#❛ all my sins i would repeat ❜ ⸗ * / PROMO .

[myteavsricochet]

jeez guys, 10 asks on the same topic that basically all say the same thing is too much for me and my Italian brain that can't write in English 😭 I'll try to throw everything I think in various steps here, I don't know if it will make sense but it's the best I can offer. Then we will put a stone to rest on this subject, okay?

1. It's not true that the rwrb fandom is not supportive of the boys' projects and work and would like them to simply remain attached to the film their whole lives. It's a somewhat immature thought and you know very well that it's not like that. I use both this social and twitter a lot and I see how much hype and support there is for Mary & George from the people who madly love rwrb and have been talking about it for months. Everyone is so enthusiastic and excited about what Nick is doing. But we are also all human beings and I see absolutely no lack of respect in dreaming and wishing that the boys, despite their work, talk about a film that none of us were able to experience with promos, premieres, red carpets and everything else and exactly for that there is so much desire for it because we haven't heard much about it from them, not as it should have been at least.

Dreaming of hearing about a film that meant so much to so many people cannot be a sin or a shame. The feeling is so strong for many precisely because there wasn't everything that was supposed to be there for that film and it doesn't mean, I repeat, that Mary & George isn't respected or that Nick is expected to only talk about rwrb while doing promo for that project. Really no one thinks such a thing, no one is so delusional or disrespectful. Don't worry. But let people still be excited about rwrb, they don't do anything bad, they don't hurt anyone, Nick will carry on with his job anyway and nothing will change for you and him.

2. the podcast: I reiterate that context matters. I can understand if for some it may have seemed like a cold and detached response at first glance, especially if they only read quotes from the audio and didn't have a realistic idea of ​​the interview. It's ok if you felt sad for a second, don't feel guilty about it if you didn't react badly against nick.

But let's definitely clarify what is said in the podcast: The interviewer talks to Nick about the impact of rwrb as fame and success after the film, he replies that the thing he is most interested in is how it opened doors for him to other opportunities job and the possibility of working on the projects that he really wants to do.

He meant that: more than fame he is happy that a film like that gave him this great chance to now do what he wants like an actor which is exactly what all actors want in their career.

He never said that that was the only thing that mattered to him and that was the only reason he made that film. He never said it.

Taylor also had a great chance with rwrb and we say it constantly, it opened so many doors for him, he will get new projects because of that movie, we see him now doing things he loves because of the success of that movie and he would say the same thing too.

In the podcast the question was specific and he answered specifically. For the rest we know how much Nick loves Henry. We have interviews where he talks about him and the film and Taylor with his heart on his sleeve. We have Matthew saying he protected Henry and knew him better than anyone. Better than him and Casey. We have Nick who in his first post after months says how hard it was not to talk about Henry. We have Nick who during the strike liked all the possible fancams on Henry because it was the only way he had to show that he was there with us. And many other things so it's absurd to think now that this has changed because it hasn't. We will have more interviews in the next few days where it seems clearly they will also talk about rwrb and we will hear more from him there.

One thing you constantly forget about is how different Nick and Taylor are in the way they approach things. Nick is more introverted, we'll probably never see him jumping and dancing while talking about rwrb like T does, but that doesn't mean he cares any less or doesn't have the desire to talk about it. Even during interviews for M&G he is always quite nervous and even embarrassed despite the fact that he is talking about the project he is promoting and of which he is very proud.

3. the sequel: I no longer have the strength to deal with this honestly, it's clear that until they give you the announcement you will never believe anything and it's easier to be negative than to put all the pieces together over these months and understand that you just have to be patient. Nobody today would do these constant teases about the sequel if there really wasn't the possibility or one of the lead actors wasn't interested. Taylor wouldn't keep saying he hopes for a sequel and it would be great to do so if he knew Nick wasn't on board or that his co-star hated that project. I swear to you, he's not that desperate, trust me.

The cast of rwrb is very close, all of them, even with nick and you see it constantly and there's really nothing more to say about this.

4. the haters: Those solo nick stans didn't need another reason to throw taylor and rwrb under the bus yet they found another excuse because people are stupid. The fact that they think he can actually say something like that about that movie with that intention and be happy about it shows how much they don't understand shit about who they follow. That there are also strange accounts solo taylor stan who always have to complain about something is equally true and they should all be collectively ignored and left alone because the reactions do more damage than the actual controversies.

I have nothing else to say and I don't think I will say anything else, thank you for getting this far and I apologize for the delirium. peace and love ❤️

[deathmourns]

[alexandralyman]

My Tumblr Fic Masterlist

It’s been a while since I’ve done this and it seems like a good time now to compile a list of all my Captain Swan fics that are only posted here and not on AO3 or ff.net. These are mostly little ficlets/drabble type things, post ep fics, stuff based off promos and behind the scenes pics, some short AUs, and a few extras from BtH and BH&H.

I’ve organized it by type and there’s over 70 fics linked, most are untitled and I’ve included a short description for each. Some are just a paragraph, some are longer, S3, through S7 are all represented in some form, there’s a lot of Dark Swan stuff from S5 because I apparently wrote a ton of that, there’s the untitled Lieutenant Duckling “sneaking in the Princess’s bedchamber” three part saga which is my most popular Tumblr-only fic, there’s the Underworld, Storybrooke, the Enchanted Forest...basically everything I could find.

It’s pretty damn long, so the actual list is under the cut. 

Happy reading, everyone!

Canon Based/Pre and Post Ep Fics

Touch - Killian with both hands on their date (written before the ep aired) (untitled) - written for the prompt of Killian buying Emma flowers (untitled) - Emma and Killian after his heart is returned in S4 (untitled) - post Heroes and Villians, Emma still doesn’t have her own place (untitled) - Emma and Killian drinking rum together in her apartment in New York City Serenade (untitled) - Killian loses his hand and becomes Captain Hook (untitled) - Smutty angst about the threat of the darkness in S4 (untitled) -- Killian and the attempt to find Emma after she becomes the Dark One (untitled) - Killian after Emma is swallowed up by the darkness (untitled) - Emma’s connection to the dagger after becoming the Dark One (untitled) - Emma after becoming the Dark One (untitled) - Emma sucking Killian into the darkness (untitled) - Killian finds the Dark Swan (untitled) - Dark Swan and Killian smut Can’t Sleep - in Camelot, Emma can’t sleep Bed of Roses - the middlemist field (untitled) -  Dark Swan contemplation  (untitled) - Dark Swan just before the curse brings them back to Storybrooke (untitled) -  Dark Swan with Killian’s ring (untitled) Dark Swan and the dreamcatchers (untitled) - Angsty, smutty goodbye before Killian is pulled into the Underworld king size (the space between us) - Post Underworld (untitled) - Jones Brothers, based on the selfie Jen posted with Colin and Bernard (untitled) - Milah’s thoughts when she meets Emma in the Underworld (untitled) - another Underworld drabble (untitled) - Killian after Emma leaves him in the Underworld Dust to Dust - Killian says goodbye to Robin Hood (untitled) - Killian attempts to summon the new Dark One (untitled) - Another Killian summoning the Dark One fic lonely too long - Post Underworld David versus Goliath - Charming drags Killian into the woods at Christmas unpause - moving in together in S6 swordfight - Prince Charming and Captain Hook battle for a prize compass rose - Killian gets another tattoo gifts of the magi - Killian and Emma at Christmas safe passage - the Charmings on the Jolly during the flashback in the musical ep o villain, villain - Killian remember’s David’s father if wishes were horses - Wish Realm, written before the ep aired beggars would ride - the follow up to if wishes were horses later that night - Emma pays Killian back for the “You kiss me with that mouth?” comment from S6 (untitled) - Killian and Emma post Dark Waters a bit familiar (but different too) - Captain Beauty S6 friendship fic (untitled) - Killian’s thoughts on Emma’s red leather jacket

AUS

Christmas Tree Lot - Christmas fic Doorcrasher - Emma and Killian meet while lined up for a Black Friday sale the tower - AU of the S4 finale, Killian rescues Emma from the tower history repeats itself - another take on Captain Hook and Princess Emma in the Wish Realm the dark ones - when there’s 2 instead of 1 (untitled) Killian and the Dark Swan in Storybrooke family reunion - Underworld Jones Brothers AU at my worst, you are my best - Killian gets split in two with Dr. Jekyll’s potion (untitled part 1) - Captain Hook returns from Neverland to kill Rumple and discovers a new Dark One instead. (untitled part 2) - follow up to the Captain Hook/Dark Swan fic (untitled) - Killian becomes the King of Camelot (untitled) - Young!Emma and Young!Killian street kids AU  Queen Takes Knight Part 1 - Emma gives into the darkness, and Killian follows Queen Takes Knight Part 2  (untitled part one) - Lieutenant Duckling “Sneaking into the Princess’s bedchamber” (untitled part 2) - the follow up to the LD fic (untitled part 3) - the conclusion to the LD fic Anchor - AU of the tavern scene in The Jolly Roger (untitled) - written for the prompt, “Swan, you’re depriving me of a romantic gesture.” Secret Agent Man Part 1 - AU based on the movie Kingsman Secret Agent Man Part 2  (untitled) - Captain Duckling Enchanted Forest runaway bride AU

Beyond the Horizon Extras

treasure map - Smutty drabble Remember When - reminiscing about when they fell in love (untitled) - Killian gets hit with a bag of flour that makes his hair appear grey

Between Heaven and Hell Extras

the anonymous benefactor - background as to how their current arrangement came to be sin eater part one - Killian is summoned by a desperate young woman in 1920s New Orleans and decides to use her plight to his advantage with Emma. This one is fairly long and is currently unfinished.  sin eater part two sin eater part three sin eater part four  your sin (my salvation) - end of Lent reunion smut untitled (somewhere) - Emma and Killian meet up in an empty movie theatre for a midnight screening of West Side Story midnight mass - Killian prays, Emma answers upon a midnight clear - Killian at Christmas a quiet moment - sometimes Emma needs a bit of a respite from what’s going on in the world and seeks Killian out.

[fermented-writers-block]

With the recent developments in Mr. Universe and Fragments, I couldn’t help but be reminded of an old thought I came up with several months ago, back when the fandom thought that Steven’s pink mode was simply a heightened emotional state of some kind, and even though we know now that it actually is a stress response reaction, I can’t help but think it might still be applicable here to Steven’s current situation.

TLDR: Over the course of the series, Steven’s views of his mother had fallen and continued to fall very far away from its original pedestal due to the sheer barrage of harsh realities and troubling secrets constantly being upended and revealed, and the shifts in how he has felt about his mother’s legacy seems to tell a very interesting story. One of a long, rocky uphill battle against a mountain of expectations, and a sudden, sharp plunge into a ravine of self-loathing before finding one’s way out of the darkness.

When the original series first started, he looked up to Rose Quartz the protector of Earth, seeing her as the always kindhearted and perfect person whose legacy he felt like he had to live up to. He tried so very hard to be more loving and thoughtful like Greg and the Gems had told him Rose had been like thus far into the show - like he felt they expected him to be if he wanted to stay useful and thus someone they would actually keep around like In Dreams suggests - and he struggled with his constant failures to match up with such an impossible image, potentially even as early into the show as Laser Light Cannon with his desperate pleading for the titular weapon to work.

In the middle of the original series, as he heard more intimate stories about what Rose was really like in person from his family, found out about Bismuth’s bubbling, and had to be told by a stranger that his mother, someone he had been led to believe had always promoted peace, apparently shattered someone, his image of Rose the flawless hero turned into that of Rose the liar with an unknowable amount of secrets that hurt his family immensely. 

He struggled with the question of whether Rose had made him for some untold grand plan, and he felt like he had to take care of the messes that she left behind, putting such a burdensome expectation on himself even though the Gems no longer expected him to be more like his mother. This culminated in I Am My Mom with his attempt to save his family from harm by resigning himself to sacrificing himself and atoning for his mother’s sins.

For the end of the original series, Pearl’s revelation that Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond were the same person the entire time finally gave Steven a fuller picture of Rose the person, someone who was flawed and still had positive qualities, someone who tried very hard to become a better person. He felt like he had really found his space with the Crystal Gems, and they expected him to be himself.

And yet, with the strange and inexplicable glimpses of Pink Diamond’s memories as well as White Diamond's existential questions either inspiring or bringing such a thought to the front of his mind, Steven struggled with the fear that his mother was still alive somewhere deep within his consciousness, and that ‘Steven’ the person had just been a lie the entire time. 

Post CYM and another of his mother’s secrets coming back to haunt him with Spinel, Steven had stopped worrying about who he isn’t. He now knows for certain that he’s not his mother, that she isn’t living in some dormant part of his gem ready to take back control.

But after years of trying to live up to the ideal of Rose the protector, fixing the mistakes of Rose the liar, and doing better than Rose the person with the way he pushed himself to help others, he now worries about - if there’s no one else left to help but himself - who and what Steven Universe is like if he isn’t his mother.

We’ve seen him struggle to deal with this identity crisis in Little Homeschool and Little Graduation, pushing himself to solve problems that he either couldn’t find a working solution towards or likely projected onto others out of desperation from his anxieties over being left behind. 

He expects himself to already do better, already help better, already be better than all of this. His approach of putting other’s problems above his own has worked before, so he shouldn’t be failing if he’s still doing the same thing he’s done before, but with every inevitable misstep and every doubling down on trying to be more like he expects himself to be and failure, the more those expectations feel impossible to ever actually meet.

I’ve been a longtime follower of the Worm Theory ever since @novantinuum made the first post that really kicked things off for it, and soon after Volleyball aired, a thought had occurred to me in light of Steven’s attempt at managing Amethyst’s program.

With Steven’s expression from his cracked reflection at the Reef, I couldn’t help but wonder if Steven might develop the fear that - while he isn’t his mother - he might just be becoming like his mother, and especially in regards to her flaws and repeating her mistakes. 

Let me be clear, I didn’t and still don’t think that the stress from such a fear would be even remotely close to being a major instigator for Steven to become the creature from the intro from his pink mode stress response, but with these newest episodes - particularly the ending to Fragments - it has felt like all of this had come to a head for Steven, and that we’ll soon see one of the actual instigating fears for his transformation in the finale.

In the promo, Steven looks like he’s trying to assure himself that he isn’t a shatterer, trying to reaffirm what he knows about himself in the wake of his accident with Jasper, but with the shot of him clearly leaving Jasper and the Gems behind, I feel that Steven may be struggling with the fear that he’s become like his mother there.

Or rather, the (apparent) reality that he’s become “WORSE” than her.

Even with all the horrible secrets she kept, Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond had never shattered anyone, and yet here Steven is, having done exactly that.

Never mind the fact that it was an accident, never mind that he is still the same kind and loving person at heart, never mind that he deeply regrets what he did, Steven’s sense of identity has been crumbling for a good while now with losing what he defined his life by in his ability to help people, and the fact that he had shattered someone and that said someone immediately acknowledged him as their Diamond could disintegrate nearly all of what sense of identity he has left.

These last few episodes, Steven’s mental health has been on a nasty decline in struggling with feeling like he either can’t rely on his support structure in Greg and the Gems for advice with his problems or that his support structures in Connie and his friends are drifting away, and because of this and how he might feel about himself after what happened with Jasper, the only place he may feel like he should be is on Homeworld.

Steven has put so much weight on himself to be a good person, to be better than his mother and all the horrible things she did, that this might just feel like a confirmation that he isn’t a good person, that even Rose was a better person than him despite the stuff she failed spectacularly at. There’s no more expectations to live up to on top of him, only what he really is now.

He had abandoned his human side in Mr. Universe, and now all that’s left is his gem side - that is, his Diamond side.

Or at least, that’s how it’d likely seem to him. 

It’d feel like the only point of support and belonging he has left is with the other Diamonds, as the one thing Rose wasn’t and tried desperately not to be in the end was a Diamond herself, and he may feel like he should just embrace his place since he’s “just as bad as them.”

Not only that, but he also tried to emulate Jasper’s mentality, coping methods, and appearance in his struggle to find some kind of ‘solution’ for his ‘diamond powers,’ and as such, there’s one final place where he might just be able to get a ‘solution’ - even though there’s no such thing as a full on solution for dealing with trauma.

With that said, while they most likely won’t initially understand or be that concerned with Steven giving up on his humanity to be with them, I can’t help but feel like the Diamonds have changed enough that seeing Steven act “like a Diamond is supposed to” would shake them HARD.

Acting that way had been what hurt themselves and each other for millennia, and they’ve been able to feel happier and create a relatively healthier dynamic between the three of them under Steven’s guidance, so to see Steven turn his back on all of that could make them VERY concerned for him. 

It’d put up an unsettlingly ugly mirror in front of the Diamonds to the people they used to be, and that for as much as they may have wanted Steven to be with them, this isn’t what they had in mind at all.

Perhaps that might end in an ironic reversal of what happened at the end of CYM, where instead of denying Steven as individual from his mother and trying to force him to be his mother out of a callous and arrogant kind of love, White acts out of a fuller love and genuine concern for Steven, and in the heat of the moment, accidentally slips back into some old behavior.

“I only want you to be yourself! If you can't do that, I'll do it! For! You!”

But whatever their response may actually be, this could very well be the second to last major tipping point for Steven at the very least, as at that point, EVERY person and place he thought he could turn to for advice or just finally belong to would likely either feel to him like they let him down or that they’re scared of what he feels he’s become.

Not even the Diamonds themselves feel like he belongs with them, and with how he felt like Connie had flat out refused to marry him instead of leaving an opening for them to talk about it later, I can easily see him extrapolating from the Diamonds’ reactions that he’s become not only worse than his mother, but ALL of the Diamonds.

Of course, the stress and anguish from this fear of himself and what he’s become most probably wouldn’t be the key factor behind him turning into the worm creature, just one of several major stresses that would likely influence such a transformation. 

Like @faelapis has discussed, most of the other contributing stresses had already been unbalancing Steven for a long time towards this direction in his tightrope act, and this kind of recent fear would merely be the final gust of wind to finally push Steven off. 

As for how Steven could potentially be brought from the brink of this particular fear (since I’m withholding speculation on what the exact other stresses could be until we get there), I can see one way that could help Steven with this and his struggle with holding himself to the standard of always being able to help others.

Mainly, with a potential mixture of something clicking for him to help him fully understand his mother’s choices and the self-loathing that seems to have been behind so much of said choices, and for something to help him with feeling like he’s supposed to always be a hero and fixing things, instead changing it to feeling like he’s a person for whom it’s completely okay to make a mistake, like it’s okay for him to not live up to an impossible ideal.

Like he is a human with both the bad and the good that comes with it. 

That just because he has the power to change doesn’t mean that he should pressure himself to never screw up badly even by accident, and that just because he’s capable of screwing up badly even by accident doesn’t mean that he is incapable of learning, growing, and improving afterwards. 

Whether this is accomplished through a combination of Greg and the Gems acknowledging how, even though they love him, they’ve messed up badly while raising him, Connie relating to his struggle to push himself to be better with her studies as well as the shared experiences they’ve been through, and some help from all the other countless people he’s helped over the years, I can’t claim to know.

But even though it can feel hard to do, even though it feels like you’ll never be able to pull yourself out of the dark, even though it may feel like you just keep failing over and over and over again, you can still always pick yourself up and change for the better.

[snowbellewells]

Self-Promo Sunday: “Find My Way Back to You”

(I started this one shot before the episode "A Wondrous Place" aired, and therefore it picks up right where "Page 23" (6x14) ended. It allows for Snow to do more what I would have loved to have seen from her in 6x15 – encourage Emma that there is no way her True Love would leave her, and take action to help her daughter find out what is wrong. In general, I wanted the Charmings to be more concerned about Killian and know that his just vanishing after a fight didn't add up, so I wrote it. Also, my first thought at Gideon not wanting Killian around was that he had a curse planned for Emma. I still wanted them have an actual, magical whoosh of air, rainbow-tinged TLK as well, so needless to say, this is what happened in response to all of that going on in my mind. When I saw the post about reviving Self-Promo Sunday going around, I went back through my old stories, looking for one I hadn’t enjoyed in a while or that I thought folks might have missed, and this is the one that grabbed me. Hope you enjoy and I’d love to know what you think!)

“Find My Way Back to You”

By: @snowbellewells (or TutorGirlml on ff.net)

Three a.m. and still no sign of her pirate. Their huge two story house feels as cold and empty in the silent dark of late night turned early morning as it had during those nightmarish days when she had ensconced herself in it as the Dark One in her solitary lair. Just as those ghastly memories have begun to vanish for good, the foreboding tendrils wind their way back in Killian's absence. She did this; her eyes close as she once more stares out the window into the dark, deserted yard, forehead resting against the frigid glass, chilling her skin along with the cold she feels spreading through her chest. Unbidden, Killian's pointed, angry words as the Dark One himself ring in her mind – cutting like tiny knives – "you push away anyone who gets close to you…that's why you'll always be an orphan…"

Knowing now that he does not truly feel that way, that he hates she had ever heard those words from his lips, does little to comfort her alone in the still watch of the night. The remembrance of cold winter nights curled up together under heaps of cozy blankets as he whispered and kissed the very opposite into her skin – how bloody brilliant she is, how she is his match, his other half, how they will always have each other and never be alone again, how he will never leave her – is cold comfort now that she fears she has driven him away.

Listlessness overtakes the Savior as she paces a sleepless route from window to sink to the living room couch and back again, peace and rest as far from her as they have ever been. At last, she curls into the oversized armchair in the corner, the one which has become Killian's favorite place to read the piles of books that both Belle and Henry recommend and loan him, her eyes glazing over until she barely notices the dark lightening to grey, then streaking the sky with pinks and golds as the sun rises again. The new day dawns with her True Love missing, and though she still believes in him and clings to her faith that he wouldn't desert her, he isn't here. She had been justified in what she'd said to him – he does have to trust her, just as she must have faith in him – but the fact that he is out there alone somewhere hurting and drowning in self-hatred, that he didn't feel welcome in their home, makes the words, warranted or not, feel hollow.

When the door creaks open and her mother enters, there to pick Emma up for their near-weekly breakfast at Granny's, Emma barely flinches or even looks up at Snow's chipper greeting. It doesn't take long for her mother to gather that something isn't right when Emma gives no answer, and when she rounds the corner into the living room to find her grown daughter curled up as small as she can make herself in the chair, arms around her legs and chin resting on her knees, Snow's happily excited face falls rapidly.

She comes to kneel in front of her child, resting her hands over Emma's clenched ones soothingly, and looking up into her blank, unfocused face. "Honey?... Emma?" She chafes her hands up and down her daughter's forearms until Emma finally startles slightly and seems to register her mother's presence. "What is it? Are you alright? …Where's Killian?"

It is this last question which finally seems to snap her daughter back into the present, and as she turns to really focus on Snow, her stoic façade truly crumbles. Shaking her head, she finally clasps her mother's hand in return, and whispers in as fragile a voice as her mother has ever heard her use, "I don't know, Mom… I don't know."

"Well, come then," Snow soothes, pulling Emma to her in a hug, and holding her as she rocks back and forth slightly, comforting her princess as she aches to have done all those missed years Emma had been growing up. When she sits back slightly, gently brushing back the loose strands of hair that have escaped Emma's braid with maternal tenderness, "We need to go find him," she urges. "The way that man loves you? Whatever happened with the two of you, you'll work it out. He's probably on his way to you as we speak."

Emma knows her mother doesn't have the whole story, but despite all that, Snow's patent hope and optimism bolster her spirits enough to urge her to her feet as her mother pulls her up and for her to soon be leading the way down to the docks in search of her pirate.

So it is a sleep-deprived, fuzzy and anxiety-distracted version of herself who stands on the wooden planks, frozen in unprepared surprise and vulnerability when Gideon materializes behind them, malicious grin on his face and a taunt on his cruelly curved lips. "Looking for someone, 'Savior'?"

Emma scowls, feeling the heat in her blood rising angrily at the look on his face – just knowing without a doubt that this freak has done something to keep Killian from her, to keep him from coming back home. "You know that I am. What have you done with him?" she growls.

"Nothing really," Gideon shrugs nonchalantly, gloating at his power over the situation, much in the way his father always has. "He'll be quite alright, I'm sure. He's just several thousand leagues under the sea – well away from here and unable to disrupt my plans."

"Your plans?!" Emma spits. "Just what are you planning anyway, you sick little – "

But before she can finish, Gideon flings out a glowing hand, magic shooting toward her from it at top speed. Emma is quick and reacts to throw up a defensive shield, but not quick enough. She has been fighting nonstop for so long, one villain, realm, and catastrophe after another, to save everyone but herself, and she is just too tired. Her sleepless night, distress, and the lackluster concern for her own safety all work against her to let Gideon gain the edge, and she freezes for a second as what he has thrown at her makes impact. Then, her eyes glass over, fall closed, and she crumples senseless to the wooden surface of the pier.

Snow is stock-still and speechless at her side, too shocked to move at their robed attacker's sudden appearance, until Emma falls. On her knees beside her daughter instantly, a cry of distress escapes the Enchanted Forest's monarch as she shakes Emma's shoulder in futile hope of rousing her.

"That won't work," Gideon intones confidently as he watches her efforts. "You of all people ought to recognize the spell, Snow White. But I've tweaked it a bit for my own purposes. Take it from someone who – like your daughter – grew up painfully without a mother, whatever the reasons, I'm not sure you could waken her, even without my refinements. All the same, I've guarded against it, just in case. You will keep her safe though, until I decide what to do with her, won't you?" And with a sickeningly self-satisfied smile, he vanishes in a red column of magical smoke.

~ CS ~ CS ~ CS ~

Killian Jones is beside himself as the Nautilus finally resurfaces in Storybrooke's harbor once more. If it weren't for Nemo, Liam, and the once again fortuitously met Ariel, he would probably have pulled all his hair out or maimed his one good hand from punching walls in frustration. As is, it has been nearly a week since their ship had been sent forcibly from the Land Without Magic. In every waking moment since – and they've all been waking; he cannot sleep, only pace his quarters, stomach churning at the thought that he will have appeared to abandon Emma like so many before him – he has been struggling, racing against time, desperate to get back to his Love. Not only can he not bear the thought of her hurting because of him, of it seeming for even a second that he would desert her, but the more time passes and the more complicated it has proved to get back home, the more frighteningly sure Killian has become that Gideon needed him specifically out of the picture. Whatever the Dark One's spawn has in mind, it means danger for Emma, and he isn't there to fight at her side.

With hardly a backward glance, he tears from the hold and clamors up onto the docks. Running toward their shared home as if that wretched hell hound from the Underworld is on his heels once more, Killian barely calls a 'thank you' over his shoulder to his comrades before he is halfway up the street.

Bursting through the front door after clattering up the steps of their porch, Killian calls out Emma's name, hoarse with panic, even as he can clearly see that the lights are dim and the place is eerily still. When searching every room on the first floor in rapid succession yields nothing, he bounds up the stairs to their bedroom, still crying out for his Swan; still hoping against hope that she will rise from their bed to welcome him, arms outstretched and both of their sins ready to be forgiven with love.

Finding that room empty and cold as well is the battering ram which almost breaks him. 'Where is she?' 'What's happened to her?' repeats round and round in his head, as his adrenaline flees and he sinks on suddenly weak, shaking legs to the edge of the bed, praying she is alright, that she hasn't given up on him and left this home they dreamed of for so long – that he isn't too late. For a moment, he buries his face in his hand, a few tears leaking from his eyes here in this dusky quiet where no one else can see.

His despair does not last though – whether it is the small kernel of undefeatable hope, purpose, love for Emma – for his family – or just plain stubbornness; whatever it is that has kept him pressing on throughout lonely centuries, it pulls Killian Jones to his feet again. Soon he is back down the stairs, across the porch and moving down the street, instinct and his heart guiding him where he needs to go, and urging him forward as quickly as he can get there.

At Emma's parents' loft apartment, he hesitates only briefly, steeling himself with a deep breath for the anger and betrayal he may face, and the fist to the nose Dave may greet him with. But he doesn't have time to waste; he has already been gone too long. With every moment he is apart from his Swan, his desperation and fear for her grows, and he cannot help imagining worse and worse reasons why Gideon might have wanted him far away.

Knocking on the door, mouth dry, heart pounding, Killian only has moments to contemplate what to say, if he will have to push them aside to gain entrance, if he will be able to stand the harsh words he is bound to hear and the disappointment in eyes that had finally begun to regard him as a part of their family, when he hears the lock turn and then it swings open to reveal a rumpled-looking and red-eyed Snow White. To his shock, and throwing him completely off balance, Snow reaches for his arm and pulls him into the apartment, hugging him tightly with her voice muffled against his jacket as she says, "Thank goodness you're here, Killian! It was starting to look like something awful had happened to you…"

Killian sputters disbelievingly even as Snow pulls away, wiping her cheeks and sniffling a bit, and allows her to drag him further into the main room, even as he stumbles over his own feet. "But…I…You are? Did Emma not tell you what I've done?"

Snow shakes her head, dithering and waving her hand as if to bat his qualms away. "She didn't explain…just that she didn't know where you were." And here the rightful ruler of the Enchanted Forest gives him the smallest of sad little smiles, "None of that matters right now. We need you… Emma needs you."

"Doesn't matter?" Killian repeats, blinking and completely nonplussed.

Snow dips her head, hiding her expression from him as she leads him on by the hand, up the steps to the room Killian knows was Emma's for a short time.

However, if he had thought himself confused and troubled already, it is nothing compared to the sight which overwhelms him upon entering Emma's small boudoir. There, lying as if in peaceful, permanent slumber, is his Emma, stretched out upon the bed, eyes closed in seeming rest with her golden hair arrayed across the pillow in a spill of light and hands folded over each other on her stomach. Yet, having felt her curled against him many times in the tiniest possible ball, as if protecting herself even in sleep, and knowing how often she tosses and turns tangling her long legs in the sheets, Killian realizes immediately something is not right – Emma is never so still.

Even if that had not alerted him, the appearance of David, Henry, and Belle around the bed would have, Dave slumped in a chair by the nightstand, looking devastated and lost as he watches over his daughter, and Henry, head bowed and silent, seated on the bed by his mother's feet, while Belle stands near him, worried and torn, her hand on her grandson's shoulder. It flashes through his head that they resemble the mournful tableau around a glass coffin in the cartoon Emma and Henry had gleefully shown him some weeks ago, the one that supposedly told her parents' story. Except these were not somewhat cutesy hand drawn dwarves; these were the members of his family, and he had no such illusions that things could be righted as instantaneously. Surely if the immediately obvious solution could work, they would have done it already?

Slow, hesitant steps bring him closer to the bed where his princess, his True Love, lies. And though he wants to fall to his knees, rail and scream at the universe and the unfairness of her loss, he finds that he can only stare dazedly until he finally reaches her other side, and runs a tender, aching finger along a strand of her hair.

David looks up at his entrance, and though his mouth tightens in a hard, thin line, he says nothing, spews none of the accusations Killian had expected from him, nor does he order the pirate from his home.

"Dave…I…" Killian starts, swallowing hard and trying to offer any kind of apology that could possibly seem like enough. Even if the other man doesn't know the horrible discovery about his father's long ago murder, Prince Charming may well believe that Killian left his daughter without a word when she was in grave danger and needing his support.

But the prince shakes his head slowly, dismissing the need. "All of that can wait for later," he sighs, voice low and ragged. "I know something wasn't right with your disappearance anyway. Just… please … wake my daughter."

Killian is taken aback, jerking upright in surprise. "How can I?" he asks, reaching to twine his fingers with Emma's limp, cool ones, needing the contact whether she can press his in return or no. "If you or Henry couldn't wake her, why would I be able to, after how I've ruined what was between us?'

Belle speaks up then, her voice shaky with a clear mix of concern and guilt. "The best we can figure is that G-Gideon altered the Sleeping Curse. Possibly because Henry has shared a True Love's Kiss with her before, he is unable to repeat the action? And…" she trails off hesitantly, and David picks up the explanation.

"…And because Snow and I weren't there for her all those years, despite my best intentions, in some way I did fail her. At any rate, what we have with our own daughter must not be strong enough to be True Love either." His head bows again to rest on Emma's shoulder, the agonized emotion in her father's voice and the defeated curve of his strong shoulders unravels Killian that much more.

Then Snow speaks up just behind him, her voice soft yet full of hope as she prods him with a hand at his back. "You're the only one who can bring her back, Killian. I know it! I've never seen her look at anyone else the way she does at you. She wasn't herself without you, even before Gideon did this, and she needs to know you're here."

Shaking his head, Killian licks his lips nervously, going down on one knees at Emma's side, pulling her hand to his chest and looking at her son. Henry meets his gaze and gives his mom's other True Love a nod of urging encouragement, a tiny, watery grin lifting one corner of his mouth.

Bending his head to the pillow beside hers, Killian closes his eyes for a moment, gathering his courage and praying that the bond they have shared is still alive; for she does not deserve this fate. "Swan, I love you… more than I can ever express, despite how I must have hurt you unwillingly. Please… come back to us. Come back to me."

Then, with infinite adoration he leans forward, pressing his lips to hers once more in a sweet kiss. He has missed her so much in the past day and night that it feels instantly as if he is once more whole – like he has finally, truly come home. In the following second, a whoosh of air and light sweeps through the room, ruffling their hair and clothes, sweeping up and invigorating them all. Rainbow color seems to radiate out in a wave of electric power from where their lips meet, and it steals Killian's breath. His heart near ceases to beat as he stares in awe at his princess' face.

Emma's lashes flutter, then she blinks rapidly, sucking in a huge gasp of air as she stirs, and finally Killian feels as if he can breathe again. She sits up quickly, a smile lighting her face as she reaches out for him and pulls him close desperately. "Killian," she exclaims, "you came back!"

Tears threaten, and he has to swallow several times to answer in a rough murmur, "Emma…Love…of course, I did. I never wanted to leave you."

She nods against his shoulder, burrowing closer in his embrace, and neither of them even budge when first Henry, and then the rest pile on in relief and joy, making it a chaotic, clumsy six-person hug. The warmth and belonging spread through his veins and push out the chill loneliness Killian had feared taking over him once more. Laughing and breathing in the warm cinnamon scent of her, he buries his nose in Emma's hair, feels Henry and Belle at his back, and lets Snow's hope fill the last empty cracks hidden away in his soul. No more fear of being lost at sea. He has his harbor, and he means to stay.

Tagging a few who may enjoy: @kmomof4 @laschatzi @therooksshiningknight @spartanguard @let-it-raines @hollyethecurious @resident-of-storybrooke @aloha-4-ever @whimsicallyenchantedrose @searchingwardrobes @gingerchangeling @blackwidownat2814 @linda8084 @branlovestowrite @effulgentcolors @kymbersmith-90 @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @hookedonapirate @bmbbcs4evr

[beyond-far-horizons]

The Theme of Love, William Blake, DMC 5 and the fate of the Sons of Sparda

I’ve always loved symbolism and literary references in my favourite stories so I’m ecstatic to see the incredible William Blake join Dante Alighieri as a major influence on the Devil May Cry series. 

Is before the game’s release too early to do some meta? Of course not!

So let’s dig deeper and see what possible plot points or themes we can glean from Blake’s work and other symbolism for what the dev team have said will be the conclusion for the ‘Sons of Sparda’

Spoilers abound - read at your own risk!

William Blake was a 18th Century English poet, artist and mystic who created his own complex religious mythology for his works. Sadly not widely known or respected at the time, he nevertheless had an increasingly powerful influence on the arts. 

The main themes Blake grappled with were the hypocrisy of the Christian Church against what he saw as the natural forces of the imagination and sexuality. He was also very concerned with the effects of the Industrial Revolution on society, especially on the poor. 

So he’s a good guy, but how does this relate to the Sons of Sparda? 

Vergil and Urizen

The big bad of Blake’s mythology as most of you know by now is a god-like figure called Urizen. Blake hints that Urizen is the Christian/Abrahamic God but he is most similar to the gnostic Demiurge figure and represents according to Wikipedia ‘ Urizen is the embodiment of conventional reason and law.’

Now who do we know who puts cold logic above emotions?

‘He is said to represent the Heavenly host, but he experiences a Satanic fall in that he desired to rule. He is motivated by his pride and becomes a hypocrite. When Albion asks for him, Urizen refuses and hides, which causes him to experience his fall. After his fall, Urizen set about creating the material world and his jealousy of mankind brought forth both Wrath and Justice.[4] Wikipedia

Urizen being cast out from Eternity. Book of Urizen

Guys, it even says ‘motivated by pride’, what more do you want? More than this, Vergil does literally fall, unable to accept his loss to Dante and the path of emotion and honour Dante represents - the true inheritor of their parents’ will.

 Despite Vergil’s coldness, he is filled underneath with anger - 

‘What defines Vergil as a character to me is that while he seems like the perfect samurai in his very calm and calculated demeanor, you can always sense the simmering intensity and even rage.’ Dan Southworth

Yet he also exhibits a strange sense of justice such as refusing to stab Dante in the back as Nelo Angelo and pride in being a Son of Sparda TM. 

In DMC 5 Urizen is described as a newly ascendent, powerful demon who seeks to use the Demon Tree to become king over the Demon World and (presumably via his actions in Red Grave City) merge it with the Human World. It’s been pretty much confirmed that Vergil is big bad Urizen in some form - from Dan Southworth’s re-pitched voice, Urizen’s looks - the blue colouring and spiky hair -  and V’s assertion that Urizen is the Cloaked Man who stole Yamato - Vergil’s sword and who also has Dan’s voice and Corrupted Vergil’s looks. Also his scheme the same power grab Vergil tried in DMC 3 and the manga.

This being said, what does it tell us about Vergil’s motivation (sorry) in DMC 5? For this we need to look at the rest of the clues...

The Poison Tree 

DMC 5 starts with the roots of the Demon Tree ‘Qliphoth’ invading Red Grave City and bringing with it a hoard of demons. It also seems to use the population’s blood as an energy source creating a demonic ‘fruit’ at its source that will grant the power to rule the Demon World according to demon Goliath. 

This relates to Blake's poem "A Poison Tree" where, through suppression of anger, the protagonist’s rage grows like a tree and bears a fruit that kills his foe.  

‘The allegory within the poem emphasizes that when a person hides or denies their emotions, they will become poisoned with bitterness and more vengefulness.’

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-theme-poem-poison-tree-thank-you-144241

Again who do we know hides or denies their emotions? Given how closely the dev team are using Blake’s work this implies that Vergil as Urizen in some form has become consumed with bitterness and vengence, something we already saw from him in DMC 3. Added to this is his loss of pride at being the slave and puppet of his mother’s killer (Mundus) and being defeated by Dante a second time in DMC 1. We see this callousness in the way he treats Nero - his only child who he’s never met and Dante again in front of the tree. 

(Interestingly this quote could also refer to Dante as a plot twist. I’d argue that although Dante is a lot freer with his emotions he perhaps hasn’t dealt fully with the rage and pain that life has dealt him - what do you think?)

Another interesting note is the word ‘Qliphoth’ which comes from Jewish mystic branch Kabbalah and means - 

‘literally "Peels", "Shells" or "Husks" (from singular: קְלִפָּה‬ qlippah "Husk"),[2] are the representation of evil or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, the polar opposites of the holy Sefirot.[3]’ 

The Sefirot are emmanations of the Divine that manifest into this world and the pattern they are depicted in is also like a tree so the evil version makes the ‘Qliphoth’ a metaphysical demonic tree.

If we look at Urizen he looks like tree-like husk encasing another figure, connecting them to this tree. Trailers and promo material have also shown people encased in husks feeding the tree and the theme is repeated with Cavaliere Angelo being powered by Trish.

Does this hint that Vergil’s true nature is being obscured by Urizen or that, like in DMC 3 his pride and lust for power still obscure his caring side like the husks in Kabbalah?

In a Korean interview the dev team said DMC 5 will return to DMC 1′s theme of love (something I’m absolutely crazy about.) Sparda’s choice to protect humanity and love a human woman, Eva’s sacrifice for her sons and Dante and Vergil literally embodying the two human ways of dealing with the pain of that trauma have always been the most captivating aspect for me. Hopefully this means we will finally get the conclusion we lacked from DMC 1 and DMC 3 to that essential dilemma  - is the best way of life via compassion and altruism or domination and control via dispassionate reason? 

Or maybe a combo of both?

Love, Lust and Nero’s Mother

The DMC team have been remarkably coy about Nero’s mother which has always irritated me. It fridges another mother/lover character as well as denying us juicy( and I’d argue) essential story details aka why Captain ‘I Hate Humanity and Repress My Emotions’ would ever deign to sleep with a human.

But since the Korean interview hints at the theme of love perhaps we will get an insight at last, especially if we get the long awaited confrontation between father and son. 

Blake’s writing gives us an interesting hint to this. In his mythos Urizen’s female counterpart is Ahania who stands for pleasure and the desire for intelligence. They have many children including a rebellious son called Fuzon who fights against his father’s repressive ways (Nero anyone?). But the crucial part is Urizen separating himself from Ahania because he believes pleasure is sinful or limiting - just as Vergil separated himself from human desires and emotions because he thought of them as weak. But also like Vergil, Urizen becomes weaker as a result, losing his intuition, for the path to Divine Wisdom accord to Blake was passion and reason - something Dante grew into, becoming more balanced and mature as the series has progressed.

It wouldn’t surprise me if we get some callous remark from Vergil about Nero’s mother at first - was he with her out of lust which disgusted him afterwards (wasn’t Nero’s mother hinted at being a prostitute?), or was it an experiment as someone else has suggested to see if he could recreate Sparda’s power via his connection with Eva or ven some creepy deal with the Order of the Sword to continue Sparda’s bloodline despite his intention to raise Temen-ni-gru and show them ‘this devil’s power’?

Whatever he says it will cause more of a rift, but I believe at the end Vergil will be forced to confront her importance even just as the mother of his child, along with other significant figures like Nero, Dante and Eva.

Nero and Urizen’s son Fuzon

"1: Fuzon, on a chariot iron-wing'd On spiked flames rose; his hot visage Flam'd furious! sparkles his hair & beard Shot down his wide bosom and shoulders. On clouds of smoke rages his chariot And his right hand burns red in its cloud Moulding into a vast globe, his wrath As the thunder-stone is moulded. Son of Urizens silent burnings

Blake

‘As the element of fire, the element symbolizing the energy Urizen wishes to subdue, Fuzon rebels against Urizen...battling him for control of the world’ Fuzon Wikipedia

This sounds much like Nero’s reckless and impassioned battle with DMC’s Urizen for control of the Human World. 

Unfortunately for Fuzon he is eventually defeated by his father and crucified on the Tree of Mystery  - yet another powerful tree symbol.

This is not looking good for Nero...but since Blake’s works develop, the element of passionate rebellion and the quest for the reunion of reason and imaginative emotion continue and I can’t see Nero dying at the end of DMC 5 so perhaps there will be a resurrection of sorts?

Dante and Luvah/Orc

But where does Dante figure in all of this? Can Blake’s mythology give us some potential answers? He does in the double figure of Luvah/Orc (no, not that sort of orc...)

Orc. William Blake

As Luvah - ‘he represents love, passion, and rebellious energy..’ he is also known ‘as the Prince of Love, and his name may be connected to the word "lover". Love is the supreme emotion, and it is connected to all others, including hate...his fallen form is Orc. Throughout Blake's mythological system, he is opposed to Urizen, the representation of reason.’

Orc is also ‘the embodiment of rebellion, and stands opposed to Urizen, the embodiment of tradition...’ He is a ‘"Lover of Wild Rebellion, and transgressor of God's Law"... Orcus is also the Latin word for Hell, and Orc is presented as a rebellious, Luciferian character.’

We can see Dante’s human and demonic aspects in these quotes.

Urizen and Luvah/Orc engage in a complex battle across the cycle of ages as a metaphor for the conflict between reason and the emotions - just like Dante and Vergil. He also gets crucified to a tree (not looking good for Dante either then...) but resurrects in various forms including (Blake being a Christian) Jesus. In this resurrected form Urizen is afraid of the new Luvah  - perhaps in DMC terms this is when we see Dante’s Majin form? Either way I think both Nero and Dante are going to be called on to make some sort of sacrifice fighting Vergil as Urizen, hopefully to bring him back to the light and free him from the evil husk of hatred.

Healing the Division

‘Later in Vala, Orc describes the divided aspects of the soul, which, in Blake's mythological system, God has a twofold essence that is capable of good and evil. This idea parallels Blake's personal belief that there was a division within himself..’.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc_(Blake)

The symbolism of divided aspects of God and the soul within Blake’s system hark back again to the division between Dante and Vergil and Vergil and Nero. In the manga Vergil reflects on Dante and him being one being split in two. The aspects of their all-powerful father were also split between them as Sparda was also known as being calm like Vergil and rebellious like Dante as reflected in his two swords given to each respective son. And of course there’s that ‘pesky’ human nature from Eva.

Nero too has grown into his own, arguably as some have said being more like Sparda than either of his sons, willing to sacrifice his power because of his love for a human and protect other humans for her sake. Hopefully as hinted in both the Korean interview, the works of Blake and the core of Devil May Cry, it will be the theme of Love that will finally bring the family of Sparda together and heal at long last that division.

V and the Poetry of Blake

Despite being the mouthpiece for a lot of Blake’s poetry I’m not going to talk much about V except to refer you to this great post from la-vita which lists alot of his quotes.

https://la-vita.tumblr.com/post/182731950816/two-of-the-poems-v-reads-during-battle

It says that V’s book may refer to the ‘V’ of DMC V, Blake’s Plate 5 he is reading, however...

‘Urizen is described as having multiple books: Gold, Silver, Iron, and Brass. They represent science, love, war, and sociology, which are four aspects of life.’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urizen

Hmm...

Thanks for reading if you got this far!

[joanna-lannister]

Meta: Will the Lannisters end like the Targaryens?

WARNING: possible mentions of spoilers/leaks

@fcrncody Thank you Ana, my partner in crime, for being my beta reader! 💖

First of all, this theory is purely for the show, not the books (even if I'm gonna use some quotes from it). I do believe the fate of some characters will be different, I could be wrong tho.

"History is a wheel, for the nature of man is fundamentally unchanging. What has happened before will perforce happen again." I'm quoting G.R.R.M here but as a big History nerd, I always say that History repeat itself and I think that what's going to happen with the Lannisters : their downfall will be a parallel to the Targaryens one at the end of Robert's rebellion. I have this theory in mind for almost 2 years now and since I keep thinking about it, I needed somewhere to write it down.

During the rebellion, we had 4 Targaryens still alive : Aerys, Rhaella, Rhaegar and Viserys (plus Dany and Jon on the way). I'm not sure if I should count Maester Aemon since he took the black and I don't count Elia and Rheagar's children since he disinherited them. Now for the Lannisters, we have Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion still alive, plus baby!Lannister on the way. I think their deaths or possible survival will be a mix of how these last Targaryens died or survived.

First, the Lannisters have always been connected with the Targaryens one way or another:

Tywin wanted Cersei to marry Rhaegar and she wanted it to

Tyrion and his obsession with the dragons

Jaime killed Aerys

Tywin used to be friend with Aerys and his Hand

Cersei and Tyrion both used wildfire

Joanna was harassed by Aerys

And I could go on...

But one of the biggest connection we can make between the two houses is the incest. The perpetual incestuous marriage between the Targaryens slowly brought their house to the extinction and Cersei and Jaime's relationship caused the war of the five Kings and thus, their own downfall. They have been compared to the Targaryens more than once, by themselves or by other characters.

The Targaryens wed brothers and sisters for 300 years to keep bloodlines pure. Jaime and I are more than brother and sister. We shared a womb. We came into this world together. We belong together. - Cersei, S01E07 You Win or You Die

Tyrion: Sins? The Targaryens... Cersei: Wed brother and sister for hundreds of years, I know. That's what Jaime and I would say to each other in our moments of doubt. It's what I told Ned Stark when he was stupid enough to confront me. Half the Targaryens went mad, didn't they? What's the saying? Every time a Targaryen is born, the Gods flip a coin. Tyrion: You've beaten the odds. Tommen and Myrcella are good, decent children, both of them. - S02E07 A Man Without Honor

You think I disapprove? Why? Because people disapprove of that sort of thing where you are from? They disapproved of Oberyn and me where you are from. Here no one blinked an eye. 100 years ago, no one would have blinked an eye at you if you'd been named Targaryen. - Ellaria, S05E09 The Dance of Dragons

We could marry him to Myrcella, once we've sent Sansa Stark back to her mother. That would show the realm that the Lannisters are above their laws, like gods and Targaryens. - Jaime, ASOS

"I am sick of being careful. The Targaryens wed brother to sister, why shouldn't we do the same? Marry me, Cersei. Stand up before the realm and say it's me you want. We'll have our own wedding feast, and make another son in place of Joffrey." She drew back. "That's not funny." - Jaime, ASOS

Then, we have Tywin and his ambition. He wants to outshine the Targaryens and build a dynasty that could last 1000 years.

The future of our family will be determined in these next few months. We could establish a dynasty that will last a thousand years. Or we could collapse into nothing, as the Targaryens did. - Tywin, S01E07 You Win or You Die

Cersei wants to emulate her father.

I understand we're in a war for survival. I understand whoever loses dies. I understand whoever wins could launch a dynasty that lasts a thousand years. - Cersei, S07E01 Dragonstone

The parallel is clear here, I have even made a gifset. The funny thing in that conversation between Tywin and Jaime is the fact that Tywin points out they could collapse into nothing when it's already happening, because of his own children. And again, he compares himself to the Targaryens. Foreshadowing?

Before talking about each characters, I want to say that if this theory is correct, I don't think Jaime and Cersei will die together. This show is full of plot twists, irony, parallels and yet, anti-parallels and the characters don't get what they want, this is not a Disney fairytale. And dying together is something they both want, they expressed it numerous times, in the show and in the books, maybe too much?

Bronn: How do you want to go? Jaime: In the arms of the woman I love. - S05E04 The Sons of The Harpy

We've always been together. We'll always be together. We're the only two people in the world. - Cersei, S06E06 Blood of My Blood

I cannot die while Cersei lives, he told himself. We will die together as we were born together. - Jaime, ASOS

We will leave this world together, as we once came into it. - Cersei, AFFC

If he were dead, I would know it. We came into this world together, Uncle. He would not go without me. - Cersei, ADWD

It's so obvious, as viewers (and also readers sometimes), we expect it to happen. The cast keep telling us how unpredictable the end is, I honestly take everything they say with a grain of salt but I think I'll make an exception for this time. Also, the writers omitted the Valonqar part in Cersei's prophecy. On purpose? So we are going to be surprised if Jaime is indeed the Valonqar? I find it weird when it's already obvious like I said and when they dropped clues back in S7.

Cersei:You murdered your own brother. Euron:You should try it. Feels wonderful. - S07E01, Dragonstone

Olenna: She'll be the end of you. Jaime: Possibly. - S07E03, The Queen's Justice

But I could be wrong and the writers will choose the easy path... However, while it's tragic for Jaime and Cersei to die together, killed by each others, I think it would be even more painful for their characters to die apart. Like us, they expect to die together. They are twins, they spent their whole life together and they think it will always be that way, Cersei only feels complete with him... and ripping Jaime away from her? Yeah, sadly poetic.

And now for the characters...

JAIME: ↳ Rhaegar / Aerys

I start with Jaime first since I think he's going to die first.

Source: (x), (x)

In the first still (from the 8x02?), he's wearing a Northern regular armor, similar to the one Robb used to wear. In the EW promo, the armor is almost the same but more more redish, more Lannister, and looks a little like bit the one Podrick used to wear back in the previous seasons.

I presume the costume change will happen after the battle in 7x03. My guess is that battle will not be the last. Wrapping the White Walkers storyline in 1 episode? No, impossible. The war will happen in two times: first that battle, Winterfell is destroyed and the White Walkers are still a threat, Jaime comes back to King's Landing (with the Starks?) [if I remember Nik was spotted on the King's Landing set, could be for this or something else] and then another battle and Jaime dies during this one by the hand of Night King.

Why the Night King? Simple. One of the most important moment in Jaime's life was when he killed the Mad King, a man obsessed with fire. He was mocked all his life for breaking his vows, nicknamed Kingslayer, when he took the right decision.

And then when the king turned to flee, I drove my sword into his back. "Burn them all," he kept saying. "Burn them all." I don't think he expected to die. He ... he meant to... burn with the rest of us and rise again, reborn as a dragon to turn his enemies to ash. - Jaime, S03E05 Kissed by Fire

Most people in the fandom think he will kill either the Night King or the Mad Queen, I bet on the other way. I admit I also thought about Dany becoming the Night Queen and killing him, a nice parallel since he killed her father but I don't see her branding a sword even if she becomes the Night Queen so I stand with the idea of the Night King, a creature made a ice. Honestly, a Kingslayer murdered by a king? What an irony... And, A Lannister always pays his debts.

That was for the Aerys part, now for the Rhaegar part. They are both warriors and if Jaime dies in a battle, it will already be a parallel with Rhaegar dying at the the Trident. Nik also said that Jaime's obsessive love for Cersei "follows him until his very last scene of the show". At first, I was; okay my theory is wrong but then I remembered that quote about Rhaegar:

Rubies flew like drops of blood from the chest of a dying prince, and he sank to his knees in the water and with his last breath murmured a woman's name. - Daenerys, ACOK

We don't know for sure who was the woman Rhaegar mentioned but Jaime murmuring Cersei's name would completely fulfill the parallel with him. And again, a bit ironic here since Cersei wanted to marry Rhaegar.

CERSEI: ↳ Rhaella / Aerys

Now, Cersei, the next who's going to die, in my opinion. I think she will behave somehow like Aerys at the beginning of the season but her death will be a total parallel to Rhaella, and by extent, Joanna and possibly Lyanna.

Source: (x), (x)

Like Jaime, with the costume change, Cersei is wearing the Lannisters colors again. Someone on tumblr (I don't remember who, I'm sorry) said that her grief is over and it could mean she will subvert the villain trope or something along the line. I do agree with the grief part, that's why I don't think she will lose baby!Lannister. Why would she wear her house colors if she had lost her child?

Source: (x), (x), (x), (x), (x), (x)

Notice she has the Lannister sigil back too, as a necklace. It was a link with Myrcella and after Tommen's death, she never wore it again. Only as embroidery on her gowns. The pendant is strategically placed on her "bump", it fits her character; she's (was) a mother, she's pregnant and that child is the future of her house. Also, some people said we can see a baby bump. I personally disagree, I believe it's only the dress.

I know part of the fandom will scream at me that she's not pregnant or she will have a miscarriage because of the prophecy. First of all, I do believe she's pregnant (or at least she thinks she is) and of course, a miscarriage is still a possibility. Second of all, prophecies are tricky, ask Melisandre. The prophecy was already debunked back in S1 when Cersei told Catelyn about the black haired boy she had with Robert.

I lost my first boy, a little black-haired beauty. He was a fighter too... Tried to beat the fever that took him. - Cersei, S01E02 The Kingsroad

Yet, Maggy still mentioned 3 children:

Maggy: The king will have 20 children and you will have three. Cersei: That doesn't make sense. Maggy: Gold will be their crowns. Gold their shrouds. - S05E01 The Wars to Come

Since she was also pregnant with Robert's child in the books, we know pregnancy doesn't count for that prophecy to work. Now, in the show, she gave birth to that boy. He was sick, or got sick, but was alive. My conclusion is that the birth doesn't count either. The only fact that matter is if she raises the child. So Cersei could carry her pregnancy to term and give birth to an healthly, surviving child if she dies in in childbirth or soon after. Which brings the Rhaella parallel.

And again, I know most Cersei stans (and JxC shippers) hate that idea. I confess I wasn't pleased at first but now, the more I thought about it the more it feels like a full circle. Motherhood has always been an important theme in Cersei's journey.

First, her mother: Cersei was a little girl when Joanna died in the most gendered way. She was traumatized by her death and she grew up resenting her little brother for this.

Second, her love for her children: one of the main reason that drives her to do some... things. She repeated countless times how much she loves/loved them and tried to protect them and yet, they all die. Cersei "sacrificing" her life for her last child and giving him a chance to survive is not so far stretched.

Now, how it's going to happen... Maisie said :

After reading the scripts I went back and watched season 1 again, because so much of it refers back to that season. There are so many scenes that will look similar. And also I watched just to remind myself of the arc I've taken already. I wanted Arya to go full circle and try for some kind of normalcy like when she was younger.

I'm not sure if Maisie is only talking about Arya here, however we already know we are going to have a parallel with Jon and Daenerys arriving at Winterfell like Cersei and Robert back in the season 1. Then, if the leaks are proven to be true (Euron forcing Cersei to have sex with him and her saying she "enjoyed" it as much as she did with Robert), we can assume their relationship will be similar to the one she had with her previous husband. I think Cersei will lie and pretend that baby!Lannister is Euron's child just like she did with Robert and Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen.

Jaime: Who will you say is the father? Cersei: You. - S07E05 Eastwatch

Remember that? I'm pretty sure it was a red herring for Cersei playing Euron in the season 8. Now, we all know what happened to Robert before he had the chance to learn the truth so I bet on Cersei killing Euron in the middle of the season, maybe during the 8x04? Or maybe Jaime. Could be another parallel with:

Ned: Has he done this before? Cersei: Jaime would have killed him. - S01E07 You Win or You Die

After Euron's death (or shortly before), I predict the Starks (moslty Jon) coming to King's Landing to seek refuge or an alliance because Winterfell is destroyed and they have no other choice. Lena and Kit were spotted on set (and I think Sophie too). It could be a decoy but let's say it's a real scene. Jon looked like he bent the knee to Cersei, I believe we will have a replay of the famous scene with Ned in S01E07.

You must be gone by then ... you and your children. I will not have their blood on my hands. Go as far away as you can, with as many men as you can. Because wherever you go, Robert's wrath will follow you. - Ned, S01E07 You Win or You Die

I think Jon will propose the same deal to Cersei : giving mercy to her and her child (and maybe Jaime and Tyrion) if she leaves King's Landing/Westeros after the end of the war if she accepts to help them (bet we'll see Qyburn's scorpion again). I see her somehow accepting it unlike the first time and maybe that person who said she will subvert the villain trope was right, after all we have that quote:

You love your children. It's your one redeeming quality. That and your cheekbones. - Tyrion, S02E01 The North Remembers

Once the war is won, and Jaime probably dead, the Starks break their promise and want to judge the Lannisters for their crimes, which would be a little parallel with Aerys, when he opened the gates of King's Landing and let Tywin take the city. And like Rhaella, she will escape to her ancestral home, maybe with Tyrion and the help of Qyburn.

You'll be queen. For a time. Then comes another, younger, more beautiful, to cast you down and take all you hold dear. - Maggy, S05E01 The Wars to Come

It would fit the prophecy. She has nothing left, no power, no crown, her brother/lover is dead... She loses the throne and survives the game. Again, a bit ironic since she's one of the biggest player since the beginning and the one who instaured the famous:

When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground. - S01E07 You Win or You Die

And then, she dies tragically giving birth... Yeah, full circle.

TYRION: ↳ Viserys / Maester Aemon?

Tyrion... Oh Tyrion... He's the one I'm on the fence, for every theory that I have, honestly. He escaped deaths numerous times but all good things come to an end. I feel we don't have enough clues about his future death or his possible survival. Of course we have that famous quote:

In my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a maiden's mouth around my cock, at the age of eighty," he replied. - Tyrion, AGOT

Or that one:

One day, after our queen has taken the Seven Kingdoms... I'd like to have my own vineyard. Make my own wine. The Imp's Delight. Only my close friends could drink it. - Tyrion, S06E08 No One

I don't think that's gonna happen but if my theory is right, I assume he will take Viserys place, mixed maybe with Maester Aemon, but like I said, I'm not sure if I should count him as a Targaryen. We still have moment that tho:

Jaime: Tell me you're not thinking of taking the black. Tyrion: And go celibate ? The whores would go begging from Dorne to Casterly Rock. I just want to stand on top of the Wall and piss off the edge of the world. - S01E02 The Kingsroad

If the White Walkers are defeated, I see no reason to build another Wall and no reason to have another Night's Watch, I think it's more like a metaphor for Tyrion being casted away from Westeros and going in exil, and raising his nephew/niece.

Source: (x), (x)

Unlike his siblings, Tyrion's new costume is more subtle. He doesn't seem to wear the Lannister colors and yet... In the first still we got for the S8, he is wearing the usual outfit he has since he joined Dany Team: same shape, same colors... and in the EW promo, his clothes doesn't look really different at first because they are still black and he still has the Hand of the Queen's pin but they are! The shape of the jacket is similar to the one he used to wear in the first seasons, the clips are back and golden and the sleeves have hints of gold.

Source: (x), (x)

The patterns aren't the same tho but we can guess the connection with his family will be back once he comes back to King's Landing after the destruction of Winterfell.

Like I said for Cersei, once the war is over, I believe the Starks will want to judge him for his family's crime. Not sure if he's going to escape with his sister, it would fufill Viserys parallel but I think he will be captured/imprisoned for some time like he was during the S1. Then, he either escapes or the Starks send him in exil with baby!Lannister.

Now, why would he raise baby!Lannister? I think the clues are in the S7 finale. When Tyrion learned Cersei was pregnant during that emotional scene, they made a secret pact. No one know what is it about, neither the viewers or the characters (including Jaime). The only thing we can speculate is that this pact will ensure the safety of the child. And maybe the throne.

You say you can't have children, but there are other ways of choosing a successor. The Night's Watch has one method. The ironborn, for all their many flaws, have another. - Tyrion, S07E06 Beyond The Wall

Our child will rule Westeros. - Cersei, S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

During the S7, Tyrion was concerned by the possible lack of heir after Dany's death, now he has a potential one. The fandom think Cersei betrayed the pact by not sending her troups in the North and that Tyrion is too naive for believing her but... is it true? Yeah, Cersei said to Jaime she didn't trust their brother and she was lying the whole time but nowhere she informed him about the pact and the fact she broke her promise... Why? I always wondered if Tyrion wasn't the one behind the idea to not send the soldiers North. And from the leaks, it looks like he's trying to buy some time. And honestly, look at his costume in that episode:

Source: (x), (x)

Like for EW promo and the previous seasons, the jacket have the Lannister shape and the pattern, while slightly different, looks similar to Tywin's jacket. Everyone always screamed how Cersei's gowns was inspired by Tywin but here...

That pact is gonna bite him in the ass, but maybe not the way we can imagine. I mentioned above a possible parallel between Cersei and Lyanna and it wasn't only about the "dying in childbirth" trope; it was about Cersei asking Tyrion to take care of her child, like Lyanna did with Ned. Unlike Lyanna and Ned, Cersei and Tyrion have a complicated relionship; they hate each others but yet, I think deep down they somehow "love" each others. And Cersei knows her brother loves(d) her children (except Joffrey but that's another story).

I loved them. You know I did. You know it in your heart if there's anything left of it. - Tyrion, S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

I don't want to destroy our family. I never have. - Tyrion, S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

Cersei: I only care what it cost us. It cost us our future. Cersei: If there's no future, then why are we here? Why did you allow me to come? - S07E07 The Dragon and the Wolf

She knows her child will be safe with him. Add the fact: Cersei asking the man; she blamed her whole life for the death of her mother and dying the same way, to take care of her child and Tyrion, who was considered like the black sheep of his family, raising the future of his house: again full circle.

BABY!LANNISTER : ↳ Daenerys / Jon?

I'll be quick here. While I do think in the books that child will never exist, if this theory is correct, in the show, I believe he will survives and take either Daenerys or Jon role, but mostly Dany. If Tyrion dies, then I assume the Starks will raise him and he will not know who are his real parents like Jon but seriously, a blond baby? LOL. If Tyrion survives, then Dany.

We already have a little parallel with Dany and her conception during the 7x03, even if the circumstance are a little bit different. And if Cersei dies like Rhaella, it would be a complete replay of Dany's birth.

Then, Tyrion raises him like Viserys, but in better way, you know. I don't remember if D&D spoke about a flashforward for the end of the show but I could see that happening: the Starks living happily and the last scene is baby!Lannister being introduced and saying he wants to avenge his family/take what should be is. What goes around, comes around... for the Lannisters, for the show.

TIMELINE :

I have made a little timeline of how I think these events are going to happen but some of them can switch, I guess?

Great battle in 7x03, Winterfell is destroyed

Jaime comes back to King's Landing

Euron dies

The Starks seek refuge/an alliance with Tyrion

End of the war - Jaime dies

The Starks betray the alliance

Cersei escapes to Casterly Rock and die giving birth

Tyrion takes care of baby!Lannister

I'm not sure if my post makes sense, it feels more clear in my mind to be honest and I feel like I forgot a bunch of stuff but I really wanted to post it before the premiere. Now, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who have that theory in mind and if you have read all of this, first thank you and second, you probably think I'm crazy so I'm gonna hide under a rock...

[harjii]

2018 Music | My Faves

This is a bit delayed but @genjitsu-no-yume reminded me to create a list of my favourite music in 2018. I’ve split this list into 3 sections; favourite songs, favourite albums and throwback discoveries because I am constantly discovering music releases months (sometimes years) after they’ve been released OTL. 

By no means is this a list of what I think was the best. This is simply a list of the music I discovered which I loved and none of it is in any particular order. There’s constantly so much being released and all of it is so wonderful, how to possibly pick between it all?! 

Anyway, without further ado, here’s a list of my favourite music in 2018!

Favourite Songs Released in 2018

Tell Me - Infinite

Till Sunrise (feat JW of Nell) - Kim Sunggyu

The Chance of Love - DBSK (TVXQ)

Crossing A Line - Mike Shinoda

Caste of the Nine - A9

Who We Are - FAKY

Get It - PRISTIN V

Forever and a Day (Lean On Me) - WANNA ONE

Dear My Friend (Feat. Washio Reina from E-Girls / Flower) - MACO

Warrior (Feat. John Cooper) - Ledger

HELP ME - NU’EST W

Heroine - Sunmi

Sleeping Beauty - Epik High x Sekai no Owari

Shoot Met - DAY6

Sober (feat Ummet Ozcan) - HYO

F E E L S - Safetysuit

Almost Love - Sabrina Carpenter

Growing Pains - Alessia Cara

Fakeshow - Da-iCE

If It’s Okay With You - Nam Woohyun

La Fiesta - THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE

Woman - BoA

Fake Divine - HYDE

Love Bomb - fromis_9

Upside Down - BIGFLO

Black Heart - UNB

Tempo - EXO

Pretty Sin (Oh! My Mistake) - APRIL

Hope Torture - NELL

Spring Breeze - WANNA ONE

Favourite Albums Released in 2018

1. Post Traumatic - Mike Shinoda

Having been a Linkin Park fan since I was 13, Chester’s passing hit me really, really hard. Every Linkin Park fan can relate to the heart break felt but when Mike started releasing music, it became therapy for us all. The album dropped half way through 2018 and by then, he’d already released a fair number of the tracks as E.P.’s beforehand. Even though we’d heard many of the songs by this point, listening to the album as a whole was so much more emotional and so moving. Mike’s emotive lyrics, the strife he went through after losing someone so close to him is a pain we all felt we could connect to. Truly, I’m so thankful to him for releasing this album. I replayed it so much for weeks and weeks and the more I listened to it, the more I felt myself healing. The music is incredible; as always Mike has his own unique touch when it comes to creating music and the lyrics really tell a story of grief, sorrow, heartbreak, anger but most of all, hope. It’s this hope that we’re left hanging on to by the time the album ends and if that isn’t the perfect way to end an album, I don’t know what is.

Favourite tracks:  Over Again / About You (feat. blackbear) / Crossing A Line / Hold It Together / Make it Up As I Go (feat. K.Flay) / Running From My Shadow (feat. grandson)

2. DON’T MESS UP MY TEMPO - EXO 

Honestly, I was too immersed in NU’EST to give EXO a second thought as both groups debuted at the same time but I’d always known of EXO and always had a distant appreciation of their talents. However, when they started releasing teasers for their comeback my EXO-L friend started sharing her excitement with me. I went with it, intrigued to hear what they’d release. The moment I watched the MV for ‘Tempo’, I was instantly sold. I was so sold that I couldn’t stop re-watching the MV for days and days, to the point that I was trying to find signal in the Bermuda triangle that is the staff room at work just to stream it during lunch breaks! Safe to say, I fell pretty hard. Then I listened to the whole album and I was blown away. My only question was-why hadn’t I listened to them properly in the first place? Every song on this album is a mature progression for the group and their harmonies are just unyielding. I honestly can not praise this album enough. Mostly I’m just so thankful that it exists because it got me into EXO’s music properly, after long last!

Favourite tracks:  Tempo / Ooh La La La / With You / 24/7 / Bad Dream / Oasis

3. WHO, YOU - NU’EST W

Picking a favourite album by my boys was difficult because they released 2 stellar mini albums in 2018, however I had to go with ‘WHO, YOU’ in the end because my goodness was every track blindingly fantastic. In fact I’d go as far as to say that every song on this album could be released as a promo track and every song would chart well. NU’EST W did a brilliant job in the composition and tone of this album. It’s somewhat moody whilst also incorporating EDM which just blends so effortlessly. I really can’t fault any song on this album. And don’t even get me started on the title track; ‘Dejavu’ was a masterpiece! Prior to release NU’EST W had stated that the title track would include Latin tones since that was quite a big musical trend throughout 2018. As expected, they incorporated the Latin tones so subtly that it created such a infectious and trendy song. Also that bass in the chorus-bridge is so funky! Just amazing. NU’EST W’s musical development in 2018 was such a marvel and this album really proved that.

Favourite tracks:  Signal / Dejavu

4. WARNING - Sunmi

As a Wonderful, naturally I was excited every time Sunmi released anything. However seeing just how her popularity soared after ‘Gashina’ was released filled me with so much inexplicable joy because yes, this is what she deserved; RECOGNITION. This woman has only ever worked hard to challenge herself and grow as an artist and ‘WARNING’ is certainly proof of that growth. Comparing the musical tone of ‘WARNING’ to her first mini album ‘Full Moon’ you can really hear the stark difference in styling both musically and vocally. Sunmi has always had a unique set of vocals but in her ‘Full Moon’ mini album, they were masked greatly by the production I felt. But having more musical control after leaving JYPent, Sunmi has proved release after release what a capable song-writer she is and how she can work with the production team to create an album that not only appeals to the large majority but is true to her artistry. This entire album is testament to her talents and to know that she snatched so many music awards for it fills me with nothing but pride. Every award and achievement with this album was well deserved.

Favourite tracks: Siren / Curve / Gashina / Heroine 

5. The Pains of Growing - Alessia Cara

I’ve been a fan of Alessia’s music from the moment I heard ‘Scars to Your Beautiful’, introduced to me by my sister. That was one of the rare times where she had shared music I actually loved! Ever since then, I’ve patiently waited for Alessia to release some new music, so the moment ‘Growing Pains’ was released as a single, I was instantly hooked. I replayed the song so many times in one day I lost count. I just knew that her new album would be equally if not better than her first album. She certainly matured in her lyric writing and musicality because ‘The Pains of Growing’ is such a fantastic conceptual album. The trials and tribulations of transitioning into an adult can really be trying but Alessia took all those experiences we all go through and placed them in song. Listening to the songs on this album just makes me remember those difficult times yet at the same time, there’s a fondness in the crazy and ridiculous emotions and moments which took place. That is what this album does; it takes you back to those times if you’re already grown. But for those who are growing still, it’s something you can find comfort in and relate to.

Favourite tracks: Growing Pains / I Don’t Want To / Trust My Lonely / Nintendo Game

Throwback Discoveries

1. EVOLution - Sabrina Carpenter 

I didn’t mean to completely fall helplessly in love with Sabrina Carpenter’s music especially since I just looked her music up after binge watching ‘Girl Meets World’, but that’s exactly what happened. In fact I listened to her music non-stop for so long, my sister got fed up of constantly listening to Sabrina (she should’ve been thanking me really //rolls eyes). Her first album ‘Eyes Wide Open’ was such a sweet and soft album, I really enjoyed it a lot but her second album ‘EVOLution’ really was a level up in her styling both musically and physically. It’s very experimental and you can tell that Sabrina was still finding her feet and figuring out what kind of music she wanted to release, but I always love the journey. The albums which portray the journey, the experimenting, I always end up loving them the most and this album is exactly that. Lyrically, I really love what Sabrina did on ‘Thumbs’; singing about society and humanity the way she did was brave and I couldn’t help but love her even more after hearing this song. Every song on this album holds its own and is such a fantastic testament to Sabrina’s progression as an artist. 

Favourite tracks: On Purpose / Thumbs / Run and Hide / Mirage / Don’t Want It Back / Shadows

2. Holiday Night - Girls’ Generation

Work became quite stressful for me last Spring and for a whole week, I found that ‘Holiday’ by Girls’ Generation kept popping into my head. The odd thing about this was that I’d only heard the song a handful of times and I’d never listened to the album-so then why was it in my head? How? I put it down to the fact that I actually needed a holiday, ironically (I really did though //sobs). In the end, I decided to look the album up and give it a listen. So I did. And then I listened to it some more. And before I knew it, I was just listening to it on repeat for weeks. Honestly, I’d never gotten in Girls’ Generation properly (aside from absolutely loving their Japanese album ‘Girls and Peace’); I’d just casually listened to them over the years so I was quite taken aback by just how much I loved this album. It just made me feel so happy and made me feel so good, especially after long tiring days at work. This then propelled me to look into their discography a little more...that is until I got a little sidetracked...

Favourite tracks: Holiday / Only One / One Last Time / Sweet Talk / Love Is Bitter 

3. The Voice - Taeyeon

So whilst listening to more Girls’ Generation, I thought, “Oh yes, solo work!” And I don’t know why, I went with Taeyeon’s solo work first. That’s basically where I got completely sidetracked and completely forgot to check the other members because W O W! Taeyeon has some amazing pipes!! I had watched her MV for ‘I (feat. Verbal Jint)’ years ago but just not taken to it as much; after re-watching it, I then watched the MV for her song ‘Make Me Love You’ and that’s where I fell for her music. It’s such a simple song melodically but the way Taeyeon’s vocals build throughout the song from one octave to another, gaining more and more strength and confidence just fits the meaning of the song so perfectly. I was so blown away when I heard this song that I needed more. I downloaded her album in the end and gave it a proper listen. Every song had me hooked but the song which got me the most was ‘Time Lapse’. When I saw that Kim Jongwan from Nell had written the lyrics and helped with the composition I just knew I’d love this because I love Nell, and I did love this! SO MUCH! But it wasn’t just the song structure and melody, but Taeyeon’s voice is so vulnerable in this song. When she hits that high note towards the ends of the song, it gives me goosebumps every time. Honestly, it left me breathless. No wonder her first full album was entitled ‘The Voice’ because really, Taeyeon’s voice is exceptionally. To add to it, she covered Nell’s ‘Time Spent Walking Through Memories’ which was an additional bonus track on the physical album and what a cover it is-WHAT A COVER! I’ve nothing but so much love for Taeyeon’s talent, truly.

Favourite tracks: Make Me Love You / Fine / Cover Up / Time Lapse / When I Was Young / Live in Color / Fire / Time Spent Walking Through Memories (Nell Cover)

4. Tree - SEKAI NO OWARI

What I love doing at conventions is picking up random album, just to discover something new and exciting. Although in this case, I knew about SEKAI NO OWARI already and I absolutely loved their song ‘Death Disco’ and their collab with Epik High, however beyond that? I knew very little of their music. I came across the limited edition of this album at a convention and thought, “Wow, I know this is rare so I should just get it. Yup.” Plus it was a great opportunity to expose myself to more of their music, so why not? I do think music is about timing because if past me had heard this album, I don’t think I’d have appreciated it half as much as I appreciated listening to it in 2018. SEKAI NO OWARI’s musicality is just so unique; I’ve never heard anything else like it! The more I listened to this album, the more I found myself in a trance just repeating it. I’m a big fantasy lover so when listening to this album, I realised it was like listening to something from another world, something mythical and sometimes ethereal but mostly just-unusual, in a good way. It’s very difficult to explain the way SEKAI NO OWARI’s music sounds but if you know it, you know what I mean. If you don’t know it, you should go check them out.

Favourite tracks: Snow / Magic / Fantasy / Mermaid Rhapsody / Pierrot / Death Disco / Dragon Night 

5. The War - EXO

Having finally given into EXO, I basically spent all of November and December listening to their entire discography. ALL OF IT. The hilarious thing is that my first impression of ‘The War’ was, “I’m not entirely sure what I feel about this album”. Then I re-listened to it more and more...and more...and more, until i realised the entire album had grown on me at an alarming rate. In fact, the point at which i realised just how much I loved this album was when I was trying to create a playlist of my favourite EXO songs and I put 7 out of 9 songs on this album in that playlist. What’s even funnier is that I liked ‘Forever’ and ‘Diamond’ the least when i first heard them, but after listening to the album so much, they became two of my favourite songs! This doesn’t happen often, where I end up liking an album I didn’t like much to begin with so much but this album really knocked me for twenty! I could probably write reams and reams for every single track on this album but what I will say is that this album really shows just how much EXO grew musically since their first album ‘XOXO’. I really feel like you can hear EXO coming into their own on this album like-they sound comfortable with the music they’re singing, as if this is what they’ve wanted to create for so long. They exude so much confidence vocally on this album that you can’t help but fall for every single track. At least that’s what I found!

Favourite tracks: Basically the entire album. Don’t even ask me to pick!

[bites-kms]

Southwest Roadtrip - Episode 1: Viva las Vegas

When it comes to discovering the US, Johnny Cash kept it simple and straight to the point: 

“I've been everywhere, man. Crossed the desert's bare, man. I've breathed the mountain air, man. Of travel I've had my share, man. I've been everywhere.“

And what a journey it was! Who knew a failed attempt to fly to Hawaii would result in such a fun adventure? We packed our stuff and jumped on a plane, destination Southwest of America. Starting by Vegas, passing through Arizona, stopping by Utah, resting in Colorado. Only my friend Belu would be as kamikaze to propose such thing and found in me such a blind partner-in-crime. It was September 4th, and we were rushing in a taxi from Hoboken to Newark to board our first flight during a global sanitary emergency, looking like Darth Vader’s close cousins with our masks and face shields. 

After an approximately 6-hour flight, we landed in the middle of literally nowhere. We were able to see the pyramid and some other iconic architecture which I currently do not remember because it was about only for 5 seconds before landing. On arrival, on a mostly empty airport, we were surprised by the amount of slot machines that were there, welcoming everyone to place their bets. For sure, ours was to have fun and contrary to common belief, the house didn't win this one: we had a blast!

Followed by a surprise “SIN CITY, WOOO HOOO!” shout from someone who obviously has been living inside a thermos for the last past months, we cracked up and went to fetch a car. This very nice gentleman took us to the Bellagio (yeap, we went full on cliche mode, with what was originally a non-existent promo) while DJ Dani blasted her best records to kick off this adventure with the right feet: Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley and Just a Gigolo by Louis Prima Success. 

DAY 1: 

First things first: check in and adventure. Hotel, amenities and surroundings. Vegas spins around two main areas: the famous Strip, 6.8kms of the brightest place on earth seen from outer space full of hotels, restaurants, shops and of course, casinos. Pretty much Disneyworld for adults. The Bellagio is the iconic hotel which hosts some of the greatest restaurants and also the famous dancing fountains. Also, is one that is pretty centrally located, in between Caesars Palace (Roman Empire themed), The Cosmopolitan (which imitates boheme life from France) Aria and Park MGM Las Vegas (New York City represent!), Excalibur (Middle Ages) Luxor (Cleopatra’s Egypt) and The Venetian (of course, Venice). Everything is within walking distance but beware of the heat: a normal day in the desert is around 42C (107F), if not more, with a melting down thermal sensation of 1000 in any scale. This is why is also a city that is enjoyable during night time. So, do not feel bad about sleeping in a bit: you can always chill by the pool in the morning, have a little something for lunch and sleep (or remove the hangover) during the afternoon when the sun is unbearable. OR, the casino is always open so that could be an option. We chose to walk around a bit (big mistake) but luckily once you enter to the casinos, they are all connected with escalators, shade and AC, so we were mesmerized by this grown up themed park, where is so easy to lose track of time. 

After an Italian lunch on a french bistro in a corner of Paris (? yes.. I know..) we went back and rest by the pool. Once the sun was already getting ready to bet some chips at night, we did too: we changed into our most shinny and glamorous outfit and won exactly 27 dollars! We checked out Venice, and some of the night shows that were happening on the streets (like naked promoters, the massive PM lines, and the crazy long-ass “juice” towers flowing around the more energetic covid-prone crowds) right before we headed up to Yellowtail, the Japanese and Michelin Starred restaurant at the Bellagio. We had their famous tuna pizza (it sounds terrible but it is more of a tostada or sashimi-style like) and got disappointed that they run out of the short ribs, but instead had some amazing sushi rolls and some tempura bites. When we found out about the beautiful, sigh-seeing windows that displayed all the fountain show we left our high-end attires aside and run to the windows, interrupting some other people’s dinner while leaving the waiters behind. We decided to go for dessert somewhere else and went to the piano bar located at the reception for a delicious espresso and a chocolate diamond cake. We did some neon-gazing and loved the fountain show to the beat of Believe by Cher, while being overwhelmed by a surreal feeling of actually being there, having so much fun and appreciating our friendship (and of course, avoided a high/drunk fellow who tried to take our pics and phone with them - she didnt know we were from New York and from Rio de la Plata, so the scam was on her!) 

DAY 2

Repeat. (and pretty much that’s all we did). We kicked it off with a fake breakfast by the pool, and some piñas coladas in between facemasks. We also had a light lunch by the pool (a greek salad with some much needed water) and then, around 6:15 we took a cab to the Neon Museum - yeap, for those who think there is only light fun in Vegas, nope, think again, there are worthy museums, too! ( I even made a joke here! damn I’m inspired!). The Neon Museum is a scrap dealer cemetery, where all the old and somehow “broken” -even thou most of them have been repaired and are currently working!- neon signs from Old time Vegas rest. It is very fun to see old hotels, random letters, icons and logos being laid there, creating a wonderful mess in the middle of, again, you guess right, the desert. It was very fun and beautiful to be honest. 

Another short taxi drive later (I was too naif thinking we could walk in short heels under the killer heat more than a block!) we drove thru what is known as “Old Vegas” or “Downtown Vegas”. This used to be the place where the magic happened before the creation of the Strip, but nowadays it only hosts what lingers of once a glamorous and kitschy past. The center of this action can be found throughout Freemont Street, a pedestrian long avenue that gathers classic neon signs, all-time Vegas characters (we still missed out on Elvis, so watch out impersonator, we will be back just for you!), stripers, street sellers, all you can eat venues, dodgy bars, and more and more neons.  According to Las Vegas Tourism Board>> “Fun people, crazy people, partying, gambling, drinking, street performers, free music and light shows, zip lining and just having a good time... that's what you expect at Freemont.”

We had some pizza, talked to this Montana guy who for a second thought he was able to have a threesome with us on his dirty van, were voluntary abused by these hot, ripped stripers who made us laugh with their pick up line: “You can leave your face mask here, right by your underwear too, please.” The guys were a “sample” - since the show is canceled due to the pandemic- of Chippendales, something a fine woman needs to experience once in their lifetime. Belu felt in love with her boy, but given the current times and protocols, this love couldn't prosper as we all wished it had. No worries amiga, next time!

But the most striking part of this decadent place was witnessing this surreal restaurant called Heart Attack Grill, where people who weight more than 350lbs (almost 160kgs) eat for free. The biggest burger consist on 8 patties, and as an FYI, only the 4 patty burger is marked on the Guinness World Records Book as the “Quadruple Bypass Burger” with almost 10.000 calories, all the beverages consists on massive soft drinks, milkshakes, beers and wine, (full bottles, of course, served from an IV drip bag) and it is not allowed to share food. The place is cash only, you gotta weight yourself before entering, each patty is made of half pound each, everybody must wear hospital gowns and if you dare not to finish your meal, you get three spanks by the horny yet not so sexy waitress dressed as nurses. As a nice little detail, on the biggest burger you can pump it up with 40 slices of bacon by only $7.99 more!  And, to wrap up this majestic hospital parlor, I recently researched that the legal owner of Heart Attack Grill is hilarious – Diet Center LLC. The founder is Jon Basso, who strives to provide “nutritional pornography” in his food. For a better comprehension (for a lack of a better word) of this place, you can check out this recap of Showtime’s series: Deadly Sins. 

So, we were mesmerized, we were educated, we bet, we ate, we drunk and we touched some sweaty strippers, so there was only one thing left to do: crush a weeding. So there we went. There were multiple chapels around the area, but I dont know whether it was the time (it was around, 9, 9 and coins) so it may have been a little bit too late or due to COVID, but no weddings were in place. We finally arrived to the Little White Chapel, the original, unique one that has the Elvis sign, the drive-thru and the proud sign that states how Michael Jordan and Joan Collins got married there. We were so bummed to found only a very young, very dull couple getting married (she was wearing black, hence, that is all you need to know) and there was not a very jolly, merry spirit. Still, we managed to hang out with the best men and got a picture of two to remember this fail attempt to crush this very much lame wedding. Up we went to the Bellagio, checking out what was missing from Sin City: the Wynn Hotel, Route 515, 51 and the Famous Welcome to Las Vegas Sign. 

We wrapped this unique experience witnessing an amazing, full moon in the middle of the desert, with a massive and delicious full on breakfast at Sadelle’s, a little piece of home in our far-away-from home hotel.  Till next time, Vegas! You were great fun! 

[attract-mode-collective]

It’s Still (Pixelated) Hot Dog Legs Season

Fall should officially be in full swing by now, yet here in NYC (and many other parts of the US), it still feels like summer. Which I’m not thrilled about, though at the very least, I don’t feel so bad for sharing the above (by Robert Penney) so late into September.

On that note, time for a way overdue game culture round up! It’s been a while, and a LOT been going on. And not to be a downer, but the chaotic weather has been in the news, obviously.

Here’s a pic from Gamer Geek Nation on Facebook, who shared the aftermath of the Hurricane Harvey, along with: “… This is a time when we collectors need to remind ourselves that ultimately, this is just stuff, and our lives are more important. And make sure your collection is insured properly.”

Elsewhere in the world, the Tokyo Game Show just wrapped up, and not to repeat the obvious, but yes… the biggest, most exciting news was the Sonic X Hooters collab…

Though the one between Hello Kitty and Game Center CX is far, far better (photo courtesy of Kotaku)…

You also have this comically large Rockman doll, which apparently was available on Amazon but is now out of stock…

Though I mostly wished I had been there to pick up some primo looking attire, like this Mega Drive track jacket that miki800 gave the heads up on before show time (there was also a Dreamcast hoodie that I personally don’t think looks as nice, hence why I’m skipping it)…

I also really like this Pac-Man shirt…

This Galaga shirt as well…

Also taking place in Japan was an exhibition held by the JARGA (Japan Retro Game Association); miki800 was there and captured some interesting bits of hardware, with the highlight being (IMHO) this Mega Drive clone that resembles a perfect mix of the model 1 MD and the original Wondermega…

There’s no preview of the music yet, though may as well share the recently unveiled cover to the third (and final) installment of 8 BIT MUSIC POWER…

Meanwhile, according to Original Sound Version, Mitch Murder has released yet another soundtrack to another game that never existed. In this it didn’t come out for the Mega CD and doesn’t involve mecha…

Remember that Jet Set Radio figure I showed a while ago? Well, it's finally available for pre-order! Alas, it's not cheap, at least over at Big Bad Toy Store...

BTW, videogamesdensetsu shares with us what Beat looks like, sans-cel shading…

Sticking with VCD for a tad bit; here’s what Pulseman looked originally looked like, and he sure was cute!

Whereas NiGHTS looked goofier… as well as more menacing….

Am confident most people will not give a rat’s ass about seeing hand drawn Virtua Racing track designs, but as a massive fan of the series, oh man, oh man, oh man...

Two never before seen Saturn prototypes that must be: “[taken] with a grain of salt!”

Apparently Looney Tunes X The Matrix was actually a thing? Somehow this does not surprise me…

The work of Hideaki Kodama was recently highlighted, which was also recently auctioned; I wonder how much this painting of various PC Engine hardware went for?

Yet another Kickstarter mention? Yup. And this one is Jed Henry's third crowdfunding campaign: this particular variant of the Ukiyo-e Heroes concentrates on boss battles, with perhaps my fave piece being his depiction from The Breath of the Wild...

Am particularly fond of this image from the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary art book that grease-howard spotted, of old Chun Li chumming it up with her younger self...

Any and all BoJack Horseman fans out there may want to pick up this piece by Jude Buffum...

legendofnes reminds of that time Batman visited New Donk City…

It's just a bunch of cyber kids, all just hanging around, by sanigo...

Speaking of the gang, here we have the kids from Persona 5, by @aranciart…

Apparently, if Jedah (from Darkstalkers) ran a juice stand, it wouldn’t be the best, according to dreaminerryday…

The individual who runs SPLENDID LAND describes SLN-003 Gacha Man as a: "vendor robot who dispenses toys. even he doesn’t know what’s inside the capsules, so he always gets excited to find out"...

Meanwhile, here’s official artwork of Mario and Peach, courtesy of the thevideogameartarchive’s catalogue of the Mario Golf N64 manual; am pretty sure I’ve seen images of Mario looking distressed, though never to this degree…

The above is something Super Mario Broth would normally deliver, and speaking of, may as well share some recent faves on that end! Like these photos from a promotional campaign with a Japanese sports drink when promoting Mario Sports Superstars…

Instructions found on the arcade cabinet for Vs. Super Mario Bros (which I remember so distinctly, and fondly)…

From some Japanese video guide for the same game (am assuming the home Famicom version this time)…

A greeting card (am assuming a Valentine’s)...

Mario without his hat, as he appears in a Game Boy controller test cart that Nintendo service reps used to calibrate buttons on a the handheld…

And he we have a shortcut in SMB3 that I had no idea existed, and it’s a safe bet that most don’t either: “In Super Mario Bros. 3, the rock between the path to the first fortress in World 4 and the Spade Panel can be destroyed with a Hammer item, allowing the player to bypass the fortress. There is no obvious indication that this rock is destructible, as it is surrounded by decorative rocks. In fact, many guides for Super Mario Bros. 3 do not mention this shortcut.”

As for Super Mario Broth’s counterpart, Sonic the Hedgeblog has seen plenty of action as well… largely pinpointing all the obscure references found in Sonic Mania, So head over for that if that sounds like fun to you! Otherwise, there’s also the Mario Bros having a Sonic Panic…

A reminder of how Sonic looked at one point as he was being prepped for the Dreamcast; it would appear that at a certain point, in Sonic Adventure, he was going to look a lot more realistic…

And this issue with EGM featuring a sneak preview of Sonic 2 is the very first video game magazine that I ever picked up!

Meanwhile, oldgamemags recently posted a page from an issue of GamePro, circa 2000, on a peripheral that allowed the Game Boy to play mp3s. Am sharing it cuz I really want a GB-looking mp3 player…

So someone on Twitter (who has since protected his account, so I’ll have to refer to nintendolife they snagged the pic before it was locked down) cracked open a electrocardiogram measurement instrument and found... a GBA? It’s theorized: “perhaps earlier revisions of the unit had different screens, and once the supply chain dried up MiE was forced to source the next best thing?”

vice-s-assistant sez: "OK Guys, I’m ready to hack."

According to bunney: "i was working at a convention arcade this weekend and some guy cosplaying ryu was playing street fighter with a blunt in his mouth"...

Can anyone tell what's being played here? At the very least, it's a nice shot (via rekall)...

Much like Arcade Crusade, I have no idea what’s going on, and I agree that whatever it is, it looks intense...

If you’ve ever wanted an artist’s rendering of the Raspberry Pi, then look no further than the work of retronator…

rasec-wizzlbang states: “those square cross sections of the human skin layers you always see in biology books but as like, a minecraft block”…

Courtesy of Arcade Crusade once again comes a very tender moment…

Is it just me or does this promo image for Food Fight sure does look like a Norman Rockwell painting? As seen on thedoteaters...

Here we have a flyer for a really old SNK arcade game (we’re talking really old; almost a decade before the Neo Geo was a thing) that looks like it was made with today’s sensibilities, doesn’t it?

Also via obscurevideogames is a moment of pathos from Hacchake Ayayo-san 4 - Sexy Olympics - Ayayo’s Live Affection. It’s… pretty obscure alright…

Yup, that's Hieronymus Bosch-styled Tetris all right (via freeindiega.me)...

crashcarnival presents: "true facts of the Ice Age"...

Hey, it’s the Ninja Turtles playing Pong (via rewind01)…

Behold, Fighters Megamix version 2017 (via lonelyfrontier)…

Yup, that is definitely a Chu Chu Rocket skirt  (via radicalhelmet)...

For those who have ever wondered what their Sonic character’s political leanings are, in relation to the rest of the crew (and can’t be bothered to sift through DeviantArt; via erratticusfinch)…

Face to face (via futureisfailed)…

It’s been out for a while, though it’s not too late to pick up this Xenogears tribute zine, right?

Just a friendly reminder of how bat-sh*t insane Sin & Punishment is (via n64thstreet)...

Zimmerit.moe has everything you need to know about a game by Square involving mecha that you’ve probably never heard of. And no, am not talking about Thexder; it’s even more obscure than that (am talking about Cruise Chaser Blassty BTW/FYI)...

Meanwhile, Michael “Kayin” O’Reilly discusses the “Barrel Distortion” look that emulators use to recreate the look of playing something on a CRT display and why it’s total crap…

And… that’s  it! You’ve made it to the end! Enjoy a cool, refreshing drink with Pac-Man (on the behalf of arcade-crusade)...

Don’t forget: Attract Mode is now on Medium! There you can subscribe to keep up to date, as well as enjoy some “best of” content you might have missed the first time around, plus be spared of the technical issues that’s starting to overtake Tumblr.

[listiqueblog]

The 7 deadly sins of ecommerce UX

According to Statista, there were 1.79 billion global online buyers in 2018, and in 2021, the number is expected to rise to over 2.14 billion. And if you’re reading this and haven’t shopped online — especially on a mobile device — what’s your secret? My wallet wants to know.

If you’re one of the millions of retailers running an ecommerce site, it’s essential to make sure your users have an optimal experience that makes shopping easy and keeps them coming back to shop again. 

Yes, your product should be quality, but KPMG International found that 30 percent of consumers would rather buy from a website they’ve previously bought from. So how do you build trust with users by giving them the best experience possible — and making them feel secure enough to complete a purchase?

Let’s explore seven common user experience (UX) mistakes ecommerce sites make that could end up costing you business.

Mistake 1: Designing for desktop

You have a beautiful site that looks great on a desktop or laptop computer. That’s all good and fair. But, uh, have you checked it out on your smartphone recently? Mobile-first thinking is an absolute must for any website, especially ecommerce.

In 2018, 52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones, up from 50.3 percent in the previous year. Mobile traffic currently accounts for half of all global web pages. And that number is only going to grow. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile or, better yet, responsive design, you’re losing a lot of potential customers and revenue.

Consider these when looking at your website on your phone:

Scale.Do you have to pinch and zoom in on anything? Is your font or icons tiny? Can you easily select a CTA button with your thumb without touching anything else?

Function.Are any components of your website or certain webpages broken in mobile view, like tables or embeds?

Mistake 2: Bad navigation 

The heart of many websites is the menu/navigation. Users should easily be able to find relevant buckets or categories at a glance. And then, even from within a product, the choices they have there (i.e., color, size, quantity) should be easy to find and intuitive to interact with. 

Good user experience sites will have products listed out in their main navigation. You can see BestBuy.com doesn’t — they have a main bucket just listed as “Products” instead of the actual product categories themselves. Displaying deeper buckets up front helps someone find what they’re looking for much faster. A study also found that hiding the first level of product categories in the navigation (like Best Buy does) makes it difficult for users to determine what site they’ve landed on. 

Source: Best Buy

However, it’s ok to have the same products under multiple categories. People search for things differently, and oftentimes, a product can fit under more than one category. For example, BestBuy.com displays the same subcategory under multiple categories. “Home Theater Systems” can be found under both “Audio” and “TV and Home Theater.”

Source: Best Buy

You don’t want a customer to have to click three or more times just to get to a product they want. Less clicking is more buying. If BestBuy.com had listed out its products from the main navigation, buyers searching for “home theater systems” would’ve had to click one less time to get to the product.

Of course, if a product doesrequire five clicks on your site, many people might resort to just searching your site via the search bar for a particular item. Which brings us to the next common UX mistake.

Mistake 3: Bad site search

If a user knows exactly what product they’re looking for on your site or they’re frustrated because they can’t find it using the menu options given, they will most likely head straight to the site search bar. Make sure you have a functional search bar!It’s also important to include any necessary filters and make sure fuzzy, misspelled, and exact searches for product names or model numbers give relevant results. Here are more design tips for a site search your customers will actually like and use.

Mistake 4: No SSL and secure checkout

I don’t know about you, but before I ever use a website — and definitely before I ever buy from a website — I take a quick look at the URL and make sure it says “https” instead of just “http.” That little “s” is a big deal for your bank account and personal information!

Do yourself and your customers a huge favor and get an SSL certificate for your site. By having a digital certificate, you can safeguard personal data through an encrypted connection. Your customers will be reassured that the website is safe, their information is protected, and they shouldn’t have any worries about spending their paycheck on your site. 

Mistake 5: Bad checkout experience

If you do have a secure checkout, you also want to ensure you have the following on your site for a smooth checkout process:

Guest checkout.Because who wants to spend time making an account and risk getting spammed? Buyers just want to buy! Allow them to do their thing — you’re more likely to have a repeat customer this way.

Related products to boost sales. Related products are like the “impulse-buy” candy shelves at the grocery store checkout stand. Something catches your eye and, hey, you’re already checking out, and, hey, maybe it’s on sale so in the cart it goes!

Visible shipping rates.Be upfront about shipping options and costs. There’s nothing worse than going to check out and wondering why the cost of everything jumped up significantly. If shipping rates are visible, I’m more likely to add more items to my cart for free shipping or adjust my cart, so my cost with shipping fits my budget.

Multiple payment options.There are more options today than just Visa and Mastercard. Including other payment options like PayPal, Apple Pay or AmEx expands your customer market.

Simple forms. Don’t use complicated forms, don’t require more fields than you need, and please make sure phone keyboards adjust to the requirements of the field.

Mistake 6: Mishandling out-of-stock items

A user finds the perfect item, exactly what they were looking for and it’s even on sale. Great! Potential customer then goes to add said item to their cart only to be told “We’re sorry, the item is currently out of stock.”

Would’ve been nice to know upfront the item wasn’t available, right? As a business, you want to instill confidence in your customers. Not appropriately marking items as out of stock is a surefire way to kill that confidence and get your customer to leave your site without buying anything. Make sure you find a way to mark out-of-stock items and maybe even incentivize the shopper to return by apologizing or giving them a promo code.

Mistake 7: Hidden/invisible customer service details

Customer service is essential to consumer retention. According to Bain & Company, companies that excel at the customer experience drive revenues between 4 and 8 percent higher than those of their market. And friendly employees or customer service representatives. are what makes a memorable experience that causes 73 percent of consumers to stick with a brand.

All this to say, you want to make sure that you not only have excellent customer service but promote that excellent customer service visibly on your site. If people have to hunt around for a number to call or a chat icon doesn’t exist anywhere or you don’t post anything at all regarding customer service, it’s an immediate turn-off. 

What if a customer has a product question? What if they want to return an item? What if they’re having a website or checkout issue? If these things can’t be resolved because you failed to promote customer service contact information, you’ve lost a customer. Presumably forever.

UX is of the utmost importance for ecommerce sites. Taking special care to make sure your customers can easily find and buy what they want from your site will make a huge difference in your retention and sales.

What other UX mistakes do you often see on sites? Tell us in the comments!

The post The 7 deadly sins of ecommerce UX appeared first on Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog.

The 7 deadly sins of ecommerce UX published first on https://goshopmalaysia.tumblr.com

[warbcrns-blog]

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[thehungrykat1]

Teppanya Launches 5th Anniversary Unlimited Madness Promo

I love dining at teppanyaki restaurants where the chefs cook the meats and seafood right in front of you, usually with some entertaining exhibitions performances on the side. My favorite place before used to be WAFU in Greenhills but unfortunately that one is already closed. That’s why I was so happy when Teppanya recently opened its newest branch at SM City North EDSA and even more excited when I found out that they are offering a new UNLIMITED teppanyaki promotion for their anniversary. 

Teppanya is celebrating its 5th anniversary with a fiery explosion as it offers its Unlimited Madness promotion at its newest branch. Imagine having all the sushi, sashimi, tempura, Hokkaido oysters, and Angus steak that you want and more for only P988+ per person. That price is such a steal because other unlimited teppanyaki buffets in the city cost almost double that amount. The anniversary promotion is only available from August 24 to November 2019 at their SM City North EDSA branch so I made sure to try this fantastic offer with my friends one Sunday afternoon.

Teppanya is located at the ground floor of the SM North Towers, the newest extension building in SM City North EDSA right beside The Block. This area has its own parking facilities so it’s easier to park here and go down to the restaurant.

The promotion is available daily for lunch from 10:00am to 2:00pm and dinner from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. The restaurant comes with gorgeous interiors and each seat has its own live teppanyaki station where the chef will cook your orders fresh and hot.

There is a two-hour time limit for ordering when you avail of the promotion. Each of the over 100 items can be requested from their special menu and will be prepared as you order, so the quality of the dishes are not compromised.

They also have private dining rooms which can accommodate from 8 to 20 guests with its dedicated teppanyaki chefs. This is where my friends and their families had our Sunday brunch, which is also at only P988+ per person. I initially thought that two hours might not be enough for us but we were all quite full and satisfied when we finished our lunch.

We started with some of their sushi and sashimi for our appetizers. The Salmon Sashimi is always a good way to judge how good a Japanese restaurant is, and I really liked how fresh and tender these slices were.  

If you want to try a bit of everything, get the Sashimi Moriawase platter which includes yummy slices of salmon, tuna, lapu lapu, uni, shrimp, mackerel, tamago, and kani. Sashimi lovers like me will drool over this plate.

The Chirashi Don also has the same salmon, tuna, mackerel, ebi, kani, uni and tamago slices but over a bed of Japanese rice. 

Teppanya also has several sushi choices, but my two most favorite and exquisite chocies would be the Foie Gras Aburi Sushi and the Unagi Sushi. I do not usually see these on unlimited or buffet restaurants, so I was really surprised and happy to find these high-priced items here at Teppanya.

There are several makimono and special rolls as well like the Fried Volcano Roll with spicy tuna, tempura, shrimp, and cucumber.

Some of the other highly recommended dishes to get are the Grilled Hokkaido Scallops and Grilled Hokkaido Oysters. These are premium seafood items that will cost so much when ordered a la carte but you can have as many as you want with Teppanya’s Unlimited Madness promotion.

You also get the option to have your Hokkaido scallops and oysters baked with cheese instead of being grilled. These cheesy versions are just heavenly!

Of course, the classic Ebi Tempura is also available with its big and crunchy pieces of shrimp.

If you have been to Nobu Restaurant, one of their signature dishes is their Miso Marinated Black Cod. Teppanya lets you have a taste of this very popular dish at a fraction of the price with their Nobu Style Teriyaki Gindara. The sweet flavors of the teriyaki sauce and the fancy presentation makes this another must-order.

Some soup dishes are also available like the Salmon Head Miso Soup which is big enough for sharing.

But the main attraction at Teppanya is the teppanyaki grill. The Flambe Citrus Roll is one of their signature rolls which can only be found here. The chef put on a flaming display after dousing the salmon, cucumber, cream cheese, and orange japanese mayo combination with some liquor. The result is a unique-tasting salmon roll that is unlike any other I have tried.

The chef continues with the show while preparing our Chahan fried rice. Expect to see a few entertaining performances from the teppanyaki chefs that the kids will definitely love. You can even ask for repeat performances from them.

The Chahan is a mixed fried rice cooked with beef, chicken, and shrimps. You can also opt for the Seafood Chahan which has mixed seafood ingredients instead.

The Usuyaki Beef Roll is a very interesting “roll” that is cooked and prepared right on the grill. It comes with cuts of mushroom that is placed inside a savoury beef roll. 

I love the Shrimp Teppan which has four pieces of juicy shrimp cooked on the teppanyaki grill. Four pieces are actually not enough for me so next time I’ll make sure to order some more for myself. 

The Galician Pork Belly is a sweet and fatty serving of pork that is a bit sinful but still very delicious. This really goes well with the fried rice.

But what is a teppanyaki feast without beef? The Angus Meat Platter is a meat lover’s dream come true with its combination of Angus Striploin, Angus Skirt Steak, Angus Flank Steak, and Angus Beef Roll. Each order is listed to be good for three people so the entire table can share these meaty treats.

You can order each of the beef items individually, but the best one is actually the Angus Striploin which you can order by itself with an additional P112 per order. Honestly, I don’t mind getting the entire platter for myself because everything is so good.

The Brazilian Beef Tenderloin is also another highly recommended item if you want your beef thick and tender. These slices of tenderloin can be cut into smaller cubes or you can have them as they for a true steak experience.

I really enjoyed our Sunday teppanyaki brunch at Teppanya with Tita Animo and my friends, especially with the Unlimited Madness promotion. You won’t find any other unlimited teppanyaki promo in the city that is this good with such a fantastic price. One of my friends even went back to Teppanya that evening with her family for dinner! Now that is what I call a great deal.

Teppanya

G/F North Towers, SM City North EDSA, Quezon City.

247-1922

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[usatrendingsports]

WWE Uncooked outcomes, recap: Braun Strowman, Kane battle seems endless

With the vacations quick approaching and greater than a month remaining earlier than the 2018 Royal Rumble, it is likely to be tough to search out confidence in Uncooked delivering a three-hour present able to transferring you.  

If final week was an aberration in that sense — with robust in-ring work and a collection of quick-moving and impactful segments — Monday night time noticed a return to the anticipated. Whereas the lengthy and entertaining matches have been fortunately nonetheless there for the second successive week, the dedication to inventive over the size of the present sadly wasn’t.

After which there was the ending. If the concept was to ship followers dwelling blissful, WWE woefully failed once more as Kane was booked to yet one more most important occasion on Uncooked in 2017 with the form of reserving that places a damper on something good that got here earlier than it.  

Braun Strowman, Kane shut the present … once more 

Introduced early Monday on social media as a No. 1 contender’s match, the winner of Strowman-Kane would safe a possibility to problem for Brock Lesnar’s common championship at Royal Rumble in late January. The match did not start till 11:01 p.m. ET and ended shortly after. Strowman’s sizzling begin was countered by a pair of chokeslams which pressured him to twice kick out on two. Kane was then pressured to do the identical after Strowman responded with one among his personal.  After spilling outdoors and into the group, Strowman hit a working clothesline by means of Kane and the barrier wall, leading to each superstars getting counted out. Strowman continued the beatdown by utilizing the metal steps and organising a desk contained in the ring. Following a quick rally from Kane with a chair, Strowman shocked him by sitting up in Kane/Undertaker trend. Strowman closed the present with a working powerslam by means of the desk.  

The thought of 50-year-old Kane, in 2017, routinely securing useful actual property in the principle occasion of Uncooked has jumped the shark to such epic proportions that it must be a troll job at this level by WWE inventive. If it is not, the corporate has inadvertently succeeded in each burying Finn Balor’s character and watering down its most red-hot famous person in Strowman. Taking the heartbeat from the group response (or lack thereof) but once more was sufficient to substantiate that.  

With nonetheless greater than six weeks to go till Royal Rumble, it is comprehensible that inventive is likely to be dragging its heels a bit to stretch storylines out by means of the vacations`. However the gratuitous use of Kane, which no fan of their proper thoughts might’ve requested for or been enthusiastic about, stays an unforgivable sin. Overlook the much less offensive job of forcing viewers to droop disbelief sufficient to simply accept his favorable reserving of late, the truth that it has been offered in such a mailed-in trend solely exasperates the difficulty. Does WWE have the heart to incorporate Kane in a triple menace title match at Royal Rumble? Like a automotive wreck you may’t flip away from, we will solely sit and watch to search out out.

Kurt Angle, Jason Jordan angle builds momentum

Jordan approached the Uncooked normal supervisor backstage and apologized for barging in and demanding a match one week in the past. However after Angle accepted with a smile, Jordan pulled a whiny 180 and questioned his father for not giving him a match with Samoa Joe tonight earlier than including, “No marvel Stephanie [McMahon] was in your case final week.” An aggravated Angle lastly snapped: “Pay attention, I’ll say this to you because the GM and never your father.” He went on angrily clarify to Jordan how “holding your individual” in massive matches just isn’t the identical as successful and that he’ll get the match he covets when Angle says so. “OK, dad,” Jordan mentioned, “or perhaps I ought to say, ‘OK, Kurt.'”  

Nonetheless sore upset about final week, Jordan crashed Joe’s match in opposition to Dean Ambrose and watched from a folding chair on the stage like Joe beforehand did to him. Lured to ringside mid-match by Joe’s trash speak, Jordan’s presence practically price Joe when Ambrose rolled him up for 2. Jordan continued to become involved when the motion moved outdoors as Joe utilized the Coquina Clutch from behind till Ambrose knocked down each with a suicide dive.  Jordan’s mood bought the perfect of him and his try and enter the ring and assault Joe created a distraction of the referee. Ambrose hit an elbow from the highest rope onto Joe however the referee was late to the depend. After Ambrose bought into Jordan’s face outdoors, Joe hit a flying forearm by means of the ropes on Ambrose and a senton onto Jordan. Joe then utilized his Coquina Clutch on Ambrose within the ring to supply the faucet.  

Jordan wasn’t given wherever close to the 47 minutes he shouldered to open final week’s present, however he was simply as impactful this time round when it comes to furthering the storyline and growing his entitled character. His fixed bickering with Angle has produced loads of planted seeds towards an intriguing heel flip that feels before later. And take into account the brand new wrinkle of his beef with Ambrose to be nothing in need of promising. Jordan can do no unsuitable in the mean time and Uncooked can be sensible to experience the recent hand whereas killing time forward of Royal Rumble.  

What else occurred on Uncooked? 

Samoa Joe units lure for The Defend: Joe opened the present by saying Reigns is nothing with out The Defend and challenged him to return out solo and end their beef. With Ambrose and Seth Rollins watching backstage, Reigns took the bait and a hockey struggle ensued. The Bar rapidly ran in from the group to triple crew Reigns as Joe utilized his Coquina Clutch. Ambrose and Rollins ran in to assist, just for the trio of heels to beat and stand tall.  

Paige & Mandy Rose def. Bayley & Mickie James through pinfall: “Girls, I believe it is time to put your hair up and sq. up as a result of Absolution is a symphony of carnage and the music is about to begin,” Sonia Deville mentioned through the pre-match promo. Her stablemates then stayed sizzling with one other victory as Paige took benefit of late chaos by interrupting James’ MickDDT try with a superkick, resulting in a pin by Rose.  

Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy repeat dueling video promos: Not a lot new was revealed for Week 2 because the alternating laughing returned. Hardy mentioned “the good warfare has perpetuated for eons … and now it continues on the battlefield often called WWE.” Bray known as him “the yin to my yang” earlier than saying, “how I’ve been ready for you.” After Hardy talked about beforehand “strolling hand in hand” with Sister Abigail’s soul earlier than she turned hooked on evil and inhabited Wyatt’s physique, Bray closed with, “Why would you comply with a jester when you may stroll within the footsteps of a king. Select your sides correctly. Solely one among us can survive.”  

Finn Balor def. Curtis Axel through pinfall: Axel and Miztourage stablemate Bo Dallas mocked Balor’s entrance earlier than beating him down earlier than the match. After promoting an injured left shoulder, Balor rapidly rallied and went on to hit his Coup de Grace for the win as he slowly rebuilds.  

Seth Rollins def. Sheamus through pinfall: With their tag crew companions banned from ringside, these two placed on a heck of a free TV match over two lengthy segments. Rollins bought an injured left knee all through and rallied for a trio of dramatic close to falls late. The end got here when Rollins sidestepped a brogue kick earlier than hitting a superkick of his personal and a Kingslayer knee for the 1-2-Three.  

Cedric Alexander def. Ariya Daivari (through pinfall), Tony Nese and Mustafa Ali: WWE pulled the suspended Wealthy Swann from his No. 1 contender’s match following his real-life arrest for home assault. A brand new bout was created with the winner going through Drew Gulak subsequent week. The match featured one excessive spot and close to fall after one other, highlighted by Alexander’s combo of a standing Spanish fly right into a lumbar examine on Ali. Alexander would go on to hit the latter on Daivari for the pin.  

Nia Jax flirts with Enzo Amore: The cruiserweight champion started with a backstage lecture of Gulak for insinuating that he would take Amore’s title after defeating Alexander. Jax interrupted and answered Amore’s catchphrase query with a sultry, “I am doing simply advantageous.” After the champion responded in nervous however trend, Jax closed with a flirty, “Enzo, we should always speak a while when you find yourself not busy.”  

Intercontinental Championship — Roman Reigns def. Cesaro through pinfall to retain the tite: Contemplate this the match of the night time with unimaginable pay-per-view depth. Each guys bought out from begin to end as Reigns labored additional time to promote a proper arm damage that turned the storyline of the match. Every try at rallying from Reigns was met by Cesaro countering to accentuate the damage. In the long run, Reigns countered out of a Gotch neutralizer try and hit his spear for the 1-2-Three.  

Absolution pressured to face down: Asuka’s scheduled match with Alicia Fox by no means occurred because of a backstage assault on Fox’s arm by Absolution. The heel faction got here out to method Asuka and threaten her to get out of their manner. After initially preventing them off, Asuka succumbed to the quantity’s sport. However simply as Paige was set to try her finisher, Sasha Banks’ music hit and the whole Uncooked girls’s division — heels and faces alike — ran in to assault Absolution. Paige and Deville finally escaped and pulled Rose out by her legs earlier than scurrying away. 

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[lovemirrah]

The Onsen Experience

It wasn't a resolution I made at the start of the year, but when 2016 kicked in, I promised myself that here on out, I'd be a little more adventurous and - by extension - definitely a whole lot more spontaneous.

Essentially, the plan was to YOLO my life away BUT within respectable boundaries.

So when Afrina tagged me on Facebook about a 1-for-1 promo to a brand new Japanese onsen that just opened locally sometime last week, I said okay without even thinking. I literally did not think it through. I saw the words "1-for-1" and "promotion", and I went, "Yep, totally going for this!".

I didn't even know what an onsen was, guys! It certainly did not even cross my mind that you had to be stark naked to use an onsen, so you can imagine the look of horror on our faces when we sent an email to enquire if swimsuits were allowed and they said no.

No?! What do you mean by no?!!!!

Thankfully for us, the onsen understood our self-conscious ways and informed us that they would provide disposable underwear to use if we're uncomfortable with going full commando. Thinking that it's a lot like the ones provided in spas where they're mostly opaque, we both agreed that it should be alright.

"It shouldn't be too bad, right?".

Ya, that's what we said, but man, were we in for the rudest shock of our lives.

I kid you not - and I am most definitely not being overly dramatic here - but the moment we walked through the curtains into the locker room, Afrina and I literally looked at each other, trying to send a telepathic message that went something along the lines of "what in the world have we gotten ourselves into?" because...

EVERYONE WAS NAKED. I REPEAT: EVERYONE. WAS. NAKED.

Where on Earth should I be looking at?! Is it rude to be staring at someone else's breasts?! Why isn't anyone using the disposable underwear?! Why is nobody answering my questions?!

I don't know about Afrina, but I was on total panic mode. I had to squeeze in-between women wearing nothing but their birthday suits just to get to my designated locker. The entire time, I was begging to not be met with the utter misfortune of having grazed my arm against another woman's nipple... or worse.

Upon reaching my locker and dumping my belongings in it, I heaved a sigh of relief. I made it to my locker in one piece! Without having accidentally grazed anyone's privates! And then, it hit me: where am I supposed to change?

Grabbing my towel and disposables, I asked out loud - and rather confidently too, I might add, "Where's the changing room? There has got to be a changing room at least, right?".

"Um, actually, there's no changing room."

I'M SORRY, WHAT. ARE YOU SAYING I HAVE TO CHANGE RIGHT HERE?!

"Frina, I don't think we're ready for Japan."

Right at that moment, the crowd in the female locker room erupts into a fit of laughter. Right, wow, okay. Thanks everyone for poking fun at my naked misery. I'm glad y'all find me funny, at least.

Begrudgingly, I changed out of my clothes, into the disposables and quickly ran off to the shower room........... which had an open concept.

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

My luck wasn't having it with the serious culture shock. But, since I'm all about YOLO-ing my life away, I quietly sat down on the stool provided and soaped my sins away. Boy, did I really soap! 10 minutes later, I'm all spanking clean and ready for the onsen experience of my life...

...by sharing a pool (or five) with at least a dozen other naked women. Totally no big deal.

Afrina and I tried four out of the five baths they had, and for a good 30 minutes, we sunk ourselves to the floor of the pool. Since we had literally nothing to do but just soak ourselves in scalding-but-rich-in-vitamins hot water, we spent our time talking and really making a conscious effort to lower our gaze like the mostly good Muslim women we are.

But, damn, some of these women had really nice breasts and I just really couldn't help but to compare mine with their's. Most of the women at the onsen were really, really fit too so that definitely did not help for my self-esteem either. In between splashing around, I had to make a mental note to pay a heck lot more visits to the gym and work towards achieving my very delayed kebaya bod. Bila nak game, nobody knows.

By the time we wrapped up our onsen session, rinsed off and got dressed (finally!) again, we were rendered hungry for some food. Naturally, we got McDonald's to fill our tummies and went home with a completely new outlook on life. Sorta.

Now that that's over, I guess it really wasn't too bad. It was hilarious more than it was awkward, and gives you a whole new perspective on Japanese living, maybe.

So, the next time someone asks me how comfortable I am in my own skin, I'm just going to tell them my onsen experience and how I survived it like the rock star I am.

I don't think it would be my last onsen experience either because Afrina is totally down to do it again, and so, there's that.

GULP.

(Originally posted on September 22, 2016)