I've seen/had managers in the past snap over a rule being broken or an employee being insubordinate. I've also seen/had managers who will just pull an employee aside and explain a write up in a calmly manner.
Now that I'm in a manager position I find myself feeling the frustrations of call offs and long lunches, dress code violations etc. I'm starting to understand why my previous managers would get so mad. But at the same time, I don't ever get the sense that I am about to burst in an angry way. I just want to hand out a write up and move on with my day.
So managers of Reddit, did I see bad examples of managers in the past who would yell at employees to get their point across? Or will I end up being a bad manager because I'm not so hard of a person?
Retail btw

I guess I’m just here venting my feelings because life has been pretty hard lately and I don’t really have anywhere else to go with these thoughts at the moment. Feel free to stay if you can relate to my struggles, or don’t, the choice is yours. 99.9% of the time, it feels like I’m always wishing I could’ve been born into someone else, because I can’t stand how difficult my life has been made to be, and it just feels like too much of a burden to take on. I’m not sure if many other people here can relate to this feeling, but it feels as if I was born to just have a really insufferable and miserable life.
I was born gay, black (technically mixed but by a quarter), and not very good looking if I’m being honest. I grew up in the western US, and ever since I was about twelve, I was bullied for everything someone could be bullied for. The way that I looked, the way i spoke, being black, not being black enough, being occasionally (presumed) gay, etc. I just quite simply never fit anywhere and I was constantly reminded that I’m never good enough. I hated what I saw in the mirror so much to the point where I’d avoid every mirror possible and I would begin to feel resentment towards my family for birthing me into being at the absolute bottom of the social ladder. I know it’s not their fault that the world is the way it is and I do truly love them, but I just couldn’t stand the fact that my life was made incredibly difficult because I was born to them and not a more privileged family that could’ve provided me an easier life. Instead, I was given the burden of being born different in a society that just doesn’t like me for multiple reasons, and it’s now my job to completely change myself so that I can have a chance at a better life.
I spent a lot of time alone as a kid since I always felt insecure about myself, and I would work tirelessly to be more attractive, charming, and endearing so that others would treat me with kindness and respect. Instead of going outside and playing with others in the summer, I spent my summers doing what people now call “looksmaxxing”. I would stay out of the sun because I’d get picked on if I was “too dark”, spend everyday working out, grow my curly hair out to take attention away from my nose which I hated, practicing to hide my “gay voice”, and finding the coolest clothes to wear so people would be impressed with me by the next school year. I would never hang out with my school friends and never go out and just be a kid having fun like others did. I hated myself too much to do anything else because it felt like everyone else hated me or looked down on me for just existing. I just wanted to be someone that could have more in life, but it felt like I’d have to run myself into the ground trying to change enough to actually have a shot.
The sad and telling thing is that this actually would work. With each year that went by in school I became closer to my goals. I was now about as light as Zendaya and more handsome. I hung out with the popular crowd beginning in freshman year of hs and started to feel better about myself because I started to gain recognition. All of this however took a turn when, long story short, I fell in love with my best friend since middle school and he turned on me in sophomore year due to him being closeted. He shut me out, and my other friends didn’t talk to me anymore because he was basically the leader of the popular kids. I switched schools in junior year and fell into a really deep depression that honestly I never fully healed from. I’m 22 now, and I’m honestly pretty messed up because I’ve had such a horrible childhood. I guess you could say I glew up dramatically in the years after hs, but only because I was bullied into basically becoming a different person, and I still feel the need to constantly change things about myself and obsess over my appearance. I don’t know how to get over the things I’ve been through and my life is still shitty today because of trauma and unfavorable circumstances I find myself in.
I see other people who are my same age or younger, and I get extremely angry because they have lives that seem so much better than my own; Friendships, relationships, happiness that they didn’t have to slave away for. I envy the ease that life has provided them and the freedom they must feel, while I always feel caged and confined to a life of hardship because I’m me… and they’re them. I want my life to be different, but it feels like the life they have was never meant for someone like me, and I have to spend years of my life trying to be where they were born. It’s so frustrating, and it all just feels like too much to bare. I don’t really know what the point of me writing all of this was, maybe just me letting off steam or reaching out into the void, but If you’re still reading this thanks for sticking around till the end lol. If anyone has any words of encouragement, I could definitely use it right about now because I’m really struggling 😂

Whoever’s poem about how much this game blows gets the most upvotes in 24 hours time will receive heatwave pack code for xbox
Happy writing 👍

C4c

Code for code

Hi everyone!! So I’ve recently started a rewatch of TWD, and after seeing the Saviors storyline (specifically Dwight’s) with some fresh eyes, I realized how fun it could be to write for this universe! I’m currently building a backstory for an character named Isla, who would be a long term member of Rick’s team and a resident of Alexandria. In the early days of the conflict, she takes up the task of being a woman on the inside, in hopes of gaining Negan’s favor and helping to destroy the Saviors from the inside out. At this point, Dwight wouldn’t have made his betrayal known, which could spark up an interesting dynamic between the two of them!
I have tons of ideas for where this could go, but nothing particularly set in stone since I enjoy building a story with my writing partner above all else.
As far as my writing style goes, I’d say I’m rather experienced. I’ve been writing on my own and with partners for a few years now, and my writing length can vary anywhere from multipara to novella, which I’m also looking for in a partner. I will ONLY write in third person. That’s non negotiable.
I’m looking for someone 18+ whose time zone will at least somewhat align with my own (EST), with a decent availability. I understand there are other priorities from day to day, but I’m not looking for a single response a day, or week. I like to have sessions of back and forth responses, in order to retain interest and build upon the story in a natural way.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, feel free to reply or send me a message! I’d love to build a story with you :)

Jump is here.
Apologies if a new post for the same Jump before a week passes is too soon. I didn't see any rules about it, and figured the original post was far enough down the list. For those who are interested in the Jump, thanks for giving it a try. Hopefully anyone who enjoyed the 1.0 will also like the changes and additions.
I've sufficiently excised my brain worms on this, I think, so I wouldn't expect another update after this unless someone points out a glaring mistake or embarrassing typos.
Changelog:

Update to v1.3

• -Buffed the Fighter’s It Just Needs Some Spit perk
• -Buffed the Fighter’s A Fort To Call Your Own item
• -Buffed the Tomes, Tomes, Tomes item
• -Buffed Sir Roth's Sword to make it more attractive to a Jumper
• -Added a smithy to the Fighter’s A Fort To Call Your Own item
• -Added a benefit to purchasing caste, in the Class & Caste choice for Sha’ahoul
• -Adjusted the Chalice of Life item to better match its in-game counterpart
• -Adjusted the Fiery Shroud of the Inferno item to better match its in-game counterpart
• -Adjusted the Wizard’s Staff item’s description to better illustrate it isn’t its in-game counterpart
• -Adjusted the Fistful of Crowns item, from 50 to 75 crowns
• -Adjusted the Enchanted Armour item to play nice with the new items
• -Lowered the cost for the Enchanted Rings item
• -Added the Fedora of the Deceiver item
• -Added the Just As Worthy Protection item
• -Added the Forty Bars of Fine Steel item
• -Added the A Proficient Alchemist general perk
• -Added the A Proficient Blacksmith general perk
• -Added the Elven Ranger companion
• -Added the Naga Pathfinder companion

Update to v1.2

• -Buffed the Fighter perk Elven Warrior Training
• -Buffed the Very Good Dog
• -Gave all Companions a moderate buff
• -Added the Not Just Any Dwarf Companion
• -Added the Nameless Apprentice Companion
• -Added the Younger Dreamwalker Companion

Update to v1.1

• -Corrected typos and spelling
• -Added the training yard to the Fighter’s A Fort To Call Your Own
• -Buffed the Scout’s Magical Mask post Jump
• -Added bathrooms and amenities to the Mage’s Wizard’s Tower
• -Made canon companions free, with an option to spend CP to give them their own
• -Added the drawback I Don’t Need Ten Years
• -Finished descriptions for Spells in the Notes section
• -Formatting

No updated scores yet.
This match against Colorado is the 20th match of 2024 for the Dynamo with at least 41 matches expected this year in all competitions.
Good Luck & Go Dynamo!

Place	Player	Points w/ 2 Lowest Dropped	Overall Points	Points From Last Match (FC Dallas)
1st	nowaygreg	274	289	37
2nd	texwarhawk	261	277	22
3rd	36ers	255	273	13
4th	Poptwo1234	243	243	19
5th	Orange_crocs_army	241	248	25
6th	LeenserThomas	213	213	20
7th	Christopherdr97	176	176	0
8th	ZacAce316	142	142	0
9th	gunnerSmate45	85	85	0
10th	Few-Seaweed-8569	60	60	0
11th	Zekozeke06	43	43	0
12th	Trent_Tiger	31	31	0
13th	hicklander	14	14	0
14th	Houstopia	11	11	0
15th (tied)	thebroishere1217	10	10	0
15th (tied)	skyninja96	10	10	0
15th (tied)	ssj_acct	10	10	0
18th	WeedMan420000000	6	6	0
19th	Iwritetohearmyself	0	0	0

Continuing last year's rule - edits will result in comment invalidation. So if you want to make any edits to your picks, they must be done in a new reply to your comment!
Everyone can view the scoring document and are free to DM me with any issues/questions! If you'd like to help out with threads or scoring, send me a DM.
Good luck, and LET'S GO DYNAMO!!!
Categories and Scoring
10 points - Predicting the correct scoreline (i.e. Dynamo 3:1 FC Dallas, Dynamo 1:0 FC Dallas, etc.)
5 points - Predicting the correct outcome (i.e. Dynamo win, draw, etc.)
5 points - Correctly predicting the Dynamo MOTM (according to whoscored.com)
3 points - Correctly predicting the attendance +/- 500 people, 1 point for +/- 1000
3 points - Correctly guessing any of the goalscorer(s), regardless of team
2 points for guessing a correct yellow, 5 points if they get 2 yellows, 10 if they get a straight red. (List three players total from either team)
1 point - For correctly guessing each player in the Dynamo starting XI (1 pt/player); if you get all 11 players correct, then you get 5 bonus points
*Lowest 2 scores are dropped. Scores will be dropped following the 3rd match.*
Sample Prediction:

Score: Dynamo 2 - 1 Inter Miami Outcome: Win Dynamo MOTM: Bassi Attendance: 20,250 Goal scorers: Dorsey, Bassi/Martinez Cards: EscobaAllen, Yedlin Dynamo XI: ------- Quinones ------- Baird -------- Bassi --------- --------- Artur -------- Herrera ---- Carrasquilla ----- --- Escobar ---- Micael ---- Sviatchenko - Dorsey --- ------------------------- Tarbell ------------------------

Old 3D moderate learning Blender here.
I'm modelling a doughtnut-shaped object in orthographic mode, but I can't figure out how to extrude polys from the side while in orthographic mode. Selecting edges/points only extrudes those edges/points, and I don't wanna have to switch back to free view every time I want to select a poly for extrusion.
I've tried looking it up, but I'm getting results for pretty much everything but my query.
https://i.imgur.com/dQdrbUf.png <--- Pic for clarity
Thanks in advance for your help!

Six minute read *** I was also unable to post this to relationship advice***
So I go to college in CO but am from MN which is where my boyfriend and I met in senior year of highschool. Everything was great, I even moved to CO so that I could go to school near him because he was moving there. Once college started insecurities started to show, after being SA'd by a guy at college he demanded that if I am hanging out with people I have to tell him the names of everyone one there. He also to this day says that I technically cheated on him when I was SA'd because I didn't tell him the name of the guy right away. I've been r*ped for three months in a past relationship so it was an honest trauma reaction when I didn't tell him the name and I told him that. The controlling got worse and worse to the point tha I would be anxious to the point of being nauseous if I hung out with even friends that he knew. If I was asked to go to the club I would have to ask permission which would 100% of the time lead him saying no. I should add that after the SA incident we broke up for three months, I expected to never talk to him again and was really happy being single and free but he wiggled his way back into my life leading to us getting back together. This last winter break I was so done with it, I gathered the courage to have a serious talk about his controlling behavior specifically about him saying I can't go to the club, not because I wanted to go party but because of the fact that he thought he could tell me yes or no. In my mind I was ready to end things based on how he reacted to the talk, but he reacted well and so we stayed together and now I am allowed to go to clubs etc. I also must add that when we are in person hanging out everything is fine, we don't fight, we just chill and have fun. We just don't know how to communicate until things start to boil over because it makes both of us very uncomfortable to talk about issues in our relationship in person (I know that is not good and have been working on it) I do feel that things aren't the same as they used to be, there is a feeling of walking on egg shells around him a good amount of the time, things have been better recently. If one little thing happens he will be crabby and just shut down the rest of the day, even losing a game. When my older sister F(23) came to visit a few weeks ago he said that he would take us to the aquarium, we were getting food at the dining hall at my school and so I went out to his car to invite him to sit with us until we are ready to leave. He was in one of his "moods" and was angry, he just said no and that he will wait for us in his car and then hit the gas and loudly sped away when I was three feet away from him car. Later that night we were all drinking and he admitted with a laugh and smile on his face that he acted like that because he was listening to logics new album or something and "just needed to grind" whatever the fuck that means. My sister was driving in his car alone with him for maybe 15 minutes max. and said that even she felt like she was walking on egg shells and that she understood me now because he would get upset at the smallest things. It honestly just embarrassed me that he couldn't try to be nice around my sister, that just shows me that he doesn't care.
So now to get to the actual story, sorry that I rambled, I am currently visiting my family in MN for two weeks, he is still in CO. A week ago I went to visit one of my only friends from highschool for a sleepover, we went down to eat dinner and when we came back upstairs I saw that I had a missed call from him, I then saw this exact text: "Hey J***a! I miss you a lot right now. I know you're having a fun time out in Minnesota with your friends and your family. I love and care about you very much, I know you know that. It's time to move on from each other. This hurts a lot and I'm shaking while typing this. But I need to fly solo for a while and figure some shit out on my end. " My honest reaction was "I think blank just broke up with me?" My friend was so nice and then asked me how I felt, I honestly didn't feel sad, I was mainly just confused because of how random it was, he was acting completely normal up until then. I tried calling him back but it went straight to voicemail sp I texted him this: "I wish we could've had this talk on the phone. I was eating dinner downstairs when you called. I tried calling but you aren't answering so.
I agree, I feel like we haven't been in love like we used to for a long time, and I think moving on is the best thing for both of us." He never replied the rest of the night. The rest of the night I didn't cry or feel sad, I called my girl friends that I'm living with in CO, after them asking me how I felt and stuff we just started making fun plans for our single girl summer. Every single one of my friends does not like my boyfriend including my sister. They have been telling me to break up with him for months but I am honestly too scared and uncomfortable to, plus things are good when we are hanging out in person so I figured to just not worry about it. The next day my ex snapchatted me asking if we could have a phone call later if that is okay with me, I said sure expecting him to just tell me why he wanted to break up. But instead he said that the night before he saw some old screenshots (from the old SA incident) that made him go into a downward spiral. I will say I said some awful stuff behind his back which was the screenshots he was looking at. He then convinced himself that I had cheated on him and that I didn't actually get assaulted and that all of the times that I studied with my guy friends or hungout with them that we were fucking. So he just sent that text and powered off his phone. I will also say that I have never cheated on him. The next day he woke up and regretted it, he admitted that he also felt nauseous and scared which is think means he was just scared to be alone because we've been together for so long and he doesn't have any IRL friends in CO, so he would've basically been alone. So anyways on the phone the day after breaking up with me he told me why he sent the text and then started talking about how he was sad because he wasn't thinking lastnight, that he was only thinking about the bad things but then started thinking about all of the good times we have had and that that was what made him so sad the next morning. He said he truly loved me and wanted to at least say that he tried to get me back. I was again just very confused and shocked at this information, I tend to feel really bad for people even when they don't deserve it and so when he said he would've regretted this for the rest of his life and that he really loved me I caved and agreed to see if we can work things out. That being said I made sure to let him know that what he did was really shitty and not normal, and that it of course hurt me the way he went about it all. I have been telling him that he needs to go back to therapy for a year and he kept saying no, so on the phone I told him that if I'm even going to consider getting back with him he is going to get therapy. I know that may be shitty and I don't like telling people what to do but that is honestly what I think he needs if we even have a chance at getting better as a couple. At this time we are also planning to see eachother when I get back to CO to have an in-person talk about a lot of stuff. I told him that we can "stay together" but that I need time to think and I don't want to be official until I see major amount of change from him. Which historically has never really happened or the changes he made he eventually let slip and went back to his old ways which were toxic.
So now I am here, not sure what to think. I have been trying to really think about what I want and how I feel without thinking about his feelings but it's been really hard. We agreed to reconvene and see if things are better at the end of the summer, allowing him time to work on himself. But I don't know if I want to do that. I feel like things won't change, only because they haven't in the past when he said that they would. I also don't know how to end things if I were to.
If you were me what would you honestly do? It's hard to end such a long relationship.

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/b8hdG4C
Pics https://imgur.com/a/sBspNzX
I accept Paypal, Venmo, Cashapp, Zelle, Apple Pay. All prices are negotiable. I don't really do any research in market price, Just shoot ur shot.
Bundles > Dibs.

PM ME HERE: www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=ihategunz

Geissele Super Duty 16" in DNC Paint Job

Factory Geissele Super Duty with a 16" Chrome Lined CHF Barrel, coated in Mag Phosphate (bought before G$ switched to the cheaper Black Oxide) - Scroll to bottom of imgur for pics
Comes with factory Nanocoated Surefire Closed Tine and Super Charging Handle. BCG not included.
This upper is coated in a DNC like Paint Job, and has minimal cosmetic damage. Only noticeable spot is a slight ding on the top rail from mounting. Paint job is super easy to remove, very light coat. I removed a small part of it on the bottom but got distracted and gave up.
Shot for around 100 rounds and put into permastorage in a vacuum seal.
Asking $899 shipped

Factory Steyr Aug 16" Barrel with White Grip

Stormtrooper clone gone wrong. I decided to join the ODG gang gang instead.
No salt, shot for 80-100 rounds. There is a slight imperfection on the backside of the white grip as seen from pics, came like that from factory
$420 shipped

Clone Correct URGI 10.3 Upper

Here i've got a clone correct URGI 10.3 in a smooth shade of DDC. All parts are unfired except for the BCG/CH and Upper receiver. Had this assembled and sitting in my closet for close to a year now, i love looking at it but it's time i sell some extras.
Parts List:
Surplus Colt 13629 Keyhole upper
Daniel Defense 10.3 Barrel NSN Marked w/ DD GB and Tube
Colt C stamped BCG
Geissele 9.3" MK16 DDC
Geissele DDC ACH, NSN Marked (shade matches MK16)
Surefire 4 Prong, NSN Marked
Cosmetic Condition: Like New, minimal salt.
Asking $1199 $1139 shipped

SIG LPVOS

Black and Tan Sig Tango MSR 1-6
Black comes with mount, like new. $249 shipped
Tan does not come with mount, has some snail trails from mounting: $229 shipped

FCD Crap 🦆

• 2x ABC/R serrated bolt catches, $55 each. 1x center, 1x forward biased

Rails n Uppers

• Aero enhanced m4e1 upper with integrated barrel nut + 15" enhanced upper gen 2. Used but minimal salt: $199 shipped
  
• FN M4 3S679 Code upper + FCD RHF 9.5. Both cerakoted odg: $299 shipped
  
• DD RIS III FDE 9.5: comes with hardware and nut, no salt like new: $369 shipped
  
• Geissele MK16 9.3" Black: Blemula but re-nitrided so the blemula logo is barely visible. No salt like new. Barrel nut has some marks $199 shipped
  
• LMT M4 Forged Upper, with the lmt logo: light salt, $169 shipped
  

AR15 Spare Parts

• CMMG Safety $3 addon
  
• CMMG mag catch release, blemmed, free addon
  
• Bcm kag: $13 addon
  
• BCM Nut wrenches: $5 addon each
  
• Ergo grip rail covers 3x: $10 addon
  
• magpul 9 slot pic rail: $5 addon
  
• LWRC BUIs, rattlecanned fde, no salt, $109 shipped
  
• Daniel Defense Mid length tube + DD Low Profile Pinnable gas block (Takeoff from MK18, I believe it is an MK12 style gas block): $69 $59 shipped (500ish rounds)
  
• Bushmaster Commercial Spec Stock: $29 shipped
  
• BNIB RRA BuffeSpring for Carbines: 2x $15 each
  

BRN4 Parts from Forsaken Build

1x BNIB Operating Rod, $59 shipped

Mounts/Sights

Weaver Extra High 34mm Rings: $79 $49 New
Aimpoint PRO Riser spacer:, $10 addon
Aimpoint Micro OEM Mount: same as this one https://aimpoint.us/micro-standard-mount-for-h-1-h-2-kit/ very light salt, $69 $49 shipped
$169 $159 each
Aimpoint Pro low Mount: $49 shipped
Looks like this but with a picatinny mount https://aimpoint.us/aimpoint-30mm-top-ring-fits-qrp2-tnp-lrp-not-required-for-compm4-series/
KAC Rear Sight (missing bolt screw and bolt clamp): $79 shipped
Scalarworks Leap/04 RMR Mounts: 0400 (1.42"), 0410 (1.57"), $99 each like new
Unity 2.05" LPVO Mount DDC: like new, $269

Glock Stuff

Glock Sights: all takeoffs, $15 each. Tritium rear one is $30. $59 for all.
CAA MCK Microroni for G19/23/32: Mild salt, comes with flashlight. $169 $149 shipped
Safariland 6360 ALS/SLS FOR g17/G22, Right Handed: $99 $59 shipped (salty)
Wilson Combat Gen 5 Performance Trigger + Tactical Connector, 250 rounds: $69 shipped

AK Stuff

JMAC: Non-Folding Stock/Brace Mount for MRKT Trunnion: lnib $29 shipped
1913 Adapter for MRKT Trunnion: lnib $29 shipped

Random Shit

Vortex Razor 1-6 Killflash: $30 addon
Benelli M4 Mesa Tactical Stock with comfortgrip, cheek riser and newest lock washer: $119 shipped
Enigma: 1X OS (marked AXL, one of the OG units), no holster, $89 like new
MR556 12" Mlok Handguard: $79 shipped

Patches

Also patches if you would like some: https://www.reddit.com/GunAccessoriesForSale/s/NzKFRKbgjL

[Let me know if a chapter a week is okay; I'm thinking it might be a bit too often. Run Zero: https://redd.it/1csb71x Run One: https://redd.it/1cwxbsg]
The mining foreman refused to go to sleep, and watched intently as Tightniks finally reached over and set it home with one hand. Its last nervous little sigh was the only thing he remembered-
The ship is without power, and Tightniks can't run the radar much without draining the batteries...
32s: First trap.
He built it big this time, and there are six trimps in there. They look familiar somehow, the light one with dark hair and an unusually short and broad tail compared to the rest, a big-eared green one, a grey one, a yellow one, and a red one with big paws and "XIII" on its rump, and a brown one with pink ears that takes the lead and cheers, "Kakka!" Once he lets them out, they all follow him intently around like just-hatched birds do their mother. He shows them the busted off cockpit and forward cabin of the ship he just crashed and they get inside and start da- ...nope, sticking with "dancing". He busies himself looking for the survival pad.
Until he hears the squeak of a baby trimp. They're feeding it- ...rocks. Carefully selected, aluminate rocks. What the heck are they doing? Whatever, I've got to get some conventional food for- What's that? He's got the survival pad already, but this was outside the ship, it must have materialized when he descended through that glowing grey mist getting out. He gets it flipped over and turned on.
"Manual portal activation 2 successful:" it displays, "rare shield equipped 54%Stg 14%Atk MT 0 Nu loaded / 399 He loaded / Metal challenge active / Total portal activation 956"
Metal challenge? The human selects it.
"You have the Metal challenge active. Tweak the portal to bring you to an alternate reality, where the concept of Miners does not exist, to force yourself to become frugal with equipment crafting strategies. If you complete The Dimension Of Anger without disabling the challenge, miners will re-unlock."
He's so confused, What the Loy is a Dimension of Anger? I think I have a headache from this high gravity. Sits down for a moment.
Notices that one of the trimps is sleeping in a small deep hole just at the edge of the garden, apparently to have a nap in standing upright.
I don't believe you, "portal". I'm training that one first chance I get!
56s: Pop full.
There are ten of them already?? I'm still working this derpy little potato patch to get enough food to bulk up just ONE of the- He looks at the portal pad and blurts out loud, "Fifty-six SECONDS??" He postulates that he's in a time-dilated environment, and that the portal is measuring time somewhere "out there", this "map frame" environment. It's like those Star Trek episodes he can't remember "Wink of an Eye" and "Blink of an Eye" that he can't quite remember. [One of them is Star Trek TOS, and one of them is Star Trek: Voyager and I forget which one came from where.]
1m57s: Arable in Z1c13.
The human walks along and one of the trimps viciously fights the various hostiles that try to come at him, staying ahead. Just behind, he finds that hole-digger busted into a cave big enough for 9 of them, and they start raising babies to fill it up.
3m37s: Miners in Z1c30.
It's broken! he notices of the data card he just picked up. It's one of the ones that flew out of the ship when he undogged the ship's side hatch, but it didn't survive. What was on it? He's got a vague memory of a big tanuki-tailed trimp, much bigger than the- Wait! This memory is of hole-digger all grown up. So this is- he looks at the smashed data card in his hand, ...this is the Miners card. At least there's some lying about so we're not totally deprived of metal.
That's odd. I'm sure I spent longer training this little guy than "one second map frame." The human looks at the black trimp with the grey head fur and silvery eyes, "So, can you say something yet?"
"Shijou." [Takane and Takanya are not black, it is their favorite clothing color.]
"Okay, can you say something else?"
9m12s: Zone 1, 40 pop, 3.5s RC with Z0/1, 13m19s turkimp. 12m55s: First scientist.
"Tai," his first scientist waves at him.
"Hmm," the human tries to think of a better test, "What color is the sky?"
"Shijou." The exasperated human is about to sigh in despair when he notices a card in its hands, with one word on it, "Blue."
"What?" he takes it, "You can't speak but you can write, huh?"
"Shijou," it twirls its paw off the end of the card in his hand. The human turns it over, and in small writing, it has "Technically, the sky isn't blue, it's a foible of Rayleigh scattering in an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. And you have 'TIGHTNIKS' embroidered on the left side of your uniform."
A look of astonishment sweeps over the human. I never taught it about Rayleigh scattering. Apparently, the scientist training has unlocked its brain to access the collected knowledge of a previous life! Then he looks at his uniform and groans, spanking his eyebrows in realization. The trimp had apparently noticed him wandering around the camp wracking his brain and talking to himself trying to remember his own name, and it's right there the whole time! He spanks his eyebrows again.
The very well fed grey-headed trimp starts doing experiments, leaving him to take the turkimp back to his farmers. Too bad it's only a quarter as fast at it as he is.
32m25s: Zone 3, 79 pop, 4.5s RC with Z1/2; c16, 79 pop, 6.8s RC with Z2/3.
"Nano! Nano, nano, nano." The D&B (that's dodge and block) foreman has an impressive yellow mane, light face, green body, and brown hind limbs, and moves like a blur when it decides to. When asleep, it's as unarousable as an exhumed fossil, except with the food article Yellow the scientist calls an "owny geary". [Puchim@s Afuu]
Helping it out is a brown-maned white trenching expert Tightniks finds oddly familiar. It has no problem mining, but couldn't start a fire if its life depended on it, so smelting is out of the question.
I guess that's how the Metal challenge really works. Too bad I suck at it. Tightniks is spending all his smelting time smacking out nails and joist hangers for the houses, and has nothing left for fighting gear.
1h53m25s: Zone 9, 306 pop, 7.9s RC with Z8/15, no turkimp.
The white trimp with the brown head fur- ...whichever one it is because it, or one that looks just like it, sometimes (apparently) burns itself up or blows itself up trying to build a metallurgical furnace. This one is digging a hole right now, into the concrete of some ruined building's foundation. It hits some strapping and rebar, makes a happy sound, follows it along and gets it sorta clear of the concrete bonded to it, and rips it out of the ground to throw on the metal pile. It now seems content to do that instead of trying to smelt ores.
"Red?" Tightniks glances at one of his scientists, "Do you think we could take it to- What's that place you said you visited five hundred years after some misty fight or-"
"Cloudy strife," it says, "Yeah, Midgimp is like that, we could probably map a route through there. Lots of metal. Especially the part that had an avalanche happen and fell down. Broke all that stuff out of the ground already." [Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children cinematic and Sector 7 collapse.]
"Okay," Tightniks says, "Let's do that."
5h32m02s: Zone 21, 2042 pop, 14.9s RC with Z20/232, no turkimp.
"Ooooookay," Tightniks growls, "There is something off about this thing."
"Shijou?" the grey one looks at the yellow one with concern about their human starship pilot friend.
The human stoops, picks up the little green gem on the ridge between Zone 20 and 21, looks at it, huffs, and asks, "Any idea where this comes from?"
"Err..." the red one seems hesitant to say, "I think you made it."
"Really?" the human huffs, "How could that be?" Then he tosses it at Red, "See if anything reacts to it. It might be radioactive, so we should take turns to minimize exposure."
"Really?" Red's holding it now, "What makes you say that?"
"Because I'm pissed off for no reason I can figure out," the human says, "I think it's coming from-" he gasps, "Waitamint!" He starts searching for the portal pad.
"Frags," the red one says quickly, "I think it's arranging a route. You're good with maps," it tosses the gem to the grey scientist.
The human has his portal pad up and reads aloud, "You have the Metal challenge active. Tweak the portal to- yada yada yada. Tiss tiss t- complete The Dimension Of Anger without disabling- miners will re-unlock."
\BOOM\** They turn to see (another of) the white brown-haired trimp'/s' attempts at a metallurgical furnace explode, and it seems both very frustrated and has really hurt its toe.
He snaps his fingers, "That's gotta be it. Although, does it mean 'miners' or 'furnaces'?" He re-reads the portal pad while the scientists shrug.
"Shijou," the grey one has just finished tracing the route map the gem was showing.
"Are we going any faster than on previous cycles, you think?" he asks Red.
"What's a cycle?" Red asks.
"We're stuck in time loop, you realize?" the human says.
"Well," the yellow one jumps off a little rock spire it was using to see farther ahead, directly into a seated position on the ground with an impressive thump the human can both hear with his ears and feel through the ground of the more-than-Earth gravity planet, "that explains a few things." The little scientist trimp seems quite morose at the news.
"This thing says the fastest we've ever got this 'anger' map done is ten hours, thirty-five, but the clock right now is at five hours, thirty-four." Tightniks tilts his head, frowns one eyebrow, and taps, "Getting it done faster increases attack damage somehow, and oh-"
"What now?" the yellow one asks, still seated beside the spire.
"It says we already got a 2.5%-er for having a million traps," the human says, "I don't remember doing that. Maybe..." he sighs, "Maybe that's a good thing, 'cus I'd probably go insane building them all. Still though, it says we're going faster, but it doesn't feel like it."
"How'd you know how it feels," Red asks, "if you don't remember it?"
"'Day jaw voo' I think is the term," the human says, "or something. The sense that all this has happened before, but I'm not quite remembering and there's no physical evidence of it."
"Shijooooooooooo..." the grey one moans, waving a card at him. On it:
"In order, but we don't know if that means chronological order or frequency/proportion of memories:
"- The ship crashes (pretty sure that happens every time) "- The human builds huts "- The human teaches some trimps to speak and do science "- The human builds houses "- The human makes maps "- The human builds mansions "- The human blows up and gets himself killed somewhere around Z17 to Z21, often on a dragimp "- The human only recently/occasionally builds hotels "- The human only recently/rarely tamed a dragimp "- The human only recently/rarely mapped the Dimension of Anger"
Tightniks sits down and offers it back.
"Tai," it flatly refuses to take it back, paws up and eyes closed.
"It's kind of a relief," Tightniks rubs his temples, then looks at it again, "knowing it ain't just me."
6h17m43s: Portal PB, 1% AP for sub-8h, 45 He, 7.149 He/hr, 2209 pop, 13.6s RC.
The last head of the map's boss monster goes limp as one of the fighting trimps' dagger points goes into it, and the huge thing settles on its tail, resting on the package that seems to be the prize of this map. And there's a popping sound, and then something mechanical.
Is that a scroll compressor? Tightniks looks at the package. The deflating monster's lifting envelope material drapes over everything underneath it. "Yellow, Shijou!" he snaps and points, "roll up that side of it. Keep this part from sucking down on the extractor nozzle!"
All ten of the scientists jump in, literally, pushing the gas in the bag towards the compressor. Tightniks as well, rolling up the front.
Until he kicks, and nearly trips over, a smaller package that might be the explanation for the reason why the center of the monster's defense seemed to be a little away from the big package he could see. It's in the right place, he realizes. He gets it uncovered and reads stenciled-and-sprayed block letters on it:
"DT TIME PORTAL / THIS SIDE DOWN"
Perhaps the Dimension of Anger is so named because of the rage suddenly rising up in Tightniks' throat. It isn't so much as the free-floating aggression suddenly has an answer, there is definitely a fresh batch of rage and anger as he grips the nearest Dagger V, Mark 2 with both hands-
Refocusing on surviving the next few seconds, the pilot turns on the radar for the final approach and takes a last look around, then straight ahead at his forward camera and primary flight display...
He crouches, sets the dagger down gently, then starts clearing the debris from the box's grab iron. He tries to lift it- Damn, this is heavy! As he gets it turned over, gravity finishes the job, and it shakes the ground with an impressive thud as it falls right side up.
"DT TIME PORTAL / THIS SIDE UP" There's a square cutout in the middle of one side of it, with a sliding cover at the bottom of it.
"Get the pad!" he screams, seeing that his scientists are almost done rolling up the megablimp.
The grey one already has the survival data pad and offers it to him.
"The big one," Tightniks clarifies, "The big one." he picks up wide flat rainbow cable and its edge socket in one hand, "It goes here," he points at it with the other. "It must have come with me-" He had taken the small survival data pad and notices something, "Oh?" He starts looking around, "Hey!"
The white trimp with the brown hair is napping in a hole next to the smouldering remains of its latest attempt at a smelting furnace.
"Hey, mining buddy!" he whistles at it, "Mining buddy!"
It wakes with a start and rushes over, but doesn't seem to be in a good mood. But as soon as Tightnik shows it the survival pad, with all of the mining data installed just as if all those broken data cards and scorched scrolls were intact when he found them, fireworks goes off in the little trimp's eyes and it rushes off with the pad. Within minutes, the first furnace that works is chugging away at some ore and it returns to give the survival data pad back to Tightniks.
7h24m49s: Fresh turkimp; 7h25m30s: Labor reallocated.
The big-eared green lumber foreman's mood fell much further than the mining foreman's mood was before Tightniks packed up the turkimp roaster and moved just about everyone over to the smeltery.
The brown-haired, big-tailed white mining foreman was surprised at the change, and very happy. It had climbed up onto the helium compressor cart to check something on the pad a couple cells into the zone.
"Are you upset with me?" the red one asks the human.
"No, not at all," Tightniks says, "Are you getting the feeling that we had an upset at this point last cycle?"
"How would you know it was only the last?" Yellow asks, "Your memory's no better than ours."
"Right," the human sews another patch into his uniform, "However, I've only actually hit the switch on the portal twice, the first one on a challenge called Discipline, and the second on a challenge called Metal, which we just finished. It's easy to sort out from the statistics. I'm nervous it'll get harder to sort out when we're up to, oh," done fixing his uniform, he pops a bit of turkimp into his mouth and chews a couple times, "a few dozen or hundred manual cycles."
"Friggin' solve this faster than that, please," Red grumbles, "I know the emergency counter got to nearly a thousand, but..." he kinda trails off. Finally, he says, "I think we're remembering more cycle to cycle as we get more helium into it. I mean, I'm glad that isn't the only mechanic."
"Can't miss the supernova if it is," the human ponders.
"What?" Yellow chuckles.
"I'm remembering something from before all this, I think it was called a video game, where you'd go forward real-world in the simulation of a time loop, and your real-life head remembering what you did on previous cycles was the only mechanic," the human takes another bite, then dons his uniform shirt while chewing it. After his head pops out of the not-so-crisp-and-fresh uniform neck hole, buttons still done up, he finishes, "one of them had a supernova." [That would be Outer Wilds among the bunch of games with this mechanic, er, Minnit (I know it's spelled differently than "minute"), 12 Minutes, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and- ...I'm sure there are more.]
11h19m28s: Starting void 1 (L30).
With the thermal gloves on, Tightniks gets the void map into the portal device slot. It dematerializes and his fingers close where it used to be in his hands, then he yelps, stands up and starts dancing, "Oh crap, it's cold!" He quickly starts looking for stuff to bundle up. Once not too uncomfortable, he notices something, "You're having trouble, too?"
"No," Yellow and Red look at each other, "Well, not with the cold; this route has a poisonous atmosphere, slows down our young assimilating aluminum at the proper rate."
"Manning the traps will work at full speed, right?" Tightniks says.
"Should if your fingers can handle it," Red confirms.
11h33m57s: Void 1c100.
"You are one ugly muthaf[garble]!" he says when he sees the void boss, "Stay here, I'll be back." Runs some traps, grabs a couple helmets for the fresh volunteers, "Put these on."
"Shijou?" the grey one looks at the red one, really rather perplexed.
"I agree, that's not his usual accent," Red tilts his head, "Tightniks, what has gotten in to you?"
"Stop cheering me up," the human grumbles, "You think this is the real Quaid?"
"I think the cold is affecting him more than he realizes," Yellow offers.
"Phased plasma rifle in the forty watt range," but what the dizzy pilot actually throws at the zone boss is a Mace V-4, "and then I was thinking of breaking your neck."
[Felt like some- "Arnie? Well, the union is pulling out all the big guns today, huh?" (Tom Hanks as Sully) ...no, brain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, not Arnie Gentile (it was really funny to background Sully and listen to that line instead of "That's definitely you" in Terminator 2 while he's posing with the Minigun.) Arnie lines from Predator, Terminator 2, True Lies, Total Recall and The Terminator.]
"Tweak the portal," reads Tightniks from the portal controller aloud, but quietly, "to bring you to an alternate reality, where Trimps are bigger and stronger, to force yourself to figure out a way to build larger housing. Your Trimps will gather 50% more resources, but your housing will fit 50% fewer Trimps. If you complete The Dimension of Anger without disabling the challenge, your stats will return to normal."
"You will also open a new memory coolant unit," Yellow reads, "You think that'll cause a housing bonus?"
"Shijou," the grey one hands him a card saying "We have enough for another gateway."
"Oh, good," Tightniks hands it back after signing it, "Yes, build it."
"We're doing that next?" Yellow asks.
Tightniks sees the little fellow sitting on top of a mound that the human thought was a bowel movement pile from Draglimp, but it must be something more geological if trimps can climb it, let alone want to. "Yeah, I guess," the human answers, "It kinda scares me, I mean I'm going back, but what happens to you guys?"
"We have too much day javo or whatever you called it," Red says. He's usually on all fours, shakes his left hind leg as though something got stuck to his foot, "This isn't incrementing, I'm sure. 13 is less than 956."
"According to this, you'll be twice as big," Tightniks sets down the portal controller pad and stands up from the cart, "It's hard to imagine, especially for Shijou and Diggy. We'll clear thirty-six, that's it."
14h04m37s: Z33c95, IC.
"Are you sure we can make Zone 37 start?" the red one asks.
The yellow one is standing on Red's shoulders.
"It said we did last time," Tightniks taps on the crude leather bag strapped to his back, the portal pad inside it, "though maybe..." he tilts his head, rolls whatever he was sucking on in his mouth for a moment, "it just happened while I was building those traps. No, I'm sticking with that plan."
"If it's going to take that long," Red grinds its jaws sideways for a moment and lets its eyelids get lazy, frustration clear in its tone, "why do it again?"
"Because I've got a bad feeling about this 'Size' thing," Tightniks says, "it drops our resourcing by 75% assuming we build the same amount of housing as before, which we won't because of the reduced resourcing. We needed 65 capacity in the cabin and huts before we could do run the gypsum/paper wall machine we found. I have a funny feeling that never changes."
"We don't need 65 trimps to run it," Yellow says, "just three."
"Yeah," Tightniks says, "but a particular three that know what they're doing, and my day javoo is telling me the last of those is always the sixty-fifth."
"Shijou," the grey one moans from the other side of Tightniks. Didn't have a note this time, just kicking a little rock along as it walks.
"It thinks you're right," the red one growls forlornly, "Hating to say it, but I do too."
14h16m06s: Skel in c1, 50 bones purchased whipimp.
There's a thump at the cart, and then some commotion around it that's noticable enough for Tightniks to come over and take a look. The bone box is empty, all forty-nine titanium bones in it are gone. Tightiks brings his right hand up in front of him, and it's just a balled fist, the bone he was holding a moment ago is gone. As he starts looking for where he must have dropped it, he realizes maybe it's all related. Looking in the bottom of the empty bone box, he finds a note.
"I got you the whipimp. This new Bad Guy will begin spawning in your next zone at an average of 3 spawns per 100 enemies. I hope it helps, but I can't tell yet."
The note is in Tightniks' own handwriting, although lazy but with more consistent kerning. Is this from an older version of myself? Friggin' time travel.
14h18m48s: This L34 moun 160/27/79 calls itself "Magical Mountain" - I can't remember whether the Disney trademark is that or "Magic Mountain" ...I've seen a "Black Mesa" before, that's a Half-Life thing, and somebody on Reddit made pretend that "Dank Hill" was a King of the Hill thing (which is actually *Hank Hill, I think - it's hard to remember, it wasn't very good and I haven't watched it since the 1990s.)
19h32m00s: Doom/AT, 12816 pop, 80N, 37.7s RC with Z34/5298.
"Okay, we got that friggin' thing chocked," Yellow wipes its brow and almost bonks itself with the Mace VI-2 that it's holding, puts it down and makes sure the wedges are secure.
Grey, Red, and Green are packing more stuff around the huge boulder that chased them down a tunnel to make sure it doesn't do that again.
"Getting any day javoo?" Tightniks pants, hands on his knees, but apparently uninjured, or nearly so.
"Not at all," Yellow vehemently responds, slashing the air with its paw, "You?"
"Oh," Tightniks gets his breathing under control, "I think it was a human movie."
"Like a video on that pad?" it gestures at the human's pocket with the small one.
"No, a bigger screen," the human says.
"Fifty-five inches?" the trimp scientist chuckles.
"More like fifty-five feet," the human rubs the sweat out of his eyes, "Lots of people watching. It was called a sin."
"Ah," the trimp ponders, "Like a crime, vice, psychopathy or bad habit?"
"Er..." the human taps his forehead trying to remember, "Sorry, a cinema."
[The whole thing is obviously an homage to something I remember only slightly better than Tightniks, I think it was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. As I'm posting this, I sadly realize that Nick Rekieta's arrest was between when I wrote this and now.]
19h58m55s: Zone 37, 473 He, 23.67 He/hr, 13088 pop, 81N, 32.1s RC with Z34/5298, 2806 pop short, no turkimp.
The ship is without power, and Tightniks can't run the radar much without draining the batteries...

I'm not familiar with PCs in general, so I was extremely overwhelmed when I looked into it and found that theres AMD, intel, etc. I don't want to buy the wrong thing and just "destroy" my current setup by accident.
**If I were to try and look for a budget prebuilt PC what site would you recommend? (Canada)
Thanks for all the help!
I will follow the instructions

Is this a brand new build, or an upgrade to an existing build?

Upgrade to an existing build

Please list any existing parts or monitor(s) you have that you would like to re-use with this build. For upgrades, a PCPartPicker list of your full build is extremely helpful. Be as specific as you can be here, including links or exact model numbers of each component whenever possible.

PC Part Picker Link: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Tvpqz6
I also have a TB seagate HDD, couldn't add it to part picker for some reason
My PSU is a Seasonic 600 watt if I recall correctly

What will this PC be used for? Examples include things like gaming, general/multimedia use, photo/video editing, coding, AI/ML, etc. Include specific games and applications you intend to run, and any particular performance goals you have, as each may have different specific hardware needs.

I'm upgrading primarily for Valorant. The game has gotten progressively harder to run through the years. It's gotten to the point where it takes me 5 mins to load into the main screen and I crash half the time.
It'd be a bonus if I could also run some more recent Steam games like Baldurs Gate

What country will you be purchasing in? If you are in the US, do you live near a Micro Center? For other countries, please check if your country is supported by PCPartPicker by using the country selector dropdown on the top right - if not, please provide some links to reliable local vendors you are comfortable ordering from.

Canada

Do you need one or more monitors included in the budget? Please list how many and any size/resolution/refresh rate preferences if needed.

No

What is your preferred and maximum budget range for this build, in local currency? Parts lists may sometimes have additional shipping costs. Please note whether prices in your country include sales tax or not, and adjust your budget accordingly. Typically VAT countries will have it included in the part list prices, whereas regular sales tax countries like the US and Canada will not.

Around $400 CAD

Do you need WiFi, or do you have a wired ethernet connection available?

wired ethernet

Do you have any specific size or noise requirements for the build?

My current case is BitFenix Pandora (Micro-Atx iirc)

Do you have any aesthetic preferences for color or lighting? Describe what you're looking for, or feel free to provide some links to examples that may help. Some people prefer an inobtrusive stealth build, while others may prefer a case full of rainbow RGB.

no

Any other specific requests or requirements? Examples might include a specific minimum amount of storage, or a particular CPU socket for a future upgrade path, etc.

no

With the surging success of Thrones of Decay and the recent positive news regarding Pharaoh, I'm honestly looking for a enjoyable project to ponder throughout the weekdays before heading home to work on my latest campaign. As such, I'm pleased to announce the introduction of The Newcomer's Guide to Army Composition, a multi-part series featuring effective generic and themed builds for each race within TWW3.
Every few days (ideally), I'll drop a different breakdown of a specific race's generic lord/hero/unit roster with effective, dynamic ways to fill out an army. Overall, these army composition recommendations hold to three core doctrines:

• Form follows function...these armies are designed to win battles, and the opportunity cost of utilizing a 'cool' unit over another 'less cool' unit means a great deal when we're talking about the defense of your empire. You know what's cool? Winning, and winning consistently and effectively.
  
• Cost-Effectiveness...we're not here to break the bank, and we're certainly not building 'doomstack' clones (seriously not fun). Great army compositions have layers with a variety of backfill options available...you can't always afford the highest level in every category for every army, so the name of the game is cost-effectiveness.
  
• Flexibility...if you take one thing away from this guide, I hope this tops out your list: variation, flexibility and durability are the saving graces of the best army compositions. I’ll admit that opponent specialization has certain advantages, but generally speaking, I despise the idea of sitting around for ‘X’ amount of turns globally recruiting the ideal niche unit designed to defeat [insert race here]. Instead, I find a force capable of challenging virtually every race much more useful in the mid-game and down the stretch of long campaigns.
  

Alright, on to the good stuff…first up, a personal favorite: the Dawi.
While I personally recruit based on the legendary lord and which advantages they provide certain units, whether that's through their unique trait or via their unique skill line, my goal with this breakdown remains typical army compositions for non-legendary lords...here's how I approach a relatively generic build:

• First and foremost, pick yourself a lord type...the generic lord is really solid, the runelord serves as more of a support specialist and the new daemonslayer offers a extremely different melee approach. Unless you're building a slayer-themed army, I'd generally suggest one of the first two as the daemonslayer truly works best when utilizing a good number of slayer units. Total Units: 1/20
  
• Next, and I've found this is an unpopular decision on this forum, I utilize a strict one hero per army rule with a few minor exceptions (VC, for example). I also offset my lord choice with a hero of opposite specialization...so a runesmith would pair well with a dwarf lord while a thane works perfectly with the runelord. The master engineer slots in well with both, so just modulate your needs accordingly. And if you're the type who prefers more heroes, throw in one of each, all three are excellent. I'll note that the new dragonslayer is also quite brilliant, really knows how to take on large entities and a great option to throw into the mix as well, especially if you're going to be fighting tomb kings, dark elves, greenskins, etc. Total Units: 2/20
  
• Six frontline infantry designed to hold the line...these traditionally are well armored and shielded and just generally stay alive. They aren't your damage dealers and they aren't designed to generate kills...they hold the line to ensure your actual killers have time and space to do their job. Start off with Dwarf Warriors (easily the best Tier 0 unit out there) before upgrading to Longbeards and, finally, Ironbreakers. The latter offer some excellent punch with their short-range explosive toss, excellent in the late game against heavily-armored troops such as Warriors of Chaos or the Dawi-Zharr. Total Units: 8/20
  
• Behind your frontline, you need two kinds of damage dealers: ranged and melee. First up, let's talk about the ranged units...Thunderers are the way to go, bar none. I'd argue both variants -- the traditional and the grudge-rakers -- are exceptional, with the latter maybe being slightly better due to a quicker reload time. The traditional have slightly better range and accuracy, though, so there's some trade-off. My go-to from now on will be two of each, to be honest. If you’re a bit strapped for cash, quarrelers are always a solid choice, plus you can run some simpler formations as those crossbows shoot up and over your frontline units. Total Units: 12/20
  
• Now you need some hard-hitting melee, and fortunately you have some options. Hammerers were the original choice on this front, but with the addition of doomseekers, it's a bit more of a toss-up. The question you have to ask yourself is survivability...hammerers, with their high armor and high numbers (100 per unit), will hold up in most fights. Doomseekers with their zero armor and lower numbers (32 per unit) don't have that advantage. That said, doomseekers have some sick animations and way outclass the hammerers in their general stats (better MA, MD and charge bonus), so it's still a bit of a toss-up. I bring two total to help my frontline with particularly tough enemies, and with both offering magical damage, ensure targets consistent of the undead or daemonic, when applicable. When you’re cost-strapped, look to the great weapon variants of long wards and dwarf warriors. Total Units: 14/20
  
• Not much of a Dawi force without some artillery...the usual approach on here tends to be an overwhelming amount in this category, but I honestly think two total truly works perfectly within most armies. Start off with grudge throwers before upgrading to cannons and then organ guns and flame cannons. Full honesty, I’m completely sold on the new flame cannons…they absolutely melt most units, and with a Rune of Seeking, full on chef’s kiss my friends. Pair with an accurate damage-dealer such as organ guns and you’ll have enemies severely crippled well before reaching your infantry frontline...that'll do nicely. Total Units: 16/20
  
• Moving on to war machines...these are the units you'll need to micro during battles to get the most impact, so just prepare for that inevitability. Prior to ToD and the 5.0 patch, the unit of choice was the gyrobomber, but I've honestly been forced to reassess a bunch the past couple weeks. First off, the Thunderbarge is a no-brainer, grab one of those as soon as you can (assuming you can afford it)...just float that sucker over the enemy army within range of your thunderers (for protection) and it'll take care of virtually anything. Second, the gyrobomber is still great, and it's a solid option for harassment, but I really appreciate the utility of the gyrocopter (brimstone guns)...they mop the floor with a heavy majority of opposing ranged options, freeing up your thunderers and Thunderbarge to focus on the opposing frontline. Mix-and-match between the gyrocopters and the gyrobombers for best results, but I've found just one with a thunderbarge to work really well. Total Units: 18/20
  
• Finally, the flex positions...I tend to slot in some anti-cavalry units for these two final spots, just to ensure my artillery doesn't get ravaged by boar riders or the like. Surprisingly, Bugman's Rangers work exceptionally well in this hole...they have this under-the-radar 'Charge Defense Against Large' ability that makes them ideal for taking on cavalry, and up until the point they get charged, they're a solid missle unit as well (same effectiveness as a quarreler). However, my favorite unit for these two spots are Irondrakes (Trollhammer Torpedoes)...they crush it against large entities, can hold their own in melee for a decent amount of time due to their armor and just generally look super cool. Total Units: 20/20
  

A Slayer-Themed Composition
As promised, I also included a great slayer build that I have come to enjoy tremendously:

• Daemonslayer for the lord slot…a must-have for this composition, feels strange to run anything else. Total Units: 1/20
  
• Dragonslayer in the hero position…again, a must-have, and truly excellent as a single-entity killer. Total Units: 2/20
  
• Doomseekers…prior to the addition of these beasts of the battlefield, slayers were entirely focused as anti-large specialists. Doomseekers changed that entire dynamic, and I recommend running six of these gems as your ‘frontline’ for this comp…a bit expensive, sure, but if you’re building themed armies, you’re already rich. Total Units: 8/20
  
• Giantslayers…still the anti-large champ in regards to slayers, and highly-effective on your flanks protecting your doomseekers from cavalry charges and monstrous infantry. I personally grab four, two on each end to ensure the integrity of my frontline. Total Units: 12/20
  
• Slayer Pirates…an extremely fun unit with some late-game purpose in this composition: ranged firepower with a bit of flanking capability. Like I noted earlier, I appreciate flexibility on the campaign map, and the last thing you want to run into with a themed stack is a couple enemy units virtually untouchable by your forces. Slayer Pirates solve that problem well as your anti-flying shield, and when that need isn’t as ‘needed,’ per se, they make solid flankers with excellent armor-piercing ranged ammo. I bring four for safety. Total Units: 16/20
  
• Goblin Hewers…not exactly my favorite of the slayer units, but definitely fun in the right context and against any lord boasting a large mount. I toss in a pair to absolutely delete enemy leadership or large single-entity monsters, and they’re the type of ‘artillery’ you never have to worry about since they’re manned by another couple dozen slayers…cavalry charges need not apply. Total Units: 18/20
  
• And finally, a few Gyrocopters (Brimstone Guns)…I know, I know, not technically slayers, and while you may be absolutely correct, the advantage of a pair of brimstone copters takes root in their capability taking out ranged units. Slayers, as we all know, sprint into battle sporting zero armor, making them vulnerable to even the sloppiest of archers. In steps a pair of brimstone guns, and suddenly you’ve got very little ranged to worry about plus some post-battle barbecue options for your surviving slayer comrades. Total Units: 20/20
  

Enjoy the Dawi, they are an absolute blast to play with now, and I highly recommend experimenting with some of their mid-tier units as well as virtually all variants of grudge settlers…the flame cannons and trollhammer copters are unreal out in the field.

Six minute read
So I go to college in CO but am from MN which is where my boyfriend and I met in senior year of highschool. Everything was great, I even moved to CO so that I could go to school near him because he was moving there. Once college started insecurities started to show, after being SA'd by a guy at college he demanded that if I am hanging out with people I have to tell him the names of everyone one there. He also to this day says that I technically cheated on him when I was SA'd because I didn't tell him the name of the guy right away. I've been r*ped for three months in a past relationship so it was an honest trauma reaction when I didn't tell him the name and I told him that. The controlling got worse and worse to the point tha I would be anxious to the point of being nauseous if I hung out with even friends that he knew. If I was asked to go to the club I would have to ask permission which would 100% of the time lead him saying no. I should add that after the SA incident we broke up for three months, I expected to never talk to him again and was really happy being single and free but he wiggled his way back into my life leading to us getting back together. This last winter break I was so done with it, I gathered the courage to have a serious talk about his controlling behavior specifically about him saying I can't go to the club, not because I wanted to go party but because of the fact that he thought he could tell me yes or no. In my mind I was ready to end things based on how he reacted to the talk, but he reacted well and so we stayed together and now I am allowed to go to clubs etc. I also must add that when we are in person hanging out everything is fine, we don't fight, we just chill and have fun. We just don't know how to communicate until things start to boil over because it makes both of us very uncomfortable to talk about issues in our relationship in person (I know that is not good and have been working on it) I do feel that things aren't the same as they used to be, there is a feeling of walking on egg shells around him a good amount of the time, things have been better recently. If one little thing happens he will be crabby and just shut down the rest of the day, even losing a game. When my older sister F(23) came to visit a few weeks ago he said that he would take us to the aquarium, we were getting food at the dining hall at my school and so I went out to his car to invite him to sit with us until we are ready to leave. He was in one of his "moods" and was angry, he just said no and that he will wait for us in his car and then hit the gas and loudly sped away when I was three feet away from him car. Later that night we were all drinking and he admitted with a laugh and smile on his face that he acted like that because he was listening to logics new album or something and "just needed to grind" whatever the fuck that means. My sister was driving in his car alone with him for maybe 15 minutes max. and said that even she felt like she was walking on egg shells and that she understood me now because he would get upset at the smallest things. It honestly just embarrassed me that he couldn't try to be nice around my sister, that just shows me that he doesn't care.
So now to get to the actual story, sorry that I rambled, I am currently visiting my family in MN for two weeks, he is still in CO. A week ago I went to visit one of my only friends from highschool for a sleepover, we went down to eat dinner and when we came back upstairs I saw that I had a missed call from him, I then saw this exact text: "Hey J***a! I miss you a lot right now. I know you're having a fun time out in Minnesota with your friends and your family. I love and care about you very much, I know you know that. It's time to move on from each other. This hurts a lot and I'm shaking while typing this. But I need to fly solo for a while and figure some shit out on my end. " My honest reaction was "I think blank just broke up with me?" My friend was so nice and then asked me how I felt, I honestly didn't feel sad, I was mainly just confused because of how random it was, he was acting completely normal up until then. I tried calling him back but it went straight to voicemail sp I texted him this: "I wish we could've had this talk on the phone. I was eating dinner downstairs when you called. I tried calling but you aren't answering so.
I agree, I feel like we haven't been in love like we used to for a long time, and I think moving on is the best thing for both of us." He never replied the rest of the night. The rest of the night I didn't cry or feel sad, I called my girl friends that I'm living with in CO, after them asking me how I felt and stuff we just started making fun plans for our single girl summer. Every single one of my friends does not like my boyfriend including my sister. They have been telling me to break up with him for months but I am honestly too scared and uncomfortable to, plus things are good when we are hanging out in person so I figured to just not worry about it. The next day my ex snapchatted me asking if we could have a phone call later if that is okay with me, I said sure expecting him to just tell me why he wanted to break up. But instead he said that the night before he saw some old screenshots (from the old SA incident) that made him go into a downward spiral. I will say I said some awful stuff behind his back which was the screenshots he was looking at. He then convinced himself that I had cheated on him and that I didn't actually get assaulted and that all of the times that I studied with my guy friends or hungout with them that we were fucking. So he just sent that text and powered off his phone. I will also say that I have never cheated on him. The next day he woke up and regretted it, he admitted that he also felt nauseous and scared which is think means he was just scared to be alone because we've been together for so long and he doesn't have any IRL friends in CO, so he would've basically been alone. So anyways on the phone the day after breaking up with me he told me why he sent the text and then started talking about how he was sad because he wasn't thinking lastnight, that he was only thinking about the bad things but then started thinking about all of the good times we have had and that that was what made him so sad the next morning. He said he truly loved me and wanted to at least say that he tried to get me back. I was again just very confused and shocked at this information, I tend to feel really bad for people even when they don't deserve it and so when he said he would've regretted this for the rest of his life and that he really loved me I caved and agreed to see if we can work things out. That being said I made sure to let him know that what he did was really shitty and not normal, and that it of course hurt me the way he went about it all. I have been telling him that he needs to go back to therapy for a year and he kept saying no, so on the phone I told him that if I'm even going to consider getting back with him he is going to get therapy. I know that may be shitty and I don't like telling people what to do but that is honestly what I think he needs if we even have a chance at getting better as a couple. At this time we are also planning to see eachother when I get back to CO to have an in-person talk about a lot of stuff. I told him that we can "stay together" but that I need time to think and I don't want to be official until I see major amount of change from him. Which historically has never really happened or the changes he made he eventually let slip and went back to his old ways which were toxic.
So now I am here, not sure what to think. I have been trying to really think about what I want and how I feel without thinking about his feelings but it's been really hard. We agreed to reconvene and see if things are better at the end of the summer, allowing him time to work on himself. But I don't know if I want to do that. I feel like things won't change, only because they haven't in the past when he said that they would. I also don't know how to end things if I were to.
If you were me what would you honestly do? It's hard to end such a long relationship.

I'm on the hunt for the best app to track my lost (or misplaced!) Android device. While Samsung's Find My Device seems alright, I'm curious if there are better options out there.
Here's the deal:
Anyone have experience with alternative tracking apps? What features do you find most useful (remote wipe, location history, etc.)? Are there any free options that pack a punch, or is a premium subscription worth it? Any horror stories or success stories with specific apps? Bonus points if you can recommend something that works seamlessly across different Android brands!
Thanks in advance for sharing your wisdom!
P.S. Feel free to drop any additional tips or tricks you've learned about keeping track of your Android device.

I'm a "non-op" trans woman with a slender body and pretty "perky" chest that grew thanks to HRT. I'm told I mostly if not yet fully pass. 5'7". 130lbs.
I recently come to terms with that I would prefer an open relationship, but it feels impossible to find any guys who are open to ethical non-monogomy that actually want a relationship because they already all have partners or just looking for something casual. I'm bashful and don't really like to rush into talking about sex. I want to get to know a person first to see if we vibe and if I feel comfortable being intimate with them. I'm at a point in my life where I want a primary partner but still want us both to be able to explore other people.
It feels like a lot to put that on my dating app profiles since it's already a lot for most guys that I'm trans. I just want a nice good looking guy who wants to do right by me.
Maybe I'm asking for too much, but if there any guys in the Burbank/LA area who read this who would be interested in such a thing feel free to reach out.

So I've been waiting month after month for a good TYBW banner to drop again but after seeing the trailer, I just had to vent. (Please note these are just my personal opinion, if anything I've said offends you/resonates with you, feel free to comment your thoughts on my points.)

1. Yet another '2 character' banner.

I can understand if its for Mid Month but why do this for EOM? This is not the first and will probably not be the last time either. (TYBW Rangiku was clearly supposed to be the 3rd character in 'Wings of Frost' summons but was omitted and thrown into 'Reinforcement' summons a month later, I wouldn't be surprised if Ryuken is a random third in a future TYBW banner)

1. Remakes of past TYBW characters.

Some people are saying they prefer KLAB to focus on giving us newer characters, like Sternritters, instead of remaking old ones, especially those that haven't resurrected yet, to garner more hype for the game. Frankly, I do not mind remakes so long as they're improved visually compared to their old versions.

1. Declining character art.

Lately some of the Mid Month character art have been 'off' and some are accusing KLAB of slacking and using AI but it was still excusable. However this time, we have a TYBW EOM banner and Isshin's art is looking quite bland compared to Masaki's art. Now I'm not an artist so I can't point out what exactly is wrong with it. Maybe it's the shading, coloring, artstyle, or a combination of them all but personally, it just doesn't feel like Young Isshin from the TYBW anime but more akin to the style from 'Tower of God' anime. Masaki on the other hand looks and feels like she came directly from the anime.

1. Gameplay Visuals are lacking

TYBW 'Reinforcements' had some of the most boring gameplay visuals outta the TYBW series so I was hoping this banner would be a refreshing reminder of how cool TYBW units can be but I was met with nothing but disappointment.
Masaki has a light shade of blue for all of her gameplay which results in dull looking SAs at times. Her SA1 shoots out arrows from the sky that pushes out enemies but 70% of it is filled with a giant smoky cloud effect. Her SA2 is a barrage of arrows being shot but they're being shot out in waves which makes it look semi awkward compared to other continuous barrage attacks. Her SA3, which was supposed to be her iconic attack where she kills White with 1 arrow, just has a slit open up in the air and bright light come out of it for a fullscreen attack. All in all, it just feels like there's not much effort to make it look exciting. Comparing this Masaki to the one we got almost 4 years ago, I actually prefer the latter. And that was made to be a NAD character while this was made to be a SP character.
Isshin also suffers from the same light shade of orange that makes his SAs look dull. (not as bad as Masaki tho mainly because flames will look decent no matter). His SA1 is a simple lunge with flames, not bad but nothing impressive either. His SA2 is a homing vortex made out of flames, again not bad but nothing impressive. His SA3 is a full screen attack where he leaps up and a giant flaming sword appears from the ground and cuts his enemies under him. Sounds cool right? Except that the animation lasts about a fraction of a second and then its done. (Seriously, even played in 0.25 and it showed for only a second) No lasting visual effects, no cool sound effects its just.... so uninspiring. Again, comparing this Isshin to the one from nearly 4 years ago, the latter comes out on top again.
I went back to rewatch Everything But The Rain and it was full epic fight moments from both Isshin and Masaki that I'm dumbfounded by what we got ...

1. Soul Bomb Animations

If there was any positive thing to be said about these remakes then it would have to be the SB animations. They are just stunningly beautiful, the quality has actually gone up alot and not just comparing between the old versions but in general. It is very noticeable during the part where it zooms in onto Masaki's face as she prepares to shoot, the chibi model looks very HD. And the arrows here look bright and vibrant along with Isshin's flames, which begs the question: Why wasn't the same applied to their gameplay?

1. Last notes

I know KLAB are busy with their new Bleach game and Kubo is busy with the TYBW anime so I don't expect quality 100% of the time but the falloff from EOY TYBW to this EOM TYBW is crazy steep. Even last year after anni part 2, the TYBW banners released (mind you 1 was MID MONTH) were still visually amazing and it is sad to see. KLAB needs to realize that they can't just slap OP skills onto a character and call it a day. I hope this is just a hiccup period and not an omen for BBS's potential bleak future. Most likely gonna skip and hope KLAB brings out their S game for 9th anni part 1 and 2.