#and I wouldn’t even call madoka magica dark…?

[kiwisandpearls]

I really hate it when people act like madoka magica somehow invented darker magical girl stories, because like…

Sailor Moon (in both the original manga and anime) had darker moments in it. Heck the ending of the first season shows our main cast getting killed off one by one.

Revolutionary Girl Utena (yes I consider rgu a magical girl anime you can fight me on this) while not dark and bleak right out of the gate slowly but surely shows it’s more ugly side as the anime goes on

so like…yeah. There are probably way more examples but magical girl anime before pmmm weren’t always sunshine and rainbows, they did have darker undertones to them, it’s just that madoka magica was more upfront with the more darker and bleaker aspects of its story.

[xlbingo10]

i tried to ignore this, but i can’t. your madoka takes are the exact same kind of bad faith criticism that people like judgemental critter make towards rwby that relies on ignoring every piece of context there is to make sense.

(spoilers for the entirety of madoka magica, rwby, and evangelion after the break)

let’s start with the idea that you put in this post that madoka magica is “torture porn” 

first, let’s define torture porn. i would define it as a narrative where suffering happenes for no reason to the characters, as opposed to a tragedy (where you can see the precise cause of the suffering but the protagonists still end up losing) and a dark story where the protagonists go through some shit but come out on top.

by these definitions, madoka is not torture porn but is a tragedy. at the end of the series, madoka is pretty much dead, homura failed to save her, and even sayaka is dead. however, the world is moderately better in that magical girls no longer have to kill the people they care about. you can also see the precise cause of the suffering: it’s not just they happened to be in the wrong place, kyubey specifically targeted them and tricked them when they were emotionaly vulnerable (side note, given that we already have ice queendom being made by the same studio that made madoka, even including gen urobuchi, and was essentially “what would weiss’ witch labyrinth look like?,” i wouldn’t be surprised if the curious cat took some inspiration from kyubey). now, we may have different definitions of “torture porn” and madoka magica could fit in your definition.

i have been ignoring the elephant in the room. let’s talk about rebellion.

rebellion can not possibly be called torture porn, and in fact makes the story no longer even a tragedy. it is catharsis. it starts out parodying all the “what if everything was happy” fanfics, then goes back to normal madoka stuff, but then something changes. the tv tropes page makes note that the beginning had all 5 girls working together which was something that wasn’t ever in the show, but it forgets to mention that the climax has this to, and not in a silly way like in the beginning. mami is alive here, the magical girl that became charlotte is fighting next to her, madoka is finally fighting, kyoko is fighting for the sake of others, and sayaka is confident, powerful, and actually happy. she has taken control of her witch form, her despair, and is using it as a part of her to make her stronger (hmm, sounds familiar). hell, in this scene, in a series where many tears are shed, kyoko sheds thae only one that’s from happiness. as for why they’re all fighting, they are trying to save homura after she becomes a witch. this is something that was attempted on sayaka in the original series and is regarded as impossible, but everyone is trying anyway. and they fucking succeed. they bring her back, and she and madoka rain down arrows on the thousands of watching kyubeys. this is the definition of catharsis. this is them overcoming everything that they struggled against and finally winning. you can not consider this “torture porn” unless you also consider stuff like rwby torture porn (because v9c8 was darker than anything in madoka). but then we go back. sayaka, nagisa, and madoka can’t stay, and homura is still dying. but then, in one last twist, homura changes that. she pulls out a part of madoka and creates a new world where they can be happy. in this timeline mami, sayaka, and kyoko are alive as for kybuey? they get what they fucking deserve. and despite homura calling herself a devil, the narrative is on her side. earlier in the movie she has a conversation with madoka where madoka says that she would not be happy if she were in a position where she was alone, unable to communicate with anyone. this is reinforced by the concept movie trailer where it is explicitly stated that “heavan” and “the goddess” (aka madoka) didn’t have happiness. and in the announcement trailer for walpurgisnacht rising, we have the line “let’s continue our story” which, when combined with the description saying “the beginning of a new chapter” indicates that the story is going to continue with madoka and homura finally able to work together, likely with sayaka, mami, kyoko, and nagisa. actually, this scene has parallels to the ending of evangelion 2.22, where shinjidoes the impossilbe and saves rei. throughout 3.33 people hate him for breaking the workld, but this ends up paving the way to the best possible ending.

now that we got the big one out of the way, let’s see your other criticisms. i feel like what i’ve already written fairly thoroughly counters this, the ending section also counters the main points on the one i’m replying to, which leaves...”that franchise about vilifying girls being heroes and where girls who express love for other girls are portrayed as toxic and threatening”

again, the ending section talks about this, but to really hammer it home, how the actually fuck can you see this scene and say any of that, holy shit (and if you try to make an argument that sayaka and kyoko don’t love each other, first ask, “was this argument used against the bees?” if yes, then it was bullshit then and is bullshit now.)

i also want to make it clear here that this is purely about your madoka takes, i agree with your rwby takes

So, another Obsessed Anon sent more Obsessed Anon Hate my way, and I'm obligated to dunk the hell out of them, not simply because they're an anon and therefore an idiot (and also blatantly misogynistic) but it also gives me the perfect opportunity to talk about how RWBY has handled a serious, mature theme in a far more responsible and respectful manner than the kind of edgy crap that so many RWBY haters adore (namely, Madoka Magica).

Content/trigger warning for themes of trauma and suicide discussed below.

So, the first thing you'll notice is that our lovely anon completely erases Kiersi Burkhart, one of the co-writers of V9E8. But really, let's just focus on the anon being a loser Madoka stan obsessed with me for criticizing the show, and how it pertains to themes of suicide.

Because Madoka Magica does in fact evoke such themes. The manner in which Sayaka's body is found (after she goes insane from her female emotions and turns into a horrible monster that Kyoko has to kill) is meant to resemble Sayaka having killed herself over the violin boy she had a crush on. Sayaka, and all of her circumstances, are things the story beats you over the head as being her fault. It's her fault she agreed to Kyubey's contract and became a magical girl. It's her fault she doesn't talk to Violin Boy. It's her fault that she refuses help and thus becomes a Witch. Sayaka is the victim of an exploitative abuser, and the story constantly victim-blames her for the trauma and effects of Kyubey.

In contrast, Ruby is someone who isn't judged by the narrative; rather, it shows how so many things have worn her down, traumatized her and left her sinking further into despair. It shows us how opening up about this is too difficult for Ruby, even as others have tried to talk to her about it, and shows that others understand and empathize with Ruby's withdrawal once they realize what's been under the surface—that someone they believed was the strongest of all of them has been hurting so deeply. The character who has been trying to make her feel as fault for her trauma? They're revealed to be a villain, with evil intentions for Ruby. This is accompanied by RWBY having shown us the trauma that Ruby's teammates and most of the main cast suffer from, the toll that events have taken on them—and has shown us them recovering from these traumas, finding better circumstances, learning to live with their disabilities. This is in stark contrast with Madoka Magica, where every other character is punished for their actions that are driven by their trauma and suffering.

But let's look at the examples our lovely jackass anon has provided.

First off, Madoka doesn't end magical-girl suffering. What she does is literally kill magical girls for having negative emotions, because the story is about how women who experience negative emotions irreversibly turn into horrible monsters that need to be removed from the world for the good of everyone. And how does she achieve this? With a glorified act of ending her own life, something that is treated as making her Better Than Other Girls due to its supposed selflessness. There is no ambiguity about it: Madoka Magica's ending is that the protagonist ends her own life to resolve the plot, and this is treated as a good and selfless thing.

But more so is the fact that not only the main character promotes such an idea, but supports her friend Sayaka in doing the same. Sayaka chooses to become a magical girl, knowing it will inevitably result in her death, solely for the sake of letting Violin Boy fulfill his dreams. After being punished in the original timeline for pursuing her own dreams, Sayaka chooses to bring about her premature death for the sake of someone else's dreams, and not only is this glorified by the narrative but Madoka herself applauds this choice. To use the anon's own words, Madoka herself effectively tells her best friend, "You go girl! Commit suicide! Hooray!"

In contrast...well, according to the anon, Ruby commits suicide after her friends and family get mad at her. Which isn't at all what happens. Ruby's depression as a result of all of her trauma, even things that aren't her fault and have never been treated as her fault, and the story never tries to blame Ruby for all of those things. Her friends aren't even particularly angry at her; Jaune even apologizes immediately after his own trauma-related outburst at her. After she runs off, they're all deeply worried about her.

And nothing about Ruby's choice is treated as a positive thing. What we're shown is a deeply traumatized girl who is actively tormented by multiple malevolent figures, who is unable to continue coping with everything she's carried on her shoulders—the burden of being herself, to the point where Ruby wishes to stop being Ruby Rose. Ruby is never blamed for her choice; not in how the narrative is framed, not by her friends, not whatsoever. Ruby is never supported in that choice, and it is not treated as a good thing for her or something she deserved via "karma" in any way whatsoever.

Unlike Madoka Magica, where the rest of the characters' suffering was treated as things they brought upon themselves through their sinfulness so Madoka could be the Saviour of these wayward women via ending her life, RWBY has been a show that has constantly empathized with those with trauma and depression, with many of them getting the help and support they need to move forward. It's that reason why RWBY's audience can be confident that Ruby's story will handle Ruby's depression, trauma, and suicidal thoughts in a respectful, responsible, and actually mature manner.

Because, after all...if Ruby was in the PMMM universe, "goddess" Madoka would kill Ruby. Not help her with her trauma whatsoever. Nope, simply remove her from living existence. For no reason other than being depressed, because PMMM's writers think women are incapable of dealing with emotion and that a depressed woman is worse than a dead woman.

(I should also point out that, given their inspiration, many Madoka Magica copycats in the edgy magical-girl "deconstruction" genre are incredibly insensitive and disrespectful regarding themes of depression, trauma, and suicide, even to the point to several such stories use the subject of suicide as a hook or tease to their target audiences.)

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

But For Me There is a Storm

tag: gn!reader, yaksha!reader, electro!reader, reader dies at the end, short angst

a/n: i felt like writing some xiao angst so i decided to whip up a short something. xiao mentioned a lot of yaksha died over the years so why not another fic to the yaksha!reader tag. anyway pour one out for [first], you got the mami from madoka magica treatment

"Call for me.”

You wanted to scoff at that command-like request your former lover spewed. “I’ll see if I can remember that.” You muttered, shoulder bumping into his while you past him. What does he think I’m weak now too? Regardless, you think that there was no time for petty squabbling or nitpicking. You didn’t get too far as a gloved hand rested on your shoulder. “What?” You all but snap, jerking your shoulder away.

The anemo-wielding yaksha looked as if you burned him before the calm returned to his eyes. “I’m serious, [First].” He emphasized, gold eyes dark. It was the closest he would get to expressing his concern. “If there’s something you feel like you can’t handle, call for me and I’ll come for you.”

A sigh escaped your lips after a moment of silence. Part of you wanted to snap and yell he had no right to ask that of you after breaking your heart weeks prior. Your responsibilities as yaksha came first, Xiao said. Our duty should be to Rex Lapis, Xiao said. Part of you wanted to reassure him that the monsters you would be fighting would be the only thing perishing. But they wouldn’t. Both of you knew the reality of what would be taking place today in this battle. Humans, adepti, and monsters alike would be slain.

The latter part of your inner stirrings won. “I won’t need to call your name.” You slipped on your mask in order to hide the face you were making. I won’t need to call his name. I won’t call his name. “Our opponents won’t take one more yaksha today. Stop worrying so much. It might be our destiny to make the ultimate sacrifice, but we’ll both live to see another day.”

Had you known that later on the very same day that you’d be lying on cold rock, one arm and your sword missing with blurring vision, perhaps you wouldn’t have said those words so confidently. Had you known later on the very same day you’d be staring down a monster of the Abyss, human and adepti corpses alike sprawled around you as the final victim, maybe you would have let your final moment with Xiao be more cordial.

Fear struck your heart as your mask, broken, fell from your face as the creature lumbered closer.

I’ll die. 

I’ll die.

“X-Xi-”

I can’t bring him here. Your mouth clamped shut, your teeth biting into your blood-covered lips. 

With one arm, you’d be useless on the battlefield if you didn’t bleed out before leaving it entirely. As a yaksha, leaving the battlefield was unthinkable. As [First], leaving the battlefield was unthinkable. Hiding wouldn’t be an option either, you wouldn’t be able to face Rex Lapis if you took to hiding while humans and your kind alike fought for the chance to live another day.

Blood dribbled from your lips as you laughed bitterly. It would simply be two dead yaksha walking, one injured and the one protecting them. 

Liyue would find itself in an era of peace one day, this you were sure of. It was simply a shame you wouldn’t be able to see it. Perhaps none of us were meant to see it, like Xiao thought. You closed your eyes in acceptance, taking your seat on cold stone. Your remaining hand clutched your Electro Vision, your pride, tightly and traces of lighting sprawled across your hand.

Maybe we’re not but... I hope he get to see it. I want him to be the one who lives long enough to see it.

One day, the storms around Liyue would cease.

Fields upon fields of flowers would dance gently in the gentle nighttime breeze.

And maybe, just maybe, he would be able to dance in that field of flowers. Perhaps he’d be able to put down his mask and see firsthand the wonders that he doubted he’d live long enough to see. That thought made you smile, even now. That would be enough.

Hot breath hit your face in breathy billows and the looming sensation of sharp teeth. Your lips trembled and you knew your tears would fall if your eyes opened. It’s unfair. I want to see it too. I wanted to see it with you. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. Not like this. 

I hope you get to see it, Xi-

[okayto]

Mini-Review: Wonder Egg Priority

Ai scores a “Wonder Egg” from a gachapon machine at a deserted arcade. But now when Ai falls asleep a girl emerges from her Wonder Egg, the worlds of dreams and reality begin to collide. And it’s all connected.

I watched a current show for once! I was enthusiastically recommended this by a friend, who also suggested watching the Japanese version with subs because the 14-year-old main character is voiced by an actual teenage girl.

The wonder eggs of the title look like normal eggs, but when the bearers fall asleep, they’re transported to another world where they have to protect the girls that emerge from the eggs from supernatural manifestations of their trauma. But they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts: they figure that if they can protect enough egg-girls, they’ll be able to rescue someone they care about deeply.

This show has definite magical girl aspects, such as the girls’ wonder-world weapons, which often sparkly when called upon, but it’s not a traditional magical girl show: no transformation, magical attack names, etc. And so it’s not dark in the way that Madoka Magica was dark, but it does deal with some heavy topics like suicide.

The game, for lack of a better term, is rooted in trauma: all four participants are fighting for someone important to them who committed suicide. All four have their own issues: when we meet Ai, for instance, she’s isolated herself at home for months, refusing to return to the school where she was bullied and her lone friend committed suicide

I don’t want to say too much about the setup, because the show did such a good job just hitting me in that first episode with how things worked. Not in a bad way!

As the show goes on, we see the characters grow closer together, finally being able to form connections with peers not just because of their shared Wonder Egg goal, but because that also lets them disclose some of their own hurt to people more likely to understand because of their similar experiences.

And you want them to succeed, so badly. These girls are so young, and so hurt, you smile with Ai when they stop just being passers-by at the egg machine and start hanging out like normal friends.

A lot of questions are raised through the episodes (like, how is this entire magical egg set-up even possible?), and while a good chunk of backstory and explanation happens, by the end of the 12th episode there’s still a lot to resolve. While I was waiting for the finale to air, I wrote “WEP is the kind of show that is alright not explaining every detail, which would annoy me except it’s so well-done.”

A brief explanation: Wonder Egg Priority premiered in January 2021, so was created during the pandemic. It appears to have been originally slated for 12 episodes (which wrapped up in early April), but shortly before the 12th, a special was announced that would act as the show’s conclusion, and aired at the end of June.

So like many people, I watched all 12 episodes (which are really 11 episodes of story, because #8 is a recap episode), and then waited for the conclusion. There were signs that we wouldn’t get straight answers about everything--it was just that kind of show. Not all stories reveal everything, and that’s a valid storytelling technique.

But it had been willing to give us some backstory, to explain the mysterious orchestrators of this game, to show us there might be another side. Is there an antagonist, or is it just trauma responses all the way down?

And then it all collapses in the last episode. I sat on my couch, and watched it, then turned to my cat and said, “what the fuck.” He farted, which is as appropriate a response as any.

Sure, you can blame it at least partly on the pandemic. It was clear going in that the story couldn’t wrap all the threads up in a nice little bow. How much of that was intentional, or due to pandemic affects through production, I don’t know.

But the storytelling is atrocious. The final episode (which excited me initially with its 45-minute runtime) spends about 20 minutes first just providing a recap of the series, which makes sense when you remember the nearly 3-month gap since the 12th episode, but is, at a minimum, annoying to a viewer who thinks they’re going to get 45 minutes of plot.

The regular episodes left us hanging: the girls are about to, or have, achieved their goals, and we’re going to see the results. Not to mention the reveal of the game’s creators’ backstories, and the closest thing this show has to an antagonist. Those two things are tied together and act as the basis for the entire game, but they’re also in conflict. Is it resolvable at all? Were Ai and her friends manipulated, are they just pawns in someone else’s game, or are they in charge of their own destinies?

The show spends the majority of its episodes building up the quartet of main characters, showing them forming connections, accepting parts of themselves they never thought could be viewed without pain, slowly breaking down barriers.

And then this final episode...I don’t even know. You could understand characters withdrawing from each other in the aftermath of what’s happened: these are girls whose friendships were forged in the fires of their desire to resurrect their loved ones. It would be understandable if they felt adrift after the climax, even though they’ve also been building more normal friendships with each other. Don’t mistake this as me complaining that people who went through multiple types of trauma aren’t magically healed from it at the end.

But basically, a show that has been carefully building up its characters and events for 12 episodes, at the last minute, throws a few of them in a completely new direction, one that had no basis, no hints. And it does that without resolving any of the big issues it had been building.

I would have accepted a bittersweet ending, because that would be entirely in line with how the show had conducted itself. But while the finale seems at times to be trying for bittersweet, it’s mostly a mess, with a side of oh wow you really did pick the most mean-spirited way to answer that one question, and it’s a question you absolutely could have left unanswered entirely.

Verdict

English dub? Yes, but I have no opinion on it since I watched in Japanese.

Visuals: It looks good! A lot of bright colors that contrast with the heavy subject matter, a lot of really good backgrounds, plus well-choreographed fight scenes.

Worth watching? I...really don’t know. Before the finale, the answer would have been an unequivocal yes. But that finale really...all I can do is sigh heavily. Probably, I guess. Probably worth watching. While it was airing, I saw so many reviews singing its praises, people willing to vote it one of the best shows of the season even before the finale aired, it was so good.

But don’t get too invested. Watch the dub, so you don’t have to pay attention to the screen the entire time. Enjoy the ideas, enjoy the characters as they are, enjoy coming up with what could have been. And then, once you watch the 12th episode...maybe leave it there. No, the series isn’t done, but the 13th episode really doesn’t change that at all.

Where to watch (September, 2021): Funimation (sub and dub)

Click my “reviews” tag below or search “mini review” on my blog to find more!

[alice-angel12x]

💠Cruel end( Heartslabyul ver.♥)

There is this neat post on Tumblr from twstpasta. And was a fun au headcanon how Mc or the NRC's s/o was destined to become a great villain, and how the boys felt about it? And I wanted to do my own spin on it with a bit of a crossover. Have you ever watched or read Madoka Magica?

Let's say the Mc/Reader came from the Madoka Magica universe, and she is one of the longest-lasting magical girls, she knows the dark secret and destiny of the magical girl and the consequence of kyubey's contract. Know where she is in twisted wonderland, with no witch to slay and the frequent use of magic to face overblot. Her soul gem is nearly dark, her time is running out. And it didn't help when Crowley proudly announced that she would be destined to be a great villain, this added a great dread on her heart. Crowley none the wiser of what those words really meant for Y/n. Soon the rumor reached the boy's ears. How would they react and watched it all unfold?

♥Riddle Roseheart ♥

*When Riddle heard this he was uncertain how to feel. they were sweet and kind and could never hurt anyone. So he decided to keep a close eye on them.

*Till one day he finally asked her if she was planning to be a villain all along. With a sigh, Y/n explained what her fate really was. From the contract to the soul gem and the witches she slew. And how she will inevitably become a witch herself, to one day being destroyed by another magical girl.

"So why would you make a wish with that awful creature?" Riddle gasped.

"I didn't really have the luxury of being able to think about it. I was just so desperate at the time," Y/n frowned.

"What is your soul gem like know?" Riddle asked in a worried tone.

*Y/n's soul gem was nearly black, and Y/n's sadness wasn't doing her any favors. Riddle hugged her close as he buried his face in her neck as he promised he wouldn't let her turn into a witch.

"I won't let that happen!" Riddle stated as he stood from his chair, " I'll never let you become a witch."

"Riddle, thank you for looking out for me," Y/n thanked as she kissed riddles forehead.

"I don't want to lose you," Riddle said as his eyes grew watery.

*Riddle did all he could to Keep Y/n from using her magic and keeping her spirits up. Y/n greatly appreciated his efforts and was happier. Till another overblot happened and the others weren't strong enough to stop them, so she activated her soul gem.

__They Turn__

*Riddle hugged Y/n's lifeless body close to him as tears ran down his face. After the fight, Riddle watched in horror as Y/n writhed in pain as her soul gem shattered and a horrifying witch appeared.

*The other students watched in horror as the creature started to destroy the school and the dorms. Luckily Crowley found a way to Y/n's world and out stepped another magical girl.

*The battle was fierce and terrifying, but the magical girl was able to destroy the outer shell of the witch.

*Riddle gasped in horror as a small humanoid figure crawled slowly towards him. It reached out its hand as it cried out, but with a swing of the sword, Y/n was defeated.

"Look's like you finally kicked the bucket," The cocky magical girl chucked as she grabbed the grief seed.

"Hold It!" Riddle growled as tears ran down his cheeks, " That was her's. this is her soul gem!"

"This is no longer a soul gem. It's a grief seed, it's a reward for saving the others from her curse," kyubey's said simply as the magical girl walked off.

*Riddle cried over the body as kyubey simply walked away.

"This isn't fair. There has to be a law against this," Riddle sobbed.

🍀Trey clover🍀

*Trey was surprised to hear this, he always perceived you as a pretty harmless person. Whenever he did see them use their power, they did so sparingly and always for good.

* Were you hiding something from him? Was it something he should be concerned about?

*Trey would pull you aside to ask if they planned to become a villain at some point. But his answer he really got terrified him.

*She told him how she wished to save her life, how kyubey changed her, how she will become a witch and is fated to die at the hands of another magical girl.

"Y-you're joking, right? This can't true," Trey said as he tried to smile it off.

"I'm afraid not," Y/n frowned as she revealed her nearly black soul gem.

*All Trey could do at that moment was to hug Y/n close and promise her he would try to help her delay the inevitable. 

*Sadly when Crowley opened the mirror to her world a monstrous witch emerged and proceeded to wreak havoc on the school. The magic from the students wasn't enough, so she activated her soul gem.

__They Turned__

*Trey could only stare in horror at the knew witch monster that was once Y/n. 'why did this have to happen so soon,' he cried to himself.

*The old witch was defeated. But Y/n's witch was taken down by another magical girl from the mirror. As he looked down he spotted a weird white create with vacant eyes.

"w-who are- no what are you?" Trey asked sadly.

"I am kyubey, I'm just here to make sure that the witch being taken cared of. It's about time Y/n became a witch, she was taking a long time to become one," kyubey said simply.

"Y-your kyubey, Why would you... Why would you do something like this?!" Trey shouted in sadness and anger.

"I just want to turn girls into magical girls, then one day great witches for other magical girls to take down. Don't worry about Y/n's death, she was a necessary sacrifice for the greater good," kyubey said simply.

*Trey could just stare at Y/n's body in despair, know all he has of her are his memories.

"I will make you pay, Incubator," Trey growled lowly. 

💠Cater diamond💠

"You a great villain, no way. You don't have the heart for that," Cater laughed.

*Cater doesn't take the rumor seriously, and kind of just continued with their relationship. 

*And even though Y/n appreciated Cater's carefree attitude towards these rumors, she could not help but feel the worry and dispair creep up on her. not really sure if Cater would believe her about her destiny.

*Sadly when Crowley opened the mirror to her world a monstrous witch emerged and proceeded to wreak havoc on the school. The magic from the students wasn't enough, so she activated her soul gem.

__They Turn__

*Cater called out to Y/n looking for her after the battle with the witch. But when he found, he quickly ran over to her fallen form as she hugged close to him as she cried in pain.

*Cater tried to comfort her to the best of his abilities, only to watch dark smoke emerge from her as it started to take the form of something big. As it tried to take the form, he could hear Y/n's tormented screams echo from it.

*Suddenly another magical girl appears and takes down the witch.

"Y/n look everything is alright now," Cater smiled.

*But when he looked down, it finally registers how cold her body has become. Till it finally hit him, she was dead.

*Dispair quickly washed over him as he hugged Y/n close.

♠Deuce spades♠

*When Deuce heard the Rumer he was unsure how to feel about it. Y/n was such a kind person, why would they turn evil all of a sudden.

*So like Trey he would ask them if they had planned to become evil at some point, and why.

*Y/n explains how she will become this terrible being and how she would be defeated by a magical girl. All because of a dangerous contract she made when she was younger.

"no, NO. I won't let that happen! And if that kyubey thing shows up, I'll pummel them to the ground," Deuce vowed.

*Y/n didn't have the heart to tell him that there was nothing he could do to save you. So she just smiled and hugged her lover and best friend close.

__They Turn__

*Deuce was hunched over Y/n's fallen form as tears of sadness and frustration rolled down his cheeks. As he was forced to watch the other magical girl destroy Y/n forever.

*As he slowly watched the girl return to her world, he noticed a white creature staring at Y/n's body. He knew that was kyubey, the cause of all of this.

*Deuce growled as kyubey tried to reason with him for why her death was necessary. but that didn't help quell Deuces anger as he grabbed kyubey by the ear.

"You have no idea how much difficulty we go through trying to understand your human values. Presently there are six billion, eight hundred million of you, and you're increasing in number by a hundred every four minutes! What's the huge fuss over the death of each and every single creature?"

 Sorry, Ace Trappola stans, I couldn't think of anything but I could imagine that he would not be swad like Cater, but is angry and devastated like Deuce when His lover dies.

[shiny-procrastinates]

(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 11

part 10 here

Hello and welcome back everyone to our Magia Record s1 watch-along! Last time, we had the aftermath of the Endless Solitude's incident, found out that Mami is now part of the Wings of the Magius and left off with the reveal that one of Ui's (Iroha's sister, for those who have forgotten) might be another one of the Magius. What is this all about? Let's watch and find out:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record S1 episode 11

For some reason, we are now watching Tsukuyo's club practice. Wait- Akatsuki? That's not the surname I remember. We also see a photo of Mifuyu on the club room, so they must've been club mates.

Good question, Tsukuyo. Maybe she's waiting for Sana? (lies)

awnt the whole family's on the op now. Yachiyo is even smiling!

NOW we're back to where the other episode left off. According to Sana, she sometimes heard the Feathers talking about Nemu when they came to Ai's barrier to retrieve a witch. The girls then wonder if Nemu's being forced to work with them and Iroha says that maybe Ui's being kept captive by them too, with everyone falling silent at this.

Felicia asks if they can't just catch a Feather and force them to speak, so Tsuruno says if they should keep going after the Rumors them. While the three are wondering that, Iroha remembers about Tsukuyo, who she had seen in her uniform, and we are now back to the present.

Yeah right, are you saying you were actually triplets?

So Iroha decided to catch Tsukuyo after school. If Tsukuyo had a braincell, she could've left by a backdoor or used her magical girl powers to jump over the wall, but it seems she borrowed hers to Tsukasa today.

Tsukuyo stops Iroha from outing her as a Feather, so Iroha invites her to go talk somewhere else. Tsukuyo asks if she plans to interrogate her or worse but Iroha really only wants to talk.

After changing locations, Iroha seems to have told Tsukuyo about her situation. Tsukuyo asks why Iroha would go so far as telling her that, and Iroha answers that she needs to see Nemu no matter what.

After asking who between Tsukuyo and Tsukasa is the younger sister, appealing to their point in common, Iroha threatens outing Tsukuyo to the others if she doesn't let her see Nemu. Tsukuyo is shocked, asking if she's threatening her and Iroha says she doesn't care if she sees it that way. Damn, Iroha really means business when it's about her sister.

As always when it comes to Ui, Iroha's unusually pushy, and Tsukuyo ends up giving in and promising to at least talk to Mifuyu about it.

Later that day, the Mikadzuki girls minus Yachiyo are having a meeting in Iroha's room, and decide to get Yachiyo coasters as a thank-you present for giving them the mugs. So cute.

...that's some interesting club this school has.

The next day, Iroha meets up after school with the other girls to go buy the coaster. Can we talk about the fact there's a group chat just for watching over Felicia? lol

The girls go buy the coaster, and get interrupted by a witch. Guess we can add that to the things magical girls can't do in peace. No probs Tsuruno, there's really no run-time for this.

Look how happy she is. Please don't ruin this in the next scene, show (flag).

Back at the house, Iroha's waiting for Yachiyo's return on Tsuruno's instructions. She hears the doorbell ring and answers it immediately, thinking it's Yachiyo (really, Iroha, why would Yachiyo ring the doorbell to her own house?) but, shockingly, it's Mifuyu.

This probably situation couldn't get more awkward for Iroha had they tried. Iroha tries to show some hospitality, but Mifuyu takes the lead and the opportunity to rub in that she knows the place (and its owner) way better. What's with the attitude, Mifuyu? It's not like Iroha threatened your friend or a- oh wait, nvm.

Iroha asks what business Mifuyu has with Yachiyo today, and Mifuyu asks in return if she has to have some business in order to visit a friend... no, not business Mifuyu but normally you'd warn someone before dropping by, where's your manners? Iroha points out that she hasn't visited for a long time and Mifuyu explains that she didn't come because she knew Yachiyo wouldn't agree with The Wings of the Magius. She then explains she's actually there to talk to Iroha today.

Oh, she did it, she flipped Iroha's switch.

Mifuyu asks if Iroha wouldn't join the cult if she wants to know about Nemu, but Iroha questions Mifuyu's motive for recruiting her, to which Mifuyu says it'd be good for them because she'd be able to investigate about her sister without clashing with them. Iroha presses her about Ui, which she says she doesn't know, and Nemu, but Mifuyu does not say anything else.

...aaand the other girls are standing there in the garden while all this is going on lol

*peek*

Mifuyu invites the girls of Mikadzuki Villa to attend a lecture about what exactly the cult is doing... this is definitely a trap ain't it. At that moment, Yachiyo arrives. Oooh man...

Mifuyu apologizes for the surprise and makes to leave, saying this one unpleasant remark to which Yachiyo angrily replies right away.

Mifuyu provokes Yachiyo, saying how she went back to being her old self, which Yachiyo denies, eventually losing her cool and ordering Mifuyu to leave.

Tsuruno tries to check on Yachiyo but Yachiyo also leaves. Felicia's confused and Tsuruno tries to keep a bright mood, but the atmosphere is definitely ruined.

Yachiyo has went back to her room and-

ohhwoah what is that that's creepy!

So, uhh, Yachiyo is not well at all, she's now hallucinating. Whatever Mifuyu was trying to get at earlier it definitely got to her.

Seems the other girls aren't having a much better night either... but at least they're not hallucinating.

The next day, Iroha relays Mifuyu's invitation to the others. Yachiyo, however, refuses to take part in the conversation and leaves. She's very clearly still bothered about what Mifuyu said, and now she's avoiding her team.

Iroha and the girls have each their reaction to Yachiyo's behavior for a moment, but then go back to the matter at hand. Sana asks if Iroha really plans on going to the lecture, and she says she decided it'd be best to go, after thinking it over. They don't want to fight the cult either, so it shouldn't hurt to at least try to hear them out. Felicia says it's definitely a trap but that they can just break out together then, with Tsuruno agreeing. The two laugh, but doesn't it feel kinda forced?

...and then they realize no one knows where Memory Museum is lol

Mitama! Long time no see.

Iroha drops by the Coordinator's to ask about Memory Museum, which Mitama reveals is a Rumor that's being spread around Sakae Ward.

We then get a scene about the contents of the Rumor. Apparently, the Memory Museum archives memories (who'd thought!) and you can do things with them by ringing a bell, or something. But if you see one you'll end up influenced by it. (I refuse to comment about the goat)

In any case, Momoko points on the map the probable location of Memory Museum, to which Iroha thanks the two and goes back. After Iroha leaving, Mitama advises Momoko to tell "something", at least to Rena, since Kaede is still down, and Momoko says she knows. Quite the dark clouds are on the horizon.

No, literally. It's raining.

Back at Mikadzuki Villa, all the girls except Yachiyo are leaving to go to Memory Museum. Iroha warns Yachiyo they're leaving, but she doesn't answer. Ohh Yachiyo, please, are you sure you won't regret this later?

Iroha and co. naruto run on the rain to Memory Museum, meeting Chibi Kyuubei on the entrance. Yep, definitely Rumor. I might be going crazy but I always think that Iroha looks more her age with the raincoat, despite Madoka's wei- I mean, unique art style. Gotta be something with the proportions.

Also like this detail with Tsuruno's coat folded weird and Felicia's not folded at all lol

We are platformer game now

While climbing up the drawers, the girls talk about chibi Kyuubei, eventually raising suggestions on how to name him... which is funny because that's for the player to decide in the game, so we don't have an official way to call him.

Meanwhile, Rena's meeting up with Momoko. She starts complaining like usual, but soon hesitates when she reads the mood. Momoko says she thought it was time to tell her what happened to Yachiyo one year ago. Wait, what? We never heard about anything either.

But, well... we can guess.

Back at the Memory Museum, Iroha might be the unluckiest mahou shoujo ever, because

One of the Magius is none other than one of her sister's friends.

- x -

Aaand that's it for episode 11. That last scene is a bomb drop, but it's not like you couldn't see it coming from the moment they said Nemu was part of the cult. I mean, if one of the hospital trio was erased from existence, and the other was part of the cult, what were the odds that the last one would be normal? lol

Talking about this scene, I feel compelled to post here the corresponding still from the game, because the world was robbed of Iroha's surprisingly gallant back:

Seriously, when was she ever this cool?

On the other hand, Touka looks like a cute normal kid here which is about as far of the truth as we can get, so I'll give the anime credit for that.

All that aside, we are now approaching the end! With the Magius giving a lecture about salvation and Momoko having a talk with Rena, it's quite clear that the truth about magical girls is about to be revealed to our cast next episode. The big question here is: how will they react? Felicia specially shouldn't be very happy to learn this, considering what her wish was. Exciting!

We also have left to wonder what's up with Yachiyo. Why did what Mifuyu say affect her so much? We have yet to see her backstory, so Momoko talking might just gives us the answer to that question.

With that said, I'll leave it here for today. I can't believe this ended up even later than yesterday considering I start writing even earlier. Dammit short attention span, stop getting sidetracked pls. Tomorrow we'll be watching episode 11 that's looking really promising, so I hope you'll be reading me again then. Have a good morning/afternoon/evening and bye-bye!

[oveliagirlhaditright]

This is probably a strange question since KH is already a crossover in and of itself, but... KH-Crossovers you'd love? XD Not limited to Disney or any medium in particular btw :)

Fun question!

Hmm... Off the top of my head? Things that I love, because I’m selfish like that. Haha. Something like Inception comes to mind (and I’ve actually written a KH and Inception crossover. Though it would never entirely work out, but shh). But they lend themselves well to each other. Mainly because DDD was clearly inspired by Inception. What?

The Mortal Instruments, Percy Jackson, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as I think all three of them would mesh well with KH. Also, Dark Angel (and a lot of Fox shows, like Dark Angel and Tru Calling), because again with the selfishness. Also, Fox movies. More on some of that later.

Edit: ABC shows, like Alias and LOST, as they’re mystery box stories like KH.

W.I.T.C.H. Gargoyles too, though I barely remember it.

Kilala Princess, probably. And perhaps Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey (at least the villain from it would be great for KH).

I know there are some companies out there who have adapted fairytales that Disney already has. And it would be cool to see their take on them in KH. In my Namiku multi-chapter story--that I’ll sadly never finish--this was going to be a thing. There was something wrong with Kingdom Hearts, so the characters would go to a world and be like, “Wait... I know this is supposed to be Cinderella’s world, but something is off about it.” But that could also work with things like Once Upon a Time and the new Disney live-action movies.

That being said: Once Upon a Time.

National Treasure... that could actually potentially be in KH (as a few on these list could be), but I doubt it ever will be. So I might as well include it. Enchanted, too.

Phantom of the Opera or Phantom of the Megaplex. Preferably the former.

Some DCOMS Pixel Perfect and Disney Channel shows, tbh. Kim Possible!

I think people, like Shire Folk, who have written the characters with Digimon are on point.

Things like Soul Eater... and probably other animes, Square Enix made or not.

Syfy Alice, because it’s my favorite version of Alice in Wonderland.

Pokémon. Because I think Ash and Sora have a lot in common, of course (perhaps also Misty and Kairi, and somewhat SoKai and Pokeshipping). And because, as weird as it is to say... in the first game, where they made a big deal about the Keyblade choosing its master and choosing Sora (and it was very much sentient), the bond that Sora made with his Keyblade (that eventually chose him over Riku) somewhat reminded me of Ash and Pikachu’s journey. To a lesser extent, of course. But still.

Square Enix worlds...

I don’t think I want a “Beauty and the Beast & the Enchanted Christmas” world per se, but I want a Forte boss fight, somehow and some way.

Winx Club.

A crossover with Clamp could be interesting. Especially since Tsubasa and KH are so similar.

I’m down for the Muppets and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to be cameos.

Anastasia and Titan A.E.

Tales of Vesperia or something? Just because I once made a manip of Estelle and Naminé together, and someone commented that that wasn’t a bad crosier idea and I kind of agreed?

It would never happen in a million years, for so many reasons, but A Song of Ice and Fire could be interesting. They’re both fantasy theories that keep you guessing, with a lot of theory crafting in both.

People have often theorized what KH would be like if it had been Nickelodeon or something. LOL People say “Spongebob would have taken on Mickey’s role”, and I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing what could be done with a Nickeloden crossover, a Cartoon Network one, or what have you.

Grimm’s Fairytales, maybe? Or even the show Grimm? -shrugs-

I could maybe give the Star Wars, Marvel, and Indiana Jones ideas a try...

Roswell?

Tenchi could be interesting... The sword from that/Master Key reminds me of the Keyblade, somewhat.

Madoka Magica?

Sabrina: The Teenage Witch? I have no freaking clue. But I’ve been rewatching episodes of that show on some week nights lately, so it’s on my mind.

Firefly could probably work, and I am trying to write that. And parts of Dollhouse would lend itself beautifully to KH.

Oh. Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Danny Phantom.

People have been saying stuff like Naruto for years, and I agree.

I also wouldn’t say no to DC. I once wrote a Smallville and KH crossover once, but that was wish-fulfillment. I don’t know how much it would actually work. Haha.

Static Shock. Teen Titans and/or Young Justice. Batman Beyond.

I’m also someone who thinks a High School Musical could work, and would like to see it. XD. I once wrote a KHxHSM crossover, and at least one reviewer seemed to think I handled it pretty well. So it can be done, imo. .

..Maybe even things like Boy Meets World, even though it shouldn’t work. But ever since the fandom joked that Jason Marsden will be announced for KH, and then the fandom will war over whether he’s voicing Max Goof, Noel Kreiss, or Kovu, and I added on that, “You guys are forgetting Eric’s friend on Boy Meets World. Don’t forget that Boy Meets World is Disney owned”, I’ve weirdly been thinking of Boy Meets World in KH. Mostly as a joke. But meh.

Perhaps “I am Number Four”...

Oh! Harry Potter! Duh! People have been doing that for years, and it works.

People have also written Fullmetal Alchemist/KH crossovers, I think. And I haven’t seen FMAB yet (for shame, I know. It’s been on my list for ages, and hopefully I’ll get to it soon), from what I know of it, I love the idea.

The Kingdom Keepers series would probably be good for KH, even though I haven’t read it yet. Descendants?

Phineas and Ferb!

I’ll just add Sailor Moon, because. Actually, you know what? Sailor Pluto’s staff was pretty much the first Keyblade. So it works and works well.

And why am I now imagining things like NCIS and Castle? IDK.

Hocus Pocus!

And can we get Rinoa in the series, already?

Wizards of Waverly Place. Maybe not as a world, but something. I think that exploring what went wrong with Jerry, Kelbo, and Megan’s relationship could be a good warning for Sora, Riku, and Kairi, perhaps. And there are other things you could, too. To a lesser extent: Phil of the Future and That’s So Raven. Again, they probably wouldn’t work as worlds (maybe cameos). But I think there are interesting things there the games could use. Like, “Oh, you can time travel, Xehanorts? Well, let me hop in my friends’ the Diffy’s time machine and beat you at your own game.” Or, “You can see the future Master of Masters, so can my friend Raven.”

Doctor Who.

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.

Moana.

This is everything that I can think of right now...

I also think it would be fun to add in little cameos, like Proud Snacks from the Proud Family.

Edit: I want Max Goof in this series.

Edit 2: Oh! The Swan Princess and Quest for Camelot!

Edit 3: Hanna Barbara and Paramount’s monster movies could be a good idea.

Edit 4: Studio Ghibli!

[shinymisty-blog]

Puella Magi, Sonic Magika (Side Story Underground)

Yep. I told you I had a new AU in my brain.

Before we begin, things to know about the Puella Magi universe.   -A Magical Girl is made by signing a contract with a small creature called Kyubey. Without Kyubey, it wouldn’t really be Puella Magi, so I cannot remove Kyubey. -In signing the contract, the girls receive a Soul Gem, a symbol of the contract and contains their magic (Among...over things) so they can fight Witches, which are creatures that spread curses and feed off of the misery of others, hiding in their own Labyrinths and lure unexpecting humans in with their Witches' Kiss. In return for all this, the girls get any wish they ask for granted. Their wish is what determines what their magic is, for the most part.   -Using up their magic causes their Soul Gem to darken with impurity, so they need to remove the impurities with Grief Seeds, which are dropped by Witches when defeated. If not careful, The Grief Seed will hatch into a Witch. -Witches also summon Familiars to defend their labyrinth and, eventually, turn into Witches themselves. Familiars do not drop Grief Seeds. -Only young girls can turn into Magical Girls, and only those Kyubey deems worthy of it.  

In this particular Universe, a few things are changed to better fit the Madoka concepts with the Sonic world. -Instead of Magical Girls, they are Magical Mobians. Which means only Mobians are able to be granted wishes.   -The character’s powers, like Sonic’s speed, are from their Soul Gems. -The knowledge of Magical Mobians is a little more known than it is in Madoka. This doesn’t mean all Mobians are Magical, however.  

Another thing I need to bring up before I begin, I NEED to clarify again that this AU WILL contain Spoilers for the anime Puella Magi, Madoka Magica.   Plus, Puella Magi, Madoka Magica, while service level seems like your typical magical girl anime, if it was just that, I would obviously not be here making an AU of it with the Sonic Characters. The Manga adaptation of PMMM is rated for Older Teens for a reason. If you are unsure if you can handle the darker tones the series can go into, which this AU would follow the same dark tones, I suggest looking up how dark the series is and if you can handle it. You have been warned!

--Into the AU, My original idea of this AU spawned from a particular ending credit theme from the anime. Replacing the two characters of the anime (in the song) with Sleet and Dingo, who, at the time, were all I was fixated on. No Soul Gems, no Witches. Just that song and them.

But I am now older and more bored, I have put context into the idea I had back in 2016/17. This is a rough, spoiler free idea of the Sonic Underground side plot of this universe. Sleet and Dingo are, now, Magical Mobians and live in this universe where magic is present. The conflict of Underground is now that the Sonic, Manic and Sonia also have been granted a wish each and are Magical Mobians. Robotnik, who is still a human but also seems to know about Kyubey and how Magical Mobians work, is after their Soul Gems for unexplained reasons and asks for Sleet and Dingo to take receive the Soul Gems intact, being promised endless supply of Grief Seeds in working with him. This, at least, fills that gripe I, personally, had with Underground that Robotnik wanted them captured alive. In this universe, he is after their Soul Gems.  

Sleet’s wish is simple. “I wish to be regarded as the best Bounty Hunter in all of Mobius!” His wish is granted, and his weapon are different kinds of guns that he can swap out when he feels the need, though his magic is very...bad. Dingo’s wish is also pretty simple. “I wish I could be helpful to Sleet.” Because of this particular wish, he doesn’t really have a weapon. Instead, his magic is determined by what Sleet needs at that given time. Hense his ability to transform.  

The three Hedgehog’s also had made wishes. Sonic: “I wish to be able to save all of Mobius,” Manic: “I wish I could beat down Robotnik,” and Sonia “I wish I was able to find mother.” Their wishes are all granted, given them their own magic. Their powers would need to be...reworked, however. Sonic would still have his speed, being able to run around and save people, Sonia would be able to locate things, maybe through soundwaves (to keep with the music motif) and Manic would be more in strength, maybe using drum sticks as tools to beat the ground and cause damage that way.  

I bring up their wishes word by word because HOW someone asks for a wish is important. For example, Sonia could have easily asked “I wish mother was here” or “I wish I knew were mother was” and it would result in a completely different result, and requires different amount of magical energy. This is also important because of Sleet’s wish, being that he wished to be regarded as the best Bounty Hunter, and not just “to be the best Bounty Hunter.” Because of how he worded his wish, people see him as this great bounty hunter, but his skills might not be all up to snuff. In the end, it is just a label.  

Anyway, Sleet and Dingo fight the witches as they are meant to, with Sleet hording all of the Grief Seeds that are dropped and only giving Dingo use of them whenever his Soul Gem gets to dark. They leave the Familiars alone, wanting them to grow into Witches for their Grief Seeds, turning a blind eye whenever there are people in danger if it isn’t a Witch causing it. Shortly after the hedgehogs gain their wishes, Robotnik calls for the two and requests their assistance. Get their Soul Gems, and you can have all the Grief Seeds you want. Sleet is very much on board with this, as he sees the hedgehogs as competition for Grief Seeds. He is informed, though, that the Soul Gems must be intact and whole. He didn’t care for the body, just the gem.  

Events play roughly the same, though now the hedgehogs are constantly saving the civilians from Witches and Familiars alike, and quicker than Sleet and Dingo had been. All while constantly beating Sleet and Dingo in clever ways. Sleet starts getting more and more frustrated over each defeat, and is realizing first hand that his magic is far weaker than Dingo or the hedgehog’s magic. He desperately tries to hide his insecurities, but it starts to show through his Soul Gem, which is darkening much more quickly than Dingo’s ever has. After all, they aren’t fighting Witches anymore, so they aren’t getting any Grief Seeds.  

The two go to Robotnik asking for some so they can continue hunting for hedgehogs and their Soul Gems. But Robotnik declines, reminding them that the deal was for them to get the hedgehog’s Soul Gems first, then they get paid. Sleet is furious about this, but goes off to continue hunting anyways. He doesn’t quite understand just how important clearing his Soul Gem is, as he never had to deal with it getting darker in the first place. He just thinks that it is just a side effect and just makes him a little weaker.

However, Sleet and Dingo continue to fail at catching the hedgehogs, and Dingo is now noticing how much weaker Sleet has started becoming, unable to even use his own guns to fight. The three hedgehogs also take notice how dangerously dark Sleet’s Soul Gem is getting and, out of the kindness of their hearts, offer some of their Grief Seeds for the two to use. Dingo, who has more magic and his Soul Gem is stronger, hence his Soul Gem not being as Dark as Sleet’s, happily takes one of the Grief Seeds and goes to clean Sleet’s Soul Gem first, noting just how much darker Sleet’s is, but Sleet violently declines, saying that he wasn’t going to take anything from the enemy and goes to talk with Robotnik once more, growing more and more stubborn and upset.

Sleet confronts Robotnik, asking why he was withholding any of the Grief Seeds that he was promising them, as they needed them to fight the hedgehogs in the first place. Robotnik explains that there were no Grief Seeds to begin with, that he didn’t have any and had used the promise of an endless supply to win over the greed within Sleet, who only fought the Witches for their Grief Seeds to begin with.  

Sleet is furious, but is now starting to feel serious pain within his Soul Gem, causing him to question what was going on and why Robotnik needed these three Hedgehog’s Soul Gems particularly, adding that things would have been easier if they could have just shattered their Soul Gems instead. It is then that Kyubey appears, the first time since they made the contract with Sleet and Dingo, and explains to Sleet that Robotnik just wanted the hedgehog gone, as he knew what their wishes were and knew that they had the powers to overthrow him. Kyubey convinced Robotnik to hunt for their Soul Gems, specifically, because their Soul Gems contain their actual souls, and that the hedgehog’s bodies were just a husk being controlled by the souls. They mention that Sleet’s Soul Gem is also his soul, Robotnik adding that he had learned that Sleet’s soul was much smaller and weaker than any of the other Soul Gems, so he felt he was a Magical Mobian to throw at the hedgehogs, as not much would be lost if he was killed.

Sleet is very much upset over this, demanding more answers. Robotnik happily explains that the three hedgehog’s Soul Gems, when they are captured, would turn into Grief Seeds and hatch into dangerously evil Witches, which causes Sleet to become confused. “But they aren’t Witches, they are Magical Mobians. They aren’t the same things!” Kyubey explains that all Magical Mobians turn into Witches once their Soul Gems are at their limit, casually adding that Sleet’s Grief Seed was already starting to form. Sleet, panicked, looks down at his Soul gem to notice that it was breaking, and was starting to look more like a Grief Seed. He feels himself quickly spiriling into a state of dispare.  

Dingo then rushes into the room where everything is happening, and notices Sleet on his knees, holding his Soul Gem, and, in a state of panic, tries to use the Grief Seed he was given to purify his Soul Gem, only to watch in horror as it fully forms into a Grief Seed. Sleet falls, lifelessly, into Dingo’s arms and Dingo watches as Sleet’s Grief Seed start to hatch into a Witch. Robotnik leaves the room, saying aloud how Sleet’s Witch was going to be rather pathetic and easy to kill, telling Dingo that even he could deal with it himself. And that he would have to deal with it himself, as his partner was now the Witch. Dingo, still holding Sleet’s lifeless body tightly, watches as the room around him turns into Sleet’s Witch’s Labyrinth.  

Dingo is very distraught over this, watching as Sleet’s Grief Seed hatches into the Witch La Pendu. At first, he tries to fight it, but realizes that, without Sleet, he is pretty much useless, and tries to escape. However, because he is still holding Sleet, he is having serious troubles. He feels a sudden wave of guilt of his own wish failing him. He wasn’t helpful to Sleet now, quite the opposite. He had failed Sleet, and now feels he has no meaning himself. He feels himself falling into despair himself, his own Soul Gem quickly turning black. But before he lets his Soul Gem turn into a Grief Seed itself, the three Hedgehog rush in and, quite easily, defeat La Pendu, causing his labyrinth to vanish and his Grief Seed to drop. Sonia takes La Pendu’s Grief Seed and cleans Dingo’s Soul Gem with it, telling him that he was dangerously close to becoming that Witch’s dinner, and should be more careful.

While going to purify Sleet’s Soul Gem, they realize that his Soul Gem was gone and starts to question what had happened. Dingo explains to them all that had happened, and they are mortified, but vow to avenge Dingo’s partner, offering Dingo a place in their team to help avenge his friend. Dingo politely declines, saying he was only around to help Sleet. That his wish was made in dedication to help Sleet and to keep him safe.  He adds that he knows Sleet more than anyone, and know that he would be scared if he was left alone and, calmly, holds La Pendu’s Grief Seed close to his own Soul Gem, saying that it was still Sleet’s Soul Gem, and that he wasn’t going to leave him alone. He suggests to the siblings to leave, and deal with Robotnik. They are ushered away by Manic, who quietly tells them he knows what Dingo is wanting to do.  

They return a few moments later, unable to find Robotnik, seeing Dingo lying beside Sleet, holding his hand. They grow closer, unable to sense Dingo’s magic, with Manic quietly noticing that his Soul Gem was shattered in his hand, along with La Pendu’s Grief Seed. The siblings vow to avenge the two.  

Que the song that started this whole idea, “And I'm Home.”  

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Psycho-Pass Movie

It’s been over a year since I last put pen to paper about Psycho-Pass, and in the time since then, I’ve only become further convinced of how damn good it is. It’s a searing political commentary on the nature of free will and sociological predestination, exploring countless fascinating (and severely fucked) dystopian concepts while backed by a fantastic, character-driven narrative and one of anime’s most iconic bad guys. It’s possibly Gen Urobuchi’s best work, with stronger characters than Madoka Magica and far less, well, Fate-ness than Fate/Zero, though they’re all of such similar caliber in my mind that I wouldn’t feel comfortable ranking them against each other. But the failure of Psycho-Pass 2 to re-capture its brilliance couldn’t help but raise the question of how much of a franchise there really was to this franchise.

See, part of what makes Gen Urobuchi’s work so great is how complete and self-contained his stories feel. You come to the end of any of this shows and all emotional loose ends will be tied up, all characters will have reached the natural endpoint of their arcs, and the story’s themes will have been analyzed and dissected to completion. Some writers excel at creating expansive, varied universes you just want to spend endless time in, but Urobuchi’s signature touch is getting in, saying everything he wants to say, and then cutting the cord not a second later. He’s a remarkably efficient writer in that regard, crafting wonderful self-contained mobius strips of darkness that leave you with countless thoughts to endlessly mull over. But because of that, his work just doesn’t naturally lend itself to sequelization. Despite the ambiguity of his endings, his work doesn’t leave behind any dangling threads to pull on if you want to tease out new ideas from the same universe, which means you have to throw entirely now playing pieces into the mix that just might not gel with the tightly crafted clockwork contraption they’re being shoved into. Sure, Psycho-Pass 2 not having Urobuchi on the writing team (as a result of him working on this movie, no less) was a big reason it was of such lower quality, but even when Urobuchi does work on the sequels to his own projects, like with Rebellion, you can’t help but feel like the focus isn’t as strong the second time around. As much as I love the dude’s work, the more of it I see, the more convinced I’ve become that it’s just not really possible to sequelize him without losing the magic that made it work in the first place.

Thank god, then, that the direct movie sequel to the first season of Psycho-Pass has arrived to put those doubts to rest.

It’s some time after Kogame killed Makishima and went rogue, and Akane is in the process of getting used to working as a superior officer under the Sybil System. But things get dangerous when a successful sting operation reveals connections back to an unstable South Asian nation called SEAM. Outside Japan, the world is a chaotic battlefield of warring nations and insurgencies, and the seeming stability of the Sybil System is beginning to attract many to want to adopt it as well. SEAM is holding a trial run on an artificial island created to house clear and clouded Psycho-Passes alike, turning those deemed dangerous into closely monitored slaves. But because the Sybil System is literally the worst and stomps on the unlucky under the guise of being “fair and balanced”, the citizens of Seam are suffering, and a guerrilla army is attempting to overthrow the chairman to stop the adoption of Sybil. And it just so happens that among that rebel army is non other than Kogami himself. At her request, Akane is sent in alone to try and bring him in, and once there, she becomes embroiled in the political scheming and chaos as she attempts both to track down Kogami and unravel the roots of the unrest plaguing the country... and what Sybil might have to do with it.

The best way I can describe this film is that it’s an epilogue to the first season, and somehow just as good a stopping point for the story of Akane and Kogame as the end of the first season. We do catch glimpses of the new characters from season 2, but they’re firmly in the background, which is for the best, because in case we forgot, none of the new characters were interesting. The focus here is on Kogame and Akane, as they come to terms with the people they’re both turning into and whether or not the paths they’ve come to follow are the right ones. And whenever the camera’s on them, it’s like we never even left. The friendship and conflict between these two characters was the true heart of Psycho-Pass, and this movie is a chance to give that bond proper closure, allowing them both a chance to determine how they want to keep fighting against the pain the Sybil System brings. And man, I can’t believe how fucking much I missed them. Their chemistry, the way they bounce off each other, the respect they hold toward each other, the newfound sadness as they try to make sense of the companionship they can never fully restore... god, it’s really fucking good. And without spoiling anything, by the time the movie’s over, it really does feel like a proper farewell to the old status quo. It’s possibly the most outwardly hopeful ending in Urobuchi’s entire oeuvre, a promise that for as hard as the world seems, thing are, and will continue, to get better.

That said, I’d be lying if I tried to pretend the Psycho-Pass movie fully escapes the Urobuchi sequel curse. Once again, now that the story has to expand beyond the tightly constructed parameters it set for itself, it has to start tacking on new additions that threaten to bloat the proceedings down. The politics of the new setting are all very well-realized, and it makes for a nice sort of “bottle episode” feel, but there are definitely a few too many new characters to comfortably fit. There’s a squad of cybernetic mercenaries, in particular, that feels like they’re only here to expand the runtime and give Kogami someone new to fight hand-to-hand. But the gadgets and gizmos they fight with aren’t interesting enough to make them stand out, and the one woman on the team wears the stupidest fucking fanservice outfit with her oversized tits just about spilling out of her shirt, so it just ends up feeling more stupid than anything else. It’s the one part of the film that feels like the second season in a bad way, a sloppy, juveline aping of the first season’s maturity, mistaking shock value for genuine darkness and tension.

But you know what? For all those complaints, the fact of the matter is, this movie accomplishes what the second season couldn’t even come close to: it felt like Psycho-Pass. It felt like a proper story set in the world of the Sybil System, with the same pitch-black-yet-doggedly-hopeful dystopian edge and an actual worthwhile addition to the franchise’s overall picture. It’s got great character work between its central players and provides proper closure to the first season’s ambiguity. It’s full of nasty, fascinating technological advances that raise dark questions about the possibilities of future societies. And while I’m still not the biggest fan of the franchise’s aesthetic- Production IG’s early-2010s washed-out bloom look is never not gonna make me have PTSD flashbacks to Guilty Crown- it still takes advantage of its movie budget to pull off some spectacular, evocative setpieces that hit hard and spray dizzying litres of blood across the pavement. It’s also got proof that CG elements can actually blend almost seamlessly with 2D shows, as long as they’re drawn in the same style and actually animated at full frames per second instead of like stuttering dial-up connections. Seriously, I was really damn impressed by how well the big 3D machines and robots integrated with the hand-drawn backgrounds and characters. Never let it be said that this franchise lacks for artistry.

In the end, what I most come away from this movie with is a sense of hope. Not just for the surprising optimism of its conclusion and what it means for the people living in the world, but for the franchise a whole. Urobuchi’s work is hard to sequel, but the Psycho-Pass Movie proves it can be done. It’s still possible to draw legitimately worthwhile follow-ups from his closely woven narratives, to find stories still worth telling even after the curtain falls. Whether or not the Sinners of the System films and third season can make good on that potential remains to be seen, but at the very least, I know this franchise still has life. So for being an entertaining, worthwhile epilogue and proving that Psycho-Pass can still give us stories worth telling, I award this movie a score of:

7/10

And next up, I see what the Sinners of the System films have to offer. Catch you next time!

[scoutception]

Ranking the next 5 animes I’ve recently watched

After many distractions on my part, including playing through Steins;Gate, something that has quickly become something I adore like few others, I’ve continued my descent into the world of anime with 5 more series. The stuff I watched was a lot shorter on average than last time, and my attempts to be “objective” and my personal biases align much more closely compared to last time. With that, I’ll begin. 5. Soni-Ani: Super Sonico the Animation

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: subs only. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll. When it comes to visual novels, nitro+ is one of the biggest developers out there, alongside Key. Whereas Key is mainly out to make you really, really sad, nitro+ prefers a different approach. To my understanding, at best, their works are really, really dark, and at worst, they’re going straight for your nightmares, with stuff like Song of Saya and Sweet Pool. So clearly, the best mascot for them is the pink haired, constantly headphoned, and downright adorable Super Sonico. Even if it’s not outright official, it’s pretty jarring. Anyway, with that little rant out of the way, here’s the only thing on this list I actually wouldn’t recommend. Produced by White Fox back in 2014, this anime apparently got slammed pretty hard, and honestly, I have no idea why I even ended up watching this one. Perhaps this’ll be a reminder to be less impulsive in my choices in the future. Soni-Ani focuses on, who else, Super Sonico herself, an energetic and kind, yet clumsy college student who should reasonably be dead from stress and exhaustion. Along with college, she’s an idol, gravure model, helper at her grandmother’s restaurant and guitarist and main singer in the band First Astronomical Velocity with her friends Suzu Fujimi, the witty and manipulative bassist and official leader of the band, and Fuuri Watanuki, the mysterious drummer single mindedly obsessed with food. The series just explores some of the odd, extremely fanservice filled days of her life. It’s ok idea on paper, but in practice it’s just not really anything special or even entertaining for the most part. While I can usually ignore fanservice, it’s downright distractingly prevalent in the earlier episodes, to the point of several episode premises pretty much only catering themselves to it. Even without that, there’s just not much to be found; aside from Suzu and Sonico’s manager, the honestly hilarious Kitamura, who constantly wears a hannya mask and is willing to attack people for attempting to take advantage of Sonico, the characters aren’t anything memorable or entertaining on their own, leaving a lot of episodes feeling dry. They do improve in the second half, featuring episodes like a fairly charming murder mystery spoof, and an episode focusing on Sonico’s cats, of all things, but they’re still not something going out of your way to watch. The voice acting and animation, while at least ok, don’t stick out much either. Overall, again, this is the one thing I’d say to just avoid. There’s tons of other slice of life animes out there that are way better. If nothing else, though, I’m kinda glad I stuck to it just for the surprise cameo by Kurisu Makise’s outfit, considering I was already playing Steins;Gate.

4. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: dub (video release only, apparently) and subs available. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix. Moving onto stuff I’d actually recommend, here’s a nice little anime adaptation of a gag manga by Izumi Tsubaki, produced by Dogakobo. Chiyo Sakura, a high school student who stands at an impressive 4′9″, confesses her love to the tall and mysterious Umetaro Nozaki, and gets his autograph, of all things, for her troubles. Trying again, Nozaki instead takes her to his apartment... to assist him with his manga. As it turns out, Nozaki is a popular romance manga author, whose interests in life start an end at manga, rendering him utterly oblivious to Chiyo’s feelings. Thusly, Chiyo officially becomes his assistant in order to grow closer to her crush, meeting his other associates along the way. The main thing that must be said is that this is not a serious anime in the slightest, and it’s all just big parody of romance manga more than anything, especially with the characters, like Mikoshiba, who acts like a playboy, but in reality is cripplingly shy, and Kashima, the “prince” of the school who is both actually a girl and an airhead who’s frequently on the nerves of the drama club’s president, Hori. A lot of the humor thrives on miscommunication, and it’s exaggerated enough that it works well. Every character is an idiot, in their own ways, but endearingly so, and each of them stands out, from Chiyo, who mostly plays the straight man but has her moments of over imagination, or the hilariously abrasive Seo. The plots are the right kind of dumb too, like Nozaki and Mikoshiba becoming obsessed over a helper NPC in a dating sim, or Hori gaining an intense hatred for people standing on boxes due to Nozaki’s attempts to fix perspective problems. The jokes can get a bit predictable after a while, especially with Nozaki, but overall it’s a pretty funny time. The voice acting is good, and the animation is charming. Overall, this is definitely a fun watch. If you want a good laugh, or just something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, this is definitely something to check out. 3. Angel Beats!

Number of episodes: 13 (+ some OVAs not on streaming services). Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation. As it turned out, visual novels, or at least visual novel developers, became a theme in the things I watched this time around. As mentioned before, Key is one of the biggest VN developers out there, who specialize in making you really sad. From Kanon, to Clannad, to Planetarian, to Little Busters, Key’s made a lot of great stuff, and had some great anime adaptations made, particularly for Kanon and Clannad. Thus, Jun Maeda, co-founder of Key, conceived Angel Beats to originate as an anime, produced by P.A. Works in 2010. Angel Beats focuses on Otonashi, a teenager who wakes up in a strange high school with amnesia, only able to remember his last name. He soon meets a girl named Yuri Nakamura, who informs him that they’re dead, and stuck in a sort of afterlife, seemingly ruled over by a mysterious girl they only know as Angel. In this purgatory, they’re unable to die, as Otonashi finds out first hand at Angel’s hands, and the school is populated by fabricated teachers and students, but the real people stuck there are at risk of being “obliterated” if they act like normal students, ceasing to exist. Unwilling to accept this, Yuri leads class SSS in opposition of Angel and the assumed God that created this world for the cruel fates that everyone stuck in the afterlife met, Otonashi seemingly included. With seemingly no other path to take, Otonashi joins forces with the SSS. The main strength of Angel Beats is its cast of characters. From the pretty mean yet charming Yuri, to the reliable, yet often abused Hinata, to the crazy and energetic Yui, to even some of the side characters, like Shiina, the ninja girl with a crippling weakness for wind up dog toys, or TK, who speaks in gloriously mangled English and dances constantly. The premise as well is honestly fascinating to me, and makes for some very interesting episodes. It’s got some pretty entertaining action scenes, along with some really funny moments, mostly by playing the “nobody can actually die” tidbit for all its worth, with the second episode devoting a good amount of time to slowly killing off the main group in horrible, yet blase fashions. It delivers emotionally too, with the second half in particular having a good deal of touching episodes, especially episode 10. Unfortunately, there’s one giant problem with this anime that brings it down quite a bit: it’s only 13 episodes long. While I’m not a fan of 12 or 13 episode seasons, I can’t say that’s a problem by itself. What is a problem is that they were planning to have double that amount of episodes, causing the storyline to feel very rushed, and leaving nearly every character in the cast that isn’t part of the main group very underdeveloped. While there’s an entire expanded universe of stuff, good luck tracking it all down, and while Key themselves were making a 6 part visual novel of Angel Beats to expand upon it all, something that’s very promising, only the first volume has been released so far, back in 2015, with no word since, very likely because of Jun Maeda’s health issues. Overall, Angel Beats genuinely is a good watch, but it’s kinda depressing, just because of how much potential was cut short thanks to whatever genius decided to cut the episode amount in half. Unless the VN project really gets going again, it’ll probably just remain a bunch of what could have beens. 2. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Number of episodes: 12. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation. Continuing the theme I unintentionally set up, here’s this famous little thing, from the mind of Gen Urobuchi, who, among other things, has worked on several nitro+ visual novels, mostly notably Song of Saya, wrote the apparently horribly depressing Fate/Zero, and was a scriptwriter for Kamen Rider Gaim, which, to my understanding, is one of the darkest Kamen Rider shows out there. Will all this in mind, there’s no real hiding that this isn’t going to be anywhere near as innocent as it tries to appear. Even if you didn’t know that, its reputation probably far exceeds it by now. Madoka Kaname is an average middle school student whose life is thrown into chaos when a mysterious girl named Homura Akemi transfers into her class, whom Madoka later finds attacking a strange creature called Kyubey. After rescuing it, Madoka and her best friend Sayaka are attacked by a strange creature known as a witch, only to be rescued by Mami Tomoe, a “magical girl” given power by Kyubey. Kyubey sees much potential in Madoka, and offers to grant her any wish of her choosing, in exchange for her becoming a magical girl as well and helping fight the witches. Homura, however, is completely determined to keep that from happening. Thus starts a chain of event in the lives of Madoka and Sayaka that, suffice it to say, don’t go very well. Without getting too specific, what starts as a mostly typical, if slightly odd, magical girl show quickly goes to very dark and twisted places, comparative to Neon Genesis Evangelion, though not quite as in depthly depressing with it. Everyone takes a beating in some way, and even with just 12 episodes, it can get a bit much for some people, even when it doesn’t end quite as awfully as you might expect. Still, it’s actually very well done. The characters are complex and flawed, but ultimately sympathetic, the overall plot is fascinating, and it ends in a very fitting way. It’s emotional, and has surprisingly good action. The dub voice work is solid, and the animation by Studio Shaft is as well, especially helped by the abstract designs of the witches themselves. While I’m not quite as passionate about it all as some are, it’s definitely earned its reputation. It’s a great watch, and definitely a big recommendation. 1. Steins;Gate

Number of episodes: 24 (+ 1 OVA). Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Funimation, Hulu, Crunchyroll. Finishing off my unintentional theme with an actual adaptation of a visual novel, there was no way I wasn’t checking this one out with how utterly passionate the VN made me. This is at least partially a bias placement, but this anime is a very, very good adaptation, and a great way to experience the story without the VN, and a great watch even having gone through it. Rintaro Okabe is a college student on break living in his “laboratory” in Akihabara. A self proclaimed mad scientist, he whittles his days away hanging out with his friends Mayuri Shiina and Itaru Hashida, inventing useless gadgets in a supposed fight against an evil organization. One day, Rintaro and Mayuri go to attend a press conference by Doctor Nakabachi in Radi-Kan, who claims to have invented a time machine, only for it to end horribly for all involved when Rintaro discovers Kurisu Makise, a young neuroscientist who had recently had her thesis published in a major science magazine, murdered by an unknown assailant. Sending an email to Itaru about the incident, Rintaro suddenly finds the world to have changed. According to everyone else, the press conference had been canceled due to a mysterious satellite that crashed into Radi-Kan, and Rintaro later runs into Kurisu, alive and well. Investigating, Rintaro finds that, by complete accident, his modified microwave has become a device capable of sending emails to the past- and that SERN, a French research organization, has been conducting time travel experiments of their own. In his attempts to understand the capabilities of what he’s invented, and his curiosity as to why his memories appear to be out of sync with everyone else’s, Rintaro rushes into a series of experiments that change his life, and those of friends old and new. This is something I could rant about all day, but putting it as succinctly as I can, I’ve never been as fascinated by time travel as Steins;Gate has made me. As fantastic as it, it’s also shown to be unpredictable, limited, and downright unsettling, especially when nobody knows just how time even works. It’s a story about the concept of time travel as much as a story about using it. The story definitely starts a bit slowly, but it’s well worth pushing past. As an adaptation, it doesn’t even need to sacrifice much, with the most that’s lost being some details in a few later arcs that aren’t worth much in the long run anyway. Beyond that, the main strength of the story is the cast of characters. Rintaro, with his rather severe case of chuunibyou, is a unique protagonist to begin with, but the events of the story turn him into an honestly fascinating and downright tragic character, and easily one of my favorite protagonists in a long time. The rest of the cast is just as good, with Kurisu being a great mix of intelligence, ravenous curiosity, and flusterability, with her and Rintaro’s interactions always being entertaining. As well, there’s the always kind, yet ditzy Mayuri, the outgoing, but odd Suzuha Amane, the endearingly gentle Luka Urushibara, and the energetic and wily Faris, just for some examples. The cast is downright loveable and very easy to get attached to. While I prefer the Japanese voice cast overall, the dub isn’t to be overlooked, with Trina Nishimura as Kurisu, Tyson Rinehart as Itaru, Cherami Leigh as Suzuha, Lindsay Seidel as Luka, and especially J. Michael Tatum as Rintaro giving great performances. Visually, White Fox did a great job giving it a distinct look. While the VN had a gorgeous and unique artstyle, it’s not really something that can be translated into animation. Instead, they used a whole lot of washed out colors and saturated lights that, combined with the sparse use of flashy effects and even music, gives a very subtle atmosphere to it all. Even beyond the style, it looks very good on its own, and it’s especially nice not having Rintaro look like a ghoul half the time, like he does in the VN.

Overall, this is very much something worth checking out. I’m beating a dead horse here since Steins;Gate is already wildly popular, but it’s that way for a very good reason. There’s also an extra OVA episode, along with a sequel movie, though both are only available via Funimation. They aren’t quite the best, but they make for entertaining watches worth checking out. And with that, that’s the end to my rambling. With the exception of, again, Super Sonico, everything here is very much worth a watch. I’m sure, once I emerge from the hell of Steins;Gate spinoffs, I’ll get to watching even more stuff. Till then, though. -Scout

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 1, Part 3

Madoka is escorting Homura to the Nurse’s Office as pretty much every student ignores their lessons and watches them through the glass walls. I would say taking her there, but all Madoka’s doing is walking behind and nervously asking how the Mysterious Student knew she was the Nurse’s Aide. Homura just says the teacher told her and continues to lead the way. Clearly she doesn’t need Madoka to guide her, so what’s the deal?

And would you stop with the creepy chime music?! Seriously, if I saw this happening in a movie and they were two guys I’d be screaming at the follower to run away from the obvious serial killer. I mean it, the two keep passing fewer and fewer students, and now I’m looking at Homura in shadow with some sort of scowl on her face. But then she tells Madoka to call her Homura instead of ‘Miss Akemi’? Madoka tries to make conversation about how ‘unique’ Homura’s name is (as I don’t know Japanese I can’t comment one way or the other). And yep that’s a scowl, Mysterious Student is pissed. Yeah, super pissed as Madoka stammers on. And now she’s spun around in an (empty) corridor to face Madoka. Sudden dramatic zoom-pan as Homura asks Madoka if she considers her family and friends to be precious. (That's not ominous at all!) Madoka of course says yes. Shadowy Homura accepts this, and says if that is really the case then she wouldn’t try to change the person she currently is. Because if she does, she will end up losing all of those things.

Ok, am I reading this right? Did the Mysterious Transfer Student just threaten Madoka’s friends and family if she takes up the Protagonist Mantle? Because that’s what I’m getting. Madoka is very confused as Homura says she should stay the same, leaves her in a surprisingly dark hallway, given all of the glass what is with this building? Sorry, just a little unnerved by the creepiness of the last scene. What the hell is going on here? Sudden flute music as we get a montage of Homura dominating math and athletics, filling a board with dense equations and arcing over a high jump still with a completely neutral face, to the shock and awe of everyone around her. And still the most emotion she shows is the occasional glance at Madoka, now that there are witnesses. Whoa what. Sudden Rabbit-Thing in a tree watching. After school in a massive, fancy mall (what city is this set in? A real one, or standard Anime City?) Madoka apparently told Hitomi and Blue Hair about the hallway confrontation, Blue Hair bemoans that the smart and pretty looking student is some sort of weirdo. Hitomi asks if Madoka has ever met the Mysterious Stranger before, she… huh, you’re telling them about your dream/vision/thing from last night? Title drop! And Blue Hair laughs about how Madoka is acting like an anime character, teases that it must be from a previous life or something. Hitomi asks some more questions, and makes a rather sensible suggestion that they actually did meet before, this is her subconscious bringing out a minor memory in the form of a weird dream. Huh. But given Homura’s rather extreme and specific reactions to Madoka, you’d think that she’d recognize her better. So what’s the deal? Hitomi has to run to one of her many lessons, Blue Hair asks if she and Madoka can visit a music store on the way home. A CD for Kamijo? Have we met them yet?

Hey, it’s Rabbit-Thing! Running through a dark alley while barely dodging busts of light. Oof, got hit there, but it’s back up and running. What’s attacking it? Oh, there’s Homura! Or at least I think that’s her, given the shadows. Are you chasing whatever’s chasing the familiar? Cut to ok time out. When is this show set, in a post-scarcity world or something? Because I have seen music stores here in America, and they are not that fancy and open. And if I know anything about Japan is that space is at a premium there, a music store this large in America would be pushing it, let alone this presumably-Japanese Mitikihara. And from the looks of it it doesn't even have CD's on display, just kiosks to browse the selection and headphones to listen. A cool design, and one that would need maybe half the space I can see. Why is it so large?! Sorry, the show just irked my business-management side there. Back to the show. Blue Hair (Sayaka) and Madoka are listening to headphones (hey, isn't that the opening theme I hear? Nice touch!) when the lyrics take a dark turn. Or rather, Rabbit-Thing telepaths for help and Madoka's Protagonist Senses pick it up. Madoka wanders off into an area that frankly looks more like a mansion than a mall, with old-style lamps and a white-and-black checkered floor- Huh. White and black checkered. Like the dream-thing earlier. Coincidence? Madoka follows the Call To Adventure^TM to this floor (apparently closed for remodeling because it wasn't fancy enough yet), creeps into a dark construction area and proves she has never seen a horror movie by calling out "Where are you?". This is just asking for Hockey-Mask McMurder to come jumping out. Guh, the ceiling's shaking! And wow an extremely beat up Rabbit-Thing just fell down. Madoka swoops in and grabs it. But if something's been chasing it, maybe you should leave Madoka (and I) are startled by a chain falling and hey Homura's here! She's been creepy about Madoka before, but maybe she can get over that and help against whatever "Get away from that thing." Um. What. Wait. Homura was the one attacking Rabbit-Thing? Homura. Homura what are you doing. Why were you attacking the show's familiar and why are you now staring down after Madoka said she could hear it? PFFFAHAHAHAHA! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I'm sitting here getting all invested in this tense standoff and wondering just what the heck Homura is up to, when Suddenly Fire-Extinguisher. Sayaka apparently followed and provided a distraction, outright chucking the emptied extinguisher at the Mysterious Student. Now the two are running away as Homura dissipates the could with a hand-wave and what. What is going on? 2D butterflies and sudden trippy music and what is happening? Have you seen this before, Homura? Madoka and Sayaka are running, the latter wondering about Homura's outfit (huh, it is different, similar enough to the school uniform I didn't notice at first), Madoka's focusing on getting Rabbit-Thing some help. Uh, but it looks like the trippy environment is catching up to them, now they're stuck without an exit. "There's something wrong with this place." Yeah, no Kidding Madoka, the animation is all screwy! The girls are rightly freaking out as twitchy puffballs... with mustaches... look, I'm trying my best to describe what I'm seeing but there's so much going on, this is insane. So creepy Monarchs and Puffballs are dancing around the girls with creepy child chanting, strange symbols are flashing over everything, now there are scissors and thorns and JEBUS the Puffballs have blank eyeholes and twitchy mouths Finally! Some chains broke and landed around them in a circle as the creeps get blasted away. Took you long enough Homura, now stop being spooky for five minutes and help out the mundanes. Wait, that's not Homura. It's Blondie from the poster! Apparently she knows Rabbit-Thing (Kyubey) and thanks them for rescuing it (him, actually). Madoka says she heard a voice in her head, and Blondie says "I see". Like Homura did? Blondie's confirmed to be a Mitakihara Middle School student too, and is about to introduce herself when the creeps come back. Transformation time! Blondie tosses her gold egg-thing into the air and does a little jig (with some rather graceful yet driving music) as she gains a rather European outfit, complete with beret. The Puffballs scatter as she WHOA WHAT Ok, Blondie just summoned what looks to be a platoon's worth of rifles. Um. Listen, I started this with only the most basic of 'magical girl' knowledge. One thing I accepted as a given was that MGs used things like wands or tiaras to fight with, I definitely never heard of Sailor Moon pulling a gun on the Week's Monster! If MGs can actually use weapons in this show, then things just got very interesting. Seen here as Blondie unleashes an absolute storm of exploding bullets on the Puffballs. Somewhere out there an Ork feels like he's missing something wonderful. Literally seconds later, Blondie lands among the flaming wreckage, and the trippy background skedaddles. Homura finally shows up to look down at the other three (I'm sensing a pattern here), Blondie informs her that the 'witch' escaped and says she should hurry along to finish it off, she'll 'let' her take it this time. So they know each other? Partners? Um, no. Not partners, as Blondie says she'll "overlook what you did this time." I'm guessing she means attacking Kyubey (for some reason)? So if Homura was attacking Kyubey and Blondie considers him a friend... Am I looking at two factions here? What's with the disagreement over the familiar? Homura's not happy about Blondie standing against her (want to note that Blondie has kept this peaceful half-smile up this entire time), ultimately turns around and leaves to Madoka and Sayaka's relief. Blondie's doing some magic girl mojo on Kybey to heal him, we get a name of Mami as he wakes up. He thanks her for the healing and the other girls for rescuing him, and confirms it was his voice that Madoka heard. And he knows their full names. Which he knows because he has a request for the two: make a contract with him and become magical girls! Aaand credits! We've got a drawing of Hitomi, Madoka and Sayaka with some light guitar as a singer does Generic Anime Credits Song #527, not much to add here. After-credits picture of all four poster girls (Homura and Mami in magical girl outfits, Sayaka and Madoka in school uniforms) with Kyubey in the center, and the familiar saying "I will grant you one wish - any wish you desire!" And in response to the girls questioning, "Anything you want. I can grant you even the most impossible of miracles!" Wow. That was a very, very impressive first episode. Will put up my general thoughts after I've had some time to process this last part, I'm looking forward to the next one!

[hushpadart]

“Do you know what it’s like to freeze to death, Hans? Maybe I should let you find out. But it won’t be half as quick or you as it was for Anna.”

Alternate Frozen ending where Anna’s act of true love was too late to save her, and when she died Elsa snapped and went Evil Ice Queen.

Created May 2015

Long post under the cut!

Okay so I'm planning on writing a fic where the ending of Frozen turns out differently. Anna's act of true love was too late to save her and she died. As a result of this, Elsa snaps and goes Evil Ice Queen. The fic will be pretty dark and I'm so excited. Here are some headcanons I came up with for this fic. Most are copy/pasted from a notepad document where I have them all saved. TW: Suicide discussion. It’s in bold so you can skip it if you need to.

First, Elsa's ice magic is basically controlled by her emotions, right? And you know how much stress and fear and self loathing she has? 

She's tried to kill herself several times, telling herself that everyone would be safe if she was gone and that Anna would make a better queen. But her powers wouldn't let her die. Remember how she protected herself from an arrow without even thinking about it? She flinched and closed her eyes and when she opened them there was a wall of ice in front of her and the arrow was stuck in it, right? No matter what method she tried, every suicide attempt was foiled by her own powers. 

If she tried to throw herself off a height, enough snow would appear under her to cushion her fall. If she tried to drown herself then the water would freeze into a sort of "bowl" under her so none would get in her mouth or nose and she could climb out safely. If she tried to hang herself, an ice pedestal would rise under her and prevent her from falling and being choked or having her neck broken by the rope, or the rope would just freeze and break. If she tried to cut or stab herself, the blade would freeze and shatter before it could break her skin. If she tried to poison herself, the poison would freeze and stick in her mouth, preventing her from swallowing. And if she tried to kill herself with her own ice it always failed. She can't get hypothermia or freeze to death, so that's out. Any icicle she tried to stab or impale herself with would refuse to go any further when she got it close. Once she created a pit of ice spikes and threw herself into it. The spikes burst into soft snow before she hit them and she didn't get a single scratch. This happened because in spite of her fear of hurting others and her self hate and belief that she was a monster and that everyone would be safer without her, she was afraid to die. Her fear of dying caused her powers to defend her from herself. In the fic, she may or may not attempt to freeze her own heart in an attempt to numb the pain of losing Anna. 

But since she's immune to the cold, while it might make her colder as a person, she won't die or turn into solid ice. 

It may physically preserve her though, so she won't really age and her body will be preserved for a very long time and even when it does finally start to deteriorate and age, the dying cells are replaced by snow and ice so eventually her human body will be gone and her soul will reside in a body made of ice until someone figures out how to destroy her. 

The most effective way would probably be to stab her in the heart with a weapon that has fire magic. 

But until someone is able to get near enough to kill her, she'll continue as a destructive force, keeping her kingdom essentially cursed as a frozen wasteland where nothing can thrive and everything is dying. 

If her heart could be thawed or if she could be killed, the curse would be broken and the kingdom would thaw. 

But until then, she'll remain alone in a cold, dark castle, in a cold, dark land that she cursed to reflect the state of her heart and mind. It's cold, dark, cloudy, maybe snowing most of the time. But when she goes into a rage or has a breakdown, blizzards and storms come and can be deadly. She's driven out any and all reminders of Anna, the childhood memories they had, and reminders of the happy life they could have had. Olaf and Kristoff and Sven are gone(either exiled or having left willingly, but they are still alive, just no longer in Arandelle), all the dolls and toys they played with as children are gone, even the paintings that Anna used to talk to in her loneliness are gone. It's all dark, hollow, empty, and gloomy, and icicles hang in every doorway and fall on idiots who enter without permission. Tbh she kind of reminds me of Walpurgisnacht from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The witch's nature was helplessness and she had no choice but to spin aimlessly in circles, going from place to place destroying everything and wishing someone would destroy her so she could stop, but being unable to stop because nobody was able to destroy her and every time someone failed to destroy her she only grew more powerful and her hatred and despair multiplied. That's what's happening to Elsa in my fic. She wants to stop cursing the land and destroying everything with her powers but she can't because her despair and hatred are too strong and she believes even if someone could stop her, nobody would want to because that would be the same thing as saving her, and she thinks she's so undeserving of salvation that saving her would be spitting in the face of everyone she hurt. This is another reason she'd be unable to commit suicide and it would be very difficult for someone else to kill her. She feels dying is too kind a fate for her. Elsa taking "Revenge is a dish best served cold" literally. People attempting to assassinate Elsa, only to have every attempt fail because her ice magic protects her too well and kills them. Elsa pulling a Bruce Banner on them and saying with a bitter laugh that they can't kill her, she knows, she's tried, but no matter what she does or what anyone else does, her magic won't let her die. Elsa displaying her wrath for the assassination attempts by bringing down a winter so cold and dark it could be likened to the biblical plagues of Egypt. Some brave idiot pulling a Katniss and saying "If we freeze to death, you freeze to death with us!" Only for Elsa to laugh and remind them that the cold never bothered her anyway as she freezes them from the inside by creating ice in their organs or bloodstream, then walks away after they fall lifelessly to the ground. Elsa being a terrifying queen driven by anger and hatred and made more dangerous by her incredible magical ability as well as being very mentally unstable.

Elsa having hallucinations of Anna and begging these hallucinations to forgive her. People calling her the Ice Witch instead of the Snow Queen and Elsa embracing that title. Elsa being dark and brutal and having an insatiable hunger for revenge that she feels she can't curb until she destroys everything, including herself. ICE GORE, TORTURE, AND KILLING PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GRIEF ANGER DEATH Also a few quotes I plan on using in the fic. "I've lost the only thing I had, the only thing I was afraid of losing. There's no point in fearing anything anymore." "I'm not afraid anymore. I was afraid before, afraid of hurting An- hurting her again. But now she's gone, and she took my fear with her." "There's no fear.. No pain... No sadness..." "You can't hurt me anymore. You can't take anything else away from me. I've already lost everything." "Would Anna have wanted this?!" "Anna is dead, and if you dare say her name again, you will be too." "Feel my pain, Arandelle! You deserve it just as much as I do! My heart will never know warmth again, and neither will this land! The sun will never shine here or give life to anything here again!" And my favorite "No, Hans... My sister is dead because of you. She trusted you and loved you, and you betrayed her, broke her heart, put out the fire that could have kept her alive until she could be saved and abandoned her. You let her die a death that was probably agonizingly painful. Do you know what it's like to freeze to death? Maybe I should let you find out. But it won't be half as quick for you as it was for Anna."

[uiruu]

People talk a lot about how HxH is a deconstruction of shonen anime, and like, for a long time, that’s the word I’ve been using too. I watched a youtube video that made me reconsider, and it got me thinking about this. (tho you dont need to watch it before reading this, i disagreed or had slightly differing opinions about slight things anyway)

On the whole, Hunter x Hunter does have the standard themes and tropes of shonen. The optimism, the growth, love, friendship, hardship, adversity, often loss and tragedy and overcoming it, that stuff... but what sets it apart is how it explores and examines the way those themes are handled in shonen. When HxH deals with the standard tropes of shonen, it often deconstructs.... but the series is not overall a “deconstruction”.

It digs into and subverts and often breaks things down... it deconstructs a trope and peers into its guts, only to build it back up a little. Is it a “reconstruction”? I don’t know lmao, that’s nothing haha. Even though a lot of the time, you’ll be watching it and things will happen that make you go “wow, I kind of can’t believe this is happening in a shonen battle anime...”, so yeah, it does feel different than you’d expect it to feel, but at the same time... it’s pretty distinctively still a shonen feeling. I think Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a proper deconstruction cause none of the shit in that series would fly in a regular magical girl anime, I think (uhhhh maybe. im not well versed, maybe it would, idk), and so when things spin off in that darker direction and are direct counters to tropes found in the magical girl genre, thats a deconstruction. It saw the original tropes, picked out what made them work, did the opposite, and made that work. But that’s not really what HxH does. If that was the case, Gon might face a villain and outright lose, and never recover. Or, circumstances will develop that portray the protagonist as very clearly the villain of this story. In that way, I guess you could say Death Note is kind of deconstructionist. It’s essentially a shonen battle manga/anime with psychological battles instead of physical ones, and the main character is undeniably the villain, and he only gets worse with time. HxH doesn’t usually completely deconstruct or subvert a trope, so much as it more fully explores those tropes, and has to play with deconstructing them a little bit to do so.

Here’s an example of what I mean. Take for instance, “Knov has to go in and plant teleport portal things in the king’s palace. He manages to do it, but is discouraged when he sees Pouf’s aura”. That could happen in Naruto. What HxH does differently is peer into the workings of that scenario, and thinks about what would actually happen there. It shows Knov’s panic attack, his mental state. This is maybe more of a deconstruction, because even though Knov succeeds, he is overwhelmed, and his confidence is shattered. He withdraws from the rest of the mission, at least for the time being. He is noticeably scarred by this event forever afterwards. Other shonen wouldn’t delve that deep into the implications of the actions characters take.

But then take for instance Gon’s Anime Power Up versus Pitou…. “young kid ages up because of magic to a point at which he can beat the opponent, but risks losing his nen and possibly his life”. That could happen in Dragon Ball Z (in fact dbz wrote the book on this trope). But it differs in the tone set, the way it was handled, the sheer emotional weight of every word spoken in that episode, the terror Killua has once he finds Gon, etc. This is a bit of deconstruction, in that it has this power up be an unequivocally bad thing that could end Gon’s life and shakes Killua to his core, but in the end, some of the “construction” is build back up, because Killua’s calling out to Gon saves him, and the bond of friendship (AND LOVE) that these two share brings Gon back from the brink. It was, of course, a little too late, and Gon is essentially, for all intents and purposes, dead from this point on, and the only thing that could save him was something that breaks all the rules of the universe up to this point, and is possibly a power originating in the Dark Continent, which is mysterious and ancient and seemingly full of unexplained phenomena. So, Gon is saved, lessons are learned... Things were still awkward for Gon and Killua even after Gon apologized but... in the end they still care a lot about each other. That’s not very deconstructionist... that’s awfully shonen, actually. But the level of detail HxH goes to to break from formula and show in depth what the characters think and feel is really nonstandard.

Conceivably, characters could be feeling these emotions in other shonen when these things happen, but it’s not explored in them. I bet when an anime character has a big “I’m risking my life to attain ultimate power!” moment, it could really traumatize the friends of that character... but that’s rarely something explored in any other canon of a show in this genre. And that’s the thing about HxH. It’s not so much a full, dark, terrifying deconstruction of shonen tropes, it’s an examination of them. If it was a deconstruction through and through, Powered Up Gon might have died there, or hurt Killua so bad that Killua leaves Gon forever, or he could have lost after it wasn’t enough to stop Pitou, or he could have used this power for evil and killed someone truly innocent, etc. HxH would never do any of those things. The moment of Gon’s transformation wasn’t done to emphasize how twisted the main character of a shonen could be, it was done to emphasize how much the people around Gon could love him, and how Gon was forgetting that. Gon withdrew, succumbed to grief, pushed the people he loves away. But no matter what, even after committing to this being the end of his life, Killua was there for him. Not pushed away. He saved Gon and in that moment reminded him that there are still things to live for and love to be experienced.

Hunter x Hunter arguably emphasizes the themes of love and friendship and optimism way better than standard shonen, rather than subverting those themes.

Long story short, I think Hunter x Hunter is basically Togashi flexing and saying “okay, I see what you all are going for, lemme show you how I’d do it” and fucking knocking it out of the park.

[alteredphoenix]

Red Fruit (WIP)(Sailor Moon/Madoka novelette)

A/N: This is an old WIP from July 10, 2015, as part of a crossover series between Sailor Moon and Madoka Magica, in an AU in which (and I put this in the simplest terms possible, because 2015!AlteredPhoenix was and still is super big on metaphysics and ontology) the cast of Madoka existed in a more high fantasy/military fantasy, Warcraft-inspired version of the Silver Millennium and were also reincarnated in the present day but in a separate timeline outside the Sailor Moon continuum. In this AU, all the planets of the universe were Earth-like and existed within their own Dyson Sphere, but the fall of the Millennium and Queen Serenity’s sacrifice (here described as an event called the Diaspora that is remembered now only by the remnants of the Mau race that exist in the shadows) saw the natural balance of life and death torn asunder and persist in atmospheres that they are known for today.

When constructing the series (which went under the name “Until We Meet Again”, although that version is old and discontinued, but is planned to be salvaged in some capacity and can be read on Fanfiction.net), my goal was to make the girls of Madoka deviatory from their canon personalities. Here Kyoko is a nondenominational girl that is very much anti-police and anti-establishment. She does not have faith in the pantheon of Mars and cares little for the interplanetary affairs that prelude the war that would destroy the Golden Age of the Silver Millennium. This fic would have her be put in the crosshairs of Mars’ law force and see her sentenced to serve as a pack mule to Endymion and his Four Guardians as they go on a mission (that I can’t remember the life of me what it was).

This mission would change Kyoko’s worldview and mold her as the person she is depicted in canon, and would carry over into the main AU story in the present, post-Rebellion world that would see her and Sayaka jump through timelines trying to reclaim Goddess!Madoka from hiding from Devil Homura’s hunt to recapture her.

(Mami would be elsewhere in the present day Sailor Moon timeline (which, at the time of that story, “A Passing Glance”, set it around 2017), infected with a parasitic version of Walpurgisnacht that is only held at bay by Nagisa’s watchful eye and the hope that Rei will purge and cauterize the blight before it overcomes Mami.)

-

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in seeing them?” said the voice, and Kyoko nearly dropped the apple she was holding.

Tightening her grip on it, she glanced behind her to see Mami and her damn pleated fan, unfolded to display a watercolor scene of flying fish with their oval mouths open to swallow the stars; a sleepy, rural village basked beneath a sky full of alien moons. It was a surreal image, one she did not understand, and staring at it for too long made her nerves itch in the way sliding a rusted nail down a used chalkboard would. “With all the noise they’re making, it’s hard not to ignore them,” she said, and peered over the balcony. “Look how garish they dress! Are they supposed to be soldiers or stoplights?”

Mami joined her and studied the cavalcade of men marching down the cobblestone road. She studied their uniforms for a moment—sharp, finely-pressed plated suits ranging from black to royal blue to ashy grey. “They look like they could blend right in at night.”

“Not those guys! The ones grouped around tall, dark, and pale.” Kyoko nodded their way, just as they were crossing beneath them.

Mami finally saw the quintet and nodded. “Ah, Prince Endymion and his Four Heavenly Kings. I don’t see King Aethlius among them. He must be in the Basilica with the other dignitaries and magistrates.”

“I don’t care about the King or any of that drivel!”

“Then what troubles you?”

“Just look! They’re not wearing any helmets! They’re not blending with the rest of the crowd! A sniper could put a round in every one of their heads and they wouldn’t even know what hit them!”

Mami watched the rest of the procession arrive. “I highly doubt an enemy of the state would risk his life attempting an assassination with this many people.” She waved the fan airily at her face. “We can’t see them from this angle, more or less be able to even if we tried, but the Talonites are all around us. They know all the secret places of the Forum as well as the Eternal Flame knows all about them.”

“So say I throw this apple at blondie there,” Kyoko said, pointing at one of the Kings with short, wavy hair the color of wheat. “Or that guy with the bleached roots.” She indicated a taller male towering over his brothers and Prince. “Would the gods see fit to cast a compulsion on their warrior-priests and make me spontaneously combust with a snap of their fingers? Or perhaps someone will jump out of these very shadows and turn me into a pile of ash with a single swipe of his uchiwa?”

“Any and all threats will be dealt with, depending on how severe the order the High Priests gives them,” said Mami. “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste precious food.” She leveled a pointed stare at the bag of apples pressed against the other girl’s chest.

Kyoko scoffed. “It’s not wasting food. It’s sustenance and makes for good ammunition.” She sank her teeth into the fruit and chewed.

Mami sighed. “Not only would you face possible death to the warrior-priests, the local merchants would have your head if they hear about it.”

“Why should they? There’s plenty of arable land, and no one’s howling for blood this year. Human sacrifices are so last millennium.”

“The Republic of Mars hasn’t been ‘howling for blood’ in over seventy-five years, since before the King’s father Aeolus passed away,” Mami groaned. “Must you always sleep through history, Kyoko?”

“None of that matters to me,” she said, and dropped the apple core into the bag; she was not about to incur Mami’s ire over leaving her spoils in a place that wasn’t a container or trash receptacle. “It shouldn’t matter to you, either. You’re not from here so that’d be understandable. But why should I go through all the trouble learning about the history of the Alliance when it’s written by gods-fearing victors?”

“You shouldn’t say that!” Mami shouted, and started, surprised at her outburst. Her cheeks coloring, she looked over the balcony and saw that the retinue had come and gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Need I remind you the consequences for spouting heresy?”

Kyoko rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I’ve heard it all: the forty lashes, exile by vote of majority, the public stoning, the burning at the stake. ‘S nothing new.”

“You can’t just say stuff like that in a place like the Republic, especially in a region that boasts the highest population of Talonites and religious adherents on the entire planet.”

“I’m entitled to my rights just as much as the next person.” She pulled another apple out of the bag, polished it off against her shirt, and took a hefty bite from it. “’Tough titty,’ said the kitty.”

“Kyoko,” said Mami, and the tone of her voice was like tempered steel, “you’ve been warned twice by the political police. If it happens one more time,” her eyebrows knotted worryingly. “If it happens one more time,” she pushed on, more softly, “we’ll never see each other again.”

Kyoko stopped, no longer feeling hungry. She sighed, dropped the apple into the bag and wiped her hand of its juices against the brown paper. “Mami—“

“Have you ever stopped and wondered what your family thinks about you?” Mami asked suddenly. “What your neighbors must think? When they see you with the heretics, the non-believers, taking to the streets, wreaking havoc and disrupting the peace with your beliefs, what do you think goes through their minds?”

Kyoko’s mouth went dry, her tongue arid as the red deserts that lend credence to Mars’ name. For one brief, absurd moment, she kicked herself for not having brought something to relieve her thirst. “Hey now…I’ve never actually hurt anyone. The ones that incite all the riots and clashes with the police…I’m not part o’ that crowd.”

“But surely you were a part of them?”

“Well, when I’m tryin’ to get away from everything, then yeah, I have to push and shove my way through. I’ve gotten into a few scraps, but it’s not like I cause them. There’s a reason for getting off scot-free and claiming self-defense by having the aggressor throw the first punch.”

“And for everything else? Do you put a halt to evening traffic and topple vehicles to delay the opposition in their pursuit? Do you fight back with restricted magic as per the laws of the Basilica Carta? Do you vandalize holy sites like the Face of Vulcan? Have you been injured by a Talonite and asked yourself ‘I will give unto him what he has given unto me tenfold’?”

“I don’t regret what I do,” Kyoko said testily. “I’ve been beaten and kicked like a sack of rice while being pinned down and bound by spellweavers. I’ve been sent to jail and harassed by officers and prisoners alike that my efforts weren’t worth the trouble. I nearly had my hair burnt to a crisp by one of those priestly chaps. Hell, at one point I got trampled by my like-minded brothers and sisters making a hasty retreat and almost died.”

“But have you?” Mami snapped the fan closed and jabbed it under the girl’s nose.

Kyoko growled and swiped at it, but Mami was faster and pulled away before the fan could be ripped from her grasp. “So what if I have? I’m human! I don’t claim to be perfect or a saint! Not like you,” she grumbled the last part.

“I am as imperfect and sinful as you are,” Mami said, frowning tiredly. “As are the free peoples of the Alliance and the far-flung races of the known universe. But you must be careful, Kyoko! The sons and daughters of Kagutsuchi will not tolerate any more of your antics.”

“They’re not antics! And I’m not afraid of those flame-worshipping lapdogs. They’re going to have to do more than dress like festival dancers to scare me.”

“You’ll be scared when they come into your house one night and drag you out—by force—to the execution grounds,” Mami snapped, and then, more softly, “No amount of pleading on the behalf of your family will sway them to ignore the Word bestowed by their elders…or that of the Eternal Flame. Peace, Kyoko, must be maintained…and you’re not helping.”

Kyoko sighed, ran a hand through her hair. “Nothing’s gonna happen to me, Mami.”

“I want to believe that,” she said, turning away. She looked out beyond the conical spires of the high-rises, past the cupolas and lighted braziers of the Church of the King of the Hunt, to the horizon. It looked like rain, and where there was rain there would be lightning and thunder, and there would be fire. Vicious, hungry fire, dancing and out of control. “I want to, but I can’t bring myself to. Something’s got to give.”

“You mean something I’ve got to give.” And she wasn’t going to. Not her beliefs. Not her cause. Not her life. Nothing.

“How else are you going to stop them? It’s either that or you’ll die.” Mami looked at Kyoko, and her face was long and haggard and sorrowful. “And I don’t want you to die. I will heal any injuries you might sustain or ease any anger or worries you might have, but I can’t cure death.”

“Ah, yes. Death. The Talonites can stamp out religious persecution and all manner of crime, but they can’t stop what’s inevitable.” Kyoko gathered the bag in both arms and, putting all her weight into her haunches, pushed herself onto the balls of her feet and rose. She joined Mami at the balcony and breathed in a lungful of air through her nose. The air was charged, thick and heavy with the coming downpour. It was pure and refreshing, but it was nothing like the smoky, sulfurous odor flames were wont to exude. “Kinda ironic, isn’t it?”

Mami nodded. “Aye. But for the phoenix that builds its nest atop the tallest mountain and sets itself ablaze, it rises anew from the ashes.”

“It’s just a bird,” Kyoko scoffed.

Mami sighed and pressed the tip of the fan to her forehead, brow furrowed in resignation. “Once again, you fail to see my point. Kyoko, I won’t ask you to promise me not to get into any more trouble than you already are…but at the very least try to stay out of it. I’m not always going to be there for you when you need a place to hide or words to whitewash any misgivings. I’m only here until summer’s end and—”

“’I won’t be here forever.’ I get it. Thanks for the warning, Mom.” Kyoko quashed the guilt skewering her breast at the hurt that flashed across Mami’s face. She couldn’t let that bother her. Not here, and especially not in front of Mami. She could feel like shit later, away from everything in the privacy of her home.

“Very well,” Mami said calmly, stiffly. “I entrust you to be on your…ahem, best behavior. As you were.” She stuck the fan into her waistband and glided past Kyoko, as a skimmer does on the surface of a still lake.

[scribbleranger93-blog]

Prayers and Wishes (One-Shot)

Fandom: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Words: Approx. 6,021

Rating: T

Genre: Friendship/Drama

Summary: Homura made her wish to protect Madoka because Madoka was one of the few people she could call her best friend. What happened in her past that made her desperate enough that she'd rather give up her soul than accept a friend's death? One-shot.

Author’s Note: Thank you to @takerfoxx for giving me some advice on writing this story; it really helped! 

Fanfiction.net Link

--

“Over here, Yuki!”

“Got it!”

Homura watched from the goal as the girls kicked the soccer ball around, wondering if they knew just how lucky they were to be so agile and fast, to not have to worry about overexerting themselves and having heart attacks. It must have been nice, to not have to think about those kinds of things, to actually be part of the crowd… To be normal… With her heart condition, she had been relegated to simply being the goalie. It was the easiest position during the game, maybe, but for Homura it was just another reminder that she was always a girl on the sidelines, never actually involved in anything.

“Kick it in the goal, Akemi won’t get it!” one girl cried.

“Don’t blow it, Akemi, get it!”

She saw a group of girls rushing towards her, one kicking the ball along the way. Homura readied herself, getting in position. This was it, her moment to prove that she wasn’t just the weakling in the class; she focused intently on the ball…

And suddenly imagined the blue sky turning into a red, pastel-like one glaring down at her, misshapen, humanoid figures slowly making their way towards her with menacing intent…

Her chest suddenly felt tight, her heart beating a mile a minute; knees buckling, she clutched her chest, and began ventilating, sweat falling from her forehead…

At the last minute, Homura snapped back to the present...

Just as the ball went sailing past her, hitting the net.

“Ugh, Akemi!” a few of the girls groaned.

“We’ll never win with her on the team,” someone moaned.

“It’d be better if she just didn’t even try to be in the class…”

Homura looked at all the girls glaring at her, feeling like she had been pierced by a thousand arrows like Saint Sebastian. An airy, inhuman voice seemed to whisper in her ear: “Maybe it would be better if you did just die…”

The bell rang, and all the girls began to make their way to the lockers, walking past Homura, ignoring her.

Well, not all of them. One slapped her on the forehead, which caught her off guard, and another stopped to utter a few words to the brunette.

“You. Damn. Freak.”

Homura trailed behind the other girls, dragging her feet along. She didn’t even bother to look up when she heard footsteps walking next to her.

“Homura-chan?”

That voice; Homura looked up and saw Madoka Kaname standing next to her, a concerned look on her face. There were bags under her friend’s pink eyes; she was out hunting again last night, Homura realized.

“K-Kaname-san,” she said.

“You were remembering again, weren’t you?” the pink-haired girl asked.

Homura nodded, frowning. It had been days since she had wandered into that Witch’s Labyrinth while walking home; days since she had been saved by Madoka and upperclassman Mami Tomoe, days since Homura had met Kyubey and learned of the existence of Magical Girls and Witches… And yet she couldn’t shake the memory of the fear she had felt when she found herself trapped in that Labyrinth, at the mercy of the Witch and her Familiars, her legs freezing up and refusing to let her run somewhere, anywhere…

“Don’t let them get to you,” her pink-haired friend said, placing her hand on her shoulder. “They don’t know what you had to go through; you were doing your best, and that’s all that matters.”

She gave Homura a small smile, and the bespectacled brunette couldn’t help but smile back at her. They began to walk back to the locker room in step with each other, the birds chirping in the distance.

“Kaname-san?” Homura piped up.

“Hm? What is it, Homura-chan?”

“… Thank you,” she said. “For not being like the other girls.”

“No problem, Homura-chan, that’s what friends are for, right?”

Friends. The word stung in the transfer student’s chest. It was such an alien concept to her at this point, after spending most of the last year in the hospital. She had just met Madoka, but the girl had seemed to really take a liking to her; in fact, Homura owed her life to her, and she was enjoying having another person to talk to. It made her feel less lonely.

But, the idea that she had a new friend, someone who would be there for her, who would protect her and keep her from being sad… Homura was almost afraid to acknowledge it, for fear of having it taken away from her… Again.

“Homura-chan?”

“What…?”

“Are you okay?” Madoka asked, looking concerned. They were now close to the locker room. “You seem preoccupied with something.”

“Oh, it’s, it’s nothing, Kaname-san.”  

--

“Please,” Homura said, “Give her back…!”

She tried to move towards the other girl, but the latter’s friends held her tightly by the arms, stopping her in her tracks. The girl in question, Eriko, stood before Homura, towering over her like a queen before a slave. Eriko was one of the many older girls in Saint Anthony’s Home, where Homura had spent the last year. From their first meeting, Homura had a feeling Eriko didn’t like her that much. And at the tender age of eight, she was in no position to fight back against a ten-year-old.

Eriko held up one hand, Homura’s doll held in it. It was a simple doll, with a pale face and a black dress, something that had been with her for many years. “You want her back?” she said mockingly, holding it up. “If you want your precious Clara-chan back, then take her from me!”

Homura tried her hardest to break free from the other girls—Mai and Shiri, their names were. They were all in one of the many rooms of the orphanage that had been set aside for the children to play in. As hard as she tried, she was unable to break free. “P-please… Stop,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“Look at her, she’s crying!” Mai said, sounding more amused than sympathetic. “She isn’t even going to try to fight back!”

“What a wimp,” Shiri said.

“Just leave me alone!” Homura finally screamed. “I haven’t done anything to any of you!” She tried to force herself forward; in her movement, she hadn’t anticipated Mai and Shiri letting go, and she came crashing down at Eriko’s feet, her glasses falling off her face.

The girls laughed at that, while Homura scrambled to her knees.

“You’re a freak, Homura Akemi,” Eriko said. “You’re no better than the rest of us in this damn orphanage. Never forget that.”

“What’s going on here?” another voice cut into the scene. The other girls stopped what they were doing.

“Fukui-san,” Eriko said, turning to the doorway. There was a tone of resentment in her voice. “It’s just you.”

“Ono-san, what are you doing with Akemi-san?” the other girl asked, sounding cross. “Do I have to report you three?”

There was a brief pause; then, Eriko tossed Homura’s doll onto the floor. “Let’s get out of here,” she said to Mai and Shiri.

“No one likes a tattle-tale, Fukui-san,” Mai muttered as they walked away.

“Don’t listen to them, Akemi-san. Here, let me help you,” Fukui said, taking the glasses and placing them back onto Homura. “There, better,” she said, smiling. She handed her doll back to the brunette. “Your doll is so pretty, and I love her dress.”

Homura perked up a bit.  She looked into the other girl’s eyes. They were dark gray, matching her hair; Aiko Fukui was also one of the girls Homura had met when she first arrived at the orphanage. Unlike the others, she had given Homura a warm welcome.

“Y-you shouldn’t help me,” Homura said. “If you do, they might pick on you, too…” A lot of the kids had avoided Homura as much as possible, for fear of raising the ire of Eriko and her followers.

“Ono-san? Ah, I wouldn’t worry too much about her,” Aiko said, helping Homura back on her feet. “She talks a big game, but she’s only brave when picking on kids who are afraid of her. If you don’t let her get to you, she’ll leave you alone…”  Just as she was about to finish her words, she bent over, letting out a loud cough.

“Are you okay?” Homura asked, concern in her voice. The coughing went on for a while, before Aiko stood upright again.

“I’m fine,” she said, smiling. “Nothing to worry about. Now, how about we go get some snacks from the kitchen?”

“I-is that allowed?” Homura asked.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Aiko said, extending her hand. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Homura looked at Aiko’s hand, then at Aiko. “O-okay, Fukui-san” she said, giving a small smile.

“You can call me ‘Aiko’ if you want,” Aiko said, holding back a laugh when her comment made the girl self-conscious.

--

“Are you really not afraid for when Walpurgisnacht comes?” Homura asked Madoka as they walked out from the mall. They had gone after school for some food and to just hang out; Sayaka had gone to visit Kyousuke at the hospital, Hitomi had another lesson, and Mami was also busy taking care of some things, so it had just been the two of them.  

“A little,” Madoka said, turning to look at her. “But with Mami leading, we should be able to beat it!” She looked up wistfully at the sky; the city lights made it hard to see any stars. Homura gave a small smile; she had to admit that she found Madoka’s enthusiasm endearing. The other girls’ cruel remarks during PE had been forgotten for the past few hours; spending time with Madoka always managed to lift Homura’s spirits.

The sun had set over Mitakihara, casting long, black shadows over the street. Homura clutched her chest, her eyes darting back and forth at the splotches of darkness that were slowly growing. She still couldn’t get the memory of being trapped in the Witch’s labyrinth out of her head. To think that there were unspeakable horrors like that, just hidden in the corners and crevices of the city! After her experience, she couldn’t even think about willingly going into one ever again; whenever her friends went on their hunts, she stayed outside or far away. She even thought about all the people in the city, unaware of the existence of Magical Girls, of Witches, and wondered if it was good or bad that they had no idea of the war brewing beneath the glamour of the city.

“Oh, no, I didn’t realize it was getting late,” Madoka said. “I guess we lost track of time.”

“Well, it was a lot of fun,” Homura said, smiling softly.

“I even forgot to call my mom and tell her I wouldn’t be home early,” Madoka said, facepalming.

“I’m sure they’ll just be happy to have you home,” Homura said. She looked down. “You’re lucky to have them.”

The tone in her voice seemed to catch Madoka’s attention. “Oh, what I meant was—“ the pink-haired girl began to say, realizing she may have been a bit insensitive to her parentless friend.

“It’s okay,” Homura said, flashing her friend a smile. “Really.” Maybe someday soon she would tell Madoka about what she knew about her parents—about her mother who died in childbirth, or her affluent father who had perished in a fatal car accident when she was seven. After being on her own for so long, Homura had accepted what had happened to her parents; it still hurt, but she was used to the pain.

“It’s getting really dark,” Homura said, trying to change the subject. “Could a Witch be out right now?”

It was hardly a cheerful subject, but it did the trick. “I’m sure of it,” Madoka said, her tone turning serious. “Witches are everywhere; for every one we defeat, there’s probably another one somewhere preying on humans.” She shrugged. “But, even so, we have to do our best to save as many people as we can; it’s what Magical Girls do, after all.”

“Just thinking about it makes me freeze up,” Homura said, looking shiftily around at every dark corner she could find. “I really want to help you and Tomoe-san when Walpurgisnacht comes, but I think I’d be terrible at fighting Witches.” She had to admit, however, that the prospect of having a wish granted had its appeal; she had wished many times for things as a child, after all.

“You don’t know that,” Madoka said, smiling again. “Who knows? You might become the best out of all of us.”

“Even if I could, I’m not sure what to wish for; there’s so much I could pick from…”

“Well, there’s no pressure for you to make one,” Madoka said, as they began to round a corner. “And besides, I’m fine with us just being friends; you’re fun to hang out with.”

Friends. The word made Homura’s heart skip a beat. Madoka really did think of her as a friend; she had forgotten how warm and fuzzy it felt to be liked by someone. She wanted so badly to be friends with her forever, to always be by her side. In her heart of hearts, she always hoped to have a fiend like Madoka again, even though she was afraid of somehow losing her. “I like being your friend, too, Kaname-san.”

“Homura-chan…” Madoka said, half-whining. “You can just call me ‘Madoka,’ it’s perfectly alright.”

Before Homura could respond, a familiar voice beamed itself into both their minds.

“Madoka-chan!” Mami’s voice cried out. “There’s a Witch in the industrial area! We have to go there now!”

“I’m on my way, Mami-san!” Madoka thought in return. She turned to Homura.

“Homura,-chan, I’m sorry, but I have to deal with this,” she said. “You’ll have to go home on your own now, okay?”

“No,” Homura said. “I want to come with you.”

Madoka blinked and stared back at her.

“I want to be there when you fight,” the brunette went on. “I don’t want to be afraid of Witches; and, and… I can’t just stay home knowing that you’re out there fighting with your life on the line, Kaname-san!”

“Homura-chan,” Madoka said, bewilderment in her voice. “Are you sure that’s what you want? It’s dangerous, you know.”

Homura clenched her fist. “If my friends can face monsters like that, I could at least try to do the same.” She stared intently at Madoka.

Then, the pink-haired girl smiled and took her hand in hers. “Okay, if you say so,” she said. “Let’s go hunt a Witch!”

--

“Having a hard time sleeping, Homura-chan?”

Homura turned to see Aiko sit next to her on her bed, the springs creaking as she did so. Next to her she placed a lantern, its dull glow illuminating the two of them. Homura had been staring out the window, out into the night sky, at the stars. She had thought all the other girls had been asleep by now.

Homura shifted in place, hugging her knees to her chest, leaning forward. “Just been thinking about stuff, Aiko-chan.”

“Is it about Naoko-chan?”

After a brief pause, Homura nodded. Naoko had been in the orphanage for less than a year, and had already been adopted; she had left the orphanage earlier this afternoon. Homura had seen girls like Naoko leave with happy adults, off to their new lives in better homes. For the past two years she had seen adults come and go—none had seemed interested in her. Probably, she suspected, because of the hassle her heart problems would cause. It didn’t matter if she was sweet or well-behaved, they probably wanted to just avoid getting close to a girl who might drop dead very soon. And so Homura had gotten used to being passed over again, and again, and again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aiko said, patting the brunette on the shoulder. “I’ve been passed over many times, too; you get used to it. And think of it this way: you’re at least getting closer to the people who will adopt you someday.”

“How can you be so easy-going about it?” Homura asked. “I keep thinking about it, and it just makes me feel more and more like there’s something wrong with me…” Even when her dad was still alive, she had felt that he didn’t want to spend time with her; he was always busy at work, and never seemed to take much time off. She suspected, deep down, that he had blamed her for her mother’s death.

“Well,” Aiko said after a bit, “Remember what Sister Hanako told us during our lesson?”

“Don’t sneak in snacks while we study?”

Aiko playfully nudged Homura on the shoulder. “No, silly,” she said, though she couldn’t hide the smirk on her lips. “The other thing, you know, about how God closes some doors so that others will open?”

“…”

“What I’m trying to say is, just because things aren’t working out now, it doesn’t mean that they won’t get better later. You just have to have faith that God knows what He’s doing. He’s got a plan, you know.”

“You really think so?” Homura asked.

“Don’t you?”

“… I don’t know.” They had had many lessons, teaching about God’s love and how nothing happened without His knowledge, but Homura was not so convinced. She had gone to confession numerous times, admitted to the priest the doubt that was in her heart, and had done all the Hail Marys and everything else that was demanded of her to earn forgiveness, but it all felt empty. Hollow, to her.  

“Well, just don’t let today get to you,” Aiko said, smiling. “Besides, look at it this way: there’s still a lot of time for us to spend together, until we get adopted.”

Homura smiled at this. If there was one ray of sunshine in her time at the orphanage, it was having Aiko to keep her company. The two did nearly everything together—played games, studied lessons, all of that—and it made Homura feel less lonely, even as other kids still found her weird. “Yeah,” she said, “That’s true.” Just as she said that, something in the night sky caught her eye.

“A shooting star!”

Homura rushed to the windowsill just as the celestial object in question blazed across the heavens. She closed her eyes immediately.

“Making a wish?”

Homura opened one eye and smiled at Aiko. “Uh-huh,” she said, smiling.

“What’d you wish for?” Aiko asked.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true!”

Aiko playfully rolled her eyes. “Fine, you win.”

The two of them said good-night to each other shortly after that. Homura silently prayed, more as a routine than out of actual conviction, but it was what the nuns wanted, so she did it anyway. As Homura tucked herself into her bed and held tightly onto her Clara-chan, her wish was still fresh in her mind:

I wish Aiko and I would get adopted by the same family, and be together forever. 

--

Black and white. Inside the Witch’s labyrinth, all other colors appeared to have faded. Far off in the distance, the Witch’s lifeless body lay on the ground, dark liquid pouring out of its corpse. Homura clutched her chest, half-afraid that the shock of what she had just witnessed would cause her heart to give out, and half in horror of the possibility of losing someone close to her.

As the labyrinth warped and faded back into the familiar evening air of the city, she rushed towards her friend, who was currently lying on the ground. “Kaname-san!” she screamed.

She knelt by Madoka’s side and helped her back upright. “What were you thinking!?” the brunette said, her voice a mixture of fear, concern, and anger. “You shouldn’t have gotten too close to the Witch, it nearly killed you!”

“I’m alright, Homura-chan,” Madoka said, her voice groggy. “Don’t worry…”

She looked down at Madoka’s Soul Gem, and her eyes widened.

“Your Gem…” Homura said, horrified. “It’s turning black. Tomoe-san! Kaname-san needs a Grief Seed!”

“Hang on, I’m coming,” Mami said, and Homura could hear the sound of her feet running up to them. Within moments, Madoka had taken the Grief Seed and purified her Soul Gem, which now shone a bright, pure pink once again.

Homura hugged Madoka tightly. “I was so worried,” she said, “I thought I was going to lose you…”

The Witch had been ferocious, attacking with a legion of vines that stabbed and wrapped around any who dared oppose her. The Witch herself remained in the distance, silently praying in the shadow of an enormous monstrance. Both Mami and Madoka were long-range fighters, relying on their muskets and arrows, respectively. It had been difficult to get through the vines, to get a good shot of the Witch and deliver the killing blow. In the end, Madoka had rushed into the fray, while Mami dealt with the vines, and fired the final shot to kill the Witch, but not before sustaining a few blows herself.

And all this time, Homura had watched the battle from the sidelines. She had potential, Mami and Kyubey had told her earlier that night. Mami had decided that tagging along would help acclimate her to what the life of a Magical Girl would entail. “Besides,” the blonde upperclassman said, “The more the merrier, after all.” Homura had thought that her time trapped in a Labyrinth would prepare her for another one, but it had not. She looked on in fear as her friends battled the inhuman beast, getting tossed around and jabbed at by its numerous Familiars. It was Madoka that Homura was the most worried about; back when she had first seen her friend fight, she had thought she was the most amazing Magical Girl ever. Now, seeing this battle, she realized just how inexperienced Madoka was, especially compared to a seasoned Magical Girl like Mami Tomoe.  

Kaname-san can’t go on like this, Homura thought to herself as they headed to Mami’s apartment for tea and cake. Even if she wants to help others by being a Magical Girl, she’ll die soon enough if she keeps on fighting! It wasn’t right! Why did she have to keep putting herself on the line like this, risking her life battling such monstrous creatures? There had to be a way for her to stop; some way to free her from this burden!

Homura froze; a thought came to her head: What if she wished for Madoka to no longer be a Magical Girl? That would work, couldn’t it? It didn’t matter if Homura had to be the one to fight Witches, she didn’t have family that waited for her at home, and as for friends—deep down, she knew that she wasn’t worth much in the long run; there would probably come a time when even those close to her drifted away. Such was what she was used to; she had learned to enjoy what she could, and to try to hold onto what she had, as much as possible.

“Tomoe-san,” Homura said later on while they were enjoying their after-battle food. “I... Think I know what to wish for.”

Madoka had excused herself to talk to her mother; they had decided on having a sleepover at Mami’s this evening, as it was too late already, and she had to tell her parents about their plans.

The blonde upperclassman finished sipping her tea and placed the small cup on her equally small plate.

“Really now?” her senpai responded, giving her an encouraging smile. “That’s interesting, Homura-chan; tell me more!”

“Well…” Homura said. “It’s not for me, though… It’s for someone else.”

Mami’s smile shrunk a bit. “Someone else?”

Homura nodded, unsure of whether or not to continue, feeling she was crossing some sort of line.

“That’s interesting!”

The two girls turned to where the voice was coming from; Kyubey scurried on the ground with his white paws, jumping onto Homura’s shoulder. It looked at Homura with his beady, red eyes. “It’s perfectly okay to make a wish for someone else, Homura Akemi,” it chirped. “There’s no rule against it; in fact, it’s been done, many times before.”

“R-Really?” Homura said.

“Thing is, though, you have to be careful about those kinds of wishes,” Mami said, a serious look on her face. “It can be a little tricky when it comes to wishes like that.”

“What do you mean?” Homura asked, her heart suddenly feeling heavy.

“Well, the thing is,” Mami started to explain, “When you make a wish like that for someone, is it because you really want that person to be happy, or something else?”

“S-something else…?”

“What I mean is, are you sure you just don’t want that person to be grateful to you?”

It was just a rhetorical question, just Mami posing a hypothetical, yet Homura immediately piped up from it.

“N-No, that’s not it at all…!” she said, louder than she intended. “I-I just want her to be safe…”

“Her?” Mami asked, raising an eyebrow.

Homura felt her cheeks suddenly redden. “Um, I-I mean…” she said quickly, before dropping the sentence completely.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, and Kyubey didn’t seem like it wanted to add anything else.

“Sorry I took a while, guys!” Madoka said as she ran up to meet them. “What did I miss?”

Homura felt like the tension in the room was slowly lifting.

“Um, nothing,” Homura said, glancing at Mami.

“We were just talking,” Mami said. It seemed their previous conversation was done for the time being.

--

“She’ll see you now.”

Homura rushed into the hospital room, Clara-chan in hand, up to the bed where Aiko lay. Her friend had become scarily thin in the past few weeks, her skin pale as well. Her long hair was now gone, too, the result of the chemotherapy she had gone through. As Homura looked on, Aiko stirred, her eyes slowly opening to look at Homura. “Homura-chan…” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Aiko-chan,” Homura said, her hands gripping the metal handles of the bed. “I came here to visit you.”

“Thank you, Homura-chan,” she said, giving a small smile.

Homura spent the next few minutes telling Aiko about what had happened at the orphanage since she had been admitted to the hospital. She told her about the meals they had had, the activities they did, and the lessons they learned in school and at Mass.

“It’s not the same without you, though,” Homura added. “We really miss you, you know.”

“Sorry,” Aiko said. “I wish I could be there with you and the others; well, maybe not with Eriko and her friends.”

Her laughter at the end of that sentence was noticeably weaker than usual.

“Yeah, you need to come back soon,” Homura said, smiling at her. “When are they letting you out?”

At that question, Aiko’s smile vanished. She seemed to be searching for the right words to say.

“Oh,” Homura said, feeling like she said something wrong. “S-sorry, I guess it’s going to be a while…”

“I’m not leaving the hospital.”

Homura froze. “What? What do you mean?”

“Homura…” Aiko said tentatively, “The doctors, they came to me. They told me…” She looked down.

She didn’t have to finish her sentence. Homura tensed up, grasping onto the blankets on the bed. “No,” she said. “You don’t mean…”

Aiko turned to face her. “I’m… Not going to last much longer.”

“Aiko-chan, no!” Homura pulled her friend into a tight hug, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Why…?” she squeaked out. “Why is this happening…?” Homura had known Aiko was sick for a while now; she had prayed constantly that God would let her friend be healed, and not let her be in so much pain. She hoped—deep down—that it would work. It had to work. So why wasn’t it?

She felt Aiko embrace her. “I know,” Aiko said, her words choked out as well. “They said it’s only a matter of time before I…”

“Don’t say that!” Homura nearly screamed. “You can’t die, not you; I can’t...” Her throat felt like it was full of cement. “I can’t lose you, too,” she finally managed.

They held each other for a few minutes, tears falling as they cried together, finally, Aiko spoke up.

“It’s okay, Homura-chan,” she said, letting go of her friend and wiping her tears. “It’s okay… Remember what Sister Hanako told us?”

Homura stared at her, streaks of tears still pouring down her cheeks; she said nothing, not in the mood to crack a joke.

“Our time here is only temporary,” Aiko said. “And death isn’t the end for us… When we die, we go to Heaven to be with everyone else we know. That’s where I’m going.”

“But, you’ll be there,” Homura said. “And I’ll be…!”

She clenched her fists. “It’s not fair!” she said. “This can’t be happening… I won’t let it happen…!” She had no idea how she would prevent it, but she just knew she couldn’t let this happen.

Aiko gave her a weak smile. “Things will get better for you,” she said. “If you’ve gone on this long, then that must mean God has something bigger for you.”

“The same God that let my Mom and Dad die, that gave me my heart condition?” Homura rambled, unable to hide the bile in her voice. “The same God that’s… That’s letting you suffer?!” She remembered the lessons they learned in class, and on Sunday Mass, but she couldn’t accept it. Couldn’t imagine that this was part of a bigger plan, not after all that she had been through.

“You’re upset, I get it,” Aiko said. “I don’t blame you; I couldn’t stop crying when they told me what was going on.” She adjusted slightly in her bed. “But I’ve thought a lot about it, and… I think I’ll be okay. Before I know it, I’ll be with God, and maybe I’ll see my parents, too.”

“But I don’t understand it; I don’t think I’ll ever understand it,” Homura said.

“You will someday,” Aiko said. She reached out and wiped the tears from Homura’s eyes. “Just, promise me that you’ll try to make more friends.”

“I don’t want other friends, I want you!”

“I know, but our time together is coming to an end, Homura-chan,” Aiko replied, a sad smile on her lips. “Thank  you for being my friend; it was fun the past couple of years… While it lasted.”

She took hold of Homura’s hand. “Just… Try to make other friends,” she said. “For me?”

Homura sniffled a bit. “O-Okay,” she said. “I’ll try.”

They parted not too long after that, Homura having to practically be dragged out by Sister Hanako, all the while silently wishing for Aiko to not leave her. Her last image of Aiko alive was her friend waving at her, holding Clara-chan in one hand.

--

“Why?!”

Tears fell down Homura’s face as she stared at Madoka’s lifeless body. “Even if you  were going to get killed all along…!”

Today was the day that Walpurgisnacht had descended upon the city. It rode on a storm, a fierce supercell, without a care for the destruction it caused; it was a force of nature, and Mitakihara didn’t stand a chance against its wrath. The city’s only hope had been in two Magical Girls, one of which now lay half-submerged in the watery waste, her eyes shut permanently. Mitakihara was in ruins, destroyed buildings and debris everywhere. Water flooded through the city, and rain poured from the sky; the remnants of a terrible storm. The world hadn’t ended, but by the looks of things, it may as well have.

She had begged Madoka to run away with her, after seeing the Witch effortlessly kill Mami, but the pink-haired girl had refused, determined to do her best to save the city. And now here she was, dead.

“It wasn’t worth saving me, if you’re not alive!” Homura screamed, before another bout of sobbing overwhelmed her. “I want you back…!”

Her mind was in a whirl, a mix of sadness and rage. First Aiko, and now Madoka… She cursed God for dangling the chance of having a new friend in front of her, before snatching her away. She cursed Madoka for being selfless to a fault, to the point of giving her life, before immediately hating herself for being angry at her now deceased friend. Above all, she cursed herself, for being such a useless waste, for not being there to fight by Madoka and Mami’s side.

She was so busy crying over Madoka’s body that she almost didn’t notice the voice talking to her.

“Is that really what you want, Homura Akemi? Would you trade your soul to have a wish like that come true?”

That voice; she recognized it. It was one that she had grown accustomed to in the past few weeks. Still she couldn’t stop herself from crying, and didn’t bother looking up. That didn’t seem to matter to the creature, though.

“If there’s something you want badly and you’re willing to accept a destiny of battling Witches,” Kyubey continued, “Then I can help you get what you want.”

Now she looked up, her eyes meeting Kyubey as it sat atop some leftover debris, staring down at her with that permanent smile on its face. Her mind began to whir at its words, at what it offered. “If I make a contract with you, would you really grant me any wish?” she asked.

“Absolutely! You have more than enough potential,” the white creature said, its voice as chipper as any other day, as if nothing that had just happened had affected its outlook on the world. Homura envied its indifference to things. “So tell me, what is the one wish you’ll have that will make your Soul Gem shine?”

“I wish…” Homura began, before pausing to glance at Madoka’s corpse. She was at a crossroads, one of those moments where one’s life would change forever. Here she had the chance to have her friend back; she thought about her original wish—she could make it so Madoka was no longer a Magical Girl, and no longer had to take on the burden of fighting Witches. But deep down, she knew that that wouldn’t be what her best friend would want; Madoka seemed to be happy helping out by fighting Witches, it didn’t seem right to take that from her. No, if she was going to have Madoka back, it would have to be different—if anyone was going to change, it would have to be her.

Taking off her glasses and wiping her tears away before putting them back on, she stood up to face Kyubey. “I wish that I could meet Kaname-san all over again,” she said, determination rising within her. “But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to be strong enough to protect her!”

What followed next happened so fast; first, she felt a pain in her chest, like something trying to burst out of her body. She closed her eyes and clutched at her chest, her knees buckling, but she refused to be forced down; she had to be strong, to be able to endure pain just like Madoka had—and would once again. A bright, purple light appeared before her, and Kyubey spoke again.

“The contract is complete,” it said. “Your wish has overcome entropy. Go now, go and unleash your new magical power!”

She opened her eyes and held her new Soul Gem in her hands… The energy it radiated was unlike anything she had ever felt before; now, she knew, she had the power to fight back against fate, to change things for the better… Could she also defy God as well? Time would only tell, she supposed.

I’ll get it right this time, Homura thought as a circular shield appeared on her arm. I’ll do what I couldn’t do before; I’ll save my friend, no matter what.

[thegospelofnagisa]

Have you seen Dou Review's recent video called Anime Theory: Madoka's HUGE MISTAKE! (Madoka Magica Theory), I honestly don't really know how I feel about it.

TITLE OF THIS RANT “WHY READING AND STAYING IN SCHOOL IS IMPORTANT!”

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Oh my God…I feel stupidier after seeing that fucking video.

He knocked outall the Homu Apologists in one single blow…holy shit…

Ok…where do Ibegin?

1): His pointthat the Earth is dying by the end of the anime and the end of Rebellionbecause entropy is happening is not correct, what the Incubators meanwith “Entropy” is what science calls “The Heat Death of the Universe”(Or the Big Freeze”) it’s somewhat complex but the short version is, an energyknown as “Dark Energy” Will eventually push the universe away as itexpands further into the void (Remember it began with an explosion, naturallyit expands) and it will expand so much to the point that the way we know theuniverse know will no longer be sustainable, as all the stars will eventuallydie and become dwarves and they will be so far apart from each other that youwouldn’t even be able to see it, eventually they will die and all that willremain in the universe will be Black Holes that will evaporate due to ProtonDecay (As Protons eventually Die too as well) until they are all gone, leavingthe universe as an empty, cold lifeless, lightless void….THAT is what theIncubators are trying to prevent.

By the pointall of this kicks in, there would not be a fucking solar system anymore becausethe sun would have died long ago, we’re talking about BILLIONS Of years intothe future, for this guy to claim that what we see in Rebellion is “Thebeginning of Entropy” that would mean the girls would be proton dust by thatpoint, just because that setting they are looks destroyed, it doesn’t mean therest of the Earth is! Come on…and also, it’s not like SHAFT is known for beingcreative with the backgrounds to create atmosphere right? It’s not likeRebellion is basically an experiment on background design right?

If you areinterested in knowing about the future of the universe, there is a GREAT video,it’s 30 minutes long but I promise you, it will enrich your life and even ifthe future looks bleak and depressing, it’s fascinating (And it fits withthemes of Madoka so it’s all good), I highly recommend it.

Here you go

2): Also,ANOTHER IDIOT WHO OMITS THE DETAIL THAT HOMURA TOLD THEEEEM ABOUT THE OLDSYSTEM!!! THIS IS HOMURA’S FUCKING FAULT!!!! Again I am sorry to get this upsetbut this is people CLAIM to be Madoka fans and have seen the anime MULTIPLETIMES, THEY SHOULD KNOW THIS!, I’ve only seen The main anime 3 times andRebellion ONCE, how come I know this better than the people who masturbate toMadoka and Rebellion every single day? They should know better than me…yet hereI am,…constantly remind them it was Homura’s big slip that doomed everyone.

3): “TheWraith System is worst because the universe will eventually die” Mmm….Say itwith me.

THATISTHEPOINTOFMADOKA AND COSMIC HORROR!

Madoka knew theUniverse would eventually die, it is UNAVOIDABLE!, THAT is what makes it good,that is nature, that is the order of things, that is why Madoka is a greatseries, because at its core is a cosmic horror story, and what is the maindrive of a Cosmic Horror? “Realizing our ultimate meaninglessness in thevast cosmos”.The Law of Cycles is a system created to spare Puella Magi the pain of becomingwitches and rewarding them with an afterlife, at the end of the universe’slife, Madoka faces of with SUPER Gretchen who is the manifestation of all thegrief she absorbed and then kills her, thus creating a new universe to do thesame thing, that is why it’s called “Law of CYCLES” so the universe HAS TODIE, Madoka never tried to correct that and neither could Kyubey not Homura,THAT IS THE POINT, that they CAN’T do that.

——–What a stupid video, if you have doubts about how to feel, feel offended thatyou were submitted to clickbaity crap by an idiot, and I know what you mightsay my friends “But Charlie is just a Theory, A GAME…I MEAN ANIME THEORYdon’t be so mean”, no, that is not a theory, that’s is the ramblings of fuckingweeaboo who probably has never read a book or watched a documentary in hisfucking life, AT LEAST MattPat is an educated man he went to the university andstuff, Stevie from Freaked here PRETENDS he knows, but he doesn’t, and just toclarify…I DON’T EITHER, but I did my research on this topic because I loveMadoka and I wanted to understand what I was watching better, so no, fuck thisguy and his theory.

Moral of thestory, stay in school kids, read books, educate yourselves, watch documentariesand be smart ok? Don’t be this guy.