#Best Mega Cap US Stocks | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

crystalelemental · 1 year ago

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Scout Value - Halloween Spotlight Scout

Time for my yearly propaganda about how Halloween Caitlin is actually the best! Hey kids, you like 0.33% odds?! Then boy do we have a spotlight for you! All the previous Halloween alts crammed in one! This is a terrible value, do not let me deceive you in this way, but also listen to me about Caitlin.

Halloween Acerola Let's start with the poster child for "Seasonal alts should get grid expansions now." Acerola is bad. Ghost Tech, decent enough nuke, but not exactly strong with it. Her focus is confusion, she's got pretty poor DPS and no real MPR on her limited traits, it's an entire mess. I'm still so tempted to get it. I don't know why, I've come around to not even liking Acerola all that much, and I've never been as attached to Mimikyu as others, so I couldn't even say what draws me in. I think it's my tendency to champion garbage.

Halloween Hilbert Hilbert spent a long time being talked about as one of the best Dark pairs. When I started around second anniversary, he was still considered respectable. Now he is laughable. If you need Dark, go get Akari, that'll fix it. Hilbert just has so much trouble with survival. Even with 2/5, the recoil is so severe that he tends to knock himself out before you want him to. And if you needed high DPS with recoil, BP Karen can do that by now. I don't respect H!Hilbert.

Halloween Morty Morty's one of those pairs I really wish were better. Spread burn, potential debuffs to attack per hit, infinite MP replenishment. Morty has actual skills. But. Morty's damage is also pretty bad, and his support as a Tech doesn't offer enough to really compete. Burn is still a fairly middling status, to the point I consider it worst in the game. And just attack debuffs, single-target even, does not cut it. He's fairly disappointing overall, which is sad because Mega Banette is so cool.

Halloween Caitlin "Oh boy, I can't wait to get Poison Zone, or maybe Ghost Rebuff!" No shut up you're getting Caitlin. Okay look, I'm biased, Caitlin is my favorite character, and this alt is my everything. But listen. She's actually exceptional, and over time, the value of Caitlin Stocks has only gone up.

Initially, Caitlin was considered a niche pick, because she couldn't buff crit, in the era of "crit is the most important stat." Instead, she only buffed every other relevant stat for a physical attacker, down to the accuracy. The compression of Atk/Spd/Acc on one button is especially tremendous. As the meta shifted, and grid expansions came about, and suddenly everything up to Lodge units could cap crit at the push of a button, suddenly Caitlin finds herself in a hilarious position, as a pair able to boost everything else they could want. With fairly respectable defenses, a metric ton of shields on mega evolution, built-in Vigilance, and options like Stalwart/Unbending, Caitlin has been a long-time staple of teambuilding for me. I will acknowledge yes, she's not a top dog at this point. Especially with SS Acerola and Argenta running around and supplying constant PMUN stacks. But the Atk/Spd combo on the same button is still, somehow, a rare trait. And accuracy buffing remains exceptionally rare. Caitlin offers a metric ton, and has always been severely underrated as a threat.

Halloween Allister Comparatively, I will shit on this kid all day. "But Ghost rebuffs-" no listen to me. Ghost types tend to be slow. Agatha, Shauntal, and SS Korrina are the only exceptions. Allister is slow as dirt. He compounds the issues within the type, and his value outside of Ghost types is being a kind of okay physical wall. He dishonors the Gourgeist name. Allister sucks, I use him sometimes for Gauntlet because 3/5 Allister can paralyze, but I do not respect him in the slightest.

Halloween Iris Iris, as a Poison type with DPS and a Zone, should stand out as a pick. Unfortunately, Iris is pretty poor as a Zone setter, and a nuke. Iris struggles to achieve her nuke independently due to slow debuffing that requires a specific grid node that's hard to afford around her damage nodes. And at present, all of the top Poison damage meta is physical. Her best special partners are Petrel, who few will have, and Drasna, who isn't even Poison. As a result, Iris is...fairly poor at present. I was really banking on Lusamine/Nihilego this year, it would've been the perfect complement, but instead...nothing. To be honest, Oleana is a better team supporter for damage thanks to her AoE rebuff and physical designation than Iris is. Which is. Sad.

Final Thoughts Get Caitlin. I say this shit every year, but if you're looking at this, get Caitlin. She is so goddamn good. Halloween, as a whole, tends to be fairly...middling. Like, even the picks from last year aged like milk. Morty doesn't get to do much, and Acerola and Hilbert are effectively without value in the modern meta. Only Caitlin has withstood the test of time, and if I'm being honest? I don't expect Phoebe or Roxanne to do better. Phoebe's already walking the same "niche support that doesn't do enough" line that many other seasonals have, while Roxanne has a strong nuke, but pretty poor DPS and slow buffing/debuffing support for a team. Even her Topsy Turvy effect is locked to sync, and thus a lot more difficult to manage. Caitlin is the supreme Halloween unit. The one that withstood the curse. And I think she should be rewarded for that. Maybe with your credit card information. So she can buy more costumed alts for herself.

#scout value #pokemon masters #halloween caitlin #halloween allister #halloween iris #halloween morty #halloween hilbert #halloween acerola

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dankusner · 3 months ago

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A SHORT HISTORY OF THE THONG

FASHION

The evolution of the Y-shaped form known as a thong spans an inspired reversal of function:

from a cord used to yoke shoes to foct, to the solitary strip meant to liberate the ass, the latter usage made popelar after Austrian-American fashion designer Rudi Gemeeich reinvented the minimalist garment in 1974.

Nearly four centuries prior, William Shakespeare anticipases this tum from adherence to emancipation — a horse, in his play Venus and Adonis, inspired by a passing mare's beauty, throws off his thong. this time a riding crop delivering bondage, to give his backside free rein:

Throwing the base thong from his bending crest,

Enfranchising his mouth, his back, his breast.

"Free your mind… and your ass will follow,"

Funkadelic preached with the title of their second album.

It's good advice - though I've yet to take it.

The only thong I've ever owned was given to me by my high school best friend Kim; i

t was nod crushed velvet and meant to resemble Santa Claus's stocking cap turned upsidedown,complete with a white puffball dangling at the sac's end.

I never put the thong on, not even to see what my ass would look like in its frame or how free my mind would feel, still too closeted a boy to know about the pleasure of placing the thong's strip between my cheeks.

This feature, originally a part of the jockstrap, a garment since rodesigned for maximal access, in the said holiday-themed underpant, suggestod a rude impodiment to Santa's passage down the chimney, albeit a flimsy one.

But this was the early aughts, just after Sisqo's infamous stutter -thong-th-abong-thong-thong - which in retrospect seemed to articulate my shy refusal to don the gift, had ushered in the thong's ubiquity.

The mega-hit's video finds the Spring Break bardo in a ncar trance, fixatod on a rump so unfettered by the thong that the ass becomes one with the beat — da na da na, baby, make your boory go. da na da na - as if this thin sliver of a garment were all we ever sooded to frame the feeling of pare immerchee A docade after Gomecich introduced his tits-out mosokini, a garmett condemeed by boch the Vatican and the Soviet Union during the post- sexual revolucion '20s, the designer invented the thong as a oc-piece swimsuit for all gcoders.Thegoalwastogetascloseaspossible to public nudity while still aboding by the city ofLosAngeles'sbanagainstnudesunbathing- Gemreich's intcrest in "unisex" fashion was notaninvitationforwomentodressmoce like men. but for men to retum to dressing well. In its later sartorial iterations, the thong went from revelation (exposing as much skin as possible to sunlight) to obfuscation (spuring celookers evidence of a pantylise) to suggestion (as in the whale tail, remind- ing us there's an ass under even the thickest denim). Some eschew the thong, especially the notorious G-string, for medical reasons. though scientific trials have vindicated fash- ion's butt floss from socusations that it senves as a back-to-front vehicle for either bacterial or fungal transport. And yet others continue to wait patiently for an option where comfort and stimulation might find better alignment: "Imk," a friend recently asked of me, "if you find out about a contemporary thong that doesn't cut off clitoral circulation (and sorry for the tmi!!!)." The thong is an ideal garment for maintain- ing contradiction: for hiding the cosmos of one's genitals while letting it all hang out; a loosening of the reins that Icads to sensuous repurposing. The thong asks us to imagine cuming, felly, to a state of nature. Personally, 1 like picturing the disaffected young men of Aurelio Guo's book-length poem NYT (Gauss PDF 2018), those Loser sons of successful fathers / Drinking coca cola from a plastic bottle in the grey sand in a black thong." Those who aspire to be winners instead might opt for a bright color, the better to attract the attention of the hottest horse.

TEXT BY SHIV KOTECHA PHOTOGRAPHY BY ABI BENITEZ DAVID WEARS THONG BY SYS COMPANY.

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ontauthority · 8 months ago

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Some of The Best Stocks Ideas for Swing Trading at This Point in Time

Best Stocks Ideas - Best Stocks for Swing Trading Considerations:

Big Tech - Giants like AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOG see sizable swings on macro news and earnings. Being mega-cap, they move markets and offer reliable liquidity for entries/exits. Semiconductors - Volatile yet vital sector tightly correlated to economic cycles. Swing trade industry bellwethers like INTC, AMD, QCOM, AVGO amid geopolitical tensions and order trends. Biotech - Huge reward potential but also risk. Filter clinical-stage companies with meaningful upcoming catalysts. Focus on market leaders with large target markets/partnerships to limit binary outcomes. Energy - Oil, gas and renewable names swing widely on geopolitical turmoil, supply/demand shifts. Monitor USO/XLE for faster plays or individual stocks like XOM, CVX, DVN, ET. Banks - Regional banks such as JPM, BAC, C, WFC surge when rates permit steeper yield curves. Carefully time plays around monetary policy assumptions. Retail - Large brick & mortar and e-commerce retailers like TGT, WMT, COST, BABA, AMZN swing 5-15% regularly based on spending patterns and same store sales. Industrials - Cyclical sectors like CAT, HON, BA, UNP, LMT correlate tightly to macro and trade policy drivers with jumbo swings around news. Of course, always study volume, fundamentals and sector dynamics thoroughly before exposing capital in any name. I focus on reliable swing patterns, patience and scaling appropriately for low risk, high probability outcomes. The goal - smooth, compounding growth no matter what happens day to day. Contact us if you require any clarification or have additional swing trading questions! See more info here: https://onlinetradingauthority.com/swing-trading/ Read the full article

#BestStocksforSwingTrading #BestStocksIdeasforSwingTrading

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linkljdf · 2 years ago

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The USD is what I’d call the stress barometer of the Nobody Is Perfect But If You Can Play Bass Guitar You’re Pretty Close 2023 Shirt, and a breakout to the upside is indicative of the stress in the system. Note that this makes sense because when the Fed tapers from bond buying, they are essentially strengthening the dollar. The S&P 500 index is trading at all-time highs because the large and mega-cap names are holding it up, but there is a lot of subsequent carnage (and increasingly so), which is a classic sign we’ve topped off in the market. The M2 money supply peaked in February of 2021, which coincided with the top in the most speculative parts of the market, including SPACs and Cathie Wood’s ARKK. Well, the truth is, the companies whose stocks have overrun have gotten so large in market cap that it’d take them years for them to grow into their respective valuations, so either these companies grow at a much faster pace, which is unlikely, to “catch up” to their stock prices, or their stock prices will have to come down to Earth

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obal_tab">HOW DOES SHIPPING WORK?</a></li></ul><div class="tab-panels"><div aria-labelledby="tab-title-description" class="woocommerce-Tabs-panel woocommerce-Tabs-panel--description panel entry-content active" id="tab-description" role="tabpanel"><div class="pxg_thanks_reader"> </div></div></div>Homepage: <a href="https://limotees.com/shop/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">limotees </a>   <a href="https://jeeppremium.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">jeeppremium</a>  <a href="https://telotee.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">telotee</a>Gearbloom is your one-stop online shop for printed t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases, stickers, posters, mugs, and more…High quality original T-shirts. Digital printing in the USA.Worldwide shipping. No Minimums. 1000s of Unique Designs. Worldwide shipping. Fast Delivery. 100% Quality Guarantee. to cover all your needs.By contacting directly with suppliers, we are dedicated to provide you with the latest fashion with fair price.We redefine trends, design excellence and bring exceptional quality to satisfy the needs of every aspiring fashionista.WHAT IS OUR MISSION?<a href="https://gearbloom.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gearbloom</a> is established with a clear vision: to provide the very latest products with compelling designs, exceptional value and superb customer service for everyone.We offer a select choice of millions of Unique Designs for T-shirts, Hoodies, Mugs, Posters and more to cover all your needs.WHY SHOP WITH US?Why do customers come toWell we think there are a few reasons:<ol><li>BEST PRICING</li></ol>Fashion field involves the best minds to carefully craft the design. The t-shirt industry is a very competitive field and involves many risks. The cost per t-shirt varies proportionally to the total quantity of t-shirts. We are manufacturing exceptional-quality t-shirts at a very competitive price.<ol start="2"><li>PRINT QUALITY DIFFERENCE</li></ol>We use only the best DTG printers available to produce the finest-quality images possible that won’t wash out of the shirts.<ol start="3"><li>DELIVERY IS VERY FAST</li></ol>Estimated shipping times:United States : 1-5 business daysCanada : 3-7 business daysInternational : from 1-2 weeks depending on proximity to Detroit, MI.<ol start="4"><li>CUSTOM AND PERSONALIZED ORDERS</li></ol>Custom orders are always welcome. We can customize all of our designs to your needs! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.<ol start="5"><li>PAYMENT DO WE ACCEPT?</li></ol>We currently accept the following forms of payment:Credit Or Debit Cards: We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB, Union Pay and Apple Pay from customers worldwide.PayPal: PayPal allows members to have a personal account linked to any bank account or credit card for easy payment at checkout.

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Gearbloom is your one-stop online shop for printed t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases, stickers, posters, mugs, and more…High quality original T-shirts. Digital printing in the USA.

Worldwide shipping. No Minimums. 1000s of Unique Designs. Worldwide shipping. Fast Delivery. 100% Quality Guarantee. to cover all your needs.

By contacting directly with suppliers, we are dedicated to provide you with the latest fashion with fair price.We redefine trends, design excellence and bring exceptional quality to satisfy the needs of every aspiring fashionista.

WHAT IS OUR MISSION?

Gearbloom is established with a clear vision: to provide the very latest products with compelling designs, exceptional value and superb customer service for everyone.

We offer a select choice of millions of Unique Designs for T-shirts, Hoodies, Mugs, Posters and more to cover all your needs.

WHY SHOP WITH US?

Why do customers come to

Well we think there are a few reasons:

BEST PRICING

Fashion field involves the best minds to carefully craft the design. The t-shirt industry is a very competitive field and involves many risks. The cost per t-shirt varies proportionally to the total quantity of t-shirts. We are manufacturing exceptional-quality t-shirts at a very competitive price.

PRINT QUALITY DIFFERENCE

We use only the best DTG printers available to produce the finest-quality images possible that won’t wash out of the shirts.

DELIVERY IS VERY FAST

Estimated shipping times:

United States : 1-5 business days

Canada : 3-7 business days

International : from 1-2 weeks depending on proximity to Detroit, MI.

CUSTOM AND PERSONALIZED ORDERS

Custom orders are always welcome. We can customize all of our designs to your needs! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

PAYMENT DO WE ACCEPT?

We currently accept the following forms of payment:

Credit Or Debit Cards: We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB, Union Pay and Apple Pay from customers worldwide.

PayPal: PayPal allows members to have a personal account linked to any bank account or credit card for easy payment at checkout.

ney supply peaked in February of 2021, which coincided with the top in the most speculative parts of the market, including SPACs and Cathie Wood’s ARKK. Well, the truth is, the companies whose stocks have overrun have gotten so large in market cap that it’d t

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Homepage: limotees jeeppremium telotee

Gearbloom is your one-stop online shop for printed t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases, stickers, posters, mugs, and more…High quality original T-shirts. Digital printing in the USA.

Worldwide shipping. No Minimums. 1000s of Unique Designs. Worldwide shipping. Fast Delivery. 100% Quality Guarantee. to cover all your needs.

WHAT IS OUR MISSION?

Gearbloom is established with a clear vision: to provide the very latest products with compelling designs, exceptional value and superb customer service for everyone.

We offer a select choice of millions of Unique Designs for T-shirts, Hoodies, Mugs, Posters and more to cover all your needs.

WHY SHOP WITH US?

Why do customers come to

Well we think there are a few reasons:

BEST PRICING

PRINT QUALITY DIFFERENCE

We use only the best DTG printers available to produce the finest-quality images possible that won’t wash out of the shirts.

DELIVERY IS VERY FAST

Estimated shipping times:

United States : 1-5 business days

Canada : 3-7 business days

International : from 1-2 weeks depending on proximity to Detroit, MI.

CUSTOM AND PERSONALIZED ORDERS

Custom orders are always welcome. We can customize all of our designs to your needs! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

PAYMENT DO WE ACCEPT?

We currently accept the following forms of payment:

Credit Or Debit Cards: We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB, Union Pay and Apple Pay from customers worldwide.

PayPal: PayPal allows members to have a personal account linked to any bank account or credit card for easy payment at checkout.

ake them years for them to grow into their respective valuations, so either these companies grow at a much faster pace, which is unlikely, to “catch up” to their stock prices, or their stock prices will have to come down to Earth

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longtammw · 2 years ago

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The Voice Of Reason Tucker Carlson 20 Shirt

The Voice Of Reason Tucker Carlson 20 Shirt?share=linkedin&nb=1

period, which is a Women fear me fish fear me men turn their eyes away from me as I walk no beast dare makes a sound in my presence I am alone on this barren earth shirt for both them and you. Consider placing sticky banners at the top of your store and other alerts around your site alerting customers to the period where orders could be delayed. You could also add a line to any outgoing customer emails. If you’d rather keep the Chinese origin of your products a secret simply mention the dates of possible delays without going into specifics or mentioning the holiday. Most customers will assume you have a good reason for the delay and, assuming the rest of your customer service is stellar, will simply accept the situation. During the holiday make sure you’re open and honest about shipping delays. Keep this information visible around your site. And consider sending out an email stressing delays again for each order that comes in during the holiday. There will certainly be some customers that are going to get upset, but with good, open, and timely communication you can avoid angering most of your customers.

Buy It NOw: .The Voice Of Reason Tucker Carlson 20 Shirt

I’m A Concrete Finisher I Don’t Stop When I’m Tired I Stop When I’m Done Shirt

The Great maga king Ultra Maga T Shirt B0B1BQ8RHK

This is my official brock purdy shirt

Official goo Goo Dolls Big Night Out Tour shirt

It will always be new york or nowhere shirt

. As I mentioned before, this is why it’s possible for Tyler greever Jeff greg brian oscar shirt to beat Q3 2021 guidance and still have their stocks go down the toilet. It’s no surprise that the companies which are more speculative (with no revenues and cash flow to back up their valuations) get destroyed first, and then the mid-caps, and then the more solid companies with the revenues and cash flow to back up their valuations (e.g. Tesla, Google, and Facebook)? In fact, the large and mega-cap companies (or “liquid leaders”) are typically where large hedge funds and financial institutions “hide and take shelter” when they notice that something is wrong and a bubble is inflating. And so, they slowly start to move from more speculative names to the “safer” and large-cap names.

Homepage: limotees jeeppremium telotee

Gearbloom is your one-stop online shop for printed t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases, stickers, posters, mugs, and more…High quality original T-shirts. Digital printing in the USA.

Worldwide shipping. No Minimums. 1000s of Unique Designs. Worldwide shipping. Fast Delivery. 100% Quality Guarantee. to cover all your needs.

WHAT IS OUR MISSION?

Teeartprint is established with a clear vision: to provide the very latest products with compelling designs, exceptional value and superb customer service for everyone.

We offer a select choice of millions of Unique Designs for T-shirts, Hoodies, Mugs, Posters and more to cover all your needs.

WHY SHOP WITH US?

Why do customers come to

Well we think there are a few reasons:

BEST PRICING

PRINT QUALITY DIFFERENCE

We use only the best DTG printers available to produce the finest-quality images possible that won’t wash out of the shirts.

DELIVERY IS VERY FAST

Estimated shipping times:

United States : 1-5 business days

Canada : 3-7 business days

International : from 1-2 weeks depending on proximity to Detroit, MI.

CUSTOM AND PERSONALIZED ORDERS

Custom orders are always welcome. We can customize all of our designs to your needs! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

PAYMENT DO WE ACCEPT?

We currently accept the following forms of payment:

Credit Or Debit Cards: We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB, Union Pay and Apple Pay from customers worldwide.

PayPal: PayPal allows members to have a personal account linked to any bank account or credit card for easy payment at checkout.

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joomma · 2 years ago

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Be Nice To The Carpenter Santa Is Watching Vintage Christmas Shirt

DESCRIPTION

SHIPPING & MANUFACTURING INFO

Joe Mullen St. Louis Blue Winger Signature Shirt

. As I mentioned before, this is why it’s possible for Joe Mullen St. Louis Blue Winger Signature Shirt to beat Q3 2021 guidance and still have their stocks go down the toilet. It’s no surprise that the companies which are more speculative (with no revenues and cash flow to back up their valuations) get destroyed first, and then the mid-caps, and then the more solid companies with the revenues and cash flow to back up their valuations (e.g. Tesla, Google, and Facebook)? In fact, the large and mega-cap companies (or “liquid leaders”) are typically where large hedge funds and financial institutions “hide and take shelter” when they notice that something is wrong and a bubble is inflating. And so, they slowly start to move from more speculative names to the “safer” and large-cap names.

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Agent Orange I Was Killed In Vietnam Veteran I Just Haven’t Died Yet shirt

The Obvious Meaning Of The Chicago Flag Shirt

Black Adam Ugly Christmas Sweater

Clemson Tigers Custom Name and Number Ugly Christmas Sweater

Homepage: limotees jeeppremium telotee

Gearbloom is your one-stop online shop for printed t-shirts, hoodies, phone cases, stickers, posters, mugs, and more…High quality original T-shirts. Digital printing in the USA.

Worldwide shipping. No Minimums. 1000s of Unique Designs. Worldwide shipping. Fast Delivery. 100% Quality Guarantee. to cover all your needs.

WHAT IS OUR MISSION?

Gearbloom is established with a clear vision: to provide the very latest products with compelling designs, exceptional value and superb customer service for everyone.

We offer a select choice of millions of Unique Designs for T-shirts, Hoodies, Mugs, Posters and more to cover all your needs.

WHY SHOP WITH US?

Why do customers come to

Well we think there are a few reasons:

BEST PRICING

PRINT QUALITY DIFFERENCE

We use only the best DTG printers available to produce the finest-quality images possible that won’t wash out of the shirts.

DELIVERY IS VERY FAST

Estimated shipping times:

United States : 1-5 business days

Canada : 3-7 business days

International : from 1-2 weeks depending on proximity to Detroit, MI.

CUSTOM AND PERSONALIZED ORDERS

Custom orders are always welcome. We can customize all of our designs to your needs! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

PAYMENT DO WE ACCEPT?

We currently accept the following forms of payment:

Credit Or Debit Cards: We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, JCB, Union Pay and Apple Pay from customers worldwide.

PayPal: PayPal allows members to have a personal account linked to any bank account or credit card for easy payment at checkout.

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kinglarrykoopadx · 4 years ago

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Ranking the bosses of Origami King

I have stated many many MANY times that Origami King is my favorite Paper Mario, hell, one of my favorite games of all time. And if some lunatic waltzes into my house and gives me a choice of either liking TTYD or die, I’d rather be dead. But what’s the worst and best boss in the game? Today, we’re gonna rank all the bosses in Origami King. Also, it is recommended that you finish the game to view this post, cause this is a spoiler zone.

17. The Shifty Sticker, Tape

The most annoying and unfun boss to cap off a great tribute to Wind Waker fans, all the positives Tape got was having a bopping as hell music and a really great 1st phase. But that’s where the positives end, cause the 2nd phase is where it all goes downhill. Tape glues parts of the ring meaning you can’t slide panels and some parts of the rings are connected together. And when a lot of tapes are in the ring at once, it’s pretty annoying. And this may just be me, but when there’s too much tape in the arena, Tape straight up gobbles up the tape in the arena to restore HP and it is annoying as fudge. Oh and did I mention that to damage this boss, you’re forced to use the 1000 fold arms? And did I mention that any other form of offense is next to useless? Needless to say, this is one of the worst bosses I’ve had the pain to endure.

16. The Freezing Finisher, Ice Vellumental

The first phase of Snowy The Bear over here is surrounded by an icy forcefield and you must use the Fire Vellumental to melt down his barrier which is, pretty alright for a first phase (I mean your sliding is not locked this time so that’s a plus), but then, there’s Ice Maze to make up for all that fun. For those of you unknowing fools out there, Ice Maze is an ability of this guy where large parts of the arena are covered in ice, and the only way to get through it is find a way to the Action Panel or an active Fire Vellumental Magic Circle without being frozen so you (kinda) won’t have to endure his greatest attack, Ice Age. Problem is, that even for me, who has a strong memory, I can’t seem to solve it. Why this is less dreaded than Tape for me despite the monotony is that you can kinda cheese it without Fire Vellumental. By collecting coins, you can stock on Shiny Fire Flowers and basically fireball this boss to death (and they said coins are useless). Even so fuck this fight man.

15. The Blazing Bird, Fire Vellumental

This phoenix right here is possibly the smartest of the Vellumentals. Why is that, you ask? Easy. He lets you damage yourself. Using his special move, Hot Wings, he basically spreads his own wings (which takes a chunk of his health) and lets you damage yourself until you reach an Action Panel. Once you’re in the Action Panel, use your Iron Boots and jump the shit outta him until his feathers are all/almost gone. Then, use Water Vellumental to shower it to its doom, and lastly, for the coup de grace, pull off his hair and humiliate him in front of a bunch of Toads. The only reason this chicken wing is higher is because jumping him with Iron Boots is as fun, if not more fun than using the Fireballs to cheese the Ice Vellumental.

14. The Apocalyptic Abomination, Paper Mistake Buzzy Beetle

By far the most gruesome thing in Paper Mario franchise, it starts off with you hammering the Dry Bone heads it spews out using Kamek’s magic. Then, after enough heads were smashed, Kamek reveals himself and you have to pull him outta the beetle’s nose which is more satisfying than it should be. And then after that, you smash him in the gut 4 times to win. Needless to say, it had its moments.

13. The Elastic Entertainer, Rubber Band

4 numbers later and we are back to the Legion Of Stationary. This time, it’s Rubber Band. While I can see why people like this boss, keep in mind I’m doing all these on a no Game Over run, which makes the boss less fun for me. The Bumper Bands are a mere nuisance, but get caught in Rubber Bind and kiss your health goodbye. Solo Snapback isn’t much better either, for that attack, pray you have a 1 Up left or at the very least can endure that attack or say goodbye to your health. However, despite doing this on a no Game Over run is hell, why is it this high though? you may ask, well, simply put, the Rubber Bands are better projectiles than the Hot Wings, Icicles, and Tape combined.

12. The Chaotic Cactus, Mega Paper Macho Pokey

Tower Power Pokey is back, but this time, he’s made some changes to the battlefield. Now, instead of fighting in some egyptian temple, you fight him inside of a tornado. This segmented spiky monstrosity has 3 attacks. Creating tornadoes, stalking you from underground, and trying to squash you with its body. This time, to defeat him, instead of using some Baseball Bat sticker bullshit, you must wait until his glow fades and approach him with the Boot Car so you can deliver the smackdown. And, pro tip : if I were you, I wouldn’t get caught in the twisters.

11. The Groundshaking Gut-Slammer, Earth Vellumental

God to all Koopas, the Earth Vellumental is pretty fun for a tutorial boss. You use your hammers to smash its limbs till eventually you hit its tender tail, and it’s more fun than it had any right to be. Once the tail is pounded to perfection, flip it with your 1000 fold arms and smack the living daylights out of it.

10. The Trial Of Toughness, Scuffle Island Boss Rush

An optional boss accessible in Chapter 4, the Scuffle Island Boss Rush is fun for a miniboss rush. You get 7 tough Paper Macho opponents ; Goomba, Shy Guy, Koopa, Boo, Paratroopa, Stone Spike, and Buzzy Beetle, each bearing 2 more hitpoints than the ordinary Paper Macho enemies and having a large attack boost. It’s a test of learning the patterns of the Paper Machos and is way more fun than it has any right to be. Although the Paratroopa did gave me some troubles, like, seriously, if you beat this guy’s 1st phase without a guide, you’re a pro.

9. The Stormy Guardian, Boss Sumo Bro

A clever reference to NSMBU and Super Mario World, Boss Sumo Bro stands on his mighty thundercloud at first, until you take out his goonies. Then, once you’re done with his goons, he’ll charge up his unblockable Mega Thunder attack and to stop it, you must use the Fire Vellumental to take him down. It’s admittedly pretty fun.

8. The Missile Maestro, Colored Pencils

One of the most fun tutorial bosses, Colored Pencils has a simple but really fun 1st phase. You have to close its lid to pull off a Fire Vellumental, and on the 2nd phase, it gets better. You have to use his Rainbow Roll against him and smack the living daylights out of him. It’s a great boss, buut problem is, it’s a tutorial boss. It had not much of a chance to make it to the top 5.

7. The Final Destination, Paper Plane Strike Force

This game consists of you shooting a bunch of Bob Ombs to pave the way to the final level of the game Origami Castle, which is, much sadder than it may seem. It’s fun as heck shooting down the paper planes, and the Squadron where you have to shoot like a million Bob Ombs to its face is by far personally the most fun part of the game. Why it’s this low is that it’s one of the 2 non-rematchable bosses. Once you’ve gotten to Origami Castle, this minigame won’t be accessible anymore.

6. The Submarine Sinker, Water Vellumental

This overhydrated water dragon is one of the more strategic bosses. You must take note of the water twisters and prevent them from getting in your way of making it to the Action panel to jump him and hit him with the hammer. And then, once he’s gonna blow, make your way to the Earth Vellumental Magic Circle to dodge his Mega Wave attack, which is pretty powerful. It’s personally one of the more fun bosses this game had to offer. It’s not in the top 5 since the water twisters can be pretty annoying though I never had a problem with them personally.

5. The Disco Devil, Hole Punch

The groovy lobotomiser’s 1st phase is pretty annoying, you have to find his tender spot to deal decent damage to him, while having a reduction in health, but slamming the ever loving shit outta him when he tried to pull off his special attack is fun as hell. It makes up for the horrid 1st phase. And pulling off the rubber case as the finisher is waaayyy more fun than it needs to be. Also the music is a freaking jam.

4. The Tentacley Terror, Paper Macho Gooper Blooper

This Mario Sunshine nostalgia fest is hella fun. The 1st phase has you hammering his tentacles which is way more fun than it should be, and the 2nd phase has you hammering his eye, which is, again, way more fun than it should be. This boss is just really, REALLY fun.

3. The Dual Bladed Duelist, Scissors

One of the harder and more intense bosses, Scissors’ first phase is putting on a case for his blades for the sake of a fair fight, but once that’s done, it’s all intense, bloodpumping action from here. Scissors will use his unblockable special attack, Final Cut, and you must time your jumps to prevent an instant KO. I felt a strong urge of satisfaction when jumping over Scissors’ special attack countless times, it’s not even a laughing matter.

2. The Roshamboa, Handaconda

The first phase has you hammering him to get Olivia out of its grasp, and then, the 2nd phase is where the true fun begins. The Magic Circles are swapped with panels with images of Rock, Paper and Scissors and you must observe his hand patterns to get a chance to rush attack him with the 1000 fold arms. It feels so satisfying when you beat him in Roshambo and smash the living daylights out of him.

1. The Royal Rebel, King Olly

One of the best final bosses of all time, Olly is a culmination of what you have learned throughout your journey. The 1st phase consist of you retracing the weaknesses of the Vellumentals and using it against them, the 2nd phase consists of you slamming the ground to give Origami Bowser a helping hand in dealing the semi finishing blow towards Duraludon Olly, and the final phase has you fixing a jumbled up Giant Magic Circle while Olly bombards you with attacks that lead to quicktime events that are way more fun and dramatic than they had any right to be. Needless to say, Olly is the best boss in the Origami King.

#paper mario the origami king #boss rankings #handaconda #king olly #rubber band #tape #colored pencil #vellumentals #paper mario #hole punch #boss sumo bro #scissors #fuck thousand year door

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everlarkbirthdaygifts · 4 years ago

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Happy Birthday, alepaolvi!

Apologies for the delay on your birthday gift, @alepaolvi! We hope you had a wonderful day on October 2, and got exactly the presents you were hoping for! To bring your party back around, the lovely @norbertsmom has written a story just for you!

Author’s Note: Happy belated birthday, @alepaolvi. Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy your arranged marriage fic with a jealous Gale. This is set in Panem au. The revolution happened a few years before it did in canon. You may notice several lines are taken directly from the book, and tweaked to fit this new timeline. Special thanks to my bestie, @mega-aulover for her help. Rated T.

A Different Kind of Reaping

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When I wake up, I reach out for Prim but find the other side of the bed is empty. Prim has her own bed now, but sometimes I forget we’re no longer in the Seam. I prop myself up on one elbow. There’s enough light in the room to see that she’s not in her bed. Of course not. She’s been so excited to help me get ready for today. I’m sure she and mother are up prepping my clothes and making breakfast.

The two of them are so alike, with their blond hair and blue eyes and perky attitude. At fourteen, Prim is fresh faced and as lovely as the primrose for which she was named. My mother is still beautiful, if not a little weary in her grief at the loss of my father. Even seven years later, his absence is still felt, especially today.

I get out of bed and pull on trousers, a shirt, and tuck my long dark braid up under a cap. I slide my stocking feet into my leather hunting boots and grab my bow and sheath of arrows along with my foraging bag.

On the table is a feast fit for celebration: eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice. All luxury items just a few years ago, before the war. Now a gift to me on my reaping day.

Reaping day is so different now. Before the revolution, reaping day was the day all district children between the ages of twelve and eighteen had their names put into a drawing. In punishment for the failed first uprising, each of the twelve districts had to provide one boy and one girl, called tributes to participate in the Hunger Games. The twenty-four tributes would be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena to fight to the death. The last standing tribute won.

“Sit down for breakfast, Katniss,” my mother says. “You’ll need your energy today.”

I set my hunting gear down and sit, loading up my plate and tuck into the meal. I want to go out into the woods one last time before the ceremony. Who knows if I’ll be able to go back out after today?

Prim plops down in the chair beside me. “Are you excited, Katniss?” she asks as she loads up her own plate.

“Um,” I hum around a mouthful of food because I really don’t know how I feel. “A little scared, I guess.”

When the revolution was won by the districts, the Hunger Games were abolished. But soon after it was discovered that the population was critically low, and at risk of extinction after all the loss during the war. The new senate that ruled the country with one representative from each district, came up with a plan to help repopulate the nation: arranged marriages.

They decided to reclaim the reaping day as a day to bring new families together. That first reaping day after the war, men and women eighteen and older were matched to form new families. I wasn’t old enough then, but I am now. I don’t know how I feel about having my future decided for me.

I think back on all of the questionnaires we had to complete in our last month of school. We also had to list the names of those we would be happy to be matched with. We weren’t allowed to leave it blank, so I wrote down the one name I secretly wish for, but I’m sure I won’t get.

I may not even be matched this year. Not everyone is matched in their first year, so they have to go through it again the next year. Special deferment was granted for those who fought in the war to put off their reaping a year or two.

“Leave your sister alone, Primrose. She has a big day ahead of her,” mother says as she joins us at the table. She pours herself a large mug of coffee and cups it with both hands, holding it under her nose to breathe it in. She closes her eyes before taking a sip.

I’m the first to finish and get up to leave. “Thanks for breakfast,” I tell them as I grab my gear and head toward the door. I’m in a hurry. My old hunting partner, Gale Hawthorne is back in the district today. I haven’t seen him since he went away to fight in the rebellion. After the fighting was over, he stayed in the military and moved to district three so he could study under the victor Beetee Latier.

“Don’t forget your cheese,” Prim says as she gets up from the table and hands me a perfect little goat cheese wrapped in basil leaves. It’s been a tradition since she started making goat cheese to give them as gifts on special occasions.

“Thank you,” I tell her with a hug as I pocket the cheese.

“Don’t stay out too long, Katniss,” mother says. “You need to report to the Justice Building by one thirty. We need time to get you ready.”

“I won’t,” I tell her as I slip outside.

Our part of District 12 is the merchant quarter. My mother and Prim run the apothecary, but we didn’t always live here. I grew up in the part of the district nicknamed the Seam, where the miners live. The apothecary had been vacant since my grandparents died when the mayor’s mansion was bombed at the start of the revolution. After the war, my mother applied for and was granted permission to take it over.

As I’m skipping down the back steps, I look over to the bakery next door. Peeta Mellark is walking toward the trash bin with a bag in his hand. He looks up at the sound of our door closing. “Hey Katniss,” he says with that contagious smile of his. “Heading out to the woods, I see.” He nods to my hunting gear after placing the bag in the bin.

“Yep,” I tell him with a smile of my own. “Gotta catch dinner for tonight.”

“Ooh. Wild game, that’s one advantage you have over the other girls in the reaping today,” he says, crossing his arms as he leans against the small fence that divides his yard from mine.

“Whatever you say, Mellark,” I tell him, shaking my head. He’s always teasing me about how different I am from the other girls who live in town. Not because I’m from the Seam, but like I’m some unique creature he’d never encountered before.

As I walk down the path I wonder who Peeta will be matched with. He’s such a kind person. He was the only person to help me and my family after my father died. He gave me bread that helped us survive and gave me hope to go on. I’m sure he’ll have no problems finding a match today. Lots of girls will be hoping to be the next baker’s wife. Peeta lost his mom at the start of the war. She was one of those lost in the bombing of the mayor’s mansion.

Even though there’s an entrance to the wood close to home, I make my way through town toward the Seam to the entrance by my old house. It makes me feel closer to my father. That’s where he would take me into the woods when I was a child.

The streets of the Seam are empty today. Usually, the workers would be out heading to their morning shift at the mines or the medicine factory, but the ceremony isn’t until two. Might as well sleep in if you can.

Our old house was almost at the edge of the Seam. I only have to pass a few gates past it to reach the scruffy field we call the Meadow. The barbed wire loops that used to top the high chain-linked fence that separates the Meadow from the woods are gone. The fence remains to keep the wild animals out of the district, but gates have been installed at several locations around the perimeter to allow citizens access to the woods.

As soon as I’m in the trees, I look around for signs of a threat, like packs of wild dogs, bears, venomous snakes, or rabid animals. Inside the woods they roam freely, but there’s also food if you know how to find it. My father knew and he taught me some before he was blown to bits in a mine explosion. There was nothing even to bury. I was eleven then. Seven years later I sometimes still wake up screaming for him. But since Dr. Sidney, the head doctor, came to the district after the war, I’ve learned how to deal with my grief. My nightmares aren’t as frequent. Dr. Sidney helped my mother as well. She no longer lies in bed staring at the walls.

Before the war, trespassing in the woods was illegal, and poaching carried the severest of penalties, but the woods belong to us now, the citizens of District 12. Still, most people aren’t bold enough to venture out unarmed. My bow is a rarity, crafted by my father along with a few others that I keep well hidden in the woods, carefully wrapped in waterproof covers. If my father was still alive, he could have made good money selling them, but before the rebellion, if the officials found him selling weapons, he would have been publicly executed for sedition. Which is kind of ironic since the mine explosion that killed him was one of the catalysts for the rebellion.

We were never prosecuted for poaching back then because most of the Peacekeepers had turned a blind eye to the few of us who hunted. They were as hungry for fresh meat as anybody. Now we get food shipped in from other districts regularly, and I can sell my game openly to the other merchants at their back doors, and at my booth in the open-air market called the Hob.

In the woods waits my hunting partner Gale. I feel myself relaxing and quicken my pace when I think about seeing him again. I only got a quick chat with him yesterday when he arrived, mobbed by his family. He asked if we could meet up to hunt this morning like old times. I climb the hills to our rock ledge overlooking the valley. A thicket of berry bushes keeps it hidden. The sight of him brings on a smile. We used to be the best of friends before he went away.

He looks different than I remember. Not just older; he stands different, ridged and yet alert as if he is waiting for an attack from a wild lone wolf. He’s wearing gray uniform pants, and a faded black shirt. His eyes are sharper; they scan the area, before settling on mine.

“Hey Catnip,” says Gale. He knows my real name, but I had whispered it when we first met so he thought I said catnip. It stuck as a nickname even after all this time.

“Look what I shot,” Gale says as he holds up a loaf of bread with an arrow stuck in it. I let out an uncomfortable laugh. It’s fine bakery bread, the kind used during a toasting ceremony.

I’m not sure if he’s trying to impress me with what he can buy with his fancy new job, so I take the bread in my hands. I pull the arrow out and hold the puncture in the crust to my nose, inhaling the fragrance that reminds me of the blond haired, blue eyed son of the baker.

“Mm, still warm.” He must have been at the bakery at the crack of dawn to buy it. “Prim gave us cheese,” I tell him quickly as I pull it out of my pocket.

“Thank you, Prim,” Gale says as he pulls out a shiny knife from a sheath on his hip. I watch as he slices the bread. He could be my brother, same straight black hair, although his is cut short in a military style, same olive complexion, we even have the same gray eyes. We’re not related, at least not closely. Most of the families in the Seam resemble one another this way.

That’s why my mother and Prim, with their light hair and blue eyes used to look out of place when we lived in the Seam. They were. My mother’s parents were merchants. They ran the apothecary. That’s why she got it after the war. Now I’m the one out of place. I have the look of the Seam, but I live in town.

My father got to know my mother because he would collect medicinal herbs and sell them to her shop. She really loved him to leave her home for the Seam. Back then, the homes in the Seam were nothing more than shacks really. We had to boil water from the spigot in the yard if we wanted it hot. After the war, all of the squat gray houses in the Seam were replaced with new homes that are well insulated with running hot and cold water and reliable electricity.

Gale spreads the bread slices with the soft goat cheese, carefully placing a basil leaf on each slice while I strip the bushes of their berries. We settle back in the nook in our rock. I don’t eat much, since I already had breakfast, but it’s a nice treat. Everything would be perfect if all this day off meant was roaming the woods with Gale for a casual family dinner tonight, catching up on how our lives have changed since the war ended, but instead it feels awkward, like I’m here with a stranger instead of my old friend Gale.

“What’s it like in District 3?” I ask quietly to break the awkward silence between us. It was never like this before. He would rant about the unfair treatment the citizens endured, and how we should rise up against them. But now that the revolution is over and won, we don’t really have much to say.

“It’s alright, but I’ll be moving to District 2 after the ceremony. You’ll love it there. Mountains bigger than these. Lots of woods to hunt in.”

“Why would I want to go to District 2?” I ask. The idea is preposterous. I can’t leave my sister. Before the war, the fantasy was to run off, and live in the woods, but this conversation feels all wrong now. There’s never been anything romantic between Gale and me. When we met, I was a skinny twelve-year-old, and although he was only two years older, he already looked like a man. It took a long time for us to even become friends, to stop haggling over every trade. Then he went off to war and moved to District 3 as a hero. His hero status gave him the option to postpone his reaping until this year.

Gale’s good looking, strong from his time as a soldier, and he has a good job in another district. He will be a desirable match at the reaping today. I don’t know why he would want me.

“Forget it,” he snaps.

I let out a breath and ask, “What do you want to do, hunt, fish, or gather?”

“Let’s fish at the lake,” he says. “We can leave our poles and gather in the woods. Get something nice for tonight’s betrothal meal.”

Tonight, after the reaping, everyone is supposed to celebrate, but I’ll be betrothed. I’ll be spending time with my intended. He and his family will come to my house so we can get to know one another. Does Gale hope it will be him?

We fall into the comfortable silence I remember from hunting with him before he left. By late morning, we have a dozen fish, a bag of greens, and best of all, a gallon of strawberries.

On the way home, we swing by the Hob and trade half the fish and greens for fresh vegetables. Greasy Sae gives us a nod as we walk by. Even with the beef and chicken coming in from other districts, her wild game soup that she calls beef is always a hit. The customers around her booth are talking away about today’s reaping.

When we finish at the Hob, we go to the back of the mayor’s home to sell half of the strawberries. The mayor lives in a modest house not unlike the others in the district. After the war, the residents of the district realized that the old mayor’s mansion was just another tool the Capitol used to keep us in the district divided. The poor people of the Seam resented the wealth the mayor and the merchants had. So when the mayor’s home was rebuilt, he had it built the same as all the others.

The mayor’s daughter Madge answers the door. She was in my year at school, and my closest friend since Gale left. Her everyday outfit has been replaced by an expensive white dress, and her blonde hair is done up with a pink ribbon. Clothes fitting for the betrothal reaping.

“Pretty dress,” says Gale.

Madge shoots him a look, trying to see if it’s a genuine compliment. He used to antagonize her when we were younger, but now that he’s been gone for a few years it’s hard to tell. She presses her lips together and smiles. “Well I have to look nice for my reaping today, don’t I?”

“I’m sure you’ll have the match you want,” Gale says with a scoff.

Madge’s face has become closed off. She puts the money for the strawberries in my hand. “Good luck, Katniss.”

“You too,” I say, and the door closes.

I turn to Gale, “What did you mean by that?”

“Her father’s the mayor. People in power can influence the outcome of the reaping,” Gale says.

Madge’s father isn’t just the mayor. He was quite influential during the war. He was able to convince the residents of District 12 to join the revolution by bringing in Annie Cresta. Then he became our district’s liaison with the rest of the rebels.

Annie Cresta was the last Victor of the Hunger Games,and the spark that started the rebellion. She won the summer after my father died in the mining explosion. During her interview, after winning her games, she started screaming about her father and brother who were lost at sea with a whole ship full of fishermen just before her games. The Capitol played it off as her going mad. But during her victory tour she was more subdued, she would compare her district’s loss to the loss each district had suffered from a tragedy that same year.

The rumors started that perhaps the mine explosion that killed my father wasn’t an accident, but a sabotage to take out the rebel miners who had been planning an uprising. While in District 11, she talked about the silo collapse, in District 10 the stampede, and so on until she had rallied half the country behind her. Before her tour reached the Capitol, District 13 re-emerged from the ashes to sweep her off to be the face of the rebellion.

District 12 was one of the last districts still neutral to the rebellion even though the mayor tried to get our residents involved. He asked Annie Cresta to come back, to rally us to join the cause. Most of our Peacekeepers were recalled to the Capitol to fight off the uprisings in other districts. Those who stayed behind were sympathetic to the districts’ plight. The residents of District 12 wanted to wait out the war. If we didn’t join in, nothing would happen to us.

After the rally, while most of the residents of the district were at home debating why we should join the rebellion, the mayor hosted a dinner for Annie with the most influential Merchants and Seam residents. After the dinner was over, the mayor, his daughter Madge and a few others were seeing Annie off to her hovercraft back to District 13 when the mayor’s mansion was bombed by the Capitol. All those still inside were killed, including the mayor’s wife, his staff, my grandparents and many others.

The rally that day, along with the bombing that took out the mayor’s mansion, is what finally convinced the residents of District 12 to join the rebellion. We couldn’t stay neutral. The war came to us. Gale, among others old enough, went off to fight in the war. Not everyone came home. The baker’s oldest son died. Gale stayed in the military.

As we walk back toward my house, I glance over at Gale, still wondering why he came home this year. He could have participated in the reaping in his new district. I hope he didn’t come back here for me.

Gale and I arrive at the divide between the Seam and town and split up our spoils.

“See you in the square,” I say.

“Wear something pretty,” he says flatly as he walks towards his mother’s house in the Seam.

When I get home, Peeta is in the yard next door, feeding the pigs. “Hey, Katniss,” he says. “Good day hunting?”

“Yep, got some fish and greens for tonight,” I tell him.

“I’ve got a few recipes you can try out on your new family if you want?”

“Sure, that last one with the nuts was nice.” Curious I get closer. “So are you ready?”

He stops feeding the pigs. “I’m nervous,” he confesses.

“Nervous?” Peeta has nothing to be nervous about. He’s good like my sister Prim. Any of the women today would be lucky to have him.

“Well, what if the girl they pick for me doesn’t erm,” his face turned pink. “Well, like me.”

What he is saying is impossible.

“My parents didn’t have the best marriage, you know.”

I nod. I can see why he would be anxious. His parents did not get along; they hated each other but miraculously, had three boys.

I wish I had the words to be able to tell him that he had nothing to worry about. But nothing comes.

"Listen, I'll see you at the reaping. I've got to get ready. Don't want to scare my bride away by smelling like a pig pen."

I shake my head and laugh. When I go inside my mother sets aside her knitting and jumps up from her chair. “There you are,” she says as she helps me remove my hunting gear. She hands my bag to Prim and ushers me into the bathroom. “Get yourself a shower. You need to start getting ready.”

I scrub off the dirt and sweat from the woods and wash my hair. When I’m done I find my favorite dress from my mother’s collection laid out on my bed. A soft orange, with white lace insets near the collar, and a tie at the waist. “Are you sure?” I ask.

“Of course. I’ll fix your hair,” she says.

After I’m dressed, I sit at the vanity as she towel dries my hair and I watch as she braids it up into a crown on top of my head. I hardly recognize myself in the mirror.

“You look beautiful,” says Prim in a hushed voice.

“And nothing like myself,” I say as I hug her. Things are going to be so different after the reaping today.

Prim and mother get dressed. We have a quick lunch and then it’s time to go to the Justice Building to check in.

As we head toward the square, we are joined by others headed that way. Attendance is not mandatory like it was for the Hunger Games reapings, but most people show up anyway.

Mother and Prim hug me goodbye when I go into the Justice Building. After checking in, I’m ushered into the women’s waiting room. I find Madge and join her at the refreshment table.

At precisely 1:45, our escort, Effie Trinket, comes into the room. Miss Trinket was on track to be an escort for the Hunger Games, but she was actually a rebel working inside the system to help bring it down. After the revolution she became our escort for the betrothal reaping. Her bright pink clothes and makeup, while much more flamboyant than what those of us in the district would wear, is nowhere near as garish as the makeup and outfits worn by our last Hunger Games escort.

“Ladies, it’s time to follow me out onto the stage,” Effie says and we all line up to follow her out.

As we go out onto the stage, a cheer begins to rise from the crowd gathered in front of the Justice Building. Effie escorts us to the several rows of seats arranged on the left side of the stage. Madge and I sit next to each other.

Once we are all seated, Effie goes back into the building, but comes out a few minutes later followed by the group of men for the reaping. She escorts them to the seats on the right side of the stage. They are all wearing their best suits. Peeta gives me a wave before he sits in the second row. Gale sits in the front row in his military uniform.

At precisely 2 o’clock, Mayor Undersee steps up to the podium and begins his speech. He talks about the history of Panem: the dark days, the first failed rebellion, the 70 years of the Hunger Games, and then the revolution that freed Panem. He talks about how we have to rebuild Panem, the population lost from the Games and the war. Which brings us to today, the Betrothal Reaping. He then introduces Effie Trinket.

“Welcome, welcome,” Effie says. “It’s such an honor to be here, to help bring together the families who will be the future of our country.” She goes on to explain how the selections are not random. The answers we gave in the surveys taken during school, as well as our DNA were used to determine the matches. “Now, onto the pairings!” she says, and with a flair of her hand pulled out a stack of envelopes.

She plucks the first envelope from the stack and calls out, “Delly Cartwright!”

Delly jumps up from her seat, and quickly walks up to stand next to Effie. Delly is practically vibrating in anticipation. I wish I could be that excited. I just hope I get someone I can stand.

“And your match is,” Effie pauses dramatically, “Thom Davison!”

Thom, one of Gale’s old classmates who didn’t get matched in his previous two reapings, looks around bewildered. He gets a nudge from the person sitting next to him before he gets up and walks up to the podium to formally meet Delly.

Delly and Thom are ushered to the back of the stage where they stand next to each other whispering, with big smiles on their faces. I guess that means they are happy with that match.

“Very good,” says Effie. “Our next match is the mayor’s daughter, Madge Undersee.”

I squeeze Madge’s hand and she stands and gracefully walks up to stand next to Effie Trinket.

“And your match is… the local hero, Gale Hawthorne!” Effie exclaims. A quiet murmur goes through the crowd. That pairing was unexpected. I think everyone expected me to be paired with Gale, but I know it would have never worked out, we’re too alike.

Gale doesn’t look very happy at his selection, but stands and walks up to meet Madge. They stiffly shake hands, then walk back to stand next to Delly and Thom. It’s quite the contrast between the two pairs.

“Wonderful!” Effie says with a little too much enthusiasm. “Next up we have, Katniss Everdeen.”

I stand up slowly, then stiffly walk to stand next to the podium.

“And your partner is… Peeta Mellark,” Effie calls out.

My eyes go wide as I think, Oh, it’s him, my neighbor, my friend. The boy, no man, I correct myself, who saved my life and gave me hope. The man who reminded me that I was not doomed. The man who’s name I wrote on my questionnaire. I feel a smile come across my face as I watch Peeta get up and walk toward me. The smile on his face matches mine.

When he reaches me we stand and stare at each other for a moment before Effie Trinket clears her throat. “Go ahead, shake hands,” she urges. Peeta's large warm hand engulfs mine, and he gives me a reassuring squeeze. “Go ahead,” she tells us, nudging us toward the back of the stage.

When I drop Peeta’s hand, I feel the loss of warmth immediately, but I feel his hand at the small of my back as he escorts me to join the others. “Told ya I’d see you at the reaping,” Peeta whispers in my ear, and I can’t help but laugh. After that, I’m in a bit of a daze and miss most of the remaining matches.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Effie dismisses the few remaining people who didn’t get paired up and calls the matched pairs to the front of the stage. Delly and Thom lead the way, arm in arm. Madge and Gale walk stiffly side by side. Peeta takes my hand and leads me toward the front of the stage, and the couples behind us follow suit. When we are all lined up, Effie calls out, “District 12, I give you your new couples. Please join us in the reception hall for family introductions.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That’s the end of part 1. This will continue as a work in progress.

A few notes: Dr. Sidney is named after Dr. Sidney Freedman from the final episode of the TV show M*A*S*H. He helped the main character work through his PTSD. Thom Davison is named for Dave Thomas of Wendy’s fame, who seemed like such a sweet man. The character Thom in canon is only mentioned a few times, but he is such a great guy. Gale’s friend who helps carry him back after the reaping, and then after the war Thom comes back and takes on the task of clearing away the debris so the district can rebuild.

#everlark #everlark fanfiction #everlarkbirthdaydrabbles #everlarkbirthdaygifts #fan fic #by norbertsmom

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parkkimjinjin · 5 years ago

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Ch.2

Eunbi arrived at the address Seokjin had texted her earlier and the long walk through the town exhausted her. But the sight of the luxurious apartment complex snapped her out of her tiredness. The building was directly next to a small park and spanned several floors into the sky. It must be roughly 15 floors. The front was clean white with huge windows in black frames. It was more of a modern kind – one that is often seen on TV when they talk about newly built high tech complexes. This building must be pretty new in this neighbourhood judging by how dirty the fronts of the other complexes looked compared to this one. Seokjin and his housemates must be rich to be able to afford this kind of accommodation. She walked through the entrance still in awe at the modern architecture. The entrance hall wasn't as big as she anticipated but the high ceiling made it look grand. Walking straight from the entrance was an elevator and instead of several mail boxes for each apartment – as she got to know during her stay in America – there was one reception desk with a middle aged man sitting behind it. He was wearing a uniform similar looking to those of bellboys in hotels; with the exception that he had the emblem of a security service stitched on his left chest. She greeted him with bowing her head shortly and continued her way towards the elevator. “Excuse me, Miss. Where are you going?” the security guard hurried over to her from behind the desk and halted her from entering the elevator. She couldn't blame him. Her clothes didn't really fit the standard the people living here have and she must look like a homeless mess – which she was. “I am a guest of Kim Seokjin” she said and the security guard nodded, “Then I need to see your ID, just a simple security regulation” his voice was weary – already suspecting her of trespassing. She looked to the floor and confessed: “I don't have one at the moment... I lost my wallet”. He shook his head and sighed, “I am sorry Miss, but then I can't let you enter” he motioned towards the door where she just came from. She shook her head and insisted: “I am expected, please... here” she showed him the text message with the address but as the guard looked at it she noticed how suspicious it looked that she didn't save his number and there was literally only the address – thus proving nothing. “Miss, I am asking you to leave – or else I have no choice but to call the police” he said and repeated his gesture towards the exit. “But...” she tried once more but the guard already grabbed her arm and pushed her outside. He closed the door again and made sure to see her leaving the property. Her phone rang again and it was Seokjin again: “Hey, what's taking you so long? Is everything okay?” She pushed back her tears and explained the situation to him: “The guard is not letting me inside”. He groaned and she heard him moving. “I am coming down”. With those words he hung up and Eunbi figured to walk back inside – though taking her time to make sure Seokjin would be already there waiting for her to avoid another encounter with the guard. As she came through the exit she saw Seokjin at the reception desk talking with the guard. He wore a white T-shirt, grey sweatpants and striped socks in slippers. He turned around as he heard the entrance door close and was a little taken aback by Eunbi's sight. She had huge eyebags under her eyes, her hair was falling out of her bun in loose strands and with her dirty baggy clothes she looked like a beggar – nothing even hinted at her beautiful self he had the pleasure to get to know a year ago. But still, his mouth worked on its own and he said while walking towards her: “It's good to see you”. She forced a small smile and let her backpack fall down to the floor. They awkwardly stood in front of each other – she wasn't really sure what to say. The whole situation was not how she intended to see him again. “Is that all you have?” He asked signing towards her backpack and she nodded watching him come closer to take the backpack and followed his lead towards the elevator. Seokjin waved the guard one last time and pressed the button for the 11th floor. They didn't speak in the elevator and in the hallway. Only after he entered the door code and closed the door behind her she found something to break the silence with: “You have many roommates”. In front of her was an ocean of shoes and the closet seemed to overflow with much more. Seokjin chuckled, “I have six roommates – they are all still at work”. At the moment she couldn't care less, she was just glad that she had a roof and a safe place to sleep. And even though Seokjin burned to ask her what happened to her he decided to let her rest first. “I put some towels in the bathroom for you” he signed towards the bathroom door and continued: “And I am sorry but you will have to take the couch”. He walked into the living room and put her backpack next to the couch where he had already placed a blanket. He would have swapped with her and slept on the couch – but he was sharing his room and couldn't inconvenience him as well. “No, this is more than enough” she said as she sat down on the couch and smiled up at him. “Then, if there's anything you need I am in my room – the door next to the bathroom” he left the room and closed the door behind him. Eunbi didn't have the energy to get changed so she just undressed her socks and lied down on the couch. It didn't even take her a minute and she was fallen asleep.

Seokjin was in the kitchen when he heard the door open and several footsteps entered the apartment. He looked around the corner to see his roommates Jimin, Namjoon, and Hoseok slipping out of their shoes and talking. It was already late, but it was a totally normal time for them to come home – practice always ended late for them. “Shht!” Seokjin placed his finger on his lips and pointed towards the closed living room door. “Oh..” They shut up and hurried on tip-toes to their eldest into the kitchen. “She's here already?” Namjoon asked, removing his cap and placing it on the kitchen counter. Seokjin nodded and placed his dinner on the table and sat down. “Who is she, by the way?” Hoseok pointed behind his back to the closed door and Seokjin coughed. “Just someone I know...” he shrugged. “Aha... just someone you know?” Jimin wriggled his eyebrows, “I didn't think of you as someone to open the door for just anyone”.

Seokjin took a huge bite of his rice and shrugged again avoiding their curious eyes. They continued to stare at him until he lost his patience and slapped down his spoon, “God, what does a man have to do to eat in peace?” “Tell us the truth!” Seokjin sighed defeated, “Okay... we had a one-night-stand... around a year ago, we met at the music bank after show party”. “Oh~~” Jimin cheered, “I knew it”. “Then why did you ask?” Seokjin took his spoon again and continued eating. “So... are you getting back together?” Jimin asked excited. “No! I don't think so... I am just helping her out”. Jimin looked disappointed and turned his head to Hoseok for moral support but he just shrugged. Jin continued eating his meal in silence.

Eunbi woke up the next morning with pain in her right leg. She groaned at her own stupidity. She should have mustered that little energy somewhere to remove her prosthesis. But since all she could think about the night before was to finally sleep she totally ignored common sense. With a sigh she heaved herself into a sitting position throwing her right leg over the edge of the couch cushion. She grabbed into her backpack to get her toothbrush and paste and pushed her from the couch. Seokjin said the bathroom was at the end of the hallway – couldn't be hard to find. With a barely noticeable limb she walked to the door and cautiously looked into the hallway. No one was in sight – this was the right time to go into the bathroom unnoticed. She thought she could handle one or two roommates, but six?! How was she supposed to show her face in front of six strangers as a homeless one-night-stand from over a year ago? She was definitely not having it. Eunbi even played with the thought to just go after washing up and just leaving a message for Seokjin but a small voice in the back of her mind pleaded with her to at least have a short catching up conversation with him. Seeing him again made her remember how much she had been enjoying herself in his presence. So she was torn between her comfort zone and a flame from the past.

She closed the door to the bathroom behind herself and sat down on the closed toilet seat to remove her leg prosthesis. Her right leg was minimized to its half and she pulled the DVT stocking from her leg stump. She leaned her head back against the tiles on the wall – trying her best not to break out in tears again - as she started to massage the muscles careful not to touch the end of the stump – even though she could see her missing leg she still felt her toes and the constricted muscles in her calf. She started brushing her teeth and washed herself before dressing her stump again. A shower would be the best right now but she didn't felt comfortable using their shower so easily. On her way tip toeing back to the couch she heard voices coming from upstairs. A quick glance around the corner showed a huge living room with stairs made out of glass – or plexiglas; who was she to know? - leading to another floor. What made her halt in her steps was the voice of one of the supposed roommates. It was so similar to her brother – but she hadn't seen him in years so she probably was imagining things. “I am mega hyped to record the vocals today”, the horrifying familiar voice said and she heard Seokjin's voice concurring rather listless. There was another one talking quietly, she couldn't really hear him but what he said must have been very funny because Seokjin and the other voice started laughing. And her whole body froze as she heard that laugh. There really could be only one human on earth who could laugh like that and the thought that it could be him sitting upstairs was so absurd but still very frightening. She had to make sure it wasn't him! With slow steps she listened to their nonsense conversation as she ascended the stairs and stopped on the second to last step staring at the young man sitting next to Seokjin with a cup of coffee in his hand. “Ah, you're awake”, Seokjin said with a slight smile growing on his lips as he noticed her standing there but was a little thrown off as he noticed her staring wide eyed at his younger band mate. A small knot tied itself in his heart as he worried that she might be a fan – especially a fan of Jimin and that maybe it was a mistake letting her in.

Jimin looked up at Seokjin as he had stopped talking and then followed his gaze to see the young woman standing on the stairs – staring at him.

“Oh god...” he let out shocked, “You look like shit!” “You know each other?” Seokjin asked surprised making Namjoon look up from his phone and took in the situation presented in front of him. Seokjin looked from Jimin back to Eunbi and then back to Jimin again and it clicked in his brain: They do look so very similar!

Jimin's eyes wander from his twin sister to Seokjin and grew wider as he realized and remembered last evening, “OH GOD!”

“What is going on?” Namjoon seemed overwhelmed with all the 'Oh god's thrown around, but no one seemed to bother to help him clear up the situation.

“Where the f*ck have you been?!”

#ch2

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boomtee · 2 years ago

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challengerbmxmag · 6 years ago

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Sam Waller Interview

Sam Waller co-runs, the UK based Central Library, “a shop in the North West of England that sells zines, DVDs and other interesting bits and pieces.” He’s also part of the current resurgence of quality independent BMX media with his Red Steps magazine. In addition to that he finds the time to contribute to Challenger with his quarterly column, ‘Notes From A Fancy Island’ and of course, ride. And, when you talk to Sam, you can tell that riding reigns supreme.

Sam and I email back and forth fairly often because of the column but also about other random stuff like old spots, concrete skateparks, music, etc. It’s fun to email with Sam so I figured it would also be fun to ask Sam some more in-depth questions. Hit the link below for the full interview.

All photos by Gaz Hunt. Thanks, Gaz!

I know you live in Manchester, England now but where did you grow up and what is your BMX origin story? I grew up in the complete middle of nowhere in a place called Colton in the south of the Lake District. Whilst the countryside in film and television is often shown as a tranquil, quaint place, the reality is a fair bit different, and Colton in particular seemed like a hotbed for strange stuff going on. Only recently a large farmhouse was burned down by a wild woman who owned loads of pigs. She was exiled from the county, but the pigs remained to cause havoc.

Anyway, my older brother has played guitar since he was six or seven, but as I was a useless at it and couldn’t get my hands to move properly, I felt obliged to find a similar all-encompassing past-time.

I was mad on Formula 1 racing for a while (thoughts go out to the Schumacher family), and I went to a karate lesson once (a hobby quickly scrapped after the whole hour was spent being taught how to bow honourably), but up until the age of 12 or 13 it just felt like I was dawdling about.

All of this changed when, for some reason I’m not entirely sure of, me and my friends decided to make some jumps and drops and stuff to ride on our mountain bikes in some woods near a dual carriageway.

One of my friends knew some older lads from nearby who had proper bikes and Little Devil hoodies, so I think they must have planted the seed of raditude with him, but I think at that time I was just happy to be out the house and not playing Tekken 2. We later found out that the woodland we’d chosen was a popular dogging site frequented by truck drivers (I'm not sure if 'dogging' exists in America - maybe look it up), and quickly moved our spades and everything into another forest. By that point the damage was done and my mind was snagged.

After a bit of bouncing about on a mountain bike, I then splashed out on a second hand Standard that someone had painted post-box red, affixed some stunt nubs and never looked back (or lookbacked, for that matter).

The nearby town of Ulverston had a pretty big riding and skating scene, but thinking now about us lot trying to lay down ‘street style’ in this small historic market town, we may as well have been the Jamaican bobsleigh team — the rough ledges were strictly for stalls, and the closest thing to a flatbank was a grass verge round the back of a Texaco garage.

What were some of your biggest inspirations as a kid and what about now? I always think about how the 16 year old me would probably make fun of some of the things I'm into now. Is that the case with you at all? Apart from the receding hairline and the slight increase in responsibilities, I think I’ve stayed pretty much exactly the same since I was 16. Back then I think my favourite film was probably Natural Born Killers, and my favourite album was maybe something like Bad Moon Rising by Sonic Youth. Whilst I’ve maybe expanded my interests a little, I’ve pretty much been in a rut since then.

I’m not into memes or internet humour in the slightest, but I remember someone once showing me a video of a wrestling fan in America crying and shouting, “It’s still real to me, dammit.” That’s how I feel about a lot of things I was into back then. A lot of people who I went to school with moved on from being into music and films and pissing around on bikes, whilst I’m still snagged on it all, listening to The Minutemen and wearing check shirts. It’s pretty stupid really.

What's The Fancy Island? Good question. Just next to Strangeways prison and only a mere stone’s throw from Manchester’s slick centre, lies a true rat-pit of questionable activity. I’ve seen loads of stuff happen here, such as an aggressive man chase a prostitute with a two-by-four and a creep lying in an alley trying to lure small boys into his lair.

In amongst all this, there’s loads of naff wholesale shops that sell everything from low-end Halloween costumes to fake Air Jordans made out of cardboard and fuzzy felt. All these shops have mad names like EEZZEE and Vibe Centre.

Getting to the point now, coming up with titles for things is pretty difficult, so a few years ago when I was cobbling together a zine, I nicked the name Urban Mist from one of these shops, and then, when I went to set up a Tumblr during the carefree pre-Instragram era, I nabbed ‘Fancy Island’ from a similar establishment.

I think Fancy Island has closed down now, but it’s no doubt been replaced with yet another shop with a daft name selling cheap batteries and t-shirts with swear words on the front.

Whilst I’m explaining names, I’ll state that Red Steps is a classic spot in Manchester that I ride past on my way to work every day. It boasts a rusty, needle-thin flatrail, a few small stair-sets (that are indeed red) and a large flow of gormless students to crash into. I’m not too sure why I named a magazine after it, but it just struck me as a funny name for a spot and I was struggling to think of anything else.

One thing I struggle with is balancing how to take BMX seriously while balancing a sense of humor about it as well; i.e. it's pretty goofy but is also this amazing vehicle for new experiences, ideas, and a pretty incredible community. Do you ever think about this? Like with most things in life (except crucial necessities like eating and breathing), riding bikes is pretty stupid and abstract if you try and think about it too hard. That said, I don’t see why bike riding should look goofy (apart from actual goofy-footed grinding - as a self-confessed goofy grinder myself I’ve got a lot of time for George D, Ralph and Dave McDermott) — riding is loads better than pretty much all other activities, but it’s constantly being made to look daft, when it could so easily look dope.

I think to stay juiced and not turn sour, you’ve got to completely ignore most things going on with riding and stick firmly to the bits that you like. I treat riding like music or films or anything else. In the same way I don’t go to the cinema to watch big summer blockbusters, I don’t spend my free time watching Corey Martinez edits or endless hours of footage from some zany mega-comp.

I’m a simple man. As far as riding is concerned, I like smith grinds, bottles of Heineken, Galaxy chocolate, black and white photos, sitting on benches and talking complete nonsense. The rest of it is irrelevant to me.

I constantly hear/read people complain about the lack of BMX magazines but there's so much cool stuff being printed right now. We've discussed this in email a bit but it seems weird that people are complaining. It's almost like people just have an idea of what they think a magazine should be and if it doesn't have look or read a certain way they are just confused. How do you feel about all of this? A solid group of people do buy things and support these independent projects and whatnot, but I think it’ll take a while for the loud-mouthed Instagram warlords to come to terms with the fact that the new magazines around might have different names to the ones they used to subscribe to 15 years ago. I suppose it’s maybe easier to talk about the lack of magazines out there than actually go to the effort of seeking them out, but having said that, it’s not exactly hard to find stuff these days.

I remember years ago hunting down anything beyond Dig or Ride was an absolute hassle involving a lot of e-mail mither and blind faith - but now with yourself, Berks St. and 90East stocking interesting stuff in America, me and Clarky doing Central Library over here and the newly formulated Wiretap down under, it’s easier than ever for anyone to get their hands on zines and DVDs and all that.

The new stuff that’s coming out now is ten times better than Dig or Ride ever were anyway. Endless contest reports and dull bike checks have fallen by the wayside, and I haven’t seen a photo of Jimmy Levan’s zebra-print leggings in years. Things are really looking up.

What do you do for work? Thoughts on pursuing money via BMX and also what's the best job you've ever had? By day I work in an office writing stuff for a clothes shop. As you can imagine, trying to come up with an interesting way to talk about the 659th blue shirt you’ve seen this week can get a bit tough, but I can’t complain too much really. The office is fairly warm and there’s a kettle in the kitchen.

As for pursuing ‘serious wonga’ via riding, I’m one step ahead of you. Central Library has just received big investment from Duncan Bannatyne and Deborah Meaden (of Dragon’s Den fame), meaning we’re finally able to stock all those bizarre Caramac-coloured tyres that real bike shops seem to stock. We’re also expanding our print line to offer crime fiction and the Goosebumps novels. My main aim in life is to become one of those creepy industry characters who spends their time sniffing around young and naïve talent in the hopes of flogging a few ‘dad caps’.

My finest job was probably working for my dad in the family trade of dry stone walling (which explains my surname). I’m not sure if dry stone walls exist in America, but they’re those fairly humble looking stone walls you see dividing up the fields and forests around the English countryside.

Anyway, building them isn’t too bad as far as manual labour goes. When it’s raining and you’re miles up some hill wallowing in the mud lugging big stones around with nothing more for lunch than a chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle and a Penguin biscuit, then it’s a little miserable – but on a good day when the sun is shining and you’re working with ‘good stone’, it’s hard to beat.

The best days were when my dad would fall asleep just a few minutes before the end of the lunch hour, basically extending the break for at least another 45 minutes. Thinking about this job now, I’m not sure why I ever gave it up.

Do you have any other hobbies besides riding? Yeah, but I’d say the lines were pretty blurred. This is maybe a pretty boring answer, but I suppose riding lends itself to other hobbies pretty well. I might be wrong, but I don’t think keen swimmers or budding javelin-throwers get into photography or making videos in quite the same way. It’s sort of like the ‘pillars of hip-hop’ or something – riding, taking pictures, messing round with video stuff and generally snooping around all fits together nicely (or at least it does in my peppered mind).

It’s not like I’m slipping on my Etnies t-shirt for my weekly two hour power sesh and then the next night I’m wearing some short-shorts down at the climbing wall. Even when I’m on holiday with my wife, I’m still just snooping around the same way - we’re not buying tickets for some naff rollercoaster or dining out at exclusive restaurants with Abe Froman.

Are you able to take time off of riding and not feel like you're missing out or feel guilty? I have one friend who really goes in on the guilt tripping if I don't ride. Related: You said you like sitting on benches. Can you do that on a nice day? At the age of 28, I’d like to feel like I can just about deal with a few missed sessions. Obviously I still need a comprehensive run down of spots seshed and feats accomplished when I’m away, but it’d be mad if I was out all the time. The human body can’t handle that much raditude.

Fear of things going un-photographed does creep in sometimes, but Clarky will have filmed it anyway, and Gaz and Wozzy are better photographers than me, so if they’re about then hopefully someone caught the action.

Moving onto the subject of benches, these babies really come into play during my dinner break at work. I get on fine with everyone there, but when the clock strikes twelve I’m not going to be sat in the office spilling reheated chilli over my keyboard… I’m straight out into the city centre on full sit-off mode – hopefully getting into some daft conversation with one of Manchester’s many vagabonds.

A few months ago I was sat in town when I was approached by a fairly scruffy gentleman who was bleeding loads from his forehead after someone kneed him in the skull. The rest of my lunch break was spent trying to sort him out a bit. One meal deal, some wet wipes and a pack of king-skins later, he seemed alright. You don’t get these hijinks sat inside all day.

I was just thumbing through the new Red Steps (nice job) and I just realized how much I enjoy your interviews -- what is it that you like about interviews? Not trying to stroke the ego here but you are really good at it... Cheers. Any ego strokes are much appreciated. This maybe sounds a bit daft, but I want to know everything. This is probably evident to the people who know me, but I’m a complete mither, completely hassling everyone with questions all the time.

This pesky nature extends into everything, meaning that I spend a lot of time reading a lot of interviews about the things that I’m into. I buy a lot of old copies of magazines like Wire, Ray Gun and Sidewalk on eBay, and even though the interviews contained within those pages might have been conducted in the corner of a pub maybe 25 years ago, they’re still worth reading today.

A proper interview with a little intro and some photos laid out nicely on a page… it’s mint – it’s a finished thing – sort of like a well-edited video or something. I know a lot of people are into ‘podcasts’ these days, and that’s fair enough, but to me – they’re not complete enough. I don’t want to hear people say ‘um’ and ‘err’ all the time, and I want something sick to look at (and by that, I don’t mean a load of pundits sat around a table with headphones on).

I’m going to rattle on here whilst I’ve got the chance. Anyone reading this who gets the opportunity to answer questions for an interview, a ‘bike check’ or anything else…don’t just write a lazy sentence for each answer – go mad. Tell some funny stories. Or if you’ve got nothing to say, just make something up. No one cares about how responsive your headtube angle is or how you ‘usually just cut the bars down’. This could be your only chance to air your thoughts into the wider world, and you’re going on about what PSI you put in your tyres? COME ON PLEASE TRY HARDER YOU BORING GIMPS.

(above) Spread from Sam’s zine, Latvia Photos. (below) Cover of Sam’s zine, Around Town.

You also make photo zines/books not related to riding. Do you have any high art aspirations with this stuff? No real aspirations I’m afraid. Wine gives me bad heartburn, so I generally try and swerve anything resembling a gallery opening schmooze-off. As I was sort of saying before, making photo zines is just an extension of everything else. I like taking photographs, so it makes sense to put them together. It’s all pretty small-time really – it’s not like I’m getting thousands printed.

To be honest, it’s all a complete faff that I could easily avoid by not bothering and just sitting around watching American power-dramas, but it’s good to have stuff to look back on – even if it’s just a 40 page zine that nine people will see.

Crouching under a tattered old curtain processing rolls of film every night whilst being mithered by my cat isn’t particularly glamorous and I’d imagine there are probably easier ways to get cosy with the artistic elite.

What's your favorite slang word? Going back to my walling days, my dad uses some pretty intriguing slang terms. Unlike inner-city slang, which will usually be documented in music or useless BBC3 comedies, these more rustic words don’t get much recognition. I don't use these terms myself, but I certainly respect them. Here’s a few choice cuts…

“A few skins on the job” – a large workforce “Keitel” – a fairly humble work-jacket “Bait” – lunch “Bray it – hit it “Kessen” – when an unclipped sheep falls over onto its back and can’t get up due to its weight. This happens more often than you’d think.

You can buy scoop up a copy of Sam’s magazine, Red Steps, in the Challenger web shop here, look at the online shop, The Central Library, that Sam runs with Clarky here, and check out some of his other photo zines/books here.

#BMX #manchester #Colton England #sam waller

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imoteb · 2 years ago

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#IFTTT #Imoteb Magazine

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extreme-investor-network · 2 years ago

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Stocks rise to kick off a big week of earnings, Fed meeting ahead

U.S. equities rose on Monday morning, coming off a positive week for the major averages, as traders brace for the busiest week of corporate earnings, as well as insights into further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101 points or 0.3%. The S&P 500 gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%. All three major stock indexes are having their best month of the year. Monday kicks off the final week of trading for the month of July, and perhaps the most important week of the summer, with the Fed meeting, GDP data, and earnings from almost a third of the S&P 500, including five mega-cap tech companies, on deck. Investors are still worried about the potential economic recession and hope this week’s news storm will help direct their expectations. “Investors likely believe Thursday’s GDP report will show the second quarter of decline, which is the unofficial signal of recession,” Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, told CNBC Monday. “While the Fed will probably announce a 75-basis-point rate hike on Wednesday, they will offer a more moderate tone towards further rate increases. We see this counter-trend rally continuing in the near term.” On Friday, the major averages fell on the back of weaker-than-expected earnings from Snap that sent tech shares tumbling. Still, all three benchmarks closed the week higher, with the Dow up 2%. The S&P 500 advanced about 2.6%, and the Nasdaq capped the week up 3.3%. It was the second positive week in the last three for the major averages. The S&P 500 has been attempting a comeback after falling into a bear market earlier this year. The index is currently up more than 8% from its 2022 and trading near the highest levels since early June. Investors shifted into risk assets last week after absorbing some strong corporate results that had Wall Street deliberating whether the bear market has found a bottom. “Equities have managed to stage a rally MTD and climb a wall of worry. The bounce has been led by cyclical and Growth stocks, helped by longer end yields stabilizing, which in turn eases the pressure on P/E’s,” Barclays’ Emmanuel Cau wrote in a Friday note. “This confirms to us that the market’s focus has switched from inflation worries to growth worries, with a sense that bad news is becoming good news again,” Cau added. As of Friday, about 21% of companies in the S&P 500 reported earnings. Of those, nearly 70% beat analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet. Investors will face a stacked week of earnings ahead that will include reports from major tech giants Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday will also conclude its two-day policy meeting. Economists are widely expecting a three-quarter point hike. Original Article Original Article Here: Read the full article

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catching-up-on-comic-books · 6 years ago

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Binge Reading Journal - November 13, 2018 - the tenth day of reading Marvel’s Dark Reign (Part 3)

Secret Invasion- Requiem

Now they reprint Court-Martial by Jim Shooter (boy genius writer), Bob Hall (an underrated penciler), Dan Green on inks and Janice Chiang on Letters. This story was first featured in Avengers #213 in 1981 featuring the smack heard ‘round the world.

Hank Pym, now working under the name of Yellowjacket, is standing in front of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. All in full uniform in their private mansion where no one can see, or get in or out. BUT this is a serious matter. Full uniform must be worn! Iron Man says that Cap has leveled some serious charges against Yellowjacket. Thor lets him know that if the accusations are true he will face formal court-martial! Thor wants the record to show that he and Iron Man are presiding as judges.....wait wait wait. These are just a bunch of dudes wearing really tight clothes in a swanky clubhouse. There’s no military sanction. Tony Stark is footing the bill (through the Maria Stark Foundation) so they can run around and smash things!

According to the Marvel Database, they’re a non-profit organization like the American Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity, recognized by the National Security Council of the US and the UN as a peacekeeping organization, ain’t nobody being court-martialed....pppsshhhh. Just be all like, “Hank you’re a jerk! Here are your things and go away.”

Well, these boys are going to go through this farce anyway. Cap states that the day before, during a mission where he was fighting a mysterious woman attacking Washington D.C. He managed to convince her to stop when Yellowjacket shot her in the back, which caused her to continue fighting. Iron Man asks for an explanation to which he has none. His own personal thoughts, legible in a bubble to the reader shows him thinking that he was a jerk and acted over eagerly to be the star on his first mission since rejoining the team.

Thor (who’s not really pretending at any of this because he actually is a Norse god) says they will convene for three days until the formal court-martial (hahahah) and suspends Hank until then so hand over your Avengers ID Card, Hank!

Hank pleads a little at this but Iron Man reminds him the rules, which he helped write, are firm on this.

I don’t think The Salvation Army has ever court-martialed anyone and they call themselves an army!

Janet is in the hallway outside the court-martial ichamber. Tigra asks why so down? Tigra, by the way is hanging from one of the rafters in the ceiling because it helps her relax. She wonders why Janet is so hung up on that strange guy anyway. Can we remind 2008 Future Tigra, who’s having Skrull-Hank babies, she thought Hank was strange in 1981?

Hank leaves the room and practically shoves Janet aside, telling her to leave him alone when she asks how he is. He immediately regrets it an apologizes before she walks away. She comes in for an embrace and say sweet consoling things to each other. TIgra doesn’t get it.

As the other founding members go their separate ways, each one remembers their own mistakes from the past.

Cap recalls when, during a heated battle against Nazi soldiers, he reacted to a noise behind him and instinctively threw his shield. It was a little girl, an orphan, collecting the brass shells for money. He barely missed hitting her when she bent down to pick up a shell. Cap realizes that he nearly made the same mistake as Hank.

Iron Man is going over Hank’s files and pictures, As a founding member his history is tied in closely with the Avengers’ history. However, Hank never really seemed to settle in, taking on guises such as Giant-Man and Goliath. Tony feels that Hank always felt outclassed by himself and Iron Man, so he’d leave the team to try to come up with some scientific breakthrough to prove himself. One of those wound up being Ultron, the Avengers’ greatest enemy. Then he had an accident in the lab which triggered a mental breakdown. That’s when he started calling himself Yellowjacket. However, the schizophrenia was cured (can’t be cured.)

Schizophrenia, and other mental disorders are a pulp fiction trope, used to explain away erratic behavior. It is usually used by writers with very little understanding of the actual condition. Actually, a rigorous new definition of schizophrenia was fashioned for the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition,'' or ''DSM-III,'' which was published by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980.

Nevertheless, Hank and Janet got married. As Iron Man continues reminiscing, he recalls how Ultron returned and forced him to create Jocasta from Janet’s brain waves. Iron Man wonders if Hank will ever stop looking for redemption. Is it fair to turn away from a friend who needs help, should he be punished for a mistake anyone of them could have made?

Janet and Hank head home, Janet stopping to sign autographs for fans waiting outside the mansion, none recognizing Yellowjacket. They head to their residence in Cresskill, New Jersey. (Did he always live there? Should I redo my ant speed calculations from that earlier issue?) Ah wait, their butler and other staff greet Janet like she’s the Queen of England and Hank is something she stepped in. She’s the rich one, inherited her father’s wealth which he made from science, with all his alien teleportation stuff. Not a lot of scientists manage to get rich. Usually the career path of a scientist is to become tenured at a university, write a lot of books and speaking engagements, they manage to make a decent living. Usually they work for companies and universities collecting meager salaries for the opportunity to science.

If a scientist manages to discover something, and patent it and comes up with a practical use for it, then there is an opportunity to become rich from it. A couple of rich, like Craig Ventner. Dr. Ventner, much like Hank Pym, is a biotechnologist, biochemist and geneticist. He was involved in mapping the human genome. Then he founded, Celera Genomics, institute for Genomic Research and the J. Craig Ventner Institute and Human Longevity, Inc.

At Celera, Ventner and his colleagues completed sequencing the human genome (Ventner’s genome specifically) three years ahead of schedule, beating the government funded Human Genome Project (your taxes at work.) Ventner’s discoveries, patents and stock ownership in the companies he’s founded made him very rich. Forbes estimates that his net worth (as of 2017) based on his stakes on two of his startups is about $300 million.

It seems like taking some real world examples, there’s some untapped story ideas to mine; what did Janet Van Dyne’s father discover and patent that made him rich and how has it impacted the world; how can Pym cash in on his own discoveries (not to mention Reed Richards, Hank McCoy, etc.).

Janet tries to get Hank into the bedroom, but he takes the laboratory over the seductive advances of his wife.

Hank admits he hates going to the lab because it reminds him of his failures, except there is one success he’s had in the lab: Robotics (wait, no that never turns out well.

Cut to three days later, Tigra is asleep in her private quarters, Bob Hall draws her in the nude but all the naughty bits are tastefully covered. She wakes up to the sound of Jarvis approaching her door. Jim Shooter makes it a point to say she slipped on a satiny negligee. It’s like the only reason Tigra was created was to get some weird furry fantasy going for the readers. A startled Jarvis, who’s never owned a cat apparently or else he wouldn’t be surprised by her behavior, is presenting Tigra with her first weekly stipend check.

She is surprised to learn that the Avengers get paid a salary. He clarifies that it is a modest stipend to cover living expenses, which most Avengers traditionally refuse, he adds in a snidely way. Hmmmm. Let’s see....Black Panther is the king of his own country so mega-rich; Thor, Prince of Asgard, so rich he doesn’t even need money; Captain America, probably collecting a lot of military back pay. See, Jarvis, most Avengers refuse the stipend because they’re already rich; not because they are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.

He continues to economically shame her by pointing out that those that do accept the stipend are the ones that live at the mansion and have no outside means of support. Tigra finally gets a chance to read it and notices it is for one thousand dollars. Which in 1983, like $2,534.53 today or $131, 795.56 a year. That is a pretty good haul on top of room and board for Tigra.

Jarvis reminds her that the court-martial is at four o’clock that day. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is making an excuse to leave a board meeting at Stark International Headquarters, because writers think the best way to show a busy CEO is at a board meeting (not true, board meetings occur maybe just once a year unless there is an emergency, trope alert)

Thor finishes up some surgery but leaves the cleaning up for his colleagues, who grouse at Blake leaving (oh, sorry at this time, Thor is still using the Don Blake alter ego) for them to clean up despite being the best surgeon ever.

Captain America, already in the Avengers library and in full uniform, is wondering if he will have the courage to look Hank in the eye even though it is the most difficult thing he’s ever done. More difficult than watching Bucky die on that rocket? More difficult than giving up your Captain America identity to become Nomad? Well, we all chose our own cross to bear.

Speaking of crosses to bear, a few hours earlier, Janet hasn’t seen Hank since they came home three days earlier. She decides to go check on him in the lab. Finding the door locked, she shrinks down and squeezes in to the door crack to discover Hank putting in the final touches of programming of the robot, which will allow it to target each Avenger by their brain waves. Which it does as o soon as it senses Jan in the room. Hank is infuriated, Accusing Jan of spying on him. Hank explains he has built a robot called Salvation 1 and she’s going to help him test it out. It grabs Jan but her sting is useless against it. He explains it is built out of Adamantium. Ok, so according to the Marvel Database:

Creating even a small amount of Adamantium is astronomically expensive, and only a few people know the complete formula. Adamantium is created by mixing certain chemical resins together. The exact composition of these resins is a closely guarded secret of the United States government. When these resins are mixed and kept at a temperature of 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, the resulting liquid can be cast or worked into a particular shape. After an eight minute 'flux period', the mixture sets and becomes solid regardless of temperature. Its molecular structure is extremely stable, and its shape can only be altered by precise molecular rearrangement.

So I don’t know how Hank had enough Adamantium lying around to build a 15 foot tall battle robot he just conceived three days prior. He designed Sal with a secret weak spot that will shut down the robot with one well-placed stinger shot, thus making him a hero when Sal attacks the Avengers. That’s the plan at least. But Janet won’t let him go through with it.

There it is.

On Jim Shooter’s website, he posted on March 29, 2011:

In that story (issue 213, I think), there is a scene in which Hank is supposed to have accidentally struck Jan while throwing his hands up in despair and frustration—making a sort of “get away from me” gesture while not looking at her. Bob Hall, who had been taught by John Buscema to always go for the most extreme action, turned that into a right cross! There was no time to have it redrawn, which, to this day has caused the tragic story of Hank Pym to be known as the “wife-beater” story.

So, henceforth Hank Pym is known as a wife beater.

Let’s cut to the court-martial proceedings. Captain America states his case: Yellowjacket shot a hostile in the back. Hank has never been know to act cowardly so the act was a case of misjudgment. It is tempting to write off as a mistake since any one of them can make the same error.

However, as an Avenger they cannot. An error by any one of them can result in the loss of lives. They have a tremendous responsibility and thus must judge themselves harshly.

I bet one can look back at previous issues of the Avengers, or Iron Man or Cap, or Thor and find situations and scenarios where they’ve all made costly mistakes like Hank Pym. Alas, this can’t turn into a retrospective of the Avengers.

Iron Man asks Hank how he pleads or if he wishes to defend himself. Hank pleads not guilty. His argument is that although his mistake may have seemed treacherous but he wondered if Cap ever considered treachery from the enemy. His actions may have actually saved lives! Perhaps because the enemy was a beautiful woman, perhaps Cap liked her! Like Liked her! That’s why Cap is upset, because Hank hurt her!

Everyone is feeling second-hand embarrassment at this point. Iron Man asks him to stop. Hank asks Janet to back up her story. She lowers her sunglasses and reveals a shiner. Thor is shocked, wondering if Hank actually hit her. Hank goes for the remote control to summon Salvation 1. Janet pleads to him to not do it.

Sal bursts through the wall (kind of hilariously, no disrespect to Bob Hall, but considering the statement Shooter made on his blog post, about Hall being trained by Buscema to always go for the drama, it kind of comes off as comedic. Iron Man being flipped upside down, Tigra kind of in a Bugs Bunny pose, Yellowjacket exclaiming “Ah!” In faux surprise.

When Thor strikes it with his Mjolnir without any effect, Janet let’s them know it’s made out of (very expensive and rare) Adamantium and Hank built it and designed it to destroy them. Hank realizes Sal is way too brutal and may actually defeat everyone. He goes for the super secret shut off switch but Sal throws him against the wall. Sal grabs Hank in his giant pincer claws, crushing him when Janet runs up and shoots the switch with her stinger, deactivating Salvation 1.

Hank, shamefully leaves.

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mackcapital · 3 years ago

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What is an Equity Fund?

An equity fund can be described as an exchange-traded fund (ETF), or a type of mutual fund that invests in stocks instead of bonds. Even though you might not be an expert on equity funds, it is a good idea to learn about them as your first financial goal. If you are familiar with the basics of what equity funds are and how to invest, you will be more educated when investing.

What exactly is an Equity Fund?

An equity fund is either an open-end or closed-end fund like a mutual fund (ETF) or ETF (ETF), which invests in businesses. This is why the term "equity".

A bond fund is also known as a fixed income fund. It invests primarily in bonds.

Both exchange-traded and traditional mutual funds can be used to purchase equity funds (ETFs). Some investors prefer one option over the other depending on their financial goals and circumstances.

How does an Equity Fund work?

An equity fund strategy involves investors contributing funds towards a fund which pools them and invests in equities. This allows investors to make a profit (or lose).

The fund's purpose and investment strategy will determine which companies are included in equity funds. These can vary greatly.

Consider Fund A. This fund invests based upon market capitalization. It follows a growth investing approach. It could also invest in small-cap stocks that have a greater growth potential and lower volatility than large-cap equities.

Equity funds share one thing: capital appreciation. This is a gain in value. Bond funds, however, are meant to generate income.

Types of Equity Funds

Three types of stock funds can be divided: those that are focused on geography or market capitalization and those who follow a specific investment philosophy.

A. Market-Capitalization-Focused Equity Funds

Market capitalization is also known by market cap. It measures a company's value based on its share prices and the number of outstanding shares. These stock funds invest in firms that have a particular capitalization range like:

* Megacap equity funds: These funds invest at firms with a total market capitalization of more than $200 billion. These funds are usually industry leaders. Think Apple (AAPL), Google, or Alphabet GOOG, as well Tesla (TSLA), (TSLA).

* Large-cap Equity Funds: Large-cap equity fund are one rung lower than mega-cap funds. They invest in firms with a total market cap between $10 billion and $200 billion such as General Electric (GE), Starbucks, SBUX, or Delta Air Lines, DLX (DAL).

* Mid-cap equity fund: These funds invest with firms that have a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 million, such as Crocs or Spirit Airlines (SAVE).

* Small-cap equity funds : These funds invest only in small-cap firms that have a market cap of $300 million to 2 billion.

* Micro-cap Equity Funds: These funds invest in small, publicly traded companies that have a market capitalization between $50 million and $300 million.

B. Geography-focused equity fund

These funds invest in businesses from around the world, including:

* Global or worldwide equity fund: These funds hold stocks from all parts of the world, even the United States. They tend to follow the lead of their portfolio manager or investment strategy and don't distinguish between overseas and domestic assets. Some of these funds are as invested in US companies than in domestic equity funds. 4

* International equity fund: These funds only invest in stocks located outside of the United States.

* Regional or nation equity funds: These domestic funds invest in stocks only from the issuer and investor's home countries or regions. For example, a national equity fund would invest China and a regional fund would do the same.

C. Investing Style: Equity Funds

These funds choose companies using one of four main strategies: top down strategy, bottom up strategy, growth strategy or value approach. Here are some notable funds that have adopted each strategy.

* Sector- or industry-specific equity fund: These funds use a top-down approach to pick the best stocks from a specific industry or sector. This is a good idea for investors who are looking to put their money in certain types of businesses. In fact, some industries have had historically delivered high returns.

* Equity income funds - These funds use a top-down approach in which they seek out businesses that pay a substantial dividend regardless of industry. These funds are meant to provide income and not capital growth to investors.

* Growth funds : These funds are based on the growth approach and invest in stocks that have a track record for profitability and growth such as those in technology. The funds are expected to continue this trend.

* Value funds : These funds will follow the value strategy. They will buy cheap stocks with the potential for significant growth in the future.

What is the best way to invest in Equity Funds and how can you do it?

Before you invest in equity funds, be sure to review the offerings of major providers. The following are characteristics of an equity fund you should be looking for:

* Low fees are indicated by low expenses and absence of sales load

* A portfolio that is well-diversified

* Portfolio managers who place a majority in the same assets that you do, making sure their money is where it's needed

* A clearly defined mission that allows you to understand the assets it acquires, their reasons, and the reasons why it sells them.

* A proven track record of portfolio management success

You have many options when you are thinking about investing.

* Open a direct account with a family of mutual funds.

* Open a brokerage and buy shares in an Equity Fund.

* Invest through your company’s 401(k), 403(b), or 403(b).

* Open a Roth IRA or Traditional IRA at a brokerage firm and use it for buying shares of an equity fund.

Every year, shareholders receive almost all the dividend income from stock mutual funds or ETFs. You should consider your entire return, not just the share prices, as this can be misleading depending upon the distributions over time.

Nearly all mutual fund companies and brokerage firms will let you automatically reinvest any payments in full or in part into more shares of your fund. This increases your overall ownership.

Although the minimum investment for these funds is usually $1,000, it can vary. You can usually reduce the minimum investment amount to $50 by enrolling in automated investments. Many ETFs are very similar to equity mutual funds. However, you can trade them from your brokerage account for a small fee.

To learn more, Visit

Mack Capital

today.

#Mack Capital

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