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Employer still hasn’t sent me P45 18 months later

2024.05.22 04:58 Ornery_Acanthaceae37 Employer still hasn’t sent me P45 18 months later

Hi all, I will try to make this brief. I worked for a UK company in London for about 5 years from 2018 to end of 2022, after which I moved overseas. As I did that I was told by the HR guy I’d get my P45 posted to my address overseas.
Supposedly they did that in January ‘23, however I sold my flat in April of the same year and I received nothing.
I got back in touch with the HR rep and my ex line manager in January of this year to ask if I’d ever receive anything, to which the HR guy told me the documents were returned to them!! And he didn’t even bother telling me or my line manager.
So obviously I requested them again, and yes I’m still at this address, but once again 5-6 months later I’ve had nothing come through. This of course is crucial so I can clear my state health insurance and claim my years of employment abroad…
And it’s not like it has to travel to the other side of the world, I’m still in Europe so it’s quite a bizarre situation..
Any suggestions as to what I can do if I don’t receive it soon enough? Do I have any legal grounds or can I talk to the HMRC for example to get additional support?
Thank you!
submitted by Ornery_Acanthaceae37 to LegalAdviceUK [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:53 kandidnostalgia Dumb question, but if Fisker goes under would that make it easier to jailbreak the software?

I have the Fisker ocean one. Yeah I’m one of those dipshits lol. Whatever I can live with my failures. I still think the car is cool as fuck and I wanted to know if having the company go under would make it easier to jailbreak/reverse engineer. Sounds like a fun side project to be honest
submitted by kandidnostalgia to Fisker [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:53 truthjuice4269 Charity raffle for Rolling Stones tickets to Gillette stadium foxboro Massachusetts show Thursday May 30th!

Charity raffle for Rolling Stones tickets to Gillette stadium foxboro Massachusetts show Thursday May 30th!
My local food bank in Harrison, maine is hosting a raffle for two VIP tickets to the Rolling Stones concert at Gillette stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Next Thursday, May 30th. The winner will get two vip tickets which include early entry to the venue, rear general admission access, and a nice box of merchandise for each ticket. Merchandise box includes special Hackney Diamonds tour laminate, a wireless phone charger, a reusable coffee cup, and a bunch of other random stuff.
If you live somewhat close to the venue, my taxi company can provide transportation to and from the show as well for the winners!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/AfkoD4WGvbdBgJX3/?mibextid=oFDknk
https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/a520dc4d-34b2-4160-afb1-a072ec200992?fbclid=IwY2xjawC6OypleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHahBA3n9J9kDLDKgqIQLuXnydr2E8D8TN8xWf0v1Ai1Rb9PECTRASinj5g_aem_AX75ZE-Hec8S_3zNwku_BPhjtwtgzkQwEB7xkMUjYthh4a9AA_PrcrxIV1sut0zDqAf9PwlkHu0xu25Ec-9Zq9yQ
Rock on!! See you at the show!!🎶🎶🎶🎶🎸🎷🎹🥁🎸🎙️🕺💃🪩
submitted by truthjuice4269 to massachusetts [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:52 truthjuice4269 Charity raffle for Rolling Stones tickets to Gillette stadium foxboro Massachusetts show Thursday May 30th!

My local food bank in Harrison, maine is hosting a raffle for two VIP tickets to the Rolling Stones concert at Gillette stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Next Thursday, May 30th. The winner will get two vip tickets which include early entry to the venue, rear general admission access, and a nice box of merchandise for each ticket. Merchandise box includes special Hackney Diamonds tour laminate, a wireless phone charger, a reusable coffee cup, and a bunch of other random stuff.
If you live somewhat close to the venue, my taxi company can provide transportation to and from the show as well for the winners!
2 Dollars/ticket max!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/AfkoD4WGvbdBgJX3/?mibextid=oFDknk
https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/a520dc4d-34b2-4160-afb1-a072ec200992?fbclid=IwY2xjawC6OypleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHahBA3n9J9kDLDKgqIQLuXnydr2E8D8TN8xWf0v1Ai1Rb9PECTRASinj5g_aem_AX75ZE-Hec8S_3zNwku_BPhjtwtgzkQwEB7xkMUjYthh4a9AA_PrcrxIV1sut0zDqAf9PwlkHu0xu25Ec-9Zq9yQ
Rock on!! See you at the show!!🎶🎶🎶🎶🎸🎷🎹🥁💃🕺🪩🎸!
submitted by truthjuice4269 to Maine [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:51 Premium2000 Urgent Job Recruitment in Quebec Canada

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Kindly send your CV/Resume through [Email:Premiumrecruitment2014@gmail.com](mailto:Email:Premiumrecruitment2014@gmail.com)
Tel:+1-55 99 630 792
submitted by Premium2000 to u/Premium2000 [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:51 Londoncashmeans Getting married in three months to the guy that never took me seriously… cold feet

Hi! This is going to be a long one/rant and story because I really don’t know who to talk to about this in real life because I’m not in therapy and I’m so embarrassed to be feeling this way knowing I made all the choices to be here and people are already flying in from out of state to come to our wedding. Also I’m diagnosed adhd incase any of yall are wondering what’s wrong with me once I tell you all the decisions I made to get here. I am getting married in three months and have a son who is 15 months old. My now fiance 28m and I 27f met whenever we were thirteen years old in middle school and started a tumultuous up and down / on and off again relationship. We were together all the way up until junior year in high school and we broke up. I come from a broken home and he does not. Looking back I realize how much of me staying with him and trying to keep his attention stemmed from my abandonment issues that I must have had from my own parents. After we broke up he joined a gang in my local hometown and I was still in love with him so I decided to still be involved with him even though I was not in a relationship with him. I ended up losing my virginity to him while we were not together just because I wanted to be with him and we said we were friends with benefits but really I was just in love with him and thought by doing that maybe he would want to be with me again but he didn’t and continued to sleep with other girls and do drugs. I also started doing drugs like Xanax and smoking to fit in with him and be cool. I ended up getting a horrible tattoo because one of the other girls he was also seeing had a bunch of tattoos. I dropped out of my high school college courses and ended up going to jail for marijuana in high school and got kicked out of cheer and softball. I ended up on probation and having to be drug tested for a year. Within that year after being heart broken and realizing nothing I did would make him change into who he was before he got involved in our local gang or make him want to be with me… I ended up enrolling in college and getting accepted to a university where I would move about two hours away from our home town to live on campus and study to be a nurse. While on probation, so I couldn’t really party or anything in college which was good (even though I was never really addicted to anything and it wouldn’t be that hard for me) I wanted to save money for a car so I ended up getting a job at the hooters next to my college and was in college full time and working at hooters. My sister happened to go to that same college before I did and live in that town with her ex bf and they would give me rides to and from work back to campus. Low and behold after about two semesters of me being in college and finally feeling like I was moving on from him, he came back messaging me and telling me he missed me and wanted to be with me again. I was stupid and so excited that I agreed and asked him to come see me at college where he would stay for the weekend and we would have an amazing time. I felt so good about myself doing what I was doing and being able to show my growth. Despite all that he was still able to convince me to leave school and come back to be with him and live with him and go to the college near our hometown and work at the hooters near our hometown. I had already felt like I didn’t want to be a nurse at the time because my sister who was a nurse told me you could never leave the state as a nurse if you get your license there (which she didn’t know at the time that you could) and I knew I didn’t want to stay where I was from and wanted to eventually travel. So I decided to leave and move back with him in his bedroom at his parents house where I would work at the hooters close to our home town and never enroll in the college. He would eventually break up with me while I was at work one day even though I was living with him and since I didn’t have a car he continued to take me back in forth from work and I continued to live with him and continued to be in love with him while he committed to the fact that he didn’t want to be in a relationship but wanted to marry me one day and just wasn’t ready for anything right now and still wanted to have sex with me which I did. From working at hooters I had auditioned for the calendar and ended up being really liked by the photographer and started doing some modeling from that which was super exciting for me because I always was interested in that and the pictures we took would blow up and I started getting well known in my area for modeling even though they were just pictures and I wasn’t making any money off of it. Eventually a guy came into hooters telling me about working as an exotic dancer and how much they could make and I still needed a car really badly and was desperate to get out of my ex’s (now fiance) house. So I told him I would be waitressing and that I heard the waitresses make good money there and asked him to give me a ride there one day and so he started giving me a ride everyday. The money was so good to me and the most money I had ever seen. I ended up staying in a hotel closer to the club I worked at and sometimes he would come stay with me and I would just uber to work. Eventually I had gotten a car which I was so happy about. A couple of weeks after I got a car I ended up getting sucked into human trafficking with a friend where I would live in a house with multiple girls for 6 months and go to work at the club every day of the week except Saturday and Sundays. I wasn’t doing anything extra just dancing but the money was going to some random guy. It’s crazy I know. I was stupid and young and my family were not concerned for me at all or involved in my life. unfortunately my friend is just now leaving that situation. I got out without anything no car or nothing and had nowhere to go so back to my exes I went where I decided I was going to buy a cash car again and I worked everyday like I was used to saved money and got a car. Moved to my sisters and stayed with her for a little where i decided I didn’t want to dance anymore and I got a job as a bottle service girl and then waitressing at another waitress. I continued modeling because it made me happy and I never told anyone the truth about the deep things that were happening in my life except for my now fiance. So nobody had no idea about me dancing or the human trafficking or anything. Everyone just knew I modeled. I ended up getting an apartment with some friends and One day I got the urge to go to California randomly and at my waitressing job I was handed $800 and I took it as a sign and booked a flight the next day. Where I went by myself my first time ever on a flight with no plans at all. The day I got there I got asked to be in a commercial two days later. My roommate and her friends flew out there to get me and she ended up being able to be in the commercial with me which ended up on tbs but I had to go back home to my apartment and responsibilities and couldn’t leave my roommate stranded. Even though months later we would end up getting in an argument and I’d move out and move back with my ex (now fiance) where I would continue to work and model (for free) and went back to the club to dance and then my sister ended up going to California for a travel nursing assignment and her and her bf broke up and she asked me to move with her. I had nothing else here, my ex was still saying he didn’t want to be in a relationship, he was consistently sleeping with other girls while we lived together and expected relationship things from me. I was paying for everything for him. I paid for him while he was in school for audio engineer, his gas, lunch, school clothes, shopping, I helped him open his own studio and bought his equipment and Mac for it, even though his parents were very involved in his life. I got all his family bday gifts and Christmas gifts every year. He was honestly just using me but I was so in love and blind. He encouraged me to go to California too so I had nothing else there for me, if he had told me to stay and he wanted to be with me I would’ve. I flew out on my 21st birthday and met my sister and Vegas where we would have such a great time and my ex spent that day hanging out with a girl that tried to fight me and didn’t even tell me happy birthday, I was crying in the bathroom in Vegas until my sister shook me and told me to get it together we’re in Vegas. I was so heart broken to be leaving him but he didn’t care. I got to LA and I instantly started modeling on day one I booked a photo shoot where I met a guy that reminded me of my ex (I know) but we instantly clicked and he was 7 years older than me. We ended up talking for a little bit and pursuing something even though I wasn’t ready emotionally but he didn’t really care and I was kind of star struck a little because he was a music producer for a very famous musician and he was very persistent but that’s another story. I ended up booking a music video as a main girl for my ex’s (now fiance) favorite artist. When it came out it was crazy because I felt like the universe and God was just blessing me for leaving that situation and I knew he would see it because he was so obsessed with that artist and it shook up the whole small town I was from. After that I booked a lot of cool jobs like Sephora and worked with a lot of companies, and did some music videos for other super famous artists, and walked in fashion shows and modeled for clothing brands etc. I was working all the time as an extra to pay my bills and I was meeting cool people. I was always getting invited to celebrities parties and just having such a fun time. I decided to start getting into acting instead and started going to acting school where a lot of well known celebrities also went to and I started having meetings with very popular directors and I was being mentored by famous directors and another person that created an tv entertainment channel that I won’t say here also mentored me a lot and got me a lot of meetings with these people and would go to dinners and stuff etc with a list celebrities. I truly was living the life. And coming from where I can it was almost a dream. I had gotten in a relationship my first year there with that other guy I mentioned who ended up being super possessive of me but he treated me like a queen in the sense of paying for everything, giving me a safe space to tell my feelings, open up, the sex was amazing, he would take me on trips, took me out of the country for the first time. We ended up not working out due to lifestyle differences and just being at two different places and wanting different things. He wanted to move out of the country and have a farm and I wasn’t ready to do that as I wanted to focus on my career. (But I would die to move out of the country on a farm now ironically and he is doing just that now like he said he would haha) anyway, I ended up having my own studio apartment by myself that I loved so much and was so proud of. My sister had moved to Montana and it took a lot for me to get my apartment like staying in a house with other girls for a little to sleeping in my car and at a spa for a couple days. When I would fly home or drive home to see my family I would always see my ex, everytime. We kept a friendship and sometimes I would still help him out if needed, he was interning at a church through his school for audio engineering and recording people at his studio in our hometown. By this time I was going to New York and Miami also sometimes and doing work there. I wasn’t as stressed about bills anymore. I was seeing guys every now and then but not at all interested in a relationship, my heart was still healing from the past and both my exes but mainly my first (now fiance). I was super focused on my career and optimistic, I was used to the grind and in no way ever thinking of quitting. It just wasn’t an option because I knew I would make it wherever that would be because to me that is all I had for me and all I ever knew I wanted and the only thing that saved me. Skip to around October 2019 I had found out about a girl my ex was seeing and it crushed me. He was doing with her just like he was with me though. Just “friends with benefits” I was living in my apartment in LA still and my uncle that helped raise me was getting really sick back home and put on hospice so I decided to take a trip back to see him. I would go to restaurants in my state and near my home town and people would ask to take pictures with me, and at the little ceasars drive through someone asked if I was me and stuff it was crazy because I hadn’t been home in awhile and I felt like what I was doing was finally paying off and people were recognizing me. It was surreal. I ended up going to see my ex. I had such a fear of losing him to this other girl for some reason. I was so scared he would get her pregnant or get in a serious relationship since I was gone so far away and I would never be with him, I would end up sleeping with him again and the girl found out and drove by his house mad and cussing me out and throwing stuff at me. We ended up getting in a fight which is so embarrassing and beneath me. I ended up crying to him that I wanted to be with him and don’t know why he never wanted to be with me which at this time he honestly was not even in my playing field anymore. He told me if I wanted to be with him I had to move back to my hometown.. my heart dropped to my stomach and I knew it wasn’t what I was supposed to do but I said okay… all because this is what I had wanted all those years. I decided to stay where the next two years all I would think about everyday was I was making the wrong decision and needed to go back to my life. My hometown had nothing for me.. COVID hit a couple months after me being there and we were terrified. We ended up getting everything out of my apartment and moving into a house around the corner from his parents. I had to tell him how I liked to communicate now without yelling and stuff which I learned from the boyfriend I had in LA and that I wasn’t going to put up with that disrespect but he never listened. Eventually everything went back to normal. I ended up going back to the club again dancing because I didn’t want to go backward and model here. He never wanted me to go back to LA even for a little bit even though that’s where my career and heart was so I had no idea what to do with my life. I started waitressing as well and getting back on my adhd meds. People started pressuring us to get pregnant and we tried for a year and 6 months. The month I found out I was pregnant before I knew, I quit my job and decided I was going to move back and get my life back. Two days later I found out I was pregnant…. Finally after trying for over a year. Our relationship was toxic just like the past he always yelled, I could never talk to him about my feelings without him saying I was trying to fight, he spit in my face once, threatened me, put his hands on me, he would tell me he was going to take my baby away from me as soon as I had it. I started asking him about getting married while I was pregnant and the proposal wasn’t even that. He got mad at me for asking one day and walked in the room and handed me the ring. It didn’t fit because I was pregnant & it was $27 (not that that matters but the proposal sucked).. he drained both my bank accounts and they closed it, charged my credit card up and put me in debt, he has not let me do anything I want to do like school or anything. He is so bad with money. He has an action figure addiction and at one point was spending 3k on action figures every month and turned one of the rooms in our house into a collection room so I had to take everything out of my closet and put my sons crib in there for the first year of his life. we have good times and I feel comfortable with him. He knows everything about me but he doesn’t respect me and sometimes I feel like he is intimidated by me. The sex isn’t good at all we always just ask “do you want to have sex” he never gives oral or foreplay, I never get pleasure. He’s an amazing dad though and loves his son. We have the most sweet and beautiful little boy now who I love so much and he loves him also. He’s very attentive to his son. But I still feel unheard. I can’t talk about my feelings. If I do it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t change anything. He is so defensive and we never communicate for a solution it’s always just pointing fingers. I have started yelling again because I’m so used to it now and I hate it because I grew up like that and I finally grew out of it until I got back with him and recently started again and now he throws it in my face and knows I begged him not to do it forever but he never stopped and now I am too. I’ve asked him to take me to the movies and he hasn’t still. I just ask for more romance and stuff but it just feels like I have a roommate. I have nothing now. I had my car and we traded it in for a new car that he wanted. I always dreamed of the next car I’d get once I paid it off but he got it & it’s in his name now so I paid it off for nothing. I’m driving around his dream car. I’ve been planning our wedding since I birthed our son and everything is going good. Money is tight. He works at the church now full time and makes about 45k a year or so, my son has been waiting to start daycare for awhile so I have been home with him. I’ve tried starting jobs multiple times but he is against it unless it’s super fast money like going to the club which I am so repulsed by and absolutely hate it now. I tried going back to college but my old college won’t release my transcripts for fasfa because I owe them money. I started cosmetology school a few months ago which he was all for but two months in freaked out and him and his mom guilt tripped me that we can’t handle this right now and he was having a hard time doing the night time routine for the baby while I was at school so I had to leave and now owe that’s school for my kit unless I enroll again in 128 days. I also miss modeling so much and sometimes think I can start again but it’s been five years. My body is so different too after a baby. Everything I want is a no go. Especially moving out of our hometown. He says he wants to but I don’t think he does. We are constantly at his moms and dads and they tell us all the time we aren’t moving anywhere which is really hard for me as this place is super toxic for my soul. Anytime I get money he spends it. Anytime I save money he spends it. Even if it does go towards our bills. His action figure habit is almost nonexistent now and he has grown a lot in the past few months from that since I demanded my son have his own bedroom after his first bday and all his figures are in boxes now and told him he could turn the shed into his man cave. He says we can’t save because we have nothing to save after bills but I believe in saving anything even $5 a paycheck. It’s doable. I grew up poor so this is nothing to me but after living the lifestyle I lived in LA and going out with guys that respected me and cherished me it’s hard. I know nobody is perfect but we are about to get married and I’m scared… I have nothing though anymore. I’ve threatened to leave a couple times and he says he will take me to court and take my baby. I’m scared he might. I don’t want my son to be angry like him or not respect women how he does. In public he’s a saint. He also has a very supportive family that it’s almost toxic. They all blame me for his anger issues and say I make him that way. But he’s been punching walls since I met him in 8th grade. I know it’s not because of me. But I have nobody else and nowhere else to go. No money. No car. I’m at the bottom again where I was before. Only difference is now I have a son. And we are getting married in three months and I can’t call it off. I am older now and looking back on my life I realize he maybe truly never loved me and I was just so desperate for love. I got myself here nobody else. I accepted everything, even when my gut told me not to. ( he is not just horrible, he’s a great person just with some bad qualities like everyone but I’m tired of feeling stuck with someone that never truly wanted me and doesn’t care to grow in some ways or show me )
Please help.. what do I do?
submitted by Londoncashmeans to ToxicRelationships [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:50 OsethReaper Calypso Station Pt 1

 The necropolis was gorgeous, for what it was. Its white outer walls hiding the darker Victorian Gothic interior. The tech that was hidden in the walls though was able to move bodies in their caskets from a designated place in the necropolis to the "viewing area" as the necropolians called it. This was where I waited for my, for lack of a better term, escort to take me to the mortuary. Since science has grown surprisingly fast our abilities for forensic sciences have also grown, and that's to whom I was headed. (S)He was an, unusual (wo)man to say the least. An expert in their field and about as learned as a doctor, if not multi-doctorate. If you ever asked them why they never pursued an actual doctorate, they would get angry and act all prissy while saying that going to school would've slowed them down and all they needed were the basic certificates for their work. The reality though, revealed to me during a drunken bout, they just never liked school and believed that it ultimately stunted a person's growth and ability to question the reality around them, that everything that you need to learn is already in books and in some form or another in digital content online. They were brilliant, if a little wacky. About five minutes after I had arrived and was sitting down in the viewing area, a little box rolled up to me making a couple of beeps to let me know to follow it and immediately started rolling towards the wall opposite of where it came from. When it looked like it was about to hit the wall, a hidden door opened up by the casket viewer, inside was a set of stairs leading down into the darkness. Stepping through the doorway I became acutely aware of sounds seemingly coming from all around me suddenly. It really is impressive, as though I just stepped from a tomb to a busy workshop, the sounds of gas escaping pistons, whirring, and clanking chains flooded my ears. I continued down the stairs following my helpful little box, which despite its size and shape would suggest was actually quite nimble on the stairs. It seemed to have wheels that would extend down to the next step as the edge rolled over it and once the back of the box was clear of the step it would drop back into its squat position, hiding its wheels as quickly as possible. It continued to do so the entire way. The box seemed to notice me watching it and made a kinda shrill whistle and its undercarriage light went from a comfortable yellow to a, is that... Peach? Is it blushing? My god I think it is! I let out a small chuckle and my little blushing box stopped dead in its tracks mid-step, its light suddenly going white, almost blinding me from behind and lighting up the hallway for a split second. Luckily both of my feet were solidly on a step so I didn't take a tumble or anything, but I couldn't help doing anything but laughing harder. 
After a second the little box crept up behind me and continued down, its status light continuing to show pinkish. I followed it slowly, the chuckle slowly dying in my throat as we reached Ceriths office. Well "office" was being nice. Morgue, mortuary, both of these fit just as well. Cerith was, for the most part, a recluse. We reached the door and the little robot continued through a little hole in the wall. I waited a second and knocked. "Enter!" Came the voice on the other side. I opened the door and stepped through. Along one wall set doors that normally housed the dead waiting to be processed. One out of dozens were open, its occupant missing from its silver slab. The middle of the room was brightly lit from a single overhead light. In the middle of the circle of light stood a figure, long Raven colored hair bound in a single braided ponytail, the rest of them bound in medical examination garb. They seemed to be engrossed in the corpse in front of them. The little robot rolled up next to Ceriths feet and made a little chiming noise. "Thank you Tabitha. That'll be all," said a voice that was neither male nor female from beneath the mask. Just sort of in the middle. "Tabitha? Never knew you to be sentimental," I said gently, the chuckle in my voice making itself clear. "I see you still find even the darkest things funny," Cerith quipped back. "My line of work Cer, you take the laughs where you get them. Look who's talking anyway, you're usually elbows deep inside someone 25/8. Even you have a seriously fucked up sense of humor." That got Cerith laughing, sounding like thunder and the whip crack of lightning at the same time. "You've got me there Julius," Cerith said after his laughter subsided. I think he suits him today. Which is both a good and bad sign. When Cerith is acting like a man, it usually means some grim news, but they are going to try to make it seem like not a big deal and laugh a lot. Plus they almost never call me Julius. Something was wrong. Very seriously wrong. As this realization hit me I got this odd tingle in the small of my back. Like someone had put several freezing needles under the skin and into my spine, something I'm familiar with from the anima-games from the cyber sphere. Halos: Divine Retribution If I remember right. Those Angels were sadistic bastards. I shuddered at both the memories from the game and the shockingly similar feeling I was experiencing. Dread, that feeling is dread my friend, the quiet part of my mind whispered to me. "Cer, what's wrong bud," I asked. He didn't say anything. For a long time. After a few minutes I was about to ask again, but then he spoke. And what came out will haunt me, quite possibly till the day I die. "This ones temporal lobes are gray matter. Nothing even close to being coherent. Just. Dead neurons. And he's not the first." Gone was the jovialness of the past ten minutes. This was Cerith the whisperer. In an almost dead tone they continued, "the others didn't fare nearly as well as this one. Most of the brain is intact here, which means that if they didn't deliver a massive shock or something similar to fully kill him he would have possibly lived as a vegetable with memory issues, but that's not what I'm looking for in this one here now. Now I'm trying to figure out what else the others had in common with him, and so far that's brought up all but naught. Well this one has a bit of liver damage. But that's about it. So Mr John was a drinker. Not much there." When Cerith is "whispering" the best thing to do is just let him be. But I couldn't help but prick my ears up at mentions of others with similar wounds, and the fact that this one had liver issues.... "Cer. You said... CERITH," I finally snapped out and caught his attention mid ramble. "Thank you. You said liver problems. But nothing similar to the others? No drugs? Alcohol? Not even a synth brain-pattern? You checked Everything?" "Well let's see, John here was a drinker that's for sure," Cerith said his hands never ceasing their work as he started to put 'John' back together seemingly satisfied that he found nothing else, " Mr Lombardo in chest 3 had cocaine mostly, and Mr Lei in chest 9 had opium. Although to tell you where it came from for both I'd have to do a molecular analysis and see what it compares to. Other than that, no. Absolutely nothing connecting any of them. As far as I can tell they are all unique cases completely separate from each other except for the damages to the brain. And I only found this by accident. During a routine scan I happened to look at the screen as it passed through the brain and noticed an odd density in his temporal lobes. Just slightly higher than normal. Hell to be honest with you it had the density of a fresh cutie, you know those little oranges?" I nodded, and he continued, "Right of course you do, who hasn't? Anyways it's just super dense compared to the surrounding tissues, and I take a sliver probe and drop it in like you do. And when I turn the damn thing on to look at the neurons the area all I see are dead cells packed on top of one another. Not natural decay death, but forced to die. Most of the cell walls were torn open like they had blown up from the INSIDE. That's when I called you." He finished up with 'John' putting the final few perfect stitches in place and sealing him up for good. Once he seemed happy with his work he called out to his seemingly empty morgue, "Grom I'm done! Can you put Mr John Doe here back in his room? Number 11 if you please." He turned away from the body on the table and removed the giant rubber gloves that went to his elbows. He walked into the dark calling out over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a sec I gotta scrub out, want a drink? I have beer, whiskey, vodka, I might have some Cognac somewhere, and bourbon. Your choice, just call out what you want and Tabitha will be there with it. Also have a seat! We have much to discuss." With that he disappeared from both sight and sound in the dark. It was a neat trick I have to admit, and it had something to do with how he had his morgue set up. Even the giant war machine that was Grom was absolutely quiet unless you managed to catch him through the gloom. I thought for the longest time the reason why I could never catch him sneaking around was from some sort of stealth program put into place, but when he goes up and down those stairs he's as loud as can be. So it was definitely not his program but the way the morgue was built. I'm confident in saying that because when I turned back to look at the table, or rather where it was, there was now a chair that looked like it had just grown out of the floor and the body was gone. Also the thought of something as big as a fridge just sneaking up on some poor combatants and snapping their necks as quietly as he walks in the morgue just gives me the heebies. As I sat in the chair a thought occurred to me. Considering how advanced the morgue seemed to be it would make sense that it had some sort of AI or integrated computer. "Computer?" I had been here a million times but I'd never had a chance to think about it nor try anything. But not even a second after I had said anything a response came. "Yes Detective Julius. My name is DANNA. Or Dynamically Actualized Neural Net AI. How can I be of service?" The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, slightly feminine and breathy, all service but no sex. Honestly I was just surprised that it worked. "DANNA, I was just wondering if I could take a look at the files that Cerith had mentioned? If it is as bad as they claim I think I might need to know anyway. Also if you can get those blood works done for me I'd appreciate it. Also something with whiskey or rum would be amazing." "Of course Detective. I will have Tabitha bring it shortly. And how would you like the information to be displayed? Desktop or dynamic?" That piqued my interest. "Dynamic please." No sooner than I had said a series of screens blinked into existence in front of me. It was some sort of Holographic display. I reached out and touched the display and was surprised that I got stopped by something. It was hard but surprisingly I found that I could push into the screen with my finger if I pushed hard enough. It kinda felt like... Oobleck. I also found that by pinching the corner I could pull the screens closer or further from me. I even found that I could grab individual pages of the reports off the screen and hold it. It felt like a thin sheet of plastic and responded like both a tablet and a singular document. If I switched pages the old one would appear back onto the screen and the next would pop onto it. This was about as slick a set up as I had ever seen and whistled my appreciation under my breath, I'm definitely going to have to ask Cerith about where they got DANNA from. "See something you like, big boy?" A very DEFINITELY female voice said in my ear from behind, soft and throaty, screaming come hither. I felt small dainty hands gently caress the tops of my shoulders before slipping down the front of my chest, pulling me back into the chair that I didn't realize I had been slouching in. "You know better than that, Jules. Your back is important and slouching will destroy the muscles and cause some to atrophy." The voice left no room for argument, and left me more than a little bit flushed. I closed my eyes and dropped my head back as far as it would go, the back of my head hitting something soft and warm, stretching my neck and back out. "Damnit Cer I thought you were scrubbing out, not completely changing." I hadn't realized it, but at least an hour had passed from when I started playing with the computer and working with the files if the clock on the computer was to be believed. "You looked like you were pretty into it so I decided not to disturb you. Plus you know how much fun it is for me to tease you like this. Especially after, well these..." One hand waved at the screens in front of me. The small hands' nails were painted the darkest black and almost made them blend into the void that existed outside of the screens. "I do Cer, and that's part of the problem, we both know that it's never going to happen. Least of all for you." She laughed a little, a clear beautiful sound and the body beneath my head bounced slightly telling me I was against her stomach. "Still I know you enjoy these little moments," she said, the pressure on the back of my head disappearing and was replaced by the voice right by my ear again as she whispered, "especially when we both know that's not at all true." At the last words she nibbled my ear gently. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her, in spite of my baser instinct rising to meet her VERY juicy insinuations. But for as long as I've known Cerith and as many times as we have both been VERY drunk, they have NEVER cashed in. I just assumed that it was a quirk of theirs. "Anyways," she said standing back up, "what are you thinking so far about the files? Spooky, right? Like I said, nothing that I can see connects them." Her hands gestured in front of me in an approximation of a shrug. She then clasped them together, wringing the knuckles and effectively trapping me in the chair and back against her abdomen. I scrubbed my eyes with my fingertips acutely aware of the growing headache that suddenly made itself known. "Your right from the medical side. I can't see everything you can, of course. I don't have near the knowledge that you have," which is true being that Cerith is at least 200 years old. I never asked directly, the old adage still holding about women and their age. Still though her answers to certain questions would lead one to believe her being her first adult car was a Bing Cherry 2201 Firebird GT with white walled hover trim and chrome accents. From pictures that I could find it looked like a slick piece. Looking back to the screens I couldn't help but feel that itch again. I couldn't explain it. That prickly feeling of ice needles again, this time in the back of my skull. As much as I'd hate to admit it. I think Cerith is right. I sighed heavily before saying "send me everything. I'll open a new case file and have the team start working on it first thing." She made a happy noise and bounced slightly, clearly satisfied with my decision to take it on. I reached out and to my left and a glass was placed gently into my hand by Tabitha. I hadn't even realized she had come over while I was working and was now ready for that drink. Room temperature rum and cola. The drink went down smoothly enough considering I drained the glass in one gulp, during which time I finally got a good eyeful of Ceriths current form. Or rather the underside of part of it. From what I could tell she was wearing a black T-shirt. That was it. I put the glass back down, it's job done without moving my head and said, "What a lovely view Cerith. I'm guessing you chose this to try to get a rise out of me?" I couldn't lie though it was affecting me, but I couldn't let her know that. Not when she's like this. Otherwise she'll continue to tease me till she leaves me with the absolute worst case of blue balls this side of the City. Her hands came up and cupped my chin almost lovingly, and her voice said "Of course Detective. Do you not approve? Or would you rather I change back to my medical examination form? Or something else?" Her words dripped with implied sex. I groaned, loudly, and said, "This is fine. Jesus Cer." Before we could continue our most scintillating of conversations there was a sudden PING! And DANNA said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's a message for you Cerith. It says 'If you can get to the department Cerith, do so. We need you to explain your paperwork. And if Detective Julius is still with you have him come in too.' signed the Chief. Would you like to reply?" 'Shit, I forgot the morgue kills all signals,' I thought to myself as I stood up gently (regretfully) prying myself from Ceriths grasp with a, "duty calls. Need a lift?" I stretched gently, the scales in between my shoulders clicking appreciatively for the stretch, and turned around to notice she was indeed, just wearing a black T-shirt that hugged her voluptuous figure closely. The scales in my back clicked shut in surprise. Cerith let out a small cute chuckle, "I see after all this time I can still surprise you," she said blowing a kiss my way, reminding me of a little Gothic pixy. I rolled my eyes away from her and willed my scales to relax. I grabbed my jacket off the back of the chair, slinging it on and clicking the neck clasp shut under the cord that connected my scales to the unit in my head. I was awarded the cybernetics upon completing my training and getting all my licenses to have them. The force had allowed me to customize it, I had chosen top of the line. A dual unit with custom built AI. The individual scales were ceracoated titanium microprocessors all running in both series and parallel, and could move to expel heat or react. The main unit was the same except it was one solid unit that replaced a chunk of skull. Once that was done I zipped up the front of the leathers and ran the scales through the racer setting. They clicked and flattened against the outside of the jacket, securing it to my back. I shrugged making sure it was comfortable. "I'll take the fact that you're only in a t-shirt you'll be along shortly?" "Certainly detective." Her voice was filled with dismissive submission... And sadness? I looked back at her and noticed her makeup was gone. Or had she had any on in the first place? I gave myself a mental shake. There's no way. This was Cerith, veritable goddess of the necropolis. I put the last few minutes away for review later. Chief called. I have to go. On an instinct I thought long dead, I reached out and squeezed her hand. I felt a slight squeeze back. And then she let go with a, "Go on, be a good detective. I'll be along shortly." I left with Tabitha as my guide. Before Cerith disappeared into the darkness I thought I heard her whisper, "please don't leave." My scales raised in a saddened response. I couldn't be sure I heard her right though. If I heard her at all. I reached back and stroked them, knowing my ai probably heard her, and knowing it could feel me touch the scales. After a few seconds the scales settled down. 'I know buddy,' I thought to the AI. It couldn't respond like usual AI. The force thought that was too dangerous. What if it went rogue? What if it tried to kill the host and take over? The list went on and eventually they decided the basics were ok. When I got my unit one of the first things I did was jack it into a diagnostic to see what kind of hardware I was dealing with exactly because manufacturer specs from real use are sometimes different with AI if the bits and bobs are in place. When I did, all I got on the screen was 'Hello?'
submitted by OsethReaper to HFY [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:49 CautiousCancel8329 Help regarding PC I'm building for my mom

I'm building my mom, an architect a PC as she's moving into a new office. She's a private architect, and she owns her own company. She mainly does 2D renders of floor plans, and does not do any sort of 3d rendering. Her current config is an intel i7 10750H and a GTX 1650 mobile on her laptop, with 16gigs of ddr4 3600mhz ram and a 500gb ssd. Her budget is around 1000 usd, and has trusted me co.pletely to configure and build her pc. I've been an avid pc enthusiast since 14, and with over 2 measly years worth of experience, binge watching ltt videos and pc build guides, ripping open laptops and just going through the conpononents, and helping out with software issues and bugs for my family members, I feel building a pc would be the best step in gaining more knowledge. As of now, I've decided that a 13400f and RX7600 is a good option for her PC, which shed be using on a 55" 4k 60hz monitor. My mom wants the screen size to be big, and doesnt mind much about refresh rate as her renders are only the floorplans. She does want a lot of storage, so I've decided to set up a 2 bay NAS for her and her colleague that work locally, and 3 other employees that work remotely. I wanted to know if there is anything else I should change (monitor and nas are not part of the 1000 usd budget) and what I should be aware of. I'm going for a 2 fan front intake and 1+1 fan exhaust on the back and side along with a simple cpu air cooler. The place where I'm living has no motherboard options, so I'm going for a B760m in a deep cool ch370 matx case. Her files are around 200mb each (on autocad) so I thought that using just a 500gb ssd along with a 1tb HD should be plenty space for her to work on before uploading it to the nas for backup and remote access. I've gone through bottleneck calculators, and the 13400f has a 0.0% bottleneck with the rx 7600 on 4k 3840x2160 ultrawide... I'm finishing this off with a 550W psu as pcpartspicker only said that the estimated wattage is 457 or smt, but have the budget to upgrade to a 650W one if needed. Pls do reply as it would he me a ton, Thanks
submitted by CautiousCancel8329 to PcBuildHelp [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:48 truthjuice4269 Charity raffle for Rolling Stones tickets to Gillette stadium foxboro Massachusetts show Thursday May 30th!

My local food bank in Harrison, maine is hosting a raffle for two VIP tickets to the Rolling Stones concert at Gillette stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Next Thursday, May 30th. The winner will get two vip tickets which include early entry to the venue, rear general admission access, and a nice box of merchandise for each ticket. Merchandise box includes special Hackney Diamonds tour laminate, a wireless phone charger, a reusable coffee cup, and a bunch of other random stuff.
If you live somewhat close to the venue, my taxi company can provide transportation to and from the show as well for the winners!
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/AfkoD4WGvbdBgJX3/?mibextid=oFDknk
https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/a520dc4d-34b2-4160-afb1-a072ec200992?fbclid=IwY2xjawC6OypleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHahBA3n9J9kDLDKgqIQLuXnydr2E8D8TN8xWf0v1Ai1Rb9PECTRASinj5g_aem_AX75ZE-Hec8S_3zNwku_BPhjtwtgzkQwEB7xkMUjYthh4a9AA_PrcrxIV1sut0zDqAf9PwlkHu0xu25Ec-9Zq9yQ
Rock on!! See you at the show!!🎶🎶🎶🎶🎸🎷🎹🥁🎸🎙️🕺💃🪩
submitted by truthjuice4269 to rollingstones [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:47 SuddenEffect7384 Two issues with Redmagic 8 pro after software updates in March 2024

I am having repeating issues with my Red Magic 8 Pro (global rom, no root) following the latest updates in March and April 2024. The issues are narrow and very specific but I am hoping that someone may have a solution for at least one of these:
  1. My company requires me to install Intune Company Portal Android app in order to access my email and other work materials. I used the app without any issue till early March 2024 when my phone updated its software to the version REDMAGICOS9.0.10_NX729J_GB (Android version 14). Ever since then, after I complete my registration in Intune Company Portal my device keeps getting unregistered after few hours of use and then it shows Company Access Setup is incomplete. When I try to register the device again it gives me the error and tells me to ‘Try Again’ over and over falling into loop. I only have to uninstall and reinstall the app; or remove the device from the app, clean data and cache, register it again, then the app works for few hours (1-6 hours, no pattern) and then unregisters me again. I have consulted with our company IT dept and we tested the issue. After my device is unregistered in the app, on the server side, it says that my device is registered and should be working. I contacted the developers but to no response.
  2. I use Rokid Max AR glasses which are connected via USB-C DP. Normally, the sound was broadcast directly into glasses until the latest software update. Now, the sound comes out of the phone speaker and the glasses simultaneously. Is there any way to block the phone speaker, so I can only hear it in the glasses earphones? For now, I have to connect additionally Bluetooth earphones, but it's not very convenient.
submitted by SuddenEffect7384 to RedMagic [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:45 Dry_Marzipan1870 What is this box connected to a vent that has a electric cable in it?

https://postimg.cc/gallery/KBYJVLL
I was thinking about getting a duct booster to help two upstairs rooms with weak A/C air vent, and this is on the vent that goes to those rooms. The electric line goes towards my furnace, but as you can see it was cut. Did someone try a duct booster already?
submitted by Dry_Marzipan1870 to hvacadvice [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:43 offsugar Mamoru Oshii's review of 'Howl's Moving Castle'

A Simple Yet Thought-Provoking Doorway

Interviewer: Howl's Moving Castle was a huge success as well, with box office revenue reaching 19.6 billion yen. This places it second only to Spirited Away among Studio Ghibli films. The original story is by Diana Wynne Jones, and the screenplay was written by Mr. Miyazaki.
Mamoru Oshii: Howl's Moving Castle is excellent, my favorite among Ghibli's works. The story isn't entirely clear, the logic doesn't always hold up – these aspects haven't changed much from Miyazaki's past films. But, at this point, there's nothing more to say about those points. So, what do I appreciate about this film? In a word, it's the mechanism of that doorway. Miyazaki's changing mindset as he gets older is clearly expressed through that door's workings.
Interviewer: The door of Howl's castle leads to different worlds, and its mechanism is divided into four parts.
Mamoru Oshii: That truly impressed me. Every time the mechanism shifts, the door opens to a different world. The black passage leads to the battlefield, flames are raging, Howl transforms into a monstrous bird and flies off, then returns completely exhausted. Seeing Howl like that, Calcifer says, "He might not come back." What kind of meaning do you think that holds?
Interviewer: Does it represent Mr. Miyazaki's heart being divided into four parts?
Mamoru Oshii: It's not about the number. Women might not understand easily, but men get it right away. Especially older men, they understand at a glance. Because they are also constantly turning that doorway unconsciously. In other words, whether consciously or unconsciously, they always play multiple roles. An older man working at a company switches modes when he comes home; when playing with a young woman somewhere else, he switches again; when interacting with his son and daughter, he switches yet another time. Simply put, humans are creatures that live separately in different worlds. There may also be a dark side that leads one to become a monster. People definitely possess a side that turns into a monster and runs rampant on the battlefield, and are destined to coexist with this darkness.
I've never seen a film that depicts the multiplicity of an older man's inner world in such a persuasive way. I love it. The doorway mechanism turns, and the world changes instantly. It's fantastic.
Interviewer: That's high praise indeed.
Mamoru Oshii: It is. But it's dangerous, you know? Sometimes you slip up and reveal a side you shouldn't in front of your wife and children. Wives are probably aware of this to a certain extent, but they don't bring it up. If you ask me, that's what living with a man is all about. You might not notice it when you're dating, but after getting married and having children, women realize that older men use different faces in different situations.
Being able to create this kind of expression means that Miyazaki himself must have struggled with switching between different faces. By now, he's probably become quite adept at it. I'm the same way. After all, film directors have to be geniuses at switching gears – the face shown to staff, the face shown to producers, the face when alone, the face shown to family – you really have to separate them all.
Interviewer: That sounds truly exhausting.
Mamoru Oshii: It is, it is. A person like Miyazaki must have a remarkable monster dwelling within him, right? For Howl, that represents the moment when he throws aside all humanity and becomes a monster. Although it's incredibly difficult, even requiring him to fight till he's covered in blood, he can't escape it. Why? Because he couldn't survive without that side of himself.
He must have referenced other archetypes as well, but no one else could have expressed it so brilliantly. Miyazaki truly is one of a kind. That doorway in the film is so good that it overshadows everything that comes after. The war ending abruptly, for instance.
Interviewer: In the first place, it's unclear why the war even started. To be honest, there are too many things that don't make sense. Sophie's original goal was to break the Witch's curse, but somewhere along the way, this goal disappears, and she ends up living with the Witch.
Mamoru Oshii: That's why it's pointless to try to apply logic. This is Miyazaki's world of imagination, where the laws of cause and effect don't apply. This world itself is Miyazaki's fantasy.
Interviewer: But there is a source material.
Mamoru Oshii: Half of it has probably vanished without a trace, wouldn't you say? All that's left is the basic setting. The castle's design is amazing, it even has a torpedo launcher, doesn't it? It makes you wonder what that torpedo launcher is for and what it's supposed to fire at. It feels like Miyazaki just crammed in everything he likes.

Miyazaki and My "View of Family"

Interviewer: I love the design, though.
Mamoru Oshii: It can accommodate anything, and this time he put "family" in it.
Producer Toshio Suzuki said something interesting. He was also the producer for my film, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. He said: "It's fascinating how both Miyazaki and you are making the same kind of film. In short, the theme is "home". Both are stories about family. Miyazaki's film expresses the idea that whether it's an old witch or an orphan, it's fine to welcome anyone into the family, because we're all family. And in your film, whether it's a dog or a doll, it doesn't matter if they're not human. It's a very interesting approach to considering a new kind of family."
Interviewer: Mr. Suzuki is insightful.
Mamoru Oshii: He's the kind of person who observes from such unique angles. That's his strength, thinking from perspectives no one else would consider.
Of course, I wasn't conscious of it either. I had no intention of making a story about family. The "unconscious genius" Miyazaki must have been the same. But when Suzuki pointed it out, I felt "that's exactly right". When people establish a sense of shared existence, the most basic form of it is family. Of course, there are male-female relationships within it, but when viewed from the perspective of social relationships, there's nothing other than family. Even blood ties aren't necessarily essential within it. Originally, the starting point of family is strangers, no blood relation needed. A married couple is essentially a pair of complete strangers with no initial blood ties. They start from a marital relationship and then begin to build kinship ties. It's not like in Shuji Terayama's Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets where people separate first and then spend time exploring family forms in various ways. That's probably how it is.
Thinking about it this way, even the house they live in in Howl's Moving Castle walks on two legs, doesn't it? What does that mean? It means that it's no longer even connected to the concept of "settling down", which represents the idea of family. The characteristics of a house being rooted in the land are irrelevant. On the other hand, in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, it doesn't matter whether you're human or not, but you need to be with others to live as a human being.
Looking at both films from the perspective of family makes many things easier to understand, that's for sure. If you don't think about it this way, the content of Howl's Moving Castle will become more and more perplexing as you watch it.

Hayao Miyazaki is David Lynch?

Interviewer: Speaking of family, Sophie's family is nowhere to be found. It's as if she's just a beloved and beautiful younger sister that everyone adores.
Mamoru Oshii: After watching Howl's Moving Castle, no one can recall the details of the story clearly. I watched it twice, which is rare for me, but I still can't remember the story. The protagonist Howl appears suddenly, and Sophie is introduced already sewing hats, but why is it a hat shop?
Interviewer: It's a hat shop in the original story.
Mamoru Oshii: But it must be because Miyazaki wanted to draw scenes of hat making, right? Miyazaki loves artisans, loves depicting scenes of crafting things. Up until now, he's always had this tendency - even if it sacrifices consistency to some extent, he'll find a way to realize the scenes and fantasies he envisions. But with Howl's Moving Castle, he completely let go and took a straight path to fantasy. Howl's Moving Castle is exactly that kind of film. Whether or not there's source material is irrelevant. The story of Master Howl is a prime example.
Interviewer: Voiced by Akihiro Miwa, the character of the Witch of the Waste, right?
Mamoru Oshii: Scenes like the shooting stars are undeniably beautiful, but do they have anything to do with the story? Miyazaki's impression of magic must be these beautiful visuals, so he simply wanted to create them.
Interviewer: It's not just that, the character of the Master is completely incomprehensible.
Mamoru Oshii: I've said this so many times, you can't seek consistency in Miyazaki's films because they're all fantasies. It's best to view them through the lens of David Lynch's Twin Peaks.
Interviewer: Lynch's films don't prioritize consistency either. Nobody expects a logically sound story from his work.
Mamoru Oshii: Then why have such expectations for Miyazaki's films? They're both transforming their own fantasies into films, whether it's Lynch or Miyazaki.
Interviewer: "Hayao Miyazaki is David Lynch", that's quite a bold statement.
Mamoru Oshii: There's one crucial difference between Lynch and Miyazaki: Lynch sees humans as frightening creatures. Lynch's theme is singular – the terror of humanity. As a Lynch fan, I've finally reached this conclusion recently. Humans are terrifying beings; they create terrifying events. This is the theme of Lynch's works. The very existence of humans is eerie, so his works are unconcerned with good and evil, angels and demons. That's why Lynch's films are unique.
So, what about Miyazaki? Miyazaki genuinely wants to view humans as benevolent creatures and the world as something beautiful. This fundamentally differs from Lynch, who is obsessed with a world of horror. However, they share the commonality of realizing their fantasies through film. Another difference is that Lynch consciously depicts horror, while Miyazaki does so unconsciously.
Interviewer: In the latter half of the film, Sophie suddenly shifts between being young, middle-aged, and elderly. Is there any meaning behind this?
Mamoru Oshii: No, it's just to make her appearance fit the scene. They simply decided, "It's better for her to be young here", and that's about it. There's probably no deeper reason. So even if you try to overanalyze it, you won't find anything.
Interviewer: It's fine if you don't fully understand Lynch's films, but you still want to try and understand Miyazaki's.
Mamoru Oshii: Because at first glance, they appear to be orthodox narrative films.
No matter how many bursts of fantasy there are, he still wants to reach a conclusion and summarize the meaning in the end, right? In that sense, he's still clearly more timid than Lynch.
Interviewer: But you said that Howl's Moving Castle is your favorite work, didn't you?
Mamoru Oshii: Yes. Even though it doesn't fully let go in the end, it's quite transparent before reaching the conclusion. It doesn't force itself into a narrative structure, so in that sense, I really appreciate it. The doorway mechanism and the scene where the Witch of the Waste makes shooting stars fall from the sky are both incredibly beautiful and impressive. Although the depiction of the royal palace feels somewhat generic, the scene where they're panting and climbing the palace stairs is quite interesting. There are truly many excellent scenes.

Howl is Miyazaki Himself

Interviewer: In that stair-climbing scene, there's a dog named Heen. Don't you think he resembles you a bit?
Mamoru Oshii: That dog... (laughs) The staff kept telling me about him when the film was released, and I could definitely sense some malice directed at me. Because Heen is a useless dog, isn't he? His personality seems quite bad as well.
Interviewer: So he's like you. When I saw it, I couldn't help but think, "It's Oshii!"
Mamoru Oshii: Because I've also poked fun at them many times in my own works. I named the old man who runs Shanghai Tei in Patlabor "Hayao Saki". Mr. Takahata appears as "Inspector Takahata", although he's a villain (laughs). Needless to say, Toshio Suzuki has made multiple appearances as well.
But if that dog is me, then Howl must be Miyazaki. He projected himself onto the protagonist in Porco Rosso, didn't he?
Interviewer: Wait a minute, that handsome Howl? Really?
Mamoru Oshii: Absolutely. The works where Miyazaki projected himself onto the protagonist are Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Wind Rises. What aspects of Howl resemble Miyazaki? This statement will surely shock many fans.
Mamoru Oshii: He wants to be that kind of man. A wizard, the head of a household - there's no doubt that Howl is his projection.
Interviewer: But Howl said, "I can't live without being beautiful."
Mamoru Oshii: That's right, he transformed from a pig and uttered those words. Voiced by Takuya Kimura, no less. In reality, Miyazaki loves to be cool, but he understands that it doesn't suit him, so he intentionally makes himself appear plain. I forget when it was, but he even imitated Ryotaro Shiba's style by wearing a black coat. Miyazaki respects Ryotaro Shiba a lot, although I dislike him.
What strikes me as the biggest similarity between Howl and Miyazaki is the scene where Howl returns to the castle as a monster and sluggishly climbs to the second floor.
That scene embodies Miyazaki's true feelings - even if he's making a big fuss outside, he still has to crawl back to his room. When Sophie scolds him saying, "You did it again! It can't be helped", didn't you feel like he must have been scolded by his wife this way too? He finally returns, but as a monster. From this perspective, he's really quite transparent (laughs).
As long as you understand Miyazaki, you can pick up on these amusing nuances. But even if you don't know him personally, the film is full of interesting scenes and beautiful visuals. However, there's really nothing to say about the plot. So, they should just tell the world that, but instead, people love to praise "how great the stories are" in Miyazaki's films.
submitted by offsugar to TrueFilm [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:42 LifeHappensEveryday GH Ratings Metric Scenario & Business for Drivers...

Restaurant Arrival Time - If the drivers don't press ARRIVED button on time then the Drivers are marked as late even though they might have arrived on time...
Does it mean GH's Location service doesn't work???
Many gig companies nowadays use drop-off time for ratings purposes which should make a common sense.
GH app is perhaps less Driver Friendly... If you are doing a dbl the customers don't know about it & they try to trash the you on CALL/ TEXT - and GH is silent...
Acceptance rate should not play any role in deciding whether Drivers should get more business or big orders etc.
It's a contract & drivers should be free to accept / reject orders at will... however GH loves to embarrass drivers by showing 3 boxes etc ...
I do SHIPT as well, which is owned by TARGET - They got rid of accetance rate way long ago because they realized that it's an insult to independent contractors to force into something they are not comfortable with especially business wise.
If the restaurant is closed upon arrival ( especially on public Holidays ) GH doesn't pay anything to drivers for making an attempt to drive to the restaurant, Time & Gas. UberEats pays $3 - $4 out of respect.
It should all boil down to how many deliveries a Driver successfully completed ( COMPLETION RATE ) with good customer ratings. It should not be based on how many a driver missed.
On Blocks front - there is no penalty to quit BLOCKs anytime on DOORDASH or SHIPT. Giving more Business to drivers on a block is debatable. All do that and I like that but if you trash Driver Ratings due to ridiculous Accepance or Restaurant Arrival Time etc then how on earth good drivers are supposed to Blocks & get more Business?
I propose only 2 - COMPLETION % ( after accepting ) & DropOff Time.
At the end of the day GH or any other gig companies will do what they feel right for their business... there are no 2s about it... But can't they strike a good balance & avoid throwing insults thru APP?
The current GH RATINGS Metric doesn't make sense. This is on top of very less money offered by GH for very long distances. Many blame newbies but I blame the high Inflation & Economy which is forcing drivers to accept nonsensical orders.
I understand it is TL but there are many more points which I perhaps didn't mention here... like FOOD NOT RECEIVED etc.
GH gave me solid money in the past so no qualms, sitting near 4000 deliveries but don't feel like doing as my main one anymore. Still Respect & Love GH and always hoping for positive changes.
What do you guys think? - Do you have any other points to contribute?
It would be very interesting to have your views.
YMMV
submitted by LifeHappensEveryday to grubhubdrivers [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:40 Jasperisstupid What does this stamp mean?

What does this stamp mean?
Got this ring in a jewelry box I inherited from my late great grandmother a few years back and assumed it was just costume jewelry like most of the other stuff inside the box (since that side of the family had already ravaged all her belongings and sold everything of monetary value), but then I just now noticed this stamp on the ring. I'm not sure what it could mean, but I'm pretty sure it's just a capital H. I'm wondering what this stamp could possibly mean, if anything? Thank you.
submitted by Jasperisstupid to JewelryIdentification [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:40 alta_vista49 Question for the group - given it’s an election year more people on my team are being outward with their political views (which is fine) but one guy now flies a “F*ck Biden” flag off his truck. Since we do residential and rely on word of mouth I’m wondering if this is hurting our business.

I’ve seen many side eyes and starring families that walk by and see the flag. It’s likely not helping our reputation out, so I’m curious what I should do? I’d like to have him remove the flag but don’t want him getting all up in arms about me censoring his political views. Obviously he has every right to fly whatever dip shit flag he wants, but I don’t want it to come at an expense of securing new jobs for our company.
submitted by alta_vista49 to Construction [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:39 Guyinyourhead I've just taken my first step into a larger world

I've just taken my first step into a larger world
I'm new to the world of E-Scooters and I gotta tell you it's like a whole new dimension for me. It started simply enough, just last week I was going for a morning sunrise walk with my cup of coffee. This time I decided to go to a new park. At the corner of my eye I spotted what would become a new obsession in the form of a lime green electric rental scooter.
There was a whole line of them appropriately called LIME. Before last week I had never heard of the company. Tbh I hadn't heard or seen much about E-Scooters period, especially for rent. So I approached the parking area for a closer inspection. I saw a QR code, scanned it, downloaded the app, and before I knew it I was pushing off into the future.
This is the first time since I was about 8 or 9 even getting on a scooter. And that was far from electric. I'm amazed at how quickly I took to it. In no time I was going down hills, exploring parts of the city I would normally drive past. Most of all feeling like a kid again. Smiling from ear to ear like a goof with the wind blowing on my face while I enjoy gliding in the open air.
This was all in the first 20 minutes of scanning the QR code.
The LIME app was easy to use, but the whole thing is limited only to one downtown area. I want to take it almost everywhere so I started researching the world of electric scooters. Which brands are the best, the best range, best safety features, speed, weight, tires etc. The one I landed on was the Circooter 800W Mate.
Now I know for you pros out there you can probably find a million and a half reasons as to why this one sucks. But for what I'm looking for right now as a beginner, this is a perfect starter scooter for me. Besides I wanted to take advantage of a sale.
I'm a big guy so I need some extra support. This thing is much more than I need. So if I have the need to buy something with some weight while commuting, I know I'll be more than covered. I also wanted a decent range and speed and this has it. Although I hear the ride isn't as smooth because of the tires. The plus side is that these don't need to be filled like the regular tires. It also folds quite easy and the display looks cool and is easy to read.
Not sure if any of you are interested in this post but I don't know anyone around me who is even remotely interested in E-Scooters. Just wanted to share my little journey here. Scooter is set to arrive in a few days.
Very excited!
submitted by Guyinyourhead to Escooters [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:38 Alert-Leather-105 can you guys help with this?

hey guys i was wondering if you guys could help me make a skin. the skin is an original character that i made for my hero academia, the skin would be a brown haired boy with a blue bolt in the left side of their hair and they are in a UA uniform and maybe some electricity on the hands but idk. if you can help with this i thank you, if you don't want to, i don't blame you. thx
submitted by Alert-Leather-105 to minecraftskins [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:38 No-Stand-6740 AITAfor pretending to not remember a former coworker? Any advice?

For some context, I, at the time 14f got my first job at a grocery store next to my moms work in the mid September in 2022. Around the end of November, my company hired this one guy, Jay. Jay 60+ male, was a nice guy but he also gave me a weird feeling every time I saw him around the store. I would go to the bathroom, Jay would be there when I got out. Had to grab an ingredient? Jay would follow me to the ingredient and back to my department. He even went as far to giving me an antique book set that he explained was really important to him because he said I was the only one to welcome him to the store. One night, when I got off work, I forgot to get a gallon of milk for the next morning’s breakfast. I ran into Jay while he was stocking the refrigerators near the milk and we ended up talking. This was around the beginning of February when the store was starting to put up valentine decorations. He asked me if I like them and I said “my family doesn’t celebrate” it’s not a religious thing, we just don’t. I asked him if he did and if he had someone to go home to for the holiday and he replied no. And then he said “if you were my age, I would marry you.” This made me very uncomfortable because he was about 50 yrs older than me. I told him I had to get to my mom’s work, grabbed my milk from the shelf and left. Ever since he made that comment I was hesitant to leave the side of my co workers. My boss even had to go to the higher ups to tell them what’s going on. They never asked to see me for my story, and just seemed to dismiss it. But later on they decided to have the adults do their drug tests. I found out that they did this on one of my days off and that Jay had failed his test and his results said there was weed in his system and that he could’ve acted the way he had towards me because he was high. I had a sigh of relief to know that he was gone, but a month later he came back and tried to make small talk, but I told him I have to go and get back to work. He came again to try and give me some bookmarks for the books he gave me, but I told my supervisor that I saw him in the store and had her on standby for when he came around. She acted mad at me and told me to get back to work or she would tell my boss I wasn’t doing my job. This got Jay out in less than a minute. Last week, I was cleaning some dishes at work, when one of my trainees told me there was someone waiting for me. I went out to see that it was Jay. I acted confused when he was excited to see me and asked who he was. He also looked at me confused and said “it’s me, Jay. Don’t you remember?” I told him I never saw him before and that I had to get back to work. Luckily, my supervisor knew that I was uncomfortable whenever Jay came around, and she played along. She told him that I just got back from medical leave a few weeks ago, and that I had to relearn everything I knew at work. This made Jay sad but it made me feel good. He said he was sorry to trouble me at my job and left. I’m certain that there will be no next time with Jay. My trainee came up to me after I left and said that was and ahole thing to do. But every time I tried to explain it to high ups not to let him see me, they dismissed my request because they said “he can’t do anything and he is a customer”. I feel like I had to do this to feel safe, I had also explained everything to my mom and she was on board, but my trainee said that was still an ahole thing to do. But I don’t think so because I finally feel safe. Am I the a**hole?
submitted by No-Stand-6740 to Amitheassholeadvice [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:37 Bigguns_Cheese375 War on fence

War on fence
In images 1-7 is the left side of the fence that gates off the canal. Images 7-12 is the right side
I have no idea who or why someone (or group of people) is doing all this crazy shit. Usually, the gate has some hole that people can use to cross through the canal, but this gate is like the one place that is continuously maintained.
My guess is its because the canal leads directly to some peoples backyards and they are trying to prevent others from entering.
This canal gate (?) is the one i pass when i go to school and normally it looks fine, but this is the worst ive seen it, in a while.
Obviously, whoevers doing this is really trying since there are MULTIPLE places where the fence has been ripped and repaired, ripped and repaired, ripped and repaired... At some pojnt im just going to start expecting some crazy shit like electric fencing or whatever.
Anyway im assuming that its either some homeless person or people (there used to live a homeless next to the white shed in image 9) or just some tweakers. Really its just a bunch of sketchy people on my side of the town.
As for the repairing, there is a small church like right aroung the corner from this gate so it could just be them.
Idk who knows
Ill post an update if there is one.
submitted by Bigguns_Cheese375 to fence [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:35 mlee0000 Euonymus Fortunei Yamadori (yardadori)

Euonymus Fortunei Yamadori (yardadori)
This guy was the bane of my existence for over 7 years. Previous homeowner planted next to the house and it was constantly growing up and under siding, up the masonry chimney and through the chimney cap, in the gutters, into the soffit, under the shingles, etc...
Had to cut back about 10 to 20 feet of growth every year. Naughty boy.
I finally decided to dig it up in early March, long before I had even heard the word "Yamadori." I couldn't stand the thought of tossing my longtime rival into the bin, so I did 60 seconds of bonsai research and built a box and tossed him in.
There he has slept.
For a few months, only one single leaf. That leaf died off and I was ready to scrap the whole project when I noticed some tiny green dots.
Here we are in May. Some signs of life!
I know I'm not completely in the clear, but I'm more hopeful. I've learned a lot since then, and would do things much differently today.
I know this isn't top choice bonsai species, but lemons to lemonade.
Anyway. Here it is...
I'm all ears for suggestions on how to keep this guy alive for many more years.
(Sorry about the bird shit)
submitted by mlee0000 to Bonsai [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:35 Irongod01 How to Survive in Reverse City, By Barr Granger (well, actually written by me, and a WIP).

Author's Blurb: "What matters most to the survivor isn't skills or knowledge. It's the will to live."

Preface

What a load of crap. Reverse City taught me a lot of things, and the first among them is that "the will to live" won't help you defy death anymore than "the will to fly" will let you defy gravity. Speaking of which, there's something you need to know about Reverse City: it's a misnomer. There's nothing "Reverse" about it. If you look at it from afar, it looks perfectly normal. Or, as normal as anything can be in a world that is a decaying amalgamation of three planes of existence. Up is up, and down is down.
You're just standing on the ceiling.

Chapter 1

First things first: shelter. You might think this would be easy, since you're in the middle of a city, but remember that gravity is upside down here. Under normal circumstances, you could choose any building you wanted to for a house, and the rest of the city to scavenge for food. But what makes a building isolated or not, is based on whether it has any balconies or bridges connecting to other places. That's a lot rarer than you'd think. Besides that, the surface is patrolled constantly by deadly T-Drones, both scouts and killers. Luckily, the city had one of the most extensive subway systems in the world before the "sinkhole incident" that swallowed it whole. Although there are scouts down there, they aren't searching for people. Just making sure nobody steps out of line. You should set up in the older, deeper tunnels, since the trains rarely run there. Even if you hear a train, don't worry about getting run over. Only organic things are affected by the inverted gravity, so all the trains will pass under your head. The bigger issue is running into T-Boy. He's the one who flipped everything, and the only person who can still walk around on the floor. That's why he likes to tell newbies that he's the "most normal person in this city", which is hard to believe considering he's got a cathode-ray TV for a helmet, but it's best you don't say that. If you do, he'll concede it doesn't really matter, but that no one will argue he's "the most dangerous person in this city", and use a prototype weapon to bring you down from the ceiling and crush you with a miniature black hole. Luckily, it IS a prototype, and will overheat before you die. He'll laugh the whole time, because there is such a thrill from wielding "uncontrollable power", and then speed off. The maniac...

Chapter 2

The tunnels have plenty of rats to eat, but not normal rats. "Erda rats". I don't know what "Erda" is exactly, but if you touch it, it'll fuse into you and make you glow blue for some reason, besides making you ridiculously strong. I don't like it. Makes you look like a humanoid blob of radioactive laundry detergent, if you ask me. Luckily, you only change by touching pure Erda, not anything already affected by it, so the rat meat is safe eat, even if the rats are stupidly dangerous to hunt. If you're packing anything short of a .308, you don't stand a chance, and that's if you hit them in the head or the heart. If you're short on firepower, you could ask those "Erda People" for help. They're about as strong as the rats, and much more friendly, but don't expect them to do anything for free. They're in the same boat as you, after all. Though, most of them were born in Reverse City. With food covered, you'll want to set up a camp. Pro-tip: anything that isn't nailed down (or up, rather), will fall to the floor. Your bed, your tent, everything. Make sure to secure everything you got with anything you can get. Tape, nails, etc. You'll need a fire, to cook the rat meat. And that means you'll need a hanging fire pit. Here's what you'll need: an oil drum, some metal brackets, 2 street sign posts, a handful of heavy duty nuts and bolts, a metal grate, some thin metal straps, about 4 concrete anchors, and a high-powered electric drill. The drum and grate will be your pit, and the rest of it will help secure it to the ceiling. The street sign posts should be fastened to either side of the barrel using the bolts, and reach about a 2 meters past the rim of the barrel. The metal straps should be wrapped around the barrel and pinned to it by the posts. Cut out the base of the drum, or at least drill plenty of holes in it, and place the metal grate halfway down the barrel. Ideally, it'll rest on the bolts used to attach the posts. If need be, you could substitute a mesh of rebar. Using the brackets, concrete anchors, and drill, affix the street posts to the ceiling. To use it, drop your fuel into the barrel, and light. Cooking on it can be done in two ways: the good old "hot dog on a stick", or by creating a heating plate of some sort on top of the barrel. Really, anyway to make sure the fire gets to the food and not your hand works. Oh, and I feel I add a bit of a disclaimer: the "Erda People" always helped me without question, so I have no idea what favors they might ask you in return. They called me a "saint" because my books taught them how to survive, even if my writing was boring...

Chapter 3

submitted by Irongod01 to Maplestory [link] [comments]


2024.05.22 04:35 EclosionK2 The Horrify Film Festival Yxperience

The HRRFY.
It’s the horror movie festival where something genuinely fucked happens every year. And I mean every year.
Like, there are some screenings that unleash hordes of bats while the movie is playing. You're free to leave whenever you want, but the movie will still play for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Other screenings hire actors to turn at you and scream at some point in the movie. You have no idea when, or how many times.
It's a festival where the word "illegal" can't even begin to describe what happens. You'd only attend if you were a young, stupid edgelord like me who was trying to prove he was hardcore to his friends.
Trust me. DO NOT GO.
You have nothing to prove to anyone. Don't be stupid.
Wait for the lamer film versions to come out streaming. That's what everyone else does. They're neutered edits but they're fine.
All they lack is the real gleaming thing everyone wants to see at HRRFY, but who cares. At least you don’t get traumatized. At least you’re not risking your life.
Anyway, if you really want to know what attending HRRFY is like. I’ll be quick and summarize the one screening I went to. It was the 20th anniversary, and I was lucky enough to get in.
***
I had signed up for the HRRFY mailing list, and joined the subreddit. Through a series of cryptic online emails I solved a sequence of riddles and was entered in the lottery for a HRRFY entry.
Lady Luck took a shine to me, because one day in my mailbox, I received a physical ticket. I had done it.
I was going.
The actual ‘ticket’ was a black USB key that announced the location of the festival the night before (which I won’t disclose here) and it did force me to pay for a very expensive flight in order for me to make it on time.
You see, to prevent getting shut down, the location of HRRFY changes every year. Some years the local police have managed to stop it, but for the most part, authorities have given up. What’s the point of arresting or charging anyone, if all the organizers and attendees actually want to be there?
Upon arrival, I had to pick between three participating theaters.
Based on title alone, I decided to go see “Many Drownings” (directed by Oleksander Gołański.) It was in the theater that was furthest away from the downtown core, which meant it was likely the one where the craziest shit was bound to happen.
That’s what I came here for right?
I lined up a solid two hours before the screening like everyone else. The entire line was jittering, just vibrating with excited twenty-somethings. Rumors flew left and right.
“I heard they’re going to force everyone to take acid.”
“I heard an actor’s gonna run in and shotgun the ceiling.”
“I heard they’re going to disappear like four more people this year. At this screening!”
Each year people disappeared. And each year the same people were ‘found.’ And yes this is the worst part, and why should never, ever, ever go to this event.
Again I will repeat myself. DO NOT GO.
No one has ever truly gone 'missing' at HRRFY in any legal or physical sense, because every missing person always shows up a day later, convinced that they are fine—refusing to elaborate further.
There are some small support groups for people who have family members who had gone to HRRFY, and came back irrevocably changed after being ‘found.’
These few unlucky people lose all semblance of personality. They don’t want interviews, or help, or therapy, or contact of any kind. And they never, ever want to talk about what they saw.
Some HRRFY fans think that these ‘found’ people were body-snatched. Cloned in a lab or replaced by a cyborg, or something stupid like that.
But I think there’s a far simpler explanation. The ‘found’ are still the same people. They're just terrified. They got shaken by something that shattered the foundation of their mind, body and soul. They got too scared.
They got HRRFY’d.
***
I should mention I had a cough the day I went. And I was worried my sickly appearance might give me trouble at the airport.
So I invested in an intense double N95 mask which I wore for the whole flight, and continued to wear even at the screening of “Many Drownings.”
It made my face hot and uncomfortable, but it still didn’t stop me from yelling “excuse me, excuse me!” as I ran to snag a seat in the back of the theater.
I always preferred sitting in the far back. You get a good view of the whole screen, and a good view of the whole audience.
Beside me sat a big dude named Sylvester, who apparently flew all the way from Australia to attend HRRFY.
“Worth the full Seventeen hours mate! It’s gonna be epic!” he dropped a massive camping backpack beside me, which I assume contained all of his luggage.
The lights dimmed, and the production company logos started to play.
The whispering, giggling and suspense all stacked upon each other to create an electric feeling in the air. I was giddy. It's like the entire audience was embarking on a massive roller coaster.
The anticipation was the best part for sure. It might have been the only good part.
Then the movie started.
It was a wide shot of a gray, stormy sea. The waves were massive, and the thunderclouds were looming. There was no land visible in any direction.
All we could hear was the sound of waves foaming, swirling, and crashing over and over. Lightning crackled. Rain poured. The camera held perfectly still over this storm as if it was mounted on a perfectly hovering drone. A drone so resilient that it didn’t waver at all.
I thought it had to be CGI.
The shot held like this for the next few moments. Everyone sat glued to their seats. Everyone was thinking the same thing.
What’s going to happen? How are they going to scare us?
People chuckled. People cheered. People wanted to tease whatever was going to happen—to happen already.
But nothing did.
Five, ten, maybe fifteen minutes went by without any change. People started snoring.
I looked beside me and saw that Sylvester—the most excited audience member of them all—had fallen totally asleep. The jet lag must’ve gotten to him.
Then I peered beyond the rest of the audience members and saw other people snoozing too. Heads were keeled over, some people were curled in their seats, some had even spilled out into the aisle and were dozing on the floor.
I looked above the bright screen, at the huge vents in the corner of the theater. I saw a faint white gas emerging from the vents.
Holy shit. What have we been breathing? I tightened the straps on my N95 mask, and made my breathing shallower.
The gas must have been pumping since the opening credits—because how else would an audience of two hundred people all fall asleep?
As I moved my hand through the air in front of me, I could sense the thickness. It was definitely hazier than usual. I took the scarf off my neck and wrapped it around my mouth as well.
Then I spotted movement in front of the screen.
It was a tall blonde man, wearing a black trenchcoat and military-grade gas mask. Beside him arrived six hazmat suits who started pointing at various audience members.
I slunk in my chair, pretending to sleep like everyone else.
Two hazmats walked over to the front row and picked out a sleeping guy in flannel. They lifted flannel up, under the armpits and by his ankles, carrying him between them both like a hammock.
The hazmats walked back up to the stage, where the blonde leader inspected the flannel man and tapped his head. Something was approved?
The hazmats began to swing flannel back and forth, as if they were getting ready to toss him. Despite their masks, I could hear a very muffled, very distant countdown.
Three…”
Two…”
One…”
The flannel audience member was tossed into the screen.
I literally watched him fly into the image of stormy waves … andfallinto them. The flannel man sank into the gray water like a rock, leaving a few bubbles and foam. A wave came crashing down. All trace of him was gone.
What the fuck.
All six hazmats began grabbing more audience members with much more urgency. It became a minute-long process where they would pick the sleeping person up, bring them beside the screen, and then swing-toss them into it.
How was this possible?
I turned slightly to see if there was a projector above me, and realized there was none. Which meant maybe there was no screen on stage.
Which meant … maybe it was a portal?
I tried to wake Sylvester by shaking him. I pinched his leg and arm a bunch.
He was out cold.
The hazmats started grabbing audience members from the middle rows now. They were emptying the whole theater. What the hell was I supposed to do?
I waited until they grabbed another batch, only a few rows down from me. When all hazmats had their backs turned—I broke into a run.
With my left arm, I tightly gripped my mask and scarf against my face, while my right arm vaulted me over seat after seat.
I had never breathed so hard—through so much fabric—in my life.
The hazmats all turned to me. “Hey! Hey!” But their hands were full with their next victims.
I ran all the way down the aisle, to the big exit sign on the left. My heartbeat filled my head. My plan was to dropkick through the exit door.
I imagined myself breaking through like some flying gazelle.
I jumped.
I angled my kick.
It might as well have been a brick wall. I fell ass-first to the ground, followed by my head. Of course the door was locked.
Through a muffled mask I heard a sneering scoff.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Above me stood the one wearing a trenchcoat. I could see his piercing gray eyes through his gas mask.
I rolled aside and tried to run by him. He lifted a foot and tripped me without effort.
My forehead bashed into an empty seat. It dazed me.
The blonde leader bent down and grabbed me by the neck, tearing away my scarf and mask.
“No! No!”
A sweet, ether-like smell filled my nostrils. I did my best to hold my breath, but I could already feel myself getting light-headed.
The other hazmats joined in, grabbing me from all sides. Even if I had the strength to struggle, there was no escape now.
Above me, all I could see was the dark theater ceiling, and some of the light behind me from the cinema screen.
Three…”
Two…”
“No. Please. Don’t do thi—”
SPLASH.
I was plunged deep into cold, wet chaos. My head was completely underwater.
Gagging. Bubbles. Spinning.
I fought for dear life, dog-paddling like a maniac.
Churning. Freezing. Panic.
For a second, my head popped above the water. I inhaled all the air my lungs could muster. I stared across a vast, violent ocean.
An enormous thirty foot wave came in my direction.
My whole body lifted higher and higher as the wave approached. I did my best to tread water. It seemed to be working.
Then a series of smaller waves arrived and smacked my chest.
SPLASH.
Spinning. Kicking. Flipping.
My view alternated between the pitch dark ocean beneath me, and the moonlit night sky above.
Again I swam to the surface, popped my head out. Ravenously sucked in air.
There was a small lull in the water.
Around me I now registered the other theater goers. Most of them were lying face-down or sinking … but a few were flapping about like me, fighting for their life.
And above all of us, a floating white shape.
It was painfully bright, I had to lift one hand to look at it.
My jaw dropped.
It was the movie screen, hanging completely still in the air. It showed a dark, empty theater. The exact same theater we all occupied moments ago.
It was tremendously high, above all of our heads. There was no way of reaching it.
Then I saw another thirty foot wave come our way. It grazed the bottom of the screen.
I knew what had to be done.
***
One of the theater goers happened to be on a college swim team. She was the first one able to traverse one of the giant waves and climb into the screen.
Once she was up there, she found a firehose in the theater and reeled it out to us like a rope.
One by one, we swam as hard as we could, praying to God we could reach the rope. Everyone’s energy was sapped. Your body can only sustain itself on adrenaline and fear for so long.
By some miracle, five of us got out.
I was the last.
I climbed the rope coughing and vomiting. I had swallowed so much water that my stomach felt swollen.
When I reached the top and they pulled me into the screen, I sobbed. I couldn’t stop crying.
My life had flashed countless times before my eyes. In bubbling, suffocating visions, I saw both my parents and my brother. I saw my highschool graduation. I saw my favorite Christmas from when I was six years old.
I had almost lost all of that. I had lost almost everything.
On the dirty, carpeted theater floor, I lay with my face down, savoring the fact that I now lay on a hard surface. God bless ground. God bless this filthy, popcorn-strewn ground.
Beside me I heard bantering, hugging, the wringing of wet clothes. Sylvester was the second last to be saved, and he was particularly vocal.
“Wooooooaaaaahh!” He came and drummed me on the back, lifted me up. “Oh my god dude! Holy shit!”
I sat on my knees, wiping the tears and snot off my mouth.
Sylvester clapped his hands, held his face and screamed some more.
“Holy shit dude! That was so fucking scary! Like literally people were dying beside us. Like I SAW people die!”
I nodded, shivering in my drenched clothes. “ I know it was—”
“—That was craaaaazy!”
He laughed and stood up, patting everyone on the back. He kept clapping his hands like this was some sports event.
“That was sick! That was siiiiiiiiick!”
He ruffled someone’s hair then ran up to me with an open palm.
“High five dude! WE MADE IT! High five!
“Don’t leave me hangin’ dude!
submitted by EclosionK2 to Odd_directions [link] [comments]


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