Cells at work english cast

I purchased this pre-built around a year and a half ago: all specs here
The CPU overheats after about 10-20 minutes if I play any demanding game, and I get high temps even just browsing the internet or playing less demanding games. The temps reach about 100C, throttling turns on making my PC unusable, and then it shuts down.
Things I've tried / observations: This was not an issue when I first purchased the PC, and it started happening a few months ago. The first thing I tried was re-applying thermal paste, which seemed to have no effect. I then turned off overclocking (though I will admit the ASUS BIOS screen made this very confusing so perhaps I missed some settings). This helped significantly for around two months but now I'm back to the same behaviour.
The airflow setup seems reasonable to me, the fans are setup to pull from the front and exhaust through the top+back. I've confirmed all fans are working, and via the BIOS I set them to run at the full speed setting.
From what I can tell the AIO cooler (AIO 240 cpu cooler thermaltake) seems to be "working" in the sense that the RPM for the pump is where it should be, and I can feel the liquid moving through to the radiator.
My assumption is that the AIO cooler is no longer working, but I'm not sure how to confirm that exactly beyond the simple fact that the CPU is overheating... Does anyone have a recommended cooler that would work for my prebuilt that I could buy and see if that fixes my issue? The link above contains all the specs including my case. I'm not picky beyond simply wanting something that works and is easy to install, noise and cost aren't really a concern.
Is there anything else I should check before buying another cooler?

So I usually never reach out like this but I've been feeling pretty lonely lately so why not give it a try? So the basics are: I'm a straight guy, 26 years of age from Europe . I work but also have a lot of free time. I'm looking for someone I can have a genuine connection with and talk often to. At first on here but I prefer Discord since it's more convenient for me. So here's a little more info about me:
What I like: Video games (GTA Online, Warframe, Genshin), Some anime (Death note being my favorite), Cycling, Open and genuine people, Deep thoughts and discussions
Music I listen to: Mostly rock/metal but I enjoy many other genres too
Specific traits about me: I consider myself a very deep and idealistic person. I'm pretty honest and you can always expect an honest answer from me to all your questions and inqueries about me/my life. I don't hide anything about myself and am an open book so don't be afraid to ask me anything. I'm pretty straightforward and I speak my mind. I like joking around and my humor can be harsh sometimes but I never mean bad with it. I can adapt well to different people and situations but it's very hard to change my views and beliefs. I'm agnostic but open to discuss any and all religions and beliefs.
What I'm looking for [IMPORTANT]: I would prefer if you do not message me if all you're looking for is to kill boredom or have a quick chat. I'm looking for something serious and long-term and I am honestly tired of wasting time on people who do not want anything to commit to or form a genuine connection. I reply relatively fast and would like the same in return except, of course, when we are busy with stuff. I wouldn't ignore you and I don't want to be ignored. I'd also prefer people who are not scared to show what they look like relatively soon after we start talking. I think it's an important part of actually getting to know someone.
So that's about it. If you want to know anything more just send me a message.

Last week we brought home a four month old English Bull Terrier puppy. She’s been really good, has taken to her crate really well, she’s very playful and silly, if not slightly stubborn.
When we first started going on walks, she didn’t really show much interest in other people, I think she was more focused on the traffic. But the past three days she seems to have found her voice because she’s barking and growling at anyone who walks past her.
This is obviously making it quite hard to socialise her because no one wants to approach because she’s barking and growling at them.
Any tips on how to combat this? We’re trying to find a trainer in our area to help but we go for walks three times a day and I don’t want this to become a habit she carries on with.

i got hurt at work yesterday and i’ve been putting a bandaid on them. should i leave the bandaid off for a bit and put some kind of like neosporn or something on them or keep the bandaid on until they close a bit more. the top on is like raw under layers of skin and bottom has skin on top of it and doesn’t hurt as much.

My parents are Kenyan, and because of this, they are both trilingual (they speak Swahili, Kikuyu, and English at a native level). Something I've noticed they do is that whenever they have a conversation, they will randomly switch languages every once in a while. They might start the conversation in Kikuyu, randomly switch to Swahili later on, and then sprinkle in random English words and phrases. Is it normal for multilingual people to do this? Or are my parents just weird?

I tried going into services.msc and turning on the service manually but then got this error:

Windows could not start the Radarr service on Local Computer.

Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.
I saw a thread where someone mentioned changing automatic to automatic (delayed) and still no luck
When I try to run radarr.console.exe I get a pop up error saying Radarr.Console has stopped working with this in the console window:

Unhandled exception. System.BadImageFormatException: Could not load file or assembly 'Radarr.Host, Version=4.6.0.7439, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'. Format of the executable (.exe) or library (.dll) is invalid.
File name: 'Radarr.Host, Version=4.6.0.7439, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'
at NzbDrone.Console.ConsoleApp.Main(String[] args)

Bad image format? is it possible the application got corrupted? Is there a safe way to reinstall it but keep the same library data and settings?

Part 0: Rules and expectations
Getting Eggy I decided to try out the modern version of Trainer Charms purely so I could use the Pokemon Smile icons. They’re so adorable! Rided/Cyndaquil is one of my favorite Starters, but since they don’t have a second typing they don’t stand out much.
After getting Pokeballs from HIBI/Ethan it was time to start the run! Both New Bark and Cherrygrove have encounters I can unlock with Surf or either Rod, so with that in mind I earn my first three tokens from Rt. 29, 30, and 31. Luckily, both Rt. 46 and Dark Cave had Geodude, getting me Sicib and Bicis.
For some reason my Emulator doesn’t show the circle of light around my character, so I couldn’t find the free Drug/Potion in Bicis’ home. But hey, Bicis was a girl, so maybe she’ll help with Whitney like I hoped? Neither of them had a nature that lowered their Att or Def, so I was pleased. However, when I checked their IVs I noticed one had 8 in Att and the other had... 31!? I didn’t expect the second coming of Kokum to come so soon, whoa! Her Def IV is way lower than Sicib’s, though, so it’s kind of a trade-off.
I can get two Pokemon in GX (Violet) City, though not from the water. The first is from the Bellsprout for Onix trade that will cost me $25,200 (But the Nature is... really bad), and the second comes from giving Primo a specific code that is based on your Trainer ID. After consulting Pokewiki’s Secret Code Generator I... quickly realized that the text I need to input to get my wanted Slugma egg (the only one I can get before Kanto) was translated. Miraculously, the Viet HG save file worked with the normal Japanese HG ROM, so I just played both at once and used the equivalent of Alphabet Mode to help me figure out where ボーイ +うた and やだ + かんそうはだ were. ...Though one of the words starts with Hiragana and the ‘Syllabary Mode’ uses Katakana, so I had to pull out my old Hiragana+Katakana book to figure out the Katakana equivalent.
In the end, the translation was Boy + Sing & Do Not Want + Crispy. Funnily enough, before I had pulled out the book and untranslated ROM I tried to figure it out on my own by using the original Viet Crystal method of translating the Japanese text Pokewiki gave me into Chinese, then English via Google Translate and the fourth was translated to be Skin Care. I had guessed Crispy because I thought of crispy chicken skin earlier, so I’m glad I had guessed one of them correctly the first time!
I still had to check if I managed to get the Slugma egg, though... and Pkhex said it was a Slugma, YES! Well actually, when it hatched I realized the game wasn’t suddenly calling A SHI/Primo Mageh when he handed over the egg, it was calling it a Mageh/Slugma egg. So yeah, that’s her name. I had one more encounter available before Elder Li, though. The Sprout Tower he’s in just holds a fourth token, so I headed south to Rt. 32 to catch Mali/Mareep before beating up some monks.
VS Elder Li At first I was just going to solo him with an Ember-equipped Rided, but at the end of the tower both Geodude were at lv. 7 from some switch grinding, so the team was them and the lv. 10 Rided. They won’t go out against his Bellsprout, but Hoothoot’s Hypnosis could make solo-ing annoying.
Rided’s Ember easily OHKO’d the first Bellsprout, but Elder Li threw out Hoothoot next. Rided was quickly put to sleep and she didn’t wake up after getting a Peck to the face, so I swapped to Bicis. She sadly got hit by a Growl, but two Tackles barely brought the bird to yellow HP while she dodged Hypnosis. Annoyed by how little she was doing, I swapped to Sicib... only for him to be put to sleep, augh!
So I swapped back to Bicis, who got hit with a Peck and another Growl before she could Tackle again. Two more Tackles barely brought Hoothoot to red HP before Hypnosis finally landed on her. Instead of making her power through the sleep, I decided to swap back to Rided to get ready for the second bellsprout, and... She woke up immediately, nice! Two more Embers destroyed the Hoothoot and second Bellsprout.
Yup, I’m glad I didn’t go through my usual ‘grind to lv. 10’ session at the beginning, because having more bodies to put to sleep was pretty dang helpful! Nobody lost more than 10HP thanks to that, too.
VS HEYADUO/Falkner After beating his minions everyone but Rided was okay to be in the lowest level slot (8), so I went to the grass to get Sicib to the highest level slot (13) and learn Rock Throw. ...Wait, what!? Yeah, It was gonna be Bicis, but I got confused and realized too late, ugh. Well, let’s hope his Rock Throw isn’t too weak.
Pidgey starts off with blinding Sicib with Sand, but Rock Throw lands regardless and takes it out. Pidgeotto doesn’t have Sand Attack, so he just used a weak Gust before getting knocked to low yellow thanks to another Rock Throw. One more weak Gust later and Sicib landed the killing blow/rock.
Well, Rock Throw is still Super Effective and gets STAB. Sand Attack was kind of worrying, but I’m glad all three Rock Throws landed regardless.

Team:

• Sicib the Geodude♂ (14) - Sassy, Sturdy [Tackle / Rock Throw / Defense Curl / Mud Sport]
  
• Bicis the Geodude♀ (8) - Impish, Sturdy [Tackle / Defense Curl / Mud Sport / Rock Polish]
  
• Mageh the Slugma♀ (8) - Hardy, Flame Body [Smog / Ember / Yawn / ---]
  
• Mali the Mareep♂ (8) - Quirky, Static [Tackle / Growl / --- / ---]
  

• Rided the Cyndaquil♀ (11) - Brave, Blaze [Tackle / Ember / SmokeScreen / Leer]

Box: 1^ / Deaths: 0

Gosh, I just need to share. I struggled so much emotionally at the beginning, and even more so because my baby was so wanted and planned. I really questioned whether I’d made a mistake. My boy is so opinionated, more than any other baby I’ve been around. He has GERD and some other GI issues that honestly made the first few months hell. He was not a bad sleeper, though he woke up every 2-3 hours until about 4-4.5 mos.
But WOW. Other parents I knew who had ‘difficult’ babies said 6 months was a turning point for them and I understand it. This boy is about to be 7 months and I am so, so in love with him. All of those opinions of his are going strong but what that means is that when he’s excited to say, be held up to and touch our paintings at home, he is screaming with joy. He reaches out to me when someone he doesn’t know well is holding him. He gets so happy when Daddy comes home from work. He loves watching the dog walk around. He just discovered if he kicks bath water enough it splashes his face and WOW that is the most exciting thing he’s seen. I love this little human so much. It got so much better and I’m just thrilled to be his mom and get to eventually see him walk, talk, figure out who he is. He still has alllll the GI issues and we are still fighting to get a call back from the GI but there’s not even a tiny part of me that regrets becoming a parent. I just needed to share- I’m often tired, but I’m so happy.

I am 23 and my wife is also 23. I currently work in insurance and have an A.A degree. My wife is planning to become an RN and currently works as a CNA. I make $26/hour and my wife makes $20/hour. We have alittle over 17k in our joint HYSA. Around 3k in our joint checkings and 2 personal checking accounts for eachother. I have around $800 in mine and she has around $200.(this is our own money to spend on whatever, no arguments) We put $200 per paycheck into these accounts. But I'm rethinking this amount for her because she doesn't make as much.
We do not have any loans or credit card debt only my wife's student debt around $10k. We are getting married in September (already married legally) a cheap wedding. I plan to put all expenses on a 0% apr credit card that I just got this month 06/2023 for 18 months no interest. Wedding will cost between $5-7k. We will pay this off before apr kicks in. I have a 401k with a 6% match. So I put 6% of my paycheck into it. I started my job 1 year ago and have $4,107.91 in a Vanguard Target RET 2065. I also have a fidelity account with an Individual Investmant account and Roth IRA. In Roth IRA total is $522.28 in DAL, FZROX, QQQ, SPAXX, and VOO. Not evenly. Idk what any of this is or means. In individual account I have 1 share of Ratheon at $103.81.
Our rent is 945 ATM in September its going up to $965. In the summer electic can go upto $70. Internet = $50, if I had to guess our credits card total around $3-500 every month? Including streaming and groceries and eating out. She came off of spring classes was working mabey 20 hours a week but started back up doing 40 hours. I do plan on going back to school this fall part time. I want to get her setup with 401k as well.but we need advice on this as I blindly put money in stocks I don't fully understand. How can we improve finances?

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.
The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.

What can you do as a user?

• Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
• Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join the coordinated mod effort at /ModCoord.
• Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
• Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.

What can you do as a moderator?

• Join the coordinated effort over at /ModCoord
• Make a sticky post showing your support, A template has been created here you can use or modify to your liking, and be sure to crosspost it to /ModCoord.

Thank you for your patience in the matter,
-Mod Team

@marlybitch

I spend A LOT of time customizing my controls in any game (whoever said "E" should be the default for "Use"? It should always be the big space bar!). There is a lot of playing for a few minutes, saying "Ah, it would feel natural to have a button for this over here," play for a little longer, repeat.
A friend gave me a cheap thrustmaster hotas. Can't argue with free. So I spent hours last night customizing the setup. But decided that I would rather not use it for exploration, so today I went to launch, and unplugged the hotas. Suddenly, I'm not able to get out of my system map by pressing escape anymore....
It reset ALL my controls to the default keyboard and mouse just because I guess it couldn't find the bindings to the joystick! NO! No! Bad ED!
Now, I do have a partial workaround -- I use Razer Synapse to do some rebindings that the game doesn't support. But Synapse doesn't support my cheap hotas that I may or may not play with at a given time, and the UI can be a little cumbersome for what I normally do.
So if I go through all this—again—and rebuild my bindings, is there a way to save my stuff? It's scary to think that it could erase a lot of work because I may not have noticed that the cat unplugged something before I launched.

I know plenty have been bound to ask this before, but I need help in regards to my situation specifically.
I'm at the stage where I'm finalizing the sound mix for my film, but there’s a big problem I'm having: my mix sounds fantastic on full-range (frequency) speakers, but sounds awfully muddy on lower range speakers like my internal living room tv's (even though when I switch to cable television, the broadcasted audio for movies/shows sound fine???). I've gotten mixed advice online about how you should only cater to people who are willing to watch your film on good quality speakers, as well as other people saying that you should at least consider those who don't... in which I tend to agree more with the latter.
I edit with high quality headphones that can play back deep frequencies perfectly unlike most speakers I guess. I've also listened to the mix on my iPhone and iPad which sound great too since Apple has always made an effort to put good speakers in their products. The mix already sounds great on them which is why I'm hesitant to dumb it down for the sake of other playback devices. I'm also not in a great position to spend too much time 'finding the perfect balance' by plugging a variety of speakers into my PC and messing around with every audio track that I've already worked so hard on fine tuning. I'm editing a feature film by myself, there's only so much more I can do.
I'm basically looking for a life-hack here, if any. Maybe there's just something I'm missing? Is there an effect that I should throw over my whole mix when exporting? Saturation? Highpass? I'm terrified that the mix will sound bad when I premiere it at my local theater for the first time.
Small rant: It baffles me that the content I see everywhere on TV, YouTube, etc somehow manages to sound good wherever they are played, no matter the device... yet MY mixes only sound good on some devices. I've had this problem for so long with past projects, but I can't mess it up this time. It's got to be a simple trick I'm missing. There's no way I'm this bad at editing when theoretically, it should sound fine. It just seems like everyone has been able to figure this out except for me.
Yes I’ve edited exclusively on headphones, and I know there are some aspects you can’t get over when listening back to your edit from theater speakers coming from across the room (that’s the focus of this post). Like you’re not going to hear all the foley, bass drops, etc… but man is it painful, especially when bass-ier outdoor wind or indoor ambience just sounds like underwater muffled distortion that literally causes these low range speakers to start shaking physically. Please help me.

Ok so I've been using avc rinse to wash my hair for the last few weeks and I've noticed improvement and my hair gets oily less quickly. However, I have a hard time washing my hair with what essentially just has the texture of water. It's especially difficult to wash my scalp because it just runs off. I have a handfull of products that might work at making avc more syrupy but I'm not sure how good they are with hair. I was thinking: Pectin: commonly used in jams to make them hold, but at lesser extents it can just make a liquid more syrupy. However I don't really know the ph level or how safe it is for hair. Agar agar: basically a vegan gelatin that comes from seaweed. Tho I'd be worried it would make the avc more solid jelly-like rather than simply more gooey Sugar: usually people add sugar in stuff to make it more syrupy. However you usually need quite a lot of sugar and it works based on how it mixes with other ingedients in the recipe
Has anyone tried this? And is there any other methods anyone has tried to essentially make your own avc shampoo?

Deputy Speaker,
Sinema Cymru has a long and rich cultural history, with one of its first films shot, as early as in 1896, covering a royal tour of the then Prince of Wales. Welsh Cinema has contributed multiple wonderfully talented artists, directors, and crew. With its pristine natural beauty, and raw talent, Welsh actors have often risen and shined in the global cinematic universe. However, this comes at a steep cost, one of resources. Historically, Welsh Cinema has not been financed well, in monetary and infrastructural terms, with only a handful of films being created without an external source of funding.
Addressing the infrastructural deficit for Welsh Cinema has been a key goal for both the Welsh and Westminster Governments, and thus I can announce to this House that after a considerable negotiation period, both Governments have agreed to finance the construction of a state of the art Virtual 360º production soundstage called “Llwyfan Rhithiwr y Tirwedd” with over 15,000 square feet of stage space, and 13 metre high state of the art LED screens.
This Soundstage will become one of the largest visual production stages in Europe. The current estimates puts the cost of construction at 7.5 million pounds, of which Westminster shall bear 4 million, and hold a minority share to ensure that Ffilm Cymru Wales can work to develop more Welsh talent, and eventually finance and produce more Welsh Cinema.
As cinema evolves into a medium of utilising newer technologies to showcase culture, particularly in Wales, it is the view of the Government that we must promote investment in our culture across all boards, and also facilitate greater cooperation between devolved governments and us, and thus I believe this is a great first step forward, one that generates much needed employment and revival of Welsh Cinema, while providing for exciting opportunities in the near future. With these words, I commend this statement to the House.
This statement is delivered by the Most Hon. sir_neatington MP, the Secretary of State for Devolved Affairs, on behalf of His Majesty’s 33rd Government.
Debate under this statement will end on Tuesday 13th June 2023

When you're rich enough, you get perks you can only dream of. Literally. But somehow, my paradise turned into hell.
Have you ever had a dream so amazing, you wished you could relive it? Explore it? Relish it? Well, when you're rich enough, you don't have to wish. It's a reality thanks to dream banks. You may have heard of them and their pricy services, which include recording, saving, and projecting dreams.
For example, if you'd like a dream recorded, you can book one of their luxurious suites for the night, where the dream techs will fit you with a special helmet and leave you to rest. The next morning, they'll replay the recorded dream for you via the helmet and ask if you want to shell out the extra bucks to save it. If you don't, they'll delete it and you can pay to book for another time to try again.
If you do decide to save it, you must select an item within the dream that will act as the exit key. (This will come in handy during projections.) While still wearing the helmet, you must touch the item, and the dream techs will label those electric signals as the key.
Afterwards, everything is saved under your name, and you can now relive your dream at any time by booking a suite for three, five, or eight hours. Unlike recordings, during projections, you don't have to wait for sleep to come. After you enjoy a snack of your choice, the helmet is fitted and you're immediately transported to your dream, where you have free will and can enjoy it at your leisure. And if you ever need to leave early, this is when you touch the key, which will shut down the helmet right away.
In my case, the key is the stegosaurus leather rug I have hanging on the wall of my throne room. I never have a reason to touch it otherwise, making it a perfect key. I've also never had to touch it. Experiencing life as an all-powerful, worshipped being who lives on my own planet and hunts dinosaurs in my spare time, I relished my dream to the last second.
Yes, the fees are exorbitant, but at the time, I felt it was worth it. The techs were skilled, the system was sleek, and the dreams were private. Each could only be unlocked by the unique brainwaves of the dreamer.
Or so I thought.
My literal nightmare began when I booked a five-hour projection on a rainy Friday afternoon. After taking a sip of champagne to wash down the cranberry brie bites, I settled into the cool silk sheets with a smile. My usual dream tech smiled back as she fastened my helmet, and the last thing I heard was her wishing me pleasant dreams before I was plunged into darkness.
I waited for the split-second adjustment from reality to the dream world, and my confusion grew when I didn't find myself on my throne surrounded by fawning gods and goddesses.
Instead, I found myself in the middle of an endless street. Alone. There were no cars, no life, not even wind. Towering street lamps lined the sidewalk as far as I could see, arcing over the road and tinting everything an eerie red. Behind them, identical buildings stood side by side, silent, their dark, narrow windows hollow.
My pulse spiking, I whipped around. The other direction was just as endless. Uneasy confusion prickled beneath my skin. This had to be someone else's dream. The techs must have made a mistake. I didn't know how it was possible, but there was no other explanation.
My unease piqued as my situation sank in. I was in a stranger's dream and I didn't know the key. I was stuck here until my five hours ran out. Or until the techs realized their mistake. I was ready to rip them a new one once I was out, but until then, I had no choice but to wait.
I studied my surroundings with a frown before I walked over to the curb and sat down, and that was when I noticed I couldn't feel anything. I also noticed I was naked. It didn't matter. There was no one here, and none of this was real anyway.
Time passed, and I tried to distract myself from my nettled offense by humming, but no sound came out. Sitting up, I took a deep breath and screamed. Not even a squeak was heard. I slapped my hand against the ground. Nothing. This place was like a black hole of the senses.
Sighing, I lay down on my back and stared at the red light above me, wondering if I could fall asleep in a dream. I tried, but the more I wished to escape this silent, crimson prison, the more it seemed to come into focus. Soon, the utter lack of noise and movement grew from slightly unnerving to completely intolerable.
There was no way I could wait. I'd go insane. I had to get out of here. I had to find the key.
Jumping up, I ran to the nearest building and wrenched open the door, and a pitch black void greeted me. I gasped, and gasped again as it felt like my very breath was being suctioned out of my lungs. Panicking, silent wheezes rattled in my chest as I struggled to yank myself out of the vacuum, jerking my limbs and bucking my body until I toppled over backwards on the sidewalk.
Gulping in fitful breaths, I scrambled to my feet and ran down the road without looking back, my wide eyes scanning the horizon for salvation. I just wanted out of here, but the hellish path stretched on forever, making me feel like I was running in place as every identical building and street lamp mocked me. Even my silent stomping and mute panting served to draw insanity closer.
And then, a person showed up.
There, in the distance.
With my hope spurred, I raced towards them, desperate. I didn't care who they were. I needed to break this monotony.
As I got closer, hope morphed to confusion, and then to despair. The person was me. It was a mirror, propped up across the entire street.
Sweat-soaked, I slowed down to a jog before I stopped right in front of my reflection. It was me alright, naked, exhausted, and frustrated. But the eyes, something was off about the eyes. With an anxious frown, I stepped closer, staring into them, and they stared back …
… until they glanced behind me.
I gasped and jumped away, and so did my reflection … before it glanced over my shoulder again.
A chill trickled down my spine. My reflection had nothing behind it but the empty street, so I gulped and turned around, and my mouth fell open in a silent scream as a lovecraftian behemoth barrelled its way towards me. With its slick shell gleaming red beneath the lights, it slammed down one spiny tentacle after the other as its five mouths bared their dripping, concentric fangs.
Drenched in undiluted horror, tremors gripped my body as I stumbled away until my back was against the mirror. I knew death was a foolproof key in a dream, but I didn't know if this creature would kill me right away or leave me to suffer in agony until my five hours were up.
With it only inches away, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed myself into the mirror, and my stomach flipped as I fell backwards. I opened my mouth to gasp, but there was nothing for me to draw in. Floating in an airless void, I flailed and thrashed, my wild eyes scanning the darkness for answers as I began to spin around.
Although death would free me, one of my greatest fears was suffocating. On one of my weightless rotations, a red, glass cube passed me by, and I grabbed it, hoping it was a breathing device. I brought it close to my face, and I gawked at what it held within.
Me.
Surrounded by identical buildings and red street lamps while a lovecraftian behemoth tore me apart.
Horrified, I threw the cube as far as I could and increased my efforts to escape this void. Yet all the flailing and thrashing was for naught as the darkness revealed no end. My eyesight began to go red as my lungs spasmed, and I clawed at my throat as my pulse stuttered in my chest.
The red kept growing and growing until it engulfed my entire vision, and I gave up. There was nothing to do but face my fears and die. With my straining heart lumbering, I let myself go limp as I stared at the red and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I wasn't dying.
In fact, I could breathe just fine.
Frowning, I opened my eyes, and intense unease spread through my core. Above me, a red moon had taken up the entire sky, each one of its craters crystal clear, like eyes watching me. I turned my head away, and I realized I was in a park, laying down on the grass. Sitting up, I blinked in surprise at the pond right beside me, its opaque water reflecting the moon's red light. Ducks were swimming in a circle across its surface, their movements smooth with nary a splash.
Trees surrounded us, so dense I couldn't tell when one began and the other ended. It was mind-numbingly quiet here as well, and I still couldn't feel anything or make any noise, but at least the ducks were moving. This place seemed more tolerable than the last, and I was willing to wait out my five hours here. I hoped at least an hour had passed already, but with dreams, one never knew. All I knew was that I was too exhausted to search for the key. And too scared. I didn't know whose dream this was, but they had to be masochistic if they saved this nightmare.
Curling up beside the pond, I worked on calming myself down as I watched the ducks swim in their systematic circle over and over and over. I tried counting the rotations the way one would count sheep, but that still didn't lull me to sleep. I wished I'd chosen the three-hour projection, but at least I hadn't chosen the eight-hour one.
Distorted circus music crackled around me and I jolted up, my heart ricocheting in my chest. There was finally sound, but the last thing I wanted to hear was a cliche horror movie soundtrack. Gulping, I looked around. The music was coming from the trees, and my stomach dropped when I spied a shadow behind one of them. Then another. And another. They emerged into the crimson moonlight, and my blood turned to ice.
Clowns.
I whipped around, trembling to the rhythm of my frantic pulse. They were surrounding me. Dozens of them. As classic as any clown could be. Colorful clothes, big shoes, silly hair, exaggerated makeup. I wasn't scared of clowns, as long as they were where they belonged. And they didn't belong here, staring at me with big, empty eyes and yellow, toothy grins.
I tried to convince myself that they weren't dangerous since they didn't have weapons and didn't seem monstrous, but when they took a step closer in unison, I jumped back, nearly falling into the pond. The ducks remained oblivious, still swimming in their circle. The distorted circus music got louder, and my hair stood on end when I saw the grass ripple in front of each clown. They were sending something my way through the ground.
Panicking, I jumped into the pond, and I screamed as I sank right in. There was no bottom. There was no water either. The pond was filled with red, translucent spheres, each the size of a tennis ball. Still able to breathe, I began swimming through the spheres with clumsy breast strokes, just hoping I could end up as far away from the clowns as possible.
After swimming for what felt like enough time, I tried to swim up, until I realized I had no idea which direction I was facing. Remember a trick for those stuck in avalanches, I spat, but my glob of saliva just hovered in front of me. Before panic could set in, I noticed what looked like an office desk floating amidst the spheres in the distance. After blinking a few times to make sure it was really there, I swam towards it, desperate for any change in my situation.
It was an office desk, a wooden one with carved borders and locked drawers. Tucked beneath it was a stool, and the moment I pulled it out and set it under my ass, an office replaced the red spheres.
I grunted as gravity returned, and I looked around in bewilderment at the cluttered bookshelves and grimy floors. Dust was floating everywhere, highlighted by the red light filtering in through the blinds behind me. I jumped as a clock hanging on the wall chimed. Its glass was too dirty for me to tell the time, but I was glad I could hear. I coughed at the dust. And I could make noise. I dusted my hands. And I could feel. I could even smell, which I now wished I couldn't as I wrinkled my nose at the faint stench of rot.
After failing to read the spines of some of the books on the shelves, I studied the shadowy corners of the room. A slack-jawed skeleton hung in the far end, and a faded poster with anatomical diagrams curled off a cupboard. This had to be a doctor's office. Was the creator of this dream a doctor?
A silhouette slid in front of the frosted glass door, and I gulped as the knob began to turn. A hand reached in, gripping the edge one finger at a time, and my heart dropped as I knew this horror cliche was only going to be followed by another. Having no time to think, I slid off the stool and crouched beneath the desk, my hand over my mouth as cobwebs clung to me.
Praying spiders wouldn't swarm me, I peeked through a small slit in the wood, and I froze when an emaciated nurse walked in the room. Layers upon layers of blood coated her scrubs, so much so that I couldn't even tell what color they originally were. She had no shoes. No feet either. Just ankle stubs, and my stomach turned as I heard bone clunk against the tiles.
A surgical mask covered her face, as bloodstained as her scrubs, and grimy lab goggles obscured her eyes. I was grateful, because judging by the pus leaking out of her scabbed, balding scalp, I didn't want to know what her face looked like. The closer she got, the stronger the stench of rot became, and I struggled to keep myself from retching.
She stopped halfway into the room, and I gawked at her hands. They were transforming. Her fingers elongating into razor-edged blades. She then began to hunch over, and I cringed as her spine cracked and popped until she was as bent as a candy cane, her face staring at her pelvis.
As if that wasn't unsettling enough, her head creaked as it spun around 180 degrees, now facing the front, upside down. Right after, her arms shot to the ground, and I watched with increasing dread as she bent them at the elbows and wrists so they flanked her head like distorted T-Rex arms.
She spread her fingers out and took a few more steps towards me, and I held my breath, hoping she couldn't hear my rabid heart or smell my fear. Her ankle bones clicked and clacked against the tiles as she made her way around the desk, and I cowered as my frantic eyes searched for a weapon. I found none, but I did spy a brass button beside my head.
With her legs now an arms distance away, I had nothing to lose as I jammed my thumb into the button. The back of the desk flung open, and I scrambled to my feet and dashed out from my hiding place, screaming in response to the nurse screeching behind me. Bursting through the door, I held up my fists and began punching like a maniac in fearful anticipation of a horde of nurses swarming me.
Except I was no longer in a hospital. I was in an outdoor parking lot. Alone. And judging by the roiling red clouds, a storm was brewing. After a second to collect my bearings, I dove into the closest car, thankful it was unlocked. The moment I slammed the door shut, lightning blinded me as thunder cracked and the downpour began. Sighing in relief, I tried to shake away my adrenaline, but the bloodshot eyes in my rearview mirror reignited my panic.
Before I could react, a belt snapped over my neck, pinning my head back against the headrest. With a frightened wheeze, I clawed at the leather, and I flinched as hot, heavy breath wafted across my ear. Gagging at the putrid smell, I reached over, desperate to scratch my strangler's face or poke their eyes out.
I felt their greasy hair and tried to pull it, but my fingers refused to hold on. I tried again and again, using my nails for purchase, but the strands just kept slipping out of my weak grip. Shifting focus, I tried to claw at their eyes, but it felt as though I was moving through molasses as my hand slid down their face. Once I felt a wet, bulbous eye, I tried to scratch it, but I didn't have enough strength to do anything damage.
My frustration clashed with my terror and I tried to punch them, but my arm swung back in slow motion and merely prodded a stubbly cheek. Tears welled in my eyes as I writhed and gasped, my strangler's laugh adding insult to injury. Despite knowing death will set me free, fear and self-preservation rummaged through my mind, searching for a solution. And they found one.
Hoping I had enough grip and energy, I reached down and found the reclining lever. Wrapping my fingers around it tight, I jerked it up and heaved my body back, and I gulped in a deep breath as I fell backwards, the belt now slack. Not at all prepared to face my attacker, I slipped out from beneath the belt, flung open the door, and zoomed out into the storm.
Sheets of rain obscured my vision, but not enough for me to see that the keys were left inside a red convertible. After making sure no one was hiding in the back, I jumped in, started the engine, and took off, the wheels squealing through the puddles. A sole street curled down a hill, and I took it, adrenaline pumping in waves through my quivering body.
This rush was a confusing mixture of exhilaration and apprehension. I wanted out, but I wasn't giving up. I made it this far, and I was going to survive every cliche this masochist dreamed up. Sharks? Snakes? Zombies? Bring it on. And afterwards, I was going to detail every single trial and tribulation I went through as I sued the dream bank for all the trauma they caused me.
Up ahead, the road curved, and I gasped as it ended in a cliff. I slammed the breaks, but they didn't do anything. Breaking out in a cold sweat, I slammed them again and again as I yanked the hand break as far as it would go. The car refused to slow down, and I cursed myself for not anticipating this cliche. In a move of desperation, I swerved, but it wasn't enough as the car careened over the edge and took me with it.
My heart hung in my throat as I hung on to the steering wheel, my knuckles white, my screams frozen in my lungs, the raindrops like needles. An endless body of water spread below me, and I knew sharks were my next challenge. I screwed my eyes shut as I awaited the inevitable plunge …
… and I gasped as the car crashed against the surface.
I lurched forward, and I cried out as I bashed my forehead against the wheel. Groaning, I leaned back, my ears ringing as I looked around, disoriented. I was still in the convertible, but we were right side up, having crashed into the concrete wall of an indoor garage. Blood trickled down my face and I reached up, only to feel around my head in shock.
I was wearing the helmet.
Why was it in the dream?
Or had I made it out?
I looked down. I wasn't naked. My pyjamas were plastered to my sweat-soaked skin. I was out. I looked around at the broken glass and mangled metal in confusion. But if I was finally out, why was I in a car and not between silk sheets?
I removed the helmet, and a yell from behind made me jump. I turned to see one of the dream techs running towards me. Was she always that skinny? And why were her scrubs red instead of the usual blue?
She made it to me, panting as she took the helmet out of my hands, and I wrinkled my nose at her unpleasant breath. She said I'd had a nightmare and began sleepwalking, and I'd left the dream bank and stole a car from their underground parking before she triggered a wake-up signal in the helmet, which made me crash.
I stared at her, not believing what I was hearing. I told her I'd booked a projection, not a recording, and she gave me a concerned frown and claimed the opposite. Anger replaced my confusion, and I called her a liar and accused them of misconduct, and she reminded me that dreams can only be unlocked by the dreamer.
Furious, I cursed at her as I tried to get out of the car, demanding to see my file. She was quick to tell me not to move in case I made my injuries worse as she pulled out her phone and said she was going to call an ambulance.
While I sat there and waited, fuming, I glimpsed my reflection in the dangling rearview mirror. Unease rippled beneath my skin and I sat up, grabbing the mirror and angling it to show my neck.
There was an angry red mark across it.
As though I was recently strangled.
Trembling, I tilted the mirror up.
Cobwebs. Stuck in my hair.
Dumbstruck in utter stupefaction, I scanned the rest of my body. My pyjamas were dirty and there was black under my fingernails, but the rest of my examination was cut short by tinny circus music. A chill jolted down my spine and I whipped my head to face the dream tech. That was her ringtone. She smiled as she answered the call, and I drew back at her yellow, toothy grin.
What was going on? I was out of the dream, I knew I was. Had everything been real? What had the dream bank done with me? Done to me?
Ambulance sirens wailed as they entered the underground parking, and the flashing red lights reflecting off the walls triggered my recent traumas. With terror-fueled adrenaline flooding my veins, I jerked my legs free of the wreck, jumped out of the car, and booked it, the dream tech's yells merging with the screeching sirens behind me.
SR

I picked up a Pentax IQZoom 35mm at Goodwill. I have no idea if this is a solid camera, but it seems to be in pretty good shape. It powers on and loads film so I think it works fine.
I did a little research and picked up some film. I got some Ultramax 400 to practice with. I also bought one roll of Ektar 100 and Porta 800, but going to save those for after I’ve practiced with the Ultramax.
I have never shot with film in my life. I don’t even really know where to begin. I think it could be a really cool hobby though. I was just planning on putting in the Ultramax and playing around until I learn. But I figured I should ask here if anyone has any tips or tricks they’d be willing to share? Would be greatly appreciated.

So I’m in a bit of a spot. I’m currently dating somebody who is an undergrad STEM student. His education is very tough and he relies on his parents for financial support. I am a humanities student but I do jobs etc and make my own money and fulfill my own expenses. We’re very much in love and he’s a great guy. However handling finances have been a bit off lately. He is in a different city for his undergrad so we get to meet very less. He’s back for the summers. I usually pick him up and drop him home as his house is on the way. However fuel prices have been very high but he doesn’t offer to pay for gas ever and we usually drive around or travel in my car. His parents sold their car and they just have a single car which his parents use for work. We usually hang out at his place as I have strict parents. Whenever we go out (which is rare) he doesn’t offer to pay. Recently I asked him to take me out for food or something and he showed me his bank balance which was almost 0. And jokingly said sure I can take you to a restaurant and you can pay. Now I’m not sure what to do in a situation like this. I feel like having consumed a lot of instagram content, I’ve idealized the concept of a male that usually pays for you and drives you around or at least there is a 50/50 when it comes to finances. It’s not happening here and I’m not sure how to feel or go about this. He’s a great guy in most other aspects. I’d like to hear more opinions on my situation.
TL;DR: Bf is perfect and loving but doesn’t pay for anything and expects me to provide conveyance for meet ups.