I would like to keep track of how much I spend a year on cat food, treats, litter, toys. Unfortunately where I buy these items is the same place where I buy my food so it all goes through the same bill.
This is more of a nice-to-have and I am curios to hear how do you all track those expenses if at all.
I would not like to do two transactions during check out but I may have to try it, this also will help me figure out how to break down items purchased at stores that are able to sell multiple items there. For example at Walmart (grocery store for those outside the US) you can buy from car oil to milk or even toys.

I’ve saw a lot of post lately about event plants being high. Complaining when people are paying for them is pointless tis game is old people know how to farm caps they’ll get the caps back they spent in no time they don’t care not like they have much else to do with them. Also it’s there item who cares how much they sell it for if someone wants to sell the weenie wagon for 500k or a glowing mask let them it’s their choice and it doesn’t effect you much at all. We’re all here to trade buy and sell can we just get along?

Alright, I, like many other, agree that its pretty hard to get gems in this game, as well as items like rerolls, dice, and stars for evolving units and stuff. I found a method that can give 4x the rewards from challenges and around 4k gems an hour, but it does require quite a bit of effort. Not as in its actually hard to do, its just really boring.

1. Get 3 alts, they may or may not have to be over a month old, i dunno, but get 3 alts.
   
2. Search up roblox account manager and download it from Github, if you dont know how to do it just search a video on youtube, its pretty simple.
   
3. Launch roblox manager after getting all the settings configured and stuff. Now add the 3 alts you have. After that, go to anime defenders and look in the URL for a big number and put that number in place ID.
   
4. Now, you can make a VIP server and paste the link in job ID, but i recommend just Putting your main account username in the Username section.
   
5. Now Open roblox normally with your main account, and have your 3 alts join your main account using the follow button on roblox account mananger.(make sure your main account has it so that everyone can join you.)
   
6. Once all your accounts are in game, use your main account to carry the 3 alts through ALL of the story. Every single stage. Along the way make sure to collect quests that you complete on the alts.
   
7. Once you are finished going through all of story with your alts, which will take around 2ish hours maybe, you will have around 4k gems on each alt from the story rewards and quest rewards, and the alts will be around level 8-9.
   
8. Now, to trade you need level 10, so just do a few challenges to get your alts to level 10.
   
9. Now for this step, you need a shiny unit that you can trade/sell in the booths. A shiny legendary works best, but a shiny rare or epic will also work, just makes things slower.
   
10. Go to the trade place, and have your alts trade all the stuff you get from carrying them in challenges to your main, this is how you would get 4x the challenge rewards, because your main + 3 alts = 4x the normal rewards pretty much.
    
11. For gems, claim a booth, and set the gem price as high as it can go if its a shiny rare or epic, then have your alts continuously buy it and trade back the unit for free. This will be much faster with a shiny legendary or higher because you can set the price to whatever you want on those.
    

Thats it! If you have any questions just comment or DM me. Im happy to help.

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Update: Bloons TD 6 v43.0 - Update Notes!
Available now for most platforms please restart your storefront or be patient if it does not appear for you, these updates can take some time to be rolled out to every region due to how the storefronts are set up.
Update Video: https://youtu.be/97SrSDiSNfk

Key New Features

• New Event, Boss Rush!
  • We are so psyched to release this event! We have heard the many requests for more Team activities, and after testing some functionality in Quests, we are so happy to release a very different way to play as a Team. Thank you for your feedback and patience, and we truly hope you enjoy!
  • Band together with allies to defend against the powerful Boss Rush threatening your Team. With multiple Boss threats looming on the horizon, you and your Team must work together to defend nearby islands from a variety of invaders!
  • To assist in pushing back the threat players are outfitted with Relic Knowledge to leverage and a number of Revive Shields that will recover you from 0 lives! But be careful, Revives are limited and each time one is triggered the Boss will rush closer to the exit.
  • These Bosses cannot be destroyed alone, so when defending any island your goal is to deal as much damage as you possibly can before they make it past. When your Team reaches enough combined total damage the island is successfully defended and you can progress to the next island, with a new Boss to defend against!
  • Between islands some monkey types must stay behind to defend, but additional Relic Knowledge will be acquired to assist in the next challenge.
  • Defend 5 islands, each with a fast paced Boss challenge against different Bosses out of the initial 3 available: Bloonarius, Dreadbloon & Phayze. (Vortex & Lych to be coming at a later date!).
  • Immediately after defending an island, all Team members can claim the island rewards!
  • For launch we are releasing with a pure Team focus without competitive leaderboards. This allows us to review balance and get feedback from players before making changes in future updates. Boss Rush has evolved to be much bigger than the minigame-like concept it was initially planned to be and we look forward to seeing all of your Teams defend their islands together!
  • The Event Timer shows when the next Boss Rush will start - less than a day after launch.
• New Code Redemption System
  • This new system will allow us to create gift packs that can be redeemed by anyone with the code for free in-game rewards, so keep an eye out for any codes we may share (or hide…) in future!
  • Due to privacy requirements, certain platforms won’t be able to enter the codes directly in the game. Instead, you will need to visit a Ninja Kiwi website where you can log in to your LiNK account and redeem the code.

New Awesome

• New Hero Rosalia! (responds to Lia for short!)
  • Jetpack Monkey joins the team! Try out Rosalia right away in her new trial quest! Rosalia is built to be a strong ‘set and forget’ hero who also happens to work well with a techbot. The ability to swap weapon to handle her own weaknesses exists for people who wish to play her as their sole DPS, but the power of both her weapons is balanced to scale up together at a fair rate so there's no reason not to pick a preferred weapon forever, and build the rest of your towers to cover any weakness left.
  • Rosalia freely jumps around her large workshop area, attacking faster the more Bloons are nearby while swapping between a powerful single target laser & bouncing cluster grenades to deal with different threats!
  • Enhanced special attacks for the 10th shot fired on either weapon, showering Bloons in a fog of explosions, or Shocking and pushing them back with powerful Plasma blasts
  • Reduce all upgrade costs for Monkey Ace & Heli Pilot, plus one other friend!
  • Lv3 Scatter Missile ability, to clean up Bloons with a barrage of powerful stuns
  • Lv7 Hover ANYWHERE and gain the Flight Boost ability to temporarily pursue Bloons everywhere around the track and temporarily boost the flight speed of Aces & Helis
  • Lv10 Kinetic Charge ability, which sticks MOAB-class Bloons with a charge that explodes after a short duration and amplifies this explosion based on the amount of damage that hits the target before the charge explodes. Focus fire!
  • You could try this code: ROSALIAROCKS
• New Beginner Map Tinkerton
  • Explore Rosalia’s workshop and help defend it against Bloon incursion! Who knew orange juice had so many uses?
• New Quests
  • Tinkerer’s Tutorial: discover Rosalia’s strengths and weaknesses
  • A Strange Bloonomaly: Dr. Monkey wants your help investigating some unusual Bloons
• New Trophy Store Items
  • Heroes: Obyn Wolf Dance placement animation for Standard Obyn
  • Monkeys: Boomer ‘Roo pet for the Boomerang Monkey
  • Bloons: BAD Scarab skin
  • Game & UI: Boomer and ‘Roo profile banner, Distinguished Gentlemonkey avatar
• Limited Time Trophy Store Item
  • Druid of the Rainbow avatar
• New CT Team Store items
  • Icons: Battle Monkey Icon
  • Frames: Boss Rush Clouds Frame

Game Changes / Additions

• Map Editor Beach items
  • It may be getting colder in New Zealand, but we know it’s getting back to beach weather for most of you!
  • Beach water path x1
  • Areas x2
  • Stamps x3
  • Props x22
• Map Editor ‘full path’ settings to modify how entire paths work
  • Set paths to be alternating, sequential, or a specific pattern
• Map Editor ‘path node’ settings to modify small sections within a path
  • Invulnerable MOABs: MOABs will not be targetable until the next node
  • Invulnerable Bloons: Bloons will not be targetable until the next node
  • All Bloon Speed: Speed modified by a set multiplier until the next node
  • Scale Bloon: Bloons will increase in visual size until the next node
  • Scale MOAB: MOABs will increase in visual size until the next node
• FPS is no longer capped by default, instead a 60 FPS limit can be enabled from the screen resolution menu

Bug Fixes & General Changes

• Endurance Roundset used in the Phayze One quest has been extended from 100 to 205 rounds, and now has naturally spawning Camo Bloons added
• David Vs Goliath achievement now works in Boss Challenge
• Resolved a crash that could occur when logging out
• Resolved a crash that could occur when exiting out of the received accolades menu too quickly after entering
• Resolved a case in which ‘login required’ could incorrectly display on arcade builds
• Unlocking a new hero should always select that new hero
• Resolved some UI overlap issues within Map Editor
• Resolved some minor visual issues with quests forcing hero level ups
• Map Editor vfx should no longer sometimes become locked to the player’s selection and block interaction / clicking on other items
• Resolved an issue that could sometimes fail to load the ‘My Teams’ button
• Resolved an issue where tower outlines would incorrectly misalign from the tower
• Improved resolution of the default App icon
• Restarting a game in the Content Browser should no longer render that run invalid for the ‘first winner’ slot
• The ‘messages’ page is now loaded by default when interacting with the My Team button
• Income modifiers used in challenge rules should correctly apply to all sources of income

Event bug fixes

• Team island props should once again animate when interacted with
• Game should no longer crash when in the Odyssey scene as the event ends

Map Specific Fixes

• Protect the Yacht quest map’s Boss Spawn Point art has been corrected
• Protect the Yacht quest map should no longer use the #ouch odyssey statue

Tower Specific Fixes

Tack Shooter

• 5xx Inferno Ring’s fire aura is now visually disabled when VFX slider is set to 0%

Ice Monkey

• x3x Arctic Wind ice aura is now visually disabled when VFX slider is set to 0%

Glue Gunner

• x4x Glue Gunner can no longer debuff Dreadbloon in Primary Immune phase

Monkey Sub

• x5x Pre-Emptive Strike now works on Castle’s Revenge
• Resolved a crash that could occur when building a sub paragon as Vortex spawns.
• 3xx+ Monkey Sub aura no longer shrinks with the VFX slider, but is disabled at 0%

Monkey Buccaneer

• 4xx Aircraft Carrier planes now have camo restored when Polyphemus Eye is opened
• xx4 Favored Trades no longer increases the sell value of towers in CHIMPS above $0

Heli Pilot

• Swapping to Lock in Place while moving should no longer visually jam the rotation

Super Monkey

• Resolved a hypersonic automatic blink teleport attacks issue that never happened in a live build but is kinda fun to talk about, and honestly less hype than i’m making it out to sound anyway.

Hero Specific Fixes

Gwendolin

• Lv4 Gwendolin's Heat It Up buff no longer fails to apply if the attack runs out of pierce
• Resolved a buggy visual that could occur when Heat It Up attacks too fast

Etienne

• Etienne should no longer consume the ‘Box of Monkey’ Relic Knowledge

Geraldo

• Resolved a rare crash that could occur when using hotkeys
• Resolved an issue where Geraldo’s skin displayed the wrong portrait when viewing the full upgrades page

Corvus

• Resolved a crash that could occur when sold at Lv2

Platform Specific fixes

• [Vision Pro] Gentlemonkey Geraldo skin should now show on the Monkey Tray

Balance Changes

The combination of towers you are able to pass round 1 with can change quite a lot in any overall strategy, especially for more restrictive game modes, so for this update we have made an effort to open up new starter combinations with improvements to a number of initial placement towers.

Tower Balance

Dart Monkey
While we have been working to increase this niche with many new maps, Juggernaut’s functions sub-optimally for the majority of current maps in the game as the knockback doesn’t scale well without good rebound opportunities; to help with this we’re increasing their knockback force slightly with even more emphasis on the less-favored crosspath. We are slightly reducing the cost of Super Monkey Fan Club to overall improve the value of taking multiple to maintain higher uptime

• 4xx Juggernaut Knockback duration increased 0.1s > 0.15
• 402 Juggernaut Knockback to heavy targets 1.5 > 2.25
• 402 Juggernaut Knockback to light targets 3 > 4.5
• x4x Super Monkey Fan Club price reduced $8000 > 7500

Boomerang Monkey
Boomerang base price is being slightly reduced, already a decent start in many cases though this seemed enough to make slight game start changes and price it differently to other towers. The main attack for MOAB Domination has been scaled up as overall it is a good upgrade but the pierce on this main attack was previously unchanged from the T3. Glaive Lord’s main thrown attacks will now be able to bounce back again and hit the same target multiple times, this can be a very powerful effect so there is a cooldown on how frequently any single Bloon can be re-targeted.

• Boomerang Monkey price reduced $325 > 315
• xx5 Moab Domination Main projectile pierce increased 18 > 54
• 205 Moab Domination Main projectile pierce increased 27 > 81
• 5xx Glaive Lord main attack can bounce back to the same target: cooldown 0.6s

Bomb Shooter
Bloon Crush does its job locking down all movement in an area, but we feel it could see more damage to reduce the stall time without the balance really changing much. Bomb Blitz was recently refitted to a cheaper price range while proportionally keeping a similar power level for the cost, however seeing it now in this spot we feel keeping higher damage will give it the edge it needs to feel more impactful than spamming Recursives.

• 5xx Bloon Crush damage increased 12 > 24
• 502 Bloon Crush Frags damage increased 12 > 24
• 502 Bloon Crush Frags bonus damage to ceramic 12 > 0
• xx5 Bomb Blitz damage increased 3 > 5

Tack Shooter
Tack is a very powerful base tower technically, but it is unable to achieve high uptime of that potential power in many early rounds, so some base cost is moving into the cheaper xx1 and xx2 upgrades to make it easier for other towers to start alongside the tack. Additionally, while we’ve held out on this change as there are strong use cases in prior upgrades, Blade Maelstrom lacks the single target punch to last late in Modern Bloons. While it is designed as a high pierce cleanup of low tier Bloons we want to try shifting some pierce to single target damage to feel good for longer.

• Tack shooter price reduced $280 > 260
• xx1 More Tacks price increased $100 > 110
• xx2 Even More Tacks price increased $100 > 110
• x4x Blade Maelstrom damage increased 1 > 2
• x4x Blade Maelstrom pierce reduced from 200 > 100
• x5x Super Maelstrom damage unchanged
• x5x Super Maelstrom pierce reduced 500 > 300

Glue Gunner
Increased duration has limited use on upgrades that completely destroy targets anyway, so a better crosspath benefit is being added onto 401 glue puddles. Bloon Solver’s pierce is being reduced as it is over-overkill for how many Bloons you realistically see at once, but this reduction should not be noticed for most players. Glue Splatter stands out as weirdly expensive for T2, and is rarely even needed so we’re significantly cutting its price to bring it down to a more affordable range with less pierce, we hope this should make it more worth considering for splatter coverage over piercing. Now that Glue Storm is extremely good for damage type & debuff support we’re removing the bonus speed reduction that should otherwise require xx2 crosspath and lowering the duration of the Glue Storm. New Relentless Glue finally offers something quite powerful so cost is slightly increasing.

• 401 Stickier Glue allows track puddles to last +1 round
• 5xx The Bloon Solver pierce reduced 5 > 4
• x2x Glue Splatter price reduced $1450 > 970
• x2x Glue Splatter pierce buff reduced 3 > 2
• x5x Glue Storm ability ‘storm’ duration reduced 20s > 15
• x5x Glue Storm ability glue slow 75% > 50%
• 052 Glue Storm ability glue slow 90% > 75%
• xx4 Relentless Glue price increased 3000 > 3400

Sniper Monkey
Lower tier Shrapnel crosspathing balance doesn’t feel great currently, so the damage crosspath benefits at T1 & T2 are improving. Even with the high damage per shot, Cripple MOAB still has low value outside of debuff capability, we feel that these shots pack enough of a punch now that they should do a little collateral damage - so lets do it! (we’ve also increased shrapnel pierce at this tier to not tip crosspath balance too far to one side).

• 120 Shrapnel Shot damage increased from 1 > 2
• 220 Shrapnel Shot damage increased from 2 > 3
• 320 Shrapnel Shot damage unchanged (4)
• 520 Cripple MOAB’s Shrapnel Shot pierce increased from 2 > 3
• 5xx Cripple MOAB now damages Bloons around the main target
  • Radius 8
  • Pierce 10
  • Damage 28

Monkey Sub
Bloontonium Reactor’s unsubmerged damage is increasing to encourage unsubmerged possibilities. The bonus to Lead on Reactor currently doesn't apply to T5, so this bonus is being carried up and improved along with a small price reduction to Energizer as strategies using it have fallen somewhat in viability. Nautic Siege Core’s hero buff is being improved as currently this is an under-utilized part of the tower.

• 4xx Bloontonium Reactor dart & airburst damage 1 > 2
• 520 Energizer gains bonus damage to Lead +5 when submerged
• 502 Energizer price reduced $32,000 > 31,000
• Paragon Hero attack cooldown increase reduced 1.5x > 1.3
• Paragon Hero damage multiplier increased 4x > 5x

Monkey Buccaneer
While buccaneer is technically already a very good starter tower for maps that happen to have ideal spots allowing it to attack in both directions we feel this situation isn’t common enough that the tower should be priced around that expectation - this reduced cost is added back to top and bottom T3 upgrades as they do not need the buff. As the paragon has exceptionally powerful scaling mechanics as well as being a paragon that continues to produce cash the XP Unlock requirement is increasing, this increase will not affect players who have already unlocked it.

• Buccaneer price reduced $500 > 400
• 300 Destroyer price increased 2950 > 3050
• 003 Merchantman price increased 2300 > 2400
• Navarch unlock XP increased 500,000 > 750,000

Monkey Ace
Minor catchup changes to some parts have fallen out of line slightly due to balance changes for other parts of the Ace.

• x1x Exploding Pineapple attack cooldown reduced 1.7s > 1.6s
• xx5 Flying Fortress radial dart damage increased from 3 > 6

Ace - Goliath Doomship
A lot of stats shuffled around here; this should keep the power level roughly similar overall but with proportionally more of that power coming from the seeking attacks, and less from micro aiming the faster firing frontal gun.

• Seeking Radials projectile count increased 4 > 8
• Seeking Radials damage increased 200 > 300
• Seeking Radials boss bonus increased 200 > 300
• Non-seeking Radials projectile count reduced 16 > 12
• Non-seeking Radials damage increased 200 > 300
• Non-seeking Radials boss bonus increased 200 > 300
• Frontal Gun damage reduced 300 > 150
• Frontal Gun boss bonus reduced 300 > 150

Heli Pilot
Overall Comanche cleanup and stats shuffle; with the goal of improving baseline non-buffed performance and making it less demanding of Geraldo’s Pickle for high damage.

• x5x Special Poperations Marine can now be sold in CHIMPS
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's attack rate 0.151848 > 0.228
• xx5 Comanche Commander mini heli dart damage increased 2 > 3
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile damage 1 > 4
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile pierce 80 > 60
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile ceramic bonus increased 1 > 2
• xx4 Comanche Defense mini's missile moab bonus removed 2 > 0
• xx5 Comanche Commander mini's missile ceramic bonus increased 1 > 10
• xx5 Comanche Commander mini's missile moab bonus removed 8 > 0

Mortar Monkey
Artillery Battery use has really exploded (!) and over the past few updates it has been sitting fairly steady in a great spot, the current power level feels good but we don’t want to create too big of a gap from the T3 yet so only a very slight cost increase. Blooncineration’s 025 crosspath currently works so much better with external buffs so we're tweaking the 205 crosspath to feel better in some situations.

• x4x Artillery Battery price increased $5500 > 5900
• 105 Blooncineration walls of fire pierce increased 25 > 36
• 205 Blooncineration walls of fire damage increased 2 > 3

Wizard Monkey
Wizard has a weaker base tower so the base cost is going down in exchange for a small price increase to the cost to value ratio for the effective Arcane Mastery. As Fireball becomes very forgotten at higher tiers and is hard to even see at Dragon’s Breath, we’re improving the crosspath and adding even more projectiles at T3 for wider explosive coverage. As Shimmer is the slowest de-camo in the game it is important that it not miss when it does trigger, so pierce is greatly increased. Wizard Lord Phoenix’s Wall of Fire hasn’t had any meaningful upgrade progression, so its damage is being increased. Magus is one of the more in-depth Paragons to use effectively so having it as one of the cheapest to unlock didn't feel right, the unlock XP requirements for this and Ninja are being swapped around.

• Wizard price reduced $375 > 325
• 3xx Arcane Mastery price increased $1300 > 1400
• xx3 Shimmer pierce increased 200 > 500
• 210 Fireball crosspathed damage increased 1 > 2
• x3x Dragon's Breath fireball projectile count increased 1 > 3
• x3x Dragon's Breath fireball damage reduced 9 > 3
• x3x Dragon's Breath pierce reduced 4 > 3
• x5x Wizard Lord Phoenix wall of fire attack damage 3 > 5
• x5x Dragon's Breath fireball damage reduced from 27 > 9
• Wizard Paragon unlock cost increased from 500,000 > 1,000,000

Super Monkey
Super Monkey projectiles already travel most the map length so that total distance is being reduced and adding back via the range-focused middle crosspath. The recent Robo/Tech Terror nerfs had a larger impact on the Anti-Bloon, so it is seeing a larger compensatory price reduction. Legend of the Night’s special passive ability is being failsafe limited to 2 activations per round, per tower.

• Supermonkey projectile speed reduced 280 > 200
• x2x Epic Range projectile speed bonus 25% > 75% (remains 350)
• x5x The Anti-Bloon upgrade cost reduced from $80,000 > 70,000
• xx5 Legend of the Night ability max uses per round: 2

Ninja Monkey
While a great early game option, Ninja generally struggles with dominant crosspathing choices and also has relatively poor base tower value. Without going into every single change, T3s onward remain relatively unchanged with a lot of prices below T3 being moved around from less favorable crosspaths into bettehigher tier upgrades. Ninja Paragon is very simple to use so unlock XP requirements for this and Wizard Paragon are swapping around so Ninja is the faster unlock. This increase will not affect players who have already unlocked it.

• Ninja Monkey price reduced $500 > 400
• Ninja Monkey attack cooldown reduced from 0.7 > 0.62
• 1xx Ninja Monkey attack cooldown reduced 38% > 30 (all attacks)
• xx2 Caltrops attack cooldown reduced 4.4 > 3.9
• xx4 Sticky Bomb attack cooldown reduced 5 > 4.5
• 1xx Ninja Discipline price increased $300 > 350
• 3xx Double Shot price increased $850 > 900
• x1x Distraction price reduced $350 > 250
• x2x Counter Espionage price reduced $500 > 400
• x3x Shinobi Tactics price increased $900 > 1200
• xx1 Seeking Shuriken price increased $250 > 300
• xx2 Caltrops price increased $400 > 450
• Ninja Paragon unlock cost reduced 1,000,000 > 500,000

Druid
Passive life generation is being removed in favor of the active ability being the only source of life generation, this allows druid-focus strategies to no longer ‘accidentally’ heal their Vengeance buffs away. Heart of Vengeance itself has been allowed to remain overpowered for a long time since life loss is not always an option in different challenges/modes, but with newer competitive modes being added over time that do allow for this mechanic to be, overindulged, shall we say, it feels due for substantial rebalance.

• x4x Jungle's Bounty now generates 1 life per ability cast
• x4x Jungle's Bounty no longer passively generates 1 life per round
• x5x Spirit of the Forest no longer passively generates lives per round
• xx2 Heart of Vengeance lost lives maximum rate bonus reduced 100% > 50

Banana Farm
Monkey Wall Street’s cost is being increased, but in return its special bonuses have been improved with more life generation and much more range for Banana collection.

• xx5 Monkey Wall Street price increased $60,000 > 70,000
• xx5 Monkey Wall Street range increased 60 > 75
• xx5 Monkey Wall Street lives per round increased 10 > 15

Spike Factory
Spike Storm is now exceptionally strong so the ability cooldown is increasing a small amount along with the T5 cost. This comes along with a crosspath rebalance granting more 042 lifespan. Long Life Spikes can start creating a nice buildup of spikes in advance but most of the time feels fairly meh as a stepping stone into Deadly Spikes, a little price here is being shifted up to improve standalone upgrade value.

• x4x Spike Storm cooldown increased 45s > 50
• x4x Spike Storm ability spikes minimum duration reduced 10s > 9
• x4x Spike Storm ability spikes maximum duration reduced 13s > 11
• 041 Spike Storm duration bonus for ability spikes increased 50% > 100%
• x5x Spike Storm ability spikes duration remains at 18-22s
• x5x Carpet of Spikes price increased $40,000 > 42,000
• xx3 Long Life Spikes price reduced $1400 > 1300
• xx4 Deadly Spikes price increased $3500 > 3600

Monkey Village
Primary Expertise’s own attack is unreliable due partly to low bounce distance, so this is being increased. Base level Monkeyopolis continues to over perform, so the baseline cash generation is reducing.

• 5xx Primary Expertise bounce distance increased 50 > 90
• xx5 Monkeyopolis base cash amount reduced $1250 > 1000

Engineer
While better than many options, base Engineer still takes a lot of available starting cash so the cost is reduced slightly and being moved back up into Cleansing Foam & Bloontrap; also with a reduction to Double Gun’s price to reflect the lower value of the base tower. Sentry placements are slightly changing to improve their reliability, and will now spawn closer to the track depending on how much range the sentry has. Sentry Champion, while strong with them, is lacking without high buff support so we’re trying out an increase to the sentry damage on it.

• Engineer price reduced $400 > 350
• 1xx Sentries now spawn within 20% of their range to the track
• 5xx Sentry Champagne damage increased from 2 > 3
• x3x Cleansing Foam price increased $850 > 900
• x4x Overclock foam pierce 10 > 15
• xx3 Double Gun price reduced $500 > 450
• xx4 Bloontrap price increased $3500 > 3600

Beast Handler
In going over our large list of price changes for Beast Handler’s lower tiers in 42 this change was received very positively, however we did not realize that in making this change we killed off all chance of dual-beast handlers being used as a round 1 starting option for under $650 in hard modes – So we gotta do that math all over again and convert it for difficulty, painful 😀 All T1 beast prices changed to allow 110 & 101 beast handler combos to be placed for under $650 in hard mode, all T2 & T3 prices shifted around to keep these same cost ratios.

• 1xx Piranha price reduced 170 > 160
• 2xx Barracutie price reduced 850 > 810
• 3xx Great White price reduced 2075 > 2010
• x1x Microraptor price reduced 195 > 175
• x2x Adasaurus price reduced 890 > 830
• x3x Velociraptor price reduced 2170 > 2065
• xx1 Gyrfalcon price reduced 210 > 190
• xx2 Horned Owl price reduced 940 > 860
• xx3 Golden Eagle price reduced 3150 > 2120

Orca is very strong currently but Great White doesn’t do so much outside of max merge MOAB Takedowns, so damage is increasing to improve these non-maxed situations.

• 3xx Great White damage increased from 8 > 12
• 3xx Great White damage range increased from 16 > 24

Similar to Sentries, Beast spawn placement will now scale closer to the track based on how much range the beast has.

• 1xx Piranha now spawn within 20% of their range to the track
• x1x Microraptor now spawn within 30% of their range to the track

Golden Eagle has stood out more than Condor against MOABs which has felt very wrong, last update it was nerfed against MOABs and now we are playing with the pierce & penalties to improve Golden Eagle further against non-MOAB-Class targets and for Condor more help with lower MOABs.

• xx3 Golden Eagle pierce increased from 15 > 30
• xx3 Golden Eagle pierce range increased from 30 > 60
• xx3 Golden Eagle MOAB pierce penalty increased from 44 > 1089
• xx3 Golden Eagle attack cooldown range from 0.28679625 > 0.28
• xx4 Condor Unchanged by any above changes
• xx4 Giant Condor ceramic penalty reduced from 1 > 0
• xx4 Giant Condor BFB penalty reduced from 44 > 29

We’re slightly reducing beast reposition cooldown as the tiny range leaves movement very tight, which is especially painful for Microraptor path given the low range.

• Beast Handler move cooldown reduced from 3s > 2

Hero Balance

Quincy
Quincy’s Rapid Shot starts with an extremely short duration that slowly increases over levels, the difference between min and max is huge but it doesn’t feel too impactfully increased at any point through the leveling up process, so we are increasing the base duration and instead moving the buff up to max duration all into his Lv13 which currently doesn’t do much.

• Quincy no longer gains 0.5s Rapid Shot duration per level
• Lv3 Rapid Shot duration increased 3.5s > 8
• Lv13 now also increases Rapid Shot duration 8.5s > 12

Gwendolin
Gwendolin’s Heat it Up was recently reworked to allow for much more frequent triggering from attacks, however the 4.5s internal cooldown still limits it from being scaled up far so that internal cooldown is now also being reduced. Additionally, Heat it Up’s bonus buff to damage against Lead targets has been improved slightly so we can get more out of that niche.

• Lv4 Heat it Up minimum delay reduced from 4.5s > 1.5s
• Lv17 Heat it Up buff to Lead type increased from +1 > 2

Obyn Greenfoot
Obyn isn’t necessarily the best support for every type of Druid to reach its highest DPS, but with his more easy reliable design it feels appropriate for him to solve Druid’s biggest weaknesses in a more laid back approach with:

• Lv8 ‘Nature’s Wrath’ additionally grants camo detection to Druids in radius

Benjamin
Benjamin’s Cyber Security and Skimming levels have been swapped around so that the early game skimming cash snowball doesn’t come quite so soon, and Cyber Security can come in earlier where it will make a bigger impact proportionally to the lives being lost.

• Swap the levels for Lv6 Cyber Security and Lv4 skimming

Admiral Brickell
We’ll probably regret this, but the nerf made people very sad, and that is not a life goal 😢

• Lv18 Mega Mine cooldown 45s > 40

Etienne
Etienne's drones are prone to missing due to very low projectile speed, this speed is increasing a fair amount to help with this as drones already have an inability to directionally aim well.

• Lv1 Faster projectile speed for all drones 150 > 250

Psi
Purple Popping is underwhelming with how late it comes online, so this is swapping around with level 11’s slightly faster pop speed.

• Lv11 (Faster Popping) & Lv13 (Purple Popping) swapped

Geraldo
Geraldo has been far too powerful for a while and all-round nerfs are coming to many outstanding aspects, however in return a little quality of life is coming with some more forgiving stock capacities and much more flexible Fertilizer; with the % benefit being reduced in return for improved replenish rate, maximum stock and the ability to now work on all Banana Farm types.

• Lv2 Action Figure price reduced $700 > 650
• Lv6 Worn Cape restock rate reduced 5 > 7
• Lv6 Worn Cape cape max stock increased 2 > 3
• Lv7 Blade Trap max stock increased 3 > 4
• Lv9 Fertilizer cash bonus reduced 25% > 20
• Lv9 Fertilizer max stock increased 2 > 4
• Lv9 Fertilizer rounds to replenish reduced 5 > 3
• Lv9 Fertilizer will now work on all Banana Farms
• Lv13 Shooty Turret v2 damage reduced 7 > 6
• Lv8 Gerry’s Fire duration reduced 10r > 5
• Lv16 Gerry’s Fire v2 duration remains 10r
• Lv11 Jar of Pickles bonus to fortified removed 1 > 0
• Lv16 Jar of Pickles bonus to fortified reduced 2 > 1

Corvus
As Corvus’s power is still considerably top-heavy the mid game performance is being improved with buffs to underused spells, but also top-end power of his 2 most powerful level 20 spells is being reduced to lessen the pressure to ‘need’ to get this far.

• Lv1 Spear pierce increased from 3 > 4
• Lv3 Soul harvest cooldown 35s > 40s
• Lv5 Aggression initial mana cost 80 > 50
• Lv7 Malevolence tick rate 0.5s > 0.3s
• Lv14 Malevolence damage 3 > 5
• Lv20 Might damage 400 > 300
• Lv20 Overload damage 4000 > 3000

Relics
Minor tweaks to Heartless which feels it has no competitive edge over most other Relics & Monkey Boost which overperforms on all available tiles.

• Heartless now ‘disables’ Regrow Bloons: Regrow rate increased 150% > 10,050%
• Monkey Boost granted uses of the Monkey Boost power reduced 3 > 2

Some Relics required more functional changes. As more range is situational and sometimes detrimental Going the Distance has been merged with Durable Shots to also grant increased Lifespan, Durable Shots now instead increases the pierce of all towers. As ‘Popping White Bloons’ is also far too situational Deep Heat now also grants Frozen Bloon popping and improves the duration of Freezes.

• Going the Distance now also provides Lifespan +30%
• Durable Shots no longer grants increased lifespan
• Durable Shots now grants towers increased pierce +25%
• Deep Heat now also allows all attacks to pop 'Frozen'
• Deep Heat now also grants Freezes longer duration +10%
• Deep Heat now also allows Freezes to last extra layers +1

Boss Bloons
Bloonarius
This is really just for fun, bringing increased variety of Bleed Bloons from higher tier Bloonarius

• Elite Tier 4: Bleed Bloons from 12 MOABs > 8 MOABs + 2 BFBs
• Elite Tier 5: Bleed Bloons from 8 DDTs > 6 DDTs + 2 fort ZOMGs

Dreadbloon
Rock Bloons in the higher tiers of Normal Dreadbloon are very outscaled, and so their health values are being increased.

• Normal Tier 4: Rock Bloon HP increased 5000 > 9000
• Normal Tier 5: Rock Bloon HP increased 12000 > 22500

Phayze
In Elite mode Phayze’s speed bonus while shielded is being reduced by 5% across the board as it felt just a little too quick.

• Elite Tier 1 shielded speed bonus reduced from 50% > 45%
• Elite Tier 2 shielded speed bonus reduced from 55% > 50%
• Elite Tier 3 shielded speed bonus reduced from 60% > 55%
• Elite Tier 4 shielded speed bonus reduced from 65% > 60%
• Elite Tier 5 shielded speed bonus reduced from 70% > 65%

I haven’t really played too many Team Ninja games but I love most Koei Tecmo stuff so I decided to get this and I have no regrets.
I’ve played about 20 hours so far and the combat is so good. When you hit those perfect deflects and then hit em with a crit feels so badass! So many weapons to master and then the different combat styles too which completely change how you play, can’t wait to unlock more!
I’ve seen so many people complaining about the graphics but they aren’t even bad, my biggest complaint about them is no solid 60FPS on performance mode but the game is definitely playable. The areas look good and they each have distinct geography. The story I’ve played so far is good as well the characters. It’s paced good and I’m interested to see what happens next, I just did the mission at the consulate/embassy building where you find the person with the demon claw.
People are also comparing this to Ghost of Tsushima which is weird since they take place in completely different time periods and the gameplay focus on each is so different. Seems to be just people comparing the graphics since you play a samurai in Japan in both games.
The only big problem I have with the game is the loot, there’s so much lol. It’s easy enough to check (for right now) if I have something better then I just sell the rest but I’m glad your inventory space is capped at 2000 items cuz it adds up fast.
Anyways, I’m excited to play more and see more wandering samurai on the open road!

I'm preparing the checklist of everything I'm going to get for my frog and I have some questions
Is Josh's Frogs a safe source? There don't seem to be many reviews on a portion of the items (though to be fair the times that do have reviews are almost always a solid 5 stars)
Approximately how much substrate does it take to create a 4-6 inch layer of substrate across the entire bottom of a 36x18x13 40gal tank (same with a 3 inch layer of drainage across the bottom)
What types of live plants do you guys recommend and is there any special place you get them from
Also, if anybody would like to dm me (preferably on discord, Reddit's chat system is odd to me, just comment and I'll give you my user) and help me with my checklist to ensure I have absolutely everything I need and that nothing I'm getting ends up being harmful to my frog (I've taken a lot of time to research this but some places sell pet items that aren't actually pet safe cough cough petco)
If any of you guys have specific products you highly recommend or tips on setting up tanks please tell me! My tank will be bioactive, and as a (soon to be) first time exotic pet owner I'm determined to be as educated as possible so I don't give improper care/husbandry

Hello all. I am a new independent seller to Depop. I recently had someone buy a clothing item from my Depop store. At first, the user offered a price that was lower than what I wanted, so I countered it and offered the price I want. She took about 12 hours to accept the offer, and in between the time, someone had already purchased this item on another selling platform at full price. How can I cancel the order for her? Will I have to pay any cancellation fees?

I see some people posting how they got their sales with only 1-2k followers.
But my friend with 20k fb is struggling to make sales. His niche is German Shepperd and he sales dog products.
Any light on what he could be doing wrong? Could it be the items are not good enough or maybe he lacks selling skills?

I have just regained access to an account I had last in early 2017. Since I have a new account that I have spent hundreds of dollars on, I won't really be using this account. With that said, is there any way I can get robux off of some of the items I have. All are unobtainable either from events or bought with tix that went off sale in 2017 latest. At the moment I cannot trade as this account doesn't have premium but it would be nice to know the prices of any of them.
I'll list it as (item name) - (When it was obtained) - (How it was obtained)
Auburn Shaggy - 2015 - Market Place 100 Tix
(Summer Games - Soccer Ball's) - 2016 - Scored a Goal during Summer Games event
Electric Punk - 2015 - Market Place 77 Tix
Blue Dodgeball Helmet - 2015 - Disney Infinity Event
The eggverse - 2017 - ROBLOX Egg Hunt 2017
Opened Tourist Gift - 2016 - Rewarded to users who played at least 50 different games between March 16, 2016, and April 11, 2016.
Opened Legit Gift of Validated Electronic Mail - 2015 - To those who verified their email and played any game between November 20 and December 3.
Grizzly Bear Ears - 2015 - 1 Tix on the Marketplace (We Bear Bears Event)
Again, not selling/trading as I do not have premium, not like anyone would want them. Just trying to get a price on any of them if possible.

With the e-commerce landscape becoming increasingly global, the challenge for online retailers lies not just in extending their reach, but also in personalizing the shopping experience across diverse languages and cultures. This is where a tool like ChatGPT comes into play.
Imagine a virtual assistant that not only understands a multitude of languages but also comprehends and adapts to cultural nuances. ChatGPT leverages advanced natural language processing to interact with customers in a way that feels local and personal. Whether it's recommending products based on regional preferences or handling customer service with an understanding of local etiquette, ChatGPT serves as a bridge between businesses and customers worldwide.
Localization isn't just about translation; it's about creating a connection. ChatGPT's language models have been trained on a vast range of data, enabling them to grasp context and respond appropriately. For example, greeting a customer with an appropriate, localized welcome message in their own language can instantly make them feel at home on an international website.
Moreover, ChatGPT can handle complex queries across multiple languages without the need for separate customer service teams for each language. This is not only cost-effective but also ensures consistent quality of service. Say a customer has a specific query about a size conversion in a fashion store; ChatGPT instantly provides the correct information tailored to their cultural context.
This AI-driven personalization extends to marketing efforts as well. Personalized product recommendations, promotions, and even shopping events can be tailored to align with local festivals or holidays, all managed by ChatGPT.
Discuss how have you seen AI tools like ChatGPT impact the e-commerce experience either as a business owner or a customer? Have language barriers affected your shopping or selling experience, and do you think AI can effectively bridge this gap? It's fascinating to see technology like this shrink the world market and at the same time expand business horizons. Share your thoughts and experiences on the potential of ChatGPT and similar AI in revolutionizing e-commerce across languages and cultures.

I sell Funko Pops on Mercari and I would take pictures of the item inside the box, outside the box, and each side of the box. I list my Funko based on the condition of the Funko itself rather than the box. If the Funko is in perfect condition and the box is fully intact whether it is perfect looking or have some bends then I would list the Funko as “Like New”. If the Funko has a minor flaw then I would list it as “Good” regardless of the box condition.—as in the box can be perfect or torn to pieces that I’ve taped together. A reseller commented on one of my listing that I should be listing the “Good” Funko with a torn box as a lower category. Could you guys please chime in on how I should consider such Funko condition? To me, it’s all about the Funko figure itself rather than the box. I know many do view the box as important. Below are the conditions description.
Mercari has five item conditions:
New: with tags (NWT), unopened packaging, or unused.
Like New: is New without tags (NWOT), no signs of wear, or unused.
Good: Gently used, one/few minor flaws but still functional.
Fair: Used, functional, but with multiple flaws or defects

Trying to recoup some funds, so I'm selling this Gen 4 Lamia. Not currently interested in trades.
Timestamp/Nudes — Action Video

• Chat preferred, please, not PM.
• PPFS or PPGS if buyer pays G and S fees.
• Shipping via USPS Priority to the 50 states only. Tracking will be available after packaging, and the knife will be shipped if USPS is open or the following weekday morning. If you prefer a different shipping method, let me know, and I’m sure something can be worked out.
• Please be of legal age, be aware of your local knife laws, and be a responsible buyer.I will not take responsibility for any laws individuals try to skirt or break.
• I’m currently not looking for any trades, but if you feel it’s something I may have insane interest in, feel free to shoot your shot, and worst I can do is say no.
• Please be respectful, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Item is cross posted
SPK Lamia Gen 4 (MicroMilling) Elmax Superclean
I picked up this knife from a trade, where I swapped my radial Frag Oz Machine Rosie for it. I got it from a well-known person over on the Knife Raffle Sub, and it arrived exactly as described. The SPK Lamia Gen 4 pattern here is similar to a CRK OG blasting. It has a few light snail trails that require the right lighting to see, notably one near the show side pivot and one on the lockbar. Like CRK, these seem to develop snails a bit easier than other blasted finishes. The previous owner never cut with it but did pocket it, so it shows some light signs of wear on the corners, but nothing serious. The blade is in immaculate shape and is sharp to the fingernail test. Lockup is solid with zero blade play, and the centering is perfect as far as I can tell. I recently got a Lamia from a recent drop and need to recoup some funds, so I'm not interested in any trades. I loved this knife but didn't own it long enough to get around to cutting or carrying with it myself. The knife comes with the pouch and baggie it was in, as that's how it came when I got it, and SPK just shipped them in pouches. The item will be shipped in a small box via USPS Priority, and tracking will be available usually soon after ordering, with shipping the following day depending on the time. For this knife, I'm asking for SV $785 SV $775 OBRO PPFF.
Thanks for checking it out! Hope you're having a good Tuesday and had a great Memorial Day weekend.

* READ TO LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMMERS! THIS MESSAGE WILL REPEAT EVERY 12 HOURS \*
As the sub grows, so does it's exposure to scammers. As mods, we do our best to protect the sub, but need y'all's help as well. We are a community. We do not like reading modmails when our fellow members get scammed, but do know that most could have been prevented given they follow the tips we've laid out. Below are these tips on how to stay protected:
How to message the mods - https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/fragranceswap
Banned and sketchy users - https://www.reddit.com/fragranceswap/wiki/banned
* Always use PayPal/Venmo G&S when buying from someone with under 15 flair on the sub. A scammer will give a BS reason why they can't accept G&S. Anyone with under 15 flair MUST accept G&S as a form of payment according to the rules of the sub. This rule is non-negotiable. If they will not, please report them to the mods.
* Ask a potential seller to comment on your post. This proves that they are not banned from the sub. That doesn't always mean they are a scammer though. It could just mean that they do not meet the sub requirements to become an approved member. They still need to accept G&S though. Check the banned list and vet the seller through their profile.
* Ask for specific timestamped pictures. A "timestamp" is a picture a seller takes with a handwritten note including their username and date next to the item they are selling. Ask for this with "odd" requests such as a picture of the bottle on its side or with the cap off, etc. If they are not willing to provide that then avoid the transaction and report them to the mods. Scammers are becoming crafty and often try and photoshop the timestamp in with a picture they found on google. Be aware and inspect timestamps closely for evidence of photoshopping. Look for blurred edges of paper, shadows not matching up with others in the picture, etc. If you are in doubt, don't hesitate to contact us with the picture.
* "Sellers" who start the conversation off with "WTS (insert frag you're looking for)" are 99.99% most likely a scammer. Scammers will always give you a great deal, or ask you to name your price. Any "seller" who is willing to accept half payment upfront then the other half after delivery to avoid using G&S is most likely a scammer. If it seems to good to be true or fishy, it most likely is.
Please do your due diligence, folks. If you're ever in doubt, reach out to us. Stay safe!

TLDR -
Our relationship began last summer, although we initially met in grad school during a Zoom class and later in person during our internships. I had an immediate crush but was too nervous to approach her. Fast forward to last April, we matched on Tinder, hit it off quickly, and went on our first date almost exactly a year ago. Despite my nerves, it was the best date I could have hoped for, and we connected deeply. Over the summer, we continued seeing each other, often spending late nights watching movies. Even though she initially said she wasn’t ready for a relationship, we spent a lot of time together, and eventually, we became a couple before I moved away for an artist residency.
The long-distance relationship was challenging but manageable, as we talked all the time, and became very ingrained into each other's lives. I often drove long hours to see her, and we communicated regularly. We had started talking about moving in together when I returned, as well as the possibility of marriage. However when I moved back, my workload increased, particularly with a ceramics, and our relationship began to strain, without me noticing. The stress from my work and the disappointment from a failed kiln firing led me to shut down emotionally, affecting our communication. She felt neglected, especially since I didn’t discuss my struggles in fear of worrying her about my health. As I feared I was borderline depressed, from the lack of motivation and burn out. I also applied to a different residency assuming we were on the same page about the situation, which would affect our plans of moving in together. Despite our deep connection and mutual support, my preoccupation with work and lack of communication caused her to feel pushed away. Now, she's unsure about her feelings for me, overwhelmed by her own challenges she needs to face within the next month, and needs time to think about our future. I’ve been trying to show her she is my priority, but I’m unsure what else to do and desperately seeking advice on how to assure her of my commitment and rebuild our relationship.
Things had been fine for 7-8 months until I started shutting off emotionally from the constant failure and disappointment of work outcomes. When I realized to make an effort to see each other more, it was too late as she felt too pushed away at that point. We talked yesterday and came to the conclusion that we're not breaking up, but she needs some time and space to herself while she decides how she feels about the relationship.
The long explanation
I guess I should start off with how the relationship started and how it's been for first 7-8 months.
We started seeing each other last Summer after her graduation. We had originally met in grad school, we had a Zoom class together and we met in person for the first time during our internships. I immediately got a crush on her, and tried to just say Hi to her whenever I got the chance. I saw her as someone way out of my league, and was nervous to talk to her.
Flash forward to last April, we match on Tinder and we really hit it off quite fast. I was still nervous about the whole thing, thinking she wouldn't be into me. I eventually got the guts to ask her out, and we finally went out almost exactly a year ago. I was worried the date would be awkward and she wouldn't like me, at this time I also hadn't been out with anyone else in years, I had gotten out of a very long term relationship previously and hadn't met anyone new yet.
It was honestly the best first date I could have hoped for, better than I could have hoped for. Since the moment of picking her up to dropping her back off, we were talking non stop. We got to know so much about each other that night and I fell for her almost immediately. We almost kept the workers at the restaurant late, we didn't realize an hour had gone by after we finished eating. We just sat there talking. Then we went to karaoke night at a bar, we didn't do karaoke as we're both very shy in front of crowds. Overall it was literally the best night I had in a very long time.
After our 3rd time going out, I thought I would ask her out properly, and see if she would like to be a couple. I did, but she said it was too early for her to start a relationship as she had gotten out of one 2 months prior. But that she enjoys our time together and just needed some time before going into a new relationship. Which was fine, I wanted to respect her space and gave her the time she needed. We still saw each other multiple times throughout the Summer. I went over to her place late at night quite often to watch movies until 3 or 4am.
During this time, I of course still had huge crush on her. I also drove by her work when I got the chance to drop off coffee. If she texted to ask if I wanted to watch a movie, I would drop everything I was doing. I just wanted to spend as much time as I could with her. Because I also knew that she was moving away, just two hours away from where we both were, but that was still pretty far and I thought the distance would ruin any chance. It also didn't help that I was also moving out of state, 10 hours away from her. I was willing to do anything to make long distance work. I just needed to ask her again.
Before I actually asked her if she wanted to be in a relationship together, we finally had our first kiss while watching a movie, and that whole week we basically acted like a couple, but hadn't made it official yet. I told her my feelings, and she told me hers. Turns out she was very into me as well. I asked her if she was sure, since we were both moving far apart. We agreed that we could make it work. We had gotten along so well over the last 2 months. We like all the same stuff, music, tv, movies, games, etc. It felt like she was the person I was missing in my life for so long. Literally my second half.
She moved before I did, but I drove to her every weekend before I moved. And I always stayed from Friday to Monday. I helped her explore her new city, and move all of her stuff over. I fell for her more and more every day. After I made my move, we agreed to call each other every other night, to play games together or to watch a show or movie. It was hard, but we managed to do it. The roughest parts were having to deal with no phone service up there, or very little access to internet. But we made it, and she even drove all the way up to see me for one weekend. Which meant so much to me.
Over the next few months, I had started to struggle at my new place and in the position I was in in my career. I also managed to make time to see her once, sometimes twice a month. My drives would last 10-12 hours depending on traffic, but it was always worth it just to be able to see her.
I eventually left my position, due to very poor management, and for it being a nearly abusive situation. So in December I packed everything up and moved back home. Here's another important detail. My position was to be just for a year, which is one of the reasons we worked so hard to make long distance work. As we knew eventually we'd be close again. Our original plan was this. I'd move and work for a year, and when I come back we would look for a place together and hopefully move in. A this point, marriage had been brought up. We both knew we love each other so much, and that marriage was in our future.
I guess I should clear up what I do. I'm an artist, and the last few years have been spent with me participating in artist residencies. These vary in length, but the one I moved for was a year. I had hoped that I could gain experience in my field, in a proper studio setting, and develop my work further with the studio access I would have. It's specifically in ceramics. This was my first residency that was long term. In the past the max was 2 weeks. As a ceramic artist, woodfired ceramics is my thing.
Anyways, I moved back. Everything went back to the way it was before I moved. We alternated who drives to who on the weekends. We spent the entire week of Christmas/new years together. Before that on my visits, she was able to meet my family and friends. Everyone points out how well she and I get along, and that we're such a great match.
Starting in January, I was back in the mood to work on ceramics related projects. I had managed to get into some woodfirings, which for those unfamiliar, they're not very common. It's also a very demanding type of firing as we're stoking the kiln with wood constantly. These can be anywhere from 12 hours, to 100 hours straight. during this time I had also started working for my family's business again.
During January and February I was in my home studio constantly making work, often well into the night. Some deadlines started coming up, and as they got closer I was rushing as much as I could, and making as much work as I could. But it hadn't affected my life much, yet. Everything had still went well, and we were still calling each other at least twice a week, and seeing each other every weekend. Every other Sunday was D&D night with my friends, which she joined into as well. Everything was still going great.
March is when I think everything started going downhill. Besides the fact that I had a ceramics conference coming up, and that was a ton of pressure. I also had the biggest firing of the year happening 2 weeks after the conference, and I was one of the key leaders necessary to make the firing happen. There was tons and tons of pressure on me in March/April. I had to rush work for the conference AND the firings. And the previous firings I had earlier in the year turned out to not be very great, and left me very disappointed. But the biggest firing of the year was happening, and I need work. Because I had also been considering applying to another residency, I was so screwed over by the last place, that I wanted one more shot. It also didn't help that I also started up a Minecraft community my friends and I ran, but one that I mostly ran. I didn't realize how much time that took up either.
The conference went well, she went with me and she got to meet all of my ceramic friends, and we had our first road trip. the conference was a 12 hour drive for us. As soon as I got back from the conference, I knew I had to rush a lot of work and start prepping out at the kiln. I still set aside the weekends to see her, but I was just so busy during the week not just with the kiln, but also working for my family. I shifted my free time to playing Minecraft, as it's always been a comfort game for me since I was in high school. Some days I'd be so exhausted I didn't want to do anything else but just place blocks mindlessly for a few hours. At the conference, I met lots of people, and the hype from it all made me want to reapply to a residency. I had brought up that I was thinking about reapplying, and it felt like she was supportive of that decision. She was very aware of everything that happened at the last place.
the week of the firing I needed to be there as much as I could, I did 12 - 16 hour shifts on the kiln at a time, and I did overnight shifts. This meant for the whole week, she would work all day while I slept, and then I went and worked all night while she slept. I didn't realize how much this would affect her. I don't even think we saw each other that weekend, we waited until the next so she could come unload the kiln. That was the first time we spend more than a week without each other since I moved back.
I wanted to try another residency, and the deadline for the only place I was interested in was a few days after we finished firing. So I took that weekend to write out my application and send it in.
When we finally unloaded the kiln, it really really, really, disappointed me. So much time in the studio, so much time making work and starting over, so much time spent working on firing the kiln. Everything went wrong, and 90% of work I made was ruined. It really hit me hard, but I didn't want to show it. It affected me mentally and emotionally more than I thought it could. I kind of shut down for a bit. I went back to work, and when I came home in the afternoons I didn't do much, I just stayed in bed. On my off days during the week, I'd spent most of the day in bed. Barely talking to anyone. It just really sucked. So much. It sucked because I had hyped this up to everyone. I hyped myself up. I posted about it every day promising to update my followers on social media. I put in SO MANY hours into this. Just for almost all of my hard work to be ruined.
I didn't talk about how I felt. I didn't talk much.
I don't want anyone to think I'm trying to make excuses. I just shut down for a bit, and I didn't realize how much that would affect her. I had noticed since march, and especially in April we hadn't talked much during the week anymore. Maybe once a week we called to play something, or watch something. I was busy, and she was busy and going through her own struggles. She's a middle school teacher, and she's really been struggling the whole year in her position. I was always there to comfort her, and to be someone to listen to her about everything that's been going on. But all of that time just focusing on my work put a lot of strain on our relationship. You'd think that after the firing was over, I'd be free again and have time. But I was so disappointed I spent the whole week after making work again and rushing again, since I had a market to do, and I needed work to sell. the sale also wasn't great, and all of that just really hurt me. I didn't want her to worry about me. So I kept a lot of my thoughts to myself, of how I was feeling about the firing, and in general the career I've been trying to build in ceramics.
Me focusing on my work, and only my work, really really affected our relationship more than I ever though it would. And it was never intentional. And the rest of April/beginning of May was just rough. We saw each other maybe one day a week, or not at all, one day it was just for a few hours, since we had other things to do on the weekends. The market was out of state, and she wasn't able to go with me due to her work. I also realized I wouldn't get the residency, which was honestly kind of a relief.
Two weeks ago, I felt as everything finally cleared and I was starting to feel better. I went to see her on a Sunday, and I had taken a few days off so I could stay at her place until Wednesday. We hadn't had time together for more than a day in a really long time. So this was time to make up for some of it. Something had felt off that day though. I wasn't sure what it was, but I started to get worried. We would often tell each other "I love you" followed by "you promise, you swear?" It was always playful, while also being a little bit of a reassurance. I asked her that day, and it felt mostly normal. Later that nigh while getting ready for bed, she was just looking at me, and I asked "What's wrong"
This is when everything came out. She said she was afraid that we wouldn't make it. And then said that over the last 2 months, she felt pushed away and like she wasn't a priority to me. That it hurt that I applied to a residency without talking to her about it first, especially since our original plan was to move in together. I thought, we were on the same page on that. She seemed supportive, but we never had a real conversation about it. It was, "hey I applied for this thing" and "I hope you get it, you really deserve another chance!" She even looked for teaching jobs in the area I would move to, if I did get the residency.
Since that firing I wasn't there for her. I didn't tell her about my days where I just wanted to rot in bed. Some days I didn't now what to talk about. I felt borderline depressed. And I didn't talk, or talk about it, or talk to her much. I kept looking forward to the days when we would see each other on the weekends, but other things got in the way most times, and we didn't have the regular amount of time we had gotten used to. In person when we did see each other, things felt normal. I guess the weekdays after work are when she needed me the most, while I either stayed in bed all day, or got on Minecraft to mindlessly place blocks. Sometimes I didn't even do anything productive in game, I just ran around. I was sad. I just didn't want her to see me like that.
It sucks that I noticed too late. I knew we hadn't been able to have a lot of time together. I had planned to finally dedicate a few days together like before, and I brought over some board games so we could have stuff to do together. I knew that we would have to talk about moving in and planning out the rest of the summer.
The time apart, and the time of me not talking much really hurt her so much. I feel so terrible about it. Like I said it was never intentional. She said that her days for the last month were just going to work and coming home, hoping she would get a chance to talk to me. She said that night, that she doesn't know if she feels the same way about me anymore. She felt pushed away so much, and felt like she's already mourned the relationship. And she said it wasn't just that, that's made her afraid about our relationship. She's having trouble finding a new job, and her lease is up at the end of June, and she can't look for a new place, until she gets a new job. She's been applying for a lot of jobs closer to my area. But she also doesn't know if she needs to move back to her parents to take care of them, as they're not doing well either. And they live on the opposite side of the state. She has a lot of pressure on her right now and is very overwhelmed by everything going on, and all the decisions she's having to make in such short notice.
That night I, possibly stupidly, asked her if she wanted me to leave, after she said maybe she just needs some time and space. I say stupidly, because after I got home I felt like leaving wasn't the right decision. Before I left though, I told her everything. About how I had been feeling, and how I don't even know if I want to do a residency anymore. But she told me not to say that because of her. Of course not doing it would mean I get to stay with her, but I assured her this is something that's been on my mind. I told her that maybe we're just having a rough patch in the relationship and we should work together on it, and apologized for not being there for her. She said that with everything else going on with her, her parents, her work, her lease, everything, she needs some time to think about our relationship.
Since that night, I've been doing everything to assure her that she IS my priority and trying to prove to her that I do care and love her very much. I've been trying so hard to put myself back together, and just been reflecting on everything that's happened since we met. And thinking about the future, and trying to plan things out.
I wrote her a 6 page letter explaining all my feelings and how I felt about her, and reminding her of all the absolutely great times we had together. As well as highlighting my mistakes, and promising to never make her feel pushed away again.
She came over last weekend, I assume originally to return my stuff and call it off. It was different, there was a big elephant in the room, and I finally asked her how she's felt. And she says she still doesn't know. She had some time to think about everything, but doesn't know what she wants to do. We agreed that she would need some more time. We ended up going out for food and a movie, and she stayed the night. Though, opposite sides of the bed, and no kind of intimacy. Which is fine, she needs the space. She read the letter, and said it was very sweet and wished I put that much effort over the last two months. and I just said "I do too"
She came back this weekend, and stayed again. It almost felt back to normal. We spent Saturday and Sunday together, we went out, went shopping, went to one of our favorite restaurants, and another movie. I didn't bring anything up because I didn't want to ruin what felt like a regular weekend with her again. But before she left I just felt like I need to ask how she had been feeling. She said that she came over because she was wanting to feel it out, see how we would do together. And that she had fun with me.
She just still doesn't know if she feels the same way anymore. But that there's something keeping her from saying she wants to break up. She said that she still likes me a lot, and doesn't want to lose contact with me, and that she doesn't want to never see me again. That maybe, she just needs to settle down with her job, parents, and moving. I asked a question, I said "This might be a dumb question, but did we break up?" She said she doesn't know. We kept talking about stuff, and we came down to we didn't break up, but she still needs some time to get everything sorted out. Because, like I said, she's very overwhelmed with a ton of stuff. She still doesn't know where she's gonna move to, if she's gonna be able to move. But she said that she and I make a really good match, that we're best friends.
She's coming back over on Friday, and Saturday we're gonna spend the day looking at some apartments, in the general area where she's looking for a job.
I just don't know what else I can do. And I'm desperate for any advice anyone has to offer.
Here are my thoughts on from my side.
I know I can say she's my priority all I want, but I really need to show it. I've been more active in showing her that. Everything else aside, the last two weeks we've been talking more than we have been in a while. We still call to watch shows. We've been on Survivor, 90 Day Fiance, and Sopranos. I haven't suggested 90 Day lately though given the situation. She's gonna get Stardew soon, and we'll start playing together hopefully this week. Yesterday we started Shogun. I know that the last two weeks isn't going to magically fix all of our problems. I'm very aware of that. But I'm trying to show her she IS my priority.
Career wise, I've reflected a lot on this. I need to use my teaching degree, and get a job as a teacher. It's still my plan to be an artist/teacher. Part of the reason I wanted so badly to do a residency, besides having a studio, I thought it would help a lot on a resume. Plus more actual studio experience, felt like it would be great for my future students. It's always been my plan to teach. If I don't use my teaching certification for 3 years, I have to renew, which I've heard is a pain and expensive. this was my last year before I have to renew, so I felt I could get a residency out of the way before going into teaching full time.
But I'm 100% okay with not getting to do that. Like I said previously, I was honestly a little relieved when I realized it wasn't happening. I'm starting to look for job openings in the area, and I have an interview to be an instructor at a local studio tomorrow. Besides that I have no set in stone plans for a job and where I'm living. Since leaving the residency in December, I've had to move into my parents for the time being. I think no matter what I need to start looking for a new place soon. I hadn't looked before, because I was thinking I'd either move out of state again or move in with her.
If she were up for it after all of this, assuming it goes well, I'd move in with her anywhere she ends up moving to. I half jokingly said that if she has to stay in her current job, and city, that I looked into it and there's a place there I could potentially teach at as well. But she said she doesn't want to feel like she's making me uproot my life for her. But I would have anyways if things went well this whole time. And that if she moves back in with her parents, there's another place up there I could work out of.
Again, I know stuff like that isn't going to magically fix everything. If I said hey let's move in, I know that's not the solution. But I'm not saying let's move in, in hopes that it fixes everything.
She feels like I would be giving things up to be with her. I just don't know how to assure her that it's not me "giving things up" If we were to be together for sure, I would be more than happy to do what it takes to be with her. How to I assure her that "giving things up" isn't a bad thing. I feel like she feels that me staying with her, is the bad option. I also feel like she's afraid that I'd make her feel pushed away again. She asked what happens during the firing next year, and I gonna ignore her again? I assured her I wouldn't, and that I'm over woodfiring a bit. This year was just really rough in terms of my work being woodfired. Just disappointment after disappointment. I've also learned that my professor, who runs the firing, has been cutting off a lot of our regular shift leaders lately. He kept saying that they really needed me this year. I felt bad about our key people missing out, and felt pressure to work as much as I can do make it happen. Which is why I did up to 16 hours a night on the kiln, and spent so much time prepping it the week before, as well as all the pressure of having to rush work. After hearing everything that's going on, I feel almost taken advantage on with this whole situation. Since the firing I've learned about all the people he cut off, and accusations he's made about people.
Also, sorry about such a long post. I wanted to be as detailed as I can, so people don't get the wrong idea about things. I've tried to keep everything clear, while still leaving very personal details to a minimum.
I really thought she was the one, since day one we've gotten along so well. We quickly became each other's best friends. She's my best friend and my favorite person. It's really scary, the thought of losing her. But I hurt her so much, and I didn't even realize it until it was too late, and I feel so terrible about it. There's a part of me that's cautiously optimistic. If we break up what if we never talk again? She's become so ingrained into my life, it's scary to think one day I'll go a whole day without talking to her. I know she's really thinking about it, and taking her time. Instead of jut saying that. I'm very aware of my mistakes, and that I should have done things differently. I'm trying my hardest to make up for it. I know that it'll take some time, it's not something that'll be instantly fixed.
I just don't know what else to do, if I should just keep going the way things are right now, who to talk to about all of this. I just need any kind of advice and/or reassurance. She said that in the worst case scenario, we're just best friends, and she doesn't want us to stop hanging out at all or lose contact. Because we make such a good match.

I made a comment on a post that got locked out so I figured I would just make a post:
Go to the community market and search "sack of gems" They are about $0.30 each. Use them to make booster packs for games you have. Create a new category in your Steam library with the filter "trading cards". That will tell you what games to play to get your drops for those games. The badge menu will show you how many cards per game and game time. Craft badges like crazy. Don't buy levels, level up the right way. Spend your money on game deals and Sacks of gems. If you are missing cards in a set you can buy them on the market.
Doing it this way will give you tons of badges and your profile will look so much better then just having higher levels.
You can use this webpage to see what badges you like: https://www.steamcardexchange.net/
After you have the badge you want you can sell the extra cards and items on the Steam exchange giving you a never ending supply of new card money. I have tons of sales all the time.
After doing this for over 2 years I have 120 badges, over 1000 chat items, hundreds of items on sale and I'm going too be level 70 soon. My profile looks crazy!
Just do it the correct way, You'll get more from it plus it supports the market.

I have been put to below standard. I have been doing pretty well all positive feedback etc.. ok it says transaction defect rate. 9out of481 transaction I refunded for not being in stock. My fault. But I refunded the customers or they picked a new item. Seemed like no big deal. Now I'm under review until July and they took away promoting.. I get a email today that I'm still below standard.. my problem is have absolutely no idea how to fix something that has already been fixed between me and my customers.. I thought it was the lack of tracking but it's not it's the items that were cancelled for being out if stock.. please help me I like selling I really do I just don't know what I need to do to fix it...thank you so much

So I know at some stores. The store does not have to pay for the item unless it is sold, such as this is how it is at a store called Meijer with plants. That's why they don't get marked down. They get thrown out because the store doesn't have to pay for them if they don't sell them.
I was just wondering if there were any items at Kroger that were this way as well. Or if anybody knew anything about that, thank you.