Usually these kind of coincidences are deliberate, so I think these characters in Entropy Effect X are “alternate possibilities” of Sector Seven members, or something about BlazBlue’s Timeline is causing them to repeat history similar to possession. The Azure manipulates how Souls are born, but it can also manipulate memories, or just simply transfer copies of older events. Or at least that’s how I see it.
Oh 1000% this shit is deliberate, and unraveling the mystery of what exact connection the EEX cast have to the Sector Seven team will likely be at the core of the game's story.
I shared these thoughts with some folks on Discord the night the trailer came out.
Transcript; "Calling my theories now; the story is something like 'alternate reality Kokonoe realizes she's alternate reality Kokonoe and tries to figure out everything she can about the BB world'. Or some sorta 'alternate reality Kokonoe gets possessed by/makes contact with our Kokonoe and tries to save the BB world,' but that seems more farfetched considering our Kokonoe seems fine in the CF epilogue. Still possible, considering this game is assumedly noncanon (a Cross Tag) or only quasicanon (a BBDW). I think the MOST concerning thing for me, or the biggest question, is Fox just straight up BEING IN the Torifune uniform. Seems a little on the nose. Is this still the BB setting, with Torifune Military Academy and the NOL just, straight up existing?"
Official materials say that the game is, in fact, "set in the BlazBlue universe," but considering how the BB universe works, there's no way to tell this early on what sort of alternate reality/world/timeline it could be.
BlazBlue implements some crazy awesome unexpected shit sometimes, so I don't want to speculate MUCH until we have the game in-hand... but god, I am DYING for more info.
THERE'S SO MANY QUESTIONS! What level of canon will this be??? Does this connect to the phenomen- wait maybe I shouldn't use that word in this context- the case we see happening between Ragna-Touya-Naoto, Rachel-Raquel, and Makoto-Yuki Himezuru??? Am I overthinking the trailer or are they specifically tying this cast to the events of Collisions, with Roy's corruption being clearly connected to whatever's going on with Cafe, and the talk of the Hakumen retrieval mission- WAIT DIDN'T THEY PUT HIM BACK IN THE BOUNDARY AT THE END OF CF??? SO TECHNICALLY HE'S OUT THERE TO BE GOTTEN??? AM I OVERTHINKING THIS???
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Annon-Guy: What's your opinion on the Split Timeline thing introduced in XBLAZE Lost Memories? You know, the idea of the XBLAZE World and the Bloodedge Experience World being seperate from the BlazBlue World and each othe I mean.
This is actually a really fun question, and I’ve been procrastinating on answering it because I have a whole theory related to it but I don’t want to get into it without being able to cite my sources, you know??? Unfortunately today will STILL not be the day I really get into it, because I’ve been in and out of the hospital and still have not found those sources I wanted. Whoops.
But let’s at least get to an initial answer. Usually I hate split timelines in stories; I like consistency and I like making huge conspiracy boards full of connections I’ve noticed. A split timeline is a smart move for writers when a series gets too big; it alleviates the pressure for absolute consistency between different authors. It gives them room to be more creative, to explore more- it also gives them room to make minor mistakes. But like I said, I really really love my concrete consistency. Split timelines kind of take away narrative tension for me, too; I can’t get too excited about what xyz event means for the rest of the series, because it may not have even happened.
Interestingly, I actually really like BB’s split timeline set up. This is a unique case, and I originally didn’t like it, but then I saw a post on… I can’t remember if it was Reddit or Steam or what, I want to find it so I can link back to it and discuss it more in depth. Someone was positing the theory/interpretation that the three separate “timelines” (BB, XBlaze, Bloodedge) actually do occur in one reality.
Remember how at the end of CF, Terumi (and, like, everyone a little bit) was trying to kill Amaterasu to end this world, and create a new one???
Or how Sechs in XBlaze wanted to “return everything to the Seithr,” also ending his world???
In the west, when we hear a story has "multiple timelines" or a "multiverse," we think of stories like Marvel and Homestuck. In these stories, there are infinite worlds operating in their own, separate 'bubbles,' but existing effectively simultaneously.
The post posited that BlazBlue’s setting uses a different interpretation of “multiple timelines/universes,” more rooted in Asian culture. Like concepts of reincarnation or the Hindu Yuga Cycle. In these types of stories, there are many 'worlds'- generally far too many for the human mind to count, but still a finite number. And only one exists at a time. The next is born when the previous dies.
The idea here is that each separate BB-verse setting happens in a linear order, one at a time, going about its own business until the world is ‘ended'- that is, where it dissolves and "returns to the Seithr," the Boundary.
From this, it is recreated and begins again- or the next setting begins. After enough repetitions, certain events may end up drastically different- or someone may manipulate the recreation process to influence the ‘new world.’
This would be Susano'o's plan at the end of CF, and part of the promise that Izanami was selling to everyone during the fight for the Azure.
This would also be what the Origin did to start the C-series, using Amaterasu to influence the world’s next ‘rebirth,’ and then refusing to move on/let anything change.
I wish I could get deeper into this subject, and I hope I do at some point, because it completely changed how I interpret BlazBlue’s setting and several plot points and I really love it. I wish it was a more popular interpretation in the fandom. I’d also like to look deeper into the story to see if I can cite some points that give evidence to this theory.
At some point when I have more energy I'd love to revisit this topic, explaining it better and citing some sources from the BB series that I believe support this interpretation.
Right!? Considering who she was married to, just the fact that they were together brings up a whole mystery. Like you, I find it extremely hard to believe that it was just a normal relationship- I don't see Relius as someone who just falls in love and marries. Some villains do lend themselves to this image of "they're a crazy villain most of the time but have an exceedingly normal personal life," but that's just... not Relius.
For my own personal theory/read on the situation, I definitely think you're on to something with the idea that it was some kind of strategic 'marriage of convenience.' Looking at who Ada and Carl became, and looking at what Relius values, I imagine Ignis must have had an incredibly 'notable soul.' Whether that meant she had a very strong soul, or just a very interesting one (think Relius' interest in Meifang) that Relius felt would be 'good material' for him to work with Relius Trying To Propose: "I would love to study you" or what, I don't know. Perhaps, as you mentioned, he was already looking for a soul to use as a core for his Detonator project- or perhaps he just found her fascinating, and having her as a research specimen and an available resource was part of what pushed him into creating the Detonator line.
I don't believe Relius was actively looking for a wife to produce offspring. Some 'evil scientist' characters do actively spouse-hunt for the purpose of creating a certain kind of offspring, a little dalliance in eugenics, but I don't interpret Relius as the type to be interested in that. I think his 'scientific curiosity' is a lot more impulsive. He finds something that catches his eye, he obsesses over it, pokes it with a few sticks, and sees what he can make it into.
But back to Ignis. I imagine her as someone with some kind of notable soul to capture Relius' interest, and if I'm allowed to get a little creative given we have nothing to go off of, possibly a personality type that he favored too. We see that he doesn't like the 'bleeding heart' type like Litchi, but he gets very fixated on women with strong convictions, like Makoto. I could see also see her having a high Ars Magus Aptitude that contributed to her children's abilities, alongside Relius' talents with magic.
I'm also inclined to believe that she was from a noble family. Rereading Pupeteers, we see that the Clover family lived in a sizable estate, and there seems to be implication that they may have had at least some level of staffing in their house. That kind of status could easily come from Relius' position in the NOL, but for the sake of Trying To Find Clues About Ignis, I'm inclined to attribute at least some of that to her. Also, if Relius went directly into the NOL upon reaching this time period, it would make be reasonable for the people he meets to be mostly other NOL affiliates- he's already very antisocial, it's not like he's going out to parties to meet people. For anyone to catch Relius' eye, they'd have to come to him first.
(tangent) Though in the same short story, we also get to meet Ignis' sibling and their spouse. Francis notably answers the door himself and Rosanne prepares Carl's room personally, suggesting that if they have any staff, it's a small enough amount that they wouldn't be working at night. Although they are noted to have a big enough house that a whole extra bedroom is present to be given to Carl in the first place despite the couple having no kids of their own, and it's possible they have more than one extra room, as when they try to separate Nirvana from Carl, they tell him she'll sleep in a different room- if there wasn't another extra bedroom to give her, I would expect Carl to argue against her 'sleeping' in the living room or something.
I... could very easily go off on another tangent, theorizing the size of the household, positions employed, and where in a social hierarchy that would place the family- but I'll save that for another post maybe. I'm already all over the place.
Back to my point, that I believe Ignis was a member of the nobility. Considering what we know about the culture of the BlazBlue world at this point in time, the people most likely to be highly skilled or to have talents with Ars Magus/Seithr/Magic/Etc are the nobility, where we see a lot of focused training from a young age and political/eugenics-esque marriages.
This is further supported by the way Carl and Ada act in their youth. We see them dressed well but modest, acting polite, and we see them being educated under a set of standards that match up with high society values- chess, manners, violin, etc. I can't imagine Relius alone was making all the choices about what direction to go in with raising them, or we would see a more hands-off approach and a lot more stress on engineering, combat, and his scientific interests. I find it more believable that Ignis was raised in a similar environment as part of the nobility, and intended to raise her children in line with those ideals.
I don't think Ignis' family would be from the high nobility like the Duodecim, their branch families, or anything in their circle. They have a much more rigid and notably distinct (often Japanese) culture. I would place Ignis' familial status more in line with the Vermillions, though a few rungs higher up the ladder as her family hasn't been disgraced. If anything, marrying Relius, a prominent military figure, would have raised her status a little. The Vermillions also seem to have a similar aesthetic- compare Ada's clothing to what Noel wears as a child. This could further support the idea that Ignis was a low-ranking noble.
I'll wrap this up here because, wow, I did not intend to go on and on that much. Thanks for commenting and inspiring me to write this out in the first place- these are some Ignis Characterization thoughts I've had for a while, but I haven't put them into words until now.
Below, I've translated the text to the best of my ability. Please note I do not speak Japanese. I use machine translators and kanji identification websites.
The protagonist's Mother and Father [1]
Mother
Little Sister looks like mother. [2]
Father
Lab coat under the robe.
= = = = = = = =
Translator's Notes
These designs were created for the XBlaze Lost: Memories visual novel. "The protagonist" mentioned here is referring to Nine. We play as her in the game, but she only ever calls herself "Me," and the production notes refer to her by that, or by things like "protagonist" or "heroine." Her name is never used in the game.
Likewise, the "Little Sister" being referred to here is Celica.
Translations for the notes on the sheet under the cut. As I mentioned in my Meifang post, it's important to remember that I do not read or speak Japanese. These translations are the product of the combined efforts of machine translation and the use of online kanji dictionaries.
If you catch me making any mistakes, or you know the language better and can correct my errors, I would greatly appreciate it!
About Jumpsuit (tn: or Coveralls)
The jumpsuit has a pattern like camouflage made with packing tape. As long as the look is the same, it's okay to change the positioning of the tape.
Picture of the tape on his back
The tail is also packing tape.
Arm interior
Pants are long. Become baggy when he has his boots on.
About the zipper
The back is blank
Waistband (tn: or belt)
5 on each side (left and right)
Ripper's plushie, but it's gotten dirtier. He no longer has it when he becomes Freaks.
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Kajun made her playable debut as a 3⭐ character in BBDW. As with (almost) every character in the game, she had three character artworks in the files of the game, and one special artwork for for when the player maxed out her character.
Despite what one can find in the game's files, when the game was actually active, only one art and the maxed art were obtainable for any given character. With most of them, the second art listed in the files became their default art. Interestingly, this isn't the case with Kajun; her default artwork, and the only costume available to her at the start of the game, was her third artwork. Later on, her first art was released as an additional costume- but that second art/costume was never made available.
Kajun's base outfit in the game is the outfit she wears in her Variable Heart and Central Fiction appearances. This seems to be her default look.
Her next art, listed as first in the files, shows her in her Torifune Winter Uniform, as she appears in her debut in Remix Heart and her Remix Gaiden appearances. As said, this outfit was released as a costume for her unit near the end of BBDW's lifespan.
The remaining art, listed as her second art in the files, depicts her in her winter uniform with a different coat. As far as I know, she's never been seen in this outfit before.
I find it interesting that they chose to make a new outfit for her instead of using her Torifune Spring Uniform, as she appears in the later volumes of Remix Heart. I assume this was for the sake of character animation- the Spring Uniform doesn't have the same silhouette as these three, as it lacks a jacket.
Throughout her card art I believe she's depicted in a Sector Seven research station near a Cauldron, but to be honest I'm not certain of this.
In her final/maxed artwork, I'm almost certain she's in a Sector Seven hallway, but the lighting throws me off, so I can't be positive.
This is just a silly nonsense headcanon, but I like to imagine that the world of BlazBlue uses those character crests in place of, like, social security numbers. You're scanned with some kind of Grimoire early on in life and you get a fancy Crest that shows up on pretty much all your legal documentation. Cuts down on all the personal ID cards people need to carry around too. No need for an insurance card when going to the hospital health insurance is pretty much only for noble/military families anyway NOL be like that just put your hand on the book it'll bring up the appropriate files. Difficult to copy for fraud, too, since you aren't really expected to have the damn thing memorized or be able to draw it, it's 'read' off of you every time it's needed.
You get to rescan and update once you're legally an adult just in case your personal journey took any shocking, unforeseen turns that the original Soul Scan didn't pick up on so as to necessitate a NEW weird tattooo-looking code. You can also apply to get a rescan and see if its changed at any time but there's paperwork and a fee.
Translations for the notes on the sheet under the cut. Unfortunately, I do not read or speak Japanese. These translations are the product of the combined efforts of machine translation and my frantic, desperate scouring of online kanji dictionaries.
If you catch me making any mistakes, or you know the language better and can correct my errors, I would greatly appreciate it!
Meifang = Lapis Lazuli
About 160cm
Slender build
Modified Wings of Justice uniform
The hairpiece is shaped like devil horns.
Twintails with a lot of hair.
= = = = = = = =
I thought this would be a simple post... I thought I'd throw the image in Google Translate, write three lines, and be done.
Somehow, it's been over five hours, and I've learned a bunch about the anatomy of kanji...
I was originally going to include some kind of "translator's notes" section at the end of this post, but it got way, way too long, and steady decayed into a first-hand account of my day-long hunt to identify 'which kanji this smudgey shape is supposed to be'... instead of a Meifang post.
So, I'll end things here in order to stay on track. If I ever do post the rant I cut, I'll edit a link here.
