#[ browsing through mobile and just seeing them pop up on my dash ]

[causalitylinked]

OOC UPDATES

I updated my rules page again, but in case you don’t feel like actually re-reading them because they are four pages long, here are the changes I made:

Under ‘Reasons I May Unfollow / Block: ‘If I notice you interact with two people I’m personally uncomfortable with, I may potentially unfollow or softblock as my reaction to seeing them on my dash is really that bad, but I won’t be mentioning who they are and what they have done unless you privately message me about it, because I don’t want to draw negative attention towards them.’

Added an amendment to the rule of pre-established interactions, where if the first meeting scenario has an interesting enough premise, I might make an exception when it comes to my rule on non pre-estabished interactions, but due to me preferring continuity, relationships wise, I may later drop the first meeting thread and start another thread with you that would take place after the events of the first meeting thread, if only because I don’t want to continue being stuck in the ‘two strangers who just met for the first time’ phase. Seriously, it’s just not my favourite thing to write!

Reworded a paragraph to now say: ‘Please keep in mind that Gin, Kobato, Sasara, Ryuto, and Akira are Japanese characters in a Japanese setting, which means I will be writing them as such; therefore, they will address other muses using honorifics (or by last name in Akira’s case) and will not be able to converse in English, aside from maybe Ryuto. Due to this being the case, I will naturally default any interactions with Akira to occur in Japan and default any interactions with my Caligula muses to occur either in Redo or modern day Japan unless I’m writing Ryuto.

Clarified that while I myself will exclusively ship with one canon character at a time to make myself feel more comfortable, you aren’t obligated to exclusively ship with my interpretation of a muse as well. I also mentioned the only Sonia Nevermind I will exclusively ship my Akira with is @more-than-a-princess and the only Yuzuriha Kotoko I will exclusively ship my Kobato with is @agnina​.

[uncomfortable-writers]

Sugar and Spice 2 (Tony x Reader)

(Gif credit to owner)

Fandom: Marvel

Character: Tony Stark

Persona: Female 

Word Count: 3,403

Warnings: Sugar Daddy!Tony, swearing, light smut in public, NSFW

18+ Only!

A/N - Decided to turn it into a little mini series! More plot driven then just straight up smut. Enjoy <3

Read Part One Here!

Tag List: @ofmiceand-batman​ // @hulksmashin-bannerpackin //

♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡　♥　♡

The sunlight peeked through the slight crack in the curtains, creeping softly over your closed eyelids. You groaned, shifting your head further into the pillow you were cuddling silently refusing to wake up. It was the faint smell of cologne simmering in the air and drifting innocently into your nostrils which reluctantly made your eyes open. Of course he was gone. Tony never stayed the night. He usually left soon after the deed was done, sometimes a few hours later if he craved further affection like cuddles. He must of let himself out after you’d fallen asleep. 

Hickies and scratches were the only physical evidence of your late night activities, Tony’s scent a reminder that it wasn’t just a filthy dream. Your once pristine bed now a sinful disarray of tousled sweat-stained sheets, pillows scattered on the floor along with the pink bodysuit you’d worn. You willed your heavy heart to stop dwelling on the nostalgia from last night, sometimes you just wished that when you woke up in the morning, Tony was still there. With a shake of your head you pushed the thoughts away reminding yourself that this was only a business arrangement. Sitting up on your bed you felt like you were hungover; your body ached from the unholy acts Tony inflicted upon you. You wouldn’t have it any other way though. 

Reaching out you picked up your phone. Your eyes scanned quickly over the various notifications ignoring the ones from Instagram and Snapchat, you were looking for one in particular. The little bit of naive hope you had left was diminished when you saw only a notification from your bank stating that a recent deposit had been made, “Typical”, you murmured, you didn’t know why you still hoped he’d send a good morning text, afterall when did Tony ever text you just to talk? 

“Shit!”, groaning you quickly swung your legs over the side of your bed. You were late for work. Again. There was no way your boss, Pete, would tolerate this. Because of Tony you were late for the third time this week, he always wore you into a sleep coma. 

You scowled at the burnt out candles as you grabbed a set of work clothes out of a drawer and dashed into your bathroom. A few hours late was better than not turning up at all right? It took you minutes to get ready, grabbing your already packed bag, you left to catch the bus for work hoping that you could still keep your job.

//////////\\\\\\\\\\

The journey was mundane apart from the anxiety seeping in your bones. You almost turned and bolted way from your place of work but you ignored the apprehension. You couldn’t run from all your problems in life.

Your friend Mia was the first to greet you as you entered the bustling workplace, for an office it sure was lively, “Pete’s gonna have a field day with you”, she teased waltzing past you to the break room, “Is that why you were late again?”. Mia tapped the side of her own neck with a smirk and you suddenly realised you hadn’t covered up the hickies. You couldn’t help but to grin back at her, “Mind your own business”. Mia hovered by the break room doorway to dish out one final taunt, “Y’know I don’t even know why you still work here, if I was getting what you earn in one night I’d retire for life”. You rolled your eyes at your friend, she knew about your arrangement just not who it was with although she tried on many occasions to find out. Walking over to the clock-in machine you called back, “Girl needs a hobby Mia”. 

Your mood was starting to look up, maybe today wouldn’t be as bad as you first though. Just as you were putting your clock-in sheet back into the slot, Pete popped his head around his office door, “(Y/N)! My office now!”, he did not look happy. Mia tapped your shoulder, “Good luck”, and made her way back to her desk. ‘Spoke too soon’, you thought.

Smiling sheepishly, you leaned through the open door way, “You wanted to see me?”. Your boss nodded his head and motioned for you to come fully into the room. You offered him your sweetest smile, sitting down you clasp your hands in your lap and tried to turn up your charm. He sighed. Rubbing his forehead he finally met your eyes, “I’m gonna keep this to the point (Y/N). I’m making you redundant, you’ve had too many warnings”. You put on your best puppy dog eyes, “Pete please-”, but your boss cut you off, “I told you what would happen a few days ago if you were late again. You’ve had too many chances”. You wanted to protest again. Sure you didn’t need the job but it was something to do on the side to keep a steady income, just in case of emergencies. Ultimately the arrangement you had with Tony wasn’t forever. “No ifs or buts, I want your desk cleared by the end of the day”, Pete said then he wordlessly went back to typing away on his computer signalling the conversation was over. You nodded your head and walked out of his office feeling quite frustrated. 

Your mobile vibrated against your hip. You fished it out of your pocket as you dropped onto your office chair:

From: Daddy ♡

Hey princess, daddy wants to play xoxo

Given any other circumstances and you’d be hornier than Loki’s helmet, but right now you were pissed off and defeated. 

To: Daddy ♡

Not now i’m busy 

His reply didn’t take longer than a second, almost like he was waiting for you which unbeknown to you he was. Sat alone in his huge office, on the highest floor of Stark Tower Tony grew bored of doing paperwork. His eyes lazily read through mission reports, his mind drifting to something more fun than paperwork, that something being you.

From: Daddy  ♡

So? go to the bathroom and take some pics for me ;) xo

Your patience was being tested. You scowled at your phone, you were in this mess because of Tony, “Ugh”. Mia popped her head over the cubicle at the sound of your sigh, “Trouble in paradise?”. You didn’t look at her as you typed out a blunt response, “Yeah”.

To: Daddy  ♡

I said no

Tony frowned at your text, genuinely stunned by your response. You were usually always up for whatever fun Tony wanted. He slumped back in his luxury leather chair for a few moments trying to formulate a response. When his brain came up short he rested his chin on his hand and typed a reply, confused about what had upset you so much. Tony wasn’t used to rejection, especially from you. After replying he dropped his phone onto the desk pouting, he schemed up a plan to make you happy again. You must be truly down in the dumps if you didn’t want to play with Tony when he asked.

From: Daddy  ♡ 

Okay

You didn’t grace Tony with a response able to tell that he was upset. Mia rested her head on the top of the cubicle, “Take it Pete wasn’t too nice”. You put your phone into your bag, staring at the clutter on the desk you tried to figure out what you wanted to keep and what you could trash. “Got till the end of the day to tidy this shit up and go”, you lazily spoke deciding that your nails were a lot more interesting. Mia made her way around into your cubicle, “Looks like I better help you then”.

It was around 4pm when you finally got home. 

Two small cardboard boxes were discarded by your door containing what little desk ordinates you’d deemed worthy of being saved. The rest was trashed, Mia drove you home thankfully so you didn’t have to struggle with the boxes on the bus. Your room was just as messy as you left it this morning only adding to your soured mood. Discarding your work heels you waddled over to your bed and dramatically fell onto it. As much as you wanted to sleep you could feel it evading you, much like you were avoiding checking your constantly buzzing phone. To distract yourself you decided to go job hunting, not the best way to spend a Friday evening but it was better than moping around.

You didn’t even bother to tidy up your bed sheets as you slowly opened your laptop lid and sluggishly began browsing. You phone pinged again and finally you welcomed the distraction.

Grabbing it you began to read through the notifications ignoring most of them until you came to Tony’s messages:

From: Daddy  ♡

are you free yet princess??? xoxo ---- work’s boring wanna play?? xo ---- c’mon (Y/N) u know i dont like the silent treatment :( x ---- miss u baby girl ♡

You rolled your eyes, as annoyed at him as you were, you couldn’t resist the charisma he exuded even over text.

To: Daddy ♡

sorry stressful day at work, miss u too x

The local advertisements were boring as ever, nothing was catching your eye. Mia’s words about retiring echoed in your head, maybe it was time to work full time as a sugar baby. You thought about it for a few seconds before you envisioned Tony’s reaction. He could get very jealous when he wanted, maybe you’d bring it up with him if you couldn’t find any suitable job offers.

From: Daddy ♡

it’s okay baby, get dressed im taking u out for dinner. my treat. be there soon xoxo

“Guess I’ll get ready then”, you mumbled tossing your phone onto the bed, like usual you didn’t really have a choice. Gliding over to your wardrobe you pulled the doors open and stared at the contents. Dinner with Tony meant putting on a show and splashing the cash. Plates of expensive food that costed a small fortune for only a minute portion. Wine aged for centuries and dresses fit for models. It was never simple with Tony so there was no way in hell you could get away with putting on a t-shirt and jeans.

Your hands slipped over costly gowns made of the finest silks and other fabrics, the colours wonderfully exuberant in the gentle light. All beautiful gifts from Tony. He loved to spoil you, loved to have you on his arm in some sheer, little black dress that showed your delicate curves and long legs, loved the way people would look longingly at you both, jealous that you were with each other. Time was quickly passing by as you studied each dress, they all fit you perfectly and you adored each one. Usually you would’ve asked Tony what colour his suit would be so you could match but you didn’t have time. Sighing for what felt like the billionth time that day you automatically reached for a short black one but your hand hesitated. Hovering over to a red dress you decided to switch things up. The makeup on your face was simple just like the small, black clutch you paired with your black heels.  Your phone whistled and you took that as your signal.

Skipping outside you first saw pricey convertible, you opened the passenger door and ducked in.

“Hey princess, aren’t you just a sight for sore eyes?”, Tony grinned, leaning over he placed a peck on your cheek, “Booked a place at your favourite restaurant, in your favourite booth too”. You barely had time to pull the safety belt around you before Tony pressed his foot to the peddle and jetted off.

/////////\\\\\\\\\

As much as Tony joked, complimented you and even touched you affectionately, the smile on your face didn’t quite meet your eyes and he couldn’t help but to be bothered by it.

“You know if you didn’t want to be here you could’ve just said no”, Tony half-smiled trying to keep the mood jovial although you could hear the underlying sadness in his tone. You tried to remain playful as you dismissed him, “Like you would’ve taken no for an answer”, your eyes then drifted around the restaurant. You were situated in a booth a few metres away from the other customers, almost secluded from everyone else. The booth was next to a massive window which showed the outside world below, it was dark now and the lights from various buildings lit up the night sky like fairy lights on a Christmas tree. Tony moved a little closer, his knee touching your own as he rested one of his large hands on it, “Alright you got me there but there’s something bothering you, so spill the beans (Y/N), I can’t help you otherwise”. This made your attention float back over to him; he was looking at you with such a sincere look in his wide brown eyes, he squeezed your knee encouragingly and you couldn’t help but crack before him. It was one of the reasons why you were still in an arrangement with him, Tony was so caring unlike any other man you’d ever met before.

A pouty look caused your bottom lip to jut out. Tony didn’t even try to hide his eyes glancing to them, dirty thoughts blooming in his mind. You continued to hold the expression secretly basking in knowing how it affected him. “I got fired because of you”. Finally Tony made eye contact with you, his eyebrows rising at the statement, “I got you fired? So that’s why you’ve been so pissy. Was it because of these?”, he rasped as he touched the few hickies visible on your neck and scattered just above the cut of the dress’ cleavage. Memories of last night invaded his mind and he couldn’t help but to smirk. You slapped his hand away, “No. You made me late again because I didn’t wake up in time”. Tony let his hand fall back to your knee, his eyebrows now knitted in confusion, “Sweetheart that sounds like you’re blaming me for a you problem”. You were starting to get irked again. There was truth on Tony’s part, you should’ve set alarms but you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. “No it is your fault, you came round late and let me fall asleep straight after”, your emotions were obvious on your features. You were about to swat his hand off your knee but Tony tightened his grip, a sacrilegious smile plastered to him. 

“My bad princess, you’re right, it’s my fault”, Tony’s calloused fingers ghosted up your exposed thigh, “Let daddy make it up to you”.

 Your eyes widened slightly as he started to push your dress up higher, he scooted closer to you in the booth completely intoxicating you with all of his being, “What? Here?”, Tony laughed at your incredulous tone, freezing his actions as you held his wrist in place. He leaned in to kiss your neck, “Let daddy make you happy princess”. You stifled a moan as his teeth grazed across one of your bruises, your grip on his wrist temporarily loosened as the first bouts of pleasure stirred within you. Tony leaned back into the booth, his other hand came to pull you into his side to urge you to relax, your head rested on his shoulder but you weren’t entirely comfortable yet, “What if someone sees?”. Tony placed a gentle kiss to your crown, “Just relax baby, I’ve got you”. 

His finger flitted over your clothed pussy, hot to the touch, you whimpered softly involuntarily feeling your legs flinch open to allow him more room. “That’s my good girl”, Tony cooed, you gripped his bicep as you let him please you. To anyone else in the restaurant it would’ve looked like you were cuddling Tony, but little did they know he was about to be knuckle-deep in your cunt.

Tony started to rub with two fingers, ever so slightly bumping against you clit as he stroked up and down. You tried to keep your breathing even, going as far as to bite your lip. “That’s it princess, just let daddy take care of you”, he praised feeling your panties dampen. He took it as cue that you wanted more. The attention stopped ever so suddenly. Tony pulled your underwear to the side, the air was cool against your core which was burning hot. His fingers were poised over your entrance, his voice was a low whisper that commanded your attention, “Tell daddy what you want, beg for it”. Tony had gotten you so worked up from the teasing that you didn’t stop yourself from indulging him. You cheeks were dusted pink as you briefly lifted your head to see his eyes, “Please daddy, I want you to fuck me with your fingers, please”, you mewled looking sultrily at him through your lashes. “God you’re perfect princess”, he replied, leaning into kiss you. His tongue made its way into your mouth and just in time as he finally plunged his fingers into your slit, a groan erupted from you but Tony swallowed it. 

Your tongues clashed perfectly in time to the rhythm Tony’s fingers were pounding into you at. Tony was the first to pull away, his lips swollen and hair slightly tousled, “When I first saw you in that dress tonight I knew sooner or later I’d have to touch you”, Tony slowed his fingers to deliver deeper strokes. You tried to resist the urge to buck up to meet his hand by squeezing his bicep, one dodgy move and people would know what you were up to. “I can’t wait till we blow this joint because I’m going to bend you over my car and fuck you silly”. You bit your lip to suppressed a hum, Tony continued, “And that’s a promise baby girl”, his fingers sped up again. Luckily the atmosphere of the restaurant was loud enough to block out the elicit noise of Tony’s fingers squelching in your pussy.  Tony added another finger to stretch you deliciously while he used another to rub your clit in tiny circles.

“Oh god daddy”, you purred feeling yourself getting closer to orgasm. Tony started to curl his fingers deliberately to hit spots within you that usual made you scream. You teeth drew blood as you harshly bit down on the inside of your cheek. “Gonna cum for me?”, he murmured into your ear, nuzzling it with his nose. “Yes”, you said breathily. It seemed impossible but Tony went even faster, your hips wiggled ever so slightly, “Then do it”, he instructed. With a few more well placed thrusts from his fingers your pussy clenched, warmth gushed around them. Tony was sure you’d bruised his arm from how hard your fingernails were digging but he didn’t mind. He helped you to ride out your orgasm, eventually stopping his movements altogether when you were done, “Good girl”, Tony commented withdrawing his fingers, he placed your now soaked underwear back in place. A raging blush blossomed on your face as you knew there’d be a wet spot on the chair. 

Tony wickedly licked his fingers clean, “You taste sweeter than any dessert, am I forgiven now?”.

Your lungs were still heaving in your chest, “I guess so, thank you daddy”, you pecked his lips and revelled in the fact you could taste yourself on them. Tony smiled at you, “Only guess so? I can get you your old job back if you want it, all you have to do is give me the name of your boss”. You shook your head, you tugged your red dress down until it was covering you correctly, “I’ll find a new one”. The last thing you wanted was for the people at your old workplace to know you were banging the Iron Avenger. Tony still grinned at you, “I can help with that too. Can even up your allowance till we find you a suitable place”, he finished with a wink. As grateful as you were, you didn’t need him to hold your hand everywhere you went, “Thank you but I’m sure I’ll get one just fine”.

“Alright suit yourself”, he chuckled loving how self-assure you were. A waiter approached your table carrying the orders of food, “Perfect timing, we’ve worked up quite an appetite”.

[biasedwriting]

Tales of a Consulting Firm ||4||

Find all parts here

We love feedback so you can ping either @vixxscifiwritings / @animeotakupooh or me :)

Important note : Business Cat is an actual comic series created by Tom Fonder, we only thought it was apt here. We take no credit for the actual work.

"You want me to set up the AV system?" Minah repeated as Taekwoon plugged in his pen drive to the laptop. He took another look at her and simply nodded.

"Yes, and that will be all. You can stay through the meeting to see how it goes."

"Right." Minah's response was blank as she reached for the HDMI cable securing it to the laptop and fixing the aux cable. Taekwoon felt her brush past him as she asked him for permission to do a sound test to which he nodded. Moving around busily, she checked the audio and video before turning back to him and announcing that she was done.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" She asked and bowed to leave when he said no.

"Could you sit in on the meeting? In case there are technical difficulties?" His voice was soft as she found herself taking a seat yet again.

***

"He made me sit through a pointless meeting just to stare at me! He pretty much booked me the whole day to set up the AV for a meeting and then to look at me like I had offended him when I asked to leave when I was done!" Minah cribbed, causing Haneul to blink in wonder.

"What was the meeting about?" She pried as Minah leaned back on her seat and sighed.

"Screening a completed advertisement and watching the boss and company being praised to the skies. I admit the man is quite smart though." She said thoughtfully.

Haneul frowned, there was no way Taekwoon would call someone to do something he could do himself very easily. Had Silent and Violent noticed Duckling? Her thoughts were interrupted by Jaehwan's head popping up over the cubicle with a 'pst'. Minah looked up as Jaehwan grinned at her. He turned to Haneul and winked

"I think it's time." He said as Haneul gaped. No one, had been initiated this soon.

"Really? You're initiating Duckling?" She hissed as Minah looked at the two of them confused.

"Why am I Duckling and what am I being initiated to?" She deadpanned as Jaehwan turned towards Minah dramatically.

"We're going to show you a world."

"A special world." Haneul continued.

"The world of Business Cat." Hyuk popped in from behind Minah, startling her as he leaned against the cubicle separator, grinning.

“Business Cat?” she blinked as Hyuk leaned over her to reach for the mouse of her computer to open the web browser. She noticed that Hakyeon had slowly sidled his way in and stood between an eager Jaehwan and an amused Haneul. When the page opened Minah held back a laugh.

“What on earth?!” she giggled as Hyuk turned to her with a devilish grin.

“Quite accurate isn’t it?” Hakyeon was rather proud as Minah scrolled through, holding back giggles as she read through the comic strips with a cat in a suit conducting business which reminded her very strongly of a certain someone she had just been cribbing about.

“I’m assuming you guys created this?” she asked, halting the scrolling and looking around at the proud faces of the founders of the “Business Cat” comic strip.

“Hakyeonie and I come up with ideas, Jaehwanie draws them, and Monster here puts them up on digital media.” Hyuk said, leaning against the flimsy cubicle separator “and we’d like you to help in translating these into English.”

“Who me?” Minah blinked, as the group around her nodded. That was when another voice joined the crowd of people around Minah’s cubicle.

“Are we bullying the new employee?” Taekwoon’s voice was soft as Hyuk made a dash for Minah’s computer to shut the tab only effectively tripping planting his face on her keyboard and opening multiple other tabs instead while the rest of him lay partially across her knee and the floor. Taekwoon’s eyes narrowed as Minah helped Hyuk up and the group around him shook their heads.

“Not at all, in fact we were just inviting her to the noraebang party tonight since she did help me during the meeting.” Jaehwan exclaimed as Taekwoon looked at the rest of the group suspiciously.

“Right.”

“Either way, you’re coming today. You can’t do anything about it,” Jaehwan grinned as Hakyeon nodded in agreement. Taekwoon grumbled before heading back into the office. Jaehwan turned back to Minah “you’re coming too!” he declared while Hakyeon scribbled the details of the location of the noraebang on a piece of paper and the group around her dispersed as quickly as it had gotten together. Minah blinked, staring at the scrap of paper in her hand as she sighed.

Somehow that night she found herself cramped up in a restaurant with hald her co-workers giving her looks from their seats as a very uncomfortable looking Taekwoon sat across her. Sanghyuk stretched out beside her as Haneul and Jaehwan squabbled over the menu. Hongbin and Hakyeon had gone to get the drinks and Wonshik sat beside Taekwoon, browsing through his mobile phone.

“So Minah, you grew up in Seoul?” Hyuk asked from his seat as she turned to face him and nodded.

“Spent some part of my childhood in Daejeon though.” She added as Hyuk sat up straight.

“Really? I’m from Daejeon.” He grinned as she smiled back feeling like she was being watched. She noticed the lady sitting diagonally across the table shooting her a look as Hongbin squeezed in beside her. Minah mentally groaned as multiple heads turned in her direction, she chose to turn towards Hyuk instead who berated her with questions about where she stayed in Daegu and which school she had gone to.

Haneul had successfully managed to grab the menu from Jaehwan as she noticed the man who worked in Wonshik’s department lean over and whisper to the man sitting next to him while not so subtly pointing at the two of them. Hakyeon walked by and knocked the two of them on the head causing her to burst into laughter.

Wonshik’s lips quirked up when her heard the conversation beside him.

“So do you think that they’re hooking up?”

“What do you mean think? Of course they are, they’re wearing matching colours.”

Wonshik shook his head, matching colours meant people were hooking up these days apparently. He eyed Taekwoon who was looking at the conversation between Hyuk and the new Duckling who now seemed to be chattering animatedly as Hongbin grinned at him.

Hongbin on the other hand drowned out the conversation beside him and tried to ignore the hungry looks at him from random spots at the table as the waiter arrived to take their orders. Hongbin wanted to focus mainly on the food, but when the new employee turned towards him with a smile and asked him how his meeting went, he replied without hesitance.

“Penrock is one of our best clients, not very fussy, I heard what you did during the Intimately meeting, that was quite daring.” He laughed as she looked down.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, but they were infuriating.”

“I can imagine.”

The drinks arrived and there was a table wide toast led by Taekwoon who, though he didn’t fumble through it, kept it short and waited for the food to arrive instead and when it did, he ate with a ferocity which had Minah fascinated.

“The man is a beast when it comes to food.” Hyuk mumbled as Minah chuckled. As the drinks flowed, the table got louder and raucous. The office dinner was officially closed as many stumbled out of the restaurant in inebriated states. Haneul noticed the man who had been chatting and pointing walking sloppily and nearly landing on Minah who stood awkwardly trying to hold him off. Shrugging Jaehwan off, she headed over to help only to see Taekwoon reaching over to grab Minah’s wrist and tugging her away from the man and sending the man off to his cab.

Her eyes glinted as Taekwoon lead a confused Minah towards the group and said.

“Noraebang time I suppose?”

The night was cold, but the location wasn’t too far as Minah walked over to Haneul.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, he just needed to steady himself.” Minah replied as they followed an excited Jaehwan through the doors and into the pre-booked room which flashy lights. She found herself sitting next at the edge of the seat as Hyuk plopped down beside her watching as Jaehwan and Hakyeon squabbled over the song-list. Hanuel, Wonshik, and Hongbin disappeared and returned laughing with drinks as Taekwoon looked at them, cringing before taking the seat across Minah yet again. Hyuk sighed as he looked at Minah, leaning over to whisper into her ear.

“Wait till you see Silent drunk, it’ll be quite entertaining.”

Minah chuckled looking at Hyuk’s devious smile as they turned back to Jaehwan who had finally selected a song and a drink and began belting out the notes completely off tune. Taekwoon looked at him in disgust as the rest of the group cracked up and Hongbin rolled off the seat, knocking into the table between the seats.

Minah cringed when Jaehwan hit a particularly awful note and noticed Haneul fiddling with the remote as an all too familiar song boomed through the speakers.

“Bubble Pop!”

Jaehwan looked mildly confused, but noticing Taekwoon’s look of disgust, he began his singing yet again, the wonderful voice going completely off tune as Hongbin rolled on the ground with tears flowing down his cheeks as Hakyeon leaped over him to share the microphone with Jaehwan. Taekwoon took a deep sip from his glass of whiskey as he watched Hyuk and Minah poring over the song list and giggling while Wonshik sidled towards Haneul and rested his chin on her shoulder.Hongbin rose from the ground, took a sip from his drink before cracking up yet again at Hakyeon and Jaehwan dancing to the song.

There was silence as Wonshik stumbled over Hongbin to reach for the microphone as Minah vaguely recognized the song playing as Wonshik took a deep breath.

“Hey isn’t the version of Eyes, Nose, Lips Tablo and Taeyang collaborated on?”

Wonshik slipped a note at Taeyang’s part and Minah watched Taekwoon physically shudder before standing up and indicating to Wonshik for the microphone. Minah’s eyes widened as smooth notes flowed from his lips.

“Yeah, he sings well.” Hyuk commented, handing Minah a drink before sipping from his own.

The song suddenly switched to something peppy.

“What the…?” Minah blinked as Hyuk chuckled, fiddling with the remote in his hand as Taekwoon fumbled around to lyrics of Gee and Wonshik shrieked along with him, avoiding the flailing hand of Taekwoon trying to shove him away from the microphone. Minah giggled as Hongbin made dying whale noises and Hakyeon got on the table to perform the whole dance while Jaehwan tipsily downed another drink and turned to Haneul and made kissy faces at her. Wonshik handed Taekwoon another drink as the latter downed it as Hyuk stood up, straightening his collar before punching in a few digits and picking up the microphone.

“Are you really singing the Pokemon theme?” Hongbin laughed as he stood up to join him. The two seemed to be the only ones who were the closest to sober as Jaehwan handed Minah another drink which she took slow sips of, she cringed as she never was one for drinking.

Haneul finally strutted (or attempted to) to the screen as Hakyeon complained loudly about Taekwoon crushing him when it was actually Jaehwan sitting on him. Managing to garble her way through 2NE1’s I Am the Best, she dragged over Minah who stumbled on the table and cursed before handing the microphone to her.

“I’ll pick a song for you, and then I dare you to sit on Taekwoon’s lap.” Minah looked horrified for a second “or else you have to drink another shot.” Haneul nodded as Minah looked at her, determined (or as determined as she could look).

“Challenge accepted. Except I’m horribly sleepy.”

“Awww, you’re the sleepy drunk!” Haneul pinched her cheek as Minah shot her a look. Haneul stumbled back to her seat where Wonshik promptly placed his head on her lap and she petted his hair. Jaehwan and Hakyeon were tangled up and Taekwoon was looking at Minah with curious eyes. Hongbin and Hyuk looked at the whole mess of people with devilish grins.

Sistar’s Give it to Me appeared on the screen as Minah squinted at it, running her fingers through her hair as it fell out of her now messy bun.  Minah wasn’t sure if she sang in tune or not, she just followed along with the lyrics, swinging along with the music and stumbling over to Taekwoon as the song ended and landing on his lap. His arms steadied her as she placed herself on his lap mumbling about how it was a dare and promptly falling asleep on his shoulder. Taekwoon followed soon after, being equally inebriated.

So when the whole lot were woken up by Hyuk and Hongbin to clear up, everyone stumbled all over the place. Wonshik was now a lot more sober, held Haneul up and led her out to their taxi as Hyuk reached over to Minah who still looked rather sleepy.

“We called for taxis, you think you’ll be alright?” Minah nodded as Hakyeon stumbled over to her.

“Yo, we live in the same area, so we’ll go in the taxi together.”

“Sounds good.” Minah mumbled as Taekwoon struggled to stand up, still looking at Hyuk holding Minah up as Hyuk shot him a grin.

“I’ll walk you two out. Hongbin, you can handle Taekwoon and Jaehwan best.” Hongbin gave him a thumbs up as Minah surveyed the room which held multiple glasses and bottles and she let herself be led away.

Well that was eventful.

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[cognegiacposts]

SEO Strategy: 7Essential Tips for 2020

1.Crawl your website

2.Conduct a Search Engine Optimization audit

3.Protect your website

4.E-A-T

5.Maximize for mobile

6.Optimize your pages

7.Maximize alt text as well as picture names

Crawl Your Website

If you want your website to be rated in search, your site should be indexed. To crawl means to see all of your site web pages that search engines have actually indexed. For an overview of these site web pages, you can use devices like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs or Moz.

Be sure to export the results right into an Excel or CSV documents after crawling your site. After that, focus on the LINK, web page title as well as page meta summary to much better enhance your webpages for Search Engine Optimization.

Conduct a SEO Audit

Since you already maximized your LINK, page title as well as page meta description, you currently have a theme that serves as a standard index of your web site. Acknowledge the current place of your existing web pages and also prepare your web pages to ensure that they're structured exactly how you would certainly like. Make sure to keep in mind whether the web page you're checking out is a homepage, part of your primary or additional navigation food selection, an inner web page, etc

Protect Your Website

73.9% of websites sites are hacked for SEO purposes. Protect your website to ensure that hackers can not access your websites and also clients are not pestered with arbitrary, irrelevant ads. Hackers will include links to random sites which will inevitably wreck your hard-work and also compromise your ranking on a SERP.

E-A-T

Google intends to be positive that the web links and sites they display on their SERPs have a high level of proficiency, authority as well as credibility, or E-A-T. Make sure that your website site stands for E-A-T and afterwards connect it to Google.

Develop your knowledge and interact it to Google by discovering what your target market is looking for and meeting (and also going beyond!) their demands. When it comes to developing your site's authoritativeness, web links from appropriate and also reliable web sites are a significant element.

References, whether current or on reliable sites in your space, are things to venture in the direction of. Last but not least, having favorable customer evaluations on areas like Yelp, Facebook, Google My Business and more will assist Google think your website is credible.

Enhance For Mobile

Did you recognize that over 51% of smart device customers have found a new firm or item while performing a search on their smart device? If your website isn't enhanced for mobile, you're putting on your own at a major drawback.

If you don't recognize exactly how well your website is enhanced, HubSpot's Site is a great device to examine your mobile responsiveness. And also to take points a step better, Google's AMP layout reduces load time and improves mobile search rank, additional maximizing the mobile experience for individuals.

Maximize Your Pages

When it involves your eCommerce website's product pages, location keywords with high search quantity right into not just H1 as well as H2s, yet likewise meta descriptions and body copy. This will certainly assist your internet site show up in SERPs for particular item searches. In addition, track what users are looking for straight on your internet site by making it possible for the Website Browse function in Google Analytics.

Optimize Alt Text and Image Names

Alt text defines an image on your website to visitors that are unable to see them, and it aids Google in recognizing the context of a photo. Use appropriate alt text for photos to aid online search engine recognize exactly how your image and material connect to each other.

When developing alt text, make sure to stay clear of utilizing dashboards. For instance, if you're web site has an image of waffles, acceptable alt message would be "waffles" or "waffles with strawberry and syrup." Unacceptable alt message would be "waffles.jpg" or "waffles-with-strawberries-and-syrup.".

Furthermore, photo data names are a tiny but additional element when it involves Search Engine Optimization position. If you're posting your personal pictures to your website, stay clear of the regular file names like "IMG2497.jpg" and rather, opt for something a lot more readable as well as easy to use.

Here is where dashes are acceptable. Conserve your waffle photo as something along the lines of "waffles-topped-with-strawberries" before uploading the picture to your website.

Final thought.

Optimizing your site for SEO can be a very useful choice in boosting your web site's exposure. We wish you aspire to enhance your calculated initiatives with these SEO ideas.

If you have additional inquiries or desire aid developing a SEO technique for your  website, reach out to us Cognegiac solution

Why is eCommerce Email Advertising Still Relevant?

Email advertising and marketing is much from dead. In fact, more than 74 trillion e-mails are sent yearly. Although engagement as well as open prices will vary, e-mail stays a crucial device to attract and also support customers.

According to Project Display, 72 percent of individuals prefer receiving branded material via e-mail. With a substantial possibility for development, brands require to deal with as well as boost their e-mail marketing strategies to reach their goals.

Building Your Email List

Growing an e-mail list is the initial step to a successful e-mail marketing approach. To do this, brand names need to attract customers to their websites as well as capture their email addresses.

Lead Capture

We know what you're thinking-- internet site pop ups are bothersome and out-of-date. Don't obtain us incorrect, we have actually had comparable ideas for many years. Nonetheless, modern lead capture devices are redefining just how brands can grow their e-mail lists in ways that aren't meddlesome.

We typically suggest Justuno as a lead capture tool for eCommerce services. Justuno is an eCommerce system that aids brand names conveniently build high-performing as well as aesthetically pleasing pop-ups. Successful pop-ups usually consist of:

Marketing copy

Imagery

Branding

CTA (Call to Action)

Value Proposition

In addition to enhancing your email get in touch with listing, pop-ups can additionally enhance visitor involvement and also web site conversion. We urge you to believe past a conventional e-newsletter sign-up kind and to get innovative. Try highlighting advantages, such as price cuts, promotions, downloadable content or special deals to encourage conversion.

Moving Your Checklist to An Email Advertising Device.

Every eCommerce system collects client information after purchase. This info can consist of item orders, expense, shipping addresses, contact number and, naturally, e-mail addresses. To maximize this information, services require to move client purchase data into an advertising and marketing automation tool, like HubSpot.

With some innovative development work, services can use the HubSpot eCommerce Bridge API to activate this performance. One more alternative is to make use of HubShop.ly, an automatic HubSpot eCommerce integration our group developed. This innovative tool utilizes client purchase information to activate abandoned cart workflows, update get in touch with properties and even more.

Understanding Your Contact List.

Before you can prosper with e-mail advertising and marketing, you must recognize your consumer needs. This starts by reviewing information like client demographics and also acquisition history.

We advise segmenting lists into comparable groups to produce personalized experiences for particular consumer demands. This method makes use of elements like demographics, on-line habits as well as interest patterns to produce as well as send out personalized e-mails to clients.

For instance, if a client has just ever bought ladies's clothing from your website, you'll want to display those kinds of products in your e-mails. Attracting the customer's interests can substantially raise conversion and also the amount of time invested in your site.

You can make use of a CRM like HubSpot with your eCommerce platform to accomplish this level of personalization. For more information, we suggest discovering our associated blog site that outlines HubSpot CRM attributes and also advantages.

Establishing a Tempo and Regularity.

Discovering the appropriate tempo for your company is extra complicated than it might appear. Email frequencies differ based on a firm's goals as well as demands. Unfortunately, we don't have an universal suggestion to share, yet we can offer some sound guidance on exactly how to determine what the most effective fit is for your organisation.

Beginning by recognizing your e-mail objectives before changing your cadence and ask yourself:.

Why am I sending out emails in the first place?

Am I trying to close deals, obtain online acquisitions or drive website readers to convert?

We urge you to determine the line in between being valuable as well as annoying. Over-sharing can lead to a drop in your open as well as click-through prices, along with an increase of lost customers.

Bear in mind that your customers go to different phases of interaction with your organisation. Depending upon their phase, each will call for a different kind of info and also communication. Hence, why segmenting can come in handy.

Maintain a close eye on your email advertising analytics to ensure your conversions, click-through rates, open prices or various other data factors are meeting your advertising goals. Likewise, bear in mind your consumer's comments and also feedbacks to your emails. If your e-mail marketing method is working (or otherwise functioning), they'll allow you recognize.

Picking the Right System.

With a lot of eCommerce email advertising tools on the marketplace, how do you select the appropriate one? Generally, we advise 2 modern technologies that are shown to do well: HubSpot as well as Klaviyo.

HubSpot.

HubSpot is among our favored marketing automation tools. This email advertising and marketing device allows online marketers to personalize as well as optimize emails without having to wait for IT or designers.

Services can use HubSpot to immediately send pertinent web content, attachments, links, CTAs and subject lines that will increase email open and also click-through prices. This device also consists of A/B screening to track what methods earn better engagement prices as well as sales.

Klaviyo.

Klaviyo additionally has lots of attributes to help enhance your eCommerce e-mail marketing strategy. Most significantly, it moves and also shops your call checklist. This tool also permits you to personalize e-mails with the drag-and-drop e-mail design, in addition to dressmaker messages by consisting of occasions, residential properties and also consumer characteristics.

You can additionally pull in item suggestions and make use of custom-made web feeds to insert vibrant content blocks. The internet site tracking tool uses visitor habits to sector your audience as well as target activated e-mails. Lastly, pre-built autoresponders (email flows) will aid you make more cash with less effort.

Types of Emails.

Initially, it is essential to consider the various  type of email methods organisations can make use of to get to subscribers. There are 3 primary eCommerce email categories:.

Abandoned carts

Promotions and offers

Blogs & other helpful content

1. Abandoned carts

There are lots of reasons why customers leave items in online shopping carts. Variables like affordable prices, absence of depend on as well as uncertainty concerning your store can easily cause failed to remember items.

No matter the factor, deserted carts will certainly occur no matter exactly how hard you attempt to prevent them. However, by making the effort to set up abandoned cart email process, you're offering your business a 2nd opportunity at recouping prospective shed sales.

These automated emails redirect customers back to their carts as well as motivate them to finish the acquisitions they left behind.

Make sure to include photos of the abandoned products in addition to web links that will easily reroute customers to their shopping carts. Over time, your shop will change its deserted cart workflow according to the range of the business and the quantity of profits being brought in.

2. Promotions as well as Offers.

Including discount rates and also promos in your email advertising and marketing strategy can aid recapture a prospective shed client's interest. However, we wish to anxiety that there are right and wrong ways to use them.

Before going price cut insane, assess whether your shop's profit margins can manage these offers. On the internet organisations with smaller margins ought to stay clear of heavily depending on discounts, as this can lower productivity.

Misusing price cuts can also draw in price-driven consumers that are conditioned to anticipate offers. This can lower the likelihood of them acquiring full-price things in the future.

When used properly, incorporating promotions as well as offers in your e-mails can help enhance customer acquisition and drive customer commitment.

For the very best outcomes, build custom-made advertising deals based on your service, clients and also goals. Attempt including these emails as one of the 3rd or fourth factors in your process as a last selling factor.

Generally, efficiently implementing periodic promos can motivate clients to convert as well as review your shop in time.

3. Blogs and Handy Content.

Blogs as well as material help clients build count on your company. Whether you send out a month-to-month e-newsletter, downloadable content or blogs, this web content aids support your checklist as well as reminds them that you aren't just below to offer them points. Rather, you're a resource below to help them resolve a problem.

For an included individual touch, you can send a welcome email to brand-new blog site clients. This is a terrific means to offer a quick intro to your business, in addition to a review of the blog site itself.

Enhancement & Optimization.

Continuously pursuing enhancement can establish you apart from various other companies. We suggest making use of screening tools to evaluate your email success and determine areas for optimization.

A/B Testing.

Your best option for collecting responses on your emails is to make use of the A/B testing design. Using this details, brand names can enhance content and user engagement, decrease bounce rates, boost conversion rates and also, every person's favored, rise revenue.

A/B testing allows you to compare 2 variations of emails. Sending out 2 variations of your email assists you comprehend what drives more opens up, clicks and also conversions. As an example, something as tiny as a subject line can play a bigger role in your email open-rates than you might believe.

Do not hesitate to take threats and keep in mind that if your results aren't statistically legitimate, you can choose a set fallback to send out. Finally, keep an open mind to feedback beyond your get in touch with checklist. Concepts for modification can originate from anywhere and also imaginative and ingenious thinking will certainly boost your business's success.

Time Zones.

Emails sent out at strange hrs commonly wind up being overlooked or in the trash. Marketing automation devices like HubSpot offer a very easy remedy to this trouble by permitting brands to send out emails based on recipient time zones.

Hubspot's Smart Send function also shows you the number of recipients remain in each time-zone, and as soon as you have actually set up your send schedule, it will instantly distribute at the set time in each corresponding time-zone.

For instance, if you intend to provide an email at 10 a.m. to multiple time-zones, the Smart Send out function will certainly send out the email whenever it is 10 a.m. in each area. Being consistent with your timing will certainly assist you increase interaction, conversions as well as brand name understanding.

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In-Depth Cost & Ownership Analysis of W220 Mercedes S-Class via /r/cars

In-Depth Cost & Ownership Analysis of W220 Mercedes S-Class

Hello r/cars! I've owned a 2001 Mercedes-Benz S500 for a little over a year now and I decided to do a fairly lengthy write-up on my experience with its cost and ownership. You always hear people say "There's nothing more expensive than a used luxury car" in response to the temptation of buying a cheap, heavily depreciated used Mercedes or BMW, so I decided to put this to the test and bought one myself. In my area the W220 generation of S-Class can be had for as low as three to five grand, and I managed to buy mine for $2700 at the very end of 2015. For a car that cost nearly $90000 back in 2001, I figured I'd gotten one hell of a deal. I've documented all of my costs for the 2016-2017 period, as well as some of my thoughts on the W220 S-Class as a whole.

General W220 Info: If you are not familiar with the W220, it is the internal designation for the 2000-2006 model years of Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which was and still is the flagship line for Mercedes. The W220 was offered in two variants, the S430 and the S500. The S430 came with the 4.3 liter version of the Mercedes M113 V8 engine, which produced 275hp and 295ft-lb of torque, while the S500 came with the 5.0 liter M113, producing 302hp and 339ft-lb of torque. The W220 received a facelift in the 2003 model year, with changes to the headlights, front bumper, wheels, navigation system, and some minor interior differences.

My S500 is a pre-facelift 2001 model year. Post-facelift W220s are said to be more reliable than the pre-2003 cars, but those are usually in the 5-9k range in my area and thus were out of my price range when I bought mine. I was drawn to the W220 S-Class because it fit the bill for me for a large, luxurious, V8-powered RWD sedan at a cheap upfront price. My example was nicely optioned, with the AMG Sport Appearance package (giving it the much better looking AMG front/rear bumpers and chrome 18" AMG Monoblock wheels), heated and cooled power adjustable seats, and Bose sound system, among other things. I did a fair amount of research before purchasing, mainly browsing the forums over on MBWorld and Benzworld, where there is a wealth of information on Mercedes-Benz cars as a whole. To keep costs down for me compared to what dealers charge and as a DIY'er when it comes to car maintenance I decided that I would be doing as much of the maintenance myself.

Purchasing/First Impressions: I scoured Craigslist for about a month before deciding on my particular example, a sliver exterior with black leather interior, and negotiated the seller, an older gentleman, down to $2700. It had some issues, but most importantly had no check engine, other warning lights, and no codes when scanned with an OBD2 scanner. Importantly, the previous owner had documented replacement of all four air shocks within the last year. W220s come with the Airmatic air suspension, which is notorious for failure. Quality rebuilt air shocks from the aftermarket would run around $300 apiece, and OEM ones even more, so it would be a pricey repair if it was needed. The car had just over 163k miles when I bought it, which was a little high, but the car was in good enough condition and priced well enough that I decided to take my chances with it. I documented all issues I found with the car and they are listed below, as well as whether I've addressed them. Most were/are simply minor cosmetic issues or small annoyances that do not affect the car's drivability or function.

Interior: -Driver's seat front plastic trim partly broken off -Driver's side sun visor light out -Passenger side door pull inside leather coming loose (Glued back into place.) -Driver's side door wood trim loose (glued back into place.) -Dash sometimes displays "MALFUNCTION-TURN SIGNAL". (The side-mirror turn signals work perfectly fine, so I chalk this up to a minor electrical problem and clear the message if it pops up.)

Exterior: -Minor dent in passenger side fender (Had the dent pulled) -Paint chipping and cracking on small portions of the bottom front and rear bumpers -Crack in front bumper -Small rust spot on driver side door (I live in SoCal so I'm not too worried about the rust spreading.) -Headlights yellowed (Will finally be polishing them in the next week or so.)

Ownership Experience Driving the S500 is a comfortable experience, which was perfect for me, as I wanted a luxurious daily driver for my commute to work and school. Inside the car it is very quiet due to the double-paned glass and heavy sound deadening. The M113 V8 is quite smooth and plenty quick. I love all the features the car has, with pretty much power everything in the interior. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, and can be adjusted many different ways, while the rear seats have ample legroom due to the long wheelbase. The car is pretty terrible on gas in the city, averaging 13-15 MPG, while on the highway I usually see 22-23 MPG. It requires premium gasoline, and the gas tank is rather large at nearly 23 gallons, so fill-ups are expensive. Due to my driving being mostly heavy stop-and-go in the city, I was refueling rather often (curse high California gas prices.)

Issues & Maintenance through the year In February I experienced my first issue with the S500. The car was hesitating on acceleration, with a delay between the pressing the gas pedal and then the car would lurch forward a second or two later, and subsequently died a few times upon attempting to accelerate from a stop. Restarting the car after this would usually solve the problem, but it persisted for several days. I used my OBD2 scanner and discovered a code (P0100) for the MAF sensor. Upon research on the forums I learned that MAF problems are somewhat common on M113 V8 engines. I tried cleaning the sensor with MAF cleaner, but that did not solve the problem, so I ordered and installed a new Bosch MAF sensor unit using a YouTube guide, which took about an hour. This solved the problem and it has not reoccurred since.

In May it was time for a Mercedes "Service B", according to a message on the dash. "Service B" is basically a glorified oil change with some other things, so I ordered the requisite oil filter, air filter, engine air filter, and Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and changed them all out. A cool feature of the W220 is that you can change the oil through the top without having to jack the car up, so I ordered a Topsider fuel pump off Amazon. All you have to do is pump it up, remove the oil cap and filter, stick the hose down until it reaches the bottom, and wait about 30 minutes while it drains all the oil out. This is actually how MB techs do oil changes for these cars, and it was the easiest oil change I've ever done. When I was in there I also noticed that the driver's side air intake was cracked nearly through, which had been causing a faint whistling sound during acceleration, so I ordered a new one and installed it too.

At the end of June the biggest problem I've had with the S500 arose. I noticed the car was having difficulty starting and was taking noticeably longer to start. Eventually after a few days of this the car died and would not start. The dash would light up when I inserted the key but when I turned to start it nothing would happen. Reading through the MB forums I was advised to first replace the battery, as apparently it's a common symptom for starting problems due to lack of power. I bought a new battery and installed it, but that did not solve the problem. I next attempted to replace some of the starter fuses in the forward fuse box, but this did not help either. I clued into the starter itself, and with the help of a mechanic friend removed the old starter and took it to a local place for it to be remanufactured. Upon reinstalling the starter the car still would not start, and in fact seemed to be worse, because now the dash was acting strange. Admitting defeat, I had the car towed to a highly rated local independent European car shop, where they had a special Mercedes STAR computer to properly diagnose my problem. It turned out that it was indeed a starter problem, and when the remanufactured starter was reinstalled by us, it was accidentally wired incorrectly, causing the main fuse under the passenger seat to blow when I attempted to start the car. I had to shell out for a new Bosch starter, Mega fuse, and the labor. A costly fix due in part to our mistake, but the car was running again.

In July it was time for all four tires to be replaced as they were extremely worn. I purchased four Sumitomo HTR Z III tires off an online website and picked them up at their warehouse which was local to me. I initially was wary of the Sumitomo tires due to their budget nature but these particular ones had very good reviews and grip well. I am very satisfied with how they ride and feel. Due to the AMG Sport package, the car is equipped with staggered wheel sizes, so it needs 245/45/18 tires in the front, and 275/40/17 tires in the rear.

In August the sunroof stopped functioning properly. It would retract all the way to the rear but go forward in spurts. A simple reset procedure by holding the button backwards and forwards for a few seconds solved the issue.

In November the glove box latch broke, and the box would not lock shut. I ordered a used one off eBay that matched my interior color, unscrewed the old box, and installed the new glove box. For whatever reason you cannot just replace the latch itself, so you have to replace the whole glove box unit.

Costs Breakdown: In total, here are the costs broken down. I only ever used OEM parts as cheap eBay parts are a quick way to cause problems and premature failure.

Registration: -SMOG check $60 -title transfer/tags $105 $165

Maintenance Parts: -Bosch MAF Sensor $167.81 -Mobil 1 0W-40 5qt x2 $45.76 -Mann oil filter kit $10.30 -MBZ Gas cap $43.44 -Mann Engine Air Filter $26.95 -MBZ Passenger Air Intake $24.64 -Duralast Platinum AGM Battery $194.84 -MBZ Starter relay "L" $15.77 -Rebuilt Bosch starter $95 -Shop's new Bosch Starter, Mega fuse relay $412.40 -2x 245/45/18 Sumitomo HTRZ III, 2x 275/40/18 HTRZ III $501.96 -MBZ turn signal light bulb $6.18 -MBZ USED Glove Box $35.11 $1580.16

Other: -Goo Gone spray bottle $4.19 -3M trim glue $7.18 -CRC MAF cleaner $9.66 $21.03

Tools: -OBD2 scanner $22.29 -Topsider fluid pump $58.84 -CTA Oil Filter tool $7.99 $89.12

Labor: -Independent shop labor charge for Starter/fuse repair $312.50 -Tires mounted/balanced $99.96 $412.46

TOTAL: $2267.77+ $750 GAS

Final Thoughts: All in all, after factoring in everything for cost of ownership including purchase price of the car, gas, parts, labor, tools, and registration, the total cost of ownership for my first year of W220 S-Class ownership was $5717.77. Though my car, like many other used luxury sedans, had its share of problems, it was certainly worth it to me. I would advise others looking at these cars or similar used luxury vehicles to budget carefully for potential faults and the increased cost of parts. If you do as much maintenance as you can by yourself and research all your car's potential issues before choosing one to buy, a W220 S-Class has nearly every comfort you could possibly want.

TL;DR: Bought and drove a used Mercedes S-Class for a year. Total cost of ownership was just over $5700 including gas and purchase price.