Tomorrow Won't Come For Those Without, Or Exploring Disconnection In The Procession Of Mental Illness

tomorrow won't come for those without, or exploring disconnection in the procession of mental illness and trauma

SPOILER? WARNING: This analysis assumes you have played the game's noise ending at least once. I'll provide screengrabs of things where I can. I do believe it's a masterpiece of a game, and would highly recommend it.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussions and allusions to suicide, severe mental illness, grief and religious trauma/criticisms of religion.

Tomorrow won't come for those without (TWC for short) is really... confusing. To the extent where I've got a notebook with pasted cut-outs of dialogue and imagery simply to try and... understand it.

As with much of the things I write about, I don't think it's designed to be understood - etherane's work often revolves around very personal and complex depictions of mental illness, as is evident from the hello charlotte series, so this is to be expected.

I want to discuss Rem, celestials and the Dithyrambs in this, saving conversations of Mari and the Choir for when I better understand it.

Rem is not human, he's a celestial - this is revealed in the noise ending, where he melts into his true form. We can also determine what type of celestial Rem is, from the way his form manifests.

Domain: Shadow; The Eldest. Distorts continuity, converting affected areas into liminal spaces.

Now, at first, I spent much of my time trying to associate these cards (and as such, the Celestials) to specific mental illnesses, but I realised it didn't work. While 'Domain: Post-Truth' (Card Type 3) could be associated with PTSD and 'Domain: Thighs' (Card Type 12) could be associated with body dysmorphia, many cards do not fit a specific mental illness, and much of them instead reference dissociation or other specific symptoms. It's somewhat implied Mari had the celestial present in Card Type 12.

It makes sense for a different universe to identify mental illness in a different way, considering there's little evidence that the characters have information on "pre-humanity". Instead of our current system surrounding mental health, the Choir demonises Celestials, and attempts to 'purify' them.

One particular line during the noise ending stands out to me.

"Tell me, how do I stop the noise in my head?"

Ori is not, by any means, a stable character. That's not to say Rem is stable, but Ori is somewhat less rational, losing his mind over the Choir and his Rosary. He devotedly follows the Conductor up until the noise ending, where he loses his grip on purity and reality, wanting to stay in the 'Dark' and '...play in the forest', rejecting the suppression of creativity by the Conductor.

The Dithyrambs is the noise in Ori's head - somewhat implied to be caused by the celestial. When Ori first wakes up, the Rosary insists that he must "...find the source of the Dithyrambs," perhaps implying that the Rosary is corrupt in the same way Ori and the Choir are, although it does not state to destroy the source. This noise causes Ori a lot of pain.

Alright. That is my discussion of the actual evidence present in the game. The next section is going to be a lot of personal speculation, on what I feel the game is representing.

I compare the relationship between Ori and Rem to that of Charles and Scarlett in Hello Charlotte 3, although it is framed differently. Instead of Rem being portrayed as horrific and irrational, Rem is scared, small; humanised, distrustful.

I believe that Scarlett Eyler and Rem represent fundamentally the same thing - intrusive thoughts, anxiety and OCD. Unlike Scarlett, who is fixated on tormenting Charles, Rem's representation of this manifests toward himself, and his desire to be caged for safety.

Fundamentally, OCD is a disorder surrounding fear. As much as it feels like your brain just, absolutely fucking hates you, it's as scared as you are. In a similar way, Rem is terrified of the liminal hotel that he and Ori reside in, and he's terrified of the outside world. He responds by shutting himself away - rather than Ori's desire to reach the end of the veils, Rem begins the game locked in a bathroom, and must be coaxed out.

Rem is incredibly "human" for a nonhuman being. Humanisation of intrusive thoughts is an interesting concept, especially considering the demon Scarlett Eyler was in HC3. Rem is far more disconnected from Ori, far more skeptical of the world around them. Rem isn't there to punish, but more to question and doubt, contrasting with Ori's inherently trusting nature.

Hmm. I feel like I haven't properly explained it, but I hope it somewhat makes sense.

Despite that, this is just my own interpretation of it, and I don't feel it really aligns with the game, necessarily. It's just me. lol.

song i listened to while writing:

I enjoy playing TWC with the BGM turned down and this song playing. It makes me feel pure, like my regrets can be washed off. I suppose that's not the point of TWC LMAOO.

fake meme

oh right i forgot i wrote a chapter 2 to this

negative focuses on more personal experiences of OCD

i think that the possibility of a Mari with OCD isn't too far-fetched. lots of people only ever write or portray her as perfect, which isn't true, but Sunny doesn't provide enough perspective on what Mari was actually like and apparently half the fandom can't look past his idea of her.

i was interested in writing an analysis exploring the way Mari is portrayed but i think i sorta explained what i wanted to say in this analysis exploring angry dead women. it's just fascinating to me that the fandom falls into the same trap that Sunny fell into, some weird desire for the perfect older sister.

I wrote something about my experiences with OCD from Mari's lens because I need that in my life apparently.

Right, now that's finished, I can finally get onto schoolwork and shit.

through the looking glass again, or re-establishing colour theory in OMORI

WARNING: MAJOR OMORI SPOILERS.

CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO SUICIDE, DEATH, LOSS, AND GRIEF.

A while ago, I wrote what I consider to be my magnum opus - an analysis discussing deliberate colour theory and windows in OMORI. This analysis is excellent, it is the fundamentals of almost all my other analyses, but it is disorganised and I don't get my point across as adequately as I need to.

The main reason for this is, well, I discover things as I write about them, so my points tend to get lost. Lmao.

So, I'm going to reframe my analysis by establishing the purpose of each colour I discuss. Hopefully this reaches a wider audience and is more digestible than my ramblings.

Saturated Blue

Saturated blue is a very deliberate colour choice - we know this from Omocat herself. Let's establish where it is used:

It is the colour of the Phobias, and Sunny's house during Phobia sequences. The use of saturation conveys intensity and fear, and there is a sense of impending failure - we cannot "beat" any of these boss fights by normal means, but instead are doomed to lose or wait until Mari consoles us.

It's prevalent in the Deeper Well, but notably absent from many Black Space rooms, who choose to use solid monochrome or other colours to convey emotion. It still exists within Black Space despite this.

In a similar way, it exists with the Basil boss fight, but more features are monochrome, which ties it more closely with the Truth.

Saturated blue is also the colour of Hellmari, but I will discuss her in depth later.

This blue is also deliberately not black - this somewhat disconnects these segments from the Truth, and considering how the Phobia bosses were formed, I propose that the ultimate purpose of this colour is to provide a comparison between Mari saving Sunny's life and Sunny ending hers.

This comparison is essential to the game, and yet absent from a lot of key moments. Highlighting this juxtaposition would have fixed these two narratives into a cohesive whole.

Red Light, streaming through windows

I am talking about red light in particular - while red is carefully used in the final boss fight, Red Space, several areas of further Black Space and in the Red Hands, red has more complex meanings in this game, where it depends entirely on the other colours around it:

Red and black represents malicious intent - this is present in several areas of Red Space and the Omori boss fight.

Red and white is more closely tied to repression - notably present in the red hands, some areas of Red Space and the Omori boss fight.

Red standing out against the Dreamworld is tied to Truth - present in the bloody footprints.

However, red light streaming through windows has its own specific meaning - it is designed to feel wrong, the same way the encroaching fog across vast forest feels wrong, and the deeper well's atmosphere feels wrong.

This gets even more important during the Truth sequence, where are introduced to red light streaming through the sliding glass door.

The sliding glass door in Omori is both a window and a door - letting in the eerie red light, but also letting the player (and Sunny) access it and understand it for the first time. Sunny never represses the sliding glass door, but will refuse to go outside until forced by his friends in Faraway visiting the Treehouse. It is opaque and cannot be seen through.

Entering the door leads to the peak combination of our colour theory.

This first looks like a fade between red and purple, but the only possible relevance purple would have is its association with Mari.

This colour scheme is actually the result of a fade between red and saturated blue. Combining the colours of the Phobias, fear, as well as Mari's support and safety, and the day of the Phobias' creation; and the Truth, repression, and the fateful day of the recital. This is the game's big (failed) comparison, and the main purpose of mentioning the creation of the Phobias at all.

These two days are designed to compare Mari and Sunny, increasing his guilt as he remembers the way his sister generously saved his life, and remembers what he did to kill her.

Monochrome

Monochrome is a key colour associated with Truth in Omori, and it does so in a relatively obvious way.

It is the colour of White Space, Black Space, Something, Stranger, and, notably, the colours of the photos that show the player the Truth. In this way, monochrome simultaneously represents repression of the Truth and the past; but also the desire to uncover it.

Areas and characters that contain more black than they do white tend to represent truth, whereas the opposite tend to represent repression, save for portions of the Final Duet and the Hospital, where white represents acceptance.

White also symbolises Sunny, shown in the pinwheels, and it has further meaning in the multiple flowers associated with it.

Spirit Mari is also associated with monochrome, her sprites existing in this colour.

Establishing the presentation of monochrome and saturated blue allow us to understand the mechanics of Headspace itself.

Despite Stranger's quote, Sunny, Basil and Mari are all split in halves, each half with different goals. Sunny, although he doesn't always know it, wants to seek the Truth; but Omori wants to repress it. Stranger wants to free the real world's Basil; but Headspace Basil is a representation of desire, the idea that everything is okay. In a similar way, Spirit Mari wants Sunny to seek forgiveness, and Hellmari is a hallucination of a Mari who would never forgive him

Pastel Blue

The final duet has a very key theme of acceptance and ascension, which is particularly present in this scene.

The whiteness of the area is highlighted with a light, pastel blue. Unlike the horror of saturation, pastel in-game represents peace and purity, being directly contrasted with each other. Pastel isn't symbolic of repression, although it is the main theme during the happier segments of Headspace. These particular colours - white and pastel blue - are also found in the Hospital, and in the final scene of the good ending. Pastel means acceptance, and it means there is no need to "saturate" the events of the recital day.

Here, the colour gradient, and Mari ascending through the window, are symbols of freedom. Sunny has accepted the Truth, and can now properly grieve his lost sister in peace. Simultaneously, you could argue Mari's spirit is finally free - she isn't tied down by Sunny's repression, and her ascending through the window is symbolic of finally entering the afterlife.

oh right. i have literally never done va work ever but i thought this was stupid funny.

the original comic is by @rainydaysleuth, I originally found it on reddit. I DIDNT DRAW THIS I JUST DID THE FUNNY VOICE OKAY

if it does well i might do more stupid funny shit since normally i use this voice to harass people. i can do a pretty decent sweetheart.

name: scribble

characteristics: cracked wooden goat mask from the *Passage of Reliance* without blue highlights, hair fluffs over the top, dirtied long sleeves and pants, scarf cape (pre-character arc); ghost manta cape (post-character arc)

background: passed the trial of reliance as a child and was awarded with their mask, but is single-handedly the cause for why the golden wasteland is the way it is. was supposed to be on lookout for the battle, protecting the vault's entrance, but got distracted scratching space mantas in the sand, causing almost all the soldiers but him to die as dark creatures stormed the area. does not go back to the wasteland, never leaves the vault. the oldest scribble ever got to was just after the incident.

personality: obsessed with forgiveness, so tosses himself into Eden obsessively, like it's some sort of ritual. loner, prefers the spirit mantas to moths, spends a lot of time with them. the elders absolutely hate him - they cracked the mask after hearing the news of what he did. carries his mask as a reminder. the spirit mantas are a representation of his guilt and his desire. he thinks someday eden might rebirth him as a space manta... and then everything will be okay.

when he enters eden, he doesn't even try to save the petrified moths, he just sits at the end and waits for darkness to bombard him. that's why his actions are questionable - he's taken something good and made it selfish. it's not that he doesn't want to save them, he's just not even considering it as an option. everything floods back when he goes to Eden, everything he regrets. he doesn't think rationally.

similar to ocd mari, he continues to do selfish and immoral things because of his guilt, twisting the truth of Eden for his own atonement. perhaps he doesn't recognise his own immorality. ocd-fic mari took the selfless desire to protect her brother and made it into a selfish controlling compulsion. scribble takes the selfless act of sacrificing oneself to Eden, but turns it into a selfish desire for redemption.

Making Sky kid lore with friends. There will be an update with screenshots and a summary at some point

(pokes @somekindofsentience @littlelunarprince)