Restaurantes chinos near me

Hello friends,
I recently moved to Bangalore and I m looking to buy furniture to my house . Any budget friendly stores you can recommend to me . My house is near Banashankari. Thanks .

Hey guys - have golfed for years but just now getting seriously into it. Have a background in skateboarding (been at it for nearly 20 years), and the similarities are crazy.
Anyway. While I am not in anyway knocking the standard golf clothes, I’ve never found that the athletic pant / stretch polo look works for me. You guys look great, it just doesn’t feel right on my body. Are there any brands you guys dig that do a bit more…stylized approach? Vintage looking polos / button ups, different cut pants. A more classic, modern look.
Thank you!

helloooo LF friends na hahatakin ako pag sunday gala or grocery errands. am willing to samahan ka, oks lang maski commute. about me, am 27f corporate employee and night shifter. im 5 flat chubby 60kg very average looking, if look matters to u. am near bgc. if interested u, send me a dm and introduce urself. take careee

So I saw a similar post about someone's nparents always telling their business but I had a different question. My mother has to know everything that's going on with my brother and I and gets really upset when we don't tell her. But its nearly impossible for us to get important information out of either of our parents like important stuff too! . IE she had surgery and no one knew except my father and he didn't tell us. Or if they're coming to town (they own a house about 20mins from me) I always try and see them or have dinner but they don't tell me when they're coming. My brother and I always joke that no one knows their life. Please tell me I'm not alone in this.

i took 3.5g shrooms the other night in the form of gummies/chocolate bar and it didn’t seem to have nearly the effect i expected it to. i could feel the effects very slightly, but it felt a lot more like a microdose than a real trip. i’m trying to figure out if i just bought “duds” but i got it through a pretty reputable source. i am taking a variety of psychiatric meds including SNRIs and mood stabilizers, so i wasn’t sure if those interfered with it. i hadn’t eaten very much that day - just lunch and a little pasta probably 3 hours prior. my partner was taking them with me and they felt effects so i don’t know why they didn’t seem to work for me. i’ve only taken shrooms a few times and they worked for me maybe once and that was when i took ~2g and made it into a tea. any ideas on why this trip was kind of a fail?

Hi all, me and my girlfriend (lets call her T) have been together for 4 months, but have been close friends for over 2 years. The first 3 months of our relationship were extremely good. We communicate well and the few minor arguments we have are easily solved. However, last week, together with intensifying feelings for T, I also developed the severe nagging feeling that I cannot maintain this relationship, which follows from me being unsure if I can be in this relationship in the future. The biggest uncertainty comes from the fact that I think we will have different life goals.
For context T is autistic and has dealt with mental health issues for the majority of her life. Severe depression has caused her to not think about the future, like at all. She has no ideas about what she wants or can expect, except that she does not see herself have kids ever. This already is a breaking point as I am fairly certain I want to start a family around 10-20 years in the future. We don't differ on other major points, but this is largely due to the fact that T does not have a clue what she wants at all.
In general, I currently have a hard time seeing myself with this girl in say, 10 years and am somewhat certain the relationship will have to end at some point. However, I am also scared to break this thing of this quickly as I think I'm demi-sexual and this girl is the first person in my 21 year life that I actually wanted to even give a shot at dating. I never develop crushes and it took nearly 2 months before the tiny (sexual) spark I had for this girl was able to grow out into anything at all. Given this, I presume that the dating world will be nearly impossible for me to navigate, even tho I do want to be in long-term relationships.
Last complication is that for reasons I won't discuss here, I need to stay friends with this girl even if the relationship ends. Of course I have a couple months to heal, but I cannot keep pushing it until the heartbreak fallout is so big that I cannot ever connect with T again.
What are aspects I have to take into account when making this decision?

Heavily debating getting a WE PDW AEG as the base for a new HPA build. I know they're not nearly as popular as the GBB version, so my Google fu has failed me these past few days for finding info beyond the specs listing on WE's website.
Are there any owners out there that can give me details on the gearbox/hop up of the AEG model?

Hi everyone, I’m in my mid twenties. I started my MPhil program last year, just a few months after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. I’m currently under a research assistant program, which allows me to focus on my research full-time, while I help my supervisor with publication matters etc here and there.
This past year has been pretty tough, as can be expected when you’re learning a skill that’s foreign to you (I didn’t get to do much research as an undergrad). But it has been especially tough in terms of my mental health. I tend to struggle with depression, and I find that my solitary lifestyle this past year has been really challenging, as I barely get to interact with people on a regular basis. My supervisor isn’t always a day at the beach either, as he’d sometimes let out his frustration at me when it’s uncalled for.
Maybe I got somewhat used to the loneliness over time, but I recently realized how much my social skills have dwindled (and I’m naturally shy). Even walking into a cafe alone and ordering a coffee can make my stomach churn sometimes.
Productivity-wise, I think it suffers from the solitary lifestyle too, due to the depression
My contract as a research assistant expires in two months, but it can be extended until March next year. But I’m considering getting a job at a company, as I miss interacting with people, and I miss doing marketing work. My only concern is whether getting a job would make interfere too much with my research. At this point, I’m nearly done with data collection, so I’m guessing the balance wouldn’t be as difficult as if I had just started the research.
Do let me know what your thoughts are 🙏🏻

Thank you all for joining this Awesome Sub where you can post and share ALL things supernatural and paranormal!!🙂
My name's Anthony and I'm one of the Modz for my subreddit SupernaturalEncouners as I also have and run a show and channel called "Real Supernatural Encounters" where I bring on Eyewitnesss that have any type of REAL Supernatural, paranormal, cryptid, Alien, near death experiences, missing 411, and anything strange and or unusual types of stories, Encounters, and Experiences they have and tell them on my show! And I post my videos on here regularly! If you have any type of supernatural story and would like to be on the show you can message me, post your stories on here for me to look over and or send me a brief summary of your stories through messenger or my email at [Realsne_[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) Shows are privately recorded on zoom with me and you can have the choice to be on or off video as I can still record you telling your stories while being Anonomous when we record your episode! As far as this subreddit goes, you can post anything you want that you think is supernatural, paranormal, Alien, cryptid, bear death experiences, demons, Angels, missing 411, topography change, and anything unexplained and strange! I don't really have any restrictions, and if you have questions it doesn't hurt to ask so don't be afraid to. For those who would like to be part of the shows facebook group page and YouTube channel I'll post the links as alot of the times the shows will be posted one or the other before reddit. Thank you for joining this subreddit and being apart of the RSE family!! Happy posting my friends!!
Here's my fb group! Come join!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/678922939444788/?ref=share
Here's my YouTube channel! Come subscribe!
https://youtube.com/channel/UCxYxgzARjpZgCUmP5v2pVdQ
Here's my channels TikTok:
R_SupernaturalEncounters

I've been a long distance relationship for some years now. In the past week, I had a moment of immense love towards my partner, and felt the need to come clean about multiple instances of meaningless infidelity months ago. I was never going to be caught, but I wanted her to know the truth of who I had been. I want to propose, and to find virtue in being a better person.
I told her I hoped to go to therapy to control my urges, focus on her, and to reduce the feeling of lust. She asked me if I had been with other people (we operated under a somewhat unspoken "don't ask don't tell" rule) and that she wouldn't be mad if I said yes. I said yes, and shocked her. I feel absolutely disgusted with myself, horrified to have lost the person I love, value, and cherish the most, and want to be better. I told her simply because I want to be the type of man who can be her husband - someone with values and virtues that are near to my heart and unbreakable. Being someone worth respecting, and who lives with self-respect derived from their values and way of living.
Since then, she has stopped talking to me. We're meeting in a week, and I think this might be the end of the relationship. I want to prove to her that I can and want to change.
From a Stoic perspective, I believe I chose the "virtuous" path by not lying to her when she asked me. I believe I chose the "virtuous" path by being honest with someone, rather than pushing the issue further down the line, perhaps ten years into a marriage. But I feel absolutely disappointed in who I am, who I was, and most importantly, breaking the trust of the person I value most in the entire world. There was not virtue in the person I was, but I will live the rest of my life pursuing and maintaining virtue as I move forward.
I believe the Stoic response would be to accept my feelings, learn, grow, and recognize that I can't expect her to react in any specific way. And that I have to accept the consequences of my actions. I just hope in my heart of hearts, she recognizes I'm here for the long term, including changing and growing.

I always loved star wars as an idea without having watched any movies at all. Couldn't afford them as a kid. Then I became 16, started going to the movies with friends and watched maybe one or two (rogue one I think and another one).
​
A week ago I decided I'll start from the beginning. The trilogy is a masterpiece, I don't know who the haters are who say that it is not necessary watching because of the bad CGI and the boring plot, this stuff is classic. From realizing that Anakin is Darth Vader in that scene to seeing him nearly-dying made me feel infinite ways: compassion, disappointment, sadness, etc. Then it clicked and I said "that is how Darth Vader is Luke's father", once Padme's babies were named. I would love to not have known the "I'm your father" scene but it's unavoidable whether you're a SW fun or not.
​
Just finished Solo as well, to me it's neat af. From getting introduced to the Millennium Falcon (you can imagine my excitement) to Chewbacca, it was so good.
​
Now I'd like your opinion. In my list (which I found inline) next up is Obi Wan Kenobi, Andor, Rogue One and then episodes 4-5-6. Is this a good order?I've heard that it's the best for a newbie like me. I am not mentioning the next ones since it's gonna take a while to get there. I can see there are two different obiwans, the Obi Wan Kenobi and the same but named A jedi's return. How to watch these?

I don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore.... I'm in my third year of engineering school but things aren't going great to say the least. I have a test tomorrow for which I haven't studied nearly enough, or really anything for that matter. Why the hell am I like this? I don't really now what to do anymore.
I need to pass all my subjects so I can get enough credits to pass to my fourth year (its an integrated masters which basically means that I have to complete the bachelors -3y- and then the masters -2y- to get my degree making a total of 5 years in this hellish nightmare). I'm so fucking apathic about all of it I just feel lost. I failed a few subjects and I just feel like an idiot. I don't consider myself stupid and I think that if I applied myself I could reach the goals I so often think about but I just can't bring myself to do it and I don't understand why.
I never really learned how to study in high school I just kinda payed attention and was always top of the class. Now that simply isn't enough and I now that, for fucks sake I'm on my third year of university but I just can't find a system that works for me, admittedly for lack of trying but still... I don't know maybe I need to fail this year and maybe then I'll finally wake up. I hate myself so much for not even properly trying. I feel like I'm just a waste of space at this point, I'm taking someone's chance to truly do something productive. I feel like I haven't learned shit all these years.
Time has passed me by and I feel the same. Lazy and naively waiting for something to change while ignoring my deep flaws and destructively apathic behavior. If I could just find a way to make it work...I don't find the subjects particularly hard besides a few that truly are difficult, but I just don't study nearly enough and end up failing for no good reason. My GPA isn't that bad but like I said I failed a considerable amount of subjects and I will probably have to spent another extra year or at least an extra semester doing this if I even finish this goddamn degree... I don't have any motivation to do it though... I'm just afraid that I will wake up one day and 10 years have passed and I just regret everything I've done or better yet didn't do to get me where I'll be.
I can't see myself holding a job in my field mostly because I feel incompetent and that this degree will not have prepared me enough to do anything valuable. I have an end of bachelors degree project to turn in in a few weeks and I've barely written anything at all and I just feel like there's no way that this will ever end well for me. The first round of tests has come and gone and I didn't fail any of them (despite missing one because I was ill) but now comes the 2nd wave and I'm scared that, once more, I will waste my potencial and let it bring me down to a place I can't recover from.
The hardest part is that I know it's my fault, I have a few family issues but I don't really want to get into that here, but at the end of the day I have a roof over my head and food in my belly and I have this opportunity that many people could only dream of of studying in one of the best university's in my country and yet I seem to be completely incapable of producing the faintest reason to make me motivated enough to truly apply myself. I just don't understand myself, I thought I was a rational person, apparently not so much... I know this is stupid and unwarranted behavior and I know the consequences will eventually catch up if they haven't already but I just can't seem to change...
Every semester I say things will be different this time, its now or never and then I just regress to my current state of apathy, not going to classes and doing the bare minimum to stay afloat. I've managed so far but I think I'm at the end of the road here if I don't change soon and fast.
I don't involve myself that much in the college life and I think that's part of the problem but I just can't bring myself to do it. I've never been super social but I have my circle of friends. I'm also in a particular situation where most of my high school friends ended up in the same uni as me studding different things but its all engineering so yeah that's cool but it also means that I didn't have a real need to branch out and meet new people, I could just be with my established friends which was easier. I made a few new friends but these friendships always felt kind of shallow in comparison. And the fact that my freshman year and most of my second year happed during COVID also didn't help the social situation.
I was involved in a few activities in the beginning like the cinema club and other things from the college community but I just slowly lost interest and stopped going. It was just easier to simply not go...
I have a girlfriend that I love more than anything (we've been together 5 years now) and she's finishing her bachelors this semester (completely different field) but I see her going on with her life and walking steadily and surely towards a career in her field that she loves and has interest in and I think to myself if I'll ever get there. I'm so proud of her she'll be amazing I'm sure, I can only hope to share her progress with her.. She's very hardworking, having a part time job on top of studying and her grades are great, she truly is amazing!
I had a part time job too, for a full semester last year but I failed two subjects so I decided to stop so I could 'focus on studying' but I did fuck all to change my ways and instead I just wasted my fucking time doing meaningless shit. This weekend for example I had a fuck ton of work to do between the project, lab reports, presentations and the test I will have in a few hours and what did I do? Spent my time watching Hannibal for the 3rd fucking time and lurking on reddit and yt to top it all off. Why am I like this? I hate myself so much sometimes I just wish I could stop existing so I didn't have to deal with what I have become.
I always hated incompetent people and those who didn't pull their weight, I considered myself someone with pride in their accomplishments and with a bright future ahead but now sometimes I can hardly look at myself with respect. What the hell am I doing with my life? I want to have a job and a home and I want to marry my girlfriend someday but how the hell am I supposed to do any of that if I can't even bring myself to finish university?
I mean I'm not doing this for anyone else right? It's my life that's on the line and I'm playing jump rope with the line like a fucking idiot while ignoring any consequences until they hit me so hard on the head that I'm forced to face them. Then I say to myself that things need to change and I'll grow out of this and that this is the year that I get my shit together and then the cycle just restarts all over again.
I'm not in love with my major but it could be worse and I just don't feel the compelling drive to apply myself and it pisses me off. Just fucking do it already its not that hard... but then I just go to sleep at 6PM so I can avoid studying or something like that. Jesus what a meaningless rant. If you're still reading I appreciate it. I don't really know why I wrote all of this just felt like sharing I guess? I'll end my rant here and spare you the rest of my pity party, thanks for listening.

UK based Celtics fan here.
I am trying to tell anyone who’ll listen about the magnitude of tonight’s game, but they don’t understand.
Basketball is no where near as popular here as in the states, so once I’ve spent a few minutes explaining best-of-seven series, play-ins, and the statistical improbability of coming back from 0-3, people’s eyes start to glaze over or they look at me sympathetically. I don’t even get to the part about the audacity of taking it to game seven with 0.1 on the clock.
They don’t understand what this means, but I do. I will be up at an un-godly hour of the morning watching us lift the ECF trophy. When, the next day, people ask me why I look tired as fuck, I’ll say I was witnessing history.

Hi! I'll start with my basics, I'm looking for an experienced and detailed roleplayer who can match my level and how much interest I put in roleplaying. I don't have plot limits to roleplay besides major character de*th, but if you do express them to me clearly to me and when roleplaying, if you find yourself uncomfortable tell me to stop what I'm doing wrong please. I usually write around advanced literate but I can go even longer if I get super into it, otherwise I really do try to match my partners length. Im okay with anything from the shorter end of semi-lit to longer end of adv-lit. I am in the GMT time zone and am not in the position where I absolutely cannot respond very often, so i respond generally consistently and atleast a few times a day. I write in third person only and do so on discord, and this is NOT a smut orientated roleplay.
Here's the OC I'd like to use for this roleplay:

Name: Lou Murphy
Age: 25
Height: 6'0, 6'5 with her heels
Physical appearance: Black hair that's thick and goes down to her lower back, green eyes, big round glasses, generally slim body and 9 times out of ten has her nails painted black. Wears a variety of clothing, but usually black calf-length skirts and tight shirts, paired with baggy jumpers and tights depending on the weather.
Personality/Background: She's the shy and nerdy type, makes an effort to keep to herself and is typically selective about who she lets into her life and heart. She's responsible, logical, neat and pretty reliable- The opposite polar of impulsive, and really keeps impulsive people in line. She has a kind nature about her regarding people she trusts and loves, but she can be stuck up and dismissive when people upset heshe generally dislikes that person or she's just upset in general.
She grew up in a wealthy household with two parents whom were doctors. They only planned to have one child in their mid 40's, and that was Lou. Lou didn't get the upmost attention and love from her parents as a child, leading her to become extremely self sufficient and develop an ability to handle herself, finances and time management extremely well at a young age. She moved out at 18, and at 20 her parents passed away in a car crash she was involved in. Lou lives with guilt and PTSD from this, regretting her estrangement from her parents and regularly getting bouts of panic attacks.
Regardless, Lou went on to college and ended up as history teacher for high schoolers. She's extremely fond of kids and teens, and loves her job as it gave her the chance to enjoy one of her biggest hobbies too, history. She lives in a small cottage just outside of town, and plays guitar and reads books in her free time. Nearly all of her walls and windows are lined neatly with books, guitars, bones, plants or historical artifacts.

I have no preferences for your OC appearance, personality and height wise as long as they're a close age to Lou because;
Plot wise, I'd like the OC's to have been childhood best friends and neighbours, the kind where every dinner was spent at each others houses, they were inseperable, constantly by each others sides and had tiny crushes on each other all throughout that time. Though, the crushes never developed anything more than just that, tiny crushes.
However, both in their mid 20's and single, they end up experimenting with each other a little just out of pure curiousity, and well, Lou accidentally ends up pregnant much to both of their shock.
I'd like to start off with Lou inviting YC over to tell him. This will probably have lots of time skips and will need a lot of us working together to make it a good roleplay. I'd also like to hear ideas and I'd like you to be specific on what youre looking for out of it and out of their relationship if you message me, though it's safe to say my preference is they develop a romantic relationship.
That being said, if you're interested, message me just general info on ur OC and how you'd like to write this. I won't respond to 'hi' or anything, and I'd REALLY prefer you don't be flimsy about your OC, it can get frustrating. At the least, I'd appreciate a little self introduction!

I would like to start with the fact I am not discriminating against someone who is autistic or trying to be a douche.
I was at Universal Studios in Orlando a few weeks back, solo. I’m line for one of the shows, naturally, it was packed because it was Worlds for cheerleading. The announcement comes on that everyone needs to move forward and squeeze together. Everyone packs together in the typical way.
All the sudden, this woman says, “you need to watch what you are doing when there is an autistic person near you.” Apparently, I bumped into him with my Fanny pack, as I had been bumped into by many other people as well. I just looked at her and said, “lady, I’m sorry, but I have no way of knowing he is autistic, unless you want me to start judging people by their physical appearance.” Mind you, this guy was at least in his 40s.
The look of utter shock on her face was fantastic. Moments later, she shoves her way to the front and demands to be seated in the front row center because her son is autistic. The employees let her because they clearly didn’t want to deal with her. She looked sharply at me to show that she was getting what she wanted.
She clearly uses the fact that her son is differently abled to do whatever she wants. Also, if you don’t want to get bumped into, don’t go to crowded places, it happens.
Seriously though, am I supposed to start judging people’s medical abilities based on appearance alone?

Hi! I'll start with my basics, I'm looking for an experienced and detailed roleplayer who can match my level and how much interest I put in roleplaying. I don't have plot limits to roleplay besides major character de*th, but if you do express them to me clearly to me and when roleplaying, if you find yourself uncomfortable tell me to stop what I'm doing wrong please. I usually write around advanced literate but I can go even longer if I get super into it, otherwise I really do try to match my partners length. Im okay with anything from the shorter end of semi-lit to longer end of adv-lit. I am in the GMT time zone and am not in the position where I absolutely cannot respond very often, so i respond generally consistently and atleast a few times a day. I write in third person only and do so on discord, and this is NOT a smut orientated roleplay.
Here's the OC I'd like to use for this roleplay:

Name: Lou Murphy
Age: 25
Height: 6'0, 6'5 with her heels
Physical appearance: Black hair that's thick and goes down to her lower back, green eyes, big round glasses, generally slim body and 9 times out of ten has her nails painted black. Wears a variety of clothing, but usually black calf-length skirts and tight shirts, paired with baggy jumpers and tights depending on the weather.
Personality/Background: She's the shy and nerdy type, makes an effort to keep to herself and is typically selective about who she lets into her life and heart. She's responsible, logical, neat and pretty reliable- The opposite polar of impulsive, and really keeps impulsive people in line. She has a kind nature about her regarding people she trusts and loves, but she can be stuck up and dismissive when people upset heshe generally dislikes that person or she's just upset in general.
She grew up in a wealthy household with two parents whom were doctors. They only planned to have one child in their mid 40's, and that was Lou. Lou didn't get the upmost attention and love from her parents as a child, leading her to become extremely self sufficient and develop an ability to handle herself, finances and time management extremely well at a young age. She moved out at 18, and at 20 her parents passed away in a car crash she was involved in. Lou lives with guilt and PTSD from this, regretting her estrangement from her parents and regularly getting bouts of panic attacks.
Regardless, Lou went on to college and ended up as history teacher for high schoolers. She's extremely fond of kids and teens, and loves her job as it gave her the chance to enjoy one of her biggest hobbies too, history. She lives in a small cottage just outside of town, and plays guitar and reads books in her free time. Nearly all of her walls and windows are lined neatly with books, guitars, bones, plants or historical artifacts.

I have no preferences for your OC appearance, personality and height wise as long as they're a close age to Lou because;
Plot wise, I'd like the OC's to have been childhood best friends and neighbours, the kind where every dinner was spent at each others houses, they were inseperable, constantly by each others sides and had tiny crushes on each other all throughout that time. Though, the crushes never developed anything more than just that, tiny crushes.
However, both in their mid 20's and single, they end up experimenting with each other a little just out of pure curiousity, and well, Lou accidentally ends up pregnant much to both of their shock.
I'd like to start off with Lou inviting YC over to tell him. This will probably have lots of time skips and will need a lot of us working together to make it a good roleplay. I'd also like to hear ideas and I'd like you to be specific on what youre looking for out of it and out of their relationship if you message me, though it's safe to say my preference is they develop a romantic relationship.
That being said, if you're interested, message me just general info on ur OC and how you'd like to write this. I won't respond to 'hi' or anything, and I'd REALLY prefer you don't be flimsy about your OC, it can get frustrating. At the least, I'd appreciate a little self introduction!

There are a bunch of random shopping carts thrown near a bus stop near me. Who do I call to get these picked up. They are an absolute eyesore?

Sorry for the Hot Take title, but with both Succession and Barry ending, and AV Club recently doing a list of the 10 worst and 20 best finales, I've been thinking about endings a lot. And I think they don't matter nearly as much as people think they do.
I recently watched the 2000s reimagining of Battlestar Galactica again, a show I hadn't revisited since it originally aired, largely because I hated how it ended. And watching it again was largely a joy. The first couple seasons were full of great sci-fi world building, compelling mysteries, excellent characters and some great performances, music that made Bear McCreary the default choice to score any nerd-friendly movie/video game/television series, special effects that mostly hold up well despite age and a limited budget, and powerful stories that reflected the sentiments of post-9/11 America. And I still didn't like the ending, but one of my original complaints wasn't so bad the second time through, and while the rest were still disappointing, they didn't sour the total experience.
That got me thinking about how much value people place on the endings of shows. Any mention of Game of Thrones, Dexter, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, and probably dozens of other shows immediately brings out people complaining about the endings, and never discussion of the rest of the shows that clearly they at one point loved or else they wouldn't be so passionate about the ending.
I get why it happens:

1. It's the last thing you saw, so it's the freshest in your memory
2. A bad ending is disappointing. You like the show up to that point, and you hope for a perfect ending that you didn't get

And I did the same on Battlestar Galactica. But after seeing it again, I think that was a mistake.
A television series of multiple seasons isn't a single big story, no matter how serialized it is. Not to get overly "it's the journey not the destination," but a lot of these shows had storylines resolved, mysteries answered, and character arcs completed long before the shows ended, and the fact that people kept watching and appreciating the shows is a testament to how well they did. That quality doesn't disappear because a few seasons later, the last episode had something you didn't like. Dexter becoming a lumberjack or whatever doesn't change the fact that the ice truck killer storyline was great.
And I think some fans have it in mind that they're going to get some surprise twist ending that they never saw coming, when that's really hard to pull off these days. A lot of potential surprise endings are cliches ("I am your father" or "he was dead the whole time" or whatever), so those aren't any good anymore. And good twist ending needs to not just be a surprise, but to make sense. Which means laying the groundwork before the reveal. And while I'm easy enough to fool, a thousand fans discussing theories on a subreddit or whatever are going to piece together the clues if they're done well. I think that makes writers shy away from even trying a big twist ending, which leaves those hoping for one disappointed.
I do think endings are important. By "overrated," I simply mean not as important as they're made out to be. By being so focused on an ending they didn't like, fans are missing out on remembering what made some of those shows great to begin with.

I know I post on here almost every day but now I’m really getting concerned. Period is 4 days late, no pregnancy symptoms, every once in a while I’ll have a small wave of cramps, and sweaty brown discharge (which I often get), why is it so late? It’s never been this late. I used a condom twice.. I didn’t feel any sperm go inside of me or come out of me, no tears (I think… he immediately threw it away after finishing without checking), and I’m showing no signs to most pregnancy symptoms. I was nervous for almost a week but I’ve finally calmed down after doing more research. How likely is it that I’m pregnant even after using the condom? Could it have had a tiny tear near the tip that let sperm inside without me knowing?

"Pig! Nasty fat pig! - Arthur thought with irritation, leaving the subway, - Squeals, as if she is being cut! Businesswoman! I would put this businesswoman with doggy style right on her huge table and fuck her like a..."
Arthur Lomov was thirty-four and he had everything, like people have - a house, a wife, a child, death ahead, and death inside. He also had a job that he hated. More precisely, the work itself did not cause rejection in him, work as work is no worse than then of others. He did not like the bosses (who likes their?). And not even all the bosses, but only the headmistress, the one whom he was going to "fuck". Sleek and haughty, she spoke to people with undisguised disgust, through her teeth, sincerely and deeply despising the "cattle" that surrounded her. Lomov including. He was nobody for her, a manager, what millions, not even an insect, but a bacterium, office plankton. She has not fired him until now just because there was no case. And then the crisis broke out and rumors about layoffs spread around the office.
And as luck would have it, Arthur mixed up some numbers in the quarterly report. Margarita Nikolaevna called him into the office, and screamed as if he had stabbed and robbed a beggar on the porch of church! Not only did she deduct 30 percent from his salary, she also promised to fire he next time! Yes, he himself would have gone, on the same day! If he had money, real big money, say a million dollars!
Arthur suddenly imagined how he, in an expensive dark gray Versace suit, with a small suitcase in his hand, ignoring the screams of secretary, opened the door with a kick and entered the hated office. How the headmistress's already round stupid eyes are rounded.
"What do you want, Lomov?" She asks.
“I have a business proposal!” He says and puts the case on the table; - I want to fuck you ... Yes, to fuck you now on that table fore million dollars! Behind, you a lustful bitch!
“Yes, you are drunk Lomov, leave my office immediately ...” the headmistress says and the last word gets stuck in her throat, because at that moment Arthur opens the suitcase and she sees tight green bundles with real American money.
The headmistress hardly takes her eyes off the dollars, looks at Lomov, then back at the money. Her primitive brain tries to comprehend the non-standard situation and begins to boil.
"Where did you get this from, Lomov?" she says, swallowing her saliva.
"Who cares? You agree?"
The woman's face is covered with red spots, becomes confused and even somehow miserable.
“This is so unexpected…” she mutters, “what if someone comes in?”
Lomov does not answer anything, and only looks at the headmistress, enjoying her confusion.
Finally, having overcome her excitement, she presses the "selector" button:
“Lena don’t let anyone in to see me! I'm busy!"
Then she raises her eyes to Lomov and begins to unbutton her blouse with trembling fingers, the buttons do not obey her, she throws it, grabs the zipper on her skirt.
At this moment, Lomov slams the suitcase shut and takes it off the table.
"Best wishes!" he says.
"In what sense?" The headmistress asks bewildered.
"I changed my mind!" Arthur calmly answers and, without looking back, leaves the office...
He dreamed so much that he almost fell under the wheels and right on the pedestrian crossing. Some idiot on a tinted "nine" flashed in front of him, Arthur barely had time to bounce, but did not calculate his strength and fell into a puddle.
“No, that’s not good,” he thought, rising to his feet and shaking off the dirt from his jacket, “I need to drink urgently!”
* * *
The pub turned out to be very unpresentable, but this did not bother Lomov. Taking two mugs of beer, he hardly found a free table in the bluish smoke and finally took his first long sip.
- Your headmistress got nitpicking you up, and you are completely innocent of anything? - Arthur heard a dry cracked voice in his ear.
He raised his eyes and saw that a dubious appearanceg peasant with a week-long stubble and two mugs of light beer was sitting at his table. Since the question was purely rhetorical, Arthur merely chuckled vaguely in response.
Now ask me, how do I know this? - the stranger did not want to lag behind.
- What is this?
- Well, the fact that you were fucked by your headmistress for no reason at all?
- Well, how do you know that? - Said Arthur to get rid of the importunate type.
- It's very simple - I'm God! - The stranger said triumphantly. And noticing the bewilderment in the eyes of the interlocutor, he explained:
- Well, the one who created the Earth, the Sky and all this! - He glanced around at the smoky pub.
The life of Artur Lomov developed in such a way that he was not ready for such meetings.
"Yeah, that's exactly how I imagined you!" he chuckled sarcastically.
But the impostor, as it turned out, was not going to joke at all.
- What did you want? I look like this because of you! Because that's how you represent me! And if you were a Hindu, I could now have an elephant's head and a long trunk. What if you were a Mayan...
- Don't, I understand everything, - Arthur stopped him, - Just don't expect me to buy you beer!
- Do not make me laugh! I can create so much beer that it will flood not only your entire Moscow, but the entire planet! And what, not a bad idea - a worldwide beer flood! It is high time! Pathetic little people completely lost their fear, they do what they want! I created such a beautiful planet for you: blue seas, snow-capped mountains, shady forests, crystal waters of rivers! And what did you turn it into?
“Yes, the guy seems to be in trouble with his head!” - thought Arthur, listening to the ravings of an uninvited drinking companion.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.
- Well, if you are so omnipotent, could you, just as an entertainment, create for me, let's say a small suitcase with a million dollars? Lomov asked.
“I could,” reply the impostor, not at all embarrassed, “but I won’t. You see, money is such a thing… no matter how much they give you it anyway, very soon you will feel that this is not enough. I'd rather make sure you never need money at all. Is it coming?
Arthur shrugged vaguely.
- I will turn you, well, let's say ... - the stranger thought for a second, - into a rat!
“I don’t want to be a rat,” Lomov suddenly got scared, “they are vile and nasty!”
- No, no, just a rat! Big black rat! But not today, tomorrow. In the meantime, drink your beer!
- Wait! Don't turn me into anyone! - Arthur shouted, but the hanyga had already vanished into cigarette smoke.
* * *
Arthur could not get the key into the keyhole for a long time, and when he finally managed to open the door, he saw his wife in a dressing gown with a crumpled night face.
- Where are you hanging out? – Unkindly asked she, - Do you know what time it is? And why isn't the cell phone answering?
- The phone is dead. Probably ... - Arthur muttered, barely moving his tongue.
- You're l drunk! - The wife said and grimaced in disgust, - And with whom did you get so drunk?
- You will not believe - with God!
- Moron! - said the wife and slapped Arthur on the head with a slipper.
- I am not kidding! I actually drank beer with God and he promised to turn me into a rat! Tomorrow! - He suddenly felt funny, and he began to choke with laughter, - Imagine, tomorrow you wake up, and your husband is a rat, or rather ratman! But it's tomorrow, and now I want to sleep!
- You idiot, take off your shoes! - said the wife and went to the kitchen.
Lomov threw off his shoes with difficulty and went into the bedroom and, without undressing, collapsed onto the bed.
* * *
He dreamed of some nonsense: Margarita Nikolaevna, completely naked, in only shoes, walked around the office, scolded negligent employees, gave valuable instructions. The subordinates listened to her with a serious look and nodded their heads. And only one Arthur could hardly contain the laughter. But when the naked headmistress began to teach the electrician how to properly install the outlet, Lomov could not stand it and literally neighed out loud.
- Lomov, what's the matter with you? - Margarita Nikolaevna asked sternly, - Did I say something funny? By the way, how are you going to compensate for the colossal loss that you caused the company with your mistakes in the report? Do you have a million dollars?
- I have? – Surprised Arthur – Where?
- Then we could cut off your hand! - Suggested Margarita Nikolaevna, - Although wait! Say, are you drinking?
- No!
- It's good that you don't drink, and then we'll take your liver. Or not, better a kidney, because you have two of them!
And then Arthur saw a huge kitchen knife flash in the headmistress's hand. He realized that it was time to run, but his legs suddenly became wobbly and he could not budge...
* * *
Waking up the next morning with a sore head, Arthur first tried to understand why he felt so bad? Obviously, because he got drunk yesterday - that's clear. He strained his brain, and he managed to remember the scandal arranged by the headmistress, as well as the promise to fire him. After such it was a sin not to get drunk! But where? He didn't remember this.
However, there was no time to think, he was already late for work. Taking a sip of cold tea from a cup standing on the table, he quickly dressed and rushed out into the street.
* * *
Despite all the efforts, Lomov was still late for work. As soon as he sat down at his desk and turned on the computer, the secretary called and said that Margarita Nikolaevna urgently wanted to see him. His heart immediately felt ugly and cold.
Arthur honestly tried, following Chekhov, to squeeze a slave out of himself, drop by drop, but somehow it didn’t work out very well. He could convince himself as much as he wanted that the worst thing this woman could do to him was to fire him. Only and everything! But after all, he has arms, legs and a head on his shoulders; he will not die of hunger. But as soon as he was in the director's office, all logical arguments instantly evaporated, and only one animal inexplicable irrational fear remained. That vile, shrill voice pulled things out of the depths of his subconscious that he didn't even know existed. He literally physically felt how he began to decrease in size.
Even now, standing in front of the huge director's desk, like a delinquent schoolboy, he could not get rid of the feeling of his own insignificance.
“Not only are you unable to write an elementary report,” Margarita Nikolaevna’s voice boomed in his ears, “you are also late!” What do you not like about your work? Or do you want to be reduced?
Lomov suddenly imagined that he really was reduced, and at the same moment he saw how all the items in the director's office, including the hostess, began to grow rapidly. He did not immediately guess that in fact no one and nothing is growing, and that he himself is decreasing in size.
- Arthur Valentinovich, what are you doing? – Finally noticed the strange metamorphoses headmistress, - Immediately stop, I order you!
But Lomov was no longer able to stop anything. He was already looking at the edge of the director's table from the bottom up, and after a couple of seconds he realized that his height did not exceed the height of a woman's shoe.
- Rat! - Margarita Nikolaevna suddenly squealed and jumped onto the table with unexpected agility, - Lena, come here soon!
Whistling a few centimeters from his temple, the massive crystal ashtray hit the carpet with a dull thud, and Arthur realized that any delay could cost him his life. With all his might, he rushed under the closet, and a mobile phone and a few obscene words flew after him.
- Where is the rat, Margarita Nikolaevna? - asked the secretary, who came running to the cry.
- She hid under the closet! Call the guard as soon as possible, the closet must be urgently moved away before she runs away!
Realizing that he could not hide here, Arthur began to look for a way out and soon discovered a gap between the plinth and the wall. With difficulty, squeezing through a narrow opening, he found himself in a pier between the main wall and the plasterboard panels with which the office was sheathed. Only now did he feel relatively safe and tried to analyze the situation.
First, he realized that not only had he shrunk in size, but even worse, he had turned into a rat (he never liked rats). This followed not only from the screams of the headmistress (she could call her subordinate and not that way!) but mainly from the long bare tail dragging after him.
And only then Arthur remembered yesterday's visit to the pub and dubious type who called himself God.
It must be said that yesterday he treated his random drinking companion rather lightly, but now, under the pressure of circumstances, he was forced to admit that the impostor was far from being as simple as it seemed to him at first glance. Of course, he is no God, that's clear. But who? For some reason I didn't want to think about it.
Meanwhile, a security guard came and pushed the closet away. They searched for Arthur for a long time and unsuccessfully, but found only a gap in the wall.
- She probably climbed into this hole, - said the guard, - now you can’t smoke her out of there! Or you order to break the wall?
Then the supply manager and some other people came, made noise, moved the furniture.
This bustle tired Lomov, and he dozed off, and when he woke up, there was dead silence. Obviously, the working day has already ended and everyone has gone home. He was terribly hungry, however, not surprising, because he had not eaten anything since yesterday. And then his nostrils caught a delicious smell, it came from the director's office, seeped through the cracks in the wall, penetrated into the brain and caused painful salivation.
Overcoming fear, Lomov cautiously crawled out of hiding and, sniffing the air, moved in the direction of the source of the seductive aroma. Very soon he realized that the smell was coming from the drawer. Using the wires leading to the monitor, he deftly climbed onto the table, but the drawer was closed, and Arthur's weak rat paws were simply unable to pull it out. Luckily, there was a pencil on the table, he pushed it through the slot and, acting as a lever, opened the drawer rather quickly. To his disappointment, he found there only a pile of useless papers and a thick stack of five thousandth bills tied with an elastic band. The impostor did not deceive, now Lomov's money was not at all interested, out of annoyance he even shit on them, but this only increased the hunger.
“Did the devil pull me to ask this idiot for a million dollars?! - he thought, listening to the hungry cramps in his stomach - And yet, where does this smell come from? How can money smell so delicious!”
He rummaged through the entire drawer filled with stupid papers and finally found in the very corner under some kind of contract a small moldy piece of cheese. Well, yes, of course, it was cheese, only he could emit such an attractive aroma.
Arthur ate it in a couple of seconds and of course he didn’t sated a drop. Unable to resist, he even began to gnaw at the contract, soaked with a cheese smell.
- Are you eating contracts? Look, you will earn an ulcer! - Arthur heard a sly voice behind him and turned around. On the edge of the table sat a small but rather pretty white rat.
- Hello! My name is Larisa, - the rat introduced herself, - And you are Arthur from the sales department!
- Exactly, but how do you know me?
- Yes, I used to work in the logistics department; I was fired six months ago.
- Larisa from logistics? I remember you! - Arthur was delighted, - Such a pretty blonde, you still always wore very short skirts, our men just twisted their necks when you walked down the corridor.
- That's why I was fired.
- Wait, are you, too, like I used to be a human?
- All rats were once people, - Larisa remarked philosophically, - but fear turns a person into an animal.
- What kind of nonsense? - Arthur was skeptical.
- No nonsense. British scientists conducted research and came to the conclusion that over the past 40 years, the IQ in rats has increased by 10 points! And at the same time in all rats living in different parts of the globe.
- And what? Rats live next to people and learn all sorts of tricky things from them!
- Let's admit it. Do you know how many people disappear without a trace every year in our country? 80 thousand! A man went out to the nearest store for bread and did not return!
- Do you think they all turn into rats?
- Maybe not all, but many. We have become!
It was difficult to object to such an argument, and Arthur remained silent.
- What are we all talking about? - said Larisa, - you're probably hungry? Come on, I've got something from the New Year's banquet.
Larisa led Arthur to her hole, where a sumptuous dinner was waiting for them: there were half-eaten sandwiches with boiled pork and smoked sausage, and assorted fish, and of course cheese, a lot of cheese.
Satisfying his hunger, Arthur took a closer look at Larisa and suddenly realized that he liked her. And even her long bare tail now did not cause disgust, but rather seemed piquant. And what a wonderful smell emanated from her small, but such a dexterous little body!
Unable to resist the call of the flesh, he approached her from behind and put his paws on her shoulders.
* * *
- Darling! Do you want us to have little rats? - Larisa asked a few minutes later, snuggling comfortably on Lomov's shoulder.
- What? What other rats? Arthur didn't understand.
- Well, how? We didn't protect ourselves! And I am very prolific, in the last litter I brought twelve rats!
- Oh my God! Lomov groaned, “But you can’t do it somehow so that ... well, you understand!”
- Don't you want us to have little rats?
- No, you misunderstood me, that's not the point! It's just all of a sudden...
- What is unexpected? If you don't want little rats, say so!
- It's not that I don't want little rats. You see, this happened to you a long time ago, and in six months you have probably turned into a real rat, you feel like a rat and think like a rat. And I was still a human this morning...
- You were office plankton! - Larisa reminded.
- Okay, so be it! But I walked on two legs, wore a blue suit, a striped tie, and drank Gösser beer.
- You can get beer in the garbage dump, - Larisa suggested, - Sometimes unfinished bottles are thrown there.
- I don't want beer from the dump, damn it! - Arthur got angry, - And I don't want to be a rat! Why on earth should I be a rat? Why, Lord? There are so many real scums around: thieves, robbers, murderers, rapists, child molesters! Well, why me?!
“You and I seem to have such karma,” Larisa sighed sadly, “never mind. Let's sleep better, and tomorrow we'll go to the garbage heap and find you a Gösser beer.
* * *
Lomov fell asleep and had a wonderful dream. In this dream, he was human again.
He was lying in a small bright room on a clean sheet, covered up to his chin with a striped woolen blanket. The gentle spring sun shone through the window, and the soul was light and calm.
He thought that, perhaps, he should go to wash and already threw back the covers, but at that moment voices and noise were heard outside the door. Arthur returned the blanket to its place and pretended to be asleep.
People entered the room, through narrowed eyelids Lomov could only see through the legs and the skirts of white coats.
- But Semyon Arkadyevich, pay attention, a very interesting case! - said the first rather pleasant male voice, - Sick Lomov, he entered yesterday. Hypomanic arousal in an acute form, convinced that he is a rat. When the team arrived, he rushed around the director's office, biting, scratching, trying to hide under the closet, barely managed to calm him down. He was injected with 4 cubes of chlorpromazine. When he wakes up, for some time he will adequately perceive the surrounding reality, but after a few hours the effect of the drug will end.
- Very good! - Answered the second voice, - continue aminazin, add more phenazepam and electroconvulsive therapy. Who's next for us?
- Maklakov, Delirium tremens, entered three days ago...
The voices began to fade, the dream gradually melted away and Lomov found himself again lying in the rat hole. A white rat sat next to him and somehow strangely (with tenderness?) looked at him.
- Larisa? You? - He asked, looking at the animal.
- Well, yes, Larisa, who else?
- You know Larisa, I had such a strange dream here! - Lomov yawned, unable to restrain himself, - As if I had become a man again, I was lying in a clean, bright room, some people in white coats were coming and saying something. It seems like I got sick, I'm in the hospital, and they treat me.
- I, too, at first dreamed of something similar, but then everything went away, - Larisa reassured him, - And it will pass for you too!
- I do not want will pass! Vice versa. Understand - I do not want to be a rat, sleep in this stinking hole, and eat garbage! I want to be human!
- Unfortunately, this is a one-way street.
- In what sense?
- I asked to other rats. There has never been such a case that a rat became a man.
- And what, there is no hope?
- To be honest, not the slightest. Okay, stop talking, let's go have breakfast in the trash, otherwise yesterday we ate up all the supplies!
- I won't go, - Arthur answered and lay down, resting his head on his front paws.
- Okay, lie down. Then I'll bring you something delicious. Do you want rotten herring intestines?
- No.
"Then what do you want I to bring?"
- I do not want anything.
- You can't do that, Arthur. If you don't eat, you'll get sick and soon die!
- That's good, everything is better than this life!
- You know, Arthur, I used to think so too, but then I realized one very simple thing: since we exist as outcasts ...
- Outcasts? Lomov asked.
- Well, yes - rats, cockroaches, crickets and others ... So, since we are exist, then someone needs it!
- To whom? To office plankton? So that they look at us and rejoice that it is not they who have to rummage through the garbage in search of rotten herring intestines?
- Well, yes, at least. And don't forget that at any moment they themselves can be in our place!
- I don't want to be a scarecrow for these one-celled!
- And what do you want?
- Don't know. I don't want to live, that's what!
- We must be careful with desires, - Larisa warned, - they tend to come true!
- Well, let! I want to die and the sooner the better!
- Bad deed is not tricky. There are thousands of ways: you can deliberately climb into a mousetrap, or, for example, go out into the yard in the evening and shout: “Cats are motherfuckers!”
- Faggots! Cretins! Jerks! - Heard the cries of Margarita Nikolaevna from behind the wall, - I will fire you all; you will eat rotten meat in my garbage dump! I told you yesterday to catch a rat! Not only did this bastard gobble up a million dollar contract, but he also pissed off my money!
“Money can be laundered,” the financial director advised timidly, “now many do it!
- Here you take Mark Antonovich and launder this money as you want! And you, Igor Ivanovich, as the head of the security department, urgently take care of the rat! And so that by tomorrow morning I could see her corpse!
- Then I went for mousetraps? Igor Ivanovich asked.
- Go, do something already! Do not stand like idols!
* * *
Arthur not only did not go with Larisa to the trash, but did not even touch the delicacies that she brought him. He spent the whole day lying in the hole, with his head on his paws and staring dully in front of him.
But by evening, when there was no food left, hunger began to make itself felt. Thoughts of suicide disappeared somewhere; he wanted cheese, ham, grain, and most importantly more and more. At first he endured, trying to hide his cowardice, but then he could not stand it.
- Listen Laris, and there you have nothing left to gnaw? - he asked.
- No, I finished everything, you refused! - Answered Larisa, - But I think it's time to visit our headmistress's office. The working day is already over; no one will interfere with us.
Four mousetraps were waiting for them in the office, richly stuffed with cheese, sausage and even lard.
- Give me a pencil! Larisa asked.
Arthur climbed onto the table and brought a pencil. Larisa put it in a mousetrap and it snapped shut, breaking the back of the pencil.
- Well, now you can safely eat cheese! - She said.
While Larisa was fiddling with the next mousetrap, Lomov decided to look for food on his own, and very quickly found a saucer of flour in the corner behind the bedside table. True, the smell of flour was a little strange, but the hunger was so strong that he did not become picky.
- You're so funny! - Larisa giggled when she saw Arthur, - you have a white mustache, and the whole muzzle!
- Yes, I'm here ... I found flour ... - Lomov muttered and began to embarrassedly rub his muzzle with varnishes.
- Wait, are you eating flour? Larisa asked, and her gaze was filled with genuine horror.
- Yes, what wrong? - Arthur spoke slowly, involuntarily infected by her fear.
- I knew it! You could not be left alone for a second; you are like a small child! It's my entire fault!
- Wait a minute, explain plainly what happened?
- There is such an old way of killing rats and mice. Flour is mixed with alabaster and placed in a conspicuous place. Now you will be thirsty, the alabaster will mix with the water, the solution will immediately seize, and you will die a slow and painful death.
- What if you don't drink?
- Then you will die of dehydration. Not a very pleasant ending either.
Wait, you must be wrong! Maybe there was no alabaster in that flour? 'Cause I can't die, I'm so young!
- Okay, let's go; let's look at your flour! - Larissa sighed.
Lomov showed her the saucer; the rat carefully sniffed it and confidently sentenced:
- The smell of alabaster!
- And what will happen now?
- Now you're going begin to die!
- No, it can't be! After all, I have not even begun to truly live, only I was going to! And most importantly - for what?
- I don’t understand where all of a sudden such a thirst for life comes from? Just a few hours ago, you yourself wanted to die!
- I was a fool! And now I understand everything, I want to live! Live by anyone: a blind mole, a cockroach, a worm.
- Whoever you are, sooner or later you would still have to die. Or did you think you'd live forever?
- No, of course, - Arthur was embarrassed, - I just didn't expect everything to happen so quickly and ridiculously. I am not ready!
- Well, get ready, you still have time! I told you - you will go to die for a long time.
- Wait, Laris, it seems it has begun!
- What started?
- Well, what were you talking about. There is something going on inside of me. It feels like... I don't know what to say. It seems like everything is starting to turn to stone!
- I knew it! Well, go to look for your last shelter!
- What other shelter?
- The rat, when it feels that its end is near, leaves its relatives, looks for a secluded place and hides there.
- For what?
- Such is the law - everyone dies alone!
But I don't want to die alone! In fact, I just don't want to die! However, I think I've already said that.
- Of course he did! Come on; crawl away faster while you can still move your paws!
* * *
Arthur wandered for a long time through some basement passageways, crawled into holes, but could not find a quiet place anywhere. There was a rat smell everywhere, or even worse, a cat smell. Finally, he managed to find a seemingly suitable hole, he lay down on a pile of dirty rags, but as soon as he closed his eyes, some devils appeared and dragged him to hell.
"Put me down," he shouted, "I don't want to go to hell! For what? I didn't do anything wrong!"
In response, the devils grinned and were talking among themselves in an incomprehensible language. And when he began to struggle, they twisted his hands (now he had hands!) Behind his back.
But the worst began when they arrived at the place. The devils put a funnel down Arthur's throat and began pouring molten lead into him. However, maybe it was not lead, but silver, platinum, or some other white metal.
Then he vomited with this liquid metal, and then the funnel was inserted again, and everything started all over again. But this was not enough for the devils, and they began to pour the same metal into it only from the other side. His insides were swollen, and it seemed that they were about to burst. Unable to bear the torment, Arthur passed out.
And when he came to himself, he saw a girlish face of angelic beauty bending over him. And suddenly this angelic face approached him and dug into his lips with a passionate kiss.
"Maybe I'm in heaven!" thought Arthur.
- Stop overworking, Lariska, don't you see, he's already recovered! - A rather unpleasant female voice came from somewhere above.
Larisa pulled away and spat.
“I thought he would never recover!” she said, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
- Where I am? Arthur asked, looking around.
- Where, where, in Karaganda! - Answered the second girl and rolled up with a cheerful laugh, - You better tell us fool, why did you eat cement?
- Cement? So it was cement? – Delighted Arthur, - Definitely not alabaster?
- We have Tajiks doing repairs, - the girl explained, - there are bags of cement in the corridor, so you ate straight from the bag. Dzhamshut came running, complaining, if your patients eat our cement, how can we repair? You had to do a gastric lavage, and out of habit you almost go to hell! Well, Lariska noticed in time, you can say, she saved your life!
The nurses left (he guessed that they were nurses in white caps and gowns) and Lomov began to inspect the room. On the wall, framed under glass, he noticed a rather strange document. Arthur got out of bed, walked over and began to read.
“A reminder to the new arrivals.
Eight levels of hell.

1. Arbuda-naraka - hell of blisters. On a dark frozen valley, surrounded by cold mountains, there is a constant blizzard and snow storm. The inhabitants of this hell are naked and lonely, and their bodies are covered with blisters from the cold. The time spent in this hell is how long it will take to empty a barrel of sesame seeds, if one grain is taken every hundred years.
   
2. Nirarbuda-naraka - the hell of swelling blisters. This hell is even colder and the blisters swell and explode, leaving the bodies covered in blood and pus.
   
3. Atata-naraka - hell when shaking from the cold.
   
4. Hahava-naraka - the hell of weeping and groaning. When the victim moans from the cold.
   
5. Huhuva-naraka - the hell of chattering teeth. Terrible chills and chattering of teeth.
   
6. Utpala-naraka - the hell of the blue lotus, when the constant cold makes the whole skin turn blue like a lily.
   
7. Padma-naraka - lotus hell. A snowstorm covers the frozen body, leaving bloody wounds.
   
8. Mahapadma-naraka - the great lotus hell. The whole body cracks from the cold, and the internal organs also crack from the terrible frost.
   

Staying in each next level is 20 times longer than in the previous one.
After…"
What awaits the unfortunate then Lomov did not have time to find out - a doctor entered the ward. He felt his pulse, pulled his eyelids back, examined his tongue.
- Well, the patient, I see - your condition has stabilized, it's time for the procedures! - He said in a cheerful voice.
- What other procedures? Arthur asked suspiciously.
- Shock cryotherapy.
- What is this? Never heard of such a thing!
- No wonder, this is my own technique. It consists in the following: the patient is stripped naked and placed in a special chamber, cooled to an extremely low temperature...
- Wait, I can't be frozen, I can't stand the cold! My skin is covered with pimples and starts to beat like a fever!
- Get used to, a person gets used to everything. Moreover, you have eternity ahead of you!
Are you a doctor; are you out of your mind? What the hell is eternity? Are you going to freeze me forever? My heart can't take it, I'll just die!
- It's you who are crazy, - the doctor objected, - and now we will treat you!
- Do not treat me, doctor! Yes, I admit, I was sick, but now I am cured. Believe me, I'm healthy! I adequately perceive the reality around me! For God's sake, let me go!
- Would a healthy person eat cement? - The doctor grinned sarcastically.
The orderlies appeared - Lomov recognized in them the very devils who poured liquid metal into him.
They blindfolded the patient and led him through the endless hospital corridors. Then he was taken for a long time in an elevator, as it seemed to him down, and then again there were corridors.
* * *
- I can't be frozen, - just in case, Arthur warned, when the orderlies suddenly began to pull off his clothes, - I'm allergic to cold. I will die immediately!
- Not anymore! - The orderly assured, continuing to undress Lomov.
- In what sense? - Arthur didn't understand.
- In direct! You probably think you're in a psych ward?
- Yes of course! Where else can they bully people like that?
- Wow, "above the people"! - The orderly chuckled, - But just a few hours ago you considered yourself a rat!
- I was wrong! But now that I have realized my delusions, there is no need to keep me in your terrible hospital!
- I told you, this is not a hospital for you!
- What then?
- The ancient Greeks called this place Hades, the Muslims Sakar, the Buddhists - Naraka, the Christians - underworld or just Hell. Atheists believe that there is no such place at all. Remember that jerk on the tinted nine?
- Wait, what do you want to say? But I managed to jump back!
- As you can see, you didn’t have time! - The orderly grunted sarcastically, - You died before the arrival of the ambulance!
- How did I die? Wait, I'm… - Arthur tried to object, but suddenly he realized that he was talking to himself.
He tore off the bandage from his eyes and saw that he was standing completely alone, naked in the middle of an endless snowy plain, and the icy wind was beating his face, tearing tears from his eyes, which immediately hardened, turning into ice.
There was no strength to stand still, and he went at random, trembling all over and falling into the snow almost up to his knees...