I am really struggling and very frustrated right now. The T34 was one of the main reasons why I started grinding the American tree, as it seems incredibly cool visually and conceptually. However, once I started playing it I was quite let down.
While the flat pen of the cannon is great, the lack of explosive filler is incredibly annoying, and the shell seems to get fucked by volumetric a lot. It often tanks 3+ hits for me to knockout a tank, and while this is definitely partially a skill issue, it also seems somewhat questionable that most tanks, especially light tanks, would be able to survive a direct hit by a 50 pound shell traveling nearly a kilometer a second.
Additionally, the armor seems mediocre unless in a perfect hulldown position. While I understand that the tank is intended to be played as a sniper parked behind hills, this is hardly feasible in all, or even most maps.
When compared to its main contemporary, the Tiger II, it seems especially poor in comparison. Its mobility is roughly the same, with a slightly worse top speed, but the Tiger II doesn't have the LFP weakspot, a much better reload, substantial explosive filler, and pen more than adequate for its BR.
I very much enjoyed other American heavies like the T26E5 and T26E1-1, as well as other vehicles with similar roles like the Jagdtiger, but cannot get this tank to work. Does anyone have any tips or strategies that I am missing? Is the T32 better? Should I buy the T29?

Playing 3U and I want to upgrade my wyvern blade fire to the next stage in order to kill glacial Agnaktor in the 9* village quest. One of the materials required and the most difficult one for me to get is sand Barioth's tail.
I've never liked Barioth. I do like sabertooth tigers but not barioth. This thing is a menace even the normal one. But the variant is an absolute nightmare. Guy won't stop jumping around. The only opening he leaves is after he does the tornado rotation in the air. Once he lands after that he stops for like two seconds and that's literally the only opening the guy has. But good lock dodging the helicopter attack.
The stupid fossil tiger will also hit you with its absurdly long tail even if you dodge the hip check. No matter what you do you're gonna get hit. But the worst part is that out of the three runs I've done so far, I only got its tail once. The second and third time I carved a fucking carpace from his tail. Imagine spending 20 minutes trying to hit his tail with this mother fucker dodging and hitting at the same time, only to carve a carpace.. That did it for me. I rage quit. Didn't want to farm honey again for extra mega potions so I closed the game immediately without killing the kangaroo tiger. Next time I swear I'll make its species go extinct.

Today i played on malinovka. Actually happened 2 minutes ago and i'm fucking pissed. I was in a TL-1 LPC, not an incredible tank by any means but workable. The matchmaking gods rolled the dice and put me in a tier 6 match. Good right?
No. The enemy had okay tanks also, a T29, an Obsidian, a Type 63 etc. We had the T8 premium WZ (forgor the name), a Tiger 1, and the AMX M4 45. I decided to go hill, since my tank's accuracy is ass (this may be an overstatement). It was going okay, but soon we started to lose. Why? Because the Tiger 1 and the AMX mentioned earlier were sitting on the spawnpoint, doing nothing. I don't even mean afk; they were moving, albeit i doubt there were any thoughts behind it. So in the end, the entire hill died, me included (got rekt by arty). Now to the grand finale:
I switch to the Tiger 1's perspective, and i fucking kid you not, i hear a binocular on sound. This motherfucker has been camping in his Tiger 1 so often, he even invested in them. He did a whopping 821 damage, and the AMX did nothing (not an euphemism). The match ended in a draw. They were also not the only contestants for the darwin award in that match, but they were the worst ones by far.
And don't get me wrong, i'm not a unicum by any standard, blue at most, but for christs sake they were actively working against the team.
Okay people rant out.

The tiger days our dsp was bitching at us at standup cuz people who don’t have routes are leaving instead of loading out. Next day I didn’t have a route. I said ok well I’m leaving. How can they expect you to help load out when you’re wasting your time waking up early and getting ready to work only to be sent home. That’s totally fucked up

Apologies if this is "a bit" overdone, but with Shadow of the Erdtree coming out in basically a month I decided to revisit previous games for fun and also to analyze them a bit more, and now I want to talk about them. You're welcome to share your opinion and tell me why i'm wrong and you're right (or why we're both so right) in the replies.
 
HONORABLE MENTION: Gauntlets of Strength (Sekiro): While this game didn't technically have a DLC pack, it did add a boss gauntlet mode a year(?) or so after the game released, and it's actually pretty damn consistently good, like everything else in this game. It added a few boss-rush levels that were pretty thrilling and satisfying to beat, also rewarding us some great outfits at the end. There's also the option to fight any boss individually, which is such a obviously great idea it boggles my mind they haven't done it before or after this game, although i'm not sure I would like to fight any Dark Souls 2 bosses. Oh and they also added a few new great moves to old bosses, like Genichiro. Great all around, and it was free. (9/10)
 
7- Crown of the Ivory King (Dark Souls 2): It's now very popular to say that DS2's best portion is in the DLC areas. While that might be true I guess, this really isn't FS at their peak.
To start, you have the areas, that really aren't very good. The main area of Frozen Eleum Loyce is linear, looks bland and uninteresting and has low enemy variety, enemies those which already look and play similar to the ones of the previous two DLCs in the game. The more hidden areas, like the ones with the frozen sonic on drugs also don't really get better or offer anything interesting, and the only reason to go through the whole thing is that you need to free all the knights for the boss fight. It makes it all worse when you basically have to go through these areas twice to find all the knights, which enhances the fact that the level is way too linear, looks bland and uninteresting and the enemies are all annoying and placed with the sole intention of fucking with the player, with your usual Dark Souls 2 "let's put 6 annoying enemies in a small room" mentality.
And then you have Frozen Outskirts, of course. It's bad. Not really because it's hard, plenty of amazing areas out there that are pretty difficult, and this one particularly isn't even that hard, but everything about it is absolutely terrible. The design is pathetic, having 3 structures scattered throughout that look essentially the same and are basically empty. The rest is just a open, completely empty area, with a few npc enemies (this is Dark Souls 2 after all, folks) and the infinite respawning horses that we all hate, all that while you can't see shit because of the stupid snow storm.
The boss fights here aren't good either. Aava has a boring moveset and is just underwhelming (it's just a fucking tiger), and while Ivory King does look somewhat cool, his moveset is very limited and basically your usual "guy with armor and big sword". Lud and Zallen are pretty terrible, with the game reusing a fight from THE SAME DLC (???) but now in a duo, and it basically comes down to killing Lud before Zallen steps down and fucks you up, with also the pressure of dying and having to go through that shit storm again. Overall not a good DLC, and it was either rushed or they were trying so hard to fuck with the player thay they forgot to make a goof experience. (4/10)
 
6- Crown of the Sunken King (Dark Souls 2): While arguably much better than the previous one, still not great, this one is just very forgettable. Some pretty cool ideas here, with the unique level design and the introduction of the platforms and mechanisms of the first area make for a interesting and unique area, something very rare in Dark Souls 2 🤯. Unfortunately though, the rest of the DLC is just very forgettable and mediocre, with the lower areas getting increasingly more annoying and focused on your usual annoying DS2 stuff like traps and ganky rooms, while forgetting about the interesting level design and artstyle.
The boss fights are also not great. Very basic dragon fight with a very annoying gimmick, annoying boss fight that is just 3 npc enemies (again, this is Dark Souls 2) and a incredibly mediocre final boss fight that relies on summoning Velstadt, a better boss. (6/10)
 
5- Crown of the Old Iron King (Dark Souls 2): Easily the best one out of the bunch, THIS is Dark Souls 2 at it's peak. You have a unique level with good exploration that simultaneously looks pretty cool. This one also has the most enemy variety, and while it does try it's best to be annoying with a few rooms filled with enemies and projectile shooters, it does make up for it in other moments, also, this is Dark Souls 2, aren't you used to it by now?
The bosses are easily the best ones in the game, with Sir Alonne while being a very simple fight, has a unique rhythm to it that almost feels like a dance. You also have Fume Knight, which is your guy with big sword and armor, but this time it does have a interesting moveset to back it up, and the run back to it is not absolutely insufferable, which is something unheard of in this game. Oh yeah, there's also blue Smelter Demon, which is exactly as the name implies. Very exciting stuff. (7/10)
 
4- Ashes of Ariandel (Dark Souls 3): Probably the most inoffensive of the DLC packs. It's not blowing your mind most of the time, but just delivering a very solid experience with some great enemies, cool visuals (which DS3 really lacks) and some solid levels with the exploration you've come to expect from the game. No moments that really blow your mind (aside from the one where there's the corvian assassin in the village) but no moments that suck either.
Now, the boss fight is the real highlight here and bumps it up a spot by itself. Sister Friede is an incredible boss fight, with a great moveset that feels like Lady Maria on crack, and three different phases, one of which also includes a good duo boss fight. Incredible visuals too.
Huh? There's another boss fight? No there's not. For you to be considered a boss fight, at least wear pants when you fight me. (8/10)
 
3- The Ringed City (Dark Souls 3): Probably an unpopular opinion, as I see a lot of people consider this the best one, and while I can see why, I disagree.
This is still Dark Souls 3, so the exploration still feels a bit uninteresting and the visuals bland, although it is better than the base game. Take a look at the poison swamp, or the other swamp (2???🤯) the DLC has, which are maybe cool the first or second times, not so much after that. I do like the other areas though, especially near the end of the DLC with the second section of the city. This DLC also presents a lot of variety in each level, with all of them being very distinct from each other. They also present some pretty cool enemy encounters that are difficult but don't feel bullshit.
But of course, this is Dark Souls 3 so obviously the best part is the boss fights. SPEAR OF THE CHURCH!!! Ok, that one is not very good, not terrible either, but the rest is easily some of the best work Fromsoft has ever done. The Demon Princes are a great boss fight full of spectacle, a great moveset and is arguably the best duo fight in all of Fromsoft's catalog. Then we have Midir, which is one of my favorite boss fights ever. Incredible presentation, great moveset, difficult as fuck the first time and I still remember getting destroyed by it. Probably the best dragon fight they've ever done. And there's Gael, which everybody knows is perfect, in every single aspect. Great design, great arena, great music, thrilling moveset and a big ass HP bar so that you can spend more time with him. (9/10)
 
2- Artorias of the Abyss (Dark Souls): Perfection. The areas look incredible, with all of them having a unique amazing atmosphere that gets progressively darker as you go through, while also presenting your usual peak Dark Souls 1 exploration, with some great enemies to fight. They even manage to make a dark cave interesting to explore and look at, with the humanities floating around and some other cool stuff to see.
Then you have the boss fights, which we all know are great. There's Sanctuary Guardian which is a very underrated fight in my opinion, with a pretty cool and diverse moveset, with the only problem is that it's maybe a bit too easy. There's also Artorias, which is obviously amazing, from the presentation, to the music, the unique design and the great moveset, that while not that special if compared to something from Elden Ring, works perfectly here, this is arguably one of their best boss fights (this is how you make a guy with armor, Dark Souls 2), which is rivaled by the very next one, Manus. This fight tries to intimidate you in every aspect, from his appearance, the arena and the music makes all for a very remarkable fight, with it having the most important of all, a fun moveset. There's also Kalameet, which is still one of my favorite dragon fights, if a bit too easy. In the end, my only complaint is that I wish it was longer.(10/10)
 
1- The Old Hunters (Bloodborne): This one just does basically everything right. The exploration and the levels are some of the best (if not the best) in the entire series, with some great and interesting level design paired with the amazing art that Bloodborne has, all enhanced by the great variety in between them, makes all for some the the best levels they have ever created. Like, holy shit, Research Hall, Hunter's Nightmare AND Fishing Hamlet all in a single DLC? In those areas there's also some of the most fun enemies to fight in any of the games, like the old hunters and the big humanoid sharks.
The boss fights aren't as consistent as you can get, with Living Failures not being that great (while I still like it) and Lawrence just being a crazier version of Cleric Beast. Ludwig, Maria and Orphan of Kos, though, are some the best shit FromSoft has ever made, and the music on Ludwig's fight still gives me chills every fucking time. Also, shout-out to the cool items you get in this DLC. First time I actually think it deserves to be mentioned how cool the armor and weapons you can get here are, and enhance the experience quite a bit. (11/10)
 
? - Shadow of the Erdtree (Elden Ring): If we do follow this trend of presenting the best material on the DLC, we're definitely in for something special here.

New Music Friday is the weekly thread dedicated to cataloging all the Album/EP releases that came out this week, including non-subreddit relevant releases. This is also a great place to discuss these albums, or bring to attention other albums released this week.

❓ "this seems intriguing after a cursory look"
⭐ "im interested in this for one reason or another"
❤️ "ive been waiting for weeks, months/i'm absolutely in love with this"

Dehd - Poetry
Label: Fat Possum
Genre: Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Surf
❓ Amen Dunes - Death Jokes
Label: Sub Pop
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Art Rock
❤️ Iglooghost - Tidal Memory Exo
Label: LuckyMe
Genre: Deconstructed Club, UK Hip Hop, UK Bass, Grime, Drill and Bass
⭐ Arab Strap - I'm totally fine with it 👍 don't give a fuck anymore 👍
Label: Rock Action
Genre: Indietronica, Post-Punk, Synthpop
❓ How To Dress Well - I Am Toward You
Label: Sargent House
Genre: Art Pop, Noise Pop, Glitch Pop
Shannon and the Clams - The Moon is in the Wrong Place
Label: Easy Eye
Genre: Pop Soul, Pop Rock
Les Savy Fav - OUI, LSF
Label: Frenchkiss
Genre: Post-Punk Revival, Dance-Punk
⭐ Bossk - .4
Label: Deathwish
Genre: Post-Rock, Post-Metal
Milkswarm - Sodakink
Label: n/a
Genre: Post-Punk, Indie Rock
❓ Snow Strippers - Night Killaz Vol. 2 (EP)
Label: Surf Gang
Genre: Electroclash, Electropop
Rainbow Kitten Surprise - Love Hate Music Box
Label: Elektra
Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Rock
⭐ Sunnata - Chasing Shadows
Label: n/a
Genre: Atmospheric Sludge Metal, Post-Metal
Rated Eye - Rated Eye
Label: n/a
Genre: Noise Rock
⭐ Brutus VIII - Pure Gluttony
Label: n/a
Genre: Synth Punk, Art Pop
Amy O - Mirror, Reflect
Label: Winspear
Genre: Indie Pop
Orville Peck - Stampede: Vol. 1
Label: Warner
Genre: Contemporary Country, Alt-Country
❓ Big Special - Postindustrial Hometown Blues
Label: SO
Genre: Post-Punk, Indie Rock, Synthpop
Yaya Bey - Ten Fold
Label: Big Dada
Genre: Contemporary R&B, Neo-Soul
❓ The Empty Page - Imploding
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Punk, Post-Punk
Låpsley - A Guilty Heart Can Never Rest
Label: Believe
Genre: Alternative R&B, Alt-Pop
Jordan Rakei - The Loop
Label: Deeca
Genre: Neo-Soul, Alternative R&B, Art Pop
Kings Of Leon - Can We Please Have Fun
Label: Capitol
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
Lunchbox - Pop and Circumstance
Label: Slumberland
Genre: Twee Pop, Jangle Pop, Mod Revival
Hot Water Music - VOWS
Label: Equal Vision
Genre: Alternative Rock, Punk Rock
Villagers - That Golden Time
Label: Domino
Genre: Indie Pop, Chamber Folk
❓ Sofia Bolt - Vendredi Minuit
Label: Born Losers
Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Indie Rock
youbet - Way To Be
Label: Hardly Art
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Rock
Rezzett - Puddings (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Outsider House, Lo-Fi House
death's dynamic shroud, galen tipton - You Like Music
Label: Ghost Diamond
Genre: Deconstructed Club, Wonky
Blue Rain Boots - The Grand Idea
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock
Dinner Time - Technicolor
Label: n/a
Genre: Garage Rock
Dreamer Boy - LONESTAR
Label: Universal
Genre: Indie Pop, Pop Rock
A.G. Cook - Britpop
Label: New Atlas
Genre: Bubblegum Bass, Indietronica
The Long Lost Somethins - FARM (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock
twikipedia - for the rest of your life
Label: n/a
Genre: Noise Pop, Indie Rock
MRCY - VOLUME 1
Label: Dead Oceans
Genre: R&B/Soul
Sudden Voices - Days and Nights
Label: n/a
Genre: Dream Pop, Jangle Pop
❓ Indoor Pets - Pathetic Apathetic
Label: Alcopop!
Genre: Power Pop, Indie Pop
Angus & Julia Stone - Cape Forestier
Label: Universal
Genre: Indie Folk, Folk Pop
❓ Douglas Dare - Omni
Label: Erased Tapes
Genre: Art Pop, Indietronica, Glitch Pop
❓ Keeley Forsyth - The Hollow
Label: 130701
Genre: Ambient, Chamber Music, Art Pop
Various Artists - I Saw The TV Glow (Original Soundtrack)
Label: A24
Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Indietronica
Backspace - Outside of Change (April 30th)
Label: Maybe Mars
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Post-Punk
❓ Unwed Sailor - Underwater Over There
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie Rock, Post-Rock
Tom Vek - Confirm Yourself (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Indietronica, Indie Rock, New Rave
❓ RONKER - Fear Is A Funny Thing, Now Smile Like A Big Boy
Label: Labelman
Genre: Post-Punk-Gaze
⭐ Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Nell' ora blu
Label: Rise Above
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock, Film Soundtrack, Horror Synth
Myriam Gendron - Mayday
Label: Thrill Jockey
Genre: Contemporary Folk, Singer-songwriter
Fruit Bats - Starry-eyed, in Stereo
Label: Merge
Genre: Indie Pop, Folk Pop, Alt-Country
Bad Sounds - Escaping from a Violent Time
Label: Nettwerk
Genre: Indie Pop, Funktronica
Ditonellapiaga - FLASH
Label: Belli
Genre: Alt-Pop, Electropop
Cosha - MurMurs (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Contemporary R&B, Neo-Soul
Lil Jon, Kabir Sehgal - Manifest Abundance: Affirmations for Personal Growth
Label: BMG
Genre: Guided Meditation, New Age
Alexander Stewart - bleeding heart
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop
Alec Benjamin - 12 Notes
Label: Elektra
Genre: Pop, Singer-songwriter
Destiny Rogers - Still Your Girl
Label: Human Re Sources
Genre: Contemporary R&B, Alt-Pop
Peppa Pig - Peppa Pig Lofi Songs (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Lo-Fi Children's Music, Lo-Fi Television Music, Lo-Fi Bubblegum
Ghostface Killah - Set The Tone (Guns & Roses)
Label: Mass Appeal
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Pop Rap
Conway the Machine - Slant Face Killah
Label: Drumwork
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop, Gangsta Rap, Boom Bop
Abstract Museum & Guilty Simpson - Block Runners
Label: n/a
Genre: Hip Hop
Chief Keef - Almighty So 2
Label: 43B
Genre: Chicago Drill, Hardcore Hip Hop
Gunna - One of Wun
Label: Young Stoner Life
Genre: Trap, Southern Hip Hop
Rio Da Yung OG - Rio Circa 2020
Label: n/a
Genre: Detroit Trap, Gangsta Rap
Ryan Castro - EL CANTANTE DEL GHETTO
Label: n/a
Genre: Reggaetón
Kalan.FrFr - MAKE THE WEST GREAT AGAIN
Label: n/a
Genre: Pop Rap, West Coast Hip Hop
The Act/UnoTheActivist - Omega Music Vol. 1
Label: n/a
Genre: Southern Hip Hop, Trap
YhapoJJ - P.S. Fuck You
Label: Simple Stupid
Genre: Trap, Southern Hip Hop
M Huncho and Potter Payper - 36 Hours
Label: n/a
Genre: UK Hip Hop, Trap, Pop Rap
❓ Anonymuz - We$tside
Label: n/a
Genre: Hip Hop/Rap
⭐ Knocked Loose - You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To
Label: Pure Noise
Genre: Metalcore, Beatdown Hardcore
⭐ Like Moths to Flames - The Cycles Of Trying To Cope
Label: n/a
Genre: Metalcore
⭐ Unleash the Archers - Phantoma
Label: Napalm
Genre: Power Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal
⭐ El Moono - The Waking Sun
Label: Lockjaw
Genre: Alternative Metal, Alternative Rock
Six Feet Under - Killing for Revenge (nsfw artwork: gore)
Label: Metal Blade
Genre: Death Metal, Thrash Metal
The Plot In You - Vol. 2 (EP)
Label: n/a
Genre: Alternative Metal, Djent, Metalcore
Powerman 5000 - Abandon Ship
Label: Cleopatra
Genre: Nu Metal, Industrial Rock
Necrophagia - Moribundus Grim
Label: Time to Kill
Genre: Death Metal, Film Soundtrack
Riot V - Mean Streets
Label: Atomic Fire
Genre: Heavy Metal, US Power Metal
Warlord - Free Spirit Soar
Label: HR
Genre: US Power Metal, Heavy Metal
The Tangent - To Follow Polaris
Label: InsideOut
Genre: Progressive Rock, Symphonic Prog
Red Rot - Borders of Mania
Label: Hammerheart
Genre: Dissonant Death Metal, Sludge Metal
Take Offense - T.O.tality
Label: MNRK Heavy
Genre: Crossover Thrash
Binary Creed - Leash of Noise
Label: n/a
Genre: Power Metal, Progressive Metal
Borer - Bag Seeker
Label: Landmine
Genre: Doom Metal, Sludge Metal
Scoured - Scoured
Label: n/a
Genre: Indie

It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. However, if we're prepared for war, and resistant to the bullshit whining and crying about TEOTWAKI that's about to be turned up to 11 on social media by foreign influence campaigns as we approach November this year, then there's a chance Russia doesn't do something that fucks up everything. It's cold war nuclear brinkmanship from the old era all over again. The only response is to stand strong and be more than willing to 'bring the pain' if something does kick off. To borrow from Tolkien, "I don't want to be in a battle, but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is even worse." We're looking at the deep breath before the plunge here, and how our generation responds to this will define us. Our best bet at avoiding conflict is to stand resolute and defiant, resistant to our opponent's influence campaigns and ensure that any considered plan for invasion or escalation will end in their total destruction, even if it means we also take severe hits. Our most dangerous move right now, would be to show weakness and contrition. One does not turn their back on a tiger while it's stalking them.
EDIT: According to metrics, there was a massive spike in visibility and engagement around 8AM in Moscow then another, larger spike around 6AM in Beijing? Given the general salty nature of comment responses to this post, I'm starting to wonder if I struck a nerve somewhere? Either way, if it is bot farms and trolls, China's apparently got a better work ethic than Russia does.

its not realiztic if you fire a supressed fucking gun 1km out and pull aggro from every ai in that area... Dead people dont talk. They dont do voice coms and say "hey he shot me at "141.143"
it totally ruine the immersive tactical aspect in the game.
Other measures to deal with this issues that it becomes stal and easy farm on AI is needed.
Some examples that i came up with in less then five.. it shouldnt be so hard fix tbh:
-Start use tripwires with alarm system (if weather comes with night use floodlights) ,
-Canine.. make patrols with Canine that release em upon you and then its realistic they start to shoot.
-Flir in high tier guarded areas on militants.
-Add snipers (towers with spoters)
Thats just some realistic alternatives. Cause this bullshit makes the gear useless and stacking out supressed guns uselss. also making questing in areas like tigers bay a fucking zombie mode in COD. not fun and approptiate to the realism immersive tactical gameplay at all

Having read a comprehensive book detailing the Hart Family/ Stampede Wrestling, as well as books by Bret Hart, Bruce Hart and Dynamite Kid, I can say it was great to hear from someone who was spoken about in all those books. It is fascinating to see all the intersecting points of view when it comes to anything Hart Family related.
Bret Hart book
Bruce Hart book
History of Stampede Wrestling book
History of the Hart Family as documented in various books
Dynamite Kid book
This book was short and a quick read, but you could tell it was written with honesty and truth. She doesn't shy away from her own mistakes and issues while detailing the own POV on a relationship where most people have only heard from Bret.
As always, it's done in chronological order. I hope you find it as interesting as I did...
Julie had a truly wild and horrific youth experience between being sent to juvenile detention centers and dealing with genuinely abusive step parents. She is honest and critical of her own behaviors as well and doesn't like the choices she made. I grew up in the area where she spent her teenage years, and I can confirm that the seedy ghetto areas of Saskatchewan are genuinely gross and terrifying places to be when you're young and directionless.
She talks about how she was r*ped while hitchhiking as a teenager and got pregnant. She gave the baby up for adoption and tried to press charges but got cold feet and ran to another neighboring city. She was afraid the man who assaulted her would escape the charges and come after her again. She was young and naively thought that if she had just switched towns, she could escape everything. When a cop found her, he accused her of running because she was lying about the assault. This type of bullshit is why women don't come forward.
Julie was working in Regina, Saskatchewan, at the arena where wrestling was held when it came in town. That's where she first saw Bret Hart, and Bret saw her too. He ended up asking her boss Gil to introduce the two. Bret spoke about this in his book, too, how Julie caught his eye while he was in the ring. Gil later warned Julie that dating a wrestler is risky because they have a lot of "stops on the road." Julie didn't understand that Gil wasn't criticizing or accusing Bret of anything, but how he knew how wrestlers were on the road, in terms of meeting women.
Julie speaks favorably on how Bret treated her younger sister Michelle (the future wife of Dynamite Kid) but I remember in Bret's book, him describing in detail how attracted he was to the underage Michelle when he met her. Julie says Bret treated her like a sister, and her book came out after Bret's, so I'll take her word for it.
Julie moved in with Bret in Calgary just a few months into their relationship and she remembers being a wreck of nerves and anxiety ay the start, unable to cook or even attend the big Hart Family Sunday dinner. Eventually, Bret got her out to the Hart house where she met Stu and Helen Hart. Helen was a sweetheart, but she remembers Stu eying her up and down, with Julie saying, "He gave me the once over." Adding, "Stu judged women on their teeth and legs." She said Stu stared at her teeth and legs as if she were a race horse he was inspecting.
Julie remembers how Stu would turn any conversation into something about wrestling. She mentioned being a Saskatchewan Roughrider fan (Canadian football team), and Stu went on a rant about Gene Kiniski, who briefly played for the Edmonton Eskimos This made me chuckle as Stu and Gene had a but of a rough relationship since Stu gave up on Gene when he was a rookie and hurt his knee. Gene went to Toronto where "Whipper" Billy Watson essentially turned Gene into the big name star he was known for.
In Bret's book, he described the first night Julie came to the Sunday Hart dinner and when Julie passed on the salad, Bret's sister Diana Hart snapped on her saying, "What, you're too good for fuckin' salad!?" Bret says his mom responded by saying to Julie, "So you met Bret's sister Diana." In Julie's book, she describes this event as well but doesn't mention the funny line from Helen. She says Bret just took Julie and decided to leave immediately. Bret's other sister, Georgia, followed them outside and apologized on behalf of Diana and excused Diana by pointing out how pregnant Diana was at the time.
Julie actually puts over Diana quite a bit and says she actually came to admire Diana for how outspoken she was. She says Diana had a great style and was a gifted artist. After reading so many Hart related books, it's refreshing to hear something positive about Diana. Diana is the "Black sheep" who married "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Diana would write a scandalous and legal minefield of a book in 2001 called "Under the mat." It was quickly pulled from shelves after Owen Hart's widow Martha threatened legal action over what was said about her and Owen. Bret and Bruce Hart also denounce the book, calling it mostly lies, but not everything can be written off as fiction, including stories, some wild stores about Dean Hart. I desperately need this book.
Julie said she never got over the sight of Bret Hart eating an avacado as if it were an apple.
While Bret was in Japan wrestling with his brother Keith, Julie said she spent a lot of time with Keith's girlfriend. It was Keith's girlfriend who smartened Julie up to how wrestling works. Up to this point, she believed it to be legit, and even Bret had been selling it like this to her. She was furious, and when Bret called, she told him they were done and hung up on him. The next day, Bret's older brother Bruce stopped by to help her understand kayfabe and how silly it all was. Julie says she ended up feeling bad for reacting like that and yelling at Bret, but she says he forgave her immediately. Bret tells this same story in his book, adding details of how Julie would worry and stress about Bret Hart being brutalized every night.
Here's something I dont remember from Bret's book. He knocked up Julie very early into their relationship, and Julie got an abortion. She said they both weren't ready for being parents, but Julie says she was deeply saddened by their choice. She never expressed these misgivings with Bret, and assumes Bret was relieved, she didn't make it any more difficult on them. To Bret's credit, maybe he didn't mention it in his book for Julie's benefit. Or he did mention it very briefly, and I missed it.
Julie remembers accompanying Bret on a trip overseas where they went to a freaky sex show place where they had "baby tigers and lions and torture rooms."" She says at one point Bret got tied up on a table and was playfully whipped.
On this trip, Julie remembers a woman hitting on Bret right in front of her and had to yell at her to back off while Bret laughed. Julie was pissed and made them go back to the hotel. Once there, Julie was mouthing off to Bret before he grabbed her and "bodyslammed" her into the flower bed. He offered to help her up afterwards but she told him to fuck off.
A week later Bret came home smelling of perfume and Julie says she just snapped. She said she grabbed him and dug her finger nails into his face and eyes. She says Bret later would tell her that he never saw her the same after this incident. I don't remember Bret describing Julie ever getting physical like that in his book, but he did describe a lot of shouting matches.
Julie says she and Bret got married after her younger sister and Dynamite Kid. She says they got married in secret because Bret didn't like his siblings much and said they didn't deserve to be part of it.
When Julie was pregnant again this time they felt ready to start a family. Though Bret made Julie not tell anyone for the first 5 months of her pregnancy and when he "told" his parents, it was through a letter he left on their bed before he left for a wrestling tour. Julie remembers feeling hurt by this because Bret would say his parents always wanted their children to start families with someone who had money, a significant name and an education. Julie had none of those things and while she doesn't say it, you get the feeling that she thinks Bret was ashamed or embarrassed by her.
When she got pregnant again, she says Bret was mad at her for not being more careful with birth control. She says she became very irritable and bitchy throughout the pregnancy and always found something to be mad at Bret for. She is super critical of her behavior here and doesn't excuse it.
The night she gave birth, Bret left to go out for drinks, despite Julie asking him not to in case her water broke. When she woke up at 5am to her water breaking, she was furious that Bret didn't come home yet and had to call a friend to get her to the hospital. Bret was a no-show for her entire delivery and missed his second child being born. Julie says she was furious and seriously considered divorcing him then.
When Bret started touring with WWF, he was gone for much longer periods of time and this strained their marriage. Working for WWF really put a strain on Bret and filled him with confidence issues as well. She said between his self doubt and her loneliness, their marriage was barely holding on.
She remembers how Bret would call from the road and bemoan about how lonely he was. I'm reminded of his book, how he would complain about feeling lonely, then complain that the guilt of cheating on Julie was too much.
Julie says she got a literal itch and went to a doctor who told her that she caught "something" from a public washroom. A suspicious Julie went home and threw all her bedding in the garbage and then thought to check on her suspicion. She looked through their phone bills to find that Bret was placing a ton of calls to a girl from New Jersey and that he even kept the receipt for a Christmas present he bought this girl!
Julie describes how Bret called and she just screamed "I want a divorce!" Before she hung up and ripped the phone cord out of the wall. Eventually she agreed to go meet him and they started yelling at each other in a parking lot after a show. She says at one point Bret through a can of budweiser at her head, hitting her! She says wrestler Les Thorton got between the two and tried to calm them down. She remembers screaming how she won't get in the car with Bret and Bret yelled back, "Don't be stupid, get in the car! Your embarrassing yourself!" She says Bret later said the girl meant nothing to him and Julie should be greatful that Bret isn't addicted to drugs. Wild. At one point when they were back in the hotel room, a girl called the room asking for Bret and Julie snapped, breaking a lamp.
In Bret's book, he described how he decieved both Julie and this girl from New Jersey, neglecting to tell this side girl that he was married until she was head over heels in love with him. Bret talks about how tough this was for him and says that Stu and Helen Hart talked Julie out of leaving him.
Julie says their relationship was never the same after the affair. She couldn't trust him again.
Julie says when her grandmother died a few months after the affair, Bret was calling her everyday to check in but she said "I couldn't have cared less about those calls."
Julie says it was around this time that she and Bret started to regularly do cocaine. She said the coke helped her not think about the affair and how she would ask Bret to score some if she couldn't get it out of her head. She said she would do coke and sleep in the car just to avoid Bret. She suggests this all slowed down when Vince started cracking down on coke use with drug tests.
She speaks highly of Vince McMahon, this book was written in 2013, and she is greatful for what Vince was able to provide for her family and the opportunity he gave Bret. She says when she first met Vince, he was wearing a suit and sneakers. When she asked Bret why he wore sneakers, Bret said "so he can get around." During the show she noticed Vince was all over the place during matches, never sitting still and always running around from one person to another.
Julie remembers meeting Ozzy Osbourne at Wrestlemania 2 and "marking out" because he was her idol as a teenager. After the show, she says Ozzy was present as everyone had drinks at the hotel and Dynamite Kid spiked her drink. She said she could barely stand and Dynamite just laughed at her the whole time.
Julie notes how devoted Bret was to making sure his kids had the best toys, and how Bret would drive to every toy store before Christmas and find what the kids wanted. She appreciates this but also wishes Bret didn't miss so many plays and dances and activities due to his schedule. She was starting to really resent wrestling and wanted Bret to quit. She hated having this big house that felt empty most of the time without Bret home. In Bret's book, he wanted her to get a job to fix her loneliness.
She says her 3rd pregnancy was easier than her second and Bret was very sweet to her and praised how good she looked.
Julie brings up how devastated Bret was when his brother Dean died in 1990. She remembers watching him wrestle the next night at Survivor Series ppv and seeing the pain on his face. Bret talks about how tough this was in his book and how much shame he felt. Dean needed a kidney transplant and none of the Hart brothers stepped up. Bret didn't want to derail his career. Though you can't blame anyone more than Dean himself, who was stubborn and often went against doctors orders, so even with a mew kidney, Dean may have still died.
Julie talks about continuing her partying and drug lifestyle into the early 90s when she would party with a local band and inviting them to live at her house. She said Bret was very understanding and never pushed her for details on those nights out. Some nights Bret would watch the kids all night while Julie was getting fucked up and partying.
On of those musicians, Marc, was very close with Julie and while Julie never says she hooked up, she does say her younger sister Michelle did hook up with Marc, a bunch of times in secret. She doesn't specify if this was before or after Michelle left Dynamite Kid, but she says Marc did move in with Michelle and help her with the kids. This would have been after Dynamite went back to UK, since I'm sure Dynamite would have kicked the door down and attempted to murder Marc if this were in the final months of of Michelle and Dynamite's marriage.
Julie's brother committed suicide and Julie didn't have the support system around to prevent her from spiraling into heavy drinking.
In 1996, Bret Hart was filming a movie (Sinbad) in South Africa and halfway through, asked Julie to come join him. Julie is very honest about how she was self sabatoging her life at this point but was still deeply in love with Bret. She was excited to read an early draft of some Shakespeare work that was at a museum, but Bret couldn't be bothered to go with her so she went by herself.
She says her and Bret shared a perfect moment watching the sun set, but Bret got mad at her when she decided to record it.
Julie describes sneaking cigarettes because Bret didn't know she picked the habbit up again.
The trip ended when Julie was asking Bret something but he just ignored her several times in a row. When she finally looked at what had his attention, she saw he was gawking at a topless sunbather on the beach. She stormed off to the hotel room after telling Bret to show her more respect than that. Julie says Bret followed her to the room, with him saying she always ruins these trips. When Julie started packing her bags, she says Bret pushed her hard onto the bed. She started spewing insults at him, before, she says, Bret grabbed her by the hair and threw her from the bed and onto the floor! Julie says she started crying and demanding that Bret get her home immediately or else she would find someone who would. Bret screamed at her "Get the fuck out! I've had it with you! We're fucking done! I will put you on a plane tonight, but don't expect to win me back!"
Having read Bret's book, he does mention the trip to South Africa where he filmed the Sinbad movie. But Bret makes no mention of inviting Julie on the trip and instead points out how it coincided with a WWF tour in South Africa at the same time. Bret does talk about how the Dutch found the area and how beautiful itnwas there, which was something Julie mentioned as well that Bret talked about. Bret does mention getting a lot of ladies phone numbers on the last few days of the trip and seeing a drunk Yokozuna swapping spit with some South African PR woman when they were both very drunk. Bret makes no mention of Julie being there or how he got physical with her.
The Hart's always try to shy away from controversial truths, just ask any one of them where Bruce Hart met his wife. They will all say at a wrestling show, and neglect to mention how Bruce Hart was a 33 year old substitute teacher who knocked up his 17 year old student. Gross. (I'll never not bring this up when talking about the Hart's btw)
Julie talks about Mathew Hart, Georgia and BJ's son who died in 1996 from Necrotizing Fasciitis, a legitimate flesh eating virus. From everyone's account, the poor boy suffered for 2 weeks until he died. Julie says she and Bret took their kids on vacation when the poor kid died. A lot of people act as though the Hart Family curse started at the Screwjob in 1997, but really it started with Dean in 1990 and Mathew in 1996.
Julie remembers how gleeful Bret was when he called her up and bragged about giving a drunken Vince McMahon his tag team finishing move. Julie warned Bret that Vince wasn't the type to forget that and she suspects that it played a part in the screwjob. This sounds silly imo but what do I know, I found it an interesting and unique take if nothing else.
Julie remembers the morning of the 1997 Survivor Series ppv, someone warned Bret that Vince and Shawn were seen the night before talking and getting into an elevator together.
Julie says she and her lawyer were sitting somewhere in the arena as the Montreal Screwjob happened. Julie says she got up, looking at the monitor and said, "Holy shit, that's not supposed to happen!" And her lawyer, also shocked, said, "No, it is not."
Julie says she and the layer had to sprint to catch up to Bret and Vince and she describes her scolding of Triple H and Shawn Michaels, saying the words just poured out of her. It's maybe the most memorable scene of that documentary, watching Triple H and HBK shrink into children as Julie dresses them down.
Julie says the 1997 holidays were anything but cheerful and says she was boozing a lot and doing coke "from time to time."
Julie wanted to get a nanny or house keeper but Bret refused and put his foot down on the subject.
Julie says Bret asked for a divorce in early 1998 and she handled it poorly. She is critical of her immediate response to run away from home and stay at a hotel. When she returned home for clothes, her confused daughter asked her what was going on and a rageful Julie said "Your dad wants a divorce and I can't stay in the same house as him anymore! Julie says she was so blinded by her anger she didn't see the damage she was doing then.
Julie says that the Wrestling with Shadow's documentary crew needed Julie and Bret to reshoot something that didn't come out right when they originally shot it. So Julie and Bret had to pretend to be a in a marriage again talking things out about Bret's career. Julie says her and Bret slept together after they shot the scene and she was hurt when Bret said afterward, "One for the road, I guess."
The next time she heard from Bret, he told her to get a lawyer because he had one already.
Julie says she and Bret spent many nights yelling at eachother over the phone, with Bret calling her a whore and saying he didn't take all those bumps so Julie to take all his money. This is a statement Bret would repeat a lot to Julie over the years of them fighting. He would call her a money grabbing whore and how he didn't take a bunch of bumps so Julie could end up with the money.
Just as Julie was ready to sign custody papers, Bret's personal assistant contacted Julie and told her that Bret had been seeing some girl in the States for months. The assistant said she felt guilty arranging their meetups behind Julie's back. Julie said she later told Bret that she isn't signing shit and she needed to contact her lawyers with the new developments. She said Bret first tried denying it, calling his assistant jealous and a liar. Then Bret blamed Julie because Bret said he "couldn't get past her traumatic past." What the fuck Bret, I'm pretty sure he is referring to Julie being sexually assaulted as a teenager. (He makes this clear later in the book) Then he bragged about his new girl looking better than Julie and being younger than Julie, with Bret also saying the kids will love the new girl. Bret even later said Julie was getting heavier and letting herself go.
Pretty wild story here. Julie says that Bret started neglecting the kids, even when he was in town, and often skipped out on seeing them altogether. For Canada Day 1998 Bret promised to take them out and to the fireworks. Julie says they waited all day, expecting a fun evening with their dad. But Bret didn't show up with their friend Dean, until after 9pm, (stoned and drunk according to Julie) after Julie tried to call Bret repeatedly and got no answer.
Julie isn't proud of this, but says before Bret arrived that night, Julie had sat the kids down and told them Bret was off smoking pot with a new girlfriend. Julie knew immediately she shouldn't have said it, she saw her kids starting to cry and knew she tarnished how they look at their dad.
Bret was pissed off that Julie decided to take the kids to the fireworks, and when Julie had herself and the kids in the car, an enraged Bret started punching the drivers side window until Julie agreed to get out and talk.
Bret grabbed and dragged her off around the corner of the house where Julie defiantly told him that the kids know he smokes pot and is seeing someone else.
Julie says Bret snapped, slammed her hard up against the wall and yelled, "You bitch! I hate you! I hate you!" Then Julie claims that Bret grabbed her by the throat and slammed her on the ground where he continued to choke her until their son Blade came around the corner and screamed at Bret to get off his mom!
As Julie was catching her breath, their friend Dean, who was still there and in shock, tried to help Julie up. Bret took off with their son Blade and a panicked Julie called the police. She foolishly said to the 911 opperater that her husband pro wrestler, Bret Hart, had taken her child againt her will. The police arrived and seemingly didn't know who Bret was, tried to get Julie to press charges. The police were able to call Bret and convince him to bring the kid to the police station, so the cops could bring him home. Bret makes no mention of this in his book.
Julie says Bret stopped by the next day and apologized and tried to ask her to sit down for coffee. Julie explained how they scarred their children for life the night prior and she wasn't interested in speaking to him in friendly terms yet.
Julie defends Bret a bit by saying she could see in person that she wasn't the cause of his anger and that he was just deeply angry and disappointed with things. This would be 1998 and even Bret describes how bitter and despondent he was at this time. Julie says he stopped being around the kids and it hurt them, especially their boys Blade and Dallas who started getting a chip on their shoulders and seeking conflict. One time Julie asked Dallas about Bret and Dallas said, "He never calls and is never around."
Julie says things were getting stable but she and Bret started secretly sleeping together again and complicated things. She says Bret would pick her up and drove to a seedy part of town before casually dropping her off at home after. She says she was initially amused by this but eventually began to wonder how many other women Bret does this with. It made her feel uncomfortable to say the least.
One time as she was being dropped off, Julie asked Bret if he was happy. Bret said no and that he couldn't get happy. Then Bret asked if Julie was seeing anyone, but didn't let her answer, he just said "of course you are." Julie realizes now that Bret was suffering some deep depression and at the time she mistook codependency for love.
Eventually Bret's other girlfriend caught wind of his and Julie's rendezvous and made Bret break things off. Julie could hear the woman on the other end of the line when Bret called to inform Julie that they need to set boundaries in their relationship now.
Julie says Bret once called her to say he tested for hepatitis and that Julie should get checked out as well.
Julie later found out that the girl Bret was seeing was nearly the same age as their daughter.
Julie says her and Bret continued to sleep together behind his girlfriends back though, with Bret always asking for "coffee" before making a move, which Julie always reciprocated.
Bret would break up with his girlfriend near the end of 1998 and ask Julie if he can spend the holidays with her and the kids. Julie relents, and soon they seem to be trying to salvage their relationship with Bret more present then he ever has been.
Soon after the new year, Bret and Julie take a trip together to Hawaii. Julie finally builds up the courage to ask Bret what he thinks of them getting back together, and Bret says he doesn't want to get "trapped" again. Julie snapped and said, "That's it I'm done, I can't keep playing these games with you!"
During this conversation, as Julie was walking away, Bret randomly said, "My therapist said that sometimes girls, like the ones your age when all that stuff happens to you, they like it." Julie burst into tears and ran out of the room. What the fuck Bret, to imply that that when his wife was a 16 year old girl, she liked getting r*ped!
Helen Hart died a few weeks after 9/11 in 2001. She was from New York, and Julie remembers how devastated Helen was following the September attacks. Helen went back to New York a few weeks later to visit her sister, but due to the border concerns, she was held up for hours after her plane landed back in Calgary. She wasn't able to reach her insulin and eventually went into a coma.
Helen was on an off ventilation a few times while at the hospital, and one day Alison (Bret's sister) called and told him to come visit asap, because Helen was back on a ventilator and it wasn't looking good. Bret thought Alison being an alarmist and decided to visit the next day. Julie says she wishes they had visited that night, because Helen passed away a few hours later.
One afternoon, Julie came home to find her son Dallas on the phone, when she asked him who he was speaking to, Dallas said, "It's dad, but he sounds drunk." Bret told Julie that he fell off his bike and couldn't get up. He wasn't speaking clearly and couldn't properly explain where he was. Julie and her daughter Beans, drove around looking for Bret based off his perception and directions.
Julie and Beans found him laying casually in the grass, as if he was resting. She said one of Bret's eyes was wide open and the other was closed, and half his mouth was dropping. She struggled to move him as he slurred his words and insisted he was fine. Eventually an ambulance was called and Bret was loaded in.
Julie says the stroke changed him, made him mooder and more depressed. She isn't casting judgment, just pointing out changes she noticed as she spent every day at the hospital with him, helping to feed and cloth Bret, even helping him to the bathroom.
Julie remembers one night that Bret confided in her that he feared he got a stroke as punishment for all the bad things he done. He told her that the morning he got a stroke, he was planning on signing the divorce papers.
Several months later, with Bret moving aorund more, he spent Easter with Julie and the kids, but Julie found an email from some woman in Italy, directed to Bret and it suggested some heavy sexual stuff. Julie felt stupid and used again. When she confronted him on it, he denied anything and she reluctantly believed him.
A week later as Bret prepared for a trip, she found a plane ticket to Italy, when she asked Bret where he was going, he said England. Julie drove him to the airport and told him to get the fuck out.
Bret went to Italy to be with a fan he met at a contract signing, who was obsessed with him since she was a little girl. Julie says she is exactly what Bret needed to feel like the Hitman again. After reading Bret's book, this assessment is completely accurate.
The Italian woman's name was Cynthia and she was also just a year older than Bret's daughter Jade. Julie said Jade had the hardest time accepting Cynthia, whom Bret was determined to integrate into the family.
When Bret's dad Stu died, Julie remembers how she, Bret and Stu's granddaughter Jenni all stood by the bed and watched as he passed. She remembers how she kissed his cheek and told him he could go see Helen now, he didn't need to be here and longer. I remember the speech Stu gave at Helen's funeral, with one line in particular staying with me, "I'm glad for the time I had with her," he said full of love, but his pain was on display too, "Ill never get over this" he finished solemnly, "I don't have enough time."
Julie remembers one day that their son Blade called her from Bret's house, begging for her to pick him up. Blade and Bret started arguing about Cynthia, with Bret saying to his own son, "Don't make me pick between you and Cynthia, because I'll pick Cynthia! And if you don't like it you can get the fuck out!"
Julie started calling Bret "Hitman" when he acted like this to his children, with Julie telling them that their father still loves him and not to worry about what The Hitman says, because it's coming from a broken mind.
One day after Julie bought a house, Bret randomly showed up with a turkey and tried to hit on her. Julie found it amusing and asked him if Cynthia knew he was there. Bret tried to make a move on her but Julie made it clear that won't happen so Bret left. As he left, he told Julie, "I still have cravings for you and I'm not sure I'll ever get over them." To which Julie just cooly responded with, "You will."
After Bret left that day, Julie called his assistant who confirmed that Cynthia was literally on a plane back to Italy right then. Julie laughed at how pathetic it was for Bret to say goodbye to Cynthia and then an hour or two later, show up at Julie's with a turkey and looking for sex.
Bret secretly married Cynthia and months later told the kids after the fact. Their son Blade was so furious he could barely speak to Julie when he got home and eventually blurted out, "Dad married that girl!" Their other son Dallas was also furious and explained how Bret callously told the kids "tell your mom, make sure you tell your mom." He was clearly trying to hurt Julie and used the kids to do so.
When Bret was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006, Julie insisted on going and told Bret if he doesn't find a way for her to be there, then she would call Vince McMahon herself and arrange it. Bret promised her she would be there but asked her to be discreet about it.
Julie got asked to do an online interview leading up to the Hall of Fame, and she let slip that she would be at the show to support Bret. Later, an irate Bret called her, yelling about how she was supposed to be discreet. Julie clued in on the fact that Bret didn't tell his new wife yet about Julie coming and now he was in hot water. In the end, Bret refused to allow Julie to come to the Hall of Fame to support him.
In Bret's Hall of Fame speech, he just talked about his new wife and how Cynthia was there for him after his stroke and just put her over big. He didn't mention Julie and only mentioned 2 of his 4 children. She says her children were extremely hurt by this and calls it the ultimate betrayal.
Julie started running low on money in 2008 and even attempted to be on a reality show. It was all a BS scam though and she had to invest money into it and eventually it all fell through. She speaks of this with a bit of shame while framing it as something she learned from.
Julie was facing bankruptcy and foreclosure on the house, so as a last resort, she called Bret. She asked him for 9 grand to cover 3 mortgage payments so she can sell the house. Bret chastised her for having money problems before ultimately saying no. He suggested that she rent the house out or have the kids pay rent. As they left, Julie warned him that if she loses the house, Bret may need to take the kids at him place. She doesn't say what he said to this, but she does say, "His response was too cruel to put into writing." Good lord, considering all she told so far, I wonder what Bret said that was so bad, Julie didn't want to even write it down?
Julie does point out that Bret didn't owe her a damn thing and she was in this situation by her own doing. Julie felt like she was letting her kids down most of all.
Julie would move in with her daughter Beans where they split the rent together. She got a job making $14/hour working as a janitor at a local middle school and Julie notes that she was living well below the poverty line.
Julie remembers how absurd it was for her to show up to her janitor job driving a Lexus.
Julie ended up selling her Lexus to her daughter Beans, and Julie bought herself a 1999 Sunfire. It was the first car she ever bought with her own money.
Julie's father died in 2012 and Julie says she wrote a letter to him, promising to make him proud, and stuffed it inside his coffin.
Julie says she spends most of her days being a grandma to Jade's daughter and how grateful she is to be close to her kids still.
Bret can't say the same, Julie notes how he travels alone or with his wife and never offers invites to his kids. She says it breaks her heart to see how far Bret drifted away from their children, even if all her kids insist that they don't care. This was in 2013, so potentially Bret and his kinds could have a better relationship by now.
Julie spends the last several pages of the book detailing her kids and all the ways she loves them. You can tell she is a mother first and foremost, you can tell she loves them unconditionally. Jade, Dallas, Beans and Blade, weird names for kids but I also have a weird name so I can't judge.

Ashiro has a white fucking tiger with her for 5 episodes now, and its just there... No explonation, no nothing. Everybody is just accepting that she brings a fridge-sized albino killing machine with here everywhere. Can someone explain to me why nobody is questioning the existence of a massive meat-loving chonker among the ranks of defense force? Why is he there?

Fodders: For the Emperor! Fodders: For the Angel!
[North Gangseo : Seojun Ha] vs [South Gangseo : Jungkook Lee]
[North Gangseo (Head of Action Force C): Seojun Ha]: SS-, SS, B(Awakened), B, SS-
[South Gangseo (Head of Action Force): Jungkook Lee]: 168 cm, 64 kg; SS, SS-, B(Awakened), B, SS

[North Gangseo (Head of Action Force C): Seojun Ha]: SS^up, SS+^up, B(Awakened), B, SS^up

[South Gangseo (Head of Action Force): Jungkook Lee]: SS, SSS-^up!, B(Awakened), B, SS
Seojun went in for the kill. His strikes were rapid and destructive. Jungkook's arms had cuts over them.
Jungkook guarded and gave Seojun a low sweep. Then he gave him a one-arm shoulder throw. Seojun landed on the floor with a thud.
Seojun: Ugh!
Seojun went in again. Jungkook slapped him. Seojun went in again and managed to scratch his face. The duo had a back-and-forth. Neither side wanted to give up.
Jungkook: For Hyeji... Seojun: For myself...
The duo began to rip off little chunks of flesh from their bodies.
Seojun and Jungkook: It's time to end this!
Both swung at each other and slammed each other. Finally, both of them went down.
Seojun and Jungkook: I hope I helped.
Winner: Tie
Meanwhile: Naebalsan-dong...
Yugeom: ... :
Yun: Fucking bastard. I think you broke my ribs...
Winner: Na Yugeom
???: Not so fast.
Yugeom and Yun looked ahead.
A duo had appeared.
Yun: Not you...
[North Gangseo (No 6): "The Scourge" Kai Jin Ma]: LR, UR+, A(Awakened), B+, LR
[North Gangseo (No 7): "Swordsman" William Texiter]: LR, LR, S(Awakened), A, UR+
Kai: Looks like someone failed. Sucks to be you. Yun: Fuck you bitch.

William: Oi. I'll take care of him.
Kai and Yun: What?!
But before they could stop William, he had already brought on his assault.
[North Gangseo (No 7): "Swordsman" William Texiter] vs [Big Deal: Yugeom Na]
Back at Hwagok-dong...
Zygarde and Evan sat out. Hwangyan told them to rest.
Evan: Will he be alright? Zygarde: Hopefully. He's got Cheonhak and Jeong helping him. Evan: That's great. Zygarde: Wait I need to make a call.
Phone call
Zygarde: Hey. (Hi my lovelies how are you <3) Hae-in: How are you? Zygarde: Fine. (I miss you. I miss you. I miss you guys so much.) Hae-in (sighing): Then get on with the fight. Zygarde: Sure. (Anything to get back home and see you guys.)
???: Looks like the North can afford to take a small call huh?
Zygarde: Wait I'll call you back. (I'm gonna fuck up this dog who disturbed our time.)
??? (2): HYEJI! I GOT HIM!
Hwangyan turned around to see 2 men.
Hwangyan: Nats and Yubaek...
[South Gangseo (No 12): Nats]: 176 cm 80 kg; SSR+, SSR, B+ (Awakened), A, SSR
[Gangbuk: Jeong Yubaek]: 182 cm, 71 kg; XXX, XXX, A(Ascended), B, XX
Zygarde: Looks like we have some work to do.
[North Gangseo (No 4): "Lu Bu" Evan Yang]: X, X, A+ (Ascended), D, XX
[North Gangseo (No 5): "Commander" Zygarde Lee]: X, X, A+ (Ascended), SS, X
[North Gangseo (No 4): "Lu Bu" Evan Yang] and [North Gangseo (No 5): "Commander" Zygarde Lee]
vs
[South Gangseo (No 12): Nats] and [Gangbuk: Jeong Yubaek]

So like next every second guy to me I do hope either Agito or Gaolang Wins however I did get an interesting thought about who might win this tournament which I do like to share.
I do think Agito will beat Julius and Rolong will beat magic carp looking motherfucker but then Rolong will Beat Agito and the reason for it is that this tournament have no place to be what it is, aka a way to see who can fight shen, when everyone in this tournament been beat before and those who beat them are not even fighting. So basically we know Ohma > Rolong so if Sandro shows Rolong > Agito this will make Agito lose a Tier but also basically will imply Ohma > Agito but then we could also get some crazy shit like Gaolang winning it all which which would make it clear cut that Agito/Gaolang/Jurota/Rolong are all relative in skill while all weaker than Ohma, cause lets be real here, it wont be anyone from this tournament to beat Shen in the end if thats even a thing that will ever happen. Who the fuck knows, maybe Shen wont even be final bad guy as he learns the error of his ways or some shit and then his dumb ass clone/tiger niko/Edward are the real bad guys, which would allow sandro to bypass the immense power creep that Shen brought.
Still hope Agito Wins.

Overseer's terminal

Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink VAULT-TEC SERVER 7-7-A TERMINAL
 
Welcome, Overseer.
Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink
 
[OVERSEER]

[VAULT-TEC INSTRUCTIONS]

[Letter from Dr. Kepler] A Letter to the Overseer from Dr. Frank Kepler:   If you are reading this, then you have been chosen to participate into the Vault-Tec Overseer training program. Congratulations! You are one of the few lucky individuals chosen to train inside of a replica vault for the duration of one month. Your contribution during this training period will help with the research into Vault-Tec’s vault program. You are now a vital part of the most ambitious program ever undertaken by Vault-Tec.   If you have not yet read your instructions, please do so now. They will outline the experimental protocols assigned to each control group. Please remember that deviation from these protocols in any way will jeopardize the success of the program, and may be considered grounds for termination by Vault-Tec Corporation (as outlined in your Employment Agreement).   Once the training program is finished, you will receive further instructions.   Doctor Frank Kepler Director, Evolutionary Research Program Vault-Tec Corporation
  [Instructions]

**Overseer Eyes Only**   As an overseer-in-training, you will be tasked with helping the Evolutionary Research Program (ERP) with observing and documenting the effects of long-term radiation on non homo sapiens species. Using a modified version of FEV, you will be administrating various doses of radiation to a selected group of mammal species. In your desk you will have a list of subjects that you are responsible for during the duration of your training -- Remember that successful completion of the training will help determine whether you have the skills to be qualified to oversee one of the many Vault-Tec vault's. So deviating from protocol or causing damage to any of the equipment may be considered grounds for termination by Vault-Tec Corporation (as outlined in your Employment Agreement).

 
[USER HISTORY]

-Vault 7-7-A Management System-   =====================
VaulTecOS v.82 (C)2076 Vault-Tec ====================== User Log: >>Administrator (Vault-Tec ID 1211-F) >>New_Admin: EGOMEZ Welcome new user, EGOMEZ

======================

 

Lab terminal

Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink

-Property of Vault-Tec-

Which TEST SUBJECT do you want to track?   [All Subjects]

There are currently 25 subjects being monitored.   The following species are: 5 cats [Leo, Lady, Milo, Peaches, Tiger] 5 dogs [Astro, Curly, Rex, Sunny, Timber] 5 rats [Acorn, Bean, Frodo, Ralf, Peanuts] 5 birds [Arizona, Edgar, Sam, Tweety, Zazu] 5 rabbits [Bubbles, Cookie, Easter, Fudge, Socks]

  [Cameras]

[Show Rex]

--CAMERA OFFLINE-- [Show Sam] --CAMERA OFFLINE-- [Show Lady] --CAMERA OFFLINE-- [Show Acorn] --CAMERA OFFLINE-- [Show Bubbles] --CAMERA OFFLINE-- [Shutdown the cameras]

  [Research Notes]

[Group 1]

Avian test subjects show minor impact from long-term radiation exposure.   Noticeable physical features include -- minor balding and blistering throughout the body. Subjects are still able to fly with little issues and function as normal.

  [Group 2]

Long-term radiation exposure has effected the rodent species in various ways.   Test subjects have grown much larger than normal rat species. Test subjects also appear to more aggressive in nature and will start screeching and attacking their containment box by biting or scratching nearby surfaces if approached.   Noticeable physical features include -- test subjects have larger bodies, larger teeth, and pearl-like eyes. Additionally, higher doses of radiation exposure causes fur to fall off at an accelerated rate, and the skin to become more winkled and leather-like.

  [Group 3]

The lagomorpha subjects show no behavioral changes to long-term exposure.   Noticeable physical signs include -- slightly larger than regular rabbits. loss of fur in the chest, neck, front legs, and back of the legs. (These areas appear to show scarring and the appearance of boils or warts). Interestingly, small horn-like growths can be seen in each test subjects head.

  [Group 4]

Feline species show no changes to long-term exposure to radiation.   Noticeable physical features include -- None   **Might need further investigation**

  [Group 5]

Minimal exposure to radiation seems to not affect the canine species at all. Over time medium exposure to radiation causes test subjects to grow much larger in size and show more wolf-like features. Long-term exposure to radiation turns dogs into feral-like creatures that strongly resemble the characteristics found in wild wolves.   Noticeable physical features include -- Tougher and bigger bodies, sharper claws and teeth.

  [Messages]

Message from Dr. Kepler

Hello [INSERT CANDIDATE NAME], please feel free to use this terminal to document any of the test subjects changes during your training period. Please try to keep minimal contact with the subjects, remember that you are an outside observer and should remain as such during your stay in the vault.   P.S. I hope that you won't mind me storing some of my own subjects in the vault. The work I am currently doing requires greater attention and a suitable environment with enough space. Please refrain from touching any of the cages or containers that have my name in them. Treat them as if they were my very expensive pets.  

 

Personal terminal

Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink
 
Welcome user, EGOMEZ.
Welcome to ROBCO Industries (TM) Termlink
  ***WARNING*** Data corruption detected. Out of [37] files in this directory, [14] were recovered successfully. All audio files have been converted to text.  

PERSONAL LOGS

Please select a file to view:   10/1

Today marks my official transition from a humble junior Vault-Tec employee to potential candidate to the role of Overseer. I am forever grateful to Vault-Tec for giving me this opportunity to demonstrate my leadership skills!   With that said, the job itself seems pretty easy. I don't have to actually manage any people in the vault (thank goodness for that), and it seems like most of the work has already been done for me. I just have to monitor the animal test subjects and document any visible changes. While normally any personal pets or wild animals are restricted from entering the vaults, testing the long-term effects of radiation on non-human species still makes for good science.

  10/2

Okay so after getting a day to adjust to my new environment, I think I know where everything that I need to do is located. The vault is not actually that big compared to the ones I've seen on TV. The overseer's office does feel cramp though, but that might be due to the giant monitors used to observe the laboratories. And Dr. Kepler's "pets"...   It's a good thing that I'm only staying here for one month.

  10/5

So the experiment being conducted in the vault is pretty interesting. It has five laboratories that are all self-regulating. The test subjects are provided with all the food and water they need, and all I have to do is to remember to restock the food every three days. It's all stored in this big storage room that is divided between the test subjects supplies and my supplies. And speaking of my supplies, they provided me with some pretty delicious foods and snacks! Not much for entertainment though, there are a lot of technical books and guides about various handy skills in case of nuclear fallout. Kinda stiff reading, but also understandable as this is meant to be a work assignment.   At least I'll have something to read to pass the time.

  10/8

It's been a week so far and I can confidently say that I'm pretty much ready to be an overseer. The test subjects are doing good. Well.. some of them at least. There are some test subjects that seem to notice my presence and become aggressive, even if they don't physically see me. But the others are peaceful and don't make much noises.

  10/12

This morning I woke up feeling pretty awful. I'm not sure if it was something I ate last night but just to be sure I'll probably stay away from anything that could further upset my stomach. I took some medicine that was in the emergency kit so I should be fine for now. Also, thanks to my predecessors work, I was able to finish writing my notes on test subjects 1-R167 and 3-B496. So congrats me! Now I just have to start on the others.

  10/19

I wish Vault-Tec included more of those fancy lads among the list of available foods to eat during the training. I don't usually have much of sweet tooth, but those cakes are addictive. Specially when paired with some fresh coffee!   Side note, I started to name some of the creatures in the labs. I felt bad just calling them by their designated lab-numbers. I feel it makes it easier to remember and keep track of who is who. Plus, it got me occupied with doing something to do for a while after work.

  10/22

Another day of feeling under the weather, just a little over a week to go before I'm done with the training. This time my voice has given out, becoming more raspy and hard to speak. I found a Stimpak in the Overseer's office, so hopefully that cures me of any illness I might have gotten. To be honest I think it's a fever or stomach flu. I noticed too late after eating them that some of the YumYum deviled eggs I had were in a damaged package. So I should probably be mindful of food safety from now on.   I'm just going to go read and sleep for the rest of day, and hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back to full health.

  10/23

-- Audio File-- Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, I royally fucked up. I was having a late breakfast when the vault suddenly lost power and when the lights went off I accidentally broke one of Dr. Kepler's pet containers. I think it was one of his bug ones. FUCK. I don't even get why Vault-Tec allowed him to store his stuff here. WHO THE FUCK COLLECTS AND KEEPS COCKAROACHES!!!   By the time the lights came back on, there was glass scattered everywhere and some of the computers showed error messages. I swear I better not be blamed for this. GODDAMMIT I was almost done with all of this... What even happened upstairs? There was loud bang sound and then everything went to shit.

  10/24

I have been working all day to try and get the terminals back online. That power out messed with a lot of the devices in the vault. Most of the lab equipment seems fine, but the cameras are no longer showing any video feed. For the time being I've decided to shutdown all test subject cameras to try and conserve some energy.   I was able to find a user manual in one of the boxes in the storage room that was all about terminals, but despite my best efforts I am unable to get things back to working order. Every time I try to send a message out to anyone at Vault-Tec hq, the terminals only show the message CONNECTION LOST.

  10/27

After three non-stop days of dealing with all of the mess from that power out, my body is starting to show signs of stress. The lack of sunlight has definitely made me more dry and wrinkly. I recommend some skin lotion be placed for the next participant. At this point I don't really care if I'm no longer selected to be an overseer. This shit is too stressful to deal with.   Just four more days and then someone will come down to check up on me. I can't wait to go back to normal desk job after all of this is done.

  11/1

-- Audio File-- Did I get the date wrong? No I'm sure I was supposed to be done by now. How come nobody has come to get me...   They better not forgotten about me or be pulling some type of prank. I'm going to file a complain with corporate after all of this is over. What is the point of building a vault if it breaks down after a few issues!

  11/2

Okay something is definitely wrong, I'm sure I should have received some message by now or something. That would probably explain the lack of contact these last two days.   When the power went out it must've damaged some areas of the vault much more than I originally thought. I am going to try and see if I can find something in here that can teach me about electrical engineering. If I can somehow re-route power to that section of the vault, then maybe I can open the door and leave. At this point I will probably start to run out of food without a resupply. So before it gets to that point, lets test out my new skills.

  11/5

-- Audio File-- I was able to scrounge up some spare parts from the broken terminals in the vault and started diverting some power to the area where the vault door is located. I think I might be able to divert enough power from some the labs, but this might cause some issues with the equipment there. I feel bad temporally messing with the test subjects environments, but at this point I feel like I don't have much of choice.   Let's hope this works...   Yes! I got it working! Let's see if the door will open now...   Wait, why are the lights flickering...   [Explosive sounds in background]   oh shit

  11/17

I can't sleep. Can't stop thinking about them, pounding at my door.   I tried to go out when they were sleeping but had no luck. I accidentally slipped on what I assume was blood from some other poor creature. I need to stop making too much noises, otherwise I will be quickly surrounded and then it's over for me.   Why am I being punished? I did everything Vault-Tec instructed of me, I took care of those ungrateful bastards outside. I was just an office worker. I just wanted to prove that I was able to contribute more to this company, and for what? So that they just abandon me in this hellhole?   Well screw it, if I'm going to die anyway, either from starvation or being eaten alive, then I might as well go out fighting.   Fuck you Vault-Tec.   Sincerely, Eddie Gomez

I mean it doesn't matter and even if he is so what, but it's just weird he won't admit it or at least get a DNA test to prove us wrong which I don't think is possible, no secret his parents knew and liked Castro and where even Allegedly in Cuba 9 months before Justins Birth, I mean am I spewing shit or is this true. knowing Castro isn't the main evidence, just how close they look alike and then knowing and Praising him. just a weird as fuck family. would love to hear people's opinions on this and if there is any truth to it?
Edit: I would also like to add its pretty evident in Justin's policies he is blood-related to a communist.

Easier to keep a tiger in a cage than on a leash. I let my alcoholism get out of hand. All the patterns everyone here has experience with. Soberly facing the reality that I dislike modern life and there’s not really an elegant way out. I guess I was drinking to escape but also as a means of killing myself faster. Just to get through the day. I hate bureaucracy, I hate shallowness, I hate the uncompassionate self consumed void that makes your life hard for no reason just to benefit some piece of shit at the top. I hate dating. I hate that I’m so constrained in how I express myself sexually because if I post nudes or speak openly about sex my life is condemned to exile and hell for some reason when I don’t even have bad intentions and wouldn’t ever hurt anyone or do anything not consensual. Ironically nearly lost my job because my drinking got out of hand, not because of any sexual behavior in my personal life.
I just hate hate hate. Hate myself. Then hate myself for drinking.
Staring at all these demons deadass fucking sober. And realizing the why. Hatred is a fire and it burns. Tried pouring alcohol on it which at least slows your mind down and numbs the pain a bit, but that hatred in there seeps out, hurts others including the rare few you care about, and I realize you can’t drink all day to maintain the numb.
The terrorist is in there and he wants to blow up the world because it is objectively corrupt and shitty and full of lies. The terrorist says hey nobody is looking now, you are alone. Pour this booze down your face. Ahhhhh, feel that? Isn’t that relief? See how it stops your brain from thinking so much? Wouldn’t this song sound better after ten or twelve? Wouldn’t this blackout feel better than thinking about your life and the world?
Learning to not negotiate with the terrorist. Trying to learn coping mechanisms that are healthier. Trying to be kind to myself first. Trying loving kindness meditation and even though it doesn’t fix any of the horseshit in the world I guess it sort of helps to set an intention to reorient.
The terrorist was pretty fucking loud this week. I have a hard time conceptualizing like truly “being kind” no matter what.
Booze couldn’t fix any of it, and just continued to make my life worse and harder to deal with. Cirrhosis doesn’t sound fun.
But then, neither does life sometimes.
Fuck it, on a new wave. Let’s see where sobriety goes. Don’t think it’s the cure all for anything. No delusions there, but it can’t be worse than being a drunk all the time I guess.
I hope I find freedom and not just from booze.
But I’m not optimistic. I guess I’ll just have to face this JB v. DJT false reality full of lies and misdirection with a clear head. Matching an endless stream of self absorbed flakes who I can’t be direct with on the next Bumble. Putting in 60+ hour weeks at a job that is mostly horseshit and serves nobody but a wealthy boss.
It’s a bleak motherfucker out there, but alcohol won’t solve it. And it won’t make it go away.
Sober. Staring at all this shit deadass fucking sober. Planet full of morons, greed, and human created institutions that are failing in real time. Institutions based on lies in the service of a faceless executive that doesn’t care if you die in front of them as long as they can step over your body in guccis.
Deadass sober. Guess I’ll keep it that way.