8 Gambling Words That Hit It Big | Merriam-Webster

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.

Determining Value and Potential Growth

d100 Adventurer's Guild Promotional Events

The Adventurer's Guild can't rely on people just walking into their offices and signing up, and they absolutely cannot survive without a positive public reputation. To facilitate both of these, the Adventurer's Guild (or your own proxy organisation) holds an event like a Trade Show or Convention, where they show off everything they can do to help career adventurers and the general populous alike.
EDIT: We hit 50+ options! wow!

High Level Adventurer Fashion Show - In our Arcane Summer Collection, a lovely breezy set of Robes of the Archmagi!
Meet & Greet with the heroes of another "campaign" from your world (like Not Another D&D Podcast)
Discussion Panels on how to deal with the edgy rogue/warlock or the religious-book thumping paladin/cleric in your party
Demonstrations of new creations from the Guild's greatest Artificers - Try the new Arcane Powered Armour for yourself!
Show off your martial prowess in the safe arena, or just watch the sparks fly!
Another kind of safe fighting arena, where the PCs step inside a magical mirror to fight eachother or the monsters of their dreams/nightmares. Uses the Mirror Zone magical effects from Tasha's.
Book signing event for a famous adventurer's autobiography [ u/TheMultiuniverse ]
Treasure examining event where experts appraise anything you bring in (sorta like antique roadshow) [ u/TheMultiuniverse ]
Tour of a dungeon that was recently cleared [ u/TheMultiuniverse ]
"Survival in the wild" a masterclass from a world-renowned adventurer [ u/TheMultiuniverse ]
Adopt a Familiar-cuddly and oddly intelligent creatures are for sale-most of them newly trained, but some are survivors of their former masters gruesome demise. [ u/lazy_human5040 ]
Adventurous counseling-clerics and bard's listen to your woes and fears and help you overcome trauma. Sign up, if you want that as a regular service! (also possible to gather blackmail material) [ u/lazy_human5040 ]
Who's the mage now?- A high level rogue showing off sleight of hand, people can bet whether they witnessed magic or mundane. [ u/lazy_human5040 ]
Finding your inner magic-for just a few drops of your blood, you can find out whether there were any mythic or magic creatures in your ancestors. Do you maybe have sorcerous powers?! [ u/lazy_human5040 ]
A Guild-sponsored theater festival, where local playwrights and actors reenact Guild members' glorious adventures [ u/MissMedea ]
A natural history event, where adventurers show off some of the strange/interesting flora and fauna they've collected on their travels [ u/MissMedea ]
A Guild-sponsored swordsmanship/archery/sorcery etc. competition - comes with a hefty cash prize and free Guild membership! [ u/MissMedea ]
Bardic Rap Battle [ u/Starmark_115 ]
A zoo showing the monstrosities of the wilderness (this may just scare people into not joining the guild) [ u/TheLothor ]
Orienteering challenge where a trained navigator helps you travel you through a safe patch of wilderness, teching you a little about navigation along the way. [ u/Zawoopdoop ]
Iron Chef: Dungeon Edition. Compete to create the best dishes using only tools & food available "on the road". For tools this would be small, portable stuff. For food this would be preservable items and/or things that can be harvested from local creatures. [ u/Zawoopdoop ]
Flyting. Match wits with a poet and get a prize if you can deliver a good enough insult. For higher stakes - the poet is using the Vicious Mockery cantrip. But will try not to kill. [ u/Zawoopdoop ]
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion feast. Seating capability may vary depending on your D&D edition. [ u/Zawoopdoop ]
Draw a picture and watch a talented illusionist make a moving illusion of it. [ u/Zawoopdoop ]
Two truths and a lie: A well-travelled guild members tells three stories, one of which they made up. Get a prize for correctly guessing the fiction. [ u/Zawoopdoop ]
A few wizards summoning coffee elementals - the result can be be bought from them [ u/Raven_Witch ]
A demonstration of more or less useful cooking tools for on the road [ u/Raven_Witch ]
"Small Heroes" play area for the children [ u/Raven_Witch ]
A debarked tree one has to climb to reach sausages hanging from the top branches [ u/Raven_Witch ]
Weight lifting competition [ u/Raven_Witch ]
Auction for (slightly) used equipment [ u/Raven_Witch ]
Concerts with well know Bardic bands [ u/Raven_Witch ]
Food stands with specialties from distant countries [ u/Raven_Witch ]
Adopt A Highway/Dungeon. An Event Drive where the guild tries to get adventures to clean up dungeons that were recently clearly of all the baddies. Who else is going to clean all the corpses out, or the cobwebs? [ u/ElectricParasite ]
Magic Ring Toss! Win magic rings with fun aesthetic applying properties! [ u/pineapple_pikachu ]
Flumph petting zoo, because who doesn't love flumphs? [ u/pineapple_pikachu ]
Beholder Laser Tag. Chase other contestants in a labyrinth meant to resemble a Beholder's while using harmless beam emitting wands to stun opponents. [ u/pineapple_pikachu ]
Purple Worm Tunnel ride. Like a tunnel of love, but grosser and more educational. [ u/pineapple_pikachu ]
A venue of self playing instruments meant to show off the craftsmanship of the guild's artificers [ u/pineapple_pikachu ]
Mimics and how to spot them: An informational panel involving how to differentiate regular chests and mimics. Live demonstration included. [ u/AlcofMagnus ]
The Legalities of Adventuring. A booth giving out pamphlets reminding adventurers local rules and regulations on adventuring (Always keep your adventuring license on you, pay your looting taxes to the local government, etc.) [ u/AlcofMagnus ]
Necromancy and how to say “No!”: A PSA for all magicians, sorcerers, wizards, etc. on how to respond when offered dark powers. (Make sure this is as cheesy as possible, like a 90’s anti-drugs ad). [ u/AlcofMagnus ]
S'mores and Stories, a ghoulish, fireside evening of storytelling and treats. Actual ghouls discouraged from attending, adventurers participate at their own risk, waivers will be mandatory [ u/loldrums ]
A winery/brewery tour around the area hosted by an expert in local history. [ u/loldrums ]
Clean up the river! A nearby goblin den has been cluttering up the river, volunteers wanted to help keep our waterways pristine. In actual fact, the goblins are trying to dam up the river to cause problems for the locals, and aren't pleased to see some adventurers showing up intent on disrupting their plans. [ u/loldrums ]
Poke3 Dragon Ante/whatever game Night! A night of drinking and gambling with strangers can spawn any number of plot hooks. There could be a fight, or an interesting item - possibly one the party has encountered before, why does this person have it now? - for the taking. [ u/loldrums ]
Masquerade Ball - what exciting NPCs will attend and what intrigue will they let slip? [ u/loldrums ]
Dinner theater - a murder mystery (actual murder and/or mystery optional) with player participation. [ u/loldrums ]
Mystic fortune teller - if it's not a total scam, it could reveal another character in trouble or many possible leads. [ u/loldrums ]
Ancestry report - which character has unexpected ties to a particular ancient ruin or perhaps a BBEG and what can the party do about it? [ u/loldrums ]
A Red Wedding - a grandiose event at a gathering hall that just happens to be arranged by a villain with the bright idea of gathering up a large group of would-be heroes in one place and doing terrible things to them. The players could be targeted, but they could also be in on it on the villain's side, or discover the plot in advance and try to break it up. [ u/loldrums ]
Highland Games/Tournament/Jousting - contests of strength, skill and dexterity, or outright combat prowess. This could attract competitors from a variety of interesting places, with stakes ranging from gold, court position, land holdings, a favor from the royal family... [ u/loldrums ]
Hear the Word and Be Healed! Are these televangelists charlatans or the real deal with divine backing? Maybe a bit of both. [ u/loldrums ]
Is it Lit, Fam? An expert ~~hippie~~ druid explains how to tell the differences between psychedelic foragables and deadly ones. This could be useful for an upcoming journey, or perhaps steered into a poison crafting seminar by a clever rogue. [ u/loldrums ]
Thinking Outside the Spellbook: A panel teaching magic users how to utilize their spells in different and unique ways. [ u/Kami-Kahzy ]
Basic Healing 101: Teaching mundanes how to patch wounds and help with basic medical issues that anyone might encounter. [ u/Kami-Kahzy ]
Hunting Beasts: A regular class teaching how best to handle certain monsters, showcasing their strengths and weaknesses. Often features live demonstrations. [ u/Kami-Kahzy ]
Magical Safety and You: Class that teaches how to respond when presented with anything vaguely magical. Specialty classes available for runes, necromancy, curses and fae protocol. [ u/Kami-Kahzy ]
Monstrous Potluck: A giant potluck that features monster parts as the primary ingredients. Prizes are available for different categories such as baked goods, stews and barbeque. [ u/Kami-Kahzy ]
Guild sponsored talent show: anything goes as long as its impressive. [ u/Dapo607 ]
Monster Banquet made with rare animals like hydra eyes or dragon tongue [ u/Dapo607 ]
Magic classes: see if u can cast your first cantrip in a weeklong workshop [ u/Dapo607 ]
Evocation wizard pyromancy demonstration where u can be in a center of an explosion or come of fire but come out unharmed [ u/Dapo607

A Sobering Reflection On The GME Saga

A Sobering Reflection As The GME Saga Settles
With last week’s craze of GME is starting to settle, I wanted to write down some of my thoughts and learnings as someone relatively new to this. I initially intended for this to be a way for myself to reflect, but at the end of writing I thought why not share it if it means it could help someone in a similar situation. This post may be quite long so get comfortable, but first, a little background…
I’d like to think of myself as your average newbie investor, a recent newcomer to the game with no previous experience of investing since it was never taught to us at school. Being 24 years old with a steady job I manage my day to day finances closely ensuring a good amount of disposable income that I can use as I see fit with a good chunk of it split to ensure a comfortable future. Over the past couple of years I’ve racked up a decent amount of savings and even had a savings pot for some “on the whim” purchases, but amongst lockdowns and towards the end of last year my need for spending was at it’s lowest, which is exactly the point where I was targeted with advertising for all sorts of investing apps that made it out how easy it is to make my money work for me.
So I thought, why don’t I make my money work for me?
I was cautious setting off at first, only putting in a small chunk of my “on the whim” savings to buy some stocks in companies that I was familiar with; British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, and a Vanguard S&P500 ETF. While they might not have been the most optimal picks, they were ones that I was at ease with knowing that my money would be relatively safe with potential to rebound from the lows of the pandemic. I committed to putting in a set amount each month into my investment account and slowly growing my portfolio.
I did want to educate myself more though, was I doing the right thing? Were these stocks ones that were going to make my money work for me?
Of course, I hit up Reddit and quickly found subs like Stocks, Investing and UKPersonalFinance. This is the point where I was truly overwhelmed with information and how to set up my investment portfolio to suit my goals. It was welcoming to see how many people there were willing to help, but it seemed like for every suggestion made there was a contradiction to it, after all I wanted to have the best portfolio that would guarantee me a millionaires retirement… A feat I quickly found out was not as easy as some made it out to be.
From that point on I was glued to my trading app and Reddit, my screen on time during the day went from a couple of hours to a distressing 10 hours at its peaks. I was changing my portfolio every couple of days and I will admit that I was addicted to seeing green across all my stocks. The moment a stock started dipping into the red I would sell it and look for the next “Hot” opportunity, sometimes changing stocks multiple times in one day. I was day trading without knowing what that even was yet.
This is where WallStreetBets comes into play, a sub that I stumbled across when it spilled over into conversations on the other investing forums, it so happened that I joined just at the time when Palantir was getting all the hype and was still under $20. So many people liked this stock and after reading some of the posted DD I thought to myself, hey this seems like a good thing to put into my portfolio and balance it out with a high risk high reward investment. So I bought a few shares at around $18 and after only a couple of days I saw it grow rapidly like I haven’t seen from any of my stocks before, I was hooked! Before I knew it my “on the whim” savings pot read $0, and I tripped down on my stocks in Palantir. After all, the stock was going to $300 right?
For the next couple of days I felt like I was the next warren buffet, my first 50% gain in only a few days was an exhilarating feeling… Which was quickly followed by a week of the stock going downwards. This was the side of investing that I had not experienced yet, I saw my gains vanishing every day but was reassured by the fact most considered this a healthy pullback. I thought to myself, what if this is the start of the bursting bubble everyone is talking about? So I sold my positions right at the $22 dollar mark which was exactly the point it started to make a recovery. I can’t lie, I was pretty annoyed with myself but nonetheless I took my profits and promised myself to do better next time.
The next few weeks throughout December I took time to research companies, do my due diligence, and invest in businesses I would be comfortable holding when those red days come. So I assembled my first portfolio which I was genuinely proud of consisting of; Etsy, Pintrest, Curiosity Stream, Romeo Power, Arrival and Apple - collectively these stocks took a 75% share of my portfolio with none taking more than a 15% stake on their own - I split the remaining 25% into two ETF’s; ICLN, and VWRL.
This is the point where I left my portfolio as it was for the longest period without any day trading - I repurposed the time I used to use staring at my trading app into reading “The Intelligent Investor” which made apparent to me the mistakes that I made in the past with entering and exiting positions. I got about half way through the book when I started to notice the Gamestop trend coming along with people saying that this is the next hot thing…
Sure I believed that there was money to be made, but after getting burned with Palantir I was cautious of investing into a very high risk but high reward stock until I was much more knowledgeable. Besides, the money pot of expendable savings has run dry so I couldn’t fund my journey to the moon anyway. That was until I got tipsy one night and saw that the stock had gone up 200%, I thought to myself, why don’t I take a chunk of my house savings and put them into the stock? If it was to go up, say, another 200% we could be in such a better position to buy our first house soon and we would even have some money spare to treat ourselves to something nice!
I woke up the next morning, realising how stupid that idea would have been and dismissed the thought as I watched the stock climb to almost $500 a share over the next couple of days - that could have been my house deposit I thought to myself again. Then came the first pitfall of a dip and I thought to myself that it was for the best that I gave it a miss, could I have trusted myself to get out anywhere near the top? Or would I have crashed out again right at the bottom. Similarly to Palantir, I did not see the hype dying down at all - is this a pullback just like what happened when I crashed out of my first risky investment? Surely the stock will go to $5000 next right?
I drew up on my house savings and decided to put a chunk into Gamestop on the way up from the $190 dip, ultimately, I could put that money straight back after I make my gains so what’s the worst that could happen, I thought to myself. I got in at around $300 and felt amazingly confident at close with the stock rising to $330, onwards and upwards from here boys!
I was again glued to my trading app, researching the short % and the pre/after market price fluctuations. Monday was where it started to go wrong but I was feeling confident that it was another dip and it was time to load up before take off. Fuck it, let's sell my ETF’s, who wants a “boomer” portfolio anyway, so off they went and straight into Gamestop. Tuesday took me by surprise but “look at the way the VW short squeeze happened” - god I wish I could have told myself to shut up here, but no, that was my mentality and I went ahead and sold some of my core positions to further average down into GME.
Wednesday was just a game of watching my investment tumble off of a cliff, and today came the sobering thoughts after realising what I gave into, which stood against everything that I built up since beginning my journey with investing. This has lead me to spill my words out here, with my Gamestop shares at $247 average. I take this as quite an expensive lesson, but I am very thankful that it is one that will only set me back some months on my savings, and not completely ruin me financially for the foreseeable future.
My plan? Well I either take my losses here which I really see no point in being -80% down on my investment. So I plan to go back to my original method; leave the shares as they are for now, do some due diligence of my own on Gamestop, see what the company has planned for in the future and if it is worth averaging down in for a very long term investment. Remind me in 5 years I guess?
The hardest part of coming to terms with what has happened was definitely the amount of people labelling others in a similar situation as being holders, and the constant mocking of GME shareholders from some people on this sub. I certainly don’t like to take things personally but it did get to that point, I wanted to prove everybody wrong and in believing that the stock would skyrocket I was only lying to myself. So the next time you see someone in a similar state to where I was blindly chasing a dream, offer them some words of advice, don’t shit on their dreams just because they can’t see a way out at the moment. Some people have gambled away much more than I have here but that is no reason for them or their intelligence to be made fun of, we’re all here for the same reason and we should all have each others backs both when it comes to gains or losses.
Hopefully I was able to put across how quickly things can fall apart just because of our desire to improve our current lifestyle as quickly as possible and I don’t think that any one can be blamed for wanting to do this when GME was so widely hyped. For those of you who are still reading, thank you for taking the time to do so, my inbox is open if any of you would like to reach out, I am not a financial advisor nor a therapist but I am always happy to chat with anyone who just needs to get something off their chest.
P.S. I apologise for any spelling errors, it is quite late as I am writing this and I wanted to get it all of while it is still fresh on my mind.
Remember to be kind,
Peace,
Turboduck

Smile PreCure! Filler Guide

*ESSAY* My story of successfully living as a hetero man with AGP

Disclaimer:
Before we begin, let's establish some boundaries: I'm not able to speak for every person with AGP. I haven't been conducting in-depth studies for years on thousands of patients. All I can tell you is my story, and my observations in my life. I've been commenting on others' posts with little tidbits and excerpts from my life and my stances, but I've now received several private messages asking for more info - one person in particular asked for me to write out my "full story" more or less...so perhaps this is more effective, to have it all in one place.
There are many examples of "successful" trans stories, and tragic tales of de-transitioning, yet we don't see or hear much about AGP men leading a happy, successful life into middle-to-old age...which I think is mostly self-evident: if you happily manage it, you aren't likely to want to bring up old memories again in some reddit post. However, after so many years of not having anyone to understand me, I am enjoying wading in these waters, and absolutely feel it as my duty to share my story of success.
One more time for emphasis: AGP seems to affect people very similarly in some ways, and very different in others. Someone who was molested is likely to have a harsher trauma than someone who was told they looked like a girl one time - but it's actually not certain. We have SUCH limited data and awareness as a society on this thing, that it's almost all anecdotal other than a handful of doctors/authors. And while I write this to give hope to many, I understand that an 18 year old who already knows they have AGP has a way better chance of breaking habits as opposed to a 48 year old who's been indulging them since puberty. That said, perhaps the 48 year old has more willpower than the 18 year old! Point being, my story will explain what's worked for me. Perhaps it could work for you as well, or perhaps you actually want to feed into the AGP.
This got very long. I've divided it up into 3 parts:

Early life + teen years. This is the longest due to the importance of formative years + the relevance to a lot of young guys reading this. Writing about these parts was like looking into a different world, so guys, please have patience with your developing mind.
College years up until discovering "AGP" as a concept at 27. This is the shortest section, due to its relatively static nature.
27 "the year of destiny"-present. This is also long because I begin with my discovery of AGP, and I've ended it off with my advice on how to achieve similar results with success. I'd recommend scrolling to the end if you're of limited attention span and just want some jot-points...but knowing AGP, I think you'll all read it just fine.

PART 1
Potential origins:
I didn't have a terrifying upbringing or a terrible family, but there were flaws. My father was a hard-ass about "manning up" which I actually think has a place, but he didn't balance that with expressing love as much as he could have. But I believe the major point of origin was when my sister and I (she's 2 years younger) would get in an argument or potentially minor physical clash, she would screech and my dad would come running in and give me a smack. No beatings, but it was evident to young me (I believe this happened from the range of 6-10 years old) that boys were at more physical risk than girls.
It was never explained (if it was, it wasn't done well because I don't remember it) about the biological differences between boys and girls as they get older, which at least would have made more sense. However, it was still a bad scene since my sister figured out the game and would fake-scream just to get me in trouble sometimes. I am sure this could have contributed to the AGP, as my brain may have imprinted from a base, primitive, survival level that being a girl is safer - ironically it's clear now that women are much more physically vulnerable, but once the imprint establishes itself, it's in.
My father was the bad cop, my mom the good cop, he was working a lot - which I'm grateful for - but he wasn't as involved as he could have been in hindsight. They eventually split up when I was 10, about a year before puberty...so yeah, I'm sure all of this has some accumulative effect.
During this pre-pubescent time, I was entirely hetero on the surface, although I can vividly recall a dream or two where I was a girl against my will - telling that I recall them. One was where I ran out the front door and if I didn't go back in, I'd become a girl. Another one I was sitting at a dinner table and I just was a girl - this one was actually more uncomfortably weird, due to me just being a girl in it doing normal things, but knowing I wasn't in real life.
Anyway, those dreams are not to be ignored, but I had the standard crushes on girls and had multiple "girlfriends" even at age 10. Played some sports but wasn't super interested in them at this point, although I liked video games and competition. I've always been emotionally intelligent, but other than that I had no typical feminine interests or desire for their clothing/bodies. Girls, to me, were mostly just boring people who didn't get rough and play sports with us guys.
I don't recall any conscious AGP feelings until puberty, where the imprint barged in through my mind's walls KOOL-AID MAN STYLE.
First signs of AGP
Safe to say, from here on out it's NSFW, but I'll try to keep it as classy as possible while still being informative.
Had it ever since first masturbation. It was to a picture of Angelina Jolie on a video game magazine dressed as Tomb Raider; I was very fixated on the tight shorts and imagined myself as her, and after that I'd often imagine myself as a woman in sex with a "shadow" man. I had never watched porn at this point, although I had seen sex scenes in movies which gave me the visual fuel.
I was the typical teen boy in that I was jacking off MULTIPLE TIMES every day, but I was atypical in that it was always AGP. I didn't have regular access to the internet until I was 14 or so, and even then I was never really into porn. All I needed was imagery if I wanted external stimulation; looking at a picture of a naked woman and imagining I had her body. My imagination game is very strong.
I remember first hearing about "transsexuals" or "sex changes" through TV shows/movies, and would get strangely curious about it. I remember reading into it at some point, and being immensely turned on the whole time. I went to a school with uniforms and would look at girls all day, and often I'd get jealous when they'd wear tight pants. Much more tamely, I'd often play little weird games in my head like when playing games I'd think to myself "if you hit that target on this shot, you get to become a hot girl".
So...YEAH it was pretty strong. It's also important to mention that I went through many changes during one year, around 11 years old: puberty, parents separating (only saw father every 2nd weekend), went to a different school...so it was a lot of change at once, and it's hard to say how much each contributed to what.
Social struggles, search for teen identity
All I know is I was significantly less socially successful from 4th grade to 5th, by a longshot. I was still playing sports and doing well at all that, but I just never really had that drive or knowhow to interact with girls. I was a good looking athlete so I was a little confused at all this; although I was also very late to the internet game as I mentioned - a lot of social bonding was happening over "MSN messenger, the equivalent to "AOL messenger" or the current facebook messenger. I was missing out on a lot of interaction there, so once again, hard to pinpoint how much was the AGP's fault, but I doubt it helped.
From 11-16 I didn't really know how to socialize effectively, although I was starting to get girlfriends slowly but surely in high school (14-16). And then my father passed away from cancer! Certainly not ideal.
Around 16 I found a group of stoner males that taught me a bit of the "party scene", although they had a parallel group of females that I actually started hanging out with more. This was probably the most effeminate path I'd taken in life to this point, but the guys were very aggressive and harsh, and I was so much more emotionally sensitive. I will never forget one night these girls tried convincing me "come on, just admit it, you ARE a girl! it's fine, you're just one of us..." uhh COME ON GOD WHAT THE HECK. That scene is instilled in my head to this day as an AGP-dysphoric memory.
All this time, I was indulging in AGP masturbation fantasies, but I also had strong hetero competition - I had romantic girlfriends, and even in that female group of friends I actually would have liked to have hooked up with some of them. I really just lacked the ability to be forthright and bold and masculine in my advances; all of the girlfriends I had, had advanced on me first. I will admit I have very good looks...without them, I would have likely been incel...UNTIL:
ALCOHOL HELPED WITH HETEROSEXUAL ENCOUNTERS
Around 17-18 years old I merged back in with the male group, and started drinking at gatherings/parties more often. Turns out this was GREAT for making me analyze less, being more forthright and brash, etc. Sure, I also behaved as a buffoon, but I guess in hindsight it did get me feeling stronger about my masculine side. Really not good advice, as I did engage in the typical "college weekend alcoholic" for years, something I didn't fully escape until about 27.
BACK TO PRODUCTIVE INSIGHT/ADVICE: cross-dressing phase
So yes, I clearly had textbook AGP, but it didn't terribly impact my life for a while - I imagine being purely hetero during puberty would have me jacking off just as often, and being just as distracted. Testosterone is a heckuva drug. But there was some escalation eventually. I believe the first time I cross-dressed in private was around 14-15...this gave me TREMENDOUS AGP excitement, but I felt a ton of shame and the level of arousal was a little scary. If I had to guess, I'd say I did it only once or twice every year, until somewhere in my later teens, perhaps 16-18. It's hard to pinpoint, but I do know that at some point I started CDing (always to intense ejaculation) more and more, and one week in particular I was doing it every day. I began shakily/anxiously trying to put on makeup, and even *NSFW* putting a lubed-up pen up my butt a little bit. Writing that out feels weird, but hey, them's the facts.
Thankfully, one day that week, someone came home - I believe it was my sister. I was fully dressed up + makeup, and my heart was pounding. Luckily I was in the bathroom, so I SOMEHOW MANAGED to have a shower and return all the clothing without anyone ever noticing. But I'm pretty sure that was the last time I ever CD'd...and I haven't looked back in that time. It was very clearly the most addictive thing I've ever felt in my entire life, and in the span of one week it was already escalating tremendously.
First big dysphoria
Let's talk about my thoughts during these times. As this CD phase escalated, dysphoria became extremely present. I remember getting hard to thoughts of myself as a woman, looking at my cock, and thinking "well, I see you're happy, but you're going to be cut up into a vagina someday if we keep doing this. Hope you're happy, bro".
I am somewhat of a manlet, with light features, and small hands/feet/bone structure, which only confused me further. I thought often and thoroughly about how it seemed I was basically meant to be a woman, and how there was no escaping. This level of obsessive thought-loop has appeared several times in my life, but thankfully not consistently or for too long. Every time I was in the deepest depths of this dysphoric mindset, I always felt my worst. The more I tried embracing my "inner woman", the more incredibly anxious, depressed, shaky, weak I'd feel...it became clear to me that I do not want to feel those things, and I had a lot to be grateful for in my male life. If this happened the more I accepted being a woman, then why would I surrender and feel that way all the time?!
As I strayed away from the CDing, the dysphoria dissipated considerably.
ONE MORE TIME
I have basically never felt intense anxiety or depression as an adult male. I always feel intense anxiety or depression when I have fed the AGP to the point it grows to dysphoria.
This should be a major emphasis for anyone out there who's still reading and resonates with my story. We are always told to listen to our body in terms of health, so why should this be any different? Yes, sure, if you get depressed NOT giving into your AGP, then sure, try indulging. But for me, one week of crossdressing seriously impacted my stimulus-sensitive mind, and could have altered my life completely had I not stopped then and there.
By the way, I didn't pop a pill, it wasn't easy...but I did it. I'm not a superhero. If you recognize that a drug addiction is bad for you, it's not going to be easy to quit...but you can do it.
PART 2
Alpha Chad Frat Boy + First "Coming Out"
Welcome to part 2, and I hope you enjoy the ironic title of the next stage. I'm going to try to be as concise as I can, as part 1 was very long - but the formative years are incredibly important, especially considering many young men will be reading this and still living in those years. This next period basically covers my late teens/mid 20s.
It's important to remember I still didn't even know what AGP was at this point. Huge disadvantage. I had figured I was maybe "half trans" or something, but couldn't figure it out. After the CDing phase, I continued my partying and social growth. On the positive side, I had some AMAZINGLY FUN times - despite my emotional senses, I am still extremely extroverted. And by this stage, likely with the help of alcohol, I had managed to build up some protective walls so the harsh words of brotherhood didn't affect me so much. I made MANY friends, and had sex with MANY women in my early-mid 20s.
The negative side: this immense social success made it very easy to ignore AGP tendencies. I still had very strong AGP masturbation fantasies, and was actually imagining I was many of the women I slept with. But because I was satisfying a huge social issue for me, this wasn't a big deal...
...until I actually fell for a girl, instead of just wanting a one-night stand. All my obsessive thinking was transferred to her - and I never got with her, even though we spent almost every day together for 2 years. We took the same classes, but she completely friend-zoned me. I would still hook up with other women, but she was always the target.
She also didn't help the AGP by saying things like "I wish you were girl so we could talk about fashion/boys/etc." or "what if we come back for a class reunion in 10 years and you're a woman!" Idk if this broad could see the underlying femininity or what, but that was certainly not great.
Eventually, after trying to overtly and forthrightly convince her to date me for two years, I drunkenly tried to fight my friend at a party who was making a move on her. She hated me for this, and said she never wanted to speak to me again.
"OH HI MARK, HOW'S YOUR SEX LIFE?" - my AGP morphing to dysphoria at that moment in time. Yeah, turns out if you completely shut out all remotely feminine traits in public, while privately engaging in AGP fantasies, and then putting all your emotional eggs in one human being...you're putting a lot of hope in that one basket not falling. Well, it fell. And I genuinely loved her as a friend at the least, so I actually told her I wanted to meet up and tell her something important.
I told her I had "trans thoughts" and went into some detail. I wanted her to just tell me it was obvious and that I should go for it, if we're being honest. I was wide open for exploitation after having all those "eggs in a basket" explode in one night...THANK GOD I didn't know about trans reddit, they would have had a field day.
I got lucky. This girl was shocked, and told me I shouldn't do anything drastic, that she wasn't someone who knew what to do here. It's important to note she had previously expressed some curiosity toward trans people, and seemed to like the idea of them. But her very rational response here was a major blessing at that vulnerable moment in my life.
Saying a lot of these then-decade old thoughts (was probably 21-22) out loud was therapeutic enough at the time, so the dysphoria basically vanished. This is why I do not recommend "blind repression", as it can leave you vulnerable when sometimes even just talking about or acknowledging the AGP on a non-sexual level an relieve very heavy dysphoria.
But I still didn't even know what AGP was...so let's fast-forward.
First therapeutic activity
At 23, after what was probably another year of blind repression like I'd done in the past, I managed to find an outlet for my emotionally sensitive side: acting classes. I had a very tough instructor who cut right through my tough-guy act and helped break down my walls to access the emotion required for acting out highly emotional scenes.
This probably saved my life.
For me, sexually feeding the AGP directly will lead to the least-desired outcome. However, finding an outlet to vent the AGP-adjacent (feminine, softer, but not sexual) side of me seems to have altered my life a lot. I also began exercising more than ever during this stage of my life.
This was also the poorest I have ever been financially, working temporary factory jobs for minimum wage. But I don't recall any major flare-ups leading to dysphoria, even though I was still engaging in the AGP masturbation fantasies, and doing the "I'm her" thing during sex. This indicates that even during times where flare-ups are more likely, things like exercise and having a "vent" can help.
Career boost
I focused on training for my career and at 24 I got a huge opportunity with a company. This helped boost mental well-being and kept things largely on-track for a few years...
Part 3
AGP discovery
At 27, I had moved to a new city, living at an AirBnb with other people, my career lost some momentum, and I still hadn't had a stable relationship since I was 19...you guessed it, AGP-fueled dysphoria-time.
This was the most critical turning point in my entire life to this point: I stumbled upon the concept of AGP. This was amazing! It described me perfectly, and so I delved through alllll the literature, and allll the online content...but remember, my life was still un-sturdy. I still exercised, but on its own it is not enough. And now I was obsessing over the AGP, diving in head-first...I ended up entering by far the worst dysphoria since the CDing era in my teens, arguably worse.
I say worse because I was very recently 27, and was acutely aware that 27 was getting a little too close to 30. Instead of learning how to control the AGP, I ended up watching some of the sissy hypno for the first time, and masturbating multiple times a day to AGP fantasies. Fortunately, I was old enough at this time to comprehend how powerful it was, and didn't go too far in that.
But it was the most intense year of my life. I could feel a spiritual tug-o-war, it was very apparent that this was now-or-never - in both directions. Knowing my enemy in AGP was great, but it wasn't great that I had a strong condition that the literature made it seem as if one day I was doomed to transition no matter what.
Doomed to Trans?
And doesn't that just play right into the fantasy? "well, you're going to do it as an old weird dude anyway, might as well do it now and not destroy the lives of a woman and children - not to mention enjoy some attractive pretend-woman years" "just give in" "surrender to it all, let it happen"...
What a siren song for someone with AGP...and yet, there was so much at stake. While not as wildly social as my early 20's (I quit drinking to excess that year), I enjoyed my social life as a male. I was attracted to women, even with the AGP sideshow. Let's face it: the most beautiful, mentally sound women are much more likely to be attracted to an in-tact man, and a traditionally masculine man at that. They want someone to fill the father role for their children.
There's also the matter of personal well-being. I've never seen an elderly transperson, frankly, until Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner. And they have the best medical teams money can buy. The facts are that medical transition is extremely dangerous...most people can develop serious health problems just from living normally, never mind the introduction of cross-gender hormones. One is hooked on a lifetime prescription of pills. As for the physical surgery elements: a neovagina has many, often disgusting, unfortunate outcomes that are far from uncommon.
We will never be women.
Knowing I had AGP really helped with that, especially as I do have some feminine-ish physical traits. It's a lot harder to justify living as a man if you're definitively instructed by society that you're actually a woman in the wrong body...and that's all I could find for the first 16 years of my pubescent life.
So I more or less listed the pros and cons of each.
List your pros/cons of each outcome
Pros of living male: great mental and physical health, attractive, great friends, get to create my own family, get to be with a great woman, career is overall still good, my future goals all align with this, day-to-day life is easy in term's of society's expectations of appearance, don't have to worry about walking alone at night etc.
Cons: never knowing for sure what the other side feels like, must exercise discipline instead of instant gratification, society expects a higher income if you plan on mating effectively, people feel less sorry for you, more responsibility
Pros of deciding to be a pseudo-woman: perhaps orgasms would be 12/10, not just 10/10, would at least be fun at first to play with female/body, basically get to hit re-start button on life and learn a new-playthrough, less responsibility, have sense of finality as opposed to constant wondering in dysphoric state
cons: may be unattractive, even if somewhat attractive will always know that you aren't actually a woman, less men will be interested in settling down, infertile, likely to die sooner, less physical strength, more vulnerable, mental health likely less stable due to nature of estrogen, operations could be botched leaving one a mutilated mess, will drastically alter all friend/family/work relationships, have to learn how to live from the ground-up in a brand new world, novelty could wear off and realize grass was not greener
...I'm not sure if it's the same for you, but it sure looks like the cons for succumbing to the AGP desires are more numerous and have much more dire consequences. It looks like a fun sexual gamble you'd maybe take with a video game character...but to take a chance risking a good life? It was obviously the worst outcome.
Do I have control?
Okay, so the AGP feelings are permanent, but I wanted to overcome them. I logically recognized that the male life is much more desirable...but once again, am I doomed? Heading towards 30, I wanted to find that special lady and have some kids, and I would loathe myself to give in to a selfish, illogical sexual kink that ruins the mental state of an entire family. Was I doomed? Not if I could help it.
If I kept blindly hoping for the best, pretending there was no dragon nearby, one day that dragon would emerge from its cave and kill me. If I was going to "die" at the hands of this thing, I was going to do it in the dragon's lair. Die bravely, or live triumphantly.
I needed to hammer this out, so I reached out to Blanchard himself, and he mercifully replied. Living in Canada, I was able to see his friend Ken Zucker, who understands AGP - I WOULD ONLY RECOMMEND GOING TO SOMEONE WHO TAKES AGP SERIOUSLY. The majority of today's gender therapists are likely to look for any reason to castrate you, more or less.
Heading into the therapy, I realized that this was an intense step and the dysphoria flared up substantially for the final time. I will admit, the AGP wanted him to tell me I was doomed and had to do it. It wasn't the logic talking, but the AGP knew it was closer to its goal than ever before...
Thankfully, talking about ALL of this with a true professional helped immensely. He said there is likely some AGP (no way!), but nothing I can't handle. I can't stress enough how fighting this head-on was such a victory for me living a normal life.
Now, this exact therapy-outcome may not be realistic for many. Money and/or an AGP-aware gender doc may not be in play. Use this subreddit, ask people like me or others whose story sounds relatable to yours. You can achieve this first step of clarity in many ways on your own.
Take control.

Figure out your exact condition, your feelings, what's led to it all, where you see your future...FIGURE IT OUT. Way easier said than done, but so crucial.
Decide your path, understanding that at no point will you be "forced" to do anything. Everything in my story after the AGP was imprinted was a choice of mine. The only difference was that each choice was made with different levels of wisdom behind it.
Protect yourself. Let's talk about that.

Protect yourself
Understand that while deciding to carry on as male is almost always the smart choice, and long-term the "easier" life...you are likely to have at least mild-to-medium AGP flare-ups for life. The people who go for the pseudo-woman life are sacrificing a lot long-term, but their big advantage is that they at least don't have to worry about AGP taking over any more - they've surrendered to it, at whatever cost that may be.
But if your life would be much better as a male, then I liken this logic to losing a war. Sure, the relief of the war being over would be something - you don't have to fight for your life anymore - but the repercussions may be profound, as seen by the effects on defeated nations/civilizations over the years.
It's been 2 years since my last dysphoria/major AGP flare-up, which is pretty cool, but obviously not a victory lap yet. However, there are massive differences in my lifestyle between now and my pre-AGP-aware repressions:

I no longer look at porn at all, or use AGP fantasies for masturbation or during sex. The urge isn't even there.
After implementing this mental wiring ^ I was able to increase my outward female-targeting. This landed me a great gal that I've since married, and I dominate her submissiveness automatically. Writing this essay has basically been like looking into a different world, in hindsight.
I've come to Christ fully and completely. To be honest, if you look at how my puberty began and where my life is now, it's not hard to see "miracles" can take place, and I do attribute God to many of my life's saving turning points...however I didn't mention His influence until now, as I want to reach as many people as possible, and I know reddit isn't the most Christian-friendly website. But I assure you that the advantages to having Faith are very helpful. One caveat: if someone does not effectively take control and understand their issues before jumping headfirst into religion, it is more likely to result in relapse. Hence the molester priests who kept their problems buried their entire lives.
I've returned to the weight-lifting of my early-20's, with a better diet than I ever had back then (and less of a weekend alcohol addiction). These seem basic, but mental health is so drastically improved from these factors alone, that it's worth mentioning.
Obsessive thought-loops: these are what spiral the AGP out of control, but they can also keep you going to the gym every day. Feeding the AGP via little thoughts will generally lead to medium thoughts, and so-on, unless it is identified and squashed early on. When I get mild flare ups I just laugh, and go over to kiss my wife, realizing she's a better woman than I could ever pretend to be. We are likely all somewhat obsessive, so be vigilant with your thought cycles.

Pillars of stability
I figured that I'd identify some pillars of stability that will naturally reduce anxiety and accompanying AGP flare-ups:

Career. Find a way to be happy while making money
Romance. The longer you use AGP fantasy in masturbation/sex, the harder this aspect will be to fulfill. If you pop an AGP boner, try switching over to a hetero fantasy before you finish. Maybe a girl you have a crush on. Tbh I've finished to visualizations of my ideal life, which is weird but seems to work
Physical. Work out, if not for physical appearance, then for mental well-being. Maintain a strong diet, get your vitamins.
Social. We are social creatures, get out there and have some fun. Loneliness is a major source of AGP flare-up.
Spiritual. I personally testify that God has had a major hand in my preservation, and not just from AGP/dysphoria. Maybe this seems silly, but keep an open mind.

You may notice that all of these are under attack from the lockdowns...I personally don't think this is an accident. It doesn't take a genius to see how terribly mental health in general has been affected by it all. Stay vigilant. Do not allow corrupt politicians (who don't abide their own rules) to mentally castrate you.
Final thoughts/Where I'm at now
I've been writing this for almost 4 hours now...jeez. My brain is spent, and I haven't eaten as I want this done. But let me try to offer a little bit more of my story/advice briefly. I may edit this little section if I think of something later:

AGP doesn't have to be a curse. I actually believe that if it's compartmentalized effectively, you have an advantage over other guys when it comes to reading a woman, and knowing what she wants - especially sexually.
self-awareness, discipline, willpower...these things reign supreme. You control a lot more than you think you do.
I've been completely content since those fateful therapy sessions and subsequent life decisions, no hidden rage or envy. I am almost never affected by anxiety or depression
these 2 years have been the best of my life, even though I had temporarily repressed blindly in the past. Considering I had still been engaging the AGP fantasies back then, it's no wonder something ate at me underneath it all, even in successful repression.

Alright, that's it for me. Hope this helps someone, even slightly. There are likely spelling errors, repetition, and/or missing links/holes in the story throughout...I am not proofreading this right now, but feel free to point anything out or question anything I've written, of course. I'll edit where necessary.
Open to all questions and am always available to talk about this very lonely condition, in public or private if you prefer.
Stay strong...you are not alone.

Rock, Paper, Scissors: War Games

This is a rather long one and the last in this particular Universe for a while, enjoy!

Admiral Alexis was... Bored... When the usual suspects called for an emergency meeting he expected another war, some sort of political snafu or maybe a major discovery that would require his input.
Once he learned how little was at stake he stopped really listening, as far as he's was concerned it was just about someone cheating at video games...
****************************** The War Games had first been introduced as a way to create camaraderie between the races and to have hard data on the strategies and capabilities of the different races.
The Noradons had been the only ones who participated along side the Humans.
Targeting locks would count as hits for space combat, smoke would be artillery explosions, low level electric batons would be used to simulate blades and good old paint balls for live ammunition.
The result was an overwhelming win for the Humans, the Noradons' new Overseer, Talon, was far too direct in his approach, the only victories he achieve were when he had superior numbers and never in defense scenarios.
He didn't care for traps, small deployment of troops, scouts, listening to his officers on the ground or any type of subterfuge.
The second was a more balanced affair, the Noradons had now far more specialist units and Talon had learned from his mistakes.
It was also a lot more popular, it wasn't viewed as a barbaric display of power like the first one but as a more violent sporting event.
Thou the second game was better remembered for the arrival of the A/O during the closing of the games.
****************************** The ceremony was finished, everyone was picking up their things and preparing to leave.
Kin son of Krono, host of the ceremony at the Commonwealth's HQ had the classic bartender's look that screamed: you don't have to go home but you can't stay here...
That is until Lawless contacted him.
A massive ship, dreadnought class from the tonnage, had just entered the system, it would be here in mere minutes.
Seeing how The Pale Horse and the Queen's Fury, the only known dreadnoughts, were already there this was worrisome to say the least.
He urged everyone to remain, not that anyone was going to leave now, this was exactly what the War Games were ultimately about: being ready when the time came to fight.
By the time the unknown ship emerged, the Combined fleet, the Noradons swarm along side the dozen or so ships of the Imphlasms were ready for anything, the Va'sh had stayed home.
Historians still wonder to this day what would have happened had they been present.
The ship was an odd mix of science and gardening gone wrong, an icosahedron with a power signature better measured in stars covered in moss and vines.
Admiral Alexis: “Identify yourself and your intentions”
Unknown Ship: “We are us, we wish to learn all there is to know”
Admiral Alexis: Huh, doesn't sound too bad
Unknown Ship: “We wish to be the only sentient races alive!”
Alexis: Ah, this would be the other shoe dropping, “We can help you with that first part but do not think we will just allow ourselves to be killed without a fight”
The Unknown Ship powered what looked like weapons
The fleets above Commonwealth HQ were ready for combat and spread out in loose formations, combat was about to be joined.
Than came from Commonwealth's Law a message sent on all frequencies
3.14: “Very well and than what?”
Unknown Ship: “... We would be safe and no other sentient beings would add needless variables to the grand equation”
3.14: Grand equation? Have we finally run into civilized alien lifeforms!?, “I assume the grand equation is a single mathematical formula that explains and predicts all things in the Universe?”
Unknown Ship sounding happy and not monotone for the first time: “Yes!”
3.14: “So your plan is to remove all sentient beings to make it safe and easier to calculate”
Unknown Ship: “Yes, that would be optimal”
3.14: “And you would just exist like that until the heat death of the Universe?”
Unknown Ship: “The what?”
Admiral Alexis was growing impatient, the Krush ambassador and the Ship had been talking astrophysics for two hours now, the Unknown Ship powered down their weapons into the first few minutes of this discussion and it was looking like there would be no fighting after all.
Unknown Ship: “I see, so no matter what, eventually all things would end”
3.14: “It is inevitable”
Unknown Ship: “Perhaps, perhaps not, we will think on how to prevent this, it is a far more grievous threat than any alien species consuming us”
3.14: “Yes that would be a worthy endeavor to occupy a mind like... Wait, eat you!?”
The threat of conflict over, proper introductions took place, the Ship was composed of two species: the moss and vines was a single plant entity and the ship itself a massive AI, the first true and somehow naturally occurring AI the galaxy had ever known.
They had met by accident, the plant life form floated into the hull of the AI on a small meteor and grew there, the AI could easily predict how it behaved, it liked the little plant and they formed a bond.
In their travels they intercepted Commonwealth transmissions.
The Plant accessed the holo-net and saw that every sentient species ate plants in some capacity, the AI saw the chaos some species were capable off.
They decided to strike first but upon learning how all would one day end shifted focus to finding a may to prevent it.
They were giving a name: Alpha for being first of their kind and Omega for their shared goal to see that the end never happens, A/O for short.
They chose to stay in orbit around Commonwealth HQ, doing nothing of note.
Sometimes the AI would discuss theories with the scientifically inclined races on how to prevent heat death and the Plant would have philosophical debates on what constitutes life with the more spiritual races.
****************************** Alexis sighed
That was then, this is now
Alexis looked at Ambassador Paul trying and failing to convince the others of the gravity of the situation.
“This could prove a huge security risk, we must find out who is doing this!”
Alexis had had enough
“No offense but finding out who is messing with the War Game's holo settings isn't much of a threat”
Paul: “The most likely scenario is that someone is interfering with the Games in order to make a large profits from the bets taking place, we must find who is doing this”
3.14: “I'm pretty sure only Humans would do such a thing”
He looks at the Admiral
“No offence”
Admiral Alexis: “None taken, I mean, who else thinks it's Humans?”
Lady EliIi: “No doubt”
Warlord M'rm'n: “Of course!”
Ambassador Uv: “Makes sense”
Lawless, the AI of the Commonwealth Law sat at this meeting, she was the referee of the Games
“It's Humans, there's no question about that”
Paul: Et tu Lawless? “Anyway, I have put top men in charge of finding out the truth”
3.14: “Who?”
Paul: “Top. Men”
****************************** Lord Doros was having a bad day, the Combined ambassador had contacted Transit concerning supposed hacking of the War Games.
Normally this would be well beneath the 12 Blades but their “failure” with the Diszin incident had allowed the ambassador to call in a favor, so to speak.
Lord Doros: Pretty sure we got the job as punishment.
He thought back to the morning's meeting
Boss: “... And so we have to find who is messing with the Games and why”
Everyone looked confused, Lord Doros was fuming...
Scout K'r's lifted his paw
“Not that I mind but killing someone over rigging games feels like going overboard”
G00.106 nods
Boss sighed
“We are not to kill anyone,we simply report our finding to the officials and arrest the individuals if we can”
The specialists in the room said nothing, the shock was total, this mission was not only something they should never have to do but they would have to operate like common... Cops.
Lord Doros had had enough
“So what's next? Trade disputes? Traffic control!?”
Boss: “I understand how you feel but Transit gave us the mission and we must obey”
Lord Doros: That was 5 hours ago, now we are on the Commonwealth Law, looking for “leads”
Smith was a professional, he was given a task and would complete it, no matter how absurd.
He was meeting with Lord Doros, K'r's and G00.106 in the Commonwealth's Law cafeteria, there were dozen of groups of different races all over the place, while most individuals who participated in the Games did not travel to Commonwealth HQ, many coaches, reporters and VIPs did.
Which is why Commonwealth Law was used as a safe meeting for these individuals.
The media to try to snag any exclusives they could, the VIPs to follow the games along side fellow VIPs and the coaches for the timed honored tradition of getting in the referees face when they had a complaint.
Lord Doros was already sitting at the meeting table
“So anything?”
Smith sat at the opposite side of the table and G00.106 stayed standing her back to the two.
Smith: “No luck so far, I talked with a few coaches and the odd VIP but they let nothing slip”
Lord Doros nodded, he himself had not found anything and given the levels of security involved he doubted anyone would.
“G00.106?”
G00.106 shrugged
“Not a damn thing, I even tried asking a few males while wearing nothing but lingerie like some of the girls onboard suggested but all I got were screams and a fine for..”
She reads her datapad to get it right
“... Creepy indecent exposure”
Smith had a horrifying mental image and shuddered.
Lord Doros shuddered a second later
“Thanks for sharing specialist Smith”
Smith: “Sorry, the image just, wait a second wouldn't you have gotten the same from G00.106 anyway?”
Lord Doros shakes his head
“Noradons are now all psychically linked to the Overseer at some level, you can't read one without listening in on all of them so it comes out as static”
Smith: “Very well... So i guess we have no leads to follow”
G00.106 was slightly insulted by the conversation that had just taken place but decided to move on
“So anyway, I doubt it was Noradons, we don't really do the whole crime thing”
Lord Doros nodded
Smith: “Has anyone seen K'r's? It's not his style to be late”
Lord Doros opened his eyes wide and looked up
Smith and G00.106 followed his gaze.
K'r's was sitting above them on a lamp, his green coat and pants were torn in places, his beret was missing, chunks of fur looked to have been ripped off and he had a thousand yard stare that spoke of unimaginable horrors.
Smith: “What the Hell happened to you!”
K'r's grabbed a flask from inside his coat, unscrewed the lid and took a sip
“Ran into Captain Grace”
He than took a much, much larger drink, never making eye contact.
Smith bit his fist and looked away.
G00.106 separated her arms, jumped into the pole holding the lamp and grabbed the Va'sh, cradling him like a new born larva and looked at Lord Doros
“Permission to take specialist K'r's to the ship for medical care!”
Lord Doros nodded solemnly
“Granted”
Smith and Lord Doros watched her run to their shuttle
Smith looked concerned
“Poor bastard...”
Smith than shifted to looking as chipper as ever
“So anyway, I doubt the Noradons had anything to do with the hacking, I mean there's no such thing as Noradons' organized crime after all”
****************************** Late at night, in the middle of the workers district of the Commonwealth Capital, a G00 unit wearing a brown trench coat and a black hat was slowly making her way to a bar.
She approached carefully, looking into every shadow and jumping at every noise, she had what looked like an Xmas gift in her hand.
The box was small and by the looks of it had been wrapped by a child... Or a really drunk adult.
She eventually gathered her courage and knocked on the bar's door, two fast knocks followed by two slower ones.
The door opened a tiny fraction, the “gift” was quickly exchanged for a grey bag of unknown content.
The G00 unit left, practically running.
Inside the bar the bouncer, a soldier Noradon, wearing a tuxedo and sunglasses made his way to the back.
He walked calmly, the sentients drinking and smoking paid him no attention besides the occasional nod, which he politely returned.
He entered the VIP room, Big Vinny, the proprietor of the establishment: the Carlito's Way, was sitting on his leather couch.
He was wearing a white suit with a matching ascot, a gold chain and a massive silver ring on his dorsal right hand.
Big Vinny was an engineering drone, smaller than the average Noradon to more easily get to tight places and with three digits per arm instead of claws to use precision tools.
Not that Big Vinny was small, he was overweight which to a Noradon with a perfectly genetically built gastric system was no small feat.
The bouncer, Tony, handed him the gift, bowed and left the room.
Vinny waited for Tony to leave before opening the package, inside was a box of chocolates, sixteen total.
He smiled
Best way to get a message without risk of it getting intercepted? Code it using foodstuffs.
He put the chocolates in order, the shapes symbolized the events taking place in the following days, the filling who would win and the individual wrapping's color the optimal spread.
He committed the information to memory and ate the evidence.
Taste like... Profits!
******************************** The Games had being a huge success so far, the Humans were leading by a razor thin margin.
The sabotage event was a surprise steal by the Imphlasms following the sudden rain that made Va'sh guards miss their approach until it was too late.
They than lost the retrieve and salvage mission to the Human team who won on a technicality
The Human field engineer was quoted saying:
“The rules said we had to get the ship back faster than the other team, never said nothing about it not exploding or having it's crew making it out alive”
Which was true, thou the rules would certainly see changes for the next Games.
This year marked the first time the War Games would shift from live exercises to holo-space recreations.
As such many more species joined this time around, most were out of the running by this time however.
The Humans lead by a single event, the Noradons were in second place, the Va'sh in third and the Impshlasms in fourth.
Today was the last four scheduled events: base defense, VIP assassination, survival on a Deathworld and the three-legged race, no one was certain how that last one ended up there...
The Noradons had pulled an upset on the base defense by outsmarting the human attackers, they used the molted exoskeleton of their soldier caste to have their engineers hold the front gate while the soldiers burrowed beneath the entrance and slaughtered the attackers in the resulting pitfall trap.
The VIP assassination had been won by the Va'sh, the human guards had a hard time pulling the trigger when they attacked and the Noradons and Imphlasm simply weren't fast enough.
Thou the moment a Human sniper managed to get his laser sight on the Va'sh VIP, which resulted in his guards accidentally mauling him to death, was considered a Pyrrhic victory.
Smith had been watching the whole thing from his now usual cafeteria table, not much to do when he had already spoken to anyone who allow him to get close to them.
I hope the others had better luck...
Lord Doros approached him and sat down
“I have managed to find no leads”
Smith didn't look at him, to anyone else watching, the Aaen had just whispered to himself.
Is the kitten doing okay?
Lord Doros: “He'll be out of med-bay in a day or so”
Smith gave a barely perceptible nod
G00.106 arrived at the table, she looked in a hurry
“I have a lead! What do you know of the Carlito's Way?”
Lord Doros and Smith looked at each-other nonplus
Smith adventured an answer
“... I don't like the ending I guess?”
G00.106 looked at him like he was an idiot
“What? No I'm talking about a bar in the Commonwealth Capital, Solenia”
She explained how one of her sisters from her hive back home contacted her, to let her know if she wanted in on a gambling scheme she was part of.
“I've made 4 times my initial bet so far!”
Was what she had told her.
G00.106: “My guess is that they're somehow behind the hacking, like the rain that costed the Va'sh the sabotage mission or the Humans weapon misfire when the Va'sh attacked their VIP”
Smith: “I don't think the weapons mis... Anyway, should we contact Lawless and check this bar out?”
Lord Doros: “Yes, this seems like a solid lead”
****************************** Smith, Lord Doros, G00.106 and Lawless made their way to the Carlito's Way.
Lawless insisted on joining the team, citing how as the referee of the Games it was her duty to see those who would defile it brought to justice, thou Smith thought the AI was probably just looking to get away from the incessant complaining from the coaches...
They found the bar with no issues, it had all the proper permits and all taxes were payed.
Lord Doros: “G00.106, you take point”
G00.106 hesitated
“Shouldn't Smith do it?”
Smith: “Normally yes, but you have an actual “in” with the crowd we are trying to infiltrate, I will enter with you as a friend looking to make some money, than”
He points at Lord Doros and Lawless
“They come in later as a couple looking for an out of the way place to have a quiet drink”
Lord Doros: “Anything goes wrong, we back you up”
Smith trying to be reassuring
“See, nothing to be worried about”
G00.106: “Right. Got it!”
She than kicks the door open and while holding her shortened carbine yells
“Nobody move! We know you're conducting illegal operations, you're all under arrest!!!”
Smith and Lord Doros thought at the same time
If we survive I'm killing her myself
Lawless grins, produces a kukri from under he coat and stands in front of G00.106.
The people at the bar barely seem to notice and quickly return to their drinks and talks.
Smith and Lord Doros reluctantly drew their pulse pistols, enter the bar and stood by their colleague.
Smith: “When we get back, if we get back, we need to talk about your infiltration skills”
G00.106: “Why?”
Before smith or Lord Doros could answer, or shoot her, the door in the back opens.
Big Vinny, with Tony in tow, appear.
Smith: What the Hell, a Noradon... Don!?
He seems very calm and he speaks softly as if to an old friend's kid he's trying to explain a complicated notion to.
“What, if may ask, is the reason for this loud and quite frankly disrespectful scene in this, my humble establishment?”
G00.106: “We know what you're doing and you're going to prison, if we don't kill you right now that is!”
Vinny undisturbed
“I find such a thing rather difficult without any evidence and for any threat against my person”
Vinny snaps his fingers
Half the bar draws weapons and Tony gets in front of his boss, the infiltration team is now outnumbered five to one
Vinny: “You will find it a... Difficult task”
Smith was curious, if he was going to die today he just had to ask
“Okay, what's with the outfit?”
Vinny, positively beaming
“You like it? I modelled it after Tony Montanas's suit in Scarface”
Smith, now less curious and more confused
“The movie?”
Vinny: “Yes, we like your “mafia”, quite a novel idea”
Lawless: “Yeah well, organize crime is nothing new and even if you get rid of us more will come”
Vinny: “Crime? What crime?”
G00.106: “You rigged the War Games and make bets on them, my sisters called me and told me all about it!”
Vinny got in front of Tony, he was frowning
“Did she tell you we were actually fixing the events?”
G00.106 seemed a lot less confident all of a sudden
“Well not in so many words, no”
The rest of the team looked at her and than at each-other
Vinny: “We have a group of ex-military professionals analyze the strategies of the teams and a Krush run the odds, than we place bets on events where the margin of error matches the betting spread”
Smith: “So you aren't the ones hacking the Games?”
Vinny genuinely surprised
“The Games are getting hacked!? Well, we have nothing to do with that, we're just honest mafiosy”
Smith still concerned and very aware of the multitude of guns pointed in their direction.
“You do know they're the bad guys right?”
Vinny: “Of course but that's because they break the law”
G00.106: “Ha! Like you don't”
Smith came to a horrible realization
“Lawless could you run a quick background check on the people here for outstanding warrants”
Lawless closed her eyes for a second, smiled awkwardly and sheathed her kukri.
“No criminal records, not even a ticket and they have permits for those guns”
Lord Doros: “It seems we made a mistake”
Vinny: “Quite so but don't worry, this was exhilarating! Rocco Two Hands had been itching for a reason to draw his guns”
Vinny waved at Rocco, who was standing behind Smith
Smith looked back expecting a Noradon with only two arms but what he saw was a Noradon drone with all of his arms and a backpack with another set of four mechanical ones allowing him to hold eight guns total, all aimed at his head.
Smith: “Rocco TWO hands?”
Vinny: “It's short for Two Sets of Hands, alright fellows put the hardware away, you're scaring the tourists”
At this the entire bar sat down and no one even looked at the four who now awkwardly sheathed and holstered weapons before leaving.
Vinny as he waves them good bye
“Arividerchi!”
The four walked in silence for a while until Lawless spoke
“This never happened, agreed?”
No one said anything, there was no need.
On the way back to Commonwealth Law Lord Doros got a message on his datapad
“We have a new mission”
****************************** Lawless was spectating the survival event of the games in the cafeteria.
We didn't find the culprits, we didn't even find how they did it... Thou given how they could have done much worse than add random shit I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.
A/O had joined the other VIPs, they were curious about how things would turn out.
He approached in his holographic avatar, a small crystal cube with a single leaf inside it.
“Greetings Lawless, are you enjoying the Games?”
Lawless: “Yes, kinda”
A/O: “Is there something not to your liking? I could modify the templates further”
Lawless stopped looking at the screen and turned to the floating cube
“I'm sorry, modify the templates further?”
The cube floated up and down, trying to imitate a nod
“Yes, we found the games too easy to predict, so we added semi-random events to make sure the Games remained interesting”
Lawless, was at a loss for words an entity that wanted to boil down all the universe to a single equation had somehow hacked into the Games to “spice things up”
She mulled over a few words, a couple of ideas and just... Gave up, they hadn't hurt anyone and at least they showed an interest. She resumed watching the screen.
“Just out of curiosity, are there any modifications to the current event?”
A/O: “Yes, in the next 12 seconds the tectonic plates where the teams are situated will begin to move”
Lawless: “An earthquake?”
A/O: “Correct”
Lawless: “... During the cooking portion of the event?”
A/O: “Is that a problem?”
Screaming and some really ingenious curses can be heard from the screen as holo projections of the teams catch fire, fall face first into their food or right into their makeshift cauldrons.
Lawless shrugs
“I guess not”
****************************** Captain Grace was on a mission, she was stalking a beautiful Va'sh, a white angora kitten wearing a butlers' outfit!
She applied some more scent blockers, checked her ceramic second skin under armor, activated noise cancellers on her boots and a camo-suit to become virtually undetectable.
The kitten took a turn into a cargo hold, she followed slowly and when she felt the Va'sh couldn't possibly dodge her, she jumped!
The hologram disappeared and the door locked behind her.
Before she could look behind, someone had put a bracelet on her right hand and in the time it took her to look at it an identical one was put on her left hand.
Grace: “What is the meaning of this!”
Smith and Lord Doros simply pointed up, to a viewing window
Grace looked up and paled, Admiral Alexis, Warlord M'r'm, Alisia Black, Lady EliIi, 3.14, Ambassador Paul and the Uv Ambassador were looking down at her.
Alexis: “Grace you have gone too far, consider this an intervention”
He pushed a button and the holographic butler kitten re-appeared.
Alexis: “This is a hard light construct of a real Va'sh, you have only one thing to do, pet the kitty”
Grace was scared but she acquiesced, not that she had a lot of choice...
All those watching winced
Lord Doros and Smith made it in time to catch the “petting”
Lord Doros: I heard the Human expression “there is more than one way to skin a cat”, I guess one of them is to let Captain Grace pet it...
After a couple of minutes Captain Grace stopped
“It's not the saMEEEEEE!”
An electric shock shot out from one bracelet to the other
Grace: “What the Hell was that!”
Admiral Alexis: “That was a mild shock, you will get hit by one every time you pet the Va'sh too hard”
Grace: “Mild shock!? Are you kidding me?”
Alexis, now looking quite angry
“No, this is no joke, now Pet. The. Kitty!”
A few hours and several thousand volts later
Captain Grace looked rough, her ponytail had come undone, actually quite a bit of her hair had curled and some of it was smoking.
She had a weird twitch on her left eye and as far as Admiral Alexis could tell she stopped blinking a while ago...
Alexis: “See, that wasn't so bad?”
Captain Grace in a monotone voice
“Yes, not so bad”
Warlord M'rm'n felt generous and removed his tricorne hat and offered his head to the Captain.
“Here”
Captain Grace hesitated but ultimately pet the Va'sh head, very gently
M'rm'n: “That was nice”
Captain Grace than began twitching uncontrollably and fell to the ground, hugging her knees
“pet the kitty, pet the kitty, pet the kitty...”
Everyone stared
Eventually Lady EliIi felt the need to say out loud what everyone was thinking
“We might have gone too far”
Warlord M'rm'n shrugged
“She got her hands on the Emperor nephew last week, the video of today's intervention should be enough for him to call the hit off”
Admiral Alexis looked at the Va'sh with a mixture of shock and anger
“You're kidding right?”
The Va'sh grinned and Admiral Alexis chose to assume it was a joke, Alisia Black knew better however...
Captain Grace spent a few days in the infirmary of her own ship and is now famous, rather than infamous, with Va'shs throughout known space!
The way she gives the softest pets and how she goes completely catatonic after has made her quite popular...

JoJo's Bizarre OC Tournament #5: Round 3 Match 9 - Jacob Brown vs William Eyelash - William Eyelash vs Jacob Brown

The results are in for Match 7.
Espiritu was not okay. It had gone dark, and he was no longer certain what was going on around him. It was hard to stand, and he was hot and hurting, and the crowd and the calls of the content creator after every play were noise to him, in the Necropolis he had tried to make. He knew there were seconds left, now, and did not even know what was to happen.
So, into the void, he began to call out with his Stand.
“This is a waste of time!”
Hurt.
“You have been rash, and done no good, and you care even less than I do!”
He trembled, barely able to stand.
“You say you are preparing me, but you have done nothing but hurt! Nothing but take! You have manipulated some child to play with lives! You, foolish… You don’t even mean to give her what you promised in the end, do you? Only another liar, who thinks I need another problem, and has become one.”
Bang said nothing, wherever he was. Espiritu had hoped he was far away. The young man had been fighting relentlessly and calling it a lesson. If it was a joke, it only made the jaguar want to cry.
“Manipulated..? Is… Is this me?” Nebula spoke from her screens, whatever she saw clearly giving her pause, then.
“This is your stage. Your egoism. Your lie to harm and call it kindness.” The Stand’s voice was faltering, flickering.
Then, Nebula’s pep returned with a snap. “Oh, hey, look at that, folks and five-year-olds, it’s TIME!”
Airhorns blared, then, and Espiritu recoiled once more.
“Of course, you probably have working eyes if you’re watching this, so I don’t need to tell you who has the key! What a show, am I right?” Nebula said, some forcedness to her cheer.
I don’t care… I don’t care who won. This… This was a waste. Let it be someone else’s. Someone who is not doomed to fail… I… I simply wish to live. Is that too much to ask?
Espiritu gave a final anguished roar before, finally, the pain he had sustained had become too much. His legs gave out, and he collapsed on the steps of City Hall.
The winner is Espiritu del Alocatlal, with a score of 72 to Bang “Boogie” Bronson’s 71!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Masters of Funky Action	13-17	A last-minute vote turned a tied-up match into a 5-4, and even under the circumstances, judges saw no reason to discount it. A disclaimer, though: we can only count votes if we see them, so sometimes it is possible for automod to give us hell. Let judges know in the future if you’re uncertain whether or not your vote was noticed and counted!
Quality	Black Hill Estate	25-20	Reasoning
JoJolity	Tie	24-24	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	In the future, there will be very harsh penalties on anybody going over judges’ heads to privately press people to delete or change the outcome of their votes. Wasn’t anywhere else that felt like the right spot to mention that.

“Well, chat, sorry to say,” Evelyn pointed out, “but the audience favorite laser-artist couldn’t quite cut it! Laser collection is way too 2000s, especially without a good way to take back the key! And where oh where did Espiritu send that file?” She revealed her empty hands. “I don’t even have the folder anymore! It’s wherever he had it go!”
“S-so… In the end, my gamble didn’t pay off, huh?” Bang muttered to himself, walking closer to Espiritu as the floating triangle over his head faded entirely. He crouched over him, waving a hand before his eyes and realizing, quickly, that they were registering nothing. He had blinded the jaguar.
“Well… I don’t know that yet.” Bang stood, then, looking down over him, the artist himself sore and nicked up, but in much better condition physically. “You… Y-you might not know it yet, but ‘conflict’ like this… It is necessary, you know. It’s… I-it’s the only way any of us will see the end of this, by pushing one another through. I won’t be the last to scar you.”
Espiritu whimpered at that, and before Bang could monologue more, Wrenn Aflight’s singsongy voice piped in, “hey, Lou ran off to do something, but she wanted me to pass a message along, and like a good boyfriend, I agreed~!”
“Hm?” Bang turned his head slowly. “Wh-what could that-”
WHAP!
Wrenn’s Stand drove a rocky hand across Bang’s face, sending him hurtling into the pavement with some force and releasing a good bit of glitter. Tilting his head, he said, “‘and maybe don’t torture animals on a livestream!’ That was part of it too.”
Bang was caught off-guard, already worn and out of it, sneering the way of the others present and how the eyes and cheers of the crowd had turned on him from their peak. He needed to make a getaway.
“And Espiritu, if you’re listening… She’s sorry she didn’t stop this right away. She wants to talk later.” Wrenn gave a cutesy curtsy to the big monitors, then, adding, “hey, Nebula! Wanna collab sometime? We could play Fivetnite or Shoal Calibur Zero instead of all this!”
In her dimly-lit room, Evelyn Ensanar watched the strike with a snicker, then stroked her chin quizzically. “Whoa, pog! I make a face reveal and immediately get invited to collab with you… Well, better look out! By the end of it, I’m totally gonna be more popular than you!” That forced grin was becoming easier, as she motioned a neck-slitting. “So there! I’ll take you down on your own channel like a bitter rival, Aflight!”
“Heheh, you don’t stand a chance~!” Wrenn gave a cutesy wave, then, before the stream of city hall was cut off, and Nebula’s feed instead showed some console’s startup screen with the revealed user’s head in the corner.
Before Evelyn could continue, however, they heard revving outside, putting her headset down. “Just a minute, guys. Gotta check on something… I swear, if I got swatted…”
She looked past the curtain in front of the open window, then, seeing that pink-haired girl get off a motorcycle, Councillor Ray stretching his legs close behind. They’d clearly come alone.
I guess… Espiritu wanted me to have this? Ray pondered, looking over the folder. Lou had said that she’d realized where that stream was taking place… Somehow, and then led him there quick as she could, insisting to take the lead. My coworkers’ secrets are my responsibility… Why did that Slums cult have this, and how did Bang get it?
“Evelyn Ensanar!” ‘Lou’ Reed called out through cupped hands on the lawn, seeing the younger girl peeking through the broken window. “Come out, please! You don’t need to wallow like this!”
“…” Evelyn couldn’t help but snicker at that. This girl didn’t look too much older than her, and who the hell was she kidding? Of course Evelyn was happy, living within these four walls, in this home downtown. She’d just had her biggest event ever, and she was being downtalked by someone who walked out of it because a poor widdle kitty got hurt trying to fight someone.
“You don’t think you can trust anyone, is that it? Even now, after an older boy led you along, only to hurt people when you thought you wanted the same thing, some part of you is calling out, ‘this isn’t right,’ right? I understand… I’ve been through that! I’ve pushed people away because I needed them most! But… Don’t indulge the void, please. Don’t feed that worst instinct… I swear, if you come out, greet the world, it won’t tear you apart. You’re bright, you’re good… You can be you so much better, I promise you.”
Evelyn stayed silent through that, peering with one eye past the curtain. No… That totally didn’t hit the nail on the head. It was just a passing impulse, a joke on herself, the momentary urge to truly step out as requested. Who did this idiotic ‘Angel’ think she was?
Evelyn knew, in that moment, she would be happy like this forever.
She pulled away from the curtain, then, pressing a button, and shutters completely overtook every entrance to the house, gating her off from the attempt to reach in.
With a sigh and a shake of their head, Nebula laughed, putting her headset on and returning to her seat.
“Sorry about this, pals! Typical ‘cringeler’ behavior over that last big show, you know? But no more interruptions, yeah?” That smile grew even wider, even more comfortable, as the outside’s natural lighting dimmed to what faint flickers made it past the metal.
“Let’s game the night away.”
Nothing was gained from this event. No lessons were learned. Only hurt, and hope that maybe, the future might not be so cruel. More live-streamed intrigue waits in the wings of a televised fencing battle for the continuation of an entire team. There’s only a few hours left to vote in that as of when this post goes up, so get to it!
Scenario:
Midnight Sun College Town - The Streets Somewhere or Whatever. Late Morning
A light snowfall had dusted the ground all across the College Town, covering everything in a faint layer of white about an inch thick. People were selling hot drinks in the streets, kids were running around in it, tossing snowballs, and adults were shivering as they made it through their day roughly as normal.
One youth in particular walked aimlessly along a snowy sidewalk, shivering and shoving his hands into his pockets, feeling on edge as he watched his breath fog visibly in the cold air. At least he had layers at all, though it could have been leagues better.
It wasn’t something you would go for a long walk in the snow in, but William Eyelash wasn’t exactly prepared for his daylong errant errand to take him into snowy weather.
After all, it wasn’t snowing at all in the Slums, or basically anywhere else West of the Wormwood River. By all he could gather, it was just the College Town, and nobody in this city had even seen fit to remark on the odd sort of localization.
He had begun to make peace with Ocean Eyes not as some malevolent entity he needed to control, but as a part of him, an extension of himself, and it had indeed legitimately calmed the beast down somewhat, at least in recent days made the ferociousness of it all his own. He had thought that plenty, then, to live his life, only to learn the nature of what had last month defeated a coworker of his; a woman whose Stand, and whatever of her it represented, had become so misaligned from the user that it had actively fought against her wishes.
The thought of that happening to Ocean Eyes, of having even less control over this part of himself, brought a chill up William’s spine worse than any blizzard, so he thought that he might find something of worth to his desires there… Though he didn’t really have any particular plan, beyond ambling about, seeing what the most Stand-centric district of the Stand-centric city could offer, perhaps having a fated run-in with somebody who could give him answers.
“Snow looks… Nice, at least,” he remarked through a shiver, loving the way the settled white coated everything…
And then tensing up as, out of an alley, red stains of crimson passionate cutting spilled out abruptly over it.
Not so long ago, William would have turned away in abject terror from a sight like that, or if pursued, his Stand would have come out and made it hell for those who set him off. But he’d gotten some life-changing advice from one of the city’s worst serial killers, seen a self-styled aggressive villain literally set best-laid malicious plans alight. Even if there was danger here…
Maybe there was value in seeking it out.
He tensed, slightly, then, when he saw a man in an officer’s uniform, slumped behind a diner, hands hacked off, stumps bleeding, with cut after cut after cut in his body, eyes rolled back and bleeding from the tongueless mouth.
Grisly… William shivered even more, then, before realizing that there was a presence behind him, turning his head slowly with his nerves on high alert.
Standing behind him, smiling, with a strange-looking knife in hand, was a boy only a year or two his junior. He wore a green sweater with a yellow stripe across its center, which was stained red like his hands, and a pair of bright, cheerful eyes poked past his brown bangs, perfectly matching the smile on his face.
William could’ve sworn he’d seen him somewhere before. “Y-you… Did. Did you kill this man?”
“Yep!” The youth answered, twirling the knife around, pointing to the corpse and stepping on his fingers buried in the snow. “He was telling horrible, horrible lies about me, see… Said that I cut his hands off, that it was his fault that he died. Now, I know some people came back, but this is a man I’ve never seen in my life! He pointed a gun at my head here, said he wouldn’t miss when he fired so close, so I didn’t let him. Then, that lie about his hands, his death… I just made it true!”
William was confused, his heart rate skyrocketing at the casual way in which this boy paced around as he spoke, twirling his knife. But… He was threatened, by the sound of it, and there was a certain purity, honesty, in the way that he spoke. This mutilated officer had it coming.
“W-well… That sounds nerve-wracking. I’m, uh… Sorry you had to go through that.”
“Oh, don’t worry for me!” The youth reassured, “sixteen years in this city and counting, you get quite used to seemingly-fine people revealing their true, rotten colors, attacking you when they seem to play the part of something upstanding.” He tilted his head, shaking it. “I can’t stand it at all, but… It makes it all the sweeter to put an end to it, you know?”
“I… You’re talking about killing people, you know that, right?” William asked. “That’s… That’s something you can never take back. To put it so lightly…”
“Do you have a problem with that?” Very quickly, then, the youth was leaning up close to him, putting the knife near his flesh, and William tensed up, not wanting to hurt this kid as he teased him.
“L-look… If any part of me wanted to impede you, or stop you,” William answered, “you would’ve been dead before you could bring that thing close to me. I’m… Still trying to control an ‘ability’ of my own.”
“I see, I see… So you’re another Stand User!” The youth pulled back, then, clearly pleased with the nerve William had had to stand still through that attempt to terrify him, to shock him into action.
“What do you say we be friends?” The knife vanished, then, and he held out his hand. “My name is Jacob Brown, but you may call me a nickname if you’d like.”
William nodded, cautiously accepting and shaking his hand. “Jacob Brown, huh..?” He swore he’d heard that name around before. “Then, uh… I dunno. If you really want a nickname that bad… I dunno. Jack, maybe?”
“‘Jack…’ It has a nice ring to it!” The boy agreed, shaking his hand fervently. “And you?”
“Call me William Eyelash… Or, uh, any abbreviation, I guess, though nobody really does.”
Elsewhere in the College Town, at exactly the same time…
Jacob Brown was laying in a snowy park, looking up at the cool sky in the imprint of his own little snow angel, which he’d even made time to give little knife-shaped embeddings through holding ‘Megalo Strike Back’ at just the right angle.
His life had continued to go well, as it had been since that fateful day so many months ago, where he’d toned back his killing urges, had still not once taken a life since, so not to disappoint the promise he and his friends had shared with that long-dead artist, having since befriended others and learned more about the mysteries of this place.
Los Fortuna was nice… Nice as it was fleeting, and strange. Earlier that morning he’d literally danced between the border of the College Town and the Agricultural District, one foot in an inch of snow, the other on dry grass, then posed triumphantly for Richard Stone to sketch, flexing alongside that new Bert blob which Casey and he-whose-name-ruins-Jacob’s-mood had nursed back to health.
Just as he’d started to fondly recall that fine early-morning moment, a pile of snow blinked with a single black dot of an eye, then emerged from a snowbank just meters away from Jack, looking as though it had found something urgent.
“Oh? What’s that now?” Jacob sat up, adjusting his jacket, and walked towards the bank in question, clearing away its topmost layer with a single expert swipe of ‘Megalo Strike Back.’
A couple’s mangled, half-melted corpses spilled out in a goopy pile, then, reaching his feet in a grotesque entanglement which Jacob regarded with little more than a sigh, shaking his head. “Sloppy sloppy… Though, I feel like I’ve seen dead bodies like this on the local news…” He turned towards his team’s new cute mascot character, waving him off. “It’s been fun, little one, but I think it may be a bit spicy for you. Go back home and fix yourself some Oops! All Berries and cigarette ash in dishwater… With a little Neapolitan on top of course!” The white blob’s favorite… Though it only ever seemed to eat the vanilla and strawberry. More chocolate ice cream for Jacob, anyway.
With that, then, the odd proto-Bert slinked away through the snow, blending in effortlessly as Jacob, in turn, took on the part of a sleuth, imagining a cool hat and pipe and miming them idly as he prepared to look into-
Ah. There were footprints in the snow clearly moving away from the bank, deeper into the park. Jacob would start there!
A not-so-long trek later, then, Jacob found a tree, whereby the footprints had seemed to end, but he heard shivering, and then somebody dropping down not far behind him in a panic, trying to tepidly back away. Whoever it was, though, froze when Jacob turned his head and gave a smiling grin.
Standing behind him, absolutely terrified, was a boy only a year or two his junior. He wore a black bomber jacket with three blue dots going down the left arm and a singular orange dot over the right bosom, blue-dotted pants, and a t-shirt clearly stained either with sweat, melted snow, or both. His demeanor was a timid, terrified one, a pair of eyes like a cornered beast poking past his mess of black hair, perfectly matching the look of mortification on his face.
“Uh… I’m… Uh.”
“Pardon the intrusion!” Jacob said, cheerfully, “but do you mind if we talk a little bit?”
“…” The boy looked like he wanted to die a little bit, stepping backwards again.
“My name is Jacob Brown, and I couldn’t help but notice that pair of melted bodies a little ways back. Quite the conversation piece, don’t you think?”
“I… I-I.”
“Come on now, I won’t get you in trouble and leave you to hang! I don’t do that!” Jacob assured. “All I ask from people is ‘honesty.’ It’s very easy to tell the truth, I think, if people just did it. So… Let’s start with an easy question, to show I don’t mean harm. What’s your name?”
“Uh… Ell- I mean, Wil- uh…” The boy paused, as if not used to the answer he was about to give himself. “Eyelash… W-William Eyelash.”
“William…” Someone trying on a new name didn’t need to be a lie, Jacob understood. Just a new truth to get used to. “I’ll just call you ‘Billy,’ okay? Okay!” Jacob smiled, and before Billy could comment, continued, “how long have you been in the city? Quite the sight, such localized snow…”
“Uh… M-my whole life, basically… Look, please, just. Just leave me alone. Please, don’t keep pressing, I-”
“Billy, I’m telling you, I’m trying to help you out here! I know, not everybody can get used to their powers as easy as I did, and when you’re so alone all you can do is run out into a tree, clearly you don’t have anyone helping you through it! So I’ll help you.”
“H-help… You. You mean to say-”
“Yep!” Jacob admitted, head tilting and tilting and tilting. “Not so long ago, I killed people all the time.”
That was Billy’s breaking point, and he immediately turned tail and absolutely booked it away. Even a trained FBI ace probably couldn’t keep up with that.
But Jacob Brown was pretty good at running.
He skidded to a halt in front of Billy, putting a calming hand on his shoulder. “Hey, c’mon… Bodies aren’t that way. You’ll get caught if you run without cleaning up your mess, or be so focused on running you could trip and fall down an elevator shaft!”
That seemed to scare Billy into a sort of forced calm, just as a truly monstrous-looking Stand almost lashed out. There was an odd sort of soothingness to Jacob Brown’s confidence, it seemed.
“Let me show you how, now, alright? It’s easy when you know the trick! Then we can take a walk.”
Snowman Symmetrical Park (No relation to the park from the last scene)
Jacob led Billy by the arm through a particularly artsy snow-covered park, one with several mural walls, ponds, and most notably of all, an almost slavish dedication to every single corner of the place, already in the center of the College town and the Metropolitan area as a whole, being completely symmetrical in its structures.
“Nice place, isn’t it?” He asked, letting him go and catch his breath. “Professor York, I remember, talked about it once with Chef CaraMel, I’m sure you’ve had her stuff before… They were saying that there’s a sort of ‘meditative’ quality to this place, a nice place to stand in even spots and just admire the scenery. But also that people get really mad if you mess the symmetry up.”
“Y… Yeah…” Billy panted, looking around. “I know about this place, but I’ve never taken time to…” He looked around, then, standing and breathing through his nose. “You know, Jacob… You’re right. This, uh… This place isn’t so bad. And, uh… Y-you’re kinda sorta really scary, but. Thanks, for the help, and, uh. Not judging me for what I can’t control…”
“Oh, don’t worry about it!” He reassured with a smile, “you’ll figure it out in time, Billy my friend! Why, even just a year ago, I could still be quite sloppy when I-” He noticed, then, that Billy’s look had immediately become, rather than one of cautious relaxation, one that was more confused, more terrified than ever before, murmuring and muttering incoherently. “Hm? Something the matter, pal-o?”
“Me… M… M… Why is… No… Nonononononono what the hell what the HELL?!”
William had been leading Jack to much the same place, saying to him when asked, “I dunno why I thought to come here… I guess, uh, this Lou girl who I’ve met a couple times, she came by this restaurant I work at with this friend of hers I forget her name, and… I dunno. She said it was meditative, and I’ve got things on my mind too.”
“I see, I see… Heheh,” Jack chuckled, teasing, “I’ve been treating you like this cool older figure, but you’re still figuring everything out for yourself, aren’t you? Though I guess that’s true whether you’re seventeen or forty-seven, right?”
“Yeah…” William nodded, hands in London’s perma-borrowed jacket pockets. “Th-that is life… Isn’t it? You never really… Stop learning, or growing, and, uh, some parts of you you’ll be contending with for-” He stopped himself from rambling philosophically, then, seeing that Jack had careened his head to something in the slight distance, where the pair had been walking towards and William hadn’t been looking. “Uh… Something wrong, Jack?”
“…something is, William, yes,” the younger knife-boy answered, brandishing his Stand. “Something is… Sus.”
Jacob and “Jack” Brown stepped towards the center of the park, staring one another down in perfect sync, looking one another over quizzically, the latter and younger much more tense about it than the other.
“Your face… Is mine. But I’m not a twin, or a triplet, or even a funny sextuplet. I would certainly remember that.” Jacob remarked, leaning back.
“I understand now what that pulled pork sandwich I cut up earlier was on about, I think… Yes, it doesn’t take a Rick, or even a Morty to figure this out,” Jack retorted, brandishing his knife again. “He mistook and attacked me for something you did, after stealing my face!”
“I’ve done no such thing,” Jacob answered in turn, “I was born with this…” He produced his own Stand, then, a knife identical to his own. “And this is the ability of ‘Jacob Brown’ to prove it.”
“Y-y-you… You…” Billy, cautiously, chattered as he addressed William, looking him over after seeing the identical Stands. “Do you… Have ‘that’ as well? Haunting you… B-burdening your every-” He couldn’t even bear to say it.
William, on his own, might have handled this differently, but with Jack so close, he knew that lying would cause even more of a scary situation than telling the truth. Clearly afraid in his own right, then, he shuddered, nodding. “Y-yes… I have ‘Ocean Eyes’ as well. If… I-if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Nngnhghhghghhhh..!” Billy had already begun to clutch his fingers in his head. “G-getting worse, then… Getting worse getting worse gettingworsegettingworse… Even if I control it I’ll never control it. I’m… I’m doomeddoomeddoomeddoomed!”
“H-hey,” William raised his voice, “you don’t have to be, I promise! I… I-I have no idea what the hell is going on either, but trust me, you can-”
But William knew himself, and knew that Billy would not listen to reason. With a bestial cry, another ‘Ocean Eyes’ appeared, lashing out immediately at ‘Jack’ and attempting to spray William. He, in turn, panickedly yet deliberately summoned his own, instinctively thinking to nullify the highly acidic spray with a thick, viscous, protective material, and both ate one another, and nobody was harmed.
“My my, what troublesome friends we’ve made…” Jacob remarked, then, hurriedly grabbing William and attempting to pull him away behind cover. “But hey, I’m ride or die! If Billy is your enemy, then I’ll be too! Maybe we can sort this out if we live, ‘kay?”
Then, the pair booked it away, leaving William confused, and Jack turning tail as well.
“I won’t believe a word of that lying liar’s plan… That impostor has one of you too, William! C’mon now! Fall back so we can cut them to bits before they melt us! You don’t want to fall to an imitation of your own Stand, right?”
Imitation… Impostor… Is. *Is** that what’s going on here?* William pondered, falling back nonetheless to a safer spot, well aware that out in the open was the worst place to be when he’d earned Ocean Eyes’ ire. Looks like even the guy who looks like an older Jack is gonna fight, just… J-just because.
He shuddered, then, leaning into the back of a wall. It… I-it’s unavoidable again. Then… He shut his eyes. I see.
“True or not, the uncontrolled rage of ‘Ocean Eyes’… I can tell you here and now, Jack. That was me. So maybe… M-maybe this was fate too. To finally truly tame that savage urge… Y-yes. Ocean Eyes is my own.”
“Think, Billy! That power of yours is so, so strong,” Jacob pep-talked his new friend from behind the cover of one of the structures within the symmetrical park, “and like how my ‘Megalo Strike Back’ speaks to all that I will cut through, anywhere and everywhere… What does Ocean Eyes say about you?”
“Say about… A-about me?”
“Yes!” Jacob encouraged. “Make a statement to the world! Cry out in your voice! It can be anything, not just a blind anger that forces you to live deceiving yourself! I’ve killed many times, and I’m good at it, and not a sentence of that will ever stop me from doing good by this city, just as I promised! Follow my lead, and see for yourself what all we can do!”
OPEN THE GAME!
(credit to magistelles for the match art, here you can see the uncensored version of the art(CW: trypophobia)!)
Location: Snowman Symmetrical Park. A public park in the center of Midnight Sun’s College Town, and the Los Fortuna Metropolitan Area as a whole. Realized by Andrew Tiffany and his orange nephew, the place has an avid string of volunteers from around the district dedicated to keeping the architecture and nature of the place in perfect symmetry at all times, down to the last blade of grass and every inch of snow covering it.
It has snowed recently, but only in the college district, amounting to about 3 centimeters of snow covering the ground evenly.
Right now, however, it’s perfectly empty, aside from the four of you.
The area here is 30 by 30 meters with each tile being 3 by three meters.
The light blue shapes are 3 meter tall structures that serve as mural art walls. Each wall has some symmetric design. The darker blue hexagon is a man made lake/fountain that is half a meter deep. The green circles are 5m tall trees, their tops are lightly covered in snow and there are decorative ornaments hung on the branches.
MFA start at the bottom of the map, as represented by the two brown circles and GYS start at the top of the map as represented by the two white circles.
Goal: RETIRE your opponents!
Additional Information:
For this match you will be controlling two characters, both your own and a parallel version of your opponent. In order to win this deathmatch, you have to beat both people on the other team.
Players instinctively know who their partners are and anybody that tries to lie or deceive somebody on who they actually are will immediately be retired by both Jacob and his parallel self. This will be a loss for whichever side tries to pull that.
For character writing purposes, note that “Jack” and “Billy” are both exactly one year younger than Jacob and William, and recall being born and raised entirely within Los Fortuna. Despite this fact, the most important moments of their lives, with the exception of all that has happened since the latter two arrived here, met their allies, and began participating in the tournament, have more or less been the same.
Being younger and less experienced, Jack and Billy respectively have quickly formed a sort of trust in William and Jacob, and will follow their tactical leads and trust their judgment so long as it isn’t grossly out of character. Their appearances differ slightly, as described in the writeup, but statistically, they are completely identical to their counterparts.

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Masters of Funky Action	Jacob Brown and “Billy” Eyelash	“Say, Jotaro. Do that special trick of yours.” This new friend of yours has a future, whether he realizes it or not, and you wish to see him grow by your side. Take inspiration from strategies and elements of previous matches featuring William Eyelash! (first) (second)
The Graveyard Shift	William Eyelash and “Jack” Brown	“People can do anything when their lives are at stake!” While you mean to overcome your own past, you care about more than your own personal growth here; you’ve also found some worth in the checkered history of this strange youth. Take inspiration from strategies and elements of previous matches featuring Jacob Brown! (first) (second)

Link to the Official Player Spreadsheet
Link to Match Schedule
As always, if you would like to interact with the tournament community and be among the first to get updates for the tournament, please feel free to PM a member of our Judge staff for an invite to our Official Discord Server!

another word for gambling stake video

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I WAS SUPPOSE TO CASH OUT $400! - YouTube

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I WAS SUPPOSE TO CASH OUT $400! - YouTube