Moeka Kiryū (桐生萌郁, Kiryū Moeka) is a part-time editor whom Okarin encounters in Akiba. She is practically glued to her phone and cannot function without it. Even when face to face, Moeka prefers to communicate by email.
She is searching for the legendary retro PC known as the IBN 5100.
Moeka is a beautiful, elegant, stoic woman. Her physical attributes include pale toned skin, light nut-brown hair, pinky amber eyes and a tall, slender profile. Usually seen with a purple phone and rectangular glasses. Moeka has a stylish sense of fashion, with her outfit consisting of a white button up top with black arm cutouts, a black belt with a checkered buckle, a short black skirt, and black heels.
Her Rounder uniform consists of a black jumpsuit, black boots and a black belt. She also ties her hair to make it easier to move.
She is the tallest and the bustiest among all the female characters.
Personality
Personality wise, Moeka is quiet, absent-minded, reserved, has difficulties interacting with people, and seen to be expressionless most of the time without actually reacting towards anyone or anything, except for certain situations; her preferred form of communication is via text messages even if the person she is "talking" to is right in front of her. Therefore, Moeka is very protective of her phone and becomes agitated if someone tries to take it from her hands.
Never shown to interact with anyone properly, Moeka's maturity has yet to be proportionate with her age, due to a certain turn of events in her past. Thus, Moeka is quite clumsy and the type of person that does not know how to take care of herself.
Via mails, Moeka is a cheerful and charismatic person, contrasting highly with her real-life personality. She constantly use emojis like "(^ ^)", "(T_T)", "(>_<)", "♪" and a variety of others, Moeka also uses some Netspeak expressions like "lmao", "lol" and "orz". Though behaving inexpressive and gloomy in real life, Moeka behaves childish and amusing via mails. Despite this, Moeka does not have confidence, and seems to have an inferiority complex.
At heart, behind her expressionless face, Moeka is just a lonely and extremely fragile girl who desperately wants to be accepted and cherished by someone. As she was neglected (or bullied) by every person she meet, Moeka become depressed, very sick, and with hints of paranoid personality disorder. Although, after FB contacted her and made her feel loved and accepted, Moeka though FB was the only one in the world who was a good and accepting person, due to not having anyone that cared about her; the rest of the world to Moeka was empty, devoid of life, and cruel. Thus, she started isolating herself from people, thinking that FB was the only one that could truly understand her and fearing going through her past again. When her relationship with FB, which meant life to Moeka, required her to kill someone, she killed. By taking another’s life, her life retained meaning. While Moeka is capable of carrying out atrocities for acceptance, she strives to be loved and has the potential to be a good person if led in the right direction. As said in Moeka's image song, "To be Loved".
In the Gamma world line, Moeka is very different from the Alpha and Beta’s Moeka. She is very responsible, serious, and incredibly perceptive. One could even call her cold-hearted, since she easily killed, with Okarin, two Europol agents. Moeka can also talk normally without using mails, though she says she's not good with conversations, she apparently has more confidence in herself and isn't so devoted to the person that saved her in this world line. However, she constantly worries about Okarin, as he gave her a reason to live, and saved her life various times. She considers FB and Okarin as her family, and though not realising, harbors feelings for Okarin.
In Delta, Moeka is much more friendly, though she is still introvert and depressed. She also shows a lot of creativity, as she managed to write a famous romance novel without any experience on it, however, she implies that she used her and Okarin’s relationship as a base. Moeka is convinced that she is unneeded by everyone, as people always told her that she was an unwanted child, thus making a wall between her and society and not showing anyone her real feelings. However, after Okarin makes an unbreakable bond with her, and break the wall Moeka made between her and people, she smiles more and start showing more of her feelings; She manages to have a normal and happy life, with Okarin and the LabMems by her side. (Moeka's route)
Background
Moeka's childhood is unknown. However, Darling of Loving Vows implies that she was born from an unwanted pregnancy. As her parents did not want to have her, they often abused Moeka physically and mentally. Can be speculated that or they abandoned her or had an unfortunate death.
Moeka was a constantly bullied social outcast; she desperately tried to make friends and find a place to belong, but failed miserably due to her social paranoia. In 2004, she fell into a deep depression due to hating everything and being hopeless, thinking that she no longer had a reason to live, Moeka decided to suicide. She drank several sleeping pills, hoping that she would die, but to no avail. As the pills were not working, her final attempt was to jump off a large building. At that moment, she received a mail from the enigmatic FB recruiting her to the Rounders, a SERN unit, changing her life forever. As FB often communicated with Moeka and acted as a mother figure towards her, speaking with Moeka about her problems and comforting her, she came to see FB as the person that gave her life meaning and devoted every waking moment to sending mails to them and carrying out their given orders, developing a dependency on FB and their mails.
Plot
(SPOILER ALERT)
Moeka's first appearance.
Okarin first encountered Moeka around the RadioKaikan building when he was revisiting the "satellite crash site". Moeka took a few pictures of him, which irritated him; She says that she didn't mean to take photos of him, but the location, to remember where she was. Moeka asks Okarin if he knows anything about a phantom retro PC, named IBN5100. Okarin says that he's Super Hacka might know something, then, Moeka ask Okarin's email, in order to obtain Daru's information about the IBN5100; But Okarin refuse, causing Moeka to chase him. After Okarin notices her, Moeka shows his photo on her cellphone and says that in order to delete it, Okarin has to exchange mails with her. Okarin give up and send her a message. Moeka says that she will email him later. She is apparently a reporter for a magazine called Arc Rewrite, according to her introduction.
After a bunch of mails questioning about the IBN5100, Okarin says that he successfully obtained it and Moeka visits his lab, asking to see the IBN5100 (as she was the one who suggested it to him). As Okarin ignore her mails, Moeka attempted to carry the computer away (before crumbling under the box's weight). Okarin reluctantly dubs her "Lab Member 005" to prevent her from leaking the PhoneWave's secret. She also requests to send a D-mail in order to prevent herself from buying a new phone.
Moeka sent the threat mails to Okarin to prevent him and the lab from using the time machine any futher.
When the Lab is about to end the Time Leap machine, Okarin bumps into Moeka and she questions him if he already got rid of the time machine. After Okarin explain about the Time Leap Machine and answer all of her questions, Moeka congratulates him.
After the Future Gadget Lab perfected the time-leaping mechanism, a team of Rounders, led by Moeka, storms the lab and holds its members at gunpoint. She ordered them to hand over the Time Leap Machine, Mayuri questions Moeka about being a lab mem, though this only causes Moeka to points her gun at her. Hesitating, Moeka shoots at Mayuri, causing Okarin to panic. She orders Okarin to move away from Mayuri, pointing her gun at him, but Suzuha Amane rushed in and took out the whole Rounder squad, and entered a standoff with Moeka in quick succession, giving Okarin his chance to time-leap back in time to prevent the attack.
In one of the various attempts to save Mayuri, Okarin tracked Moeka down and questions her the reason of the Lab attack. Moeka answer with three motives: first, they discovered something that they should not. Second, they created a time machine. Third, they wanted to make her public. Surprised, Okarin asks if SERN knows this much, with Moeka answer only being "I receive my orders from FB. FB is... everything to me", the Rounders then capture Okarin. He awakes to find himself in a car leaded by Moeka; she questions him if he is John Titor, he negates. The group proceeds to breach into the lab to kill Mayuri and capture Kurisu and Itaru. Okarin pleas for the Rounders forgiveness, saying that he never wanted to expose SERN, that he will give the time machine to them and never say anything about the time machine to anyone, that it was all a game to them, to spare Mayuri. However, Moeka says that it is too late.
Mayuri continues dying ether shot by Moeka or other reasons such as heart attack, hit by a train and shot by other Rounders.
Okarin discovers that in order to stop Mayuri's death, he has to cancel every D-Mail sent. He visits her house to revert her D-mail and threat her to cancel the attack, only to find police officers around her apartment; she had hanged herself. He time-leaped again, and returned to her house at night. Moeka seemed catatonic, mumbling to herself while typing uncontrollably. Okarin attempted to wrest the phone from her hand, causing her to violently revolt. As he didn't want to hit Moeka, he tried to strangle her. After picking her phone, he successfully sent a D-mail to the past, but nothing changes (as the phone Moeka convinced her past self to change did not appear). Okarin pin her to the ground, telling Moeka both about her imminent death and FB had most likely betrayed her, she told Okarin the story of FB and how she became a mother figure for her. Okarin also figured out that Moeka actually D-mailed herself the location of the IBN.
Mr. Braun's suicide.
Realizing that a D-mail from FB's phone could cancel Moeka's, Okarin decided to hunt for FB by staking out the IBN drop-off point. After Moeka joined the stakeout, the two pursued the IBN and witnessed it being passed along by different people, one such person being Okarin's landlord, Yuugo Tennouji. The two visited Yuugo and confront him about the IBN5100, he later reveals to them that he is FB and that FB is the initials of Ferdinand Braun. Pulling a gun on Moeka, Yuugo admitted that he was FB, pretending to be a woman to appeal to Moeka's insecurity; he also informs the two that Rounders who complete their missions are killed by him. Okarin proceeds to reveal the truth about Hashida Suzu, the woman who took care of Yuugo and became a mother figure to him. After he found out the relation Hashida Suzu had to the time machine and the future, he regretted his actions, and committed suicide to protect Nae and Moeka, as he wanted to save the latter.
In retrospect, Okarin believed that Yuugo cared about Moeka's well-being, and spared her life in a last-resort effort to protect her. Unfortunately, Moeka's death in that world-line was guaranteed, but this time around, it was Nae who killed her. Her father's death caused her to become vengeful, especially against Okarin and Moeka. She later became the Rounder commander, and killed Okarin in 2025, then time-leaped 15,000 times back to the time of Moeka's death to kill her and warn Okarin of his death.
Moeka's death.
As Moeka dies, she apologized to Okarin for Mayuri's death. Believing that her death is her punishment for killing Mayuri and that Okarin is right to hate her, as she would kill to protect the place she belongs. (FB's affection and care towards her) Reminding himself that Moeka did not kill Mayuri in this timeline, Okarin forgives Moeka as she dies.
Moeka is not seen or heard of anymore after her death in the Alpha worldline.
After 1% divergence was reached (true ending), Nae injured herself and Moeka helped her with a first aid, bringing her to Yuugo's story, due to that, Nae introduced Moeka to Mr. Braun and he decides to give her a job. After Okarin got released from the hospital, he gives Moeka the lab's pin, saying that it's the proof that she is the Lab Mem 005 and that she can come to the lab whenever she wants. Moeka faintly smiles and thanks Okarin as he goes to the lab.
Quotes
"Look, even if we were enemies in the world you were before, right now I'm your only ally. Even if the whole world turned against you, I would continue to be your only ally." -Moeka to Okarin in Gamma worldline.
"The "me" that you are talking about is also a different me, now I only want to help you."-Moeka to Okarin when he accused her of betraying him.
"Don't be angry, I mean... Angry Okabe-kun is scary! (T_T)" -One of Moeka mails.
"Did I do something wrong? I'll fix it, I promise. Just don't abandon me. I'll do anything for you, FB!" -Moeka desperate when FB stopped sending mails to her and replying to her mails.
"I was always told that I am an unwanted child... over and over... that's why I truly believed that I wasn't needed... That's how I've always felt... then I got uset to that... ...I mean... if I was unwanted... then... nobody would look at me... Nobody would expect anything from me... I wouldn't disappoint anyone..." -Moeka to Okarin in Hiyoku Renri no Darling.
"People... need to be needed by someone in order to live. If a person isn't needed, she's worthless."
"I had nothing except FB... The only place I belonged... I would do anything to protect it... you're right to hate me..." -Moeka to Okarin in her dying moments.
"I killed... someone... precious... to you... so this... is my punishment... I'm sorry..." -Moeka's last words.
Trivia
Moeka doesn't know how to cook, clean, and how to do other domestic labors, as shown in Steins;Gate Hiyoku Renri no Darling. She only eats instant foods and almost never cleans her apartment.
Moeka can apparently type and send SMS's at the speed of normal speech, which leads to Okarin calling her "Shining Finger".
The nickname "Shining Finger" is the ultimate attack of Shining Gundam in G Gundam.
Originally, the creators had a Moeka route in mind. But in order for the player to feel closer to the protagonist, Moeka was made to be a character the players would feel antagonism against, so they dropped the idea.
In Steins;Gate Hiyoku Renri no Darling, Moeka writes a novel called "My Rainbow". The story is about a girl who is traumatized about not having a reason to live and not being needed by anyone, but she meets a boy at her part-time job that changes her life. Little by little, she starts realizing that she is important and starts to live a brighter life.
Lab Mem 005, joined at episode 6. Moeka joined because Okarin didn't want her to leak the PhoneWave secret.
