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Hey if you can't beat em (or get them to actually play basketball), why not join em

Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.

Homura and Madoka's Wishes (the Concept of Selfishness)

TW: Mentions of suicide/suicidal ideation.

I) Beginning

In a lot of PMMM "discourse", even pre-Rebellion, there existed the idea that Homura's wish was fundamentally selfish, while Madoka's was fundamentally selfless.

This idea is often based off of the wording of Homura's wish. After all, Homura could have altered hers to simply make Madoka come back to life! Why couldn't she just have said, "I want Madoka Kaname to come back as a human girl"?

However, this "argument" of Homura's wish being "selfish" due to Homura wanting to basically protect Madoka instead of of "just" saving her hands-off is flawed from the start. Namely, because Madoka's wish has a similar catch:

Both of these wishes have a catch that can be considered selfish, but only Homura's is seemingly ever argued to be "bad". However, the same arguments that people use to call Homura selfish can be used with Madoka's wish here. After all, she could have just wished to erase any and all witches. But, instead, she wishes to do it with her own hands. Similar to how Homura didn't just want to protect Madoka, she wanted to be the one doing the protecting.

II) Homura's Wish is Never "Granted"

I'd like to bring up here that Homura is the only magical girl that, pre-Rebellion, is shown to not actually get her wish fully granted.

Everyone else gets their wish, even if it's twisted/not as they intended. But with Homura, the whole second part is cut out. She never becomes strong enough to protect Madoka, pre-Rebellion. Ever.

She loses the fight against Walpurgis. It's not even a close fight. Even in the anime timeline, when she's shown shooting it with guns/bombs/grenades/a train(?), the witch is nearly entirely undamaged. It is literally impossible for Homura to win. Not winning = Madoka not protected. Madoka not protected = the "I want to become strong enough to protect her" part of Homura's wish is not granted. Not in the slightest.

And this isn't like Homura just needs to keep trying, and she'll eventually be strong enough. The creator said by the anime, Homura has looped nearly a hundred times. One hundred attempts to protect Madoka, and she isn't able to do it even once.

And then, when Madoka becomes a God, she literally ceases to exist and cannot physically be protected at all, meaning Homura's wish then becomes literally impossible to fulfill.

III) Homura remembering Madoka

Madoka (and Kyubey) tell Homura that Madoka's wish essentially erases her from existance. Any physical memory or evidence of her ever being a person is entirely wiped out. But Homura remembers her — how?

I'd like to argue that it's entirely possible that Madoka wanted Homura to remember her. After all, she gives Homura her ribbons, with a vague "But maybe you'll still be able to remember me."

The only people shown to remember her in any capacity are Homura herself, Madoka's toddler brother who is implied to only remember due to his age (and that he might forget when older), and her mother — who only says the name is nostalgic and comments on Madoka's/Homura's ribbons. Kyoko doesn't remember her. Mami doesn't remember her. Her father isn't shown to remember her. Mami/Kyoko show blatant confusion when Homura cries over Madoka, because they can't even recognize her name.

But how is Madoka wanting to be remembered possibly a bad thing?

It's not bad. But it does, again, touch on the idea that Homura = Selfish, Madoka = Selfless.

IV) Rebellion

See, a main issue a lot of people have with Rebellion is that Homura's new world is bad because it is unstable.

Madoka is constantly seemingly on the cusp of remembering being the Law of Cycles (LoC). Sayaka seems to remember her as well before her memories are altered. This re-written universe she's made isn't stable. And, thus, people think it's "bad".

But Madoka's wasn't stable, either.

Madoka let Homura remember her existence. And, yes, I am saying "let her". Madoka gave Homura the ribbons as a token of rememberance. She has everyone forget her existance, all except for Homura.

She could have also altered/wiped Homura's memories. But she didn't.

Madoka letting Homura remember literally led to the events of Rebellion.

Homura remembers Madoka -> Homura tells Kyubey about Madoka/the previous universe -> Kyubey plots to trap Madoka/the LoC -> Homura begins to turn into a witch -> Homura feels the need to seperate the LoC from Madoka both to prevent Kyubey from harming/trapping her, and to follow what she believes to be Madoka's true desires (to not be the LoC) -> Homura creates a new universe that's, arguably, just as unstable as Madoka's.

Yet, despite this error, Madoka is still never called selfish for essentially causing a chain reaction.

V) Madoka's Wish Isn't Selfish, but Neither is Homura's

You might see this post and go, "Oh, samble is trying to call Madoka selfish and evil!", but that's not it.

A major, major thing anyone who has issues with Homura (or any of the cast) forgets is that the characters are little girls. 13-15 year old middle schoolers. They are not grown adults. They are not mature people who make 100% rational, level-headed decisions (nobody does all the time, anyways). They are all deeply traumatized children manipulated by a force beyond their control.

Madoka is not a selfish character. She has low self worth, low self confidence, and can even be argued to be depressed. Her wish to defeat all witches "with her own hands"...

Is likely a side effect of this, in a way — in that she wants to do good. She wants to be "useful" and help people. She wants to have a purpose.

Homura in Timeline One has more similar characterization. Remember, Homura then wasn't this mysterious, edgy girl. She was physically disabled. Very shy and socially stunted. Behind on her education, bullied, etc. She also had self worth issues, and in canon was suicidal, or, at least, depressed enough to be influenced by a witch into becoming suicidal.

So why does she wish to protect Madoka instead of just wishing her back to life? Because Homura is Selfish and Evil™ and wants some sort of spotlight on her? No.

Homura is like Madoka, at this point. She doesn't feel like she can do anything worthwhile. She thinks she has no use, that she's unable to do anything right or good or helpful. But what she can try to do is save Madoka. Like what Madoka does is try to defeat all witches. Because it gives purpose. Because it let's them feel like, look, I feel worthless, but by doing this I must be doing something good. It's not because a traumatized thirteen year old is selfish. It's because she's canonically shown to feel like she's worthless.

Not even touching on the fact that Madoka's wish "erasing her from existance" when she canonically has these issues can read an awful lot like a cosmic suicide, and that Homura is canonically suicidal and self-hating in every movie she is in.

because I haven't seen a whole heap of decent information about this... I thought I'd do a beginner's guide to dissociation

disorders that can cause dissociation include:

DID

OSDD

PTSD

depression

OCD

BPD

DPDR

anxiety

eating disorders

some people also experience dissociation due to chronic pain

being dissociated can feel like, but is not limited to:

feeling disconnected from the world

feeling "blurry", "buzzy", "foggy", or "out of it"

not feeling any emotions

not feeling any physical pain

not remembering whole periods of time

feeling like you're floating outside of your body

your brain constantly going in and out of focus

dissociation is generally broken down into two categories:

derealisation: the feeling that the world around you is unreal, foggy, or just out of reach

depersonalisation: the feeling of being outside of yourself, or of not feeling real

I hope this is a helpful post, and that I've made people more aware of what dissociation actually is. if you have any follow-up questions, please feel free to ask!

gotta admit, I'm impressed with their dedication to the bit

My Journey to Escape the War in Gaza

My name is Abdelmajed. I never imagined I’d be sharing my story like this, but life in Gaza has become unbearable. I am a survivor of the war here, and in the blink of an eye, everything I once knew—my home, my safety, my community—was ripped away from me.

The war has transformed Gaza into a graveyard of broken dreams. The buildings that once stood as symbols of life and resilience are now piles of rubble. Every corner is filled with the echoes of explosions. Every moment is shrouded in uncertainty. There is no security. There is no stability. There is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Basic needs have become luxuries. Food is scarce. Clean water is even scarcer. Hospitals are overwhelmed and under-resourced, and there is almost no medical care to be found. Every night, families go to bed hungry, praying they’ll wake up to see another day. The cost of basic necessities has skyrocketed, and it’s become a daily battle just to survive.

I’ve seen things I never thought possible—standing in long lines for a piece of bread, rationing every drop of water, and watching my people suffer in silence. I have lost everything—my home, my safety, my dignity.

Escape from Gaza is my only hope, but it’s almost impossible without financial help. The cost of evacuation is far beyond my means, and without support, I’m trapped in a warzone with no way out.

I’m reaching out to you now, in the hopes that someone, anyone, can help. I am not asking for luxury. I am asking for a chance—just a chance—to live. A chance to escape this never-ending cycle of fear, destruction, and loss. A chance to rebuild my life somewhere safe, where I can begin again, where I can find hope once more.

Chuffed

Help Abdelmajed Escape Gaza and Rebuild His Life

My name is Abdelmajed, and I am a survivor of the war in Gaza. Everything I once knew has been taken away—my home, my safety, and the people

Any amount you can give will help me get closer to safety. Even the smallest donation will make a difference—it could be the lifeline I need to survive. If you are unable to donate, please share my story. The more people who hear it, the better the chance that I can find the support I desperately need.

Your kindness and support mean the world to me. You’re not just helping me escape a war; you’re giving me a chance to live, to rebuild, to breathe again.

Thank you for listening. Thank you for caring.

Vetted by @gazavetters

happy pride!

🌍✨ A Voice from Gaza: Fighting for Hope ❤️‍🩹

Hi, my name is Mosab , and I’m from Gaza. Life here has been harder than I could ever imagine, but today I’m sharing my story with hope in my heart, because your kindness has already given us so much strength.

This journey hasn’t been easy. The war has taken 25 family members from us—25 beautiful souls we loved deeply. Their laughter, their presence, their love… all of it is gone, leaving behind memories that are both precious and painful. Every day, I carry the weight of their loss, but I also carry their spirit, which gives me the strength to keep going.

Our Journey So Far

When I first reached out, I couldn’t have imagined we’d make it this far. Your support has been a light in these difficult times, and we are so deeply grateful for every single contribution.

But the road ahead is still challenging. Every day, we’re reminded of how much we’ve lost and how much we still need to rebuild.

Here’s what life in Gaza looks like for my family right now:

🏠 Safety: The uncertainty of tomorrow weighs heavily on us.

😢 Loss: The absence of the 25 family members we’ve lost is a pain we carry every moment.

💔 Dreams on Hold: The future feels so far away when survival takes all our strength.

How You Can Help Us Cross the Finish Line Even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference:

$5 may seem small, but for us, it’s a little relief, a moment of comfort, and a reminder that kindness still exists. ❤️

Can’t donate? Reblog this post to help us reach someone who can. Every share matters more than you know.

✅️ Vetted by @gazavetters ( #309 ) ✅️

Chuffed

Donate to Help Mosab saving who's left of his family

My name is Mosab Elderawi, and I am a survivor of the war in Gaza. Life as I knew it has been completely destroyed. I have lost my home, my

Why Your Support Matters Your kindness isn’t just about helping us meet our goal—it’s about reminding us that we’re not alone in this fight. It’s about hope. It’s about survival. And it’s about giving my family a chance to rebuild our lives, even in the face of unimaginable loss.

Thank you for helping us get this far. Your generosity and compassion have already brought us closer to a better tomorrow, and for that, I’m endlessly grateful.

With all my love and gratitude,

Mosab and Family ❤️

Limbus battle for Dummies

In the following, I will try to explain the Limbus battle system as good as I can. As you might've seen, this is a turn-based game, but before y'all leave: this isn't turn-based in the way you might think. You 'share' your turn with the enemy. Both you and the enemy will act at the same time. Sort of.

This will digest regular combat. I will probably make a post about Abno combat later. This is also written with an audience in mind that has not played the previous game, so no knowledge about that game's battle system is needed.

Before the battle

Before you actually go into the fight, you will be able to choose the members of your team on the field. The amount of members allowed in depends on the level. Those not on the team will contribute with their passives that can activate alongside those of your fielded ones.

Battle command

In combat against anything but Abnormalities, you command your Sinners by forming a chain from the left orb to the right orb you see. This is what I call, 'Skill Linking'. When you reach the end, you can start the battle and see the results of your Skill Linking. The fight will go from left to right, so those leftmost on the board will act first, etc. The order is determined by their speed values (which you can see above their portraits and above their sprites). This really is just a number that determines the order, don't think too much about this. By default, they will attack the foremost enemy first.

The Skills are not colored for no reason. Should you manage to connect multiple Skills of the same color, then you will activate Resonance. This increases the damage you deal - even more so when you connect 3 of the same color in a row, in which case it's named Absolute Resonance. Start out by just thinking of it as increased damage, the exact percentages I don't really have up-to-date info on. Resonance can also activate passive abilities.

When Skills are used, they are turned into a resource that matches their color. You keep track of this resource at the right side of the screen. This resource is important in the activation of E.G.O.

After Skills are used, new Skills will fill their column to fill the void. Skills are randomly selected from their own kit. You can't use a Skill again until you've used the others first. When you have used their entire kit, they empty the bag and put them in (again, randomly chosen).

As battle continues, a new column will be added for a random Sinner. This allows them to act twice. In the image above, note the column next to Yi Sang.

When enemy and ally meet - or not... (Or: On Clashes and Attacks)

Every attack is either Blunt, Slash or Pierce. Enemies and allies have different resistances to them. This should be easy. An enemy can be weak to Slash, but be normal to Pierce attacks. This can be utilized to both attack the enemy's weak point, and to prevent an attack to a Sinner's weak point.

Now to the meat of the theory.

Coin flipping and Clashing

Gear up, because if you don't pay attention, this will seem gibberish.

Every time anyone attacks, a coin is flipped to determine its result. You will also be able to hear the result. There are two types of bonuses: Positive (+) and Negative (-) ones.

If the coin lands heads, the Skill will get power added if it's a Positive bonus. If it's not, then power is subtracted. You get nothing extra if you land tails. The outcome of a coin landing influences the following ones (if there are any left).

Each Skill has its base damage, which will be your base number.

When anyone attacks someone without the target having an attack set in that slot, it'll be one-sided. When ally and enemy target eachother, the two will engage in a Clash. I said before that the default targeting is for the enemy nearest to them; so naturally, they will end up meeting now and then.

When you clash, you roll all of your coins into one big number. All your bonuses you may or may not get (depending on the coin flip) gets added into that number. Naturally, the one with the higher number wins. The loser gets 1 coin removed from them. In the image above, you can see the enemy losing 1 coin.

For example: you start out with 3 as your base power, with 3 coins, and a +3 bonus if you roll heads. You do so, so now you're on 6. Then you roll tails. You have 6 again. You roll heads again. You're now on 9. All these numbers are added: 6+6+9 = 21, which is your final number.

Should both you and the enemy still have coins to flip, you go through the motions again. This clashing ballet, however, is not eternal as the dancing will stop when either you or the enemy runs out of coins or either of them gets their attack canceled (more on the latter below). The side that can still move will continue to attack and also gains an additional bonus based on clashes won. You really, really want to win here, but this should go without saying.

AoE Skills

AoE Skills damage multiple enemies. (I put that in for the people who didn't see that coming.) One will be the main target, others will be the sub-target. Said main target will (in normal combat) be determined by the 'range' of the skill itself. Think of it as in how in Magia Record, the Magia have different ranges.

Each AoE skill has a max amount of enemy 'attacks' it can target. Certain 'attacks' it targets though, will take up more 'space' in that amount.

Fail an AoE in a clash, and you fail all clashes against those targets. Be careful.

Doing anything but attacking?

But what if you DON'T want to attack?

Listen, I know it's very enticing to keep attacking. But sometimes you just gotta...not do that.

Defense is purely a reaction. It doesn't have any set target, so they can't cause clashes. They protect against incoming attacks (according to their times of usage).

To defend, you can either Guard, Evade, or Counter.

From left to right: Defend, Evade, Counter.

Defend is simple. It's a shield (based on an amount of HP) that protects against incoming attacks. It reminds me of a certain skill in a certain other game I can't name here, but it works like that. The amount of shielding HP is set and not influenced by anything like passives or any status effects they might have.

Evade is trying to avoid to be attacked entirely. This is also fairly easy to understand. If you roll a higher evade number, then congratulations, because you've succesfully evaded that attack. The upside of this is, I think, that if the enemy has nasty shit that activates 'on hit' (no matter whether it deals damage), you will be able to avoid those effects. The other upside of this is that, if you win, your evade is 'stored' so you could possibly dodge multiple attacks. If you're lucky.

Counter happens after you're attacked. Out of the three Defense types, only Counter has a color like the Skills do and can generate resources (and engage in possible Resonance). From what I see, it's exactly what it sounds like - a counter-attack, a retaliation.

Sitting ducks are tasty!

Did you notice the yellow lines in the health bars? Those are Stagger tresholds. If anyone takes damage past the yellow line, they will be rendered Staggered. I can best describe it as, being rendered a sitting duck. Your damage resistance is all set to Fatal (x2.0, I assume) and you can't attack. If you get Staggered in the middle of a Clash, then yeah, you lose either way from that moment on as you will stop doing anything but taking damage.

Stagger lasts until the end of the turn. Breaching multiple tresholds can further increase damage, but not the duration. Even so, Staggering the enemy is a perfect way to really get to pop off any battle.

Remaining Sane

Unlike what it seems like, your Sinners do have a certain amount of Sanity. It's a number that ranges from 45 to -45, and can be seen in the blue orbs on their portraits. You enter each battle tabula rasa, at Sanity 0 (Sanity amounts is carried over in Story and Mirror Dungeons, the only occasion where it is).

Sanity fluctuates depending on the course of battle. Should a Clash be won or enemy be killed, then Sanity goes up. Should allies die, then Sanity goes down. Think of it as becoming more hopeful and positive, or progressively crazier and desperate.

Positive Sanity increases the chance of coins landing on heads, and the inverse is also true: Negative Sanity causes more coins to land on tails. As certain Sinners gain a negative bonus on Heads, you may take this into consideration.

Enemies, except Abnormalities, have this Sanity, too. When they're at low Sanity, they will Panic. It's not explained what this is, but it will make fighting against them easier.

The Master of this emotion...

Now on to my favorite parts of the battle system, which are...

E.G.O Skills! These are your Magia/Ultimate Skill/etc. They cost an amount of resources (the one that you gain by using Skills, remember? You will be able to check which you need) and take a toll on the user's Sanity. They, however, are very powerful and they can be viewed as equipment. Yes, you read that right - in contrast to most 'Ultimates', they come with their own set of Resistances and can make weaker Resistances strong. This is advantageous, especially in prolonged battles.

These skills can, should you have the resources, be used anytime, anywhere. They can be used when Sinners are at low Sanity. Should you do that...

E.G.O can go wrong and Corrode. This will result in a different, usually stronger attack. The closer the Sinner is to negative values, the larger the chance is that this happens. You might be wanting to keep Sanity levels low to get more damage out of E.G.O. - if their Sanity isn't the lowest of the low, then they will continue as normal, after all... The bad thing is, that when Sanity is absolutely in the gutter, then the Sinner themselves will remain stuck in their Corroded state, and paint the City red with anything that moves, regardless whether it's ally or enemy. It's Doppel on steroids, essentially (as well as sorta kinda how it should work there, lore-wise).

With all of this, this has become quite the long post. I hope it's still readable enough (also because English isn't my mother tongue) to be digestable. And, finally...