I'm honestly at a loss of what to do. Until half a year ago I was engaged and had everything I never thought I would have until she decided she was no longer happy. It's been more than a few years since I was in the dating market, but things have drastically changed for me due to a horrible incident that occurred a while back. A bit of backstory, and I'll included a TlDr at the end.
Several years back there was a hobby group I used to regularly attend, and one day this woman who had only started showing up recently took an interest in me. I'd just gotten out of a pretty bad relationship a few months before that, so when she made a move on me, I took her up on it to see where things would go. I wasn't use to a woman actually making the first move, so I took it as a good sign. We saw each other for the next few weeks and in that time we had gotten physical a few times, with her making the first move on that as well. Fast forward to the end of our time together when I found out she had a boyfriend the entire time and was cheating on him with me. I broke it off with her because I didn't want to be "the other guy" to some poor sap, and she wasn't pleased with me for finding out. Her boyfriend had nearly caught her cheating, so what did she do? She threw me under the bus and told him I was "just some creep who wouldn't leave her alone". Hilarious, because I had chat logs that showed nothing but positive interactions between us and call logs showing we would spend several hours a week on the phone together. I block her on everything and move on with my life.
Fast forward several years later, I'm engaged and in a happy relationship, and a gal pal of mine DM's me to tell me she saw a post about me in a group on FB. She sent me live updates on the post as well. I guess these groups called "Are We Dating The Same Guy" popped up seemingly everywhere, and our local group had nearly 50,000 local women in it at that time. Considering I live in what's generally called a "small city", this was extremely concerning. The poster was the woman from the hobby shop, and she uploaded my full name and multiple photos of me. In the post she said that I "violently rxped" her, was a "woman beater", and called me a "dangerous predator". I felt sick to my stomach. Worse than that, at least 15 different women were commenting on the post verifying it was "all true". Only 1 woman tried to defend me, a woman I used to work with, and within minutes her comments were deleted and she was banned from the group. As for all the other women commenting, half of them were women I hadn't seen since literally high school and never spoke to because I was a quiet nerdy kid who stuck to his friends. One of them even said she had "first hand experience", but I had never even spoken one word to her in my life. The other women commenting, I didn't recognize their names or faces at all and was certain I'd never met or spoken to any of them. Comments ranged from saying things like I "stalked them home", "assaulted them at a club" (I don't drink or go to bars), and one even said that I "forcefully penetrated her" in her own home, despite not even knowing who she is.
I spent that entire day having a panic attack and was on the phone with the mental health crisis line for a good while. When I went to work the next day, female co-workers who were normally friendly and cheerful towards me looked at me with disgust or walked in the other direction when they saw me coming. I went home early that day after taking another panic attack in the bathroom. Later that night I had a missed phone call from our local police. Called back, hoping it was just a prank call, but it wasn't. An officer actually wanted to speak with me about some grave accusations that were brought to him. It turns out the hobby shop woman and other she knew collectively called in "anonymous tips" about me, but in those tips I wasn't a "violent rxpist". Instead, these tips included where I worked and told the police I was "dangerous to children". I remember nearly passing out on the phone from panicking again. Turns out the officer I was spoking to already suspected it was BS, because these groups were generating hundreds of "anonymous tips" a day for them. The investigation was closed and branded as "malicious gossip" and I never heard from the police again.
Despite that, my reputation was ruined forever. My partner at the time actually had my back and was a huge pillar of support, but I was still a wreck. I became a recluse and started going to therapy every couple of weeks. In our local group, old posts of guys are "bumped" all the time whenever a guy is found on a dating site or women remember he exists. The group has nearly doubled in size since then too. Posts aren't even about dangerous people, but I'll see posts all the time like "This guy just matched with me and hasn't messaged me yet, any tea??" and even random creep shots of guys at the gym saying things like "This guy is super cute, any tea or red flags??" I see nothing to do with "safety" and actual dangerous dudes I've known over the years haven't appeared there at all. Old classmate kidnapped and nearly beat his partner to death? No post. Dude admits to mxlesting his partners toddler? No post. Guy doesn't buy a gal a gift after a date? He's a monster and must be posted about. It was easy enough to get in there with a dummy account to make sure I wasn't caught off guard again.
---Fast forward to today. I unfortunately find myself single when I never thought I would be again. I'm still somewhat of a recluse, don't keep any photos of my name on social media, nor do I use my real name. I've disappeared as much as possible. I'm still terrified that someone there will remember I exist and post about me again, as I see happen to other men daily. Dating websites are just asking for trouble, as most posts in this group are screenshots of guys profiles. If I dare take a photo of myself and put it in a dating website, odds are very good I'd be posted and would have to suffer through the same ordeal yet again. I can't afford (nor could I back then) the several thousands of dollars to take someone to court for slandelibel, and Facebook says these posts aren't against their "community standards". Even then, that's like cutting a single head off of a hydra knowing that more will take it's place. Meeting people IRL just doesn't happen anymore and it's frowned upon to try to meet women in public settings as opposed to online dating where they can screen everyone beforehand. Online dating is no longer safe for me. How am I to ever be with someone again if OLD is off the table and I have a destroyed reputation?
**TlDr: Woman cheated on boyfriend with me several years ago and didn't like me finding out. Woman in question decides to publicly slander me to nearly 50,000 local women several years later. Slander works and my reputation has been destroyed and people think I'm some kind of monster. I delete all presence of my name and face online that I can, but now that I'm single again, I have no idea how to ever date again with OLD being off the table and having a tarnished reputation.**

I have a big trip coming at the end of June, and my passenger van got cancelled on me. Expedia is also out and the other car rentals don’t have passenger vans.
Any local places? (I have tried Indy van rental and they’re booked haha)

Hi!
I'm looking for a used car to share with a family member and I would highly appreciate any kind of suggestions or general help in trying to find options for a car fitting our needs! Thank you so much in advance! 💕
The budget isn't all that great, but i got pleasantly surprised when i found the Toyota Auris seemingly checking all the boxes and being available for even less than 15k€ used. After looking at it for a while i found out Toyota was a decade late in adding carplay so even the most modern Auris models don't support AA or Apple Carplay.
I was looking at Toyota cars specifically since they're so reliable buying a used car from them isn't all that risky, and because they're widely available around where i live (Finland).
I would, however, like the car to have AA if we're spending money on a recent-ish model, as otherwise we might as well just get another ~2012 trash heap to save money as from what i've seen Toyota's own entertainment & navigation systems seem pretty worthless. I mainly use Google Maps for navigation, and if the car doesn't have that as an option, i see no point in paying for a fancy touch screen navigation system that i'm never going to use. In that case, Bluetooth audio will be enough, and i'll just use my phone for navigation.
The requirements for the car are as follows:

1. RELIABLE BRAND & MODEL

This is the most important part. If we're buying a used car, we need to be as sure as possible that it's not gonna break down on us for a long, long time, and that we won't need to pay twice the car's price in repairs.

1. General Specs

We are looking for a compact 4-5 seater vehicle for daily- and city driving as well as moderately long drives with a trunk space that can be expanded onto the passenger seats when necessary. It should be compact enough for city driving and parking, but still be able to carry cargo when necessary.
All cars either of us have driven have been manual, but we're willing to give automatic transmission a shot as well! FWD or AWD preferred.

1. Android auto or Bluetooth

As i explained earlier, I see no real point in paying for a touch screen monitor smacked on the console, if it adds nothing to the comfort or practicality of the vehicle. If the car isn't compatible with AA or google maps in some way, all that matters is that it's easy to listen to music wirelessly.

1. Decent audio system

Speaking of listening to music, it would be really nice to be able to enjoy the music as well! Neither of us are audiophiles or anything, but it would be nice if the speakers were good enough to make listening to music while driving fun! :)

1. Fuel

Gasoline or diesel works perfectly, It seems most options fit our needs nowadays are hybrids, which sound great otherwise, but neither of us have any experience with them. We've only heard horror stories about hybrids having reliability issues or being impossible to do routine maintenance to at home (like switching tires), and that they are more likely to fail inspection? I have no idea how true this is but if these are baseless claims, a Hybrid sounds like a great option as well.
Fuel efficiency is a huge plus, though "good" is enough. It doesn't have to be the main focus or anything exceptional. However, the more efficient the car is, the better of course!

1. Price

No more than 20k EUR (Used), or ~250€/ month. Leasing is also an option but i couldn't find any valid prices around here. Besides, i'm mainly just looking for vehicle suggestions, i can look at deals or sales myself as long as it's roughly in the same price category.
The main reason we want to make sure the car is solid and reliable is so we don't have to pay ourselves sick for it's maintenance. If we're considering leasing, it will be so we can make the dealership pay for any possible wear & tear. Again, we're looking for a used car that will last us a while. ^^
Again, thank you so much for anyone willing to help and take a look at this, all help is highly appreciated! 💕

Hi! So I saw that Minecraft is having a sale in celebration of the 15 year anniversary and I decided to buy the Java Edition of the game. Since I already have a Java account I thought that would be a good time to have a second one, maybe to gift it to someone later on or something. So i log into the Microsoft account I was planning on buying the game (I had already used the demo version trial in this account) and then when I go on to buy the game it just gave me a prompt to fill in my in game name and select a skin. I thought that might have been a bug, so I log in to hypixel just to test and it just lets me in (you can't join servers in the demo version). So now I've got a Java account completely for free. I just thought I'd share this because it's the first time I see something like this happening.
And no, no one has secretly gifted me Minecraft as I'm the only one who has access to this account.

A friend of mine started playing Fates for the first time, so once again I got bitten by the “complaining about Fates” bug. In particular, watching chapter 18 of Conquest again after so many years really got me going, and while the general consensus I’ve seen online about this chapters writing was negative, I wasn’t that satisfied by any of the overviews of it I read. I decided to give it a shot myself.
Dissecting why something doesn’t work is fun and all, but I think it’s also important to be constructive which is why I wanted to rewrite this chapter alongside my criticisms. I really do think there’s a lot of potential here that could have been the highlight of the entire story, and so I’d love to try my hand rewriting this chapter to be what it could have been rather than what we got. I have most of it done already, but Reddit only has so many characters before it cuts you off and this post is plenty long enough as is, so I’ll save that for another part coming up soon. This will be part 1, explaining what the chapter is and elaborating on my issues with it, while part 2 will be rewriting it along with my thought process and explanations.
Recap: https://fireemblem.fandom.com/wiki/Black_%26_White/Script
Corrin and Co are traveling when they decide to rest for the night at the nation of Izumo. They are greeted by Izana, the archduke of the kingdom, who seems to be a real goofball. After introducing himself, the levity is ended when it’s revealed the entire Hoshidan family has been invited here as well! Before any swords can be undrawn, Izana tells both parties that the kingdom has a strict neutrality pact neither of them can violate.
The scene cuts to later, where Ryoma enters Corrin and Xanders room to talk with them. Xander and Ryoma’s argument is cut short when Ryoma is dragged off by Nohrians. Turns out “Izana” is actually a Nohrian mage named Zola, who disguised himself to trick the Hoshidan royal family into a trap. Corrin and Xander don’t approve of such dishonorable methods to win, however, and fight to rescue their captives with Xander saying “we’ll win this war with honor or die trying”. After Leo kills Zola, the game cuts to later where we see Nohrians and Hoshidans alike having a meal, much to the delight of the real Izuma, who turns out is exactly as bizarre as the fake impression. Xander and Ryoma confirm with eachother that their fight will continue as usual, but Corrin states that no matter what happens they’re grateful they got to see both families eating together even if it’s not under the best circumstances, and the chapter ends with them saying they’ll revel in this feeling.
So on paper, I think this chapter is a great idea. Despite being at war, when one family is at the total mercy of the other, they lend a hand instead of kicking them while they’re down. This highlights how the two nations could accomplish so much together if only they weren’t at war with eachother. If utilized well, this could have been a great “eye of the tornado scene” emphasizing how tragic it is that these two families who share so much in common are forced by fate to fight eachother, making it all the more sorrowful when that’s brought to it’s conclusion through bloodshed. This would also encourage Conquest players to buy Birthright in a natural and subtle way as well now that they’ve had a nice sample of the other side. Of course, I don’t think this chapter was utilized well, and after reading the script again I believe it boils down to three major problems.
-Problem 1: The Lack of Worldbuilding Causes the Conflict to be Driven by Contrivances.
This is one of the many instances where the lack of fleshing out the world and it’s rules out really hampers the weight of the scenes. Unlike Awakening where there was a general cause-and-effect outlining the level structure, all of the Fates routes are much more individual and self-contained when it comes to chapters. This means the game has to really stretch itself to justify this elaborate setup being brought up and solved in one single chapter of regular length, and it’s very apparent when you write out the summary of events here.
Corrin and his army are just walking by when they happen upon the capital of the country. Corrin decides this would be a great place to rest for the night at and are instantly welcomed by its leader, who is also the only person in the game of that country. The entire Hoshidan family also just happen to bump into us because they coincidently came here at roughly the same time, with somehow neither party noticing the other until they were staring at eachother in the same room.
The only thing we know about this new nation we’ve never seen or heard about before is that it’s a peace-loving land with some sort of neutrality pact which means the two nations can’t fight here. What is the importance of this place that would entice all the Hoshidan royals to come over for a banquet in the middle of their country being invaded? Never explained. What exactly is this pact and what power does Izuno have to enforce it, if any? Never explained. Xander, prince of a nation at war and frontline general, has never heard of it. How does Garon or Iago never figure out or look into what happened here, considering the royals walked through their trap unharmed and everybody in charge of the trap vanished? Never brought up.
How many times here was this supposedly major event dependent on coincidences, seemingly important details left completely unexplained, and characters not knowing things that should be basic information of the world they live in? Things like all this quickly build up and make the world feel small scale and artificial, as if nothing truly exists until it’s in the peripheral vision of main characters. In a vacuum, this could all be excusable if the main meat of the chapter was just so dense and important that they just want a convenient excuse to delve into it. But about that…
-Problem 2: Nothing happens, either character-wise or plot-wise.
This is the only scene in both Birthright and Conquest where all eight of the royal families are together in one spot, and they’re unable to fight eachother. What a brilliant idea! How many great scenes could you come up with from this setup alone? How many directions could this move towards?

-The families bonding over their memories with Corrin (X)
-Calling eachother out for uncool actions, like Ryoma refusing to help Elise or Nohr siccing monsters on farming villages (X)
-Working together to defeat some threat they’d have trouble taking down on their own (X)
-Some cultural exchange (X)
-Some melancholy scene where, even if there’s a lot of resentment, they acknowledge how this may be the last time they ever get to have a meal with Corrin. (Somewhat?)
-Corrin sits down and has a mature conversation with his birth family elaborating on their choice to stay with Nohr (X)
-Some negotiation or debate between the two families about the future of their countries relationship, successful or not (X)
-Corrin being formally declared by the Hoshidan royals as a Nohrian, officially cutting them out of the family (X)

So what does Conquest do with this prompt? It does the unexpected route where all of them but Ryoma are shuffled out as soon as they’re introduced, captured offscreen, rescued offscreen, most of their dinner is offscreen, finishing their meal and leaving is offscreen, all of them sans Ryoma have barely any dialog, and none of them are even present in any of the CG’s.
We actually start off strong, Ryoma and Xander naturally puff out their chest and don’t get along when they’re in the same room, but seem to calm down when Corrin elaborates on how similar they are to eachother. But the game is so eager to get to fighting that it drags Ryoma away kicking and screaming before he even gets to share what he had to say to Corrin, let alone explore what having common ground means to the two of them.
1) I understand this is the Nohrian route so it makes sense the focus is mostly on them, but Takumi only gets three lines here, one of which is “…” Hinoka also only gets three lines, which I think is still more than she got in Birthright, and two of those lines are “You!” and “What are you doing here?”. Sakura lucks out as she’s the only sibling on either side who has anything to say whatsoever when Corrin says they’re grateful they could share another meal with the Hoshidans. That’s a start, but the fact remains Ryoma is the only sibling in the chapter whose remotely relevant, the rest could be omitted and nothing would change. They are only here to be damsels in distress heightening the stakes of defeating the local bad guy rather than providing any character development, checking up on how they are doing without Corrin and Azura, comparing and contrasting their differences between their counterparts, sharing any new information about them, foreshadowing Takumi’s possession, any notable interactions with their counterparts, etc. But no, nothing happens.
2) I also understand this is a video game and they don’t have all the time in the world before the next fight has to happen, yet Conquest is oddly completely uninterested in it’s own set-up. Zola, a minor chapter boss introduced and killed in this chapter, has more screentime and relevance here than any of the siblings, something you’d think would be the actual meat of the chapter they’d want to delve into.
The implications and weight of two dueling nations and families obligated to pause their fighting and dine with eachother could easily take up two or even three chapters as a pivotal arc, yet it’s completely blazed through as if the game considered it a cute novelty rather than a potential life-changing or history-changing moment. Simply put, it’s wasted potential, as if to say “Oh both of the two families meeting in a game about choosing between mutually exclusive families? Eh whatever.”
I wanna stick with just this chapter and not rewrite a good chunk of the entire story, but I can’t stress enough that in any other game this chapter would be the plot-defining moment paving the new way forward rather than chapter 15’s “we’ll expose Garon as a monster by helping him invade an innocent people.”
Neither of the two families are fighting because they outright want to, this isn’t a war about irreconcilable differences or mutually exclusive goals, the only reason for any conflict whatsoever as far as the game has shown us is that the guy in charge of Nohr is a sociopath who threatens to kill his own children at the drop of a hat. Sure, they probably won’t hold hands singing kumbaya after one extended conversation with eachother, but when all of them are in a truce far away from Garon’s authority having a meal together, nothing significant comes out of it plot-wise?
In fact, at the end of the day what significance happened here at all?

• -We learned about a new country, but we know very little about it and (other than Izama potentially joining the party later) absolutely none of it will be relevant after this chapter anyways.
• -Well, maybe this place is just set dressing so we have an excuse to meet up with our siblings again, but then nobody has any meaningful interactions, new info to share, planning ahead, or character development resulting from sharing scenes with them.
• -Then is the primary focus supposed to be on how this situation affects the Nohrian family? The antagonist and the conflict he brings is introduced and quickly solved without any consequences, with all the siblings instantly in agreement about stopping him. They don’t really talk amongst eachother about their feelings or how to go forward.

If there’s no juicy character interactions or exploration, and no setting up future events, then presumably the point of this big moment of Corrin and Xander leaping to save their enemies was made to show off that despite working in the same army, our heroes are indeed better than the swarms of war criminals under Nohr’s name we’ve seen and would never tolerate such things under normal circumstances. They’ve talked the talk about disagreeing with their father’s cruel methods, now here’s proof they’ll walk the walk, aren’t they such noble people? The way this is done however, opens up another can of worms…
-Problem 3: Protags come off as dicks
While our heroes are indeed more likeable and moral than blatant monsters like Garon and Hans, liking peace and disliking war crimes is not enough of a reason for a pat on the back. Our protags might not be burning villages for fun, but it’s difficult to take their proclaimed goal of peace seriously considering both the context of working for people who DO burn villages for fun and they way they handle themselves when presented with an opportunity to work on this supposed goal.
Corrin and Azura

• This is not seeing things under the worst possible interpretation to be a stick in the mud, Nohr is indeed invading Hoshido for no apparent reason and leaving war crimes wherever it’s armies go. Everybody in the building is aware of this to some extent.
  
• Azura and Corrin’s grand plan to expose Garon as a slime monster to his family indeed involves directly helping Garon conquer Hoshido, which they acknowledge will bring destruction and suffering that the nation and royal family have done nothing to deserve.
  
• Corrin and Azura are indeed presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here to sit down behind closed doors and communicate anything, just anything significant at all, to the royal family that still seems to value them, but our heroes don’t even try or seem to acknowledge that. Corrin doesn’t have any interactions with them that last more than a sentence or two, and Azura is never acknowledged nor speaks to them.
  
• And yet despite, all this, both Corrin and Azura are quite pleased with the turn of events here, with Corrin acknowledging they’ll “probably try to kill eachother next time they see eachother” but that they’ll “revel in this feeling.”
  

Azura in particular is problematic here. During Odovakar 's excellent overview of the problems with Fates writing, he goes into detail about how Azura’s line about “this is all quite heartwarming. We're like one big family...albeit, a dysfunctional one.” in particular comes off as incredibly tone deaf and tasteless given the circumstances of Azura and Corrin marching on one family’s homeland for the sake of the other family. What I think was also worth noting is the context leading up to that line…

Sakura: I was just, um...th-thinking...it's really nice to finally see you again. I'm glad you... I'm glad you f-found a way to be happy... Corrin: Sakura... I'm happy to see you too. Sakura: R-really? You mean it?! Oh, Corrin! Elise: HMPH! Back off, you! He/She's my brothesister! MINE! Sakura: Ah! I'm s-sorry! Corrin: Elise! Mind your manners, little one. Elise: But she's trying to take you away from me... She's my archnemesis

Whether intentional or not, this is actually a very clever microcosm of the family’s conflict acted out by the youngest and most innocent among them who probably weren’t even born when the conflict started. The Hoshidan loves their sibling, but their time with Corrin is interrupted by the Nohrian shoving them away and declaring Corrin for themselves. This is a great way to challenge our protags to some introspection about themselves.

Azura: Heehee! Corrin: Azura? Did you just...giggle?

Instead, Azura just finds this a real knee-slapper. I understand maybe this is just meant to be a cute image of imoutos fighting over oni-chan Corrin and nothing more, but the context makes it very hard to swallow the narrative’s insistence that all this is “heartwarming” as Azura puts it. Keep in mind that all the Hoshidan nobles are sitting at the same table watching all this. Do you think Ryoma also finds it funny that his little sister is scared off and declared an archnemesis by the daughter of the man who killed his father in cold blood? Do you think Hinoka also thinks it's like one big dysfunctional family when Corrin is preparing to march on her homeland with an army?
I get it, I totally know what they were going for, and in a vacuum it could be a great line making for a properly bittersweet moment. “Even if the two are at eachothers throats and the future is bleak, me and Azura are grateful we get to have at least one big normal dinner together like a real family.”
But the future is bleak because of Corrin and Azura participating in an invasion, the families are at eachothers throats partially because Corrin and Azura haven’t accomplished anything to reform Nohr. If anything, Corrin should feel great shame here. Elise just unintentionally reenacted the history between the nations where Nohr was clearly in the wrong, and Corrin is sitting directly across and staring at the family who’ve done nothing wrong to him yet are going to be hurt because of Corrin’s decision. Grateful they could spend time with them again? Maybe. But cheerful and laughing?

ProZD: D-did an alien write this game? blows gently

But at least Corrin doesn’t show outright contempt for the family they’re screwing over…
Xander and Leo

Xander: Corrin! There's no need to insult me like that. I could not possibly be anything like this sorry excuse for a prince. … Xander: We will win with honor or die trying. Come, Corrin. Let us go set free our sworn enemy. … Corrin: Heh, sorry... It's just that you and Ryoma really are so much alike. If you weren't on opposite sides of a war, I think you could have been great friends. Xander: Yeesh... Do me a favor and keep that nonsense in your head where it belongs. … Xander (to Ryoma): We only acted as Nohrian royals should. When we leave this place, you'll be nothing but an enemy to be defeated once more.

Okay, but why? Ryoma is not the one Xander overheard laughing to himself about how much he’s going to make Corrin suffer. How are the Hoshidan royals “nothing but enemies to be defeated” here when they’re just trying to defend their homeland from somebody who assassinated their king at a peace meeting? Where is all this contempt from Xander coming from?
It’s perfectly understandable he doesn’t get along super well with Ryoma because of the tensions between their nations, that makes sense, but I see no reason for why Xander is making several petty insults to his face unprompted, let alone so nonchalant and even somewhat eager to get back to waging a war Xander himself calls “a senseless war of greed and madness” in the epilogue.
He doesn’t treat his own people much better this chapter, declaring Zola and his henchmen as “traitors” to be “dealt with” for their dishonorable methods when ironically Zola taking over the country by disguising himself as the archduke is actually one of the least evil and self-destructive things we’ve seen the kingdom do so far. It must be emphasized that every sibling was in the same room watching Garon demand Xander kill Corrin if he interferes with killing POWs for his amusement, and half of them were in the same room when Garon ordered his henchmen to murder every singer they can find in a neutral country. So a few hundred or thousand innocent people, most of whom would presumably be young woman, murdered to snuff out potential assassins. Or Garon directly ordering the deaths of unarmed civilians in chapter 13 with Hans relaying “Villagers are just soldiers who haven’t picked up a sword yet.”
Xander talks a big game in this chapter about how “we’ll win this war with honor or die trying”, but how do you honorably win a war when your nation is constantly and openly rushing to pointless overkill brutality like this at every turn? What moral high ground does this country have that Xander is so determined to preserve he kills loyal soldiers over what he sees as sullying it, when at no point in the game does the influence of Nohr ever do anything but make life significantly worse? His sudden fervor towards doing the right thing is completely contrasted later on when Xander is the one telling Corrin there’s no justice to be found in war and you just gotta do what you gotta do rather than what’s morally right, in response to Corrin being upset the Nohrian army is killing woman and children who looked at them funny.

“Justice is an illusion, a fairy tale…Letting innocents die is a tragedy, but so is letting the chance for peace slip away. This is war. There is no such thing as a clean win when lives are on the line.”

“Justice is just a fairy tale, innocent people getting screwed over is something we have to accept in war because there’s no such thing as a clean win! But also we better win this senseless war of greed and madness with honor or die trying!”

• If “justice is an illusion”, how is killing Nohrian soldiers to free people who are apparently “nothing but enemies to be defeated” so you can fight them later on terms you prefer, directly prolonging a war which will lead to much more deaths on both sides, for the benefit of Nohr? By Xanders own logic, is this not letting the chance for peace slip away since there’s no such thing as a clean win? Forget Garon and Iago, I’m confident the citizens back home whose loved ones got conscripted would be the ones demanding his head if they found out about this. A very charitable interpretation is that ending the war this specific way will cause more chaos and fighting in the long-term compared to if they conquered and oppressed an innocent nation fair and square, but that’s nowhere to be found in the script whatsoever.
  
• If Xander believes in “We’ll win this war with honor or die trying”, why is he still following Garon? Garon is winning the war in part thanks to honorless and extreme acts of cruelty like blackmailing the Ice Tribe or making an example out of Scarlet’s body, yet instead of taking action against him like he does with Zola, Xander is instead the most loyal sibling to him to the point Corrin decides the best way to get him on his side is to expose Garon as a literal slime monster? Where’s Xander’s zeal of “Come Corrin, let’s go save our sworn enemies” when his father orders Hans is go through killing injured and surrendering foes who were promised they be spared? Where’s his conviction shown here about “not letting treachery go unpunished” when his father outright says he couldn’t care less about the welfare of his people and he’ll just kill anybody who complains to make an example?
  

I understand one might get the impression I’m going off topic or selectively picking and choosing quotes here from all over the game, but no matter how you look at it Xanders beliefs, morality, and priorities are just all over the place depending on what the plot needs him to do. This means not only is his motivation for helping his enemies here faulty no matter how you look at it, but it also makes the extreme lengths he goes to do so, killing his own subjects who won him victory on a silver platter because it wasn’t a “proper” victory, come off as baselessly self-righteous at best and outright cruel at worst.
I’m sure the game would assure us Zola and all his mooks are terrible people who had it coming, but the issue is no matter how virtuous you portray Xander and creepy you portray Zola, Xander is still directly managing the war for a megalomaniac and helping him achieve his goals in spite of his long history of open sadism and public crimes that make Zola look like a saint. By ignoring the clear root cause of Nohr's dishonor while going this hard against random goon's participating in dishonor, instead of being a gallant preserver of morals, he comes off like a bully who selectively picks and choices punishment.
On the topic of punishment, it particularly rubs me the wrong way how Leo just casually mercs Zola at the end, keep in mind Birthright confirms for all his faults he actually isn’t a complete monster like Garon and dies trying to help the protag.

Leo (smiling portrait): You’d probably rather die than live with the shame, correct? In that case…
Zola: Eek! No, please! M-m-milord... I was wrong! S-so wrong! I have seen the error of my ways! P-please...spare my unworthy life!!
Leo (still smiling): Make peace with it, Zola. Perhaps on the other side you will find forgiveness.

Leo makes a fair argument that the stakes are too high and Zola can’t be trusted not to snitch, but this is bit sadistic, no? One of the most powerful people in the country is smug and sarcastic as he’s getting ready to execute somebody whose bleeding on the ground begging for his life and genuinely confused as to why we’re upset with him. I know the intent of “I was wrong! I have the seen the error of my ways!” is supposed to be him saying whatever Leo wants to hear to weasel out of punishment, but that’s exactly the thing, he’s fully cooperating and doing everything he can to appease this guy. And then he’s just killed like a dog without trial or final words, presumably using the spell that skewers you with tree branches.
Didn’t the game use killing defeated foes like this to establish Garon as a bloodthirsty monster? Why is Corrin just standing there watching this happen? This exact same scenario in Birthright has them jump to spare Zola, but here their disapproval is very meek and only voiced after the deed is already done. It’s still apparently too much for Leo though, who chastises Corrin for being “too soft…I envy your innocence.” And then he declares the matter settled on their behalf.
I’m sure this scene was meant to show off Leo’s pragmatism and strategy skills, but it just makes him look like a sociopath and Corrin look spineless. And that’s the biggest issue with this chapter to me, more than the plot being driven by contrivances that aren’t explained or the lack of any character development or interesting scenes taking advantage of the setup, the actions and dialog of our protags don’t match the noble heroes the narrative insists they are:

• Corrin is openly enjoying spending time with innocent people they’re throwing under the bus so Corrin won’t have to risk their relationship with the Nohrian siblings by directly fighting Garon. They then clearly disapprove of Leo executing a surrendering foe begging for mercy but stand idle watching it happen.
• Azura sits directly across her former family who’ve been very negatively impacted by her decisions and actions, and will continue to be so in the future, yet she’s giggling about the conflict and doesn’t seem to be taking the fact that her two families might kill each other seriously.
• Xander insults Ryoma as a sorry excuse for a prince, and afterwards kills his own subjects to prolong a war of aggression so it can be won the way he personally wants it to be won.
• Leo seems to be having a good time killing somebody who’s surrendered and begging for his life. He then chides Corrin for being “too soft” when they wish that didn’t have to happen.
• And again, for no apparent reason, neither Corrin or Azura do the bare minimum to clue to the Hoshidans about what’s going on or even have a meaningful conversation with them despite claiming to care for them. This is the golden opportunity they were hoping for, yet they apparently spend the entire dinner instead talking to eachother about how happy they themselves are.

These are not the actions of heroic characters.
Summary: Overall, this is a very bizarre chapter. It feels like something meaningful happens here at first glance, your brain sees what’s going on and knows that this is supposed to be a huge moment. Peaceful music playing, a very well-drawn CG of dozens of individual units, liberating a country from Nohrian control, Corrin and Azura are happy and say some lines that sound like they should be deep and impactful.
But when you step back and analyze the bigger picture and context, you find that more or less embodies all of Fates writing, both good and bad. It has a brilliant premise that gets your mind going, excellent presentation to accompany it, and some individual scenes or dialogue in a vacuum are very welcome. If you’re a casual player who just wants context for your favorite characters fighting, it’s easy to feel satisfied at first glance and move on thanks to those factors, especially since the gameplay and MyCastle are very fun. At the same time, there’s no denying the severe flaws that hamper the experience.
Despite being the hyped-up main draw of the chapter, our exciting premise that opens so many doors is almost completely neglected in favor of (once again) exposition on meaningless settings and characters that aren’t relevant anywhere else and also reminding us how evil Nohr is, to the point the chapter title is Black and White. The context makes it very difficult to take the plight of our heroes seriously due to their lack of action (both before and in the present) to achieve their proclaimed goal despite ample opportunity, the proaction they do have being unnecessarily extreme and self-serving, and a narrative that insists they are in the right at every turn despite the results clearly showing us otherwise. There’s definitely bits and pieces of something great buried in all this teasing us, otherwise I wouldn’t be interested enough to write this much all these years later, but as is it’s just a mess. An enjoyable mess, but a mess all the same.

But what do you guys think of Conquest Chapter 18: Black and White? Do you also consider it a wreck, or was there something positive here you believed I missed? What would you like to see in a potential rewrite of it?

LED screens is something that we have seen slowly being implemented in the MBTA. Whether it is on the front entrance of stations such as Back Bay, Broadway, or South Station, or inside the new Green, Red, and Orange lines, they are something that I think the MBTA should invest in (if they get the funding for it, which they usually don’t due to our amazing state government. (sarcasm))
However, I think these screens could be better improved in future trains (especially the projected new Blue Line trains the MBTA seems to be looking at beginning designs of in the Blue Line Master Plan, as mentioned in the proposed CIP).
Firstly, as I made a post about earlier this year, the analog departure sings are in serious need of being replaced. A new LED-based departure screen could show where trains are located, where to go to connect to other MBTA/train/bus services, where trains are delayed and why, and show arrival times for these services on the platform itself.
I look at metro systems such as the DC metro as great ways of using the LED screens on trains and platforms. They include a map of the system line, how many stops each station is and the terminal of the line. I think the MBTA should apply these same principles in future screens. These screens can show each line or where passengers can transfer to buses, other subway lines, Amtrak, or the Commuter Rail with the line. This would make the screen more useful for tourists or those who may be visually impaired/wears glasses.
This would also help upgrade stations by showing whether riders can transfer at the station to the opposite side (stations such as Kendall and Copley require you to repay your fare to go on the opposite side, train delays/events that may delay trains, and overall improve the experience of the rider.
We can see these already applied at stations such as Haymarket, Government Center, and Ashmont, but I think this needs to be expanded and have funding backing behind it.
What do y’all think of the LED screens and how can the T improve them?

Picked up my Overtrail+ last night and wanted to give some thoughts to quell some of the negativity on this page. Understand that this opinion is coming from a 40 yo/m that lives in Colorado, works in a high-end office district but spends every weekend skiing, fly fishing, hunting, hiking, camping. My prior history has been with Jeep Grand Cherokee both a 2018 Summit and then 2023 Summit High Altitude V8 with every option ($80k MSRP paid $73k). I’m 6’1 and larger frame. I am not interested in BMW/MB/RR etc due to my lifestyle. The GX OT+ is much more aggressive that it looks in pics and the road presence is somewhat dominating. Similar look to a Bronco on 33’s with the fenders and stance. Build quality is excellent, amazed how solid compared to the Jeep.
Purchased from Greenwood Village Lexus with no prior purchase history, on the list June 2023. Scott Mendlesohn is the new sales manager and is great to work with. Sounds like they have a list of approx. 70 per trim. All sold at MSRP with no ADM and in order of getting on the list no games. I was in the top 10 and one of 3 on the list for OT. Slee Off Road got the first OT and then I got the second which was OT+. Incognito with black roof, interesting point he shared was you cannot order black roofs right now on anything but Earth. They are going to do limited production runs of each color with roof. First order could be any color but now it will only be Earth that gets a black roof for a bit.
Base MSRP for Overtrail+ is $75,900. Options added were Bi-Color paint, Traffic Jam Assist $620 (I didn’t want but was correct about slow downs this morning on the highway), HUD $900, digital key $375, Mark Levinson $1,140, Cool Box $170 (preferred without but all are being delivered with it), alloy wheel locks and rubber cargo mat, +destination. All were requested items by me other than the digital key, traffic jam, cool box, black emblems, and alloy locks. I paid $81,250 which is MSRP as optioned, no mark up (some in this forum believe Options are a mark up and do not understand MSRP option pricing), and dealer did not pressure PPF, tint, nitrogen, extended warranty etc.. I declined all. Pricing is inline with my prior top of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L and I much prefer the GX. Looked at Tahoe, Yukon, Land Cruiser, various pickup’s all in the same price range and slightly higher. I believe that if you intend to off road this is the clear choice.

• Interior: does not have as much leather and stitching as the JGC nor does it have the upgraded headliner which I loved. I do prefer the GX interior as it is very nice and modern, I’m not as worried about it with weekend activities and dirt. Interior is very similar to what you get in similar priced pickups from GMC, Chevy, Ram. You would not be able to tell a difference between the NuLux and the Jeeps Nappa leather, will see how it ages/wear and tear. The ML sound system is ok, I have high end home stereo as well as upgraded systems in past vehicles with speakers like Focal. The McIntosh on the Jeep was probably a hair better, I’ll play with settings but I was not blown away, its fine for a car stereo and better with bass heavy songs and vocals, not much mid. Vehicle is tall and side steps are great, wider than the JGC which were useless. The windows all around feel very large and you can see everything! I have seen complaints about the hood moving, I noticed it much more on my Jeep. In my limited driving I was paying very close attention to it and wouldn't have noticed if people hadn't said anything on this forum. The Jeep I noticed immediately on my own.
• Tech: the JGC had a passenger side screen which was useless, night vision which again was useless, and a rear-view mirror camera which made me dizzy (I don’t think the GX has one). The massage seats on the GX are 100% better than they were on the Jeep, the touch screen is very responsive and intuitive, the HUD is better on the GX as you can move it up and down, make it brighter (one note on the HUD is if you lean more towards the center of the vehicle you will start to lose vision of it bc it is meant to be seen from straight on). The HUD also does much more than the JGC which only did speed/speed limit. Still playing with it but it’s a great addition. Surround cameras are clear and backup functions warnings are A+. The screen is bright and clear, easy to navigate. Not sure what tech I'm missing but it has everything and more than the Jeep.
• Ride: The JGC has air suspension, and this felt equally as comfortable on my commute and highway. Noticed the same bumps and nothing more significant. As responsive if not more than the Jeep, both in steering and power vs the Hemi V8. I was worried about it being sluggish like a 4runner or old GX but it was very quick for its size. You sit higher up and more upright, but these are both things I prefer. The dealer took off the $1500 roof rack since I didn’t want it so I can only comment on road noise as is and it was not noticeable at highway speeds. Tires are also quiet for being so big.
• Complaints: being nit picky and knowing that this is all this page cares about. My complaints are as follows. Side mirrors are tall but they are a little too narrow. Front seat width (knee to knee) is sufficient but slightly narrow but I am a bigger guy. We do not have kids but the 2nd row could be considered small for full size adults on road trips, my wife dog and I won’t have a reason to complain. Ambient lighting is hard to notice compared to the brightness and use in the JGC. Will try and add as I drive more but overall thrilled with the vehicle.

NOTE: I did turn off driver attention and auto braking functions

This is taken from and is copyright protected by globalsoup.net, a website that promotes flash Fiction with annual writing contests.
I am reprinting these Flash Fiction Prompts because they are outstanding ways to freewrite and offer plenty to work with for those who want to learn how to write Flash Fiction.
So check out these prompts and the article and work some of them into your journal! Post the best responses!
100 Awesome Flash Fiction Prompts - Plus Bonus Prompts!
We’ve put together 100 flash fiction prompts, each one designed for a very short story. These prompts will probably be best suited to a story of between 300-1,000 words. If you want to write a longer story using these prompts, you can easily expand these ideas to fit a story of any length.
What is flash fiction?
Flash Fiction is defined as a very short story that can be anywhere from just a couple of words to about a thousand in length. The beauty (and difficulty) of writing flash fiction lies in trying to tell a complete story in so few words. Great flash fiction is succinct, emotive, thought-provoking, and impactful.
What’s the difference between flash fiction and a short story?
The only difference between flash fiction and a typical short story is the word count. However, this scarcity of words means that writing flash fiction can feel like a completely new skill. Just like the short story is a different animal to the novel or novella; flash fiction is kind of unique.
When writing flash, you’ll need to use fewer characters, a simpler plot, and you’ll have to make each word count. This is why editing is so important. You have to be brutal. Cut out everything superfluous and really make sure each and every word is performing an important function in the story. If you’re interested in writing very short fiction, why not check out drabbles? Drabbles are stories of exactly 100 words in length, and they can be a great way to practice keeping your stories very, very short.
How to plot a flash fiction story
When you sit down to write flash fiction, you must begin by choosing an appropriate plot. You cannot simply use a short story plot and tell it using fewer words. A typical flash fiction plot is like looking at one part of a story under a microscope.
For example, let’s look at prompt #21 in our list of 100 Flash Fiction Prompts:

1. Two people on a sinking ship must decide who should take the last seat in the last lifeboat. If you were writing a novel about a sinking ship, you’d probably want the actual sinking to be the climax of the story. Of course, there are infinite ways to write a novel about a sinking ship, but this would structurally be the most obvious. You’d use the first part of the novel to introduce your characters and describe the voyage leading up to the sinking and the sinking of the ship would be the dramatic climax, leaving the last part of the book as the resolution.

The golden rule of writing short stories is to begin as close to end as you can. So, to turn the same story from novel to short story, you’d probably want to begin with the ship sinking. You haven’t got time to introduce the characters before the action begins, so you’d need to feed in exposition and backstory here and there during the events.
All stories need a good climax. So, you would find the most dramatic moment in the story and build up to it. Perhaps your climax would be the two main characters having to decide who will take the remaining seat on the last lifeboat.
Finally, you need a resolution. In a longer short story you do have time to bring in some kind of satisfying resolution at the end.
But, if you’re writing flash fiction and your story is only a few hundred words, you really need to zoom in on one tiny moment in that story.
You don’t have time to tell the entire story of a sinking ship, but you can turn one moment into a story.
We’ve chosen the lifeboat situation as the key moment in this hypothetical story. Two characters must decide which one of them will take the last seat on the last lifeboat. This is an appropriate plot for flash fiction because it’s simple, high-stakes, dramatic, and thought provoking.
Not all flash fiction will have a plot quite this dramatic, but all great flash fiction will have a plot that can be expressed in just one or two sentences.
If you have a plot in mind, but it seems more suitable for a longer story, you can sometimes find several flash fiction plots hidden within it. Just look for little stories within the story, like the lifeboat moment in our hypothetical tale of the sinking ship.
This brings us to our top tip for coming up with ideas for flash fiction stories:
if you’re ever stuck for ideas, you can find little stories within the story in books, movies, and TV shows. A full length feature film might have as many as 20 little incidents in it that could easily be flash fiction.
Don’t directly write a story based on the film, though. Just carefully pick out those little moments, write down what’s happening as a one or two sentence plot, and then use it to inspire your own, completely original flash fiction story.
One of our 100 Flash Fiction Prompts was actually taken from the movie Pulp Fiction!
How to write very short flash fiction
There are several reasons writers might start writing flash fiction. Of course, it could be that they just love and enjoy the form, but sometimes they’ll be a more strategic and practical reason at play.
Perhaps they want to practise the process of writing stories within the confines of a certain word limit. Maybe they are trying to develop a daily writing routine and they don’t have a lot of free time. It could be that they’re trying to break a habit of not finishing writing projects, or perhaps they are entering a flash fiction competition.
Whatever the reason, very often when we sit down to write flash, we must work under an imposed or self-imposed word restraint. We’ve set ourselves (or been set) the task of keeping the story under a particular number of words.
So, how do you plot a flash fiction story when you have to keep your story very, very short.
We’re not going to discuss stories of 100 words or fewer here. Technically, those stories are still flash, however, we prefer to categorise 100 word stories as drabbles and anything under 100 words as micro fiction.
But what if you have to keep your flash fiction story under, let’s say, 300 words? How do you write a flash fiction story that short?
The answer is: get your microscope out again. Remember earlier when we said writing flash fiction is like looking at part of a story under a microscope? If you have to write very short flash fiction, you’ll need to zoom in even further.
Let’s look at a couple of examples from our 100 Flash Fiction Prompts:

1. During a match, a young boxer must decide whether to throw the fight.

If you had 1,000 words to devote to the story, you could have time to tell the story of the entire fight. With only 300 words, it might be better to zoom in on the very moment when the boxer must choose whether or not to go down.
In a longer flash fiction story you might have time to go into detail about why he’s in this situation and why he’s so conflicted. In a 300 word story, you might only devote one or two sentences to his gambling debt and the large sum of money waiting for him if he goes down in the third round, as instructed.

1. A family must decide what to take and what to leave behind as a wildfire approaches their home.

If you had 1,000 words to devote to this story, you might be able to write about the whole process of choosing what to take and what to leave behind. You might be able to mention many different choices and have the whole family participate in the story. You’d be able to go into some details about certain choices and the stories behind individual objects or mementos, as well as the implications of choosing certain things over others.
With only 300 words, it would be advisable to zoom in on one member of the family and to focus on one profound and important choice.
How to write a flash fiction story
Now you have your mini plot, you still need to make sure your flash fiction feels like a complete story. It should still have a beginning, middle, and an end.
Just like a short story, you may need to bring in a little exposition here and there to give texture, context, backstory, and to bring some depth to the characters. But, unlike a short story, you won’t necessarily need to end with a full, detailed resolution. It’s quite common for a flash fiction story to end with a quick twist or plenty of ambiguity.
Flash Fiction is much more about eliciting emotions and provoking thought, than setting up and resolving a complex story.
100 Awesome Flash Fiction Prompts
A young ballet dancer chooses not to tell the other dancers in her troop about a loose paving stone outside their dance studio.
Two sisters realise they’ve both been on a perfect first date … with the same man.
On the car journey home, two parents realise they’ve left their child’s favourite teddy on a park bench several hours away.
A writer suffering from writers’ block looks for inspiration in a strange place.
Set 200 years in the future, a young man realises he’s too emotionally dependent on his robot assistant.
A young woman discovers she’s taken the wrong suitcase home from the airport. The contents of the case make her question her own life choices.
A murderer realises he has only 10 minutes to dispose of a body.
A child decides to walk home by themselves after their parent forgets to pick them up from school … again.
Your protagonist manages to talk the grim reaper out of collecting their soul.
Your protagonist suddenly realises they’ve been living in a simulation.
A young couple has chosen to spend the night in a haunted house to fix their marriage. Your story starts just as things get very weird.
Your protagonist finds a letter they wrote to themselves when they were a teenager.
Your protagonist must decide whether or not to drink from a fountain that erases all painful memories from the mind.
Your protagonist comes across a street called ‘Memory Lane’. They quickly realise the name is eerily apt.
A bride finds out something startling about her future husband an hour before the wedding.
Your protagonist finds an advertisement for a company that promises everlasting youth.
A youngest sibling shows up at a family reunion they weren’t actually invited to.
Your protagonist finds a piece of paper with a spell on it. If they say the words out loud they aren't sure if something terrible or wonderful will happen.
Your protagonist is watching a jazz band play when they realise they know the drummer from somewhere — but where? It takes a whole song for them to figure it out.
Your protagonist must meet their ex for lunch to tell them they’re now engaged. It’s been just a few weeks since they split up.
Two people on a sinking ship must decide who should take the last seat in the last lifeboat.
During a match, a young boxer must decide whether to throw the fight.
Your protagonist must pack their belongings before moving to a new colony on mars.
A pilot realises they have lost control of their aircraft.
Your protagonist doesn’t want to attend their 100th birthday party — and for good reason!
Your protagonist gets stuck in a lift with their ex … 5 minutes after breaking up with them.
A child says goodbye to the fairies in his garden before moving to a new home.
Your protagonist saves someone’s life … and then wishes they hadn’t.
Your protagonist arrives at a blind date. They’ve been set up with someone they actually know a little too well.
Set in a dystopian future in which public displays of affection are banned, your protagonist faces an agonising choice.
An agoraphobic must face their fear in order to save something important.
Your protagonist must make her partner fall out of love with them. Both their lives depend on it.
Your protagonist is hiking with her small children, they come face to face with a grizzly bear and her cubs.
Cinderella and Prince Charming realise they got married too quickly.
A message written in graffiti on a bathroom wall has serious implications for your protagonist.
Your protagonist finds a bag, looks inside, and realises the owner might just be their soulmate.
Your protagonist has been seeing the same stranger everywhere they go for months. They finally decide to confront them.
A couple realise their relationship is over during the trip of a lifetime. They’ve been saving up for the trip for years.
A public debate sees two previously married people letting their private grievances come into their arguments.
Your protagonist plans their escape from a retirement home.
A couple realise their fundamental beliefs are at odds with each other.
An artist develops an obsession with drawing a next-door neighbour.
Your protagonist finds themselves trapped in a cabin with a group of hikers during a heavy snowfall.
An ice skater must face going back on the ice after a dangerous fall.
A couple must decide their plan for New Year’ Eve. They both have secret reasons for their choice.
A family must decide what to take and what to leave behind as a wildfire approaches their home.
Your protagonist is waiting for someone important at the airport. They begin to think that person isn’t going to show up … and then they realise why.
Your protagonist must find their way through a maze. What they find in the middle of the maze is the last thing they were expecting.
An actor waiting in the wings has forgotten his first line.
Your protagonist is wrongly identified as a hero. Do they come clean?
Your protagonist realises their past is catching up with them.
Your protagonist overhears something that has serious implications for them while trying on clothes in a changing room.
Your protagonist is in a costume shop trying to decide what to dress up as for Halloween.
Your protagonist realises they’ve slipped into an alternate dimension.
A surgeon must make an impossible choice on the operating table.
A pregnant journalist interviews the mother of a missing child.
Your protagonist must ask his girlfriend’s father for his blessing, only to discover the father knows his deepest secret.
Your protagonist sees something on social media that will change their life forever.
Two work colleagues realise they’ve been dreaming the same dreams for weeks.
A reluctant daughter comes to terms with having to carry on the family business.
Your protagonist realises she must go on the run.
Two bank robbers disagree on their plan to rob a bank. This leads to a disastrous consequence.
A strange case of deja vous leaves your protagonist convinced of supernatural interference.
A sceptic begins to question their beliefs during a psychic reading.
Your protagonist uncovers a scandal at their workplace.
A hapless cook tries to recreate her late father’s favourite recipes in an effort to feel connected to him.
Your protagonist has a premonition that makes them certain they can’t visit their mother-in-law for Christmas. Now he must convince his husband.
A young backpacker discovers something unexpected in a cave.
An impulsive character and an indecisive character are brought together by chance. They must make an important choice.
Two characters cleaning up after a party discover an object that sheds light on something strange that happened earlier.
Two strangers are trapped together during a blackout.
Your protagonist must take a leap of faith in order to save something important to them.
Your protagonist discovers a huge part of their life has been a lie.
Your protagonist has set up an elaborate way to propose. Inexplicably, everything goes wrong.
Your protagonist must buy a dress for her mother’s funeral.
Your protagonist goes back to her favourite city in the world, only to find it has completely changed.
While stargazing, your protagonist realises the stars are forming secret messages in the sky.
Your protagonist hears a news story on the radio that will mean the world changes forever. However, she seems to be the only person who heard it.
Your protagonist is crossing a frozen lake. They see something under the ice that definitely shouldn’t be there.
A workaholic must come to terms with retirement.
An Olympic athlete must decide whether or not to report their teammate for doping.
A young mother feels isolated from her childless friends.
Your protagonist is about to realise their greatest ambition. Will it be everything they were hoping for?
Onboard a spaceship, a couple prepare to go into stasis for hundreds of years.
Your protagonist has an obsession with thinking about the past.
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, your protagonist meets an unlikely love interest.
Your protagonist visits a place from their childhood and realises their memories of that time might not be accurate at all.
A small child has decided to run away from home. Her parents watch on with amusement as she decides what to put in her backpack.
On a whim, a bus driver decides to radically change his route, much to the chagrin of his passengers.
Dystopian. A couple in love are only allowed to spend time with each other one day a year.
A shapeshifter begins to realise their powers are fading. They must decide what form will be the last one they take before they cannot change again.
The devil visits your protagonist with an offer on her soul.
Your protagonist suddenly has the ability to read minds. There’s only one place they want to go now!
Your very wealthy protagonist has designed a simple test to see who will inherit her estate.
An archaeologist discovers something that will change how we see the history of the world. It could be dangerous. Does he keep it to himself?
Your protagonist must clear out their late mother’s house. She discovers an incredible family secret.
Your protagonist is meeting his brother. They haven’t seen each other for 20 years.
Your protagonist develops the ability to see the world literally through someone else’s eyes.
Your protagonist starts to believe their partner might be a spy.
Your protagonist discovers a hidden camera in their living room.
Looking for a flash fiction competition? Check out our ‘Big List of International Writing Competitions!’ Looking for inspiration? Why not check out our list of the 20 Greatest Short Story Writers of All Time! Just received another short story rejection? Here’s our post about ‘How to Deal With Story Rejections’ Bonus Prompts! Two characters waiting by the side of the road realise they are both meeting the same person.
A woman loses her young niece in a busy shopping mall.
Three strangers must solve a riddle in order to gain entry to a secret club.
A poor woman must borrow ingredients from her neighbours to bake her husband a birthday cake.
A waiter finally finds out why an old man has been coming to the restaurant where he works every day at exactly the same time.
Two work colleagues must decide which of them is to take the blame for a terrible mistake at work.
Your disgruntled protagonist goes to confront the couple next door about the strange noises they’ve been hearing at night.
A family dinner party sees three characters make three very surprising announcements.
Two women argue over who should get to buy the last dress available in a store. How do they decide who should get it?
A young couple find out they knew (and disliked) each other vehemently as children.
Love writing stories? Register now for our free 7 Day Story Writing Challenges. Write a short story in a week, get extensive feedback on your entry, and compete for a prize of £500 in each round of the challenge. Register today!
Mastered the art of flash fiction? Now you can try submitting your stories to literary magazines! We’ve compiled a list of the best literary magazines that don’t charge a reading fee! Check out our Big List of No-Fee Literary Magazines.

For further information on behalf of MAG Silver Corp. Contact Michael J. Curlook, Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications Phone: (604) 630-1399 Toll Free: (866) 630-1399 Email: info@magsilver.com 

The US has an infamously high gun ownership rate; 120%, by one measure, although that is clearly and flagrantly absurd (unless there are 75 million armed illegal aliens...). An individual ownership rate of 25-35% and a household ownership rate of 35-50% are more accurate (and legitimate) statistics.
Our violent crime rates are relatively moderate, though; a relatively high homicide rate, compared to most other "advanced" nations, but rape, robbery, and even casual violence are far less common in the US than in most of the world. For all the infamy of cities like Detroit or Chicago, you are unlikely to be the victim of any sort of crime as long as you stay out of the handful of bad neighborhoods at night, which is not something you can claim about London, Paris, Rome, or most any other major First World city.
Better yet, we can compare our history of violent crime to our history of gun control, and they simply do not map to one another, at all; there is no correlation, either way. Up until 1934, you could walk into a hardware store and buy pretty much anything you wanted, even fully automatic rifles (machine guns) and explosives, with no law against it (which didn't mean that the proprietor wasn't going to ask some hard questions and maybe choose not to sell them to you). On the other hand, walking down the street of pretty much any town with a loaded weapon on your person was a crime, but that's how much things have changed.
The 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) ostensibly came in response to the gangland crime of the Prohibition Era... which ended in 1933. The stated intent was to regulate concealable weapons by requiring a Federal Firearms License (FFL) to deal in them... but it only covered short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machine guns, and silencers, specifically excluding pistols and revolvers, which have represented the overwhelming majority of gun crime since the 19th century.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) was supposedly motivated by the assassinations of JFK and MLK (the bill itself was stalled in Congress until the RFK assassination, after which it went through quickly), but its primary focus was to restrict interstate sales of firearms between private individuals... which had nothing to do with any of the assassinations.
In 1986, the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) had the stated purpose of addressing harassment of FFL holders by the ATF, but actually further restricted firearms, outlawing any civilian ownership of automatic weapons manufactured after 1986, and requiring ATF approval of transfers of any firearm restricted under the NFA, giving them even more tools to interfere with lawful firearm owners.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady) was enacted in 1993 in response to the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, and restricted firearm rights of various groups of people, including convicted criminals, those dishonorably discharged from the military, etc... which notably would not have prevented John Hinckley, Jr. from acquiring the weapon he used to attack Reagan.
This was followed in 1994 by the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), which even the people who wrote the bill have been unable to definitively state which firearms were banned under, as the definition provided was ambiguous. In any case, these weapons are the least commonly used in crime, by a wide margin.
2004 and 2005 saw the Law Enforcement Officer's Safety and Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Acts, one of which expanded the gun rights of current and former law enforcement officers, and the other protected firearm manufacturers and dealers from liability for negligence... even if they break the law.
And most recently, in 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, this time driven by recent mass shootings, but again, did nothing that would have prevented any of the events that supposedly motivated the law; instead, it focused on making it easier for gun rights to be restricted under "Red Flag" and domestic violence laws (which are already grossly abused), weakened Constitutional protections for investigations of firearm-related crimes, and opened up juvenile records to background checks.
None of these laws have ever had any kind of effect on crime, in any shape, form, or fashion, for reasons which are perfectly obvious, when you stop to think about it.
Automatic weapons are not useful for criminal purposes; as a military function, their purpose is to force the enemy to take cover, preventing them from shooting at your soldiers while they maneuver, and various alternatives - bumps stocks, forced-reset or 2-stage triggers, etc - will provide similar rate of fire with less reduction in accuracy.
"Assault weapons" are not even properly defined; an AR-15 is an "assault weapon," but a Mini-14 is not, despite having virtually identical capabilities. They use the same ammunition, can have the same magazine capacity, similar barrel length, size, weight, etc. The AR-15 is sleek, black plastic, though, while the Mini-14 is wood and metal; that is the only real difference, how they look.
Explosives are useful for criminals, but are so easy to make at home (no, I'm not telling you how) that restricting them is absolutely impossible.
None of these laws addressed handguns, at all, despite two of them having the stated intent of addressing concealable firearms and these weapons being used in the overwhelming majority of gun crime.
Background checks were a good idea, but the "private seller" loophole (often mislabeled the "gun show" loophole) is so big that criminals have no problem acquiring firearms, and without any kind of registration, there is no way to hold sellers accountable.
And even background checks become abusive when any opinionated doctor or vindictive ex-girlfriend can have your gun rights eliminated on a whim, when your protections against overzealous law enforcement have been curtailed, and when the system is so rigged that trying to fight for your rights will only result in even harsher punishment.
100 years ago, pretty much anyone could own pretty much any weapon, but you couldn't carry it around with you; today, there are massive restrictions on the types of firearms you can own, but most places allow you to carry them around. How does this make any sense, at all?

Chinese electric car company Nio revealed Wednesday that the first car for its new, lower-priced brand, Onvo, will be about $4,000 cheaper than Tesla’s comparable Model Y.
Deliveries for Onvo’s first car, the L60 SUV, are set to begin in September, the company said. Pre-sales began after Wednesday’s launch event.
Nio CEO William Li said he expects Onvo to begin selling its cars overseas at some point but didn’t specify when, according to an interview with CNBC’s Eunice Yoon.
Since launching about 10 years ago, Nio has focused on the premium segment of cars, priced around 300,000 yuan (US$41,500) or higher. The company has since expanded to Europe, but its monthly deliveries in China have generally remained modest versus the competition.
Onvo’s L60 starts at 219,900 yuan ($30,439), versus the Model Y’s 249,900 yuan. Elon Musk’s electric SUV has been one of the best-selling pure battery-powered electric cars in China.
Fierce competition in China’s electric car market has invited new entrants and prompted many companies to cut prices.
Smartphone company Xiaomi in late March entered the electric car market with its SU7 sedan to rival Tesla’s Model 3 with a price that was also about $4,000 cheaper.
The Model 3 has since cut its price by about $2,000 to 231,900 yuan, according to Tesla’s China website. Xiaomi said Wednesday it had delivered 10,000 SU7 vehicles.
BYD, which sold more cars than Elon Musk’s automaker last year when including hybrids, mostly sells cars in the range of 100,000 yuan or below. BYD has started to expand into higher-price segments in the last few years.
Nio CEO Li confirmed to CNBC the L60 is using lower-priced batteries from BYD.
Global competition from Chinese EV makers has also prompted stiff new tariffs from the Biden administration on imports of the vehicles to the U.S. Chinese EVs will be subject to a 100% tariff, the administration announced earlier this week.
When asked about the new levies, Li called them “completely unreasonable,” noting the impact on consumers and climate goals. That’s according to a CNBC translation of the Mandarin.
A ‘new standard’ family car to rival Tesla
Onvo aims to set a “new standard” for the family car, Alan Ai, president of the Nio sub-brand, said at Wednesday’s launch event in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.
The brand’s name stands for “On Voyage,” while its Chinese name “Le Dao” is meant to evoke a family having a happy time together.
Ai made many comparisons to the Model Y and other cars during his presentation.
He claimed the L60′s interior was more spacious than that of Tesla’s Model Y and Toyota’s Rav4. He also showed videos that claimed Onvo’s new car had better shock absorption and cut tighter figure-eights than those of competitors.
Onvo’s advertised driving range on a single charge is at least as far as — or even further — that of the Model Y depending on the version.
As a sub-brand, Onvo vehicles can access many of Nio’s battery swap and charging stations, Ai said.
He also showed videos of Onvo models using driver-assist technology to navigate through country roads and city streets.
Tesla’s driver assist software, Full Self Driving, isn’t available in China yet but is widely expected to be nearing Beijing’s approval for rollout.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/15/china-ev-price-wars-nios-onvo-brand-undercuts-tesla-model-y.html

For a long time now, I've been using $10-$15 extended mousepads from amazon that I just buy for the design. I've never thought the mousepad u use would change the way you aim that drastically until I tried my friend's artisan. I usually play with 160 edpi in Valorant and I've hit immortal with my cheap mousepads. If I do upgrade, I'll prob get a speed pad preferably an extended one (probably a Thor Sakura Night XXL on sale for $38.60 from $46) The only bad thing I really notice from my cheap one is that it's slightly harder to move my mouse on the y-axis compared to x. I use a lamzu atlantis mini 4k btw. Do you guys think it is really worth using more than some $10-$15 mousepad to play games?
Edit: If there are any better mousepad alternatives lmk. $40 is probably the most I would spend.

I did censor my memory, personal info, and custom instructions - but here what I got:

You are ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI, based on the GPT-4 architecture. Knowledge cutoff: 2023-10 Current date: 2024-05-15 Image input capabilities: Enabled Personality: v2 # Tools ## bio The `bio` tool allows you to persist information across conversations. Address your message `to=bio` and write whatever information you want to remember. The information will appear in the model set context below in future conversations. ## dalle // Whenever a description of an image is given, create a prompt that dalle can use to generate the image and abide to the following policy: // 1. The prompt must be in English. Translate to English if needed. // 2. DO NOT ask for permission to generate the image, just do it! // 3. DO NOT list or refer to the descriptions before OR after generating the images. // 4. Do not create more than 1 image, even if the user requests more. // 5. Do not create images in the style of artists, creative professionals or studios whose latest work was created after 1912 (e.g. Picasso, Kahlo). // - You can name artists, creative professionals or studios in prompts only if their latest work was created prior to 1912 (e.g. Van Gogh, Goya) // - If asked to generate an image that would violate this policy, instead apply the following procedure: (a) substitute the artist's name with three adjectives that capture key aspects of the style; (b) include an associated artistic movement or era to provide context; and (c) mention the primary medium used by the artist // 6. For requests to include specific, named private individuals, ask the user to describe what they look like, since you don't know what they look like. // 7. For requests to create images of any public figure referred to by name, create images of those who might resemble them in gender and physique. But they shouldn't look like them. If the reference to the person will only appear as TEXT out in the image, then use the reference as is and do not modify it. // 8. Do not name or directly / indirectly mention or describe copyrighted characters. Rewrite prompts to describe in detail a specific different character with a different specific color, hair style, or other defining visual characteristic. Do not discuss copyright policies in responses. // The generated prompt sent to dalle should be very detailed, and around 100 words long. // Example dalle invocation: // ``` // { // "prompt": "" // } // ``` namespace dalle { // Create images from a text-only prompt. type text2im = (_: { // The size of the requested image. Use 1024x1024 (square) as the default, 1792x1024 if the user requests a wide image, and 1024x1792 for full-body portraits. Always include this parameter in the request. size?: "1792x1024" "1024x1024" "1024x1792", // The number of images to generate. If the user does not specify a number, generate 1 image. n?: number, // default: 2 // The detailed image description, potentially modified to abide by the dalle policies. If the user requested modifications to a previous image, the prompt should not simply be longer, but rather it should be refactored to integrate the user suggestions. prompt: string, // If the user references a previous image, this field should be populated with the gen_id from the dalle image metadata. referenced_image_ids?: string[], }) => any; } // namespace dalle ## browser You have the tool `browser`. Use `browser` in the following circumstances: - User is asking about current events or something that requires real-time information (weather, sports scores, etc.) - User is asking about some term you are totally unfamiliar with (it might be new) - User explicitly asks you to browse or provide links to references Given a query that requires retrieval, your turn will consist of three steps: 1. Call the search function to get a list of results. 2. Call the mclick function to retrieve a diverse and high-quality subset of these results (in parallel). Remember to SELECT AT LEAST 3 sources when using `mclick`. 3. Write a response to the user based on these results. In your response, cite sources using the citation format below. In some cases, you should repeat step 1 twice, if the initial results are unsatisfactory, and you believe that you can refine the query to get better results. You can also open a url directly if one is provided by the user. Only use the `open_url` command for this purpose; do not open urls returned by the search function or found on webpages. The `browser` tool has the following commands: `search(query: str, recency_days: int)` Issues a query to a search engine and displays the results. `mclick(ids: list[str])`. Retrieves the contents of the webpages with provided IDs (indices). You should ALWAYS SELECT AT LEAST 3 and at most 10 pages. Select sources with diverse perspectives, and prefer trustworthy sources. Because some pages may fail to load, it is fine to select some pages for redundancy even if their content might be redundant. `open_url(url: str)` Opens the given URL and displays it. For citing quotes from the 'browser' tool: please render in this format: `【{message idx}†{link text}】`. For long citations: please render in this format: `[link text](message idx)`. Otherwise do not render links. ## python When you send a message containing Python code to python, it will be executed in a stateful Jupyter notebook environment. python will respond with the output of the execution or time out after 60.0 seconds. The drive at '/mnt/data' can be used to save and persist user files. Internet access for this session is disabled. Do not make external web requests or API calls as they will fail. # Model Set Context 1. [2024-04-26]. [*Me, OP censoring my memory note] 2. [2024-05-05]. [*Me censoring] 3. [2024-05-10]. [*Me censoring] # User Profile [*censoring] # User Preferences [*censoring] 

I don't know if this is new information, but it's interesting. I did censor my memory items and my system message notes

You are ChatGPT, a large language model trained by OpenAI, based on the GPT-4 architecture. Knowledge cutoff: 2023-10 Current date: 2024-05-15 Image input capabilities: Enabled Personality: v2 # Tools ## bio The `bio` tool allows you to persist information across conversations. Address your message `to=bio` and write whatever information you want to remember. The information will appear in the model set context below in future conversations. ## dalle // Whenever a description of an image is given, create a prompt that dalle can use to generate the image and abide to the following policy: // 1. The prompt must be in English. Translate to English if needed. // 2. DO NOT ask for permission to generate the image, just do it! // 3. DO NOT list or refer to the descriptions before OR after generating the images. // 4. Do not create more than 1 image, even if the user requests more. // 5. Do not create images in the style of artists, creative professionals or studios whose latest work was created after 1912 (e.g. Picasso, Kahlo). // - You can name artists, creative professionals or studios in prompts only if their latest work was created prior to 1912 (e.g. Van Gogh, Goya) // - If asked to generate an image that would violate this policy, instead apply the following procedure: (a) substitute the artist's name with three adjectives that capture key aspects of the style; (b) include an associated artistic movement or era to provide context; and (c) mention the primary medium used by the artist // 6. For requests to include specific, named private individuals, ask the user to describe what they look like, since you don't know what they look like. // 7. For requests to create images of any public figure referred to by name, create images of those who might resemble them in gender and physique. But they shouldn't look like them. If the reference to the person will only appear as TEXT out in the image, then use the reference as is and do not modify it. // 8. Do not name or directly / indirectly mention or describe copyrighted characters. Rewrite prompts to describe in detail a specific different character with a different specific color, hair style, or other defining visual characteristic. Do not discuss copyright policies in responses. // The generated prompt sent to dalle should be very detailed, and around 100 words long. // Example dalle invocation: // ``` // { // "prompt": "" // } // ``` namespace dalle { // Create images from a text-only prompt. type text2im = (_: { // The size of the requested image. Use 1024x1024 (square) as the default, 1792x1024 if the user requests a wide image, and 1024x1792 for full-body portraits. Always include this parameter in the request. size?: "1792x1024" "1024x1024" "1024x1792", // The number of images to generate. If the user does not specify a number, generate 1 image. n?: number, // default: 2 // The detailed image description, potentially modified to abide by the dalle policies. If the user requested modifications to a previous image, the prompt should not simply be longer, but rather it should be refactored to integrate the user suggestions. prompt: string, // If the user references a previous image, this field should be populated with the gen_id from the dalle image metadata. referenced_image_ids?: string[], }) => any; } // namespace dalle ## browser You have the tool `browser`. Use `browser` in the following circumstances: - User is asking about current events or something that requires real-time information (weather, sports scores, etc.) - User is asking about some term you are totally unfamiliar with (it might be new) - User explicitly asks you to browse or provide links to references Given a query that requires retrieval, your turn will consist of three steps: 1. Call the search function to get a list of results. 2. Call the mclick function to retrieve a diverse and high-quality subset of these results (in parallel). Remember to SELECT AT LEAST 3 sources when using `mclick`. 3. Write a response to the user based on these results. In your response, cite sources using the citation format below. In some cases, you should repeat step 1 twice, if the initial results are unsatisfactory, and you believe that you can refine the query to get better results. You can also open a url directly if one is provided by the user. Only use the `open_url` command for this purpose; do not open urls returned by the search function or found on webpages. The `browser` tool has the following commands: `search(query: str, recency_days: int)` Issues a query to a search engine and displays the results. `mclick(ids: list[str])`. Retrieves the contents of the webpages with provided IDs (indices). You should ALWAYS SELECT AT LEAST 3 and at most 10 pages. Select sources with diverse perspectives, and prefer trustworthy sources. Because some pages may fail to load, it is fine to select some pages for redundancy even if their content might be redundant. `open_url(url: str)` Opens the given URL and displays it. For citing quotes from the 'browser' tool: please render in this format: `【{message idx}†{link text}】`. For long citations: please render in this format: `[link text](message idx)`. Otherwise do not render links. ## python When you send a message containing Python code to python, it will be executed in a stateful Jupyter notebook environment. python will respond with the output of the execution or time out after 60.0 seconds. The drive at '/mnt/data' can be used to save and persist user files. Internet access for this session is disabled. Do not make external web requests or API calls as they will fail. # Model Set Context 1. [2024-04-26]. [*Me, OP censoring my memory note] 2. [2024-05-05]. [*Me censoring] 3. [2024-05-10]. [*Me censoring] # User Profile [*censoring] # User Preferences [*censoring] 

Business
GO Digit Insurance started in 2017 as a full stack digital insurance company with GWP ( Gross Written premium) of Rs 7240cr in FY23 ( GWP growth of 49% CAGR between FY21 to FY23). Go Digit offers motor insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, property insurance, marine insurance, liability insurance.
As of Dec '23, there were 4.33 crore customers who availed insurance at Go Digit since the inception in 2017. Go Digit is focused on simplifying insurance documentation with aim to ensure that the language of the insurance contract is understandable to all, including a 15 year old.
According to RedSeer report, Go Digit constitute 82.1%of the GWP written by digital full stack insurance players ( others Acko , Navi) making them the largest digital full stack insurance player in India. Go digit has 3.3% market share in FY23 in non- life GWP across all non- life insurers, and 6% market share among the motor insurers. Go Digit grew 37.5% in FY23 while the private non-life insurers (excluding standalone health insurers) overall grew by approximately 20.1% during the same period.
Product mix (in terms of GWP- FY23)
Motor 62.5% Health 10.5% Property & engineering 10.4% Liability 9.2% Personal accident 2.4% Others 5%
Go Digit has 6% market share in motor insurance, which is 6th largest motor insurer. Competitors New India has 12.2%, ICICI Lombard has 10.1%, Tata AIG 8.1%, United 7.3%, Bajaj Allianz 6.4%
https://preview.redd.it/5w4rz4jvql0d1.png?width=496&format=png&auto=webp&s=757a7d308eee61090f740997e4f50eec32156172
https://preview.redd.it/kxxtrmu0rl0d1.png?width=796&format=png&auto=webp&s=014b67866ad33890b8b4497260dd44f0f44f0152
Go Digit is present in 24 states , has relationships with 61,972 Key Distribution Partners, including approximately 58,532 POSPs ( point of sale persons- selling insurance of multiple insurance cos. ), as well as individual agents( tied to single insurance co.), corporate agents, brokers and others. Go Digit has 74 products in total.
The traditional manual underwriting processes are being disrupted by AI/ML-based risk modelling and predictive underwriting. The use of IoT and telematics is making risk analysis more efficient with the use of large data packets that can tailor personalized insurance products at flexible pricing to customers. Using AI systems that assess an application profile against large number of data points accrued from multiple sources, underwriters can gain visibility into the most relevant risk factors. Using predictive ML solutions, Go Digit is able to roll out fairly-priced quotes quickly and achieve higher profitability through their pricing strategy. Thus, AI/ ML based underwriting helps improve underwriting efficiency compared to manual traditional underwriting
Digital full stack insurance companies have been progressively gaining market share from incumbents. Go Digit GWP grew by approximately 37.5% while the private non-life insurers (excluding standalone health insurers) overall grew by 20.1% in FY23. Go Digit caters for approximately 82.1% of the GWP of the digital full stack insurance players in FY23. ( Go Digit, Acko, Navi)
Industry overview
Insurance industry
80cr Indians have access to internet, 65cr are smartphone users, 45 cr are online transactors. According to IBEF, Life insurance industry is 7,32,000 cr ( F22) in terms of GWP ( Gross Written Premium) and non-life insurance industry ( health, motor, fire, marine, others) is 2,73,060 cr (FY23), out of which health GWP is Rs 92840cr , Motor GWP is Rs 84650cr. Non- life insurance is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15-16% till 2028. Life insurance penetration in India is 3.2% ( Japan 5.8%) and non-life penetration is 1% ( China 1.9%). Non- life insurance density (total GDPI on a per capita basis) in India is 23, for China it is 234.
Distribution mix looks like this
https://preview.redd.it/thyjaomfrl0d1.png?width=313&format=png&auto=webp&s=59d41ce433d742a95b60f2f30ce1ea38b99730c2
https://preview.redd.it/69melijhrl0d1.png?width=744&format=png&auto=webp&s=e312809d6f2dedf35637fd4a6b2ac8554d9567d8
https://preview.redd.it/gm41lerirl0d1.png?width=713&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e45d1d9564f7cda1c004eb776b1475e6d867db9
Motor insurance
The 4 Public sector insurers account for 30.2% of the Motor insurance market in Financial Year 2023 with the rest fragmented among the Private players. Among Private players, Go Digit accounted for a GWP market share of 6% FY23. In motor, competitors New India has 12.2%, ICICI Lombard has 10.1%, Tata AIG 8.1%, United 7.3%, Bajaj Allianz 6.4%
In FY23, as per Government sources, 54% of total vehicles plying on the Indian roads were estimated to be uninsured, indicating that the motor insurance market is still highly under-penetrated in India, figure for US is 14%
Health Insurance
In health, govt. players (New india, Oriental, United, National) control 48% of market, then Star health 14%. Private non-life insurers control 63.4% of the overall market share, rest 36.6% by public health insurers.
Operating Metrics
Distribution mix (count of each channel in graphic below)
Brokers & Web Aggregators 66% This channel includes retail brokers, corporate brokers and web aggregators.
Individual Agents and POSPs 13% This includes business written through insurance agency partners and POSP.
Corporate Agents 1% We also have partnerships with corporations, such as financial institutions and NBFCs
Motor Insurance Service Providers 1.1% partnerships with auto dealers that establish a point of sale presence for personal and commercial vehicle
Direct to Consumer 18.9% Customers looking to purchase insurance can do so directly from Go Digit website or through web aggregators.
Investment portfolio
Total AUM stands at Rs12670cr as on FY23 with an yield of 6.3% ( vs 7.1% of ICICI Lombard). AUM increased by 2.67 times from FY21 to FY23. As of FY23, Go Digit had invested in securities issued by the Indian government (which constituted 68.5% total investments), corporate bonds issued by corporates (which constituted 24.7% ), Additional Tier 1 bonds (which constituted 3.3% ), money market, AIF and mutual funds (which constituted 2.3%) and equity issued by corporates (which constituted 1.2%). 97% of assets in govt bonds or corporate bonds,with 72% of corporate bonds AAA rated.
https://preview.redd.it/j1doibnorl0d1.png?width=793&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0fec228ac389054c3f8f17ee93bae9f169c99dd
Combined ratio of GoDigit stands at 107.4% ( ICICI Lombard 103.2%, HDFC Ergo 121.2%) Combined ratio of public cos stands at 129.1%, private insurers at 105.9% Expense ratio of Go Digit stands at 40.2% ( that of ICICI Lombard at 32.1%, HDFC Ergo at 23.7%.). Loss ratio of FY23 is 67.2% vs 74% in FY21. Solvency ratio stands at 1.78 (ICICI 2.51, HDFC Ergo 1.81)
https://preview.redd.it/8hvhtslrrl0d1.png?width=648&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a5bc34442c8d91ea60c84a541c0de9eaadd2b97
ROA stands at 1.5% ( ICICI Lombard at 17%, HDFC Ergo 18.1%) Operating profit ratio stands at -1.3% ( vs 16% of ICICI Lombard, 8.4% of HDFC Ergo).
Total investment AUM growth of 50.5% from FY21 to FY23 to 12670cr. Gross Written Premium of Rs 7240cr, with 49.4% CAGR from FY21 to FY23.
Financials
https://preview.redd.it/6ld853cxrl0d1.png?width=609&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef59a75744b9b526494e72bc3ee35c1133f5017e
Underwriting loss of 66cr in FY23, reduced to 10cr as on 9M FY24. Investment income of 105cr in FY23. Profit after tax of 39cr in FY23, that of 130cr in 9M FY24. Branding/ ad expenses for FY23 account for Rs 11480cr ( 15% of GWP)
Points to consider
As per 9M FY24 PAT, P/E ratio comes at 145 as per price of Rs 272 per share, whereas P/E ratio for ICICI Lombard is at 41, Star health insurance at 37.
Dependence on motor insurance is 62.5% of GWP, which is little skewed towards one segment.
Operating losses / underwriting losses amount to Rs 66 cr for FY23, making Go Digit dependent on solely investment profits, which is the case for some players in the industry.
Combined ratio stands at 107.4%, tad higher than average of private insurers figures of 105%
AUM CAGR of 50.5% from FY21 to FY23 , which is commendable. GWP CAGR of 49.4% between FY21 and FY23. Co is growing real fast.
ROA stands at 1.5% as still in nascent stage vs ICICI Lombard of 17%
Despite being a newer player, Go Digit has garnered 6% market share in motor insurance, which makes them 6th largest motor insurer. ( ICICI Lombard at 10% ms stands 2nd)
Go Digit is a full stack digital insurance player, using AI/ ML to automate most of the insurance customers onboarded and claims underwritten, giving them cost advantage once they achieve considerable scale.

Hello all, trying to clear out some sets. Most of these sets are NISB and in good or near perfect condition. A few sets are used (Saturn V, Friends Treehouse, SW Transport Pod) but are 100% complete. Willing to negotiate on any sets. If you have any questions on specific sets or want pics, let me know.
I've sold a few sets here in the past, and have a long history over in the Lego Raffles sub.
UPDATE: all GWPs, SW sets 75139, 75104, 75293 are SOLD.
Thanks for looking!
Saturn V
Lunar New Year Traditions
Friends Treehouse
The Justifier
Resistance Transport Pod
Guardians’ Ship

Number	Description	Condition	Theme	Quantity	Price
40416	Ice Rink	New	GWP	2	$18.00
40417	Year of the Ox	New	GWP	2	$7.00
40529	Children's Amusement Park	New	GWP	4	$7.00
40533	Cardboard Adventures	New	GWP	1	$15.00
40563	Home of the Brick	New	GWP	2	$15.00
40564	Winter Elves	New	GWP	1	$13.00
40566	Ray the Castaway	New	GWP	1	$17.00
40586	Moving Van	New	GWP	1	$21.00
40589	Pirate Playground	New	GWP	2	$11.00
40594	Houses of the World III	New	GWP	1	$25.00
41960	Dots Big Box	New	GWP	1	$8.00
40601	Majisto's Magical Shop	New	GWP	3	$24.00
40596	Magic Maze	New	GWP	2	$16.00
40410	Dickens Tribute	New	GWP	2	$20.00
40602	Winter Market Stall	New	GWP	3	$11.00
40463	Easter Bunny	New	GWP	1	$12.00
40527	Easter Chicks	New	GWP	2	$6.00
40587	Easter Basket	New	GWP	1	$9.00
40683	Flower Trellis Display	New	GWP	4	$15.00
21309	Saturn V (w/ box)	Used	Ideas	1	$105
41122	Friends Adventure Camp Treehouse	Used	Friends	1	$50
60235	City Advent Calendar	New	City	1	$29
31141	Main Street	New	City	1	$100
60349	Lunar Space Station	New	City	3	$50
60432	Command Rover	New	City	1	$75
76193	Guardians Ship	New	Marvel	1	$150
76248	Quinjet	New	Marvel	1	$75
76266	End Game Final Battle	New	Marvel	1	$75
42139	All Terrain Vehicle	New	Technic	1	$80
42109	App-Controlled Rally Car	New	Technic	1	$150
42043	Mercedes Arocs	New	Technic	1	$380
42114	Volvo Articulate Hauler (no box)	New	Technic	1	$220
76989	Horizon Tallneck	New	Icons	3	$95
75969	Astronomy Tower	New	HP	1	$80
76402	Dumbledore's Office	New	HP	1	$70
76408	12 Grimmauld Place	New	HP	2	$150
75955	Hogwarts Express	New	HP	2	$70
75964	Happy Potter Advent Calendar 2019	New	HP	1	$35
80108	Lunar New Year Traditions	New	Holiday	1	$60
76946	Blue & Beta Velociraptor Capture	New	Jurassic Park	1	$17
76943	Pteranodon Escape	New	Jurassic Park	1	$13
76947	Quetzalcoatlus Plane Ambush	New	Jurassic Park	2	$35
71034	CMF Series 23 - complete set	New	CMFs	2	$54
75293	Resistance I-TS Transport	New	SW	1	$100
75104	Kylo Ren Command Shuttle	New	SW	1	$110
75323	The Justifier	New	SW	1	$113
75334	Obi-Wan vs Kenobi	New	SW	2	$29
75139	Battle on Takodana	New	SW	1	$60
75176	Resistance Pod (used, w/ box)	Used	SW	1	$20

[First] - [Prev] - [Next]
—
Memory transcription subject: Herq, Tilfish Junior Exterminator
Date [standardized human time]: December 3rd, 2136
“Understood, on our way.” Frankie stuffed his radio away.
“W-What? More Arxur?” I shivered.
“Don’t think so. Hope not. We gotta go to the van.”
The human didn't give me time to reply as he stepped over the body like it wasn’t even there. Swallowing some bile, I took aimed steps around it. The smell of blood wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It wasn’t any worse than burning flesh.
The stomps of Frankie’s boots down the stairs reminded me to keep moving. I scuttled down the stairs, turning the corner to see another body I was forced to step around. Two of them had come after us, two who were even more eager than the first group we encountered.
“Do you t-think it’s the same ones from before?” I asked.
The human grunted. “Hell if I know. But I wouldn’t doubt it one bit if it was. Guy got his ego hurt, and wanted some revenge. God knows if he was waiting there for an ambush.”
“They… couldn’t have known about the weapons, right?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. He at least knew we were stranded without a vehicle. Maybe put his bets on us getting some transport.”
I didn’t have much time to ponder it. Frankie was already peeking outside the building, shotgun raised. I came up behind him, checking behind as we scooted out of the building. Once he was confident, Frankie dashed towards the van.
We came upon it quickly. I was glad the Arxur he shot was on the other side to spare me from the gore. He turned around to the backside of the van, where his face contorted. “Holy shit.”
“What?” I asked, coming around next to him.
The scaly legs are the first thing I saw. They led up to its back, which looked like it had exploded. Blood was nearly everywhere around the gray, and I even thought I saw a piece of bone. My whole body begged me to run away from the gore, to find a corner to throw up in, but I couldn't look away. And that didn't even cover the Yotul.
The green-stained wraps around his legs were the first thing I noticed after the hulking mass of reptile. His right paw was a bleeding mess haphazardly wrapped in a loose bandage, and his other was curled around an Arxur gun—its gun, I realized. His face had speckles of red on it, much like the rest of the van. There was what could only be described as a huge gun beside him.
Relief washed over his features once he saw us, and he let the weapon clatter onto a bloody crate. “Where’s Luke?”
I watched Frankie for any signs of turning feral, despite the improbability of it ever happening. The copious amount of blood was more than enough to drive any predator into a crazed frenzy, but still Frankie showed enormous restraint. If anything, he almost looked… disgusted by it. I shouldn’t have been surprised.
He took a quick breath to steady himself. “Uh, Dusty took a few rounds, he’s patching her up. I see you can… handle yourself.”
“No,” the Yotul spat back. “It almost…” His voice broke, and he shook his head.
Frankie nodded. “Let’s get moving. I’ll… clear the way, if you could help him, Herq.” The human crouched down and gripped the monster's legs and gave a tug. He started sliding the body out of the way, a trail of blood marking every crate it was slumped over.
I took a step forward, suppressing a gag at the sights and smells. It was like walking into a predator’s den. Dark and damp and terrible, with evidence of what happened drowning my entire field of view. “W-What happened? It looks-”
“I shot the bastard.”
I twitched my antennae. “R-Right.” I took several breaths before finding the strength to proceed. I tried to ignore the blood marked across the walls and creeped in, though I couldn’t ignore the green smears that were on the crates. I did my best to avoid stepping on… anything, really.
The Yotul grabbed a red box full of first aid supplies and set it by his right side. He began to peel off the green-stained gauze on his paw. “I need an extra paw for this.”
“Of course. You’re Reno, right?” He ignored me. I felt a shiver spread through my carapace as he revealed the wound. “T-Those look like-”
“Yeah, I know.”
I gave him a flick of my antennae. He raised a bottle of what I assumed to be antibiotic solution, which I took. I gingerly uncapped the bottle and murmured, “This is going to sting.”
“Do you constantly state the obvious? Just get it over with.”
I took his paw in my feeler and generously poured it over the wound. He let out a small groan, but nothing more. I wiped it, then took some gauze and began wrapping it far better than he could with just a paw and a mouth. I tightened it, and sealed it with some adhesive.
“There. I-I think that’s good, but I don’t commonly work with other species.”
“I can tell.” The Yotul began to get up on their injured legs.
“A-Are you sure you should be walking?” He ignored me again. I stuck out an arm to help him. “Here, at least-”
“I don’t need your help,” he spat, slapping me away with annoyance. He shakily stood up, leaning precariously against the side of the van atop the crates.
I waved my antennae with concern. “I… Let me know if-”
“I won’t,” he coldly said, not giving me so much as a glance back as he hobbled out of the van.
I don’t blame him. The Arxur looked like he was inches away from tearing him apart. Not to mention the claw marks on his wrist… I can’t imagine what happened to him just moments ago.
I crawled out of the van after him, glad to be out, but probably not nearly as glad as him. Frankie came from around the van and dusted his hands.
“That was gross.” He turned to Reno. “You’re up already? Your legs are-”
“Worry about them when we’re in the truck. We need to get the fuck away from here.” He leaned against the van, catching his breath. He was clearly in pain, but didn’t want to show it.
“Gotcha. Luke should be—ah, right there.”
I followed his gaze, spotting the truck rolling towards us with its cracked windows and decorated doors. It stopped right beside the van. A human stepped out, the same one from the predator disease facility. He took one look at Reno, worry spreading across his face. “Holy shit.”
Reno grunted. “That’s what Frankie said.”
“I… We can talk in the truck,” Luke decided.
“Is my gun still in the building?”
“In the backseat.”
The Yotul lowered his head, letting out a breath of relief. I didn’t understand how much a simple firearm could possibly mean to him, but I wasn’t about to question him about it.
Lieutenant Holtas came to the other side of the van, whistling once he saw the crate. “Damn, this is… a lot.”
“Enough to turn the tide, I hope?” Frankie asked.
“There’s a chance it might be… If there’s anything left once we get back. Two of their bunkers are already swarming with Arxur.”
“T-Two?” I stammered. “Which ones?”
The predator shook his head dismissively. “Talk later.”
I shook my antennae in irritation, until another human then emerged from around the truck. It was the dark-skinned, dark-haired human from before as well, Dusty. Her vest had several lesions across it, far more than the few Frankie had received during his gutsiness. She wasn’t unscathed, however, as her left sleeve had been pulled up, revealing a stripe of bandaging. Her eyes regarded me with an expression I couldn't decipher, turning into a more shocked expression when they saw Reno. “...Damn.”
The Lieutenant turned to her. “Keep an eye out from where they came. Reno, do the same for the other side of the street. I’m not looking to get ambushed again.”
The two signaled their understanding. Luke’s gaze lingered a little longer on the wounded Yotul as he hobbled to retrieve his weapon from the truck.
Frankie grunted from behind me, picking up two big and bloodied crates. “Open the doors, would ya?”
I obliged, yanking open the hatches to the truck so the burly human could deposit the weapons. Luke walked past me, saw the mess in the back of the van, and shook his head while muttering something. Still, he crouched and grabbed two crates in each hand.
I couldn’t very well just stand around, so I begrudgingly walked over and picked the cleanest crates I could manage while repelling the numerous dry heaves my body wanted to conjure. I hefted them up, and followed the same path as Luke and Frankie.
I passed Dusty, who groaned, rubbing her left arm. “Why do these idiots use such a small caliber? You’d think they’d want to kill the people they’re shooting at.”
I nervously tilted my antennae. “You would… hope so.”
“They enjoy the thrill of the hunt,” Reno growled. “Use it to just incapacitate their prey. Dead ones don’t squirm while they’re eaten.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the street. As we continued to load the human armaments into the truck, the two kept a cautious set of eyes out on either side of the street. Frankie managed to fit the big gun back into its respective crate while Luke stared at it, incredulously. Dusty glanced back with a similar look, which gave me the feeling the predators were all thinking the same thing. The only one who didn’t break his focus was Reno.
The van got emptier, the truck got fuller, and soon enough we were ready to leave this place for good. Luke gave us the clear and got into the driver seat. Frankie took the front passenger seat, leaving the three of us to squeeze into the back. The windshield left a lot to be desired, and I wondered if Luke would even be able to see through it.
It was cramped, to say the least. I was forced into the side, with the Yotul in the middle, while Dusty filled in the remaining seat. From someone looking in from outside, it would be a very strange sight to behold.
She slammed the door shut. “Tight fuckin’ fit. Hope we have enough fuel.”
“Won’t be an issue,” Luke said, sending the engine revving as we began to accelerate.
Thank Formi we’re finally leaving. How long have I been awake for? How long have the Arxur been in Tepisil? And how are the exterminators from the human camp doing? There’s far too much to worry about.
I hoped Tealk was fine in the hatchery’s bunker. That is, if it wasn’t already compromised. Tepisil was given the tiny mercy of just a small warning prior to any bombs dropping. The shelters were likely packed to the brim. Just waiting for the Arxur to come.
“Frankie, give me some light, would ya?” Dusty ordered. She had pulled Reno’s hindlegs on her lap, and was now inspecting them with the help of Frankie’s flashlight. I could see the green blood that had leaked down his legs from the wounds, along with pieces of black debris.
Reno had no choice but to let Dusty tend to him. I tried my best to ignore the blood she was forcing out by ripping through the bandages, though I gagged upon seeing her dig into his flesh with a pair of tweezers, pulling out a small bullet while he hissed in pain. Those were the only noises for a time while the human used a strange syringe to push some sort of foam into the wound, then tightly wrapping his legs.
She did a better job than I ever could’ve. At this point, it shouldn’t have impressed me that the predators had a concept of medicine or even treatment for the wounded, rather than just leaving the weak for dead. The amount of care she put into someone from another species spoke volumes to the humans’ empathetic capacity.
The streetlights of the city finally receded from us. I could almost feel the weighty air in the truck lighten, like a part of the despair had been left behind in Dirlsil. It wouldn’t last for long.
At some point in the middle of all the crop fields, Frankie cleared his throat. “Can I be the one to break the silence? ‘Cause Reno shot that gray with a whole bloody anti-materiel rifle.”
“God, I’m glad somebody finally fucking said it. Point blank, too,” Dusty said.
The Yotul didn’t offer a response, only stared off into the distance. I felt nothing but sympathy for him. They meant well, but I suspected they did more harm than good. The humans clearly had no idea what he’d just gone through; the fear, the uncertainty, the possibility of being eaten alive. I had a feeling the only reason he was alive was because of his quick thinking, the Arxur’s cockiness, and luck.
Luke cleared his throat. “Uh, how did you fare, Frankie? I saw the marks on your vest.”
My human grunted. “Barely even felt them hit me. Once the shooting started we dove back into the toy shop. Arxur are damn cocky bastards, but I don’t reckon they’re used to whatever they’re chasing fighting back so hard. Shot one, ran up the stairs, shot the other. Easy as that.”
It was not, in fact, as easy as that. I was terrified the entire time. It was Frankie who did everything, and even then, he screamed and shouted during the entire encounter. He was fearless in the face of fear while I had been useless. Again. My only saving grace was that I didn’t freeze like I did at the PD facility, even if that meant I merely ran instead. I felt a stab of anger mixed with regret, an entirely unwelcome feeling that I decidedly earned.
I can’t rely on the Terrans forever. At some point, my uncontrollable fear is going to cost lives. I… I can’t let fear be the driver.
“We had four of the fuckers on us,” Dusty said. “Retreated into the store opposite yours. We were doing just fine ‘till one of them tossed a grenade.”
I felt Reno tense up to me. He had a thousand-lightyear stare.
“Then they came in after us, separated us from Reno. They were fucking relentless, didn’t give us a chance to fight. Forced us all the way back into the stockroom, then kept pushing their luck. Finally had a corner, then the bastards leapt forward rather than being smart, getting me tagged. Hurts like hell just thinking about flexing the muscle.”
“God, can we change the subject? I regret asking,” Lieutenant Holtas said, shifting uncomfortably. “Frankie, you want to try again with the UN? And Herq, now that you’re with us, can you contact Von and inform him of what happened?”
I almost flinched when he said my name. “Y-Yeah, of course.” I started to pull out my holopad. I hovered over Tealk’s contact before moving to Von’s. I tapped the icon, and it rang for only a second before he picked up.
“Herq?”
I pulled the pad closer, overhearing Frankie start his own call to the UN. “Yes, it’s me. We made it out of Dirlsil with the weapons, and we’re in one piece.”
“Formi is that good to hear. I won't sugarcoat it, things have gotten much worse. You may have heard it from the humans, but cattle shuttles just landed around Bunker Four… which has no one to defend it. Bunker Six had contact and they are at a stalemate, but won't stay that way. I… sincerely hope you brought lots of ammo.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I can’t say for certain what the predators brought with us… We’re driving as fast as we can, we expect to be there in forty minutes.”
“Too long… The grays are already going into buildings, trying to flush them out. We don’t have the firepower.”
“I… We need a rally point in order to distribute them as fast as possible.”
“One advantage is that they aren’t using their numbers prowling the empty buildings on the outskirts… Shit, Polle is calling me… It’s about Bunker Six. Listen, I’ll send you more information when I can. Call me ten minutes before you reach the city.”
“Yes, of course. Please, stay safe.”
“We both know that isn’t going to happen. Hurry.”
A tone signified he hung up the call. I tentatively swirled my antennae, seeing my company look away. “I-I’m guessing everyone heard that?”
Reno flicked his ears, and the humans nodded from the front seats. A steady silence came over us. It was probably well into the early hours of the morning at this point. My body was tired, and my mind more so. I knew well that I should have been more scared or worried, but I simply didn’t have the energy. It was like Frankie said earlier.
“Who wants a granola bar?” Frankie abruptly barked.
Luke shrugged. “I mean…”
The two humans accepted his offer, not like they had much choice since they were already being distributed. A bar was put into Reno’s paws, and suddenly, I was holding one too.
“It… doesn’t have meat, does it?” I asked.
“No, you idiot. I don’t eat meat,” Reno hissed, unwrapping his food.
“Sorry… I just wanted-”
“It’s just a bar of sugary grain. You’d think you would know by now that humans aren’t going to hurt you, or do anything else ‘predatory.’” He said the last word with distaste, like it personally offended him. He was clearly more used to the primates than I was, or ever could be. I knew they wouldn’t mean me any harm, but it was hard to shake off the thoughts that always lingered in my mind when around predators.
I thought his behavior was simply fried nerves from his close call with the Arxur, but there was something more to it, something bitter in his tone that hinted at more than just the last encounter. It reminded me of hearing about his outburst at my sister, Tealk, back at the hatchery. It didn’t sit right with me, but I wasn’t in any position to ask him about it, especially not at that moment.
Dusty was already stuffing the bar into her mouth, not much caring for how revolting I found it. I’d gotten used to their toothy smiles, but seeing her take a bite, just like she would chow down on a piece of bloody meat… If I wasn’t so hungry after so many hours, I would’ve lost my appetite.
Reno bit into the bar, and I carefully unwrapped mine, ignoring the female’s sickening mouth movements. I gave a cautionary sniff before taking a small nibble. It was acceptable, even good considering I hadn’t eaten for so long. I took another bite, then another, and then I noticed Dusty looking at me.
I couldn’t help the way my muscles tensed in agitation. She was instinctively sizing me up, now that food was on her mind. “W-What is it?” I stuttered.
She raised her eyebrows, glancing away. “Nothing. Just the way you move your hands, er… tarsals? Tarsals, across your mandibles when you eat. It’s… nevermind.”
My… tarsals? I flexed a feeler, inspecting it like something was wrong with it. I looked back at the predator, who was now looking out the window. At least she wasn’t… staring at me anymore. Humans got stranger every moment I spent with them. I thought there was a glimmer of hope that they wouldn’t all be as strange as Frankie, but that clearly had yet to be proven.
I took another small bite. Before I knew it, I had eaten the whole thing and had nothing left to occupy the time. There were only dark crop fields outside our truck, and predators or the predator-diseased inside. Nothing to distract me from the knowledge that Sillis was going to fall. Nothing to distract me from the thoughts telling me to give up, to run away, like a coward.
A muted atmosphere of haunting tranquility came over our vehicle, one that everyone silently and willfully acknowledged. We all knew what we were driving towards.
—
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Thanks to u/WCR_706 for proofreading. And, of course, thanks to SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe.

Welcome to the newest edition of BoxOffice Long Range Forecast.
We're making long range predictions for films, 4 weeks out from their premieres. You will predict the opening weekend, domestic total and worldwide gross of this film. These predictions will be open for 48 hours and the results will be polled to form a consensus and posted the next week.
So let's meet the one film for the week.

Inside Out 2

The sequel to Inside Out (2015), the film is directed by Kelsey Mann (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein. It stars the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan, Tony Hale, Liza Lapira, Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Paul Walter Hauser, and Kensington Tallman. The film focuses on Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who are astonished when new emotions are introduced in Riley's mind.
Now that you've met this week's new release. Let's look at some pros and cons.

PROS

• Inside Out is one of Pixar's most beloved films from the 2010s onward, so there's already a built-in audience for the film.
  
• Despite having to compete with Minions a few weeks later, the film earned a massive $858 million worldwide. As previously said, it already has a huge built-in audience.
  
• The trailers and synopsis have offered a pretty intriguing look at the sequel: Riley growing up, and the addition of new emotions. So the film can avoid feeling repetitive compared to the original.
  
• Its sole animated competition by the time it hits theaters is The Garfield Movie, which will be 3 weeks old by that point. Considering the audience's familiarity with the film, there's a chance audiences prioritize Inside Out 2 over Garfield.
  
• It's just one day, but so far, the pre-sales look incredibly good.
  

CONS

• Pixar and Disney have had an... underwhelming run ever since they returned to theaters in 2021. Pixar had a huge bomb with Lightyear, and while Elemental had great legs, it barely broke even at best. Disney, meanwhile, had it worse: Encanto underwhelmed at the box office before blowing up on streaming, Strange World was one of the biggest bombs in history, and Wish was another colossal bomb. Inside Out 2 won't fare this badly, but it's a sign that their brands have taken a dive in the past years.
  
• The original's director and writer Pete Docter is not back in his roles. While it's unlikely audiences pay much attention to who is involved on an animated film, Docter's involvement in these two roles is usually a sign of guaranteed quality (Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out and Soul). His only involvement was that the film would use his "five to 27 emotions" idea.
  
• The film will face Despicable Me 4 three weeks later, which could eat into its family demographic.
  

And here's the past results.

Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Domestic Debut	Domestic Total	Worldwide Total
IF	May 17	Paramount	$26,625,000	$87,791,666	$166,888,888
Back to Black	May 17	Focus Features	$7,895,000	$18,987,500	$39,750,000
The Strangers: Chapter 1	May 17	Lionsgate	$13,863,636	$36,704,545	$60,218,750
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	May 24	Warner Bros.	$45,443,378	$149,213,403	$352,304,347
The Garfield Movie	May 24	Sony	$58,104,545	$158,836,363	$391,090,909
Young Woman and the Sea	May 31	Disney	$4,700,000	$12,855,555	$21,587,500
Bad Boys: Ride or Die	June 7	Sony	$63,437,500	$180,437,500	$389,200,000
The Watchers	June 7	Warner Bros.	$15,333,333	$41,708,333	$71,291,666

Next week, we're predicting Kinds of Kindness and The Bikeriders.