Stringed

Homura confessed about three weeks into a loop that she didn’t think they were prepared to take on Walpurgisnacht. She doesn’t have enough weapons, Sayaka is barely trained, Madoka is still insistent on contracting, etc. Walpurgisnacht will descend on Mitakihara, and Homura will reset after another failure. Kyoko didn’t like that. The relationship they’d all built up, the happiness she finally had in her life, the people she’d grown to love. It would all be reset to 0 after they fought Walpurgisnacht... So what if… they didn’t fight Walpurgisnacht? If they could just leave the city and wait it out until the witch leaves? Worst-case scenario, Kyoko gets to enjoy a couple of weeks with them before Homura resets. It’s such a great idea, all that was left was deciding how to go about it.

Madoka would be against it; she’d never sit by and let Walpurgisnacht destroy the whole city. Sayaka and Mami were the same; those three idiots would he determined to fight until their last breath and end up dead like everyone else in Kyoko’s life. Homura wouldn’t see running as a permanent solution, so she wouldn’t bother humoring the idea if Kyoko brought it up. They might be a tad more willing if Kyoko made sure that their families left the city before Walpurgisnacht came? But Homura would catch on too quickly, so she would have to deal with Homura first.

Kyoko shows up at Homura’s apartment under the guise of being bored and wanting to discuss strategies. Homura turns her head for a bit to look at her very carefully laid out plans. Next thing she knows, she feels the shaft of Kyoko’s spear slamming into the back of her head, and she wakes up in some massive suite in a 5-star hotel in Kazimino that Kyoko regularly breaks into. Kyoko took her soul gem, so she couldn’t fight back. Homura’s just sort of stuck. Kyoko explains her reasoning, and if Homura is being honest, being able to just have a break is sort of nice. A day later, Homura wakes up to a proud-looking Kyoko carrying a knocked-out Sayaka and Mami. Kyoko boasts that she got the jump on Sayaka and then used her and a witch as bait to get Mami. She takes their soul gems, process repeat, and returns to Mitakihara(after stashing their soul gems out of reach) and uses a little magic to get Junko, Tomohisa, and Tatsuya to take a little vacation. She does the same to Sayaka’s parents and goes to grab Madoka, who she doesnt even have to knock out. She just says Homura, Mami, and Sayaka got caught by a witch and grabs her. Madoka realizes too late that Kyoko lied, but she cant do much about it when she’s getting carried bridal style by Kyoko as they jump over skyscrapers.

Boom! Plan finished! Mami and Sayaka are pretty angry about the whole thing, but they’ll calm down after a while, right? Madoka tries to talk Kyoko out of it. Homura just looks frustrated that she’s so helpless. They still end up playing games on the massive TV in the suite anyway. Kyoko might be running herself a little too hard getting grief seeds to sustain four people by herself, but it’s better than them dying fighting a witch due to their stupid hero complexes.

It takes a week for Kyoko to finally accept that this isn't sustainable, they’ll hate her, they’re too good, she has to let them go. If they didn’t stand a chance against Walpurgisnacht before, they sure as shit won’t now.

They managed to pull Sayaka out of her pit of despair before she was able to witch out. But now she doesn’t know what to do with the life she has; everything seems basically pointless. The guilt gnaws away at her; she was supposed to be a hero, the one who saved innocents, even if it meant her death, because at the very least, she had a purpose, her end had value. Even if her wish was built upon an act of selfishness, she would use it just as any magical girl should, to protect people. Instead, she was the one who lived. Kyoko, the girl that she had vilified as a monster, the one she had rejected, was the one who had died instead. A grand sacrifice at the cost of her life, purely just for them. An act so foreign to anything Sayaka knew the girl to be. Kyoko died instead, and Sayaka would never get to apologize, would never get to learn about this other side of her that she only got to witness as Kyoko’s very end. She lost the chance she had to truly grow close to her, to understand her, past the rivals they were and what they could have been. The only things she could learn were from what Homura recounted, all the smiles she’d made, the banter they had, and how close they got, depending on the timeline. And Sayaka would never be able to actually experience it. Because she wasn’t the one who’d died that day. And Sayaka would have to live with that, because she had to live, she had to live for them.

Madoka felt immense guilt. Unlike Sayaka, she hadn't truly rejected Kyoko, cautious, yes, but still open to learning about her and understanding her. She was rough around the edges, maybe a bit mean for sure. But Madoka didn’t think she was a bad person; she knew there was more to her, something that was only proven in Kyoko’s final moments. Just like Sayaka, that chance was ripped away from her; only the ache remained. Even so, after everything, she still had to be the one to pick up the pieces left behind. Sayaka was still unstable, and Kyoko’s sacrifice had only seemed to reaffirm her beliefs about herself, about her right to live. Mami seemed to question everything for the first time, about whether her path was the right one, whether this life she dragged Sayaka into, the life she had tried to drag Madoka into, the life Homura was stuck in, was the right one. And Homura, who hid her real feelings, still showed just how heavily this loss was on her, one built on hundreds of loops more than Madoka could understand. And Madoka had to be a rock for them regardless, had to ground them, and make sure they could all move forward, make sure Kyoko’s life wasn’t lost in vain. The part that hurt Madoka worse was that she could fix this. She could make a wish, bring Kyoko back, or any other million things she had the power to do. But if she did, she would throw away everything Homura had done to get them here; all the work and suffering she went through to keep Madoka from becoming a magical girl would be wasted. Homura would reset, with no guarantee they’d ever get an outcome even close to this ever again. And Madoka had to live with it, the conscious choice to not make a wish, to keep Kyoko dead.

Mami had started to question everything. The first time Mami had ever questioned if her path as a magical girl was the correct one was when she and Kyoko had fought for the first time. She thought everything would be all right; she’d kept Kyoko from succumbing to grief after the death of her family. But she hadn't been able to save her, no matter how much she had wanted to; she hadn't been strong enough, her feelings hadn't been able to reach her. And both she and Kyoko had spiraled into their own suffering alone. Her feelings only grew stronger with the distance; the various pupils she had adopted hadn’t been able to fill the void, none of them had understood her like Kyoko had. And now the chance to fix it all was gone. She and Kyoko hadn't had a chance to truly speak to each other once more. To yell, fight, scream out all the feelings they had kept inside. Mami hadn't had a chance to apologize, to tell her how much she missed her, to tell her how happy she was to have Kyoko by her side again. Now she, for the second time, questioned it all. What she could have done differently, the lives they have to live now, everything that led up to this moment. Sayaka is stuck like this now, forced to spend her life fighting witches just to live another day. A path Mami had set her on, a path she had set Homura on all those loops ago, the path that killed Kyoko. Mami feels lost, unbelievably so.

Homura should have been happy. This should be beyond an ideal outcome. Madoka was alive, and she hadn’t become a magical girl. And Mami and Sayaka got to live as well. This is better than she could have ever hoped for. And even then, she can’t be. Because someone is missing from their happy ending. Kyoko had been there through nearly every timeline. While Homura had so often fought with Mami, while she and Sayaka were at each other’s throats, she had to force Madoka to stay away. Kyoko was a constant, someone she depended on, someone always there. A tool, a friend, maybe even something more. And now Homura has to move on; she’d spent so long in the loops that even the very concept of moving past that horrible month is almost more terrifying than resetting again. And she has to do it without Kyoko, without that rock that was always there. Kyoko is left dead in the past, while Homura moves forward. Just like Madoka, Homura has the power to change things; she could go back again, keep retrying until she gets a perfect outcome, one where they all get to be happy together. But she can’t do that. can’t throw everything away, can’t waste the sacrifice Kyoko made to keep them safe. She was there for Kyoko’s final moments; the look she had on her face was burned into Homura’s memory. She had smiled at her then, a smile so bright, one that held so much promise. She had chosen this, chosen them, the people she loved so much to live instead of her, a choice she was content with. That was the last thing she saw before the sky lit a brilliant crimson. And now all Homura can do is scream at her grave, alone, for her to come back, to not leave them.

It started simple. Lots of upper-classmen liked to talk to Mami. She had a great reputation after all, so Madoka just had to make sure she was nearby as much as possible, made sure she had Mami’s attention as much as she physically could. One time, Madoka had caught wind that Mami was going to some club meeting. It wasn’t something Mami was particularly interested in, but she really wanted to meet and talk with some new people. That wasn’t something Madoka really wanted. So Madoka decides to go to the meeting as well. After all, Mami did have a tendency to occasionally get taken advantage of when she was shown a bit of attention. So, really, Madoka was just making sure she was safe! And that no one else even had the chance to talk to her. She doesn't need anyone else now that they're in her life after all! So Madoka just monopolized Mami’s attention throughout the meeting; if anyone else tried to join the conversation, Madoka would just smile and ask them to come back later. She just spent the whole time making sure Mami’s attention was on her and only her. Mami would later idly realize that she hadn’t actually talked to anyone at the club but would just dismiss it as nothing.

Sayaka was easier. She’d been best friends with Madoka for years after all, keeping her... secure wasn’t too difficult. There were just 2 slight issues, though. Hitomi and Kyousuke. But Hitomi wasn’t an issue; they were all friends, after all. Thinking of her as a problem would just be rude. Kyousuke, though, Kyousuke was an issue. He was still a touchy subject for Sayaka, and Sayaka always seemed to look so melancholic whenever she’d see him. That frustrated Madoka greatly. Sayaka could so easily fall back into that pit of despair they dragged her out of. Anything that made Sayaka unhappy should just be avoided, shouldn’t it? That included him. Especially with that annoying way Sayaka would look at him. Sayaka should be looking at her, only at her. So Sayaka just made sure Kyousuke would get the hint. Whenever he’d come over to Sayaka, Madoka would make sure to be there and remind her that Sayaka had said she’d help Madoka study later. He’d try to invite Sayaka to a concert once, but Madoka just smiled at him and said Sayaka promised to come over that weekend. Sayaka vaguely remembered saying something like that, so she just laughed and told him maybe next time.

Homura was both the easiest and most difficult. Homura didn't talk to people, like at all. She’d gained the reputation of the ice queen of their school, who only gave out short responses and cold glances. In reality, she was just incredibly socially inept and didn’t know how to talk to people. That suited Madoka just perfectly! After all those little smiles that Homura would rarely give her, it shouldn't be wasted on some random person. And Homura LOVED receiving her attention; she didn’t bother seeking it out from anyone else besides Madoka, Sayaka, Mami, and Kyoko. The only issue is that Homura liked to isolate herself. Whether it be occasionally holing herself up in her apartment, or just avoiding them for any reason, ranging from guilt to just disbelief that this was all real. That really didn’t sit well with Madoka, so she simply didn't give her the chance to. Constant hugs, holding hands, the works. Also, maybe just making sure Homura is aware of the issue could help! Maybe her phrasing didn’t need to be so harsh. Asking Homura if she had done something wrong whenever Homura pulled away, or saying it hurt her whenever Homura didn't focus on her, was perhaps a little mean. But she had to do what she had to do to make sure Homura was by their side. Homura didn’t really question it; she just wanted to make Madoka feel better.

Nagisa and Homura 100% sit in F tier. Neither of them is allowed within 10 feet of a stand mixer. Nagisa was helping Mami bake once. Mami left for five minutes just to use the bathroom and came back to find whipped cream covering her kitchen walls. Nagisa just eats whatever Mami feeds her and very often sneaks into the kitchen at midnight to eat a bag of shredded cheese while completely alone in the darkness.

Homura isn’t any better, but at least she’s aware of it. Homura just doesn’t really have a relationship with food. She grew up on bland hospital garbage for most of her life, and once she started looping, anything inefficient was unnecessary. She doesn’t need food to survive; her magical girl abilities handle that, so what’s the point? The most she’d eat is cheap convenience store food, drink Mami’s tea(because what monster could turn down that), and maybe share a meal with Kyoko when trying to recruit her. She’s gotten better thanks to Mami and Kyoko’s cooking (she’s not going to turn down something they made for her, after all). She doesn’t like not helping, but her skills can’t get her farther than cleaning ingredients and maybe peeling a carrot.

Madoka is in C tier, and Sayaka is in C- tier. Not bad, not particularly good either. They can help out and make food, but it’s not something they’re very interested in. Tamoshida does all the cooking at Madoka’s home. Sometimes, she likes to watch with a smile on her face, but doesn’t really care outside of being useful. She occasionally might whip up a snack for Tatsuya, but that’s where it ends mostly. She really just does whatever Kyoko and Mami ask of her and tries to help in any way she can. Kyoko and Mami are happy to have her in the kitchen with them, so neither of them complains even if she occasionally hyper-fixates on, say, cutting something in the exact right way over and over again.

Sayaka is pretty similar to Madoka. She was much more interested in music than cooking. Her parents don’t really ever cook for her, though, so she’s always enjoyed whatever Tamoshida would make when she’d sleep over at Madoka’s. She often likes to sit on the couch and watch her “beautiful wives” make dinner while she grins. Kyoko quickly complains that she needs to get off her lazy ass. And of course, she can’t just do nothing, so she eventually ends up helping with whatever little tasks they want her to do.

Mami gets a very solid B tier but is also always improving. She’s been in the kitchen a ton and has always loved sweets and baking, so the skills just carry over. But she’s never really tried to actually learn to cook until recently. She got good at brewing nice teas and making pastries, but it stopped there. Without her family, there wasn’t anyone to cook for; any meal she’d make would just end up tasting bland and empty when she’d eat it alone at her dining room table. She just never saw the point in getting better and just stagnated, not to mention not a lot of time when you have school and magical eldritch horrors to fight. But now, with the rest of the girls in her life, Mami has found a real love of cooking again. She just gets so happy when the entire apartment is filled with so much life and energy as she works on a nice, large meal meant for more than one person. It’s also pretty rewarding to see Homura finally start eating again.

And finally, Kyoko gets a B- while also rapidly improving. She used to be an actually great cook. Before her father was excommunicated from the church, she used to love helping in the kitchen. Some of her happiest childhood memories were watching her parents cook dinner together, with her helping on the side as Momo impatiently asked when it would be ready. It all formed a very sweet memory for her.

And then her father was excommunicated, people stopped coming to his sermons, they had no money, and there would often be days when they’d go without anything to eat. When Kyoko made her wish, for a while, everything seemed great again. They were able to afford food, and Kyoko went right back to cooking with her family every night. And then it all went to shit, and Kyoko got rusty. Pretty hard to cook when she had no money, no home, and nobody in her life to do it with after she broke up with Mami. So she just didn’t improve, eating stolen convenience store meals, cheap snacks, and maybe something nice every now and then if she got a date to pay for her food. That made up most of her diet for a while. So her abilities just dulled over time.

When it came to other magical girls, it was different. She tried to actually get to know someone who was passing through her territory one time. They hit it off; Kyoko even admitted she grew to like her a lot, and then a week later, she found her corpse next to some witch. Kyoko got attached to people far too easily. So from then on, it was straight back to easy flings just to ease the loneliness that her fight with Mami had left. She did that a lot, probably broke the hearts of maybe over 100 girls from Kazimino all the way to Mitakihara.

This became an issue once she got together with Mami, Madoka, Homura, and Sayaka. Homura was aware of this little habit of hers, Kyoko had hit on her multiple times back in her “moemura” days before Kyoko was aware Homura was a magical girl. It was unfortunately very effective back then to poor, socially anxious Homura, who had no idea how to react to being flirted to. She had done the same to Madoka and Sayaka in quite a few loops before either girl had contracted. She even got to poor Hitomi, who cracked in like 5 minutes when a tall, bad girl rouge had sweet-talked a rich girl like her, just like in every trashy romance novel she’d ever read.