Fenris

I, too, came to the same conclusion a few months back. Although he is probably the most extreme case of a CP to ever be shown thus far, given what was revealed about him and his origins.

Yeah, the likelihood of something occurring post-LM is seeming increasingly more probable, which I've mentioned I'm inclined to believe a few times in this thread. Although at this point, I don't think anything can be worse from a narrative perspective than this clusterfuck of a plot right now. lol

Quite a head-scratcher. *Sighs.* The only solution to this is that Gatekeeper Es is from yet another timeline that neither contradicts her existence nor the events leading up to now (BBCF). Either this, or the grandest of all plot holes/retcon.

Which makes it more likely that this Es is from the XB timeline and for whatever reason--at whatever time--she may have served as this gatekeeper, which is what I touched upon starting with the second sentence of my last post. Es was shown to have a happy ending, having returned to life as a normal human in Lost Memories; however, there were instances in which she witnessed some boundary shenanigans in the Code Embryo. I theorize that she might've become this so-called gatekeeper during those shenanigans, but it wasn't shown in the game for whatever reason. After all, time is said to flow differently in the boundary. Who knows how many things--aside from what was shown--she could've seen or done in the boundary during that time. Here's a weird real-life example: It's like a friend heading off to the store to pick up a couple beers and coming back with a busted nose, a change of clothes, and a tattoo. All you were told is that he was going to the store, though there may be hints of other things happening while he was away--you just don't know what, especially depending on the time it took him to return. All you're left thinking is "Wtf could've happened on your way to and from the store?" And you'd likely never find out unless your friend outright tells you. If this isn't the case, then another likely explanation is that something must've happened post-Lost Memories which led to Es becoming this gatekeeper, which Ogiga touches upon in his post.

Yes. Also, this got me thinking that Gatekeeper Es might be an alternate Es from an alternate timeline (the BB timeline?). Either that, or the events of her being this so-called gatekeeper took place in some weird gap of time during all those boundary shenanigans in XBlaze that for whatever reason weren't shown in said game (i.e., behind the scenes). She may have taken on the job some time during this illusory "gap of time." This is assuming that this gatekeeper role doesn't involve her having to stand in front of that gate for all eternity (it might just be a place she frequently goes off to and visits to check and see how things are doing). Again, it is unknown when this could've happened, though some mysterious gap of time seems likely. Reminds me of the time when Celica touched that mirror in the Phase Shift novels, which inadvertently led to her appearance in Chronophantasma.

Huh, and to think all those times when Noel would just zone out and say something kinda cryptic like "Dark Susano'o" may have just been Amaterasu speaking to us directly. There were hints all over the place, but we could only really notice them in hindsight. This big reveal makes it all make sense now.

Literally, what? Wait on the console to realize what? My hypothesis was easy to produce with what's currently given. I needn't wait until the console release to make use of this information. The console plot will only serve as a way to test my hypothesis and confirm whether or not its true. Are you not familiar with the scientific method?

Hmm, I've always had the sneaking suspicion that Noel Vermilion (the playable one, just to be clear) was merely a "projection" used as a means for Amaterasu to interact with the storybook world she was 'physically' barred from--a "self-insert," as 1337 put it. (Noel's status as "the Eye" seems like a 'code word' for this.) Amaterasu may have thought, "Okay, this rewrite shit ain't workin'. It seems like no matter what I write, the ending never changes!" and thus came up with a sort of deus ex machina, "Noel Vermilion." Some of the characters in this "storybook" seem to have caught onto this, and it may have been hinted--if not outright mentioned-- at many different points in the game that Noel is not supposed to be there. In a way, Noel's entry into the storybook is probably mucking up the way that the story was supposed to pan out, and this is pissing many a people off.

I fucking knew it.

Weird double-post thing.

I wonder if Noel's status as the "Eye" has anything to do with her being the so-called "absolute entitled." Also, I am glad to read that the identity of "the girl" in the Master Unit might still be yet unknown.

It seems people have been trying to figure out what the connections between Touya, Naoto, and Ragna are for quite a while now, if there are any, and this isn't unfounded. I mean, there seem to be hints all over the place. This got me thinking for a bit: What if Naoto's vision of Es during that one scene the result of Touya's influence? It could be a connection at the soul/subconscious level or something else entirely. I know, at this point we have very little information to work with, but if all the hints are any indication, I wouldn't be surprised if this little pet theory proves true at some point during the next act or the console story mode. Agh... Come on, Mori. Let's wrap this up...

I've always seen Ramlethal's resemblance to Aria when I looked past the tan skin. I think it's in the eyes--which appear to be more relaxed and withdrawn than the other Valentines. It becomes more apparent once she opens her eyes wider. I can vaguely see it in the hair as well. That whole "Jack-O' not being fully born yet" thing might have something to do with the Scales of Juno--whatever that is. We can only assume that she awoke (or was awoken) before she reached her full power or whatever. In other words, she's incomplete.

There's just something I'd like your guys' input on. If I recall correctly, wasn't it stated at some point that part of the reason as to why Jack-O' dons a mask is because she has "Aria's face"? What a peculiar thing this could be if it turns out to be true, considering this woman--currently believed to be Ariels--looks an awful lot like Jack-O' as well.

IF the Act III boss does indeed turn out to be Ragna, it'll probably just be him protecting something/someone. There are a few hints as to what/whom he might try to protect, but I don't think we can be too sure about that just yet. Like someone else mentioned, though, it will probably just be him in Unlimited form, but there might also be 'something else' on the horizon--something/someone unexpected that's best kept secret, probably to build hype.

On Azrael: With the concept of "fusing with a grimoire" having been established and confirmed as canon, I once came up with a theory that perhaps Azrael himself may have somehow done this at some point in the past. However, there is WAY too much that outright contradicts this theory. Too lazy to get into that, though, but I think it's pretty obvious why this one's a no-go. Another seemingly popular theory (it was even brought up in here a few times) is that Azrael is the result of Sector Seven's tampering. The least popular theory I've seen thus far, though, is that Azrael gains the strength of those whom he's "eaten." And yeah, some take the whole "eaten" thing literally. I can't find much to support the last theory. Something got me to thinking that Azrael was one of Mori's ways of trying to make a character that was somewhat "normal" among the Blazblue cast of quote/endquote "weirdos." That's not to say Azrael is "weird" in his own way (though that's subjective); however, he can be thought of as "not so weird" in the sense that his source of power doesn't seem to be connected to any established in-game source (i.e., seithr, etc.). Plus he's just a really, really strong guy whose sole raisson d'etre is simply to find a strong-ass opponent. Pretty straightforward and to-the-point character--rare in the main series.

Thanks for the replies, guys. Yeah, that's basically the theory most of us have been following for a while now. Just wanted to double-check the facts we have so far. The possibility of their lying had been bugging me all day. As of right now (for now), though, I'd say the chances are 70/30 (True Noel is the cause/they're lying).

Er, I was at work today when something hit me: Is there any chance or was there ANY indication whatsoever that Izanami and the others were lying or manipulating everyone into thinking "[True] Noel" was the cause of everything? Like, could there be a reason as to why they'd lie? For example, they could be trying to make everyone gang up on her just to get her out of the picture for some reason. I'd imagine that manipulating everyone into going after Noel would be a crudton easier with everyone under the Embryo's "spell," too. Just double-checking real quick here. Anyone?

I was just thinking about how odd it would be if Rachel were talking about Saya Terumi when she mentioned Izanami being a manifestation of "her" drive. Reason being is because, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't Rachel totally clueless as to who the hell Raquel was? Also, I'm pretty sure she was a bit lost when approached by Naoto, too--despite the odd feeling she got due to his resemblance to Ragna. So if she was seemingly clueless as to who Raquel and Naoto were, how could she have known about Saya Terumi? They're all from the same 'realm' (or whatever you want to call it). I can think of some ways that this could be possible; I mean, she could've been bluffing for all we know, but I have my doubts that she was talking about Saya T. That would potentially make for one doozy of a plot hole. Man, I tell ya', this game poses more and more questions, and all of these questions are going to be answered in the same game? That's a first!

Huh, well until "she" is confirmed, I guess I'll just go on ahead and soft-retract this statement:

Might have needed someone to tether her soul to, and Jin was probably convenient at the time? Nah, there's probably some deeper, more drawn out explanation for it.

True Noel may not be so "evil" as her actions are kind of just screwing everyone and their lives over. I guess she means well, but she comes off as selfish as hell. She probably got a bit irritated--if not furious--when some of the "characters" in her story became aware of what's going on and started to tell the other characters, too. That probably made it harder for her to screw with things or whatever. Not to mention there are characters that are seemingly flat-out immune to her rewrites. What's funny is that the physical manifestation of True Noel's Drive, Izanami, is out to destroy her. It could be a projection of the part of True Noel's self that wants to be "saved," though that could mean "killing" her, unless of course there is another way. Altogether, I am starting to like how this seems to present the age-old question of "Who is truly the evil one here?" This story may be a mess, but that's kinda deep. Mad props, Mori.

Izanami seems so 'downgraded' as a threat now. Ugh. Anyway... I once had this idea that "the girl" inside the A. Unit (now revealed to be "True Noel") might've been there since the start of the Blazblue universe (including XBlaze and BE), and that she was perhaps repeatedly rewriting the whole thing, with Touya and Naoto probably being 'different takes' on Ragna (or the way around). However, someone mentioned a while back (yes, I remember everything!) that the resets (or story rewrites) only started just recently. But then the A. Unit is implied--if not outright stated--to have been around waaay before the start of XBlaze, BE, and BB, which begs the questions: Who hosted the A. Unit prior to True Noel, then? Did it have a host prior to her? Did it even NEED a host before that? True Noel is said to be reshaping the world based on her own memories of it. (This might explain the reason as to why Naoto "shouldn't be there," as the girl should never have met him before. But then there's that whole thing about him turning out to be an "entitled one" after all; that's beside the point I'm trying to make, though.) Something compels me to think that True Noel must've *recently taken host of the A. Unit and must only have the ability to rewrite the events from her "birth"(?) up until a certain point. *recently, in reference to a crapload of time Naoto--and possibly others (even Es?)--could either be barging in from outside of this "fabricated world" or were part of it all along. This could either imply that: a.) Blazblue may not take place in "the future" as many have thought, and it might very well be taking place in its own "dimensional bubble thingy" during either XBlaze or BE. I HIGHLY doubt it, though. Or b.) Naoto (and possibly Es now) might've somehow stumbled into a future warped by True Noel (via the boundary?). Naoto himself is even said to go "wtf" at the events unfolding before him in one of the previous posts in this thread.

Yeah, I can imagine it being hard to feel sorry for "True Noel"--if she isn't the Noel we know--when she's only just been introduced and she hasn't had the chance to really impact us emotionally. That is, unless there's a tragic and/or compelling backstory to her that has yet to be touched upon. The illustration of her tethered to that machine and the stuff that's been hinted to why she keeps resetting the world were enough to make me go "Damn. Her life must've been fucked up.", though.

The Story of the World seems too large scale to simply cover just small incidences the likes of, say, the Ikaruga War. The story itself does indeed seem befitting of SO many characters, though (I had the same thought; even considered Izanami as a potential candidate for the role of the monster), but it just seems too "big picture" to be talking about just about anything or anyone. After all, it is called "Story of the World." It seems to me that it foreshadows the origins of the "fictional world" they're all hinted to exist in.