on defect mogeko and his character / upcoming fate in gaiden, a (very) biased opinion
It's no secret to my friends and to the people who've followed me since I drew Defyona (before switching to a new special interest) that this little guy is my all-time favorite Funamusea character. With Gaiden potentially coming out anytime soon in the future, I just hope his sacrifice wasn't a waste after all. It personally feels sad that he died believing he got Yonaka home and saved her, when in the end she physically escaped but was never truly free (esp. in the Normal Ending), and he'll likely sacrifice himself for the 2nd time in the sequel to save her.
Or was that the point, that not all sacrifices will be given an honorable payoff?
With the current available in-universe info surrounding the sequel, I have little hope that he will get any meaningful closure or any further depth abt his relationship with Yonaka (though it's confirmed that more of his backstory will be revealed there). It feels bittersweet having him as a fave Okegom character because he is a genuinely kind individual who deserved better, but the people and the circumstances around him keep inadvertently screwing him over for just existing, much more in canon for disagreeing with his creator's morals and ignorant way of life and subsequently his resistance to being executed for it. Not even in the Deep-Sea Academy AU where, despite being in a close tight-knit relationship, he gets cheated on anyway. For that to happen, given his character, he likely isn't aware that it's happening, because no way in the nine circles of hell would he have simply condoned or let it slide that his girlfriend was being intimate with her own brother's ghost. It's quite upsetting to think that he gave up everything, but the story, perhaps even the universe he resides in itself, doesn't reward that goodness.
Again, maybe that's the point of a story as dark and rather bleak as Mogeko Castle beneath its absurdist humor, and the Normal Ending (where Gaiden is set in, and by extension, even the True Ending) cements that his sacrifice alone isn't enough to save Yonaka, especially from her current mental state. I can accept that his story ends with a sacrifice in spite of how tragic it can be, because that in itself is powerful and shows the integrity of his character as a morally good person.
What personally bothers me is that the story seems to be more interested in escalating Yonaka's depravity and suffering than in seriously honoring (at least) what Defect meant to her. However, she did acknowledge the weight of his sacrifice briefly in Mogeko Castle itself where she thinks "What am I doing? Defect Mogeko helped me to finally get this far... but I'm running? If I run, it's all for nothing", which echoes Defect's words to her when he asks her to run ("If you get caught, this'll be all for nothing ... At least give some thought about how I feel"), and I hope at least this kind of recognition happens again. And I digress, with Yonaka's current mental state, that's probably going to be the least of her concerns/priorities, and she needs to heal first from her own trauma before addressing anything else asides that.
Overall, I think Defect Mogeko deserved a future where his kindness actually meant something, even if his life is destined to be short. If his role in the story was not meant to be solely tragic, then the story should allow his sacrifice to leave behind some lasting emotional or moral impact, and not just delay Yonaka's downfall.
...or maybe I'm just overthinking for a character who came from a dark horror "prosciutto" adventure game.
fuck, I just realized that if I spend my life being too intimidated to make art then that means I don't even get to make bad art. I end up making NO art. that's way worse
Wraith arc Homura picking up writing/drawing for the sole reason of making Madoka stuff, people just kinda assume it's an oc she has and Homura eventually stops arguing against that
She makes...everything, short stories written down from her loops, putting Madoka in various situations (hanging out with Homura in a new place she found), dresses her up in something she thinks Madoka would like, talking to people she knows Madoka would like, making her live through it all, if only just for herself
Madoka fondly watching her, grumbling sometimes that she wouldn't act like that in this situation, complaining that Homura never draws any of their other friends (herself included) with Madoka, sits besides her as Homura makes something new
