#iroha x nemu

[parti-poppers]

A few of the many many ships I like other than fukalen / flowerin

[neptunemagia]

what are your favorite magia record ships? personally, mine is juri x yuna!!

I ship Yachiyo with Iroha and Tsuruno, and Iroha with Sana. Felicia is their baby.

Momoko x Mitama x Kanagi

Masara x Kokoro

Touka x Nemu in a little kid crush way

Juri x Yuna

Shizuka x Sunao x Chiharu

Hazuki x Konoha

Rika x Ren is practically mandatory

Seika x Leila x Mito

Yu x Kei (from the one summer event with the ghost story)

[dendylabyrinth]

Holy fucking hell, this anniversary event’s story is so FUCKING DARK!!!

The premise is that it’s a universe where nobody made their wishes, so none of the characters are Magical Girls. It’s literally a ‘what-if X didn’t make her wish’: The movie. It gets dark, REALLY DARK.

Here’s the breakdown of everybody seen in the first half:

Iroha and Ui moved into Mikazuki Villa after their parents went overseas. Ui used to be terminally ill but got better. She and Iroha still visit her friends Touka and Nemu in the hospital.

Yachiyo is a former celebrity (since she wished to survive as a model when she was 12, it means that her career probably never took and she had to quit) who’s working alongside her grandmother (who’s alive!) as the villa’s caretaker. The villa is more of a women’s shelter that also doubles as a boarding house/inn.

Sana lives in the villa after Yachiyo’s grandmother found her one day (she’s not invisible!) after she ran away from home and began staying there. After confronting her family, she moved into the villa full time.

Kanae used to be a delinquent who got into fights until Yachiyo’s grandmother found her injured and patched her up. Afterwards, her life changed for the better, and she’s now busy pursuing a career in music so they don’t see her often (she gets interviewed on tv after her street band becomes a hit)

Kaede lost her home garden after an apartment building was built near her house, but she is renting some garden space in the villa. She never met Rena.

Rena is a loner in class whom Iroha sits next to and develops a strange friendship with. She meets Kaede through Iroha and they hit it off with their usual dynamic.

Momoko is Rena’s fellow idol fan/friend. Rena introduces Iroha and Kaede to her one day after they find her flustered out of her mind. It turns out she confessed to the guy she liked in her typical Bad Timing Momoko style and now they’re dating! (She makes an off-hand complaint about how she wanted to gather up her courage first before confessing, which, incidentally, was her wish)

Yachiyo only knows Tsuruno as the daughter of the Chinese restaurant she sometimes orders from and through her friendship with Tsuruno’s older sister, whom Tsuruno is working with to restore their family’s honor (who in the original universe is studying overseas. I think the implication here is that, since Tsuruno didn’t make her wish to win the lottery, her family doesn’t have enough money for her sister to study outside the country).

Yuna and Nayuta run away one day to the villa after getting frustrated with their parents: Nayuta is sick of her mother’s treatment of her father, and Yuna wishes her father could pay more attention to her and less to her being the mayor’s daughter.

Yachiyo only vaguely knows Mifuyu after she came over crying about her family problems. She wonders what happened to that crybaby and if she talked to her parents about her engagement. (Since they both met as magical girls, here they only briefly met as 19-ish year olds because the villa functions as a shelter but never became friends)

Karin is friends with everyone in the villa since her grandmother knows Yachiyo’s. Iroha mentions that Karin has some family problems (implied to be her grandmother’s kleptomania, which her wish originally cured, now still driving a wedge between her family).

Ikumi’s original maid cafe shutdown, so she now works with Kanagi, hoping to one day start her own maid cafe with her former co-workers and is still pursuing becoming an idol. Ryo is a photographer who is now focused more on capturing people’s smiles than on scoops after meeting Ikumi (her photos are more blurred than her original ones, which her wish made capture any opportunity).

Shizuka is part of the head family of a traditional clan. Imagine the Tokime clan post-Mikoshiba, but without any magical girls. They’re basically just a traditional clan from the countryside.

Sayuki never becomes an idol, and is instead introduced to Mayu by Iroha when she sees the overlap in their interests.

Riko is rebelling against her parent until her babysitter’s marriage gets her parents’ blessing.

Urara is working with Kurara as a famous street performer duo.

Asahi’s grandfather is still alive and she’s still complaining about him interfering in her life (her wish was for him to stop interfering which led to his death)

Rui and Mayuri are still friends. But Rui’s cat is probably blind now, and Mayuri is still dealing with her anxiety but with no blackouts.

Kanoko is butting heads with her parents about pursuing her dream when they want her to take over their factory.

Kokoro keeps fighting with father. Her wish was to bring her mother back; no wish, no mother. And probably no Masara.

Yukika is still looking for an exciting life, so she gets introduced to Akira, who complains about getting involved in a lot of things.

Aimi doesn’t know her crush’s feelings, so she’s still hesitant about confessing.

Now onto the dark parts:

Leila committed suicide like in the original universe (by jumping off their apartment building) and Seika and Mito found her. Since Seika’s wish was to bring Leila back to life, here Leila ends up dying. (Even sadder, Seika breaks down in the hospital in front of Mito insisting that she was still alive while they were waiting for the ambulance together). It was probably a witch but since everybody is a normal person, the possibility doesn’t get mentioned.

Sudachi is killed in the hostage situation in her school (her class voted for her to be killed and since she didn’t make her wish to sacrifice them instead, she didn’t make it out alive).

Ren is strongly implied to be considering suicide (she mentions a rooftop after hearing about Leila’s suicide, which is where she originally jumped from before wishing not to die).

Now these are mostly my own conclusions following this story’s line of thought. I’m just guessing here, so take these with a grain of salt:

Hinano died from the chemical experiment she performed.

Mami is dead from the car accident.

Yozuru committed suicide from guilt.

Livia died during her escape from the organ trafficking ring.

Rika never got to date her crush (and never met Ren).

Ria didn’t get to change her appearance and become a model.

Hikaru never met Yuna.

Ao is probably friendless.

Juri is dealing with her violent tendencies with no outlet.

Himena might have committed suicide to be with Hiko.

Alexandra is still in love with her teacher.

Nanaka never figured out the truth behind the usurping of her family’s school.

Kako’s bookstore burned down.

Meiyui’s family fell into ruin.

Hanna’s bullies still exist, but she never went on to ruin Nanaka’s team’s lives.

Ashley never got to go study in Japan. But she probably got to be with her father in his last days.

Jun wasn’t able to save the Tomorrow Shop from land-sharks.

Mitama is still living as a pariah, that is if she didn’t end up doing something extreme to herself or to someone else.

Shigure’s mother still keeps getting tricked by schemes, worsening their relationship.

Shizuku never got to see her first love before his death.

Ayaka didn’t change her personality into her happy-go-lucky self.

Azalea House was shutdown, since the Azaleas’ wishes saved their orphanage.

Mayu’s boss never stopped his advances on her.

San never got another chance to revive the festival or meet Mayuri.

Felicia is either living with her parents, or is an orphan living with the guilt of their deaths.

The Amane twins were not able to get over their difference in upbringing to save their relationship.

Sakurako doesn’t exist.

Mel is alive but without her fate altering fortunes.

Kushu isn’t nocturnal.

Haruka’s sister still exists.

Chisato’s father is still abusing her.

Arisa is still bullied.

Matsuri is still blind.

Michiru never got to say goodbye to her grandmother before she died.

Kazumi doesn’t exist.

Mitsune’s parents still don’t approve of her being a shut in.

Kuroe never got to pursue her crush.

Kyousuke’s hand was never healed.

The cat Madoka wished to save died.

Homura wasn’t saved from a witch by Madoka and Mami, so she might have died.

Kyoko’s family is still alive.

See? Even with my assumptions aside, it’s still insanely dark but still a great premise. Some girls figured out their problems without wishes, while others ended up much worse without them. Leila literally commits suicide in front of Seika and Mito.

[thewhitefluffyhat]

Thoughts on the Magia Record Finale

There’s a montage at the end of the last episode with a phrase that perfectly encapsulates my ultimate feelings on the Magia Record anime: “We dreamed of hope and failed.”

Because the anime had lots of ambitious ideas of how to fix the story from the game - too many ideas, in fact. And in the end, by trying to cram in too many ideas, too many priorities, it succeeded at none of them.

The Good: The Backstory

While the first episode of the season might have been titled “We Failed,” I ironically found it a triumph. This episode did an exceptional job not just adapting the material from the game, but elevating it. At the end of the day, the story of Iroha and Ui is not an especially unique tragedy, not in a franchise filled with many such tales of despair. And yet, each beat - the sisters’ mutual care for each other and for Touka and Nemu, the quiet yet inexorable devastation of Ui’s condition worsening, the fairytale-esque twist of Iroha’s wish saving Ui yet meaning Iroha no longer has time to spend with her - was conveyed with pitch perfect competence.

It helps that this is a very “broad strokes” adaptation, keeping only the general frame of events and reworking the dialog and visuals to construct a more consistent mood and tone. It also allowed the anime to sprinkle in some lovely little details, like a cute moment of Iroha doing Ui’s lipstick to show their bond, or illustrating Touka’s analytical genius by showing her tracking down the suspicious incidents and realizing that the first person listed was always a teenage girl.

I particularly liked the conversation between the hospital trio and Kyuubey. Over the years, I’ve seen more than a few rancid takes along the lines of “if character from X magical girl series had met Kyuubey, she would have been too smart to accept the contract!” Which… entirely misses the point.

The point of Madoka Magica was never that the characters were foolish or stupid to have been tricked. The point has always been that Kyuubey is a terrifying, masterful manipulator who excels at lying through omission. Thus, when Touka, Nemu, and Ui launch a rapid-fire barrage of questions that should reveal the fine print to Kyuubey’s contract… he still nimbly dodges every single question (using answers from the original TV series, even!) and the girls have to piece together the truth by reading between the lines.

It’s a great moment that sells both Kyuubey’s menace and the hospital trio as clever, ambitious, and sympathetic characters. When everything all goes south despite their efforts, it’s all the more painful because the audience is shown that they did everything right. They dreamed of hope, but the Madoka Magica universe is cruel and uncaring, and they failed through no fault of their own.

And that’s the stuff - interesting characters, an unjust tragedy, but also a sliver of hope, however faint, that the tragedy could still be averted - that could have been the hook to an incredibly promising story.

The backstory interlude in the final chapters of the game was some of my favorite content in the Main Story; thus, it was no surprise that the animated equivalent was also very very good. Good enough, I’d argue, that you could potentially watch this episode as a standalone, and would be better off simply imagining for yourself a conclusion to their story.

The Promising: Touka and Nemu’s Characterizations

I’ve briefly mentioned my issues with the game’s treatment of Touka and Nemu before, how the other Magius leaders were given little to do besides echoing Touka. And the anime’s second season already kicked off some much needed improvements in that area - namely, having Nemu retain her memories and therefore giving her a different perspective and motivation compared to Touka.

And the second anime episode, “All the Girls Disappearing,” does continue to build on those threads! I quite liked all the characterization details brought up in Touka and Nemu’s conversation with Iroha. Nemu deliberately hiding the truth from Touka because she needed Touka’s drive and confidence - however warped and broken - was a fascinating dynamic and could have done wonders to make the Magius leaders a compelling group to watch.

I also thought the change to Touka’s backstory, that she snapped from having the hopes of all the Feathers placed on her, was a vast improvement over the game’s characterization of her as simply a bratty child who became impatient.

And later still - the suggestion that Touka and Nemu were so determined to stay their course, to do something they know is a mistake, specifically because they wanted to save Iroha’s life? Like another twist on Homura’s devotion to saving Madoka at any cost? Also great!

…What a shame, then, that these half-baked ideas were only that - mere hints at deeper character arcs, a few lines frantically tossed out and then thrown by the wayside as the plot raced toward a rushed conclusion.

An anime where these ideas had been explored in full - an anime where Touka and Nemu had been characters we’d followed since the beginning, watching in horror as they fell further and further away from their idealistic hopes and ambitions - now that could have been a Magia Record worth watching.

The Story Falls Apart: Let’s Talk About Alina

As a resident Alina fangirl, of course I have to comment on her portrayal in the anime. And while my expectations for how her character would wrap up weren’t high… the anime certainly didn’t surpass them.

Going back a moment, I thought Alina’s integration into the backstory episode - with her eavesdropping on the hospital trio’s plans - was an improvement on the game, where she shows up completely out of nowhere. But “something is better than completely nothing” is not exactly high praise.

(The main thing I did enjoy was the chance to see Alina's disdain for Kyuubey in animated form, heh. Can never have enough characters stomping Kyuubey's face in!)  

I’m also baffled that the anime didn’t go for the easy fix of having Alina be the one to corrupt Touka and Nemu’s ideals, especially given that the anime still keeps Alina turning on the rest of Magius as part of the finale. Like, “Alina was the source of evil in Magius” has never been an interpretation I’ve been fond of, but if you’re going to make Alina the ultimate villain of the magical girls anyway, there’s no reason not to do it?

Meanwhile Alina fusing with the Eve to become Neo Dorothy and turn everyone into witches… yeah, I got nothing. Even with Alina debating Kyuubey beforehand, it still felt just as bizarre and nonsensical as Holy Alina’s sudden appearance. Since when did Alina have anything to do with wanting vengeance on humanity? Since when did she have the ability to turn people into magical girls?

I mean, the possibility of all humans becoming magical girls/witches, and of that being a Madoka Magica villain’s goal are neat ideas. Maybe if that had been Magius’s goal from the start, making them an organization that craved vengeance because they had lost hope in salvation… maybe that could have been a good story.

But, just like the intriguing ideas suggested by the Touka and Nemu details, it was very much not the story we’d been watching up until this point. And so, throwing in this concept right at the end did nothing but muddle the anime’s thematic waters even further.

*shrug*

I guess that Alina being obsessed with wanting to go out in a blaze of glory is minimally consistent with her character… or it would have been, if any of Alina’s backstory from the game had been remotely implied in the anime.  Once again: if the climax is going to hinge on fighting Alina, if major characters are going to sacrifice their lives to stop her… she needed to have been foreshadowed as a threat much, much earlier.

(And don’t even get me started on the short scene of Karin in the credits. So… Alina was planning to destroy the world, and yet she also took the time to send her kouhai a painting as a farewell gift? Like, that’s hilarious and maybe oddly touching? But it simultaneously requires knowledge of the game to understand while making even less sense when you have that knowledge. Oof!)

In the end, the anime’s finale didn’t give me what I most wanted for Alina’s character: a compelling reason to be part of the story in the first place. Even as an Alina fangirl, I would much have preferred a well-constructed story without her in it than the unsatisfying mess we got, where Alina’s presence just made the plot and themes more confusing.

The Problem: Too Many Characters

And Alina is far from the only character where I wish she hadn’t been included in the anime. I feel the same way almost everyone! What was the point of Team KMR, aside from illustrating the downsides of doppels (which barely mattered anyway!)? Why was Mitama’s subplot hinted at, when the anime had no time to do anything with her? Why did Felicia and Sana get entire focus arcs, when they were completely irrelevant to the conclusion? Why did the Holy Quintet get shoehorned in, only to get waved offstage for the finale?

But perhaps the most extreme example of this was: why did Kuroe exist?

Don’t get me wrong: I thought all of Kuroe’s moments were well-done. I thought her backstory was quite evocative for how minimal it was, I thought her connection with Iroha in Season 2 and her death at Iroha’s hands were moving. Her relief at becoming a witch simply because it meant she could finally be released from the pressures of living as a magical girl was wonderfully dark and chilling.

But… this anime was massively crunched for time, and she was yet another character that didn’t need to be there.

My best guess as to the point of Kuroe’s character is that she’s meant to be an expansion of that nameless Black Feather that Iroha confronts in Chapter 9 of the game. The one who challenges Iroha and asks what alternative she offers, and Iroha has no answer for her.

By expanding that character from some anonymous grunt into a full plotline, it becomes just that much more devastating when Iroha confronts her and realizes she has no answer to offer. I suspect Kuroe’s death is intended to be the moment Iroha finally accepts that if she stops Magius, that means she is condemning girls like Kuroe to their fate as witches.

…Or at least, that’s the most positive spin I can give Kuroe.

Unfortunately, there is another answer to all these questions, and it’s the cynical one: Magia Record is an adaptation of a gacha game, and therefore it exists not to tell a good story, but as a vehicle for character cameos to wring more money out of an addicted fanbase. Kuroe was simply one more character to drive hype in hopes that fans would pay to roll her in the gacha.

Perhaps there could have been a good story built out of bones of Magia Record, one where the core characters of Iroha, Ui, Touka, and Nemu (and probably Yachiyo and Mifuyu and maaaybe Tsuruno) actually got the time and focus they needed to develop. But that story could not exist under the priorities a gacha adaptation demanded.

But you know what might actually have worked? Ditching the Main Story entirely, and instead adapting a loose, episodic collection of the game’s Magical Girl Stories. After all, that’s where the game’s writing was always best, and that format would mean the priorities of “showcase all the fans’ favorite characters” and “try to fit everything into a single, coherent plot” would no longer have been forced to compete.

The Other Problem: In the end, what was the point?

My younger brother made a silly but rather striking comment about the anime: that it wanted to have its magical girls and eat them too.

The anime floundered because on the one hand, it was trying to tell a story about refusing to accept a solution premised on “save the many by sacrificing the few.” It wanted to be a story about magical girls and the power of friendship and sacrifices being unnecessary.

But on the other hand, it was trying to tell a story in which characters dramatically give their lives for the sake of salvation and this is portrayed as a beautiful, noble thing. It wanted to be a fitting successor to the dark “deconstruction” of the original Madoka Magica.

So which one is it? Well… the anime couldn’t decide.

And to be fair, this is not entirely the fault of the anime. It just meant that the anime failed to fix the biggest, most fundamental problem of the game's final chapters: deciding on a consistent theme. If anything, the anime’s fumbles just further underlined how painfully flawed the game’s plot  was.

What do Magius and their plan ultimately represent? Magical girl supremacy? Another iteration of "sacrifice the few to save the many"? Magical girls getting revenge on Kyuubey and on an uncaring humanity?

And what does Iroha represent, besides “not Magius”?

That being said, while the ending of the game's story left me feeling annoyed and frustrated, the end of the anime made me feel... a kind of melancholic disappointment. 

What I appreciated about the end of the anime, as messy as it was, is that it had consequences. It was refreshingly honest about where its plot arcs were going, rather than the characters speaking of friendship yet accomplishing nothing with it. The plot beats of Mifuyu, Momoko, and the hospital trio's heroic sacrifices had actual weight, weight that wasn’t undone with a cheap deus ex machina in the epilogue. Iroha spent the whole plot speaking in meaningless platitudes, and had no plan other than returning to Kyuubey's horrible status quo. And so, in the anime, that's what she enacts, no last-minute Lil Kyuubey or Madokami intervention to save her.

There’s a certain satisfaction in seeing all the problems I had with the game’s finale being explored to their relentlessly bleak and depressing logical conclusion in the anime - but it doesn’t necessarily make the result a fun story to watch.

Here’s another insight courtesy of my younger brother: just because the anime’s story was better than the game, doesn’t mean that it’s a good story.

Would I recommend the anime?

This is a difficult question. If you want to experience Magia Record’s main plot, then… yes, I suppose. The anime reached for the moon in a scattershot manner, throwing out tons of tantalizing ideas yet never following through on any of them. And, at least in my opinion, an ambitious, thought-provoking failure is still preferable to the game’s plodding mediocrity.

Because when the anime was good, it was really really good! Sana’s arc, several of the early episodes in Season 2, and the first episode of this finale are all wonderfully written, animated, and directed - possibly even on-par with the original Madoka Magica.

But when the anime was bad it was... whoof. Impossible to make sense of even if you had played the game, and with animation so dire it will make you wince and pray for the health of the poor SHAFT staff.

And so, I don’t think I would recommend the anime in general. I dragged my younger brother (who enjoyed the original Madoka Magica) into finishing the anime so I’d have someone unbiased by the game to discuss it with. In the end, I greatly regret doing that - this anime wasn’t just a let down, it was such a mess it sullied my own reputation with him.

It’s true that no sequel can erase a cherished original. I mean, Magia Record is far less of a shake up to the original PMMM and the fandom than Rebellion was. Yet what I’ve discovered with both Magia Record and the Higurashi debacle is that while you can’t destroy the prior work, you can certainly make a spin-off so bad it destroys trust in a creator’s future works.

After the Magia Record anime proved to be yet another disappointment, I have no desire to discuss Magia Record any more. Moreover, I no longer have any faith in the Rebellion sequel. I’ve been waiting for that sequel for almost ten years, and now I’m not sure I’ll bother watching it at all.

[automatic-purification-system]

Magia Record Mirrors/Team ideas I want to do but will probably never have all the characters for

Uwasa Team- Holy Mami, Rumor Tsuruno, Holy Alina, Eternal Sakura, and Uwasnaa

Full protagonist team- MadoIro, Oriko, Kazumi, Tart, and Suzune

Yachiyo’s old team- Yachiyo, Mifuyu, Tsuruno, Momoko, Mel

Any team with all of the units from one holiday (x-mas, New Years, Halloween, etc.)

All faction leaders- Iroha, Shizuka, Yuna, and Himena and Rabi when they release

Max amount of Characters on the battlefield- Lil’ Kyubey (5-in-1), Konoha/Hazuki (basically a trio), and 3 other duo units without overlapping characters (so no Mikazuki Villa)

Hospital gang- Iroha, Ui, Touka, Nemu, and Eternal Sakura

there’s definatley more but that’s what I can think of right now

[magireconews]

Magia Record News: June 25, 2021

News is translated by the big discord server, not the owner of this blog.

Notice: Summer Missions

Duration: 6/28 16:00～8/06 14:59 JST New missions will be added weekly during the duration with a total of 26 missions to complete. Complete the quests for many goodies including a guaranteed 4 ticket and more! Mission Schedule: ・1~5: from 06/28 16:00 JST ・6~10: from 07/05 17:00 JST ・11~15: from 07/12 16:00 JST ・16~20: from 07/19 16:00 JST ・20?~26: from 07/26 16:00 JST All the added missions are playable during the "Summer Missions" duration.

Missions scheduled for 06/28 ・Mission 1: Use charge disc 20 times ・Mission 2: Use charge disc 50 times ・Mission 3: Use charge disc 70 times ・Mission 4: Use charge disc 100 times ・Mission 5: Use charge disc 150 times These missions will count the total charge discs used during the mission duration, accomplishing the missions will reward players with items like Destiny Bottles. Charge discs used will only be counted if the quest is cleared. Retired quests do not count. Discs used in Mirrors will not count.

Mission Rewards: Completing the missions will reward players up to 250 Magia Stones and more; including Swimsuit Outfit tickets that lets you trade for summer outfits released up to 2020 and also a Guaranteed 4 Gacha ticket!

Swimsuit Outfit ticket The following magical girl outfits and other items such as Rainbow Orbs and Magia Chips are available for trade with these tickets: ・Kirari Hikaru ・Kasane Ao ・Sasame Yozuru ・Momoe Nagisa ・Makino Ikumi ・Midori Ryou ・Fumino Sayuki ・Alina Gray ・Hiiragi Nemu ・Satomi Touka ・Azusa Mifuyu ・Misono Karin ・Tamaki Ui ・Izumi Kanagi ・Yakumo Mitama ・Kaname Madoka ・Miki Sayaka ・Tomoe Mami ・Sakura Kyouko ・Miyako Hinano ・Isuzu Ren ・Nanami Yachiyo ・Yui Tsuruno ・Futaba Sana ・Mitsuki Felicia ・Minami Rena ・Togame Momoko ・Akino Kaede ・Awane Kokoro ・Kagami Masara ・Tamaki Iroha A total of 15 tickets will be available from the mission rewards. The tickets are available for use until 08/13 14:59 JST.

Notice: New Gacha, Yachiyo Nanami (Tanabata ver.) Pickup Gacha

Duration: 6/28 16:00～7/12 14:59 JST Type: Limited, usual rates (pickup girl rate = 0.6) Once per player, a x10 pull can be done for 30 paid Magia Stones

Connect: Attack Up [VII] & Ignore Damage Cut & Anti-Evade Magia: Damage to 5 Random Enemies [V] & Attack UP & Aqua Attribute Attack UP  (Self/3T) & HP Restore (Self) Doppel: Changes to Attribute Strengthened Damage. Gives 2T of charge conservation to self. Spirit Enhancement: Active: Charge Draw Passive: Charged Attack Damage UP [IV] & Charge Disk Damage UP [IV] Passive: Damage Cut (Self/3T) at the start of the quest. Passive: Charge Combo Plus +4

Rate Up Memoria:

4* Passive “Stars to Express Gratitude” HP: 2217 ATK: 2117 Damage Cut [IV] & Attack Up [III] & Damage Up [III]

3* Active “Floating in the Starry Sky” HP: 1870 DEF: 1520 Attack Down [V] (Target 1/T) & Defense Up [II] (Self 1/T)

Mitama’s Star Festival During this event, Mitama's voicelines for Shops and Gachas will be different. Different voicelines will be played for single and x10 pulls and also for the different gachas (Limited, Premium, SP)

Note: New Event “The Legendary Story of the Paper Mulberry Leaf ～These Shaking Feelings are Once Again Fascinating～”

Maintenance: 6/28 15:00～16:00 JST  Duration of the Event: 6/28 16:00～7/12 14:59 JST Type: Double Tower

Quests and Schedule: ・Story quests  Battles 1～10: 6/28 16:00 JST  Battles 11～20: 7/5 17:00 JST ・ Challenge Quests: 6/28 16:00 JST ・ EX Challenges: 6/28 16:00 JST ・ Evil 100 Challenges: 6/28 16:00 JST

Rewards: You can get a total of 290 Magia Stones by clearing all the quests of this event plus one gacha ticket from the Evil 100 Challenges.

・Limited time missions: Magia Stones, 3* Overlimiter, 15 x Destiny Bottles, Rainbow Orbs, and Magia Chips. ・Limited time shop: A limited time memoria, a limited home screen background  (with default bg music), new costumes for the magical girls Yachiyo and Tsuruno, including a new Tanabata costume for Tsuruno, and other valuable items.

Tsuruno's Tanabata Costume has original voicelines for the home screen. The costume stories will be released 7/12 16:00 JST

New Special Enhancement Function For quests of this event (and only for them), a new function will appear in the team selection screen for the Magical Girls Nanami Yachiyo and Nanami Yachiyo (Tanabata ver.), which allows you to apply or remove the 「Special Enhancement」status. A Magical girl in such status: ・Is awakened to 5* rarity and trained to level 100, ・Unlocks all her skills and abilities from SE , ・Is equipped with 4 memoria that are specific for each quest and cannot be modified.

[hameru-is-cool]

I used to think bringing in Akuma Homura to Magia Record would probably be a bit much, but after this event I think it could work and may be kinda funny.

I can see Touka just invites the Magia Union leaders a few months later:

“Iroha nee-san and others, Nemu and I studied the large energy source from the other universe and using [x sci-fi witch/energy conversion/whatever thing] we will be able to siphon out and control the energy needed to expand the doppel system worldwide. Behold!”

“Hmmm... it’s a bit different but whatever, it’s definitely working”

Homura at this point in the main series universe already having taken Godoka’s power proceeding to reach across dimensions:

“Who the hell are you to think you can steal from Madoka?”

“NEMU ABORT! ABORT! ONEE-SAMA TASUKETE!”

[shiny-procrastinates]

(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 11

part 10 here

Hello and welcome back everyone to our Magia Record s1 watch-along! Last time, we had the aftermath of the Endless Solitude's incident, found out that Mami is now part of the Wings of the Magius and left off with the reveal that one of Ui's (Iroha's sister, for those who have forgotten) might be another one of the Magius. What is this all about? Let's watch and find out:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record S1 episode 11

For some reason, we are now watching Tsukuyo's club practice. Wait- Akatsuki? That's not the surname I remember. We also see a photo of Mifuyu on the club room, so they must've been club mates.

Good question, Tsukuyo. Maybe she's waiting for Sana? (lies)

awnt the whole family's on the op now. Yachiyo is even smiling!

NOW we're back to where the other episode left off. According to Sana, she sometimes heard the Feathers talking about Nemu when they came to Ai's barrier to retrieve a witch. The girls then wonder if Nemu's being forced to work with them and Iroha says that maybe Ui's being kept captive by them too, with everyone falling silent at this.

Felicia asks if they can't just catch a Feather and force them to speak, so Tsuruno says if they should keep going after the Rumors them. While the three are wondering that, Iroha remembers about Tsukuyo, who she had seen in her uniform, and we are now back to the present.

Yeah right, are you saying you were actually triplets?

So Iroha decided to catch Tsukuyo after school. If Tsukuyo had a braincell, she could've left by a backdoor or used her magical girl powers to jump over the wall, but it seems she borrowed hers to Tsukasa today.

Tsukuyo stops Iroha from outing her as a Feather, so Iroha invites her to go talk somewhere else. Tsukuyo asks if she plans to interrogate her or worse but Iroha really only wants to talk.

After changing locations, Iroha seems to have told Tsukuyo about her situation. Tsukuyo asks why Iroha would go so far as telling her that, and Iroha answers that she needs to see Nemu no matter what.

After asking who between Tsukuyo and Tsukasa is the younger sister, appealing to their point in common, Iroha threatens outing Tsukuyo to the others if she doesn't let her see Nemu. Tsukuyo is shocked, asking if she's threatening her and Iroha says she doesn't care if she sees it that way. Damn, Iroha really means business when it's about her sister.

As always when it comes to Ui, Iroha's unusually pushy, and Tsukuyo ends up giving in and promising to at least talk to Mifuyu about it.

Later that day, the Mikadzuki girls minus Yachiyo are having a meeting in Iroha's room, and decide to get Yachiyo coasters as a thank-you present for giving them the mugs. So cute.

...that's some interesting club this school has.

The next day, Iroha meets up after school with the other girls to go buy the coaster. Can we talk about the fact there's a group chat just for watching over Felicia? lol

The girls go buy the coaster, and get interrupted by a witch. Guess we can add that to the things magical girls can't do in peace. No probs Tsuruno, there's really no run-time for this.

Look how happy she is. Please don't ruin this in the next scene, show (flag).

Back at the house, Iroha's waiting for Yachiyo's return on Tsuruno's instructions. She hears the doorbell ring and answers it immediately, thinking it's Yachiyo (really, Iroha, why would Yachiyo ring the doorbell to her own house?) but, shockingly, it's Mifuyu.

This probably situation couldn't get more awkward for Iroha had they tried. Iroha tries to show some hospitality, but Mifuyu takes the lead and the opportunity to rub in that she knows the place (and its owner) way better. What's with the attitude, Mifuyu? It's not like Iroha threatened your friend or a- oh wait, nvm.

Iroha asks what business Mifuyu has with Yachiyo today, and Mifuyu asks in return if she has to have some business in order to visit a friend... no, not business Mifuyu but normally you'd warn someone before dropping by, where's your manners? Iroha points out that she hasn't visited for a long time and Mifuyu explains that she didn't come because she knew Yachiyo wouldn't agree with The Wings of the Magius. She then explains she's actually there to talk to Iroha today.

Oh, she did it, she flipped Iroha's switch.

Mifuyu asks if Iroha wouldn't join the cult if she wants to know about Nemu, but Iroha questions Mifuyu's motive for recruiting her, to which Mifuyu says it'd be good for them because she'd be able to investigate about her sister without clashing with them. Iroha presses her about Ui, which she says she doesn't know, and Nemu, but Mifuyu does not say anything else.

...aaand the other girls are standing there in the garden while all this is going on lol

*peek*

Mifuyu invites the girls of Mikadzuki Villa to attend a lecture about what exactly the cult is doing... this is definitely a trap ain't it. At that moment, Yachiyo arrives. Oooh man...

Mifuyu apologizes for the surprise and makes to leave, saying this one unpleasant remark to which Yachiyo angrily replies right away.

Mifuyu provokes Yachiyo, saying how she went back to being her old self, which Yachiyo denies, eventually losing her cool and ordering Mifuyu to leave.

Tsuruno tries to check on Yachiyo but Yachiyo also leaves. Felicia's confused and Tsuruno tries to keep a bright mood, but the atmosphere is definitely ruined.

Yachiyo has went back to her room and-

ohhwoah what is that that's creepy!

So, uhh, Yachiyo is not well at all, she's now hallucinating. Whatever Mifuyu was trying to get at earlier it definitely got to her.

Seems the other girls aren't having a much better night either... but at least they're not hallucinating.

The next day, Iroha relays Mifuyu's invitation to the others. Yachiyo, however, refuses to take part in the conversation and leaves. She's very clearly still bothered about what Mifuyu said, and now she's avoiding her team.

Iroha and the girls have each their reaction to Yachiyo's behavior for a moment, but then go back to the matter at hand. Sana asks if Iroha really plans on going to the lecture, and she says she decided it'd be best to go, after thinking it over. They don't want to fight the cult either, so it shouldn't hurt to at least try to hear them out. Felicia says it's definitely a trap but that they can just break out together then, with Tsuruno agreeing. The two laugh, but doesn't it feel kinda forced?

...and then they realize no one knows where Memory Museum is lol

Mitama! Long time no see.

Iroha drops by the Coordinator's to ask about Memory Museum, which Mitama reveals is a Rumor that's being spread around Sakae Ward.

We then get a scene about the contents of the Rumor. Apparently, the Memory Museum archives memories (who'd thought!) and you can do things with them by ringing a bell, or something. But if you see one you'll end up influenced by it. (I refuse to comment about the goat)

In any case, Momoko points on the map the probable location of Memory Museum, to which Iroha thanks the two and goes back. After Iroha leaving, Mitama advises Momoko to tell "something", at least to Rena, since Kaede is still down, and Momoko says she knows. Quite the dark clouds are on the horizon.

No, literally. It's raining.

Back at Mikadzuki Villa, all the girls except Yachiyo are leaving to go to Memory Museum. Iroha warns Yachiyo they're leaving, but she doesn't answer. Ohh Yachiyo, please, are you sure you won't regret this later?

Iroha and co. naruto run on the rain to Memory Museum, meeting Chibi Kyuubei on the entrance. Yep, definitely Rumor. I might be going crazy but I always think that Iroha looks more her age with the raincoat, despite Madoka's wei- I mean, unique art style. Gotta be something with the proportions.

Also like this detail with Tsuruno's coat folded weird and Felicia's not folded at all lol

We are platformer game now

While climbing up the drawers, the girls talk about chibi Kyuubei, eventually raising suggestions on how to name him... which is funny because that's for the player to decide in the game, so we don't have an official way to call him.

Meanwhile, Rena's meeting up with Momoko. She starts complaining like usual, but soon hesitates when she reads the mood. Momoko says she thought it was time to tell her what happened to Yachiyo one year ago. Wait, what? We never heard about anything either.

But, well... we can guess.

Back at the Memory Museum, Iroha might be the unluckiest mahou shoujo ever, because

One of the Magius is none other than one of her sister's friends.

- x -

Aaand that's it for episode 11. That last scene is a bomb drop, but it's not like you couldn't see it coming from the moment they said Nemu was part of the cult. I mean, if one of the hospital trio was erased from existence, and the other was part of the cult, what were the odds that the last one would be normal? lol

Talking about this scene, I feel compelled to post here the corresponding still from the game, because the world was robbed of Iroha's surprisingly gallant back:

Seriously, when was she ever this cool?

On the other hand, Touka looks like a cute normal kid here which is about as far of the truth as we can get, so I'll give the anime credit for that.

All that aside, we are now approaching the end! With the Magius giving a lecture about salvation and Momoko having a talk with Rena, it's quite clear that the truth about magical girls is about to be revealed to our cast next episode. The big question here is: how will they react? Felicia specially shouldn't be very happy to learn this, considering what her wish was. Exciting!

We also have left to wonder what's up with Yachiyo. Why did what Mifuyu say affect her so much? We have yet to see her backstory, so Momoko talking might just gives us the answer to that question.

With that said, I'll leave it here for today. I can't believe this ended up even later than yesterday considering I start writing even earlier. Dammit short attention span, stop getting sidetracked pls. Tomorrow we'll be watching episode 11 that's looking really promising, so I hope you'll be reading me again then. Have a good morning/afternoon/evening and bye-bye!

[masterthetackle]

A Magical (or not) Academia

A Various Magia Record x Male!Reader Fanfiction

Two: The First Day (II)

Word Count: 4,781

Welcome to Kamihama City University, he said as his opening statement. 

We hope that you’re glad to be here. There are over two thousand of you new freshmen; whether you are a fresh high school graduate or an adult that came back to pursue a degree, we are all very excited for you to be here. A few years ago we implemented this system in order for everyone to not get overwhelmed, especially if you are living on campus in the dormitories. There are many activities lined out for you to participate in, including multiple craft opportunities, a outside performance by our concert band, and much more! We encourage you to attend each of these activities, as-

“It’s not like I don’t know this already, so why am I even here?” The unfamiliar woman beside you spoke in a hushed whisper, arms crossed. As much as you wanted to tell her to shush, there was something that told you getting on her bad side would cause nothing but an uproar, so you tried your best to tune her out. 

-two-thirty, there will be a-

“I have more important things I could be doing than sitting here listening to a boring speech.” Damn, does she know how to shut up? Your fist clenched involuntarily at her words. Sure, you didn’t necessarily want to be sitting here either (because of the obvious), but you were still here. There wasn’t any use complaining about the situation since you’re clearly not allowed to leave the auditorium.

-forget about the floor meetings at seven o’ clock sharp in the lobby of your dorm. That’s all I have to say for the time being until the official ceremony on Friday. Make sure to wear the shirt that you’ll get as a part of your activities!

Rather pleased by getting to leave, the woman quickly got out of her seat, but had to wait for the rest of her group to get up, which, well… didn’t look like it would be any time soon. Her face scrunched up, eye twitching slightly as her foot tapped on the floor impatiently. Now that the lights had turned back on, you were able to see her long, russet hair that was blocking her face from your view. A bow was adorned in the left side, hair braided a bit above it with a loose strand sticking below that looked like it could probably fall out at a moment's notice. 

Felicia, Iroha, and Sana were already making their way out to the aisle on the opposite side, Iroha glancing back every few steps to make sure you were still in her view. Wasting no time, you too flew out of your chair and started making your way down the row, but thinking about it, maybe saving that girl’s friends the trouble of her impatience would at least do them some good. Poking her on the shoulder, she turned her head to look at you with a frown adorning her lips.

“Yes?” 

“If you’re in a hurry, the other side of me is free. You could go ahead and leave.” Looking down at her, you waited for a response. Right as she opened her mouth to speak, one of her friends stood up and spoke first.

“That won’t be necessary. She’s just giving us a hard time, that’s all.” Smiling at you, she then turned away. “Isn’t that right, Touka? Wasting your breath when we were going to be leaving anyways. I’m sure everyone in the auditorium heard you complaining.” 

“The tone of my voice was so mute that you were probably the only one who heard me. There’s only a minuscule possibility that anyone other than you and this guy behind me caught anything.” 

“There’s a difference between a murmur and a loud whisper, but I don’t think you can tell one between the other.” 

“That’s what you think, Nemu!”

“Am I wrong?”

The two girls seated down the row from them got up and started walking out, shrugging but looking just as animated as the pair you were standing behind right now. I’m sure they’ll notice they were ditched sooner or later. 

“Y/N!” Shouting slightly, Iroha called out for you, prompting you to turn around. “They said that there would be a music performance outside, so we were going to go. We just wanted to know if you were coming along with us?”

“Yeah. Sorry, I was just a bit caught up…” Flicking your head backwards to gesture at the two girls behind you, you started making your way towards the trio waiting for you at the end of the row. Touka and Nemu were still talking back and forth, and you honestly couldn’t tell if they were serious or just bantering with each other. Given that the chairs were packed close together, you had to place your arms in front of yourself in order to get through without bumping into one of them. 

“Oh… yeah, I could hear what she was saying during the ceremony. It made it really hard to concentrate, but I still got the gist of it.” 

Sana and Felicia nodded in agreement, though neither of them said anything.

“So anyways... the music performance is right now?”

“Well, not exactly... they’re warming up.” The four of you started to walk back up to the entrance, Felicia tagging slightly ahead and leading the way. “One of our friends should be outside waiting. She’s not a freshman, but she wanted to come out and support her friends since the performance is open to the public.” 

“Oh, I see. You guys seem to have a lot of friends in higher classes, huh?”

“It’s really not as many as you’d think. The only reason we know them is because we live together, that’s all!” Iroha rubbed the back of her head, nervously meeting your curious gaze. “But… I guess it could be considered a good thing that we have friends in higher classes.”

The door opened at a slight push from Felicia, and all at once the light poured into the auditorium and into your eyes. It was hard to adjust from the artificial lighting of the closed-off space with close to no windows. Closing your eyes, you hoped that maybe they would suddenly get used to it.

They didn’t. 

Your eyes felt like they were on fire the moment you opened them back up. The sunlight didn’t let up on its harshness at all, which was a bit of a disappointment. Even Sana was trying her best to shield her eyes since Iroha wasn’t much help in that regard. Once adjusted, there were a few noticeable differences in the main area. There were many chairs set up right below the biggest cherry blossom tree on campus with a group of students dressed in semi-formal clothing occupying them. Some of them were talking amongst their friends in the seats beside them while others were standing up completely, as the show wasn’t supposed to start for another half-hour. Meanwhile, others loitered around waiting for the performance to start.

The trio of companions you had were already moving towards the majority, picking out a specific woman out of the rest that wasn’t dressed for the occasion; she must be the friend that they were talking about. Her silver hair made her blend in with some of the crowd, but her hairstyle would otherwise give it away if you knew her personally. Chatting up two of the members, she didn’t notice the lot of you approaching until Felicia placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Hey!” 

This caused her to jump slightly, and she turned around. Her eyes darted back and forth, but finally settled on the lot of you. 

“Oh, it’s just you guys. Honestly, I was getting a bit worried since you were running a bit over.” Teal orbs with a hint of curiosity met your gaze after a few moments, and her smile made the situation less awkward. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“No, we haven’t. My name is Y/N.” Just as you’ve done countless times before, you outstretched your hand towards her for a handshake. This seemed to be your first instinct in situations like this, but nobody seemed to mind. 

“Mifuyu Azusa. I’m a junior at the university.” With a quick motion, she took hold of your hand and shook it gently as she spoke. A junior, huh? Your mind seemed to wander back to Yachiyo, the elusive woman you had met earlier by sheer accident. Mifuyu looked to be around the same age, so maybe... “Is everything alright, Y/N?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, everything’s fine.” 

“You look like something is troubling you.” One of the girls from behind Mifuyu snuck a look at you. Judging by her gaze, she seemed to be forming her own opinion without really knowing who you are. Either your eyes were deceiving you, or there was another one of her standing close by. Upon closer inspection, there was a small difference only noticeable by the hairstyle, as the one who spoke had her hair tied back into one singular ponytail. 

“Your eyes give it away, y’know.” In contrast to the calmer twin, the other one had an exciting aura surrounding her as she spoke, her hair splitting off into two separate, large pieces. Her irises were brighter, filled with more curiosity and arguably more freedom. If it wasn’t for that, there was almost no way to tell them apart. 

"Really, it’s not anything important. I was just reminded of someone I met earlier whenever Mifuyu brought up being a junior.” 

“Ah… well in all honesty I’m only good friends with one other junior. She went earlier with everyone else just to walk them here but was called in unexpectedly for a photoshoot, so she was unable to stay.” Mifuyu sighed, shaking her head. “It wasn’t her initial plan to leave, but she said she might be here later in the evening.”

“I… actually ran into someone earlier today who said the exact same thing about a photoshoot. Her name was… Yachiyo, I believe.”

“Oh, you ran into Yacchan? That’s quite the coincidence.” 

Your mind had to register what she had just said before realizing that Yachiyo must be the very friend of most of the girls surrounding you. What she said was true; it really was a coincidence, meeting all of her friends by chance. Nobody seemed to notice the twins talking until one of them cleared their throat in order to get everyone’s attention. 

“Pardon the interruption, but the concert is going to start soon. Tsukasa and I wanted to warm up before our performance.” 

“Oh, that’s right! We’re sorry for holding you up Tsukuyo, Tsukasa.” Mifuyu bowed politely before backing away. “I’m sure your performance will be spectacular.”

“I would hope so, especially since we had to come back a few times over the break just to memorize it!” Tsukasa abruptly sat down in her chair and folded her arms, groaning in annoyance. “I mean yeah, we have to do it… I remember when I was a freshman last year and I watched them perform the same exact thing!” 

“Playing it by ear in the dorm room and memorizing then practicing the sheet music are two different things, sister.” 

“Ah… well, we’ll be watching you in the audience. Would you like me for me to see you afterwards?” Mifuyu’s head tilted slightly to the right as she spoke. Felicia, Iroha, and Sana had already started to make their way towards an open area in the grass while the three of them talked, leaving you as the odd one out. It was odd… they didn’t seem to pressure going with them, so perhaps they were trying to help you get acquainted with others in their own way. 

“That won’t be necessary. We have another rehearsal to attend afterwards, although if you would like to come by the music hall later in the evening we should be done.” Tsukuyo nodded her head, closing her eyes and then opening them back up when she realized you were still present. “I’ll extend the invitation to you as well, Y/N. You do look lost in thought, even now. I’m sure a change of pace as well as scenery should do you good.”

“You say that as if we’re going somewhere, sis! We aren’t, are we?”

“Oh… I forgot to tell you Tsukasa, but I have decided to accompany the rest of Mifuyu’s friends to dinner tonight at around nine. You don’t have to attend, though.” 

“Wha- why at the last minute?! I guess I’m lucky that I don’t have any plans tonight…but still!”

You felt something tugging at the sleeve of your shirt only to find Mifuyu’s thumb and index finger looped on the ends of the fabric. There was no need for her to speak when you already knew what she was trying to do by pulling you away from the twins. The moment they started to have their own conversation and got distracted, she let go of your sleeve and the two of you started walking over to the others.

“It’s best to leave them alone when they bicker, but I’m glad Tsukuyo invited you to tag along with our little group for dinner if you’d like.” 

“I’ll think about it. I still have a few things to unpack, after all.”

“Oh that’s right, you must live in the dorms. Well, just know that the offer still stands, even if it’s a last minute decision. I’m sure everyone would enjoy your company.” Smiling, Mifuyu sat down in the grass and leaned against one of the numerous cherry blossom trees. Your eyes watched as one of the petals fell and landed straight on her head, but she didn’t seem to mind as she was too engrossed in watching the band warm up. Mustering enough courage, you sat down beside her with your legs crossed, just as mesmerized as she was. 

“Well look who finally showed up! We were starting to wonder if you were going to talk the entire time, Mifuyu!” Felicia sported a toothy grin, leaning forward with her hands out in front of her. 

“Well, we were in the middle of a conversation about tonight, and then Tsukuyo invited Y/N to come along with us.”

“Aw, really? Banbanzai's gonna be real crowded with-”

“Felicia, I think you should stop talking for your own sake.” There was malice lacing Mifuyu’s words, and Felicia took notice and backed off quickly. Why was Felicia so reluctant, though? “Please don’t pay her any mind. She didn’t really mean what she said, so don’t take it to heart. The only reason she’s complaining is because she works part-time at the restaurant in question and agreed to help out tonight.”

“Ugh…” 

“Oh, I see.” You cracked a smile of your own, looking at Felicia. “I completely understand. If you wanted me to come so badly, you could have just said so yourself.” 

“I didn’t- I didn’t say that!” 

“Shh, the performance is about to start.” Iroha put her hand on the blonde’s shoulder, making her settle down and sit up straight. “You can continue this conversation afterwards.”

Turning your head back, you focused all of your attention on the band, Tsukuyo and Tsukasa in particular. Their selection started off with recognizable tunes from the university’s repertoire such as the Alma mater, each section harmonizing to create an alluring and soothing sound. The woodwinds played the melody, brass and percussion backing them up. The twins effortlessly switched their fingering, clearly rehearsed so many times that it was just second nature to them. Eyes closed, there wasn’t a need for them to look at their music as diligent as they were about playing their instruments. Even the original pieces they performed were of little difficulty for them, the tips of their fingers gliding beautifully as the sound resonated quietly, though as a collective section they sounded pure.

The performance lasted around a half hour with an afterword from the director of bands, though your mind was focused on other things. Even though it was completely unrelated, it made you realize that maybe it would be a good idea to join a club or two, maybe even a casual sports team to get out of your room and make more friends. It wouldn’t hurt to be in an organization like a concert band… though I’m not very good at a particular instrument. It would have to be something else… 

“Y/N?” Your head turned sharply to the source of the noise, which turned out to just be Iroha. “We’re all getting ready to leave campus for a bit. We just have a few things to do. I just wanted to let you know so that you won’t think that we ditched you without saying anything. Um… I think Mifuyu is going to come back to campus when she’s done in order to meet up with her friends though, so if you’re planning on having dinner with us I can tell her to meet you outside of the dormitory…”

“Yeah, that would be great! But… are you sure that you want me to go with you guys? I mean, we just met and everything-”

“We’re friends, right? After all, we’ve all been hanging out the past few hours, and it’s not like you don’t know everyone that’s going to be there already!” 

Friends. The exact thing that you thought you didn’t have. It felt odd hearing it from somebody you’d just met a few hours ago, but… it made you feel like Iroha and the others wanted you there with them because they thought you were a nice person and not just because you were a loner. There was no hesitation in her voice, and her eyes bore into your very soul. Her intentions were clear through the smile on her face. Sana, who was still clinging onto her for dear life, had the same bright smile, although it was much less pronounced. 

Were they really your friends? Of course they were; after all, they wanted to make sure you knew they were leaving to do some important things and not just to ditch you. They knew you weren’t a local in Kamihama, and wanted to make sure that you weren’t completely lost in the city. 

“Of course we’re friends. I just… didn’t expect for you to say it so outright like that.” The corners of your lips turned upwards into a smile, affirming your subconscious decision. 

“I-I’m glad… that you think of us as friends, too.” Sana let her arm fall to her side, stepping away from Iroha and bowing. “G-Goodbye!” 

“You don’t have to bow, Sana…” Iroha let out a stifled giggle, shaking her head. “But we really should be going. We’ll see you tonight, okay?” 

“Yeah, see you later!”

How many times does this make today? Instead of watching the group walk away while standing awkwardly, you made your way back towards the dormitory and inside, fishing for the key to your room out of your pocket. There wasn’t much to unpack from your bag, but you didn’t want to take things out of it on one of the busier days of the week. That reminds me… I saw Kaede and Rena in the auditorium, but I wonder where they could be now? The hallway was completely void of other people, save for one straggler at the end of the hallway who was rushing to get into their room. There were no voices traveling, no footsteps tapping along the wooden floors… it felt like a barren wasteland, and you were right in the middle of it. You could only assume the two girls across the hallway were still out and about, as there wasn’t a peep of arguing coming from their room. 

Your door unlocked without a problem, the knob turning easily and making for a smooth opening. The bag you had haphazardly thrown on the bed was left untampered, although you noticed the latch came undone, more than likely from the force of the landing. There wasn’t much in your bag in the first place, but it contained all of the things you’d brought from home such as your laptop, some personal care items, and a few other things that weren’t significant enough to mention. Sliding the laptop and its charging cord out of your bag, you went over to the desk and plugged it into the receptacle beside it. You took a few steps away to observe your main place to study, and you couldn’t help but crack a grin. If anything, the laptop made the room a more habitable place than before. 

It felt like home.

The rest of the things were put away without much effort, though you made extra sure that everything was put up in their proper places. You’d be using your bag to carry around your textbooks, so having it cleaned out for when you went to the bookstore later this week to buy them was thinking a step ahead in your book. There was a slim part of you that wished you weren’t in solitude at the current moment, but even if you wanted to go outside, you’d just be back to square one. Staring off into space was the only way you knew how to cope with your problem, though it wasn’t the most efficient way to deal with it. Others just thought you were weird, and you’d even been called a pervert on a few occasions because a girl just happened to be in front of you. 

If Kaede and Rena were in their room, you’d probably have the balls to go over and ask if they wanted to do something.

If Iroha and the others lived on campus, you’d probably be with them instead of your room. 

Instead, you just stared out the window as you sat on the bed. It was still cracked open from earlier, the all too familiar breeze gracing you with its presence. The silence was comforting in its own way, letting one reflect on past events, and that’s exactly what you were doing as your eyes were fixed on a singular cherry blossom tree that was planted right in front of the window. You hadn’t noticed it before now, but it really was a beautiful sight. It reminded you of earlier, when Mifuyu was leaning against one and was so lost in thought that one of the petals landed on her head and she didn’t notice. She was oblivious to how graceful she truly looked in that moment, although you were the only one that seemed to catch sight of it. 

Maybe being aloof every once in a while wasn’t such a bad thing, especially since it let you catch something you would have otherwise never turned your head at.

An hour had passed, then two. You’d snapped out of your trance around a half hour in, occupying yourself with the television provided to you, as well as your smartphone. Soon it was nearing the seven o’ clock floor meetings.

“I think… I think I should dress up a little. If I’m going to be surrounded by a bunch of women, I should at least look like I care about my appearance.” Nodding, you walked over to the dresser and pulled the top drawer open. Button-up shirts and some of your nicer pants were folded neatly inside, and you took one of each out to change into. There was a faint knock at your door, but amidst your humming and shuffling around you didn’t hear until a much louder knock resounded. 

“Hey! If you don’t want to be late, I suggest you hurry up!” Rena. Clasping the button on your pants and zipping them up, you opened the door and looked down on the two girls before you. 

“You didn’t have to come get me, you know… also, I’m sure that everyone heard you pounding on the door.” 

“I told her not to be so loud, but she didn’t listen to me!” Kaede stuck her head inside the room for a few seconds, looking around out of curiosity before backing up in order to let you through. Having put the key to your room in your pocket beforehand along with your wallet, you swiftly closed the door and locked it. 

“You were knocking like a baby, and then you wondered why he didn’t come to answer the door after a few seconds.” Rena rolled her eyes, shoving her hands in her pockets and walking down the hallway towards the lounge area in the middle. The two of you followed suit, sitting down on a sofa that was against the wall when you arrived, though being sandwiched in between Kaede and Rena was quite an awkward situation. 

It took all of your brainpower just to focus on the lecture being given by the Resident Advisor, who was the same guy who handed you the key to your room earlier in the day. His voice was unappealing, and it seemed everyone else agreed. The only time you paid attention to him was when he explained the form you had to fill out, which was yet another inconvenience, but it was required. It asked a few simple questions, like what kind of activities you’d like to see on the floor, about the state of your room when you arrived, and trivial questions about yourself personally.

By the time you finished, everyone minus Kaede and Rena had left the room and turned in their forms, the girls waiting patiently (well, Kaede was) for you. 

“Thanks for filling it out! The turnout this year was surprisingly good compared to last year.” Taking the forms, the RA tapped the stack against the table and made them into a neat pile. “Many of the residents didn’t turn up to the floor meeting and had to be personally reprimanded. The university takes all of the activities they do during the introductory week very seriously, so they ended up getting a mark on their permanent record.”

“A-Ah, well, I’m glad I showed up. I’m a rule follower, not a rule breaker.” You rubbed the back of your neck and stood up, chuckling nervously. “What other things can get a mark on your record?”

“Bringing alcohol in the dorms, coming back intoxicated, drug paraphernalia… there’s a whole list on the university website. Oh, and getting caught with someone who isn’t from the dormitory in your room without signing them in at the front desk first. We’re more lenient on that one since it’s not like you’re doing anything illegal, but as your RA, I recommend you do.”

“So someone from a different room in the same dormitory can just… go to someone else’s room with no problem?” Rena stood up from her seat followed by Kaede, though the latter stayed silent.

“Yep!” 

What an odd rule, especially since this is a co-ed dormitory.

“Well, I do have to get going. Just make sure to follow the rules and regulations and you should have a fantastic two semesters in the dormitories! Good night to you three!” Bowing quickly, the man swiped the forms and went storming towards his room on the other side of the building. There was a foreboding silence shared between the three of you, and you took the moment to check your wristwatch. Fifteen to nine. 

“I have something that I agreed to do tonight. I’ll… see you two tomorrow?”

“Yeah, tomorrow! It might be later in the day since Rena and I are going to go visit some friends in the afternoon, but um… we can definitely get dinner or something together!”

“D-Don’t go putting words in my mouth, Kaede!” There was a faint blush on Rena’s face as she sharply turned her head away from view. “Fine, if you want to go to dinner with us or something, you should be grateful that I’m agreeing…”

“That’s just Rena’s way of saying she’s excited.” Kaede moved closer to whisper in your ear, giggling at the end and pulling away. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Y/N.” 

Waving to the two girls, you plopped back onto the sofa behind you, slumping back and crossing your arms. Today was probably one of the most eventful days you’ve ever had in your life. Even high school couldn’t compare to everything that happened. More people than ever before wanted to talk to you, wanted to get to know you… and you even spoke up to someone else instead of freezing up. That in itself was considered an accomplishment in your book.

Even though the day is over… the night was only beginning.

[curewhimsy]

I looked at Vocaloid Wiki and updated myself on Vocaloid knowledge, and because I was bored, I arranged them all into ships (without multishipping), albeit somewhat randomly.

A lot of these ships are probably very outlandish. Also they’re in no particular order for the most part...

Some of these Vocaloids are actually UTAU or Fanloid. Some of whom are obscure as heck.

Also I didn’t put in their full names so good luck trying to figure out who I’m talking about sometimes.

Haku x Luka Miku x Gumi Teto x Neru Akaito x Dell Kaito x Gakupo IA x Yukari Rin x Kokone Meiko x Lily Len x Piko Merli x SeeU Lapis x CUL Miki x Iroha Mayu x Galaco Zatsune x Aku Lola x Leon Bruno x Clara Mizuki x Yuuma Uta x Momo Yuki x Ryuuto Oliver x Nigaito Ruko x Ritsu Tei x Taito Ring x Lui Kiyoteru x Kikaito Yohio x Flower Miriam x Sonika Avanna x Maika Sora x Chika Prima x Big Al Fukase x Rion Tonio x Ann Anon x Zunko Luo x Qingxian Lumi x Una Kanon x Ruby Sachiko x Dex Yumemi x Macne Nana Xin Hua x Ling Longya x Nemu Matcha x Mirai Rana x Miko Yanhe x Taya Arsloid x Cyber Diva Kohaku x Akaza Cyber Songman x Daina Sora x Moke Yufu x Koto Uni x One Merry x Renri Akiko x Rune Xingchen x Yuu Kyo x Wil Yuecheng x Chuchu Mako x Luna Zing x Luniang Yowa x Sayu Haiyi x Lorra Mew x Ona Haruka Nana x Ito

[elliotthezubat]

MAGIA RECORD GIRLS AT CON!

their cosplays are;

Iroha - ezio from assassins creed 

Yachiyo - azura/aqua from fire emblem fates

Tsuruno - the girl from ‘your name’ [whos name currently escapes me at the moment]

Felicia - Edward Elric

Sana - Alphonse Elric

Rena - Alice from Pandora hearts

Momoko - the mad hatter from alice in wonderland

Kaede - uzuki from Cinderella girls (hehe casting joke)

Asuka - samurai jack

Sasara - saber from the fate series

Kanoko - gijinka!rarity from MLP [*SHOT*]

Natsuki - hibari from senran kagura (hehe illustrator joke)

Hinano - albert Einstein

Nanaka - sailor mercury

Emiri - rin kagamine

Shizuku - she just wears an anime t-shirt

Akira - goku

Manaka - she wears a vegetable themed dress

Kako - belle from beauty and the beast

Meiyui - the yellow jumpsuit from kill bill

Ayaka - belkia from servamp

Masara - salt shaker

Konomi - card captor sakura

Rika - casual!saber from the fate series

Ren - mash kyrielight

Konoha - sasuke

Hazuki - sakura

Ayame - Naruto

Aimi - the orange haired girl from oreimo (illustrator gag)

Karin - tuxedo mask

Kokoro - pepper shaker

Tsukasa - pink kitty

Tsukuyo - blue kitty

Alina - dio

Reira - natsu dragneel

Seika - gray fullbuster

Mito - lucy heartfilia

Mayu - tsubaki nakatsukasa

Himika - the clown guy from hunter x hunter

Mitama - osamu dazai from bungou stray dogs

Ria - elesa from pokemon

BONUS

Mifuyu - adam Taurus

Touka - shana

Nemu - yumi Azusa

Ui - waldo

Kanagi - ???

Meru - cure white

Kanae - cure black

Sayuki - amulet diamond

[shiny-procrastinates]

(re)Watching Magia Record S1 - part 10

part 9 here

Hello and welcome back everyone! Do I really need to write this part? I'm running out of ideas here.

Last time, Iroha answered the mysterious messages she was getting and entered the barrier of the Rumor of Endless Solitude, Ai,  that had been calling her in the hopes of being erased. There, Iroha meets Sana, a invisible Magical Girl who had run away from the world to Ai's barrier and made friends with the Rumor. After a brief battle with one of the Magius, Alina Gray, Sana's forced to delete the corrupted Ai in a heart-wrenching scene, and the episode ends. What will happen now? That's what we're about to find out.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record S1 episode 10

Continuing from the last episode, we get a peek at the only time Sana was ever happy the events that led her to her horrible situation and then go back right into the way-too-sad Ai's "death".

However, being meguka is suffering and Sana doesn't even get to grief Ai's death properly because the Rumor's barrier collapses and leaves her and Iroha falling back into the city. Also because she fainted.

Iroha manages to catch Sana in mid-air and is relieved but, uh, Iroha? Unless you can channel the same magic you use in your transformation to land softly you two are still screwed.

Now to something slightly unrelated, after the opening we get a look at what's going on in the other tower, the one Yachiyo and the others had theorized was the exit. I'd ask what's this statue about but I've already learned not to question the backgrounds by now.

On the other tower the Amanee twins are freaking out over the Rumor getting erased, since this means they've failed to protect yet another one. And while they're doing that, Yachiyo team arrives, realizes they hit the mark by seeing them and Tsuruno messes up yet another Rumor(?) by virtue of pressing a random button. Nice(?), Tsuruno! Never mind that you just screwed with the town's whole electromagnetic field.

Why, while you two were freaking out, of course.

The machine Tsuruno activated conveniently attracts Iroha and Sana (and everything metal in x km), saving them from breaking all the bones in their bodies. Sadly, it also pulled in Alina's witches. She rides one of them in order to get closer and then captures them in her cubes. Gotta catch em' all, huh.

Y'know, you'd think that a girl that can somersault over a witch could also straighten herself in the air to land on her feet, but that'd make Iroha be competent and we can't have that, apparently.

RIP Walking Antenna-kun, you shall not be missed.

Thanks to the magnetism dying, Iroha and Sana get a hard landing, while the more skillful Alina just jumps down. The twins continue panicking while Yachiyo and co. go check on Iroha and Sana, who are fine (though only Iroha's conscious).

Then, because what even is continuity, we jump ahead to our girls having moved and getting ready to fight a very pissed Alina. Even the twins are scared. No wonder, since, well

Alina broke (though I'm not sure she was ever not broken). She releases all of the poké- witches she has on her (all dupes too) on our girls. Nasty.

As expected, Felicia rushes in, and Yachiyo follows after her, encountering some trouble. While Iroha protects her back, Yachiyo questions the twins about what's going on.

Yachiyo asks if the cult has been raising witches inside Ai's barrier and the weirdo twins say that both the Rumors and witches are necessary for salvation, for they have need of human emotion. Uhh, Amane sisters are you sure you two are sane? You're sounding a lot like Kyuubei now. Were you brainwashed by the cult?

Felicia keeps being reckless, Alina keeps being crazy, there's a lot of witches and oh god just what's going on with this episode's production, I wonder if it's more intelligible in the blu-ray.

Tsuruno and Felicia do a Connect, burning down some copy-witches, which only makes Alina even more deranged (if that's even possible). Alina does... something, I think she might be doing the same spewing-a-witch-out thingy that we've seen a few times now. Iroha, who had already seen this one of Alina's powers inside Ai's barrier, warns Felicia and Tsuruno not to touch it, but the two are kind of surrounded right now. When everything seems lost...

MAMI! I have never been more glad to see those marvelous drills.

Mami shoots Alina's hat as a warning and, though Alina gives her a face of absolute disgust, she calls back her witch. Mami then orders the twins to go catch some pokémon witches... oh wait, Mami's part of the cult now too? Then why'd she bother saving Iroha earlier and all the girls now?

Thanks for nothing, Mifuyu. You're late.

While Yachiyo and Mifuyu are having a awkward meeting, with Mifuyu looking kinda guilty now, Mami puts the pressure on Alina, questioning what's up with those witches, but Alina just peaces out, saying she doesn't like being interrupted.

Yachiyo calls out to Mami, who apologizes for before. Considering that she's with the Wings of the Magius now, she should know what was up that time, so that makes sense. Yachiyo and co. realize she's with the cult now and raise their guard back up. Mami then says that, even though they're using Rumors and witches, the cult is trying their best to keep sacrifices at a minimum, which does explain why she stepped in these two times. Mami insists that it's all for the sake of salvation and that she will save everyone, the latter being a very Mami thing to say indeed. (with the right to a flashback to the og, even).

Iroha asks what does she mean by "you'll understand eventually" but gets ignored big time. Yachiyo tries to stop Mifuyu, saying what they're doing is no different than a witch but Mifuyu, despite looking guilty, doesn't respond and once again uses her illusion magic to let her group run away.

Oh, and Snaa wakes up.

After the ruckus from the previous night, the Mikadzuki girls (minus Felicia) are helping Sana with moving in. Sana's seems a bit uncomfortable, but I guess it can't be helped when you've been invisible almost all your life.

And well, there's no way she's not feeling down with what happened with Ai. It's going to take a while until she can settle down here yet. Of course, the others get worried about her state, but Yachiyo also says this.

Iroha wonders if they can really become Sana's new home and Yachiyo says only Sana can decide that, but, after seeing the mugs in the cupboard, she also say that there is something they can do for her.

Iroha invites Sana, and the group go shopping for mugs. Sana wonders why mugs, and Yachiyo explains that it's distant to have them continue using the guest ones. She says, while looking affectionately at Tsuruno and Felicia, that it's about time they got one since their group had already gotten this big.

Decision anxiety: The image

Sana says she wants one with a cat, which Iroha picks for her. Felicia chooses one with a cow design, saying that they're delicious when Tsuruno asks why, though Felicia's reason for that is surprisingly thoughtful... and then she tells Tsuruno to get a pig one because twice-cooked pork lol

And there they are. This is almost saying "that's the team". Though they're really basically found family already.

Yes Tsuruno, exactly!

Hearing about family, however, makes Sana remember her own family, so she silently leaves and heads back to her parent's home, maybe to look at how they're doing.

Where are the walls on this thing?

I'm sure they wanted to tell us something with this but I'm not sure exactly what.

One has to wonder how can they leave her food on the door and not realize she hasn't eaten any of it for who knows how long now. Just goes to show how much they don't care about her. She could've died and they wouldn't even had realized. God I hate Sana's family.

Yup, shitty as ever.

Sana takes her things and leaves that house, this time forever. While heading back, she starts suffering while hearing(?) all the kids who get to have their names called by someone, who are seen, until she flashbacks to Iroha calling out for her inside Ai's barrier.

With this, Sana realizes the place she belongs now, the place she wants to be in is Mikadzuki Villa.

*sob* uungh please let this girl's happiness last, show.

Episode 10! This is the title card, but look at the time, there's no way this episode would be over yet.

Oh my god the sound these familiars(?) make is so adorable!

...*ahem*

At what we can assume is the Wings of the Magius' HQ, Mifuyu and Mami are reporting what happened earlier to two obscured figures I think we can assume are the other two Magius besides Alina.

Later, we see Mifuyu lamenting the state of things. Nah Mifuyu, I'm sure Yachiyo would welcome you with open arms as long as you leave this shady cult. Mifuyu hears her doorbell and answers, and the Amane twins let themselves in to make her dinner. You really haven't got it together, do you, Mifuyu?

Mifuyu goes back to her pondering, thinking about how she has to achieve salvation for their sake too. ...are all veterans like Mami here?

So you say but aren't you already?

Back at Mikadzuki Villa, it seems they were filling Sana in on Iroha's situation and why the group is chasing Rumors. Iroha says this, but they've already told you this plenty of times, didn't they? They're aiming for salvation.

Iroha asks if Sana hasn't heard about either Ui or Touka and Nemu, the girls who were hospitalized with her. Sana then reacts to the name Nemu, asking her if that's Nemu Hiiragi, one of the Magius...

Aaand then the episode ends for real. Talk about a cliffhanger!

- x -

While this episode was still about Sana's situation in part, it did manage to drop some grand revelations on us: Alina and raising witches, Mami being part of the Wings of the Magius (and a high-ranking enough member that she could tell Alina off) and last but not least the possibility of one of Iroha's sister's friends being one of the Magius. We just got our main team together, but there's no sign of things slowing down. And since our girls will definitely keep erasing the Rumors, they'll keep on clashing with WotM. To us who watched the og, the main question is, of course, how exactly they plan to execute their "salvation" plan but to Iroha and co., who don't even know about the witchfication yet, the question's still at "what are they trying to save us from", I suppose, so we can look forward to seeing what kind of hell will break loose (or not) once the cat's out of the bag.

Well, not much else to say about this episode except: LET, SANA, BE, HAPPY.

This is everything for episode 10. This one ended up late because the backlog ran out and was incredibly annoying to write because my "w" key is dying. Do you have any idea how much "w" is used in this language? A lot. Please resuscitate, w key.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time!

[masterthetackle]

A Magical (or not) Academia

A Various x Male!Reader fic series

Synopsis: A College AU where the concept of magical girls and witches doesn’t exist and the girls can live normal lives as college students! From attending classes, joining clubs, and having part-time jobs, they all stay busy one way or another. Being the odd one out, you’re just a first semester student with an undeclared major trying to figure out what to do with your life. You’ll make friends, enemies, and possibly even find… love? The question still remains: will you find your calling by the end of the year? 

All girls are aged up if not already, but for the purposes of this fic series will be close to the same age for continuity. Typical age range is from 18-20, with freshman, sophomores, and juniors. 

A list of currently enrolled girls with majors and class:

*Note: All these girls are potential love interests, however will be subject to change. They will, however, all stay in the main cast regardless.

**Note: These are the girls that will be focused on, this isn’t every girl that is going to be included! If you don’t see your favorite, fret not! They’ll more than likely make a cameo or two. If a specific girl is asked for enough, they might be added to the main cast based on popular demand.

Iroha Tamaki: Pre-Med, freshman

Yachiyo Nanami: Fashion Design, junior

Tsuruno Yui: Culinary, sophomore

Felicia Mitsuki: Animal Husbandry, freshman

Sana Futaba: Pre-Vet, freshman

Rena Minami: Theatre, freshman

Kaede Akino: Botany, freshman

Mifuyu Azusa: Pharmaceutical Sciences, junior

Tsukuyo Amane: Music Performance, sophomore

Tsukasa Amane: Music Performance, sophomore

Kanagi Izumi: Pre-Law, junior

Alina Gray: Art, freshman

Karin Misono: Art, freshman

Touka Satomi: Astrophysics, freshman

Nemu Hiiragi: Creative Writing/Japanese Literature, freshman

Mitama Yakumo: Undecided, sophomore

Momoko Togame: Unsure, currently not attending

Chapters

One: The First Day

Two: The First Day (II)

Three: Coming Soon!