#like you do understand that Madoka loved sayaka so much she made sayaka her own angel and tells you straight up that it's not wrong to hope

[tothepointofinsanity]

what are your thoughts on Madoka and Sayaka's relationship? I always thought it was underrated for how complex and tragic it is.

Madoka and Sayaka's relationship function similarly to that of a knight and a princess, so both their friendship or couple pairing are interesting to me. It seems to be intentional that Sayaka was crafted with a knight motif in mind to click with Madoka's vulnerability. The tragedy is that Sayaka was way too young and inexperienced to be shouldering such expectations in a friendship. Taking up the role of a protector at every turn because she wanted to protect everyone has always been a contributing factor to how fast Sayaka burned out.

Contrarily, Madoka's struggle with her own helplessness throughout the show was also part of the reason why Sayaka said a lot of terrible thing to her, but deeply regretted her actions to the point where she succumbed to Witching out away from Madoka. Madoka, at least in this "final" timeline, was not there to see her own childhood best friend change into something else. To, in a way, "die", and be reborn as the same monster that all magical girls were hunting after in a frenzy. Homura was right that Sayaka brings Madoka grief — it seems that in almost timeline, since Sayaka becomes a Witch as long as she becomes a magical girl unlike Mami or Kyoko, Sayaka is a consistent source of Madoka's grief. Whenever Madoka becomes a magical girl, then, her aspirations are based on Sayaka's sacrifice and ideals, except Madoka actually has the power to "save everyone". I believe Madoka loved Sayaka as Sayaka may not have been an "effective" magical girl, but she was the one who was willing to sacrifice her soul for her ideals, regardless of how naïve they were. To Madoka, who was so ensnared by her sense of uselessness, Sayaka was the closest thing to an idol or a star for the courage required to be a magical girl. Sayaka's desire to make the world a safer and justified place for people was so inspiring to Madoka that even when Madoka becomes Kriemhild Gretchen, the Witch's whole gimmick is "creating heaven on earth, a Witch content only if there is no more grief in existence". A prospect deeply held onto by Madoka that even Gretchen embodies it.

It's probably why Madoka's wish to save all magical girls would definitely sound equally impossible to he audience and the incubators, but Madoka herself says, "If someone says it's wrong to hope, I will tell them that they're wrong every time." Sayaka was often called foolish for her ideals and hopes, and Madoka was the only other person aside from Kyoko who understands Sayaka's struggles so much that she outright tells people that Sayaka was never wrong — this is how Madoka protects Sayaka. Madoka would never want anyone to say any of the magical girls' wishes were wrong or foolish. It was how Sayaka also found her peace at the end of the show: to be understood and not viewed as an object that would eventually be replaced in the cycle of magical girls and Witches.

Madoka and Sayaka eventually learned how to protect each other. Sayaka doesn't need to suffer from her own overbearing expectations anymore, and Madoka can finally be something even more to protect her angel: A God.

#they are so tragic #madoka makes me cry thinking about how she was so compassionate that she never actually hated any of the witches #only ever looking upon them with sadness for what they were even before she knew how Witches were made #it's why i don't like people who claim they love madoka but despise sayaka #like you do understand that Madoka loved sayaka so much she made sayaka her own angel and tells you straight up that it's not wrong to hope #madoka not being unkind to sayaka despite everything is so...makes my heart hurt #Sayaka wasn't evil or selfish she just really wanted to mean a whole lot to someone that mattered #inevitably she was emotionally charged and in that moment she forgot madoka was always there for her and vice versa #which drove her to try and quietly witch out alone in a train station with kyoko #you can say what you wish but Sayaka's ideals were so tragic that both kyoko and madoka were affected by them #and that's the biggest tragedy of it all honestly #madoka scenes make me cry and I'm not kidding she wanted to help so bad #Sayaka Archives #ASKS 💌

[funnycreatortimetravel]

So the Madoka Magica movie is coming out and there's a lot of speculation about how it's going to end (or rather, be the start of a new series of movies/a show? Idk, it was extremely vague.)

And while I love the idea of Homura and Madoka ending up together because they both deserve some happiness, I can't help but feel like the best ending for Homura at this point is letting Madoka go so she can become a healthy adult (which, let's be real, that's not possible in this world.)

And by "letting go," I don't mean cutting contact or abandoning her, I mean they can still be friends while Homura can become a person who sees herself worthy of living with or without Madoka. Because as much as I love my favorite tragic lesbians, Homura isn't her own person in the relationship with Madoka.

Like, Madoka has a loving family, loving friends, and people cheering her on. And even if she doesn't believe she's good enough to do anything, she still objectively has things going for her, a safety net if you will. And she still has a goal in mind that doesn't involve one specific person, but rather she wants to become someone that people can depend on/wants to help other people (regardless if this is at the cost of herself.) I'm not saying it's a good or even a healthy goal but with some tweaks, I could see the goal becoming something she could work toward as a means of personal growth and not just because she thinks she's useless.

Meanwhile, Homura doesn't even have parents as far as we're concerned.

The only ties she has that we're told about are the catholic school she attended and the hospital she pretty much lives in. No friends, no family, and no aspirations of her own. And because of her circumstances, she really wouldn't be able to. It's no fault of her own. I get why, then, she attaches herself to someone like Madoka. I'm sure ANYONE would attach themselves to Madoka if they were in the position Homura was in.

And then that starts the obsession. A long, tiring journey in which this poor girl sacrifices her mental health, her youth, countless years spent trying to save this doom girl and her doomed friends while she herself is also doomed. She's pretty much made herself Madoka's sole protector while also not allowing herself to even do or enjoy the one thing she wanted in the first place; being Madoka's friend.

It's all but confirmed that Homura hates everything about herself as seen in her backstory and rebellion when she was destroying her labyrinth. Her saving Madoka is the one good thing she thinks she's associated with, so much so that she's OK with dying either to protect Madoka or in a world without her.

Like, the concept of one person being the only reason you continue existing is so unhealthy (note that I'm not saying their relationship itself is, it's just her mindset.) I completely understand wanting to help your friend you know...not die a terrible death, but Homura doesn't think she has anything going for her outside of protecting someone else and that's such a sad thought to me. She thinks of all her past friends as enemies now, and she alienated herself from everyone. She thinks, now, that it's her versus Kyubey, the other magical girls, and Madoka herself. The girl is borderline, if not entirely, suicidal.

I'm hoping so badly that in the next movie, this is the start of healing for Homura (though it probably won't be because Mr. Uro loves his sad/bitter-sweet endings.) I hope this is the start where she's able to piece together who she is outside of wanting Madoka, who she could've been had Kyubey not manipulated her and the other girls into making contracts, had her parents not died, had her body not been as fragile as it was, had her confidence been strong, had she felt she was good enough to befriend and get close to other people without fearing her hurting them or them hurting her.

Sayaka was able to let the bitterness of not being with Kyosuke go, accepting that even though she wanted him, she couldn't be with him and even if she was, she never would've been happy. She was able to realize the flaws in her "ideal magical girl" concept and accept the fact that she's just one person and even though she's not perfect and didn't get the thing she wanted, she's still able to be a hero in her own right in the company of people who actually love and support her because she's Sayaka Miki, not because she's a heroic magical girl.

Mami was able to be honest with herself, similar to Sayaka, that she's not a perfect person, that the perfect magical girl illusion was never her. She's able to admit to herself that she was inherently selfish that all she wanted was friends and family, and that there's nothing wrong with that. She doesn't have to keep up the pressures of being perfect and mature and all-knowing because, at the end of the day, she is still that little girl who almost died in a car crash that claimed her parents' lives, and she has to live with the fact that she didn't and wasn't able to save them even when she had the chance to. And she's able to come to terms with the fact that though she was alone, she didn't have to be lonely. She's able to realize that it's not too late for her and she can make her own family that will stick around with her, flaws and all. And she can be a good role model for her little sister surrogate and also orphan Nagisa, but this time, she can be a realistic big sister rather than an idealistic one.

Kyoko can move past the pain of her family's demise, and unlike Mami, feels as though she is directly responsible for it. She was a naive kid who only wanted the best for her family and yet, by doing the "right thing" her father goes on a massive suicide-homicide rampage and she's left to think that her naivety, that her wanting to do the right thing, was what killed them. But no, it wasn't. It's ok to have hope and to have the desire to help others and do the right thing. While the actions of the wish were undesirable, it didn't change the fact that Kyoko's heart was in the right place and that she could continue to try to help others without fear of it coming back to haunt her. She can let the tense guard she's had up since her family's death and enjoy the little things in life she never got to when she was too poor; food, drink, comfort, and having others around that care about you. While she thought that it was her wish and her misunderstanding of what her father wanted that ultimately killed her family, it's the same desire and intentions that push her to save Sayaka and befriend her and the other girls later on.

Now Madoka is an interesting case because she, like Homura, is sort of trapped in being who they were before they gained powers.

Now that Madoka is essentially back to where she started (unlike everyone else who at least has something/someone in their lives now in Rebellion compared to the OG series where they were missing those intimate connections) again,

she's left to feel like she's missing a key part of herself (only in the OG series, she was missing the confidence she had the in OG timeline as a magical girl whereas, in Rebellion, she's literally the missing part of the Law of Cycles) and you're left to wonder if she'll be satisfied, or will she challenge this new world that seems too good to be true, a world that was made just for her and only her?

And Homura?

Poor Homura.

Being an orphan and having no one, not even doctors or nurses it looks like, be close to you? Being unable to live comfortably due to a physical condition you had no say in? Having to be behind because of said physical condition and then having an inferiority complex WHILE teachers belittle you for things out of your control? So then you consider yourself a burden and truly believe only death and loneliness await you? AND YOU’RE ONLY 14???

And then you think you've met this amazing person, this girl who thinks you're interesting and cool with no ulterior notices, a girl with amazing powers that are as wonderful as her only to have the rug pulled under you and realize that the cost of those powers and your protection is her's and others like her inevitable demise.

So then you attempt to right that wrong because even further than your want to save your friends, you know the system that they're in is objectively terrible and needs to be torn down.

But then you try to warn said friends about the system and all they do is belittle you and admit they're comfortable in something that's designed to kill them before they turn twenty, and when (or even if) they're finally aware of the system and the terrible reality of it, they STILL blame you for not telling them sooner even though you tried your damn hardest? Or even worse, try to KILL you after they find out for themselves?

And then top that off with an oppressive alien race trying to control you and pretty much end your life prematurely or turn you into an immortal Lovecraftian Paper mache creature that looks like it was created by five-year-olds should you fall into despair at the hands of this default depressive system and you'll have to remain like that, killing and trapping people while you have no memories of your life as a human and have to live as an animal of pure instinct and evilnesses until some unknowing other magical girl puts you out of your misery, and the cycle will rise and repeat eternally.

Then not to mention other magical girls who try to "game the system" (which only leads to them dying/witching out even earlier, indirectly harming the girl you're trying to protect) or even worse, the girls see you as competition because they're insecure/power hungry instead of joining you in taking down the system set up so where death is an inevitable thing regardless, indirectly siding with the species that are literally killing them slowly but surely (and yet you're somehow still the problem in their eyes.) And then to add the shit sprinkles to this shit show of life, you have to battle this biblically accurate German clown of a witch that's a bunch of witched-out magical girls mashed together like a Cthulu-esque Ren and Stimpy-type creation (that's also pretty much invincible to everything that you and all of the nukes and missiles you store in a tiny, rinky-dink space-time shield you were pretty much cursed with while everyone else gets a built-in weapon.)

Not to mention the PTSD of having everyone and everything around you die and crumple to bits for 12 years over and over again, failing at every turn to complete the only goal you have for yourself (which isn't even for you, it's just saving another person because you believe you're extensible at that point) and at every twist and turn, you're beaten, bruised, belittled, scared, tired, pushed to the brink and all alone with no one to depend on because you're the ONLY one who can and will remember anything once you have to go back in time.

And then you learn the more you go back in time, the more fate and karma you're attaching to this girl which makes the aliens target her even more because of the level of potential she has. And even worse, you find out that the girl you've been fighting so hard to protect is now an entirely different person, lacking the confidence and outgoingness that made you fall in love in the first place, her desire to become a confident magical girl being unfulfilled because of you.

But you have to play the smaller evil. You have to deter her from making a wish, even if it means inadvertently scaring her away from the idea, even if it means being cold and calculated and harsh because she won't listen otherwise.

You have to crush that confidence because that desire will only lead to her death, but she can't know that because well, you still want her to trust you.

But because you've been trying so hard to scare her away from the idea of becoming a magical girl, she ends up becoming scared anyway and distancing herself from you, meaning you don't even have the comfort of knowing you two are friends anymore.

And even still, all of the other magical girls, including her, always end up dead or turning into witches no matter what you do, leaving you to fight the final boss witch alone and failing every single time because it's just too powerful.

But you can't stop. No matter what, you can't stop. Because stopping means death for you, the girl you love, and the entire world, whether it be because of Walpurgis or Madoka's witch which is only so powerful because of you and your time-traveling shenanigans.

So you do another timeline, and things go wrong like they have for the past 100 timelines so you're just numb to it now, and while you're fighting the boss witch, you get critically injured. And now armed with the knowledge that you'd just be putting an even bigger target on your friend's back, you resolve that your efforts were all in vain and useless and decide to just let yourself witch out because you have no other choice.

Only, you're interrupted by your friend, who's finally ready to put her fears aside and make a wish.

Your biggest fear is coming true and you're powerless to stop it.

So she makes her wish and becomes a magical girl Jesus pretty much and restores hope to every magical girl.

Every magical girl except for you.

She says your efforts are the reason why she was able to make such a powerful wish and thanks you for your service, as if you're an old veteran about to retire, and then she ejects you to a remade world, a world without her.

And you're doomed to fight in this world, the world she gave her life to protect, a world in which only you remember her. You don't let yourself become too close to the other magical girls for fear of losing that connection once the Law of Cycles takes them away.

So you're doomed, essentially. The one thing you've fought to protect is gone forever and there's no one but you left to grieve for her, and you start an endless fight against the new evil creatures in place of witches until you're about to disappear yourself.

But you don't even have the comfort of peaceful passing on because AHA!, that evil alien race wants to you use as a sadistic experiment to inflict suffering on you and the other magical girls while controlling the one saving grace you all had, to restart the terrible system you were trying to run away from in the original world.

So they place you in this fake simulation of happiness and fun and magical girl transformations all for the sake of controlling you and the girl you fought for and thought was safe.

So you take matters into your own hands and resign to destroy the labyrinth, even if it means your death, hoping the other magical girls put you out of your misery once and for all.

But if you die, then who would be left to protect that girl you love so much?

So you take matters into your own hands and override her power, creating an idealized world in which everyone can be happy at the cost of making all of your past friends your enemies later.

Even the girl you love and gave your life for time and time again.

All for the sake of keeping her safe once more from not only herself since you pulled a piece of her from the Law of Cycles, but also those terrible aliens who can only think about themselves and their sick curiosity.

I so badly want a happy ending for Homura, and I'm so hoping that that happy ending is one without magic or Karmaic fate or the weight of 26 years of repeated time travel or having to save her girlfriend from a terrible demise or dooming herself to magical Jesus type limbo for eternity all while she's the only one who can remember.

Outside of Madoka, what does Homura enjoy now in Rebellion? What were her dreams, if she had any? Her aspirations? What was her childhood like (even though we know it was lonely) was there anything in her life that even remotely made her feel that living was worth it?

If and when she becomes an adult, what will she be like? What career what she want to pursue? What interests her? What does she want the most for herself? Power? Fame? Company? Comfort?

And will it even be possible for her to enjoy anything outside of Madoka so long as she attaches her self worth to this one, ordinary girl?

Will she succeed in protecting her at the cost of herself? At the cost of anyone else excluding the kyubey?

Will she give up ultimate control over the world, or will she double down; ok with challenging her friends-turned-enemies all for the sake of her love?

And if so, will she succeed as Madoka's sole, eternal protector forevermore, or she be dethroned and killed, left to rot in a labyrinth of her self-hatred and mistakes? (God, I hope not.)

Or...will she finally be saved and released from the shackles of fate, time, and space so she can live her life as a normal girl, a life she wasn't granted even before she made her wish?

My excitement for this movie is beyond real.

#madoka magica #homura akemi #pmmm madoka #sayaka miki #kyoko sakura #mami tomoe #puella magi madoka magica #madoka x homura #madoka magica rebellion #madokami #magical girl madoka magica #devil homura

[strawberryjamsara]

Do you have any madoka magica hot takes/unpopular opinions?

Maybe a few

- I don’t really like Tart Magica. It’s considered one of the best spin offs and I’ll frequently reccomend it to people looking for side material because of this, but to me it felt very boring, almost shounen esque in how generic it was, did not make use of the concepts of PMMM in a historical setting in an interesting way, and none of the characters were interesting to me.

-I think that people (rightfully) defending Homura against people who wish to demonize her (get it? Demonize? Cause she’s a demon.) go into a whole other extreme of dogpiling on anyone who tries to analyze her by including her flaws. Like yeah, she’s not evil in the least. But a 14 year old girl with all the trauma she’s experienced isn’t always going to make perfect choices. Homura was literally dying when she made her choice to pull Madoka down and in doing so, revoked Madoka the choice in what would happen with her life anymore. It’s a messy complicated decision where yes, Madoka certainly wouldn’t have chosen a normal life on her own, and Homura needed to do something but it’s also not a simple black and white. Like I once made a comparison between the bad ending of p5 royal and rebellion because I love both shuake and madohomu and someone really tried to ‘well actually’ me that Homura did what she did out of good intentions so I shouldn’t act like it was wrong of her or like some bad end dude and I was like ‘so… did… the p5 protagonist?’

-I prefer Nagisas magireco backstory to the original solely based on the fact that we actually got to see it. Like, it was cool being able to put an image to the telling even if it was different.

-I don’t like how pretty much every Madoka media makes it so every girl goes after familiars despite the og series and Different Story saying otherwise. It’s oddly sanitized to have everyone in kamihama city be a familiar hunter, despite how it was a pretty significant to the world, (and more importantly to Mamis story) that fighting familiars would make you weaker when it really mattered so there were some teenage girls who came to a, frankly quite understandable decision of ‘I’m sorry, I don’t want to risk my life for this’ and it made the people who did fight familiars have something truly significant about them established when they were willing to take that much more of a risk. When Mami in the different story couldn’t have a partner because none of them fought familiars, and for a short time she had Kyoko, someone who truly understood the value of fighting them, which gets pulled out under her it hurts! And it hurts less when every Madoka media we see afterwards has the characters saying ‘there’s a familiar here, we gotta fight it!’ Maybe they were worried people would find any character who leaves familiars behind would come off as unlikeable, but people adore Kyoko so idk.

-Mami usually gets treated as the ‘cool stoic leader’ which doesn’t sit right with me. The whole point of her character is she isn’t strong as she seems. She joined a literally cult in magireco. She goes into a murder suicide breakdown in the og series. There’s a lot of emphasis placed on the fact she knows being a magical girl isn’t a good deal (she doesn’t know the full extent of how much but she still has lived it for years) and she still urges Madoka and Sayaka into the job because she doesn’t want to be alone. But the reason she goes after familiars is specifically because she doesn’t want another story like hers. It’s tragic. SHES tragic and she doesn’t deserve to be discounted because she doesn’t have a main ship.

-I like Oriko Magicas art. It’s a really cool unique style. You guys are just mean.

-Speaking of Oriko Magica- ORIKO MAGICA IS SO GOOD. I actually like it more than the different story, which is a pretty high compliment.

-One last Oriko Magica point- I need Yuma to be in the main series. I hate knowing she’s stuck with her abusive parents in every other timeline.

-I made a post about this a while ago and more people are acknowledging it, but I’ll say it again: KYOKOS RELIGIOUS TRAUMA DESERVES TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED AS MUCH AS HOMURAS.

-Alina Gray is a sympathetic character. You guys are just fucking weird about her.

-I liked season 2 of the magireco anime. Sure, some points were rushed (Mifune) and the yachi/iro stuff was. Bad. But I loved how it sort of turned it into its own story, and I’m especially glad to have Kuroe exist.

-Also I remember people getting really upset Sayaka was the one to save Mami because she idolized her more than anyone and like. Buddy. That’s the point. She’s grown to understand Mami and is now willing to take on the task of ultimate understanding.

-People who hate kyosaya are really annoying. I spent years having people come onto my posts about kyosaya to be like ‘I personally prefer kyo///mami’ ‘I don’t think they liked each other romantically’ ‘I think it was kinda forced :/‘ and once I was accused of not listening to others opinions when they did this and I told them to fuck off. I don’t really frequently check the kyosaya tag anymore but the reason I stopped was because people kept posting their inane rants about how kyosaya made no sense and kyo//Mami was much better. So now you know why I fucking hate kyo///mami. Anyways if you’re gonna harp on kyosaya for not knowing each other for that long (in the SERIES timeline one out of many) then you gotta acknowledge Kyoko said Mami was like an older sister to her. Sorry not sorry.

-homophobic Hitomi jokes will never be as funny as deeply in the closet Hitomi jokes

#should I tag this? #I feel some of these are gonna get me ripped apart #ESPECIALLY the kyo///Mami one #I’ll use the tag I use to organize my own posts from this series. but that’s it #pmmm #ask

[bluem00n007]

ARTW Bois watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Pmmm

So Vanessa got her choose the movie privileges back after Alpheratz begged Spica to just give this one show a chance

Like last time they went to the mansion, set up a projector, snacks and blankets were brought and a ton of tissue boxes because no on is going to trust her if it's a cute cover

Spica

Oh ok, so the anime does start with a darker tone from the get go, oh it was a dream

Madoka has such a nice family! Reminds him of his own childhood, her friends are so nice and wholesome too

His favourite character is Mami, she is a good leader and looks like has a good head on her shoulders, definitely someone who will accomplish great things when she gets older, plus she is so kind and caring!

The magic system reminds himself of the constellations, so he is even more intrigued

Fate is cruel, life is cruel, destiny is cruel, the universe is a constant state of agony and there is no harmony, things tend to move towards disorder, as there are more ways for that then to be orderly and that shall be the death of Universe itself, that is what is called entropy (tendency to move towards disorder)

He can see kuybey's logic and doesn't feel like he is a villain, for that Kuybey would have to know what's good and what's not and all he knows is what must be done, he can respect that though he doesn't like it

Alpheratz

So you wanna know why he begged Spica to let Vanessa pick on last show?

Vanessa told him the premise when he heard her and Vega talk about some wish granting white ferret and he was sold!

He is currently T-posing over Spica

Arcturus

So he believes in second chances

He likes the show so far, he really looks upto to Mami because she is a magical girl who not only fights witches but also takes care of school and her home all by herself, he wishes Madoka would be able to see her kindness as her strength and that is what the story is in his head

Thank god they brought the tissues the last flooding of tears was a disaster

"Wait witches are born from magical girls?"

"Well actually it's more so their trapped souls that transform into witches so they are pretty much still aware of everything going around them even after turning to witches"

He does like Homura, even if she creeps him out, he wants to have the dedication she did to protect Summoner from any harm, no matter how long it takes and not to mention she collected those stuff to fight Walpurgisnacht every single timeline too, he really wishes that she could keep her innocence, but such is life

Pollux

He was just fawning over Mami's cool moves, he knows they aren't practical at all, but who cares if it looks cool!

NOOO MAMI SHE DIDN'T GET ENOUGH SCREEN TIME!!!!

Oh atleast there is Sayaka, he dislikes Homura a lot, she isn't nice and is really mysterious, brooding and dramatic and comes up out of no where! Wait is this deja vu?

So homura wasn't a bad person! Plus the entire fight sequence with Walpurgisnacht actualy made him love her! Wait Madoka don't do that or you won't be able to be with your family and friends!!!! NOOOOO Q-Q

Vega

Ah he remembers this show, he has a new found appreciation for seiyaku I mean Sayaka and feels like he understands her a bit better than he did when he was a child, Sayaka isn't a complete idiot, more so a naïve and kind person realising they weren't selfless when it mattered most

Episode 10 rolls in and Vanessa and Vega are laughing meanwhile the guide committee is terrified of them because Mami lost her head figuratively speaking, but they haven't seen or heard the masterpiece that is Mami TETRIS

"Wait so we got Charlotte's backstory?"

"Yeah, she wished for a cheesecake instead of curing her mother so she dies from the fact that Nagisa or Charlotte, chose to not save her because she was an absolutely horrendous mother to her and instead wished for her mom's favourite food"

"oooh so that's why her theme is where is the cheese and it's a replacement for love"

"What is wrong with the both of you?"-clearly people who haven't heard Mami Tetris

Sirius

He just liked Homura from the beginning, he was having a kinnie moment, he really loves the artistic choices of the witches and their labryinths and the musical score is to die for

His favourite and last favourite moment simultaneously was when Madoka became Godoka, he likes it because she played the system like a fiddle and saved everyone, including herself, he dislikes it because all of that happened, Homura ran through how many years worth of timelines? 12? Wait what? That's even worse! All that pain she endured just lost like that in a fate worse than death (he would like rebellion, I just know it)

Ah but a bittersweet ending for his hopelessly romantic heart is just as good as an actual good end, though he really can't help but draw parallels to it from the play on Polaris Vanessa and him went to last time

He has started doing hair flips whenever he comes up from behind someone, especially if his hair smacks someone's face

#arcana twilight #arcana twilight sirius #arcana twilight alpheratz #arcana twilight arcturus #arcana twilight vega #arcana twilight pollux #arcana twilight spica #arcana twilight headcanons

[madillhethen]

I just finished the original series PMMM, and just wow. It definitely is a great anime. There were at times where I felt pacing could’ve been done better but the bittersweet ending and the character relationships were really amazing. (I’ll watch the side story and movies afterwards or finish the NGE rebuild movies and then finish PMMM) but I wanted to post my thoughts on each of the girls. In order of my favs:

1. Mami: I thought she was suspicious at first because the weird ‘letting them tag along’ and going into this series with the knowledge of the girls turning into witches already known, but no, she was really what the show defined her as. She was lonely, and didn’t get a choice. But she did fight for others and she did try to mentor the girls as best she could. Something about her design I really like, I think it’s her color palette and tavern maid type of attire (no idea what you call it lol) also she’s mature but still has a youthfulness of her. Plus her combat is hella cool. Definitely my favorite (wish I saw more :’D of her).

2. Madoka: I feel like in the series I felt she was interesting because she was the given protagonist but many times she felt as if she wasn’t the limelight, she wasn’t the hero, she was just a girl who tried her best. And I don’t know, I really liked that. She couldn’t understand the things around her, Kyubey or Homura, and she didn’t have the answers but she was there and she tried, and was just really hopeful. She has so much heart, and in the end, it was really sad but the way she steps up, the way her potential becomes unleashed and her wish to save everyone with her sacrifice was really bittersweet but beautiful. Her goddess form is so pretty, and gosh I could just talk about the symbolism of the design (maybe I will.)

3. Kyoko: when she first showed up, major Mordred vibes lol. She’s like the fusion of Cu, Li Shuwen and Mordred that’s what she makes me think of but I like her tough but sensitive attitude. She has a good heart and a rough exterior. I liked her relationship with the other girls—it was nice with Sayaka if not one sided (and I bet ppl ship em…can’t say I’m a fan). Her powers are interesting, and I hope to see more of her fighting capabilities maybe in the movies? Well I kind of just want to see her with the other girls in general.

4. Homura (I actually want to say she’s tied at 3 with Kyoko): I wasn’t initially impressed with her cool, angst attitude, in fact I was frustrated with the fact she didn’t just tell everyone what was going on. Her design is pretty (kind of looks like Akiha Tohno to me) but I think what made me like her more was when I saw more emotions. She feels like she has determination and potential to do whatever it takes (and she does) her dedication to save Madoka is heartbreaking, if not a bit obsessive? I think I want to see more of her relationship with Madoka in her timeline to fully understand why go through so much lengths. I think her time powers and fighting is cool, the shield/clock type of weapon is really cool. I love the symbolism of her having the shield and what it means.

5. Sayaka: oh boy… she’s my least favorite. There were times that she kind of screamed Shirou Emiya, the ally of Justice, the wanting to protect others not fight people and the sword being her main weapon but my God…. She came off entitled and preachy. I felt a lot of the times she was just projecting her own problems on others, and I get it they’re all like 14 so of course no one has anything figured out, but it’s just hard to like her in my opinion. I think where Shirou has a lack of sense is that Sayaka had too much self—she heard Kyoko’s sad story and went ‘yeah, I’m better than you. My wish was to help someone else’ and sure, it was and it did but it also…was for herself? She kind of pushed it to be like it was for Kyosuke when it felt more like it was for her. I think it was more the initial reaction when Mami warns her not to do it for others, she kind of gets put-off and defensive. BUT Sayaka does have a strength of Will, when she wasn’t projecting her issues, she was there for others, and she tried to care more for others than herself and I think that’s where the problem came from. I do think her story was heartbreaking though, especially when they find out about the soul gems. I wish to see her in action mode? I don’t have much opinion on her beyond her magical girl outfit looks cool.

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #madoka kaname #homura akemi #sayaka miki #kyoko sakura #mami tomoe #lol I don’t know whether I’m just hyper fixated on Fate but I felt like there were some elements inspired from fate

[goji-pilled]

I’m about to hit you with a few of my thoughts that I’ve been harboring for a bit. I hope you’re ready to answer questions and share your own thoughts.

First off, I want to hit you with a question. If Mami and Sayaka were to fight for some unknown reason, who would exactly win? Mami with her insane tactics and power, or Sayaka with her great abilities and stupid healing factor.

Secondly, this is a random thought I had. We saw that Homura pulled Madoka out of God Madoka in Rebellion, essentially splitting her into two halves I believe. So I was wondering, if that occurrence were to happen to say I dunno, Oktavia for example, do you think that would split Sayaka from Oktavia, since ya know, Oktavia is a product from Sayaka’s negative feelings. Or do you think it would instead split them into like a good Oktavia and a bad Oktavia?

Lastly, this is nothing too thought provoking. I’m just here to say that I still love the tiny pocket Gretchen doodle you made one time. She’s still my favorite witch lmao

Now I just wanna hit you with some of the ideas I have for the writing I’m doing. It’ll be nothing like spoilers and the like, just a few things I have planned.

Firstly, I wanna say that a story with just one character wouldn’t be super entertaining. So I’ve already come up with a secondary main character besides Mizuki, essentially another OC. I’ll tell you her name and color theme but I’ll save everything else for the writing. Her name is Iku Shiomi, and her theme color shall be orange.

Secondly, involving the new character Iku, I plan to give her and Mizuki a Kyoko/Sayaka-esque relationship. It’s not gonna be exactly like it of course, I just want it to similarities to it at best. So yeah, these bitches gonna be gay!!!! (Of course it’s not gonna be explicitly put out there though, just know they’ll love each other very much by the end)

Thirdly, after I complete the main story for my writing I totally wanna write a second part to it. One that covers Mizuki post witching out, since I thought of a neat way to continue it. I don’t know what exactly it’ll cover, but I’ll figure that out when I get to it.

Finally, I wanna write (funny) short little side stories involving Mizuki and Iku that aren’t gonna be connected to the actual story at all. One of the things I have planned for it is that they’re both messing around one day, and then Iku gets the funny idea to toss Mizuki’s soul gem, which gives a pretty obvious result. Iku then has to carry a “sleepy” Mizuki on her back whilst going on a journey to find Mizuki’s soul gem again. The second part to the main story will also have short little side stories. It’ll probably involve Amalthea having funny adventures with her familiars/minions. (man I seriously need to hurry up with the actual writing instead of just brainstorming ideas 24/7)

Ok and that’s about it for all my thoughts. Hope you enjoyed everything that goes on in my brain lmao

1)Easy question, Mami. In fact Mami>>>>the entire Quintet (minus the godly powers thing yknow). Sayaka's healing is strong but she can only do so much before her soul gem can't take anymore + Mami's a veteran who beats Homura, the one who literally stops time.

2)I genuinely don't know what the consequences of that could be. Because from my understanding based on the bits anons told me from Magireco it's sort of that Madoka is the Law of Cycles, but the Law of Cycles isn't necessarily Madoka.

Kinda like how all jacuzzis are whirlpools, but not all whirlpools are jacuzzis.

In the end I'd guess that whatever happens if you were to split Sayaka and Oktavia in the same way Madoka was split would be a disaster. Because the whole thing of being at peace and accepting everything that Oktavia is is vital to Rebellion Sayaka so... oof. Can't be good.

3)I AM!!! SO HAPPY!!!! YOU ARE HAVING ALL THOSE THOUGHTS!!!!!

Very excited to see what you'll show us humble little fellas on this hellsite yjlsdhskdh

#felix answers #long post #LOVE THAT FOR YOU!!!

[themonotonysyndrome]

The Holy Quintet in Twisted Wonderland! (all 7 dorms - Part 5)

Our last girl, our favourite Goddess is finally here! Now it’s Madoka’s turn! I apologise for the delay. Work keep piling up, but I needed something to distract me so here we are! 

I also want to give a shout out to @lionheartanotheraccount​ for helping me out by sharing every bit of Madoka Magica info with me. You’re the best, Lion. I hope you know that. 

We have a discord where we gush about TW and discuss about this crossover. Come hang out if you want! 

https://discord.gg/K7bGwKK 

-

Kaname Madoka & the other dorms (except Diasomnia) 

HEARTSLABYUL!

Madoka’s first meeting with Riddle is not through Sayaka’s invitation for the Unbirthday Birthday or through school assignments. Rather, it involves a run a way horse and a basket full of apples. 

While helping Sebek search for a wandering Malleus, she came across Mami who was carrying two baskets full of ripe, shiny red and green apples. Courtesy of Epel, of course. 

Mami explains that once every month, the Felmier would send boxes of apples to Epel and since there was too much for him to eat, Epel often shared them with his dorm mates. 

And so Mami wanted to share a basket with Madoka. Madoka thanked her profusely and they parted ways. As she continues to search for Malleus, Madoka is already thinking of sharing the apples with Lilia and everyone else back at Diasomnia. 

Madoka’s search for Malleus brought her to a garden of beautiful roses. It’s only after she wanders inside for a few minutes that she realises that she’s unfortunately lost in a rose maze! 

Her saviour however, came in a form of a... horse. As in literally. As Madoka wandered deeper into the maze, hoping to find an exit, she heard the trotters of a horse and then a large, black stallion appear behind her. 

As a city girl, Madoka has never seen a horse this close before. Especially one that’s so huge! Honestly, the creature intimidates Madoka even when it tentatively approaches her. 

As both creatures warily observed one another, when the stallion nosed and nudge the basket of apples that Madoka was carrying, she broke out from her stupor. 

“Oh! Is Mr. Horse hungry? Do you want some apples?” Seeing how docile the stallion is, Madoka felt a little braver as she carefully offer a shiny red apple to it. When it started to feed from her hand, she notices that there was a riding saddle neatly strapped on the horse’s back. 

“Do you belong to someone, Mr. Horse?” Madoka wondered out loud as she continues to feed it apples. “I didn’t know that this school has horses! So cool...” Madoka then giggle when the stallion gently brushes its head against Madoka in an affectionate bump. 

It wasn’t long for the two to become friends (no longer intimidated, Madoka petted the stallion’s head and neck, cooing how its such a gentle and good horse while the stallion nip at her ribbons) until a running and panting Riddle appear. 

“Oh! You’re one of Sayaka’s friend.” Riddle didn’t expect Madoka - of all people - to loiter around Heartslabyul’s garden. Or being on her own. Usually Riddle would always see her with someone. 

“I-I’m sorry! I was searching for Draconia-san and I got lost...” 

Riddle sigh. While it was against the rule for someone outside of Heartslabyul to enter the rose maze without an invitation, he can let this slide since Madoka’s presence seem to calm his temperamental horse. 

It surprised Riddle to see how calm and docile his horse is around Madoka. Usually the stallion is very wary of strangers and Riddle had to both coax and discipline the horse for it to accept him as its rider. But here, the stallion is nudging at the petite girl for more petting. Riddle wondered if it’s because of her calm and gentle presence? 

Anyway, Riddle thanked Madoka for finding his horse and despite how Madoka tried to explain that it found her - not the other way around - and personally invited her to the next Unbirthday Party as thanks. 

During the party, Riddle was the one personally attending her. He makes sure that the party has all her favourite treats, teach her how to play their games - he play the part of a host perfectly well! 

Riddle could’ve wept at how kind, gentle and thoughtful Madoka is compare to the chaotic group that is Adeuce + Sayaka. Madoka could only gape like a goldfish when Riddle suddenly clasp her hands and request that she teaches him on how to manage Sayaka better. 

Observing the comedic interaction from the sideline, Trey merely smile widely as he hauls Ace, Deuce and Sayaka by their collars as if they were kittens and onto the empty seats before Riddle could punish them for misbehaving during the Unbirthday Party. 

Trey honestly thinks that Madoka is good for the Dorm Leader. In a way, Madoka understands Riddle. Around her, he completely let his guards down and allow himself to enjoy the world for once. Once, Trey even caught the most precious and adorable moment between those two. They were caring for the pink hedgehogs while he was trimming the rose bushes. Riddle wore a tender expression, even a small smile, and he later laughs over something that Madoka said. Trey decide to leave them in their world after that. 

The next time they met, Trey made sure to share some of his baked goods with her. Seeing her smile lit up from his gift is honestly a lot sweeter than his cookies, in Trey’s opinion. 

When it comes to Cater, Madoka is the littler sister that he always wanted. Always so sweet and would pout against his teasings, you bet that he loves showing her off to his Magicam followers. Seeing her running around the school with her friends oddly remains Cater of the tiny fairies that sweep away with the wind during his childhood. He was blessed enough to catch them dancing in the wind. Perhaps Diasomnia was right to call her a fairy. 

Madoka’s reaction to the 3 Heartslabyul’s seniors are overall positive. She sees the trio something like big brothers. Riddle with his disciplined lifestyle yet soft hidden side, Trey with his welcoming smile and helpful demeanour and Cater with his cheerful smirks and teasing remarks. Although they’re from different dorms, the trio would never fail to greet her should they ever pass by one another and for that, she’s grateful. 

Plus, she seriously appreciates Trey’s study session because school work? Yeah, that’s her mortal enemy. 

When it comes to Ace & Deuce, they’re fun to be around but sometimes they’re too rumbustious for Madoka to handle. Don’t get her wrong, the two boys are wonderful friends! After Sayaka sang praises about Madoka, the duo couldn’t help but look out for her whenever the circumstances show (EX: Being intimidated by the other students). 

Sometimes, Ace come across as too blunt and selfish that made Madoka uncomfortable and that would signal Deuce to punch him. Then cue the two brawling and Madoka, in the sideline feeling horribly guilty. For Ace, he thinks that Madoka is too tender-hearted for his taste; especially for a vilains’ school. He doesn’t say it out loud, but Ace believes that a school like RSA would suit Madoka. Still, he tries to hold his tongue around her. The last thing he needs is Sayaka and Riddle coming after his ass for making Madoka cry. 

Deuce likes Madoka ‘cause he gets to better himself at being a gentleman around her. He makes sure to always be mindful of himself and offer her help by carrying her books, showing her where certain classes are and etc. Madoka appreciate the gestures and always works hard to return the favour. She offers him a pair of ears to listen to his trouble, offer honest opinions/advice and practise their magic together. 

All in all, Madoka enjoys spending time with the Heartslabyul gang! They’re a different brand of eccentric from Diasomnia which makes things a lot more fun and unexpected! 

SAVANACLAW! 

Madoka was officially introduced to the Savanaclaw gang through Ruggie and some NPCs. 

She had just finished with PE and was on her way back to Diasomnia to freshen up and maybe catch up with Sebek to go over their homeworks for the day. As she was passing by the field, she saw a group of Savanaclaw students arguing amongst themselves. Since she didn’t know any of them, Madoka was about to leave when Ruggie - who is mitigating the peace between the group - spotted her and immediately called out to Madoka. 

His sudden shout startle the poor girl and before she realises it, Ruggie already jogs up towards her. Seeing the cautious stance and timid greeting, Ruggie made sure to present himself as friendly as possible. He recalls from Kyouko that this one is the shy type. A herbivore, Leona would call her.  

So Ruggie made sure to appear as harmless as possible and gives her a sincere smile. 

“Hey there! I’m Ruggie Bucchi! You’re one of Kyouko-chan’s friend, right? Do you know where she is right now? I tried calling her phone but she didn’t pick up.” 

“U-Umm, I didn’t see Sakura-san at all today, actually. Sorry...” 

Ruggie sigh. He thanked Madoka nonetheless and that’s when one of the NPCs suddenly shouted that it’s not fair if Kyouko is in the other team for the practise. And that spark an argument. 

Ruggie just rolled his eyes at their bickering and explain to a confused Madoka that the two teams are facing off one another in a simple game. It’s a game where they need to shoot their magic at flying discs. It requires accuracy and stern hold of one’s magic. But because one team is short of a member and wanted Kyouko on their side, they started arguing and Ruggie had to held them back. 

In a momentary burst of bravery and curiosity (because honestly, that sounds like a fun game to Madoka), she shyly asks if she can join in too. The boys immediately stop bickering and turn to stare at her. Even Ruggie’s eyes were bugged wide. 

One of the boys scoffed harshly and was about to say something scathing but was immediately silenced when Ruggie signal someone to punch him before he could regret it. Ruggie is well aware that Madoka is beloved by the entirety of Diasomnia. He doesn’t even want to think what would happen if they make her cry. 

“You want to join our game? Sure! You’re in your PE uniform anyway. You can be on their team and I’ll be in the other. Both teams have an equal number of people now.”

So Madoka dutifully follow Ruggie from behind, unknowing that Ruggie glare hard at the NPCs and silently promise punishment if they ever brought up the rivalry that Savanaclaw has with Diasomnia. Even though Ruggie is not a Vice Dorm Leader, the NPCs adhere to his command since he’s their Dorm Leader’s right-hand man. 

Madoka quickly introduce herself and after a round of gruff exchange of pleasantry, Ruggie went over the rules and how the game works once more so that Madoka is clear. 

Madoka and her team watch as Ruggie and his team go first. They managed to get a lot of good hits and score mad points. Ruggie score the most for his team because he manages to hit the discs that was the farthest. 

Then it was Madoka’s turn. The guys draw out their Magic Pens and Madoka summon her pink bow. The moment the whistle is blown, everyone starts shooting. Ruggie and his team gape when Madoka manages to destroy the discs that was the farthest rapidly without missing a single hit! 

In the end, Madoka’s team won. Her teammates were so happy that they cheer and hoist her up on their shoulders. 

Meeting and getting to know Madoka was an eye opener for Ruggie. He could understand now why she was sorted into Diasomnia despite her timid nature. Everytime she pulls back the bowstring and unleash a stream of pink energy, Ruggie could feel that there some serious firepower in it. Like she purposely fire off weak blasts to shoot at the discs.

To Madoka, Ruggie is a good senpai, if a little callous and mischevious. Kyouko told them that out all the boys here, she could relate more to Ruggie than anyone else. From that, Madoka guessed that the two of them shared similar past but she refrain from poking into someone else’s business.

Leona, however, boy does this guy intimidate the hell out of Madoka! 

Leona heard of the game that Madoka joined and thought nothing of it. If Kyouko could punch someone and send them crashing straight through walls, it’s only safe to assume that the other girls are just as strong. However, because he kept catching Madoka saddle close to her friends and would lower her head slightly when talking to anyone that wasn’t them, it’s hard for him to view her anything but a herbivore despite living in Diasomnia with that overgrown lizard. 

The two meet in the green house. Madoka was tasked by Divus to collect some herbs and flowers for their class and as a mean to help her identify and learn more about alchemy materials more. Unfortunately, even with a book in hand to guide her, Madoka is still unfamiliar with the plants. 

When she spotted someone sleeping on a bench nearby, she was at first instantly drawn towards his kitty ears. Her hands already itching to pet them! Her second instinct is to ask him for help find the plants that the teacher requested. She’s unable to decide. 

Leona could sense someone is standing close to him and so reluctantly, he crack open one bleary eye. He could only sigh when he sees Diasomnia’s resident fairy acting so skittish at him. So gruffly, he asks, “What is it?” 

Madoka hesitantly explain that she needs help finding some of the plants in her book. The green house is so huge and she doesn’t have a lot time before her Alchemy class is over. 

Now, normally Leona would just scoff, roll over and go back to sleep, but something in Madoka’s pleading eyes makes him feel like the scum of Twisted Wonderland if he doesn’t help her out. Is this her Unique Magic? And so with a very much put out sigh, he got up and reluctantly told her to follow him. He knows where the flowers and herbs are around this place. When she thanked him profusely, Leona brush it off in embarrassment. Just... please stop it with the sparkles. 

Leona ended up teaching her how to identity the ingredients better. See here in the book about this particular flower? It’s unique because it gives different scent to different people. The matured ones would gives of the smell of your favourite food so pick those. This goes on until Madoka gathered all she needs with enough time to spare! 

Once again, Madoka thanked the Dorm Leader profusely in which Leona grumpily reply that the only reason he helped her out is so that she would know the herbs a lot more and won’t disturb him again. His prickly demeanour didn’t put her off though. 

To Leona, Madoka is the human embodiment of sunshine and rainbows. Sometime when she chases after him to wish him a good morning, Leona mentally wonder if he should buy a pair of sunglasses because her beaming smiles are blinding. Ruggie could only snicker quietly when Leona tried to feed the girl some half-baked excuse about catching his classes just so he could escape her rays. She’s a good girl, definitely, and less troublesome to boot despite being a Diasomnia member so Leona doesn’t mind her.  

Little did he know that Madoka is working hard to worm into his good side so he would let her pet his ears and maybe let her brush his amazing mane. Oh well, it doesn’t hurt him if he doesn’t know it! 

Madoka had already met Jack because of Kyouko. These two get along well due to their even-temper personalities. 

Jack appreciate that Madoka is working hard to improve herself as a person and her magic and would often offer to be training buddies so he could look out for her in case she ever overwork herself. Despite her gentle disposition, Jack wouldn’t treat Madoka as if she’s made of glass. He knows that being kindness does not equal to weakness. He has a feeling that when push come to shoves, Madoka wouldn’t hesitate to bite in self-defend. 

Bonus point: Jack lets her pet his ears and tail after she did a good workout session. It’s a good enough motivation for her! 

Usually Madoka is not too fond of physical workout but with Jack, every training session is fun. She feels so comfortable with him after some time that she would sit on his back whenever Jack does push up. Outside of their training sessions, these two mantained a good relationship and would often hang out with Kyouko and the rest of the first-year squad without problem.  

OCTAVINELLE! 

Among all the girls, Azul would soon learn that Madoka is the scariest.  

Azul and Madoka would only officially meet when Azul needed to be save from himself. For now, they only briefly exchange glances from one another. 

Madoka would be walking with Sayaka and Silver, talking and there across the courtyard would be Azul and the Leech Twins in their own world. When their eyes met accidentally (Azul turns away from Floyd in annoyance when the taller student tried to nibble on his cheek playfully), both of their eyes widen in surprise. 

Madoka saw something in Azul. Something painfully familiar and to Azul, at that brief moment, he felt like Madoka saw through him. It send shivers up his spine while Madoka’s heart would constrict in pain. The spell is only broken only when their respective friends bring them back to the present. 

It was only a brief moment, but both Azul and Madoka felt uncomfortable. 

After that strange interaction, Azul would contemplate in the dead of the night when he couldn’t sleep whether or not to stay away from Madoka or confront of her. He couldn’t help but feel that Madoka saw the ugly side of him that the desperately kept hidden. The small boy that wouldn’t stop crying just because he was different from the rest. From that single glance, Madoka manages to unearthed that boy. 

Azul hated this feeling. 

As for Madoka, when she stared at Azul that morning, she could see herself reflected in his eyes. More specifically, the helplessness that she always struggle with. Becoming a Magical Girl doesn’t change that. And she wonders, if his affable and put-together demeanour are similar to her need to always help out her friends. 

This puts her in a pinch as well. Should she try to approach him despite her friends’ warnings about the Dorm Leader of Octavinelle and the Leech brothers?   

In the end, the two of them gave each other a wide berth and the next time they met in campus, neither of them would even look at the other. Too caught up in their own struggles to know what to do about the other. 

Jade, ever the observant one, would definitely noticed how strangely indiffierent Azul is to Madoka. After all, weren’t their plan is to learn more about these otherworldly girls? So he would be intrigue as to why Madoka had rubbed Azul the wrong way when they didn’t even talk to the girl yet! 

Because of Azul’s indifference, Jade decide to merely observe Madoka from afar. For now. He’ll figure out this strange puzzle soon enough, he’s confident about it.

Floyd thinks that Madoka is like an axolotl. So cute! So tiny! So pink! Oh, he just want to squeeze the living shit out of her! Unfortunately, his enthusiasm appear very threatening to the girls. I mean, they don’t mind the usual hugs, but all of their warning alarms go haywire the moment they spot Floyd running to Madoka. 

Picture this scenario in your head. You’re minding your business, talking to your friend and then a 191CM boy suddenly run towards you, smiling widely so you can see his row of ridiculously sharp teeth and his arms wide open towards you. Now, can you actually figured out at that moment whether he wants to hug you or kill you? 

That’s Madoka dilemma right about now. 

As Madoka’s poor mind was racing whether to run or not and Lilia - who is with her - just smile at the incoming eel boy, Madoka immediately gape and Lilia’s eyes shine with mirth when a yellow ribbon suddenly shoots out from nowhere, wrap itself around Floyd’s ankle and yank viciously. He trips and falls face first onto the ground and he was then instantly hoist up onto one of the main lamp post. He was left confused and dangling in the air, but only for a moment. He grins menacingly when Mami and Kyouko (she has her spear ready) are looking up at him. The two saw him running and since he’s probably in one of his squeezing moods, Kyouko offer to help him blow off some steam. Needless to say that they definitely distracted him from Madoka as they fight right there and then. 

“Ah, youth. It never fail to bring joy into these old bones.” Lilia sigh happily as he and Madoka, as well as the wandering students, spectate Kyouko and Floyd’s battle. Mami already went away for her next class. 

“Floyd-san is... scary.” Madoka couldn’t help but admit with a shiver. Why does he always want to chase after her!? 

Poor, Madoka. Someone needs to tell Floyd that his usual way of making friends scare the absolute shit out of her. 

SCARABIA! 

It was a surprise not only to Madoka, but to the rest of the girls as well, that Homura willingly approach her to introduce Kalim. 

It was a sight to behold when the stoic Homura came forward to introduce a beaming and chatty Kalim to her. 

Needless to say that Kalim immediately set her at ease. By the end of the day, these two become fast friends. Expect her to join the tutoring sessions between Kalim and Jamil. 

Madoka absolutely adore how vivacious Kalim is. They relate to another so much - both are kind and love their friends. Kalim would coax Madoka into trying new things/experiences and in a way, these little things would unknowingly make her braver bit by bit. Especially after he brought her on a Magic Carpet ride to see the sunset.

Sometimes, when Madoka is feeling a bit insecure about her position as a Magical girl, the first person she would seek out to is Kalim. These two would often have heart-to-heart talks without their friends knowing. Only to the other, would they put down their smiles and cry. 

When Madoka would visit Scarabia to see her friends, Kalim make sure to roll out the red carpet for her. The first time was a bit overwhelming for the poor girl, but after realising that it’s just Kalim’s nature and love for parties, Madoka surprisingly roll with it. Jamil was ready to restrain Kalim but seeing that Madoka enjoyed it, he just sighs and let these two cheerful idiots be. 

Kalim finds that Madoka is super cute and fun! Her shy demeanour makes him want to help her come out of her shell. His attempts at throwing parties for her, going on Magic Carpet rides actually helps. It surprises him and everyone else. 

It’s not long before he sees her akin to a little sister. One that he must spoil! 

Like all the other boys in NRC, Jamil will freely agree that yes, Madoka is as cute as a button. But when he realises that Madoka is a more shy and reserve version of Kalim, he’s gonna relate to Homura even more now. He’s very grateful that Madoka is not as reckless as Kalim at least! 

Jamil would treat Madoka courteously, of course. Since Homura often look out for Kalim whenever he’s busy, Jamil would do the same to Madoka to pay her back. He would subtly look out for her from afar though. No need to let Madoka know. 

To Madoka, Jamil is intimidating but a lot less so than Azul. She wonders if it’s because Kalim is always plastered to his side and whatever shenanigans Kalim got himself into, Jamil would be there too.

After hanging with the two boys, Madoka could see that Jamil and Homura shares a lot of common traits, so she treats him the same way she treats Homura. Gentle and with the hopes that they could be even better friends.  

POMEFIORE!

When Mami once told him that one of her friends’ choice weapon is a bow and she’s quite proficient with it - despite what she may tell you otherwise - Rook immediately sets his eyes on Madoka. 

So he ‘observe’ her whenever he could. In less than a week, Rook basically learn more about Madoka than the girl herself. He memorised her routine down to a T, noted down the type of people she prefer to hang out with, knows which class she’s struggling and excel in and etc. 

Basically, Rook stalks her as much as he stalks Leona. 

(Funny enough, when Leona found out about this, it surprises Ruggie that he went out of his way to inform Madoka about it. It confuses her as to why Rook would keep an eye out for her and decided to approach him when she gets the chance). 

Well, that day arrives when Rook came by to fetch Mami after the girls’ training. He arrive just in time to witness Madoka pulling her bow and unleash a strong magical pink arrow at Homura’s shield. The impact was so strong that Homura even skidded behind. 

Rook startle the girls by clapping his hands loudly at such display of power and adorableness! 

He recalls that Vil requested him to fetch Mami, but he just have to show his skills with the bow and arrow off to Diasomnia’s fairy! 

“Ah, lovely mesdemoiselles, forgive me for my rude intrusion, but each and every one of your performance took my breath away. The sheer power and mesmerising beauty that accompanies it - it’s something I’ve never seen before!  

Kyouko exchange a weird glance with Sayaka who just shrugs. “Uh, thanks. I guess?” 

Before the girls could even react, Rook zoomed in front of Madoka, clasping her hands with his, pleading for her to let him bedazzled the fairy with his marksmanship. Behind him, Mami silently mouthed Madoka to indulged him with a small grin on her fond expression. 

So with an unsure smile of her own, Madoka nodded. 

Kyouko and Sayaka bid their goodbyes as they head back to their respective dorms to freshen up while Mami, Madoka and Rook went to the archery field. 

When Rook let his arrows fly, Madoka’s eyes widen in awe. Rook is so proud of himself for being able to impress someone who is also passionate with the bow. Cue Mami suggesting if Madoka would like some archery lesson from Rook. 

Madoka didn’t hesitate to agree. Anything to improve herself as a Magical Girl! 

From that point on, Madoka gradually learn more and more about Rook as much as the Hunter learned about her. The moment Madoka admits that she has a knack for drawing and art, Rook quickly share his passion for the arts as well. Expect for these two to spend their time together drawing and Rook teaching her all sorts of arts that they have here in TW. 

When Epel heard from the other Pomefiore students that Rook is quite smitten with Madoka, he would pull her to the side when they meet and ask if he’s overwhelming her. Rook can be like that at times. Much to his surprise, Madoka couldn’t stop singing praises over how much Rook had taught her in all sorts of things - archery, arts and he even helps her work on her confidence.

Speaking of arts, when Madoka caught Epel delicately carving apples into miniatures figures, she would shyly ask him to teach her. Already thinking of gifting her artworks to her friends and family. She wants to impress her mother with her new skills! 

Like Ace, Epel thinks Madoka is too good to be in NRC. It’s a good thing that the other girls tend to stick close to her and that her dorm is protective of her. In his opinion, it doesn’t matter if she can fight like the rest of the girls. Most of the low-life guys in this school tend to take appearance at face value. Just how they did with him until he introduces his fist into their faces. It felt so good to just go feral! Hmm... maybe he should teach her how to throw a good punch at least. 

As for Madoka, when she was first properly introduce to him, she was about to make a mistake by complimenting how gorgeous Epel is. Fortunately for her, there was a couple guys passing by cat-calling and whistling at him. In a blink of an eye, Epel’s tiny smile turn into a scary scowl and he immediately stated brawling with them. Madoka had no choice but to call a teacher for help. Despite being the one who landed him in detention, Epel is pretty cool with Madoka while the girl made sure to always remember not to say anything about how cute he looks. 

Vil would nod in a passing whenever he sees his rebellious little apple with Madoka sitting quietly in the courtyard, carving apples together. Vil hopes that being around Madoka would calm Epel for once. Completely oblivious to the plans that Epel has for Madoka.  

As the fashion seasons are approaching, Vil invite Mami and the rest of the girls to Pomefiore for some serious discussion. Madoka tilt her head in confusion when Sayaka look stricken when Mami came by with her Dorm Leader’s invitation. 

Sitting on his throne in all his glory and regalia with Rook standing beside his Queen, Madoka felt like she’s in a fancy court and talking to royalty. 

Vil wasted no time. He would like the girls to join him on this season’s fashion show and runway. There are still a few months left before the date and since the girls are no models, it’s a good time to train them. 

When she heard the word ‘fashion’ and ‘runway’ and more specifically, her on the runway, Kyouko already turn around and walk away. Rook however, was quick to intercept her with a wide smile and stated that the girls would be handsomely rewarded if they agreed to it. This was enough to make her hesitant.  

So as Kyouko and Sayaka argued with Rook and Mami is trying to calm things down, Homura crossed her arms and observe quietly when Madoka approached the haughty Dorm Leader. 

“Um, Schoenheit-san, I-I don’t think I can pull it off. I don’t feel too comfortable among a lot of people...” Madoka carefully admits. She likes the idea of wearing pretty clothes, but on a stage where a crowd will judge her? Just thinking about it nearly made her faint! 

Vil readily nodded but not deterred. “Mami informed me of your reserved nature. Under my teaching, I’ll transform you into a diamond that will glitter pink. This I promise you.” When Madoka still look unsure and Homura made moves to use her magic to bring her and Madoka out of Pomefiore, Vil continue, “Not only that, I will teach you how to overcome you timid nature. Aren’t you tired of hiding behind your friends all the time? You have beauty in you, girl. Give yourself the opportunity to bloom.” 

Madoka carefully studied Vil from top to bottom - his looks, posture and the way how he carry himself. However, what attracted her to him the most is his confidence. A confidence that Madoka dream to possess. 

And so she agreed. 

She didn’t complain under Vil’s Spartan training. She did her best to get used to wearing the dresses and clothes that Vil designed for them. She absorb every lessons that Vil and Rook gave to boost her confidence. 

“The moment you’re on the runway Kaname-san, you’re the star. Captivate them and you’ll have them eating from the palm of your hands. That’s quite a heady power once you get a taste of it.” Vil told her on the night before the fashion show. 

Needless to say that Madoka looks up to Vil quite a lot and in return, Vil appreciate all the hard work and efforts she gave to herself and to him that it makes him proud despite her not being his dorm member. He can’t wait to see Madoka bloom into something magnificent. 

Oh, and for those who are wondering, Vil designed a beautiful and elegant white dress with pink petticoat that flows behind her like a pair of wings whenever she walks. She feels strangely... powerful in it. 

IGNIHYDE!

While Madoka was trying to nudge a sleeping Silver awake for his next class, she was surprise that a robot boy suddenly approach her from behind. 

“Oh, hello there! I’m Madoka. Is there anything I can help you?” 

 The robot boy introduces himself as Ortho Shroud and that it was nice to meet with Madoka. She return the sentiment. 

Ortho then explain that she’s been looking for her friend, Homura. His big brother has been trying to call her all day and she’s not picking up any calls or seen her in any of the camera feeds around NRC. 

Now a little concern, Madoka and Ortho manages to roused Silver up. Together, they went around NRC looking for Homura after Silver left for his class. 

As they walk, Ortho continue to explain that since he and his big brother noticed that Homura often hang out with Madoka the most out of all the other girls, it would be better to approach her. Madoka regretfully inform him that she actually hasn’t seen Homura all day. 

Madoka then asked how did Ortho and his big brother managed to befriended Homura. Her friend is not known for being sociable after all. 

Ortho cheerfully explain that Homura went to his big brother for help. They often hang out at their dorm and work on their projects. When Madoka asked about his dorm, Ortho explains that it’s Ignihyde. Their dorm focus on improving magical technology of TW. 

Most of what Ortho try to explain about magitech fly over Madoka’s head but it’s fascinating to hear nonetheless. 

Ortho reminds Madoka of her little brother, Tatsuya. Thinking about him as they talk send a pang of homesickness. Before either of them realise it, Madoka had started crying. 

“Kaname Madoka-san! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? My scanner didn’t pick up any injuries on you!” Ortho fretted. 

With a sad smile, Madoka shakes her head as she wipe her tears. “I’m fine Ortho-kun. I just remember Tatsuya-kun. He’s my little brother. I miss him and my family so much.” 

Well that wouldn’t do! Ortho could relate; if he was separate from Idia, he would be just as distraught as Madoka. “Whenever I’m unhappy, I usually talk to my big brother. He always make me feel all better! Kaname Madoka-san, would you like to hang out with my big brother and I? Big brother said that having fun can help when you feel sad.” 

Madoka really doesn’t want to be alone right now. Despite just meeting with Ortho, he’s so sweet and kind to her. She wants to know more about him and his big brother. So after they found Homura who absentmindedly admit that she just return to NRC, the three of them head towards Ignihyde. 

Honestly, Idia is ashamed to admit that he shrieks a little when he open his door to see a beaming Ortho with Madoka and Homura behind her. A guy could use a warning before girls suddenly barge into his room! 

When Ortho explains that Madoka misses her little brother and ask if they could help her feel better by playing games, Idia’s heart melts a little. Besider her, Homura suggest they talk about their latest project some other time. It’s been sometime did she unwind and hang out with the Shroud brothers anyway. (Looks like befriending Kalim made her more incline to spend her time with Idia and Ortho, not that she realised yet.) 

Idia introduces the girls some of his latest games and they indulge in tons of snacks. It didn’t take long for him to relax in their presence and Madoka to cheer up. By the time dinner came around and Lilia texted Madoka to ask about her whereabouts, Madoka sincerely thanked the Shroud brothers with all her heart for helping her feel better. Ortho cheers while Idia stammers in embarrassment as he reply that it was not a problem. 

At first, Madoka thought that Idia is just as shy she was until he explains that being in a crowd makes him anxious and he just didn’t like to mingle with people. Only a selected few. Madoka felt honoured that he feels comfortable around her. After heading back to Diasomnia, she resolve to help Idia feel comfortable outside whenever she can. 

She can’t wait to learn more about Ignihyde and the Shroud brothers. 

Idia share the same sentiment with Leona when it comes to Madoka. The girl is seriously too adorable and blinding for her own good. It was like having a personal sun when she was in his room. Oh well, at least Ortho enjoys hanging out with her, letting her pampered him. He hopes that she’ll be able to reunite her family soon. 

-

And we’re done with the girls’ reaction to the other characters and dorms! Oh, I’m so happy! We’re now moving to Overblots and the dorms arcs! Starting with Sayaka and Riddle~     

#twisted wonderland #puella magi madoka magica #Puella Magi Holy Quintet #Holy Quintet in TW series #crossover

[shigure]

pmmm talk under cut

i love sayaka so much because i can empathize so strongly with her downward spiral. the way she commits herself to justice on the behalf of others to her own detriment. the way she draws a hard line of good and bad and shows no mercy to anyone who falls on the side of evil. when she starts to think of herself as disgusting she can’t walk it back. when she starts to think of herself as “could become a witch”, suddenly she might as well be a witch. and she can’t walk it back. from that moment forward the feelings she never acknowledges, can’t acknowledge, are her sense of obligation to kill herself, and her belief that she’s no longer deserving of any mercy. and when she decides that she herself isn’t worth fighting for, suddenly no one else is worth fighting for either. *if* she could consciously think “i should kill myself” she might be able to return to seeking a sense of justice in the world (even though she still wouldn’t be able to find peace) but since she can’t, she just slowly arrives at the opinion that the humans she was fighting for don’t really deserve protection anyway, and the world is devoid of purpose altogether. so she lives instead of dying, and becomes a witch instead of healing.

and i’m okay with that. i’m okay with her not finding an answer that knocks her out of that spiral! i’m okay with the fact that she transforms, and is eventually destroyed, while knowing that kyoko and the others have a grasp on something she can’t even begin to comprehend. nuance. and they keep trying to show nuance to her, but she cannot grasp it before it’s too late. i’m okay with the fact that kyoko embraces that about her, sees herself in sayaka, and ultimately dies alongside her, both to neutralize the threat she posed and to save sayaka from spending eternity as the one thing she wanted to remove from the world altogether. she couldn’t give sayaka’s efforts any meaning, but she could at least prevent sayaka from becoming any worse. i’m okay with that. it’s all part of what makes her a favorite of mine.

what i’m not okay with is that sayaka marks the beginning of everyone becoming equally miserable until madoka wipes the slate clean. i just don’t feel that the series honors what sayaka was struggling with or how it eventually destroyed her. we’re able to see what sayaka becomes when she doesn’t have [nuance] but instead of the rest of the series being filled with the survivors being determined to show nuance and empathy to each other, it just goes on to show what the other girls don’t have, and what traits make them fail. where do we get to see the traits that make them succeed? when do we get characters that are flawed and also capable of achieving great things? i love madoka but she doesn’t really have any negative character traits. some that are value neutral like naivety and hesitance, sure, and those can cause her to make situations worse in some ways. but there’s nothing wrong with madoka. and she becomes god. well, there’s a lot wrong with homura! and with sayaka! there’s even things wrong with mami! and they all failed and most of them died! for silly and petty mistakes, for hubris and for want of therapy, and for things by and large completely out of their control. that’s not fair to sayaka. it isn’t fair to any of them. Madoka’s magical reset button doesn’t do justice to their pain, and it doesn’t honor the ways they were hurting. it may have “made it better” for the girls in the show, but it doesn’t make it better for girls watching the show that can understand the specific pain certain characters represent. if you’re struggling with self worth, and you see that sayaka died, and nothing got better, but at least her problems weren’t making things harder for normal humans anymore, what do you think? if you’re young enough that you’re still heavily influenced by stories like that, what goes through your mind? does the show honor sayaka in a way where you feel like she made a mistake in her perspective while still being worth loving? no. it doesn’t. it doesn’t honor any of them. it’s just torture for them, torture for madoka who loves them, and ultimately a wish to just erase the problem altogether. never solving it. never saving anyone. never using anyone’s suffering to save someone else in the future. only pain.

#and there it is ladies. #popmmm

[mistbornthefinal]

Madoka Magica Aniversary Analysis: Part2

Hunting for Witches

(here there be spoilers, proceed at your own risk)

We get a quick recap of Mami introducing herself and blowing away Gertrude’s familiars, before cutting to Madoka waking up in bed much like last ep. Only this time Kubey is being a creepy bunnycat like always and is looming over her bed. Cue Connect.

As the two of them are brushing their teeth in their weird giant bathroom Junko chastises Madoka for being late and not checking in with the family. We then cut back to yesterday as Mami leads Madoka and Sayaka back to her house. Honestly I prefer the original broadcast version of Mami’s house it’s emptiness laid the seeds for the reveal of the desperately lonely girl Mami actually was. 

(Shaft there was a point where this need to stop and we’ve clearly passed it)

Mami gives them some cake and then gets down to business about this whole magic thing. She starts with the soul gem, the source of a magical girls powers which is created when she forms a contract with Kyubey. Kyubey then lays out the terms in exchange for becoming a magical girl he will grant the subject one wish, according to him anything is on the table. But becoming Meguca has a price, a magical girl must fight Witches. 

Back in the present Madoka asks her mom what she would wish for. Junko says she’d oust a couple of board members at her company, maybe the president as well the man is by her account too long in tooth and yet still refuses name a successor. Madoka suggest the she might be the next president and you can almost immediately see the wheels starting to turn in Junko’s head. Madoka watches slightly nonplussed as Junko begins playing her next moves in Game of Thrones: Mitakihara office politics edition.

(Madoka has no idea the cataclysm her off the cuff statement precipitated) 

Hours in the past Sayaka asks what a Witch is and how they are different from magical girls. Kyubey replies (in retrospect very weaselly) that if magical girls are born from wishes than witches are born from curses. In addition Witches can not be seen by normal humans, but none the less prey on them sowing anger and despair. Mami chimes in that many seemly inexplicable murders and suicides are due to witch curses. Sayaka asks why this isn’t common knowlage. The answer Witches hid from humanity in unreal pocket dimensions, the labyrinths.

What happened to the girls earlier is they had wandered into a labyrinth, something that’s usually fatal to ordinary humans. Mami stresses that within the labyrinth even her life is in danger so the two of them ought to weigh their options carefully before making a contract. As tempting as wish might be the price could very well be death. Despite the danger Mami offers them a chance to accompany them on a witch hunt to see what it’s like before they sign up.

As Madoka meets up with her friends on the way to school Sayaka is quick to react to the bunnycat perched on her shoulder. In addition to being invisible to muggles Kuybey also acts as telepathic relay. Though the twos silent conversation give Hitomi the wrong idea

(this scene became a meme for good reason) 

In the classroom Sayaka questions the wisdom of Kyubey coming to school, given the girl who tired to ice him yesterday is in their class. Kyubey says Mami is in telepathic range (prompting her to chime in) and he doesn’t peg Homura as the sort to cause a public disturbance. Homura’s arrival in class triggers another flashback to last evening.

Specifically the part of the conversation were they discuss the transfer student. Mami confirms that she is another magical girl. This confused Sayaka, why would a magical girl attack Madoka, shouldn’t they be allies of justice. Kyubey corrects her Homura was after him, likely to prevent him from making new contracts. Mami explains that conflict among magical girls is a common occurrence. Witch hunting has it’s rewards and sometimes megucas will fight each other to secure them. Sayaka rather astutely connects her interest in Madoka with the presumed desire to keep competitors out of the picture. 

This whole cutting between past and present thing might be a little hard to follow in text recap form, but it does us a service by cutting our big exposition dump and giving us time to breath in between segments. This scene tells us everything we need to know about magical girls and witches (or so we think) and even gives us some insight into what Homura is about. After EP 1 left us with nothing but questions EP 2 has given us faith that this show isn’t going to leave us in the dark. 

At lunch which Madoka and Sayaka have decided to eat on their schools aesthetic as fvck roof, the two discuss the possibilities of a wish.

(this school is cursed and I love it)

Sayaka says that as tempting as a wish is she balks at the cost, then laments that most people should have a wish that they would risk their lives for and that neither of them do shows how privileged they are. There is a brief cut who we will later learn is Kyosuke before laments that there are plenty of people in the world who would risk their lives on a wish, so why them.

Before we can get an answer Homura enters the scene. The girls are startled but Mami’s voice chimes in revealing that she’s providing overwatch from a nearby tower. Homura says she’s not here to fight and going after Kyubey again is pointless now that he’s made contact with Madoka. She just want’s to know where the stand re:becoming meguca. She then reminds Madoka of her earlier warning, a warning that hopefully has not fallen on deaf ears. Madoka asks what Homura wished for but only receives a cryptic look. 

They ditch Hitomi to go Witch hunting and fail to correct her... assumptions along the way. When the meet up with Mami at the cafe we learn that Sayaka brought a bat, while Madoka brought sketches of magical girl costumes. 

(sketches drawn by her awesome voice actress Yuuki Aoi)

They go back to where Mami fought the familiars so she can pick up the Witches magic trail and track it to her labyrinths new location. As the girls are following the trail we cut to a woman stumbling into an abandoned building, a building that someone wrote a Faust quote on one of the walls in the original German (more on that when do a post on Madok’s Faust references). 

Bach with Mami and hangers on we learn she has been systemizing her method of witch hunting, checking the places already prone to violence and accidents that witches tend to frequent. According to her the worst place for a witch to be is a hospital where they can leach the life from those already weakened by illness.

The arrive at the abandoned building just in time for Mami to catch the woman from earlier when she jumps off the roof. Though uninjured the woman is cationic and marked with a strange glyph that Mami identifies as a witches kiss. She lead the two of them into the labyrinth through a portal but not before enchanting Sayaka’s bat. Homura is not far behind. 

Mami makes easy work of the familiars and after a series a surreal doors open we reach to core of the labyrinth and meet it’s creator.

(I’m not sure what people were expecting back in 2011 but I don’t think it was a butterfly rosebush monster)

Gertrude gets her name plastered on the screen in witch runes, setting us up for a boss fight, cue magia. Mami curtsies to the witch causing two of her signature muskets to fall from her skirt. Gerturde throws her sofa at her and the flies through the air to dodge return fair from Mami’s guns. While Mami is focused on the witch herself several small familiars on the ground merge into a giant tendril that takes her off guard and slams her into the wall. 

Mami is able to turn the table by conjuring threads from the bullets embedded in the ground to ensnare the witch. She then uses the ribbon of her uniform to cut herself free and then conjures a giant gun with it that blows the witch away.

(No one else in this show names their attacks, Mami is such a dork)

Mami celebrates with a cup of tea as the barrier dissipates, then picks up a strange black object from the ground. This she tells Madoka, Sayaka, and the audience is a Grief Seed. The Grief Seed is a witches egg and it can be used to cleanse the darkness of a girls soul gem, replenishing her magic. She then tosses it into the darkness only for a previously unseen Homura to catch it. It has one more use which Mami offers to Homura. Homura rebuffs this offer which Mami takes poorly and Sayaka even more poorly. Madoka on the other hand just wants everyone to get along. 

With the influence of the witch gone the woman from earlier awakens, and is distraught at what she almost did. Mami comforts the woman telling her it was all a bad dream. The episode ends with Madoka musing that while she has no idea what wish she would stake her life on she admires Mami’s heroism. (cue Mata Ashita)

That’s Episode 2 which I would say is the most fundamental episode for understanding Madoka’s plot. We got a whole lot of exposition dumped, far more than you notice because it’s intercut with slice of life movements and character building. The it was capped off with a cool fight scene.  Everything from here on essentially either confirms or subverts what episode establishes.  

#semi-original content #puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica anniversary analysis

[takerfoxx]

When trying to write a big balloon of good feelings with the EXPRESS INTENTION of bursting it... how big is too big before it's just cruel?

A very good question, and it comes down to purpose, execution, and follow-through.

Now, given my history and reputation, those sorts of situations are something of my forte, and I’ve had a lot of experience and trial and error to work things out, so here’s how you get maximum impact out of your dark, cruel plot-twists.

First, ask yourself why are you doing this? Is it purely for shock value, or does it serve some greater purpose for the plot and characters? If it’s the second, then go ahead and skip to the next section. If it’s the first, then go ahead and put that idea back in the oven because it’s totally not ready yet.

Look, as a writer, I get the appeal of shock value. Shock value got Imperfect Metamorphosis on the map. Shock value is in my blood. But if all you have is that shock and nothing else, then it’s shock value for shock value’s sake, which is just shallow and useless. You want to shock and disturb, yes, but you also want your audience to keep going to find out what happens next! Dangle that emotional catharsis in front of them! Give them some measure of hope that this is leading somewhere satisfying! Even stories like Chinatown and The Mist, which ended with the protagonists losing in horrible ways despite all their efforts, still felt like they were saying something bigger about the human existence and didn’t feel like they were cheating the audience.

For example: Marisa’s death in IM. I’ll freely admit, the idea first occurred to me and became part of the plan for the shock value, a way to throw down the gauntlet and show that no one is safe. But since the idea came to me early in IM’s run, I had literal years to refine the idea, build towards it, and map out how the fallout would go down, so that by the time it came around, it had turned into an essential part of the plot, from which the rest of the story would lead.

See, here’s the thing you need to understand about dark plot twists: they follow the same rule as edgy humor that breaks societal taboo. And that is this: the twist is not the payoff; the twist is the set-up. Think of the difference of between a rookie “comedian” who thinks that saying shocking things that you’re not supposed to say constitutes as “funny” and those who are offended just don’t have a sense of humor, and a genuine master like George Carlin, who used edge subject matter and taboo breaking not as the punchline, but as the set-up to the bigger joke and thus earn the big laughs when he managed to land the punchline and say something bigger about the topic at hand. It’s a wire act without a net, something that is spectacular if you can pull it off and lead to something greater, but will end in disaster if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Now, let’s move onto the next part: execution. Here you have to be careful, because while it’s perfectly acceptable (and in fact encouraged) to break the rules and conventions of the story’s genre, you still have to ensure that it’s keeping with your story’s internal consistency and rules, and that it makes sense! You want such-and-such a character to betray their friends and turn bad guy? Okay, but it has to make sense and be consistent with their backstory and motivations. You want to pull the rug out from under the heroes and ruin everything they had been working toward? Okay, but it has to be consistent with the rules that you had set up.

I’ll give you a few examples. Now, Game of Thrones might be in the doghouse due the dumpsterfire of a final season, but there was a time when it was upheld as the gold standard of dark plot twists, with the two big examples being Ned Stark’s execution and the Red Wedding. The reason why those moments were so shocking and effective wasn’t because they came out of nowhere, but because they broke the conventional rules of storytelling. OF COURSE the main character would survive! They even gave him an out by having him sentence to the Wall where his bastard son was, where they would no doubt reunite and plan their next steps! Ned’s the hero, after all! Except no, this isn’t that kind of story, Joffrey is still a sociopathic narcissist, doing what sociopathic narcissists do.

And the Red Wedding? OF COURSE it would work! Walder Frey had accepted the compromise, and we’ve put a lot of time and investment in Rob and Cate and their retainers. Rob was practically the new main character, and the driving force against the Lannisters. What was more, he was winning, and he was going to keep winning, even with his one or two slip-ups...except no, he wasn’t, because he had been warned about Walder Frey’s easily bruised ego, he had broken his word, so there was going to be consequences when the Frey’s cut a deal with the Lannisters, so welcome to Medieval-style skullduggery!

Hell, you can have some real fun with this too! And if I may toot my own horn, let’s look at the most recent dark twist from IM: the return of the Shadow Youkai.

Now, I know what my reputation is, and what people expect from me. As such, I can use those expectations to play a sort of follow-the-cup game with the plot. Everyone knew that the Shadow Youkai wasn’t gone for good; the epilogue of Fires of the Sun pretty much showed that. But no one knew when she’d be back, and that let’s me play with expectations a bit.

So I put together a big beach trip, where Rin takes all of her friends, new and old, out into public. And since this is Rin’s story, everyone expects it to go wrong. She expects it to go wrong. Because things always go wrong for Rin!

Sure enough, here comes Hong Meiling and Koakuma, two people with reasons to ruin Rin’s life! Surely they’ll catch and bust her! In fact, it turns out that Koakuma is Elis’s cousin, so surely that would mean she would...except no, they have a short chat, Koakuma doesn’t expose them, and they all go their separate ways. Nothing happens.

Oh shit, here comes Reimu! Not only does she know Rin, she also knows everyone in Team Nineball, and has fought most of the other girls as well! This isn’t good, how will Rin wriggle out of this (no pun intended)...except she doesn’t need to. Reimu and Rin’s various friends walk right past each other over and over without noticing, she chitchats with Hong Meiling and Koakuma for a bit, and then she’s called away to the next chapter’s plot. Rin never even so much as realizes that Reimu was there. Nothing happens.

But wait! Flandre is still a problem, and Seija’s still loose out there! And there she is, taking advantage of Rin’s absence to trigger Flandre’s madness! Surely THIS is the big disaster that’ll...except no, Kogasa quickly gets Seija to piss off and Wriggle coaxes Flandre back to sleep. Nothing happens.

Wait, the beach party was...a success? Nothing bad happened? Everyone had fun and made friends like they were supposed to? And it ends with Rin actually saving a stranger’s life and getting praised for it? Which story was I reading again?

Oh hey, there’s Minoriko, someone who hasn’t been seen a long time, and she says that Hina successfully devoured the Shadow Youkai’s essence, so there’s nothing to worry about. Well, that’s a relief! Strange though that a little curse goddess could handle something of the Shadow Youkai’s caliber, seeing how Sariel already mentioned how unsafe it is to use anything other than the original sword to do so, and how Rhapsody of Subconscious Desire already established that the Shadow Youkai is capable of taking over a secondary host, provided that she had access to their subconscious, and-

Click.

Boom.

So if you’re going to do it, make sure you set up believable reasons why it would happen in advance, even if the audience doesn’t notice them at first. Otherwise, you get Vince Russo’s booking of late-90′s WCW, where everyone was switching allegiances on a dime left and right just for the sake of having a SHOCKING SWERVE! Remember: it’s a highwire act without a net. Know what you’re doing.

Also, for the love of God, if you’re going to have a bad guy do a really bad, shocking thing in one part of the story but later join the good guys later on, don’t just sweep said bad thing under the rug. If Cain the Bloodspiller butchers little Timmy in book one but becomes Cammy the Bloodsaver in book five, then don’t let little Timmy be forgotten. Make sure that there’s still consequences.

And finally, the follow-through. Justify this shocking twist. Have it mean something. Take your time to explore the consequences. Show how it affects the characters. Dig deep into their psyches and make it feel real. The reason people STILL talk about Aeris’s death in Final Fantasy 7 is that the gameplay itself was designed to make you feel her loss, both from the viewpoint of the characters and you, the player.

One of my favorite dark twists is Mami’s death in PMMM, because it follows all of these conditions and does so spectacularly. It sets up how dangerous fighting witches is and explains that someone could really die while doing it, while tricking us into not expecting that to happen by already showing us how Mami kicks ass and establishing her as a main character with a promise to form a lasting bond with Madoka right before pulling the trigger. And afterward, it takes the time to really dig into the consequences of her death, from Madoka’s depression to Sayaka’s increased recklessness to being the catalyst that brought Kyoko into the story in the first place. Everything that happens after does so as a result of that moment.

So yeah, by all means, do that shocking thing, but make sure you put in the work to both earn and justify it.

#writing advice #game of thrones #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm

[kyu-bri]

Magia Rapport pt 2

@magiarapport​

August 24th prompt: What was your favorite event, and why? Is it because of gameplay or the story?

It’s hard to choose so I’m gonna just, gush a bit.

As you can probably tell I’m very biased toward the OG girls, I started Magia Record primarily because PMMM had become my new obsession and I wanted some sort of constant flow of content out of decade old anime lmao.

But another thing I think I hooked onto was Inu Curry’s writing. They really know Madoka Magica and aren’t afraid to really play with them- something the writers for a spin-off gacha game (as with most spin-off stories honestly) can be scared to do. Inu Curry made references, revealed secrets and built upon the story we already know- which lets be honest is what we always truly want from a spin-off series. Magia Record proper does this well by putting more magical girls into the world and letting us see things work out better for them than for the original cast, but what I really appreciated with this story was getting to see that old original cast get to get in on that, and these events managed to do that without watering them down any.

Under the cut is me going on for 3000 words about why I love these three events I’m so sorry. TL;DR at the very end-

I’ll go in release order,

A La Carte Valentine was one of the first if not THE first event I got in on. I was eager to bc 1 Gay Magical Girl Shit Guaranteed. And ofc 2 OG Cast participation.

I want to preface by saying I actually loved all the girls’ stories in this. I was very much still in a state of getting used to Iroha’s gang let alone trying to care about the secondary girls. I knew Tsukasa had this angsty Twins Separated At Birth Deal and liked seeing her home life (also I immediantly stanned Take. Regular well-meaning dude who has no idea whats going on just trying his best and hating his boss). I knew nothing about Ami except Cowgirl Meguca and getting the bulk of her personality in one short even I think really kept me from being absolutely sick of her, she’s just a cute silly teenage girl who could be in literally anything and I was able to just endearingly giggle at that. Hinano managed to do the heterosexual unrequited crush cliché without me groaning or missing any of her regular personality. Also was there a Ren part? I don’t remember because everything Ren does feels like a Soft Yuri Valentines Special. Also I love Momoko. Ok moving on to what I Really wanna talk about.

Madoka is genuinely my Least Cared About of the Holy Sextet. I don’t think she’s bad or even boring- Madoka has a depth to her character, like, really deep- but that’s not something ever really touched upon by the fandom. Even when people like her and make her the Heroine she’s Supposed to be, it’s usually in the context of “Girl who feels nothing but kindness and happy thoughts would cut off her right hand to feed to a hungry dog. Isn’t she so Good????”. And honestly, while I understand the point it was going to make, I wasn’t crazy about her sacrifice in the end of the series. (Team Homura “Rebellion Is Good Actually” ftw) All because I think that I’m an Adult Woman watching this like “You are 14yrs old and need to be home playing Sims and not sacrificing yourself for the greater good you stupid silly little baby girl”

So my point is here near all fan content I encounter tends to emphasize whats sort of my least favorite facet of Madoka. I don’t think she made the ‘wrong’ decision in the context she and the story were given, but it’s still a sad thing to show a depressed(!!!) insecure girl resolving to give away her very existence so that every other girl on earth has a chance to just Dream. Oh and they still usually die young. But that’s ok because then she takes them and lets them sleep peacefully forever in her Heaven Basement (Yes I am bitter stan Homura I would yank this savior complex infant girl out the sky too)

MY POINT BEING (The servers closing let me BLEED OUT ALL MY FEELINGS) This event did not do that!!! It made Madoka…….. EVERYTHING SHE SHOULD BE??? ALWAYS??? Showed her HOW WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO VIEW HER??? (Read: Happy and Alive and Confident at no foreboding or sacrifice of anyone else!!!!)

She is Sassy and Surrounded By Friends and Really Funny??? And we get this Ridiculous Oh My God On Crack metaphor about her being this all-powerful apocalypse bringing being which is representing her love for the universe through her Witch form of Wanting Everyone To Be Happy And Safe With Her??? And she still risks herself to save everyone as is her Thing to do but we get to have her do it without erasing her existence as a human being at the end and if that is not some GOOD SHIT????

Ok next:

NGL Sayaka’s (fav character, inarguable best girl, can u not tell) parts in MagiReco til like the last arc have always left me a bit disappointed. She was the only late comer of the OG girls from what I understand and it kind of gives her the air of what a lot of the second(/thirdary?) girls suffer from. You can tell the writers can’t even figure out a trope to apply her to to make her easy and two dimensional to write about so they just don’t know what to do. They definitely try to make up for it (especially in the anime which Praise Be but that’s probably Inu Currys doing) but she’s still lacking like, any of the depth of her personality. Which, I guess I could anticipate. Because most of the fandom tends to as well. (again)

Gonna stop complaining and get on with- That didn’t feel as much the case in her Valentine event. Sure it was still the same formula of “The Issue Is Kyosuke” but that didn’t play out as grueling as her personal story did with “Nine Episodes Of “The Issue Is Kyosuke””

There was one big glaring heart-aching detail of “Mami isn’t really there because SHES IN A FUCKING CULT RIGHT NOW” which kind of jarred the event out of the ho-hum silly valentines sidestory these events usually keep up.

Sayaka has this crisis about Doing Anything Meaningful With Kyosuke which we all know what That’s calling back to, but in this environment we get to have Kyoko come right up and be in a position with her to earnestly and affectionately Push Her To Do It. The lonely little tsundere bitch girl pushes her Not Friend to Give The Bastard The Gotdamn Chocolate Already and for a moment you can only think about What If’s and If Only’s. Sayaka’s is still the weakest of the threes stories in this event but it worked harder to show us different sides of the characters then 6 chapters of Another Story managed to do.

And then there’s fucking Homura.

I will be, eternally grateful for Kuro. As a character that becomes metaphorical for the 2D ways we initially viewed the feathers and just NPCs in games in general, and also like, giving Homura a friend she actually cares about that isn’t the tangled dark web of Bullshit she’s gotten tied up with Madoka in. Please ask me about all my AU’s where Kuro is Homuras first girlfriend.

Seeing Moemura in Magia Record has always been a bit surreal, we never really understand just what stage of Trauma this Homura is in because Multiverses Are Hell, but this event gives us a good chunk of a Homura who still has hope and faith both in the world and Madoka. Theres this wonder to her that while still bogged down by terrible experiences still has the energy to be Trying. And she sees a girl who used to be like her- which when you think about it is probably what Madoka saw in her- and she wants to help. Because Madoka helped her. And Madoka is the best thing in the universe and maybe Homura can be just a little bit closer to that.

Kuro is too far gone though, as is the reality frequently in this series, things don’t work out just because of circumstance. Kuro was a bullied, insecure little girl who realistically shouldn’t have had to become a rampaging monster because of it. We’re reminded of this being the reality of the Madoka universe. Homura, is reminded of this reality. Homura loses this one chance to bring hope into the world like Madoka brought hope into hers.

And then her story ties into the ending of Madoka’s. Madoka saves her life yet again, even as Homura continues to feel miserable and empty. But at least Madoka is with her. The girls then share a quiet, intimate Valentines together. And you sort of understand how Homura fell so far into the darkness that the only thing she was able to still care about and fight for was Madoka’s safety.

That shit slaps. It slaps you right in the heart and causes fucking bruising but then u want it to do it again because you’re masochistic and Meguca Is Suffering.

Anyway I hope Kuroe slaps our hearts more in season2

MOVING ON!!!!

~Nagisa’s Wish~

Ok, I don’t remember what got me so simp over Nagisa, I think it was the heart-aching irony that Mami adopts the witch that fucking ate her. But that is my baby now and I’d die for her. Fandom Charlotte whose pink and silly and loves her mom and is Mami’s cancer-riddled girlfriend is cool and all but she isn’t a tiny Halloweeny baby whose fucking bitter angry and manically obsessed with cheese due to PTSD.

I had saw a summary of Nagisa’s Wish reposted just to quickly explain Nagisa’s backstory, and as such immediately had to search out if that crazy ride was true- so I actually watched this whole event probably before I downloaded the game. It was surreal on its own but replaying it when it came to NA didn’t lessen it any- I got to process more of what I was witnessing and as result stanned Yu pretty hard.

I guess to explain my Emotions here, saving Yu for later- calls for me to just, describe who Nagisa is as a human being and my headcanons surrounding it all with what this event gave us. Whether you consider it canon or not it’s one version of events that we were given and that I am all for accepting.

Nagisa’s Mom was a celebrity, she could have been an actress though I also like the idea of her being an Idol. She met Nagisa’s Dad oh-so romantically and got knocked up- they very well could have been married but it doesn’t seem clear enough. He seems to have left too suddenly for legal matters like that. Nagisa is approximately 11, and while she seems to remember her Father, she doesn’t in the sense of having had a relationship with him or any feelings. Her Mother has to “explain” why he left, so Nagisa was probably still young even if not a baby. What I’m getting at here is the timeline for when Nagisa’s Mom Got Like That. Nagisa can remember her from before she was, and then says that she got sick after her Dad left. So what I’m wondering is did Daddy Momoe ruin this young rich girls life, give her syphilis and then leave her with a baby she was unfit to care for in poverty? I know half of this is running on anime logic but Holy Shit all the possible ways reasons and ideas for why things could’ve gotten This Bad.

Is it ridiculously dark and edgy that the original story we were given was “Girl wishes her dying mother could have her favorite cake but then realizes OOPSIE-DAISY I could have wished for her to Not Die instead!!!!” got turned into “11yr old hates her abusive mother so much she wants to make her suffer in the most symbolic way she can and then goes mental when she isn’t able to do it”??? Yes. But if I had the mental capacity to I have to admit I was in a position to be just as bitter at that age too. I can’t call it unrealistic. I may infact be projecting hard with how much I support and enjoy this backstory.

Anyway Nagisa was in such a state of trauma and distress at a horrifically young age when she died that it broke her mental faculties so severely that even when she came back as a literal Angel of God she had blocked it out so deeply and thoroughly she seemingly regressed to an even younger capacity and hyperfixated on the trait that she has before used to try to bond with her Mother who she had died hating.

And that also slaps u right in the heart.

A N D T H E N !

~Beachside Bonds~

Just the simple structure of this story was so enjoyable and nicely done. We finally get to see the OG girls in a context we wouldn’t be able to in literally any other scenario. They’re going on a summer vacation together and Homura is sentimentally journaling every single second of it. Is this mayhaps because she’s never gotten to be this happy and blissful with these girls she loves so much??? Of course this is are you not paying attention what the fuck. Homura is so optimistic and healed and hopeful she’s acting like what she might actually be doing as a normal teenage girl. (A heartrending contrast to the end of her Valentines Special)

We get nothing short of pure fluffy Slice Of Life shenanigans on the beach which even includes a bunch of the Kamihama girls that the OG crew knows! And they talk about it! And introduce eachother! And their friends commentate on it! Ren gets to see Kyoko Not Being A Bitch and then Sayaka teases her about having made friends and oh my god my heart is turning into cottoncandy as we speak Mom holy FUCK

Sayaka’s existence fucking matters in this story! It’s her families Hotel they’re staying at and she has relationships and memories with the creepy twins that live there and she talks like a fucking person??? And gives opinions??? That aren’t just copypasted “Justice is Good and Bad things are BAD!!!!”

Mami is fresh out of her fucking Cult Drama and she’s still trying to be cool Senpai but then she DECKS Homura in the face and gets scared by the ghost stories and then turns into pudding and waxes nostalgia at Kyoko out of nowhere IT’S ALMOST LIKE SHE’S A FIFTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL????????

G H O S T S ? ? ? ?

Y U ! ? ! ? ! ? !

(IS G A Y ! ! ! !)

This whole fucking backstory and truly horrifying Romeo and Juliet on Acid love and death story between Yu and her girlfriend and like if I wasn’t fascinated enough by Yu just being the creepy organ harvester before but apparently thats what she became after she literally made some sort of wish that erased all of her memories besides the nickname her sweetheart used for her and coincidentally also added to her the task of killing all Bad People?????

Yu made a wish to be able to get rid of All Bad People preserving the innocent version of herself who grew up with this girl and it was right after a failed double suicide attempt on fucking Doomed Lovers Cliff fucking Lifetime Will You Ever.

It then pairs with Homura whose PTSD gets to shine through a bit in being unable to believe any bad sort of Madoka which how could you try to force her to at this point while Also pairing Homura with Ren in the “Gay Love Saved Our Lives: Traumatized vers & Vanilla vers”

I don’t remember if there was a symbolic finale and tbh I have forgotten a lot of the details with Yu and her girlfriend Whatsherface because that shit was just so shocking and bizarre to read and much too painful to reread in a timely fashion just.

That shit hurted but it was full of so much love and hope both doomed and stolen but still was wrapped up in the comforting concept that This Is The Universe Where Homura Gets To Be Okay This Time.

She’s still scarred beyond comprehension and this ghost drama accentuated it all but at the end of the day this is still the Safe Universe where all of them are alive and the Holy Quintet are friends and they’re all going to be okay (Godoka & Aniplex willing) and so many of us love Madoka Magica because it shows girls fighting through the same pain we’ve been through and keeping their hope alive and here we get to see them actually find peace in a clunkily written fanservicey spin-off mobile gacha game and hey, that made me happy while I got to experience it. Thanks for the ideas and memories and tragic backstories and funny thirdary characters MagiReco I’m gonna take em all and Run.

Akjsladbfalkjfsbslk If you read this all without getting a migraine or blocking me ily thanks for listening!!!!!!

TL;DR

Me likey A La Carte Valentine bc it’s silly and gay and I simp Kuro

Me likey Nagisa’s Wish bc sawft baby is good and so are Tragic Edgy Backstories

Me likey Beachside Bonds bc Gay Ghosts and Our Girls Finally Get To Be Happy Peaceful(ish) Teenage Girls and that’s all I want for them ;w;

Reeses In Pieces ya’ll

1Ten 2More 3Words 4To 5Hit 6(3000 7Words 8Woo 9Boy 10Howdy

#magia rapport #magia record #pmmm

[thefandomsurfer]

Another top 10 couple list

Just as any of my other top tens-These are just my favorite couples! Thats literally it. Im not dismissing your ships or anything like that. ^^ Ive done this before and as such will only be doing my NEWER ships that I’ve come to ship since then.  

(One million)Honorable mentions:

Touka and Kaneki-(Tokyo ghoul-Tokyo ghoul Re:)

Midoriya and Todoroki-(My hero academia)

Catra and Scorpia-(She ra and the princesses of power)

Rose and The Doctor-(Doctor Who)

Crowley and Aziraphale-(Good Omens)

Mikasa and Eren-(Attack on Titan)

Dazai and Chuuya-(Bungou Stray Dogs)

Homura and Madoka-(Puella Madoka Magica-Rebellion) 

Ladybug and Chat Noir-(Miraculous Ladybug)

 Mirai and Akihito (Beyond the Boundary)

10. Catra and Adora-(She Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Childhood friends to rivals to enemies. It has so many different tropes that its crazy. They have this chemistry thats just...unbeatable. Even though they are enemies at this point its still...there. They are the Sole reason I got into this show and one of the main reasons I stick with it. Though I put them so low on the list because they need to grow more healthy before I really really get into it. They have so much potential and room for growth.

9.  Atsushi and Kyouka-(Bungou Stray Dogs)

Just two cinnamon rolls in love. Thats about all I can say about them. I think they have a really deep bond and trust in one another. His drive to want to help her and her need to protect him Its just really cute to watch. His anguish when he thought she died and his relief and happiness when she wasnt-It tugged at my heart. I know most people prefer my honorable mention as opposed to this one but...I just really, really love their dynamic.

8. Ymir and Historia

Ahh, they are just so. Heartbreaking and...beautiful. Ymirs love for Historia is so refreshing in such a dark show. This pairing made me fall in love with it so quickly and then later on it was so beautifully executed...Ymir being the one that made Historia become her true self and be honest with everyone and Historia being the reason Ymir cared for others made be love this couple so much. And dont even get me started on Ymirs letter to her. I dont need to open that box of tissues.

7. Marinette and Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug)

I just perfer this dynamic over most of the others in this show. I dont know why? I just do haha. I guess because he thinks he needs to protect Marinette but in reality she is strong enough to take care of herself? And the fact I just like Chat Noirs personality better with Marinette. Its fun to see. 

6. Kyoko and Sayaka (Puella Madoka Magica)

Ahh, The red and blue gays. Its no secret this is a thing. Their will be spoilers here if you havnt watched the anime!! I highly suggest it!! They butt heads, taunt, tease, and would gladly punch each other. But they also understand each other in a way no one else does. Kyoko opened up to Sayaka. She...didnt do that for any of the other characters. And then she died trying to save her soul. And when Sayaka and Kyoko both came back in another timeline Sayaka admitted to having one regret. And It was leaving Kyoko behind.  Its just...so good.

5. Gon and Killua (Hunter x Hunter 2011)

This is a couple that Im content with staying as a brotp or otp. They are both young-To young for this to be anything but pure fluff to me. They trust each other so, so much and would die protecting one another. They also have angst-A lot of it but Im not going to spoil it for anyone who might not know. I will say I just started liking them together just because of how sugery sweet they are usually. Killua is highly protective over Gon, as he was his first friend. And Gon has such a high trust in Killua its amazing. I just think they are too precious for this world. Platonic or otherwise.

4. Mika and Yuu (Owari no Seraph)

Ahh, My gay bois. My gay demon and Vampire due. They are just. So. perfect together??? Its weird how fast I shipped it?? Mika and Yuu has such a deep bond and good chemistry its amazing. I litterally saw them in the first episode and started to ship them. Mikas strong protective instinct over ‘Yuu-chan’ and Yuus despair over having to leave Mika behind was just...great. And Yuu offering his blood to Mika and immediate acceptance was heartwarming...I love them together so much.

3.Mutsuki and Urie-(Tokyo Ghoul Re:)

Alright now were getting to the controversial one. Im not so sure if this is a loved or hated pairing-But I know Mutsuki is a fairly disliked character. I personally love him and think hes an extremely interesting character to read and study. And his relationship with Urie being one of the prime reasons I love him. Urie and Mutsuki have had a ongoing bond since the auction raid and it just seemed to grow more and more apparent to me that Urie seemed to have romantic feelings towards Mutsuki. Mutsuki seems to see Urie as a source of comfort and security as he opens up to him the most out of everyone else. And not to mention Urie gets...very protective over Mutsuki as seen above and in other scenarios. I just really love them together.

2. Glenn and Maggie (The Walking Dead)

I stopped watching this show a long time ago-However this couple always stuck out to me and gave me hope. I loved Glenn and I loved Maggie and I loved them together. Such a loving and supportive relationship. They gave such a bleak show some hope and love. We got to see them going from nothing to sex partners to having a relationship and, eventually, a marriage. And then a pregnancy. It was amazing to watch and I still love it to this day.

1. The Doctor and Clara (Doctor who)

Another controversial one I think? I loved Clara. She is my favorite companion by a long shot. I loved her storylines. I loved her with both of the doctors. She had such a good chemistry with the eleventh doctor it was unbeatable. And the way she had to learn to relove the twelfth one was just...both angsty and cute. They both clearly loved her-At least in my opinion.  And she loved them as well. The way the Doctor fought to bring her back when the Raven got her and the way He jumped in his own timestream to save her it just summented this couple as my favorite one out of all the new ones I shipped.

Thats about it for now!! I’ll probably make another one of these once I watch more shows or ship a lot of new characters~ Thanks for reading and see y’all later! <33

#mutsurie #mutsuki #mutsuki tooru #clara #clara oswald #whouffle #the doctor #doctor who #urie #urie kuki #tg #tg re #tokyo ghoul #tokyo ghoul re #maggie greene #maggie rhee #glenn rhee #glenn #mika #mikaela hyakuya #yuuichirou hyakuya #yuu #killua zoldyck #gon freecs #killua #gon #kiyoko #sayaka #Ymir #historia

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: PMMM Rebellion - Part 5

Alright, after that epic fight it’s time to move on. We left off at Homura being rescued by un-brainwashed Sayaka (thanks Kyoko!), but Mami was getting re-educated by that cutesy little monster Charlotte. Time for both sides to regroup and prepare for the finale fight!

So yeah, Homura snaps to as Sayaka draws her sword to cut the ribbons away or stab the lock on them, yikes. That works too I guess but for a second it looked like you were gonna shank Homura.

Both girls nail the landing, Sayaka looking away as Homura reasonably asks what the heck is going on. Sayaka of all people chides Homura for fighting Mami when, and wow this is a role reversal. In the show it was cool and collected MST Homura who kept telling Sayaka to chill, now Sayaka’s the one bailing Homura out and calling her either “really full of yourself or really dumb.” Hah!

Alright, Sayaka’s up to speed, she knows Homura was trying to kill the Witch. She remembers everything! And.. wait, what?

[Sayaka]: “Because that’s why I’m here. At any rate, didn’t you think any of this was odd to start with?”

What, are you saying that you figured this stuff out before Homura did? But… yeah you’re right that doesn’t make sense. Why would a Witch make a city-sized Labyrinth, and then just keep them there without harming them or drawing in more victims. I mean, it supports the Cannibal!Witch theory where Charlotte’s using them as meal tickets, but it still feels off. Why was it that Charlotte was the one to pull this off, the “Sweets Witch”?

[Sayaka]: “This Labyrinth isn’t a trap to lure in victims. What the witch controlling this Labyrinth wants is to maintain the status quo in here. In other words, who benefits from the way things are right now?”

Well, Charlotte’s getting fed, so her.

[Sayaka]: “If you work backwards from that, it-”

Wait Homura what are you GAH sudden spin from Sayaka she She just stabbed Homura’s shield Sayaka stopped Homura from stopping time Why No I’d not thought about it There’s another “who benefits from the way things are right now”

[Sayaka]: “Gonna run back into your own little time again? That’s a bad habit of yours.”

nononono How why

It’s not Charlotte. It’s Octavia.

No, not that Octavia. The Witch Octavia.

[Homura]: “So you’re saying the person who wished for this situation is one of us?”

This is bad this is really bad Homura’s facing the jailer she can’t timestop anymore why how i don’t understand how did

[Sayaka]: “Is it really so surprising? Wasn’t Mami just saying earlier that this is the happiest she’s ever been in her life?

Implying that the Witch is Mami, but no. Out of the five of you, you were the one who turned in-

Oh. OH. OH

Madoka, what the FUCK are you thinking?!

Welp. Time to bring back that theory from last episode that I tabled.

The more I think about it, the more obvious it is. Madoka became Madokami (and good grief you guys, did it really take me this long to realize that nickname? I mean, Madoka and Kami? My own friggin username is mashing Ra and Anubis together, that should have been obvious! Ugh, I am clueless), and she made a new world. One free of Witches.

But it wasn’t perfect, they still fought flaws in the form of the Wraiths. And on a more personal note, there was one person who was the least happy: the one who remembered her. Homura lived her life in remembrance of Madoka, carried a bow, did everything in honor of her.

And at some point, it seems Madokami decided that that wasn’t good. So she made a New New World, as perfect as she could manage. Instead of being alone, Mami has a companion in “Bebe”. Instead of pining after Kyosuke, Sayaka gets a second chance at life with her BEST FRIEND Kyoko, who likewise has a better life with Sayaka. And for Homura? Madokami creates a new Madoka, gives Homura a fresh start.

And all it took was to make a Labyrinth for them, and suppress their memories.

Guys? Is this Rebellion actually against Madokami?

Like, Madokami, I get where you’re coming from, I really do. But this isn’t the way.

Just… guys. It’s all coming together. -Madokami creates a city-sized Labyrinth, to give her friends a better world. -Madokami silences the Incubator, keeping the group of five at a set size. -She gives them “Nightmares” to fight, relatively easy foes that they take down together, gives them purpose. -Sayaka, who we know semi-Ascended into Madokami’s afterlife, is her on-site watcher, to make sure everyone stays happy. -This supports “Bebe” too, as a Saved Magical Girl in the show she works for Madokami, keeps up the illusion.

“In other words, who benefits from the way things are right now?”

Everyone in the Madokrew benefits. But in particular, Madokami is happy that her friends are happy.

ResplendentScorpion said:I think the actual problem is that nobody but Madoka sunk anything in "empathy". The rest of them are horrible at comprehending each other as well, it's not just Homura not being able to explain herself. In contrast, Madoka has no problem understanding, feeling for, and emotionally supporting everyone.

Tinkerbell said:I think all the other members of the Magical Girl Team have perfectly normal empathy levels, actually. Madoka's empathy levels, on the other hand, is anything but normal.

Yes! This! Exactly!

Jeebus, Madokami’s actually the instigator of the movie! She’s the one behind everything! Best of intentions, but still.

Just… wow, that’s a thing.

Anyways, time to get proven wrong! Back to the movie.

Sayaka’s asking what Homura will do with the creator of the Labyrinth, once she finds her.

[Homura]: “Well, that… should be obvious.”

But can she? Because we’ve established that the Labyrinth-maker is one of the Madokrew, evidence pointing towards Madoka. Can she really “vanquish” them?

Now Sayaka’s asking if all this is really so bad. They don’t have to fight Witches anymore, they can all live and work together. Is whoever Wished for that so sinful that they need to be punished?

Homura is shocked, shocked I say, that Sayaka is siding with a Witch. (Well, I wouldn’t call her a “Witch” per say…) Sayaka just says that they are the “final form” of magical girls, after all. You can’t help but sympathize.

[Homura]: “I just remembered the most crucial point in all this.”

Mami remembered fighting Wraiths, not Witches. And Kyoko didn’t understand the concept of Labyrinths, not because she forgot about Witches, but because neither she nor Mami “ever knew about them.”

Ok, establishes this post-Madokami for sure. When Madokami remade the universe, it was without Witches. Every MG’s soul is saved before it becomes a Witch. At the sacrifice of the Wisher herself.

[Sayaka]: “I see. So you do remember her.”

Yup. Yup yup yup. There it is. Sayaka remembers Madoka, because she works for Madokami as a Saved Magical Girl.

Homura states that there are three people here who should not exist: -The Witch who created the Labyrinth -Charlotte, who remains in the form of a Witch -And Sayaka, who remembers the existence of Witches

Now… is Homura talking to one of those people, or two?

[Sayaka]: “You make me sad. I’m the same Sayaka Miki you’ve always known… Transfer Student.”

… did you just do a MST backwards head-tilt at Homura? You’re enjoying this, aren’t you-

HOLY CARP HER SHADOW IS OF HER WITCH FORM GAHGAHGAH

Ok, guess we’re doing this now!

Sayaka stabs at Homura’s shield again, but this time Homura pulls Sayaka’s sword away. Not sure how useful that’ll be as she can just summon another, but whatever. Quick stomach-kick to get some distance, shield’s working again so Homura does a timestop.

Ok, let’s recap: You’re in a music-themed alley area, with someone who just attacked you after you worked out that she’s involved with the Labyrinth. You’ve managed to timestop, but seeing as you pulled out a pistol I’m worried that you used up all your serious firepower in that earlier fight. How are you going to get out of this?

Yeah, looks like she used her power just in time, she’s facing an oversized white cape with an image of Octavia in it. Pulling it away, time resumes… to an empty alleyway. Did she withdraw?

[Sayaka]: “You haven’t answered my question yet. Would you really be okay destroying this Mitakihara City? You should think hard on that before you decide. So that you won’t have any regrets.”

So we’ve established that the city is fake, “an idealized world someone dreamed up.” And seeing as she knows that now, we’re in full Labyrinth mode again, creepy children and artistic swans all over the place. Homura’s now on a boat-

Sorry, had to be done. Homura’s on a boat now for some reason, she-

...ok, goodbye Fourth Wall. She’s sailing under an arch that says “Do you enjoy the movie?”

Why yes Urobuchi, I am enjoying this very much. The animation is great, that Homura/Mami fight was glorious, and I’m loving the plot twists that are driving me insane. Thanks for making this!

Now she’s sailing through a tunnel, as paper cuttouts parrot lines by the other MGs.

[Kyoko]: “I came over to help Mami out.” [Mami]: “This is the kind of daily life I used to dream about in the old days.” [Sayaka]: “Tell me, is this really so bad?”

Homura’s thinking about how someone dragged everyone into this “unattainable dream world”. Forsaking the battle against the wraiths? Ah, yeah that’s a good point. If they’re in this Labyrinth living it up, then they aren’t outside fighting the flaws of the world. Maybe Madokami put a few of the Saved MGs on the task while they’re on “vacation”? Homura doesn’t approve, saying MGs must continue to always fight. Thought as she reaches up to a stylized drawing of Madokami.

Hey, Homura? I know it might seem outlandish, given how long you strived to save Madoka, but… maybe you could take a break? You got your miracle, even if it wasn’t by your hand. You don’t have to keep paying for it.

Yikes, “ridiculous farce”. You really don’t appreciate how Madokami tried to make you happy, huh? To be fair, if you don’t think about this as a gift from Madokami, it could be seen this way. Hopefully Homura learns the truth soon.

Creepy Kids throwing tomatoes/pomegranates? Ok then.

Back in the city, hey it’s Madoka! Er, semi-Madoka? Labyrinth Madoka? Eh I’mma just call you Madoka. She’s happy to see Homura, who quickly tries brushing away the last of her headshot damage. Then Madoka jumps down to her, and by the Laws of Anime they end up tumbling into the boat. Daw.

GAH another flash of the Incubator’s eyes, what the heck.

But hey, Madoka! How are… uh oh.

[Madoka]: “Mami is really worried about you. What happened?”

Cripes right Madoka’s part of the Labyrinth, she’s supposed to keep Homura happy. Now she’s saying that Homura shouldn’t go off by herself. Yep, Homura’s back under surveillance. You have to admit, it’s a pretty good one: have the person Homura cares about the most, or at least a copy of her, focus on keeping her happy. And peaceful.

Urgh, enough with the Madoka Guilt Trips! Have mercy!

Homura hey that’s your Meek Homura voice again, not sure if good or bad. Meek Homura is claiming a dream, that Madoka had gone someplace she would never see her again.

More emotional pain! Homura’s saying that as the only one who remembered, she began to doubt her own memories given no-one else remembered. Did she just make it up?

Yep, I’m picturing Madokami checking in on the Earth, thinking “Lah de dah, glad to see that the New World is working well, everyone’s peaceful and- wait, is Homura crying?! THIS. WILL. NOT. DO.”

Madoka gives Homura a hug, agreeing that that’s a terrible dream but assuring her she’d never go away where she would never see them again. Why?

[Madoka]: “You know how wimpy I am. And because I could never bear to do something that would make someone as strong as you cry like this.”

Yep, this… as sweet as this scene is, it’s clear what’s going on: Homura is being brainwashed again. First the voice, now Madoka is starting to braid her hair.

I… honestly don’t know if I should tell Homura to fight this.

Sudden flashback to the Hallway Scene? Homura’s crying, and why is there a dark pulse going through the flowers?

Homura is saying that she understands, that she made a stupid mistake?

[Homura]: “I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen. That no matter what I would’ve had to do, I should have stopped you back then.”

Homura… no. You can’t blame yourself for Madoka’s actions, her choices. This Madoka… she’s not the one you know. She’s part of the Labyrinth.

Um guys the field of flowers is dying I don’t think that’s a good sign

Or just fading? Now they’re dandelions. Did we just see a season change?

Homura’s asserting that Madoka is far kinder and stronger than she knows.

Now her hair is unbraiding. She’s fighting it! She’s saying that Madoka doesn’t remember anything, that she thought she was an illusion or a copy made by someone. But… this is the real Madoka. Hold up is she fighting the brainwashing or not?

Homura thanks Madoka for making her happy. Then says that she’s going, there’s something left she needs to do.

Ok, what is with this movie? I keep coming up with theories, each more outlandish than the last, until now I’m at the point I am actually accusing MADOKAMI of being the Mastermind?! I don’t even…

I can’t put any trust in my speculations, now after how insanely wrong I kept being in the show itself. But I’m looking at all these pieces, and it’s all just fitting together. Am I missing something? Was there a scene I skipped, a line I was too distracted to read? Because as far as I can tell Sayaka showing up with Witch powers means that the person she works for put her there. And that is Madokami.

And I can’t even decide if it’s all that villainous or not! I mean yes Madokami put the three MGs in a Labyrinth and wiped their memories. But like Sayaka said, aren’t they happy? Isn’t this a world where they can live their lives, be safe and enjoy it?

Is anyone really being hurt by all of this? Homura’s biggest complaint was that they weren’t fighting the Wraiths, but surely Madokami put some of her girls on it? And if so, then what’s the harm? I mean besides the wiping of memories thing. But was Homura happier not remembering Madokami, not being driven by the sacrifice of her friend? Wasn’t she at peace?

You guys there’s still an hour left in this friggin movie good grief what more is there?!

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranubis #pmmm #pmmm rebellion #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm rebellion 5

[aspoonofsugar]

I saw, in one of your metas on snk, that you had made a parallel between Sayaka - Madoka and Eren - Armin. The question is a little vagueness so I understand if you don't want to answer, but could you explore another parallel between snk and pmmm? These are two mangas / anime that I love especially and I found that what you had done last time was very interesting!

Hello anon!

Tbh I don’t remember the post you are talking about and I tried searching my blog, but found nothing, so could you please give me a more precise description of the post?

That said, I can still try to talk about these two series since I like them as well :)

Some time ago I made this post about Madoka Magica I may use as a reference since it is a synthesis of the major themes of the series.

First of all, both PMMM and Shinjeki no Kyojin are set in a world with supernatural creatures which symbolically represent the worst parts of the characters or the parts the characters don’t want to accept.

As it is explained in the post I linked above, each witch the girls fight is a metaphorical representation of a character’s fatal flaw and the twist of the witches actually being magical girls whose soul gems got tainted stregnthens this idea.

Similarly, in snk, titans are seen as the enemies of humanity in the beginning, but it is soon discovered that they are none other than humans which were transformed into monsters.

In short, both witches and titans represent the worst of humanity and this is why the revelation of them actually being humans is firstly suggested through a character with a white and black mentality transforming into one of the so much hated monsters:

Another similarity between pure titans and witches is also that the process is considered impossible to invert. Once a magical girl transforms into a witch she can not be brought back and the same can be said so far for a pure titan who can’t change back into a human unless he eats one of the nine original titans.

All in all the two systems are similar and they are the reason why the characters are stuck in an endless cycle of tragedy.

However, two people are said to possess a power which might change the world.

The Coordinate Eren possesses is said to be the point where all the paths meet. This concept is similar to what Kyubey says about Madoka:

“You are the central point of karmic destiny from many different timelines”.

Kyubey, ep 12

The difference is that Eren’s power is something which was born for unknown reasons and who he has inherited by chance (even if there could be some kind of destiny to it), whereas Madoka’s power is the result of Homura’s attempts to save her.

However, it is important to underline how in both cases the person who has the power is a common individual who ends up with such potential because of the relationships developed with others:

“I wasn’t special at all. It’s just...that I was the son of a special man”.

Eren Jeager, chapter 71

And Madoka is Homura’s friend.

That said, this doesn’t mean that Eren and Madoka don’t have value as individuals, but their value doesn’t lie in their powers, but in who they are.

This is specifically shown in Madoka’s final wish. I am quoting myself from the post above:

The idea of making of one’s lifestyle their own dream is something which has been touched at the beginning of the series. There, Madoka wanted to make of her magical girl style of life her wish, but back then she was still looking at things in a superficial way. As a matter of fact Madoka was trying to solve her self-esteem and self-loathing problems by acquiring magical powers. By the end of the series she doesn’t become a magical girl in order to grow up, but she can become one because she has grown up.

Through her wish Madoka shows to have realized her value as an individual also thanks to Homura’s efforts to protect her and can now use this power she acquired thanks to her friend’s suffering to change the world.

I think (hope) that by the end Eren too will find a way to use the power of the Coordinate to subvert the system he is a slave to and that this way will mirror who Eren is as a person and his love for freedom.

All in all, both Madoka and Eren’s characters are in the beginning presented as willing to be special and they try to reach this objectives by embracing a specific “profession” and nurturing what are superficial attributes (like the physical strength to kill titans or magical powers). However, they ignore that there are people who love them for who they are and who would prefer them to be safe over them being martyrs:

Mikasa and Homura are people who are struggling with grief and loss and who refuse to let go of a person they love for this reason.

Mikasa’s parents’ death resulted in her attaching herself to Eren as a defense mechanism. However, the story is slowly asking her to let go of him and to become more independent.

Similarly, Homura can’t accept Madoka’s death and starts a hopeless journey to prevent it.

Both Homura and Mikasa’s characters find their value in the other person and this is something they both have to overcome in order to find value in themselves.

When it comes to Homura, her later conflict with Madoka which is set up in Rebellion might be similar to the possible one between Eren and Armin which the story seems to be building up in the current arc:

H: “Kaname Madoka, do you treasure this world? Do you consider stability and order more important than desire?”

M: “Well, I…Um…I do treasure it. I guess I do think it’s kind of bad to break the rules because you feel like it”.

H: “I see…Then I suppose one day you will be my enemy as well”.

Homura treasures personal feelings and individual desires over the world, whereas Madoka thinks the other way.

This could be the very root of a conflict between Eren and Armin if it turned out Eren gives more importance to the interests of Paradis and to the well-being of his friends, while Armin treasures the world the most. All in all, it is too soon to say, but we’ll see soon.

Let’s also underline that Eren hiding things from his friends, putting them in a cage to possibly keep them safe and so on are actions which are very similar to what Homura does at the end of Rebellion.

Finally let me underline how Sayaka and Kyouko’s inverted arcs are similar in concept to Historia and Ymir’s ones.

Both couples have a character who superficially appears as too much selfless:

And a character who appears as too much selfish:

However, it is revealed how the apparently selfless character has selfish reasons for her selflessness. To be more specific, Historia’s selflessness is born from a martyr complex, whereas Sayaka’s one is a way to refuse that her wish was animated also by a selfish desire to be recognized by the boy she loves.

At the same time it is revealed how the apparently selfish character used to actually be extremely selfless and became more self-centred because of a tragic experience in their past. As a matter of fact, Ymir’s attempt to protect the people around her ended up turning her into a pure titan, whereas Kyouko’s wish made so that her family was destroyed. Not only that, but both Ymir and Kyouko see in respectively Historia and Sayaka their old selves and want to help them.

However, Historia and Sayaka react differently. On one hand Historia is able to integrate with Ymir and to become more “selfish”. On the other hand Sayaka fails to let go of her rigid vision of the world and ends up dying.

Finally, both Kyouko and Ymir show that their “selfless” selves had not really disappeared and in their final moments sacrifice themselves for someone else claiming to do that without regrests.

These are some of the major parallelisms between the two series I was able to find. The series have some common themes, but also very different ones and are structured differently. However, trying to find how they are similar was fun!

Thank you for the ask!

#snk #pmmm #eren jeager #mikasa ackerman #armin arlert #historia reiss #ymir #madoka kaname #homura akemi #miki sayaka #sakura kyouko #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

[magical-xirl-4]

My PMMM Ship List

Warning: Long post since I go into description in why I like these pairings. There’s six couples in total (pics included).

And btw... these are rambles on each ship, I’m just putting out my subjective opinions on them.

OTP: KyoMado

Ok, but like... How could you not have a soft spot for this pairing?

In my opinion, Kyoko and Madoka would have the cutest chemistry, not to mention the themes that do and can surround them are lovely. They became friends quickly in the anime, which wasn’t feasible with the other girls Kyoko interacted with, showing that they mesh well and could help each other fit in the parts of themselves that they’re lacking (Madoka could soften Kyoko and give her the warmth that she needs. In Episode 9, Madoka made Kyoko feel comfortable enough to open up about her love of fairy tales. Kyoko needs someone loving and caring like Madoka. In turn, Kyoko can rub off on Madoka with her confidence. In Ep 9, she played a big part in how Madoka chose her wish, and wanted her to be strong enough to make that wish. Homura’s Revenge also highlights this as she reflects on her words and appreciates what Kyoko said to her in the last timeline! Madoka needs Kyoko for strength). Their need to have a person in their lives like the other is backed up by The Different Story and how they were so supportive of each other in that. Outside of character analysis, there is not much angst surrounding the ship, making mostly fluff. Another cute concept could be the Kaname’s taking care of Kyoko and treating her like a daughter, and Kyoko could be a big sister to Tatsuya (which is explored in Kirara Time Magica, Dinner Tastes Like Happiness). The central theme of this pairing would be of course the ribbons, as their own ribbons connects them and there’s plenty of adorable fan art for it. Their core dynamic is chaotic, rough and brazen, meets sweet, soft and dainty (total opposites). On a more aesthetic level, KyoMado are pink and red, two colours that are fundamentally the same, but different shades because of their life experiences. They also wear parts of their respective colours on their magical girl outfits. Unfortunately, their relationship hasn’t been fully explored yet. There’s the Battle Pentagram Max Relationship Scene which really emphases their dynamic, their small friendship in the Different Story, the potential of them in Homura’s Revenge at the end of the timeline, and their time in the anime/manga. But that’s really it. It’s a shame, because the dynamic that they have is heartwarming and it’d be so good and satisfying to see more of them, they’re just missing out on that tiny push of screen time ! I think it’d be easy for them to get along. They are similar on the inside, so finding a connection with more time spent together would be perfect for the ship.

HomuSaya

Ah yes, the tragedy ship. I’ve always been confused as to what I find appealing to them, until recently. Sayaka is the person that Homura was never always fond of in each timeline, and vice versa. However, in Rebellion, they have a very interesting bond that I think should be expanded upon. Sayaka actually grows sympathetic and perhaps even empathetic to Homura’s plight, because she understands the pain that someone would have to go through to become a witch. She’s been there before, and knows that Homura is suffering, and wants to help her. Not to mention, after Rebellion they would have a rivalry, all the while Sayaka could still show sympathy to Homura, and have mixed emotions towards her; being angry with her, but probably still wanting to help, all the while Homura is lonely and fragile behind an arrogant and conniving façade. Aside from that and on a more fluffy note, I like it because of their connection to Madoka. They would be able to generate a connection through Madoka, and honestly, without all the magical girl bs, they would most likely be really good friends. I also really like Moemura with Sayaka, although their Max Relationship Scene in Battle Pentagram is so cute. It gives you insight into what a genuine friendship/relationship would be like. It’s the typical “happy-go-lucky person paired with the quiet person” ship, and most of the time I love stuff like that. I like both sides to this ship. They can connect over their despair and over come it together, and they can also create a relationship built up on friendship and love, rather than sadness.

KyoMami

Back at it again with a heavy feels ship. The Different Story is so powerful, and I love both Kyoko and Mami’s relationship within it. Yet again, their pairing could also be typed as being connected with ribbons. And... ugh, they just give me intense feels, but they also makes me happy as I remember their early stage of friendship. They just work nicely together too, because there is so much sincere support, trust, and love for one another. They have the richest history out of the five main girls, and I think they have a bond that is able to last lifetimes, no matter what kind of relationship they are in. The way that their personalities played off one another in the beginning was wholesome, and it was healthy. Their strong friendship could become romantic love somewhere down the line. Some fan art out there of these two is so beautiful as well, representing how deeply they felt about each other. Their relationship is still being explored in MagiReco, and while I haven’t actually played the game I am aware something like this is happening, and I’m really happy that their relationship is being recognised outside of any manga. To me, KyoMami is like an extension of KyoMado (this is mainly because Madoka and Mami are the most caring out of the girls). However, KyoMami just has more support in terms of their relationship in the canon, and way more fan content. (Additionally, I actually ship these two couples as an OT3. Please, I need more KyoMadoMami fanart!)

TL;DR KyoMami is satisfying, heart-breaking and beautiful all at the same time.

MadoSaya

Seriously, these two just have the most pure relationship. They grew up together, and since then Sayaka has always protected Madoka, they’ve been so close for a long time. Their relationship only fell apart once the world of magical girls was introduced to them, (and in an interesting comparison, unlike KyoMami, who came together because of the world of magical girls). Aside from that, Madoka and Sayaka have the strongest bond and longest history together, although it was rather simple in how they met. The fact that they place each others safety and well being so highly is inspiring and sweet, because it truly shows in the most simple, straight-forward way possible how much they care about each other. While I do love them just being friends, the aspect of them being in a relationship is so much better to me. If they ever did get together, it would feel so natural and understandable. Their max relationship scene in the Battle Pentagram is... I mean, Madoka outright says that she loves Sayaka! Even though that could be taken in a platonic way, that’s the only time someone’s said how they much they care about another person, upfront, to their face, with pure honesty, in this franchise. Also, the end of the Different Story with these two gave me feels. And don’t even get me started on Madokami and Sayaka. That kind of bond is something else, something genuinely powerful - which makes MadoSaya, all the more a great ship.

MadoMami

I see this ship as probably the most wholesome and fluffy in the whole series. Madoka and Mami are the most selfless people out of the quintent, so putting them together would just result in the sweetest, giving relationship. There’s also the senpai/kouhai dynamic, which is cute, and it’s just so easy to see Madoka falling for Mami, since she is the ideal magical girl, her senpai. Mami needs that love and support too, and who better than caring Madoka? A relationship between them would be easygoing, very domestic and homelike, and let’s be honest, the Kaname’s would love Mami too. They would cherish her like a second daughter, which is what she needs after being alone for a few years. Mami and Tomohisa cooking in the kitchen, Junko finding Mami very respectable, and Mami spoiling Tatsuya with food. Just.... very healthy stuff here. (Seriously though, the Kaname’s would also welcome Kyoko into their family just as much as Mami, and Kyoko would need a family like them. Not trying to turn this into a KyoMado discussion again, just making it so KyoMadoMami is recognised as a wholesome OT3)

MamiSaya

This is another senpai/kouhai relationship that I’m fond of. It’s similar to MadoMami, but Sayaka is a lot more extroverted, and has the same ideals as Mami. They’re the true justice pair, and their time together in the different story was emotional. Like, Mami saving Sayaka from Elsa Maria? Iconic. Mami reaching out to her and nearly saving her? Also iconic. Mami would love feeling accompanied and supported by Sayaka, and Sayaka would just love cheering on Mami and not making her feel lonely. Because their colours are blue and yellow, I look at this pairing and they remind me of clear blue skies, with the sun shining brightly... just a really happy vibe emits from their aesthetic. Justice/Hope Pairing™. And I’d be lying if I said that MadoMamiSaya wasn’t my second favourite OT3, cause... Heck yes magical girl troupe! To conclude, this ship is really cute just like the former, but it also has a particular edge to it, since Sayaka is more of a go-getter than Madoka, and would encourage Mami in different ways. (Wish I could say more on this one, but I can’t since I’d just be repeating what I said about MadoMami)

#its.... its finally done. this list is done. its been sitting in my drafts for a year #puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #pmmm #kyomado #kyoumado #madokyo #madokyou #homusaya #sayahomu #kyomami #kyoumami #mamikyo #mamikyou #madosaya #sayamado #mamimado #madomami #mamisaya #sayamami #ships #long post #im actually kind of sad/scared to be letting this one go. well here it comes #and yeah there’s no madohomu or kyosaya. im the minority of the fandom that doesnt ship them

[rickyriddle]

My top 10 yuri ships

Hi everyone! Here’s my top 10 favourite yuri ships in anime and manga (as well as Japanese game). Keep in mind that it’s my personal top 10 and I’m not saying those ships are better than the others, just that they are those I prefer.

10. Kaguya X Mokou (Touhou Project)

My favourite ship in Touhou Project. I have a thing for love/hate relationship as well as rivalry. Those two are immortals and keep trying to kill each other due to an old grudge. How romantic. But as immortals, they can understand each other since they are going through the same thing, and know they won’t end up alone. My main reason to ship them is that I find the concept of them being together really hot (and one of them as firepower so it’s fitting).

9. Yoko X Aya (Kiniro Mosaic)

Ship from one of my favourite slice of life anime. Yoko and Aya are the typical “shoujo manga couple” with the tsundere girl to shy to admit her feeling and the dense guy. But not as typical, since they are both girls. Aya, better known as Ayaya (or Gayaya), is so memeable. Her love for Yoko can be both cute and funny, and I do hope one day Yoko will realize her feelings and reciprocate them. They are what I prefer in Kiniro Mosaic, their episodes are those I enjoyed the most.

8. Otoya x Shiena (Akuma no Riddle)

I hesitate to put this one since I’m more obsessed about it than actually liking it, but I guess that I can’t just write so many fanfics about them and not put them on my top. I’m truly obsessed and fascinated by the possibility of this pairing. I must admit that I have a fascination for psychopaths, and a relationship with one of them intrigued me. So to see a normal girl like Shiena being paired with a psycho serial killer like Otoya is like a fantasy to me, it’s satisfying my dark fantasy. I like to imagine how they could actually work as a couple. So unhealthy and dark...Ah, not that I approve such relationship, but it’s fine in fiction. If you’re interested, here’s an analysis I made for them: OtoShie analysis.

7. Komaru X Touko (Danganronpa) 

A relationship that truly touched me. They are so good for each other, they support and help each other. I honestly ship them either romantically or as friends, I just want to see them together. Just seeing pictures of them together is enough to light up my mood. Touko has a hard time trusting others because of her past, so it’s moving to see her open up to Komaru and eventually see her as a close friend. And Komaru is just so sweet and adorable. Please Touko, forget about Togami and just go with Komaru, who respect and treat you well You deserves better than that rich prick!

6. Sakurako X Himawari (Yuru Yuri)

What’s better than a tsundere? Two tsunderes being tsun-tsun for each other! My favourite thing in that anime is actually those two and their interaction. Individually I don’t really like any of them, but together they are just gold. We know they actually like each other, but they can’t help but being rival. They used to be really close as kids but ended up fighting growing up (probably because of Hima’s boobs, they start all of this). But the rare sweet moments between them are what truly matters, and I hope for actual development for them.

5. Homura X Madoka & Sayaka X Kyouko (Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica)

Two ships for this positions since they are from the same anime and I can’t choose one. We can’t deny Homura’s love for Madoka, it’s pretty much canon with the third movie. Just how far she went for Madoka’s sake, the sacrifices she made, the pain she underwent. I wish for a happy conclusion for them, but I feel like it won’t be the case. As for KyouSaya, I like how both of them is tomboyish, it’s rare to see that type of yuri ship. They started as enemies to eventually friends, I liked the evolution of their relationships and they truly shine in the third movie. Again I wish them a happy conclusion. But it’s PMMM, so I doubt it will happen ^^’

4. Nanoha X Fate & Vivio X Einhart (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha)

Again, two ships at the same position for the same series, because I couldn’t choose. NanoFate is a classic in yuri, they are basically canon. I mean, they live together, sleep in the same bed, bath together, and adopted a girl they raised together. Everything about their relationship is perfect. They start off as enemies but learn to understand each other and eventually become close friends, and it continued to evolve as they grow older. Vivio and Einhart are kind of a mirror of their relationship but softer. They started as rivals and ended up friends, and their ancestors knew each other (they were a couple I think). There’s a good romantic potential with those two, sweet yet spicy. You know what they said. As mother as daughter.

3. Sumireko x Banba (Akuma no Riddle)

Another one from AnR, my otp, SumiBanba! With both Banba’s personality, Mahiru and Shinya. They are the combination of my two favourite type of ships: Overly cute and dark. Most of their interactions are so cute and fluff, yet since they are both not exactly sane (and Banba being clearly insane), there’s a potential of darkness with that ship, given Sumireko’s obsession with power. The potential of her abusing her power with Banba is strong, yet there’s also the potential for them to help each other with their respective issues. This relationship as both the potential to be good or bad, mostly depending of Sumireko’s action. If you're interested, I made quite a long post to analyze their relationship: SumiBanba analysis.

2. Hibiki X Miku (Symphogear)

Those two...I love them so much! They are so cute and fluff. They both have a strong bond with each other, they are calling each other sunshine and bright sun. They are so much acting like a married couple, even their VA agreed. I mean, they have bunk bed yet sleep in the same bed, while holding hands and cuddling. They are so perfect for each other, they compliment each other pretty well, Hibiki being more immature and Miku more responsible. And it’s pretty obvious that Miku does love Hibiki, it’s even confirmed in the OVA. But as Hibiki’s friend told her once, she’s as dense as a harem MC. Let’s hope they got actual romantic development in the upcoming season 5 (urgh only airing in April...)

Before I reveal my number 1 yuri ship, here are some ( a lot) honorable mentions...

Honorable mention

Every ship in Akuma no Riddle

Nana x Junna (Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight)

Shirabe X Kirika (Symphogear)

Shinobu X Alice (Kiniro Mosaic)

Zuikaku X Kaga (Kantai Collection)

Haruka X Michiru (Sailor Moon)

Minami X Yutaka (Lucky Star)

Haruka X Yuu (Sakura Trick)

Mahiru X Hiyoko (Danganronpa)

Akko X Diana (Little Witch Academia)

Croix X Chariot (Little Witch Academia)

Miu x Nanano (Koihime Musou)

Yuuna x Tougou (Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru)

And the number 1 is...

1. Bernkastel X Lambdadelta (Umineko No Naku Koro Ni)

Those two. Words are not enough to describe how much I love them. They are everything I love about a ship, they are cute yet dark, love/hate, and rivals. They are actually lovers, friends, enemies, rivals and opponents. Yes, they are canonly a couple. They are immortal witches who deeply love each other, yet also try to kill each other from time to time to pass time. Lots of candy and sugar symbolism with them, as well as stuff like “I’ll impale you to my bed and kiss you each morning and night” or “I’ll gouge your eyes so you can only look at me and put them into my tea”. So romantic, so fucked up. I love that. Despite all the creepiness, they do honestly love each other, they just have their own way to show it. I guess it’s normal when you’re a 1000 years old witch.

And this was my Top 10 yuri ships. If there are any yuri ships you like that wasn’t in my top or in the honourable mentions, don’t hesitate to share it with me and I’ll tell you what I think. Thanks for reading and seeya! :)

#touhou project #kiniro mosaic #akuma no riddle #danganronpa #yuru yuri #mahou shoujo madoka magica #mahou shoujo lyrical nanoha #symphogear #kaguya x mokou #yoko x aya #otoya x shiena #otoshie #sumireko x banba #sumibanba #touko x komaru #toukomaru #sakurako x himawari #himasaku #madoka x homura #homumado #kyousaya #sayaka x kyouko #nanofate #nanoha x fate #vivio x einhart #hibiki x miku #hibimiku #yuri ships #top 10 #ricky talk