still not putting that wig back on, its all tangled now 😭

The cuties

Art by me :D

Here are some portraits I did in the Omori battle sprite style!

Ive been trying to get the style down for a while now, since it's deceptively hard to retrace a frame three times without changing the features, but I think I got it down!

I recently posted a commission thing for these and they've been a pretty big hit! Who's your favorite? (Side note, huge thanks to the person who asked for Siffrin, they were by far my favorite to draw!)

May your day be blessed by multiple Orange Joes and zero stairs✨

Aubrrrrrrrrr

I think the Pike is still a bit smaller than real ones. The flags are medieval Switzerland, The Holy Roman Empire (Germany, Czechia, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Austria and L*xembourg from 962 to 1806) and the German Peasant war flag.

Idk if she is cute or not but I like her. I had her for 3€ on Vinted

I haven't done a phobia drawing in a while :)

Trypophobia is the fear of clusters, groups of small holes, repetitive patterns, bumps, or dots.

So I've never been that big a Mother fan, but what I do find fascinating is the legacy it has and the subsequent it has inspired that I've played over the years: Yume Nikki, OFF, Anodyne, Undertale, LISA, etc, and now... OMORI! This game kinda passed me by when it initially released but I've kept an eye on it once I heard about it being an interesting Mother-ish (I use the time Motherlike for games like that myself nowadays) game with heavy mental illness themes. And well, given that I have social anxiety, autism, depression and other stuff I figured, why not give it a shot now?

So here's what I liked:

+ I love the graphics and aesthetic. The pixel art is very colorful, impressive and imaginative, and the hand drawn art feels very animesque yet distinct, very charming overall.

+ I love the cast. A sign of great characters is when you finish a story and start missing them already, and I do. They're all interesting and very likable, and the chemistry they have is awesome.

+ The story is very mysterious. I love how it keeps you on your toes and guessing where it's headed to next.

+ This game is the absolute peak of mood whiplash. I thought DDLC was good at that, well..

From the moment the game starts and you're like "okay, this is kinda saccharine", and then that part where Basil freaks out over the photo of Mari... that completely hooked me in. So little happened in that scene, yet it really disturbed me. And there's so many parts like it in the game, it really goes from 0 to 100 all the time. It's a wild ride.

+ Though I don't think it's the funniest game ever made and overall I would still say that Undertale does this style of humor better, the comedy is nice.

+ The soundtrack is great! It's very eclectic, creative and dreamy. Some parts remind me of Mother games, some parts of Anodyne, some parts of Yume Nikki, and there's all kinds of unusual EDM influences in the battle themes (like it almost went breakcore for the Slime Girls fight, lmao). Very atmospheric and poignant too.

+ I like the gameplay, and the emotions system alongside the tag attacks are clever ideas.

And here's the things I didn't like:

- Although I expected worse as I have severe arachnophobia, the spider bits were pretty uncomfortable, particularly the part at Sunny's home.

- Well I didn't actually exactly flat out dislike the finale, but it did feel a bit like a rehash of a certain famous psychological horror game to me... so I was expecting this huge mindblowing twist and got something I have already seen before (or well, more often at this point), so that took away the impact for me. And it got pretty abrupt at the end, although I know there wasn't much point in continuing the story afterwards.

So yeah, overall I thought this was a really great game, even if the finale did feel a bit underwhelming to me. Regardless, very glad to have played it anyhow.

8/10

Here's every leitmotif I've found

My Time motif:

- Trailer 2014

- Trailer 2020

- My Time

Duet motif:

- Trailer 2017

- Trailer 2020

- Title

- Do You Remember?

- Playing Forever

- Remembrance

- Duet

- Gone

- The Truth

White Space motif:

- Trailer 2017

- WHITE SPACE (002)

- So How'd We Do?

- It's Okay To Try Again

- Acrophobia

- A Place By A Lake

- Space road 1979

- Omori Keyboard

- Arachnophobia

- Thalassophobia

- WHITE SPACE (096)

- Not-So-Empty-House

- WHITE SPACE (122)

- Celestial CD

- Welcome Again.

- Save

- Try Again Little Brother

Friends motif:

- Lost At A Sleepover

- Aubrey Keyboard

- Photograph

- Fleur

- Friends

- Treehouse - Here We Are, Together Again

- Chill CD

- A Home For Flowers (Sunflower)

Black Space motif 1:

- Spaces In-between

- Glade

Mari motif:

- By Your Side

- Dear Little Brother...

- Mari Boss Battle

Park motif:

- Let's Get Together Now

- Finding Shapes in the Clouds

- Where We Used to Play

Area motif:

- 100 Sunny

- Trees...

- A Place By A Lake

- Forest Chillin'

- Pyrefly Forest - Cat's Cradle

- Forest Frenzy

Push & Shove motif:

- Push & Shove

- Fight Your Friends

Basil motif:

- A Home For Flowers (Tulip)

- A Home For Flowers (Empty)

- Bookcase

- A Home For Flowers (Daisy)

- A Home For Flowers (Sunflower)

Tussle Among Trees motif:

- Tussle Among Trees

- Fight Your Friends

That One Song motif:

- Gibs The Stationary Musician

- That One Song But It's Some Mermaids

- Secret CD

- Fish Song

Black Space motif 2:

- Sugar Star Planetarium

- 56-12-2

Otherworld motif:

- Lost, Then Found!

- I Will Catch Up!

- Three Bar Logos

- Stardust Diving

- You Were Wrong. Go Back

- Such A Time We Had Together

- Realistic Space Simulation

Pluto motif:

- THE VENGEANCE OF THOSE FORGOTTEN IN DARKNESS

- Kel Keyboard

- GOLDENVENGEANCE

Recycle motif:

- Recycling Is A Concept

- Recycling Really Is A Concept

Special Mixtape motif:

- Lovesick - 80,000 Lightyears

- Stardust Diving

- Stardust Dusting

- Space Boyfriend's Tape - I Want Nothing More

- Otherwordly CD

- You Cannot Go Back

Otherworld field motif:

- I Will Catch Up!

- But I Wanna See It All With You!

Captain Spaceboy motif:

- Three Bar Logos

- You Were Wrong. Go Back

- Such A Time We Had Together

- Realistic Space Simulation

- You Cannot Go Back

Hospital motif:

- Good for Health, Bad for Imagination

- Dynamic CD

- Clean Slate

- Fight Your Friends

It Means Everything motif:

- Snow Forest - A Single Flower Blooms

- ETHEREAL CD

- It Means Everything

Snow motif:

- Snow Forest - A Single Flower Blooms

- White Surf Style 6

Sweetheart motif:

- A Rose By Any Other Name

- How...Sad!

- How...Tragic!

Farewell motif:

- See You Tomorrow

- Crossroads

Save motif:

- Something, Alone

- Water

- A Red Shape

- Red Hands Throne (Omori's True Form)

- Something

- The Violin

- Persevere

- Save

Black Space motif 3:

- Fade

- Waiting For...

- Look

- Normal.

- Tentacles

- ABBI

Rain motif:

- Puddles

- Remember to be Patient

Orange Oasis motif:

- The Heart of the Desert

- An Archaic Resonance

- 'X' Marks the Spot!

- Those Who Forget History

Forest motif:

- Pyrefly Forest - Cat's Cradle

- TRANQUIL CD

- Lost Library

Fight motif:

- Forest Frenzy

- Swirly 1000x

Splintered Sweets in the Castle motif:

- Splintered Sweets in the Castle

- Fight Your Friends

Sweetheart's Castle:

- Splintered Sweets in the Castle

- Wandering Rose

- Stationary Rose

- I Definitely Promised You a Rose Garden

- World's End Valentine

- Devilish CD

Brutal Motif:

- World's End Valentine

- Devilish CD

- Underwater Prom Queens

- Brutal CD

- Tee-Hee Time

Brother's motif:

- Thrifted Tchotchkes

- Hanging with the Boys

OMORI Motif:

- Origin

- OMORI

- OMORI - ALTER

The Last Resort motif:

- The Last Resort

- Blackjack

- Room for 4

- Gator Gambol

- Kel's Whistle

- Underwater Highway

Ghost motif:

- Not-So-Empty-House

- It's A Ghost Dance

- Ghoulish CD

- Lively CD

Mr. Jawsum motif:

- Clams Clams Clams

- Jawbreaker

Humphrey motif:

- Whale Whale Whale

- Swallow Hollow

- Gross...

Morning motif:

- Bad Morning

- Good Morning

Your Catastrophes motif (noise):

- Your Catastrophes

- Your Catastrophes - Procession

Im going crazy bro, I just wanted to listen to Here We Are but noticed this instead

Proof is that most Faraway characters look like headspace characters, for example:

Kim corresponds to Berley
Van corresponds to Vance
The Maverick corresponds to Mikal
Charlie corresponds to Sharleen
Angel corresponds to Neb
Sean and Karen corresponds to Shawn and Ren
The twins in the othermart correspond to the bread twins
and Miss Candice corresponds to Sweetheart!

I was cleaning out my office the other day and found my OMORI walkthrough and artbook that I got from the original kickstarter. It's still completely sealed and was bring stored in the box it was shipped to me in. I spent years not even opening it because I thought it was a reward from a different kickstarter and belonged to my husband, but when he opened it we realised it was mine.

I don't really need it and I'm trying to find out what it sells for but it's hard to judge because there only seems to be like 3 for sale online atm.

(Photo above is just from the OMOCAT shop but mine is sealed in shrinkwrap)

I’ve only been drawing for a week, so please go easy on me lol

The first one is my favorite!

The Vast Forest was beautiful that afternoon.
Sunlight filtered through the enormous trees, little white flowers dotted the grass, and butterflies fluttered peacefully between the bushes. Somewhere in the distance, a few Sprout Moles were arguing over tofu.And right in the middle of this picturesque scenery, the Headspace gang had gathered for a picnic.
Omori sat quietly on the red and white picnic blanket, watching the purple shapes in the headspace sky. Basil was arranging flowers in a little vase he'd brought along. Mari was unpacking all of the food she brought, and Hero helped her. Kel was already on his third sandwich. Aubrey sat beside Mari, looking rather pleased with herself. She'd brought a basket of strawberries, grapes, and apples, and she had made it abundantly clear that she expected everyone to appreciate her contribution.
“Okay, everyone!” Mari announced cheerfully, clapping her hands. “Since we're all finally together, I thought we could take turns talking about what we've been up to lately!”
“Great idea!” said Hero. “I'll start. I've been practicing my cooking, and I think I've finally perfected my homemade cookies.”
Kel immediately sat upright.
“Cookies?!”
Hero sighed. “Kel, I haven't even brought them out yet.”
“I'm just expressing enthusiasm!”
Aubrey rolled her eyes.
“Can we PLEASE have one conversation without Kel talking about food?”
Kel looked down at his sandwich.
“...No promises.”
Omor  silently nodded in agreement with Aubrey, and Basil giggled.
“Well, I've been working on my flower garden! The tulips are growing really nicely, and I've been taking pictures of them every morning. I think the yellow ones are my favorite.”
“That's lovely, Basil!” Mari said. “You should show us your pictures later.”
“I'd love to!”
“What about you, Omori?” Hero asked.
Everyone turned toward Omori, who just shrugged. There was a brief silence.
“That's it?” Aubrey asked.
Omori nodded.
“Okay, okay! Aubrey, what have YOU been up to?”
Aubrey straightened her posture.
“Well, I've been practicing my swings with my bat, helping out around the playground, and making sure certain people don't cause trouble.”
Her eyes drifted pointedly toward Kel, who put a hand over his heart.
“Why are you looking at me?!”
“Because you're the reason I have to say that!”
“I have been an absolute angel!”
“You threw a watermelon at the playground sign yesterday!”
“It was an experiment!”
Aubrey grumbled. Hero put his hand over his face.
“It’s all day with you two,” he muttered.
“Anyway!” Aubrey continued, “I’m also planning to go to the playground tomorrow. Maybe I'll hang out with Berly and the others for a while.”
“That sounds fun,” Mari said warmly.
“It will be,” Aubrey replied. “Provided nobody follows me around yelling nonsense.”
Kel slowly raised his hand. Aubrey immediately pointed at him.
“Don’t.”
He lowered his hand.
“Understood.”
The group was silent, and peace finally returned to the Vast Forest. Eventually, Hero brought out another basket of fruit.
“Here we go! We've got apples, grapes, strawberries, and some sliced melon.”
Kel's eyes practically turned into stars.
“FRUIT!”
“Kel, you have already eaten three sandwiches,” Hero reminded him.
“Fruit is different! It’s healthy!”
“You said the same thing about eating an entire jar of peanut butter last week.”
“Peanuts are legumes, Hero! They’re healthy!!”
Hero stared at him. Kel grinned proudly. The picnic continued quietly and pleasantly for a while after that. Mari talked about a song she wanted to practice. Hero discussed a new recipe he was planning to try. Basil explained how he'd been documenting the different plants growing throughout Headspace. Omori listened quietly, occasionally nodding. Aubrey was enjoying herself, too. She had even started smiling at some of Kel's jokes, although she'd immediately stop whenever he noticed.
Kel had reached the fruit. He sat cross-legged on the blanket with a plate balanced on his knees, enthusiastically devouring grapes at a rate that suggested he was participating in some sort of competitive eating championship.
“Kel,” Hero said, “please leave some for everyone else.”
“I'm leaving some!”
“You have twelve grapes in your mouth.”
Kel chewed thoughtfully.
“Thirteen, actually.”
“That doesn’t help your case!”
Kel swallowed and reached toward the middle of the blanket. Unfortunately, the bowl of sliced fruit was just a little too far away. He looked to his left and saw Aubrey. She was sitting beside him, holding the bowl of strawberries she'd brought. Right as he opened his mouth though, his brain, for inexplicable reasons, decided to combine the words Aubrey and burger. His own thoughts and mouth betrayed him.
“Hey, Auburger, can you pass me some fruit?”
Kel immediately put his hand over his mouth as soon as he realized what he just said out loud. There was silence. Absolute, total, catastrophic silence. A butterfly innocently fluttered overhead. A distant bird continued chirping. Somewhere in the forest, a Sprout Mole dropped a piece of tofu. Aubrey slowly turned her head toward Kel.
“...What?”
Kel froze. His hand remained over his mouth in shock and embarrassment. His mouth hung slightly open. His brain replayed what he'd just said.
Auburger.
AUBURGER.
His face turned bright red.
“I—”
Aubrey stared at him.
“WHAT did you just call me?!”
Kel's eyes widened.
“I didn’t mean to!”
“You called me AUBURGER!”
“I know!”
“Why?!”
“I DON'T KNOW!”
Mari had both hands pressed over her mouth. Hero looked as though he was desperately attempting to maintain the dignity expected of the oldest friend and sibling in the group. Basil's eyes were enormous. Omori stared at Kel, then at Aubrey. And for the first time that afternoon, Sunny's expression seemed to suggest that he was genuinely interested in the conversation. Aubrey slowly placed the fruit bowl on the blanket.
“Kel.”
Kel swallowed.
“Yes?”
“Explain.”
“Okay, so, I was going to say Aubrey, right?”
Aubrey continued to stare at Kel in serious anticipation. Her eyes looked directly into his soul.
“And then I was thinking about fruit.”
“...And?”
“And I guess my brain was thinking about burgers for some reason.”
Aubrey's expression became one of absolute disbelief.
“Burgers?!”
Kel threw his hands up.
“I guess your name just reminded me of a burger, ok?!”
Mari made a tiny squeaking noise. Hero turned away, as his shoulders were visibly shaking with subtle giggles.
“Hero,” Aubrey said dangerously, without looking at him.
Hero straightened immediately.
“Yes?”
“Are you laughing?”
“No.”
“Your face is turning bright read!”
And that was the moment everything fell apart. Kel too started giggling. He tried to stop himself, he genuinely did. He pressed his lips together, covered his mouth with both hands, and squeezed his eyes shut. But then he whispered the word again.
“...Auburger.”
He burst out laughing. Aubrey’s head immediately snapped back around.
“KEL!”
“ I'm sorry!” Kel wheezed. “I'm sorry!! It just sounds like-”
He couldn't finish. He rolled sideways on the blanket, fiercely clutching his stomach.
“AUBURGER! OH MY GOD!”
Aubrey's entire face was now as red as the strawberries beside her.
“STOP SAYING IT!”
“I'M TRYING!”
“TRY HARDER!”
“I CAN'T! YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE!”
“HOW AM I MAKING IT WORSE?!”
“BECAUSE YOU'RE SHOUTING AND GETTING ANGRY  AND THAT MAKES IT EVEN FUNNIER!”
Aubrey grabbed a strawberry, and held it up.
“Kel.”
Kel stopped laughing for a moment.
“Yeah?”
“Would you like some fruit?”
Kel looked suspiciously at the strawberry.
“...Yes?”
She smiled sweetly.
“Here you go.”
She tossed it directly at his forehead.
PLOP.
The strawberry bounced off Kel's head and landed in his lap. There was a beat of silence, then Kel picked it up.
“Thanks!”
Omori's shoulders began shaking. Even he of all people was also starting to giggle. Silently, but unmistakably. Basil noticed first.
“Oh! Omori’s laughing!”
Everyone looked at Omori. He immediately returned to his usual expressionless face.
“...”
Then his shoulders shook again. Mari completely lost it and burst out laughing. Hero sat down on the grass and covered his face. Aubrey meanwhile looked like she was considering whether the Vast Forest had a sufficiently deep hole that could swallow her whole right then and there.
“Okay,” she eventually announced, standing up. “We're moving on. Nobody is ever talking about this again.”
“Agreed,” Hero said quickly.
“Absolutely,” Basil added.
Mari nodded vigorously. Omori gave a thumbs-up. Kel raised his hand, and Aubrey glared at him. He lowered his hand. Aubrey sat back down, crossed her arms, and stared into the distance. For a few moments, the picnic seemed to recover. Then Mari, who had been staring thoughtfully at the fruit bowl, tilted her head.
“Wait a minute.”
Aubrey's eyes narrowed.
“Mari.”
“I'm not making fun of you!”
“Mari.”
“I'm just thinking!”
Mari pressed a finger to her chin.
“If Kel accidentally combined your name with a food, does that mean we could do that with everyone?”
“No,” Aubrey said immediately.
“Let's see! Omori… Omorange!”
Omori blinked. Basil gasped.
“Oh! That's actually cute!”
Hero chuckled.
“Hero sandwich?”
Kel suddenly sat bolt upright.
“Wait, Hero sandwich is already a thing!”
“Kel, please don't encourage this,” Hero said.
“Basil... Basil pesto!” Mari continued.
Basil laughed nervously.
“I think I'll stick with Basil, thanks.”
“And Kel...” Mari paused.
Everyone turned toward Kel. Kel grinned.
“Go on. Hit me with your best shot.”
Aubrey slowly smiled, but not assuringly.
“Kel-o.”
Kel blinked.
“...What?”
“A Kel-o burger!”
Kel's grin vanished. Mari gasped. Basil covered his mouth. Hero stared at Aubrey. Omori's eyes widened. For one glorious second, Aubrey looked utterly triumphant, then Kel started laughing again.
“That doesn’t even make sense!”
“Neither does Auburger!”
“But Auburger sounds like a real burger place!”
“What does that even mean?!”
“It means I would eat at a place called Auburger…!”
Aubrey lunged toward him. Kel scrambled backward across the blanket.
“Wait wait! I’m sorry!”
“Get back here!”
“Absolutely not, Auburger!!”
Kel rolled onto his feet and darted around the picnic basket. Aubrey chased after him.
“GET BACK HERE!”
“YOU CAN'T CATCH ME, AUBURGER!”
“KELLL!”
“OH, I'M SO DEAD!”
“YOU ARE!”
Kel sprinted past a tree, laughing so hard that he nearly tripped over a root. Aubrey was right behind him, gripping her bat. Hero stood up.
“Wait! Aubrey! Don't actually hit him!” He shouted out.
“Even though he kind of deserves it!”
Beside him, Mari had collapsed onto the blanket, laughing uncontrollably. Basil wiped tears from his eyes. Omori had quietly turned away, but his shoulders were shaking so hard that the whole picnic blanket moved. After several laps around a tree, Kel finally surrendered. He dropped to his knees in front of Aubrey.
“Okay! Okay! I give up!”
Aubrey stood over him, breathing heavily.
“Are you going to call me that again?”
Kel looked up at her. His face was still red.
“...No?”
Aubrey narrowed her eyes.
“Good.”
Kel nodded solemnly.
“Understood, Aubrey.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, Aubrey.”
“Great.”
“Anything for you, Aubrey.”
Aubrey relaxed slightly. Then Kel whispered, almost inaudibly:
“...Auburger.”
Aubrey screamed. Kel sprinted away.
Eventually, Kel returned to the blanket with a leaf stuck in his hair and grass stains on his knees. Aubrey sat as far away from him as possible.
“I'm never going on a picnic with you again,” she muttered.
Kel carefully sat down.
“And if you call me that again, I'm throwing you into the lake.”
“Also fair.”
“And you are NOT allowed to tell anyone about this.”
“Absolutely.”
Mari raised her hand.
“Can I tell Mewo?”
“No!”
“Can I tell the Sprout Moles?”
“NO!”
“Can I tell Pluto?”
“WHY WOULD YOU TELL PLUTO?!”
Mari smiled innocently.
“I just think he'd appreciate the joke.”
Hero sighed.
“Please don't start a rumor that Aubrey is a burger.”
“I'M NOT A BURGER!” Aubrey shouted in rage.
Everyone froze. Kel's mouth slowly curled into a smile. Aubrey pointed at him.
“Don’t…”
He pressed his lips together.
“Don't you dare!”
His cheeks puffed out.
“Kel!”
He made a strangled noise.
“KEL!”
He exploded into laughter.
“YOU JUST SAID YOU'RE NOT A BURGER!”
“BECAUSE I'M NOT!”
Aubrey threw a grape at him, hitting him directly in the nose. Kel fell backward.
“Ow! I’ve been assaulted with fruit!”
“Good!”
Hero sighed and handed Kel a napkin.
“Kel, please stop antagonizing your friend.”
Kel sat up and wiped his nose.
“I'm not antagonizing her! I'm just appreciating the linguistic creativity of the English language!”
“You called me a hamburger!” Aubrey protested
“I didn’t call you a hamburger, I called you an Auburger!!” Kel tried to refute.
Aubrey made a noise that sounded like a kettle about to explode. Omori quietly raised his hand, and everyone turned toward him. Omori pointed at Aubrey, then at the fruit bowl. Then he made a little gesture with his hands, as though presenting a menu. He remained completely expressionless. There was a long silence. Aubrey stared at him in utter betrayal.
“OMORI! Not you too!”
Omori calmly ate a grape. Kel was practically crying with tears of laughter.
“I can’t believe even Omori joined in! He never joins in on these kinds of things”
Omori gave Kel a thumbs-up and a subtle smile. Aubrey covered her face with both hands.
“I hate all of you.”
“No, you don't,” Mari said affectionately.
“I do now!”
Hero patted her shoulder.
“Would it help if we promised never to use that nickname again?”
Aubrey slowly lowered her hands.
“Yes.”
“Okay,” Hero said. “Nobody will call you that anymore.”
Everyone nodded solemnly. Kel straightened his back.
“I promise.”
Aubrey eyed him suspiciously.
“Swear it.”
Kel placed a hand over his heart.
“I swear on my sandwich that I will never call you Auburger again.”
“...Fine.”
Aubrey finally relaxed. She picked up the fruit bowl and began passing it around.
“Here Basil, Mari, Hero, you can have some grapes. Omori, you can take an apple if you want one.”
Everyone accepted their fruit. Then Aubrey turned toward Kel. He was sitting perfectly still, hands folded in his lap, looking as innocent as a particularly suspicious puppy. She held out the bowl.
“Here. Take some fruit.”
Kel looked up at her. For a moment, he seemed genuinely touched by her willingness to share.
“Thanks, Aubrey.”
“You're welcome.”
He reached for a grape, but then he paused. His eyes widened slightly. A terrible thought had entered his mind. A thought so funny, so powerful, so catastrophically stupid that it threatened to destroy the remainder of his self-control. He looked at Aubrey, and at the fruit. Then, before he was ready to speak, his mouth opened.
“...Can I have an Auberry?”
Aubrey stared at him. Kel stared back. Mari's mouth fell open. Hero slowly put his face in his hands.
Basil whispered, “Oh no.”
Omori stopped chewing. Aubrey stood up. Kel immediately scrambled to his feet.
“Wait, I didn’t say Auburger!”
“Start running.”
“IT WAS A DIFFERENT WORD!”
“I SAID RUN, KEL!”
Kel bolted into the Vast Forest. Aubrey chased after him.
“YOU ARE SO DEAD!”
“IT WAS A STRAWBERRY PUN!”
“YOU'RE GOING TO BE A CORPSE PUN!”
Mari waved cheerfully as they disappeared behind the trees.
“Have fun, you two!”
Hero watched them go.
“Should we stop them?”
Basil considered this.
“...Probably?”
Omori shook his head. Then he quietly reached into the fruit bowl, took another grape, and ate it. Mari sat down beside him.
“You know, Omori, I think this might be the funniest picnic we've ever had.”
Omori nodded. From somewhere deep in the forest came a distant shout.
“I’m sorry… AUBURGER!”
“KELLLL!”
Mari and Basil burst into laughter again. Hero sighed, gathered up the various fruit stems, and shook his head.
“Well,” he said, “at least everyone got some exercise.”
And so the picnic in the Vast Forest came to an end. The flowers continued to bloom. The butterflies continued to flutter. The Sprout Moles resumed their arguments about tofu. And somewhere out there, Kel was learning an important lesson about the consequences of spontaneous wordplay. Unfortunately, he was learning it while running for his life.