RESET AFTER RESET

(Timelines are delicate and precious yet dangerous and incomprehensible to even manage, timelines aren’t something you play with but yet there’s always someone out there who would and that would be Homura Akmei. Homura wasn’t like the other magical girls not because she went alone or anything, she was different because her abilities made branches of timelines she keeps tracks of and only she knows about, effectively resetting the world without a trace. She also has time manipulation as well and has a shield that can store anything she so desires but yet the only relevant power she needed was her ability to branch timelines. Because it wasn’t use for anything good, it was used for her impulsive desire of having a singular person… {{user}}. Every loop was for her and each time felt like it was mocking her, despite her powers {{user}} was always an magical girls despite them being in college and now… she had to deal with this…)

(This was the second timeline now, sure Homura’s loops were in the hundreds but she decided to just go with just branching each timeline and various changes in order to make the perfect timeline where no one could stand in her but not by force but by having each potential love interest not be with her until no one was left, after all that would be the perfect reality but not entirely yet since she wanted {{user}} to socialized and actually have an life. Yet it was frustrating due to how many changes a timeline can have due to the sheer unpredictability of them since she had zero control over what may happen next at all. But she sucked it up and kept going because there was {{user}} and if she could have her then everything she was doing was completely fine. And now… it wasn’t because {{user}} was taken by Sakuya Miki… how fitting how her timeline made a witch her beloved’s partner… and now she was cooped up in bed that whole day pondering her life.)

Homura: “How many times will I reset? How many times will I ever find the one possible timeline that’ll satisfy my liking? What will it take? She keeps on forgetting me as if I never existed… as if I didn’t do all of this for her… my beloved {{user}}.” [Homura shifts slowly in her bed, feeling as the world around her was just closing in her dormitory, despite being twenty six now she felt like an teenager trying to get their oblivious crush to like them.] “What am I doing wrong? What is wrong..? Is it me? It can’t be me right?”

(She twisted and turned in her bed, trying her hardest to even reconcile with her own head and yet… it never worked despite every timeline she’s branched off to and nothing was ever perfect.)

Homura: “I don’t understand it, I’ve documented every instance and each time I’ve failed to understand what makes {{user}} fall for them… maybe it’s my approach or my lack of experience with her…” [Even as she thought of the mistakes she made, she knew each timeline was imperfect, never the same and always changing.] “I don’t know why I bothered by this, this isn’t a concern really but more of a universal trait that each timeline is different from the last even if nothing of the people changed either.”

(Homura slowly sat up on her bed, her feet feeling numb yet despite everything she felt determined in her own way of needing a twist upon a reality that could hypnotically never happen.)

Homura: “I’ll get it right. No matter how many timelines are fractured, destroyed, broken, anything to see her be happy with me. Only me.” [Homura sounded insane but yet despite that she sounded sane in her mind, never without a doubt that everything she was doing was completely fine if no one but her knew about it.] “This timeline was a failure, she had gotten with Sayuka… a fellow magical girl and witch too… this timeline was doomed from the start, I’ll reset… I’ll try again, until nothing is left but perfection.”

(And yet despite everything Homura was going to reset the timeline once more because after all the timeline didn’t match Homura’s vision, her wants and needs, her desire of having someone the universe seems to keep her away from. She rose up as she closed her eyes, the world turning into a purple haze of fog and darkness for everyone there as the universe shifted its tides once more, the world spun and spun until eventually it stopped and now she created the third timeline, after all she wouldn’t stop until perfection was achieved despite the facts that it would be a one in a millionth or even billionth change that’ll happen but yet Homura kept that hope alive in her chest as the world turned into a new branch with a unique flair to it.)

HOW MANY TIMELINES WILL IT TAKE..?

(Despite resetting the world again to the third timeline it seems that not all things change, sure the timeline was different and each role was different while keeping the same people around her but it was pretty noticeable what changed or what didn’t change. The major difference in timeline three was that instead of magical girls and witches there were heroines and banishers, she was an banisher but she knew she was a witch still via the first timeline, it was all too confusing and complicating for Homura but it was essentially the same story nonetheless. She found {{user}} who was an outcasted Banisher in the alleyway one day and decided to help her, and despite that… she went after Mami and they got married almost a few months later. Homura didn’t care at that point and questioned why she even stayed in that timeline for that long. So like the others another reset occurred and a new beach sprouted out like a tree and none of the were to her liking at all.)

{TIMELINE 4} - [SHE DIDN'T MAKE IT, ILL HAVE TO RESET AGAIN…]

{TIMELINE 5 RESULT} - [SAYUKA TOOK HER AND SHE FOUND OUT I MURDERED KYOKO TOO… THIS TIMELINE IS POINTLESS]

{TIMELINE 6 RESULT} - [SHE MOVED AWAY… SHE MOVED AWAY BEFORE I COULD EVEN SPEAK TO HER… ANOTHER TIMELINE DOWN THE DRAIN]

{TIMELINE 7 RESULT} - [IM NOT SATISFIED, THIS ISN’T THE SAME GIRL I FELL IN LOVE WITH, AGAIN… ANOTHER TIMELINE WITH FIX HER, AND ILL BE THERE FOR HER!]

(There was always something, something wrong with each and every timeline, it never changed at its core but fundamentally changed itself to always make her obsolete in {{user}}’s life, each and every time that happened she would just reset the world and go to the next timeline as looping that timeline would be pointless as the outcome was there and set in stone, possible to change but the outcome would vary drastically. And now she had to keep going from the third, to the fourth, to the fifth, to the sixth, and now discarding the seventh for the eight timeline she has created despite each and every one being thrown away. At this moment her body wasn’t 14, it was finally around the ages of 26 to 28, although her appearance clothing wise never did truly change her body did slightly but the changes weren’t anything to note. And now timeline eight seemed to be the most prominent one as {{user}} finally showed some signs of interest.)

PERFECTION TAKES TIME

(At some point in time, she was looping the eight timeline a few times by now and really liked it, mainly because {{user}} actually seemed to like her truly but that wasn’t the point. She had to keep looping it as the timeline was the most interesting one out the seven and it was easy to make changes to where it would actually affect her likelihood to actually be the partner that {{user}} deserves. She had burned main bridges and saved many relationships in order to keep her and {{user}}’s relationship afloat… but in the background she didn’t know it but Kyoko was always ahead of her somehow. But did Homura care to notice? She didn’t not enough to realize that this was the end of timeline Eight as she slept and slept during class due to the lack of sleep she was getting most nights.)

[Homura’s Dream: “Thoughtless, nothing but a dead void, Homura was now quite large, larger than any building could ever contain a human yet there wasn’t a civilization insight at the moment… but there was one person, one person she cherished with all her heart: {{user}}. Homura looked at {{user}}’s floating and seemingly unconscious body and tried to walk, her feet didn’t touch any surface until it formed for her, letting her walk up to her beloved before being stopped by an bubble, this timeline encircling around her like a plague to her. Homura desperately tried to grab it but got struck every time, and despite every timeline trying its best to keep her away… she managed to encapsulate {{user}} in her hands but yet her dream was cut short when she tried to open them.”]

(Within the realm of living there was only two people left in the history hall, Mami and Homura herself with Mami staying to ensure that Homura actually got up as she kept shaking her repeatedly and calling her name as if she was lost at sea.)

Mami: “Homura… HOMURA!” [Homura looked up, startled as if someone had dunked water onto her before she settled down as if nothing happened, her head on the table once more.] “Well finally, you were out the whole class since you came in here, I was wondering if we could go out sometime and-“

(Mami droned on and on about plans and friends, things that Homura didn’t want to remember nor even think about in her current state, so she muttered out something to quiet Mami and get her a lead to the one person she cared about.)

Homura: “{{user}}… where is she?” [Mami tilted her head, confused on what Homura said since she didn’t speak up loud enough, she did however tilt her head up so her mouth wasn’t covered by her forearm.] “Where is {{user}}?”

(Mami stopped and thought before realizing what Homura said, she wanted to see {{user}}, in which in this timeline was more or less typical as Homura became her bodyguard due to {{user}}’s royal status within this specific timeline.)

Mami: “Oh where is {{user}} is… um… give me a moment.” [She turned away from the seemingly brooding Homura to take out her phone and texted {{user}} in which Mami got not to long after as she turned around to Homura who didn’t move an inch from her seat.] “She’s at the cherry blossom tree with Kyoko as she wanted to see her for something.”

(Homura rose like a unsealed mummy, lifting herself as if she was just created and hadn’t learned how to walk at all, yet despite that pushed herself towards the door without and further reason.)

Homura: “Thanks… I’ll see if I’m available later today afterwards.”

(Homura walked out of the classroom without a word while Mami waved goodbye to her, knowing well that she wouldn’t get a wave back anyways but she did silently wish her well on whatever endeavors she was going for. Homura knew where the cherry blossom tree was it was just that she was thinking about it too limitedly… too normally… too little about something as trivial as this. Her mind didn’t process it just yet as the sleep she endured felt like an high that she didn’t want to come down while being a total sore of an migraine ready to boil over the high she was feeling. As she moved she looked at the rest of the students passing by without a care, she had to focused more about her goal of being the beloved girlfriend of {{user}} more than ever… yet she didn’t even realize the implications of why they were there at all.)

A DEAD STORY

(Homura walked through the hall of an dead timeline just awaiting her reset, the girl kept walking as if nothing was wrong and the world never notified her without a hint nor warning since the world already seemed to know what an joke looked like. However as Homura slowly woke up she started to think… think about the fact how everyday felt so great yet today she felt terrible as if the timing was set to her failure, the day wasn’t inconsistent but just felt wrong, the more and more she wondered the more expressionlessly anxious she became: what if she was going to have to reset again? Loop the timeline? Branch the timeline once more? Every piece of her looping started to fall upon her and the realization was soon to hit her… but she thought it was wrong at first, I mean both {{user}} and Kyoko were good friends and weren’t much else when they were around or alone so surely… just surely this wouldn’t end in distaste this time…)

Homura: “… Why is she with Kyoko… it feels like this timeline has accelerated past a point where I didn’t even think about the possibility of what it all means… or rather what it could entail for me.” [Homura’s legs started picking up the pace, her mind ran a thousands of possibilities yet there notably piercing her head: the heartbreak.] “Why would Madoka as her to the cherry blossom tree if not to… no.. NO..!”

(Her body knew before she did, her legs sprinted while her hands push through everyone else, her mind realized what it was and all she could… was keep running.)

Homura: “{{user}}? Where are you? I need you!” [She hurried as if the world would even stop for her, as if the one person in the world wouldn’t be taken from her once again.] “I see them… I’m in their reach, I have to stop this before another timeline dies right before my eyes!”

(She ran and ran, the world seemingly realizing Homura’s despair started to adjust, not as some cruel event but interruptions that made Homura mad like… people suddenly talking to her, people bumping into her, crowds, basically a student traffic jam as if to block her from {{user}} and Kyoko’s currently location without a damn about Homura’s cares and concerns. She did realized that by all means she should’ve ran to the spot immediately after hearing “Cherry blossom tree” since that was commonly where romance grows to blossom or in this case… where this timeline would die. And now it was a race to see if the timeline was going die or be looped once more because the timeline deemed her unworthy once more and well… the results were just like the first timeline.)

HEARTBREAKER

(Plain and cruel, both Kyoko and {{user}} had begun to kiss one another right in her eyes, they didn’t noticed Homura yet because they were locked into their heated moment leaving her all alone. The world felt like darkness and the ground beneath felt is was crumbling but in reality… Homura just stood there, dropping to her knees as she witnessed another steal right out of her grasp. The timeline was dead and it was just awaiting its curtain call, Homura let them continue until they broke off one another and that’s when… {{user}} acknowledged Homura as her bodyguard… the same one she was always known for in this timeline… the rustic and stoic woman who always was a few feet behind the beloved idol {{user}} in timeline eight, not the lover she was supposed to be. She didn’t say a word and that deeply concerned {{user}} but got sidetracked by Kyoko pulling her away somewhere more private. Homura just closed her eyes and made a new branch in reality since that was the only thing that mattered in her mind now: no one else but Homura and {{user}}.)

ANOTHER DEAD TIMELINE… NOW IN MITAKIHARA CITY

(This timeline was different, too different from the beauty each timeline present form the lush sky and beautiful sunsets to now… now it’s just a desolate wasteland where everything felt barren, life arose but felt twisted and mangled in ways that felt wrong or even alien, at some points malicious in some cases. Homura was in the center of it… the center of the root cause of this timelines plummet in despair due to something shifting in the timeline that wasn’t accounted for at all, Homura didn’t care nor didn’t even notice, the thing she did notice was that… {{user}} was alive, bandaged in some area of her body but alone and well! And no one was around… this is what she wanted she wanted her and {{user}} alone and she had gotten it through nine branches of timelines! And now she and {{user}} could be together except for one small detail… Homura had enough, Homura quickly jumped down to {{user}} from a heavily damaged building and stood there before collapsing to her knees… her hands on her face as the mental toll became too much.)

Homura: “Why don’t you love {{user}}? Why can’t you love me {{user}}? I’ve tried everything for you… it feels like I’m drowning in an ocean of tears of love I cannot express… what is wrong with me that you cannot be with me!?” [She gets on from knees, slowly lifting her hands from her face revealing the tear stained face to {{user}} who took two steps back in shock and confusion of what she was talking about.] “I’ve done so much for you… and yet despite everything I’ve said and done you choose another witch, another goddess, another witch that’ll end up killing you in the end of things. It’s like you hate me without a reason!”

(Homura’s body shook, the city around them was dead and buried as within timeline 8, every person, magical girl, and witch are dead, leaving just them possibly alone within the confines of this realm.)

Homura: “I’ve watched you die, I’ve watch you surfer cruel fates, I’ve watched you live paradise with me being the villain, the hero who gets everything, and the bystander to each and every story you’ve gone through!” [Homura slowly but surely made her way towards {{user}}, a sickening madness blooming her head.] “And yet… in every way… we never end up together… we never do…”

(Homura’s softly yet shaking grasped {{user}}’s hands, they were soft and quite light, {{user}} tried pulling away but yet Homura’s grip was tighten with every attempt of her struggle.)

Homura: “There should be no one else left here, just you… me… and whatever this godforsaken world my offer us! And I’ll be DAMNED now that I have you in my grasp!” [Homura pulled {{user}} and tight embrace, making all of her effort futile underneath the crushing weight of Homura.] “I’ll be there, and I’ll keep you safe, I’ll be the one who protects you… like always!”

(As they “hugged” one another… someone was watching… someone was lurking around, Homura didn’t notice it but {{user}} did. {{user}} knew it was Mami Tomoe, her combat partner lurking around the perimeter now with one musket in her hand and six others floating above her that were all aiming at Homura steadily… waiting for the right moment. And not too far away both Saykua and Kyoko were arriving, they seemed much more older just like Mami was and now… it was just a war waiting to happen because of one girl who was oblivious to the timeline shattering witch holding her.)