Good difficulty distribution even considering the theme, which managed to include every clue! Nice one. (I spent so long thinking of synonyms for "life" or "peace" or "plenty" before getting MESSIAH )
took me awhile to figure out what was going on... first thing i filled in was SETTING (for MELTING), and then saw that INCA fit, but i thought wait wasn't INCA in peru? something weird is going on... and NEED and WANT aren't the same thing? loved the AHA moment of this puzzle
Love the title, that's what grabbed me right away! And then i love all the different ways you interpreted opposites! ITS vs IT'S was definitely one of my favorites. For 3D, I usually hear that as "in that black," so that took me a while. Great fun overall!