Drinking anything other than absinthe is way weirder than not drinking at all

Yo Ori! Welcome back. Guess you didn't get that far before the teams captured you huh? I told you before you dug that tunnel: there is NO ESCAPE from this place!
https://c.tenor.com/MQ1RgxugmMYAAAAC...s-mr-burns.gif

I'll take your word for that. I've never had absinthe. I've heard about its effects though.

My niece asked me today to speak at her wedding this November. She knows that I have a fear of public speaking but said that she and her fiancé really want me to do it. I am already filled with dread and fear and don't know how I'll get through it. Seriously, I have the biggest fear of public speaking in the world and am afraid I'll faint mid-speech (no kidding). :(

Oh I'm sorry, that's a difficult situation. Do they know it's that bad? I hope something can be done to make it easier for you (and if you really can't do it then you just can't, that's ok of course)

I totally understand you, anything above 3-4 people is quite awful.

How about, you get a little tipsy to take the edge off, recognize that the first few minutes will be awkward as hell, make a joke about it. In my experience after a few minutes, the initial fear wears off.

Or simply explain to your niece that it would really be quite an awful experience for you. I'm not sure if she really understood what a negative feeling it provokes in you. If she really cares about you, she will understand and not ask you to still go through something that is traumatic for you just so it would be nice for her?

I would have flat out refused.

One of the reasons why I don't feel like marrying my partner is that a wedding is such a painfully public affair and I can't stand that kind of attention. :/

I think the best thing would be to explain why you can't. Obviously, doing it will ruin a lot of the wedding for you.

If you're gonna do it, get it done early so you can fill as much of the day with relief from being done rather than dread. And rehearse it well and consider practicing in front of an online audience of friends on the MB discord server. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ6giVKp9ec

I hate speaking in front of people, but I've done it a few times and I feel a lot better and even a bit accomplished afterwards. Maybe get some tips from Toastmasters:

https://www.toastmasters.org/resourc...ling-your-fear

I'm usually reluctant, but find it quite exhilarating and fun once I'm up there.. That is if I get to entertain in some capacity and not just do like work presentations or hold meetings. Even bombing is something I find funny in a masochistic sort of way.

I used to have more of a fear for it and would usually get some dutch courage beforehand, usually a couple of beers. But after playing concerts for a while and also doing other stuff, the fear subsided and more or less turned into excitement. There's a little flutter of butterfly wings left, but not in a bad way.

Generally, I find that being prepared for what you're about to do helps. I don't rehearse speeches exactly and actually like to improvise, but I notice that I run through variations of them in my own head beforehand whether I want to or not, so I'm probably more prepared than I look. If I'm supposed to do something at an event or whatever, it's actually hard to focus on anything else until I got it out of my system. Hence, I usually like to just get it over with.

Did you consider having a civil ceremony (assuming it's legal where you are)?