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I hope nobody else is doing this. And I hope you enjoy it because this is not going to be a regular occurrence. This season of German football was just too good to not write up. So let’s go over some storylines.
Bayer Leverkusen: 50. Fucking. Matches. Unbeaten. Do you realize how impressive that is? The fact that it was Never-kusen to do it is insane. Mostly down to Xavi Alonso being the next elite manager. He completely changed the Bayer team. Grimaldo, Frimpong, Wirtz, Boniface, Stanisic, Schick, Tapsoba. The building blocks of a title winning team. Congrats, boys, you saved German football. If you win this treble, it will be one of the greatest stories in football history. You ended the Bayern monopoly after years of stagnation. The goal now will be to keep the gang together. Alonso has already thwarted attempts for Bayern, Liverpool, and Madrid to sign him. The squad remains the big question. It’s not about whether key players will be sold, it’s about which ones.
Stuttgart: The amount of times I’ve double taked on 2nd place is comical. This team was fighting relegation last season. They only survived because they won the pro-rel playoff. Now they’re playing Champions League football next campaign. Guirassy surely was the story of the season. Deniz Undav regained his spot with Streets Won't Forget FC after his redemption campaign. Jee Woo-Yeong was a rock in midfield. Alex Nubel kept the ball out of the next making him a prime candidate as the next great German goalkeeper. More credit is due to their manager, Sebastian Hoeneß. Yes I Googled his name and copy and pasted it. The man got this team into the Champions League, a massive achievement for this club. A brilliant mind like that surely warrants a payday. Please don't let him get poached by Bayern.
Bayern Munich: An absolutely appalling season by the standards set in previous regimes. You have to understand, though. This Bayern was COOKED from the start. Thomas Tuchel bitched and moaned about Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka's uselessness in a double pivot. He wanted a new No. 6. In the end, the Bayern board decided to use all their transfer funds on Harry Kane. The ROI on that move has been as advertised, with Kane only posting his best statistical season ever. The downside: Bayern went trophyless. You are reading that correctly. Not only that, they finished 3rd. Tuchel beefed with key players like Matthjs de Ligt and Kim Minjae. Injuries to guys like Gnabry and Coman also crippled the depth. Leroy Sane proved to be good strictly in the Champions League. Alphonso Davies was great but non-committal on his future in Munich. Eric Dier was brought in on loan and became a critical player in the second half of the season. Yes, that Eric Dier. It's now Kingsley Coman's first season without a league title since 2014. The Champions League could've been great, had it not been been for some fishy calls made in Real Madrid's favor in the semis, but it was not an elite team. Now they must truly rebuild, and first step is finding Tuchel's replacement. Which...nobody seems too keen on taking this job. The expectations are too high, and the rebuild is just too massive. You feel stupid for sacking Julian Nagelsmann now?
RB Leipzig: It was a growing year for the Red Bulls after bringing in so many new faces. Xavi Simons, Lois Openda, and Benjamin Sesko certainly excite but they are highly inconsistent. Openda still posted 24 goals across the season, with Sesko adding 14. Simons with 11 asissts was massive. Defensively, they were much more sound. Willy Orban managed to lock down the backline, finally. Mohamed Siamakan took large strides forward. Benjamin Heinrichs cemented himself as one of the lowkey ballers in Europe. The problem still remains doing it for longer. They were constantly hovering between 5th and 4th this season, and luckily results picked up at the back-end of the season to cement another season of European football. Marco Rose bought himself another season, where hopefully he will be able to shape the team to his liking. Stalwarts like Dani Olmo and Youssef Poulson might be moved on to generate funds. Leipzig clearly has ambitions now that the Bayern monopoly is on life support.
Dortmund: This team is a goddam headache. What the hell do you mean they made the Champions League Final and beat PSG convincingly to get there? Dortmund did that indeed. Their league form has been absolutely mid. They can string together some results but clearly lack the guile necessary to mount a title challenge. Or even a Pokal contention. But this is the current holder of the Vibes FC badge. Julian Brandt was the driving force of this team. He only had 15 goal involvements all season, but his passing was critical to set up the play. Niklas Fullkrug capitalized on his newfound status as the leader at the top. Gregor Kobel backstopped an otherwise leaky defense made up of aging Mats Hummels and the fat version of Niklas Sule. Jadon Sancho got exiled from Manchester United and came home. He wasn't the 20 and 20 player but he showed glimpses. Karim Adeyemi also took massive strides forward. Other standouts include Jamie Bynoe-Gittens becoming the next English player to develop abroad. Even if you don't win the UCL final, you managed to get Germany the 5th UCL qualifying spot.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Frankfurt's problems can boil down to a very simple reason: no real replacements. They lost Kolo Muani, Lindstrom, N'Dicka, and Kamada all in one summer window. The biggest loss was Oliver Glasner stepping down last year. Yet, they managed to get back into Europa League. Omar Marmoush only potted 12 goals across the season. The rest of it came down to collective effort. Ansgar Knauff showed some potential but is still too raw. Mario Gotze is still here and was already slowing down last year. This campaign all but confirmed it. Robin Koch fled the relegation of Leeds United to return to the German national team as their lead defender and a national team call-up. Kevin Trapp is still managing to keep himself under the radar but was still important for Frankfurt's fortunes. Dino Toppmöller deserves praise for this coaching job. Now the question will be is can he do it again?
Hoffenheim: Congrats, boys, you're going back to Europe. The Conference League should be an ample test of your mettle and growth as a club. But who are we kidding? For those who don't know, Hoffeheim are one of the few German clubs that benefit from a wealthy owner. 50+1 always has loopholes, and Deitmar Hopp has been willing to spend to get his club back into the big time. It hasn't worked to the extent some might hope, but it is indeed progress. A 32-year-old Andrej Kramaric was one of their standout players, and a mentor for young striker Max Beier. Both posted 14-goal seasons, enough to carry Hoffenheim up the table. USMNT fans got to watch the John Brooks redemption story. There were times where this team was outclassed by lesser opponents, though. Doesn't spell good for the next season.
Heidenheim: Bayer Leverkusen were the feel-good story of the season, but honorable mention goes to Heidenheim. Winning both the 3rd and 2nd division title is nice and all, but the Bundesliga is not the lower tiers. It's all good, though. A solid mix of German vets and young players created a hungry squad with a point to prove. Most would say a 2. Bundesliga club should focus solely on survival. Heidenheim said fuck that, let's shoot for a European spot. They just barely missed out but this is a massive step forward. Please for the love of all that is holy capitalize on the moment.
Werder Bremen: The club image restoration campaign continues. Werder is a former Bundesliga champion that has dropped to such a low they were in the 2. Liga just a few seasons ago. Since then they had relied on Niklas Fullkrug to carry them to survival. This latest finish is a massive improvement. Now without Fullkrug, they are carried by a rag tag group of German, Danish, Belgian, and American players. Ninth place will at least be a building block to getting back to cultural and football relevance. I wouldn't expect them to suddenly be a contender, though.
Freiburg: Christian Streich is usually applauded for the work he has done to keep Freiburg afloat in the top flight. This was another fruitful season, even if it seems anti-climatic. They had multiple players put 7 goals or more. Vincenzo Grifo was the top scorer, a midfielder, but added 8 helpers in addition. What more is there to say? The club is still fighting for its return to European competition after a pretty brutal time in the Europa gulag. Congrats, boys, you are now the West Ham of Germany.
Augsburg: Sorry you had to be Leverkusen's whipping boys on the final matchday, but someone had to be sacrificed for the Invincible run. Augsburg should feel lucky they finished 11th. 15 losses usually spells trouble, but they were rescued by clutch scoring from Ermedin Demirovic. It's better than previous seasons but don't you feel just a little bad about getting rid of Ricardo Pepi now? He won the Dutch league title with PSV. I don't know, you could've used him.
Wolfsburg: You know how Tree says "Detroit channeled a rear-ended Pinto?" Wolfsburg channeled a rear-ended Golf. It was an incredibly hot-and-cold season, which I guess should be expected when you employ Ralph Hassenhuttl as your manager. Yes, that Ralph Hassenhuttl, the man singlehandedly responsible for Southampton's relegation. Nico Kovacs was steering the ship into the abyss, and was promptly canned at the right moment. Replacing him with Ralph didn't improve anything. One day Wolfsburg would do something cool like beat Leipzig. The next they would lose to Union Berlin. Last season, Wolfsburg was just a few points outside a European spot. Now you've entered hell: mid-table.
Mainz: Bo Henriksen is at least trying to build something at Mainz. It was clearly not going to be easy. When you lose 4-1 to Union Berlin on the second matchday, that spells trouble. They did managed to get some decent results, but they were Bayern's punching ball one March day. 8-1...fucking hell (stoppppp! he's already dead!!). You managed to avoid the drop so I guess that's progress. You have an exciting young forward in Jonathan Berkhardt, and decent defensive stability with Sepp van de Berg and Philip Mwene. Don't get too excited, you have a long way to go before you're back at the big kids table.
Gladbach: There was a time when Gladbach were punching into European football. It's not this season, because this was a dumpster fire. Had Mainz not collected one more draw, Gladbach would've finished higher on goal difference. Which is -11...woof. The team lacked any defensive cohesion, and could barely string together a good run of form. Most times they had to keep rescuing themselves in squeaky bum time. USMNT fans won't want to hear it but Jordan Pefok and Joe Scally are not beating the mid allegations. Pefok only scored 5 goals. Scally still doesn't look like a legitimate starting right back. The legend of Julian Wiegl continues as he amassed ten yellow cards in a single season. They're a pretty young team so there is time to improve, but this is a real mess.
Union Berlin: The curse of the Champions League struck Union Berlin with a fiery vengeance. It is not unfair to say they were incredibly underprepared for the gauntlet that is elite European football. Almost all of the moves they made backfired. Bringing in Leonardo Bonucci for UCL experience only to find he was washed. He got exiled to the Turkish league for his fraudulent crimes. Brenden Aaronson was loaned in after he too fled relegation of Leeds United. He put up 4 goal involvements in one season...Medford Messi my ass. Roben Gosens was somehow the top scorer. He's a fullback. The honeymoon is over. It really took them until the final matchday to survive. That late penalty against Freiburg saved them for the drop. Good, you survived. Now don't fall off like that again. Your fans can be incredibly proud of you, considering you look way better than Hertha.
Bochum: Yea about what you expect with this club. They're a German yo-yo club. Yes, they do indeed exist. Sure, they still have a chance to stay up with pro-rel playoff coming up, but I don't expect much ever. Take your annual triumph over Bayern and get the fuck out. Getting absolutely bodied by Leverkusen to cement their title was a courtesy to you. Don't lose that playoff.
FC Koln: You guys fucking suck. I thought for sure Koln would at least put up more of a fight after getting promoted last season. Only collecting five wins?? FIVE? This is a goddam travesty playing out in real time. Yo-yo club status cemented. Given what I saw you'd be lucky to get back in to the top flight after this season.
Darmstadt: Darmstadt had two major problems that hindered their season. They couldn't defend, and they couldn't score. Double whammy if you ask me. Somehow you make teams look like Real Madrid. You got some wins over your relegation rivals. Take what you can, I guess. I think the 2. Liga is probably more your speed, though.

Thanks to Patron Member u/Entharo_entho - Here is the wiped out Tweet retrieved
Context - Wiped out from Internet
In March, I got a chance to work with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali right after he made Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Alia Bhatt, playing the titular character in the film, retweeted me.
The headline (in my head) was going to be, ‘The Boy From Kamathipura Goes To Bhansali Mandi.’
Then reality struck in April.
One of my closest friends Sweta called me from the Shivapuri National Park near Kathmandu and put me on speaker. Two other friends Mona and Ayush were listening to the WhatsApp call.
‘How’s it going with Bhansu?’ Sweta asked.
‘We are not working together anymore,’ I said.
‘Whaaaaaaaat?’ the three people shrieked, creating a wavy disturbance in audio frequency.
‘Whyyyyy?’ they cried, collectively anguished.
‘He said he is not feeling the vibes.’
‘What?’
‘Vibes,’ I said aloud, causing a seismic tremor in the audio frequency.
‘What vibes?’ Sweta jibed, ‘Maybe he can’t feel the vibrator.’
Laughter upped the vibes.
First, a little context on how I got that far. Check this, this, this & this.
So my tweets were going viral in February-March.
In the second week of March, a woman DM’d me saying she loves the tweets. I said thank you. She said she works at Bhansali Productions.
Whoopsie Daisy!
I asked if I could be a part of the production. She checked with SLB and team. He said he wants to meet now.
NOW!
How?
I was in Calcutta.
I called an actor friend in Bombay and told him about it.
“They will book your tickets and put you up in 5-star,” he said, “Like Hollywood.”
“This is Bhansaliwood,” I said, “Yahan dhanda hamesha manda hai.”
I flew (on my own expense) and met him.
I was ‘prepared’ by his team for the meeting with His High and Mightiness.
I was told:

Arre, then what do I say?
I sashayed in a brown kurta and white linen trousers. Please see Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s brown ghagra for aesthetic reference I used from my very limited wardrobe of the only kurta I had at the time. By the way, the chorus sings ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje,’ aesthetically referencing you know what, right?
He was lunching with his minions (strictly calling them minions from his pov) when I arrived in his pristine white dining hall in a building called Magnum Opus. Where else should he reside, no? Both his house, and his office (where I was ‘prepared’ earlier) were tastefully done in creamy white.
It was, as I said to my friend later, like walking into a cumulus cloud, or like sitting on his favourite singer Lata Mangeshkar’s lap. Calm, serene and quite surreal. I was inside his snow globe. Violins from a Bach concerto (in my head) were replaced with say Madan Mohan’s doleful rendition of ‘Mai ri main ka se kahoon peedh apne jiya ki.’ (Side effect of writing this on Mother’s Day.)
I look for books when I enter a house for signs of intelligent life. There were lots of lamps and candelabras but where were the stacks of books they were perched on? The aesthetic was high on film set disposable kitsch. I stared into a cumulative void.
The minions were intensely debating Darjeeling momos. What’s that? I spent my childhood there. Never heard of this GI tag!
SLB relished his meal and said, “I want puranpoli today.”
Puranpoli appeared not out of thin air, but a house-help flipping wishes instantly on a griddle on the fifth floor. We were on the first floor. Although the puranpoli is shaped like a flying saucer, it doesn’t fly, perhaps burdened by the weight of excess ghee and crowd-pleasing expectation. It does, however, reach SLB’s plate at the speed of light.
‘Give him some,’ he asked a minion to serve me while I waited on the sofa.
‘I’ve had lunch, thank you,’ I said, trying to behave. The plate arrived. I took a mousy bite to exhibit my failing attempt to transform into a champion minion.
When he came to chat, he noticed the unfinished food and gently reminded me how there were days he went hungry. I should have rolled my eyes for my own lean days.
‘One should not waste food,’ he said.
‘I don’t,’ I said, ‘I was going to parcel it home in a doggy bag.’
Hearing the word doggy, his well-behaved dog came over to inspect me.
He observed me. I petted her perfunctorily. Am a cat person. Stereotypical writer stuff — allergic to undesired petting and attention.
‘So, what have you done?’ he asked, sitting on a sort of empire-style bergere chair. Full marks for faux-ornate.
‘A novel, some writing for a series,’ I said nervously, dismissively.
‘Anything I might have seen?’ he asked.
‘No, not worthwhile.’
‘Are you interested in direction also?’
‘No, am not delusional.’
A moment passed. I might have displayed an errant repartee.
‘I mean, I can only write, or am trying to,’ I said. L’esprit de l’escalier.
He gave me a spiel on writing, how screenplay is an art not many understand, etc, et cetera.
I nodded to make his voice disappear.
‘What are you writing now?’
I showed him the cover of my new book, The Last Courtesan, featuring my mother, on my phone.
‘Oh, this is so fascinating,’ he said.
He spoke rapturously about Calcutta’s great food and colonial architecture when I mentioned growing up in Bowbazar kothas. If you watch any of his interviews now on YouTube you will realise he only speaks in raptures. He’s always explaining things like an impassioned conductor at a dime-store opera. It can exhaust the boorish audience immediately. He spoke about living in the Kamathipura area as a child when I said I had lived there. The mythmaker was interested in exoticising his own legend as an ‘outsider’.
‘But how will you work here if your mother is in Calcutta?’ he said, ‘I am a maa-ka-bhakt.’
Everything is about him or his mother. I have reached that stage too, though only by circumstances unavoidable.
‘Actually it was my mother who asked me to come here. I told her it would only work out if you understand that I will have to vacillate between the two cities initially. Jaise Sanjay ki Leela hai, waise meri Rekha.’
Corny dialogue, but worked. No one calls him by his first name, except perhaps his own mother. He is sir for everyone.
‘If I am speaking to you for so long means I like you,’ he said. ‘Otherwise, I would have asked you to leave long ago.’
Barely five minutes into the conversation, he asked me to return to his office and inform his team that I was going to be a part of his writer’s room.
I went back to his office and read a script. This is the part I cannot mention. His legal team sits in the adjacent room.
I flew to Calcutta and was to return after a week. I had to make arrangements for my mother’s tri-weekly dialysis sessions at a nearby hospital, figure out a tiffin-delivery service for her, find a house help (she sent four nurses scurrying in the past), all of which is a bit of a task in this retrograde city.
Remember the woman who had DM’d me about my tweets? She messaged. She had met SLB after my meeting. He said this about me: ‘What a wonderful find. That boy has so much potential and is talented. Most importantly, he is sensitive.’
I told her I’d get this engraved on my tombstone.
Like how he wants to take Alia Bhatt’s golchakkar in Dholida to his grave.
“It’s a shot that I will take to my grave. If there’s any shot that I want to be played when I breathe my last, it would be Alia doing that shot. It is the best thing I have seen an actor do in a very long, long time.”
I was only emulating the high priest of hyperbole in my tombstone comment. Perhaps I was regressing into a minion.
I had only managed a few tasks for mother when I was back in Bombay. It worried me that the old, frail woman with shaky limbs and slurred speech was trying to be brave to send me to work. I hadn’t worked since the pandemic; she was in and out of hospitals so frequently that I had surrendered the thought of getting another job ever again. Taking care of her was my full-time job.
The first day in his office was to chill in my new, aesthetically pleasing kurta I had shopped for in Gariahat. There was a security camera in every corner that was apparently accessible on his phone. My skin tingled with this information. Chilled. He was at home. Probably watching. That’s a great way to create a myth.
The next day, there were more minions on the lunch table in his first floor apartment. The magically appearing steamy and fragrant sheera was delicious. A minion deemed it the best sheera in the city. I nodded to make that statement evaporate.
A courier boy interrupted for a document signature. SLB flared at a spelling mistake in the document papers.
‘Go wash your face and come back,’ he yelled at the young man.
The minions at the table laughed nervously. I so wished I was wearing a mask to cover my surprise emoji face.
The minions on the table were writers and assistant directors.
‘Dastavez,’ SLB said, ‘would that be correct to use?’
‘Kaaghzaat,’ the minion replied.
‘Kaaghzaat is paper, dastavez is document,’ said the second minion.
‘You always mislead me,’ SLB sternly reprimanded the first minion. ‘Don’t ever do that again.’
Only that minion tried to laugh, offering an apology. He shut the minion down.
My mask, my mask emoji face.
A third minion was sulking in a corner before I arrived for the writing session. This minion had reportedly offered a script suggestion, which he disliked and barked down. I liked this minion the most. Relatable.
A faint noise of a person running or perhaps just a rumbling sound from somewhere outside interrupted the room. He looked up at the ceiling and said, ‘No one lives there. Am certain it is a ghost. I hear running sounds all the time. I have heard sounds of furniture being dragged.’
I wondered if he actually believed in half the things he uttered, or was he just saying it to create enigma about himself. Mythical thoughts certainly kept him preoccupied.
Reality bored him. SLB had nothing good to say about the ‘current plague’ of South Indian films upsetting the Bollywood cartel. He compared them to a circus. He wasn’t kind to the actors he had worked with in his last film. He cracked lame jokes about everyone and everything. The minions laughed and kept him busy. I chuckled a few times to blend in. The mythmaker revelled in his prophesies about the impending doom of charlatans with no aesthetics: just crass, commercial peddlers pimping art. It was all said to amuse and bemuse while he fussed over the yellow shade of fabric from several swatches.
When he left for his music session, the minions bitched him out, and how! All the horror stories I had heard over the years about his moods, behaviour, language and violent temper were true. How else will he create myth about himself as a maestro? The Glomar response. Let the plebs indulge in hearsay. I will neither confirm nor deny. The minions sang effigy songs in happy tunes, if I may stretch this part a bit like his penchant for high camp.
That night, when I went to my actor friend’s house, where I was temporarily staying, I said to him, ‘I don’t think I will last a week there.’
I was rattled by how he spoke to the courier boy and the minions, with no filter. Well, at least it was clear he had no tact, endearing as that might be of a ‘genius’ if one compromises with his erratic behaviour. The CEO of his company does it beautifully and advises to develop a ‘thick hide’ around him. Cows, essentially.
Verve
The words genius, great, master, maverick, were so loosely bandied by his office staff even in his absence that I was tempted to add auteur, if they could spell or pronounce it. They worked in perpetual fear of him turning up at any hour and checking on their tidiness. A minion whined she wasn’t dressed appropriately for his surprise visit. Once, he even cut pay for unscheduled leave, said another minion. A minion narrated a shot he copied from a photographer in Gangubai Kathiawadi. Another minion recounted how he made her cry on shoot by screaming at her for a silly mistake. Minions couldn’t leave the office till his evenings were scheduled. It was a well-paying job so long as they did not have to see ‘chacha’s’ face and only applaud his cinematic sorcery.
His office team would assign me desk-work and warn me not to inform him about it.
‘What am I supposed to say if he asks?’
‘Make up something,’ I was told.
‘Why should I?’
‘You will slowly understand,’ I was told.
His team of assistants would sneak around me. I didn’t know who was reporting what back to him. He would interrogate the management team. They would lash out at me for informing the assistants. The management wanted to control me a certain way because ‘sir’ does not need to know everything. It was quite a guessing game. He had created an ecosystem of complete chaos and loved the hubbub. New people were hired for him to use the ‘new energy’ to rekindle the ‘old energy’ that needed to be reminded it could be snuffed out and replaced. He thrived on confusion because it all boiled down to him to sort out the mess. He was the provider so long as the minions ingratiated and served their grand master.
One time he called me upstairs, what his CEO called the god’s chamber aka the Shahenshah’s durbar: his office on the seventh floor. Walls were lined with giant posters of his films. We minions sat on the fifth floor. I was of course by now a week old in the toady mill. On the seventh floor, production team members, set designer, director assistant, young people sat on the floor, armed with notebooks and laptops, alert and sugar-tongued. He sat on a throne and dictated each one about their duty. A masseur massaged his leg. He asked me what I thought of a script. I said it was lovely. He asked me to elaborate. I said I liked a character’s resolve. He denied it was written. I said that’s my interpretation. A minion promptly backed me.
‘What changes do you suggest?’ he asked.
‘We should sit on it collectively and decide,’ I said.
He mumbled something. My suggestion was dismissed. I was dismissed. I bowed out. A minion whispered to me, ‘We all walk on eggshells around him.’ I had to be a chicken in a coop I suppose.
Another time he dismissed my suggestion for a scene saying, ‘That’s not how art is made.’ I had referenced a scene from Bandit Queen to illustrate my point. Just like his entire oeuvre is homage to a classic. How else does he make his art?
Allow me to illustrate with a frame from his first film Khamoshi: The Musical. The second image is from Pakeezah.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam references Red Beard, Woh 7 Din.
Devdas references Pakeezah more than once.
Black references The Miracle Worker.
Saawariya references Pyaasa, Awaara.
Guzaarish references Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela references Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story.
Bajirao Mastani references Mughal-E-Azam.
Padmaavat references Mirch Masala.
Gangubai Kathiawadi, let’s give him the benefit of doubt is all his own, original artistry.
The American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch once meta quoted the French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard when he said:
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from — it’s where you take them to.”
SLB believes he takes art and betters it, removing the grubby coat of slime from the sublime, often not concerned with acknowledging the source. He is a master’s master, elevating it to an otherworldly experience, the creator of a mythoverse.
He asked me to rewrite a scene I didn’t agree with. He banged the script folders on the table like a petulant, little child. I watched his posture change into a frump. Tiger Shroff’s ‘Bacchi ho kya,’ dialogue comes to mind.
‘You are talking like those critics who find fault but don’t know how to write. They should write the film,’ he said.
That argument will never make sense to me but since I write movies now and not just about them, I rewrote the scene in half an hour and showed it to him. He found it rubbish.
I was not called to the writer’s room for a week.
His CEO said I should go to his house; hang around him, like the other assistants whose only purpose in life is to feed his ego. We are slaves to his vision, she said. She thought I was a better writer than the team he had assembled. ‘From whatever I read, only three lines of your work on social media, I could sense it,’ she said.
Either she was encouraging, or bluffing with a perfectly Zen face. From the hundreds of Ganesh idols stacked in her room, it was clear she wasn’t a reader. She was good at reading numbers, data, and stats. She would sense a sign if one of the metal idols sucked milk from a spoon on the day she enquired about box –office figures.
There was more than one right-wing hardliner in his office. Secular staff was invisible. A pretty minion in baby pink t-shirt, whose main grouse was that another minion called him a Barbie doll, said he was happy with the Modi government building roads in his home state Bihar. Another minion countered him by asking: What about the persecution of minorities by the same government? The pretty minion said he didn’t care for that. He was assisting ‘sir’ because he wanted to be an actor. Which lead me to wonder how many Muslim actors has this production worked with? Silly of me to think, right? Given that I myself don’t use my Muslim surname. I’ve now successfully planted a myth in your head. That’s how it works.
In the time that I was in Versova during my brief stint at Bhansali Productions, I met several people with their own SLB horror story. A producer said, ‘He is a difficult man but life changes for good after you work with him. Some people want to go through hell first. Life bann jaati hai.’ I didn’t understand why purgatory was necessary. Another former assistant said, ‘When you work with the worst (SLB) and the best (KJO), you are ready for the rest.’
A young woman gave him a thesis she wrote on his films. He asked her to write a book on her. She said she wanted to assist as a director. She never heard from him. A filmmaker said SLB was too friendly with another assistant, suggesting intimacy. A writer wasn’t given credit in a film.
Another writer was promised his script will be turned into a film but it never took off and now he feels his life has been ruined. A young filmmaker’s debut movie SLB produced was delayed, not promoted, and called ‘kachra’ to his face.
The young man said SLB is sexist, homophobe, classist, fat shamer, emotional abuser, and a body shamer. “He is a joyless pit of darkness where happiness goes to die. And those are the nicest words I can think of to describe him,” he said. Another filmmaker said a choreographer was in a relationship with SLB and wanted to marry him but he wouldn’t even touch her, a hotly discussed conversation amongst his minions.
Everything sounds hokum. A successful man is likely to upset a few. The few will talk. Their words may ring true through a gossamer veil of implausibility. Myths magnifying his persona.
There are too many myths about his personal life, aroused by his silence on the subject but all too obvious in his work. When people want to confirm with me, I am equally appalled at their lack of aesthetics. Like the great reader of curtains, Edgar Allan Poe, you only have to look at SLB’s use of billowy curtains in films to guess.

Above stanza, courtesy Poe, poem: The Raven.
Hope you get the drift, or draft, hawa ka jhonka! By the way, am digressing now, is the weirdly named character Sameer Rosselline in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam the first mainstream Hindi film hero to pass wind? The ruffled curtains are first to be cautioned though.
Unlike most people willing to swallow their pride to work with SLB, few like the eponymous Gangubai character choose izzat. The house-help employed in my actor friend’s house was asked to work as a cook in his house. When she heard the whimsy, dessert-craving demands, she declined the offer. I identify with her no-nonsense style.
In November 2021, a filmmaker read a film script I wrote and said, ‘This is SLB territory. Only he can make it. It is the modern love-story he has been wanting to make for a long time.’
‘Are you sure?’ I asked, somewhat flattered but also bewildered.
‘Yes, we just have to change the setting from Calcutta-Bombay to Calcutta-New York. It is what he has been trying to crack. I’ll get him to read it.’
I never spoke to SLB about my script. I did not want to look like a schemer. I had only got a chance because of my mother’s story. I had come to write courtesan songs. Hindi films are recognised by their songs. His films have show tunes that live on long after the sequins and mirrors reflect a decadent style. He employs the old-fashioned method of making Hindi films, which is to stitch scenes around a song, not the other way round. And when you glean your references from the best of classical melodies, how can you falter?
My own SLB story is that after watching Saawariya in 2007, I wrote a few songs, moved to Bombay, lived in Versova, close to Magnum Opus, and hoped to meet him, but made no effort even though I came in close contact with people who worked directly with him. I never requested for a meeting. Over the years, I too had heard a few horror stories about him. I only believe in what I see. I waited when he would call for me, my work would have to speak for itself.
A day before Good Friday, his CEO sat me down and said it’s not working out.
There’s a mythical story of how Lata Mangeshkar was on her way to record a song for SLB but the heavens poured and she had to turn her car back. A typical SLB frame of hope and hopelessness.
Never work with your idols. You’ll have a better story to imagine and create myths.
I was so relieved to leave. I hadn’t got a moment to read, or write, let alone think since I got here. Why I wanted to work with SLB was to not believe in hearsay. I will either confirm or deny.
‘Great,’ I said, ‘everyone deserves an off on Good Friday.’
The office was unsure about public holidays. SLB’s mood dictated the calendar.
Before returning to Calcutta, I met a friend entrenched in the film business.
When she heard of the fiasco, she said, ‘I’ve heard he is very anal, is he?’
The vibrator jokes never stop.

Welcome to the tower, anime!
The interest thread posted a couple days ago got a great reception, so I’m excited to officially announce the Tower of God Rewatch!
u/laughing-fox13 and I will be your rewatch adminstrators. We look forward with anticipation to see how you surmount the challenges before you and what insights your contributions will bring. Summon your strength and show us the heights within your grasp!
What is Tower of God?
"Twenty-Fifth Bam is a boy who had only known a dark cave, a dirty cloth, and an unreachable light his entire life. So when a girl named Rachel came to him through the light, his entire world changed. Becoming close friends with Rachel, he learned various things about the outside world from her. But when Rachel says she must leave him to climb the Tower, his world shatters around him. Vowing to follow after her no matter what it takes, he sets his sight on the tower, and a miracle occurs."
"Thus begins the journey of Bam, a young boy who was not chosen by the Tower but opened its gates by himself."
-MAL Rewrite
Schedule

Rewatch Floor	Date
[Floor 1]()	June 17
[Floor 2]()	June 18
[Floor 3]()	June 19
[Floor 4]()	June 20
[Floor 5]()	June 21
[Floor 6]()	June 22
[Floor 7]()	June 23
[Floor 8]()	June 24
[Floor 9]()	June 25
[Floor 10]()	June 26
[Floor 11]()	June 27
[Floor 12]()	June 28
[Floor 13]()	June 29
[Season 1 Discussion]()	June 30

Post Time
A new floor will be opened every day at 10pm UTC/6pm EST/3pm PST. Please note that I will be administering floors Sunday-Thursday, while u/laughing-fox13 will be administering floors Friday-Saturday.
Series Information
MAL Anilist Kitsu AniDB ANN
Streaming Options
Tower of God is available to stream subbed and dubbed on Crunchyroll.
Reminders
There will be one week and 24-hour reminders before the tower opens. If you would like reminders, please reply to the tag thread in the comments.
For Rewatchers and Source Readers
Please understand that every test and challenge has rules. The rules for this challenge dictate adherance to standard anime rules and ettiquette and that all references to future events be placed behind spoiler tags. As your administrators, we will see that any untagged spoilers within the tower in violation of this rule will be removed.
An Administrator's Advice For All Challengers
The tower is harsh and unforgiving. While it is possible to climb alone, I believe it best to climb together. Though we all come from different, and sometimes conflicting, backgrounds and beliefs, each has something to offer. For all our survival, it is in our best interest to accept and celebrate these different views and build on each other's wisdom, to face the tower's adversity as one. Consider these words as you venture forth, chosen inheritors of the tower's will.

Hi how come my add button won't work on the index page ?
(Sorry for so much code but I wanted to make sure I'm not leaving anything out)

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Js
```
var vain = document.getElementById("vain");
var tain = document.getElementById("tain");
let demo = document.getElementById("demo"); let list = document.getElementById("list"); let cost = document.getElementById("cost"); var orderq = document.getElementById("order2t"); var ordert = document.getElementById("3tq"); var ttl = document.getElementById("ttl"); var tax = document.getElementById("tax");
var deliveryfee = document.getElementById("deliveryfee");
var cst1 = document.getElementById("cst1"); var cst2 = document.getElementById("cst2"); var cst3 = document.getElementById("cst3"); var payment= document.getElementById("payment"); var ptype= document.getElementById("ptype"); if (localStorage.getItem("hj1") === null){ localStorage.setItem('hj1',JSON.stringify([])) }
let ar1 = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj1")); var array1 = ar1;
function myf(){ cost.innerHTML = "Cost: $"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); }cst1.value = array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); }
cst2.value = (cst1.value * 0.065).toFixed(2); tax.innerHTML = "Tax: $"+cst2.value; var ct1 = parseInt(cst1.value); var ct2 = parseInt(cst2.value); cst3.value = ct1+ct2+35; ttl.innerHTML = cst3.value;
}
if (localStorage.getItem("hj") === null){ localStorage.setItem('hj',JSON.stringify([])) }
let ar = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj")); var array = ar;
array.forEach((item)=>{ let li = document.createElement("li");
li.innerHTML = item ;
list.appendChild(li); }) orderq.value = array;
ordert.value ="Cost: $"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); } function f1(obj){ list.innerHTML = "" ;

let name1 = obj.getAttribute("data-price"); array1.push(name1); localStorage.setItem("hj1",JSON.stringify(array1)); let ar1 = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj1")); 

cost.innerHTML = "Cost: $"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); }

let name = obj.name; var btnd= ' delete'; array.push(name); localStorage.setItem("hj",JSON.stringify(array)); let ar = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj")); array.forEach((item)=>{ 

let li = document.createElement("li");
li.innerHTML = item ;
list.appendChild(li); })
orderq.value= array; ordert.value = "Cost: $"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); }
}
function d1(obj){

let name1 = obj.getAttribute("data-price"); let index1 = array1.indexOf(name1); 

if (index1 !== -1) {

array1.splice(index1, 1) 

}; localStorage.setItem("hj1",JSON.stringify(array1)); let ar1 = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj1"));
cost.innerHTML = "Cost:$"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); }

list.innerHTML = "" ; let name = obj.name; var btnd= ' delete'; let index = array.indexOf(name); 

if (index !== -1) {

array.splice(index, 1) 

}; localStorage.setItem("hj",JSON.stringify(array)); let ar = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj"));
array.forEach((item)=>{ let li = document.createElement("li");
li.innerHTML = item ;
list.appendChild(li); }) orderq.value = array; ordert.value = "Cost: $"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); } }
function c1(obj){

let name1 = obj.getAttribute("data-price"); array1.length=0; localStorage.setItem("hj1",JSON.stringify(array1)); let ar1 = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj1")); 

cost.innerHTML = "Cost: $"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); }
list.innerHTML = "" ; let name = obj.name; array.length = 0; localStorage.setItem("hj",JSON.stringify(array)); let ar = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("hj")); orderq.value = array; ordert.value = "Cost: $"+array1.reduce(getSum, 0); function getSum(total, num) { return total + Math.round(num); }
}
function myFunction() { // Declare variables var input, filter, ul, li, a, i, txtValue; input = document.getElementById('myInput'); filter = input.value.toUpperCase(); ul = document.getElementById("myUL"); li = ul.getElementsByTagName('li');
// Loop through all list items, and hide those who don't match the search query for (i = 0; i < li.length; i++) { a = li[i].getElementsByTagName("a")[0]; txtValue = a.textContent a.innerText; if (txtValue.toUpperCase().indexOf(filter) > -1) { li[i].style.display = ""; } else { li[i].style.display = "none"; } } } function search() { var x = document.getElementById("myUL"); if (x.style.display === "none") { x.style.display = "block"; } }
function clr1() { var x = document.getElementById("myUL"); if (x.style.display === "block") { x.style.display = "none"; } }
function ons(obj){
var va = obj.value; vain.value = va;
}
function ont(obj){
var vat = obj.value; tain.value = vat;
}
var ii= document.getElementById("coupon");
var coder =document.getElementById("coder");
var ccode =document.getElementById("ccode"); var cpon =document.getElementById("cpon"); function ss1(){
if ((ii.value ==="5off")(ii.value==="5g12")){ coder.innerHTML = "$5 off applied"; var cst4 = cst3.value - 5; ttl.innerHTML =cst4; } else {coder.innerHTML = "This code is invalid"; } ccode.value = ii.value;
}
function btc(){ var numb = ttl.innerHTML/43613.00; numbe = numb.toFixed(8); var payment= document.getElementById("payment"); payment.innerHTML= "Please send " +numbe+" BTC to tobc1qyvke7zknms037929432j2zhv0mpwkxc89fr869";
ptype.value = "btc"; } function crc(){ var payment= document.getElementById("payment"); payment.innerHTML= "Credit card number:"+'
'+''+'
'+'
'+"Ccv:"+'
'+''+'
'+'
'+"Expiration date (mm-dd-yy):"+'
'+'' ptype.value = "cc"; } function cashapp(){
var payment= document.getElementById("payment"); payment.innerHTML= "Please send $" +ttl.innerHTML+" to cash tag $purlaypay";
ptype.value = "cashapp";
}
function venmo(){
var payment= document.getElementById("payment"); payment.innerHTML= "Please send $" +ttl.innerHTML+" to Venmo tag @purlaypay";
ptype.value = "vemmo";
}
```

Looking for a generous donating, family friendly, organized, farming/war clan? If so, you're in luck, Chicken's Fire is recruiting.
Currently recruiting active non rushed th12 and higher accounts. Discord required.

• We war 3 times a week (searches Sunday, Tuesday and Friday) and in Clan War Leagues. You can opt out if you don't want to do wars but we do encourage members to participate.
• Players must join our Discord server. The invite will be given to you once you join the clan.
• We allow lower level accounts to join if they are alts of higher accounts that are joining.
• We always get max points in clan games and all members are required to earn a minimum of 500 points.
• All clan members must use their clan capital raids every weekend (unless you give notice you will be unavailable).
• Stay active (CWL, clan games, clan capital raids, wars and donations) or you will be kicked.
• You must be able to communicate in English.
• Family friendly clan so no drama or excessive swearing allowed.

Clan Name: Chicken's Fire
ClanTag: #YOJU9QCC
Description: Farming/war clan
Clan level: 23
Clan War League: Master III
Wars: 3 times a week
Location: International (we have members from USA, Canada, UK, Asia and elsewhere). We are a member of the Chicken’s United clan family.
If you liked what you read and are interested in joining us please send a request in game and type "Saw the Reddit post" or similar in the invite request box.

Challenge link: https://www.geoguessr.com/challenge/IXRfRc6y9PfGCBWw
The map: US State Highways
Deadline: May 28, 8 pm UTC (1 pm PDT, 4 pm EDT, 10 pm CEST).
You are facing a U.S. state route sign. Do you recognize the state without moving? How fast can you find the route number on the map? You have just one minute! Good luck and have fun! :-)
Please post your score of the challenge as comment in this thread if you want to have it counted for the leaderboard. Every posted score counts for the leaderboard of the season.
Here are the results of challenge #109. Congrats to rtlewis123 winning the challenge.

Rank	Reddit Name	Result	Percentage	Points
1st	rtlewis123	24999	100.000	100
2nd	solarsensei	24998	99.996	99
3rd	kuhl_kuhl	23365	93.464	93
4th	gobluetwo	23219	92.880	92

Total standings of season 6 after 1 of 13 challenges:

Rank	Reddit Name	Points
1st	rtlewis123	100
2nd	solarsensei	99
3rd	kuhl_kuhl	93
4th	gobluetwo	92

Hall of Fame

Season	1st	2nd	3rd
1	bdm6985	saladpants77	solarsensei
2	bdm6985	solarsensei	fbrasseur
3	bdm6985	rumilb	solarsensei
4	solarsensei	gobluetwo	rtlewis123
5	gobluetwo	rtlewis123	solarsensei

Last Challenge:
I'm curious. ;-) Although I revealed that R5 was in Rhode Island, only four players guessed in that state. Did you just miss it? Or is there a display mode where you only see the challenge link? It's not the first time that I got the impression that players didn't notice clues that I posted in the description.
My map has several locations where you see a sign that you normally don't see in the given state. I tagged these locations in the map making app and remove them before I create a challenge seed. I forgot to tag this location so it stayed in the mix. I decided to keep this seed and reveal the state to show you that there are always exceptions to the rule.
R1: The silhouette of George Washington on the highway sign of Washington. We were somewhere along Interstate I-90 between Seattle and Spokane. We had the town name on the directional sign and the "Welcome to" sign. 10 perfect scores. :-)
R2: Idaho. The US highways are quite easy to find in Idaho. US 20 and US 26 are running in concurrency between Carey and Atomic City. 10 perfect scores. :-)
R3: Virginia. Some players guessed in Oregon. When I realized that Virginia and Oregon have similar highway signs, I used the following mnemonic to remember the correct signs: The sign of Oregon is round at the top, like the O in Oregon. The sign of Virginia is flat at the top, as if the two ends of the V in Virginia were connected with a straight line. I don't know any regionguessing tips for Virginia. 2 perfect scores. :-)
R4: New Jersey. Short reminder: Five states use a plain circle as their standard state highway shield. Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, and New Jersey. Sometimes, New Mexico also has a plain circle, but this sign looks different than the signs in these five states. We saw several cars with yellow NJ license plates. A bit further up the road was the green-yellow sign of the "Garden State Parkway". We were somewhere close to the water. Right next to us was a sign with the name of the bridge ahead of us: "Cape May County Veterans Memorial Bridge". Cape May is the southern most tip of New Jersey. 3 perfect scores. :-)
R5: Rhode Island. With everything I've written here so far, it was impossible to guess the correct state. Therefore I revealed the state. Everybody who was in the correct state also found the correct intersection. We were on the offgoing ramp from US 1. The end of "Kernick Street" on the other side of the highway should have helped to pinpoint. 1 perfect score. :-) Kudos to the two players who found a corresponding intersection in Massachusetts. :-)

I plan on visiting a contractor’s office tomorrow to let him see how it feels.
DISCLAIMER: I have taken the liberty to use substitute names for the people involved. As many have noted in the comments, the dialogue feels out of place and weirdly-spaced. I’ll admit things have been somewhat paraphrased and summarized. Please keep that in mind as you read.
I went into my local hardware store tonight for a quick trip to pick up some supplies I was running low on. Quick in and out trip, 15 minutes at most. Sad to say it didn’t end up being a fast trip because when I arrived at the paint counter, I was stuck behind a contractor who wanted to cause a scene.
The guy in front of me was with his colleague, and they were arguing loudly about which paint finish to choose. They had a substantial number of paint cans on the counter, including some expensive specialty paints. When the contractor got to the counter, he froze and began searching around for an associate, who I presume he wanted to come and mix the paint for him.
The problem was that he didn’t place any orders. He just locked up and stared directly at a young woman who was busy stocking shelves in the next aisle over. After about 30 - 45 seconds of not saying anything, he loudly shouted, “Hey, you!” in his most condescending tone, followed by “Can you come here and mix my damn paint already?!”
His tactic worked, as the employee in question immediately put down her items and walked over. He was doing that typical arms-crossed stance, looking like everything was a giant inconvenience, and I will note, the man still hadn’t specified any of the paints yet.
When this young woman was in speaking range, the contractor began to berate her. “It’s frustrating to see staff just standing around doing nothing when they should be helping customers. Can you do your job and mix my paint?”
“Excuse me?” she responded.
“You heard me. Get off your butt and mix my paint so I can get out of here.”
Now, I would like to note a few things about this interaction up to this point. First, this individual was still in a work uniform…a branded polo for a local contracting company that I won’t name here, but one in which I know the owner pretty well. He’s a family friend. Second, he was still wearing his name tag (Mark, somehow I hope you’re competent enough to find your way here so you can see this story). Because of this, I knew how to address him.
Eventually, he asked the associate very rudely if she’s going to mix his paint, and she flat out told him, “No, I don’t think so. Not after how you’ve treated me. You can talk with my manager.” Good for her. She got on a walkie and called for a manager to come to the paint counter the contractor was towering over and briskly walked off towards the Customer Service counter at the front of the store. The contractor starts loudly complaining about how this is all nonsense and he’s just expressing his rights.
It was at this point where I actually found some courage and decided to give my opinion, unsolicited, just so this guy could get an outside perspective on how much of a jerk he was being. “Excuse me, but your rights don’t protect you from looking like a jerk to random strangers in a hardware store when you treat other people like trash.” The man wheeled around and locked eyes with me. “What did you just say to me?” I just smirked and said, “Oh, hard of hearing are we? I’m pretty sure you heard what I said.”
The man visibly shook on the spot. “This isn’t any of your business, so butt out!”
“I disagree. When I see someone acting like a bully for no good reason, I make it a point to speak up. You seem to think that by claiming your rights, you can say whatever you want without consequence, but that isn’t how it works, sir. Your rights protect you from government overreach for speaking your mind, but they don’t protect you from the consequences you face from others for your words or your actions.”
“That’s beside the point. I’m sick and tired of these lazy workers doing nothing and getting paid for it.” He responded, rather loudly and unaware that there were quite a few people staring at this point. Hooray. Ignorance has entered the chat.
The manager showed up, and he starts in on how he ordered his paint and that the associate in question was VERY rude to him and refused to serve him. He started stating that she told him he wouldn’t get help because he was a contractor when I interjected again.
“Sir, that is NOT what happened. This gentleman didn’t place any orders and immediately started shouting at your employee, just for the sake of being upset. He was rude, unpleasant, and even made unnecessary comments.”
He wheeled around at me again and yelled, “Shut up and mind your business!” before going on his tirade again. Something about lazy workers, something about his rights and speaking his mind.
“You know, this is very unfair of you.” I started again. “You’ve put that poor girl in an unwinnable situation. Now that you’ve raised this untrue complaint, her manager is going to have to have words with her even though she hasn’t done anything wrong. Does that sound fair to you, Mark?” I don’t think he realized he was still in uniform, because he looked at me puzzled at how I knew his name. “How would YOU feel if someone came into your place of business and told your boss a bunch of lies about how YOU were treating them unfairly when you knew perfectly well that it was a lie? Or even better, how would your boss react if he knew you were acting like this WHILE STILL IN UNIFORM with his place of business plastered all over your chest?” When he heard me say the name of his boss, he stopped cold. “Yes Mark. I know your boss VERY well, and I think I might be paying him a visit tomorrow. That is unless you decide to apologize to that girl for being a lying prick instead.”
The guy then became very rushed and suddenly in a colossal hurry. He muttered something about people not minding their own business, to which I replied with, “I’m just eXpReSsInG mY RiGhTs!” Spongebob sarcastic voice and all. He finally placed his paint orders, and the manager oversaw the mixing. His colleague started in about how I better not show up to his office tomorrow…something directed at me, but I wasn’t paying him any attention and brushed him off. I was just staring at Mark and watching him pack up his paint.
Eventually, he got all of his paint cans into his cart and he marched out, but he didn’t apologize to the manager or the employee and gave me a hearty, “Go fuck yourself, asshole!” as he flipped me off. I scanned my items and paid for my supplies, but man, was I smiling from ear to ear.
Afterwards, I made it a point to go and speak with the manager and the employee in the Customer Service center. As expected, the manager was having a conversation with the employee about that customer, and she thanked me for speaking up. I’ve worked retail before, so I know what it’s like having to deal with jerks like Mark. It’d be a cold day in hell before I let a contractor bully an employee then weasel his way into a victim role with management. Not on my watch.
So now my next play is to show up to this contracting office tomorrow. I really hope Mark is there. I hope he’s the opener. I’m going to walk in and just smile at him. Ask to see his manager. Then I think I’m going to go in and just weave the NICEST story about how he treated the employees at the hardware store, so much so that I was compelled to stop in and tell his boss that he has a real winner on his hands, and that I’m a customer for life now.
Maybe that way, he might get a message. MAYBE, he will realise that I could have started a whole shitstorm for him, but I chose not to, because unlike him, I’m not a jerk.
tl;dr (For the upset contractors in this thread who don’t like reading, it seems): Contractor got big mad for no reason and berated a hardware store employee while he himself was wearing his work uniform. I’ll be paying his boss, a family friend, a visit tomorrow to discuss his employee’s behaviour while still representing his place of work.

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Create a meme (GIF or video) featuring BlackCroc.
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Contract Address: Be6a7UZT4k6yUgQibJczPat8C2qGujEAoje7wY7Pgegr
https://x.com/blackcroconsol

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Hello all, and thanks in advance for your time and feedback.
I am the one who purchased the dog, and he was intended to be mine, always. I worked a lot, so my ex was the one who took him to his 2 vet appointments. Apparently, when he went to the vet, he put the dog in his name only. After leaving him (ex) and moving to a new state, I was put on a waitlist for over two months to have him registered as a new client.
The day comes to bring him in, they run his rabies tags, and tell me that there is a problem. Apparently the ex had reported my dog as stolen, and therefore, they could not treat him.
Going through all of my purchasing paperwork, I also noticed that his microchip page (that was not filled out yet) was missing. So, I can only assume that he took it, and filled it out under his name also.
My dog is now on a waiting list for another two months at a different vet, and of course they want all of his treatment history. I tried to appeal to my ex, and make him reverse the report, and his only reply was “good luck getting him treated now, b*tch!”
I can only assume that it will be the same result, next time he goes in. I don’t know what to do about this. I can’t even get basic treatment for MY OWN DOG. And in a few months time, he will be due for more shots.
I’m at a loss, I really don’t know what to do about this. I am sorry if this is the wrong sub, but I desperately need some help or advice. If anyone knows how I can repair the situation, please help me. I can’t let this dog end up back in his care. My ex was outright abusive towards him, which is why I left him in the first place.
I don’t understand how he has the right to claim full ownership, just because he took him to the vet twice while I was at work. It is only my name on all of the purchasing paperwork. Is there anything I can do about this?

Date	Stage	Route	Length	Type	Time
Wed. May 22	17	Selva di Val Gardena>Passo Brocon	159 km	Hard	ca. 17:15 CET

Climbs

Name	Cat	Km	Length	Avg
Passo Sella	2	km 8.9	5.5 km	6.8 %
Passo Rolle	1	km 67.6	19.8 km	4.8 %
Passo Gobbera	3	km 100.4	5.7 km	6.0 %
Passo Brocon (1st ascent)	2	km 127.2	15.4 km	5.6 %
Passo Brocon (2nd ascent)	1	km 159.0	11.9 km	6.6 %

Sprints

Name	Km
Predazzo	km 46.7
Canal S. Bovo (Intergiro)	km 112.0
Pieve Tesino	km 147.2

Weather

Between 10°C and 15°C. Rainy all day, but not as miserable as yesterday.

Stage breakdown

Most of tomorrow’s stage will take place in Trentino, an autonomous province of northern Italy. It’s one of the host provinces of the Tour of the Alps and indeed tomorrow’s stage feels like it belongs there as it’s relatively short but relentless. Interestingly, for whatever reason, the Giro always seems to visit Trentino on stage 17- it’s always been the case since 2017- and this is the 5th consecutive year we’re having an uphill finish there. While the area features several well-known climbs, in recent years the race has often ventured into uncharted (or almost uncharted) territory, and this will be the case in 2024 as well.
The stage will begin in South Tyrol, not far from where today’s stage ended, and it’s not going to be a gentle start: the first 10 kms take place on the upper slopes of Passo Sella, one of the most scenic roads through the Dolomites, with a cat 2 KOM at the top. A long descent through the beautiful Fassa and Fiemme valleys will follow, and the peloton will reach Predazzo, where the first intermediate sprint is located; this small town will host the ski jumping events at the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics, and it will undoubtedly give commentators the chance to bring up an obscure fact about the Giro’s defending champion.
Said intermediate sprint marks the beginning of the second categorized climb of the day: cat 1 Passo Rolle, a long slog with mellow gradients and a plateau-ish section in the middle. A very long descent- nearly 30 kms, all on a highway- will bring the riders into the final section of the race. After the brief cat 3 Passo Gobbera and the Intergiro sprint in Canal S. Bovo, the riders will start ascending towards Passo Brocon, a small and rather remote ski station, much more modest than the resorts that we’ve been visiting in the past two stages. There are three roads converging at the pass, and the stage will visit all three of them! First off, the peloton will reach the pass from the northeast- a long but regular climb, labelled as a cat 2; then, they will descend via the southeastern side, reaching the last intermediate sprint of the day in Pieve Tesino- a tiny mountain hamlet which was also the birthplace of Alcide Degasperi, one of the most influential politicians in Italy’s history and a founding father of the European Union.
Right after that, the peloton will head back towards Passo Brocon via the remaining way up: a narrow secondary road approaching the pass from the southwest. While its length and average gradients are comparable to the first ascent, its gradients are much more irregular, with a tougher second half often averaging above 10% before easing out with 1.5 kms to go. Unlike the first ascent, this one is marked as a cat 1. This is the first Giro appearance of Passo Brocon since 1956, when it was tackled halfway along the legendary Mt. Bondone stage which Charly Gaul won in a snowstorm.
With all this in mind, here are our predictions for tomorrow's stage:
★★★ Pogačar
★★ Breakaway (Conci, Costiou, the Paret-Peintres, Pellizzari, Quintana, Sanchez, Scaroni, Steinhauser)
★ Arensman, Martínez, Storer, Tiberi

Rider discussion

On paper, tomorrow's stage looks like another good one for the breakaway. It's tough, short and relentless... so if a large group goes early it won't be easy to bring them back! We put together some names we appreciated over the past few days; we especially expect Nicola Conci to be at the forefront tomorrow as he's been very lively this Giro and stage 17 goes through his native area, he'll have plenty of fans on the roadside.
However... a lot will depend on how the peloton will ride, and if today is a good indicator, the attackers won't get that much of a leeway. We don't expect Tadej Pogačar to go thermonuclear tomorrow, but if the break doesn't get a large advantage it's hard to picture someone else outplaying him on a hard climb like tomorrow's finale. Granted, his lead is so large that if even his closest rivals attack, he could afford to let them go... but as the rest of the GC is somewhat close together, if someone attacks everyone else will go, and at this point Pogačar will probably tag along. In the end, we believe that the pink jersey has a slight edge and is our overall favourite. Out of the rest of the GC guys, Thymen Arensman, Daniel Felipe Martínez, Michael Storer and Antonio Tiberi looked the sharpest today. Geraint Thomas was struggling a bit but tomorrow's climb should suit him a little better compared to today's finale.
That's it from us, what are your thoughts/predictions?

I sat in our dark bedroom, the computer screen glaring with a harsh, white light. A banner flashed before my eyes: “Seek wisdom by understanding yourself.”
“Chloe, check this out,” I called over my shoulder to my girlfriend playing The Sims on her laptop.
She glanced up, her brow furrowing in confusion before giving me a bemused look. “What the hell are you looking at?” she asked.
“It’s some cult,” I replied, unable to hide my fascination. “I fell down a rabbit hole and found this local place downtown. It's a derivative of Aleister Crowley and Golden Dawn bullshit.” I pointed to the Google Street View image of a dilapidated storefront in an ethnic shopping center.
She smirked, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “I never pegged you as the religious type.”
“Check this out,” I continued, clicking through the site. “They have some photos.”
We spent some time going through the albums celebrating various solstices. Most were taken in an odd room with black and white checkered floors, adorned with Egyptian pseudo-artifacts, bathed in the glow of red and purple lights that transformed the scene into a surreal dreamscape.
The people certainly had an alternative vibe. Tattoos were plentiful, but other than that they looked like they came from all different walks of life. Many of them looked like they had their fair share of bullying in high school - no shortage of that. But most of them looked relatively normal aside from the occasional piercing.
One photograph in particular caught my eye. A woman, sitting in a bright red room, sat on an altar, holding a staff in her right hand, wearing nothing. A man was kneeled before her, his arms tied behind him, rope anchored to the ceiling. They were sliding a knife down his back, a small trickle of blood dripping to the floor.
“Damn,” Chloe started. “She’s butt-ass naked.”
“You wanna go?” I asked. “They’re having a get together tonight.”
“You know what, fuck it. Why not? It’s not like we’re doing anything.” she replied.
“Good,” I smiled, standing up. “Because I already ordered an Uber.”
She sighed before opening a drawer and pulling out a small pipe. “I’ll go, but i'm not going sober.”
It was a cold, shitty Seattle winter night. We got dropped off in the parking lot and spent a few minutes looking for the storefront. We finally found it next to a dog groomer and Pho restaurant with some pun for the name I can’t seem to remember.
We entered the shop, which consisted of two narrow isles separated by wood shelves barely big enough for me to fit down. We spent some time looking at the various items, my attention diverting to a vial of elk blood. I remember wondering if they were even allowed to sell this without some type of medical certification they definitely did not have while Chloe shuffled through a bowl of mix and match crystals.
“Can I help you?” I heard a woman say from the back as she emerged from a beaded curtain. She was a short, overweight woman wearing what I could only describe as a sports bra and hula skirt.
“Hi, uh,” I stuttered. “I’m George and this is Chloe. We’re here for the… winter solstice celebration?”
“Oh, goodie! Newcomers!” she said with an out of place, overjoyed expression as she clapped her hands. Chloe and I laughed nervously.
“The door is in the back, but you can come through here just this time.” she said with a smile, arm holding the beaded curtain open.
We walked through a dark hallway, somehow more cramped than the shop, into a rather large room. A gaggle of people were huddled in the back, which Chloe and I quietly shuffled into.
A bearded man paraded around the room, white robes and red headdress cascading into a cloak, knuckles adorned with several large rings gripping a spear, held vertically in front of him. Behind him, another bald man, white robes and yellow cloak, followed behind, white sleeves crossed over his chest.
I glanced at Chloe’s bloodshot eyes, THC clearly flowing through her system. I gave her a knowing look, as if to say Having fun yet? She returned a slow smile.
Without warning, the entire crowd clapped their hands together over their heads as a woman in blue robes walked past, waving a censure leaking white smoke. We awkwardly followed to match the group.
The blue curtains on the back wall opened to reveal an older Asian woman sitting perched on the altar I saw in the photos, again, completely naked. And before you ask, no. She wasn’t attractive. It’s never the ones you hope it is. The red robed man kneeled down and softly kissed her knees.
I glanced back at Chloe. Her smile was so big I was afraid she was going to laugh at any moment. I pinched her on the side and whispered into her ear “Do. Not. Fucking. Laugh”. Honestly, I think I just made it worse. Her face turned beet red as she bit her cheeks.
The ritual went on for another half hour or so. They must’ve said “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law” at least a dozen times.
We were getting kind of bored and were ready to leave before the woman in the blue robes wandered in with a caged chicken.
"No fucking way" I thought. Surely enough, the man in the yellow robes held the chicken high in the air, before slitting its throat and draining blood into a large metallic basin. The man winced as the chicken flailed violently, scratching up his arms, before eventually succumbing to blood loss.
One by one, each person there stood between a white and black pillar saying love and intention in Greek before eating a piece of something, taking a sip of blood, and saying “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods.”
Chloe and I hung back, and politely declined when our turn came. Once all was said and done, they busted out some alcohol and started celebrating. We slipped out into the street, bursting out laughing. After we finally collected ourselves, Chloe whipped out her phone and showed me she took dozens of pictures of the ritual.
We laughed our asses off the entire way home. First thing she did was open her laptop and post the pictures on Twitter, tagging the lodge with the caption “me and the boys chilling right now”.
We returned to the usual rhythm of our lives. I went to work, conducting meetings and answering emails, while Chloe went back to her classes. A few days later, Chloe checked her Twitter and saw that she had gained a few thousand likes. The whole ordeal became a running joke between us.
I would eat fruit snacks and sip on my soda, saying, “There is no part of me that is not of the Gods”. A few weeks later, we had mostly forgotten about it, except for the occasional recounting as a funny story to regale our friends.
One night while Chloe and I were spending our evening the usual way with me on the computer and her on her laptop, I felt her furiously tap my shoulder while staring wide eyed at the window. Confused, I took my headphones off and walked over, pulling back the curtain to reveal 6 people standing in black robes and animal masks watching us from the hillside.
“What do we do, should I call the cops?” Chloe whimpered.
“No, they’re just a bunch of larpers. They’re not going to do shit! Just trying to scare us.” I said angrily as I closed the blinds and hopped back on my computer.
Chloe sat there for a few minutes in a tense pose with her arms folded together. She went to double check the door was locked, before we continued our night as normal.
The next day I got a text from Chloe frantically telling me to come home immediately. When I arrived, there was a squad car parked outside our building. I ran up the stairs to see two officers standing by Chloe in the doorway. I nearly shouted asking what was going on. They lead me inside to show me a massive black symbol drawn on our wall, a six-pointed star made from one continuous line.
We finished our police report and they told us they’d get back to us if they find anything. I’ve been robbed often enough to know that means they’re going to forget about this before they’ve even gotten back into their squad car.
Furious, I stormed over to the shop and banged on the window. The hula skirt woman came over and cracked the door open just enough for me to see one of her eyes.
“What the fuck do you think your little posse is doing!?” I screamed at her. “Breaking into my apartment like that!? You all are fucking psychos!”
“I haven’t any idea what you’re talking about”, she said with a sly grin.
“Oh, yeah?” I said pointing a finger in her face. “If anyone tries any shit like that again I’m going to burn your goddamn shop to the ground, do you hear me?”
She looked at the ground, clearly nervous. I have never blown up at a stranger like this but I could tell my threats were working.
After a moment of silence I stormed off again, back towards home.
“You meddle with forces you do not understand!” she called out from the shop.
I picked up a glass bottle from the sidewalk and chucked it, smashing against her shop window, forcing her to close the door and disappear into the shadows. I’m not particularly proud of how I behaved in this moment, but unless you’ve had someone break into your home and draw shit on the walls, hold on to your judgment.
The next few days passed without so much as a peep from them. Chloe and I began to relax, convincing ourselves that the cult had been scared off. Life seemed to be returning to normal, and the unsettling incident became just another story.

Today’s one page challenge is for The City in the Clouds by J.B. Williams. Finally, a requested challenge, rather than the usual cycle of me finding a story and the person being triggered that I did so. At 234 pages and a whopping price tag of $20.99 for a paperback, it’s a wonder why it looks untouched. Flip some burgers for an hour to pay for this… whatever it is. I was told the editor is good, so let’s see how he gummed up the works.
The rules of the one page challenge are simple: I go through the first page of the book(about 300 words or 3 paragraphs) and say where the average reader would stop. These reviews are short, sweet, and to the point (unlike most of these books). The main things we look for are things like tension, a hint at the plot existing, good feng shui, a feeling like the blurb is accurate, a lack of obfuscation, and the story fulfilling its role as a story. As we go along, I’ll explain why readers love or hate certain elements and we’ll see what straws break the camel’s back.
The title, The City in the Clouds, makes me think of fantasy, but it’s meant to be sci-fi. Clouds symbolize knowledge beyond our reach or something like daydreaming, treated as water in air(mystery in knowledge). Saying the title this way makes it seem like the focus is the city itself, which would be cool if it was something like a dystopian or utopian story. Maybe a tech noir or detective story, but… it’s not. This story is actually about a woman, and it’s a comedy, completely conflicting with the genre in two ways.
I didn’t want to say this but Huston… we’re already having problems.
The ebook cover is a drawing of curly haired woman staring at the camera like she’s constipated, while the paperback version is of an anime girl holding a gun and looking like she has diarrhea. Both versions have her in a suit, with a giant gas planet behind her. Both have similar fonts for the title and name, but the ebook version is so blurred and darkened that it reads like a secret message; the physical version being slightly less blurry. If I saw this on a shelf, I wouldn’t recognize this as a book or know what it was called. I find it strange because the back of the book is very clear, given a blue box for clarity, and has a sun with a red sky that would have made more sense than these frumpy women.
I guess the title and name are made illegible because we’re supposed to zoom our eyes straight to the blurb:

Robin Alia Brook is considered a loser. She works at customer service for one of the largest companies in humanity's interstellar empire, gets stood up on dates, and accidentally kills people. Then when her ex-online boyfriend gives her the winning vacation lottery ticket to the famed habitat, The City of Clouds, she reluctantly accepts it.
Upon arrival, she is greeted by the massive, beautiful gas giant Bellona, and all the glamour and prospects of expansion for the famous habitat. And it is the beginning of a celebration, too! For the election of the new habitat captain! But the celebration and vacation are ruined when pirates attack, seeking the captain's riches.
They are ruthless, they are bloodthirsty, and they won't stop until they get what they want. Unfortunately for the pirates, Robin is really good at accidentally killing people, and with her is a rag tag team of a pilot recruit, an egotistical journalist, a veteran photographer, and the captain himself.
It will be a long battle for The City of Clouds, and the outcome is unknown, but one thing is certain... This is the worst vacation ever.

Slight grammar issues here and there, but most wouldn’t notice that “ex-online boyfriend” would mean the boyfriend was online and not anymore. The delivery is a little bouncy, almost appropriate, but doesn’t give much tone from how much info it tries to cram in. Something I noticed is that very little sci-fi is mentioned, with the only thing giving a sci-fi vibe being the idea of traveling to another planet. If this was a vacation to an island, very little would change from how it’s described. Like the title and name on the cover, a lot of what makes this book a book is hidden from us, in plain sight.
At this point, the average reader would probably not give it a shot, unless the idea of pirates and an ironic Die Hard premise is their cup of tea.
No prologue, no maps, no glossary, just a simple chapter 1 to greet us. Ok, I’m liking this already. I know this is a small thing, but the simplicity of just starting a story is a blessing that should be the norm, and isn’t. I haven’t read a single word and this is already the best OPC so far. Yes, it’s that easy.
Don’t ruin the experience with all your fancy try-hard nonsense and the reader will be in hog heaven.
We are told the planet, sector, system, and date. Very effective in establishing the sci-fi element in this single aside, which also lets us know it’s 400 years in the future. The planet is named Andromeda, which is a well known galaxy, so if this is in that galaxy, I assume it’s going for a “New York, New York” type of gag. The editor did a good job, with the first page establishing a scene in a restaurant. What he messed up on was… everything that’s not the scene itself, which makes up 90% of the words.
The protagonist, Robin Alia Brook has her day off described as “shot in the face”, being delivered in present tense and this has it come out awkwardly. I say this because the second sentence is past tense, then it shifts back to present, back to past. This is why people stick with past tense to avoid the headache, and present tense is now used as a hipster novelty to act as if things are more important because they’re happening as they’re written. Most readers just find it as a distraction and it causes something niche to become more niche in the process. The first paragraph ends with us being told that she’s in a restaurant that is 500 feet under the sea, of a planet called Andromeda.
She is to be dining, but she is NOT dining because her date didn’t show. Cue the audience gasping, because this is a travesty. The part that really kills this opening is the sentence “She is currently obtaining nutrients through Poseidon's generous supply of free lemons water and cheesy garlic biscuits.” This was the perfect chance for worldbuilding, to express something futuristic and fresh. Instead, it tied itself to Earth, talked about mundane food like lemon water, and it didn’t use any of these for a punchline.
This is meant to be a comedy, but is absent of comedy. We don’t need a bunch of humor in the first paragraph, but we do expect a comedy to present a tone that can lead to humor occurring. Every scene for a comedy is a setup for gags and punchlines. Much like horror, the scene is built around the mood, which is brought to a peak around half way. The introduction of a comedy book is going to hold a joke in relation to the entire book.
I believe the blurb when it says this Robin character can kill things by accident, because this book dies right after she’s introduced, around the second paragraph. The third paragraph changes the subject to be about other people in the restaurant, acting as a distraction that leads to infodumps of Robin’s outfit and such. I understand that the “joke” is that this woman is stood up on her date and we are to feel her anguish, but the reader shouldn’t be suffering through the opening this soon. Starting here is either far too late or far too soon. If anything, this is something I expect in chapter 2 or something we hear about as she’s on her way to Bellona.
A good way to put it is that this scene is a non-sequitur done in order to give fashion statements, with the important exposition ignored for window dressing.
The average reader needs tension to get sunk into a sci-fi story, because this is a planet we don’t know about with a character we’ve never seen before. What is the point of having this restaurant so deep underwater? There is a city underwater? She has a job, but where does she work? At the Krusty Krab?
Non-sequitur is a distraction that removes us from the scene and the plot to explain things that don’t serve a purpose to either. If I changed the first sentence to only hold what was part of the scene, it would be the characters name and nothing more. To strengthen an opening like this, we would have to set it up for a punchline, reinforce the sardonic tone, and tie the scene with the situation. The first sentence would go like:

Five hundred feet below the sea’s surface, Robin could not stop drinking.

This will give the impression that she’s getting drunk, while attaching her drinking to the sea outside, giving the impression that she’s drowning. But even then, I wouldn’t start here, I would begin with a comedic amount of assurance that she’s going to have her date show up, then the next scene is her waiting with this. That, or I would have her doing the walk of shame, allowing the plot to begin sooner when she gets her golden ticket, which would be like:

The ocean floor outside was slowly swallowed by darkness as the elevator pod took Robin away from Poseidon.

Here, we have a moment for her to think back to the situation, and the word “darkness” gives hint to her current feeling about the restaurant. This is a setup for the punchline that follows, already skipping the failed date and able to move forward to the poster she sees in the elevator. Movies tend to do this type of exposition with the main character telling the situation to another person, who is helpless to escape. That can add more humor and make the main character express their personality quirks. The goal is for less opening to be used up for non-sequitur and to focus it on moving forward in relation to the plot.
For a story like this, the rejection comes from a lack of being straightforward. We can always fix up a sentence and how it sounds, but this doesn’t mean much when the bones are disjointed. Thankfully, for this one, a lot of readers are used to openings like this from online serials, so there is hope that a lot of it will get a pass. It’s that first hump that it has to get over in order to shine. Sadly, for little Robin, that hump was not achieved, so her journey through the city in the cloud might as well not exist.

My brother married an actual psychopath. My brother (40) married the scummiest scum of the earth. Who can only be described as a whore, a psycho, sociopath and an all around terrible human being. It was against the wishes of EVERYONE. For back story…She had a child by another man… and only had him (in november) to live off the government. he met the stray hoe took care of her and her unborn child. they started dating in september and by christmas she had drained his bank account. He moved in with her days after christmas. Proposed. And got married sometime between march and june i honestly can not be bothered to know exactly when. The night before brother was admitted to the er for staph infection in his berries. After the “wedding” that was in the back yard of some pastor . they had a “reception”. Where i photographed/observed the following. A used tampon on washing machine. Shit filled diapers littering the nursery. A surreal amount of clothing on the bed. I said nah im good. And went home. The wedding was in may and she got my brother to legally adopt her child. Im forever convinced if not for my brother she would casey anthony her child. She Munchausened her kid and my brother. Self diagnosing the kid with autism. Pushed or made my brother fall and get multiple concussions. Drugged him with date rape drugs to keep control of him. She was a frequent flier to the ER going to the emergency room for unnecessary reasons. She refused to parent her child insisting that its the worlds job to teach him the bare minimum. She refused to clean as well. Her cockroaches had cockroaches. Cleanliness was mental illness for her. She kicked my brother out asking for divorce. But realized she had to leave bc he paid the bills. She stayed with whoever the hell would take her. Was forced to walk wherever she needed to go. And uttered the words “well i had to walk in the rain so theres my bath for the week” after growing tired of not having his card and money she came crawling back. She avoided parenting like the plague. Every excuse. Uti. Migraine. Yeast infection. Its a tuesday. When her son was 2 she left to go to another state and go to school for being a truck driver. Had no qualms of leaving her kid behind for weeks. Then she dropped out of 18 wheeler school. It seems the wheels on her bus fell off. For someone who doesnt believe proper hygiene was important she didnt believe bathing him and basic care was important. Feet encrusted in dirt and dirt under overgrown nails. It was so noticeable that when i cut his nails his teacher made comment about it. Her family was just as absent as you would expect. Her mother only went to the first birthday party when the child was 6. And didnt even know her own grandchild. Asked another child at the party if he had the best birthday! My mom looked at her and said “yeaaa thats the wrong kid…” Fast forward when the first born was 6 and she birthed her second. This had no change and her parenting never improved. Another child encrusted in dirt. After the youngest turned a year and a half my brother had knee surgery and stayed with us (me mom dad) to recover because she would have made him cook clean and parent. While he was healing for the week he was there she moved in her boyfriend AND girlfriend. By the way she not only a hoe she is a promiscuous hoe with no moral compass. I promised my mom id never call CPS however when the second was 2 i had a friend call cps. Like a special ops team cops went in at 2 am and gathered the children and brought them to me and my parents. We had the 2 year old and a friend of the hoe had the 8 year old. For 2 weeks my brother agonized over his kids being taken. And she had a vacation. She treated it as if having your kids repo’ed as a right of passage. Told the world. Told the teacher. And had the time of her stupid life. In the 2 weeks i had them i had minions collecting screenshots of statuses of her being a bad mother. Which was super easy bc every thought made it to facebook. Such as. “My dentist suggested i brush my teeth at least once a day” “i guess i was doing (brother) with the wrong meds and made him sick” “why dont grandparents raise our children” i gathered these gems and photographic evidence of the state of the house and cleanliness of children to cps, police and eventually divorce lawyer. During their time together the hoe broke my brother mentally spiritually emotionally physically financially. The food stamps ran out in the first week of every month spent on junk soda and unnecessary nonsense. They had to ask my mother for money that accumulated to the tune of $10,000 over 10 years. She is also a gofundme whore. She would start a gofundme 10-12 times a year for any and everything. She decided at one point to go back to school and did an amazon wishlist for school supplies and a gofundme for “gas food and other expenses”. Being the trash human she is she is friends with people of unsavory character. An actual crack head bought her entire amazon wishlist. Which she put on facebook. Yikes. At one point she found a dog and instead of finding the owner she finders keepers that poor pup. Making yet another gofundme for dog expenses. I told my friends i would paaaay them to claim the dog as theirs so my mother didnt pay for yet another mouth to feed. If youre curious about the gofundmes and if they were ever fruitful… when a bull milks a calf will her gofundme work. The final year of their marriage was no less chaotic. The christmas of 2019 she posted on facebook that its so wonderful that her husband is out working and her boyfriend is sleeping next to her and her girlfriend is cooking. Tagging the aforementioned on facebook. My brother was humiliated because infront of church members family and friends his marriage and all the stupidity that came with it was out in the open for all to judge. My brother was at the time a corrections officers and let his kind nature and naivety get him in trouble. A person asked him to take some taco bell to an inmate and in what could only be called a moment of stupidity (sorry mom) he did so. what he didnt know is they put drugs in it and when it was scanned he was arrested. My mom and dad had to bail him out too him home and around 3 am he called me “they voted me out” beyond confused i asked what the hell does that mean? As it turned out. Hoe boyfriend and girlfriend unanimously voted him out of the house. Mind you. Single wide trailer housing 4 adults 2 kids a dog and cats. June of 2020 he moved back in a month later if the children followed. after the actual breadwinner left the house the unemployed baboons could not pay the rent and were kicked out. The three went down to two with the girlfriend being let go. Hoe and boyfriend moved in with her mother. And boyfriend wrecked the car in my brothers name. Dui and head on collision. Car gone! The children stayed with us. The youngest was 2 at the time and began calling my mom “mommy” which pissed off the hoe. And she never contacted them. At the hearing for the divorce she stated all she wanted out of the relationship was not money or visitation. But her maiden name back. TAKE IT. AND LEAVE US THE HELL ALONE. She also used a photo of her kids on a gofundme to get sympathy and posted that to a fetish website. Seeing as the photo was them shirtless i believe that was on purpose. She dumped boyfriend and found a new love in new hampshire. She was in NH for 8 months with her new boyfriend and he lost his job so they moved back down. After a summer of no contact she called and told the children “when i get home we are going to….” And listed about 10 events places and activities to look forward to. None of which she delivered on. After not spending time with them again and choosing to give up her weekend with them to play video games for 30 HOURS STRAIGHT. She eventually in 2024 decided that her and her boyfriend were moving to Massachusetts. Seeing how she is a practicing witch my only hope is the salem witch trials reconvene. She married the dude she abandoned her kids for. On mothers day the children who no longer give a damn she exists were forced to call and tell her happy mothers day. Where the 6 year old proceeded to tell her the older brother got a phone and didnt wanna give her his number. She assured him that as his mother its quite alright to give mommy dearest the number to which the youngest said yea no he doesnt want to. The mouths of babes. She cried and posted on facebook not only do her children hate her but she had to give up her cats too. And wished the “real mom’s of the world a happy mothers day” shes a shit cat mom too! A week after we had spaghetti for dinner and the 6 year old said “i never used to like spaghetti. I only tried it at… whats her names house? Jordan? Yea her house” With their father engaged to a good Godly woman with morals and standards the worst mother to ever mother has been replaced and so far we are all living happily ever after. The moral of the story is if you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas what if you lay down with whores end up with bedbugs and that was a very costly moral

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, can seem like a complex puzzle, especially in the specialized healthcare field. However, understanding key principles can significantly enhance your content’s visibility and reach. Here’s a quick guide to optimizing your healthcare content for search engines.

1. Keyword Research: Start with identifying the right keywords. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find relevant terms for which your target audience is searching. Focus on both broad keywords (e.g., "healthcare tips") and long-tail keywords (e.g., "how to manage diabetes with diet").
   
2. Quality Content: Ensure your content is informative, accurate, and up-to-date. Google prioritizes content that provides real value to users. It means detailed articles, research-backed information, and expert insights for healthcare.
   
3. On-Page SEO: Optimize your content for readability and search engines. Use your primary keyword in the title, headers, and naturally throughout the text. Ensure a clean structure with H1, H2, and H3 tags to help search engines understand your content’s hierarchy.
   
4. Meta Descriptions and Titles: Craft compelling meta descriptions and title tags. These elements are crucial for click-through rates as they summarize your content in search results. Include your main keyword and make it enticing to encourage users to click.
   
5. Mobile Optimization: Many users access healthcare information via mobile devices, so ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Google’s mobile-first indexing means that a site’s mobile version is now the primary version considered for ranking.
   
6. Backlinks and Internal Links: Gain credibility through backlinks from reputable healthcare websites. Also, use internal links to guide visitors to other relevant content on your site, improving their experience and increasing their time spent on it.
   
7. Local SEO: If you offer localized services, optimize for local SEO. Ensure your practice’s name, address, and phone number are consistent across all online platforms and claim your Google My Business listing.
   

Implementing these SEO strategies can boost your healthcare content’s visibility and ensure that valuable information reaches those who need it most. Good SEO is about quality and relevance, so focus on creating content that genuinely benefits your audience.

Hey all! Got some great stuff all around!
With the status of agents in limbo, get these for a great price and fast domestic shipping!
CURRENT VOUCH THREAD: https://www.reddit.com/RepVouch/comments/ntvbpw/usaca312_part_3/

• VENMO, CASHAPP, ZELLE AND PAYPAL F&F PRIMARY PREFERENCES. I AM VOUCHED, SO NO G&S NOR PAYPAL INVOICE ONLY VENMO, ZELLE, CASHAPP, AND PP F&F
  
• USA BASED. ALL PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING FOR THE CONTIGUOUS USA. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE NOT FROM THE USA, OR FROM HAWAII/ALASKA
  
• I'M A FAST SHIPPER. WILL BE SHIPPED THE DAY OF OR THE VERY NEXT BUSINESS DAY. TRACKING PROVIDED SAME DAY OF PURCHASE USUALLY. YOU CAN CHECK MY VOUCHES FOR THAT :)
  

TAGGED PHOTOS W/ TIMESTAMP
• • •
CLOTHES
1.) DÜJ@ V£ BLACK JACKET SIZE M TTS - $55 SHIPPED

• PICS

2.) TH1$1$N3V£RTH@T CREAM QUARTER ZIP SIZE M TTS - $40 SHIPPED

• PICS

• • •

SHOES

I have a certain process with shoe orders to best serve you, the consumer. The following is a breakdown of important things to note:

• CONDITION: All shoes are in pristine deadstock condition, fit TTS and complete with their original boxes and laces unless otherwise specified.
  
• PRICING: Pricing is determined by the acquisition cost (batch), convenience of domestic shipping, popularity and subjective assessment of quality.
  
• DESCRIPTIONS: Anything of necessary note will be provided in imgur albums to highlight any notable features. If none exist, assume I see no issues of note and consider both condition and quality to be of solid note reflective of its pricing.
  
• BATCH VARIABILITY: Please note that due to batch restocks and material supply constraints, I cannot guarantee a specific batch will have equivalent materials to oldenewer restocks. Therefore, I'm no longer listing the batch name. However, I'm here to provide my best interpretation + the batch supplier claims it is upon request. Typically, price is reflective of whether its a high quality batch or lower quality.
  
• ORDERING PROCESS: The pictures provided are an accurate representation of the item you'll receive, specific to your pair. Please include the specific size and pair letter desired (i.e. Size 11, Pair B, Basketball 1 Black Toebox) and I'll ensure that will be the exact pair ordered.
  

1.) LU3Y FÜTT0N TR@1N3RS

• Size 11 - PAIR A (green) - $125

2.) ÅJ1 x T$ G0LF "N3UTR@L 0LIV3" L0W

• Size 9.5 - PAIR A - $90

3.) ÅJ1 1 x B@SEL PINK

• Size 9 - PAIR A - $100 , PAIR B - $100 , PAIR C - $100
  
• Size 9.5 - PAIR B - $100 , PAIR C - $100
  

4.) ÅJ1 1 x T$ OG HIGH BROWN

• Size 8.5 - PAIR A (no box) - $110
  
• Size 9 - PAIR A - $120
  
• Size 9.5 - PAIR B (no box) - $110 , PAIR C (no box) - $110
  
• Size 10 - PAIR A (no box, b-grade) - $80 , PAIR B (no box) - $110 , PAIR C (no box) - $110
  
• Size 10.5 - PAIR C (no box, b-grade) - $70
  
• Size 11 - PAIR B - $120
  

5.) ÅJ4 M1DN1GĦT NÄV¥

• Size 12 - PAIR A - $110

6.) ÅJ1 x T$ R3V3RSE M0ĆH@ LOW

• Size 10 - PAIR F - $115

7.) ÅJ1 x T$ OG L0W M0CHǍ

• Size 10 - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR B - $115 , PAIR C - $115

8.) ÅJ4 1NDÜ$TR1AL / M1L1TÄR¥ BLÜE

• Size 9.5 - PAIR A - $125 , PAIR C - $125

9.) ÅJ4 0R£0

• Size 13 - PAIR A - $115

10.) ÅJ4 BR3Ð R3IM@G1NED

• Size 9 - PAIR B - $125 , PAIR C - $125
  
• Size 9.5 - PAIR B - $125
  
• Size 10 - PAIR A - $125 , PAIR B - $125
  

11.) ÅJ1 x UN!0N BL@ĆK TOE

• Size 9 - PAIR A - $125

12.) ÅJ1 x T$ "PH@NT0M" L0W

• Size 9 - PAIR C - $115 , PAIR D - $115

•••

SOLD ITEMS

SOLD.) TAN CARGO F0G £$$€NT1@LS PANTS SIZE S (FITS S-M) - $48 SHIPPED

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SOLD.) N!K£ DŨŃĶ L0W GR3Y F0G

• Size 11 - PAIR A (Used) - $50

SOLD.) DEADSTOCK G0Y@RD CARDHOLDERS

• WHITE - $45
  
• BLACK & BROWN - $45
  

SOLD.) DEADSTOCK AM1R1 APPAREL

• Logo Splatter Brown Tee Size XL - $45

SOLD.) DEADSTOCK & NWT MENS UNDERGARMENT APPAREL

• V3rs@c£ Grey Size XL - $8
  
• V3rs@c£ Black Size XL - $8
  
• Búřb3rr¥ Black Size M - $8
  

SOLD.) DEADSTOCK B@l3nc1@ga Apparel

• White BB Logo Tee Size L - $45

SOLD.) DEADSTOCK LUEY FUTTON Apparel

• White Music Cabin Graphic Tee Size L - $50
  
• White Square Silver Belt 120cm - $35
  

SOLD.) DEADSTOCK GU€€I APPAREL

• Golfing Cats Artsy Graphic Tee Size XL - $55

SOLD.) DEADSTOCK F0G APPAREL

• Hoodie Small Essentials Print Matcha Green Size S - $55
  
• Hoodie Small Essentials Print Apricot Size S - $55
  
• Hoodie Small Essentials Print Apricot Size M - $55
  

SOLD.) B0TT3GA V3N3TA 0RBIT METALLIC

• Size 45 (Fits US11) - PAIR A - $115

SOLD.) ÅJ1 x BAS3L IGL00

• Size 10.5 - PAIR A - $100

SOLD.) ǍJ1 x B@S3L ŘÚ$Ț P1ÑĶ

• Size 10 - PAIR A - $100

SOLD.) ÅJ1 1 x T$ OG HIGH BROWN

• Size 10.5 - PAIR B (no box) - $110 , PAIR A (no box) - $110 ,
  
• Size 11 - PAIR A - $120 , PAIR C - $120
  

SOLD.) ÅJ4 BL@CK C@T

• Size 12 - PAIR A - $125

SOLD.) ÅJ1 x T$ R3V3RSE M0ĆH@ LOW

• Size 8.5 - PAIR C - $115 , PAIR D - $115 , PAIR B - $115 , PAIR A - $115
  
• Size 9.5 - PAIR A - $115
  
• Size 10 - , PAIR B - $115 , PAIR C - $115 , PAIR A - $115 , PAIR E - $115 ,
  
• Size 10.5 - PAIR B - $115 , PAIR A - $115
  
• Size 11 - PAIR A - $115
  
• Size 14 - PAIR A - $115
  

SOLD.) ÅJ1 UŅ1V3RS1TY BLUE

• Size 8.5 - PAIR A (no box) - $70

SOLD.) ÅJ4 1NDÜ$TR1AL / M1L1TÄR¥ BLÜE

• Size 9.5 - PAIR B - $125 ,
  
• Size 10 - PAIR A - $125 , PAIR B - $125 , * Size 10 - PAIR C - $125
  
• Size 10.5 - PAIR A - $125 , PAIR B - $125 , PAIR C - $125
  
• Size 11 - PAIR B - $125 , PAIR C - $125 , PAIR A - $125
  
• Size 12 - PAIR A - $125 , PAIR B - $125
  

SOLD.) ÅJ4 P1N£ GR3£Ņ

• Size 12 - PAIR A - $125, PAIR B - $125
  
• Size 10.5 - PAIR C (no box) - $110
  

SOLD.) ÅJ4 BR3Ð R3IM@G1NED

• Size 8.5 - PAIR A - $125
  
• Size 9 - PAIR A - $125
  
• Size 9.5 - PAIR C - $125
  
• Size 10 - PAIR D - $125 , , PAIR C - $125
  

SOLD.) ÅJ4 BLUE T$ C@ĆTÜ$ J@ÇĶ

• Size 13 - PAIR A (no box) - $90

SOLD.) ÅJ1 x T$ "PH@NT0M" L0W

• Size 9 - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR B - $115 ,
  
• Size 10 - PAIR C - $115 , PAIR A - $115 , PAIR D- $115 , PAIR D - $115
  
• Size 10.5 - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR C - $115 , , PAIR E - $115) , PAIR D - $115 , PAIR B - $115
  
• Size 11 - PAIR B - $115 , PAIR C - $115 , , PAIR E (no box) - $105
  
• Size 13 - PAIR B - $115 , PAIR B - $115
  
• Size 14 - PAIR A - $115
  

SOLD). ÅJ1 x T$ "0L1V£" L0W

• Size 9 (wmns 10.5) - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR B - $115
  
• Size 9.5 (womens 11) - PAIR A - $115
  
• Size 10.5 (wmns 12) - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR B - $115 , PAIR C - $115
  
• Size 11 (wmns 12.5) - PAIR A - $115
  

SOLD.) ÅJ1 x T$ OG L0W M0CHǍ

• Size 7.5 - PAIR A (no box) - $105
  
• Size 8.5 - PAIR B (no box) - $105 , PAIR C (comes w/ box) - $115 , PAIR A (no box) - $105
  
• Size 9 - PAIR B - $115
  
• Size 9.5 - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR C - $115 , PAIR B - $115
  
• Size 10.5 - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR B - $115
  
• Size 12 - PAIR A (no box) - $105
  

SOLD.) ÂJ1 x T$ x FR@GM£ÑT L0W

• Size 10.5 - PAIR A - $115 , PAIR C- $115 , PAIR D - $115

SOLD.) ÅJ4 M1L1TÄR¥ BL@CK

• Size 12 - PAIR A - $60

SOLD.) ¥Z¥ B00$T TREE-FIDDYv2 BR3D

• Size 9 - PAIR B - $90 , PAIR C - $90
  
• Size 9.5 - PAIR A - $90
  
• Size 10.5 - PAIR C - $90
  
• Size 11 - PAIR A - $90
  

SOLD.) ¥Z¥ B00$T TREE-FIDDYv2 CR3AM YT

• Size 11 - PAIR A - $90

SOLD.) ÅJ1 M1D SM0KE GR3Y

• Size 8 (9.5 wmns) - PAIR A (no box) - $40

SOLD.) ÅJ11 LOW "SN@KE N@VY"

• Size 13 - PAIR A - $70

SOLD.) ÅJ4 0R£0

• Size 11 - PAIR A - $100

SOLD.) ÅJ1 BL@ÇK T0£S

• Size 11 - PAIR A (no box) - $90

SOLD.) ĀJ4 R3D THÜND£R

• Size 10.5 - PAIR A - $55

SOLD.) ǍJ3 RÆC£R BLÜ£

• Size 11 - PAIR A - $75

SOLD.) ÅJ1 x T$ G0LF "N3UTR@L 0LIV3" L0W

• Size 9 - PAIR C - $90 , PAIR A - $90
  
• Size 11 - PAIR A - $120
  

SOLD.) ÅJ4 UŅ1V3RS1TY BLŨ£

• Size 10.5 - PAIR A - $105 , PAIR B - $105

SOLD.) ǍJ1 ÜŃ10Ņ $T0ŘM BLÜ£

• Size 9 - PAIR A - $125

SOLD.) RETAIL (USED) ÄJ4 BL@ÇĶ CÃT$ SIZE 11 (eB@y Authenticated) - $335 SHIPPED

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SOLD. ĄJ4 M3T@LL1C PÚRPL3

• Size 12 - PAIR A - $65

SOLD.) M@1$0N K1TSÜN£ WHITE CREWNECK SIZE M TTS - $50 SHIPPED

• PICS

That is all for what I have! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
If you ever encounter any issues, please don't hesitate to reach out to me via PM or chat. I'll do my best to resolve them for you. If anything falls short of your expectations, please send me a message, as I'm committed to ensuring your satisfaction with your purchase. However, please understand that certain factors like shipping delays are beyond my control, and I won't be able to provide refunds in those cases. Your satisfaction with your purchase is my top priority!
Thank you for your understanding, and thank you for taking the time to browse through my items. If you're interested, feel free to PM, chat, or comment!

Ok reddit buckle up this is a long one. As a growing fan of the subs, I’ve decided to tell my story. I 26M was dating my high school sweetheart for five years. We’ll call her CF for short. Yep, you guessed it, young love ignorant bliss the whole nine. At the time, this girl was my world, my life, my future. Well as the title suggests, things got interesting. Reflecting on the relationship now and all I’ve learned, it was unstable, toxic and at times abusive. There were so many red flags I ignored trying to make it work. Not knowing any better I fought to keep us together despite constant fights, arguments, and sleepless nights. Nearing the end of the relationship, in a last-ditch effort to either save what was or get closure that it in fact is over, I naively suggested to open our relationship. My thought process was, if she slept with someone else and felt rotten and/or dirty, then there was hope we could move passed it together. If she had slept with someone else and came home to me seemingly unbothered, then I knew it was over and beyond fixing. I however did not consider the emotional damage I would in turn subject myself to. Now I should clarify I had done some homework on my suggestion and found most blogs, forums and panels all mentioned that rules are important. So, as I mentioned before, this was a trial in finding out just how far gone the relationship was. The rules we set forward are the following: we bring no one to our house, protection must be used, we would never meet the persons together, and the last and most important one for me was I wanted to know as soon as she hooked up with someone, so we could talk and I could make my decision based on her behaviour. I should mention I had no intention of seeing anyone else at this time,I was devoted to her, and had no desire to see anyone else. This was purely to see if she still had love in her heart for me. Ok now into the nitty gritty, so not only was her hook up less than a week after we opened, she also broke a rule and saw her partner for over two months without telling me. Now I know this may be a point to argue, but I saw this as betrayal and cheating. We made rules and they were ignored. Turns out CF was seeing a 45-year-old cop going through a divorce of his own, at the time CF and I were 22. I’m not shaming age gaps, but this one made me sick. One week after our 5-year anniversary yep, she dumped me.
Now I know this is becoming a novel, but the best is yet to come. Ok now where does the dog fit in you might ask. Right, now onto that. Two years into CF and I’s relationship we were given the opportunity to foster a rescue dog, lets call her GA. The day this beautiful kind soul of a companion came into my life, I was in love. Screw fostering we’ll take her. Now GA wasn’t perfect at first but with love, guidance and patience she honestly is one of the best dogs I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting- let alone getting to call her my girl. Now like I said before, GA came with some areas to work on, like not eating couches; two to be exact. Also having a strong dislike of thunderstorms, and other behaviours most common with rescues, but she most notable has epilepsy, requiring medication twice a day to keep them at bay. This is important for later.
Alright so now we’re caught up to the breakup. After dealing with my world burning the best I can, I became angry and decided I wanted nothing to do with her. I helped get all her stuff out and she moved in with her dad. Knowing that GA would remind me of her, I told CF to also take GA. Now her dads a chain smoking, explosive drunk. After giving GA away, I lasted all of two hours before I begged to get her back, I realised I can’t lose everything all in one day. CF very willingly gave GA back. Both of us agreed that my house had more yard space for her and it was a cleaner, more stable home for her. I once again had GA in my life, and it was the best thing to have ever happened to me. Ok fast forward two weeks later I got sited from animal control for having an unregistered dog in the house and had 48 hours to register and pay the fee or I risk massive fines. I went that day, now where I live, pets become registered to the occupant of the registering address, then dog tags are issued to that name. GA also is micro chipped to the same address. So, to recap: CF moves out two weeks later, I’m forced to register GA solely in my name and my address. Now its time to talk about the verbal agreement we made regarding GA’s health, so I had agreed to what I’m choosing to call visitation rights. I’ll explain, so I worked weekends; three 12 hours shifts. GA gets her meds at 9am and 9pm so enter CF. She would come by on the weekend, with written notice, give GA her meds, and spend some time with her, then I would take over when I got home and the rest of the week when CF was working. So, the rules to the visitation: she was to give me written notice prior to stopping by and if I said no to her picking her up, that was final. CF was rarely told no unless I was already out with GA or it was late at night. Its worth mentioning CF still had her house key so effectively she could come and go as she pleased from my residence.
Now fast forward just under two years CF was very good at keeping with the program, written notice, healthy boundaries, and limited contact. I should add at the start, CF and I would chat about the relationship and possibly getting back together or not, then I was told that if CF couldn’t find anyone better than me, we would get back together. I’m no one’s safe bet and that comment broke me. I was hurt, broken, and angry from then on I was personally done with her. I started seeing other people and really living my own life. I’m a firm believer that when you buckle down and take charge of your own life, the universe will reward you. So, from then on, it was limited contact, if CF would message for GA. Then she could take her and I would leave the house and get coffee so I didn’t have to see her.
Ok let me introduce all of you to my current GF lets call her JT for short. She is an incredible, beautiful, smart, funny, and witty. I could use every possible vernacular in the English language to describe her and it still wouldn’t do her justice. Honestly folks, I couldn’t have gotten a better GF if I had ordered one from a magazine. She is truly my first love. CF may have been my first with a few things, but love wasn’t one of them, although at the time I thought she was. Ok I’m off topic so I met JT and things where surreal for the first time in two years since I was dumped. I believed I could love again. As my relationship with JT grew and the love not only grew but blossomed, its worth mentioning CF’s behaviour to me, and our arrangement became sparce. CF began showing up without notice to take GA. At one point me and JT were laying in bed bare under the covers, when CF opened my bedroom door to retrieve GA. Obviously this startled us both. I rushed to check my phone, that perhaps I missed a text... NOPE ok that was unsettling. Now to add to the disrespect of the arrangement, CF was keeping GA for days at a time without informing me. I would have to text her and ask “hey you got GA” CF. “ oh yea she’s with me” Me. “um ok no problem but as per our arrangement you need to make me aware of your plans with my GA”. CF. “yea ok slipped my mind”. Ok, so now you see my growing concern with the ongoing disrespect. I had no obligation to even let CF see GA legally, she was my sole property. Let me clarify real quick: remember how I was sighted by animal control? Well yeah, where I live animals are seen as property, and seeing as how I was sited after she left, GA became mine. Amiss my new found love and bliss, and growing concern, life hit me with one more unfortunate curve ball. I got evicted. Landlord got his GF pregnant and wanted the house I was renting for them to live in. Man, when I tell you that was a shock at the time, with some other things going on it was overwhelming. Turns out it was a blessing in disguise. We found an amazing house 40 minutes away from the city. I live on the cutest farm. Things with JT and I are going amazing! Not only has she made me feel things I thought were long dead, but she made me feel new experiences as well. Ok, decision time. I HATE CF for what she did to me, and I love JT with everything and more. One is getting in the way of the other. So, I devised a plan, taking advantage of my new residence and the distance, along with anonymity: I’m going to move out and cancel the arrangement with CF. Alright time to get to work. One week leading up to the move, I denied CF’s attempts to see GA. I rented a large box truck, and with the help of a small army of close friends and available family, we packed and move the entire house in one day. I would like the take the time now to thank all of you that helped me that day. It was such an empowering and liberating day. Right, so two pickup trucks and a mini van load go out off to the new house. Me, my old man and a dear friend pack the last into the box truck. Now I pre-wrote the message to CF in my notes, consulted a lawyer appraising them of the facts and documents to make sure what I had written was clear, concise, and contained the right verbiage for legal standing if need be. I hopped in the truck, started the engine, sent the text and drove off. Oh, I forgot to mention I did in fact change the locks and made my landlord aware of everything. Off I drove to start my new life happy, healthy, and full of bright prosperity.
So, as you may have guessed, my phone blew up from CF. Texts, calls, voice mails everything, it all fell on deaf ears. My word was final, and I was finally ready to close this ugly painful chapter of my life. So, well um, I will tell you all, I’m naturally a logical thinker that sometimes leads to a healthy level of paranoia. So, my new address was given to trusted people only. Written on paper and requested once we all met up at the new place and burned in the lane way. Why? Well, I know CF and her family, and I’ve seen them do less than legal things, and know who her dad is- and the contacts he knows. I took ZERO chances when it came to keeping my new life and address safe. Also remember I told you she’s dating a cop... knowing the fallout that awaits me, I took steps into protecting what I longed for. We moved in for June first of 2022. I should mention I live with my now GF and my roommate, my brother from another mother. My roommate moved in a month after CF moved out and I can update for any questions regarding him but for now back to the story. All members of the house were to follow strict security measures anticipating a reaction from CF. I had quickly found out that CF was trying to find out where I live through contacting friends, family and my old landlord trying to find the new address to no avail. Now, I work a full-time job, as well as run my own woodworking business. One day I was filing paperwork in the front office and I saw CF drive by in her vehicle. She drives an extremely recognizable car, so I knew it was her. I wasted no time. I drove to my local law enforcement and made them aware of everything. I wanted to start a case just to be safe if anything happened.

So, side note but very important, I was given the opportunity to purchase a puppy; FT for short. After discussion with the house, we decided getting GA a little sister was a great idea, you know, get her company and give her a friend to run around the farm with. To say they were inseparable is an understatement. They loved each other so much and it was the best move we ever made. I promise this is important later.
Right, June was great settling in, getting used to the new place, and watching GA play, mentor and thrive with her sister all was great! Moving to August 2022, our guards began to fall and we started letting the two out without being helicopters to them. August 12^th 2022 oh man that day will forever remain with me rent free. JT and I are at work and the roommate’s home with the kiddos. 4:15pm I receive a phone call that will change my bliss for some time… yes GA, GA is gone “the hell do you mean”!! roommate “I let them out back, door open I was doing the dishes turned around and only FT was there”. “well did you look for them?” “yes I did, call in the damn microchip now!!” roommate hangs up. It’s worth mentioning he misunderstood how a K9 microchip works and thought It was like a GPS tracker. Work refuses to let me leave early and by the time I got home, three hours have passed since the disappearance.
I spent at least an hour exhausting any search method I could think of at the time, thinking if she ran off, she couldn’t have gotten far. After that hour I started to think, no way GA runs off and FT, 6 weeks old at the time, doesn’t follow.. Welp now it dawns on me, what? No? damn she must have taken her… off to the police I go. “ hey officer M, remember me from a few weeks ago?” “yeah what can I do for you?” “umm well I think my fears came true, I think CF stole her?” Ensue crying, panic and fear. How’d she find me? How is this possible?? Officer M “ ok take a breath tell me everything.” As I explain, I’m asked questions like are you sure she didn’t run off? I explain, no way she did and FT a young pup didn’t follow. I make my statement, broken, drained and beside myself with concern and fear I go home. No more then two hours later I get a call from M “Hi T so I’ve made some calls and I’m 99% sure she took her.” Me “what how? I mean what did you find?” M “I called your vet and an order for medication was placed by CF 10 days ago.” Me “ok damn so what happens now?” M “well this seems pretty clear cut I’ll investigate a bit more and make a case to the Crown.” Ok well my fears are confirmed. Damn she somehow found me and actually stole my beautiful GA. To this day, I have no idea how she found me. I suspect she put a GPS tracker on my truck. I had officer M looking into the possibility if her cop BF looked me up in the system, but that was ruled out very quickly.
Now the painful waiting game hoping justice will prevail. Each week I call for an update. On week 3 I’m informed he’s built a case and sent it to the Crown to see if it’s a clear-cut case of stolen property. Week 5 I’m told to hang tight its under review. At this point I became impatient and decided I can’t sit and wait. I took all the evidence and paperwork I had. I took it to both our vets as well as every vet in the region I knew she lived, explained and made airtight protocols for if, and when statements. Week 6 again I call, and I’m hit with bad news: the Crown, quite annoyed I was told, made it clear to M that this was a property dispute and needs to be settle in family court. Well, now it’s time to lawyer up. I scraped every extra penny I had to hire a good family lawyer and man did I find a good one. Turns out she was divorced and took my case a bit personally. She starts to prepare the necessary documents. 2 more weeks go by and thank whomever you believe in, I became impatient and went full proactive mode. I receive a phone call at work from my family vet. Vet “hi this is vet clinic just confirming your appointment for Monday at 11:25am?” well I sure as hell am now. I ring my lawyer, explain what happened, and put a rush on the papers having to call my dad to borrow money. You see now that I know exactly where CF is going to be with GA, I needed a legal reason to wait for her. So, I used the court case as a reason to serve her in person, thus being able to obtain GA custody until the hearing.
That Sunday I didn’t sleep a wink. 6:30am, I park my truck at the hardware store around the back of the vet, so CF wouldn’t see it. 8:00am the clinic opens. I walked in, documents in hand, and tell them everything and insist they let her in so I may serve her the documents and take GA. Regrettably, I forgot this was a functioning clinic and was told this could not happen inside, out of respect to the other patients. Me “Oh crap that’s more then fair, well what are my options?” Vet. “Well, we can bar her from the clinic under the proceeds of crime and you can serve her in the parking lot.” Me. “perfect I’ll wait in the sub shop down the way. you absolutely can not inform her of this.” Vet. “Not a problem we hope you get her back; we wish you luck.”
Off to the sub shop I go, for the longest 2 hours of my life. I get a phone call from JT, fully aware of my plan “hey we got rained out I’m off work do you want me there?” Me. “YES please come right away you can help record and dial the police.” The dominos are stacked, my shaky finger on the last one. JT shows up and we rehearse the plan; I must have checked the time a million times. The time comes I say where the hell is she. JT, with the calmest voice goes “she’s right there.” Me. “WTF!!” I ran out, papers in hand. JT calls the cops and starts recording. I utter the legal jargon, serve her the paperwork and latch onto GA as gentle and firm as I can, so CF can’t break my grip and wait for the police. They arrive in minutes. Get our stories. Check my paperwork. Separate us and attempt to figure out the situation. Low and behold, cop BF shows up. I’m told he’s “off duty” and is here in a BF capacity. Me, JT, two uniformed officers, CF, and cop BF talking, waiting with a level of uncertainty of the outcome. 2 hours goes by, and we ask what’s going on. I’m told that they are trying to defuse the situation, but cop BF has requested a supervisor. Well, he shows up and talks in great length to the BF, seeming frustrated. 3 hours go by, the supervisor walks up to me and demands our paperwork; I happily oblige. He reviews the documents and walks off, then comes back a minute or two later. “You gotta leash?” This clinic happens to be right next door to a pet store. So, just in case, I bought a leash in the three hours I was waiting. I hand him the leash. Words cannot describe the feeling as we watch the supervisor walk GA over to us after so long. Gone for 10 weeks total and waiting for three hours for the cops to deal with the situation. October 31, 2022, will be a day I will never forget. We will forever celebrate that day. Folks WE GOT HER!! What was once stolen by someone who couldn’t move on, was finally returned.

Thank you to anyone who read all of this. I needed to tell my story and I hope this was a good cup of tea for someone. I mean what I say, if anyone is going through something similar and is looking for help, please don’t hesitate. to reach out. For any questions, comments, or PM’s, I will read them, but I wish to update them publicly

So I have an e-commerce store with a multi store set up using sub folders. I have a store on the root, but I also have .com/en-ca/ etc.
I have no canonical tag mismatches, and I properly use hreflang tags.
My question is when I search my name, whether MyCompany or MyCompany.com, in site links, I see a mix of .com/en-ca and .com/en-au URLs.
If somebody from Canada was searching my business and came across my .com/en-ca site in serps, I wouldn't want the listing to suggest, let's say, .com/en-au content. Is there any way to ensure that the site links listed only relate to the main URL it is indexing?
It just seems like this would create a high bounce rate because people would be going to the incorrect country's specific subfolder store.
Should I look into pop-ups that say "it looks like your from Canada, you should check out our Canada shop: LINK TO EN-CA SHOP"?
I know IP redirects to each store, by way of the user's country, can get a little messy. Just trying to find the best way to clean up and organize this site link list?

Welcome back to my running series of WWF PPV Reviews from a ‘blind’ perspective (I have no idea what’s going to happen; the results, the feuds or how good any of the matches will be). I have always heard stories of the attitude era and golden age but never watched it myself so I set myself to watching every single PPV event chronologically. I am also watching Wrestling Bios ‘reliving the war’ series to keep me updated inbetween the events with the feuds, and to get excited about upcoming matches.
Before I review the matches, based on the past few episodes of raw and last PPVs I’ll let you know, going into the event, which match I’m most excited for and which feud I’m most excited to see.
The match and feud I’m most excited to see is Shawn vs undertaker. I mean what needs to be said their feud is absolutely legendary, and with my favourite match of all time coming in the future between these two I cant wait to see how they perform together in these early years.
WWF In Your House - Ground Zero 1997 Match Ratings
Goldust vs Brian Pillman 2/5
Scott putski vs Brian Christopher 1/5
Savio vega vs Faarooq vs Crush 0.25/5
El torito vs Max Mini 1.5/5
Tag Fatal 4 way elimination match 1.75/5
The patriot vs Bret Hart 3.25/5
Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker 4.75/5
I cannot believe they pulled the “she’s my love child” story it’s so funny to look back on these storylines. Goldust and Pillman are set to fight and there’s a huge grudge for Goldust here so I’m hoping to see a physical bout.
Which it wasn’t… while it was a good bout with no botched or anything, and it was better than their Summerslam match. I saw pillman was limited due to an ankle problem he had, which is kinda weird with the amount of running around he did, but they still had a decent match. Honestly though this draw of this match was where the story was going and it definitely went 😂 Pillman managed to win the match by whacking Goldust with a brick concealed in marlenas bag, and literally drags marlena to his car where he drove off with her. Classic wwf is so hilarious.
The next match was the first time I’m seeing putski and Christopher wrestle and it was actually going well until that ending. I thought they pulled off some very clean looking spots but the crowd was completely dead for almost all of this match, especially after the match, just no one seemed to care. I didn’t really care for this Brian Christopher he was laughing like a clown or something, not even a figure of speech it was literally like a clown. He might’ve been trying to impersonate Lawler but it was just weird. I’m not sure if putski was actually injured or not it was pretty hard to tell but this match seemed like it was 3 or 4 minutes long of pretty dull action.
Going into the next match and honestly I’m pretty bored of these pointless gang wars but let’s see if it can deliver. Maybe rock will get involved and liven it up but all three competitors in this triple threat have yet to put on a good show during my journey through the new gen/attitude era. Also I feel like this is the first triple threat match I’ve seen since KOTR 1996 so there’s some level of excitement for me as it can make for a really entertaining match when done right.
I was surprised to see crush get a pop as I hadn’t heard one before when he made his entrance, but a big biker dude coming in on a massive Harley will get an American crowd going I suppose 😂. But oh man once the match got going there was actually boos going throughout the stadium for the last 1/3 of it. They were trying some weird thing where they played on the fact that they both used to be part of the NOD in which they’d team with farooq on sadio vega but oh my lord it didn’t work at all, it just came off like they had no idea what they were doing. There were no highlights at all, and the last 5 minutes was crush throwing vega out the ring to use moves solo on farooq to which he’d come back in the ring, break the pin and repeat the process. Then he randomly wants to team with crush after all that?? It made no sense at all and was just a bad match, the crowd wasn’t into it and booed during quite a bit of the match, big miss.
I’m just gunna call it a ‘mini-match’ and I’m sure you’ll know what I’m talking about but it ended up being entertaining for what it was in all fairness, much better than the match I’d just seen anyway. It was more of a funny performance than a match; they both end up biting everyone’s asses? Including the referee, and mini goes and steals lawyers crown too. El torito is bloody nuts, his character is basically to act like a bull so he chases refs and officials around trying to headbutt them, fu**ing nuts 😂. I do think it went on a little too long though, if they’re going to book this kind of match then it should be short and sweet filler rather than dragging it on. There was however a pretty good looking springboard move close to the end so that was cool. There were some impressive moves and the crowd was getting involved but It’s just some filler while the show gets going in the end.
Very good idea having dude love and Austin come out inbetween the matches to relinquish the titles as this crowd REALLY needed some livening up after the past hour of the show. And when Steve starts his promo the crowd eats up every second of it and it’s no surprise because he kills it as usual, what a breath of fresh air SCSA is in the WWF during this era. He’s throwing insults to Vince, to the sergeant to JR and it’s f***ing brilliant. It’s cool seeing dude love backing him up as well I think they actually make a really cool looking tag team. And then out of god damn nowhere he delivers a stunner to JR and the crowd absolutely loses it. I would say at this point he is truly the face of the WWF and it really does suck that he suffered that neck injury and couldn’t wrestle properly for a while, having to change his entire wrestling style because of it, but it was never to his detriment, we’re truly in the stone cold era now.
Before the fatal four way, while the LOD get interviewed I couldn’t help but notice how young Michael Cole looks, I mean obviously it’s over 25 years ago but still cool seeing how long he’s been involved.
I really don’t understand these fatal four way tag matches, they always come off weirdly as you can have two people from the same team in the ring that have to wrestle… but it makes no sense because why not just tag someone else in? I don’t know it’s a weird dynamic and I’m not surprised they dropped this type of match in the future.
It’s a shame LOD was the first to be eliminated because they randomly started beating the godwinns with a metal bucket? It makes 0 sense for them to blindly DQ themselves from getting the tag titles since they were crowd favourites, but okay you do you Vince. I wanted them to win too. I know a few people don’t care for LOD but they’re top 2 tag teams in the wwf right now beside Owen and bulldog. The godwinns get eliminated next (thank god), and they just feel like the most filler tag team I’ve ever seen they’re SOOO bland and basic, they don’t even play up to their hillbilly characters anymore which is a new level of bad I won’t lie. I was really REALLY surprised that headbangers took away the belts though, with the massive push of the hart foundation I thought it was a no brainer. It was awesome seeing Austin come in and disrupt the match, he absolutely brings the whole arena completely alive whenever he does anything. Overall though the match was bad and it went on far too long even with four teams. I think the ending was pretty fun but that was only about 2 minutes of the match that was entertaining the rest just felt veryyyy slow.
Man this event has really gotta pull out some f***ing 5/5 main events for it to be worth watching because we’re 1 hour 45 minutes in without a match over 2/5 at most.
When I hear Kurt angles theme playing I was so happy, excited, confused, and then disappointed when I realised it was 3 or 4 years too early. I had no idea they kept this theme and used it for Kurt angle as well as patriot.
I have a small inkling that Bret hart didn’t perform as well as he could’ve in this match because he was annoyed about Shawn getting the top spot after everything that’s gone down and him working more regularly recently than Shawn. Patriot wasn’t a bad wrestler but his character was extremely bland, what would happen after this feud? He’d just be a guy that’s proud to be from America that looks like a Mexican wrestler… in the time of big characters making the main events he unfortunately doesn’t really fit in that well. His in ring ability was good though, no botches or anything but I just couldn’t really feel myself getting into this match. I didn’t really know if they’d book patriot in to take the wwf title as I was pretty sure they wouldn’t want hart to lose his title being such a huge name in the business right now. It was pretty fun when Vader and bulldog came out for some extra drama with them interfering with each of the wrestlers but it’s not a good sign when a match needs drama like that to elevate it. It’s better than what we’ve seen tonight but not particularly worth watching. If you love Bret hart give it a watch as he was his usual fantastic in ring performer but it’s not one of his best for sure. The crowd was really into it, making the hard camera shake chanting “USA USA”, so that was cool, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s because of the crowd or because it was such a small venue. Also worth noting Bret hart is a perfect heel character, he’s a massive star with a character that works perfectly as a heel because he sprinkles some IRL elements into everything he does. The move of breaking the American flag pole and the strangling patriot with the flag is just brilliant, makes it that extra bit more believable and I love it, Americans however must’ve hated it!
Shawn Michaels entrance was so hilarious, he gets hit by a… idk what that even was, a brown cabbage? He makes BJ notions to the crowd, his pyro doesn’t go off properly in the ring like it usually does, and he still pulled it off because he’s HBK, fantastic. This FEELS like main event material though and I’m really excited for it. Sometimes main events don’t really build up properly and just haven’t got that hype behind it but this match should be great. The first of many times we’d see these legends in the ring together.
Starting off the match right too with undertaker taking out the referee and allowing undertaker to take it to the outside and absolutely lay into Michael’s without a count out. I absolutely loved Shawn’s selling during this match too, it’s so over the top that it’s brilliant, with one of his famous vertical presses while he gets kicked in the belly whilst in the corner, love it. Him begging to the ref to dq undertaker, trying to escape through the door of the set and banging on the door, it all works really well and he plays up undertakers character perfectly. I hate when wrestlers forget they’re supposed to play up this undertaker being very scary it really takes away immersion but Shawn does it perfectly. The boos for undertaker seem to be from the women only and the cheers for Shawn seem to be from the women only, of course 😂. I also love seeing the origins of d generation x, one of my all time favourite tag teams as I’m sure is the same with everyone else. HHH makes his way down to the ring with a referee to replace the numerous ones that have been taken out during this match, and they are just the perfect team together I love it.
The actual match I thought was really really fun. It was absolute chaos and maybe not a wrestling masterclass but you can’t deny it was fun. From start to finish we go through 3 referees, we get strangling with power chords, we get triple H and HBK telling the crowd to suck it, and an amazing back and forth showcase from Michael’s and undertaker. I think this match did an absolutely fantastic job and reinstating the undertaker as the most intimidating wrestler in the wwf. The poor referees during this match though, they got absolutely abused. The only thing I didn’t like about this match was the ending. Another random referee comes to the ring to end the match as a DQ, which is a really stupid ending because illegal stuff had already happened when the other referees came to the ring so why wouldn’t they have ended it then? The action continues after the match with undertaker almost soloing Michael’s and HHH. More officials come to the ring as Michael’s beats the hell out of them. And then other wrestlers are forced to come to the ring to try and break the two up which was awesome to see. This really sets up further matches between the two, and I think that’s was the whole idea of the match which worked well, it’s just that I hate these random DQ endings to main events. We see the undertaker flying over the top rope for… I think the first time? Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve seen it in this era which was of course AWESOME!! Overall a really fun match that sets up for further main events but it’s held back by its weird and stupid decision. It’s still well worth a watch if you enjoy this feud however.
Overall, whilst the main event hit all the right places for me I just don’t think the WWF was ready for a 3 hour event yet. They simply didn’t have the roster for it to be enjoyable and so many of these matches went way longer than they had any business doing. I think Bret hart is always gunna deliver so he was fun to watch but it just want one of his best but the main event hit in every single way apart from the finish which I understand is setting up for further matches but ughhhh it was done weirdly and poorly. If you’re gunna watch this event, skip everything but the main event it’s just not worth sitting through everything else.
Overall rating 2.75/5