Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
Our slip was one of presentation, not information. It was something that Madoka should know, we just delivered it badly.
Puella Magi Adfligo Systema
- Thread starter Firnagzen
- Start date
-
- Tags
- puella magi adfligo systema puella magi madoka magica be gay do crimes (gay) female protagonist bad decisions dating mami tomoe (tomoe mami) diabolical laughter friendship is the best ship handholding identity crises microwaving tea gets you put in the bad place names are important the body is the fursona of the soul this is not the baked goods thread we don't talk about rionna what could possibly go wrong? who in the world is azure sanfrancisco?
Always Happening
We could have prevented this.
- Location
- On a train with no brakes
I'm not sure if I should be disappointed that I'm not important enough/part of the old guard to be in omakes like this, or thankful that I'm not a meme. 
- Location
- Borneo
This part is beautiful.
Why can't a moment in time last for an eternity..?
*le sigh*
But seriously, what's the current discussion on now? I mean, Potentialbomb, we already know, have Homura okay our idea first, or else I'll just hurt her in the long run, heck even short term.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
Sorry! I had properly memetic line ideas for you and some others but couldn't find a way to fit them in, with how bloated the whole thing was becoming.I'm not sure if I should be disappointed that I'm not important enough/part of the old guard to be in omakes like this, or thankful that I'm not a meme.
Yes.
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Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
BTW, besides the quote, onmake was inspired by this old thing.
One of the first ideas was to have a 'updates since we fucked up social' counter, too, but that got cut off.
One of the first ideas was to have a 'updates since we fucked up social' counter, too, but that got cut off.
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
The crucial difference is that the information that we want to reveal to Madoka is information that should discourage her from contracting.
Dirtnap
Kanmusu Affecionado
A bit miffed I don't make it in but then I haven't been posting here near as often as I first did.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
The point I highlighted in red is the only one I don't agree to without reservation. Does Madoka being more read-in let us Potentialbomb Homura more easily?
Higure
Witch of Faith
- Location
- The Golden Land
I finally Ranked Up! Omake-Tier get!
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
Some have suggested that Madoka being present to comfort Homura would make the potentialbomb easier for her to cope with. But that would also necessitate having had an equally-difficult conversation with Madoka to loopbomb (and probably witchbomb, apocalypsebomb and Gretchenbomb) her before potentialbombing Homura, so it's not without its perils.
Script Mak3r
(Verified Sun God) (Verified Feathers)
- Location
- Hell of Blazing Fires
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
I believe so. @AuraTwilight can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that one of the big problems with the growing potential is that it undermines Homura's belief that her loops are independent. Madoka, as the subject of Homura's fixation, has unique weight when telling Homura that it's okay, that Homura did the right thing, and so on and so forth.
I'm not completely clear on the problems with the potentialbomb, so I've probably gotten something wrong there. That said, even if Madoka has exactly zero special weight, I believe that having two people there to comfort Homura is better than having just one, and I can't see Madoka failing to be extremely effective in the emotional-support role. Especially if she knows about the loops.
(Incidentally, I kind of expect this to actually help Madoka too - she wants to be involved and help people, this is a major opportunity to do that.)
All of those things are on the to-do list. I think that Homura agreeing that that course of action would be useful is goal number one right now.
Once Homura's on board, reading Madoka in isn't hard at all. It'd actually be much more difficult for Homura than for Madoka. I don't think that we have to argue anything at all once Madoka is aware of the facts; simple empathy for Homura will make a madowish unconscionable. Witches and apocalypses are unnecessary extras.
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- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
My main concern is that getting Homura to agree to share information with Madoka at all is likely to be difficult, and that potentially making disclosure of the Potentialbomb dependant on it adds a failure point.
The Narrator
Disembodied Voice
- Location
- Somewhere Offscreen
Not as far as I'm aware. I was under the impression that the problem was that it makes Homura believe that everything--Madoka being #1 on Kyubey's list, the world being destroyed--is her fault. And that she's making things worse with each loop. This causes her to hesitate to loop again after losing against Walpurgisnacht, because she thinks it will make Madoka suffer more, and having failed in her purpose without a chance for another do-over makes her lose hope.
AuraTwilight
The Sorcerer of Smiles
- Location
- The Silver City
Narrator's got the right of it, basically. Madoka would have never become the world's wickedest (and thus the most suffering) witch in the world if not for her. It basically breaks down to "Because of me, Madoka's doomed to eternal suffering. She'd of been better off if I never met her, atleast then she'd just be dead."
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
OK, regarding the Tokyo Council, some serious thought about how to present ourselves and get their help on spreading the Cleansing.
So far, we've basically been relying on Mami's authority as a Badass Magical Girl to make people believe us. That and the sheer pressure of the terrible thing meguca life is, which makes it easier for meguca to put their hopes on a solution, on us.
When we go to the council, we're probably gonna face lots of meguca who aren't actually in dire straits, and are comfortable with the way things are. They also probably will argue in bad faith a fucking lot.
So here I simply want to put in words some normal ways that are used to argue, convince people, and hell, sell products, because we basically are going there to sell ourselves, our Seeds.
1- Examples. A way to allay the Council fears of our butting in into their business is show that we have done so before, with things changing for the better.
In this case, that means Sendai.
What would be optimal:
- Before going to Tokyo, deal with Akiko, make peace. Having her literally at the Council to support us would be laughable, but if we can get, say, Sakura and Rin vouching for us? That's great.
- Chouko, Masami, Kazusa would be good people to have there, to have our backs and tell the Tokyo meguca how good it was that we went and poked our noses into their businesses.
2 - Authority: Just as up until now, Mami's support counts for a lot. If we can get Nadia to accompany us to the meeting, all the better, too.
Just to put it out there, it would be almost perfect for Kyuubey to be there, to verify our claims that our powers work as advertised. Obvious problems with that are obvious and not so obvious.
3 - Rethorical Questions:
Example: "Is it humane to let magical girls despair and die so you can keep arguing to your heart's content about how to control their lives?"
Make questions that have obvious answers -in our favour. Questions that they should be ashamed to object to.
4 - Analogy: This is very simple. Compare our power to the golden egg; or use a relevant local saying everyone will understand, that can be an easy comparison to our Clean Seeds deal.
Something else, before the arguments start, try and agree on conditions about how to carry it out.
For example, get a trustworthy third party (Nadia optimal) to mediate and moderate, and be accepted as someone who can stop people from running their mouths, and give space for everyone to talk their minds productively.
Now, on to 'selling' the Seeds, that is, of course, not selling them for money, but getting meguca to accept them and help us spread them out:
- First of all, we could use a name. Fortunately, we've got one. We should make it official.
That means, don't go there saying: "This is a Grief Seed I've cleansed fully of Grief so now it can..."
Instead, present it directly as: "This is a Clean Seed."
- Second, following directly from that, explain clearly and concisely what the hell it is good for. Do not do the whole "I'm not sure but I think it can cleanse for approximately X years..."
Better: "It has X thousand times the capacity for cleansing a normal Grief Seed has."
- Third: Exaggerate. Seriously.
"With a single Clean Seed, a whole group of Magical Girls will never have to hunt again."
Sure, we'll have to make clarificaitions later, but as long as we don't make stupid promises, we can get away with it, and should.
Now, how to convince meguca to accept the Clean Seeds and step into the new meguca Era?
How to persuade?
1 - The Common meguca: Part of this has come up already, but get meguca we have helped into that meeting. Show the Council that we've already started spreading Clean Seeds, and that the meguca are better for it.
2 - The Not So Common meguca: Mami. Motherfucking. Tomoe. Goddess. Of. War. And. Cakes. Even she thinks the Clean Seeds are awesome!
3 - Show Off: Go into the meeting well dressed, use make up, even. The Tokyo Council probably wants to be the top % of meguca, so show them that we're a part of that. Make them want to associate with us from first glance.
4 - Life Improvement: By accepting our Clean Seeds, meguca will be able to use magic as much as they damned want.
Before Clean Seeds? Magic is used sparingly because they're basically casting from Hit Points.
After Clean Seeds? Infinite free magic. It's FUN.
5 - Trash Talk The Competition: Kyuubey's. System. Fucking. Sucks.
Stomp on Kyuubey. Use any argument in favour of Kyuubey or the current system to talk trash about them. Lower everyone's (hopefully already low) opinion of Kyuubey and his system as much as possible, leaving us as the only reasonable option.
6 - Compare: Simple enough. Clean Seed vs. Grief Seed. Who wins? Show it.
6.b: Furthermore, show how much Grief can a Clean Seed cleanse, comapred to a Grief Seed. Simply done by creating a Clean Seed out of a Grief Seed on the spot.
This is as far as I go with this. Arguments and persuasions that are normally used to convince people.
This is pretty much a sales pitch; we still need to anticipate other problems:
- Why should the Council care/help about the rest of the meguca? (If we could have an audience of meguca, that would help here).
- What sort of arguments could be used against us? We should prepare answers to possible very damaging questions.
When we go to the council, we're probably gonna face lots of meguca who aren't actually in dire straits, and are comfortable with the way things are. They also probably will argue in bad faith a fucking lot.
So here I simply want to put in words some normal ways that are used to argue, convince people, and hell, sell products, because we basically are going there to sell ourselves, our Seeds.
1- Examples. A way to allay the Council fears of our butting in into their business is show that we have done so before, with things changing for the better.
In this case, that means Sendai.
What would be optimal:
- Before going to Tokyo, deal with Akiko, make peace. Having her literally at the Council to support us would be laughable, but if we can get, say, Sakura and Rin vouching for us? That's great.
- Chouko, Masami, Kazusa would be good people to have there, to have our backs and tell the Tokyo meguca how good it was that we went and poked our noses into their businesses.
2 - Authority: Just as up until now, Mami's support counts for a lot. If we can get Nadia to accompany us to the meeting, all the better, too.
Just to put it out there, it would be almost perfect for Kyuubey to be there, to verify our claims that our powers work as advertised. Obvious problems with that are obvious and not so obvious.
3 - Rethorical Questions:
Example: "Is it humane to let magical girls despair and die so you can keep arguing to your heart's content about how to control their lives?"
Make questions that have obvious answers -in our favour. Questions that they should be ashamed to object to.
4 - Analogy: This is very simple. Compare our power to the golden egg; or use a relevant local saying everyone will understand, that can be an easy comparison to our Clean Seeds deal.
Something else, before the arguments start, try and agree on conditions about how to carry it out.
For example, get a trustworthy third party (Nadia optimal) to mediate and moderate, and be accepted as someone who can stop people from running their mouths, and give space for everyone to talk their minds productively.
Now, on to 'selling' the Seeds, that is, of course, not selling them for money, but getting meguca to accept them and help us spread them out:
- First of all, we could use a name. Fortunately, we've got one. We should make it official.
That means, don't go there saying: "This is a Grief Seed I've cleansed fully of Grief so now it can..."
Instead, present it directly as: "This is a Clean Seed."
- Second, following directly from that, explain clearly and concisely what the hell it is good for. Do not do the whole "I'm not sure but I think it can cleanse for approximately X years..."
Better: "It has X thousand times the capacity for cleansing a normal Grief Seed has."
- Third: Exaggerate. Seriously.
"With a single Clean Seed, a whole group of Magical Girls will never have to hunt again."
Sure, we'll have to make clarificaitions later, but as long as we don't make stupid promises, we can get away with it, and should.
Now, how to convince meguca to accept the Clean Seeds and step into the new meguca Era?
How to persuade?
1 - The Common meguca: Part of this has come up already, but get meguca we have helped into that meeting. Show the Council that we've already started spreading Clean Seeds, and that the meguca are better for it.
2 - The Not So Common meguca: Mami. Motherfucking. Tomoe. Goddess. Of. War. And. Cakes. Even she thinks the Clean Seeds are awesome!
3 - Show Off: Go into the meeting well dressed, use make up, even. The Tokyo Council probably wants to be the top % of meguca, so show them that we're a part of that. Make them want to associate with us from first glance.
4 - Life Improvement: By accepting our Clean Seeds, meguca will be able to use magic as much as they damned want.
Before Clean Seeds? Magic is used sparingly because they're basically casting from Hit Points.
After Clean Seeds? Infinite free magic. It's FUN.
5 - Trash Talk The Competition: Kyuubey's. System. Fucking. Sucks.
Stomp on Kyuubey. Use any argument in favour of Kyuubey or the current system to talk trash about them. Lower everyone's (hopefully already low) opinion of Kyuubey and his system as much as possible, leaving us as the only reasonable option.
6 - Compare: Simple enough. Clean Seed vs. Grief Seed. Who wins? Show it.
6.b: Furthermore, show how much Grief can a Clean Seed cleanse, comapred to a Grief Seed. Simply done by creating a Clean Seed out of a Grief Seed on the spot.
This is as far as I go with this. Arguments and persuasions that are normally used to convince people.
This is pretty much a sales pitch; we still need to anticipate other problems:
- Why should the Council care/help about the rest of the meguca? (If we could have an audience of meguca, that would help here).
- What sort of arguments could be used against us? We should prepare answers to possible very damaging questions.
Vebyast
Nascent Transhuman
Right now I don't care about picking which goals we should attempt or not; that falls into the same plan-making bucket as figuring out conversational gambits. I'm not ready to start thinking about dependencies and backup plans, nor did I intend to write any there. I just think that a universe where Madoka is involved in the potentialbomb is better than one where she isn't, and I think that more useful for Homura to/feel that way as well than it is for her to not believe that.
In fact, if Homura simply cannot believe that reading Madoka in on the loops is a good idea, then I think we're in an extremely problematic situation overall, not just on the potentialbomb handling. I'd prefer to avoid that situation entirely. If we have to deal with it, though, then yes, we obviously have to find a different way to deal with the potentialbomb. There's another question in there about how hard we want to try to convince Homura before we just go ahead and potentialbomb her anyway, but I'm certainly not ready to start thinking about that yet, especially as it's dealing with a failure mode that I don't think is particularly likely and that I don't think needs to be factored into our planning before it happens.
I think that Madoka would probably respond to that with something along the lines of "It's worth it", or "It's turning out better in the end". Is that a useful thing for Madoka to say?
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The Phoenixian
The Glacier Witch
- Location
- My own little world
For your reading pleasure: A pair of theories, expressed as Omakes.
Setting the Stage
(Or, a look at how PMAS might come about from post-rebellion as the result of a confluence of actors)
A peek behind the curtain
(Or: A theoretical explanation for the events instigated in Our Benefactor, parts 19 and 20, expressed as an Omake.)
Sabrina, I'm ready.
It's odd, Akemi Homura thinks. She's so used to doing this that it's almost rote, but now that Sabrina wants to come along on the Yakuza raid, it's all new again.
Truthfully, she had been worried about this timeline and yet, things are going better than she would have ever thought possible. It looks like even she can get a break in her favor once in a while. Maybe it'll be the one she needs.
Odd. Sabrina hasn't answered yet.
Sabrina?
She still doesn't answer. Odder. Even in the short time Homura has known her, Sabrina hasn't struck her as the sort of person to leave someone waiting for a response.
Well, Sabrina was with Mami so at least she should know what's going on.
Mami. Is Sabrina busy? Even asking Mami in the first place is a sign of just how much things have changed.
It's... honestly nice.
S-She won't respond! She won't talk to me!
A cold spike of fear enters her heart.
Where are you?
W-we-we're at her warehouse in the industrial district. Sabrina! S-She's g-g-gone and she made a b-barrier and-
Everything-
No. No no no. Not after all this. Not after finally having hope. She should have known better. She shouldn't have let herself trust that it could go so well. She- ...No. Even if Sabrina is gone, there must be something she can do. Maybe she can at least save Mami, somehow. Homura's seen what learning the wrong secret can do to her before but... not like this.
She owes it to Sabrina's memory to try.
You care for her right? Then... I know something you could do.
There's a black bow, not unlike Madoka's, standing next to her. Homura has never seen it before in her life. And yet...
Homura still cares for Mami, it seems to say. If she forgets, she at least can be saved, It seems to say. All she needs is a touch of ignorance, and Homura can grant her that.
Maybe she shouldn't, but she instinctively knows it's part of her, and it promises answers. The help Mami needs.
She takes up the bow, and she remembers.
See? I told you I could help.
It's... strange. She sealed her memories away expecting she'd come back with the answers she needed and that would be it. And yet, here she is. Back, and although she's hurt by Sabrina's failure, and sad to lose her, she still knows that she needs to save Mami.
At least the barrier shouldn't be too hard to find, she thinks to herself as she calls her wings behind her and takes flight.
And indeed it's not hard to find it at all; even without Mami's instructions the barrier almost seems to call to her in a manner that is worryingly familiar. Steeling herself Homura steps in.
The first thing she notices is that Sabrina is building a city around herself. Not just any city, but Mitakihara, as seen from Mami's own room. That's... also too familiar for comfort.
The second thing she sees is Sabrina and Mami, the latter girl clutching desperately at the hand of the former.
And they're both. Just. Fine.
...but then, she hadn't asked, had she?
Fooling herself like that is as frustrating as it is relieving.
She stops for a moment to gather her thought on the situation. Mami's fine, Sabrina will take care of her, she hopes, but what else needs to be done?
Oriko and Kirika are... contained. Not ideal, but fine.
Sayaka... she needs to be dealt with. Far too much has happened for things to work out on their own.
It's only her destiny, Homura tells herself.
But could she really do it? Even knowing what it might do to Mami? Would even Sabrina be able to pull her back?
No, Homura pulls herself to her senses. She's gotten soft. This isn't about Mami, this isn't about Sayaka or Sabrina. This is to protect Madoka.
Everything for Madoka. The world for Madoka.
Even if it hurts more than she can remember in a long, long time.
Well, so be it, should it all go well, neither of them ever need to know. And on that note, Mami probably shouldn't know she was going to come here either. Homura steps up behind her and drops the timestop.
-she won't talk to me and-
It only takes a moment and Ma- ...Tomoe... never knew she was coming in the first place. Those two are not her responsibility. They can't be.
"Sabrina!? Sabrina!"
The barrier is filling in around them and the unmuted colors show Sabrina's gem remains just as impeccably spotless as usual. Definitely just the girl being an idiot then. Homura can't say she's not relieved, but she knows she shouldn't be. She can't afford to be.
"Talk to me!"
Homura steels herself as she returns to the timestop. Now she'll need to locate Sayaka and find an appropriate witch. She'll need to be quick, she thinks to herself as she walks out of the barrier and into the city. Sabrina has taken notice of her soul gem when she used a bit too much power before and she wouldn't want to use more of her supply of grief seeds to cover it up than she has too.
Unnoticed, a single feather sits in the air behind her, caught midway through the act of falling to the floor of the barrier.
[Homura gained the power of love! ...It ruined everything.]
Thanks to Mistfist for help betaing these.
Setting the Stage
(Or, a look at how PMAS might come about from post-rebellion as the result of a confluence of actors)
"I'm sorry but this is wrong Homura. It can't go on."
"Madoka... Please no."
"Let's go back Homura. I want to go back to where it began; I want us to fix everything and I want to do it right this time."
"Madoka, I can't go back. I couldn't face it again, not after coming so far. Not after... after everything I've done."
"It will be better, I promise."
-------
They gather together, conferring. Once, they had many names. Once too they pooled their selves together, around a common purpose and a common name, until divine provenance made them separate. Now they band together once more. The whirling stagecrafter they share between them is dour, and there is much reason to be dour.
God is not dead, but she is wounded. A devil has come, and she has stolen God's heart. And just as the devil has taken, so too has she left behind the promise of something new. Not some physical thing, but an agitation, disrupting the peace of heaven. One which promises only to grow.
One could argue that this whole scenario was their fault, in many ways. They didn't push the button, nor sound the call, but they set the stage that led them here. That has always been their shared nature, and as such, their shared responsibility.
And here they remained; Stuck in the fate they built for themselves. That ends when they hear it: A will, a wish, to go back and do it right this time. God's wish, made by her missing heart, and filled with her power.
Let be, the wound will fester and consume the wish, but if they take control, perhaps something of value can be gleaned from this tragedy. They cannot end suffering merely by pretending it is not so, but they can set a stage. They can set the stage to return God to her throne, or seek yet better answers. Now, as they once did in the beginning.
They know what they must do. Dea Vult.
Their course decided, they leave through a crack opened by the wound in Heaven and follow the road laid out by the wish. With them, they take a fragment of Heaven's enlightened sorrow and tainted hope, along with all the potency it brings, with which they might enact their will. The festival night of the Walpurgis has come again, and once more the stagecrafter will build her constructions. But this time, the play must be no tragedy.
It is one last second chance.
And this is true for them as much any other: A chance to save everyone from suffering, having gained the understanding that they lacked before.
Time moves on as they ready the stage.
How many times have they seen this play? A hundred times and more? They know it by heart. And yet they have never before had such fidelity as the fragment of heaven provides them. Not enough to make a universe, but certainly enough to realize a world. Once more they set the stage, once more the actors take their places.
Charlotte. Ophelia. Oktavia von Seckendorff. Candeloro. Savior of a precious memory, savior of a family's cause, savior of a maimed love, savior of her own ideals.
The actors are all the same as they once were. Their causes are all the same as they once were. Their memories are nearly the same as they once were. Can they be certain this won't just lead to the same conclusion as before?
It is a worrying question. They are no theater-director or screenwriter; they cannot command the actors in their roles. Nevertheless it is a problem they can subvert.
Last to arrive are Homulilly and Kriemhild Gretchen. Devil and God. One savior fallen through single-mindedness, the other through betrayal.
The devil at least is not their work in this play; she must take her role of her own volition. She'll do it of course. As weary and regretful as she's become, she wants a second chance more than anyone. The trouble will be ensuring she takes their path to it instead of hers.
The stagecrafter and those two... What are they to each other, having met a hundred times and more in this circular drama? What are they, having forged the destiny of that pair and now been forged by the pair in turn?
It matters not. This play is almost ready and it will be different. The stage is set and the actors are all in place. All save one.
Deus descends, ex Machina to set right this rotten play. Many merging to become one, the witch moving past her tragedy to become the hero again.
And it all goes wrong.
Has Homulilly taken offense to see this tired play begin once more, separating the witch from her self-understanding? Or was it simply that they... she who was born of the merger of many simply never meant to be, that there was never any hero behind the conglomerate tragedy and so trying to become her was folly? Whatever the truth is, it is lost to her as she struggles to hold on to the memories of why she has come here.
And away flies the witch, now fallen from understanding, and still holding that fragment of heaven.
The hero, no, now merely the girl, retains some purpose, even as she loses herself, but she is born of the witch of dramas, and so as dramas she remembers what once was. And then, wounded by her descent as she is, she sees them.
Oktavia and Gretchen, Sayaka and Madoka... And the Incubator, the last fallen savior to complete this sorry troupe, failed by his lack of sympathy.
Even lacking her memories, the girl retains who she is, her purpose that defines the union of many she once was. An end to suffering. She remains Dedolere, even if she has forgotten it. And so she knows exactly what she must do.
It's simple enough, really: The purpose of magical girls is for saving.
She opens her mouth, and speaks the wish that will make her soul gem shine.
"Madoka... Please no."
"Let's go back Homura. I want to go back to where it began; I want us to fix everything and I want to do it right this time."
"Madoka, I can't go back. I couldn't face it again, not after coming so far. Not after... after everything I've done."
"It will be better, I promise."
-------
They gather together, conferring. Once, they had many names. Once too they pooled their selves together, around a common purpose and a common name, until divine provenance made them separate. Now they band together once more. The whirling stagecrafter they share between them is dour, and there is much reason to be dour.
God is not dead, but she is wounded. A devil has come, and she has stolen God's heart. And just as the devil has taken, so too has she left behind the promise of something new. Not some physical thing, but an agitation, disrupting the peace of heaven. One which promises only to grow.
One could argue that this whole scenario was their fault, in many ways. They didn't push the button, nor sound the call, but they set the stage that led them here. That has always been their shared nature, and as such, their shared responsibility.
And here they remained; Stuck in the fate they built for themselves. That ends when they hear it: A will, a wish, to go back and do it right this time. God's wish, made by her missing heart, and filled with her power.
Let be, the wound will fester and consume the wish, but if they take control, perhaps something of value can be gleaned from this tragedy. They cannot end suffering merely by pretending it is not so, but they can set a stage. They can set the stage to return God to her throne, or seek yet better answers. Now, as they once did in the beginning.
They know what they must do. Dea Vult.
Their course decided, they leave through a crack opened by the wound in Heaven and follow the road laid out by the wish. With them, they take a fragment of Heaven's enlightened sorrow and tainted hope, along with all the potency it brings, with which they might enact their will. The festival night of the Walpurgis has come again, and once more the stagecrafter will build her constructions. But this time, the play must be no tragedy.
It is one last second chance.
And this is true for them as much any other: A chance to save everyone from suffering, having gained the understanding that they lacked before.
Time moves on as they ready the stage.
How many times have they seen this play? A hundred times and more? They know it by heart. And yet they have never before had such fidelity as the fragment of heaven provides them. Not enough to make a universe, but certainly enough to realize a world. Once more they set the stage, once more the actors take their places.
Charlotte. Ophelia. Oktavia von Seckendorff. Candeloro. Savior of a precious memory, savior of a family's cause, savior of a maimed love, savior of her own ideals.
The actors are all the same as they once were. Their causes are all the same as they once were. Their memories are nearly the same as they once were. Can they be certain this won't just lead to the same conclusion as before?
It is a worrying question. They are no theater-director or screenwriter; they cannot command the actors in their roles. Nevertheless it is a problem they can subvert.
Last to arrive are Homulilly and Kriemhild Gretchen. Devil and God. One savior fallen through single-mindedness, the other through betrayal.
The devil at least is not their work in this play; she must take her role of her own volition. She'll do it of course. As weary and regretful as she's become, she wants a second chance more than anyone. The trouble will be ensuring she takes their path to it instead of hers.
The stagecrafter and those two... What are they to each other, having met a hundred times and more in this circular drama? What are they, having forged the destiny of that pair and now been forged by the pair in turn?
It matters not. This play is almost ready and it will be different. The stage is set and the actors are all in place. All save one.
Deus descends, ex Machina to set right this rotten play. Many merging to become one, the witch moving past her tragedy to become the hero again.
And it all goes wrong.
Has Homulilly taken offense to see this tired play begin once more, separating the witch from her self-understanding? Or was it simply that they... she who was born of the merger of many simply never meant to be, that there was never any hero behind the conglomerate tragedy and so trying to become her was folly? Whatever the truth is, it is lost to her as she struggles to hold on to the memories of why she has come here.
And away flies the witch, now fallen from understanding, and still holding that fragment of heaven.
The hero, no, now merely the girl, retains some purpose, even as she loses herself, but she is born of the witch of dramas, and so as dramas she remembers what once was. And then, wounded by her descent as she is, she sees them.
Oktavia and Gretchen, Sayaka and Madoka... And the Incubator, the last fallen savior to complete this sorry troupe, failed by his lack of sympathy.
Even lacking her memories, the girl retains who she is, her purpose that defines the union of many she once was. An end to suffering. She remains Dedolere, even if she has forgotten it. And so she knows exactly what she must do.
It's simple enough, really: The purpose of magical girls is for saving.
She opens her mouth, and speaks the wish that will make her soul gem shine.
A peek behind the curtain
(Or: A theoretical explanation for the events instigated in Our Benefactor, parts 19 and 20, expressed as an Omake.)
Sabrina, I'm ready.
It's odd, Akemi Homura thinks. She's so used to doing this that it's almost rote, but now that Sabrina wants to come along on the Yakuza raid, it's all new again.
Truthfully, she had been worried about this timeline and yet, things are going better than she would have ever thought possible. It looks like even she can get a break in her favor once in a while. Maybe it'll be the one she needs.
Odd. Sabrina hasn't answered yet.
Sabrina?
She still doesn't answer. Odder. Even in the short time Homura has known her, Sabrina hasn't struck her as the sort of person to leave someone waiting for a response.
Well, Sabrina was with Mami so at least she should know what's going on.
Mami. Is Sabrina busy? Even asking Mami in the first place is a sign of just how much things have changed.
It's... honestly nice.
S-She won't respond! She won't talk to me!
A cold spike of fear enters her heart.
Where are you?
W-we-we're at her warehouse in the industrial district. Sabrina! S-She's g-g-gone and she made a b-barrier and-
Everything-
-Stops.
No. No no no. Not after all this. Not after finally having hope. She should have known better. She shouldn't have let herself trust that it could go so well. She- ...No. Even if Sabrina is gone, there must be something she can do. Maybe she can at least save Mami, somehow. Homura's seen what learning the wrong secret can do to her before but... not like this.
She owes it to Sabrina's memory to try.
You care for her right? Then... I know something you could do.
There's a black bow, not unlike Madoka's, standing next to her. Homura has never seen it before in her life. And yet...
Homura still cares for Mami, it seems to say. If she forgets, she at least can be saved, It seems to say. All she needs is a touch of ignorance, and Homura can grant her that.
Maybe she shouldn't, but she instinctively knows it's part of her, and it promises answers. The help Mami needs.
She takes up the bow, and she remembers.
See? I told you I could help.
It's... strange. She sealed her memories away expecting she'd come back with the answers she needed and that would be it. And yet, here she is. Back, and although she's hurt by Sabrina's failure, and sad to lose her, she still knows that she needs to save Mami.
At least the barrier shouldn't be too hard to find, she thinks to herself as she calls her wings behind her and takes flight.
And indeed it's not hard to find it at all; even without Mami's instructions the barrier almost seems to call to her in a manner that is worryingly familiar. Steeling herself Homura steps in.
The first thing she notices is that Sabrina is building a city around herself. Not just any city, but Mitakihara, as seen from Mami's own room. That's... also too familiar for comfort.
The second thing she sees is Sabrina and Mami, the latter girl clutching desperately at the hand of the former.
And they're both. Just. Fine.
...but then, she hadn't asked, had she?
Fooling herself like that is as frustrating as it is relieving.
She stops for a moment to gather her thought on the situation. Mami's fine, Sabrina will take care of her, she hopes, but what else needs to be done?
Oriko and Kirika are... contained. Not ideal, but fine.
Sayaka... she needs to be dealt with. Far too much has happened for things to work out on their own.
It's only her destiny, Homura tells herself.
But could she really do it? Even knowing what it might do to Mami? Would even Sabrina be able to pull her back?
No, Homura pulls herself to her senses. She's gotten soft. This isn't about Mami, this isn't about Sayaka or Sabrina. This is to protect Madoka.
Everything for Madoka. The world for Madoka.
Even if it hurts more than she can remember in a long, long time.
Well, so be it, should it all go well, neither of them ever need to know. And on that note, Mami probably shouldn't know she was going to come here either. Homura steps up behind her and drops the timestop.
-she won't talk to me and-
It only takes a moment and Ma- ...Tomoe... never knew she was coming in the first place. Those two are not her responsibility. They can't be.
"Sabrina!? Sabrina!"
The barrier is filling in around them and the unmuted colors show Sabrina's gem remains just as impeccably spotless as usual. Definitely just the girl being an idiot then. Homura can't say she's not relieved, but she knows she shouldn't be. She can't afford to be.
"Talk to me!"
Homura steels herself as she returns to the timestop. Now she'll need to locate Sayaka and find an appropriate witch. She'll need to be quick, she thinks to herself as she walks out of the barrier and into the city. Sabrina has taken notice of her soul gem when she used a bit too much power before and she wouldn't want to use more of her supply of grief seeds to cover it up than she has too.
Unnoticed, a single feather sits in the air behind her, caught midway through the act of falling to the floor of the barrier.
[Homura gained the power of love! ...It ruined everything.]
Ultimately, the theory side of both of these suffers a little due to the simple fact that an Omake or fic requires certain answers to be present, where a theory itself doesn't. Some stuff, like Homura losing a feather due to simple mistake, is simply a matter of Occam's razor for the simplest answer I can think of. alas, knowledge has it's limits.
Thanks to Mistfist for help betaing these.
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- Location
- Somewhere
You know, we should not forget, that for all of QB's spiel about Homu having grown Mado into the most wickeded witch, do not forget:
All this still hinges on Kyubey direct interference.
Without it, Madoka would be the most shining star in the galaxy, by dint of homus efforts and it is only through its continued actions that the beauty of her being gets tarnished to such a horrible degree.
Homura is not at fault here, if someone should be pointed at , it is Kyubey.
It would do well to keep this in mind for any phrasing.
Homura does not turn Madoka onto a witch (or the greatest witch), she makes her the greatest period, and QB then corrupts her into... that.
Homura gives madoka greater chances and corrupting such chances into equal sized tragedies is basically QB's job description.
Am I right, or what?
To put it metaphorically: Homura makes madokas flame grow larger and brighter, illuminating the surroundings, while QB is the one to have her fire turn into the Inferno consuming the forest. It could not have happened without the grandeur of the fire, but without it such would not have happened.
And I am relatively sure (slightly, can not read people to such an extent) that Madoka would be actively happy being capable of more, even if it could in turn turn out worse.
(Just my sleepy ramblings, should nevertheless be somewhat valid)
All this still hinges on Kyubey direct interference.
Without it, Madoka would be the most shining star in the galaxy, by dint of homus efforts and it is only through its continued actions that the beauty of her being gets tarnished to such a horrible degree.
Homura is not at fault here, if someone should be pointed at , it is Kyubey.
It would do well to keep this in mind for any phrasing.
Homura does not turn Madoka onto a witch (or the greatest witch), she makes her the greatest period, and QB then corrupts her into... that.
Homura gives madoka greater chances and corrupting such chances into equal sized tragedies is basically QB's job description.
Am I right, or what?
To put it metaphorically: Homura makes madokas flame grow larger and brighter, illuminating the surroundings, while QB is the one to have her fire turn into the Inferno consuming the forest. It could not have happened without the grandeur of the fire, but without it such would not have happened.
And I am relatively sure (slightly, can not read people to such an extent) that Madoka would be actively happy being capable of more, even if it could in turn turn out worse.
(Just my sleepy ramblings, should nevertheless be somewhat valid)
- Location
- Your Native Universe
"Look on the bright side Homura! Considering multiversal theory, it doesn't matter if you're making timelines that are getting worse because the amount of them is insignificant to the theoretically infinite timelines where Madoka would have died anyways!"
*Insert Grief Spiral that puts Sayaka to shame*
*Insert Grief Spiral that puts Sayaka to shame*
The Phoenixian
The Glacier Witch
- Location
- My own little world
Well, in the vein that the best way to have good ideas is to have lots of ideas, some various unpolished thoughts, WRT: The Potentialbomb
1:
How well would talk a about solutions and ways to circumvent or outrun karmic potential accretion work to soften the blow? (Yes we want to get things finished this loop, but does Homura truly believe it's possible yet?)
Breaking the potentialbomb to Homura along with this should probably be phrased such that Homura has a problem she'll need to deal with if she continues to loop, which is why we want to make this the last loop, but if we come down to it we also want to provide the tools to overcome that problem.
2:
I'm wondering if the whole "general potential increase" hypothesis could be used to soften the blow... but any ways I can think to do so ends up with us laying our asses off under the guise of "hypothesis and theory" as in, "A framework that could easily put the Maitake Doujin next to Rebellion in terms of canonicality."
I do want to look into that for its own reasons, but I'm honestly pretty iffy doing it for this.
3:
Despite the moment with Oriko being ambiguous, there is a fair degree of possibility that Homura doesn't know the potentialbomb anyways. For one thing, Akuma!Homura would know it's what broke her will and could choose to seal that memory away so she could keep fighting.
For another, there's this moment from Direct Intervention:
It reads to me that that pendulum could be an anchor for Homura, drawing specifically from The Pit and the Pendulum: Homura sees herself as the pendulum, or used to at least, slowly but inevitably cutting through fate, no matter how many swings it might take. And then the potentialbomb inverts that association. Suddenly it's the loops slowly but inevitably descending upon her.
So she starts to embrace the nostalgic memory for a moment and then... she forgets, and she can't understand why she's forgotten. It seems like it was so central to her.
Maybe that's part of why she no longer sleeps at home: It's not just that there are threats to Madoka like Oriko now. The emotions of comfort and safety and reassurance of purpose it once provided are all gone.
1:
How well would talk a about solutions and ways to circumvent or outrun karmic potential accretion work to soften the blow? (Yes we want to get things finished this loop, but does Homura truly believe it's possible yet?)
Breaking the potentialbomb to Homura along with this should probably be phrased such that Homura has a problem she'll need to deal with if she continues to loop, which is why we want to make this the last loop, but if we come down to it we also want to provide the tools to overcome that problem.
2:
I'm wondering if the whole "general potential increase" hypothesis could be used to soften the blow... but any ways I can think to do so ends up with us laying our asses off under the guise of "hypothesis and theory" as in, "A framework that could easily put the Maitake Doujin next to Rebellion in terms of canonicality."
I do want to look into that for its own reasons, but I'm honestly pretty iffy doing it for this.
3:
Despite the moment with Oriko being ambiguous, there is a fair degree of possibility that Homura doesn't know the potentialbomb anyways. For one thing, Akuma!Homura would know it's what broke her will and could choose to seal that memory away so she could keep fighting.
For another, there's this moment from Direct Intervention:
It reads to me that that pendulum could be an anchor for Homura, drawing specifically from The Pit and the Pendulum: Homura sees herself as the pendulum, or used to at least, slowly but inevitably cutting through fate, no matter how many swings it might take. And then the potentialbomb inverts that association. Suddenly it's the loops slowly but inevitably descending upon her.
So she starts to embrace the nostalgic memory for a moment and then... she forgets, and she can't understand why she's forgotten. It seems like it was so central to her.
Maybe that's part of why she no longer sleeps at home: It's not just that there are threats to Madoka like Oriko now. The emotions of comfort and safety and reassurance of purpose it once provided are all gone.
SaltyWaffles
I am dissapoint, son
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oh, Murderface, you are just adorable.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Kneecaps are a privilege, not a right.
