why didnt basil just burn the photos?

[oniiguy]

you know which ones im talking about like alot of this could have been avoided if he didnt use a marker you know just saying

[Corland]

Originally posted by Arzeith-Tau:

Originally posted by Corland:

Basil didn't black out the photos. Sunny was the one who drew over them. Basil took the blame to protect Sunny, and that's why Aubrey thought Basil was the one who sabotaged them. This is all said throughout the course of the game at separate points.

Wait what? Damn I guess I must have somehow missed this important plot detail...
When was it mentioned that Sunny was the one that blacked out the photos? Sometimes I just wish Sunny is not an absolute silent protagonist lol

I don't blame you. I missed it too at first and then read about it. Here's a video with a timestamp to where the game hints at this (MAJOR TRUE ROUTE SPOILERS):
https://youtu.be/e9TRysyuImw?t=139
Note that Basil doesn't blame Sunny and instead blames it on his 'Something'.

EDIT: Timestamp doesn't work when posting on Steam it seems. It happens at 2:20.

[GrandTickler]

Originally posted by Corland:

Originally posted by Arzeith-Tau:

Wait what? Damn I guess I must have somehow missed this important plot detail...
When was it mentioned that Sunny was the one that blacked out the photos? Sometimes I just wish Sunny is not an absolute silent protagonist lol

I don't blame you. I missed it too at first and then read about it. Here's a video with a timestamp to where the game hints at this (MAJOR TRUE ROUTE SPOILERS):
https://youtu.be/e9TRysyuImw?t=139
Note that Basil doesn't blame Sunny and instead blames it on his 'Something'.

EDIT: Timestamp doesn't work when posting on Steam it seems. It happens at 2:20.

wow yeah totally forgot that part lol, nice find!

[Arzeith-Tau]

Originally posted by Corland:

Originally posted by Arzeith-Tau:

Wait what? Damn I guess I must have somehow missed this important plot detail...
When was it mentioned that Sunny was the one that blacked out the photos? Sometimes I just wish Sunny is not an absolute silent protagonist lol

I don't blame you. I missed it too at first and then read about it. Here's a video with a timestamp to where the game hints at this (MAJOR TRUE ROUTE SPOILERS):
https://youtu.be/e9TRysyuImw?t=139
Note that Basil doesn't blame Sunny and instead blames it on his 'Something'.

EDIT: Timestamp doesn't work when posting on Steam it seems. It happens at 2:20.

Oh I see now... when Basil said Something ruined all of his photos I wasn't thinking about the photos being blacked out with marker since there was no mention of Sunny getting hold of the photo album after the incident or Basil bringing the photo album at that time.

Instead I was thinking that the whole incident tainted the good memories in the photo album, figuratively replacing all of them with photos of the murder incident instead. But perhaps Basil did actually brought his photo album since that day was the day before the Recital after all. Since Basil also said he will protect Sunny, perhaps it makes more sense that Sunny was indeed the one that blacked out the photos.

Thanks for the insight :D Man, poor Basil.

[Corland]

Originally posted by Arzeith-Tau:

Originally posted by Corland:

I don't blame you. I missed it too at first and then read about it. Here's a video with a timestamp to where the game hints at this (MAJOR TRUE ROUTE SPOILERS):
https://youtu.be/e9TRysyuImw?t=139
Note that Basil doesn't blame Sunny and instead blames it on his 'Something'.

EDIT: Timestamp doesn't work when posting on Steam it seems. It happens at 2:20.

Oh I see now... when Basil said Something ruined all of his photos I wasn't thinking about the photos being blacked out with marker since there was no mention of Sunny getting hold of the photo album after the incident or Basil bringing the photo album at that time.

Instead I was thinking that the whole incident tainted the good memories in the photo album, figuratively replacing all of them with photos of the murder incident instead. But perhaps Basil did actually brought his photo album since that day was the day before the Recital after all. Since Basil also said he will protect Sunny, perhaps it makes more sense that Sunny was indeed the one that blacked out the photos.

Thanks for the insight :D Man, poor Basil.

Yeah, I suppose it's open to interpretation. That was just what I took away when Basil said that. I do know that Sunny had other chances to mess with the photos, not just on the night Mari died.

I don't have an exact video/picture of when, but it is mentioned at some point that Sunny didn't instantly shut himself off from the world when Mari died. He still went to school and hung out with his friends for a while. It was slowly over time where the guilt built up and he eventually became a shut-in. So I assumed Sunny ruined the photos at some point during a visit to Basil's house after Mari passed.

But I like your idea as well. One is a literal take and one is more metaphorical, but both are plausible and make equal amounts of sense given the context.

Basically, what a well-made game.

[HeffreeD]

I assumed that Basil was still the one who ruined the photos due to guilt. He says Something ruined the photos and they're both haunted by Something, not just Sunny, right?

[nuna]

No. Sunny blacked out the photos.

[oniiguy]

ok but like if its all sunnys fault why not just put the evidence all into the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ toy box why these kids so stupiuddddd

[Aleyo]

Originally posted by Corland:

Originally posted by Arzeith-Tau:

I think the way Basil tried to cope after the painful truth was to completely seal away the past, both the good and bad memories so that he can carry on living in the present. But past memories, no matter how deep they are buried will always come back. He blacked the good memories photos with marker so that he wouldnt be reminded of the past, but at the same time, he just didnt want to completely destroy it, because part of himself also kinda longed for the good memories he had.

Basil didn't black out the photos. Sunny was the one who drew over them. Basil took the blame to protect Sunny, and that's why Aubrey thought Basil was the one who sabotaged them. This is all said/implied throughout the course of the game at separate points.

Are you sure? I just beat the game 5 minutes ago and this was quite clear to me.
Sunny hadn't gone to schol in a while, so it couldn't have been him. Basil blacked those photos out, Aubrey found out and stole the album to then restore them. Hero even comments on how she (Aubrey) must've really cared about them (the group of friends) to restore the photos so well.

Edit: nvm, I just saw Corland's post, you're right

[Arzeith-Tau]

To add another hint that Sunny was the one who blacked out the photos, remember one of the Black Space segment, where you're on a beach-like area with corals everywhere, on that area there's a lot of photos strewn around that you can interact with, which if you do, the photos get blacked out, hinting that Sunny was the one that did that. There's also a scribbly looking NPC called Bluegirl who wanders around and says "Get away from me" if you talk to, who we can assume refers to Aubrey after the incident. Though it's unknown if she said that to Sunny or Sunny witnessed her saying that to Basil.

[oniiguy]

Hey gang new realisation, you know how Audrey stole the photo book and then only kept the Mari photos? All the other photos in the album that were thrown out were still visible, so i think either Sunny or Basil only blacked out the ones with Mari in it which Audrey took back to repair. Still weird to me why Sunny would black out the picture of his sister from Basil's book and then go be a shut in, it could make sense that Basil still kept the pictures cause he wouldn't throw any of his memories away even if they were ruined.

[Arzeith-Tau]

Originally posted by oniiguy:

Hey gang new realisation, you know how Audrey stole the photo book and then only kept the Mari photos? All the other photos in the album that were thrown out were still visible, so i think either Sunny or Basil only blacked out the ones with Mari in it which Audrey took back to repair. Still weird to me why Sunny would black out the picture of his sister from Basil's book and then go be a shut in, it could make sense that Basil still kept the pictures cause he wouldn't throw any of his memories away even if they were ruined.

One of the small segment from jumping into a hole left by picking up key to black space hinted that Sunny actually blacked out all of the photos (though the segment only shows 6 photos, the blacked out photos include everyone, even the solo non-Mari photos). Sunny blacking out all of the photos is symbolic of him wanting to escape from reality (he now has a new madeup reality within his mind instead, with a completely new identity as Omori)

I think here's the chronology:
1. After the incident, one day Aubrey decided to awkwardly ask Basil to study together. After she arrived in his house, she discovered all of the photos have been blacked out. Then she decided to steal the photo album, cleaned all the marker , and started to resent Basil from then after.

2. Basil didn't do anything about his stolen photo album, until four years later he finally sees Sunny again. When Sunny and Kel dropped Basil at his house, he finally wanted his photo album back and asked them to find a way to retrieve it back. I think he finally wants it back because either his grandma has fallen really ill so she can't accompany him in his daily life anymore, making him very lonely and desperate, or seeing Sunny again after so long reminded him that he has always wanted to overcome the fear of the Truth together with Sunny, and for that, he needs the photo album again to cherish the past memories.

3. While I think Aubrey cleaned all of the photos long ago when she had just stole the photo album, mainly because she was just so pissed at what she think Basil has done to the photos, in the end she just wanted Maris photos, because she kept blaming her friends for what her life has turned into. After getting into a fight with Sunny and Kel inside the Church, she dumped the photo album because she now completely gave up on her friends after blaming them for so long.

Another reason why I think Basil just couldn't be the one that blacked out the photos is because unlike Sunny, Basil did not want to escape from the Truth, he wanted to face it, but he wanted to face it together with Sunny, and unfortunately Sunny decided to lock himself instead. His biggest guilt is that he is scared that he made everything worse for Sunny at the time of the incident, he is afraid that Sunny hates him (Omori certainly despised Basil) and so he can only wait for him to finally show himself, and hope that he tell Basil that no, he does not hate him. This is why the final text in the ending is extremely meaningful. Sunny says "I have something to tell you", and that is he does not hate Basil, despite that both of them got into serious fight and seriously hurt each other. It's all part of the struggle with the darkness within their mind.

[nuna]

He said I have something to tell you because he told all of them he was responsible for Mari's death. After his confession Basil wakes up and their SOMETHINGs disappear.

[Arzeith-Tau]

Originally posted by nuna:

He said I have something to tell you because he told all of them he was responsible for Mari's death. After his confession Basil wakes up and their SOMETHINGs disappear.

Confessing about the truth is definitely what Sunny is going to do as well, but I feel when Sunny woke up in the hospital, he primarily has Basil in mind, they just got into a fight (they even put Basils room quite far from Sunnys room eventhough the bed beside Sunny in his room his empty) and he surely want to make sure his best friend is fine.

Sunny entering Basils room while Kel Aubrey and Hero is visiting him surely is quite a coincidence I feel, but who knows. Sunny might have used such opportunity to confess first.

[nuna]

Him telling Basil he doesn't hate him while Basil's asleep and there's 4 other people in the room doesn't make sense. Also why would their guilt over Mari's death & the mistreatment of her body disappear by him telling Basil he doesn't hate him? But if you want to think that feel free ofc.

[Lafcadio]

Late to the game here, but don't forget that Basil had a Something as well.
And "ruin" can mean many things, from physically damaging them, to sullying the connection to the memories in the photos. It's just as possible that Basil took the entire event as having ruined the memories they had made as friends and he took it upon himself to physically make that ruination manifest on them.

I believe it's left ambiguous on purpose.