My boyfriend and I are planning to get married soon. He is smart, kind, and good-looking which are qualities I deeply appreciate also he fought with his entire family to convince them to marry me as we belong to different caste. However, I have growing concerns about his family's financial habits, which are causing significant strain on our relationship.
His family has a tendency to take loans for almost everything and they have no savings to fall back on. Despite my repeated suggestions for him to focus on paying off his education loans, I noticed he was diverting his money to support his family instead. After several discussions, we finally agreed to provide his family with Rs 20,000 per month since his father earns around Rs 35,000 to 40,000 per month.
Recently, his family asked for additional money to help cover their home loan. Initially, I thought this was a reasonable request. However, I discovered that they had received Rs 2 lakh (USA PPP- 9543 USD)from somewhere and squandered it all instead of using it responsibly, like paying off part of the home loan and reduce thier family burden of home loan
In addition, his mother insisted that he take out Rs 4-5 lakh worth of gold for wedding jewelry. I advised him against this as i was okay with just ring and magalsutra ( a nech chain women wears after wedding), I also asked him we should do small wedding of 50 people and go for really nice honeymoon but he argued that it was necessary to uphold societal expectations about the gold given to the daughter-in-law at the wedding. However, I later found out that his mother intended to keep all of this jewelry and we can do small wedding but have to do grand reception where boy side of the family and 500-1000 people comes .
His mother also asked him twice to shut off my social media and commented on my decent pictures because it's a shame for their family that I belong to the caste that is lower to them. He doesn't believe in any of this stupidity but he asked me to shut it off till wedding as their families reputation will get affected by this and he said it's not their mistake this is how their side of society thinks but later after some arguments he agreed this is all wrong.
His mother also talked with my mother that I sleep with his son but my mom didn't react to it as she know couple do spend time with each other😂
Despite both of us earning a income of Rs 18 lakh each per year which is quite a good income in India, we can hardly go out or enjoy our earnings because he is constantly facing financial problems. For him, a nearby low-budget trip is considered a good outing, whereas everyone around us, who earn significantly less, manage to travel to better places. He uses a simple mobile phone and rides a basic bike, but his family has managed to buy a car and an expensive electric vehicle, enjoying a lifestyle much better than ours.
After numerous arguments, he finally agreed to go out sometimes, but I can tell that he doesn't truly enjoy it. It's just his presence; he doesn't seem to derive any pleasure from these outings.
I waited for a year as responsibile gf for things to get better I have never asked him for pay for anything for me and also stoped him to do any heavy expenses for anything so that loan burder can be reduced and we can live freely but there was no appreciation for it on the other hand I was said that I have high aspirations in life as he went to to 2-3 nearby places for our birthdays where we did splitup of all our experiences.
I am not going to lie here but due to frustration and constant fight we used some abusive languages and my language was harsh for his family.
Moreover, his 32-year-old brother, who earns Rs 30,000 per month, has greatly benefited from my boyfriend’s generosity. My boyfriend paid Rs 2.5 lakh for his brother's wife's education and Rs 1 lakh for a scooter. While I was initially pleased that she started earning more than her husband and her hard work paid off but it really stressed me that they made the decision to have their first child right after their honeymoon when no were earning minimal without any financial or family planning and they will do the same in the future as well.
For the past two years, my boyfriend has been telling me that his brother is preparing for exams, planning to start a business, learning digital marketing, etc. However, I recently saw his resume, and it was of very poor quality, almost as if it had been prepared by a seventh grader. There were numerous spelling errors, including his own job title. If he is at this stage at 32 I don't think he will ever be able to grow properly and my bf will take all guilt of it like he does now.
Furthermore, my boyfriend often talks about wanting to make significant investments of Mart for his brother and was on the verge of taking a Rs 60 lakh loan which I managed to stop. Given these patterns of financial behavior, I'm deeply concerned about our future together. Is this level of financial dependency and mismanagement normal, or should I be seriously worried about the sustainability of our relationship and our financial future?

Hi there! For the jump relevant to this post, click here. It IS a Troyverse Ascension so this is a very powerful type of creature and by coming to this jump you become one. This is an experiment with a new type of discussion post where I talk about big beasties from various settings you can become, and the fun you can have as whatever type of creature you can become.
Have a fun future announcement: I have plans for a jump to a generic world that is secretly in the process of becoming conquered by a Sanguinarch. In my head this jump would include origins for civilians, the resistance, collaborators, and a full origin for a Sanguinarch-spawned vampire. This is a WHOLLY original idea and is very far down the docket of jumps I want to create, but it is one I want to make before the end of the year. So if you like this post, you may like whatever I end up creating at some point in the future whenever I get around to making the jump I just mentioned.

Sanguinarch Basics

Sanguinarchs are one of the five types of Troyverse ascendants alongside Archdemons, Cosmic Gods, Dragon Lords, & Transynths. Three of the four types of beings I mentioned have jumps, all of which have been created by me and are reflections of the original source CYOAs that have been jump-ified and given some QOL things that are relevant to jumpers specifically. Ascendants are beings that tap into the fundamental rules of reality in some way. Archdemons use sins, Cosmic Gods use D&D/Pathfinder style domains, Dragon Lords use draconic fonts of power, and Transynths use technology and science. Sanguinarchs use... Well, Sanguinarchs use Essence.
So at their core Sanguinarchs are supreme undead & necromancers. They are vampires that can feed on entire planets, solar systems, galaxies, and even universes at the very height of somewhat possible attainable power for their kind, becoming cosmopotences (an in-universe term for beings capable of affecting entire universes). Sanguinarchs are also notoriously flexible tricksters with a very nasty grab bag of possible tricks.
The first level of a Sanguinarch's bag of tricks are their foci; a theme around which a sanguinarch focuses themselves granting themselves a particular set of abilities and skills. There are three foci, but any Sanguinarch can take more than one foci, though such sanguinarchs are the rarest members of their kind. The three foci are cultured, dominating, and savage.
The cultured focus is for sanguinarchs who value intelligence, reasoning, non-violence, and diplomacy. It grants any sanguinarch who takes it enhanced charisma, intelligence, persuasiveness, and the ability to conduct rituals which can enact any kind of magic other than magic that transforms bodies or morphs minds on massive scales in hours, scales which would normally take even entire planets of archmages years of constant collaboration to pull off. Sanguinarchs with this focus have enhanced magic when it comes to the body and mind but only magic enhanced to the scale that a normal archmage could realistically have, which is not nothing but it pales in comparison to the rest of their magical kit.
Dominating focused sanguinarchs value control over all things and have the ability to enslave people within a few miles of them, but if they have the right major sanguine power then they can dominate everyone in a galaxy around them. These servitors are 100% loyal to you and would do anything you command. They also passively generate essence for you, giving you oath based essence (unless you've shunned the oath source) which is the only way that mind controlling someone can generate oath based essence, as normally such a font stems from oaths that are willingly sworn rather than ones that stem from supernatural influence.
The final focus is the savage focus. This is a purely physical focus and it is tremendously powerful, boosting your speed to galactic scale and giving you unbelievable power and endurance.
The foci can also be mixed and matched, in the sense that buying one does not lock you out of the other two.
Going to the next facet of the sanguinarch's toolkit, let's talk about essence. Essence is a substance that sanguinarchs can absorb and make use of, which is generated by all sorts of connections (this term is being used in a conceptual, esoteric sense here); interactions which result in blood being drawn, the devouring of one's soul, consensual sex between adults, oaths that are willingly sworn ("willingly" here does include oaths sworn under duress but not under the influence of supernatural powers), and a sanguinarch's own dominion (Remember this word, we'll circle back to it). Essence is a substance that is generated by ALL instances of the things I mentioned, blood, souls, pleasure, and oaths, but only a sanguinarch can absorb and use the substance. Sanguinarchs naturally absorb any essence created by their own actions, and can maximize the five sources that generate essence up above, which allows them to passively absorb the essence generated by their personalized types of vampiric spawn (another thing we'll get too later in this post) in the cases of blood, souls, and pleasure (provided the type of vampire in question feeds on it), and then if oaths are sworn to your vampires, and in the case of maximizing the dominion source of essence you make it easier to add places to your dominion rather than increasing how much essence the dominion feeds you.
Essence can be spent in one of three ways; it can empower an active ability (such as a spell you're about to cast), it can buff a passive trait (such as boosting your durability), and finally it can emulate a one-off instance of any kind of effect you want. This last ability takes some explaining, but a sanguinarch can spend their essence (which is a resource that once spent is gone, though it is incredibly easy to gain more) to emulate any kind of power on virtually any scale, with more impressive powers on larger scales costing fortunes in essence. A sanguinarch with this ability can do virtually anything provided they are ready to spend the right amount of essence. This ability makes sanguinarchs extremely unpredictable and dangerous. Essence MUST be spent to use this ability, even if emulating an ability you've already emulated in the past.
Now let's talk about the more direct powers & the potent servants of sanguinarchs; vampires.

Sanguinarch's Active Abilities & Vampiric Spawn

There are two types of active powers that are uniquely part of a sanguinarch's power set; major sanguine powers, and also Dominion perks.
Major Sanguine powers are powers that require no essence and are extremely simple for the vampire-like monsters to use. There are about 17 of these abilities and each of them is worth understanding. More details on each of these abilities can be found in the jump or in the source document.
Empowerment boosts your effectiveness with essence. Shadowblank makes you stunningly difficult to detect and if you are willing to spend the essence can be used on your dominion, but when used on your dominion it is somewhat more detectable than you since if someone enters the dominion they can see it. Darkness allows you and your forces to get stronger in darkness and in places attuned to darkness. Eclipse lets you shroud a place in darkness. Phylacktery is your respawn mechanic. Monstrous Command lets you command animals and monsters of all kinds. Mindlink is stunningly powerful telepathic communication. Hypnosis is a brutally powerful form of mind control dependent on making eye contact with someone but if you hit them with it you can give almost any sort of command that you can imagine so long as it's not permanent and you can stack commands on somebody. Puppetmaster lets you seize control of all sorts of moving things and people, moving them in ways that are pleasing to you, almost like straight up telekinesis. Spectral Form gives you conditional intangibility (intangible to things like enemy strikes but tangible when you want to punch someone or otherwise interact with something), and Regeneration lets you recover from virtually sort of damage instantly, unless said damage is inflicted by a being wildly stronger than you.
Trueshifting is pretty incredible shapeshifting, power emulation, and cloning. Mirrorwalk is, for all intents and purposes, instant teleportation from any one mirror to any other mirror, at least in the local multiverse. Mass Telekinesis is ridiculously powerful telekinetic abilities able to hold even quintillions of different things in space at once, even if each individual thing has the same mass of mountains. Enthrall lets you turn people into thralls, immortal, devoted supernatural servants. all of whom are enhanced sources of essence in every way, their blood, souls, and pleasure giving you more essence, as well as their oaths generating more essence over time. Absorption lets you absorb skills, knowledge, and abilities from those you get essence from, be it you targeting a teacher, or your spawn targeting a local king, and by opting to gain a bit less essence then you'd otherwise gain you can instead just copy this stuff rather than taking it from the people you target with this power. Dark brides are special types of servants you can create that are wholly bonded to you, either creating someone from nothing or turning a living person into a dark bride so long as they consent to it. Dark brides can do whatever you can as a sanguinarch but each dark bride costs more than the last with the first being free.
Let's talk about dominions. A sanguinarch's dominion is not just territory that is under their control, but a patch of space that has been so thoroughly conquered by them that the land itself recognizes their control and lordship. This happens when a significant amount of essence has been gathered and absorbed by a single sanguinarch in one continuous area (how much essence is required depends in part on the size of the space in question), which eventually renders the space vulnerable to powerful dark rituals which the sanguinarch and their homies can perform over the course of several days. When these rituals are completed the patch of space becomes a part of their dominion, and a sanguinarch's dominion feeds them essence every second, with bigger dominion's feeding them more essence. A dominion is permanently under the influence of a sanguinarch who claims it, and in the Troyverse there are plenty of places that can be under the thumb of other sanguinarch since other sanguinarchs exist but once you jump OUT of the Troyverse... Well, there's a LOT of space in all but the smallest-setting-wise jumps for you to turn into your turf. There are a total of nine perks that specifically affect a sanguinarch's dominion, bolstering it in various ways. Let's talk about them!
Sentinals are a type of guardian that, if the perk is purchased, are generated by the dominion itself (and created by it whenever you add space to your dominion, or with the right perk, whenever it sufficiently expands) and have ultra-human (planet-level) physiques as well as some vampire-like abilities. These guardians protect your dominion but cannot leave it, and if they are somehow destroyed (and it'd take a being on par with or beyond Superman to do this so it IS possible but in a lot of settings it's not especially likely) your dominion will resurrect them over the course of a few days unless you spend some essence to rebuild them. They are also completely immune to mind control or being puppeted, and are aware of everything in your dominion.
Many dominion perks are handy because they make your dominion more suitable to your minions and you in some way and pliant climate is one such perk. PC begins with a one time effect that makes a new patch of dominion more hospitable to your minions, altering reality to do something like destroying radiation that might destroy sufficiently weak lifeforms or creating landmasses for your servants to walk on, and after that effect has occurred you can personally warp reality to alter the climate in your dominion even weaponizing weather against invaders or other enemies.
Labyrinth is a perk that enhances your dominion's natural and default resistance to enemy reality warping (to such an extent that universe-scale reality warpers would struggle to use reality warping in your space), and also causes the local geography to warp and twist in reality-defying ways that make it virtually impossible for non-ascendants to escape without your permission.
Shroud is a perk that nullifies any default weaknesses you or your spawn may have to traditional anti-vampire stuff (sanguinarchs do not have such weaknesses by default though a drawback can give you some) such as sunlight, garlic, silver, or fire, so long as you or your spawn are in your dominion. If you opted to allow your spawn to be weak to stuff, particularly sunlight, this can be an incredibly handy perk to have and can give even the most disloyal vampires powerful reasons to aid you in expanding your dominion.
Obedient architecture lets you turn raw materials into grand structures instantly, so long as the required reality warping occurs in your dominion.
Gluttonous enhances how much essence you get when you are in your dominion, but this particular perk is a bit odd. The way this perk works is by enhancing ALL feeding you do on essence so long as you are in the confines of your dominion. Very importantly this enhances the potency of the dominion's passive essence production, but also bolsters every other source of essence, and can be very powerful if you strive to maximize essence production. This can also blend very powerfully with another ability we'll mention in a second.
Shadow Paths is a perk that ties together all patches of dominion in a jump (for jumper-sanguinarchs, this limitation doesn't exist for pure CYOA sanguinarchs). What this means is that your servants and those you give permission too can step into one patch of dominion and immediately enter another patch located elsewhere, even if doing so entails them stepping somewhere in North Carolina and suddenly appearing in Alaska, or on the moon. This is one of the best forms of teleportation in the Troyverse that is able to be used by ascendants, but requires the powerful setup needed to turn a place into a patch of dominion in the first place, as opposed to requiring the advanced technology other ascendants can use to swiftly and stealthy teleport en-masse. One handy aspect of this power is that it is only accessible to those you permit and only if they are loyal to you; if a vampire you converted into a vampire is somehow under enemy control they cannot use these paths at all. This is a neat defensive measure that prevents this ability from being used against you. The paths automatically appear whenever you add a patch to your dominion, connecting any and all such spaces.
Power Suppression is a very handy ability that shuts down enemy/non-allied powers so long as they are in your dominion, which if fused with something like labyrinth can be incredibly devastating. How strong this perk is depends on how much you invest in it, but frankly even the first tier makes entire settings (even ones with powered beings) unable to use their powers against your will, as a LOT of settings do not have any beings that are planet-scale.
Eminent Domain is a stunningly powerful perk that enhances your dominion in every respect. Firstly it makes it so that any abilities you use remotely do not suffer any diminishment (all ascendants are capable of using their ascendant abilities at incredible ranges so long as the area they are using their powers in are sufficiently under their influence in some way, but normally such abilities suffer some level of weakened effectiveness due to distance). This also radically bolsters your awareness of what occurs in your dominion, granting you pseudo-omniscience within the strict confines of your dominion. Lastly, and most importantly, this stunningly powerful perk allows your patches of dominion to expand themselves!
Normally a patch of dominion is static in the sense that it does not expand sans external intervention (Basically a patch of dominion's size and dimensions are determined at the moment a place is converted and normally stays that way forever). With ED this is changed and instead patches of dominion slowly expand with how quickly they expand being determined by whether or not you maximized the dominion essence source (and a requirement that feedings occur in the patch of dominion in question). Think of it this way; it's easier for a sanguinarch who has patches of dominions in banks where vampire bankers get people to swear oaths via bank loans to watch their patches expand than a sanguinarch whose patches are in barren deserts to watch their patches expand. That's not to say it can't be done, the desert-owning sanguinarch can turn serial killers into vampires, have them take their victims to the dominion patches and feed on them in there, but that IS more complex than the setup for the banking sanguinarch I also mentioned.
Fully understanding and maximizing the power of the dominion is difficult but it's worth it. A sanguinarch with a few perks is an impressively powerful lord of any space they turn into their dominions, and a sanguinarch with ED can slowly and cautiously watch their dominion expand without having to do the rituals. It's dope.
Now let's talk about vampric spawn! I'm not gonna go over every facet of this, as there's a lot of individual options that'd need to be discussed. but vampiric spawn are a SPECIFIC type of vampire created by a sanguinarch. A sanguinarch can turn anyone in the same planet into a vampire spawn, and even gods are not immune to this transformation, neither are animals, demons, or any supernatural beings unless they are on par with an ascendant themselves. It's also stunningly difficult to resist this transformation, so someone can do something like catch Superman off guard and turn him into one of your spawn.
There are a number of reasons why sanguinarchs want vampiric spawn, but for a lot of sanguinarchs vampiric spawn will be best viewed as a way to speed up one's ability to gather essence. When deciding your builds you have three options when it comes to all five sources of essence; you can "shun" them, you can leave them unaltered, or you can maximize them. "Shunning" a source means you never get essence from it (but this does not make them useless, as dominions can get still benefit from dominion perks AND turning an area into a dominion can stop other sanguinarchs from doing so, though this would only be useful in Troyverse jumps), leaving it alone means you can get essence from instances of the source caused by you and you alone, and maximizing the source means that any actions that are relevant to the source that your spawn cause (that in the case of blood, pleasure, and souls they can FEED on) generates essence for you (which is relevant both for the purposes of the absorption sanguine major power and for the purposes of eventually creating new patches of dominion). This means that vampiric spawn are more than handy servants, they can be vital expanders of your empire.
A sanguinarch can customize vampiric spawn they create in a number of ways by purchasing options in the vampiric spawn customization section of the jump doc. If a sanguinarch went bonkers on this section their maxed out vampires would be fucking stacked with modifiers like enhanced beauty, an ability to grow stronger from feeding (and it being a carving rather than a necessity), fanatical loyalty to you, the ability to mesmerize people, fly, turn into mist, and shapeshift, as well as physiques that are 100 times the peak for their species. These vampires would be tremendously powerful servants, and could make for incredible followers.

Sanguinarch Thoughts & Musings

Now that we've spent a beat discussing the facets of sanguinarch stuff that will persist across jumps, let's talk a bit about thoughts & musings related to sanguinarchs!
Sanguinarchs are hands down the best territory-type ascendants. Their ability to conquer a place so thoroughly that they turn it into their dominion is fucking wild given what dominion perks can do to a place, and a properly stealthy sanguinarch can do it before people even realize that something fucky is going on. Even in modern police states sanguinarchs with the right builds can be masters of subtlety and stealth, or can just blitz a place so fast that no one has a chance to resist (this is especially true for dominating sanguinarchs).
I really like the versatility and flexibility of sanguinarchs, as the emulate function of essence and stuff like shadowblank and mindlink are so fantastically potent that they are just nightmarishly powerful in the right hands.
A sanguinarch that opts to not be watered down and instead has the full functionality of a CYOA sanguinarch rather than my suggested edits to make the power of a sanguinarch more approachable can enter a setting and turn everyone in their home world into a vampire in an instant, or can dominate entire communities in a second, In some respects this is just beyond what other ascendants can do (though all ascendants can buy greater megapowers which can allow other ascendants to emulate a sanguinarch with the right focus). Manifold ascendants that are sanguinarchs AND other things can instantly create cults to themselves and, assuming they are an archdemon, dragon lord, or cosmic god, immediately begin to gain power from the worship power source.
As a stealth-type jumper person I really really like the potency of a sanguinarch's many abilities that either revolve around stealth or allow for it, with powers like eclipse and shadowblank being perennial favorites of mine. I also love that there are powers that revolve around knowing more than others and hiding in the dark, giving boosts to your other powers if you are just smarter than your foes or if you are a sneaky sneak. One fascinating aspect of the darkness power is how it can synergize with absorption, since you can drain knowledge from foes with strikes, which makes your other abilities stronger against them.
Here are some fun ideas for interesting targets to turn into vampiric spawn or otherwise use in a story with a jumper sanguinarch.
A serial killer who will now eagerly dedicate their kills to you, and who is happy to target anyone you wish to see killed.
A cop who needs to find the people who kidnapped her brother. Now armed with vampiric powers she will investigate her brother's kidnapping with brutal efficiency.
A priest having a crisis of faith whose mind is exceptionally loud one night when you are scanning nearby minds. Now he worships you rather than whatever god he once believed in.
A high school queen bee who is afraid of the future or growing old and is eagerly willing to cavort with dark forces once she realizes they are real and willing to help her, for a price. This one can be really fun if you turn her friend into a vampiric spawn and dangle the prospect in front of her but instead use some of your abilities to do stuff like enhance her but not give her the immortality she craves.
A promising athlete who was critically injured and is desperate to recover and rebuild their career.
A politician who craves more and more power, and is happy to make dark deals.
A terminally ill child with parents who are desperate to see them get better, and who will pay any price if it means their child has a miracle. And to keep paying for their child's continued health.
Sanguinarchs CAN be brutal overlords who conquer places with force, and that can be a lot of fun given how incredibly powerful the savage focus is (and how much scarier it can be with stuff like spectral form and regeneration). Sanguinarchs can also be shadowy deal makers who have fun putting things in place and watching how they move once they are positioned in front of each other.
There are some very inventive ways for a sanguinarch to get essence. One of my favorites is to create vampires that are, for all intents and purposes, succubi and have them run brothels where they sell themselves at incredibly low prices and have them feast on horny peeps. Another way I really like is to create charisma based vampires and turn banks into dens for my vampirism, or turn places like lending agencies into hives of my vampires.
Certain places are also very likely to be targeted by me whenever I create sanguinarchs (be they CYOA or jump sanguinarchs); hospitals and prisons. My sanguinarchs are invariably predatory assholes and they recognize how desperate people can be after a difficult doctor's visit, and they also see prisons as places that are incredibly easy to turn into patches of their dominion, whether it's turning desperate and scared prisoners into vampires or giving prison guards and staff the power to more easily and safely corral the prisoners.

Conclusion

I honestly just really like sanguinarchs. They have such fun and varied power sets, and can dramatically expand their toolkits with stuff like Absorption and the emulate function of their ability to manipulate essence. Sanguinarchs and Transynths are the oddest of the ascendants, but I have such fun with both of their power sets and it can be so rad to see what sort of mischief a sanguinarch jumper can get up too while turning a place into a part of their dominion.
I hope this overview helps you think more keenly about sanguinarchs and their eerie meshes of abilities. If you've ever run a sanguinarch jumper, or have plans to do so I'd love to hear all about them!

Okay i've been on inflixumab since late Jan/early Feb. When trying to increase the time between infusions to 8 weeks, everything went to shit (haha). Inflammation levels were back up at 1022.
So we changed the infusion time to every 4 weeks instead, despite this i have still been having issues. These being: big loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, stomach discomfort that worsens after i eat. I'm basically eating very little yet feeling absolutely exhausted after it to the point where i fall asleep again after eating breakfast. I'm almost always feeling some sort of bloating, discomfort, nausea.
I had my last infusion Wednesday the 5th of June and these 'smaller' symptoms didnt even improve right after having the infusion. A similar process happened with the previous meds i was on that eventually lead to me being hospitalised. This is roughly the 4th treatment i've tried that seems promising in the begining, only to slowly stop working.
So is this normal? The main flare is controlled, but i'm still getting these symptoms. Is this just because i have crohns disease and this is just the norm? If so, what are things i could be doing to ease this? Is it normal to get such prominent IBS symptoms despite being on treatment?
I'm very distrustful of any new medication actually working after being let down so often, so if it does seem to work i never let my hopes get up. Is there any mental aspect that could be affecting it? Like if i dont believe it will work, will that increase the chance of it not working?? I'm at a bit of a loss now so i'm even questioning if i'm basically manifesting it to fail lmao.
I'm very tired and just want to feel well. I had to put Uni on hold and i'm supposed to be going back in Septemeber but at this rate i'm worried i wont be well enough even after all these months.
Any advice or similar experiences would be great, i'm already in contact with my IBD nurse about it but i just want outside perspectives from others who actually have IBD. Thanks

The heat and the pressure are on—for our planet, and for one more World War.
Last Week in Collapse: June 2-8, 2024
This is Last Week in Collapse, a weekly newsletter compiling some of the most important, timely, useful, soul-crushing, ironic, stunning, exhausting, or otherwise must-see/can’t-look-away moments in Collapse.
This is the 128th newsletter. You can find the May 26-June edition here if you missed it last week. You can also receive these posts (with images) every Sunday in your email inbox with Substack.
——————————
Bengaluru broke a 133-year rain record by almost 10mm last Sunday, with 111mm (4.37 inches) of rain falling in a single day. In Sri Lanka, some 24,000 people were displaced by recent flooding. A heat wave swept through the southwest United States and northern Mexico. Part of Niger already broke its June temperature record. Parts of New South Wales, Australia broke nighttime temperatures as well; so did the Philippines, and Vietnam. And a heat wave in Greece.
“Atmospheric blocking” happens when regions of the atmosphere remain stationary for days or weeks, imposing similar weather on a region for a while. A study released in Nature Communications looked at Svalbard, which is warming faster than the Arctic, which is itself warming faster than most of the rest of the planet. The researchers claim that atmospheric blocking has resulted in warmer & wetter conditions in Svalbard, which is driving its ice loss. “The augmented blocking in the Ural and Scandinavian regions in the future combined with the projected declines in sea ice, and increases in sea surface temperatures and moisture availability, will likely increase the magnitude and frequency of exceptional rainfall incidents similar to the 2016 occurrence, posing further hazards to the population and ecosystems in Svalbard.”
A paywalled study in Nature Climate Change emphasizes “in the absence of a global tipping point there is no safety margin within which permafrost loss would be acceptable.” The summary states that permafrost melt does not have a worldwide tipping point, but rather several local temperature thresholds. Permafrost worldwide is expected to be all melted once global temperature gains hit 5 or 6 °C.
We are currently in the brief neutral period between El Niño and La Niña, expected to begin around August. Meteorologists expect temperatures in the eastern Pacific to decline for between 1 and 3 years—and for stronger Atlantic hurricanes. A 14-page report from the WMO forecasts a particularly wet summer for Central America.
Monsoon storms in Sri Lanka killed 14, mostly by falling trees, though others drowned or were covered by landslides. Texas saw “canteloupe-size hail” fall during a freak tornado; some think it is a record size for the region. Experts say some 23% of Africa’s land has been degraded, by five major factors: 1) invasive species, 2) climate change, including Drought and flooding, 3) resource extraction, 4) deforestation, and 5) pollution, including algal blooms. Poverty, population growth, and resource dependencies have aggravated the problem, says the article.
In Kashmir, a glacier Collapsed, sending three plunging into the ice, one of whom has still not been found. In the Philippines, a volcanic mud landslide swept into a village; volcano alerts were raised to 2 (on a 0-5 scale). Rising sea levels are displacing residents of one of Panama’s islands (pop: ~1,200); others will follow. Greece is gearing up for a fierce wildfire season ahead. And, in a moment of hopeful news, Sweden is banning bottom trawling in its “marine protected areas.”
In the EU, early polling appears to show a “greenlash,”, a backlash to the Green Alliance—and perhaps a loss of some 30% of their 72 current seats in the EU Parliament (705 total). Some blame the “moral superiority complex” of Greens, while others believe it is their lack of compromise on important issues. Farmer protests also damaged Green sentiment; now future sweeping climate reforms will probably have to wait years to get passed, since conservatives are expected to make gains. Most results will emerge within 24 hours of this post.
Worldwide, 39% of environmental journalists have faced threats due to their reporting—according to a 112-page report by the Earth Journalism Network. Most of the threats came to reporters writing about illegal extraction operations.
Roughly 20% of sealife near the surface is expected to face a “triple threat” of climate hazards: extreme heat, oxygen loss and acidification. Some of these species will die in place; others will be forced into progressively smaller living spaces. Most of the danger lies in the northern Pacific. The full study in AGU Advances has more.
The UN Secretary-General announced that we are on the “highway to climate hell.” And we aren’t wearing any seatbelts. The EU Copernicus Programme says last May was the hottest on record. This means the last 12 months were the hottest on record, with each consecutive month setting a new monthly record. Our planet is supposedly on the edge of 1.5 °C temperature increase, but some think we’ve already surpassed it.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a 27-page report, “Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update 2024-2028,” predicting short-term temperatures exceeding the 1.5 °C mark.

“The global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2024 and 2028 is predicted to be between 1.1°C and 1.9°C higher than the average over the years 1850-1900. It is likely (80% chance) that global mean near-surface temperature will exceed 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average levels for at least one year between 2024 and 2028. It is about as likely as not (47%) that the five-year mean will exceed this threshold….Arctic warming over the next five extended winters (November to March), relative to the average of the 1991-2020 period, is predicted to be more than three times as large as the warming in global mean temperature. Predicted precipitation patterns for 2024, relative to the 1991-2020 average, suggest an increased chance of low rainfall over North-East Brazil and an increased chance of wet conditions in the African Sahel, consistent with the warmer-than-usual temperatures in the North Atlantic….

The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy released its 2024 Environmental Policy Index, and the 204 pages illustrate the state of sustainability in 180 countries, according to 58 indicators. The document, full of useful graphics and accessible summaries, presents a world in escalating danger of global heating, pollution, and biodiversity loss. It is well worth skimming. These kinds of climate reports usually seem to me like, overall, much more time was spent making them than people spend reading them…

“Only five countries — Estonia, Finland, Greece, Timor-Leste, and the United Kingdom — cut their GHG emissions at the rate needed to reach zero by 2050….After climate change, biodiversity loss has emerged as the most serious and irreversible environmental crisis….As of 2022, aggregated GHG emissions were falling in 60 countries but still rising in 128…. Human activities, namely the combustion of fossil fuels, of which CO2 is an inevitable byproduct, have caused a nearly 50 percent of the increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, with atmospheric concentration surpassing 426 parts per million in April 2024 — a level higher than at any point in human history….China, the United States, and India are pivotal, accounting for over half of global GHG emissions…China used more cement in two years (2020 and 2021) than the United States did in the entire twentieth century….Air pollution remains the most serious environmental threat to public health. Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) caused 7.8 million premature deaths in 2021, close to 12 percent of global deaths…” -selections from the first third of the report

——————————
Mexico saw its first human case of a bird flu strain, H5N2, in a dead man supposedly with no known previous exposure to animals. Two turkey farms got outbreaks in Minnesota, and Iowa’s first dairy farm reported bird flu as well. American health authorities expect H5N1 human cases to rise in the coming weeks. Bird flu was also found in San Francisco last week. Millions of human vaccine doses for bird flu are being prepared for the United States this summer.
Citigroup says the United States is already in a recession, though other institutions disagree. Nevertheless, junk bonds are becoming even more junky, and economists agree that the economy is at least slowing down. Credit card debt is reportedly rising, and the “personal savings rate” has dropped to pre-COVID levels. “America’s debt accumulation over the last seven years is akin to the costs of a world war,” says the article. Cuts to the Federal Reserve interest rate are coming, and the rise of tariffs is unlikely to stop soon. And Europe’s strongest economy, Germany, is not seeing a strong recovery from last year’s recession.
Thousands are starving in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where Drought and school dropouts have also worsened. Investigators claim in a new report that both sides in the Tigray War committed grave war crimes and “acts of genocide” in the conflict, which ended (on paper, anyway) in November 2022; intercommunal violence continues at a lower intensity.
The American Heart Association released a report projecting the rates of heart illnesses by 2050, and they believe the rate of hypertension among adults will rise from about 51% in 2020 to 61% in 2060. Diabetes rates are expected to jump from about 16% in 2020 to almost 27% in 2050; and obesity rates will expand 17% to over 60%... A number of other heart conditions are expected to worsen as well, though at least high cholesterol rates are expected to decrease.
A 12-page report by Oil Change International says what we all know: most nations are failing to meet climate targets. “Some G7 countries are massively expanding fossil fuel production at home, while others are investing in more fossil fuel infrastructure abroad.” China is, far and away, adding more renewable energy capacity than any other nations on earth, supposedly adding “over 90% of all renewable capacity mentioned in NDCs {nationally determined contributions}” in the 2020s so far.
The U.S. FDA has unanimously recommended a new vaccine be developed to address the JN.1 COVID variant. Vaccine-manufacturers say that a new vaccine could arrive as early as mid-August. A 242-page prepublication report on the long-term dangers of Long COVID, with a view to planning future impacts on Social Security.

“Even individuals with a mild initial course of illness can develop Long COVID with severe health effects….Women are twice as likely as men to experience Long COVID….Long COVID can cause more than 200 symptoms and affects each person differently….There currently is no curative treatment for Long COVID itself. Management of the condition is based on current knowledge about treating the associated health effects and other sequelae….Long COVID symptoms generally improve over time, although preliminary studies suggest that recover can plateau 6-12 months after acute infection. Studies have shown that only 18-22 percent of those who have persistent symptoms at 5-6 months following infection have fully recovered by 1 year. Among those who do not improve, most remain stable, but some worsen.” -selections from the study summary

Germany reported African swine flu in some pigs in the northeast. Monkeypox cases remain in the United States, and at higher rates than last year, despite waning media coverage. And four strains of dengue fever, yes four, are still sweeping through Brazil with no end in sight.
A number of current & former employees at OpenAI are warning of the careless pursuit of dominance of the artificial intelligence arena—and the supposed 70% chance that AI could bring about “doom” for humanity. Some of the computer scientists believe that a general intelligence (AGI) could arrive as soon as 2027—a generation earlier than previous estimates of roughly 2050. "The world isn’t ready, and we aren’t ready," said one dissenting researcher.
——————————
The intervention into Haiti is almost ready to go, but gangsters in Haiti have escalated attacks against police in advance of the Kenya-led operation, set to begin in a week or two. “The gangs are just waiting for the Kenyans, they’re just cracking their knuckles and stretching out.…It’s going to be a battle if not a bloodbath of a war, because the gangs are ready,” said one ex-diplomat. A new PM has been installed, Garry Conille, a guy who previously served as PM for 4 about months in 2011-2012. Gangs vying for power control roughly 80% of Port-Au-Prince; will they remain fragmented upon the arrival of an outside coalition, or make an alliance of convenience to oppose police intervention?
Although New Caledonia’s state of emergency has ended, over $1B of damage has been wrought by rioters opposing an expansion of voting rights. Analysts say that the Pacific island’s abundant nickel reserves—essential for France’s renewable energy push—have seen their extraction obstructed by recent events. A curfew remains in place, and social cohesion has been seriously damaged by the protests and the central government’s reactions.
President Biden issued new orders restricting the flow of migrants and asylum-seekers at the Mexico border. At the U.S./Canada border, migrant arrivals have spiked 1000%+ in the last 3 years. Days before the EU election, Portugal instituted stronger controls over immigration. On the Poland/Belarus border, a Polish soldier died, after being stabbed by a migrant from Belarus.
Georgia’s controversial foreign agents bill has been signed into law despite strong protests from the masses. Some call the law a form of Russian hybrid warfare, though Russia contends that allowing foreign media funding functions as a kind of anti-Russian hybrid warfare on its own.
South Korea suspended a military agreement with North Korea over their waste balloons sent into the South. This will result in a more militarized border, outside the DMZ, in the coming months. President Putin is also planning a visit to Pyongyang, which has been long-supplying materiel to Russia for use in Ukraine. A border clash between Chinese and Indian forces took place in their contested mountains—using only sticks and stones.
Conditions in Gaza are said to be “beyond crisis levels” for the 1M+ people who have been displaced from Rafah, as the Israeli advance continues—despite calls from the ICJ to halt the operation. “The sounds, the smells, the everyday life, are horrific and apocalyptic,” said one observer. Killings in the West Bank have now exceeded 500 since October 7, and aid deliveries have sunk 65%+ since the Rafah offensive began. A strike on a school killed 45 people sheltering there, according to Gaza officials. In the coastal settlement of al-Mawasi, where many IDPs moved after the Rafah invasion began, toilets are so scarce that over 4,000 people share a single latrine.
The battlefield is expanding; in some ways, it has always been all-encompassing, and it’s only now that the world is re-learning it. Ukraine has sent soldiers to Syria to fight Wagner Group mercenaries operating in the failed state. Ukraine had earlier intervened in Sudan to combat Russian forces operating in the country. Ukraine also struck an air defense unit inside Russia for the first time, marking another escalation in the War. Russia struck Ukraine’s largest hydroelectric power plant in Dnipro, which is now in “critical condition.” Russia reportedly intends to restart the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant at some point, though international regulators argue that it would be unsafe to turn Europe’s largest nuclear facility online while War still rages around it. Half of Ukraine’s electrical generation has been taken offline. Although weapons are reaching Ukraine’s frontlines, they are not enough to change the tide of the War—and are still outnumbered by Russian soldiers & munitions. Ukraine is also crowd-sourcing 3D-printing drone parts to support their drone fleets—a key part of future modern warfare.
Russia also claims that French military instructors within Ukraine present a lawful military target for Russian forces—and an opportunity to start WWIII. But others believe the flashpoint may come from elsewhere—Taiwan, or the unfolding Israel/Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran conflict, which are intensifying on the Lebanon/Israel border. Russia is also taking over Niger’s uranium reserves, once held by a French corporation. And four Russian sea vessels will be visiting Cuba—but not carrying nuclear weapons.
Around Sudan’s capital, looters, checkpoints, and violence have been established. Several torture chambers have been discovered, and the smell of death hangs in the air of a few neighborhoods, contested by both sides. The number of displaced people is approaching 10M. Russia is supposedly playing both sides to its advantage. “All over Sudan, people are going hungry because they have lost everything, the economy has collapsed, and armed men frequently steal what little aid is available,” said one reporter. The insurgent RSF forces are said to not only be fighting for the future, but fighting over history as well. The National Museum has become a cemetery for RSF fighters. University archives have been burned. And ancient artifacts have been cleared out, sold to mysterious buyers, stashed away in unknown places, or simply destroyed… Other horror stories are still emerging; this article details some of the worst recent tales in the War.
One major NATO supplies provider claims that a decade of arms accumulation is coming, to replenish stockpiles given to Ukraine and in advance of a potential open War between China and whatever western nations decide to participate. China announced its intention to detain vessels moving into its alleged national waters near the Philippines—and presumably to sink those which resist. Ukraine used up six years’ worth of shoulder-fired missiles, like javelins, in just one year. The development of the F-35 will exceed $2T, although the U.S. military is planning on using it less than previously expected. NATO is also planning its rapid-transit troop corridors through Europe to the expected frontlines of a potential open War against Russia.
——————————
Select comments/threads from the subreddit last week suggest:
-It is a common refrain that the education system is a bellwether for Collapse. It is also a symbol—alongside our food system, plastic dependency, state militaries, and many other institutions—of how difficult it apparently is to change course. The institutional friction and incentives are burnt in. This detailed post on the (American) school system and the “metacrisis” and much more. Several thorough comments build on the OP’s thesis. Peek into teachers for a glimpse into our doomed future.
-People in southern California are evidently closing their eyes and ears to Collapse, if this weekly observation is to be believed. The author writes about their unfulfilled hope that humanity might turn the ship around during the COVID period, cognitive biases, the persistence of COVID denial, plastics, and the early burning sun.
-Society is closing in on a Doom-Awakening, says the comments on this post. Some disagree (see the above observation).
-Nothing works, and everything is breaking—say many terrific comments in this self-post about the lack of empathy, passion, quality products, and the atrocious job market.
Got any feedback, questions, comments, complaints, upvotes, hurricane advice, bird flu tips, cheap off-grid land, etc.? Check out the Last Week in Collapse SubStack if you don’t want to check collapse every Sunday, you can receive this newsletter sent to your (or someone else’s) email inbox every weekend. What did I forget this week?

Hi all this is a long one!
I'm writing this right now with a heavy heart and thought it would be good idea to sanity check my decision.
The other day I broke up with her and constantly reflecting on the reasons on why it happened. We have been dating for about 9 months and in between had a couple of breakups.
She has been overall such a good, caring partner in my life. However after a few months, I started going through a mental decline due to multiple reasons - issues with my job, family and at the time started questioning whether I was truly fulfilled in my relationship with her. There hasn't been anything problematic between us but I was unsure if I was able to reciprocate the level of affection and commitment that she was willing to offer. There was something missing but couldn't put my finger on it and it was starting to drive me crazy.
So I broke up with her the first time as I didn't want to waste her time and loved her to know she deserves someone else. She wanted to remain friends after and it was clear she didn't want to let me go.
During the first break we were NC - I started to feel better and was making peace with other aspects of my life including my job and family. Then we met up again. We did miss each other. We got back together again but communicated our feelings, and we'd be more open to each other.
Things were fine again for a while then a month later I started having my doubts again. This time it made me more stressed because I had no idea why I was feeling this way. My past relationships were clearly toxic in their own ways and I broke up with them because it was directly hurting me. I'm not the sort of person to give relationships another shot, but this time I broke my own code for the first time and even surprised myself doing it.
She wanted to be there for me and see if there is anything we can do to make it right. Even saying I made her happy and I was the best partner she's ever had.
But there is another issue that surfaced after the first breakup. She has this male friend that used to be FWB after they realised there was no romantic connection between them. When we started dating I learned she remains friends with him but does not see him another other than platonic friend. I raised early on that it does not sound normal considering their past but thought it may not be an issue considering she was committed and emotionally invested in me. I was fine with it after we talked it through, but said that I question the motives of the male friend and as he may be waiting for another opportunity to sleep with her again.
When we got back together after the first breakup, I asked her directly if she slept with him. She denied it. However at some point she admitted to her lying to me and actually she did sleep with him. I understand I am no position to argue or judge her decisions because we were single for that time period but it was him she did it with, and that's bothering me.
The problem I have is she is still friends with him to this day even when we reconciled and they frequently contact each other even when we got back together. I questioned their dynamic and relationship, and said I am not happy that she lied to me the first time and the fact they are still in contact/seeing each other. Sex to her means something different to me and we both outlined that, and she did say she had a poor relationship with sex in the past using it for the wrong reasons. She said she slept with him because she was hurting from the breakup and need to numb the pain but also admitted it was the wrong thing to do and regrets it deeply, even saying she was drunk at the time. I do wonder if loneliness is what drove the decision and she has dealt with depression/bad relationships in the past.
This breakup feels more hurtful than the first time. I love her and miss her. I still have this hope that something can be worked out considering we are both people who are loving and caring. Despite this complication with her male friend, she has been a really good partner to me and I worry that I didn't really give this relationship a chance to be something.
Right now I am taking this time to learn from what i've been through.
Sometimes I question whether she really did love me.
TLDR: We broke up a couple of times - first time because I wasn't able to feel the love and commitment that I wanted to give. I improved after first break, then got back together. Problems resurfaced and find out she slept with her FWB during first break up that she remained friends throughout relationship and I feel really uncomfortable. She regrets it but said she was hurting at the time.

Hi to all the brilliant people of this community.
I woke up this morning to a loud banging and rattling sound that is affecting the entire house. The noise lasts a few seconds, ends with a loud thud and then starts again about 10 seconds later, with no end in sight. It doesn't matter if the air conditioner is on or off -- it's happening regardless.
We are new homeowners trying to learn as much as we can, but for now this is beyond our level of knowledge. Does anybody have any idea what this could be or what we should do about it? If it helps, the noise started sometime overnight or early this morning. It wasn't happening at 11:30 p.m. yesterday. I woke up to it around 6 a.m. It's enough of a problem that it will impact sleep, as the noise is very loud around the entire house. I just pinpointed to that vent outside.
Thanks very much for your help!
https://reddit.com/link/1dbr1qp/video/b2wjm8dc1j5d1/player

Hello there. If you are like me, you might also be a bit allergic to all the guides out there, that start with "please hit like and subscribe", followed by 10 minutes of chatter around what you need help with, for something that could`ve taken 30 seconds to explain.
With that out of the way, welcome to my No-BullS#$t guide to Soulmask, outlining everything I`ve learned in 80 hours playing on a server rented from G-Portal.
I am going to assume that everyone is somewhat accustomed to the bare basics of the game and how it plays so I will stick to only highlighting things that I learned myself.

1 There are 5 Tribes: Claw, Flint, Fang, Outcasts and Plunderers.

-Everyone can be deterred except Plunderers and Elites (The ones with a unique name and a silver border around their health bar).
-The Claw tribe has the best overall fighters for every weapon school
-The Fang tribe specializes in Remedies, healing and Poisons (Alchemy) so they make for great Alchemists overall, but do very well in relation to ranged combat so make for decent companions, if you prefer having a ranged helper along, they are good for this.
-The Flint tribe are supposedly the clever ones who are all about evolving and furthering their tribe's development so naturally, they make for great crafters.
-The outcasts don`t belong to any tribes and their stats as such are completely random. You can find great ones of course but expect a lower chance of finding what you need, compared to if you were chasing the more specialized tribes.

2 Proficiencies of barbarians go from 1-125+ in each respective school and what they have is based on a lot of factors as well as the low chance of them being a uniquely titled barbarian that can give them various perks outside of the proficiencies themselves.

-The level of the deterred barbarian ONLY affects what the overall proficiencies' start at when you deter them. with the higher the level the better the proficiency.
-Source: Personal experience after deterring roughly 800 Barbarians and while I know the pool isn`t very big, but it is high enough for me to be positive that the level of a deterred barb does not affect their max proficiency level, only what it starts at.
-Labourers are great at the collection of materials: Logging, Mining, Harvesting
-Craftsmen: Any crafting, completely random which ones they are given. Also supposed to unlock various tribes medium/advanced clothing and costumes if they are found in a fortress(Only 3 fortresses at the minute.) Potentially bugged right now though as I`ve deterred 50+ Craftsmen of varying levels from Novice to Master Craftsmen in a Flint fortress with 0 unlocks as of yet).
-Porters: Good at working the Kiln and or Furnace but they are also Great at transporting large quantities of items over longer distances as their weight limits are different and they have positive traits that affect how having more weight makes them move faster etc. (Unlocks the first tribe clothing too. Level 20-25 area barracks)
That`s it for now, if there`s anything else you want to know, just ask in the comments and I will add it to the guide too. But these are some of the things I see being asked the most, so instead of commenting in each post and repeating myself, I will update this one with new info.

3 Mysterious Tisane, dropped by bosses will reset the attributes of your main aka the Vagrant Novice character, but the Mysterious body shaping pill will reset the attributes of any of your deterred tribesmen.

-I have been informed there is a server setting that changes this, letting you reset the attributes of your deterred tribesmen much earlier in the game, effectively making the Mysterious body shaping pill a completely irrelevant addition to the game, so the choice is yours. Make the game easier earlier and or play it the way it`s "meant" to be played. Whatever the choice, as long as you are comfortable and happy with it, that`s all that matters.

4 The Basic Portal that you can craft yourself will not let you teleport to unlocked teleporters, only to other basic teleporters. (Please for the love of god change this.)

-Important to note that you can only teleport with whatever is currently on your action/hotbar and it will not bring anything in your inventory when using this discount portal they`ve provided us with.

5 Cooking is one of the most important proficiencies in the world of Soulmask.

-I would highly recommend you get someone who`s good at it and put points towards output when selecting bonuses as they improve.
-You can have 7 different buffs active at any one time. 3 Meals, 2 Drinks, 1 Medical and 1 "unhealthy" one in the Cigar. Types of buffs: Staple Food, Recreational, Beverage, Vegetable/Fruit, Meat, Medical Potion and finally a Cigar.
Thank you u/fatheals & u/tadian for the info.

6 Armor & Weapon crafting

-For traits, select Durability for 30-60 respectively and then Quality once you hit Iron as this is the point where levelling starts to slow down and moreover, you will unlock the Sabre tooth Armor at Awareness 40 once you kill the Berserk Sabre-toothed Predator which is a recommendation to everyone and when crafting the gear it will inherit the stats of the Iron Armor that goes into it. Hence you want to make sure it`s as good as possible as this will be the best Armor you will have access to for quite a while.

7 Modifications make a huge difference

-All these mods you keep looting in chests from barracks and dungeons are not useless, even if the numbers may seem small they make a massive difference so use them.
-Having multiple Armor sets with different mods on them will be a benefit, even though it is grindy. Having one with Heat, Cold, Poison and Radiation protection will be the difference between surviving or dyeing.
-Repairing a Weapon or Armor WILL remove the MOD that is on them, so keep this in mind. Repair first, then put on the mod of choice.

8 The hunting Gallery is VERY useful.

-It will show a lot of useful info about the local wildlife and enemies you encounter so I recommend having a look if you are struggling with a specific enemy, perhaps you`re just using the wrong weapon to fight it?.
-One good example of when it helped me was in my first Ancient Ruin Dungeon/Holy Ruin where I encountered an enemy type that took essentially 0 damage until I threw a Corrosion bomb on them so use it and you will find that while doing the classic Unga Bunga works, sometimes. Having a bit more tact does come in handy.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AWARDS Aswell, really appreciate it.

Doing a downvoting campaign on Steam is wild. I get where you're coming from, but nah, Ironmace fucked up. This should've been a demo 100%. The "main" game should cost 25 dollars, or it should've been a "special edition" that's right under the "Play for Free" button. And they should've sent out free steam keys to everyone who supported them for the past year. Other steam games get negative reviews for misleading store pages too, you're not special.
The good reviews I'm seeing are equally stupid. "Oh they had to do it this way because of evil lawsuit" no they didn't. "The free version lets people have fun just fine" does it really? "But we held the line!" wow aren't you a special little soldier.
I've stopped playing 9 months ago because the game was not fun. The reddit for this game was absolutely awful back then, but at least you guys sometimes were reasonable and could hold a conversation about what's wrong and what needs to change.
I logged in today. I see gear is still stupidly broken, even more than before. I see they're still doing bandaid fixes for everything instead of tackling core issues. I see the game is still not fun on the low gear level where everything is a damage sponge. Here's your valid complaints.
Good communities hold their developers responsible. Helldivers weren't afraid to review bomb their own game when only a small percentage of people was affected by a change. Meanwhile you guys are shutting down any complaints because "it's a small poor indie company". What will happen a week from now, when all the new players who don't buy the game keep complaining that the base game is shit and not worth paying? Gonna downvote that too because "they just don't get it"?
I don't expect this to leave New, so for those few sweaty losers who are sitting here fighting for justice, glad you found a purpose in life, as pathetic as it may be lol.

Newbie here on my first playthrough without any friends that have got that kind of experience that I can ask questions like this. Currently on a Bleed kind of build using the bloodhounds fang (dual wield) with a ton of dex and some strength. I still use my finger seal with the incantation Bloodflame Blade because I like it and think it looks cool, but I need to have 15 faith and 12 arcane for it. (Also I use rotten breath with this too) I haven’t upgraded my finger seal at all and wondering does this affect the quality of the incantation at all? Also, in general is it worth having that faith and arcane just for rotten breath and Bloodflame Blade? I’m level 100 ish and currently at the doors of Morgott. Any tips would be helpful really but just trying to beat the game so I can play the DLC when there is still some hype around it and not in October lmao, thanks.

Hey. I'm a long time Train watcher and I made a reddit account just to post this.
I'm personally not a tech guy and know absolutely nothing, but I have no reason to believe the information I have is false. In fact, it's probably as authentic as I could imagine it to be coming from the gambling industry.
I went to school ~20 years ago with a guy who I recently met at a summer activity. We ended up chatting and I found out he worked for a game operator for a decade, working on back-end of online slots and even leading an entire team for a time. He quit during covid and has since moved on to other things meaning he's not affiliated with anyone, so I instantly thought of Train's gambling adventures and saw my opportunity to ask any questions I could squeeze in. He was kind enough to reciprocate.
Now he hasn't worked in the industry for a few years, so some things could've changed, but he believes the main principles are still the same.
I believe I learned how slots work for real, and no, there's no tricks to win. However what I learned I haven't heard before, so I'm assuming most people don't know half of it. One thing is for sure, slots don't work the way Train thinks and I think re-wiring his brain would benefit him so much to last longer.
Before I explain, keep in mind Stake originals don't work like this. They're provably fair games and different, the entire idea being you get generated a seed that you stay on until you change it, and they don't even use RNG. Stake has an article on this on their website. Regular slots operate under RNG.
So with that out of the way, components to online slots:
Game Server - the brains. handles everything including RNG, network activity and balance. Typically a physical desktop computer. There are many of them, and different slots from the same provider can use the same one.
Load Balancer - acts like traffic control, sends you to one of the servers when you open a game and ensures servers won't be overloaded.
True RNG - a piece of hardware installed into the server. Generates actual random numbers based on something like white noise.
Pseudo RNG - deterministic algorithm, a software. Gives us numbers that the slots then use to generate results.
Apparently implementations can differ, but the core idea is always the same.
Ideally, they would use the True RNG for every single spin we make because that's actually random. But it's too slow, and that's why they have to use a Pseudo RNG that's as fast as you need it to be. However, it's deterministic, meaning if you ran it from beginning to the end and make a graph, it would always end up doing the same thing, and naturally, could be exploited.
So what they do to counter this is they use the True RNG to "seed" the Pseudo RNG. So seeding exists, but it's not at a player or account level. It's literally the software itself that gets seeded.
What they can do as well, is use another Pseudo RNG to seed it further, by using a string of things such as stake, currency, server time and date.
What's more, is that this process actually occurs quite often to increase randomness. So if you play a slot for an hour, you've been on multiple seeds.
Now it's all just numbers, and there's no concept of good or bad, and different slots use different numbers for results. This is why slots will never make sense. You can play a particular game and be on a disgusting run of losing for hours, ie. repeatedly get "bad" seeds. You can also play a slot for 2 hours and it just keeps paying, repeatedly getting "good" seeds. But there's no math to it in the short-term. Seed won't turn good just because the last one was bad. And because different slots use different numbers, that bad seed could've been good on another game.
Even if you believe none of this, thinking there's 1 seed in general makes no sense since you're playing different servers. Server A doesn't have anything to do with Server B. Then you would have to think you have your own seed on every single one of them.
You can actually find out what server you're playing by opening up browser console, network tab and clicking on your spin and checking the IP address.
They can store your information in a cloud, like your game history, but this has nothing to do with the RNG. They need this information to be able to double check results if need be and provide replays, or in specific games save your progress if there's a progressive feature. So if your info is reset, again it's not "a seed reseted".
I didn't fully understand this part, but apparently other players playing on the same server (regardless of slot) affects game results as well, since they're cycling through variables. Again, I don't know how this precisely works, but I didn't want to pry too much.
However, when they simulate the RTP for a slot, the simulation is done on an isolated server. Meaning the simulation will get everything the RNG gives it, good or bad. If max win numbers line up next, the simulation will get it. Wins and losses aren't (unevenly) divided amongst people if that makes sense. This is why after a certain amount of spins the RTP starts to stick, and eventually when you do billions of spins quantity takes over and the math hardly changes even if the simulation hits back-to-back max wins. So the simulation is reliable, just not really reflective of real gameplay since there are less variables.
I think that's pretty much it.
How all this applies to Train's usual habits:

• Every stream Train does the same thing, sit on a slot that's doing bad, spend 2M to get back 800k then it goes cold again. Wondering how it doesn't make sense. But if you remember what I said earlier, at this point he would've gone through multiple seeds already! So it actually makes perfect sense that the math in this short-term session doesn't add up. Same can work the other way around too. "Hot Fiesta seed" wasn't a seed, but multiple good ones back-to-back-to-back-to-back meaning it was a good idea to stay in it as long as it kept going.

Yeah sometimes it can turn if a slot is doing bad and you sit on it, but the wins aren't based off of previous losses. So I think Train should chase the slots that do something good, rather than chase wins on a slot that's doing bad. Sitting on slots that are eating hand you by far the biggest losses the fastest.

• Same provider is shit regardless of slot and it doesn't make sense. I think we've heard this before. But remember, slots aren't RNG. If you're playing games on the same server that's all that matters. If multiple servers are not doing well at the same time, and many of the games are re-skins and probably use similar numbers for results, it's actually pretty likely you'd get fucked on many games from the same operator.
  
• Forget common sense. If you've read this far, it's pretty clear slots are just right place at the right time. I think Train's biggest detriment is trying to make sense of everything. He's of course doing this because he's a smart guy, but If he can get rid of this mentality, pull the plug earlier if it's not working, and push it when it is, then I think he could stream a lot more.
  

That's all for me. I felt like it was worth getting this out there if it helps anyone.

i want to say the Chosen one
but i do not want to review the unspeakable that is brangaras brain but the future is bleak we got to see the direction inala is having his quip clan but im mad why is it that inala is somehow going to become a patron of yarsha and incase you dont understand the coming future brangara had a moment about it and yarsha will not be ready and powerful enough, they will have a child and yes i wanted her to also bear inalas in someway but i understand so i want the next best thing.
i want OPs generated by the dozens in the quip clan what i see now is that the quip clan will have people strong enough to be chiefs no genius futures and in my words i want brangara and yarshas final child to be female and to be inalas future wife and before you talk about that mammoth clan girl pls understand i am biased but even evolution does not change what im about to say i dont want another Resha cause it seems like inalas outcome with granny oyo was diliberate to make inala like resha and the wife to be mammoth clansmen miss the good ones for the crazy mammoth clan woman even if she is good it is not enough sure evolution can lead to the quip clan getting another gold variation with the ability to use the accumlated and selected influences of other prantic beasts pain and zinger shreik someone to think that they are a certain pranic beast like this
'with the akashic biome she cause everyone within her spirit weapon range and the range of her shreik to lose their senses and even experience the feeling of having zero prana at lifestage it was like they were normal humans from earth with no supernaturals and she could also have others experience torture she induced to beast or the pain extracted from the life time of certain beast like a saved file of pain which means some pains can be like a curse a person can experience a lifetime of them and these saved files make this quip clansmen the Curse mages of the clan as they can inherit the spells of previous generation with curses like weakening which induces someone to a weaken state as their bodys influence and prana believes it is weaker and therby weakening the individual cursed ,bloodburn ,disorientation ,sense loss and many others sure it is a good idea but im greedy.
i want pinnicale so i came up with this since i cant get cultivator the normal way ill force it they want for the child to be born at body stage with an avatar minor treasure and have the advantages of bloody affection and Vara well i want inala to be influenced by something he made to influence others aka the elixir teas he made in bringam empire
since it was not a nature but the outcome of fusing the prana liquid with subtle influence and made into a drink yarshas nature could not do anything to it so the influence grew with no one knowing and even inala had no knowledge but because of sumatra gold a connection with the related influence was made. the previous cause of inalas loss of mental faculties when seperated to male and female was not just because of the genders influence was growing but because astral chart was still influencing inala because it was drawn to the sumatra gold and started bonding with him when the bolts of transendence struck him and merged it into his genes and attribute influence and it was unawakend as yarshas influence was still growing and not yet merged her with contact between them not being close and far from each other
the birth of the child would have been memorable and miraculous but the came ingedients to the unexpected sure enough the child absorbed what they imagined and more as yarsha had the influence growing in her absorbed and amplified during the process and being at body stage cementedd it as with brangaras astral world influence and the ability to go through lifestage as a free human an anomaly happend as the day she was born the connection between the prana cycled in inalas heart ,the cemented influence awakened by her birth and the direction yarsha and brangara wanted for her to be like the mystic paths
but now that inala has space for a tertiary nature the influence has direction for awakening and strengthening the connection but on her birth she was destined to have a nature with connection to natures,inheritence and the abilities accumulated by her parents but then came inala he has become a being that has attributes abilities of extending the influence of natures to become available naturally in prana without activating natures which further increases compatibility with her nature and the connection somehow did what brangara wanted and more as inala was connected to her naturally and due to the connection her free human birth and avatar inala gained also gained the ability to progress through lifestages as a side effect and with the ability to gain the accumulations of the quip clan as an inheritence similary like what brangara and yarsha wanted regardless of distance and the quip clan being able to open it as well but split into grades on what they can access
now comes the true effect of the nature on inala it does not force inala to be someone else like the mommath clan natures and influence but it does make them feel close to each other and since it was unintended they would understand each others intentions and as she grows it will go from feeling each others emotions at unstable times to being able to communicate when she turns 16 and with the communication taking prana of the initiator and their accummulations can be accesed by the other with permission and with there being initial trust between them as their nature dictates that they will never be friends but lovers only as a natural state and no it does not force that state they have to truly accept it for it to become official and they will know and another thing is that they can meet in the connection and just like the ring grandpa it would start as mentor realationship cause hey inala is suited for that
drawing upon inalas power the connection is like a virtual world where environments can be simlated based on stored data and it can be accesed by the quip clan at a cost of lifespan at different grades but inala and brangaras daughter can access it at the cost of prana.
and since the place was created using the connection of a mystic path and a chosen one it allows for those who have come inside to operate at the level of mystic insight but not memory when inside and time would flow at one day= ten days but it would cost prana to stay a long time with those at body stage mananging ten days inside and forgeting anything above their grade so it means that those at iron grade may have mystic insight but it is not enough to change anything as they only result in better understanding and comprehending more about their iron grade powers.
nature----Astral zone
again i could not compile my idea so i just went with it​

The level exchange is an opportunity for users to share and play each others levels. If you want other people to play your levels and take an interest in what you are doing, the best thing to do is show an interest in other peoples creations and play their levels as part of an exchange.
What is proposed is that you take this post and sort it by "new" and try to play and leave comments on reddit for 2-4 levels that other people have posted. You don't have to star it if you don't want to, but there really is no reason to be stingy if you like the level. Once you've done that, post your own level and a brief description of it. Preferably include what the theme of the level is, what style of Mario game you used, and about how difficult you think it is!
A new exchange thread is created every few days
Use the exchange as an opportunity to get to know other makers and have fun.
Automoderator is watching this thread and will remove excesssive numbers of level codes, excessive level posting without offering feedback on reddit and it will be also stopping attention grabbing gimmicks like title formatting text.
Please note that due to a limitation of automoderator, posting levels on this thread will remove your picture flair that is visible on old.reddit.com. This does not affect the flair text. You can add it back from the sidebar . This should not affect award flairs like LOTW
NB: The original wii u Super mario maker has a separate level exchange thread found here

Below you will find a weekly reminder of our Rules and partial FAQ. It's definitely a long read, but it's worth your time, especially if you are new to the community, or dropping by as a result of a link you found elsewhere. We periodically revise our rules, this weekly notice will help keep you informed of any changes made.
NOTE: These rules are guidelines. Some moderation discretion is to be expected.

Community Rules

1. Kindness Matters

Advise, don't criticize.

• Post with empathy, thoughtfulness, and constructive commentary rather than judgment. Don't be an asshole.
• Name-calling, slurs (including gender or race based slurs), and insults towards other community members will not be tolerated. Do not attack others for their personally held values, custody situation, marital status, physical distance from stepkids, or economic status; or on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, or ethnicity.
• No name-calling toward children, including the above-mentioned insults or the term "skids", or terms such as "mini-wife" or "mini-husband."
• Comments advocating spanking or any mention of wanting to harm children are not allowed.
• This is a support sub, not a judgement sub, assholes are not tolerated. Comments with terms used in other subs to pass judgement on assholes will be removed.

2. No Drama

This is a support sub.

• Bickering, nitpicking, and thread derailment will not be tolerated and will be subject to removal at moderator discretion.
• Do not repeatedly badger a poster demanding answers, or refuse to acknowledge an answer that's already been given.
• Do not use sensitive issues from past posts (either from this sub or other subs) to attack another user, as we are all discussing vulnerable topics.
• Crossposting anything from /stepparents to any other subreddit might result in a ban and may result in the original thread being locked. Brigading our sub will result in an immediate ban.

3. Report, Don’t Rant

No backseat modding.

• If you see someone breaking the rules, report the post or comment to the mods rather than engaging them in an argument. Failure to do so may be subject to comment removal at moderator discretion.
• No meta posts complaining about rude comments, DMs, or general sub issues.
• If you think someone is a troll or previously banned user, either use the report function or message the mods to direct their attention to the issue.

4. No Naming & Shaming

No userpings or links.

• Tagging/pinging users or other subreddits in an attempt to bully, harass, or complain will not be tolerated. Do not tag other subs, ever.
• If you want to complain about another subreddit being hostile to stepparents, do not name the subreddit. "Other parenting/advice/judgement subs" will suffice.

5. No Platitudes

Nobody knew what they were getting into.

• Comments like "You knew what you were getting into", "Love them, love their kids!", "They're a package deal!" and "You have to love them like your own!" will be removed.
• Comments suggesting that OP is not cut out for stepparenting will be removed at moderator discretion.
• Comments like "This is just a part of parenting, deal with it!" will be removed at moderator discretion.

6. No Trolling

We have zero tolerance for trolls.

• This is a support sub. Our subscribers do not have the time, nor inclination, to provide support to internet trolls. Posts that are suspected to be trolling attempts will be immediately removed, and the poster banned.
• Concern trolling, devil's advocating, gish-galloping, sealioning, and general asshattery are subject to immediate removal and banning without warning or notice.
• Any attempt to circumvent the ban by creating a new username will be reported to reddit admins and possibly result in account suspension.

7. No Personally Identifiable Information

Use discretion when posting.

• We highly recommend using a separate account for support subs to help prevent being doxxed. Do not post any information that may allow others to figure out your identity.
• Do not post photos of children, or any other photo that could be used to identify you or another user on the sub.
• Any image that contains a name or other identifying information should have the name or identifying information blurred out. This includes drawings, notes, and screenshots.
• Do not link to social media or any articles/blogs where you or another user on the sub is mentioned by name.

8. No More than 2 Posts per 24 hours

Use the daily threads.

• We are not a huge sub, but we are no longer a small sub. If you have multiple grievances to air, use the daily discussion threads instead of multiple posts.

9. Follow Reddiquette

Remember the human.

• Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life.
• Read it in full here.
• Downvoting is reserved for comments that don’t contribute, and shouldn't be used to indicate disagreement.
• If you believe someone is in violation of the subreddit rules, please either use the report function or message the mods to direct their attention to the issue.
• Suspected brigading will be reported to reddit admins.

10. No Porn, Spam, Blogs, or Research Studies/Surveys Without Mod Approval

Just don't.

• This is a SFW subreddit. Posting pornography will result in immediate post removal and permanent ban.
• Advertising on the subreddit (outside of Reddit's own advertising) is not allowed.
• No personal blog posts are allowed without express moderator permission.
• No advertising without prior mod approval.
• No asking for money/posting fundraisers/etc.
• For links to parenting research studies or surveys, please message the mods for permission before posting.

11. Disputes in Modmail Only

Don't argue with the mods on the sub.

• Any issues specifically related to how a mod is moderating should be addressed to the full moderating team via mod mail. This ensures that all mods are aware of any concerns and prevents disintegration of the topic thread at hand.
• This means to do not message or send chat requests to individual mods. All discussion and complaints about mod actions need to be done in mod mail ONLY. Failure to follow this rule can result in an immediate permanent ban.
• Comments in threads asking about mod decisions are subject to removal without notice.

12. Moderator Actions

We aren't kidding.

• Users are expected to know the rules before posting. If you are warned or banned for violating the rules, ignorance is not an excuse.
• Moderators will remove posts and comments and/or lock threads in accordance with the rules above. Typically this happens when threads have gone off-topic in a way that is not productive for the OP, or comments overall have become contentious or disrespectful.
• If a poster continues to argue or to willfully violate these rules, temporary and permanent ban procedures will be followed. Any attempts to avoid or bypass temporary bans will result in a permanent ban. User bans will not be discussed in the sub. Questions posted about user bans are subject to removal and the poster subject to warning/ban procedures. The mod team will not discuss a specific user ban with anyone other than the user involved.
• New accounts are subject to manual approval until they are no longer deemed "new" by the mod team. This helps to weed out trolls and ban evaders.
• We rely on Automoderator to scan for specific words and phrases that are not welcome here and notify the mod team to review the comment or post. This includes slurs of any type and platitudes such as "Love them as your own!"
• The mod team uses a combination of blacklisting and banning when dealing with trolls.
• We employ the use of a bot that automatically bans anyone who comments in subs that have historically harassed our users. If you are picked up by the bot for telling trolls to get fucked, reach out via mod mail and we'll get you sorted out.
• The rules above as well as ban procedures are considered guidelines only; some deviation may be necessary on a case by case basis and/or at the mod team's discretion.

13. Ban Procedure

These actions are at moderator discretion.

• Pornography will result in an automatic permanent ban.
• Extremely egregious content will result in an immediate permanent ban.
• You may receive a 7 or 30 day temporary ban for first and second rule violations, depending upon severity.
• Continued rule violations will result in a permanent ban.
• Willful attempts to avoid or bypass temporary bans will result in a permanent ban.
• We recognize the reddit site-wide rules of using alt names to get around bans and will ban those as well as report them to reddit admins.

​
​

FAQ - About the Rules

What does Kindness Matters mean?

• Shortest version? Don't be an asshole. People come here for support and advice, they do not come here to be yelled at or told they are the reason everything is going sideways. There are ways to point out that someone may want to do some reflection on their own actions and reactions without being an asshole about it.
• The purpose of this subreddit is to provide support and a sense of belonging for struggling stepparents. We aren't here to pass judgement, but rather to offer support, empathy, and constructive commentary. That does not include "hard truths" or "tough love." Stepparents get enough of that in every other subreddit, we're not passing it out here. Be respectful.
• Remember, most people aren't going to come to a sub like this when everything is going great and everyone is getting along. People are coming here when they are down, when they are feeling defeated and stretched to the limit. Kicking someone when they are down is shitty behavior and we don't tolerate it.

What about being kind to the kids?

• "Won't somebody think of the children?" Pearl clutching isn't needed here. If you read the Kindness Matters rule closely, you will see that there is a clause in there about name calling children. We don't allow it. We also don't allow people rolling in telling OP that they feel sorry for their stepkids because OP is feeling overwhelmed and overloaded.
• If anyone is advocating slapping, spanking, or any other form of violence, report the comment immediately. We do not advocate violence towards children of any sort. The mod team does not advocate any sort of physical punishment at any time.
• Venting about behaviors is not the same as insulting the kids. However, if you see a post or comment where kids are being name called or dragged to the point of no return, use the report button. We try to catch the posts and remove them before they hit the sub, but we cannot see every comment without your help. Use the report button to bring problematic comments to our attention. Don't engage in a war of words on our subreddit.

Why is this sub such an echo chamber?

• Not allowing contributors to pile on and tell OP that they are a terrible human being who should never be around children does not equate to being an echo chamber. Many contributors here will offer OP suggestions to help them work through their resentments and frustrations, and the most egregious situations are called out. We simply ask that it be called out with respect.
• If you feel that a post is simply too much for you to handle without following the rules, move on to another post.
• If you believe that a post itself is crossing the rules report it. If the mod team has approved the post, it is because the mod team believes that the OP needs help from the community or needs a moment to vent and move on from their vent. That does not give you license to pile on disrespectfully. Unless it is proven that OP is a bot, assume that OP is a human being with real thoughts and feelings and has posted from a place of vulnerability.

Why can't I tell OP that they are an asshole?

• Because this isn't a judgement sub. We aren't AITA, we don't want to be AITA.
• Comments with terms like YTA, NTA, ESH, NAH will be removed.
• Don't start your posts with INFO either. We generally recognize that as a fishing attempt for more information to pass judgement on OP, and again, we are not a judgment sub.

But OP asked if they were an asshole?!

• Their post somehow got past our automoderator. Just use the report button. We will address it with OP.
• If you've asked if you are an asshole, a-hole, a*hole, a**hole, whatever, don't be surprised if your post is removed without warning. This isn't a judgment sub. If you want judgment, you know where to go.

What is a gendered slur?

• While it seems that everyone understands what racist slurs are, people struggle understanding the concept of gendered slurs. Generally speaking, we are talking about derogatory nouns or verbs that are used to negatively describe people or situations based on gendered terms.
• We've gone back and forth on this a few times, and the truth is, we get it, it's your safe space and you want to be able to vent about BM/BD how you want to vent about them, without us telling you how to vent about them. Fair enough. Vent away. What we are going to stick to here how people are referring to other users and to stepchildren.
• Examples that are not allowed:
  • "My SD is such a little bitch."
  • "She dresses/acts like a slut."
  • "My SS acts like a pussy."
  • "My SS is such a beta male."
  • "You are all fucking whores."
  • "Any dude who is raising some sluts kids is a cuck!"
  • "Little Lord Fauntleroy over here thinking he runs the house!"
  • "You're just the bangnanny, get used to it."
• Don't call users here names, don't call stepchildren names.
• Masking the term with asterisks or other neat little tricks might get you around the bot, but if we see it, we're removing it and quite possibly giving you a time out. The intended word is still there and you deliberately tried to skate the rule.
• As there is not enough space to list every term that is offensive and does not belong, nor every situation in which term or phrase may be allowable in context, this rule is enforced based on moderator discretion.

Seriously? You are the language police now?

• We're here to talk about stepparenting. And we would like for that to happen in a respectful way. Attacking each other doesn't help. Belittling stepchildren draws in trolls who don't understand your frustration, all they see is an evil stepmonster talking shit on the internet about a poor, innocent baby. Yes, even if that "poor, innocent baby" just robbed you blind and set fire to the house on their way out the door. That's just how it goes.
• We are aware that this is a relatively new rule and a lot of older posts and comments contain a lot of problematic language, including some from mods themselves. We are growing and evolving, and rules change as the sub grows and evolves.

What does No Drama really mean?

• Pretty much what it says, do not bring drama from other subs into this sub. Do not engage in vote brigades. Do not try to incite other subscribers to riot in a different sub. Don't follow posters into this sub from other subs to continue to harass them. Do not badger someone or derail threads. Do not harass community members because you don't agree with them. There's enough drama in the daily lives of subscribers, more isn't needed.

What is thread derailment?

• When a comment chain has devolved to the point where all you are doing is arguing back and forth with someone about the same thing over and over again, you have derailed the thread. Also known as bickering. It's what children do. We assume if people are in a stepparent role they are adults. We expect you to act like it.
• If you aren't a stepparent, or in a stepparenting role, consider that perhaps this subreddit isn't for you. If you want to participate, do so with respect. Thread derailment, arguing, bickering, and nitpicking are not allowed.

But what if they didn't answer my question?

• No one has to answer your questions. This is a support sub, not an inquisition. Jumping on a bandwagon with "OP is evading the question" in a 20 comment long chain is the epitome of thread derailment. You'll find more information about trolling below and how this might be considered such.

Why am I being silenced? I'm just asking for a back and forth!

• Thread derailment, badgering, and nitpicking are considered harassment. Continued harassment of either community members or mods will get you banned.

Why can't I look at someone's post history and comment about it?

• No mod in the history of this sub has ever once said post histories are forbidden. What we do frown upon is using someone's post history to attack, belittle, or otherwise harass someone.
• Example Post: "My stepkid's mom really hates me. How can I make this better?"
  • Okay: "Based on the timeline and your post history, it looks like this may have started as an affair. Unfortunately there's going to be outstanding issues for a long time due to that. Try focusing on yourself and how you can move forward without worrying about how someone else feels about you."
  • Not Okay: "Holy shit! You were the OW! What the hell do you expect, homewrecker?!"
• Example Post: "I am completely overloaded and feeling very down about myself."
  • Okay: "In your post history you mentioned that your spouse wasn't really helping around the house. Has that changed at all?"
  • Not Okay: "LOL, you already got the answers you need in your post on relationships. You are stupid for sticking with your lazy spouse."

Why can't we crosspost stuff to other subs?

• We can't stop you from doing so. The problem isn't that something has been crossposted, it's when the community that it's been crossposted to feels the need to come over here and harass OP. When we see that happening, we lock the post and start passing out bans. If you did the crossposting, you'll be banned. If you participated in the brigading, you'll be banned.

What if it's my own post?

• Again, we can't stop you from doing so. We prefer that you don't technically crosspost, but rather just copy and paste your post. Why? Because inevitably the above will happen. Redditors from other subs will follow you back to /stepparents and start attacking users here. It just happens.

What is "brigading"?

• Reddit defines vote manipulation and brigading as follows:
• Using multiple accounts, voting services, or any other software to increase or decrease vote scores.
• Asking people to vote up or down certain posts, either on Reddit itself or through social networks, messaging, etc. for personal gain.
• Forming or joining a group that votes together, either on a specific post, a user's posts, posts from a domain, etc.
• We, along with pretty much every other subreddit that has ever had to deal with this nonsense, further define brigading as this: You saw a post on another sub that linked to our sub either via a link in a comment or a crosspost. It was basically saying something along the lines of "OMG, check out these assholes over on /stepparents! They literally hate all their stepkids!" And then you and your friends come over and start hammering on OP and telling OP how much they suck. Congrats, you have just participated in a brigade.

What is this whole Report, Don't Rant thing about?

• If you see a post or comment that breaks the rules, instead of engaging, report it. When you report it, it sends notification to the mod team. We will act on it where appropriate. Engaging with bad faith users may result in your comments being removed. If you repeatedly do so, you may end up being banned.

What if I see an obvious troll?

• Report it.

What if they are being really mean in comments?

• Report it.

What if they are harassing me in private messages?

• Step 1: Report them to admins. You can report harassment to reddit by using this link or send a DM to reddit admins. Include the link to the DM, admins can see your inbox and providing a direct link is helpful for them to weed out bad actors.
• Step 2: Block the person so they cannot directly contact you again.
• Step 3: Send us a mod mail and let the mod team know. Tell us who they are and what they said, send us a screenshot if you can - admins can see your DMs, mods can't. We'll take action where necessary by banning from the sub if they aren't already banned.

What do you mean by No Naming & Shaming?

• Just as we prefer to not be linked to or crossposted from, we do not allow linking to or calling out other subs by name. If you see something you want to share, say it's a hot post that has hit the front page and a stepparent is being absolutely flayed, just refer to it as "that hot post that hit the front page." If you want to complain about other places in general, "other parenting/advice/judgement subs" will suffice. Absolutely under no circumstances should you link to anywhere else.

I can't link to other subs?

• Do not directly link to another sub. (e.g.: "/insertsubnamehere is ridiculously hostile to stepparents!")
• Do not name other subs. (e.g.: "I won't link to it directly, but insertsubnamehere is ridiculously hostile to stepparents!")
• Do not abbreviate other subs. (e.g.: "I know that ISNH is ridiculously hostile to stepparents!")

I can't ping other users?

• Do not summon another user with a username ping/tag. (e.g.: "insertusernamehere was being an asshole.")
• If you are agreeing with someone, it is okay to link to them. (e.g.: "I agree with insertusernamehere, you need to take a couple of steps back and reflect on this.")

What does No Platitudes mean?

• Sanctimonious, overused clichés that grossly oversimplify the stepparenting experience are neither wanted nor allowed here. We have all heard it a thousand times before, we don't need to hear it again. It's not nearly as insightful and wise as some would like to think.

Why don't you people understand it's a package deal?

• Any comment that suggests that OP should have known what they were getting involved with, or that they needed to understand that the kids were part of some package they needed to accept before signing up for marriage is subject to immediate removal.
• This is one of the most insensitive things you can say to a stepparent. Most stepparents were aware of the children, but they were probably not aware of all of the family dynamics.

Why can't you just love them like they are your own?

• Demanding that a stranger you do not know love children that are not biologically theirs as if they were theirs can be incredibly damaging to someone who is already in a vulnerable situation. Any comment that falls along these lines will be removed.

What do you mean by No Trolling? I was just...

• No means no. No trolling. No pretending to be a stepparent and then whipping out the Greatest Hits Bingo Card of The Worst Stepparent in the History of Stepparents. We see you. We've seen you a thousand times.

What does "concern trolling", "gish-galloping", and "sealioning" have to do with stepparenting? This isn't a debate sub, why are you using debate terms?

• That's absolutely right, this isn't a debate sub. And yet, here we are, day after day, having to defend ourselves against this sort of thing. So, enough. No more. Usage of any of these things will get you banned.

What is "Concern Trolling?"

• A concern troll is someone who disingenuously visits sites of an opposing ideology to disrupt conversation by offering unwanted advice on how to solve problems which do not really exist.
  • Example Post: OP expresses concern that she will feel, and possibly act, differently towards her stepchildren after her husband decides that no, he doesn't want anymore children after all.
  • Example Concern Troll pulled from actual mod mail after their comment was removed: "Possible child abuse claims need to be sorted out well before whatever empathy you believe the OP was looking for."

What is a "Devil's Advocate"?

• "I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but have you considered that maybe BM is just really tired and needs a break, too?" BM has dozens of different mom based subs alone on reddit she can complain on, this sub is for stepparents. The stepparent doesn't need to consider that maybe BM is just really tired and needs a break.

"Gish-galloping?" What does that even mean?

• The Gish Gallop is the fallacious debate tactic of drowning your opponent in a flood of individually-weak arguments in order to prevent rebuttal of the whole argument collection without great effort. The Gish Gallop is a conveyor belt-fed version of the on the spot fallacy, as it's unreasonable for anyone to have a well-composed answer immediately available to every argument present in the Gallop.

And "sealioning?" What's that?

• Sealioning involves jumping into a conversation with endless polite, reasonable questions and demands for answers, usually of entry-level topics far below the actual conversation (e.g. "please prove sexism exists"). This tactic differs little from harassment; instead of discussion, the point is to derail discussion, receive criticism (for their ignorance) so as to look like a victim, or to make someone feel overwhelmed and quit talking.

Who gets to define what is considered asshattery?

• The mod team, of course! If we feel that comments are out of line, are trolling, are leading up to a fight or "just asking questions", we are going to remove them and most likely ban the offender.

​
​

FAQ - Sub Questions

Posting Guidelines for Stepparents

• Body text is required, we suggest you use line breaks between paragraphs as a wall of text is difficult to read. Posts that have only a title are likely to be removed. Instead of using names (even fictitious ones), try to use the sub acronyms. It helps our users to follow along if you use the acronyms and not names.
• Assign a post flair that accurately describes what your post is about and what you are seeking. If you are posting an update from a previous post, include a link to that post.
• Flairs are applied to posts to determine what a person is looking for. When submitting a new post, you should choose a flair that specifies if you are looking for advice, support, etc. The following link flair is available and is color coded with side bar links so that you can search by flair:
  • Advice - For when you are specifically asking for advice or help.
  • Announcement - Mod Use Only, for subreddit announcements.
  • Daily (Formerly TTP) - Mod Use Only, for our daily discussion threads.
  • Discussion - A little advice, a little "How does your family handle this?"
  • JustBMThings - Pretty sure this is self explanatory!
  • Legal - Asking for legal advice? Tag it with this!
  • Miscellany - Just a sort of off topic thing? Use this tag.
  • Resource - Sharing a good resource or asking for one? This is the tag you need!
  • Support - For those days when you want nothing but a good old fashioned cry and some community love.
  • Update - Updating us on something that you posted about previously? Use this one!
  • Vent - We all need to vent sometimes. Respect the tag as a vent. This isn't how OP talks all day every day.
  • Win! - Celebrate those wins with us with this tag!
  • Megathread - Mod Use Only, for large mega threads (typically around major calendar events.)

Posting Guidelines for Bioparents

• Stepparents is a support community for stepparents, by stepparents. As bioparents, you may want to have more insight into how the stepparent in your life feels or thinks. You may have questions on how to ease the transition for your partner. However, please keep in mind that this community was not created for you. It was created for your partner or your ex's partner. If you are seeking support on how to deal with a stepparent, there are other subs more suited for your situation and your post is subject to removal.
• There are some posts from bioparents we will accept:
  • Seeking advice on how to support your partner as they navigate stepparenting
  • Seeking resources to help you better support your partner
  • Seeking resources for your partner
• There are some posts from bioparents we will not accept:
  • Complaints about how the stepparent is too involved in your kids lives
  • Vents about how the stepparent is not involved enough in your kids lives
  • "Cautionary tales" advising stepparents to back off
  • Seeking advice on how to tell the stepparent to back off
  • The Do's and Dont's of Stepparenting
  • How your kid's stepmom is literally The Worst
• Comments from bioparents that are helpful and supportive are welcome and appreciated. Comments from bioparents that are not helpful or supportive are not welcome and subject to removal. There are several other subs that may meet the needs of bioparents better than we can. We recommend /coparenting, /parenting, /parents, /blendedfamilies, and /singleparents as starting points.

Guidelines for Stepkids

• At this time, we do not generally accept posts from stepkids. Comments from stepkids that are helpful and supportive are welcome and appreciated. Comments from stepkids that are not helpful or supportive are not welcome and subject to removal. If you are a stepkid seeking support, we highly recommend /stepkids. It is a very supportive community specifically for stepkids. We also recommend /blendedfamilies as another potential group for support.

What the heck are all these acronyms? I'm confused!

• Check out the Common Acronyms wiki page. We try to keep this updated as new terms are introduced to the sub.

Why aren't my posts or comments showing up?

• New posters and accounts go through a waiting period before their posts will show in the sub and the comments on posts automatically. During the new account approval period the mod team will check posts to be sure you aren't attempting to circumvent a ban with a shiny new account. Please be patient while the timer runs down on your "new" status and the mod team approves your posts and responses.

Why was my comment removed?

• Comments are removed when they do not follow the rules of the sub. These rules are published in several places for your reading pleasure.
• Comments are removed at moderator discretion. In some cases your comment may be removed while another remains up. If you find this to be the case, and you believe the comment to be violating the rules, instead of arguing with mods or demanding they remove the additional comments, just report it.

This comment/post is really offensive! Why is it still up?

• All moderators are volunteers and have busy real lives. Sometimes things get past us. The best thing you can do is report anything you find offensive or inflammatory. It's the quickest and most reliable way of alerting us to an issue.

I've received a hurtful/unwanted PM from someone about my recent post. What should I do?

• If you receive an unwanted/hurtful PM from a name you don't recognize, please report it to Reddit Admins using our handy pre-populated form. Be sure to include the permalink to the message. We've been dealing with a few unhappy folks who like to attack stepparents, and reporting it to the admins is the only way to make it stop.

What are the general moderator guidelines?

• Users are expected to know the rules before posting. If you are warned or banned for violating the rules, ignorance is not an excuse.
• Moderators will remove posts and comments and/or lock threads in accordance with the rules above. Typically this happens when threads have gone off-topic in a way that is not productive for the OP, or comments overall have become contentious or disrespectful.
• If a poster continues to argue or to willfully violate these rules, temporary and permanent ban procedures will be followed. Any attempts to avoid or bypass temporary bans will result in a permanent ban. User bans will not be discussed in the sub. Questions posted about user bans are subject to removal and the poster subject to warning/ban procedures. The mod team will not discuss a specific user ban with anyone other than the user involved.
• New accounts are subject to manual approval until they are no longer deemed "new" by the mod team. This helps to weed out trolls and ban evaders.
• We rely on Automoderator to scan for specific words and phrases that are not welcome here and notify the mod team to review the comment or post. This includes slurs of any type and platitudes such as "Love them as your own!"
• The mod team uses a combination of blacklisting and banning when dealing with trolls.
• We employ the use of a bot that automatically bans anyone who comments in subs that have historically harassed our users. If you are picked up by the bot for telling trolls to get fucked, reach out via mod mail and we'll get you sorted out.
• The rules above as well as ban procedures are considered guidelines only; some deviation may be necessary on a case by case basis and/or at the mod team's discretion.

I've been wrongly banned/Why can't I comment here?

• Due to an influx of harassment from users with specific user histories, we have employed a user history ban bot as described above. If you think this has affected you and wish to appeal, please message the mods.

Why was I banned without warning?

• There are numerous reasons that the mod team might opt to move perm banning without warning. Message the moderators if you have specific questions.

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.

Hi all,
I'm a 32 year old male living in Australia who has suffered debilitating IBS symptoms since I was about 18. After a long journey with flop dietitians, fodmaps, inconclusive colonoscopies etc, I've managed to find a diet that works for my bowel movements, reflux and regulating stress. But my main issue has always been the severe bloating. I'm a thin guy, and every day around 2-4pm I start to inflate to a 9 months pregnant level. It's sometimes so bad I can't physically walk or prepare myself dinner. I've only just seen HERE that not being able to burp and excessive bloating obviously go hand in hand, so im considering my next steps.
Another thing which maybe other people have experienced is emetophobia. At a young age this affected me severely, despite never actually vomiting. The last time I threw up was when I was 4 years old. However when I drink alcohol, I basically pass out and heave burps and shake uncontrollably, which makes me believe a lot of the intolerance is some like excess gas poisoning. I do believe the early childhood fear had some physiological symptoms in restricting my throat. I also had issues in puberty where my voice didn't break properly for 4-5 years, basically stuck sounding like I have a bad cold, and I'm wondering if that was related to a narrow or restricted throat. In adulthood often my worse symptom is nausea, which I think now is due to excessive gas that I can't relieve.
Right now my main treatment is dietary, and I've been working with Unique Hammond and Karen Hurds dietary recommendations. I recommend anyone interested in dealing with reflux or IBS or hormonal issues to look into their work with an open mind. Their nutritional work has put peoples chrons disease into remission, cured Ibs and GERD, increased fertility, cured arthritis, the list goes on. In a nutshell, it involves eating beans and psylium husk seperately from fats. It sounds counterintuitive with us gassy folks but for me beans when eaten correctly don't cause any way near as much gas issues as other foods.
In a nutshell their working hypothesis is overly acidic bile can move back up into the stomach (causing reflux), and move down into the colon causing irritation and ulceration. The body recycles our old bile at a rate of about 95% through a process called enterohepatic recirculation, and we can actually recycle bile that is harming us. Soluble fibre in beans and psylium bind to these acids so that they can be excreted, and new bile is made. It also binds to hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, so the diet in itself helps the body stop recycling stress hormones. As someone who spent years in fight or flight, daily panic attacks, constant diorrhoea, this way of eating has noticeably reduced symptoms and I'm now 4 years off of antidepressants.
That being said I'm not as strict with the diet as I'd like to be as the initial gut healing phase is incredibly brutal. And for all the progress I have made having normal formed regular bowel movements, the flatulence (while vastly improved) still causes me issues and frankly great suffering.
Regarding Botox I'm always uncertain whether the hiccups and stuck air is just reflux. So I'm nervous to get Botox if it just leads to more reflux. But reading about people's experiences with things like alcohol, I feel massively seen. Half of a beer will NUKE me. I drink once a year or so and its always painful. While I'm glad to be living in sobriety I always struggle with caffeine, which causes huge bloating. Has anyone done Botox and been able to drink coffee again without bloating?
I'm considering seeing Dr Paddle in Melborune but I don't have private health. Does anyone know what kind of costs I might incur?
That's all for me for now. But I'm excited to spend more time reading the sub and hearing about your stories while I figure out what's right for me. I'd love to hear more about your diets and what you've used to manage excessive gas!

The ketogenic diet, or keto diet for short, is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that has gained popularity as a weight loss and health improvement technique in recent years. The keto diet aims to induce a metabolic state known as ketosis, in which the body burns fat for energy rather than carbs.
Diabetes is a long-term disease that affects how the body processes blood sugar (glucose). Diabetes is classified into two types: type 1 and type 2. The body does not manufacture insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels, in type 1 diabetes. The body either does not produce enough insulin or does not utilise insulin efficiently in type 2 diabetes. High blood sugar levels can result from either kind of diabetes, increasing the risk of major health problems such as heart disease, nerve damage, and blindness.
The keto diet has gained popularity as a viable treatment option for diabetics, particularly those with type 2 diabetes. However, those with diabetes should consult with their healthcare provider before beginning any new diet or fitness program, as the keto diet may not be appropriate for everyone and may have risks and downsides. In this post, we will look at the benefits and hazards of the keto diet for diabetics.
How Does the Ketogenic Diet Work?
The keto diet is intended to produce ketosis in the body. The body begins to use fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates when in ketosis. When the body does not have enough carbs to consume for energy, such as when fasting or following a low-carbohydrate diet like the keto diet, this mechanism is initiated.
On the keto diet, a person typically has to consume fewer than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day to enter ketosis. This low carbohydrate consumption forces the body to rely on fat for energy instead. The diet is heavy in fat, accounting for around 75% of daily calories, and moderate in protein, accounting for approximately 20% of daily calories.
Carbohydrates play a limited part in the keto diet, as the diet focuses on eating healthy fats and proteins instead. The concept is that by substantially limiting carbohydrate consumption, the body would enter ketosis and begin burning fat for energy. However, not all fats and proteins are created equal, and it is critical to select nutrient-dense sources to guarantee an adequate intake of crucial vitamins and minerals.
It's also worth noting that the keto diet isn't a one-size-fits-all approach, and your carbohydrate requirements may differ. Working with a healthcare practitioner to identify the optimal level of carbohydrate intake for an individual's specific needs and goals is critical.
Diabetes patients may benefit from the keto diet.
The keto diet has gained popularity as a viable treatment option for diabetics, particularly those with type 2 diabetes. According to some research, the diet may have various potential benefits for people with diabetes, including:
Improved blood sugar control: According to one small trial, the keto diet improved blood sugar control and reduced the need for diabetes medications in persons with type 2 diabetes. It is crucial to remember, however, that the keto diet is not for everyone, and blood sugar control should be closely maintained while on the diet.
Weight reduction: Because of its low carbohydrate content and the resultant shift to burning fat for energy, the keto diet may result in weight loss. Losing weight can assist improve blood sugar control and lower the risk of diabetes complications.
Reduced insulin resistance: Insulin resistance, a prevalent feature of type 2 diabetes, refers to the body's inability to utilise insulin efficiently to manage blood sugar levels. According to several studies, the keto diet may enhance insulin sensitivity and decrease insulin resistance in persons with type 2 diabetes.
More research is required to properly understand the potential benefits of the keto diet for patients with diabetes. Before beginning any new diet or fitness program, individuals with diabetes should always consult with their healthcare provider.
The risks and disadvantages of the keto diet for diabetics.
While the keto diet may have some potential benefits for diabetics, it is critical to be aware of the dangers and cons. Some potential hazards and disadvantages of the keto diet for diabetics include:
Careful monitoring and medical supervision are required: The keto diet may not be suitable for everyone, and those with diabetes should consult with a healthcare team before beginning the diet. While on the diet, blood sugar levels should be constantly checked, and medications may need to be modified.
Nutrient shortages: Because the keto diet is low in certain nutrients, like as fiber, fruits, and vegetables, it may raise the risk of nutrient deficiencies. To guarantee a proper intake of key vitamins and minerals, pick nutrient-dense sources of fat and protein, as well as a variety of non-starchy vegetables.
Difficulty sticking to the diet long-term: Due to its tight carbohydrate limitations, the keto diet can be difficult to follow to long-term. This might make it difficult to stick to the diet and can lead to feelings of deprivation or boredom due to the limited food options.
Before beginning the keto diet, it is critical to thoroughly assess the potential dangers and drawbacks for those with diabetes. It may not be appropriate for everyone, and working with a healthcare team to find the optimal treatment method for an individual's specific requirements and goals is always recommended.
Finally, the keto diet has gained popularity as a possible therapeutic option for persons with diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes. According to some research, the diet may offer various potential benefits for diabetics, including improved blood sugar control, weight loss, and lower insulin resistance. However, it is critical to be aware of the possible risks and drawbacks of the keto diet for persons with diabetes, such as the necessity for constant monitoring and medical supervision, the possibility of nutrient deficiencies, and the difficulty of adhering to the diet over time.
Before beginning any new diet or fitness program, individuals with diabetes should always consult with their healthcare provider. The keto diet may not be appropriate for everyone, and it is critical to establish whether it is a safe and appropriate treatment choice based on an individual's specific needs and goals. It is also crucial to highlight that, unless specifically prescribed by a healthcare expert, the keto diet should not be used as a substitute for proven diabetes therapies such as medicines and insulin therapy.

I don't even know how to put this, but basically I'm at a loss here. Why is it that every time I feel sad and upset about my past or my childhood or just life, I get really down and sad and maybe to the point of crying and breaking down, but once I come out of that I want to make other laugh? Like I'll go through a TERRIBLE "crying in the bath tub" level breakdown, and come out of the bathroom wanting to go on Facebook or around people and make jokes and statuses that make others laugh? Don't get me wrong, I love helping people. I love being the person who will always pick up the phone, and I love being the keeper of peoples secrets because they trust me. I love being the reason somebody smiles. I love complimenting random strangers on the street with an original and heartfelt compliment you can just see there heart smile in the way they react to it. I love being a light in a world that really just isn't happy or complimenting. I think that's the reason I'm still here, because I know I could be (and as cliche as this sounds) the person I need and have always needed in this world. I view everybody as deserving of love and happiness, and will go to great lengths to help others do so. But why does it feel like when I try to do that for myself it never works? I can't seem to make myself happy, or complete, or feel like I'm anything more than the person put here to make other people feel good about themselves. And as much as I love that title, will anybody else ever love and see me as somebody who deserves the same love, affection, care, and trust as I freely give to others? I understand boundaries and not to just give my kindness to the wrong people, but when is it my turn? When can I be loved and appreciated like I love and appreciate almost everybody I come into contact with? When is it my turn to have my wants and happiness prioritized? And yes I understand the whole "self love is all you need". My question is how do I get to a point in life where I either love myself enough that I can still love others as much as I do while not feeling so empty all the time, or at least get to a point where helping others doesn't feel like my only true valuable skill? (Im sorry if thats kinda all over the place, but I just needed to get that out in an anonymous and safe place)

Challenges that hinders overall gaming experience: Despite having a strong Wi-Fi connection and running the game on low settings, significant lag persists. This issue affects gameplay fluidity, making it difficult to enjoy the game to its full potential.
In addition to performance issues, the game contains several bugs which includes the lycan dungeon bug, the last job change also has a bug where the boss disappears. Changing equipment costs gold, which can be frustrating and is a reason why I keep my equipments around lv12. (But they are changing this aspect)
Progression is further hindered by a level cap, this condition is to be met before being able to advance. This artificial barrier can make the game feel more restrictive than rewarding.
Daily tasks include 15 dungeon keys, 6 instance missions, 6 encore missions, and challenges like the Power of Destruction and Battlefield of Chaos. The latter often results in being kicked out of the game due to the mobile platform's inability to handle the high load, disrupting gameplay.
Auto-battling, which is sometimes necessary due to lag, does not perform optimally even when characters are overpowered. This inefficiency detracts from the overall strategy and engagement of the game.
However, there are positive aspects. The characters and core gameplay are well-designed, and the pulls received can be rewarding.
TLDR: Game has strong foundational elements but is currently overshadowed by performance issues and restrictive mechanics.

Although many people drinkAlthough many people drink their coffee with milk, there are various substitutes for milk in coffee that you can use in your morning cup.
Many people consider milk and coffee to be inextricably linked. It's either early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
You're groggy and need caffeine, so you gather your wits and make yourself a pot of coffee.
You make yourself a boiling hot mug of coffee and go to the fridge to get the milk carton. Only to discover that you don't have any.
Perhaps you open the carton and detect a spoiled odor or find that your roommate consumed all the milk without purchasing a new carton.
Whatever the reason, you need to find substitutes for milk in your coffee.
If you have been in such a situation before and couldn't find substitutes for dairy milk in your coffee, this article is for you. Read on.

1. Cream

Photo by tookapic on Pixabay
Heavy cream is one of the most flavorful coffee creamers available. It contains 38% fat and can significantly improve the flavor of your coffee.
After hearing that, you might wonder, "Do I want that much fat in my coffee?"
We once thought that cream's high-fat content would contribute to obesity and heart disease.
However, recent research has found that people who consume more cream have a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Heavy cream contains health-promoting vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, D, E, and K due to its natural fat content.
Full-fat heavy whipping cream is healthier for you than low-fat alternatives like coffee creamers and whipped topping.

2. Evaporated Milk

Because whole milk has been evaporated or condensed, evaporated milk is thicker and richer than whole milk, including saturated fat.
However, evaporated milk makes a cup of coffee taste fantastic for individuals who do not drink a lot of coffee.
However, because of the amount of saturated fat in evaporated milk.
We would not advocate using it as a coffee creamer if you are a big coffee drinker who drinks many cups daily.

3. Goat Milk

The flavor and texture of goat and cow milk are remarkably similar, and You can use the two interchangeably. On the other hand, goat milk contains less lactose and is easier to digest than cow's milk.
Furthermore, Goat milk is high in calcium, magnesium, and potassium. And healthy fatty acids and can help people with high cholesterol lower their cholesterol levels.
Goat milk is quite rich, and it is one of the excellent substitutes for coffee.

4. Cashew Milk

Cashew milk is popular as a coffee creamer because of its creamy texture. It's the creamiest of the nut milk, with a delicate, sweet flavor and a very slight nut flavor. Again, Cashew milk has a somewhat thicker consistency than cow's milk.

5. Hemp Seed Milk

Hemp seed milk is a popular coffee creamer because of its high protein content and somewhat nutty flavor.
Furthermore, Hemp Seed Milk is one of the few plant-based complete proteins available. Comprising all of the essential amino acids that humans require while carrying almost the same amount of fat as cow's milk. Hemp seed milk has even higher nutrients than almond and rice milk.
Furthermore, Hemp seed milk is vegan and can be consumed by people sensitive to soy, lactose, or gluten. However, one disadvantage of using Hemp Seed Milk as coffee creamer is that some individuals dislike the taste.

6. Oat Milk

Oat milk is one of the most widely used non-dairy kinds of milk in coffee drinks. It's created from oats, water, and, in some instances, canola or rapeseed oil for emulsification. The result is rich, full-bodied non-dairy milk that rivals whole dairy milk in flavor.
Oat milk is also popular because of its high fiber content. This non-dairy milk appeals to health-conscious clients since it has a low-fat content while still providing the protein that dairy milk does. On the other hand, the addition of fiber distinguishes this non-dairy milk and makes it an excellent alternative for clients wishing to improve their digestive health. Oat Milk is one of the suitable substitutes for Milk in coffee.

7. Soy Milk

Because this type of non-dairy milk has been a popular option for many years, most coffeehouses use it in coffee. Soy milk is widely available in most places, and its comparatively low cost makes it a viable option for many enterprises.
As a result of the acidity or the hot temperature, some soy milk curdles in coffee. Without preservatives, soy milk is more likely to separate your consumers' coffee. If you suspect that the issue is one of temperature, start by pouring warm soy milk into your serving cup and gradually adding the coffee. In addition, this is one of the best substitutes for coffee.

8. Nut Milk

Nut Milk is a healthy and delicious Vegan-friendly dairy substitute since it is strong in antioxidants, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, monounsaturated fat, vitamin B1, magnesium, and manganese.
A Nut Milk makes a fantastic coffee creamer and whips into a lovely foam that produces a fantastic latte or cappuccino due to its high-fat content.

9. Pea Milk

Pea milk, created from yellow pea protein extract, is high in protein but low in calories. It has a thick and creamy texture, a mild flavor, and foams beautifully, making it popular as a coffee creamer.
Furthermore, Pea Milk is gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and vegan-friendly. And low in sugar and carbs, appealing to persons on low-carb diets and diabetics.

10. Rice Milk

Because it is nut- and soy-free, rice milk is becoming more popular as a coffee creamer among coffee lovers. This makes it an excellent alternative for persons with allergies and lactose intolerance.
Rice milk is one of the most hypoallergenic milk alternatives available, and it provides a well-balanced diet.
However, while Rice Milk has the lowest fat content of all the milk alternatives and is cholesterol-free, it is heavy in starch and cannot be consumed by people with diabetes.

11. Almond Milk

In the non-dairy market, almond milk is one of the most popular nut milk. It comes in various flavors, and many companies provide both sweetened and unsweetened versions. However, almond milk does not function as well as some other non-dairy milk in coffee.
Unfortunately, almond milk, like soy milk, can curdle in coffee due to warmth and acidity. Avoid pouring cold almond milk into very hot coffee to avoid curdling. If you want to make almond milk a mainstay on your beverage menu, experiment with different types of coffee roasts and brands to see how it reacts to the acidity of your coffee. It is one of the best substitutes for milk in coffee.

12. Coffee Screamer

Coffee creamer is a dairy-free replacement for milk in the majority of circumstances.
Also, Coffee creamer is typically made out of sugar, oil, and thickener, so it may be a suitable choice if you want your coffee sweeter.
Coffee creamer is available in liquid and powder forms, with the latter being more convenient if you don't have access to a refrigerator. However, Flavors are available in both liquid and solid forms. their coffee with milk, there are various substitutes for milk in coffee that you can use in your morning cup.
Many people consider milk and coffee to be inextricably linked. It's either early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
You're groggy and need caffeine, so you gather your wits and make yourself a pot of coffee.
You make yourself a boiling hot mug of coffee and go to the fridge to get the milk carton. Only to discover that you don't have any.
Perhaps you open the carton and detect a spoiled odor or find that your roommate consumed all the milk without purchasing a new carton.
Whatever the reason, you need to find substitutes for milk in your coffee.
If you have been in such a situation before and couldn't find substitutes for dairy milk in your coffee, this article is for you. Read on.

1. Cream