Ehecatl

Never is a strong word. Ragna is the protagonist after all. Terumi hasn't and doesn't consider Ragna a threat at all, but Ragna has a way of exceeding people's expectations. I predict the end of this story will see Terumi cowering in fear of Ragna. Rachel and Jubei, the few enemies Terumi DOES worry about, have complete and absolute faith in Ragna as someone who will win in the end. They've carefully been building Ragna, Jin, and Noel up to be the saviors of this world and even if Rachel loses her temper and patience with them at times, she understands that nothing will ever change without them. So for thousands of years, they've been waiting for all the right conditions to fit just right to see them rise and then have actively been preparing them. During Calamity Trigger and Continuum Shift, Ragna and Jubei focused on Ragna almost exclusively. Now with him having learned what he needed and hardened his resolve, they've moved on to focusing on the other two. Rachel has been taking care of Noel while Jubei has been taking care of Jin. Past mistakes aside, I'd say they have good reason for focusing so closely on these three whom Terumi sees as irrelevant pawns. And I think his game'll bite him in the ass when he reaches the end of his rope. As for Hakumen? Well... what can one say? He's principled. And utterly predictable. Paladin types usually are. He's not an idiot but when he's locked on a course of action, he almost never deviates and that is something his enemies easily use against him. As for him helping Ragna? I wouldn't be surprised if he did in the future. It's not like he actually hates the guy. Hakumen's been developing subtly. He believes he needs to kill Ragna. That the world will be doomed if he doesn't. But when he had his chance in Continuum Shift, he chose mercy. It shows he isn't as robotically about his mission as he'd like others (and himself) to believe. He doesn't actually WANT to kill Ragna. And when seeing the man do something as selfless and heroic as he did to save Noel, Hakumen couldn't bring himself to deliver the killing blow in that moment. One wonders if he's starting to believe (hope) Ragna to be capable of more than being a destroyer of the world. He still carries on like he's going to kill him and tells others not to step in his way, but I think he really doesn't want to admit that the "softness" he criticized Rachel and Jubei of having is rubbing off on him. He is stubborn though. However, if Hakumen were to fight at his side later, I wouldn't be surprised. Hell, it could even be comical; with both bickering, criticizing, and threatening each other the whole time. "Do not mistake my intentions, Dark One. I fight with you now only to destroy a greater enemy. Once we are done here, I will bring an end to you myself." "Tch. Really? Whatever, freak. I've already kicked your ass once. So how bout we just make it through this; then afterwards, if you're still alive, we can find out together just how much punishment that mask can take." "Hmph. As you wish, beast." "Bitch."

Rachel remains one of his most powerful threats. Not necessarily in terms of fighting power as it's safe to say he's surpassed her ability to destroy him with her own power. However, Rachel is cunning, manipulative, strategic, and hellbent. She can undo all of his carefully laid plans in an instant if he's not careful and he is aware of that very keenly. In fact, she's been actively attempting that for thousands of years and during Calamity Trigger, he had to tread carefully around her because she really was a huge threat to him. Really, she's the only opponent he's had that can match him in terms of wits. The others can be goaded to do as he wants easily. Ragna, Jin, Kokonoe, and Hakumen are easily moved by their anger, hatred, and self-righteousness. The emotionally unstable like Noel, Litchi, and Tsubaki and can be broken and turned against each other (though Noel has finally toughened up and I think Hazama'll have to take her more seriously). Rachel remains one of the truly unaffected as nothing he says or do will bend her to his will. He knows it and he hates that. It means she'll always think rationally and make her next moves strategically rather than play his head games. And when she does that, she tends to gather and employ powerful figures to her side that CAN be a threat to him. In Continuum Shift, he outdid her as he had the upper hand in knowledge and had observed more than she, thus enabling him to steps ahead of her. But she was still a threat to be removed which is why he made a point to quickly incapacitate her with the Phantom's magic, which was his ace in the hole that Rachel didn't know about. Without her, the group opposing him essentially has no head. Of course, she'd already played all her hands before her capture and her careful nurturing had payed off at just the right time. Of course, he also got away with what he wanted because he's no dummy. Also, she is one of the few characters he's never successfully trolled. Even when he had her at his mercy to gloat, belittle, and kick, she never once gave in to his taunts. Never once would she cry out for mercy. Never once would she give in to despair. And never once would she bow her head. He revels in destroying a person's dignity and identity. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Instead she threw his insults right back in his face right up until the end until he just wanted to kill her in anger. On top of that? She probably had something to do with stifling him in the past. His hatred for all things cat comes from his hatred of Jubei who had screwed him but usually his weapon to switch places with him and lock Terumi in the boundary. Who knows? Maybe Rachel played a role there too.

And btw can someone give me a summary of whats been happening over the last month?! I swear, you can't leave this fuckin thread for a moment before getting waaay behind on everything. I can't keep up with this shit! Lol It's like reading a comic series. Turn your head for a second, and next thing you know, you're sifting through 100 pages of filler just to get to the plot.

Somehow, I see an opportunity for a character to pull Ragna aside and tell him "Ragna, you are bad guy. But this does not mean you are...'bad'... guy?" Excellent analogy of the role Hazama plays. He as a whole seems to represent the worst of every character's and the world's actions and their natural result.

I'd agree with that most of the time and to be fair this is more of a inter-dimensional story than a time travel one. But Blazblue was doing a good job pulling physics theories in there (Schrodinger's Cat Theory) and combine that with that fact that because this is a magic story, anything and everything that doesn't make sense you can bullshit by answering "Uhhh it's magic, yeah! Really." Overall, the plot itself has tried to explain everything in a way to make the motives and characters involved seem understandable. So I can forgive a lot. Still, it's a very hard pill for me to swallow that Caelica could be "back" and alive. My problem isn't so much the time travel as it is how little value death is starting to have in this story. Death seemed meaningful before because you always got those alternate endings where a character would royally fuck up and .... well, die and usually fuck up the whole universe in the process. So death at the corner of every slight and seemingly meaningless decision re-established meaning. But there's starting to be too many people traveling between dimensions and winding up conveniently 100 years later from when they fell in the cauldron or whatever happened when they're supposed to be dead. I mean with Hakumen it was made clear that him even surviving in the boundary a 100 years was a big feat. Terumi as well was acceptable because he's a villain of the series and whatever. But now we've got Relius and Caelica apparently getting caught and conveniently being spit out at just the right time and it's starting to be a bit much. Considering how a large part of the theme is this "free will vs destiny" thing, they could bullshit some excuse of how this was planned and destined if they do it right but I dunno. If I'm honest, I've never liked Caelica. She's about as bland as a sheet of paper. And I suppose it was to be expected that she'd make her way into a game. Otherwise her purpose as a character in this story really would be meaningless for all the attention she was getting in every single book. But still the way it's getting hammed in is... I question it. We've had two good games where the story was decent. It's not great but it's okay and it does maintain my interest and in some areas is rather brilliant. I'm willing to give this next addition a try and I've been the one telling everyone to be patient because the story of the last games, while not perfect, were still good. But I can also understand that a lot of this new information is very... strange and unsettling. Were it not THIS game I'd have said "fuck it" a long time ago. But then if I had some of the information of how Continuum Shift would play out back with little context when we were still playing Calamity Trigger, I'd be thinking and feeling the same way I do right now, so I'm willing to give it a chance. It's not the first time this story has taken a concept that is completely ridiculous and works almost never in any story and actually make something intelligent from it. But goddamn every bit of news just makes me more skeptical. lol...

Considering how insane everyone in this story is and for how many eons she had to deal with it, I'd say her 'bitchiness' is more than warranted. If I had to deal with half these people and their shit for nearly as long, I'm pretty convinced I'd turn into a psychopath before it'd all be over. :P Maybe I'm just a terrible person but I admire her RESTRAINT. :D

Um, forgive me as I'm still reading through 50 million pages of posts since last I visited this forum (seriously, you guys talk too goddamn much! :P). So pardon me if someone's already appraised you and answered this for you and I'm just behind. But if not, I must ask: Are we playing the same game? Haven't you learned by now that Rachel ALWAYS says one thing and means another. It's a part of her character to always be cloaking her motives so that no one but the player understands it. And this is very in-character for her. Of course she cares if he dies. She always has. But she'll always say she doesn't. Btw I don't entirely believe that if Ragna dies, she wants to die because he's the love of her life and she just can't live without him. Dear god I sure hope that's not the reason and it'd actually be a grotesque break of character if it is. And honestly, she's one of the few women of this story I respect because there's a lot that just are so weak and pathetic that if their "man" departs from the bloody earth, they just won't be able to survive (litchi, tsubaki...) Or are just pathetic in general (Noel, though thank god that's changing). Rachel seems like one of the few "strong" women of this story that can harbor feelings for someone and not let it define her entire world. Keep in mind that she believes Ragna and Noel the only people who can change this world. What she's been fighting for is a chance to break this world from any patterned destiny. If Noel, and more importantly, Ragna are lost, she believes that chance is gone and that mankind's fate will forever be decided for it. She's lived thousands of years in such a world and doesn't want to exist anymore in that kind of place. I can get behind that. That's why I love her character. But dear god, if she turns out like Litchi, I will be sorely disappointed. But yeah, back on point, take her dismissal with a grain of salt. She's always deflecting when it comes to her motives. A consider it a defense mechanism and an understandable one considering what she's had to do for thousands of years and all the manipulating, planning, and scheming, nevermind the potential enemies that'd use it against her.

Sudden plot changes? What plot changes? This stuff has been foreshadowed since the beginning. You all make it sound like they're just writing the story by ear and pulling it out of their asses out of no where as they go along when that has not been the case. At all. Clearly. I'd think such doubts put to rest when CS came out and suddenly made use of all the foreshadowed events perceived and not perceived by the player base of CT. I'll be the first to call Blazblue on its bullshit at times but this is one case I think people are calling fail way too early on.

Oh I'm sure she remembers her mother. It's the reason she has such a vendetta against Terumi and is so hell-bent proving she won't end up like her. I bet she got front row seats to whatever horrors he visited upon her mother. And her problem with her father may come from that. Or maybe he just became a crap dad after Nine's death when she needed a father who'd step up and be there for her. It wouldn't be uncommon for a dad to suddenly stop being a good parent after the lose of their wife, either because the kids look too much like their mother and he just wants to forget or maybe he turns to alcoholism or maybe he's just too wrapped up in his own grief to see how much his kids need him. That could have happened to Jubei and it'd explain Kokonoe's resentment.

Have you ever heard of character development? It easily explains why she may want to take care of things personally. Characters change and evolve. That's the nature of story-telling. I find nothing problematic with her coming to this choice and it actually seems like a very natural part of her evolution considering that this story has been foreshadowing what she's capable of if she steps out from her lab for even a moment.

No. What Rachel does to this cast is tough love. Nu is just... Ax crazy, anime style! Unless that whole bit where Hazama almost killed Makoto really was just "disciplinary". And on that note: holy fuck Hazama wasn't kidding about Tsubaki getting skewered! Talk about gruesome!

Okay. Someone needs to explain: what is the Chrono Phantasma and how did Kokonoe use it? I certainly hope to like Caelica. Personally I can understand why Mori says this plot my go to four games. I mean he's got to explain her and everything the phase books were talking about and that's a buttload by itself. If this game concentrates on clarfying the past and explaining these new characters, I'll be happy.

Not necessarily. You do realize there are stories out there where the antagonist was right all along and wins? It's not the quality of a bad story for the antagonist to be brilliant and a step ahead or to win almost every single encounter until the end. Yes, you can over-do it in some plots where it becomes predictable for the antagonist to win-- but you must consider that until Continuum Shift people really didn't "know" Terumi. We got hints of him here and there in Calamity Trigger and he appeared at the end to taunt Ragna and get Noel to observe him, but he was almost a villain I couldn't take seriously. I don't think anyone quite expected him to be as terrifying and in control of events as he turned out to be in Continuum Shift and the game did a nice job of capitalizing off that. Continuum Shift used it's story to really show-case his power and cement him as a real antagonist. And in stories as you mention where the antagonist and protagonist are in a Lehman's arm race, usually BOTH protagonist and antagonist are developing through the course of the story until the protagonist wins out and his actions end up proving the theme of the plot. But not all stories are built where the antagonist himself develops. Sometimes the antagonist isn't supposed to. They're simply a "force of nature" style character that the protagonist has to overcome and Terumi very much appears that way. He didn't develop in Continuum Shift as he had no reason to. And in these kind of stories, the antagonist usually isn't trading blows and losing against the protagonist until the protagonist has developed fully and proven his superiority to both the antagonist and the ideal or counter-theme behind him. When he does defeat him, the story is essentially near it's end. Also, we have to keep in mind the story's pace. To be honest, it hasn't progressed THAT much in terms of character development and plot. Calamity Trigger was more of an extended premise than it's own story. Character's really didn't develop much, if at all. Any development that could have happened was wiped each time Takamagahara reset its system. All it did was establish the "problem". Continuum Shift was the actual "story". Character's developed and the plot moved forward. But they've only really started on the path of their development. Typically a great lesson has to be surpassed before the protagonist(s) finally wins out. So no, I don't think Terumi having tons of plot armor is a bad thing unless that plot armor isn't properly explained and is thrown in "just because". So far, he's just been smart and has planned everything out accordingly. I expect THIS (Chrono Phantasma) to be the one where that armor shatters. And it appears to be if you look at the arcades and have ever seen that screen where Tager busts in like the Koolade man, Caelica shows up, and Hazama has this furious, surprised expression. He clearly wasn't expecting whatever that was. I also am expecting a LOT of clarity to be given. Continuum Shift did an excellent job of providing clarity on Calamtiy Trigger's events. If Chrono Phantasma takes it a step forward and extends that clarity to the rest of the plot, I'll be pleased.

Everything we do is a choice, whether witting or unwittingly. Everything from whether we choose to buy a house to whether we take a breathe immediately or a second later to whether a bug decides to move left or right along the ground. Considering that every single millisecond "stuff" is happening, that means choices are always being made. Every choice is likened unto an alternate universe so by this theory, there are literally infinite universes split along every miniscule and major choice. In other words-- yes. Why wouldn't there be an alternate timeline where the Imperator decides to hold a racing competition? :D EDIT: Which makes me wonder how the hell anything-- Takamagahara, the Master Unit, or Terumi could observe EVERY possibility. How does one observe.... infinity.

He hasn't really been defeated because the story hasn't reached it's climax yet where the villain gets his ass handed to him truly, for good and all. He'll get his though. It seems Chrono Phantasma is getting there though because there are a few scenes where Terumi looks genuinely caught off guard. Hakumen's story does have a nice scene of him getting owned though. He appears so smug about his victory over Jubei and Hakumen and then he ends up being the one getting screwed. Loved listening to that weasel so pissed and scared shitless when Jubei pulls a trump card on him and he's all "Wait... are you serious? What is this!? Why- Why didn't anyone tell me about this!? Hey. Hey come on guys. Hey, this isn't funny! Wait!! I said WAIT goddamn it!!!" The Boundary is all the unobserved possibilities. It is the contents of a closed box in Schrodinger's Cat Theory. It is therefore infinite in size and possibility as everything there would be considered true and false simultaneously. So every action that could happen and every possible alternate universe not observed is the Boundary. The Azure is within all of that and is considered where all timelines and all possibilities intersect. To control the Azure is to control fate itself and stitch it together as one sees fit. The master unit is something we don't know much about. It sounds like another Boundary Interface Device but we know nothing else about it. Or at least I don't. I've yet to know it's function though like Takamagahara, it has the capacity to observe every possibility and interfere accordingly (and presumably has been this whole time). Takamagahara wanted to destroy it to remove it's influence and thus bring all possible outcomes under it's control so that it could create an ordered existence and select how every possible choice would be executed by observing only what it desires while not observing any choice that threatens that order. In such a world, there would be no such thing as "choice". It would decide everything and the world would continue a very fatalistic existence. Until this point, the Master Unit has acted as that element of chaos, preventing Takamagahara from deciding everything. For what purpose is unknown at this time.