Author Topic: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)  (Read 4784 times)

skylark

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Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« on: December 21, 2018, 07:27:55 pm »
The final of the new tropes topics, focusing on the third and final chapter of the Reflections Project, Chrono Break. As with the others, this is for dealing with post clutter from the original Tropes topic.

This is also where I wildly diverge from my original idea for the endgame. If this is gonna be a Grand Finale to the Chrono series, I should damn well make it a Grand Finale.

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2018, 07:31:23 pm »
General Tropes

New Game Plus - There are two halves of Chrono Break. The first half is The First Path, which continues where Before the Fall left off with Zero/Schala trying to find the scattered party and eventually defeat Daere. The Second Path depicts Cain surviving his Heroic Sacrifice, and the ripple effects that eventually bring the Chrono Cross Timeline into the spotlight for the Golden Ending.

(will be updated occasionally)
« Last Edit: December 22, 2018, 05:44:22 am by skylark »

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2018, 07:33:44 pm »
[Main Characters]

- [Zero/Schala Zeal]

The Big Damn Kiss - Reunited at last, Schala is unable to stop herself and rushes forward to give Cain this after the final battle with Sigma, to both the latter's shock and bewilderment and in front of the entire combined collection of party members.

Deuteragonist - With Cain out of commission after the events of Before the Fall, Zero immediately takes the central protagonist role for the entirety of The First Path, and once everybody is reunited in The Second Path, retains the role as party leader for the rest of the story.

Earn Your Happy Ending - The entire point of The Second Path.

Expendable Clone - Was created by Keystone Timeline Schala to be one of these. She is not happy in either the First or Second Paths when she finds out.

Graceful Ladies Like Purple

Kicking Ass in All of Her Finery- Her new outfit is far more elegant than her old dancer's gown.

Lady of War - Especially in the Second Path, after she reaffirms her identity as Schala Zeal.

Love Epiphany - Zero has one in The Second Path when she finally remembers that Cain was the one who saved her from the darkness between dimensions and brought her to Bekkler. Complicating matters however, is the fact that as Schala, she had grown to despise him. This ultimately inspires her to try and make peace with her past and present lives. She refers to herself as Schala from then on.

Modesty Shorts - Pretty much a necessity, considering the skirt of her new outfit is slit up to her upper thigh.

Must Make Amends - In the Second Path, once she sees how her old self used to be and realizes all the unintentional misery she had caused Serge, Kid, Magil, Chrono, and especially Cain, Schala resolves herself to make things up to everyone.

* She even shows shades of this in the First Path, where she blames herself for not being strong enough to prevent Cain's Heroic Sacrifice.

The Red Mage - By the midpoint of either path, she has become capable of both potent healing and attack magic, as well as refined her swordsmanship.

Relationship Upgrade - With Cain after the two are reunited in The Second Path.

Shipper On Deck - For Magil and Steena.

Significant Wardrobe Shift - Eventually ditches her old off-the-shoulder dancer's gown for a sleek strapless dress and corset, short jacket with slightly ruffled bell sleeves, modesty shorts due to the skirt slit being so high, thigh-high black leggings and traveling boots, along with changing her hairstyle from a low braid to Schala's iconic high ponytail. Doubles as a Fanservice Pack.

Sympathy For the Devil - In the end of The First Path, she cries for Daere as he disintegrates after his final defeat, both from knowing she is technically at fault for the monster he became and from the fact that she is seeing Cain die in front of her again. In the Second Path, she shares similar sentiments to her Keystone Timeline counterpart, stating that while she can't forgive the pain she intentionally and unintentionally caused others, she's still a part of her... albeit the worst part of her.

Take Up My Sword - In the Second Path, after her resolve to continue her life as Schala Zeal, she finally enters Alphard's tomb. After a heart-to-heart with her father's spirit, she leaves with his sword.

- [Cain Cray]

Heroic BSOD - He is reintroduced in the Second Path having since suffered from one of these. He only breaks out of it in the Second Path, when the newly reawakened Schala and the rest of the party send their prayers to him across time.

It's A Wonderful Plot - The Second Path is partly this for Cain, mixed with For Want of a Nail. Cain sees first-hand while in the Chrono Cross timeline how the lives of Reika and Glenn would have gone if he had never met them, and it isn't pretty.

Killed Off For Real - Heavily implied in the First Path due to Cain's spirit joining with Abel, Alphard, and Samaela's during Zero's final clash with Daere. According to Word of God, since the party is never informed of his survival, he eventually dies alone wandering the DBT. This is ultimately averted in the Second Path.

(will be updated occasionally)
« Last Edit: January 10, 2019, 01:12:30 pm by skylark »

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2018, 07:37:01 pm »
[Protagonists of the Reflections Timeline]

- [Glenn Zweibreicht]

- [Reika Onin]

- [Tarvos]

- [Lavenda]

- [Crono]

Katanas are just Better

The Silent Bob - Even when the world is on the verge of the apocalypse, he can hold a conversation without uttering a single word.

- [Serge]

Jade-Colored Glasses - Contrary to Schala's hopes, it turns out that Serge ended up remembering the events of Chrono Cross after all... and ended up a much more bitter person from the experience. According to Kid, he had long since cut himself off from Arni, his family, and especially Leena.

- [Marle]

- [Magil]

Composite Character - Of himself, oddly enough. He has Guile's clothing, mannersisms, and aesthetic with Radical Dreamers' Magil's dark color scheme, while his staff has an extendable scythe blade to represent Magus.

I Hate Past Me - Although he tries to hide it at first, by the time he is reunited with Crono, Marle, and Lucca, it becomes very clear that he's regained his memories since the end of Chrono Cross, and that he regards his old self (both Magus and Janus) with nothing but utter contempt. Because of this, he is one of the few who genuinely sympathizes with Keystone Timeline Schala.

Shut Up, Hannibal! - Although he sympathizes with Keystone Timeline Schala to an extent, and understands that she had been trying to get him to let go of his desire to save her before it potentially destroyed him, he joins the angry chorus of party members by saying that forcing him into the position of destroying who he once was and forgetting her was not her choice to make.

- [Lucca]

- [Kid]

Knife Nut

What the Hell is that Accent? - As it is in Chrono Cross, it's Australian. Unlike Chrono Cross, the author attempts to make it sound a bit more natural. In universe, most of the party just sees it as a rough way of speaking, though Cain is visibly unnerved by it.

(will be updated occasionally)
« Last Edit: December 31, 2018, 01:44:01 pm by skylark »

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2018, 07:49:42 pm »
[Protagonists of the Cross Timeline]

- [Laurallia Vastor]

Boobs of Steel - While she stops just short of Reika's size, she usurps Ayla as the party's large-busted physical fighter.

Defrosting Ice Queen - Laura gives the El Nido delegation a rather chilly reception when they first meet her. However, following events and some time spent with Cain begin to thaw her attitude a bit. She gets further defrosted after the invasion of Porre.

Eleventh Hour Ranger - Once the two groups of protagonists are united, Laura finds a place amongst Cain, Schala, Glenn, Reika, Tarvos, and Lavenda, becoming the core group's seventh member.

Fire-Forged Friends

Katanas are just Better - She wields a nodachi almost as tall as she is.

Light 'Em Up - Her elemental affinity is Light.

Reasonable Authority Figure - She holds no love whatsoever towards the Viper Clan or those that serve them. However, unlike most of Guardia's citizenry, she does not believe that the children should suffer for the sins of their fathers and thus tries to at least be cordial with Ridell during the party's stay.

One of the Boys

This is Gonna Suck - Laura is well aware that Porre betrayed its alliance with El Nido. She knows the offer of a potential alliance with the Viper Clan is coming. She is not looking forward to seeing those who helped sack her homeland walk upon Guardian soil.

Tomboyish Ponytail

- [Glenn Hirold]

- [Dario Hirold]

- [Lady Riddel]

- [Karsh]

- [Marcy]

Braids of Action - Traded her Odango Hair for a single bun and these.

Elegant Gothic Lolita

Razor Floss - She specializes in this.

She is All Grown Up - The seven years since Chrono Cross have been very kind to Marcy.

Older and Wiser - Her old bratty, valley-girlish demeanor is no more, replaced with a composed, cool professionalism. She does turn up the snark when frustrated, however.

- [Zoah/Eldrin Vastor]

Underwear of Power

Wrestler in All of Us - Utilizes wrestling frequently in his fighting style. In fact, it is one particular technique that causes Laura to recognize him as her brother Eldrin.

- [Leena]

- [Norris]

The Gunslinger

Internal Reformist - Wants to be this for Porre, but has since run into certain... roadblocks. The biggest one going by the name of Dalton.

- [Grobyc]

- [Steena]

Crisis of Faith - She doesn't show it, but she has been going through one of these since the end of Chrono Cross.

Lady of War

- [Orlha]

- [Robo]

- [Glenn/Frog]

- [Ayla]

(will be updated occasionally)
« Last Edit: December 23, 2018, 06:10:01 am by skylark »

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2018, 08:28:17 pm »
[Allies]

[Reflections Timeline]

- [Melchior]

- [Taben]

- [Rissa]

- [Yulie]

- [Ozzie]

- [Slash]

- [Flea]

- [Rosemary]

- [Thyme]

- [Fargo]

- [Zelbess]

- [Lord Viper]

Heel-Face Turn

- [Gaspar]

- [Ishito]

Heel-Face Turn

- [Alphard Zeal]

Disappears Into Light - Once Zero/Schala comes to terms with her identity during the latter half of the story, he is finally able to move on to the afterlife.

Take Up My Sword

[Cross Timeline]

- [General Viper]

- [Lutianna]

- [Fargo]

- [Lucca Ashtear]

- [Wazuki]

- [Miguel]

- [Olaf]

Properly Paranoid - He lived throught the Fall of Guardia, so of course he naturally wouldn't trust anyone in the company of the Viper clan. It's only because of Laura's word that he stays his hand.

- [Annette]

She is All Grown Up

Used to Be a Sweet Kid - Unfortunately, since both her parents has been long since dead in this timeline, she has grown up to be quite bitter.

- [Ishito]

(will be updated occasionally)
« Last Edit: December 21, 2018, 08:59:37 pm by skylark »

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #6 on: December 21, 2018, 08:53:39 pm »
[Antagonists]

[Keystone Timeline]

- [Daere/Cain Cray/Arbiter Animus/The Assassin of Time]

And Then What? - Defied. Daere knows the cycle of life is eternal, and thus he will never stop destroying timelines, wether it be out of purpose, out of boredom, or out of spite.

Became Their Own Antithesis

Big Bad

Bodyguard Betrayal - Inverted. Schala more or less killed him for saving her life from her own mother. He eventually pays her back in kind.

Body Horror - His face is framed by Tainted Veins and a good portion of his body is covered in what looks like a malleable black ooze, especially his entire right arm. Then there's the empty socket where his heart should be. It gets worse after he goes One-Winged-Angel during the penultimate battles of the First and Second Paths.

Dead All Along - In a sense. He was technically killed by Schala, but was kept alive due to his connection to Lavos and the Frozen Flame.

Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life - Once upon a time, he believed protecting Schala to be that purpose, but no longer. His hatred and misanthropy eventually led him to believe that destroying all of creation was to be his purpose instead.

Determinator - Nothing save for losing complete control of the Frozen Flame will stop him from his ambitions.

Driven to Suicide - After his Villainous Breakdown after being completely and utterly defeated at the end of the Second Path, he falls backwards into the abyss to his death. Unfortunately, as Lavos is all too willing to demonstrate moments later, an Arbiter doesn't need to be alive to continue being a threat.

Evil Cannot Comprehend Good - After Schala defeats him at the end of the First Path, as he lays dying, he asks why she's shedding tears for him.

*Goes doubly so in the Second Path after Cain's No Holds Barred Beatdown. No matter how much he tries, he can't understand just how in the hell everyone is working together instead of finding reasons to kill each other. Cue Villanous Breakdown.

Freak Out - Suffers an epic one in his backstory when his memories, especially what Schala had done to him, come back to him when the stasis pod holding the Frozen Flame conveniently shatters...

Humans Are Bastards - Ultimately why he wants to destroy all of existence.

Misanthrope Supreme

Motive Rant

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - In a world without Crono and gang's interference, Cain was the only one capable of rescuing Melchior from Mt. Woe, using the Ruby Knife on the Manmon Machine, and bringing an end to the mad Queen Zeal's reign to rescue Schala. His reward was for his 'princess' to stab him repeatedly in a fit of rage and grief for killing her mother.

Omnicidal Maniac

Person of Mass Destruction - He has succeeded in destroying at least two different timelines. Possibly more if the 'trophies' in his citadel are any indication.

The Power of Hate - Spite (and the power of the Frozen Flame) are the only things keeping him going

Then Let Me Be Evil

Trauma-Induced Amnesia - Unconciously discarded his memories after Schala stabbed him, becoming little more than a blank slate when Belthasar finds him in Chronopolis. Things would have been settled right then and there had Lavos not had other plans...

White Hair, Black Heart - His hair became white due to the trauma of regaining his memories upon contact with the Frozen Flame.

Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds - He is an unrepentant villain through and through, but when one looks at the life Cain Cray had lived (all the crap Cain had gone through in Children of Zeal, with the added caveat of finding out in the worst way possible that the woman he loved hated him all along), his speech at the end of the First Path sounds less like a Motive Rant and more of a desperate cry for acknowledgement towards something, anything that will listen.

- [Schala Zeal/Arbiter Anima] : "The original Schala Zeal that existed before Crono's interference with the timeline. Driven by a delusional belief that her mother would see sense and a judgemental hatred towards those who partake in the pursuit of power, she would wind up mortally wounding her bodyguard Cain after the latter kills the queen to save her during the Ocean Palace incident. She would then be absorbed into the parasitic lifeform known as Lavos soon afterwards, eventually evolving into a creature known as the Time Devourer.

During this time, she would create two clones; one that was a literal copy of her original self that she discarded that would eventually be known as Zero, and one an infant clone that would go on to help Serge free her from Lavos. Freed from her bonds, she would search the timestream for Serge. Unfortunately, her search was cut short upon the reappearance of a vengeful Cain, who would murder her in cold blood.."

--------
Adaptational Jerkass - To the point where where all future incarnations of her seem much kinder in comparison. May be because this Schala never had the Prophet watching over her... or perhaps Lavos toned her resentment down in future incarnations due to what she had done to its other Arbiter.

Became Their Own Antithesis - Unlike most examples of the trope, this happened to her twice.

Beneath the Mask - Needless to say, Schala Zeal is not the saint everyone thought she was. Part of the point of the Second Path is how various characters that were close to/affected by her deal with this knowledge.

Broken Pedestal - Is ultimately this to Cain... and to Magil... and to Serge... and to Kid... Yeah, she ends up this to a lot of people.

Defiant to the End - Even as she fades after Zero destroys the revenant she became, she continues to insist she had never done anything wrong and that she and Serge would be reunited one day.

Fate Worse Than Death - After Daere kills her, he preserves her corpse in what will eventually become his citidel as a trophy, where she eventually becomes a revenant. During the final battle of the First Path, her spirit ends up trapped as part of Daere's one-winged-angel gambit. It only during the Second Path that she finally finds release after being defeated by Zero.

Freak Out - What she ends up doing after Cain kills her mother. Although considering that she watches him  impale said mother onto the Manmon Machine and letting the magical backlash finish the job, it's no small wonder that she completly snaps.

Happy Ending Override - She thought she would one day find Serge and finally be free of the weight of the past. Daere had other plans... though considering some of the other tropes on this list, one has to wonder if she ever deserved a happy ending.

Horrible Judge of Character - Ended up being worse about this concerning her mother than in subsequent timelines. Even after Lavos has nuked the kingdom, even after the Gurus and Janus were sucked into time gates, she still tried to plead with the queen to see reason. So what does she do when her bodyguard does his job and cuts down the queen to protect her? Stab him repeatedly with a broken shard of the Manmon Machine and hurl curses of hatred at him in a rage.

Hypocrite - For all of her judgement towards those who solve their problems through force, she gives in to violence pretty damn quickly once Cain takes out her mother. Even after coming back as a revenant, she attempts to push blame on Zero for having to defend herself.

Irony - She created Zero as a precourser to Kid only to throw her away for reminding her too much of her past self. Said clone would ultimately be the one to save the world in both endings and free her from her torment as a revenant.

*For a double-dose of irony, she tried to free herself from the past by changing herself. She succeeded, by throwing away everything that had once made her a kind and beloved person... aspects that said clone she abandoned had eventually come to embody.

Jerkass Has a Point - During their reunion near the end of The Second Path, Schala admits to Cain that her counterpart's beliefs about moving on through loss of identity weren't entirely unfounded. After all, it was only through her life as Zero that she had gained a perspective she never would have a Schala.

Never My Fault - Except when it comes to Zeal's fall, she refuses to take responsibility when events of her life backfire, even to the grave.

Unwitting Instigator of Doom - Daere's very existence and the events of Reflections as a whole is ultimately her fault.

You Should Have Died Instead - A sentiment she expresses towards not only Zero, but Kid as well.

- [Lavos/The Time Devourer]

Eldritch Abomination

Hijacked By Ganon - Downplayed. There are plenty of moments during Reflections where it is made clear that Lavos is subtly influencing events for its return, making its reveal as the True Final Boss not come straight out of left field.

True Final Boss

[Reflections Timeline]

- [Sigma]

- [Demon Panther/Lynx]

- [Yarlen Shald]

- [Valkor]

[Cross Timeline]

- [Dalton]

- [The Lady of Sirens/Reika Onin]

Fighting Your Friend - Subverted. This incarnation of Reika never met Cain, so she has no qualms about tearing him limb from limb. Played straight from Cain's perspective, though.

Start of Darkness - Having never met Glenn or Cain, she tries on her own to convince her father Bacchus to leave the Anti-Human League. It is all in vain as she is forced to watch a lynch mob from Arni kill him, forever distorting her view of humanity. She eventually joins up directly with Valkor as his right hand, then his lover, and ultimately his successor.

- [The Seeker/Glenn Zweibreicht]

Start of Darkness

(will be updated occasionally)
« Last Edit: January 20, 2019, 06:25:12 pm by skylark »

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #7 on: December 21, 2018, 09:13:54 pm »
[Minor Characters]

[Reflections Timeline]

- [Bacchus]

Heel-Face Turn

- [Gina]

[Cross Timeline]

- [Balthesar]

- [Cedric Vastor]

"Laurallia's father and Governor of Guradia after the untimely passing of the Guardia royal bloodline. He died during the Fall of Guardia."

Canon Character All Along - In the 'Time Marches On' cutscene of later versions of Chrono Trigger, he was the last defender of Guardia that gets cut down.

- [Zed]

"Pilot of the Blackbird: Suzaku."

Nerves of Steel - Doesn't flinch at the prospect of flying a giant airship through a dimensional distortion.

Seen It All - Considering the state of the world during Chrono Break, nothing fazes him anymore. That and Jesse panics enough for the both of them.

- [Jesse]

"Navigator of the Blackbird: Suzaku."

(will update occasionally)

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #8 on: December 21, 2018, 09:48:32 pm »
YMMV

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2018, 09:50:00 pm »
Crowning Moment of Funny

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2018, 10:06:34 pm »
Crowning Moment of Awesome

Cain's epic "The Reason You Suck" Speech that ultimately heralds Daere's downfall during the Second Path, and the No Holds Barred Beatdown that happens soon after Cain's Batman Gambit to bring them both Down to Normal.

(will be updated occasionally)
« Last Edit: February 23, 2019, 05:36:09 pm by skylark »

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #11 on: December 21, 2018, 10:09:09 pm »
Crowning Moment of Heartwarming

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #12 on: December 21, 2018, 10:12:15 pm »
Tearjerker

(will be updated occasionally)

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Re: Chrono Reflections - Chrono Break (TV Tropes version)
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2018, 10:14:31 pm »
Nightmare Fuel

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