#there’s not much I can say abt this game that hasn’t been said a million times before

[lavellaned]

I looked up the different romance paths in veilguard on youtube because I saw a lot of people saying that one was lackluster then saying another one was and… they’re all like 18 minutes of content. In a 60+ hour rpg. I totally understand where people are coming from saying lucanis’s romance is short and lackluster but I’m starting to suspect that all of them are

[kvgehiras]

can i request sleepover hcs with trickstar (separate)? i feel like they would be so much fun to be with... the new shuffle unit really woke up my inner trickstarP 🥺 (hope it's not too much to request all 😭)

HELLO !!! nd no it's ok !!!! it took me some time bcs i didnt . rlly know how to start out hokuto's part BUT IT'S DONE NOW !!!!!!! (also i hope u meant it in a setting where y/n nd the members r in a relationship (separately ofc) bcs that's how i wrote it so ye) hope yall like it ~

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

AKEHOSHI SUBARU

• he probably brought up the idea while u were accompanying him on a walk w daikichi

• u were talking abt how u brought these glow-in-the-dark stickers nd they remind u of him

• "it would b so nice if u could see it omg!!! but .... it's the best when u watch it right before u go to sleep.....nd ur probably busy :(("

• "????? LETS HAVE A SLEEPOVER THEN!!!!!!! W ALL THE SPARKLE SPARKLE STARS!!!! AAAAA IT WOULD LOOK SO PRETTY!!!!!!!!"

• nd ur just like :0 bcs u cant believe this dumbass . he has a live to perform in day after tomorrow but he's gonna have a sleepover........what

• "dw abt my live !!!!!!! ill tell hokke nd the others that i can't come today but i'll practice extra hard tomorrow !! they'll understand dw (*・∀-)☆"

• they didn't.....actually...but he cut the call on hokuto before they could get him to attend so uh-

• "anyways!!!!!!!! ^^^^^^"

• yall bring daikichi over too. it's not even a question daikichi is literally yalls child at this point but anyways

• he probably looks for board games for a good hour or two while u get some food for daikichi nd then get some food for subaru nd urself

• (he doesn't find it)

• u peek at the doorframe bcs for a while u keep feeling like someone has been watching u for a while now nd then boom . u see the other baby (read : subaru . main baby is daikichi, ofc!) pouting at u

• u laugh nd wipe ur hands on ur apron before ruffling his hair nd he goes

• "i can't find the board games :((((( y/n :(((((("

• surprise guessing game : whos the actual puppy? akehoshi subaru or his actual dog daikichi??????? it remains a mystery

• anyways u help him look for them nd after u hand him over the thing u get food for the both of u nd force him to eat atleast a bite bcs this bitch is too busy trying to win against u in snakes & ladders 😭😭😭

• "subaru.....pls....the food is getting cold....."

• "no i Know im gonna win!!! the sparkly stars r my good luck!!!! i know it!!!!!!"

• he.... doesn't win .....for the 5th time....

• so manz just gives up, noms all the sandwiches visible (aka his portion bcs u alrdy finished urs an hour ago JDJDKDN)

• nd then sleeps, still sulking

• yes it ends up in u guys cuddling under the glowy stars

• nd subaru thinks that mayb losing against u isn't that bad after all (´꒳`)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

HIDAKA HOKUTO

• unlike subaru, this was actually a planned one

• u both had homework to do, u especially had a test tomorrow nd subaru just ditched the rest of trickstar to go hang out w someone else instead of their practice so ┐(´∀｀)┌

• hokuto appears at ur doorstep around 6:30pm, as discussed earlier

• "right on time!!!!!! so true hokke (´∀`)ｂ"

• he chuckles a lil as he closes the door behind him nd takes off his shoes

• "(y/n) u keep sounding like that masked pervert whenever u say smthg like that pls"

• u laugh it off nd then get him to the living room, where u two get ur books out nd then start studying

• hokuto asks if uve studied any material before to which u quietly reply no nd hokuto just goes

• "oh, that's ok… i think it will be good practice for me too if i taught u all this, right? so let's start, hm?"

• HOKKEEEEEEE ๐·°(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°·๐

• sasuga hokuto kyun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• anyways !! u guys (finally) start studying now!

• except…..except ur alrdy falling asleep……

• hokuto doesn't even realise this till he looks over to his shoulder bcs wow it suddenly feels heavy! wonder why!

• nd then boom ur face is an inch away from his

• poor hokuto his face gets all red and his ears r burning nd when he realises that ur sleeping he just . freezes

• doesnt even move fucking muscle

• mentally too manz just checks out NDNDNDJDJKS

• BUT IN HIS DEFENCE WHEN HE CAME TO UR PLACE HE DIDNY EXPECT THIS!!!!!!! HE EXPECTED TO STUDY ND THEN GO HOME YK!!!!!!

• poor guy he can feel how hard his heart is beating nd hes praying that u dont hear it nd wake up

• thank goodness ur a heavy sleeper……..nothing, nd i mean not even if boulder is dropped on u, can wake u up

• sasuga…..y/n……?

• anyways !!!!!

• u wake up at like . 2 or 3 am nd u find hokuto just closing his eyes shut, cheeks still bright red nd. WHYS HE SO CLOSE-

• o u fell asleep on his shoulder lol-

• U FELL ASLEEP?????

• u jerk back up nd apologise a million times for falling asleep even tho hes so desperately trying to teach u nd hokuto just tries to hard to explain that it's ok !!!!!!! (bcs he actually kinda . liked it . aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAA)

• after much thought u guys just decided to go to sleep bcs ur too tired anyways so it's not like u would retain this info anyways

• nd it was a good decision bcs after waking up in the morning nd going thru his notes instead u actually aced the test !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so true y/n !!!!!!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

YUUKI MAKOTO

• this one….. it's like . neither planned or accidental?????

• it just happened????? yk?????

• he called u suddenly in the evening bcs he went to this new game shop that opened near his place right

• nd hes just like !!!!!!! y/n!!!!!!! uve got to check this game out !!!!!!

• nd so u go to his place to play the game nd u see that he just has everything prepared so u get the snacks that u got for both of u on a plate nd get some juice from his fridge nd start playing the game

• nd the game is rlly good !!!!!

• from the graphics to the boss music, makoto rlly knows ur taste

• (he blushes nd thanks u all flustered too hehe)

• nd after switching consoles nd playing the game for over 3 hrs, yes it's a pretty huge game, u finally reach the boss battle!!!!

• nd this . this scares u

• uve seen ppl on the net say that this battle will absolutely End u . periodt

• u never rlly understood why but holy shit u now do

• uve been trying to win against this bitch for AN HOUR at this point . why cant he just die

• poor makoto is just cheering u on in the bg bcs u refuse to let him help

• "y/n….(;´Д`)...... it's ok bb…...i'll finish this up for u…. it's like 4am we have class tomorrow- wait no it's actually today-"

• "makoto No u always help me in games let me finally win smthg for u !!!!!!"

• nd u point at his forehead nd poke it several times as u make ur point

• "ill win for u !!!!! ok!!!!! this stupid boss can never be as strong as my love for u !!!!!! (*｀へ´*) 彡3"

• nd hes just . looking at u all worried but he . he trusts u . so he lets u do it urself

• yes u lost even more times nd cried a lil out of frustration

• so at one point, instead of directly helping u, he just starts giving u directions nd at this point ur too tired nd exhausted to say anything so u just follow him

• (u also have ur head on his lap nd hes combing thru ur hair nd looking down at u like :') lmao what a lovebird)

• but when u actually beat the boss, finally, nd the screen says "win!" in huge yellow letters ur eyes go O.O

• nd u jump out of his lap, while he's still spaced out, combing ur hair nd hug him v tightly

• nd hes like ????? huh ???? wh wh wh ?????????

• nd u explain that u finally won nd u guys just rejoice lol

• then immediately fall asleep. both of u

• (u guys were late to school next day . sigh)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

ISARA MAO

• unlike the other three, this man was actually dragged to ur place

• why? u might ask

• WELL THIS DUMB RAT IS BURNT OUT !!!!!! HE DOES TOO MUCH WORK ND HE DOESNT REALISE IT !!!!!!!!!!

• so after u guys r done w school, nd when u check in w his fam too that hes gonna stay at ur place (nd also that he has almost no work today, ofc) u drag him to an arcade nd hes like ???

• "today is a rest day!!!!!! so no work at all!!!!!!"

• u said this while pouting a bit so mao mostly thought u were joking

• but even after going to the arcade, going to the shopping mall nd getting snacks, going to the fast food place u guys visit alot nd getting food from there, his brain doesnt catch on that ur indeed not joking

• until it's been 3 hours at ur place, ur having the dinner that u guys had bought from the fast food place while watching a random movie that was airing on some channel that his brain suddenly went

• 'i know they were saying that this is a rest day nd ur not allowed to work probably as a joke but bro…. i dont think it's a joke anymore'

• this is so sad f in the chat for mao lol

• but also he doesnt bring it up bcs ur forcing him to watch musicals w u (some of ur favs) nd he... actyally likes it?

• he hasn't felt so ….relaxed in a very long time now that he thinks abt it

• nd he has to thank u for it yk

• nd so after the musical marathon ends, as he thanks u, he kind of just goes on a rant yk

• abt how he's feeling

• he never expected for this to happen but u tell him it's ok yk

• nd while he shouldn't burden himself w so much work, ur always open to listen to his thoughts, opinions, random bs, anything !!!!!!

• for hours u guys just have a very deep talk abt how guys have been doing nd mao feels like hes so so glad that u did smthg like this for him

• yall also go to bed early bcs mao alrdy has a bad sleeping schedule (so let's not make it worse!!!!)

• nd in conclusion, it was a v good day! now yall do this whenever either of u r feeling down or get burnt out lol

[tarantulas4davey]

more hc’s!! even though i’m in school!!

al mining all the way to bedrock with race and being like ‘hey babe can you get this block for me i’m gonna build our house try to get at least five okay?’

and race, clueless, is like ‘sure babe!’ and after twenty minutes race is loSING HIS MIND and al is like uhhh babe i kinda need it?? and race is like, near tears, IM TRYING IM TRYINF I SWEAR I SWEAR

eventually al tells him and race unplugs al’s computer

race speaking italian bc he’s stressed and al doesn’t know what he’s saying but dear god that’s so hot

people make a million gifs abt al’s face and race is like ‘oh so italian is a turn on for you huh?’ but race, little bitch, says it in italian and watches al live up to his nickname of red

one time al is rly tired as he’s streaming and just falls asleep at his computer and race is facing his computer and eventually he realizes he’s been rambling and that al hasn’t said much? and he’s like ‘uhh babe you okay?’ and then looks over and you can see the exact moment his heart bursts bc al just dozed off and he’s so cute and the comments r going crazy

al is pretty shy abt it he’s like oh my god they saw me sleeping that’s so embarrassing hey race stop!! it wasn’t cute!!! and race is like uhhh yeah it was but he’s still sweet ofc and al (who’s slowly becoming more comfortable with himself) is like oh. okay. and the fans are like THATS SO ADORABLE

someone points out at one point that race and al have the exact same follower count and they’re like !!! that’s actually so cute!!!

race’s background is him and al and al’s is just race and they’re so cute and so in love

race n al both getting super into the game and they’re put on opposite teams and become like. lethal. like race is super smart ofc but he’s not saying anything so al has NO idea where to find him, but alternatively, someone keeps killing race’s teammates and no one can seem to beat them theyre so strong??

at one point al walks in and race is like hey hey hey! it’s radioactive red! and starts playing radioactive by imagine dragons and al, bright red, is like i’m going to kill you slowly and race, cheeky bastard, is like ha that’s kinda hot babe and winks and al’s just turning even more red

and ppl are like????? wait wait wait how is al the top did you see how flustered he got?

race n al literally laying on top of each other and full body cuddles but they both get so red when they hold hands and everyone’s like? you just literally sit in each other’s laps but ok

izzy these are fucking incredible i’m dying 😭

- al is such a little shit he totally would do that. race unplugs albert’s gaming monitor but the one with chat is still up and the cameras still going for the stream so everyone can see race whack al in the head with rolled up magazine from his desk and albert just throws race over his shoulder and spins around in circles while chat is loosing its fuckin mind

- whenever albert and race end up on different teams in a game race isn’t as good at and can’t just,,,,, math his way out (i.e. rocket league) he babbles in italian and it got to the point where al would get so distracted he would end up loosing the game cause he’s too busy internally going holyshitthatsreallyhotholyshitholyshit. albert went absolutely scarlet when he saw all the gifs of it and he’s sitting on the couch scrolling through twitter and race walks up behind him and leans down and whispers “why didn’t you mentioned you liked my italian” in italian and albert just ✨looses it✨

- SLEEPY 👏 ALBERT 👏 he doesn’t fall asleep on stream very often, but they do 12+ hour charity livestreams at least once a month so,,,, tired red is a common occurrence. he lives in a perpetual state of,,, ruffled? messy hair sticking up in every direction, a voice that always kinda sounds like he just woke up, constantly reaching for some form of affection from race that’s vaguely reminiscent of a toddler that just woke up from a nap between games, the like. he’s also a very deep sleeper, and it makes his already young face go from about,,,, 19? 20? to like 16 at best. he’s definitely getting better about seeing himself more accurately and all the fans think it’s so cute he doesn’t vehemently reject all of race’s compliments anymore.

- of course these two would be cute about having the same follower count. at one point someone follows albert but not race and race threatens to unfollow albert just to fix it, but about 10 seconds later the person follows him too and all balance is restored to the universe

- they’re 100% eachothers phone backgrounds. their lock screens is that cute thing where race has the half of the picture with albert in it and albert has the half of the picture with race in it and when you set their phones next to eachother in makes one picture. albert’s home screen is art jack made of them for his birthday. and race’s is a picture from the disney trip when al proposed.

- race is trying to pick albert’s teammates off from a distance, and he does fairly well for awhile, but as smart as he is race doesn’t have that much experience (especially compared to albert) so race’s teammates are dropping like flies literally ALL OVER the map and race is just like “?????? how the hell who is doing that” and albert is just silently chuckling to himself from his desk. eventually race is the only one left and albert finds him and just laughs maniacally while race dramatically falls out of his chair when he dies.

- y e s ok so albert blushes REALLY EASILY and race is,,,, race, so he’s honestly not that easy to embarrass and the general ‘red being flustered’ thing makes people confused how he’s the top. that is, until once race is laughing at how red albert is and albert just leans over and whispers something to race and race’s mouth snaps shut and his eyes get all wide and he just immediately changes the subject and albert has the smug look on his face and suddenly,,,, it all makes sense and that face race made gets so memed and albert laughs for 20 years over it

- honestly yeah it’s like

race: *kisses al’s neck and sits in his lap to try and distract him while albert keeps playing with a straight face*

also race: *can’t stop giggling for 5 minutes cause albert locked their pinky’s while showing him something and using the mouse*

~ or ~

albert: *carries race around the gaming room in victory or will randomly kiss him full on the mouth cause he just thinks he’s pretty*

also albert: *goes pink every time race calls him any sort of pet name, especially in italian*

this was written while also trying to keep track of the one year old and six year old i’m babysitting so i apologize for any random mistakes. no small children were harmed in the making of this post 😆

thank you for all of these i love them so much jdhdjdjd

[hoekageyama]

bet

↳ pairing: kenma kozume x gn!reader

↳ summary: playing overwatch with kenma when he makes a bet you can’t refuse

↳ wc: 860

↳ warnings: language, confusing gaming lingo (i explain what most of it means at the bottom of the post lol), and very very bad writing

↳ a/n: just really wanted to write kenma using my irl experiences w comp ow lmao. meaning i just rlly wanted to write him as the sweaty, dps main i 10000% believe he is hehe. i hope you enjoy reading this! i had a lot of fun writing for kenma! also sorry this is so late!! (school blows ;-; but here we are)

“yooooo!” you exclaim into your headset while tapping rapidly on your keyboard, signing into your blizzard account like you’d done a million times before

“wow, look who finally decided to hop on.” you hear kenma snicker a little at kuroo’s jeering. “hey y/n” he greets you as you feel yourself blush a little from his voice, the sweetest sound to your ears. you could listen to him forever.

minutes later you and the boys are queued up for a warm up match of casual. you opting to play support while kuroo and kenma choose to play tank and attack, respectively. 

during your third match you hear kuroo exclaim defeatedly, “FUCK.. i can’t play main tank today. i can’t stop dying to that junkrat and i haven’t landed a single shatter this game!”

“sorry tets, i can pocket you more, to make it easier on you.” you suggest while using mercy’s ultimate ability to fly over to him quickly. you manage to save him from dying to yet another attack from the enemy team’s junkrat, along with healing your entire team in one go.

after a while kuroo leaves the two of you to play on your own with the excuse that he forgot he was supposed to help his grandmother around the house today. “hey y/n, how about we switch it up this round. you play attack and i’ll tackle support.” kenma mentions a little quieter than usual tone. 

“uh sure ken, but why exactly?” you chortle to disguise your confusion at the random suggestion. “i’d just like to see if we could pull off a pharmercy like we normally do, but y’know just.. with a better mercy.”

“wait... are you saying that you think you’re a better mercy than me? i literally main mercy, kenma, what are yo-” “you said you didn’t have her cute spray, right?” kenma interrupts your tangent, leaving you just a little more bewildered. “i mean, yeah... but what does that have to do with anything?” you ask, scratching your head in confusion.

“neither do i, but i bet you i can get it in one game.” you can practically see the shiteating grin plastered on his face on the other side of the screen. kenma was always leagues better at any game the two of you played together. he never bragged or talked down on you, so this new attitude seemed very out of place. 

after a beat of silence, kenma finally adds “look i’m not saying you’re a bad mercy, ok? what i’m saying is…. why don’t we have a little bet? if i manage to get her cute spray in one match, i win. if i don’t, you win.”

“what do i get if i win?” you ask, while playing with your hands absentmindedly. “if you win, i’ll take you out to dinner anywhere you’d like, my treat.” the blonde answered confidently through his headset. 

you feel your cheeks heat up at the thought of a date with kenma. you two had been friends for years. you both somewhat knew how the other felt through kuroo’s incessant whining over the two of you “pining” for each other, but there was never any way to confirm or deny his accusations. “so like, a date?” you sputter out, suddenly very shy.

“precisely that.” and with that confirmation, you find yourself growing eager to play another match. “you better be ready to cough up some money, blondie. i’m in the mood for some grade a sushi tonight.” you giggle while warming up your hands for the next game.

“let’s switch accounts real quick.” kenma quickly suggests as you’re about to queue up another match in competitive. “uh.. ok sure.” the suggestion leaves you questioning his intentions, but you decide to save them for later. not wanting to delay your games any longer than needed.

as time passes, you find that kenma hasn’t really been talking much, fully concentrated on winning this bet. “hey, you never mentioned what you get if you win! i’d like to know if you plan on making me fork over some money for food ahead of time.” you say giggling quietly as to not distract him too much. “oh, that’s a surprise. you’ll see.”

sighing defeatedly, you see your character get torn to shreds by the enemy team’s genji, “pudding head, i’m down. do you have a rez ready?” “i got you. haha what’s wrong? can’t handle that little green man?” he laughs at his own very shitty jeering. “very funny. ..how’s that spray coming along anyway?” you ask, moments later seeing the match come to an end. 

“you can check it out, but i’ve gotta go. i’ll text you.” he says in a very hurried tone. as you open overwatch back up with your own blizzard account, you see the achievement notification “huge rez” pop on your screen. as the corners of your mouth upturned in a big smile and heat dawned your cheeks, you feel your phone vibrate on your desk.

turning it over, you see a new notification displayed on your screen.

puddin✨: i’ll pick you up in 30. be ready for me, yeah? kinda feeling sushi tonight.

here’s a lil reference for the words in bold above:

shatter — reinhardt’s ultimate ability; allows him to swing his hammer and drops all enemies in his way, demobilizing them for a few seconds

mercy’s ultimate ability — valkyrie; allows mercy to fly for a certain amt of time, and grants her the ability to heal/damage boost her entire team all at once

pharmercy — overwatch league players (aka ppl who actually know what they’re talking abt lmao) explain what it is here; simply it’s the use of both pharah and mercy together (idk the video shows how it works lmao, this is very very old meta)

mercy’s cute spray — looks like this; unlocked for the player by successfully reviving 6 players without dying in a single match

rez — a term for resurrection; one of mercy’s abilities

huge rez — the achievement name for unlocking mercy’s cute spray

— hoekageyama ‘20

[leaughrilke]

So how do Lena and the kids handle things when Kara gets hurt from a fight with an alien or something?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAH WELL

i mean when they’re little, the kids aren’t super duper aware??  and the adults around them keep a p good handle on everything when shit goes down so they usually remain p blissfully ignorant when kara gets hurt

like they get that kara has a sometimes scary job where she has to protect ppl but its like aunt maggie or aunt alex’s jobs and sometimes she walks in the front door moving a little stiffly and sometimes they have to go see her at the deo, sitting under these bright lights that make maia and finn feel a little weird, a little dizzy, a little powerful, and they hurt stella’s eyes (or maybe that’s not why there’s this heavy pounding at the back of her skull?  she’s so little, she doesn’t have words for it) but it doesn’t rlly.....idk sink in??

that said: lena is quietly a Wreck.  bc the kiddos respond to how she responds, she can’t rlly fall apart (not that she ever rlly did??  but she was able to cry abt it and drop everything to rush to the deo and fuss over kara) so she gets v quiet abt it, all hurried crying with the sink running, bathroom door locked.  she gets v good at hiding the evidence that anything is wrong 

one time, when finn is abt six or so and maia is four and stella isnt quite a year old, kara gets Hurt.  like big time, holy shit, lena we’re doing everything we can for her hurt.  and lena’s stretched so thin already bc kara’s been gone a lot in the week leading up to this, trying to catch this trio of aliens (one rozz escapee, two that got caught up in his schemes) bc they made a direct threat to that pretty luthor you seem so interested in, isn’t she married supergirl? so she just—she can’t imagine not being with kara at the deo but she can’t make their three little kids spend the night in uncomfortable chairs either and she’s exhausted and terrified bc for the first time in a long time she’s not like one hundred percent sure kara’s going to be okay??  and she can’t do this alone, she can’t raise their children on her own, this was always a partnership and she can barely keep them all on schedule for a week how on earth can she do that for the rest of their lives?

and god bless the superfriends, they all step the fuck up.  they’re all sick with worry, obviously, but these kids are still pretty sheltered, still dont have any idea of what their mother does, who she is, what she risks to protect them every day, and everyone pulls it together a little, just enough to take shifts with the kiddos.  

maggie takes mornings, gets finn and maia up and off to school, makes sure they have packed lunches and healthy breakfasts and sends lena little text updates, a picture every morning of the kiddos grinning in their carseats

james covers afternoons—winn picks the kiddos up and drops them at catco and listen, they love their uncle james to no end and he comes up with a million and one games for them to play.  cat usually emerges from her office at some point bearing sweets and the offer of cartoons on one of the many tvs on her wall

lucy flies in on the weekend and hosts a sleepover at her apartment in the city, promises that she’ll make sure they eat their fruits and veggies and then immediately gives them just about as much sugar as they can ask for.  they watch the incredibles and finding nemo and the aristocats (abt 37 times, lucy counted)

eliza stays at the house, helps take care of stella when lena needs to sleep.  she and alex understand The Most, and they stay the closest; eliza cooks meals and moms the hell out of lena and alex sits right next to her at the deo, squeezes her hand whenever she starts to cry and cries along with her

its not good and its not easy and those six days are the Longest of lena’s life but the kids dont even remember them rlly, just a hazy sort of fog of hanging out with their cool aunts and uncles and finn’s the only one that kind of remembers??  but he only rlly remembers kara coming home and them eating a lot of potstickers

UNDER THE CUT BC I KEEP CRYING UR WELCOME

it’s a completely different story when they’re older.  i would say the first Big Scary Moment comes when finn’s ~10, maia’s around eight, and stella’s just turned five.  stella only rlly remembers it bc emotion sort of sharpens all of her memories???  and there were a fuck ton of emotions happening

stella’s at a sleepover and maia’s at a girl scout overnighter and finn’s at a sleepover too (nice attempt at date night kara and lena, too bad evil waits for no happily married couple’s first night alone in months) and kara has to leave bc there’s something happening uptown and lena’s happy, a little warm from the wine and says something like hurry back and she turns on the news, bc she always does when supergirl has to save the day and it’s around six, so it’s the regular evening news and its on in just about every home in national city and the counselors at maia’s camp are watching just to kill time

so everyone gets to watch in hd as supergirl gets shot out of the sky in a hail of kryptonite bullets

stella’s hysterical, so’s maia (no one ever said the kids were any better at secret keeping than kara), finn’s the only one that rlly keeps it together long enough to fake a stomach ache and ask to call his mom to come get him.  lena’s numb, rlly, has to focus on keeping her voice steady when she’s got maia and stella on speaker, assuring them both that she’s on her way to get them, she’s just picked up finn

alex’s already had one of the break rooms near medical set up with cots and lena nearly cries then and there in relief, because she sure as shit isnt leaving the deo without kara and she sure as shit isnt calling a babysitter for her hysterical children, not when stella’s hanging onto her and maia’s tucked up against her side and finn, oh god finn’s trying so hard to keep it together, keeps looking at his sisters, keeps looking at lena and setting his jaw and he’s so much like kara it hurts for lena to see

kara’s in surgery for a long time, long enough that the kids eventually pass out.  they have separate cots, but finn asks lena to help him shove them all together and it makes a surface big enough for the kiddos to curl up together, stella sandwiched between her big siblings, finn’s longer arms just barely reaching over maia’s shoulder, keeping them all together and lena can’t sleep so she pulls up her cot as well and watches her children sleep, watches them draw their breath in sync, as a unit, and she’s not sure how long it is, but then alex is stepping in, exhausted, and she just nods at lena and it’s enough

stella must sense the mood shift bc she’s awake first, squirming to get free of the dog pile theyre in and waking her sibling in the process and then they’re all looking at lena, wide eyed, and it’s maia, the boldest of the three, that asks when can we see mama?

alex answers that she’s resting, that she needs to rest a little longer, but if they’re very quiet and very careful they can go in and see her right now and lena’s not sure if she’s ever seen her children so entirely subdued, but they shuffle into kara’s room very quietly and very carefully, lena just behind them and kara just barely blinks, just barely smiles at them before it all changes again, before stella’s whispering something in finn’s ear and finn’s nodding and asking alex if they can kiss kara and kara’s eyes are shining and lena’s very nearly openly crying

kara kind of cuts alex off with a hoarse c’mere kiddos, i feel like i haven’t seen you in a week and then finn’s wrapping his arms around stella’s middle and he and maia are bouncing off the ground lightly, floating over to kara’s side and their kisses are kind of messy, a little snotty probably, considering how much crying they’ve been doing, but it’s okay, it’s so much better bc kara’s laughing and smiling and sharing a look with lena when stella insists on putting bandaids on her bc you’ve got a lot of booboos mama

it changes as they get even older, obviously, as they get a better understanding of why their mom is getting hurt, and maia gets very angry with kara for a while bc she gets wanting to protect ppl, she gets being a hero, but what, are you just going to leave us?  

one time kara gets p hurt and maia storms out of the room when the family gathers around her and she wont talk to lena, wont talk to alex, and its against several warnings not to that kara gets out from under the sun lamps and goes after her.  it’s not an easy conversation, not by any means and maia’s angry at a a lot of things and kara’s only one of them, but she gets the brunt of it, gets the why don’t you ever think about us?  and the broken i don’t want you to die that comes after a fair amount of yelling and crying

kara doesn’t have a lot of answers that will satisfy maia, she knows, bc maia’s young still and hasn’t had much reason to see the good in people, doesnt have the same idealistic world view like finn, like kara, but what she lacks in solid answers, she makes up for in a hug that clocks in around twelve minutes at least and it’s not the end of the discussion, but its the end for now bc then maia’s remember that holy shit, my mom just got thrown through a building and is ushering kara back to the sun bed

finn’s so gentle, his heart just breaks every time kara gets hurt.  he cries for days in college once bc kara blows her powers in the middle of a fight and just keeps going bc back up wasnt coming and there were civilian lives at stake and he wanted to fly home to help, he wanted to, he wanted to so badly, but he couldnt, he was rooted in place watching the fight on the tv in the lounge, too afraid of the power he had to move

he feels a lot of guilt for that for a very long time, even after stella intervenes (she doesnt v often, only when she thinks it’s necessary) and kara talks to him, assures him there’s nothing for him to feel guilty for.  it takes years, rlly, for him to ever really forgive himself for not helping her, for not stepping in

mostly tho he steps in and fills the gap while kara’s down, takes maia to the demo room when her hands start shaking with rage, holds stella’s punching bag, stops by lena’s office when he’s on his way home from school to drop off a sandwich or salad or something just to make sure she eats.  bless him, he rarely confronts his own feelings about his mother’s second job, the risks she takes.  he can’t, you know?  they’re hard, difficult to handle, difficult to reign in, so he avoids thinking about it too hard until he’s forced it, then my sweet son just breaks down at the oddest moments, like in line at the grocery store or folding laundry or playing video games with his best friend.  just fucking sobs—its usually weeks after kara’s been hurt, and kara’s learned to be on the look out for him around this time, learned to keep half her attention searching the city for her son crying and when she hears it she just drops whatever she’s doing and goes to collect him.  they usually go get ice cream or maybe pizza, or sometimes take a walk along the pier.  sometimes kara will ask finn to teach her how to play whatever game he’s rlly into and she will act like she absolutely has no idea how to play it at first (even though she totally plays them)

and stella !!  stella, little stella always feels it the hardest, always takes her pain and grief and anger and fear and multiplies it, carries the weight of her family with her everywhere she goes.  even if she’s not watching kara fight off whatever evil is lurking in national city, she knows when it’s gone wrong bc lena always watches and the two ppl stella can feel the easiest, strongest, loudest are kara and lena.  she always feels it first

and then it’s agonizing hours of pain, wave after wave of horror and fear and it gets worse the more time she spends around her family—its always the worst from alex and lena, she gets flashes of what happened from alex, gets blood and the crack of bone, the echo of kara getting slammed into a wall or a truck or the pavement.  she gets these bits and pieces of horrible what ifs from lena, gets black suits and questions about kryptonian funerals.  it’s awful.  she doesnt want to be alone when its like this, but stella can hardly stand being around other people, like her own shit is hard enough to deal with, she doesnt need this too

she toughs it out every time tho, bc she’d rather live through it with them all, rather be right there when her mom wakes up than to be somewhere else.  her peace of mind isnt worth that much

eventually it spills over bc it has to, stella cant swallow these feelings forever.  it’s a few days after the latest scare and stella’s the only kid still at home, the only one that didn’t have to get back to school, so she’s spending the rest of her spring break on the couch with her mom while she recovers, while she recharges.  it’s fine one second, then kara gets up to get more popcorn or something and stubs her toe and since she’s still powerless, she actually winces and then stella’s thinking about it, thinking about how close they all came to losing her again and the thoughts and emotions sort of push their way into kara’s mind and stella knows the moment they do bc then kara’s stopped and is giving her this terrible, soft look

by this point, kara knows stella’s patterns like the back of her hand, knows that she wont talk about it until she’s ready, but that she’ll be ready a lot sooner now that kara knows what’s going on.  so she doesn’t say anything, just gets more popcorn and makes stella some tea while she’s up.  when she comes back to the couch, she pulls her daughter into a tight hug bc the sensory thing—that usually helps when she gets overwhelmed like this, too

i’m sorry you’re carrying this, kara tells her.  i’m sorry i can’t help.

stella nods.  i know

its almost enough to know that her mother would carry it if she could

[preciousmetals0]

Job Unrest; Abbott Tests; Netflix’s Best

Job Unrest; Abbott Tests; Netflix’s Best:

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

“So, no one told you life was gonna be this way … (insert clapping here).”

Weekly jobless claims are in, dear reader, and I had to do a double take. Roughly 5.24 million Americans filed new unemployment claims last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Now, we’ve seen bigger numbers in the past month. There were 6.6 million new claims in the prior report, after all. But, if you’re doing the math and following along at home, you probably already know what I’m getting at…

The total number of jobs lost in the past four weeks now stands at just over 22 million.

22 million. Let that sink in.

Let’s put that figure in perspective: Between the end of the Great Recession in 2010 and February 2020, the U.S. economy added about 21.9 million jobs.

In other words, the U.S. economy lost as many jobs in the past four weeks as it created in the prior 10 years.

The official employment figures don’t come out until May 8 with the April nonfarm payrolls report. But if we use the March payrolls report of 155 million employed as a guideline … that works out to about 14% of Americans filing for unemployment in the past four weeks.

That’s staggering. The entire Great Recession recovery … gone … in just four weeks.

The Takeaway: 

I know it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month or even your year, but…

Great Stuff and Banyan Hill will be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. Because our team has been here before.

From dot-com busts to financial meltdowns, the great people here at Great Stuff and Banyan Hill have seen it all. And, if you’ve been a good Great Stuff reader, you’ve likely prepared for what’s coming.

But, just in case you missed a few issues or are just now joining us, let’s reiterate the three investments where most of your capital should be positioned right now:

Gold: This one is a no-brainer. Gold is a store of value. Sure, its value goes up when economic times are hard. But the most important thing about gold is that it preserves your wealth. In bear markets, not losing money is probably more important than making money. If bullion isn’t your thing, check out the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) to get your gold fix.

Bonds: Another solid safe haven for times of trouble. But we’re not talking just any old bonds. We’re talking U.S. Treasury bonds. And the easiest way to take advantage of this secure investment is via the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (Nasdaq: TLT), or exchange-traded fund.

Cash: You’ve heard the saying that “cash is king,” right? It’s true. When all else fails, holding cash is a tried-and-true method to maintain your … um … cash. But we’re in the 21st century now. There are better ways to keep cash than stuffing Benjamins in your mattress, such as the Invesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust (NYSE: FXF) or the Invesco CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSE: FXY).

The idea with these three core investments is to preserve your capital until the market returns to solid footing. That way, you have more to invest when everything trends higher once again.

Now, in addition to these core holdings, there is a smattering of well-run, well-capitalized companies that can help pull you through a bear market, a pandemic or whatever else the market faces. In fact, we’re going to touch on three of those today (more on that in a bit).

But, if you want dedicated, actionable research to help you get through this mess, there are few better guides than Banyan Hill’s own Charles Mizrahi.

Charles can help you sift the pandemic market’s wheat from chaff. Not only does he climb mountains of data and wade through waves of financial headline noise, he shows you how to spot true-blood, game-changing businesses. I mean, this is a guy who picked 36 stocks in a row that went up 50% or more!

That’s the kind of guidance you want right now. Click here now to learn more.

Good: Hey, Abbott!

All-time highs? In this market? It’s more likely than you’d think. All three of today’s focus companies are knocking it out of the park right now, so take note!

First up, we have Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT).

This morning, Abbott reported Street-beating quarterly earnings and revenue. Both figures rose steadily year over year: earnings up about 3.2% and revenue up 2.5%. That level of consistency will be hard to find this earnings season.

Abbott did pull its 2020 guidance due to COVID-19 uncertainties, but the company is in the right market to weather this storm better than most.

In fact, Abbott has one of the few rapid virus tests on the market to receive emergency Food & Drug Administration approval. The company’s test is portable, doesn’t need a lab and returns results in five minutes. Only Aytu BioScience Inc. (Nasdaq: AYTU) has a better testing time.

But Abbott has one thing that Aytu doesn’t … gobs of cash. Abbott says it can churn out about 50,000 tests per day once it ramps up production. And that means plenty of revenue down the road, as testing is key to stemming the COVID-19 tide.

With ABT shares trading near all-time highs, wait for a pullback if you want to be all about Abbott. (Thankfully, other biotech opportunities are right around the corner. Click here ASAP!)

Better: Stream Exotic

With shows such as Tiger King and Ozark going viral, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) is among the de facto winners in the “shelter at home” market.

Goldman Sachs just named Netflix a “conviction buy,” lifting its price target from $430 to $490. The ratings firm believes that Netflix will add 10 million new subs and report earnings well above the consensus estimate.

Meanwhile, Pivotal Research Group reiterated its buy rating on Netflix, boosting its price target to $490 as well. Pivotal also cited impressive subscriber growth, telling clients that: “We believe the unfortunate COVID-19 situation is cementing Netflix’s global DTC (direct-to-consumer) dominance.”

With everyone locked at home for the foreseeable future, even sardine-oil-obsessed Carole Baskin can’t sink NFLX stock right now. (If you didn’t get that reference, you need to watch Tiger King like … now.)

As with ABT, the only risk we see for NFLX right now is a sharp decline in the broader market.

Best: Amazing Amazon

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is the be-all and end-all quarantine investment. It slices. It dices. It makes julienne fries. It hits all-time highs.

The only thing it doesn’t do right now is provide cloud services for the Pentagon. Amazon is no JEDI, according to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, anyway.

Well, it also doesn’t ship nonessential goods in France.

So, I guess Amazon doesn’t do everything. But it does do more than enough to excite Wall Street analysts. Yesterday, Deutsche Bank reiterated its buy rating on AMZN stock, while all but accusing the company of “profiting from the COVID-related turmoil.”

A company built around delivering practically any product you can think of was essentially designed to benefit from a quarantine situation. There’s no way around it.

But Amazon is taking steps to mitigate some of the bad PR arising from the COVID-19 situation (and the company’s soaring profits). CEO Jeff Bezos is building out virus-testing capabilities at Amazon. The company raised wages, and Bezos himself is raining pennies down on charity relief efforts.

The bottom line: Amazon is pretty much the only game in town for online ordering and at-home delivery for a whole host of essential products. That’s why AMZN continues to hit all-time highs, and why Amazon should be at the top of any investment opportunities you’re considering right now.

You know the deal: You “Marco,” I “Polo!”

It’s already that time of week — man, time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping … into the future. Let’s turn the conversation over to you in today’s edition of Reader Feedback.

Other Side of the Street

JB Hunt is a horrible company with terrible culture (30+yrs in trucking experience), those huge payouts were to try to reverse the horrible turn over rate.

— Ron V.

First off, thank you for writing in, Ron! We here at Great Stuff love to hear from folks exactly like you — those with front-line experiences of the stories we cover.

As you know, the freight game is already notorious for its next-to-nothing margins. So when you combine that with a whipsaw between supply surges and demand droughts … the worst-case scenario almost writes itself for any trucking company without an edge.

The Wall Street Journal detailed the great transportation shake-up back during the heights of panic buying. Derek Leathers, CEO of J.B. competitor Werner Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: WERN), said: “We’re having to redesign the network in real time.”

Call it a bribe, stipend, bonus or loyalty incentive … but J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (Nasdaq: JBHT) at least put up a nice show to try and keep its truly essential assets together — the truckers still showing up to haul cargo each and every day.

The Nuances of Bottoms

Do you have any kind of an estimate of when the market is going to bottom out?

— C. Ray S.

Frankly, C. Ray … nope!

No one — not even the most learned, “nose to the data grind” analyst on Wall Street — has anything more than a best guess.

We’re just started what may be the most radical, uncertain earnings season of our lives. Legions of day traders, investors, working and non-working Joes, speculators, fund managers and even world governments are playing the waiting game to see how bad everyone else’s damage is.

We need more data. Period. The entirety of this corporate earnings season is still up in the air for nearly every U.S. stock. Investors who wait, hope and plan on market bottoms get left behind.

Bottom line: If you hold stores of value and/or well-run companies throughout this debacle, you don’t need to spot the bottom. Amid all the noise and volatility, most stocks will see their “bottoms” at completely different times.

That’s why gold, currencies and solid stocks are your best chance at holding on to certainty — no matter what uncertainty lies ahead.

Odds and Ends

LOVE LOVE

— Jeff Z.

Jeff here kept it short and sweet. I, for one, appreciate the kindness, Jeff!

Hey, thanks for the link to the Smith Barney commercial. I enjoyed seeing it again (Yes, I’m that old!).  It’s funny how those old catchphrases stay with you.

— Charles H.

When Charles H. talks, Great Stuff listens! Glad to hear that it’s not just my brainbox these old-school slogans still kick around in. He likes it! Hey, Mikey!

Thank you to Ron, C. Ray, Jeff and Charles for writing in! If you wrote in and I didn’t get to you, it might be because you cursed too $%*?@#! much. We deeply appreciate each and every one of your emails (and you can never have too much to read during isolation).

Have you written to us yet? No?! Feel free to speak your mind — drop us a line at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com.

That’s a wrap for today, but if you still crave more Great Stuff, check us out on social media: Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, be Great!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

[goldira01]

You’ve Got a Friend in Me

“So, no one told you life was gonna be this way … (insert clapping here).”

Weekly jobless claims are in, dear reader, and I had to do a double take. Roughly 5.24 million Americans filed new unemployment claims last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Now, we’ve seen bigger numbers in the past month. There were 6.6 million new claims in the prior report, after all. But, if you’re doing the math and following along at home, you probably already know what I’m getting at…

The total number of jobs lost in the past four weeks now stands at just over 22 million.

22 million. Let that sink in.

Let’s put that figure in perspective: Between the end of the Great Recession in 2010 and February 2020, the U.S. economy added about 21.9 million jobs.

In other words, the U.S. economy lost as many jobs in the past four weeks as it created in the prior 10 years.

The official employment figures don’t come out until May 8 with the April nonfarm payrolls report. But if we use the March payrolls report of 155 million employed as a guideline … that works out to about 14% of Americans filing for unemployment in the past four weeks.

That’s staggering. The entire Great Recession recovery … gone … in just four weeks.

The Takeaway: 

I know it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month or even your year, but…

Great Stuff and Banyan Hill will be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. Because our team has been here before.

From dot-com busts to financial meltdowns, the great people here at Great Stuff and Banyan Hill have seen it all. And, if you’ve been a good Great Stuff reader, you’ve likely prepared for what’s coming.

But, just in case you missed a few issues or are just now joining us, let’s reiterate the three investments where most of your capital should be positioned right now:

Gold: This one is a no-brainer. Gold is a store of value. Sure, its value goes up when economic times are hard. But the most important thing about gold is that it preserves your wealth. In bear markets, not losing money is probably more important than making money. If bullion isn’t your thing, check out the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) to get your gold fix.

Bonds: Another solid safe haven for times of trouble. But we’re not talking just any old bonds. We’re talking U.S. Treasury bonds. And the easiest way to take advantage of this secure investment is via the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (Nasdaq: TLT), or exchange-traded fund.

Cash: You’ve heard the saying that “cash is king,” right? It’s true. When all else fails, holding cash is a tried-and-true method to maintain your … um … cash. But we’re in the 21st century now. There are better ways to keep cash than stuffing Benjamins in your mattress, such as the Invesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust (NYSE: FXF) or the Invesco CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (NYSE: FXY).

The idea with these three core investments is to preserve your capital until the market returns to solid footing. That way, you have more to invest when everything trends higher once again.

Now, in addition to these core holdings, there is a smattering of well-run, well-capitalized companies that can help pull you through a bear market, a pandemic or whatever else the market faces. In fact, we’re going to touch on three of those today (more on that in a bit).

But, if you want dedicated, actionable research to help you get through this mess, there are few better guides than Banyan Hill’s own Charles Mizrahi.

Charles can help you sift the pandemic market’s wheat from chaff. Not only does he climb mountains of data and wade through waves of financial headline noise, he shows you how to spot true-blood, game-changing businesses. I mean, this is a guy who picked 36 stocks in a row that went up 50% or more!

That’s the kind of guidance you want right now. Click here now to learn more.

Good: Hey, Abbott!

All-time highs? In this market? It’s more likely than you’d think. All three of today’s focus companies are knocking it out of the park right now, so take note!

First up, we have Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT).

This morning, Abbott reported Street-beating quarterly earnings and revenue. Both figures rose steadily year over year: earnings up about 3.2% and revenue up 2.5%. That level of consistency will be hard to find this earnings season.

Abbott did pull its 2020 guidance due to COVID-19 uncertainties, but the company is in the right market to weather this storm better than most.

In fact, Abbott has one of the few rapid virus tests on the market to receive emergency Food & Drug Administration approval. The company’s test is portable, doesn’t need a lab and returns results in five minutes. Only Aytu BioScience Inc. (Nasdaq: AYTU) has a better testing time.

But Abbott has one thing that Aytu doesn’t … gobs of cash. Abbott says it can churn out about 50,000 tests per day once it ramps up production. And that means plenty of revenue down the road, as testing is key to stemming the COVID-19 tide.

With ABT shares trading near all-time highs, wait for a pullback if you want to be all about Abbott. (Thankfully, other biotech opportunities are right around the corner. Click here ASAP!)

Better: Stream Exotic

With shows such as Tiger King and Ozark going viral, Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) is among the de facto winners in the “shelter at home” market.

Goldman Sachs just named Netflix a “conviction buy,” lifting its price target from $430 to $490. The ratings firm believes that Netflix will add 10 million new subs and report earnings well above the consensus estimate.

Meanwhile, Pivotal Research Group reiterated its buy rating on Netflix, boosting its price target to $490 as well. Pivotal also cited impressive subscriber growth, telling clients that: “We believe the unfortunate COVID-19 situation is cementing Netflix’s global DTC (direct-to-consumer) dominance.”

With everyone locked at home for the foreseeable future, even sardine-oil-obsessed Carole Baskin can’t sink NFLX stock right now. (If you didn’t get that reference, you need to watch Tiger King like … now.)

As with ABT, the only risk we see for NFLX right now is a sharp decline in the broader market.

Best: Amazing Amazon

Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) is the be-all and end-all quarantine investment. It slices. It dices. It makes julienne fries. It hits all-time highs.

The only thing it doesn’t do right now is provide cloud services for the Pentagon. Amazon is no JEDI, according to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, anyway.

Well, it also doesn’t ship nonessential goods in France.

So, I guess Amazon doesn’t do everything. But it does do more than enough to excite Wall Street analysts. Yesterday, Deutsche Bank reiterated its buy rating on AMZN stock, while all but accusing the company of “profiting from the COVID-related turmoil.”

A company built around delivering practically any product you can think of was essentially designed to benefit from a quarantine situation. There’s no way around it.

But Amazon is taking steps to mitigate some of the bad PR arising from the COVID-19 situation (and the company’s soaring profits). CEO Jeff Bezos is building out virus-testing capabilities at Amazon. The company raised wages, and Bezos himself is raining pennies down on charity relief efforts.

The bottom line: Amazon is pretty much the only game in town for online ordering and at-home delivery for a whole host of essential products. That’s why AMZN continues to hit all-time highs, and why Amazon should be at the top of any investment opportunities you’re considering right now.

You know the deal: You “Marco,” I “Polo!”

It’s already that time of week — man, time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping … into the future. Let’s turn the conversation over to you in today’s edition of Reader Feedback.

Other Side of the Street

JB Hunt is a horrible company with terrible culture (30+yrs in trucking experience), those huge payouts were to try to reverse the horrible turn over rate.

— Ron V.

First off, thank you for writing in, Ron! We here at Great Stuff love to hear from folks exactly like you — those with front-line experiences of the stories we cover.

As you know, the freight game is already notorious for its next-to-nothing margins. So when you combine that with a whipsaw between supply surges and demand droughts … the worst-case scenario almost writes itself for any trucking company without an edge.

The Wall Street Journal detailed the great transportation shake-up back during the heights of panic buying. Derek Leathers, CEO of J.B. competitor Werner Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: WERN), said: “We’re having to redesign the network in real time.”

Call it a bribe, stipend, bonus or loyalty incentive … but J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (Nasdaq: JBHT) at least put up a nice show to try and keep its truly essential assets together — the truckers still showing up to haul cargo each and every day.

The Nuances of Bottoms

Do you have any kind of an estimate of when the market is going to bottom out?

— C. Ray S.

Frankly, C. Ray … nope!

No one — not even the most learned, “nose to the data grind” analyst on Wall Street — has anything more than a best guess.

We’re just started what may be the most radical, uncertain earnings season of our lives. Legions of day traders, investors, working and non-working Joes, speculators, fund managers and even world governments are playing the waiting game to see how bad everyone else’s damage is.

We need more data. Period. The entirety of this corporate earnings season is still up in the air for nearly every U.S. stock. Investors who wait, hope and plan on market bottoms get left behind.

Bottom line: If you hold stores of value and/or well-run companies throughout this debacle, you don’t need to spot the bottom. Amid all the noise and volatility, most stocks will see their “bottoms” at completely different times.

That’s why gold, currencies and solid stocks are your best chance at holding on to certainty — no matter what uncertainty lies ahead.

Odds and Ends

LOVE LOVE

— Jeff Z.

Jeff here kept it short and sweet. I, for one, appreciate the kindness, Jeff!

Hey, thanks for the link to the Smith Barney commercial. I enjoyed seeing it again (Yes, I’m that old!).  It’s funny how those old catchphrases stay with you.

— Charles H.

When Charles H. talks, Great Stuff listens! Glad to hear that it’s not just my brainbox these old-school slogans still kick around in. He likes it! Hey, Mikey!

Thank you to Ron, C. Ray, Jeff and Charles for writing in! If you wrote in and I didn’t get to you, it might be because you cursed too $%*?@#! much. We deeply appreciate each and every one of your emails (and you can never have too much to read during isolation).

Have you written to us yet? No?! Feel free to speak your mind — drop us a line at GreatStuffToday@BanyanHill.com.

That’s a wrap for today, but if you still crave more Great Stuff, check us out on social media: Facebook and Twitter.

Until next time, be Great!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff