Artwork by valpurgatory on Tumblr
and the universe said i love you is a SMPLive / Dream SMP fanfiction created by Archive of Our Own user serilly
/ Tumblr user conarcoin. It takes place in a crossover universe with the Puella Magi Madoka Magica franchise.
It focuses on Connor, who makes a contract with the incubator XD to become a magical boy after he witnesses his best friend die at the hands of a witch. His contract grants him time travel abilities, which he uses to jump between timelines in an attempt to prevent his best friend's death.
The fanfic can be read here.
This work contains examples of:
- Acid-Trip Dimension: The witches' labyrinths are described as distorted and full of bright colors and sounds.
- Action Prologue: The story begins with a witch fight.
- Alien Geometries: The witches and their labyrinths are trippy and nonsensical in their descriptions.
- Back from the Dead: Throughout the story, characters who die reappear due to Connor's timeline jumping. They haven't actually been brought back; they just haven't died yet in this timeline.
- Blatant Lies: Connor promises Ty in the original timeline that everything will be okay, despite the fact that Schlatt just died and this clearly isn't true.
- Blessed with Suck: While becoming a magical boy or girl grants one's wish and gives them magical abilities, it also leads to them corrupting and becoming a witch, as well as having to experience despair equal to the happiness granted by said wish.
- Cast from Lifespan: Using magic causes the corruption of one's soul gem to grow. Eventually, this turns the magical boy or girl into a witch.
- Central Theme:
- Can someone change the outcome of an event once it's already happened?
- The entire story, above anything else, is about grief, mourning, and trauma. Connor is just a traumatized person who never really gets the chance to healthily deal with grief, causing his mental health to spiral as he desperately tries to prevent the traumatizing event from occurring again.
- Clothing Reflects Personality: Schlatt's magical boy outfit is much flashier and more elaborate than Connor's, which is more subdued, matching their Red Oni, Blue Oni dynamic.
- Color-Coded Characters: Each of the four main magical boys has a corresponding color. Connor is blue, Schlatt is red, Ty is pink, and Karl is purple.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The opening fight scene between Schlatt and the witch Cantrelle. Cantrelle shatters his Soul Gem with very little effort.
- Dark Fic: Not to Madoka Magica, or even to Dream SMP, but definitely to the not-very-serious SMPLive.
- Deal with the Devil: Making a contract with XD — it will grant your wish in exchange for ripping your soul from your body and forcing you to fight dangerous magical beings.
- Death Fic: Specifically Schlatt's. While Schlatt does die in Dream SMP canon, it's much different here.
- Emotions vs. Stoicism: This is the core of Connor and Karl's conflicts — Connor is largely driven by his emotions and relationships, while Karl's primary goal is maintaining the balance of the universe and is largely apathetic to everything else.
- Family of Choice: Schlatt, Connor & Ty form one, with the former two acting as Ty's parental figures. They live in an apartment together, so it's implied that Ty's parents are out of the picture, and that the two older magical boys are his stand-in guardians.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble:
- Connor is Phlegmatic. He is introverted and highly people-oriented, though also very impulsive. He takes on a more passive role, until pushed to the edge.
- Schlatt is Choleric. A natural leader, warm and confident. Gets angry easily for personal reasons. Passionate and determined.
- Ty is Sanguine. Friendly and energetic. Highly compassionate and empathetic. Tries to keep a positive outlook.
- Karl is Melancholic. Introverted and task-oriented, prioritizing balance over the benefit of individuals. Highly analytical and moralistic.
- Freudian Trio: Connor, Schlatt and Karl.
- Schlatt is Id; he acts on his emotions first. He's warm, passionate and impulsive.
- Karl is Superego. He's cold and logical, and cares more about maintaining the status quo than anything else.
- Connor is Ego, caught in the middle. He tries to present himself as stoic and distant, but he is driven before all else by emotion.
- Genre Deconstruction: The fic, along with the original source of its setting, is a deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre, exploring a world where gaining these magical powers leads to mental anguish.
- Heroic Safe Mode: Connor's ability to quickly jump into a new timeline when something goes wrong.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Magical boys can manifest their weapons out of thin air.
- Little Bit Beastly: Schlatt and Connor, being sheep and hedgehog hybrids respectively.
- Magical Girl AU: The fic features Dream SMP and SMPLive characters as magical girls and boys.
- Magically-Binding Contract: To become a magical boy, Connor forms one of these with XD.
- Mental Time Travel: Kind of. Connor actually jumps into a different timeline a little bit before the point in time he was at in the timeline he came from. Despite this, he essentially takes control of that timeline's version of himself, rather than physically traveling to the timeline.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Schlatt's first death in Chapter 1 drives the entire story.
- The Promise: Schlatt makes Connor, under the belief that he isn't a magical boy himself, promise to not make a contract. This promise is broken before it's even made, since this is post-timeline jump.
- Protectorate: Zig-Zagged all over the place. Schlatt is Connor's, but Connor is also Schlatt's. Ty is both of theirs. Ultimately, everyone is Karl's, due to his wish to protect the universe.
- Psychological Horror: The horrific nature of the story comes from Connor's desperate attempts to save Schlatt, and the way every character seems doomed to suffer, as well as the surreal appearance of the witches and their distorted, uncanny labyrinths.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Schlatt is the brave, passionate, outgoing leader, while Connor is the quiet, reserved and snarky tag-along. They're even red and blue color-coded!
- Screw Destiny: This is Connor's entire goal. The original description for the fic pre-rewrite lampshades this, as it called Connor "the magical boy who tried to rewrite fate".
- Shout-Out:
- The fic's title comes from Minecraft's ending poem.
- Cantrelle's labyrinth is a reference to the Wilbur Soot album Your City Gave Me Asthma, specifically the song "Jubilee Line".
- Soul Jar: Soul gems contain a magical boy / girl's soul.
- Surreal Horror: The witches' labyrinths are described as unsettling and surreal.
- Transformation Sequence: The flashiness is downplayed because of the medium, but still present.
- Transplanted Character Fic: The fic puts Dream SMP / SMPLive characters in the setting of Madoka Magica.
- Undying Loyalty: Both Connor and Schlatt have loyalty as one of their defining character traits, and are willing to put their lives on the line for each other.
- Vicious Cycle: As Connor desperately tries to rewind time to prevent Schlatt's death, he forces himself to witness it over and over, with each instance affecting his mental state even more.
