#multiplied by some ridiculous charge out rate

[fazcinatingblog]

If my boss tells me one more time "we don't work for free" in relation to me not wanting to overcharge the client, maybe I should respond "well according to my payslip, I do" and then just quit

[crystalelemental]

So you’re looking at Winter Leon like “I dunno, he looks really good, but how would I use him?  Is he even that good?”

...yeah, actually, he really is.  Like, he’s super good.

As an ice-type damage dealer, Leon is basically unparalleled.  His attack stat is ridiculous, and the base damage off Glacial Lance is ridiculous too.  You may hear some people complain about AoE and split damage meaning he can’t single-target, but no one complains about that kind of stuff when the damage is high enough.  No one’s bothered by Princess Hilda only using Diamond Storm, you know?  He’s crazy strong.  And having three trainer moves, while a bit unorthodox, means he’s...fairly flexible on team support too.  He needs attack, crit, and speed, and as long as his support option can boost two of them, he can focus on the other.  Usually want Attack as the support buff, since X Speed+ and Dire Hit+ don’t need MPR.

His only alleged weakness is having kinda limited multipliers for the amount of energy that goes into it, and as a result, having a sync nuke that’s kinda just good as opposed to some of the mind-shattering power we’ve gotten from others.  Like SS Lusamine, who is still around.  This has led to a lot of discussion around whether or not he’s entirely worth it, because an EX Hala can take out the sides just fine, and has Haymaker, a move that caps attack in one go, and Super Preparation 9 off of said move.  So EX Hala is perfect setup for a much stronger sync nuke that Leon gets in one.  ...and then promptly falls victim to being slow as hell and having a four-gauge move that further slows him down.  It’s an absurdly strong move, but I think on balance Leon is just better, because he thrives off of speed buffs, and deals a ton of damage on AoE anyway.  And frankly, you don’t even need to EX Leon.  Frankly, you don’t even need 3/5 thanks to most of his damage coming from Glacial Lance.  So you can consider EX 3/5 Hala better, but that’s still a 5* locked unit, even if he is general pool.  Meanwhile a single copy of Leon is...doing just fine.

I don’t think there’s much of a contest in the Ice damage-dealer department for Leon.  He’s definitely top of the pack, and well worth it.  And that’s without talking about the fact he has a natural 30% chance to freeze the entire opposing team, and gets up to around 44% with his 3/5 grid.  That’s easily the highest freeze chance, and means that as a damage dealer, he’s also got some neat technical points in his favor too.  I actually think he’s super worth pulling, but for team considerations...

Team 1: Winter Leon, Sonia/Hilbert, Winter Nessa This is the team.  Like, I can’t test it, but I’d be willing to put money on this team clearing off-type stages with frankly minimal issues.

Leon’s strong, benefits from Hail, and has an absurd freeze chance to deny turns.  Sonia has every single buff he needs, meaning he doesn’t even need turns to set up.  Nessa provides the Hail, has Ice Face for a potential secondary tank if Sonia goes down, and can help with the speed boosting with Pep Rally on Hail.  It does take 3/5 for Sonia and Nessa for this comp to come together, but they are...actually beautifully synergistic together, and provides a really good dual Ice damage comp with some solid sustain game and status disruption.

Oh yeah, and Hilbert can be used for the stat buffs, but then it’s a race against time before he bites it.  Sonia’s objectively a better partner in this scenario, but it’s not like he’s an inherently bad choice.

Team 2: Winter Leon, Pryce, Kiawe/Kimono Jasmine/Falkner Okay hear me out before you knock it.  Did you know Pryce has two Freeze Synergy 8 nodes, and an AoE attack with 110 base damage?  While a little inconsistent, because Leon’s freeze chance is less than half, but when it hits?  A 160% bonus is really strong.  Kiawe can buff both their offenses and their crit rate, albeit slowly, and packs a tremendous amount of benefit in Shadow Bone and Flame Charge for defense drops and gauge control respectively.  He’s the better pick if Leon is part of the damage focus.  If Pryce is your damage focus for some reason and Leon’s just around to freeze, Kimono Jasmine is a pick too, thanks to her ability to cap crit and special attack independently, and having decent innate gauge control with Absorb MPR9.  This isn’t a great combo for them to both be attacking though, so as a last option...Falkner.  He’s actually got the ability to buff both offenses as well, buffs his own speed, and can cap crit rate.  They have a decent number of options to get both working, but consider also that every time Leon self-buffs, he gets +40% bonus damage on his next attack thanks to Mighty Command 9 giving him Physical Up Next.  Which seems to be the hot new condition.  Wonder if we’ll get Special Up Next...  Maybe Zap Cannon Magnezone on a Jasmine alt.

Team 3: Winter Leon, Halloween Caitlin, Winter Nessa/Candice/Summer Steven Thanks to his ability to self-buff crit, Halloween Caitlin can max out his attack and speed and let Leon run wild.  The third options is either a Hail setter by nature, or another damage dealer, with special mention to Summer Steven, who both has good damage, appreciates the same buffs, and can set Hail on sync, making him a solid partner for Leon at any move level.  Summer Steven is also hilariously notable for having both multipliers almost exclusively with Leon’s help.  He can get his own flinch, but freeze?  That requires an entirely different grid layout, or the help of Ghetsis for a 30%.  Leon’s got 44% and better AoE damage and gauge control.  That makes Leon arguably the best support to Summer Steven imaginable, because he’s the best chance of activating both move multipliers.

Team 4: Winter Leon, Hop, Candice A more F2P aligned team.  Hop is free, Candice is general pool common and will soon have a grid to set Hail.  Leon gets pretty much everything he needs from these two, and can self-buff his speed.  Which...Candice can too.  Which brings me to a fun tidbit on this team: this is probably the best use of your F2P tools on Winter Leon if he’s 1/5.  His main attack is AoE and can already deal tons.  Meanwhile, Candice’s sync nuke is...absolutely respectable.  Meaning you can sync with her instead to take out the center, while Leon’s basic attacks tear down the sides.

There’s one other thing this team can do, though I’m...hesitant to recommend it.  Legendary Arena.  Most Legendary Arena matches require status on the foe, and while somewhat inconsistent, Leon inflicts Freeze, a status that is...very potent.  As far as I’ve ever been able to tell, it’s a stronger flinch/sleep condition that takes away actions.  I know some of these fights build up to full immunity against status like flinch and sleep though, and if the same is true of freeze, then this...is frankly too inconsistent to work.  I will be curious to test it out with my wife’s account though.  She got Leon, I’m not pulling.

Final Thoughts I think the biggest thing to be mindful of with Leon is just getting the needed supports.  As long as he has someone who can buff up some of his stats enough that he’s not doing it all himself, he can put in some tremendous work, even at 1/5, just based on how strong Glacial Lance is.  He’s a really solid investment overall for a rare offensive typing, with some surprisingly strong comps all the way down to an F2P level.

That said, I’m personally not going for it.  I have Lusamine, and her Blizzard spam gets me through just fine.  I don’t need the dumb ice horse for this, Lusamine’s got everything under-

“Hey, did you hear about next week’s Champion Stadium?  Agatha’s Ice-weak and Blue’s Bug-weak!”

...shit.

[vg-sanctuary]

The World Ends with You

Jupiter - DS - 2008

[screenshots from Nintendo Life, jack-reviews.com, and LPArchive; please excuse the low res, I couldn’t find better ones]

TWEWY is an RPG with modern (circa 2008) style and character designs by Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Kingdom Hearts. I meant to write about it the day its sequel NEO: TWEWY came out but missed that by a few days. anyway, I think it's reasonable to call this game the epitome of the Nintendo DS. it has every feature to be expected of any game on the wildly unique handheld: a touch-based minigame with wireless multiplayer and little bearing on the main game, a sleep mode puzzle, touch controls, forced use of both screens, and gameplay and plot designed to be enjoyed in short bursts. it's loaded with cool ideas, some of which are more than questionable, even barring the crazy DS features, hence the remakes. (savvy readers will notice I left out the iOS and Switch platforms and, while there are remakes of the game for both platforms that have extra content and a more elegant combat system, they don't hit quite like the DS original.)

I don't fancy myself an RPG fan for the most part. the usual high fantasy themes and turn based combat are boring to me. usually, if an RPG has either one I'm not interested, and this has neither of those. I decided to try TWEWY while collecting DS games, and the plot and combat had grabbed me within two hours. I haven't mentioned the awesome music and visuals, both wonderfully stylish and unique in the same way Persona's UI is stylish and unique, only this game uses the style on its game world and characters instead of menus.

the premise is the antisocial protagonist, Neku, wakes up in a killing game wherein each day has a mission that he and his partner either complete or face erasure. after a week of these missions he'll be free. I can’t tell you the massive general plot spoiler that makes the whole thing so compelling as it goes on, so this section of the post is sadly pretty short. there is an anime that goes over the main events, but it's only four hours long compared to the game's 20, character development is sometimes lacking in detail or totally inaccurate, and it generally doesn't include the hardships you would go through as a player e.g. having to try a boss five times.

almost everything about TWEWY's gameplay is intriguing, so I'll try to be concise. combat is a strange beast that comes from developer Jupiter's need to use both screens to the fullest. by the way, don't let this wall of text scare you away from the game; it introduces these mechanics much slower and it's easier to understand and use. the bottom screen is gesture-based ARPG combat where, for example, short swipes over an enemy makes Neku use a sword attack or touching somewhere on the screen makes him fire a bullet. the exact gestures and attacks are determined by what pins he's wearing. the top screen asks you to use the d-pad to attack with Neku’s partner and navigate along a tree of cards where getting the right card grants a star; enough of those allows you to use a powerful and health-restoring fusion attack. there's this green light puck that passes between characters when the one holding it does a finisher and multiplies the finisher's damage with each successful pass up to five times, but disappears if held by one character for too long. fortunately the game has an auto mode for the top screen that's roughly equivalent to mashing left or right on the d-pad so you don't have to try to split your brain between both, but you get a little more experience if that's turned off. I love the bottom screen and the idea of the top screen but could never really get my head around doing both at once. maybe the intent was to focus on the character that has the puck and leave the other standing still or spamming defense? (in NEO: TWEWY, the light puck mechanic was changed to beat drop combos, where using a different character to attack shortly after a finisher gives you some charge for a super. no attention splitting, just fun ARPG combat with an interesting combo system that can inform what pins you use.)

turning up the game's difficulty makes enemies stronger and mostly drops different pins. there aren't random encounters: you have to scan for enemies and mostly get to choose which encounters to take. you can choose to fight multiple in a row without getting health back between them and multiply your drop rate multiplier, with enemies getting stronger the more encounters you take. you get your health back when you return to the overworld, which cuts out a lot of the obligatory spending for healing items and the trouble of running out for the player. there are still some pins that can heal you during a battle, though.

leveling up, instead of arbitrarily increasing every stat, only increases your HP, but you can turn your level down to lower your HP and multiply the drop rate of pins by one for each level. other stats can be increased with clothes or food, with different foods permanently increasing different stats and have different calories. each character can only eat so much in a single real time day, which is wack but still interesting. the food system in NEO is similar except without the per-day limit, and I think it's a great idea that gives the player agency in terms of what stats they want to increase and whether they want larger or smaller boosts.

pins can evolve when leveled up enough, but may only evolve if you give them the right kind of pin points, which is like experience for pins. there's PP from battles, from the game's proto-StreetPass mingle mode (that you could only get randomly roughly every hour, from other folks in TWEWY's mingle mode, or from other DSes running any wireless software; thankfully this is removed from the remakes but it's a neat idea), and from turning off the game for up to seven real time days. if a pin reaches max level with the wrong kind of PP, you have to go get another one to evolve it, but I don't think there are any super rare pins that evolve. the game doesn't show what kind of PP you need to evolve a pin, so while it's a cool idea, there's a fair chance that you'll miss lots of evolutions and not even notice.

there are lots of rare pins that can be worn as a set to do something ridiculously powerful, but you have to go out of your way to get them, like the Darklit Planets. it's a set of seven pins that are useful alone, but if worn all together they become three times more powerful. they all drop rarely from bosses on the highest difficulty. I love wacky, mystical, obscenely powerful postgame stuff like this but can't be bothered to actually go and get it. some games give you their best weapons last, which is always a shame because there's nothing to use it on, but in TWEWY, there's a boss rush that saves your best time and lots of bosses to re-fight for their rare pins, so you'll have a reason to fight bosses until you've got every one of those rare pins.

speaking of postgame, TWEWY's is rather extensive, with a bonus day focused on the Tin Pin Slammer minigame and goofy non-canon alternate personalities plus four sort of tedious missions for every ingame day that unlock secret reports for much more lore about the Reapers' Game. (one of the missions for every day is "find and destroy the pig Noise," which mostly have puzzle-ish fights; one is killed by closing the DS and opening it again, which is the sleep mode puzzle I mentioned.) if you get them all, it unlocks a special scene in the ending, but again, I can't be bothered to do that kind of postgame. not all of it, anyway, the bonus day's missions are too tedious for me.

in Tin Pin Slammer, the minigame with almost no bearing on the main game, you use your pins to play kinda-sorta Beyblade. every pin has different stats, many of which are hidden, and different amounts of the different weapons to stun your opponents' pins with. it's a rather extensive side mode and a totally unnecessary inclusion, but really fun anyway, and can be played wirelessly with others. there are some other mechanics that are also interesting but not quite worth adding any more words to this ridiculously long post, including a brand trends system and an interesting way to limit running from fights.

even with all of these words and some pictures, I seriously can't offer a glimpse of the vibes, the combat, the music, the story, the characters, the entire energy of The World Ends with You in a blog post, and in my opinion, it's not the same without the crispy DS sprites or peculiar dual screen combat. if you like the DS, 2000s energy, or action RPGs, this is an essential addition to your library if you don't want to track down a DS copy or you prefer more elegant combat, try one of the remakes instead. you're this far into the blog post, so I'm sure you won't be disappointed. (NEO: TWEWY is very good too and has a free demo on PS4 and Switch; while not the same, it's still worth trying. it carries a modernized audiovisual energy of its predecessor, more elegant combat improvements to other TWEWY systems.)

[let-it-raines]

Catch Me If You Can (21/?)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

a/n: I technically don’t have a horse in the race for the World Series that’s currently happening (tonight could be the last game 🙀), but since this lil’ universe exists because of @wellhellotragic​, I’ll be pulling for the Astros to actually win a game at home! 

@resident-of-storybrooke​ remains the best for reading these words, which include some more meeting of the fam jams! 

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

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-/-

New York City in the summer is both the best and the worst.

There are approximately a million things to do, which is pretty much always true for this city, but things seem to multiply this time of year compared to any other time. Well, maybe besides around Christmas, but then every street is so full of tourists that Emma can’t do anything for fear of losing her temper and yelling at a middle-aged couple simple trying to enjoy their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary trip.

Bah-humbug.

And as much as Emma likes the way she can wear her jeans with a cozy sweater and coat draped over her with a warm beanie covering her ears, summertime is pretty much the prime time for her with so many baseball games happening and with the US Open coming around at the end of August. But it is decidedly not the end of August since it’s more like the end of July, and all she feels right now is like a big puddle that’s ready to melt whenever she walks outside. Also, that she smells like garbage, but that’s more likely the city than her considering she showered this morning and used vanilla body wash that she can smell on herself.

As well as sunscreen.

And sweat. There is definitely some sweat involved despite the fact she is only wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top with a hell of a lot of deodorant. She literally has deodorant in her backpack next to her laptop and notebook full of stat sheets.

Her hair is really gross too despite the braid it’s in, and the game hasn’t even started. It’s going to be a long day. For a multitude of reasons.

David, Mary Margaret, and Leo walking toward her in the hallway is near the top of that list.

“Emma,” Leo gasps when he sees her, quickly running toward her and leaving his parents behind in the dust. He’s got on a Captain America shirt and the signed Killian Jones hat gracing the top of his head. They didn’t explicitly tell Leo that she and Killian are dating – kids being kids and not being able to keep secrets and all that – but he pretty much knows. And he’s definitely going to after this.

“Hi, bud,” she laughs, squatting down the slightest bit (he’s getting too tall) to wrap him up in a hug that she knows is far too tight. “Long time no see.”

“I saw you for dinner last night.”

“That is too long.”

“You’re clingy,” Leo scoffs before pulling back from her hug to look at her with those furrowed little brows of his.

“Clingy? Who taught you that word?”

“Mom said that about dad.”

“Hey,” Mary Margaret huffs, sliding her arm around Emma in greeting, “don’t be telling tales.”

“It’s true.”

“I’m clingy?” David questions, his forehead wrinkling when he raises his brows. “Since when am I clingy?”

“That’s a conversation for another time.”

“But I – ”

“Okay,” Emma claps, breaking up the argument that is very inevitably about to happen no matter how small it’s going to be, “so I’m going to show you guys to your suite before I have to go out onto the field for a bit.”

“Emma, I know my way around the stadium,” David grumbles like he always does when there is any implication that he does not know absolutely everything that he needs to know, but then he’s kissing her cheek in greeting and gently patting her back in that David way of letting her know that he’s teasing even when she already knows this. It’s, like, a whole full circle thing. “Why is it that you are taking us to a suite today instead of us just sitting in my seats?”

The scorecard keeps ticking higher on David mentioning his investment in baseball by mentioning his season-ticket seats, but honestly, she can’t even say anything.

“Because,” Emma sighs, wrapping her arm around Leo’s shoulder and pulling him forward, “you are a workaholic who needed to get out of the office and spend some time with your family, and I made some special arrangements for that. Also, it’s crazy hot outside today, and the suites have air-conditioning.”

They’re in one of the first suites that Emma comes to, and she unwraps her arm from Leo’s shoulder to flash her badge at one of the security guards in charge of the player family suites before a door is opened for them to go inside. Liam, Elsa, Anna, and Kris are already inside sitting down on the couches that are in front of the TV monitor, and Addy and Lucy are watching something on an iPad, pink headphones covering their ears.

“Emma, are those?” Mary Margaret asks, trailing off at the end.

“Yep, that’s Killian’s family.”

“But we haven’t even met Killian yet.”

“Oh,” Emma sighs, smiling a bit to herself at them reacting to this exactly the way that she knew that they would, “I know. He’ll be up here when he finishes with the game though, okay? I’m feeding him to the lion’s den while I’m working, but he’s going to take us all to dinner afterwards so that you guys can do your creepy interrogation like Liam did to me.”

“He did what now?” David fumes, reaching forward to gently grab her elbow while Liam himself turns around, finally spotting they they’ve entered the room.

Emma can’t help but roll her eyes while her stomach does that twisting thing that is pretty much becoming its trademark. All of these people are ridiculous. “It’s fine, David. It was a joke. But seriously. I might be in and out depending on how the game goes, but Killian is going to come up here after he finishes his cool down, and afterwards, we’re going out to dinner.”

“How is that going to work if you guys are keeping things quiet?”

Emma shrugs her shoulders, a little bit of nervous energy washing over her. It’s something she and Killian have talked about a lot in the past week now that everyone important knows about everything important, and while they’re still figuring things out, they’ve decided that it’s probably safe to go somewhere low key for dinner as long as they’re in a group. Maybe eventually they’ll be able to go to dinner with just the two of them without Emma looking over her shoulder. It’s not like Killian is Brad Pitt or anything, but her worries of being spotted are legitimate. She’s in a very happy little bubble right now, and even though a bit of it has been burst, it’s still holding strong.

She deserves this. Killian does too.

“We’ve got it figured out,” she tells David before walking toward Liam and greeting him with a hug and doing the same with everyone else. Killian’s family are a bunch of huggers, even for people they don’t know very well, and that’s something she’s figured out very quickly. “Okay, so I’m about to do some quick introductions, so everyone brace yourself.”

“David Nolan,” David interrupts, reaching forward to shake Liam’s hand in what Emma can tell is a far too hard handshake to show off some kind of weird masculine authority. “It’s nice to meet you – ”

“Liam Jones. And this is my wife Elsa, her sister Anna, and Anna’s husband Kris. The two munchkins ignoring us are my daughter’s Addison and Lucy, and I bet they will be great friends with your son.”

“How old are they?” Leo asks. “Because I don’t want to be friends with anyone younger than four.”

Elsa actually snorts while Mary Margaret’s intake of breath might as well be a sign that death is coming with how dramatic it was.

“Leo,” Mary Margaret admonishes, “that is not very nice. You should apologize.”

Elsa stops laughing to wave Mary Margaret away, a kind smile on her face. “It’s fine, I promise. I get it. The girls do stuff like that all of the time, and luckily for Leo, they are both a little bit older than that. Plus, Addy really likes Captain America too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, why don’t you go over there and talk to her?”

Leo smiles and nods his head before sprinting over to the girls, plopping down on the couch hard enough that Addy and Lucy might as well bounce off of it.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Mary Margaret says again. “He was stuck with me working with a bunch of younger kids the other day, and I think that’s scarred him.”

“It really is fine,” Elsa smiles. “At least he’s a kid and there’s a bit of an excuse. Anna here sometimes says things like that, and she’s an adult.”

“Only technically,” Anna laughs.

“This is true,” Kris adds in.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to talk about me like that.”

“What? It’s true. It’s how you are. You have the enthusiasm of a kid with a bag of skittles. It’s wonderful.”

“Yeah, but you guys aren’t supposed to say things like that when we’re trying to make a good impression with Emma’s family. We’re supposed to look normal.”

It’s Emma’s turn to snort and shake her head before reaching forward to squeeze Anna’s forearm. “There’s no such thing as normal, which I’m sure you guys will realize as soon as I leave you all here to make some awkward small talk.”

“There isn’t going to be anything awkward about it,” Kris smiles before bumping his hip into Anna’s, “unless Anna keeps talking.”

“You are something else today.”

“You guys are all something else,” Emma laughs, hoping to everything that this is going to go well. This isn’t something she’s ever really had to do before, and it’s kind of terrifying. “But I trust that you can all get along with your spouses, since that seems to be a problem today, and each other. Now I’m going to go sweat my ass off outside, but you guys have a good time up here. And if they bring in those cheeseburger sliders, save me some.”

With that, she turns to walk out the door, knowing she doesn’t have time to go through proper goodbyes with all of them (she’d be there forever), and quickly makes her way to the elevator so that she can get to the tunnels that are going to take her out to the dugout. She always loves the days where she gets to spend some time in there, to really get a behind the scenes feel at it all, and while she’s a bit wary of some of the players now, she knows that it’s all going to be fine.

This is a game, but it’s also a job.

Al nods his head at her when she pushes open the door and walks toward her designated spot at the end with the water cooler and bat racks. August and Lance greet her, the rest of the guys sitting around ignoring her, and she’s thankful when she finds Jeff already in his seat.

“Hey,” he mumbles, his legs shaking up and down.

“Hey, why do you look nervous?”

“I’m fucking hot.”

Emma laughs and takes her seat next to him, and Jeff hands her the microphone pack and her earpiece, which she immediately turns on even though she knows Ruby is probably about to bombard her with questions.

“We can go inside for a bit when the first inning is over. I don’t plan on being out here the entire time.”

“Thank you.”

Emma knocks her knee into Jeff’sJeff’s,but he ignores her and turns his head to look out at the field. He’s always such a character.

“So,” Ruby teases, her voice breaking through the static, “how did the meeting go?”

“Fine. I bolted pretty quick, though. Also, Rubes, we can’t really talk about this stuff while I’m working.”

“Why not – oh, wait, never mind. I got you. There are a lot of people around who can hear you.”

“Yep,” Emma sighs, shaking her head a bit, “so tell me what kind of coverage you want me to get for this game. Jeff and I are already dying of heat.”

“Fine,” Ruby grumbles, and Emma can practically imagine the roll of her eyes, “I guess I will give you instructions for your job instead of gossiping about your life.”

-/-

Killian only pitches three innings, and while it’s a bit unusual, Emma doesn’t think anything of it. They’ve got their first road game in Boston next week, and she imagines Al doesn’t want anything to happen to Killian’s arm. And there’s no reason for him to overexert himself when they’re so easily winning and have already got this series in the bag no matter what happens the rest of the afternoon.

Plus, he winks at her when she finishes doing a quick interview with him after he’s pulled from the game, and the smile on his face tells her everything that she needs to know about how good he’s feeling.

She hopes that he feels that way after he goes upstairs and meets most everyone.

They probably should have eased everyone into it, but honestly, she thinks Killian will be more comfortable with his family around.

“Are you going to make me do one of those Instagram filters again today?” Will questions, as he plops down on the bench next to her, tilting the water cup back and drinking it down in one gulp. “Or am I playing twenty questions? Do you want to talk about my wedding? Or maybe even the game?”

“Shut up, asshole,” Emma laughs before reaching up to fan her face and wipe the sweat from her brow. “You’re the worst.”

“Um, actually, I believe you quite like me.”

“That’s debatable.”

Will hums as there’s some shuffling in front of them with Arthur King reaching around Emma to get his bat and helmet. Anxious shivers run down her spine when she sees him now, and her entire body stiffens until there’s a gentle pressure on her forearm from where Will is squeezing it.

“Hey,” he whispers, dipping his head down to look up at her, his goofy grin replaced with a soft smile that she usually doesn’t see with him, “you okay?”

She nods her head, wishing that her stomach wasn’t twisting like this. “I’m fine.”

“He’s not going to say shit like that again, Emma,” Will promises as his hand squeezes her arm again. “You are a member of this team, just like me and Killian and Rob, and we’ve got your back no matter what happens. I don’t let people talk shit about anyone but especially my friends.”

“Are we friends now?”

“Jones told me that we had to be.”

Emma scoffs and rolls her eyes, but she still knocks her knee into Will’s, a smile curving at the corner of her lips. Who knew that Will Scarlet was going to be so in her corner this early on? Or at all.

“Thanks. I’ll let you pick the filter you use the next time I do Instagram stuff simply because of that.”

“Sounds like music to my ears.”

-/-

Emma doesn’t get any chances to go back up to the suite during the game, but afterwards, when she’s wrapped up all of her work stuff and told Jeff goodbye, she finds herself walking through the suite doors only to find Killian standing at the counter wrapping sliders in a paper towel while talking to David.

Should she focus on the fact that she knows that Killian’s wrapping those up for her even though she asked everyone else to do it or the fact that Killian is talking to David?

Probably both.

“Hey,” she says slowly, stepping up to the two of them so that they both glance over at her, small smiles gracing both of their lips. Okay, good, that’s a good sign. “How are things going?”

“Just dandy,” Killian tells her, lifting his arm so that she can step into his space and press up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Dave is telling me about how he makes me look good on TV.”

“Dave?” she questions, and all Killian does in response is brush a kiss over the hair at the crown of her head.

“That is not exactly what I was saying,” David clarifies. “Killian asked me about work, and I explained it to him. Him thinking that he needs help to look good is all on him.”

“I mean, I get it. I help him look good every week when I could very easily make him look awful.”

“You are so kind to me, darling.”

“I know.”

Killian smiles down at her in that way that makes her heart stutter and her breath hitch, and there are so many emotions flying through her right now that she’s not entirely sure what to feel. There are also a million questions she’s going to have to gulp down, and Emma already knows that she’s going to have to ask Mary Margaret or Elsa for all of the details how everything went.

She really, really, really  wants Killian and David to get along. That’s, like, everything to her even if she didn’t realize it when this whole thing started. Ruth and Mary Margaret will like anyone who is nice to her, but David has seen so much of the shit that’s happened in her life that he’s a little bit more particular.

Okay, a lot.

“Are these sliders for me?” she asks even though she already knows the answer.

“Aye. I figured you’d want something to eat on the way to the restaurant since I didn’t see you eat during the game. Were you avoiding it so as not to get on camera again?”

“Kind of. It was also too damn hot to eat.”

Killian’s lips tick up on the right, his brow arching high on his head, and she knows that there’s a dirty joke rumbling around in there. It must be hard for him not to be able to say it, but they are most definitely not at a comfort level where he can talk about having sex with her in front of David. In fact, it’s probably best if they never get to that comfort level.

“Dad,” Leo groans as he walks over to the them, “Mom said to ask you when we can go eat.”

“I think we can go now since Emma’s all finished with work.”

“Thank goodness. I thought I was going to starve to death.”

“You know, kid,” Killian laughs, dropping his arm from around Emma’s shoulder, “you sound a lot like your aunt.”

What can she say? She and Leo like to eat.

They go to a low-key pizza place six blocks over from Liam and Elsa’s townhome. All of them are so spread out in different boroughs of the city that it’s pretty much impossible to meet in the middle, but Liam suggested the place since he knows that it’s quiet and that the girls like it a lot. Emma’s honestly pretty nervous walking inside, Killian following right behind her with his hand ghosting over the small of her back. It’s odd to have been dating someone for this much time and never really been out with them, but this relationship is never going to fall into the category of ordinary anyways. It’s always going to be a little off and a little funky, and that’s fine with her because it works. She’s never been one to need to be wined and dined anyways.

And maybe she’s also nervous because of the fear that someone is going to see them and that connections are going to be made, but Elsa quickly talks to the hostess and has them moved to a large corner booth in the back that no one else in the restaurant can really see. Bless Elsa. Honestly and truly. Emma knew she would be great for how Killian always talked about her, but Emma had no idea that she was going to so quickly hit it off with the woman so that they almost feel like friends now too.

It’s been a week since they met, but everything goes so naturally that it feels like so much longer.

This isn’t her or her life or the way things usually go. Emma doesn’t just make friends with people she meets and doesn’t integrate her life with others. The only constant friend she’s had over the past six years that isn’t somehow quasi-related to her is Ruby – toss Graham in there too – and if it wasn’t for Ruby pretty much demanding that she and Emma get along, Emma would probably still think of the woman as just her producer.

How different life would be.

So Emma is definitely not the type of person to have multiple people texting her throughout the day or asking about plans, knowing and understanding that the rigorous game scheduling makes those plans kind of difficult to make. But here she is at a table with ten other people where the conversation is easily flowing from subject to subject because all of these people are making an effort to get along for she and Killian.

She’s got some pretty awesome people around her, the man whose hand keeps inching up on her inner thigh included.

Emma twists her head to look at Killian and tell him to stop teasing her by squeezing her thigh, but instead of seeing the smirk she was expecting, his free hand reaches up to cover his mouth as he yawns.

“Are you tired?”

Killian nods as he keeps yawning, small tears escaping the corners of his eyes, and when the yawn finishes, he has to keep blinking the tears away. “Exhausted. I could go for an entire vat of caffeine.”

“Or get an IV of coffee in your arm.”

“What?” he questions, very obviously not getting her reference.

“Gilmore Girls reference, twenty-nine,” Emma sighs, patting his hand on her thigh. “Gilmore Girls. I know we’ve talked about it before. You should watch it when you have time. It’s, like, a peak early 2000’s show. But you can skip the last season.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when I inevitably forget about this conversation and the show.”

“Do you need to go home? We can leave whenever.”

“No,” Killian promises even though he yawns when he says it, “I’m good for a little while longer.”

“Is it past your bedtime?” Lucy asks quietly from her seat next to Emma.

“Do you think your uncle goes to bed before you, sweetie?”

“He looks sleepy. Do you want my pizza?”

Emma’s not exactly sure where the correlation is there, but that’s kind of how kids are. It’s much more entertaining than talking to adults sometimes.

“No, Luce,” Killian promises, leaning over Emma to talk to her, “I don’t want your pizza, but thank you. That’s very sweet. I think it’s past your bedtime though.”

“It’s not Lucy’s bedtime for another hour,” Addy helpfully adds in, much to the amusement of everyone else. “Mine isn’t until eight because I’m older.”

“Mine is at nine,” Leo says.

“I wish I could go to bed that early,” Elsa sighs as she reaches down to pick up her glass of water. “You guys don’t know how good you’ve got it sleeping that much.”

“I don’t like to sleep,” Addy laughs.

“Me either,” Leo says back to Addy, giving her a high five.

Mary Margaret is probably already planning their wedding or something ridiculous like that for how much fun they seem to be having. Actually, Mary Margaret is probably planning hypothetical weddings for several people at this table, but that is not something Emma is going to start thinking about. Nope. Not anywhere near to even being close to being ready and the little thoughts need to chill the hell out. So, if Mary Margaret is going to plan creepy hypothetical weddings, it can be her son’s.

They’ll probably have Captain America-themed plates with baseball hats and stuffed animals from the zoo lining the aisle.

Okay, now Emma is the crazy one.

Maybe she’s a little tired too.

“So, Killian,” David starts, very obviously changing the subject, “I mean to ask earlier, but why did Al pull you out of the game so early?”

Killian’s hand squeezes her thigh, nails digging into the skin a bit roughly, but then he’s letting out a breath and releasing her thigh so that he can scratch at his jaw. “Ah, preservation for the Sox series. Nothing to worry about. I wasn’t feeling top notch, and it’s better not to risk it, you know?”

“That makes sense. I feel like I spend so much time simply making sure things run smoothly on camera that I never get to actually pay attention to the game, so today was nice.”

“See,” Emma huffs, looking between the two of them and pushing down that little feeling of worry over Killian not feeling well today. It was probably just the heat. “I told you that it would be nice. You got all defensive about sitting in the suite.”

“To be fair, I had no idea we would be meeting Killian’s family today.”

“Yeah, hon,” Mary Margaret sighs before picking up a slice of pizza and taking a bite, “we were blindsided a bit, and apparently everyone else already knew.”

“I didn’t want you to prepare questions or some kind of actual interrogation or something else ridiculous beforehand. You have a tendency to be a little too much on the friendly scale.”

“I do not.”

“You totally do.”

“How?”

“Marg,” Emma laughs, “you probably would have been like Ariel and tried planning a vacation for all of us before you even shook Liam’s hand.”

“I would not have.”

“I bet if I looked at your phone right now there would be flights pulled up to Aspen or something.”

Mary Margaret narrows her eyes at Emma, but then Anna is clapping her hands together and making everyone look at her. “Oh, I just love this too much! I think a group vacation would be the most fun.”

Everyone starts laughing, and Killian picks up his bottle of beer to tilt at Anna. “Emma was right when she said that you and Mary Margaret get along swimmingly. It’s uncanny, actually, how similar you are.”

“Friendly people make friends, little brother.”

“Liam, I don’t know how many times I have to say that there is nothing little about me. Ask Emma.”

“Oh my God,” Emma gasps, reaching back to slap his chest, “no. We are not talking about that. You’re an idiot. There are children here.”

“To be fair,” Kris starts, and everyone turns to him, “they got here by the either little or not-so-little attachments we’re alluding to.”

Nothing like alluding to dicks to make a group of people come together.

Okay, that thought could be taken a lot dirtier than Emma intended, so it’s a good thing she’s not thinking out loud.

They all quietly leave the restaurant half an hour later, the conversation and laughter not at all slowing down for the rest of the time there. Maybe it was the bit of alcohol that most everyone had or maybe it was simply hitting a stride in conversation, but it doesn’t really matter. All Emma knows is that her stomach hurts from laughing and she’s got this smile on her face that she hopes stays for awhilea while.

“Today was nice,” Mary Margaret sighs as the two of them stand outside the restaurant while David and Killian settle the bill inside. “I like Killian a lot. I really like that he makes you smile.”

Emma blushes, and her smile increases despite her best efforts not to let it. Who in the world is this woman who is smiling all of the time? This is not her. But maybe it is now.

“You are such a mom, Marg.”

“Literally I am.”

“You know what I mean, though.”

“I do, I do,” she sighs, wrapping her arm around Leo’s waist and pulling him closer so that he doesn’t wander off the sidewalk and into the street. “But you’re basically my first baby even though this one came so close after I met you. All I want is for you to be happy, and that man makes you happy.”

“Yeah, he does.”

“Emma,” Leo asks, looking up at her as the restaurant doors open behind him, “can I meet Will Scarlet now too?”

“We’ll see, kid,” Emma laughs. “We’ll see.”

“You ready to go, love?”

Killian walks over to her and moves to wrap his arm around her shoulder before stopping himself, eyes glancing to the few people around them, and Emma’s heart sinks at that. But she knows that this is for the best, and Killian not being able to wrap his arm around her shoulder when they’re about to get in the car isn’t that big of a deal. It’s really not a deal at all, and Emma pushes down her worries so that she can look up at Killian and smile.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

The two of them say their goodbyes to everyone else before walking two blocks over to find Killian’s car where it’s parked, Killian opening her door for her even when she insists that she do it herself so that Emma can quickly slide into the passenger’s seat.

“You and David took a million years to pay.”

“Did we?” Killian hums, very pointedly taking a little too long inspecting the gearshift.

“You did. Did he go all big-brother on you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Swan.”

“You, Killian Jones,” Emma scoffs as Killian pulls out of the parking spot and onto the street, “are a liar.”

“And obviously not a very good one either.”

Emma sighs as Killian twists his head and winks at her, a mischievous smile painted on his lips. “What did David ask you?”

“About my intentions with you.”

Groaning, she sinks down further on the leather seat, wondering if it’s acceptable to unbutton her shorts because she’s eaten pizza and cheeseburger sliders in the past three hours and has food babies inside of her stomach. Multiple. That’s how much she has eaten.

“Seriously?”

“Yep,” Killian laughs, turning the blinker on before reaching over to grab her hand and bring her knuckles to his lips to brush a kiss there, the charmer.

“What’d you tell him?”

“That I love you and am very much in this for the long haul as long as you’ll have me. Now do you want to go to your place or mine?”

“Mine,” Emma tells him as her heart stutters in her chest at his words and all of the implications behind them. “Let’s go to my place.”

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

Analysis: Romulus = Quirinus

So now that the Command Chain calculator has this big guy, its time to do an analysis! 

Sky MAX HP: 13,632  Max ATK: 12,273 (Effective ATK: 12,886) NP Charge on ATK: 0.59% Star Generation: 12.2% BBAAQ B = 3, A = 3, Q = 4, E = 5 Base NP Gain: Arts = 1.77%, Quick: 2.36%, Extra = 2.95% 

Throne of Quirinus EX: Increase party’s Atk for 3 turns (10-20%) Increase party’s critical damage for 3 turns (10-20%) Further increase the critical damage of Roman allies for 3 turns (20-30%) Inflict Roman trait debuff to all enemies for 5 turns. Cooldown: 7 -> 5 turns Apotheosis B: Grants self invulnerability for 2 attacks, 3 turns.  Charges own NP gauge. (20-30%) Gain 10 critical stars Cooldown: 8 -> 6 turns Nine Lives Roma: Slaying the Hundred Heads Roman Style A: Increases own Buster performance for 3 turns. (20-30%) Increases own critical star absorption for 1 turn (300-500%) Inflicts Roman trait debuff to enemy for 5 turns upon critical attacking for 3 turns.  Cooldown: 7 - > 5 turns Magic Resistance A: Increases own Debuff resistance by 20%. Independent Action B+: Increases own Critical Damage by 9%. Divinity of the Chief God B+: Increases own damage by 225. Increases own Buster performance by 9%.  Per Aspera ad Astra Buster 5 hits Does damage to all enemies (300-500%).  Deals 100% more damage to Roman enemies.  Deals 20% more damage to enemies per Roman Trait debuff per stack (Max Stack = 10 for 200% more damage). Inflicts all enemies with Roman trait debuff for 5 turns.  Grants party Roman trait buff for 5 turns.  Increases party’s atk for 3 turns based on overcharge. (10-30%). Primary Role: DPS Secondary Role: Crit DPS, Farmer Situational Role: DPS Support Phew. Compared to Caenis, I’ve had to type a lot more than I’ve had for the superior ROMA. But it honestly goes to show how interesting of a servant ROMA can be. First, let’s starts off with stats and generation. His ATK is the highest of all Lancer class Servants, which is already a pretty significant boon, but he also has pretty good HP as well. Basically, there’s no disappointment to be found in his base stats. His NP generation does leave a little to be desired though. His AQA chain will generate about 31% NP, which is good, but mostly good because of his two Arts card. His AAQ chain will generate about 30%, but also generate 14 stars which makes it overall the best generation chain for ROMA. Speaking of crit stars, ROMA does have a hard time generating many crit stars. With his NP he can generate around 18 crit stars, but you probably want your crit stars before you NP, so even though his one Quick has 4 hits, he’s not great at crit star generation. This will be a problem for ROMA as much of his kit is crit based.  His first skill is unbelievably loaded. Not only is it Ishtar’s Manifestation of Beauty, it also has two additional effects that are quite strong.Using this skill alone gives the party 20% more Atk and 20% more crit damage, but ROMA gets a total of 50% more crit damage, which is insane on this skill with this cooldown. In addition it applies the ROMA trait debuff to all enemies, which not only increases the damage of his NP by at least 120%, but also enables some Servants who have anti-Roman skills. So, Boudica, but its very notable. His second skill is also pretty good, although a bit more tame in comparison. A mini Protection from Arrows that’s invul instead of Evasion, 30% NP gauge charge, and 10 crit stars. This is mostly a consistency booster, allowing him more consistency in staying alive, more consistent NP usage, and more consistent crits. All of these skills bundled together does give the skill a little bit of contradictory usage, but its very good overall. Finally, his third skill is probably the least interesting of the bunch. The 3 turn Buster performance buff is really good, but the additional effects are more lackluster. Crit star absorption that only lasts for 1 turn doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Romulus is going to score more crits, which is important because he needs crits to apply more Roman trait debuffs. His low star generation however is a notable hamper to this, so he’ll need support to guarantee more crits. 

His NP, is, in a word, nutty. It’s probably the best part of this entire kit if you’re going to use ROMA for damage. With his first skill, his NP will do 120% more damage. This really ramps up the NP damage, since it’s an effective damage multiplier and so more than doubles ROMA’s NP damage. In addition, it applies another stack of Roman debuffs, but also makes the party ROMA as well, which helps with his 1st skill and Bond CE. Finally, it gives a small Charisma buff similar to his 3-star version. Now, its important to note before we get too carried away; its really rather difficult to have that many ROMA stacks on an enemy. Part of this is because he has a 50% crit steroid, meaning he might just actually kill the enemy or boss before you can get a full stack, but also because a full stack typically is going to require Summer BB or extensive use of skill cooldown or party member deaths and lucky card draws, as well as just crits. Even at base however, his NP does enough damage that its very worthwhile to use. 

A small moment for his Bond CE, which increases the Atk of Roman allies by 20% while he’s on the field. It’s decent if you want to use Romulus as more of a support than a DPS, which is potentially worthwhile. 

Notable Servants:

Boudica: I don’t think it can be stressed enough how Romulus has taken what was previously a somewhat decent but overall mediocre support Servant and has made her functionally incredible. Even if you don’t factor in her NP, Romulus’ 1st skill will enable the extra damage of Boudica’s 1st skill, increasing the party’s damage to roman enemies by 60%, as well as providing an additional 50% crit damage. Boudica and Romulus can form the backbone of a team focused around an Arts, crit based Servant, such as Lancelot or Yagyuu, thanks to the synergistic buffs, but this system is also good for just about any Servant, because a 60% damage buff is insane. It’s even more ridiculous if you can get a support Boudica, for a combined 120% extra damage, 100% crit damage, and 40% Arts performance. You can even get some extra Def and 45% more Atk with two Boudica NPs. The only downside is Boudica’s high crit star absorption, but you’re doing so much more extra damage anyways its not a huge factor. 

Gaius Julius Caesar: Obviously there is the initial, surface benefit. Caesar is a Roman ally, meaning he’ll benefit from Romulus’ crit damage buff. He also is a fantastic support for Romulus himself, providing another 18% NP damage, 16% Atk, 40% crit damage, and finally, 100% more star gen. This makes Romulus’ AAQ chain generate 29 Stars instead of the initial 14 stars, and his NPBB chain will generate 39 stars, greatly increasing his crit rate. Caesar also benefits because Romulus will increase his high NP damage, especially with Boudica.

Summer BB: “Ana, you can’t just recommend Summer BB for everyone” Yes I can, and I will, but there’s a very good reason for it this time. Summer BB can guarantee 3 brave chains for Romulus, as well an additional 12 crit stars per turn. This really helps out with getting the maximum damage possible for Romulus’ NP, as well as more consistent crits. It is a bit of a no-brainer that for a skill that requires as many crits as possible to pair up with Summer BB, but I think it’s important to point out. 

As well, just any Buster support will be good with Romulus. His arts cards are not great, so he doesn’t necessarily benefit from Arts support as some other servants do, but crit star generation up buffs are also pretty important for more consistency with his 1st and 3rd skills. 

Craft Essences: By and large what you want to focus on, is Buster and Crit performance. Star Gen up CEs are by and large not especially powerful and won’t make a huge difference to Romulus’ performance, so you’re going to want to focus on damage for the most part. If you’re using him as a support, however, the Ox King CE can be useful for the 15% Buster up, or a CE like 2030 can be used as a more general support CE. Starting NP can also be good as well, although you might avoid trying to NP as soon as possible to draw out a little more damage for it. 

Overall Pros and Cons:

Pros: -High crit damage and high NP damage means he’s a solid Buster DPS -All 3 skills are good and useful -Invulnerability is possible for defensive uses -NP charge and small crit star bomb for consistency -Is incredible with Boudica -Decent NP generation

Cons: -Low star generation means it is very difficult for Romulus to self-sustain his own crits -ROMA buffs are a bit less impactful than Jason’s Argo buffs because of the difference in their roles. Jason is a supporter first, DPS second so his other party member’s do not necessarily need to support him as well. Romulus is a DPS first, supporter second, meaning his party members should also provide support to Romulus. It’s not a major con however.

Overall, Romulus is really, really good. He can be a little difficult to use because of his low crit consistency on his own, but with proper supports he has immense potential to shine. 

[rawbiredbest]

It’s All in Your Head

Contains: Fluff, Angst, Unconventional Relationships, Telepathy, Demons Fandom: Marvel (comics) Relationships: Stephen Strange/Victor von Doom Characters: Stephen Strange, Victor von Doom, Wong, Boris Word Count: 6103

Out of the blue, Stephen Strange and Victor von Doom find themselves telepathically connected.

No squealing, remember that......

Content warning for canon typical violence, profanity, implied sexual activity, and a single usage of homophobic language by a very bad individual.

Graciously commissioned by @osheets! Wanna do the same? Check my info!

Read here or on AO3!

- - -

The breakthrough comes with rapturous spontaneity. It’s like Victor von Doom has been standing on the shore of a Latverian loch, and in the blink of an eye, the grains of sand have become an orchestra, the surf their masterful conductor, and he the sole audience. He has captured their forms in glass and steel, multiplied ten million fold in the casings of complex machinery, and the entire laboratory sings the path to a bolder, brighter future. In all of his years of experimentation, innovation, desperation, he has never heard this music before. It pours from every screw and bolt, vibrates along every copper wire, thunders out of every piston and valve. The engineers below him, controlling and monitoring the device, are Gods of melody and time. Doom himself has transcended divinity, rising high on sublime notes of praise. He is Emperor, Encapsulated Universe, and his feet do not touch the floor as he glides to the heart of his machine, his veins coursing with silver beauty. Hydrogen atoms dance into the arms of their palladium partners, and their heat is love, love for each other, love for nature, love for him, and it is a primordial force unlocked from decades of ridicule and shame, and he has set it free. Genius. Monarch. Ultimate.

And then it goes. Slowly, a receding tide. It slides from his bones, leaving them aching. He braces himself against a panel, cold sweat sticking to his brow. His heart hammers in his chest, a lone drum holding a marching beat long after the band has departed into the moonless night. The engineers gape at him, oblivious to the miracle that has deafened their ruler.

Doom touches the shielding glass of the operating CMNS reactor, and its vibrations are an idiot hum. He blinks salt from his eyes, breath condensing on the machine.

Four thousand, five hundred and six miles away, a doctor and his best friend leave Madison Square Garden, wearing concert merch, beaming like loons.

- - -

To Stephen, it’s a tsunami.

He’s watching TV. The nightly news. He could tap into the Eye and view the entire world as it turns, but he doesn’t want to. It isn’t very often he feels human, let alone vegetable, so any opportunity to vegetate he takes with gusto. Stretched across his couch, he tugs down the hem of his shirt, leans his head on his hand, and waits to absorb the country’s woes.

He gets a sharp pain on the nape of his neck instead. He swats at the spot, looks at his palm. “Ow.”

Wong looks up from the email he’s writing. “Are you okay?”

Strange frowns, settles back down. “I think there’s a mosquito in here.” They’re talking about the Amazon fires. Stephen’s heart aches for the birds who will drop from the sky, their lungs full of smoke, voices forever silenced.

And then pain rips down his back, like his spine is torn out by an iron hand from his neck to his waist.

He can’t help but yell then, clutching the cushions. A heavy ache lingers in his vertebrae. Gingerly he sits up, breathing hard, eyes clenched shut. Something a bit like petrichor, a bit medicinal, a bit hot fills his nose.

Wong runs to him, but Strange raises a hand. “I’m fine,” he says, though he already braces against the thick lump rising next to his heart. As it crests, it dissipates throughout his body. He forces his eyes open, expecting to see the black trails of tiny spiders beneath his skin. Nothing but unmarked flesh.

“Should I call Doctor Carter?” Wong asks, thumbing toward the antique phone. It’s enchanted to call anywhere, anytime, any-plane.

“No, no.” Stephen leans on his knees, rubbing his temples. The pain is moving, changing. “This isn’t exactly her--”

--forte, he wants to say, but he is cut off by trees. Huge trees. Trees that consume the sky in fractal tangles of evergreen. Primordial, pristine trees, the definition of trees. The little things that crawl beneath and flit between, some carrying light, some with rigid jaws.

It’s a psychic attack. Strange has weathered them before. This one is weird. As he waves for Wong to get the Eye, he endures the spikes of pain that impale his senses to grab a closer look. This entity is lumbering, gigantic in scope yet wet around the edges.

It’s being born, he realizes. It’s waking up.

It hurts, it hurts but he’s curious. He sees New York now, its spires and streets lined up like so much circuitry. He feels the rough brush of concrete, hears the car horn concerto, smells the burn of rubber, and all throughout are rules, parameters, reasons. The thing is learning, feasting on information, and gathering more at an exponential rate. A tidal wave of green descends on the city, picking and plucking at this imaginary world.

And as it eats, thousands and thousands of hungry mouths devouring America, it hates. It hates the excess, the cruelty, the inefficiencies. It roars, barreling down the Sanctum, thousands upon thousands of tons of incomparable loathing.

Wong presses the Eye into Stephen’s hand.

“Pardon my French, dear friend,” Strange says.

The Eye bursts open, and the Sorcerer Supreme throws every ounce of his mystic might at the slavering invader. The living room cascades with dancing whorls of light as he raises his arms, funneling a solar flare, and cries a spell that every New Yorker knows by heart.

“FUCK OFF!”

Utter obliteration. When he opens his eyes, glittering motes trickle from the ceiling. The pain is gone. The TV has gone to commercial.

The phone is ringing.

Wong answers it as Stephen sinks to the couch. He slips the Eye around his neck, and its weight comforts. He thinks he’ll sleep with it tonight.

“It’s for you.”

Strange massages his ear. Vulgarity is embarrassing, but faced with an immaterial infant in the depths of an unholy tantrum doing everything in its power to cram a fork in a magic electrical socket, seemed like a good idea at the time. He takes the phone. “Hello?”

“Doctor! The master -- Victor -- something has happened, I do not know-- I--”

“Boris?” Stephen sits up. “Boris, it’s all right. Slow down. What’s going on?”

Behind the old retainer’s words, a siren wails. “The master--” He hesitates. “His newest Doombot. He turned it on for the first time. All was well, and then it exploded! And now Victor -- he is breathing this flame, this plasma! It burned through his mask! Doctor, what do I do!?”

Strange inhales deep. Counts to three. Lets it go. “He’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? I do not mean to doubt you, but--”

“It will pass. Give him an ice pack and put him somewhere dark and quiet for a few hours.”

“I trust you, doctor, but please, when you can, come and see him. The violence of it, it scares me.”

“I know. It’s fine. Just something he ate.”

Boris thanks him and hangs up.

Stephen wishes the couch would eat him as he heaves a sigh. “Wong,” he asks, “Is it too late to rescind discovering my bisexuality at the ripe age of however old I am now?”

“I don’t know,” Wong replies, “To both parts of your question. I lost count in the five hundreds.”

Strange curses again.

- - -

“So. We have a telepathic link. Any idea how it got there?”

He may as well be speaking to a wall of granite. Doom, arms folded, sneers at him across the table.

Stephen links his fingers together. “I have nothing. It’s rather disconcerting. I don’t believe it’s malevolent, which is always a plus, but it’s unremarkable, which isn’t. So I’d appreciate any insight, Victor. Whatever you’d like to...you know. Get off your chest.”

Doom’s eyes are cold.

“Anything at all. Need to vent? I know you can get heated.”

The table weighs over three hundred pounds, yet Doom flings it at him like a feather. Strange cuts it in half with a bolt of solid light as Crimson Bands constrict around his other arm. They serpentine and splinter into smaller tendrils, their tips unhinging into fanged blooms, and a thought comes to Stephen as the king charges him: he was born in a forest. It’s nature’s fury that fills his head, a cacophony of hellish noise, the wild hunt calling for his spilled blood. Doom’s rage in concentrated, psychic form, howling down their link.

The Daggers of Denak, blades spinning, do an admirable job trimming the vines, their severed heads still snapping, and Strange summons the Winds of Watoomb to push Doom away. The gale staggers him yet he presses forward, arcane runes flashing a ice blue aegis on his gauntlet. Step by step, forcing him back towards the wall.

He lunges. Strange is ready for it. Doom’s arm comes up, Stephen’s arms fan out. Before the king grasps his throat, he calls a pair of razors into his palms. Victor’s grip is suffocating. Strange holds his head between two guillotine blades. An impasse.

Doom’s voice rasps, thin and scorched. “That. Hurt.”

Stephen sips the tiny breaths he can. Something’s pressing into his belly. Sweat beads on his brow. It’s a gun. It’s the stupid gun Doom carries in the stupid pouch on his stupid belt. Why does he even have it? For shooting idiot sorcerers, he thinks. He swallows hard, knows Doom can feel it through the metal. Not so evenly matched as he thought.

And then he notices it. Hiding deep under the screams is a layer of fire. Reaching through the link, he touches it. Color rushes to his cheeks.

“Seriously?” he ekes out, “This is turning you on?”

Doom’s grip loosens. A minuscule amount, enough for Strange to squeeze a few more words. The fire leaps into his psychic palm, eager, aggressive.

“There’s no shame in it. You’re good at what you do, Victor. Very few people can put me in check. Look at you. You’ve pinned me to a wall like a butterfly. That’s impressive. I--”

The king leans closer. Stephen smells ashes on his breath.

“Hoary hosts.”

The gun is holstered. A steel thumb strokes his cheek.

“Reap what you sow,” Doom mutters.

- - -

The aches and bruises will last for days, but the coolness of Doom’s armor against the carpet burn on his back is soothing. He rests a hand in the king’s own. Anything else feels too strenuous. “Was that your first time having telepathic sex? It’s intense, isn’t it?”

Victor takes in the state of the room. Paintings smashed, furniture so much firewood, stone walls fractured and cratered. How much destruction is his? He has no idea. One or the other had to have held back. The castle is still standing, after all.

Neither man speaks. Stephen ventures a glimpse down their link and gets only an image of black curtains. Doom’s already set up defenses. Though some of his own are raised, he lets some satisfaction flow between them. An olive branch.

A quiet, amused huff. “At times, Strange,” Doom says, and already his voice sounds better, “Your physical merits outweigh the strenuous mental exertions you put me through.”

“I never much cared for the medieval aesthetic myself, yet here we are.” He grunts as he looks over his shoulder, thighs twinging. “How drunk were we that night?”

“Doom was sober.”

“Oh no, your golden goblet saw plenty of refills. You were, at the very least, tipsy.”

“You question Doom’s memory?”

Stephen cups his chin, looks deep into dark brown eyes. “I question, my lord, why you claim to remember, with crystal clarity, a night you could have easily decreed never happened at all.”

Nothing comes. No biting remark, no caustic humiliation. Doom only holds his gaze, and under the black curtains flashes something bright, something strong. It lasts for only half a second before the king gets up, using Strange’s shoulder for support. “This link shall be insufferable. Do your part to get rid of it.”

Stephen frowns, annoyed that his legs work. He wonders if Victor left any of his clothing intact. “Right. Ground rules. Stay out of my head, and I won’t make you cough up another star. Deal?”

“Stay out of Doom’s head, and you shall not know pain unending. You have a deal.”

- - -

This lasts for two months.

- - -

On Day 51, a current of malicious satisfaction slithers through Strange’s mind. Gooseflesh rises up his back. The half-chewed wad of pastrami and egg in his mouth goes sour. He spits it out, bracing himself on the dinner table, and without thinking of thinking, he thinks: what have you done now?

The smirk on Doom’s face reminds him of the crocodiles at the Bronx Zoo. The thing Victor is smiling at reminds him of shop class. He can’t begin to make heads or tails of it. Like many of the king’s devices, it could have come off the set of a sci-fi movie. Sleek and chrome, rigged with multicolored wires, pumps, and gauges, a porthole reveals the heart of the machine, a vile purple light. Stephen’s gut tells him that color would eat him alive if it could, tear into his flesh and drip his blood from its teeth. Stephen trusts his gut.

Strange, Doom replies, smile quickly fading into a scowl, We had an agreement.

You broke first. I felt you. My spidey sense tingled.

Victor’s gauntlets ball into fists, and he sends a wave of serrated anger barreling toward the magician. A chained wolf, barking and snarling. An executioner waiting for the condemned to dig his own grave deeper.

Stephen curses. He didn’t mean to think that out loud. Look. Just tell me what it is and I’ll leave you alone.

The black curtains rustle, then lift like a wing. Swimming in the purple light are mathematical equations, coiling around metal rods. It makes perfect sense to Doom, but to Strange it’s a form of gibberish undecipherable by any eldritch tome.

Then he hears it. It’s not coming from the machine. It’s from Doom. Subvocalized lyrics. A silent song. He could recognize the tune anywhere.

He bought its album at the concert.

This is cold fusion.

Stephen snaps back to attention. Cold fusion. Should I be worried?

Victor folds his arms. That I built a safe, eternal form of energy for myself and my people? Yes, Strange, cower and quake. Your country shall never have it so long as I draw breath.

There are many dangerous rebuttals to that he could say. Names he could drop. Yet Doom promised pain unending. Fifty-one days into their connection, Strange has no leads into its inner workings. Finding out if he could make good on his word is a risk Stephen is unwilling to take.

I don’t like this, the sorcerer thinks, but I have to believe you. Don’t misbehave.

His own mental defense is a never-ending subway express train, its doors and windows a veil of golden thorns. Sighing, he sits back down. What’s left of his sandwich has the appeal of wet newspaper.

Doom was right. The link is awful.

- - -

On Day 60, despite the blazing fire in the hearth, Victor’s feet send ripples through a puddle.

He regards it from his antique armchair throne with indifferent curiosity. Through the filters in his mask, he smells the green, pungent scent of foliage rot and seawater. In the puddle itself swim millions of plankton. A frenzy of eating, fucking, dying, and birthing unfolds beneath his alloy soles.

From the corner of his eye, he watches the puddle extend an arm of water across the floor. Sliding under a wall, a line of slithering damp turns the paint a moldy gray. Moisture fans across the entire side of the room in a pattern like falling stars, like skeletal hands trailing through a river. The scent grows stronger as the puddle expands. He rises before it consumes his chair. The leather sinks until it is a speck of mahogany in the brine. Gloom washes over it and it is gone.

Doom folds his arms. A breeze teases the tail of his cloak. Murmuring a quiet word, he puts out the fire with an arc of a finger, and turns around into another world.

It is eternal night. It has no sun, and what few stars can be seen are lucky glimpses through a lush canopy of branches and black, web-like leaves many hundreds of feet above. The grass under him has a sticky grip, but gentle. If grass could want for anything, it would like to give the king safe passage on his journey. He isn’t the sustenance it’s looking for. That comes on the wind, in the form of tiny shards of detritus falling from forest layers high overhead. It shimmers as it tumbles down, the only source of light in this hadal garden.

He doesn’t need to go far. Half-concealed behind a root far taller than he, Doom watches himself and Stephen Strange on the next mound over.

The magician talks with grand gestures, sweeping an arm over trees as dark as ink. Doom remembers himself speaking little, allowing Strange to tell him the highlights of the world. No recorded examples of predation. Negligible changes in evolution for millennia. A slow world. A place of peace.

Stephen steps into the water. Waist deep, he holds out his arm. His garb drips off him, revealing pale skin. He smiles, bare and inviting.

The other Victor undoes his belt.

“And you complain when I get you out of the house.”

Doom peers at the Stephen Strange sitting in lotus position beside him. “You drag me into your affairs with no concern for my well-being or sanity.”

“Please. The times you dig your heels in are cursory, at best. And then we end up doing things like this.”

Across the mound, the other king’s armor sits in a neat pile, and the two doctors stand in each other’s arms, their lips meeting and parting only to inhale.

Victor kneels on the grass. “Even you are capable of stumbling onto a good idea.”

Stephen’s lip curls upward. “I think about this often. This place is beautiful. This memory pleasant. I took effort not to broadcast this to you. My apologies if I disturbed you.”

Doom looks away. “You did not.”

“Oh? Your Royal Highness, we had an agreement.”

“Am I not allowed to reminisce myself?”

“Ssh. Meditate with me.”

He closes his eyes. Strange’s hand creeps into his own, and he lets it stay.

Perhaps he was wrong. The link isn’t so bad.

- - -

Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!

Stephen rolls molasses slow toward awareness. The bedroom is pitch black, swimming in unholy hour of the morning disorientation.

Your wife is in trouble!

He cracks an eye open, shifting in the sheets. “Clea?”

No! Your big green wife! Get up, right now!

Those aren’t his thoughts. It’s a voice he’s never heard before, coming from inside his head. He holds very still and feels something slither over his brain.

He snaps wide awake.

I’m sorry we have to meet like this, the voice says, but we must hurry. The whole world is at stake!

In any other circumstance, Strange would interrogate the voice within an inch of its life, but its fear is genuine. Swinging out of bed, he yanks some pants on, startles the Cloak of Levitation from of its own sleep, and pulls open a portal to Latveria.

Curse me for a novice! the voice squeaks, That can’t be good!

Enormous rends in reality drape over the castle. Shimmering in the air, some bisect the stone in clean, monomolecular cuts. One vomits a steady stream of magma, causing a massive fire in the castle courtyard. Through each of them Stephen sees other dimensions. Another hole fans out from the keep itself and drops a mass of red crystals that crush an entire rampart.

Please! Hurry!

Stephen slams the portal shut, imagines his destination, and wrenches open a new one directly to Doom’s lab. The room is bathed in sunset colors and thick, acrid smoke. At its heart lies the fusion reactor, which is now anything but cold. The purple light pounds waves of energy, reverberating off its containment and magnifying a new tear in the world.

Victor stands in front of the machine. His motions are jerky, abrupt, a marionette controlled by a mob of children. He lifts a twitching hand and the tear throws itself through the castle to join the others outside.

Sister-Brother! the voice cries, Stop!

Doom’s arms drop, strings cut. The voice that comes from his mind is higher than the other.

No, I don’t think so, it says, I think I’m going to continue. You’re more than welcome to burn.

“You’re the link,” Strange says.

Just figured that out now? Sister-Brother asks, Wow, Brother-Sister. You sure drew the short straw. My host is incredible. I’ve mapped every gyri and sulci in here and it’s gorgeous. I’d stay forever if I could. It’s almost a shame he has to die.

Stephen glares, raising his hands, fingers glowing with magic. “As Sorcerer Supreme, I command you to release Doctor Doom!”

The laugh that echoes down the link is nails on a chalkboard. You have no idea what we are.

“You’re playing with fire. You’re threatening the dimensional stability of all of Doomstadt. And when I find you, you’ll have hell to pay.”

This host has already seen hell, Sister-Brother chides, What better place to grow up than in a body demon-touched? Have you considered that I’m doing him a favor? This is how it plays out. This is fate.

Doom turns around without his mask.

A bloodcurdling shriek ricochets across Strange’s mind, his hand thrusts forward with a will not his own, and a thunderbolt connects with the king’s head. Victor flies against a control panel, smashing it with the weight of his impact. Groaning and creaking, the reactor starts to power down, sprinklers in the ceiling damping the flames.

His face, Brother-Sister whispers, Gods, oh gods, what’s wrong with his face...

Stephen contains his screams until he kneels at Doom’s side, hefting his body into his arms. The scent of burning meat fills his nose. He howls for someone, anyone, to help him, royal blood seeping onto his chest.

- - -

He awakens to the beeping of the heart monitor.

Doom feels like mountainsides have taken residence on his eyelids. Slowly sliding them open, he takes inventory. The room is bright, sterile, no windows. He’s propped up in a bed. His hands are bare yet weigh like continents. He looks to his left.

“Hello,” Stephen says.

The sorcerer looks terrible. Ashen skin, reddened eyes, a frown threatening to rip his mouth off. The clothes he wears belong to any servant of the castle. The hands clasped together between his knees shake worse than Doom has ever seen.

“You’re on a morphine drip. You’ve been unconscious for the past twelve hours. You’re in the castle. We set up a makeshift triage room. For a while...” He takes a deep breath, steeling his voice. “We didn’t know if you would make it.”

Doom thinks, and his head is wonderfully quiet.

“Thank every deity you know that your skull is almost as hard as your armor. You’re going to be in a lot of pain for the next few days, but the alternative...I don’t want to think about. And I got rid of the link.” Strange picks up a jar from a nearby stand. “Meet Brother-Sister and Sister-Brother.”

Floating in cerebrospinal fluid are two worms. One is storm cloud gray bracketed by navy blue. The other is dark yellow-green with flecks of red. Flat as ribbons and only an inch long, they give each other a wide berth.

“Pineal parasites,” Stephen continues, “Stuck to the undercarriage of our minds, learning how to be through our eyes. They talked together through us. Saw magic through us. Deciphered grand machines through us. And now they’re ready to go home. That’s what yours was trying to do. They were looking for a place where nothing changes and nothing happens because all who go there are hijacked and killed. Not such a good idea after all, was it?”

Doom blinks.

Putting the worms down, Strange digs his wrists into his eyes. “Victor, I swear to you on everything I am I had no idea. I thought you’d like it. I thought you could forget being so angry, forget the Four if only for an hour, and be happy. Now you--”

He stares at the door, fist to his mouth. Swallowing his heart, he says, “I’m bringing them back. They’re not at fault. They’re just following their life cycle. Despite what they’ve done, they deserve to live.”

Birds that will choke on ashes, he thinks, Countless trees turned to dust. No more. No more death.

“The best doctors in your kingdom are here for you. I’ll be back.”

“Doom will go with you.”

Victor’s voice is quiet but steady. Stephen shakes his head. “No. You’re in no shape to get out of bed, let alone travel dimensions.”

The monarch shuts his eyes. Heavy footsteps pass through the door. A doppelganger in emerald and steel, the Doombot bows its head to its ruler.

“Doom will go with you,” Victor repeats.

Strange blows a ragged breath. By Doom’s creased brow, that wasn’t easy. “Okay. Rest now. Don’t do anything until I return.”

Victor says nothing. Stephen waits until he drifts to sleep, presses a kiss to rough lips, and departs, robot in tow.

- - -

Q-4301 is indistinguishable from the real deal, from its ramrod straight spine to its folded arms, yet there’s no look of wonder in its lenses, no human, if royally restrained, sense of adventure in its copper and silicon heart. It doesn’t care about the bits and pieces of gold falling from the alien canopy, the grass patting its boots. It stares at Strange, emotionless, and that very lack of feeling gnaws at the pit of the sorcerer’s stomach.

They’re on the same black water island mound as before. He can pick out the tree Victor pressed him against from all the rest. Had the microscopic eggs that birthed the parasite twins been attracted to their sex, or had it been sheer luck? He doesn’t know and doesn’t want to know.

In his hand is a candle made from the blood of priests. “Do you have them?” Stephen asks.

Q-4301 lifts a corner of its cloak. Sewn into the cloth is a glass vial. Brother-Sister and Sister-Brother are inside.

Strange nods. “I don’t know if Doom programmed you to feel fear. Either way, let me do the talking. If all goes well, you won’t have to do anything.”

The Doombot says nothing. Taking a deep breath, Stephen snaps a spark between his fingers and lights the candle.

The world goes silent. The wind ceases, and so does the steady fall of golden bits and bobs. The grass curls into tight nubs. The only indication that time has not stopped entirely is the gleam of flame like an undulating eel on the surface of the water. Stephen’s breath is deafening in his own ears.

The voice that speaks is low and obsidian slick. “Well, well, well. Look what the fags dragged in.”

The demon, descending from the trees, blends perfectly into the dark. Its teeth are yellowed and pitted from a diet of rot. It moves on long, soundless talons. Its eyes are cherry red, pupils like mouths.

“Doctor Strange,” the khat murmurs, “You honor me with your presence. I’ve heard so much about you. You’re a cautionary tale among khat-kind, you know. A warning about too much power in frail, mortal meat. Like stuffing a sun into a stomach, it’s only a matter of time till it bursts.”

Stephen purses his lips. “Cut the shit. I have something for you.”

The khat’s grin splits up to its ears. “A gift? Is it your heart? Your humanity? Your soul? Please tell me it’s your soul. I would so like your soul.”

“Come closer and I’ll show you.”

The demon pads on water, leaving no ripples in its path. “Is it the thing beside you?” Nostrils flaring, it sizes up the Doombot. “Not the usual breed of lost lambs you lead to slaughter. What sort of lies did you tell it to follow you? An offer of redemption, perhaps? Anything desperate enough to flaunt about in a green skirt would listen to you.”

“Desperation is for the weak,” Q-4301 snaps.

Strange swallows the ball of curses on his tongue and hopes it doesn’t show. Doombots fall for bait. Exactly like the original.

The khat stops. “Everything has weaknesses. You were once a babe in your mother’s arms, no? Look at your companion. The Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, can barely keep a friend around, let alone alive. No, no, no, there has to be a reason he wants you here.” It lies on all fours, rests its cheek on its fist. “What sort of gift was it again?”

Stephen starts to speak. Q-4301 beats him. “The only gift a demon like you deserves.”

Red eyes narrow in amusement. “Oh, it’s too much for a single khat to bear! Let me call my brothers. We shall find out together.” Rising into a crouch, it takes a deep breath.

There’s still time to salvage the plan. Strange shouts, “Do it!”

Q-4301 lunges into the water, tears the vial from its cloak, and thrusts its arm out. As predicted, the khat opens its toothy jaws and swallows the punch up to the Doombot’s shoulder. Payload delivered, they need to flee.

The portal spell is halfway done when Stephen spots Q-4301 motionless.

For a second, the khat too is still. Then, beaming around the steel in its mouth, it bites, and tears Q-4301′s arm off.

No robot could replicate the spray of blood and scream in agonized terror.

Strange doesn’t realize he’s also screaming. The khat snatches Q-4301′s shoulder and slams it beneath the surface. The water boils in the struggle. Shadows like hellish stalagmites reach for the leaf-choked sky as the sorcerer calls his magic. Black muck splatters the trees, the grass, Stephen’s legs as he gathers flame in his shaking palms.

The blast turns the water to steam as the garden sees more light than it has in billions of years. He looks for a target, finds nothing but the bare riverbed quickly flooding to fill the void.

The khat geysers up behind him, grabs his leg, and wrenches him into the water. The Cloak of Levitation has enough time to flip him face up before a heavy paw pins it down. Eyes stinging, heart hammering, Strange fends off the khat’s snapping jaws with novas in his palms. It takes all his training to anticipate where the teeth will be, vision obscured by plumes of bubbles, and not lose a limb.

Claws curl in his suit and drag him through the brine. His head connects with a tree root and all of reality goes sideways. His breath whooshes free, and sour liquid fills his throat.

The demon hauls him out, shoves him against a tree. Three blurry khats grin in Stephen’s eyes. Dozens of fangs.

“The gift is all three,” it says, “Your heart, humanity, and soul. Why were we ever warned about you? You’re nothing.”

It opens its mouth.

LEAVE HIM ALONE!

Stephen shakes water and blood from his eyes. The khat is frozen save its eyes, which widen in shock. Two voices erupt from its gullet. One, higher-pitched, screeches an incoherent string of profanity.

By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, the other cries, I demand you let him go!

If he squints, Strange can see two ribbons in the khat’s belly. One yellow-green and red, the other gray and blue.

“What have you done,” the demon barks, “What have you done to me!?”

The claws pry open. Stephen beats a hasty retreat, flying to the unfinished portal. As he works to complete it, something moves at his feet. The grass scuttles bits and pieces of shattered human along pathways only it knows. He reaches down, grabs a fragment, and rage flows through him hot enough to make his skin glow, heat radiating from him in convection circles.

The khat breaks free of the parasites’ control, smashing its head against the tree for good measure. Screaming, it leaps for him. Strange sidesteps into another world -- home -- closes the portal, and waits until his ears stop ringing.

His anger he keeps. He storms through castle halls, eager to strike while the iron is hot.

- - -

Doom must really try this relaxation thing more often. It isn’t bad. Balcony doors open, letting in sunshine and a floral breeze, he reclines in his seat, sips his tea, and listens to the vinyl spinning on the antique phonograph.

I’m coming down, coming down like a monkey, but it’s all right Like a load on your back that you can’t see, oooh but it’s all right

The song has been in his head for months. It’s nice to hear it in the open. Doom smiles. Stephen has good taste in music.

“Bastard!”

The chair spins around and Doom is confronted by a feral magician. Strange notes the king’s simple garb: no steel in sight, just a cotton shirt and pants. He aims for Victor’s face but his quaking hands botch the throw. It bounces off his chest and lands in his teacup. “You’re not white!”

Doom looks at his tea. The blue eye in the tea looks back. “About time someone noticed,” he deadpans, extracting the orb by its optic nerve and setting it on a napkin.

The chair bucks like a bronco and Victor spills out. Stephen catches him with magic, hangs him in the air. The cup breaks into a thousand pieces and the king’s disappointed frown makes Strange want to throttle him. “Who was in the Doombot?”

“A nuclear engineer working on the CMNS reactor.” Doom sounds bored. “He tweeted about the parasite-induced euphoria I experienced. Called it an episode. Implications of weakness are illegal. Justice -- and the parasites -- were served. Two birds with one stone.”

“You killed a man for a tweet.”

“Whatever creature you encountered in the garden slew him, not I.”

Stephen drops him, relishing Victor’s grunt as a shard of teacup cuts his foot. It’s a slimy pleasure, and his face contracts. “Bastard. There isn’t an ounce of goodness in you.”

The king pulls the porcelain out of his flesh and points the bloodied end of it. “I have my ways just as you have yours. Until you grasp this concept, we shall always be at odds.”

“Be at odds? I saved your life!”

Doom brushes back his hair. Black stitches stretch from one ear across his head to the other. “You scarred me.”

They’re on thin ice. Strange dials back his fury, fists clenched. Monstrous tyrant or not, Victor is recovering from brain surgery. “You had a worm in your head.”

Tossing the shard aside, Doom sinks back in the chair in a position Stephen calls the regal slouch. “The sentence for weakness implications is community service. The engineer served his community. The sentence for injury to the royal person is death.” A scowl darkens his face. “I have half a mind to not let you leave this room alive.”

The sorcerer shuts his eyes.

“However.” Doom thinks, picking his words. “The extraneous circumstances surrounding the crime cannot be ignored. A different punishment is called for. It shall be made at a later time.” He draws a holographic display before him. A tigress pants in her den, lozenges squirming at her belly. “Three cubs were born at the Latverian Zoo this morning.” He looks at Stephen. “I find myself preoccupied with some wildlife conservation of my own.”

The sigh comes from the bottom of his heart. One day Victor will come out and thank him. Today is not that day. It will have to do. Strange rubs his eyes. “May I make a suggestion?”

“Speak.”

“Exile. A break. Another two months, or two years, or two hundred years. I’m not picky. I just don’t want to see you for a while.”

Doom looks back at the panel. “Your suggestion carries weight. So be it. Begone.”

That’s that. Another story concluded. Feeling empty, feeling light, Stephen turns to go.

“Strange.”

Fuck, so close. The sorcerer looks over his shoulder. “What?”

“When next we sojourn, for Doom knows we shall--” Victor’s lip turns up, the smallest hint of a smirk. “--I shall pick our destination.”

[dkyoungone]

The United States and the Paris Climate Agreement

Dalton Young

International Relations

Position Paper (Topic 3)

The Paris Climate Agreement is a program set up as a voluntary action program that some countries apart of the United Nations (UN) take part in. The agreement essentially lets countries set their own goals on reducing carbon emissions and reducing the effects of climate change. There has been a lot of debate regarding climate change as a whole, even though there have been numerous studies published supporting the arguments that predict our climate is indeed changing. One reason light has been shone on the Paris Agreement once again is the United States’ withdrawal from the Agreement in June of 2017. This act by the President sparked a debate within the United States between climate change advocates and climate change denialists. Climate change is a real issue and is supported by trusted scientific minds and its effects are felt all around the world despite opposing views on the issue. Thus, I would argue that the facts support REMAINING in the Paris Climate Agreement.

First, we must establish why climate change is an issue that is worthy of possible global cooperation. It has been talked about and labeled a major issue by well known and respected scientists, such as Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, and many others. In addition to these brilliant minds, many United States military officials also support that notion that climate change is an issue that must be dealt with. William Wanlund states, “U.S. military officials increasingly view climate change as a “threat multiplier,” a factor that can aggravate poverty, political instability and social tensions. That, in turn, could foster terrorism and other forms of global violence while impairing America's military effectiveness.” These are trusted United States officials that are saying this is an issue. This isn’t just about the United States, but in terms of the benefits to the United States, being able to keep coastal military bases on the coast instead of underwater would be a tremendous benefit. Wandlund also says, “Rising seas, due mainly to Arctic ice melting, already threaten Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, the world's largest naval base; dozens of other coastal installations also are at risk.” If our military installations are at risk, logically, a country that spends over 600 Billion dollars on its military every year would want to do something to protect coastal bases. 

In addition to outright denying climate change, there are people who don’t deny it is happening, however they deny that humans are the cause. Nicola Jones from Yale states, “Frighteningly, this modern rise of CO2 is also accelerating at an unusual rate. In the late 1950s, the annual rate of increase was about 0.7 ppm per year; from 2005-2014 it was about 2.1 ppm per year.” This increase in acceleration rate is scary, as we have already passed the threshold of 400 parts per million of CO2, which itself is a very dangerous amount in its own right. Since it has been increasing at an unusual rate, we can induce that the majority of climate change is very likely due to human action. This is a hard pill to swallow, but it is the most likely scenario, and since we live on this planet and our future (or current) children will be living on this planet, we must do everything we can in order to preserve it and keep it as a livable place for generations to come.

Thus far, climate change as a whole has only been discussed, however, we must also think about the option of rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. This agreement allows us to set our own standards for reducing our carbon emissions and reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. There are a few reasons to support rejoining the Paris Agreement. First, there is the fact that many countries look to the United States as an example and as a world leader. Whether we like it or not, we will be scrutinized and observed in more ways than most other countries would ever imagine. Because of this, we have a responsibility to take charge and to lead the world into combating climate change. However you look at the International scene, this matters for one reason. We cannot be the greatest country in the world if there is no world with which to live upon. The only way we can cement ourselves as the greatest country of the modern era is to protect the only world that we have (as of right now). Secondly, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, to bolster our own economy in the green energy field of economy. If we do not engage ourselves in combating climate change as a government, then we cannot expect independent companies and corporations to go out of their ways to develop green technologies to replace coal and oil. The only time they will do so (if they have not already) is when the world inevitably runs out of coal and crude oil. Even if you don’t believe in climate change, despite the insane amounts of evidence that supports it, you should know that coal and oil are not infinite sources of fuel. This can be shown in your everyday life by looking at local petrol (or gasoline) prices at different stations in your area. Gas is much more expensive today than it was 50 years ago and that has to do with the supply of gas compared to the demand. Either way, this means that one way or another, the Paris Climate agreement would benefit the United States by providing incentive to create and produce greener and more sustainable energy providers.

In regards to counter arguments against remaining in the Paris Agreement, Wanlund states, “Some politicians and economists argue that the real danger to U.S. security lies in the erosion of jobs, trade and industrial productivity caused by the costs of unnecessary federal environmental regulations.” We must address the elephant in the room, one that I mentioned earlier. Military spending. The United States has the most expensive and funded military in the world at 649 Billion US Dollars in 2018, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. That is almost 400 billion USD more than the next most expensive military (China, 250 bn.). Some would argue at least 100 Billion USD of that money being pumped into the US Military is a little unnecessary, so I personally do not buy the argument that it would be too much for the United States to shoulder that load financially. Even if it is a multi-billion dollar program, the Government could cut back on military spending to A. better the world, and B. bolster the United States’ green energy economy. Regarding the argument on speed of industry, the reason we pay so little for things in the United States is because of the cheap and borderline slave-like labor in developing countries. If  we sacrifice a little productivity to benefit the lives of our citizens and other citizens around the world, then that would be a noble reason for doing so. We should see it as granting basic human rights to those working and producing products internationally for the United States.

 There are areas in the United States that would benefit from an effort to cleaning up pollution in the air, water, and land. One of these areas in the US specifically is the state of Utah, specifically in the Salt Lake Valley. The most densely populated area in Utah has one of the worst air pollution situations in the United States. Natalie McGill says the following on Utah’s issue with pollution, “...the state has a tricky situation. Because of the state's geography, the air quality starts to dip when cold air is caught under warm air, trapping a hotbed of pollution throughout Utah's valleys.” When you compound this issue on top of the coal-based steel mills scattered throughout the Salt Lake Valley, that spells bad news for young children and elderly people all across the state. Utah is just one of the states that are affected by pollution and climate change, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement will allow the United States to set goals at the federal level, and/or state level to help each state individually reduce their footprint and keep their citizens healthy and happy.

In conclusion, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement would be vastly beneficial to the United States. This means we can show and prove ourselves as a real world leader in tough situations, like climate change. Economy, money, and jobs will not be an issue as taking away a fraction of the money from the military’s ridiculous budget would be more than enough to fund any climate project you could ever think of. I strongly urge you to consider rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement as we can not be the best country in the world, if there is no world with which to live upon.

Bibliograpy

Lam, Anita, and Matthew Tegelberg. "Witnessing glaciers melt: climate change and transmedia storytelling." JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, vol. 18, no. 2, 2019, p. 1F+. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.greenriver.edu/apps/doc/A583145703/GPS?u=aubu98092&sid=GPS&xid=dd804a69.

Wanlund, W. (2017, September 22). Climate change and national security. CQ researcher, 27, 773-796. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/

“Scientific Consensus: Earth's Climate Is Warming.” NASA, NASA, 24 Apr. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

Paris Climate Agreement UN Climate Change https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf

Jones, Nicola. “How the World Passed a Carbon Threshold and Why It Matters.” Yale E360, Yale, 16 Jan. 2016, e360.yale.edu/features/how-the-world-passed-a-carbon-threshold-400ppm-and-why-it-matters.

McGill, Natalie. "Utah partnership working to reduce air pollution in state." The Nation's Health, Oct. 2014, p. 19. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.greenriver.edu/apps/doc/A385999063/GPS?u=aubu98092&sid=GPS&xid=68818dea.

[fuzethehostagehater]

Fuze Rework ??

i know this blog is for memes or bad quality fuze doodles but for once i guess i might do something really serious and kind of my take on the whole state of fuze and his gadget in the game as of now.

now this some of you might recognize is indeed the win-rate,pick rate graph

and as we can see fuze is in the under-picked and too weak zone. 

and i want to kind of review or give my opinions on the whole situation and why this might be the case. and kind of give my ideas or suggestions as to improve the hostage killing  performance.

1.Weapons

fuze has 3 choices when it comes to primary weapons.

so far he is the only operator in the entire game to have option to use shield as a primary weapon even through his ability does not relate to shield in any sort of way.

AK-12 

Damage output: (to the center mass and without any rook armor,no suppressor)

48:damage base 

45:level 1 light armor 

41:level 2 medium armor 

36:level 3 heavy armor

Rate of fire 850 rounds/m

 638 DPS, 141 MS time to kill on all armor type operators with only 3 bullets

this is by far the best and fastest killing assault rifle in the entire game and has best damage per second out of any primary weapons in game.

6P-41

Damage output

49:damage base

46:level 1 light armor

42:level 2 medium armor

37:level 3 heavy armor 

Rate of fire 680 rounds/m

521 DPS ,176 MS time to kill on all armor type operators with only 3 bullets

one of the best light machine guns in the game having excellent and consistent time to kill firing large 7.62x54R round from 100 round box for long sustained fire.

his primary weapons in summary:

can 3 shot any armor type operators without rook armor without putting them into down but not out state at above average rate of fire.

in other words his primary weapons have if not the best killing potential in the entire game.

to balance this excellent damage output how ever both weapons have considerable amount of both vertical and horizontal recoil along with spread. to make things worse the grim sky patch introduced even more recoil for both fire arms making it even more difficult for weapon to be control.

how ever just like any other weapon with right amount of  practice along with the attachments both weapons can be tamed and controlled.

PMM

Damage output

64:damage base

61:level 1 light armor

54:level 2 medium armor

48:level 3 heavy armor

one of the best secondary/back up weapons in game with very low recoil,high damage and the fact that fuze can use this weapon in conjunction with a shield and the fact that this weapon reloads fastest in the whole game. makes it probably the best secondary weapon in game.

GSH18

Damage output

47:damage base

44:level 1 light armor

40:level 2 medium armor

35:level 3 heavy armor

over shadowed by pmm still very nice spam fire pistol with high magazine size and non existent recoil to fullfill it’s role as back up weapon.

conclusion:

overall fuze’s weapons aren’t the problem. infact it might well be only reason why he will be picked to utilize the out standing weaponry.

2.Armor and Speed

●●●    Heavy 

●○○ Slow

Fuze is the one of two heavy armor attackers in the whole game as of making this post (pre wind bastion season) other being montange who is a pure forced shield operator. and this makes him kind of only heavy armor operator on attack that is not a shield operator.

in theory.. in theory(let me remind you) more armor you have more protection you will receive but in exchange you will be slower because steel + kevlar armor plates are heavy.and the less armor you have less protection you will get but be faster.

but in reality this is not the case thanks to siege’s ridiculous headshot damage multiplier  90% of weapons can headshot any armor type operators in the head across the map. (other 10% being special weapons or weapons that have different projectiles) Speed is always in favor over armor.

 faster speed means that the harder to be headshot meaning harder to be  instant killed as the head is much smaller compared to body. and the faster moving small target will be far less likely to be hit than same size target moving at slower speed.

also siege is a game about making a one way angles and countering some of the most mind fucking angles possible.and again faster operators can move them selves out of line of fire from angle holding anchors much easier. giving them an upper hand.

to be fair this is the case of most heavy armor operators in general however since fuze is attacker. he has to make the push or perform a flank. unlike other heavy armor defensive operators who can anchor a position and be some what effective. and in the process since he is much slower than other operators in attacking side. he will be much more venerable to those mind fucking defensive angles than most operators.

also since he is attacker there for he has to face roamers. but this harder than most operators since he is slower to react. making him easy target for flanking defensive roamers.

fuze is able to equip shield. and try to utilize more of his armor. but how ever  shield has problem of 1st person and 3 rd person protective surface area not matching. also this slows fuze down even more than he really is as well as giving poor visibility may leave him being more venerable to roamers and traps than he already is.

overall in the current state of the game where having decent armor isn’t advantageous as being fast and agile being a slow heavy armor isn’t a advantageous thing.

3.Gadget : Cluster Bomb

last and not the least the fuze’s signature hostage murdering device. 

APM-6 matryoshka.

this device of doom can be placed on surfaces that are destructible these include :

castle barricade 

barricade + glass 

floors 

hatches

walls 

which then launches 5 grenades at other side in  set pattern that starts from right to left. and 3 rd grenade always shooting straight perpendicular to the placement.

each grenades have 4.2 meter blast radius where 2.5 meter total kill zone and 1.7 meter pure damaging zones where it will still be able to kill light armored operators.

also grenades do same damage as nitro cells

to balance this destructive power. fuze’s cluster charges makes a lot of noise while it is being placed onto the surface such as barricade. it is suicidal to just place the charge onto normal wooden barricades unless there is a  proper flash bang support from the team.

Fuze had option to use flash bangs at the launch of the game. but after the mid season reinforcements patch in operation health took away his flash bangs and replaced them with smoke grenades. 

how ever it is worth mentioning due to his gadget only being able to be placed on the destructible surfaces. often times he will be near hatches and floors and breaching charge enables new breaching routes and sight-lines assisting his flank and the fact that it is and was only way for fuze to create it. it is to this day in more of favor than the smoke grenade.

noises are often very good source of location leading to kills in rainbow six. to avoid from getting killed while placing the cluster charge, safest bet when placing it to windows is the windows with glasses intact as it completely muffles the sound of cluster charge being placed.

however in most cases this might not really be possible. due to defenders trying to spawn kill attackers at the start of the game the attackers will instinctively shoot the barricades and windows at the start of the game from their spawn. 

and all it takes is even 1 or 2 holes on windows for cluster charge sound to be audible on the receiving end.

or sometimes defenders will decide to just pull off all barricades and then fuze again can be seen while he is placing the charge and is  easy kill for defenders.

hatches well.. are bit better in a sense that external hatches are not technically reinforceable without using exploit. but however most cases internal hatches gets reinforced by defenders. and this makes fuze completely useless on some objectives and maps. such as tower and it’s dining room objective.

walls are bit better in a sense not all of them gets reinforced both externally and internally but still the sound audible is as loud as placing it onto barricades.

also having a set directional pattern where grenades being launched is problematic as it is in some cases close to impossible to send grenades into the direction that you desire without repositioning yourself 180 degrees. however this not always possible as cover or props might block your way. or repelling won’t be available near that certain window. also since it has set pattern it takes avoiding cluster charge easier if it is deployed horizontally, hence really forcing it to be used vertically.

and last but not the least. at times the defenders often anchor themselves down in a position where there isn’t any destructible surfaces and windows nearby making fuze’s gadget useless.

in short summary:

fuze’s gadget is most powerful gadget in the attacking team or even the entire game however it’s great fire power is balanced out by environmental factors and the gadget’s nature. hinders it’s effectiveness drastically.

so in final conclusion fuze being a slow heavy armor operator in a game that favors speed over armor . and the fact that gadget being very unsettle and being able to be deployed in very limited places with set pattern. weigh him down to be the least picked and under powered operator in the whole game as of now.

4.Rework idea ?

now this is my take on the idea of ways to improve the gadget. you might disagree or thinking it might not be as effective feel free to tell me. or tell me  to add hostage wall hack vision that we all been waiting for .

First thing that should be improved on the gadget should be more of stealth and element of surprise over most things. charges should be alot quieter while it is being placed onto the barricades.

give gadget ability to change the starting point of grenade dispersion pattern.meaning that player should be able to choose between two patterns. one where the grenades shoot from right to left in traditional way or to shoot the grenades from left to right in a identical pattern. and it shall be  done by a animation where fuze turns the piston of the cluster charge 180 degrees which will takes about 2 seconds.

additionally give cluster charge ability to be thrown into the room where it will land onto closest surface then it will launch grenades into the room with similar pattern, however by doing this total number of grenades launched will be reduced down to 4 (will not shoot 3rd grenade that will fly straight or perpendicular to the charge) also the blast radius of each grenade will be reduced from 4.2 meters back to 2.5m meters.if thrown.

the charge will have to be converted to throwing charge with N button and will also have to be manually done. this should be done by fuze inserting piston blocker into the buttom of the charge. and again it will takes about 2 seconds before hand. 

he will be able to do this with a shield aswell and keep his shield in his loadout option.now when you throw the charge with shield equipped fuze will expose some of his body and head similar to when you aim down sights with shield.

as with the armor i would and i personally hope ubisoft kind of rebalance the whole armor and speed system from the ground up. to make headshot effective but not so much of dumb instant kill mechanic that ignore all form of balance and grants instant kill like it is current in the game. as it not only is bad for fuze but entire heavy armor operators in general. and the fact that even after 3 years of dlcs we still don’t have heavy armor attacker.

anyway thanks for reading low quality super long post. i hope you now go out there and try fuze atleast once. ~~he is still good on hostage mode~~ or tell me your opinion on the whole ideas or feel free to add.~~or to tell me fuze myself~~

[supremekalmllc]

New Post has been published on https://supremekalm.com/oregon-cannabis-dispensary-sales-what-we-are-seeing-onvaluation/

Oregon Cannabis Dispensary Sales: What We Are Seeing on Valuation

The Oregon secondary market for cannabis licenses and businesses remains lively. We have been helping industry buy and sell these businesses since 2016. This post is mostly about pricing for retail plays, which is still an evolving standard, but a standard nonetheless.

First, some context.

Over the past few years, there have been two significant regulatory developments that have influenced both demand and pricing on Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) marijuana business sales, including retail. The first big change was in June of 2018, when OLCC “paused” its processing of new license applications. People started paying real money for naked licenses not long after that, including for just a “spot in line.” The second significant regulatory development, in my view, is and will be last month’s announcement on streamlined licensing. This administrative pivot already has shaken loose many hundreds of the moldering “paused” applications from two years back.

We’ve seen some funny things happen with pricing between 2018 and today. On the production (grow) side, people have been buying and selling licenses—that is, just the “right, title and interest” to a replacement seller license–over the past year or so for $125K to $175K. We’ve flipped a bunch of those. If that sounds ridiculous, it is: the state charges around $5K for one of those licenses. The system is clearly broken there, and when OLCC digs out of its hole and starts timely processing new applications, that secondary market will all but vanish.

Pricing for producer set-ups that include other assets (equipment, sometimes inventory, cash, goodwill, leasehold, etc.) tends to vary, as does pricing on other classes of going concerns, viz. wholesalers and processors. Parties still allocate a price to the license in those transactions, but really, each sale is a snowflake. Finally, beyond that, you have retail. Retail is its own world entirely.

How is retail priced? Today in Oregon, it’s still mostly done on multiples of revenue. Generally speaking, that’s an odd metric for business valuation: the other place you will commonly see revenue pricing is tech and software. In that world, user base is paramount. With cannabis, the revenue model was likely adopted for a parade of horrible reasons, including: a prevailing model of cash transactions, lackluster financial reporting, IRC § 280E and general industry immaturity.

How does the formula work? It’s pretty simple. If the agreed upon multiplier is 1x revenue–which seemed to be industry consensus through 2018–then your store would sell for that. If your store had sales of $900K last year, or maybe just a run rate of $900K, it would sell for $900K. Easy. The 1x metric eventually floated up a bit, and for a hot minute we had a bunch of sales at or around 1.5x revenue (mostly in the City of Portland). Last year, perhaps as people began to realize how difficult this industry is, the number seemed to drop all the way down to 0.5x revenue, and 0.4x outside of Portland.

Now, from a value perspective one might ask: does any of this make sense? Let’s say, for example, you have a dispensary that does $1.5m in sales annually. Should a buyer pay even $750,000 (0.5x) for that, in an industry where most stores break even or lose money? Where even excellent operators must take their 280E lumps and walk off with 10% margins? When you’ll need gobs of capital to weather the intense competition brought by 692 other active dispensaries? Even a 0.5 multiplier starts to feel pretty steep.

And yet, the demand is still out there. Today, the revenue multiplier is floating back up amid soaring pandemic sales. We’re seeing it lately around 0.8 inside Portland, and 0.65 elsewhere. You’d see an upward adjustment in a market like Gresham, where zoning restrictions allow for maybe five operators, and a downward adjustment in Eugene, with its vast array of struggling stores.

At some point, it seems likely that both demand and pricing metrics will settle out. Most recently, we’ve started to see buyers move along to traditional valuation metrics like EBITDA (adjusted for 280E) and adjusted cash flow. That makes a lot of sense. Maybe not as much sense as Oregon shedding a few hundred stores, but that’s a topic for another day.

__

For some early but still relevant posts on buying and selling Oregon cannabis businesses, check out the following:

Oregon Cannabis Company Acquisitions

Oregon Cannabis Company Acquisitions, Part 2: Term Sheets

Oregon Cannabis Company Acquisitions, Part 3: Due Diligence

Oregon Cannabis Licenses: No Seller’s Market

For posts addressing valuation in detail, here are some more:

Cannabis Litigation: What is My Marijuana Dispensary Worth?

Your Marijuana Business: What’s It Worth?

Your Marijuana Business: What It Worth? Part 2

Marijuana Business Valuations: Still Mostly and Art, Not a Science

The post Oregon Cannabis Dispensary Sales: What We Are Seeing on Valuation appeared first on Harris Bricken.

[alliance-recruitment-agency-blog]

Accounting Headhunters - Accounting Headhunting Services For Company

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Hire Accounting Headhunters - 9 Ridiculous Rules About ACCOUNTING HEADHUNTERS

Accountants - year end tax tips, how to see a financial statement, 5 reasons why doing taxes yourself is not a good thing. What is your area of expertise? Tax accounting? QuickBooks? Write about it.

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Accounting Headhunting Services - The Philosophy Of ACCOUNTING HEADHUNTERS

The pitching of Jon Lester had been not nearly as noteworthy when compared to the second-inning hitting of his teammates, even so it was still effective lots of. Lester pitched 7.0 innings, in conjunction with facing three batters regarding eighth inning before to be able to leave online game with a hip injury, and saw four earned runs charged to his account.

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Need Accounting Headhunters -How To Turn Your ACCOUNTING HEADHUNTERS From Zero To Hero

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If have to have want begin a business but you still want comprehend how to be rich, you can. While most wealthy individuals are business owners, you Accounting Headhunter Near Me can still be rich even a great employee. To get rich, you will need to improve your earnings and reduce your buying. It's all about saving some money. The more money you save, the faster is will grow and multiply.

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Expense law is among the confused fields of the lawful framework. Taking a couple of expense law classes in graduate school doesn't give a lawyer the preparation or experience important to speak to you successfully versus the IRS. Will resemble setting off to an obstetrician for excessively troublesome. They're the two specialists, truly, yet with altogether different claims to fame. 

Primary concern, in case you're profiting for the organization, may never make spending plan. On the off chance that the business doesn't utilizing.mainly benefit, it is out of monetary and can't pay your wages. In any case, if profit for the business.mainly benefit, more then likely you frequently makes all the more financing.  

I have a customer in Orlando who's three of her youngsters in her business. Her child handles all the innovation, sites, and PCs for her training. He completes an astonishing activity. Her two little girls handle all the organization, advertising, bookkeeping, planning, and customer care. One case of these is even the workplace director and leads the staff. I have another customer in Long Island, NY who's her girl in her training in organization. Her little girl raising in quality as an energetic indian man lady and furthermore rolls out solid improvements in the business. The dedication and trust factor is the magic that binds these groups despite difficulties that will emerge. The regard a few inoculations have prescribed to their folks as pioneers on the family and pioneers with the business makes this work. 

Not all locally situated exchanges require end up being based on expressions and specialties. Embrace it ! plan weddings, birthday parties, and different social events from your home by going about as the organizer who brings all the working gatherings together. Items and arrangements have companions who make solicitations, other people who configuration dresses, others have their very own providing food business, and other people who are engaged with music for gatherings, at that point everyone can meet up so as to help make your locally established business occur. Most prominent from home does the mean seeing how to profit, however who connect with so you just can upward profiting. 

Going for something you cherish, or something you've contemplated for more often than not in no way, shape or form been substantially less troublesome. The time is ready for so as to start sowing so you may have something to procure in earth. The best online christian degree programs are holding up in which you to discover more on them. When you build up your scholarly abilities for your ethical qualities and thoughts.THAT is a genuine training. 

Author Name:- Shreya Mehta 

Address:- 104 Esplanade ave 120, 

                  Pacifica, CA

Mobile No:- +1 917-668-8461

[crystalelemental]

Silver’s permanently available now!  Another legendary unit, and you’re like “Is this guy worth it?  How do I make the best use of this guy?”  Both great questions!

No really, good question.  I’ve never once used him.  I mean, I hear he’s good, but I have only the experience I had trying to run him today to go off of.  And with no Fire or Grass weak stages, it’s not a great showcasing.  Needless to say, he’s not quite impressing.  Not that he can’t work, but...you know.

General Overview My main issue with Silver honestly comes from the lucky skill.  Sure, Crit Strike is solid for Solarbeam and Sacred Fire, but if you want Overheat, which is better damage, you need Dauntless.  Which takes the blue cookies, and those are Vigilance for tanks.  Personally I’m leaning Sacred Fire/Solarbeam damage over Dauntless Overheat, because blue cookies are for Vigilance tanks, until all of them have Vigilance.  Then they can be for Clair, because I pick favorites hard.

Outside of that lucky skill debacle, you then run into the second issue of needing specific support.  Silver can only cap his own crit rate under Sun; his trainer move requires it, and you can’t reasonably wait until after his sync to use it.  So one partner is taken up by Blaine, SS Erika, or Maxie.  The other partner then needs to be able to boost his relevant offensive stat and speed.  Yes, speed.  His grid multipliers all require speed.  He can kinda buff it himself with Fast Track, but it’s inconsistent and slow as hell, so he needs both.  Otherwise you lose out on a lot of move and sync damage.  But those are...really rare.  Like, really rare.  And rarer still to find one of those that can also sustain in a fight.  If they have both, they tend to not have healing.  So he’s just in an awkward place with support.

Good support works wonders for him though.  Charging Sun 6 is a massive multiplier, and Speeding Sun with the need for speed buffs means gauge control isn’t difficult, and he can ignore MGR nodes for better multipliers.  He honestly doesn’t look too bad overall.

Team 1: Silver, Sonia/H!Caitlin/Hilbert, Blaine/SS Erika/Maxie When Silver is the primary damage dealer.  Frankly, Sonia will be the best support, and it’s not close.  Buffs speed, buffs crit, buffs attack, buffs defense, heals, potentially flinches with Tackle.  Sonia is the all-around optimal pick for him, providing every relevant stat buff and the ability to sustain a match.  H!Caitlin can be an alternative, as she buffs his relevant offensive stats, accuracy, and either needed defense, while providing some outstanding field effects for him to use.  She can’t give crit, so you really need Sun set up before using his trainer move.  Hilbert is the last consideration, and honestly offers the least to Silver on the whole.  But he currently exists and isn’t limited, so like...if you have an immediate need in the next few weeks, he’s an option.  Blaine will probably be the better Sun setter once he gets a grid, if only because Fire theme skill to boost Silver’s damage.  Otherwise, SS Erika has the faster gauge in sun, and deals ridiculous damage even off-type.  And MPR.  Maxie of course beats both because of his ability to extend the duration of Sun, meaning his initial setting will be sufficient to reach sync guaranteed, and you will be able to apply Sync again before it runs out.  Also he’s got spread damage, which is really nice since Silver is single-target until he gets EX.

Team 2: Silver, Lyra, SS Erika For Solarbeam.  Realistically, you want SS Erika doing most of the damage, and trust me, she will.  But as a secondary damage dealer and another sun abuser, Silver’s helpful for clearing those Grass-type stages.  Lyra becomes the optimal supporter just because of how much she combos with SS Erika.  Honestly, Silver can do well even with Solarbeam.  Ramming Speed and Charging Sun means 90% bonus damage.  That is...not insignificant.

Team 3: Silver, Sonia/Hilbert/Lyra/Kimono Jasmine/Sabrina, H!Caitlin “What if I don’t bring a Sun setter?  What if I just let his sync do it?”  Good luck.  The main issue then is you’re either avoiding his trainer move until round 2, which is terrible for DPS, or you’re bringing a supporter that covers that too.  At that point, it’s Hilbert or Sonia.  Arguably Lyra, who can take the risk on getting MGR from her trainer move to use it optimally in Sun.  H!Caitlin salvages most of this if he’s not specially offensive, though.  If he is specially offensive, Kimono Jasmine.  She can max his special attack, special defense, and crit just fine, and provides some nice special defense drops too.  But unfortunately, she’s unable to buff speed, meaning his grid situation is dire.  Sabrina may be better for this, but is also a high demand unit.

Team 4: Silver, Hop/Roxanne, Blaine More F2P adjacent team.  Set Sun first, Silver’s trainer move twice maxes out crit.  Hop for physical offense, Roxanne for special.  Shoutouts to Roxanne for also giving speed buffs for his multipliers.  I swear, when she gets a grid, it’s gonna be revolutionary.  Pray for Crit Squad.

Final Thoughts I dunno, I was pretty down on Silver at first, and wasn’t too impressed trying to run him.  It really bothers me that his lucky skill situation is such a disaster, and I’m still debating if the 20% bonus from crit strike is better than the higher damage on Overheat to justify Dauntless.  I don’t like using the blue cookies for anything but Vigilance, after all.  But I’m coming around.  He’s got some good tools, I just...really need to see him in action on-type to get a feel for how good he can be.  But at this point, I think I’m just sticking to this idea that Overheat is supposed to be better.  I don’t think it is.  Dauntless from a cookie and more specific support isn’t easier than just slapping on crit strike and using one of the more plentiful attack and speed buffers in the game.  And his multipliers are not small; dude can hit pretty well when set up.  It’s a bit specific, but solid overall.

[moonwreathe]

Drabble: Prison AU Series: Fairy Tail Pairing: Jerza Rating: PG13? Warnings: Mild gore, nothing too deep into detail as I just word vomited this and haven’t even edited it.

**Please let me know if I should turn this into an actual story**

As some of you may know, my job is to transcribe audio files that customers submit for various reasons. That said, I have been transcribing a lot of phone calls between prisoners and their girlfriends lately, which is where the inspiration for this came from. I do have to admit though, listening to their conversations is really strange and almost dehumanizing, considering these are private moments I'm being paid to invade because their privacy has been revoked. I have to constantly remind myself that these are real people and not fictional media for me to consume. Anyway, here's some fictional media for you to consume.

It would be rather ludicrous of her to act as though she weren't waiting increasingly impatiently by her cell phone with fingernails trapped between solid columns of ivory, given that she was only within the presence of her own thoughts. Anxious flame raged further within her stomach, now twining with her ribs and their contents as the minutes stacked upon each other.

In ironic contradiction to her fervent concentration, the ring of her phone nearly caused her to leap from her skin. She managed to obtain the device with calculated grace, breathing a heavy sigh before answering the phone. She knew it was him. Who else would it be?

The automated recording greeted her promptly, "Hello. This is a prepaid collect call from-"

"Jellal Fernandes." She hated how her breath caught in her throat just from the audio recording of his voice.

"An inmate at Fiore Maximum Security Correctional Facility. This call may be recorded or monitored. To accept charges, press one." And so she would, her phone sounding off in the familiar bell tone. "Thank you for using Secure Line. You may begin your conversation now."

There was a soft shuffling, likely his getting the phone situated comfortably on the other end of the line before honey thick voice poured through the receiver. "Hello?" Almost in a hushed tone, he greeted her. 

"You're late." Unsure of why the first words from her mouth always seemed destined to be accusatory and scolding, though she would not deny that releasing some of her frustration lifted a weight from her chest.

"My apologies." She noticed now that he was out of breath. "I'm simply glad I made it to the phone this evening."

Her brows drew together and her fingers tightened around her forearm as realization overtook her. "They can't keep doing that to you, you know."

"Doing what?" The things he wrote to her of his treatment by the guards was not something he had the luxury of voicing over the phone. The calls were recorded and monitored, and he couldn't imagine the intensity with which that treatment would multiply by if he were to be heard speaking of it to those outside of the facility.

"It's cruel." She continued. "Even if you are guilty---" Her throat constricted. She stopped speaking entirely, swallowing the building thickness that clung to the walls of the passageway to her lungs. 

His head fell against his hand, the same sweat that pasted indigo locks to his forehead slicking his skin. There was nothing he could say to convince her of his innocence. Look at him, he was behind bars awaiting the final decision on whether he was to be given divine punishment or made to rot within solitude. Look at him, what a mess he was now. "It's nothing I can't handle." His jaw tightened, teeth gritting as he thought of how ridiculous he must sound.

Her nails began to bite into soft flesh of her forearm as her grip tightened once again. "It's not right."

She had finally been able to come see him, finally. The large sunglasses used to shield much of her face had been pushed up atop her head, taking cardinal bangs with them in the process. Tentative fingers rested against the hard black plastic of the phone she would need in order to speak with him, coiling and uncoiling as she waited patiently for the officers to escort him to his stall. As it stood, she still couldn't bring herself to convict or pardon him. She'd been teeter-tottering for quite some time been resentment and denial since he'd been taken into custody. 

The Jellal she knew would never have been capable of such a cruel, intentless crime. Even knowing that, all evidence pointed directly to him. He requested a polygraph again and again, somehow maintaining his professionalism up until the very moment they convicted him. His prints were on the gun and no one could prove his alibi. That was it, it was all over. 

The inhalation of breath had been halted the sword penetrating the column of her throat, or so that's how it felt. Eyes which had at one point been so eager to see the familiar face of her once upon a time could not believe what they had consumed as Jellal, her Jellal, was ushered around the corner. Her mouth fell open of its own accord, phone clattering against the cool stainless steel surface that her clothed elbows were resting upon. 

If not for his all too identifiable mess of tousled indigo hair, he would have been completely unrecognizable. His throat and chin were painted a revolting mix of yellow and a purple so dark it could easily be mistaken for black, the shape of hands entirely too easy to make out. The carnage stretched beyond the beige uniform, only leading her imagination to concoct a multitude of possibilities. The bruises were hardly the worst of it. Her hands trembled, each breath she drew a painful, poisonous blade dragging down her throat. 

The better right portion of his face, left in her view, had been permanently marred, altered almost beyond recognition. Nausea stirred the acid of her stomach as greedy eyes drank in the vision of his skin, still peeling in evident irritation to the cruel punishment he'd been dealt in some unidentifiable pattern stretching from his forehead just below his eye. It looked as though the pattern had been carved into his flesh, still a cocktail of pink and bleeding red from insufficient tending to his wounds. A brand, and hardly a new development.

Even in her cruelest nightmares she couldn't have dreamed up this scenario.

"This is unacceptable." A trembling whisper permeating the oxygen, inhaled again as soon as it was exhaled. 

Downcast hazel shifted upward, catching her dreadful gaze. Despite her shocked and appalled expression, he dared to give her a smile dripping with reassurance. Her Earth shattered, trembling hands finding their way to the steel desk as she stood with enough force to send her chair toppling backwards. "This is unacceptable!" She had come completely unhinged,  her scream forged of anguish and complete outrage. "Unacceptable!" 

The guards' warnings fell on deaf ears as she slammed her fists against the thick, soundproofed pane of glass separating her from the inmates. An officer rushed to restrain her, met only with unsheathed fury as she continued to scream, "What have you done to this man? What have you done to him?!"

She watched Jellal breathlessly plead with her beyond the glass, chained wrists reaching in her direction as he begged her to stop. That gesture alone was enough for the guards to subdue him, one using an arm to bar his throat and choke him. Her struggle only worsened, her screams becoming more shrill, more vile, more threatening. She watched as he allowed the officers to tackle him, knees shoved forcefully into his stomach and a fist colliding with his jaw. He refused to fight back, which only proved to make her even more enraged.

"How is your face healing?" Her grip tightened around her phone as she asked, desperately wishing she could see for herself. After her previous visit, in which she assaulted and knocked quite a few guards unconscious, she had been forbidden to see him again. If she so much as set foot on the property, she would immediately be arrested for assault and battery, not to mention trespassing and obstruction of justice. 

His sigh did not go unnoticed. "It is no longer sensitive to touch." Though he might have wished to provide her with something more assuring than that, he'd never been good at lying. The irony in that was astonishing, but the sentiment was true nonetheless.

Her jaw tightened. "I suppose it can't be helped."

"Please, enough about me. Tell me about you, about school." He would rather listen. Hearing her voice was the only thing he had to look forward to. He only hoped that she would continue to call him a little while longer, although he couldn't help but feel selfish for that desire. 

She hesitated a moment, wishing to hear more from him before he shifted the topic of conversation. Despite herself, she would give in to his request. "Well, I got the results for my final exams."

"Top marks, I'm sure." He chuckled, resting his forehead against the arm he had propped against the wall above the phone. 

His laughter had always come as a consolation, especially now when it was so sparse. "I felt like I could've scored a few more points on my Biochemistry exam, but I suppose I have no room to complain."

He could hear the smile in her voice, hear her pride shining through her words. "Well, you know I have always been quite the fan of your accomplishments, Erza."

Their conversation carried on for a bit longer, each allowing the other a bit of lighthearted company despite the condition in which they were speaking. He loved to hear about school; he had always had quite the passion for learning. He supposed that was just another privilege he'd never be able to indulge in again. Even so, hearing even the most minute details of her day never ceased to bring him a smile.

"Jellal—" Erza called his attention abruptly after a brief moment of silence.

"Hm?" 

"You know I have plans to enter the criminal justice system after graduation, right?" She sounded rather hesitant, as though she had a secret she hadn't decided to share with him yet.

"Of course, that's always been your plan." He confirmed. "What is it?"

"Nothing." She assured. "It's silly anyway, I just—I just want to do a bit of my own investigation regarding ... Simon. With your blessing, of course."

[vegas-glitz]

How to Get Rich III - 20 Resources of Passive Money, Section 1

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Money is king!

This aphorism from genuine estate investing completely describes the minimal recognised approach the prosperous truly use to accumulate tens of millions of dollars. This report reveals 20 sources of passive revenue. Place any or all of these sources into position and sit back and view the bucks roll on with no (or pretty very little) even further exertion on your component.

If you truly want to get abundant and reside a existence of luxury, then you have to grasp the means of producing dollars circulation from passive earnings resources. Without the need of this capability, your money will be constrained to traditional strategies of producing income, such as operating. Operating will never free you from owning to get the job done. You should do one thing diverse than working in get to obtain the earnings you require to dwell the life-style you need. Passive money is the important.

Prior to you commence any expenditure program, the 1st rule is to seek the advice of with a qualified expense advisor. By conversing more than your strategy and thinking about possibilities you may well not have viewed as, you will guard your funds to the finest diploma and enable shield it from probable decline whiule multiplying your return.

This post will not contemplate the charge of entry to any expense nor will we appear at charges of return. These will fluctuate - possibly each 12 months or even above the class of a yr-based on the economic climate, problems established by the SEC and other regulatory bodies and the IRS. This write-up will contemplate only the 20 doable resources of passive income you will will need to conduct even further analysis to decide if any expenditure is appropriate for you.

1. ETF's - Exchange Traded Money - This is a fund that tracks the general performance of an index such as the Dow Jones or Normal and Weak 500, a basket of assets or a commodity. Buying and selling in the identical method as a inventory, its rate will differ according to the times buying and selling requires. Gains of owning an ETF contain the skill to obtain brief, buy on margin and to acquire as small as one share. Expenditure ratios are typically reduced than mutual cash. A common ETF is named a spider - SPDR - and tracks the S&P 500 index. Appear for the symbol SPY to study or to acquire.

2. REIT - True Estate Investment Have faith in - Just one of my preferred investments mainly because you very own a portion of the serious estate (or home loans) the have faith in invests in. These also trade like a stock on the exchanges. An Fairness REIT buys ownership (equity) in attributes though a Property finance loan REIT purchases the mortgages on qualities. Two key strengths to proudly owning an REIT are the tax benefits and the liquidity of the safety - you trade it just like a stock.

3. Canadian Oil and Gasoline Rely on - This is an business that invests in oil and / or gasoline manufacturing and potentially mining in Canada. Various of these are now investing on the American (US) exchanges. Order is the exact same as obtaining a inventory in any other corporation. Tax benefits are similar to all those of an REIT and a large advantage - the a person I like the most - is that some of these trusts fork out ridiculously superior dividends - and they pay out month-to-month! My assistance: do your exploration, locate a Canadian Oil and Gasoline Have faith in you like and then invest as significantly as you can.

4. MLP - Learn Limited Partnership - Want a restricted partnership that you can promote or trade as effortlessly as a inventory? Enter the Learn Constrained Partnership. These hybrid corporations element the confined liability of a partnership though enabling you to trade the partnership models - investment units - just as you would a stock. What could be greater? A MLP provides distributable cash stream as effectively as money and these conditions ought to be mastered and understood ahead of a reasoned conclusion can be created pertaining to the buy of an MLP for your financial commitment portfolio.

5. Annuities - Who has not listened to of an annuity? But do you know how they operate? Enable's retain this basic: an annuity is almost nothing much more than a agreement you sign with an insurance business that assures to pay out you a certain set amount of money of money about a period of time of time. You pay for an annuity on signing and then the insurance policy organization repays you the sum of your investment as well as the "earnings" (we'll continue to keep this straightforward and not use the complex phrase) in excess of a period of numerous (or quite a few) decades. These are usually regarded as safe steady investments ideal for a conservative portfolio.

6. Recommendations - Treasury Inflation-Guarded Securities - Offered by the US Treasury, these are securities that are indexed to the charge of inflation indicating your dividend will raise as the fee of inflation improves. A Ideas pays curiosity each 6 months and pays the principal on maturity. Also a conservative investment decision, you may well want to take into consideration these if you are hunting to preserve and secure cash from the ravages of inflation whilst furnishing a consistent and trusted cash flow, but your income may not grow at the level you would favor - but then we aren 't looking at cash appreciation in any case.

7. Dividend Having to pay Stocks - Finally we get to what is maybe the most common approach of passive income. Any one who appreciates everything about Wall Street knows that providers pay dividends to individuals who personal their inventory. Suitable? Nicely, most of the time, if it is a effectively regarded and established company. Lots of newer and lesser firms will use their revenue to increase the enterprise in its place of shelling out dividends and any company that incurs monetary problems could halt shelling out dividends. So if you are going to acquire stock to acquire the income make absolutely sure the company has a keep track of document of paying dividends. The most effective regarded American providers - frequently referred to as the "Blue Chips" are also the businesses that traditionally have paid out the most effective dividends. As with all other investments, research is necessary to seize the finest dividends and focus on all those companies with the finest possible in potential a long time.

8. Protected Phone calls - This is a passive financial commitment instrument that is usually regarded dangerous. But it is not. A coated get in touch with is promoting the choice to invest in inventory that you very own. You do not provide the inventory, you only market the choice to obtain that stock at a potential price tag and time. The individual shopping for the coated call purchases the possibility at the rate you concur upon - really at which the marketplace agrees upon - and you just set back and overlook it. Nicely, not really. The individual who has bought the option has the appropriate to acquire your inventory at any time amongst the time you offered the alternative and the expiration of that possibility. Creating (offering) a lined phone is the only alternatives financial commitment that is thought of secure plenty of by the IRS to be included in a 401K or other retirement designs. But you have to do your homework and thoroughly recognize the planet of possibilities ahead of working with this technique.

9. Real Estate - Absolutely everyone understands what actual estate is and every person appreciates - or at least is intuitively informed - that big income can be produced from authentic estate. Authentic estate supplies tax strengths as properly as the option to hugely leverage your investment - leverage remaining a variable that is confined or absent in a lot of other investments. A lot of authentic estate advisors and gurus insist that the 1 house at a time or the flipper system or fixer upper or wholesale process or other taste of the thirty day period is the complete very best way to make money in real estate. Frequently talking, keep away from all that. Producing massive money - this means enormous earnings - in true estate is possible with hugely leveraged offers which are a certainty only in business property. Many family members properties, place of work structures, retail facilities and warehouses would all constitute commercial property. Of these, the greatest technique is to make investments in numerous family members properties. The even bigger, the superior. This necessitates expertise and training much more than it necessitates funds. Cash can usually be obtained by means of your network, but understanding is the a person component that will make this passive financial commitment system do the job. And, with a major assets, the income from that 1 assets may be all you have to have to protected your retirement - right now!

10. Enterprise Possession - No, this isn't what you assume. Proudly owning a modest small business for most individuals is worse than performing 9 to 5. In your individual compact company you get caught up in the facts, seeking to make the small business go, hunting for a current market, working with buyers It rapidly will become far more than a entire-time job. That's Okay if that's what you love to do. But, what we necessarily mean listed here is setting up a business or franchise with the brief term goal of handing it off to anyone to run. The a lot quicker you can do this the improved. If you can do it from the very commencing so a great deal the greater - the additional time you cost-free for your self, the much more time you will have to get pleasure from and / or develop a lot more passive cash flow resources. A e book that will support you is The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, another is the Four Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris. Each of these publications will enable you framework your small business possession in a way that frees you from actually running the enterprise yourself - margaritas on the seaside anyone?

All of these sources demand work to set up, but after recognized, they can be structured to run hands totally free. The two publications mentioned in product 10 higher than will help you composition your passive earnings resources to be definitely arms cost-free revenue.

11. Private Lending - Non-public lending has been close to since men and women have been all over. Effectively personal lending is practically nothing additional than lending out some of your excess dollars to a honest person who wants it. This has not always been effortless or fruitful for the...particular person who has experienced revenue they required to commit. As a final result, numerous online providers are now readily available that will acknowledge your dollars and distribute it under your path to all those you really feel are experienced look for for particular person to individual lending on the important search engines to discover corporations you can use. The most important profit of personal lending is that the fascination costs are generally a great deal higher than you would attain by parking your dollars in a CD or bank.

12. Tax Liens and Notes - A primary gain of tax liens is the larger desire amount you acquire on your expense moreover the reality that your principal is backed by real estate. Be sure to be aware that you will pretty much in no way obtain the home from investing in tax deeds, liens or notes the primary advantage is the favorable curiosity charge and the protection resulting from a serious estate backed transaction. Prevent organizations that suggest you will be acquiring the property the tax instrument is from. A further profit of this variety of passive revenue is that you can make investments on-line from practically any point out in the country - be confident to evaluation Texas tax deeds, desire can be as substantial as 50% each year in some scenarios.

13. Bonds - Ok, you know about bonds - they are a conservative expenditure for aged people today and individuals frightened of the inventory market place ideal? Wrong. A bond can supply a safe and steady source of income for any one. By definition, a bond is a personal debt issued by an licensed firm - frequently a corporation, municipality or utility. A bond sells for the difficulty price tag, matures (is compensated again to you) at the principal (deal with total or nominal rate) and in amongst you collect interest that is referred to as the coupon charge. Bonds are usually purchased in the variety of mutual fund bond money. Some of these can be very beneficial with a generate exceeding that of equity money but these are generally tricky to uncover. But they are there!

14. Mutual Money (Earnings Money) - As we are only thinking about resources of passive cash flow, we are only heading to search at earnings mutual resources. These may well be called "progress and income" money or "cash flow" cash or "benefit" cash. Approximately each individual mutual fund family members will have their very own established of revenue or progress and revenue resources. Morningstar and other companies offer 3rd bash rankings that you can use to determine the most secure and highest paying out cash flow cash. Commit sensibly and normally seek the advice of a competent financial investment advisor prior to investing. Mutual cash are also demanded to send you a prospectus (a formal disclosure of the resources objectives and functioning suggestions) for your critique in advance of you can invest. Overview the prospectus carefully and talk to with your economic advisor for terminology you may not realize.

15. T-Costs, T-Bonds & T-Notes - Treasury Bills, Treasury Bonds and Treasury Notes - Considered to be the most secure of all investments mainly because they are issued by the United States Treasury Section, these motor vehicles are also amid the cheapest yielding . But you sacrifice produce for security each time you devote. T-Expenditures, Bonds and Notes are most frequently acquired via your bank, broker or they may well be bought directly from the US Treasury Section by means of their Treasury Immediate on the web service. Although you will not receive a higher rate of return, the security of your financial investment can not be any increased than it is with these investments.

16. Device Expenditure Rely on - A Device Financial investment Believe in is a person of 3 distinct forms of investment decision organizations, the many others remaining a shut conclude fund and the familiar mutual fund. UIT's provide securities in the sort of "models" that signify a device of their investment decision portfolio. This portfolio is usually an unmanaged portfolio consisting of stocks and bonds. Units are commonly marketed in quantities of $ 1,000 and buyers or "device holders" get dividends from the units they keep. A exclusive attribute of a UIT is its termination day. Compared with most other organizations and investment company corporations, which exist in perpetuity, a UIT has a outlined termination date which is set upon inception. When this day arrives the UIT is terminated and the property held are offered. The proceeds from this sale are then distributed to the device holders.

17. Preferred Stock - A Most well-liked Inventory is a protection issued by a corporation that commonly features a precise dividend level. Preferred stock normally does not have voting legal rights apart from often in remarkable functions. Chosen inventory also receives priority more than popular inventory holders when dividends are dispersed - preferred inventory holders should be paid first. And chosen stock holders also obtain desire if the organization is ever dissolved. Your amount of return with most well-liked stock could not be high, but the protection of your investment decision is greater than with additional dangerous investments.

18. Company Backed Rely on Securities (CABCO) - Also identified as Corporate Asset-Backed Securities, these investments are issued by companies and are based on a pool of underlying assets. The dollars stream from these assets give the dividend payments created to the holders of the security. The asset pool can consist of nearly any style of asset which presents a dollars stream. Usually marketed initially to a market place maker kind business this sort of as an financial commitment lender, these securities may well be resold to the typical community by the broker. Get hold of your broker for far more facts on these styles of investments.

19. Songs Publishing - You don't know about new music publishing? The artist may well get the glory (and normally the funds) but the publisher Usually will get the income. If you individual the rights to a tune or sheet new music you are the publisher and you get paid out every time that track is performed or done in general public. While the current price is only 8 cents (US) per "efficiency" think of all the radio stations, bars and golf equipment in the country where by your music may well be being performed appropriate now. Sure, bars and restaurants will have to pay out you each time your track is played in their establishment. You don't have to stress about likely all over to each bar, hotel foyer or elevator or cafe (Additional sites!) In the nation to obtain your 8 cents - this is handled by any one (or some mix) of just 3 organizations which rather significantly take care of all songs all over the entire world - ASCAP, BMI and for the internet SoundExchange. Indeed, you do need to have to register with these organizations so they know where to ship your checks, but this can be a pretty rewarding resource of passive income.

20. Copyrights, Patents and Licenses - If you are an creator you get compensated just about every time a e-book of yours is offered. Okay, this is obvious, but you can also republish public domain substance beneath a new copyright if you improve it by at the very least 20% or insert at least 20% a lot more product to it. The straightforward aspect (some would say not easy) is the producing of the reserve by itself. The tricky component is getting other people today to obtain it, that requires marketing and advertising which is over and above the scope of this post, but if you can get a bestseller on your palms, the royalties (payments you get from becoming the copyright holder) acquired can be very substantial.

A patent is an innovation (method) or invention (detail). You get compensated when the product represented by the patent is made use of or bought by some other business or the general public. The patent safeguards your suitable to distinctive possession of that process or invention for a selected sum of time.

A license is also doable to market to the sector. What if you know a distinct process or treatment that no a single else does? Can you offer this expertise? Yes, you can. And the way to do it is to license an organization to use your knowledge in the type of a course of action or procedure. Check out out inventright.com for a guidebook on how to do this.

Bonus

21. Motion picture & Other Obscure Investments - We reside in a dynamic planet and there will usually be expenditure autos remaining conceived for a need. Also, far more obscure investments are offered but normally are mysterious exterior of their unique market. Motion picture investments are one of these. Videos normally will need financiers completely ready to fund the manufacturing of the film undertaking. When the film is released to the general public and commences to make money the financiers get their money and return on investment decision. This can be a fantastic way to make a lot of funds if you again a blockbuster or a good way to lose a large amount of dollars - search at how quite a few flicks do poorly. Do not invest in this vehicle except you are an business insider.

Other obscure investments incorporate exploration funding, water rights, coal leases, minimal partnerships, commercials and business funding (indeed, television set commercials and infomercials), receivables financing, athletics group possession, and many others, etcetera, and so on. If you have an interest in investing in any of these areas you need to uncover anyone with great understanding of the area and with a great keep track of in investing in that business. Check with with them intensely allowing them to guideline your financial investment decisions. Generally, the very best policy is to commit only in all those parts the place you are acquainted and never ever, hardly ever spend extra than you can afford to pay for to eliminate.

Summary

Passive cash flow investing is the essential to securing money. Income is money circulation. Funds flow is king. You are unable to spend long term revenue or a projected return or an eventual fairness position you can only make investments the hard cash you have on hand right now. Also, you can't pay expenditures or get groceries or spend the mortgage loan or tax man with anything other than dollars or credit history. A projected return or equity place will not fork out right now's expenditures or set food items on the table. Funds appreciation is terrific - for tomorrow. I desire income in hand these days. The more income circulation you have coming in now, the bigger that tomorrow will be. Certain!

Source by Perry Jones

[kristinsimmons]

Can the US health care system “pull an Italy?”

by MATTHEW HOLT

There has been a ton of analysis about COVID-19 and how bad it will get. Some like Joon Yun and Jeremy Faust say the panic is worse than the disease. Others have run the infection rate numbers and predicted that the US will run out of hospital capacity in early May and in Washington state much earlier (end of March).

But there’s no doubt that in the last week or so, sentiment has changed. This week I and 45,000 of my best friends are at home, not at HIMSS in Florida. Many big gatherings like SXSW, Comic-Con and Coachella have been cancelled. Most corporations that can are asking employees to work from home. Just this morning my local school district in California called off school plays and any gatherings with more than 100 people.

Part of this is the inevitable response to the ridiculous posing of Trump. He showed up at the CDC wearing a campaign hat and declared that he was a great doctor to be because his uncle as at MIT. The Director of the CDC and later the Surgeon-General made toadying remarks about how amazing he was. And neither Pence, Azar, Carson or anyone else allegedly in charge can give a straight answer to anything.

The nation has realized that there is no help or even basic honesty coming from the Federal government. This is after the CDC screwed up the creation of basic testing kits which put the US in a situation where it just can not know the extent of the outbreak. China denied the outbreak, then had to put Wuhan and much of their economy on lockdown. Iran may be in worse shape.

Meanwhile South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have managed their outbreaks with very rapid testing, quarantining of those infected, and extremely rapid response. The US is still blundering around. Now the private sector is trying to step in as the Feds misstep again and again.

But a likely scenario is that many regions in the US will become like Northern Italy.

And the stories coming from there show what happens when the hospital system gets overwhelmed. Here is a thread from an ICU doctor. (I’ve featured a couple of tweets but read the whole thing).

2/ This is the English translation of a post of another ICU physician in Bergamo, Dr. Daniele Macchini. Read until the end "After much thought about whether and what to write about what is happening to us, I felt that silence was not responsible.

— Silvia Stringhini (@silviast9) March 9, 2020

11/ Cases are multiplying, we arrive at a rate of 15-20 admissions per day all for the same reason. The results of the swabs now come one after the other: positive, positive, positive. Suddenly the E.R. is collapsing.

— Silvia Stringhini (@silviast9) March 9, 2020

Now we have to imagine that coming here. The big question in my mind is, can the US system organize itself? The US is not China. We’re not going to be able to build new hospitals in a few days. But can we “pull an Italy”?

My huge concern is that we have very different systems. Italy has essentially a UK-style public health service. Organizationally, primary care in the community is run by independent doctors, but anyone needing specialty care is referred to specialists who are based in and work for hospitals. Note that despite having that terrible socialized medicine, Italy has more resources than we do, as ex-Harvard and now Brown Prof Ashish Jha pointed that out when tangling with a right wing idiot.

This is the "Italy's in trouble because they are have a national health system" nonsense To be clear: MDs per 1,000: Italy 4.0, USA 2.6 Hosp beds per 1,000: Italy 3.2, USA 2.8 The problem is surge of COVID19 has overwhelmed northern Italian hospitals This can happen here https://t.co/kp3IqxIbJu

— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) March 9, 2020

But think about what that means in Italy. Basically every medical resource and specialist in Italy is already in the hospitals. They already work for one organization. They have already mobilized by turning every available space and operating room into an ICU. And “there are no more surgeons, urologists, orthopedists, we are only doctors who suddenly become part of a single team”. Don’t forget that this single team is already all getting paid by one source and are basically all salaried.

One of 350 military field hospitals in use in Italy

Now think about the US. Hospitals don’t employ most of their doctors. Yes, the bigger ones have hospitalists and residents, and may contract with groups for emergency department doctors, radiologists and the like. But they are organized in a totally different way. Much of the capacity of the US system is in outpatient units such as ambulatory surgery centers and free standing urgent care centers and emergency departments.

Then there is the biggest bugaboo of the American system. Who gets paid how and who does what? Most American physicians are paid directly fee for service or working for an organization that does. They make their living stamping out medical widgets (office visits, surgeries, procedures, reading images), and they in general do it for an organization that is not a hospital. The Italian scenario would require that a huge proportion of physicians and other health professionals are going to have to change on a dime. They are going to have to go suspend their daily activities, go back into hospitals or other temporary centers, treat patients with a disease that they’ve never seen, look after themselves, and their families. And they will need to do all this without knowing how or perhaps whether they will get paid.

There’s been a lot of chatter about whether we can delay the onslaught of COVID-19 cases to enable hospital capacity to cope, and the “flattening the curve” chart has popped up frequently.

My question is, if we end up in that red zone where Italy is now and need to allocate all our resources in a similar way, who is in charge of the American health care system who can make that happen?

My fear is that the answer is no one.

Matthew Holt is the Publisher of THCB

The post Can the US health care system “pull an Italy?” appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

Can the US health care system “pull an Italy?” published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

[lauramalchowblog]

Can the US health care system “pull an Italy?”

by MATTHEW HOLT

There has been a ton of analysis about COVID-19 and how bad it will get. Some like Joon Yun and Jeremy Faust say the panic is worse than the disease. Others have run the infection rate numbers and predicted that the US will run out of hospital capacity in early May and in Washington state much earlier (end of March).

But there’s no doubt that in the last week or so, sentiment has changed. This week I and 45,000 of my best friends are at home, not at HIMSS in Florida. Many big gatherings like SXSW, Comic-Con and Cochella have been cancelled. Most corporations that can are asking employees to work from home. Just this morning my local school district in California called off school plays and any gatherings with more than 100 people.

Part of this is the inevitable response to the ridiculous posing of Trump. He showed up at the CDC wearing a campaign hat and declared that he was a great doctor to be because his uncle as at MIT. The Director of the CDC and later the Surgeon-General made toadying remarks about how amazing he was. And neither Pence, Azar, Carson or anyone else allegedly in charge can give a straight answer to anything.

The nation has realized that there is no help or even basic honesty coming from the Federal government. This is after the CDC screwed up the creation of basic testing kits which put the US in a situation where it just can not know the extent of the outbreak. China denied the outbreak, then had to put Wuhan and much of their economy on lockdown. Iran may be in worse shape.

Meanwhile South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have managed their outbreaks with very rapid testing, quarantining of those infected, and extremely rapid response. The US is still blundering around. Now the private sector is trying to step in as the Feds misstep again and again.

But a likely scenario is that many regions in the US will become like Northern Italy.

And the stories coming from there show what happens when the hospital system gets overwhelmed. Here is a thread from an ICU doctor. (I’ve featured a couple of tweets but read the whole thing).

2/ This is the English translation of a post of another ICU physician in Bergamo, Dr. Daniele Macchini. Read until the end "After much thought about whether and what to write about what is happening to us, I felt that silence was not responsible.

— Silvia Stringhini (@silviast9) March 9, 2020

11/ Cases are multiplying, we arrive at a rate of 15-20 admissions per day all for the same reason. The results of the swabs now come one after the other: positive, positive, positive. Suddenly the E.R. is collapsing.

— Silvia Stringhini (@silviast9) March 9, 2020

Now we have to imagine that coming here. The big question in my mind is, can the US system organize itself? The US is not China. We’re not going to be able to build new hospitals in a few days. But can we “pull an Italy”?

My huge concern is that we have very different systems. Italy has essentially a UK-style public health service. Organizationally, primary care in the community is run by independent doctors, but anyone needing specialty care is referred to specialists who are based in and work for hospitals. Note that despite having that terrible socialized medicine, Italy has more resources than we do, as ex-Harvard and now Brown Prof Ashish Jha pointed that out when tangling with a right wing idiot.

This is the "Italy's in trouble because they are have a national health system" nonsense To be clear: MDs per 1,000: Italy 4.0, USA 2.6 Hosp beds per 1,000: Italy 3.2, USA 2.8 The problem is surge of COVID19 has overwhelmed northern Italian hospitals This can happen here https://t.co/kp3IqxIbJu

— Ashish K. Jha (@ashishkjha) March 9, 2020

But think about what that means in Italy. Basically every medical resource and specialist in Italy is already in the hospitals. They already work for one organization. They have already mobilized by turning every available space and operating room into an ICU. And “there are no more surgeons, urologists, orthopedists, we are only doctors who suddenly become part of a single team”. Don’t forget that this single team is already all getting paid by one source and are basically all salaried.

One of 350 military field hospitals in use in Italy

Now think about the US. Hospitals don’t employ most of their doctors. Yes, the bigger ones have hospitalists and residents, and may contract with groups for emergency department doctors, radiologists and the like. But they are organized in a totally different way. Much of the capacity of the US system is in outpatient units such as ambulatory surgery centers and free standing urgent care centers and emergency departments.

Then there is the biggest bugaboo of the American system. Who gets paid how and who does what? Most American physicians are paid directly fee for service or working for an organization that does. They make their living stamping out medical widgets (office visits, surgeries, procedures, reading images), and they in general do it for an organization that is not a hospital. The Italian scenario would require that a huge proportion of physicians and other health professionals are going to have to change on a dime. They are going to have to go suspend their daily activities, go back into hospitals or other temporary centers, treat patients with a disease that they’ve never seen, look after themselves, and their families. And they will need to do all this without knowing how or perhaps whether they will get paid.

There’s been a lot of chatter about whether we can delay the onslaught of COVID-19 cases to enable hospital capacity to cope, and the “flattening the curve” chart has popped up frequently.

My question is, if we end up in that red zone where Italy is now and need to allocate all our resources in a similar way, who is in charge of the American health care system who can make that happen?

My fear is that the answer is no one.

Matthew Holt is the Publisher of THCB

The post Can the US health care system “pull an Italy?” appeared first on The Health Care Blog.

Can the US health care system “pull an Italy?” published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

[travelxbritt-blog]

10 TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE UP FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP

If you are wondering how to save big for your next trip, you’ve come to the right place.

When I ask others why they don’t travel, the answer almost all of the time is money.

Isn’t it bizarre how much power a little piece of paper has over our lives?

What if we paid closer attention to where the money is actually going?

I want to inform you that whatever travels plans you have, it’s not impossible, in fact, it’s actually incredibly doable. If you prioritize successfully, you’ll be on that trip sooner than you think. You don’t have to get into debt to travel either.

When I went on my Europe trip I noticed a pattern of friends and foes DMing me, “How are you traveling so much?” There’s no real secret. Just like you save up for a car, or for an apartment, it is the same exact way you can save to travel. Prioritize and limit spending. In this post, I’ve included everything I’ve done and still do to help me save to travel and maintain my travel lifestyle. If you are looking to learn how I started traveling, you can read about that here.

These tips and thinking processes below are exactly what helped me save 10k within 4 months.

1. PAY OFF YOUR DEBTS

Strategy # 1 Eliminate all your debts. Before you start saving, make sure you don’t owe anything. Having no debts helps you save everything for yourself. If I had debt, I would focus on paying that off before trying to save, if not, you’re technically negative and that’s not helpful. Interest can catch up if you choose to avoid this. Paying interest is never a useful way to spend your money. When I refer to paying off these debts, I’m not talking about student loans or mortgages. I’m talking about things like credit card bills and the debt you can pay off relatively fast. I don’t think anyone pays off their student loans right away so the debts I’m talking about in this passage are everyday debts.

Take action: If you have debt, come up with a game plan to get out of it. Work on this plan and stay consistent until you are back at 0 and don’t owe. Once you are at 0 you can start to save for your next trip with that extra money.

2. IDENTIFY NEEDS VS. WANTS

Before you start physically saving, you should identify what are your true needs vs wants. Need = something you need to survive, no exceptions. Some examples: food, water, shelter, minimal amount of clothing, etc. Wants = Things you don’t need but urge to have because you desire them. Some examples: cocktails, frappes, fancy clothes, eating out, etc. You don’t need any of this to survive. These are luxuries. The biggest point here is to know what you truly need (to survive) to help identify your pointless expenses. The money spent on pointless expenses is the money you could be saving. The more you cut out, the more you will save. It’s simple.

Take action: Figure out ALL of your expenses – What are your absolute life necessities? Are there any luxuries you absolutely can’t live without? Write it down somewhere so you have a mental note on how to move forward. Ask yourself before you pay for anything, is this a true need or a want? Do you really need it?

3. BECOME A MINIMALIST

Now that you’ve identified your needs vs wants, I recommend maintaining a minimal lifestyle. But first! What is minimal? Cambridge Dictionary defines minimal as – very small in amount. Maintaining a minimal lifestyle means living a very basic life. It’s living with what you need and that’s that. This prevents useless expenses and more financial burdens for you. It’s a great way to save for your next trip because you’ll limit the unnecessary expenses. It starts to become second nature after some time. If you want to keep traveling, you have to be mindful of these things.

This could be hard if you are attached to material things – but think of the bigger picture. Money in your hands or possessions? You pick. Have you ever looked at your closet and realized how much of your clothes you DON’T wear? Right, I’ve definitely been there. Now think of the people who don’t even have a shirt on their back. Right, I’ve been there too. It sucks! You are only one physical person. Trust me, there are only so many events and so many places you can wear these clothes too. Limit consumption!

Take action: Look into anything you have in excessive amounts. Stop buying whatever you have in excess. What can you sell that you have an excessive amount of? Too many clothes? Video games? Electronics? Sell it! That’s money sitting on the table if you don’t use these items. This will also help clear out your environment which will continue to promote a minimal lifestyle.

4. DON’T BE A BIG CONSUMER

Not being a big consumer goes hand in hand with minimalism. For saving purposes, don’t be a big consumer. To consume means to use, to use, you need to buy products to use. In other words, if you want to save, you will have to limit consumption. In the past, one would probably call me the ideal consumer. To think about it now, I cringe – Why was I so convinced to purchase ….. everything?! It was so ridiculous.

My point isn’t to consume anything, my point is to know the difference between your needs and wants and limit it so it doesn’t go overboard. In other words, don’t get into overspending or even worst, debt!

Take action: What can you stop buying today that will save you money? Are you buying anything that you truly can’t afford? Is there a cheaper option if you can’t live without it? Reorganizing how you will consume is a great way to save up for your next trip. This has helped me SO much in my personal life. If I don’t need it, I don’t really even have interesting in buying it.

5. BECOME PSYCHO ABOUT WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES

People have a hard time-saving. Yet, if you take a deeper look at it, it is usually careless spending. Careless spending is also when people go above their means in life.

Can you afford what you want with your salary? Should you be living in a smaller apartment? Be realistic. Should you be driving a cheaper car? The only one who will have to pay back that debt is you, so really think about your money.

Start tracking your money, every day. Every transaction, calculate it. If you pay for it, calculate it. Know where every dollar goes. I’ve found that any moment I leave to not pay attention to my finances, it can get messy – quick. If we want to be on top of our finances, we have to pay attention to everything financially related.

Take action: Track your statements to the T. Having this knowledge and organization of your finances helps you save for your trips and to save overall. Know what your spending on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. This way when you log into online banking you don’t gasp and have a heart attack when you look at your balance. You know what to expect and understand your statements.

6. WORK MORE/GET A SIDE HUSTLE

If you need more money, you’ll have to work for it somehow, someway. Can you work extra hours at your current job? If not, get a side hustle. You can be a server at a restaurant, maybe do something online, the options are endless.

The side hustles I did to save for my travels were bartend, promote brands, and be a brand ambassador. There are LOADS of Brand Ambassading and Promotion companies out there. Companies hire all the time, there are always events and people are always needed. I’m signed up with countless promotional agencies. The favorites that I would highly recommend are TEAM, Beacon Brand Solutions, and Next Level Marketing. These companies pay 20-50$ per hour, depending on the event. It is an easy peasy lemon squeezy way to make a quick $100-150 a day, which adds up quickly over time.

Disclaimer: Please note, promotion and BA work is not really consistent work. Meaning you won’t really be able to turn into a full-time income. I have tried this once and it’s not worth the energy. To do so, you’ll have to sign up for a million agencies. In my honest opinion, it’s more exhausting getting contracted to do this type of work than it is doing the job. These options are a side hustle, definitely make it your extra income, not the 9-5 replacement.

Take action: Look into whatever other side gigs interest you. Apply, start working, start saving!

7. EAT OUT LESS AND COOK MORE –

Restaurants mark up food at insane rates. How else would they make a profit? Start cooking and eating more at home. A lot of people have food as a huge expense in their life. Being mindful of this will help you save for a trip by not paying for overpriced food.

How to compromise:

Eating out with friends is a social activity. Sometimes it’s hard to turn down that dinner invite to save a few dollars. I get it! But some options for the whole crew to save are -why not have a potluck at a friend’s house or go to a friend’s house to cook together? It’s fun and intimate. (you won’t have to shout at your friends across the table to hear them like in a restaurant.)

If you’re absolutely not budging and have to eat out, here are some tricks to save while dining out:

Always avoid the extras i.e cocktails and desserts.

Use eating out with friends to your advantage. I.e Split something! In America, a lot of the portions are inappropriately huge. Odds are it’ll probably be a lot of food and you won’t end up finishing all of it.

If you want to see price ranges so there are no surprises when you get there, try to look online for the menu. Most restaurants have a preview. The price isn’t always there but it’s worth a try.

8. LIMIT ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Those 7 drinks you had on Saturday, yeah it adds up. Your average bar in NYC charges $7-17 dollars for cocktails. Multiply that by 7 thats a whopping $49-$119! Just on alcohol. This is not including if you’re eating out too. Going out for the sole purpose of drinking adds up, too quick. It is an expense.

How to compromise –

Pregame! I’m not saying to not go out, I’m saying to go out smarter. Usually, on a big night out, my friends and I meet up at someone’s house before the event to have a few drinks. A 6 pack of beer at most liquor stores is about $10-15. Compare this to a bar in NYC, it will probably be about $5-7 for one beer. Not only does this help you save for your next trip, but it also helps you avoid the crowd that’s always hovering over the bar. Odds are, by the time you get to the place, you won’t need any more booze. You’ll be set!

9. LIMIT CAR SERVICE AND TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION –

Ah, yes. Uber everywhere. Until you look at your bank account and say I spent how much? to go where?! Think again. For the most part, when I was hopping around in NYC, I’d pull up Google maps to see my time to my destination. Not even joking, 75% of the time it took the same exact time to go in an uber than to ride a subway. Who wants to ride the subway? Absolutely no one, especially in NYC! But! Who wants to pay extra overhead charges just to sit in traffic? Think ahead.

How to compromise –

Use public transportation. You can’t compare $3.00 for subway fare to $30 for one uber ride. That’s a 10x mark-up. Be smart about using a car service. If you really have to use it, make it a one-off occasion. Not your daily habit. Or better yet, when you do take car service, try to split the fare amongst friends. It will help you save for your next trip big time.

10. STOP BUYING COFFEE BEFORE WORK

Mm, coffee. It’s a luxury sometimes, isn’t it? Whether you think it is or it isn’t, it’s money being spent buying it daily.

Let’s say your coffee go-to place is Starbucks. For your usual order, you get a frappe that’s $4-5 dollars. 5 x 30 (days of the month) = 120, 120 x 12 (months of the year) = $1,440 a year. That’s just on coffee, imagine if you get a pastry or something else.

This will not help us save up for a trip. Overpriced and a perfect example of another unnecessary expense. Your job probably provides free coffee. Utilize it! If you don’t like the blend, buy your own or bring your own from home. If you work from home, buy a coffee maker and make your own. A very simple solution that will save you over $1,000 a year.

**Bonus pointer – If you are not sure how much money to save for your next trip, having an idea of your destination helps a lot. Figure out what a daily rate would be to visit this destination. You can even try to come up with an itinerary so you know what a good ballpark is. Always have more money saved to visit a destination than less. This way you have more flexibility and aren’t on such a tight budget.

Aaaaaand that’s a wrap! I genuinely hope you found these tips useful. Adopting this mindset is what helped me save 10k in 4 months for my travels in 2017. Nobody pays for my travels, but me. No rich parents, no credit cards, no rich man, just my hard-earned money. If you really want to go on a big trip, save and you can make it happen. We prioritize to spend on a new laptop, a new camera, travel is no different. There’s no hidden secret or unattainable tricks but work, save and pay attention to where the money’s going.

Once you’re on the road enjoy your travels, you’ve worked hard for this! Enjoy your travels, your way!

Happy traveling my friends!

XO,

Britt