Let's Talk Seriously For a Moment: The Ending to Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea

Warnings:

Spoilers

If you are triggered by, or sensitive to, the topic of rape, either don't read this or tread carefully; I will also advise you not to play the game if this is the case for you.

Earlier this month, I made a little post where I put down some of my thoughts and theories on a Deep Sea Prisoner game called The Gray Garden, but today, I just wanted to share some of my thoughts and opinions on the controversy over the ending to one of its sister games, Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea.

Chances are that if you've heard of this game, you know about how controversial it is due to one of its possible endings, the worst possible normal ending that you can get, and the one that every player is forced to go through before moving on to see the two other, better endings. The bad normal ending has enraged and triggered a lot of people, and the controversy over the entire thing is so intense that Mogeko (the name that the game developer, Deep Sea Prisoner, often goes by) has been receiving lots of death threats over the game, despite the fact that the game's main page even has a warning about it containing implied sexual assault. The threats have gotten so bad that Mogeko has even asked that no one releases any more play throughs, let's plays, or livestreams of their games.

So what is this even all about? Well, in the bad normal ending, with the Red Sea Witch, the main character, Wadanohara, is implied to be raped by the antagonist, Sal. Also take note that this is done in front of her severely injured shark boyfriend (and Sal's younger twin brother), Samekichi, who is helpless to the entire situation.

A lot of people seem to be writing those offended off as being overly sensitive to the subject due to this not being the first game Mogeko has added sexual assault into (as that's pretty much the entire plot of Mogeko Castle, and The Gray Garden does contain a scene where Ivlis is implied to be groping poor Yosafire), and also due to the warning put up on the main page. And while I'm not saying that this last point, at least, is wrong, I also don't think that the rape scene itself is what got most people upset about the entire ordeal. I think that the real problem lies with the fact that we are forced into sending Wadanohara in to Sal's hands.

You see, at the end of the game, we're given a "choice" of what to do in order to get to the endings. The problem, however, is that each choice pops up one at a time. So only after we get the Red Witch and play again do we get the option that leads to the Blue Witch, and finally, the choice that leads to the Sea Witch. In other words, we are literally forced into selecting the choice leading to Wadanohara being raped before we can get our bitter-sweet ending with the Sea Witch. The worst part is probably that, once you see the option "Trust Sal" come up, you know what's going to happen; I mean, he had already tried to sexually assault Wada before but was stopped by Samekichi. I mean, what else do you think he'll try, when Samekichi is more or less out of the picture, Wadanohara is desperate to save her home, and Sal has just stated that literally the only true thing he's told her is that he loves her? The dude pretty much just told her that she shouldn't trust him. But in order to progress in the game, we are forced to trust Sal.

I don't think it really helps that, throughout the first half of the game, Sal was someone that we (or at least I) trusted and saw as Wadanohara's comrade, so when his true nature was revealed, it suddenly becomes a lot more uncomfortable than if Wadanohara was being pined after by a complete stranger. This is someone that Wada trusted, that she saw as her friend. The entire situation somehow manages to make itself even more uncomfortable when you consider the fact that Wadanohara is still just a young girl, mentally (but somehow 100+ years old physically). I mean, the girl's bio says that she likes everyone in the sea and has no dislikes, for Pete's sake! "Still so young, she doesn't know the dirty side of the world"! So this just makes Sal's actions seem almost pedophilic, more disgusting. Which is why Sal is total trash and belongs in the garbage.

All this being said, I'm not trying to say that sending poor Mogeko death threats is justified in any way (especially since they did put up a warning), but I am trying to explain why the Red Witch ending has made so many people upset, as I think its stupid and insensitive to say that everyone is being overly sensitive to the game's contents. And if you were offended by the game, just keep in mind that just because someone creates or likes a character who does horrible things in no way means that they condone their actions. That'd be like saying that just because I happen to think that Idate, the strolling orca in the game, is a fun character, I want to go out and rip peoples' arms off.

So, despite everything I said, I still personally enjoy the game and will continue to do so. Just understand that there can be a fine balance between disliking a game because of its contents and sending death threats to people because of something in a game that they made. Seriously, not cool!

OK. Rant finished.

Now let's bask in the beautiful bonus material Mogeko provided us of Wada taking out the trash. I'm sure that this is something we can all enjoy.

The Gray Garden- A Few Small Theories About the Prequel

WARNING: SPOILERS LIE AHEAD
So I've recently become a fan of Deep Sea Prisoner (otherwise known as Mogeko) and multiple different works of theirs, including Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea, Ice Scream, and, of course, The Gray Garden.

The Gray Garden, in particular, seems to grip me with some of the mysteries and questions that were left unanswered by the end of the game. A lot of the past events prior to the game, including the great war between Etihw and Kcalb are left in the dark, and some of the oddities, such as the tree with the sword in at the top or the giant grave on the way out to the flower garden were literally never mentioned, although I think that this was all in preparation for Mogeko's continuation of the game, into a prequel and then sequel.
That said, Mogeko has not yet stated when they plan to release the prequel (which is likely to take place around the time that Kcalb destroyed the world), and it's really leaving me with time to do a little research and theorize a bit on what may have happened in the great war.

If you remember, there is a certain point in the game where Froze is telling Yosafire about the past of the Gray Garden, and a picture is shown of Etihw and Kcalb, along with some of their underlings. You can very easily recognize Kcalb's pet kitties, Ater and Arbus, along with the head Angel, Wodahs, and Alela Grora (I do imagine that we'll get to see the scene in which Ater takes Grora's eye in the prequel, and I can't wait for it). But who are the other six characters in the shadows? Well, after doing a little poking around, I found the identities of all of them, confirmed by Mogeko, themselves. They're the ancestors of our four main characters, as well as Dialo and Chelan. Really, though, they were technically included in the game, since you could find each of their graves in the grave yard.

The character with glasses next to Kcalb is Yosaflame, who was reincarnated into Yosafire. He was apparently one of Kcalb's most loyal underlings and, judging by the fact that he's described as having cold eyes, is probably a very serious character, which kind of seems like the opposite of our ditsy, hyperactive, flower-loving Yosafire. They do, however, seem to share that loyalty for Kcalb that Yosafire showed when rescuing her devil, even after seeing what he was like in the past. Perhaps her harshness on boys (i.e.: Bootstain Pootstain) also stems from Yosaflame...?

Likewise, the middle angel, next to Etihw, is Froze's previous incarnation, Sherbet, who is simply described as being a big 'ol pervert. Okay... This especially seems strange, since I would peg Froze as being anything but perverted, considering the scene in the bonus room, where she pretty much ignores Yosafire spontaneously changing into a bikini. Unless she'd some sort of weird closet perv...

Sherbet is also supposedly the mortal enemy of Yosaflame, which is pretty interesting when you consider just how gay Yosafire is for Froze.

Things get a little more interesting when we get into Macarona's ancestor, Rigatona- who, I'll be frank, looks like a total bitch. Not much is officially known about her, personality-wise, but I can right off the bat that she seems like the exact opposite of sweet, cowardly Macarona. Rigatona, on the other hand, gives me the impression (both in name and appearance) of some war-mongering Nazi mini-boss in a World War II RPG. Not at all the Macarona we know and love. But it also brings my memory back to the moment when Macarona mercilessly beats Pervy McShades to a pulp after his attack on Froze. Perhaps, as her reincarnation, Macarona still holds some of that aggression and sadism that Rigatona possibly had? Just a thought.

I also find the fact that Cranber was reincarnated into- not one but- two people to be a bit perplexing, although I like to theorize that this may be because she had a split personality, or something of the sorts? I can't really some up with any other explanation as to why the Preserves sisters share the same previous incarnation. Cranber, while speculated to be a cannibal, does look like there's a lot more wrong with her inside of the head, and I'm pretty sure that she's unstable, mentally-wise. It could be that Rawberry represents her more innocent side, since when Rawberry (I  think?) accidentally kills Macarona in one of the bonus videos, she does seem out of sorts and freaked out by it;  I just don't think that Rawberry sees that what she's doing is wrong. Raspbel, on the other hand, knows that what she's doing is bad (thus why she keeps it a secret), but doesn't seem too remorseful about killing and eating her little sister at all.

I think that the most curious of the ancestors, however, have to be Lost and Ciel- better known as Dialo and Chelan. Not much is really known about the two-it was simply stated that Lost didn't talk much, and there's nothing on Ciel as of yet. The two weren't even given portraits as nice as the other ancestors, either, simply the two of them together on a white background. Oddly enough, though, the two were buried right next to each other, and when asked about their relationship, Mogeko refrained from saying anything; obviously, they're trying to keep something under wraps about these two. 

These last two facts put together make me think that Lost and Ciel must have been very close, which wouldn't seem even possible, considering that at the time they were alive, demons and angels would have been at each other's throats. Perhaps they may have been star-crossed lovers, or that they somehow became close friends that could simply never meet due to their affiliations. And perhaps their close relationship was found out by Wodahs, who then said something to Etihw to "wake them up"? And maybe their connection with apples could be a clue to this? In Christian lore, the original sin was when Eve ate the apple, and if an angel and demon were to be seeing each other in secret, in a time when angel and demons were mortal enemies, then it could certainly be considered sin.
If they don't make it into the prequel with big roles, however, I imagine they would at least take the reins in The Gray Garden's sequel game, as, with Macarona and Rawberry being presumably dead, we need someone to take their place in the party.
I just need something to happen with these two; Dialo and Chelan didn't seem to be all too important to the story in The Gray Garden, and having such imperative roles to the prequel could help balance some things out.

All I can say for sure in regards to Ciel, though, is that if she's even remotely close to as cute as Chelan, and she's killed off (as I know she will be), Mogeko and I are going to be having some major problems, because that little girl is precious and needs to be protected.

As for the game play of the sequel itself, I think that we may switch between two different main parties as they go about on their war missions. On the demon side, I believe that we'll be able to play as Yosaflame, Cranber, Ater, and Arbus. On the angel side, we'd play as Sherbet, Rigatona, Wodahs, and Grora. I also believe that, like with Dialo and Chelan, we'll be able to play as Lost and Ciel for small periods of time, but, as I said earlier, I think they'll play some larger parts than their Gray Garden reincarnations. Alternatively, the game could take place while Kcalb is sealed underground by Etihw, leaving us as his underlings to go on a sort of rescue mission to release him. 

I've already seen speculation that the tree with the sword may have been where Kcalb was sealed, and that the sword was what broke the seal. (Yosafire does wield a Cross Sword at the beginning of the game, so maybe Yosaflame is the one who released him?) The game will probably end, though, when Kcalb is released and, enraged, destroys the world, killing Yosaflame, Sherbet, Cranber, Rigatona, Lost, Ciel, and maaaaany others in the process. He may have become regretful and blamed Etihw at first, or he may have blamed himself the whole time. Either way, though, I'm not sure what would held him back from using that spell at the end of the war that Etihw mentioned while they were at the beach.

Then we also have the mystery of Crow, the character found talking with Kcalb in the bonus room. Almost everything that they say is very vague, so it's pretty hard to tell exactly what kind of conversation the two are having, but I think I may have figured out a possible theory.

My first thought is that Crow could have been someone Kcalb just had a one-night stand with during the war or something. And, perhaps they may have had twins, as a result...?

"But, ever since that day, my once-lonely life has changed so much. I've come to live a very happy life now. ... But you know, they sure do resemble you. Got some of your features... Haha." ".......Are you talking to me?" "Well, who else! I mean, I'm your..."

Mogeko apparently posted a picture of these two girls of known origins some time ago, and some people have noticed that the girl to the left (with the white hair and black diamonds) looks a lot like a cross between Kcalb and Etihw, although I also think she just looks like the female version of Kcalb presented in the April Fools Day mini game, Garden Gray The. The piece of dialogue I put above does give me the impression of someone who had a happy life raising children (even while dealing with the hardships of being a single parent), and it this theory would also explain a few things, like how they don't know Kcalb's name, or how Crow trails off at the end of their sentence. Maybe they're just not sure what to refer to their self as? I mean, what would you call yourself in that conversation? "Your lover"? "Your baby mommy/daddy"???

Then again, there are quite a few holes in this theory, my smallest nitpick being that Crow's silhouette looks male. Then again, it could be a woman with a tomboyish haircut, and even if Crow is a guy, putting two men together has never stopped Mogeko from making demented babies (poor Ivlis). The second thing that makes me reconsider this theory is another piece of dialogue that Crow says.

"After some thinking, I decided I'd choose a name you'd understand. ... So, then, I had him call me this. Crow. ... 'Cause you looked like a Crow."

Unless they suddenly decided to change their name for the Devil because of a fling they had, this part doesn't make much sense to me at all, and I have no idea as to what they could possibly mean.

This is all I've got for now, but I'll be sure to update this entry if I come across any new information or any new theories of mine concerning the prequel game or the unsolved mysteries in The Gray Garden. In the meanwhile, feel free to leave your thoughts or theories by leaving a comment!