I'm glad! I find writing character and emotion is my strength, so im happy when i can hit them just right.

I imagined it was further down the line, but it was definitely not helped by homura being so anxious. madoka wants to protect people! just like her friend sayaka, and if homura is so stressed out, then maybe there's something she can do... sayaka meanwhile thinks homura is like kyoko and doesnt want competition

homura is just very stressed out that cycle because she's a middle schooler under a supreme amount of pressure. so, naturally, she lashes out and makes some bad decisions, like trying to show how serious she is by grabbing madoka hard, because she cannot go to kyuubey! i see homura's canon coolness not as merely grim determination, but also a sort of helpless distancing she's been forced to adapt. if she cuts herself off emotionally and socially then she cant make reckless mistakes, right? unfortunately its very much a trauma response, and homura is miserable most of the time.

girl has ptsd is what im saying. thats why she "flipped" from cool to scared with madoka's final wish. she's always been a scared kid trying to fix the world all by herself.