#get fucked Kyubey

[silvermoon424]

Madoka's wish is EXPLICITLY a refutation of Kyubey and his system saying that hope is wrong. Always stan Madoka Kaname.

[yraelviii]

His natural state

Poor Kyubey

[tanjaded]

now imagine waiting 10 years for the sequel to rebellion

Couldn't be me lmaooo, shoutout to Walpurginacht Rising coming 2024

I would have actually gone insane though jokes aside, and I thought waiting for YS season 2 was bad.

I've said this before but it's really sinking in now that if I'd watched all of Madoka before I'd watched YS my AO3 would look DRASTICALLY different. Tbh I already know it's going to be a bit different going forward now, I HAVE to write PMMM fic now

[wavepriisms]

this is why you don't let me make project sekai profiles okay? okay

[iidsch]

they did NOT need to make mami's death more violent in the manga

[eldragon-x-moved]

magical girls turn into witches when they fall into despair and spread despair themselves by causing murders and suicides. they and their labyrinths are usually strange and kinda eldritch looking. when homura turned into a witch and was contained inside her soul gem, the labyrinth inside her gem formed an ideal world for her and trapped madoka in it because she missed her. do you see my vision

bill cipher as a madoka witch btw

[corisanna]

consider. eventually the whole accumulated time travel/memories thing works for some Characters.

which tragic Homura trauma but focus on the funny. cause Spirit legal contracts dont suddenly not exist just cause silly things like TIME fuckery.

Toshiro gritting his teeth sitting in front of the Supreme Court Guard Judges having to deal with the Marry for Legal Protection/magical ritual powers/other for multiple people across multiple timelines. Which are all now legal.

Soul Law says all marriages got to last at least 100 years.

Rangiku, Isshin, Momo, Ichigo, hell NO one will ever let him hear the end of this.

Homura is sitting primly sipping her tea, because she told everyone this would blow up. She did it anyway, but she told everyone.

but whateverz, she Vegas Married Toshiro like 8 times, serious Married 6 times She is fine with it.

(6 of them to trap the Incubator in a magic fuckery, serve it right for Gate crashing a wedding that was a trap specifically for it. Best wedding presents EVER.)

Poor, Poor Mami blushing a Bright red Tomato not able to look ANYONE in the eyes. H-How do you Wife?!?!?!?!

(marriage count, 12 times.)

Yuzu is humming cheerfully cooking. She might Kill them all, or she Might be completely fine with it, good luck figuring it out!!!!!

(marriage count 5 times.)

Karin just short circuited cause how can she literally Snark at anyone ever again, Goat Face was just given a Nuclear arsenal of fucking with her, what even is her life.

(marriage count 15 times)

Sayaka is just laughing hysterically at literally everyone's faces, but also if she keeps laughing she does not have to deal with LITERALLY any of this.

(marriage Count 4 times)

Kyoko is just grumbly, its whatever I guess, do you got like a Nice place to chill out at? wait I get Legal Free Goodies as a Captains Wife? Sweet.

(Marriage Count 3 times)

Madoka is blushy Pink, but she is a Responsible young Lady, I guess were all family now huh? that is nice she is happy with her expanded Family. She will put the work in!!!!

(marriage count 1 time. it might have helped Nuked the Kyubey off the face of the Americas, dont ask.)

Toshiro: (⊙_⊙)

Yamamoto: (¬_¬)

Yamamoto: "Congratulations."

Toshiro; " but-"

Yamamoto; "NOPE. Not my problem."

[tomato-ace]

something something Madoka as the ever benevolent God has at least two secretaries something something Homura as "The Evil Devil" (as she likes to put it) is ALL ALONE something something Madoka as a GOD has help something something HOMURA FOR FUCKS SAKE LET YOURSELF LOVE AND BE LOVED ACCEPT YOUR LOVED ONES HANDS AND LET THEM PULL YOU UP LET YOURSELF BE HELPED YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOULDER THE BURDEN OF THE UNIVERSE ALL BY YOURSELF PLEASE GET THERAPY PLEASE DON'T DEMONIZE YOURSELF AND YOUR LOVE YOU'RE 14 YEARS OLD PLEASE MADOKA LOVES YOU YOUR FRIENDS LOVE YOU FUCK KYUBEY FUCK THE INCUBATORS STOP PUNISHING YOURSELF FOR EXISTING AS AN IMPERFECT PERSON LEARN TO ACCEPT YOURSELF AS YOU ARE AND LEARN TO GROW YOU'RE NOT A MONSTER FOR LOVING SOMEONE AND BEING SELFISH ABOUT IT OR ABOUT ANYTHING HOMURA LISTEN TO ME-

[macabresymphonies]

I'm still mad we lost all this aura to cheap fanservice, I hope once she stands up to this ugly fucking Temu Kyubey she gets a different transformation

[radioactivemelody]

I rewatched the scene where the girls find out the truth about the soul gems and Madoka's reaction really fucks me up. She honestly believed that throwing Sayaka's soul gem away would be a good idea, that she was doing that for the well-being of her friend but then, she just... shuts down. She isn't speaking, she isn't breathing anymore.

She's dead.

Madoka is not, cannot understand what is going on anymore. In one minute, Sayaka is well, about to engage in a fight with Kyoko. In the other, she's... Dead? And there's Kyubey's speech, spelling out bullshit like always and Sayaka. Oh Sayaka, she is dead.

And then her soul gem gets retrieved by Homura and she wakes up. She is alive.

Imagine the wave of relief Madoka must have felt. Her best friend, her childhood friend, someone she grew up with, shared half of her life with died because she wanted to prevent her from fighting and continuing to hurt herself furthermore. She's fine and alive.

Only to a few days later, see her dead once again. Her body is laying on the ground. She is not speaking, she is not breathing. Madoka sees Sayaka's lifeless eyes again. But this time, it's for forever. Sayaka is dead. That thing, that witch, is not Sayaka.

Sayaka is dead. Madoka saw her childhood friend die two times in such a short time and never had the chance to process it properly.

[kiyosato-yuri]

Canto 6 ending with Cathy deleted herself for Heathcliff to move on and have a better life without her on his side. Reminds me of Madoka commit turn into God to save all Magical girls including Homura and turned herself into a concept, no one beside Homura remember

Homura goes through multiple timelines just to save Madoka from her fate. Not knowing it was because of her wish would bring karma to Madoka and it kept getting worse every time she looped until Kyubey told her so.

Erlking Heathcliff goes through mirror worlds trying to kill all Heathcliff because he knows all Cathy will suffer because of Heathcliff. Heathcliff at the end of Canto 6 did say he wanted to bring Cathy back.

Reminds me of how Homura in rebellion captured Madoka and separated her from her god-self

And what's next? The data-file name for Erlking Heathcliff, was " Maou Heathcliff " ( Demon King Heathcliff ). He just fucking commit Akuma Homura as Erlking Heathcliff

[cookiethebirdthing]

Homura: Sayaka Miki, you have crossed my gaze.

Sayaka: What?

Homura: Sayaka Miki, prepare to die for what you did to Madoka Kaname.

Kyoko: Hah, you'll have to go through me before you touch my girlfriend.

Homura: Who the fuck are you?

Madoka: Oh, there you are, Homura! Sorry, she gets a bit quirky at night.

Kyubey: You ate my french fries.

Homura: *Shoots the cat*

[felixcloud6288]

Madoka: *Opens the fridge* Oh no! We're out of milk.

Kyubey: I know how how to fix that. But....

Madoka: GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!

[curetapwater]

Madoka Magica is a very dark show but I think it often gets kinda blown outta proportion, as if it's some bloodbath just because it has onscreen deaths and dark subject matter. I'd say the violence itself is rather on par with darker episodes of Sailor Moon. Deaths happen, but it's far from a gore fest. Mami's death in episode 3, one of the most gruesome scenes in the show, is carefully framed to show no blood, no gore. The image of her body going limp and detransforming, the ribbons she'd tied up Homura with dissolving, the wide shot so far from her body that you can hardly make it out as it falls to the ground for Charlotte to finish. The focus is not "ouuuuuuu teenage girl death SCARY SCARY" but on the weight of the events unfolding. And her death is not there just for shock value, but to drop a sudden, crushing weight upon the characters she is survived by. The scene where Madoka visits Mami's apartment one last time in particular is so effective. A sink filled with dishes that will never be washed. A half-full teacup that will never be emptied. Her absence is a gaping hole in the characters' lives as much as it is a reminder of the stakes of the situation.

And other onscreen deaths are as clean as possible. The Soul Gem thing is existentially terrifying but it also lends itself to something about how PMMM handles its darkest scenes with a certain tastefullness. We don't need to watch a 14-year-old girl get ripped apart in order to understand how fucked things are. We just need to see her soul itself shatter, the light leave her eyes, her body go limp. The lack of traditionally graphic imagery allows weight to be shifted from what we are seeing to what the events unfolding mean.

One of the most visceral scenes for me is the one where Kyubey just dumps his reasoning for the magical girl system on her. On its surface, it's just a girl sitting in bed, being spoken to by an alien creature. But it's the shit he says to her. The way he talks about commodifying, using, tormenting teenage girls across human history as if it's a perfectly reasonable, pleasant conversation. The way he compares humans to livestock. The way his cheerful tone never falters as Madoka's emotional state deteriorates further and further. And GOD, the shot where she slowly grabs her head, curls in on herself before bending backwards. Just trying to process the weight of a system that extends far beyond her, across the whole world, across human history. The helplessness of it all. The way it all culminates, as the audience and Madoka herself finally understand Kyubey to be a microcosm of the way the world is stacked against young girls. That single shot rocks me to my core.

I think people who label this show "torture porn" severely miss the point. We aren't supposed to root for all the bad things happening to these characters. We aren't supposed to point and go "Haha! Foolish girls and their frivolous dreams!!" nor are we supposed to wallow in misery and cry out "Woe! The dreams of young girls are all for naught!! Hope is lost!!!" We're supposed to sympathize and connect with them. And hell if I do. I'm so glad I first watched this show when I was the same age as the characters, because this show just really speaks to me. There is a great catharsis, to me, in things like Mami's veneer of being the cool perfect girl that she desperately doesn't want to fall to reveal the vulnerable girl beneath, the way Sayaka desperately wants to save the world but jumps into things without thinking and pours from an empty cup, the way Kyoko has seemingly given up entirely on being a good person but deep down still believes that something good must exist out there, Homura's determination to try again. And again. And again. Until her love consumes her and everyone around her. And Madoka's crushing sense of helplessness, of guilt, of wanting to make the world a better place, of wanting everyone to just!!!! Get along!!!!! Please!!!!!!! And the way she overcomes this sense of helplessness with the main theme that the magical girl genre was built upon to begin with: hope.

To me, Madoka Magica is a show about how much it can absolutely suck to be a teenage girl, but in a respectful way, y'know? It's about how the world is stacked against young girls, how it uses and objectifies them and kicks them into the dirt, and how because they're still young, they often don't respond to the hand dealt to them in perfect ways. But that doesn't mean their feelings, their hopes and dreams and very souls, do not matter. If anything, I'd say Madoka Magica is about how the world isn't going to go easy on you, and your feelings about that fact are real, even if you don't respond to them perfectly. But despite it all, you have to keep going.

So yeah PMMM is a dark show but I feel like its discussion is often like "this show KILLED the magical girl genre by being DARK and VIOLENT" like. Siigh. Especially frustrating because I see this sentiment both from magical girl fans who resent the show and non-magical girl fans who laud the show because they think it's "better" than its predecessors. Maybe it had an impact on the genre in the same way that Shrek was an excellent movie whose success unfortunately gave way to trends in animated films that didn't quite get what made Shrek work. But I find it unfair to say PMMM "ruined" or even "killed" the magical girl genre. I'm unsure if I'd even call it a deconstruction, it's just its own neat thing to me. I can go back and watch Sailor Moon or Pretty Cure without feeling they've been tainted or taken down a peg. If anything, I think PMMM complements more traditional magical girl shows very nicely. I think Madoka and Usagi would love each other. I don't think a magical girl show where very bad things happen is that big a deal. What is a big deal, to me, is how excellent it is in its execution.

[liquidorcard]

Lily can't keep her own "Sympathetic" Villains rules Straight: Anthony Gramuglia edition

See Crim's edition for the rules and outlines. Here we go.

Lily's Response to Ant:

Lily's probably going to get a significantly worse score on this one because me and Ant I think have similar media diets. We begin:

1. In the book, 100% he is THE villain. The movie not as much. Still though, I think movie Hammond more than fit's Lily's criteria. -1 life found a way

2. We already went over this (yes I am still writing p.3 of my Magneto post.) -1 Anthro cow delivering your children

3. Kyubey's keeping the universe from ending Lily. How could you get closer to having a point than that? -1 timeline

4. See Crim's post. He does fail #2. Again though, by Lily's original parameters this was a valid entry. But I have to give her the point. +1 spider gets it's legs ripped off

5. I bet she thought this was clever. -1 gate keeper.

6.N/A

7. I don't even know what she's talking about here. -1

8. Del Toro sends his regards. -1 Nerdy fish man.

9. LILY HASN'T SEEN THE BROADWAY SMASH HIT PLANET OF THE APES THE MUSICAL, STARRING TROY MCCLURE!? For shame! -1 (has anyone else watched that movie recently? I'm not saying it's aged poorly, but like, it is profoundly unintentionally hilarious, watching it in the modern day. I know this was like, the whole thing back then-- leading men who were too cool for school, but Taylor is such a fucking asshole. Cornelius is the real hero of the film, and everyone bullies him for not matching their lunatic energy. #justiceforCornelius #GeorgeTaylorisoverparty)

10. N/A (Trekkies don't try me.)

11. N/a

12. N/A (I mean I feel like I've probably seen the whole Mummy franchise just through memes at this point but. Lily's reasoning here is fucking asinine though-- as per usually Ant us uniquely getting her goat.)

13. This is actually the first example that breaks rule #3. Sorry fam I love Elfen Lied too, but it's a bit of a hot mess. +1 dead puppy

14. Scar is a dead ringer to Lily's criteria. She straight up just didn't have a pot to piss in, so she just wrote "no." -1 Dwarf in a flask

15. For the record, my boomer mom has seen Ghost in the Shell. The movie anyway. -1 body on loan

16. I watched this as a kid but can't really remember anything about it, so, I gotta put it as N/A.

17. This might actually be the first time I've seen anyone else memtion this movie . . . But still. -1 burnt wheelchair

18. Not plus ultra. -1 for all

19. Oh fuck off Lily. Glass houses. -1 jutsu

20. Sai, Crim and Ant spoke pretty extensively about this one. -1 angry hair raise

21. This one too. -1 demon pig

22. Yes she is. -1 dad

23. See Crim's list. -1 Prisoner 24601

24. N/A

25. Read ANY book, Lily. -1 absent godly parent.

26. I've only read the first one. N/A

27. Lily's reason here is bullshit but I haven't seen Columbo either. N/A

28. Why not Lily? -1 Jimbo

29. YES SHE FUCKING IS LILY. Just because in a modern context her story is a lot more tragic doesn't mean she isn't intended to be a villain. Lily made up the rule "has a point," but if they have an iron clad one she just declares them not a villain. -1 head

30. OBJECTION! NOW YOU REMEMBER VILLAIN AND ANTAGONIST ARENT TRUE SYNONYMS FOR EACH OTHER!? -1 Lily if you could just ONCE try to engage with a media discussion honestly.

31. N/A. I'll get around to watching it.

32. Not in Dracula Untold. -1 Damn Luke Evans looks like he was cloned from Orlando Bloom. I can't tell those two apart.

33. DIFFERENT DRACULAS. HOLY SHIT. -1 Lily this rational is so piss poor it's embarrassing. Even for you.

34. N/A

35. Isn't he in Kingdom Hearts? -1 Ah Ha Ha Ha

36. Another non-surprise. -1 traveler on his way home.

37. I haven't played enough Kurby to know why Meta Knight is a sympathetic villain. N/A

38. I've played enough to know Lily's right on this one. +1 Deddeddeedeeededededeeedede

39. A) several characters on both Crim and Ants' lists have been protagonists. B) IT'S FUCKING COMMON POPCULTURE KNOWLEDGE DONKEY KONG WAS THE ANTAGONIST IN THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF BOTH MARIO AND DK. -1 Lily I'm fucking shocked you don't know this. Genuinely. That's saying something, considering it's you.

40. Solid Lily continues to be the worst one. -1 LIQUIDDDDDDDD

41. Yes she is. Her point is the magic is what keeps her fucking family safe. -1 gift

42. You'd probably like this movie actually, Lily. Not the book, but. Or maybe not, there's no incest lesbians I guess. -1 sexy tree

43. I'm going to give Lily the point to maintain consistency that mind-manipulation doesn't count as "a point." Before he put on the crown he's not really even an antagonist, so. He IS an example of a sympathetic villain, however. +1

44. THERE ARE OTHER ANIMALS ON THIS LIST. Another one who's spot on, so she can't figure out how to even pretend to argue against it. -1 Beauty who killed the beast

45. GODZILLA ISN'T LITERALLY A NUKE. -1 pop culture jokes don't substitute proper media analysis

46. The Kaiju Lily. Her name is the title of the film. It's not Ant's fault You're too lazy to Google shit. -1 Viking Relic

(Biollante would have been my personal pick for sympathetic Kaiju. And her dad. She would have broken Lily's first rule since she's probably not aware of exactly what's happened to her, but. Her father at least fits Lily's criteria. A lot of the Kaiju are sympathetic though.)

47. This is a perfect example as to why Lily's rules are ridiculous. John Kramer is, in my opinion, outrageously unjustified in what he does. He follows her rules though. Having a bad point is still having a point. How "well written" he is wildly different depending on the movie, but because he's at least well written sometimes I'm counting him. -1 foot

48. You haven't read Paradise Lost Lily. I know you haven't. -1 Satan crying for everything he's lost

49. God Lily I wish you'd actually read something for once because this is an even better example as to why your rules are a joke. -1 Facist Worm King

50. This is a specific example. -1 tears, it's a waist of good suffering.

LILY'S FINAL SCORE: 19/50

38% - F

Got wrong: 24

Got right: 2

Removing the ones I haven't seen:

19/39

48% - F

Removing the ones Lily hasn't seen:

15/37

40% - F

Removing the ones we both haven't seen:

2/26

7% - F

[samble-movedd]

thinking about pmmm again and how fucked the setting is.

it's a tragedy when children die. and contracting with kyubey (a creature that almost exclusively contracts with young teenage girls, if not younger) means you almost certainly will – especially seeing as "veterans" in pmmm seem to be referring to girls who survived only a couple years as magical girls (mami, kyoko, homura) and the oldest living magical girls we see in magireco haven't even hit twenty.

contracting means you will get your wish (if it isn't twisted, and you were direct enough with what you truly wanted), but will almost certainly die soon after. if a girl contracts as a high school freshman, she likely won't live until her senior year. and they aren't even told this. the most kyubey seems to offer normally is "i will grant your wish if you fight witches", which doesn't relay the danger in that, or that the same witches they fight were once magical girls like them. or that in the struggle to fight for grief seeds, the girls could witch out just from not finding any, meaning life and fate worse than death can be determined solely by if you can get one before your magic runs out.

the magical girl system is (inadvertently?) designed to stress them out too, which worsens the state of their soul gems. besides the magical girl infighting over scarce resources, they have to sneak around to fight witches and transform, and often lose sleep and worry those around them as seen in the anime. seeing as he contracts with children and not adults makes it worse — an adult may be able to change their schedule around to accommodate, someone still in middle/high school can't exactly just not go to school daily because they were up all night trying to find witches to fight.