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klsama · 8 months ago

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In Freeze The Moment, the 2nd anniversary video Light and Night released, there are frames where you can see keywords for the men and I found them extremely interesting, especially because some words seem counterintuitive to what you would apply to the men. So, here is my analysis attempt.

OSBORN

First up is our Boss Osborn and I want to talk about his graphics. You can see that he's split in half (blue and black) and in the next frame his silhouette is boxed inside layers of alternating blue and black. I believe this is a nod to his split soul—good and evil.

runaway. At a glance, this word probably gives you a negative connotation, such as running away like a coward. However, you can use it to describe something that breaks away from control and this suits Osborn better. He has broken out of the expectation society placed on him as well as his own limitations (what I also think the boxed layers around his silhouette represent). In your relationship, there are multiple times where Osborn offers to take you on a getaway trip, like running out of a rainy day (Moments) or driving to the end of the world (1st Valentine's date). In this context, running away is no longer something negative but to throw off the troubles life brings and to embrace the freedom of being in the moment.

haven. Osborn is the man to go to when you want security. He founded the bar, Weeds, to give juvenile offenders a place to restart their life. He took in strays and gave them a home. Interestingly, in addition to carrying the meaning of sanctuary and shelter, havens are also used to describe shipping harbours, so we have this extra sea connection with Osborn.

romantic. Haha, this is an extremely cute descriptor to attach to Osborn, especially because he looks like an edgy bad boy, but it's completely true because in your relationship he can only do the most classic of romantic things. For example, in his 1st Valentine's date he stuffed his jeep's trunk with roses, and in the 2nd anniversary video call he brings a balloon to you.

danger. I think this is pretty self-explanatory, but both his racing and bounty hunter profession are accompanied with danger. Also, in his 2nd Valentine's card, he tells the journalist that some people are inherently born accompanied by danger (we just need to look at Osborn's entire past, especially given how he's a mix of the Blood Clan and God Clan). The person—you—who is willing to go with him on dangerous adventures doesn't need him to do anything because you would have entered his life already.

EVAN

For Evan, after his words, the next frame shows him with bars around his silhouette, reminiscent of a cage. He's been jailed for being a smooth criminal. I believe this shows his upbringing and how he's never had any freedom.

expectation. This is a loaded word because this can refer to how he now looks forward to the future, thanks to your influence on him that gives him hope, or it can refer to his expectations for you because he's always challenging you to grow and be strong enough to stand on your own or against him.

Belief. The immediate thing that pops out here is that this is the only word, out of all the men, that has a capitalization. I saw a fellow fan bring up his reading event date, where Evan and you discuss possible words that start with B-E for a story, and ultimately you decide it must have been "Believe". I agree with this interpretation and I believe it refers specifically to your relationship with Evan, because in his sunrise date you say "Love is, even if you don't understand a person, you're willing to believe in them without reservation". Loving someone is a trust fall and for someone like Evan, who was once terrified of love, being able to love someone is being able to believe in them.

There is also the aspect of Evan's nihilism and how, due to Blood Clan upbringing being so against his nature, Evan has doubted literally everything in the world. At one point, after you do enough philosophical exercises, you will think yourself into a deep hole and realize that, in order to get out, you can only blindly believe in something.

loyalty. Evan's position in the game has always been close to being a double agent, haha. He manipulates everything behind the scenes and plays roles for both sides to the point where it's easy to wonder just who is the real Evan? I don't think it's a coincidence that all his AU roles has also played with this concept and the codename for his VR event is "Integrity". However, we can be assured that he will never put you in real harm anymore (after Chapter 16) and so I think this descriptor is a reminder that, in the end, he is loyal to you and only you.

commitment. Once again, I think this is a reference to your relationship with Evan and how, after all the push-pull tension that resulted in the climax of Chapter 16, Evan is now willing to fight for you and has committed to his feelings. He refuses to be strangers with you.

SARIEL

I don't have anything to say about his graphics, but I do think it's interesting that he is the only man who gets two screens for his words. Maybe it's to show the passage of his time?

serenity. I believe this refers to Sariel's zen-like attitude towards everything and how he believes in letting nature take its course. Out of all the men, Sariel is still the only one whose emotions rarely get agitated. He has seen so much over thousands of years that he can make peace with pretty much anything.

samsara. This is the concept of reincarnation and karma, which cannot be any more perfect to describe your relationship with Sariel. Although it seems more like timey-wimey loops in the game, we can treat it functionally like reincarnation and I will never shut up about the Möbius loop of how you went back into the past and taught Sariel about designer skills, which led him onto that path, and then makes him become your North Star, which leads you onto the path of being a designer.

reunion. I was shocked to see this word land on Sariel instead of Jesse, but I think it's ingenious in how it captures the development of your relationship with the men and the world state. Now that Sariel has recovered his memories he has truly reunited with you.

eternal. You met him when he was a child, you met him when he was a young general, and then you met him when he was a three thousand year old plus designer. Again and again, your lives intersect and you become someone irreplaceable to him. Sariel has said in his Spring Festival date that he can wait for you for hundreds or thousands of years, and in his 2nd birthday date he did a Spirit Clan ritual to mark your souls so that you can find each other again in the next life.

CHARLIE

Oh man, do I have things to say about Charlie's graphics. First, there are 5 of him that appear with his words. Second, in the next frame, you see two Charlies that flicker back and forth. I wonder if this refers to all the different roles he has (Novaten heir, firefighter, journalist, burn surgeon, "Charlie"), his dissociation, and also his twin.

utopia. From the opening for the game where Charlie says the line "A new world. I will be here waiting for you", to the album title for his BGMs being "Utopia", to his 2nd valentine's date where he gets called an idealist who suffers in the current state of reality, to all of his main chapter cards, we can see that Charlie is driven to fight against the evils of society. There is no better word to describe the goal he wants to achieve.

fantasy. I believe this is a nod to his childlike innocence and how he encourages this in you. A lot of his dates involve bringing romantic fantasties into the real world, like his magician date and his Hello Kitty date.

stratagem. This is another word which I would have thought would go to another man—the behind-the-scenes manipulator Evan—but I think it's because Evan has now stripped off his mask and is openly warring with his family. Evan's battle still requires strategy, of course, but it's not at the scale of Charlie and his father, who also have their own war. The definition of stratagem involves surprising or deceiving the enemy and, in my opinion, this has been Charlie's actions where he has to limit the knowledge his father has, such as going on the run or hypnotizing himself.

freedom. I may not have said this out loud but I do believe Charlie suits this word more than Osborn. For all intents and purposes, Osborn has already achieved his freedom and it's no longer a prominent theme with him (rather, it's just inherent in his actions) but Charlie is still struggling to escape his father's control, the contradiction between his ideals and reality, and even the weight of his name "Charlie". Freedom is a keystone theme shared between you and Charlie and the foundation of your relationship, because you ran from the engagement and caught his interest.

JESSE

Before Jesse's words appear, he also gets the cage-looking graphics like Evan and I believe it's because he's similarly trapped. He was born with the weight of the Xia Clan on his shoulders and the responsibility that comes with his powers. I would argue he is also trapped by his revenge and insecurities.

protection. Yes, all the other men protect you, but we only need to look at how many times Jesse puts his life on the line for you to know that this truly defines him. He gives you one of his soul flames in his Qixi date, he gives up on his revenge in the main chapter for you, and he forces himself to sing and topples off the stage in the main chapter for you. Heck, Chapter 15 was all about tackling his overprotective behavior.

partiality. This should have gone to Osborn. I believe this goes hand in hand with his "obsession" for you and how that is naturally expressed in favoring you for everything.

passionate. I think this might refer to how much he's grown from the boy who didn't understand his feelings for you to the man that now wants to be a partner you can rely on. In the steamier cards, he can barely hold himself back and puts his desires front and center.

firmness. This can refer to many things but I like to think it's Jesse's position on his revenge and you. At many instances, people have told him there was only one killer for his father but he refuses to believe that and continues to search for the truth. His "obsession" for you has been pointed out to have potential negative consequences, but he firmly believes that you are the fulcrum of all his possibilities. Once Jesse makes a decision, nothing can change his mind.

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klsama · 8 months ago

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Picking A Bouquet with Osborn

A small subsection of [In the House with Osborn: Sweet Dreams]

Pic source: here

I - Hydrangea

A large swath of hydrangea blossoms, and the resulting blue hue evokes that of the sky and the ocean.

"Hydrangea is a hydrophilic plant. They will bloom profusely during the rainy season.” I read the information that I discovered while searching on my phone. Osborn takes the flower and stares at me so intently that my face begins to flush.

“Bloom profusely...... not bad. That sums it up nicely.”

“But to truly appreciate something is to appreciate it at all stages of development, from the bud to the full blossom.”

II - Tulip

I pick up some tulips to complement the hydrangea I have. Compared to the sophisticated hydrangea, these come pale in comparison. The plain tulips have shy and cute qualities to them.

“A bouquet of tulips and hydrangeas makes for a lovely arrangement. Osborn, don't you agree that contrast is essential to the creation of beauty?”

“It all depends on your point of view. But I believe that when things of different natures are entangled with one another, it will always bring about some surprises. Just like you and me."

III – Cornflower

“Pick a flower for you? I bat my eyelids at Osborn. “If so, then there's no other bloom more fitting than blue cornflower."

It's purely blue, whimsy, and one-of-a-kind. As the myth goes, this flower cured Arminius's sight. Hence, it also means light.

Osborn carefully plucks the cornflower from my palm and places it in our arrangement. “It's tough to find a light, but I got lucky: mine is just here by my side.”

IV – Bush Lily

“Do you know what Bush Lily is also called?” Osborn asks me.

“Of course. It’s the flower of love.”

"Not bad, you reply quite promptly. Then, shall we incorporate it into the bouquet? " He responds with a smile and crinkled eyes.

“Okay, but I'm still interested in knowing why you chose this particular flower.”

"Not now; once we finish the bouquet, I'll tell you the reason and give you the flower."

V - Blueberry

The blueberries in our bouquet seem to have caught Osborn off guard. "Blueberries can be used in flower arrangements? Aren't you supposed to…… eat it?”

Fearing he will eat them in the next second, I quickly grab the blueberries out of his hand. "Blueberries are dainty; they make a lovely addition to a flower arrangement. But, after staring for too long, I start to crave them, too…….”

Osborn smiles and pats my head. “I had a hunch that Xiao Xiaowu would also feel tempted to eat it. Leave these few blueberries here in the arrangement. Let's get some blueberries on the way home!"

VI - Daisy

“A daisy indicates silent love, which is to say that my feelings for you are hidden deep within my heart.” After reading the card's preface aloud, I find myself looking at the flower with a sense of bitter delight in love.

"They bloom so selflessly; how is it that they bury the love deep in their heart?" Unconvinced, Osborn points to the centre of the flower. The stamens look like pearls encrusted in there.

“For me, its floral language should connote an all-out, ardent love.”

VII - Delphinium

We finish off the bouquet with delphiniums. Its delicate, light blue petals flutter in the breeze like a swarm of birds.

“It is understandable why delphinium signifies a desire for freedom,” I utter as I gaze at the blossom.

"Even in freedom, there are moments you want to halt." Osborn gently taps on the petals, like a swallow taking a break.

"Like when?" I look up, and our eyes meet. “Like now," he says as he rests his chin on my head.

[Osborn's Letter]

To: MC

Flowers are a mystery to me. Compared to flowers, I feel like I have a far better understanding of the roadside weeds. However, after discovering the meanings and legends of these blooms from you, their stunning appearance takes on new depth.

Actually, it's more than just the flowers. After you entered my life, everything started to make sense. You taught me to appreciate the exquisite subtlety that exists in the mundane tasks of life.

Now I might just get to experience the thrill of watching a flower bloom. More specifically, the amorous bloom that belongs to us.

From: Osborn

Pic source: here

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