Ditto.
I'd always interpreted the scene to mean that she killed both, for lack of evidence to the contrary. It's what results in a more-literal-than-usual death for her as a hero, and a rebirth as a fallen hero—pitiable, for her remorse, but not savable.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.I seem to recall reading somewhere that there were conflicting statements from Shinbou and Urobuchi on the matter of the Douchebag Train Guys™. One said she didn't kill them, and the other said she did, but I can't remember who said what.
My money's on Urobuchi saying that she did kill them.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!I suspect they're just leaving it out there to troll us with. Heaven knows it'd be a very Urobochi thing to do.
That said: emotionally and thematically, it's a lot more powerful to interpret it as her having killed them—she's taken the irrevocable step away from being a hero, and "these people are dicks" is a much less powerful realization than "my god, what have I done?"
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.I thought it was well known that Urobochi is nourished by the tears of his viewers.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.Other things Urobuchi is nourished by:
- Women with guns
- Lovecraftian body horror
- Ultraviolence
- Lesbians
- Alcohol
I had a story idea that featured her pretty heavily – magical girls and the zombie apocalypse! also, politics! also, Roberta as a depressed, hard-drinking MG in her late twenties! – but eventually I realized I only had vague plot beats mapped out, and no thematic stuff or character arcs, and it wasn't that interesting an idea anyway, so I dropped it. I have another idea that interests me a lot more that I might actually write, though.
edited 23rd Sep '15 7:31:33 PM by majoraoftime
Random idea: Witches Online
The new VRMMO 'Witches Online' has been released and Sayaka, one of the original beta testers, loads her copy. There, as 'Oktavia' she meets clumsy newbie 'Kriemhild', and helps her get familiar with the battle system.
However, it turns out no one can log out, and a giant apparition in the sky reveals that the game's creator Akemi Homura has turned the setting into a deathgame. To escape, they must journey deep into the 100 levels of the setting, the Universal Labyrinth, defeating the evil witch that rules each level, until they reach the last level and defeat the supreme witch, Walpurgisnacht.
Sayaka, trying to be a hero, abandons everyone and tries to get a head start, but after several months has not yet found the path to the next level.
One day, in a public gathering called by the player Candeloro to plan to kill the just-found Witch of the level, she meets a loner named Ophelia, and shares her apples with her. The two decide to team up in the raid against the first witch, Nagisa.
They defeat the boss, but Candeloro is killed, and to prevent the hostile crowd from indiscriminately turning on all beta testers, Sayaka takes it upon herself to draw their ire, coming out as a cheater and beta tester.
Months pass. Ophelia becomes vice-commander of the Guild Mitakihara Puella Magi, under the leadership of the invincible knight Homulilly, while Sayaka becomes a loner, trying to do everything herself and becoming more disillusioned about their chances of getting out...
edited 23rd Sep '15 7:21:13 PM by SCMof2814
So exactly like SAO just with some names swapped. That's a pretty lazy crossover.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!That's such a low bar to clear there's little point in achieving it, really.
Also it takes us away from the PMMM world, which I treat as a strike against—after all, the world is an utterly fascinating one to work with.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.I have to agree with the others on this. On Fanfiction.net, this is termed as "Fanmakes", in which people just edit a movie to insert their favorite characters into the film without any changes whatsoever. The end result is... Well, to quote one such fanmake...
Emphasis mine. This line comes from a character who is best summed up as a troll... yet when it comes to the Feast of Fools, he hates it for some reason. Your idea can work, but you'd have to edit the story around so that it'd fit with the characters, as Sayaka will not act like Kirito 100% of the time.
A piece of advice is to find a nail in the system and editing it to fit the new story.
Judge Discord longed to purge the world of vice and sin!
And he saw corruption everywhere except—within.
No, no, even as someone with only a cursory knowledge of MLP/FIM, that particular casting choice is insane.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.Um, ahem. Speaking as somebody trying to raise that bar...
I did my first crossover because I had a story idea for an unconventional Crossover Ship, one that I thought was too good to abandon after things got too toxic in the forum RP from which it originated. Yes, it sprung from an RP, but by the end I think I succeeded in making it something far more than I or anyone else anticipated it would be. I mean, I didn't spend two and a half years working on it just for a lark... I had a really good plot, an interesting relationship, and a definite end point in mind almost from the beginning.
In all my PMMM crossovers since then, I've made an effort to explore the implications of PMMM's rules being applied to other characters and other universes. I'm not throwing Sailor Moon or whoever into Mitakihara and seeing what happens for the hell of it.
It kind of hurts to see people who love PMMM as much as I do summarily dismiss any and all crossovers as "shit" just because of Sturgeon's Law, is all I'm saying.
To be fair, I dismiss most fics as shit largely because of the Sturgeon's Law (although I also have other reasons like a horrible, non-existent, or stupid sounding synopsis).
The best crossover I've ever seen would have to be Fate/Revelation Online. It melds together the two settings absolutely perfectly and involves characters from both sides.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!I've seen it done where Someone rewrote the Twilight Saga but replaced the cast with characters from Sonic the Hedgehog. It was literally the worst fic I have ever read. It covered the a large chunk of book in about four chapters that were written entirely in bold font.
edited 24th Sep '15 6:06:21 PM by Zelenal
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!![]()
Oh yes. And they call them "parodies" sometimes.
Here's the quoted fanfic
, another one
, and a Madoka related one
◊
It got so out of hand that I had to make a parody series of these.
Something that might have some cross-over potential, if only for relatively small projects or glancing mentions: the ones who got away. All the fictional or historical girls who seem like ideal candidates, who were offered contracts, who refused, and who achieved greatness anyway without selling their souls.
The idea was sparked by Mattie Ross coming up in discussion: in Madokaverse terms, she didn't need to sell her soul to the devil; she had the grit and the courage to hunt down Chaney without supernatural aid. Kyubey probably views her as a great missed opportunity; Madoka on the other hand may well have a separate entry system for Valhalla for all those who arguably had even more strength of character than many a meguca.
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.Here's a protip: the best fanfictionnote draws influences from things other than the series you're writing about. Books, films, history, your own experiences, etc. Of course, reading widely and reflecting on what you consume is just good advice in general if you want to become a smarter, more thoughtful person.
Getting back to fics, take for example this OreGairu fic
. Heavily influenced by Graham Greene's The End of The Affair, and it's a lot stronger for it. That author has some good general advice, actually:
Shipping is not everything. If you like romance, go ahead and write it, but don’t feel the need to base your story around pairings simply because everyone else is doing it.
Being “in-character” is not everything. A strong author’s voice is far more important. If you want to find out if your characterisation is consistent, you should show your story to someone who is unfamiliar with the fandom you are writing about. If they can grasp the overall tone of your story and the personalities of the characters, then you’ve succeeded in writing “in-character” in the way that matters.
Plan your shit. You don’t have to write a step-by-step outline or multiple appendices, but at least have an idea of what you’re doing and how you’re going to get there.
Mary Sue litmus tests are full of crap. Badly written original characters usually piss readers off because everyone else in the story acts inconsistently. Focus on internal consistency and believable relationships between the characters and I guarantee that none (or barely any) of your original character’s surface traits will make them seem “Mary Sue-ish”.
And finally, remember that your OTP is shit. I mean it. If you can’t imagine your OTP not being together, it’s a shit OTP. People are individuals with complex desires before they are one half of a couple. Try to understand the people you write about. Try to empathise.
edited 27th Sep '15 7:53:09 AM by majoraoftime

Clearly she split the difference, killing one and letting the other live to tell the story. Like a blue paladinette Keyser Söze.
@OM: Kirika's from Oriko and is an adorable mix of "Love Freak" and "violent maniac." Kanna's from Kazumi and wants revenge on a bunch of people who've never actually done anything to harm her because finding out she was artificially created made her wig right the fuck out.
edited 23rd Sep '15 2:02:31 AM by rikalous