#i really love that sort of contrast in characters 😍

[diseaseriddencube]

a collection

[unproduciblesmackdown]

blade gunnblade !!!!!!!!

via eliza simpson:

There are no words for this true warrior. They kill me. MMM: went in for a post show hug. Me:"ow!" Asia: "oh sorry, that's my bullet necklace." 😳........ 😍

[mayasdeluca]

Wynonna Earp: Vengeance Thoughts

I've watched the special twice now so I've put some thoughts together on how I felt about it. Overall I thought it was really good and Emily did a good job of balancing both appealing it to new viewers who may not be attached to these characters but having a plot that they could be intrigued by and also still going back to the show's roots and making it about everything we know and love with these characters. I'm going to put more detailed thoughts under the cut, feel free to share yours either on the post or by messaging me and we can discuss! And also keep watching so we give it a bunch of views and a good chance to have more than just this special :)

The beginning of the movie starting with Nedley and Mercedes was unexpected but so good. Sad that Mercedes had to be sacrificed right away, Dani Kind is awesome but the way they did that with her body spelling out ‘Earp’ was insane ad fit this show perfectly.

Wynonna walking through the casino to ‘Tell That Devil’ was perfect and gave me all the feels. 

Wayhaught’s first scene was adorable and so them. The Bunny interruption was perfect too. Loved her little involvement lol

I never really liked Wynonna and Doc romantically (Team Dolls all the way) so a lot of their involvement I didn’t really care for (though I do love Tim so it’s hard to not care for Doc completely). Their dynamic has always been sort of odd to me though. 

Wynonna putting on the leather jacket before making her way back to Purgatory was another iconic moment. 😭❤️

All the Wynonna/Waverly/Nicole scenes in the movie were perfect. I wish we had more. Wynonna teasing them any chance she could and Nicole giving it to her right back. The scene when Wynonna just returns home was one of my favorites in the whole special. The stairs comment was my favorite Kat’s delivery of ‘Shut your mouth’ 😂 her comment on the chore wheel “It’s your turn to clean the baseboards…whatever that means in gay’ 😂

Wynonna and Waverly drunk at Mercedes wake and Nicole having to deal with their stupidity 😂 that whole sequence was absolute chaos in the best way

Loved Nicole and Nedley’s heart to heart ❤️ their dynamic is so special and important 

They really put Nicole through hell (as usual) and we got to see her be badass which I love. Also kudos to Kat for doing all this physical stuff while being pregnant. She’s amazing. 

Waverly and Wynonna having a heart to heart in front of the fire just like old times ❤️

The scene of Waverly, Wynonna, Nicole and Doc at the table really felt so right. The four of them are so good together. 

The flashbacks of younger Wynonna to tie in her connection to the villain were really well done and especially the shots of present Wynonna seeing some of it. Great directing choice.

Nicole and Wynonna telling each other the hard truths all while being incredibly entertaining is my favorite thing. And in contrast seeing Doc and Waverley’s relationship is so great too. 

This Black Badge Agent was incredibly underwhelming. A poor man’s Dolls and did nothing for me. I saw Emily’s explanation about not wanting to have too many familiar characters (as a reason why Jeremy wasn’t more involved) but this guy was just..meh. 

The way they just casually dropped a kids mention with Wayhaught only to be interrupted right after…I think it makes sense that Nicole is ready for kids and Waverly isn’t (yet) because she still needs to explore and do things she hasn’t been able to yet but I do hope if they are able to do more that it’s brought up again

Nicole having to save Waverly from a dark goo (again) was a nice touch and I loved seeing that whole sequence (acted brilliantly by both Dom and Kat) Also all the times Nicole said fuck 😂

Wynonna and Doc porch scenes are always so heartbreaking. 😭 I don’t have much of an attachment to them together but Mel and Tim are so good in these kinds of scenes. 

The amount of ‘baby’ mentions for Wayhaught in this special made me super happy 😍

This Wayhaught convo about Waverly needing to go do her thing with Black Badge and Nicole assuring her they can handle it was so good. They are so in love and precious. “I wish I could be the one to show you the world.” 😭 My favorite line. Ugh I want that for them so bad! 

The Wynonna and Nedley convo at the cemetery was so good too. I love that this show/cast can basically put any two people together in a scene and they’re so good together in said scene. 

Wayhaught on stakeout duty up top while Wynonna and Doc handle things on the ground was epic. And then when Nedley joined in…amazing lol

Loved seeing Wynonna being the badass we know her to be and taking care of things in her chaotic way and getting Nicole’s wedding ring back 🥰

I’m still shocked they went there with Doc and killing him but I do think it will end up being temporary if they end up doing more. It’s so sad to do that to Wynonna AGAIN too after she dealt with Dolls dying on top of everything else…stop torturing this poor woman already!! 

It also seemed odd to me how none of them really had a reaction to Doc’s death…wonder if that was supposed to mean something. I’m glad they had Jeremy show up at this point though. 

Wayhaught’s goodbye before Waverly leaves 😭 and Waverly saying goodbye to Wynonna too 😭…but excited for Waverly to have this journey and now Wynonna and Nicole working together…it leaves so much left for them to still do which I like. 

Nedley watching Nicole and Wynonna like a proud dad ❤️ great ending with the last shot being that sign and Earp mailbox...very well done! 

I do wish Rachel could have been involved (I loved her dynamic with Nicole especially in Season 4 and she is so Wayhaught's child) but Emily kind of explained that we'll see why she wasn't involved in the audiobook thing so I'm intrigued by that.

I also was kind of hoping we'd get more of just Wayhaught in general but of course I'm biased since they're my favorite part of the show/series and that we'd get more of them being intimate together but it was a lot more of it being implied (which I did enjoy and found funny especially in the way Wynonna would do it) and I get they only had a certain amount of time but now it's just made me want more of them in general so I do hope we get more now 🤞🏻

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASAKA🎉🎉🎉

I don’t know if I’m too late or not but I wanted to say Happy Birthday!!!

I don’t really have much and I didn’t have too much time, so here are some small drawings I did for brainstorming ideas for an English assignment alongside a photo I took of Hajime and Nagito in tomadachi life?

I also have a Small Ramble about Hajime Hinata for you!

Hajime is my one of favorite characters because he's the perfect balance for a protagonist. The story uses the fact he's "basic," and gives it life. His story is of someone who is so insecure, depressed, and feels so inferior about being talentless that he gives up his own life just to be something he can be proud of. Just so he can be something worth remembering. He finds his own strength, not only that but he decides he won't live in the past but rather the future and present. That he'll decide his own future, no matter what happens. In contrast to class 78th they're basically the school dropouts after all, they don't know how life will go, but they'll figure it out. They'll make their own future, together! Out of all of the protagonists and messages the Danganronpa franchise has, Danganronpa 2 resonates with me most. Hajime has a wonderful story, a fun personality, a cute appearance, and is a beautifully compelling and charming character. He’s honestly adorable, he’s such an introverted realist a lot of the time haha!

Hope my Ask is enough to make you smile for your birthday, Sorry if I’m late!!!

sorry I don’t have that much to say about Makoto… I LIKE HIM TOO THOUGH!!!

Ohhhh my gosh your drawings are SO CUTE!!😍😍 Thanks for showing me this, Zen! I knew you had good drawing skills (I must have seen your drawing of Nagito in your YouTube video) but I didn't know you drew such lovely and funny things, so this is a pleasant surprise! 😆💕 hehe, it seems like Hajime is yelling something at Nagito every 5 seconds or so. I’m happy to see these silly boys!

I also didn’t know you have been playing Tomodachi Life! I have never played this game myself, but I love looking at the screenshots of this game. Did they become good friends with each other in that world? It's so nice to see them together on the beach under the stars! (ㅅ´ ˘ `)✧.｡.:*

And thank you for telling me the reason why you like Hajime!💖 I totally agree with you that he has a wonderful story! I didn't notice it the first time I played the game, but when I replayed it and followed the story from the beginning, I found that his sense of inferiority is described well before he knows he's a reserve course student. I haven't checked how it's expressed in the English translation yet, but he tends to use the phrase "俺なんか" a lot more than other protagonists. “なんか” is an ambiguous word, similar to "some" in English, but it is an expression of self-deprecation to use it after the first person (俺). He has a subconscious tendency to be self-deprecating even though he has lost his memory, but I think that is why he easily falls for people who are kind to him. In fact, he was very shocked when he realized that Nagito might be the culprit in the first class trial, saying, "You were so kind”. It's very cute how he felt that way about Nagito even though they only met for the first time two days ago. ( *´艸`)💖 (He is rather cautious and suspicious of things, but I feel that in relationships he easily falls for others!)

As you say, the process of how he, who originally felt inferior and introverted, becomes determined to make his own future is very touching, and his personality itself is what makes him so cute and appealing. Honestly, when I first saw Hajime, I wasn't attracted to his looks at all, but now I think he's the cutest guy ever. I feel happy whenever I see his cute smile!😊💓

Thank you so much for this wonderful gift and taking the time out of your busy schedule! Your message definitely made me smile! I was actually in the process of preparing a post that would sort of summarize the birthday gifts I received, but your message came just in time for me to post it. So my birthday has passed, but in that sense you made it! 🥳

I'm happy and grateful every time I get a message from you. Hope you have a great day! 🫶✨ And I hope to hear more about your thoughts on Makoto sometime! 😆

[authortobenamedlater]

E5 deep dive! This will be fun because Mr and I have VERY different opinions on certain parts of this episode.

The good:

This might be Pablo Schreiber’s best performance yet, and that’s saying something.

Everyone delivers in this one. Soren and Laera have some great moments, separately and together. Riz’s final lines with John (and that hug!), Halsey’s and John’s speeches at Vannak’s funeral, Kwan’s vision and her shamelessly calling John on his BS. This episode does a great job of showing the fallout from Reach on a small scale. Not what it did to humanity as a whole, but what it did to these individual humans.

The exit from Reach and Riz’s last run for Vannak are epic.

Vannak gets a great send-off, and can we talk about how well-preserved he was after being dead for a week?

Makee continues to be one of the most intriguing characters for many reasons, not the least of which is she’s inexplicably (literally inexplicably; they haven’t explained it) alive. She cries as she watches Reach fall, then says she cares nothing for “the Demon” (who she ordered ‘Gatanai not to kill a few hours ago). She and Cortana appear to be hatching some kind of plan.

Speaking of Cortana…EVERYTHING I thought about that opening scene in the first episode got flipped on its head. Did Cortana sell her soul (operating system?) to Parangosky in exchange for John or something?

Also speaking of Cortana, John is so not OK without her it hurts to watch. “If I’d had my armor, if I’d had her with me” 😭 “There’s a space where there used to be a voice and a feeling someone knew me” 😭😭 Just get these two back together already.

Kai’s little strut when she meets the S-IIIs 😍

The bad:

Reach didn’t quite go out with the bang it deserved, unless there’s a heck of a surprise in store. I’m not sure what would have been the bang it deserved, but this wasn’t it.

Admiral Keyes is not around. Yes, I knew he wasn’t going to be, but I love him darn it.

Vannak was all dead, not only mostly dead as I had hoped and will continue to imagine.

Still no Miranda, not that I expected her. Does she know her dad is dead?

Observations/predictions/wishful thinking:

Riz’s exit. One part where that @mrtobenamedlater and I do not agree. I saw this coming from the start of the season. Riz was already hurting and increasingly disillusioned with Spartan life. Now she’s even more beaten up. She was never really going to be a Spartan again. She can barely even walk when she tells John she’s done. Her departure made a good contrast to John’s response. His way to honor Vannak’s sacrifice is to hunt down his killers; Riz’s way is to live the life his sacrifice spared.

I don’t think this is the last of Riz, however. We’ll run into her again.

Makee seems to be filling the Sesa ‘Refumee role from Halo 2, with her line about the Prophets being liars. She is on no one’s side because no one is on her side.

Given that Makee describes ‘Gatanai to Cortana as the fleet master and calls him “the Arbiter,” I guess he’s the Silver Timeline’s Thel ‘Vadam? And his line to Makee about how she lives only by his grace? Did he personally revive her or something?

Also I’m going to assume Makee never touched the artifact in E2, probably just as well since that would have taken John out, and that she and ‘Gatanai took it off Reach. Why didn’t she touch it though?

Did Kessler get kidnapped for a new Spartan program? I’m all about Uncle Master Chief going to rescue his surrogate nephew by the way.

Where did Perez and that transport go? I was sort of expecting to find them on Aleria.

This episode will get derided as “filler” but it sets up a lot for the rest of the season: The Arbiter, the ring, Kwan’s and Madrigal’s place in all this, the Spartan-IIIs.

[astral-from-afar]

sad yuki headcanon! because i read your happy ones and i cant go 10 seconds without my favorite characters being in pain (exception being that i refuse to acknowledge ch 208) 😍 the only reason she travels and goes around so much is because shes got this "irrational" or pervasive fear in the back of her mind that her life could end at any moment (spv trauma?????? riko dying made her survivors guilt even worse) so she tries to fill it up with as many things as possible, sort of in a live life to the fullest way? i also think she absolutely HATES her birthday. since getting older for a very long time, meant that shed be a year closer to getting merged with tengen. so that day doesn't hold a lot of positive feelings for her. i still can't really wrap my head around her being stressed out by missions? i get her disliking them but cause of stress? im intrigued!

on a lighthearted hc, shes veryyy messy and disorganized especially because she had to learn everything about surviving outside from scratch so the first time she'd gone outside of japan was obviouslt tough but she wouldnt trade it for anything because that ended up being a catalyst for her love for travelling.

Its ok anon, I too like my favourite characters to be in pain.

I also don’t know why her stress would be by doing missions but I would see it as more as grief for her peers back when she was a student.

Yuki was obviously a special grade before even Gojo was born so she would have been considered the ‘strongest’ at the time. I would imagine that her attending Jujutsu Tech or Kyoto school (I’m inclined to believe the former because the higher ups would probably want to keep a close eye on her which would explain why she would want Todo to go to Kyoto).

She would have had some peers her age but she wouldn’t be able to connect with them as they would see her as either a traitor or a saviour. Now Gojo’s birth caused a spike in cursed spirits which meant that students like Yuki who were obviously unprepared would have either been slaughtered or left the field like Nanami did. This meant Yuki would have had to carry the load by herself until Gojo and Geto would become students. Maybe the increase in curses thanks to the Night of a Hundred Demons causes her to think back to the previous time it happened, to those around her being killed on the battlefield.

It’s funny to think that Yuki never got a partner or someone to confide in until Todo came into the picture. And even then it was more of a older sibling-younger sibling dynamic. Whereas Gojo had Geto and vice versa. And Yuta had Rika then when she left he had the second years. Yet Yuki in most of her adolescence had no one. A lone star one would say.

Also your light hearted headcannon is SO TRUE. I think her first trip was more of a necessity to get away from Tengen but then she started liking it more and more until she travels constantly around the world. She hates staying put in one area (contrasting Tengen staying put in the basement) so she makes an effort to visit everywhere she can

[gunsatthaphan]

Hallo Freundin! 👋

I will share my random ramblings with the class this time around. 😇 So here we go!

Okay, I’m going to put this out here. About Between Us. For clarity: I watched the Uncut Version. (My bank account is very grateful that Between Us is finally over. 🥲) So I don’t know how much and what got cut. But anyways, here are my two cents. Do with what you want. 😌

I don’t think Between Us was bad. Not at all. But if I am very honest, it did disappoint a little bit. (Which tbh, seems almost impossible to avoid with the enthusiasm and anticipation I felt about it beforehand. 🙈) Maybe it’s the extensive number of plotlines, or the fact that the main plotline felt a bit dragged on in the end.

But I think there’s also another reason. (And correct me if you disagree.) To me, it felt as if the stories were told in the wrong order. Particularly, the WinTul story was started way too late. So that when they had their resolution, it seemed unrealistically quick to me. In contrast, for some reason the romance between Manow & Pruek remained a storyline for the entire series. And I am seriously still wondering what was so pressing that it remained a “problem” to solve for 12 episodes. 🫠 It was also the weakest storyline because Manow’s insecurities were never fully elaborated on. And so it seemed to me like the odd one out.

I thought Bee and Prince had a really strong storyline. And both that storyline and WinTul’s created a strong parallel to the main theme (me thinks) of Between Us itself. While it doesn’t have the theatrics of UWMA, it does serve strong motifs about “finding yourself,” “forgiveness,” “feeling inadequate,” and “getting to know someone else.” Plus, more importantly: letting someone get to know you.

While WinTeam put up the question: how well do you know someone when there’s just the physicality? WinTul sort of gets the reverse question: how well do you know someone when you don’t know what they look like? The overarching idea is that you don’t, unless you take the time. But at the same time, you do, better than you think. The story of Bee and Prince gave a whole new spin on this story by inserting the issue of status and celebrity into the mix. And the contrast between the private person and the public persona (bonus points for getting real about the pressures of being queer and a celebrity).

Tldr: I would have started with Bee and Prince, then put in Win and Tul, and end with Manow & Pruek. 🤓

Oops, I’ll quit the rambling! 😅 I just cannot stop talking about this show. 😍

Love,

— Thel. 💚

hi there Thel!!! 💜

thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!!

Generally speaking Between Us was a phenomenon for me because it had so many tropes & aspects that I usually don't like such as the mains not getting together until the last second, an abundance of side couples, characters acting juvenile, repetitive scenes & lines, certain stories going in circles etc. but for some reason none of that bothered me too much here? 

Like we had 5 couples which is usually way too much and not all of them were 100% satisfactory but I think they did a really decent job with giving them an equal amount of both screentime and development. WaanTul had the perfect slowburn for me and I'm okay with how they wrapped it up but the ending was not appropriate for the overall pacing. It went at 30% speed for 11.5 episodes and then it went to 100% within seconds lmao. That could've been handled a bit better imo. But as I said I'm okay. Also I don't think it was told in the wrong order. To me the narrative made sense and felt coherent but maybe that's not what you meant lol.

Manaow and Pruk had a good story setup but it remained a setup and was not delved into as much as it should have so I agree with you there. I still liked them and their energy a lot though. to be honest they might be one of my favorite het pairings in a bl. I really really like them and I would 100% watch their show if they had one. 

Prince and Bee did not catch my attention at all in the beginning. I had no interest in their story as I was over the celebrity x mundane trope and also I'm not a fan of Benz. BUT that changed towards the middle of the show. When they actually got together and specifically their conversation in the bathroom was where I was like okay. I like this lol. They had a very nice conclusion and their chemistry became a lot better over time. I liked it. 

So overall all of these little stories had their little flaws but they did good. And I agree with what you said about the plots fitting into the overarching theme of the show which is getting to know each other, letting others in and offering a safe space to the people you love because that was indeed the common ground for all stories. And it’s also something that wabisabi generally does very well with their shows imo. Most of their productions are similar and they’re known for their cheesiness lmao but they do offer a very heartwarming portrayal of relationships and friendships, also the antagonist not being a person but your own inhibitions is something I really like and they did an excellent job with showcasing that in BU as well. Which makes it a flagship wabisabi show in that sense but in the best way possible imo. It’s exactly what I appreciated about UWMA too. 

I ended up giving it an 8.5/10 which, considering I went in in zero expectations, is almost like hitting the jackpot lmao. I’m very happy with how it turned out and I’m glad we can talk about it here lol. 

thank you again for sharing and have a lovely day! 💜 

xxx

[writefightandflightclub]

Hi, I didn't get to meet Oscar, but I was thinking about your experience, and I... Um.. Wrote a poem/song sort of? It's called Plexiglass... I just wanted to share it with you. I don't know if you'll like it or not so I'm staying anonymous. Love you! ❤

Like the shimmering sunlight

On the first dew drops of morning –

You're looking at me.

Coffee-brown eyes so bright –

Floating, flaming leaves adorning

The sweet fall breeze!

My world's turning,

Heart burning,

Yet all's just smoke and mirrors between us.

You're standing right there,

And it's not fair

That I'll never get to cross the plexiglass...

The damned plexiglass!

You're laughing with your friends, as you sprinkle pearls,

Shining, sparkling

Out of your oecan-blue mind.

The waves are calling at me – soft marble curls.

I'm diving, drowning,

Trying to finish your lines.

I end up thinking

How it would be

If all those minutes and miles turned to dust!

But now here I stay,

Watching you walk away

From the other side of the transparent plexiglass...

There'll always be the plexiglass.

I LOVE IT! 😍😍😍

Thank you so much for creating and sharing this!! It has such a lovely flow and you weave in imagery so seamlessly.

Okay, let me write about my favourite parts!

That it’s called Plexiglass 👌👌👌👌 (That mf-in plexiglass 🤣)

Yes yes yes, the sunlight and morning imagery? I did keep thinking of sunshine through it as in person he’s so warm. The way these lines place me as a dew drop being simmered away by a sun far too bright for me? ACCURATE. That all just works perfectly! And all of that warmth carried through in the coffee brown and autumn colours (even preserving the timings and seasons of the experience?)? Love!

“The damned plexiglass” IKR????!!!!!! 👀

And then all this cool imagery, contrasting with the warmth of before - the pearls? Love! The “ocean-blue mind” (such a wonderful phrase which signals the expanse and wonder of his big, creative brain spewing out such treasures)? And then the way the curl of the waves serve as a descriptor for the mind but link to his literal curls? And it’s perfect because he did, ofc, have these beautiful cool-toned, silvered curls, which were so striking in person. And also this works bc I spent a lot of the day imagining all the Qs I’d ask - if I ever could - about his process and characters (and what goes on in that ocean-blue mind!). And also I crossed a literal ocean to be there!

“Trying to finish your lines”!!!! Perfect, bc yes! As a Professional* Imaginer of Fictional Conversations (a writer you might say) it was impossible not to try and “script” multiple versions of the interaction in advance**, even knowing when it came to it that I had close to zero sway over the narrative and the moment. And he’s an actor! And he has lines! And we were in line!

“If all those minutes and miles turned to dust”. Me, after the fact, hanging on to the experience! Relatable af 🥹

The barrier of the glass 😭

This is beautiful and it really does give me a reflection of my experience and such a wonderful way to preserve a moment! 🧡 I will have to print this and save it in a memory box or sthg (if that’s okay with you?)

Thank you so much for this! 🥹🙏🧡🙌✨

I really really do hope you get your own Oscar experience one day soon too, lovely! 🧡 I’m rooting for you!

[hellfirehaley]

For the fandom thingy, Stranger Things

Ooh this should be fun. I’ve been a fan since season one dropped so I have a lot of things to say (probably just babbling) 🤣🗣

Favorite female characters: KIDS Max because she’s so damn cool, Erica because she’s one of the most badass girls I’ve ever seen TEEN Robin because she’s exactly who I am as a person around my friends and Maya Hawke is everything 😍 ADULT Joyce because A. WINONA and B. She’s the smartest one of them all. Like she always knows when shit is wrong and she doesn’t deserve to keep losing her damn boyfriends.

Favorite male characters: KID Dustin because he’s been my favorite ever since he waved at Nance in the pilot with his cute face. Will because that sweet boy has been through the wringer and he deserves to play some D&D🥺 TEEN Steve Harrington because he had an amazing redemption arc from jerky jock to the best damn babysitter ever. Also I have his nail bat tattooed on my leg I may or may not be biased. Eddie Munson has a special place in my heart because I too love metal music and D&D and fantasy worlds. I too was a freak in high school for my interests so I really understand him. Argyle because he is the definition of the ultimate stoner bestie and I just wanna smoke with him SO BAD ADULT Murray because he’s an amazing matchmaker and a huge asset to the team

My favorite book/season etc: it’s a tie between season three and four because season three finally gave me the bright, fluorescent colors of the 80s, elmax’s friendship, Will the wise, ROBIN. But in contrast, season four was dark, mysterious and scary with so many references to my favorite movies and Eddie was based on my favorite true crime case (that’s still ongoing)

My favorite episode: The Mall Rats, The Hellfire Club, Dear Billy, Papa, The Piggyback

My favorite cast member: Winona Ryder, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour

My favorite ship: Jopper (also a fan of lumax and steddie)

A character I will die defending: Lucas, Eddie,

A character I just can sympathize with: Jason ducking Carver. The entire satanic panic rubs me (a pagan) ALL SORTS OF WRONG.

A character I grew to love: Nancy. I’m not mad at her; I’m mad at the suffer brothers and society for just using her as a plot device to stir up feelings via love triangle shit when she’s a strong woman who don’t need no man she needs Robin

My anti otp: I really can’t think of one outside of Stancy because I hate how Nancy treated him at the breakup scene and I’ve sat on this question for like five minutes so I guess that one

[chacusha]

Echoes of Mana liveblogging (1/?)

Some early thoughts:

Aw yes! Got my girl! Apparently there's a stronger Angela in the pool, though. Nooo!

Anyway, I'm loving this art -- it looks sooo good!

I love seeing more interactions with Mana characters! In general, I'm impressed at how different all the characters sound, which is made apparent by these little story adventures and even the dialogue you get by building up character bonds. The character personalities really shine through. I also appreciate how they've given the MC dialogue options similar to the ones in Legend of Mana where there's like a normal option and then there's a really goofy option (really sassy, ridiculously accommodating like the bottom one here, etc.). It's just a fun feature of this series that you meet a lot of Wacky Characters and you can choose to just go along with their eccentric ways.

I also like Honeycomb and Duffle and the other original cast for this game. The character designs look really nice and Mana-ish, and the personalities and interactions are also fun anime-style stuff.

The Mana Goddess and Mana Tree in this game are pretty! I like how they're going with the orchard theme where you harvest stuff off of trees (the MC's weapon isn't so much a staff/spear as, like, a fruit-picking tool...), and the world fruit have such strange names like in Legend of Mana: Beginniberry, Verdigourd, Epicorn, Soaramame, Faerieberry.

I'm very curious about the unchosen MC. He seems so sad to be left behind? Is he going to be story-important?

OMG they did it! 😍 (Also, does this game make it canon that Hawkeye is the main character/chosen hero of Trials of Mana, I guess?! 😂 You get to see his backstory opening, he's searching for the Mana Sword, and he's got Faerie :O)

Aww these guys again. ❤ I like this event featuring Randi and Duran squaring off against each other. And the Scorpion Gang! Again, it's fun seeing Randi's agreeable and diffident personality contrasted with Duran's competitive confidence. This is the kind of content I signed up for!!

I'm currently midway through chapter 5. I have basically two 4* characters (Riesz and Sumo) that I've built up to ~3800 power, and that's too weak to clear stronger enemies quickly enough, so I'm too underleveled to finish off the remaining content. Netplay doesn't work for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ so I'm just sort of waiting until I have a character I can upgrade to 4* and who will hopefully be my third strong team member. (It's probably going to be 3* Lekius because I could use a strong water character to try to take down the fire armor boss and the fact that he has a bow makes him situationally useful. I'm also going to ascend 3* Randi to fulfill the event bonus missions, but he's not Lv 50 yet...)

My favorite character so far is my 3* Julius, though. I mean, he's one of my favorite Mana characters in general, but he's also pretty fun to play as -- very strong magic that leaves him pretty vulnerable. Very glass cannon, which is fun. I also like his quotes: "A Mana Tree exists here too... Hm? No, only thinking aloud." "What are you up to? If I can be of help, let me know anytime." "Keeping an eye on me, are you? No need. I'm quite harmless." Don't worry! This man is helpful and doesn't have an ulterior motive at all! But yeah, I love that about Julius -- he seems so nice and polite.

I very much also want the Crimson Wizard -- another one of my favorite characters for maybe similar reasons. Apparently he's available for purchase with spell shards, but you need to make it all the way through the Twillwool Tower (twice...?) for those. So that might take a while.

I really like the interface here. It is very sleek and visually pleasing. And there is an impressive amount of features and stuff to do for a game that has just launched!

That said, I'm not sure how long I will stick with it. I tend to get frustrated with gachas where it's possible to invest a lot of time into a single battle and then just realize, welp, I can't actually beat this despite all my effort. That's why I stuck with Kingdom Hearts Union Cross so long, because it had the nice feature where high-level battles always had a very strict upper limit on how many turns they would last -- the challenge was always in getting your damage output high enough throughout the three turns to defeat the enemy and not about survival strategy to keep hanging on with the vain hope of winning. Already, attempting to fight a losing battle has really frustrated me, so I kind of foresee this game making me ragequit at some point.

That said, despite my complaints about the gameplay (most gacha battle mechanics just don't work for me and eventually lead me to getting frustrated), I do really like this game. It's got a lot going on and as a Mana fan, I would never have dreamed of getting a gacha game of this quality.

One thing I'm confused about, though, is why this game shares its victory music with Kingdom Hearts Union Cross! Do they share the same composer? Is it an Easter egg? Do Kingdom Hearts and the Mana series share a canon now? XD

It's very sweet that the LOM Heroine (Serafina) says that Pinzton reminds her of her home. It does!