Looks like N's motives were pretty much what I assumed. Didn't see the switch coming, though! I might have missed something, but I don't get why N had to slaughter the City to make M a moebius but he got to become one himself for "free." Did Z kill another settlement to get the necessary lifeforce or something? Or was it not actually needed and Z was just making him prove his loyalty? I'm also not clear on why Noah/Mio exist separate from M and N. Regarding other identities I'm guessing I know roughly who Z is. I wracked my brain for a while about who M and N's kid could be and came up empty; could be someone we haven't met, though. They implied his name was important so I'm sure it'll come up again.
Unlike N whose motives make sense, Shania is just a fucking lunatic. Sorry, but I'm gonna need a few steps between "I was bullied by my friend and felt like a loser" and "I'm going to have everyone I've ever known murdered"!
Went with long hair for Mio, of course; I could never repeat Akira Toriyama's sin with Videl! (Not that short hair Mio is bad, but long is better).
Also regarding XB2 references: I was just refreshing myself on the plot and apparently I completely forgot that Vandham was a character in that game. That would have been nice to have remembered earlier...!
Demonstration of loyalty was my understanding, not that it was actually a requirement. N was transformed to give him a taste, and then M was to twist him to evil.
As for why Noah & Mio exist I believe they did describe a possibility within these scenes though I forget the word they used lmao... *looks up*... where M tells Mio that they are N & M's repentance, the embodiment of their hopes and regrets for what lives they ought to have lived. I dunno how much that's supposed to be taken literally but I had a feeling it was, what with M going on to say Mio and her friends should never have existed and the fact that they do is proof.
also yeah Shania is just nuts, and long-haired best choice for Mio & Videl
PS: there was a Vandham in Xenoblade 1 and in X
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I request affiliated many pipes. Been a bad girl, I know I am. And I'm so hot, I need a fan. I don't want a boy, I need a man.