Matriphagy

Effective storytelling with very few words, I'm intrigued by how vivid of a picture this is able to paint with such little runtime. A lot of things are left to implication, there's a lot to read between the lines. I think this VN really digs into children being used by their parents as an emotional support animal in a way that's particularly unique. Very beautiful.

This was beautifully written. I loved the dynamic between both Locket and her original mother and the clone, and how the two effectively swap places towards the end. Having a replica that fails to please you no matter what she does is a very intriguing concept that this VN executed well. I loved how 2 of the 3 endings dealt with the concept of thirst in different ways, with the clone Esther wanting to drain Locket's blood and Locket feeding from her in another ending.

Thank you for sharing!

The UI was very lovely, the lace border on the menu and brass color of the buttons had a handmade feel. So much was conveyed within the short run of the game. The opening sequence with Locket reading about matriphagy was a strong start; I can relate to how gross just looking at pictures of bugs can be and feeling like they can crawl off the page. "My mother will never love me like this." could be the subtitle of the game. Despite how "close" Locket and his mother seem (sleeping together until 16) it's more about control. Mother allows Locket to move her onto her wheelchair, but only to maintain her image in front of the staff. Once Locket decides to clone Mother I can see how the role reversal starts. Locket is judgmental of the lab of the entire process in the way Mother would have been. Specifying that she wants the clone to lactate, but have no genitals feels more raw than if Locket had decided to leave clone as is.

Poor Esther. Practically a newborn, but has so many expectations on her. This how Locket becomes her Mother and Esther her daughter while Esther has to try to be Locket's replacement mother. The tension between Esther's animal traits and her faint memories of Mother is nicely called back in how Locket calls herself a predator. The matriphagy comes true when Esther begins to desire devouring Locket.