About Reverse 3
So having read Reverse 3, the way I see it the relevant new facts for the point in time this Mana is taken from (that being before the death of his dog) include:
- Mana has unusual golden eyes.
- he called his dog Allen, and should not recognise any boy Allens by that name yet, since Allen didn't have a real name then (and Mana didn't go in for the crazy thinking Allen's the dog thing until later).
- he is completely nutso and this should be played out so it's noticeable to anyone who's talked to him for very long.
- he remembers being on the run from the Earl with his brother.
- he says he's 17 years old, and thinks of himself as being 17 years old.
- one day he suddenly woke up looking like an old man.
- something weird is going on here, because there's no way that Mana can actually be 17 during Reverse 3 if the 14th killed the Noahs 35 years before the point of canon where the manga is right now.
- he's looking for his brother and says he was separated from him while they were on the run (...as he's probably repressed the fact his brother is dead). He's worried that his brother won't recognise him with his current appearance.
- he'll freak out and search if he thinks his brother might be nearby.
- he's frightened of the Earl, recognises him (Earl form) on sight, and knows that the Earl is called forth by tragedy. He's sure that he'll be killed if the Earl catches him.
- he's unstable enough that a big enough shock could, as in canon, potentially worsen his mental condition, give him more memory loss (that his dog is dead, or that he ever had a brother...), and even make him mistake a boy for a dog.
- he may possibly be a non-human (some sort of Akuma? who can say) or a Noah, as he was apparently affected by Allen's Innocence arm in Reverse.
- ...I have the colour scheme wrong for his clown outfit in most of my icons.
- and based on one piece of art from Reverse 3, I don't think there can be much question at this point that Mana looks exactly like the Earl's human form. (BUT WHYYYYYYY. I wish I knew. Did the Earl nick his body later on? Is Mana part of the Earl that was split off from him 17 years ago? Or something else? Sigh.)
Due to what's been revealed in Reverse 3, it's now clear that I've been playing Mana wrong in a number of ways. There are problems with his interactions with characters in the DR, mainly with the Allens and one of the 14ths he's met, and probably also with the Tykis. With the new info, I have a much better idea of what Mana knows and how he should react to certain things.
So: retconning ahoy! Or more specifically, amnesia for Mana about things he should have had a different reaction to. Yes, even more amnesia for the poor guy. The other option would have been writing off all his interactions or outright dropping him as a character, so I think adding a little amnesia's the best thing to do.
Mana is going to forget any time anyone's mentioned the name "Allen" to him in the DR. He will also not remember a few things from conversations he's had with some Tykis and 14ths, specifically not remembering some things he might have said about their appearances, and he might not remember having seen their faces. I may also have him forget a few other things, on a case by case basis. On the bright side, forgetting things is hardly out of character for him.
I'm also going to be tweaking his characterisation, since the balance I was trying to draw somewhere between sane and totally crazy should clearly have been waaay more towards the crazy side. I am fortunate in that my Mana was taken from canon a way before the event that made him go even crazier, which makes this a little easier for me than if I'd taken him from later on. The rest of the things learned from Reverse are also going to affect the way I play him a lot.
If anyone wants to discuss/query things that I'm having Mana forget, please drop me a comment. And if I still can't get his characterisation right after this and you're feeling generous enough to tell me what I should work on, I do have a concrit post for Mana here.
- Mana has unusual golden eyes.
- he called his dog Allen, and should not recognise any boy Allens by that name yet, since Allen didn't have a real name then (and Mana didn't go in for the crazy thinking Allen's the dog thing until later).
- he is completely nutso and this should be played out so it's noticeable to anyone who's talked to him for very long.
- he remembers being on the run from the Earl with his brother.
- he says he's 17 years old, and thinks of himself as being 17 years old.
- one day he suddenly woke up looking like an old man.
- something weird is going on here, because there's no way that Mana can actually be 17 during Reverse 3 if the 14th killed the Noahs 35 years before the point of canon where the manga is right now.
- he's looking for his brother and says he was separated from him while they were on the run (...as he's probably repressed the fact his brother is dead). He's worried that his brother won't recognise him with his current appearance.
- he'll freak out and search if he thinks his brother might be nearby.
- he's frightened of the Earl, recognises him (Earl form) on sight, and knows that the Earl is called forth by tragedy. He's sure that he'll be killed if the Earl catches him.
- he's unstable enough that a big enough shock could, as in canon, potentially worsen his mental condition, give him more memory loss (that his dog is dead, or that he ever had a brother...), and even make him mistake a boy for a dog.
- he may possibly be a non-human (some sort of Akuma? who can say) or a Noah, as he was apparently affected by Allen's Innocence arm in Reverse.
- ...I have the colour scheme wrong for his clown outfit in most of my icons.
- and based on one piece of art from Reverse 3, I don't think there can be much question at this point that Mana looks exactly like the Earl's human form. (BUT WHYYYYYYY. I wish I knew. Did the Earl nick his body later on? Is Mana part of the Earl that was split off from him 17 years ago? Or something else? Sigh.)
Due to what's been revealed in Reverse 3, it's now clear that I've been playing Mana wrong in a number of ways. There are problems with his interactions with characters in the DR, mainly with the Allens and one of the 14ths he's met, and probably also with the Tykis. With the new info, I have a much better idea of what Mana knows and how he should react to certain things.
So: retconning ahoy! Or more specifically, amnesia for Mana about things he should have had a different reaction to. Yes, even more amnesia for the poor guy. The other option would have been writing off all his interactions or outright dropping him as a character, so I think adding a little amnesia's the best thing to do.
Mana is going to forget any time anyone's mentioned the name "Allen" to him in the DR. He will also not remember a few things from conversations he's had with some Tykis and 14ths, specifically not remembering some things he might have said about their appearances, and he might not remember having seen their faces. I may also have him forget a few other things, on a case by case basis. On the bright side, forgetting things is hardly out of character for him.
I'm also going to be tweaking his characterisation, since the balance I was trying to draw somewhere between sane and totally crazy should clearly have been waaay more towards the crazy side. I am fortunate in that my Mana was taken from canon a way before the event that made him go even crazier, which makes this a little easier for me than if I'd taken him from later on. The rest of the things learned from Reverse are also going to affect the way I play him a lot.
If anyone wants to discuss/query things that I'm having Mana forget, please drop me a comment. And if I still can't get his characterisation right after this and you're feeling generous enough to tell me what I should work on, I do have a concrit post for Mana here.