Over the past 2 weeks, I spent a pretty penny to pull for all 5 Lis (and lost pity twice in the process :”)). In this article, I will be sharing my honest thoughts on the new event format and banner.
You can watch my full playthroughs of all the cards here:
Hearts Ablaze Part I: Xavier, Zayne and Rafayel Cards
Hearts Blaze Part II: Sylus and Caleb Cards
Before we jump in, I wanted to give a quick shoutout to my incredibly talented friend Monotohma for the amazing 5 Lis x Hime wallpaper/starting screen that we got to showcase for the 2nd part of our Hearts Ablaze series! Thank you so much! Mono does great work, so please consider them if you are looking for something similar.
My initial hope for this banner while watching the trailer was that it would be set in an alternate universe (AU) where the boys are performers or idols of sorts. I had the idea that MC would be a producer, backup dancer, or play a role different from the usual. There is so much potential for worldbuilding and unique interactions between her and the Lis in an alternate universe, but knowing the LADS community, our fanfiction writers are already hard at work. (Please recommend me some!!!) Unfortunately if that is what you’re looking for in this banner, it isn’t that.
As a harem girlie, I felt that the strength for each card for me were Caleb, Rafayel, then tied between Sylus, Xavier, and Zayne respectively.
Let’s talk strengths!
All the cards had sweet moments that made me blush, squeal and laugh, both in the kindled moments and during the dialogue. That’s a given with all Love and Deepspace 5-stars! So if you are a player who mains a specific Li and want to seek more interactions with him, pulling for your own preferred Li(s) is worth it.
The kindled for every Li were incredible on their own with well choreographed moves, catchy songs, and dazzling outfits. I liked that every Li was given a slightly different genre of song to dance to, which was what motivated me to collect them all. A lot of consideration was given to design the party suits for all MC x Li pairs for this banner, so that’s a definite bonus to pulling. I adore the outfits and how each costume embodies the personalities of the Lis and seemed very in-character for what they might wear, despite the odd circumstances. Paired with Illusio, the community has been going wild with replaying them, which adds a lot of value in my opinion.
However, on top of the expected deliverables, I felt that Caleb and Rafayel’s cards were especially memorable. Allow me to explain why:
Caleb:
It could be due to Caleb being the latest addition to the roster, which results in interactions, context and tension with him still feeling a little behind the other Lis despite him being the childhood friend/gege to MC. I felt that Caleb’s card focused on building his relationship with MC and is a continuation from his birthday card where they ‘stepped over the line’. It adds intimacy to their relationship and I liked that the story felt smooth and the dancing kindled made sense with the plot. With every other card, the dance segment felt slightly abrupt and the story could have easily continued without the scene even happening. But with Caleb’s card, it felt essential to the story.
I read out every dialogue in my playthroughs of the cards on stream, and I’ll admit that Caleb’s card truly regressed me into the meimei role, despite being an eldest child in real life. His lines are so convincingly annoying that you can’t help but be a huge brat with him. I love that! This card leaves you wanting more of CalebMC, so that you, too, can be a professional yearner.
Rafayel:
Rafayel’s card was surprisingly plot heavy and involved an interesting, motivation-driven trip out of Linkon city. The plot of the story was gripping and I found myself at the edge of my seat wondering what will unfold throughout. It has a lot of action and references to his main lore, and there were moments of vulnerability that were precious to me. It’s hard to say a lot without spoiling it, but I highly recommend reading through this card. Although the kindled was still a little abrupt, Rafayel seems to embody the idol personality most naturally, so when it came to it it didn’t feel too out of the blue. For those looking for spice, Rafayel’s is also one of the spiciest in my opinion.
Sylus, Xavier, and Zayne:
Sylus, Xavier, and Zayne’s cards felt something like a day-in-the-life with (insert Li). All 3 cards happened over the course of (supposedly) a few days, but it felt like 1 day with many different activities instead. The activities themselves were fun to partake in individually, but plot wise I would have preferred a bit more direction instead of doing a carousel of activities just to end up in similar situations for all 3. That said, there were many good moments with the individual Lis, and if you’re craving more time with them, definitely pull for these cards. Although some parts are a bit disjointed, you can take it as pulling a many-moments-in-one!
I would take each card as a compilation of sweet activities with said Li and pull for the cards because I enjoy the interactions with them. Xavier and Zayne’s cards were more slice of life and domestic(?), and Sylus is a lot more action packed. A few lore tidbits are included in Sylus’ card too, so Sylus girlies might not want to miss out on it.
All in all, I have no regrets pulling for all 5 Lis, but length and worldbuilding wise, beating Tomorrow’s Catch-22 is a tall order. I was hoping to know more about the Polar Night too since it was mentioned as the reason for festivities, but the explanation for it was maybe something I missed. I hope we’ll see some future callbacks to the moments in this banner since it seems to be canonically happening in the main timeline. Perhaps that was a purposeful move instead of giving us a 2nd AU!