HAHAHALRIGHT!

moe’s part of the taskline is cool for even acknowledging the cogs’ presence would impact toons on an emotional level i think. it’s still brushed off but it’s something. i like interpreting her behavior ingame as her having essentially gone sad & stayed sad for a longer period of time over how hopeless the cog invasion made her feel. the hq is really busy in her absence, so i imagine she just got overwhelmed by everything and self-isolated. especiallyy with the ambassador situation… watching the cogs invade and uproot and Build An Entire Headquarters on top of the neighborhood she’s supposed to be taking care of is not great for morale. she manages to get it in her head that the cog situation in mml is like that due to some failing on her part and kind of just gives up until your toon shows her that the community in mml is still going despite the cogs’ impact. and she can too. yay!

my moe appearance headcanon chart btw. sadness having effects is a pretty easy conclusion to come to i feel but it’s like a tangible lack of silliness in my mind. fatigue / depression / etc. is standard fare but it can start causing more physical problems over time like in moe’s case. her ink solidified meaning she’s not as able to squash and stretch around and is generally more limited with her movement. this isn’t a universal thing by any means, detective lima for example has the exact opposite problem after he’s captured if you pretend i’ve designed him. 

for barbara her taskline segment of catching moe’s composition enchants me i think it’s cute. i really just decided i wanted to look into the toons moe names off the top of her head and barbara stood out most to play with. i know she’s pretty default toon in personality, but i like when the toon npcs talk about other npcs outside of just directing you to the next shopkeep it’s nice. and hanging out with such a high energy toon would be good for moe’s optimism anyway. barbara is like her #1 fan. i think moe just disappears for extended periods of time occasionally to write new music so the resistance didn’t really think much of it until it started stretching into months-long absence territory. and barbara is off in her own world, she doesn’t realize how long it’s been until her part of the taskline and even then she’s just like i should go tell my friend moe zart how awesome her music is it’s been a while since we talked :3 <- clueless. they hang out a lot more after moe stops isolating herself, there’s like a silly balance between them. i think barbara truly just loves music and mml so so much and it reminds moe that she does as well yay.

i’d like to think more about some other connections for moe too, especially with rhapsody and with mata… my friends rhapsody and mata. the other ambassadors as well. i think she’d get along with coach z and i can make anything about barnacle bessie. AND EXPANDING ON THAT ABANDONED BUILDING. but the important thing is everyone so happy their friend is back ok?