#i do also think that kyubei is one of the very few anime characters ever to actually canonically be a nonbinary lesbian so there's that

[memecatwings]

the way gintama handles gender is clumsy and doesnt age particularly well at parts even if there seems to be a genuine attempt at critiquing gender roles it still kind of falls flat and its representation of trans people falls into stereotypes but i would like to congratulate yagyu kyubei on being the only anime character ever to be both a man in a trans way and a woman in a trans way

[themonotonysyndrome]

Hey i just want to know that if you still make headcanon holy quintet in twst series , if you not is okay ,but if you still make , i have several question ,

What if madoka transform to madokami i want to know boys reaction especially diasmonia boys ?

I want to know what if sayaka got corrupt and the boys reaction(especially adeuce) see witch form sayaka for first time and their think sayaka got overblot but they wrong it worst than that!

I want to know that what boys reaction if they see the witchs and Walpurgisnacht for the first time are they gonna fight or not?

What all boys(especially dorm leaders)reaction homura tell the truth of soul gem and she tell how she looping time to time for 12 years and 100 looping

And btw i am boy its weird boy love twisted wonderland(not really but i love the character design and story(i just hate riddle mom treat him to obey all rules, he need freedom:( ))

Sorry for making many question

Hello! I’m happy that you enjoyed the TWST x PMMM series! Most of my writing projects have taken a back seat due to work and since it’s currently the Ramadan season, I just don’t have a lot of energy to write anymore more than for work. I mean, it took me half a day to answer this ask. 

I definitely want to get back to writing for this crossover series and maybe even copied what I’ve written so far into my AO3 for easy reading and navigating but we’ll see. For now, I’m indulging whatever plot bunnies that come my way so I won’t stop writing altogether. 

So lay them on me, dude! Expanding the series is always fun. (Also, bear with me. This is gonna be a long post). 

@lionheartanotheraccount and I had discussed these actually on Discord! Some were pinned, some were not (I’m an idiot. I should have pinned all of our crossover texts!), so lemme explain what I still remember. Feel free to pinch in if I forgot something incorrectly or left something out, Lion! 

1. What if Madoka transforms to MadoKAMI, I want to know boys’ reaction, especially Diasmonia’s boys

After the anime ended, Lion and I talked about how not that she’s a Goddess, she has the ability to visit Twisted Wonderland on her own and she approached Malleus and the rest of the Diasomnia gang in her human disguise so as not to freak them out. Well, Lilia and Malleus could feel the divinity within Madoka and you can expect the immense shock that not only could Madoka travel across worlds, but she’s also no longer human too. It’s a teary reunion and Malleus’ and Lilia’s hearts break when MadoKAMI explain everything. They comforted her to their best ability but ultimately, it’s been done. There’s nothing else they could do for her. It’s bittersweet for Lilia. Why, a human child ascended into a Goddess so she could save the fates of her friends and every Magical Girls in the past, present and future - she grew up out of necessity and love. Both Lilia and Malleus is proud to be her friend. 

2.  I want to know what if Sayaka got corrupt and the boys’ reaction(especially Adeuce) see Witch form Sayaka for the first time and they think Sayaka got Overblot but they wrong it worst than that!

The existence of a Witch’s Labyrinth is enough to make the boys instantly wary and a bit frighten (not that any of them would admit it). Bad times for everyone. The boys so confused, wanting to help Sayaka. The girls are horrified at the truth of Witches and Magical Girls and Homura is rushing in to kill Sayaka. Chaos everywhere with Octavie shrieking and trying to kill them all, Symposium Magarum blaring in the background and the Witch’s familiars flying everywhere to make sure their Witch could enjoy the music. 

No one could fight Octavia so they had to retreat. Homura causing enough distraction for them to escape. By the time they went out of the Labyrinth, shouting and screams begin. 

Adeuce would the most horrified, Madoka of course, heartbroken. Mami is losing it (to which Homura’s getting trigger happy and refused to look away from her. She’s ready to put Mami out of her misery the moment Mami so much as flinch) and Sayaka is both furious and still in shock. At this point, Homura has no choice but to reveal the fact she knows the truth about Magical Girls in order to explain that no, they don’t Overblot. They... mature into Witches when their Soul Gems turn pitch black. Here’s a little gem(lol) from explorerofsy on Discord:  vil internally: mami is a gem 

vil later when he finds out about soul gems: 

when i said that mami is a gem, i did not expect that to be literal

It’s sad but it made me laugh sick. 

3. I want to know that what boys’ reaction if they see the Witches and Walpurgisnacht for the first time. Are they gonna fight or not?

The moment Homura explains that turning to Witches is irreversible and is the ultimate fate of all Magical Girls, some would deny it. Their magic is different from the girls, maybe they have a way to stop the transformation here in Twisted Wonderland. The academically-inclined students (Malleus, Riddle, Jamil, Vil and even Idia) would delve into hours of research, only to find nothing (I mean, Kyubey is akin to an Eldritch being, something beyond their comprehension so how on Twisted Wonderland would they push their magic against his strange abilities?). The other students are keeping a very close eye on the girls’ Soul Gems. I mentioned in a long-ago post that even Lilia would demand Madoka present her Soul Gem to him for inspection once every week since Madoka is still distraught over what happened to Sayaka. 

Will the boys fight the Witches? Well, in terms of Octavia, the Heartslabyul boys will struggle to kill her, even after Homura explains that the Witch is no longer Sayaka and it’s better to put her out of her despair and give her Grief Seed to Madoka (though Madoka would let Adeuce keep Octavia’s Grief Seed; it’s the only thing the boys have left of Sayaka after all. Madoka at least have years worth of memories of them together). 

In terms of Walpurgisnacht, Homura would debrief the girls and boys the strongest Witch to ever exist (Keeping Kriemhild Gretchen to herself. For now. She really, really doesn’t want to open that horrible can of worms) and showed them just how powerful and destructive she can be using her magic. Malleus would be intrigued in fighting her though. 

4. What would the boys’ (especially dorm leaders) reaction be when Homura tell the truth of Soul Gems and she tells how she looping time to time for 12 years and 100 looping

Characters like Leona, Lilia and Malleus would be shocked stupid. Time magic is already an insanely OP power and Homura, a human child, been abusing and looping time just to find a way to kill Walpurgisnacht? Leona will straight up spit out that Homura’s insane and Lilia will silently agree with him, wondering if Homura has gone mad. Malleus couldn’t help but applaud Homura’s will and her careful planning in making sure her Soul Gem remains pure. Kalim will cry for her; he couldn’t imagine what sort of pain Homura purposely gone through just to save her friends (cue Homura’s awkwardly patting him on the back, telling him not to cry because she made her choices) 

5. And btw i am boy its weird boy love twisted wonderland(not really but i love the character design and story(i just hate riddle mom treat him to obey all rules, he need freedom:( ))

It’s cool! Twisted Wonderland and its fandom are some of the very few fandoms I really enjoy. But then again, I tend to keep to myself and some close friends so I don’t really see the dramas. And you’re right, the story and characters’ design are what hooked me in. I was introduced to Twisted Wonderland when I saw a fanart of a little Azul holding hands with Floyd and Jade, looking disgruntled at being treated like a kid while the Tweels just smirk. That’s why Azul and the Tweels will always be my favourite in the fandom!

Yeah... when you think about it, most of the characters have unhealthy relationships with their family. Riddle with his Mum, Leona with his status and brother, Azul with his childhood bullying, and while we don’t know what exactly happen with King and Queen Draconia, Malleus probably knew them for only a short time (hell, they could even pass away before he was hatched). 

[dreamerwitches]

Manga reviews!

I’ve read quite a few of the Madoka Magica manga, mostly to find witches.... So I thought I’d do a little review of the ones I’ve read! Enjoy! (also, they’re my own opinions and it’s meant to be a little funny so I exaggerate a little... so please don’t get angry!! Also kinda spoiler-y)

Madoka Magica (og manga)

Just a really compressed version of the anime. Has some changes but not often good... I only have the first one in physical and I think it’s the only one I’ll get cause it’s the most interesting part. 0/10 cause they completely removed Gisela... Also not too fond of the art style, some things are drawn really badly.. Though I’ve fallen in love with manga Gertrud. Not too fond of it but I like having the manga on my shelf. 4/10 watch the anime instead

Madoka Magica Rebellion

Will be biased cause I love rebellion. A really lovely manga, better than the og manga cause it doesn’t compress the story and even expands it. Suits three volumes better than the original. Treats familiars really well, we get bonus bartels, dora and polina~~! Doesn’t have all the fun of the movie cause it obviously doesn’t have the amazing soundtrack but it’s a really nice manga anyway. Bebe is drawn really well but the Clara Dolls aren’t. 9/10 almost as good as the movie

Kazumi Magica

Plot: seven magical girls trying to do good stuff and Kazumi, the protag, has amnesia I was surprised how much I loved this manga... I enjoyed it so much and got attached to almost all the characters. Though, spoilers, all my favourites either died or turned out to be evil... Lots of plot twists. LOTS. A wonderful lack of kyubey too... I found the story to be so intriguing. It took a spin on the original series far better than - imo - Oriko did. Really ace witches too. Only downside was sometimes the art. Too many ass shots thanks. Also a lot of the magi outfits were a tad distasteful (and some distasteful jokes too). 8/10 pretty darn good

Oriko Magica

Plot: two girls want to kill Madoka cause they know about Homu’s shenanigans. Has a pretty out there story, gets quite serious at the end. First time reading I didn’t care about it but I’ve grown fond of some of the main characters like Oriko, Kirika and Yuma. I found Kirika annoying and op first time reading. The addition of the original Madoka characters feels weird even though they are in the same universe. Original characters are also sometimes unrecognisable because of the art style. I almost never recognised Kyoko... The bonus stories are really fun, I liked them a lot. They’re short but nice. New and interesting witches too! I probably preferred Extra and Sadness prayer to the original story (Sadness prayer is like, basically a retelling of the og Oriko story but better) 6/10 for main story (feels a bit like babies first fanfic), side stories are probably a 7/10 (writer probs had more experience)

The Different Story

Plot: Mami and Kyoko backstory plus a spin on the original story. A really fun and interesting read, especially if you like Mami or Kyoko a lot. I loved the expansion of the original characters, it’s really great. I got a bit lost at the end but I was kinda scanning through... Art is by the same artist as the original manga but it’s certainly improved. Really amazing witches too~! Read it again when I got volume 1 for Chrimbo and its far sadder than I remembered... hm. Lovely art though, and very powerful scenes 7 or 8/10. I’d need to read it in full again to give a better judgement

Suzune Magica

Plot: Very edgy, lots of die. Never got attached to Suzune like I did with the Oriko characters. Some costume designs are also gross and pervy. Didn’t find it memorable and didn’t care much about the characters. Nice witches though. 3/10

Haven’t read Tart magica and don’t have any opinions on it yet. Hate the artist so I don’t think I will ever read it. (witches also look like afterthoughts... boooo)

Wraith Arc

Gave it a scan aaannndd.... didn’t enjoy it...... found it so boring. Wraiths are so boring as the enemy. Bland and have no character or inu curry flair. I feel you’d really enjoy it if you adored Homura and Madoka. I don’t so... I don’t think my opinion would be justified for this one.

Homura’s Revenge

Plot: Homura, Madoka and Kyubey go back in time before Madoka turns God. I. HATED. This one. Sigh.. It was the most frustrating manga I’ve ever read. Kyubey just gets in the way and not in a funny or clever way. Kills off Mami too early too. The witch designs are also crap like the artist don’t care about them. Illustrated by the same artist as Tart Magica and they’re a creep so it’s an automatic ‘euch’. Homura just resets in the end anyway. Just like Wraith Arc, I feel you’d like it more if you really liked Homura and Madoka 1/10 I liked the part with Elly and that’s it

The Veranda of Madoka

Plot: All five girls are living in the same house as sisters. Spoilers, this is my favourite manga... it’s so so cute and lovely! It’s a 4Koma (four square panels for a joke/story but sometimes has longer stories) manga with cute humour and fun stories. You really care about the girls and want them to be happy together. I’ve only read volume 1 cause it’s the only one translated but I really wanna read the rest cause it seems to add Nagisa. Only downsides are it has some tasteless jokes like breast sizes and Homura’s sometimes kinda pervy towards Madoka (remember, they are sisters in this one) but those things are rare in the long run. Has lesbian Hitomi which increases the score tenfold. The art style is also adorable, I prefer it to PAPA’s current style honestly. 9.5/10 would be 10 if it didn’t have some questionable jokes sometimes

Mitakihara Anti Materials

Plot: Homura accidentally winds up living with Mami. I thought I was gonna hate this one. Turns out I love this one. If you ship Homura and Mami, it’s the best, but it also works well for a platonic friendship. It’s a lovely slice of life with lots of fluffy bits with Homu and Mami but also the other girls. Sayaka also for some reason has the super hots for Mami (I mean, who wouldn’t). Sadly, has some tasteless jokes like Veranda which bring it down. Taking pictures of people against their will and body-swapping, I just wasn’t into it... Art is pretty generic but works just fine. 8/10

Mami Tomoe’s everyday life

Plot: The girls are older. Excuse me while I vomit. Read a few pages and quickly ran. CLEARLY written by a perverted old man. The girls are all married and only talk about husbands and their weight and things men think women talk about. Also. Homura is married to Tatsuya, excuse me while I hurl again. Just look at the covers and you can tell the artist is a porn artist. -10/10 kill it

Welcome to Cafe Grief Seed

Plot: The girls work at a cake cafe. I um, love this one, it’s so soft and wonderful. The art style is so adorable, I’ve shamelessly stolen it for some of my art cause I love it that much. It’s a sweet mix of Sailor Moon and Ghibli. The pages are laid out like 4Koma but like Veranda, they often have longer stories. The take on the witches are really fun and imaginative too (they’re simply problematic customers). A really nice and harmless read (no pervy jokes, thanks). 9/10 wish it was longer and the artist seems to have not done anything else...

Pomu Magi

Plot: Homura is tiny and chibi for some reason. Reeeaalllyy didn’t gel with this one. Seems kinda like someone’s fetish... Just felt weird, I stopped reading quickly. Not disgusting like Everyday Life but made me feel uncomfortable. 0/10

Mahou Shoujobu

Plot: the girls make a magical girl club in a school shared with witches. Although it apparently involved witches it barely included them. LIES. Disappointed, Homura was also really weird too. 1/10 got to see witches but they weren’t portrayed well

Homura Tamura

Plot: take a look at lots of different timelines. I liked this one but damn it was all over the place. Every chapter is a different wacky timeline, and I mean wacky. A world where Mami rules and everyone wears hair drills, a world where Sayaka drives an Oktavia mech. Wacky. Kinda hard to follow first time through. But funny and quite charming. Made me laugh out loud sometimes. On a re-read for images I enjoyed it just as much as the first time, even more. 8/10 good if you like humour and silly jokes

[tarhalindur]

Rebellion’s Biggest Outstanding Question

(Big fat PMMM+Rebellion spoilers under the cut, natch:)

Homura, at the end of Rebellion, believes that she is rebelling against Madoka’s will.  But is she actually doing so?  Or is she acting in accordance with it?

Let me explain.

I’ll start with the point I’m sold on either way (and have commented on at least twice before, including my explanation of Madoka’s other big mistake): Rebellion is directly downstream of Madoka making a single mistake immediately after her ascension in episode 12, a moment when she could not afford to make any mistake at all.  Much like Madoka’s other big mistake in episode 10, this one is not obvious on the surface and only becomes clear when looking at the events through a symbolic lens.

Specifically, a Buddhist symbolic lens.

I’ll leave the full explanation there to this post, which lays out the Buddhist influence on base PMMM’s themes and imagery and on Madokami’s ascension better than I could.  (Although its author is missing a few points.  First, the shot of Madoka expanding to galaxy size is DIRECTLY out of ego death symbolism.  Which makes sense, because there’s enough accounts to suggest that regardless of whether or not it has any deeper meaning beyond brain chemistry the people who’ve had it are describing a single class of subjective experience, and “one’s consciousness expanding to the size of the galaxy” seems to be a common feature of it - I’ve read at least one account of that kind of experience from, of all people, a random Protestant minister who claims to have had such an experience on a vision trip to the Amazon and only later realized that there was precedent for that kind of experience in Buddhist traditions, and he mentions that exact expansion as part of what he went through.  Second, the flower on Madoka’s bow is a rose, not a willow... which makes sense, because “Guanyin/Kannon and the Virgin Mary are two aspects of the same goddess” has been a theory in certain parts for at least a century, and the rose has a traditional association with the latter goddess - there’s a reason they call it the rosary, after all.  (I’ve seen speculation out of a few polytheist/less orthodox Christian circles I keep tabs on that Pistis Sophia is yet another aspect of the same goddess, too...)  Third, note all the mandala symbolism floating around - most obviously Walpurgisnacht’s appearance and Kyubey’s exposition in episode 11.)

And that influence is important here, because part of the process of the escape from samsara is the breaking of all karmic ties to the world.

Except... Madoka does not do this.  She leaves one karmic tie behind.

This one, to be precise:

Now, in theory it’s possible that the tainted miracle of Homura remembering Madoka has another root.  But I have my doubts, and the biggest piece of evidence there is the OST: the track that plays when Homura meets Junko in the finale and offers to give up the ribbons is named Taenia Memoriae, aka “the ribbon of memories”.  HMM,

(That Junko scene is in this regards the single most enigmatic scene of the main series finale to me.  My instinct is that it’s drawing off of Christian mythos again, either canonical or Gnostic, but I can’t quite place what piece; I kind of want to compare it specifically to the Denial of Peter.)

Now, there’s two other pieces here that are worth noting.

1) While Homulilly is described as the Nutcracker Witch in Rebellion, Homulilly’s name and Witch card are first revealed in the PSP game, and there she goes by a rather different epithet: Witch of the Mortal World, nature is karma.  Which is rather on the nose (the Mortal World [shigan] being another term for samsara), but then that’s probably by design - main series PMMM is not subtle at all when it wants to make a point.  And it is this epithet, not the Nutcracker Witch, that the Doppel versions of Homulilly in MagiReco draw off of, which suggests the staff considered it important.  (There’s a second distinction in the latter, because Moemura’s version of the Doppel implies that Homulilly’s nature was originally slightly different again - Witch of the Mortal World, nature is closed circuits - but I think for our purposes here this is a difference without true distinction, much like the Witch of the Near Shore pun for swimsuit!Moemura’s version of Homulilly.)  And there’s echoes of this even in Rebellion: the Clara Dolls are of course referred to as the Children of the Mortal World, plus of course the obvious “Homulilly’s Rebellion barrier as the Mortal World” take.  (Which, hmm.  Hello second-order symbolism - Homura failing to “break out of the egg” as failure to escape the cycle of samsara.)

2) The red ribbons of course suggest a very specific form of karmic tie - the Red String of Fate.  And you can be very, very sure that the staff intended that, too.  To drag a certain piece of key animation back out from storage:

While it’s hard to tell at this size, it sure looks to my eyes like the two ends are specifically tied around the girls’ pinkies.  You know, exactly where the proverbial Red String is said to be tied.

Or, to put it another way: AI YO.

Everything in Rebellion is downstream of this.

But all this is prologue.  Now that we have established the mistake, we can address the actual outstanding question: Did Madoka intend to make that mistake?  People have noted the applicability of Junko’s comments about intentionally making a big mistake when backed into a corner to Homura’s actions in Rebellion; do they also apply to the action Madoka took that led to that?

I am not sure.  Both cases are consistent, and I’d put about even odds either way.  But it’s the affirmative case I want to lay out here, to show that it does in fact exist:

- Let’s start with the one point someone else might bring up that I don’t really weight: Madoka’s final conversation with Homura in the flower bed.  This one, I think, can mostly be discarded.  We have word from both Kyubey and Sayaka that Madoka does not have her memories here; I can’t see both of them lying here.  (Also remember that Kyubey seems to have restriction that is sometimes said to apply to demons, at least under certain circumstances: he cannot directly tell a lie.  This is of course a very different thing from having to tell the truth, as episode 9 alone is enough to attest, but in this specific case it’s a boost to his credibility.)  If there’s an actual argument here, it’s a second-order one; it is possible, especially given her divine abilities, that Madokami was running a Xanatos Gambit and counting on her amnesiac projection to unwittingly relay her true feelings.  (In which case I would have to grab a certain infamous line from another well-known anime: “Just as planned”.)

- That one shot of Madokami’s gloved, scarred arm reaching down through the window to touch Homura.  Operative word scarred.  (And honestly, looking at one of the subs for that scene again Madoka’s comments there look potentially consistent with her actually supporting of or at least accepting Homura becoming a demon...)

- Mata Ashita, specifically the lyrics thereof.  With the perspective of the full series, Madoka’s character song is fairly clearly from the perspective of Madokami, and it’s suggestive that she is not entirely happy with the results of her wish and ascension.

- The fact that Rebellion happened at all.  There’s a complaint that I’ve seen regarding the mechanics of the Incubators’ plot in Rebellion: logically, by the wording of Madoka’s final wish the Incubators’ plan to use the Isolation Field to block the Law of Cycles should not work, since part of Madoka’s wish was to rewrite any rule or law that would prevent her from destroying Witches with her own hands, including the one the Incubators set up with their Isolation Field - doubly so if you take Madokami’s statement can see every world that ever existed or could ever exist and apply it to the Sealed Reality the experiment generates.  Except... there is one way that argument fails, regardless of anything else: namely, if Madoka saw what the Incubators were doing and intentionally allowed their experiment to proceed.  And at this point there is precedent for her doing something very similar; AIUI in her Magical Girl Story in MagiReco Madokami does something very similar wrt the MagiReco timeline, deliberately declining to destroy it despite its continued existence conflicting with the Law of Cycles.

(- Magia.  This point of argument I’m not convinced of either, but let’s lay it out.  (Honestly, even if I’m right I’m not sure how much of this was consciously intended, but creations can have a life of their own - especially creations where fucking natural disasters delay them so that they’re released on the most appropriate day possible!)  There’s two pieces to this, one I’m more sure of than the other:

1) The visuals.  Here’s the spot where I feel most solid about interpreting Magia: the ED visuals are clearly a reference to Madokami’s ascension.  (The show loves hiding that sort of foreshadowing in plain sight, why would you be surprised?)  Note the second half particularly, both Madoka’s hair lengthening and the starfield she’s running past.  (I think the order of the four other girls in the first half is probably how long they held out without Witching out.)  That leaves two issues, one more obvious to Western audiences and one less so.  First, that enigmatic and ominous shot of Madoka in fetal position (appropriate - her request in 10 and then her wish in 12 can be rephrased as “don’t let me grow up”) in the eye of Mephisto.  Second, there’s a point I’ve seen raised in analyses of Connect: in Japanese cinematography, motion from right to left indicates a correct course (unlike its Western equivalent, where the opposite applies)... and for the entirety of Magia Madoka is moving left-to-right.

2) The lyrics.  This is the part I���m less sold on, but once again let’s lay out the affirmative.  My line here derives from a hunch: Connect is famously from Homura’s perspective despite appearing to be from Madoka’s, perhaps the inverse is also true?  I’m still not sure there, but especially if you’re considering the TV version it can work... provided the lyrics are specifically from Madokami’s perspective again.  Grabbing the wiki version of the translation: “The light of love lit within your eyes will transcend time” sure fits better if we’re talking about Homura rather than about Madoka, likewise “with this power that can break even darkness” sure sounds like a better fit for Madokami to me.  And in that case the most interesting stanza is the second: “Swallow down your hesitation.  What is it that you wish for?  With the direction of this greedy admiration, will there be a short-lived tomorrow?”  The former two lines  are quite consistent with Homura’s decision in Rebellion (and I note the visual of Homura biting down on her Soul Gem to break it!), and “tomorrow” is consistently a reference to the possibility of Homura and Madoka meeting again in other PMMM songs (Mata Ashita again, Colorful, Connect full version) - which is realized courtesy of a greedy admiration, no less.  So.  Magia’s full version might count, too - there’s lines there that are harder to square from a Madokami perspective (”if I can move forward without hesitation then it’s fine if my heart gets broken” especially), but “Someday, for the sake of someone else, you too will wish for great power; on the night love captures your heart, unknown words will be born” fits Homura’s fall better than Madoka’s wish, I think.)

- If Madoka’s mistake in 12 is intentional then it more closely mirrors her (unintentional) mistake in 10: she’s implicitly asking Homura to once again do something she can’t and stop her from/alleviate the effects of her making a mistake.

- At a Doylist level, if they go for a proper happy end (either in Walpurgis no Kaiten or in a hypothetical sequel to the same) I’m not sure there’s any way they can get there without using this interpretation.  (In general, the two outcomes that make the most sense to me are “Akuhomu becomes the core of Walpurgisnacht, cue ending scene with Moemura making her wish” (the Logic Error ending, consistent with the Eternal Return of the Self; cue MagiReco as the way out) or an ending based on the answer to this question being yes - the easy version being a movie of everyone except Homura fighting to let Madoka rejoin the Law of Cycles only for her to surprise everyone with some sort of ending based on “actually, I was counting on her to do this from the start”.)

[miraculouscontent]

Askplosion #12 3/4:

.:Asks Referring to Previous non-Miraculous Posts:.

Anonymous said:

Hi! I saw you mention that you have Asperger’s syndrome in an earlier post. I’m just wondering, how did you find out? I’ve always thought I was neurodivergent (adhd and maybe asperger’s), but I’m not quite sure how to go about finding out, and my parents never had me screened as a kid. Feel free to ignore if this is too personal!

(the post this anon is referring to)

It’s not too personal, don’t worry!

Though, I would really say that it’s something to look up more than for someone to tell you. I know that’s not a satisfying answer but I think it’s different depending on where you live and what specialists you have near you.

Anonymous said:

Remarried Empress Anon Again, a whole post? What an honor! I burnt my food and this made me so happy.

(the post this anon is referring to)

You deserve it! Thanks a bunch!

Anonymous said:

Remarried Empress Anon Again, thank you for answering my asks and for reading Remarried Empress! I honestly didn’t expect much to come of it but the fact you read the comic and saw what I was talking and came to your own conclusions was amazing! I’m sorry if I’m bothering you by bombarding you with asks, and will try to stop doing so. Heck, this doesn’t have to be answered! Just know you are a fun creator and thank you for making my day a little better with your amazing responses!

You weren’t bothering me at all! I’m glad I brightened your day!

asexual-individual said:

I don't know how big the trend of "Magical Girls are made to suffer" is, but after watching Madoka Magica I did notice a few Magical Girl shows where the creators obviously went "Hey, this anime where the Magical Girls suffer and it's all angsty made Shaft a lot of money, let's do our own", and "subversive=money". (Even though many have pointed out that MM isn't actually subversive, since older MG shows have dealt with dark themes plenty of times.)

Yeah, it’s probably one of those inevitable things. People immediately jump on wherever the money’s going.

Madoka Magica probably got so much attention specifically because of the episode three shock value.and all the twisted imagery, plus things like Kyubey with bullet holes all over him made it seem like, “WHOA, DARK.”

Anonymous said:

Remember when I told you about the teenage-bashing in the Star Vs. Fandom? Well, rewatching the show, I'm beginning to think that most of the time, when people in a certain fandom have these opinions, more often than not, the show backs it up for whatever reason. Like, there's one scene where Eclipsa is put on trial and is asked if she's ever eaten any babies(which is just a rumor), and she says no but that she has eaten a few teenagers but, psychologically, they always deserved it.

And in another episode, Star says that teenagers are great at causing problems, which I at first laughed off as a joke, but then in another, Tom and Star were talking about how they broke up, and Star said "Of course we broke up! That's what people do! That's what teenagers do! Teenagers are dumb!" And Tom was just like "Yeah, I know, I know"; there are a lot more examples but I don't care to revisit them. I'm just saying that the teen-hating in the fandom would have to have come from somewhere.

omg I don’t remember that stuff at all; I guess it just blew right past me when I was initially watching it.

I don’t understand the trend of being like, “teenagers are dumb and that’s what they do,” and then either over-punishing or not punishing at all. Are we supposed to believe that all teenagers are just going to “be teenagers” and so we shouldn’t do anything, or that they’re all idiots who don’t understand their own feelings but we should also punish them for it?

I don’t get it.

Anonymous said:

I'm the "tomboys in anime" anon, and yes, I totally agree! It especially irks me(as a girly girl who has a lot to say) when the shortcut to making a girl tomboyish is simply by making her loud/tough/like gaming or machinery, or when a female character is told she isn't enough of a girl because she's like that, but otherwise doesn't look or even act all that "boyish". Even TV Tropes does it, as if the second a girl shows any proactivity or is tough she's a "tomboy".

It really annoys me and almost makes me want to erase the term "tomboy" altogether since it leads to an idea of "I'm not like other girls, I'm better 'cause I do boy stuff"(which I know not every tomboy thinks, but some do). The only reason I don't is because I very proudly embrace the term "girly girl" and terms are meaningless without an opposite(not that you can't like both girly and tomboyish things). So I think the key to fixing this problem is that we shouldn't label people unless they want to be labeled that way.

And I know fictional characters can't speak for themselves, so just to figure out if a female character is a tomboy, I just say that if her only "tomboyish" traits are "proactive" qualities or liking something that's for guys, just don't call them a tomboy because it looks ridiculous and acts like women are inherently passive and weak, so for a girl not to be like that is acting like a man.

I would love to see a tomboy character who likes those things but is actually shy/a wallflower. That avoids the stereotype of "aggressive, hard-hitting tomboy, weak-willed, shallow girly girl" and challenges audiences expectations that "but but but she's a tomboy so she should be loud and strong because strength is for MEN". I also hate when tomboy characters are given no curves because the writers know they're doing something wrong, tomboys can have natural curves too. It's like they think tomboys just don't want to be girls. So, yeah. So over the "tomboy in-name-only" stereotype.

"it makes me feel weird saying that when I’m all for girl power shows with an all female cast, but in this show’s logic, it’s a different ball game". Oh, phew! That's good. Because, like I said before, I'm working on my own magical girl show in which most of the female characters are(black) girls and only girls can use magic in this world, and someone I know keeps telling me that it's not fair that the guys don't get to have magic, so it's good to know that there's someone out there who doesn't think it's "sexist" that magical girls tend to only let girls have powers(unless it's for fanservice or like in Madoka Magica because ick). Because guys get to be in the forefront all too often, so why is it so bad when girls get to be in the spotlight? I know I can't change everyone's opinions but it's good to know someone gets it.

(the post this anon is referring to)

Honestly, I feel like the fact that there’s a label at all is the issue, like you suggested? It might just be a “we have to get ride of the label ‘tomboy’ and ‘girly girl’ altogether” thing, because it’s not like we do the same thing with guys?

Oh wait, we do; guys who do “girly” things are called “sissies.”

I hate this planet. :P

Point being, having to say “tomboy” inherently implies something, which might be a problem all on its own, y’know?

(the below ask is incomplete but the asker clarified after I asked them, so clarification is below:)

Anonymous said:

I just thought back to our little "tomboys in anime" argument and about how you can't really think of any tomboys. So I looked up "tomboys in anime" on Google and clicked on the first link, and literally the first character on the list was a girl with...a flower in her hair and a bikini. The reason she was a "tomboy" according to the list? Was because she is "aggressive" and "competitive". In fact, most of the examples on the list were "she's tough/a good fighter/challenges male supremacy".

(part of this ask is missing and clarified below)

girly girls, while the girly girls always have to be the weak and shy ones(not that shy=weak but you get the idea). But while I may not know most of the characters on the list, and some of them DID look pretty tomboyish, I'm very bothered by the idea that it's their strength and ambition and excellent fighting skills that are branded as masculine. And you know what? I'd actually be offended if someone called me a tomboy, especially if it was based of these reasonings. Because it sounds like they think being a tomboy is the only way to be strong and vice versa. Like I should take it as a compliment that I need to be separated from my femininity in order to be respected. Like, if you're a tomboy, cool! But it shouldn't be used for just any girl who isn't a weak-willed crybaby doormat. I actually don't know why people seem to think being a tomboy or "masculine" for a girl is some sort of badge of honor to wear with pride for rejecting your femininity and being "cooler" than other girls.

the clarification:

Anonymous said:

The missing part was talking about the various tropes having to do with contrasting masculinity/femininity, either in two different characters, with one being masculine and one being feminine(ex. Tomboy and Girly Girl, Sensitive Guy and Manly Man, Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy, Masculine-Feminine Gay Couple), or one character who has traits of both(ex. Girly Girl With a Tomboy Streak, Tomboy With a Girly Streak, Real Men Wear Pink), and how TV Tropes always talks about them as if the "girly" character(or girly side of the character) is weaker or inferior(like how for Tomboy and Girly Girl they might say that the former is tough, competitive, and can fight, while the latter is vain, a priss, and a Damsel in Distress.

Or for Tomboy With a Girly Streak, they might say that the tomboy dresses in a masculine way with their "girly" streak being that they're a doormat or dream of being a housewife. Not that it's wrong to be a housewife.).

To be fair, they don't always do this: For the pages on Magical Girl they talk about how those shows can appeal to multiple demographics, and almost all the quotes on them, they talk about how they're empowered through their femininity and are just as much legitimate threats to their opponents as other heroes. Still, they fall in this trap even then, as on the LoliRock Awesome page, they say "You gotta admit, for a Magical Girl show, LoliRock does have its awesome moments", which ignores that Magical Girl is SUPPOSED to have awesome moments, it's literally an action subgenre! Just because it's frilly and pink and girly doesn't mean it doesn't--or shouldn't--still have badass fight scenes. Just look at PreCure. Shonen should take notes from those shows. But no, whoever wrote that clearly dismissed it as just frivolous and was SURPRISED that the fight scenes were good, just because it's girly!

It’s 2021 and people are still struggling with this concept that girliness isn’t bad and it’s not embarrassing to watch such a show.because GIRLS.

It’s so tiring. I watched Dragonball Z, Inuyasha, and played Pokemon; got a few looks about it at times but people ultimately were like, “okay I guess” (I did get bullied for the Pokemon one but that was more for the “it’s for babies” kind of deal, not a “you can’t like that because you’re a girl,” thing). I can’t really relate to the world of girls who get looked down upon for being “girly” but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand that it must be awful for them.

Don’t even get me started on “Tomboy Lesbian,” I will scream about it and it won’t be happy screaming.

[altairattorney]

In response to your little rant about Homura's depiction in Rebellion, here's this.

"The end of Rebellion is... controversial, but let's unpack what happened here. What occurred?

Well, firstly, Homura was traumatized and tortured; the Homura at the end of Rebellion is not the Homura of PMAS; she's gone through trauma and loss that PMAS!Homura can't even conceive of. She literally turned into a fucking witch because Kyubey gaslit her into thinking she made up Madoka Kaname, according to Wraith Arc.

Then, during this process, she learns two important facts that fucks her worldview: 1) Madoka didn't want to leave her loved ones and give up her normal life if she had any other alternative, and 2) Kyubey is trying to destroy the Law of Cycles (that is, Madoka Kaname), and has figured out a means of stopping her from interacting with Magical Girls under controlled lab conditions, meaning they could eventually succeed in their objective.

That means if Homura let herself go into the Law of Cycles, she would be unable to protect Madoka, and the Incubators would eventually destroy her. Madoka will have been erased and forgotten with nothing to show for it. Homura could only cope with everything with the promise of being reunited with her and the solace that Madoka's sacrifice was worth it, and Kyubey took that away from her.

And, more importantly: Homura's wish had yet to come true. Homura's wish wasn't to be with Madoka, or to save the world. It was to protect Madoka. To be the one to protect her.

To put it in other terms, Homura was self-loathing to the point of suicide-ideation because she was worthless, good for nothing, a burden on everyone. That she should just die. Madoka saw worth in her, and tried to change that, but Madoka died.

Only one person in her entire life ever told Homura she was happy to have met her and this wonderful, kind, happy, heroic, courageous, beautiful, miracle of a person who walked into her life to tell her those words died.

DIED. FOR. HER.

Died to protect her. Died so that a worthless piece of SHIT like herself could live. Someone who had EVERYTHING in the world died with a smile to protect someone who didn't even want to. Not without her.

Not instead of her.

She was good for nothing before and now her mere existence caused the best person she'd ever known to die. She ruined Madoka's entire life by having been a part of it.

She has to fix it. She has the chance to.

She wishes, wishes, WISHES to go back, to unfuck this, to undo this, to be cool like Madoka said she could have been. To protect her. To be her shield. To be WORTH something because she protected something valuble. To pay her back for all her kindness like she'd never been able to do and finally, finally in her life, have done something that justifies everything else.

She didn't wish for Madoka to live. She didn't wish for her to be saved. She wished to be the one to save her so she could support her and reinvent herself as someone who isn't a garbage shit person.

And every single time, she fails.

No matter what she does. No matter how she compromises herself. No matter what disgusting sins she does (and she never crosses so many lines that she says she WOULD cross). Madoka keeps dying.

And most of those times. She dies for Homura. She dies, again, for Homura. She dies again and again and again and again in order to help Homura.

Until the very last time, she wishes to save Homura (and everyone else), so much that she never existed at all.

Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT. DAMMIT. This is worse this is WORSE THIS IS WORRRRSE!

But she still tries to cope. Madoka's in heaven. She's saving everyone. Madoka had a smile. The world is BETTER, and she'll see her again.

Until the above happened. And Kyubey is going to destroy Madoka Kaname. She won't have ever been born and she won't even be saving Magical Girls. She'll truly be nothing.

Because she came to save Homura, fucking AGAIN.

And all this time she still never saved her. Never ONCE saved her. Not a single time has she ever, ever, EVER fucking saved her. Not ever, has she ever saved her, not even when Madoka made her final fucking wish.

Homura made a wish that never came true. So she never stopped being Good for Nothing. She has never made up for Madoka's kindness. She has never, emotionally, left that moment where she sobbed over Madoka's dead corpse in the water and the rain. And she's done that so many fucking times.

So that's her mindset. So when she saw the chance. She took it. If you can interact with Madoka, you can effect Madoka. So.

God dammit. Fucking for once. Fucking finally. This time, her last chance she'll EVER HAVE... she will save her.

Save Madoka Kaname. Not a vague concept. Not a hero. Not a law or a god. Not a cosmic idea. Madoka. KANAME. The person who smiled at her and said she was cool. The person who helped her buy a cellphone. The kind, wonderful person who loved and named a stray cat and pressed her face to hers and laughed and congratulated her for her accomplishments. The person who said that meeting Homura was her happiest memory.

Why can't this person, of all people, be happy? All Madoka Kaname wanted was to live her fucking life. With her family. With her friends and classmates. Living her day to day life which wasn't anything special but it was so special to her.

She WILL save her. Goddammit, she failed so many times because she always kept holding herself back but if this is her last chance then GODDAMMIT fuck it all, damn herself too.

She never cared, really, about being with Madoka. She was willing to die for her. She explicitly had plans to leave the town to Kyouko after Walpurgisnacht and LEAVE (probably to kill herself so her Witch didn't come for Madoka). She was going to die for her in Rebellion so that she'd be safe from the Incubators.

If she could save her, if she can finally succeed and protect that human smile living her human life, it's fine if Homura Akemi isn't a part of it. If Madoka can smile, she doesn't have to smile at her anymore. That's PERFECTLY FINE.

So she did it. She stole a piece of the Law of Cycles. Not a big piece. Not the Law, or the Power, or the Salvation. The Law of Cycles still functions in some sense, because there's still no Witches, there's still Wraiths, there's still Angels.

She stole "Madoka Kaname", the human being that the Goddess used to be. She stole her, yes. She took over the universe, yes. But what did she do?

She made it so Madoka Kaname existed, again. Reunited with everyone she cared about. She gave Kyouko, Mami, Sayaka, and everyone else the happiest lives she could give them without undoing their pasts (disrespecting their agency and core selves), even if it was only to keep Madoka happy in her silver garden.

She tortures Kyubey but no one's crying tears over that fucker. She seems to be letting the world run its course as naturally as possible, save for suppressing people's memories of what's really going on.

Sayaka, alive. Nagisa, alive. Living with Kyouko and Mami respectively. Madoka, alive.

Hell, the only change she made that we know of to Madoka's memories is three years in America.

Because, canonically, English is Madoka's worst subject.

And now, she's great at it.

No matter what it takes. Madoka Kaname will be happy. She deserves it. And Homura will make that happen, even if she, herself, never is.

But yeah go off about how Homura is a yandere stalker who likes to kill people."

Hey there! I thank you for your post and your insight, and I wanted to clarify that I don't disagree at all with this view of Rebellion and how it ended. I think it is all correct, actually. The problem I have with it is 1. Rebellion existing at all, and 2. the way they portrayed her choice as an act of evil conceived by a demon.

To begin with, there are a few details that I don't think really make sense considering how pmmm worked. Homura shouldn't even be a witch, first of all. Secondly, even though she cannot know for sure, I don't think Homura would have willingly told Kyubey about the world of before if there were any danger. Heck, I don't even understand how Kyubey could possibly have stolen Madoka, now that she is not an entity but a literal concept, a rule of the universe. Imo that is beyond absurd. Third, I am doubtful Homura would have gone against Madoka's wish, even though I totally understand why she did in the context of Rebellion.

The problem I have with Homura is that people thought about her as a yandere emotionless stalker who has an unhealthy obsession with Madoka even before Rebellion existed. That was a popular sentiment, and the big, big problem I have with this film is that while what she did isn't inherently bad or wrong - as you explained - the movie paints her as a LITERAL DEMON in the moment she makes that choice, and ALSO at the exact same time she declares her love canonically. That is so fucked up in so so so many ways. As not literal it may be, they gave her that creepy smile, and show that Madoka is confused in her new bubble and feels like she is someone else but can't remember why. And Homura brushes it off. As wonderful as it is that she is there, Madoka is uncomfortable, Sayaka is obviously enraged and Homura plays the part of the Evil Character.

This is just all so unfair and so wrong. It doesn't only negate the way this anime ended - and of course Homura deserved to go with peace and quiet like everyone else. No magical girl has to ever suffer like that again, including Madoka, right? (There were so many ways to reunite her with Madoka, but no.) It also visibly paints Homura as being on the dark side, and validates the horrific lens people saw her character through even before the film. It canonizes her as a lesbian in the same moment she is doing something clearly framed as wrong, and, on a surface level, reinforces her obsession. This is just a textbook predatory lesbian trope. I am sorry if you don't see it the same way, but it is just horrific to me.

I will never agree with Rebellion existing. I cannot stand the ending of this anime being undone and Homura being punched in the face and further tortured both in universe and as a character, after all the crap she went through. It is just disrespectful.

And as I said, she deserved better.

[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.”  

[muffinrecord]

Hey muffin, quite a curious query for ya. What are your favorite girls for each category? Like Fire, Water, Grass, etc.

I went with MR originals for this one! So no PMMM girls or spinoffs.

Flame: I’ll have to go with Tsuruno on this, but even more specifically Uwasa Tsuruno. UwaTsu’s magical girl story, especially the third episode, hit me kind of hard. It was so surreal but also kind of relatable from, uh, the time I had a mental breakdown myself. The strength of Tsuruno’s character is that she feels very much like a character who who displays everything on the surface but... she’s not. She wants things to go right so badly, she’ll sacrifice herself on an altar to it. I have a soft spot for characters who try to be what everyone needs while chipping away at themselves on the inside, and I’m glad she got a whole arc devoted to that. I wish the game played with it more sometimes. 

Also, I like her gameplay. She’s a pretty solid fire unit tbh-- and to make sure, I don’t mean she’s the best fire unit out there, but that she can fill many different roles. She might be magia type, but you can play her as a blast girl if needed. Her magia animation is also really cool; I get goosebumps when I see the flames fan out from her in a circle.

Aqua: Um... Maybe Meiyui? TBH none of the aqua girls are really my favorites. I have a bunch of them I like for sure, but not really a favorite? Well, Sunao (JP) seems interesting to me, even though I don’t know too much about her just yet. She kind of has a Sailor Neptune vibe to her with the whole salt looks like sugar thing, and I can vibe with that.

Forest: Mito is too precious for this world and I love her. I love how the game makes her innocent without making her naive. I think her power is one of my favorites in the entire game, nay, in any single story ever written by man-- COMMUNICATION. “See You Tomorrow” is prob one of my favorite events storywise, and it’s def one of the events I can most easily see being made into a spinoff manga. But back to it, Mito is very intelligent and I love that she tried her power out on Kyubey when she could. I also really love that her intelligence links to her emotional intelligence... Just solid.

Dark: Hmmm. I think Emiri? You know, I REALLY didn’t think I’d like her at first. Her design looked stereotypical, and then I saw the her memoria which was just like... shoes, and all I could think was “oh lord here we go.” But nah! Emiri is more than that. In fact, she kind of reminds me of Mito but in a different way. Emiri is super perceptive and cares about others-- but somehow, she does this while still having a focus on herself. She’s very confident and I love that she’s this super femme-fashion girl but she’s still super supportive of others. I also really like her animations. She’s the kind of character I wish I had as a friend when I was a baby muffin (a mini muffin as it were).

Light: Man, there are so many good characters in light. I really love Kokoro and Shizuku; they’re both great characters. Buuut I have to go with my girl Masara. She comes across as the “unfulfilled” aspect of depression to me, and I enjoy seeing her interact with others. I also really like her gameplay and wish she was uncapped. Her disks are kind of eh, but it also makes her feel like a one-hit powerhouse. I mean, she has higher attack stats than some 5* do!

Void: I’m including this category because why not, even though there are so few void girls out there-- but I love Yozuru! She REALLY reminds me of Sailor Uranus/Haruka Tenoh from Sailor Moon, more in design than personality, but I also love her wish and backstory. I wish there were more androgynous or butch girls in this game that didn’t have the caveat of “oh but they’re actually super girly inside.”

[littlepurinsesu]

V Watches MagiReco - Episode 9 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime Episode 9*

I... have mixed feelings about this episode O___O While some parts were definitely well-done (like, REALLY well-done), there were some others that left me a bit underwhelmed and wanting something more?

Don’t get me wrong, by no means was it not a good episode, because it was. But I’m gonna try my hardest to pinpoint why I felt that while some parts were amazing, others really could have been done better.

The phone conversation with Iroha and AI had some top-notch imagery going on in the background. As expected of a PMMM spin-off, every single frame probably has some deep and profound symbolism if you really wanted to pause and analyse each one. There’s never a dull moment on screen; even when all that’s happening is a phone conversation, they know how to hold your attention by giving your eyes a feast with that amazingly trippy and surreal kind of art style that PMMM is known for.

I, too, was a bit disappointed that Madoka and Homura didn’t show up, and by the looks of it, they probably won’t be making their appearance during Sana’s arc at all, which makes yet another major deviation the anime has made. But it’s not that huge of a deal to me because I know they’ll appear at some other point and I’m sure they had their reasons for making this change (hopefully for something better!). I’m happy to let the new characters take the spotlight; I actually think it’s a better choice than constantly relying on the Holy Quintet to build hype and satisfy the fans, which could actually draw attention and focus away from the main plot sometimes. This is how I personally feel, at least ^^;;

That being said, although I didn’t mind Madoka and Homura not being there, I did have some issues with Iroha’s entrance into the Rumour. It just happened... way too quickly and suddenly? I expected a bit more dialogue between the characters, especially since Yachiyo’s expression and comment about jumping off the tower not killing magical girls should have been a big indicator that she knows something (wink wink). I think that might have been a good chance to foreshadow the reveal that comes with Chapter 6, and maybe add a bit more mystery to Yachiyo’s unrevealed past. But the biggest problem I had with this scene was the way Iroha jumped lol. She just... jumped. Like it was no big deal. And it was even weirder because she technically “fell” while reaching out to catch Lil’ Kyubey, but there was hardly any reaction xD She also happened to be in the middle of a sentence while talking to Yachiyo LOL clearly that “jump” wasn’t a planned or prepared one xD I just really felt like the dialogue wasn’t finished or something was cut somewhere in there? They were talking and suddenly down she goes. I know I probably sound extremely nitpicky and this is just a minor detail that doesn’t really make much difference to the story (none at all, in fact), but I just found her apathy somewhat unrealistic and strange, which broke the immersion for me during what should have been a very crucial and heart-pounding moment. Unless Iroha’s just super brave and isn’t afraid of heights at all? Maybe? xD

Anyway, back to the positive stuff! Sana’s backstory was depicted really well. Again, absolutely amazing visuals (I especially liked the use of shoes and dinosaurs). And Sana’s bond with AI was portrayed even better than in the game, in my opinion. It was the most heartwarming and bittersweet relationship, and it’s amazing to see how AI slowly changes in Sana’s company. By the way, their chess game with little puppies and kittens was adorable omg x) I’d love to write more on Sana and AI, but I don’t really have anything specific to say except that I just really, really loved how their relationship was portrayed. Definitely the best part about this week’s episode.

And now comes my biggest complaint: Alina’s debut. As one of the most popular and interesting MagiReco characters, I’m sure the entire fandom was looking forward to how the anime would go about introducing her. I don’t know if I just set my expectations too high or anything, but her entrance was extremely underwhelming for me. And a lot of the reasons were exactly the same as my dissatisfaction with Iroha’s jump: too rushed and too many missed opportunities. She just kind of appeared out of nowhere, and while I do appreciate the “shock value”, what annoyed me was the lack of of a proper “introduction” she got. AI stated her name, and Iroha questioned if she was a member of the Wings of Magius, but we didn’t get any answers. There was no explanation on who she was or what she was doing there, how she got in and what her relationship with AI was. Game players would know, of course, but I’m concerned that anime-only viewers will have no idea what’s going on and probably also have no idea that they just met one of the most important and popular characters of the franchise right now. Essentially, they’re just gonna be seeing a very flamboyant and crazy girl enter and wreck havoc but with no explanation about why she was doing what she was doing or what her connection was with the current situation and the bigger picture of the plot thus far. She just comes in and steals the spotlight, and while game players know that she definitely deserves the spotlight given who she is, anime-only viewers are probably going to be left wondering why this random green girl just came in, who the heck she is, and why everything is about her all of a sudden.

Another crucial piece of information that got lost in that very rushed and chaotic introduction was the fact that Alina actually used the word “Doppel”, which is the first time the term has been dropped in the anime. But again, no one even responded or reacted in any way (at least do the cliche thing where the protagonist repeats “Doppel?” or something LOL), but no she just keeps rambling on and yet another crucial piece of information is lost in the shuffle. What makes it possibly even more confusing is that her Doppel really doesn’t look like the Doppels we’ve seen so far; it could pass as her shooting random bits of paint-like oozy stuff instead, so I’m really struggling to see how anime-only viewers are going to make that connection and put the pieces together.

And if her entrance was underwhelming, then her “exit” was probably even worse lol. She just... disappears xD It’s quite anticlimactic considering how it looked like we were gearing up for Sana vs. Alina, and then she just suddenly gets kicked out lmao. I get that she’ll be back really soon, but it still felt way too abrupt? I think my main gripe about everything to do with Alina’s debut can be summed up in two words: too rushed. There’s so much about her character that’s interesting and vital to the story, but everything either gets glossed over really quickly or just dropped here and there with no response from the other characters. Even if they didn’t want to get into details right away, which is also fine, they could still have slowed down and built up some mystery and tension so that we’ll want to find out more about her because we’re interested and curious, and not because we have no idea what’s going on. Her appearance should have brought some answers to the questions raised throughout the story thus far, but instead she just brought more confusion and chaos lol.

But her entrance wasn’t all negative! They absolutely nailed her mannerisms. Basically everything that makes her so infamously crazy was delivered flawlessly. Her expressions, her movements, her voice, her speech, her word choice... she definitely entered with a BANG and she’s no doubt going to leave a deep impression on viewers, whether they understand her deal or not lol. The voice-acting was also top-notch, as expected of her seiyuu. Alina’s one of those characters where you really need to hear her speaking and see her moving to experience the full extent of her "charm”, and I’d say the anime definitely delivered in that respect and portrayed her uniqueness in a strong and memorable way, so props to them for that :D

^ I really wanted to use this image for this week’s review, but it’s technically Sana’s episode so I stuck with Sana xD Oh, and another thing I definitely loved about her entrance was hearing her saying so many of her lines from the game battles ^^

... Wow I just rambled and ranted for four whole paragraphs about Alina’s introduction, sheesus... Onto some other stuff now, shall we? ^^;;

One of the most interesting things to me about AI was how her appearance changes to become more and more like Sana. This is another example where the anime is able to illustrate things that the game isn’t capable of, and while I’m not sure if it’s a change or I simply missed it in the game because of the static AI sprite, I definitely liked this little detail. It not only shows how AI slowly becomes more and more human, but also highlights the fact that her form resembling Sana implies the influence that Sana has had on her. Sana is all AI has really ever known about humans and the “real” world, and all the human feelings and emotions she gains are because of Sana. It makes perfect sense that when she takes on a more human-like appearance, it’s going to resemble Sana in some respect. The little detail with the crown near the end was also really sweet ;___;

I really do think “mixed feelings” is the best way to describe my overall impression of this week’s episode xD Sana’s backstory and her relationship with AI had me in tears, but Iroha’s jump and Alina’s debut definitely had me raising my eyebrows a few times. I can overlook the Iroha part as just me being nitpicky over a trivial detail, but I really do hope that they step up their game with Alina next week. They definitely did her justice on a surface level, but in terms of her significance and relevance to the plot, not so much. She’s such an important character and her appearance marks a major plot point, so I hope we get the explanations and clarifications needed soon.

I have even higher expectations for next week, since not only is the showdown with Alina something I’ve been looking forward to for a while, but I’m also hoping that they “rectify” some of the issues this week lol. Fingers crossed that Alina gets some better writing, and they continue doing the amazing job they’ve done so far with Sana’s story! ^^

Sorry I’m so much more “negative” this week compared to how I usually am with my reviews, but I was looking forward to Alina’s appearance so much and was really sad to feel any ounce of disappointment :( Hopefully next week’s review will be back to just me fangirling throughout hehe~

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 9

So, I’ve spent the last few days trying to type up my thoughts on the last episode, sort of like I did for Episode 3. However, each attempt kept turning into random keysmashing and more profanity than I think that this forum will allow, and you guys did a good job of covering how complex the situation is. Therefore, let’s keep moving.

We open with aw jeez I have to see this again. My newest ship of Sayaka and Kyoko are at the train station, shortly before Sayaka’s Soul Gem breaks. (Also, what the heck is with this show and my ships? I ship Madoka and Mami, and Mami gets eaten. I ship Sayaka and Kyoko, and Sayaka turns into a Witch. I am therefore swearing off shipping in this show, as apparently my thinking two characters are compatible is Urobuchi’s sign to ax one off. My Ship of Death is hereby docked.) Sayaka mutters about a balance between happiness and curses, her tear falls… “I was so stupid… so stupid.” And we are in a new Labyrinth. This one created by Witch-Sayaka. There are strange runes floating around, musical bars and a checkered floors/walls, train tracks stretching through space. So it’s a mixture of Sayaka’s music-based wish and the trainstop environment? Also, what the hell, why is the music so awesome. This is a tragic moment, I do not need music that sounds so good I want to download it. Sayaka- Sayaka’s body falls through the air, Kyoko immediately transforms into MG mode and leaps for her- it. The Witch launches train tracks and train wheels and apparently a whole train at her, but Kyoko makes it through and grabs the body, ending up right in front of the screaming Witch. Sayaka’s body slumps in Kyoko’s arms while Food Girl tries to figure out what’s going on, or more likely refuses to acknowledge what just happened. I sadly do not have that luxury, as I have to report my thoughts to all you jerks. I hope you’re happy. Kyoko continues to dodge the tracks and wheels, until one explodes in front of her? Homura! I- I have mixed feelings about you showing up. Because on one hand, yay, you can help Kyoko out. On the other hand, the last time you were around Sayaka… Homura tells Kyoko to get back and the animators stop drawing her, then they draw a cylindrical grenade right in front of the Witch. Ok, I know the last one looked like a frag grenade but was actually a flash-bang. This one looks more like the flash-bang type I know from shooters, is it going to… yup, big bang. REALLY big bang, sends Kyoko’s hair waving. Homura pops back in front of Kyoko and tells her to take her hand, and then activates her shield when she does. Suddenly the Witch freezes, hand and sword casting a shadow over the three-two Magical Girls. Kyoko’s confused, and Homura warns that if she lets go of her hand time will stop for her as well, before they start running away. Kyoko asks where that Witch came from. Sorry to tell you Kyoko, but- Homura beats me to it, bluntly says that it’s what used to be Sayaka Miki. Kyoko doesn’t say anything like “What?!” or “That’s impossible” but just asks if they’re just going to run away, making me believe that she did realize but just wasn’t accepting it. As for running away, Homura says “If you want to fight it, drop that needless baggage and we’ll turn around to kill it right now.” … That’s… Ok, I know that Sayaka’s soul was already out of the body, but… for all my comments on meat puppets, it was still her body. To call it ‘needless baggage’... Knowing that Homura’s a freaking TIME TRAVELER and has presumably seen this before is one thing, but… Kyoko’s only response is “Like hell!” and keeps running, to which Homura says that she’s only dragging them down. Since Kyoko refuses to drop the body to fight the Witch (and likewise, doesn’t take action to fight the newly-created Witch in general…) they’re heading out. And in a burst of white light they’re back in the real world. Kyoko slumps to her knees still holding the body, and Homura does a Hair-Flip as the musical notes around them fade. Hoo boy. This is a predicament. Intro of LIES Episode 9: I’d Never Allow That To Happen There are flies/moths on a lamppost, forming a skull shape. Random happenstance? Sign of a Familiar or Witch labyrinth? Urobuchi and the artists being jerks? Who knows? Madoka slowly walks along some train tracks. When did we last see her? Oh right, it was right after Kyubey turned (temporarily) into Swiss Cheese and emotionless Homura broke down crying. And good grief, reading back over that part I am amazed at how naive I was. I was actually pissed off at Homura for killing the Incubator, because I thought that Madoka could finally get some powers. But good grief, after learning that apparently Magical Girls who run out of power turn into god-damned Witches, I am so freaking happy that the Incubator was stopped in time. Or at least for a while. We’ve already lost Mami and Sayaka, I don’t wanna lose little Madoka too. Then she looks up and sees two pairs of legs Oh. Oh no. I don’t want to see this. Madoka just saw Sayaka’s body. Said body being carried by the girl who she saw fighting Sayaka to the death a few days ago, and followed by the girl who murdered the Incubator right in front of her. Understandably, she freaks out, rushing forward and… asking Sayaka what happened… and where her Soul Gem went… Homura just does a Hair-Flip and says that her Soul Gem turned into a Grief Seed, and was destroyed when it hatched a new Witch. No, Madoka. They’re not joking. I wish to god it was a joke, that Sayaka would open her eyes and laugh and say “Boy, we got you good Madoka!”. But it’s the truth. The final secret of the Soul Gems. When they grow tainted/run out of power and turn completely dark, they turn into Grief Seeds, and the Magical Girl is ‘reborn’ as a Witch. “This is the inescapable fate of all who become magical girls.” A train roars by and Madoka collapses, saying that all Sayaka wanted to do was protect people from Witches. And now she is one? “It could only last until she had suffered an amount equal to the good she had wished for. From here on, for ever person she has saved, she will curse another.” Man, this is the dark side of karma, isn’t it? I’ve always heard of it in a sense of “life will get better than it is now, look forward to the future”. But this? If Fate/Stay was a cynical take on “The Needs of the Many”, then this is his take on karma. Kyoko lays Sayaka’s body down in front of Madoka. Then spins around and grabs Homura by the collar. Yes, thank you! Homura, I get that you’ve seen this before in the other timeline, that you’ve had time to process the event, but for us its the first time we saw Sayaka turn into a god-damned Witch! Show a little understanding! And maybe explain why you didn’t warn us this was going to happen, like you didn’t warn us about how Magical Girls are lichs! I mean, good God! I gave you so much flak about your Hallway Threat way back when, but now I can see that you were being too soft! If you knew this was going to happen, maybe you could give a more direct warning? Or a more clear threat to scare Madoka off, so all this doesn’t happen? Kyoko chews Homura out for acting all “Ooh, I’m a Time Traveler, I know all this stuff and you don’t”. She was Sayaka’s best friend! They knew Mami for a few days, and that was tragic enough. Madoka knew Sayaka for years! But all Homura does is say that they truly know what the thing they wanted to become is like. Oh, and try not to be seen with the corpse you insisted on dragging along, alright? Don’t be sloppy disposing of the middle-school girls remains, otherwise the cops might find it and then things just get distracting. ...wow. I’m going to have to take away your seat cushion for that, Homura. Kyoko asks how Homura can even call herself human when she acts so callous in the face of loss. And even I can know how Homura’s going to respond to that one: “I don’t, of course.” Hair-Flip. “And neither should you.” Well. You may have had an alternate timeline/who knows how many years as an immortal lich to get used to ‘not being human’, but Kyoko is not only likely younger, but came from a religious background. It’s not that easy for her. One final Hair-Flip and Homura walks off. It’s later now, and Madoka is in her room, curled up on her bed in her pajamas and failing to sleep. YOU. GET OUT. The Incubator is outside her window. Nope, no, uh-uh. I am not in the mood to put up with your shit right now, Incubator. I don’t care what you’re going to say, what excuses you’re going to give like “But you never asked” or “What does it matter what form your Soul takes” or “Well, we’re down a Magical Lunch Lady. Guess you need to pick up the pace to keep me fed. On that note, I know where you can find a newly-hatched Witch, shouldn’t be too hard to fight…” NOPE. Not putting up with your shit tonight.

*one angry sleep later*

*Deep breath*

Alright, Incubator. Let’s see what excuses you’ll make this time.

Oh, well thank you for asking to come in, instead of just showing up like at Homura’s. Very polite of you.

Madoka is very unsurprised to see that the Incubator is alive, considering last time it was Swiss Cheese. I’m guessing Homura told her?

Oh, never mind about being polite, the Incubator’s inside with all the stuffed animals now. Permission, what’s that?

Madoka asks if what Homura said was true, the Incubator’s all “Yep, true enough I can’t protest it. I can’t lie, nosiree.”

Aw, Madoka no. She looks so… blank. Burnt out.

She asks if the Incubator really has been turning them into Magical Girls just so they’ll become Witches.

“Please don’t misunderstand.”

Oooh boy. *Sits back, munches on popcorn* Alright, you little monster. You justified tearing out these girl’s souls to make them more effective Witch fighters, let’s see how you excuse Contracting them into becoming literal monsters.

You… don’t do this out of ill will towards humans?... bwuh?

“Everything we’ve done is for the sake of prolonging the life of the universe.”

...turning young girls into monsters is good for the universe. Seems legit.

Ok, huh? Why are you talking about entropy now?

Energy a fire gives off is not equal to the energy to create its fuel, sure. Standard thermodynamics here. How does this relate to Witches?

Amount of usable energy in the universe is decreasing, sure…

Does this apply to Magical Girls as well?

Hold up, I think I’m seeing where this is going.

Incubator’s Race: “Oh no, we need warriors to defend our physically weak race and get us food from stronger creatures. Hey, these ‘humans’ can wield great power, but they can’t unlock it on their own. Let’s uplift them and get them to fight our battles. This could in no way backfire!”

Incubator’s Race: “Hooray, they’re defeating all our foes… but they’re using up all of our power in doing so, they lack any idea of subtlety. We need some way to cull their numbers… hey, we just figured out a flaw we can introduce into their Soul Gems, if they use up too much power at a time it shatters and their soul corrupts, they can’t use our power anymore. They turn into monsters, sure, but there are so many humans we can always Contract a few more to fight them. And hey, these ‘Witches’ drop tasty treats!”

Ok, sorry for random speculation. Been on a Mass Effect kick lately, made a tenuous connection between the settings. Back to the Incubator.

So their race looked for an energy source that wasn’t bound by thermodynamics, to counter entropy. And they found a solution with Magical Girls?

The Incubator’s civilization created technology to convert… emotions? Into raw energy? An impressive technology, but then why not just use it on yourselves, unless humans are somehow more emotional? A sort of Vulcan/Humanity emotional divide? (And I feel dirty for comparing Vulcans to this little jerk.)

Wait, you don’t ‘possess the capacity’? Like, at all? Huh.

So they searched the universe for species to serve as emotion batteries for their new tech, until they finally found humans.

(Hoping that the finale is a bunch of these other races that didn’t meet the Incubators’ needs showing up and helping out the “young” Terran civilization against the Galactic Jerks)

Shots of empty chairs?

So since humanity was a Yeerk Class 5 species (big population, fast reproduction), and the emotional-energy (emergy?) produced by a single human is more than they use between their birth and growth, the Incubators had found their power source.

Yep. The Incubators consider human souls as the perfect fuel source.

Abridged!Mr. Popo: That carpet gets 10,000 miles to the soul. Abridged!Bulma: What? Abridged!Mr. Popo: The gallon.

Oh, but why settle for unleaded humans for emergy, when the most effective of all are girls in their “second stage of development”? Seeing as they experience the greatest fluctuations between hope and despair.

Hmph. And I’d imagine that girls who are not fully informed have more ‘fluctuation’ than girls who know exactly what they’re getting into, hmm?

Oh for-really? Really?!

“In the moment when your Soul Gems flare out and turn into Grief Seeds, enormous energy is created.”

That’s it?

That’s the whole reason for this farce?

Ok, sit down, Incubator. I SAID SIT DOWN.

Look, maybe there’s something I don’t understand about the process. But not a minute ago you said “a single human” produces more emergy than the energy they use in a lifetime. Bam, problem solved, you have energy for days right there. But no, you just had to get greedy, didn’t you? It’s not enough that you’ve got a source of emergy with plain old humanity that bites its thumb at thermodynamics, that solves your “Oh, energy of the universe is running out” problem just as it is. Nope! Instead you manipulate young girls into giving up their souls and turning into monsters because that gives you even more emergy!

This is not logic! This is greed! I am so glad to be wrong, you aren’t the Vulcans. The Vulcans would never stoop so low for a little bit extra. You’re the Ferengi!

*Sigh* So the Incubators go around collecting the energy, ‘hatching’ Soul Gems into Grief Seeds. Buddy, setting aside how wrong that is, what about all the lost potential emergy from the humans a Witch eats? Is one Grief Seed forming really enough to make up for that?

Madoka’s still in shock, mutters a question asking if Incubators really just see humans as disposable energy supplies. The Incubator asks if she knows just how many species there are in the universe, and how much energy they use all the time.

...which implies that the other species’ energy use is supplemented by the Incubators. Suddenly hoping they don’t show up after all.

“And someday even you humans will be able to leave your planet and come join all of us.”

Which will probably be pretty awkward. “Hey, so you’re the species that we’ve been harvesting to power our hot tub? Cool, cool, nice to meet you.”

Actually, why don’t they Uplift humanity? If a single planet of humans create enough emergy to conter the energy use of the rest of the universe’s species, how much emergy could be created by a Human Federation? See, Incubator? I’ve only known about this for a few minutes, and already I’m finding problems. You fail at logic!

Ahaha, NO. Incubator, you don’t get to try and blame humanity for the rest of the universe’s species using so much energy. Maybe they should cut back on their electricity, turn down the AC? If we leave our world to find an “empty and desolate” universe, that’s not our problem.

...don’t make me say it.

...I really don’t want to say it.

...ok, FINE. You may have a tiny, itty-bitty point. Yes, it would be advantageous for humanity as a whole to rise up into an established universal community.

BUT. You are saying that this comes at the cost of human lives.

Read my lips, Incubator. It was NOT okay for Mami to die. It was NOT okay for Sayaka to suffer. It was NOT okay for Kyoko’s family to implode.

“But we always ask and receive your consent before making the contract. Doesn’t that alone show our good will?”

Madoka screams that they do it by tricking all of us. YES.

“We aren’t able to comprehend what you mean by ‘tricking.’”

…

“Why is it that when humans regret a decision based on a misunderstanding they feel resentment toward the other party?”

…

…

… *snap*

FUCK. YOU. BUNNY-CAT.

This is not logic, this is not “for the greater good”, this is just being a dick. You claim to be an advanced species? Then you damn well understand what we mean by ‘tricking’ someone else. You knew all the details, and only gave out information at your leisure. If someone makes a decision based on a misunderstanding, it’s not their fault for not having all the knowledge. It’s the fault of whoever did have the knowledge, and neglected to share it for their own advantage.

Here, let me try something. Hey Incubator, I know about this other planet with a species that produces ten times as much emergy than any human, even a Magical Girl. Just fly off to the Alpha Centauri system, you’ll spot them easily!... Oh, what’s that? You flew all the way there and used up so much energy, but there was nobody there? Aw, what a shame. Hey now, what are you blaming me for? It’s not my fault you misunderstood that I was joking.

Madoka can’t follow the Incubator’s so-called “logic”. Believe me, Madoka, it’s good that you don’t understand that little jerk’s excuses.

Oh come the FUCK on, Incubator. You’re going to act the victim here?! Oh, I’m so sorry that it’s so hard for you to understand humans and our values system. We’ve got nearly 17 billion people, with 10 more every 4 seconds-

“-why should you care so much about the loss of a tiny handful?”

...WOW. Ok then.

Aaaand we have reached the tipping point. Madoka, our all-loving Protagonist, has said “If that’s how you think, then you really are our enemy.” Good job, Incubator! You proved to be so immoral with your faulty logic that sweet little Madoka has named you Enemy.

The Incubator soldiers on, acting all gracious that he came to try and explain themselves to her.

“I was hoping you’d understand what incredible good your sacrifices have done for this universe.”

Oh, well if you think that sacrificing these girls for the universe is for the best, then who am I to stop you?

The Incubator can’t understand Madoka’s point of view, and Madoka can’t accept the Incubator’s.

But the Incubator keeps up the compliments, saying that one day she’ll be the most powerful of Magical Girls. And then the wickedest of all Witches. A Witch with protagonist powers, brrr…

Oh, I’m so happy to hear that the harvesting of Madoka will get you an incomparable amount of energy, Incubator. That makes everything so much better!

“So if you ever feel like dying for the the sake of the universe, please call me anytime. I’ll be waiting for you!”

...wow. You dick.

The Incubator jumps away, and Madoka starts to cry.

*slight break between posts*

Aw jeez, sorry guys. I thought I’d take a few days to get settled into the fall semester, not get delayed over a month getting back. But on the plus side, as I’m sitting here, about to pull up Crunchyroll and resume the episode, there’s some emotional distance from that last part. Yes, I recognize the irony. And in that time, I have come to two realizations: Kyubey is right. And Kyubey is a moron. Hear me out. I’m going to try and do this response justice. If we accept what Kyubey has said as truth, then we are not alone. There are other species out in the universe, other inhabited planets. I don’t know how many there are, but let’s assume at least two others besides us and Kyubey’s race. If we go by pure, ‘unemotional’ math, we can say that humanity is outnumbered by 3 to one. And that’s not even factoring in the likelihood that these other races have settled more planets than our single world, the ratio could be much, much higher. Going by pure numbers, we are in the minority. In pure voting terms, if the other races are in agreement, our ‘discomfort’ means diddly-squat. And even beyond that, we’re talking about the heat-death of the Universe, the Incubators and the other races are working to prevent the end of reality. If that’s your goal, what sacrifice is too great? Especially if it’s not you who’s doing the sacrificing? So yeah, the need is there. Using emergy is a solution, perhaps the only solution, to the heat-death of the universe. Assuming that Kyubey isn’t lying about it being greater than entropy. In that, this single point, Kyubey is right. What I find painful however, beyond that whole ‘sacrificing young girls who knew not what they were getting into because you didn’t tell them’ thing, is that the Incubators are being criminally inefficient about this. It’d be funny if it wasn’t measured in lives. As Shay Guy said, they’ve found a local maximum with the emergy from a single human and just focused on maximizing that. Which I find to be criminally short-sighted on their part. I mean, seriously? You find a species that is the single solution to the heat-death problem, you maximize the emergy from young girls, and then you just leave it at that? Let’s run a scenario: Instead of sulking about in the shadows, creeping on little girls, you land a spaceship in front of the UN. An Incubator saunters inside, reveals that there are multiple alien species out there, and that they rely on human emotions to prolong the universe. Set up a few emergy-capturing satellites in orbit, rather than whatever method you use to gather emergy from individual girls, and start uplifting humanity to settle other planets, set up more emergy satellites… Hell, at worst if emergy satellites won’t work you get people who contract knowing the price. For crying out loud, I’d be willing to make the Contract myself, knowing that I’d get to enjoy power for at least a little while, be wary about my magic use and falling into despair so quickly, and knowing that my passing would result in the entire Universe lasting just a little bit longer. Ugh. Just, ugh. Incubators, what you are doing now is like finding a coal mine and setting it on fire to stay warm. Or whatever, I just cannot wrap my head around the inefficiency of this so-called advanced race. Bleh, whatever. Let’s get back to the Magical Girls. Been a while since I saw the episode, so I’ll pause here, watch up to where I left off, and then come back once I’m in the proper mindset. *Ten minutes later* FEEEEEEELS. Also, I demand an Incubator plushie for Christmas so I can punch it repeatedly. Camera is panning over Anime City (I know it has a real name, but I can’t remember how to spell it), settles on a table loaded with food. Ah, Kyoko! What are you up to? ...That’s Sayaka. No, that’s Sayaka’s body. Why do you have Sayaka’s body, Kyoko? What are you doing with your Soul Gem? INCUBATOR. GET OUT. It asks what Kyoko hopes to achieve, using so much energy to “keep the body fresh.” Aw, Kyoko. You haven’t given up on Sayaka, have you? I get it, I really do but… you know what happens when a Magical Girl uses up their energy or gives into despair, you’ve seen it happen right in front of you. Don’t put yourself at risk. Kyoko asks if there’s any way to get the Soul Gem back, the Incubator- Oh, you dick. “None, as far as I know anyway”? That is the worst kind of manipulation, saying that you don’t know but not completely dismissing the possibility. Because after all, it only benefits you if Kyoko uses up too much energy trying to fix Sayaka and Witchifies herself. Aaargh. Yup, after the Incubator says that Kyoko stops eating and pounces on the possibility, the fact that there’s stuff even the Incubator doesn’t know. Oh. Oh damn you, show. I accept that Sayaka is gone, that there’s no hope of her coming back, but then… “The existence of magical girls defies logic as it is.” This is a world of magic, of power greater than entropy. I can’t rule anything out. Heck, there’s apparently a time traveler running around (and doesn’t that say volumes about the show, that someone being a time-traveler has taken a backseat to this current issue). Like Kyoko, I am thinking about the possibility. I want it to be true, so bad. Argh, and the Incubator just keeps not committing. “There’s no precedent for it.” Speaking the truth, but framing it in a way that these poor girls are getting played. “Unfortunately, I can’t offer any guidance at this time.” GOOD. Now get out. Kyoko (and I) are done with your ‘advice’, you can just shove off. Later, it’s a new day! The sun is shining! The birds are singing! Madoka shuffles along to school, knowing that her best friend has become a Witch and fielding well-meaning questions from Hitomi! She tries to claim that she just didn’t get enough sleep. “Speaking of which, it looks as if Sayaka is staying home again today.” … Please stop talking. Please stop talking about how you should go visit her later, but you’re worried about how awkward things are between the two of you at the moment. Madoka is about to speak up- Sudden Kyoko telepathy! She rightfully calls Madoka out for trying to act like everything is normal and going to school, after the bombshell of yesterday. Kyoko says she needs to talk to Madoka, who says she’ll stay home today too and runs off, leaving a very confused Muggle behind. In what I assume is the touristy part of town, with the clean streets and windchimes, Madoka meets up with Kyoko. “Don’t you want to save Sayaka Miki?”... what are you planning, Kyoko? Maokda immediately leaps on the possibility of saving her best friend, and damn you Incubator I can see where this is going. Kyoko wants to save the girl who countered her “live only for yourself” philosophy… Side note: I know that I said I would stop shipping people in this show because apparently my saying “they would be a cute couple” is a death sentence. But am I allowed to ship people if one of them is already dead? I still think that comic of Kyoko and Sayaka is adorable, and she should be safe now that a ship is impossible. Right? Anyways, Kyoko questions why Madoka was going to school, not trying to save her best friend. Ouch. Well, I mean, I assumed that becoming a Witch was irreversible, too. Can you really blame Madoka for not trying something that she thought wasn’t possible? Oh? Kyoko’s apologizing for her phrasing? Damn, her personality has really mellowed since her first “let the Familiars feed on Muggles” introduction, hasn’t it? Still stubborn and headstrong, though, as seen here when she says that until they are certain whether Sayaka can be saved or not, she’s not going to give up. Ok, so what’s the plan?... Talk at the Witch and hope that when Madoka calls out to her, she’ll get back her human memories? Um. I… am not certain about the validity of this plan. I mean, if it is possible, then her best friend Madoka would probably be the only one capable of getting through to her. But given this show’s track record, I’m not so certain that “magic of friendship” plan is going to work. Kyoko admits that she has no idea if it’ll work or not. But that’s just the reason that she wants to try it. Heck, maybe if they cut the witch apart Sayaka’s Soul Gem instead of a Grief Seed would pop out. “Wouldn’t that be something? It’d be like one of those stories where love and courage triumph over all.” Urobuchi, stop laughing. I can hear you from here. Let me have this. Awwww. Kyoko’s talking about how she probably became a MG in the first place because she used to love those sort of stories. She’d forgotten… but it was Sayaka who reminded her again. Crap. Crap crap crap. I did it again, didn’t I? I just doomed Kyoko with my Ship of Death. I’m sorry, Food Girl, please forgive me! I didn’t mean to put you in Urobuchi’s crosshairs, I thought it was safe to ship you with a dead girl! And that sounds way creepier than I intended! Kyoko’s frank, saying that she won’t force Madoka the Muggle to follow the plan, that it’ll be dangerous if she does, and that Kyoko can’t guarantee that she can protect her. But our Protagonist agrees. Go Madoka, show that stupid Bunny-Cat what for! And we get the adorable pair-up of sweet, friendly Madoka and the tough, cool Kyoko. One joke about Madoka cramping her style and giving her some food (The Kyoko Seal of Approval), and the plan is in motion. Ouch. The classroom is looking a little emptier now, with multiple “absent” future-desks. And Homura claims sickness, walks out. Later that day, as the sun is setting, Kyoko and Madoka are walking along under a highway, heading to Sayaka’s Labyrinth. Madoka asks about if Homura would help them, but Kyoko blows it off, saying that she’s not that kind of person. Methinks Kyoko’s still a little bitter about the “drop that useless baggage” comment from the night before. Madoka, sweet loving naive Madoka, asks “Aren’t you the two of them friends?” Kyoko says not really, they did team up to beat enemies that they couldn’t defeat alone- Oh crap, Wally-Watsit, the Super Witch! I completely forgot about them! I mean, knowing that Homura is a time traveler, I’m not thinking that she’s intentionally summoning it, but… Ok, wild theory time, thinking about Homura’s philosophy of power. I think my idea that she summoned Wally-Witch could still work in the original timeline, but when she realized that she bit off more than she could chew she (somehow) went back in time to try it again. Try to warn Mami about the hospital Witch, keep Sayaka from making a Contract and turning into a Witch and distracting them from preparing for Wally, recruiting the outsider Kyoko to help in the fight… seems like a good plan to me. Pity it all went to pot. Oh, Kyoko is telling Madoka about Wally (Walpurgisnacht) now, warning her that it’ll arrive in a few days. Stronger than either Kyoko or Homura, if they team up they stand a chance. Incubator: “Oh, how brave of your friends to fight this terrible foe! But it’s really dangerous, they may not survive. But of course, if they had help from another Magical Girl, one with loads of potentia-” *Gets punted by Kyoko* And they’re at the construction site. Kyoko’s sure that it’s Sayaka, since the magic patterns are the same as yesterday. Kyoko finishes off her whatever-on-a-stick and transforms, checks one last time to make sure Madoka is up for the Labyrinth. “I’ve gotten kind of used to this, actually. Although… all I ever do is trail along behind others.” Nope, nope nope nope. You are doing just fine, Madoka, do not give into peer pressure now. But she’s still brave enough to go in as a Muggle. Kyoko smiles… and opens the Labyrinth. Inside what appears to be a dark brick-wall hallway, Madoka asks Kyoko if she’s a coward, since everyone else fights but her. Kyoko just asks why she would ever become a Magical Girl. It’s not a job just anyone can do. If Madoka gets to live a life that Kyoko dreamed of when she was younger and her father’s church was failing, good food every day and a happy life with her family… why give it up to fight monsters? “I’d never allow that to happen.” Daw, and Kyoko has joined the ‘Protect Madoka Brigade’. You may think that you’re weak, Madoka, but frankly you’ve got superheroines tripping over themselves to protect you. But of course Kyoko adds her own twist of tough love to this declaration of protection, saying she’ll pound Madoka’s face in before she became a Magical Girl. Heh. “I mean, putting your life in danger… only people who’ve got no other choice should do that.” Aw, Kyoko’s turning from a Barbarian to a Paladin. She keeps calling heroes idiots, but she is becoming quite a heroine. Damn you, Urobuchi, for making me see that as a sign of death. Let me have the hope that heroes can prevail, not just die tragically. Stop crushing my optimism. “But maybe a time will come when you’ll have no choice but to risk your life and fight. You should wait until then to think about it.” And with that lovely quote, they approach the end of the hallway. Now there’s another one, with glowing walls and a bunch of musical notes… oh yeah, Sayaka’s magic signature was music notes! Man, this scene’s going to have some good music, isn’t it? Yeah, I can hear an orchestra starting up- crud, the door just slammed shut behind them! She’s coming! Music is picking up- oh hell yes, it is an orchestra. And the Witch herself, swaying as if she’s conducting. Ladies and gentlemen. Showtime. Come on, Madoka. Call out to your friend. Let Sayaka be in there, let her hear Madoka. Let us get a happy ending… no, the Witch is attacking now. Kyoko summons up a barrier for Madoka and tells her to keep calling out while Kyoko parries the train wheels. Madoka’s pleading for Sayaka to remember how she wanted to fight for justice, to go back to her old self. But it’s not working. The (awesome) music is swelling as the Witch sends a stupid amount of train wheels at Kyoko, and oh crap the barrier just went down. Ok whew, Kyoko is still ok… but looks tired after that barrage. She just tells Madoka to keep it up, resummons the barrier and keeps at it. But she’s getting knocked around, Madoka’s not getting through. Come on, Kyoko, keep fighting, don’t just stand there and get hit. Aw hell no, Kyoko. Don’t get all maudlin on me now, stop talking about how you started off trying to kill each other. You gave her food, doesn’t that mean something! Stop reminiscing and start kicking ass! But nope, she’s thinking about a red-and-blue image of Kyoko reaching out to Sayaka only for the Blue to shatter and the image collapse. Crap. You really did like Sayaka, didn’t you? The barrier is down again, Madoka is exposed. Crap, the Witch grabbed her! You let our Title Character go! There we go, Kyoko is pissed off, get back up! She’s cut Madoka free, is yelling at the Witch… crud. Madoka is unconcious, the floor is collapsing, and Kyoko is praying. Is that… Kamijo? Oh thank god Homura’s here, caught Madoka. But… Kyoko is not doing too well. And she doesn’t have Sayaka’s healing ability. “Hey. You… take care of her for me…” No. “I was an idiot for dragging her into this.” NO. NO! Kyoko! You pull that barrier down this instant, young missy! Homura just got here, don’t you dare keep her from helping you! Don’t you dare throw her “you can’t fight when weighed down with a burden” words back at her, make her retreat with Madoka. Don’t you dare pull a self-sacrificing Paladin! Don’t you fucking dare! Kyoko undoes her hair, and a hairpin falls out. She grabs it, and then kneels down in front of the barrier and beings to pray, or rather use her magic to summon a bunch of giant spears. She talks to Sayaka, says that she’ll be here with her… kisses her Soul Gem… and then stabs it. Explosion. Homura and Madoka are out in the real world. And the Labyrinth is nowhere to be seen. Later, at Homura’s house/apartment/residence. Homura is sitting in her room, staring at the floor. Or maybe at the maps scattered on her table. Still planning for Wally-Witch, then? But without Mami, Sayaka, or now Kyoko, can you still face it this time without Madoka giving up her soul? INCUBATOR. GET OUT. Homura asks if there was any real chance for Kyoko to save Sayaka. “Of course not. She should have known that it was impossible.” Oh fuck you, Bunny-Cat! And then to go on, say that you would have stopped her if “her death had been needless”? That getting her out of the picture served a very important purpose? But of course, this all works out to your favor. Because like I said, now there is no one else to help Homura against Walpurgisnact. Even with the experience of a past life, she is not strong enough to face the Super Witch alone. “In order to protect this city, there is no choice but for Madoka to become a Magical Girl.” And here’s the terrible, terrible choice. Homura is defined as doing whatever it takes to save others from the fate of giving up their souls, becoming a Magical Girl. Everything she has done has been to prevent Madoka from making that sacrifice. But when the cost of Madoka’s freedom is her city getting attacked by a Super Witch? Can one life be preserved at the cost of the many? Homura won’t let Madoka make the Contract. She swears it. … OH FUCK YOU, UROBUCHI! You end on this downer note, I’m practically crying over the injustice of the Incubator manipulating things to where Madoka has to Contract in order to save the city, and then you blindside me with this beautiful artwork of Kyoko and Sayaka?! God damn it, just take my heart and stomp on it, why don’t you? And this end-credits song… Da fuq? Final artwork piece of Kyoko looking a lot older and much more cat-like. Ok? Alright, let’s hear this teaser for the next episode: “No one believe me about the future.” Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god oh my god. We finally get to see Homura’s story? Her previous life? “No one can accept the truth about the future. I won’t rely on anyone anymore.” ...oof, this next episodes going to be a gut-punch, isn’t it? I mean, I’ve come to accept that these episodes are murder on my emotional state, but seeing Homura try to distance herself from these people, to keep from despair? This is going to be brutal. 

[billyggruff]

How to do a Crossover Fic justice:

You’ve thought about writing a crossover fic more than once. However you’ve heard the horror stories about the poorly thought out fics that just turned out so wrong. “Crossover fics are just bad.” People say. However they can be done well, just like any fic can be done well. You just have to think it out first. Here is a few things I do when I’m writing a crossover fic.

As an example, I am going to do an On The Spot Brainstorm Session crossing over lets say, Steven universe and the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magicka, because who doesn’t like a challenge. 

1) Ask yourself what you want to say about both these fictional worlds by bringing them together: 

All good fiction begins with an end goal in mind. It is no different with a crossover fic. Before you start writing, ask yourself why you want to bring these two worlds together? What story can you tell with the both of them together that you could not do with them being separate? What would the characters learn from eachother? How would they grow meeting eachother? What conflicts would arise from their worlds colliding? How would they meet? These are just the few of the questions that should be asked before you even start making the plot. 

Example: 

Why bring Steven Universe and Puella Magi worlds together: They are both deceptively nice and innocent in the beginning of their series, and then there is a turning point where not everything is what it seems. There is also duel themes of their gifts and powers coming at the price of always being in conflict with monsters that turn out to be corrupted versions of themselves. There is also another connection to be made between the “Soul Gems” of the Magical Girls, and the Gems of Steven Universe, including similarities like

-Their (soul)gems contain everything they are as people

-When their (soul)gems are shattered, they die, and that is the only way they can be truly killed. 

-They can use their (soul)gems to summon weapons unique to themselves 

-They are all female due to how they are made/chosen

-They don’t age (not really confirmed with magical girls, but definitely inferred to the nature of their bodies, speaking of which...)

-Their physical bodies are not really who they are, but merely avatars that represent them, either as a hard light illusion like with the Crystal gems, or as a flesh puppet commanded by their soulgem in the case of the Magical girls.

-Their nature is fundamentally alien in every sense of the word, and it comes from a species that does not fully understand humans, nor views them as equals in any capacity. Even the Crystal Gems whom have lived among humans for thousands of years have a very limited grasp of how they work, though they are more empathetic to them than kyubey

Note: Finding these similarities in the early brainstorming process can help figure out what the themes are going to be later on. 

What story could you tell with both of these worlds united that you couldn’t with them separate? 

-Puella Magi brings to the table the concept of the Faustian Bargain, and the promise of power. Kyubey in an effort to save the universe from Entropy offer power to teenage girls while they are in the height of their emotional turbulence that only puberty can bring. They use that emotional turbulence to generate magical power that goes against the laws of thermodynamics. In order to entice these girls into such deals, they promise to grant them any wish they desire with the energy generated to create the soul gem. The more important and influential this girl is, the more powerful this wish can be. 

-There are several characters in Steven Universe that would be interested in such a bargain. Steven is half gem, and although he is male, there may be a case to be made that Kyubey would make an exception for him, given how many threads of fate are connected to him. Connie Would also want to make such a bargain to be a better fighter for Steven. Sadie would like such a wish for any number of reasons, maybe some of which would include Lars. The issue is, these wishes by their very nature come at a terrible cost, which would ultimately result in their soul gem being corrupted, and them turning into what Puella Magi calls a “witch” 

-Kyubey is all about correcting Entropy, restoring energy to the universe. The Diamond Authority and gem production on the other hand infect planets and bleed them dry of their energy, leaving them barren and their gems filled with seemingly limitless supplies of power. Kyubey would therefore see their production as something dangerous to the universe. They would see the gems as speeding UP entropy in fact, accelerating them all to the heat death of the universe at a break neck pace. The creation of Magical Girls therefore would be a countermeasure for their work. While they have been sucking the universe dry of energy, Kyubey have been using living sacrifices to replenish the what the Diamond Authority stole. That would definitely be its motivation for being in Beach City, where many of these such gems come. 

-Steven may play a part in restoring entropy now that I think about it. Givin that his power is healing both organic and inorganic life, he can restore the damage left by the diamonds, which is something that the Kyubey would definitely be interested in, though they would not go about it in a nice way. 

Note: Already the seeds of a crossover fic is coming together by just comparing their similarities and differences. We have a story about restoring balance to the universe and what costs are worth bringing that balance together? Is it worth the lives of your friends? Yourself? Is the Kyubey in the wrong for sacrificing human girls to restore energy to the universe, or is it the Gems fault for stealing that energy at an alarming rate with their kindergartens? That is a fantastic place to work from that doesn’t cast either universe in a positive or negative light, but rather looking at how they would interact with one another and the realities of said universes. There is a Yin and Yang metaphor to be had with the Gems and Kyubey here. 

What would the characters learn from eachother?

-Looking where this line of questioning is leading me, bringing the world and the concepts of Puella Magi into Steven Universe, along with Kyubey, may be a more apt idea than bringing the characters themselves. Their story was very involved and focused, and having it branch into beach city would not necessarily make sense. 

-So to answer the question, it would be what would they learn from interacting with Kyubey and his faustian bargains, and how do the gems answer for the acceleration of Entropy that they are causing as a species? How would Steven react knowing that his whole kind were responsible for basically speeding up the death of the universe itself? What would he do to fix such a thing? We know he is the self sacrificing type, so he would definitely deeply consider Faustian bargains, regardless of what that could mean for himself or Earth itself. 

-This would place Steven into the role of Madoka. Madoka and him would definitely have rhyming character arcs. She wants to save all magical girls from the fate of being witches, and Steven would want to save the universe from the accelerated entropy that his people is causing. 

-If Steven is to take the Role of Madoka, then it would be quite apt to think that Connie would be the one to take on the Role of Homura. She wants to protect Steven, help him. Save him, maybe even from himself. This could translate into her becoming a Magical girl to prevent steven from making that Bargain. 

-However this idea is very close to the story line of Madoka itself, so we would want to find more ways to differentiate it from that story line. Last thing you want to do is just retell someone elses story, even in a fanfiction. 

How would they meet? 

-If we are going to seamlessly integrate the Steven Universe and Madokaverses together like my train of thought is leading me down so far, then you have to assume that they know about the Kyubey to some degree. 

-Maybe in this version, the Kyubey are the ones who made the Gems in the first place. They are certainly intelligent and curious enough for such a venture. Perhaps they were searching for ways to artificially create emotions and intelligence, but their creation ended up being a virus unto the universe, sucking up all the energy, killing all the organic life they could find, and accelerating entropy by an alarming rate. 

-It would explain why Gems and Soul Gems behave so similarly. 

-They could also have worked to prevent Steven from ever hearing about Kyubey, as they know what his faustian bargains can lead too. They could even be scared when he said he met one. That’d be interesting. 

note; Such speculation doesn’t necessarily need to be true for either canon, but rather it should be as plausible as possible. 

2) Is there an audience for this fic idea? : 

Now if you are writing this for fun, then this question should not really play a factor for you. However if you like having those views and likes and reblogs and all that jazz, this is a very important question to ask. You may have a fantastic idea about two stories meeting, but understand that with each new story you bring into this universe, the more niche your audience gets. If you want a story that gets views, a pure single source fic would be the way to go, but if you think there is enough crossover of their fandoms to garner interest in your fic, then try out your idea!

Example: Now is there an audience for this SU/Puella Magi fic? Probably not. Anime and Cartoons rarely have the interplay with their fandoms like they do in their own spaces. This would affect my decision to continue the brainstorm if I’m writing this with the desire to reach an audience.  

3) If you decide to go through with writing the crossover, choose your characters and their roles:

Crossover fics bring with them an abundance of characters from both series to work with, however it would not be a wise call to make a fic involving all of them. Much like with any work of fiction, fan or original, focus with the plot is vital. Therefore you want to focus this story on a handful of characters with one being the main protagonist. Don’t just go with your first instinct either, see what kind of story you could tell with each characters unique perspective and find which avenue works best for the brainstorming you’ve had so far. 

Example: 

- One clear example for choosing a main viewpoint for this entropy story is Steven himself. Seeing his struggles, perhaps his decision to sacrifice himself for the sake of the universe (which is a direction this fic could take), all of this could be a good vehicle for the story. However, This also brings up my previous assertion that this would be too similar to the Madoka Magicka plot. 

-Connie would bring a more down to Earth perceptive to the story. She’s a smart character who is still very new to this whole magic business, so she’d be skeptical of what this Kyubey is saying. Maybe this Kyubey even tells her that the Gems aren’t what they seem, which is what brings to their attention that a Kyubey is even there. There is definitely something you could do with Kyubey whispering in her ear that the Gems cannot save the world like she could, that a magical girl is better equipped to save the universe, even though he means this in a different way than Connie thinks. Perhaps taking Steven Off the faustian bargain table since he’s a boy would help fix the sameness this plot could have with Madoka, and make Connie’s ties with Steven be the source of its interest, as Steven is quite magical. Also could bring up the possibility that Stevonnie could end up taking on this burden instead of just Steven. That could work. 

-Sadie would definitely be a B plot, and maybe there to show the dangers of taking such a Faustian bargain. Given her propensity to give into anxiety and despair, she’d definitely have potential to become a witch.

-Lars would be a B plot too related to Sadie’s arc. Not sure if he should be pink or not. 

-The Crystal Gems would definitely be supporting characters in this case, and they would have exposition about Kyubey and witches and the like to dish out. Considering starting the Fic with a Witch fight, and Although Steven is confused the Gems know exactly what it is. Maybe they even forewarn him about kyubey, a warning that doesn’t get to Connie before she actually meets him. This suggests a duel story between Connie and Steven, especially since we may be taking a Stevonnie ending. 

So the main characters are: Steven and Connie 

main themes: Kyubey and his Faustian bargain, and questions of who really is the true evil in this case, Kyubey for the human sacrifices through Faustian bargains to restore energy that was lost, or the Gems for causing the accelerated entropy. 

Supporting cast would be the Crystal Gems, Sadie and Lars(though we need to find a reason for him to be in this. Hell he could be off world....oh, thought!)

-Lars is going to be on Homeworld, fighting for survival, and Sadie is going to consider making that bargain to help him by fighting along side him. There’s your B plot right there. 

4) Once you have brainstormed your general reasons why you want to tell this story, who the characters that are going to participate in this story are, and general conflicts that these two series coming together can bring, then you make your plot outline:

By this point in the process, you’ve already developed an idea of where you want the story to go and who is going to be involved. You’ve also made piece with the fact that you may not get the audience you would with a normal fic, because having a crossover by nature makes it a more niche market for readers to even think about searching for. With that in mind, make the first draft of how you think the story should go.

Now when you are outlining the plot of your fic, here is what you are going to be looking for: 

First you are going to start with setting up the Status Quo. This is the area of comfort for your main protagonist, their usual, normal everyday life that they would have on any other day. However, Something is going to make them want something. This want is usually seen in things like wanting to achieve something, wanting to live up to an expectation, wanting to indulge their curiosity, anything that compels them to take action is what you are looking for to take you from that point of contentment and status quo to the plot proper. 

Note:It is absolutely important that they choose to follow a desire instead of being thrust into a situation. Passive protagonists that just have things happen to them outside of their control is simply not a good way to go, and will rarely endear anyone to your character (outside of Twilight anyway). The advantage of fanfiction is you already have their wants and desires prepackaged for you, so this should not be that hard to figure out. 

Once they follow that desire they will enter a situation they’ve never encountered before. THIS is where you begin your crossover. Its the perfect place in the plot to introduce foreign elements that fundamentally change everything. How this unfamiliar situation plays out is up too you, but make sure it informs the direction of your story. 

Then, you let this New status quo shift simmer and boil for a little bit. Get the characters used to this new change to their lives, the rising temperatures and tensions, let them interact with the crossover side and see what scenes you can build from there with quick snappy ideas rapidly shot onto a page. 

Have it seem like this is actually almost a good thing that this crossover is happening, have conflict sure, but make sure that your characters feel a bit more fulfilled in what they were desiring initially in the story. However they will soon find when the other shoe falls that there is a heavy toll to be paid for what has been going on. Something that rattles them to their core. This will lead them to the climax of your story and ultimately the conclusion, where everything is different than it was before, and the characters are changed for it, be it for good or for ill. 

example: 

Status Quo to Desire

-The fic is going to start with Steven being home from Homeworld and the gems responding to a dangerous threat. He wants to go with, but they seem adamant about him not going. However his desire to do something, especially with his guilt of leaving Lars on Homeworld, spurs him into demanding to go with them to deal with what they are going to deal with. 

-Meanwhile, Connie felt powerless to help Steven, and almost lost him when he was taken to homeworld. While he had been gone, she had begun to be visited by a certain strange white creature by the name of Kyubey, who has been offering her a way to help protect Steven. She has been reluctant to take his offer, but not reluctant enough to tell the Gems about him just yet. 

Desire to Catalyst Event

-The Crystal Gems and Steven find themselves inside of a witches Labyrinth, a pocket dimension filled to the brim with creatures that seem straight out of a twisted child’s dreams and nightmares. Garnet and Pearl know exactly what is going on, but Amethyst and Steven are entirely in the dark. They engage the witch in battle, and when the grief seed is revealed, Garnet bubbles it without a word, then demands Steven to stop asking any questions about this anymore. Even Amethyst is left out of the loop. 

-Connie’s suspicions for this Kyubey rise when he says that he would rather she didn’t tell crystal gems about his presence, and that the Gems and Kyubey have a complicated relationship with one another, and that the gems are not the benevolent beings in the universe that she thinks they are. He says that he cannot stop her if she so chooses, but be warned that they may not like what they hear. This raises doubts in her, especially with how bad Jasper and Aquamarine were. This urges her on to talk to Steven about it, and their conversation is subsequently overheard by Garnet, whom promptly loses her cool and demands to know exactly what this white creature looked like. Pearl is also very concerned. 

Rising tension to start of Climax 

-Have more witches Labyrinths start to appear all over, signalling that Kyubey are active on the planet once again. 

-Although the gems want to stop Kyubey from doing what he is doing, they cannot readily get rid of him. Though they may be able to destroy his body he can just come back 

-he reveals things that the Gems want to keep secret to both Connie and Steven, like how gem production accelerates entropy, and how they have been systematically wiping out organic life for thousands of years. 

-Sadie ends up taking a Faustian Bargain. maybe to bring Lars home, but he ends up being angry because the off colors need him to stay alive. (this could cause more drama than her just going to homeworld, and it would make sense that she’d want to bring him back.). Alternatively She could be visiting lars through lions mane, and trying to figure out how to help, and her wish to bring him back forgot to include the off colors in a spur of the moment. 

-Sadie’s in danger of becoming a Witch due to the rocky relationship she has with Lars and the mistake she made with her wish. Kyubey informs them all that only the Grief seeds they’ve been collecting and bubbling can save her from that fate. 

-Steven is thinking heavily on what Kyubey is telling him about the accelerated entropy, and what the gems are doing to the universe, and Connie is wanting to help the gems like Sadie is now doing. 

-Connie is finding Sadie, now a magical girl, is capable of fighting way better than her on almost an instinctual level now. She’s pulling moves even Steven is impressed with. It makes the Faustian bargain even more enticing even though Garnet is having none of it. 

-Garnet gives Steven a vision of Sadie taking the bargain and eventually becoming a Witch they have to defeat. It kills him seeing it, but Garnet felt it necessary to show the costs of what Kyubey is offering. 

-However he sees it as a sacrofice he’s willing to make if it means fixing the entropy problem that his people have caused in the universe. 

Climax to conclusion 

- A particularly powerful Witch is heading for the Cluster. 

-Kyubey sees the potential magical output of a Witch who gives physical form to all those shards could very well fix the entropy problem for a little while, at the cost of the planet. 

-If they do not stop the Witch from reaching the cluster, the resulting witch/cluster fusion would be so powerful that it could fundamentally change the universe in ways even Garnet can’t see 

-They move to fight the Witch, and the grand battle begins in earnest, trying to keep the powerful witch at bay. 

-Steven and Connie end up making a decision together, and they fuse into Stevonnie before making their bargain with Kyubey. They wish that no new gems will be allowed to be made from this point forward, and to gain the power to restore life and energy to the universe that was lost . The resulting power gives them the ability to be a force of creation in the universe, but only when they are Stevonnie. When they are unfused, their massive soulgem does not exist, as that is for Stevonnie and Stevonnie alone. The longer they stay as Stevonnie, the more they run the risk of becoming a witch to end all witches, so they make sure to keep their souls balanced with meditation as much as possible to stave off that day, while still making sure to fight the entropy that the gems started. 

Now this is just a rough idea for a fic that I’ve developed over the course of this post. If I were to take it from here, it would go through more drafts, things would be tightened up, and perhaps things would even change. Such is the nature of refining your work. However I hope that those that read this get the idea now of how to create a crossover fic that works, and what to expect audience wise if and when you do make one. 

[kayostesting]

Voiced by: Ai Nonaka (JP), Lauren Landa (EN), Marga López (Spain) A veteran and morally ambiguous magical girl, she first appears as a foe to Madoka and Sayaka, serving as a "pseudo-villain" for a few episodes. Her view of a magical girl's duties are ruthlessly utilitarian; for example, on her first encounter with Sayaka, she suggests allowing a familiar to feed on humans and mature into a witch so as to ultimately gain a grief seed from slaying it. She wields a halberd whose shaft can split into chained-together segments, giving her weapon dangerous flexibility and reach. Adorkable: In the drama CD with her and Mami which takes place before she became jaded. Anti-Hero: After her Heel–Face Turn, she becomes mainly a Knight in Sour Armor. Anti-Villain: Initially appears as a dangerous antagonist and a cynical Social Darwinist who lets people die just to harvest more Grief Seeds for herself. However, it turns out that she isn't outright malicious, and is merely a broken girl: her selfishness is a result of her selfless wish backfiring spectacularly, and she later warms up to Sayaka and others after realizing the truth about magical girls, to the point that she isn't antagonistic at all in Rebellion. Arc Villain: Serves as the main villainous focus for a few episodes until her Heel–Face Turn, but mostly as the catalyst to demonstrate The Plan and intention of the real villain, Kyubey. Back from the Dead: In the Grand Finale. Since she died fighting a witch, Madoka is able to revive her with her wish. Bare Your Midriff: A lot of art work — both official and fan — implies she's wearing a belly shirt underneath her jacket. Berserk Button: She threatens to kill Sayaka for wasting food. Better to Die than Be Killed: After finding out the whole Awful Truth and unable to save Sayaka, Kyoko felt she had two choices: destroy her soul gem in a final attack to put Sayaka out of her misery and die together, or win the fight the usual way and still become a witch sooner or later, be killed by a magical girl and die alone. Considering her past, guess which one she picked? Big Damn Heroes: Gen Urobuchi loves to play with this trope. In Kyoko's case, Homura saves Sayaka from her and then she saves Sayaka from Elsa Maria. Then she saves Sayaka from a very pissed-off Homura. She tops it off by protecting Madoka and Homura's escape from Oktavia... by going out with a bang. Big Eater: She's always eating something and it's not Played for Laughs, as there is a Freudian Excuse for it. Blade on a Stick: Uses a spear as her signature weapon. Blood Knight: Unlike the other girls she enjoys hunting witches mainly for her own selfish purposes. Broken Bird: She used to be a lot like Sayaka, a "hero of justice" but then her dad freaked out and killed their family. Is there any surprise she is now so cynical and selfish? Byronic Heroine: A good person with a dark past and a lot of angst who engages in hedonistic behavior; yep. Calling Your Attacks: She never does this in the anime, but in the third drama CD, Mami insists on calling her Doppelgänger Attack "Rossa Fantasma" - literally "Red Phantom". Kyoko says it once during battle, but then breaks out laughing afterwards because she can't take it seriously. Catch Phrase: "You want some?" Chekhov's Gunman: Appears in the title and credits sequences before appearing in the series. It's also implied that she's the magical girl that Kyubey and Mami talk about in Episode 3, who made a wish for someone else. This is confirmed in the third drama CD. Clingy Jealous Girl: Becomes this to Mami in The Different Story. After their separation, Kyoko tried to bait Mami to fight her twice and got frustrated both times by her refusal. The irony is that this jealousy is the result of Mami taking Sayaka as her partner. Curtains Match the Window: Red hair and eyes. Cute Little Fangs: She has one and it makes her look like the predator she talks about. (Also cute.) Cynicism Catalyst: She made a shortsighted wish to bring followers to her father's congregation. When he realized what was going on, he killed his family. After this, she decided to work for herself and only herself. Dark Action Girl: She's selfish, brutal, and not at all heroic. This changes some after her Heel–Face Turn. Dark and Troubled Past: Her father was a priest, but he was excommunicated for "heresy" and the Sakura family fell in poverty as he couldn't support them anymore. Kyoko used her wish to get more followers for him...but when he found out it was just magic and not his ideas and words, he went crazy and killed himself and his entire family, leaving Kyoko as the only survivor. Darker and Edgier: Than the other main characters who think of themselves as traditional 'love and justice' magical girls. Dark Magical Girl: Her time in the show is all about pitting herself and her beliefs against Sayaka, who sees herself and her beliefs as a traditional magical girl. As per the trope, she has a Heel–Face Turn and develops a soft spot for Sayaka, who reminds her of her ideals. Death Equals Redemption: Part of the reason of her Heel–Face Turn is the realization that magical girls are essentially liches, and that she might as well do something to remedy this situation. Culminating in her Heroic Sacrifice to give the bewitched Sayaka a Mercy Kill. She even gets her final moment of clarity, where she realizes that she has always wanted to protect someone. Defrosting Ice Queen: Introduced as cold and selfish, but reveals a slightly warmer personality later as she grows fond of Sayaka. Depower: The third drama CD reveals that Kyoko could originally create illusory copies of herself, but she lost this power when her family died. Despair Event Horizon: Played with. As the sole survivor of a Pater Familicide committed by her father she became bitter and jaded but her soul gem did not corrupt so she held onto a bright outlook. When Kyubey lets slip the Awful Truth, she shows more and more humanity. Potentially played straight in the PSP game if Homura defeats Oktavia before she has a chance to save what is left of Sayaka, thus removing the very last trace of hope and idealism she had left, and triggering her transformation into Ophelia. Died Happily Ever After: Implied in the anime to be her eventual fate, following Madoka's wish. Doppelgänger Attack: The third drama CD reveals that Kyoko's original power was to create decoys of herself. She lost this power when her family died. Dying Moment of Awesome: She kills Octavia in a Heroic Sacrifice which is also a Together in Death attempt. Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her fighting outfit looks a little like this with a Showgirl Skirt thrown in. Evil Redhead: Initially, she is an antagonist and her hair color is much darker than pink-haired Madoka. Expy: Red hair? Check. A passionate and cruel personality to go with it? Check. Introduced a third into the series and as being above the protagonists in skill and power? Check. Lives for battle? Check. Antagonizes the blue-haired girl? Check. Has Tsundere tendencies? Check. Abrasive attitude caused by a parent who went mad and committed suicide? Check. Are we describing Kyoko or Asuka Langley Soryu?note Her first name and long ponytail also bring Yoko Littner, Asuka's Spiritual Antithesis, to mind. Face Death with Dignity: Her last moment is her praying to her God. Fallen Heroine: She was sort of a Church Militant and she acknowledged how stupid heroism is but not even she can help feeling a little sympathy for Sayaka's broken state, leading her to a Heel–Face Turn. Fiery Redhead: As her red hair indicates, she's abrasive and hotheaded. Foil: To Homura, a fact not made clear until Rebellion. Kyoko acts selfish, but it's mainly to drive people away from the fate she suffered, and she regains her humanity through her interactions with Sayaka and Madoka. Homura on the other hand, while fighting for the greater good, is ultimately driven by selfish reasons, and the hostility she received from the other girls in other timelines has left her jaded and cynical. Freudian Excuse: Her love of food comes from her family constantly starving after her father was excommunicated for "heresy" and barely having enough to eat; a scene in the manga shows Kyoko getting punished by her mother for wasting food. Her selfish and Jerkass nature comes from the fact that her wish led to her maddened dad killing the whole Sakura family except for her. Hair Decorations: Her ponytail is tied up with a large black bow (and a hairpin, as shown in Episode 9). Heel–Face Revolving Door: From an Adorkable rookie magical girl to an amoral Psycho for Hire to a defrosted Knight in Sour Armor. Heel–Face Turn: Cements this with a near-Precision Bitch Strike as soon as Kyubey lets slip the Awful Truth. She then dedicates herself to preventing her friends from suffering Sayaka's fate. Heroes Gone Fishing: Homura once meets up with Kyoko while she's playing a dancing game in an arcade. Heroes Want Redheads: Inverted; she seems to be after Sayaka, but not the other way around. Heroic Sacrifice: She does a Mercy Kill on Sayaka so she won't have to die alone. In The Different Story, she uses Oktavia's grief seed to cleanse Mami's soul gem, but this leaves her without another one to use on herself, and she dies while fighting another witch later. Hero of Another Story: She was a magical girl for a long time. Her start up until meeting Madoka could be its own story. Hidden Depths: She reveals to Madoka in Episode 9 she used to love stories where love would triumph. This is hinted at when Kyoko tells Sayaka about her Dark and Troubled Past; losing her family left her jaded, but she didn't fall into the Despair Event Horizon and she kept on fighting. "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: She tries to do this alongside Madoka in a desperate attempt to save Sayaka after she turns into a Witch. It fails and Kyoko has to kill Sayaka along with herself. Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In the manga, during her fight with Oktavia von Seckendorff. Ironic Echo: When she first encountered Oktavia (Sayaka's witch form), she was rescued by Homura because she was carrying Sayaka's lifeless corpse and had no way to defend herself. When she refused to drop Sayaka's corpse, Homura calls her a hindrance. During their futile attempt to bring Sayaka back from being a witch, a very injured Kyoko leaves an unconscious Madoka to Homura, before stating that they should leave because Homura would not be able to fight with a hindrance like herself, before making her Heroic Sacrifice. Irony: The daughter of a religious man, who battled witches in the dark, is labeled as a witch by her own father. To make it worse, instead of her father burning her at the stake, he burns himself, Kyoko's mother and younger sister together with their church, leaving Kyoko the last of her family. It's All About Me: This is what she claims to be her philosophy; that a magical girl should only use her powers to benefit herself. However, she says this to Sayaka because she thinks she would benefit from that philosophy, and then she tries to help Sayaka against a witch. Jade-Colored Glasses: There was a time she was actually a lot like Sayaka and she wished to be a "hero of justice", but had her optimistic worldview shattered when her father killed her whole family and then himself after finding out people only listened to his preachings because of the wish she'd made. Japanese Christian: Her father was a priest. She seemed to have been observant when she was younger but there's little evidence that she still is. She does appeal to God as she makes her Heroic Sacrifice, but whether this is out of faith or desperation or some combination thereof is ambiguous. She carries a bag of apples during her explanation of her backstory and attempt to persuade Sayaka to her way of thinking. Japanese Delinquents: She skips school, picks fights with those who enter her territory, wears somewhat inappropriate clothing for her age, and lives off of stolen food. And true to the major character archetype of this trope, she turns out to be nicer than she acts. Japanese Pronouns: Uses "atashi" for herself, which is odd considering her Darwinist lifestyle and masculine vocabulary. Jerkass: Initially, she cares about nothing more than killing her foes and leaving people to die in order to benefit herself. Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Her backstory doesn't justify her horrible treatment of Sayaka before the Awful Truth happened. However, her later interactions with Sayaka and Madoka show that, Jerkass as she is, Kyoko is still somewhat redeemable. Kleptomaniac Hero: Implied that she stole most, if not all, of the food she was eating. Knight in Sour Armor: After being reminded of her ideals by Sayaka she became this; renewed idealism but still bitter. Knight of Cerebus: There's a reason why they waited until after Mami's death scene to introduce her and why she originally didn't appear with the other core four in promotional materials. The Lad-ette: Magical girls are known for their femininity. Kyoko is not. Lady in Red: Her magical girl outfit is red and she has hedonistic tendencies. The Lady's Favour: Inverted in The Different Story. Kyoko goes off to fight Oktavia and leaves her ribbon with Mami, promising her to return to get it back. Lady Swears-a-Lot: By Japanese-standards, her vocabulary is filthy and at best is inappropriately masculine. Laughably Evil: There are no comic relief characters in Madoka, and definitely not Kyoko, but try not to chuckle a bit as she nonchalantly stuffs her face with food or plays a Bland-Name Product Dance Dance Revolution clone as the events of the series unfold. Leitmotif: "Anima mala" ("Evil soul"). Letting Her Hair Down: Does this just before sacrificing herself for Sayaka. Lost Food Grievance: Do not waste food in Kyoko's presence if you value your life. She'll Neck Lift you. Magic Knight: Mainly a melee fighter, but her main element is "enchantment" and she can occasionally use illusionary powers. Master of Illusion: Used to be capable of illusions as her magical girl power before the Pater Familicide incident. Meaningful Name: 'Kyouko' means 'apricot' (this ties in to Momo, the name of her sister, meaning 'peach'), which symbolizes strength achieved through struggles with adversity. 'Sakura' is the cherry blossom, which represents the transcience of life. Mercy Kill: Gives one to Sayaka that doubles as a Taking You with Me. Minor Living Alone: Kyoko lives in her apartment complex alone with no parental supervision due to her father murdering her mother, younger sister, and then himself in a murder-suicide. Neck Lift: Performs one on Sayaka when she throws her apple to the ground without eating it. Nice Girl: The Different Story and the PSP game show that she used to be this back when she first started out as a magical girl, being a very nice and polite girl who wanted to save the world from Witches and had undying respect for Mami, just like Sayaka did. But her father's increasingly abusive behavior after he found out the Awful Truth and eventual Pater Familicide left her jaded and resulted in her becoming far more cynical, amoral and selfish to the point where her and Mami's friendship ended because her philosophy developed into the complete opposite of Mami's. No Body Left Behind: Implied to be her ultimate fate eventually, due to Madoka's wish. Nominal Hero: At the start, while she's a magical girl who fights witches and may be loyal to both her teammates and the mission, she cares far more about killing witches, gaining grief seeds, and letting familiars kill people so they can become witches with grief seeds, than she does about protecting civilians. Not So Different: From Sayaka. She criticizes Sayaka for fighting for someone else's sake, but ends up sacrificing herself to take out Oktavia to make sure Sayaka/Oktavia won't die alone. This is lampshaded when she tells Madoka that Sayaka made her remember the reason she became a magical girl. Oral Fixation: Always has something in her mouth. Pater Familicide: In her backstory, her father killed her entire family save her before killing himself. Pimped-Out Dress: Her magical girl outfit is bloodred to symbolize her aggressive nature and the blood that was spilled as a consequence of her wish, as well. It is also adorned with the symbol of her father's church. Preacher's Kid: She was an angelic Church Militant before things went bad. When we meet her, she's well over on the cynical side. Psycho for Hire: Initially she kills witches for their grief seeds and Kyubey has her on call. Psychosomatic Superpower Outage: She's been unable to use her Master of Illusion powers ever since the Pater Familicide incident. It's implied this was because of the trauma she experienced. As shown in side materials, in a few of the alternate timelines she eventually gets them back. A Pupil Of Mine Until She Turned To Evil: She used to be Mami's apprentice just like Madoka and Sayaka, until the Pater Familicide happened and Kyoko decided to be selfish with her magic. Rapunzel Hair: Her messy hair grows past her back. Instead of the 'wealth' or 'high status' associations, it's more likely because she doesn't bother cutting it. Red and Black and Evil All Over: Initially she is a villain and her magical girl outfit is red with a bit of black. Redemption Equals Death: Sayaka's influence on Kyoko leads her to perform a Mercy Kill that takes both of of them out. Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes are red and she is the first indication that some magical girls are outright evil. Red Oni, Blue Oni The red to Sayaka's blue. She's more feral and hedonistic and they are color coded. Also the red to Mami's blue in the past and in The Different Story because she was more reckless and less precise than her mentor. Say My Name: She yells "SAYAKAAAA!!!" when Sayaka becomes a witch. Selective Obliviousness: A common theme is how Kyouko says many things... while not actually doing them. She says she's going to kill Sayaka... but is content (at first) to only beat her up before walking away. She talks trash about Mami and her beliefs... but as other content showed, she at first came back to Mitakihara to try to reconcile with her, before learning about her death. She even made a grave for her. She comments on how normal people are essentially just food... but never hurts Madoka and doesn't stop her from going to Sayaka. She even encourages Madoka that she's done nothing wrong and that being a magical girl isn't something to envy. She talks about how magic is only meant to be used for herself... but her wish was used for someone else, and even after that she uses magic for Sayaka and Madoka's sake, repeatedly. Serious Business: Nearly strangles Sayaka because she threw an apple on the ground. Played for Drama; see Freudian Excuse above. She's Got Legs: Comes with wearing short shorts. Ship Tease: Implied to have a one-sided crush on Sayaka. Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Didn't appear in early promotional materials, likely because of her darker nature. Sour Outside, Sad Inside: At first, she seems to be a mean, selfish girl who believes that magical girls should use their powers for their own purposes. As the series progresses, it's revealed why she acts this way: Her family fell into destitution after her preacher father was excommunicated and when he found out that his followers increased and came back was due to Kyoko's magical girl wish and not from people actually believing in him, he killed his family and himself and only she survived. It is only when she learns about the Awful Truths of being a magical girl and when she saves Sayaka from Homura that she starts to get over her sourness, which culminates in her performing a Mercy Kill to witch!Sayaka and sacrificing herself so Sayaka wouldn't be alone. Spell My Name with an "S": "Kyoko" versus "Kyouko". Both are officially endorsed, with the anime materials using Kyoko and manga materials using Kyouko. The Social Darwinist: She compares the fight against witches to the food chain: Witches and their familiars prey on weak humans, while Magical Girls are the apex predators and prey on Witches. Familiars don't drop grief seeds, so she sees no point in killing them before they kill enough people to become a witch themselves. She also applies this to Magical Girls themselves: weaker ones should yield their territory over to the stronger ones or die. She seems to have abandoned this philosophy after learning the true nature of Magical Girls. Stopped Caring: She was very idealistic when she started out, wanting to be a hero and save people from witches. After the Pater Familicide, she's now perfectly fine with letting people get killed by Familiars if it means more Grief Seeds. Meeting Sayaka reminds her of her old ideals and eventually gets her to start caring again. Stupid Sacrifice: The only thing Kyoko accomplished by throwing her soul gem to Oktavia was forcing Homura to fight Walpurgisnacht all by herself. Suicide Attack: She kills Oktavia with one. Super Drowning Skills: According to the 4th drama CD, she can't swim. Sweet Polly Oliver: In a gag image Kyoko decides to disguise herself as a boy in order to become closer to Sayaka. Sweet Tooth: She's constantly munching on sweets, even during battle. Together in Death: With Sayaka via Suicide Attack. Token Evil Teammate: Initially, prior to her Heel–Face Turn, she was a nasty magical girl. Kind of like a mercenary. Tomboy: She's even more tomboyish than Sayaka with her aggressive personality and masculine manner of speaking, but despite that, she still refers to herself with a feminine pronoun. Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to Mami's and Sayaka's girly girl, having a much rougher speech pattern and being more aggressive and masculine than both of them. Tomboyish Ponytail: Although her hairstyle should be more feminine than Sayaka's, it also emphasizes her nature as a rough Action Girl and looks quite unkempt. It also contrasts quite a bit with the preppy but cute Mitakihara school uniform, which she wears in Rebellion and the best ending of Portable. Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Downplayed; aside from using the feminine pronoun "atashi", her speech patterns are very rough and masculine, and when it comes down to it she's not very girly at all. In comparison, Sayaka is quite a bit more feminine than she is. Took a Level in Kindness: After starting as a bitch, Sayaka's and Madoka's suffering soften her up little by little. This culminates in Episode 9 with her bonding with Madoka, then sacrificing herself to save Madoka from a bewitched Sayaka, and putting Sayaka out of her misery. Tsundere: She comes off as aggressive and bitchy, but there's a warmer personality buried under. These tendencies are more prevalent towards Sayaka and Mami in The Different Story, since she obviously cares about them but refuses to express it openly. Tsurime Eyes: Befitting her harsh and confident nature. Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Had Kyoko not picked fights needlessly with Sayaka, Madoka wouldn't have snapped and thrown Sayaka's soul gem away, thus The Reveal would have happened later, or not and all — and thus, Sayaka wouldn't've begun her Start of Darkness either. Used to Be a Sweet Kid: A Daddy's Girl who made a Selfless Wish and heroically fought witches, who later became a Nominal Hero and Blood Knight. Variable-Length Chain: Her spear can segment into parts separated by chains. Her spear's shaft length also changes between scenes. We Used to Be Friends: The third drama CD shows that she and Mami knew each other when they were younger and were friends and partners in fighting witches, until the Pater Familicide happened and Kyoko decided to be more selfish with her magic. What Have I Become?: Not even she could stay indifferent to the Awful Truth but she takes becoming a lich better than Sayaka. Whip Sword: Her spear is capable of splitting into chains, but it also appears to be able to curve in a whip-like fashion. Who Wears Short Shorts?: In her civilian garb. It's another tomboyish contrast with her fellow feminine magical girls. Wrong Genre Savvy: Tries to start an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight to transform Sayaka back from her witch state. Explicitly lampshades it ("It'd be like one of those stories where love and courage triumph over all"). Considering the tone of the series, it's not surprising that it doesn't work. Zettai Ryouiki: She's sporting a Grade B in her magical girl outfit and her school uniform.

[littlepurinsesu]

V Watches MagiReco - Episode 3 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime Episode 3*

And so the Rena and Kaede friendship-ending plotline comes to a very satisfying conclusion! This episode actually had me in tears quite a few times (;Д;)

So many things to talk about and unpack so I’m going to try and keep it as succinct as possible >_< Starting with the most obvious: OH MY GOSH THOSE TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCES. I LOVE THEM. SO MUCH. HOLY CHEESE (♥ω♥*)

Yachiyo was the most elegant water goddess ever. True beauty right there. I have nothing else to say. Perfection. Momoko’s was super BADASS I LOVED IT omg all the flames and kicks!!! They really did a good job showcasing the duality of her tomboyish image and her gentler, “girly” side. Rena’s was like a cuter and more whimsical version of Yachiyo’s (since they have the same water theme), and I really love how the anime took the mirrors in her doppel and featured the imagery so heavily in her transformation! That last shot with the thunder was also super cool! And Iroha leaping off the building with all the feathers was so pretty *___* The bird imagery is as heavy as ever with this transformation, especially with the fact that she’s literally “flying” as she “falls” off the building. I also find it quite interesting how the cloak always comes last with a slight delay, especially with how the cloak was depicted as being almost “its own thing” before she caught up and merged with it!

All in all, these transformations were top-notch, and I love them even more than the ones we saw in Rebellion. They definitely lean more towards traditional magical girl transformations (which I personally prefer), while still retaining a decent amount of the trippy look of the Rebellion transformation style and overall PMMM aesthetic - a really good balance that encapsulates the tone of MagiReco quite well, in my opinion ^^

Okay enough rambling about transformations and onto some plot xD

Mitama finally appeared! Her voice is as Mitama as ever, and I really like the touch they had with how all her movements seem very deliberate and calculated, and very flamboyant. She gives off the impression of a very friendly and approachable person, but you can’t quite tell what she’s thinking or hiding, and get the feeling that there’s definitely more to her than meets the eye. Which is basically Mitama in a nutshell, so A+ for her portrayal. I do wish we saw her do a bit more, though, but it was only her introduction this week, so hopefully we’ll see more of her in the coming episodes :) The Mayu cameo was shorter than the Ren one, but I do like this method of “debuting” characters without shoehorning too many girls into the main plot, so I hope they keep this pattern up.

One small issue I had with the episode was the fact that they seemed to either change or gloss over the tension between Yachiyo and Momoko? This is biased because I’m a viewer who’s familiar with the game story, so seeing them getting along fine threw me off for a moment. But I guess it wouldn’t be an issue with anime-only fans, especially if they really did decide to just do away with the tension and have the two of them as perfectly amicable friends. Which is fine, too. I was just confused for a moment because of my expectations (one of the interesting things when you watch an anime with a preconception of the plot and characters) ^^;; I did like their tension and the way they made up in the game, though, so I’d be a teeny bit sad if they really did cut it, but that’s more of a personal preference, so not really an actual problem :)

Momoko’s super awkward and stiff “apology” was hilarious to watch, though xD Also, Momoko with her hair out!!! Definitely wasn’t expecting that! I thought it was supposed to show how stressed or tired she was worrying about Kaede, but no, seems like she sometimes just walks around with her hair like that. While I prefer her with the ponytail, I always appreciate it when anime (especially magical girl anime) show the characters with different hairstyles; makes things so much more realistic :3 And Mitama doing her hair was super cute, too ^^

The way they went about showing Rena’s internal struggles was really well-done. One thing I’ve always liked about PMMM is how you often get a sense of things being either “not quite right,” or you just have no idea what’s going on. I felt that in the scene with Rena watching TV in her room (Sayuki cameo!), transforming in and out of different characters. It’s strange and eerie, and it disorients you because you’re wondering what’s going on and what’s even real. But it’s a really nice kind of confusion that keeps you on edge, which PMMM is really good at, and I think it was captured very well in this episode.

I personally don’t relate to Rena’s personality or struggles at all, but for some reason she always manages to make me cry. I bawled when I read her Magical Girl Story in the game for the first time, and the little bits of it they incorporated here (much appreciated) got me sobbing as well... I really hope they don’t stop developing her character after the main five enter the scene and Team Momoko takes a backseat. There’s so much to explore with Rena, and I think they’ve done a really good job so far.

Kaede is as precious as ever, and her interactions with Rena were super sweet. I think it’s nice that Rena has a friend who’s so open and patient when she’s trying her hardest to open up and express herself well. The past two episodes really showcased the relationship dynamic between these two, including all of its strengths and weaknesses. I did, however, furrow my eyebrows slightly when they found Kaede. It’s understandable if they wanted to change the brainwashing from the game version of events, but the fact that Kaede seemed so chill and undisturbed when they found her seemed kind of weird to me, and frankly, didn’t make much sense xD I’d expect her to be a bit more scared or even traumatiised after being stuck in a place like that all alone, especially considering her timid nature xD

But the fight against the Rumour was definitely a feast for the eyes. The Rumour looked quite different from the game version, but in this case I think the creative liberty they took actually made the Rumour seem more distinct from a Witch. The barriers aren’t exactly identical in nature, the the huge winding staircases extending into the sky really go to show how large the scale of a Rumour can be. Iroha didn’t do much, but Yachiyo and Momoko had amazing teamwork; the water and fire looked amazing together! And again, I loved the use of mirrors in Rena’s attacks! It’s a unique and aesthetically interesting choice, and also helps differentiate her water-based attacks from Yachiyo’s. Kaede’s trees and leaves also looked lovely!

Backtracking a bit to the very beginning, but I wasn’t expecting Touka and Nemu to make an appearance so soon! That short scene did a pretty good job at showing the basic facets of their personalities, especially Touka’s, as well as their relationship dynamic. It was a really nice way to parallel and lead into the friendship-ending dilemma that Rena and Kaede are experiencing.

And on the topic of things I was not expecting... that Mami appearance at the very end!!! She showed up earlier here than in the game, but I think that scene provided some pretty important information that the game glossed over. Here we aren’t just told that Kyubey can’t enter Kamihama for mysterious, unknown reasons; we’re actually shown what happens when he tries. And seeing Kyubey openly asking Mami to go to Kamihama and investigate gives her a very logical reason to be there when she eventually gets introduced to the game’s main cast. But yeah, seeing Mami definitely had me feeling all nostalgic again ;___; I don’t even remember the last time I saw her, or any of the Holy Quintet  members, moving in anime form (;Д;)

Oh, and Lil Kyubey is possibly one of the world’s most adorable creatures ever and I WANT ONE AS A PET OMG (ᗒᗨᗕ)

This week’s review turned out a lot longer than the ones in the past weeks (and I just keep jumping all over the place between topics and not even going in chronological order) ^^;; Probably because I just had too much to scream about because of the transformation sequences ^3^ So I’ll quickly end this now by saying how excited I am to finally see the mightiest magical girl Tsuruno Yui debut next week!!! (*≧▽≦)