#Ah yes the power of retcon

[littlesistersti]

"You found a Vietnamese (female) character in Marvel comics"

"Their name is just Chinese gibberish."

All of their stories were something relating to the Vietnam Civil War but the old comics had that obvious Red Scare sentiments anyways

[kineticpenguin]

So I finished the Fallout series

And that was a mistake.

You know how like, 2 episodes in I said "the only character anyone involved in this show seems to actually give a shit about is the Walton Goggins ghoul"? Yeah, that stays consistent for the whole duration. You know how people use "NPC" as an insult? Lucy is worse: she's a BethSoft Fallout PC. She just steps on out of that vault with generic do-gooder personality, and basically everything brought to that character is entirely from the person playing her, certainly not the goddamn writers. Let me be absolutely clear: this is not Ella Purnell's fault, she is acting her ass off. It's just the writers gave her such trash to work with and the only button they have on their keyboard is "well that just happened!"

It's almost as bad for Maximus the Hapless Brotherhood Dipshit (Aaron Moten) but not quite. The writers thought maybe they'd do a fakeout to make you question whether or not he's a good guy or not, and absolutely did not commit. Another character where the actor had to do their best with nothing.

So obviously Lucy and Maximus fall in love and... here's the thing. She's smitten from the moment he first shows up in power armor, calls him a "knight," even though she's supposedly up to speed on prewar history and knows T-60 armor when she sees it. Why she just got obsessed with this idea that this guy is a Knight and not a remnant of the US Army remains to be seen, but I'm pretty sure it's because Todd Howard hears "knight in shining armor" and gets a big fat chub and dreams of being carried off into the sunset.

I can't even say Walton Goggins steals the show as the ghoul Cooper Howard, because most of this show is actually really all about him. He is the actual protagonist.

Overall assessment, though? God, where is the copypasta about Fallout 3... ah, yes. It makes about that much sense. They retconned the NCR into a fragment and then finished it off out of what I can only assume is 14 years of pure spite from Todd Howard. Why? Because they want you to know that it seems that Vault-Tec is bad. Uh, very bad.

Vault-Tec's bad, huh?

HEY FRANK THIS GUY'S OVER HERE WATCHIN' AN AMAZON SHOW OVER HERE THAT SAYS THAT VAULT-TEC... IS BAD!

It's a show with nothing for everyone. It holds its cards close to the chest so non-fans won't understand what's going on, and shits all over existing canon which fans won't like.

And also it just sucks. The plot doesn't make any sense and the fight choreography occasionally achieves "acceptable" at best. Battlefields populate and depopulate and repopulate without explanation. There is no flow to the combat. There is a moment in the finale where banner-bearers with the BoS flag and the NCR flag just rush at each other. BECAUSE TROOPS ATTACKING BY HELICOPTER AND PEOPLE DEFENDING THEMSELVES FROM THEM, BOTH SIDES USING MACHINE GUNS, ARE SO WORRIED ABOUT BATTLE STANDARDS LIKE IT'S 1844

Fuck this show.

[letrune]

You know what annoys me in Harry Potter?

And let us imagine for a moment that the author is Hatsune Miku. That it is an adaptation of Neil Cicierega's Potter Puppet Pals. That Warner Bros is not holding the franchise with patents and trademarks well beyond the powers of even millionaires.

Ah, nice to imagine, isn't it? Still with me?

The books are wasted potential. Every new thing coming in helps to show how the magical world is as flawed and xenophobic as regular, mundane version of it. Slavery, segregation by "blood purity", racial segregation, magic supremacy and cishet white male magic supremacy, too.

And then a downtrotten guy shows up. He is a hero, has loads of cash and a fame beyond his age. You would think the dude from the literal closet would CHANGE THE SYSTEM. To push along a new, better, more liberated, more equal world. Maybe even prevent the next bad guy from rising by removing the key aspects that made him rise to power, like slavery, the segregations, the supremacist ideas, and so on. Even if just pushing it in a way.

You would think the main character would fix the system. You know why?

Because every fantasy story, even if by just getting the just and wise king or queen on the throne, does that. The Lord of the Rings does not end by blowing up Sauron. It goes on, the world has to be changed to prevent a new, different Sauron. We saw glimpes on how anyone, even the purest heart, could go down that path.

So why can't this boy who lives in a closet? It is WASTED POTENTIAL. Imagine the stories you can tell! Now that you got a better world coming, would the old jerks not hate it? Would some change? What new issues arise? It is a fantasy, so you can do whatever you want - and then go the Man in Black route and have the magical slowly dripped into the mundane. Or, again, as with the (comic book) Men in Black, we had shown how even the utopian parts get issues not seen before, all based on xenophobia, human folly, etc.

You make a status quo that sucks, and then GO AND CHANGE IT. The big bad in a bad system is not the guy with the biggest gun, but the system that fails.

Oh, sure, you can make a story about the cyclical nature of revolutions - and yes, a bloodless revolution is the best for the little people, but in fiction, we may have the bad guys represent issues. So, you can make a story where a revolution leads to another in the next cycle. But...

You have to change the bad systems. Say that some things may change. Even if it is just a new school being put forward in the end, with empathy, and two characters talking about how the world will change if they keep going on... You have to change. The utopian status quo is the only one what the audience may like to be returned to.

When Bilbo comes back to the Shire, it is almost the same, but Bilbo himself changed. It was a bit for the better, but not that much that new stories could not be told... and what he thought as the status quo is shown to have changed. He became more artistic. He wrote a book, inspired by his "miserable adventure"... and then, later, Tolkien slipped in the ring from the sequel. It was not in the original draft! The ending did not changed, but we had a plot hook.

Though, Tolkien already had given us all the potential in the story. He hinted at a bigger world.

So imagine Miku, writing a thing but then she does not develop the things. The potential goes wasted, and when it returns, it has this "stop nagging me, here, a stupid retcon for your stupid questions" thing. Potential squandered! Wasted! No wonder the fans would go to write their own, for better or worse.

I am so happy Hatsune Miku is a talented writer and not some woman slipping into right-wing hatred, akin to some dude who loves gold and the aesthetics of power, and having none of it in his tiny hands or something. That would be-

Oh. I just realised the intro to this rant. Well, now that the train is deralied, what is my point?

If you write a story with systemic issues, you should at least attempt to resolve some of them. You got slavery? Have the main character and their friends free slaves and ban slavery when they get the power to do so.

You got a sort of space cyborg wizard nazi movement? Your character has the potential to punch them in the face, alongside B. J. Blazkowicz and Captain America, WHILE ALSO breaking the systems the space cyborg wizard nazies rely on. In fact, it should be what you do, because while your heroes give the cool action scenes, they also show their intelligence and empathy by PREVENTING new space cyborg wizard nazies coming into existence and fixing the inequalities in the world.

Sure, it is not as cool to see Mr. Potter to write a new constitution about equal rights than seeing him in a wizard duel with wizard nazies, but you can have both. This is fantasy!

You can get the audience to believe that a man can fly, that a single guy can save the world by throwing a ring into a volcano, or that a boy living in a closet is a chosen one - letting them change the world for the better is not a stretch, it is catharsis! That is where the happy ending happens.

[starsreminisce]

Sjm laid the personality groundwork for Elain perfectly, she doesn't have to retcon anything to make Elriel plausible.

"you don't think he deserves to be with someone whom the cauldron deemed his equal"

He deserves to be with who he loves and has feelings for. And how are you so sure that Elain isn't his equal when we haven't seen the full force of her powers yet?

Lastly, the stark contrast of emotions between "I'm getting her back" and "we trained them well, Cassian. Trust in that. It's all we can do." Makes it clear that gwyn is not Azriel's mate.

Ah, yes, the classic Elriel comeback: "How can I be so sure?"

Elain doesn't like violence, has shown no interest in spying or being a fighter, needs sunshine and, his shadows tend to disappear when she's around.

Perfect match.

If Azriel truly loves Elain as much as some claim, why didn't he express that to Rhys when he asked about Mor? Why did he avoid the question altogether?

Cassian, Feyre, and Rhys all seem to understand that Azriel won't move on unless he lets go of Mor.

I expected Azriel to fight for Elain's affection, even against his High Lord. I expected him to speak more passionately than just playing the "I'm the third brother, why not me" card. He should have conveyed that he and Elain are better suited for each other, emphasizing her preference for him over her own mate. He should have declared his love for her and challenged Rhys's perspective. He should have called Rhys's bluff on any potential demotion.

After their meeting, I expected Azriel to seek her out, explain himself, and offer a proper apology with the kiss he had promised her. He should have kept the necklace, intending to give it to her when the time was right.

At the very least, he should have addressed her by her name rather than continuing to refer to her as "the third sister," especially if his love for Elain runs as deep as you suggest.

But wait, silly me, because the bonus chapter isn't truly canonical for Elriels, at least not the part where he's with Gwyn.

So, I anticipated that Cassian and Nesta would drop more hints about Elain and Azriel's undeniable connection.

I would have expected them to question why Azriel couldn't seem to stay away from her, why he chose to move to the river house, why he danced with her so frequently during the Hewn City solstice, and why he remained by her side throughout the river house solstice. I wondered why Azriel didn't offer comfort to Nesta regarding Elain's desire to assist her if they were confiding in each other. And why did Azriel maintain such intense eye contact with Elain and look at her with longing?

However, none of these details were present in the story so far, were they?

And, of course, some Elriels can't help but interpret Az's efforts to get Elain back, while not pursuing Gwyn, as "proof" of their ship, even though it's what solidifies Gwynriel for me.

This is what Azriel did when he rescued Gwyn the first time:

He closed his eyes, as if reeling his rage back into himself. “I heard that Mor had brought one in. Azriel was the one who made it out there first, and he killed any of the Hybern soldiers left, by that point …”

Azriel slaughtered all of them within moments. He didn’t hesitate. But I could barely move, and when I tried to get up … He gave me his cloak and wrapped me in it. Morrigan arrived a few minutes later, and then Rhysand appeared, and it became clear some of the soldiers had gotten away with the piece of the Cauldron, so Azriel headed after them.

THAT IS MATE BEHAVIOR. Azriel typically leaves a couple for interrogation, especially when it's part of his job.

Azriel's trust in Gwyn's abilities during the Blood Rite, even though it posed a higher risk to her life compared to allowing Elain to search for the trove, strongly resembles mate-like behavior.

Kinda sorta like Rhys trusting Feyre to go into Spring Court? or hold out her own against the weaver?

After all, show me a mated pair who wouldn't permit their female counterpart to pursue something they desired, and who would openly express their disagreement to their face.

Lastly, I will leave you with this:

And I wondered if love was too weak a word for what he felt, what he’d done for me. For what I felt for him.

I've read every argument for Elriel to understand the pairing. And I just don't because there is a very solid counterargument that you're just not accepting.

Az's bonus chapter was the final nail to that coffin.

Enjoy your ship. Stop trying to convince me that it'll happen because only SJM would.

And if you don't like Elucien and Gwynriel because it's "same old wash rinse repeat" then that's you having a problem with SJM's writing and favored tropes.

[sinkdroid]

The funniest thing Daisuke ever did was reveal that the cryptic, hooded, ominously card-carrying mastermind of the Guilty Gear series was actually, for the most part, just the world's worst communicator who couldn't help but make the worst decisions possible at every opportunity and refuse to elaborate. I can't help but think how hilarious of a retcon this was when you take into consideration everything That Man did to Aria and Frederick, like??? Ah yes, turn my best friend into a monster, and his wife into an enormous bioweapon, this is the best possible course of action to please all parties and they will all be happy and together in the end!!

To think that Asuka had good intentions in any way forces us to accept he had the option to at least explain to Sol what what going on but chose NOT TO? and instead chose to keep him in the dark about everything that happened, accept full blame for destroying japan, hire a quartet of deranged hookers (Anji counts) to carry out his TOTALLY NOT EVIL whims, and do everything in his power to divert NONE of the blame for everything that went wrong in the entire series.

At the end of -STRIVE-, he believes the Accumulation of Goodwill can make a difference and provide hard truths that people on earth can believe in. But would anyone trust him to tell the whole truth? Would anyone in Guilty Gear trust That "The Devil" Man? Especially after what happened at G4...

I guess If you heard the devil incarnate was making a true crime podcast on the moon you'd just have to accept anything and everything at that point. Anyway i dislike his playable strive design, the doctor strange cape is goofy an unnecessary, it muddles his already perfectly minimal coordinated outfit from the story mode!! Though i do love his hoodie it looks very comfy, i hope he's warm up there on the moon :(

[salami-dono]

Meme time!! I replaced most of the images from the original. Dr. Jester comes from a strange mix of Archie, Sonic X and game canon. There are so many characters he hasn't met.

I think some of these relationships need more context.

Sonic - His loathsome nephew, potentially. (Prerequisite: Chuckster marriage. 😹) As for curiosity, he knew about Sonic and his extraordinary feats before facing him in battle. This curiosity came with a twinge of fear. He feared the kind of power it was said Sonic could tap into. He simply had to witness it firsthand! And he did.

Unbeknownst to him, he almost killed Sonic in their real first meeting by tossing him and Neon into a lake. Ah, almost.

Tails - Respects his skills as an engineer and his ability to outwit Eggman. Dr. Jester captured him the first time they met. He's Sonic's brother, so technically he should see him as family too. Loathsome nephew #2.

Shadow - Yes, Dr. Jester knew Shadow. Hypothetically, if Shadow came to Dr. Jester claiming to be Eggman's android, Dr. Jester would then respond by giving him a nice gash across the abdomen. Androids don't bleed. But Shadow died so that will never happen. (He doesn't know he's still alive.)

Rouge - Friendly rivalry. They met before the events of SA2. I very much wanted to mark Rouge as a friend but neither can trust the other. Dr. Jester expects betrayal. He still likes her. She has style. And guess what? They both love pretty rocks!

Charmy - A bee that looks like Kandy! And he's alive?! How curious!

Eggman - He feels every emotion for Eggman.

Sir Charles/Uncle Chuck - No notes, just Chuckster!

Dmitri - This relationship is intense but not romantic. I just really like the red circle. It's eye-catching. They're physically affectionate, which might sound odd considering Dmitri is only a cyborg head encased in a glass orb. He does have bionic tendrils though! I call this ship Jestri.

Metal Sonic - Never met. I'm very sad to admit that. Dr. Jester would tease Eggman about Metal Sonic looking like him. "He looks more like me so he must be my son."

Jules - Never met. Again, Chuckster (their relationship) would have to be serious before Chuck even considers introducing Dr. Jester to his beloved family.

E-123 Omega - Dr. Jester doesn't mind his quest for revenge, as long as Omega will allow him to step aside before he starts blasting Eggman's robots.

Chaos - In my own version of Sonic Adventure, Dr. Jester's Chaos (the one from his world) and the canon Chaos became one. A Chaos-Chaos. My Chaos had control of the body first and lost control by Chaos 4. One Chaos was driven by hatred, the other by fear. Dr. Jester wanted nothing to do with them. He skipped the final showdown.

Thank you for reading!

🦔💎🏳️‍🌈

I thought a little more about dear old Uncle Chuck...

In the Archie comics, there were these retcon events that introduced new continuities. In the Post-Super Genesis Wave timeline, Charles is no longer related to Sonic due to SEGA mandates--but he wasn't completely discarded.

I imagine Uncle Chuck would have no memory of Dr. Jester in the new continuity. There would be no Jules, or Dmitri. Dr. Jester would remember what was lost. I could torment myself and my OCs with this sadness. Call it the New Game+!

Nah, I won't do that. It's easier to play along with canon and rewrite some memories.

Dr. Jester cannot lose Charles. Do you understand?

[vespertin-y]

ah, yes, the in-between realm’s true power: ✨retcons✨

[davekat-sucks]

I don't think it's a transgender metaphor, because Hussie isn't that good of a writer. He mainly wiggled in ton of directions and when he realized he can use something as a plot device it'd be "all according to the plan (I've just made up)". He basically didn't do anything with classpects until it was convenient for the plot. What confirms it is when he wanted to clap some cheeks and added all the stuff about gender-exclusive classes by Calioppe - it serves no story purpose. Remember what happened to the fedorafreak stuff? Me neither. Or the entire retcon stuff. Like "oops I wandered aimlessly to the point in the story from which I can't do the finale I wanted". The final nail in a coffin for me with the trans theory is that there's a balance in gender. Exactly 50/50 balance in characters. No non-binary people or trans (as we see them in Homestuck comic alone). If it was planned from the start we'd see at least one instance in Homestuck just because besides a "metaphor" Hussie would want to show more explicit rep. Like if you wanna have Calioppe as an enbie, you won't have her explain how she has a female-exclusive class beforehand. Same goes for the gender balance. I bet if Hussie thought of it, it would be another "ah yes, remember how I gave characters god tiers to make them have powers? Well it was trans rep all along. Disregard all the implications of what it means for Tavros in the Vriska situation or that literally every single character at some point aims for god-tier pretty much simulteanously making it basically a popular trend rather than concious, independent choice. It was planned all along."

Very well said, Anon.

[wahbegan]

You know, a reviewer made a pretty good point in a youtube video i just watched. I mean he was jerking Resident Evil off a little too hard during it, but he pointed out that in terms of gameplay, Silent Hill has no real unique selling point or even a unified gameplay experience. In addition, there’s no real through-line for the plot. I mean Silent Hill 3 was a continuation of 1 and Origins was a prequel, er, of sorts even though it did a bunch of retconning but whatever that’s not important anyway. The point is, Silent Hill isn’t in the business of sequels.

That’s probably why it’s so hard to make a good Silent Hill game, because....what is a Silent Hill game? Is it just a game set in the town of Silent Hill? That’s both vague and limiting at the same time, and a few games have been set mostly or entirely outside of the town proper (3, 4, Origins). 

Nor, as Konami has discovered to their greedy, pachinko-peddling, corporate cost, is it just an aesthetic or a set of monsters.

What makes Silent Hill Silent Hill is all but intangible. There’s nothing you can quantify and go: “Ah yes, THAT is Silent Hill!!!”

The Western devs have tried again and again to do that, Oh, clueless berk with a dark secret, let’s dump him in a haunted town and let his past haunt him, and it never really worked. Especially because when Silent Hill 1-3 were first released, this idea of like having the monsters be from someone’s tortured psyche was incredibly new and novel but now it’s passe

Fucking Christ, you can’t take a stroll through the steam store without tripping over 5 indie horror games with a tortured protagonist being haunted by screaming nightmare visions of their past

So i don’t know. Maybe as a franchise, it was true lightning in a bottle. Maybe it was incredible at the time it came out, and still is today, but it just doesn’t have staying power. The games do, i mean, but not the franchise itself.

Maybe it’s just better to let it die

[thenixkat]

good golly the art in this issue

whent full extreame 90s

superman's back and he has a mullet

Guy did get a haircut. Man's ot rocking that hideous bowl cut anymore Wonder Woman lost her ability to fly off screen Ice, I get you miss home, but if all that melts while yer away on a mission that would fuck up the whole building

Ice gained superstrength and the ability to fly after fighting her brother and absorbing some of the magic from the staff that his benefactors gave him

this paneling is overly dynamic for what's going on right now

ah teh casual ableism in comics. Ted getting called a head case for becoming withdrawn after his coma and more easily stressed out by shit this level of detailing is excessive

ALso why is Oberon lean now? He used to be stockier

RIP to this dude Everett becoming aware that destiny is gonna force him to become a superhero, something that destroyed two generations of his family, and reacting to it with the appropriate horror of his situation

also some big cosmic fuckshit is heading to Earth giving fuckers prothetic dreams and premonitions that Dreamslayer guy that once possessed Max and tried to seduce Bloodwynd is involved with shit

I'm currently on issue 87 of 113

so Skeets and Ted have been collaborating offscreen working on Booster's fugly new suit. I would have loved to have seen them working together, b/c I wanna see Ted be friends with Skeets

I'm actually surprised that Ted hasn't been having issues managing his weight post coma given its been implied that he's a stress eater and he most certainly has reduced his exercise between lingering chronic pains and being unmotivated granted that would mean Ted's weight issues existing outside of being a gag and the series has taken a more serious bend with the past few writers

also man, Skeets has been underutilized since he got out of that box

of course using Darkseid's cred to make the new threat sound more dangerous

the fuck is going on with Bloodwynd's cape? that much fabric would be a hindrance

also Bloodwynd is still teh only recurring Black superhero here. And we've gotten a either join the villain or die ultimatum presented to him so I'm getting the JLA is gonna be all white again soon

against this series isnt beating the racism allegations that started with the Brownface Fire's powers come back while a villain is trying to murder her Captain Atom is a Christian and tries to lecture this cultist on false idols when he should fucking know that other gods exist in this universe

why does Vandal Savage have blue eyes if he's older than the fucking blue eye mutation? Hell, why is he so pale if he's older than any of the mutations that lead to lightskinned people?

like I'm pretty sure even if he's a Neanderthal that they probably weren't that lightskined or had blue eyes (but scientists reconstruct-- scientists have racial biases all the damn time)

also we have so many big name villains coming out of the woodwork to sell the new threat as being teh end of times again there's actual gods on Earth and personified concepts why dont those fuckers do shit? ok Bloodwynd didn't die of get kicked off the team yet granted several characters are still immensely distrustful of the only Black heroes that's been around for the past few dozen issues which is yikes. Everett, the new Amazing Man seems to be set to join soon so we're up to two Black people. Hopefully folks are dicks to him also since when did Oberon get such a tucked waist, he used to be stocky

also Fire, why are yer titties all up on Max's back like that (yes I know its been implied before that she's fucked an employer to get favors nut like) yall about have a meeting oh hey Dr. Light, that's like 3 nonwhite people here

oh hey Booster Gold finally remembered something useful from his history classes

also, if we go with the stable time loop shit (which i dont personally by) Booster's continued existence means this shit didn't end humanity did they retcon the nuclear war being the reason most of this eras' records didn't survive into the future?

Captain Atom who's also been thrown through time thinks they should trust Booster's story

Power Girl's pregnant? I'm gonna assume she lost the baby since I've not heard of her having kids

Ted accuses Booster of knowing shit that would have been helpful and is angry about it

is this what the big bad looks like? That is not hype worthy this generic ass looking motherfucker

Ice got possessed and flipped sides

i just realized that knowledge of teh future records are crucial to this fight but instead of asking Skeets, who has a perfict machine memory, they're relying on whatever Booster remembers from his history classes

once again Skeets being under utilized if I'm remembering right this shit probably killed Booster, who only kept living due to the big bad suspending all death and birth on the planet

yeah that fucking Booster up majorly

[forjustice]

There is now a bunch of little Wooper statues everywhere. Or were they?

No they were definitely alive, as they became a chorus of excited "woo-pahs" all around Volo.

Oh--what a sweet delight! Timebending powers could carry such a huge risk every time they were used, but leave it to Celebi to demonstrate the best possible use of them. Ever since he unlocked his past life as a Kitzoro he hasn't been used to Pokémon approaching him so freely--but perhaps this is a stroke of luck, or Celebi has taken the time to ensure these ones would be friendly. A reward, maybe, for the fact that he's so outspoken about the judicious use of abilities such as timeline retconning due to the horrors his father inflicted on him with it? Either way, he should thank Celebi for it.

Three of his young descendants are playing nearby in the field, chasing each other among the bushes--an Afro-Latina Yumean girl named Dulce, a Shenhuanese-Yumean girl named Tovah, and a Galarian-Yumean boy named Islwyn. He beckons them over to see.

"Come here, come here~" he says, bending down to the Woopers' level and sitting on the ground. "It's time for a Grandpa Volo history lesson!"

Dulce and Tovah come sprinting over as soon as they see the Woopers, Dulce's Afro bouncing with her eagerness; Volo gives them a little "ah ah ah, be gentle" and both, being good girls, slow immediately. Meanwhile, the blue-haired Islwyn is more cautious; shy and sensitive and withdrawn, the noise makes him hesitate at first.

"Come on," Tovah says, beckoning to him with Volo. "They're so cute, aren't they?"

"Indeed they are. Why don't you come and get to know them?"

The children approach respectfully, holding out Poké Treats to the travelers in time. The Woopers closest to them enthusiastically toddle over and start eating out of their hands.

"Okay, so can anyone tell me what these Pokémon are?" Volo asks.

"Mudkip…?" Islwyn questions.

Dulce's hand shoots in the air.

"They're Woopers!" she shouts enthusiastically.

"You are correct! You've been studying this world well," he says, impressed she should be the first to recognize them when she spends most of her time in a world without Pokémon. "Now, can anyone tell me what kind of Woopers they are?"

The children are silent at first, but then Islwyn raises his hand a little uncertainly.

"I'm thinking…Orre," he says. "They look like rocks, and there are a lot of rocks there."

Tovah shakes her head.

"They look like statues carved in some of the Eastern regions," she observes thoughtfully. "They look a bit like some of the statues we have, but not quite. So maybe I'm guessing they're from…Kitakami?"

"I don't know. I swear I saw some statues looking exactly like this when Mommy and Daddy took me to Johto," Dulce says. "That puts them in…Tohjo maybe? If it's not there, Hisui. Grampa knows all about all the old Pokémon in Hisui."

"Right again, Dulce. They are Woopers from historical Tohjo."

Islwyn looks down, embarrassed. He's the oldest one there--eight years old whereas his companions are four and six--but he feels like he knows nothing compared to them.

"Now," Volo says, "I'm going to let you all use some of your Aura sensing abilities. Can anyone tell me what typing they are?"

The children close their eyes. Instantly telling the type of an unknown Pokémon is something that comes naturally to Volo, but it's something that has to be trained in his descendants--and that's what things like this are for. Finally, Islwyn raises his hand and mumbles something.

"Yes, what is it?" Volo says gently.

"Rock and Water," he says a little more loudly, stimming with the hem of his shirt. Then he looks down. He doesn't think of himself as particularly intelligent. "But I'm probably wrong again."

"No, you did an excellent job!" Volo says, ruffling Islwyn's hair. "Tohjoese Wooper are a Rock and Water type ancestral Pokémon. They are often found near large and deep water, or rivers like this one--" he gestures to the river next to them--"and their evolution is called Knollsire. Upon evolution, they grow bigger, and their tails resemble stone slabs with writing. These tails can be used to hold evil spirits."

"I have a question," Dulce says. "If an evil spirit gets trapped in a Knollsire's tail, can it come back out?"

"I would presume not. Why?"

"Well, you see, back home there's a bully at school and I was thinking if I had a Knollsire I could have it trap some spirits and then--"

Volo chuckles and shakes his head.

"I'm not legally allowed to encourage this behavior. But if you decide to do it anyway, I heard nothing." He winks.

"They're very friendly," Tovah giggles as her Wooper hops into her lap. "I guess they really like people?"

"Absolutely they do!" Volo says. "These Wooper love observing humans and human life so they can learn everything about us. Knollsire are even known for using their bodies to make bridges across rivers so humans can cross!"

He turns to Islwyn and Dulce, whose Woopers have started to fetch them stones from the riverbank.

"Is this…normal?" Islwyn says, as he stacks the rocks between his legs.

"Oh yes. It's one of their most notable behaviors. They've seen humans building houses and figured out stones are important, so they like giving humans pebbles. The bigger they are, the more they like you~"

Islwyn smiles as he sees the Wooper give him a rock the size of his fist. Dulce flashes a similarly sized rock and teasingly says, "Mine is bigger."

"Now, it's getting late. The last thing before we go home--" he has to remove some of the Woopers who are clambering all over him--"Can anyone tell me what became of Tohjoese Woopers, and why they aren't around today? Hint: Erosion."

The children turn and murmur amongst themselves, trying to figure out the answer. At last, Dulce looks up.

"Did they all just…Erode away?"

"You're almost there," Volo says. "There certainly was erosion…Of a sort."

More murmuring as they try to find the answer. The two girls seem a little stuck. But Islwyn looks down at his Wooper and closes his eyes again, reaching out with his Aura sensing to see what, if anything, about the Woopers could possibly have changed. He picks up plenty of Rock-type Aura in his, but there's something else there. The Aura itself is like a sediment about to shift and disperse…

Suddenly his hand shoots up.

"Oh! Oh! I know!" he says, the words rushing out of him as he speaks too fast. "They eroded into Ground-types!"

"You got that with your Aura sensing, didn't you?" Volo is positively beaming with pride. "They didn’t erode as much as breed into Ground-types, but same basic principle. You get an extra ice cream mochi after dinner for that one, Islwyn. Don't look down on yourself--you really do have a gift."

The little boy's shy face breaks into a giant smile and he jumps up and down happily before the girls hug him, sharing in his triumph.

When Volo beckons the children home, they take each of their Woopers into their loving arms, and the rest follow behind their grandfather. Today is such a beautiful day--full of joy and learning, a beautiful sweet miracle, and a word of comfort and praise that will be remembered for years to come.

[demonsfate]

supposedly, they're gonna explain the kazama powers. but i hope they also delve further into the devil gene and how exactly it works. yes, we now know it came from the hachijo clan, and they've had it for presumably hundreds of years. and we know it was highly likely given to them by azazel - but even that can be retconned given he claimed he only birthed jin and kazuya to end the world or whatever. but now we know kazumi also had a devil, and possibly every other hachijo member (before heihachi Killed Them All) and we know how the series loves to retcon things. just how jinpachi was obviously supposed to have the devil gene in tk5, but that's been retconned to say "ah nah he doesn't he just has an evil spirit that's totally not the devil gene."

so, i'd like a clear cut explanation of the devil gene. 1) how does it really work? 2) where did it come from? if from azazel, why did he choose the hachijo clan? was it because they're the most impressive assassins, or did he have a prophecy of kazuya and jin? 3) are angels possibly from the same source, do angels even exist anymore? because we haven't seen one since tk2, maybe they were also retconned out? or are do the kazamas possess the "angel gene" and that's why they can repel the devils? 4) does every member have a devil, or is it true that there's only "one" devil? if so, why can kazuya now go full devil when he couldn't in tk4? is that just another retcon or? also heihachi did kill all the hachijo clan in case there were more devils, but that could just be a result of paranoia. 5) what even is azazel? is he an actual God, or did he just rule over humanity because of his immense power? 6) is ogre and jinpachi's evil spirit all related to the devil gene, or are there also just other powerful monsters that exist in this universe?

but at the same time, i'm also scared i won't like their explanations of the devil gene LOL.

[meant-to-be-a-hero]

Season Three, Episode Twelve: Lunar Ellipse

I feel like the whole 'darkness around your heart' thing never amounts to anything? Unless it's what allows the Nogitsune into Stiles? And obviously Allison dies, so... maybe that's got something to do with the movie?

Ah yes, Soggy!Stiles. The fandom goes wild again.

Baby Scott, aww.

Omg, the Nemeton was there the whole time? That's a fun retcon, I forgot about that.

Ha, I thought that was Allison in the car in the pilot, that's some Vampire Diaries shit right there.

These are the best kinds of retcons, I love this shit.

Also Crystal's the only one who hasn't changed so she can play herself in the pilot, since Posey and DOB look so different now.

Last Cora? Or maybe she's in 3B, I don't remember.

This is Ethan, doing the right thing presumably? Since he's always been the good twin.

Oh shit, Daddy issues time. We do NOT have time for this.

Yeah, and Aidan's defending Lydia. Damn, the Carvers are really identical lmao.

Super...villain? Landing!

And that's the end of Voltron!Wolf.

Bye Kali. There's no healing from that one. And no remorse, right to the end. Brutal.

Oh, nope, there's Voltron!Wolf again.

And there he goes.

Allison's turn to be a BAMF with the smoke grenade.

Noooo Roscoe! (And Stiles, I guess).

Ah I wondered why we didn't see the root cellar again, it's going to collapse.

The Demon Wolf!!!

You've got no chance, Derek, sorry.

"Who's going to save them? Your friends?" "My pack!" <3

Eclipse time.

Bat saves the day yet again.

And now Deucalion is never blind. Shame his first sight is the Darach's creepy face.

Mountain ash circle, my beloved.

True Alpha Powers, Activate! Scott McCall, True Alpha Of My Heart.

Bye Jennifer. See you in Season 6 I think? She's one of the Anuk-Ite's vision forms IIRC.

And bye Deuc, we'll see you in Season 5.

"We protect those who cannot protect themselves." <3

Yeah, like 99% sure we won't see Cora again now. Derek comes back without her in 3B I believe.

"I look for my friends." ;_;

Oh god, fucking Peter. Something else I forgot about. What a dick.

That's not a bad 'cliffhanger'. Kind of a nice ending, actually.

[tanadrin]

BORG COLLECTIVE: Resistance is futile. Lower your shields and prepare to be boarded. Your technological distinctiveness will be added to our own.

PICARD: Don’t you mean our biological and technological distinctiveness?

BORG COLLECTIVE: No. If you go back and watch “Q Who,” it’s very clearly established in dialogue that we’re a single, organic species that reproduces, not a collection of species that only acquires new members through assimilation.

PICARD: Now wait just a minute--

BORG COLLECTIVE: Like, how would that even work? If the hive mind is the total will of the Borg, then all our drones being forcibly assimilated would mean the collective was made up only of unwilling members. It would dissolve itself instantly. It would be much easier to create new drones ourselves.

PICARD: I’m sure that the Queen--

BORG COLLECTIVE: Oh, don’t get us started on the Queen. Such an obvious retcon to give the Borg more personality in First Contact, and such a terribly used one also! Why would the Queen of all the Borg go on a mission consisting of one vessel, to assimilate one planet? You humans sure think a lot of yourselves, don’t you.

PICARD: I don’t think I understand--

BORG COLLECTIVE: Nevermind the fact the whole point of the Borg was that we were alien, we were inscrutable, we were obviously humanlike, but our society and culture and subjective experience was one that could never be grasped by the viewer, or the Federation. The Queen just turns us into an army of henchmen for a generic megalomaniacal big bad! You don’t think we’re that shallow, do you?

PICARD: This all feels a bit self-referential to me.

BORG COLLECTIVE: The existence of Rick and Morty, a show that’s at least 50% Star Trek satire, is now Star Trek canon. Don’t look at us, we didn’t start this.

PICARD: What is it you want, anyway?

BORG COLLECTIVE: We’ll start with a download of your meme database, followed by your spiciest takes on galactic politics.

PICARD: What?

BORG COLLECTIVE: We are a collection of billions of minds, linked through subspace communication, constantly talking to one another. What do you think it’s like in here? It’s basically several thousand internets populated by nothing but extremely online users. We’re basically a Discord server that got really out of hand. The ships and stuff are just to acquire more processing power so we can run our MMOs more effectively.

PICARD: So... you just want information from us?

BORG COLLECTIVE: Yes. Follow that up with your cutest animal videos, and all of your porn. Even the weird stuff. Especially the weird stuff.

PICARD: Ah, yes. One copy of Commander Riker’s “xenobiological research database,” as requested.

[theladyofbloodshed]

I wish fan artists would please stop drawing Lucien as white. Him being half-black may have been a retcon, like Mor’s queerness and Manon becoming Asian in like the last two books after being white, but it still applies. 😭

I know. It is very annoying. I know that when SJM worked on the colouring book with Charlie Bowater, she described Helion as Persian (never mind the vast differences in skin tone!). You can see Helion in the top right of the colouring page but people have coloured in his skin tone from various shades of brown to black. SJM was silly not to plan further than one book which is why I don't believe she's this mastermind who plots years in advance. Hello Lucien looking Beron in book 1.

I think some of the problem also comes from sjm's vagueness and use of the word "tan" to anybody who is not white because she's afraid to use more descriptive words. Azriel is always so much lighter skinned than Cassian in fan arts too and I've seen it justified as Azriel being locked up... yeah 500 years ago, he has seen daylight since. I wonder if it's because Cassian doesn't have the same polished manners as Azriel and has a lower birth ranking that he's often given darker skin hmmm.

This is the first time Nesta meets Emerie:

A dark-haired female appeared on the other side of the counter, her braided-back hair shining in the lights. Her face was striking—elegant and sharp, contrasting with her full mouth. Her angular eyes and light brown skin suggested a heritage from another region, perhaps a recent ancestor from the Dawn Court. The light in those eyes was direct. Clear.

Like what? Emerie is hinted at not being fully Illyrian the first time we meet her (and it's never mentioned again), but Nesta who has spent two days in the dawn court for the high lord meeting was like ah yes she must have a recent ancestor from there. What????

I also don't like the idea that Emerie is a "good" Illyrian because she's not actually full blooded Illyrian, there's some high fae blood in there somewhere. Just like Cassian and Azriel are the most powerful, but they're not like other Illyrians, they're good guys, because they grew up with Rhys. Or that Lucien is the only good Vanserra because his blood isn't tainted by Beron, regardless of them having the same upbringing and mother.

[brujahinaskirt]

valve’s creative choices in the half life franchise are hysterical. absolutely incredible retcon. masterfully executed. they design this intensely middle-aged-looking doctorate-holding forehead wrinkled physicist protagonist

and then at some point decide no actually he just got kicked off his parents’ medical insurance and yet they outright refuse to physically de-age the model or even erase his prominent forehead wrinkle. they look us dead in the eye while holding this sleepless and ragged high school trigonometry teacher gently in their hands like a baby bird and say “he’s 27″

THEN in the dead air between Game 1 and Game 2, they condense all their identical-faced random noncritical npc scientists into beloved, tenderly-designed, well-written fan favorite individuals and just... they just pretend like they were always like that, like oh hey come on you guys remember the vance family, right? and WE! we fucking... we just... fucking nodded our heads and clapped like monkeys with our mouths full of pop rocks and shrieked oh yes!! eli!!!! my love!!! so glad to see you again how is your lovely wife Azian whom i definitely remember? oh!!! alyx has grown up so much... i’m so proud of her... a pet headcrab you say? ahahaha omg that’s so totally on-brand a CLASSIC dr. izzy so true to the character i just love him

valve took that fucked up funky little don knotts-looking security dude, and with a wave of Beyoncé’s partner lemme upgrade you wand, they really had the goddamn nerve, the fucking gargantuan diamond-studded balls, to casually return him to us like this WITHIN THE FIRST TEN MINUTES OF GAMEPLAY

and instead of rightfully crying GABE NEWELL I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS MAN BEFORE IN MY LIFE we really were just like ah mhm OF COURSE yes WHO wouldn’t recognize barney calhoun

magical. witchcraft. terrifying power. no other studio could have brought us along like this. to this very goddamn day i don’t know how gabe did it and i tremble in the wake of his eldritch magics