(First, I know nobody can truly answer this other than my county’s codes department, but I’m simply asking for input as to what you all have seen in the past in similar situations…)
I’m looking to put in an in-ground fiberglass pool in my back “yard”.. I live on a 12 acre property in rural middle Tennessee, and my house is set back about 1,000 feet from the road. The pool would sit several hundred feet from our closest neighbors, and there’s a 4 foot fence diving our property from theirs. On the other sides of the property, there’s dense woods, steep hills and a creek dividing our property from the other adjacent properties (one of which is another large residential property, and the other is county-owned utility property).
In short, for someone other than my wife and I to access our pool, they’d either need to traverse deep woods, a creek, and steep wooded hills to get onto our property, or come down our 1,000 foot driveway (with a gate at the end).
Putting a fence around this pool seems silly to me, and while I understand that the law is the law, I’d like to think (or hope) that there could be exceptions for when the spirit of the law is satisfied despite perhaps the letter of the law not.
Does anyone have experience putting in a pool on a large acreage property in a county with pool fence requirements? Was there any wiggle room in the rules?

Kings’landing, 10th moon, 25 AC
Serala had ventured off into the woods, as she did before. But this time it was different, with Gaelithox by her side. She had asked her male relatives to prepare a fire for her so she could pray in silence. The priestess had worn a simple red cloak that night, along with a red dress underneath.
As the red priestess had approached the nightfire she perched her raven on a rock not too far away. “Stay close now Gaelithox, not even you blend in the darkness.” She smiled, but even that faded away quickly.
The burning pile of wood reflected like that of a shooting star in her eyes, it… spoke to her. Serala bowed her head forward and closed her eyes.
“From the light we came, and from the light we return. Your path has been lit without it ever being extinguished. R’hllorr, the fire in our lungs, the heat on our skin, the light in our heart. The true sun that determines what comes next, for we depend on you and you alone.” Not soon after she collapsed on the ground with her hands blocking her fall, leaning on her shoulders to maintain balance.
She could hear her raven call for her, but she didn’t respond.
“if…” Serala echoed. “If this duty of mine is chosen by you alone, let it not be dull if it’s mean for me, let that fire consume me if it must, but not have me carry this burden all alone.” She screamed. Tears were sobbing from her eyes as she looked directly into the fire. “For I have dedicated my life to you!!”
She felt weak, maybe she was weak.. Serala had been depending on her little sister for any kind of intel, on her mentor for guidance and R’hllor for refuge. Power only resided in her purpose, one that was far greater than she would ever know.
Serala shook her head as if it could detach itself from her body, truly overwhelmed… The shrieking noise could not even be blocked by that of the sound of a Raven.

Hi! We bought our home a few years ago and would like to update the exterior. We prefer a modern, minimalistic Scandinavian style. If we removed the shingles, what kind of siding would you recommend? I am drawn to having a white house with perhaps wood accents and maybe a pop of color somewhere but I am having a hard time visualizing the transformation. Can anyone offer ideas? Thanks!

[INDEX]
I banked the fire and stared into the golden eyes of Beatale before I crept into my makeshift tent.
I still had my auric vision running and couldn’t help but notice the thin silver cord that ran from me to Horse. Firming up my aura, I reached out with my hand and grabbed it. I could feel the nearly imperceptible vibration between my fingers as I used my mind to probe at the thread. I could feel a bright spark of intellect, a light at the end of a tunnel. Pushing with my mind, I slid down the thread until the spark grew larger and eventually filled my inner vision with a hazy white light. Horsey thoughts nudged at me curiously.
I slid into the haze and immediately lost all sense of direction. If it wasn’t for the silver thread, I’d have no idea how to exit this shifting white fog. Horsey thoughts got stronger as I followed the thread while the haze thinned and cleared to reveal an endless prairie of green grass. I found myself standing before a naked man wearing a horse mask and I stared in shock. It was obviously me wearing a cheap costume horse mask — there was no mistaking my tattoos.
“What did you expect?” Horse neighed at me. “I am you and you are me and we are all together. Goo goo ga joob.”
Horse made a shooing motion with his hands and I accelerated backwards through the white haze and slammed into my own body with a gasp. I stared at the tarp overhead for a long minute, processing this new revelation. Horse was a part of me, a piece of my spirit. Whatever psychic stuff I did with that silver cord lead me into a house of mirrors where I got to look at myself pretending to be a horse. I can’t even deal with that right now.
Rolling into my blankets, I dropped off to sleep.
*Ding*
-=- - Welcome to the Dreamworld - Included in the Psychic Skills pack, the Inner Sanctum is your psychic domain. It is the mental fortress that you must secure and maintain to defend against psychic and spiritual assaults. All of your neurosis and fears are symbolised in this realm and must be defeated or subjugated before you can become master of the domain. Good luck. -=-
I banished the pop-up and looked around. I knew I was asleep, but everything was just as real as when I was awake. I was breathing, I could feel the floor under my feet, and if it weren’t for the pop-up, I would have sworn I had been teleported. The room I was in resembled an oversized luxury prison cell, maybe a thirty foot cube. No windows. Rough stone walls with thick mortar. Large brass wall sconces were set directly into the stone and suffused the room with a warm, golden light provided by glowing rocks. The stone floor had colourful Persian rugs tastefully placed. A high plaster ceiling was painted with a rendition of Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’, depicting me as both Adam and God.
There was a comfy sofa in front of a large screen television that hung from one wall and an ornate grandfather clock ticked loudly in the corner. It was currently 10:08 PM. Another wall was a floor to ceiling bookshelf, stuffed with books of varying sizes. The third wall was covered with pictures and I could see at a glance that they were images from my life. The fourth wall had a thick riveted steel door on the right side, a full sized mirror on the left, and a computer workstation in the middle.
The picture wall was my first target. A few were quite large, nearly life sized, while others were tiny prints no larger than the palm of my hand. Scenes of my life were displayed in each one. The largest was me riding Horse with a shit-scared expression, shooting at a pack of wolves. Others were smaller, each with different frames. Some ornate gold or silver, others plain wood, a few wrapped in briars or barbed wire. Nanny Ramsey holding me as a young child. My dog Jean with a red ball in his mouth. My parents, screaming at me. I turned my attention to the books. Books are safe. Books don’t judge you.
The sweet, musty scent of a used book store filled my nostrils as I drew close to the honey coloured shelves. Hundreds of volumes filled the wall from floor to ceiling, with a ladder that could be rolled along a rail to access the top. I smiled at the sight. I had always wanted a library like this. I pulled a book at random and read the title, “Confused Fantasies about Joseph Harris, part XXIV of the Middle School Years”.
I slid the book back onto the shelf. Let’s see what’s on TV.
The remote was a slim, futuristic looking affair with a minimum of buttons. I pointed it at the television and moments later the huge screen came to life and presented me with a simple menu for movies, divided into six categories: Happy, Surprised, Afraid, Disgusted, Angry, and Sad. I scrolled through the offerings for a minute, reading the titles and reviews about the movies of my life. It really bothered me that there were so few selections in the Happy section.
The number of Sad movies increased by one.
I walked over to the mirror and noticed there was a small sticky note pasted to it. “Astral Realm. Experienced users only.” I shoved the note in my pocket and stared at my image. Sturdy black boots, black denim jeans and shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons, deep brown gun belt slung at my hip, red bandanna and black felt hat. All I needed was a pencil moustache and I would look like the stereotypical villain in any spaghetti western. At that very moment I decided to grow out a goatee. I’d rather be mistaken for a bad guy than a victim.
So how does this astral realm thing work?
The mirror appeared to be nothing more than a mirror. It was cold, smooth glass surrounded by a wrought iron frame, and reflected my image. I didn’t necessarily want to go walking into danger, but I wanted to know how it worked. I pushed and prodded the glass in frustration until I noticed my image grinning at me. I jumped back in surprise and it doubled over in silent laughter.
“Hilarious, dude. You got me,” I huffed. “So how do I get in?”
My mirror-self tipped his hat and stepped to side.
I reached up to the mirror again and my hand passed through, vanishing as if cut off. Okay, just a quick peek and we’ll explore the rest of the room. I stepped through and the world shifted around me. I was standing back at the campsite. My body was insubstantial as a ghost and the tarp was a wisp of substance running straight through me. Non living things don’t seem to have much presence in this realm. Glancing down, I saw my sleeping body rolled up in the blankets, a thin silver thread running from it to me, and another thread running to Horse.
Looking around, I surveyed the campsite. My astral vision seemed to be on and had an unlimited range. I could see the life all around me, the distant forest was a sea of greenish-gold, grasses and brush nearby glowed with spectral light. Tiny ghost insects scurried while ghost mice nibbled at whatever ghost mice nibble on. Ghost seeds and ghost insects, I suppose. I turned my attention overhead and gaped at the sight of a monstrous serpentine spirit flying through the inky void. I dropped back through the tent and rolled inside my body. That was plenty enough for now.
I rolled through the mirror and landed flat on my back, staring at the fresco on the ceiling. Vinnie-God winked at me and Vinnie-Adam grinned. Climbing to my knees, I brushed non-existent dust from my trousers and watched mirror-me doubled over in soundless laughter.
“Hey, laughing-boy!” I yelled at him. “You’re like the guardian or something, right? You got it covered?”
Mirror-me stood and saluted with a smile, then gave me two thumbs up. A moment later, his face took on a serious expression and he wriggled his right hand in the ‘maybe’ motion. Then he pointed at me, tapped his wrist, and then a finger to his head.
It all depends on how fast I learn stuff, I guess.
Two thumbs up and a winning smile reflected back to me.
A large cork board was mounted to the wall over the computer and a small note was pinned to it. “Note to self: Don’t fuck with the Elvish womens.”
The computer screen featured a screensaver of me as Vitruvian Man doing callisthenics over the words ‘HumanOS’. I tapped the spacebar and was rewarded with the sound of powerful fans kicking to life as the computer emerged from sleep mode and prompted me for a password. Should I assume it’s the same as the password on the computer I pawned in my previous life?
Password: *******esi
I was rewarded with a sweet R&M desktop and a couple of icons. System, NeuralNet, My-Tunes, My-Movies, My-Office.
System was just what I expected, lots of .dna files and other confusing scariness that allowed me to tweak my physical body and mental state. My-Tunes was a collection of every song I’d ever heard and My-Movies was a collection of every movie I’d ever seen. Not that I’m complaining, but it would have been nice to have “My-Games” so I could play RDR. My-Office was a clone of the popular software by a similar name. I have no idea what I’ll ever need a spreadsheet for in this world.
NuralNet opened up a search engine called Me-Seeks, featuring a familiar blue guy.
I typed in “beer” and several thousand results were displayed, anything I’d ever read, heard, or watched about beer, including how to make it. This right here made the price of admission totally worth it, access to an exact copy of everything I’d ever read, and I was a voracious reader. Sadly, most of the stuff I read was futurology — solar panels, electronics, biotech advancements, quantum computing. The material for steam engines, blacksmithing, farming and the like, were slim pickings. That’s okay though, I could still reproduce the Gutenberg press, the cotton gin, simple internal combustion engines, and basic batteries along with some sketchy knowledge of metal alloys, acids, bases, and other things I had read over the years. All that wasted time watching “How Things Work” was finally going to pay off. I copied a few likely money makers to My-Office, saved the file, and exported to my Notes, just in case they didn’t exist on Aerth.
A popup covered the screen.
📱 [New Upgrade Available!] 📱
🎉 Enhance Your Experience with the Latest HumanOS Features! 🎉
🌟 Features Include:

• 🧠 Memory Booster: Increase your Memory for smoother multitasking and improved performance.
• 🔋 Energy Optimizer: Extend your battery life with advanced power-saving techniques.
• 🛠️ Utility Upgrades: Access new apps and utilities to enhance your daily life and adventures.
• 🗺️ Advanced Mapping: Never get lost again with enhanced GPS and location tracking.

🔥 Special Offer: Only 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0! 🔥
[Upgrade Now ✅] [Remind Me Later ❌]
Apparently I could upgrade myself, which reduced the cost of using my Utilities while providing other minor benefits. My Utilities would level up as I used them, which would increase their battery cost, so if I didn’t keep pace with an update to the OS they could become prohibitively expensive to operate.
Stupid pay-to-win world.
So, do I pay 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0?
I selected version 3.0 and klicked [Install]. After watching it download the update, it popped up another screen that asked if I wanted to update now, or wait until Midnight for the mandatory update.
I selected [No] just as the grandfather clock chimed 10:30 PM. I wondered if time ran slower in here, because it seemed like I had spent a lot more time on the computer than 15 minutes. Walking over to the imposing steel door, I noticed a bronze key with a thin chain in the lock. There was another sticky note on the door. “Subconscious. Please keep the key with you at all times.”
That’s not scary at all, is it?
I unlocked the door with a loud clunk and pulled it open to reveal a bedroom straight out of some royal castle. I could tell immediately that it had seen better days. The tapestries on the wall were frayed and fading. The canopy over the bed had a few holes in it. A thin layer of dust covered the mantle of a small fireplace set into the wall. There was a window letting in bright sunlight and I moved over to look outside.
I was on the third floor of a keep surrounded by the walls and turrets of a modest castle. A castle that had fallen into serious disrepair. Did this represent the state of my inner mind? One tower was shattered and the curtain wall under it damaged. The lower bailey was full of litter. I could see a few soldiers walking around the allure, keeping watch.
I have people in my subconscious?
Someone behind me cleared their throat.
Whirling, I discovered a familiar old man standing in the door of the bedroom. What was left of his hair formed a white halo around his head, his face was unshaven and covered with several days of growth. He was dressed like a poor and tattered manservant, but carried himself with a dignified air.
“Woodhouse?”
“It’s nice to see the master at home,” He said with a proper English accent. “There are many matters that require the master’s attention.”
“Uh, sure,” I said, hanging the key around my neck and tucking it in my shirt. “And who are you again?”
“Your personal manservant, of course” he said with a slight bow. Walking over to the steel door, he pulled it closed and it locked with a solid thunk. “Master should always keep his inner sanctum closed. One never knows if something nasty will creep in.”
“Thank you, uh, Woodhouse. I’ll remember that,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “So what needs tending and how do things work around here?”
He smiled and beckoned me with a white gloved hand. “If master would be so kind as to follow me, I’ll introduce him to the staff and explain the duties and obligations of his domain.”
I’m 99.9% certain that everyone here is just me wearing a mask, so I shrugged and followed Woodhouse out of the bedroom and into the rest of my subconscious.
Five minutes later I was on the ground floor and seated on a shabby throne with the cast of a popular —and probably very copyright protected— animation in front of me. Woodhouse was the head butler and my personal manservant. Pam was the cook and demanded that I start importing sugar and alcohol before she was shushed by Woodhouse. Carol was a maid. Krieger was chancellor and Cyril was the steward. Archer and Lana were in charge of security. Ray was the marshal in charge of everything from the stables to the blacksmith.
I stared in disbelief at the motley crew kneeling in front of me. No wonder my inner mind was in such shambles. I was overcome with an irrational sense of anger at myself.
“Arright, listen up,” I barked, my voice echoing around the room. “I swear to God that I will fire every single one of you and hire circus clowns to replace you if you keep fucking things up. No joke. Circus clowns, got it?”
I ran a hand over my face as Ray pissed himself. “The only reason I’m not putting a boot in your asses right now is because I realise that you’re aspects of me, and the people you represent are pretty damn good at their jobs when they give enough of a shit to actually do them. As a team, you’re dysfunctionally fantastic and always seem to come out ahead no matter the odds.”
Heaving a sigh, I continued. “Things have changed and I need to get my shit together. I’m going to need every one of you to pull your weight and help me help you. Get back to your duties, I’ll meet you one on one later.”
My subconscious caretakers scurried out of the room.
“I’ll have one of the maids tend to the piss,” Woodhouse assured me.
“Never mind that,” I snapped. “I honestly had no idea my mind was such a shit show. I’m very disappointed in myself.” I pictured the Angry, Sad, and Disgusted counters on my personal movies clicking up. “Show me what needs to be done and let’s get started.”
During Woodhouse’s walking tour, everything clicked into place. This was some altered version of Bodiam castle, a location that was on my bucket list of places to visit. The royal council room, located behind the throne room, contained a “living” tapestry on the wall that showed the castle and surrounding land in real time. The castle was located in the middle of a small lake, and a single wood bridge led to the mainland. A small town surrounded the lake and a wall encircled the town. Outside the wall, the land was an irregular patchwork of forest and field, with a stinking swamp to the south. The entire “kingdom” was maybe ten miles across, surrounded by impassable mountains with innumerable creeks that fed the lake which drained into the southern swamp.
“Zombies are the problem, sir.” Woodhouse said, as I surveyed the living tapestry of my mental domain.
“Zombies?” I prompted.
“Yes sir, Zombies” Woodhouse continued. “Nasty bitey things that come in from the mountains and harass the peasants. They’ve gotten especially worse over the last few months. The soldiers do what they can, but they seem to have lost all motivation. Probably because they haven’t been paid.”
“And who pays them?”
“Typically chancellor Krieger is in charge of financial matters, although Steward Figgis has taken over the duty, sir.”
“Then let’s make Figgis our first stop.”
“Very good, sir.”
The office of the steward was run by Cyril Figgis, who managed the kingdom in my absence. It was overflowing with paperwork and charts, books and scrolls piled high on every flat surface. Cyril was desperately attempting to tidy things when Woodhouse and I walked in.
“Yo..you..your majesty,” Cyril stuttered, bowing low. Scrolls fell from his overloaded arms, spilling across the floor. He dropped to his knees and scrambled to gather them up. “I didn’t expect you to visit so soon. Please forgive the mess, housekeeping has been slacking…”
This was the guy who ran things while I was conscious.
“Shut up, Cyril” I said. “You’re responsible for everything in this office. That includes keeping it organised and tidy.”
“Y..yes milord.”
“It’s my understanding that you’re in charge of making sure everyone gets paid. So why aren’t we paying people?” I asked.
“We’re nearly out of Fuks, your majesty. I’ve been saving them for emergencies.”
“Fucks?”
“Fuks,” Cyril explained, pushing a pile of books off a large chest and opening it. Reaching inside he pulled out two small bags and emptied them on top of his cluttered desk. “Gold and Silver Fuks, the currency of the kingdom. I can’t maintain the kingdom when I have no Fuks to give.”
Behold the subconscious kingdom of Vincent J. Carter, it runs on Fuks.
“So how do I get more fuks?” I asked, examining one of the coins. It had an image of me on one side and symbol on the other that could be interpreted as “peace among worlds”.
“You kill the zombies, your majesty.”
Of course I do.
Woodhouse and I left Cyril’s office and headed towards the office of the chancellor where Krieger worked. It seemed that Cyril took over financial matters when Krieger became erratic and proposed luring all the zombies into the city and setting it on fire. Not sure how that corresponds to my own self-destructive behaviour, but I’ve had some dark thoughts over the last couple of months and I’m sure they’re reflected here.
Krieger’s office was much neater in comparison to Cyril’s, but it wasn’t by much. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with an array of questionable items, including a still snapping zombie head in a jar. While the office of the chancellor was supposed to be in charge of financial matters, it looked more like a dodgy rummage sale.
Krieger was launching sword blades at a pig carcass when we walked in.
“What exactly are you doing?” I asked, standing in the doorway.
“Hm? Oh, your majesty!” he said, turning around and bowing deeply. “I’m testing a new invention. It’s a spring loaded hilt that shoots sword blades. Very useful for our soldiers.”
“Stupidest idea ever,” I snapped. “I hate everything about it.”
“Okay,” Krieger said, tossing the hilt into a nearby pile of junk. “But don’t blame me when you need to shoot a sword at a zombie and don’t have one.”
“So why aren’t you managing the financial affairs? Collecting taxes, paying people, stuff like that?”
“Because the population has declined so much none of that matters?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wellll, the population represents things you care about,” Krieger said, going into lecture mode. “And the zombies and other monsters are real or imagined problems in your way. Since you don’t care about too many things the population has shrunk to just what’s needed to keep everything running on the bare minimum of fuks. And since you don’t seem to have any long or short term goals, there’s no need to kill off the zombies and get more fuks. Everything is fine just the way it is.”
“No, it’s not Krieger” I said, grinding my teeth. “My mind is in a shambles. It’s a joke. I want it fixed. No, I want it better than fixed. I want it improved.”
“Oh! I’ve got just the thing for that!” He said, digging around in his pockets, “It’s a spring-loaded hilt that shoots swords!”
Pam and Cheryl were hanging out a gallery window jeering at Archer and Lana sparring in the inner courtyard.
“What the hell are you doing!” I snapped
They whirled in surprise and then dropped into deep curtseys.
“Your majesty!”
I took a deep breath, trying to regain my centre. “Get to work cleaning this place up. Find a room, clean it, and move on to the next. Start with my bedroom, then the throne room and the council chamber, then everything else.”
Cheryl spoke up. “Can’t do it. We got no fuks to clean with.”
“You need fuks to clean?”
“Gotta buy stuff,” Pam said. “Cleaning supplies, food. You wanna eat, you’re gonna have to spend some fuks.”
“Talk to Cyril,” I ordered. “Tell him I said to get you supplied.”
They ran off in the direction of the stewards office.
I watched Archer and Lana bashing each other enthusiastically through the window.
Several minutes later the sparring couple stopped and bowed when Woodhouse and I stepped into the inner courtyard.
“Your majesty”
“My liege”
“Enough,” I said. “If you have enough energy to smash each other, you have enough energy to smash zombies. Tell me what I need to know so I can start gathering fuks.”
Archer shrugged and spoke first. “You just kill the zombies and other monsters. They drop fuks.”
“Anything special about the zombies?” I asked. “Are they fast? Do people get turned into zombies when bitten?”
“Nope,” Lana said, resting her wooden sword on her shoulder. “Most of them are slow shamblers and just need a good wack to the head to kill them.”
“Some are special,” Archer interjected. “Occasionally you’ll have some fast ones, or those that need holy water to kill. They’re just bad memories, figments of your personality that need to be eliminated. Some are worse than others.”
“The zombies are bad memories?” I asked, imagining all the bad memories that I had.
“Memories, thoughts, insecurities, metaphysical mumbo-jumbo,” Woodhouse supplied. “They are endless, but constant vigilance can keep them under control.”
“So let’s get started,” I said. “Lead the way.”
Lana and Archer lead me up to the parapet over the front gate where I looked over at the dozens of zombies milling about aimlessly in front of the entrance to my mind. Pulling out my gun, I began to pick them off, easy as shooting fish in a barrel. The crack of my spell pistol attracted more zombies and I dispatched them with ease until no more were left around the gate. As I fired each shot I could feel some sort of existential energy flowing from me, draining some hidden reserve.
“Gather up the Fuks,” I commanded. “And Lana?”
“Mi’lord?”
“There’s no excuse for this. From now on, I expect the walls to be clear of all zombies.”
“Yes mi’lord,” she said, giving me a small bow.
Turning to Archer, I shook my head. “You’re obviously my personal narcissism, so just try to stay out of Lana’s way, or better yet - try to kill more zombies than her. If you think you can.”
Archer scoffed. “No contest. I took top marks in sharpshooting.”
“That means I should expect to see results by tomorrow. I look forward to it.”
Archer looked panicked for a moment then smiled. “Sure, I can give you results.”
Turning back to Woodhouse I said “Show me what else need attending.”
Woodhouse led me through the town that represented my mind, pointing out each business that had fallen into disrepair, suggested others that needed improvements, and additions that would benefit me. In the distance, I could hear Lana and Archer shooting at the crowd of zombies and with each echoing shot I felt a tiny bit better about everything.
[INDEX]

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- - - - -
Ceele strolled through the damp grass along the outskirts of the village, a spring in her step and the dwindling scent of dew following behind. It rained yesterday, which had prevented her from going out to gather supplies, but the mild morning air had been accommodating enough for her to get an early start and make the trip. She was glad she did.
One hand clutched her new prize to her chest, while the other held a fraying wicker basket filled with herbs and some edible roots she gathered by exploring the forbidden forest. Despite her reservations regarding where she chose to go, her excitement now lingered like a steady thrum of shifting stones, giving her energy that defied how long she had been walking. She all but pranced beneath the burgeoning night's sky, gleefully toeing the line between the dirt pathways of the settlement’s outskirts and the trees of unclaimed land. Normally, her path back home would never be so close to the village, but she was far too gleeful to mind. She had come back with a sense of fulfillment and a rare object—or if not rare, then hopefully of great value.
It was hard to point to any one specific reason that she came across the orb. There had always been a ‘draw’ during her travels, urging her that there was something missing in her life, yet it was no more than a mild whim to walk in a particular direction more often than not. Once she reached this part of the continent, she was compelled to wander, never quite able to explain why she obliged the sensation besides having nowhere in particular to be. Even when she finally settled somewhere, it stayed in the back of her mind, suggesting that she was close to whatever would make the pit of vacancy go away. She ignored it, purposefully distracting herself with her work and responsibilities, yet that could only last so long. When she awoke this morning with plans to resupply, and all of her newfound spots had been picked clean by wildlife, she turned to the depths of the forest where she was warned not to tread. It was all too easy to follow the subtle tug in her chest through the loose justification.
The urge to be somewhere grew unbearable with every step closer to the forbidden area. That sense of having a direction she needed to go became stronger and stronger, until she was well into land long since forgotten. She came across an overgrown depression in the hillside, and was entranced by the foreboding image. Something about the cave just…beckoned her. She was far too weak to resist.
Horrible tales echoed into her ears as whispers of fearful voices, warning and unending, yet but a dull drone compared to her hammering heart. She navigated the trees and brushed aside unkempt vines, stepping into the cavern with a mix of expectation and trepidation, then laid eyes on the small obsidian stone perched atop a crumbling pillar. The feeling of needing to travel somewhere…stopped.
The pull was absent, which was why she held the orb close instead of placing it into her basket. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but she recalled overheard tales of hidden gemstones, deep cavernous expanses, and the untold terrors that lay within. Comparing the scenes of those fables to the cave seemed foolish now; it wasn’t some torturous chamber, but a dusty depression in a small hillside. Besides, anything this pretty was sure to be worth a fair sum, and she needed the coin. Yet the thought of selling the precious-looking stone was a conflicting one. She shook off the thought for the time being, turning her attention back towards where she was going.
Shadows stretched and faded as the moon stole the last of the illumination afforded by the sun, replacing it with a calming glow that caressed the log frames and thatched roofs of various homes. A star-filled sky came into prominence as clouds lazily drifted away, revealing the promise of tomorrow’s fair-weathered arrival. It was too late for anyone to notice her treading on the edge of their town while lost in thought, but she was still careful not to get too close to the houses or livestock pens where people might be finishing the evening’s duties. It was best that they didn’t see her returning from a place she was told not to go. Still, her feet carried her near the dwellings as she took in the noises.
Ceele enjoyed the comforting chatter from a distance. Indistinct words floated freely. Meaningless gossip and warm goodbyes were exchanged between friends and family. Places of various occupations were dark and quiet, only the faint contented mewls and clucks of livestock coming from their pastures as they ate what was recently put out for them. No metal rang throughout the streets as it was struck inside a centralized smithy, no heated bartering came from an overactive trade house, and the crunch of dirt beneath transport or merchant wagons was absent, replaced by the rapid steps and yelps of children rushing to their homes before it got too dark out. It was all just gentle conversation and life drifting through the wind, taking the rustle of leaves along for the ride, just so she could hear it. Tranquil, in a word.
She wondered what it would sound like if she were yet one more voice within that crowd of kindness. Would it be loud like the larger cities? Would she struggle to maintain a thought with so many stray topics floating about? Would she once more yearn for the peace and quiet of solitude that she had grown used to, or would she immerse herself, free of judgment and laughing like the carefree young that scampered about? Did thinking about it even matter?
Her smile fell from its genuine intensity—still worn, but not as fully. She glanced downward as her stride lost its jubilant bounce, her tail losing its sway as her grey eyes examined the dry black scales that adorned her body against her wishes. It was the ugly hue of tarnished oil, unlike the skin of any other kobold she had met. Some had reds or greens, yellows or whites, while most were between a sandy tan or earthen brown. The rainbow of peculiarities was displayed by the lucky few, and she was one of them…
…Yet she was different in the worst of ways.
Even if she would rather any other colour, she supposed it was that way to make sure no one came near without accepting the unspoken risks. That was what her mother always said, anyway, though the woman hardly feared much of anything in her old age, and dedicated herself to giving her offspring all the love she had left to give—a perk of living a full life. She would always help her daughter bathe, complimenting the colour of what most were unnerved by. That was more than a decade ago now, however. Ceele’s parents had passed on while she was still young, and she took to travelling not long after, working at what she could to afford what little she needed. Never for long, though—just enough to get to the next town between where she was and where the urge to go lay. There were certainly moments she looked back on fondly, but the journey had taken its toll.
The crude material of her ‘dress’ was coarse, old, and heavy, but it helped ease the worst of spring's chill—even if it was more of a modified sack than proper attire. Still, it was all she had after the last of her clothing fell apart, and giving the repurposed material a name that reminded her of something else made it less uncomfortable to wear, somehow. It would have to do until she could afford a pitying seamstress or the like. Until then, she would pretend she didn’t look so desperate, even if it only highlighted her status and made finding work difficult.
But it did. The dishevelled garment was a far cry from the wonderful silks or breathtaking designs she had seen some women wear, harshly marking the distinction between herself and those of affluence. The clothing of commoners was also a leap in style and quality, so she couldn't say her attire was up to even modest standards. No matter how hard she squinted, and no matter how much she fantasized otherwise, she seemed every bit like the vagrant she was, down to the soil embedded in the curvature of her claws and the stains throughout her fabrics. She looked like a serf from the more oppressed lands, yet they too wore crude cottons, which said a lot about how she appeared to those who had never lived a life of servitude. It was obvious that she was an outsider. That she didn't belong amongst the rest. It made changing something as simple as her appearance all the more difficult; prospective employment always saw a young woman who seemed more likely to steal or swindle than make an honest day’s living.
There was one good twist of fate in recent memory, however, and she came upon the result of it after leaving the slowing bustle of the village behind. Her steps carried her through a small copse of trees on the outskirts of town, the small shaded path leading to the back of a large, carefully pruned clearing, a scattering of fruit-bearing trees providing even darker shadow than the already dim moonlight. She skirted along the aging fence on the border that kept predatory animals away, carefully hoisting herself over the barrier where a large vegetable garden she was responsible for tending resided. If one were to tell her she would be living in such an area several months ago, she would have smiled politely and walked away, yet here she was.
A modest, warmly lit home occupied the middle of the clearing, sitting front and centre when one approached from the village path. It looked quite cozy, surrounded by berry bushes that were just beginning to bloom as the last dregs of winter slipped away. A front patio displayed a nice table and well-loved chairs, the rustic appearance only adding to its charm as a place where friends and family spent the warm summer afternoons. A smithy to the left of the house functioned as an additional heated building during the colder months, but usually served as a storefront and to muffle the sounds of hammered iron, though that had become less common. An old stable was nearby, close enough to be accessible, but not so close as to disturb the once occupying animals with sounds of iron craft. It hadn't seen a horse in quite some time, apparently, so it was mostly a workshop for whatever tasks didn’t require fire or metal.
There was a long history attached to each little detail—from the scuffs along the wooden siding to the depressions in the ground where daily routine wore into the earth. Every fault suffered throughout the years was matched by a thousand quirks that made it feel welcoming, like the house itself was merely waiting for the next friendly face with one of its own. She knew that the inside of each building would look just as cared for.
Her concern lay outside, however. It was a comparatively miniscule space just barely visible through the sheltering trees, true, yet it was where her efforts turned into tangible results, and where a stranger’s trust was painstakingly repaid. Once overgrown grass had been laboriously trimmed, the weeds plucked and disposed of, and now nothing distracted from what she could claim she had done.
The small plots of rock-bordered soil had little buds of growing vegetables, a sense of pride never failing to bloom in her breast with the knowledge that it would be barren without her touch. When her troubles and concerns grew heavy, and fears of the future or spectres of the past loomed over her head, she could look at where she had brought life where it wouldn't otherwise be. Some days, that was enough. She smiled in appreciation at what was admittedly amateur work, the night’s sky helping to hide any inevitably made mistakes.
She enjoyed the sight for a moment longer, then turned to walk towards a neglected old tool shed that was well out of sight within the trees, far away from whatever warmth and comfort the larger house offered to everyone and anyone. She put a hand on the degrading wood of the entryway, giving one last sad smile at the garden as she dismissed selfish thoughts of taking the eventual harvest for herself. A breath cleared the uncertainty from her voice, and she pushed open the door.
“I'm home!”
= = = = =
It took a while for Altier to adjust to his situation, and even once he accepted that his mana wasn't being siphoned, he was still reeling from confusion. He had spent centuries with every year passing by without his notice, yet now he was painfully aware of each creeping second languidly dragging on with the expediency of growing grass. It was as disorienting as it was painfully nostalgic.
Time was something he was never good with, and it only got worse as a dungeon. He'd get lost in creating rooms, corridors, creatures, and whatever else needed doing, only pausing to watch or listen to the few adventurers he became interested in. There was a stint where he spent what felt like hours agonizing over new abilities or options while he let the system manage things in the background, though he supposed it might have been much longer. So many wasted days, yet he still hadn't managed to try everything he had gained access to. Some abilities were simply too niche, came with concerning titles, or held descriptions that made him wary. Anything with ‘Decay’ in the name was instantly ignored—he didn't need more reasons to fear his affinity, and from the few he took the effort to read through, they were always vile.
But his existence for the moment was no longer like those endless stretches spent pondering the minutiae of what would help his adventurers grow stronger. Now, he could follow the rhythmic sounds of footsteps and steady breathing that set a calming pace. They were someone else's, yes, but they contextualized how easy it was to slip away without the subtle noises of life that he had long since surrendered to help his family. Of course, there were more differences that he noticed since being removed from his crumbling cavern, and his sight was the newest change.
He never gave much thought to how far he could see before. Why would he? As a man, his world extended as far as he could fathom, yet was also confined to the room where he spent his days, and as a dungeon… Well, who was he to consider distance when an event happening miles away could be seen with a flicker of thought? Nothing was too far when it was within his creation. Or his ‘body,’ he supposed. Sadly, his entire perception currently consisted of the small sphere of his obsidian core, and maybe a finger's length beyond it—which is to say, not much. He could make out the fine details in the dirty burlap he was held against, and how pale moonlight slowly took over the blurred reds of sunset, but hardly anything more. It was all just frosted colours after a certain point, and he found it infinitely frustrating. He just wanted to peer beyond the haze and scaly hand holding him to confirm that the sky he remembered was still there. Alas, the sunlight faded at too quick a pace, yet one oh so agonizingly slow.
The ensuing darkness gave him nothing to do but think about where he was, not that he had any ideas. He was too curious about why he wasn't dead to bother much with his blurry surroundings after the soft-spoken kobold abducted him, thus why he only belatedly noticed how limited his worldview had become. There might have been a forest beyond his cave, but the greens and browns were gone, and the sounds of steps through brush was replaced by the distant din of a village. An idle curiosity pondered if he would recognize any descents of his ‘family tradition’ adventurers there, but he was being carried by what most considered a monster, so likely not.
That short musing was short-lived, however, and he brought his focus back to the matter at hand. He supposed he was being taken somewhere specific, but that was an obvious deduction, considering he was taken at all. The why of the matter was less so; for what purpose would someone want a Decay-aligned core? He hadn’t heard of them before…well, before he was made into one, but he couldn’t imagine many uses. Maybe he was being sold? His…kidnapper? His sudden companion seemed rather pleased by their discovery of him, so that might be the case, and it was morbidly amusing to think that a frail, sickly young man might one day become a coveted, highly valuable item. His abduction could also be a part of some cult’s nefarious activities, but he didn't want to think about that too hard. He experienced enough odd ceremonies from the adventurers who took the time to tell him their tales.
Either way, he wasn't in the dungeon anymore, and he couldn’t see where he was going. He tried to query his menu to glean an answer, but was met with a scrambled mess he suspected read ‘Synchronizing…’ and little else. It gave him a headache trying to make sense of it—which he didn't know was possible anymore—so he dismissed the text and distracted himself with blurs from whatever diluted senses he still had. There wasn’t much to observe other than the constant footfalls and the flicker of shadows on his companion’s burlap garment. They might have travelled through brush again, but it was too dark to really say for certain.
Eventually, there was something new. He heard an old latch rattle and rusted door hinges groan, then a shuddered clack that confirmed he was now in a building. His kobold acquaintance gently cooed at something before moving about the nearly pitch-black space, finally setting him down on a… He wasn’t sure what it was, besides old and wooden.
[D$#@m$n E@$*ded]
The headache from before became a blinding migraine that suffocated him under a flash-flood of suffering. Seconds passed in abject torture until it blissfully abated, the mental blinks clearing his mind enough to notice a change in his existence. Specifically, he could actually see something besides the rotting wood grain he was placed on top of.
And it wasn’t anything promising…
He was more or less in the centre of a room no bigger than twelve paces by maybe ten. Not a terrible size for a space, but it was clearly never meant to house someone. His resting place looked about as neglected as he surmised; it was an upturned feeding trough, he supposed, since calling it a table seemed too generous. The surface was rife with holes and degraded iron, so it was something that once saw regular use before being replaced and tossed into storage, never to see the light of day again.
Actually, most things in the room seemed to fit that description. The window shutters were installed with metal hinges that had since rusted them closed, the misalignment letting in a draft—and whatever weather was outside as well, most likely. A poorly carved bowl sat on the floor, the stain beneath it hinting that it collected any rainwater that slowly dripped from the leaky roof. The wooden floorboards looked old, splintered, and in need of maintenance or replacement, though an effort had been put into abrading it somewhat smooth lately.
A tiny and decrepit fireplace was to the left of the door upon entry, its brickwork slowly crumbling due to weathering and age. It was sized more for keeping the room warm during mild days than to keep away the frigid chill of night. Its base only held cold ashes, but there was a collection of deadwood and scraps nearby, so that would probably be rectified soon. A small wheel-less cart had been turned into storage against the opposite wall, some herbs and other foraged items stowed away in it for future use. Various things he remembered seeing his father and brothers use in the fields were scattered about, too. It was nostalgic to see, honestly, even if his recollections had blurred over time.
Bundles of tattered blankets formed a pair of nests in the far corner, the smaller of the two had a pile of rough plants nearby. That answered his silent pondering of the room's purpose somewhat, though he was pretty sure the bedding material was salvaged, and there didn’t seem to be any hay or padding underneath whoever was sleeping on it. He didn’t know what to think about the weeds; they were purposefully placed there, and whoever did so had taken the time to wash them, but it was still strange.
He couldn’t see a doorway besides the entrance, yet most of the hallmarks of residency were put where space could be afforded, however crude. All in all, he surmised that it was a gardening shed of sorts, and his new acquaintance apparently lived here. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when a creature he had only read about came into his dungeon, but it wasn't being brought to a rundown and decrepit shack for unknown purposes.
Even if he had been raised by parents who made a humble living at the best of times, and they had emptied their coffers for unsuccessful attempts to ease his ailments, his acquaintance's living space made him uncomfortable. His family's house was never anything fancy, true—it shared some of the worn qualities that inevitably gathered over the years—but it was never this bad. His home benefited from a father's touch keeping it robust and a mother’s love keeping it warm, whereas this place had seen neither in quite some time. Oh, there was evidence that such was once the case; a wall was adorned with carefully made and well-spaced hangers for the various gardening tools, though the implements themselves had become a victim of neglect. That being said, he could make out the fresh soil and recent scratches exposing furrows of silver, so they were seeing use again.
A scrape and clack of flint drew his attention to his kobold companion. They were kneeling in front of the fireplace, methodically sparking life back into a dead flame with twigs and dried leaves. A slow, steady breath into the reddened base illuminated its face with a dull orange glow, revealing its weary visage and the permanently etched smile that rested beneath its cold grey eyes. The black-scaled kobold looked tired, if he were to guess—much the same as Altier did when he spent countless days watching everyone living a life he could never have through the mossy window of his bedroom. He was probably humanizing it too much. Still, he was surprised by the muted pang of sympathy, and how he would feel much more than blithe curiosity after spending so much time alone in the crumbling crypt of his own making.
A mental breath cycled through him as he looked at the odds and ends yet to be observed. Hardly anything else was of note—everything else was degraded and neglected, too. He did notice a nest of blankets move though, which was as good a distraction as any. The answer to his previous ‘pile of weeds’ inquiry poked a tiny nose from a crease in the fabric, then rapidly pawed at the blankets to dig itself out. Altier stared at the creature in both recognition and confusion.
It was a rabbit…or at least it looked like one, assuming you were to also describe a porcupine and a sea urchin as well. He was pretty sure he didn’t remember any hare that had jagged metal-tipped fur, nor that had said fur arranged into a row of spiked horns that flowed down its spine, terminating at a large fluffy tail, which was equally bizarre to see. The whole of its coat could double as a weapon, with semi-sharp barbs sticking off seemingly at random, yet he remembered an adventurer saying most animals used that sort of thing defensively. He increased his focus as he tried to make sense of the odd creature. Surely he would have heard about—
[Hoppittttttt#%%÷ — Ferro-o-orabbit-it (Ma%$le)
Abil—]
[Null]
[Er0Rrrrrrrr—]
[Und#$f—]
He bit back the pain caused by the sudden intrusion of his menu, blanking out the text and mentally retreating to hide from the source. Did he just inspect something? How? Shouldn’t his entire…‘framework,’ was it…? Yes, that was it. Shouldn’t that have been corrupted? Why could he see the creature’s information when his entire framework was damaged? That was the first ability he lost, so why is it the first to be functional? How was it functional? Was it? It did just spit garbled text at him, but it was something, and that was more than he had gotten from it in a very long time. If it was somehow working—no matter how poorly—then that left the question of why he hadn't heard of anything called a ‘ferrorabbit’ before, assuming he read that correctly.
A soft thud vibrated the tro— table, startling him out of thought. He turned his attention to the button nose wiggling erratically at him, the short, stubby muzzle leading to surprisingly expressive and curious red eyes. Dull brown fur jutted off in random tufts and patches, changing to a darker tint on its paws and the upper half of its ears, while the tips of its spikes were a muted hue of iron. It still seemed just as soft as the less pointed variety he remembered, if a touch dirty. Upright ears twitched this way and that way as its head vigorously shook, eventually settling on pointing in his direction when it calmed down enough.
It was apparent that he had its undivided attention…for all of a few seconds. His scaly companion called something out in their foreign tongue, and whatever conclusion the pointy-furred animal came to, it seemed more interested in the kobold, parting from him after nudging his core with its nose.
[Cre-e-e—]
[Errrrrrr0r: Undefiiiiiiii—]
[Acceeeeep-t-t-t??]
[Yeeee— s s / Nnnnnnn—]
He winced at the intrusion, but the contents detracted from the pain. He couldn’t remember the system ever asking him a question without his explicit intent being involved. It wanted him to…accept something? Was it the system prompting him, or the animal? What was he to accept?
[Creatuuuuu—]
[Acce-e-e-%#@ed!]
…What?
= = = = =
“Hoppit, that's not food!” Ceele admonished half-heartedly, placing a larger branch on the burgeoning flame before she got to her feet. She wasn’t actually that worried; the stone was as big as his head, and she was pretty sure he couldn't bite into it. Hopefully. “Come here, momma has a treat for you!”
The ferrorabbit playfully bumped the gemstone and jumped off the low table, landing with a soft thud that belied how heavy he was for his tiny size. He wiggled in excitement, his ears flailing and releasing a slight clack whenever the two connected. It got even louder when she grabbed her basket and put away the useful herbs, taking out a specific item that she had gathered just for him. The little bun wasted no time in scurrying over and standing tall on his hind legs to judge if the offered plant was to his liking—and it was, based on how he dug in with enthusiasm. She stifled a laugh as she contentedly watched him nibble away on the treat, ignoring the guilt that came with knowing she couldn't afford proper vegetables for him. He had a hard life too, and it tore at her to have so little to give.
She came across Hoppit a year ago, during a storm that worsened while she was travelling between towns. The day had darkened to night in spite of it still being about noon, but the weather didn't care for how bright it was supposed to be. Wind and rain became a typhoon, forcing her to seek shelter in a thankfully abandoned den of what was probably a larger animal. She was fine with waiting out the squall, since the stone roof over her head was more than she usually had back then, but the sounds of dull bangs and thuds near her hideaway was followed by cries of animals yelping in pain. Curiosity won over reason, and she left the safety of her shelter to see what was causing the disturbance. Truthfully, she was hopeful that she'd come across scraps or the like, her hunger driving her forward, and she could always turn back if it seemed dangerous. Yet when she arrived at the source of the commotion, she found herself thinking of anything but food.
Two predators had fought over a small burrow, both trying to dig out a meal and taking offence to the other doing the same. What they didn’t know was that they were assaulting the home of ferrorabbits. Specifically, the home of an angry, protective, and well-fed mother that was keeping her newborns safe from the storm when predators decided to try their luck. From the scene Ceele came across, it was certainly obvious why most people dislike trying to hunt the creatures.
Sadly, the rabbit didn't survive an attack from two predators, but she did make their victory pyrrhic; neither could do much about their hunger with their bodies full of cuts and holes, and it was only a matter of time before they succumbed to blood loss or infection. The mother's sacrifice meant that the babies had avoided the imminent threat, but they were left unattended as a consequence, and it took an opportunistic bird swooping down to shake Ceele out of her shock. Despite her subsequent hurry, she only acted in time to save one of the orphaned young. The warren was new and barely dug out, which meant that it didn’t take much effort for the kits to be found—by both her and hungry maws. All she could do was scoop the ball of fluff into her arms and run back to the cave before anything else tried to eat it.
In retrospect, it was a stupid decision for a number of factors. She barely had the resources to supply herself, and an attempt to raise offspring of any type would only make the inevitable heartbreak worse. But when she saw how quiet and scared he was… How his tiny, shaking body calmed in her arms, those terrified red eyes seeking comfort… She should have just walked away when she knew there wasn’t going to be anything to fill her stomach. She should have put the baby animal down and let nature take its course…yet the preciously furry face stole her heart far too quickly for it to grow so cold. The next day was spent backtracking to the nearest town to get him something suitable to eat, which used most of her meagre savings. Still, it was worth every coin.
Hoppit had been accompanying her ever since. He grew quickly, transitioning from something she saved that stormy night into a presence she had grown to love like a child. The little lagomorph would bounce along beside her during her travels, then ride in her arms as he rested—though the latter happened with worrying frequency as of late. She hadn’t learned much about the springy herbivores, but she knew enough to say that he wasn't as big as he should be, nor was his fur as sharp. No matter how startled he was, his spiky coat never managed to do more than stiffen slightly, which was apparently a side effect of poor diet, according to snippets of conversation she had overheard on the topic. She wanted him to be healthy, but she didn't know what he needed. Not many farmers raised ferrorabbits, and those that did were far away, so she didn’t have anyone to ask what she should be doing. Her best course of action was to give him what little she had.
Ceele was well aware of how he would be better off on his own, but he followed her whenever she tried to set him free. Hoppit just kept launching into her arms and wiggling his ears, ecstatic that he was with her again, uncaring that food was scarce and that they spent most of their days travelling. No amount of cold nights spent bundling up under the tattered blankets she managed to find ever dampened his spirits, and he was content to eat the grass or flowers whenever he felt like it, oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t getting enough nutrition. He would dig and excitedly drag back oddities that he found, and the one time he found a plant that looked particularly good for him, he insisted that it be shared with her.
A black pit still lingered in her chest when she recalled how pleased he was while he munched on the rare vegetable he discovered, then how distressed he became when she wouldn’t have any as well. He bumped and nipped at her, all but begging her to eat. His ears pinned back against his head, his fur bristled in a way she hadn’t seen since. It was only when she took a small bite and let him inspect the new teeth marks that he seemed to calm down, but perhaps she had been looking too deep into the actions of her tiny friend. All she could say for certain was that he was scared she was going hungry.
A morbid thought wondered if his first mother had refused food shortly before being attacked, and he—as small and simple as he was—had connected the two events in his mind, making him absolutely terrified that something would happen if Ceele didn’t have something too. All of that fear, and desperation overwhelmed him, just because she was happier watching him eat. She was determined to erase that issue. She would find something that needed a worker and earn enough to feed them both. One day, she would be able to smile at how big and healthy her little fluffy boy had become, but until then, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to think about how she was spending so much time growing vegetables and fruit that he couldn’t have…
Every morning was an exercise in tending to the gardens while actively shoving down images of a pleased ferrorabbit happily eating the results. That never went well; no matter how determined she was to complete her duties without a single selfish thought, most tasks were done while picturing his full belly and delighted bounces. There were a few weeks until the fastest of the crops would be ready for harvest, and Ceele would have to collect them while fighting the urge to bring back just a few for him.
She couldn’t, because she knew exactly how quickly that could escalate. It would start small—A vegetable here, a fruit there—but seeing Hoppit happy was one of the precious few good things she had in her life. Crossing the line would only become easier each time. They couldn’t risk losing their new home over greed, and she was already betraying the trust given to her by housing a wild animal, especially one known to be a pest for crops. She didn't want to know how angry it would make her benefactors if she was caught taking their vegetables for one.
No matter how tame and precious Hoppit was, and no matter how well he listened, they would only see him as the same creature that ruined harvests in droves. Thus was why she had to tell him to stay cooped up by himself while she was working or scavenging. And to her surprise, he did.
Honestly, she had made the initial request with the expectation of needing to carry him back into their home until he understood that she wasn’t leaving him forever. There wasn’t much she could do to stop the ferrorabbit from digging through the old wooden building if he wanted to get out. He wouldn’t need to damage anything either—a rotting board on the door only needed a little push to nudge it out of the way, and his natural curiosity made sure he was aware of it. But no, Hoppit was well-behaved as always, keeping hidden until she walked through the door, where he would leap from the shadows to personally show her how good he was and how he stayed put like she asked him to. It never stopped amazing her that he had such a surprising level of understanding despite being an animal, and that was to say nothing of how young he was.
All that intelligence, joy, and companionship he offered her…and yet the best she could give back to him was the weeds from the garden and the odd plant she found while scavenging…
Soft clacks of flicking ears dragged her from her pondering, her mind returning to the present. Hoppit finished his treat of the small plant, then bounced in place and scurried over to his bowl of water, perfectly happy to have eaten only that. He was so joyful with how little she provided, approaching every day of scarcity with the same enthusiasm she could never muster, as if certain that everything would be alright.
“It’s bedtime, Hoppit,” Ceele announced through a soft sigh, stoking the fire with enough branches to hopefully last the night. The ferrorabbit perked an ear in her direction, then sat on his haunches to extend the rest of himself up, his two little forepaws adorably held to his chest as he inspected the room like he always did. She smiled and made sure everything was stored away, then laid down on her bundle of blankets, covering herself with the warmest one. Hoppit bolted over to snuggle once he decided everything in the shed was up to his standards, throwing himself to the floor in a dramatic flop of comfort. Her quiet laughter subsided as they both settled in for the night, her tail completing the rabbit’s encompassing cuddle, but her eyes fell towards the obsidian orb on the table, her thoughts following suit.
It sat there, just as she left it, as benign as anything else ever placed atop the improvised furnishing. Yet there was a sense of ease and purpose as well. The old wooden trough seemed…important with its adornment firmly laid upon its surface, and she couldn’t puzzle out why. She was starting to doubt her earlier excitement.
Should she sell it? Would anyone know where it came from? Would anyone know what it was, or if it was worth anything? If she could get even a modest sum for it, she would be able to buy clothing, food, and new bedding. It would be easier to convince someone to give her work if she was dressed better and wasn’t so thin, and then she would have the income to slowly improve both of their lives. She could pay for a wandering merchant to ask a ferrorabbit rancher about the animal, even if it would take time to get back to her, or maybe she could hire a local if they needed to go near one for some reason. The cost didn’t matter to her as long as it happened.
But there was something else bothering her about the idea of selling the stone. She had travelled so far with a tug in her chest, only for the feeling of wanderlust to dissipate as soon as she held it. Was that a sign? She was never one for things like ‘fate,’ but a niggling doubt in her mind discouraged the idea of making a profit off her discovery. Even if what she could gain was so very tempting, and even if Hoppit would be happier if she did…
She tore her dampened eyes away and closed them, ignoring the burning trails running across her face. It would be another early morning, and she needed to sleep so she could take care of the garden. Decisions like this could wait. Once she had nothing else distracting her, and she had time to properly think about it, she would see how she felt about the stone.
Eventually, she dozed off with Hoppit pressed against her chest, and a longing in her heart.
Next
—
A/N: Patreon and Ko-fi will be 1 chap ahead this time around, and I've set it so everything from the lowest tier up can read the newest trashfire! Anything above that is sheer show of love. Hope you enjoyed!

T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule: Here are the full suit fixtures, dates, venues, squads, and live streaming information for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will take place in the United States and the West Indies beginning June 1.

T20 World Cup 2024

Everything You Need to Know The ninth ICC Men's T20 World Cup will begin on June 1 in the United States and the West Indies (June 2 in India).

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 5, 2024

For the first time since its establishment in 2007, when India was crowned champions, the event will feature 20 groups spread among four organizations in the first round.

Here is an overview of all you need to know about the T20 World Cup 2024:

Format, Groups, and Seeding

Four companies from five groups will compete in a single round-robin style in the league stage. The top two teams from each university will advance to the Super Eights. If the top eight teams from the T20I format advance to the Super Eight, they will be grouped mostly based on their predetermined seedings, regardless of whether they finished first or second in the league stage.
The league-stage firms include India, Pakistan, Ireland, the United States, and Canada.
Group B includes Australia, England, Namibia, Oman, and Scotland.
Group C includes Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and the West Indies.
Group D includes Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Nepal, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
In the Super 8, the groups will again be divided into agencies in a single-spherical robin league, with the top two groups from each organization advancing to the semis.
The predetermined seedings for the Super 8s are:
Group 1 includes India (A1), Australia (B2), New Zealand (C1), and Sri Lanka (D2).
Group 2 includes Pakistan (A2), England (B1), the West Indies (C2), and South Africa (D1).

Venues of T20 World Cup

The United States

New York, Texas, and Florida will host sixteen matches within the United States. Eight of these disputes, including the highly anticipated India-Pakistan conflict, will take place in New York.

West Indies

Six Caribbean countries will host as many as 39 matches. Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago will host the video games over three tiers of the event. The final performance can take place on June 29 in Barbados.

T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule:

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 1, 2024

June 1: Match 1: United States v Canada, Dallas – 06:00 AM IST (June 2 in India) (07:30 PM Local)
June 2: Match 2: West Indies v Papua New Guinea, Guyana; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM local)
June 2: Match 3: Namibia v Oman, Barbados – 06:00 AM IST (June 3 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 3: Match 4: Sri Lanka v South Africa, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 3: Match 5: Afghanistan v Uganda, Guyana; 06:00 AM IST (June 4 in India) (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 4: Match 6: England v Scotland, Barbados – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 4: Match 7: Netherlands v Nepal, Dallas; 09:00 PM IST (10:30 AM neighborhood)
June 5: Match 8: India v Ireland, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 5: Match 9: Papua New Guinea v Uganda, Guyana; 05:00 AM IST (June 6 in India) (07:30 PM local)
June 5: Match 10: Australia v Oman, Barbados – 06:00 AM IST (June 6 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 6: Match 11: United States v Pakistan, Dallas – 09:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 6: Match 12: Namibia v Scotland, Barbados – 12:30 AM IST (June 7 in India) (03:00 PM Local)
June 7: Match 13: Canada v Ireland, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 7: Match 14: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Guyana; 05:00 AM IST (June eight in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 7: Match 15: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Dallas; 06:00 AM IST (June eight in India) (07:30 PM nearby)
June 8: Match 16: Netherlands v South Africa, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 8: Match 17: West Indies v Uganda, Guyana; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM nearby)
June 8: Match 18: Australia v England, Barbados – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 9: Match 19: India v Pakistan, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 9: Match 20: Oman v Scotland, Antigua – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 10: Match 21: South Africa v Bangladesh, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 11: Match 22: Pakistan v Canada, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 11: Match 23: Sri Lanka v Nepal, Florida; 05:00 AM IST (June 12 in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 11: Match 24: Australia v Namibia, Antigua – 06:00 AM IST (June 12 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 12: Match 25: United States v India, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 12: Match 26: West Indies v New Zealand, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (June 13 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 13: Match 27: Bangladesh v Netherlands, St Vincent; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM nearby)
June 13: Match 28: England v Oman, Antigua – 12:30 AM IST (June 14 in India) (03:00 PM Local)
June 13: Match 29: Afghanistan v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (June 14 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 14: Match 30: United States v Ireland, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 14: Match 31: South Africa v Nepal, St Vincent; 05:00 AM IST (June 15 in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 14: Match 32: New Zealand v Uganda, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 15: Match 33: India v Canada, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 15: Match 34: Namibia v England, Antigua – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 15: Match 35: Australia v Scotland, St Lucia – 06:00 AM IST (June sixteen in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 16: Match 36: Pakistan v Ireland, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 16: Match 37: Bangladesh v Nepal, St Vincent; 05:00 AM IST (June 17 in India) (07:30 PM nearby)
June 16: Match 38: Sri Lanka v Netherlands, St Lucia; 06:00 AM IST (June 17 in India) (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 17: Match 39: New Zealand v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM local)
June 17: Match 40: West Indies v Afghanistan, St Lucia; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM local)
June 19-24: Super 8s
June 26: Semifinal 1, Trinidad – 06:00 AM (June 27 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 27: Semifinal 2, Guyana – 08:00 PM (10:30 AM Local)
June 29: Final, Barbados – 07:30 PM (10:00 AM neighborhood)

T20 World Cup 2024 squads

Group A T20 World Cup

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 1, 2024

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
USA: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir. Reserve Players: Gajanand Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Yasir Mohammad.
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.
Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Nikhil Dutta, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyankhan Pathan, Junaid Siddiqui, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva, Rishiv Joshi. Reserves: Tajinder Singh, Aaditya Varadharajan, Ammar Khalid, Jatinder Matharu, Parveen Kumar.

Group B T20 World Cup

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling Reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut.
Oman: Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra.
Scotland: Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.

Group C T20 World Cup

West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Travelling Reserve: Ben Sears.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi.
Papua New Guinea: Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura.
Uganda: Brian Masaba (c), Simon Ssesazi, Roger Mukasa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Dinesh Nakrani, Fred Achelam, Kenneth Waiswa, Alpesh Ramjani, Frank Nsubuga, Henry Ssenyondo, Bilal Hassun, Robinson Obuya, Riazat Ali Shah, Juma Miyaji, Ronak Patel. Travelling Reserves: Innocent Mwebaze, Ronald Lutaaya.

Group D T20 World Cup

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka. Travelling Reserves: Asitha Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Janith Liyanage.
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Ryan Klein, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, ⁠⁠Tim Pringle, Vikram Singh, Viv Kingma, Wesley Barresi.

When and where to watch the T20 World Cup 2024 on television?

T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule: T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule: Here are the full suit fixtures, dates, venues, squads, and live streaming information for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will take place in the United States and the West Indies beginning June 1.

T20 World Cup 2024

Everything You Need to Know The ninth ICC Men's T20 World Cup will begin on June 1 in the United States and the West Indies (June 2 in India).

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 5, 2024

For the first time since its establishment in 2007, when India was crowned champions, the event will feature 20 groups spread among four organizations in the first round.

Here is an overview of all you need to know about the T20 World Cup 2024:

Format, Groups, and Seeding

Four companies from five groups will compete in a single round-robin style in the league stage. The top two teams from each university will advance to the Super Eights. If the top eight teams from the T20I format advance to the Super Eight, they will be grouped mostly based on their predetermined seedings, regardless of whether they finished first or second in the league stage.
The league-stage firms include India, Pakistan, Ireland, the United States, and Canada.
Group B includes Australia, England, Namibia, Oman, and Scotland.
Group C includes Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and the West Indies.
Group D includes Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Nepal, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
In the Super 8, the groups will again be divided into agencies in a single-spherical robin league, with the top two groups from each organization advancing to the semis.
The predetermined seedings for the Super 8s are:
Group 1 includes India (A1), Australia (B2), New Zealand (C1), and Sri Lanka (D2).
Group 2 includes Pakistan (A2), England (B1), the West Indies (C2), and South Africa (D1).

Venues of T20 World Cup

The United States

New York, Texas, and Florida will host sixteen matches within the United States. Eight of these disputes, including the highly anticipated India-Pakistan conflict, will take place in New York.

West Indies

Six Caribbean countries will host as many as 39 matches. Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago will host the video games over three tiers of the event. The final performance can take place on June 29 in Barbados.

T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule:

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 1, 2024

June 1: Match 1: United States v Canada, Dallas – 06:00 AM IST (June 2 in India) (07:30 PM Local)
June 2: Match 2: West Indies v Papua New Guinea, Guyana; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM local)
June 2: Match 3: Namibia v Oman, Barbados – 06:00 AM IST (June 3 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 3: Match 4: Sri Lanka v South Africa, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 3: Match 5: Afghanistan v Uganda, Guyana; 06:00 AM IST (June 4 in India) (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 4: Match 6: England v Scotland, Barbados – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 4: Match 7: Netherlands v Nepal, Dallas; 09:00 PM IST (10:30 AM neighborhood)
June 5: Match 8: India v Ireland, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 5: Match 9: Papua New Guinea v Uganda, Guyana; 05:00 AM IST (June 6 in India) (07:30 PM local)
June 5: Match 10: Australia v Oman, Barbados – 06:00 AM IST (June 6 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 6: Match 11: United States v Pakistan, Dallas – 09:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 6: Match 12: Namibia v Scotland, Barbados – 12:30 AM IST (June 7 in India) (03:00 PM Local)
June 7: Match 13: Canada v Ireland, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 7: Match 14: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Guyana; 05:00 AM IST (June eight in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 7: Match 15: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Dallas; 06:00 AM IST (June eight in India) (07:30 PM nearby)
June 8: Match 16: Netherlands v South Africa, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 8: Match 17: West Indies v Uganda, Guyana; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM nearby)
June 8: Match 18: Australia v England, Barbados – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 9: Match 19: India v Pakistan, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 9: Match 20: Oman v Scotland, Antigua – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 10: Match 21: South Africa v Bangladesh, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 11: Match 22: Pakistan v Canada, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 11: Match 23: Sri Lanka v Nepal, Florida; 05:00 AM IST (June 12 in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 11: Match 24: Australia v Namibia, Antigua – 06:00 AM IST (June 12 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 12: Match 25: United States v India, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 12: Match 26: West Indies v New Zealand, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (June 13 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 13: Match 27: Bangladesh v Netherlands, St Vincent; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM nearby)
June 13: Match 28: England v Oman, Antigua – 12:30 AM IST (June 14 in India) (03:00 PM Local)
June 13: Match 29: Afghanistan v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (June 14 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 14: Match 30: United States v Ireland, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 14: Match 31: South Africa v Nepal, St Vincent; 05:00 AM IST (June 15 in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 14: Match 32: New Zealand v Uganda, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 15: Match 33: India v Canada, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 15: Match 34: Namibia v England, Antigua – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 15: Match 35: Australia v Scotland, St Lucia – 06:00 AM IST (June sixteen in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 16: Match 36: Pakistan v Ireland, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 16: Match 37: Bangladesh v Nepal, St Vincent; 05:00 AM IST (June 17 in India) (07:30 PM nearby)
June 16: Match 38: Sri Lanka v Netherlands, St Lucia; 06:00 AM IST (June 17 in India) (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 17: Match 39: New Zealand v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM local)
June 17: Match 40: West Indies v Afghanistan, St Lucia; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM local)
June 19-24: Super 8s
June 26: Semifinal 1, Trinidad – 06:00 AM (June 27 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 27: Semifinal 2, Guyana – 08:00 PM (10:30 AM Local)
June 29: Final, Barbados – 07:30 PM (10:00 AM neighborhood)

T20 World Cup 2024 squads

Group A T20 World Cup

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 1, 2024

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
USA: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir. Reserve Players: Gajanand Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Yasir Mohammad.
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.
Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Nikhil Dutta, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyankhan Pathan, Junaid Siddiqui, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva, Rishiv Joshi. Reserves: Tajinder Singh, Aaditya Varadharajan, Ammar Khalid, Jatinder Matharu, Parveen Kumar.

Group B T20 World Cup

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling Reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut.
Oman: Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra.
Scotland: Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.

Group C T20 World Cup

West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Travelling Reserve: Ben Sears.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi.
Papua New Guinea: Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura.
Uganda: Brian Masaba (c), Simon Ssesazi, Roger Mukasa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Dinesh Nakrani, Fred Achelam, Kenneth Waiswa, Alpesh Ramjani, Frank Nsubuga, Henry Ssenyondo, Bilal Hassun, Robinson Obuya, Riazat Ali Shah, Juma Miyaji, Ronak Patel. Travelling Reserves: Innocent Mwebaze, Ronald Lutaaya.

Group D T20 World Cup

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka. Travelling Reserves: Asitha Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Janith Liyanage.
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Ryan Klein, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, ⁠⁠Tim Pringle, Vikram Singh, Viv Kingma, Wesley Barresi.

When and where to watch the T20 World Cup 2024 on television?

You can watch the live telecast of all the T20 World Cup 2024 suits on Star Sports Network.

How to live to move T20 World Cup 2024 suits?

You can live movement the T20 World Cup Group Stage fits on Hotstar.
Get the latest updates on IPL 2024 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs, and Most Wickets at the side of live score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates. Here are the full suit fixtures, dates, venues, squads, and live streaming information for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will take place in the United States and the West Indies beginning June 1.

T20 World Cup 2024

Everything You Need to Know The ninth ICC Men's T20 World Cup will begin on June 1 in the United States and the West Indies (June 2 in India).

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 5, 2024

For the first time since its establishment in 2007, when India was crowned champions, the event will feature 20 groups spread among four organizations in the first round.

Here is an overview of all you need to know about the T20 World Cup 2024:

Format, Groups, and Seeding

Four companies from five groups will compete in a single round-robin style in the league stage. The top two teams from each university will advance to the Super Eights. If the top eight teams from the T20I format advance to the Super Eight, they will be grouped mostly based on their predetermined seedings, regardless of whether they finished first or second in the league stage.
The league-stage firms include India, Pakistan, Ireland, the United States, and Canada.
Group B includes Australia, England, Namibia, Oman, and Scotland.
Group C includes Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and the West Indies.
Group D includes Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Nepal, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
In the Super 8, the groups will again be divided into agencies in a single-spherical robin league, with the top two groups from each organization advancing to the semis.
The predetermined seedings for the Super 8s are:
Group 1 includes India (A1), Australia (B2), New Zealand (C1), and Sri Lanka (D2).
Group 2 includes Pakistan (A2), England (B1), the West Indies (C2), and South Africa (D1).

Venues of T20 World Cup

The United States

New York, Texas, and Florida will host sixteen matches within the United States. Eight of these disputes, including the highly anticipated India-Pakistan conflict, will take place in New York.

West Indies

Six Caribbean countries will host as many as 39 matches. Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago will host the video games over three tiers of the event. The final performance can take place on June 29 in Barbados.

T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule:

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 1, 2024

June 1: Match 1: United States v Canada, Dallas – 06:00 AM IST (June 2 in India) (07:30 PM Local)
June 2: Match 2: West Indies v Papua New Guinea, Guyana; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM local)
June 2: Match 3: Namibia v Oman, Barbados – 06:00 AM IST (June 3 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 3: Match 4: Sri Lanka v South Africa, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 3: Match 5: Afghanistan v Uganda, Guyana; 06:00 AM IST (June 4 in India) (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 4: Match 6: England v Scotland, Barbados – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 4: Match 7: Netherlands v Nepal, Dallas; 09:00 PM IST (10:30 AM neighborhood)
June 5: Match 8: India v Ireland, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 5: Match 9: Papua New Guinea v Uganda, Guyana; 05:00 AM IST (June 6 in India) (07:30 PM local)
June 5: Match 10: Australia v Oman, Barbados – 06:00 AM IST (June 6 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 6: Match 11: United States v Pakistan, Dallas – 09:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 6: Match 12: Namibia v Scotland, Barbados – 12:30 AM IST (June 7 in India) (03:00 PM Local)
June 7: Match 13: Canada v Ireland, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 7: Match 14: New Zealand v Afghanistan, Guyana; 05:00 AM IST (June eight in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 7: Match 15: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Dallas; 06:00 AM IST (June eight in India) (07:30 PM nearby)
June 8: Match 16: Netherlands v South Africa, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 8: Match 17: West Indies v Uganda, Guyana; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM nearby)
June 8: Match 18: Australia v England, Barbados – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 9: Match 19: India v Pakistan, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 9: Match 20: Oman v Scotland, Antigua – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 10: Match 21: South Africa v Bangladesh, New York; 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM nearby)
June 11: Match 22: Pakistan v Canada, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 11: Match 23: Sri Lanka v Nepal, Florida; 05:00 AM IST (June 12 in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 11: Match 24: Australia v Namibia, Antigua – 06:00 AM IST (June 12 in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 12: Match 25: United States v India, New York – 08:00 PM IST (09:30 AM Local)
June 12: Match 26: West Indies v New Zealand, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (June 13 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 13: Match 27: Bangladesh v Netherlands, St Vincent; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM nearby)
June 13: Match 28: England v Oman, Antigua – 12:30 AM IST (June 14 in India) (03:00 PM Local)
June 13: Match 29: Afghanistan v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (June 14 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 14: Match 30: United States v Ireland, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 14: Match 31: South Africa v Nepal, St Vincent; 05:00 AM IST (June 15 in India) (07:30 PM neighborhood)
June 14: Match 32: New Zealand v Uganda, Trinidad; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 15: Match 33: India v Canada, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 15: Match 34: Namibia v England, Antigua – 10:30 PM IST (01:00 PM Local)
June 15: Match 35: Australia v Scotland, St Lucia – 06:00 AM IST (June sixteen in India) (08:30 PM Local)
June 16: Match 36: Pakistan v Ireland, Florida – 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM Local)
June 16: Match 37: Bangladesh v Nepal, St Vincent; 05:00 AM IST (June 17 in India) (07:30 PM nearby)
June 16: Match 38: Sri Lanka v Netherlands, St Lucia; 06:00 AM IST (June 17 in India) (08:30 PM neighborhood)
June 17: Match 39: New Zealand v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad; 08:00 PM IST (10:30 AM local)
June 17: Match 40: West Indies v Afghanistan, St Lucia; 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM local)
June 19-24: Super 8s
June 26: Semifinal 1, Trinidad – 06:00 AM (June 27 in India) (08:30 PM nearby)
June 27: Semifinal 2, Guyana – 08:00 PM (10:30 AM Local)
June 29: Final, Barbados – 07:30 PM (10:00 AM neighborhood)

T20 World Cup 2024 squads

Group A T20 World Cup

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj. Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 1, 2024

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
USA: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Shayan Jahangir. Reserve Players: Gajanand Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Yasir Mohammad.
Ireland: Paul Stirling (c), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.
Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Nikhil Dutta, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyankhan Pathan, Junaid Siddiqui, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva, Rishiv Joshi. Reserves: Tajinder Singh, Aaditya Varadharajan, Ammar Khalid, Jatinder Matharu, Parveen Kumar.

Group B T20 World Cup

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Travelling Reserves: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Michael Van Lingen, Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, PD Blignaut.
Oman: Aqib Ilyas (c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mohammad Nadeem, Naseem Khushi, Mehran Khan, Bilal Khan, Rafiullah, Kaleemullah, Fayyaz Butt, Shakeel Ahmad, Khalid Kail. Reserves: Jatinder Singh, Samay Shrivastava, Sufyan Mehmood, Jay Odedra.
Scotland: Richie Berrington (c), Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal.

Group C T20 World Cup

West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Travelling Reserve: Ben Sears.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi.
Papua New Guinea: Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura.
Uganda: Brian Masaba (c), Simon Ssesazi, Roger Mukasa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Dinesh Nakrani, Fred Achelam, Kenneth Waiswa, Alpesh Ramjani, Frank Nsubuga, Henry Ssenyondo, Bilal Hassun, Robinson Obuya, Riazat Ali Shah, Juma Miyaji, Ronak Patel. Travelling Reserves: Innocent Mwebaze, Ronald Lutaaya.

Group D T20 World Cup

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Sri Lanka: Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka. Travelling Reserves: Asitha Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Janith Liyanage.
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Travelling reserves: Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud
Nepal: Rohit Paudel (c), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, Karan KC, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, Pratis GC, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, Kamal Singh Airee.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Ryan Klein, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, ⁠⁠Tim Pringle, Vikram Singh, Viv Kingma, Wesley Barresi.

When and where to watch the T20 World Cup 2024 on television?

So my iPad was charging and I stupidly had it near my dog and a glass of water. Obviously a disaster happened and the dog knocked the glass of water next to the iPad. The iPad had the Smart Folio case closed and I wiped it and shut it off immediately. The charger was connected during the spill but the water came from the opposite side and I didn’t see water on that side of the iPad, and none I could see in the charging port. Majority of the water was on the case that I removed immediately and wiped the drops and water on the iPad. But sadly, The top speaker near the power button looked a bit wet so I propped it up on that side in rice at first. Later I read rice is no longer recommended so now it’s only upside down on the side that got wet. It turned on briefly by mistake when I accidentally had it upside down and pressing on the button, immediately I shut it off again. Im a student so it’s not so great to not be able to use the iPad, but of course I only want it to work in the long run. How many days do I need to leave it upside down for? Is there an amount of time I will know it’s out of the woods or just wait and see after a few days? Do I need to do something to eject the water from the speakers beyond holding it the opposite way? Or is it best to leave off and wait? Also,I need to travel for about an hour in a half this evening and take it with me, is it ok to put it in a case in a bag for that duration? It’ll be about 10 hours after the spill. Thanks to anyone who read this far and thanks to anyone who will respond.

So my iPad was charging and I stupidly had it near my dog and a glass of water. Obviously a disaster happened and the dog knocked the glass of water next to the iPad. The iPad had the Smart Folio case closed and I wiped it and shut it off immediately. The charger was connected during the spill but the water came from the opposite side and I didn’t see water on that side of the iPad, and none I could see in the charging port. Majority of the water was on the case that I removed immediately and wiped the drops and water on the iPad. But sadly, The top speaker near the power button looked a bit wet so I propped it up on that side in rice at first. Later I read rice is no longer recommended so now it’s only upside down on the side that got wet. It turned on briefly by mistake when I accidentally had it upside down and pressing on the button, immediately I shut it off again. Im a student so it’s not so great to not be able to use the iPad, but of course I only want it to work in the long run. How many days do I need to leave it upside down for? Is there an amount of time I will know it’s out of the woods or just wait and see after a few days? Do I need to do something to eject the water from the speakers beyond holding it the opposite way? Or is it best to leave off and wait? Also,I need to travel for about an hour in a half this evening and take it with me, is it ok to put it in a case in a bag for that duration? It’ll be about 10 hours after the spill. Thanks to anyone who read this far and thanks to anyone who will respond.

I plan to buy a dedicated 1/4" six-side bit holder drill/impact driver for wood screws.
A key feature is the adjustable auto clutch stop, where the drill will stop turning when there is enough resistance. In other words, I do not want my screws to keep pulling into the wood until I manage to take my finger off the trigger.
The DDF083Z is basically a drill with a six-sided holder and has this feature. But to impact drivers also have this feature? They have no manual clutch adjustment.
I am looking at the DTD154Z and DTD172Z but will consider other options.
Thanks
​

I plan to buy a dedicated 1/4" six-side bit holder drill/impact driver for wood screws.
A key feature is the adjustable auto clutch stop, where the drill will stop turning when there is enough resistance. In other words, I do not want my screws to keep pulling into the wood until I manage to take my finger off the trigger.
The DDF083Z is basically a drill with a six-sided holder and has this feature. But to impact drivers also have this feature? They have no manual clutch adjustment.
I am looking at the DTD154Z and DTD172Z but will consider other options.
Thanks
​

this is a continuation from my earlier post .
my objective is to make accessible information in the greater public domain. much of what I am saying is available in public, but obscure or not present in one single place.
Main Idol overview -
the MOOLAVIRAT or DHRUVA beram, the subject of all legends and debates.

• I am biased in my opinion , but it is an idol , the craftsmanship of which is beyond anything I have ever seen. no Louv're museum, greek statues, Rome or even our Own hoyasala sculptures even come close. the details are extremely life-life. this is also why we see rumors like he is soft or sweating etc.

the level of detail is really extraordinary. fingernails, toenails, striations in the skin folds, and attention to detail to every ornament is seen.
all ornaments in front view continue on the back side. full 360 degrees. mostly on the back, are the strings and knots of the ornaments , all integrally in the idol. the hair locks, also have very tiny crevices, looking like real hair, especially in dim lighting.
there is another unique problem that all of this creates - it sounds silly but only people who are worshipping idols in temples would know.
normally, during ritual baths, CUrd ( or yoghurt ) is a key ingredient.
what most people don;t know, is that curd is very very hard to clean up afterwards .
it gets stuck in tiny crevices, and eventually the room starts to smell really bad.
in tirumala, the practice is to NOT use curd, and just stick to milk and various versions of water.
the real reason for that is the exquisite features of the idol. no amount of cleaning is enough to fully bring out all the curd. so a long time back, decisions were taken to stop using it. (again lot of debates on it and lot of controversies jumped out of it)
Curd Iis used now , for all the other smaller idols, where it is easier to clean up later.
Main Idol - dimensions
there are confusing reports about his height ranging from 6 feet to 12 feet. all are false. numbers change based on how he is measured.
he is 8 feet tall, if measured from foot to top of crown. the crown is 20 inches approx. (based on size of the gold crowns made for him..all of them 22 inches to accommodate padding)
the lotus base (Padma -peeta ) is estimated to be 18 inches.
but an idol is always measured with base included. this brings the total to 9 ½ feet , as the pedestal is always counted. but in reality , when we go to the temple today, we are standing standing above the height of his feet, so we would see 8 feet of his majesty .
these are all estimates and could be wrong by a couple of inches.
also, the dimensions of the sanctum sanctorum are 12feet 9 inches x 12 feet 9 inches. square. this is available in public domain. nothin secret about it.
in the Agama, among the GarbhaGrihas, this is the largest sanctioned dimension, only possible for a very tall mula virat.
*(we need to again remember- this extraordinary idol, was exposed to the sun and moon for centuries, surrounded by elephants and lotus ponds and venomous snakes , before a human being even came into the picture. its really hard to imagine him just standing there in the forest with a smile on his face , for a thousand years, before a temple was made out of wood ( yes literally wooden temple - more on that later)
his waist is estimated to be around 24-27 inches (depending upon exactly where you measure it)
his chest is 42 inches ( some serious bodybuilding goals for men - forget the old-NTR like chubby looks)
his arms circumference for the armlets is estimated to be 19 inches.
overall, the appearance of a youthful strong tall man.
now each body part -
feet - the feet are spaced apart at shoulder width. they are extremely well-formed, having even toenails. there are toe-rings on his toes, and then there are 2 varieties of anklets on him. 1 looks more like a feminine Dancer kind of anklet ( I dont know the right word for it) . the second one is more masculine and like a thick strong ring around the ankle.
the lower body cloth (peetambaram or dhoti) outline can be clearly made in the idol, resting near the anklets. its folded into 7 layers as we move upwards to his waist. on the backside, it continues and is neatly tucked into the small of his back. there is one very interesting observation here..... the knot and tucked in-dhoti on the back looks like the hood of a cobra. senior priests say it is symbolic of kundalini.
note: no actual cobra figure appear on the idol. I am only talking about the lower garment folded in such a way. this I have actually seen on other vishnu idols in iconography books on agama. I'll share a pic here of similar feature if I can.
normally, there is no gap in a stone idol , between the feet . rock is there to preserve the stability of the idol. but here there is a hollow, and a garment can be passed under to dress him.
there is also a decorative Vastram draped on this sides, beautifully knotted on both hips. its pleats gently fall down on either side.
as we move up, his two lower limbs are strong and bulky. the calves are particularly bulky, very strong from the backside.
strong massive thighs can be made out from all sides. the kneecaps are very prominently visible.
his posture is almost straight.... with a small tilt to the right side (his right side) . as such the right knee is slightly bent. overall, he stoops very slightly fowards, as if just about to step out of the pedestal. this is hard to observe after all the heavy ornaments and garlands.
I will talk about the more technical description of his posture by using sanskrit AGAMA terminology in future posts. this was intended for people who are not familiar with highly technical jargon.

Hi All! First post here. Let's see if you can help me with my predicament.
I am trying to make a puzzle box with several riddles . For one of the sides of the box, a small object with a magnet (maybe 3-4 grams plus the weight of the magnet) has to sick on the surface at given points (so there will be magnets on the inside to make sure this happens).
Problem is, I bought what supposedly are Neodymium 5x5mm magnets and they are too weak for the task.
What should I do? I can either keep buying bigger and bigger magnets till I get what i want or ask people who know better, of course, so here I am. The box's walls are roughly 1cm thick, so the magnet I use on the inside has to be strong enough to hold another, weaker magnet (because the object is small) on the other side, through 1cm of wood. Is that even possible or is the distance too big?

Hi all, does anyone have any tips on sanding down furniture with beveled edges, wooden trims or round detailed legs etc? I want to sand before painting but I'm finding it difficult to get into the smaller and more detailed areas. Thank you in advanced for any answers

So my current method is in between acid free paper, unrolled, print side up, with heavy books on all four corners. Works great for some prints. Others that have been in tubes too long won’t uncurl no matter how long I leave them under the books.
My new plan, since I tend to overdo EVERYTHING is buy a small table, sandwich the posters between acid free paper and two pieces of wood, clamp the corners, put weights on all four corners, and the books in the middle to flatten them. Is that too much? Could I potentially damage the posters that way?

It started as a fun weekend getaway. Emma, Jake, and I had planned a camping trip in the remote woods, a place where cell service barely existed. We were desperate for a break from our daily grind, a chance to unplug and reconnect with nature. Emma, who was strikingly beautiful with her flowing blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, had insisted on this spot, claiming it was untouched and serene.
The first night was perfect—stories around the campfire, laughter echoing through the trees, and a sky full of stars. Emma's laughter was infectious, and her radiant smile made the night even more magical. But things took a dark turn the following morning when we found our supplies ransacked and strange, crude traps set around our camp.
"What the hell?" Jake exclaimed, examining the remains of our food. "Who would do this?"
"I don't know," Emma replied, her blue eyes wide with confusion. "This doesn't make any sense."
At first, we thought it was some kind of sick joke. But when Jake triggered a trap that nearly impaled him with spikes, we realized this was no prank.
"Jesus, that was close," Jake said, his face pale as he backed away from the spikes.
"We need to get out of here," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
Panic set in as we tried to find our way back to the car, but every path seemed to lead us deeper into the forest. It was as if the woods themselves were conspiring against us.
"Emma, do you have any idea where we are?" I asked, anxiety creeping into my voice.
Her blue eyes narrowed as she surveyed the area. "I swear, I thought I did," she replied, her beauty a stark contrast to the terror unfolding around us. "Let's split up. We'll cover more ground that way."
That was our first mistake. Alone, I stumbled upon a camera, hidden but running. It was live-streaming. The screen displayed a live chat, viewers commenting frantically about our every move.
"Is this some kind of sick joke?" I muttered, my heart pounding as I pieced it together—someone was watching us, orchestrating our terror for entertainment.
Desperate to warn the others, I raced back to our meeting point, only to find Emma standing over a bloodied Jake. She looked at me with wide, manic eyes.
"It's for the views, Alex," she said, her voice disturbingly calm. "People love seeing raw fear. They believe they're watching you end your life, but it's me. It’s all me."
I stared at her, horrified. "Emma, why? We trusted you."
Her smile was cold, devoid of any warmth. "Fame, Alex. This will make us famous. Can't you see? This is bigger than us."
"You're insane," I said, backing away slowly. "This isn't fame, it's murder."
Emma's expression turned to one of mock pity. "Oh, Alex. You always were too naive."
"Emma, we need help. Jake's hurt," I said, trying to reason with her.
Jake groaned, clutching his side. "Alex, don't waste your breath."
But something in Emma's eyes shifted. She looked around, suddenly uncertain. "No, this can't be happening," she muttered. "It was supposed to be perfect."
I seized the moment. "Emma, look at yourself. You're losing it. We need to get out of here."
Her grip on the knife faltered, and she looked down at Jake, then back at me. "I... I didn't mean for this to happen."
"Emma, put the knife down," I urged, my voice gentle. "We can still make it out of here."
For a moment, I thought she might listen. But then she shook her head, her eyes wild again. "No! This is my moment!"
She turned and ran into the woods, disappearing into the dense foliage. I rushed to Jake, helping him to his feet.
"We have to move, now," I said.
With Jake leaning heavily on me, we stumbled through the forest. The sounds of Emma's frantic shouts echoed in the distance, growing fainter as we pressed on. Hours later, we finally emerged onto a road, a passing car screeching to a halt as we waved frantically.
"Help us!" I called out, and the driver quickly dialed for help.
As we waited for the paramedics, Jake and I sat on the roadside, exhausted but relieved. "Do you think she'll find her way out?" Jake asked.
I shook my head, unsure. "I don't know. But I hope she does. She needs help, Jake. Real help."
Emma was eventually found, delirious and lost, babbling about fame and followers. She was taken to a psychiatric facility, her channel shut down, but the videos were already out there, shared and re-shared by thousands. People debated their authenticity, some calling them the most brilliant horror performance ever, others demanding justice.
I never went back to the woods, and I never spoke to Emma again. But the scars remained, a constant reminder of how our obsession with online fame turned a trusted friend into a monster.

I'm a pretty decent country singer who learned Old English a long time ago when it was a focus in college. I was inspired to try singing DREAM OF THE ROOD today, I think the oldest still existing gospel lyric sheet in English. Obviously, there's not much to go on. I tried to imagine my guitar like a bard's instrument and sang how it felt it. I hope you all like it. Singing these you see them a little differently. Cheers. I was on my porch and the light was dim, so I lost the thread a couple of times, but I think it was an interesting experiment.
Dream of the Rood as sung by MindControlExpert
Here is the part I got through.
Translated by Roy M. Liuzza Listen! I will speak of the sweetest dream, what came to me in the middle of the night, when speech-bearers slept in their rest. It seemed that I saw a most wondrous tree raised on high, wound round with light, the brightest of beams. All that beacon was covered in gold; gems stood fair at the earth’s corners, and there were five up on the cross-beam. All the angels of the Lord looked on; fair through all eternity; that was no felon’s gallows, but holy spirits beheld him there, men over the earth and all this glorious creation. Wondrous was the victory-tree, and I was stained by sins, wounded with guilt; I saw the tree of glory honored in garments, shining with joys, bedecked with gold; gems had covered worthily the Creator’s tree. And yet beneath that gold I began to see an ancient wretched struggle, when it first began to bleed on the right side. I was all beset with sorrows, fearful for that fair vision; I saw that eager beacon change garments and colors––now it was drenched, stained with blood, now bedecked with treasure. And yet, lying there a long while, I beheld in sorrow the Savior’s tree until I heard it utter a sound; that best of woods began to speak words: “It was so long ago––I remember it still–– that I was felled from the forest’s edge, ripped up from my roots. Strong enemies seized me there, made me their spectacle, made me bear their criminals;