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[RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Black Aeronaut - 04-11-2019
Dunno if anyone would find this interesting at all or even want to pick my thoughts apart...
This is literally just my thoughts as the films go on. No timestamps, but everything is in sequence. There's bits where I've transcribed dialogue from the film, and bits where I've jotted down ideas for dialogue with Ben. (Keep in mind, a lot of this might wind up in my literary compost bin.)
Madoka and her mother have a very close relationship to each other. In fact, her entire family seems to be fairly tightly knit together. It's no wonder she's such a good girl - she has a strong sense of family, very much like Nanoha does.
"Boys that can't confess their love in person are no good." Hah. Shows what she knows. Not that I don't consider her husband to be a real man or anything of the sort, but she must have been shopping around in all the wrong places before she met him.
Sayaka and Madoka are freakin' hilarious together. She loves to tease Madoka in all the best ways possible.
.... Okay, their teacher is more than a little high-strung. "Judging a woman by the way she fries her eggs is the gravest of mistakes!" Not wrong, but holy hell... ....And then comes the 180. Wow.
Enter Akemi Homura. Drop-dead gorgeous Hime-sama complete with can't-be-bothered-by-this-shit hair-toss. (Not really, but damn if she didn't walk the walk.... Up! Nope! There is is!)
Poor Madoka. She just can't handle that intensity. At least, not yet.
Investigate: Is it possible for Homura to have been told or somehow shown that Madoka is "Nurse's Aide" class officer during her introduction? It would have set off alarm bells if everyone suddenly realized no one told her that before.
Bingo. Madoka lampshades it.
"Saotome-sensei told me." Sure she did.
You know, it's interesting how painfully awkward Homura seems to be here. Understandable though, considering the situation.
Jeeze, Homu-chan. Way to scare the poor girl. You're going about this entirely the wrong way.
Cut to girls chat. Topic of the Day: Akemi-Hime (duh!)
PFFFT! DAMNIT SAYAKA! Lampshading something like that so blatantly!
Oh GOD if only she knew how close she was to the truth. Past lives indeed!
Madoka definitely loves herself some pop music.
And there's the fucking little shit now. "Help me!" Cry some more, bitch.
Oh, calling her by NAME now!? %^@*$^%$#&!!!
It must be said, these little fuckers definitely know how to work their audience.
Homu, Homu, Homu-chan... You should have told her about Mephistopheles instead. After all these loops, you should know that by now.
Oooh! Witch battle. Symbology time!
Monarch butterflies, cards, the Eiffel Tower, country themes...
Yes, Homura. Now. Because Murphy is a cold-hearted bastard. You seem to have yet learn this fact.
Cotton-puff familiars with mustaches. Cute.
Reminder: See if anyone has the translation of the text when the familiars begin chanting at the girls.
MAMI-CHAN! Sweet, loving, beautiful Mami-chan. You never deserved the cruel fate that was thrust upon you.
OMG... Sudden realization.
HOMURA IS THE SHIELD HERO!!! All magical girls have some kind of 'weapon' they use, whether it comes off as an actual weapon or not. But what does Homura have? A FREAKIN' SHIELD! Albeit a time-manipulating shield, but still a shield!
We really need to get her with Naofumi, just so they can trade notes.
Very interesting. Mami can be very assertive in a very polite manner. She'd make a great diplomat.
And so Kyubey makes its pitch...
Confirmed: Mami is a 3rd year student while Madoka, Sayaka, and Homura are 2nd year students.
Question: what is Ben's firepower REALLY like? How much punishment can he dishout? Would it impress Homura? (Please refer to thread: Playing with Boom-Boom.)
Okay, so they're only told that Soul Gems are their "Source of Power" and "Proof that they are Magical Girls".
"If magical girls can be said to be born from wishes, witches can be said to be born from curses."
Yeesh. He then lies to them about Witches causing despair. In a ways they do, but that's mostly for the Puella Magi. In regular humans, they simply feed on the negativity that is already there.
At the very least there is the implication that their lives are on the line, but the truth is far more insidious. Neither life, nor death is their fate.
It's easy to see that Sayaka is already getting wrapped up in the smoke screen of romanticism.
Sayaka won't be used to the sort of music that Benjamin favors. Yes, he likes classical, but his tastes are so much more. A big break-through point between them would probably be when Benjamin is caught playing his electric guitar in the breezeway. He's sitting on his amp, speaker facing backwards, and just loud enough to take advantage of the acoustics of the confined space, the sound echoing off the walls. Sayaka will have never heard electric guitar like that before and it's going to give her goosebumps hearing it, especially in the wake of losing the boy she liked to her friend.
She'll learn the true face of the rock and roll rebel - a scorned and underappreciated person that people think so lowly of, just because they're different. Both angry and sad at the same time, and making a musical instrument weep bitter tears of sorrowful rage at the unfairness of the world.
Where on earth are they that is that high up and open to the elements, but also enclosed like a cage of brass? Is this part of their school grounds?
"I'm sure it's not all that unusual - wishing for something so strongly you'd gladly trade your life for it..." Don't be so sure of this, Sayaka. Those of my breed are rarities in the world.
Interesting that Madoka has sketches of Mami and Homura... It seems she was attempting to draw inspiration from their Puella Magi outfits for her own.
Aww, poor Madoka-chan. She needs hugs.
So, soul gems can 'sniff out' a witch's magic just like a blood hound with scent. Interesting... A built in mechanism, or like calling to like?
Okay, Mitakihara City has to be in some weird alternate timeline - there's a ferris wheel that looks almost exactly like The London Eye - it's even right by a slow flowing river that looks like the River Thames. Did Japan colonise England or did England colonize Japan?
Witch's kiss - magical marking a witch uses to help ensnare their prey.
We can see how painfully eager Mami is to have friends in how she brings these two who are wholly unprepared into a Witch's Labyrinth. She is so glad to no longer be lonely that she's putting them in such danger.
First witch - butterfly wings and weeping willow hair with roses in it. Insect legs too?
Madoka has a very slow and deliberate way of speaking.
This early on, she's an uncertain girl, not yet sure of what she wants in life.
I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Why, think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow
But your dreams may not
Next witch appears by a hospital. Kyubey takes advantage of the situation. We know it can summon Mami, but instead it splits up Madoka and Sayaka.
Witch's Labyrinth has lots of medical supplies strewn around. Thoughts of Awful Hospital by BogLeech comes to mind.
Now lots of candy and deserts? Was she a diabetic?
Homura makes the mistake of being too confrontational. She really should have offered instead to help.
Candies and sweet things inside medicine bottles. Dear heaven, what happened to you, Charlotte?
Madoka doesn't seem to realize that her true strength is her heart, which is so full of love that she doesn't know what to do with it. The poor thing.
Mami's mask begins to crack and Madoka is there to sooth her. But this is coming at entirely the wrong time - Charlotte is more dangerous than they realize and Mami's sudden swell of confidence does not come with the wisdom needed to back it up.
It's strange how Mami freezes at that one critical moment. Why? Why is it that she can't move when she's been able to do so before, even while pinned down by other witches? Is it because Charlotte gives off a human-vibe and for a split second she saw herself?
Homura has the right of it - this is what it's like to be a Puella Magi - but she's always doing these things in a way that makes things worse.
And there's that hair-toss.
That teacher of theirs has a complex.
Sayaka is now coming to understand how different life looks when you realize that it is so finite. Suddenly everything seems so meaningless.
Kyubey doesn't necessarily hide anything, but it omits exactly why Puella Magi want Grief Seeds.
"Have you seen a lot of people die like yesterday?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Too many to try keeping count of any more."
For once, I think Homura says the right thing, even though I feel it might tempt Madoka down that path anyways in a bid to save others. It's heartbreaking to hear, though.
"That is the end that all magical girls meet."
The truth is horrible and heartrending. Homura is right - all these girls become Puella Magi in hopes of making the world a better place, and so many of them leave this world, alone and forgotten with no one to even mourn over them. Madoka realizes all this in an instant. Such a kind and loving girl.
She and Belldandy would get along like two peas in a pod.
"You are too kind for your own good." Oh Homu-chan. This isn't where you push her away!
Sayaka was never into classical before she met Kyosuke? Interesting. Ben might have an even bigger impact on her.
Oh Sayaka. The better answer would have been, "Do you not have two hands? The other one seems to work just fine!"
Another way Homura messes up: she should have given Madoka and Sayaka a way to contact her.
Third witch. Manakin angels and horses, carousels, TVs and 8-bit graphics.
No, Madoka. You were never a coward. Being afraid isn't cowardly.
A girl with long, dark hair and a red ribbon, and an orange dress.
Poor Sayaka. She has no idea. She's once again caught up in the romanticism that screens the true horror of what's become of her.
"Honestly, I really do think I was meant to be a magical girl."
Perhaps you were, Sayaka. But always remember that Big Brother Ben is here to catch you in case you fall.
Hoo boy. Kyoko. Looking to offend from the very get go. Bad girl! No cookie for you!
Fourth witch. School stationary, toy blocks, stickers and crayons... Dear God, how young was this girl? Pigtails in braids with a little crown. Somebody's little princess. Dear God, what happened?
"Kyoko. This isn't the world you once knew. Things work differently here. And there are powers at work that you wouldn't even believe."
"What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some man, you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week. Which is the way he wants it. Well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men."
And here is our Lady of Hair Tossing to save the day again.
She's taking a pretty hard stance towards Madoka this time. Not exactly wise, methinks. And then later she's confronting Kyoko at the arcade...
Kyoko is really living quite lavishly, all things considered. I would be surprised if she WASN'T prostituting herself - especially in an outfit like she has on in the arcade. Her outfit screams 'fresh young teenager for sale'.
Madoka having a heart to heart with her mother over the situation with Sayaka.
"It's sad to say, but just because you keep trying to do what's right doesn't mean you're guaranteed a happy ending."
Harsh truth, that. Mother has that downtrodden look to her - she's BEEN THERE.
Mother advises that it would be good for her to make some mistakes while she's still young so she can learn from them. Perhaps in any other case, but she has no idea what an understatement it is that this won't end pretty.
"Oh, us adults are always in pain.... For adults, it's only as [much] fun as it hurts."
Lady. A mile in another man's shoes. You don't want to wear mine.
Kyoko. Always gotta be sticking your nose in it. Even after Homura told you not to.
"If you use [your wish] for somebody else, it always ends up going bad!"
Uh-huh. You got a funny way of showing empathy there, kid. She really needs to get over her damage. I know I'm one to talk, but I at least talk about it rather than pretend there's nothing wrong with me.
God, Kyoko, stop.
Kyubey again. Little shit stirrer. Trying to get Madoka involved so it can have her as a Puella Magi.
Thank goodness Homura at least showed up to put Kyoko back into her place.
"Your way is too soft!" Uh-huh.
Madoka makes her big mistake...
....Huh. I thought Kyoko knew about this. She is completely blown away.
FACT: 100 meters is the maximum distance a soul gem can get from their body before losing control.
And Kyubey's blue and orange morality shows at last - that it can't understand why people feel this way.
At least Homura is now being civil towards Madoka again as she tries to explain Kyubey's morality to her.
"It doesn't change the fact that it was a miracle." That's a very good way to put a silver lining on it... but it still rings false because it's a silver lining. Silver linings don't make it better.
Homura is giving Madoka a lot of hard truths here. It's brutal... but there's nothing that can be done about it - the facts are the facts.
No Homura. You are all too human.
Kyubey claims that the soul gems are much safer, but it can't be further from the truth. Soul gems are vulnerable, fragile, probably even more so than the human body - the human body can at least take some damage and recover.
Kyoko has this thing about wasting food. She and Ben will agree on this point. Ben has experienced starvation, as has Kyoko when her father had lost everything.
It's remarkable how this revelation about the soul gems has driven Kyoko to mend fences with Sayaka.
Reminder: it was because Kyoko's father discovered the truth about her and her wish that everything went bad for her.
Kyoko has empathy for Sayaka, but she still doesn't understand Sayaka. She doesn't get that Sayaka has and always will fight for what's right and good in this world.
Sayaka asked about how she gets the food, where she gets the money for it... Kyoko can't answer.
Hitomi confesses that she loves Kyosuke to Sayaka... Quite bluntly, too, taking Sayaka off-guard. She at least tells Sayaka that she has first dibs on him, but gives her the ultimatum that she has until after school tomorrow to confess her own love to Kyosuke, or else she will first.
We find out that Sayaka, for a split second, regretted ever saving Hitomi. And now she hates herself for having such a terribly selfish feeling, that she's not worthy of being an ally of justice, and that she could never face Mami again.
She can't confess her love to Kyosuke because she feels that she's no longer human - which is terrible because this couldn't be further from the truth.
"Sayaka, you are human still."
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT!?"
"Because I see tears in your eyes, and zombies don't cry. They don't feel anything. They never feel their hearts ache or the comfort of someone they love as they're held by them. You are Human, Sayaka."
Fifth Witch - a girl that prays at a cenotaph, her back always to everyone else, and attacks with serpents from the earth and tree branches from her back. A girl that has shut out everyone so she can be alone with her sorrow and suffering.
Sayaka is falling. She has completely lost touch with herself as she begins to discard her humanity.
Madoka and Sayaka. She weeps for her friend because she can't stand to see her like this.
"Benjamin... please don't... I don't want to see you hurt..."
"I'm sorry, Madoka-chan. This is my onus, my cross to bear. Pain and suffering is my world. Every which way I turn, I'm snared by the briars. But don't cry for me, Little Rose. I know it hurts to watch, but I'm stronger than the pain. I bind it to me and turn it into my strength and my rage against this cruel world. My pain fuels my drive to make this world a better place. For you. For me. And for everyone we care about."
Sayaka is continuing down this course of dehumanizing herself. Where does it end? She even goes as far as to accuse Madoka of not being her true friend because Madoka won't make a contract and experience what sayaka experiences.
Kyubey, ever the shit stirrer. It wants fewer Puella Magi and more Witches, so it's goading Kyoko to be there when Sayaka falls and turns into a witch.
Kyubey working on Madoka again. Ironically, it tells her a truth that is helpful for her to hear, that no matter what, Sayaka would likely have made a contract because she had her own wish she wanted to have fulfilled.
And Homura finally lets her self pour out over Madoka.
"Don't treat yourself like you don't matter! Think about all the people who consider you precious! Stop being such a fool! There are so many people who would grieve if you died. Why can't you understand that!? What about the people who are trying so hard to protect you!?"
Oh Homura. Madoka and I are of a type. We feel the pain of those we love as though it were our own pain. The difference between her and I is that I can't handle it. I shut off parts of myself to the world. And I don't know how to open them. But even so, we will always sacrifice ourselves for those we love. It is in our natures. And if we cannot ease the pain of those we love, we always feel that we are the greatest failures in the world.
Madoka has a suddenly flash. Something distant and hazy - that it feels like they met before.
Kyoko finally found Sayaka, but it's too late. And as she's falling, she comes to understand the terrible, horrible truth. For every miracle, there is a curse. And the curse is a dreadful one that eventually destroys you, the one who made the wish for the miracle.
End of Movie One.
One day the light of love shining in your eyes
(will transcend time)
And will certainly shatter a dream of this world
(heading into ruin)
Swallow your hesitation
What is it your desire?
Is there a fragile future
In the direction of your deep desires?
Like the ancient magic
I dreamt about as a child
With the strength to shatter darkness
I want to see you with your smiling face
In these shivering hands of mine
Is the courage of a hand-picked flower
I can only rely on my emotions
Calling forth the light is my wish
You too, for the sake of someone else
(will wish for a strong power)
In a night when love overtakes my heart
(new unknown words are born)
If I can advance without hesitating
Then it's fine if my heart gets broken
I want a spell so I can stand up
to the sadness in front of me
You are still dreaming about your memories
While I have a sleepless future
I'll continue forwards
To seize the miracle of our encounter
In this shivering hand of mine
Is the sword of a hand-picked flower
I live for my emotions
Not turning my back on my heart is my wish
The captured sun rays shined
back then when I loved stories of Wonderland
I believed all those fairy tales that said
Wishes Come True
(Between light and darkness)
Quietly blooming profusely
Is the ancient magic which tenderly whispers to me
"The power to change the world
lies in those hands of yours"
Let's have an eternal dream
In this time we're together
I live for my emotions
Creating life is my wish.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Black Aeronaut - 04-11-2019
Just started watching the second film, and there was a tidbit that I think is going to be critical to the plot here...
And the shit stirrer returns. What pitch does it have for Madoka now that she knows the full truth?
"We don't do this out of ill will toward the human race." I call bullshit on that. Anytime you act in a manner of such disregard is ill will.
Now it's getting ready to throw it's "Greater Good" pitch, leading off with Entropy and the heat death of the Universe.
GYAH!!! Took me a moment to see that damn thing was camped out on the shelf above her bed with her plushies.
It converts emotions into energy? What?
"Unfortunately, our species do not possess the capacity to experience emotion." No shit, sherlock!
So it seems anyone could become a magical person - they just prefer teenage girls because they're the most emotionally unstable.
"And someday even you humans will be able to leave your planet and come join all of us. When that day comes you wouldn't want to find the universe empty and desolate, would you?"
HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE.
They're using it as an active energy source? Right now? Preserving the universe as is and fueling their civilisation with the heartbreak of little girls?
HOLY.
FUCKING.
SHIT.
This is worse than I ever thought or was led to believe from fanfiction.
Real talk, here. This is NOT GOOD. Even if this civilisation isn't good with emotions, they must know about cause and effect. They must know that even if they can't grock WHY humans find this whole thing so offensive, that the rest of Humanity as a whole will be gravely offended.
This will lead to one of two scenarios.
One: They intentionally cripple humanity to keep them from becoming a starfaring race.
Two: There is a horrible, terrible war. And while this 'civilisation' will be driven by cold 'necessity', humans will be driven by the very same emotions that they say are so powerful.
I don't think they're that stupid. I'm sure that that Kyubey's allusions of humans being able to join them is only going to be limited to the select few that see things their way, and the rest of humanity they'll cripple by simple expedient of letting Witches cause devastation - but not enough to kill off humanity.
"We aren't able to comprehend what you mean by 'tricking'."
Oh ho? You don't? And yet you have all of humanity's knowledge available to you? Let's look at Merriam-Webster...
trick (noun)
\ ˈtrik \
Definition of trick (Entry 1 of 3)
1a : a crafty procedure or practice meant to deceive or defraud
Very first definition of the term.
Now, Merriam-Webster is a little too technical with the definition of 'deceive' and 'deception', so let's look at it from the much more relevant sociological angle.
Quote:Simple Test for Deception
People often claim that they are not misleading others even though they are intentionally withholding important information from them. People like to think this way, because it makes it easier for them to deceive others.
So, a good test to see if you are lying to someone is as follows:
"If you have nothing to hide, why not tell the complete truth?"
This is usually the best way to determine if you are misleading someone, regardless of your intent.
Kyubey. You ARE deceiving people. We even have a term for it. This is what we humans call 'Lying by Omission.' You cannot evade this truth - it is the most insidious form of deception we know of.
And now I have that bit from The Big O in my head. It always just seemed like a neat little epithet: "Cast in the Name of God: Ye Not Guilty." Up until Big Duo Inferno casts it's judgement on Alan Rosewater: YE GUILTY.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Black Aeronaut - 04-11-2019
Okay, here we go. Movie Two, Eternal. START THE COUNTDOWN!
Okay, so we're recapping that last few seconds of the previous film. Good - glad to see that they're making a smooth transition without any jarring en media res stuff like the Evangleion movies did.
Sayaka's plight hits so close to home for me that it's painful to see her like this. It's easy for me to understand her despair, how she feels that everything has become so hopeless because in the end nothing matters anymore - you will always lose, no matter what.
Oh no. Kyoko saw it with her own eyes, and yet she doesn't realize what's happened. This is going to be the worst...
Homura shows up and we get to see what her power looks like in action from her perspective as he pulls Kyoko along with her... And begins to explain what has happened.
So they make it out of there. Now what?
Poor poor Madoka. To see a friend that you love so much have such a thing happen to them...
Okay, this following bit was already covered above, so you can either disregard this, or hit the spoiler tag and reread it.
"If that's how you think, then you really are our enemy." Yes! And Madoka scores a bullseye.
![[+]](/images/collapse_collapsed.png "[+]")
Spoiler"So if you ever feel like dying for the sake of the universe, please call me anytime."
You first, fucker.
And then Madoka is left feeling utterly powerless. And I can't blame her. What recourse is there when such a people are actively preying on your loved ones?
Now to Kyoko. She's keeping Sayaka's body preserved and is looking to see if there's a way to get her back.
Kyoko, you are far more selfless than you think. You just needed someone to come along and remind you of what it means to be human.
"The existence of Magical Girls defies logic as it is." Bullshit. You made them, therefore there is some type of logic behind it.
It does concede that Magical Girls seem to be able to do incredible things they can't even predict. The precedent for recovering someone from a fallen state has no precedent, but it doesn't rule it out entirely. However, I'm pretty sure it's hoping that Kyoko will fall as well.
"Who would listen to your advice anyhow?" There's a lot of zingers being fired off by these girls now.
Sayaka meets up with Madoka - she has a theory of how they might save Sayaka - that maybe they could remind her that she is human and has people that love her no matter what has happened to her.
"Wouldn't that be something? It'd be like one of those stories where love and courage triumph over all."
Kyoko hasn't been using any grief seeds - her soul gem is starting to show darkness around the edges.
"Actually, I probably became a magical girl to begin with because I used to love stories like that. I've totally forgotten that. It was Sayaka that reminded me again."
Kyoko, all your warnings of danger won't do anything to dissuade Madoka now. You just gave her hope, her most powerful weapon right after love.
The heck? Their desks plug into the floor? And have some kind of digital connection? Portable Smart Desks!?
Homura knows something is up.
Kyoko reveals the existence of Walpurgisnacht to Madoka, but not much else about it.
So their soul gems can also discern magic patterns as well. Interesting.
"Love Me Do" says the graffiti outside of Sayaka's Labyrinth.
Kyoko detects Madoka's wavering resolve on whether or not she should become a magical girl, then reminds her that she has people that care about her. But she does admit that the time may come when Madoka may have no other choice but to stand and fight, but until then she needs to think about it.
Interesting. Sayaka doesn't wait for them to come to her. She goes straight to them.
Oh man. Kyoko is really putting herself out on this. Not good.
And now Kyoko has had enough and is letting Sayaka have it once again.
Oh Kyoko... Going to join Sayaka like that...
Kyubey. Only now admitting that it was impossible to do. You claim not to deceive people, but all you do is spread lies and misery.
It reveals its scheme - that in letting Kyoko die and take Sayaka with her, that all there would be left to fight Walpurgisnacht would be Homura. And that Madoka will have no choice but to make a contract with Kyubey.
Flashback? Time Travel? Different Perspective?
No. Another timeline. This time the teacher is on about how she was criticised for how she seasoned her eggs.
It's the original timeline where Homura first contracted to become a Puella Magi.
Homura had a heart condition that kept her hospitalised. I would not be surprised if she kept the scars from her surgery after all this time. She is so painfully shy and uncertain. Madoka is enchanted with her right away.
And Madoka comes to her rescue, saving her from the girls that are so excited to have a new girl in the class.
Homura sounds very much like Madoka did in the last movie - quiet, slow, deliberate, uncertain, - while Madoka is bubbly and joyful.
Oh dear... Something of each loop is getting passed on to Madoka. Is this the result of Homura's wish?
Homura's name means flame. Madoka thinks that she should become just a cool as her name is.
Oh man, what a reversal. Homura is thinking exactly as Madoka had before does in the future. Perhaps the one defining difference between the two of them is that from what I know so far, Homura doesn't have much of a family.
Oh no. She's fallen afoul of a witch.
Here we see how they operate. It's as I suspected - someone doesn't have to be suicidal, just depressed enough that they can be pushed over the edge.
MAMI AND MADOKA TO THE RESCUE! ....and the little shit stirrer.
Fact: in the original timeline, Madoka made her contract with Kyubey one week before she met Homura. And apparently Walpurgisnacht was already known to be coming by Mami... Interesting...
Fast-forward. Walpurgisnacht has arrived. Mami has just died. Madoka is about to go and sacrifice herself to stop the massive witch. She has such a courageous heart.
Fact: Homura does not make her wish until after Madoka has died in the First Timeline.
"I want to re-do my meeting with Kaname-san. But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to become strong enough to protect her!"
No friggin' wonder. Her primary goal is protection, thus the shield. She's also a lot more resilient than most other Puella Magi. Also her wish ensures that she will always be at least as strong as Madoka herself. And if a bit of Madoka really is being passed on from one timeline to the next... Jeeezzze...
Note: Due to the changing timelines, Madoka's wish is always something different, but will always stem from her kindness, courage, and selflessness.
Homura's shield has an hourglass stylized as a ying-yang with a clockwork core. Interesting.
As Homura goes back in time, there is something visible for only one frame - an angular bird-shape. Significant?
Next round. Homura is much happier and outgoing. And she goes straight for Madoka!
"Kaname-san! I've become a magical girl, too!"
Okay, so training. They seem to twig pretty quickly the fact that Homura has no real weapons, however her time manipulation is a weapon in and of itself that allows her to, in an instant, deal grievous damage without putting herself into much danger.
Homura starts out pretty early on learning to do things like make explosives and bombs.
Fast-forward.
They've defeated Walpurgisnacht, but Madoka is about to turn into a witch.
Rewind.
Homura now knows the full truth and tries to warn everyone. But no one listens.
Homura needs weapons other than bombs. And so she goes and steals from the Yakuza. We also learn her shield is also a pocket of holding.
It takes Sayaka's fall for them to learn the truth.
And then Mami snaps and kills Kyoko. She nearly kills Homura, but Madoka kills her first.
Poor Madoka. But at least Homura is there for her.
Fast-forward.
They've beaten Walpurgisnacht, but now they're both about to turn into witches together. But Madoka had one with her, and with just enough to purify Homura's Soul Gem, but not hers. (It's Sayaka's grief seed.)
It's here that Madoka makes Homura promise to not let her be fooled into making a contract with Kyubey. And then she finally breaks the poor girl by asking to kill her before she can turn into a witch.
Rewind.
She knows no one will believe her. She is done messing around. She does not want to make any more mistakes. She fixes her eyes so she no longer needs glasses. She no longer bothers with braiding her hair. She sets out on her mission to stop Madoka from every contracting with Kyubey. She loads up on weapons from the military and vows to no longer rely on anyone else.
Her strategy at this point is to kill every last witch so Madoka doesn't need to contract, but she doesn't understand what lengths Kyubey will go to to get her contract.
Fast-forward.
As Homura fights Walpurgisnacht, Madoka somehow finds herself inside the Labyrinth, and witnesses the terrible battle that Homura wages by herself. And Kyubey is there. She's too late to stop her from contracting.
After one-shotting Walpurgisnacht, Madoka turns into the greatest witch ever. Kyubey cares little for mankind's plight as the quota needed from Earth is filled.
Rewind.
To the present timeline.
Kyubey reveals it's theory on why Madoka is so powerful.
A magical girl's potential is based on the weight of karmic destiny she bears. (Paging Dr. Nova!) If she had been the queen or savior of a country then it would have been easier to understand. But Madoka was only living an ordinary life. But with Homura constantly resetting the timeline over and over again, she was binding more and more strings of fate to Madoka.
Thus we have our feedback loop. Every resent, Madoka gains more power. And as Madoka gains more power, so too does Homura because of her wish.
Sayaka's body was discovered. Madoka attends her friend's funeral. It is a cold comfort that Sayaka at least has this in the end. And yet, even then she becomes no more than a blurb in the news. Mami and Kyoko will have no such things. No one will know who they were except for her and Homura.
Her mother is there. It seems she understands now what was causing her daughter so much pain, but she still doesn't know the full truth. And she knows there's more to it than that.
Freakin' Kyubey. Comparing humans to livestock. And then he goes on to say they treat humankind with much more respect than humans treat livestock. Bullshit. If this were the case, you could have found a way to harvest emotional energy without hurting anyone.
Again with the semantics. You still omit the truth. You omit the fact that these things have such heavy costs. And you prey on the vulnerable because not only are they the most potent sources, but they have no idea to even ask about such things.
Respectful my ass. If your kind were any more condescending they'd never get their noses out of each other's asses.
Besides, human advancement would have happened without your 'assistance'. Humans are very good at causing their own misery, but we can at least reap our own rewards without your interference, and without you damning little girls like that.
Emotions are a mental disease to them!? WTF!? Vulcans have got nothing on these fuckheads.
Junko and Saotome-sensei, sharing drinks at a bar, lamenting Sayaka's death. And now that Mami's absence is being noticed, things are in an uproar.
Talking about what is really going on with their children and what can be done about it. Not much, it seems.
Apparently humans perceive Walpurgisnacht as a great disaster such as an earthquake or a hurricane.
Homura is trying to convince Madoka that she needs no help in fighting Walpurgisnacht, but it doesn't seem to be working. Madoka has already lost so much that to lose Homura as well...
Homura can no longer hold it back. She tells Madoka about the time traveling and watching her die, time after time, again and again.
"The more times I redo all this, the further in time we drift from one another. Our feelings drift further apart, and my words don't even reach you anymore. The truth is, I think I've been lost for a very long time, now. 'I will save you.' That is the feeling that I started all of this with. And now, it is the only thing I have left to guide me.
"It's okay if you don't understand. It's okay if my words don't reach you. But please... Please... just let me protect you."
Walpurgisnacht Arrives.
Madoka has her confrontation with her mother. It is precisely because Madoka loves everyone so much that she needs to do this.
Homura is having her doubts. Now that she knows what her resets are doing to Madoka, she worries about hurting her even more....
And then she is there. Madoka has found her resolve... and her answer.
"I want to erase all witches before they are even born. I will erase every single witch in every universe, past and future with my own hands...I don't care what you call it. All those magical girls who held onto their hopes and fought against witches I don't want to see them cry. I want them to stay smiling until the end. If any rule or law stands in my way I will destroy it. I will rewrite it. That is my prayer. That is my wish. Now grant it, Incubator!"
In a place outside time...
Mami: Aren't you afraid you'll lose yourself
Kyoko: So you found your reason to fight.
Madokami happens.
And the Law of Cycles comes into play.
"Before the hope we wished for summons an equivalent amount of misfortune, we have no choice but to vanish from this world."
... And yet... despite that she is no more, memories still remain.
Homura no longer has a shield. Instead, a bow as Madoka had, only in Homura's style.
"Don't forget. Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember that, you are not alone."
End of Movie Two
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Black Aeronaut - 04-11-2019
Here it is at last. We are now in totally new territory for me.
Movie Three - Rebellion
Start
The Law of Cycles is explained once again.
And then we see Madoka, Sayaka, Kyoko fighting a Witch... But they're not supposed to exist anymore? And nor is Madoka for that matter.
Mami... AND CHARLOTTE!?
What now? The timeline was reset AGAIN? With Kyubey in Madoka's room?
I freaking love how Madoka opens the door and she just all.. HURGH! WOMAN ON A MISSION! Love it!
Hitomi is dating Kyosuke... Interesting.
Madoka is definitely a Puella Magi here - she has the ring that is her Soul Gem in storage mode.
Talking about Saotome-sensei, Junko says she needs to set her up on a blind date. They definitely must have been childhood friends.
Junko is out to get the bread. Kisses for her boys and a hi-five with her girl.
So now, instead of Hitomi, Kyoko is part of the trio now. Sayaka and Kyoko are both Puella Magi as well.
Good grief, Kyoko and Sayaka are like a newlywed couple teasing each other! No wonder everyone ships these two. (Not that I'm complaining!
...... Okay, I think I'd like to have the old Saotome-sensei back. This one is so much more creepy.
Okay, meganeko-Homura, braids and all, but with a lovely personality. And she's a Puella Magi as well.
And she makes damn sure the others see it as well.
Ohhhh! Mami sprung her on them. Naughty naughty girl!
Homura has some kind of force multiplying technique now? Or was that just a different way to phrase "stops time so she can perform multiple attacks"?
Nightmares, not Witches?
And suddenly we're a month in the future?
And Madoka and Homura are totally yuri for each other and don't seem to care otherwise.
What's with all the blimps?
Poor Hitomi. This doesn't look like it's going to work out.
ooookaaayyyy, and this must be a nightmare...
Okay, so Charlotte is called Bebe?
Wait, WHAT? These Nightmare thing are reoccurring!?
Sayaka: "She's really having a hard time, isn't she? No surprise, considering she made Captain Oblivious her boyfriend."
PPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTT!!!! DAMMIT SAYAKA!!! *Nearly dies laughing*
Kyoko: "Hoowaah! That has a lot of added significance coming from you!"
Sayaka: *giggles* "Yeah, I guess? Maybe this means I've gained some life experience?"
SNRK!!!
.... Okay, trying to figure out what the hell was that.
Homura wonders if all of their battles have always been like that. Agree - something really screwy is going on here.
Okay, what's with the blotchy red on everyone's faces?
And Kyubey hasn't said anything yet except "kyu-kyu".
More blotchy red faces...
Homura and Kyoko (Sakura-san) talking. Homura wants to know if anything strange is going on, but Kyoko is kinda WTH.
Homura singled out Kyoko because she's the one that felt the most 'different'. Let's see then...
Oh boy. She can't remember when she transferred into school. Something is seriously wrong here! MATRIX ALERT! MATRIX ALERT!
Okay, this place is reminding me of a Witch's Labyrinth... only... nice?
No matter how hard they try, they can't get out. MATRIX ALERT! MATRIX ALERT!
Slowly, the falseness of the world around them is becoming more and more apparent...
This is the first time Kyoko has seen Homura so assertive, but she thinks that, for some strange reason, it feels right for her to act that way.
Oh crap. The whole world IS a Witch's nest!
And Homura remembers everything.
How the heck are we back to this now?
Learning about the connection between Mami and Bebe.
Theory: because Mami has always gotten munched by Charlotte/Bebe, perhaps they've bonded somehow?
Whatever the case is with Bebe, it cares for Mami a lot. I believe that its trustworthy.
And now, Homura has stopped time and is confronting Bebe... I don't think she is to blame, though.
Oh no... Now Mami has shown up... and they're fighting.
Is this how Bebe/Charlotte looked as a Puella Magi?
Now Sayaka has shown up. She seems to know what's going on... no, definitely knows. She was able to give Homura the slip.
New Theory: this is some kind of paradise that someone created for them. I suspect that it's Madoka, but I'm not sure yet.
Madoka has found Homura. And Kyubey is there, remaining oddly quiet... The little shit has something to do with this.
Poor Homura... Cursed to be the only one who remembers Madoka, to go around in a world that never knew of the one she loves so dearly.
Homura knows that somehow, someway, this is the real Madoka. But this world is still somehow false. And she needs answers that Madoka cannot give her right now.
She calls Kyoko and confirms another suspicion: Kyoko should not know who Madoka is because she does not know about Witches - those timelines had been erased.
Homura removes herself from her soul gem... and it proves the world is false. And as though in retribution, the entire world starts to come crashing down in flames.
Oh no.
She IS the Witch.
And Kyubey knew all along.
The little bastard.
No... This WAS Kyubey's doing!
Kyubey's masters wanted to see if it was true, that if isolated from The Law of Cycles that Homura would become a Witch.
The fucking monsters.
Because the isolation field has kept Homura's Soul Gem intact, she hasn't turned completely into a witch. Instead, she's caught in some strange twilight between Puella Magi and Witch.
And the illusion of Mitakihara City was all Homura's creation - all within her own Soul Gem - a Witch's Labyrinth.
As for the others, that was Kyubey translating a property of the Witch's Labyrinth to the isolation field - that allowed her to 'invite' people that she wanted inside her Labyrinth. Once inside, she rewrote their memories to fit the fantasy world she had built within herself.
And in doing this, they were able to discern that Madoka was the missing element - the source of The Law of Cycles. And because Homura had rewritten her memory the most thoroughly, Madoka had completely forgotten who she was and that she was supposed to save Homura.
And then the true goal comes out: the Incubators intend to keep Madoka under their control.
Getting into some Quantum Theory here. If they can't observe something, then they can't interfere with it. But now that they have Madoka, who they had never been able to observe before, they can now control her.
All with the goal of instituting the system they had in place in the deleted universe.
God, these things are greedy.
Apparently it's the 'phase change' between hope and despair that lets them derive energy.
And Kyubey has grossly underestimated Homura's resolve once again. If it means keeping the secret of Madoka safe from them, then she will allow herself to become a witch and then let Mami and Kyoko end her existence.
Kyubey pleads with Homura, trying to remind her that if she does this, the Law of Cycles will not be able to save her. It will mean her total oblivion.
But again, it's underestimating her resolve - the same resolve all humans find within them when those they love the most are threatened - the resolve that lets us trade our lives for those of the ones we love, and do so with a smile on our lips and tears in our eyes.
Just Shutup indeed.
Homura's curse upon herself takes form. This is all too familiar for someone like me. Failure. Failure in everything. Failure that demands total exclusion from life.
"Is that... a Witch?"
"Please try not to look scared. Despite her appearance, she's the most hurt."
Kyubey again. Trying to salvage the situation by convincing them not to fight Homura.
But it turns out the girls had this planned out from the get go. That Sayaka, Bebe, and Madoka would sneak in, with Bebe and Sayaka witholding Madoka's memories just long enough to save Homura and stop the Incubators.
Kyoko and Sayaka have a moment together. Kyoko knows that Sayaka died and that this is little more than a dream that she'll wake up from. But Sayaka reveals that despite thinking she'd have no regrets when she died, she found that in truth, she did have one: Leaving Kyoko behind.
Snrk. Bebe, you're a sweet and goofy little thing. "All I wanted to do was eat cheese one more time!"
"Hoi! Don't ruin the mood!"
And the Isolation Field is broken!
With the Inubators no longer able to interfere, the people who were invited in - Madoka's family, Hitomi and Kyosuke, and Saotome-sensei - are all safe.
And as Madoka, Sayaka, and Bebe all come to take Homura home with them, Homura enacts her long-awaited rebelion. Her soul gem is overtaken by an all-consuming love for Madoka.
Because of the nature of her original wish, it was preserved despite the erasure of the last universe. And in order to protect Madoka now, that wish grants her power equal to Madoka's.
And now, with yet another Goddess born into the Universe, it's laws are rewritten once again.
Homura devours Madoka's threads of fate and crowns herself as the Demon of all Puella Magi.
And in order to manage the curses that have been spread far and wide, she enslaves the Incubators in order to do her bidding.
Everyone who was there has been pulled into this bit of time and space that Homura has severed from The Law of Cycles. The memories slip away from them by Homura's will. Once again, she has created a false world. One they could be happy in.
Perhaps it is not so terrible. Sayaka is able to see friends she had been parted from before. She will be able to lead a normal life - even though she still has her soul gem.
In this new timeline, it is Madoka who is the transfer student.
Kyoko is there. So is Homura. She boredly ignores what is happening in front of her.
Homura shows Madoka around, rigidly monotone and cold towards her. But then, Madoka realizes that something is strange. She begins to realize she's not who she's supposed to be, and almost rejoins her God-self.
Homura stops her.
She then asks if Madoka considers stability and order more important than desire.
Madoka half-heartedly says yes.
"Then I suppose someday, you will become my enemy as well. But I don't care. Because even then, I will continue to wish for a world you can be happy in."
And so, the long and tragic tale come to a close. In a world of illusion, people live happily. The Incubators have finally gotten the justice they deserve.
And Homura dances like a devil in the dark.
The End
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - robkelk - 04-12-2019
And now you know why I asked whether you wanted the girls pre- or post-Rebellion. It very possibly means the difference between Homura being on the side of Washuu or Salem once Act 4 rolls around.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Black Aeronaut - 04-12-2019
Hmmm... Why not somewhere during Rebellion? Before she goes off into the deep-end? Get there just in time to pull her back from the edge?
I'll plot this out over in the Planning thread.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - robkelk - 04-12-2019
I think she'd already gone over the edge once her labyrinth formed. Homura showed that she will do anything to get Madoka back.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Black Aeronaut - 04-13-2019
She doesn't come off quite that way, though... not until the moment she resolves to become a Witch completely so the others would finish her off. Everything else up until that point was just nature taking its course. Her consciousness had been pulled into her Soul Gem, and normally this would be where the gem shatters and her soul becomes a grief seed.
But, the isolation field was designed to keep that from happening, and by maintaining her soul gem's integrity, her mind was maintained as well.
An interesting way of looking at it is that so long as the Soul Gem remains intact, then so too is the connection to the mind and body. The body is just a meat puppet - we see this proven twice with Sayaka - once when Madoka throws her Soul Gem off the bridge, and again when Sayaka became a Witch. It was the soul inside that transformed, and not the body.
So, Homura's mind was maintained up until the point that her familiars started to break down the walls of her Soul Gem and complete her transformation into a Witch... And then afterwards... "...So this is what it's like to be a Witch." No memories. Only the pain of your shortcomings, and without even the knowledge of what those shortcomings were to reflect on.
Another point in my favor is that her Labyrinth had already been long-since formed, and yet there were no signs of madness. The entire city they lived in had been fabricated from Homura's memories of her countless loops of time, and it was only when her conscious mind began to remember her past that things began to unravel and the city began to show it's true nature.
Granted, one could say that Homura had completely dissociated herself by forgetting her own memories and living in this fantasy world. But that doesn't necessarily translate into irretrievable 'Insanity' - in fact, Merriam-Webster considers the word dated. It just means that she's suffered a psychological trauma that she'd really not like to think about at that time. (God knows I did this a lot myself, even if it was just 'escapism'. Hell, I'm still doing it now by writing this shit.)
So, I strongly believe that if Ben were to get to her before her familiars could start breaking down her Soul Gem, then her sanity can be rescued.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - robkelk - 04-14-2019
(04-11-2019, 10:27 PM)Black Aeronaut Wrote: Snrk. Bebe, you're a sweet and goofy little thing. "All I wanted to do was eat cheese one more time!"
"Hoi! Don't ruin the mood!"
At least it wasn't smoked cheese.
Nyoron.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Dartz - 04-16-2019
As much as I've triggered Article 50.... I'm still lurking until I get my shit finished. Given my workrate, Britain may well have left the EU by the time I do.....
Meg hasn't seen PMMM. Because I just watched it the last 2 nights on Netflix.
Imagine innocently advising Mami 'not to loose her head' = 'try not to get in over your head' - 'keep your head in the game'...... *stunned silence*
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Black Aeronaut - 04-16-2019
Snrk. Really, because that timeline got erased, Mami never subjectively experienced that, and Bebe wouldn't remember doing it, either. Homura, on the other hand, might actually laugh or just stare at her numbly. She's the only one that remembers ALL of the time loops, plus the rebooted reality.
RE: [RFC][Info] BA's Stream of Conscious Notes for PMMM Movies - Mamorien - 04-16-2019
(04-16-2019, 09:34 PM)Black Aeronaut Wrote: Snrk. Really, because that timeline got erased, Mami never subjectively experienced that, and Bebe wouldn't remember doing it, either. Homura, on the other hand, might actually laugh or just stare at her numbly. She's the only one that remembers ALL of the time loops, plus the rebooted reality.
She might laugh, someday, but judging by her reaction to a similarly loaded phrase in Chapter Siebenundfünfzig of As N Approaches Infinity*, I think staring is more likely. ("Nagisa" is Bebe's original name; she's being chewed out for getting back into a battle she'd been ordered out of. Italics are in-story emphasis; boldface is emphasis added.)
Corisanna Wrote:Everyone gaped at Homura's flash-bang anger. “We had it under control! We had a plan! We are lucky your reappearance did not defeat it. This time. Next time may be different. Never do that again!”
“I'm s-sor-ry,” Nagisa sobbed.
“You--!”
Boom!
“Hey! Knock it off, Homura!” Sayaka finally snarled, slamming her hands on the table. “She gets it! You don't have to bite her head off!”
All of Homura's magic seemed to abruptly retract into her and leave a cold void in the room as her face went pale and haunted then horribly, utterly blank. Her eyes were wide and empty, unfocused though she was looking at Sayaka. Flat violet turned to Mami. And stared. And turned to Nagisa. And stared. And Mami. And stared. Like she was seeing ghosts in a nightmare.
Disturbed, Mami reached for her. “Miss Ake--”
Homura scrambled to her feet disjointedly and charged out of the room without a word.
* https://archiveofourown.org/works/3553727/chapters/26741844
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11116656/58/As-N-Approaches-Infinity