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Is Facebook's moat widening or shrinking? My unorganized thoughts, do you see any flaws?
Hardware: I think the smartest defensive move Facebook can make at this stage is doing whatever it takes to become a major player in consumer hardware. Even if they breakeven, or lose money on this endeavor it can be treated as user acquisition costs for the people who wouldn't make a Facebook account otherwise, or as a way to make Facebook accounts as sticky as possible to protect against people leaving the platform. Anecdotally, I've seen people that have preached "Facebook is evil" for years, say that not they will not ever delete their newly open accounts because if they did their Oculus hardware wouldn't work, and they'd lose all of their purchases. Facebook is dominating the growing VR market with an iron fist. Non-advertising revenue grew 156% in Q4, and IDC estimates 3 million Quest 2's were sold in Q4. Oculus Quest 2 has stellar reviews, despite the mandatory Facebook account for use. Facebook's VR devices also use Messenger for messages, Workplace for enterprise, and I believe Facebook Horizon (which is integrated with the FB app) will eventually be the place users load into initially, and launch third party apps from. High investment cost makes it unlikely that other social media company can compete with Facebook in hardware (especially AVR), and this should give Facebook a permanent utility advantage against its peers. The companies that could compete, big tech, and gaming giants seem unwilling to make the investment to compete. I think they're aware that Facebook is completely fine making $0 to be dominant in the VR space, and that's scared them away in addition to facts like VR being a relatively small market for them.Apple is rumored to be considering a release of a Quest-like headset in later 2022, but the device will be priced far above $1000 according to Mark Gurman. VR is where I'm most confident in Facebook's ability to achieve its hardware dreams, but consumer AR is also an area where its only competition in terms of investments made is Apple. So I think their chances there are decent too. Facebook is working on long term AR glasses, but is also releasing Smartglasses in collaboration with Luxottica (Ray-Ban and Oakley) this year. There's also Facebook's line of smart video chatting devices, Portal. Traditionally Listed Moats Intangible assets consisting of the vast amount of data users have shared: sustained and growing, but people are also sharing things about themselves on other apps increasingly. Growth of users means network effects still growing Number and diversity of advertisers, and advertiser verticals still growing Competition? There is rising social media competition, and always the threat of new entrants. That being said, competition seems to carve out niches, so they aren't competing as directly as we'd think. The closest thing to Facebook the Blue app, for connecting with family and friends is Instagram. Competing apps can have similar features, but the main utilities are different. Tik Tok is mostly a short video app, Youtube is a long video app, Twitter is a breaking news app, Reddit is a communities app, etc. Facebook's utility first and foremost is connecting with REAL people who's identity you can verify, like friends and family. Like previously mentioned, the closest competitor is Instagram. Messaging There can be lack of differentiation here, but Messenger tied to Facebook, Instagram, Portal and Oculus. I suspect it'll be tied to future hardware as well. Whatsapp has network effects, and may one day have lock-in comparable to Chinese super apps (at least that's what's being worked towards). iMessage is the the main competitor here, because they are automatically installed on every iPhone Misc I think Facebook Marketplace, the Craigslist alternative benefits greatly from Facebook using real identities, and is an overall better product. If you want to sell something locally FB Marketplace is the best option, and I think it's a strong reason to have an account. Usage of Marketplace is growing. The integration with Jio in India, and importance in Indian society is worth mentioning for Whatsapp. Facebook Groups, have competition in the form of Reddit, and Discord. The edge here will be real identities, and the tools they are building to make moderating a Facebook group profitable (subscriptions, etc) The only other pure "Real Identity social network" is Linkedin is a professional network. Problems No young people use Facebook? This seems to be a US centric cliche, as Facebook is popular among all age demographics around the world. According to Pew Research 76% of people 18-24 use Facebook, only superseded by Youtube. For teens in 2018, 51% of teens used Facebook which is good in my opinion for a social network not targeted to teens like Tik Tok. I personally think the utility of Facebook kicks in after college age, but regardless if there is a problem, I think the cure can be User Acquisition through hardware. Chance of mass exodus? again, mitigated by the lock-in of hardware, but this is a concern of mine based on Facebook's reputation. 1. Privacy, there is truth to some criticism here, because Facebook's business model does depend on data collection, and in many ways is opposed to strict definitions of privacy, but much of it is also pushed by myth like "Facebook sells data". Facebook has the same business model as its advertising funded peers, but perception is what matters, and Facebook is losing the perception battle. 2. Politics, In my opinion has been half of Facebook's reputation problem. Recently Zuck said that they are trying to make Facebook less political by not recommending political groups, and lowering reach on political posts. Also, Donald Trump being gone should make the next 4 years less politically controversial. Since Facebook is in the business of advertising, and people can mostly say what they want, there's always the small chance of a #DeleteFacebook movement reaching critical mass based on these themes. Being banned in countries? Mitigated by becoming a hardware player, but this is an unlikely outcome for many reasons that my hands are too tired to elaborate on. Apple's privacy stance and iOS 14: The hit to revenue estimates I've seen are between 1%-7%, but it could also be a boost to revenue since third party signals being reduced will give the edge to whoever has the best first party signals, we'll have wait to see. This is something to watch closely, but transferring third party data into first party data by having ecommerce on the platform through initiatives like Facebooks shops, and Instagram shopping can be the cure. Also, being in control of hardware mitigates this risk Antitrust- generally not concerned Privacy as a theme that is adversarial to advertising - slightly concerned but I don't think ad funded business models are going anywhere, many people like not paying for things Might add more to this later...
Is Facebook's moat widening or shrinking? My unorganized thoughts, do you see any flaws?
Hardware: I think the smartest defensive move Facebook can make at this stage is doing whatever it takes to become a major player in consumer hardware. Even if they breakeven, or lose money on this endeavor it can be treated as user acquisition costs for the people who wouldn't make a Facebook account otherwise, or as a way to make Facebook accounts as sticky as possible to protect against people leaving the platform. Anecdotally, I've seen people that have preached "Facebook is evil" for years, say that not they will not ever delete their newly open accounts because if they did their Oculus hardware wouldn't work, and they'd lose all of their purchases. Facebook is dominating the growing VR market with an iron fist. Non-advertising revenue grew 156% in Q4, and IDC estimates 3 million Quest 2's were sold in Q4. Oculus Quest 2 has stellar reviews, despite the mandatory Facebook account for use. Facebook's VR devices also use Messenger for messages, Workplace for enterprise, and I believe Facebook Horizon (which is integrated with the FB app) will eventually be the place users load into initially, and launch third party apps from. High investment cost makes it unlikely that other social media company can compete with Facebook in hardware (especially AVR), and this should give Facebook a permanent utility advantage against its peers. The companies that could compete, big tech, and gaming giants seem unwilling to make the investment to compete. I think they're aware that Facebook is completely fine making $0 to be dominant in the VR space, and that's scared them away in addition to facts like VR being a relatively small market for them.Apple is rumored to be considering a release of a Quest-like headset in later 2022, but the device will be priced far above $1000 according to Mark Gurman. VR is where I'm most confident in Facebook's ability to achieve its hardware dreams, but consumer AR is also an area where its only competition in terms of investments made is Apple. So I think their chances there are decent too. Facebook is working on long term AR glasses, but is also releasing Smartglasses in collaboration with Luxottica (Ray-Ban and Oakley) this year. There's also Facebook's line of smart video chatting devices, Portal. Traditionally Listed Moats Intangible assets consisting of the vast amount of data users have shared: sustained and growing, but people are also sharing things about themselves on other apps increasingly. Growth of users means network effects still growing Number and diversity of advertisers, and advertiser verticals still growing Competition? There is rising social media competition, and always the threat of new entrants. That being said, competition seems to carve out niches, so they aren't competing as directly as we'd think. The closest thing to Facebook the Blue app, for connecting with family and friends is Instagram. Competing apps can have similar features, but the main utilities are different. Tik Tok is mostly a short video app, Youtube is a long video app, Twitter is a breaking news app, Reddit is a communities app, etc. Facebook's utility first and foremost is connecting with REAL people who's identity you can verify, like friends and family. Like previously mentioned, the closest competitor is Instagram. Messaging There can be lack of differentiation here, but Messenger tied to Facebook, Instagram, Portal and Oculus. I suspect it'll be tied to future hardware as well. Whatsapp has network effects, and may one day have lock-in comparable to Chinese super apps (at least that's what's being worked towards). iMessage is the the main competitor here, because they are automatically installed on every iPhone Misc I think Facebook Marketplace, the Craigslist alternative benefits greatly from Facebook using real identities, and is an overall better product. If you want to sell something locally FB Marketplace is the best option, and I think it's a strong reason to have an account. Usage of Marketplace is growing. The integration with Jio in India, and importance in Indian society is worth mentioning for Whatsapp. Facebook Groups, have competition in the form of Reddit, and Discord. The edge here will be real identities, and the tools they are building to make moderating a Facebook group profitable (subscriptions, etc) The only other pure "Real Identity social network" is Linkedin is a professional network. Problems No young people use Facebook? This seems to be a US centric cliche, as Facebook is popular among all age demographics around the world. According to Pew Research 76% of people 18-24 use Facebook, only superseded by Youtube. For teens in 2018, 51% of teens used Facebook which is good in my opinion for a social network not targeted to teens like Tik Tok. I personally think the utility of Facebook kicks in after college age, but regardless if there is a problem, I think the cure can be User Acquisition through hardware. Chance of mass exodus? again, mitigated by the lock-in of hardware, but this is a concern of mine based on Facebook's reputation. 1. Privacy, there is truth to some criticism here, because Facebook's business model does depend on data collection, and in many ways is opposed to strict definitions of privacy, but much of it is also pushed by myth like "Facebook sells data". Facebook has the same business model as its advertising funded peers, but perception is what matters, and Facebook is losing the perception battle. 2. Politics, In my opinion has been half of Facebook's reputation problem. Recently Zuck said that they are trying to make Facebook less political by not recommending political groups, and lowering reach on political posts. Also, Donald Trump being gone should make the next 4 years less politically controversial. Since Facebook is in the business of advertising, and people can mostly say what they want, there's always the small chance of a #DeleteFacebook movement reaching critical mass based on these themes. Being banned in countries? Mitigated by becoming a hardware player, but this is an unlikely outcome for many reasons that my hands are too tired to elaborate on. Apple's privacy stance and iOS 14: The hit to revenue estimates I've seen are between 1%-7%, but it could also be a boost to revenue since third party signals being reduced will give the edge to whoever has the best first party signals, we'll have wait to see. This is something to watch closely, but transferring third party data into first party data by having ecommerce on the platform through initiatives like Facebooks shops, and Instagram shopping can be the cure. Also, being in control of hardware mitigates this risk Antitrust- generally not concerned Privacy as a theme that is adversarial to advertising - slightly concerned but I don't think ad funded business models are going anywhere, many people like not paying for things Might add more to this later...
🚨🚨NOKle HEADS ITS GENERAL CHEESE WITH THE UPDATE. GET IN THE BRIEFING ROOM. WE NEED TO DISCUSS. 🚨🚨
(Reposting here because WSB is going hard in the paint when it comes to moderating posts right now) RING RING 📞📞 Pick up goddamn it. It’s general cheese here. 👋 Yeah what’s up bitches you may probably remember me from the NOK discussion post I made yesterday Anyways, there’s a lot of talk that posts like my last post is stock manipulation. Anyways I’m not a financial advisor, I JUST REALLY LIKE THE FUCKING STOCK. And of course, I said that I’d post a DD/Discussion thread today. And it’s going to be a long ass read so buckle the fuck up and put some eye drops in your eyes because here we go. 🥴🚀🔥🔥 —If you are a pussyfooting paper handed bitch then you should probably stop reading at this point— We are at war. Here’s the map You see that shit? Make sure you look at the times of arrival. We are prepped and ready for deployment with AMC and BB. We might be 10 minutes late to the game in comparison, but we’ll get there and we’ll get the job done and we will fuck shit up. Not only that but fucking BlackRock inc is the largest share holder of Nokia at 5.6% and they bought a shit ton more shares a couple days ago. If that’s not a big fucking sign then I don’t know what the hell is. ALSO, if that’s not enough for you, ERIC just beat the the ever living shit out of it’s earnings. ERIC also produces 5G tech like NOK and in the US NOK is practically the only one in the 5G game. They’re one of, if not, the best company to invest in for data transfer systems. You know how you’re reading this, right? You also know how you jack off to porn every night? That’s data transfer. I’m also seeing a lot of you doubting the ever living fuck out of NOK. How about we look at the facts, punks? Last Wednesday the stock hit a record volume of shares traded at 1 BILLION. You need to understand that the moon is fucking possible with this stock. It may not be Monday but it WILL come in the next two weeks. Mark my fucking words. Save the post. “Oh General Cheese, I’m so scared there’s so much old money in this stock just begging to bring the price down.” 😱😱😱😰😰😰 Yes, but what is an enemy without bullets? 🔫 What’s a few couple billionaires to a superstar group of smooth brained retards in the millions with dreams of grandeur? 🚀🚀🚀What’s an enemy to people who don’t even know what they’re doing? 🥴💫Chaos brings fear. Billionaires hate chaos except when they jack off to their own market manipulation sitting in their luxury condos having fucking grapes fed to them by their own children. Gear up boys. Earnings will be the most important day this stock will have ever seen for the past couple decades. That’s when the most shots will be fired. Fuck the short ladders, fuck the sellers. It’s their fault they hate money. As for all of us, we are in it for the long term play. I don’t pretend that this is the next GME because it isn’t. But, this stock deserves to show the world its true value. And it’s hella far from what it is by tenfold. And the bet is still on. If if this fucking stock hits $50 by EOY I will literally eat my own shit in the most crowded park in LA. I will literally buy a fucking gold plate from Dubai or where ever you fucking get those things and sterling silver cutlery. That’s how fucking serious and retarded I am. Anyways. This is the move. No attack on any enemy is done with a single weapon and only one strategic play. It is carried out through a series of cascading effects and in this case, Wall Street, Robinhood, Melvin, etc. is the enemy. A ton of retards buying and holding BANG stocks is the ultimate goal. Everyone is expecting GME. Everyone is cheering on GME. Everyone is sucking off GME. In a battle you create a diversion so that reinforcements can come in from the sides and decimate the enemy. This is what we call a “flank”. AMC and BB are ready to attack from the left. I NEED TO KNOW WHETHER YOU FUCKING NOKle HEADS ARE READY TO ATTACK FROM THE RIGHT. Well? Are you? Hold your positions. Grab your fucking cash because that is a weapon and you buy. “But general 😰🥵😱 how the hell are we supposed to get NOK when RH is blocking our engagement on the enemy?” Okay you shellshocked paper handed bitch, this is how we do it. How do gaslit whores try and make money on tinder? CASHAPP. Who doesn’t set a limit on how many NOK shares you can buy? Coincidentally, CASHAPP. And how do we get past the defenses while we venture into the jaws of death on Monday? This is the run down. Look at your PRICE BY VOLUME CHART on your trading app or whatever the fuck your broker uses and you BUY AT THE ASKING PRICE. For every time you buy NOK at the asking price rather then being a pussyfoot and buying and market price, this is like a grenade to the walls that a stock can generate in terms of its price. RH has it if you have hold but who the fuck uses that? I’m just using that as an example. So, in conclusion, hold the ever living shit out of NOK, hold the line, and ENGAGE. 🪄🚀💫🌙 🔫🔫🔫 Use Cashapp to get shares, or whatever brokerage you can use to get some. Cashapp is just for the wagecucks. And if you don’t have any money because you’re a wagecuck, you’re going to at least have a pistol going in. (you need weapons for a battle you retard) then use the official NOK password ( BKXDNGQ ) when you sign up and get like 2 shares or something. That’s the only way that I can personally help you in these dark times. But the light at the end of the tunnel won’t be too far away, retards. But you have to hold. You have to believe. And if that’s not enough for you, here’s a list of reasons to buy the shit out of NOK
Most essential 5G patents in the world
Fastest 5G speeds recorded
Controls over 27% of the 4/5G market
First company contracted to set up internet on the moon (NASA)
Will receive MULTI-BILLION dollar settlements from ongoing litigations with Mercedes Benz and Lenovo
Technology provider and main collaborator of the National Security Center of Excellence 5G Cybersecurity Project (Federal 5G project)
Selected to be the main collaborator of the Hexa 6G European Union Project
Has pending Department of Defense contracts yet to awarded
Just sealed a contract with TMOBILE for US 5G roll out.
Has and will take market share from Huawei, already has secured multi-year deals with important Chinese companies
Blackrock increased their position to 333,000,000 shares during 2020, an increase of 21 million shares held from the year before (7% increase)
May also be getting back into the phone business as they are manufacturing phones in India
Vanguard Capital owns 160,000,000 shares and is continuously buying
Google Cloud announced a partnership with $NOK to Accelerate Cloud-Native 5G Readiness for Communications Providers
NOK FOR LYFE 💫💫🚀🚀🔥🔥 Edit: WSB mods are trying to keep my silver, sexy, well spoken tongue out of their sub. Maybe I’m too powerful. I never linked a knockoff sub so they can fuck themselves. Just the mods. https://imgur.com/gallery/yf1xniy Signed,
Stories of Shame Sundays S/Nr. 0001: So, you asked someone out and it led to a thing, but...
... how did you ACTUALLY do it? TL;DR - ape no know how brown ape date. ape old date story tell. ape ask ape how brown ape date. Trigger warning: Too many commas and similes. Might give some of you a fit. (I did try posting this from a throwaway so as to not show myself in this light to anyone I'm chatting with here, but it wouldn't work, so I said "fuggit" and now, here we are.) I've been in one relationship before, when I was 19. Broke up just before I'd turned 24. But here's the thing - I "asked her out" in the only way that I knew of and thought was the best: spending several hours nightly on the phone with her before dropping an "I love you" bomb on her several conversations in. Scandalous and silly, I know. However, it worked. I suppose this was an acceptable and appropriate method for the 2008-09 era? Yeah, it was one of those "I'm saving myself for our wedding night" type deals. Sex was off the table, but everything else was A-OK. Finally, I get unceremoniously dumped, clawing, kicking, biting, screaming, clinging to her like my life depended on it. I didn't believe I'd be able to find someone ever again. I dragged the breakup out for months. Probably should have gotten one of those Brazilian wax breakups, instead. She eventually married someone else and I spent a year in Devdasery before I pulled my droopy pants back to the right level, rolled my sleeves up and went about business. I'd come to realise much later that I wasn't actually an ideal boyfriend myself and needed to work on that. I'm happy to report that I'm a changed man now. Minus a couple of flaws. Hey, works-in-progress are a thing! Fast forward several years, a completely new city, a dramatically different dating scene (including the rise and rise of OLD), several unilateral crushes and a handful of failed Tinder conversations that maybe led to three failed, in-person meets (not dates), I finally found someone I really wanted to ask out - an acquaintance from one of my real-life circles. And ask her out, I did. I had dinner with her one night and dropped her off at her place... and went back to mine. The second time, several days later, my confidence peaking, I asked her to get a drink with me. When she said yes, I was ecstatic. Why did I even need a dating app? Who's the man?! I'm the man and this dating game is my bitch! I had all those anxieties about my rusty social skills for nothing! As I'm getting dolled up for that magical evening with this woman, I get a call from her asking if it would be cool if we went to a different place because her friends would be there. Okay, a little unconventional maybe, but not really a mood-killer, so I agree. She changes it back to the original place not 15 minutes later, and we're all set to go. She'd meet me there and we'd go in together - that's the plan. Place is as crowded as a pushcart handing out free biryanis in the Sudan, so we stand around at the bar, getting ourselves a couple of drinks while she tells me about the guys she dated or wouldn't mind dating (fuck, this isn't going how I had hoped it would). In the meantime, a spot opens up and we race to it before some Instagram-types got their phones on it. As we're settling down, my heart went into a free-fall when I realised her friends were at the bar - and they were all guys she either grew up with or almost dated. All these absolutely great guys I couldn't hold a candle to - tall, established, cool, bearded types that turned heads wherever they went - the only thing missing from this picture was a Top Gun poster with these guys in the foreground, moving in slow-mo with their helmets and Aviator shades. Soaring eagle in me crashes and burns immediately. She says she'll be right back, leaves her bag on the table and disappears into a crowd of strangers and her friends. I'm sitting there, holding the fort, dressed in my favorite navy blue button-down shirt paired with a dark blue pair of jeans, looking like a somewhat-fashionable factory worker on his casual Friday night out (yes, yes, highly underdeveloped in this area), dutifully guarding her bag and the ashtray, alone at a table that was presently being used by the drunken strangers milling around it as both coaster and crutch. Stomach feeling funny, feeling hot in the face, and impotent. Are you feeling that second-hand embarrassment yet? She returns 15-ish minutes later and two of her friends join us. It goes without saying that I felt super left out. They had too many things in common and were yammering away about who's doing what now and who's married to whom and the parties they were at, fun times they had, etc.. At some point, these dudes tried to involve me in the conversation, while she had a look on her face that sort of said "I hope you don't say anything that might embarrass me" (but I was already down four drinks at that point, so I could be wrong about that). I nervously crack a couple of jokes to ease my tension. Crickets. They krak jock, crowd go RAWR!! I'm also insanely jealous now. Despite their best efforts to involve me, my deep-seated insecurities had already taken over and set me on Autopilot. I sat there, shrinking further and deeper into myself until I finally resembled a vaguely human-shaped raisin. That was the end of my confidence and enthusiasm for the night. I thought I couldn't bring myself to continue being there, but when they decided to bar-hop, I shamelessly tagged along. We go in, I buy drinks for them (and for myself as an afterthought), they look like they're having fun and I look like I'm... looking around me at all these couples and single women there, the thirst building within me, unable to do anything about it because: a. Too chicken to approach anyone b. What if she sees and I blow it with her? The night ends for me. They decide to go to a house party to end the night. I get a perfunctory invitation from her. I graciously and respectfully (I hope) decline. Hug. Smiles. They Mario-hop into a car and zoom off while the Mario death tune plays over and over in my head. I'm hiking back to my place, dejected, confused, feeling all kinds of terrible, sink into the bed and sleep my misery away. I still smart from the events of that night. In fact, if someone were conveniently recording the proceedings, they might have hit top karma on the WatchPeopleDieInside sub in record time. Anyway, it's been clear to me for a while now that I know fuckall about asking someone out romantically. I don't know how any of this works. I've looked it up online and almost all resources I've seen online seem to be tailored for a Western version of me. I see people asking for advice, here or anywhere Indian for that matter, but the answers are always along the lines of "be yourself bro", "be straightforward bro", "don't be desperate bro". Okay bro, but how does one ACTUALLY ask someone out romantically in INDIA? How do I draw the rest of that fucking owl? What are the specific words that should roll off one's tongue? When should I ask? What should I take as a positive sign and when should I back off? I'm aware that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to this business, but there is a general "theme", yeah? What worked for you? Everyone else seems to have it down to a science and I'm here all clueless. Also, just so you guys know and can save yourself the bother of opening cans of texty attacks, I am aware that I may have misread a lot of signals and ejaculated my expectations prematurely. And despite my tone here, I am in NO WAY blaming this woman for how the night turned out. She's actually very sweet, generally kind and all about great vibes (of course, I hadn't been privileged enough to see another side to her, if one existed). It was my fault I didn't know how to romantically ask her out. I had just assumed that it was implicit in just asking her out to dinner. Additionally, once I realised that I wasn't her type, I exited the picture and never tried to get out of that zone again. So... Help? Pretty please? This was removed from IndiaTalksSex. Mod tells me that you can't get dating advice there. Cool. Maybe I'll get more responses here? Women's perspectives greatly, muchly, bigly, tremendously appreciated. (Also, whatever advice is given here is going to be used only when I'm back in a city again. This place has only drunken uncles.) Oh look, a Bumble notification! No, it's just Bumble asking me to keep swiping. Small towns eh? P.S. I think it would be nice and liberating for all of us (men and women) to share our dating fails so we can all laugh about it and learn to be better people. Throw in a story for your next post instead of an R4R, maybe? Edit: Just to add a little more context. I realised that I didn't mention that this happened a while ago. And whoever that person was, he is long gone and has grown in many ways since then. I saw a comment that I couldn't respond to in time. She (the redditor who probably deleted her comment) had a great point about me being a spoilsport, which is VERY true. It was not rude. I wish there was someone around me then who could have slapped me silly with that truth. Looking back at it a few days later, I did realise I was very immature in how I dealt with it. I also realised later where I went wrong during that first dinner.
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1. https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%) NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar. https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866 NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis !!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should. In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase. Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below: https://www.playboy.com/ https://www.playboytv.com/ https://www.playboyplus.com/ https://www.iplayboy.com/ Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success. “Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.” https://www.scientificgames.com/ https://www.microgaming.co.uk/ “This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.” https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/ As per their SEC filing: “Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1 They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon. https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again: https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea “Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.” “According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently: https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress. Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait. https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/ Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video: https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05 Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing: “For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.” “In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.” “In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.” They are profitable across all three of their current business segments. “Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world. "Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.” Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame: “As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn. The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :( He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :) Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw. I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003 Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this: “Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy. “Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative. https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html Y’all like that China money? “Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.” Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose. I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing “Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.” “Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.” Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong. Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will. Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way. Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains. TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here: WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf Or here: https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.” STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon. Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.
🚨🚨NOKle HEADS ITS GENERAL CHEESE WITH THE UPDATE. GET IN THE BRIEFING ROOM. WE NEED TO DISCUSS. 🚨🚨
(Reposting here because WSB is going hard in the paint when it comes to moderating posts right now) RING RING 📞📞 Pick up goddamn it. It’s general cheese here. 👋 Yeah what’s up bitches you may probably remember me from the NOK discussion post I made yesterday Anyways, there’s a lot of talk that posts like my last post is stock manipulation. Anyways I’m not a financial advisor, I JUST REALLY LIKE THE FUCKING STOCK. And of course, I said that I’d post a DD/Discussion thread today. And it’s going to be a long ass read so buckle the fuck up and put some eye drops in your eyes because here we go. 🥴🚀🔥🔥 —If you are a pussyfooting paper handed bitch then you should probably stop reading at this point— We are at war. Here’s the map You see that shit? Make sure you look at the times of arrival. We are prepped and ready for deployment with AMC and BB. We might be 10 minutes late to the game in comparison, but we’ll get there and we’ll get the job done and we will fuck shit up. Not only that but fucking BlackRock inc is the largest share holder of Nokia at 5.6% and they bought a shit ton more shares a couple days ago. If that’s not a big fucking sign then I don’t know what the hell is. ALSO, if that’s not enough for you, ERIC just beat the the ever living shit out of it’s earnings. ERIC also produces 5G tech like NOK and in the US NOK is practically the only one in the 5G game. They’re one of, if not, the best company to invest in for data transfer systems. You know how you’re reading this, right? You also know how you jack off to porn every night? That’s data transfer. I’m also seeing a lot of you doubting the ever living fuck out of NOK. How about we look at the facts, punks? Last Wednesday the stock hit a record volume of shares traded at 1 BILLION. You need to understand that the moon is fucking possible with this stock. It may not be Monday but it WILL come in the next two weeks. Mark my fucking words. Save the post. “Oh General Cheese, I’m so scared there’s so much old money in this stock just begging to bring the price down.” 😱😱😱😰😰😰 Yes, but what is an enemy without bullets? 🔫 What’s a few couple billionaires to a superstar group of smooth brained retards in the millions with dreams of grandeur? 🚀🚀🚀What’s an enemy to people who don’t even know what they’re doing? 🥴💫Chaos brings fear. Billionaires hate chaos except when they jack off to their own market manipulation sitting in their luxury condos having fucking grapes fed to them by their own children. Gear up boys. Earnings will be the most important day this stock will have ever seen for the past couple decades. That’s when the most shots will be fired. Fuck the short ladders, fuck the sellers. It’s their fault they hate money. As for all of us, we are in it for the long term play. I don’t pretend that this is the next GME because it isn’t. But, this stock deserves to show the world its true value. And it’s hella far from what it is by tenfold. And the bet is still on. If if this fucking stock hits $50 by EOY I will literally eat my own shit in the most crowded park in LA. I will literally buy a fucking gold plate from Dubai or where ever you fucking get those things and sterling silver cutlery. That’s how fucking serious and retarded I am. Anyways. This is the move. No attack on any enemy is done with a single weapon and only one strategic play. It is carried out through a series of cascading effects and in this case, Wall Street, Robinhood, Melvin, etc. is the enemy. A ton of retards buying and holding BANG stocks is the ultimate goal. Everyone is expecting GME. Everyone is cheering on GME. Everyone is sucking off GME. In a battle you create a diversion so that reinforcements can come in from the sides and decimate the enemy. This is what we call a “flank”. AMC and BB are ready to attack from the left. I NEED TO KNOW WHETHER YOU FUCKING NOKle HEADS ARE READY TO ATTACK FROM THE LEFT. Well? Are you? Hold your positions. Grab your fucking cash because that is a weapon and you buy. “But general 😰🥵😱 how the hell are we supposed to get NOK when RH is blocking our engagement on the enemy?” Okay you shellshocked paper handed bitch, this is how we do it. How do gaslit whores try and make money on tinder? CASHAPP. Who doesn’t set a limit on how many NOK shares you can buy? Coincidentally, CASHAPP. And how do we get past the defenses while we venture into the jaws of death on Monday? This is the run down. Look at your PRICE BY VOLUME CHART on your trading app or whatever the fuck your broker uses and you BUY AT THE ASKING PRICE. For every time you buy NOK at the asking price rather then being a pussyfoot and buying and market price, this is like a grenade to the walls that a stock can generate in terms of its price. RH has it if you have hold but who the fuck uses that? I’m just using that as an example. So, in conclusion, hold the ever living shit out of NOK, hold the line, and ENGAGE. 🪄🚀💫🌙 🔫🔫🔫 Use Cashapp to get shares, or whatever brokerage you can use to get some. Cashapp is just for the wagecucks. And if you don’t have any money because you’re a wagecuck, you’re going to at least have a pistol going in. (you need weapons for a battle you retard) then use the official NOK password ( BKXDNGQ ) when you sign up and get like 2 shares or something. That’s the only way that I can personally help you in these dark times. But the light at the end of the tunnel won’t be too far away, retards. But you have to hold. You have to believe. And if that’s not enough for you, here’s a list of reasons to buy the shit out of NOK
Most essential 5G patents in the world
Fastest 5G speeds recorded
Controls over 27% of the 4/5G market
First company contracted to set up internet on the moon (NASA)
Will receive MULTI-BILLION dollar settlements from ongoing litigations with Mercedes Benz and Lenovo
Technology provider and main collaborator of the National Security Center of Excellence 5G Cybersecurity Project (Federal 5G project)
Selected to be the main collaborator of the Hexa 6G European Union Project
Has pending Department of Defense contracts yet to awarded
Just sealed a contract with TMOBILE for US 5G roll out.
Has and will take market share from Huawei, already has secured multi-year deals with important Chinese companies
Blackrock increased their position to 333,000,000 shares during 2020, an increase of 21 million shares held from the year before (7% increase)
May also be getting back into the phone business as they are manufacturing phones in India
Vanguard Capital owns 160,000,000 shares and is continuously buying
Google Cloud announced a partnership with $NOK to Accelerate Cloud-Native 5G Readiness for Communications Providers
Hi PickAnAndroidForMe, I’m caught in a conundrum, so can you please help me out? I’m looking to replace my phone and have narrowed down my budget to 50000₹ (~680$)including taxes. I don’t usually play any games but do like my phone to be snappy and am looking to use the device which I purchase for around 18 months. I’d like to get a high refresh screen phone (it’s a nice to have but not a deal breaker). What I AM looking for is a good camera (a half decent one). Let me tell you the prices: S20 FE: 38000₹ (520$) S20+: 44000₹ (600$) Mi 10T Pro: 40000₹ (546$) OnePlus 8t: 40499₹ (554$) As my phone is mostly in a case I’d have sprung for the S20FE or the S20+ as Samsung’s UI doesn’t bother me, but I’m concerned about the longevity of the phone as we get Exynos 990 in India. I’ve used the US version of Samsung S9 and was really happy about it till the glass broke. After reading about the Exynos 990 I don’t know whether my experience would be as good as the one I had with S9 at the end of 18 months. So.. what should I get ? Skip the Samsung completely? Get Mi 10T Pro? Op 8t? Or anything else entirely? Thanks in advance. P.S. All prices including taxes Update: After using this phone for almost a week now, I’d like to share my thought about it. Do note, these are my opinions based on my experiences and yours may differ. Design: First things first, xiaomi have come a long way in making a polished smartphone With a solid build. While I watched a ton of videos basically praising the phone with glossy black colour, I knew that i did not want another black phone again and opted for the lunar silver. The colour and the phone form an incredible combo. The gloss finish on the inside makes it shine while on the outside, you get this Misty finish which acts as an diffuser and gives a wavy, flowy look to the phone. The frame, while aluminium, is polished to a high degree and looks like the iPhone’s Stainless steel frame. The one thing I wished they made a change to in the overall design is that the bottom frame has a small depression running along the frame, which makes it look cool. I wish they’d replicate this at the top too as it’d then look cooler. Screen: While the screen has been mostly awesome, it still has a few niggles(don’t they all?). The colours are good, vibrant, punchy and do not look dull at all. I would even admit that I don’t miss AMOLEDs as even while using AMOLEDs I set it to the ’basic mode’ or the most colour accurate mode. The refresh rate is.... mostly okay, but where it falters is: sometimes I’m just lazy and scroll down the settings, then you can feel the system trying to decide which frame rate the phone would’ve to adapt. There is that tiny, maybe imperceptible lag which comes and goes but once it starts ticking, it flies . Oh man, the screen is awesome for scrolling and I feel this is even better than 90Hz. How much of it is a placebo, you decide. The light bleed is present, but you get used to it quickly and it goes really really dim. To sum up the screen, it’s a A(I’d have given A+ if not for the occasional hesitation in framerate). Good colours, contrast and frame rates are awesome. Battery: I’m someone you could say is a light user. I don’t play games, but watch movies. Make calls, text with friends and with this being a work phone, I use it even less, now that I’m mostly using my laptop. That said for my usage of 1-2 hours YouTube, 1-2 hours of calls, 30-40 mins of texting and a few photos in between, the phone lasted me from 8A.M.- 5P.M. Next day. Though I’d take this with a pinch of salt as I use airplane mode liberally and my signal reception would differ with yours. I think, with pre-covid usage the phone would last a full day. Camera: The cameras are really good. Low light is bad but give it enough light, the camera can go toe to toe with the best.I’d say it’s comparable to an iPhone 11 but not iPhone 12. Haven’t used the selfie camera yet 😅 Right, now we come to the most subjective category: UX/ Software. I like MIUI12. Except the app switcher that is. Didn’t like the stock icons but liked the launcher theme, so downloaded the poco launcher from play store and used a pixel icon pack.uninstalled most of the useless stuff(read facebook) but apart from that, I don’t see anything I’d change specifically. Haptics: honestly, the best haptics i’ve used this side of an iPhone. That’s it, if you want me to update about anything else, please let me know and I’ll do the same. Thanks.
Wow. I never expected such response from the community. I want to thank you all for participating in the polls so actively. I want to clear a few things before the result. This is going to be a long one, but all of it is important. Please read this post completely for your own benefit.
This Is NOT a Pump and Dump scheme. Please stop with all the ‘to the moon’ frenzy. Pump and dump schemes are real and they actually harm innocent retail investors to the point where they lose a significant amount of money and along with it, their confidence. Hence I have not included illiquid (ultra low volume), micro cap stocks, as they are easy to operate. So please do not comment regarding the non-inclusion of such stocks. I’ll write in detail about such schemes in detail in an upcoming post.
The sole purpose of this mega poll, (as it seems it is not clear to some people by now), is to reach a batch of quality stocks, curated by deliberations by fellow members of ISB. This, in no way whatsoever, is pump-and-dump, or a recreation of the GameStop frenzy.
To avoid any preferential treatment or declare any one stock as the best, I have hence included a total of 6 stocks that you guys have voted as the best.
To further provide you all a clear picture about the stocks mentioned here, I’ve included my own mini DD (or two cents of sorts), along with some reference reading. I’ve also backed them with the links to their fundamentals.
Furthermore, I am ending this discussion on an open ended note. I urge you to do your own DD before investing; I’ve provided the links for your help. With this out of the way, here are the stocks voted by you, for you:
ITC: Probably the favourite stock of this sub. And for good reason too. ITC has an enormous market cap and is virtually debt free. It is a humongous conglomerate which manufactures personal care products like soaps, shampoos, shaving gels etc. under the brand names Fiama, Vivel and Savlon and packed foods like biscuit and instant noodles under Ashirvaad, Bingo! and Sunfeast brands. It also has a number of hospitality chains, some of which include WelcomHotel and Park Hyatt. ITC also has a powerful foothold in the stationary game, with its ‘classmate’ brand. ITC also has its fingers in the IT, Dairy and packaging business. But its biggest business is Cigarettes. Popular brands like Gold Flake, India Kings and 555 add feather to ITC’s cap. ITC’s biggest strength is it’s cigarette business. In some ways, ITC’s other, less successful ventures are siphoning funds from this business and burning cash. Many people believe ITC should spin off all of its businesses into seperate entities to cut off unnecessary clutter and costs. This will make it more efficient of a company. This is perhaps ITC’s biggest challenge; it has a burgeoning empire and to register growth, it needs to cut its decaying roots and reinvent itself. ITC Fundamentals Gravita India: One of India’s largest lead manufacturers, Gravita India does have potential. In the foreseeable future, we see an electric revolution coming up. Lead is the raw material required for making batteries. Gravita has a decent order book and respectable fundamentals. The future seems to be bright. The only thing to see here is how fast the demand pents up for batteries. You may read a detailed DD, posted by a fellow redditor here. Gravita Fundamentals Yes Bank: Yes Bank’s story is quite fascinating. It had once been the star of the private banking space. However, after lending huge amounts of money to a number of financially distressed clients, its downfall became inevitable. The bank was rescued by the RBI and SBI. The bank is showing some signs of recovery, but still has a lot of bad loans on its head. Will Yes Bank restore back to its former glory? I can’t say for sure. Here’s an article to give you some perspective. Yes Bank Fundamentals VI: Another ISB classic. I have no idea what to say about it. Good for only YOLOing maybe. VI Fundamentals IDFC First Bank: IDFC First Bank is an emerging player in the private bank space. It is posting consistently strong results. Touted as the ‘next HDFC Bank’, it is quite popularly known as the multibagger of banking space. But is it? Is it really worth the hype? The fundamentals do paint a promising picture, but you’ll have to decide for yourself. You can have some insight here. IDFC First Bank Fundamentals Tata Motors: Tata Motors is India’s homegrown automobile giant. Although the company has a considerable amount of debt, it holds promising potential as well, with it spearheading the hot EV market. Domestic sales are picking up speed due to an excellent portfolio of safe and capable cars. Technological assets from JLR are reaping fruit now and JLR itself is skyrocketing in sales in international markets. Overall Tata Motors seems to be the next star of the Indian automobile space. Here’s some reference. Tata Motors Fundamentals I hope you read this and make a wise decision for yourself. I’m always here to help. Thanks and good luck.
TWIG #43 [ Indian Retailers undergo PS5 Training, Fanless CPU Cooler, CP77 third person mod, also runs on integrated GPU, Christopher Nolan interested in making video games and more...]
Prices of apps and in-app purchases will increase in Brazil, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa.
However, prices also INCREASED on PC and Android. If your country is not listed here but you are still affected, then feel free to leave a comment. Also, be aware that prices for Android, iOS or PC could differ within same region. (with the best pricing on Android, probably). Make sure to include your platform. p.s. so far i failed to find an official response from Mihoyo to this issue, but will add it later (if they respond, though). More info: Honkai Impact prices increased aswell. More info #2: PS4 prices are the same at the moment, i will report it here when/if it changes. More info #3: a link to the official post added: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2721741781399086&id=2294899080750027&sfnsn=mo
Dear travelers! Based on the price policy adjustments of APP Store, Google Play Store and PC platforms, when travellers in Indonesia, India, South Africa, Iceland, Russia, Colombia and Brazil purchase items through the platforms above, it may be changed on prices of game items. Please pay attention, travelers.
With the 2020 holiday shopping season about to head into its peak and the big Go Beyond update coming to Pokemon Go, I thought it might be a good idea to share what I've learned from phone shopping this year. Additionally, the latest 0.193 update officially ends support for iOS 11 and Android 5, so there may be people looking for replacement phones. This post was inspired by a couple of great submissions made in 2017 and 2018. I am not the original author of those posts, nor am I particularly well-versed on the latest tech, but I'll try my best here. Also, full disclosure: I have not played around with any of these devices, and everything discussed here comes from viewing phone specs, "professional" review articles/videos, and my own personal interpretations. Here's how the post is organized:
tl;dr (too long; didn't read) - up at the top
Introduction - you're here
Considerations for Playing Pokemon Go - I describe the main metrics I'll use to compare phones and give an example based on personal experience
Phone Makers & Highlighted Models - The bulk of the post, where I talk about phone brands and point out notable models, usually a high-end flagship and a mid-tier option.
Conclusions - closing thoughts
Glossary - A few phone tech terms that might be helpful to readers
All prices listed in this post are the base model starting retail prices in the indicated currency, usually U.S. Dollar (USD), sometimes Pound Sterling (GBP) or Euro (EUR), as viewed from someone in the U.S. (included links might not always work outside the U.S.). Many phones will likely go on sale over the next few days/weeks, so keep that in mind when shopping. I've also explicitly included the country of origin for each company, as that can sometimes have an impact on the compatibility of the phones in certain other countries' networks (cough cough Verizon).
Considerations for Playing Pokemon Go
Battery: For many players, this is probably the most important factor when playing the game. A good battery means you can get through a full Community Day without needing to bring a power bank with you. Capacity is given in units of milliamp-hours (mAh), and the average value for a modern phone is about 3000-4000 mAh. That mAh number isn't everything, though, as screen specs and power drawing from other hardware components can affect how long a full charge lasts.
RAM: A phone's random access memory (RAM) is the amount of local memory that a phone can quickly work with. This is what dictates how many active apps you can have open at once (i.e. when you need to reload an app when switching between Pokemon Go and Discord/Telegram/WhatsApp/Messengeetc.). I highly recommend a minimum of 4GB of RAM for an Android phone, as the operating system (OS) can sometimes take up to 1.5 GB on its own.
Processor: All phones use a system on a chip (SoC) that roughly determines how well it runs apps/processes/tasks. Most Android phones use Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs, which are separated by overall performace tier (600 and lower for budget, 700 for mid-range, 800 for flagship), generation, and incremental upgrades. For playing Pokemon Go, you should really go for a Snapdragon 600 series at the very least.
Non-considerations: This post is about picking a phone to play Pokemon Go. Thus, I've left out regularly discussing phone aspects that don't matter as much for gameplay such as cameras, charging speeds, 5G compatibility, and extra special features, though I might have one-off mentions if they help define a model. I occasionally mention display refresh rates, but it's not comprehensive. If any of these features are important for you when picking a phone, be sure to do your own research before buying!
An Example: I've used a 2017 Motorola Z2 Play with 3000 mAh battery, 3GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 626 for the past 2.5 years playing heavily (current Trainer stats: 136 million XP, 163,000 Pokemon caught, no Go+). Over roughly the same time, my girlfriend has used a 2017 Google Pixel 2 with 2700 mAh battery, 4GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 835 chip to play. Before we got these phones, we had used an iPhone 5s and 5, respectively, to play since launch. During pre-pandemic 3 hour Community Days, I could comfortably play the whole time on a single full phone charge while my girlfriend would need to plug in around the last hour; the increased battery capacity and lower-end chip meant that my Z2 Play would last longer than her Pixel 2. However, my Z2 Play (purchased for about $380) is still waiting around for a promised Android 9 update but now also has MAJOR RAM issues; so much so that Pokemon Go frequently crashes presumably due to the system running out of RAM. Meanwhile, her Pixel 2 (purchased for about $800) is still going strong on Android 10 and can easily last another year or two even with the last device software update coming in December 2020.
Feel free to keep this example and the previous considerations in mind as we go through each major phone brand alphabetically below.
Apple is an American company that's no longer "just" a luxury brand. It now sells a wide range of phones, including some budget-friendly options. There's nearly an iPhone at every hundred-dollar increment from $399 to $1099 (in the U.S.; prices can be considerably higher in other countries). Performance-wise, iOS offers probably the smoothest Pokemon Go experience. Thanks to Apple's vertical integration, all parts of an iPhone (OS, software, hardware) are optimized for one another, allowing iPhones to have great performance even when their raw numbers don't look so impressive. Thus, it's not always useful to compare iPhone spec numbers to those of Android phones. Apple also offers the longest software support period for their devices from any phone maker (around 5 years!), so you'll continue to get OS and security updates for quite a while. One important note is that when you buy an Apple device, you're buying into the Apple ecosystem. They want to force you to only use their devices by making interfacing with Apple products easy and with other devices sometimes near impossible. Keep that in mind before you jump in! This year's highlights include:
iPhone 12 Pro Max ($1099) - This year's top of the line iPhone model. It has a larger battery (3687 mAh), bigger screen, and better camera features than any of the other iPhone 12 models. Though it only has 6GB of RAM, Apple is able to make that go a long way. Go for this if you want the latest and greatest iPhone device, but check out the other iPhone 12 models if you want to shave off a few hundred dollars for pretty much the same experience (mostly losing camera features).
iPhone SE (2020) ($399) - If you want that smooth iOS Pokemon Go experience but don't want to break the bank, this is the choice for you. It's the cheapest iPhone Apple's ever released, yet has the same chip as last year's iPhone 11. The SE has a seemingly tiny 3GB of RAM, but again, Apple is able to stretch that out. The biggest downside, however, is that its battery capacity is low (1821 mAh - the smallest of all phones in this post), so you'll definitely have to bring a portable charger to make it through a full Community Day. Some reviewers go as far as to recommend the iPhone 11 as the "cheap iPhone option" instead because of the anemic battery on the SE.
Typically more known as a computer manufacturer, Asus is a Taiwanese company with a few entries in the phone market. In certain countries, however, they lack a traditional storefront (physical or even online), meaning that in order to buy their phones, you have to go through a third party seller. Here's a model that really stuck out:
ROG Phone 3 ($999) - A phone that's specifically designed for gaming. Like, competitive first-person shooter gaming. With a 6000 mAh battery (the biggest of all the phones in this post), minimum 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865+, and a flurry of other features, this phone is overkill if your primary purpose is playing Pokemon Go. In the U.S., it appears to be mostly compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile networks, but not Verizon.
Rather than continuing to creep into the high-end market, Google's Pixel phones are cementing themselves as decisively mid-range. As the maker of the Android OS, Google is an American tech giant able to optimize their phones for a smooth experience similar to Apple with iOS, but to a slightly lesser extent. They offer 3 years of guaranteed OS and security updates, which is above average for Android phones. The best feature you get for the money is the camera. Pixel phones have a legendary camera for their price, which is nice, but not super relevant for Pokemon Go. Overall, however, they're solid products that run apps very well. This year's highlights include:
Pixel 5 ($699) - Very respectable specs (4000 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, Snapdragon 765G) for the price of an upper mid-range phone. They're not spectacular, however, as its chipset in particular isn't the higher-end Snapdragon 865. But most users probably won't notice the loss in sheer, raw power.
Pixel 4a ($349) - One of the two phones topping the lists of best budget phone of 2020, the Pixel 4a is even cheaper than its main competitors. Its internals are very clearly a step down (3140 mAh, 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 730G) from the Pixel 5, but should still be more than enough for any Trainer, especially at this price point. Oh, and it has a headphone jack!
A Taiwanese company that once led innovation in the smartphone market. Heck they were the first ones to make Android phones! They've steadily been declining over the past decade, and have mostly shifted their focus to VR hardware. One other notable fact is that HTC played a big role in helping Google create their first Pixel phones. Today, HTC does still make phones, but they're typically hard to find. None are officially being sold in the U.S., so you'd have to go through third-party sellers. The phones they have are usually mid-range, but I haven't seen any favorable tech reviews, so I'll just move on.
This Chinese maker is one of the top phone sellers in the world, trading blows with Samsung and Apple. There was some recent controversy with this company over certain U.S. policy decisions that affected sales, though it remains to be seen whether that will continue in the future. Until there's a resolution, I can't exactly recommend any Huawei phones to a Western audience (plus tech reviewers don't always cover them).
Another company that's better known for making computers. This Chinese brand actually owns Motorola (in fact, they tell you to just buy a Motorola phone if you're in the U.S.), but also has a few models that carry the Lenovo name. As far as I can tell, none of these Lenovo phones are specifically available in the U.S., though there are international unlocked versions out there. Here's one that's worth pointing out:
Legion Duel ($1049) - A very similar gaming phone to the Asus ROG Phone 3. The biggest trade-off is a smaller battery capacity (5000 mAh), though it charges faster. Definitely overkill for playing Pokemon Go, but if you have other mobile gaming aspirations and want a fast charging phone, then consider this one.
LG is a South Korean electronics company that has declined a bit in terms of phone market share, but still offers some innovative choices. These days, their phones aren't highly ranked in reviews, but there's still one entry that I thought was worth mentioning.
V60 ThinQ/Dual Screen ($799 to $949) - Do you want (the option of using) two full-sized screens? If so, then this might be the phone for you. With a 5000 mAh battery, 8 GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 865 chip, it's got the specs to power everything you want to do on those dual screens. The price that you'll have to pay for this phone varies based on your network carrier in the U.S., so don't get too attached until you do your homework.
Once a huge name in cell phone sales, Motorola is an American company that has declined throughout the smartphone era. However, it continues to make decent phones, some of which have been highly praised. Most of its offerings are budget phones, with many different options to choose from, so this is definitely a maker that you should consider if you're on a tight budget and live in the U.S. A relatively inconsequential but beloved feature of Motorola phones are the Moto actions. If you've ever used a Motorola phone, you'll know - chop your phone in midair to activate the flashlight, twist your phone along its long axis to open up the camera, etc. Small detail, but a lot of fun to play with. Here are a couple of options from this maker:
Moto Edge+ ($999) - Motorola's first flagship phone in a few years, and it's a Verizon exclusive. 5000 mAh battery, 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865, and a 90 Hz refresh rate make for an impressive device. Some downsides, though: lots of bloatware, not great vibration motor, bad fingerprint reader, and a screen that curves over the edges.
Moto G Power ($249) - If you're in the U.S. and need something cheaper than a mid-range phone, consider the Moto G Power. With 5000 mAh battery, 4GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 655, this should suffice for your PoGo needs. Its claim to fame is definitely that battery, as the RAM and SoC aren't too impressive. It's compatible with most major U.S. carriers and you should be able to grab it with some discount. Also, I wouldn't recommend any Android phones with lower RAM or chip specs than this if you want to play Pokemon Go on it for more than a year.
Nokia used to rule the world in phone sales, but now this company from Finland is just another (small) fish in the sea. Late in adapting to the smartphone revolution, Nokia is trying to make up for lost time by offering its own selection of Android phones. Unfortunately, none of their phones top any "best phone of 2020" lists, so I won't be calling out any specific models here. If you're in the market for truly budget phones in the U.S., however, Nokia (like Motorola) might be a good brand to look into. Just make sure the specs are good enough to sustain Pokemon Go in the long run.
This up-and-coming Chinese phone maker got its start making "flagship-killer" phones that packed in a ton of features while charging less than top makers. The specs in OnePlus phones are awesome for the price that you pay. You also get Oxygen OS, which is a reskinned Android OS for OnePlus that is sleek and often praised by reviewers. There are some notable potential obstacles in buying a OnePlus phone in the U.S., however. Some highly-praised models simply aren't released in the U.S., while others have support with only some networks (mostly T-Mobile, OnePlus's official U.S. partner). If you do manage to make it work, however, you'll soon find out exactly why tech reviewers absolutely love OnePlus. This year's highlights include:
OnePlus 8T ($749) - If you want all of the flagship features at a price that just barely puts it into the high-end category, the OnePlus 8T is the way to go. With 4500 mAh battery, 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865, 120 Hz refresh rate, and warp charging, it's got great specs at an unbelievable price (to demonstrate, sneak a peek at the Samsung Note 20 Ultra!).
OnePlus Nord (£379) - This is the phone that I wish I could have bought. It's the other phone (besides the Google Pixel 4a) that tops the lists of best budget phones of 2020. 4115 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, Snapdragon 765G. It has the specs of a Google Pixel 5 for hundreds less (£379 GBP = $505 USD vs. Pixel 5's $699 USD). You also get a 90 Hz refresh rate for smoother animations. The downside? It's not sold in the U.S., and it's missing support for a few frequency bands that U.S. carriers use for their networks, so it probably won't work super well even if you do import one (especially on Verizon). There are pared-down Nord variants coming to the U.S. in the near future, but it's just not the same.
OnePlus 7T T-Mobile version ($349) - If you really wanted the Nord, are stuck in the U.S., but are a T-Mobile customer, you might be in luck! With 3800 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 855+ (compared to the 765G on the Nord, the 855+ is last year's model, but for a higher class of phones), you get roughly the same specs as the Nord for an even lower price! But again, it's only for T-Mobile customers.
One of the largest phone makers in the world, thanks to its huge success in its home country of China. Most of its models aren't readily available in the west, and one of its most critically acclaimed phones, the Oppo Find X2 Pro, was undercut by the OnePlus 8T by hundreds of dollars. Oppo has some good budget and mid-range options, but apparently they're exceptionally hard to find outside of China or India, so I won't highlight any here.
Samsung is a giant in the world of smartphone sales, often topping the list of most phones sold. The South Korean company offers a plethora of different phone models, and I can't pretend to comprehend how many different models they sell. A strange quirk is that the internal SoC in some models differs based on which region you buy from. Samsung is able to make their own chips, the Exynos brand, for less but performance sometimes lags behind that of the more common Qualcomm Snapdragon. This year's highlights include:
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra ($1299) - Considered the best of the best, this is the phone that has all of the top features put together. 4500 mAh battery, 12GB RAM, Snapdragon 865+ (Americas, East Asia), 120 Hz refresh rate, and warp and wireless charging. This is the phone with that fancy pen stylus, whose latency has apparently been vastly improved. The battery life is supposedly boosted by the adaptive refresh rate of the phone, which will be lowered when apps don't need higher rates. But... just look at that price! I cri.
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE ($699) - Priced as an upper mid-range phone, this one delivers one of the best values at this price point. A 4500 mAh battery, 6GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 865 chip makes this a very competitive phone. If you're able to get it on sale, that's even better! The main issue, however, is that even when discounted, it's still a bit expensive for people on a tight phone budget. But at least it's more widely available than similarly spec'd Xiaomi phones.
Samsung Galaxy A51 ($399) - This is Samsung's most relevant competitor to the best value mid-range phones. It has a 4000 mAh battery, 4GB RAM, and an Exynos 9611 chip, which is comparable in specs, though you may want to consider getting more RAM. Overall, it's a good phone, but it doesn't outshine its mid-range competitors like the Pixel 4a or Nord by offering a better price or better specs.
People might be surprised to hear that this massive Japanese tech conglomerate that's responsible for the Playstation and hundreds of consumer electronics also makes phones. Sony phones make up an almost invisible market share of phones sold, but according to tech enthusiasts, the phones are great thanks to the unconventional features that they include. Here's probably their the best model this year:
Xperia 5 ii ($949) - Sony's Xperia series has a few tricks up their sleeves. On paper, the phone looks alright: 4000 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, Snapdragon 865 chip, 120 Hz refresh rate. But the first thing people will notice is that this phone has a wonky aspect ratio - it's much, much taller than it is wide. It does this to be a more comfortable one-handed device, as well as achieving a more cinematic aspect ratio in landscape mode. You also get manual-level camera controls directly imported from Sony's professional camera lineup. Oh, and you get a 3.5 mm headphone jack, which is nearly impossible to find on phones at this price point.
Another Chinese phone maker whose products are mostly locked to mainland China, as far as I can tell. I haven't seen any specific models raved about by reviewers, so I'll again move on.
Another huge player in the market of phone sales, this Chinese company has been excelling in the developing markets of China and India. Western consumers are also starting to notice what this maker has to offer, both at the low and high end. However, U.S. consumers will likely be unable to use these phones to the full potential, as many of Xiaomi's huge suite of phones aren't fully supported in the U.S. Nevertheless, here are a few models that really stand out:
Xiaomi Mi 10 ($649) - On paper, you get a lot more than you'd expect from this phone based on its price. A 4780 mAh battery, 8GB RAM, and a Snapdragon 865 gives it flagship-level specs at a upper mid-range price. However, you might have trouble finding a place to buy it, and it might not work with certain networks (definitely not on Verizon in the U.S.). You may also want to consider the Xiaomi Poco F2, which only has 6GB RAM, but can be found for even cheaper in certain markets.
Black Shark 3 Pro ($899) - Xiaomi's gaming phone entry that has a very unique look. It has physical shoulder buttons that pop up when gaming in landscape orientation and liquid cooling(!). 5000 mAh battery, Snapdragon 865, 12GB of RAM, and a 90 Hz refresh rate all give it top-notch specs. But again, good luck getting it to work if you're in the U.S.
Poco X3 (£199) - On paper, this phone's stats do not match its asking price. 5160 mAh battery, 6GB RAM, Snapdragon 732G, and 120 Hz refresh rate all starting at £199 GBP/€229 EU$250 USD. It's the best ultra affordable phone in 2020, but has some caveats. It's not fully compatible with U.S. networks and has ads built right into the OS (though I hear there is a way to disable this). If you can deal with these, then check this bad boy out.
Conclusions
There's a myriad of options when buying a phone these days. Here, I've gone over some notable current examples from many of the major phone brands globally, but this is by no means a comprehensive treatment. In fact, this post is heavily biased towards the U.S. (this is Reddit, after all). In my opinion, mid-range phones offer the best value for your money when buying a brand new phone. Budget options (under $200) really aren't suited for playing Pokemon Go for an appreciable amount of time, and you'll get more frequent slowdowns and crashes with each new game update. On the flip side, the specs on flagship phones are overkill for a game like PoGo and the huge price tags are daunting. You could always buy a flagship from a year or two ago for a deep discount (in fact, this is what many people recommend instead of buying a new, mid-range phone model), but you'll get that many years fewer in guaranteed OS and security updates. Doing the research for this post has given me some interesting insight into phones, brands, and networks. There's often some amazing choices out there that you've never heard about simply because it's not marketed in your country. Also, Verizon may be America's #1 network, but it absolutely sucks if you like a phone that isn't made by an American, European, or South Korean company. Lastly, to revisit my earlier example, I ended up purchasing a Google Pixel 4a for myself a few days ago to replace my Moto Z2 Play. I'm really looking forward to it and absolutely cannot wait to go catching and grind towards level 50 on my new device! I hope this post has been helpful!
Glossary
Budget/Mid-range/Flagship - These are the main smartphone categories that describe price and performance. Roughly speaking, a budget phone is anything under $300 USD, a mid-range is between $300 and $700, and a flagship (or high-end) is anything over $700. Flagship phones are the devices that makers cram all of the best features into.
Display Refresh Rate - The rate at which the screen updates - think frames-per-second. A higher number means a seemingly smoother animation. Most people won't notice a difference, but tech enthusiasts love higher rates. 60 Hz is typical, 90 Hz is the next step up, and some go as high as 120 Hz or 144 Hz.
SoC (System on a chip) - The primary processor that ties many of the components (CPU, graphics, GPS) of a smartphone together. Most Android phones use a Snapdragon SoC, while a few makers like Samsung, Huawei, and Apple create their own. There are different tiers and generations, and is often the primary indication for the performance of a phone.
RAM (random access memory) - The local memory that a phone can quickly work with. This is what dictates how many active apps you can have open at once (i.e. what determines whether you need to reload apps when switching between Pokemon Go and Discord/Telegram/WhatsApp/Messengeetc.).
milliamp-hour - Typical units for battery capacity. Literally, it represents how much current can be drawn from the battery per hour and technically simplifies to units of charge (Amp = Coulombs/Sec
Trade-in - A business practice where you basically sell a retailer your old phone in order to get a discount on their product. Your trade-in doesn't need to be from the same maker, they'll take it regardless. The amount of cash you'll get in return is directly tied to the model and condition of your old phone; most old phones won't award any money, but it's more environmentally friendly than throwing it in the trash.
5G - The new, 5th generation standard in cellular data networking. It's an upgrade to 4G LTE, promising faster speeds, but the infrastructure isn't quite there yet. Many phone brands are coming out with 5G-compatible phones, but it's not really worth it yet, as 5G is incredibly short-range and there aren't enough receivers even in major cities.
P.S. For some reason, I'm not able to find/select the [Gear] flair for this post. Halp.
Another story that takes place in the Sexy Space Babes universe written by BlueFishcake. He owns the story, I just got permission to write my own. If anyone is interested is joining the Discord server and participating in writing, here's a link. https://discord.gg/aJTTaf649S Previous Chapter 3: Decisions Zachary’s eyes went blank, and face expressionless, before turning back to the bartender. “Have a good night, Sheila.” Zachary said as he put money on the counter for the drinks, walked around the Shil’vati Marines, and walked out of the bar, not saying another word. “Zachary, where are you going?” Mal’Ava asked, as she and her fellow Marine followed him out the bar. The response she got was the human flashing his middle finger, a symbol that became synonymous as an insult on Earth. “You’ve got some fucking nerve asking me that question, Mal’Ava!” He snarled as he walked faster and faster, wanting to get away from the aliens. “After everything I lost to you people, why the fuck would you even ask me that?” “Please just listen to me, I’m trying to help you!” Mal’Ava said desperately. This caused Zachary to stop, and turn around in her direction, a rage burning in his eyes she never saw before, and terrified her more than a little. “Help me? You Shil’vati have a weird fucking definition of helping people out! Slaughtering millions from orbit, taking away the independence of billions, defiling our most cherished monuments, destroying religious sites, yeah, we totally wanted your fucking help!” he snarled at her, in a way that Mal’Ava had never seen before. “Like those people at the hospital, or that prisoner of war camp that was run by your Gestapo! Why the fuck do you think I want to join the same force that not only fucked up my life, but those of countless millions?” “That wasn’t our fault!” she growled back, causing Zachary to intensify his stare. “Which part, because I brought up quite a few!” he said, not breaking eye contact with her. Sergeant Kolani tried to interrupt, but a hand gesture from Mal’Ava stopped it. “Our attacks on those cities were intended to knock out the military capacity within them, not intentionally damage or destroy them! And those latter two events you refer to had nothing to do with us, it was-” “Those god damn SS that do whatever they want, yeah I’m aware. With the way they act, you wonder why you people get so much resistance from us. You talk about having morals, yet you seem to not realize why so many people are pissed off? After all you’ve done, you expect us to be happy, and welcome you with open arms! You people are as obvious as a brick through a window!” as he turned away from her, ready to walk off, he stopped but inches away from a Shil’vati Marine who was standing behind him, staring down at him. “You’ve got a mouth on you,” she said in Shil, a smirk on her face. “I wonder what else it can do.” “Ask your Captain, she knows real well of what it can do.” he replied in her language, before moving around her, and continuing on in the direction he was going. As he did however, he felt a hand grab onto his shoulder. He reflexively leaned forward, hoping to throw whoever was grabbing him, off balance. Grabbing the Marine’s arm, he kicked his leg out, sweeping her leg out from underneath her, sending her tumbling to the ground. Once she was down, he immediately backed away from her, not wishing to continue the fight, especially when more Shil’vati were coming closer to the ruckus on the street, and more than a few curious onlookers. “I’m about to teach you a lesson you won’t forget, human!” she growled as she got up, reaching for her stun baton, only to be held back by a metallic hand gripping her shoulder, and pulling her back. “Private,” Sergeant Kolani said, staring daggers into the woman’s soul. “Try something that stupid again, especially when unwarranted, and you’ll be on latrine cleaning duty until you leave this planet!” she said harshly. The Marine put away her baton, and quickly rose to her feet. “Yes Sergeant!” she obeyed and walked on, but not before glaring back at Zachary. He could only sigh before looking back once more at Mal’Ava. “You already know I hold nothing against you or your people,” he said. “But the way you went about coming here isn’t going to make you many friends. If you wish to continue our conversation, however pleasant, or unpleasant it may be, I suggest it be done elsewhere, so none of your own shoot me.” he said before getting into his truck, and driving away. When he got back to his apartment, he slammed the door shut, locked it, and sat down on the sofa in his living room, and put his head in his hands. He still couldn’t believe she had asked him that. He pulled out his phone, going through his texts, seeing if anyone tried getting ahold of him. Like he expected, there was nothing, the most recent text being from an old buddy a few days ago. As he scrolled down further though, he came upon the growing number of contacts he’d never speak to again. Among that list were his mother, brother, and many fellow Marines, who had died all those years ago. The last message he had from his mother, dated 3 days before everything happened, simply read; “Have fun out in the field, hope to talk soon!”. So many memories, so many people he’d never said goodbye to. Zachary couldn’t hold it in anymore, and just let it out. He cried harder than he did in a long time. The flurry of emotions inside him that was brought up in the last hour played hell with him. He already had so much built up in his system, with virtually no way to release it. All the thoughts he had about being a failure, about being called a traitor, that most people he knew and loved were all dead now. If they weren’t killed in the initial phases of the invasion, a great many had died with the resistance. He too had joined up in the early days, roughly one month after the world fell under occupation. He remembered that day very clearly, as he, and others like him, had gathered in a small town in Georgia, planning their next moves. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All those gathered in the room were pissed. Veterans, old and new, as well as civilians, looked over multiple maps that described the situation Earth was in. Among those in the room was Zachary, as well as some of fellow Marines from Okinawa, and many other military members. Some retired, others active duty when the war happened, but all ready to fight in any way possible. "Alright, listen up, this is what we know now!" A man with a gold trident on his collar, said, garnering the attention of the room. "These alien bastards hit us quick and they hit us hard. The world had barely time to prepare and we got our asses handed to us. They must've been watching us for some time, as they indiscriminately targeted and bombarded, nearly every single military base on the planet. Some of us here were lucky not to be on base when this occurred, but most weren't. Many like me, and our friend Alistair here, were off on assignment, well away from targeted areas around the world. In the last month, those of us who survived made our way back here, trying to gather as much information as possible.” “That includes a list of casualties and losses from around the world. We’ve done our best to do so, but it's not easy, not with how these eggplants have locked down travel as tightly as they have.” A British man with an SAS patch on his shoulder, said. “At least in Great Britain, 50,000 of our own were killed in the first few days. That represented a third of our total manpower available before they arrived. As of now, our only remaining assets that we know of are some of our submarines that have refused to surrender.” “It wasn’t much better here in the states either,” the SEAL, who’s nametape read Jameson, continued. "Combining what information we have about those who were abroad and in the country during the attack, roughly 600,000 dead. Nearly half of our active duty personnel were killed, but luckily the majority of reservists didn’t get caught by them, and we’re trying to coordinate with them, as well as others that survived long enough to scatter.” “And we shouldn’t expect them to get caught either, not after everything we did when it became clear we lost.” said a woman in a suit, the aura of a government agent radiating off of her. “Those of us in the CIA, NSA, and FBI did our best to wipe out files that contained information about those in the armed forces, to help ensure they didn’t get their hands on them, and hunt down those that escaped. Combine that with the beating they gave DC, important hubs ended up getting hit, and did our jobs for us. We didn’t get it all unfortunately, but most of the important information is gone, and they’ll never find it.” “Which is a good thing for me,” Jameson said. “Because on my ID those purple bitches issued me, it doesn’t list me as former military, only civilian. Guess their files didn’t have my military records on them, which also works out for many of us who crept our way back here, ready to continue the fight. They won’t be expecting us, so that gives us one advantage.” “All this talk of how much we know, what damage did we do to these space orcs?” a soldier said from across the room. “Or did we really get rolled over like Iraq in '91?” The special forces operators and government agent just looked at each other, looks of disappointment written across their faces, before turning to reply. “Not as much as we’d like unfortunately,” Alistair said, a somber tone in his voice. “Most of you should be aware of the various nuclear strikes in some of the major cities. Us, you Yanks, the Russians, and Chinese still have some subs roaming around the seas. Some landing zones that were away from cities, others that were directly inside cities, got hit from submarines that pulled up directly to the coastline, fired off, and dived back down.” “We had asked the Russians and Chinese to hit our own territory, while us and the Brits hit targets in theirs.” Jameson said, the thought of it clearly bothered him, as it did to most others present. The Israelis wiped out one of their landing zones in the Sinai with a massive nuclear strike, while they tripped a nuclear trip mine in Pyongyang. However both of those nations are functionally gone now, and I don’t need to tell you why. We know some went off in India and Pakistan, but we don’t know much more than that.” “Basically, most of the damage we did to them was via nuclear strikes, many of which hurt us more than them. We’ve still got subs in the water, and some very limited communications with them, but this won’t last forever. Aside from the nations already listed, only Japan has anything left in the water. And like we’ve said, they can’t go on forever. They’ll either have to surrender or make one last suicide attack, being completely blind of what’s going on.” Alistair told them. “And conventional options are obviously off the table for obvious reasons,” the agent said. “While we’ve confirmed a few old weapons depots weren’t hit, trying to drag shit out of them when our enemy is watching us from orbit isn’t a good idea. As it stands, we have to play the long game here. Watch our enemy, learn their strengths, their weaknesses, and exploit them whenever we can. If ever possible, infiltrate their ranks should the opportunity arise. But until then, we wait, and don’t do anything too obvious.” “So the question is, are you all in?” Jameson said, scanning around the room, and his gaze resting on Zachary and his fellow Marines. “You're damn right we are!” he said. “Most of our brothers and sisters died on Okinawa, and we’ll be damned if we can't get revenge on these damn eggplants for that! You can count on us.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He continued to think about that day, and the first few years of the occupation ever since. He and his friends had taken part in more than a few operations back in the day, but slowly they realized that they were losing too many of their own, and that the current approach just wasn’t going to work. He and many others just gave up, at least for the time being. Granted, he still knew people in various cells across the US, but his days of directly helping them out was over for now. Partially because he was sick of seeing his friends die, partly because of his entanglement with Mal’Ava, and not wanting her to catch on to anything. It still didn’t help him feel any better about the situation though, but for those he worked with, they understood. But the civilians didn’t, as many still held rather pointed opinions about him. He, and many others, had done their job to the best of their capabilities, but the Shil’vati were just too damn powerful. Earth wasn’t going to win alone, a lesson in Afghanistan and Vietnam would tell you that. But thinking back, when they were told to infiltrate if possible, Zachary thought if it would be a good idea to at least try. He wasn’t a coward, but he didn’t see many ways to effectively fight back against their occupiers, not ways that didn’t take horrendous losses on their side anyway. He also wondered just why the Shil’vati were in the process of recruiting from Earth’s population, since the vast majority of the planet was still actively resisting. Something must be going wrong for them somewhere in the depths of space if they need humans to fill their ranks. He wondered if he should take the chance, but that was taking a backseat to his current thoughts. He sat on his couch for what felt like hours, trying to compose himself. “God dammit Mal’Ava, why did you have to ask me that? Of all fucking things to ask me!” The Shil’vati had marked him, and many others, to keep track of them, and ensure they didn’t cause trouble. The same excuse Germany had used in rounding up those who they considered threats to their nation. The same excuse that saw members of his family rounded up for no other reason than their religion. Something his great grandfather learned when his unit liberated Buchenwald in 1945. The horror stories surviving members of his family had passed down. The parallels with the current occupation, and the Nazis, wasn’t hard to recognize. A POW camp run by the Interior early in the occupation was a great example of that. Yet the Shil’vati wondered why so many people on the planet hated them for what they did, especially those like Zachary. He hated the Shil’vati for what they’ve done to his world. He hated those who ordered his planet invaded, who killed millions, and acted as if they were bringing civilization to barbarians, like the Empires of old did to much of the world, and expected them to be grateful for it. About the only positive feelings he had for any of them are Mal'Ava, and neutral ones for Kolani, who he just met for the first time since he blew her arm off on Okinawa. Aside from that, the rest could take a long walk off a short pier for all he cared. Sure, he didn’t hate every last one of their species, but he’d be damned if he ever talked to one if he had a choice, or even thought of considering the propositions he’s heard from Shil’vati Marines on the streets. But right now he just wanted to forget everything. He got up, hit the light switch to his living room, and made his way to the bedroom. He hoped he could fall asleep without much issue, and escape the stress of the day. “What a wonderful way to spend my Friday night!” he thought as he plugged his phone in and collapsed onto his bed. “Get my buzz killed by the only Shil’vati I can call a friend, and attacked by one of her Marines on the street.” he spent what felt like hours tossing and turning in his bed, until a look at his phone told him it was only 11:30 at night. “Fuck me!” he said as he tossed his phone back down, trying to fall asleep. However the sound of his door opening jolted him upright, focusing on the sound of footsteps in his apartment. He reached for the Glock 19 he kept in the drawer next to his bed, and pulled it from its holster. As quietly as he could, he got up, and crept towards his door, and slowly opened it. The lights were off, and he could hear the footsteps getting farther from the door, and coming closer and closer to the living room. He felt around for the light switch, flicked it on, and stepped out and levelled his pistol at the home invaders. “Hold it motherfuckers!” he ordered, only to do a double take as he recognized just who came into his home. The sight of two, seven foot tall space amazons, sneaking into his house half an hour from midnight, made him lower his sidearm, and run his hand through his hair in frustration. He was at a loss for why the hell they were here in the first place, especially after what happened a few hours prior. “What the hell are you doing sneaking into my apartment? How did you even get in here, I locked the fucking door?!” “You gave me a key a few years ago, remember?” Mal’Ava replied. “As for why we’re here, we wanted to apologize, especially in regards to the actions of Private Valek, who’s been reprimanded appropriately for unauthorized use of force. And myself for what I asked of you, especially when remembering your own ancestry.” she trailed off, looking over at a nearby shelf, and the photos that were displayed on it. One of which was a black and white photo of his great grandfather, with the 6th Armoured Division at Buchenwald. “Yeah, I’m surprised you remembered that,” he said, placing the pistol on the living room table, sitting on his couch, and running a hand through his hair. “I just thought that a different line of work would better suit you. Considering you don’t have much of your own, and have worked the same job for years, I thought you might have taken it.” Mal’Ava explained. “Not to mention how you get treated by most people for your refusal to kill me.” Kolani said, sitting down next to him. “As I’ve said before, it wouldn’t have been right. Hell, I was following the laws of war in my conduct. You weren’t a threat to me anymore, and leaving you to die would’ve gone against the values of my country. I might not have been a medic, but I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to try my best to save you.” “I know we have differing definitions of honor, Zachary, but there are many, at least of those I’ve met, in the Shil’vati military that admire the actions you took, especially after so many other incidents across the planet were the opposite.” “You really shouldn’t expect the same conduct from every place you’ve occupied. I’m far from a global standard.” he replied. “As for what else you said, you need to realize I don’t talk to any other Shil’vati unless I’m forced to. I’m not saying I haven’t thought about it, but I’m not completely comfortable with the idea of serving alongside your own for any extended period of time.” “Was your own military always comfortable?” Mal’Ava asked. “The difference with that is I was surrounded by people of my own species, ones I grew up with, and got along with. The opposite holds true for your people, for a number of reasons. Aside from my personal thoughts on it, being surrounded by women who’ve likely never had sex before, is not an ideal situation for me. Especially not ones almost twice my size and a foot taller than me.” “I can assure you that’s unlikely,” Kolani said. “We had a male in my training cadre when I was a recruit, and the only woman who dared to try what you're referring to got kicked right out. Besides, don’t most of you human males love sex? It's what I’ve heard on the data-net, as well as from certain people.” she said, a slight smile forming on her face. Zachary gave a cursory glance at Mal’Ava as Kolani said that last bit, causing the Captain’s face to turn a shade of light blue, and look away. “I can see where you might get that idea,” he said as he smirked at Mal’Ava. “And who’s been telling you such things. What we consider love for sex is entirely different than your own. We tend to have sex with people we love and trust, not just random people we encounter on the street. Culturally, it means something far different to us. You barely have any males, and from what I’ve heard, its not hard to imagine why you think we’re sex gods. Still though, as I’ve said previously, a great deal of us think you people are absolutely beautiful. If circumstances regarding your arrival were different, I can almost guarantee every one of your Marines, male or female, would be satisfied before they ever left our world.” he said matter of factly. If they had come in peace, humanity would’ve helped them cum in peace as well. If they hadn’t invaded Earth, there’s no telling how many Shil’vati he would’ve tried to bed. Especially their guys, who you could barely tell were guys in the first place. “So does that mean,” Kolani trailed off, twirling her hair between her fingers. Zachary only chuckled at what she was hinting towards, and he couldn’t blame her. To be honest, he hadn’t had sex in a over a year. He never really cared to go out and mingle, and given his reputation, those he was interested in didn’t care for him. He had gotten a shock when he found out that Mal’Ava was a virgin, but soon found out that wasn’t uncommon in their society. “You know what, fuck it!” he said as he got up from the couch. He already guessed partially why they’d come here, since both of them were wearing a tank top and some rather tight fitting pants. He wasn’t enough of a dick to clam jam both of them, and quite frankly, he needed to take out some frustrations on something, otherwise the next person to piss him off was liable to get knocked out. “Just gotta ask this beforehand, will her tusks be a problem if you sit on her face?” he asked Mal’Ava, before turning to Kolani, whose face turned entirely blue upon hearing his question.
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