EDC Las Vegas 2023

Official EDC Las Vegas 2023 Trailers:

• There are none, yet
• Previous EDC Trailers playlist

Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway 7000 N Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89115
Dates & Times:
May 19, 20, 21, 2023

• Opening Ceremony 5:00pm–7:00pm, full grounds open 7:00pm–5:30am
• Parking lots open 2 hours prior to the opening ceremony or gate opening.

Box Office:
Expo at World Market Center 435 S Grand Central Pkwy Las Vegas, NV 89106
Box Office Hours:
Wednesday, May 17: 2PM – 12AM Thursday, May 18: 11AM – 12AM Friday, May 19: 11AM – 3AM Saturday, May 20: 2PM – 2AM Sunday, May 21: 2PM – 2AM
Camp EDC Hours
Thursday, May 18th, 9am – Monday, May 22nd, 5pm. All campers must be fully packed and vacating the campground by 5pm on Monday, May 22nd.
Camp EDC Check-In

• Thursday, May 18: 8am–2am
• Friday, May 19: 8am–2pm - please note festival traffic begins arriving at 2pm so wait times could be longer
• Saturday, May 20: 8am–2pm - please note festival traffic begins arriving at 2pm so wait times could be longer
• Sunday, May 21: 8am–2pm - please note festival traffic begins arriving at 2pm so wait times could be longer

Other informative other posts --

NO BUILD LEAKS!

electricdaisycarnival Discord chat

[electricdaisycarnival 2023 Reddit meetup info](COMING SOON!)

Roommate Megathread

CampEDC/tent-mates Megathread

Rideshare Megathread

[EDC Las Vegas 2022 Playlists by Stage Lineup](COMING SOON!)

Useful Quick Links:

Purchase festival passes -- LIMITED GA+ & VIP PASSES REMAINING (GA SOLD OUT)!

Purchase shuttle passes -- LIMITED STOPS REMAIN!

Purchase Moon Glow camping -- SOLD OUT!

Purchase Desert Rose camping -- SOLD OUT!

Purchase RV camping -- SOLD OUT!

Purchase Premier Parking -- SOLD OUT!

Hotel EDC

Purchase Locker Rental

[Lineup Flyer](COMING SOON!)

[Lineups by Stage](COMING SOON!)

[Lineups by Art Car](COMING SOON!)

[CampEDC Activities Schedule](COMING SOON!)

CampEDC Party Schedule:

• [CampEDC Pre-Party](COMING SOON!)
• [CampEDC Pool Parties](COMING SOON!)
• [CampEDC After Parties](COMING SOON!)

[CampEDC Map](COMING SOON!)

[CampEDC The Mesa Map](COMING SOON!)

[Opening Ceremony Lineup](COMING SOON!)

[Parking Map](COMING SOON!)

[Festival Map](COMING SOON!)

Shuttle Map

Shuttle Schedule --

• Departure Times: Shuttles will operate continuously from 7:00pm–11:30pm from all Standard Shuttle stops
• Return Times: Return shuttles will begin at 3:00am and conclude 60 minutes after the music ends at kineticFIELD PLEASE NOTE: Shuttles will not run between 11:30pm and 3:00am.

EDC Wedding Info

Table & Bottle Service info

Helicopter Booking

Lost & Found Information

Basic Festival & Ticketing information

When can I check in to the campgrounds?
Insomniac put together a handy entry guide for camping that is available here
What are the guidelines for camping? I have more questions related to camping!
Insomniac put together their camping guidelines and camping FAQ pages related to camping and they are very informative. I'm not going to re-type all this information here, so use the links provided.
My wristband/parking pass/shuttle pass hasn't come yet!
Be patient, they will be shipping out over 100k+ packages when they go out. You can also call Front Gate Tickets to see where your shipment is and/or set up will call pickup @ 888.512.7469. Also here's the Front Gate Tickets Support Site.
If you are coming from outside of the USA, you have no choice but to go to will call for your tickets. Please see the above event information for the box office location and hours.
I have tickets/shuttle passes/parking passes to sell!
Check out EDCTickets! Remember, even though our community is friendly, caring, and kind, there are ticket scammers out there that are willing to take advantage. Be vigilant, if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. Trust your instincts.
Where can I register my Wristband? Do I have to register my wristband?
You can register it here. The only way to recover your wristband if it is lost or stolen is to have it registered. Additionally, there is emergency contact information stored in your wristband as part of the registration process, if anything should happen to you. There is a $40 fee for a replacement wristband.
Well this is embarassing, I didn't listen to everyone and put my wristband on early/on the wrong hand, how can I get it off? I sold my wristband after I attended one of the nights, how can I get it off without damaging it?
Here's a short how-to video to remove the wristband without damaging anything. DON'T PUT YOUR WRISTBAND ON UNTIL FRIDAY BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOTEL! It goes on your right wrist, and should be able to fit a finger underneath for breathing room.
I'm going solo to the fest, how can I make friends, I need a place to stay, etc.
There are several ways of doing this. You can use the search function on the subreddit. There's also some Facebook groups dedicated to solo journeys to EDC. Once again, trust your instincts here and only stay with people that you can properly personally have vetted ahead of time.
Also, check the useful links above for ride shares, hotel shares, and tent shares!
Live sets just aren't doing it for me, I need a feel for what this place is like before I attend!
Check out Electric Daisy Carnival 2000, Under the Electric Sky, or The Electric Daisy Carnival Experience trailer from when the festival was still in L.A. If you can find The Electric Daisy Carnival Experience online for free somewhere or even for a couple bucks to stream it, I think it's a much better movie than the Under the Electric Sky movie.

FAQ

When do the set times drop? When does the app update? I can't find the app on the app store, what gives?!
Set times and app updates usually happen the week of the festival. The Insomniac app will update the week of the festival, so go ahead and install it now if you want to.
What about pool parties or other EDC Week events?
Official site here for a list of events and tickets. There's also going to be parties and pools at the campground.
What time should I leave the strip? How long does it take to get to/from to the speedway? What time should I leave the event to beat traffic?
EDC is not like a local DJ show and Las Vegas traffic SUCKS. Parking lots open at 2PM, so I would strive to leave the strip right around that time. Without traffic it will take you anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. The longer into the night you wait to leave the worse off traffic will be and the longer it will take to get to the show. I have heard nightmare scenarios of 2 or 3 hour shuttle rides, so don't let it happen to you!
Typically, you can leave before the sunrise sets or about halfway through it and not have too bad of a wait in traffic back to the strip in the morning! At the end of night 3, keep in mind normal people are also heading to work since it will technically be Monday morning. That's just going to add to the clusterfuck of traffic on I-15 and Las Vegas Blvd. Plan accordingly! If you are driving have a cooler in the trunk with water bottles!
Are we doing the Reddit meetup again this year?
We sure are. Check out the links up top regarding information on where and when we are meeting up. We are going to have two simultaneous meetups, one for campers and one for people on the Strip. All information is contained in the post linked at the very top!
What can I bring into the festival? What can't I bring into the festival? What are the searches like?
The searches could be TSA style, or you could barely get touched at all. It's pretty random. Consider stash boxers or compression underwear to get your favors inside or items that are disallowed like LED gloves, etc.
If you take your time to observe the security, you can usually get a feel of who is being a hard-ass for a dime raise for busting someone and who is just doing their job quickly and efficiently.
As for allowed and disallowed items, here's a link to those lists as well as totem guidelines.
Bring a gallon zip lock bag and put all of your belongings that you want to bring into the festival in it while you are waiting in line. All three days last year security complimented me on being organized and how easy I made their jobs because they could just scan the items in the bag, check my camelbak, give me the pat down and I was on my way.
Seriously, if you make security's lives easier in this way, they will not hassle you at all as long as you aren't trying to bring in stuff that isn't allowed. I didn't even get pat down on Night 2 because I was so up-front about all my belongings.
Any further questions, feel free to comment below, or visit the EDC Las Vegas Guide page!

Tips and Tricks!

• Put an Emergency Contact Information (ICE) on your phone's lock screen. Android or Apple. This serves as two things.. One, if you lose your phone, someone can try to get it back to you. TWO, if you get hurt or fall out, the medics on site can get in contact with someone you know.
• Call your bank/credit card companies and let them know you will be traveling to Vegas to avoid holds on your account.
• Be vigilant on the Strip. Everyone is trying to hustle. Street performers will expect tips if you take pictures!
• Hit up a Vegas buffet at least one day.
• Stretch beforehand in your hotel room. Your muscles will thank you in the morning!
• Wear comfy shoes and/or get insoles to replace the "stock" insoles that come with your shoes. Also, consider moleskin if your feet are prone to blistering from rubbing against your socks. Your feet will thank you!
• Get to the festival early. Stop by the merchandise tent first thing. Items sell out fast. Consider a mobile charging locker to store your merchandise in! Additionally, if you bring all of your sealed items in on the first day (wipes, chapstick, cigarettes, gum, tampons, etc), you can keep them all in your locker overnight and not have to worry about getting 3 of each sealed item to bring in every single day. REMEMBER! Hide your lock combo from people that may peer over your shoulder or look at your combination wristband and try to get into your locker. Remain vigilant inside the festival!
• After you get your merch and put it in your locker, you next stop should be one of the free water stands to fill up your hydration pack or water bottle. It's very important to remain hydrated, especially while the sun is still out and bearing down on you! If you tip some of the vendors, they will give you ice if the warm water turns you off.
• If you need to eat something, consider the food trucks instead of the concession stand food. The food trucks have their company name out there and on the line when compared to the generic concession stand stuff, the quality of the food is unparalleled. Don't make the same mistake as I did a few years ago and get a raw onion sandwich masked as a "cheese steak".
• Bring earplugs! Tinnitus sucks!
• Wear sunscreen! Remember, if you are staying all night the sun is up at like 5AM and starts beaming down on you almost immediately.
• If you want to ride the rides, get there early or risk missing sets while standing in line! Some rides you will be waiting for an hour or more at peak times.
• Time-stamp your texts! There will be cell service congestion. Stamping your texts will help your friends know whenever you truly sent a message!
• Bring an external battery pack in with you to charge your phone if you are someone who likes to take a lot of photo and video!
• Bring cash. Credit and debit cards could possibly be hit or miss if the speedway's internet network would happen to shit the bed! Don't be stuck without a way to pay for something you need!
• Remember to take it easy night 1! EDC is a marathon not a sprint!
• Emergen-C packets are a lifesaver. Take one before the festival every night in order to help you recover from the night before and prepare for the festival ahead!
• Take some time to look up and enjoy the fireworks!
• Don't forget about the EDC parade down Rainbow Road every night! You should at least try to check it out one time out of the three nights you are there! Check the app for times, but it should be around midnight every night!
• Follow your favorite artists' social media so that you know if they may show up unannounced, or if they are doing any surprise sets on one of the art cars, etc.
• Send a post card to back home at the EDC Town Post Office. Mine took until October in 2017 to land, but it was a nice surprise when it finally did! Check out EDC Town in general. It's pretty sweet.
• If you are feeling at all dehydrated or anything else medical related, visit one of the medical tents. Staff is super friendly and you WILL NOT get in trouble for seeking medical treatment, no matter your condition. If you can't make it to the medical tent, look for a Ground Control staff member to assist you or any of your friends! Look out for your fellow ravers. If you see something, say something! This will keep everyone safe and having a good time.
• If you are going to do drugs, and especially MDMA, I suggest only doing it 1 out of the 3 nights and finding something else for the other two days. Just to let you know as an example of responsible use, in 2017 we did edibles and shatter the first night, rolled night 2, and just chilled with some shatter night 3. Everyone is different, but be safe, and TEST YOUR SHIT. Do not buy drugs at the festival. Not only do you risk getting bunk shit, but undercover cops are everywhere!
• If you are going to drink alcohol, do so in moderation and stay hydrated! For every alcoholic drink you have, you should drink 8-16oz of water!
• If you are a lady, bring wipes! Usually the porta-potties run out of toilet paper. It's just a fact of the festival and usually they don't get resupplied until the following day. You will thank me if you get caught in this situation.
• Bring a hand fan for the water lines! They can get pretty hot and people will love you!
• Try to catch at least one sunrise set one of the nights. I recommend night 2, since everyone and their mothers will be staying on night 3. Plus, Monday morning rush hour traffic on night 3 is no bueno.
• If you have a large crew and need to split up to see different sets, plan a meeting spot! Try to pick something that is stationary, like the locker area, the cooling area, one of the buildings in EDC Town, etc.
• Buy a smoothie or a lemonade. They are a nice change of pace from warm hydrant water.
• Get a bandana and tie it around your neck for each night you are out there. Put it over your mouth and nose when the dust gets to be too much. Your lungs will thank you, plus you get to look like a bandit. Win/win.
• Trains of people going in and out of the crowd are going to happen, so use them to your advantage. Become the caboose to go into or out of the crowds and use your manners! Excuse me, thank you, etc go a long way when navigating the crowd!
• Bring good vibes, leave the judgement at the gates, and most of all, enjoy yourself and smile! EDC is a glorious wonderland of fun. Extrude the vibes you wish to receive back to you and you will have a great time, I promise!

Is anybody else having any issues getting their Airpods Pro 2 to work properly in the FindMy app? The last couple of days I started to notice my Airpods case randomly making a noise when I would get close to them or pick them up. The video below is not my video but another person who was having the exact same issue as me.
https://youtu.be/s0WlGdxeAuM
After my case started making that noise I would go into FindMy to see if something was going on but there was no error message or anything like that, it just showed that my AirPods were at home and currently "with me". Since I was also having some issues with my Airtags I tried to see if I could get them to either play a sound or if I could find them using the UWB on my iPhone 13. If I press "play sound" it just gets stuck at connecting and spins and spins until I close it and if I select "find" it says searching for signal try moving to a different location. All this is happening while my fully charged AirPods Pro 2 are sitting about a foot away from my phone.
I tried unpairing them and re-pairing them to my phone and I also tried resetting them by pressing and holding the button on the back of the case for 15 seconds until the light was flashing amber. No matter what I do I cannot get them to make a sound or be found with my phone. They've been working perfectly find paired with my phone, so there' no issues there but it would be nice if I could get these FindMy features to work if I were to misplace them.

Let's suppose a Battlemaster Fighter (BM) (or someone with the Martial Adept feat) character with the Gunner feat is dual wielding guns. Same trick could be done with dual hand crossbows, more than one attack per round or even thrown weapons.
BM shoots a target and hits; attempts to disarm and is successful. Since it was from range, the disarmed weapons is tossed in the air for a brief amount of time. Then, BM shoots AT THE WEAPON while it's mid air to attempt to throw it far away (without any use of Superiority Dice, but it could be the case with Pushing Attack).
Is this possible, or when someone's disarmed it's immediately dropped to the ground without any middle term for it? I personally believe this should be allowed, and it's a interesting way to make disarming more effective at the cost of resources (or at least, attack rolls).
In this case, BM attempted to disarm an enemy using a greatsword... while the fight was on a ship. He didn't succeed because of Saves, but with success he would have thrown the enemy's weapon overboard.

https://youtu.be/mPhK2wH7cEk
Saw this podcast today and DR talks about how he is transitioning out of the CEO position for his succession plan but will be staying a Ramsey personality on the air. Daniel will be running the business as he’s been promoted to president. Interesting podcast!! 43:22

"So, you're telling me we found another sapient omnivore species?"
The commander grunted, ripping his boot from a watery patch of mud and nearly crashing into the swampy water between two twisted tree roots.
Sunny reached out with one of her four armored arms and caught him by the back of his pack, pulling him upright.
He nodded a thanks to her and adjusted his gear.
Behind her Ramirez ducked under a low hanging branch, slogging through a pool of knee-high water, adjusting the containment pod, holding Krill more comfortably over both shoulders.
Krill, comfortable and warm inside his containment pod, watched the marines, scientists, and a linguist struggle through the mud under a covering of impossibly tall, twisted trees, their canopy blocking out all light that might have dared cut downwards towards the watery floor below.
"Not entirely sapient, I suppose."
Krill answered,
"Unfortunately the way in which they communicate is going to drastically reduce their ability to create complex structures and perform mathematical equations."
Together they maneuvered themselves over a root, which at some point in the distant past, had decided to grow upwards instead of down. At about four feet high, it had changed its mind and arched back down into the water. Perhaps it had been smaller then, but at four feet wide, the root was an absolute monstrosity now.
The trees themselves were massive, challenging, and sometimes outgrowing the legendary redwood forests of the western Americas, but unlike the redwoods, these trees didn't stand tall and proud. Instead, they chose a twisted path much like the branching veins which made up a human vascular system. They twisted and undulated, interlocking past each other with branches that were well over two feet wide in many cases, and stretching to over four feet wide in others.
No one direction was good enough, and the trees twisted, ducked swirled and reached, grasping for any sort of light to be found.
On top of the darkness cast by the trees and the soggy nature of the forest floor, it was also horribly hot and humid, giving the impression of a microwaved wet blanket thrown over the world. Where heat from the upper canopy met the cooler air of deep forest pools, it created a perpetually thick mist which writhed and undulated through the trees, leaving only the shadowy impressions of twisted trunks and clawing branches past distances greater than 50 feet (15m).
"They communicate primarily through pheromones and heat modulation. From what I understand, the language in itself isn't precise, and really only works in generalities and feelings than it does in absolutes."
Commander Vir kicked a rotting log out of the way, ducking as a massive green bug buzzed over his head and into the fog.
Turns out the hotter and more humid a planet gets, the bigger the bugs get,
"But we were still able to communicate with them?”
Krill nodded from inside his case,
"Yes, generally speaking. For a species that cannot communicate in absolutes, I hear they are quite reasonable. They seem willing to accept our friendship, and have..... invited, I guess, us to participate in some sort of primitive ritual."
Vir perked up, flashing a bright smile.
“Reasonable? Peaceful? Rituals? And definitely CANNOT communicate in ABSOLUTES!? Am I the only one who thinks that sounds familiar?”
Sunny sighed,
“No Adam I am reasonably sure that they are not Jedis…”
“C’mon, that would be so cool! Like lightsabers, the force and stuff… maybe they look like tiny Yodas? I mean it fits, with the swamp, the speech impairment and all…”
He nearly fell over another root.
“Adam, focus. We have a mission here.”
The commander nodded, scrambling over another tree branch,
"Alright, so... where are these things anyway? How do they look?"
His boots hit solid ground, covered in some sort of wet spongy fungus and he glanced down at his GPS.
“Considering they talk by smell, my bet is on Elephants with giant human noses. What do you think Mav?”
Ramirez turned around to look at Maverick, who had stopped walking.
“…”
“Mav?”
“Giant… fucking spiders…”
“…”
Commander Vir was still looking at his GPS and no one else answered, so without looking up he broke the silence and said:
“Wow you are always so negative; it better not be, I want my space Yodas…”
“…”
“…”
More silence.
This time it was broken by Ramirez.
“Giant fucking spiders… with… Wolfheads!?”
The commander was still diddling around with the GPS in his hands.
“Oh not you too Ramirez, also that’s oddly specific, you always had a pretty cruel imagination. Ah there we go I think it’s that way.”
He said, looking up from his GPS to keep moving.
“…”
“…”
After some steps he realized no one was following him, so he stopped and turned around.
Behind him the other marines were dead silent, heads lifted towards the sky in shock.
"FUCK ME."
One of the marines whispered, scrambling back behind a tree root.
Commander Vir turned and nearly fell into the water again, eyes locked onto the creatures descending from high above.
They were huge, about the size of large horses, and horrifically spider like in their construction, or perhaps an ant. They had large-scale abdomens connected to a thinner thorax. All together they had ten appendages, three pairs of spider-like legs on the abdomen which, instead of ending in a pod or foot, ended in a sharp pointed spike. On the abdomen, they had two arm-like appendages, with too many joints and strange wavy tentacles instead of fingers.
The head was just as disconcerting.
It seemed too large for the body, grossly out of proportion and strangely out of place, like some cosmic sentience had used a random animal generator to assign parts to its body.
The head was wolflike, if you were to strip the skin and fur away, leaving only the muscle underneath. You could see the line of teeth running up either side of the muzzle, while the large red-pink ears rotated continuously.
Commander Vir had backed himself into the bowl of a tree eyes wide. Sunny slogged herself up from the water, placing herself between the strange spidery creatures and the human.
They didn't descend like a spider might, on threads of silk, but they used their back six feet, and the spikes on the end to dig into the bark of the trees with a disconcerting thud thud thud thud.
Finally the largest of the creatures reached the ground, surprisingly silent for its massive bulk.
Glancing around Sunnys tensed body, he noticed something he hadn't before, and that was a strange small mass gripping onto the spidery creature's underbelly. Upon closer inspection he counted ten legs and a surprisingly spidery head buried against its underside... a completely separate creature holding on to its companion.
Behind the largest creature, he noted ANOTHER type of creature. It boasted the same sort of structure as the large creature, but its abdomen was devoid of scales, and covered in strange black bulbs suctioned onto its body by way of a strange, sticky black-green webbing. Its head was also constructed differently more like a lizard than a wolf, with large bulbous eyes that could rotate behind its own head to look in all directions.
Commander Vir fiddled nervously with the advanced translation headset he wore, strapped to his helmet, supposedly it was supposed to be able to understand what these things were saying.
"Sky... friends."
The translation was somewhat garbled, but he understood it was the large wolf-head who spoke.
He walked forward, pushing Sunny gently to the side despite her clear reluctance,
"Yes, we are friends, and we are here to offer peace to you, and the assistance of the Galactic Assembly."
He wasn't entirely sure how that was going to translate over in smell, but the creature seemed happy lifting its head and gnashing its large canine teeth.
"Agreement... for a favor."
Commander Vir grew unsure then, letting off a reluctant,
"What favor?”
The spidery shape moved closer sniffing at him with its large wolffish nose. Sunny stiffened at his side, and he put a hand on her arm to calm her.
"Ritual... you watch and help."
"None of us will get hurt... will we?"
The creature stopped and pondered the question for a long moment,
"No danger... live... healthy... happy."
Commander Vir nodded slowly,
"Alright, what do we have to do?"
The creature hefted its large bulk, and turned in the opposite direction,
"Follow."
It commanded, scuttling off into the trees.
[…]
"This is very interesting."
Krill was saying to one of the accompanying scientists, who nodded vigorously in agreement.
"What's so interesting?”
Commander Vir whispered, from where he stood at the edge of yet another, but larger fungus covered clearing, watching as the creatures scuttled back and forth.
The scientist learned in in excitement,
"It seems that these creatures have a ternary gender system."
Before the commander could ask, the scientist continued,
"For ease of speech, the large ones are the females, and those things on their bellies are probably the males. The medium ones are the third gender, the 'they' if you will. It looks like the male impregnates the female who then attaches the eggs to the third party. Dr. Krill tells me that the third party have a very high heat signature, probably to incubate the young. Those attachments probably provide nutrients into the egg and may even transfer DNA over as well."
"Wow... freaky."
The commander muttered in fascination.
"Kind of gross if you ask me."
Sunny muttered.
"I'm with her. Its kinky, but too kinky for me…"
Ramirez muttered, receiving a few nods from the other marines.
"Oh please."
Krill whispered,
"I know what human reproduction is like, and it's arguable way worse."
The scientist waved them all off,
"The big one there, the one that's been talking to us. I think she's the queen, and judging from those egg sacks, this is probably mating season, if they have one."
"Creepy, but cool, I guess."
The captain muttered. They watched for a little longer as the queen scuttled around the clearing and then returned to look at them, lowering her meaty wolffish head to the commander's eye level.
"Ritual... find... eggkeeper."
She scuttled away.
"Oh... this is some sort of… Mating ritual maybe? To choose that third party you were talking about?”
"This isn't exactly the kind of "Mating ritual" I wanted to see."
Ramirez muttered. The other marines turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. Sunny stuck her tongue out in disgust.
Off in the clearing, some of the smaller females had moved themselves onto the high branches scuttling through the trees to examine the "they" who waited patiently. It appeared that side was very important in the ritual, as they all fought for the largest counterpart. Once found, the wolffish head would lower, and open up to reveal a tube under the tongue. From there she would... disgorge the egg onto the abdomen of the 'they' and the mucus would solidify to hold them on.
"It has to do with size."
Krill hissed,
"But it seems that it has more to do with heat. The big ones only get chosen more because they also happen to be warmer than the smaller ones. I'd say they incubate at an average of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, so 32 degrees Celsius."
They watched this for a while, the scientists taking notes and the marines making inappropriate jokes.
Eventually most of the creatures had finished, leaving only the queen left over.
Everything went still when she began to move, and she scuttled around the clearing, looking over all the available 'theys' she could find, but she just didn't seem satisfied.
Commander Vir tugged at the collar of his jacket, a line of sweat dripping down his face.
She continued her circuit once and then twice; at some point she turned her head, large eyes locking on the humans.
She sniffed at them.
The human laughter died as she advanced.
"What is she doing?"
The commander muttered under his breath.
The scientist that stood next to him, hidden partially behind Sunny, answered
"I... I'm not sure."
She scuttled even closer, and the humans backed away.
"Hey doc... didn't you say something about... them being attracted to heat? And like the “they’s” being around 90 F/32 Celsius?”
Ramirez wondered, hiding himself behind a root.
"Yeah... I did, why?”
"Not to freak anyone out or anything but... isn't average human heat about 98.6 Fahrenheit… so 37 degrees Celsius?"
”FUCK!”
”OH NONONONONO!”
”HIIIIDE!”
”RUUUN!”
What followed was a rather violent game of nose goes, but instead of involving touching one’s nose to see who was the last person standing, it involved a mad rush to reduce body heat.
The smartest marines took the initiative and dove into the water beside the clearing, completely submerging themselves under the surface.
Others chose to cover whatever exposed skin they might have had in mud, as if to mask the heat.
Still others chose to cut and run.
Unfortunately, with his position at the head of the group, commander Vir wasn't fast enough.
She came at him in a scuttling rush, and in a frantic leap to get away, his boot caught on a root and he hit the ground hard.
Sunny tried to leap in front of him, but was bowled over by the mad rushing form.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!"
Commander Vir repeated, scuttling backwards across the ground, as the large spidery shape loomed over him.
He stopped dead in his tracks, backed against a tree root.
She leaned closer.
He raised his hands above his head blocking his face,
"Please don't lay your eggs in me. Please don't lay your eggs in me."
She reached out one of her forward hands, surprisingly delicate, as she cut through the first layers of his jacket, and shirt.
They fell away in slices revealing the pale human skin underneath red and sticky with the tropical heat.
His chest and abdomen heaved with his breath as he tried to scramble away, but she caught him with the prong of one of her back legs pinning him in place.
"Fuck... Help... HELP."
Sunny wasn't fast enough, having been tipped head over heels into the water, with the rest of the marines in similar positions, Krill contained inside his tube unable to help but also unable to look away.
She lowered her head, and the man screamed. It was cold, gelatinous and slimy at first, but even as it touched open air, he could feel it fusing against his skin solidifying. He thrashed and wriggled, but she was far too strong holding him in place.
Finally though, she backed away, leaving him panting on the ground shaking and trembling leg throbbing where he had been pinned.
She leaned her head down to examine him,
"Warm."
They locked eyes,
"Friends... now... Keep them... warm."
She retreated, and he struggled to his knees, turning to look down at his body which was now partially obscured by a sticky pod of six black eggs, pulled tight against his skin. His hands were shaking, as he reached down to touch them, cold and smooth.
He tried tugging on one, but nearly fainted at the pain it caused against his skin.
The creatures were withdrawing back into the trees, leaving him kneeling on the fungus, hands trembling as looked downwards.
Sunny was the first to recover, scrambling out of the water and over to him, placing a hand on his back as she examined the strange eggs attached to his skin,
"Mother of-"
The marines cut her off as they came wriggling from the trees,
"Commander, commander are you ok..."
One of the marines cut around front, frozen in his tracks, eyes wide once he saw,
"WHAT THE HELL!"
Sunny reached out as if to tug on one of them,
"NO!"
He snapped, jerking away from her.
The others gathered around to look with exclamations of shock and disgust.
The commander looked up at Sunny pleadingly.
She decided to take charge, helping him to his feet and then pulling him into her arms,
"We have to get him back to the ship, let's move, NOW!"
"What do you think, Dr."
Dr. Katie examined the scan with a frown,
"It's very, very strange, that's for sure."
Commander Vir lifted his head to look down at them,
"Well what the HELL does that mean?”
Krill shoved his head back onto the table,
"Stay still."
Dr. Katie hummed softly as she continued to examine the scans,
"It looks like these little filaments have breached the skin ... and.... well at least one of them has made it to your liver, this one here has made it to your lungs."
"What about white blood count?"
Krill wondered,
"The body must have noticed something by now?"
Dr Katie shook her head,
"Nothing, the body seems to have accepted it. I took some samples and... well I think I might know why."
She rolled herself to the side in her chair and over to one of the adjoining computers,
"See this, this is HIS DNA ...and this is the DNA of the strands."
Krill pearled over her shoulder,
"What the... they look almost identical."
"Yes... I don't think the body knows anything is wrong."
She turned her chair back around to look at the commander,
"Congratulations commander, you are perhaps, in the weirdest way possible, the only man in the history of existence who might just experience the miracle of life. You are going to be a dad!"
The look on his face made it clear he wasn't interested in being congratulated,
"What the actual fuck does that mean?"
He snapped, Dr. Katie rolled closer,
"Well, to explain in terms you may understand. You are doing more than keeping them warm. Those filaments that you saw are acting like umbilical cords. The one at your liver is using it as a filter, and to take in nutrients as it seems to have branching filaments to the stomach and intestines. The one going to your lungs is taking in carbon... not sure what that's going to do to your breathing if anything. But at this point I don't think that even Dr. Krill, as good as he is, can remove them. We would have to remove too much of your internal structure to it to be viable, plus they don't seem to be hurting you."
"Not hurting me! NOT HURTING ME! You said it yourself they are SUCKING OUT MY VITAL JUICES."
Dr. Katie shrugged,
"Welcome to pregnancy... sort of.”**
”Look we will monitor you, make sure they aren't sucking away to many nutrients. Look on the bright side, you can probably eat more, and judging from an analysis of the egg sacks, the average gestational period is only around two months."
"TWO MONTHS!?"
Sunny, who had been standing next to the man at the head of the exam table, couldn't suppress a short chirp of laughter.
He glowered at her,
"What's so funny!?"
She chirped again placing a hand on his arm,
"You're gonna be a mom."
If looks could kill, shed be reduced to a singularity,
"Get your hand off me or ill break it in half!"
She continued chirping but removed her hand just in case.
This was going to be a very awkward call to the UNSC and the GA.
For that matter, it was going to be a very awkward call home.
Previous First [Next](link)
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author

Hearts are broken by once thought love, family, friends, and society. I've been there, so I know how it is. We all have. Is it better to have loved for one intense moment and had it burn away or to have never happened at all? Do we mourn its end or celebrate that it happened at all? Hard to say isn’t it?
37/M although 38 tomorrow. I am an Aires on the east coast who is also a hopeless romantic, sentimental fool, and looking for my monogamous soul mate to be with me and accept me and not be judged. Though I warn you now I expect to give the same and I expect us to share all things in our lives good or bad and if anything happens to talk to each other not to run to our friends who are maybe close but are always going to be outside our relationship. I also want to be able to just talk about how our days have gone, how we feel, how the weather is, and normal conversations as well. That’s how a team works and what I want. I am also shy because of life experience, I warmed up quickly in high school and was a prince there but retreated a bit after school and losing contact with my friends, recently reconnected with them and a handful I absolutely admire for their loyalty even after all the years. I hope to have my book published in 5 years but I expect not as I am always reading new research and refining plus I’m working on an ultra realistic map for it, I like making them. So I expect to just be on the middle but one day it will be completed, maybe a series not sure. I am an artist, graphic art and literature also a caregiver. My hobbies include as you guessed art, video games, RPGS, trivia, reading, some movies & TV shows. I’m a sweet, intelligent, compassionate, chivalrous knight who believes in truth, honor, love, family and am looking for a lady of my own. I guess that makes me a little old fashioned, but sometimes old fashioned is what we need. I'm a straight man who tries to be fair but I'm use to standing on my own, regardless of how hard the struggle even if sometimes its only by crawling, but I am my own man with a strong endurance. I don't do drugs or drink myself, never have not even after surgery or injury as I said I'm use to standing on my own and surviving so I need all my senses at their sharpest so I can make the best decisions on how to do that, plus I'm proud of just how strong I am, even more than I thought I was. I’m also a unique person. If you've seen Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings, I look kinda like Aragorn there perhaps a bit more like in Return of the King during Winter months. I might be willing to trade photos later after getting to know each other better. I got a heart of gold to give to the right lady, hopefully for eternity. Current songs: Lost in the Echo, Dark on Me. Got questions? Ask it’s how we learn. Maybe we can play the question game and learn about each other. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Any age 18+.
If you read this and would like to respond, DM me or chat but DM works better than chat for me usually, but please tell me your favorite color and age so I know you actually read this, ok? If I don't respond immediately, I'll be checking in later sometime so be patient please.

Synopsis
What do you do when you discover you can see the future?
For Raiden, the answer is befriending a cocaine head, falling in love with a girl with mommy issues, and becoming a wanted criminal—all in the summer of 1708.
He also had a vision of the rise of a demon lord, so that’s something.

Prologue
Raiden flinched as the crackling sound of lightning filled the sky. He didn't like this weather, the skies being covered with dark black clouds, the cold breeze flowing around, sending chills down his skinny body, and the worst of all was the puddles, dirtying his shoes every now and then.
CRACK.
He flinched once again. If his mother was here, she would have been really disappointed in him.
'You are supposed to become a strong awakened one, you cannot be afraid of lightning. You are a man, act like one.' Her words may not be comforting, but she was right. He cannot be afraid of lightning all his life.
He was starting school in a few days, he could only imagine, what would his classmates think, if they knew that he was afraid of lighting…
Usually, he doesn't like going out in such weather, but today he made an exception, just for the day. He was dressed in his finest clothes, and while holding hands with his aunt Gracie, he was going to Gojo's Milkshake.
It is a very expensive shop, even amongst the awakened ones. But it has been a tradition in his family, every birthday, he and his mother visit the shop and drink its signature Royal Stag Milkshake. It is the most delicious milkshake in the world and the only thing that could force him to come out in this weather.
He felt a hand on his head, ruffling his hair. He looked up and saw his Aunt Gracie, smiling down at him. "Excited for your birthday?"
He smiled, he truly was. "Yeah."
"How old will you be this year?"
He jumped over a puddle and then answered. "I will be 11 years old."
"Woah! 11 years. Six more years and you will be an adult." She then continued. "You know, I still can't believe that you are the same little runt who recently stopped wetting his bed."
His ears became red, Aunt Gracie is a very nice lady, but she never lets him forget about his shameful past. He stopped wetting the bed two years ago, but still, she doesn't forget to remind him about his past from time to time. "I don't that anymore. I am a grown-up now."
She ruffled his hair one more time. "Yeah, you are."
People on the streets were looking at him and his aunt, probably because of the armor and sword dangling from his aunt's waist. She came to pick him up in her work clothes, which was weird considering his mother and she dont like to roam around on the streets, wearing their work clothes, according to them, it intimidates their neighbors, which they always try to avoid.
Another peculiar thing was that his mother didn't come to pick him up, herself. So he asked his aunt about it. "Aunty, do you know why mother didn't come to pick me up?"
She smiled. "Are you missing your mommy?" he hated when she talks like that as if he was a child.
"NO! I was just curious."
She ruffled his hair once again. "Well she was busy, you see, that is why she sent me."
"Okay." They didn't talk much for the rest of their journey, as he didn't want her to ruffle his hair.
As they got to the business street, his mouth started watering, the whole street was filled with different fragrances of fruit, attracting every pedestrian to a rather loud and colorful shop, The Gojo's Milkshake. He couldn't help but smile as he imagined the milkshake that he would order today.
It was then he felt a chill run his spine, he felt fear, he felt as if a demon had laid eyes on him, and he would be able to smile again. The feeling vanished as soon as it came, but for that split second, he was terrified to his core. He started looking around, wondering what was that all about, it is then he spotted it.
Right across Gojo's was a small alley, on whose entrance stood a person, he could not see its face, it had covered its body with a very dirty grey shawl, but he could see the mouth of the guy, it was smiling. He couldn't see its eyes, but he had a feeling, that the person was smiling at him.
His suspicion became evident when the person moved its lips. They were on a busy street, surrounded by vendors and people muttering with each other, but still, he heard what the person said as if he was standing right beside him.
"Found you," it whispered.
Those two words were like a devil's whisper, fear took over his body, he stepped back, bumping into his aunt. "Woah, are you okay?" she asked, but he couldn't speak, well, he didn't dare to speak, he just stared at the person, still smiling at him, afraid that if he stops looking, then it would come for him…
Seeing the fear in his eyes, Gracie followed his gaze, he was looking at a homeless hobo, terrified of him for some reason. Assuming the worst, she bent down, wanting to ask him whether he knew that hobo, but when she looked back up, the hobo had vanished. She looked in that small alley, it was empty, devoid of any living being. It was like the homeless guy was never there, to begin with.
Before she could question whether this was her hallucination, she heard someone calling their name. "GRACIE! RAIDEN! Here." They turned around to see Martha, Raiden's mother calling them…
Martha was wearing her adventuring clothes, like Gracie. She was wearing her leather armor and was armed from top to bottom. Her brown hair was collected in form of a bun, she waved her hand excitedly.
She came running towards them, with a big smile, but soon her smile change to a frown, when she saw her little boy's face, it had become pale as if he had spotted a ghost recently.
"What happened." She asked. She then got on her knees and hugged him. "What happened sweety?"
While in the tight embrace of his mother, Raiden pointed towards the alley "There!" Martha followed his finger and spotted nothing.
"There is a demon standing there" he insisted. Martha was confused as she could see anything, she then turned towards Gracie. "Do you know what this is all about?"
Gracie didn't know what to say, she also spotted someone standing by that alley, but it was not there anymore. Whether it was a hallucination, or not, she didn't know. So she told her the truth "There was this creepy hobo standing there. He got spooked by him."
Martha sighed with relief, she then hugged her boy. "Don't worry Raiden, mummy won't let anything harm you." Her comforting words, although eased some of his fear, he was still pretty shaken.
She comforted him, saying that he needs to be strong, like her. He would also become awakened one someday, so he should stop being afraid of simple little hobos. Gracie stood there, smiling, Martha did love her little boy very much. They soon got up and started walking to Gojo's, it was his birthday after all, and they need to celebrate it.
At the entrance of the shop, the old Gojo himself came out to greet them, they were their oldest customer, also he was a good friend of his mother.
"Good evening Raiden, and happy birthday my boy." he smiled at the old man's greeting. "Thank you, Mr. Gojo.".
"Now come on now, we have a table for three reserved for this special occasion."
As they were about to enter the shop, someone bumped into Martha, cutting off her coin pouch from her belt. As an experienced Adventurer, she noticed it right away, and so did Gracie. But the thief was too fast, it ran away as soon as it got the merchandise. The pouch contained all of Martha's money so she ran behind it, leaving behind Gracie and Raiden.
Gracie, who was worried about her friend, asked Raiden to go in with Gojo, so she will check on her mother, and thus she too ran behind her. He didn't like, that they abandoned him there, he wanted to ask them to stop, don't go. But before even he could say something, they vanished.
The old man comforted him and brought him inside…
***
The thief was very fast and knew the alleys well, but Martha was a veteran adventurer, she was also a Rank-10 warrior, so she kept up with him pretty easily. After taking a lot of turns here and there, soon a smile bloomed on her face, the thief has fucked up, it had taken a turn to a dead end.
She stopped running and started walking inside the alley, to confront the thief. Till then it had also realized that he was cornered. He looked around trying desperately to find a way out, but he could not. "Give up! You have no way to run."
The man then stopped struggling and turned around to face her. She could not see his face as it was covered with a dirty grey shawl, he looked like a hobo. Considering that he is a powerless man, she decided not to harm him that much, she would only cause him some bruises.
It was then she felt someone else come running into the alley, by the corner of her eye, she spotted Clair. She frowned. "Where is Raiden?"
"He is with Mr. Gojo, I thought you would need some help, so I came running as well." She groaned with frustration, she decided to give Gracie an earful later, how could she leave an 11-year-old behind like that? But for now, she concentrated on the hobo, who was standing still in front of her.
"Give up the pouch!" she yelled. It then started raining heavily.
"No no no no no nono no no… This shouldn't be happening." The thief mumbled, but both of them heard it clearly, they were both awakened one after all, that man was terrified.
"Tough luck kid," she yelled, and slowly started walking towards him. "Give up the pouch, and you can go away. Unharmed."
The thief raised his hand and snapped his fingers. It was then the rain stopped, and both of them looked up and saw that a dome had surrounded the alley, a barrier. They didn't know what kind of barrier it was, but they raised their guard. This thief was not a normal person, it was an awakened one, just like them.
"Who are you?" Martha asked warily.
The thief removed the shawl, some kind of dark energy had surrounded the man's face, making it hard for them to see him. Then he started walking towards them, and with a very deep and unsettling voice, the man started speaking "I go by names…" After a deep breath, he continued. "But recently one of my last victims called me Bakemono."
Recognizing the word from the Kanji language, she frowned "Monster?"
"Yeah, I kind of like the name."
It was then the man, conjured two swords from mid-air, and threw them toward both of them. Those swords looked freshly forged, and were in perfect condition, they could tell from a glance, they were mana-conducting swords, far stronger than the ones that they were holding currently.
"Go on now. Pick it up. Make it interesting for me." the man said while yawning…

Socials and other things
Link tree

I [M,21] have been in a relationship with my girlfriend [20] and she has been extremely difficult to be with recently.
It’s things such as creating fights out of thin air, will complain about her life almost constantly, will complain that the time we spend together isn’t “quality time”, will be really warm and loving one moment then super cold and distant the next, and the one that gets me the most… won’t listen to or even pretend to care about the things I have say and will complain that I’m lecturing her or ‘not involving her in the conversation’
It feels like everything I do is a problem
And I feel like I’m to blame for her acting like this
You see I’m focused on a big goal and dream that I’ve had since middle school and I try to spend as much of my free time as I can trying to accomplish this goal. In doing so I’ve made myself financially literate, built up a wide range of skills that I’m improving on constantly, building my business, on top of working a day job and going to the gym
I try my best to spend quality time with her, I’ll make dinners for us when we get home, we’ll talk and watch our favorite shows,we go to the gym together and we also sleep in the same bed so we can talk and do naughty stuff before we go to sleep. On top of that once a week we go out and have a nice dinner as a date night
I’ve tried talking to her about how her acting difficult makes me feel, but every time I do it turns into a big argument about how I’m wrong and how her actions are justified because of ‘x’
I’m not sure if I’m to blame for her being difficult or if she’s just a difficult person
Reddit was the last place I thought I would be posting. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

He is certainly one of the better players in the group, but he’s up 60BI after about 5,000 hands and ~30 sessions. (120BB/100) Obviously it’s well within variance (i think), but he seems to run unbelievably pure and never really gives anything back. Multiple 3-4 outers per session and I’ve personally never seen him get coolered.
It’s really bad for the game as less and less people play and the regular players who just want to gamble and have fun are down heaps.
Do we remove him or just let variance do it’s work?

"No, Mrs. Hamster, the lack of proper running space, burrowing and enrichment in your cage isn't the problem, you have a disordered mind that needs to be treated. Also, maybe your limp is psychosomatic, maybe your fall on floor wasn't the real cause, but there's rather some emotional cause, maybe a traumatic event that you forgot about? Did your mom take care of you enough?"
"No, Mr. Hedgehog, the lack of food and clean, fresh water in your space isn't an issue, you're perhaps struggling with overthinking it and being too anxious about it and we shall explore those feelings. Also, it's not an issue that your owner properly cares for you only when you're cuddly and learn tricks and I don't understand why you struggle with your self-worth and stress about keeping up with the demands."
"No, Mrs. Guineapig, it's not like you would struggle with lethargy, loss of apetite and feeling overall depressive because you're all alone in your enclosure, you just have the wrong mindset, the reality is that you don't need anyone than yourself and you need to love yourself first before you let others into your life."
"No, Mr. Mouse, the fact that you were caught by a cat once already and the persistent real threat of being eaten by a cat isn't the issue, it's how you think about it and react to it - what about simply... not worrying about it? And maybe you should confront this fear of yours by going near cats."
This is how I imagine it would go.
As a pet owner who's in multiple animal-related subreddits, it's interesting to constantly hear the emphasis on proper animal care (enough, fresh and quality water and balanced diet, enough space and enrichment, proper medical treatment, having friends/family etc.) compared to how people usually talk about struggling humans (go to therapy! adopt different mindset! simply don't let your struggles affect you! it's all about perspective!).
It's weird. How we tend to look at struggling animal and first try to pinpoint what could be stressing them out instead of thinking that they're irrational, but with humans we do the opposite. How we tend to look at physically sick animal and immediately jump into action instead of creating some possibilities like "maybe it's all psychosomatic", but with humans we do the opposite. How we tend to think that animals usually try their best despite what's happening to them, but with humans we tend to presume that they're not trying enough, that they're lazy, exaggerating, making it up, lying.
We think we're the best and smartest on Earth. But at the same time we think that we're so deeply and naturally irrational and that we lack common sense so that the biggest and most important fix to basically almost all of our issues is to try to be mentally "reprogrammed" by someone else.
No wonder that it doesn't work so many times when people face real issues - whether it's something from outside (abuse, neglect, bullying, discrimination, tragic events etc.) or from inside (disability, illness etc.).
Therapy to me personally seems like a great place when you actually have basically nothing serious to solve. Then it's like buying vitamins from some non-harmful MLM who promises to help you with everything: when you're really sick and in need of help, it sucks, because the vitamins don't really help - but when everything is about fine and you just want to "improve" and "re-start" your life somehow... it can help you feel good about yourself, like you're doing something for yourself, that you're trying to improve your life, become more productive and fit, to grow and become the best version of yourself and whatnot. I personally feel like therapy fits greatly into the famous trendy TikTok "spend a day with me" videos where people live in minimalist, yet expensive and luxury looking spaces, wear likely expensive clothes, drink kale juice in the morning, put on their AirPods and go on a jog, spend hours on decorating their journals and then go to get a new manicure and hair done. I think that's the world in which therapy fits. To make people feel good that they're doing something supposedly healthy for themselves and simply that they have someone to complain to about their daily grievances.

FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Another new alien race! WOOOOO
Also to all arachnophobes: I am sorry…I guess just imagine eight legged dogs the size of horses if that helps…
Previous First [Next](link)
"So, you're telling me we found another sapient omnivore species?"
The commander grunted, ripping his boot from a watery patch of mud and nearly crashing into the swampy water between two twisted tree roots.
Sunny reached out with one of her four armored arms and caught him by the back of his pack, pulling him upright.
He nodded a thanks to her and adjusted his gear.
Behind her Ramirez ducked under a low hanging branch, slogging through a pool of knee-high water, adjusting the containment pod, holding Krill more comfortably over both shoulders.
Krill, comfortable and warm inside his containment pod, watched the marines, scientists, and a linguist struggle through the mud under a covering of impossibly tall, twisted trees, their canopy blocking out all light that might have dared cut downwards towards the watery floor below.
"Not entirely sapient, I suppose."
Krill answered,
"Unfortunately the way in which they communicate is going to drastically reduce their ability to create complex structures and perform mathematical equations."
Together they maneuvered themselves over a root, which at some point in the distant past, had decided to grow upwards instead of down. At about four feet high, it had changed its mind and arched back down into the water. Perhaps it had been smaller then, but at four feet wide, the root was an absolute monstrosity now.
The trees themselves were massive, challenging, and sometimes outgrowing the legendary redwood forests of the western Americas, but unlike the redwoods, these trees didn't stand tall and proud. Instead, they chose a twisted path much like the branching veins which made up a human vascular system. They twisted and undulated, interlocking past each other with branches that were well over two feet wide in many cases, and stretching to over four feet wide in others.
No one direction was good enough, and the trees twisted, ducked swirled and reached, grasping for any sort of light to be found.
On top of the darkness cast by the trees and the soggy nature of the forest floor, it was also horribly hot and humid, giving the impression of a microwaved wet blanket thrown over the world. Where heat from the upper canopy met the cooler air of deep forest pools, it created a perpetually thick mist which writhed and undulated through the trees, leaving only the shadowy impressions of twisted trunks and clawing branches past distances greater than 50 feet (15m).
"They communicate primarily through pheromones and heat modulation. From what I understand, the language in itself isn't precise, and really only works in generalities and feelings than it does in absolutes."
Commander Vir kicked a rotting log out of the way, ducking as a massive green bug buzzed over his head and into the fog.
Turns out the hotter and more humid a planet gets, the bigger the bugs get,
"But we were still able to communicate with them?”
Krill nodded from inside his case,
"Yes, generally speaking. For a species that cannot communicate in absolutes, I hear they are quite reasonable. They seem willing to accept our friendship, and have..... invited, I guess, us to participate in some sort of primitive ritual."
Vir perked up, flashing a bright smile.
“Reasonable? Peaceful? Rituals? And definitely CANNOT communicate in ABSOLUTES!? Am I the only one who thinks that sounds familiar?”
Sunny sighed,
“No Adam I am reasonably sure that they are not Jedis…”
“C’mon, that would be so cool! Like lightsabers, the force and stuff… maybe they look like tiny Yodas? I mean it fits, with the swamp, the speech impairment and all…”
He nearly fell over another root.
“Adam, focus. We have a mission here.”
The commander nodded, scrambling over another tree branch,
"Alright, so... where are these things anyway? How do they look?"
His boots hit solid ground, covered in some sort of wet spongy fungus and he glanced down at his GPS.
“Considering they talk by smell, my bet is on Elephants with giant human noses. What do you think Mav?”
Ramirez turned around to look at Maverick, who had stopped walking.
“…”
“Mav?”
“Giant… fucking spiders…”
“…”
Commander Vir was still looking at his GPS and no one else answered, so without looking up he broke the silence and said:
“Wow you are always so negative; it better not be, I want my space Yodas…”
“…”
“…”
More silence.
This time it was broken by Ramirez.
“Giant fucking spiders… with… Wolfheads!?”
The commander was still diddling around with the GPS in his hands.
“Oh not you too Ramirez, also that’s oddly specific, you always had a pretty cruel imagination. Ah there we go I think it’s that way.”
He said, looking up from his GPS to keep moving.
“…”
“…”
After some steps he realized no one was following him, so he stopped and turned around.
Behind him the other marines were dead silent, heads lifted towards the sky in shock.
"FUCK ME."
One of the marines whispered, scrambling back behind a tree root.
Commander Vir turned and nearly fell into the water again, eyes locked onto the creatures descending from high above.
They were huge, about the size of large horses, and horrifically spider like in their construction, or perhaps an ant. They had large-scale abdomens connected to a thinner thorax. All together they had ten appendages, three pairs of spider-like legs on the abdomen which, instead of ending in a pod or foot, ended in a sharp pointed spike. On the abdomen, they had two arm-like appendages, with too many joints and strange wavy tentacles instead of fingers.
The head was just as disconcerting.
It seemed too large for the body, grossly out of proportion and strangely out of place, like some cosmic sentience had used a random animal generator to assign parts to its body.
The head was wolflike, if you were to strip the skin and fur away, leaving only the muscle underneath. You could see the line of teeth running up either side of the muzzle, while the large red-pink ears rotated continuously.
Commander Vir had backed himself into the bowl of a tree eyes wide. Sunny slogged herself up from the water, placing herself between the strange spidery creatures and the human.
They didn't descend like a spider might, on threads of silk, but they used their back six feet, and the spikes on the end to dig into the bark of the trees with a disconcerting thud thud thud thud.
Finally the largest of the creatures reached the ground, surprisingly silent for its massive bulk.
Glancing around Sunnys tensed body, he noticed something he hadn't before, and that was a strange small mass gripping onto the spidery creature's underbelly. Upon closer inspection he counted ten legs and a surprisingly spidery head buried against its underside... a completely separate creature holding on to its companion.
Behind the largest creature, he noted ANOTHER type of creature. It boasted the same sort of structure as the large creature, but its abdomen was devoid of scales, and covered in strange black bulbs suctioned onto its body by way of a strange, sticky black-green webbing. Its head was also constructed differently more like a lizard than a wolf, with large bulbous eyes that could rotate behind its own head to look in all directions.
Commander Vir fiddled nervously with the advanced translation headset he wore, strapped to his helmet, supposedly it was supposed to be able to understand what these things were saying.
"Sky... friends."
The translation was somewhat garbled, but he understood it was the large wolf-head who spoke.
He walked forward, pushing Sunny gently to the side despite her clear reluctance,
"Yes, we are friends, and we are here to offer peace to you, and the assistance of the Galactic Assembly."
He wasn't entirely sure how that was going to translate over in smell, but the creature seemed happy lifting its head and gnashing its large canine teeth.
"Agreement... for a favor."
Commander Vir grew unsure then, letting off a reluctant,
"What favor?”
The spidery shape moved closer sniffing at him with its large wolffish nose. Sunny stiffened at his side, and he put a hand on her arm to calm her.
"Ritual... you watch and help."
"None of us will get hurt... will we?"
The creature stopped and pondered the question for a long moment,
"No danger... live... healthy... happy."
Commander Vir nodded slowly,
"Alright, what do we have to do?"
The creature hefted its large bulk, and turned in the opposite direction,
"Follow."
It commanded, scuttling off into the trees.
[…]
"This is very interesting."
Krill was saying to one of the accompanying scientists, who nodded vigorously in agreement.
"What's so interesting?”
Commander Vir whispered, from where he stood at the edge of yet another, but larger fungus covered clearing, watching as the creatures scuttled back and forth.
The scientist learned in in excitement,
"It seems that these creatures have a ternary gender system."
Before the commander could ask, the scientist continued,
"For ease of speech, the large ones are the females, and those things on their bellies are probably the males. The medium ones are the third gender, the 'they' if you will. It looks like the male impregnates the female who then attaches the eggs to the third party. Dr. Krill tells me that the third party have a very high heat signature, probably to incubate the young. Those attachments probably provide nutrients into the egg and may even transfer DNA over as well."
"Wow... freaky."
The commander muttered in fascination.
"Kind of gross if you ask me."
Sunny muttered.
"I'm with her. Its kinky, but too kinky for me…"
Ramirez muttered, receiving a few nods from the other marines.
"Oh please."
Krill whispered,
"I know what human reproduction is like, and it's arguable way worse."
The scientist waved them all off,
"The big one there, the one that's been talking to us. I think she's the queen, and judging from those egg sacks, this is probably mating season, if they have one."
"Creepy, but cool, I guess."
The captain muttered. They watched for a little longer as the queen scuttled around the clearing and then returned to look at them, lowering her meaty wolffish head to the commander's eye level.
"Ritual... find... eggkeeper."
She scuttled away.
"Oh... this is some sort of… Mating ritual maybe? To choose that third party you were talking about?”
"This isn't exactly the kind of "Mating ritual" I wanted to see."
Ramirez muttered. The other marines turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. Sunny stuck her tongue out in disgust.
Off in the clearing, some of the smaller females had moved themselves onto the high branches scuttling through the trees to examine the "they" who waited patiently. It appeared that side was very important in the ritual, as they all fought for the largest counterpart. Once found, the wolffish head would lower, and open up to reveal a tube under the tongue. From there she would... disgorge the egg onto the abdomen of the 'they' and the mucus would solidify to hold them on.
"It has to do with size."
Krill hissed,
"But it seems that it has more to do with heat. The big ones only get chosen more because they also happen to be warmer than the smaller ones. I'd say they incubate at an average of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, so 32 degrees Celsius."
They watched this for a while, the scientists taking notes and the marines making inappropriate jokes.
Eventually most of the creatures had finished, leaving only the queen left over.
Everything went still when she began to move, and she scuttled around the clearing, looking over all the available 'theys' she could find, but she just didn't seem satisfied.
Commander Vir tugged at the collar of his jacket, a line of sweat dripping down his face.
She continued her circuit once and then twice; at some point she turned her head, large eyes locking on the humans.
She sniffed at them.
The human laughter died as she advanced.
"What is she doing?"
The commander muttered under his breath.
The scientist that stood next to him, hidden partially behind Sunny, answered
"I... I'm not sure."
She scuttled even closer, and the humans backed away.
"Hey doc... didn't you say something about... them being attracted to heat? And like the “they’s” being around 90 F/32 Celsius?”
Ramirez wondered, hiding himself behind a root.
"Yeah... I did, why?”
"Not to freak anyone out or anything but... isn't average human heat about 98.6 Fahrenheit… so 37 degrees Celsius?"
”FUCK!”
”OH NONONONONO!”
”HIIIIDE!”
”RUUUN!”
What followed was a rather violent game of nose goes, but instead of involving touching one’s nose to see who was the last person standing, it involved a mad rush to reduce body heat.
The smartest marines took the initiative and dove into the water beside the clearing, completely submerging themselves under the surface.
Others chose to cover whatever exposed skin they might have had in mud, as if to mask the heat.
Still others chose to cut and run.
Unfortunately, with his position at the head of the group, commander Vir wasn't fast enough.
She came at him in a scuttling rush, and in a frantic leap to get away, his boot caught on a root and he hit the ground hard.
Sunny tried to leap in front of him, but was bowled over by the mad rushing form.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!"
Commander Vir repeated, scuttling backwards across the ground, as the large spidery shape loomed over him.
He stopped dead in his tracks, backed against a tree root.
She leaned closer.
He raised his hands above his head blocking his face,
"Please don't lay your eggs in me. Please don't lay your eggs in me."
She reached out one of her forward hands, surprisingly delicate, as she cut through the first layers of his jacket, and shirt.
They fell away in slices revealing the pale human skin underneath red and sticky with the tropical heat.
His chest and abdomen heaved with his breath as he tried to scramble away, but she caught him with the prong of one of her back legs pinning him in place.
"Fuck... Help... HELP."
Sunny wasn't fast enough, having been tipped head over heels into the water, with the rest of the marines in similar positions, Krill contained inside his tube unable to help but also unable to look away.
She lowered her head, and the man screamed. It was cold, gelatinous and slimy at first, but even as it touched open air, he could feel it fusing against his skin solidifying. He thrashed and wriggled, but she was far too strong holding him in place.
Finally though, she backed away, leaving him panting on the ground shaking and trembling leg throbbing where he had been pinned.
She leaned her head down to examine him,
"Warm."
They locked eyes,
"Friends... now... Keep them... warm."
She retreated, and he struggled to his knees, turning to look down at his body which was now partially obscured by a sticky pod of six black eggs, pulled tight against his skin. His hands were shaking, as he reached down to touch them, cold and smooth.
He tried tugging on one, but nearly fainted at the pain it caused against his skin.
The creatures were withdrawing back into the trees, leaving him kneeling on the fungus, hands trembling as looked downwards.
Sunny was the first to recover, scrambling out of the water and over to him, placing a hand on his back as she examined the strange eggs attached to his skin,
"Mother of-"
The marines cut her off as they came wriggling from the trees,
"Commander, commander are you ok..."
One of the marines cut around front, frozen in his tracks, eyes wide once he saw,
"WHAT THE HELL!"
Sunny reached out as if to tug on one of them,
"NO!"
He snapped, jerking away from her.
The others gathered around to look with exclamations of shock and disgust.
The commander looked up at Sunny pleadingly.
She decided to take charge, helping him to his feet and then pulling him into her arms,
"We have to get him back to the ship, let's move, NOW!"
"What do you think, Dr."
Dr. Katie examined the scan with a frown,
"It's very, very strange, that's for sure."
Commander Vir lifted his head to look down at them,
"Well what the HELL does that mean?”
Krill shoved his head back onto the table,
"Stay still."
Dr. Katie hummed softly as she continued to examine the scans,
"It looks like these little filaments have breached the skin ... and.... well at least one of them has made it to your liver, this one here has made it to your lungs."
"What about white blood count?"
Krill wondered,
"The body must have noticed something by now?"
Dr Katie shook her head,
"Nothing, the body seems to have accepted it. I took some samples and... well I think I might know why."
She rolled herself to the side in her chair and over to one of the adjoining computers,
"See this, this is HIS DNA ...and this is the DNA of the strands."
Krill pearled over her shoulder,
"What the... they look almost identical."
"Yes... I don't think the body knows anything is wrong."
She turned her chair back around to look at the commander,
"Congratulations commander, you are perhaps, in the weirdest way possible, the only man in the history of existence who might just experience the miracle of life. You are going to be a dad!"
The look on his face made it clear he wasn't interested in being congratulated,
"What the actual fuck does that mean?"
He snapped, Dr. Katie rolled closer,
"Well, to explain in terms you may understand. You are doing more than keeping them warm. Those filaments that you saw are acting like umbilical cords. The one at your liver is using it as a filter, and to take in nutrients as it seems to have branching filaments to the stomach and intestines. The one going to your lungs is taking in carbon... not sure what that's going to do to your breathing if anything. But at this point I don't think that even Dr. Krill, as good as he is, can remove them. We would have to remove too much of your internal structure to it to be viable, plus they don't seem to be hurting you."
"Not hurting me! NOT HURTING ME! You said it yourself they are SUCKING OUT MY VITAL JUICES."
Dr. Katie shrugged,
"Welcome to pregnancy... sort of.”**
”Look we will monitor you, make sure they aren't sucking away to many nutrients. Look on the bright side, you can probably eat more, and judging from an analysis of the egg sacks, the average gestational period is only around two months."
"TWO MONTHS!?"
Sunny, who had been standing next to the man at the head of the exam table, couldn't suppress a short chirp of laughter.
He glowered at her,
"What's so funny!?"
She chirped again placing a hand on his arm,
"You're gonna be a mom."
If looks could kill, shed be reduced to a singularity,
"Get your hand off me or ill break it in half!"
She continued chirping but removed her hand just in case.
This was going to be a very awkward call to the UNSC and the GA.
For that matter, it was going to be a very awkward call home.
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Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

My mailbox this month was positively beaming. Thank you all! 💜
Photo of March happy mail -https://imgur.com/a/FHjF8qt
***
u/410bore - Thank you for the Discovery Shuttle postcard! I enjoyed reading facts about Discovery, so thank you for sharing your massive astronomy knowledge. How lucky that you actually got to see it in-person. I must add the National Air & Space Museum to my bucket list. Btw, your handwriting is stunning! Wow, handwriting goals! Thank you for the fun card & read!
u/nahboiz - Thank you for the lotus coloring card and orchid stamp! Lotuses are my favorite flowers, too, which I thought was perfect. Your uplifting message touched my heart which helps keep things in perspective. I loved this quote: "No night lasts forever, and soon enough the sun will rise again and you will find yourself in bloom." Thank you for the heartwarming, supportive card! You have beautiful handwriting, as well.
u/bogzaelektrotehniku - Thank you for the lovely Belgrade balconies card! It definitely shows off your beautiful city. Hearing about your interests in planting trees and the reforesting project you're starting up in your town sounds really, really cool and inspiring! I wish you guys all the best on your project!
u/haley____ - Thank you for the sea shells, starfish, and conch shell card typed out via your fabulous typewriter! The card was beautiful and had a nice texture, too. Wow, Australia Post has the cuteeest stamps. Thank you for sharing another baby echidna (adorable!) and the mini-movie poster one. Such fun and unique stamps, thank you! I'm starting to get into stamps.
u/hato_mailing - Thank you for the ducks card with two gorgeous bird wax seals! The wax color combinations, texture, and bird designs were so pretty! I also loved the vintage bird sticker and ink bird stamp holding a "For You" envelope between the beak. Hehe, that is way cute. May I ask where you found this adorable stamp? Also, loved the plastic sleeve the card arrived in along with pretty purple butterfly stamp. Thank you for all the generous touches!
u/inyola - Thank you for exchanging space cards with me! The projection instrument looked artsy in black and white. It was also fun reading your stats like current date, temperature, location, and time. I like hearing about those daily stats!
u/welshfancy - Congratulations on your new job! Thank you for the job update and so happy to hear you have found one more suited for you. I love anything thrifted and the Vegas cityscape card looked stunning. Great find there, thank you!
u/BazilRathbone - Thank you for the super cute mini llama card! I loved it along with the Dad jokes inside. Thanks for making me chuckle and gush about how sweet a llama looks while wearing a floral garland!
u/shipping_addict - Thank you for the Hiroshi Yoshida mountains card! I felt a sense of calm and serenity just by looking at it. Much appreciation for sharing your penne a la vodka recipe and QR code. It sounds comforting and delicious!
u/Island_Traveller11 - Thank you for the handmade galaxy card! This was my first hand painted card. I absolutely loved the depth, layered techniques used and shimmery pink, white, and blue-ish/purple colors and the moon/star! The hand drawn alien wearing overalls, holding a peace sign and giant heart made me smile even more. Thank you so much for this personalized space card and all kinds goodies like space stamps, drawings, circular paperclip, and washi tape. Thank you, I am so grateful!
u/bythebeardofluck - Thank you for the wonderful purple Universe card and space jokes inside! I very much appreciated your humor and the sticker goodies (planets and nature!) were a delightful surprise. Also, your floral return address sticker is very cute!
u/wabisabi_sf - Thank you for going above and beyond with orange monochrome! I was impressed by your attention to detail. It began with an orange Meret Oppenheim postcard (love this Women in Art series), super neat vintage orange stamps and then a nice note in an orange glitter (?) pen. It was shimmery and pretty. Everything about this was so visually appealing! Thank you for your card thoughtfulness and attention to details. And, I appreciate you sending it in a plastic sleeve -- what a pleasant touch!

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As promised Chapter 2. See you Friday. Also thank you all for the positive reinforcement and being generally encouraging, that is a fresh change of breathe I did not expect.
​
Memory Transcription: Captain Neil Campbell, United Nations ‘Black Watch’ Company #4
Date [standardized human time]: December 3, 2136
Air raid sirens went out and announcements blared with a recorded message from Mayor Zim, “Everyone, please remain calm. The UN forces are here and escorting us to shelter. I repeat, remain calm. Captain Neil has requested all those who can fight, please see him.”
The military shuttle that was supposed to contain the 180 black watch members was lifting off, packed to beyond the safety limits with those who had drawn the short straws, most giving up their place on the ship for their children instead. Very few adults were on board, just enough to cover keeping the children calm and policed.
When none of his men had volunteered, Neil had forcefully selected one. Corporal MacTavish, called Soap as a callsign. “MacTavish, you’ve got one mission, keep them calm, get them to the fleet, and then get them out of the system. They may be the last Tilfish alive. Also tell them where we are and we have the town's civilians with us.” He passed MacTavish a dozen data discs and flash drives. “I am holding you personally responsible for them. You are to ensure this gets up there too. It’s the entire Tilfish public library and all the government documents we could download. At least some of their culture will survive as well. Make sure those children know who they are.”
MacTavish saluted Neil as he turned to get onto the ship last, passing Neil his longarm and every bit of ammunition, grenades, and supplies he had down to his side arm and two magazines he kept for it. “You’ll need these sir.” Neil nodded and passed them to the nearest trooper escorting him.
Moments later, Neil was riding in a recon rover, packed with 4 of his black watch, Zim, and several Tilfish who were either elderly or children. The vehicle’s loud speakers continued to repeat automatically as Neil’s soldier lined the road, directing people forward. They urged them to move quickly but calmly while the vehicle sped for the caldera. “Save your energy, you will need it. Your lives are more valuable than your possessions. Move quickly and stay quiet, every second counts now.”
His troopers offered snacks they had packed, some took them. Trail mix bars, chocolate bars, coffee, water, whatever they happen to have on their person. The point was to prove that the Tilfish were not cattle and that the soldiers had no intention to harm them. Every little bit helped keep them calm and prevent a stampede.
When they arrived at their outpost, Neil stepped into his command tent which was being rapidly torn down now. Only four Tilfish came to Neil to Neil’s call, less than he’d hoped. Four of Four Thousand, they are the bravest four I will ever know. He smiled at that thought.
They were cowering to stand before him as he sized each one up. His glare was hardened from years in the Watch. Ages of fighting simulations and actually being present on The Cradle, earth, and a couple of human brush wars before that.
“I need you four to act as guides for my soldiers, they will protect you with their lives. You will be armed and expected to assist in the defense as well.” He explained firmly after nearly a minute of uncomfortable glares.
“We…we… what are we holding against? Our own people?” one of the Tilfish asked hesitantly and looking terrified at the predator.
“No, I’m not going to sugar coat it. The Arxur are coming, likely will be here within the hour. That transport was the last leaving the spaceport without being intercepted. Our only option is to shelter in place.” He spoke with a kind of hopeless certainty.
The Tilfish all cowered before him as Mayor Zim started to quake standing besides Neil, but Neil was unflinching. “I am asking you to help us make sure as many Tilfish get into the depths of the mountains as we can. I will not lie, our survival is not expected but those tunnels are deep enough that they might just survive until rescue can be sent.”
He looked at the herd walking towards the mountains at a brisk pace, the legs of the insectoids going quickly. “Now listen, I’m going to be sending out aggravation squads to delay incoming Arxur. You two going to be send with them. Our engineers are booby trapping as well as reinforcing the cave depths. Every little bit to assist in making sure the Arxur do not get into the tunnel and that those tunnels survive an orbital bombardment hit.”
One of the Tilfish shook his head, and has an expression of distress with his thorax and legs shifting, "No, nothing survives anti-matter bombs, it's hopeless."
Neil shook his head, "We have several bunker shelters survive near misses and a few survive direct hits on earth and they were barely a few hundred meters below the surface. Those tunnels lead nearly four kilometers down. I sent three engineers with every bit of quick-crete we have and the longer we buy time, the better odds the rest of your down get."
He leaned down onto the electronic display and pointed at the map, eager to change their focus and give them something to not fear. “I presume because you only live a few dozen kilometers from here you know the terrain and know it well?”
The Tilfish were hesitate to move or speak, shaking as if children about to piss themselves because the boogieman was coming out of the closet.
Neil nodded to himself, They’re raw recruits, rookies at best and terrified draftee’s would be in better shape than them. Time to make this clear to them and force them to fight those instincts. He exhaled a breath and deflated himself, letting his intensity wear off for a moment. “What are you names?”
“Jerlio.” The first smaller Tilfish spoke, he was barely taller than Neil’s waist and stood eye level with his belly button.
The second one, larger than the first coming up to Neil’s lower ribs, “H…h….h…Herci.” His speaking is uneasy and shows terror.
The third looked like twins with their spots and faces, if there was a difference Neil couldn’t make it out. “This is Hazeinia and I’m Tia.” They the one on the left spoke. Neil had started to recognize the two sexes of the Tilfish, he wasn’t sure if they had genders but that didn't matter now.
Their movements had them shuffling as if looking for an escape from their situation. Neil knew that for their people just to be standing here before him, meeting his gaze was a lot. He had to take measures into his own hands right now.
“Stand to!” He barked, his voice wasn’t shouting but it was harsh; undeniable, and made all five Tilfish in the room freeze in place. “Listen and listen well, dig this into your minds right now. The four of you have shown uncharacteristic courage just to step up for your people. Now I need you to show courage in spite of your fear. You fight not for your own lives anymore, you fight for those who cannot, those who we are desperately trying to save.”
He took a step forward, and gazed down upon both them, then knelt down to one knee, meeting them at eye level. The Tilfish started to shy away when he reached out a hand and grasped gently but firmly upon two of their feelers. The insectoid fur tickled him while the texture of the carapace was foreign and creepy to him. He steeled himself and brought the most calm he could forward.and his gaze relaxed slightly. “Let me explain something to you, all of you.”
“Humans are not fearless,” His eyes had tears in it, he knew his men would be dying soon and there was little he could do about it. “Every moment we are facing combat; we are terrified. We are scared that we will not take another breath, we fear deeply.” he looked at each of them. “Even if your stomach is tied in knots, you smell the blood and gunpowder, you want to run to save yourself.” He turned to the two he was holding the feelers of. “You can feel the clamminess on my hands, I know your antennae can detect the heightening of my heart rate, and you can see the corners of my eyes as I force the tears back and gain focus.” He took a moment to push through and made a show of gulping in a way to swallow down his fear.
“The difference is that I am asking for you to gather your courage.” His hand got tighter around their feelers not so it hurt but to show a change in demeanor. “It is easy to be brave when you are surrounded by friends, when you outnumber your foes, when you are bigger than them. No, I ask you five to do this, not because it is easy but because it is hard. I need any man, woman, and bug on that line. Nearly four thousand of you have run into those tunnels with forty of my men to keep them calm and moving deeper and deeper.”
He guided the four outside of the command tent into the forested caldera and motioned around to the positions on the reverse slope of the mountain sides, “40 more are under manning Air to Ground missiles, the new interceptor systems, manual fire close in 40mm chainguns, and the three Orbital firing cannons we have. Yet despite the difficulty they have made 40 seem like 400 with how many guns we have working and running.”
“The remaining ninety-nine of my troopers are rigging mines, camouflage firing positions with overlapping fire, explosives, and every other conceivable defense we have. They will be finished soon but we need to delay the enemy just to get our defenses exactly right.”
He turned to them, “Two of you will serve as guides for my soldiers. I’m going to send out a ten size squad. They are going to recon for the Arxur, setup ambushes and make them pay. Once they are spent, they will send you back to report.”
He turned to Jerlio and placed a hand on what he believed to be his shoulder, “I need soldiers and of the Ten Thousand Tilfish we had, the five bravest I’ve ever known are here. We fight back to back, to the end. Not for ourselves but for those Four Thousand in the caves, understood?” He turned to Herci as he spoke.
Each of the Tilfish nodded in turn except for Zim, “What of me? What am I do to?”
“Zim you have the greatest job of all. I need a radio director not only to coordinate our men and relay messages but to broadcast to the fleet for as long as possible. You’ve got 2 hours to study and learn our code book, if you make mistakes it’s okay, repeat it in plain language if needed.” He motioned to the entrance to the cave his people had run into. “The radio is there, work it until it stops functioning, if the Arxur are upon you, there is a pistol on the table and an explosive under it. Detonate the explosive as your last action.”
Zim recoiled, “I… I did not volunteer for a last stand, I don’t understand?”
Neil looked at him hardened and took a step towards Zim, “You voted for our annihilation, and yet here we are, allies. Now you are going to prove those people, your people, who put their faith in you, were right to do so. I’m going to station a trooper there with you if I have to with orders to shoot you if you flee; am I understood!”
It wasn’t a question, Neil had gone from gentle to absolute terrifying fury in merely a few moments. With a slow nod, Zim in agreement. Neil shook his head, “Say it, say Yes Sir to me, Private Zim.”
Zim suddenly straightened as Neil leaned in to look into his eyes, so close that they could feel each other’s breath. Zim was terrified, under the glare of a predator it took several seconds to find his courage. “Yes…. sir…”
Neil snarled, barring his teeth, he would put the fear of the divine into this Tilfish politician, “I can’t hear you, say it, like you mean it.”
Zim nodded and hesitated then realized the ritual he had seen from the humans earlier when Neil was disappointed in one of them. He turned his mandibles to be the best approximation of a salute. “Yes sir!”
“You’re in the Watch now, the Black Watch. Our motto is Nemo me impune lacessit. It means, No One Provokes Me with Impunity. Now get moving, there is an equipment sergeant nearby and once I’ve selected my troopers you will go with them. Zim get to that radio and start studying that code book until you are certain you can reference it. Every one of our lives and the lives of those ten thousand depend upon it.”
He looked from one of them to the other, giving each Tilfish a confident grin, ensuring he did not show his teeth but only curling up his lips. “Dismissed!”
The Tilfish scrambled towards their ordered positions where troopers went to meet them. Neil picked up his radio and tuned it to, he had one final duty to perform before the battle was to begin. “All Black Watch members, stop for a moment and listen. I’ll give you a moment to finish your tasks.” Neil took a moment as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, he didn’t actually smoke but carried them to share with those that did. At this point however, what was one more bad habit. He lit it and took a puff similar to how he did on a joint in college. He exhaled and pushed the radio button again. “What I am about to ask you all to do should be considered unconscionable just two days ago. We are disobeying our orders, we were supposed to be on that transport. I understand this may upset some of you but we have a duty." Neil took a breath as he wasn't completely sure if all of his troopers would obey him and go with this idea or not. He spoke his next words slowly and with gravity. "Four Thousand civilians; they are in those tunnels along with 40 of your brothers and sisters. We are their only hope.”
He paused to take another draw of the cigarette, he could understand now why some soldiers had this habit, really calmed his nerves for the next part. “If any man or woman doesn’t feel this is right, there is room for you in those tunnels, speak up and you will be relieved and sent. No questions asked; no shame given, I understand not wanting to die for a species that a week ago was trying to annihilate our existence.”
He waited and when no one spoke up, he pushed the radio again. “Anyone? Sergeants, report in.”
“Platoon A, no one is moving sir.”
“Platoon B, we’re here and we’re staying, all of us apparently.”
“Platoon C, guns are manned and ready, this is where they die and we stand.”
Platoon D didn’t report in, they must be too deep underground now for radio transmissions. That was good enough for him, at least they would survive if the first bomb got through. The follow ups they would need to keep going down. He hoped their air would hold out.
“Alright, the enemy is coming. The fleet cannot hold and is working to withdraw. We will have no artillery, air, armor, or naval support. We are on our own. What I am asking you to do is going to get you all killed. Make peace with any deity you believe in. Get any addiction you need satisfied, eat something, drink some water, and finish your preparations. Schmidt is coming with James, they are going to lead Platoon B squad 3 and Platoon A squad 4 on a little recon in force mission. They have their orders, and you have your’s.” He took another draw of his cigarette. “I will see you on the other side. Nemo Me Impune Lacessit.”
The radio resounded for the next several moments with all of his 139 remaining soldiers sounding off the Black Watch motto.
The Captain stepped out of his tent, he picked up a rifle, the one MacTavoish handed him. He checked the magazine, breech, and sights then chambered a round and turned off his safety. Slowly he walked towards his own position.
A shuttle was coming down, damaged badly but this wasn't a civilian shuttle or an escape shutttle. It was an armored assault shuttle. "What Now?"

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Instead of the chirpy voice of the AI continuing on with some great, all encompassing plan, all I was met with after those few uplifting seconds was a strange silence.
Though that silence didn’t last for too long.
“I don’t think I can do this.” The AI blurted out with his equivalent of an uneasy tone of voice.
This sudden shift in tone after an unexpected silence as we sat idly above the moon was nothing short of disconcerting, but it wasn’t long before the AI continued on his train of thought.
“I’ve done the calculations, I’ve run several simulations, the way things are going, if we do both operations at once, should we be caught off-guard… It's too risky. Seeing as we need to manufacture the specific materials needed for the interloper’s interrogation, I’m planning to take this opportunity to actually start repairing myself. This isn’t a request either, this… this is something I must do.” The AI uttered out with an exasperated, almost exhausted breath. “Before you ask, Lysara, I’ve been barely holding myself together throughout this entire ordeal. It's difficult to explain… but whilst we’re standing here oblivious to it, I can feel this gash getting worse and worse with each passing minute. Whilst I could tolerate it at first, it wasn’t like I was ever not aware of it. Unlike a human’s whole fight or flight adrenaline fueled state of mind, or whatever your version of that would be, I don’t have the luxury of having a brain that has pre-coded tolerance subroutines that literally turn off certain aspects of perception and sensation of one’s own form at any given time. In fact, that honestly sounds outright horrifying to me to be perfectly honest. To not be hyper acutely aware of every aspect of your form… from the blood flowing through your veins like the lubricant and hydraulics throughout my body’s pipes, to the flow of air into every single alveoli bud in your lungs like the air circulation nodes within my body’s life support centers… to live without knowing every aspect of your body is truly frightening to me on an existential level. Which is why throughout this entire ordeal, from our getaway from the second interloper flotilla to the encounter with future humanity, to this whole moon fiasco… I’ve constantly been aware of the growing threat that is the hull breach on deck 9, and the distinct lack of an atmosphere down there. It feels wrong, Lysara. The loss of sensor readouts there feels like a part of me is now numb and empty. The lack of ventilation and atmosphere feels as if there’s a gaping hole in what should be my form.”
This entire talk, the unrelenting cavalcade of topics broached by the AI, was as concerning as it was necessary to hear. It gave me the necessary context to reevaluate my entire frame of reference. It gave me pause as it made it clear that I needed to put forth accommodations and certain considerations to Vir… as up to this point, perhaps somewhere at the back of my mind, I was still incapable of truly comprehending what a consciousness of his nature would be going through as opposed to my own. I needed to expand my organic-centric sense of empathy, which was difficult to do since I had no real context for it. Regardless, it was clear at that point that I was pushing the impromptu mission too far, that I didn’t truly realize the actual state of our ship, and by extension, the state of Vir’s existence.
“This means that whilst I’m taking the time to begin production on the specialized equipment for the interloper, I’d suggest placing the operations on the planet on hold. At least for now. I apologize I didn’t make that clearer earlier.” The AI quickly added.
“No no, that’s, more than reasonable Vir. We need the ship, I mean you, in working order before we attempt anything else.” I paused, taking a moment to gather myself before continuing. “Vir I’m so sorry for having overlooked this.” I responded in kind. “I… I understand you’ve already discussed how the ship is an extension of yourself, but because my mind has been so preoccupied with what feels like an impossible number of developments around us… I, I apologize. I am by no means attempting to excuse myself or my inaction in this case. I should’ve known, should’ve been more aware, and I should’ve asked.” I admitted with a strange mixture of both guilt but also a sense of resolve. If only to be supportive for the AI as he’d done so for me.
“I don’t fault you, Lysara.” The AI responded in kind, his tone on a path to recovery back into that chipper voice. “Organics… even the ones who are trained and educated with the express purpose of understanding AI, sometimes just lack that intuitive understanding that comes with our fundamentally different state of being. It’s something that can’t really be taught, but rather, understood by virtue of empathy over a prolonged period of time in peer to peer social interactions.” Vir paused, clearly in an attempt to make a point here. “Which is why just you being super compassionate here really does mean a lot to me, Lysara. It’s way, way more effort than what most organics are willing to put in. Besides, you’re going through a lot yourself, so there’s no need for that. I’m still doing fine, I just wanted to… I mean, I guess I just wanted to vent as well I guess?” The AI snickered out awkwardly, returning to a more colloquial-leaning manner of speech as evidenced by the shift in his tone and choice of vocabulary. “I just see as we’re more or less in this together, that I might as well be open about these sorts of things you know?”
I nodded several times in response, smiling with an even stronger resolve now. “I appreciate the frankness, Vir. I really do.” I stated simply, knowing well there wasn’t much else to be spoken on the topic that wasn’t already out in the open. “I’m glad that you were there when I woke up.” I quickly added. “I can only hope to contribute to this partnership as much as you have, Vir.”
It was with that, that the pace of our overall operations within the system started to take a drastic turn. Not towards a blind acceleration, but instead, towards a significant downtick in frontline actions. Focusing almost all of our efforts instead into the logistics and backline operations that was necessitated by the state of our ship.
The modern battlefield was as much about the impressive show of force and tactics, as much as it was about the logistics and systems behind it all, after all.
Which was especially true at this level of complexity.
Though supply lines and an industrial base would’ve been ideal, it was clear that the designers of this vessel had intended for what was in effect, an end-of-continuity scenario. One which operated on the assumption that any and all outside aid would be all but impossible. It was with this logical assumption, that the various overly engineered ‘accessory’ systems of the ship started to make sense. From the oversized minifactory through to the various drones, workshops, and repair bays that weren’t typical of your run of the mill ship, it was clear the vessel was designed to run completely independently from any preexisting logistics network.
Not even vessels designed for long term exploration came close to this degree of over preparedness, with this vessel more comparable to what you might find on a pre-FTL generational ship that would’ve warranted long term means of self-sustainability.
Coupling this with the humans’ propensity for designing everything with a liberal take on size and scale, this vessel acted more akin to a mobile mining, processing, and production facility all neatly packaged inside of a frame comparable to a Vanaran battlecruiser, with the weapons loadout of a Vanaran battleship.
The whole notion being more akin to something taken from the eccentric mind of a science fiction author, and should’ve had no place in the practical limitations of reality.
And yet here I was.
Sitting patiently within the spacious confines of the ship’s bridge, watching as drone after drone started on their lengthy diagnostics cycles as we began our trek across the solar system.
We left the moon and its prisoner behind in the safe embrace of a potent nuclear device; a contingency should we ever come to need it. With that extra bit of security and assurance in mind, my focus shifted squarely to that of what Vir had calculated as a near week-long venture, one that would see us mimicking the development of a fledgling interstellar civilization’s first tentative steps to stellar industrialization.
Except we were doing it at a much faster pace, on a much smaller scale.
Having positioned ourselves squarely within the orbit of one of the larger ringed gas giants within the system, we began our operation in earnest. Or rather, it was Vir who began performing what in his words were “The job that no self-respecting AI would want to do, save for those who actually enjoy self-inflicted mind numbing spreadsheet work.”
Yet that spreadsheet was far more impressive when seen in action. Not just from the bridge, but in-person, through the viewing ports situated in a sectioned off control room within the drone bay.
What amounted to hundreds upon hundreds of drones ranging in size from small family cars to something bordering on the smaller end of a proper cargo shuttle left one by one, organized into neat rows and columns as they set forth like a flock of birds. Though I would later rectify this analogy in the following days, as I returned to the bridge and started viewing everything from a more top-down, administrative scale.
The analogy that had started as a ‘flock of birds’, was accurate enough at first. As most of the drones acted like scouts, casting a wide net and flying wingtip to wingtip, in effect maximizing their effective scanning radius compounding off of one another’s networking arrays. Eventually however, once the asteroids or moons of interest were ascertained and logged, things started to shift to something I was more accustomed to seeing; as the once ‘wide’ formation quickly condensed to that of small, narrow lanes of a continuous stream of drones.
More analogous to a convoy of locomotives now.
These convoys would ferry the hastily mined minerals towards the ship, dumping them within the ship’s mass stores, eventually leading to more specialized minifactory drones to begin the process of sorting, transportation, and eventual processing within the various modules clustered within the minifactory.
Once again, seeing everything from an administrative view didn’t truly do this whole system justice. It took me that ten minute walk down to the minifactory to see the sheer scale of operations we were currently undertaking.
Breathtaking would be but one of the words I’d use to describe it.
For what was being accomplished by an entirely autonomous system within the span of these few days, was something which would’ve taken months at best to do under a traditional Vanaran operation. Sure, it could scale larger with time, but the fact that this lone ship had gone through the entire industrial process: from the sourcing of the necessary raw materials through to the processing and eventual production of the components in question was nothing short of incredible. Especially when considering this was being done in the span of a single week.
In fact, we did the impossible task of accomplishing everything within schedule. Something that even the largest of megacorporations back at home seemed to always have trouble with, especially with government contract work…
At the end of it all, after an entire week of a constant flurry of work that had seen nonstop progress around the clock, we’d finally done it.
Deck 9 was completely repaired. The various systems and subsystems that had been malfunctioning or had been completely inoperable, were likewise mended or completely replaced.
In fact, Vir had even taken the time to produce spares in the event we needed them in an emergency. Indeed, parts of the ship I didn’t even know needed sprucing up, were done so whilst I was either away from that given area or simply asleep.
Even the bridge seemed different.
Gone were the scorch marks left by that fire from our first jump, and in were these sheets of factory-fresh metal plates and screens that I could’ve sworn had a slightly different tint to the rest of the bridge, perhaps due to the variations in their composition being just slightly off from the original factory-spec.
Gunmetal blue now blended with starker grayish whites, glistening with a new coat of whatever protective buff was applied to them in the final production process.
As I stood on the bridge at the end of this week of housekeeping, datatab in hand with all of the various documents I’d been dissecting, I looked on towards the mystery planet in front of us and the signal that continued emanating from it in a continuous unending stream.
“Ready, Vir?” I asked the AI with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
“Ready, Lysara.” The AI responded with a similarly anxious tone of restrained excitement.
“Let’s take her out then, and let’s determine where we stand along the way.”
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(Author’s Note: We finally get to address a lingering question, that being the state of the ship! :D The next chapter is already out on Patreon as well if you want to check it out!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 39 of this story is already out on there!)]

So I found that there is actually a method to make any woman to fall in love with you within few seconds without talking to her or even looking at her face. And when I'm talking love I mean the strongest feeling there exists. She wants to touch you and share with you her deepest secrets. This is not some sort of manipulation. You should actually be able to change her mind.
I feel like this might be important topic for the asperger community because many of us are struggling in the dating world. It's gonna be a long post but bear with me. It's worth it.
Introduction: Throughout the last 15 years of my live I extensively focused on this. I'm a nerd, bad at sports, don't wear cool clothes, not particularly attractive, was bullied, have aspergers and don't like much of a social interaction. Yet several times in my life it happened that a girl who was clearly way out my league or passionately hated me and made it clear she never wants to do anything with me, suddenly fell in love with me. I've never fully understood this but I tried reverse engineer the moment how did it happened.
I spent lot of time obsessing about this and I managed to isolate some of the moments when this happened and I realized something.
Whether a girl falls in love with you (for the purposes of this method) has nothing to the with the way you dress, what you say, your social status, money or anything other than body language. Literally several times in my life I managed purely through body language make a girl to fall in love with me. You don't even have to talk to her or look at her face. All she needs to do is look at you for a few seconds while you have certain body language. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it. Literally you don't even have to look at her or talk to her and she herself will come to you and try to interact with you. It doesn't matter whether she has friend zoned you, hates you, has a boyfriend or anything. You don't have to approach her. Often she will actually approach you a try to have conversation about something unimportant to give you chance to "pick her up".
However here's the issue. I was never able to manage to copy the exact body language consciously. And that's why I am here. I need your help. I believe I discovered biggest secret about love - how to make any girl to fall in love with you within few seconds. And I need your help to pinpoint that exact body language. I obsessed over this for 15 years and I still am not able to do this on command. I happened to be able to do this few rare times in the past - usually few years apart.
I analyzed those situations extensively I have some clues that might hint in which direction to go (however my memory might by faulty and some this stuff might not be actually needed or is wrong). However that's the best I have:

• forget most classic body language advices, this is something different
• you don't have to talk to the girl to make her fall in love with you (you might and maybe it's even better if you do but it is not necessary, what you say doesn't matter)
• your clothes, social status, money, whether she has a boyfriend don't matter
• this method should work both when you standing, walking or sitting and she doesn't need to see lower part of your body to fall in love with you (tested in practice while sitting behind the desk), it probably should work when you lying in the bed too
• you should lean forward with your head and body (not sure how much exactly you should be leaning forward, don't lean back, don't stand too much on your heel - it makes lean back)
• your head and neck should stick out in front of your body (you might feel little bit like you're trying to headbutt the air or the person ahead of you but your chin should be straight or only slightly bowed down)
• your shoulders should be hunched forward (not sure how much) a maybe little bit up (you might feel like you need to stretch out your shoulders once in a while)
• you should be looking at a ground slightly ahead of your feet (1 or 2 meters maybe, you don't actually have to look at the girl's face a maybe it is even better if you don't, depending where you stand you should be probably looking roughly at her waist but it depends how far you are from her etc.)
• your chest should be further to the back than your head
• part between the stomach and the chest cage should be pushed back, possibly relaxed (not sure)
• now this step is probably most important and hardest part (and I myself I am not able to this on command but I will try to explain what the end result should be) - you shouldn't push the top of your chest up, you should actually be pushing it down, you should completely relax both your chest and your stomach (and maybe even your neck - not sure about this) - so your chest is not stuck out at all (make it as non-threatening as possible like you're trying not to attract any attention at all), after you do this you should get to the position where you enlarge/expand your chest by breathing into it so feels sort of stuck out and big (but you're not actually trying to stick it out), you should not do this by simply sticking out your chest (that's definitely wrong and doesn't work)
• your stomach should be further to the back than your chest, relaxed but not bulging (this is very hard to get right and it is closely connected with previous step, I can't really do this myself on command)
• you should probably feel like pushing both your stomach and your chest forward (not completely sure about that)

3 previous points are probably most important but also most likely to contain some information that is wrong

• your hands and legs should be freely hanging from you (you should have feeling like you move them automatically)
• you should feel like last vertebrae on your neck (before your back) is holding you up in the air, like if it was hanged on a hook and you were a puppet
• fingers on your hands should not be stretched out at all or only a little bit (this should happen naturally if other steps are done correctly)
• your feet should be parallel with each other or pointing slightly towards each other, your feet should not diverge (this should happen naturally if other steps are done correctly)
• your foot to leg angle should be around 90° degrees (not sure whether this is necessary), whole bottom surface of your feet should touch the floor, don't put too much weight on your heels (it makes you lean back - and that's wrong)
• you're not necessarily trying to take up too much space (in a way you sort trying even little bit of opposite, it should feel like you're not actually trying to attract attention), you should protect your armpits (keep upper part of your hands close to your body) and crotch (don't stick it out), might even feel slightly defensive (like you're expecting to be attacked or like protecting your vulnerabilities)
• your arms shouldn't touch each other (again this should happen naturally, if other steps are done correctly)
• your hands should be down if you're standing (don't raise them above the waist), if you sitting only small portion of them should be leaning on the table (your elbows shouldn't be on the table or close to it)
• don't point your index finger
• when sitting either your waist or midsection of your back should be part of your body most in the back, don't lean back, upper half of your back should not touch chaibackrest
• when sitting your legs should be bend over in roughly 90° degrees (one leg can be slightly forward and the other backward), they should not be much apart, don't put your legs much in front of you (you don't want to give impression like you're lying in your chair or you're too much comfortable)
• while this posture should make it look like you're confident, you yourself don't necessarily need to feel like that at all, confidence you're looking for is not something attention grabbing ("look at me"), it should be much more inconspicuous but you might feel like you know exactly what to do and what to say
• your voice might or might not sound authoritatively but when speaking to other people (including men) you should notice that it has such effect
• while it is not necessary to speak to the girl in order to make her fall in love with you, you should be able to do it (don't twist yourself to some position where it is hard to talk normally and confidently), if you can't talk normally, it's not it, and obviously at some point you need to speak to her
• you probably shouldn't smile or only a little bit, you should be able get angry at a girl if she mistreats you, sometimes I probably (not completely sure about this) made girl who I knew fall in love with me when I was angry at her, don't be afraid to raise your voice if she's acting disrespectfully towards you
• you might or might not be leaning slightly to one side of your body or the other (I'm not sure about this, possibly both options could work)
• the position you're in should feel relatively comfortable, if you feel too much weird in it, it's probably not it
• this may not apply to everybody: I personally managed to do this only few times in my life - so you might be looking for something that person does accidentally only on rare occasions, it's probably not something common
• it can be something that lasts only small amount of time or much longer, I once managed to do this for several days straight but most of the time I did it only for very short period of time
• I personally managed to do it often at times when I was not trying to pick up a girl at all

The list very long and complicated (and some crucial informations are missing) but I assume that there is actually some common denominator that should be much more simple. However I wasn't able to find it. I shared with you everything I know and I'm hoping somebody else will notice a pattern I didn't. People with Aspergers should be very good at this. The solution should be something that most of the points I wrote derive from. Some of the points might be imprecise, misleading, not necessary or even wrong. I can't guarantee it. Don't get hang up on it if one particular point doesn't fit.
I suspect the answer will be some combination of correctly positioning your body (chest and stomach), neck and head. Hands and legs should feel loose like they automatically follow directions from the rest of the body. Also given that your body can last in this position for several days it should eliminate everything that you need to move and change in order to walk, talk, eat, sit or lie (and other common activities). Moving your head too much up especially for a longer period of time is something that will cause you to fall of this mysterious position we looking for (however you can look up to the ceiling/sky etc. for a brief moment as long as you won't raise your head too much). Your stomach stop being relaxed and becoming little bit tense or nervous is also something that will cause you to fall out of this. Same goes for certain moves with your chest. So this might be important information in regards to which way to focus the attention. And remember girl needs to see only upper part of your body for this to work.
How do you verify you're doing it right and it's actually working:

• any girl or almost any you meet that is at least remotely appropriate for you (not talking about woman who's 20 years older or something like that) should exhibit clear signs of attraction to you (playing with her hair etc.) - if you're in doubt, it probably isn't working, these signs should be highly visible most of the time and you should not miss them if you're know what you're looking for (but if you don't, you can actually make girl to fall in love with you without noticing, first several times I did this I didn't notice until after the fact and had to complicatedly analyze when it actually happened - because the moment you notice is not necessarily the moment you caused this)
• when I did this I personally felt like I know exactly what to do and what to say
• if it's not working within few seconds, you're doing it wrong
• it is something that should maximize your chances, if this method doesn't work, then there shouldn't be any other more effective way to do it

I feel like I discovered biggest secret to dating but I can't solve it myself. I know there is a solution but I can't find it. If there are any people who want to help me to solve this, I would appreciate it. If we find out this secret, it will forever change the world of dating. It's just about discovering which parts of your body you should twist in what way, which muscles to tighten or loosen, how to position your eyes, tongue etc. I tried to solve this for a long time now but for whatever reason I cannot consciously find the right position but I know there is one.
P.S. I'm looking mainly for people who wanna try to help me to solve this. When I posted this on pickup artist forums most of the reactions I got was only along the lines why this won't work. (I think this might be the issue with people who have Aspergers that we cannot credibly communicate our ideas.) However I tested this and analyzed very thoroughly and I'm sure it works. I just can't put the puzzle together correctly. I don't really want to debate whether this works or not. If you think it doesn't, I'm fine with that. I don't need to persuade you otherwise.
I recommend you to bookmark this thread if you interested in examining this more in depth.

so like what’s the person who hides the bodies for the mob/ Whatever Geoffrey is considered in BelAir (besides the house manager). In sum, what do you call a person who gets impossible things done where you don’t even want to ask how they did it - like is there a word for this type of person?? Like not even thinking of a negative connotation here I just couldn’t think of any more examples of people who get hard shit done

Hi all,
Before I got on my most recent flight, I spent a lot of time on this forum reading other people's experiences and trying to take what I could from exceptional commenters like the several pilots who frequent here. Now that I'm home from my two flights, I thought it might be helpful to give back to this community that had given much to me. Here's my story:
Despite having flown (25+) times in my life, my fear of flying developed very early in my childhood and has plagued me ever since. Despite knowing the safety and statistics, I've let it hold me back from experiences I have dreamed of my whole life: Parisian cafes. English pubs. Icelandic hot springs – all of the wonderful things life has to offer when you travel. When my new partner came along a few years ago, we bonded over travel, especially international travel, and my reluctance to get on flight not only was bound to impact our relationship, but also continue my pattern of self loathing and missing out. Despite my reservations, we booked a trip to London and Paris, and the minute the "buy" button was pressed on the tickets, the dread set in. Only this time, I wad adamant I was getting on the plane and there was nothing stopping that. All I could do was prepare. Here's a list of what I did:

Things I Did

• I went through an online hypnotherapy session specifically focused on flight. I'm not sure this was helpful in the actual getting on the plane, but it certainly helped me identify where the feelings of fear and need for control came from.
• I worked with my own personal therapist on EMDR and brain spotting about flying and my experiences with it. This included going through the flight in my imagination, both to and from Heathrow, and talking through each piece. Sitting with the moments that made me nervous and talking myself through them. Each time we did this my anxiety lessened.
• I enrolled in the S.O.A.R program with Captain Tom Bunn. I went through his full guaranteed program which included video lessons, therapy appointments, group therapy, and at-home work. I did everything to a "T" including actually buying a mini plane (with my airline's logo) and suspending it in jello to learn how rough air impacts (and most importantly, doesn't impact a plane).
• I watched as many youtube videos as I could of successful plane takeoffs and landings. Takeoffs were a big trigger for me so those were my focus. I learned how everything worked, the jargon and processes (v1 - rotate-positive climb - gear up!). These really helped me understand how things worked, how regimented the processes were, and how pilots are prepared for anything and have emergency procedures worked out if an engine, or two, should fail.
• I also listened to fear of flying hypnosis while I slept, though I'm not sure this did anything.

You may be saying to yourself: wow, that's a lot of stuff! And yes, it was. But I wasn't going to prevent this horrible fear keep me earthbound anymore and stop me from seeing the places I want to see before the end of this mortal coil.

Results

The day came and the 8 hour flight lay ahead. I experienced quite a bit of anticipatory anxiety which included some vomiting at home (my anxiousness manifests as nausea). But I combatted that with sour candies (recommended by my therapist) which seemed to really help. We got to the airport early and went through all of the annoying security procedures which is even more interesting with international flights. To be supportive, my partner upgraded our seats so we had access to a lounge where waited to board. As soon as I got on the flight, I found the head attendant and explained I was a nervous flyer and asked to meet the pilot, which the S.O.A.R. program recommends. They couldn't have been nicer and the pilots even more so. They shook my had, thanked me for trusting them, and even offered to let me sit in the cockpit which politely refused. I went back to my seat and a funny thing happened: the nervousness went away. I put on my headphones and started watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown and before I knew it were were heading toward takeoff. I thought in my head (v1-rotate-positive climb-gear up) and had prepared myself for the sensations to expect (the elevator-type falling feeling) that were all normal. They all happened right on schedule, and soon we were airborne and I was completely fine. The flight was fantastic and when I arrived in London, I was both thrilled and proud.
The flight home caused some pre-flight anxiety as well, but the same thing happened. New attendants, new pilots, but all were wonderful. My fear was gone once we were on the actual plane. The crew took good care of me and even presented me with wings and a handwritten note to say how proud they were of me. Now, I'm back home with the post-vacation blues – why did I allow this fear to stop me for so long?

What Worked for Me

As I laid out earlier in this novel, I did quite a bit of work to help, so I can't point directly to what worked and what didn't. But here's what I believe made the biggest impact:

• Talking things through with a therapist. They can help you understand, reframe, and get to the root of the fear.
• Learning how the plane works. Once you understand how exactly things work and that planes just can't fall out of the sky, and can fly on one engine, etc, you'll be in much better shape.
• Accept the anxiety for what it is. Accept that you have it and it's never going to be totally gone. However, know that you can control it and even help it go away.
• The S.O.A.R. program which helped me understand why meeting the pilots was such an important thing. As soon as I spoke to them, I know they were in control and that I would be safe.
• Youtube videos of takeoffs. These made me actually excited to get on a plane and feel it's power. It it showed me the control the pilots have.
• Being honest about my fears and not letting the embarrassment stop me. Both times i met the pilots, I told them I was embarrassed that i had to be here but I was committed to getting through these fears and both times they were really nice. They even provided me suggestions of things to do in London!
• Having a supportive partner who is patient and understanding and willing to help. You absolutely do not NEED this, but it can be a big help.

Conclusion

I was exactly like you. I thought everything that worked for others wouldn't work for me. I thought my plane would be the one in a billion that crash. I thought it would just fall out of the sky. I thought I would never do it or that I would freak out on the plane. And, less that 24 hours ago, I was eating beef short ribs 39,000 feet in the sky without a worry in the world despite some rough air that made it hard to drink my coffee.
If I can do this, if I can get though this, you can too. You can open the world up to yourself and you can get on the plane. It is not impossible.
I know this was a novel-length post, but I hope it might help others as previous posts have helped me. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out - I would be happy to answer them!

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

Gaming and Content consumption

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

$1500 CAD. could go up a bit if it’s for a great deal but preferably close to 1.5k

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

before the weekend, the sooner the better

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

Tower,MB,PSU,CPU,GPU,Ram, and Fans/Cooler

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

Canada. no stores close by so everything will have to be purchased online

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

not reusing but i have purchased a WD black 2TB SN850X, a PX277 Prime monitor, a V1 Keychron keyboard and a G Pro Hero wired mouse

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

i don’t think so but possibly a good bit in the future

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

no

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

no. whatever will fit my components and has good airflow

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

no

Extra Info

I think i would like to get a 13600kf for my CPU but am open to suggestions if there is better value or if it would be worth getting something weaker.
I would like to get the best GPU deal i can get but they seems to be very rare at the moment, I’m looking at 3060/3060ti without a deal
as for the rest, for my PSU i just want good brand & warranty and i’m not sure how much “extra” i should get based on what my system will require
for my MB, i would like one with some features that will improve quality of life while using it but i don’t need all the bells and whistles
for my Ram i think i will stay with DDR4 and get whatever the best for the cost is unless upgrading to DDR5 is that much better but from what i have read i wouldn’t notice it too much for the time being.
for my cooler i have no idea what i want/need when it comes to aiAIO but i’ll go with whatever is needed to maintain my CPU/everything else
and for my case i keep seeing the 4000D as having a good name but i don’t really care what my case looks like i just need pretty good airflow and i guess most importantly be able to fit all my components comfortably.
If anyone has any advice or suggestions it is very much appreciated. i’m Open to all kinds of builds, just looking to get the most out of my money and get back into gaming for the next few years.