-sided crush on SUNNY for four years without even seeing him, if there were more to it than that, these actions make more sense.

Angry HEADSPACE AUBREY

AUBREY doesn’t have a positive reaction to everything OMORI does in HEADSPACE. When he does something strange, she gets upset or angry like anyone would.

Aggressive AUBREY

Whether in HEADSPACE or reality, there are many scenes where AUBREY is hitting KEL.

Critical AUBREY

AUBREY is quick to fire off harsh words towards KEL. The way they both get along and also don’t get along is unchanged between HEADSPACE and reality.

AUBREY’s state prior to reconciling with SUNNY

We can see from the conversation in the church that AUBREY hadn’t talked to KEL in four years.

However, the first person she places harsh blame on is SUNNY. Thinking about their prior relationship, this reaction feels natural.

After SUNNY fights her with a knife, she crumbles to her knees. Looking closely at her expression, she appears to be shocked or sad. This is a pretty difficult situation from an emotional perspective.