Just wanted to give a shoutout to this newish game that came out. It can be played with 1-6 players, and has been described as a mix of Half-Life and Project Zomboid. It's a fps survival game game set in an underground facility. The sense of discovery and story progression has been great. I only have 8 hours in it so far but am loving it so far. If you're looking for a new co-op game I highly suggest checking it out
https://store.steampowered.com/app/427410/Abiotic_Facto

Recently I've been tinkering with ideas on how to reintroduce some of the fear factor back into 7D2D, at least in the early game before you're a walking one person armor / indestructible tank. Some I've already put into effect, such as installing the Dark Nights mod, increasing the frequency and size of wandering hordes, putting the nighttime speed to Nightmare. I've also dabbled into the idea of adding feral soldiers, cops, bikers, lumberjacks, and wights to the forest biome at nighttime (hopefully they would despawn during the morning...). I also listen to tracks from Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and I've considered perhaps restricting the use of the helmet light mod outside of certain situations like mining (and even then?). Hunkering down in a vulnerable position has also helped a bit in raising the goose bumps once the sun goes down.
But I'm always up for more suggestions. If anyone has any tips or tricks to add some of that scare/horror factor back into the (likely only early) game, let me know! :)

Hey all,
LGBTQ+ Friendly I'm really looking for someone to hang with on the weekends (although I do have Thur and Fri off this week). I'm really wanting to play : Sons of The Forest, Lethal Company, Elden Ring Seamless CO-OP run with some mods hopefully, Abiotic Factor, maybe Starship Trooper, and other CO-OP centric games.
Atm I'm playing Hearthstone, Sons of The Forest, and Warhammer Total War at the moment. Really love story games and immersive experiences, especially CO-OP focused. Love the soulsborne series!
In terms of personality, small-talk is ok, but I really prefer having deeper conversations, be it about current events, politics, philosophy, or w/e. Having really emotional conversations is something I'm comfortable with too, but ofc that'll be a thing if both parties are comfortable. I have enough small-talk at work so I want to mostly escape that level monotony.
I'm mostly available on the weekends. Other hobbies/interests: Warhammer, horror movies, guitar, EDM, politics, Independent Rock, and shitty memes
Shoot me an add on discord: Splurgus#4392

Have you ever watched a gritty ITV drama and thought "F*cking hell this is dreary"? Well now you can make your very own, thanks to the ITV Drama Recipe Kit! Just follow the directions below and you'll be well on your way to making forgettable nonsense:
1) Setting
You're going to need a setting first, opt for an overcast seaside village/town so you can get plenty of drone shots of waves crashing, and your main character standing at the edge of a cliff, staring out into the grey. Make sure it feels like the Isle of Wight in November. The environment has to feel so completely detached to any time period that your viewers can only make reasonable guesses to the setting based on which model of iPhone your main character is receiving mysterious harassing phone calls
2) Main Character
You'll need a blonde woman in her 40s/50s, make sure she has a designer trench coat so we know she's a detective when we first see her. Basically just grab a Sally Lindsay type and give her a heaping of trauma. Make sure to get a scene of her screaming "TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO MY DAUGHTER" to an unknown person in some autumnal woodlands for the ITVX promo. It's guaranteed to get you nominated for an award
3) Overall plot
Keep things light and playful by introducing a dead child to the mix who died off-screen months before the first episode. Have your main character constantly fondle some trinket that has a special connection to the dead child, as they are routinely assaulted by over edited echoing flashbacks of the once living child doing living child things. F*ck up the audio too so that the child's giggling sounds haunting and ghost-like for when your main character suddenly snaps back to reality in a public toilet staring into a dirty mirror
4) Vehicle
Always ensure your main character drives a non-descript grey saloon clearly beyond their salary. It has to be inconspicuous and dull so that your main character can spy on the wrong person as they exchange packages with a shady individual in a gravel-lined carpark. Once you reach episode 4 of 6, use flashbacks to manufacture a sudden revelation for the main character which leads them to make a violent U-turn on a B-road to confront a suspected murderer
5) Therapy
Make sure at least one member of your principle cast is having regular therapy sessions even though they don't want therapy sessions. These sessions being mandated by their employer or loved ones as a response to some sort of traumatic event that in some way connects to the aforementioned dead child. Illustrate their internal pain with at least one over edited scene of flashbacks interspersed between them tossing and turning in their designer king size bed, before a sudden echoing gunshot and a scream forces them into an upright position
6) Conflict
Ensure that the main character must conduct their own off-the-books clandestine investigation because they either don't have the proper jurisdiction, the case has been prematurely closed, or their superintendent believes they are too emotionally invested in the case because it closely mirrors the character's own off-screen personal tragedy. Under no circumstances can you give your character allies with anything actually useful to contribute, otherwise there's no bureaucratic system to rail against in their fight for justice
7) Conclusion
Wrap up the story with the mysterious antagonist being revealed by episode 5 of 6, so that there can be an emotional confrontation that results in said antagonist falling off the cliff established in the first shots of episode 1. If you'd prefer more violence, have them fight over a kitchen knife in a deciduous forest, fall over, then as the protagonist and antagonist find blood on their turtlenecks, they look down to find that the antagonist has stabbed themselves, they bleed to death on a pile of dead leaves and the protagonist is able to achieve some form of closure in their IKEA home in a jump-cut to 6 months in the future

RTS is one of my favourite game genres. I used to play games like Tiberium Sun, Red Alert, Generals, Warcraft III, Starcraft II... you get it. However, you find out as you go along that all these games are won by speed, and that is something you can optimise and repeat. In my opinion, that quickly becomes boring and I was personally looking for how to add more strategy and tactics to the RTS genre by looking at adding more realism to the mix.
Nothing below is finished or complete, probably a lot of information is even lacking. In the end it's just an idea I hope inspires and I am curious to hear more ideas that are (approximately) similar to this, as well as a different take on it. Finally, of course, it could also be that there is already a similar game, but I don't know about it. In that case, I'd love to hear about that too!
Game design rules so far:

• Units have a "realistic" field of vision of 120 degrees.
• Units have a maximum visibility range. The further something is, the fainter it looks. At some point the vision just stops.
• You only see what your units see; the rest is dark/fog of war.
• A unit in a car has normal vision + vision from the rear and side mirrors.
• When several units are in a car together (f.e. 2+), the vehicle has a complete 360-degree view.
• A unit driving a tank sees only straight ahead.
• A unit manning the gun on top of the tank has normal view but can look around freely.
• Visibility is blocked by (natural) obstacles such as hills, mountains, forests, buildings, etc.
• Whether a unit is spotted by another is a combination of the vision qualities of unit A and the camouflage qualities of unit B.
• Units respond to sound in addition to vision. If a unit has no sight of an enemy but f.e. hears a shot, it will start searching.

Feature examples:

• Units can be in "guard mode" allowing them to keep an eye on their surroundings by looking around more actively.
• Some units may have an active skill that allows them to look into the distance with binoculars. When they do so, they cannot see at close range and are therefore more at risk of an ambush.
• Units have more accuracy when shooting from higher up at a lower enemy.
• Some units can deploy smoke bombs to block the enemy's vision (and yourself).
• Smoke from smoke bombs is carried with the wind, so you need to factor this into your consideration of using them.
• Only units on foot can move through forests.
• Units walk 25% slower in a forest.
• Units are 50% better hidden when on the edge of a forest and 75% better hidden when in the middle of a forest.
• Units have 50% less vision range in the middle of a forest, but 100% (normal) vision range when looking out from the edge of a forest.

How this affects strategy:

• Vision (intelligence) and positioning become the key to winning the game (assumption).
• Hills give you much better visibility than a flat earth or even valleys, because there are less obstacles blocking vision and thus you see/know more.
• You can flank / or be flanked by the enemy because of limited visibility.
• The game is more about tactics than brute force, information is key.

Other games that inspired me:

• Call of War: build times of units, transport times of units.
• Advanced wars/Wargroove: different terrain types that give your units an advantage or disadvantage.
• Company of Heroes: no base building, tactical game elements, unit vision.

Hey guys, I just switched to TMobile internet and I’m having issues connecting to Steam game servers. I tried playing Abiotic Factor and it wasn’t working, so I tried hopping on GMod just to see if other games were also broken. I went into the multiplayer tab and the number of “unreachable” servers kept going up while no other servers showed up.
I made sure that content filtering/parental controls were off with my internet, but I’m still having connection issues. Would you guys have any insight?
(New to the subreddit, but have +1k hours in prop hunt xd)

This is my first time posting but I’m just really excited!! I know these schools aren’t super impressive compared to a lot of the others on here but they’re all pretty decent for counseling!!
Basically, I graduated my undergraduate last month, and will be starting my Master’s for Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the spring. I applied to John Carroll, Wake Forest, Marquette, and Northwestern and got accepted to the first 3 (never heard back from Northwestern).
I know this isn’t a super big deal for some, but I did my undergraduate super early so I am only 19, and got told by a lot of programs my age would be a very frowned upon factor, so I am just very happy that my resume and interview skills spoke for themselves:)
I hope everyone is having good luck with their decisions and that everyone finds a path suitable for them!

Hi all,
I'm planning to buy a drone in Japan at Biccamera due to their tax-free + tourist discounts. For context, I do photography seriously and the drone will be shared with a videographer too, but the aforementioned drones will all do well AFAIK. However, there are some small (but kinda significant) price differences and I'd like to get your opinions on whether or not the extra functionalities justifies the extra cost.
Heres the prices (after 10% tax free + 7% electronics discount, all NEW):

1. Air 2S Fly More Combo with 1Y Care Refresh - 111600 yen / ~720USD (USD/YEN @ 155)
   
2. Air 3 Fly More Combo with RC-N2 - 139500 yen / ~900USD
   
3. Mavic 3 Classic Base Package - 128340 yen / ~830USD, new battery can be bought at 180 USD
   

My thoughts here:

1. The Air 2S is more than enough for what I need, but I'm kind of bummed by its battery life of only ~20min practical use, so the Air 3 and M3C are very tempting. I flew the Air 2S before, and it felt as if it dies before I could fully fly to my hearts content. Of course, more batteries covers it, but comparing 20min x 3 vs 30min x 2 flight time, which would be more practical? I could get one more battery, but then again this drone is 3 years old.
   
2. I'm probably fine without DJI Care anyways since I do not fly often nor in cramped places. Most likely will not fly through much forestation either.
   
3. I'm not sure if the additional functionalities of the Air 3 (Ocusync 4, 3x cam, greater automation) are worth considering. Nice to have, but does not seem to be a need as I see the value in learning to control the drone manually anyways. I mainly prioritise the battery life.
   
4. I could also get 1 extra battery for the M3C that should be able to cover a whole day on my Japan trip. It probably seems like the most logical choice here since I do get a more powerful camera, however it is still a lot more expensive. Here's the issue: I am quite skeptical of the Quad-Bayer sensor in the Air 3, and since I plan to do large prints, the corner sharpness and C.A. seems to be inferior to the Air 2S even. Sample footage also looks very over-sharpened: thus the dilemma. It's not that I think this drone cannot produce fantastic results, but I do feel a little bummed still.
   
5. While the Mini 4 Pro is an option, I still love the solid build quality of the larger drones. Moreover, buying the flight intelligent batteries just adds onto the cost, making it as expensive as the Air 3 here.
   

Heres the problem with why I am very nit-picky with the price:

• I am due for 2 years of National Service right after the trip, and I'd only have the chance to use the drone once in that time, so buying the best isn't necessary the best option.
  
• Yet, the prices seems to be low enough that I doubt it'd get much better in a year.
  
• This is merely a hobby I am trying to push to greater heights.
  

Therefore, as a student, the extra costs (after factoring in additional accessories such as ND filters and bag, that the A2s already has) is harder for me to justify albeit being relatively miniscule due to my circumstances. Which drone would you guys consider? Is it worth the extra cost and would the longevity of the drones be long enough to negate my inactivity in NS? As for licensing, would the M3C be harder to license in Japan, as well as other notable regions?
TL;DR: Battery life first, camera quality second, everything else third. I do not have many opportunities to fly the drone and create a lot of content for long, yet I'd love to get great quality especially dynamic range. Each drone has its "supposed" shortcoming (Air 2S for battery, Air 3 for camera quality, M3C for price). What should I get?
Thanks!

Link for all the chapters available for free here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road
Deep in the groaning halls of sinew and bone he awaited his audience with the god. At a wave of his hand the ribs which held up the ceiling contracted, tendons shifting within the pink walls of the chamber as the jagged, calcareous spurs that composed the doorway sank back into the spongy masses of tissue, revealing a passage curving down and out of sight.
Menash stood before the yawning portal and considered eternity. This was no an idle thought: here in the Dawning Chamber, the concept was very real. His father, Yulan, had stood in this exact spot times beyond count. When he was struck down in his prime by the Night Weaver and her Leaper offspring, torn limb from limb as he fought to defend Chthonis from a raiding party, Menash’s uncle, Aqavarr, had carried his broken remains over that grinning threshold to join the hosts of the dead, never to return.
A hot and heavy exhalation rattled up out of the depths, wafting in the acrid scent of the bonding pools and the wet slithering sound of the rebirthing canals. Menash felt a crackle of static in the corners of his mind before the signal sharpened and he heard It whisper distinctly:
“Enter…”
The familiar dread crept its way up the small of his back, and he gave a little shiver. No matter how many times he had communed with the Vitalus, he’d never been able to shake the feeling of his utter insignificance. But he persevered, walking bravely down the slurping passage, past the rows of broad antechambers lining either side of the hallway. Each one held a slumbering shape immersed in a cryogenic bath, towering hulks of muscle encased in ribbed and riveted plates of chitin. No two were alike in size or physiology, but all seemed to emanate the same primeval aura of dread that tickled Menash’s fight-or-flight-instinct, skewing it very much towards the latter response. These were the Hollowores, soulless avatars of the Vitalus, each one a tool capable of eradicating an entire species. As Menash approached, one of the living weapons stirred to life. A pronged, anvil-shaped head emerged from the bath, umbilical feeder tubes detaching from its armored flanks as the rest of its bulk followed, its mauve exoskeleton as sleek and shiny as amethyst. The Hollowore extended legs as thick as grown pine trees and lifted itself above him, its pairs of crushing pincers dripping amniotic fluids as it herded him towards the central room.
Bundles of white gossamer filaments spread all across the floor, encircling steaming pools of pus and acid. He saw arms and legs, sensory organs and entire exoskeletons being knitted before his very eyes, the amino acid chains being stitched on a layer at a time, the weeping pus evidence of microphages fighting off possible infections as the Vitalus did Its work.
These were the next generation of exomorphs, yet to be assigned to their hosts. It was here that Vitalus constantly improved the only thing that could ensure the continued survival of Menash’s subspecies. Exomorphs were bonded to Gallivants at birth, the organisms supplying their hosts with the means to breathe an atmosphere they was never meant to endure, and the strength to fight in a world that was red in tooth and claw. They were as swift as the summer wind and could multiply their host’s muscular power by up to twelve times their natural output.
But for all their God-given might, Gallivants were still mortal. They could and often did perish in the endless struggle for existence that the Vitalus called the Great Game. But even in death they could still commit their essence to posterity, passing down their defining traits through the malleable genetic code of the gilt helix. It was the Vitalus’ greatest boon; through the gilt helix a single individual could become a progenitor of an entire generation, becoming at one stroke the father of whole nations and peoples.
One day he too would prove worthy of the honor that Yulan had earned with his life. But he was not alone in that ambition. Menash was annoyed to find the crimson-clad Vezda and the cowardly Racek waiting for him inside, standing next to a large ball of filaments that hung from a tonsil-like growth hanging from the walls.
This node pulsed, emitting a small storm of bioelectric activity, networks of fungi conveying commands in the form of oscillating voltages to their communities of symbiotic bacteria, the latter containing greigite mineral crystals aligned in the shape of electromagnetic coils. Other networks hidden in the walls modulated and amplified the signals, and the three Gallivants steeled themselves for the onrushing flood of information as the Vitalus tapped into their minds.
He was a candle before the raging heart of the thunderstorm. For an instant Menash touched a fraction of Its intelligence, the divisions of time and space rolling back as they joined the ocean of shared consciousness, becoming one with the living systems of Arachnea. From the tiniest aeroplankton floating above the waves of the golden coastlines, to the herds of ultrapods munching their way through swathes of trees in the savannahs. Menash felt himself pushing up out of the soil, longing and lusting and reaching for the sunlight with a trillion green fingers uncurling, alive with the furious movement of life.
But what was that flicker of orange to the east? That searing heat, that prickling pain spreading like a cancer down his side?
The Vitalus scooped them up and hurled them headlong into hell itself. A roaring wildfire was sweeping into the heart of the eastern rainforests. Menash tasted ash and ruin, felt pieces of himself wither and burn, his branches tongues of fire, wood cracking from the intense blaze, sap boiling instantaneously upon contact and rupturing, splitting him right down the grain. He fled in terror, running, slithering, digging, swimming, flying away in crazed panic from the walls of red death closing in on him. As his skin flaked off in clumps of charcoal he looked back and saw it towering over the treetops, the epicenter of this howling vortex of destruction: the grey behemoth. Its burnished metal hide gleamed like copper, reflecting the fury of the conflagration burning well into the night.
Menash pulled his mind away before it was lost forever in the storm of electric potentials. He saw Racek and Vezda swaying on their feet, breathing hard and fast.
“Heart of the World,” he managed to gasp, “What is your bidding?”
The Hollowore maneuvered itself until it was facing him directly. Tiny beady eyes fixed him in their blank gaze. The node emitted a blue pulse and the creature shuddered as it received the signal. It opened a maw powerful enough to chew boulders into gravel and rumbled:
“This one is the alpha which survived first contact with anomalous variable. It will tell Us what occurred, and from whence this threat emerged.”
“It came from the karst mountain range, where the yellowjacket Amit live,” Menash replied, “It was destroying the largest mound in that area, massacring its inhabitants. It brought the mountain down on them—we’ve never seen anything like it. Zildiz was the first on the scene. She warned us not to approach, and that it was dangerous, but some of us,” here he cast an angry look at Vezda, “Some of us went ahead and tried to scavenge from the bodies of the dying. Then the behemoth ignited the air and burned scores of us to cinders.”
“Irrational. Why did you do this?”
“W-we thought that you had spawned the grey behemoth,” Menash stammered, embarrassed to say the least, “That it was the newest addition to the Great Game, another species of ultrafauna that would help perfect Arachnea.”
“Not so. It was made by an evil far older than the All-In-One,” replied the Vitalus, “It is called a Divine Engine. In cycles past, this evil sought to undo this world and all that inhabit it. In that, it almost succeeded.”
Menash felt his blood run cold at those words.
“Is it the only one of its kind?” Racek piped up. Menash and Vezda both bristled at his interruption; subordinates were only supposed to speak when spoken to.
“There were several deployed here in Our infancy. We had thought them all destroyed in the War of Creation.”
“Your Munificence,” Racek went on, heedless of the venomous looks he was getting from the other two, “Most of us survived because Zildiz persuaded us to dive into the river. She saved all our lives! But as I washed up on the riverbank, I saw the behemoth casting a seedpod into the skies. I did not see where it landed, but it was travelling in a high arc due east. Is this the behemoth’s method of reproducing? If so, then how many offspring can it generate from this one seed?”
The Vitalus met his questions with a minute of silence. Menash had never known It to take so long to respond to a query, and felt another stab of unease in his gut. Unless he was imagining things, the Vitalus seemed genuinely disturbed by the scenario that Racek has raised, enough to convince Menash that the danger was far from hypothetical.
“That is a distant possibility,” It said somewhat cryptically, “Regardless, We cannot allow the Engine’s continued existence.”
“Then it must be destroyed,” Vezda said, her barbed tail eagerly perking up.
“We are not certain that it can be,” the Vitalus said, and Menash heard Racek audibly gulp at the admission.
“But Your Omniscience, you alone are the arbiter of growth and decay,” Vezda said in disbelief, “Surely you can unmake this monster as well?”
“Perhaps. The Divine Engines were built to withstand the extremes of temperature, gravity, atmospheric pressure, acidity and irradiation found on semi-inhabitable exoplanets. Worlds of bareness and desolation, glassed by thermonuclear bombardment or infested with alien microorganisms. In the wars of Our youth, the Betrayers used tungsten-alloy warheads fired from space platforms to crack their bulkheads. Not even Our vessels, the Hollowores, could damage them in any significant way. We will need time to gather the raw materials and fabricate the weapons needed to end this threat.”
“What must we do?” Menash asked.
“If this variable is not dealt with, it could upset the delicate balance We have sacrificed so much to achieve. Already the wildfire it has caused will release close to 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and destroy 2.3 million acres of forest before Our countermeasures can stop it. Time is our limiting factor. If the Engine cannot be destroyed now, it must be restrained.”
“It hasn’t moved an inch since we last saw it,” Vezda said brightly, “Maybe it has already died?”
“Yes, and maybe your mother was a horka toad,” Racek said snidely. Vezda scowled and took a step towards him, then stopped as she remembered that she trod on hallowed ground.
“Not so. It has merely gone dormant. Having expended its fuel, it is now running on the bare minimum of its reserves. My children, you must ensure that it does not wake again. Establish a quarantine zone around the Engine and let none approach, on pain of death. The Leaper kindreds will secure the ground while the Gallivants patrol the skies.”
Vezda and Menash exchanged troubled looks. Nobody wanted Leapers establishing a foothold in what was essentially a buffer zone between their subspecies. Once allowed to settle in a habitat, it would not take long for them to adapt and become masters of their new territory. Ousting them would become a battle of attrition, and given the lower birthrates of Gallivants, it was not one they could long afford.
“Respectfully, we do not require assistance from our brother kindred,” Menash ventured, “We are more than capable of safeguarding the area ourselves.”
The node throbbed again, the bioelectric flashes taking on an angry purple hue. With a sound like the grinding of a millstone the Hollowore clashed its claws together impatiently. All three of the mortals took a hasty step back.
“The alpha will obey, or another will be found that can,” the Vitalus growled at them, “All subspecies will observe a general truce during this period. This is a temporary addition to the Great Game. Those that serve Us well shall be rewarded. We shall also enlist the aid of your terrestrial cousins, as well as the Cataphract clans to replenish the soil, and lone Saints who shall rove beyond the quarantine zone.”
Menash’s unease deepened. The Vitalus was bringing together four different kindreds, some of which killed each other on sight, in a move that reeked of desperation. The kindreds had worked together before, of course, on complex projects such as altering rainfall patterns and husbanding struggling species, but never so many at once. This was bound to end in bloodshed.
“Those that break the truce shall be chemically neutered, and their gilt helix purged from the existing gene pool,” the Vitalus continued, “You will maintain this quarantine until We have dealt with the Engine.”
“It is understood!” Menash and Vezda said at once.
“But what about Zildiz?” Racek blurted out, again risking his entire lineage by speaking out of turn, “She might still be alive out there!”
“He’s right,” Menash found himself agreeing despite his dislike for Racek, “She’s our alpha, after all. It would be a shame to lose her helix. Do we have your leave to send out a party to recover her?”
The Vitalus pondered the request for a moment, then crushed his hopes when it said:
“Regrettable, the loss of the female. Valuable stock for the breeding program. But it has not responded to Our signals—it is unlikely to have survived. The female Vezda shall take up its duties as alpha.”
“But Your Benevolence—” both men cried out in unison.
“It is decided. She has risked the Great Game, and must abide by its outcome. To speak more on this would risk Our displeasure,” the god warned.
“We can’t spare the manpower anyway,” Vezda pointed out, trying not to look too pleased at Its decision. She darted a quick look at Menash, long enough for him to see the selfish desire festering in her heart. He turned away from her in disgust, baring his blades by the slightest of margins to let her know what he thought of her, then asked the Vitalus:
“But what of the Engine’s seedpod? Should we search for it?”
“Negative!” the Vitalus boomed, its node reinforcing the word with a spike of activity that sent needles of pain spearing into their heads, “We shall complete this task. It is dangerous and can be entrusted to no other.”
The Hollowore angled its massive head towards the cavernous ceiling, armored flaps on its back sliding aside as it unfurled sets of rigid sixty-meter wings. A wide sphincter on the roof gaped open and Menash saw the evening sky awash with the stars in their milky multitudes. The Hollowore took a deep breath through the spiracles lining its thorax and abdomen, pumping air through a pair of hollow tube-like protuberances under either of its wings. Menash and the others quickly scampered to a safe distance. Seconds later there was a scream of chemical combustion and the Hollowore rose into the evening skies, leaving behind a long trail of superheated gases, the backwash almost knocking Menash off his feet. They watched as the Hollowore gained altitude, making straight for the columns of billowing smoke on the horizon, a sweeping shadow blotting out the light of the heavens.
The Vitalus’ mental presence receded with it. When it did not return, they took it to mean that they were dismissed and likewise took flight and headed for Chthonis. They were hardly out of the Dawning Chamber when Vezda seized the scrawny Racek by his wings and anchored her feet right up against his back.
“Funny little man, are you? Crack jokes at my expense again, and I’ll see to it that you’ll never fly again!” she snarled, yanking hard. Racek yelled as his wings threatened to pop out of their sockets.
“Stop!” Menash said, ramming his shoulder into her and knocking the smaller male out of her grip. Vezda rounded on him, blades out and her tail aquiver with rage.
“As for you! No one should speak to the Vitalus like that!” she shrieked, “Much less gainsay It! Are you trying to get us all killed? It is the source and continuance of life itself—”
“But the Vitalus doesn’t always consider the individual scale of things,” Menash reasoned, controlling his rising anger as he tried to defuse the situation, “Its scope of thought is beyond ours. Therefore it is up to us to look after each other. None of us can win the Great Game alone. We need people like Zildiz for the species to prosper.”
“Your logic is flawed,” Vezda spat, “Empathy is a sham devised by the selfish action of the gene, which seeks only to preserve itself. At least I am honest enough to look after my own interests. Your obsession with that whore is misplaced. Heed my words, Menash. What happened today marks a change in the Great Game. Only the ruthless will reap the rewards of this era. Think on that, and act accordingly.”
The female darted off in another direction, leaving the two behind.
“Thanks,” Racek said, rubbing at his sore shoulders, “My, my. She’s really taking her promotion very seriously, isn’t she?”
“This doesn’t make us friends,” Menash said shortly, “We share a common interest, that’s all.”
The two flew together in silence for a time, the dark canopy unrolling below their feet. Racek had always been a bitter rival for Zildiz’s affections. In the mating seasons he and Menash had flown the damsel-dance against each other countless times, racing and dogfighting at top speed through the dense bamboo thickets in an effort to impress her.
But each time she had always chosen Menash. Naturally. He was the stronger, the braver, the son of the Scourge who had slain hundreds on his lightning raids into Leaper territory. Their pairings had been brief and passionate, yet she had always laughed at the end and gone on her merry way, a rose petal borne on a scented breeze, the dalliance as meaningless to her as other concerns like eating or breathing.
But not to him. Right now, all that mattered was her. And Racek was the only one in the whole wide world who knew exactly how he felt. Did that mean he could be trusted? Menash considered the enormity of what he was about to do, and wavered. Then he saw her face in the darkness of his home, the face she wore when they were all alone together, and he took a deep breath before breaking the silence, saying:
“I’ll be in charge of the quarantine. I can arrange for you to disappear for a few days. I can have one of the younglings mimic your magnetosynaptic signal, make it seem like you’re with the rest of us.”
“You’d do that? For me?” Racek said in astonishment.
“Hah. Not for you,” Menash laughed softly. He looked Racek straight in the eyes and continued: “What’ll it be, then?”
If he so much as hesitates, I’ll have to kill him here and now, Menash told himself.
“Why, yes. Yes, of course!” the little brown male said vigorously.
“Good,” Menash sighed with relief, “She’ll be very grateful to whoever brings her home. I’d do it myself, but as an alpha I can’t risk being seen as disobedient.”
“Then why give me this chance? After all that’s passed between us?”
“I should have thought that was obvious,” Menash replied. Racek digested that for a bit, then out of nowhere said:
“If I find her—when I find her—I’ll tell her exactly who it was that sent me.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Bah! Just so we’re even, that’s all,” Racek grinned, his mouthparts slanting askew.
“Thanks, I guess. I’d…I’d appreciate that. You do understand what we’re risking here, right?”
“Sure. We’ll be total genetic write-offs if we’re caught. But it’s not like I wanted to see tiny ugly Raceks running around the house anyway. What about you, though? Why are you putting your neck on the chopping block?”
“You know why,” Menash said quietly, his thoughts still lingering on her face.
“Yes,” Racek agreed with a wistful air, “Yes, I suppose I do.”
And the pair spoke no more until they reached Chthonis.
Link for all the chapters available for free here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road

Previous
​
So, if you’re just joining us, I work at a haunted zoo now. Since I’ve gotten some rest, it feels like I’ve got my head on straight, at least, so I’d like to continue where I left off.
I sat on the floor in the office after meeting the ghost until I’d settled my rattled mind (and realized I’d forgotten to ask her name, how rude is that?). I took a deep breath and got up off the floor. Walking over and falling into the rolling chair in front of the large screen of camera views, when I brought up the camera that covered the area in which I’d spotted her, she was still there, and it seemed she hadn’t moved an inch.
Sitting there, at a loss, I continued to watch her. The ghost hung around for another five minutes or so, appearing to look at a few things off-screen, though I’m not sure what. Then she walked off into the forest and left the view of the cameras. I wasn’t sure if she vanished into the ether or if she’d gone looking into the trees to look for something.
But that wasn’t the end of the job interview, so let me jump back there. It continued into what kind of animals the zoo had, with Andrew asking me how much experience I had with dangerous animals.
I took a moment to consider the question. “So, ah…I’ve been going hunting and fishing with a neighbor since I was sixteen,” I told him. “We always have to keep an eye out for gators, bears, and hogs. Then there’s snakes, of course…snapping turtles… Since I’ve lived here my whole life and been aiming for a job with wildlife for a long time, I know a lot about the animals in Arkansas in general. But good advice for all of the above is avoid them, so I’ve had encounters, but I don’t know if you’d say I have experience with them.”
“That’s fine,” Andrew said, nodding. “That’s an answer I’m satisfied with. Now, the ghost was the appetizer, Ripley; here’s the main course. To start with, the pay isn’t twenty-five an hour. It’s fifty.”
Staring in shock for a moment, I asked, “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. But that’d be weird to post online considering what applicants think we need, so I halved it.”
“That’s… Okay, why?”
“The animals are already here. You just can’t see them.”
I stared at him for a long moment, some disbelief worming its way into my expression, before saying, “Sorry, what?”
“There’s a chance you’d naturally never see them, or at least some of them,” he continued casually. “It depends on both your genetics and how long you stay on the job. I can naturally see six of them, but that’s it. Suzanne can see all of them, and more. Some are what people would label demons or ghosts. Or magic. Mostly you’d call them cryptids. The ghost was just a warm-up; I mentioned her first because it never takes more than a week to see her if you work the night shift. If you manage to handle her okay, soon you’ll be able to see the animals too. The more time you spend on the grounds, for weird reasons,” he said, wiggling his fingers in the direction of the back door, “the more you’ll be able to see.”
“So, this…this is a zoo for cryptids,” I echoed slowly. He nodded once, waiting to find out what kind of reaction I would have. I gestured vaguely around the room. “If this is a hidden camera show, will you cut me a check for showing up and participating?”
Andrew coughed out a chuckle and shook his head. “No joke. There are a ton of stories out there that have been written to death, pulverized until they’re not the Grimm stories of old and instead they’re Disney films. A lot of those stories come from what some humans have seen. There are dozens of other worlds pressed up against ours, and occasionally things come through by accident. If they’re smart, they’ll lay low and then make their way back when they can. If not, they become local folklore until someone helps them back. I’m just from London, but Suzanne is from somewhere else. She hires people like us for this zoo. Humans.”
Sighing, I shook my head. “That makes no sense. Why would she hire a muggle for a magic zoo?”
Andrew burst out laughing at that, and then waited to gather himself before he continued. “Fair point, but this is less about magic and more about animals, and you’re missing some information that will explain it. First of all, if I misjudge an employee, and they think they can make bank by outing the endangered and valuable animals we have, it’s easy to relocate the zoo.”
“Because magic?” I asked.
“Exactly,” he replied, ignoring the thread of skepticism in my tone. “That means it isn’t the end of the world if that happened, though it is a pain in the arse. But second…let me ask you a question. Speaking of reality shows, say the Discovery Channel put out a call to replace Steve Irwin when he passed. Imagine they had a line out the door,” he said with a gesture, “of people who thought they had the skill and natural talent to replace him, to take on everything he’d been doing his whole life. How many do you reckon would lose an arm, a leg, or their life, by the end of the day?”
My lips parted in surprise and I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re saying people from…wherever…they’re just as dumb as humans, but they’re worse, because they actually think they can handle these things.”
Andrew pointed the pen at me. “Things. Exactly. You called them things. Suzanne and her friends grew up with them and would call them animals. These animals have dispositions and temperaments that we’ve studied for as long as there have been scientists. Where Suzanne’s from, they know the weaknesses of these animals, and also they’re in enclosures here, even if you and I can’t see the walls because they’re invisible things called ‘wards’. If I hire someone who’s got magic on top of all that, they’ll have almost no instinctive fear.
“Everything here is nocturnal, and every one of them is a hunter. Some of these things? Humans see them and they pass out. Not that I want you passing out, but I need someone who is scared of these things, who knows to stay out of the enclosures no matter what. Not someone who thinks they can train them to do tricks, who gets close enough for them to grab a mouthful of hair and drown them. Once, we had a night shift manager injured, and once killed, because they didn’t take these animals seriously enough.”
Thinking back to the Sea World orca incident I knew he’d been referencing, I remembered wondering how someone at that level of her profession could be so careless as I watched the video on YouTube. It made sense when he explained it like that. I hesitated before mentally throwing my hands up and going all in. “So, why put this place here, then? If they’re endangered and also dangerous, why have a zoo at all instead of just a small reserve?”
He pursed his lips, looking disappointed in me. “Ripley. You know that already. You already said as much.”
Thinking back through our conversation, I said, “The rich humans who pay top dollar to see supernatural animals.”
“Not humans,” he told me. “But people, yes, and they are rich, and they’re making donations and spending their money on a ticket here because everything we have is endangered.”
“So…”
I just let my voice trail off and my mind started to drift. Andrew remained silent, letting me do so. There’s that thing people say, ‘I believe that you believe it,’ which is just a kinder way of saying, ‘Bullshit.’ Parents say it about closet monsters. Psychologists say it to people who say they’ve been abducted and probed by aliens. I wanted to say it to Andrew.
But I also wanted a job. If it meant working overnight at an empty zoo, that was fine. When it came down to it, especially when I took the tone of our conversation into account, this was a zoo specifically focused on preserving endangered ‘animals’, and it was allegedly doing important work. Also, if this turned out to be the real deal and I started seeing the animals, I would deal with it, just like I would deal with an enclosure that had a lion or tiger or gorilla. If it came with a ghost and invisible creatures, I really didn’t see what the difference was, if I couldn’t go in the enclosures either way.
On that note, I’d like you to imagine a kid who looks at a roller coaster, watching everyone screaming and grinning as they go up and down and all around and they’re like, ‘Heck, I could do that! That looks like a blast!’
Then they get on, the first drop hits, and they realize they’ve made a terrible mistake.
“All right,” I sighed. “I can’t say I’m going to turn down a job just because it’s going to be scary. Especially not one with this paycheck.”
Andrew smiled. “Awesome. There’s an adjustment process for anyone working here, similar to a dog that gets adopted, actually. I know the general guidelines of, ‘three days, three weeks, three months’ in terms of milestones, until they finally feel they’re where they’re supposed to be,” he told me, “and you can think of your time here along those lines. I really think you’re a great fit, and once you reach the milestone of working here for three months, I’ll officially consider you our new night shift guard. And I hope you’ll stay with us for many years.”
I nodded and smiled at the flattery of an employer wanting me to work a great job for them for a long time. I’d never had a dog, but those milestones were well-known among anyone who knew animals, especially dogs. The first three days, the dog is getting to know its new digs, exploring, and decompressing. At three weeks, they’ve gotten used to their environment and are starting to get comfortable with their surroundings and the routines of the humans they live with. By three months, they know the rules and follow them, they trust you, and they feel they are where they’re meant to be. I could only hope to be so lucky.
I saw the ghost two days ago and she has yet to make another appearance (for those who are curious, I asked, and her name is Leila), and I still hadn’t seen any animals. I did hear one, though, I feel compelled to note. A growling roar sounded from the lake on occasion, echoing across the vast zoo, sending a shiver down my spine. Whatever that animal was, it sounded gigantic.
Andrew said there was apparently a group that wanted to visit for a birthday and they were offering a huge donation, so he let me know they were making an exception and that this group would be walking through the park that night. That meant I’d be watching people watching animals that, as far as I could tell, weren’t there.
It was anticlimactic. Even the three people who came for the tour just looked like people, not like aliens or something eldritch from another dimension, and I stayed in the security office the whole time. Andrew was the one giving the tour. I watched them spend about five minutes at each enclosure, the hour or so that they were there passing without incident. It was clear that they were able to see all the animals, though, since they motioned excitedly at each enclosure and spoke to Andrew, who presumably answered any questions they had.
If they could see the animals, that was that. There was still that niggle in the back of my head, from my twenty-three years of life never encountering anything like ghosts or cryptids, telling me that this was ridiculous. Waiting for someone to knock on the door, a camera mounted on their shoulder, to tell me that it was a big joke and they wanted to see how long I’d play along. But from all I saw, this was a real place with real, invisible animals.
I do carry a taser and pepper spray in my capacity as a security guard. Though it isn’t for the animals, since they’re in the enclosures; they’re actually for the rare instance of a break-in. Andrew mentioned that it had happened several times it the past, someone trying to steal an animal in the hopes of selling it on the black market. They’d been successful before, but apparently my predecessor Roger was good at his job, and mostly they left in handcuffs.
I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of confrontation, but my job was to call Andrew and then confront the person, not kick their ass. That’s what the police were for, or rather, the people Andrew would call in lieu of police in certain situations.
Fifty bucks an hour. That’s the key here.
Andrew hadn’t set up direct deposit, since he was sticking with a strategy of waiting to see if I’d continue to work there once I found out myself dealing with the animals (I’ve decided I am going to just call them animals). Instead, I got an old-fashioned check after my shift every Friday. The number on the first check was delightful. I went out that evening and had a big dinner at the local diner, order my most expensive favorites on the menu and a big slice of pie for dessert.
When it came to the paychecks in general, though, I had this weird feeling of not wanting to tell my dad and brother about the fact that it was actually $50/hr. I previously mentioned that my dad, his name’s Nathan if you’re curious, works at a local grocery store. Our town has a couple food franchises, but I think its size is just short of whatever threshold Walmart uses to decide where to open. He earns $14/hr. and that’s after the tiny raises he’s gotten over the past thirteen years.
That’s not to say he’d feel bad about not making as much as me. On the contrary, he would be ecstatic for me and really proud. But, like me, he’d be suspicious. That hourly rate was the biggest hint that this was more than just a private zoo for cryptids. And as soon as that fat check cleared without problems, my dad wouldn’t be satisfied with reassurances; he’d want to come visit the zoo and look around.
I’d told him it’s a private preservation with scheduled (expensive) visits only and that it had only eleven animals, so he’d been appeased by me brushing off the idea of a visit. Also, I took a few photos of my workplace; one of the security room, one of me sitting in my chair, one photo of the many screens I watched, and a selfie where I was feigning sleep out of boredom, slouched in my chair with my mouth open in a faux snore. That let him feel like he knew where I was and what I was doing, and that I was safe.
But if I told him I was making double what he thought, my father would practically order me to quit. No job was worth my safety, he’d tell me. I was quite of the opposite opinion, however, considering how crucial any and all conservation efforts were these days. Especially with the steep extinction levels due to humans competing with other animals for space, not to mention climate change. Working in any job that helped preserve species and keep ecosystems in balance, or put them back in balance, was so important.
Then again, my father would also point out something I had realized right away: the fact was that I was working with endangered species that were not from Earth. I wasn’t helping my planet. To be honest, though…that didn’t matter to me. Especially after that talk with Andrew about why he hired a human for this job, I figured whichever dimension these animals came from had the equivalent of us, razing forests to the ground, clouding the planet with pollution, and leaving the animals with no avenue of recourse when yet more land was taken from them.
I really do hope to keep working here for a long time, though, and not just because of the money. I can’t help it; I want to know what these things were, and I want to work with them, to do the job of a zookeeper. The same way you go up to the chain-link fence to get close to a carnivore on the other side who thinks you’d make a nice afternoon snack. You just want to be closer to them, to experience that incredible, daunting feeling of being in their presence.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before I got what I wanted.
The day after we had the tour go through, I was doing my sweep when I saw the ghost again. She was sitting on a small boulder in the same area I’d seen her the first time, looking identical, blood covering the front of her slashed shirt, the wounds visible underneath. I stopped and stood there for a moment before I decided to raise my hand in a small wave.
The young woman cocked her head at me and raised a hand in the air in an imitation of my gesture, her expression showing a bit of curiosity.
She was low-key, seemingly not concerned with my presence, looking at me as a novel phenomenon in her world. I wondered what that world consisted of. Was she always here, sometimes visible and sometimes not? Or did she have another world next to ours, in the ether, where she left everything in this world behind and floated in her disembodied form? Did she still feel emotions? Was that really curiosity on her face, or was I projecting? Did she feel happiness? Fear? Did she have the option of moving on, or was she stuck here?
Many questions that I might never get the answers to. And that was assuming Andrew knew the answers, since I’d never met Suzanne Cooper and he hadn’t even mentioned that possibility. This place was clearly her baby, but I’m sure running it was a lot of work. Plus, if she was rich enough to own it, she was rich enough to have other businesses and charities to run.
When it comes to the enclosures, they’re all wrapped by a barrier of some kind, though never one that seems adequate. There was not a single place with the ugly metal weavings of a chain-link fence, and no stretches of circular razor wire. Instead, there are nice fences. Black iron, or wrought steel fencing in a similar style to the one circling the perimeter of the zoo, just shorter and with different patterns. Or a spaced picket fence, the wood stained in some tone of brown, or a split two-rail fence. As if to say, ‘This is the border of your enclosure, but we’re just letting you know out of courtesy.’
When I started to pass enclosure number seven last night, a young woman’s voice spoke, “Hello.”
I startled, unaware that I hadn’t been alone. “Oh. Hi,” I said, staring at her standing a few yards in.
She had been next to a large tree and I hadn’t seen her. This enclosure was behind a picket fence, and she walked through the large area of wild grasses and flowers that stretched across the other side of the fence. There were fewer tall grasses closer to the fence, which I guessed was because it had been tromped down by her regular pacing along it when there were visitors, or if she wanted to see the various enclosures of the zoo. Her sudden appearance was a bit weird, considering I had been expecting to see a cryptid and instead I was looking at, it seemed, an attractive Asian woman.
She wore a black kimono, the soft silk robe draped gently over her body, with beautiful patterns of cherry blossoms, more so over her left side, and red and blue birds with their wings spread. A sash wrapped around her abdomen, she wore socks and sandals on her feet, and her hair was up in those rolls that gave volume to the style.
I was no expert on any fashion, much less that of another country, so I just assumed it was all traditional Japanese clothing. Most likely, the visitors who came liked to see a certain time-honored style and that’s what she stuck with. Or maybe she played on stereotypes. That would be amusing.
“I’m Yui. It’s nice to meet you,” she spoke, arriving at the border of the fence and holding out a hand for me to shake.
I’d been standing about three yards away from her, and I’ll be honest, muscle memory tried to kick in. But I only made it two steps, my hand starting to rise, before I froze, the hand falling limply at my side. “Nice to meet you, too,” I answered, my voice quiet.
Damn. I wonder how many times that honey trap works back where she comes from.
The pleasant look on her face faded, and she lowered her hand. “You won’t shake hands with me? Isn’t that rude?”
“I mean, I kind of like my hand where it is. You know, attached to me.”
Her demure smile widened into something more amused. “I would never do something so revolting.”
Looking her up and down, as if more visual information would give me more knowledge of what she was, I asked her, “What would you do?”
“I would be less wasteful,” she said softly.
A finger of ice trailed down my spine, and I had the sudden image in my head of her grabbing my outstretched hand in an iron grip and yanking me over the fence, leaving me to sprawl on the ground. Then killing and consuming me efficiently, without a single careless step, the same way humans slaughtered pigs, using everything from the hog but the squeal. I was struck with a shiver at the idea of her consuming everything from me but my screams.
Slowly, I took one step further down the path, then another. Just as I got to a walking pace, though, I realized the woman had started walking too, in the same direction. I’d have eventually gotten to the end of her enclosure and keep going, leaving her behind, but she spoke up. “Are you leaving?”
I came to a stop, meeting her gaze again. “My job is to walk the zoo every hour. Then I’ll get back to the security room and stay there until my next walk.”
“Have you met the others yet?”
I hesitated before saying, “Just Leila.”
She blinked languidly. “That means nobody welcomed you here.”
“Andrew did.”
She didn’t reply to that. Instead, she slowly started to lean forward, and I flinched backward a few steps further as I saw insect legs start curling out from her back.
No. Not insect. Arachnid.
The eight legs ended in small ‘paws’ with tiny claws, a layer of hairs covering the leg from top to bottom, like any typical tarantula. I took two more slow steps back and my mouth went dry as the jointed legs just kept lengthening, until they were large enough to lever her off the ground.
My gaze had been on the spider legs, but my heart skipped a beat as I realized her human legs had melded together and turned into a bulging abdomen. Her skin was shifting to a carapace, eventually all the way up to her shoulders and down her arms, her fingers elongating and her nails stretching to claws. From there down, her body was that of a pale tarantula with pedipalps the size of my arms and piercing fangs in her jaws that looked like they could take my head off.
There was a moment, my vision blurring, where I was worried that I might piss myself. The part of my brain that still had its humor intact in that moment told me that I should keep an emergency set of clothes in my car, or at the very least, start wearing Depends to work.
“I show you my true form,” she said softly, her voice now raspy like an eighty-year-old after a lifelong smoking habit. “Welcome to Suzanne Cooper’s zoo. The night shift guard for many years was Roger, before he retired and the zoo moved, and I miss him dearly. What should I call you?”
I choked on my words. There was no way my throat was going to cooperate enough for me to clearly get a sentence out. Instead, I realized my legs had taken control of the situation themselves, unsatisfied with my conscious brain’s decision to stand and stare, taking steps backward. I backed up a yard, then five yards, then ten.
My mind focused on the fact that spiders don’t waste anything, and pictured my demise. I’d be wrapped in a cocoon, killed, and made nice and mushy before she had me for dinner.
The whole time, my brain was a frenzied mess, my pupils were probably the size of dimes, and I was staring at that tiny, pathetic fence between her and me. There was so much adrenaline pumping through my body that I felt like my bones were vibrating. The fence was, to my eyes, the only thing between us. The only thing keeping her from tackling and killing me. My only hope was that she’d do it quickly.
But she didn’t move. As I absorbed her innocent, polite words, the look on her face was calm, and I wondered if this was typically the way a conversation went before she devoured her prey. I wondered how many people she’d eaten. Not humans, not people from Earth, but the ones from where she came from. The fact that she doesn’t scare the shit out of those people means they’re staggeringly dumber than humans.
Finally, I rounded a corner, both relieved at having her out of my sight and worried that she would take that moment to come find me. When she’d been within eyeshot, I had at least known where she was and could run in the other direction. But I didn’t hear the sound of faint footsteps moving rapidly toward me. All was quiet, in that deep, smothering way that only an empty business in the middle of the night in small town America could be.
My hands trembling, I barely paid attention to anything but the confirmation that my surroundings were free of the colossal spider as I finally got back to the door. Grabbing the handle and letting my eyes dart around for about ten seconds and my ears prick for the slightest sound, I finally swiped my key card across the pad and went inside, shutting the door behind me and engaging the backup deadbolt.
Maybe that was why they had decided on keycards. If I was running from something and panicking, using an actual key or inserting the card like at a hotel would keep me from getting to safety considering my hands were shaking enough to mix a margarita.
Walking over to my chair, I fell into it, letting my body flush itself of terror as I looked up at the cameras. There she was, still in arachnid form, exactly where I’d left her behind that rinky-dink fence, casually looking around and slowly pacing back and forth. I stared at her as my racing heart gradually slowed, and a minute or so later she turned on her eight legs and walked back into the trees.
Whatever invisible fences the enclosures have apparently work, which is nice, because I wasn’t keen on getting killed by one of the creatures here. And that’s what brings me here, spilling out everything that’s happened so far. Because nearly passing out from terror isn’t something I wanted to deal with at work, obviously, but I keep going over what she did in my head again and again, and I feel like I reacted like a child who spotted a wolf spider on their bed. I started to worry for my overactive sense of self-preservation, at least in my capacity as an employee here.
The spider didn’t even try to hurt me, and so I was feeling a bit foolish. Even annoyed, actually, at the fact that I’d freaked out so hard and took off instead of trying to engage in at least basic conversation. I got the sense that she wasn’t at human-level intelligence, but I was never going to be able to hold any level of conversation with an alligator.
Sure, she did mention that she wouldn’t be so crass as to yank off my hand because she’d rather just have my entire corpse, but wouldn’t a wolf do the same if it was hungry? Wouldn’t any carnivore? Actually, they probably would’ve been satisfied with one of my hands. The fear here was from the fact that she turned into a giant spider. If she’d turned into Clifford, I would’ve reacted the same way, if not better than, meeting Leila.
With that, I decided I’m staying on the job. Considering how frustrated I can get with foolish people, it’s a bit hypocritical, and I’m being a bit of an idiot. But…there are definitely wards keeping them in their enclosures. Also, I signed up for creatures for another dimension, whether or not I believed in them at the time, and I will not let encountering my first one in an objectively boring way be the reason I quit.
The money is a factor, I’ll grant you. Of course it is. And I can’t spend it if I’m dead, but all signs point to surviving as long as I don’t do anything dumb. Also, yes, I’ll admit there’s a not-so-little voice in the back of my head that’s desperate to know what else is here. I never thought I’d do something like this, but finding out these things are real, I honestly do want to learn more about them.
Still, though, I decided to call Andrew at the end of my shift to ask if the pepper spray and taser I carried worked on a certain spider, as well as the other animals I’d yet to meet.
​
Previous
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/storiesbykaren

Delhi to Shimla Manali Bus Tour Packages
Embarking on a journey from Delhi to the enchanting hill stations of Shimla and Manali is like stepping into a world of picturesque landscapes, serene valleys, and snow-capped mountains. As one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in India, Shimla and Manali offer a perfect blend of natural beauty, adventure, and cultural experiences. For travelers seeking convenience and comfort, opting for bus tour packages from Delhi to Shimla and Manali is an ideal choice. In this article, we delve into the intricacies of finding the best “Delhi to Shimla Manali bus tour packages”, ensuring a memorable and hassle-free travel experience.
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Among the myriad options available, Travel House Delhi stands out as a trusted name in the travel industry, offering meticulously crafted Delhi to Shimla Manali bus tour packages. Let's delve into one of their featured itineraries:
Conclusion:
Embarking on a Delhi to Shimla Manali bus tour package opens doors to a world of adventure, culture, and natural beauty. With careful planning and the right choice of tour operator, travelers can create unforgettable memories amidst the serene landscapes of Shimla and Manali. Whether it's exploring snow-clad mountains, indulging in thrilling activities, or immersing oneself in the local culture, a bus tour package ensures a hassle-free and enriching travel experience from Delhi to the heart of Himachal Pradesh.

I'm currently in Melbourne and considering a move to Belrose/Frenchs Forest (Sydney) or Adamstown/Eleebana (Newcastle).
I have a young family, will be working for the govt with flexibility on office location, and it looks like I can afford a very basic place in Frenchs Forest/Belrose, or a nice place in a desirable Newie neighborhood. Cost of living aside, what other factors should I consider between the two locations? Public schools in both locations are good, outdoor options are plentiful, and the beach is around 10-15 mins from both spots.
I'm leaning towards Newy for the lifestyle and because it's not Sydney, but I'd appreciate some thoughts from people who perhaps have experience living in both areas. Thanks so much!

unknown lady screaming in the forest
hi courtney! i’ve been watching your videos for a few years now and decided i’d finally submit a story. my names ashlynn, and this is the one and only paranormal (if that’s what you’d call it) or just down right terrifying experience i’ve ever experienced. TW for mention of suicide
i’m 18 now, and this happened back when i was around 14 years old. for a little context i live in a small town where the most exciting thing you’ll do is walk around walmart or go to sonic so when i found out about this place called “witches arrow” i was intrigued to say that least. basically its just a huge arrow in the middle of no where. a random arrow in the middle of land is weird to say the least but that backstory is freaky too. basically a long time ago there was a fairground of some sort on the land which is where the arrow was, i guess they tore down the grounds after a while and only left up the arrow? idk but people say that a woman unalived herself from the arrow. (there are many variations of this story, but this is one i found most common)
okay now to my story lol basically when i found out about this place i immediately wanted to go there. i gathered up a few of my friends and we decided to go investigate. when we finally got there it was already dark so of course that added to the scare factor (as if the random ass arrow wasn’t enough). the arrow was blocked off by fences and no trespassing signs so what do dumb and bored 14 yr olds do? we climb the fence. as we were walking up to the arrow we heard what sounded like rustling and someone walking behind us. we just brushed it off as wind until we heard a woman let out the most bloodcurdling scream and then yelled at us to leave. we were petrified. we ran to the fence and as we were climbing it we heard someone running behind us. when i looked back i saw what looked like a woman in a white dress sprinting after me. i jumped off the fence and ran for it. once we were finally far enough we tried to rationalize what it could’ve been but no one lived nearby that would’ve seen us. the only logical reason we could come up with was that maybe a homeless person was living there but we all knew deep down it was the spirit of the woman. let’s just say we’ve never been back since then and i hope i never return.
sorry this was a short story but it’s the only one i have lol. i love you and your videos, and i hope you get to read this!!

Predictive Analytics Optimize Customer Churn Prediction

Introduction

In today's competitive business environment, retaining customers is more crucial than ever. One powerful tool businesses use to anticipate and mitigate customer churn is AI-driven predictive analytics. By leveraging advanced algorithms and vast amounts of data, companies can accurately predict which customers are likely to leave and implement strategies to retain them.

Understanding Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics involves using historical data, statistical algorithms, and machine learning techniques to identify the likelihood of future outcomes. In the context of customer churn, it helps businesses understand patterns and factors that contribute to customer attrition.

The Importance of Customer Churn Prediction

Customer churn prediction is vital because retaining existing customers is often more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Understanding why customers leave allows businesses to address underlying issues and improve customer satisfaction.

Role of AI in Predictive Analytics

AI enhances predictive analytics by automating data analysis and uncovering complex patterns that traditional methods might miss. Machine learning models can process vast datasets, identify trends, and continuously improve their predictions over time.

Data Collection and Preparation

Effective predictive analytics begins with robust data collection. This includes gathering data on customer demographics, transaction history, interaction logs, and more. Cleaning and preparing this data ensures accuracy and reliability in the analysis.

Feature Engineering

Feature engineering involves selecting and transforming variables in the dataset to improve the performance of predictive models. This might include creating new metrics, normalizing data, or identifying significant customer behaviors that impact churn.

Model Selection and Training

Choosing the right machine learning model is critical. Common models used in churn prediction include decision trees, random forests, and neural networks. These models are trained on historical data to learn patterns associated with customer retention and attrition.

Evaluation and Validation

Once trained, models must be evaluated and validated to ensure their accuracy. Techniques such as cross-validation and ROC curves help assess how well the model predicts churn and identify any areas for improvement.

Implementation of AI Models

Implementing AI models involves integrating them into the business's existing systems. This allows real-time data processing and immediate identification of at-risk customers, enabling timely interventions.

Real-Time Data Processing

AI-driven predictive analytics can process data in real-time, allowing businesses to respond quickly to changes in customer behavior. This agility is crucial in implementing effective retention strategies.

Identifying High-Risk Customers

By analyzing patterns and trends, AI models can identify high-risk customers with a high probability of churning. These insights enable businesses to target retention efforts more effectively.

Personalized Retention Strategies

AI enables personalized retention strategies tailored to individual customers. Whether it's offering special promotions, addressing specific issues, or providing customized support, personalization enhances the chances of retaining customers.

Measuring Effectiveness

It's essential to measure the effectiveness of retention strategies. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as customer satisfaction scores, churn rates, and revenue impact help evaluate the success of predictive analytics initiatives.

Continuous Improvement

AI models benefit from continuous improvement. By regularly updating models with new data and feedback, businesses can refine their predictions and strategies, staying ahead of customer churn trends.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are paramount in AI-driven predictive analytics. Businesses must ensure data privacy, avoid biases in algorithms, and maintain transparency with customers regarding data use.

Conclusion

AI-driven predictive analytics offers a powerful approach to optimizing customer churn prediction. By leveraging advanced algorithms, real-time data processing, and personalized retention strategies, businesses can significantly enhance customer loyalty and reduce churn rates. As technology evolves, continuous improvement and ethical considerations will remain crucial in maximizing the benefits of AI in predictive analytics.
For more insights into AIML an[d](mailto:contact@htree.plus) [D](mailto:contact@htree.plus)a[ta Sc](mailto:contact@htree.plus)i[ence](mailto:contact@htree.plus) Development, please write to usat:[contact@fxis.ai](mailto:contact@fxis.ai)[FxisAi](mailto:contact@fxis.ai)

PredictiveAnalytics #CustomerRetention #AIDrivenInsights

Hello there I am writing a fantasy book and I want some feedback on the power system in my world it's not like most magic systems it doesn't come from an outside source it comes from you all the abilities that the people in my fantasy world use all the powers everything they have it comes from them and I wanted some critiquing on whether or not this was a good set of powers for a fantasy world.

1. Sky (Kingdom of Gods): Bestows increased healing, immortality, and flight upon its people as well as multiple elemental powers.
   
2. Under (Kingdom of Demons): Known for heightened strength, speed, immortality, and a high resistance to fire, as well as increased healing.
   
3. Deep(kingdom of the mermaids): Inhabitants can breathe underwater and unleash a Sonic attack immobilizing anyone they touch.
   
4. swamp (Kingdom of Ogres): Regarded as the weakest, featuring bumbling idiots bred for combat. Despite increased strength, speed, and slight durability, intelligence is lacking.
   
5. Moon (Kingdom of the Hounds): Inhabitants can transform into wolf-like creatures with heightened strength, speed, smell, and a healing factor.
   
6. Blood Crescent (Kingdom of the Fang): Possesses increased speed, slight strength, and immortality. They need blood to enhance their abilities and can transform into bat-like creatures.
   
7. Web (Kingdom of the Spiders): Inhabitants can extend limbs, climb walls, wield potent venom in their teeth, and spew webs from their bodies.
   
8. Geo (Kingdom of Humans): The second weakest kingdom, ranking above Orcs due to their superb intelligence.
   
9. Forest (Kingdom of the Elfs): Characterized by petite bodies and nimble frames, making them excellent hunters. Increased speed, agility, pointed ears, immortality and increased visibility enhancing their abilities.
   
10. Hoard (Kingdom of Goblins): Described as the most disgusting kingdom, they steal treasure, food, and people, surpassing humans in battle with their pack strategy.
    
11. Tower (Kingdom of Mages): Specialized in sorcery, allowing individuals to wield elemental powers, albeit weaker than those born naturally. Spells range from attack to defense, healing, and illusions.
    
12. Shadow (Kingdom of Rogues): Once great, it fell to thieves who killed the royal family. Now, it’s a cesspool of crime and murder.
    
13. Ember (Kingdom of the Phoenixs): Possesses the ability of short-term flight, control over fire, and resurrection, limited to four instances.