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It just occurred to me that I could have had Aiko comment on Homura’s name the same way Madoka did. But maybe that would have been a little too similar...?

Anyway, I’ve been away from here for a while, but I should be done writing something for on here soon!

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Happy Homu blessing your dashboard.

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One of the many things I love about PMMM is that Urobuchi is as well-read as he is sadistic, so there’s always so much hidden symbolism in the mindfuck, one of which I only just noticed this past week.

Okay, y’all remember Homucifer’s infamous outfit, right?

For a show almost completely absent of fanservice, it was pretty daring, but it was appropriately sinister looking and I never thought much about it other than “that slinky dress Homura started wearing when she went evil.”

However, this past week I watched this video:

And seeing the thumbnail I thought, “Wait, is she wearing the Homucifer dress?” But then I watched the actual video and saw all the ballerina stuff when it hit me.

Remember earlier in the movie, when the girls are doing their transformation sequences and they all had their individual types of dances (breakdancing for Sayaka, ice-skating for Mami, etc.)? Remember how Homura’s was ballet with no explanation as to why?

Well, going back to the dress, it occurs to me that some of the edges look kind of feathery, and those wings look like a great big bird rather than being actually demonic. Plus, she deliberately recreated herself to be the antithesis to Madoka’s innocence and purity. Now, what does that remind you of?

HOMURA’S THE FREAKING BLACK SWAN, THE DARK SEDUCTRESS THAT STANDS IN OPPOSITION TO THE GOOD AND PURE WHITE SWAN! That’s what her dance was all about! That what her dress and wings are meant to represent!

It seems kind of obvious in hindsight and I’m kicking myself for not having noticed it sooner. Still, hat’s off to Shaft for sticking it in there without never once calling attention to it.

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I like Junko and Tae’s interactions.

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She’s not a Magical Girl, but my fanfic featured a girl named Aiko Fukui, who met Homura at the Catholic orphanage where the two lived (back when Homura was about eight years old). Unlike the other girls, Aiko went out of her way to befriend Homura, which made the latter feel better.

Aiko is generally really optimistic, believing that things will work out for the better and happen for a reason. She does her best to cheer Homura up whenever the latter is feeling sad, and Homura soon wishes that the two of them would get adopted together and be sisters. If only Aiko didn’t have to spend so much time at the hospital because of her illness...

Anyone have some puella magi ocs, or just plain old magical girl ocs in general?

What are they like? If they’re puella magi, what was their wish? What’s their special power?

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Came across this song a little over a year ago; seems relevant again for what I’m working on.

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I’ve written a lot in one of my other sideblogs about the fairy tale motifs that crop up in Puella Magi Madoka Magica and its spin-offs. It isn’t too surprising that those things are present - the Magical Girl genre in general shares a lot of common traits with fairy tales (bear in mind that one of the earliest MG shows was about a witch). And as someone who enjoys fairy tales, that does appeal to me quite a bit. 

I am planning on making some fairy tale references in my next fic... The main series and films already incorporate elements of “The Little Mermaid” and “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” and the overall story shares elements of those “mysterious helper/deal with the devil” kind of stories. I’ve been re-reading certain Grimm stories for inspiration.

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So at the end of Chapter One, you have to give the Lil’ Kyubey a name.

I picked the name “Tom Tot,” after the fairy tale “Tom Tit Tot,” a variation of the Rumpelstiltskin story. You know, the story about a young girl who enters a bad deal with an impish creature...

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I havent watched Angel Beats yet, but this image makes me want to

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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #41

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So I am writing another PMMM fanfic, this time related to Magia Record. It’s another one-shot, because I’m not sure if I can commit to multi-chapter stories yet, but I have a basic outline planned. The middle section is the trickiest part, as always. Maybe I’ll post an excerpt on here just to preview it.

As for who it’s about, well... The following screenshot should be enough of a hint:

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Wisecrack just released this video discussing remakes - particularly in relation to Disney’s recent ones - and it pretty much covers the same things I was thinking about in that last post I made. 

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What’s Different?

I’ve only written a handful of fanfiction - and only a few of those have been worth more than a glance, in my opinion - but every time I write or plan something out, the one question that comes to my mind is “What does it add to what’s already there?”

I’m not talking about shocking twists or trying too hard to subvert audience expectations - that’s a whole other conversation. I’m talking about what is in this story that sets it apart from others like it?

(Long post coming.)

I’ve read more fanfic than I have written, but I know from wading in and out of fandoms that the same basic themes/plots are done again and again. This isn’t a bad thing, no more than retelling a fairy tale is bad. Stories that last long do so for a reason. But every retelling that’s remembered adds something, or goes at it in a different direction. Wicked works with the idea that the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz wasn’t just a one-dimensional wicked witch, but had her own motives, hopes, and dreams. The Prince of Egypt is based on the story of Moses, yes, but differs itself from the original story and, say, The Ten Commandments in that it puts more emphasis on the relationship between Moses and Ramses, and how both of them feel about ending up on opposite sides due to their fates pitting them against each other. In fact, the biggest complaint I’ve had (and I know I’m not alone in this) regarding Disney’s 2010s remakes is that very little is changed from the original film; things are different, sure, but not quite enough to justify an entire remake.

To use an example of me trying to add something to a familiar story, particularly in a fanfic, there’s my attempt in writing “Prayers and Wishes.” Anyone who’s watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica would be familiar with the story; it’s the time period between Homura’s first meeting with Madoka, up to her making her wish to go back in time and save her new friend from dying. It’s the story that makes the backbone of the entire PMMM series. When writing it, I tried to find any other official stories that fill in the blanks left by the original series (I have no doubt that there are fanfics covering the same time period, but going through them all would be difficult, so I figured just checking official stories would be easier to jump off from). My search led me to the Drama CD “Memories of You” (which can be listened to on YouTube). Since there was a story about Homura’s first few weeks leading up to Walpurgisnacht, I had to make sure I don’t repeat any of the scenes there. This meant writing around it in “Prayers,” though I like to think the story still fits in what was in that Drama CD. The sad part was that I ended up cutting out Amy the cat, because I left out the part where she leads Homura to where Madoka is. 

My story came from a pretty simple idea: Did Homura have any other friends before meeting Madoka, and if so, what happened to them? In my earlier drafts, Aiko’s death was only a passing mention; however, as I revised the story, I came to the conclusion that Aiko would make an interesting character to focus on. Fanfiction that tries to fill in blanks left by canon are purely hypothetical, based on speculation and headcanons. My idea, then, was that Homura may have had at least one friend before meeting Madoka, and whatever happened to that friend helped shape her into the person we see in the main series. Whether it’ll be contradicted later on in canon didn’t really matter; I was just having fun and writing a story, after all. Canon overriding headcanons is just how it works. 

I doubt my story was really new - I mean, Aiko was loosely-inspired by Helen Burns from Jane Eyre, which I had read around the time I discovered PMMM - but seeing as it’s garnered a few Favorites on FFN.net, it is nice knowing that a few people enjoyed it. Hopefully my next one will be better. 

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Rant about fanfiction writing

I was just informed by my brother (who thinks he’s a better writer than anyone else because he has some fancy degree in writing) that fanfiction “doesn’t count” as “real writing” because you aren’t using your own “ideas.”

He doesn’t know that I write fanfiction. He probably wouldn’t have admitted his opinion if her did. But it has pretty much solidified that I will never tell anyone I know in person what I write.

I’ve already been told by several family members that my obsession with a “stupid tv show” is ridiculous and that I’m “too old” to fangirl.

Sigh. /rant