#like i guess i can list a few things about why i dislike them sm

[ladykyriaa]

I am trying very very hard here but genuinely it's just difficult for me to like Yao and en'en

[belovedcherie]

HI i keep wanting to send u asks BUT I DONT HAVE ANYTHING TO SAYYY uhhh let me search up some get to know u questions

1. what makes u laugh the most?

2. what’s one song that’s stuck in ur head rn?

3. whats ur fav holiday and why?

4. do u like rollercoasters or not?

5. what’s smth (or a few things) that bring u comfort? like an item, series, character, etc

OK ILY BYE

bro when i saw this i went 🥺🥺 HI KADE !!

DW U CAN LITERALLY SEND ME ASKS ABOUT ANYTHING. AND I MEAN ANYTHING !!! u could legit just send me "........" or something and i'd be like thats so true ur so right man

BUT TY FOR THE QUESTIONS LEMME ANSWER THEM HEHE (BEWARE I RAMBLE ...... A LOT ☠️......)

uhhh my friends i think?? i would say like. watching shows or reading manga BUT when i watch stuff with my friends its always 100% funnier 😭😭 like one time my friend and i were watching bubble and (spoiler !!!) when the bubble girl WITHERED AWAY we were DYING like WE COULD NOT. BREATHE. if i watched it by myself i probably wouldve taken it seriously and be sad but i was in tears (of laughter) instead

2. if i answered this yesterday when u sent it it wouldve been tondemo wonders but 😔 rn its beautiful monster by stayc!!

3. CHRISTMAS BABYYY i love love love christmas sm omg. im ngl i could give u a cheesy answer and say "i love spending time with my fam and friends and just being together its such a fun time #livelaughlove (is that the order?? #livelovelaugh? #laughlivelove?? help) BUT TBH I JUST RLLY LIKE GETTING GIFTS LMAOO (i do ofc love the family togetherness and stuff tho. but i gotta be honest... the gift part is my fav </3)

4. IVE NEVER BEEN ON ONE 🙁 ppl around me seem to dislike them but i'd love to go on one one day 💔💔 especially being so up high and then going so fast WHATS IT LIKE HOW DOES IT FEEEL (someone pls take me to an amusement park one day im begging🙏🏾)

5. OOO um i think i have a few things uh

anime 💞💕💖💗💓💘 watching my fav shows literally changes my mood in an INSTANT its kinda crazy (if i had to name some then k-on, cardcaptor sakura, bnha or hq even tho i havent watched em in a while, mp100, kny, lovely complex.... THE LIST GOES ON FOREVER FR)

also manga duh. if u couldnt tell by now i am a Big Nerd™️ (pls read ao no hako or skip to loafer i am on my knees and sobbing)

COMFORT CHARACTERS HOW COULD I FORGET !!! i rlly rlly rlly rlly liked deku and hinata in 2020-21 they were my whole personality 😇 rn i think ive calmed down a bit but. theyre still vv special in my heart (if i had to choose one rn i guess it'd be syaoran from ccsakura?? hes just so ADORABLE)

for items i'd say maybe ... stuffed animals..... theyre just rlly cute okay i still have a bunch from my childhood 😔

AND FINALLY!!! you (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟBAHDGJS BUT FR THO I LOVE TALKING TO U SM IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY !!! tysm for the questions mbd for talking so much 😭

[felixnation]

THE TOP 10 WORST KPOP SONGS OF 2020

(WARNING: I DON’T LIKE THESE SONGS AND WILL BE MEAN AT THEM. I DO NOT HAVE ANY PERSONAL BEEF WITH ANY OF THESE GROUPS OR ARTISTS SO DON’T COME FOR ME IF YOUR FAVE MADE A STINKER TRACK THIS YEAR.)

Ah, 2020. The year where disco came back, the 80s came back, and everyone was titling their songs after nonsense words. It was a good year for k-pop overall, with a lot of new trends entering the game towards the end of summer. However, there were some real clunkers that refused to get out of my head this quarantine and pissed me off to varying degrees each time I heard them. This list is an attempt to chronicle all of those.

So without further ado, let’s get this shit done.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

NCT 127 - PUNCH This isn't actually a bad song, hence it only making it to the honorable mentions section. In fact, I think this could've easily made the best list had it not been for one thing, and that's the presence of NCT 127, namely their rap line. The instrumental on this thing is absolutely killer and one of the best productions to come out of SM in a long time. The entire thing is bizarrely structured and incredibly gutsy, and therefore I think it's a travesty that an instrumental this incredible was drowned in ASMR-esque whispers and EYYYY WE BALLINs. There are a few salvageable sections, namely the first post-chorus, and we see glimmers of NCT 127's true potential, should they choose to explore this sound further.

CIGNATURE - NUN NU NAN NA Similar to Punch, I admire the production choices here - there are a few sections that blast you with 100gecs-esque womps, and that's always something I enjoy. The vast majority of the song rarely dips below decent territory, but since the entire thing hinges on the titular hook, it ends up falling apart right when it needs to bring the hype the most. I mean, building a hook around those notes was...an interesting choice, I guess. It reminds me a lot of fromis_9's FUN!, which also constructed the entire song around a terrible set of notes. Listen to them yell that hook at you and tell me it doesn't sound off. Most frustrating song of 2020.

ONG SEONG WU - GRAVITY Have you ever heard a drop this weak? I sure haven't. I hate the way he says DIVING INTO YOUR LOVE, the over-enunciation kills me and there's one syllable too many. Also, thanks Ong Seong Wu for giving CRAVITY the promo they deserve.

BTS - FLY TO MY ROOM I can't relax while listening to this, the beat is so sparse and has this nauseous sway to it that really makes me feel like I'm reliving these past 9 months of quarantine all over again. And just like quarantine, it really feels like this goddamn thing never ends. That final set of choruses is really a chore to get through, and I'm not the only one who thinks so - shout out to Taehyung for serving taste and I'm sorry Jimin convinced you to sing out of your natural range yet again.

TREASURE - MMM Ew.

I*ZONE - FIESTA It's a pretty standard girl group song up until that chorus hits and oh my god, who on earth produced this? Are they actively trying to trigger my psychosis? There are so many sounds happening that it feels like three or four demo tracks laid on top of each other, it makes me confused even trying to figure out what's going on here. And that post-chorus drop is horrendous, it's like the instrumental is literally screaming into my ear STREAM BLOOM*IZ!!! STREAM BLOOM*IZ YOU DUMB CUCK!!! YOU LOVE IT!!!

NOW FOR THE REAL LIST.

#10: TAEYEON - HAPPY

I do not like this. Taeyeon has one of the most powerful voices in the industry and instead of putting it to good use, she decided to put out the musical equivalent of eating a stick of butter. Bland, horrible texture, seems to go on forever and ever, you know you shouldn't be consuming it and you don't know why you're doing this to yourself, etc.

The MV contributed to my dislike, with Taeyeon whitewashed all the way into uncanny valley as she lounges around her beautiful apartment. Well of course you'd be happy if you lived in a place like that, I know I would. The sad thing is that there's some really nice vocal work here and there, but for the majority of the song, Taeyeon decides to serenade us in the most nasal tone that she can muster. I know she can sing better than this, and I'm disappointed in her for creating this and unleashing it on the world.

#9: WEKI MEKI - OOPSY

Whereas Picky Picky was annoying in the best way possible, Oopsy is annoying in the worst way possible. The instrumental legitimately sounds cheap, the drums sound so tinny and artificial that it's hard on the ears. Not to mention the hook, wherein the girls force their voices as high as they can go as they proclaim OOPSY! 

I'm a huge fan of cute concepts, but when it comes to putting out a high-energy sugary track like this, you're walking a fine line between adorable and irritating. Weki Meki didn't even try to walk the line, they just dove headfirst into irritating territory without a care in the world. It literally feels like the audio equivalent of having to hold a whiny toddler and then it pisses itself and the mom is just cooing about how her little darling made an oopsy.

#8: VICTON - MAYDAY

It feels like for most of the year, the vast majority of boy groups were stuck in a rut, knee-deep in sludgy EDM and leather harnesses. You know the songs I'm talking about, and I could've put any one of them here, but I chose this one purely because that chorus makes me feel like I have a concussion. I don't like this song nor the trend it's representative of - I spent most of quarantine having the same dark BG concepts thrown at me over and over and I'm glad things are starting to take a bit of a turn.

The bridge on this is actually pretty great, and the guys in VICTON do know how to sing, as can be seen in the final post-chorus. But man, there's just nothing fresh being brought to the table here, just the same stale trends in their worst form yet. The hook is so slow and drowsy, the same few notes just repeated over and over. I have not seen the MV because I feel like I can picture it well enough in my head just by listening. Are there harnesses? Don't forget those, boys.

#7: MCND - SPRING

Only Pentagon are allowed to do these concepts.

#6: HYO, LOOPY, SOYEON - DESSERT

This is genuinely unlistenable as soon as the drop hits, with a vocal stitching job that might be a horn synth, I'm not sure. That's how annoying it is. The producer is clearly incompetent and the performers are oozing with personality, though not the pleasant sort. The hook is  bratty and the raps here are beyond generic. After the halfway point, there are a couple interesting sounds thrown into the mix, but it's not enough to save things.   

Soyeon in particular sounds awful here, with her iconic nasally tone morphing into something genuinely irritating and borderline spiteful. Age up the toddler from the Oopsy comparison to around 7 or 8 and that's basically what you've got here. All I can hope is that this song is not influential in any way, shape or form, because I just had a vision of Blackpink imitating this production style and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

#5: SECRET NUMBER - WHO DIS?

I'm not sure how many Secret Number fans are out there, but I'm about to make all of em real mad at me right about now. However, it must be said.

This is basically Your Turn by Kaachi again.

I don't think I need to explain that hot take, just listen to the song. It's surprisingly amateurish, to the point where I feel like the vocals aren't in sync and they just used the first take they got from each girl. The raps in particular are awful, and I swear they even sound like they go off-key a couple of times. How this blew up in any aspect is bizarre to me. Anyways, stream Photo Magic and stan Kaachi.

#4: BAEKHYUN - CANDY

Did you want a k-pop version of Yummy by Justin Bieber? No? Well, Baekhyun decided to make it anyways! At least Yummy was sort of funny in how bad it is, this is just...a somber affair. Inexplicably, he manages to oversing the final third of the song, which I don't get the point of, but okay. Lazy, underproduced and overproduced at the same time, bland, boring, annoying...

Wait, did he just say...

Okay, I changed my mind, this is hysterical. Like Pop rocks, strawberry, bubble gum...

#3: (G)-IDLE - DUMDI DUMDI

I'm so sick of this group's 'ethnic' schtick, it's like they never learn. They just don't give a fuck - after a string of genuinely great tracks like Hann, Lion, and Oh My God, they just decide to put out this shit and expect me to listen to it? They're a group with a lot of potential, with some brilliant vocalists and the talent that is Soyeon (who really loves being on this list, apparently) but if they continue down the path of using different cultures as concepts I can't support them any further.

The song itself has salvageable parts, a recurring theme on this list, but the over-the-top tribal influences are so obvious and tropey that even listening to it feels gross. (G)-Idle have more creative control than most groups, and the fact that they're capable of creating works of art like Lion is what makes me harsh on them. Instead of moving forward, they continue to regress into their comfort zone of cultural appropriation.

#2 YOOA - BON VOYAGE

Speaking of cultural appropriation...are we gonna address this? Nah? Okay.

Oh My Girl, YooA's parent group, has a history of blatant cultural appropriation (and arguably some legit racist moments depending on how you look at it) and they seem like they're not changing anytime soon. That's why this particular song stings even more than it probably should. If you thought Dumdi Dumdi's tribal influences were a little too on the nose, take a listen to this chorus.

YooA has a bad voice, is wearing tribal face paint, and is running around the wilderness whitewashed into oblivion while a choir of nameless voices chant vaguely tribal things behind her. Even in an industry like k-pop, this sticks out as something in bafflingly poor taste, and I can't see how she got away with this in 2020.

#1 BLACKPINK & SELENA GOMEZ - ICE CREAM

Well, this is a predictable pick. 

I don't know why or how Blackpink thought they could get away with drip-feeding blinks content for 4 goddamn years in the lead-up to their first album, only to drop this big fat clunker on them. I honestly felt insulted by the song, from its cheap, tinny production to the god-awful lyrics. I don't know how anyone could find any value in a piece of music this soulless and hollow.

Lisa's raps are by far the worst part of it, with FIRE BARS such as "you're the one been chosen, play the part like moses" and "mona lisa kinda lisa". Unfortunately, these raps take up a good portion of the song, and there's nothing going on in the instrumental to distract you from them, save for that little ice cream truck jingle. (or at least I think that's what the producer was going for)

Selena is a non-presence and essentially blends in with the girls, who WAIL that awful hook like their lives depend on it. Also, there's some really cheesy innuendos here that're sung with all the sex appeal of the actual ice cream truck driver from literally your neighborhood. 

I loathe what this song represents - the only good thing about it is that the girls look stunning in the MV. And that's exactly the thing - this song represents the exact moment in time wherein Blackpink admitted to their audience that music is no longer their main focus. This is the peak of their influencer-ization, and only time will tell if they'll redeem themselves. (Spoiler: They sort of did, goddammit.)

[migleefulmoments]

Please, please, please publish Abby’s new diatribe as I have apparently been blocked (or perhaps just don’t know enough about tumblr to find it). I’m dying to see what she worked on for two months to justify her existence!

Anonymous said: Oh dear, looks like Abby’s family didn’t get her help after all, a lost cause then, what an absolute waste of a life. It’s actually sad. A shame her family didn’t get her help

Le sigh...she is not well. She hasn’t learned one thing while she’s been away and she still has the exact same grievances- mostly about how much she hates Mia and how much she feels sorry for herself because we aren’t lapping up her fantasy and showering her with adoration for being the leader of the ccship. Her main complaint, the reason she popped back in to write the same tired complaints and criticisms, is that she’s tired of people blaming Darren for the ccsituation. It’s always about her love for ccDarren and her need to absolve him of all responsibility for all of the things the cc fandom dislike about him and his life. IT’S ALWAYS MIA’S FAULT and the defacto fandom leaders aren’t reminding everyone “it’s never Darren’s fault” and “always blame Mia’s”.

She lashes out to criticize the “hate blogs” but ultimately she blames Ricky and Mia for EVERYTHING including the “attack on her family” (which of course, was NOT an attack on her family, it was a plea for her family to get her some help).  She claims “they” tried to shut her up and then lists all the evidence that “they” tried to end her blog:  HER copyright strikes (lots of us have one) and the “hate” blogs before listing individual grievances against several bloggers, amping up the grievance for dramatic effect and making it seem like they were coordinated, well-planned attacks against her. She negates her own part e.g. I published the photo ONLY after she dared me to several times. All of this because  “If this is what they were willing to do to me, a mere fan, imagine what they are well to do to him, their absolute life sources?” “They” aka Mia and Ricky.  

I found it hard to read. She’s not in a good place.  

***************************************  

Hello CCLand!  Have you missed me?  I know I have missed you all.  This post is not me coming back, frankly, I still have not decided how I want to navigate the future, but for the past 2 months all of this has been festering inside, so I need to post and make a few points.

First and foremost, I want to say that I am incredibly proud of my blog. I spent 5 years building a relationship with my readers and trying to provide a voice for 2 people who have been marginalized and frankly had their voices largely muted. I will never apologize for this or feel bad about it. Nor will I feel bad about pointing a finger at people that I know are truly evil.  

I am far from perfect and I admit, I made 2 massive errors.  I overshared because I was naive and never thought the information would be used against me.  And I did not pay enough attention to the hate blogs and their threats.

This was a blog that I started when I first learned about CC and frankly it grew out of love and a need to try to bring justice to a person that is absolutely a victim of a completely antiquated and abusive system.  Further, I don’t THINK D is closeted, I KNOW D is closeted.  And I have substantial facts to back up that statement.  I never intended to become the most read CC blog or to meets so many wonderful an amazing people that I admire, but that is what happened and that has given me great joy.

But with the good comes the bad, and what happened to me is absolutely sick and depraved.  And I am writing this post in hopes that someone will read it and see just how fucked up the behavior of a few “fans” has been towards me and to help them to extend this to what has been done to D and C.  Please do not feel sad for me, or send me sympathy, it is not my point.  But I hope that perhaps it will inspire some of you to be more active and to fight a little harder as I try to navigate the harassment that occurred to my family.

Pretty much since I started to write, I have been receiving hate, something to be expected when you join a fandom like this. But at some point, it became much more frequent and took a turn from manageable hate to harassment and bullying.  In October of 2017, I got my first ask with my full name and from that day forward there has been an active attempt to try to bullying me off the internet. Now ask why that is?  I am just a fan, with what most think is a crazy belief, with a relatively small following. I do not and have not tagged the players nor do I contact them directly. I have never been anything but incredibly polite to  D and C, and frankly I have ignored M whenever I have been in her presence because she is not worthy of my time or energy. I have never reached out to them over SM to make one statement about fandom. So why such an effort to silence my voice?  Especially if it is as insignificant as they claim?  

They tried deleting my blog, that failed. They tried with copyright infringements but I got smarter about making sure to post links.  So, what did they do?  They started with vicious attacks on my character on their hate blogs. Posting my full name and image.  Analyzing every word i wrote, desperately trying to debunk me, stating that i had severe mental health issues.  Tagged C, W, and A/lla to warn them about my presence at a book signing.  They stalked my friends and I at a festival, made false accusations, and published a photo. This meant that had to seek us out, locate where we were sitting and wait for a moment when they could get an image that they could twist to their favor.  That is insane. And there is no way to twist it to say its normal or expected.

But that apparently was enough harassment.  They threatened my work and my career.  Next, they started to stalk my family on the internet and use a devastating injury and a charity to harass and bully my family to the point that I did have to make the painful decision to not just stop posting but to protect my blog. This is completely vile and inexcusable behavior.  And the fact that it was not stopped, is a strong statement about the people clearly in control.

Why am I recounting? Because I want people to wake up and stop blaming D for every twist and turn.  If this is what they were willing to do to me, a mere fan, imagine what they are well to do to him, their absolute life sources? I am just another body left behind in the carnage, D is their source of money and fame. And not just his team and his “bride” but all of the people that have ridden his coattails to have name recognition.  

I wish people would realize this is not choose your own adventure book, D is a human who has been held against his will due to an enormous amount of power they clearly wield over him. How do you not see that if he could, he would end this?  This has not been about him being straight in so long, straight is how they control him and how they are able to make M relevant.  

And if you though this was a choice, how were you not woken up in the days following his dad’s death? I would guess not 48 hours after he buried his father, he was dragged from his mother’s home, forced to play dress up and pose for a ridiculous, cruel and inhumane set of pics.  D has lied about many things, but never about his parents, he has always been nothing but reverent when he speaks about them and his love and respect for them is clear.

Clearly, I have not gone anywhere, and I am still watching and reading every word. I have actually been incredibly proud of D during the majority of press for HW.  He has made so many statements that are a foundation for the truth, including telling us that young actors do things that they later learn to regret, telling us that HW has not changed, and stating that the person you see has a story we will never know.  

The press to legitimize and canonize M has been laughable and beyond transparent. It is so obvious this is on his list of required duties and the fact that they did not pause if for 1 week when his dad died is absolute proof that this is not a choice.

I do have to laugh at the irony of the d “quote” about fans being mean to his poor “wife” (that he himself has called a big girl).  So it is ok to bully a fan off the internet to the point that they stalked and harassed my family (and it does not matter if his was led by his team, her, her friends, or a fan in her name), but it is not ok for a small handful of fans to discuss the sad reality and point the finger at the truth?

Anyhow, this got way too long, but it has all been building up inside.  This blog was  such a massive part of my life and I miss it and you more than words can say. I encourage all of you to keep supporting these incredible men, I have no doubt they are worth it. I do think they next few months will bring about change, but what they change is, we still don’t know. I hope that D wins sooner than later. I am not certain how much longer he can be expected to sustain this weight.   If you reached this point, thank you for reading.    I am going back to my quiet corner now.  

[medea10]

My Review of Rinne

(a.k.a. Kyoukai no Rinne)

How did I get into this anime? Let’s just say the creator of this series, I’m a fan of. Rumiko Takahashi is the creator of this series as well as several other well-known anime series including Ranma ½, Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, and my personal favorite InuYasha. That alone was reason for me to get heavily interested from the get-go. But because of the time it came out, I had too much on my plate to pick up one more anime, so I put it on the back-burner for a few years. And despite the mediocre score and listless hype over this, I’m still interested to see what Rin-ne is all about.

As a child, Mamiya Sakura has been different from other children. When she was a child, Sakura ended up in the afterworld and returned to the world of the living after a day of wandering around. After that incident, she gained the ability to see ghosts/spirits. Fast-forward to the present where she’s a high school student and meets a Shinigami named Rinne Rokudou. Rinne is a half-human (which is rare in the afterworld) and works as a Shinigami like his parents and grandmother before him. He can be seen by regular humans, but if he wears a special cloak, he becomes invisible to everyone. This makes it easy to put spirits to rest without being seen by humans!

Both Rinne and Sakura are able to see what others cannot and this often helps Rinne when he takes on a mission. Throughout the series, Rinne ends up taking on random spirits every episode with a cute mascot that often helps him (Rokumon), a love rival (Tsubasa Jumonji), a girl who likes him (Ageha), and several other colorful characters in the human and afterworld. Check out the afterlife. Just be sure to bring your checkbook, nothing’s for free!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Sentai Filmworks is the licensor of this series and by the looks of it, this series has already been released in video formats and has no dub to speak of. So I’m going to assume there will be no dub to this in the future. This is kind of a blessing to me! Because if I’m watching a Rumiko Takahashi series, I would highly prefer hearing the voice actors of Vancouver! That’s right, if this series doesn’t contain Richard Ian Cox, Kelly Sheridan, Brad Swaile, or Brian Drummond, the dub will be scum.

Okay, I admit that’s mean. I grew accustomed to the other Takahashi classics that if this got a dub, I would have flipped if I saw the Texas voice actors on this.

As for the sub…where oh where could Kappei Yamaguchi be? Oh where, oh where could he be? One way or another, we are going to hear him. And we do! BUT, he’s not a main character this time. That honor goes to Kaito Ishikawa. Everything in the last three years has gone to this guy. And who am I to complain? I friggin’ love him in nearly everything he’s in. Yeah, this series does have a lot of familiar voices, including several that have been memorable characters in Takahashi’s other series. Kappei Yamaguchi (who is well known for InuYasha and Ranma) is featured as well as Satsuki Yukino (well known for Kagome on InuYasha) Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Rinne is played by (known for Kiawe on Pokemon SM, Genos on One Punch Man, Mitsuo on Golden Time, Urie on Tokyo Ghoul :re, Sakakibara on Assassination Classroom, and Naofumi on Shield Hero)

*Sakura is played by Marina Inoue (known for Sonia on Pokemon Journeys, Armin on Attack on Titan, Yoko on Gurren Lagann, Jessica on Umineko, Kyouko on Skip Beat, Wataru on Hayate, and Rei on H.O.T.D.)

*Rokumon is played by Hitomi Nabatame (known for Serena’s Mother on Pokemon XY, Yukiji on Hayate, Margery Daw on Shakugan no Shana, Saori on Oreimo, Nanao on Bleach, and Raynare on High School DxD)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: I have a guilty pleasure for Kain’s cat, Suzu. She’s just so care-free that she fucks up at least 98% of the time she’s shown on this show. And I gotta admit that she makes me laugh whenever she’s on the screen.

DISLIKED CHARACTER: You would think I would pick that snot-nosed brat (Shouma) introduced in season two for this list. Or Kain for that matter! Both of these boys annoy the living fuck out of me whenever they’re in an episode. But then Rinne’s father peaks his douchey head in.

Oh wow, horrible parent alert! Sabato Rokudou is Rinne’s father and holy shit what a bloody scumbag. He’s on the same tier as the parents from Hayate the Combat Butler. Yeah, that bad! As we all know, the after-world is a capitalist society and everything has a price. This guy has been stealing his own son’s money since he was a little boy. Add to that, Sabato fills his son with false promises (including meeting his own mother). Even in his current age, Sabato finds ways to steal money from his son when he’s trying to earn means while living in the world of the living. Even putting him in a million yen in debt! And just causing life to be miserable for Rinne whenever he comes by! Tamako, how could you birth such an inconsiderate bastard into being?

Nice to see my prediction from when I wrote my Worst Father’s of Anime list over a year ago came true. Sabato remained a dick-head throughout all three seasons. Amazing! I guess the only nice thing about him is that he’s not going to be in a relationship with Ichigo while she’s still a child.

SHIPPING: So Kyokai no Rinne is following the same protocol as a lot of Rumiko Takahashi’s other animes. So we have the male and female main protagonist that’s going to be the main ship (even though it seems more friend-zoned most of the time). There will be a reoccurring girl character to cause friction between this main ship because she loves the male protagonist. And we have to add several boys after the main female’s heart too.

And just for good measure, let’s add a boy interested in the male lead and a couple of secondary ships that may or may not happen.

Hey, InuYasha and Ranma ½ had the same setup. Rinne is just following suit!

Rinne x Sakura has pretty much setting sail since the end of season two even without a full-on confession from either one of them. Rinne has had feelings for Sakura since season one. Sakura on the other hand, I can’t get a grip on what she wants in terms of a romantic partner. I want to say she’s oblivious to the advances of Jumonji or Ageha’s jealousy, but on the other hand, I feel like Sakura just doesn’t care what happens romantic wise. But the fact that she’s constantly helping Rinne might be a big, fat clue.

Rinne x Ageha is that one-sided ship that you know is never gonna happen (along with Sakura x Jumonji), but it doesn’t stop die-hard shippers from supporting it until their final breaths. I am actually impressed that Ageha doesn’t hold a grudge against Rinne because his father kinda brain-washed Ageha’s sister into giving Sabato money all the time. Several other characters hate Rinne for that alone, yet Ageha is still devoted to loving Rinne.

I do wonder that once Rinne x Sakura are a sure-thing if Jumonji and Ageha are going to hook up.

Rinne x Matsugo was one of the wildest ships I could have imagined. First of all, Matsugo’s debut episode came with a hint of love-hate. But by the end, Matsugo went from hating Rinne over a misunderstanding to going all “Bros before Hoes” on us! After that Matsugo stopped at nothing to get Rinne. Even blowing off the one girl that actually likes this obsessed freak!

Kain x Renge is actually the one ship that doesn’t revolve around Rinne because both Kain and Renge hate Rinne’s guts. Renge likes Kain, but also has to hide some pretty heinous things from him like working for Rinne’s father as a Damashi-shinigami. And as we all know, Kain has a vendetta against Sabato, his family, and anyone affiliated with Damashis due to his own family situation. Kain unfortunately sees Renge as an ally or a friend. He wants her to continue her studies since Kain can’t go to school. Dude ain’t got time for a side-chick! He’s gotta work for a living because his mother gives all their money away to Sabato.

That guy seriously grinds my gears.

RUMIC WORLD EASTER EGGS: Rumiko Takahashi has been around for quite some time and many of her creations have become quite well-known. That’s why when Rinne came in anime form, fans took to the forums to gab about how Ageha is the spitting image of a one-shot villain from InuYasha or that Sakura’s mother has a resemblance of Lum or that Jumonji looks like a modern-day Miroku (minus the perverted charm). Every now and then, we get a special little easter egg shown from Takahashi’s other works. Most notably, Lum shown on the currency and carnival prizes that have a lot of figures from Ranma ½!

My favorite easter egg was of course during a next episode preview where Sabato and Tamako (who are voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi and Satsuki Yukino) end up doing some dialogue that’s…

…You all know what this is…

END OF SEASON ONE: So the final episode, Sakura was able to have something she hasn’t been able to obtain in over 10 years. Three days of peace without having to be bugged by a spirit. As a reminder, Sakura as a child visited the other world and after that experience, she’s been able to see spirits. Tamao gave Sakura some candy to eat so that she would be like every other human around her and not see spirits every waking second.

This couldn’t have come at a worse time for Rinne as he had to take out over 5,000 spirits in the middle of an A-1 run. And because Sakura accidentally opened the barrier containing these spirits, they were trying to come after her. So Rinne had to get rid of all 5,000 (and lose money in the process with special tools). It took three days, but Rinne was able to do that. And because Rinne had his special coat on (where normal humans are unable to see him), Sakura wasn’t able to see him until the candy wore off. Even though Sakura got a whole bag of those candies, she hasn’t used them again.

At the end of the episode, Rinne and Sakura break the fourth wall by announcing that a second season was coming!

SEASON TWO: Oh thank you Jesus, the opening and ending themes aren’t bland bags of genericness like the previous season. Great improvement, especially when you get one of the best singers from Love Live to do the opening theme! Good on you!

Music ranting aside, this season we are introduced to a lot of new characters in the human and spirit world that are going to be seen more often than not. Starting things off, apparently Ageha has a cat employee (much like the relationship between Rinne and Rokumon). Except Ageha and Obero’s relationship is a lot more dysfunctional. Kain also has a cat employee named Suzu. She’s more spazzy compared to Kain’s serious demeanor. Actually, there are several cat characters introduced this series and even a few episodes dedicated to them later on.

One more thing I should mention about this particular season is that we got to see Sakura have a little more growth here. For a while I found her too plain for my taste, but this season we see her become a Shinigami (for a day) and we even get possible love interest with the finale. Now let’s head over to that part.

END OF SEASON TWO: The final two episodes consisted of Rinne being invited to a high school mixer in the Afterworld by a former friend, Matsugo. The thing is Matsugo used to hold a vendetta against Rinne due to a misunderstanding from their childhood. But unlike every other misunderstanding from this series, this one was resolved within an episode or two and Matsugo’s buddies with Rinne again. Actually, Matsugo’s feelings are teetering from childhood friend to full-blown bromance.

How do you get rid of a nuisance who can’t take a hint? Bring Sakura with you to the mixer and have her pretend to be your girlfriend! The big problem here is that Rinne is putting food and money over Sakura. And if you were in Rinne’s shoes, you can see that these two are more important than a girl. Rinne is poor as fuck! If he gets a chance at winning some money or food, absolutely fuck everything else! Unfortunately, Sakura caught wind of all of these ulterior motives and started to question her own relationship with Rinne. And I gotta hand it to Sakura, because if this were an old-school Rumiko Takahashi female protagonist like Akane or Kagome, Rinne would have been destroyed in a matter of seconds. Sakura doesn’t cuss him out or show a resting bitch-face. Actually, she never does! But by the end of this two-parter, Rinne realized that Sakura is pretty important to her, maybe even more than other things.

At the end of the episode, Rinne and Sakura break the fourth wall again by announcing that a third season was coming!

SEASON THREE: Much like the previous season, we’re continuously introduced to new characters that serve some sort of purpose, a new love triangle involving the main or supporting cast, and 2-3 filler stories an episode. However, in the mid-point, we get introduced to 2 new characters that answer some questions that have plagued many of us since the beginning.

You know how nearly every male protagonist of Rumiko Takahashi has a missing mother? Whether it be due to premature demise or she’s a crazy-bitch like in Ranma ½, the mother figure is usually M.I.A. Otome was Rinne’s mother, but she disappeared when he was a baby. Only now, her scythe returns suddenly. Add to that, a mysterious little girl named Ichigo moves into the area (and just like Sakura, she can see spirits).

Long story short, Ichigo is the reincarnation of Otome (Rinne’s mother). I can get over this whole Kikyo/Kagome crap because this is a Rumiko classic. But I just feel ewwie whenever I see Ichigo and Sabato. Thankfully Sabato has no intention of doing anything creepy to Ichigo. He has some standards, so he gets a point with me there. The reason why Otome disappeared was because she wanted to hide her old yearbooks from Sabato, which lead to her being caught up in a stampede of wild animals that lead her to the wheel of reincarnation. And the reason why she was trying to hide these old yearbooks was because she didn’t want Sabato to know the ugly truth.

That she is really two years younger…than her mother-in-law.

Dude…I know Tamako looks extremely young to even be a grandmother…but damn, Otome goes to these lengths to lie about her age.

ENDING: We don’t really get any kind of monumental moment or climax until the very final episode since all of the episodes between Ichigo’s reveal and the finale were mostly just side-stories involving spirits/demons of the day. The final episode had Rinne, Sakura, Renge, and Jumonji taking part of a school festival at Matsugo’s school. But it mostly takes place in a test of courage cave. Apparently this feature is notorious for causing many couples to break up and people can’t turn around otherwise they’re disqualified. But if you make it all the way through, free food! And you know Rinne is not going to turn down a chance to get free food.

But we get another moment much like the end of season two where Rinne has to choose between food and/or money or Sakura. Actually, Rinne ended up choosing Sakura. And unlike a bunch of other pissed off couples, Rinne and Sakura’s relationship (or lack there of) is doing pretty well.

So we end with no love confessions on any front, no happy ending for Rinne in hitting a Shinigami lottery or some crap like that, and no hope in a fourth season.

*sighs*

This was…just an okay anime. I can see why people just think this is okay or mediocre. With me, there were several things that bugged. First of all, I found several things in the anime that felt very inconsistent. Especially when it came to the spirits plaguing the human world! There are some scenes where something out of the ordinary happens and it plays out like you would expect like people freaking out. But then you get these moments where, okay, why are regular humans seeing this? The annoying narrator likes to point out the obvious in literally every episode. Why, didn’t we establish the obvious earlier?

Speaking of the narrator, could you be any more annoying?! How many times are you going to remind us of things in the series? I know there are useful moments with the narrator like when he’s describing all the different items Rinne and other Shinigami use to put a soul to rest. But then there’s this repetitive nature to the narrator where he constantly reminds you of shit you’ve known since episode 1. It’s useful when you want to remind the audience at the beginning of each season, but not every couple of episodes. WE ALL KNOW RINNE CAN’T BE SEEN BY HUMANS IF HE’S WEARING HIS CLOAK! SHUT UP ALREADY!

I’m not sure if the anime covered everything in the manga as I have not picked up the books…yet. I’m sure the manga has gotten a little further with many of these potential ships like Rinne x Sakura to hope that maybe one day we’ll get something from them. I’ve spent a good year and a half trying to grasp at what I really think of Sakura Mamiya. First of all, she’s a huge improvement in the main female role. When you compare her to the other girls from Takahashi’s works like Kagome or Akane (who eat Carnation Instant Bitch every morning), Sakura is quite pleasant.

But then you see Sakura showing no other emotion besides satisfied, meh, and let me put on my surprise face. She hardly ever gets mad. I’m not saying go on a rampage like Kagome when she yells at InuYasha, but for fuck’s sake, tell Rinne off every now and then. Christ-balls, he’s put food and money over you so many times you’ve earned a few yells. And he constantly borrows money from you and you know he’ll never pay you back!

The story is mostly the spirit of the day trope. In later seasons however, we get two or three mini stories an episode dealing with some sort of spirit with no personal growth involving any of the main characters. Rinne gets ahead during the episode, but gets smacked back to where he began and we repeat the same thing in the next episode. So yeah, it got boring when we’re stuck in a slump like that. I even had high hopes in season two when we got that one episode where Sakura was a Shinigami for the day. I thought Sakura was going to evolve a little bit after that, but alas that was not the case. We go right back to the spirit(s) of the day trope!

But I always felt drawn back with several of the colorful characters. I always enjoy Rinne’s grandmother, Tamako. Kain’s cat, Suzu is the silliest thing ever and I love her dearly. Masato will always suck and it’s a joy to watch him fail at everything. And call me a sucker for boys fighting over the girl, but whenever I see Rinne and Jumonji get jealous at each other, I enjoy it. Not on levels like Inuyasha and Koga, but good enough here.

So, I would give it a couple of episodes to make your own decision if you want to drop it or continue watching Rinne.

In the meantime, I’m gonna wait patiently for that InuYasha sequel that’s coming out in October. Thank Arceus Rumiko Takahashi gave us something in 2020.

If you want to check out Rin-ne, all three seasons are available on Crunchyro…

Uh-oh! As of this date and time, Rin-ne is removed (along with 76 other titles) from Crunchyroll’s site. Glad I finished before they got rid of it! Just watch it on HI-DIVE.

Now then! That took a good 18 months to get through. Hopefully the next anime is a lot shorter than that one. What’s next on my Sentai block?

Suffering!

Huh? Does that mean Re:Zero? Or Akame ga Kill?

Nope.

Oh, Made in Abyss! But this looks cute and innocent, how could this possibly be…?! Almost had you all fooled! Looks can be deceiving. Yeah, this anime is gonna hurt.

[sage-nebula]

It’s all well and good for me to complain about how terribly written the Alola games are, but I feel as though I need to offer up an alternative (from both a plot and character standpoint) in order to show what it is I would have liked (read: loved) from them instead. So for the sake of my own self-indulgence, I’m going to do just that. I recognize that not everyone will like the ideas I have, and that’s fine. I can’t please everyone. But if I had been in charge of writing the games, then this is the story that I would have told---the one that I would have enjoyed both playing through and writing, if given the opportunity.

So first, right off the bat: Back before SM was released, we had a lot of Wild Mass Guessing about the Aether family actually being Ultra Beasts due to how much Lillie resembles UB-01 (a fact that no longer makes sense as of USUM, because Lusamine hates Ultra Beasts in USUM and thus it doesn’t explain why she would want to dress her daughter up like Nihilego), and how much Lusamine resembles UB-02 Beauty. This ended up being jossed, obviously, but I’m going to go ahead and keep it (with a bit of tweaking, perhaps) because of all the theories the Pokémon fandom has ever come up with, that was far and away my favorite. I would say I’m sorry if that’s a theory that anyone reading this disliked (a few people in the fandom were quite nasty about people who liked the theory for reasons I don’t really understand), but the truth is that I’m not sorry, at all. Not even a little. I like the theory, so I’m going to indulge in the theory, because there’s no reason not to indulge in the theory.

So, that said:

In this version of events, the Aether family originally hail from Ultra Space. More specifically: In this version of events, all of the residents of Ultra Space are Ultra Beasts who can, under the right circumstances, take humanoid form. I say “humanoid” because while they look and can act human, they’re still Ultra Beasts (and probably call themselves something else, but for the sake of ease). They’re just in a form that more closely resembles humans. Regardless (and back on subject), the Aether family are all Ultra Beasts who originally hail from Ultra Space, which is itself a dimension that is rather withered and barren insofar as resources go. Please note that this is an idea I had conceived long before USUM released and the Ultra Recon Squad started prattling on about Necrozma stealing light or whatever else it did. In my version of events, the reason why Ultra Space is suffering as much as it is is because it has been ravaged by various wars and conflicts which destroyed the land and drained them of all means of resources. Ultra Space is dying, not because some legendary pokémon (Ultra Beast?) “stole light,” but rather because continuous conflict has salted the land, sapped essential life energy (think like the energy that creates Infinity Energy or powers the ultimate weapon in the prime dimension), diminished goods and food, et cetera. For the past several decades there have been Ultra Beasts / people in Ultra Space who have been looking for a way to conserve what precious little they have left, even as there are still political strife and conflicts that are tearing them apart in other (slower, subtler) ways. The situation has become increasingly more dire, and at this point even those who are causing a lot of the strife have started to realize that they need to find a solution, and fast.

When she was still in Ultra Space, Lusamine was a royal / noble alchemist who was devoted to her research. Her research covered various fields; she was tasked with things such as the development of technology that could conserve (but also absorb) life energy, but she also studied things such as the Gates between different dimensions and worlds, as well as the status of other dimensions and realities once they were discovered. Lusamine made the discovery of the prime dimension that houses both humans and pokémon, and while her research was limited while she was still in Ultra Space, she was able to deduce that the prime dimension might have enough resources to get Ultra Space back on its feet. If she managed to pull this off, not only would her entire world be saved, but she would also be hailed above all else. Even though she was not currently royalty herself, if she managed to save the entire dimension, no doubt she wouldn’t merely be a top alchemist anymore. They would make her queen. If nothing else, her name would go down in history forever, so there is that. No matter the angle from which she looked at this, taking resources from the prime dimension as we know it was the right thing for her to do. So Lusamine, this plan in mind, opened a Gate (read: Ultra Wormhole) to get through to the prime dimension and went through it, taking her two newborn twin children (Gladion and Lillie) with her when she went.

Once in the prime dimension, Lusamine assumed her humanoid form to better blend in and use the humans in the dimension around her. Although from her perspective pokémon are superior beings to humans (and Ultra Beasts are the most supreme beings of all), she knew enough to know that humans are the ones that actually move things in this world. Pokémon, despite being superior, are often treated as pets or subservient creatures. Thus, she assumed a humanoid form so as to be “equal” to the humans around her (a laughable concept in her mind, but one she is willing to play along with), and used alchemy to modify Gladion and Lillie so that their default forms would be their humanoid forms, and so that they would not be able to change form on a whim. Unfortunately, she couldn’t modify them wholesale; should they come in physical contact with pokémon, an alchemical transmutation would occur, which would cause them to lose their humanoid forms and revert to their beast forms. For this reason, Lusamine always impressed upon them that they were never to touch pokémon, no matter what.

Either way, raising her children was honestly pretty low on her priority list, outside of what use she had for them in furthering her plan, which was to use her alchemy to create a universal transmutation on the prime dimension. This transmutation was set to kill every single human in the world, absorbing the energy from their souls and bodies to be used to restore life to Ultra Space. The pokémon, meanwhile, would also be transmutated, but the transmutation that would occur on them would be to transmutate them into Ultra Beasts. (This feat, Lusamine felt, would be possible due to the fact that pokémon are capable of spontaneous evolution; their DNA allows for them to be successfully transmutated into other creatures entirely. Humans, meanwhile (primitive beings that they are in her eyes) are only capable of evolution over millions of years. Therefore, such a transmutation would be impossible with them, and it would instead be far more prudent to use their life energy to restore life to the Ultra Space dimension.) Once transmutated to Ultra Beasts, the “pokémon” would go to live in Ultra Space, and all of the remaining resources in the prime dimension (food, medicines, whatever else) would also be taken there. The husk of the prime dimension would be left to rot, while Ultra Space would flourish once again. A perfect plan, in Lusamine’s eyes.

That said, this perfect plan was not one that could be put into practice immediately. To begin with, Lusamine didn’t yet have the alchemical formula or resources to create a universal transmutation. Secondly, she couldn’t develop that formula or gather those resources by herself, and particularly not when she had two newborn children to consider. As such, Lusamine came up with the idea of gathering those to assist her. As mentioned previously, humans, though inferior, are the ones that run the world in the prime dimension. Lusamine recognized that she would need to use them in order to carry out her plans. She also recognized that humans were moved by grand causes, and that humans respected organizations more than individuals. With that in mind, she founded the Aether Foundation (presumably with money that she created through alchemy, because while it is impossible to create gold via alchemy in real life, this is not real life: this is Pokémon). The Aether Foundation’s mission statement in this version of events is that they are, “a foundation dedicated to the protection of pokémon, as well as the promise of progress toward a more enlightened future.” In other words, the Aether Foundation still purports to be deeply invested in pokémon conservation on the surface, as well as behind many of the scientific technologies and discoveries throughout the Alola region (and possibly beyond). In this version of events, the Aether Foundation created the Z-Rings, for example. The Aether Foundation is behind the cultivation of pokébeans. The Aether Foundation more or less has the Alola region eating out of their hand, particularly since they go after groups such as Team Skull and “take care of” them (again, at least on the surface). The Aether Foundation are basically seen as beacons of light who can do no wrong by the people in Alola. They work closely with professors and justice officials alike. The fact that they have money flowing from them despite being supposedly nonprofit doesn’t hurt.

Either way, all of this is a front for Lusamine’s true goals. While the Aether Foundation does heavily involve themselves in pokémon conservation to a degree (and while they do “rescue” pokémon from bad environments), the real reason why they do this (aside from cultivating a pristine public image) is because they use those pokémon in experiments. Aside from experiments that explicitly further her goal of opening a more permanent Gate between Ultra Space and the prime dimension so that she can successfully complete the transference later, Lusamine also runs experiments dedicated to creating chimeras that can indirectly be used to further these goals (hence the creation of Type: Null). These chimeras are created via gene splicing and transmutations committed on otherwise ordinary pokémon, and serve the following purposes:

They prove that transmutations that change the forms of pokémon are indeed possible.

They create new creatures that can potentially form soulmate bonds with Ultra Beasts, who otherwise don’t have them.

That second point plays more into part of the plot of my fic To Devour the Sun, and in all honesty, I’m not sure that I would actually put this aspect into the games, although it does contribute to Gladion’s, Null’s, Lillie’s, and Nebby’s individual stories. In essence, through her research Lusamine comes to realize that a significant amount of a very specific type of energy is needed to:

Open the interdimensional Gate to the degree which she needs it opened, + keep it open for as long as she needs it to be open for.

Successfully complete the universal transmutation.

This very specific type of energy is one that isn’t found in individual beings. In truth, it’s not even found in ordinary relationships. Instead, Lusamine discovers that there are certain humans and pokémon who share a far more deep and powerful bond than others---not in terms of “we’ve spent so much more time together and like each other more”, but rather in a more ineffable, mystical, profound sort of way. They are, to put it bluntly, literal platonic soulmates. One soul, two bodies, as it were. The bond shared between them creates an actual energy under the right circumstances, which---if harnessed---could be used to create the most powerful transmutation that any universe has ever seen, particularly if magnified with several different pairs (three pairs is Lusamine’s ideal). Unfortunately, bonds like this are exceptionally rare, and all but impossible to find. Lusamine has been trying, of course; she manufactured Z-Rings and created a partnership with Samson Oak / Kahuna Hala in order to have them distributed to beginning trainers in order to see if, through the use of Z-Power, she could identify any soulmate pairs there within Alola, but there is a very large and noticeable difference between trying and succeeding when it comes to the billions of people and pokémon on the planet, particularly since platonic soulmates don’t always find one another. Although Lusamine doesn’t enjoy admitting that anything is beyond her capabilities, she did admit that there was a high probability of failure when it came to identifying and acquiring even one pair of platonic soulmates before the Promised Day, much less three, and so she set about trying to manufacture platonic soulmates right there in Aether Paradise, using her own children to do so.

Essentially, as I mentioned, Ultra Beasts naturally do not have this soulmate bond with any pokémon because they hail from a different dimension entirely, and pokémon do not exist in their dimension. (Of course, humans in this dimension would call Ultra Beasts pokémon, but there’s a whole discussion to be had about that classification and what separates pokémon from other beings, and now isn’t the time for it.) With that said, if Lusamine could create that bond using her children and created beings, then she would at least have two pairs as opposed to none. Moreover, if she could create that bond between her children and created beasts, then there’s nothing saying she couldn’t manufacture it using another chimera and whatever other human she chose. So while she continued the search for platonic soulmates naturally found within the realm she planned to parasitize, she also worked on trying to manufacture that soulmate bond between her children and chimeras.

And in this version of events, this is why Type: Null and Nebby were created (because yes, in this version of events, Nebby was artificially created as well).

Both Gladion and Lillie were put through what they called “Science Days” ever since they were very small. “Science Days” consisted of days where they had blood drawn and tests run on them, as well as days in which they had to perform various tests that often resembled obstacle courses or complex puzzles which sometimes punished them with things like electric shocks for reasons they didn’t understand. The reason, of course, was that various chimeras and created beings (eventually Null and Nebby) were being similarly tested in other rooms, and all four were supposed to have the bond that would allow them to feel the experiences of the other, thus creating that powerful energy. However, it didn’t work. The closest they got was Null with Gladion and Nebby with Lillie, but in both cases the experiments ultimately culminated in failure, even after Lusamine created controlled situations in which Gladion and Null were able to bond emotionally (and the same with Lillie and Nebby). As it happens, soulmate bonds are just not able to be manufactured, despite how hard Lusamine tried. Her children were not going to be able to be used for this part of the transmutation, and she wouldn’t be able to manufacture that bond between a human and pokémon of her choosing, either.

(Side note 1: This is actually good for both Gladion and Lillie, for while Lusamine was quite disappointed and frustrated at the ultimate failure of these experiments, it isn’t as if the soulmates in question would come out unscathed. The soulmate pairs were always referred to in Lusamine’s notes as sacrifices. In order to utilize the energy generated from their bond, they would be sacrificed at the crux of the transmutation, that energy ripped from them. There is a very high probability that they would die from this part of the transmutation, hence the sacrificed bit. Even if they didn’t, the humans would have their life energy taken from them anyway, while the pokémon would be transmutated into Ultra Beasts. In the case of Gladion and Lillie, they would be allowed to live on if they survived . . . but considering that Lusamine was trying to force platonic soulmate bonds between them and other living creatures, they would be left completely emotionally devastated and traumatized from the transmutation. So it’s fortunate for them that these experiments failed, in the long run. And yes, Lusamine was planning to do that to her own children. She really does not care about them outside of what they can do for her.

Side note 2: In an animeverse adaptation of this (read: To Devour the Sun), Alan and Lizardon would be one such soulmate pair. So would Ash and Pikachu. The third pair is TBD, but considering Bonnie was able to break through brainwashing by singing to Squishy, it’s extremely possible and probable that the two of them would fit the third pair quite nicely.)

Of course, it should be noted that not everyone in the Aether Foundation were aware of Lusamine’s ultimate goals (or even what Lusamine and her children actually are). In fact, most are not. It’s mentioned in USUM (and absolutely true here) that many of the employees within the Aether Foundation aren’t aware of what all the others do due to how many of them there are. More to the point, Lusamine intends to use these humans. They are pawns to her, and she knows that pawns have a high probability of becoming unruly if they are made aware that they are all going to be drained and reduced to lifeless husks at the culmination of the plan. Thus, while the Aether Foundation’s employees are all diligent and loyal workers, they’re all pretty much kept in the dark about Lusamine’s ultimate goals, as well as the fact that Lusamine and her children are not actually human. Even the vast majority of the scientists who create the chimeras, assist in testing on sacrifice candidates, use alchemical discoveries in medicinal and technological sciences, and otherwise help investigate the opening of Gates / Ultra Wormholes still aren’t aware of what the ultimate end result is. They aren’t aware that Ultra Beasts exist, and they certainly aren’t aware that their beloved Madame President is an Ultra Beast herself.

The only exceptions to this are Wicke and Faba.

Wicke was originally hired because Lusamine needed someone to keep an eye on Gladion and Lillie when they were small. However, in addition to using Wicke as a nanny, Lusamine also used her to help run tests and experiments on Science Days. This required Wicke to know that Gladion and Lillie weren’t actually human, so that she would actually understand the data she saw when she came read the results of their blood samples and DNA tests. Lusamine told Wicke the truth insofar as her and the children’s true nature; she also revealed to her that she planned to drain the world of its resources so as to restore Ultra Space to a thriving state. What she failed to tell Wicke was that Wicke herself would also die; instead, she promised Wicke that she (and other worthy, noble humans) would be spared, allowed to live in paradise in Ultra Space. Given that Wicke, in this version of events, is the type of person who views most others as corrupt, nasty, sinful people who make the world a worse place for the few good souls in the world, this plan delighted her. She saw Lusamine not as a monster, but as an angel, a savior for their corrupt and ugly world. Wicke willingly helps Lusamine, knowing full well who she is and (most of) what she intends, because she believes that ultimately it will lead to a world free of sin and corruption. She, of course, doesn’t know that Lusamine is lying to and using her.

As for Faba, given that he is the Branch Chief and head scientist (as far as the humans go), he also knows all about Ultra Beasts and the eventual plan to drain the world. Like Wicke, Faba believes he will be spared, but with an added twist. Faba has bought into the notion that humans are inherently inferior to Ultra Beasts, and that Ultra Beasts are supreme beings in every way. Faba wishes to become one of those supreme beings. Lusamine has lied to him, leading him to believe that he will be transmutated into an Ultra Beast like herself at the end of it. So Faba diligently helps her toward this goal, believing that he will ascend into being a superior life form by the end of it all. Again, it’s a lie, but Lusamine feels that Faba doesn’t need to know that. She has no need to tell the truth to such an inferior being.

Those are the only two exceptions. All the others, even if they believe that what the Aether Foundation is doing will lead to “a more enlightened future”, don’t actually know what that means. The scientists know they’re doing illegal, horrific things (at least, those involved in things like chimera creation and the various soulmate tests know they’re doing illegal, horrific things), but they don’t know the actual end result of the illegal, horrific things beyond the immediately obvious. They don’t know that they’re actually helping assist in the end of the known universe. They just know that, apparently, the immense suffering they’re putting these pokémon / chimeras / people through is ultimately going to be worth it. (Plus, for some of them, being able to successfully assist in the creation of new life forms is a rush. I’m sure that’s how Dr Fuji felt when he created Mewtwo in the experiment that eventually led to the ban of gene splicing to begin with.)

All of that said, although they are her children, Gladion and Lillie were also kept in the dark about much of this for a very long time. As mentioned, Lusamine does not actually love them, or even care about them that much; she has them, but she views them in terms of what they can be used for, what they can do and accomplish. This is why she is willing to sacrifice them, and this is why she runs experiments on them even from the time they are very small. This is also why she doesn’t even bother to tell them that they’re Ultra Beasts for a very long time. Instead, Gladion and Lillie at first grow up believing that they are all humans, particularly since they were only infants when Lusamine brought them over from Ultra Space, and thus they have no recollection of Ultra Space whatsoever. Alola is the only home they’ve ever known. It isn’t until an accident causes Gladion to come into physical contact with a pokémon (and that the transmutation causes him to revert to his beast form, which in turn causes him to panic and briefly lose control until Lusamine is able to transmutate him back) that she reveals the truth to both of them, privately and away from others. They were eight or nine* at the time (depending on if we want them to be ten or eleven in canon), and that was when they learned that they were Ultra Beasts, that they should not refer to Wicke as “Aunt Wicke” any longer or treat any other humans with any form of respect, and that ultimately, this world was going to be reduced to a lifeless husk in favor of their “real home”, Ultra Space.

Needless to say, both Gladion and Lillie were horrified, though their reactions differed greatly.

Gladion, ever more vocal and blunt about his thoughts and opinions, openly spoke out against Lusamine. He had always been one to argue back, to speak out against her orders and point out instances in which she failed to properly explain things to them, or in which her actions caused fault. For instance, in that very conversation, when Lusamine makes a dig at how “Gladion’s little . . . incident” revealed to them their true natures, and that this was why she always told them to never touch pokémon, Gladion mutters that she never told them why. This prompts Lusamine to say that, “Backtalk is still backtalk even if it is under your breath, Gladion” and “do it again, and your discipline will not be verbal.” Nonetheless, though this warning (threat, really) silences him on that matter, when he learns that Lusamine plans to commit a universal transmutation, he openly speaks out against her plan. Alola is the only home he has ever known, and while Lusamine insists that humans are inferior, Gladion doesn’t see it that way. Lusamine, of course, doesn’t appreciate his speaking out, and the argument eventually ends with Lusamine striking him across the face and banishing him to his room. He goes, though he doesn’t stay (but more on that in a moment).

Lillie, on the other hand, rarely (if ever) speaks out against her mother. In this conversation she tentatively questions Lusamine at various points, but mostly falls back on silence, and trying to comfort / calm her brother through squeezing his hand to remind him of the danger. When the true plan is revealed, she is just as horrified as Gladion is, but even when he whirls on her to demand that she speak up, too, her voice fails her and she merely says, in a small voice, that he should calm down, and that “Mother . . . Mother must know best.” Lillie doesn’t believe this, not really, but she can’t bring herself to speak against Lusamine the way Gladion can and does. When Gladion is slapped, Lillie cries out for him, but he ends up bolting to his room (after being ordered there by her mother) before she can say a word to comfort him.

Gladion decides to leave home that night. He decides, despite being so young, that he is going to find a way to stop Lusamine and save Alola / this universe that he calls home. If nothing else, he has decided that he can no longer bear to live there. The tests and experiments are horrible. The suffering the pokémon undergo is horrible. And even if the three of them are monsters, Lusamine is the greatest monster of all. He can’t take it anymore. He can’t. And he will (though he doesn’t know how yet) find a way to stop her.

Lillie is, of course, quite upset when she returns to their room to find Gladion furiously shoving things into a little knapsack to take with him. It should be noted that in this version of events, they are not only siblings, but best friends. They are twins, and have been together literally since the moment they were born. Although they are quite different, they click naturally, and love each other dearly (as shown in various ways, such as how Gladion braids Lillie’s hair or Lillie calms him by taking his hand, or how they call each other Lils and Gladie). So to learn that Gladion plans to run away from home is greatly upsetting to Lillie, who in turn tries to convince him to stay. Gladion, of course, isn’t having it. Still upset at what he perceives as Lillie not standing by him through the incident that just happens, Gladion demands to know why Lillie isn’t as upset about this as he is. Lillie objects, saying that of course she is, but Lusamine is their mother, they need to stand by her. Gladion furiously retorts that no they do not, that their mother is horrible and what they need to do is the right thing. The right thing, Lillie insists, is staying together as a family, is making a change here, at home---they can convince her, they can talk to her---but Gladion points out that convincing their mother of anything is impossible, and that’s more than obvious. She won’t listen because she doesn’t care, and he doesn’t know how Lillie can stand there and defend her.

“I’m not defending what she’s doing, I’m saying that leaving isn’t right!”

“Leaving is the only right thing! It’s the only way we can find a way to stop her!”

“How? You don’t even know what’s out there---”

“Neither do you!”

This fight---their first real fight---goes around and around in circles, and by the end of it, both are crying (though Lillie more openly; Gladion keeps scrubbing his tears away). The end result is that Gladion still decides to leave, while Lillie decides to stay. Gladion takes Null with him; although the soulmate bond experiments failed, he was allowed to bond emotionally with Null, thus he feels compelled to take Null on as his partner (particularly once Lillie reminds him that there are wild pokémon out there in Alola, and that he will need something to keep them from touching him and exposing his real form to everyone in Alola). Lillie walks with him to the docks, assists him in stealing a boat. He tries one last time to get her to leave with him.

“Come with me, Lils,” he says---pleads, really. “We can make a difference together---we can figure this out together. We can beat her together.”

“I won’t abandon our home or family,” Lillie says. She won’t look at him. His face hardens.

“Fine,” he says shortly. “Do whatever you want.”

And then he leaves.

Now, it should be noted that Lusamine was fully aware of all of this happening. She not only monitored Gladion and Lillie as they retrieved Null, but also witnessed the entire scene at the docks. She saw Gladion leave, and she saw Lillie assist him. The next day, she confronted Lillie over this. She asked Lillie where Gladion was, and Lillie said she didn’t know. Lusamine rephrased her question, asking that even if Lillie didn’t know Gladion’s exact location, if she knew where he went the previous night instead of returning to (or perhaps after leaving) their shared bedroom.

Lillie, determinedly not making eye contact, once again said that she didn’t know, but she was sure he was somewhere around Aether Paradise. Or at least, that was what she started to say, but the moment the words, “I don’t know, Mother. He was in bed when I went to sleep---” left her mouth, she received a hand across her cheek forceful enough to prevent her saying anything more.

Lusamine revealed, then, that she knew that Gladion ran away. She revealed that she knew Lillie had assisted him. And even as Lillie tried to apologize and offer excuses, Lusamine interrupted her with another backhand. She wanted to make sure, you see, that Lillie would not commit the same crime that Gladion did. She wanted to make sure that Lillie was too afraid to ever betray and disobey her in such a way. She told Lillie that she saw her assisting Gladion as one betrayal already. She told Lillie that the lies were completely unacceptable and would not be so easily forgiven in the future. She told Lillie that she hated disciplining her, and dearly hoped that Lillie would not make her do so again in the future.

“Promise me, Lillie,” Lusamine said. “Say, ‘I promise I won’t make you hurt me again, Mother.’”

“I . . . I promise I won’t make you hurt me again, Mother,” Lillie said. She didn’t lift her eyes from the floor.

But Lusamine smiled, and stroked her hand down Lillie’s swollen cheek. “There’s my good girl.”

A reminder that, in this moment, Lillie was about eight or nine years old. A reminder, too, that she would see this punishment as a result of Gladion running away, something that she had already felt was wrong. This incident, while serving to make her more docile and compliant to her mother’s wishes and plans, would further her resentment against her twin brother (former) best friend forever. Lusamine, of course, is tangentially aware of this. As far as she’s concerned, it’s all for the betterment of her plans.

Gladion, upon reaching the mainland, has no idea what to do. He is homeless, and has barely any money in this version of events (and therefore nothing to live on). Since he is so young (eight or nine, remember) no respectable business will hire him, and in fact, though the police officers in Alola are generally useless and do nothing, at one point at least one of them says that since he seems to be a lost kid, they will get him in contact with his parents. This thought terrifies Gladion, for obvious reasons, and he only just barely manages to escape with Null’s help. All in all, though, this means that he is now a homeless, starving child. There is essentially no hope for himself or Null. They’re living on berries, which is hardly enough for Null (let alone) Gladion, and that’s . . .

. . . that’s when they come across Team Skull.

In this version of events, Team Skull is a bit different. Make no mistake, they are still a large street gang. To me, it has always been fairly obvious that Team Skull are based on chinpira, a Japanese word that roughly translates to “delinquent” or “gang member”. In Japan, chinpira are sometimes referred to as “baby yakuza” or “yakuza in training”, and that translates here to Team Skull being Team Rocket wannabes. All of that is kept the same in this version of events, right down to them probably owning Po Town, as decrepit and disgusting as it is.

With that said, there are some slight changes. Guzma, while still an irresponsible fuck-up who isn’t good for anything, is no longer being manipulated by Lusamine. In fact, since he considers himself to be the boss here (punk-ass Giovanni wannabe), he refuses to be manipulated or ordered around by anybody (except Plumeria, kind of, but more on her in a second). He’s not nearly as abusive to the Skull grunts in this version of events, or at least not to the point where he laughs as he kicks them around, and they flee the scene the second he gets even a little angry for any reason. Instead, given that they’re all Rocket wannabes, he actually tries to promote some sense of “team unity,” at least in the sense that “we’re gonna rule the place and be better than anyone else and no one better say a fuckin’ word against it.” They still don’t want to cross him, but they’re also not as afraid to, if that makes sense.

Plumeria, meanwhile, is the one really in charge. As the only responsible one in the whole organization, she’s the one that actually comes up with successful plans and keeps everyone in line. Also, while the grunts may occasionally say words against Guzma (very sparingly and quietly), Plumeria is the only one that can tell him what to do and have it actually get done, even if he comes back fifteen minutes later ranting at her about how she can’t give him orders, he’s the boss. Yeah, okay. Plumeria still considers herself to be a big sister to the Skull grunts, all of whom she openly calls dipshits and dumbasses, so that part is kept the same as well.

All of this said, Gladion is in a very desperate situation when Skull comes across him, so when Guzma says he should join up, he jumps at the chance. In this version of events he is taken back to Po Town to live in the mansion (since Guzma can’t exactly afford to pay him), and he considers himself a Skull grunt as a result. Even so, things aren’t really easy. Living in Po Town is barely a step above homeless, given how decrepit it is. Even if Guzma isn’t as abusive to everyone in this version of events, there is still constantly yelling and fighting going on in the mansion, which Gladion---as an abuse survivor---is constantly put on edge by. The Skull grunts are by and large freaked out by Null, which also makes bonding with them hard. The only one that Gladion ends up truly getting along with is Plumeria, whom he does form somewhat of a sibling bond with (something he justifies to himself by saying that Lillie is his twin, not his older sister, so it’s not as if he’s replacing her, especially since he’s the older twin besides). Otherwise, he doesn’t really get along with the rest of the team. Food is still scarce. Everyone in Alola views them as criminals and degenerates, something which is frustrating to Gladion because, even if he doesn’t really bond with Team Skull, he still has a weird sort of loyalty to them regardless. So for the next two years he lives as an outcast to society, living on scraps of food where he can get them, trying to get stronger and find a way to stop his mother’s plans, constantly stressed out and anxious due to all the fighting in the house in which he lives, and also constantly trying to keep a low profile since, although she let him leave, Lusamine is still having her Aether Foundation employees search for him to drag him and Null back to Aether Paradise, and he knows it. (And knows, too, that if he gets taken back there . . . not only will his punishment not be verbal, but it will be brutal, and Null will likely be put down. He knows this, and he does not want it to happen under any circumstances.)

Lillie, on the other hand, remains at Aether Paradise for at least one more year. The “Science Day” tests are no longer carried out since Lusamine has already decided that Lillie cannot be used to manufacture a soulmate bond. However, she is now deeply involved in overseeing and assisting with the other experiments, since Lusamine plans to turn Lillie into a little “mini Lusamine” that she can use as she pleases to carry out experiments and the like, like an extra set of eyes and hands. Lillie, of course, doesn’t want to. However, Lillie is also deeply terrified of crossing her mother, and feels that doing so is impossible and fruitless. She doesn’t believe her mother really can be stopped, not really. In this version of events, in contrast to her brother’s angry defiance, Lillie has quiet resignation. She goes along with it because she feels she has no other choice, even though she dearly, desperately wishes that things could be different, and prays that no soulmate pairs (sacrifices) will ever be found.

After a year or so of that, however, Lusamine arranges for Lillie to leave Aether Paradise, and instead go work as an assistant for one of the regional professors. Here is where things would differ slightly between the games and the anime. In the games, Lusamine specifically sends Lillie to work as Professor Burnet’s assistant so that she can keep an eye on Burnet’s research, both because Lusamine feels that Burnet may have research that can assist in her own alchemical experiments, and also because she wants to ensure that Burnet does not interfere with her experiments. In the anime, however, Lusamine sends Lillie to be a plant at Samson Oak’s school, so that she can keep an eye on the students there and see if there are any potential candidates for sacrifice. At first there aren’t, and Lillie is relieved; soon enough, however, Ash Ketchum and his platonic soulmate Pikachu arrive at the school, and Lillie is internally devastated as she realizes she has to relay this information back to her mother (information being every time she sees them use a Z-Move, what the results are, and various other things like that which more or less mark Ash as a confirmed sacrifice), and as she feels more and more with each passing day that she truly does not want to and wishes that somehow, in some way, this could all be so very different. (Side note: In this version of the anime, Ash and Lillie would be roommates, the two of them sharing Professor Kukui’s loft. Ash would at some point make a joke about how this must be what it would feel like to have a sister, and he doesn’t understand why Lillie looks so stricken, offended, and angry as she sputters, “You are not my brother!” before storming off. He’s actually a little hurt by this, because jeez, what did he do to have her be so upset at the idea of having him for a brother? But he doesn’t bring it up again, and doesn’t realize until much later that it wasn’t the idea of having him for a brother that upset her so much, but rather, sudden memories and thoughts of Gladion that reduced her to such an emotional state.)

It should be noted here (though it is likely obvious) that I would be altering not only Lusamine’s characterization, but also Gladion’s and Lillie’s. To give a succinct summary:

Gladion would be a lot more openly rebellious, hostile, and fiery. He would still be closed off and prickly toward others, but rather than appearing cold and reserved, it would often be like he is a heavily shaken can of soda that can explode at any moment. A lot of this has to do with the abuse he suffered through at Aether Paradise, but also the continuing trauma of living among Team Skull and that chaotic, unpredictable, stressful environment for the past two years (because even if he isn’t being as directly abused, you can’t relax in a home where you have to be on alert for a bottle that might get thrown at your head, accidentally or otherwise, at any moment). He’s constantly keyed-up and hypervigilant for any perceived threat. He’s angry at so many things, and he’s smart, but his emotions can sometimes get the better of him and override his logic (or rather, prevent him from thinking things through clearly). He has no tolerance for naivete or optimistic, idealistic outlooks (something which carries over from the canon), and though he does bond with Plumeria, that was kind of an accident and he has no real interest in bonding with anyone else. He still cares deeply for Null, and for Lillie, although he resents and is angry with her both for not coming with him when he left home, and also for continuing to assist their mother.

Lillie is a lot more standoffish, cold, and reserved. She hardened herself to try and survive her mother’s increased abuse after Gladion left, feeling that since the situation is so hopeless as it is, it would be better if she didn’t let on about how she felt at all so as not to make things even worse for herself. Like Gladion, she’s very smart. Unlike Gladion, she not only had specialized tutoring by Lusamine in order to better assist with Lusamine’s plans, but she also has a natural tendency to freeze rather than blaze into action, thus allowing her to constantly think things through before making decisions (though that said, she usually overthinks things, in all honesty). She, too, has a low tolerance for naivete, idealism, or optimism, but her cynicism manifests in cold silences rather than harsh insults. She also has a low patience for perceived stupidity and foolishness, and thus not only tends to correct those who make mistakes around her, but also can be a little sarcastic as well (traits she, as much as she would hate to realize it, learned from Lusamine, who, if you’ll remember, wanted to make Lillie into a little clone of herself). Lillie is also not in the mood and has no desire to make friends, particularly since she figures everyone will eventually die anyway. The one exception to this is Nebby, whom Lusamine allowed Lillie to take with her, and who actually has a pokéball this time around.

As you can see, where Gladion is fire, Lillie is ice. While Gladion learns to chill out some over the course of the plot, Lillie learns to warm up. They have very, very similar character arcs, though approached from different angles. But as they come forward from these opposing positions, they also come closer together, so that the story can culminate with the two of them repairing their relationship and learning to be a twin sibling best friend forever team again.

And that finally brings us to the present-day story. (Because all of the above? That’s backstory. It likely would be explained in game, at some point, but not shown. I just felt it necessary to share so that you understand the characters moving forward.)

As mentioned, in the games Lillie has been planted as Professor Burnet’s assistant. Burnet hired her not after finding her unconscious on a beach, but after Lillie specifically sought her out for work. Ordinarily Burnet wouldn’t have hired a child, but Lillie’s credentials were sound (she was Lusamine’s daughter, and thus had tons of experience from her time growing up in the Aether Foundation, and she could certainly prove her knowledge), so she agreed. As Professor Burnet’s assistant, Lillie has been keeping tabs on the research and passing any useful information along to Lusamine, as mentioned. However, if the soulmate sacrifices were a part of the game story as well, she has also been instructed to keep on the lookout of any trainers who could potentially fit that bill. So she’s doing that, as well.

Meanwhile, she’s not the only professor assistant in the games. In this version of events, Hau is Professor Kukui’s assistant. Instead of just taking everything as a big joke and eating malasadas all the time, Hau decided to deal with his insecurity re: being Hala’s grandson by deciding that he doesn’t want anything to do with Trials or Kahunas at all, and instead wants to become a professor like Kukui. Kukui still tries to get Hau to complete his Island Challenge, which Hau perhaps agrees to (but maybe not), but all in all Hau decides from the start that he doesn’t even want to be a trainer, really, and instead focuses on helping Kukui form the League, learning along the way (thanks to Kukui) that he can really form his own path, independent of everyone else, and that he doesn’t have to jump on something just because it’s different / an escape, but rather should pursue something because he genuinely wants to pursue it, if that makes sense. Hau also gets the RotomDex, because fuck if I would want to be saddled with that monstrosity for the entire game.

Regardless, the player character moves to Alola, as planned, and takes the Island Challenge, as planned. In this version of events, if the soulmate sacrifices are part of the game story, Lillie would come to realize that the player character is a potential candidate for sacrifice after an incident involving Tapu Koko, the player character, and the player character’s starter. (So uh, maybe install a game mechanic wherein the player can��t box / trade away their starter until the end of the plot. Choose wisely, people.) So in this version of events, Lillie continues to encounter the player / follow the player around not because she needs to be escorted everywhere because she is helpless, but rather because she is keeping tabs on them and reporting back to Lusamine on them. (Gladion, too, recognizes the player as a potential candidate for sacrifice upon meeting them, and grows furious with Lillie for reporting information back, and this results in a fight between the pair of them that the player and Hau are pretty “???” about since neither of them will directly specify what it is they’re talking about.) It should be noted that both twins battle the player at various points. Lillie battles with Nebby, and Gladion battles with Null. In this version of events, Hau is the non-battle rival, since he’s avoiding becoming a combative trainer due to his complex surrounding Hala. Nonetheless, Lillie battles the player to test their bond with their starter, whereas Gladion battles the player to see if they can be strong enough to fend off Lusamine. So both ultra twins are rivals in this sense.

Either way, the player still goes through the Island Challenge, as normal. Team Skull encounters occur as normal, too. It’s made pretty clear that they’re a bunch of punks, and far more misguided than actually evil (since, you know, they’re Rocket wannabes, not actual Rockets). However, it’s also made clear that the Aether Foundation makes Team Skull out to be far worse than they are. There would be numerous scenes where Aether Foundation employees make big deals out of Team Skull stealing food (to survive), or “using stolen pokémon”, while the Team Skull grunts insist that those are pokémon they caught fair and square (they are), and are understandably upset and enraged when the Aether Foundation employees “rescue them” anyway. In fact, leading up to The Reveal™, there would be numerous instances where it would be made clear that the Aether Foundation, despite how many glowing reviews they get from all over the archipelago, are passive-aggressive at best and sinister at worst. They would often talk about things such as righteousness and how they know best, for instance, and would cheerfully tell the player to make sure they stay out of the way while the Aether Foundation takes care of things. Additionally, Wicke would most certainly have dialogue about all the nasty, corrupt, awful people in the world and how the Aether Foundation is working to change that, and Faba would be pretty open about how superior he is to everyone, and how tiring it is to deal with inferiors day in and day out. So, it would be pretty clear that the Aether Foundation is not pristine, pretty much from the get-go. And as should be obvious from all the backstory, they’re really, really not. Not every member of Aether is evil (I’m sure there are some who are genuinely just interested in conservation and who are kept in the dark about the more heinous things), but there are plenty who are not only complicit with, but perfectly fine with the heinous things because they figure it’s for a good cause, or they want the experience of using advanced alchemical medicine. The Aether Foundation is corrupt to the core and most of its members are corrupt as well, to varying degrees. That would be made apparent pretty early on.

Moving on, Lusamine would also encounter the player earlier. After hearing from Lillie that the player was a potential candidate for sacrifice, Lusamine would leave Aether Paradise to meet and examine the player herself. She would appear perfectly cordial, even kind; she would speak of her grand visions of the future, of what the Aether Foundation strives for, and the player would see someone who seems perfectly trustworthy and even admirable (even as Lillie goes strangely silent in her presence, saying nothing more than “yes, Mother” or “no, Mother” or “I will, Mother” when asked questions---so, you know, little red flags like that). There may still be a tour at Aether Paradise, where Wicke and Faba would be encountered. Perhaps Hau, if there, would mention Gladion, and Lusamine would ask him if he knows where Gladion is. Hau might be the one to let slip that Gladion is with Team Skull (and there would be a shot of Lillie’s eyes widening in horror that he revealed this, because even if she is resentful toward and angry with her brother, she knows full well what Lusamine will do to him if he is caught, and no matter how angry she is, she does not want Gladion hurt like that), and Lusamine thanks Hau in the sweetest voice for this information. Though it’s not revealed just then, there’s a story event later where Po Town is put under siege by not only Aether Foundation employees, but potentially even Interpol. As far as the public is concerned, this is because of Team Skull’s various crimes (which have been falsified to the nth degree), and therefore is being done for the safety of all Alola. In truth, this is just so that Lusamine can finally get her hands on Gladion again, once and for all.

And here . . . here is where I pause and back up a little bit.

As mentioned, Lillie is acting as an unwilling spy and pawn for Lusamine throughout the plot. She feels trapped and hopeless. However, her view on this comes to change over the course of the game’s story. Not only has Professor Burnet treated her like an actual mother would (so while Gladion gains a big sister in Plumeria, Lillie gains a mother in Burnet), but though she doesn’t hero worship the player as she does in the canon games, Lillie also sees that the player faces their challenges and fears no matter how seemingly insurmountable, all without backing down. Even when something seems as though it should stop the player, the player manages to turn things around. Additionally, throughout the game Hau (as mentioned) learns with Kukui’s help that he can build a new life and path for himself, that he doesn’t even have to be a professor, but rather, he could find an entirely new career, all for himself, because he doesn’t have a destiny set in stone, but instead creates one for himself. All of these influences work to not only “defrost” (read: heal) Lillie, but also inspire her. Slowly but surely, she starts to think that maybe . . . maybe . . . maybe there could be a change. She already didn’t want anyone sacrificed, she already didn’t want the universe to die, but whereas she resigned herself to the fate before, all of this starts to make her think that maybe . . . just maybe . . . maybe, if she stands up, something could be done.

And then Po Town is put under siege, Team Skull is basically devastated, and Gladion is hauled off to the Aether Foundation.

Over the course of the plot up to this point, Gladion and Lillie had gotten into various fights which revealed to the player that:

They are twin siblings

They had some sort of falling out in the past and are still highkey salty about it

Lillie is doing something Gladion doesn’t approve of, but likewise, Lillie doesn’t approve of Gladion being in Team Skull

They still care about each other a great deal

The last point is revealed through their fights because, although they tend to part on bad terms, one of them will always say something to the effect of “. . . be careful” or “stay safe” (or perhaps Gladion is like “don’t die” because he’s extra in this version of events) just out of earshot (i.e. once the other leaves). Moreover, although their first on-screen fight is quite hostile, their fights get less so as the story goes on, and they actually converse and relay information (tersely, but still) as the plot goes on. The player is shown that Gladion and Lillie truly do care about one another, and that they’re slowly getting better insofar as how they get along with one another, and so when it’s revealed that Po Town has been laid under siege and Plumeria (who was badly injured trying to protect Gladion) tells them that Gladion was taken back to the Aether Foundation, the fact that Lillie is so horrified to learn this is completely believable. Finally, that aloof façade comes crumbling down completely as you see that she is truly terrified for her brother, and she turns to the player for help in saving him.

“Saving him?” Hau asks, perplexed. “But the Aether Foundation are good guys, right? Though I guess since he was Skull he’ll be sent to juvie or someth---”

“No,” Lillie says, interrupting him. “You know nothing of the Aether Foundation, Hau, and nothing of what will happen to my brother. Please don’t say anything more on this.”

That shuts Hau up, though he looks rather like :( and is pretty confused as to what Lillie is talking about (like usual, because neither Aether twin tends to explain themselves when it comes to things like this).

Anyway, Lillie and the player go to Aether Paradise (Hau comes with, though he doesn’t actively battle of course, but he’s curious) to try to rescue Gladion. They make it all the way to room where the sacrifices would be carried out, and while Gladion is there, in restraints and looking thoroughly miserable and (uncharacteristically) unresponsive . . .

. . . before anyone has a chance to say much of anything . . .

. . . Lusamine thanks Lillie for bringing the player to her.

And that’s when the plot twist is revealed, that’s when it is revealed to the player that Lillie has been working for Lusamine the entire time. But of course, by this point Lillie has had a real change of heart. Of course she never wanted to help Lusamine in the first place, but by this point she is really against the idea, and even as Hau and the player both look at her in confusion and horror, she tries to say that no, that wasn’t her intention, she didn’t---

“Mother, please, we---!” She looks back at the player, anguish in her expression. “I really did want to save Gladi---!”

Lusamine interrupts her, of course. She explains all about how Lillie has been helping her. She says, repeatedly, “Isn’t that right, Lillie?” and Lillie, miserably, quietly, says yes. She admits to all of it. Hau, aghast, says, “You betrayed us?!” and Lillie doesn’t refute him (because she’s too busy crying, albeit silently, because she learned along time ago how to cry without making hardly a sound). Lusamine gloats, talks about her plans, all that typical villain behavior. And Aether agents storm the room, and as per the plot, accost the player (and shove Hau out of the way) to drag them over to the device they need to be strapped to in order to be sacrificed, their starter partner taken from them, Gladion still in restraints and Lillie too frozen to do much of anything to stop it.

(Of course, this is only one sacrifice pair, so maybe Lusamine only needs the one in this version of events. Or potentially she has others; Red and his Pikachu, and N and . . . Zoroark, maybe, for convenience, I don’t know. Something to that effect. I’m sure many memes would be made from Red’s “?!” reaction to this, especially if he ended up still having his typical deadpan expression, like, “I did not get off Mt Silver for this,” but nonetheless.)

In any case, the plan gets underway, but it only partially works until it is interrupted. Null had been taken by the Aether employees upon Gladion’s arrest, but he managed to escape them thanks to all the training Gladion gave them, and while the procedure is underway to open the Gate and carry out the universal transmutation, Null breaks into the room and interrupts it. For the first time, Gladion openly responds to something, calling out Null’s name; and when he does, Null evolves into Silvally, breaks the machine causing the transmutation, and then bounds across the room to free Gladion from his restraints. Lusamine tries to stop them, but Silvally rebuffs her (because while her natural ability as UB-02 causes pokémon from having the will to fight against her, Silvally is a chimera and has no such hindrance), and Gladion leaps on Silvally’s back (because, as an artificially created chimera, Null / Silvally never triggered the transmutation that revealed Gladion’s true form, and same for Nebby and Lillie).

Just as he did at the docks two years ago, Gladion turns to Lillie. They stare at each other for a moment, and then Gladion offers his hand to her.

“Come with me, Lils,” he says. “Let’s get out of here---together.”

“Lillie!” Lusamine snaps, all traces of smug superiority gone. Her face is contorted in rage; Lillie’s expression is terrified as she stares back at her. “Don’t you dare. Summon Cosmog and stop him.”

“Lils,” Gladion says, raising his voice a little more. His voice cracks; it’s evident that, whatever Lusamine did to him, he’s not really in fighting fit shape at the moment, even as he pushes through it. “Please. Come with me.”

Lillie looks between them. She looks from her brother, to her mother, and back again. Then she takes her brother’s hand, and allows him to pull her up onto Silvally’s back.

“LILLIE!” Lusamine screeches, but it’s too late. Silvally wastes no time in getting the hell out of dodge, barreling over the Aether Foundation employees who try to stand in their way.

“Hey! Wait!” Hau yells, gesturing a hand over at the player (who was thankfully broken free of their restraints by Silvally as well). “What about us?!”

Fortunately, they’re saved as well. Plumeria had gotten in touch with Nanu, whom she was on good terms with, and Nanu got in touch with some non-corrupt members of Interpol (hello, Looker and Anabel), and it’s at that moment that they storm the place to help the player and Hau escape. Not only that, but they seek to arrest a lot of the key players in the Aether Foundation as well . . .

. . . only, they don’t succeed.

Not only is Lusamine still an Ultra Beast herself (and one who can, again, make pokémon lose the will to fight her---this is information from the SM website, and though Game Freak wasted the opportunity to include it in the official games, I won’t pass on such an opportunity), but the sacrifice still partially worked. A Gate / Ultra Wormhole was opened, so not only are more Ultra Beasts able to come through to Alola, but Lusamine is able to temporarily escape through said Gate / wormhole, evading arrest. Wicke and Faba are still taken into custody, but Lusamine herself escapes, and it’s clear that the plot is not over yet.

Nonetheless, Hau and the player escape, and they end up going back to Burnet’s lab to regroup / get more information, since they learn (somehow) that that’s where Gladion and Lillie retreated to. Lillie, naturally, starts to apologize rather profusely for everything, and Hau (who is still angry about this whole thing, especially since they left him behind) starts to say that, yeah, she should and better be, but sorry doesn’t fix things---only for Gladion to get pissed and cut across him that Lillie already said she was sorry, and Hau has no idea what the hell she’s gone through, so he can shut the hell up, thanks. Hau is offended, but Lillie interrupts him by thanking Gladion, before telling him that no, Hau has every right to be angry.

“No, he doesn---”

“He does, Gladie,” Lillie says. “And so does [player], especially, but . . . I want to take this opportunity to do what’s right, and I think . . . I think I might know how.”

From there, plot and alchemical details come about. Lillie says that she knows that Lusamine won’t have been stopped by this, that since the universal transmutation was started (at least via the Gate opening) that she’s going to want to finish it. Thanks to her time as Burnet’s assistant, however, she thinks she knows of a way to stop it, however . . .

“We would need to create a transmutation circle across all of Alola---every island,” she says. “That would take a lot of people . . . there is no possible way we could do it alone.”

“How many people?” Gladion asks.

“I . . . I’m not exactly sure,” Lillie says. “A veritable army, most likely, given how many islands there are to cover.”

“Would about a hundred idiots do the trick?” Gladion asks.

“Provided those idiots can follow basic instructions on how to draw a transmutation circle, yes,” Lillie says.

Gladion grins. “Then I’ve got just the team of idiots, provided we can bust some of them out of police custody.”

Those in Team Skull who were arrested are freed, and they (with Plumeria barking orders at them to get them to shape up and behave themselves when they start to act out of line) set about following the instructions that Lillie draws up to create a region-wide transmutation circle to counteract the transmutation Lusamine set to carry out. They work, too, with Burnet, who uses the interdimensional technology that she has been working on for years to not only magnify the transmutation circle Lillie helps create just in case it isn’t strong enough on its own, but also helps find them a way to get into Ultra Space so that Lusamine can be tracked down and arrested for her crimes (and also, you know, stopped for good---that, too).

While they’re working on this, however, Lusamine has been busy. You remember Team Rainbow Rocket? Well, prepare for trouble, and make it not only double, but sextuple. Seeing as how she no longer has any subordinates that aren’t in police custody, and also that she needs backup resources now that the Aether Foundation has been laid to siege by Interpol and whatnot, Lusamine uses what she has already done to open Gates into other realities and summon the ones who succeeded there, manipulating them into working for her. Giovanni, Archie, Maxie, Cyrus, Ghetsis, Lysandre---this is how they come into play in this version of events. They aren’t overtaking Lusamine: They are working for her, because she found some way or another to manipulate them into doing so. (It helps, too, that their pokémon won’t attack her even if they try to fight back against her. If anything, their pokémon become putty in her hands. I’m telling you, Game Freak wasted a real opportunity by not capitalizing on UB-02 Beauty’s supposed ability.)  She sends them back through to the prime dimension so that they can impede the progress that the player et al are making to stop her. Moreover, she takes the energy amassed from Lysandre’s successful genocide / ultimate weapon (along with whatever Cyrus has from his new universe, et cetera) so that she can use it to finish carrying out her universal transmutation. She may not have her soulmate sacrifices anymore, and this energy is not at all a perfect substitution, but drastic times call for drastic measures. She’ll improvise.

(Side note: In the anime version of these events, she would probably focus far more wholesale on Lysandre, perhaps ignoring the other bosses altogether. Lysandre would have amassed untold amounts of mega evolution energy, and I feel that the anime placed far more emphasis on the experiments he had carried out with it than the games did. In this, Lusamine would focus far more on him so that she could use him and his energy / resources before discarding him like yesterday’s trash. Of course, Lysandre is not an idiot, and he’s not nearly so easily discarded as yesterday’s trash . . . but nonetheless, Lusamine wouldn’t be sincere about their partnership (or at least not totally) given that he is human, and she sees herself as superior to him therefore. She would still act as though she is, though, and so for a time they’d have an apparent camaraderie. Considering anime canon, as well as To Devour the Sun and the events that unfold there, I can assure you that this partnership would literally be Alan’s worst nightmare come to life.)

At about the time that Burnet and the others deduce that Nebby is the key to allowing them to open a Gate / wormhole to chase after Lusamine (tl;dr: Nebby is an artificially created pre-evolution of the mascot legendary, so they should be able to get him to evolve completely if they take him to the altar and play the flutes; since he was artificially created, he also has ties to the Ultra Beasts because alchemy and science, therefore opening the Gates / wormholes should be even more possible for him), Lusamine starts enacting the transmutation again (from her safe place in Ultra Space). This, to borrow the “stealing the light” theme, makes everything go pitch black dark (it’s as if the sun went out, but there’s no moon either), and at this point, it’s a race against time to get to the altar and make Nebby evolve all the way. What would be interesting, though, is that we would actually see a change. Remember, Lusamine’s plan is to transmutate the pokémon, and kill off the humans to take life from them. So as the player, Lillie, and Gladion make their way to the altar, not only would they start running into more Ultra Beasts in the wild (increasingly more and more as you get closer to the altar), but you’d also not get pinged for battles by NPC trainers on routes (or rather, they’d ping you, but no battle would initiate, and instead they’d make comments about how tired or weak or sick they feel), and the NPCs in towns would all be in varying states of lying on the ground, slumped against buildings, et cetera. Again, this would slowly increase the closer you get to the altar, to really drive home the fact that there is no time to fuck around, you have to stop Lusamine now.

(Of course, you’re stopping Lusamine directly; meanwhile, Burnet is working with her scientists, Plumeria, and the Skull grunts to try and pull off the counter-transmutation, but . . . they’re only human, and they’re being drained by this as well . . .)

The player and the twins get to the altar in time. The twins play the flutes; they harmonize, showing once and for all that they’ve truly come together again, their relationship is wholly repaired. Nebby evolves into either Solgaleo or Lunala, the portal is opened, everyone goes through. All of this is very similar to the game.

Once in Ultra Space, perhaps here is where the other bosses come to play, and it’s like a boss rush gauntlet where you have to fight your way through them, one right after the other, no pauses and no breaks. (So I really hope you saved beforehand and/or brought some healing items, fam.) Once that’s finished with and Lusamine is confronted, this time it’s both of her children confronting her. They both go off on her, not only for how she treated them, but for how she treated this entire universe. Ultra Space needs help, sure, but that’s no excuse for universal genocide, and her kids---her abused kids, who have grown so much, who hold hands to give each other support as they go off on her---let her know it. But of course, Lusamine listens to none of this, and actually tries to attack them instead. Silvally and Nebby protect them both, but all that means is that Lusamine turns on the player, and another battle ensues.

Lusamine, as the plot demands, loses the battle. And when she does, everyone sees through the Gate that her transmutation has been stopped as well. Burnet and her scientists, Plumeria and Team Skull---following the twins’ instructions, they were successful in stopping the universal transmutation, and everyone’s lives were saved. The twins and the player see this, and everyone is filled with relief . . .

. . . except Lusamine, who finally, completely loses it in a dare I say unattractive villainous breakdown. She, in all her violent fury, whirls on her kids to punish them for daring to not only defy, but ultimately ruin everything she had worked so hard for over so many years---

But before her blow can hit them, Silvally and Nebby---the creatures Lusamine had created specifically for Gladion and Lillie---protect them. And then they take Lusamine the fuck out.

It’s actually left vague what happens to Lusamine. Like, they don’t say outright that she died. You don’t see a body. But the dialogue says that “she’s gone” and the twins both say that they all need to leave, so they do. Lusamine is . . . still in Ultra Space, either dead or unconscious. No one knows. The twins have no intention of going to check.

So, the universe has been saved. The Aether Foundation is disbanded. The pokémon that were there are distributed to various professors around the globe (as well as other welfare organizations) to be taken care of. The Aether twins are, thankfully, free, and the fact that they, too, are Ultra Beasts is kept quiet except to a select few so that no unsavory types will try to attack or take advantage of them. But of course, they’re not left without purpose; though Interpol (namely Looker, Anabel, and Nanu) are handling most of the arrest and rehabilitation of the other Ultra Beasts that came through, both Gladion and Lillie realize that perhaps they can talk to those Ultra Beasts, to learn more about Ultra Space and see if something can be done. The Gates are closed now, and of course neither Gladion and Lillie will stand for this universe being threatened like that again. But Ultra Space is a dimension with a lot of people who are, apparently, suffering, and if there is a way to help them . . . a way that doesn’t involve sacrificing an entire universe and killing so many people . . . well, maybe the two of them can find it.

And then, of course, maybe Kukui establishes his League or whatever, I don’t know, that’s hardly relevant to me, tbh. Even if he does, neither Lillie nor Gladion would be title challengers. Instead, you’d be able to talk to them both at Burnet’s lab, and battle each of them in turn on certain days.

And that’s basically it, at least as far as the games go. As far as the anime goes . . . well, that’s kind of a different beast altogether, given how things were set up with the school and whatnot.

I mentioned some of it already; Lillie would have her same personality, disposition, and motivations to an extent, except that she’s living with Kukui instead of Burnet due to her need to scout for potential sacrifices at the trainer school. Her new roommate, Ash, ends up being a suitable candidate for sacrifice thanks to the fact that he is with his platonic soulmate, Pikachu. There is no island challenge, so there’s no traveling from island to island, and Hau isn’t a character, either. But Lusamine does visit the school in the anime as it is, so there’s the first meeting . . . and perhaps the rest could unravel similarly to the games as well, particularly if emphasis is put on the fact that Lillie is warming up to / growing closer to Ash, and if there are similar encounters with Gladion as well.

(Of course, To Devour the Sun also changes things up by having Lusamine get her hands on Alan and Lizardon pretty early on, thanks to both of them being in Alola as part of their family vacation and Alan growing pretty much instantly suspicious of her due to his hypervigilance as caused by his C-PTSD and subsequently infiltrating Aether Paradise one night, but . . . I won’t go into all the details of that fic here. You can find it on my fic page if you like. All I’ll say is that Alan is her first confirmed sacrifice, and it is not a happy time for either himself or Lizardon.)

Nonetheless, though all of this would probably make these games Rated T for Teen rather than E for Everyone, I’d still find this five hundred billion times more interesting than what we got. Lusamine would be an actual villain, her kids would get actual justice and be able to stand up for themselves, Team Skull would get to participate in saving the world, Professor Burnet would have an active role in the climax instead of being completely ignored despite multidimensional research being her field, and so on and so forth. If I was writing the games with complete freedom, this is how I’d do it, and I personally feel that it’d be a lot more engaging and emotional.

But maybe that’s just me.

[wandering-ish]

(reposting this post from last year because it won’t show in my travel tag and it annoys me quite a bit (((a whole fucking lot))))

5 years ago and last year, I didn’t appreciate Korean food much. But during my last trip to Seoul, I learned to love the food I didn’t even like before! In fact, I spent quite a lot on food >__> So I decided to get the most out of the spending by… writing it down. My overlimit credit card and I proudly present:

SEOUL CULINARY DIARY

Fried chicken 양념 치킨 (yangnyeom chicken) is the first meal I had during the trip. Getting exhausted and hungry while trying to find Sinseonggak Jajangmyeon from Gongdeok Station, a hole in the wall chicken place got me interested. The owner saw me hesitating in front of her shop so she encouraged me to go inside, and I went. The place only had one table with 2 chairs. I was doubting at first, but ended up ordering half and half chicken set with fries. I was actually trying to order rice, but they don’t have it there (fortunately so, because I ended up struggling to finish the chicken). They served the chicken and fries with coleslaw and 치킨 무 (chicken mu) aka cubed radish pickle. Not much to say other than how amazingly delicious the chicken was, it’s like KFC but a zillion times better. Asked for more coleslaw because it was so good, fresh cabbage and tasty mayo. Also, I used to not like chicken mu but I ended up enjoying it. What I was surprsied about was that this little restaurant accepts credit card! They have that cashier machine thingy too. Really impressed. My guess was it was sponsored by the government for small businesses. If only the government here does that too~

My visit to Hello Kitty Cafe at Hongdae was planned. Pretty easy to find, you can follow this map here. I instantly chose strawberry mousse because it was the most representative of Hello Kitty. Tastes good, but nothing special. For drink, I ordered sweet potato latte because it seemed unique. It tastes just like our sweet potato, but in liquid phase. Overall, this place was nice to hang and chat, but the dessert was quite expensive. The mousse alone was 11500 KRW (around 130k IDR / 10 USD).

Still hungry after dessert and strolling around Hongdae, Izakaya bar was my next stop. Though it was a Japanese bar, it had 막걸리 (makgeolli aka Korean rice wine). The price for 1 litre of makgeolli was only 8000 KRW (87k IDR / 6.7 USD). Unfortunately, they asked me to order one food menu too aside from drink, so I ordered beef okonomiyaki (sadly it had shrimp and octopus too, so I didn’t enjoy it much). The makgeolli was nice. You had to drink it with a tin bowl. Felt quite buzzed by the end of the night because I had to finish half of this jar, possibly more.

Seoul was raining the next day, so a bowl of  삼계탕 (samgyetang aka ginseng chicken soup) seemed like a good choice for lunch. Personally, I am not really fond of samgyetang. I think it lacks the spice, but maybe it’s because my tongue is too used to overly spiced Indonesian food. Anyways, Tosokchon Samgyetang is a famous place, so I went there. The atmosphere was great there. I got the middle floor seat, sitting between a chinese tourist family and a couple of college guys. Ordered one regular samgyetang (there are a few types of samgyetang, but I chose the cheapest one, of course), a bottle of soju, and one pajeon. The pajeon came so late I thought they forgot this (they didn’t write the order, but only remembered it in their head). Pajeon had shrimp and octopus so I had to remove them before eating them. Samgyetang tastes like samgyetang did, I didn’t have improved opinion of it. But the weird part was I kind of didn’t hate soju anymore?? I used to dislike it, because it smelled like nail polish remover and tasted like how nail polish remover probably tastes like. Still smelled vividly like that, but I could finish half a bottle (probably more) of it. Obviously I got drunk in the middle of the day and passed out on the train ride.

SUM Cafe is located near Cheongdam Station Exit 6. I took pics and took a look at the magazines displayed there, but apparently you couldn’t sit in the cafe and read magazine without buying anything, so I ordered a lemon tart + coffee set. The lemon tart tastes just like those lemon biscuits from Khong Guan assorted biscuits tin. I meant it in a good way, because I like them biscuits. But this tart was way to overpriced. I went downstairs to take a look at the new SUM Market. It was a mini market, but the goods are packaged with SM artist names or arts on it, and sold about 5-10 times more expensive than the regular goods with regular packaging. In other words, the place was a capitalist hell. Sadly I still bought a thing, aka a bottle of SHINee’s sparkling water. Sounds ridiculous, but it was the least ridiculous thing of all things there. It was also the cheapest.

I got drunk for the 2nd time that day, this time at a bar called Oz in Itaewon. Last year I went to why not, the bar across from it, but it was too quiet and exclusive, so I chose Oz for a new experience. Because it was early, the bar still only had a few people. The bar was small with only bar seats available. The bartenders were CUTE and they tried to chat with us, albeit struggling while doing so. I ordered Banana Bomb, aka banana uyu mixed with vodka. Unexpectedly, it was really tasty. I wish we had banana uyu here so I could make this drink every other weekend. I can’t recall what others drank, but mine was the tastiest. Tho I didn’t reject Luthfi’s offer to finish his drink.

On the morning of my Railbike+Nami+Garden of Morning Calm Tour, I went to 7-11 to buy snacks. I was about to buy my favorite snack aka Thor’s Pretzel. But like dramatic fated meeting of lovers in kdramas, I stumbled upon a 2+1 deal for Cheese In The Trap potato chips! As a passionate CITT fan ☠webtoon only☠ I instantly bought it. I finished those three tubes mostly by myself during the whole day trip.

At Nami Island, I had lunch in the BBQ restaurant. Originally, I only ordered the pork one, but the restaurant won’t let 2 people share one set. Finally, one pork set, one chicken set, a bowl of dwenjang jjigae, and two bowls of rice were ordered. Plates of banchan and lettuce were served as well. Dwenjang jjigae came first, so I ate it with rice because it was cold and I was hungry. Personally, I didn’t enjoy it very much. Then, the meat came and I got into the grilling. I tried the wrap with kimchi and pickled chilli, but I ended up liking it without. Maybe because I’m not into Korean pickled things in general. All in all, the grilled pork and chicken was A++++ and I ate very happily. Most likely because it was the first time I ate rice in 4 days.

As I arrived at the Garden of the Morning Calm, I saw stalls of street food and I spotted The French Fries Coated Corndog!! I never found it in Seoul, so it got me super excited. After I finished going around the park, I went to buy it right away. They offered a few choice of sauce such as tomato ketchup, mustard, etc. I chose garlic. It was way tastier and better than the other corndog. I was so pleased. It was also so big and fulfilling.

The last day in Seoul, I chose to have brunch at Myeongdong Kyoja. Located near artbox in Myeongdong, it was easy to find. Famous for its 칼국수 (kalguksu aka knife cut homemade noodle), I ordered that along with a set of 만두 (mandu aka dumpling). Kalguksu had the width and thickness of pho noodle and the broth looked thick and rich but it was refreshing and not heavy. It got minced meat (pork? I think) and four dumplings. I enjoyed it very much. The portion was big, tho. And I still had to eat half of the dumpling set too. It was too much, but it was a great meal nonetheless. I had to poop before eating to reserve some space for the food.

Notes: All restaurant stated above (except street snack stalls) accepts credit card and provides free water.

Phew.

So that was my culinary diary from my last trip to Seoul. It was very mind opening. I had a great time and I feel like Seoul will never bore me?? There are still so many restaurants on my list that I have yet to visit. Which means I absolutely have to go back, right?

Right.

[haruheartshallyu]

10 K-Pop Songs I Used to Hate, But Now Love

Disliking, and then suddenly falling in love with a song is something I’ve experienced quite often since the beginning of my K-Pop obsession. At first the sound doesn’t fit my taste, but after some time it turns into one of my favorites. I guess I’m not the only one who has such an unstable opinion about music, right?

Anyway, today I wanted to show you which ten songs sounded like complete shit to me, but turned into my kind of jam after a while.

(The following songs are not posted in a particular order.)

#1 EXO – GROWL

When EXO started to become a thing, I felt pretty impassive. Their debut wasn’t satisfying enough for me, and I couldn’t really understand those over-excited SM-fangirls. Then GROWL happened, and all those Hallyu bitches lost their shit completely. Okay, time to check that song out and see if it is really that good. I chose to watch the second version of the Korean version (gosh, so many versions) – and guys, it left me so fucking unimpressed. The beat was way too steady for my kind of taste, and the dance moves weren’t as good as everyone said.

My interest in EXO was gone, and I stopped checking out their comebacks. But everything changed when some of the girls of Produce 101 Season 1 performed GROWL (Don’t ask me which girls – I can’t even remember the names of IOI’s members). Usually, I always do my research when someone recreates something – and this was the moment I finally watched the first music video version (yeah, another version – please, just kill me), and I fell in love with – no joke – everything: The song, the moves, the boys, the scenery... everything. It took me three years to realize that GROWL is absolutely fucking dope. 

#2 BIGBANG – BANG BANG BANG

BIGBANG were always part of my K-Pop world. Even my name is based on one of their songs (Not really hard to guess which one, right?). But after so many years of being in love with those sexy fellas, I’ve started to dislike their severe change of music. There’s only one song that was released after 2011 that I really enjoyed. And it was Fantastic Baby – because it literally meant PARTY. Then in 2015 YG uploaded BANG BANG BANG’s MV, and thanks to the thumbnail I immediately thought that we finally got another intense party song.

Wow, it started so good. Everything felt right. Seungri’s voice was fantastic, TOP’s rap part was freaking sick, and Taeyang was shirtless... and then the chorus happened, and I just thought: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? I was so shocked, I couldn’t enjoy the song at all. This chorus ruined everything for me. But thanks to YouTube’s AutoPlay function, I was kinda forced to listen to it over and over again (Because I’m fucking lazy and I don’t have time to open the YouTube tab because I’m usually busy with tweeting shit). And at some point I started to really like it – okay, right now I even love it. I just had to get used to it. (But I’m still not a fan of many of their other songs. Deal with it!)

#3 BLACKPINK – WHISTLE

Oh, wow... look! There’s the debut of 2NE1 2.0. Gosh, I had prejudices against BLACKPINK, I admit it. With 2NE1 pretty much gone, YG revealed another four member girl group with a similar concept. This slightly felt like a joke. However, I’m a pro – I try to listen to their music without being biased or whatever. While Boombayah was exactly Haru’s music (Yes, I am talking about myself), Whistle felt so out of place. I’ve tried to listen to it many many times, but still – it was not my style.

A few months later, BLACKPINK released their second single, and on this second single was the acoustic version of Whistle – which finally made me fall in love with the song. I have a thing for acoustic covers, songs, whatever. And this was exactly what I needed to start liking Whistle. Good job, YG! Now do this with every other BIGBANG song I still don’t like. 

#4 SNSD – CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

Jessica was gone. SHE IS GONE! AND SHE WILL NEVER COME BACK! My world was destroyed. The perfect girl group was no longer perfect. So, how could I like a song that was supposed to be perfect, but it wasn’t able to be perfect because one of the perfect members was missing to make this perfect? OH FUCK!

Besides SNSD being an 8-member-group from now on, there was something about Catch Me If You Can that made me cringe so freaking hard – and that was this I’m going to find my heart-part. I don’t know why, but for me it sounded so stupid, dumb, childish and ridiculous. The cringe was way too real. Thankfully – after a whole year or maybe longer – I got used to it. And guess who’s able to memorize parts of the choreography!?! (I can’t dance the whole song, please. You know that this is actually one of the hardest SNSD dances?!)

#5 SHINEE – SHERLOCK

I’ve never hated a fandom as much as Shawols. Some of my friends were and are still part of this cult – okay, good. Be a fan, and support the boys! Who cares?! But I’ve experienced Music Bank live once, and some of those girls were crazy asshole bitches. Booing SISTAR and 4MINUTE just because you want to see SHINee? NO FUCKING WAY!

Back then SHINee started to get ready for their comeback with Sherlock, and after seeing them live and experiencing this crazy fandom, I couldn’t like this song. I was so angry, and yes – maybe my opinion about their music was way too prejudiced. However, my anger went away after some time, and now I can proudly say that Sherlock places 3rd on my list of my favorite SHINee songs (nothing beats RingDingDong – yes, I LOVE RINGDONGDONG! – and Lucifer). I want to apologize officially to my baby boy Key for being disloyal for some time. But those Shawol bitches insulted SISTAR and 4MINUTE... no one should be mean to my girls!

#6 RAIN – LA SONG

I’ve always had a love-hate-relationship with the king of K-Pop. But when he joined Cube Entertainment, I felt quite happy – because I believe that Cube is able to produce almost only fantastic music compared to many other companies (Let’s ignore what they did with CLC before their concept change). But what the actual fuck was LA SONG? Is this a joke? La La La La Laaaa?

Ladies and Gentlemen... the dumbest chorus in the history of K-Pop was born! And it was performed by the one and only Bi aka Rain. I’ve listened to it once, and forgot it in an instant because I didn’t want to hear this shit ever again. I stayed with 30 SEXY, and ignored the La La La-stuff. However, I had a friend who was so obsessed with LA SONG. We two girls used to drink two or three bottles of wine while watching K-Pop MVs almost every single weekend (Gosh, I miss those times) – and she always wanted to watch or listen to LA SONG. And after some time, I fell in love with it – despite the ridiculous chorus. Now I can proudly say: LA SONG IS MY FAVORITE RAIN SONG! No joke... it’s really my favorite.

#7 BTS – BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS

I have a gay friend who loves K-Pop – and even he says that only gay porn is gayer than the music video to Blood, Sweat & Tears. (I’m scared of ARMYs, so please don’t kill me for this.) However, I kinda had to agree. The music video was a little bit too artsy and weirdly sensual for my taste. I mean... was the statue kissing-part really necessary?

I always loved BTS for producing songs that hyped the shit out of me. Even their ballads were freaking lit. But Blood, Sweat & Tears was so differently soft compared to everything they’ve done before. Anyway, I’m a BTS fan (I would never call myself an ARMY – scary kids though), and when they released Not Today – which is probably the best K-Pop song of 2017 so far – I bought You Never Walk Alone. And guess what’s on this album!? You Never Walk Alone is usually my jogging playlist. So I started to listen to Blood, Sweat & Tears regularly, and I have to admit – it’s actually pretty cool. I like it – no, I love it. It doesn’t rank in my TOP5 BTS songs, but it is still amazing. It just took me some time to get used to it.

#8 IKON – RHYTHM TA

The release of iKON’s Rhythm Ta left me pretty unimpressed. The MV was uploaded, and I’ve watched until the end of the first chorus – then I closed the tab, and that was it. Nothing special, YG! You can do better! 

But I was so fucking wrong! I should have listened till Bobby’s part. OH MY GOD, Bobby ruined my uterus with his growling rap. But I’ve realized this almost a year later. I knew that Bobby was perfectly able to make my jaw drop, but I didn’t know that this song was too perfect for his voice. FUCK! I’m the worst! I AM SO SORRY! Have all my love from now on, iKON! By the way... Bling Bling and especially B-Day are also two of my favorite songs of 2017 so far. Good job, babies! Keep up the good work!

#9 F(X) – RED LIGHT

Red Light was another song I’ve listen to once – and then ignored it. Not my style. Not my kind of thing. It was just strange. I wasn’t able to hear a proper melody. But a few weeks ago... something happened.

f(x)’ Red Light was actually the reason why I’ve started to write this blog post. I’ve accidentally clicked on the music video on YouTube three weeks ago, and BOOM! Here I am... loving the shit out of this weird song. I don’t know why I didn’t like it at first. I can’t really tell. Anyway, SM... Get Victoria her visa and start making shit like this again! I NEED A COMEBACK... ASAP!

#10 TVXQ – MIROTIC

I want to end this list with a song that is probably one of my favorite K-Pop songs of all time. And I am talking about a piece of music that means the whole world to me – and the funny thing is... I didn’t like it first.

TVXQ were part of my music world long before my K-Pop obsession (I used to be into Japanese music – and if you were into J-Pop, you couldn’t escape TVXQ). And Mirotic appeared to be their number one scandal song. Everybody knew the moves, everybody knew the lyrics – and I was just like: meh. This just wasn’t They Way You Are or Rising Sun or O'-Jung.Ban.Hap. or Wrong Number or Purple Line. (And if you don’t know any single one of those songs, check them out immediately and get some proper K-Pop education!) After a few months – I guess it was already 2010 (I can’t tell) – I’ve made a CD for my car with popular songs from 2009, and I had to put Mirotic on it because I couldn’t leave out one of that year’s most successful hits. 

And you can already imagine the rest of the story. I listened to it a few times, and I fell in love with it – more than just once. Mirotic will always be one my favorite Korean songs, and nothing of those newer K-Pop songs can beat this absolute perfection that fooled me in the beginning. Gosh, I really wish K-Pop now would be like K-Pop from 2009. Most younger Hallyu fans wouldn’t understand. But I bet you older bitches know exactly what I am talking about.

Anyway, that’s it. Thanks for reading my rant, confession and whatsoever. I don’t care if you liked or hated it. I just wanted to write my thoughts down. 

Well... Unnie is now off to drink a beer or two while watching Show Me The Money Season 6 – or maybe I should just rewatch Season 5 because Simon Dominic. Who knows...

[askkopcommunity-blog]

Questions!!

New Post has been published on http://kpopcommunityblog.com/questions/

Questions!!

I’ve been reading this Chinese novel for the past 5 days and I think I’m about 300 plus chapters in.

So, I’m taking a break by coming online.

But I realized I didn’t have anything much to do.

So here is some kpop questions thingy. Just for me to think about my kpop idols. 

  Here goes~

01. Who was the first Korean Band you heard?

Super Junior M

02. Who’s the most recent Korean Band you’ve heard?

Recent new band would be VIXX. But if it’s the most recent band song, would be BIg Bang.

03. Who’s your favorite KoreanBand?

EXO. 

04. Name 6 other Bands you Like:

Big Bang. Super Junior. Infinite. B2st. VIXX. SHINee

05. Are you a fangirl/boy?

Yes!!

06. If yes, of Who?

Of so many idols. So many…

07. Do you learn the dances?

Their point moves during the choruses. I blame the overwatching of their MVs for this.

08. Do you like Super Junior?

Yes!!

09. What’s your favourite SuJu song? 

I can’t choose. It’s you, Memories, Marry You, Sexy Free and Single, Don’t Don, SPY, Opera, Shirt, Mamacita… and loads more.

10. Do you like hip hop groups or non hip hop?

Not so much. But I like to dance to hip hop, Kinda.

11. What’s the first Korean song you heard?

Supergirl

12. What’s the last song you heard?

Last new song would be Love Equation. Oh no wait. Or was it Boyfriend’s Bounce. Either or. I can’t remember. But last song I played was most probably Big Bang’s Stupid Liar

13. Have you ever been to any Korean concerts?

Nope. Mainly because I only want moshpit tickets and they get sold out like within seconds. Literally.

14. What would you do if you saw any Korean idol walking down the street in your town? Well. If I look pretty that day, I’ll go up and ask if it’s alright if I take a photo with him/her. If I’m not, I’ll sneak photos of him/her.

15. Which K-Idol are you most in love/lust with?

Lay. Kai. T.O.P.

16. Which three idols would you most love to meet in person (Dead or alive)?

Well. Lay. Kai. T.O.P.

17. Three things you would like to say to/ask them?

1) Could you sing and dance a little bit for me?

2) Could you sign this for me?

3) You’ve worked really hard. Please be healthy and happy.

18. Which three idols can you relate to most?

I’m not sure if I can relate to any of them.

19. Which three Korean songs do you constantly replay?

Big Bang – Cafe

EXO – Machine

VIXX – Error

Actually, I’m on a Big Bang playlist loop. But I thought of choosing the one song each from each band instead.

20. Do you have any idols as your background?

Yep. Lay is on my phone’s homescreen and Kai being on my whatsapp background

21. Which idol would you most like to get fashion/makeup advice from?

Key

22. Do you read K-Idol fan fiction?

Yep.

23. What is your favourite K-Idol related dream?

I can’t remember.

24. How many Korean MP3s do you have?

Erm. A few hundred. I guess.

25. And, finally, if you could sleep with any three idols, who would they be?

Lay. Kai. T.O.P.

—

1. Your first Kpop group : ​Super Junior M

2. How do you got to know them? I was watching a variety show hosted by one of my Taiwanese Bias, Show. And SJ-M was a guest on that show.

3. What is the first song you heard? ​Supergirl

4. Who is your first bias?: Donghae

5. Did your bias changed? Who is it? Yes. Although I still like Donghae a lot now but my top bias is Lay now. But T.O.P is my secret top bias. He will always be sitting on the top of my bias list but I won’t recognize him as the number one in my heart because I want to love Lay. It’s like my mind is telling me to choose Lay as my number 1 bias but my heart is telling me that it’s T.O.P.

6. Their ranking in your heart :  Oh. I can have a list? Now this is fun. I shall only limit this to 10 KPOP idols. Otherwise this might go on forever. So Luhan and all my taiwanese and china biases and take a rest now.

1) EXO Lay

2) EXO Kai

3) Big Bang T.O.P

4) B2st Dongwoon

5) SHINee Onew

6) Super Junior Sungmin

7) Super Junior Kyuhyun

8) SHINee Jonghyun

9) Infinite L

10) VIXX N

7. How many kpop groups are you a fan of right now? Let’s count together. EXO, Big Bang, SHINee, Super Junior, B2st, Infinite, VIXX. 7 in total.

8. Who are they? : Oh. erm. EXO, Big Bang, SHINee, Su Ju, B2st, Infinite, VIXX

9. Which group is your favourite? EXO

10. Rank the groups: EXO , Big Bang, Suju, SHINee, B2st, VIXX

11. Who is your ultimate bias? My heart says T.O.P but my mind says Lay

12. Which kpop couples do you ship the most? Hunhan

13. Which company is your favourite? : YG for training their idols to be all rounders and SM for being amazing at pushing out boy groups

14. Rate yourself in the scale of 0 – 100, how much do you know about kpop – 20. Maybe

15. In terms of looks, which group is the best? : EXO

16. In terms of songs, which group is the best? : I currently can’t stop singing the chorus of Boyfriend’s Bounce, but I guess Big Bang has really good songs.

17. In terms of dance, which group is the best? : SHINee

18. Which group would you prefer to be classmates with in real life? : EXO. 

19. Which group would you prefer to be drinking buddies in real life? Big Bang. Party hard!! Go high or go home.

20. Which group would you prefer to work with in real life? Suju

21. Who would you want as a best friend? : Daesung. Or Taeyang. Definitely Lay.

22. Who would you want as a brother? : Siwon. I wanna be rich just once.

23. Who would you want as a boyfriend? : Lay.

24. Who would you want as a friend with benefit? : T.O.P

25. Who would you want as a husband? : Lay

26. How many kids will you have with him then? : 2

27. Who would you want your kid/s to be like? : I don’t know.

28. Who is your favourite couple from We Got Married? : I didn’t really watch WGM before.

29. Which couple do you wish to be featured on We Got Married? : I don’t know

30. Which WGM couple do you think that don’t suit each other the most? : ​This… I definitely do not know.

31. Which kpop star do you wish to have a body like? Taeyeon. 

32. Which kpop star do you wish to have a face like? Sandara Park. Or Jessica.

33. If you can change your body with someone, who would it be? Krystal. 

34. Do you dislike any group right now? Who? Why? Maybe?

35. Which group are you most protective of? : EXO and Suju. The rest of the groups don’t seem to get as much heat as them.

36. Which group’s hello baby do you prefer? : SHINee

37. Which variety show is your favourite right now? : Weekly Idol

38. What is the last show you watched? : Weekly Idol

39. List 5 of your favourite group : EXO, Big Bang, SHINee, B2st, Suju

Group 1 -EXO

40. How did you know them? Through a friend of mine.

41. What was the first song that did you heard? Wolf

42. What was the first music video that you watched? Wolf

43. Who was your first bias? Luhan

44. Which is your favourite song? Machine

45. Which is your favourite music video? Wolf

46. Who is your bias now? Lay

47. Rank the members: ​

1) Lay

2) Kai

3) Luhan

4) Sehun

5) Chanyeol

6) Chen

7) DO

8) Baekhyun

9) Kris

10) Xiumin

11) Suho

12) Tao

48. On the scale of 1-100, how much do you think you know them? : 80

49. Which show that they guested on is your favourite? : EXO show time.

50. Any favourite pairing?  Hunhan

Group 2- Big Bang

51. How did you know them? : Through the same said friend as EXO

52. What was the first song that did you heard? Fantastic Baby. This was before I liked them. This song is just seriously overplayed in clubs. But I still loved dancing to it.

53. What was the first music video that you watched? Fantastic Baby

54. Who was your first bias? TOP

55. Which is your favourite song? : Cafe. What is right. Love Song. Haru haru. Monster. 

56. Which is your favourite music video? Monster

57. Who is your bias now? TOP

58. Rank the members 

1) TOP

2) Daesung

3) Taeyang

4) Gdragon

5) Seungri

59. On the scale of 1-100, how much do you think you know them? : 50

60. Which show that they guested on is your favourite? Running Man, Strong Heart, Night after Night

61. Any favourite pairing? GTop

Group 3- SHINee

62. How did you know them? : From youtube surfing

63. What was the first song that did you heard? Sherlock

64. What was the first music video that you watched? Sherlock

65. Who was your first bias? Taemin

66. Which is your favourite song? Dream Girl. 

67. Which is your favourite music video? Sherlock

68. Who is your bias now? Onew. Actually, I don’t think I have a bias in there.

69. Rank the members 

1) Taemin

2) Jonghyun

3) Onew

4) Key

5) Minho

70. On the scale of 1-100, how much do you think you know them? : 30

71. Which show that they guested on is your favourite? Weekly Idol 

72. Any favourite pairing? ​Jonghyun and Key

Group 4 – B2st

73. How did you know them? : Youtube. I guess.

74. What was the first song that did you heard? ​Good luck. I think.

75. What was the first music video that you watched? ​Fiction. 

76. Who was your first bias? Dongwoon

77. Which is your favourite song?​ Good Luck

78. Which is your favourite music video? ​Good Luck

79. Who is your bias now? Dongwoon. Son Nam Shin~

80. Rank the members

1) Dongwoon

2) Gikwang

3) Doojoon

4) Yoseob

5) Hyunseung

6) Junhyung

81. On the scale of 1-100, how much do you think you know them? : 30

82. Which show that they guested on is your favourite?​ Weekly Idol

83. Any favourite pairing? Nope

Group 5- SUJU

84. How did you know them? TV

85. What was the first song that did you heard? ​In Korean, Sorry Sorry.

86. What was the first music video that you watched? ​Supergirl

87. Who was your first bias? Donghae

88. Which is your favourite song? If I had to choose one, maybe… It’s you

89. Which is your favourite music video? ​Marry You. I love the song though.

90. Who is your bias now? Sungmin and Kyuhyun

91. Rank the members

1) Sungmin

2) Kyuhyun

3) Donghae

4) Eunhyun

5) Siwon

6) Yesung

7) Ryeowook

8) Kibum

9) Kangin

10) Heechul

11) Leeteuk

12) Shindong

92. On the scale of 1-100, how much do you think you know them? 75

93. Which show that they guested on is your favourite? ​Strong Heart

94. Any favourite pairing? Kyumin

95. Which is your favourite fanfic of all time? : No idea.

96. Who is featured in that fanfic? I read them. But I don’t have a fave.

97. What is it about? Mostly about love, I guess.

98. Do you have any fanfic?/ Plans to write a fanfic? No

99. What is it about?/What will it be about? Well, love and power struggles. If i ever do.

100. Promote it (For those who have fanfics) I should go. Bye.