Selector Infected Shadowverse: An Anime Suki Special!

[night_sentinel]

Sigh... Wow I missed a lot huh... This is what I get for getting addicted to mahjong of all things... I'll probably downloading the VN version of this or read it backwards until I catch up. I'll have lots of fun guessing how the hell everything happened lol...

Spoiler for Mami lives chapter 12:

Congratulations on finishing a major route Triple_R and its a Sayaka Romance. Btw, random trivia there is a Madoka light novel being published and according to my friend who can read japanese she called Sayaka "her knight" there.

Sayaka is very romantic and all but perhaps I am simply lacking context because I'm laughing at the number of reference that you managed to pack into it. You managed to blend Guilty Crown and Tiger & Bunny at the same time which is quite a feat. Plus you added Nanoha as Sayaka and Madoka's child which kinda make sense if you think about Nanoha's idealism and her befriend everything approach to life.

The only thing that saddens me with the update is Homura. After playing the psp game I can't help but ship MadokaxHomura. But, a silver lining to this is Homura I think will be content as long as Madoka as happy even if it is not her, Oh well...

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

All good things must come to an end... or so the saying goes. In truth, the only thing that has come to an end is our window into this particular timeline. But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?

Spoiler for "Skittles" Finale:

Well now, starting off with a proposal, eh? Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to that as a possible part of the ending, and you certainly didn't disappoint. The entire restaurant cheering for the two of them after Madoka's acceptance makes it even better. Which reminds me... Your username means "Rushing Ramen Rainbow?" I never would have guessed.

Meanwhile, in the past(which is still the future from our vantage point)... that had to be an awkward phone conversation. "Hi, Mama. No, I'm fine. I'm at Sayaka's... yes, her mother knows... well, a kidnapper held some friends of mine for ransom and Sayaka's dad showed up and saved the day... oh... and... the school kinda blew up in the process." Oh well, at least Kotetsu's friend Barnaby Stark Brooks has the money to replace it.

Spoiler for Tiger's Turbulent Tale:

It's been a while since I watched T&B, and I didn't exactly see all that much of it in the first place, so I'm not sure how much of Kotetsu's backstory is from that and how much was original to this. Ah well, I guess I can just pretend this is all your work, seeing as there apparently aren't that many others familiar with the series anyway.

Anyway... an interesting decision, making Kotetsu a mecha fan who wanted to build robots to fight in the name of justice for everlasting peace. Not only that, he actually succeeded... sort of. Yeah, one of the problems with dealing with government types is that they always want to do things you don't want them to. Oh well, at least WikiLeaks is still around a few decades from now. Which leads to another drawback: Getting blacklisted for doing something they don't want you to.

And then, along came a man whose name makes me laugh almost as much as Kotetsu's, and mostly for the same reason. Part of me wonders why they didn't think something was fishy about being hired into the exact field they were blacklisted in, but as you said, they were desperate. Of course, the reason for that did come up, and Kotetsu (rightfully) quit after finding out what that is.

As a result of that, Kotetsu met his then-future wife, and the two of them later produced a very wonderful daughter. I'm sure Madoka agrees with me on that one. Of course, Barnaby tried to keep in touch with his old friend, in an attempt to reconcile any remaining differences the two may have had. While I'm positive Kotetsu would have liked to have taken Barnaby up on the offer that was made, I think he made the right decision in not uprooting his family. And no, I'm not just saying that because I'd lose out on Sayaka.

Of course, certain... incidents had changed all that, which leads to the end of this particular set of spoiler tags.

Anyway, back to the present, which is still technically the past, even though it's still the future. The tearful reconciliation of the Miki trio was truly a touching scene. After which, we join the PM three in watching a news report with some rather familiar names popping up. I wonder if "veteran news reporter" Ritsu Hirasawa is related to "ClariS manager" Haruka Hirasawa... er, anyway, I gotta hand it to Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks, he certainly knows how to spin the truth a bit. And unlike what Kyouko was suggesting, it wasn't a total lie. After all, there were two suits in use that night, and at least one of them caused the explosion.

The immediate aftermath of the event was interesting. I'm kinda curious how that particular conversation went, as well as exactly how much Homura did reveal(and how much Barnaby would now be keeping from Mami and Kyouko). Of course, the good news is that the conversation resulted in the dynamic duo of Tiger and Bunny joining the terrific trio of Bat-mura, the Crimson Knight and the Lone Musketeer in fighting off Walpurgis Night.

After that, Tiger becomes a Maverick executive, and the Miki and Kaname families move to Tokyo. Also, a rather interesting proposition came from Kotetsu: a TV show about costumed heroes. I have to say that I find it amusing you'd have Sayaka be given some form of ice-based weaponry, due to the fact I... er... kinda partly based an ice-related character on her. And yes, I know that was actually a reference to a T&B character.

And we finally arrive back at the present (Which is still the future! ) as Sayaka bids her fiance farewell with a passionate kiss. Unfortunately, as much as I would have loved to have gotten the mental image of Sayaka playing a dashing prince for the wedding, her mother insisted otherwise.

Anyway, Kyouko, being the daughter of a preacher man, was able to perform the ceremony for the two girls she most likely became good friends with over the years. And quite a ceremony indeed: a blissfully lighted hall, Kyousuke performing the music (which I'm sure made Sayaka incredibly happy), Hitomi and Mami playing dual bridesmaids, and of course the radiant brides themselves... why, even Nanami applauded. The only drawback was the unfortunate, yet understandable, absense of Homura. I can't imagine she'd be all that thrilled with seeing Madoka get married to someone else, after all.

Before I continue... I love the choice of music for the ending, and I think it fits the scene nicely. With that being said, the scene itself was very nice, for reasons I will say now.

Madoka's dreams of having a family with Sayaka... turns out they aren't just a dream after all. Not only is Sayaka definitely on-board with raising a child with Madoka, it's their child in every sense of the word, thanks to the genius of the brilliant Jail Scaglietti. Robotics and reproductive technologies... that's certainly an interesting way of putting what he does. At any rate, Madoka opened a cafe, which I'm going to think of as being called... um... the Midori-ya, after her close friend Hitomi's hair color(yeah, that's it), and nine months later gave birth to an adorable little girl by the oddly familiar name of Nanoha... judging from the picture, it looks like she may have inherited Madoka's hair ribbons.

Speaking of pictures, the one that closes out this particular story is a very nice way to truly end this route. Here's to this particular pair of Madoka and Sayaka finding happiness, both with each other as well as with their daughter Nanoha, who I'm sure has a great life ahead of her. Who knows? Maybe she'll even find someone who Fate says she should be with.

In short: Great job! I'm thoroughly satisfied and truly impressed with how this turned out. I really do mean that.

[Triple_R]

Great to have you back reviewing this fanfic, night_sentinel! ^_^

I really enjoyed reading both your review of this Sayaka route finale, as well as Kogetsu's review of it. Now, time to reply to those reviews...

Originally Posted by night_sentinel

Sigh... Wow I missed a lot huh... This is what I get for getting addicted to mahjong of all things... I'll probably downloading the VN version of this or read it backwards until I catch up. I'll have lots of fun guessing how the hell everything happened lol...

lol, you probably will. And given who's in your Anime Suki avatar, I'm not surprised that you're addicted to mahjong. I myself might need to get more into mahjong just to follow most of the discussion on the Saki Achiga-hen series thread, lol.

Congratulations on finishing a major route Triple_R and its a Sayaka Romance. Btw, random trivia there is a Madoka light novel being published and according to my friend who can read japanese she called Sayaka "her knight" there.

Nice! That is cute.

Sayaka is very romantic and all but perhaps I am simply lacking context because I'm laughing at the number of reference that you managed to pack into it.

This is one of the major route ends where I intended for much of the fun to be loads and loads of anime references. I'm glad you enjoyed them!

As for the romance side of things, this finale admittedly only put the finishing touches on Madoka/Sayaka since I felt I'd already done almost enough with their development in the previous chapters of this route. So yeah, the romance bit would probably be pretty weak out of context.

You managed to blend Guilty Crown and Tiger & Bunny at the same time which is quite a feat.

Thanks! I'm glad that at least couple of my readers have actually seen Tiger and Bunny, lol.

Speaking of which, what do you think of the idea of T and B's Kotetsu as Sayaka's father? Did that fit well for you?

Plus you added Nanoha as Sayaka and Madoka's child which kinda make sense if you think about Nanoha's idealism and her befriend everything approach to life.

That's exactly my thinking too.

The only thing that saddens me with the update is Homura. After playing the psp game I can't help but ship MadokaxHomura. But, a silver lining to this is Homura I think will be content as long as Madoka as happy even if it is not her, Oh well...

That is one of the sadder elements of this route end. But it's not something that I think I could ignore, given the strength of Homura's feelings.

I can't stress enough that this fanfic really is intended to be like a romance route VN. I would say that the Sayaka route is roughly equivalent to the Kotomi route in Clannad or the Mai route in Kanon. In other words, an important route, but a pretty different one, and not the "True Route".

Originally Posted by Kogetsu Shirogane

Well now, starting off with a proposal, eh? Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to that as a possible part of the ending, and you certainly didn't disappoint.

I figured this would be a good way to kick off the finale, and I'm glad it worked for you.

The entire restaurant cheering for the two of them after Madoka's acceptance makes it even better. Which reminds me... Your username means "Rushing Ramen Rainbow?"

Get it while it's hot!

Meanwhile, in the past(which is still the future from our vantage point)... that had to be an awkward phone conversation. "Hi, Mama. No, I'm fine. I'm at Sayaka's... yes, her mother knows... well, a kidnapper held some friends of mine for ransom and Sayaka's dad showed up and saved the day... oh... and... the school kinda blew up in the process."

You pretty much summed up why I didn't actually write the dialogue for the phone conversation.

Spoiler for Tiger's Turbulent Tale:

*snip*

I'm glad you liked Tiger's backstory. It was something I slowly pieced together after I decided to make Kotetsu Miki an actual superhero. Since I had already used Guilty Crown elements elsewhere, I felt they'd fit in pretty well here as well.

Anyway, back to the present, which is still technically the past, even though it's still the future. The tearful reconciliation of the Miki trio was truly a touching scene. After which, we join the PM three in watching a news report with some rather familiar names popping up. I wonder if "veteran news reporter" Ritsu Hirasawa is related to "ClariS manager" Haruka Hirasawa...

My idea is that they're both daughters of a certain Gitah-lover.

er, anyway, I gotta hand it to Barnaby "Bunny" Brooks, he certainly knows how to spin the truth a bit. And unlike what Kyouko was suggesting, it wasn't a total lie. After all, there were two suits in use that night, and at least one of them caused the explosion.

True. I'm glad Barnaby's explanation worked for you.

Anyway, Kyouko, being the daughter of a preacher man, was able to perform the ceremony for the two girls she most likely became good friends with over the years. And quite a ceremony indeed: a blissfully lighted hall, Kyousuke performing the music (which I'm sure made Sayaka incredibly happy), Hitomi and Mami playing dual bridesmaids, and of course the radiant brides themselves... why, even Nanami applauded. The only drawback was the unfortunate, yet understandable, absense of Homura. I can't imagine she'd be all that thrilled with seeing Madoka get married to someone else, after all.

I'm glad that the marriage scene itself, though short, managed to be appealing to you.

Before I continue... I love the choice of music for the ending, and I think it fits the scene nicely.

Thanks! The very last scene of this chapter made me think a bit of Clannad, so I thought it might be nice to go with a softer Clannad song.

Madoka's dreams of having a family with Sayaka... turns out they aren't just a dream after all. Not only is Sayaka definitely on-board with raising a child with Madoka, it's their child in every sense of the word, thanks to the genius of the brilliant Jail Scaglietti.

I could think of no anime character better for this role than Dr. Jail Scaglietti, lol.

Robotics and reproductive technologies... that's certainly an interesting way of putting what he does.

lol!

At any rate, Madoka opened a cafe, which I'm going to think of as being called... um... the Midori-ya, after her close friend Hitomi's hair color(yeah, that's it), and nine months later gave birth to an adorable little girl by the oddly familiar name of Nanoha... judging from the picture, it looks like she may have inherited Madoka's hair ribbons.

Good eye!

Speaking of pictures, the one that closes out this particular story is a very nice way to truly end this route. Here's to this particular pair of Madoka and Sayaka finding happiness, both with each other as well as with their daughter Nanoha, who I'm sure has a great life ahead of her. Who knows? Maybe she'll even find someone who Fate says she should be with.

In short: Great job! I'm thoroughly satisfied and truly impressed with how this turned out. I really do mean that.

Thanks a lot! Who knows? Maybe one of these days I'll write a fanfic spinoff for just this route called "Puella Magi Lyrical Nanoha".

The only question is... will she meet a nice ferret... or a white rat?

[night_sentinel]

Speaking of which, what do you think of the idea of T and B's Kotetsu as Sayaka's father? Did that fit well for you?

I think it was the perfect fit actually. In some ways, Sayaka is a little girl clone of Kotetsu. From what I can remember Kotetsu is Idealistic...Impulsive... Overshadowed by his partner Barnaby.... and seemed to be the author's favorite chew toy.

Hmm... wait the above adjectives seems to apply to Sayaka . The apple doesnt seem to have fallen far from the tree in this case.

[Coldlight]

Mami Lives Chapter 12, Sayaka Route: Good End.

Spoiler for Sayaka Romance Good End::

Time for the conclusion. And so, we finally reach the end of the road for this route. We open with a four-year timeskip, fast forward to The Proposal. I like it how both their wedding rings have matching gems (given to the other partner) on it. Any significance on April 14 as the date? I would have also thought "Rushing Ramen Rainbow" was what your username meant, but a bit of information tells me it could be otherwise.

We follow with a flashback that continues where the last chapter left off. Madoka overlooks something quite embarrassing, and I can also imagine her closing her eyes, gently knocking her head and sticking her tongue out a bit (the te-he~ is optional ) in response. Sayaka makes sure Madoka doesn't forget what she needs to do, of course.

Spoiler for Mr. Kotetsu Miki's "reader's digest" edition biography:

Kotetsu Miki delivers on the little bit of "explaining" that he had to do. That's quite a bit of interesting backstory he has there. I don't know how much of the early part is from T&B, but I find that their story, especially Barnaby's is reminiscent of Iron Man's.

Enter the organization "GHQ", and in it, a secret faction called "Anti-Bodies". Going strong on the references, I see. Interesting to note that by 2050, Julian Assange would be already 78/79, and even then he's still working as an activist for whistleblowers. That guy never gets a break, eh?

In this case, Sayaka took after her blue-haired mother's looks, and her father's Lawful Good personality. Did her mother have long, or short hair? (Long-haired with a Hime Cut to represent the traditional, conservative Yamato Nadeshiko could work) I also wonder if (in this case) Miki was Kotetsu's family name, or was it Nanami's, and Kotetsu took after his wife's (I know it happens for various reasons, like continuing the name of a prominent family, for anonymity/keeping a low profile, or for just personal preferences, as some of those reasons).

The Miki family, for the most part, finally made up. That was a nice scene. All's well that ends well... except for some last minute resistance later by Mrs. Nanami Miki. Kotetsu may have paid twice for his integrity, but it later earned him the forgiveness and earnest admiration of his like-minded daughter, so the price wasn't as steep as it looked.

More familiar references in the form of a certain "Ritsu Hirasawa" and Ushio Okazaki. Surprisingly, Barnaby still earns much goodwill after his rebuilding of a school destroyed from what others might see as "a reckless weapons experiment by a foreigner near civilian areas". I would've thought rebuilding the school and paying compensation would earn him just forgiveness, but going as far as gaining goodwill came as a surprise. Maybe it's due to something like a combination of overwhelming charisma and excellent social skills, does he have those traits?

The decision to reveal the existence of magical girls on TV after trying to keep it all a secret just a little earlier also came as a surprise. Superheroes wearing powered suits supported by technology is one thing, but magic, and involving teenage girls, as well could be a problem. Not to mention people getting curious about the process of becoming a Puella Magi, and the resulting influx of "unsolicited contract offers" with Kyuubey.

Sayaka wanting to be an ally of justice out of a desire to help and protect others is not unexpected, and a more logical choice is to follow in her father's footsteps as a heroine in a powered suit instead of becoming a heroine the Puella Magi way. Although this is just my personal preference, I admit that I would have liked her to become a magical girl instead, (without all the nasty consequences brought by wishing for a miracle, and having an unrequited love in the mix) just because I've come to love her Puella Magi form so much as well (Swords FTW ). I'm also aware that it would run counter to their decision to never make a contract, so I know this scenario is pretty much impossible.

One thing to note is that the cycle of suffering for Puella Magi remains unresolved until someone else with enough potential makes the wish to reform the system. It's not impossible that a different pair of girls would repeat Madoka and Homura's story in the main series and eventually get the job done, though that is already outside the scope of this story. The best they get in this route is Barnaby's expensive Soul Gem cleansing method, and to avail of that, one presumably has to join the "Hero TV" system. This system would then have to become a global one, to eventually cover all the Puella Magi out there, including those from remote, underdeveloped countries.

I did notice the significance of June 28 for their wedding date. According to your profile, that's your birthday, isn't it? I actually liked the idea of both Sayaka and Madoka wearing a wedding dress on their wedding day, though it had to come as Nanami's condition. Like I said before, I believe that a girl need not become a prince to love a princess, when a princess could still love a fellow princess just the same. I'm just not really fond of the idea of the other girl (in general) having to crossdress, or go out of her way to further "masculinize" herself. In Sayaka's case, I think it's taking her outer tomboyish side a bit too far, at the cost of her inner girly side.

And for the final round of references, we have some from none other than Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha! And their biological daughter is none other than... an expy of Nanoha herself! I'm a little sad that she didn't get to call her two mothers "Madoka-mama" and "Sayaka-mama", though. I liked that bit with Vivio from the original StrikerS. Interesting to see you choose Dr. Jail Scaglietti for making the newlywed couple's dreams possible, given how much of a villain he was. Of course, he could just be a normal, good doctor here. And considering his research expertise over there, he has the, perfect, if I might say, qualifications for this one. Two women producing a biological child of their own also really reminds me of the early 2000s anime Vandread, which had humans separated into one planet for females, and males living in the other planet. Reproduction there works quite the same way it happened here with the birth of "Nanoha Kaname-Miki".

I see you've gone all out with the references on this one, including a shout out to the fine writer of Madoka Magica: Pure Pink Pretty Lovers, a certain Mr. R___. (I remember seeing what appeared to be your real first name on your old YT channel, I take it that's one of the real R's in Triple_R? ) I actually read this chapter a few days before, but I only came up with an acceptable (to me) response today. I did enjoy reading it, and I read it again in the process of writing this post. I'm sure you really enjoyed writing the conclusion to this, seeing as how Madoka x Sayaka is your favorite pairing.

[Triple_R]

Before I reply to Coldlight's nice, comprehensive review, there's a couple questions I'd like to ask all of my readers.


1) I almost wrote a brief epilogue for the finale of Mami Lives, Sayaka Romance that would involve Nanoha Kaname-Miki talking with her mothers a bit, but I opted not to go with it since I thought it might make the finale a bit too long. But it seems like Coldlight would have liked what I had planned for it. Well, would anybody else like to read a short epilogue for Mami Lives, Sayaka Romance? Yes or no?


2)) What would you like to see next (after that epilogue, if I write it)?

A) Mami Lives, Mami Romance, or...

B) Mami Lives, Madoka Stands Alone


To refresh people's memories, when we were last in "Mami Romance", Madoka had just made a couple big decisions surrounding Homura, and if you made any decision that kept Madoka in a romance with Mami, you get to read further on into this route. There's two or three chapters left of this route. The main star of what's left is definitely Mami (though Madoka, Sayaka, and/or Homura (depending on your choices) also have key roles left to play in it).

As for "Madoka Stands Alone", that left off on a cliffhanger of Puella Magi Sayaka about to fight Puella Magi Hitomi, with the implication that Kyousuke Kamijo's love is on the line. In MSA, Madoka has either passed the point of no return (i.e. having failed to gain, or turned down, opportunities with Mami, Sayaka, and Homura) or Madoka has a Homura option left. In fact, the main reason I ask this is that MSA will soon split into "Madoka *is* alone" and "Madoka/Homura: The Abridged Mami Lives Version". And I get the sense that Madoka/Homura fans are eager to see Madoka/Homura.

So, folks, please choose what you're most like to read next, and that's what I'll go with.


Now then, unto my reply to Coldlight...

Spoiler for Triple_R's long response to Coldlight:

Originally Posted by Coldlight

I like it how both their wedding rings have matching gems (given to the other partner) on it. Any significance on April 14 as the date?

I wanted the proposal date to be in Spring. Spring stands for "new life, new beginnings". And while a wedding proposal is typically the culmination of a romantic courtship, with a long buildup to that proposal, it also represents a new beginning and a very new lifestyle for the two people agreeing to enter into it.

This is especially true of Madoka and Sayaka here, as for them (particularly Madoka) it represents the eventual beginning of a new family.

So I wanted a date in April (the first full month of Spring). My sisters were born on March 14th, so I went with April 14th.

I would have also thought "Rushing Ramen Rainbow" was what your username meant, but a bit of information tells me it could be otherwise.

My real life name has three R initials in it.

We follow with a flashback that continues where the last chapter left off. Madoka overlooks something quite embarrassing, and I can also imagine her closing her eyes, gently knocking her head and sticking her tongue out a bit (the te-he~ is optional ) in response.

lol, that's a neat visual.

Kotetsu Miki delivers on the little bit of "explaining" that he had to do. That's quite a bit of interesting backstory he has there. I don't know how much of the early part is from T&B, but I find that their story, especially Barnaby's is reminiscent of Iron Man's.

Iron Man is definitely an inspiration for this, though I think it was a bit of an inspiration for the T&B anime itself. In any event, I'm glad you enjoyed the Kotetsu backstory.

Enter the organization "GHQ", and in it, a secret faction called "Anti-Bodies". Going strong on the references, I see.

Actually, at this point, I'm kind of perceiving the universe of my fanfic as being a blend of Madoka Magica, Tiger and Bunny, Guilty Crown, and a couple other shows. It's just that we're focusing on Madoka Magica with this fanfic of course. You can even think of this as a *nudge, nudge, wink, wink* anime crossover if you like.

Interesting to note that by 2050, Julian Assange would be already 78/79, and even then he's still working as an activist for whistleblowers. That guy never gets a break, eh?

If this fanfic had made him any older, I would have went with somebody else, but I can kind of imagine a passionate political activist still going at age 80 if health permits.

In this case, Sayaka took after her blue-haired mother's looks, and her father's Lawful Good personality. Did her mother have long, or short hair? (Long-haired with a Hime Cut to represent the traditional, conservative Yamato Nadeshiko could work)

I like your long-haired with a Hime Cute idea. We'll go with that.

I also wonder if (in this case) Miki was Kotetsu's family name, or was it Nanami's, and Kotetsu took after his wife's (I know it happens for various reasons, like continuing the name of a prominent family, for anonymity/keeping a low profile, or for just personal preferences, as some of those reasons).

Hhmmm... you know, let's say he took his wife's name to help further shroud his personal history. I like that touch.

The Miki family, for the most part, finally made up. That was a nice scene. All's well that ends well... except for some last minute resistance later by Mrs. Nanami Miki. Kotetsu may have paid twice for his integrity, but it later earned him the forgiveness and earnest admiration of his like-minded daughter, so the price wasn't as steep as it looked.

Agreed.

More familiar references in the form of a certain "Ritsu Hirasawa" and Ushio Okazaki. Surprisingly, Barnaby still earns much goodwill after his rebuilding of a school destroyed from what others might see as "a reckless weapons experiment by a foreigner near civilian areas". I would've thought rebuilding the school and paying compensation would earn him just forgiveness, but going as far as gaining goodwill came as a surprise. Maybe it's due to something like a combination of overwhelming charisma and excellent social skills, does he have those traits?

We'll go with overwhelming charisma. Maybe I pushed it a bit with "goodwill", but I wanted to help pave the way to Barnaby deciding to set up a Japanese branch of his company.

The decision to reveal the existence of magical girls on TV after trying to keep it all a secret just a little earlier also came as a surprise. Superheroes wearing powered suits supported by technology is one thing, but magic, and involving teenage girls, as well could be a problem. Not to mention people getting curious about the process of becoming a Puella Magi, and the resulting influx of "unsolicited contract offers" with Kyuubey.

I'll admit that I could have been more clear here. "Hero TV" is going to pretend that all of its heroes are using power-suits, like Sayaka actually is. The literally magical nature of some of its heroes will be hidden. Of course, the truth might get out someday.

Sayaka wanting to be an ally of justice out of a desire to help and protect others is not unexpected, and a more logical choice is to follow in her father's footsteps as a heroine in a powered suit instead of becoming a heroine the Puella Magi way. Although this is just my personal preference, I admit that I would have liked her to become a magical girl instead, (without all the nasty consequences brought by wishing for a miracle, and having an unrequited love in the mix) just because I've come to love her Puella Magi form so much as well (Swords FTW ). I'm also aware that it would run counter to their decision to never make a contract, so I know this scenario is pretty much impossible.

I'll keep your preferences in mind here for other routes.

I did notice the significance of June 28 for their wedding date. According to your profile, that's your birthday, isn't it?

Yes, it is. Good pick-up.

I actually liked the idea of both Sayaka and Madoka wearing a wedding dress on their wedding day, though it had to come as Nanami's condition. Like I said before, I believe that a girl need not become a prince to love a princess, when a princess could still love a fellow princess just the same. I'm just not really fond of the idea of the other girl (in general) having to crossdress, or go out of her way to further "masculinize" herself. In Sayaka's case, I think it's taking her outer tomboyish side a bit too far, at the cost of her inner girly side.

I'm fine with it either way, but I tend to view Sayaka as girly for a tomboy (probably why Kyouko usually gets to play the more masculine role in Kyouko/Sayaka romancefics). For that reason, I also like the idea of Sayaka and Madoka both being in wedding dresses for the marriage ceremony.

Interesting to see you choose Dr. Jail Scaglietti for making the newlywed couple's dreams possible, given how much of a villain he was. Of course, he could just be a normal, good doctor here. And considering his research expertise over there, he has the, perfect, if I might say, qualifications for this one.

You basically summed up why I went with Dr. Jail Scaglietti. His character's expertise fits this role perfectly.... and I just love the irony of a Nanoha villain playing a key role in bringing a "Nanoha" into the world.

Two women producing a biological child of their own also really reminds me of the early 2000s anime Vandread, which had humans separated into one planet for females, and males living in the other planet. Reproduction there works quite the same way it happened here with the birth of "Nanoha Kaname-Miki".

Wow, your anime knowledge is impressive, Coldlight. Yeah, I was inspired by Vandread a bit for this. That's where I took the "Gene Splicing" idea from.

I see you've gone all out with the references on this one, including a shout out to the fine writer of Madoka Magica: Pure Pink Pretty Lovers, a certain Mr. R___. (I remember seeing what appeared to be your real first name on your old YT channel, I take it that's one of the real R's in Triple_R? )

Yes, it is, lol. And thanks for the kind words. ^_^

I actually read this chapter a few days before, but I only came up with an acceptable (to me) response today. I did enjoy reading it, and I read it again in the process of writing this post. I'm sure you really enjoyed writing the conclusion to this, seeing as how Madoka x Sayaka is your favorite pairing.

Well, it's a pairing that appeals to me a lot, I can't deny that.

I'm really glad you enjoyed reading it, Coldlight, and your response was great!

Please don't forget to give me your take on the two questions I asked at the top of this post if you get a chance.

[Seitsuki]

Homura.

(10 char limit)

[Coldlight]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

1)Well, would anybody else like to read a short epilogue for Mami Lives, Sayaka Romance? Yes or no?

If you're still up for it, I'd say yes. (Should I even be answering this one? ) It might look like I'm urging you to write further than you have to, though.

2) What would you like to see next (after that epilogue, if I write it)?

A) Mami Lives, Mami Romance, or...

B) Mami Lives, Madoka Stands Alone

I cast my vote for B, Madoka Stands Alone. Cliffhangers are evil after all, and the reader might have fallen off the cliff already if it's left hanging for too long.

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Ignore this first part, it's just me randomly complaining about my own review...

Spoiler for Kogetsu randomly complaining about own review:

I can't believe I missed the PERFECT opportunity for a "Taste the Rainbow" joke with the restaurant's name! I even went out of my way to label the chapter as being the "Skittles" Finale! Bah!

Originally Posted by Triple_R

1)Well, would anybody else like to read a short epilogue for Mami Lives, Sayaka Romance? Yes or no?

It's a yes from me on the first question, though I'd be fine with waiting for it if you'd rather work on the other portions... which brings me to the next question.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

2)) What would you like to see next (after that epilogue, if I write it)?

A) Mami Lives, Mami Romance, or...

B) Mami Lives, Madoka Stands Alone

While I won't deny I'd like to see what's coming up with Mami Romance... it's easily the most complicated part of this side, if not the entire project. Plus there's the fact you did kinda leave Madoka Stands Alone on a cliffhanger about four or five chapters ago, and I'm also interested in how that one's gonna turn out...

Anyway, it's a vote of B: Empty Candy Dish for me.

[Triple_R]

Mami Lives, Sayaka Romance
Epilogue


It’s a beautiful Thursday afternoon. Sayaka finished off work early today so she decided to spend some extra time with me. Thankfully I’m available for that, since my papa runs our store in the afternoons while I handle it in the mornings and early evenings. I like that arrangement, as it means I’m always home for when Nanoha gets home from school. I like being able to spend some time talking to my daughter after each school-day to make sure everything is going well for her.

Sayaka’s hours of work are very variable, depending on a mixture of when crimes happen and when “Hero TV!” promotional work comes calling. “Blue Rose” has already appeared in a lot of advertisements, especially for soft drinks, ice cream, and certain musical artists. So there are many evenings when Nanoha is on her own, but she’s pretty good at keeping out of trouble when home alone in the evening, by watching TV or playing some children’s video games.

But what was a pleasant surprise to me is how Nanoha already wants to help me out at the store some evenings, as she really likes the nice blend of scents that’s provided by the various beverages and flowers at the store. So she’s a huge help some evenings, and acts so mature for her age! I guess she takes after her grandparents on both sides moreso than Sayaka or I in that respect.

Sayaka is currently wearing an open blue blazer over a white shirt. She also has on white khaki pants. I’m wearing an apron over a light pink one-piece dress that stretches down to my ankles.


“Aaahhh…” Sayaka said with such supreme satisfaction, “Where did you learn to make such great hot cocoa, Madoka?”

“I learned it from my papa.” I replied with a smile, and a slight blush, “Though I added in a little bit of extra sugar since I know you really like sweet tastes, Sayaka.”

“That added sweetness really does make all the difference in the world.” Sayaka replied with a smile of complete contentment while she breathed in the aroma coming out of her half-drank cup of hot cocoa.


Sayaka then leaned back against her chair, relaxing in it, as she sat at the dining table. That dining table was situated just in front of where I was in the kitchen. I really liked my home when I was growing up, and apparently, so did Sayaka. So the home we live in now was originally an empty one on a large plot of land in the suburbs of Tokyo, but we had it renovated to be as similar as the home I grew up in as possible. It does give me a wonderful sense of continuation, and of some things having permanence in life. I truly am now in a situation very similar to my papa's when I was a little girl around Nanoha’s age.

“I just prepared a cup of hot cocoa for myself.” I said to Sayaka, “So I’ll come join you at the table now.”

But before I could, I saw Nanoha race in through the front door! Nanoha was a few minutes earlier than we had expected.

“Madoka-Mama! Sayaka-Mama!” I heared Nanoha excitedly shout out to us as she raced over to the dining table where Sayaka was sitting.

“What is it?” Sayaka asked, a bit startled by Nanoha’s slight tone of desperation.

“Is something wrong, Nanoha?” I asked, betraying a deep concern for my daughter.

“One of my friends at school is getting bullied!” Nanoha shouted, as I saw a look of sadness splashed across her face.

Sayaka and I looked at each other wearily over this. Both of us knew something like this might happen one day, but we were hoping it would at least happen later than Kindergarten!

“Did you tell your teachers about it?” I asked Nanoha.

“The teachers don’t seem to want to do much about it because the bully is the child of a rich foreigner…” Nanoha answered, “You know, kind of like Granpa-Kotetsu’s friend Barnaby!”

Sayaka and I quickly looked back and forth to each other over it, searching each other for a solution to this problem, but neither of us could think of one right off the bat.

“That is a tough situation to solve…” Sayaka admitted under her breath.

“Sayaka-Mama… you don’t know what to do?” Nanoha asked in a tone of deep concern, unaccustomed to Sayaka or I not knowing how to address a problem that Nanoha runs into.

“Sayaka, we have to be strong for Nanoha.” I whispered to my wife, “Parents are the main foundation that a child’s life is built upon. So we can’t have Nanoha feeling that this foundation isn’t firm.”

“… You’re right.” Sayaka answered my plea, albeit out-loud so that Nanoha could hear it as well, “So I’m going to have to give the only advice that I can think of!”

I blinked uneasily over this, as I wondered what Sayaka’s advice could be.

“Nanoha.” Sayaka said firmly to her, as she took hold of Nanoha’s shoulders and looked her in the eyes, “Sometimes in life you can’t count on other people to help you. It’s sad, but true. Sometimes in life you have to take control of things yourself! So you should stand up to the bully yourself! That’s the way to be a true friend.”

“Heh?!” I uttered, as my eyes went wide in slight horror over Sayaka’s dangerous advice!

But Nanoha was now so fixated on her “Sayaka-Mama” that she barely noticed my own surprise at Sayaka’s advice. Nanoha’s eyes went wide as she looked up into Sayaka’s eyes.

“So…” Nanoha began in reply, trying to determine the practical application of what Sayaka was suggesting, “You’re saying that I should tell the person that’s bullying my friend Suzuka to quit it… or I’ll make her quit it?”

I have to admit it was cute how Nanoha voiced the classic “I’ll make you quit it!” threat with such adorable and breathless innocence.

“Right. Exactly!” Sayaka replied to Nanoha, while Sayaka smiled proudly at how quickly Nanoha had determined her meaning.

“B-but Sayaka…!” I began stating in distress, while holding one enclosed hand defensively over my heart, “That’s dangerous. Nanoha could get badly hurt!”

“I think we have to put faith in Nanoha here, Madoka.” Sayaka said to me, while Sayaka rubbed Nanoha’s head in a show of approval and confidence.

Sayaka then stood up to address me directly, while Nanoha looked way up at her tallest mother’s face.

“Nanoha is very physical active. And she’s strong for her age!” Sayaka continued, “I believe she can handle herself. Besides, wouldn’t you say that standing up to bullies on behalf of friends runs in the family?”

Sayaka blushingly smiled and winked at me while she said that, no doubt alluding to how the very first time we met it was due to Sayaka standing up to bullies that were hurting me.

I blushed a bit at the now very fond memory of my first meeting with Sayaka, of the time when she seemed like a Prince in Shining Armour in every way to me!

“…But what if Nanoha gets in trouble with the teachers for standing up to the bully, and possibly starting a fight?” I asked Sayaka, as I searched desperately for an alternate solution that would be less dangerous for Nanoha.

“If that happens, then I’ll directly intervene myself, and talk to the teachers.” Sayaka said sternly, “Whether the bully is a rich kid or not, you don’t punish the kids trying to stop the bully!”

“Thanks, Sayaka-Mama!” Nanoha shouted up at Sayaka, as Nanoha beamed in pride, “But I’ll make sure you don’t have to do that! I’ll stop those bullies myself!”

“…Nanoha, are you sure about this?” I asked, as I knelt down in front of my daughter to look her close in the face.

“Don’t worry, Madoka-Mama.” Nanoha said to me, “I’ll be careful. I’ll make sure that it doesn’t go too far. …I don’t like fights, but sometimes you can’t avoid them. But even if a fight happens, I’ll try to make it a safe fight!”

Sayaka chortled over the phrase “safe fight”, and I admit it made me giggle a bit as well.

Nanoha embarrassingly protested the resulting laughter of her two mamas, but Sayaka and I couldn’t help it. I could see some of Sayaka, and some of myself, in Nanoha, but it was sometimes funny how the two sides combined together.

Anyway, Sayaka and I would hear back from Nanoha the following afternoon. Sayaka made a special point to be home early that day as she wanted to know right away how Nanoha’s confrontation with the bully went!

I was wearing a light red one-piece dress on this Friday, while Sayaka was wearing the same blue blazer/white shirt combo, but this time with a blue skirt instead of white khaki pants.


“Sayaka-Mama! Madoka-Mama!” Nanoha shouted with a big smile on her face, as she raced towards where Sayaka and I were now sitting down at the dining table, enjoying hot cocoa together while we waited in anticipation for Nanoha’s return from school.

“Hey Nanoha!” Sayaka shouted back enthusiastically at Nanoha, while Nanoha gave her a big hug.

“Did you have a good day at school?” I asked Nanoha, with her then going to give me a big hug too.

“Yes, I did!” Nanoha exclaimed excitedly, “I stood up to the bully just like you said I should, Sayaka-Mama, and I made the bully stop.”

“Good for you!” Sayaka said, as a proud grin took form on her face, “I’m really glad to hear it.”

“Not only that, but the bully even apologized to Suzuka and me.” Nanoha said with a look of surprise on her face, “In fact, the bully, who’s named Arisa, even said she’d like to be friends with Suzuka and me!”

“Wow, that is a great surprise, Nanoha!” I said with while flashing a big smile at her.

“Wait a minute…” Sayaka said, appearing a bit shocked, “You said the bully’s name is Arisa? So… the bully is a girl?!”

“Yes, that’s right!” Nanoha replied.

“Wow, I’m kinda disappointed about that.” Sayaka said with a sheepish smile, and while rubbing the back of her head, “I didn’t know many female bullies when I was growing up. I hope girls today don’t take after the worst habits of boys!”

Sayaka then laughed nervously a bit.

“But the main thing is that your advice worked out in the end, Sayaka.” I said to her with a soft smile, “You really came through for Nanoha and me.”

“Don’t thank me.” Sayaka said, before patting Nanoha on the head, “Nanoha’s the one who did all the hard work.”

Sayaka, Nanoha, and I then laughed together a bit, and talked about hopefully meeting both Suzuka and Arisa one day. It was great that Nanoha had already made two new good friends!

Things were going well for my family, and hopefully that will continue to be the case.


------------------------------------------------------------



And that's an epilogue that hopefully Coldlight, Kogetsu, and other readers will enjoy.


But now, let me address the recent reader feedback in general.

Based on what I read there, "Madoka Stands Alone" will be coming next, and that will mean much more Homura, and within a couple chapters, Madoka/Homura as a pairing.

I hope to have the next chapter of MSA up sometime over the weekend. In the interim, I hope this Epilogue is a nice little treat that can hold people over.

It's short, as Epilogues often are, but I'd still love to know what people think of it.

That's it for now!

[Coldlight]

Keeping it short this time. I used up some of my powers on that other post.

Mami Lives, Sayaka Route: Epilogue

Spoiler for Sayaka mini-After Story:

Sayaka-mama~, Madoka-mama~ Looks like I got one of my wishes for this route granted.

Madoka and Sayaka's story finally comes full circle, which started from an encounter involving standing up to bullies, and ends with a story about their daughter that also involved standing up to a bully. I really like how it ended on this note, and found it interesting that you also managed a very close tie-up with a part of a certain other story. Though in that one, they were elementary school kids, IIRC.

Considering the kind of universe they're in, not only Nanoha, but her two new friends Suzuka and Arisa have a future in the magical girl/heroine business. Especially that Arisa.

Images

her name is Burning Arisa!

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Perhaps someday, this Nanoha will also

Spoiler for StrikerS:

become the mother of a certain child that would call her Nanoha-mama, along with her fated partner, Fate-mama.

That's all for now. Until the next update.

[Triple_R]

Triple_R McMahon here folks, and do we have a grrreeatt match for you tonight for this pro wrestling/magical girl extravaganza called The Great Japanese Bash!


In the blue corner, we have Sayaka "Symphony in Motion" Miki!

Spoiler for Sayaka Image:

In the green corner, we have Hitomi "The Heartbreaker" Shizuki!

Spoiler for Hitomi Image:

Anything can happen in the World Puella Magi Federation, and that's tremendously true tonight, as a friendship violently explodes! Will Madoka manage to patch that friendship up, or will...


Mami Lives Chapter 9
Madoka Stands Alone

“How fitting that this is where we will fight, Sayaka.”

We’re on the roof of the old abandoned warehouse where Madoka, Sayaka, and I had rescued Hitomi before. Hitomi finds it ‘fitting’ that this is the place where her and Sayaka now prepare to battle one another, but I can only perceive it as sick and twisted irony.

I stand far off from where Hitomi and Sayaka now gaze intensely at one another, Hitomi with a malicious smirk on her face and Sayaka with clenched teeth. The seething resentment the two now seem to feel for one another is truly palpable, and also truly tragic to me.

Standing next to me is Kyouko Sakura, and standing next to her is Akemi Homura. We’ve been relegated to mere spectators and “guardians” for this “event”, as that is what Akemi-san felt would be best.

I’m in shock and horror over how it’s come to this. In how we’ve allowed it to come to this.


“Are we actually going to let them fight each other like this?” I ask both Kyouko and Akemi as I turn my head towards them.

“We tried to talk them down, but they weren’t interested in what we had to say.” Akemi-san replied in a slightly sombre tone, “All they see is mutual betrayal, and the boy that they both desire. It’s hardly surprising that bitter conflict would arise from such perceptions.”

“… Even if you don’t particularly care about them, Akemi-san…” I began in a slightly cross tone to her, “Don’t you think that this is a waste of their magical energies? Our magical energies are not infinite, as we’re all well aware. That’s why it’s best to save them for dealing with witches and familiars!”

“I don’t disagree with you, but it doesn’t matter given the circumstances.” Akemi replied, “If either of the three of us could have talked them down it would have been you, as both of them seem to be fond of you. But they weren’t willing to listen to you, so there’s no way they’d listen to Sakura-san or I.”

“Besides…” said Kyouko, while scratching her head and chewing a piece of pocky, before turning her head towards me with a stern and knowing look, “You and I both know from personal experience how some disagreements between Puella Magi just can’t be solved by words alone.”

Kyouko is right, sadly. I know well of the specific instance she’s referring to…


“So we’re agreed then, Sayaka?” Hitomi asked Sayaka, while Hitomi held her halberd in one hand, and her other hand at her hip, “Whichever one of us loses this fight has to give up on Kyousuke Kamijou forever?”

“Right!” Sayaka firmly confirmed, while holding one sword with the tight grip of both hands, already taking a position indicating an eagerness to fight.

“Getting you to give up on Kyousuke forever is the only way that he might be free from your mind-altering wish, Hitomi!” Sayaka shouted at Hitomi, “So that’s exactly what I’m going to make you do!”

“My, aren’t we confident…” Hitomi said in a saucy tone of voice, “You don’t have much more experience at this than I do, Sayaka. Don’t be surprised when I force you to submit at the end of my halberd !”

And with that, battle was met! Hitomi and Sayaka launched themselves at each other with impressive zeal!


Hitomi and Sayaka were both very good at the thrust and parry inherent in conflicts involving lengthy bladed weapons. This resulted in scintillating sparks screeching off of Sayaka’s sword slicing swiftly against Hitomi’s halberd.

Then came a moment when the point of Hitomi’s halberd struck against the point of Sayaka’s sword, causing a bright bluish ball of crackling energy to form between the two weapons. That ball exploded violently, forcing both Hitomi and Sayaka to leap backwards to avoid getting hurt by the explosion.

But that did not dissuade either of them for long, as Hitomi and Sayaka charged once more at each other, each making battle cries! Such passionate fires flickered from the eyes of both combatants as their Puella Magi joust continued.


The two girls then pressed their weapons and torsos hard against each other, both clenching their teeth in anger. But Hitomi then quickly backed off with a stealthy backwards skip, causing Sayaka to tumble forwards a bit from remaining forward momentum.

Hitomi then took aim at Sayaka’s lower legs with a descending wide-arc slash of her Halberd! Sayaka was just fast enough to jump over the blade, but the jump was clumsy enough that it caused Sayaka to get tangled up within her own cape and fall onto the rooftop!

“Now I have you!” Hitomi exclaimed with a gleeful grin, as she brought her halberd crashing downwards directly at Sayaka’s midsection, clearly hoping to inflict a serious wound on Sayaka.

Sayaka thankfully managed to roll out of the way of the attack just before such an injurious blow could be done to her. Sayaka then rapidly rose to her feet, and swung her sword at Hitomi. Hitomi was still trying to get back into a proper defensive position after throwing all she had into the previous missed attack, and so this created an opening for Sayaka to take advantage of.

Sayaka’s sword struck hard against Hitomi’s late and somewhat sloppy defence. Dauntless determination was all about Sayaka’s face, while Hitomi’s face winced in pain from trying to hold back Sayaka’s attack.

“You’re not bad, Hitomi.” Sayaka said to her, while the two struggled against each other with their weapons smashed against each other, “But I have a key advantage over you! It’s an advantage I have over you when we are both just normal girls, so that advantage continues on even now that we’re both Puella Magi!”

“What advantage are you talking about?” Hitomi asked with a tone of irritation, as beads of sweat began to form on her brow due to the pressure that Sayaka was now mounting against her.

“I’m stronger than you are!” Sayaka exclaimed, as she finally exerted enough pressure with her sword to cause Hitomi’s halberd to go flying out of her hands.


“Aaaagggghhh!!” Hitomi cried, as Sayaka followed that up by slicing Hitomi across her left arm, cutting through white frilly fabric.

Hitomi had been startled by Sayaka’s show of strength, and hence was caught off-guard by this follow-up slash. Hitomi instinctively grabbed the wound left on her arm by Sayaka’s slash, and fell to her knees in pain while she tightly closed her eyes to hold back tears. Hitomi was trembling a bit.

Sayaka decided to show mercy here, by letting Hitomi nurse her wound without keeping up the attack.

“…Why are you just standing there?!” Hitomi snarled angrily in question to Sayaka, betraying Hitomi’s wounded pride.

“Because I take no pleasure in hurting you like this.” Sayaka replied softly, “So I‘m giving you an opportunity to quit now before I end up having to hurt you more than what I already have. There will be no shame in you choosing to quit now. Mami, Madoka, and I will all be friends to you once more if you choose to stop now, and make amends for the harmful wish you‘ve made by not acting further on it.”

“You would just love that, wouldn’t you, Sayaka?!” Hitomi loudly sneered in rhetorical question, while slowly rising back to her feet, “Then you’d get everything you want, including Kyousuke! Well, my love for him means more to me than that!”

With renewed purpose and vigour, Hitomi then sprinted over to where her halberd had landed. I sighed as I had hoped that Hitomi would concede to Sayaka’s request, ending this brutal fight. But that was not to be.


Mere seconds later, halberd would once more crash chillingly against sword, as Hitomi and Sayaka continued their figurative “dance”. But Hitomi’s movements now seemed quicker and more agile than before. I also suspect that Sayaka’s words had only served to anger Hitomi even more, and Hitomi was now channelling that anger through breathtakingly fearless attacks and thrusts against Sayaka.

Sayaka’s eyes went wide in shock at how fearsome Hitomi’s fighting had become!

Finally, Hitomi successfully managed to cut the side of Sayaka’s right arm with her halberd, causing Sayaka to drop her sword. Hitomi followed that up by strenuously slugging Sayaka straight across the face, causing Sayaka to collapse to her knees, dazed from the blows inflicted on her!

However, bluish musical notes appeared over the cut on Sayaka’s right arm, healing it. This didn’t seem to matter much to Hitomi, though, as a proud smile washed across her face.

“It may be true that you’re physically stronger than I am, Sayaka.” Hitomi stated towards Sayaka, “But I’ve always been the faster of the two of us!”

Hitomi then leaped on top of Sayaka, raining tight fists and kicks on her! The two started to twist and twirl along the top of the rooftop, as though they were pro wrestlers.


“This is starting to get pretty ugly.” Kyouko said, “Why are they playing it so safe? Why the hell aren’t they trying any magic?!”

“Kyouko is right…” Sayaka said to herself, low enough that I myself just barely heard her, “It’s time I took this to the next level!”

Sayaka’s cape then suddenly detached from around her neck, magically stretching out like a spider’s web! That golden-white spider’s web then caught on to Hitomi, and wrapped itself around her! Hitomi was now caught and subdued, held a couple feet off the ground by Sayaka’s vastly enlarged cape.

What Sayaka had just done with her cape reminded me of how I myself would sometimes use yellowish strands to capture or ensnare enemy familiars, witches, and Puella Magi. I wonder if that was intentional on Sayaka’s part…

A satisfied smirk spread across Sayaka’s face, as she rose to her feet, staring at Hitomi struggling in vain against the cape that now had her completely ensnared from neck to toe.

“It looks like my attempt to replicate Mami’s ensnaring strands technique worked just as planned!” Sayaka shouted, confirming my suspicions, “So you might as well give up now, Hitomi.”

“Never!” growled Hitomi with relentless resolve.

Then I saw small greenish magical energy axes form seemingly out of nowhere just behind Hitomi. Those energy axes carefully sliced through Sayaka’s cape, freeing Hitomi of it!

Hitomi then slowly lowered herself to her feet, as though she was a descending helicopter. It was now Hitomi that had a satisfied smirk spread across her face, as she seemed to taunt Sayaka with her facial expressions.


“Now that’s more like it!” Kyouko exclaimed with a smile, “This fight is finally starting to get interesting and entertaining!”

Sayaka was now sweating nervously due to Hitomi surprisingly freeing herself like this. So I think that Sayaka had now taken a defensive stance in order to prepare for what Hitomi might do next.

“The redhead wants an entertaining fight, Sayaka.” Hitomi said, “It would be impolite of us to let her down, wouldn’t it? So let’s cut to the chase, shall we? Let me show you one of my two most marvellous magical maneuvers!”

“What are you talking about?” Sayaka asked, her voice tinged with trepidation.

“I’m talking about…” Hitomi began in a soft tone of voice, before gesturing one arm dramatically upwards and finishing in a shout, “Gates of Brandenburg!!!”

A wide rectangle of loudly crackling greenish energy suddenly formed directly above Hitomi’s head. It seemed to suck air into it as though it was a black hole! This resulted in forceful gusts of wind sweeping across the face, clothes, and hair of Akemi, Kyouko, Sayaka, and myself. I could feel my hair flapping in the wind!

Loud laughter leapt forth from Hitomi’s mouth as she jumped high in the sky, directly in front of the magical rectangle she had created. Then, flying out of that rectangle was four dark black horses, carrying a largely greenish and ornate shimmering chariot behind them!

Hitomi landed into that chariot, while the horses stampeded directly at Sayaka!

Sayaka screamed in pain as the hoofs of the horses struck against her head, sending Sayaka careening wildly towards the edge of the roof.


“…This is getting too flashy.” Akemi-san said, “This area is currently designated off-limits to the general public due to an ongoing police investigation, but an attack like that one might be viewable even from far away!”

“Don’t worry.” Kyouko said, “I have a feeling that this fight isn’t going to last much longer!”


Hitomi did indeed seem to have Sayaka on the ropes, as thunderous chariot charge after thunderous chariot charge kept inflicting damage on Sayaka, leaving her off-balance and now on the defensive.

Hitomi stretched out her arms in gleeful gesture, laughing as she sensed her victory was nigh.

“Soon you will be mine, Kyousuke!” she cried, “Soon I will deliver vengeance upon Sayaka for how she betrayed our friendship, and then, my dearest Kyousuke, nobody will stand between us any more!”

“No!” exclaimed Sayaka, now being the one to display relentless resolve, “I won’t let you turn Kyousuke into your mindless play-thing, Hitomi!”

Sayaka then managed to completely evade the latest chariot charge by leaping high into the air, her new cape reflecting the glow of the moonlight!

Sayaka then summoned forth several swords, hurling them all at the horses of Hitomi’s chariot! Almost each and every sword struck against one of the horses leading Hitomi’s chariot charge, causing the horses to release neighs of pain. Hitomi’s chariot then went out of control, eventually crashing head-on into a smokestack on the roof of this old abandoned warehouse!

Hitomi shrieked in horror as the crash had caused her to fly backwards out of her chariot. Sayaka then twirled about, causing her one remaining sword to stretch out like a whip, with its various parts kept together with chains.

“Nice!” Kyouko excitedly shouted out, “Sayaka’s learned well from both of us, Mami!”

Sayaka then wrapped her chain-linked sword around Hitomi’s torso, and used it to send Hitomi crashing violently through the rooftop below! I actually winced at the sight of it, thinking of how painful that attack must have felt to Hitomi.

Sayaka then landed skilfully on her toes, like a cat, next to the gash in the roof left in the wake of her attack. Also nearby was the crumbled debris and disappearing horses of Hitomi’s defeated chariot.

“I hope that ends it…” Akemi-san said under her breath, “If this fight continues much longer, then…”

“It’s finished.” Sayaka said sternly, while causing a new cape to appear around her neck and back, “Hitomi won’t be bouncing back so easily from that attack!”

“Hitomi might be unconscious, Sayaka.” I said to Sayaka

“You’re right.” Sayaka stated, turning her head at a sharp angle in order to look me in the eyes while replying to me, “And if she is unconscious, then that means the victory is mine!”

I didn’t like the idea of Hitomi being concussed into defeat, but that was certainly preferable to loss of life or limb for either her or Sayaka! So I hoped that Sayaka was right.

Sadly, she wasn’t…

“I’m not finished yet, Sayaka!” I heard Hitomi shout, as she came rocketing up through the opening left on top of the rooftop.

Sayaka breathed a sigh of irritation at seeing that Hitomi still had some fight left in her. But Sayaka didn’t flinch for long, and in only a few short moments, fierce battle broke out once more between Sayaka and Hitomi.

But the battle between them now appeared as it was when they first started fighting. Flashier magical moves gave way to the thrust and parry of conventional sword-fighting. Sayaka and Hitomi were now like two boxers in the final round of a boxing match. Their breathing had become heavier, reflecting how their stamina was finally starting to run low. It was anybody’s guess who would emerge victorious between them!

Then, for whatever reason, my mind drifted to Madoka, and how she’ll likely react to the news of her two closest friends battling it out like this…


I’ve been following close behind Kyubey for the pass several minutes, as he sprints towards where Sayaka and Hitomi are.

During my desperate rush to help my two best friends, Kyubey has spoken telepathically to me about how they’re fighting one another! Physically, and for real! He also told me that Hitomi contracted with him to become a Puella Magi, but that decision seems to have been motivated primarily by a desire to win Kamijo from Sayaka.

I find all of this hard to believe, but as with so many bizarre events that have occurred in my life over the past two weeks, ‘seeing is believing’ for me.


Eventually, I arrived near the same old abandoned warehouse where Mami, Sayaka, and I once rescued Hitomi. At an angle, I could kind of make out a bluish blur battling against a greenish opponent on top of the rooftop of that old warehouse.

As I walked closer to that old warehouse, and squinted my eyes to try to see clearer, I could tell that Sayaka and Hitomi were both in flashy Puella Magi outfits, and that they were indeed fighting one another!

‘Kyubey… we have to stop them!’ I cried out telepathically to him, as I was very afraid of how badly Sayaka and Hitomi might hurt one another given the Puella Magi abilities and powers that they now wielded.

‘I doubt they will listen to reason, Madoka.’ Kyubey stated to me telepathically, ‘If you want to stop your two friends from fighting each other, you will need to have the power necessary to forcefully separate them. Such power can only be gained through you becoming a magical girl!’

Was Kyubey right? Should I become a Puella Magi in order to have the power to make Sayaka and Hitomi stop fighting each another?


I had decided against becoming a Puella Magi as I could think of no wish that was worth risking my life over, and that remained true.

But now I saw two large benefits to being a Puella Magi that were separate from the wish itself. One was the immediate concern of how it should enable me to stop Sayaka and Hitomi from fighting each other, and lead them into a more peaceful resolution! But the other benefit was related to a brief thought that crossed my mind… with Hitomi now being a Puella Magi, all of my closest friends are Puella Magi. If I remain a normal human girl, wouldn’t I be isolating myself from all of my friends?

Still, I could try to make Sayaka and Hitomi stop fighting each other even if I remain a normal human. I doubt that either would want to hurt me, so if I rushed between them, that should halt their attacks! There was also the option of me simply shouting out to them to try to talk them out of their fight.

These were the only three possible solutions that I could think of in the heat of the moment. Which one should I choose? I needed to make the choice now, before Sayaka and Hitomi seriously hurt one another!


MSA Choice 1:

A) Become a Puella Magi! “I Wish for my Mama to Become Head of Her Company!”

B) Rush between Sayaka and Hitomi, hoping that this will halt their fighting.

C) Shout out to Sayaka and Hitomi to try to talk them out of their fighting.



After quick intense thinking, I have now made my choice! I dearly hope that it proves to be the right one!


To Be Continued…


--------------------


Just a couple short notes:

1) As usual, clickable bits above links to songs that I think goes well with the paragraphs to come. There's three such clickable links/songs for this update. I hope people think they go well with the Sayaka/Hitomi fight of this fanfic!

2) This might be pretty obvious, but it's very important to keep track of which choice you made for MSA Choice 1. You'll need to remember it for the next update.


Anyway, I thought I'd try a few things a little bit differently here. If you need to be refreshed on what Puella Magi Hitomi looks like, just check out her promo image above during Mr. McMahon's grand introduction.

That's all for now! I look forward to hearing back from my readers.

[night_sentinel]

Well, the fighting of Sayaka and Hitomi is intense. But, you know I'm more with Sayaka in this one. Reading the previous section, Hitomi kinda is a jerk forcing Kyousuke to love her using her wish. Though, I don't know if its the "right" choice considering the anime castigated Sayaka for not being more honest with her feelings where her true desire is more along that she want Kyousuke to love her. So in the spirit of the show, Hitomi's wish seems to be the one Sayaka should have wished for. Though, honestly I'm glad Sayaka never made that wish.

Still, in the same vein if there is any fairness in this world, Sayaka is more deserving of Kyousuke than Hitomi. The anime ending showed that Sayaka could let go of Kyousuke and gave her blessing to Hitomi even if Sayaka seemed to have lost her will to live in the process.

And so the choice here for me ... MSA choice will be B.

Choice A sounds like a stupid wish. Choice C which is shouting seems to be not enough to stop the fight happening. So that's left Choice B which is the only way to stop the fight. The only disadvantage is there is a chance that Madoka will be horribly killed... Oh...

[Kogetsu Shirogane]

Well now I feel a little embarrassed... I was one of the ones who specifically asked for the Sayaka Romance epilogue and I went and missed the opportunity to respond in a timely manner due to being occupied with an idea from back in November. Ah well, better late than never, I guess, right?

Spoiler for "Skittles" Epilogue:

So we start off this last portion with the happy mothers spending some time together, Sayaka taking in the colorful aroma and taste of the extra sweet hot cocoa that Madoka had prepared.

But before Madoka could join in said cocoa enjoyment, dear Nanoha came in with a red alert: It sounds like someone has been making her friend Suzuka feel blue! Even worse, the teachers are a little yellow about dealing with the problem, because the bully's family is rolling in green. "Orange" you glad I can't work purple into this paragraph?

Now, this was something our happy couple wasn't prepared for, so they were at a loss of how to help their child. Seeing how this affected Nanoha, however, Sayaka-mama gave her the only advice she could think of, and it's something she has done herself in the past: If Suzuka can't do it herself, then Nanoha should stand up to the bully for her.

Naturally, Madoka was a little frightened at the thought of her child putting herself in harm's way, but Nanoha seemed to not notice, instead focusing on how she could help Suzuka.

I'd just like to take a slight break to point out something I found rather amusing about this scenario. Feel free to skip it, though.

Spoiler for Slight StrikerS Segue:

If "White Devil" Takamachi and her "best friend" were presented with a situation like this befalling their "daughter," I can picture the scene being mostly the same, but the one who isn't the title character would be taking Madoka's role.

Anyway, the following day, the concerned mothers got to find out the results of the somewhat questionable advice, and what surprising results they were! Nanoha succeeded, but that's not the surprising part. It turns out the bully was a girl. I wonder... did Nanoha resolve things peacefully, or did Arisa have to be the first to taste the rainbow?

... And that joke would have been a lot funnier if you had went with Vivio.

In short, that was a really cute epilogue, and kinda makes me want to watch a series featuring a (slightly) different Nanoha again...

Anyway... Arigatou, Triple_R! *turns and starts to leave*

...

Wait, there's still something else I have to respond to, isn't there?

Spoiler for Empty Candy Dish:

First off, let me just say that I love the lead-in to this update. Who better than Vincent Kennedy McMahon (or I suppose R.R.R. McMahon) to lead us into what good ol' JR would refer to as a slobberknocker of a battle? So without further ado, here is my play-by-play review the battle between Sayaka and Hitomi. Who will win? We'll just have to wait and see.

We start on the rooftop of an all-too-familiar warehouse, about to witness a fight between (quite possibly former) friends who happen to have feelings for the same person, and neither will back down or listen to reason. In other words, we have what many people would call a catfight on our hands... only the "claws" in this case happen to be swords and a halberd. Poor Mami... having to witness two of her friends fighting, without being able to do a thing to stop either one... that girl just isn't allowed to have friends, is she?

Anyway, with steel meeting steel (or whatever magical weapons are made of... Etherium?) and tempers raging like wildfire, we see the start of a tumultuous battle between Sayaka and Hitomi. And while Sayaka certainly has (some) experience over Hitomi, it seems as though the latter isn't quite as green as her outfit would suggest, as she managed to use Sayaka's strength and momentum (and cape) to her own advantage. Of course, Sayaka certainly wasn't going to take this beating lying down, as she took advantage of a flaw polearms tend to have: they tend to be a bit slower than weapons of a closer range, such as Sayaka's swords. So as a result, not only was Hitomi unarmed, she also was the first to take significant damage.

Of course, being the knightly hero type she is, Sayaka didn't follow up immediately, instead choosing to show Hitomi a sign of friendship. Unfortunately, she may have chosen her words wrong, as Hitomi became incensed by the part about her wish and the fight was back on. And, after a remark from Kyouko, Sayaka decided to play Blue Mage again by copying someone else's techniques; Mami's capturing technique, in this case.

Unfortunately, it's never that easy, is it? Hitomi managed to free herself rather easily, and went on the offensive with an interestingly named technique... tell me, was Brandenburg chosen because of the series of concertos named after it? At any rate, it seems that this particular technique summons a chariot drawn by a quartet of exquisite ebon equines. I suppose that's one way of making up for the slight lack of combat experience.

Then again, Hitomi's gloating proved to be quite disastrous, as it managed to push Sayaka in the direction she needed. After an impressive leap I would have loved to have seen, Sayaka managed to turn the tables against her opponent once again with a rain of arrows swords taking out her chariot and its horses in one fell swoop, followed by capturing the now airborne Hitomi with a technique she copied from Kyouko and slamming her onto the rooftop. Sadly... that still wasn't enough to put Hitomi down for the count, as she still had some fight left.

...

And now for something completely different! Hello Madoka! Hello meddling white ra... er, Kyubey! It's so nice to see one of you again!

It seems that the unpleasant white devil has been rather busy explaining things to Madoka in their absence, and she witnessed firsthand they (mostly) weren't Kyubey's trademark half-truths. And so, with the lives of two of her friends on the line, Madoka has a choice to make, and a difficult one at that... Honestly, I have a hard time believing any of the choices will actually accomplish much.

A is Madoka literally selling her soul to the devil who set this whole mess up in the first place.
B is obviously suicidal, and I would honestly hate to see the outcome of this decision.
C seems to be the safest option for Madoka to take, but the likelihood of success is almost zero.

I really want to believe that Madoka can talk her friends out of fighting each other, honest. However, Hitomi has obviously lost all semblance of sanity by this point, and Sayaka has an unfortunate history of being hard to reason with when she's this angry, so C looks to be out of the question if the intent is to actually stop the fight... As a result, it's either "zombie" Madoka or dead Madoka for me...

It's just a shame the wish (while funny, rather true to Madoka's personality and a lovely callback to an earlier conversation) has to be unrelated to the scene it showed up in...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

I'm sorry, Homura... if I would've went this path, my choice would have been A...

A very nice pair of updates, though one was obviously a little "nicer" than the other.

I suppose I should probably point out that, much like another recent update, the excellent choices in music for the second update resulted in me being tempted on giving the second portion of this post some background music, though given the Edges used in the chapter, it would have been a far more Teary song...

Anyway, I believe I can now appropriately say...

Arigatou, Triple_R!

[Kirito]

Hey Triple_R, I'm back. Sorry for the late reply, I know we talked about this and I said I'll get to my review, but yesterday was really chaotic for me. I was on the forums, but I had to move things, clean the house, and had to do several favors for people. I was so tired to the point where I couldn't write a single word. Now with troublesome stuff out of the way, I got some Persona 4 and ClariS in my RoP tracklisting, and I'm ready to roll!

Before I give you my final grade on your performance, you know I tend to go deep into what you've done. Let's get started!

Madoka x Sayaka Finale Scenario

So many cute, wonderful, and awesome things happened in this scenario. I spend an half an hour going through the scenario, interactions, and the twist and turns that came with it. I'm truly impressed as always Triple R, nice work!

Spoiler for The Prince and her Princess:

Someday my prince will come
Someday we'll meet again
And away to her castle we'll go
To be happy forever I know

Some day when spring is here
We'll find our love anew
And the birds will sing
And wedding bells will ring
Some day when my dreams come true

Please listen to this while you read this section.

Looks like Sayaka will be fulfilling her lifetime wish of being a dashing prince, running to find and marry her princess, finally! Sorry for the Snow White reference but as I read this it totally reminded me of this Disney classic that I watched over and over as I was a kid. Totally amazing and might I add how daring the way she proposed to Madoka. It was like how a prince/knight proposes to her princess, and Sayaka has the personality and the traits of a brave and chivalrous knight, and Madoka a kind, and compassionate princess, just like Snow White, or has I like her call her "Cotton Pink".

The Triple R restaurant...I would totally go to that! Pretty crafty and welcoming considering that it cater to the LGBT community, and what we've seen in previous chapters and in real life people have a hard time accepting such a relationship. A place where two friends who became lovers, and who are about to marry by proposing in a high class restaurant, with security and comfort, really puts a smile on my face. (Just in case if you misinterpreted, I don't swing that way, I'm just really accepting of gays and lesbians)

Anyway back to the topic:

I couldn't help but cheer for Sayaka and Madoka because they've been through a lot and the struggles have made their bond stronger. Cotton Pink (Madoka) and her knight/prince (Sayaka) have shown to mature in their both in appearance and in their relationship. Sayaka willingness to be a knight for Madoka is what motivates her to be a worthy protector of her princess, now that they're bound by eternal bonding it seems like they both accomplished their respective "roles" that makes up the promise in their relationship.

STOP HERE AND GO TO PUELLA MAGI's AND THE T&B SECTION NEXT!

Spoiler for Continuation:

Play this while reading this section!

The wedding was a phenomenal read, since to me, it felt like you're there to witness it first hand. The bit about Sayaka's mother really irks me a lot because she was still acting pretty distraught about her daughter marrying another girls, that makes her happy I might add. I can at least give her credit for showing up and congratulating her on her marriage begrudgingly. I guess some people just can't change -_-.

The bit about Madoka and Sayaka talking about pregnancy really made me laugh, it's natural considering that two girls trying to make a baby can be tricky without male "assistance". Their child looks cute, Nanoha, cute name. This is now my third favourite pairing after Mami x Madoka and Sayaka x Kyoko, great work!

I pretty much loved this finale. It was totally as I expected it to be and you delivered a great ending with, great romance, twists and turns, while keep the pace of the PMMM routine. Phenomenal work Triple R. I'm very pleased "applause" well done!

Spoiler for Puella Magi's and the T&B:

Listen to this as you read this:

So Kotetsu and the Magical Girls joining forces for a common goal, really fascinating. I found it really amusing how Kotetsu and Barnaby are sort of playing the field chiefs to the young Magical Girls, and them being responsive to it like trained cadets was really amusing. Then again since they're superpowered beings given the responsibility to protect the innocent it's only natural that they have to be discreet about their identities and intentions from the public.

Kotetsu back story was interesting due to the fact that his gutsy and honorable personality also lays dormant in Sayaka as well. It also gives us a opportunity to see what motivates him to do what he does, and he does it for his family, and the protection of the innocent. His fight for his family really matured in his development considering that heroes do fail, but their always something that keep them going through the bad times, and for him, it's his family.

I also liked how Madoka's and Sayaka's parents reacted to the whole ordeal considering that's something outside the norm their kids had to go through, while at the same time sugar coating the whole truth in a way. The T&B and Magical Girl defeated Walpurgis Night effortlessly is no surprise due to Kotetsu and Barnaby experiences on the battlefield. With experiences comes with great results has they say. Learning another path to clear their Soul Gems without needing to fight Witches to an extent, I guess that Incubators will be out of the job, to say the least.

Great twist on the battle and the backstory. I really enjoyed it! Great work!

SECTION FINISHED NOW RETURN TO THE PRINCE & HER PRINCESS TO FINISH THE FULL REVIEW.

Grading Time:

Spoiler for Pros:

The wedding, hero backstory, and Sayaka proposing to Madoka were really amazing to read. I enjoyed the half hour I went going through the scenario to understand the circumstances of the characters better. This get a 10/10 a perfect score, congrats I genuinely enjoyed this scenario and reading it was a blast. You've earned it, feel good about yourself!

Spoiler for Cons:

Still haven't watched Tiger and Bunny yet to understand Kotetsu's and Barnaby's character. I just went off from what I read in the back story. That's all.

Excellent work as always, I'm going to write my review on the other two scenarios shortly, but my hands need to rest. I really enjoyed what you've done with this one. Until then, take it easy, and I'll see you in the other update!

[Kirito]

Okay, after giving my hands a rest and finishing Resistance 2...finally! I'm ready to rock and roll and get the rest of my reviews finished. Well, as always I got ClariS playing so let's get this started!

Ahem:

Madoka x Sayaka Epilouge

Spoiler for Happy Puella Magica Family:

Look like after years of marriage and raising a warm happy family, Madoka has taken after her father in appearance and mannerisms, while Sayaka sort of has the Junko vibes, that her wife's mother has. It's only natural because Sayaka is like the working "male" of the couple and Madoka is the modern age housewife looking after the house, their child, and shop etc. To be honest with you I always thought that Tomohisa was a "housewife" just by looking at him

I mean, the apron, the glasses, and the warm smile that welcomes you home, that totally sounds like housewife material. Makes you think that while him and Junko were dating before they had Madoka and Tatsuya, that she became the dominate one out of the two. I think that makes sense considering that she's a successful business woman, with great prospects and upbringing, while the father is a kind, and warmhearted person, just like Madoka herself, since she takes up after him in many ways.

Oh yes, there's a time in a child life when they deal with bullying and the troubles and fears of handling it. Like child and parent, it's relatable because of bullies, Madoka and Sayaka met and struck up a quick friendship, with sweet awkward results (ie Madoka thinking Sayaka is a boy, that still makes me laugh because of her tomboyish nature making you think that she is one.)

Sayaka teaching their sweet daughter Nanoha her own gutsy way of handling bullies was cute and hilarious because of said comment previously mentioned. Well it worked considering that like her knight like trait sort of got manifested onto her. Well, she learned to stand up for herself and made two new a new friend in the process, as they say: All is well, that end well. Nanoha is sweet and peaceful like Madoka, and possesses Sayaka's gutsy and chivalrous traits, they've raised their daughter well. As a Madoka fan manly tears were shed. They makes me so proud ;_;!

Anyway amazing work on the epilogue. You can totally feel the love this family shares and how much they've grown over the past scenario. You've done it again Triple R, you rock, as always!

Current Mami Lives, Madoka Stands Alone Chain

Spoiler for Magica Cat Fight:

So many fanboys and fangirls, lovers and haters, dreams are about to come true. A cat fight between Sayaka Miki (yeah!) and Hitomi Shizuki (boo ┌∩┐(◣_◢)┌∩┐).

Before you start reading what I've written in the sub column, I want you to watch this clip for about 5:30s or the whole thing if you like. It'll give you a good idea how I've written and approach this scenario while I was reading and writing it. Well, I hope you enjoy this!, and be sure to tell me what you think when you have time. It's one of my favourite fighting game matches of all time, really intense!

Spoiler for Cat Fight:

To be honest Triple R, the music you've selected were great but didn't really do it for me. Listen to this instead while reading this. It totally sets the mood for the scene of their fight at least to me, plus it gets me amped!

Let me get into my commentator voice:

Anyway instead of the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble Line." The first thing that came to my head was "The wheel of fate is turning. Rebel one...Action!"

Sayaka and Hitomi, neck in neck in terms of physical attack and speed, both not showing any weaknesses to exploit, but all of that could change if one of them makes a careless move.

Sayaka we know has the speed, regeneration, and the strength, but since Hitomi abilities still remain "foreign" it's hard to tell what her attack do and how Sayaka will counter them.

Hitomi putting on her own show, forcing Sayaka to take up defensive measures, hoping to find ways to penetrate her defenses.

It seems that despite the setbacks Sayaka still remains confident and sure of herself.

She has the eye of the tiger and the will of a chivalrous knight, she's not one to be beaten easily. Sayaka has spirit, but Hitomi's eyes show determination and she really wants to take this, not for herself, but for Kamijou as well, whose love is on the line for the two of them.

Looks like Sayaka's able to do some damage and it looks like Hitomi is beginning to struggle a bit here, and of course she'll take any advantage on the spot.

Great display of skill from Sayaka, but Hitomi is still in this, not willing to back down. Looks like Hitomi is beginning to speed up her attacks and strategies a bit, forcing Sayaka to block and take hits, this is not looking good for her at all.

It seems that Hitomi has managed to overcome Sayaka in speed why is that?

Yandere love I'd say...anyway it seems she has the upper hand, what will Sayaka do to counter her? She's healing, but Hitomi is standing there waiting for her to make a move. Her face look frightening as if she has this battle already won.

Well, don't count Sayaka yet, she's know for always making great comebacks against all odds. Remember Mami taught her well after all!

The cape is off, what will happen?

Is Sayaka using the same yellow threads, Mami used on a witch in episode 2?

Indeed it is, remember Sayaka is Mami apprentice after all. It shows that she's using and taking up what she's learned in short periods of time. Looks like Hitomi's immobilized and Sayaka starting to make a comeback.

It looks to me that Hitomi's not impressed.

I wonder if she'll use a trump card?

A magical chariot? I wonder how she'll use it? It looks to me Sayaka's nervous, don't see that very often.

I don't know what to make of it either, but Hitomi doing some major damage here, Sayaka is going to have to regain her composure and think of a new plan soon.

Is it over?

I don't know we'll see...oh wait, Sayaka's still in this, and has donned a new cape. It seems she has a plan.

It's like I said: never count Sayaka out, her eyes are still burning bright and looks like she's regained her composure after Hitomi's fantastic display of speed, skill and prowess here.

This could be it Sayaka doing her own share of equal damage putting Hitomi on the ropes. Could this be it?

She's not done, both girls getting exhausted, looks like an attack or two could end this.

My heart is racing in excitement, I'm impressed with Hitomi's raw display of skill despite being new, making Sayaka nervous can be quite difficult to do. Sayaka has been struggling a lot...

This could be sandbagging in my opinion.

It could be! I know Sayaka can take this, she's a really capable and powerful magical girl, it's really hard to get inside her head and scare her, and make her submit. She has great power and speed, but hasn't fully put them into play here.

Makes sense, but you have to give Hitomi credit for her sudden entry as a Magical Girl and her frightening display of ability has really caught her and us off guard multiple times.

That's true, it seems that the two of them are familiar with each other now.

Looks like we're going to take a break. Looks to me the next few blows can decide this. Until then, folks that will be all for today. So until then, until then!

As prophecy fulfilled Madoka is once again forced into a situation where she's pressured to make a contract. Looks like she a tough decision on her shoulders, can't wait to see how this turns out, considering that rat is partially responsible for this mess anyway...bastard! Great job on the action between Sayaka and Hitomi "cough cough backstabber". Anyway, the twist and turns are really making the scenario more interesting and I can't wait to see how this will play out.

Grading Time:

Spoiler for Pros:

The two scenarios were well written and really satisfying to read. They were engaging, compelling, and made you wanting to read more. I'm going to give you another 10/10 because writing the reviews were fun especially the "cat fight" between Sayaka and Hitomi. As much as I hate Hitomi I have to give her equal treatment and opinion in my commentary. Plus her attacks her impressive I'll give her that.

I was cheering for Sayaka in my heart the whole time. Looks like it'll be down to the wire...I think. Hoped you liked my commentator bit!

Spoiler for Cons:

Hitomi seemed overpowered in the fight, and I'm sure Sayaka has more than one ability, or you could've made up some for her to even things out. I don't know if that's intentional but the fight was great regardless. That's all.

Phew, I'm finally caught up! stayed up for all night planning and writing this, but the result was well worth it. Well Triple R, whether you get back to me or not on this or past updates, we'll see, but for now until the next scenario, my fingers need to take a long earned rest, and I'm sure you're sick of me droning on and on on this thread to no end.

I can't wait to see what kind of winner you'll put out of a hat next, but until then keep up the phenomenal work, take your time, I'll be right here waiting!! I'm off to bed now, take care!!

[Coldlight]

Mami Lives Chapter 9, Madoka Stands Alone Route:

Spoiler for Madoka Stands Alone Route, Chapter 9:

Spoiler for Let Us Begin.:

Let battle be joined! The battle to conclude their bitter rivalry. Under the light of the moon, steel against steel, magic against magic, former friend against former friend. The long-awaited duel between Sayaka and Hitomi commences.

I have to say, that was a great choice you made for Sayaka's picture. I used it myself back during our time in the war called the "Anime Saimoe Tournament 2011", the 10th Moe Grail War. (Seems the time has also come for the 11th Moe Grail War, too. ) Also, nice choice of match picture, with fitting text in the speech bubbles.

Mami narrates the events of the duel, in the company of fellow spectators Homura and Kyouko. I like the short discussion between the three of them before the action, it's really in character and easy to imagine coming from them. Well written dialogue.

And then the two rivals do battle. I also like the choice of music for this part. Rule the Battlefield. Epic. During the first half of the melee, that was a nice description for the swordplay and halberd work that both combatants displayed, complete with sparks flying into the night and the upper hand both gained and lost by the duelists. Even with Sayaka's head start on experience, Hitomi did well here to actually present a clear, credible threat, considering that she's just a newly-contracted Puella Magi. Could she have trained somewhere?

Sayaka fighting with just one sword helps show her strength advantage, but I'd think that parrying Hitomi's halberd attacks with two swords (dual wield) would be more practical and versatile. Sayaka manages to disarm Hitomi and draw first blood, after which in a show of honor befitting a knight, extends an olive branch to Hitomi, who promptly refuses to surrender and rejects the offer in her own display of fanatical resistance. I could imagine Sayaka also pointing her sword at the kneeling Hitomi from a short distance before delivering her offer of amnesty. I approve of Sayaka's chivalrous actions here.

Hitomi's speed advantage could have been impacted by her heavy weapon, but in this case, magic works to negate that. While Hitomi happens to be faster (I don't think Sayaka is slow, Hitomi could just be really fast), Sayaka could also have used her magic supported kick-off dash attacks, Episode 7 style, or a la Grief Syndrome in order to close the gap with a distant or faster opponent, but luckily for Hitomi, Sayaka allows her to reclaim her weapon after she recovers from the pain. Hitomi manages to return the favor by landing a hit on Sayaka, who immediately heals from the injury. The clash of steel devolves into a hand-to-hand brawl between the two bitter enemies, until Sayaka gains the advantage by applying a technique learned from Mami. That was a nice touch right there, a shout out to her mentor and friend.

For the second half of the melee, Rule the Battlefield finished in time, and I found myself listening instead to a piece of music at the end of the video with a picture that caught my attention. The Battle is to the Strong, which I found to work quite well given the transition of the fight into a more intense phase, not to mention Yuki Kajiura's own ties to the Madoka franchise. The electric guitar solo parts fit especially well. Hitomi reveals one of her specials, and while I don't know if it's a reference to another franchise, I do recognize the reference to the real world Brandenburg Gate in Germany, which features the goddess of victory riding the Quadriga chariot. Ironic, considering that it is Sayaka who has (dormant) ties to Germany: the family name von Seckendorff. I really like how you again applied here Sayaka's (latent and canon) technique, cutlass in schlangenform a la Signum from the Nanoha series, and learned from Kyouko.

Spoiler for evidence for the benefit of the others:

If Sayaka and Hitomi were Servants in the Fate universe, I have to say that this special move makes Hitomi eligible for summoning as a Rider class Servant in addition to her Lancer class qualification. As for Sayaka, her skillful sword-throwing counter here makes her eligible for summoning as an Archer class Servant, in addition to her default eligibility as Saber class, and her qualification for Berserker class.

More swordplay and halberd work continue on into the cold night... while Madoka rushes to the site of the emergency, led by The Devil Kyuubey himself. If I had been in this path... Madoka joins the party, so she's not the only one left behind as a normal human. I'd choose A for [MSA1].

Excellent, intense chapter. I enjoyed it. Now 2 AM in the morning, time to get some sleep.

[Triple_R]

Mami Lives Chapter 10
Madoka Stands Alone

“I will not lose. I can‘t lose! This is it, Hitomi!”

As I make my way up the side of this old abandoned warehouse, in order to try to put a stop to the rooftop fighting, I overhear Sayaka and Hitomi shouting at each other. It saddens me, but maybe this means that both of them are tiring from their fight. I certainly hope that’s what it means.

After reaching the rooftop, I see Sayaka and Hitomi about to race at each other from opposite sides of the rooftop. Now it’s time for me to act on the decision that I made before!


If you chose A for MSA Choice 1, read Section Arrow of Peace.
If you chose B for MSA Choice 1, read Section Weapons of Tragedy.
If you chose C for MSA Choice 1, skip over both sections and read on.

Spoiler for Arrow of Peace:

Sayaka is holding her sword tight to her side, and is about to thrust it diagonally upwards, I think with the intention of slicing Hitomi across her stomach.

Hitomi is holding her halberd slightly above her head, and is about to thrust it in a circular downwards motion, I think with the intention of impaling into Sayaka’s left shoulder.

I can’t let them injure each other this way.

Hence, I will use my new Puella Magi powers to push them both back!

I release a bright pink arrow directly at the spot where Sayaka and Hitomi were about to clash with each other. I release it with the intention of it hitting that spot about half of a second before Sayaka and Hitomi would reach it themselves. Thankfully, my release is perfectly accurate and true.

“Aaaahhhh…!” cried Hitomi, as the beautifully bright blinding blast left in the wake of my shot arrow causes her to be knocked backwards unto her back.

“Ggaaaaahhh…!!” cried Sayaka, as the same occurs to her, albeit in the opposite direction.

“Wait, is that…?!” Mami asks in a low breathless tone, shocked at what has just happened, and I think perceiving my new Puella Magi form as the light of my arrow blast dissipates.

“No…” Homura says, with an ashen face and eyes growing wide, catching a glance of me in my new Puella Magi outfit.

I’m currently hovering in mid-air, still flushed with exhilarating adrenaline due to my newfound Puella Magi power! I have to admit that it feels good to wield power such as this, and I will have to mentally guard against becoming intoxicated by it. I wonder if Sayaka and Hitomi’s fighting might have something to do with their own personalities changing due to the sudden realization of great personal power?

“So…” said Hitomi in a seething tone towards Sayaka, after glaring up at me, surprisingly unsurprised by my Puella Magi appearance, “I see that you’ve given up trying to defeat me fairly, Sayaka, and have called on Madoka to help you!”

“… What are you talking about, Hitomi?!” Sayaka asked Hitomi angrily, “That arrow blast sent me flying to, you know!”

“Speaking of which…” Sayaka continued, while she looked up at me with firm and questioning eyes.

I then slowly lowered myself to the ground, sort of completing a triangle formation along with where Hitomi and Sayaka were now standing.

“I shot that arrow off to stop you and Hitomi from fighting each other, Sayaka.” I said firmly to her.

“…You became a Puella Magi just to try to stop Hitomi and I from fighting?” Sayaka asked, almost horrified at the idea, and also with a touch of guilt in her voice.

“Well, I also made a wish to benefit my mama, but you’re basically correct that I became a Puella Magi because I don’t went you two fighting anymore!” I exclaimed in desperation, while looking back and forth between Sayaka and Hitomi.

“… A likely story.” Hitomi stated cynically, after a tense pause, “You two are putting on a good act once again, but I’m not buying into it this time!”

“It’s no act, Hitomi.” I said to her, “I’m not taking sides in this fight between you and Sayaka. I just want this fight to end!”

“Oh?” said Hitomi, raising an eyebrow, “If so, then which of us do you support in our mutual, but also mutually exclusive, desire to win over Kyousuke Kamijo?”


If you chose A for MS Opportunity Choice 1, read Section Madoka Regrets Romantic Rejection. Otherwise, skip over it.

Spoiler for Madoka Regrets Romantic Rejection:

Due to Hitomi’s question, it now fully dawns on me that this entire conflict could have been avoided if I had accepted Sayaka’s romantic confession to me. This fight really is over Kyousuke Kamijo, and so Sayaka would have no reason to be in it if I had accepted her desire for the two of us to be girlfriends.

Worse still, Hitomi has now put me in a position where I must either appear untruthful to her, or I must actually be untruthful to Sayaka. After all, I had told Sayaka that I would do everything I could to ensure that it all worked out between Kamijo and her.

But if I take a neutral stand on this conflict between Sayaka and Hitomi then Sayaka could reasonably perceive that as me not doing everything I could to ensure that it all works out between Sayaka and Kamijo.

So I uneasily glance back at Sayaka after Hitomi asked me her question over who I support in the fight for Kyousuke. I search Sayaka’s face for some sign that maybe she’ll understand it if I take a neutral position here. But what I see in Sayaka’s eyes now is fear and doubt, thinly veiled behind Sayaka’s attempt to appear strong and steadfast. Beads of nervous sweat are on Sayaka’s head, and now the same is true for me.

… I’m sorry, Sayaka, but I must be neutral here, as I see no other way to persuade Hitomi to stand down. I sigh slightly before answering Hitomi’s question.

“I support you both equally.” I answered Hitomi after a tense pause during which I carefully collected my thoughts, “My suggestion is that you each deliver a love letter to Kamijo’s locker tomorrow, and let him choose between you with him fully aware of how both of you feel about him. I think that is the only fair way to resolve this.”

Hitomi initially looked startled by my words here, but soon she smiled satisfyingly over them. In fact, she now had a look on her face like the cat that just ate the canary.

“B-but Madoka…!” Sayaka began in protest towards me, “That isn’t fair! Hitomi wished for Kyousuke to fall in love with her. How can I compete with such a mind-altering wish if Hitomi is allowed to act on that wish?!”

Sayaka had a valid point, and I felt very sorry for her, but I just didn’t think that romantic desire for a boy was a good reason for two friends to risk killing one another! So I made the best counterargument I could think of towards Sayaka.

“Kyousuke must now love Hitomi…” I began in soft reply to Sayaka, “But he also feels very grateful to you, Sayaka! That should give you at least a chance of winning his love.”


If you chose A for MS Opportunity Choice 1, read Section Double Your Heartbreak, Double Your Pain. Otherwise, read Section Sayaka Calmly Capitulates.

Spoiler for Double Your Heartbreak, Double Your Pain:

Sayaka’s head began to hang low a bit, as her eyes were shrouded behind her hair. What I could make out of her face seemed oddly darkened. Unfortunately, it looked like what I said hadn’t managed to reassure her much…

Hitomi, on the other hand, was pleased.

“I’m still inclined to distrust you, Madoka, given how much you and Sayaka hid from me.” Hitomi stated, “However, your suggested compromise is a fair one, and so if Sayaka will agree to it, I will as well.”

Hitomi and I then both looked at Sayaka to determine if she would accept my suggested compromise or not. Judging by what Sayaka would ask me next, she didn’t appear very accepting of it.

“Do you like seeing me in pain, Madoka?” Sayaka asked in a low, ominous tone.

“Heh?” I quickly responded, taken aback by Sayaka’s question.

“Well, do you?!” Sayaka shouted at me, with a pained expression on her face, and tears streaming from her eyes.

“Of-of course I don’t!” I exclaimed in protesting answer, aghast at the idea that Sayaka would think that I find enjoyment in her pain.

“Oh, really?” Sayaka asked in a slightly saucy sarcastic tone, “Then why are you going against the promise you made to me? The promise to do everything you could to make it all work out between Kyousuke and I!”

“We-well, y-you see…” I began in stammering reply, searching for a good explanation when I knew one would be hard to find.

“So the truth comes out, I see.” Hitomi interjected, raising an eyebrow to me.

“No, I’m not taking sides!” I exclaimed at Hitomi, desperate to earn her trust once more.

“Of course you aren’t!” Sayaka screamed at me, “Because you don’t really care about me, do you? You don’t care about my feelings at all…”

The current situation was horribly worsened by how I had romantically rejected Sayaka almost a week ago. I could tell that much of the hurt arising from Sayaka’s voice wasn’t just about likely losing Kamijo to Hitomi, as it was also about how she had been denied a romance with me as well..

“Good bye, Madoka!” Sayaka exclaimed at me, with tears pouring out of her needy eyes, as she rapidly turned away from me and raced off.

“Sayaka… wait!” I shouted out to her, while reaching an arm out to her, but to no avail.

Hitomi raised an eyebrow over Sayaka’s emotional outburst, as there was something she found suspicious about it. Mami looked concerned about Sayaka, but also unsure of how to handle the situation. A redheaded Puella Magi that seemed vaguely familiar to me was standing next to Mami, and I think she mumbled “Poor Sayaka…” under her breath. As for Homura… Homura looked defeated.

Spoiler for Sayaka Calmly Capitulates:

Beads of nervous sweat danced about Sayaka’s head, as she thought hard but fast over my words to her, and over my suggested compromise. I could tell that Sayaka was uncomfortable with that compromise. I myself was as well, but it was the only way I could see to bring a safe end to the violent hostilities that had broken out between Sayaka and Hitomi.

I think that such a realization dawned upon Sayaka as well as she made a sigh of resignation.

Hitomi, on the other hand, was pleased.

“I’m still inclined to distrust you, Madoka, given how much you and Sayaka hid from me.” Hitomi stated, “However, your suggested compromise is a fair one, and so if Sayaka will agree to it, I will as well.”

“… Very well, I agree to it.” Sayaka stated begrudgingly.

Sayaka looked up at me with a pained expression on her face, and a needy look in her eyes. But soon after, she turned her face away from me, as I could tell that she was a bit displeased with me.

Mami breathed a big sigh of relief.

“Thank you so much for ending that fight, Madoka!” Mami shouted out to me, while she ran over towards where Hitomi was standing.

Kyouko and Homura were both visibly less pleased.

“Sayaka deserved better than this…” Kyouko voiced under her breath.

“Madoka deserved better than this…” Homura voiced under her breath, raising an eyebrow at Kyouko.

“Aren’t you glad that this fight is over, Hitomi?” Mami asked Hitomi while flashing a smile towards her, clearly hoping to smooth over the harsh differences that had arose between Hitomi and Sayaka.

“I… Well, it was an exhilarating fight, but I am glad that it ended without anybody being severely injured.” Hitomi answered, as the compromise reached between her and Sayaka seemed to calm Hitomi some.

“…So what did you think of Gates of Brandenburg, Mami-san?” Hitomi then asked Mami while smiling proudly but also respectfully at her, like a top student hoping to earn the praise of a respected teacher.

Hitomi and Mami seem to genuinely like one another, and that brought a smile to my face. But both Sayaka and Homura looked very… defeated, right now.

About a week has now passed since Sayaka Miki and Hitomi Shizuki fought each other over Kyousuke Kamijou. I have to admit that it was a brilliant stroke on Incubator’s part to contract with Hitomi Shizuki, as that effectively paved the way to Madoka becoming a Puella Magi herself.

As I suspected, the outcome of this all was Kamijou choosing Shizuki over Miki. That then played a key role in Miki turning into a witch.

After I witnessed Miki’s transformation into a witch, I gave up on this timeline. It will likely play out much like the third timeline did, only this time with a slight difference caused by the presence of a Puella Magi Hitomi Shizuki.

But even if Tomoe-san doesn’t discover the horrible truth about witches in this timeline, I don’t see this timeline turning out well. Madoka will be devastated by Miki’s death, and that will contribute to Madoka herself soon becoming a witch should she survive the battle with Walpurgis Night.

… It’s time for me to take more drastic actions. It’s time for me to think a bit more outside the box. I’ve been trying to keep Madoka from contracting with Kyubey by carefully controlling all the variables surrounding Madoka. But as Tomoe, Miki, and now Shizuki have shown in timeline after timeline, such careful control is probably impossible for me.

No, the variables surrounding Madoka cannot be effectively controlled. So the key variable is Madoka herself! I must remove Madoka from this Mitakihara Town quagmire. I must remove her from “the box” itself!

I have now secretly boarded a flight from Tokyo, Japan to Vancouver, Canada. I am in the cargo bay of that plane. It’s a bumpy ride, but it’s worth it for the reconnaissance I will soon gain. I will have a few days to scout this city with a large immigrant Japanese-speaking population. I will find a place in this foreign country that will be ideal for holding Madoka throughout the first three weeks of the next timeline. In the next timeline, I will kidnap Madoka. I hate the very thought of it, but I have been left with no other choice…

(To Be Concluded in Special Ending “Madoka Stands Alone, Homura’s Final Gambit!”)

Spoiler for Weapons of Tragedy:

Sayaka is holding her sword tight to her side, and is about to thrust it diagonally upwards, I think with the intention of slicing Hitomi across her stomach.

Hitomi is holding her halberd slightly above her head, and is about to thrust it in a circular downwards motion, I think with the intention of impaling into Sayaka’s left shoulder.

I can’t let them injure each other this way.

Hence, I will race between them, forcing them to halt their attacks!

… Unfortunately, my rush was not effective. Perhaps it came a second too late. Just as I started to support my rush by shouting out to Sayaka and Hitomi to stop fighting, I feel a swift, sharp, searing pain shoot through my body. Sayaka has accidentally ran me through with her sword! I… I’m bleeding profusely out of my stomach… I-it’s… as though… Sayaka stabbed me in the back.

My mind starts to black out… as blood gushes to my mouth… and Hitomi’s halberd strikes against my neccckkk……k…


What I see now is so shocking that its startling nature is matched only by its sheer gruesomeness. I began to wretch at the horrific sight…!

Sayaka’s eyes grow wide, and her mouth is agape, at the sudden nightmarish realization of what she has done. Hitomi tried to halt her halberd’s swing, but a split-second too late. Hitomi’s halberd still cut into Madoka’s neck, which is roughly level with Sayaka’s shoulder, which was likely where Hitomi intended to strike Sayaka. Hitomi trying to halt her thrust in mid-swing merely result in Madoka’s neck getting sliced half-way through instead of a clean decapitation. It is… it is such a miserable and wrenching sight!!!

I collapse to my knees, covering my mouth with an immediate sensation of disgust.

Kyouko is stunned silent. Hitomi’s face has turned a pale white!

“…Ma-Madoka!” Hitomi cries, as her trembling hands release her halberd.

“Ma…MADOKA!” Sayaka screams, as tears rush to her eyes, and she lets go of her sword, “W-what have I done…?!”


And then… Homura snaps.

“Damn you two muscle-headed morons!” she screams in unbridled rage, clearly directing it at Sayaka and Hitomi, “You have ruined things for the last time!!”

The next thing I know is the sound of six gunshots, with Sayaka and Hitomi being flung backwards by the force of bullets shooting through them. Sayaka and Hitomi’s Soul Gems are shattered, and blood spurts forth from their upper torsos, as the two girls are gunned down by an Akemi Homura that has clearly lost it.

I near the breaking point myself. But a small part of me refuses to give in to the desperately bleak circumstances. I force myself to take decisive action!

“…Homura!” I shout at her, as I leap on top of her back from behind her, and attempt to pin her to the ground, “Stop! You’re getting out of control!”

“Get off of me, Mami!” she screams, with her voice tinged with such impenetrable anger and pain, “Get off of me, or I will kill you too!”

I tried to get through to Homura, but she refused to settle down her rage. She struggled against my hold, and I didn’t think I could contain her much longer! Then I was treated to one more nauseating sight this evening…

Kyouko shoved her spear straight through Homura’s head, no doubt killing Homura almost instantly. This sight was almost as gruesome as what had just happened to Madoka mere moments ago. In some ways, this was worse, as I had a much closer view of the death of Homura…

I collapse to the ground, on all fours, weeping bitterly.

“Why, Kyouko… why…?” I manage in the midst of sobs, consumed in despair bordering on dementia…

I wasn’t merely questioning Kyouko on why she had killed Homura like that. I was also asking a much more profound ‘why?’ than that…

“She wasn’t joking, Mami.” Kyouko said to me, in a sad but steady tone, showing remarkable emotional composure, “Homura had totally snapped. The look in her eyes… the tone of her voice… I’ve seen and heard it before…”

After a tense pause drenched by painful memories, Kyouko continued.

“Homura would have killed you if I hadn’t killed her first.” Kyouko stated, “I’m not happy about it. It’s a shame, but it had to be done.”

“That’s not all I meant by asking ‘why’ of you…” I replied with a cracked voice, but while I slowly recomposed myself by rising to my knees and wiping away my tears, “Why did all this happen?!”

That last question I voice while looking up at Kyouko, desperately searching her face for answeres while a most melancholic expression spread across my face. But as I searched Kyouko’s face, I found no easy answers there.

“Madoka, Sayaka, Hitomi… they’re all dead… and it’s all because of ME!” I shouted in self-loathing, as I pounded my fist down on the rooftop below us!

“If only I hadn’t introduced Madoka and Sayaka to the world of Puella Magi and witches…” I continued, as my hand washed across my face to try to stop my crying, “If only I had left well enough alone… they’d all still be alive.”

I then felt Kyouko place a hand on my shoulder to try to comfort me.
“You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened.” Kyouko said firmly, “It’s not your fault. …That being said, Mami, it must be obvious to you now that I was right all along!”

“…What do you mean?” I asked Kyouko, as I tiled my head up to look Kyouko in the eyes.

Kyouko then helped me to my feet, while she looked me close in the eyes and held my shoulders.

“The powers we have aren’t some blessing that should be used to help others.” Kyouko stated, “Whenever we try to help others with them, it only makes things worst! So we should use our powers strictly for our own benefit… because, strange as it may sound, that’s the only way our powers won’t cause tragedies like the one we’ve just witnessed.”

I argued with Kyouko at length before over that philosophy of her’s. It’s what caused our friendship and Puella Magi partnership to sadly end. At the time, I was convinced that Kyouko had allowed personal tragedy to make herself overly cold and self-centered. But now… now I’m not so sure. And so I can only look uneasily away from Kyouko while she searches my face to see if I still disagree with her philosophy.

“It’s starting to dawn on you, ain’t it?” Kyouko asked, “You’re starting to see that I’m right in what I’ve been saying all along!”

“…Maybe…” I begin uneasily, “…Maybe you are. Maybe I was a fool for thinking that we Puella Magi could make the world a better place. Maybe it really would be for the best if we only used our powers for our own benefit, and that by doing so, no other innocent people like Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi would be brought down by the world that we live in…”

“Now you’re starting to talk sense, Mami!” Kyouko earnestly replied, while smiling at me, “I’d love it if we could be friends and partners again! The only reason that ended is because of the disagreements between us. If those are gone, then everything else is water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned. I still feel thankful to you for how you took me under your wing when I was a new Puella Magi. Let me now repay you by taking you under my wing, Mami.”

Kyouko then gently wiped the last tear from my face, as my crying had finally ceased. The one silver lining of hope left in this dark cloud of death appeared to be renewing my friendship with Kyouko.

“…Very well.” I said to Kyouko, focing a smile towards her, “I’ll let you do that. I look forward to us being friends again, Kyouko!”

Kyouko and I then gave each other a short hug, during which Kyouko patted me on the back.

After we released each other from our embrace, there was one last point I wanted to make to Kyouko.

“Still…” I said, “I want us to deal with this Walpurgis Night anyway. Given the looming city-wide threat posed by that, I hope even you can agree that us fighting it is a reasonable exception to your philosophy.”

“Sure, but it’s not an exception at all, Mami.” Kyouko said with a proud grin, “I bet Walpurgis Night will leave a nice, juicy Greif Seed after all!”

“Fair enough.” I replied with a smile, “Now then… what do we… what do we do about….”

“All of these dead bodies?” Kyouko said, feigning nonchalance, though I could tell she was at least a bit sad over the deaths we‘ve seen this evening, “Well, death brings with it the lost of Puella Magi attire, so at least none of them are wearing anything suspicious now. This sight is going to be mighty suspicious once the cops see it, though. I’d rather not have my fingerprints all over these dead bodies!”

“… I guess you have a point.” I replied, “I guess we should just leave them as is, and let the police discover what’s happened. Especially since this area is already under police investigation.”

“I don’t envy the Detective that has to sort through this mess!” Kyouko exclaimed, “Anyway, Mami, let’s go!”

And so, with a very heavy heart, I followed after Kyouko.


Needless to say, Mitakihara Town would be completely rocked by the police’s Thursday morning discovery of the dead bodies of Madoka, Sayaka, Hitomi, and Homura. This bizarre tragedy became the lead story throughout all of Japan for the next several days.

Mitakihara Middle School was shut down for a full week, as the police began extensive investigations.

Due to furious media demand for interviews with families of the deceased, and a desire to support each other through this trying time, Kotetsu Miki and Junko Kaname held a joint press conference in front of Sayaka’s home on Friday evening. Both declared that neither Madoka or Sayaka were the sort of people to kill others or commit suicide. With that out of the way, Kotetsu then vowed to stop at nothing to catch Sayaka’s killer if the killer is still alive, and Junko said she would see to it that Madoka’s killer is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I have to admit, it made for great TV, but it had a sickeningly sad irony to it given what I knew.

The Shizuki family, one of prominence and esteem in Mitakihara Town, was left in shame over this. They refused to address the media, and relations between them and the Miki and Kaname families suffered because of it. Mysteriously, no relatives of Homura could be found for comment.


As for myself, I did draw a bit of suspicion due to my unusual living conditions and me being a Mitakihara Middle School student, but I managed to convincingly lie my way out of a short police questioning. I felt badly about that, but it had to be done. My father’s old friend Kazuki Kudo, better known as “Phoenix Wright”, contacted me to make sure that I was Ok. He also told me that if I was wrongfully charged with any crime, that he would represent me for free as my defense lawyer. I thanked him for the thought, but also thankfully I was never charged with a crime.

Kyubey seemed to disappear without a trace after the events of that horrid night. I can only presume that he felt so guilty over his decision to contract with Hitomi, and what that ultimately resulted in, that he could no longer face me.

Kyouko was a big help to me through the trying days that followed the deaths of Madoka, Sayaka, Hitomi, and Homura. She was a huge comfort to me in those days, and we grew increasingly close. She said helping me like this was the least she could do now that she had a great place to stay by moving into my apartment with me. I have to admit that made me chuckle.
But then, Walpurgis Night arrived…

Kyouko fought against it with impressive zeal and vigour. I could tell that she had her hope and passion had been renewed by the two of us becoming close friends again. Twice in the fight against Walpurgis Night it looked like that monstrous witch was about to kill me, but both times, Kyouko came to my rescue.

But then, later on, I suffered a severe leg injury in the battle of attrition with Walpurgis Night.

I shouted at Kyouko to retreat, and leave me, and save herself. But Kyouko refused. In breathtaking irony, she was never more heroic than she was a little over a week after I embraced her philosophy of non-heroism. With me supporting her with one final, desperate Tiro Finale, Kyouko followed that up with an incredible kamikaze attack!

Kyouko died, but took down Walpurgis Night with her. The destruction left in Walpurgis Night’s wake was vast and almost soul-crushing to behold.

My own apartment was part of only half the city that remained standing in the wake of Walpurgis Night’s attack.

The string of recent tragedies afflicting Mitakihara Town has even now gained the notice of the United Nations, and their international peacekeeping force GHQ. GHQ moved in to Mitakihara Town, cordoning it off from the rest of Japan. The entire town is now viewed as a disaster area… a No-Man’s land… a place that some even now believed to be cursed. A crushing police state begins to be strictly enforced under the auspices of a General Segai.

As for me… I live on. I’ve become a survivor. I find a way to continue on in spite of the mountain of sadness that has been brought to bear on me. But inside, I often feel dead and aimless…

I try to press on, I try to be happy, since I think that’s the only way I can honor the memories and sacrifices of Kyouko, Madoka, Sayaka, Hitomi, and Homura. And I vow to never fall in love with anyone, less what happened to Sayaka and Hitomi would happen again to me…

The End (Mami Lives!… but nobody else does end; Bad End)

Sayaka is holding her sword tight to her side, and is about to thrust it diagonally upwards, I think with the intention of slicing Hitomi across her stomach.

Hitomi is holding her halberd slightly above her head, and is about to thrust it in a circular downwards motion, I think with the intention of impaling into Sayaka’s left shoulder.

I can’t let them injure each other this way.

Hence, I will shout out to them to stop!

“Sayaka! Hitomi!” I shout out at them, almost as loud as I can manage, “Please stop fighting each other!”

“Ma-Madoka?!” Sayaka shouted, in question, “What are you doing here?”

“Like you don’t know, Sayaka!” Hitomi sneered at her, “You probably called her out in the hopes that she could distract me, leading you to victory. Well, I’m not going to fall for it!”

“That’s not true, Hitomi!” I protested as strongly as I could, “I just don’t want you two to fight! Kyubey told me that you were fighting each other, so I came here to try to stop you from fighting each other!”

“You just heard how delusional Hitomi has become, Madoka.” Sayaka said to me, “Sadly, there’s no reasoning with her. I have been left with no choice but to force her to do what’s right!”

“Bravo, bravo, what a fine acting performance!” Hitomi mockingly cheered Sayaka, “Really, Sayaka, you should cast in your lot with thespians, and leave the fine violinist Kyousuke to me. But no matter how much you try to pretend to be in the right here, you‘re in the wrong for betraying our friendship!”

“I did not betray you!” Sayaka screamed at Hitomi, “If only you would start thinking straight again, Madoka’s way could… No, it’s too late. I can’t back down now.”

“It’s not too late, Sayaka, please!” I pleaded with Sayaka, “You and I can still get through to Hitomi!”

“No, enough time has been wasted on words.” Sayaka stated, “Only cold steel can settle things now!”

Sayaka and Hitomi then launched themselves at each other once more, as their battle continued unabated. The sound of sword clashing against halberd clanged nastily in my mind, causing me to tremble in fear. Sayaka and Hitomi also grunted a bit, as their stamina ran low, and their struggle grew increasingly grisly.

But then I noticed Mami, Homura, and an oddly familiar looking redheaded girl standing on the other side of the roof from where I was. Why were they just standing there, watching on?!

“Mami, Homura, Please!” I exclaimed, trying to have my voice carry above the sounds of battle to reach through to them, “Please stop this fight!”


If you chose B for MH Opportunity Choice 1, read Section Hot Heroic Homura! Otherwise, read Section The Kiss of Victory!

Spoiler for Hot Heroic Homura!:

I think that Mami was about to apologize to me, but before she could, I heard a gun-shot being fired off.

“Aaaaahhhh…!!!” cried Sayaka, as a bullet hole was now on the back of her hand!

Sayaka dropped her sword, and fell to her knees in pain.

Meanwhile, Homura suddenly appeared right behind Hitomi, with one arm wrapped tightly around Hitomi’s waist and one of Hitomi’s arm, while in Homura’s other arm… she held a gun pointed directly at Hitomi’s head.

“This fight ends. NOW.” Homura said with such impressive forcefulness!

“…D-Did you just shoot me?!” Sayaka asked Homura, as Sayaka slowly rose to her feet, gripping her wounded hand.

“Yes.” Homura confirmed, “Because you’ll heal, thanks to your powers. But that’s the only warning shot I’ll be giving either you or Hitomi. The next shot may be more damaging than that.”

“This fight has nothing to do with you!” Hitomi shouted at Homura, even while Hitomi sweated bullets over her current predicament.

“It does now.” Homura said, “Madoka and I… Madoka and I recently became friends, and unlike you two, I don’t so easily cast aside the cries of my friend!”

Sayaka made a disgusted look over that comment, but I could tell it also made her feel some guilt over not listening to me before.

“This is the only way!” Sayaka shouted at Homura, “There’s no other way to solve this dispute between Hitomi and me other than fighting it out like this.”

“That’s not necessarily true.” Homura replied, “I have a compromise I want to suggest to both of you.”

“A compromise?” Sayaka asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What exactly does this compromise entail?” Hitomi asked, a bit worried about where this was all leading.

“Miki-san’s wish was a relatively sacrifical one.” Homura stated, “I’m sure that even you must admit that, Shizuki-san.”

“So what are you saying?” Hitomi asked.

“Miki gets the first try. She gets the first opportunity at a confession.” Homura answered, “My suggestion is that you both agree to that. Miki will get 48 hours to confess to Kyousuke. If Miki-san either doesn’t confess within that time frame, or if she confesses and is rejected, then you get to make your confession, Shizuki-san.”

“B-but th-that’s not…” Hitomi began, protesting a bit.

“Not fair?” Homura asked rhetorically, finishing Hitomi’s statement for her, “It’s very fair. Besides… have you so little confidence in your wish as that, Shizuki-san?”

“…48 hours isn’t much time.” Sayaka said, after quickly assessing Homura’s suggested compromise.

“Kamijo is already grateful to you.” Homura said to Sayaka, “And he’s healthy and in school again. He’s as ready to hear you confess to him as he ever will be. You have a chance. Not a perfect one, but a fair one. It’s a reasonable compromise, Miki-san.”

“Homura’s right.” I said, as I could tell by the looks on Sayaka and Hitomi’s faces that Homura was starting to get through to them, “It’s a reasonable compromise, so you both should accept it.”

As a gesture of good faith, Homura then released Hitomi from her hold, and walked next to me.

“I…” Sayaka began, with sharp emotion coming from her eyes, “… Ok. It is a fair compromise. I’ll agree to it if Hitomi will.”

All eyes were on Hitomi now.

“… Fine.” Hitomi stated, “If Kyousuke truly loves me now, he should accept no other. You may make your futile confession, Sayaka. Should Kyousuke reject it as I suspect he will, I’ll be confessing to him this Friday night!”

Hitomi then turned around and walked away. I breathed a very heavy sigh of relief.

“… Wait, Hitomi.” Mami said, reaching out to Hitomi, “Let’s not leave off on this note. Let’s try to truly patch things up between you and your friends.”

Hitomi’s face softened over those words, but only briefly.

“… Perhaps in time, Mami-san.” Hitomi stated, “But not tonight!”

Hitomi then used her magic to stealthily leap off of the rooftop, coming to a soft landing.

“Well, that was an awfully disappointing end…” the redheaded magical girl mused to herself while scratching her head.

With this fight effectively defused by Homura’s quick and decisive actions, I felt so relieved… relieved and thankful!

“Thank you so much, Homura-chan!” I exclaimed, as I wrapped my arms tightly around her in a show of gratitude.


Homura’s face seemed to light right up from Madoka thanking her like this. In fact, Homura now had a confident and self-satisfied half-smile on her face. It made me think of a guy after he wins the adoration of a girl he has a crush on! I wonder what this could mean?

“You’re kindly welcomed, Madoka.” Homura replied, while petting Madoka’s head, “I’m glad I was able to help you in your moment of distress.”


Homura then turned her attentions to Sayaka, while still holding me in her embrace.

“Given what has happened tonight, I think we should leave off further Puella Magi planning for next Monday night.” Homura said to Sayaka,

“Agreed.” Sayaka replied to that, “… I’ll make sure Madoka gets home safely, so you can leave now if you wish.”

I think Sayaka was a bit miffed at how Homura had resolved things. Oh well…

“I’ll see you again soon, Madoka.” Homura said to me, while wiping a couple tears from my eyes.

Homura then left by stealthily leaping off of the rooftop, much like what Hitomi had just did. Mami and the redheaded magical girl then came over to greet Sayaka and I. It was there that I was introduced to ‘Kyouko’.

Mami suggested that to settle down after such a difficult evening that the four of us should go over to her place for a quick snack. Sayaka heartily agreed, so I did the same.

Kyubey followed behind the four of us, but he was pretty quiet. I guess he might be disappointed over how I didn’t decide to become a Puella Magi this night.

Spoiler for The Kiss of Victory!:

“I… I’m sorry, Madoka.” Mami managed weakly, replying to my cries for help, “But they wouldn’t listen to me, and now they won’t listen to you either. Let’s just hope that this fight will soon end, and without anything that severe coming from it…”

As for Homura, she didn’t reply at all to my cries for help, but I think she was feeling conflicted over it.

I felt defeated, and frustrated. I started to squeeze my right hand into a tight, shaking fist. I lost focus on the fight itself as I wondered if I should make a wish to become a Puella Magi.

‘Now, Madoka!’ Kyubey exclaimed to me telepathically, ‘Contract with me now, or it might be too late! As you can see, Akemi Homura and Mami Tomoe will not stop this fight.’

“I…” I began uneasily, in reply, “I wish…”

“Now it is finished!” Sayaka than shouted, as I heard Hitomi’s body land with a loud thud on the rooftop below.

Sayaka’s sudden shout had interrupted my wish. I turned about to determine what had just happened in the fight between her and Hitomi.

Sayaka now had one foot firmly pressing down on Hitomi’s midsection, and Sayaka also had the sharp point of her blade pressed up close to Hitomi’s neck!

“Sayaka, no!” I cried out desperately to her,

“If Hitomi submits and admits defeat, then I won’t have to.” Sayaka said to me, while briefly shifting her eyes from Hitomi to me to back to Hitomi.

“You won’t do it anyway.” Hitomi managed weakly, while breathing heavily, “You may be many things, Sayaka, including an unfaithful friend, but you’re not a killer.”

“There’s a difference between killing and murdering, Hitomi.” Sayaka said, “I’m not a murderer, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to take a life in order to save another’s!”

“Say-Sayaka!” I shouted in deep distress over her words here.

“…You’re bluffing.” Hitomi said to Sayaka, although I could detect slight doubt in her voice.

“… Is that something you really want to bet your life on, Hitomi?” Sayaka asked, though I could tell by Sayaka’s slightly unsteady hands that she wasn’t entirely confident here either.

This had turned into a game of chicken… a horrible game of chicken…

“… I guess this is my last desperate hope…” Hitomi said weakly.

Hitomi’s eyes then brightly flashed a rivetingly romantic red! I saw small, magical heart-shaped bubbles percolate up from Hitomi’s eyes, and strike against Sayaka’s eyes.

Sayaka seemed to become lost in a trance from this.

“What is… what is happening to…”

Sayaka stumbled backwards away from Hitomi, almost falling to her feet. Hitomi, with a proud smile on her face, rose to her feet.

“Fascinating…” Hitomi said, “What incredible fortune that my other most marvellous magical maneuver actually works on you, Sayaka!”

Sayaka, her eyes now the same reddish color as Hitomi’s, started to become lost in passionate eye contact with Hitomi.

“Hitomi… you…” Sayaka began, as though possessed!

“You look so very beautiful, Hitomi...” Sayaka said, with such startling romantic longing.

“That I do, don’t I?” Hitomi rhetorically asked, while making a small, proud smile, “… Do you love me, Sayaka?”

“Yes, of course I do…” Sayaka stated in such a dreamy, entranced tone.

“Then display your love by fulfilling one key wish for me, dearest Sayaka…” Hitomi stated as she took hold of Sayaka’s arms with her two hands.

“Sleep, Sayaka, sleep.” Hitomi said breathlessly, as she slowly brought her lips very close to Sayaka’s.

Hitomi… Hitomi then kissed Sayaka… On the lips!

Hitomi then gracefully lowered Sayaka to a lying position, parting her lips from Sayaka’s after resting her there. Sayaka now appeared to be asleep!

“Mwa-ha-ha-ha-haHAHAhaHAHA!!!” Hitomi laughed uproariously.

“W-what was that?!” I asked, totally stupefied by what Hitomi had just done.

“It’s the side-effect of Hitomi’s wish!” Kyubey answered enthusiastically, as he suddenly leapt up beside me, overlooking Sayaka’s fallen form.

“Side-effect?” I asked in turn.

“I wished for a man to fall in love with me.” Hitomi stated, as she teasingly wiped her lips, “As such, I gained the magical ability to make any person temporarily fall in love with me and listen to any one command that I give him or her… as long as that person is sexually attracted to females.”

“Wait, so that means…” I began in reply.

“Sayaka is sexually attracted to females, yes.” Hitomi stated, “It is fortuitous almost beyond belief for a girl that would engage in a dangerous fight for a young man to be attracted to girls herself. So the fact that this magical power of mine has lead me to victory shows how Kyousuke and I are truly fated to be! And the fact that Sayaka is attracted to girls this way shows she’s not fit to be Kyousuke’s mate anyway… although I’m starting to think, Madoka, that there really is forbidden love going on between you and Sayaka!”

Hitomi said that last line while looking at me over her shoulder with accusatory eyes. It made me blush a bit.


If you chose A for MS Opportunity Choice 1, read Section Madoka Can’t Deny the Truth. Otherwise, read Section Madoka States the Truth.

Spoiler for Madoka Can't Deny The Truth:

It is true that Sayaka is sexually attracted to girls, or at least to me, so I couldn’t bring myself to deny what Hitomi was saying. This caused my blush to deepen.

Spoiler for Madoka States The Truth:

“That’s not true!” I stated to Hitomi, “Sayaka and I don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“Honestly, Madoka, I no longer care if you do or not.” Hitomi replied, as she began walking away from me, “I have more important matters to attend to now.”

Hitomi then walked towards Mami, Kyouko, and Homura.

“As objective observers of my fight with Sayaka Miki, you will all vouch for how I achieved victory in that fight, agreed?” Hitomi asked Mami, Kyouko, and Homura.

“… Agreed” replied Mami in a low tone, clearly feeling sorry for Sayaka but also wanting to ensure that the hostilities between Hitomi and Sayaka come to a permanent end, “You have earned the right to pursue Kyousuke Kamijo, and without Sayaka’s interference.”

“The way you achieved your victory was kind of lame…” chimed in Kyouko, while scratching her head, “But you’re the one left standing, so yeah, it’s your victory.”

“… I don’t approve of how you’ve gone about this, Hitomi Shizuki.” Homura said curtly to her, “But I’m not going to object to Tomoe-san and Sakura-san’s decisions.”

With a look of disgust on her face, Homura then turned away from the rest of us, and made her exit.

Hitomi and Mami then exchanged a couple of pleasantries, but at the moment my main focus was on Sayaka. Sayaka would be in for a rude awakening once this “sleep” command wore off…

The hostilities between Sayaka and Hitomi had thankfully been resolved without lost of life or limb this Wednesday night. But unfortunately, the core problem caused by their competing love for Kyousuke Kamijo still remained. It would be a problem that I hoped I would be able to help resolve in the coming days…

To Be Continued…


---------------------------------------

Ok, a few key things:

1. Thanks a lot to Deikan, Coldlight, Kogetsu, and night_sentinel to all the great recent replies. I'll try to get back to each of you privately on them.

2. Sorry, night_sentinel, but it looks like your worst fears over Choice B for MSA Choice 1 were realized. For what it's worth, I had that outcome planned from the very beginning, so it's not like I was trying to pick on you.

3. The next update will focus on the Special End extension of Choice A for MSA Choice 1. I hope that Madoka/Homura fans will enjoy it! Let's just say some Stockholm Syndrome might be involved.

4. The next update after that will feature Madoka Stands Alone break into the final two subchains/routes of Mami Lives! Those are "Mami Lives, Madoka is Alone" and "Mami Lives, Homura Romance". I will update these subchains side-by-side until they're both finished


That's all for now! I really look forward to everybody's take on this chapter! ^_^

[Kirito]

Great new update Triple R. I spent the past half hour reading, analyzing, going through the options given thoroughly to the best of my ability, and all I can say is...pleasantly pleased with what you've done here!. But at the same time disappointed You'll see as you read this.

I'm a little upset at certain outcomes in this scenario, but you'll understand that once you read my feedback given. Well, as always I got ClariS playing and I'm ready to go.

Before I give you my final grade on your performance, you know I tend to go deep into what you've done. Let's get this started!

Ahem:

Current Mami Lives, Madoka Stands Alone Chain Scenario.

Spoiler for Goddess in Training:

Madoka becoming a magical much to the horror of Homura and Sayaka, but considering the direness of the situation she felt like she had no choice. Anyway, Madoka not supporting Sayaka in her romance for Kamijou is a little shocking because it felt to me like a betrayal. I know that Madoka means well, but with the way things turned out, it seems she favored Hitomi "shudders" slightly and it's sad considering that she hasn't really thought of a natural way to remain neutral.

A love letter in the box from two girls, Shakugan no Shana much? It would've been best to go that way, but Hitomi is no way the wiser to instantly refuse a fair and equal opportunity to reach a compromise with the other. It's sad because it's practically losing without ever fighting at all and it's just like what Mami and Kyoko said: she totally deserved better.

Not that Homura failed in her mission to prevent Madoka from contracting, it looks like she'll be using extreme methods to pull off a way fix the problem before history repeats itself. Once again, Kyub...I mean, the filthy rat, has driven Homura to the corner, and it seems she has a plan and it's going to take all she has to make it work.

Great work on the suspect and drama this part had to offer, but I'm really aggravated that Hitomi was favored in the end just because of a stupid wish. I know it's valid, but it's a slap to the face to Sayaka because their fight proved no purpose and she lost the moment it started.

Let it all out Sayaka! you definitely deserved better.

Spoiler for Bloody Magica:

Madoka gets killed, Sayaka and Hitomi realize their mistake albeit to late, and Homura snaps, interesting way to go in terms of bad end tragedies leading up too. Homura snapping is an understandable situation considering that her failures to keep Madoka safe/from contracting ended in a bloody unnecessary mess, and her whole reason for doing what she does thrown down the drain. Kyoko harshly killing Homura, and being a cold comforter to the heartbroken and devastated Mami, through all of the mess they've witnessed.

As time goes on the situation didn't get better and Mami is still unable to shake off the guilt of not being able to help hers friends, and Kyoko's cold demeanor isn't really helping considering that even though they've reconnected their partnership, Mami is unable to fight the guilt plaguing her. In the end, Mami lost her only friend/partner she could confine in, like her family, and friends, she's all alone. Poor Mami, she really needs a hug.

Great approach with this choice given, it was really nice to see how people can be affected by their inability to save those who matter to you, and only to lose everything in the end. Great work on emphasizing that and I enjoyed this read, nicely done!

Spoiler for The Forceful Mediator:

Homura being the forceful mediator for the two arrogant girls in love. It was to see that she's taken out her "homework" she's learned during each timeline and using it for a peaceful resolution. Giving Sayaka 48 hours instead of 24 will definitely give her a little bit of time to sort out her feelings and confess to Kamijou. Hitomi not please, no surprise, but no choice to accept because of the logic behind Homura's reasoning. It's nice to see Homura and Madoka having a moment and can't help but think that Sayaka was feeling a little jealous, "hint hint" and a solution has been made.

Spoiler for Kiss Covered With Thorns:

So Hitomi used a spell to not only steal a kiss from Sayaka, but to prove that she's lesbian and unfit for Kamijou...weird. Well looks like she won on an awkward technically and Madoka once again failing to pacify the situation. I can't help but think in the "Madoka Can't Deny The Truth" given it's hinted that she thinks of Sayaka as a possible potential lover. I don't know if that's what you intended but, oh well more MadoSaya, yeah!

Anyway, it seemed that lost AGAIN!!!, but for some reason Hitomi kissing a girl doesn't click with me. Call me weird, but I love yuri and I didn't feel a thing when Hitomi kissed Sayaka while under a spell...is there something wrong with me...? Hope not.

Anyway I liked the Yuri approach but the ending kind of felt like a no contest again. Nice work, but still hard to digest what was written in that choice given.

Grading Time:

Spoiler for Pros:

The scenarios, options, and the drama were really well written and detailed. I liked the Hot Heroic Homura! option overall because it was the only choice that was more pacifistic, and both parties got a clean, but harmful resolution, and Homura looked cool in that bit. Great work! I'll give you a 8/10, great work as always Triple R, you rock as always.

Spoiler for Cons:

I didn't like how you handled Mami this chapter, and how you sort of let Kyubey get away with all of this scot-free considering that his "half-truths" is what caused all of this in the first place.

Mami didn't even try to be as helpful as she always been in previous updates. She pretty much acted as a non caring bystander only caring for the one that can produce results, and acted like a quitter in the second choice, which really irks me. Don't you care about Sayaka? Your apprentice!

Hitomi was heavily favored and it felt like Sayaka didn't even put up a fight at all. I don't know if that was intentional, but it really upset me that the only time she has a chance is in the option I've favored. I know you don't care, but I don't know if Coldlight will agree with me, but as a Sayaka fan that really upsets me.

Well a great scenario Triple R, I really enjoyed it to no end. As always sorry for annoying you to no end, I'll be right here waiting for you to pull another winner out of your hat. So until then, take it easy, and I'll be right here waiting!

[Triple_R]

Kirito - Thanks for the detailed reply. I was prepared for some readers to not like certain elements of this update. But just to be clear, it's not that I'm trolling my audience. Let me try to explain why I took the plot the way I did in this latest update.

1) I'm sure that everybody here knows that I'm a big Sayaka fan. So it almost seemed too predictable for me to have Sayaka win her fight. I thought it might be pretty surprising if Hitomi "won" (in one route, the other ones all essentially ending in draws). Plus, Hitomi winning allowed me to showcase a wish side-effect power of her's that I had planned out from the start - I couldn't really think of another good way to showcase that (no reason for Hitomi to kiss familiars or witches, after all ). I also thought that Hitomi kissing Sayaka might be a nice, unexpected visual for yuri fans.

2) One thing I always try to keep in mind is the VN side of this. This fanfic is intended to eventually become a full-fledged VN, thanks to our good friend Kimidori. So my thinking is this: If you end up in the "Kiss of Victory!" section, it means that you passed on Mami, you passed on (or failed to get an opportunity with) Sayaka, and you passed on (or failed to get an opportunity with) Homura. So basically I see the "Kiss of Victory!" section (and the "Madoka Is Alone" sub-chain) as a bit of a punishment for readers/players doing poorly at the "romance game" side of things. Now most of the people reading this fanfic are reading everything, so naturally we all just want to keep seeing our favorite characters do well, but as the writer of VN routes, I can't forget the VN side of things.

3) I'll admit that I had a hard time deciding what to do with Mami in this latest update. I myself wasn't sure if it was more in-character to have her stay on the sidelines as an observer and just hope for the best, or for her to get more involved. The problem with her getting more involved is that it would prevent the Homura Romance branching - I'd have to push that back even farther, and I thought now would be a good time to get that branching started.

I also want to write here that Mami and Hitomi really are on good terms with each other. That isn't all an act on Hitomi's part, and/or Mami just being polite. My conception of Puella Magi Hitomi is basically "a dark Mami", personality-wise and style-wise, as I think the two have a lot of personality similarities. So I think they'd naturally get along well (or at least as well as circumstances would allow).

I've admittedly been writing Hitomi as a bit more of a ham than her anime self, and I'm basically using "intoxicated with Puella Magi power" as the excuse for Hitomi being like this. But even though I'm writing Hitomi as a bit of a "theatrical villain", in large part because I love theatrical villains, I don't think Hitomi is entirely unsympathetic. I'm mostly with Sayaka myself, of course, but I really do think that Hitomi has a right to be a bit pissed in how Madoka and Sayaka kept her in the dark about everything. Hitomi is badly overreacting to that, but I don't think she's just a coldhearted villain either. Perhaps I've gone too far in making Hitomi theatrical, and hence her more sympathetic elements aren't coming through as well as I had hoped.


Anyway, I hope that answers your criticisms of course. Not saying it'll make this update any easier to swallow for you, but I thought you should know where I, as the writer of this, is coming from at least.