Sad Sticky Fingers
Pretty blue eyes
Nice park talks, tall tight hugs
Goats bark, Dogs cry
How do you read a book
That doesn’t know what story to tell?
Or flip a die
That doesn't know where to lie?

My 15 lb dog does not go to dog runs and does not interact with any strange dogs on leash. He ignores all dogs in street. He is afraid of larger dogs though. So with my brother's dog, who is twice the size, we did a slow introduction and are doing a lot of pack walks.
So this is what is going on over a month later- they are super excited to see each other, greet each other by sniffing the side of each other's faces for a few seconds and then move on. Later on my brother's dog tries to initiate play (play bow, shuffling side to side and running up to him) and my dog will snarl or snap. My brother's dog has no reaction to any of this. A couple of times he even sat after my dog snapped.
I have seen my dog snarl at brother's dog and then playfully run away. One time while my brother's dog was sniffing plants my dog went to smell his ear. Sometimes my dog likes to sniff him when he isn't paying attention. A couple of times my dog would bark to play but then if my brother's dog would try to, my dog would growl or snarl/snap. Does he not like his space invaded because he feels restricted on leash?
I make sure my dog's space is respected as much as I can and so he doesn't feel trapped. They do really well on the pack walks. I am lucky my brother's dog is so sweet and calm. I feel bad because he doesn't jump on my dog or anything; he is really respectful. So is my dog trying to just state his boundaries? We have not done off leash play yet but idk based on this behavior if that is a good idea?

Ask anyone who's ever had a frozen pizza and no oven, and they'll all tell you the same thing. "Gee, I wish I had a giant hot metal box with doors that gets so hot in the summer it's illegal to put a kid or dog in it!" Well, 9 out of 10 dentists WOULDN'T reccomend putting your frozen pizza in your car on a circular metal piza sheet. In fact I'll be willing to bet 999 dentists out of 1,000 would say, "Please, please don't put your cold Red Baron pizza in that evil engine of summer. It's dangerous for dogs and children and your pizza will NOT get cooked like you think it will."
Well, I stole took robbed a dentist of their degree and wrote my name on their dental school papers so I could tell YOU that there's no better time than now. You, right now, could put God's most delicious but unbaked pizza in your kid's carseat, turn on the heater to max, and watch through the windows as the cheese melts and the bread turns a lovely golden brown. When you open that door and feel the searing heat of child-and-dog slaying energy blast over your face, you'll know that you made the right choice.
Here's a tier list of ways to cook pizza that also would kill a dog or child!
S TIER - Flamethrower, Throwing at the Sun, 50 Magnifying Glasses, the Eternal Flame next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
F TIER - Rubbing your hands together to get them hot and then slapping the pizza/baby/dog, normal oven

I don't have much free time at all. My only computer is my work laptop.....which I don't want to use to make a resume for another potential job. And I need it sent out today sometime. And I don't have a lot of time today.
The longer version is this - I'm working a lot of hours, lately it's been close to 60 every week. It's piece work, so no overtime. And if a job takes 4 hours instead of 1, I get behind. So I've been perusing jobs for a while. I found one that I happen to somehow have all the qualifications for, despite not having a post secondary education. I ran a very small (as in only me) commercial cleaning business for over 20 years, then did residential window cleaning and for the past 2 years I've been installing internet. But the hours and lack of money is killing me. I found a job that pays a bit more with better hours and benefits (which I don't have right now).
I actually called the general manager of the company since it had their phone number and I figured why not, my strength is dealing with people and talking to them. I'm 47, so I gotta use craftiness to get a job over education ;). Anyway, we had a quick conversation and after he told me to send in a resume he gave me his own email and said to just send it to him if I wanted. So, maybe a foot in the door. The conversation flowed nicely.
So I said I'd have a resume into him by Monday. Problem is lack of computer and I'm sick as a dog with a cold, so I don't think going somewhere is an option. Plus my resume is fairly straightforward, having just 3 things on it.
Bonus question - how do I make it clear not to call my current employer? He has no idea, plus they're mostly all nice people I work with. When I leave, I want to do right by them. But I also need to highlight that job, as it directly correlates with the one I'm applying for

My girlfriend (let’s call her Sarah) and I have just moved in together after dating for 6 months. We are living in an apartment together and both co-share a dog each that we had from previous relationships.
My dog is a 2yr old super mutt that I rescued when he was 6wks old. I’ve put so much time, energy and money into training him as I knew he would be a large dog and I wanted to make sure that he would be well-balanced, obedient and loving as he got older. My main goal in training him was knowing that I would have this dog when I eventually decided to have kids, and that he needs to be a good dog for when that time comes. As such, he’s the gentlest giant you’ll ever meet. He loves everyone and everyone loves him. My dog has always gotten along with other dogs and is so playful, cheeky and patient. I am never worried about him with other dogs except for his own recall when he’s excited (but that’s another issue).
I have my dog on alternating weeks but will likely have him full time. I’m his main carer and his person - so he’ll come to me eventually. My partner loves him but alas, feels worried that he will never attach to her.
Sarah’s dog is a 3yr old poodle. He’s super clever, quite loving and cuddly when he’s calm but can be very erratic. This dog appears to get along with other dogs but has behaviours that have me on edge. Firstly, the poodle is a fan of a good barking session when he feels the need to - usually at noises at the front door. The problem is, he doesn’t stop even when we tell him to. Secondly, I do not trust him with my dog. They play well mostly, but sometimes he’ll get this look in his eye and it’s one of dominance. He’ll often attack my dog - never really bite him but goes at him very suddenly. When this happens, my dog won’t be doing anything, just walking past or sniffing around the toy that is on the floor etc but nothing really to directly provoke him.
I am so worried that eventually my dog will have enough of it (every dog has their limits) and snap back at him. Being 3x the size of him, my dog will do some serious damage even though it’s not in his nature. On the other hand, I’m worried it will alter my dogs behaviour and make him an anxious dog around other dogs.
My partner and I have had big talks about it, and she said she wouldn’t have him on alternating weeks just ad-hoc depending on her ex. Despite this, she still doesn’t see any issue. In the most recent outburst from the poodle, she said “but he didn’t even bite him”. This just frustrates me and I know it’s not the dog’s fault, but I hate it.
The poodle also does other things that just grind my gears. Today, on his first visit to our new apartment, he came inside and did a big runny poop on my bedroom rug. He also constantly squeaks and whinges. It makes it even harder to actually like him and enjoy him being around.
In addition to all of this, the poodles other mum is so manipulative and emotionally toxic towards my partner and they have to maintain a relationship for my partner to see her dog. I really wish that she didn’t have to speak to her ex who doesn’t respect our relationship or my partner separately. To me, the dog is the link that holds them together and my partner doesn’t care how this impacts me.
I know it’s just a little dog and I often feel sorry for the behaviours he has as I know it’s not his fault. But I can’t help but feel protective and worried for my big dog, annoyed about the ongoing relationship with the ex and also just frustrated about this little dog’s behaviours.
Someone tell me, AITAH???

Watch

• NJPW World (English and Japanese commentary available)

Venue
Osaka-jō Hall
Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Results

Match			Notes
Tetsuya Naito	def. (8:08)	Callum Newman	Singles Match
TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita)	def. (9:41)	Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney) & LJ Cleary	Six Man Tag Team Match
Great O-Khan	def. (10:36)	Yuya Uemura (c)	KOPW 2024 Storm Catch Rules Match
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)	def. (8:32)	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg (c)	NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match
Jeff Cobb (c)	def. (11:47)	Tomohiro Ishii	NJPW World Television Championship Match
TMDK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls)	def.	Bullet Club (KENTA & Chase Owens) [IWGP], Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo & El Phantasmo) & Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI)	IWGP Tag Team Championship & STRONG Tag Team Championship Tornado Elimination Match
Shingo Takagi (c)	DRAW (Double Knockdown, 14:35)	HENARE	NEVER Openweight Championship Match
Jon Moxley (c)	def. (25:01)	EVIL	IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Lumberjack Match
El Desperado	def. (23:36)	Taiji Ishimori	Best of the Super Juniors 31 Final Match

• NJPW announced details about the format for G1 Climax 34. It returns to the 20-man, 2-block, 30min time limit for league matches format, but also adds a qualifying tournament and a second stage where the top 3 in each block advance.
• Jon Moxley will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch against Tetsuya Naito at Forbidden Door 2024.
• Best of the Super Juniors 31 winner El Desperado challenged SHO to a steel cage match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Useful Links

• /NJPW
• /NJPW Discord Server
• NJPW on Twitter (English)
• NJPW on YouTube (English)

#NJDominion #BOSJ31

So I've noticed a lot of people when discussing the written test in the chunin exams will make some incorrect assumptions about what that test is actually testing. I think a lot of that has to do with taking what a lot of characters say at face value, forgetting that some characters can be deceptive, and not mean what they say (e.g. Ibiki and the other proctors), or else be naive or incorrect (e.g. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura). So, I wanted to take some time to read into the test further to come to a new perspective on it, and maybe explain how some students (like Ten Ten) managed to pass, despite having really obvious cheating techniques.
Ok, so let's look at the test from the perspective of the test takers: they sit down to take a test, thinking they have to pass it (which is their first incorrect assumption), then realise they are absolutely out of their depth. But, they still notice some people making progress on the test (e.g. the two planted chunin ninja, maybe some other rare cases like Sakura, or ninja older than immediate Academy grads), and the idea of cheating has already been planted in their minds by Ibiki's rules. But with the idea that they have 10 points, and lose two points when they are caught cheating, and fail if they reach 0, many assume (like Sasuke) that the point is to cheat without getting caught. I've noticed, many fans take on this perspective too, and so find it ridiculous how Ten Ten, Kiba, etc. were never caught, despite that mirror contraptions and dogs barking would be obvious to anyone in the room. But I think it's because even someone like Sasuke has an incomplete perspective (i.e. this is still an incorrect assumption about the test), and so we should look at the test from a different perspective.
Now, let's look at it from the perspective of Ibiki and the proctors. They have engineered a situation where the exam entrants will have to cheat. Despite the rules implying that the students would be punished for cheating, they've actually designed a scenario to force or encourage students to cheat and thus display their ninjutsu techniques, which the examiners are looking out for. Not only that, the examiners know who the students will be cheating off (there were only 2 plants with all the knowledge), so the proctors would know where to look for cheating. Also, as this YouTuber pointed out, given that most of the applicants are from the leaf village, and the proctors themselves are also from the leaf village, they'd know exactly what cheating methods to look out for, for more than half of the entrants (i.e. watch for if that Uchiha kids eyes glow red, or the two Hyuga kids eyes start wrinkling, watch out for bugs because that Aburame kid is taking the test this year, etc.) Just like in the bell test though, there's nothing really a genin could think of that an elite level Jonin couldn't already be prepared for, so I'd say it's not about using techniques the exam proctors are unaware of, it's using the techniques you do have well enough for this constructed situation of information retrieval (and transfer).
So, that is this new perspective I am proposing. The idea wasn't actually to use Ninjutsu and not get caught, it was actually a display ninjutsu (the proctors actually wanted to see you using ninjutsu), but you had to do so competently (there's also a component of team work to it, but I'll get to that later). Let's take it back a few steps, how does one become a genin? To learn one or two basic ninjutsu (shadow clone or transformation jutsu), and perform so on test day. And how does one become eligible to enter the chunin exam? To be a genin (obviously) but also complete at least 8 missions. Now, the missions that Academy grads can take on can be quite low level (capture the Daimyo's wife's cat, to baby sit for the council of elder's, to dig up sweet potatoes, etc.) so obviously they don't just want to graduate someone who has only ever caught cats and dug up yams, you wouldn't even need the Academy level Ninjutsu to do so. I guess it could be assumed that a diligent enough ninja, with enough time and missions, could learn new jutsu in that time, and in my read, the "written" part of the exam is to select for the students who have trained and learned more than the Academy level techniques, or really select out the students who have been dragging their feet, not learning new techniques and not progressing past Academy level.
So looking at it this way, the chunin exams have several levels of filtration, so that only the competent ninjas make it through. For the first example, Kotetsu and Izumo were filtering out ninja who weren't even competent in detecting genjutsu from even applying to the exams. Next, Ibiki's test heavily leans towards filtering students with good ninjutsu techniques (and team work), and both the Forrest of Death and combat rounds half the number of entrants with each round, and heavily leans towards combat, taijutsu and survivial. Now, the reason why I say the exam proctors actually wanted to see ninjutsu is because, if it was really about not cheating, they could have lowered the threshold for not getting caught (e.g. three chances, or immediate failure for cheating), or else they wouldn't have allowed e.g. Kankuro to take a puppet in, Kiba to take a dog in, etc. They actually wanted to see the genin's use these techniques to their disposal, but to do so competently.
Let's go back to the example of an Academy grad that has learned no other ninjutsu. They not only have to pass the exam, but ensure their team mates do, all without losing 10 points. Another way of phrasing that is thay they have to complete the exam (gather information and pass it to their team mates) within 5 moves. Surely, if they do use both a shadow clone, and a transformation jutsu like they learned at the Academy, they could disguise the clone to look like a proctor (just like Kankuro's puppet did) to gather test information, but that would be 2 moves instead of Kankuro's one move. But then, to make sure your whole team passes, you'd have to do so twice again to send that information you found to each team member (i.e. another 4 moves, which would be a fail). Kankuro's puppets were detected by Ibiki, sure, but he wasn't failed, as he used fewer moves to both gather test information and pass it to Temari than this hypothetical Academy grad example. Also, as I've said, the proctors know the techniques of the famous clans of Konoha. They know the Yamanaka clan's mind transfer jutsu, they know about the Aburame clan and Inuzuka clan bug and dog rearing, they know the Uchiha and Hyuga clan dojutsus, and they want to make sure those select students have been diligent enough to learn those family techniques to pass.
So, knowing that the Byakugan, the Sharingan, ninja hounds or chakra beetles exist, the proctors know enough students will be able to complete all 10 questions on their own, but that's where the caveat comes in that if any student fails individually, their whole team fails. Techniques that only advantage yourself (Sharingan, Byakugan) mean nothing if you can't also advance your team (which is where Ino, Ten Ten and Kankuro, despite being obvious/getting caught, were actually in the right and got a pass). So just like the bell tests, they're not just looking for students who can advance themselves individually, but also those who can use techniques to advance their whole team (and again, it was the Konoha ninja that arranged these teams, they know what techniques these teams should use to pass together, they just want to make sure the students realise that on their own too.) So Neji's Byakugan allows him to pass on his own, but does nothing to advance his team. Neji does initially have a lot of the same self-serving arrogance of Sasuke, but Ten Ten looks out for Rock Lee (who would be heavily disadvantaged for not knowing any ninjutsu). And as ridiculous as her mirrors are, with them she is able to obtain an entire test's worth of information and transfer it to Rock Lee all in one move, which is why she didn't fail (and note: I'm not saying there's nothing wrong with Ten Ten, or even Kishimoto's efforts here. I do find her ridiculous mirror contraption funny, but I can also find reason why Kishimoto could show us something as ridiculous as this, yet still pass Ten Ten to the next round). That's why she wasn't failed, because she was able to show the examiners how she can use her techniques with ninja tools effectively to both gather and transfer information. Same as Ino, the Yamanaka clan mind transfer jutsu is well known in Konoha, and the hand signs are obvious, but within only 3 moves, she was able to gather a full test worth of information, and transfer it to both Shikamaru and Choji. Team Kurenei at least each had the means to pass individually (Hinata's Byakugan, Kiba's Akamaru and Shino's beetles), and they also had trust in each other to do so.
Yet this test really was to show us how unprepared team 7 truly was. By some fluke, Sakura knew enough to pass the test on her own, and Sasuke could pass with the Sharingan, but neither had any techniques or the team work necessary to pass this information to Naruto, like Ten Ten, Ino or Kankuro had for Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Choji and Temari. In fact, they were both essentially just gambling on the chance that Naruto wouldn't screw it up for them, which is not good team work at all. The last test question Ibiki posed was specifically designed to weed out teams that had no trust in each other (and I guess Naruto had enough trust in Sakura and Sasuke to pass, even if they didn't have trust in him. He was also confident enough to make the first move in his team before Sakura quit on his behalf). At this point in part 1, Kishimoto was still stressing the importance of team work. I.e. in the bell test, despite Sasuke's competence in Ninjutsu, he couldn't pass without trusting his other team mates (hence the following "lunch test"). In the Land of Waves, he started to trust Naruto's abilities with e.g. the Windmill Shuriken technique, but we also see he doesn't really trust Sakura either, even saying she is as bad as/worse than Naruto. It takes the Forrest of Death arc for him to forcibly rely on Sakura before he starts trusting her.
So getting back to the written part of the Chunin exams, it wasn't about completing the test, it wasn't even really about not getting caught, it was about displaying competency in more advanced level Ninjutsu, and also showing effective team work/trust in your team, which is why it was an effective test for team 7 at this part of the series. They had enough technical knowledge at this part of the series (or at least Sasuke and Sakura did), but they still were failing at team work. And so easily could have failed the whole test.
Tl:dr - the point of the written exam wasn't to "not get caught using ninjutsu/cheating" as Sasuke assumes, it was actually a display of using the right type of ninjutsu and team work (something Sasuke had a blind spot for) in as few moves as possible. Ten Ten was obvious, but passed because of this distinction, being able to pass herself and Lee on the test with her techniques. Yet Team 7, despite Sasuke and Sakura being discrete in their methods, almost failed because Naruto didn't have the sufficient ninjutsu on his own, and neither of his team mates had the sufficient ninjutsu or team work to transfer their answers to Naruto.

———✧《ConcordiaCraft.aternos.me》✧———
Welcome to ConcordiaCraft! A Survival server with lots of new features that will upgrade and give you the best survival experience to have with many other players on the server.
———★《Features》★——— 【:rock:】1.17.1! Version 1.17.1 running on the server!
【 :books: 】40+ Custom Enchants! New enchants to spice up your survival!
【 :pig: 】Huge community! Many players plays on this server! come and join them!
【:moneybag:】Free Money! Claim Your Rewards Everyday Which Includes Server’s Balance!
【:dollar:】Kill players for money!
【:house:】Set Homes! Set Your Home To Teleport There Anytime! (3)
【:sauropod:】Cracked! (No Premium) Everyone can join!
【:raised_hand:】Claims! Protect Your Base From Others!
【:money_with_wings:】Server Economy! Everything Runs With /Bal!
【:coin:】Auction House! Trade with others players for special items!
【:handshake:】Shop! Buy/Sell Things For Money!
【:door:】Warps! Lot Of Places To Visit!
【:woman_police_officer:】Login Security! No One Can Access To Your Account!
【:twisted_rightwards_arrows:】Random Teleportation! Teleport To A Random Location Using /Rtp or /wild
【:infinity:】Basic Commands ➜ Tpa To Players! ➜ Pay Other Players!
———★《Discord Features》★———
【:newspaper:】Announcements/News Get Alerted If The Server Has Any New Updates! 【:rotating_light:】Events Get Ping If The Server Has Any Upcoming Events! 【:speech_balloon:】Discord SRV Connect With Ingame players via Discord!
———✧《Info 》✧——— ➜ Ip ConcordiaCraft.aternos.me:42287 ➜ Cracked On ➜ Whitelist Off (Connect via discord)
:warning: YOU WILL NEED TO JOIN THE DISCORD SERVER TO LINK YOUR MC ACCOUNT :bangbang: :warning: :warning: IF YOU THINK YOU CANT JOIN THE SERVER, PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE DISCONNECTED SCREEN :bangbang: :warning: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/870234134545588284/949501297650958377/unknown.png ———✧《Links 》✧——— Banners: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/852035909028151357/871965858078011432/standard_4.gif https://tenor.com/view/rainbow-line-line-colorful-gif-15187472 ➜ Discord https://discord.gg/VQmUht5Nwu

So I'm on call for work this week and last evening I got an alarm about a technical problem at the lab (I'm a lab technician). The maintenance company couldn't access the server f to see what was the problem so I had to go to the lab to check it and fill them in on the problem.
The FU is, I was making myself soup at this point. My pot was heating on the electric cooking plate when I answered the call and, instead of getting off, I turned the heat wheel to the off position. Or so I thought. I actually turned the heat all the way up.
I then left to the lab, leaving my pot unattended because my gf is at her mother's for the week.
The technical problem was a solenoid valve not answering on a nitrogen liquid tank. I'm a lab technician in BIOLOGY so I didn't get it either.
It took an hour and a half to determine what it was and how to fix it with the maintenance guy on the phone (had to resort to keep to parts in place with a rubber band, not kidding), and then I had to call a biologist to see if it could wait until monday for a proper repair.
I went back home, openned the door and my poor dog ran out of the appartment, completely panicked.
That's when I noticed the smell. I ran to the kitchen and I saw a fuming cooking pot, soup stains all over the wall and the counter, and a strong burning smell.
I immediately turned everything off, put the cooking pot in the sink with water to cool it, and oppened the windows. I noticed the vegetables had burned and formed a thick black crust in the bottom of the pot, and my plastic laddle and melted and fused with it. I tried today to get it off and I gave up after an hour of nothing budging
My dog was shaking and she wouldn't go back in the appartment, the poor thing was terrified.
By the time the smell was gone, my dog was calmed and and everything back to almost normal, it was past midnight and I still didn't have eaten. I ended up ordering a pizza, and of course it cost extra for delivery after midnight.
I spent my morning cleaning up my mess, trying to salvage the pot then giving up, and finding new spot where the soup stains got.
My dog still won't enter the kitchen and the smell is still there, even if it's fainter.
My gf is gonna be disappointed.
TL;DR: Answered a call from work while I was making soup, left to work with the soup still on the plate, went home 2 hours later to a burnt soup, a ruined pot, a disgusting kitchen and a traumatized dog. All because I didn't check if the plate was actually off.

(I know it's not the main focus in the title but I'd also be super keen to talk to people in the UK, either London or somewhere in England or Scotland around like Edinburgh as there's a near 100% chance I'm moving there this year)
Hi everyone!
My name is Jack, I'm 21 and I'm a recent cyber security and forensics and internetworking and network security graduate, but I hope to go on for a few more years and do post grad studies! (this year my goal is to move to Edinburgh for my masters!)
Hobbies!: For the past few years I've been heavily into formula 1, never missing a race (even the 3 am ones and even worse, the 7 am ones!)
I also enjoy doing photography, I mainly do cars but I have recently started thinking about more landscape/urban photography.
Now for games! My main ones are Destiny 2, and rainbow six siege, (for those wondering my highest rank is diamond 3 (when rank actually meant something lol)), but I haven't been playing them much these days. I play heaps more than that but I can't think of them off the top of my head lol. To try and list some id say project zomboid is one I'm very into as of right now, that and hell divers 2. I really enjoyed elden ring so I want to try more souls like games. Red dead redemption 2 is amazing and my favourite game of all time is probably watch dogs 2.
I love JDM cars and unfortunately haven't been to a car meet in over a year now. My introduction to photography was through cars so if you'd like to see some of my photos do let me know! Most of my part time work went towards getting my dream car so I definitely plan on going to more meets!
As for what I look like I'm 5"11' brown hair that touches my shoulders and never acts normally. I am 75 ish kg and I have brown eyes. That's a basic description of me but if you want a picture that's not an issue.
I'm not really too good at writing these advertisements or making titles or finishing them off so I'll just say if I sound appealing to you or you wanna know more, feel free to shoot me a message! For those in WA I'm down in the Mandurah area but travelling up to Perth isn't an issue for me! And hopefully I see all you Scots later this year!
Thanks for reading! Stay safe people!!

what’s the security going to be like getting into the campsites? i’ve seen that you get checked going into the arena but i’m not seeing what checks you get going into the campsites? is there sniffer dogs and such?

First: https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/14vo5lb/troublemakers_deaths_pity/
*previous:* https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1d3yvie/troublemakers_parabellum/
......
Go'mon stormed through the castle corridors. He'd sensed something slip beside him during his encounter with the vampire lord. It wasn't just that damned top hat with the thief's prints. No, it was more subtle than that, it was the sound of a gossamer chain rattling against cloth. He scanned every square inch of the hallways as he walked, slowly twirling the Warhammer in his off-hand as he calmly held the pistol muzzle-up towards the ceiling. He'd barely gotten a glimpse of what almost looked like mist as he stomped through the grand halls with paranoia-fueled, seething anger. Abruptly turning a corner he fired the revolver at what he thought was that pesky invisible parasite.
The shimmer shuddered and he switched to the visible spectrum to find out it was just a tapestry in front of a heating vent.
Go'mon let out an enraged scream, tearing the tapestry apart with his bare hands after casting his weapons aside in a fit of rage and impotence. The visage of Monarch D'vinn looking out from the top of a bombed-out hill in battered armor at the shattered remains of the once human-occupied city, being shredded like single-ply latrine paper by go'mon's molecularly edged cybernetic claws. Having spent his rage on the tapestry, he panted dramatically as his heart pounded in its cask. Turning around he let out another furious scream, howling madly as he scanned the hall with thermals. His Hammer and revolver had disappeared without a trace.
The sudden blare of a Klaxon made him pause as he adjusted his armor, forcing himself to calm down as he examined his molecularly edged claws. The main enemy was at the gates, he should go meet them.
...
Cassius' Heart pounded as he took shallow breaths, Go'mon's backplate inches from his own chest as he held onto the Hammer and Pistol for dear life. As the general strutted outside, Cassius moved in perfect synchronization, his left leg rising with the general's before being placed down in sync. He'd been practicing for weeks with the security droids at the mansion, practicing to keep inches from their backs without touching their metal carapace. Now he strutted behind perhaps the second most powerful being he knew like a silent specter. As Go'mon slammed through a door, breaking it into splinters, Cassius lifted his right leg and rotated out of the way just as Go'mon's tail would've brushed against his Calf, giving him away. As the General strutted out into the middle of the courtyard, Cassius used the various straps attached to his gambeson to affix the weapons to his waist before grabbing his Kama and weighted chain from a small pouch at his belt.
Cassius tossed the weighted end of the chain over the wall of the castle after a short run-up, wrapping the gossamer chain around his hands with each rapid step he took up the wall. Reaching the top, he unhooked the weight from the small bar he'd tossed it around quickly disentangling his hands from the chain. He groped the air on the outside of the wall until he touched the enchanted ladder the Top-Hats had left him. Sliding down the ladder, he spotted Drake sitting astride Barney in the middle of the street. The rest were nowhere to be seen but that indeed was part of the plan. Sprinting over, Cassius leaped onto Barney behind Drake and slipped Go'mon's revolver into the empty holster at his belt. Drawing out no reaction save for a few words from Drake, who didn't turn his head lest he give the gambit away.
"Good work Cassius, Fall back and get a gas mask on. We still don't know what's in those canisters because they inked out the labels."
Cassius slipped off of Barney's back and slipped into a nearby building before De-cloaking as he pressed himself against the wall next to a Warmonger who passed him a spare gas mask. He pulled it on and checked the seal before sitting against the wall as his legs jellied beneath him. His mouth was dryer than the scrubland as he accepted a Volunteer's canteen, drinking heavily through a port in the mask as he rode out the adrenaline crash. He glanced over to where their fighters had pried open a sewer access hatch and were dropping in, the smell of sewage souring the air. A few warmongers closest to the opening had comically attached wooden clothesline clips to their noses.
...
Caz lay atop the second-tallest building in Golgatha, trash and debris piled up around her for camouflage ash she drew a bead on the strutting Go'mon. Her god-given eyes were able to see the purple miasma that rose from him like mercury vapors. She didn't even turn her head as she softly asked.
"Distance?"
The man with Heavy cybernetic augmentations pulled casually from a large pouch of grain alcohol, camera-lense eyes extending from his face as he chewed on a bullet thoughtfully. Slowly he stated.
"One thousand five hundred and sixty-seven meters, If you're keeping it under auto-ignition velocity, you should be able to hold it one mil above and..."
The sound of the bullet in his mouth getting chewed filled the air before he stated.
"Two mils right, wind fluctuates between us and the target, expect a half minute of angle deviation."
Caz adjusted her optic, bringing the point of aim directly onto her crosshairs. The man next to her had called himself "an Olympian" an old sect of bionically enhanced warriors from even before the betrayal wars. In the small amount of time she'd gotten to know the man, she'd found him palatable at the very least, soft-spoken with a touch of crazy, it was refreshing. She tried to ignore the artillery-sized rifle he laid behind, the barrel itself bigger around than a drainage pipe, a suppressor of equally massive size almost protruding over the edge of the building. She watched from the corner of his eye as he pulled the breech open to the side and selected a shell thicker and longer than her forearm with a fused tip. He rammed it into the gun with the same ease she loaded her flechettes with.
They both had different jobs despite sitting on the same roof. She'd take care of anything on two legs, and he'd handle anything that had an armored skin. From her vantage point, she watched as the Agri-bots moved into position, planting their artillery pieces against the ground in preparation to fire. They weren't using High explosives much to Remin and Destrier's chagrin, but with their attack plan, they couldn't risk collapsing the sewers. They were instead armed with a chemical weapon known as "CS Smoke" which would obscure visual sightlines for anyone with unaugmented vision. Lucky for her and the Olympian, that wouldn't be an issue with her clear-sight and his advanced optics. She slowly swiveled her focus onto Drake, keeping the center of the crosshair off him as she watched him.
Sitting astride Barney, Drake looked every bit the warrior he was. His dark helmet and armor were almost lost in the dark night. But the red shock of his Helm's mohawk could not be mistaken, glowing brightly against the darkness. As his palm came to rest on the pommel of his sword, she saw something entirely different for a moment.
A warrior in battered, rusty armor, the flesh falling from his bones as a pair of white lights gleamed behind the helmet. A skeletal hand held a rusty sword in its sheath, Its pale, emaciated steed's head hanging low, milky eyes soulless and empty.
But as soon as she saw it, the image faded and she swiveled her crosshairs onto the castle's inner courtyard. A small, dim red light blinked on the side of the Olympian's skull as the Geknosians organized into fighting lines. Hulking Geknosians in overbuilt power armor manned emplaced turrets and the looming Gas generators. A small feed from the Olympian's perspective overlaid itself on her scope before minimizing to one corner. She watched as his crosshair fell onto one of the two Gallicks. The horseshoe-shaped APCs presenting their bulk to the gate as a bulwark. Caz switched her aim to a heavily armored Geknosian, slowly dialing the small wheel on the forend of her rifle to half-power, just under auto-ignition velocity. The geknosian seemed to get uncomfortable as her crosshairs landed on his chest, fidgeting at the controls of their AA plasma Beam-cannon.
The moment the Agri-bots fired their artillery, she'd remove him from the gene pool and take that AA gun out of the fight so Destrier could get into position.
...
Destrier and Remin ran last-minute checks on the small fleet of two-wheeled land vehicles the Top Hats had called "Dirt bikes." The variable electric powerplant produced little to no noise, even now, powered on and ready to roll they didn't even humm. Stepping back, Destrier let the forearms of his power armor clamshell close as he retook the hand controls. Contrary to popular belief, the hands of power armor weren't at all like gloves. A handle with a pressure sensor for each finger was clasped in his hands, allowing him to manipulate the hands of the armor like his own. Destrier turned his head, helmet whirring on its bearing as he watched Remin mount one of the Dirtbikes, the black scimitar strapped to the suspension of the bike within arm's reach. The old man's Mongolian lamellar draped over either side of the bike like fabric, small metal plates clinking and clattering softly as he pulled his fabric-wrapped helmet back on. Destrier clomped over, hardly noticing the backpack with over two hundred rounds of 13x110 mm HEP.
Remin looked up with a grin and met Destrier's arm halfway in a forearm-gripping handshake, their metal hands clanking together as they slid their arms back into a grip around the base of each other's thumbs, then to a normal handshake before waggling their fingers at each other.
Destrier chuckled softly and looked up at the sky, night vision lenses making it appear stuffed to bursting with stars.
"What's on the black samurai's mind?"
Remin asked softly, head tilted back to also look at the stars between the rooftops.
"Well... I'm looking forward to the fighting to finally being over... Maybe I'll finally be able to settle down and invent something with Martha..."
Remin chuckled softly.
"A noble goal... I'd expect nothing less from you Destri... I'm actually hoping to catch a ride back to human-controlled space. I'm too old for this shit, I want to settle down and live out the last years of my life in peace..."
Destrier nodded in agreement, slowly turning his gaze back to the helicopter, blades slowly turning in preparation for takeoff.
"How old are you Remin? I don't think I ever asked."
The old man paused, thinking for a long time.
"Oh... I'd say I've made it past a century at this point. Got a cybernetic heart when I was a kid thanks to a car accident, Ol' things been keeping me going far past when I shoulda dropped."
Destrier nods and laughs softly.
"Damn, and I thought you were only in your fifties."
Remin laughed in agreeance, setting his hands on the handlebars.
"I don't blame ya, I feel like it. Especially now that my legs aren't filled with creaky arthritis."
Destrier sighed softly, gently punching the old man's shoulder as softly as he could in his power armor.
"See you on the other side old man... whether that be the living side or the dead one."
"Here's to hoping it's the former not the latter."
Destrier chuckled his agreement and boarded the helicopter, making the landing gear compress slightly as he put his weight on the flight deck. Unhooking the feed chain from the side of the backpack, he clipped it into the Ma-deuce's feed chute. It whirred as the heavy cartridges were funneled down the chain and into the gun with a click and a clatter.
...
Barney shifted from one leg to the other beneath Drake, Death's chosen reaching down and gently patting his neck fondly as he softly whispered.
"Just a moment longer boy... There's someone I need to talk to."
Drake closed his eyes, letting the Darkness envelop him for a moment before opening them again.
He looked at Death, who was casually swirling a glass of black bourbon thoughtfully.
"You said you wanted to talk to me right before the battle?"
Death nodded and slid the glass of black bourbon his way.
"I did, I want you to drink this before you go into battle."
Drake picked up the glass, inspecting the pitch-black, inky liquid curiously. Before sniffing it and coughing as his eyes water.
"No offense, But I think something died in your liquor bottle."
Death laughed jovially, pouring his own glass from a red crystal decanter.
"That's because this is made from the blood of my predecessor. I thought i might as well get it out of the way."
Drake suspiciously looked at the glass.
"Okay, what happens when I drink it?"
Death paused, slowly swirling his own glass of black bourbon pensively. Then, he slowly knocked his own back, eyes dilating wide before returning to normal.
"Well, It should allow you to control your power, bypassing the decades of training most need."
Drake gave Death a side eye, sniffing the foul drink one more time asking.
"What's the catch?"
Death frowned, then set his glass down.
"Considering that it's going to completely restructure your magical and circulatory pathways. It's going to hurt like nothing you've ever felt before. It also may or may not bind your guardians to your soul."
Drake's head snapped up.
"Guardians... you mean my parents?"
Death nodded softly.
"Guardians, souls that loved someone so much that they remained on after death to watch over them. Your parents loved you... loved you enough to stand by your side even in death... and before you give me some bullshit about this not being what your parents would want... Remember, they'll always be at your side until you die one way or another."
Drake slowly swirled the bourbon before nodding softly, bringing it to his lips, he downed it in a single gulp. It burned on its way down, the tingling feeling intensely spreading throughout his body and to his fingertips in a moment. His nerves burned, and his very being felt as though it was being scalded by burning hot water. But as he set the glass down on Death's desk, he smiled softly. There was a warmth to the pain, like a cold rag against a feverish forehead. The sting of a garlic poultice applied to a fresh whip-wound. It was the crack of his father's wooden sword against his knuckles during their sparring, the sweat that would drip into his eyes on long evenings working the fields. Drake opened his eyes slowly, no longer sitting in Death's office, but his own soulscape, looking at the long-neglected buildings halfway through construction. But he wasn't alone.
Drake smiled at his mother and father. His mother gave him a soft smile as she touched the scar across his face, the wound in his cheek where a gauss slug had torn it open, then, she took his hand to gently touch the scarred wound where Garravan's knife had pierced his hand. His father just sat cross-legged, drinking a stout mug of scrub tree tea with a proud smile on his face. drake looked between them before holding out his hands.
As his parents took them, they dissolved into motes of light that drifted into his chest. His veins burned, and his eyes and nose bled. His entire existence felt like a blistering inferno as the ground of his soulscape rumbled, small, red flowers the color of blood and the shape of gunshot wounds popping up from the ground. But even as the pain grew, and grew, and grew, He found himself simply laughing, grabbing what felt like an invisible pair of chains and pulling up on them as he stood.
The ground erupted in the middle of his soulscape, a massive, gnarled oak tree sprouting from the ground. Its sturdy trunk protecting a small patch of pink carnations interspersed with curly-petaled white Gardenias. Drake felt something form atop his head and reached up, feeling a thorny crown, he gently pulled it off, looking at the black-petaled roses fondly before returning it to his head. The thorny veins grew down from the crown, snaking their way deep into his flesh only to bloom into what felt like new muscles and tendons that weren't attached to his physical strength. Looking at his upturned palms, he curled his fingers, a steady, smokeless pale flame popping into existence in his palm with next to no effort.
As the pain subsided, Drake closed his eyes, relishing its departure before opening them to the shocked and concerned face of Death. Drake gave him a curious look and Death coughed softly as he composed himself before speaking.
"Look, I know I can hide pain well... But that smile you get when you're hurting is capital C Creepy."
Drake touched his grinning face with a soft laugh, wiping a trickle of blood from his nose.
"Well, guess I can add that to my achievements list, Creeping Death out with a smile."
They both chuckled softly at the joke before Death sighed softly.
"You should get back to them, they're almost ready."
Drake nodded and stood, stepping over to the door.
"Wish me luck."
"Good luck, my Champion. Give them hell."
Drake smiled softly and stepped out the door. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the real world, staring up at Go'mon who'd perched himself atop the castle wall, eyeing Drake hungrily.
Giving Go'mon his signature grin, He reached up and depressed a countersunk button on the side of his helmet.
"Hit 'em"
Drake stated, the sound of artillery rocking the city as Go'mon's hungry look quickly turned to rage. There was a loud, screeching whistle as the artillery shells streaked in, blanketing the area in stinging fog. Drake drew his sword, extending thorned vines of power into it as the blade ignited with pale flames. Barney snuffled excitedly and roared as Drake nudged him forward, the Dinosaur leaping over the wall in a single bound. The final battle for Golgatha had begun, after this, they would either be free...
Or they will have died free.
......
Part 112: will be linked here upon completion.

• Ridiculously long loading time, like just opening a door in a small apartment and it loads for like 30 seconds. Does this apartment has another multiverse world in it?
  
• Why does the time almost always start at night when I fast travel, and it seems the night time goes longer than day time. It's a bit annoying when you do your quests in the dark, hard to see anything although turning your light on (also reducing stealth ability).
  
• The dog is a very good companion around, but I usually accidentally pressed E to interact with him while looting, then I must cancel the interact with him.
  
• There is no alert or confirmation on stealing, that's why I once accidentally stole while pressing E on my armor, then the shop owner began hostile and attacking me.
  

No games are perfect but I hope if small annoying issues can be fixed somehow in patches. I will miss this game after finishing it. I don't have high hope for FO76 since I heard it was multiplayer focus and not much of single player experience.
P/s: Sorry for my bad English.

So hear me out before annihilating me in the comments:
I (F29) and my bf (25) have been together for 5 years. We don’t live together. His parents have a dog for maybe a decade or something. They live near each other.
A few days ago, my bf came to me while I was cooking to tell me his dog was dying in the backyard, and he burst into tears. I was super sad for him, I can’t stand seeing by bf suffering. However, in my mind, I was relieved by this information.
Some background about the dog stuff : his parents are terrible dog owners. They never trained it, fed it like a pig (it’s morbidly obese), and never went on walks with it. It was never socialized with other dogs too. It was in the garden everyday barking for absolutely nothing for hours and hours. I’m surprised no neighbor made a report to the police. The attitude of the dog was a disaster, it was impossible to cook near it. It went bazooka when it could smell just whatever to eat. And because of the obesity, when it decides to run into your feet to eat a carrot that fell on the ground, you could get hurt easily. Also it was impossible to invite people over because it was barking loudly all the time. You had people over for dinner ? It would force its way to munch on whatever.
In the beginning of our relationship, I took the dog with me to a very good friend of mine who specializes in dog behavior. She told me that with good training, love and a diet it could come back to a better behavior and better health. We went on walks and she gave my bf instructions on how to treat it.
But that’s it.
After 3 years, I overheard that the dad was punching the dog sometimes when it didn’t behave. It horrified the shit out of me. I have majority of my life owned dogs and treating them like this made me so angry. I thought multiple times to report the parents but I knew they were going to know it was me. I was afraid to lose my relationship with them and my bf. At this point, I decided for my own sake to cut any feeling towards the dog. My whole life, I’ve been taking cats dogs birds etc in my house when they were lost or hurt. I love animals. And because I love them so much, I had to protect myself from this situation.
About the role of my bf in this; he completely agreed with what my friend told him, and tried to inform his parents about the changes they had to do. He sometimes took the dog for a walk. But that’s it. I’ve tried multiple times to include it in our routines. Never happened. Of course the parents are the owners but my bf stayed pretty silent when nothing was changing. If I were him, I would have taken the ownership to save it.
In the present day, he is in deep sorrow and I totally understand. But at the same time I can’t stop thinking it’s hypocritical of him. He didn’t save this dog. I’ve never seen him taking care of it seriously.
So while I understand what he’s feeling, I can’t stop but being unempathic about the whole situation.
I think it was the best thing for the dog to die.
am I the asshole ?
Ps: English is not my mother tongue

My dog (a Brittany) spent the weekend at my parents house, where she loves. They have a big backyard and pool and two older dogs and she will spend the whole day outside if she could. I went to get her last night and my parents told me she’s been acting weird. Her tail (nub) has been shoved in between her legs and she keeps going into the corner of the bathroom. She didn’t even come to greet me. I went to the bathroom and she got excited and came to me but then immediately went back in the corner. I took her out and closed the door. She’s been just acting still so weird, only sitting on the stairs.
She also keeps breathing out her nose like she’s trying to push something out.
I brought her home, and she sniffed around all weird like it was foreign then… got in the bathtub. She also just keeps standing by the bed now that the bathroom is closed.
It’s really freaking me out. She’s acting like a completely different dog. I’d love some advice here

Back story: my mother in law always tells me to communicate with her when I leave so she can listen and deal with my dogs witch one barks nonstop sometimes, she would also usually walk them when I’m gone. I’ve also told her countless time that my dog chews up the diapers I have for my baby and my books that are in my bedroom and that I don’t lock him in my bedroom because he eats everything. I had been gone for 6hrs and my friend came over with her son and one of my dogs is very skittish and I don’t trust him around kids and my friend doesn’t trust him either. I had her watch my son for a bit so I could run and pick up stuff for dinner (I was gonna cook for her as well) he had pooped and so she went back to my house. When I get there and start to lock my dog up she said he probably needs to go to the bathroom and I said has he not gone at all, she said no and I said ok crap well my friends over with her kid. So I start to put his stuff on and she sees I’m only gonna take one dog and then says we’ll I can take him and I was like no it’s ok I got it. On my way back she’s outside of my apartment watching me and asks if he’s gone and I was like yes. She then tells me she locked the dog that eats everything in my room and I was like fuck me so I ran inside while trying to watch my dog around my friend and kid and she calls my name and I just go in and let him out. When I come back out I was frustrated about the situation so I had a bit of an attitude and said he eats all my stuff he’s not allowed in my room he eats the diapers and my books. She then gets all shocked and upset and just leaves, then texts me she isn’t hungry. My husband who’s in the military then calls me and says my mom called me and told me you yelled at her for not walking the dogs witch wasn’t even the full story. Then she told him that I had bought a pair of crocks which i didn’t buy a friend gave them to me. ( she always does this) I told him exactly that as well as the full story of what happened I then got mad and started to get angry (May be an asshole for that) I told him that she has no idea what she is talking about and that she is always talking out of turn. I told him I don’t like how she is Wally’s talking shit about what I’m doing on a day to day basis when she has no idea what I’m doing. He said well I appreciate having multiple sources and that whenever she tells him something he always gives me the benefit of the doubt and asks me about it and I got more mad and said why does she need to do that what I do is none of her business. She needs to stop getting into our relationship . She then told him i get irritated with my kid and I said yes I get frustrated im basically a single mother and taking care of 2 dogs one of witch is a puppy. I still do everything for him and make sure he’s ok. I then told him I did it think we were a throupole with his mom. And he’s goes we aren’t and I said then why do you need then to feed you information that you then have to check if it’s correct or not it’s none of her business she needs to stay out of our relationship. I then told him im gonna get a job so I can have my money and his money will be his. He got mad and said he joined so that I can stay home and take care of the baby. I said we’ll clearly what im doing is a problem. He said if I can’t be level headed about this conversation maybe we should have it and I said ok that’s fine with me and he said fine then im just not gonna call and talk to you anymore and I said ok and hung up. He then texted me and I calmed down and called him a didn’t answer but he called me back. We were talking and things were going well and then my mother in law walks into my house and and I was irritated so I was giving her a dirty look and she kept asking me what was up and I said nothing because I wasn’t ready to talk, I also said there was food. My friend is still over while all of this is going on. She then tell me we need to talk and I was like about what and she was like about you and I said what about me and she was like about you and I was like speak what about me and she goes who are you on the phone with and she repeats this a couple of times and after I said her son. She then goes ok good so now we have have a conversation without things getting lost in translation we need to talk about you’re attitude my husbands then tell me to tell her to go home and so I said it to her and she goes is that actually what he said and I said yes he then told me to tell her that she is just gonna be escalating the situation. She then goes ok fine if that’s what he actually said, and then she gets up and leaves. So AITA.

Hello Evertonians! I am an FC Barcelona fan, based in Los Angeles, who works in Sports Finance. My neighbor and his wife, who are Evertonians, came over to chat and understand what’s up with the club. It's Saturday night here, and I didn't have anything better to do, so I dug into things.
I will try to simplify things from what I read and the conversations I have heard. I am not involved with the buyout but know folks who are. It's a much smaller industry where everyone knows everyone.
Here we go.
The Debt

• £159 million – MSP Sports Capital
• £225 million – Rights and Media Funding
• £4-5 million – Metro Bank
• £190 million – 777 Partners (Inherited by A Cap)
• £450 million – Moshiri Shareholder Loans

MSP Sports Capital has two distinct security arrangements:

• Assets of Everton Stadium Development Company Limited. This means that in default, MSP can acquire the new stadium to recover their loan. Slightly complicated to explain, but Andy Bell, George Downing, and Moshiri through Blue Sky Capital are also funders of this project.
• Alternatively, MSP has an option to acquire 50 per cent plus one share of Everton’s issued share capital, which would give MSP majority control over Everton Football Club.

Rights and Media Funding is a five-year rolling credit facility. Think of this as something similar to a credit card. Here is where you get conflicting information. A significant discrepancy in reporting, which in my opinion can be a dealbreaker. A few outlets report this loan is secured by future payments from transfers/media, etc. I likely believe it is secured against Everton’s bank accounts, fixed charges over Everton’s property portfolio (near Goodison Park), and a floating charge over all other unencumbered assets. (Shoutout to The Esk, he is an absolute gem). This RMF debt accrues a 10.25% interest.
These are the loans that Everton will have to pay regardless as they are secured well.
Loans to 777 Partners (Inherited by A Cap) are likely junior to these two loans. In any bankruptcy event, MSP and RMF get paid first before 777 Partners and Moshiri. However, A Cap says their loan is secured and they are senior creditors of the club, which would put them at the same level as MSP and RMF.
The Timing
Something that came up in the chatter was the timing of this takeover. It is interesting as Everton is due to receive prize money payments from the league which are stood at £133 million. This is the money the club receives from the overall competition commercial pool, which is distributed to all the teams, based on a few things, for example, their position in the league table at the end of the season.
Folks involved in financing other clubs have said this payment likely hits before 30th June. There is another payment due in August/September which is the first tranche of payments from the league. (Unsure on this one, but this is what I heard, payment flows vary a lot).
Despite the timing, the payments would go only so far in helping the club and were likely factored in during takeover talks. My bet is the takeover is likely to complete before 30th June, or at least a structure is agreed upon. 30th June is the deadline used for accessing Premier League Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) compliance.
If deals can be done before that “deadline”, they fall within transfers for the 2023/24 season and are included in the club’s financial accounts for last season, rather than moving into the new campaign. If the plan of the new owners is to recapitalize the team, pay down some debt, and sell players to avoid another PSR violation penalty, my bet is the deal gets done before June 30th.
The Sale
The Buyers As of today, June 8 11:00 pm PDT, here are the potential suitors:

• Andy Bell, George Downing, backed by BDT & MSD Partners (More on this later)
• A consortium led by MSP Sports Capital
• Vatche Manoukian and Investors from Gulf and USA
• John Textor, founder of Eagle Football, owns 45% of Crystal Palace
• Dan Friedkin, Owner of AS Roma

Hear rumblings of another group, but almost everyone is looking to finance the takeover using debt along with equity. Many suitors will be willing to provide debt-based financing for the purchase, hence allegiances are bound to change.
The Possibilities
Here are the things that can happen. I am simplifying this to the bare minimums. The actual deals are complicated af and take months to put up and months to complete.
Possibility I: New Owner comes in, pays all debt, and recapitalizes the team
Highly unlikely. The Premier League is a lucrative league for almost every single private equity investor. It’s the league that is expected to continue to grow and firms take less downside risk when buying a team versus a team in a league like Serie A.
However, this would cost any new owner over £1 billion. My bet it costs somewhere around £1.3 billion. Deals of this size happen, but Everton is in a unique position and negotiating from a position of weakness. In my opinion, only someone in the Middle East or a single buyer would be able to pull this through. No one in private equity would commit to this, as they are all answerable to their investors.
Simply put, Everton is not worth £1.3 billion.
Possibility II: New Owner comes in and negotiates with creditors
A likely option. In this case, a new owner comes in and negotiates with the creditors to either forego some of this debt or restructure it over an extremely long period of time at low rates. This would make Everton a more lucrative option. However, the club would still owe a lot of money over the long run and will be paying interest on that loan.
This would mean Everton is run like a lean machine for a few years, with fewer resources going towards things like player transfers, etc. It would, however, still be able to stay afloat.
Possibility III: MSP Capital exercise the option to take majority control of Everton
Another likely option. More likely than Possibility II. MSP Capital takes majority control and would, in all honesty, look to buy out Moshiri. They will need a lot of capital, and they are already pulling strings, putting up their stake in FC Augsburg for sale last week. MSP buy out Moshiri, restructure some of the debt, and put up some more capital. They would likely clear the RMF loan first.
The managing partner of MSP Sports Capital, Jeff Moorad, was a professor of mine in a class I took at UCLA. He is an absolute beast, and an amazing dude to hang with. Unbiased view, MSP is actually highly respected in the industry, and widely regarded as having a razor sharp approach to finance.
They are known to take long positions, but I think Everton would likely be a position they hold for the short term, IF they go alone on this deal. (This is my take, not Professor Moorad). It would be akin to what Elliott Investment Management did with AC Milan when their Chinese owners backed out. They would step in, stabilize the ship, hope the new stadium attracts enough new commercial and matchday revenue, and sell the team to another buyer recovering some of their investment. What Elliott did with AC Milan was absolutely legendary, and in no world would Gerry Cardinale and RedBird have bought AC Milan had Elliott not done its job.
INSIDE INFO HERE: I cannot reveal others in the MSP Sports Capital consortium. Texted a former colleague who is at the firm that are bidders with MSP. If the consortium is agreed upon, MSP comes in with others, who are capable of buying majority control, and running Everton over the long term. MSP in this case would still retain a minority stake. The new stadium holds the key to this deal.
Possibility IV: Everton goes into administration
Cannot rate this option or its likelihood. Let me walk you through this. Administration is a major taboo in the football world, but something extremely common in finance. It is a way for a firm to basically restructure its debt and get back to good health. It does not mean the club ceases to exist.
The preferred way that things are done is through a method called ‘company voluntary arrangement’ (CVA). In a CVA, a deal is put forth, which creditors vote on, usually giving them less money than they are owed, with voting power decided based on seniority. In this case, MSP and RMF would get more votes in the say versus A-Cap and Moshiri.
CVAs are extremely common in the EFL and other leagues, with advisory firms literally minting millions every year, doing nothing but advising teams here. In the Premier League, only Portsmouth has ever gone into administration. Going into administration would see 9 points being docked at the start of next season for Everton.
The Pros of this approach:

• Everton sheds a ton of debt. This would make it extremely attractive for someone to buy the club.
• The reduced debt will likely be restructured over the long run, hence a free-spending owner coming in can actually devote more money to things like rebuilding the squad, enhancing facilities, hiring more staffers, and growing the club.

The Cons:

• A ton of people likely get fired at Everton, as the club must break even.
• The club cannot spend any more money on signings. They may even sell players.
• Local businesses are affected the most, these are folks who provide things like catering services, produce, florists, etc.
• The Big Kahuna: Going into administration can trigger certain clauses in player contracts that allow them to leave for free. I have seen it happen with teams in the EFL, but the situation remains subjective. Any player with such a clause would need assurances from the new owners before the takeover is complete.

There are some speculations online as this being the preferred way in for new owners. I doubt it, but the threat of administration is enough for even the world’s biggest banks/financiers to come to the negotiating table. Every possible new owner would hold this gun over Moshiri’s head, to get him to agree to a deal, and forgo as much of his loans.
Some Questions I think are FAQs
Is Michael Dell buying Everton?
No, Michael Dell is not buying Everton. Michael Dell’s family office is DFO Management, which was formerly known as MSD Capital. MSD Capital was Michael Dell’s family office, meaning it exclusively invested his money. However, in 2009, MSD Capital opened up to outside investors and became an investment firm of its own. In 2023, MSD merged with BDT to create BDT+MSD, the firm that is backing the Bell and Downing bid.
They do still invest some of Dell’s money, and Dell may be their biggest investor, but as far as I know, BDT is huge itself, managing some of the capital from the Walton Family (Walmart), the Pritzkers, and the Mars Family. BDT’s founder, Byron Trott, is worth about $3.2 billion alone. Trott is considered a legend at Goldman, where he helped Buffett structure his investment in Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis of 2008. One of my ex-bosses worked at Goldman during this period under Trott’s team and considers him a legend, even saying he single-handedly saved Goldman Sachs by convincing Buffett to invest and structuring some wild deals.
One thing I know for sure is BDT+MSD would likely pursue a debt-based financing structure. They are not built to go heavy into equity-based financing for sports teams. BDT+MSD have already done a bunch of debt-based deals; Everton won’t be different. In the scenario where Bell and Downing succeed in taking over, Everton would likely owe a lot of money to BDT+MSD.
Would Bell and Downing with BDT+MSD make sense?
My take here is no. Running a football club is no joke. Even though Bell and Downing being Evertonians makes it ideal, I am not entirely convinced of their ability to run a team. Everton would still be severely constrained financially, as they would owe money to BDT+MSD, and Bell and Downing wouldn’t be able to pump a lot of cash into the business from their end.
There is nothing that guarantees Everton will not see the same scenario as it does now, three years after Bell and Downing take over. Private equity folks make sense, as they come in knowing they may know other clubs but don’t know much about Everton. They will, by default, bring on Evertonians on the board, and will have much more incentive to run it over the long term, as the only way they see a return is through actually growing the club economically, which only means a better Everton on and off the pitch.
Are BDT+MSD backing only Bell and Downing?
No, BDT+MSD are free to back anyone in the contention. They are committing to debt-based financing, so as long as the buyer is credible enough, they should have no problem going ahead. Considering they are backing Bell and Downing, I would be surprised if others in the race did not get better financing terms.
As I said, allegiances in debt-based financing are fluid. The hard truth here is BDT+MSD would likely be calling up other potential buyers who bid to see if BDT+MSD can provide financing for their deal. Debt-based financing for a Premier League club is pretty much a dream scenario for any firm, as the underlying asset securing the loan is more stable than in other deals.
Simply put, BDT+MSD are not competing with other potential buyers; they are competing with firms like JP Morgan, Sixth Street, Ares, Arctos, etc., who may want to front one of the buyers.
What’s up with A-Capital?
I do not know. Conflicting things online. I doubt A-Capital will get to invest anything more in Everton, through debt or through equity. I also read that their financial position is under question as the rating they rely on no longer reflects their financial standing. However, I still do not know what there position is.
Who do I want to see win the bid?
Biased towards MSP Sports Partners because of Jeff Moorad. If they pull the consortium through, and the other investors take over the majority club, all I can say is Everton would be lucky. That being said, there are plenty of other people willing to buy Everton with MSP. As of now, the one most likely, along with MSP, would be a dream scenario.
Also, it wont take time for someone entirely new to emerge as a suitor. That is how consortium works. People are surprised, but its literally like texting friends to pitch in and creating a group chat. Things happen over Telegram/Whatsapp/Signal. My boss had once raised $xxx million for a deal texting the LP in the deal. The conversation went along these lines.
Prospectus sent over Mail + WhatsApp
My Boss : What do you think?
LP : $xxx m 👍
LP : Jeff also $xx m and Jake $xx m 🤝🤝
I can bet there are plenty of group chats of potential consortiums that may enter bidding. Everton FC is low-key a bargain, the debt will eventually get restructured. There are plenty of more messy restructurings that have happened in Finance before. Creditors eventually cave, but its a dogfight.
Enough written. Feel free to drop any Qs you may have, I will answer them to the best of my ability and knowledge of Everton’s finances. Massive shout to The Esk. The guy seems incredibly passionate about Everton.
I really hope you guys pull through, I know you will.

It could be the just pure exhaustion and, is this really worth it, maybe i could quit my job- thoughts or flying into a rage for little reason.
I'm ADHD but was told I grew out of it as i struggled with taking meds, and am pretty happy 90%of the time but have always had high anxiety and low ebb depressive traits. So I'm assuming this is just emotional disregulation and hyprefixations but over the last few months iv had the following:
1) we work on the sixth floor by the balcony, the doors and windows don't open and there's a sign to remind you to wear your harness. Queue 3 weeks of those kinds of thoughts playing every scenario with every outcome (including straight up flying so not always negative thoughts)
I accidently freaked my manager out when he couldn't find me one day and I said cheerfully "don't worry most people don't see you when you sit by the window, their gaze just sweeps over your head as they stare out to freedom." When I was darkly asked - "wheres freedom" I had to backtrack and make a joke quick as lol.
I didn't usually mind because im happy 90% of the time so know my minds just off on a tangent that it will eventually pass so i know I won't act on them, but sometimes the emotions I'm feeling due to what's in my thoughts don't match what's actually happening in real life.
2) When my mum passed away I became convinced my dad (who has never shown any indication of suicidal thoughts) would leave us and for a few weeks I would imagine I saw different (deceased) dogs show up at my work and in my mind I'd have to follow them to find him.
3) My family always collect me from work when someone dies so they can tell me themselves so I had a reoccurring nightmare and daydream for a while of different family members collecting me and I had to work out who'd passed. But when this scenarios fully explored I just go back to normal as if it never happened.
So it brings me back to my question, is it normal to just know that whatever emotion I'm having I need to just try to wait till it ends? I'm also getting alot better at managing my impulses but always welcome advice if you have any. Thank you x