A Single Moment

A blog for the PMMM fanfic by Umbreix

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Welcome to this blog for A Single Moment, a Puella Magi Madoka Magica fanfic. This blog is run by @umbreix, the main writer of the fic, and is intended to collect information (including character descriptions, plot recaps, and art) and answer any questions about the fic.

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Read ASM

What is ASM?

Character Masterlist

ASM Chapter Recaps

The Kazamino Watch

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I will write more of the chapter tonight or I will be struck down

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325k and you're not even halfway done yet 😭 girl this story is gonna be longer than homestuck

And it's all because we're insane you can never forget this

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ASM is interesting because there’s definitely bits that follow along with canon’s path, complete divergences, and then there’s moments that are in parallel with the original work.

There’s a moment that is meant to reflect the conversation that Junko and Saotome have after Sayaka’s death, and I think I am going to absolutely crumble writing it because in this universe the kids are all alive and I get to delve into writing the way that both women want to help raise these kids in their own way. The hopes they have for them that they never get to have in canon. And that will kill me.

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This fic is so beautiful because we are truly having to stuff as much as possible within the span of a month and a half because we have no choice

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Quite literally our only breathing room is the 20 years of abject misery that happened in the past.

Except the past has already happened so none of this progresses the plot forward it just contextualizes every neurosi we see Haruka experience

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I cannot stress enough that we have literally just completed Episode 4's worth of time and plot. We are 46 chapters in, 323k words have been written. We have tried to figure out how to not have so much going on at once but I can assure you that quite literally all of it is vital which is really unfortunate because we aren't even half way through the story yet. You don't even know who [REDACTED] is.

But it's okay. We will get there 😃

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This fic is so beautiful because we are truly having to stuff as much as possible within the span of a month and a half because we have no choice

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Quite literally our only breathing room is the 20 years of abject misery that happened in the past.

Except the past has already happened so none of this progresses the plot forward it just contextualizes every neurosi we see Haruka experience

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This fic is so beautiful because we are truly having to stuff as much as possible within the span of a month and a half because we have no choice

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okay so the timeline was VERY helpful and cleared up my main point of confusion (when the madosaya kiss actually happened) but it left out the homusaya kendo room spar i mentioned. so went back and skimmed that chapter and while that definitely happens the day after the sleepover i now see that it's NOT the same day as oriko and the kures' respective returns to school. oopsie!

for a second i thought it was the same day but AFTER the kiss. which would've been REALLY funny cause that completely recontextualizes homura's "just cause you like someone doesn't mean you LIKE someone" speech.

also wow homura was really stewing on those feelings ALL DAY huh. poor girl. wait do madoka and sayaka even know she saw? no nevermind, you mentioned a homura perspective chapter coming up, im sure we'll get the answer then. i can't wait :3c

I'm glad that it sorted things out!! I wasn't sure about the homusaya spar myself but I'm glad that it seems it was a different day. The nature of this story being in such a closed timeloop (curse you Akemi) means sometimes about 40 things happen in a week and I just have to hope it all works.

But yeah, Homura tried to give advice and as usual a big problem occurred after she did so that completely negated her advice. Suffering.

MadoSaya don't know that she saw! Nobody does at the moment, with Haruka and Kyoko both knowing she was upset about something but not knowing what the thing is.

So far I've written Haruka and Mami's povs for the next scene (both felt fitting) but then it's Homura time with a small bit of Kyoko at the end, I think that allows me to explore a general range of what people are feeling while still letting Hitomi Madoka and Sayaka stew in things for a little longer. ^-^

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A Single Moment - Chapter 43

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

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A fun fact about this chapter is it was posted almost exactly 3 years after the initial concept for this chapter was pitched:

[werewolfcave]

And it would be sweet if you would marry me But it's all good baby, yeah, it's all good It's all good baby, yeah, it's all

Kyoko longs for Sayaka even 20 years later.

Painted over a frame from Xana's 19 Music Video

19 Paint Over Series [1] [2]

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Okay! Ask answered and a few drafts posted (gotta wait on future events for the other ones hehe). Time for me to get some sleep!

I'll be back to writing more soon, just have to finish a few legal opinions for my job tomorrow and then I've got the weekend ahead of me!

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I like that Yuma and Nagisa's weapons sort of match with their respective mentor/big sister figures, being a polearm and some sort of firearm.

[generic-magical-girl]

Hitomi can kiss Madoka and Sayaka, as a treat

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petition for shaft to make hitomi the holy quintet’s sidekick

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I slightly jumbled two of the later events in the chart, but they're close enough together that it doesn't really matter (and it was a lot of work to go back and note that Kyoko showed up before Hitomi and Madoka's hero plan)

But yeah! Hopefully that post helps you anon, I can't really type much more in it since it's so long so I'm making this one in addition.

I will likely go back and try to clarify those chapters one day since they're definitely a bit too jumbled with all the flashbacks and flashforwards and Entire Thematic Hitomi Chapter in the middle of it all, but hopefully this helps for the time being.

I'll also try to clarify a few things in fic too, though that depends on what the characters let me write (for example, Homura will definitely be processing the kiss still, so that lets me explain out the series of events a bit more!)

If there are any other questions feel free to ask!!!!

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hey so i'm more than a little confused by the timeline of the last few chapters.

basically everything since the confrontation with kiori and kirika about their first day back at school. when we see it from haruka's perspective it all seems like one day starting with waking up after the sleepover and going straight through to when erika interupts her afterschool confrontation of the kures (which leads directly into her following sayaka to the hospital and everything that happens there). but in the flashback scene of sayaka and madoka's kiss, sayaka thinks about how it's been a few days since her kendo room training with homura (which has to happen after the sleepover).

also the order of events haruka experiences seems backwards? like haruka sees sayaka ditch gym class and then later after school senses the kiss happening while talking with mami. but madoka's perspective shows the gym class incident happened BECAUSE of the kiss and sayaka's need to run from it so it needs to have happened earlier in the day and can't have happened after school. but it needs to have happened after school because that's what prompts haruka to confront the kures and meet erika and follow sayaka to the hospital.

if it isn't too much trouble is there any way you could give a timeline for events we've seen, starting with the morning after the sleepover and up to... i guess the latest chapter when kyoko rescues hitomi and madoka? sorry i know that's a lot to ask. i really REALLY love the story, i'm just chronologically confused by the all the skipping around the story has been doing lately (but not by any of the actual time travel bits ironically).

I'm absolutely happy to give an overview of the last few chapters! I know they've been really confusing due to the mix of jumping back and forth to maintain certain reveals, the enormous amount of pov scenes, and the actual time travel that occurs in the middle of it all.

To start, I've tried to make a visual chart that might help (hopefully)

Now this image might be too small, so I've broken it up and I'll commentate on each part!

The series of events (the morning after the sleepover) begins with everyone going to school. Kiori and Kirika are spying, Homura and Sayaka are suspicious, Haruka is pining, Madoka and Hitomi are two different kinds of confused, and Mami and Oriko are both Not In The Classroom and thus not important here.

(Also Sasa is in the scene, snuck her way in ^-^)

Hitomi worries her friends might be in trouble and accidentally sets off issues that have been building up for Sayaka for a while. Madoka goes to follow her (with Homura stalking as she always does) while Haruka tries to follow Kiori.

It's during Haruka's disastrous conversation on the roof that Madoka and Sayaka kiss in the music room (sending Homura into a panic). Both events result in a rather tense atmosphere for the rest of class until...

Sayaka makes their escape, but not fast enough! Madoka goes after her and while Haruka initially wants to follow, it's Hitomi who follows the duo.

Madoka tries to confront Sayaka about the kiss that they are already repressing and trying to pretend didn't happen. Hitomi overhears and runs away, feeling that she's being abandoned. Sayaka takes distraction as a chance to run again. Madoka is torn, but chooses to follow Sayaka.

(At some point in the following mess, Hitomi is caught by a Witch's Kiss. There isn't a definitive point on it, so I'm adding it in here)

While MadoSayaHito are dealing with their problems, Haruka is waiting to see if anyone will come explain what's going on. Instead, all she gets is a concerned Mami, Homura's BPD shotgun-blasted at her via telepathy, and Madoka's internal crisis (also telepathy).

She decides the Kures might have done something and tries to confront them. Instead she ends up reuniting Kirika with her childhood friend, Erika. She does this badly.

Kirika runs off, Kiori follows.

Simultaneously we have Kiori and Kirika's talk about life and gender and all that messy stuff (congratulations to a he/they king) and Haruka's talk with Erika (girl is projecting her problems onto someone else's friendship breakup).

By the end of both scenes, a decision has been made. Erika decides to accept her future, Kirika decides to resolve her past. Haruka catches a glimpse Sayaka, who is heading to the hospital, and runs after her.

(Similar to Hitomi, the time of the kiss is vague, including it here for flow)

(Also, Sasa is here again and causing problems for later plot reasons. Don't worry about it ^-^)

Kyoko has decided she's had enough of not being in the plot and decides to find Sayaka. She first bumps into Homura who is brooding, then speaks with Madoka (about true love and stories and things that inspire a girl to kiss her friends) before finally arriving at the hospital.

Unfortunately, as Morgana soon informs her, she's too late. Sayaka has already contracted. But she makes an offer, a deal, a bargain... and turns back the sands of time.

While Kyoko steps forward, Morgana is called elsewhere to pay the price of her meddling.

This bit of time travel that FURTHER complicates events (but also allows so much of this stuff to happen simultaneously) out of the way, Kyoko charges in and gets Sayaka to fight her instead.

They head up to the roof.

While Kyoko goes to find Sayaka, Madoka goes to apologize to Hitomi for not following after her earlier. Unfortunately, in the questionable amount of time she's kept her eyes off her, a Witch got to Hitomi.

Erika (and her father), Madoka, and Hitomi are all dragged into the labyrinth. Unfortunately for Madoka's already stressed nerves, Kirika "Madoka-Killer" Kure also arrives.

Madoka drags Hitomi to what seems like safety before kissing her, hoping to pull a fairytale ending out of this mess.

Hitomi kisses back.

Madoka kisses back.

Things are good.

Things are less good.

Kyoko and Sayaka fight to a standstill as they are watched, unbeknownst to them, by Kyosuke. The two share a moment before Kyubey arrives and warns them of the danger that Hitomi and Madoka are in.

Sayaka sees Kyosuke. The secret is out.

Kyoko flips, runs, and generally magics her away across the city to arrive in time to stop the pair from dying, tackling the Witch while they focus on getting the civilians out safely.

Kirika wants to kill Madoka, she wants to fulfill Oriko's orders soooo badly... But she has to keep Erika safe, just this once. She made a promise to Kiori and to herself. And so reluctantly, she leaves along with the civilians.

Homura recovers enough to do her job (Professional Reluctant Kyoko Bestie) and goes to help her with the fight. She's lucky she does, as the labyrinth is full of painful memories reflected on screen after screen.

Together they save the day, Mami arrives to catch the girl, and Haruka stumbles in looking much worse for wear.

And now we're caught up! Time for the quintet to recap a few things (not all, they're being stubborn about their feelings) and explain some more things to Hitomi and Kyosuke in the next chapter!

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For anyone who wants vague hints towards future things and also generally symbolic things and funny posts related to ASM you should check out the #asm core tag over on @werewolfcave