Hi everybody,
I'm about to join the Secretlab family with a brand new Titan EVO 2022.
Does anyone care to share a referral code valid for EU (IT) and get a free cleaning spray?
Cheers

Opening line: 1. c3
Opening name: Saragossa Opening
Board image: https://i.imgur.com/c9UknjR.png
Lichess board: https://lichess.org/analysis/pgn/1.+c3++
Wikibooks page: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Chess_Opening_Theory/1._c3
Winning percenatages:
White: 85 (29.41%)
Black: 94 (32.53%)
Draws: 110 (38.06%)
1. c3 - Saragossa Opening
A rarely played move as it takes away the Knight's developing square c3. It is likely to transpose into a London System, Torre attack, Colle system, or Macleod Attack where the pawn structure is generally c3, d4, e3, or e5 depending on black's moves.
No known responses found
Engine Evaluation
Depth: 52
Score: 0.0
Best Move: Nf6
PV Line: 1. c3 Nf6 2. d4 d5 3. Nf3 Bf5 4. Qb3 Qc8 5. c4 dxc4 6. Qxc4
Puzzles based around 1. c3
https://lichess.org/training/1._c3
Historical games for Saragossa Opening

Game	Result	Year
Carlsen, M.. (2847) vs Vachier Lagrave, M.. (2758)	1-0	2021
Carlsen, M. (2864) vs Shankland, S. (2718)	1-0	2022
Karjakin, Sergey (2773) vs Aronian, L. (2767)	1-0	2018
Andreikin, D. (2736) vs Harikrishna, P. (2766)	1/2-1/2	2017
Andreikin, Dmitry (2726) vs Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2770)	1/2-1/2	2020
Andreikin, Dmitry (2726) vs Gupta, Abhijeet (2603)	1-0	2020
Dreev, A. (2623) vs Anton Guijarro, D. (2694)	0-1	2022
So, W. (2778) vs Kosteniuk, A. (2516)	1-0	2022
Markovic, Miroslav (2558) vs Georgiev, Kiril (2661)	1/2-1/2	2000
Narayanan, SL. (2657) vs Mendonca, Leon Luke (2558)	1/2-1/2	2022

This is mostly a vent. Supportive comments needed, advice is appreciated.
​
These days I'm so dismayed at my situation and find myself wondering 'What the fuck happened?'
I came from a well-off middle class family. I'm now 22 and struggling with housing and work. I had to start living on my own a couple of months ago and now have no choice but to move somewhere else or flatshare in order to survive, and even that is proving difficult. I have good qualifications but can never keep a job for more than a few months because I'm on the Autism Spectrum. I'm having top surgery in a few weeks (I'm trans), and while I have friends to help me recover I have no family to keep a closer watch on me.
Future is looking a bit bleak.
So how the fuck did I end up here and where did things go so wrong....? That's what I find myself asking.
My mom was always an abusive narcissist and never wanted me in the first place. That's where it all started. Dad and rest of family were passive enablers, plus my autistic traits.......All that did not mix well, for me or my brother. Childhood wasn't very good. From 12/13 I developed clinical (and I mean Clinical with a capital C) depression/anxiety and also gender dysphoria, and as I mentioned I'm on the spectrum as well. I did great in school but in literally everything else I was abysmal and thought constantly about suicide etc. Despite attempts to get help and teachers urging my parents to get me help they ignored all of it completely. At 14 my brother began retaliating violently against my mother's abuse, and over the next few years gave my parents Hell by assaulting them and causing thousands in property damage.
I kept my trans feelings at bay until I got my degree, after which I started dressing and acting like my true self. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. After months of further abuse by my mother, my grandmother let me stay with her. But eventually even my grandmother's actions took a toll on my mental health and I had to live on my own. Then recently I had to block contact with most of my family because of their anger and intolerance over my upcoming surgery.
I'm in contact with social workers to try and get some government help. I constantly feel like I'm an imposter or lazy, that I don't deserve any government help or resources at all. Technically I haven't consumed any government resources yet, it's just that my case has been followed for a long time now.
I feel so bad that I will likely have to make use of government services in my life due to my situation. And seeing other families stick up for each other and help each other when in need makes me feel bitter and upset.

• I know one young man who was born with a few medical complications and is half-blind and has trouble with depression, jobs and school. And his family really care for him. In contrast to me (ok I'm not half-blind), where any legit medical problems that were affecting my day-to-day living were just blamed on me or attributed to a weak mental state.
• I know some trans people and plenty of lgbt people who are accepted by their parents. And with trans issues especially, leaving dysphoria unchecked can really cripple us. In the meantime, my family didn't even accept me wearing the clothes that I felt comfortable in.
• The girl I'm dating is autistic and a lesbian and always had the full support of her family and a government program for her executive functioning problems. She was fully accepted and helped for her autism while my parents attempted to hide my diagnoses and pretend it never happened and continued treating me in a way that's not even acceptable for neurotypical kids.
• Then again, I do know someone with an IQ deficiency who is dependent on the government to live and looks to have been entirely abandoned by his family.

I don't want to get to a point where I would need government housing, but my entire family literally won't accept me living with them. One of my grandmother's has a sizeable house, but is so disgusted by my transness that she can't even look at me and constantly insults me. My other grandmother has a large house but constantly cries and argues over my transness. My aunts and uncles value their private space too much to take me in. I can't go back to my parents because my mother is abusive, does shit like throw away my clothes and stuff and my dad won't stop her.

RLCS 22-23: Europe

Regional #3	Day	UTC
Rounds 1 & 2	Fri	15:00	Today
Playoffs - Top 8	Sat	15:00
Playoffs - Top 4	Sun	15:00
RLCS 2022-23 Guide

Coverage

Official Bracket
Liquipedia / / ShiftRLE.gg

Streams

Platforms	Link
Twitch	RocketLeague
YouTube	Rocket League Esports
Twitch	Team Broadcasts

The main channel will show a featured match from each round, while the participating teams may be running a stream for their own matches. Below is a List of Team Broadcasts:

Team BDS	FUFAXDOP	G1	Hogan Mode
Karmine Corp	Team Liquid	Luna Galaxy	Moist Esports
Monaco Esports	Oxygen Esports	PSG TUNDRA	Solary
suhhh	Team Vitality	Williams Resolve	Guild Esports

Results

Elimination		Liquipedia Bracket
▼ Upper Round 1		(Bo5)
Karmine Corp	15:00 UTC	Solary
PSG TUNDRA	15:00 UTC	Guild Esports
Team BDS	15:00 UTC	Williams Resolve
Oxygen Esports	15:00 UTC	Luna Galaxy
Team Vitality	15:00 UTC	Monaco Esports
G1	15:00 UTC	suhhh
Team Liquid	15:00 UTC	FUFAXDOP
Moist Esports	15:00 UTC	Hogan Mode
▼ Upper Quarterfinals		(Bo5)
TBD	15:45 UTC	TBD
TBD	15:45 UTC	TBD
TBD	15:45 UTC	TBD
TBD	15:45 UTC	TBD
▼ Lower Round 1		(Bo5)
TBD	16:30 UTC	TBD
TBD	16:30 UTC	TBD
TBD	16:30 UTC	TBD
TBD	16:30 UTC	TBD
▼ Lower Round 2		(Bo5)
TBD	17:15 UTC	TBD
TBD	17:15 UTC	TBD
TBD	17:15 UTC	TBD
TBD	17:15 UTC	TBD

​

In 2021 I graduated with my BS in Industrial Engineering, then got a MS in Business Analytics in December 2022. When I was looking for jobs, I was hoping to be doing stuff using Python, R, SQL, Excel, etc. to do work in a Data Analytics related field, as these are the tools & such I had learned/enjoyed through school and internships.
I started my first full time job as a Data Analyst in March of 2023, working in a government adjacent entity in Washington DC. I was excited at first, but the excitement is starting to drain. I have not really gotten the chance to use any of the technical skills I learned in school/internships at my first job. Instead I’ve had to dedicate my time to learning these ancient softwares used by the government that I find very difficult and complicated. I know always willing to learn is an important part of any job, but I feel like I was given a “hard reset” in a sense that I was not expecting.
It also doesn’t help that there are almost no other recent grad age employees where I work and my team is not very social, so I have not made any friend-like connections at work. Everyone I work with is friendly but it is not a very social environment.
Also maybe I’m wrong but I do feel a bit under compensated for my field. I understand that government jobs do not pay as much, but I was expecting to start in the $75-$85k range. I currently make $65k. Some of the benefits here are ok, but I still think it would be better at a decent mid-large size private company.
What should I do? I’m only 3 months into my first real job so I don’t think finding a new job immediately is on the cards yet since I haven’t done a whole lot of work yet. I was thinking I would at least stick out this job until the end of the year before starting to look again.

Dragon
is the beast of chaos living deep within. A beast that is married to hope and the fear that it may not sleep forever. But when you pushed yourself too hard and wore yourself too thin, you, this power that kept reign over it for so long, look at its rearing head. The dragon is breaking free. How magnificent its emergence out of order. So sudden, without a warning. It is breaking through understanding, ripping it apart, and before you realize what is happening you lost knowing altogether. It is swallowing you alive, flooding your world with chaos, and for that, you pay a bitter price.
Facing the dragon is the purest form of powerlessness, of being a victim of all the doubts and fears that you hoarded over a lifetime. Of being vulnerable to every part of nature and life.
Facing the dragon is the experience of never-ending anxiety. It is the realization that death is beckoning, that it already has you in its merciless grip.
Facing the dragon is anxiety in its distilled form. It is the fear of being pursued. It is the fear of being not strong enough to master the challenge of life. It is the fear of not being adequate as a father, nor of being the man, husband, and partner you are supposed to be. It is love turned sick, the incessant need to better the ones that are most valuable, most connected to you but mixed with the feeling of utter failure.
Facing the dragon lets you question the value of life. It opens the door to this perverse thought, always hidden but ever present. Is the end not better than this? Why continue? Why suffer? You know it is wrong, your whole being screams against this very idea, but chaos opens the door nonetheless.
Facing the dragon means lying on the ground of your living room in the middle of the night not knowing how to sleep. You can’t stand the idea of being in the same room as your family, because every move, every fleeting sound is grabbing the beast’s attention and frees up a new world of pain. And you just want to sleep and forget, get unconscious for an eternity before day announces that the torment begins anew. So you flee into solitude staring at the ceiling but chaos isn’t done yet. It fills your mind, your world, with pain and suffering and so goes the night, this intimate partner.
Facing the dragon is something you have to do every moment from now on. The night is not your savior because chaos pursues you into your dreams. It follows you even into the depths of a dreamless night. He makes your world his.
Facing the dragon will tear your body apart. He corrupts it and lets it decay while you are watching. The world of dreams is spilling into physical reality.
Facing the dragon forces you to the ground, laying on your back, breathing heavily while your pregnant wife is standing next to you, crying in the face of chaos.
Facing the dragon, that beast that mercilessly consumes all your life, so that there is no space left even for your own child, this spark of light that is showing you the way out of this storm. You cannot take his crying anymore, it is ripping at the very fabric of your mind. You are taken by the need to run away, to be alone, alone from any impression, and just so to end up in the very arms of your tormentor. But you run away nonetheless. Leave this externalization of your soul behind. You fail and anxiety is your punishment.
But you come back because you have to. For him. This spark has to prevail. You face the dragon. You enarmor yourself with discipline, openness, and a never-ending storm of self-destruction. You destruct yourself, take yourself apart to find the dragon’s hearts.
You torment your body until it breaks so that chaos has no place to hide anymore. You stand up every morning before the sun awakens to push yourself through the cold. You embrace the dragon’s kiss that didn’t let you sleep. You take the anxiety and fear and run. You run until every fiber of your material being screams: no more! You run even though you start to break. You take the dragon’s life. Let him bleed.
You step into the realm he occupies. You travel into your mind, into the deepest abyss, and face the dragon. You don’t wait for him to emerge, you chase him down with wisdom you fiercely collect. You meticulously study yourself, your past, present, and future to find each heart so you may shine the light of reason and compassion upon it. It might even wither. But be cautious. The heart is powerful. It is the very source of chaos. If you are not careful it might corrupt your reason, this last bulwark of your mind.
You, this being that fights against its hidden self, against this dark part of the soul, grow over time and with every victory. You grow closer. You become the dragon. You realize that it is the truth you never spoke, the truth you neglected, and denied its existence. This negligence the dragon remembers and its fury grows with every moment. You lied. You consciously denied the truth and in its place, hell emerged.
Speak the truth otherwise the dragon, chaos, and hell will start to grow within.
​
Comments:

• https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/143skpu/comment/jnfud6l/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
• https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/comments/143skpu/comment/jnfud6l/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
• I originally posted it on my blog: https://paulheymann.de/thought/2022/12/01/dragon.html

Ohhhhhh Bitxh please Nika! This new video she got up talking about Papas girl friend is disgusting! Her & Niya ugly ass have the nerveeeeee!!! I wouldn’t dare take advice from a bitxh that can’t afford toothpaste or toothbrushes for herself or her kids. Nasty mouth ass. They hating on Papa girl friend bc she got money to take care of him unlike Nika online begging with a Amazon wishlist for some fucking toothpaste. Neeed to be doing applications for a J O B! Nika the word of the day is J O B get one you sorry nasty bitxh

So I was going around Hateno Village giving mushrooms to a bunch of people. I was a little bit lost, so I started going around, entering every house and talking to everyone. One night I discovered a colorful house on the outskirts of the village, populated by just a little girl, Aster, who was sleeping. I got a little bit sad, cause it was fairly cute, she was sleeping, dreaming of froggies, but she was all alone. On the next day I decided to go around town again and spotted the girl leaving school on her way for some snacks.
https://preview.redd.it/qyszp3fe305b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=8cc8a45cf4df267ba51b429e62579cfa2bd372c4
She was basically going to her father Medda, a farmer taking care of a tomato farm behind the main street. I was glad, she wasn't alone, cause I feared the worst, but decided for some reason to follow her through her day.
https://preview.redd.it/6u9ale2t305b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=c74a14b052107f5159fa467ae9a1fc8558212a48
After some time she left her father and went for her house....
​
https://preview.redd.it/wzucl2ry305b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=942e86069775f4a96d34b15c08ff94461e140e8c
... or at least that's what I and SHE thought. She went to the house in front of the tomato farm and talked how this was her former house and she gets confused and goes back there by default. It seems she doesn't live there anymore for some reason. After that she went back to her real home to play with some frogs.
​
https://preview.redd.it/3j8csh3g405b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=6e146b3cc79ece5510a5db805f202cc404a32cf7
After talking to her during her frog "hunt", she says, she learnt hunting frogs from Zelda. She along the other children of the village misses Zelda a lot and seems to have formed a bond with her. Now that got me thinking again about the mother of the poor girl. It does seems like Zelda plays a mother role in her life (I am not implying Zelda is her mother) and she has developed this connection. I went digging into the wiki and it seemed as in BoTW, while sleeping, Aster will talk about her mother. In this game however...
https://preview.redd.it/s5voqxrx405b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c4af159abbb2f7621af62b1b2ad2cbd8c5056d1
... she talks about froggies in her sleep. It feels like her mother figure was found in Zelda. After some time outside in the evening, she goes inside and falls asleep. After a few more hours, her father arrives tired and just stands there watching her, while she is asleep. This was definitely sad to see, as when you ask him, he says this is the only time he can spend with her daughter. Medda doesn't seem to talk about his wife and as she has been missing for both games now, I would assume the worst happened... :(
​
​
https://preview.redd.it/fuj5rzpd505b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a60014ed45a778fa2c698f923ba4a5304850cdf
The drawings of her father and her near her bed, don't make it easier. I would guess, something bad happened to her mother and the two are now living alone, getting help from maybe Zelda and the other townfolk.
​
https://preview.redd.it/0uub3til505b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=b0ca0f74a36089739226ee64e31af77d94971c20
However ending it on a hopeful note, the girl wakes up early and sprints to school screaming "Gotta get there first!". She overtakes the old folk, including her father and indeed arrives at school earlier then all the other kids. :)
https://preview.redd.it/6azajfur505b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ebe542cefef6178a1e84fba0460c05f0acd8118
I can't believe I actually got emotional, about a random NPC in a random village, that has 0 IMPACT on the game whatsoever (or at least for now). It felt so lifelike and sad for some reason, yet her inspiring sprint to school and her determination seem to give me a lot of hope for some reason. I don't know what happens with the school quest for now, so I couldn't say, if there is more concerning her mother or no. Now I do have a small theory, about the other house neighbouring theirs, which seems to be abanndoned. Could it be, that the owner of the house was Zelda herself?
Thanks for reading!
TLDR; a random small girl in Hateno village has more character, then some major protagonists from AAA games.

Hey everybody! Drop your recent watches right here, I'd love to hear about 'em.
The Ninth Configuration (1980) Stacy Keach is a military psychiatrist who is newly in charge of an experimental facility in a remote mansion in the Pacific Northwest. Many of the committed soldiers are suspected of feigning insanity to get out of military duty, and Stacy himself is haunted by powerful dreams that he claims are the dreams of another person. This is the directorial debut of William Peter Blatty, based on a novel he wrote before The Exorcist, Twinkle Twinkle Killer Kane. An outstanding supporting cast, and full of comedy and drama, with a hard shift to horrific in the final act. This movie stuck with me for days. (Midnight Pulp)
Renfield (2023) Dracula’s assistant and his problems in modern day New York in this comedy, with Nic Cage as the Count. A lot of gags hit the mark, particularly the action/violence scenes, but I expected it to be even funnier. I like Akwafina, but as a 5 foot NY cop? Kopwafina? Anyway, no complaints. (Peacock)
Student Body (2022) Teens hanging out in the high school after hours with a slasher dressed as a mascot. Usually when I don’t enjoy modern slashers it’s because of the characters, but not this case, the characters were fine, the premise and execution were as bland as they come. Not recommended. (Showtime)
Becky (2020) An angry teenage girl on a family retreat with her dad and step family get home invaded by Nazi Mall Cop and a former WWF wrestler. She “Home Alone’s” them, but with less comedy and more blood. A fucking shitload of blood, in fact. Good fun, don’t think too hard. (Showtime)
The Killing Kind (1973) John Savage plays a mama’s boy, recently released from prison who gets a bit strangley when sexually aroused in this very cool, Psycho-inspired proto-slasher from Curtis Harrington (Night Tide). With Ann Southern, Ruth Roman, Cindy Williams, Luana Anders, and Sue Bernard (who supplies the nudity). (TUBI)
Count Dracula’s Great Love (1973) A broken carriage forces four beautiful women and one male companion to stay at a nearby castle. They were quite welcome as their host, Count Dracula (Paul Naschy), bit and turned nearly every damn one of them. This one overflowed with blood and boobs from start to finish. The girls even skinny-dipped in a pool, did Romanian castles have modern looking swimming pools at the turn of the century? Maybe. This will not disappoint fans of eurosleaze. The version I saw was dubbed in English from Spanish. (DVD)
The Dracula Saga (1973) Leon Klomovsky, who directed a ton of Paul Naschy films, makes a Dracula movie without Paul Naschy! The Count was a bit of an older gentleman in this one. His pregnant granddaughter comes to stay and Count wants her unborn child to be his heir, as his current heir is a deformed, inbred Cyclops whose giant head resembles a red-haired testicle. Her husband doesn’t take long to be seduced and turned by a house full of she-vamps and our poor heroine is left to fend for herself. The story is a bit uneven, but it’s loaded with blood and tits, and gets increasingly interesting as it progresses. English dub, from Spanish. (DVD)

I consolidated loans in October 2022 and need to enter an IBR plan. Contacted Mohela asked to be enrrolled in PAYE 2 months ago. Did not hear back after 1 month. Contacted again, they said they are reviewing it. Sent complaint to CFPB 1 month ago and have not received a response. Still not enrolled in any repayment plan and want this squared away before repayments start.
Also missing 2 months of payments during covid pause. Limited waiver applied for most months in 2022 and 2023 but november 2022 and december 2022 missing completely (as the months do not exist at all on the report—not that I just am not getting credit for those months).
Who do I contact to get this escalated?
Thanks for any help?

Just a reset/hindsight on Weaver's immediate dumping of Bruce Brown. The kid has been stellar for Denver, still with great D, will hit a 3 and can finish. Plus he became a decent facilitator when he played for the Nets. Here's the write up on him from the Athletic regarding his free agency:

19. Bruce Brown, SF, 26, Denver (player option): $17,764,642

Brown was one of the best 2022 free-agent signings in the league, if not the best, helping the Nuggets to the NBA Finals on a bargain $6.5 million contract. (Although some people had him rated as the top free-agent small forward last summer.)
He’ll likely opt out of the second year of that deal and get paid this summer, with virtually every team with midlevel exception money or more circling him as a possibility. The Nuggets will have no Bird rights on Brown, so the only possibility of his staying is to sign a one-year deal for $7.7 million and then re-sign in Denver as an early Bird rights free agent a year from now for a likely $13.6 million. Even those numbers, however, seem to badly undervalue Brown, so it’s more likely he flies the coop.

Hi everyone, I have a question...
In 2021, I worked in Kyoto, Japan (on a work visa) and successfully passed my driving test, obtaining a Japanese driver's license valid until 2024. However, in 2022, I had to return to my home country and leave Japan permanently.
I now have a job offer in Hokkaido and plan to go back to Japan around August 2023. I intend to drive and buy a car. Here are my questions:

1. Will my Japanese Driving License still be valid and usable until it expires?
2. Since the address on the license card is the one I used to live in Kyoto, can I change the address? Where can I go to change the address (for correspondence purposes with the police) and is it possible to do it in Hokkaido?
3. Do I need to use the starter sign on my car again? Not sure will be counted as a day-1 driver again after re-entering Japan...

Thank you!

If you’re reading this I am begging you to believe me. Especially if you have children. My name is Leon and I have been investigating strange disappearances for four years. I am not an official investigator or a journalist. Before I started this whole thing I did not believe in ghosts or the paranormal. For me to believe in something I had to see it with my own two eyes! Everything had to be factual and everything had an explanation.
At least this is what I used to believe until my wife was murdered four years ago. They found her at work completely skinless. She was drained of blood and was missing all of her nails. They told me the precision required to accomplish this was not heard of yet. I waited months for answers and they never came, so I decided to go get them myself. I had no idea where to start or who to speak to so I went back to the store to try and dig up as much information as I could find.
Her manager eventually told me that she had gotten into a fight with a customer that day and that he assumed she went home on time. When her body was found in the employee break room he was shocked. He had no idea she was still in the building. He said he told me exactly what he told the police. I asked him if there was any footage of the man she was arguing with but he told me the security cameras were not working that day. I vividly remember wanting to punch this guy in his damn face. He was no help and I was determined to solve my wife's murder.
I ended up searching for the guy for months. I asked every one of her coworkers if they saw the argument and a couple of times I even had a run-in with the cops. They insisted that I should let them do their jobs and that they had everything handled. There was no chance I was going to listen to them. I had to take time off from my investigation to attend her funeral and make sure I got all of the preparations right. In hindsight, I was not growing properly and I really should've taken some time to reassess.
So fast forward another month and I finally get a lead. Something I assumed the cops didn't have, this meant I could finally get some answers before being stonewalled again. I ended up finding this guy, Will Brookes at a fucken motel off of the highway about three miles from where my wife worked. I waited for two days before I saw him leave his room to get ice. Once I knew what room to find him in I knocked until he opened the door. He was rightfully pissed but not as pissed as I was. It took every ounce of willpower in my body to not kill him on the spot.
“Why did you kill my wife?!” I snapped as I forced myself into the room and slammed the door behind me. He looked shocked.
“I did not kill her!” He screamed and tried to move around me. So I grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the wall next to the tv. This guy was not very heavy and not very strong. At that moment I was wondering how he could kill anyone.
“You were the last person to be seen with her alive!” I barked. I wanted to push his body through the wall. I wanted to crush him.
“I was bringing her the papers she requested for a job offer she accepted in a place called LittleBrooke!” The man said. He was shaking so I put him down and pushed him to the side. “Show me the papers,” I demanded. My wife had told me twice that she had gotten a new job offer. I was extremely excited! I work from home and would be happy to live wherever she wanted. All she had to do was say the word and we could’ve left as soon as possible. But she never made it home to tell me the news.
I watched as the shaking man handed me a stack of papers and even a suitcase. “Here, take it and please leave me alone!” He shouted. “Okay.” I left the motel room and went right to my car. I put everything on the passenger seat and went home. Once I got there I sobbed in the driveway for over an hour before finally getting out and heading inside. I never got to see her body and I never got to say goodbye. Being in this house felt like I was walking into a damn shallow grave of sorts.
I went right to the master bedroom and packed up as many clothes as I could. I even took some of her favorite items, I don’t know why. I took a couple of pillows and two blankets, and after that, I went around to search the rest of the house. Once I had finished in the master bedroom I went and grabbed all my items from the bathroom. After that, I went into the nursery. We were planning on trying to have a baby once she got her new job. I looked around the nursery and took some stuffed animals and blankets, nothing too crazy. I also made sure to grab our family photo album. Finally, I made sure to grab all of the savings from the jar we had plus anything I kept in the safe. I also made sure to grab our wedding video and once I had everything I thought I could need I left the house. On my way out I made sure to tell the building goodbye.
Once I got back into my car I decided to drive a bit. No way in hell was I going to the same motel as that guy so I drove until I hit a hotel far enough away from my house. I did not end up checking in though. Once I got close enough I backed up and just kept driving. I eventually hit a truck stop after a couple of hours and decided to rest my eyes for a while. I was exhausted and there were way too many questions rushing through my head. I knew if I kept driving in that state I would probably crash or something.
After sleeping for four hours I decided it was time to look through the papers and figure out what I was going to do next. I took the first paper from the stack and started to read it. For the sake of time here I will only tell you guys what I found that was interesting.
Paper One: You have been accepted to work as a store manager! Please review your employee packet for more information.
So as I am going over this first paper a couple of things stick out to me. Whoever wrote this was trying not to be specific. The whole paper was one big announcement for a new store opening up in a place called LittleBrooke. There was no state mentioned anywhere on this paper, I would later find out that this place was supposed to be in Washington D.C.
I decided to dig around and eventually found the employee packet. She accepted a job at a mega-store called BrightMarketZ. I thought it was a pretty weird name but what stood out to me was what they were offering to pay her. $22.00 an hour! I couldn't believe it. No wonder she said yes and didn’t bother to ask any questions.
Paper Twenty: To find LittleBrooke please enter [REDACTED] into your GPS device. You will be staying inside apartment 307. All rent for your first month in LittleBrooke is covered by your employer. Please note that all apartments are two-bedroom only. If you have a larger household please speak to Sydney May at Town Hall for bigger accommodations.
After reading this I decided to just go to LittleBrooke and get answers. I was assuming that I would find out what the hell happened if I just went. I wanted to know what my wife died for and I wanted to know why this was some big secret in the first place. I went back to bed and as soon as the sun came up I put the information into my GPS and headed for LittleBrooke.

Year One in LittleBrooke

It took me three weeks to reach LittleBrooke and I could tell that something was wrong the moment I found the town. If I wasn't so damn desperate for answers I would've turned around as soon as I saw the library. The building itself wasn't big but the two huge lions on either side of the staircase gave me the creeps.
After that I passed a mechanic, the whole place looked run down as hell. There wasn't a single car to be seen but the sign said open. The man standing outside of the building waved to me so I gave him a slow wave back. He looked weird. At the time I couldn’t place my finger on why but now I know it’s because he was not human.
The theater was kind of cool to look at in a vintage kind of way. They were not showing anything when I drove by and I made the decision early on to stay out of the theater altogether. After the theater, I saw a small building that said LittleBrooke Press. If anything else I figured I could write for the paper.
As I approached the apartment building a woman was standing outside. Her face was weird as hell. It looked like she had far too much plastic surgery like her face was threatening to pop at any moment. “Hi, can I help you?” she asked me. Her voice was shrill, it was gross to even hear her speak. It sounded like she was putting on a fake voice just to speak to me. “Hi, my wife accepted a job offer. Unfortunately, she has passed away. I would still like to claim the apartment left to us. I can work at any place that currently has an opening.” I offered.
“LittleBrooke Press has space for two more writers!” She smiled and handed me the keys to the apartment. She never asked my name and she knew exactly where I wanted to go. I thought it was weird but I didn’t argue. Instead, I took the keys and thanked her. I spent that whole day getting settled into the new apartment. A couple of things, the front door had four different locks on it. I thought that was pretty weird. I also did not see or hear any other people until my third night in the apartment. I called the LittleBrooke Press about a potential job and they told me to email my submissions. There was no need for me to come in person and honestly, I liked this deal a lot.
For the first few months, I spent my time writing about whatever came to my mind. After that, I would send it in and get my money back. The editor never told me what to do and they never requested anything. It was sweet. As December rolled around I could feel myself slipping into a seasonal depression. At that point, I had made no progress in any of my investigations. I did not know the town well enough and frankly, I felt like I was wasting my time. That night I decided to check out the local bar. It was pretty hidden, you had to drive further into LittleBrooke to find it. Once I got there I was shocked! The place was packed. I sat down at the bar and ordered a drink.
The bartender was hot as hell, too hot. She was so even looking so perfectly symmetrical that it made me extremely uncomfortable. There wasn’t a single hair out of place. “So are you new in town?” She asked me. “Yeah, I just got here a couple of months ago. My now-deceased wife accepted a job offer here.” I said bluntly and dryly. I wanted to finish my drink and go. It was like the bones in my body were screaming at me to leave. The woman looked shocked. “Tell me, does that happen often? Do people accept a job offer in LittleBrooke and turn up dead a couple of days later?” I hissed. It was a genuine question but she did not take it too kindly. She took my drink from my hands and told me to leave.
As I made my way back to my car I could hear someone coming up from behind me. I turned around as fast as possible and had to take three steps back. It was the bartender, but she did not look the same. Half of her face was weighed down like she had no bones at all. Her eyes were bulging out of her head. She gurgled at me. “You need to leave!” She finally snapped and swung her arm in my direction. I moved back before she could hit me. As her hand hit my car window it shattered like it was made of ice. I watched as her arm popped and clicked. I could see it slowly getting longer. Before I knew it her arm was dragging on the pavement! She lunged at me so I punched her in her stomach. She gurgled again and sunk her teeth into my jacket. I screamed for help as we hit the pavement. She was trying fucken eat me! I grabbed her by her hair and threw her backward as hard as I could. As I scrambled to my feet and looked at her I screamed again. Her skin was pulled back. Now hugging the bones on her face. Her eyes were completely exposed! I turned and dove into my car as fast as I could. I slammed the door behind me and sped out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell.
The next morning I received a letter under my door. “Sorry, you had problems last night! Please accept our sincerest apologies.” -Mayor Brookes. There was $300 included with the letter. Now, I thought about leaving but decided I had to stay. Something was going on here and I had to find out what. I removed my jacket to see if the woman had injured me, she didn't but the experience was still terrifying. For the first time in a very long time, I was scared. But I also felt closer to the truth than I have ever been before.

Year Two in LittleBrooke

I spent all of January writing about the women who attacked me. I even contacted the police. I quickly learned that the police were going to be completely useless. My editor never sent the story back so I had assumed it was published.
At the end of the month, I left to shop for some supplies. Let me tell you, the grocery store in LittleBrooke is something else. They don’t have any brands you’ve ever heard of and at first, that drove me nuts. However, I quickly came to fall in love with the food here. It was comforting to have something to enjoy. Like always, I made sure to shop for two to three months at a time. Shopping was easy, I used the self-checkout to make sure I didn’t have to speak to anyone.
Once I got home I put everything away and decided to look around the apartment building. My whole floor started with 301 and went all the way to 310. The first floor was 501 to 509. There was a technical second floor but none of the doors were labeled. It looked like someone was renovating the place.
I got to see some of my neighbors too. An older woman, two men, and I were living next door to a lady the whole time. I had never seen or heard from these people before. It seemed like everyone wanted to keep to themselves too. I wanted to try and talk to someone but every time I approached them they turned and walked away. For what it's worth they looked completely normal.
So I left the apartment building and ventured around the property. There were no other apartments anywhere close to the one I was staying at, or so I thought until I found one about thirty minutes away. It was so out of the way you wouldn't find it unless you were looking. Against my better judgment, I opened the doors to the building and walked right inside. The place smelled like rust and soot.
I went to explore the first floor and was shocked to find blood trails on the floor and the ceiling. I followed the trail and made sure to look at the numbers on each door. This floor was numbered 1-10. Most of the doors were locked and I wasn’t going to try and knock anything down. I opened the door to apartment 10 and walked right inside. There was just enough light from the sun to illuminate the place. It looked like the whole place had been ransacked. I checked the tables and cabinets before heading into the bedroom. I searched the dresser and under the pillows before finally checking under the bed. When I looked under I spotted a black box. I grabbed it and that is when I got the feeling again. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I felt something sharp dig into my shoulders.
I screamed as loudly as I could, my face slammed off of the carpet and I clenched the box with one hand. Before I could figure out what the hell was happening I was tossed backward. I went into the bedroom door and rolled a couple of times until I reached the torn-up couch. I slowly lifted my head and to my horror what I was looking at was way too far from human to be real.
It looked like a dog ape thing. It was mostly skinless aside from some skin on its torso and face. The creature had thick, long claws and was standing on its hind legs. It barked at me. Its fangs were huge! I quickly scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the door as fast as possible. I could feel the blood running down my back. Never once did I consider letting this box go.
“Help!” I screamed as I burst through the apartment complex doors and started to run back to the main road. My heart was pounding, I could feel my chest getting tighter with each step. I could hear the beast behind me, it was screeching. I thought I was going to die for sure, there was no way I could continue to outrun this beast. That’s when I heard a car and before I knew it I could see it! A woman was waving me over, she was just up ahead! I had to push a little harder. I had to be just a little stronger.
When I felt the embrace of the car door I ripped it open and dove inside. She sped away and I looked out of the window. The beast did not follow us any further. “Are you insane!” She snapped at me. That’s the last thing I remember before passing out.
When I woke up I was laying on my stomach on an extremely comfortable couch. I could smell someone making pasta with meat sauce. My stomach was going insane. Everything hurt though, especially my back and my left side. I figured I had hurt my side when I was tossed across the room.
At this point, I did not dive into the box yet. I could barely move. “Hi.” I heard a woman say from the kitchen. “Thank you,” I replied before trying to sit up. I was so concerned that this woman would be another monster. When I saw her though I knew she was normal. She didn't look so damn perfect and that was a breath of fresh air.
“What's your name?” She asked me as I watched her prepare two bowls of food.
“Leon,” I said before closing my eyes. “You heard me screaming?” I asked her seriously.
“I did. I’m pretty sure everyone in our building did. You got hurt pretty badly, I did my best to patch you up.” She paused and laughed. “My name is Ashley.”
So I ended up crashing at her place. During this time I tried to focus on recovering. Sleeping became hell, I was having constant nightmares. I also spent a lot of time working on articles. I ended up giving Ash the keys to my apartment so she could get my laptop. It was a big move to trust anyone here but I am glad I did.
​

Year Three and Four in LittleBrooke

During my recovery, I spent most of my time writing. I wanted to write about everything I have seen and experienced. I had a lot of questions and way too much time with my thoughts. Ash and I got to know each other too.
I told her about how my wife had died mysteriously. I eventually opened up about her being skinned and drained of her blood. Ash told me she had come to LittleBrooke with her older sister. Her sister went to work one day and never came back. She was working at the theater. Ash had told me that she was stuck here, she didn’t feel right leaving with her sister still missing. Every time she would try the cops would meet her at the town line.
It was during this time that we both shared that we had never seen a police station. We talked about the monsters too. Her first run-in with one was at the grocery store. I told her about what happened to me at the bar. She told me that she heard rumors of the beast living beyond the apartments. The first time she saw it was when it was attacking me.
As I started to recover more we discussed a couple of things. First, the neighbors here suck. She could hear me screaming and came to help but no one else did. Second, neither of us has seen any families since we moved here. It was at this point I decided I wanted to leave and I offered to take her with me. We could both get out come hell or high water. She agreed but there was something I had to do first.
I showed her the box I had taken from the apartment.
“You almost died for a box?” Ash asked me. “Yes,” I said seriously.
I opened it and blinked. I found a picture of a girl with black hair and bright green eyes. It read, Stephanie. I found a missing persons report too. This girl had been missing a year before I got here. I decided that my last article would be about her. I had written about a couple of missing people before this. For example, the old lady in our building vanished and her apartment was rented out two days later.
I also found a badge inside the box. It read F.O.P.P. and there was a name! Jack Bridges. We tried to look up the organization's name but we came up empty-handed. I ended up writing the story about Stephanie and the next day Ash and I got packing. We decided to take my car since the cops know what hers looks like. I packed up the essentials all over again and we piled into the car. “We should check the other direction. Before we leave.” I suggested. Ash knew about the bar already but neither of us knew what was beyond that point: This suggested changed the course of our lives forever.
So we started driving in the other direction. We passed the bar where the woman had tried to eat me, we passed a convenience store I didn’t know this town had and we just kept driving. Eventually, I could hear Ash speaking to me, “Holy shit! The police station.” she pointed out. I couldn’t believe it either. I did not stop driving though but I wish I did.
Eventually, we saw a sign that read, LittleBrooke High. Go Bears!
I started to slow down a bit until the school was in view. The place looked run down as hell. There were holes in the walls and leaves growing up the side of the building. The parking lot was massive and full of buses. I pulled the car into the parking lot and told Ash to get into the driver's seat.
“You’re not serious?” She asked me. I could tell she wanted to go but I said, “This is it! This is the last place of note in this fucken town. Just take the wheel and I will be right back.” I said as I jumped out of the car and went to look around.
As I approached one of the buses I grabbed the doors, they were already open a crack. I pulled them open and was hit with a horrible stench. I had to step back and puke and no I am not going to describe what I saw in that fucken bus. At that point, I decided I had seen enough and it was time to fucken go.
“Help!” I heard someone cry from a couple of buses over. “Please!” I heard again. I wanted to slap myself because I knew better. I had already decided it was time to leave but I went to investigate anyway. I went to the bus and pulled the doors open. It smelled like stale piss and blood. “Back here!” A girl screamed out to me. I made my way to the back of the bus, stepping on school jackets and over backpacks. That is where I found them. Two teenagers are tied to the leg of a bus seat. They looked horrible, caking in blood and sweat. They were both injured. “Stephanie?!” I exclaimed as I bent over to free them. I recognized her face the moment I saw it.
“Can you move? I asked the blonde girl.” As I started to let her go. “Everything hurts.” She told me. I opened the emergency exit and called for Ash to pull the car over. It took her a second to hear me but she came as fast as possible. “I am going to get you guys in the car and we are going to get out of here, okay?” I told them. I wanted to tell them everything was going to be okay, but I couldn't. It felt like that would be a huge lie.
Ash stepped out of the car and helped get the girls into the backseat. As I stopped to look around I could feel the bus shift in weight. I turned around and inhaled sharply. Standing before me was a creature wearing a jacket that said COACH on it. He looked sickly, and pale, and his veins were protruding from his face and hands. As he ran at me I jumped out of the emergency exit door just in time to feel something slam off of the back of my head. I looked down to see a barbed football. I could feel blood trickling down my neck, I stumbled forward and felt a hand grab my arm. Ash was shoving me into the car. She slid over me, closed the passenger door, and backed the car up. I thought she was moving like lightning.
At this point, everyone was screaming. My heart was threatening to jump out of my fucken chest. I was so sure we were all going to die here, just like everyone else I had seen on the buses. But no, Ash sped out of the parking lot. The coach chased us to the school limits but for some reason, he did not follow us anymore.
I know we should've stopped to see if the kids could find their parents but we didn't. Instead, Ash just kept driving. Eventually, we could hear the cops behind us but that did not stop her. It took us six hours to finally see the You Are New Leaving LittleBrooke sign! I couldn’t believe it. This place was not that big at all.
So listen, if you’re invited to take a job in LittleBrooke. Don’t take it. It’s not worth your life.

The Tony Awards are back this weekend — in part because of a compromise with the screenwriters’ union — and there is also a plethora of shows, and a handful of Critics’ Picks, to see this June. Michael, a theater reporter for The New York Times, has covered the theater landscape for 8 years, including his latest feature in which he led a team of journalists who chatted with and photographed 39 Tony-nominated performers. Jesse Green, the chief theater critic at The Times, has written 1,000 or so reviews, including this rave for “Kimberly Akimbo” and this notorious pan of“Bad Cinderella.”
Ask Michael about his reporting, Jesse about his reviewing process, and both of them about how they became interested in theater and the Tonys. They’ll start answering your questions at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.
Proof: Michael Paulson (image), Jesse Green (image)