In today's digital landscape, Facebook remains a powerful platform for influencers to engage with their audience and monetize their presence. Navigating this space effectively can significantly enhance your success. Our Facebook Earnings and Engagement Calculators are invaluable tools designed to help you optimize your strategies and maximize your potential. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore how these calculators work, why they're essential, and provide actionable tips to elevate your Facebook game.

Understanding Facebook's Influence on Social Media

Facebook continues to be a dominant force in the social media world. With over 2.8 billion monthly active users, it offers a vast audience base for influencers to tap into. The platform's diverse user demographics and extensive reach make it an ideal space for influencers to grow their brand and engage with followers.

The Importance of Engagement for Influencers

*Engagement* is a critical metric for influencers. It reflects how actively your audience interacts with your content. High engagement rates can lead to increased visibility and more significant opportunities for monetization. But how do you measure engagement effectively?

Engagement Rate Calculator: Measuring Your Impact

What is Engagement Rate?

*Engagement Rate* is a metric that measures the level of interaction your content receives from your audience. It includes likes, comments, shares, and other forms of interaction. A high engagement rate indicates that your content resonates well with your audience.

How to Calculate Engagement Rate

The formula to calculate engagement rate is straightforward:
\[ \text{Engagement Rate} = \left( \frac{\text{Total Interactions}}{\text{Total Followers or Reach}} \right) \times 100 \]

Here's a breakdown:

• Total Interactions: Sum of likes, comments, shares, and other interactions on your posts.
  
• Total Followers or Reach: Number of people who follow your account or who saw the post.
  

For instance, if you have 1,000 interactions and 10,000 followers, your engagement rate would be:
\[ \left( \frac{1000}{10000} \right) \times 100 = 10\% \]

Why Engagement Rate Matters

Engagement rate is crucial for several reasons:

1. Audience Loyalty: A high engagement rate signifies a loyal and active audience.
2. Content Performance: It helps gauge how well your content is performing.
3. Brand Collaborations: Brands often look at engagement rates to determine an influencer's effectiveness and potential for partnerships.

Facebook Influencer Calculator: Estimating Your Potential

Factors Influencing Earnings on Facebook

Estimating potential earnings on Facebook involves several factors:
1. Engagement Rates: Higher engagement often leads to better monetization opportunities.
2. Follower Demographics: Age, location, and interests of your followers can impact earning potential.
3. Content Type: Different types of content (posts, stories, reels) can attract varying levels of engagement and earnings.

How to Use the Facebook Influencer Calculator

Our Facebook Influencer Calculator helps influencers estimate their potential earnings based on their engagement rates, follower demographics, and content type. Here’s how to use it:
1. Select Content Type: Choose whether the content is a Post, Reel, Story, or Live, or select a package for all types.
2. Input Earnings Per Views: Enter the amount you typically charge per 1000 views.
3. Enter Follower Count: Input the total number of followers on your Facebook account.
4. Provide Recent Views: Fill in the view counts for your last four posts.
5. Engagement Rate: Input your engagement rate as a percentage.
6. Calculate: Click on the 'Calculate' button to generate the estimated price.
7. Estimated Price: Review the calculated estimated price displayed on the side.

Example Calculation

Let’s say you typically charge $10 per 1000 views, have 50,000 followers, and your last four posts garnered 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, and 25,000 views, respectively. With an engagement rate of 5%, the calculator would provide an estimated price based on these inputs, giving you a clear idea of your potential earnings.

Enhancing Your Facebook Strategy

Creating High-Quality Content

Quality content is the cornerstone of successful influencer marketing. Ensure your posts are visually appealing, informative, and engaging. High-quality content attracts more interactions, boosting your engagement rate and potential earnings.

Leveraging Analytics

Utilize Facebook Insights to track your performance. Analyzing metrics such as reach, engagement, and audience demographics can help you tailor your content strategy for better results.

Engaging with Your Audience

Building a strong connection with your audience is essential. Respond to comments, ask questions, and create interactive posts to foster a sense of community. The more engaged your audience, the higher your engagement rate will be.

Collaborating with Brands

Partnering with brands can significantly increase your earnings. When pitching to brands, highlight your engagement rate and audience demographics to showcase your value as an influencer.

Consistency is Key

Maintain a consistent posting schedule. Regularly updating your content keeps your audience engaged and helps maintain a steady growth in followers and interactions.

Utilizing Facebook Features

Take advantage of Facebook's features like Stories, Reels, and Live sessions. These formats often receive higher engagement rates, providing more opportunities for monetization.

Staying Updated with Trends

Keep abreast of the latest trends and updates on Facebook. Adapting to new features and trends can give you an edge over other influencers.

Actionable Tips to Boost Engagement

1. Post at Optimal Times: Analyze when your audience is most active and schedule your posts accordingly.
   
2. Use Eye-Catching Visuals: High-quality images and videos attract more attention.
   
3. Craft Compelling Captions: Engaging captions can encourage more interactions.
   
4. Incorporate Hashtags: Use relevant hashtags to increase the discoverability of your posts.
   
5. Run Contests and Giveaways: These can drive significant engagement and attract new followers.
   
6. Collaborate with Other Influencers: Partnering with influencers can expand your reach and boost engagement.
   
7. Ask for Feedback: Encourage your audience to share their thoughts and opinions, fostering a more engaged community.
   

Conclusion

In the ever-evolving world of social media, staying ahead requires *a strategic approach and the right tools*. Facebook remains a pivotal platform for influencers looking to engage with their audience and monetize their efforts. By utilizing our Facebook Influencer Calculator and Engagement Rate Calculator, you can gain valuable insights into your performance and potential earnings. Remember, success on Facebook is not just about the number of followers but the quality of engagement. Create high-quality content, interact with your audience, and leverage analytics to refine your strategy. Use our calculators to make informed decisions and take your Facebook presence to the next level. Start optimizing today and watch your influence and earnings grow!

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PRs: u/anakist & u/BroDogIsMyName
- - - - -
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!

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts in different communities about ppl feeling off lately. This is not that. I don’t feel “off” I feel disconnected from myself. I am not emotional and I don’t go around showing my soft parts but I am pretty vocal about how I am doing internally and in this scenario I would be alone as usual crying and screaming out for help but I can’t because I’m stuck in me if that makes any sense. I am rapidly becoming devoid of emotion and I also have been feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency. Like it is really making my anxiety go through the roof. Idk what it’s about and it has been getting heavier and heavier for the past year and I don’t fucking ask for help but I am desperate at this point as idk what the fuck to do. I’m worried about myself but unable to even show a glimmer of that on the outside. That’s not normal. I can’t recall dreams anymore. I sleep for two or three days at a time and I’m up for four or five. That’s the pattern. I keep feeling like I wanna go home but I have no idea what that means or where home is. All I can see is myself tiny, standing in my chest where it’s completely pitch black and I’m trying to claw and scratch my way outta there. I’m a fucking avatar at this point and I am fearful I will permanently be lost if I don’t figure out something. being trapped inside my own mind. If any of you have seen the scene on deathly hallows 2 when harry and Voldemort dive off the castle and they start merging in and out of each other and it’s painful and grotesque. That’s basically what’s happening with me. What the fuck is going on?! That’s what I wanna ask but how can anyone help if I can’t even articulate what that means? I’m fading. I don’t like it.

Just wondering if anyone can offer some advice?
We had a survey done for the house we are planning to buy. It's a 4 bed detached, built 14 years ago. We negotiated 5k less on the asking price before the survey was carried out.
The survey came back with lots of issues graded level 2 (1 being no issue, 3 being urgent/severe/needing to be addessed immediately). We haven't asked our buyer to deal with any of the level 2s, or even all of the level 3s. Our seller outright refuses to address the issues we are concerned about and states as they are not structural and only "wear and tear", she will not fix them, nor will she negotiate price. She also says because she agreed 5k less, that's enough. We have said we are considering withdrawing our offer and she doesn't seem phased. My partner and I feel these repairs will cost more than 5k, but also that negotiation was based on there being no major issues.
The ones we are concerned about are as follows and my questions are:
1- are we reasonable to expect these to be fixed by the seller, or a further negotiation on price to reflect what it will cost us to fix? If not, which issues, if any, are we reasonable to expect to be sorted?
2- do you know how much each of these repairs are likely to cost?
3- regarding the roof verges, if it is not currently letting in any damp, how urgent is it that it is repaired?
Issues:
Roof:
FRONT, LEFT, RIGHT ELEVATION The mortar verge to the gable end requires repointing. The old mortar should be chopped out and replaced, to help prevent rainwater penetration internally and rot to the roofing timbers.
There is a brick storm porch with a pitched tiled roof to the front of the property, which has a crack and requires repointing.
To add, the surveyor was not able to see the rear elevation but we expect it also needs repointing, as there is no evidence though, we said we will deal with that ourselves.
PVC rainwater fittings:
Vegetation and leaks on all elevations and the storm porch needs to be cleared and repaired.
Boiler: Leaking condensate pipe causing damp.
Any advice at all on any of this is massively appreciated 😊

Just wondering if anyone can offer some advice?
We had a survey done for the house we are planning to buy. It's a 4 bed detached, built 14 years ago. We negotiated 5k less on the asking price before the survey was carried out.
The survey came back with lots of issues graded level 2 (1 being no issue, 3 being urgent/severe/needing to be addessed immediately). We haven't asked our buyer to deal with any of the level 2s, or even all of the level 3s. Our seller outright refuses to address the issues we are concerned about and states as they are not structural and only "wear and tear", she will not fix them, nor will she negotiate price. She also says because she agreed 5k less, that's enough. We have said we are considering withdrawing our offer and she doesn't seem phased. My partner and I feel these repairs will cost more than 5k, but also that negotiation was based on there being no major issues.
The ones we are concerned about (which are level 3) are as follows and my questions are:
1- are we reasonable to expect these to be fixed by the seller, or a further negotiation on price to reflect what it will cost us to fix? If not, which issues, if any, are we reasonable to expect to be sorted?
2- do you know how much each of these repairs are likely to cost?
3- regarding the roof verges, if it is not currently letting in any damp, how urgent is it that it is repaired?
Issues:
Roof:
FRONT, LEFT, RIGHT ELEVATION The mortar verge to the gable end requires repointing. The old mortar should be chopped out and replaced, to help prevent rainwater penetration internally and rot to the roofing timbers.
There is a brick storm porch with a pitched tiled roof to the front of the property, which has a crack and requires repointing.
To add, the surveyor was not able to see the rear elevation but we expect it also needs repointing, as there is no evidence though, we said we will deal with that ourselves.
PVC rainwater fittings:
Vegetation and leaks on all elevations and the storm porch needs to be cleared and repaired.
Boiler:
Leaking condensate pipe causing damp.
Any advice at all on any of this is massively appreciated 😊

Just wondering if anyone can offer some advice?
We had a survey done for the house we are planning to buy. It's a 4 bed detached, built 14 years ago. We negotiated 5k less on the asking price before the survey was carried out.
The survey came back with lots of issues graded level 2 (1 being no issue, 3 being urgent/severe/needing to be addessed immediately). We haven't asked our buyer to deal with any of the level 2s, or even all of the level 3s. Our seller outright refuses to address the issues we are concerned about and states as they are not structural and only "wear and tear", she will not fix them, nor will she negotiate price. She also says because she agreed 5k less, that's enough. We have said we are considering withdrawing our offer and she doesn't seem phased. My partner and I feel these repairs will cost more than 5k, but also that negotiation was based on there being no major issues.
The ones we are concerned about (which are level 3) are as follows and my questions are:
1- are we reasonable to expect these to be fixed by the seller, or a further negotiation on price to reflect what it will cost us to fix? If not, which issues, if any, are we reasonable to expect to be sorted?
2- do you know how much each of these repairs are likely to cost?
3- regarding the roof verges, if it is not currently letting in any damp, how urgent is it that it is repaired?
Issues:
Roof:
FRONT, LEFT, RIGHT ELEVATION The mortar verge to the gable end requires repointing. The old mortar should be chopped out and replaced, to help prevent rainwater penetration internally and rot to the roofing timbers.
There is a brick storm porch with a pitched tiled roof to the front of the property, which has a crack and requires repointing.
To add, the surveyor was not able to see the rear elevation but we expect it also needs repointing, as there is no evidence though, we said we will deal with that ourselves.
PVC rainwater fittings:
Vegetation and leaks on all elevations and the storm porch needs to be cleared and repaired.
Boiler: Leaking condensate pipe causing damp.
Any advice at all on any of this is massively appreciated 😊

Kumusta ang lahat Reddit!
Alam nating lahat na ang unang impresyon ay napakahalaga sa pakikipag-date dahil madalas ito ang nagse-set ng tone para sa buong relasyon.
Gusto kong i-share ang ilang nakakagulat na katotohanan tungkol sa first impressions na maaaring makatulong sa inyo sa pag-navigate sa mundo ng dating.
Kung seasoned dater ka na o bagong balik lang sa scene, baka magulat ka sa mga 'to at sana makatulong sayo.

1. Nabubuo ang Unang Impresyon sa Loob Lamang ng 7 Segundo

• Maniwala ka man o hindi, karamihan ng tao ay bumubuo ng opinyon sa loob lamang ng 7 segundo ng pagkikita.
• Ibig sabihin, napakahalaga ng iyong unang pakikipag-usap.

2. Mas Malakas ang Sinasabi ng Body Language Kaysa sa mga Salita

• Ipinapakita ng mga pag-aaral na higit sa 55% ng first impressions ay naimpluwensiyahan ng body language.
• Ang postura, eye contact, at gestures mo ay mas malakas ang impact kaysa sa mga salita.

3. Ngiti: Ang Iyong Lihim na Sandata

• Ang tunay na ngiti ay may malaking epekto kung paano ka pinapansin.
• Ipinapahiwatig nito ang warmth, approachability, at confidence.

4. Mahalaga ang Iyong Kasuotan

• Kahit mukhang mababaw, ang iyong pananamit ay malaking factor sa first impression.
• Ang tamang pananamit para sa okasyon at pagpapakita ng iyong personal na estilo ay nakakapag-iwan ng lasting impact.

5. Tono ng Boses at Pitch Ay Susi

• Ang paraan ng iyong pagsasalita, kasama ang tono at pitch, ay nakaka-impluwensya kung paano ka pinapansin.
• Ang kalmado at kumpiyansang boses ay malaking tulong.

6. Ang Pagiging Totoo ay Kaakit-akit

• Ang sobrang pagpilit na magpa-impress ay pwedeng maging kabaliktaran ng inaasahan.
• Ang pagiging tunay ay attractive, at madalas nararamdaman ng tao kung ikaw ay totoo o nagkukunwari lang.

7. Ang Mata ay Bintana ng Kaluluwa

• Ang mahusay na pakikipagtitigan ay nagpapakita ng kumpiyansa at interes.
• Pero mag-ingat na huwag sobra-sobra dahil baka magmukha kang intense o intimidating.

8. Kapangyarihan ng Matibay na Kamayan

• A firm handshake ay nagpapakita ng kumpiyansa at pagiging propesyonal.
• Siguraduhing hindi ito masyadong mahina o masyadong malakas.

9. Ang Iyong Amoy Can Be a Game Changer

• Subconsciously, malaking role ang amoy sa attraction.
• Ang kaaya-ayang, banayad na pabango ay nakakapag-iwan ng memorable impression.

10. Maging Magalang

• Ang pagiging magalang at may mabuting asal ay hindi nawawala sa uso.
• Ang mga simpleng kilos ng kagandahang-asal ay magpapaangat sa iyo sa positibong paraan.

TL;DR:

Ang first impressions sa pakikipag-date ay napakahalaga at maaaring maimpluwensiyahan ng iba't ibang factors, mula sa iyong body language at ngiti hanggang sa tono ng iyong boses at amoy. Ang pagiging totoo at magalang ay ang iyong best allies.
Ano-ano ang mga unexpected first impressions na naranasan mo sa dating? Share your stories and thoughts sa pamamagitan ng pag-comment sa baba!
Para sa mga gustong mas mapa-improve ang kanilang pakikipag-date, my #1 recommendation para sa mga bored at lonely Pinoy titos at gentlemen ay kumuha ng kopya ng 5 Minute Dates dito sa Google Doc! *appreciate your support mga tol! hope it helps*

Bangladesh' performance at T20I WCs have been quite disappointing. Till 2022, they had won just one game against a full member and their best performance ever being in 2016 where they won 2 out of the 6 games that had a result. But despite regular poor results before the 2022 T20I WC edition, they performed really well in the tournament and beat Netherlands & Zimbabwe (finally, another full member), gave India a close run and got themselves into a knock-out game against Pakistan. They're once again coming into the tournament with some dubious form, but their past performances suggest that those results are hardly an accurate indicator of how they're going to perform in the tournament proper.
Overall T20I WC Performance: 38 Matches, 9 Wins, 28 Losses, 1 No Result
T20I performance since the last tournament: 25 Matches, 16 Wins, 8 Losses, 1 No Result
Squad
Bangladesh announced their squad on May 14th with Shanto as the skipper. Following are the players' recent performances (performance in their last 20 T20Is):

Player	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	Wickets	Average	Economy
N Hossain Shanto	315	21.00	107.14	0	-	14.00
L Das	500	27.27	132.27	-	-	-
T Hridoy	413	31.76	133.22	-	-	-
J Ali*	210	35.00	128.04	-	-	-
T Hasan*	237	47.40	126.73	-	-	-
S Al Hasan	379	27.07	130.24	24	21.08	7.36
M Mahmudullah	353	23.53	122.56	6	9.83	6.00
M Hasan	111	12.33	103.73	14	30.78	6.44
S Sarkar	284	15.77	125.11	3	32.33	8.81
T Ahmed	64	9.14	103.22	36	14.66	6.94
M Rahman	14	14.00	82.35	24	21.29	7.06
S Islam	22	5.50	115.78	19	32.36	8.64
T Hasan Sakib*	6	3.00	85.71	4	45.75	8.31
R Hossain*	88	14.66	135.38	15	24.86	7.17
T Islam*	11	11.00	91.66	2	34.50	7.66

* - J Ali has played only 13 T20Is
* - T Hasan has played only 7 T20Is
* - T Hasan Sakib has played only 6 T20Is
* - R Hossain has played only 17 T20Is
* - T Islam has played only 4 T20Is
Although Litton's recent form looks decent, most of it was done in a single series (against Ireland). Much of Shakib's good stats with the bat results down to his performance in that tri-series before the 2022 T20I WC. Their new talents have looked pretty good so that could be an exciting thing to watch out for.
Their bowling has been really good for most part. Although the pitches certainly play some part in it, their stats still look good. Taskin just had a really good series against Zimbabwe and that is something encouraging for the team.
Previous T20I WC Performances

Players [Matches]	Runs	Average	Strike Rate	Wickets	Average	Economy
N Hossain Shanto [5]	180	36.00	114.64	-	-	-
L Das [13]	260	20.00	113.04	-	-	-
S Al Hasan [36]	742	23.93	122.44	47	18.63	6.78
M Mahmudullah [30]	363	18.15	110.67	8	34.62	7.10
M Hasan [8]	53	13.25	110.41	8	18.75	6.12
S Sarkar [15]	151	10.06	100.00	1	36.00	9.00
T Ahmed [16]	33	8.25	67.34	18	19.88	6..65
M Rahman [15]	21	4.20	105.00	20	21.00	7.50
S Islam [5]	0	0.00	0.00	4	31.75	7.85

Bangladesh has went in with a good number of newcomers, with 6 of their players having a chance to make their T20I WC debut this edition. There's not much to say in the batting front with only Shanto having a good average. In the bowling though, all of them look pretty good. Taskin doing well upfront will be a crucial factor in Bangladesh' fortunes along with how well Shakib does with the ball (and bat).
Strengths
Their newcomers have done pretty well at times in Bangladesh' recent bilateral games. Their batting in the lower middle part has a bit of a firepower which is something Bangladesh has been lacking in T20Is for ages. Their aggressive style of batting (along with good bowling of course) brought them series wins against England & Ireland. After that they whitewashed Afghanistan and beat New Zealand in an away T20I before losing to Sri Lanka at home and US away (with a 4-1 thrashing of Zimbabwe in between). Their form since their last tournament has been great despite their recent fumble against the States and they certainly don't look that far away from Sri Lanka (Bangladesh weren't far away from winning it 2-1).
Weaknesses
Since their loss in that final T20I against Ireland, Bangladesh' batting has gone back to being inconsistent. Given a sample size of only 5 games, their good batting performance was the outlier. Also the last time they played in the West Indies, they were thumped 2-0. The last time they played in the States, they were beaten 2-1.
They were 7-3 up against Australia & New Zealand combined before the T20I World Cup in 2021 but those were home games and they couldn't replicate those results and lost against Scotland and were thumped by England & Australia. This time too, their home performance against Zimbabwe may not mean that much. The players will need to adapt quickly in the tight group they find themselves in.
World Cup Chances
They are in the most interesting group of the group stage. They have more than just a chance to qualify for the Super 8 as beating Sri Lanka and 2 out of the 3 remaining teams will almost certainly do the job. Their first two games are against the two big teams which is probably not ideal since it means that they'll have to be near perfect right from the moment they set foot on the ground. If they get 1 (or perhaps even 2) wins out of the first 2 games they'll move on to the associates where winning just 2 (or 1) will do the trick for them. Although they are capable of beating their fellow full members, they're also perfectly capable of losing against the associates. Losing the first 2 games will probably shut off their qualification chances, so a good start is a must.
If they do go to the Super 8s? Well the group they'll find themselves in will depend on which of the seeded teams they knock out (or in a crazy scenario where neither South Africa nor Sri Lanka qualify they'll go to a group according to their position in the group). A Super 8 is quite certainly the most they can do (which is already a big thing for sure) but if they find themselves in Group 2 they will have an outlandish chance of qualification in which they'll need to beat one of England and Pakistan and then West Indies or Afghanistan. 2 points can still get them to qualify but that requires NRR supremacy.
Final Thoughts
In 2016, Bangladesh should've beaten India and were decent against Australia & New Zealand (only with the ball against the Kiwis). The less said about 2021 the better but in 2022 they exceeded expectations and knitted out close wins against Netherlands & Zimbabwe and were on course to beat India before they lost the plot. All this (and a bit more) meant they found themselves in what was a knock-out game against Pakistan in which they lost comfortably. In 2 of the last 3 editions they did pretty well. If the don't do well this time the good performances will be thought of as mere glimpses of what could be in an otherwise dismal T20I WC history. But if they perform well, their recent performance will constitute as an upward trajectory in which 2021 was the outlier.
It's hard to derive what's going to happen in an ICC tournament for Bangladesh based on their recent performances. They did nothing in 2021 after coming in with form, did well in 2022 after coming into the tournament with not much form. They can go 3 out of 4 in the group stages, they can go 1 out of 4 in the group stages. Bangladesh supporters will be in for a ride alright, but how will the ride be a smooth one?
Probably not, for better or worse.

(Long post, be patient)
Other people's rough expenses are always mind boggling.
When someone recently posted a monthly budget of 4-5Lakhs/mo, I thought "What a spendthrift! How can someone spend that much!" I have also seen people here say they can make do with 30-50k/mo and also rolled my eyes thinking "how can a family of 4 live like that! they are underestimating expenses."
To each his own. But in reality, I know and have seen and met people in both categories actually spending at the very high end and at the very low end! The real problem I want to highlight is that people usually do not calculate their 'actual expenses', but simply put a vague number and pad it up by a huge factor or underestimate.
You alone are the best judge of which category you fall into.
Getting actual expenses takes quite a bit of effort. There is no point asking others if your expenses look right. You can ask what a health insurance policy for family of 4 capped at 20L with some floater costs. But others cant look at your health budget and opine since they don't know whether your risk appetite is for a 10L vs 50L vs 1Cr health insurance policy. Others won't know if your kids go to IB school costing 8L/yr or CBSE at 1L/yr. Eating out at restaurants can easily cost anywhere from 2k/mo to 50k/mo if you eat at upscale restaurants and 5-star hotels.
If you're serious about FIRE, then at least do some preparatory work. Ask real people who send their kids to those exact/similar schools what the actual cost is per year. Gather all bills from the last 5 years for groceries, restaurants, repairs, etc and see where you stand. Don't forget to calculate long term expenses like house maintenance (once in 5-10yrs like house painting, water pump repair, roof leaks), appliances (fridge, washer, etc), replacing cars (every 10yrs), electronics (laptops, phones, tablets, etc every 3-5 years) etc.
The 25x or 35x number is meaningless if you do not know your real 'x'.
TL;DR - Calculate 'your' real expenses.

I don't know why I'm sharing this, knowing how fatphobic this world is. But I truly have no one else in my life that cares. Maybe this can also be used to keep myself accountable, idk.
So I 40F have been chunky since puberty. Before that, I was skinny as a rail. I managed it ok as a teenager (never getting heavier than 170) but the second I left my parents house and could eat whatever I wanted, I did. For a long time, even though my weight went up, my cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose didn't. It was weird, I know.
Then came COVID. I was trapped in a house, sitting at a desk or couch the entire day eating everything I had bought in bulk. You can guess how that went. For the past 4 years my blood pressure has been through the roof. After the threat of being placed on medication last year, I decided to do something about it.
I meal prepped, went to the gym 3 times a week and bought a treadmill for my house. I was able to go from 293lbs down to 250 by myself! I was kicking ass.
Then, a breakup. Out of the blue. Where i found out I was lied to for months and then gaslit into thinking my reaction to the lie was the sole reason for the breakup. That was in September 2023. I have since gone back up to 270.
Part of me didn't even care. I have always tended to use my weight to keep guys at arms length anyway. Then I had a doctors appointment this past Tuesday. My blood pressure was 138/101. My doctor basically told me I had no choice. After 4 straight years of elevated numbers and other symptoms (heart palpitations/possible AFib and pressure headaches) she had to put me on medication. (Valsartan, to be exact)
I broke down. This is likely a very standard thing in her day and I was bawling my eyes out because I know how unlikely it is to come off of blood pressure medication. And I did this to myself. I was doing so good and I let a breakup derail me. I'm so terrified I'm going to have a stroke before 45. I'm also scared that even if I do lose the weight, I've already done irreparable damage. I don't want to die...
My doctor not only showed me empathy, she said something that snapped me out of my self pity. "Because you did it once before, you know you can do it again."
I've printed out meal prep recipes, looked into trying Factor and hired a personal trainer. Our first session is Monday. It's going to hurt. I asked her to kick my ass lol.
My eldest niece graduated from high school last week and I was there. My youngest niece is 2yo. I intend on being at her graduation also!

Disclaimer that I'm mainly writing this with TMS in mind because I think that best epitomizes this train of thought though much of this could still apply to the entire oeuvre as much as it also couldn't, and I also must concede that for as much as I refer to their use of atonality and unconventional musicality, there are still, of course, converse examples of this all over the catalogue (also with a function that I think fits still into this thesis, as far as their employment of what have become archetypal musical memes and tropes that come from popular western music).
Also a disclaimer that when I say "pop," I'm referring broadly to the canon of popular music writ large(from rock to punk to hip-hop to pop-pop), but also including the more culturally-industrially connotations that we'd associate with the word, as per that intentionally engineered and abstractly effective elementality that makes something have major label marketability, radio viability, and chart success. I use the term multi-intentioned in this sense.
Required reading in general but also this post owes some of its general mentality to this great post from u/mcfartknocker
…
Death Grips is conceived to sound like popular music from the next century. Their aesthetic goal is what Stefan describes as "familiar music of the future," with pop(ular) form as the conscious medium by which to achieve that--the standard being "it has to be blowing systems in 2099."
How does one reverse engineer future music? it's essentially an act of science fiction, namely speculative fiction. One has to ask oneself, what does popular music sound like 100 years in the future?
As in all good science fiction about the future, one doesn't merely blindly guess. one looks at the present and the past and sees what is happening, what has lasted, what feels timeless now, and what feels arbitrary and passing now. This reveals what cyclical tendencies are, what the transhistorical throughlines are, if any.
As per them referring to it as a musical "mantra," (same interview linked above) I think that DG landed on the idea that primal, tribal pulse and "the use of negative space within bounce" are timeless universals--as per the deterministic tendencies of terrestrial human biology, and that the language of pop structure will continue to persist as a cross-culturally unifying global commodity as technocapitalist globalization only expands and accelerates.
Markets accelerate the deterministic tendencies of human biology, bodies pushed to their own respective and communal limits as the demands of both advertising, consumer-tribal coercion, and commodities themselves necessarily grow more narcotic and compulsive in relational nature and technology only deepens the possibilities and power of this process over the original, flailing ape with headphones on.
In other words, pop is both a military-grade weapon but also employs the base 'truth' of human rhythm, mutating in extremity, complexity, and innovation along with the culture around it. The beat hacks and hijacks, possesses the body. Once one understands what the language of both pop and the universalizing primal elements within it constitutes, one has a skeleton key to what will happen to animal ears of the future, in essence far more than exactitude(which is never what matters most in speculative fiction anyway).
Not from the future as such but for the future. Match the mentality that leads the charge of innovation and acceleration in musical cultures and follow that to its natural extremities--how the ape plugs into culture and vice-versa. Not predicting, but channeling. Cyber audiomancy that reflects the future by plunging through the tribal past that walks among us everyday in the core of what infects people most in good beats, and which is paramount when stepping into any distinctly tribal culture still accessible, however scathed or not colonially speaking.
To this end, The Money Store is consciously a post-globalized 'third world' internetted capsule of frequently explicitly tribal, bounce-based rhythms that exhibit tight pop structure and hooks but tend to rest on timbre, texture, and atonality over traditional popular western chord structures, keys, or melodies for its novelty and thrills.
In constructing the classic music of future, the universalizing conceit of the tribal beat, that bounce that, as I think Zach even cites at one point, mirrors the beat of the heart are preserved as cultural universals(as they say in anthropology), whilst the potentially too-culturally-specific factors of distinctively typical scales and chord progressions are eschewed in favor of the rhizomatic, decentralized, increasingly digitalized, fractalized modes of the future. The things favored by space and facelessness; the blur, the shatter, the disintegrant. No obvious regional context or stationed there for long, the slither of a global mind that swims too fast to be defined by exact old-world geographic means of thinking or expressing.
In this is the estimative leap, following the tendencies of where both avant-garde and electronic music had been heading towards the end of the century, that there is a casted focus on fragmented samples that move too fast to describe or locate in their original state, emphasis on texture over symphonic progression, and laser-like atonal top-lines over conventional scales and themes. The quintessence of all elements themselves humbled and equalized under their innate distortability as sound, subject to any bend of pitch-shifting or granular synthesis…"it sounds like a broadcast because it is a broadcast" (again from the Quietus interview).
That is basically how to transpose "future primitive digital" (I link True Vulture for the full phrase but the "future primitive" has been employed by the band many times in various contexts) into musical form; the original monkey jacked into the accelerating vectors of the internet, the hub of an ever-increasingly post-human society (mentally and physically speaking), where one is beset with adaptation to inhospitable norms that hijack and mine the depths and stocks of human brain chemicals to facilitate maximum ad traffic…A 24/7 lighted vista of neural heroin (not that old-world dope isn't neural in nature, but) where one can live psychically, but the problem of the body remains, as the body remains. The ape. The part with the heart, the thing that moves to a beat, that dances and grooves to the pulse of a drop.
Embracing the digital landscape with total acknowledgement and awareness of the limits and benefits of a body is how I would describe "future primitive" in totem, and I think the above paragraph is exactly how musically one would adapt those aspects technically. The primal body (pulse) and the hyper-mutated head (dissolving of all other boundaries and signifiers into warpspeed stew that fires too fast for old-world blues scales).
In 2099, people may not know or care about Smoke On The Water, but will know what roaring bass and shrieking treble means, because it's a matter of feeling, not history. Core and edge that survives archeological time, a kind of musical esperanto meant to be accessible in the future across the globe, down to how so often even the lyrics employ phrases and words from various languages very casually, non-chalantly alongside English.
Another kind of post-globalization polyglottal memetic sleight of hand is how multinational corpo artifacts like the McDonald's logo, brandnames like Toyota, Apple, or Google, original peak-era cellular ringtones, PC system sounds, and the music in commercials are meant to be recognizable, pronounceable(in the case of the language entailed), and sensorily resonant across planetary culture. I believe it's highly arguable that PC system sounds, og-era ringtones, and earworm ad jingles are a huge inspiration for the melodies and samples on ExMil and TMS, and it's also circularly fitting that many of those are engineered to have cross-cultural appeal, unbound by exactly regionally discernible musicality, tending towards heavily decontextualized melody lines or one or two notes overall.
This universality is not quite a humanist togetherness that's aspired to here, but more so merely one of utility and realism--fiercely armed and insured mobile cultural currency. This is the way the world is heading, acceleration and mutation is inevitable, unswervable, one can tap into its power by riding the wave aesthetically as lucidly as possible and rendering something that will, by virtue of its impact, thread both global and immediate cultural-historical lines. The 'future' is a mentality meaning primarily to not be bound by the confines of tradition and persistent baseless ritual, to think beyond, to feel outside of conventional structures, and so the universality of the future music on TMS is just as much about self-liberation and exchange of communally experienced empowerment as it is about wanting to be understood or standing some test of abstract time.
And of course it's the music of the impoverished, the music of the tribe. "Poverty and bass" being cited as their primary inspiration in that one early interview. I think somewhat in tandem with those early interviews where Zach describes this very explicitly cyberpunk vision of how we live now feeling like the dark ages(particularly re inequality) but with all this insane technology that is simultaneously dangerous but also yielding togetherness and progress. I think it's no mistake that Zach also cites arte povera as an aesthetic reference point for DG and this is reflected in the music here too. It's not just conscious of the morays of global popular and personal culture, it's instructively demonstrating an archetypally cyberpunk vision wherein one can jam and smash together the trashiest random youtube samples, old-school hiphop nods, drumline rattles, and drum circle rhythms with Aphex-like sleekness and live-rave intensity with very low production value and/or budget. "Third world in a first world," a more concise and materialistically inclined revision of the old 'high-tech/low-life' adage regarding cyberpunk's tendencies.
"We’re inspired by the future primitive life. We talk about experiencing the cusp of the digital age. Seeing it accelerate literally everyday is very influential. To experience everything becoming rapidly techno and simultaneously knowing this is still medieval times is strange. It’s interesting to think about what you hold onto from the past and what part of the oncoming unknown you embrace, on all levels". (Vice interview, April 2012).

Every job interview ends with Q&A, but many job seekers don't ask good questions at the end of job interviews. Here are 10 questions to help you get more job offers:
1. Is there anything else I can elaborate on to ensure I’m the top choice?
This open-ended question allows you to seal the deal by addressing any lingering questions and doubling down on your strengths.
Take this last chance to highlight 1-2 critical strengths they need that you offer over the other candidates.
The final impression most directly impacts hiring choices.
2. What doubts do you have about my qualifications for this role?
This will allow you to respond to hesitations and remove roadblocks to a job offer.
This also flips the script to have them present any doubts, allowing you to address their concerns.
Listen closely for hints about your experience or skills not matching their requirements.
Remind them of your past successes handling similar challenges.
3. What skills and experiences do you hope the ideal candidate has that we haven’t gotten a chance to talk about?
This prompts them to call out must-have skills, for which you can make the case that you still check the boxes.
It also may expose areas where you lack “must-have” skills, meaning you’re likely not getting an offer, no matter how strong your credentials are otherwise.
Listen closely to the experience they emphasize to calibrate your closing pitch.
4. Can you describe a typical day in this role?
This question helps you understand the daily responsibilities and expectations of the position.
Look for a clear and detailed description of the tasks and how they align with your skills and interests.
5. What key achievements define success in the first 6-12 months?
Another angle at surfacing their current challenges and top priorities is where you can position yourself as qualified.
It also defines what success looks like in their eyes for this role.
The more their big wins align with your capabilities and interests, the better the culture fit.
6. How does this company handle internal promotions and career advancement?
Growth potential is a major factor in job satisfaction and employee retention.
Knowing the company's approach to internal promotions and career advancement will help you plan your career trajectory.
Look for a company with a transparent promotion process and a clear path for career growth.
The answer here reveals how invested they are in developing staff.
A lack of structure signals high turnover.
7. What are the biggest challenges I would face in the first 3 months if hired?
This shows you are thinking beyond just getting the job and are preparing for long-term success.
It also surfaces key areas where you may already have experience to overcome such challenges.
Listen for details on the current top priorities and problems of the role you could help solve.
If the challenges seem unrealistic or far outside your capabilities, it may be a red flag about culture fit.
8. What are some must-have soft skills you feel contribute most to success here?
Every workplace has personality, behavior, and mindset clues that unlock culture fit and influence performance.
This exposes the key ingredients for those who thrive here long-term and signals whether you fit.
If answers seem misaligned with the strengths you bring, ask about flexibility.
Mismatches signal poor culture, leading to frustration and block growth in the future.

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Twins (31-25) @ Astros (25-32)

First Pitch: 8:10 PM at Minute Maid Park

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Twins	Pablo López (4-5, 5.25 ERA)	BSNO	TIBN
Astros	Ronel Blanco (5-0, 1.99 ERA)	SCHN	KBME, TUDN/KLAT (ES)

MLB	Fangraphs	Reddit Stream	IRC Chat
Gameday	Game Graph	Live Comments	Libera: ##baseball

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
MIN	0	0	2	0	2	1	0	1	0	6	6	0	4
HOU	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	1	6

Box Score

HOU		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
2B	Altuve	4	0	1	0	0	1	.291
RF	Tucker	4	0	0	0	0	1	.261
DH	Alvarez, Y	4	0	1	0	0	0	.273
3B	Bregman	4	1	1	1	0	0	.219
CF	Meyers	4	0	1	0	0	0	.289
1B	Singleton	4	0	1	0	0	1	.222
SS	Dubón	3	0	1	0	1	1	.317
LF	McCormick	3	0	0	0	0	3	.205
C	Diaz, Y	3	0	0	0	0	0	.249

HOU	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Blanco	4.2	3	4	4	3	6	95-62	2.44
Mushinski	0.1	1	1	1	0	0	13-8	5.79
Martinez, S	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	19-11	2.01
Speas	2.0	2	1	1	1	2	39-23	4.50

MIN		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
DH	Larnach	5	1	1	2	0	1	.268
SS	Correa	4	0	1	1	0	0	.259
1B	Kirilloff	1	0	0	1	0	1	.217
1B	Santana	2	1	1	1	0	0	.211
RF	Kepler	3	1	0	0	0	2	.279
C	Jeffers	3	0	1	0	1	1	.256
2B	Julien	2	0	0	0	0	1	.205
LF	Margot	2	0	0	1	0	1	.204
CF	Buxton	4	0	1	0	0	1	.244
3B	Castro, W	2	2	1	0	2	0	.266
3B	Miranda	2	1	0	0	1	0	.274
2B	Farmer, K	1	0	0	0	0	0	.165

MIN	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
López, P	7.0	6	1	1	1	6	93-67	4.84
Okert	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	10-5	2.89
Sands	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	13-10	5.01

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
T3	Carlos Correa doubles (11) on a line drive to right fielder Kyle Tucker. Willi Castro scores. Jose Miranda to 3rd.	0-1
T3	Alex Kirilloff out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Chas McCormick. Jose Miranda scores.	0-2
B4	Alex Bregman homers (7) on a fly ball to left field.	1-2
T5	Trevor Larnach homers (5) on a fly ball to right center field. Willi Castro scores.	1-4
T6	Manuel Margot grounds out, shortstop Mauricio Dubón to first baseman Jon Singleton. Max Kepler scores.	1-5
T8	Carlos Santana homers (8) on a fly ball to right center field.	1-6

Highlights

Description	Length
Pablo López against the Astros	0:07
Ronel Blanco against the Twins	0:07
Bullpen availability for Houston, May 31 vs Twins	0:07
Bullpen availability for Minnesota, May 31 vs Astros	0:07
Bench availability for Houston, May 31 vs Twins	0:07
Fielding alignment for Houston, May 31 vs Twins	0:11
Bench availability for Minnesota, May 31 vs Astros	0:07
Fielding alignment for Minnesota, May 31 vs Astros	0:11
Starting lineups for Twins at Astros - May 31, 2024	0:09
The distance behind Alex Bregman's home run	0:13
Alex Bregman's home run through bat tracking data	0:11
Breaking down Ronel Blanco's pitches	0:04
Measuring the stats on Trevor Larnach's home run	0:13
Analyzing Trevor Larnach's home run through bat tracking	0:11
Breaking down Carlos Santana's home run	0:13
Breaking down Pablo López's pitches	0:04
Carlos Santana's home run through bat tracking data	0:11
Pablo López's outing against the Astros	0:23
Willi Castro laces a triple to the wall in right	0:20
Carlos Correa knocks an RBI double	0:26
Alex Kirilloff's sacrifice fly to left	0:19
Alex Bregman crushes a solo homer (7)	0:26
Willi Castro ruled safe after challenge	0:45
Trevor Larnach belts a two-run homer (5)	0:26
Margot's groundout brings in Kepler	0:17
Carlos Santana's solo homer to right-center (8)	0:29
Ronel Blanco fans six across 4 2/3 innings	0:42
Max Kepler's impressive catch in right	0:26
Mauricio Dubón strikes out swinging.	0:08

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
López, P (5-5, 4.84 ERA)	Blanco (5-1, 2.44 ERA)

Attendance	Weather	Wind
	73°F, Roof Closed	0 mph, None

HP	1B	2B	3B
Vic Carapazza	Adam Hamari	Brian Walsh	Edwin Moscoso

Game ended at 10:50 PM.
Remember to sort by new to keep up!

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White Sox (15-42) @ Brewers (33-23)

First Pitch: 8:10 PM at American Family Field

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
White Sox	Erick Fedde (4-1, 2.80 ERA)	NBCSCH	WMVP
Brewers	Tobias Myers (1-2, 4.43 ERA)	BSWI	WTMJ

MLB	Fangraphs	Reddit Stream	IRC Chat
Gameday	Game Graph	Live Comments	Libera: ##baseball

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
CWS	0	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	5	9	0	5
MIL	0	1	0	3	0	0	6	2		12	23	1	16

Box Score

MIL		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
2B	Turang	5	2	3	1	0	1	.298
C	Contreras, Wm	5	1	3	1	1	1	.323
LF	Yelich	6	1	5	5	0	1	.325
SS	Adames	4	1	0	0	2	1	.256
1B	Bauers	6	1	2	1	0	3	.206
DH	Hoskins	5	0	2	0	0	2	.239
DH	Dunn	1	0	1	1	0	0	.233
CF	Frelick	4	3	3	1	2	0	.266
3B	Ortiz, J	4	1	2	1	1	0	.288
CF	Perkins, B	5	2	2	1	0	2	.245
RF	Chourio	0	0	0	0	0	0	.210

MIL	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Myers	4.1	7	5	5	1	4	78-49	5.40
Milner	1.2	1	0	0	0	4	23-16	3.21
Paredes, E	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	10-7	0.00
Herget	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	23-18	3.18

CWS		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Pham	5	2	2	0	0	1	.298
2B	Lopez, N	3	1	1	0	1	1	.239
RF	Julks	4	0	1	2	0	1	.297
1B	Sheets	3	0	0	1	0	0	.236
DH	Lee, K	4	0	1	1	0	3	.273
LF	Benintendi	4	0	1	0	0	1	.190
SS	DeJong	4	1	2	1	0	1	.233
3B	Mendick	3	1	0	0	0	1	.203
C	Maldonado, M	3	0	0	0	0	1	.079
PH	Sosa, L	1	0	1	0	0	0	.154

CWS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Fedde	5.0	9	4	4	4	8	98-61	3.12
Hill, T	0.1	2	0	0	0	0	8-4	3.98
Soroka	1.0	3	3	3	1	2	38-26	5.83
Brebbia	0.1	4	3	3	0	0	19-13	7.71
Shuster	1.1	5	2	2	1	1	38-19	3.28

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B2	Joey Ortiz doubles (11) on a line drive to right fielder Corey Julks. Sal Frelick scores.	1-0
T3	Paul DeJong homers (8) on a fly ball to center field.	1-1
T3	Corey Julks doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Christian Yelich. Danny Mendick scores. Tommy Pham scores.	1-3
B4	Blake Perkins singles on a ground ball to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Sal Frelick scores. Joey Ortiz to 2nd.	2-3
B4	Christian Yelich singles on a ground ball to right fielder Corey Julks. Joey Ortiz scores. Blake Perkins scores. William Contreras to 2nd.	4-3
T5	Gavin Sheets out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Sal Frelick. Tommy Pham scores. Nicky Lopez to 3rd.	4-4
T5	Korey Lee singles on a ground ball to shortstop Willy Adames. Nicky Lopez scores.	4-5
B7	Brice Turang singles on a ground ball to right fielder Corey Julks. Sal Frelick scores. Blake Perkins to 3rd.	5-5
B7	William Contreras singles on a ground ball to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Blake Perkins scores. Brice Turang to 2nd.	6-5
B7	Christian Yelich doubles (6) on a ground ball to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Brice Turang scores. William Contreras scores.	8-5
B7	Jake Bauers singles on a ground ball to shortstop Paul DeJong. Christian Yelich scores.	9-5
B7	Sal Frelick doubles (7) on a line drive to center fielder Tommy Pham. Jake Bauers scores. Rhys Hoskins to 3rd.	10-5
B8	Christian Yelich singles on a line drive to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Brice Turang scores.	11-5
B8	Oliver Dunn singles on a line drive to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Willy Adames scores. Jake Bauers to 3rd.	12-5

Highlights

Description	Length
Bullpen availability for Milwaukee, May 31 vs White Sox	0:07
Bullpen availability for Chicago, May 31 vs Brewers	0:07
Bench availability for Chicago, May 31 vs Brewers	0:07
Fielding alignment for Chicago, May 31 vs Brewers	0:11
Visualizing Paul DeJong's swing using bat tracking technology	0:11
Paul DeJong: Home Run Statcast Analysis	0:11
Breaking down Tobias Myers' pitches	0:04
Breaking down Erick Fedde's pitches	0:04
Erick Fedde's outing against the Brewers	0:23
Joey Ortiz's RBI double	0:26
Paul DeJong's solo home run (8)	0:23
Corey Julks' two-run double	0:32
Blake Perkins' RBI single	0:26
Christian Yelich two-run single	0:25
Gavin Sheets' sac fly	0:25
Korey Lee's RBI single	0:24
Tobias Myers K's four across 4 1/3 innings	0:28
Erick Feede K's eight	1:03
Brice Turang's game-tying single	0:21
William Contreras' go-ahead single	0:16
Christian Yelich drives in two runs with 300th double	0:30
Jake Bauers' RBI single	0:22
Sal Frelick's RBI double	0:24
Blake Perkins' leaping catch	0:19
Christian Yelich's RBI single	0:20
Oliver Dunn's RBI single	0:16
Kevin Herget secures the Brewers' win, 12-5	0:09

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Paredes, E (1-0, 0.00 ERA)	Soroka (0-6, 5.83 ERA)

Attendance	Weather	Wind
	74°F, Roof Closed	0 mph, None

HP	1B	2B	3B
Jordan Baker	Mark Carlson	Edwin Jimenez	Stu Scheurwater

Game ended at 11:16 PM.
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Rangers (27-29) @ Marlins (20-37)

First Pitch: 7:10 PM at loanDepot park

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
Rangers	José Ureña (1-4, 3.53 ERA)	BSSW	105.3, KFLC (ES)
Marlins	Sixto Sánchez (0-3, 6.25 ERA)	BSFL	FOX940AM, WAQI (ES)

MLB	Fangraphs	Reddit Stream	IRC Chat
Gameday	Game Graph	Live Comments	Libera: ##baseball

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
TEX	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	6	1	3
MIA	0	2	2	0	0	0	3	1		8	12	0	7

Box Score

MIA		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Chisholm Jr.	4	1	0	0	1	1	.257
1B	Burger	5	2	3	1	0	0	.219
DH	Bell	4	1	1	1	0	1	.242
RF	Sánchez, J	3	2	3	3	1	0	.245
3B	Rivera, E	3	0	0	0	1	1	.208
LF	Gordon	4	1	1	3	0	0	.231
SS	Anderson, Ti	4	1	1	0	0	0	.200
2B	Lopez, O	4	0	3	0	0	0	.296
C	Bethancourt	3	0	0	0	1	1	.162

MIA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Sánchez, S	4.0	4	2	2	1	0	53-29	6.06
Cronin	1.1	0	0	0	0	1	11-7	1.35
Puk	1.2	0	0	0	0	2	15-12	7.52
Faucher	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	15-9	2.95
Smith, B	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	13-7	3.20

TEX		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
2B	Semien	4	0	1	0	0	1	.249
SS	Seager	4	0	1	0	0	1	.260
3B	Smith	4	1	1	1	0	1	.279
RF	García, Ad	4	0	0	0	0	0	.232
CF	Taveras	3	1	1	0	1	0	.249
1B	Lowe, N	3	0	1	0	0	0	.256
LF	Langford	3	0	0	1	0	0	.222
C	Heim	3	0	0	0	0	0	.250
DH	Duran, E	3	0	1	0	0	0	.286

TEX	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Ureña	2.1	4	4	2	2	1	65-38	3.74
Hernández, J	3.2	2	0	0	1	3	44-28	3.71
Tinoco	1.0	4	4	4	0	0	28-19	10.80
Anderson, G	1.0	2	0	0	1	0	10-7	6.92

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B2	Nick Gordon homers (6) on a fly ball to center field. Jesús Sánchez scores.	2-0
B3	Josh Bell out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Leody Taveras. Jazz Chisholm Jr. scores.	3-0
B3	Nick Gordon grounds into a force out, shortstop Corey Seager to second baseman Marcus Semien. Jake Burger scores. Jesús Sánchez to 3rd. Emmanuel Rivera out at 2nd. Nick Gordon to 1st.	4-0
T4	Josh Smith homers (3) on a fly ball to center field.	4-1
T5	Wyatt Langford grounds out, third baseman Emmanuel Rivera to first baseman Jake Burger. Leody Taveras scores. Nathaniel Lowe to 2nd.	4-2
B7	Jesús Sánchez homers (4) on a fly ball to center field. Jake Burger scores. Josh Bell scores.	7-2
B8	Jake Burger singles on a ground ball to second baseman Marcus Semien. Tim Anderson scores. Otto Lopez to 3rd. Jazz Chisholm Jr. to 2nd.	8-2

Highlights

Description	Length
Bullpen availability for Miami, May 31 vs Rangers	0:07
Bullpen availability for Texas, May 31 vs Marlins	0:07
Bench availability for Miami, May 31 vs Rangers	0:07
Fielding alignment for Miami, May 31 vs Rangers	0:11
Breaking down Nick Gordon's home run	0:13
Visualizing Nick Gordon's swing using bat tracking technology	0:11
Breaking down José Ureña's pitches	0:04
Breaking down Josh Smith's home run	0:11
A deep dive into Josh Smith's home run	0:11
Breaking down Sixto Sánchez's pitches	0:04
Measuring the stats on Jesús Sánchez's home run	0:13
A deep dive into Jesús Sánchez's home run	0:11
Nick Gordon hits a two-run home run to center field	0:30
José Ureña strikes out Christian Bethancourt	0:07
Josh Bell's sacrifice fly	0:20
Nick Gordan's RBI fielder's choice	0:18
Josh Smith's solo home run (3)	0:29
Wyatt Langford's RBI fielder's choice	0:29
Jesús Sánchez's three-run home run(4)	0:27
Jake Burger's RBI single	0:19
Grant Anderson escapes jam	0:12
Jazz Chisholm Jr. secures the final out	0:14

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Cronin (1-2, 1.35 ERA)	Ureña (1-5, 3.74 ERA)

Attendance	Weather	Wind
	72°F, Roof Closed	0 mph, None

HP	1B	2B	3B
Lance Barksdale	Nic Lentz	Will Little	Quinn Wolcott

Game ended at 9:32 PM.
Remember to sort by new to keep up!

*Vague spoilers ahead*
Okay, I assume it’s a fair assumption that a majority of us would not enjoy life as an innie. It’s well established within the show that the severance procedure disproportionately harms the innies and that they are, in effect, enslaved. Nobody really envies an innie. Their lives are unfairly brief, laborious, and empty of most common joys. I know it’s been discussed at-length on this sub just how sucky being trapped as an innie would be.
Being an outtie is a different story. After all, severance wouldn’t be popular or profitable if it didn’t have an appealing pitch. As an outtie, you get to enjoy a life free of work-related stresses. No office tedium, small talk, burnout, deadlines. Those things are all your innie’s problem. I’ve even seen people on this very subreddit admit that if it existed, they would elect for the severance procedure themselves.
But I think an under-addressed aspect of severance is how the procedure not only hurts the innie, but also majorly disservices the outtie.
This may be obvious, but I didn’t really start considering this aspect until recently. I mean, think about how much shorter an outtie’s life is versus an unsevered person's life. If an outtie sleeps for a healthy 8 hours per day AND loses an additional 8 hours during their innie’s workday—then that outtie has lost a whopping 16 hours of daily consciousness (50% more than an unsevered person would lose).
This essentially whittles down their weekdays into 8 hour stretches. And that doesn’t even factor in the time they’ll lose fulfilling other responsibilities (commuting, housekeeping, cooking, errands, appointments, taxes, etc.) Now, outties may not be actively bothered by this. They might think the time sacrifice is worthwhile in order to avoid the pain of working. But for me personally, I’d rather try to make the most of that time than to lose it altogether. As the innies have proven, there are still little ways to find meaning and companionship at work.
The overtime contingency plan makes this even scarier. As far as we know, the overtime contingency is only implemented on rare occasions for incredibly time-sensitive matters (or during the occasional employee uprising…) But that doesn’t change the fact that at any unpredictable moment, an outtie can effectively be “hijacked” by their innie. This could happen at the most inconvenient, inopportune time. And if that innie is feeling particularly vengeful, they could sabotage their outtie’s life in a potentially irreparable way. That vengeance may very well be deserved, but it’s still scary as shit.
Anyways, I think it’s quite sad how both the outtie and the innie are basically sentenced to an early death. Innies have the worse end of the deal, of course. And some outties might still think the “benefits” of severance outweigh the costs. But in my opinion, it’s a clear lose-lose situation. It’s even more tragic when you consider that severance appeals highly to the mentally ill, bereaved, and otherwise vulnerable. Yes, their outside lives are made easier—but they’re also fleeting.
Sidenote: I'm anticipating someone might mention that in our own reality, spending 8+ hours at work is already making our lives feel shorter---so we're essentially in the same conundrum as the outties. That's a really valid (albeit depressing) point. But at least we're still technically present during that time, y'know? And like I said, I'd rather make the most of it than lose that time forever. I'm sure others might feel differently, but that's just me.
*Edited to fix my math

First, a confession. I am an absolute A-hole, but I do not go out of my way to do it. I am one, so this isn't a AITA post. I own up to the behavior I exhibit here. We were playing 3.5 with a mix of homebrew and Pathfinder using the conversion tables. There was also a few homebrew hijinks thrown in as well. Our table liked to let our crazy show in our characters.
The Cast:
Requiem (Myself): Human wizard who wore a wolf-like mask and had a charisma score of three. We'd found a section of a 3.0 book that said low charisma meant either a bad personality or bad looks. I went with both, this plays a small factor.
Jokah: My real life twin brother and the Monk who had take a vow of poverty. Any money he got would only be used for the party and never on himself. He punches me a lot in real life. I deserve it most of the time.
Red Moose: A friend whose character I can't remember the name of but was a mercenary in a steam punk iron man suit from a D&D book about steam work items.
The other players: our two female players were left out because they asked to not be mentioned in this story. They are feeling squicked out by the cringe of their characters at the time. This was about 15 years ago, so I get it.They and Red Moose had a shared backstory that tied into Argo's.
And worst of all:
Argonaut/Argo: Both DM and Vampire pretty boy DMPC bard that is better than everyone and can do all the things better than everyone. I will use Argo for DMPC and Argonaut for DM.
Now the tale:
Our characters started in town separated doing some shopping and role playing bumping into each other while the DM finished setting up the town map on the table.
We had some decent roleplaying as I was playing a mage who was looking for the tavern. She kept getting turned around and running into a monk who was trying to meditate. She began asking him for the same directions over and over as she kept ending up running in circles. Jokah took pity on her and kindly led the wizard to the tavern where the mercenary (Red Moose) was guarding two women who seemed afraid of anything new.
As we all managed to get to the tavern (We decided to meet there instead of the center of town because we wanted the familiar setting, it is classic for a reason). Once we had made it clear we were done roleplayong and wanted to get a move on the DM had an NPC burst into the tavern.
Enter Argo, pretty boy vampire bard.
Argonaut: "His blond hair is glistening in the sun light and his black cape contrasting with his alabaster skin. His red eyes burn make all the ladies swoon a bit as he stops to catch his breath."
Me: (In and out of character) "Nope!"
Jokah: (Out of character) *Punches me in the arm so hard I think he bruised the bone." Argonaut, continue.
Argonaut: Hadn't stopped his monologue and had started to get graphic about his character's body.
He continued on about how good looking his vampire was and how women were hanging on his every word not actually telling us why he burst in until I had my wizard walk up and ask how an undead like Argo just walked through the sunlight.
This got a reaction that I wasn't expecting because it outted a secret of my character.
Argo: "You fugly bitch, how dare you speak to me like that? I have lived long but your homely visage is enough to turn even the strongest man to stone."
The party were all scratching their head as I had described my character as wearing a clay wolf mask with lots of white wolf fur and being bandaged on all exposed skin not covered by her dress and travel cloak. I argued he wouldn't know hiw she really lokked, Argonaut just scoffed and moved on. Stated how bardic knowledge let him know details like that.
Cue ten minute argument about how bardic knowledge doesn't work that way. (Not the first or last time this happens) I get told to drop it by the others. Jokah punches me and tells me to drop it until after game. I do, because time tables.
We move forward.
A dragon was on its way and would be there to attack the town in moments. Right on cue the tavern roof is ripped off and we're outside fighting a dragon. Argonaut made this thing using the books but added all the abilities.
Spell resistance 20 Damage reduction 20 (all) Blind sight Tremor sense True sight Recovers breath weapon every turn. Immunity to critical hits More Hp than a tarrasque. Immunity to all conditions
And personally hated my ugly wizard who was lucky enough roll wise to not die. (Because we knew Argonaut so well we made him roll in the open)
We are level 5. I was a deep study on the game as I was a DM as well. I could tell he was trying to make this hard for no reason.
The only one doing any damage over five rounds of combat is the DMPC. All of the players look at me when I begin grumbling under my breath.
We are all aware of the concept of an unwinnable battle and we all hated it including Argonaut. Nothing we did bothered this thing, but after we get put on our asses the dragon grabs his DMPC and peaces out toward the mountain.
I am not proud of this next exchange. That is because I had a personal bias against Argonaut for all the other games I had played with him. B efore anyone asks, "Why didn't we not play with him?" He originally formed the group and in spite of playing at m and my twin's place the group decided to play with him.
But that's a topic for later stories.
My biggest failing in my twenties (This was a decade ago, recorded the sessions for note taking) is that when I am tired of someone's bull I can't keep it inside when asked for my opinion. I accidentally added that trait to this character.
Argonaut: Since you all are employed by Argo you will have to go after him to be paid. What are you going to do?
My wizard: "I refuse to go after him, he is a vampire and I don't work with undead." My wizard was lawful Neutral. I played that as loving by a set of rules etched in stone. "I was not contracted to him because I did not sign anything. I agreed to get the dragon to leave and I have do that."
Red: "You weren't employed to him, but I was and so we're the two ladies I am with. He has paid us to protect him as well."
Me: "No. Drag-on. Too. Strong. I also don't like Argo. He as done nothing to make me like him, nor has he given me a reason to follow him. What can I do to make you give up this fool's errand and leave him to his demise."
Red: "Nothing. I am not paid to think,I am paid to provide a service."
Me: just glares and then realizes something, I am wearing a mask IRL "I am glaring at you, the mask makes being passive aggressive and dead pan snark impossible."
Jokah: Walks over and presses a gold into Red's hand "I am paying you to not give a fuck." Player punches me in the arm again because he warned me before game to play nice.
Red: "Okay, new contract established."
We ended game there and never resumed because Argonaut blew up about us not saving his super awesome NPC. He didn't seem to get why we were upset.
End part one

White Sox (15-42) @ Brewers (33-23)

First Pitch: 7:10 PM at American Family Field

Team	Starter	TV	Radio
White Sox	Erick Fedde (4-1, 2.80 ERA)	NBCSCH	WMVP
Brewers	Tobias Myers (1-2, 4.43 ERA)	BSWI	WTMJ

MLB	Fangraphs	Reddit Stream	Discord
Gameday	Game Graph	Live Comments	/baseball Discord

Line Score - Game Over

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
CWS	0	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	5	9	0	5
MIL	0	1	0	3	0	0	6	2		12	23	1	16

Box Score

MIL		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
2B	Turang	5	2	3	1	0	1	.298
C	Contreras, Wm	5	1	3	1	1	1	.323
LF	Yelich	6	1	5	5	0	1	.325
SS	Adames	4	1	0	0	2	1	.256
1B	Bauers	6	1	2	1	0	3	.206
DH	Hoskins	5	0	2	0	0	2	.239
DH	Dunn	1	0	1	1	0	0	.233
CF	Frelick	4	3	3	1	2	0	.266
3B	Ortiz, J	4	1	2	1	1	0	.288
CF	Perkins, B	5	2	2	1	0	2	.245
RF	Chourio	0	0	0	0	0	0	.210

MIL	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Myers	4.1	7	5	5	1	4	78-49	5.40
Milner	1.2	1	0	0	0	4	23-16	3.21
Paredes, E	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	10-7	0.00
Herget	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	23-18	3.18

CWS		AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA
CF	Pham	5	2	2	0	0	1	.298
2B	Lopez, N	3	1	1	0	1	1	.239
RF	Julks	4	0	1	2	0	1	.297
1B	Sheets	3	0	0	1	0	0	.236
DH	Lee, K	4	0	1	1	0	3	.273
LF	Benintendi	4	0	1	0	0	1	.190
SS	DeJong	4	1	2	1	0	1	.233
3B	Mendick	3	1	0	0	0	1	.203
C	Maldonado, M	3	0	0	0	0	1	.079
PH	Sosa, L	1	0	1	0	0	0	.154

CWS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	P-S	ERA
Fedde	5.0	9	4	4	4	8	98-61	3.12
Hill, T	0.1	2	0	0	0	0	8-4	3.98
Soroka	1.0	3	3	3	1	2	38-26	5.83
Brebbia	0.1	4	3	3	0	0	19-13	7.71
Shuster	1.1	5	2	2	1	1	38-19	3.28

Scoring Plays

Inning	Event	Score
B2	Joey Ortiz doubles (11) on a line drive to right fielder Corey Julks. Sal Frelick scores.	1-0
T3	Paul DeJong homers (8) on a fly ball to center field.	1-1
T3	Corey Julks doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Christian Yelich. Danny Mendick scores. Tommy Pham scores.	1-3
B4	Blake Perkins singles on a ground ball to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Sal Frelick scores. Joey Ortiz to 2nd.	2-3
B4	Christian Yelich singles on a ground ball to right fielder Corey Julks. Joey Ortiz scores. Blake Perkins scores. William Contreras to 2nd.	4-3
T5	Gavin Sheets out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Sal Frelick. Tommy Pham scores. Nicky Lopez to 3rd.	4-4
T5	Korey Lee singles on a ground ball to shortstop Willy Adames. Nicky Lopez scores.	4-5
B7	Brice Turang singles on a ground ball to right fielder Corey Julks. Sal Frelick scores. Blake Perkins to 3rd.	5-5
B7	William Contreras singles on a ground ball to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Blake Perkins scores. Brice Turang to 2nd.	6-5
B7	Christian Yelich doubles (6) on a ground ball to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Brice Turang scores. William Contreras scores.	8-5
B7	Jake Bauers singles on a ground ball to shortstop Paul DeJong. Christian Yelich scores.	9-5
B7	Sal Frelick doubles (7) on a line drive to center fielder Tommy Pham. Jake Bauers scores. Rhys Hoskins to 3rd.	10-5
B8	Christian Yelich singles on a line drive to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Brice Turang scores.	11-5
B8	Oliver Dunn singles on a line drive to left fielder Andrew Benintendi. Willy Adames scores. Jake Bauers to 3rd.	12-5

Highlights

Description	Length
Bullpen availability for Milwaukee, May 31 vs White Sox	0:07
Bullpen availability for Chicago, May 31 vs Brewers	0:07
Bench availability for Chicago, May 31 vs Brewers	0:07
Fielding alignment for Chicago, May 31 vs Brewers	0:11
Visualizing Paul DeJong's swing using bat tracking technology	0:11
Paul DeJong: Home Run Statcast Analysis	0:11
Breaking down Tobias Myers' pitches	0:04
Breaking down Erick Fedde's pitches	0:04
Erick Fedde's outing against the Brewers	0:23
Joey Ortiz's RBI double	0:26
Paul DeJong's solo home run (8)	0:23
Corey Julks' two-run double	0:32
Blake Perkins' RBI single	0:26
Christian Yelich two-run single	0:25
Gavin Sheets' sac fly	0:25
Korey Lee's RBI single	0:24
Tobias Myers K's four across 4 1/3 innings	0:28
Erick Feede K's eight	1:03
Brice Turang's game-tying single	0:21
William Contreras' go-ahead single	0:16
Christian Yelich drives in two runs with 300th double	0:30
Jake Bauers' RBI single	0:22
Sal Frelick's RBI double	0:24
Blake Perkins' leaping catch	0:19
Christian Yelich's RBI single	0:20
Oliver Dunn's RBI single	0:16

Decisions

Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher	Save
Paredes, E (1-0, 0.00 ERA)	Soroka (0-6, 5.83 ERA)

Attendance	Weather	Wind
	74°F, Roof Closed	0 mph, None

HP	1B	2B	3B
Jordan Baker	Mark Carlson	Edwin Jimenez	Stu Scheurwater

Game ended at 10:15 PM.
Remember to sort by new to keep up!

Maybe this has been pitched before, but I've been rewatching a few episodes of Culinary Crimes, and I was thinking a couple of great investigators to have on alongside Courtney would be Sarah Christ and Detective Where'sMyCoffee. Get all the cops in under one roof and see if together they can crack the case!