#And Homura is that but having to suffer so much more

[ushiromiya]

(madoka magica / rebellion spoilers below. TW: suicide and controlling behavior)

I don't know the direction in which walpurgisnacht rising will take homura's character but I can say with confidence that from at least where rebellion left off that I truly believe that homura made the decision that she felt was the most correct one even if it meant she had to become a monster in the eyes of every person that loved her. she felt that if things were left in the way the law of the cycle was currently running things that it was inevitable that kyubey would eventually capture madoka in her goddess form, study her, and use her to as a source for mass amounts of energy at the suffering of herself, the others within the law of the cycle, and magical girls at large again. this is something he explains very clearly when talking to homura before her transformation into homulilly.

I get so exhausted when I see people try characterize homura as an actually evil person with completely selfish desires and no regard for others. all of her actions, while not explicitly explained outright, when looked at closely always indicate that she does things out of her care for the other girls but feels like she bears the burden of having to do it alone because she believes she's the only one who doesn't let her emotions get in the way of protecting madoka and the others from kyubey and sometimes each other.

I will always use the scenes of her interactions with mami and sayaka in rebellion as huge examples of this. she has no reason not to kill them if she's a completely selfish and unemphatic person that only cares about madoka and no one else when given many opportunities to do so. I also don't personally think she keeps them around JUST because of madoka's happiness either. she very easily could have suppressed their roles in madoka's life with the world rewrite and clearly choose not to. I believe her mocking sayaka and acting in a clearly "evil" manner is deliberate acting on her part to frame herself as a villain. she might believe this would her actions more palatable and will create distance between herself and everyone else to protect them as well as allow her to assert more control in this situation. it is further emphasized how she truly feels with imagery displayed in homura's new world around herself (shoes abandoned on the side of a building to potentially indicate suicidal ideation, a half moon alluding to homura feeling unfulfilled and unhappy with this decision, her dancing around happily before stopping and slowly falling off the cliff side with a similar implication as the shoes).

homura's relationship with the others is incredibly complicated but she cares for them deeply too as they are also people she considers friends, she just had a particularly strong attachment to madoka. we don't get to see as many instances of her interacting with them as we do them interacting with each other as we are unfortunately only really privy to homura's life after she began looping for the most part but we can see it in the way she has expresses concern and distress for them in moments where she believes they are in real, tangible danger of being hurt (she's winces and tries to turn away when aiming for mami's leg and screams out when she believes mami is about to be truly harmed after their gun fight, which neither ever had the real intention of hitting one another with any of those bullets in the first place). her entire witch's labyrinth is one where everyone is happy and gets the lives they desire. why would her labyrinth, which is meant to reflect in-part her inner feelings and desires, appear that way if she didn't truly want that for everyone?

rebellion is so compelling to me for all of this and so much more!! (I could write a whole other post on the way it presents it's freedom with danger vs control with safety question at the end of the film) she is a girl who has repeatedly suffered incredibly traumatizing events and longs for a world where the person she loves and the friends she considers dear are safe. homura is not really the devil, but she wants to appear to be because being the devil would be easier than being a human being in these circumstances.

#I “joke” that i'm a homura apologist but like for real I am LOL #homura's actions aren't holy and good #but I don't believe they are evil either and that's kind of the point #anyway can you tell i've watched this movie like 10+ times #madoka magica #homura akemi #madoka magica rebellion #walpurgisnacht rising #homu #letters from rokkenjima

[faelapis]

pmmm rebellion: the flower scene

*inhales*

i like pmmm rebellion. a lot. i'd go so far as to say it’s one of my favorite movies. but i've never liked the interpretation from some, of this scene. the flower scene. essentially, the idea is that homura was right in how madoka was "miserable" as a god. because madoka "agreed with her" in the flower scene.

as a baseline, i will say right off the bat that i think pmmm is a franchise where you can never fully escape tragedy. i think any ending to this story will be bittersweet, and there is a certain amount of sacrifice and misery inherent in its very concept.

that being said. i don't think madoka becoming a god was as tragic as homura makes it out to be. i don't think its just a hero sacrificing herself for the greater good. i think it's more. and i think this scene, as much as it is a conversation, is also an act of self-delusion.

this one-note interpretation of madoka as a tragic sacrifice (in how she herself feels) is ignoring... well. the context of the whole series. which homura herself is also ignoring. by which i mean, she was a quite the unreliable narrator in how she described the sacrifice / miracle madoka would go on to perform.

for the record, i think there is something both selfish and selfless to homura. i think she genuinely believes she is helping madoka. and i think homura thinks that's all she wants. this is not an attempt to slander her - but more about how i think she has an incomplete understanding of madoka, and what madoka wants in life.

basically, i'm not trying to argue here that madoka's sacrifice is just good "for the world." obviously, it is. we already know that. what i'm trying to argue is that i think it - in some ways - is also good for madoka herself. not in an uncomplicated way, but that its not all bad. that she gets something out of being this godlike being. at the very least, i think it is better for madoka than the world homura creates.

okay. so. flower scene. homura pretty vaguely just says “you’re going to be separated from everyone you love." which, on its own, is pretty sad. she mentions that there's something "only (madoka) can do". and that madoka, being selfless, would do this because she feels she has to. that it is a tragedy.

what homura doesn't mention is madoka becoming this godlike, conceptual being who is everywhere at all times. which is a pretty big fucking thing to leave out. homura might as well have said “you’re going to be separate from ME, and that’s going to make ME sad” for how honest she was about the context of the situation.

in short, homura is framing the situation as tragically as possible because she wants madoka to say what she wants to hear. she wants to be told that it was miserable. because homura was miserable.

essentially, what homura says will happen: you'll be away from everyone forever. it will accomplish ~something~, but i will not tell you what. it will make me very sad. please comfort me. (which madoka does, because of course. lest we forget part of what she says is she would never want to make someone as strong as homura sad.)

what actually happens: you will have the power to save every magical girl from suffering. you will become a conceptual god, which will remove you from your human life. but you will also be with every magical girl, always, and give them comfort. you will not only have your own agency, but make sure that the wishes of magical girls everywhere MATTER and don't end in despair. including your own. even when you would become a witch and despair, you will save yourself. and when i die, i will be with you as well.

i think by framing it this way, homura IS being honest about how it "felt" to her. but homura also misunderstands what madoka wants.

first of all, madoka's life as a regular human... well, i'm not going to say it was unhappy. but i think it was unfulfilled. i think madoka was an insecure girl without much sense of what she wanted in life. and it was also ignorant. ignorant of the pain of the world, of the suffering that other magical girls had gone through. it was privileged, but it was also, in this way, empty.

madoka’s self-actualization (in the series) has a lot to do with helplessness vs being able to make a difference. in short, she wants agency. what her wish does is give her that agency, which she trades for her life as a normal human.

what homura’s wish does is the reverse. it’s giving madoka her humanity back, but in return, she no longer has agency. she doesn’t get to do the self-actualization of becoming someone with the power to help others. she is, in that sense, suppressed.

so. like. yes, THAT “regular magical girl who knows zero context of her own character arc” version of madoka? of COURSE she doesn’t want to leave everyone behind. big duh. she isn’t told what it would accomplish (in any specific terms), she isnt aware of how it would create a version of herself with the power to change the world. nor is she acquainted with the non-magical girl version of her in the pmmm series, who had no agency at all until she chose to become a god.

in the series, that is not a moment of despair for madoka. that is when she finds hope. that is when she attains a world where she can give rest to all magical girls. and give herself a reason to fight. that hope and determination carries her, and she is with it forever.

it’s also worth noting, rebellion!madoka's not just saying it would make her sad. she is also doubting herself. she's saying she is far “too spineless” to do it. how she's this weak, helpless person who would never be able to leave people for a greater calling.

putting aside how she’s not really gone / at least exists in this abstract way - she is also demonstrating how she doesn't believe in herself. so even this "happy" magical girl version of madoka still has some of the helpless insecurity of her series counterpart. she may live a relatively peaceful life, but she is not fulfilled. she lacks the purpose, determination and hope of her series counterpart.

in other words, even this version of madoka needs to self-actualize. and part of her knows that. in homura's "happy" new realm, madoka "feels wrong." she seems shy and insecure. ill at ease. uncomfortable. like she's at the start of her arc, not the end. yet the godlike power within her refuses to be erased. it can only be held back. for now.

in a way, i see homura trapping madoka a bit like the symbolism of not letting someone grow up. sure, adulthood might not be as "simple and happy" as childhood, but it also gives you knowledge and agency in life. it allows you to learn & grow, understand the world as it is, make educated choices in who you want to be, and become that best version of yourself. THAT is what madoka is denied. that is how she feels wrong in this “happy” illusion realm that homura creates.

also. god madoka would definitely be a lot happier if she could be with homura in heaven and have the ability to save her lol.

but there's a problem with that, for homura. and that problem is, that would give madoka the agency in the situation, and leave homura the passive receiver of blessings. which is at odds with homura’s own desire for control. like madoka, she wants to not be helpless and have the ability to affect the story. after all, she did fail to stop madoka in the series. i think homura wants some of that agency, too. hence the imagery of her soul gem going from a pawn to a queen.

essentially, i see this as a conflict between two sides who want to be in charge of their own destinies. they've been stripped of their agency by the world, and they want to have it back - no matter what it would cost. this is what they have in common.

when homura refused to join madoka in "magical girl heaven", she was ultimately refusing happiness for the sake of agency. for the sake of being able to be "madoka's hero." that's what she always wanted to be, and failed to be in the original series.

tl;dr: there is something tragic in madoka's wish. for sure. but i think it gives madoka agency in the world, which she always wanted. i think being able to help others can be genuinely fulfilling for the individual, rather than just a sacrifice. it’s empowering, as much as it is the loss of old self. and i think homura wants to feel like that kind of hero, too - no matter what. they both do.

*exhales*

#pmmm #madoka kaname #homura akemi #madoka #puella magi madoka magica #not su / #long post / #for the record we all agree that in an ideal world none of this would fall on the shoulders of middle schoolers #but that’s not why these stories are written #in madoka as with any young anime protagonist it has as much to do with the world of being the burdened protagonist 14 yr olds want to see #and to the symbolic fears dangers and perils that come with being 14. learning about the world and shedding childhoods naïveté etc

[atamascolily]

I keep seeing people saying variations on "Gosh, I can't wait to see Madoka fight Homura in Walpurgis no Kaiten!" and while far be it from me to rain on anybody's parade (the id wants what it wants), I can't help doing a double-take every time this comes up, because it's so dramatically different from my own viewing experience and perception of the characters.

Apart from the inherent assumption that violence is the only possible method of conflict resolution, you're telling me that Madoka Kaname, who wants all magical girls to be friends and team up together to fight witches, who repeatedly throws herself in between angry combatants who could break her like a twig, who tosses her best friend's soul off a bridge to break up a fight, who faces down a witch on the faint hope of getting said friend back, who sacrifices herself so magical girls don't have to suffer anymore, and whose reaction to finding that her best friend has become a big scary monster in Rebellion is to rush over and hold her hand--is going to fight Homura, of all people?!

Let's just say I'll believe it when I see it.

It's not that Madoka isn't capable of violence--she made that abundantly clear when she shot Mami at point-blank range to save Homura--but to say it's not her preferred solution is a vast understatement. Being forced to kill both Mami and Sayaka in quick succession devastates her--and if Homura hadn't been present, there was a very real chance of Madoka becoming a witch herself in that moment. When we do see Madoka fight, she tends to win in a single shot, as in later timelines against Walpurgisnacht. Maybe Devil!Homura is the only one strong enough to stand against her--but that assumes that Madoka would ever choose to fight her in the first place, no matter how angry/hurt/betrayed she feels, and no matter what Homura has done.

Madoka is not only the show's title character, she is its moral center, and the literal heart (there's even one on her magical girl outfit to drive the point home); the goddess she becomes, while still bearing death, is guided by compassion and mercy, not aggression and cruelty. Even if she were to fight Homura, it would be very much a "I'll kick your ass to bring you back to reality" kind of fight rather than one to kill.

Homua might well see herself as Madoka's enemy, but I don't think Madoka sees Homura as hers. Their conflict is real and deserves to finally be addressed, but ultimately it be can only be resolved by honest communication with each other. You know, that one thing Homura simultaneously craves and shies away from in equal measures, so it isn't like this is going to be easy! True emotional openness and vulnerability requires far more courage than blowing stuff up and always has.

It's tempting to see Homura and Madoka's reification as two opposite and opposing forces to be the primary conflict moving forward, but I think that will ultimately prove to be a false dichotomy. If the two are truly on the same level, the yin to the other's yang, neither can win against the other in the end; the only true ending involves them united as equals.

Instead, I see Homura vs. herself to be the ultimate conflict, with "self" taking a wide variety of externally manifesting forms thanks to previously established worldbuilding. The key visual for Walpurgis no Kaiten appears to support this premise, with Homura facing off against another Homura, while Madoka hovers in the background. It's not that I think Madoka isn't important, but the framing here certainly does not suggest that a violent struggle between her and Homua will be a large part of the plot.

And sure, trailers and promotional materials can be misleading--but like Kyubey, they generally do so by putting the truth in plain sight and trusting the audience to mislead themselves.

#puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #pmmm analysis #walpurgis no kaiten #walpurgisnacht rising #madoka kaname #homura akemi

[loquatenjoyer69]

Matoba and Burden and Desire

I originally watched/read Natsuyuu back in fall of 2022, and then a few months ago, literally out of nowhere, my brain was like “Hey, remember that loquat story Matoba told in that one arc? It felt like there was something there, let’s go reread that,” which I did, and have been in hexorcists hell about ever since.

(pictured: a sane person’s reaction to reading natsuyuu)

And really, that’s it. The loquat story feels like there’s something there, but I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. But after my close rereading of that arc, I think I’ve at least come to one coherent conclusion about it, even if it’s perhaps the most basic one: I think the loquats are an allegory for the greater themes of burden/desire in this arc. The following is my attempt to lay out my thoughts, but unfortunately I have never been known for my conciseness or my ability to organize my thoughts, so be forewarned. This will be rambly and include a few tangents/too much detail.

The story of the Miharu family is a story of a family that was once respected, had a relationship/contract with powerful ayakashi, and eventually fell into ruin, leaving behind their contracts. The ayakashi, the mihashira, still come to uphold their part of the agreement without fail, but the family is gone. So who comes in their place to maintain the contract? The Matobas, and in the present day, the current head of the Matoba clan is Matoba Seiji. In order to maintain this deal with a group of powerful youkai, which neither he nor his family actually made, Matoba has to come and perform the welcoming ritual to avoid incurring the wrath of the mihashira.

Matoba is a character marked by burden, I think. Though he is the head of the most powerful exorcist clan, and therefore one might expect that he can pretty much do what he wants, I don’t actually think he has much personal freedom. The only son of the main family, he was probably marked as the heir from birth (if not, he would have had to be once his sister left but I still need to read 120+ so I don’t know exactly what the deal with her is). The clan’s interests are his interests. He can’t do anything that might hurt the reputation of or endanger the clan, and he is obligated to do things that benefit the clan. Matoba is Matoba. 

In chapter 25, in his debut arc, he tells Natsume 「使えるものは使わないと。人を守る為に、強い妖が欲しいと思っているだけですよ。その為には恨まれたり代償を払うことを気にしていたら、この家業はやっていけませんしね」

"One should make use of useful things. I just want ayakashi in order to protect people. If I was worried about being hated or suffering consequences, I could not carry on the family business,"

(this is actually one of those annoying instances of a Japanese sentence that’s more dense than would sound good in English. Matoba seems to be explaining his personal worldview/thoughts here with 思っている even though in English you’d never say “I just feel like/think I want strong ayakashi…” He’s explaining that this is the way he thinks, I think lol).

Matoba doesn’t get the privilege of having a good reputation among humans or ayakashi, since we learn in special chapter 17 that no good ayakashi will make deals with the Matobas because of their famous broken promise. Matoba Seiji not only inherits the burden of monthly eye-stealing visits, he also can’t make contracts with ayakashi and  takes on all the distrust that’s built up over generations from both humans and ayakashi. 

And now Matoba is taking on the debts of a dead branch family to avoid possibly endangering his own.

In the locked room, when Matoba is goading Natori into breaking them out, he says 「どうです？あなたには解くことができますか名取。無理ならばすべて私が片付けてさしあげましょうか？」

"Well, can you do it, Natori? If you can’t, shall I take care of everything for you?"

I’m unsure how much of this is Matoba teasing Natori (as he seems to like doing in the Homura arc) about how he’s not as powerful/skilled as Matoba, and how much is him simply making an offer because he’s Matoba and he’s The One Who Takes Care Of Everything. I think either way, there is at least a good amount of the latter going on here. 

In special chapter 17, Matoba shows up at Natori’s house and helps him exorcise the ayakashi that’s been haunting him. After Natori wakes up, he tries to offer to help Matoba in some way. I think he felt uncomfortable being the only one being helped, and wanted to find something he could offer Matoba, even though Matoba seems to have everything he needs. Natori offers to listen to his problems, and Matoba smiles (of course) and says he’s fine. Even teenage Matoba is like “You’re not the one who helps me, I’m the one who helps you.” Though this chapter is from Natori’s perspective, so Natori believes Matoba was just using him to get an ayakashi, I’m not sure that’s true. I don’t know for sure what Matoba’s motives were, but I don’t believe teenage Natori is an unbiased observer of him lol. 

Now that we’ve laid all that out, let’s talk briefly about the Miharus, a once respected family who made a deal with ayakashi they didn’t understand, and fell into ruin. According to the ayakashi who wants to sabotage the ritual, there was a member of the Miharu family called Masakiyo. Masakiyo was stern for the most part, but there was someone he loved. However, he couldn’t be with that person because he couldn’t make them shoulder the burdens of his family business, but neither could he simply abandon his family. He had to stay with his family and let this person go. This was the only time this ayakashi saw Masakiyo cry. Then we get this panel:

(pictured: bench of I Hate My Life, credit to @joelletwo for that lol)

In his despair, Masakiyo wished there was no Miharu family. The ayakashi, feeling indebted to Masakiyo for letting it go during an exorcism, overhears him and decides that destroying the Miharu family will bring Masakiyo happiness. This is an unintended contract between the two of them. Masakiyo unwittingly causes an ayakashi to spend years (decades?) trying in vain to destroy his family in order to repay a perceived debt. This isn’t Masakiyo’s fault, really, it was just an unfortunate misunderstanding. The ayakashi didn’t understand that Masakiyo wanted it to be free and live the life he couldn’t. “You were almost exorcised because of human circumstances. You were saved on the whim of a human. What debt? You are free. Go wherever you want. Live however you want.”

After all the mihashira business is wrapped up, Matoba thanks Natori for his help, Natori says he probably couldn’t have gotten out of the room without Matoba, and Matoba laughs and says “Then we’re even this time.” Neither one is indebted to the other this time…they’re even. Then Natori says The Line:

「何かを継ぎ背負っていく…その真の重みは私などにははかり知れません。でも今はこう思うようにもなりました。重いものもひとりでなければと…」

"I don’t know the true weight of shouldering a burden you’ve inherited, but now I’ve come to think that even heavy things can be carried if you’re not alone,"

(this is another one of the aforementioned Dense Japanese Sentences, and I really prefer the fan TL version of this line but I’m translating it this way to try to convey all the stuff he’s saying). Natori once again reaches out to Matoba, trying to offer him maybe the only thing he can: support, listening to his problems, shouldering his burdens. This time, though, we don’t get a Matoba Smile and “I’m fine,” we get this:

(pictured: Matoba on the bench of I Hate My Life, or “Matoba Cow Beach” as I refer to this image in my head)

What is Matoba thinking here? I really don’t know. If I draw the obvious parallel with Masakiyo, I guess he’s contemplating his two…selves, as it were. His duty to his family vs his personal desire for companionship. And I do think Matoba wants companionship. I read his behavior in special chapter 15 as genuinely wanting to be friends with Natori. I think he was excited that there was someone else his age who was relatively powerful, and who wasn’t concerned with all the Matoba stuff. Hence his insistence on Natori calling him Seiji. He wanted to be close to Natori.

And finally, we can come back to the loquats. Natsume hears Matoba mocking the mihashira for continuing to protect the Miharu house even after the family has all died out, and thinks perhaps Matoba is envious of ayakashi who go to such great lengths to keep promises.

"Matoba-san, who keeps breaking promises, and doesn’t have anyone to make new ones with."

Matoba wonders how the welcoming ritual will go next time, but decides he won’t worry since he probably won’t even be the head of the clan at that time. Natsume offers him a loquat, saying cheer up, and Matoba does his Thing, saying  “How odd, do I look upset?” and then tells The Story.

When Matoba was a teenager, he really wanted to try the loquats from Yorishima’s yard. One day, he was there with Natori, and Yorishima gave them both one. The loquat was delicious and sweet; Matoba felt that his “desire had been fulfilled,” but Natori got a sour one, and Matoba felt like Yorishima-san had wanted to give a loquat to Natori, and only given one to Matoba because he was there, so he thought “Ah there’s no winning even in such a small thing as this.” Matoba gets what he wants, but it wasn’t meant for him, and the one it was meant for is worse off, so did he really win? He was the only one who got to enjoy the delicious loquat. These are the unintended consequences, the burdens if you will, of desire. 

Natsume speculates that the agreement with the mihashira began when someone had the wish to protect the Miharu family, and there was an ayakashi who happened to be there, much like the situation with Masakiyo and the sabotaging ayakashi. A simple and innocent wish accidentally creates a generations-long burden that Matoba eventually has to shoulder. 

I think Matoba must be painfully aware of his power and influence, and that even his smallest actions could cause unintended consequences. I wonder if he sees the Miharu family as a warning of what could happen to his own family if he slips up… And it wasn’t just a mistake on the part of the Miharus, but a failure of the Matoba clan head of that time, whose responsibility it was to look out for the branch families. Matoba Seiji is not just responsible for the success of his own family, but protecting the branch families, and of course non-exorcists as well. I imagine he feels like he doesn’t have the time or room to act on any of his own personal desires, and his little loquat anecdote is evidence of that, to me. It’s bittersweet (lol). And Natori’s takeaway, meanwhile, is more casual as you might expect. When Natsume asks him if he likes loquats, he says he’s not sure because his first one wasn’t very good. To Natori, a loquat is something he might try again and like. To Matoba, it’s a reminder of what he can and can’t have.

#natsume yuujinchou #matoba seiji #really sorry this is so long and i'm sure i could cut it down. i am bad at that. #i hope i ended up saying something though lol #i want to try to write more thoughts about other stuff #hopefully if i do it more I'll get better #my meta

[niconebula]

Thinking about Buddhism as it relates to Madoka Magica, sadly for the first time as I have no personal frame of reference surrounding the religion as a white Canadian.

I think just as much as Madoka criticizes aspects of Christianity, it is also criticizing Buddhism. Namely that the salvation Buddhists seek in the pursuit of nirvana can rob us of our inherent human experience.

“According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught that attachment or clinging causes dukkha (often translated as "suffering"), but that there is a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from dukkha”.

Huh. Attachment and clinging causes suffering… where have we seen-

Homura is the fairly straightforward unideal person in Buddhism. Attachment and clinging in Buddhism is called ‘tanha’, and there are three main pillars of it, each of which Homura represents in Rebellion (and the girls all represent with their wishes):

1. Kama-Tanha: Craving for sensory pleasures. These are usually material things and mostly associated with our base desires, like food, sex, wealth even, etc.

2. Bhava-Tanha: Craving to be something, to exist, to unite with an experience. This one is more difficult to understand; but it seems to relate to the idea of wanting to be important and exist in others’ lives and thoughts.

3. Vibha-Tanha: Craving for non-existence. The desire to not experience unpleasant things, and also the desire for self-annihilation (suicide). Homura exemplifies this one strongly.

Buddhists seek to distance themselves from these things in order to seek nirvana, the cessation of desire and thus of suffering. But when you are left without this ‘suffering’, you are also left without the beautiful things in life.

What is a life worth living without desires? What is life for a god who has no attachments? Madoka Magica through Homura, the antithesis to Buddhist ideals, asks this question blatantly in the Concept Movie Trailer.

What is happiness without delicious food and sunbeams (sensory kama pleasures) or connections and existence (bhava)?

Madoka’s existence as a so called enlightened being in heaven (nirvana) goes against what makes us human beings, and her own happiness in turn.

The cessation of desire, a driving force for basic human emotions, does little but make you emotionless and numb. It disconnects you from relationships. What then is to differentiate you from emotionless Incubators?

Attachment and clinging can bring despair to people like Homura in Rebellion. But in the right circumstances, attachment, desire - it brings happiness and love. It is happiness and love. Without suffering, there is no joy. Is an existence without joy worthwhile?

#and then through this I realized the fairytale we may be getting inspo from next is Princess Kaguya #but that’s for another post ;) #madoka magica #pmmm #madoka kaname #homura akemi #Buddhism in Madoka #madoka analysis

[miraclecereal]

Walpurgis Rising Trailer Analysis

So this is basically my magical girl blog so I had to make this. I’ve loved pmmm for so long and I had a mini heart attack when I saw the trailer was out. Spoilers for pmmm, Rebellion, and the Wraith Arc ahead. 

Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it already: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TGxyrO-27dQ&pp=ygULYW5pcGxleCB1c2E%3D

General Speculation:

So let’s start with everyone’s main speculation. Most people who watch the trailer believe that in this new world Homura created, she’s the one who created magical girls, which I also believe. In the beginning of the trailer Homura says: 

“Can you accept the risks and responsibilities?”

Before she says this a phone can be heard ringing which comes from where her soul gem should be. This means that Kyubey is no longer in charge of wish granting and or choosing magical girls. 

One thing that I find interesting is that the Clara Dolls (Homura’s familiars) call her “Akuma Sama” or “Devil” if you watched the trailer with the subtitles. 

I believe this shows that Homura is taking the role of Kyubey. If magical girls are being chosen by Homura like we speculate, it means that they are literally making a deal with the “devil.” 

Even in the Wraith Arc when things were significantly better there was still a cycle of hope and despair with magical girls still having the risk of getting their feelings eaten by wraiths. Homura’s world still needs despair in it, meaning that being meguca is still suffering. In fact, it might be Homura’s way of punishing Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko.

Homura’s New World: 

This versions of Homura’s world seems a lot more stable than Rebellion since it’s no longer a controlled environment. Homura has full control and self awareness of what she’s doing. 

One of the shots we get of this new world is a shot of Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi presumably walking to school. They are surrounded by flowers with light shining down on them. I believe this is supposed to represent the world that Homura wanted to create for Madoka: A place that’s beautiful and carefree. Even in the trailer Homura says: “This world is for Madoka.”

Then we got shots of how Homura and the other magical girls might see the world. It looks heavily industrial with the sky being filled with reds and oranges. 

This can show that Madoka is most likely in the dark about what’s really going on around her, at least in the beginning. 

Magical girls (and their outfits) 

If Homura is the one granting wishes and choosing magical girls, I believe that the change in outfits has to do with how Homura sees Mami, Sayaka, and Kyoko. 

Mami’s new outfit is similar to her old one in a lot of ways but the change is most definitely noticeable. Her outfit looks a lot more free flowing and focused more on the fashionable aspect of magical girl outfits. 

Homura has always seen Mami as the mature leader. Along with Madoka, she was the first magical she meant and in the other timelines she’s the one that coaches Homura and teaches her how to use her abilities. It’s even speculated that Homura chose guns as her weapon because of Mami. 

It doesn’t look like Kyoko’s outfit changed that much. Her soul gem does look bigger but that could be intentional or just a design choice. 

From I can see, it looks like there’s a black undershirt underneath the top piece of her outfit but that doesn’t give us much for symbolism.

If you look at her gloves it looks like Sayaka with the gold band around the edge. This could show her connection to Sayaka. 

What’s most noticeable is her hair that still appears long but seems a lot more spiky. This could represent Homura seeing Kyoko as a tomboy and exaggerating that concept.

The reason why I think Kyoko’s outfit didn’t change much is because worked good together and that Homura sees her in a better light than she does Mami and Sayaka who she believes are constantly getting in her way. Kyoko was the one Homura went to when she needed a teammate: Wanting her to help with  Walpurgisnacht in the original and Homura reaching out to her in Rebellion.

I saved Sayaka for last because she has a lot going on. The bandages on her face and her cape looking more like a coat looks like it could reflect her wish of healing Kyosuke and all the time he spent in the hospital. It also goes along with her ability of healing. 

Sayaka is heavily covered up with the cape, bandages, long sleeve, and gloves. This could be seen as Sayaka disguising herself or hiding who she really is like in Rebellion. 

If you have seen the concept movie trailer, Sayaka looks different but one similarity is having something cover her mouth. This could represent secrecy or Homura trying to silence Sayaka. 

Homura has always had problems with Sayaka. Such as Sayaka accusing her of different things in different time lines such as working with Kyoko, trying to blow her up with bombs, and lying about magical girls turning into witches. In Rebellion, Sayaka was the one who called Homura out and actually stood a threat to her. 

If Homura is making magical girls I feel like it’s possible she could be going out of her way to punish Sayaka which is really tragic. I think it’s obvious that Sayaka is my favorite character. 

The New Magical Girl: 

In the trailer we are shown what could potentially be a new magical girl. 

This new magical girl is shown to wield Homura’s bow but also have abilities similar to Mami with what looks like red ribbons. Her outfit also looks similar to Homura’s but she has a light hair color in a ponytail. 

My personal theory is that this magical girl represents Walpurgisnacht. Walpurgisnacht is an amalgamation of witches which could show why she’s seen using different weapons and abilities of other magical girls. 

The trailer describes Walpurgisnacht as a “fool who goes around in circles” which represents both Homura and Madoka. Both of them were affected by karmic destiny as the clock kept turning. This new magical girl could be the aftermath of messing with karmic destiny. 

Dang this is long. Maybe I’ll make a second part of this that focuses more on Kyubey, Madoka, and Homura.

#Pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #walpurgis no kaiten #walpurgisnacht rising #pmmm concept movie #madoka magica

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Necessary Changes

Words: 1189

For: @skykashi

Arguing with Koharu and Homura was an endless, exhausting task. As a Jonin Kakashi learned to pick and choose his fights carefully because the two elder’s were exceptionally skilled at wearing down their opponents. He’d seen shinobi older and more experienced than him cave to the elder’s demands, including Lord third. 

He never gave up because he didn’t  genuinely care about the argument, but because he ran out of energy to fight for his cause any longer. There had been many times growing up that he wished he’d had more power because it seemed like the only way that he would have the power to shut the elders up. Now, Kakashi had that power. He may not have wanted it when he first took the position of Hokage from Tsunade-sama, but Kakashi couldn’t deny the fact that he finally had a power he’d never had before.

“Shut up.” he groaned as he rubbed his forefinger against his temple in an attempt to will away the headache he could feel creeping up on him with every word the two elder’s said.

Koharu gasped, acting as though this was the first time in her life that a Hokage had told her to silence herself. 

“Lord Sixth-” Homura began, only silencing himself when Kakashi glared his way.

If it were anyone else Kakashi would insist that they drop the ‘Lord’. It was an honorific meant to refer to those who had earned other people’s respect. People like Tsunade and Jiraiya had earned the right to be referred to using that honorific, but not Kakashi.

He was just Kakashi. Nothing else. 

In this instance, though, he was willing to let it slide. If the two elder’s were going to insist on arguing with them he was going to allow them to remind themselves of just who it was they were trying to pick a fight with.

This wasn’t a fresh faced Jonin Kakashi arguing for a change in his team selection for a mission because he knew he could do the job better with Rin and Gai at his side.

It wasn’t Anbu Kakashi who was so broken and lost that he barely had a back bone to hold himself up let alone argue with the elder’s. 

The two of them weren’t picking a fight with someone they still out ranked. No, today they were picking a fight with Hokage Kakashi. A man who’d never wanted the responsibility of taking care of an entire village, but who’d come into the job determined to make changes to the system that had taken so much from him. 

“This is not up for discussion,” he lowered his hand onto the desk. “You can tell me how much you hate what I'm doing but I’ve already signed the paperwork and begun the process of retraining Konoha’s shinobi.”

“This is ridiculous,” Koharu straightened herself up, recovering from the shock of being told off. “Konoha is a village of shinobi. It is our job-”

tilting his head, Kakashi stared at her until . “Not ours,” Kakashi corrected her. “You two are no longer active shinobi. You have not been on a mission in over thirty years. If I could remove you from your positions I would but unfortunately even the Hokage does not have that power.” He’d checked and Tsunade had just sighed and shook her head. If there was anyone in Konoha who understood his desire to get rid of the elder’s it was her. “And in the past you would have been correct. When you were shinobi Konoha was in the midst of war. Killing our enemies may have been the only option. That’s not the case anymore.”

It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t allow the next generation to suffer through the guilt and regret that he had.

“Lord Sixth, you must see reason on this,” Homura continued to argue. “To change something so engrained into our society is foolish. Konoha’s shinobi are used to the way things are. They won’t change just because you ask them to.”

‘They won’t change that easily’ Tsunade-sama’s words echoed back to him. She’d been the first person he’d spoken to of his decision. Someone he could speak to who would tell him honestly what she thought and whether or not he should move forward. When he’d heard those words from her he’d prepared himself to give up on a better future, but then she continued speaking. ‘Then, of course, nothing that’s worth fighting for is ever easy’

Kakashi had a choice to make as Hokage. Which fights were the one’s he was willing to pick, and how far was he willing to dig his heels in and stand his ground?

For this one, the answer was simple to find.

No matter what anyone else said, or how much they fought him, he would stand his ground. This was a change that had to be made and there was no one in the village who would be able to stop him.

“They will learn,” he spoke calmly, keeping his voice steady even though he wanted to scream. “I don’t expect it to be an easy transition for anyone. There will be struggles and we will have to learn new methods.” the inclusion of ‘we’ was deliberate. Kakashi knew that it wouldn’t be just the shinobi under his command who would struggle with the new rule.

He had been raised to be a killer. Molded into the perfect ideal of a shinobi, ready to take a life at a moment’s notice. His hands were stained with the blood of countless enemy shinobi.

Learning to capture rather than kill would be just as much of a struggle for him, but it was something he was willing to put himself through so that the shinobi of Konoha knew he was serious about this change. 

“Now,” focusing back on the pair in front of him, he narrowed his eyes. “This conversation is done. I will not hear another word about it so unless you have something else to speak with me about I would suggest you leave. I still have a lot of paperwork to finish before my day ends.”

Homura opened his mouth but quickly rethought whatever it was he wanted to say and instead turned his back to Kakashi with a huff.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Lord Sixth,” Koharu sighed as she copied her friend’s movements, sparing Kakashi a glance over her shoulder. “The Hokage’s before you went through a lot to set the village up as it is. What you’re doing is dismantling all of that work.”

“Perhaps,” he sat back in his chair. “But they set up the village for war. I want this village to thrive and grow in ways they never could have imagined.”

He didn’t need to be known as the best Hokage Konoha had ever had. In fact, he’d resigned himself to being known as the worst Hokage in history as soon as he’d taken the seat and he was still prepared to take that title. 

If being the worst meant pushing his village into a brighter, more hopeful future, he would happily wear that title.

#Hatake Kakashi #Fic #Ficlet #Hokage Kakashi #Taryn's Birthday Bash

[defiantdreemurrs]

after finally watching madoka movie 3 i am 100% convinced the internet hates homura because they misunderstood her completely

the only crime you could ever pin on her is that she considers herself lesser than madoka and therefore is convinced she has to sacrifice herself so madoka can be happy

the same crime madoka herself is guilty of

both of these girls feel so much love for each other and yet they also feel so little for themselves, both of these girls are convinced the only way they can make each other happy is if they accept an eternity of suffering, and both of these girls practically leap at the chance to suffer for eternity if it makes their beloved happy

the only thing homura ever did wrong was to not love herself, and i honestly cant fault her for anything else as a result

the things she did for madoka are expressions of how much she loved madoka, as well as how little she loved herself, and i cant help but relate as someone who is so deeply filled with self loathing yet so madly in love that i would gladly sacrifice myself for her

homura isnt a villain, shes not evil, she willingly damned herself and occupied the role of the dissenter, the rebel, lucifer morningstar, solely so madoka could be happy in a world where her family was safe, she and her friends didnt have to fight witches, and homura could still be with her

which is something madoka herself did too, shes only doing what madoka did, but because she accepted her role as the devil to madokas god everyone sees her as pure evil and thats the whole POINT of the god vs devil imagery in the movie is to comment on how what we see as “good” and “evil” are so heavily dependent on framing and aesthetic and how those things can make two girls doing the exact same thing appear to be completely in opposition

the point of madoka isnt that homura is evil or that she shouldnt be so obsessed with madoka or that shes wrong for loving madoka as much as she does, the point of madoka is that you should love yourself and subjecting yourself to endless self sacrifice because you think so little of yourself is only going to hurt those you love and possibly to the point of locking you into a neverending cycle of self sacrifice in opposition to your beloveds own self sacrifice

the only thing homura ever did wrong was to not love herself as much as she loved madoka, because she certainly deserves to

(in other words, in case you misunderstood me: homura did basically nothing wrong and all her actions in movie 3 are justified she just kinda needs to love herself and i theorize movie 4 to resolve things essentially by having madoka show her that neither of them has to be so self sacrificing because its so very clear that this is the only thing she ever does wrong and that madoka has also been doing the exact same thing and that both are at fault and they just kinda need to stop escalating this endless cycle of self sacrifice, and one more time explicitly homura did nothing fucking wrong and becoming the devil to lift the weight of the world off of her beloveds shoulders is both a deep expression of love for madoka and a show of how little she loves herself)

#madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm madoka #pmmm #homura akemi #akemi homura #pmmm homura #madoka rebellion

[leportraitducadavre]

Why are the Uchiha considered a non-oppressed group? Naruto's fandom, specifically pro-Konoha readers, tend to claim that neither Sasuke nor his family was actually oppressed nor discriminated against prior to their killing; furthermore, some tend to state that it's for this supposed reason that the massacre was justified, as not only they perceived no injustice when presented with evidence of their treatment at the hands of those in positions of power (who should've had guaranteed their survival at the very minimum, as that was the reason for the village's creation), but also consider their plan to coup a consequence of their "traitorous" nature; a disservice after everything "Konoha did for them".

Some other fans, not much smarter than the first group, are willing to admit some of the discrimination they suffered; but they are reluctant to see such conduct as a learned animosity, labeling it as a "modern occurrence" (when speaking of Hiruzen's timeframe). According to them, the Uchiha had just begun to be discriminated against, so their reaction was disproportionate; apparently, it's mandatory to wait for such bigotry to be repeated for a few generations before considering it a systematic occurrence rather than an isolated event.

Genocide doesn't happen in a vacuum, it's not an option that is plausibly considered if not after years or decades of cultural and political repression and degradation. It's the growth of a slow but consistent process of dehumanization, to the point where those taught under such a regime of thought truly consider their life, rights, and opinions far more valuable and important than those they degrade.

Arresting or even killing the clan members that actually wanted to coup would've been far more understandable had those in power seen Uchiha humane enough for their lives to be considered, to matter; yet the elders quickly saw mass murder as an enticing option, sending one of the kin they wanted to exterminate to do their dirty job so they wouldn't lose "one of their own" and still look pristine.

They were able to do so and still see themselves as agents of peace because they were taught that they were on the right side of history, as the story was told from their perspective; the handwriting of their mentor shines dark and spotless on the parchments of their national library.

And, as for them, there were no real losses that day, their life continued. And those responsible for the death of dozens kept smiling, kept walking amongst the classmates of the children they sent to murder, telling them to fight for their memory, to give meaning to the pain by growing.

The fandom still believes that their death was requited, necessary, and fair; putting the blame of the genocide at most upon two sets of shoulders (Danzo, Hiruzen) instead of (at least) six (Tobirama, Danzo, Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura and Itachi), because they truly think that such an idea can be created out of thin air and it's not the consequence of an oppressive system that it's constantly demoting a specific group's value; because they truly think that the Council is acting on their own volition and isn't abiding the structure set by those before them. To them, four men and a woman created and taught themselves their own moral, social, and cultural parameters for this specific portion of the story before renouncing them and subscribing once again to their teachers (who somehow are painted as ~agents of peace~).

But alas, let's dissect some of their arguments, perhaps like this some of their brilliance shall illuminate us:

Their doujutsu and overall pride as a clan. The Sharingan is probably the most powerful doujutsu inside the Narutoverse (slightly less so than the Rinnegan but that needs the Sharingan as a base to develop), which for them translates into their clan having a “natural advantage” over others during a battle; thus, if they are so strong, how come they are oppressed? For them, that’s a contradiction because they can only phantom oppression if it’s visible, as in physical: literal submission through physical strength. Yet the Sharingan is canonically expressed to be a rare outcome inside the family, a rarity that just a few members of the clan possessed, so it’s a “natural advantage” that not many Uchiha have nor had at the time of their murder. But the tale hasn't finished, because there's a recurrent joke amongst these antis, for "how come the Sharingan is so powerful yet they were whipped by Itachi in just one night!", they shout, hyena laughter amidst their group; yet they don't talk further as not to attract detractors with quick wit, as they don't take into account (can't take into account) not only the prior point but also Obito’s participation -who was in charge of killing the strongest members of the clan but Fugaku (the later who decided not to fight), and without minding the context in itself as Itachi sneaked into clan members' homes and killed them when their back was turned, as he took advantage of the trust they bestowed upon him.

They were the ones who were “entrusted” by Tobirama to make Konoha’s citizens respect the law -summarizing, they were “given” the Police Force. In this specific regard, the police force inside the Narutoverse is directly compared (and therefore, read) to its real-life counterpart, yet: a- The Uchiha’s job was to be carried inside a military state, most of the citizens inside Konoha have tools at their disposal to either evade or fight back the Uchiha's "authority". It's difficult for them to read such phrases for it shatters their self-insertion; how come Naruto isn't about my self-perceived value inside the country I inhabit? b- The Police Force’s power, influence, and control were directly limited by the Hokage, they couldn’t arrest ANBU members (meaning those who were, one in charge of spying on them, and two a big portion of Konoha’s forces). c- Uchiha couldn’t aspire to be something else but members of the police. The only ones who could work outside that specific force were those individuals that abandoned their identities as clan members and swore allegiance to Konoha. Only Itachi (the perpetrator), Shisui, and Kagami (who were luckily dead before the events of the UCM transpired) were shown outside such a limited sphere. No other clan was shown to need such extreme measures to work in their chosen field. The fact that the prison was constructed to be inside their compound prior to them being moved to the outskirts of the city isn’t enough for them to understand that this specific job was forced upon Uchiha. "It's easier for them to keep an eye on the prisoners," they claim, clicking their tongues, yet won't see what it politically entails, for Uchiha members can never detach themselves from their duty, as it was physically adhered to their lands. "It's a duty they could thrive on," they vomit, and they did, yet no one sees -because it all happens inside their own compound. Not a single clan is shown to “have one specific job” inside Konoha but the Uchiha. d- Nevermind the very real and canonic impact that such work has amongst Konoha citizens, as the lesser members of Konoha's militia grow resentful of those that "control" them; in addition, such position also prevents the Uchiha from properly integrating amongst the general population, as they can't commune completely with those they need to keep tabs on. Was the Police Force ever rebuilt after the UCM? ANBU forces were quick to absorb their duties after the Kyuubi attack, decreasing at a much faster speed their position inside the place they built. The Police Force was dismantled and forgotten after the massacre, further proving the real irrelevance of such duty and the actual hidden purpose in its creation. e- How come the Uchiha "monopolized" a force that was literally and canonically given to them? How did they take over and denied anyone else's presence inside that structure when not only did they not create it but the prison was built by the government itself inside their compound? Someone with fewer brain cells than them will think that it's Konoha's government the one limiting the nature of the members that had to forcefully take care of that task, as clan compounds have restrictions on who can enter; but not them -oh no, ah, the wisdom of these people amazes me...

Their members’ popularity. Specifically, Sasuke and Itachi. What they say while fidgeting in their seats is simple: "how come Itachi (prior to the massacre) and Sasuke (after) were so praised by non-Uchiha if they were discriminated against"? And, ah, we could've finally reached enlightenment; yet their worldview is irrevocably simplistic, as systematic oppression doesn’t always translate into direct discrimination at the hands of other citizens. The Uchiha clan was moved to the outskirts of the city without any other family raising any eyebrows, they don’t have to be spitted on by other shinobi for them to be oppressed, that’s limiting the notion of discrimination/oppression to a single factor -the physical one, without minding the others. To explain it in lesser terms, as we must crouch down to speak to them to be on their level, saying that the Uchiha weren’t discriminated against due to lack of physical aggression, and I guess a genocide isn’t enough aggression for some, it’s like saying a man is a misogynist only if he slaps a woman. That way, monetary, social, cultural, and political domination are left out of the discussion, therefore, it’s limiting sexism to individuals’ actions rather than seeing the system these men were raised on and that it built their resolve to, finally, physically attack a woman. Uchiha were the only ones whose value was tied to their biological nature -no other families inside Konoha found as many restrictions as they did (might I remind you that there was a clan that happily enslaved their members and no one seemed to care?), their biology was enough reason to keep them both away of positions of power (meaning that the laws/decisions that influenced their lifestyle were made for them without a single Uchiha consultant), and restricting their movements inside their village. And I know many of these antis will claim “oh, but name one of the other noble clans (but the Nara’s, of course) that are actually in a place inside the Council, none of them were!” And you see, they miss the point by a mile, because the issue isn’t only the Uchiha not having incidence nor right to (at least) vote inside a village they founded, but specifically them being denied such presence under the premise of a biological predisposition that they have no control of. No other clan, whether they are or not at this point in time inside the Council, is denied a future position under those premises, they either can’t achieve it due to their lack of connections (Minato Namikaze, member of a non-noble clan was made Hokage due to his relationship with Jiraiya) or having not enough rank to participate (Morino Ibiki, also from a clan not specifically important, is the Head of the T&I Department).

#tw: strong language #anti konoha #anti shinobi system #anti naruto #anti naruto uzumaki #anti danzo #anti danzo shimura #anti hiruzen #anti hiruzen sarutobi #anti itachi #anti itachi uchiha #anti tobirama #anti tobirama senju #anti tobirama fandom #pro uchiha #pro uchiha clan #sasuke #sasuke uchiha #fugaku uchiha #uchiha #uchiha clan #meta #anti will of fire #anti curse of hatred #anti wof #anti coh

[thequietkid-moonie]

Darling wish to be the most powerful witch

[ YANDERE, ONE-SHOT ] [ Mami, Madoka, Sayaka, Kyoko & Homura ]

[ Puella Magi Madoka Magica ]

⚠️ Yandere, I dunno support this kind of behavior in real life, I just write it for fun!

This idea has been wandering on my mind like for a year already!! And now i'm finally able to write it down!!! So happy!!!

At first it wasn't that bad, it all started by meeting Madoka and Sayaka and becoming friends, you slowly started to meet other lovely girls that quickly become your friends too, Mami didn't take long to appear on your life and at the end you also met Kyoko and Homura

You could see that sometimes your new friends were a little too intense when interacting to you, a little too clingly or even almost desperate to get your attention but you tried to don't pay much attention, you didn't wanted to think ill of your new friends right away

However, the situation slowly grows to be more and more strange, that first thought you had about they being a little too intense start to be more and more obvious, and, soon or later, their extreme tendencies start to show right in front of you, leaving no room to excuses

It was all a messy mix of extreme tendencies, Mami being overprotective and always saying that she knows what is best for you, Madoka and Sayaka swearing that they just want to be your friends but being too dependent of you, Kyoko being a little mean and rude with you but still overprotective and Homura constantly being on her edge for anything that has to be with you, and quickly paranoid and violent when your safety is at risk (even in the slighest). Is everything at all times, their attitude and actions soon become overwhelming, even if you tried to brush it off it or try to just toletate it sometimes is just too much

They are so diferent from each other and sometimes they go possessive or have completely diferent points of view about what is happening around, and most of the time that lead them to get into verbal and physical fights, even if one of them try to end the fight it just end up starting another one, the only way to finish the arguments (at least temporary), it is when you are in too much distress and it become so obvious (and probably end up making you cry or even having a meltdown) it makes them stop, but you also end up having at least two of the all over you, that doesn't exactly help most of the time

As well, there is the topic about them being magical girls, in a normal situation you may don't mind it much or even being interested or worried, but this isn't a normal situation and that fact just add more stress to your life, half of them thinks it is something good and encourage you to praise them and maybe, just maybe, become a magical girl too so you can fight along with the (not that they actually let you fight, is just an excuse to have you even closer), while the other half totally refuse and even threaten the simple idea of you becoming a magical girl, saying is actually a terrible fate that you shouldn't go throught

Life was already stressful enough, but once all of you get to know the truth behind being a magical girl, once Kubey reveals the trick behind the magic and how being a magical girl is just a endless cycle of desperation for a supposed greater good everything just grows to be worst for all of you, even if you aren't a magical girl yet you have to live with the aftermath of this revelation

The fights between them start to diminish but not the stress, this just make them slowly go more and more insane, their humanity have being snatched away from them and that is affecting them way to much, in diferent ways and levels but all are suffering from this, what lead them to crave for comfort and approval in your arms, they need to heard from your sweet lips that is alright, they may have a bad fate but you still love them, you don't see them as some kind of monsters, they want to heard you say that you'll stay with them until the very end so badly that it becomes even more intimidating

Since that revelation all of them grew more paranoid and protective, never leaving your side in fear of losing the only thing that makes them keep fighting, and this only makes you want to return to how your life used to be before you met them, wondering what you would doing now if you didn't accepted Madoka and Sayaka's invitation that first time, how would you feel if you had never knew about the existance of Kubey or the magical girls

Despite the lack of light and life in your eyes your heart was full of despair and regret, and because of how much energy the others where putting on protecting you, Kubey knew you have a lot of potential to be a magical girl, your own energy plus the energy of the rest will be of great help to the universe, so he spend quite a while trying to sneak behind their backs to offer you a contract

It wasn't easy but Kubey managed to distract all of them to have a moment alone with you, asking you if there was any wish you wanted in exchange of becoming a magical girl. You knew perfectly fine the trick behind it, you knew what will happen to you if you accepted to make a deal with him, but you were also so desperate to get away from them that you didn't care anymore, you just wanted to be able to have a little bit of freedom, even if it was just to make this choise

You think about it, wishing to go back in time or even get away front them could easily fail because of Homura's power or because you will be bound to Kubey for being a magical girl and, consequently, with the others too, besides you were tired, sick of having to put up with them, of don't being able to live your own life because of them, so if you are going to throw the little of you that still exist at least you'll make sure to make them pay for steling your entire existance, so you make your choise, full of determination and anger you say to Kubey your wish

become the most powerful and dangerous witch once you get corrupted by despair

By the moment the others finally came to you it was to late, you had seal your deal and you were already wearing a magical girl outfit, despite their horrorified expressions yours was determinated, keeping your wish as a secret and just trying to brush it off with an excuse as long as you can (hopefuly you'll be able to convince Homura to don't back in time)

Now that you fate has been seal, knowing that now all this stress and despair one day will finally serve a purpose you couldn't just wait for that moment to come, sometimes you can't help but just take in your hands your soul gem and stare at it, ironically feeling at peace when seeing the gem slowly becoming pinch black, knowing that no matter how much the others try their hardest to help you purify it, is just matter of time for you to become a witch, and when that happen you're sure that not even the Walpurguisnatch could be competition for you

#puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #madoka magica x reader #pmmm x reader #madoka x reader #homura x reader #sayaka x reader #mami x reader #kyoko x reader #x reader #x gn reader #anime x reader

[stardustizuku]

Part 2: The Alter Ego Of A Heroine And It’s Relationship To The Protagonist

You can’t have a good Love Square, if you don’t have likable protagonists.

It’s very easy that when emotions play a role, for hearts to be swayed one way or the other. So you have to have very concrete and powerful characters that you will not hate – even if they mess up.

If you don’t have them, much like any Love Triangle, you will begin to hate one of the options. Then, trying to insinuate, whoever is left of the couple as ending with this less-liked-character will just end up pissing everyone off. This delicate balance is even more imperative in the Love Square.

Therefore, we need not only a lovable protagonist, but one we really want to root for – and Marinette has been suffering in that department for quite a while now.

So, we have to talk about her. Unfortunately, despite her being central for the show to work, she’s probably the second most character that suffer from the terrible writing of this show (and we all know who’s the one who suffered the most).

So, to understand what went wrong with her character, we first need to clear the bases and talk about Alter Egos.

An alter ego is the “alternative version” of someone. The Superman to Clark Kent, the Spider-Man to Peter Parker, the Batman to Bruce Wayne. They represent the hero version, the other self, the better version if you will, of protagonist were supposed to root for.

In magical girls, these better versions are key to understanding our Main Character. While, yes, there’s many magical girl like Sugar Sugar Rune or Sakura Card Captor that don’t place emphasis on the Alter Ego, MLB definitely does.

You see, the Alter Ego is better. Brighter, happier, have a sense of justice and are able to confront the world. While our Main Character doesn’t have these characteristics, or at least not as external. The alter ego represents everything they wish to be, while the real them hides underneath.

And it’s this push and pull between two of them that becomes a core, of sorts, for the story. For two main reasons. One, it explains the character. And two, it represents the theme.

A very good example of this – is Madoka. What makes a magical girl, a magical girl, in this universe?

You make a wish. Something you want more than anything. And that wish is what fuels your hearts to fight against the ghosts of the peers that came before. And if you lose sight of what that wish originally was – your soul gem cracks.

When Ayaka realizes that saving everyone is useless, her soul gem cracks, because proving that Mami was right and Homura was wrong was what drove her to be a magical girl.  She became a Magical Girl to prove Homura wrong, that she could be happy being selfless.

When Homura’s goal to save Madoka is over, and she despairs over how she didn’t save her (only doomed her to an eternity of fighting), her soul gem cracks. She becomes a demon. She became a Magical Girl to save Madoka, so it makes sense she would become something worse when it turns out she didn’t.

Magical girls, are just that. A wish. Usually fighting the “failed versions” of themselves. Rue, who couldn’t have Mythos heart. Utau who hid half of her personality to please others. Sara, who couldn’t find love.

Magical Girls are a wish. While they become magical girls to save the planet, there’s something behind it that they guard deeply and wish to protect even more. And conflicts with their “true” self.

Other examples, are…

Princess Tutu is the representation of Ahiru’s love for Mytho. Ahiru wanted to save him, so it only stands to reason that her Alter ego is one that collects his heart shards, desperate to make him whole again. That’s what she fights for - For Mytho's, and eventually her own, happiness.

Sailor Moon is the representation of Usagi’s past as Princess Serenity. It’s her bonds that transcend space, it’s her duty to protect the earth like she couldn’t protect the Moon Kingdom. While this doesn’t happen in the first seasons, by the end of the series, it’s her deep connections and love for the rest of the sailor scouts that drives her to bear the weight of saving the world. These connections and bonds to her past, are what make her step forward and become a ruler again, and the reason she keeps fighting for Earth. In the future, we even see that Usagi, becomes Princess Serenity – her past. By becoming the queen of Neo Tokyo.    

Amulet Heart is the representation of Amu’s “I want to be” self. Her desire to be sporty and happy, easy to mix with people. She has many others and through them all she aims to find herself. Who she really is, and where she fits in a school that idolizes a fake version of herself. Because in truth, the “real” amu doesn’t have a personality. She constantly feels like she copies others, but never truly finds who “she” is. But her Shugo Charas help her do exactly that. Break out of her shell, become someone very uniquely her. To the point that she eventually (in the manga) develops entirely new shugo charas. Because her ”I want to be self” has changed, and by defector, her. She became a Magical Girl to finds herself.

Pink Pearl Voice is representation of Lucia’s duty as a princess. She has seen her people be in distress and knows the weight her actions have on her nation. Her purpose is to fight those who want to hurt her kingdom. To return peace to the seven seas. While her true self, Lucia, just wants to be happy, free. Fall in love with a human – even though its forbidden by her kin. So, who should she be? Fall in love, or follow her duty? Again, in the manga, she becomes Agua Regina, the ruler of the seven seas, pointing to the fact that falling in love and ruling, aren’t as opposed to each other as she once believed.

So, with all this as context, what exactly is ladybug’s purpose? What does she represent? Why did Marinette decide to become Ladybug?

Again, it’s not “Just to save the world” or “because they’re forced to”. And the ones whose premise is that, are the most dark and disturbing magical girls there are (princess tutu, madoka, and utena)

So, Marinette has something, right? Something she fights for? To protect her friends? Her country? Her school? Her family? Is it pressure from her parents? Or is it herself? Why pressure herself, and to this extend?

What exactly would have been her wish when she became Ladybug? Why would she have accepted a deal where herself is in jeorpardy, and continue to accept it as more and more burdens pile up on her?

What’s stopping (in season 1-3) from ditching everything and asking Master Fu to find a new ladybug? Realistically.

Aaaaand, you probably have an answer.

But here’s the thing.

It's either an answer that came post-season 4, which again it’s too damn late. Or, outright not an actual reason given by the show.

Because the reason a lot of Aus, fanfics, and fancomics work  are because they answer this question. Reality is, canon really doesn’t have much of an answer – except a very vague “sense of justice” Marinette has. There’s no clear answer. According to previous actions, we can speculate why. But we don’t have a real reason.

Is it because she was bullied? Is it because she got made fun of? Or is it simply her good nature? When has she expressed this outright or even sat down to talk about it with anyone?

We don’t know what Ladybug represents.

We don’t know why she keeps fighting evil. Why she takes on this mantle that’s slowly eating her away. And without knowing this, we really don’t know Marinnette herself.  

And this is a Marinette-exclusive problem, may I add.  

In the case of Chat Noir, it’s easy to find his reason to fight, and very early on - Season 1 early on.

He wants to be free, wants to be able to escape his home that feels like a prison, but still craves a place that will welcome him as he is: a mischievous trickster who messes up sometimes. Represented by a cat with a bell, meaning a cat with a home. A mischievous person who craves a place to belong

And that place is Ladybug. She offers that, while Chat Noir lends him the means to show that “true self” he can’t allow to others. He would never give up his miraculous because it would mean losing all that.

But Marinette doesn’t have that.

The closes thing we get to a “ideal self” is the fact that as Ladybug she gets to be the leader and the confident girl she always wanted to be, because she’s clumsy…But I have to say, that doesn’t really make sense. Its implied, in the first season, when they run for president, that she’s a naturally born leader. And if it weren’t for Adrien making her nervous, she’d be much more capable that she is right now.

Which makes the Marinette we have as of now, an amalgamation of many different MC tropes all stitched together with the world’s flimsiest needle. It’s a poke away from entirely crumbling.

We have:

I have a crush on my idol classmate

I am clumsy and ditzy

You can’t bully people! That’s wrong and you’re a meanie!

But also I’m kind hearted and will offer a helping to hand to those ostracized by society

Except if they’re the villain or the villain’s minions, they’re bad

I am a natural born leader and inspire others

But also I have no self steem and constantly doubt myself

I am soo shyyy

But also I will be weird abt my crush

And while these definitely can work together and form something coherent. They didn’t. They tried, and a very big emphasis on TRIED here, to give some of these aspects a backstory – like the stupid Kim Backstory about obsessive behaviour – but again, too little too late.

And even if, big if, it never really gets explored beyond this surface level. Did she talk about it with Chat Noir? Did she talk about it with Adrien? Did she ever stop to think or reflect on it?

It seems to me more like an effort from the writers to shrug off Marinette’s creepy behaviour by trying to justify it via trauma, rather than confront it and have a serious conversation about what it might entail.

But probably the most frustrating part - is that it could absolutely still have worked. If anyone gave a crap about admitting they f-ed up and working to fix it.

*Sighs*

 I liked the Marinette from the PV. She reminded me a lot of Ahiru. A kind and cheery girl, with a golden heart, who secretly crushes on her idol prince. Probably someone who would be kind to a fault, trying to brefriending even the ultimate boss.

But Marinette right now wouldn’t. Or at least I think she wouldn’t. I mean, she hates Chloe and Lila, and would never offer to help them. Never has opened up and has an antagonistic rship with them.

But she did help Ivan that first time. And we see her forgive people who aren’t explicitly villains.

But she WAS really nasty towards Kagami when they didn’t even know all that much about her.

And this is not a sailor moon/fish eye situation where Adrien and Marinette are dating, or a lost memory thing that happened in the first part of sailor moon R. She’s just – mean bcs this girl has a crush on the boy she likes.

“It makes her a complex character-!”

It makes her confusing. You can’t know how she’ll act, so you can’t understand her and her actions. It alienates her.

Not really Magical Girl, but a good example of an extremely weird girl, who we understand is Rozemyne from Ascendance of a Bookworm. She has wild and unpredictable reactions – but we understand her internal logic. We know she’ll offer help when she can, but draws a hard line between friends and acquaintances. She wouldn’t jeopardized her loved ones for people she barely knows.

Something like that is missing from Marinette.

Unfortunately, at this point we only have one defining characteristic of her.

The one thing you’re sure won’t change, the one thing you can trust her to be no matter the circumstances. Her defining characteristic:

Adrien

Her feelings for Adrien are the only true constant.

We can’t trust her to be kind, bcs maybe the girl is crushing on Adrien and we’ve seen how she treat those girls. We can’t trust her to put art before anything, bcs we rarely see her design. We can’t trust her to be smart, clumsy, a good leader, a crybaby or happy.

The only thing we can trust about her, is Adrien

Which could work. Many other magical girls base their character around their love interest. It’s not an automatic recipe for disaster. An MC with heavy focus on romance can work.

Ichigo Monomiya, for example, is someone whose crush is a big part of her character AND motivation. She wants to protect Earth (as in nature) because it means so much to Aoyama and her main conflict comes from how she doesn’t want him finding out about her being a Mew. Her story revolves around how much she wants to spend time with him - but is unable to.

And Ahiru’s entire wish is for Mytho to be happy at the cost of her own. For a while the only motivation she seemed to have was Mytho and we knew little abt her aside from that.

Marinette basing her entire identity around Adrien may not be a bad thing (writing wise) if the writers acknowledged that’s what they’re doing. If they allowed conflict to build upon it.

Maybe a explore who she is without Adrien, and how he affects the perception Marinette has on herself. Who does she become without him and more importantly,

Why can’t she get together with him?

Real, why can’t Marinette get Adrien?

Well, the show  has told us many times why. Awful consequences, the end of the world, etc etc.

But what I’m asking is why Marinette can’t get closer to Adrien? Even as a friend?

What’s stopping her from confessing? Or giving the first step? Being ladybug? Her own nervousness?

There’s usually a reason why these things can’t progress. Nervousness, after four seasons, shouldn’t have been one.

I mean, it worked on the first few episodes and even seasons. But at some point, her nervousness just became unrealistic, and it falls to the point of annoyance and even blatant fetishization by Thomas’ part – for a girl obsessed over a boy.

Again, Ichigo took steps to get closer to Aoyama since day one. The only reason why she can’t confess, isn’t because she gets nervous or can’t seem to talk to him. It’s because she’s scared that when Aoyama finds out she’s half-cat, he’ll be grossed out and won’t want to date her.

And if we talk about shyness and clumsiness, Ahiru comes to mind. Someone who also messes up when her crush is involved.

However, Ahiru gets competent the more time she spends with Mytho. By the end of it, even if she’s scared or nervous, she jumps headfirst into danger to protect him. She’s able to have conversations with him, and even gets close to his friends. She breaks out of her crush so much, that she’s willing to accept that Mytho is not meant for her.

So, no. Shyness and clumsiness when writing a character, isn’t a good answer.

What about her being Ladybug and the responsibility it comes with it, impeding her from finding love?

Well THAT plot point doesn’t get explored. At least, not with Adrien.

It only ever gets explored until season 4 and with MAY I REMIND YOU Luka. That she’ll always be distant or unable to connect with someone because of how much she has to keep from him. And it’s also kinda weird, when you juxtapose Luka and Aoyama.

Aoyama is the main love interest in the anime Tokyo Mew Mew. He was often sad and disappointed that Ichigo couldn’t put priority on him.

In one particular episode, he asked her out to go to the movies and was waiting for Ichigo, but a fight broke out and she was unable to go meet him. Mid-fight she does try to contact him but a jealous alien breaks her phone, making her unable to tell him she’s going to be late.

The iconic scene where she comes late to her date, and Aoyama is still waiting in the rain, will always be ingrained in my mind. The music, the writing, it all builds up to this point. You can see how much they long to be together, but there’s this impossible barrier for them. Caused entirely by circumstance. If Ichigo were normal, if she weren’t a hero, if she were just like other girls, she would be with the man she loves.

But she can’t. So she has to hide. Hide parts of herself, and her life. Even as she confesses that she loves him, she’s hiding her tail and ears. Worried that he’ll hate her but still trying to reach out.

And Aoyama forgives her. He says “I love you too”

It truly showed how they can’t be 100% together. That there’s a gap they can never truly fill.

But Aoyama /tries/. He doesn’t break up with her, doesn’t get angry, he hears how truly sorry she is and sees how anxious she’s getting - and accepts it. He forgives her. Because there’s things, they still don’t know about each other, and neither are ready to share.

That’s why Luka’s reaction Is weird. Wanting the whole truth from your gf is strange. And yes, Marinette is an asshole for still crushing on Adrien - but Luka knew! And he still accepted her. But he draws the line at Marinette having a secret he won’t tell her 2-month boyfriend and not even her closest friends KNOW?? And, it gets even worse, when you know that the secret of her “being ladybug” is something he’s known for a long a time. (And so has Aoyama by the way)

So a fundamental part of Marinette’s struggles were shoved into a padded 30 min episode. Where the blame is placed entirely on her.

I know they’re trying to fix it in season 5, an attempt to make her more proactive and give her a backstory and the like.

But this is your protagonist.

You shouldn’t be trying to fix her five goddamned seasons in. This should have been something addressed in – at LATEST – the second season. The villains also have this problem, but this is much more saveable in their case. We’re not supposed to care much for them to begin with.

And as I said, both the protagonist Alter Ego, and the Theme of a story are extremely linked together. If anything, they should have been able to fall back on their theme. What were they trying to say?

If, say for the sake of argument, Ichigo is an unlikable protagonist, maybe by just leaning into the Nature and Ecology theme of the show, you can build a new personality.

This is what star vs did – they gave Star character development as they developed the theme of intergenerational conflict and colonization.

So, SURELY, if Marinnette is a bad protagonist with no real reason for her Alter ego –

The writers can fall back on their theme to write a cohesive protagonist for the overall story of theme they’re trying to talk about

Right?

Spoiler. No.

PREV << MASTERLIST >> NEXT

#miraculous ladybug #sailor moon #mlb salt #mlb #short essay #marinette dupain cheng #marinette salt

[yanmaresu]

What do you think of the kind of Yandere that's like Homura Akemi? The one that's willing to condemn themselves to hell and an eternal loop of suffering to save the one person they care about and evolve into a demon to get their loved one to come back to them after they're gone? Part of me feels like Malleus would be a good Homura Akemi style Yandere

*chef's kiss* Idk why but those yanderes are always so interesting regardless of the time loop plot. I guess it has to do with how they handle grief, and how not being able to go through with it can deform a once sincere and tender love into a machiavellian obsession. Every restart takes away a little bit of hope, gives a little more desperation and numbness, and they start to slowly lose themselves.

Malleus might have not started as a yandere, but slowly developed into one during the whole process. As far as we know, it seems like he hadn't experienced grief for the loss of a loved one before, he probably doesn't know how to handle it. The feelings he had for his child of man were really strong, and it only made the wound of their parting deeper. He doesn't accept the fact he gets to live so much more than his darling, it's unfair.

I like to imagine Malleus literally becoming some kind of monster. He resorts to old and dark magic to manipulate time and try to help his darling, but every time he goes back, he has to sacrifice a little bit of himself, or maybe the spell's casting affects him ever so slightly. It isn't noticeable at first, but after 50 times the craving for blood can't be ignored anymore, and the first scales are starting to appear on his back. It gets harder to keep his human form with every reset, he sometimes has to fully turn into a dragon just to rest a little, and be able to keep appearances. It also gets harder to act like a human, to comply with the moral standards of his darling's species and not his own. Slowly, Malleus starts giving in to the more violent wishes he started developing while trying to save his darling: to steal them away from everyone, to claim, possess, breed, kill threats, etc.

Fate is powerful. Malleus tried so hard to keep his darling alive and exit the loop together, but after dozens of thousands of tries and excruciating pain, he becomes the principal reason they die since his love is too much to handle.

sorry it looks so ugly dsfhsjhfdsa it's the best I could draw sick orz

#yandere #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere twst #yandere malleus draconia #yandere malleus #yandere malleus x reader #tw: yandere #yandere male

[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 💌

[atamascolily]

Okay, so after staring at these two images together, I'm more convinced than ever that these are the same place, with one being "real" and the other illusion (inasmuch as such a distinction is possible in Homura's world). The arches on top of the school have the same shape as the arches of the gate (?) surrounding Homura and her orrery; even if they are not the same place, they are certainly meant to parallel and contrast with each other.

The gate (for the lack of a better word) also has shield-shaped pieces, as well as these elongate glass… I'm not sure what the right term for them is, but the long rectangular ones are vials containing spinal columns, and the round glass bulbs with red sand(?) remind me of simple sand timers and/or alchemical equipment. Together, they make up part of the gate, and their overall shape reminds me of knitting needles, which is in keeping with Homura's association with sewing imagery.

Given Homura's whole relationship with time, I think these are sand timers here, but the alchemical vibes are not a coincidence. Combined with the Tarot symbolism and the mechanical orrery (also a timekeeping device) in this shot, it suggests to me that this movie will draw heavily on Western esotericism for aesthetic and themes, which also includes alchemy.

The original Madoka Magica TV series was inspired by Goethe's Faust, with Homura as Faust, Kyubey as Mephistopheles, and Madoka as Gretchen. Now Homura has taken on Kyubey's role as Mephistopheles, but she is also still Faust, and her tinkering appears to be what's keeping the system working (for now, at least). This juxtaposition works in part because the two are not so different after all--one thing that both Faust and the Devil have in common is their hubris, which in turn is what leads directly to their respective tragedies and suffering.

Faust was also an alchemist, and alchemists, were, as a general rule, obsessed with the perfection of the human soul. Their physical experiments to transform lead into gold and the creation of a philosopher's stone were not merely literal, they were also spiritual pursuits. This is why I suspect that the "new girl" in the trailer is a homunculus (pun intended)--an artificial being created by Homura or her double, which would likely tie into the movie's larger themes of creation (i.e., "playing God"), replication, and individual personhood.

This is also why I suspect that Walpurgisnacht will be revealed to be a metaphorical and/or literal alchemical crucible--an attempt to reach the pinnacle of human power and perfection--though how much of this was intentional, and how much of it was the accidental result of Homura's meddling remains to be seen.

#puella magi madoka magica #madoka magica #pmmm analysis #walpurgisnacht rising #walpurgis no kaiten

[dreamerwitches]

One thing I find annoying about scene zero is that it has to go over the points of the anime so slowly. This is a problem with most of the spin-off media honestly...

There HAS to be girls finding out about witches there HAS to be Sayaka suffering arc there HAS to be misunderstanding

Like, if I want that, I'm just gonna watch the anime again. Having it rehashed over and over not only feels lazy but it's just soooo boring... and predictable... like there's no shock, Sayaka has to die, Mami has to either be killed by Charlotte or goes 'insane', etc etc

It would be so much more interesting if there were unique points that never show up anywhere else (and no, Mabayu - at least so far in what i've watched - is making no difference)

I get it's a time loop but come on you can at least make it more interesting... (why is Homura Tamura the only spin-off that's done the loops right?)

#scene zero #magia record

[serenescribe]

Poll: Help me pick my next TWST longfic! [FINISHED]

Hello everyone!

As most of you may know, I am quite the avid longfic writer. However, university's been slowing me down a lot, so I've been unable to write as quickly as before. So why not poll some of my fic ideas and let you all decide?

I'll include some brief, rambling summaries of the options below the cut! The poll will run for seven days, and the winner will be the longfic I focus on next! (That isn't to say I won't write other things since inspiration is fickle and some of these are semi-completed, but for the most case, my priority will be whatever wins!)

[Summaries under the cut!]

i. Bad Things Happen Bingo: Locked in a Freezer Epel-focused! I originally started working on this in April but shelved it because I was more focused on writing Diasomnia. That and I also did not look forward to writing Rook... Still, the benefit of this option is that It's already 2/3 finished, with the first two chapters done, so it would be done a lot faster. I'd feel pretty keen on finishing it sooner if there was interest expressed.

ii. Bad Things Happen Bingo: Barely Conscious Silver-focused! A bad end AU of the Fairy Gala remix event... and that's about all I can say about it. Compared to the other options, it wouldn't be as long, so I could see it being done faster. It would not have a definitive conclusion, being a bad end of an event, but if you like Silver suffering, this is the one for you!

iii. Bad Things Happen Bingo: On the Run Sebek-focused, along with the first years! I originally wanted to write this for Halloween this year, but quickly shelved that idea due to realising how much Uni sapped my energy. This is one of the two options here that would be rated Mature, along with warnings of Major Character Death. It was meant to be a Halloween fic, after all.

iv. Bad Things Happen Bingo: This Is For Your Own Good Silver and Lilia-focused. What can I say about this AU without revealing too much...? This is the other option that would be rated Mature. It gets truly fucked up and dark in the latter half, and bad things truly does happen. It would also be one of the longest fics in the BTHB series, as I'm envisioning two very long chapters. All the same, this is arguably the idea I'm most excited to write. So if that means anything to you (trust in my tastes, perhaps?) you might want to consider voting for this!

v. Bad Things Happen Bingo: Hope Is Scary Silver-focused, though Lilia comes in later. This is arguably the least developed of all the ideas here, however it was a really good idea that Olive thought up and gave me permission to write. A lot of Silver suffering in this one! And being alone. The prompt is literally about losing all hope and not wanting to hope again in case it gets dashed.

vi. Reverse Containment Breach AU: Starchild Lilia and Silver-focused. This is based on Olive's Reverse Containment Breach AU, of which I'd previously written a ficlet for here with Malleus and Sebek. Think something SCP-esque with an organisation studying strange subjects. Head Researcher Lilia Vanrouge stumbles upon a boy who fell from space one night, and that's when everything slowly goes off the rails. I actually finished about 1/3 of this? So it's partially started.

vii. PMMM AU: Lilia Longfic Lilia and Silver-focused. What it says on the tin. Mica and I's PMMM AU, which isn't 1:1 with canon but Lilia takes the role of Homura, and Silver as Madoka. Time loops and general suffering and angst. If you know how Madoka plays out, you know how this one's going to go.

#housekeeping tag #going to tag some twst stuff so this can show up in search #twst #twisted wonderland #twst fanfiction #twst writing #i'm scheduling this to go up while i'm probably asleep btw #reblogs are appreciated! you can idk. convince others to vote for an option? i welcome that