History Headscratchers / BlazBlue

* "I believe he calls himself 'Arakune' now." When did he ever call himself this? When her memories of Lotte are erased in a Bad End, Litchi remembers Arakune as "that thing which attacks the Kaka Village". But they don't call him "Arakune", they call him "Squiggly".

** Trinity did mention something to Bang about Ikaruga and his Nox Nyctores.

* Uh... how did Bang decided to go to Ikaruga at the end? Nobody told him that Ikaruga is in danger, or that NOL is heading for Ikaruga, or that Lord Tenjou's son is located at Ikaruga. So who told him that there'll be something big in Ikaruga so he has to head there to protect it?

* What in the world are 'Drives'? Ragna's 'Soul Eater' is mentioned in his CS story when fighting Terumi, but these Drives are never really brought up in anyone else's story. So, what exactly are they?

** Wait, wait. The current Litchi [[spoiler:that joined NOL]] is ChaoticGood... or ChaoticNeutral? Or were you referring the ChaoticNeutral Litchi as her when the corruption reached its peak (AKA, her becoming something similar to Arakune)?

** I would say that she's initially NeutralGood, as you say her decision to save Arakune going into ChaoticGood territory. However, I personally believe that she might end up as ChaoticNeutral if she keeps up her current attitude. It occurred to me that maybe the reason for her [[spoiler:HeelFaceTurn is FridgeBrilliance, since the Boundary's power erodes minds which would mean that she's losing her common sense, since it's a mental faculty.]]

* Okay, this just have been bugging me, but what would be Litchi's alignment ultimately? NeutralGood? ChaoticGood? TrueNeutral? NeutralGood seems to stem from how she likes helping people and is deep down a kind person. However, [[spoiler:since she joined NOL, it dashes away her NeutralGood tendencies since it's an EVIL organization, but she pretty much doesn't care, as long as she can save Arakune, which NOL has.]] However, judging from how many people compares this with the Nasuverse, I get the feeling that Litchi might be ChaoticGood instead, [[spoiler:since her decision with Arakune is similar with the decision that Shirou made in Heaven's Feel scenario: Let the world be endangered just so long as he can save his love (Sakura)]]. Well, which will it be?

** You know how he has a large pile of books in one of his pre-battle poses? It has been stated in the Material Collection that those books are all grimoires which house the bugs that he unleashes.

* I really can't figure out how Arakune works. Why do bugs follow him? Only bug that he actively house in his body is the fat spit bug from down D, and when cursed other bugs fly from off screen. This would mean that the bugs follow him, but for what reason? Arakune himself devours creatures completely, so there is no scavenging to be had from the bugs and in the story he never scouts or uses the bugs in any meaningful purpose so we can probably rule out mind control, and why do these "bugs" look so weird?

***Thank you for making that bit less confusing, I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting at myself.

**The only things we know are that they are a system made by mankind, they monitor the timelines, they're trying to make the world "correct" and are attempting to reach the Azure for that purpose. They released Terumi to carry out the "Destruction protocol" to get the Master Unit out of the way. They pretty much explicitly say they don't want to kill everything like Terumi does when Rachel suggests they want to reduce the world to nothingness. More information about them will be revealed in the BlazBlue: Phase 0 light novel.

** Takamagahara is, insofar as I understand it, a sentient computer system that's meant to moderate the world or history or some such. By the start of CS, it would seem they had decided that [[AIIsACrapshoot humanity screwed everything up and should be destroyed along with everything else.]] Or to just stop the freaky time loops that were apparently care of Master Unit Amaterasu. Not entirely clear. Anyway, they let Terumi out to do his thing. That's my understanding of it. A lot of the bits with Takamagahara involved the nature of reality and causality in the BlazBlue universe, so it got fairly confusing on its own.

**For the same reason Carl and Tao are taken under Bang's wing despite not happening in their True endings.

* Who exactly are the Takamagahara? And, just as importantly, how is Terumi connected to them?

* Does Litchi show remorse at all for [[spoiler:joining NOL to save Arakune? Yes, it may be done out of necessity if she wants to save Arakune, but she should've known that with people like Relius and Terumi (and even Saya), she'll be forced to do evil stuffs, which goes against her good morality (if she has it, I'm starting to think that she discards her morality by the time she commits herself to NOL). Does she show remorse in joining an ObviouslyEvil organization no matter what the reason is or is she going to be happy to [[KickTheDog kick some dogs around]] if it means to save Arakune, as in the mindset of "Who cares about the rest. All I care about is that I can save him!". Her unchanged battle voices DOESN'T HELP.]]

* Who exactly are the Takamagahara? And, just as importantly, how is Terumi connected to them?
* Why do people say Litchi was desperate? [[spoiler:Her joining NOL doesn't seem to have anything to do with "Arakune is captured and if I don't join them, he'll die!". Relius doesn't seem to capture Arakune just to seal her joining. Really, what makes her really desperate that she had to join NOL? And how are we supposed to be sympathetic over that?]]
** Because her entire story in both games makes it clear she is desperate? [[spoiler: The entire story is about how she's getting more and more desperate to save Arakune because she's running out of time. Nobody else will actually help her and would rather just call her stupid and fight her (Kokonoe and Tager) plus she knows Kokonoe withheld information about Arakune from her. There's also the fact her body and memories are being consumed by the Boundary and she's starting to crave the Azure Grimoire just like Arakune does. She has no idea how much longer Arakune will be able to keep himself in the world (he's at danger of fading away and becoming an "uncertain factor"). Then during her ending she comes to a realization of how to cure Arakune and knows she needs Hazama's help.]] It's easy to be sympathetic to Litchi who just wants to save somebody who nobody else will help.
***In fact, her story mode is one of the first I aimed for. And yet... well I discussed it in Dustloop and Discussion Topic, but I'll just repeat here anyway. [[spoiler:In process, she didn't tell the people of Orient Town on joining NOL, the organization that they hated, which means, if they ever find out, they will be in big pain of realizing that their beloved doctor 'betrayed' them by joining NOL. On the other hand, Arakune has wanted her to just quit it and move on, she disregarded it despite how rare it is for Arakune to speak coherently. She would also give Carl, after she thoroughly calmed him down, more pain for realizing that she's with NOL, siding with his hated father. All because she wanted to save someone who has wanted to just be left like that. She's moving in with her selfish desires, and abandoned one whole town that deeply cared about her just so she can reach her own goal that only she wants, and since she's joining an ObviouslyEvil organization, it would be just a matter of time that she could be told to burn that town, and yet she'll think nothing of it if it means getting the cure, because they looked more insignificant to her compared to Arakune (if her fierceness in Rachel's story is any indication). Also, I don't think she mentioned that NOL has a cure for herself, which decreases her point of desperation. She did notice that she is different from Arakune that she should've transformed, but didn't, thus I don't think she joins NOL as a way to get herself a cure, thus making her look not really desperate because she should've gotten a plenty of time to think...]] [[MoralDissonance And that was sympathetic?]]
*** [[spoiler: You're confusing Orient Town with Ronin-Gai, Orient Town is never stated to hate the NOL. Plus the only reason she was in Orient Town in the first place was to hunt down Arakune. Hazama tells her the NOL can prevent her condition from getting any worse giving her more time and a cure for Arakune pretty much automatically means a cure for herself since they both became what they are through the same method. And the NOL isn't the first evil organization she's been a part of since Sector Seven is looking pretty evil with all the things we know about them. She wouldn't of even joined the NOL if her first choice (Kokonoe) hadn't decided to beat on her rather then help her. And nothing you're saying contradicts her being desperate. It's just that she's not desperate for herself, she's desperate to save Arakune. And just because she hasn't lost her mind yet doesn't mean she isn't on a time-clock, her body is still being consumed and she's losing memories.]]
*** [[spoiler:Maybe Orient Town wasn't as extreme as Ronin-gai, but as shown by what happened to Noel in CT when she beat Litchi down... every townspeople rallied to drive Noel out, which means they don't think of NOL so highly. Also, while Sector Seven seemed pretty evil, Kokonoe seems more of a RetiredCompleteMonster who's had some PetTheDog (such as kindly thanking Tager in his CT Ending) when compared to the [[CompleteMonster active ones]] in NOL (Terumi and Relius) who never pet any dog ([[MoralEventHorizon they rape it instead]]), though I will admit that Litchi visited her in a bad timing when she's obsessed in destroying Terumi. But then, that makes her action look like a spoiled girl throwing a hissy fit because her mother didn't give her what she wants at the moment. Bottom line is, as much as bad Sector Seven was, NOL was far worse. And even if Orient Town doesn't hate it as much as Ronin-gai, it's also possible that NOL orders it to get burnt down, and if Litchi is given the job to do it, she might gleefully follow, since with her abandoning them, she treats them as less significant beings compared to Arakune. And such act is still called sympathetic?]]
***[[spoiler: No, it means they just like Litchi and don't like her seeing beat up by the NOL. And where the heck are you getting the idea that just because Litchi is helping the NOL she's suddenly a complete and utter villain who will murder innocent people? The only thing we've seen her do after we know for certain she joins the NOL is protect Saya from Jin and Hakumen. Just joining the NOL isn't going to make her a cackling villain who burns down entire towns. And Kokonoe is an active monster as seen by what she did to Lambda. And in my opinion it doesn't make Litchi look like a spoiled little girl at all, it makes her look like an increasingly desperate woman who is quickly running out of options to save somebody she loves.]]
***[[spoiler:I didn't say she'd turn into a cackling villain, she'll refuse if it's done for no apparent reason. But, if the information about Arakune's cure is at stake, she may do it, because she prioritizes Arakune over the people of Orient Town, so perhaps she would consider them a necessary sacrifice for the goal. As it's often said, one of Litchi's glaring flaws is selfishness, sacrificing them for her own greater need is something that a selfish person will do, so if she's truly selfish, she may even do that. Hanging around with Hazama for quite some time will do you that (especially when his Ouroboros is said to be able to fuck minds). Oh, and she doesn't just protect Saya from Jin and Hakumen. Beforehand, she attacked Rachel for just entering the NOL branch, and, to be honest, for the first time, her eyes are open wide full of hostility like a complete bitch (in which ironically, in CT, she greeted Rachel like the latter is a cute lost child), losing her usual kindness she usually showed to anyone else. (even last time when she met Ragna for the first time, she tried to be civil and kind. Against Rachel in CS, she wasn't very civil at all and look extremely angry even before Rachel insults her desperation).]]

***[[spoiler:I didn't say she'd turn into a cackling villain, she'll refuse if it's done for no apparent reason. But, if the information about Arakune's cure is at stake, she may do it, because she prioritizes Arakune over the people of Orient Town, so perhaps she would consider them a necessary sacrifice for the goal. Hanging around with Hazama for quite some time will do you that (especially when his Ouroboros is said to be able to fuck minds). Oh, and she doesn't just protect Saya from Jin and Hakumen. Beforehand, she attacked Rachel for just entering the NOL branch, and, to be honest, for the first time, her eyes are open wide full of hostility like a complete bitch (in which ironically, in CT, she greeted Rachel like the latter is a cute lost child), losing her usual kindness she usually showed to anyone else. (even last time when she met Ragna for the first time, she tried to be civil and kind. Against Rachel in CS, she wasn't very civil at all and look extremely angry even before Rachel insults her desperation).]]

***[[spoiler: No, it means they just like Litchi and don't like her seeing beat up by the NOL. And where the heck are you getting the idea that just because Litchi is helping the NOL she's suddenly a complete and utter villain who will murder innocent people? The only thing we've seen her do after we know for certain she joins the NOL is protect Saya from Jin and Hakumen. Just joining the NOL isn't going to make her a cackling villain who burns down entire towns. And Kokonoe is an active monster as seen by what she did to Lambda. And in my opinion it doesn't make Litchi look like a spoiled little girl at all, it makes her look like an increasingly desperate woman who is quickly running out of options to save somebody she loves.]]

*** [[spoiler:Maybe Orient Town wasn't as extreme as Ronin-gai, but as shown by what happened to Noel in CT when she beat Litchi down... every townspeople rallied to drive Noel out, which means they don't think of NOL so highly. Also, while Sector Seven seemed pretty evil, Kokonoe seems more of a RetiredCompleteMonster who's had some PetTheDog (such as kindly thanking Tager in his CT Ending) when compared to the [[CompleteMonster active ones]] in NOL (Terumi and Relius) who never pet any dog ([[MoralEventHorizon they rape it instead]]), though I will admit that Litchi visited her in a bad timing when she's obsessed in destroying Terumi. But then, that makes her action look like a spoiled girl throwing a hissy fit because her mother didn't give her what she wants at the moment. Bottom line is, as much as bad Sector Seven was, NOL was far worse. And even if Orient Town doesn't hate it as much as Ronin-gai, it's also possible that NOL orders it to get burnt down, and if Litchi is given the job to do it, she might gleefully follow, since with her abandoning them, she treats them as less significant beings compared to Arakune. And such act is still called sympathetic?]]

*** [[spoiler: You're confusing Orient Town with Ronin-Gai, Orient Town is never stated to hate the NOL. Plus the only reason she was in Orient Town in the first place was to hunt down Arakune. Hazama tells her the NOL can prevent her condition from getting any worse giving her more time and a cure for Arakune pretty much automatically means a cure for herself since they both became what they are through the same method. And the NOL isn't the first evil organization she's been a part of since Sector Seven is looking pretty evil with all the things we know about them. She wouldn't of even joined the NOL if her first choice (Kokonoe) hadn't decided to beat on her rather then help her. And nothing you're saying contradicts her being desperate. It's just that she's not desperate for herself, she's desperate to save Arakune. And just because she hasn't lost her mind yet doesn't mean she isn't on a time-clock, her body is still being consumed and she's losing memories.]]

***In fact, her story mode is one of the first I aimed for. And yet... well I discussed it in Dustloop and Discussion Topic, but I'll just repeat here anyway. [[spoiler:In process, she didn't tell the people of Orient Town on joining NOL, the organization that they hated, which means, if they ever find out, they will be in big pain of realizing that their beloved doctor 'betrayed' them by joining NOL. On the other hand, Arakune has wanted her to just quit it and move on, she disregarded it despite how rare it is for Arakune to speak coherently. She would also give Carl, after she thoroughly calmed him down, more pain for realizing that she's with NOL, siding with his hated father. All because she wanted to save someone who has wanted to just be left like that. She's moving in with her selfish desires, and abandoned one whole town that deeply cared about her just so she can reach her own goal that only she wants, and since she's joining an ObviouslyEvil organization, it would be just a matter of time that she could be told to burn that town, and yet she'll think nothing of it if it means getting the cure, because they looked more insignificant to her compared to Arakune (if her fierceness in Rachel's story is any indication). Also, I don't think she mentioned that NOL has a cure for herself, which decreases her point of desperation. She did notice that she is different from Arakune that she should've transformed, but didn't, thus I don't think she joins NOL as a way to get herself a cure, thus making her look not really desperate because she should've gotten a plenty of time to think...]] [[MoralDissonance And that was sympathetic?]]

***In fact, her story mode is one of the first I aimed for. And yet... well I discussed it in Dustloop and Discussion Topic, but I'll just repeat here anyway. [[spoiler:In process, she didn't tell the people of Orient Town on joining NOL, the organization that they hated, which means, if they ever find out, they will be in big pain of realizing that their beloved doctor 'betrayed' them by joining NOL. On the other hand, Arakune has wanted her to just quit it and move on, she disregarded it despite how rare it is for Arakune to speak coherently. She would also give Carl, after she thoroughly calmed him down, more pain for realizing that she's with NOL, siding with his hated father. All because she wanted to save someone who has wanted to just be left like that. She's moving in with her selfish desires, and abandoned one whole town that deeply cared about her just so she can reach her own goal that only she wants, and since she's joining an ObviouslyEvil organization, it would be just a matter of time that she could be told to burn that town, and yet she'll think nothing of it if it means getting the cure, because they looked more insignificant to her compared to Arakune (if her fierceness in Rachel's story is any indication).]] [[MoralDissonance And that was sympathetic?]]

** Because her entire story in both games makes it clear she is desperate? [[spoiler: The entire story is about how she's getting more and more desperate to save Arakune because she's running out of time. Nobody else will actually help her and would rather just call her stupid and fight her (Kokonoe and Tager) plus she knows Kokonoe withheld information about Arakune from her. There's also the fact her body and memories are being consumed by the Boundary and she's starting to crave the Azure Grimoire just like Arakune does. She has no idea how much longer Arakune will be able to keep himself in the world (he's at danger of fading away and becoming an "uncertain factor"). Then during her ending she comes to a realization of how to cure Arakune and knows she needs Hazama's help.]] It's easy to be sympathetic to Litchi who just wants to save somebody who nobody else will help.

** Did you just skip her entire Story Mode or something? [[spoiler: The entire story is about how she's getting more and more desperate to save Arakune because she's running out of time. Nobody else will actually help her and would rather just call her stupid and fight her (Kokonoe and Tager) plus she knows Kokonoe withheld information about Arakune from her. There's also the fact her body and memories are being consumed by the Boundary and she's starting to crave the Azure Grimoire just like Arakune does. She has no idea how much longer Arakune will be able to keep himself in the world (he's at danger of fading away and becoming an "uncertain factor"}. Then during her ending she comes to a realization of how to cure Arakune and knows she needs Hazama's help. It's easy to be sympathetic to Litchi who just wants to save somebody who nobody else will help.]]

* Why do people say Litchi was desperate? [[spoiler:Her joining NOL doesn't seem to have anything to do with "Arakune is captured and if I don't join them, he'll die!". Relius doesn't seem to capture Arakune just to seal her joining. Really, what makes her really desperate that she had to join NOL? And how are we supposed to be sympathetic over that?]]

* Who exactly are the Takamagahara? And, just as importantly, how is Terumi connected to them?

* Okay, this has always confused me. Does the list of the Six Heroes count Terumi? I mean, was his expulsion from the Susanoo Unit before or after the whole Black Beast fiasco? Is it that He was replaced with Jin in all subsequent timelines after the first, or does he get to go back in time and play SixthRanger?

* Why the hell did ArkSys have to replace easy specials with beginner mode? One of these helped veterans practice their timing without having to perfect inputs as well. One of these does not.

* Okay, this has always confused me. Does the list of the Six Heroes count Terumi? I mean, was his expulsion from the Susanoo Unit before or after the whole Black Beast fiasco? Is it that He was replaced with Jin in all subsequent timelines after the first, or does he get to go back in time and play SixthRanger?