#eighty dollars…eight zero…..

[samarecharm]

If i think too hard about the switch game mess imma cry

[a-girl-called-bob]

One time, when no one was looking, Nintendo charged eighty dollars for a video game. They charged 80 bucks. That's as many as eight tens. And that's terrible.

[settons]

80 dollars? Eighty EIGHT ZERO dollars? for video games? for video games on their already exorbitantly priced stupid fucking console when the first generation is notorious for poorly designed poorly implemented bullshit? are we serious? are we actually serious. 80 AMERICAN DOLLARS?

[txemrn]

The Picture Show

Book: TNA

Rating: fluffy; smidge of sensuality, smidge of angst

Word count: exactly 2000

A/N: Oof! I wanted to participate in wacky drabbles #102 this week, but long story short, the week got away from me, and I am painfully late in posting! That's okay, though! It's going up anyway, and I'm sure they won't mind me using their prompt (prompt will be in bold)! Huge thanks to @kat-tia801 for brainstorming this fic with me, and thank you to @chemist-ana for pre-reading (and convincing me it wasn't dumb lol). As always, these characters belong to our friends at Pixelberry (also, Caroline is the name I've given Sam's first wife; even though we know her real name now, old habits die hard... wow, pun not intended!).

***

A crisp, cool breeze manifests a gentle oasis for the gathered movie-goer crowd on the humid city street. Waiting in line to purchase tickets for their impromptu date night, Brynn casually ties a knot in the front of her knit band tee, exposing a thin strip of her Tuscany-sun-kissed skin. Finger-combing her almond waves, she tosses her careless strands into a perfectly teased bun to enjoy the reprieve from the stifling August heat.

“You’re making this too easy for me.” The familiar, smoky whisper sends a pleasure-filled jolt down Brynn’s spine as his breathy chuckles tickle her ear. His fingertips pad across her midriff, tucking his sizable hand into the front of her jeans. His other hand cups around her head as he presses his plump pout to the sensitive spots of her neck. “So, what’ll it be tonight: Melissa McCarthy telling jokes for two hours or scary paranormal demons?”

“The difference being?” Brynn jokes, pulling Sam’s hand out of her pants, lacing her fingers with his.

“Touché,” he chuckles, hiding a wide grin. Their lips meet together for a simple kiss just as the ticket booth attendant motions for them to approach. After collecting their tickets for the latest horror flick, the young couple approach the concession counter. “Wanna share a popcorn?”

Brynn’s eyes light up as she eagerly nods her head. “And gummy worms, please!”

“You are just as bad as the boys--”

“What does that mean?” Brynn jovially pinches Sam, aiming for his chest.

“Let’s just say that gummy worms were never on the weekly grocery list until you came around,” he smirks, raising an eyebrow while guarding his nipples.

“See? I improved your life in more ways than one,” Brynn quips.

Sam lets out a hearty laugh, pulling Brynn’s body closer to his. “Mmmm--” he kisses one side of her neck, “--so many--” he kisses the other side of her neck, his hand grazing the curve of her ass, “--different--” he suddenly squeezes hard, making Brynn yelp, “--ways--” he captures her lips in a hungry kiss.

A clearing of a throat abruptly interrupts the moment. “‘Scuse me, but did you want butter on your popcorn, sir?” Sam’s cheeks burn red as Brynn chuckles through a nod. “That’ll be twenty-eight eighty-one.”

Sam quickly double-takes as he pulls out his wallet. “I’m sorry,” he grins politely, “did you say almost thirty dollars? For popcorn and gummy worms?”

“And your wife wanted a large Coke Zero.”

Brynn smiles brightly as she dramatically slurps on a straw. “Yes, husband, your wife wanted a large Coke Zero,” she sardonically mimics the concession worker, batting her eyes innocently.

Sam lowers his voice. “For thirty dollars?”

“Actually for twenty-eight eighty-one,” the teenage attendant corrects.

“You’ll have to excuse him,” Brynn pats Sam’s chest, winking at him endearingly before turning her attention to the cashier. “He hasn’t been to the movies since de Blasio took office.”

The attendant gives a confused look. “Who?”

Brynn stifles a laugh. “Exactly.” She looks warmly up at Sam as he boops her on the nose, grinning smugly at her. She puts her hand in his hand that is holding his wallet. “I’ve got this, old man.”

“Absolutely not.” Sam pulls his hand away from hers. “What kind of gentleman do you take me for?”

“Sam, it’s not a big deal,” she reaches for his wallet. “You are always paying. Let me do this tonight. My treat.” He quickly snatches his wallet, lifting it above her head while shaking his head. “Samuel!” she titters, stretching to grab his wallet. “Why are you being so difficult? Put that away.”

“Brynn, c’mon, there are people waiting--”

“Exactly. Let me pay.” She pushes her petite body in front of Sam’s as she reaches for her own wallet. “Here, sir,” she motions to the cashier as she begins to pull out two twenty-dollar bills.

“No. Brynn!” Sam loops his arm in front of Brynn’s body, shielding her from pulling her money out. “Stop that!” He turns to the concession attendant. “Here, take my card--”

Brynn swats at Sam's hand, accidentally knocking his wallet out of his grasp, the contents of the billfold dumping out onto the counter. Brynn cups her mouth, laughing at an irritated Sam who is taking a large deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. She quickly hands her money to the attendant before turning her attention to Sam. “C’mon, let’s get this cleaned up--”

And suddenly, there it was, splayed out for both Sam and Brynn to see together: a picture of Sam’s late wife. In the nude.

Sam quickly snatches the picture up as well as his cards and cash, hoping Brynn didn't notice. When he looks back up, Brynn is already giving their tickets to the attendant to be admitted into the theater.

She noticed.

“Brynn--”

“I--I think I’m gonna need some more napkins,” she nervously interrupts, an out-of-breath pant to her voice.

“Ma’am? There are napkins inside," helpfully offered a worker.

“Oh,” Brynn appears defeated, refusing to look at Sam. “I’ll go grab our seats then,” she offers, power-walking away from her boyfriend.

“Brynn? Brynn?” His voice carries over the bustling hallway, but she doesn’t slow down. Once in the theater, Brynn anxiously stumbles in the low-lighting, picking out seats. Catching up to her, Sam’s hands kindly grip her shoulders. “Brynn. Please. Talk to me.”

She cordially smiles at him. “Talk about what?” She sits down, nervously pawing to open her bag of gummy worms.

Sam steals the bag of candy from Brynn. “Are you seriously going to pretend that didn’t just happen?”

“Pretend that what didn’t just happen--”

Putting his hands on his hips, he raises his voice. “You seeing my wife’s tits.” With the sudden cascade of snickers and gasps from fellow patrons turning to stare, Brynn grabs Sam’s arm, yanking him down into his seat.

Sam leans over, whispering into Brynn’s ear. “Please, let’s just talk about this--”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Sam,” her eyes stare intently at the large white screen.

“You’re mad.”

“I’m not mad.” Brynn begins wringing her hands as her foot nervously bounces. “I just,” she sighs before becoming quiet, her voice audibly shaking, “I--I didn’t know. I mean--damnit, Sam, you keep a photo of her in your wallet?”

“Of my wife?" He enunciates, making Brynn feel foolish. "Is that wrong of me?”

“No,” Brynn’s lower lip begins to tremble, “yes? I--I don’t know, Sam. I don’t know what I’m supposed to think right now. I figured you'd have a picture of her. Just with, uh, I mean. She would be, um--"

"Clothed?" Sam smirks.

Brynn gradually looks into Sam's eyes, but finds herself abruptly avoiding his gaze as questions flood her mind. Why would he be keeping a nude photo of his late wife? How often does he look at it? Is that even her business to know? To care?

The house lights turn down as the roar of advertisements brightly flood the screen. Brynn rests her chin in her hand, fighting tears. Even though the excitement of the music and vivid colors enthralls the audience, Brynn is a million miles away. She feels completely confused as to how to feel about this situation. Was she even allowed to be upset about this? Why couldn’t things just be simple for once in their relationship?

“Brynn?” Sam beckons for her from the clouds, bringing her back to reality. He lifts up the armrest between them. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulls her into his chest, peppering her hair with kisses.

As the movie ends, Sam and Brynn remain silent, making their exit to the streets of New York. After a few blocks, Sam stops, sensing Brynn’s heightened emotions. He can tell she’s still bothered by what happened before the movie.

He sighs heavily. “Let’s talk about it.”

Brynn lets go of his hand, scoffing, spinning around to see if anyone was watching. After a few moments of silence, she can feel the heat budding in her cheeks. She crosses her arms, and while staring at Sam, she lets out an inaudible ‘okay’.

With sincerity in his voice, Sam locks eyes with Brynn. "I honestly haven't looked at that picture in months. I completely forgot that I even had it. But--” he hesitates for a second, choosing his words wisely, “--throwing it away seems like the wrong thing to do."

"Caroline* and I didn't have sex until our wedding night." Brynn's eyebrows furrow before her eyes widen in shock. Sam continues. "She wanted to wait until marriage, especially given," he takes a deep breath, "my past--which you know about." Brynn nods. "But then the night before our wedding,” a smile blossoms across his face in remembrance, “she gifted me this wallet. With this picture. She said it was her promise to me--her all to me. I know you see a nude picture. But,” he sighs nervously as his eyes glaze with tears, “it’s always been so much more than that.”

Brynn considers his words, a warm smile growing on her face. She finally holds out her hand, for Sam to take. “Let’s go home.”

The next night, Brynn did bedtime alone with the boys. The penthouse had been fairly quiet throughout the day, even after Sam came home late from work. There is still an awkwardness in the air, and even though Brynn and Sam weren’t angry with each other, they also didn’t know what to say.

Closing the twin’s bedroom door, Brynn quietly tiptoes to the home office in her robe, knowing Sam is lost in his paperwork. She cautiously knocks on the door. After a few moments, the door whips open, Sam grabbing Brynn and jerking her inside.

“Since when do we knock on doors, babe?” Sam sits back into his leather tufted chair, pulling Brynn onto his lap, endearingly rubbing circles on her lower back.

“I--I wasn’t sure if you were busy, or--or if you--”

Sam holds his hand over her mouth, a smile growing across his face. “You know better.” He grabs her hand, kissing the back of it. “Now, what’s going on?”

Brynn coyly looks up at Sam, clearly nervous to ask her next question. “Can I see your wallet?”

Sam’s face falls, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Why?”

“I want to see it.”

Sam can’t bring his attention to Brynn. He never removed that photo of his first wife, nor did he know how Brynn was currently feeling about the nude picture. All he does know is he better pull out his wallet. And start praying for mercy.

Brynn stands up, circling around Sam’s office chair. Sam reaches in his back pocket, pulling out the wallet. Brynn wraps her arms around his shoulders, brushing her nose against his ear. “Open it,” she commands with a sensual, husky tone.

Sam dutifully opens his wallet to the plastic picture holder. His cheeks begin to swelter with pink growing down his neck. He can feel a queasiness growing in his gut as he lays it out for Brynn to see.

“Aren’t you going to look?”

“Brynn?” He throws off her arms, becoming irritated. “What kind of game--?”

And that’s when he sees it: a picture of his stunning girlfriend, carefully photographed in the nude with her hands posing perfectly across her assets.

Sam’s eyes quickly dart around the room, finding Brynn locking the door and uncinching her robe. Letting the fabric pool on the floor, she straddles her naked body across his lap, his hands unable to resist.

Brynn grabs the wallet, pulling out the nude photos of herself and Sam’s first wife. “This may have been her promise to you, and you can keep it for as long as you want,” Brynn pulls out her photo, handing it to Sam. "But, this. This is my promise to you, Sam Dalton." She leans over, stealing his breath with a fervent kiss. “I love you.”

Cupping her cheek, Sam’s eyes gather tears as he looks admirably at his new forever. “I love you, too.”

***

Tags: @ao719 @charlotteg234 @chemist-ana @choiceskatie @forallthatitsworth @jessiembruno @kat-tia801 @khoicesbyk @lovelyladyk88 @lucy-268 @neotericthemis @nestledonthaveone @phoenixrising308 @sfb123 @shannonwrote @shewillreadyou @taniasethi @thefrenchiemama

[hookedonapirate]

As Luck Would Have It

Summary: What Emma wouldn’t give to make one of her many fantasies starring her favorite customer come to life (one that either takes place at work and involves a good, hard fuck on the break room table or against the stockroom shelves (hey, what can she say, she gets bored) or one that takes place in her bed). She wouldn't be too picky about the location, just as long as she had a chance to be with him.

It’s just too bad none of her fantasies will ever come true though. And it’s not because there’s zero chance he would ever be interested in her because, well, she works at Walgreens and he’s way too good for her. 

No, it’s too bad because he’s totally and completely gay.

A/N: This is something short and fun that I wrote for @onceuponaprincessworld. I talked to you about writing this before, well I finally got around to writing the thing. I hope it at least puts a smile on your face. Happy Friday! 

Thank you @resident-of-storybrooke for looking it over!

Rated: a very Mature Teen for salty language and mature topics

For someone who hasn’t had sex in faaaaaaar too long (much longer than she cares to admit) Emma knows way too damn much about condoms. Like more than any one human being should. There are flavored condoms, ribbed condoms, dual-action condoms, pleasure shaped, lubricated, colored, french ticklers and even edible condoms. Who the hell even comes up with this shit? There are twisted condoms, her pleasure sensations, intense, warming, and pleasure packs. There are latex and ultra-thin and bare skin and ultra-smooth. The list goes on and on. 

  Way too much. 

 Emma never even uses them, or at least she hasn't in years, but she works at Walgreens. She’s a Designated Hitter, so she does a little bit of everything there, and when she’s not working in the pharmacy or behind the checkout counter, she’s working in the feminine hygiene/baby/contraceptive aisle which means she orders the products, stocks them, prices them, hangs up sales tags and does it all over again the next week. 

 At first, she would get all squeamish whenever she was working with condoms. Every time a male customer passed by or stopped to take a gander at the condoms, she would move down the aisle, pretending to work on something else. Now, she sells them like she’s selling candy to a child. When the male customers are browsing through the selection, she asks what kind they’re looking for and happily suggests one, grabs it off the shelf and hands it to him.

 Tonight she’s working behind the front counter on a Friday night, selling lots of alcohol and snacks and wishing she was on the other side of the counter, buying wine and chocolate so she can go home and veg out on the sofa of her lonely apartment watching her favorite rom coms. Instead, she’s here at work, forced to engage in monotonous small talk with strangers while doing her best to ignore the thieves who wander in and out of the store because she’s not allowed to say anything to them, even when she sees them taking packs of hand soaps or household items off the shelves and stuffing them into their bags so they can sell them on Facebook. 

 She has to put up with these antics until midnight before she closes the doors and prays she doesn’t find a drunk, homeless person on the restroom floor again while cleaning. Yep, that’s happened twice since she’s been here. And she’s only been working here for eight months! Which is one of the many reasons why she’s going to school to get a decent job. The pay isn’t too bad, and the insurance is great, but she sure as hell doesn’t see herself selling condoms and waking up hobos in the restroom when she’s eighty years old. Because if that’s what she has to look forward to when she’s eighty then, Lord, just end it now and get it over with.

 The only thing she can look forward to while working at Walgreens, however, is Mr. sex on legs—a Greek god with a pair of the most alluring blue eyes she’s ever seen. She’s never had a particular thing for men in uniforms, men with dimples, men with accents or men in general, really, but Killian fuck-me Jones is hotter than a scolding cup of coffee in his uniform, has the most adorable dimples on his cheeks and has a sinfully decadent British accent that makes her panties melt.

 What Emma wouldn’t give to make one of her many fantasies starring her favorite customer come to life (one that either takes place at work and involves a good, hard fuck on the break room table or against the stockroom shelves (hey, what can she say, she gets bored) or one that takes place in her bed). She wouldn't be too picky about the location, just as long as she had a chance to be with him.

 It’s just too bad none of her fantasies will ever come true though. And it’s not because there’s zero chance he would ever be interested in her because, well, she works at Walgreens and he’s way too good for her.

 No, it’s too bad because he’s totally and completely gay.

  Of course he is. After getting her heart stomped on years ago by he who shall not be named, she hasn’t been with anyone, not even for a one-night stand. And the one time she actually has eyes for someone, the one time she meets someone she’s even remotely interested in, he’s gay! It's like the devil is mocking her. 

 It’s just her luck.

 Officer Jones frequents this location with his partner on a daily basis. They work together and she’s pretty sure they’re not only partners on the streets but also partners in the sheets. 

 At first, she thought they were only joking around, like the one time when Killian was trying to pay for his purchases but was short on change, and David handed him a dollar bill and said, “Here’s a dollar, sweet cheeks. Keep the change.” He slipped a dollar bill into Killian’s pocket, kissed him on the cheek, winked at Emma and said, “I’m his Sugar Daddy,” He walked out the door, leaving Killian blushing adorably as he handed her the cash for his morning blueberry muffin and energy drink. 

 He rolled his eyes and his deep, rich laugh warmed her heart. That's right, even his laugh is fucking perfect. 

 “I can’t take him anywhere.”

 “I see that.” Emma giggled with him as she took the cash from Killian’s strong-looking hands, which certainly did not play a vital role in her fantasies. Which also does not bear any sign of a wedding band, she had noticed at the time (and several times before that). She’d brushed off Killian’s interaction with the other cop at the time, thinking there was actually a real connection between them and not one between the two men. The signs were all there, she just read them all wrong.

 But now they’re both standing at the front counter in their street clothes, buying two jumbo packs of condoms, claiming it’s because the Trojans are on sale if you buy two. But she has a feeling that’s not the only reason why they’re buying in bulk, because if she had a lover like Killian, then she too would be having sex with him all the freaking time. In fact, she wouldn’t let the man leave the damn house. So yeah, she can understand why David would want that fine piece of British ass all the fucking time. And no, she’s not insanely jealous of a dude. Definitely not! 

 ~*~

 “Buying condoms isn’t gonna get me laid, Dave.”

 “Well no, but then you won’t have an excuse to back out when a gorgeous woman hits on you. And who knows, maybe you’ll finally gather the courage to ask the checkout girl out.”

 “Don’t call her that,” Killian chides, scolding his friend briefly before returning his eyes to the road. “She has a name.”

 David holds up his hands in defense. “Sorry, I didn’t mean any offense. I just meant you’ve been obsessing over Emma for six months and it’s time you make her more than your checkout girl, don’t you think?”

 “What does that have to do with buying condoms? You think buying condoms will automatically get me into bed with her? Even if it did, Emma’s too good to be someone's onetime fling.”

 “I’m just saying, buying condoms is the first step. The next step is to ask her out. What happens from there is up to the two of you.”

 Killian chuckles as he pulls into the Walgreens parking lot. “Thank you for the inciteful advice on how to pick up women, but I’m not some horny sixteen-year-old boy, and this isn’t my first rodeo.”

 “I know that, but you haven’t dated anyone in five years. You fell off the horse, and I’m afraid if I don’t give you a boost, you’re never gonna get on that horse again.”

 Killian rolls his eyes and unbuckles his seatbelt once he parks the car. “I’m perfectly capable of getting back on the horse without your help.”   

 David cocks his head at Killian and shrugs, unconvinced. “Then prove it.”

 “I will.” Killian accepts David’s challenge and hurries out of the car, determined to prove his partner wrong. He doesn’t need help getting Emma. He just has to be himself, right? If only it were that simple because as soon as he steps inside Walgreens and gets one look at the beautiful blonde behind the counter and those sparkling green eyes, his mind becomes an empty void of darkness and his brain turns to mush. 

 He quickly makes his way through one of the aisles to avoid her. Now he remembers why he hasn’t asked her out already. He’s never been this nervous around a woman, but Emma… she can turn him into a complete nervous mess just by casting a glance his way. 

 He can feel her stare burning into his back as he stops and turns in the middle of the aisle to make it look like he’s nonchalantly browsing the razors rather than coming here to ask her out but failing miserably to gather the courage to do so the second he saw her lovely, smiling face. She’s so fucking adorable, he can’t even turn his head to look at her without grinning like a fool. 

  God, he’s in love.

 He remembers the first time he saw her. He came to the pharmacy to get pain medication after he broke his arm during a softball game with his colleagues. He stepped up to the counter and saw her long golden hair, dazzling emerald eyes and the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen in his life. Since then, he never starts his day without stopping in and getting his daily energy drink and muffin. Even if she’s not working at the front counter, just seeing her and saying hi is all he needs to get through the day.

  Fuck, he’ll never be able to ask her out.

 Killian lets out a frustrated sigh as he looks at the razors again.

 David was right. Damn bastard.

 Speaking of his partner, Killian hears David’s arrogant whistle; he’s obviously gloating as he enters the store and sees that Killian had hidden in one of the aisles instead of going up to Emma and asking her out. The aisle with the razors is in front of the checkout counter, giving Killian a clear view of Emma, so he can hear David when he approaches Emma and asks her in a loud and rather obnoxious voice, “Hey, Emma, where are your condoms?”

  Bloody fucking hell.

 Killian curses under his breath as Emma leaves the counter to show David where the desired merchandise is. He can smell Emma’s intoxicating perfume when she passes him. David follows behind her with a shit-eating grin on his face.

 “Hey, Killian, Emma is kind enough to show us where the condoms are.”

  Fan-fucking-tastic.

 Grumbling under his breath, Killian begrudgingly follows David. He’s going to kill his best friend.

 The three of them reach the condoms, and Killian is contemplating murder when David asks, “What do you recommend?”

 Okay, now David is just trying to mess with him. David doesn’t need help picking out condoms, and he certainly didn’t need to be directed here in the first place. He and his girlfriend are sexually active and they always use protection.

 “Um… besides the obvious, what are you looking to achieve with condoms?” she asks, glancing between Killian and David. “Something to get the job done or to add to the sensation?”

  Oh, God. 

 Killian buries his face in his hands to hide his burning cheeks; he could die from mortification right about now.

 When he drags his hands from his face, David still has a stupid grin on his face.

 “These are buy-one-get-one-free with your Balance Rewards card, so you might as well get two,” Emma suggests, handing David two boxes of the condoms she’s referring to, which are jumbo-sized. Of course they are. Because Killian doesn’t need anything to add on to the humiliation he already feels burning his cheeks. Certainly not. Then again, it’s not like things can get more embarrassing than they already are.

 “Great, I think I will. Killian, you like ribbed too, right?” David asks casually as he tries to hand one to Killian.

 Correction. It can get ten times more embarrassing.

 Killian’s face is on fucking fire and he wants the floor to open up and consume him because it beats being humiliated by his best friend, who he’s doing his best not to punch in the face.

 He snatches the box from David’s hand and storms away to avoid seeing the look on Emma’s face right now. She’s probably laughing at him with her eyes, either that or she’s glaring at him, thinking he’s a total douchebag or maybe she assumes he’s in a committed relationship. Or maybe she’s indifferent and couldn't care less. Neither thoughts are good ones as far as he’s concerned. He wants her to care enough to wonder why he’s getting them, but he’s too embarrassed and flustered to think that’s a feasible possibility.

 Killian grabs a six-pack of beer as he thinks about how he will murder David. But if he did, he’d spend the rest of his life in a lonely prison cell and he’d never get to see Emma’s pretty face ever again. So he supposes he won’t kill his best friend. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he didn’t get to see Emma’s face every day during his morning commute. She’s a good enough reason to not want to go to prison.

 He and David place the items on the counter as Emma returns to her spot behind the register and rings them up. Killian reaches for his back pocket to retrieve his wallet, but David puts out his hand to stop him. 

 “Don’t worry about it, I got it,” David offers. “I’m the sugar Daddy, remember?”

 Killian forces out a strained chuckle and doesn’t argue as he slips his wallet back into his pocket. After the shit David just pulled, he owes Killian. Big time.

 Emma calls out the total, and Killian finally gathers the courage to look at her face. She’s offering him a warm smile, a small amount of blush painting her cheeks.

 She doesn’t hate him. That’s a good sign at least.

 She starts to put the boxes of condoms in a bag, but David stops her.

 “That’s okay. We don’t need a bag.” He grabs one of the boxes and hands it to Killian before picking up the other one for himself.

 Killian manages a small smile at Emma and leaves the store without his dignity or his pride. He doesn’t kill his best friend, but he does make a promise to himself; he’s never taking David with him anywhere ever again. He may just have to find a different partner.

 ~*~

 Emma yawns and slowly nurses her coffee. She hates closing and then opening the very next morning. She’s told her boss several times to stop scheduling her like this, but he never listens.  

 She hears the automatic doors slide open and has to force herself to remove her lips from her coffee lid so she can lift her head and greet the customer who’s just walked in.

 She’s not prepared for sex on legs today or those smoldering blue eyes, or how ridiculously attractive he looks in just a t-shirt and snug-fitting jeans, but she’s not complaining when he walks up to the counter without even purchasing anything.

 “I was hoping you’d be here…” he says with a timid smile as he scratches behind his ear and draws a shaky breath. “Although I’m a little surprised you’re back at work so soon.”

 Emma shrugs. “I know. They should give me a cot in the back because it feels like I’m always here anyway, so why not sleep here too?”

 Killian flashes a small smile, and she can’t help but notice that the air between them is more tense than usual. He seems nervous and she’s not sure why. 

 “So, how can I help you today?” She narrows her eyes at him. “You didn’t use all those condoms already, did you?”

 He chuckles, his cheeks turning crimson. “God no, actually, I wanted to…” he pauses and scratches behind his ear again, taking in a long, wobbly breath. “I wanted to… will you have coffee with me tomorrow… or whenever you have a morning off?”

 Emma hopes the shock she feels isn’t evident on her face, but she finds her mouth opening on its own accord. “Sure,” she blurts out, “but… well…” She stumbles for words. She’s not opposed to hanging out with Killian as a friend, but she’s not exactly sure how same-sex relationships work. Do gay men get jealous when their male partners hang out with female friends? “Would David be okay with that?” 

 Emma’s surprised when Killian laughs at her question. “Why wouldn’t he be okay with it? He’s the one who’s been trying to get me to ask you out for months. Not that he’s the reason why... ” He buries his face in his hands. “Bloody hell, I’m severely fucking this up,” he mumbles into his palms. Dragging his hands away, he reveals those stormy blue eyes again, and he looks completely wrecked and apologetic. 

 She’s utterly confused. “David suggested this?” Wait. Is Killian bisexual and David was trying to find his partner a woman to scratch an itch of Killian’s? Are they swingers or—what the fuck is going on? 

 “No, he just encouraged me because I’ve been too fucking nervous to ask you out. You’re...” He plants his hands on his hips and closes his eyes briefly, taking another long breath. “I like you, Emma. I’ve liked you for a while, and I would very much like to take you out on a date, that is, if I didn’t completely screw this up already.”

 “Wait, I’m confused. So David’s okay with this?”

 He furrows his brows in confusion. “Love, I don’t need his permission to ask you out,” he chuckles. “I’m a grown man.”

 Emma frowns in frustration. It’s too damn early for mind games right now. “Yeah, you’re a grown man who’s in a relationship with another grown man,” she says louder than she had meant to. Her words draw the attention of other customers passing by and she receives some odd looks.

 “Wait a bloody minute. You think David and I are…” Killian pauses to burst into laughter.

 Emma wrinkles her brows. “Wait, you’re not?”

 Killian shakes his head, laughter still booming from his chest. “No, I can assure you, I’m very much into women. David and I are best friends and partners when we’re on the job, but we’re not gay.”

 “Oh.” Now Emma’s so thoroughly and utterly confused, her head is spinning. She hasn’t had nearly enough coffee to deal with something so confusing and her head’s starting to pound. “But what about the condoms?”

 Killian presses his hands against the counter, drops his head, shaking it furiously, like he’s silently cursing. “I’m going to kill David.” He lifts his head, his expression etched with apology. “The condoms weren’t for us. David was buying them for himself and his girlfriend. He was only taking advantage of the sale and wanted me to have the other box because he thought if I carried condoms on me then I wouldn’t have an excuse to not ask you out.”

 Oh. Now it makes sense. Kinda sorta. “Okay, so let me get this straight,” Emma sucks in a long breath, “you and David aren’t lovers, and you’re currently single and asking me out on an actual date?”

 “Now we’re on the same page,” he says, his eyes lighting up as a smile curves his lips.

 Emma sighs in relief. But now remains the other question weighing on her mind. “But why me?”

 He furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

 “I mean, I work at Walgreens.”

 “I fail to see the problem, love.”

 “But you’re…” she waves her hands, gesturing at him and his glorious form, “you’re you, and I’m… well,” she shrugs, “I’m me.” 

 “I know.” He smirks, and it makes her heart do a little flip. “That’s why I’m asking you out. Because you’re you, not because of where you work at.”

 Emma’s heart flutters at his statement and she smiles. They’re silent again, but this time it's a comfortable silence as they stare into each other’s eyes. She knows the moment is about to be ruined though because a customer approaches the counter, impatiently waiting to be rung up as Killian backs away from the counter. Emma really doesn’t want this conversation to end, but she knows it has to, at least for now.

 “So, is that a yes or a no?” Killian asks, his lips slanted into a grin when Emma starts ringing up the customer without giving him an answer.

 She looks up from her task of scanning the items and flashes him a frail smile. She knows what her answer is, but she doesn’t want him to leave yet. “Can you wait outside for a few minutes?”

 Killian nods without hesitation. “Sure, love.”

 Emma sighs in relief and finishes ringing up the customer. When she’s done, she quickly picks up the store phone to page another cashier so she can take her fifteen-minute break. Once Emma is relieved by her coworker, she hurries out of the store and searches for Killian, her heart slamming in her chest. She sees him, leaning against the building with his hands in his pockets. Emma marches up to him and takes his hand, leading him to the side of the building, where they'll be less visible. 

 "Where are we going, love?" he asks.

 She doesn't answer, but she's pretty sure the determination in her step says it all. She presses him against the wall when they reach the side of the building, and without any sort of warning, she grabs a fistful of his shirt and crushes his lips with hers.

 Killian responds with a groan as he cards his hands through her hair. His lips are even softer and more luscious than she’d imagined. And God he’s a good kisser; she’d nailed that part in her fantasies. They get caught up in a delicious, mind-numbing kiss that has her heart racing and her breathing shattered. She can't believe she's kissing Killian fuck-me Jones, sex on legs , the man who's been the star of her dreams for six months. 

 How did she ever think this guy was gay? Because judging by the way he kisses her and teases her bottom lip with his teeth, the way his tongue greedily explores her mouth to find her own tongue, the way he wraps some strands of hair around his fingers and grabs her hip with his other hand to tug her toward him, pressing her against him, judging by the hard bulge in his pants that causes the heat to spread to her core, he’s definitely not gay.

 When they break for air, they’re both panting as he gently leans his forehead against hers. He caresses her cheek, his eyes flickering with hope as she licks her lips. “Should I take that as a yes?”

 “No.”

 His face clouds with disappointment, and his expression makes her heart hurt.

 “You asked me to go out for coffee with you tomorrow, but I’m thinking; what if we went out for dinner tonight after I get out of work instead?”

 A slow grin spreads across his lips. “I wouldn’t say no.”

 Emma smiles vibrantly and blushes. “Good, then it’s a date.”

 He pulls away, taking a shaky breath of relief. “And just so we’re still on the same page, I don’t want you to think I’m expecting anything more than dinner since David bought me those condoms last night. As I said, that was David’s twisted attempt at trying to get me to ask you out.”

 Emma laughs. “I’m not worried. Either way, there’s no rush to use them up. Condoms have a shelf life of five years.” She flashes him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I know way too much about condoms.”

 Killian chuckles and presses a kiss to her forehead. “It’s okay, love. I told you I don’t care about your occupation… or that you thought I was gay.”

 Emma swats him playfully on the shoulder. “In my defense, David did call himself your sugar Daddy.”

 Killian blushes. 

  God, he’s so fucking adorable when he blushes.  

 “You’re right, he did. He likes to joke around like that… and embarrass the hell out of me.” 

 Emma laughs. "I've noticed."

 He takes out his phone to punch in her number and address and agrees to pick her up later tonight. Then they go back to making out until she has to get back to work. They bid each other farewell, and she practically floats through the automatic doors with a smile blooming across her face, her lips red and swollen. 

 She’s so glad Killian’s not gay. 

 They end up making use of the condoms David bought him, but it sure as hell didn’t take five years to use them all. More like two weeks. If that.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from the New York Times Magazine:

In a state dominated — economically, politically, culturally — by the oil and gas industry, unemployment has jumped to 14.5 percent. Trade groups have been quick to argue that the industry is facing an existential threat. A report from the National Ocean Industries Association (N.O.I.A.) estimates that 50,000 jobs will be lost this year across the gulf, 11,000 in Louisiana. As a point of comparison, before March, the entire American coal industry employed 50,000 people. Tourism, one of New Orleans’s largest industries, has zeroed out, and flights into its new billion-dollar airport run at 3 percent of typical volume. The president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association says that 5 percent of shrimp boats are leaving dock; the chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force estimates that demand for oysters is down ‘‘like 99 percent.’’ In April, the state’s tax and fee collections were nearly half a billion dollars below expectations, a drop the state treasurer described as ‘‘surreal.’’ May, he was certain, would be much worse.

By May, more than three-quarters of operators had taken steps to reduce production. The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (L.O.G.A.), while petitioning the state for tax cuts and protection from environmental lawsuits, predicted that about half the state’s 33,714 oil and gas wells could be shut down (or ‘‘shut in,’’ as the trade puts it) in the coming months. A shut-in well can be cost-prohibitive to reopen, which means much of this oil might never be extracted; N.O.I.A. anticipates it will take three years to return to pre-Covid production levels. On some of the larger rigs that continued to operate, staffing was reduced by more than two-thirds, the rigs having shed anyone unessential to production.

When L.O.G.A., which represents the state’s independent producers and their service companies, surveyed its members, more than half the respondents said their companies would ‘‘likely’’ go bankrupt. Nearly a quarter of the industry’s employees have lost their jobs, and another quarter of the work force was expected to lose them by midsummer. Eighty-eight percent of L.O.G.A.’s members were ‘‘extremely concerned’’ about the future of Louisiana’s largest industry.

[bonjourmoncher]

securities and alternate fee 

commission's statutory authority

the 4 main statutes administered through the securities and change fee' offer that registration statements, periodic reviews, and packages or declarations for approval or effectiveness of proposed transactions, required to be filed  Hamilton Lindley with the fee, shall comprise economic statements that fully and fairly disclose the monetary role and the earnings records of the registrant, applicant, or declarant, because the case can be. Between i92o and 1933, about fifty billion dollars of recent securities troubles have been bought to american investors. In a majority of instances, public purchasers had been no longer supplied information that became good enough as a basis for an informed funding decision. By using 1933, approximately half of the securities newly issued seeing that 1920, or some twentyfive billion bucks' worth, had come to be worthless the securities act of 1933 changed into designed now not best to save you fraud inside the sale of securities and to offer investors with adequate facts however also to guard legitimate organisations seeking to achieve capital actually through authentic disclosure in opposition to dishonest opposition. The act requires the inclusion in prospectuses of stability sheets and profit and loss statements "in such shape because the fee shall prescribe"3 and authorizes the fee to prescribe, among different matters, "the objects or information to be proven inside the balance sheet and earning statement, and the strategies to be observed in the guidance of debts."four the securities alternate act of 1934 confers similar authority on the fee the investment organisation act of 194o ' and the public application keeping business enterprise act of 19357 confer at the fee a fair broader strength with respect to monetary reporting.  Hamilton Lindley *b. S. 1939, rutgers university school of business administration; licensed public accountant, new jersey; partner director, division of corporate law, securities and exchange commission. The securities and alternate fee, as a matter of policy, disclaims duty for any personal booklet by using any of its personnel. The perspectives expressed herein are the ones of the author and do not always mirror the views of the fee or of the author's colleagues on the staff of the fee. 'securities act of 1933, forty eight stat. 74, as amended, 15 u. S. C. § 77a-aa (r964); securities alternate act of 1934, 48 big name. 881, as amended, 15 u. S. A. C. §§ 78a-hh (1964); public application protecting enterprise act of 1935, 49 stat. 803, as amended, 15 united statesc. §§ seventy nine to z-6 (1964); investment organization act of 1940, fifty four famous person. 789, as amended, 15 usac. 5§ 8oa-i to a-fifty two (1964). 'so sec anu. Rep. 13-14 (1944). 'schedule a, f (25)-(26), forty eight stat. 9o, 15 u. S. A. C. § 77aa(25)-(26) (s964). S§ ig(a), forty eight stat. Eighty five, as amended, 15 u. S. A. C. § 77s(a) (1964). § 3(b), forty eight star. 894, 15 u. S. C. § 78m(b) (1964). H 30-31, fifty four stat. 836, 15 u. S. C. §§ 8oa-29 to 30 (z964). H nine�� 14-15, 2o(a), forty nine stat. 827, 833, 15 u. S. C. § 79n, 790, 79x(a) (1964). Law and present day issues the securities act also presents that the economic statements required to be made available to the public through filing with the commission shall be licensed by using "an independent public or certified accountant."eight the other 3 statutes permit the commission to require that such statements be followed by way of a certificates of an independent public accountant,' and the fee's regulations now require, with certain exceptions, that they be so certified. Segment eight(d) of the securities act'" gives that, if it appears to the fee at any time that a registration statement carries an untrue assertion of a fabric fact or omits to country any fabric reality required to be said therein or necessary to make the statements therein now not deceptive, the commission may additionally institute court cases seeking to the issuance of a forestall order postponing the effectiveness of the registration announcement. Where such an order is issued, the presenting cannot lawfully be made, or persisted if it has already begun, till the registration statement has been amended to therapy the deficiencies and the commission has lifted the forestall order. Segment i9(a) (2) of the securities exchange act authorizes the commission "to droop for a length no longer exceeding 365 days, or to withdraw, the registration of a safety" if, in its opinion, such motion is essential or appropriate for the safety of buyers and if the fee "unearths that the company of such security has did not comply" with any provision of the statute "or the rules and rules thereunder."" the commission has prescribed uniform structures of bills for companies problem to the maintaining employer act;' 2 has promulgated regulations below the securities alternate act with recognize to accounting and auditing of securities brokers and dealers;' 3 has followed policies beneath the investment enterprise act governing the records to be maintained by using registered investment corporations, positive majority-owned subsidiaries thereof, and different people having transactions with registered investment corporations;' four has prescribed a rule underneath the funding advisers act of 8 time table a, (25)-(26), 48 stat. Move (933), 15 usac. § 77aa(25)-(26) (964). Zero securities trade act of 1934, § thirteen(a)(2), seventy eight stat. 569 (1964), 15 united states of americac. § 78m(a)(2) (1964); public tility conserving enterprise act of 1935, § 14, forty nine stat. 827, 15 united states of americac. § 79n (1964); investment company act of 1940, § 30(e), 54 stat. 836, 15 u. S. A. C. § 8oa-29(e) (1964). 10 forty eight stat. 79 (933), x5 u. S. A. C. § 7 7 h(d) (1964). " § xg(a)(2), 48 stat. 898 (1934), 15 americac. § 78s(a)(2) (1964). See also § ig(a)(four) of the securities exchange act, forty eight stat. 898 (1934), 15 united states of americac. § 78s(a) (4) (1964), which authorizes the commission "if in its opinion the public interest so requires, summarily to suspend buying and selling in any registered safety on any country wide securities change for a period no longer exceeding ten days . . ." and § 15(c)(5) of the identical act, seventy eight stat. 573 (1964), 15 u. S. A. C. § 780(c) (five) (1964), for a typically comparable provision respecting the suspension of buying and selling in any security in any other case than on a national securities change. 2 uniform gadget of debts for mutual provider agencies and subsidiary service agencies, x7 c. F. R. § 256 (z964); uniform device of accounts for public application holding agencies, 17 c. F. R. § 257 (1964); sec rule 27, 17 c. F. R. § 250. 27 (1964), with admire to type of accounts for positive public utility corporations. " five sec regulations 17a-three to -five, -7, 17 c. F. R. § 240. 17a-3 to -5, -7 (1964). "sec guidelines 3va-z to -3, 17 c. F. R. §§ 270. 3ia-i to -three (1964). The sec and accounting standards 729 194o 1 five governing the books and statistics to be maintained by means of investment advisers; 6 and has adopted policies, embodied in a single over-all regulation detailed as regulation s-x, that kingdom the necessities applicable to the shape and content material of financial statements required to be filed in registration statements and supplemental and periodic reports under the securities act, the securities trade act, the keeping employer act, and the investment corporation act3f the sec's rules also contain the commission's accounting collection releases,' 8 of which ioz were issued to this point and which can be mentioned under. Ii sec accounting series releases as an resource within the development of accounting standards a. Early fee revel in with accounting principles the several federal securities legal guidelines had been an instantaneous end result of typically insufficient disclosure at the part of securities issuers and severa times of outright misrepresentation. Some other result of the unlucky records of the 192os become that an growing number of businessmen and accountants got here to understand the want for providing stockholders and potential buyers with adequate monetary statistics. Cutting-edge commentators dwelt on the gross inadequacies of economic reporting. Normal in their perspectives was the subsequent: no longer all, however at least a few, of the splendid economic wreckage of the beyond 3 years might have been halted short of the financial ruin courts by the adoption of fearless accounting strategies.... I'm hoping these disastrous experiences can also hasten the time while, as a minimum as to the ones groups whose securities are held by means of the widespread public, the accountant's paintings will be finished ordinarily for the shareholders and lenders on the business enterprise's expense, and not for the motive of making as favorable a record on behalf of the management as the records may be made to justify through carefully prepared "hedge clauses" within the auditor's certificates, which, while possibly absolving him from criminal legal responsibility, constitutes commercial enterprise immorality, if not actual dishonesty.'nine the query of whether or not the observance of sound accounting concepts or precise accounting practice required not merely complete disclosure but additionally fair disclosure had some thrilling early records. In reference to a registration statement filed underneath Hamilton Lindley  october 1934 through northern states power corporation, it become disclosed that a subsidiary of the registrant had written up its net belongings account

[writinggeisha]

We’ve got rules and standards for everything we include in our novels—how to start those novels, how to increase tension, how to introduce characters, how to format, what to include in dialogue, how to punctuate dialogue, what to exclude from the first chapter. And we have rules for numbers. Or maybe we should call all these rules conventions.

This article covers a few common specifics of using numbers and numerals in fiction. I’m just going to list the rules here, without much explanation, laying out those that you’ll typically make use of in a novel. Keep in mind that there are always exceptions. For the most part, you’ll want to stick to the standards to make the read smooth and easy for the reader and create consistency within the manuscript.

Yet we’re talking fiction here, not a treatise or dissertation or scientific finding. You have choices. And style choices sometimes get to stomp all over the rules. If you want to flout the rules, do so for a reason and do so consistently every time that same reason is applicable in the manuscript.

For a comprehensive list of the rules concerning numbers, check out the Chicago Manual of Style or another style guide.

______________________

General Rules

__ Spell out numbers from zero through one hundred. You could argue for zero through nine, as is recommended for AP style, but do note that the recommendations in the Associated Press Stylebook are primarily for newspaper and magazine writing. Some rules are different for fiction.

You could also make a style choice to spell out almost all numbers, even if that conflicts with this and other rules.

Use numerals for most numbers beyond one hundred. While this is the standard, there are definitely exceptions to this one.

The witch offered Snow White one crisp, dewy apple.

Bobby Sue sang thirty-two songs before her voice gave out.

The rock-a-thon lasted for just over 113 hours.

The witch offered Snow White 1 crisp, dewy apple. Incorrect

__ Spell out these same numbers (0-100) even if they’re followed by hundred or thousand. (Your characters may have reason to say or think all manner of odd numbers, so yes, zero thousand might come up, even though this isn’t a common usage in our 3-D lives.)

The forces at Wilmington were bolstered by the arrival of ten thousand fresh soldiers.

The knight had died four hundred years earlier.

But—The knight had died 418 years earlier.

“How many thousands of lies have you told?” “I’ve told zero thousand, you fool.”

__ Spell out ordinal numbers through one hundred as well—even for military units and street names. Ordinal numbers are often used to show relationship and rank.

We’d write the Eighty-second Airborne Division but the 101st Airborne Division. (Newspapers and military publications may have different conventions.)

A restaurant would be on Fifth Avenue, not 5th Avenue. Or the restaurant is on 129th Street, not One hundred and twenty-ninth Street.

A quick guide to ordinals—

no ordinal for zero      twentieth first                            twenty-first second                        twenty-second third                           and so on . . . fourth fifth* sixth                           thirtieth (thirty-first, thirty-second, and so on) seventh                       fortieth eighth                         fiftieth ninth                           sixtieth tenth                          seventieth eleventh                     eightieth twelfth                       ninetieth thirteenth fourteenth                                               one hundredth fifteenth*                                                 one thousandth sixteenth                                                  one millionth seventeenth eighteenth nineteenth

The only odd ordinals are those using fives—fifth and fifteenth. Note the letter D in both hundredth and thousandth.

__ Use full-size letters, not superscript, to mark ordinal numbers (st, nd, rd, th) written as numerals.

__ Use first, second, third and so on rather than firstly, secondly, thirdly unless your character would use this odd construction as part of her style.

__ Spell out numbers that start a sentence. If spelling creates something awkward, rewrite.

One hundred and fifteen [not 115] waiters applied for the job.

__ Hyphenate compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine. Do this when the number is used alone and when used in combination with other numbers.

Louise owned forty-one cars.

“I heard she owned one hundred and thirty-five diamond rings.”

__ For an easier read, when numbers are written side by side, write one as a numeral and the other as a word.

He made 5 one-hundred-pound cakes.

We lashed 3 six-foot ladders together.

__ Spell out simple fractions and hyphenate them.

He took only one-half of yesterday’s vote.

He needed a two-thirds majority to win the election.

__ For the most part, treat large numbers, made large by being paired with the words million, billion, and so on, just as you would other numbers.

Some nine [not greater than one hundred, so spelled out] million years ago, the inhabitants of Ekron migrated to our solar system.

The family had collected the pennies, 433 [greater than one hundred] million of them, over eighty years.

But for large numbers with decimals, even if the number is less than 101, use the numeral version.

The team needed 10.5 million signatures for their petition.

Yet since we want to hear the words, you could just as easily write—

The team needed ten and a half million signatures for their petition.

This last example works both for narration and dialogue. But for dialogue you could also write—

“The team needed ten point five million.”

__ Use words rather than symbols and abbreviations in dialogue and in most narrative. Symbols are a visual representation, but characters need to think and speak the words.

Use the words rather than the symbols for degree (°) and percent (%) and number (#), both in dialogue and narrative. Use the word dollar rather than the dollar sign ($) in dialogue. Do not abbreviate the words pounds or ounces, feet or inches (or yards), hours or minutes or seconds, or miles per hour (or similar words) in dialogue or narrative.

An exception might include something like stretches of text where you note the changing speeds of a car but don’t want to repeat miles per hour again and again. Your use of mph becomes a style choice.

You might find other exceptions in headers and chapter titles. You can, of course, use symbols in titles and headers if you want to. For example, in geo-political thrillers, stories that jump all over the world and back again, headers might show longitude and latitude and the degree symbol would come in handy.

If you do include full compass coordinates in the narrative, using numerals and the symbols for degrees, minutes, and seconds might be the best choice in terms of clarity and ease of reading.

“But I don’t have a million dollars.”

“Nobody gave a hundred percent.”

“The baby weighed seven pounds eleven ounces.”

“It’s fourteen degrees out there!”

The # of crimes he’d committed kept rising. Incorrect

The chasm looked at least 40 ft. wide. Incorrect

The roadster crept along at no more than 28 mph. Incorrect

Note: You’re writing fiction. Think flow in the visuals as well as in the words. What will make sense to the reader and keep him from tripping over your style choices?

Time

__ Use numerals when you include a.m. and p.m., but you don’t have to use a.m. and p.m.

It was 5:43 a.m. when he got me out of bed. Correct

It was five forty-three a.m. Incorrect

__ Use lower case letters with periods or small caps without periods for a.m. and p.m.

__ Include a space between the numbers and a.m. or p.m., but no space within a.m. or p.m.

__ Spell out numbers when you include o’clock.

But he did wait until after five o’clock to call.

__ Use numerals to emphasize exact times, except in dialogue.

She pointed out that it was still 5:43 in the morning.

“It’s four forty-three.” She looked out into the darkness. “In the morning!”

The robbery took place at 2:22 a.m.

__ Spell out words for the hour, quarter, and half hours.

The hall clock was wrong; it showed eight thirty. No, it showed eight forty-five.

__ Do not use a hyphen to join hours and minutes. I have seen advice on several Internet sites that says you do use a hyphen in such cases, except when the rest of the number is already hyphenated.  So they’d have you write two-twenty but two twenty-five. This doesn’t make much sense, although there may be a style guide out there recommending such punctuation (and may provide a valid reason for it). The Chicago Manual of Style, however, does not use a hyphen (see 9.38 in the sixteenth edition). Their example is “We will resume at ten thirty.”

It was four-forty-five. Incorrect

It was four forty-five. Correct

The bomb went off at eleven-thirty. Incorrect

The bomb went off at eleven thirty. Correct

__ While we normally would never use both o’clock and a.m. or p.m. and typically don’t use o’clock with anything other than the hour, fiction has needs other writing doesn’t. The following might very well come out of a character’s mouth or thoughts—

It was five o’clock in the a.m.

“Mommy, it it four thirty o’clock yet?

Dates

__ Dates can be written a number of ways. The twenty-fifth of December, December 25, December 25, 2015, or the twenty-fifth are all valid ways of referring to the same day.

December 25th and December 25th, 2015 are incorrect. Do not use ordinal numbers for dates that include month, or month and year, written in this format. You can, however, write the twenty-fifth of December.

December 25 and December 25, 2015 would both be prounounced as the ordinal, even though the th is not written.

The exception is in dialogue.

“Your kids can’t wait for December twenty-fifth.”

__ Do not use a hyphen (actually, this in an en dash) for a range of dates that begins with the words from or between. (This rule is true of all numbers, not just dates, arranged this way.) Use the words to, through, or until with from, and and with between.

He planned to be out of town from August 15-September 5. Incorrect.

He planned to be out of town from August 15 to September 5. Correct

He planned to be out of town between August 15-September 5. Incorrect

He planned to be out of town between August 15 and September 5. Correct

He planned to be out of town August 15-September 5. Correct

__ Decades can be written as words or numbers (four- or two-digit years). Unless it’s in reference to a named era or age—the Roaring Twenties—do not capitalize the decade.

The cars from the thirties are more than classics.

Cars of the 1930s were my dad’s favorites.

The teacher played songs from the ’60s and ’70s to get the crowd in the right mood. (The punctuation is an apostrophe, not an opening quotation mark.)

__ There is no apostrophe between the year and the letter S except for a possessive.

The doctor gave up smoking back in the 1980’s. Incorrect

The doctor gave up smoking back in the 1980s. Correct

The doctor gave up smoking back in the ’80’s. Incorrect

The doctor gave up smoking back in the ’80s. Correct

BUT—She was the fifties’ [also the ’50s’] most glamorous star.

An earlier example was incorrect—She was decked out in cute 1950’s clothes, but the haircut was atrocious. Incorrect

__ Spell out century references.

He wanted to know if it happened in the eighteenth or the nineteenth century. When the guide reminded him it was the seventeen hundreds, he was even more confused.

__ Adding mid to date terms can be confusing. The general rule is that mid, as a prefix, does not get a hyphen. So midyear, midcentury, midterm, midmonth, and midthirties are all correct. (The same rules apply for other prefixes, such as pre or post, that can be used with date words.)

There are, however, exceptions—

Include a hyphen before a capital letter. Thus, mid-October.

Include a hyphen before a numeral. Thus, mid-1880s.

Include a hyphen before compounds (hyphenated or open). Thus, mid-nineteenth century and mid-fourteenth-century lore.

Note: The Chicago Manual of Style has a wonderful and comprehensive section on hyphenating words. I recommend it without reservation.

Dialogue

__ Spell out numbers in dialogue. When a character speaks, the reader should hear what he says. And although a traditional rule tells us not to use and with whole numbers that are spelled out, keep your character in mind. Many people add the and in both words and thoughts. Once again, the rules are different for fiction.

“I collect candlesticks. At last count I had more than a hundred and forty.”

“At last count I had more than one forty.”

“She gave her all, 24/7.” Incorrect

“She gave her all, twenty-four seven.” Correct

One exception to this rule is four-digit years. You can spell out years, and you’d definitely want to if your character has an unusual pronunciation of them. But you could use numerals.

“He told me the property passed out of the family in 1942.”

“I thought it was fifty-two?”

A second exception would be for a confusing number or a long series of numbers. Again, if you want readers to hear the character saying the number, spell it out. Even common numbers might be spoken differently. One character might say eleven hundred dollars while another says one thousand one hundred dollars.

If you have to include a full telephone number—because something about the digits is vital—use numerals, even in dialogue. (But if you want to emphasize the way the numbers are spoken, spell out the numbers.)

You’d use numerals rather than words because writing seven or ten words for the numbers would be cumbersome. But most of the time there is no reason to write out a full phone number.

__ Write product and brand names and titles as they are spelled, even if they contain numbers—7-Eleven, Super 8 hotels, 7UP.

Heights

__ Heights can be written in a variety of ways.

He was six feet two inches tall.

He was six feet two.

He was six foot two.

He was six two.

He was six-two. (a recommendation from some sources, although not one I’d make)

Money

__ Do not hyphenate dollar amounts except for the numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine that require them. Don’t use a hyphen between the number and the word dollars (except as noted below). Note the absence of commas.

two dollars

twenty-two dollars

two hundred dollars

two hundred twenty-two dollars or two hundred and twenty-two dollars

two thousand two hundred and two dollars

But—

a two-dollar bill

a twenty-dollar fine

a two-hundred-dollar fine

a two-hundred-and-twenty-two-dollar fine

Punctuation

__ No commas or hyphens between hours and minutes, feet and inches, pounds and ounces, and dollars and cents that are spelled out. If the meaning is unclear, rewrite.

Ben promised to be there at four thirty, but it was six twenty when he pulled into the driveway.

At seven feet three inches, he was the shortest of the Marchesa giants.

The piece of salmon weighed one pound eleven ounces, but they charged the rude customer the price for three pounds.

He owed his boss forty-two fifty.

He owed his boss forty-two dollars and fifty cents.

__ Use hyphens for compound adjectives containing numbers the same way other compound are created. They are almost always hyphenated as an adjective before the noun. Age terms, both nouns and adjectives used before nouns, are hyphenated. (Noun forms of compound words paired with the word old are hyphenated, as are adjectives paired with old that are placed before nouns.)

A two-inch hole in the street became a six-by-six-foot crater.

My two-year-old loves puppies.

My son has a two-year-old puppy.

But—My puppy is two years old.

__ No hyphen between numbers and percent.

The drink was only 60 percent beer. The rest was water. Correct

The drink was 20-percent beer. Incorrect

__ For multiple hyphenated numbers sharing a noun, include a hyphen and a space after the first number and hyphenate the last as usual.

Our Johnny couldn’t wait to tell us about the ten- and twenty-foot-tall monsters in the yard.

His sister shared details about the two- and three-headed versions that lived under her bed.

__ For the words half and quarter, use the hyphen for adjectives but not for noun forms. (Some words with half are closed compounds—halfway, halfwit—so check the dictionary.)

“Join me in a quarter hour or join me in a half hour; it’s your choice.”

Join me half an hour from now.

The half-price items were poorly made.

__ For compound words made with odd, always use a hyphen.

Thirty-odd hours later, my son finally returned home.

He’d saved some 150-odd comic books.

__ For numerals greater than 1,000, include commas after every three digits from the right (for American English). For fiction, it’s likely you’ll often round off these numbers and/or write the numbers as words, but the rule is good to know.

1,000

10,525

10,525.78

953,098,099

__ For dollar amounts written as numerals, use the period to separate dollars and cents, and include the dollar sign. But you could spell out the amount, especially if you’re rounding the number.

He needed $159.75 for the bar tab.

He needed a hundred and sixty dollars for the bar tab.

You may have been advised to always write one hundred rather than a hundred, but for fiction, we want to reflect a character’s words and style.

__ Do not add a period if a.m. or p.m. comes at the end of a sentence. Do use a comma midsentence if that is necessary.

The fire alarm was pulled at 11:58 a.m.. Incorrect

The fire alarm was pulled at 11:58 a.m. Correct

The alarm was pulled at 11:58 a.m., just before lunch. Correct

Weapons and Guns

For the most part, stick with the rules governing numbers when you write about weapons. A publisher’s style guide may overrule your choices, but you’ll want consistency either way. Keep in mind your speaker’s or viewpoint character’s familiarity with weapons. One character might know every detail about a weapon while another calls every weapon a gun.

Use only the necessary detail. For example, in fiction you might not often have cause to write The AH-64D Apache Longbow was the team’s first choice. Instead, you might write, The Longbow was the the team’s first choice. Yet before this moment in the story, you might have needed to list the equipment available to them, writing out the full name of several helicopters.

__ In both narrative and dialogue, if you use the name of the gun or ammo, spell it as the manufacturer does, including numerals and capital letters. Do the same for military weapons and tanks. Spell out the word caliber.

If you don’t use the full name, still capitalize brands and manufacturers. The designation mm is accepted in narrative.

He eyed the .357 Magnum in the loser’s shaky hand.

Anderson’s Colt .38 was under his pillow, two rooms away.

Both the Browning 9mm, his favorite, and his stacked salami sub, another favorite, were destroyed by the car crusher.

I knew she lied when she told me the M1 Abrams had been named after her father; she was much too young.

__ In dialogue, if the character is saying a variation of the name but not the name itself, you have options. Use words when doing so isn’t convoluted or cumbersome or unclear.

“Dirty Harry used a forty-four, not a three fifty-seven.”

“How would I know? Thirty aught six, thirty aught seven. What’s the difference anyway?” Deke back-whistled through his teeth. “You’ve never even picked up a rifle, have you?”

“What was it? A nine millimeter?” “A Glock 17 Compensated. New and shiny.”

Contradictory Rules

If you’ve got rules that conflict, you have a few options.

Rewrite.

Choose the option that gives clarity to the reader.

Remember that in fiction, words can almost always be substituted for numerals. When in doubt, write it out. Yeah, corny and elementary, I know. But it’s advice that’s easy to remember.

______________________

Keep in mind that characters don’t all speak or think the same way, with the same words. Let your choices reflect your characters and not only the rules. That is, sometimes the rules are less important than the way the characters express themselves.

As an example, the rules (for American English, not British English) tell us not to write years in this manner—fourteen hundred and ninety-two, with the and. But your character just may think or say a date with the and. Be true to his voice and style.

And be consistent. Create a style sheet and stick with it. Know what choice you made for your numbers in chapter six and do the same in chapter fifteen.

Fiction is different from other writing styles. We use words rather than symbols, abbreviations, and images. If you’re unsure, spell out the numbers. Put it in words.

~~~

LG’s Note: These are just conventions, not “must do’s”. I’m only posting these as guidance for myself as someone who prefers writing out numerals or anyone interested in seeing the explicit difference between the two styles - numerical and textual - laid out cleanly.

[kayteonline]

Strange Magic: I Put a Spell on You

Characters: Dean x Reader, Sam, Brad (OMC)

Summary:  If you loved When Harry Met Sally… this isn’t it. But it’s got its flavor. Witches are bitches, and this one has a parting gift for you that stirs things up for you and Dean in a way you hope to never experience again

Warnings: Language

Word count: 4.3k

Series Master List

Tags: (At the end. I tag alotta of peeps, but you are never obligated and always appreciated. Feel free to let me know if I tagged you incorrectly or you would like me to take you off! I totally understand. Its been awhile so tagging was kinda hard.)

A/N: My beauties.. it’s been awhile! I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this! I’m so happy to be back. I hope you love a ride because this is definitely that. A total 17k word ride! Strap in ;)  Italics in this part are flashbacks.

I had a lot of fun writing this. As well as set backs and writers block, life,etc... but I made it out and I’m excited to share this! It was born from a challenge put on by the wondrous @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog and her forever ago Romcom challenge with the prompt ‘Except for the part about my penis, that’s true.. It’s bigger than coins’, and a long ago spnkinkbingo square ‘Coming Untouched’. ELO’s song Strange Magic further inspired the title and also inspired Dean x Reader throughout. It’s so grossly late it doesn’t count of course but if you read it, I hope you enjoy it! THANK YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK to my patient, sweet, imaginative, encouraging beta @butiaintgonnaloveem for putting up with this beast and my huge fic ;) And more huge thank yous to my other great friends who looked this over and kept me going early on: @mrswhozeewhatsis @manawhaat and @saxxxology

I love hearing from you all! Thank you for reading! XOXO  

*Aesthetic by my super talented wonderful friend @saxxxology <3

“I’m so glad that’s over and done with.” Dean’s smile held a sense of pride as he ducked into the Impala.

Sliding behind the wheel he nodded in approval first at Sam, who nodded back in agreement before he shifted and nodded at you next, a slight smugness pulling at the corner of his mouth. He didn’t wait for your nod before he turned back to stick the key in the ignition, firing up the engine.

You shook your head with a laugh, the attitude in his display not going unnoticed. “Yeah? Which part, Dean? The case, or Braaad?” You drew out his name adding a wistful sigh for additional effect knowing each time either you or Sam said it you’d get a reaction out of him.

He rolled his eyes, throwing on a face of disapproval, the corners of his mouth dimpling as he glanced at you over his shoulder. Sam caught his gaze and laughed in amusement, making Dean’s mouth fall into a hard line. “Whose side are you on?”

“He was your idea,” you reminded him with a self-satisfied smirk, coming to Sam’s defense, “or did you forget that part?”

He mumbled to himself, likely mocking what you’d just said, and threw the car into reverse without another word, pulling out of the parking spot in front of the motel room you’d just checked out of. It made you giggle in amusement, just as it had every other time he pulled this attitude, and what made it even funnier was if it weren’t for Brad coming to your aide, the three of you would have ended up with a cold case, or worse; you’d have ended up dead.

Dean dropped his phone on the table rubbing at the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh. “So, we’re up shits creek here if we don’t find someone. And I’m not about to be this witch’s next meat puppet.”

“Me either, I’m all out too. You know just about everyone I do, and they’re all a day's drive or more away,” Sam conceded next, closing the thick leather bound journal and setting it beside him on the bed before tossing his phone there, too.

Scrolling through your contacts, you chewed your bottom lip when you saw the name. You hadn’t talked to this person in almost eight months now, and you’d hoped you wouldn’t have to reach out to them, but with Sam and Dean both coming up empty it seemed as though you had no other choice.

“I have one last person I can try,” you finally spoke up, breaking the short span of silence in the motel room. Meeting two sets of curious eyes, you let out a small sigh. “His name’s Brad. He’s a long time friend of mine that I originally began hunting with back in the day. He lives in Gary, just a few hours northwest from here, and last I knew he was mostly out, but available if needed.”

Dean scoffed. “Brad? That’s a stupid name. What kind of hunter’s name is Brad?”

You and Sam both looked at each other, eyebrows pulled together in question. “Uh, the kind you should hope is available to cover your ass. Unless of course you prefer to be witch souffle,” you shot back leaning back in your chair across from him.

His lips pressed into a flat line. “And how good is this… Brad?” He waved a hand around dismissively.

“He’s fantastic,” you smiled wide before continuing, “Smart, level-headed, there for his friends whenever you need him; he doesn’t let his his emotions get in the way of a case, he’s brave above all others’ fears or concerns of a situation, and strong of course... physically.” you added with a small smirk. As you continued to think about his other qualities, your words fell off and you stopped talking altogether as it dawned on you how closely you’d just described Dean if someone were to ask you about him.

Dean kind of stared at you as you spoke, the look on his face something you couldn’t quite read. It had you wondering if he’d caught on, and knew who you were actually talking about. He let out a heavy sigh then pulling you from your thoughts, seeming to concede to the fact this was the only option, and looked to Sam before his eyes returned to yours. “Alright, call him. If he’s annoying, even just a little bit, I’m shooting him first chance I get.” He stood with his last words and walked into the bathroom.

Pulling the car onto the main highway, Dean headed in the direction of the bunker, the three of you content with a closed case under your belt. You were after a witch; a powerful one at that. She was believed to have died long ago, and resurfaced after Lucifer was set free when the seals were broken. She’d succeeded in keeping herself concealed for years until a couple of hunters stumbled upon her during a summoning ritual she was performing, ending up as sacrifices, and popping up in a news feed Sam was subscribed to a day later.

Upon further research into the disappearances, and an eleven hour drive to Fort Wayne, Indiana, it was discovered the guys knew more about her than they had originally thought. Dean remembered reading something in their dad’s journal about a similar case he’d worked in the early eighties, where he killed an equally dangerous witch performing similar spells to summon a powerful demon that required multiple human sacrifices.

It sounded easy enough, find the witch and end her before any more harm could be done.

That, however, rapidly changed when they were conducting interviews in her neighborhood and ended up on her front porch. She’d recognized both Sam and Dean immediately as being the sons of John Winchester, the man who’d killed her mother, and attempted to trap them. She proved to be equally as powerful as her late mother, and a whole lot of pissed off; the boys narrowly escaping the swarm of bees she conjured.

Needing another way to get close enough to kill her, Dean had come up with “Plan B’’. With Brad available to meet you that afternoon, the two of you would be going in as new neighbors to get in and complete the job.

“I thought you were friends with cool people Y/N, not tools,” Dean snidely commented as the three of you watched Brad heading for the diner’s entrance when he arrived.

You could tell by his unsuccessful attempt at covering the shock on his face, he’d probably been picturing someone similar to Garth: gangly, a shy bookish looking type you would think had zero game with the ladies, and most likely couldn’t hold his liquor. So when he saw a good looking guy that resembled him a little bit from his younger years, he was having trouble hiding his jealous discomfort.

Brad was tall, an inch or so over Dean, but not quite Sam’s height, with a strong jaw and a perfectly proportionate body, his muscled chest on display through his snug t-shirt. With the days-old scruff on his face and open weathered flannel button down, he looked more like a man straight out of some lumberjack fantasy than someone who hunted monsters.

“His tool is none of your concern, Dean,” you shot back with wink. “He hunts as good as he looks.” Your smile was wide and proud, and you barely caught Dean’s rolling eyes from the corner of yours when Brad spotted you in the window. He waved your way, making Dean’s face light up in amusement.

He laughed low taking in the way you smiled at him as you waved back. “He's got a small dick, doesn't he?”

You balked at his direct question. “One look and two sentences, and you think you have him figured out?”

“One look and two sentences, and I know I have him figured out. Look at him. Walking like some Abercrombie model reject. He's compensating. Especially in that joke of a plastic truck.”

You should have said something in Brad’s defense, but your words failed you as your cheeks went hot knowing he was right. Why was he always right? “Ok, fine! He's ok.. I mean he might only be about as big as a roll of silver dollars, but he knows how to use it very, very well. Have I had bigger? Yeah. Obviously,” you gestured towards Dean. “Doesn’t overshadow the fact that he’s a great hunter.”

Sam’s head shot up at your motions, stuttering out a, “Wh-what?” that both you and Dean ignored.

“Gotta put that anger somewhere,” Dean remarked, a smug smirk pulling at the corner of his lips that made you want to reach across the table and smack him. Even more so when he continued to talk. “Told you I’d finally get you to admit you’d slept with him.”

Squinting your eyes in annoyance you had a great comeback for him, ready to fire it off when a familiar voice sounded just above your head. Your eyes widened, the heat flaring in your cheeks again to the point it felt like they were going to burst into flames from the pure embarrassment that he’d likely heard all of that. Slowly turning your head you looked up at him with a meek smile.

“Oh, we’ve definitely rolled around in the sheets a few times. Except for the part about my penis, that’s true.” His hand landed on your shoulder giving it a firm squeeze as he continued, “It’s bigger than coins, come on Y/N.” He nodded, eyebrows pulled high and gratified as he smiled coolly at the brothers blank expressions. “I haven’t met you guys yet, but I’d be happy to prove it if you like.”

“Yeah, we can go to the bathroom right now, and I’d be happy to show you what a real dick looks like,” Dean replied, his smile huge and condescending, keeping his eyes intently on Brad.

“Dean!” Sam scolded him under his breath with a shove of his knee into Dean’s thigh. “Dude, what’s gotten into you?” he hissed quietly.

“What? I’m playing nice,” he shrugged. He didn’t budge though, continuing his epic stare down with Brad, his smile still as self-satisfying as ever as Brad smiled back, unfazed by Dean’s attitude.

“I like him already,” Brad commented, breaking the growing tension as an elbow nudged into your bicep and he pushed into the booth beside you, signaling the waitress over. “So, what’s the low down on this big bad witch we’re after?”

You met Brad years ago through a close family friend that often partnered with him on cases, and the two of you hit it off immediately. You partnered up not long after when a horrific hunt left his friend severely disabled.

He was a genuinely great guy, that was not only attractive, but smart; he could make you laugh even on your darkest days and the two of you worked well together. You trusted him with your life in any situation you ended up in, and he always had your back.

Having him around again, it was painfully obvious the huge torch he still held for you, even after his eventful arrival. It made Sam snicker, while Dean turned ‘alpha male’ like he was marking his territory any chance he got. It had you double taking at the change in him given the fact you and Dean were only friends.

If you had to categorize it, you were basically friends with benefits, and neither of you seemed to ever care to put a label on it, or want to put anything more into it after any night you ended up in bed together; and that was fine by you. Throughout the 5 years you’d been hunting with the brothers, sex with Dean had been on occasion; usually after longer hunts and some heavy drinking. You cared about one another, of course, but it was never anything more than one friend caring for another’s safety in this line of work. You could only speculate that Brad’s arrival brought some of Dean’s deep insecurities to the surface.

One particular moment stood out to you from a few days ago as you and Brad got ready to head out to your temporary housing. You’d caught Dean eyeing a shirtless Brad as he dressed on the other side of the small room; his fitted black slacks hanging low on his lean hips, his bright smile infectious as he laughed with you at a story he was telling about one of the many crazy hunts you’d been on together. His scars from battles past were on full display, spread out over the expanse of smooth, set lean muscle, silently proving to them he was more than just a pretty face.

Dean’s eyebrows were pulled together in deep thought, not really giving the conversation his full attention, and he pulled his own shirt out, toying with the fabric and shifting uncomfortably in his chair, trying not to stare too long at him. You could have been misreading him, but he looked like he was comparing himself to Brad, physically, and it still made your stomach sink when you thought back on it. You found yourself wanting to go to him and tell him everything about him was perfect in your eyes, he was gorgeous, and there was nothing about him you would ever consider changing. As the thought crossed your mind, it had you stopping for a moment, wondering why that affected you like it did. You were all for boosting either brother’s self esteem when needed, but that was different.

Sam and Brad walked a few feet ahead as the four of you made your way around to the back of the house you and Brad would be borrowing when Dean quickly strode up beside you, leaning close as he spoke low. “I can see now why you’d be all googley-eyed for him. I thought he was just another douche, but, he’s admittedly a pretty cool guy.”

You eyed him curiously at his choice of words, but went on defense as you knew this was probably another attempt at phishing for information, like he’d been doing for the past few days, about yours and Brad’s previous relationship. It took you a minute to see it, but his sly tactics weren’t as well hidden as he thought. Why was he trying to get a read on your feelings?

“Ok, I am not, nor have I ever been googley-eyed for the guy, Dean. We’re just friends,” you hoarsely whispered back. “So we had sex twice, that’s as far as it ever went. He is wonderful, yes, and he deserves the best girl out there, but that girl isn’t me.”

His mouth pulled into a half smile and you could see his face visibly relax, looking like he was a little relieved to hear that. “Crazy drunk nights after a hunt. Been there. The road can be a lonely place.”

“... I wasn’t drunk,” you responded meekly. “And neither was he.”

“Oh,” he said, pausing for a relieving few minutes before speaking again, “So, what happened? He wanted more and you bolted?”

You let out a deep breath in an attempt to reign in the irritation his question sparked and shrugged, “In a way I guess… I went one way, and he went the other technically. We weren't seeing eye to eye anymore, so it was better for the both of us.” Coming up to the steps that lead up to the back door you quickly stepped in front of him placing your hand squarely on his chest to stop him. “What’s this about, Dean? You’ve been asking about him pretty often lately. What are you trying to get at?”

He scoffed, laughing low and averted his eyes the way he did when he’d been caught. “I just want to be sure I know who I’m dealing with. That’s it. We don’t know the guy, and it’s been months since you last saw him, let alone talked to him. What if he’s some crazy psycho serial killer out for revenge?”

You laughed out loud at the absurdity of his assumption catching his eyes, his cheeks turning pink at your reaction because he was partially serious about what he said. “That I know for a fact is not true, ok? You and Sam can rest comfortably knowing Brad’s harmless to anyone who’s not a monster,” you assured him, still giggling. “You know what I think? I think, that you’re thinking, I’m gonna ditch out on you at the mention of you wanting more because we’ve slept together.” You watched as all emotion fell away from his face. “Well I’m not, Dean. He just wasn’t the right person for me.” Holding his gaze for a beat longer, you turned on your heel and made your way up the steps not waiting for a response.

The brothers made themselves scarce after you were settled, only calling to check up on you throughout the day. It was mainly Sam, which didn’t surprise you after the last conversation you and Dean had. When you’d hung up with him after the last call, you made up your mind. After this case was finished you were going to find some way to get it out of him what was going on.

Working together again with Brad, things fell right back into stride. He was still the same ol’ sweet protective guy you remembered, and it felt like it had been only days, not months, since you last saw one another as you put together a plan of action to get close to the witch and take her out. His subtle attempts at making a move on you weren’t missed either. In his own roundabout way, he kept making it known he still carried feelings for you. And like Dean, Brad kept slyly prodding you for information about your other relationships to see how good his chances were at rekindling what you once had.

It made coming up with the best way to tell him the two of you were just friends that much harder, and that you and Dean often slept with each other; not to mention you admittedly kind of liked him. A lot. So you left it unspoken until the right words came to you, and instead prepared for part one of your plan; gain access to her home and find clues about what the witch was planning on summoning.

After successfully being welcomed into the witch’s house, things went sideways, fast.

Unknown to you or Brad during your light conversation, she snuck in a little something of her own into the brownies you’d made as a ‘new to the neighborhood’ gesture. As the spell completely immobilized you, Brad was able to get a good swing in on her before she could take him too and quickly ran out the back door.

Not bothering to go after him, she smiled knowingly at you as if to answer your unspoken question about why she wasn’t worried about him getting away. She revealed to you then she knew exactly who you two were the moment she answered the door. With the help of a location spell and some of Sam’s hair she’d snatched, she was able to eavesdrop on several occasions.

As she spoke, the pounding pressure in your head doubled, and you could barely make out the next words before you passed out; something about Dean caring about you deep down, and with you here, you’d become the perfect leverage on her quest for revenge.

After finally coming to, you found yourself shackled down in her basement as she readied the next part her plan. The Latin incantation she recited next was old, unlike anything you’d ever heard before, and with a puff of red smoke she had stolen your voice.

You could only stare in utter shock as she used it to mask her own, and lure Sam and Dean to her. It worked too as you listened in on her side of the conversation she was having with Dean.

To make matters worse, the spell she cast didn’t just take your voice, it was slowly constricting your throat with each breath you took.

Thankfully it wouldn’t take Sam and Dean too long to get to you, but she was ready for them. She had learned from the last attempt, and subdued them quickly. With the brothers writhing in agony on the concrete floor the moment they set foot in the basement, things were beginning to look grim for the three of you.

As your vision began to go fuzzy around the edges, your chest burning from the lack of oxygen, Brad barged in; gun raised and dirt smeared across his face as he demanded she let all of you go. He looked so angelic in that moment, standing tall above you, the light from the one hanging bulb casting a glow around him as he inched further in the room attempting to get himself between you and her.

Reciting another piece of Latin, she snapped her fingers and turned towards Brad. Before she could take another step, he pulled the trigger sending a bullet right between her eyes.

You’d never felt more relief in your life than that first deep breath after the spell was lifted. Whatever she cast over Sam and Dean was gone too, the two of them already up on their feet praising Brad on his perfect shot and thanking him for saving all of you.

With her body disposed of and your things collected, you all agreed a hot shower and a few stiff drinks would be a perfect ending to your brushes with death. The guys offered to buy the first round for Brad’s victory as Dean pulled up to the motel, but as he fidgeted in his seat, he kindly declined before asking to talk to you off to the side when the car was stopped.

“Is everything ok?” you asked when the two of you were a few feet away from the Impala. “I was really looking forward to you coming out with us tonight. We’ll be heading out tomorrow now that the big bad witch is dead, and I don’t know when I’ll see you next. I was hoping we could catch up some more.”

“Everything’s great, Y/N. People are safe again, the bad is gone.” He smiled sweetly down at you, shoving his hands in his pockets. “The thing is, I was kind of hoping it could be just you and I celebrating the win tonight. Alone. The last few days had me thinking about how good together we’ve always been, and how truly sorry I am about how things ended with us. So, I want to make it up to you... if you’ll give me the chance.”

You sighed heavily knowing this was coming, but hoping you’d dodged that bullet when it hadn’t come up. You were still feeling entirely unprepared to say what you needed to say right now, but forged on, “Brad,” you started, pulling one of his hands from his pockets as you put on your bravest smile and took a deep breath. “You’ve been one of my oldest, and closest friends I’ve ever had in my life. We are great together, we will always be great together in this life. I just... don’t see us being anything more than friends.”

“So us sleeping together back then… that meant nothing to you?”

“What? Of course it did. You were what I wanted… back then. It’s just, can you look at me and honestly tell me you felt something more for me after either time we had sex? Because the way it ended sure didn’t seem like it.”

He tore his eyes away from you after your last words, and slowly pulled his hand away, catching Dean's eyes when he’d glanced over from the Impalas open trunk. Following his gaze, you gave Dean a tight smile when your eyes met before looking back to Brad.

“Look, Brad, I’m sor-” your words were cut short as Brad’s hand came up.

“Save it, Y/N. Thanks, but no thanks. This is what I get for saving you today? A ‘Hey Brad, I have zero gratitude to show you for saving my life today. Let’s just be friends, I’d rather go celebrate with the Douche-chesters’.”

Your mouth fell open, completely taken aback at what he was implying. “You know what..“ you started, ready to lay into him when you were stopped short, catching Dean out of the corner of your eye already heading over having heard the rising anger in Brad’s voice. And by the looks of him, he didn’t miss the insulting nickname either.

“Hey!” he called out. “Why don’t you dial it back a little bit there, buddy. She doesn’t owe you jackshit for today. None of us do. So how about you apologize to her for your own douchebag attitude, and go find your gratitude with some local bar skank.”

Narrowing his eyes, he stepped closer to Dean. “You don’t have to tell me twice, buddy. Just remember, all of you would be dead right now if I hadn’t come to when I did,” he spat back. “So how about the two of you…. go fuck yourselves. Hmm? Sound good? Good. She’s a terrible lay too by the way; enjoy.”

Raising both of his middle fingers to each of your faces, he made sure to look at both of your dumbfounded faces one last time before stalking off. He grabbed his stuff from beside the Impala and tossed it into the back of his truck as you and Dean looked at one another, knowing smirks on your faces before you burst out laughing.

“Worse has been said,” Dean commented loud enough for Brad to hear, and threw his hands up with a shrug, the two of you still laughing as he shot you both one last dirty look before getting in his truck, speeding out of the lot.

When you woke that next morning, something felt off.

Part 2 - Do you believe in Magic?

Tags from my list, @mrswhozeewhatsis awesome list and the @spnfanficpond  XO: @butiaintgonnaloveem @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @quiddy-writes @aprofoundbondwithdean @manawhaat @winchesterenthusiast @littlegreenplasticsoldier @deandoesthingstome @salvachester @chelsea072498 @mirandaaustin93 @ohmychuckitssamanddean @kittenofdoomage @eyes-of-a-disney-princess @faith-in-dean @for-the-love-of-dean @thedevilinthedetails @skybinx-blog @myfand0msandm0re @winchesterfiesta @sandlee44 @mrsjohnsmith @supermoonpanda @samanddeanwinchester67  @feelmyroarrrr @beachy2014 @its-my-perky-nipples @gryffindorable713 @meganwinchester1999 @fangirling-instead-of-working @mamaimpala @notnaturalanahi @scorpiongirl1 @mysupernaturalfanfics @imadeangirl-butimsamcurious @babypieandwhiskey @jpadjackles @supernatural-jackles @faegal04 @jotink78 @mogaruke @autopistaaningunaparte @emoryhemsworth @taste-of-dean @sassysupernaturalsweetheart @supernaturalismylife @revwinchester @supernaturalyobsessed @just-another-winchester @there-must-be-a-lock @winchester-family-business @canadianjelly @deansbabygirl01 @pretty-fortune @kitchenwitchsuperwhovian 

[acsversace-news]

Ryan Murphy hates the word “camp.” He sees it as a lazy catchall that gets thrown at gay artists in order to marginalize their ambitions, to frame their work as niche. “I don’t think that when John Waters made ‘Female Trouble’ that he was, like, ‘I want to make a camp piece,’ ” Murphy told me last May, as we sat in a production tent in South Beach, Florida, where he was directing the pilot of “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” a nine-episode series for FX. “I think that he was, like, ‘It’s my tone—and my tone is unique.’ ”

Murphy prefers a different label: “baroque.” Between shots, the showrunner—who has overseen a dozen television series in the past two decades—elaborated, with regal authority, on this idea. To Murphy, “camp” describes not irony but something closer to clumsiness, the accident you can’t look away from. People rarely use the term to describe a melodrama made by a straight man; even when “camp” is meant as a compliment, it contains an insult, suggesting a musty smallness. “Baroque” is big. Murphy, referring to TV critics (including me) who have applied “camp” to his work, said, “I will admit that it really used to bug the shit out of me. But it doesn’t anymore.”

We were outside the Casa Casuarina, the Mediterranean-style mansion that the Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace renovated and considered his masterwork—a building with airy courtyards and a pool inlaid with dizzy ribbons of red, orange, and yellow ceramic tiles. A small bronze statue of a kneeling Aphrodite stood at the top of the mansion’s front steps. In 1997, a young gay serial killer named Andrew Cunanan shot Versace to death there as the designer, who was fifty, was returning from his morning stroll.

The previous day, Murphy had filmed the murder scene. Cunanan was played by Darren Criss, a star of Murphy’s biggest hit, “Glee.” I’d visited the set that day, too, arriving to find ambulances, cops, and paparazzi swarming outside. There was a splash of red on the marble steps. Inside the house, Edgar Ramirez, the Venezuelan actor playing Versace, sat in a shaded courtyard, his hair caked with gun-wound makeup, his face lowered in his hands.

Now Murphy was filming the aftermath of the crime, including a scene in which two lookie-loos dip a copy of Vanity Fair into the puddle of Versace’s blood. (They sell the relic on eBay.) The vibe was an odd blend of sombre and festive; a half-naked rollerblader spun in slow circles on the sidewalk next to the beach. Murphy, who is fifty-three, is a stylish man, but on set he wore the middle-aged male showrunner’s uniform: baggy cargo shorts and a polo shirt. He has a rosebud mouth and close-cropped vanilla hair. He is five feet ten but has a brawny air of command, creating the illusion that he is much taller. His brother is six feet four, he told me, as was his late father; Murphy thinks that his own growth was stunted by chain-smoking when he was a rebellious teen-ager, in Indiana.

Murphy’s mood tends to shift unexpectedly, like a wonky thermostat—now warm, now icy—but on the “Versace” set he made one confident decision after another about the many shows he was overseeing, as if skipping stones. He also answered stray questions—about the casting for a Broadway revival of “The Boys in the Band” that he was producing, about a grand house in Los Angeles that he’d been renovating for two years. “Ooh, yes!” he said, inspecting penis-nosed clown masks that had been designed for his series “American Horror Story.” He approved a bespoke nail-polish design for an actress. A producer handed Murphy an updated script, joking, “If there’s a mistake, you can drown me in Versace’s pool!,” then scheduled a notes meeting for “American Crime Story: Katrina,” whose writers were working elsewhere in the building. Now and then, Murphy FaceTimed with his then four-year-old son, Logan, who, along with his two-year-old brother, Ford, was in L.A. with Murphy’s husband, David Miller.

“I never get overwhelmed or feel underwater, because I feel like all good things come from detail,” Murphy told me. It’s what got him to this point: the compulsion, and the craving, to do more. “Baroque is a sensibility I can get behind,” he said. “Baroque is a maximalist approach to storytelling that I’ve always liked. Baroque is a choice. And everything I do is an absolute choice.”

Murphy’s choices, perhaps more than those of any other showrunner, have upended the pieties of modern television. Like a wild guest at a dinner party, he’d lifted the table and slammed it back down, leaving the dishes broken or arranged in a new order. Several of Murphy’s shows have been critically divisive (and, on occasion, panned in ways that have raised his hackles). But he has produced an unusually long string of commercial and critical hits: audacious, funny-peculiar, joyfully destabilizing series, in nearly every genre. His run started with the satirical melodrama “Nip/Tuck” (2003), then continued with the global phenomenon “Glee” (2009) and with “American Horror Story,” now entering its eighth year, which launched the influential season-long anthology format. His legacy is not one standout show but, rather, the sheer force and variety and chutzpah of his creations, which are linked by a singular storytelling aesthetic: stylized extremity and rude humor, shock conjoined with sincerity, and serious themes wrapped in circus-bright packaging. He is the only television creator who could possibly have presented Lily Rabe as a Satan-possessed nun, gyrating in a red negligee in front of a crucifix while singing “You Don’t Own Me,” and have it come across as an indelible critique of the Catholic Church’s misogyny.

When Murphy entered the industry, he sometimes struck his peers as an aloof, prickly figure; he has deep wounds from those years, although he admits that he contributed to this reputation. Nonetheless, Murphy has moved steadily from the margins to television’s center. He changed; the industry changed; he changed the industry. In February, Murphy rose even higher, signing the largest deal in television history: a three-hundred-million-dollar, five-year contract with Netflix. For Murphy, it was a moment of both triumph and tension. You can’t be the underdog when you’re the most powerful man in TV.

On that sunny afternoon in South Beach, however, Murphy was still comfortably ensconced in a twelve-year deal with Fox Studios. On FX, which is owned by Fox, he had three anthology series: “American Horror Story”; “American Crime Story,” for which he was filming “Versace,” writing “Katrina,” and planning a season based on the Monica Lewinsky scandal; and “Feud,” whose first season starred Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis and Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford.

For Fox, he was developing “9-1-1,” a procedural about first responders. He had announced two shows for Netflix: “Ratched,” a nurse’s-eye view of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” starring Sarah Paulson; and “The Politician,” a satirical drama starring Ben Platt. Glenn Close was trying to talk him into directing her in a movie version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “Sunset Boulevard.” Murphy was writing a book called “Ladies,” about female icons. He had launched Half, a foundation dedicated to diversity in directing, and had committed to hiring half of his directors from underrepresented groups. And, he told me, there was something new: a series for FX called “Pose,” a dance-filled show set in the nineteen-eighties.

It was no mystery which character in his current series Murphy most identified with: Gianni Versace himself. Versace was a commercially minded artist whose brash inventions were dismissed by know-nothings as tacky, and whose openness about his sexuality threatened his ascent in a homophobic era. Versace, too, was a baroque maximalist, Murphy told me, who built his reputation through fervid workaholism—an insistence that his vision be seen and understood. “He was punished and he struggled,” Murphy said, then spoke in Versace’s voice: “Why aren’t I loved for my excess? Why don’t they see something valid in that?”

[...] Murphy has long been a connoisseur of extremes and hyperbole, games and theatricality. He rates everything he sees and revels in institutions that do the same—the Oscars are a kind of religion for him. In Miami, at dinner with the “Katrina” and “Versace” writers, he played a high-stakes game in which he was forced to immediately choose one person in his circle over another; he demurred only when the choice was between Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson. His go-to question is “Is it a hit or a flop?,” and he asked it about every show that came up in conversation, as I observed him giving shape to “Pose,” from scouting locations to editing dance footage. (He has other stock phrases. “What’s the scoop?” is how he begins writers’ meetings. “Energy begets energy” explains his impulse to add new projects. “That’s interesting” sometimes indicates “That’s worth noticing” but just as often means “That’s infuriating.”)

[...] His multitasking benefits greatly from the freedoms of cable and streaming: he has zero nostalgia for the twenty-two-episode network grind of a show like “Glee,” in which “halfway through Episode 15 you had nothing left to say, the actors were sick, the writers were sick, and it was fucking oatmeal until the end.” He favors eight or ten episodes, often with a small writers’ room, as with “Pose.” He writes scripts for some shows, whereas for others he gives notes; on a few projects, like his HBO adaptation of Larry Kramer’s play “The Normal Heart,” he’s very hands-on. “We left blood on the dance floor,” Murphy said, affectionately, of his three-year collaboration with Kramer. “Versace” had one writer, Tom Rob Smith. But Murphy provided close directorial, design, and casting oversight, and he had a strong commitment to the show’s themes, particularly the contrast between Versace and Cunanan, two gay men craving success, but only one willing to work for it.

[...] In the meanwhile, Murphy had scored a ratings bonanza with Fox’s “9-1-1,” a wackadoo procedural featuring stories like one about a baby caught in a plumbing pipe. It was his parting gift to Dana Walden. “Versace” had been, by certain standards, a flop: lower ratings, mixed reviews. Artistically, though, it was one of Murphy’s boldest shows, with a backward chronology and a moving performance by Criss as Cunanan, a panicked dandy hollowed out by self-hatred. After the finale aired, a new set of reviews emerged. Matt Brennan, on Paste, argued that “Versace” had been subjected to “the straight glance”—a critical gaze that skims queer art, denying its depths. “Even critics sympathetic to the series seem as uncomfortable with its central subject as the Miami cops were with those South Beach fags,” Brennan wrote. Murphy was reading a new oral history of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” in which, in one scene, Roy Cohn denies being gay because, he barks, homosexuals lack power: they are “men who know nobody and who nobody knows.” The line echoes one in “Versace.” A homeless junkie dying of aids tells the cops, bitterly, why gay men couldn’t stop talking about the designer: “We all imagined what it would be like to be so rich and so powerful that it doesn’t matter that you’re gay.”

[jewrocker]

Biden’s “Impossible Dream”

Along with the other eighty-million Americans with an IQ over five, I too am doing backflips at the prospect we’re just weeks away from flushing this unprecedentedly corrupt and incomprehensibly cruel administration into the cesspool of infamy where they belong.  However, as ecstatic as I am at the thought of an actual human being once again occupying the Oval Office, one must still be realistic as to what to expect going forward.  Sadly, it seems, to the contrary of our president-elect.

President Biden’s statement that he intends to be a president ‘...to all Americans’, while admirable and more than a welcome change from the incoherent ramblings of the Mad King, seems to be more than a bit out of touch with what’s actually going on in this country in 2020, and beyond.  While he may indeed devote every ounce of energy to this seemingly insurmountable task, unity is still a two-way street.  Last we checked, there’s a massive concrete divider in the middle of this one.  A concept that the president-elect inexplicably doesn’t seem to fully have grasped.  Especially, considering, as a former vice-president, he lived through eight years of Senate Republicans sticking it to his boss every chance they got.  I mean, “Hello, McFly?”  Do you really believe Congressional Republicans are just going to snap out of their near twenty-year trance because you’re friends with them? 

Exhibit One: Leader McConnell.

If you’re old enough to remember the Obama years, you’ll have no trouble recalling the now-infamous line uttered by that bastion of Honor and Ethics, Mitch McConnell.  That being, “My only goal for the next four years is to make Obama a one-term president.”  Aside from being borderline treason for a Senator to openly admit he’s going to spend every waking moment betraying his oath in order to achieve his despicably anti-American goal, “Moscow Mitch,” as he’s now affectionately known, hasn’t changed a bit.  In fact, he’s gotten worse, and, thanks to his miraculous re-election in a state that had him at just an 18% approval rating, more emboldened. 

After shamelessly defending our Russian-asset POTUS at every opportunity, including predicting the outcome of an impeachment hearing before it actually took place, the worst leader in the history of the United States Senate spent the past four years doing NOTHING, but filling an unprecedented number of conservative judgeships; including, surprise, the Supreme Court, where the louse seemed to actually revel in reneging on his own call to wait until after the election to choose a replacement for Justice Ginsberg.  No policy.  No compromise.  No nothing.  Nothing, that is, but increasing the deficit by trillions and making sure his corporate cronies are exempt from responsibility due to their shameful response to the pandemic.  I guess that’s something. 

Thus, unless our incoming president is suffering from severe amnesia, he should have no illusions that, following the Georgia runoffs (should Republicans maintain the stranglehold they currently enjoy), there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell McConnell, the demonic amphibian he is, will allow any dissenters to side with the president, on anything. Not a bill to curtail the amount of robocalls one gets on a daily basis, nor a motion to change the ketchup dispenser in the congressional cafeteria.

Exhibit Two:  Trump’s Minions 

If, after witnessing 126 House Republicans sign onto what is nothing short of a statement supporting the overthrowing of our Democracy, as well as several Republican Senators coming out in support of objecting to the States’ already-certified electors, anyone who thinks president Biden will somehow get these cockroaches to join hands singing Kumbaya, is living on another planet.  In fact, from what we’ve seen in the last six weeks, alone, it’s fair to say Congressional Republicans are now more of a threat to our nation than ISIS.  Yes, that ISIS.  At least, the Islamic State have the decency to tell you to your face exactly what their objective is: The total destruction of American Democracy.  Period.  Modern day Republicans have proven they have the same exact goal; they just do it from within, disguised as “patriots.”

Exhibit Three:  Seventy-Million Idiots

In spite of the Deplorables on The Hill, the biggest hurdle the president, and vice-president, have in front of them may very well be the American People, themselves.  While there’s got to be a few million in the human Chernobyl’s base of seventy-million-plus who aren’t full-blown, racist psychopaths, there are still way too many who’ve shown they’re fully committed to the cult of Trump.  Even now.  Even though their government led them into a year-long nightmare of misery and misinformation: even as their apathetic leaders choose to bail out their billionaire buddies, while sending them a $600 slap in the face, they continue to support them. Unmoved.

Even though Benedict Donald has spent the past two months proving he has zero interest in/reverence for this Democracy and in a peaceful transference of power, truth is, outside of maybe a handful of ‘awoke’ individuals who’ve finally seen enough, he’s most likely not lost a single one of his hardcore supporters.  In fact, many of them have doubled down in their support of the village idiot - going as far as to organize a “parallel inauguration” on Universe Two - the fantasy world where Trump will still be president (Most pundits refer to Trump supporters as living on ‘Earth 2,’ but their thinking is so alien to facts/common sense, IMO, they deserve their own universe.).   These sad, sorry fools fell hook, line and sinker for the president’s claims of “fraud”, to the tune of stocking his post-election war chest with a cool quarter-billion dollars.  Translation: you’re looking at an entire sect of people who have no basis in reality.  So, who’s worse?  The Trump supporter?  Or the one who tries to reason with the Trump supporter? 

These Trump-described “suckers,” who, in spite of everything they’ve seen, in spite of the fact we have a president who’s golfing while millions can’t even put food on their table during the holidays (those still alive that is) are still so consumed with hate for the other side, they’d rather see their nation brought to the brink of civil war than be governed by a Democrat.  They’d rather elect a corrupt, bottom-dwelling QAnon conspirator to Congress, than an honest, sane liberal whose major crime is refusing to believe Tom Hanks and Bill Gates are partners in a global kiddie porn empire.  Case in point, the more than dozen House seats that flipped red this past November, and, with them, some who actually believe the above.  This kind of unhinged, spiteful, masochistic thinking suggests the hate modern day Republicans have towards liberals is greater than the love they have for their own children.   Good luck overcoming that type of home-grown martyr, Mr. President.  

Exhibit Four: Biden, Himself:

The welcome, sorely needed public comments seeking to reunite a hopelessly divided nation, notwithstanding, by stating what the New York Times calls “no interest” in pursuing any type of retribution/Justice, re: the myriad of crimes committed by this horrific administration, IMO, the president-elect has already stepped in it.  Especially after the Georgia phone call. 

It’s never a good idea to address your supporters, many of whom feel they’re owed some form of payback after being forced to watch helplessly as their Constitution was consistently used as toilet paper by a mob boss POTUS for four, long years, and, right out of the gate, say you’re just going to forget the whole thing.  After all, this isn’t Nixon we’re talking about here. This is a thousand Nixons... on steroids.  This is treason in all its forms.  The attempt to “find” 11,780 votes, just one more than Biden, is the most egregious crime ever committed by a U.S. President. Yet, the president-elect continues to spew this type of disappointing, non-confrontational rhetoric. While hopefully just said for the cameras, it definitely gives many of the incoming president’s supporters, including Yours Truly, night sweats.  

In fact, IMO, SDNY aside, letting these, spineless, racist, anti-American miscreants sail off into the sunset, with free health care for life and full pensions, on us, would be worse than all their crimes put together.  As it will not only show the next corrupt bunch of lawless idiots to come down the pike they can do whatever they want and they’re guaranteed a free pass from the next guy, it will end our experiment in Democracy as we know it; as it will have all-but-proved the president is, in fact, above the law.  I really hope I’m wrong.  Fingers crossed Biden is just doing his job and saying all the right things, while privately working to nominate Sally Yates for A.G.  IMO, should Ms. Yates get the nod, she will see to it Justice is served on all fronts.  If not, you can bet there’s a damn good reason.

Mueller made the fatal mistake of playing fair with Trump and Barr, and their legion of sycophantic sheep in Congress, and wound up looking like a timid, outmatched eunuch. After living through the Obama years, after living through The Trump years, after seeing the literal definition of treason on a daily basis, it appears Biden is choosing to ignore these screaming red sirens and walk down that path, as well, at least with his words.   

How much more proof does the president-elect need to know these individuals on the other side of the aisle are only interested in one thing? Total Dominance, by any means necessary.  Even if it’s a flagrant violation of their oaths to defend The Constitution.  Every single low-life choosing to join a wanna-be fascist in his reprehensible attempt to overturn our national election are only Americans by birth.  That’s where it ends. 

In Alan Parker’s classic film, Mississippi Burning, there’s a great line in the scene where the two FBI agents, played by Willem Dafoe and Gene Hackman, realize playing by the rules with these racist bastards will never get them the Justice they seek.  Straight-laced Dafoe says, “Don’t drag me into your gutter, Mr. Anderson.”   To which, no-nonsense Hackman replies, “These people crawled out of a sewer, Mr. Ward!  Maybe the gutter’s where we outta be!”  Here’s hoping there’s more of Anderson than Ward in our next president. 

[michaelandy101-blog]

6 Content Writing Trends for 2021: An SEO Content Checklist for SMBs

New Post has been published on http://tiptopreview.com/6-content-writing-trends-for-2021-an-seo-content-checklist-for-smbs/

6 Content Writing Trends for 2021: An SEO Content Checklist for SMBs

As small businesses head into 2021 with endless hope that this pandemic ends, marketing dollars are scarce.

And from the looks of things, this marketing spend will continue its scarcity throughout 2021, especially if additional statewide or citywide shutdowns occur.

One advantage of this situation?

Refining your business website’s content writing with the latest trends of SEO in mind.

Many SMBs either have content writers and/or SEO professionals on staff, or work with digital marketing agencies.

Regardless of the situation, one thing you should not do during this pandemic is to become lazy.

My agency sees it over and over again, whether working with local environmental engineering firms or enterprise companies.

Many follow the digital marketing practices of the last decade, especially across their website content writing.

Throughout 2020, I not only revised my agency’s marketing and pricing strategies to cater to client needs – I also blocked time to focus additional energy on what content writing trends can further help clients succeed in SEO and brand awareness in 2021.

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This included looking at what worked for my clients throughout 2020, and what trends I had discovered.

The study helped shape a checklist for optimizing your website’s content writing using the latest SEO trends.

But first, a few content writing trend practices in regards to brand authority within a small business, and how to strengthen it through your website’s content.

2021 Content Writing Trends

In 2021, your brand authority will matter more than ever.

For most SMBs, the focus is on strengthening the overall company name itself versus the actual human being or beings behind the companies.

This is a mistake.

The more you can center a single person as the expert and authoritative figure that represents a business, the better.

Founders and CEOs typically follow this role, something familiar with giant corporations (think Howard Schultz, Elon Musk, or Tim Cook).

Most smaller businesses, though, have multiple voices representing their company.

This occurs across all marketing material, with the largest offender being the blog.

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If you have various experts on staff or freelancing for you, having separate authors for topics is ideal.

Take digital marketing agencies.

Experts in social media should write about social media, and experts in content marketing should write about content marketing, and, well, you get it.

The problem with many smaller businesses is they have only a few core services but continue to byline stuff as “staff” or even use fictitious names.

This provides zero identity to the company and doesn’t help the business build a strong following and repeated visits to that website.

The solution is to take one of these high authority figures within an SMB – again, typically a founder or CEO – and make them the voice of the content across that website.

The more niche the service or product, the more optimal it is to use a singular voice.

Think about a company selling stock investment services – would you trust the voice of the CEO or the voice of some unknown on the marketing staff?

With that said, it’s always smart to write in first-person pronouns.

Either “I” as the authoritative figure or “we” from the voice of the authoritative figure representing the company.

Back to digital marketing agencies.

Again, it’s wise to have experts writing on their specialized topics.

But also get the CEO involved.

This is where ghostwriting helps progress sales.

Even better is if the CEOs like to write and do the work themselves (or at least provide a bullet-point outline for your writer or agency).

Another trend I see is more traditional PR approaches such as media outreach, especially for those clients with a strong local base (think restaurants, auto service centers, massage therapy, etc.).

Local online and traditional news publications have much clout, and many of the reporters working for those publications are always on the hunt for local business angles.

Searching for more national media coverage?

Join HARO (Help A Reporter Out), one of the go-to tools of my ghostwriting services.

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2021 SEO Checklist for Content Writing

Now that I covered brand authority, it’s time to move into optimizing your website’s content following some trends for 2021.

The following speaks to both page and blog content.

All guidance derives from the trends I’ve witnessed with clients and other website rankings over the year, and I expect much of this to stick throughout 2021.

To keep things organized, I advise my writers to think SERP info first, then follow the page from top to bottom.

Begin with the title tag and meta description, and move down through the actual page as you would see it on the screen.

Following is the checklist for optimizing each content element as we throttle into 2021.

1. Keyword Research Optimization

All SEO professionals know that performing keyword research is the very first step in creating optimized content.

SEJ features hundreds of articles on performing keyword research so that I won’t go into crazy detail here.

But sadly many SMBs still refuse to perform any type of keyword research.

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This is normal for new clients at my agency who have never worked with an SEO pro before.

But, unfortunately, I also see a lack of keyword research for new clients who have worked with SEO professionals before.

If you neglect to perform keyword research, you’ll fail to garner any traction in the search results.

Here are some thoughts on keyword research trends as we head into 2021:

Target 80% Evergreen Keywords; 20% Trending Keywords 

Take the time to truly understand the evergreen content needs of your market and audience, and target evergreen keywords for that content.

The goal is to have that content add value and solve the reader’s problems for many years into the future.

An example from a digital marketing agency: content writing tips, SEO basics, etc.

With that said, you also need to pay attention to trending keywords, such as the latest products available with your marketing.

An example from a digital marketing agency: how to optimize for voice search, predictive search, etc.

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And if you follow these trending keywords, and create authoritative content early enough, some may turn into evergreen keywords, and you’ll have a jump on the competition.

Create a Buyer Persona: Target Keywords & Content Towards That Buyer Persona

Spend time building out your buyer persona, and create an actual fictional character such as SEO pro Sarah.

What would Sara be searching for?

What keyword would attract her to your content?

What type of CTAs will Sara engage with?

How about imagery?

Don’t Go Crazy Over Volume

When you’re creating a constant flow of content, typically through a blog, don’t go crazy over only targeting high-volume keywords.

Depending on the ROI on a service or product, I’ll target keywords as low as 10-20 visitors per month.

I had a client who sold annual investing services with high guarantees worth around $4,000 yearly.

I targeted a few terms of around 20 search volume and sold eight of those annual services – $32,000 and all resigned through the following year.

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Not bad for a low-volume keyword target.

Monitor Keyword Performance Closely 

We track client keywords through SEMrush, and if something’s not working as it should after around six weeks, we analyze the content and all of our target keyword positioning.

Sometimes a simple swap of words in a title tag helps with rankings.

Other times, it’s a complete overhaul of the content itself.

This is why it’s so vital to track progress and continually revamping older content throughout the year.

Don’t Forget About the Related Keywords 

When I complete keyword research and have a target keyword that I’ll use for a page, I’ll also provide a list of related keywords for when I get to work.

Related keywords show more relevance to your topic, which helps send stronger signals about the page’s intentions for both search engines and readers.

Which title tag above attracts your eye?

2. Title Tag Optimization

David Ogilvy, the late Brit known as the “father of advertising” and founder of Ogilvy & Mather, said:

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“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

Though Ogilvy was a traditional advertiser, his guidance rings true for 21st century online marketing.

Title tags remain one of the strongest signals for search engines to explain what that page is about.

When writing title tags, they must not only engage humans but also satisfy SEO.

This is why the target keyword must be included in the headline.

The best practice is to have it as close to the front of the title as possible, and I’ve personally witnessed rankings change based on swapping around words in titles, something I explained above.

Other things to check off with regards to title tag creation are:

Keep It Short

The standard practice for SEO professionals is to create title tags between 50-60 characters because Google typically truncates everything after 60.

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But after a year of experimenting with various lengths, I try to write them shorter – like 40-50 characters.

This requires added energy from copywriters, but the effort is worth it.

Sometimes when creating a content strategy for clients and my workflow, I spend more time creating a list of optimized topics than writing a single 1,500-word article.

Feature Numbers 

Recent statistics say that headlines featuring numbers (exact numbers of points such as 47 Content Writing Tips) get 36% more clicks.

Without a doubt use numbers where possible.

Use of Brackets or Parentheses 

The same statistics say the use of brackets in titles increases click-through rates by 38%!

3. Meta Description Optimization

Here are the tips on optimizing meta descriptions in 2021:

Keep Them Shorter Than the Recommended 150-160

This is especially true for mobile.

We began experimenting with metas around 120-130 and observed increased click-through rates among various clients.

Think Free Advertisements 

Think of these as a free way to advertise, and as a main supporter of your title tag.

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A good formula is the struggle/solution statement that entices a searcher to click.

Also, include a call to action with some “Words that Sell” (for more on that, read Richard Bayan’s Words that Sell).

Always Use Your Target Keywords in the Meta Descriptions

Though Google says meta descriptions have no direct ranking value, they certainly have an indirect ranking value.

If the target keywords are searched for, they will become bold in the meta descriptions, providing relevancy to the searcher’s intent.

This influences a clickthrough, indirectly affecting rank value.

Also, though Google might only be using your own meta descriptions about 3o% of the time and typically automatically populates them, it’s still the best practice to provide unique meta descriptions for every page across the website.

I’d argue even pages such as the privacy policy or contact pages, which are typically left to self populate.

4. Header Tag Optimization

Header tags are simply subtopics that break up the text and provide structure.

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These are especially effective in listicle articles where every number/section is the next section’s overall topic.

Most people scan when reading (link to study), and these header tags are the first thing people typically read.

Everyone wants to know what’s in it for them, and this makes that super simple.

They also are vital to ranking for featured snippets.

Google will typically take header tags and use them as bullets for a snippet.

The query “header tag optimization” provides the perfect example:

To optimize these in 2021:

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Use Target & Related Keywords

Always use your main keyword in at least one header tag and high-value related keywords in others.

Don’t Keyword-Stuff

Instead, infuse keywords naturally.

This should be easy if you outlined your content and set out to provide the most valuable information to the reader about the subject.

Keep Them Short 

I’m saying as short as possible – six words or less.

Remember your audience is not dumb.

This section is about a checklist for optimizing content elements.

I don’t have to write “Optimizing header tags in 2021 based on current trends.”

Instead, “header tag optimization” suffices.

5. Internal Links/Image Optimization

Internal links within the text itself are vital for strong SEO.

They send strong signals to search engines about the relevance of another page on your website, and how you place value on that page.

Don’t Go Crazy With Internal Links 

Instead, use them where a reader would naturally value the added content to learn more.

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Use a Strong Anchor Text 

The goal here is to use an anchor text that includes the target keyword of the page being linked to.

This practice is all about sending the strongest signals possible to search engines and users about what you think is valuable information that supports the current page’s content.

As for images, remember – search engines can’t read an image (photo, PDF, etc.), hence why we use “alternative” text.

Here are quick pointers for 2021:

Each Image Should Have a Unique Title & Alt Text That Includes a Target Keyword 

The latter is crucial because, according to Google, people search for over a billion images daily.

And if these images feature alt text that’s keyworded for the image search query, you’ll quickly discover other streams of traffic.

And for titles, nothing is worse for search engines than “Shutterstock – 2828923990213409858329.”

My agency places unique titles on all – even if they are the same we simply notate them by -1, -2, -3, etc.

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Use Captions Wherever Possible 

I discovered simply adding captions to images at a motorcycle publication increased on-page time by over 20%.

Explain as much as possible, and don’t keyword stuff.

Here’s an ideal place to use related keywords, but only those related to the image.

Make sure to use italics to differentiate the text from the body of content.

Some content management systems don’t do a good job of this, so simple italics will work.

6. Body of Content Optimization

Following are some quick bullet points for optimizing the actual body of content on any page or blog:

Firs, Think About ‘Psychological’ Space 

This means not writing long, Faulkner-type sentences or creating long paragraphs.

Short and choppy for the win, considering people scan content and will ignore anything that looks hard to read.

This is especially true on mobile!

Forget About the Keyword Density of a Target Keyword 

Although many tools still exist for this purpose, forget about keyword density.

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Use your target keyword and your list of related keywords naturally throughout the content.

For 90% of my client blog/page work, I begin with the list of target and related keywords.

I glance through them before writing, and they usually show up automatically throughout my writing.

I still check the list during the editing stage and naturally infuse as many as possible throughout the text.

Sometimes a few related keywords don’t make sense, so I don’t use them.

Thoughts on Length

Regarding length, I’ve been experimenting for well over a year on this and getting some mixed signals from Google.

But one thing is for sure – longer is better for most situations.

For the main category and product pages, I target a minimum of 500 words.

Regarding blogs, the minimum is bumped to 1,200.

However, many land around 1,500 words, and for more intense subjects (such as articles for publications like Search Engine Journal), my minimum is 2,000 words (though they typically finish much longer).

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Two Dark Points

Here’s a quick checklist of two essential elements that should be included in every body of content across your website in 2021 – from service/product pages to blogs to about pages.

Bullet Points.

Bold/Italics.

Each element sends strong signals to search engines, explaining that readers and thus search engines, should pay attention because these elements are vital to the content’s message.

Concluding Thoughts

Heading into 2021, small businesses need to rethink their content writing habits across their business website(s).

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The process should place an equal amount of focus on SEO and brand authority.

The quickest way to the former is ongoing studies in SEO and experimentation across different content creation techniques (A/B testing headlines, adding more related keywords, testing meta descriptions, etc.).

As for brand authority, try creating all content from one authoritative voice in the company.

The best situation?

Have the CEO or founder be the voice behind every piece of content on the business website – homepage, service pages, product pages, blogs, or whatever.

They should also represent the company’s content marketing efforts across all other channels, from social media to third-party guest posting.

If not, the other best choice is the collective “we.”

Although again, “we” won’t have nearly as much power as a CEO or founder with a story to tell and the expertise to tell that story authoritatively using “I.”

Try a few of these techniques throughout 2021.

And if you have anything to add, please message me through my author page.

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I’m always collecting data for future stories here on Search Engine Journal.

More Resources:

Image Credits

Featured & In-Post Images: Unsplash All screenshots taken by author, November 2020

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[talkandchalkidiomas]

Números em inglês

Numbers in English (Números em inglês)

There are two main types of numbers: Números em inglês Cardinal Numbers - 1 (one), 2 (two) etc. (Used mainly for counting) Ordinal Numbers - 1st (first), 2nd (second) etc. (Used mainly for putting things in a sequence) Cardinal Numbers Cardinal numbers are normally used when you: Números em inglês Count things: I have two brothers. There are thirty-one days in January. Give your age: I am thirty-three years old. My sister is twenty-seven years old. Give your telephone number: Our phone number is two-six-three, three-eight-four-seven. (481-2240) Give years: She was born in nineteen seventy-five (1975). America was discovered in fourteen ninety-two Notice how we divide the year into two parts. This is the form for year up to 1999. For the year 2000 and on, we say two thousand (2000), two thousand and one (2001), two thousand and two (2002) etc. Ordinal Numbers You can normally create Ordinal numbers by adding -TH to the end of a Cardinal Number. Números em inglês Ordinal numbers are normally used when you: Give a date: My birthday is on the 27th of January. (Twenty-seventh of January) Put things in a sequence or order: Liverpool came second in the football league last year. Give the floor of a building: His office is on the tenth floor. Have birthdays: He had a huge party for his twenty-first birthday. Refer to centuries: Shakespeare was born in the 16th century. For the name of a king or queen in written English, Roman numerals are used = Henry VIII but in Spoken English you would say Henry the Eighth. Números em inglês Cardinal Numbers Listen to the pronunciation of the numbers from 1 to 100 in the following video: Números em inglêsHere is a list of cardinal numbers in English 1 - one 2 - two 3 - three 4 - four 5 - five 6 - six 7 - seven 8 - eight 9 - nine 10 - ten 11 - eleven 12 - twelve 13 - thirteen 14 - fourteen 15 - fifteen 16 - sixteen 17 - seventeen 18 - eighteen 19 - nineteen 20 - twenty 21 - twenty-one 22 - twenty-two 23 - twenty-three 30 - thirty 40 - forty 50 - fifty 60 - sixty 70 - seventy 80 - eighty 90 - ninety 100 - one hundred* 101 - one hundred and one 200 - two hundred 300 - three hundred 1000 - one thousand 1,000,000 - one million 10,000,000 - ten million * Instead of saying One Hundred, you can say A hundred. e.g. (127) one hundred and twenty-seven OR (127) a hundred and twenty-seven. The same rule applies for one thousand (a thousand) and one million (a million) Notice that you need to use a hyphen (-) when you write the numbers between 21 and 99. With long numbers, we usually divide them into groups of three which are divided by a comma. e.g. 5000000 (5 million) is normally written as 5,000,000

Ordinal Numbers 1st - first 2nd - second 3rd - third 4th - fourth 5th - fifth 6th - sixth 7th - seventh 8th - eighth 9th - ninth 10th - tenth 11th - eleventh 12th - twelfth 13th - thirteenth 14th - fourteenth 15th - fifteenth 16th - sixteenth 17th - seventeenth 18th - eighteenth 19th - nineteenth 20th - twentieth 21st - twenty-first 22nd - twenty-second 23rd - twenty-third 30th - thirtieth 40th - fortieth 50th - fiftieth 60th - sixtieth 70th - seventieth 80th - eightieth 90th - ninetieth 100th - hundredth 101st - hundred and first 200th - two hundredth 300th - three hundredth 1,000th - thousandth 1,000,000th - ten millionth

Ordinal numbers Ordinal numbers in English and their uses. Version of this chart for Parents and Teachers (Each purchase helps us to create more free ESL material) The Number 0 We normally say 'zero' for the number '0'. BUT when we give our telephone number, we often say O like the name of the letter O. e.g. 505-1023 = five-O-five, one-O-two-three Fractions and Decimals We use ordinal numbers (at the end position) to talk about fractions. 1/2 - a half 1/3 - a third 2/3 - two thirds 1/4 - a quarter (a fourth) 3/4 - three quarters (three fourths) 1/5 - a fifth 2/5 - two fifths 1/6 - a sixth 5/6 - five sixths 1/7 - a seventh 1/8 - an eighth 1/10 - a tenth 7/10 - seven tenths 1/20 - a twentieth 47/100 - forty-seven hundredths 1/100 - a hundredth 1/1,000 - a thousandth Notice that for 1/4, you can say a quarter OR a fourth. IF we have a whole number with a fraction, we use the word AND between the two parts. e.g. 2 3/5 = two and a three-fifths For parts of whole numbers, we use a decimal point (and NOT a comma). e.g. 2 1/2 (two and a half) = 2.5 (two point five) If there is more than one number after the decimal point, we say each number individually. e.g. 3,456.789 = three thousand, four hundred and fifty-six point seven eight nine. The exception to this rule is when we are talking about dollars and cents (or pound and pence) e.g. $21.95 = twenty-one dollars, ninety-five (cents). Saying the word cents at the end is optional. Fonte: https://www.vocabulary.clTalk and Chalk  Talk France Read the full article

[ashl3yruiz]

Writing Samples

The Grapevine

12/20/19- Ashley Commercial Sample

Boutique

:30 Sec.

 Ashley: Are you ready to get some last-minute Christmas shopping done, Holly?

Holly: Yes, but I have to ask, where did you get your shoes? They’re adorable!

Ashley: The Grapevine in Giddings!

Holly: The Grapevine? What’s that?

Ashley: It’s a cute boutique at seven-ninety east Austin street that offers everything from apparel and footwear, to accessories and home décor.

Holly: Ashley, we have to go there!

Ashley: They’re open ten to six, so we can totally swing by! We’ll find our gifts in no time, and if we don’t, they’ve got more on their website! It’s the dash grapevine dash boutique dot my shopify dot com.

Holly: Sounds perfect Ashley!

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Deep in the Heart Farms

12/19/19- Ashley Sample

Venue

:30 Sec.

We wish you a Merry Christmas… and a Happy New Year! Wow, is it already that time of year? If you’re looking for a fun way to ring in the New Year, we’ve got just the fix! It’s the end of a decade, and Deep in the Heart Farms is throwing a bash to end it in style. They’re going to have live music, food-trucks, and a firework show at midnight! Tickets are twenty-five dollars, and trust me, you’ll want to be there when the doors open at five p.m. With musical performances from Wade Bowen, Mason Lively, and more, it’s going to be a night to remember! Reserve your spot now at www dot event-bright dot com. Deep in the Heart Farms is located at eighty-three fifty-one Texas highway one-oh-five in Brenham, Texas.

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Finding Neverland

12/19/19- Ashley Sample

Performing Arts

:30 Sec.

If you love Peter Pan, you’re in for a treat. The critically acclaimed traveling cast of Finding Neverland is coming to Brenham, Texas on January thirty-first. Neverland is being brought to life at the Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center as a part of its’ Performing Arts Series. Finding Neverland is based on the Academy Award-winning movie of the same name. Follow along as playwright J.M. Barrie finds inspiration in a charming widow, and her four young sons: Jack, George, Michael, and Peter. The Dr. W.W. O’Donnell Performing Arts Center is located at six hundred Blinn Boulevard, in Brenham, Texas. The show will begin at seven p.m. You can get tickets at nine-seven-nine, eight-three-zero, four-zero-two-four or online at www dot blinn dot edu slash box-office. In the words of Peter Pan, all you need is Faith, Trust, and a little Pixie Dust!

[touristplaces19-blog]

The Infinite Magic of the Amazon

The department of Amazonas, whose capital is Leticia, has an altitude that varies between zero and eighty meters above sea level, its climate generally remains at around 27 degrees Celsius and humidity can rise up to 92%.

The Amazon River - the largest, widest and deepest in the world - feeds and gives life to a great variety of fauna and flora creating an ecosystem so immense that there is no other that can be compared anywhere in the world. In addition, in the vicinity of the great river there are other tributaries - causal and important as well - that facilitate commercial and tourist access between the different populations of the forest.

What are the tourist activities that can be done in the Amazon?

In addition to having the privilege of knowing the different indigenous communities (knowing their ancestral vision of the world and life) there are various activities that make this place a destination for tourists whose goals are the magic twilight, the wild nature and the prodigious buzz of Jungle.

Hiking through this, visiting natural parks, navigating the Amazon River, observing wildlife and canopy practice is also common among tourists visiting the area, climbing trees 35 meters high and then jumping down through its branches on paths more than eighty meters away; and sleep in the cup of a Ceiba under the infinite compass of the moon and the stars while the night, under an ancient and organic orchestra, imposes the music that carries with it the torrid sounds that emerge from the jungle.

Leticia is an active shopping center surrounded by paths that lead to the interior of the forests and places where you can practice ecotourism and adventure activities. The famous tourist pier of the city divides (with an imaginary line) the border between Peru and Brazil. From this point it is possible to visit the Amazon of the two countries.

How to get?

From the Colombian territory, you can reach the Amazon by air and by river (from Puerto Nariño) and by air, from Bogotá. When arriving at the airport Alfredo Vásquez Cobo (in Leticia) the tourist will charge a tax of eight dollars for his entrance.

[scottmapess]

BITCOIN CAN 100X TO 1 MILLION A COIN – SERIOUSLY! [PRICE PREDICTION EXPLAINED]

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Today in crypto. Can Bitcoin realistically one hundred X in the coming years hit a whopping one million dollars a Bitcoin hack? Can Bitcoin even 50 X to hit the market cap of gold? Well, I think yes to both of these questions. While these numbers might seem a little crazy. This video will lay out why I am a long term investor in Bitcoin and why I believe that we have not even begun to see Bitcoin really starting to flex its muscles. The crypto lark. This is resubscribe for all of the hottest and all of the latest happening out here in the wild, wild land of crypto. A big thank you to block Fei for sponsoring today’s episode. So big news for Block Fae, especially for residents of Ohio and Rhode Island. Block Fei has just received their licenses to be able to operate in both of those states. So if you live in either state, you can now enjoy Block Fi’s services. Block Fine is my favorite place to lend out my krypto block. Fire does not require any token to access its services. It has no lockup periods and it has very generous rates for its interest bearing accounts. Six percent for Bitcoin, 4.5 percent for a theorem and eight point six percent for dollar stable coins like U.S., D.C. and Paxos. Flexi pay gives you the option to deposit dollars and then get paid interest in Bitcoin while you wait to buy the dip in the in app exchange means that you can quickly grab any dips when they do come up. You can also use block PHY either on your desktop or on their new mobile app. And Blackfire also offers loans against your cryptocurrency, thus allowing you to get cash in a flash by using your crypto as collateral without having to actually then sell your crypto. There is a link down below where you can learn more and find out about Blackfire services and how to start earning a passive income on your crypto today. Okay, one million dollar bitcoin. Let’s get this into start. I want to play two short clips for you. One from macro investor rule pal and the second from Bitcoin. Oji Chamitoff probably did the first stocks of flow analysis of Bitcoin back in 2012 13 where I looked at it versus the supply of gold and just with a pretty crude analysis figured out that at the time with gold at twelve hundred. Bitcoin was probably worth a million bucks. And I’ve always thought of Bitcoin as a very binary investment, whether it goes from eighty to eight thousand to six thousand to three thousand to thirteen thousand, it just it doesn’t matter. This is either zero or it’s millions. So Bitcoin going to one million dollars. Bitcoin to zero. Or Tamilians Bitcoin 10 trillion dollar market cap, big claims all. But is it actually realistic to see this happen? Yes, long term, I definitely believe that we could hit one million dollars a coin. And I know that it seems crazy looking at it from here. I mean, we’re having a hard time just crack over ten thousand dollars right now. How on earth are we going to even break a hundred thousand dollars, let alone one million dollars lakh? Man, you need to lay off that Hopi and bong. Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. But hear me out. Hear me out. We are in an incredibly lucky time right now to be able to buy an asset like Bitcoin in the early stages of its price discovery. And yes, we are still early. It’s like being able to buy gold back in the 70s or something. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to accumulate wealth as the best performing asset of the last decade and what’s probably going to be the best performing asset of this decade as well. So let’s dig into the core of the thesis here. Can Bitcoin achieve a similar market cap to gold? Well, it’s hard to get an exact figure on the total amount of gold out there with the assumed market cap of gold is currently around nine trillion dollars. The market cap of bitcoin is around 180 billion dollars. So if you were to see Bitcoin get the same market cap as gold, then that would actually mean a 50 X increase in the price of Bitcoin, meaning that one Bitcoin would be around half a million dollars each. Now, these are approximate numbers, but you get the idea. Now, you might say Bupp up, but lurk gold’s been around for thousands of years, man. It’s gonna take a long time for Bitcoin to get to those kind of prices. Well, OK. Personally. I believe that Bitcoin is in many respects actually better than gold. It shares many of gold’s awesome properties, like being hard money and being relatively scarce. But it actually improves on gold by being super easily divisible, easily transportable. Being able to be sent around the world in a matter of minutes and verifiably rare. Right now, Bitcoin’s annual inflation rate is one point eight percent. Gold is one point five percent. The next, having bitcoin will go down to zero point nine percent. The having after that and 20 28 zero point four five percent. And by 2032, when the block were drops below one Bitcoin per block, the rate will be zero point two to five percent. We know for certain how much bitcoin there is and how much bitcoin there will ever be gold. We just keep dragging it out of the ground. No one knows exactly how much gold exists on Earth. And when we start space mining. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Bad news. Bears for gold potentially, anyway. That’s gold. As gold. Nine trillion dollars. It is a good goal for bitcoin for this decade. But really, if Bitcoin is not going to go to one million dollars, then what meaning does life even have? I mean, really. Come on. So that would be a market cap of around 18 to 20 trillion dollars, depending on course on when it happens. How much of the remaining Bitcoin has been mined by that time, et cetera, et cetera? Let’s just say 20 trillion dollars. Nice round number for the market cap here for a future bitcoin. Well, that is more than two times the market cap of gold, which has been the cornerstone of global wealth preservation for thousands of years. Gold, which is invested in by everyone from retail investors to central banks to hedge funds and on and on down the line. That’s a big task. Man, that is a big, big task, and to be clear, I’m talking about what we perceive a dollar to be worth today, not a future dollar, where it requires a garbage bag full of dollars to go off and buy a loaf of bread. No, no. I’m talking about today’s valuations of how we understand the dollar at the moment. Also, for some further perspective for you, the total global money supply is currently around 100 trillion dollars. About 10 percent of that is physical notes and coins, meaning that 90 percent of the total currency supply is already digital. However, what we have right now, these digital representations, they’re representations of fiat, meaning that they are still tied to the same broken system of monetary insanity that is having its terrible effects all around the world right now. What Bitcoin brings is a digital alternative to gold, and it’s bringing real competition to the marketplace of money. Also, for reference, the stock markets are currently valued around 90 trillion dollars globally. So a one million dollar Bitcoin is making a serious play for a large piece of the monetary market share by combining the currency supply, the stock markets in the gold market there. So it’s not actually that crazy. But how does Bitcoin actually get to these kind of numbers? Well, there are a few key players that will drive the demand for Bitcoin. And, of course, it will be the rising demand coupled with the falling emission and the hardcoded scarcity that will actually send the price of Bitcoin soaring upwards. First, of course, we have the hedge funds. Paul Tudor Jones, the investing legend of Wall Street, has just sent the buy signal to all of his hedge fund buddies, which will essentially unleash a Sunni army of hedge fund money into the crypto space. There are literally thousands of hedge funds which together control more than four trillion dollars in assets. If these funds move even just two or three percent of their money into Bitcoin, we’re talking about an incredible amount of money coming in to buy up the markets. Seeing Bitcoin get the nod of approval from a legendary investor like Paul Tudor Jones. That should not be ignored. It’s incredibly important. And of course, we cannot and should not discount the retail investor. There is a substantial amount of capital in the hands of the average investor out there, and it has never been easier for people like you. And for me to get our hands on Bitcoin and never has it seemed so scarce. Both Fidelity and Coinbase have more customers individually than can ever own one Bitcoin. Fidelity has 30 million clients Coinbase. Probably around 32 million clients are registered at the moment, meaning that neither one of these platforms would ever be able to provide their customers each with one bitcoin. And that’s just two companies, only two companies. And there’s Cash App and Gemini and finance and on and on and on and on as like so many ways to Biehl to get Bitcoin right now. All these on ramps have been built. We just need people to start driving on those roads and they will when the price starts going crazy. 21 million. It’s starting to seem like a very, very scarce in limited number of bitcoin. When you consider how many people now have super easy and super quick access to you to come in and buy Bitcoin, but the harsh truth is that we do not need all of the retail investors to hop on board with Bitcoin. And actually, we really don’t even need mass adoption for Bitcoin to hit the same prices. And that would be nice. And to be honest, I think that retail will get on board in a very serious way with Bitcoin and that we will get quite widespread adoption of Bitcoin. But here’s some food for thought for you just to drive this point home. Only around one percent of portfolios hold gold. And yet gold has a nine trillion dollar market cap. Think about that. Even moderate adoption by retail investors is likely to send the price of bitcoin sky high. And we think that Bitcoin at five hundred thousand or one million dollars will just be too expensive. No regular investor is going to buy Bitcoin at those prices. You’re right. You’re right. In the same way that not many gold investors buy a bar of gold these days because a gold bar is worth around six hundred and fifty thousand dollars. But guess what? A lot of investors, they buy gold by the gram or by the ounce. They just get smaller denominations of the asset. They don’t completely avoid exposure to the asset. But perhaps the most important aspect of the retail investor is actually the hodler of last resort. Understand that there is a psychological connection flowing through the Bitcoin community. It’s the bitcoins go into zero words go into millions kind of people that really, really matter for Bitcoin, these hodler as of last resort. These are the people who buy Bitcoin and then that Bitcoin is effectively gone forever from the open market. They stack it, they hoard it, and then they proceed to chill. Obviously, every single day we get new hodler as of last resort, caught entering the markets. These people are not looking to cash out for Fiat Bitcoin. It is their exit plan. Now, this forms an incredibly powerful base layer for Bitcoin. And it’s important that this base layer is not created by the hedge funds and all these other players. No, no, no. It’s created by real people who believe in Bitcoin. Now, these factors alone, they are enough to push Bitcoin to the kind of insane highs that I am discussing here. The kind of numbers five, ten thousand, one million. Just this is enough. But these are not the only factors. Far from in fact, the next few factors I’m going to mention are still just the tip of the frickin iceberg. We also have the wild cards like central banks, central banks. They love gold. And Bitcoin basically has the same characteristics as gold, but is in many ways better for the reasons we discussed. Of course, many more besides that. But it’s the gold of the digital age. In the same way that Paul Tudor Jones has just started a race by hedge funds to get exposure to Bitcoin. When we get the first official announcement that a central bank is buying Bitcoin, it will create country level flomo from other players. I’m not talking about that. They got some Bitcoin from a hacker they called or they might be doing something in slam time, a public announcement. I personally think that it’ll be a country like Switzerland, which will be the first one to actually come out and say, yes, we have added Bitcoin as strategic reserves at our central bank. Maybe it’s going to be a Bitcoin friendly country like Japan or maybe an economic outcast like Russia, which has been on a multi year gold buying spree. Come on, Putin, man. Just market by 10 billion dollars. You can do, buddy. You can do it anyway. One thing is for sure is that no matter who is first, central banks will buy Bitcoin. And when that happens, it will put pressure on the rest of the world to play catch up. There will be a big fun moment when that happens. Then, of course, we have the commercial banks. Recent announcement by JP Morgan to give Coinbase and Jemini bank accounts. It was actually a big step towards what is likely to be the inevitable reality that banks. They will also buy and they will hold and they will sell Bitcoin to their customers at some point in the future. It will be a market that they cannot ignore, particularly their investment divisions, but also they might even access offer access to their retail customers in the coming years. So it’s inevitable, not question of if, but when. We already see challenger banks like Germany’s bit Wollar or Italy’s Conejo, they are already allowing customers to buy Bitcoin directly in app and even potentially earn interest on that Bitcoin. And then we have things like cash app that are making it easier and easier and easier for people to do all of their banking and crypto stuff in one place. The big commercial banks, they’re already behind the curve. They need to play catch up at this point. Then we have the world’s high net worth individuals and course, their connected family office is now. These high net worth individuals. They command around 50. Trillion dollars worth of assets. Crazy. Look, when you start seeing the big picture and you start realizing that actually hitting the market cap of gold or even twice that, it’s really not even that crazy. Then, of course, we have the macro economic picture, which is driving the hedge funds, which is starting to spark the interest in the high net worth individuals, which is getting retail investors interested in alternative assets. And look, I’m not going to go into great depth about the macro picture here. I cover this this conversation on the channel at length, but we all know the story. Fiat currencies, they’re all in big trouble. Central banks are printing absurd amounts of money. The economy, it’s it’s just rigged. Basically, all corporations now been declared too big to fail. The governments are buying up non investment grade junk bonds. It’s it’s it’s crazy, man. It’s crazy. And, of course, the increasing prevalence of negative interest rates, that’s really bad news for the global economy and of course, for basically everyone who’s trying to save money. So is Bitcoin going to 100 X in the current cycle? Probably not. Based on current conditions, I would say no 100 x move is coming this cycle, but it could definitely do it by the end of the decade. Could we get that 50 X a bit sooner? Maybe the bitcoin stock to flow shows us that prices of one hundred thousand dollars are highly likely during this cycle. A peak could see us up around three or 400000, which does get us close to gold. It might be a short lived moment considering how volatile the Bitcoin markets are, but the next cycle in the stock to flow model 2024 and beyond. That’s when we start toying with the idea of a one million dollar bitcoin. These numbers are inevitable to me. One thing is for certain. I’m stacking sets and I am chilling. But anyway, those are just my two Suto. She’s I would love to know your thoughts on this. Do you believe that Bitcoin can actually do a 50 X and overtake the market cap of gold? Can Bitcoin ever hit one million dollars? And if so, is it going to happen this decade? I’d love to know your thoughts on this or anything else. I mentioned here in the video down Downbelow in the comments section daily. Frickin reminder, you’re awesome. So thank you so, so much for tuning in to watch today’s video. Seriously. Keep doing yeoman your class act. All of you. Long live the block, Jane. Then peace s next time.

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/bitcoin-serious-price-prediction-explained/ source https://cryptosharks1.blogspot.com/2020/05/bitcoin-can-100x-to-1-million-coin.html