This chapter was easier to write in some ways, because it follows the plot of Episode Three of PMMM verbatim for a decent chunk. Instead of making up dialogue, it meant that I watched the relevant scene, pausing every ten seconds or so to transcribe dialogue and type descriptions. I've done this before with my Star Wars remixes, and it is interesting to step back into that mode here again for a brief bit.

To be brutally honest: I agonized about this chapter a lot. I worried that readers would hate it and close the document, because <i>why is Lily telling us what we already know, we've seen this before?</i> BUT I really needed this scene in the fic for several important plot and character reasons so I couldn't skip over it

So I wrote an author's note saying, "look, y'all, please trust me on this" and posted the chapter, like you do in these sorts of situations.

<cut>The scene in question is THE pivotal Mami scene, the one that really cements her character for the audience and gives us a glimpse of her inner life and the cracks behind the facade. However, we do not see it from Mami's POV, as we do in this fic, and it will shape both Mami and Madoka's reactions going forward. In the anime, their relationship is brutally cut short; here, we're going to explore the consequences of Mami surviving and Madoka having to face up to the fact that she made an impulsive promise she's changed her mind about because TRAUMA. So, yeah, totally and completely unskippable.

And so far, nothing in this AU has happened that would change the conversation at all. So far the Bleach 'verse and the PMMM verse are still separate from each other. Mami is back on the PMMM turf, on solid ground (lampshaded by her ironic aside that she knows what's dangerous in here) and she's the sempai, coaching a nervous potential recruit she's trying to impress and... it's just not enough to make it go differently (yet) and so I didn't even try. I let the conversation stay as it was in the anime and we will re-visit it later in the fic once things HAVE changed sufficiently for there to be a difference at last.

One good thing about this kind of writing is that I notice a lot of details I had previously overlooked. The design and reveal of the labyrinth, coupled with Mami's gradual unfolding, is just gorgeous all around. In this fic, it serves to establish the "rules" of a labyrinth, which will be helpful later on in future chapters.

<i>I'm not afraid of anything anymore. Because I'm not alone anymore. </i> ARC  WORDS, EVERYONE. ARC WORDS. Suffice to say, we will definitely be seeing that again in later chapters. Also, I just realized writing this that Mami is the exact opposite of Homura "I'll Never Rely on Anyone Again" Akemi, because NARRATIVE FOILS, YO.

I like the Kyouko references scattered about this chapter - we still haven't met Kyouko yet here, but Mami is already priming the audience for her eventual arrival, and she serves as a foil to Madoka and Sayaka even in her absence. I also love Mami's firm comment that good is not soft, because HECK YEAH.

We also get a glimpse of Mami's emotional dependency on Kyubey, as the one constant in her life, the closest thing to a friend she's had in the last two years. Which is really sad, but also why she doesn't want to "rock the boat" by blaming him for her situation. She shoves her feelings down and hides them, and... that's gonna backfire later on, and the readers know it.

I like the implication that Mami feels so close to Madoka because she can subconsciously sense all the time loop wonkiness where they <i>were</i> a magical girl duo, though it could just be Madoka's empathy at work here.

And then, just at her happiest moment, Mami fucks up. And she freezes. And in the anime, she dies. That doesn't quite happen here, because Yoruichi intervenes at the most dramatic possible moment, but-- she is embarrassed in front of two people she was hoping to impress, <i>and</i> rescued by Homura, whom she deliberately snubbed and threatened. So, um, yeah, ouch. Her dignity has definitely been bruised here.

We get a brief Madoka POV here -- Mami and Urahara are my primary POV characters for this, but Madoka will occasionally jump in when Mami is incapacitated, so it's good to establish that here in the beginning. True to form, Kyubey uses Mami's mistake to try and convince Madoka and Sayaka to contract with him, sigh. And Madoka's love for animals--especially black cats--comes in handy here.

I really love the juxtaposition of black cat/white alien catbunny creature, so definitely playing that up here. Also, I love that there's a lot of stuff that happened offscreen and Mami is just like ??? about it all.

It breaks my heart that even though Mami is the one who's traumatized, she still drops everything to comfort Madoka and Sayaka, because she's still the one in charge. Certainly, Homura isn't going to do it. Mami's right back to crying alone, because she has to be strong for others and put a good face on things, even when she's flustered and upset and embarrassed and humiliated.

I love that Yoruichi refuses to break cover, and also that Mami mimics Urahara's condescending way of talking to her when she's annoyed. YESSSS.Also, she chases off Kyubey so we don't have the little rat in on this for REASONS.

I need to keep track of how many times in this fic Homura does the hair flip thing. Currently, this is #1. Iconic.

I also love that Mami gets up the courage to ask Homura a question that could resolve everything... but doesn't quite get the wording right, allowing Homura to give her a technically correct non-answer and walk off.

Anyway, so Mami has survived and now she has to deal with the consequences of that in the next chapter. Good thing she already has a mentor ready and waiting in the wings to train her--and a new incentive to become stronger! 

This chapter wraps up what I call the "introductory" arc of the fic. Chapters 4-8 form an arc of their own--let's call it the "things get worse for Mami before they get better" arc, and chapters 9-11 are the "endgame" arc. The fic can also be split into two parts: Chapters 1-5 are the "mystery" arc, and Chapters 6-11 are the "consequences" arc. Like PMMM itself, I've employed parallel structures, where Chapter 3 mirrors episode 6 and episode 10 (and so on).