"Akemi Homura wants to stop being helpless."
Yeah, this sort of thing, more as a nameless need to empower than a fully built out theory, is kinda why I was wanting to work on equipping Homura for the future, rather than just helping her in the here and now. She basically all but commented to the effect already. "This all works, for
you."
As far as "even suggesting" to Homura that she could have done it herself, I've very much
wanted to do that, but historically the thread has been hostile towardsthe low-hanging fruit there, of talking about the Homuras of other timelines, or even that our knowledge extends outside the loops at all.
On a specific...
The potentialbomb "causes [Homura] to despair in truth." The despair comes because she thinks herself good-for-nothing and sees no way whatsoever to improve herself into someone who isn't good-for-nothing, so having a negative impact on the situation makes her think, in canon, that she should just fucking die -- she isn't someone capable of saving Madoka and cannot ever become someone capable of saving Madoka. There are potentially extensions on this -- things like Homura coming to believe she can't be sure she won't accidentally fuck over all the good stuff Sabrina's caused this loop 'cuz she hasn't got the ability to correctly judge the probable consequences of her actions and oops she's responsible for Madoka's potential already and she's been so sure that some of the things 'Brina wanted were bad ideas and they always turned out okay or even good... Like, I could see that happening and, I mean, we're talking about imminent suicide in that scenario, which Sabrina can "pull her back from the brink" of by telling her that 'Brina needs her.
But, well. Homura made a wish that she thought would grant her the agency to not be helpless to do anything but watch the light of her life go to her death. Ending up believing that not only does she not have that agency post-wish, but that she isn't capable of obtaining that agency and has actively made things worse... And that this other person, Sabrina, exists and is obviously capable of that exact agency and doesn't seem to need her help to accomplish it... I mean, god, that's just horrific.
Point of contention here: There's a significant possibility that the potentialbomb in canon and the potentialbomb in PMAS are not the same thing.
"As I was about to say, Sabrina - the 'how' is simple," Oriko says. "She despairs in truth, because it means that for every gain she's made, the obstacles simply become more insurmountable. Walpurgisnacht alone is no longer her only foe to contend with, let alone the Incubator's increased machinations."
Perhaps the potentialbomb and its effects seems might be "Walpurgisnacht is not her only foe" but that seems like it would fall under "the incubator's increased machinations" particularly with Feathers' existence.
Especially so given our recent discovery that something is wrong with Homura's loops and Feathers as the most likely candidate for mucking with time, given that it has already done so.
To a certain extent this tracks with the analysis of helpless being Homura's main problem, but I suspect there's a contributing factor: Homura's guilt. It's a major theme, and Homura has talked about the things she's
done, how she things she's hurt Madoka, just as often as shown frustration over her powerlessness.
Which is why I suspect an "Everything can be fixed" Kriemhild Gretchen or Homucifer/Homulilly are more likely candidates for Feathers than Dedolere. As either one would be not only a seemingly insurmountable threat, but also a monument to Homura's sins.
