Just one week since the last chapter was posted... I didn't do too bad this time, huh. It's nice to see some newcomers jumping aboard in the form of silvercover, TreacherousFox, and darkhalo, especially since the original generation of PPPL readers has gradually seemed to fade away except for me and Kogetsu. :/ Hopefully Clarami, Coldlight, and Sol Falling will all return at some point. And as a writer on hiatus that largely devoted sixty-two months to writing a story, I can very much relate to the idea of cutting corners for the sake of time, without bringing the story below a threshold where you're dissatisfied with the work. The story I wrote was time-consuming, exhausting, and something that I knew was interfering with my ability to devote myself to other things. I ended up cutting a few corners to make things more manageable, but I loved the story dearly so there was a limit to how much I was willing to hack away; I might not have explored every subplot or character arc in the depth that I'd originally hoped, but at the same time there were no subplots or character arcs I dropped entirely, and I made sure to write the story to a level close enough to my original vision that I'd have no regrets. I do plan to write a sequel series beginning in January 2020 (I'm taking such a long break for various reason, the main reason being that I
really really really really really really really really really really need one), but I'm giving myself a very lenient schedule so that I can write at a casual pace and it won't interfere with other elements of my life; the sequel will be eight novels, each written across a period of two-four years, with the final story written in 2037-2038 when I'm 50 years old (The original series, in contrast, was over 50 novels, with one novel written
per month). The value of pacing yourself well is something you might want to keep in mind if you take on any future writing projects. Learn from the mistakes of someone who practically drove himself crazy spending five years glued to Wordpad.
But anyway, that's enough about me - let's move along to people far more interesting than I, the puella magis that defend the town of Mitakihara.
Three Hopes Remain was a very nice chapter, one that made me want to see Madoka episode 11 again... Madoka and her family hiding away from the thunderstorm was one of the most atmospheric scenes in a series that overflowed with atmosphere, an atmosphere that you managed to recapture here in written form. The increased role Madoka's father receives compared to the anime itself continues to be a strong point of this story, too; it's nice how Papa has just as strong a presence as Mama, unlike the anime where Junko was the only parent deemed important enough to say goodbye to Madoka during the final moments of her life. Honestly, in the anime Papa's main role in parenthood seems to be providing a good dick to create Madoka; afterwards he was pushed aside and Junko controlled everything.
It was at this point that I started to wonder just how many times Walpurgis Night has been battled against in Pure Pink Pretty Lovers; the Walpurgis boss fights may have broken the double digits in number by this point... I should go through the story and count sometime. It's a testament to the story's quality that these Walpurgis Night battles always remain fresh and exciting, though I admit that it's hard to think of an enemy whose track record is something along the lines of 0-12 as menacing. Jinnai and the various Witches you create inspire a greater sense of unease. And agh, those two Mourning Madoka branches... >< I get the feeling that if my introduction to PPPL came in the form of playing the Visual Novel rather than reading it on AnimeSuki, I would be using the Load button a whole lot...
Hm, about the prosthetics... there's a very good chance that by 2061, medical technology will have advanced to the point that lost limbs can be restored; one scientist that's helped to regrow lost fingers claims that the first severed arm might potentially be regrown around the very late 2020s. That can be explained away, of course, by saying that the restoration surgery is very expensive (or some other line of reasoning), but you should probably make sure the prosthetics Sayaka receives are much better than anything available in 2013. It's also doubtful that healing a broken leg would take too long given that nanotechnology is expected to proliferate during the 2020s and 2030s. I don't recall there being many moments in Pure Pink Pretty Lovers to reflect the fact that 2061 technology will be phenomenally more advanced than 2013 technology (by the early 2060s, Madoka might be zipping around the internet on her 80 zettabit connection, downloading things to her 70 yottabyte external hard drive), which I'm not sure is intentional or not... you might be trying to avoid making guesses at future technology that will later be proven incorrect. That would certainly be a smart enough way of doing things - that way you can avoid Back to the Future II-style moments, where the way of the future was not the internet, but having fax machines in every room.
Speaking of the future, the future that Mami and Madoka share is certain to be bright. The final portions of the Normal Romance route, with Mami being introduced into the Kaname family, truly made for a wonderful scene. Junko wryly asking if 10 yen a month was acceptable, the giddy and happy-to-please attitude that infected both of Madoka's parents, Mami's reaction to the sudden induction into the Kanames, the usage of the 'Lost Wings' song from the Tsubasa soundtrack. Pure gold right here, one of my favorite scenes in all PPPL.
Minigame 8: Madoka races against Tatsuya, brother and sister each in control of a remote-controlled car. You are in control of Madoka's car, with the arena being Mami's golden curls. Defeating Tatsuya isn't very hard, since he's just three years old and his motor skills aren't very developed yet; however, if you win, Tatsuya starts crying, and Mami breaks up with you for being a mean older sister and making your cute little brother cry. Mami never forgives Madoka for her act of cruelty, giving the girl the cold shoulder for the rest of their days. So make sure to lose on purpose, lest you get a Bad End so close to the finish line. ;_;
Oh, and I loved Kyouko's bit of dialogue: "Ok, fine, I gotcha." Hehe. She's so country.
"The Kyosuke to Victory" was significantly shorter, so this branch gives me less to comment upon. It was great fun as always, though, reading things from Kyosuke's perspective; shame that he's part of the puella magi team for such a short time, because it really is a treat having him along for the ride and he does lend some nice touches to the group dynamics. Ah well. This has to be one of the coolest climaxes to a Walpurgis Night battle, also! Sayaka wielding a thirty foot magical sword certainly rakes in full points on the Badass Scale.
And... wow at "I Don't Forget Homura." Madoka's more or less making bedroom eyes over her girlfriend's shoulder towards the girl she's cheating with. I... I know that becoming a mahou shoujo does wonders for Madoka's confidence, that much is obvious from the first timeline, but I never expected Madoka to be
this brazen.
I think she loves pussy more than Makoto Itou himself, she doesn't experience much remorse over cukolding Mami. Madoka...
Sayaka and Kyosuke are starting a ClariS journey together, huh? Clarami will have a nice update to return to whenever he comes back. ^^ It's nice to see Sayaka receive such a happy ending. I had never heard the orchestal version of the Madoka opening theme before... one of the greatest songs to be found anywhere in anime, though I've worn it out from listening to it about 13,850 times. Very nice to find a new version of the song. And aww, I loved Sayaka's bashful attitude in the closing scene; that
would be a pretty awkward subject to raise.
I'm sure that Madoka would have figured it out sooner or later very soon, though, so Sayaka probably could have spared herself the embarrassment. As if Madoka needs another reason to have sex... heck, she would probably have constant sex with Mami even if sex corrupted one's Soul Gem...