#arenblab

ok so. to keep track of who went in and out of mineshafts miners would have a board set up. as well as the mining tag system. each miner had an identification tag. when in the mines you put your tag on the board and when you leave you take it off. subtle headcanon that norton, even after leaving the mines, keeps his mining tag in his pocket.

now for the faggoty part. are you ready.

it was taken as a good luck charm if you you kissed the miners tag before they went down. surely you see where I'm going w/this.

I actually wanted to make a mini comic of this. It was nortrick central but I wanted nudge orph in there too....id hope it is a little clear how much i enjoy theirstrange dynamic by now..... nortorphrick save me....

I think nortorphrick is peak because

nortpheus = understanding on a level that is almost scary. not even almost. just is scary. especially for norton (albeit Orpheus is a bit offput too. it's not everyday someone matches his freak). you would be scared if you resonated with Horror Twink on a personal level. you would.

nortrick = don't understand each other at all (largely different backgrounds, thought processes, etc etc) but gradually (VERY gradually) begin to... and are wildly fascinated with the person they find beneath it all. they can even empathize with eachother on a few certain fronts. gosh. I can't elaborate on this very well but I also love the nortrick dynamic a lot. Urg

orphrick = one sided understanding. orpheus sees him on a scale nobody ever has before. and (similarly to norton) it frightens him. but also. after feeling like all you are is a pretty face and no talent. it doesn't hurt to have someone hear you. (infact he goes to some strange places menatlly trying to get some more of that validation)

DEROSS SIBLINGS HOW MANY TEARS WILL I SHED OVER U.... look at his face. like.orpheus' expression is just so genuine, more genuine than we've seen him throughout ALL of aom (imo at least) . he has not made a face so solemn and melancholy in nearly ANY OTHER PART. (which plays into why I'm largely subscribed to the theory that NIGHTMARE is "fronting" through a major portion of aom. while "nightmare" also happens to be described as gloomy, similarly to how Orpheus is melancholy, he's also said to be "cunning and mad". which seems to match the behaviors of orpheus in situations like kreiburg racecourse. orpheus, on the other hand, is differently described to be "arrogant and sensitive.") anyway. WHILE on the subject of deross siblings

TELL ME THIS ISN'T SO SWEET. this anniversary letter really makes me fall for Alice as a character. Alice is such a beautiful character (appearance wise and personality wise. she is VERY HIGH as one of my favorites.) She has such a strong drive and a wholehearted attitude and (aa a contrast to everyone else in aom) doesn't seem to let her trauma define her. I noticed how her trailer video kind of echoes that. Hers is very focused on the present, on her in the now (likely because memory already exists, but memory is quite literally an imaginary friend LET ME HAVE THIS) while a majority of everyone else has little more than a bitter rumination of their past. BUT!!!! ALICE APPROACHES WITH A MUCH BOLDER OUTLOOK! Her scenes, as dark as they get, grow brighter and more saturated as they go. which is q huge switch up from the usual bluish greys in other character trailers. the music feels much more lively, much less grave as others. (norton/fg for example. his music is ominous, foreboding. And when there's no music, it's almost eerie silence. Not even just because he's a hunter--melly, orpheus and Frederick support that. all of them have a tonal shift or a constant dark undertone to their piece. in addition to cuts in sound) Alice's music feels very forward, driving. There's an abundance of music. And even when it cuts like the others, it restarts from the beginning, not ending with a sharp chord, and even the ending note sounds lacks that same dread to it as anyone else. hopeful almost. IDK. I JUST LOVE HER MAN. AUGHHHHHHH