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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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Ducktales Comics: Spies Like Us and Dime after Dime or Weblena: The Preschool Days (Lena Retrospective) (Comissioned by WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and welcome back to Shadow Into Light, My Lena Retrospective, which fittingly has now come to Women’s History Month! I sadly do not have anything besides this arc prepared for the month. This month is pretty packed for me with two shows a week to cover, as while there’s only two weeks of Ducktales left final space starts up right after to take it’s spot, two arcs to cover, and two time specific movie reviews: animal crossing the movie and the 1990 TMNT film. I will try to get more than the currently planned top 12 superheroines list out there... but this month is very tight as is, so if I do not I deeply apologize.

Now that’s out of the way, it’s appropriate we start Women’s history month on some likely lesser known parts of Lena’s history, with some comics stories focusing on our faviorite emo lesbian duck and her 87 counterpart. Before I get started on that though Kev my patreon pointed out something intresting a few weeks back i’ve been forgetting to get to and since we’re looking into Minima, I felt this was the perfect time to do so: Lena’s Concept art.

There’s quite a few things to gleam from this. For starters as pointed out in the reddit thread I got the image as a whole from this was made in 2015, meaning Lena was one of the first new characters designed for the series and was part of it from the VERY early stages, as evidenced by the fact that despite clearly having their new personalities established, Beakly and Webby still had the old designs.

The other notable change is that her first design was way more like both Magica nad Minima, a bit more modern, but clearly far more obvious who she was related to. She also had all black feathers making the shadow twist a bit more obvious and was likely done away with both to avoid giving that twist away, the same reason for the fake lestrange name, and to avoid accidently black coding her, as while Lena being black would’ve been intersting, it also would’ve invited a firestorm of controversy given that their one black character in season 1.. woul’dve started off as a homeless, manipulative antagonist, and none of that would play well nor was it something the progressive crew of this show couldn’t spot from a mile away. And even this early on they have an almost final design ready, simply changing the shirt to fit her personality more, and her hair to be pink because it honestly looked better She also had green eyes throughout, but for whatever reason they phased them out. That part I don’t quite get as they look nice but probably they were hard to translate to the reboot style once they settled on their own. Her purple eyeshadow and haircut though have stuck since and were good calls.

One last VERY obvious note.. Webby was gay for Lena from minute one. While Dana helped it is now VERY obvious they gay coded this relationship from the design phase, and the crew was entirely aware the whole time and I gave them less credit than I should have. They clearly had this in mind, and it’s very likely ONLY subtext because Disney, while making more and more progress, is very reluctant to have queer characters as Owl House was a struggle and since they have a tighter leash on properites based on the sensational 6, that means Frank knew they had the same odds of making Webby or Della queer in anything but subtext that a pig has of suviving in a slaughterhouse. I bring this up because I fear the series getting accused of queerbaiting somewhere down the road instead of doing what they could with a bad hand and hoping they could make the show as gay as they could. Penny is as out as they posisbly could get her, and Violet and Lena’s dad’s got a full apperance, if no speaking role that made it obvious beyond a shadow of a doubt their gay and did it in a plot important episode. So they did their best and I want them to get credit for that.

But while this is all intresting stuff, join me under the cut for the meat of today’s review as I dig into Lena’s only apperance in the tie-in comic that was never punished here, and the only apperance of her protoype Minima.

Spies Like Us: As I mentioned this comic was never published here which is doubly weird to me because of how I knew this story existed. Since I follow comics weekly and buy trades reguarly, I read the solicits companies put out eveyr month to see what new series are coming, what the ones i’m currently reading are doing, and what trades are coming out. That sort of thing, and it’s something I love. I know their basically adds.. but their well put together adds that really pull you into the books you like. The big two and the indies are all very good at it and sometimes i’ts the only way to know a comic is coming if the company dosen’t make a press release for it ahead of time.

So naturally given there are several comics I follow at idw, paticuarlly the TMNT comics, I read those solicits and found they were going to do an issue with Webby and Lena becoming spies, and was excited about it. I ended up forgetting about it and never really followed the Ducktales comic as it came out, and upon reading an issue or two recently, one for another comission by kev as one story, happy happy valley, was particularly terrible. For those who haven’t read the story or my review, it involved the family getting stranded on an island where their forced to partake in activites and smile..that somehow turned into an aseop about Louie wanting to be rich. It ended with this

Yes.. really. That actually happened. But even with this, I fully planned to cover the issue when I covered Lena, and brought it up to Kev when he commissioned the retrospective. He gave me the discord equilvent of a blank stare and had never heard of it. I soon found out why: the story was replaced as, and fair play to disney, it spoiled Beakly’s past from the agent 23 episode which wasn’t going to air in time. What dosen’t work is they never reprinted the story in The US.. didn’t put it in a future issue and just swap it’s place didn’t put it in the nothing. And the story was fully complete as we’ll see, with a cover and everything so they had no excuse whatsoever to NEVER use it, even with what happened to Lena in the season finale, this clearly took place before that and it was weird to just shelve it because of that. But thankfully when a bunch of the stories were reprinted overseas, this and another one, also webby centric got published overseas. But not in english.

Lucky for me, I was able to find an english translation of an english story which you can read RIGHT HERE. It was translated by @neopuff and I thank them for it as without them this review would not be possible and want to give them all the credit. So was it worth all their hard work translating it? Well let’s take a look.

We begin at the Manor where Lena is skulking around suspiciously.. though it turns out she and Webby are just playing hide and seek. Though Lena accuses cheating. The dialouge here is pretty flat though that’s not Neopuff’s fault at all. As I can attest from reading other stories a lot of the early IDW comics are just this flat in dialoguge no matter the writer as they were likely given character descriptions and basic info about the show they likely had written up for merchandising and Frank and Co were given no involvement and likely weren’t made avaliable to consult on the comics to help them be a bit more fleshed out. It’s very obvious to me Disney just tried to get these pumped out so they’d have a series in stores to tie in without carring about qualities and given Scrooge debuted in comics, their lack of care toward that side of things in general, but especially in the first american published original duck comics in a while, bothers me a lot. It’s inexcusable.

That being said the story isn’t half bad nor is the setup as the two hear a beeping and find it’s Beakly’s phone going off with a mysterious message from Q, Webby thinks she’s been reactivated, and is encouraged by Lena to go look after her while she stays along. While Webby says in response

It just feels grossly out of character for both. Lena is far more subtle about manipulation as shown five minutes ago and Webby blindly trusts her. Because she has a massive crush on her and is naïve about how the world works. It just seems very odd of her to get suspicious as she never does on screen, and again it comes off as Disney having barely given the writers any materials on them when i’m sure Frank or Matt would’ve been happy to write up a thing for them to help outside of the usual press materials they were given.

Though hte last line isn’t all that out of character and has an obvious answer as within a jumpcut Launchpad’s taking them to London and is told to blend in.. which he does with an australian flag and accent.. good gag.

So our heroines do some heroic breaking and entering and look for the package, but soon find while hiding it’s already in transit.. and had obvious bows on int. Whoops. Our heroes trie the old follow tha tcar bit and refreshingly, it dosen’t pan out as the guy stops and tells them to get out. A nice twist. Unable to follow, our heroes instead find launchpad lost, as his map is upside down

So Lena dares him if he can follow that plane, a nice bit of character for both. I will give Joe credit. While the dialouge’s a bit flat and there was that out of character moment.. for the most part he does nail the actual character down and does use it decently enough. He’s just not given enough page room or actual details to work with is all.

So while our heroes follow they end up having to crash as they run out of fuel.. lucky their with the expert but end up near home where the package is delivered to. Turns out this wasn’t a spy thing, this was just a thing with her aunt. That’s fine and a nice gag.. it’s just ruined by just sorta.. ending. Lena leaves disapointed and Beakly scolds webby for “playing spy” and she’s sad. That’s it that’s how it ends. Which dosen’t fit the characters, as while Beakly would defintely scold her, it just dosen’t FIT that she’d be that tearse or not appricate the effort or give her an actual lecture and it feels like Joe had no idea how to end this after the gag and just.. ended it.

Final Thoughts for Spies Likes Us: This was okay. It is a bit of a disappointment as for the only story not available.. i’ts just okay and not really above an average Ducktales comics story, with some nice character bits but feeling a bit weak overall, as do at least the first half of the idw comics. I haven’t read the later stuff to see if it got better. It’s worth a read if you like Webby and Lena as characters and it’s not BAD, it’s just not anything impressive and is a simple hyjinks filled misunderstanding story.

Dime After Dime:

So now we go back a bit to the original. I didn’t do these in chronological order because frankly, Dime after Dime is the better story of the two and the bigger one at that, so I have more to work with here. But the original also had comics and honestly from the few i’ve read much BETTER comics. I chalk this up to two things: The Ducktales 87 comics seem to have come out AFTER the series was already a hit, and since Ducktales is pretty close to the original uncle scrooge comics minus it’s own tweaks here and there, it’s easy enough to just write the stories like you would a regular uncle scrooge story, just with Webby and Launchpad added, whereas the idw writers were staffed with writing for all new versions of the characters with noticable differences without much to go on. It’s why to me with tie in comics you have two options: Wait long enough so you can put your story inbtween the episodes like the Steven Universe and Regular Show comics did or just make your own continuity entirely like the Adventure Time Comics and the Archie TMNT Adventures series did. The ONLY time i’ve seen a comic work like this is the Bravest Warriors comic, which had a talented writer and fit well enough in the margins until it sadly ended.. and honestly is BETTER in some cases than the series. I might get to it someday. The point is this comic shows why you need to have a deft hand adapting something instead of just falling your arms about and hoping it’ll work.

So today’s comic was part of some Disney Series called cartoon tales, which clearly repackaged comic stories from wherever, and put them together. I don’t know much about it and the only other issue avaliable collects the disney adventures adaptation of “Just Us Justice Ducks”, which I might cover at some point. This book does have two other stories which i’d be happy to do on comission or on my own at some point, one involving gladstone the other gizmoduck, but for now, i’m just sticking to the title story and the reason you all came here.

So we open with Magica gazing into her crystal ball from her Mt. Vesuvies base saying that Scrooge will never know what hit him I know exactly what and who wiil hit him thank you very much.

Scrooge is seeing Webby off to her first day of day camp, getting all teary eyed which is touching. Beakly apparently goes with her as the story never SAYS Sshe does but she’s not also not around when the story moves on, as Launchpad says it looks like rain. Scrooge dismisses him, though Launchpad turns out to be right. Scrooge had good reason for once though, instead of just being a dick good on you comic for making me not want to punch him in the face, trust me that is a high bar to clear with the scrooge comics, as the weather was fine just a minute ago. Naturally it was Magica All Along! Nothing scrooge can do now that eveyrthing has gone wrong! Her entrance though is sadly not a catchy earwormy tune, but .. this confusing line

I think your thinking of Gladstone. And he’s still single so.. have at that but no Scrooge is the one who values hard work over anything else and brags about THAT or being rich. I .. I don’t get this line and frankly I don’t want to. Even in stories where the dime is supernaturally lucky and the source of his wealth he dosen’t boast about it because he’s not stupid and dosen’t want everyone knowing how to bankrupt him instantly. This line will baffle me until I die, presumably, given my life’s tragetctory, after reviewing an episode of mighty ducks and slipping on some a jerky wrapper.

Scrooge asks what she wants...

No this isn’t that kind of story sadly. Her plan is to.. zap the bin with lightning and take the dime. Really just went with your first draft didn’t you magica? But as stupid as this plan is Scrooge has prepared for it. He installed a lightning rod on the bin to save on power, and to power his new super soaker traps. So all Magica did was save him money. She flies off and nothing is acomplished.

So we get back to Webby at the Teenie Weenie Day Camp.. and just so you don’t think that was a terrible joke on my part...

My theory for how this name got approved at all is the editor KNEW how that sounded and just wanted to see if Disney would actually print a comic with the phrase Teenie Weenie without getting what it means in slang or how hilariously inapproriate it is to namme a children’s camp after it.

Your probably wondering who that grown woman calling Webby a dweeb is. Well story wise, she’s SUPPOSED to be another kid at the camp around Webby’s age. In practice, she looks like THIS in closeup

So it looks and plays like a 30 year old woman snuck into the day camp and no one’s noticed she’s not actually a children. Or their just humoring her because she had a week to live. I don’t know. I do know she doesn’t get to judge on names.

Snippy Von Glitz, proof rich people really do hate their kids and this this comic is trying personally to give me material. Snippy is your average alpha bitch, taking a chair from Minma and being obnoxious and classist and all that jazz. Minima gets hers back by making the chair bouncy then returning it to normal so Snippy gets in trouble when she makes up things about the chair, with the lady in charge getting ready to call her Dad. You cannot convince me that her “Dad” is just what she calls her husband, this is how they both get off, and that the lady at the preschool only tolerates it because they pay her a lot and so far the kids haven’t noticed Snippy is 30. Webby likes minima finding her name pretty, proving that the ho yay is alive no matter the webby and magica relative, and Minma returns the favor by saving her from a block.

Minma is reluctant to make an actual friend, finding they aren’t worth anything and given most of the kids here apparently pick on her and her aunt is well.. Magica, it’s understandable why she’d be so cold. But Webby presses on and says something from Scrooge about friends. Which given Ducktales scrooge has none goes weird but it gets Minma to find out she knows and lives with Scrooge, so she cons webby into taking the dime for show and tell, showing that she can manipulate them with her powers, and that he won’t notice it’s missing, getting her with “I thought you wanted to be friends”

So let’s pause for a second and compare and contrast the two: Both are the niece, or at least sorta in Lena’s case, of Magica, both manipulate webby, and both are her first real friend: The 87 boys are little monsters and I don’t consider them friends or even brothers, while the 2017 ones are just that: brothers. Their her siblings in all but blood, not friends and have hteir own long complicated history.

But otherwise the two are vastly different. Lena is a far more complex character as she’s been abused her whole life, is a rebel because Magica hardly gave her agency, and while she starts wooing webby out of self interest it’s clear even as far as the first episode she cares. Lena would gladly be part of the world if she could and this whole scheme is to gain that choice.

Minma is still sympathetic but very different: She walls herself off because the other kids laugh and mock her for being herself and lashes out at them.. not unreasonably mind , but still feeling she needs no one else.. but as we’ll learn later she’s only helping Magica to finally feel accepted, to get all the fancy clothes and stuff that will make her popular instead of that grown woman masquerading as a kid for disturbing reasons. Minma is at her heart just a hurt kid desperate to fit in. And while Lena shares the desire for a place to belong.. it’s at it’s core much sadder. Lena.. wants a family. Someone to love her and to care about her and actually look after her. Minma has that she just wants to be loved. it’s similar but very diffrent and I can see why Lena evolved into what she did, as Frank and Matt ended up going in a far darker but ultimately more interesting direction. Minima is not a bad character at all though and without her I don’t think we would’ve had Lena, but at the end of the day the 87verse is just not that complicated, so the reboot needed something more and that more evolved into who we have now.

Both kids excitedly talk about their new friends, with their respective guardians being distracted. Scrooge is distracted by the fact his car is a bit bumpy and Launchpad offers to fix it up for free with some parts from a buddy, which given the sentence “This won’t cost you anything” makes him erect, Scrooge agrees. Magica meanwhile, whose watching Minima while her mom is away which raises a LOT of questions we don’t have time for like who she is, is she’s poes wife or does Magica have other siblings... it’s a lot of questions we’re never going to get answers to.

The next day Webby got the dime easy as Scrooge was distracted. so Minima swaps them while she’s distracted. But while swiping it was easy, which to be fair Webby is likely approved in his security so it woudln’t match her.. or the story just needed to progress. You make the call.

Magica does the logical thing and goes and get sthe dime and the story ends there.. and i’m shitting you, she of course brags to scrooge, reveals minima as her spy, and offers to RACE him for it shortly after he realizes he has a fake.

The only major flaw in this story is Magica’s overconfdience, which isn’t BAD persay, but here has gotten to dumbass proportions. She just can’t plan for anything and a CHILD has a better plan than her that only dosen’t work for reasons we’ll get to. And that plan is almost ruined by Magica taunting scrooge!

So a race is on but Launchpad has transformed Scrooge’s old Model T into this

Damn that’s cool. Scrooge of course dosen’t like it, but honestly you get what you paid for. Oh that’s right you paid nothing for something you NEED to use every day for transportation.

At the rickity thickity bridge, Steve Buschemi’s worst roll and her minion ask Webby to roll with them and Minima mistakes this for betrayal planning to soak them all.. only for Webby to DEFEND HER, pointing out minma’s her friend, how she dresses is fine and she loves her no matter what.. the last part’s implied. The 30-year old asshole and her minon leave Webby and Minma is genuinely touched, as no one’s done that for her before. She put up so many walls... she didn’t realize someone could ACTUALLY care about her, so obessed with thinking she had to be like that soccer mom in preschoolers clothing, she just had to be herself: kinda werid but in that fun adams family way. Webby says she knows Minma would do the same.. so while she prepares to let’s get back to the race. Magica realizes Launchpad’s roadster is actually gaining and spreads some tacks, but Scrooge counters with some money.. because of course he has a lot of money in the trunk. But Magica takes out the bridge and while scrooge awesomely JUMPS IT... he’s still too late.

As you probably guess though, Minima had a change of heart, and gave Webby the real dime back, and Scrooge confirms it. Minima TRIES to tell Magica, and Magica is horrified her niece is a goody goody “I”ll never hear the end of it at my astral aerobics class”.. I.. I want to see that. Let’s raise those spirit ladies and kick kick that soul, doge that shadow king punch them in the soul. Yes! Now eat it eat it and absorb it’s power!

We end on a button joke as Webby apologizes for taking the dime., Scrooge accepts it and Webby tells them magica learned to carpet and they gulp for some reason.

Final Thoughts on Dime after Dime: This story was decent. It has problems, some jokes don’t land and Magica is made horribly incompetent, but minima’s character arc is endearing, and Webby herself is precious as always and her winning Minima over feels genuine. And Scrooge is in prime adoring uncle mode with her and i’ts just so cute. And the roadster race is pretty awesome to watch honestly. It’s an exceptional and enjoyable tie in story.. and not the last ducktales 87 story we’ll be covering here. Wink wonk.

Next Time: Things get DARK as Lena and Webby head into the depths of Scrooge’s hidden bin and Lena heads into the depths of her own soul.

Tommorow: Woo-Ooo mofos as we go back to the very beginning of the reboot! A family restored, a lost city to explore, and a glomgold rises! Be here or be square.

#ducktales #ducktales 1987 #webbigail vanderquack #lena saberwing #weblena #minima de spell #magica de spell #bentina beakly #launchpad mcquack #scrooge mcduck #dime after dime #spies like us #idw #comics #animation #shadow into light

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themonotonysyndrome · 4 years

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The Holy Quintet in Twisted Wonderland!

While I was having a writer’s block for ‘A Modern Fairytale’, I complained to my friend and we chatted on Discord. I told her about TW and she asked me if TW ever gonna have an anime adaptation since Magia Record:PMMM had an anime after the game is released. We love the Madoka Magica series and since they’re some similarities between the two, I thought why not have the main girls (I haven’t watch Magia Record yet though I’m aware of the existence of Doppels) react to the world of TW?

For those who don’t know about Puella Magi Madoka Magica, here’s a brief summary: It’s basically an anime about cute magical girls fighting evils where absolutely nothing bad ever happened. Like, ever.

Anyway, hopefully by the time I’m done with this, I can get my flow back for my previous writings...

*Since the First-Years are 16, I aged up the Holy Quintet just to match.

Homura could’ve unleashed a thousand bombs and grenades onto the wretched white rat the moment she realise that they were no longer in Mitakihara City or even on Earth!

Her day has been going on so well, too.

Morning arrives with the same monotonous routine. It’s a new day and a new timeline which means a whole new planning she needed to do before the fated day. But that can wait after school.

The teachers and students followed their scripts perfectly. Homura deftly ignore the hallway where the History teacher would request her help carrying the journals for the woman’s next class, spin around before the clumsy girl from the class next door would spill her water bottle onto her and even freezing time to whisper into Hitomi Shizuki’s ear who is lingering outside their shared class; how she had been neglecting her dear friend Sayaka lately in favour of Kyousuke Kamijou, how unfair her treatment of Sayaka has been lately.

By the time recess roll by, Madoka is alone just like Homura planned. Sayaka is pulled away by Hitomi. It wasn’t hard to wait quietly in her seat before the other girl spotted her and asked if they could have lunch together.

Homura accepts without hesitation.

She let the hours went by at their own pace until the moon is high in the sky. There’s a Witch that has been causing quite a ruckus near the shopping district. One that Homura would have no problem killing on her own, but Kyouko found it first and not even a day later, Mami caught wind of it as well.

As the clock is about to strike midnight, the Holy Quintet are standing in front of the Witch’s Labyrinth; the back door of a luxurious shoe shop. Homura ponder on what was the connection of the shop and the Witch, before Kyouko suddenly declare to kill the Witch herself.

“Hey, I was the one who found it first! This kill is my right!” The redhead Magical Girl announced with a Pocky stick pointing sternly at them to back off.

“Shouldn’t we work together to stop the Witch? Tomoe-san mentioned that it’s strong...” Madoka softly countered. Kyouko’s loud voice didn’t scare her but since the prize is a Grief Seed, everyone wanted it. Madoka wouldn’t dream of rebuking her friends of it. Not when they dearly need it for their magic.

“I don’t want to add more to the fire, but if we work together, who’s going to claim the grief Seed?” Sayaka interjects, her hand up in the air as if they were in class. They haven’t transform for battle yet; it’d be a waste of magic to transform only to have half of them returning home later or search out for another Witch all night long if Kyouko won’t budge from this one.

Madoka, Sayaka and Kyouko all turn to Mami when she remains silent for too long.

“It can’t be help then.” Mami shrugs. “If Kyouko is adamant to kill this Witch, then we should leave it to her. She was the one to discover it after all.”

When Kyouko whoop and cheer, Sayaka went ahead to scold her. But their relationship had progress to a stage where they could banter easily with no hard feelings involve, so Madoka is at ease.

Homura, however, is not as it slightly deter from the script but she wisely keeps it to herself.

Homura’s day went wrong when Madoka sweetly offer, “I still have some Grief Seeds on me, so I’m more than happy to help Sakura-san out!”

“Madoka - ” Homura automatically begin, she would rather have Madoka reserve her magic but luckily Kyouko beats her to it.

“Aww, it’s fine Kaname-san. I’m a big girl, ya know? I can’t handle one Witch.” Kyouko assured her with a bright smile that’s enough to dissipate Madoka’s worries. “Beside, you guys have been working hard these past few nights hunting Witches. You guys deserve a break for once.”

“I can’t argue with that...” Mami ruefully reply. The girls all decide to leave this Witch to Kyouko’s capable hands and was about to make their way home (with Mami escorting them back even if she didn’t have to) when the door to the Witch’s Labyrinth suddenly flings open. Light, colours, myriad of voices and music flood out from the shop.

“D-Did the Witch realised we’re here already!?” Sayaka said through gritted teeth. The corrupted Magic that’s spilling from the door is overwhelming, trying to pull the girls inside.

“That can’t be!” Kyouko retort with her spear already in hand and stab to the ground to anchor her. Her other hand is gripping Sayaka’s to hold her steady in place. “A Witch only have absolute reign in its Labyrinth. Not in the real world!”

The Magic then began to slowly drag their feet towards the door. Madoka, who is the closest to Homura, touch her Soul Gem. Homura didn’t want her to fight, she’d rather deal with the Witch herself.

“Madoka, wait!” Homura shouted and lunge to grab her. Her Shield is already on her arm despite that she’s still in her school uniform. She just needed to freeze time and then -

“Now this is interesting. This doesn’t feel like a Witch’s magic at all.” Perch on top of the many lamp post and unbothered by the overwhelming magic is Kyuubey. The Incubator blink its pink, beady eyes before jumping down and landed beside Homura.

“You - You’re not needed here!” Homura hissed viciously.

“Look carefully through the door there, Akemi Homura. Doesn’t that look like a mirror?” Kyuubey instruct in a pleasant tone that irked the girl.

“What are you - ”

“Akemi-san, look! There’s a mirror!” Mami’s urgent voice snapped Homura to attention.

Indeed. There’s a black mirror inside the shop, floating in air.

“Is that how the Witch noticed us!?” Kyouko is already brandishing her spear to throw it straight through the mirror.

Before any of the Magical Girls could do anything, the mirror forcefully yank them towards it and swallow them whole. Silence descend on the streets.

Homura fought to stay awake but the magic lull her to close her eyes and sleep.

“Did.. did a mirror just appear from the ceiling and spat out... girls?” An unfamiliar, incredulous voice was what stirred Homura up. Something feels off.

When Homura open her eyes and realise that she and her friends are surrounded by people in strange robes staring at them as if they were aliens, a man wearing a mask and a mirror with a green face floating in it, she immediately went for the offence.

She withdraws a gun from her Shield and aim straight at the masked man standing beside the mirror, her eyes never waver away from the crowd in robes in front of her. With a quick glance underneath her, Madoka and the rest are still unconscious before focusing on the enigma of this world and something in her whisper that she should hold the masked man accountable.

“Where are we?” Homura demanded in the calmest voice she could muster, her finger is light as a feather against the trigger. The scripts has gone completely off the rail. “Who are you people?”

“Well now, I think that would be my question!” The masked man rebuked. Homura’s ears picked up the dumbstruck and lividness in his tone. “Really... a mirror suddenly summoned in the middle of the dorm sorting ceremony and you girls interrupted it!”

A bullet wheeze past by the masked man’s head, only grazing a lock of his hair. Just like that, the crowd is silent. Finally realise the strange and uneasy atmosphere that curtains them, courtesy of one Magical Girl.

“I won’t ask again.” She threatens. Her eyes narrowed when a few of the people in front of her shifted. A short boy with red hair and a bespectacled boy with a beauty mark on his lower lip. She studied them warily and they did the same towards her. The fingers twitch to a small... pen? The red and grey gems will become her targets if they so much as move.

“Geez... the situation suddenly turn dangerous.” A voice said through a floating tablet. He sounds meek and scared.

Murmurs follow soon after. She's losing control on the situation.

“Well?” Homura pressed and this time, she aims the gun right between the masked man’s eyes. Adults in strange coloured clothings that stood behind the mirror with the green face slowly tried to separate Homura from the crowd. Their expressions severe and cautious.

They don’t feel like familiars. This strange room doesn’t feel like a product of a Witch’s magic. What’s worse, Kyuubey is nowhere in sight.

“Young Miss, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here but you’re in the prestigious Night Raven College. Did you and your friends forcefully unlock your coffins?” The masked man asked, with his hands on his hips like a scolding parent yet tentative when addressing Homura after her warning shot.

“Night Raven... College? Coffins?” Homura repeated, growing confused by the minute. She’s never heard such institution before!

Her gun lowered slightly when she caught pieces of conversations floating from the crowd.

“... a mistake? Night Raven College is an all-boys school after all.”

“We woken up every first year students before coming here. There’s no way we could missed them!”

“So they somehow broke out from the coffins on their own earlier?”

“...that in her hand? It looks some kind of weapon but I’ve never seen anything like it...” That came from the floating tablet.

“It happened so fast that headmaster couldn’t even react! Whatever that thing is, it’s dangerous.” The short redhead boy added, his fingers nearly brushing his red gem now.

“Where is Mitakihara City?” Homura asked instead.

The masked man titled his head at her question. “Mita... what? There’s no such city with a name like that. Did the mirror where you came from malfuction? And what’s with your clothing, Young Lady? Is that supposed to be a school uniform?”

This is bad. Nothing makes sense. “Students of this college would already be wearing their ceremonial robes the moment they step out of their coffins.” The masked man continued, oblivious to Homura’s concern. The other Magical Girls remain sleeping. It’s up to her to get them out safely or try to figure out what’s going on.

This couldn’t be the incubator’s game.

Homura pulls her gun back and relax her shoulders just a little. Enough to show that she’s calm and not going to attack any time soon. “A college you say? My friends and I were forcefully pulled in through a mirror and then I woke up here. Tell me, are we even on Earth?”

Now the masked man is perplexed. “Earth? I’ve never heard such a word before! Why, this is Twisted Wonderland!”

Homura bit her lower lip to prevent herself from calling the masked man out as a liar. She doesn’t have any prove or any information that the man is joking after all.

Homura comfort herself by tugging on her magic and grip her gun. Good. She still has her full arsenals and useful items as well as her magic is in its peak form.

Her mind is racing now. If one wants information, one must offer their piece first, yes?

“I believe there’s been a... mishap. My friends and I aren’t from here. We came from a place call Mitakihara City. Twisted Wonderland doesn’t exist for us.” Homura begins. That should suffice for now.

The floating tablet floated near Homura although there is still some distance between them. “A-Are you serious!? A bunch of girls literally isekai’ed into Night Raven College!? I can’t believe this is actually happening! My manga is a reality!”

Homura is taken aback at the sudden enthusiastic voice. Truly not expecting a 180 from his previous meek tone.

“Eh? Another world? Did you and your friends came from another world!?” A white haired boy with ruby eyes intervenes. Despite how odd the situation is now that he said it out loud, he’s excited about the notion.

“It would seem so...” Homura murmus. If this is meant to be a college then the crowd must be students and adults here are their teachers. There’s magic lingering in the air. It’s unfamiliar to Homura but it’s magic nonetheless.

“The sorting ceremony must continue on.” The mirror with the face boomed. Its voice deep and unsettling. The masked man react accordingly to it.

“Yes, yes, we musn’t dawdle! Now then Young Miss, if you’d be so kind to help bring your unconscious friends here beside me so that the others students could - ”

“Step forth you who have mastered time and space.” The mirror with the face ordered.

Another silence descend the room before the white haired boy with red eyes shattered it.

“So they ARE students! This is so exciting, isn’t it Jamil? We never had students from another world before!” The boy exclaim with a beaming smile. Somehow, his smile reminded Homura of Madoka’s when she’s in a really good mood.

“We still don’t know what’s really going on, Kalim.” A boy with complex, braided hair chastise him. Though it doesn’t deter his friend’s excitement at all. “After all, she was willing to attack the headmaster.”

“I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding! Won’t you be confused and scared too if you’re suddenly teleported to a strange land, Jamil?” The white haired boy countered before shooing Homura to the mirror behind her. “Go see what the Mirror of Darkness has to say! Maybe it could help you.”

The masked man sigh. “I guess it can’t be help. Young Miss, please address the mirror properly.”

Homura tucked the gun back into her Shield and slowly turn around. The mirror with the face doesn’t strike fear in her like Kyuubey or Walpurgisnacht do, so she slowly padded towards it.

And thus begin the Holy Quintet role as students in the world of Twisted Wonderland right after each one of the girls has been sorted.

The next continuation will be dorm sorting! It was a little tough trying to sort 5 of them when there are 7 dorms but I have a idea how to get around this. Hope I did Homura justice and you guys enjoyed this piece. I adore crossovers!

A big shoutout to @twsted-caramel (I hope it’s ok to tag you here) for giving me the big inspiration. Please check out their crossover of KNY and TW pieces! It’s amazing!)

#twisted wonderland #puella magi madoka magica #puella magi holy quintet #crossover #Holy Quintet series in TW

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detectivesplotslies · 5 years

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SPEAKING OF MUSICALS what’re some songs that fit some v3 ships or moments in the game? Atleast In your opinion

Oh boy. Some of these are gonna be dumb and biased as a warning. I don’t know how many will be ships but I definitely have some moments from the game/character thought ones. This is gonna be a long post cause I like throwing in lyrics SORRY! Anon I hope you don’t regret this lmaoThis is getting…. very long so I think I’m gonna put them under the cut! :’DThere’s some Wicked, Chicago, Avenue Q, Scarlet Pimpernel, Hamilton, Into the Woods, RENT, The Greatest Showman, Little Shop of Horrors, The Producers, Come From Away and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along BlogThere’s some Oumota, Saimatsu, Saiibo, and loose Saiouma in here, but also a few more general ones!

As most of you know, I have a Oumota Wicked AU, but there’s one song I’d like to point out that’s not for the ship that I quite like for the character in question, and that’s Wonderful, for Tsumugi. This one I found to be a great one for comparing what she does there in that au with some actual stuff in the game.Have some lyrics! I guess I just - wanted to give the citizens of Oz everything.

So you lied to them.

Elphaba, where I’m from, we believe all sorts ofthings that aren’t true. We call it“history.”A man’s called a traitor or liberatorA rich man’s a thief or philanthropistIs one a crusader or ruthless invader?It’s all in which labelIs able to persistThere are precious few at easeWith moral ambiguitiesSo we act as though they don’t exist

—Another song, this one I discussed in a discord server with some awesome friends so not taking full credit for it, is We Both Reached For the Gun from Chicago for Kokichi and Gonta. The interview plays like the setup trial and while not exact is DEFINITELY an awesome play on the vibe and how it was done. Puppetry and motives running the entire show~! Also has some of the best choreography! And when the reporter starts agreeing that there is Shuichi proving it all.

Then describe it.He came toward me.With the pistol?From my bureau.Did you fight him?Like a tiger.He had strength and she had none.And yet we both reached for the gunOh yes, oh yes, oh yes we bothOh yes we bothOh yes, we both reached forThe gun, the gun, the gun, the gunOh yes, we both reached for the gunFor the gun.

—

The next one might be a weird one, and the dramatic delivery might not suit her as much, but I associate Falcon in the Dive from The Scarlet Pimpernel with Maki in chapter 5. It’s about a manhunt, hunting down an enemy, and how your own morals are already done and it’s up to you. There’s a bit of conflict in it about being bitter about it too and it fits some characterization I wish they had shown there there. It plays in with the memories they barely have as well. Have some lyrics!

There was a dream - a dying ember.There was a dream - I don’t remember …but I will resurrect that dream,though rivers stream and hills grow steeper.For here in hell, where life gets cheaper -oh, here in hell, the blood runs deeper.And when the final duel is near,I’ll lift my spear and fly.Piercing into the sky, and higher!And the strong will thrive!Yes, the weak will cower,while the fittest will survive!If we wait for the darkest hour‘til we spring alive,then with claws of fire,we devour like a falcon in the dive. —In a lighter tone, There is Life Outside Your Apartment from Avenue Q is a Kaito drags sidekicks to training song, I dare you to prove me otherwise. When I say “everyone”, that includes you!There is life outside your apartmentI know it’s hard to conceive,but there’s life outside your apartment,and you’re only gonna see it if you leave.There is cool shit to do,but it can’t come to you.And who knows, dude,you might even score!There is life outside your apartment,but you’ve got to open the door!No, thanks, I’m staying in.Don’t tell me I gotta force you.Sorry!All right everyone! He’s resisting! —OKAY so if you follow me by now you know I really enjoy Kokichi. When I was looking for songs, @dykeenvy reminded me of this one and it fits Chapter 5 Kokichi so well, so shoutout to them! Last Midnight from Into the Woods for Kokichi. It’s the point where everyone’s arguments and blame (from the song Your Fault! which is ALSO a good V3 song, it’s like… every trial) turns to the witch and she’s done with them and it’s great, specifically this lyrical sequence! You’re so nice You’re not good You’re not bad You’re just nice I’m not good I’m not nice I’m just right I’m the witch You’re the world I’m a hitch I’m what no one believes I’m the witch You’re all liars and thieves Like his father Like his son will be, too Oh, why bother? You’ll just do what you do

—

OKAY now onto some more dialogue heavy stuff! Non-Stop from Hamilton for Kokichi & Shuichi! Let me explain. Kokichi I find is very like Hamilton, making himself the center of it all, writing, not stopping, going at it all, making enemies but overall doing more and more ambitious. Meanwhile Shuichi is a lot more like Burr, says less, but knows what he’s doing, and bewildered by Hamilton’s methods. Keeps his cards close to his chest until he needs them. Kokichi writing like he’s running out of time is so very very in character. It just fits him SO WELL. It could even represent Kokichi’s attempt to partner with him in chapter 4 and being turned down. Some lyrics! Why do you always say what you believe?Why do you always say what you believe?Ev'ry proclamation guarantees free ammunition for your enemiesWhy do you write like it’sGoing out of style?Write day and night like it’sGoing out of style?Ev'ry day you fight like it’sGoing out of style—On a more somber note, I think The Story of Tonight from Hamilton has great post game VR AU feels for the survivors and maybe Rantaro too in the midst of causing Team Danganronpa some disastrous reactions to their forced ending. I love aus where they are getting legal repercussions and the cast is being held, the dead maybe even still under, until it’s worked out and I think this fits here

I may not live to see our glory! (I may not live to see our glory!)But I will gladly join the fight! (But I will gladly join the fight!)And when our children tell our story… (And when our children tell our story…)They’ll tell the story of tonightLet’s have another round tonight (Let’s have another round tonight)Let’s have another round tonightRaise a glass to freedomSomething they can never take awayNo matter what they tell youRaise a glass to the four of us Tomorrow there’ll be more of usTelling the story of tonightThey’ll tell the story of tonight —

Okay, another shoutout to @dykeenvy and the Yeehonk! server for this one since we chatted about it in there BUT - Take Me or Leave Me from Rent is an Oumota song. The energy, the stances, the stubborness. It is ALL THERE. A tiger in a cageCan never see the sunThis diva needs her stage, babyLets have funYou are the one I chooseFolks will kill to fill your shoesYou love the lime light to now babySo be mine but don’t waste my timeCryin’, “Oh, honey bear are you still my, my, my baby?”Take me for what I amWho I was meant to beAnd if you give a damnTake me baby or leave me —

I’d be remiss to not do another Tsumugi song, given who I am. So I’m bringing up Opening Night from The Producers for Tsumugi. For her ending disaster and the audience complaints during the PTA segment! I just… really like to think it was a all blamed on her sometimes hahah. Sorry mugi.He’s done it againHe’s done it againMax Bialystock has done it againWe can’t believe itYou can’t conceive itHow’d he achieve it?It’s the worst show in town!We sat there sighingGroaning and cryingThere’s no denyingIt’s the worst show in townOh, we wanted to stand up and hissWe’ve seen shit, but never like this

—

Okay for this one just… hear me out. The Other Side from The Greatest Showman for Oumota. A circus ringleader and a respectable patron of the arts walk into a bar, argue about their reputations a bit, make a deal and talk about living a little. Clowns are even mentioned. I mean come on! Don’t you know that I’m okay with this uptown part I get to play‘Cause I got what I need and I don’t want to take the rideI don’t need to see the other sideSo go and do like you doI’m good to do like meAin’t in a cage, so I don’t need to take the keyOh, damn! Can’t you see I’m doing fineI don’t need to see the other side

Now is this really how you like to spend your days?Whiskey and misery, and parties and plays

If I were mixed up with you, I’d be the talk of the townDisgraced and disowned, another one of the clowns

But you would finally live a little, finally laugh a littleJust let me give you the freedom to dream And it’ll wake you up and cure your achingTake your walls and start ‘em breakingNow that’s a deal that seems worth takingBut I guess I’ll leave that up to you —

Kokichi in ships is always a troublesome thing, as he’s got a lot of issues with himself too, so I think Leave from Once is very Kokichi. Oof. Sorry this one is mostly angst fodder. I can’t wait forever is all that you saidBefore you stood upAnd you won’t disappoint meI can do that myselfBut I’m glad that you’ve comeNow if you don’t mindLeave, leave,And free yourself at the same timeLeave, leave,I don’t understand, you’ve already goneAnd I hope you feel betterNow that it’s outWhat took you so longAnd the truth has a habitOf falling out of your mouthBut now that it’s comeIf you don’t mindLeave, leave,And please yourself at the same time

—

Now for something completely different! Meek Shall Inherit from Little Shop of Horrors for Shuichi! Moral dilemmas, biases and making terrible decisions for the sake of people liking him after his ‘success’ starts building. Oof. Sorry Shuichi, I know Seymour’s not the most moral character but the comparison is there a bit. My future’s startingI’ve got to let itStick with that plantAnd gee my bank account will thriveWhat am I saying?No way, forget itIt’s much too dangerous to keep that plant aliveI take these offersThat means more killingWho knew success would come with messy nasty strings?I sign these contractsThat means I’m willingTo keep on doing bloody, awful, evil things

—

Now for a different ship! My Freeze Ray from Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog for Saimtasu. I think it outlines Shuichi’s anxiety when trying to get close to Kaede pretty well, and also how little he knows about her at the start, but is still cute! With my freeze ray I will stop the worldWith my freeze ray I willFind the time to find the words to

Tell you howHow you makeMake me feelWhat’s the phrase?Like a foolKinda sickSpecial needsAnyways —

One more. This ship’s just one of my comfort ones and of course I’m giving it angst. Stop the World from Come From Away for Saiibo. Specifically at the end of trial 6, where they know everything;s coming down, shuichi and the survivors made their choice, and Kiibo’s going to self destruct, and everything;s going to end, but they all get one more goodbye. Agh Kiibo didn’t need to go then and it makes me sad. Stop the worldSeize the momentBut the minute he goes you’re alone, and it’s through pinch yourselfTell yourself:“You’re just dreaming, that means he’ll forget about you”

But here we areWhere the continents once crashed togetherBefore they went their separate ways forever, so stop the world

—Sorry for rambling so very LONG anon. Hope you enjoy these, maybe you’ll find a new song today :’D

#ndrv3 #danganronpa v3 #lyrics #musicals #music #asks #rambles #oumota #saiibo #saimatsu #ndrv3 spoilers #so many spoilers #not gonna tag everyone I mentioned in this but #there's a ton of tsumugi kokichi and shuichi #because I am like that #ENJOY ANON #my content

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joythea · 5 years

Text

Random thought on why Wei Wuxian is always so positive

Had a discussion on the MDZS network discord and rereading clockworkspider’s post on WWX, Wei Wuxian had to remind me of a psychological theory I studied briefly. Spoilers for those who have not read the novel. Please take this with a grain of salt because I can’t 100% guarantee what I’m writing makes sense as I’m too lazy to reread the novel (I hate the ToC for not having the names).

Why is he always so positive? From canon, he has been told by his mother to always remember the good done to him, so he often selectively forgets the bad things that happen to him. In psychology, this is known as the positivity effect, where you tend to focus more on positive things and not think of negative things. According to the study by Kennedy, Mather and Cartensen (2004), they found that “older adults have a positivity effect in long-term autobiographical memory and that a positivity bias can be induced in younger adults by a heightened motivation to regulate current emotional well-being.”

What did Wei Wuxian do after being expelled from the Yunmeng Jiang and living in Burial Mounds? That’s right, live as though the world was going on as per normal. He tried not to get agitated, and still focused on the things that mattered. So what if he is demonised by the whole world? He’s got a one-month celebration to attend, he isn’t going to let that stop him. When he met with Lan Wangji, he still offered to have a meal with him, laughing at Wen Yuan calling Lan Wangji his father. As though the darkness in the world didn’t matter. He knew how easy it was to be consumed in negativity, so he made an effort to regulate his emotional well-being so that it doesn’t deteriorate. Of course, nothing could have helped him when Wen Ning stabbed Jin Zixuan due to his agitation...

Now the theory I’m going to talk about is known as the SST, or the Socioemotional Selectivity Theory created by Laura Carstensen. This theory states that how time is perceived will affect how you determine your social goals. The social goals fall under two categories, one related to gaining more knowledge and the other is more towards emotional regulation. When a person believes they have enough time, they will prioritise the former, and on the other hand, they will prioritise emotional goals when they see themselves as having less time (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, Charles, 1999).

To compare, Jiang Cheng had the goal of rebuilding his sect, which is an open-ended goal. He knows he’s got plenty of time, so he’s going to focus on that. He isn’t going to bother with an emotional goal or learn how to cope with his trauma. He ain’t got time for that; he’s got to make sure his sect is rebuilt. In comparison, Wei Wuxian’s goal was to shelter the Wens. He didn’t have a plan, he didn’t really know what he was going to do, but all he knows was that he was going to shelter them as long as he could. Keyword, as long as he could. Also, aware of the consequences of demonic cultivation, which I theorize that it’s necessary to keep a stable mind, he has to increase his focus on positivity.

The Socioemotional Selectivity theory is usually associated with older adults; they are known to have more positivity and better emotional regulation compared to younger adults (Kennedy et al., 2004). This is because they are nearing the end of their life and they have to shift their goals from their youth to match with their life stage. They also remember their memories with a positivity effect, in which they don’t think much about negative ones or the negative implications if any. This theory is also used on patients who are terminally ill; with no time left, they naturally gravitate towards emotional goals. Basically, this theory means if you have lesser resources, you will not waste them on negative ones.

In canon, Wei Wuxian barely survived Burial Mounds after giving up his core to Jian Cheng. He seems fine on the outside, still able to keep up with the mainstream cultivators. As clockworkspider mentioned, he’s actually well-adjusted, similarly to the older adults who recall their memories fondly. Wei Wuxian does not focus on the negative things. He never blamed Jiang Cheng for anything and just continued to live as per normal. However, that near-death experience did lead him to focus on more emotional goals; namely living a simple life in Yiling/Burial Mounds.

With no golden core, it equates to lesser resources. There’s really no other way he can keep up with a normal cultivator anymore, so Wei Wuxian had to tap into demonic cultivation. It’s a resource as well, albeit not really the most stable in my point of view. I’m not saying he was suicidal, but I suspect that Wei Wuxian did not think there would be much of a future ahead. He knew that what he was doing was leading to a dead end, as shown that he literally cried and wondered what the hell did he do all this for when Wen Qing and Wen Ning went to surrender themselves. With the lack of a golden core, he was definitely going to die earlier than the others since it implies that having one means you live longer.

Everything he did was a gamble. The Stygian Tiger Amulet was to act as a deterrent so that no one would fight him and realise the farce he was putting on. He didn’t wear a sword not because he was arrogant, but he couldn’t use it. So he had to keep wearing this arrogant face. Leaving the Yunmeng Jiang, cutting himself off from his social networks for a goal he believed in that he still wanted to focus on and believed he could do. Lesser resources? Well, he has got to focus on those that he can still do until the end of his life comes. He has no core anymore; how can he possibly think about a future in cultivation aside from demonic cultivation?

tldr; Wei Wuxian focused even more on positive memories and emotional goals because losing his golden core has led him to potentially shorten his life or saw that his life has shortened immensely like a terminally ill patient.

References:

Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D. M., & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54(3), 165.

Kennedy, Q., Mather, M., & Carstensen, L. L. (2004). The role of motivation in the age-related positivity effect in autobiographical memory. Psychological science, 15(3), 208-214.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mo dao zu shi meta #mdzs meta #wwx character analysis #wwx #wei wuxian #wei wuxian character analysis #jiang cheng #socioemotional selectivity theory #positivity effect

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