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Hello. Long story about my unemployment journey.
Saw this sub last 2021, 3rd year college (province State U). Saw the opportunities in IT and career shifting milestones from engineering grads.
I started self studying 2 programming languages on my 4th year sa CE because i find it enjoyable. i learned some na rin sa programming subjects namin.
Gruaduted with latin honors. But my heart is set to shifting to IT right then. Since a review center for boards gave me free tuition that time (2022), I just gave in to start na rin, why not sabi ko. Im preparing for interviews and more studying sa coding that time. Super torn and utak and pagod.
Around September, nagkaleche leche sa bahay. Daming financial problems (we're upper lower class) na nagsurface, pati hard earned money ko na inipon from scholarships, nasimot. I was so down, di ako makapag review nang maayos (online review kasi so sa bahay lang ako and di siya conducive for learning kasi ang ingay and sabay pa mga chores na nakaka wala ng focus sa pag review) (tip: magreview elsewhere with a good set of roommates). I told my parents di ko kaya mag exam this year, and that maghahanap na ako work sa IT.
Siyempre I will try my chances sa notorious IT company here sa ph > accepting ng career shifters but swertihan sa projects. Around October tho, I got a quick response na they dont have a fit role for me there yet. And that I will have to wait. Devastated.
Luckily, found a startup AI company and I got a part time job. Role was not so technical but I appreciate the high compensation. Around January, my contract expired and nagbabakasakali na akong maka land ng SWE role elsewhere kaya I refused to renew my contract. Very big mistake of leaving a high paying job na wfh for an entry level career shifter without another job in line. Office is in Makati and Im in Bicol.
So I started studying again some languages (fundamentals pa lang, wala pa akong real prpjects and portfolio). Gusto ko kasi maayos yung grasp ko sa fundamentals muna and maybe wala akong structure kaya di ako maka start gumawa ng something. Around feb, I got accepted to a Web Dev training for a freelance agency in ph. Training will start in March but no pay and self paced. It was very promising. The founder is a redditor and I found the posting here in reddit too.
Around March, in the middle of my training (20 kami and may 5 lang na pipiliin for full time), naghost na kaming lahat ng agency. Discord and socials namin to connect and di naman nabigay samin lahat ng learning materials or exams. The founder and the team just stopped messaging there and ghosted us completely. Funny thing is andun pa kami sa server now.
In the middle of all this, nadiagnose ng isang rare cancer si papa. Si papa ang may work sa family now. naapektuhan work niya and yung naipon kong pera sa previous job kofor allowance sana if mahire sa manila, nagastos na for tests and hospital bills.
At this time nakakawalang gana na kasi I thought ito na yung pinapangarap kong wfh SWE job na may maganda culture and all. Turned into dust na lang bigla. Buti na lang I have a good circle of friends to uplift me when Im down.
Surprisingly,, around last week of March ">" contacted me for an assessment exam. I passed on the day of exam. Told me to wait for an interview. This time, instead of upskilling, naubos ng oras ko ang pag alaga kay papa sa hospital, gawain sa bahay, worrying. Hoping na lang na tumawag na yung >. Nagapply rin pala ako for CE jobs (around 50 applications) this time para di lang umasa sa isang company. but lahat ligwak kasi maybe of my previous job not in the same field. And the fact that Im not licensed yet.
April pa tho ako nainterview sa ">". Interview went super well naman. I was prepared kasi I practiced a lot sa glassdoor questions. Told me na they will contact me na lang after 2-3 weeks. So of course balik muna ako sa pagalaga kay papa and sa pag maintain ng chores and errands.
It's been 6 weeks na now, and wala pa ring final interview schedule though. Followed up during the 4th week kasi sabi sa ibang posts is kulitin daw, and the recruiter told me Im still in the process kaya I dont know how to feel.
Nakita ko rin na open and position dahil maraming job posts ng referrals sa FB. but may nakalagay sa taas na: preferrably Female. To not downplay myself, ang iniisip ko na lang is maybe okay naman ang interview and skills ko, but I'm male kasi kaya nasa pool lang nila.
Now, writing this, kasi baka mamiss ni papa ang second round ng chemo niya and may mga naniningil pa dito sa bahay sa mga utang ni mama na unrelated samin (her fault).
Asked mama regarding sa isang importante na resibo about sa isang padala but nagrarason lang siya about nawala and whatnot. I think pathological liar si mama. Ang dami niya kasi nauuto and namamanipulate. Nagbreakdown lang ako now kasi need ko yung resibo.
I avoided facebook na rin kasi nakaktrigger makita na pumapasa yung mga batchmates sa boards and mga inspiring journeys nila. inaavoid ko kasi nagsaspiral ako about what if tinuloy ko ang review despite everything, di nakakatulong sa mental health ko.
Now, start of June, I feel kind of hopeful na magkaroon ng himala. Nakkapagod rin kasi araw araw yung pagiiisip na wala akong trabaho despite my success sa college.
Sad lang na baka mamiss ni papa yung chemo dahil sakin dahil wala akong work and di ako maka contribute. Naubos na kasi emergency funds ko sa utang ni mama at yung mga hospital at house bills eh. Madami dami rin yun. I accumulated 70k for my allowance sa Manila. Di ko naman ineexpect na magkaka cancer si papa, mawawalan work si mama, di ako matanggap sa kahit anong work na inapplyan ko.
Really feeling so depressed now, almost wala na ako nafifeel. Sa sobrang daming bad news na sunod sunod, nakakamanhid rin. Nagtatry ako magwork out, watch shows, journal, meditate, pero minsan wala na rin epekto.
I dont wanna burden you reader, pero I kind of wanna end things this year. I felt like such a disappointment to myself. I dont know what went wrong. Maybe dapat di na lang ako nagpauto about career shifting opportunities and maybe di ko tinaasan expectations ko. Siguro I should have studied more and sacrificed my mental health despite house problems, baka sana natanggap na ako sa work. Maybe I didnt push myself enough gaya nung iba na nag cocode after work.
My friends are having their own 23 year old fresh grad crisis din now. Masyado ko na silang nabother about my father's sickness and ayaw ko na lang na every time imessage ko sila is puro ako rant about my life. Kaya siguro I just poured everything here.
Di ko alam. Maybe a bath will fix me kaso sinisipon at nilalamig pa ako now. Maybe an exercise. But right now ang pinaka plausible kong plan is to upskill again for the whole month of June. then apply around July. Like I dont have a choice anymore. Either this or I'll die trying. Need advice.
I dont know how to TLDR this, sorry. Thank you for reading, though. I hope you have a day you truly deserve. Wishing you abundant health and happiness this year, reader.

Preface: first anaphylactic reaction in ~2017, ended up in ER wit face/throat swelling, severe diarrhea, full-body hives; all of this starting 4-5 hours after last meal. ER doctor assumed bc last meal contained shrimp that it must have been an allergic reaction to shrimp despite having had shellfish in my diet since young childhood (I'm Asian, some form of shellfish is in literally everything). A few months after, very very stupidly had some shrimp without any reaction - not even a mild one. Felt safe, so continued to have shrimp, shellfish, and other seafood without any issues afterwards until recently.
Medical history/issues: hypothyroidism, PCOS, migraines (no known cause, since high school). Dx'd ADHD and ASD, on medication (Vyvanse) for ADHD as well as Levo for hypothyroid. Caught COVID 3-4 times between 2019 to 2020 (sadly not joking), 3/4 times were confirmed via PCR or antigen testing, fourth suspected but not tested. Masked and was vaccinated & boosted but alas...the germ had gotten so brilliant (lol)
Bg info: Current diet is mostly comprised of meat (chicken > beef >>> pork), white rice, vegetables (peas, lettuce, cabbage, carrot, corn, soy sprout, spinach, bok choy, garlic). Seasonings are exclusively salt, sesame oil, and/or soy sauce - experimenting with miso paste at the moment as I've had intermittent issues with it. I don't use herbs or spices. I cook most meals from scratch and don't eat out. If I don't cook, my "cheat" foods are usually Lunchables Turkey & Cheddar (shoot me) or Special K + fairlife or soy milk. For the most part I have fairly bland taste, thankfully. I don't touch seafood period anymore.
Timeline:

2020

• Officially began having chronic issues with allergies
  

  Shellfish suddenly began giving issues (facial swelling, lip tingling, hives, GI symptoms) which was unusual, but given that I technically was supposed to have a "shellfish allergy" not shocking. PCP rightfully scolded me for continuing to eat a "known trigger" and explained how stupid that was, I quit eating shellfish and cut out possible cross-contamination.
  

• No issues yet with non-shellfish
  

2021

• Mystery, non-shellfish reactions begin
  

  Begin reacting to non-shellfish foods that were previously safe. Oddly, these reactions are not consistent. One day I might fix a bowl of fresh strawberries as a treat and find that after eating just a couple, my torso is covered in hives but then the next week I'm fine. One day I could eat mushroom risotto safely, and the next I eat japchae that has mushroom in it and have hives and diarrhea. Sometimes I might even get a reaction just by sharing utensils/cups with someone who had eaten something. Ex: I was on a mini road trip with my brother who had eaten eel and drank from his straw, and to my surprise found myself itchy all over and suddenly having throat tightness/hoarseness...even though when I've eaten that same eel dish before, I've had no problems. Note that at this point I'm making all my meals at home from scratch and that my family is eating most of their meals at home as well, and that there is no shellfish at all at home (nor shellfish in cooking sauces, etc.)
  

• Start having odd non-food reactions as well
  

  Sometimes find that, although this might just be a psychological reaction, just smells can set me off. When I go through the seafood section of Asian food markets, for instance, I sometimes get hives down my back and throat tightness. Strong spice smells sometimes set me off too. Being in the vicinity of dogs, even just being in the same waiting room sat quite far apart, makes me puff up/teary/sniffly/etc whereas prior it might have just made me a bit sneezy. The severity seems to really vary on the day and the dog(s).
  

2022

• Reactions ramp up in severity. Throughout 2022, I end up in the ER five times after using my epi pen, one of those times after having to use both of my epi pens. Up until 2021 I'd never even had to use my epi pen once
• Around early part of mid-2022, the allergist PCP referred me to finally has an opening. She suspects alpha-gal at first and does skin tests and bloodwork. Both show NO food allergies whatsoever and alpha-gal is ruled out. At this point she tells me she is considering possibly a mast cell disorder, immune disorder, or something called idiopathic anaphylaxis (IA) and has me do a 24hr urine panel and wants to do a follow up to test for environmental allergies. We discuss my anaphylactic reactions and how to manage them safely and efficiently, with the caveat that she reminds me (wisely) that Benadryl doesn't stop anaphylaxis.
• Urine panel comes back within normal ranges. Unfortunately this allergist is pretty booked out so it takes literally months between appointments. For now she tells me to continue to avoid shellfish but that's about it.
• Over the rest of the year I tinker as reactions pop up (a LOT) and find that Benadryl works for anaphylactic reactions if I catch them early.
• I go on vacation with my family to Canada in Sept, where I have an anaphylactic reaction to a smoothie :))) Benadryl doesn't do anything here, unsure of if I missed the signs (I was way blindsided here). I end up in the ER and get gobsmacked by a 9k bill. This gets whittled down to 1k. Yay! After I get back to ✨the States✨ my doctor has me put on steroids and twice daily Zyrtec and Allegra until my next allergist appointment, which isn't until Feb 2023.
• As 2022 winds down, I'm getting proper scared to eat. I try keeping food logs, I try low-histamine diets and they seem to help but don't fully eliminate the symptoms.

2023

• Allergist has a situation that requires the appointment to be pushed to May. I'm still on the twice daily double dose of antihistamines, and still getting random hives and reactions to food that I shouldn't be having. I gave up on the low histamine diet around March but tried to keep note of the weirder reactions/patterns that I spotted.
• (May - we are here!) Finally got in. We discuss the food log which seems to be basically trash for all the good it does (as she puts it, there is no discernable pattern). She does follow-up testing for environmental allergies "just in case" and finds mild dust mite and dog allergies but only through blood work. Otherwise my blood work is, again, normal. Total IgE was at 162.0 IU/mL, with the standard range being 0.0 - 100.0 IU/mL. She put a note on my chart that said "Your tryptase level, inflammatory markers, complete blood count were all normal" and settled on a diagnosis of IA for now and suggested Xolair as a treatment plan, which I am now looking into. She also did offer to have me to set up an appointment for a food challenge for foods I felt unsafe trying by myself which I am planning on scheduling hopefully soon (if she has any openings) to try to fully rule out food allergies.

Odd Reaction Notes (dunno what to call this, most of this is just a page in my notes app for my allergist lol):

• happened just once but had leftover dakjuk (chicken porridge) with family which I normally don't do as I tend to skip leftovers and my face swelled up. The rest of family was totally fine though
• I tend to have more reactions in general on my period, and they tend to be worse
• reactions usually are related to eating food but not always? (smells are another consistent odd trigger)
• often have issues with heat, though that can also be a sensory issue for people on the spectrum so idk
• after hot showers often get tingling/prickling/itching all over and very flushed feeling in the face and ears regardless of where I shower (even in other people's showers, hard/soft water, whatever soap I use, etc). idk if this is normal? not as bad with lukewarm or cold water
• had a very bad reaction (was one of the times in 2022 that landed me in the ER) after spending a very long, hot, stressful day at the zoo which is one of the rare outliers in terms of anaphylaxis that had no ties to food triggers. Still not sure what triggered me here and neither is my allergist. The heat? The smells? An animal? Walking uphill for hours? The stress? A combo of the above??? Haven't noticed any similar reactions after working out so fingers crossed that was a fluke

Symptoms:

• General fatigue, I get about 6ish hours of sleep at minimum but usually still feel quite tired. If I let myself sleep "to maximum" (+10hrs on days off) I still feel wiped and tbqh I have no good reason to
• Hives (most often on my face, and then my back for whatever reason - my first thought was an allergic reaction to soap or detergent or sheets but changing these hasn't helped and it's been consistent across moves and while staying over at friends' places. occasionally spreads through rest of torso. I've almost never seen them on extremities, and only a couple times seen them on my thighs when coming home after being out in negative temps in the winter)
• Itchiness
• Rashes
• "Tingling"/shivering/shaking? Idk how to word this. This only happens during the severe reactions but it's uncontrollable and almost like when you're very, very cold. When it gets to this stage I usually am having trouble breathing and need my epi pen
• Swelling (again most often on my head area - if not my face, it's my throat...rip)
• Random nausea, doesn't seem to be tied to being on my period or eating/not eating food
• (moreso in the past year) often feeling oddly weak, particularly in my extremities. Hard to describe but it's like the feeling the day after you've had an insane workout except I haven't had the workout. On bad days I have trouble doing stuff like showering because I can't hold "heavier" things like the soap well, for instance, or I find my (13lb) cat too heavy to lift. But most days I'm fine. It just worries me that there are even days that bad :(
• migraines (unsure of if this is related to the "IA" or not, as this has been a thing since high school)

Some Foods I've Reacted To (Intermittently):

• Fresh strawberries (which I've eaten a gazillion times and been fine, but have read are high in histamine so try to avoid...sadly these were a favorite treat of mine 😭)
• Fresh grapes (another favorite treat, and one that confuses me as I've read they're actually supposed to be low in histamine???)
• Fresh watermelon (another another favorite treat...I fkn love fruit gd. Anyways this is one that I've seen conflicting info about, but isn't supposed to be particularly bad? At worst it's been labeled a histamine liberator, and the day I reacted when I ate it I hadn't eaten any high histamine foods)
• Seafood/shellfish
• Some fruit juice (can't remember what it was, but I think it was a citrus juice blend? Either way it was fine one time I tried it and not fine the next time, so I never tried it again)
• Fresh cherries (again another treat which I loved loved loved. This one consistently kept setting me off so I had to cut it out. They're supposed to be safe I think? But sources seem conflicting)
• Chocolate (seems to vary, but I don't eat much choco anyways so I don't get to test it out often)
• Energy drinks (I only drink Zero Ultra fwiw and at most a can a day. I do notice that sometimes on days I have a can, that it does set me off. Other days it seems to be fine, and then other days still it just seems to lower the threshold so to speak? Dunno if there's much basis for that scientifically but that's how it feels)
• Tomatoes (sometimes causes weird tingling in the lips/tongue)
• Seaweed (sadly...doesn't seem to matter the sort, whether it's used in soup or eaten plain with rice, etc. It all sets me off)

Phew. Sorry for the insanely long post. I'm at my wits end. It's been coming on three years now that I've been trying to get to the bottom of this and my allergist seems to be at the end of her rope too which honestly scares me a bit.
I'll admit that I've been extremely stupid about my "allergy" in the past (obviously if you're allergic to a thing, don't eat the damn thing!!!) but knowing now that I apparently have no food allergies, I feel like an idiot for the trouble my family has gone to in avoiding shellfish for my sake (especially with how hard it is to do that with Asian food). My family won't even eat it outside by themselves because of how severe my reactions have been the past two years. It feels really bad to think that all this stress and caution could've been for nothing.
I also feel so confused, because if I have no food allergies...why on earth am I reacting to food? Why are my reactions to food so inconsistent??? I don't know of anybody with food allergies whose allergies come and go. When I read the description of mast cell disorders or histamine intolerance, they seem to line up more or less with my symptoms, but having the test results come back negative and having inconsistencies with the low histamine diet does make me pause.
If it weren't for the fact that my reactions result in physical symptoms that are externally observable (hoarse voice, hives, swelling, low BP on monitor, etc.) I'd think this was all in my head/anxiety/panic attacks at this point. With my blood work and skin test results, it scares me that my allergist may just leave it at IA which doesn't answer anything for me. The way she explained it is that there isn't any known trigger (hence the "idiopathic" bit) which is 1000000x worse to me than any allergy.
To my knowledge IA isn't "supposed" to be tied to food-related triggers but what worries me is that, increasingly, my reactions aren't food-tied. But it does give me a (messed up?) sense of hope that much of my reactions do seem to be related to food and specifically eating it, so it might just be an allergy to something I don't know yet (🤞)?
I'd appreciate your input at all. Thanks for reading this huge wall of text :")

I feel that society, at least American society, breeds and encourages sociopathy. Millions of people make it to adult life believing that the only way for them to win is for other people to lose.
And people with this mindset do something interesting, though truly infuriating. These people go out of their way to make other people "lose", even if it doesn't result in them "winning" in any way, shape, or form. Because to them, if someone else is losing, that automatically makes their position better, even if their position stays exactly the same.
Here's an example to help illustrate the point:
Cutting the budget for welfare payments.
If you're not on welfare, and you don't work in an area that directly deals with welfare, I promise you that welfare has literally ZERO direct impact on your life and your situation.
You gain nothing from cutting welfare. Does cutting welfare lower your taxes? No. You don't get a tax cut when welfare is cut. Your income doesn't go up. Your taxes don't go down. You don't get anything from doing it.
All you do is lower other people's income. That's the only tangible effect of doing it. The government still takes the exact same amount of taxes from you. You "win" nothing by doing it.
But other people "lose", so clearly it's the best thing to do for your situation, isn't it? That math has to check out, right? They lost, so clearly I won, right????
That's not the only example.
In the last few years I've seen numerous instances of towns in America pushing to close public-funded libraries, for God-knows-why.
Again, you gain nothing by taking these resources away from other people. Your taxes don't go down. Your income doesn't go up. You don't even get to keep the resources now that your "opponents" lose access to them.
There are millions of people who sincerely believe "if other people lose, that automatically means I win", and those people are doing everything in their power to make life worse for everyone on the entire planet.
And it just constantly makes me think they're sociopaths. If you gain nothing, you don't "win" just by forcing someone else to lose.

Can anyone please recommend a good quality mattress that doesn't sag after 2-3 years? Please and Thank you.
Background information: Bought a mattress at Regal Sleep Solution and Latex Bedding Co in NSW. The mattress in Regal Sleep Solution was terrible - it sagged after 1-2 years. I argued with them about the quality of the mattress and they offered me a new mattress - which sagged in less than a year. Did some research and bought a new mattress from Latex Bedding Co. Best sleep I had in years. However after 2-3 years, the bed started to sag and I wake up with lower back pains everyday now. Tossing and turning most days. It's so terrible dreading to sleep every night. Unfortunately, I do not meet the warranty requirements to get a new mattress. Hard to talk to the owner of the store as he's all the way in Sydney.
I rotated the mattresses every few months and have a metal bed frame to support it. Tried removing the bed frame and it doesn't work. I'm not sure what to do anymore.
I've been doing research on mattresses to buy and it's hard to find reviews about mattresses that last for more than 4 years (with proper care and etc). The good reviews are always about the 1st or 2nd year or how great the customer service is. I'm paranoid that if I buy another one with 'great' reviews, the same problem will happen again. I've wasted too much money on these 'great' quality mattresses. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I just want to sleep normally again.

First Chapter/Previous Chapter
Keoki and Eik pulled on the wire as the container was hauled high into the air. Even with the significantly reduced gravity and the block and tackle taking most of the weight, it took considerable elbow grease to get it in position.
He rubbed his eyes and tried to ignore the smell of rotting flesh. He glanced over at his handy work and immediately had to look away. It had been his idea, and when Keoki had begun constructing it, he had believed he would never get off this ship.
Keoki had been so angry when he had done it, but now that the uren were beaten, he could feel a nagging guilt begin to stir in him. Keoki buried it; there would be time for self-reflection later; right now, there was some stuck-up, fat bastard wanting to make his friends into pets, or worse.
Melia, Polumnus and Qerik arrived shortly after they began to haul another container.
“We’ve got to be ready soon. This will probably be the last cargo fall we can prepare,” Keoki explained as his muscles ached under the strain.
“Where are they?” Melia asked.
“Just two doors away. And from what Ha said, they’re almost through the first one, so I told them to regroup with us; they should be here shortly,” Keoki replied as he and Eik tied off the nanotube wire, and they leapt to the ground.
“I would love to see you people in your natural habitat,” Qerik said, astounded by the height Keoki had fallen without injury.
“It wouldn’t be all that impressive unless you were watching the Olympics. Those people can really move,” Keoki said.
“How many traps could you set up?” Melia asked; this was no time for distraction.
“Seven container falls; we’ve also littered spots with shrapnel; probably won’t get through a good boot, but you know every little helps,” Keoki answered.
“We’ve also set up some barricades to funnel them where we want them to go, we tried to make them look as natural as possible, but time constraints and all that,” Keoki added.
“You did well, but I’ve been discussing it with Polumnus and Qerik, and we cannot attack immediately,” Melia explained.
“Why not?” Keoki said, his eyes fixed squarely on Melia, his heart rate increasing and his knees bent slightly, ready to move the instant his fears came to light.
Polumnus noticed the shift in posture and said, “we’re not selling you out; it’s just with this being a politician of a foreign power, we needed to offer them a chance to leave without a fight, something that will hold up in an inquiry or a trial.
Keoki relaxed, though not entirely. He did not fully trust the vo’rul and was conscious that simply giving up him and the obed would be the fastest way to ensure their own safety. He had not been too worried about the uren, they had shot Tres, and he had counted on anger and the desire for revenge to protect him.
After a brief pause, Keoki said, “I see; I believe it would be best if I am the one who talks with them.”
“Absolutely not, you are a civilian, and we will not risk your life like that,” Melia replied instantly, and her tone brooked no argument.
Keoki was human, however, and the tone did not translate along with her words.
“The Senator appears to be a collector of sorts, as far as we can tell. Whether he has deviant tastes or just likes owning stuff, we cannot say, but if I show up, an utterly unknown alien, then he is far more likely to issue a no-fire order,” Keoki explained.
Melia was about to argue; she could not deny that it made a lot of sense. Even so, Melia was unwilling to let it happen.
“No, Keoki, we will handle it; you are not trained in negotiations; I am,” Melia stated.
“You’re trained in negotiations?” Keoki asked.
“It was part of my officer training, yes,” Melia explained.
“Fine, you’re the professional,” Keoki conceded, though he had doubts she could reason with them.
“Just be ready to spring the trap,” Melia said, approaching the door.
“Just don’t stand underneath the containers when they fall,” Keoki replied.
Melia handed Keoki Tres’s side arm before asking, “do you know how to use this.”
"I know enough to shoot it,” Keoki answered, taking the weapon from her.
“Good enough. What about the obed? Can they use them?” Melia inquired.
“Yes, but not very well. They have to use both hands to operate them,” Keoki explained.
“Get ready!” Melia ordered as they heard the unmistakable sound of a welding torch behind the door and bolt cutters shearing through metal.
As Keoki sat beside Qerik in a hidden nook, he asked the vo’rul, “when Melia said she has training, what are we talking about? Master hostage negotiator or a three-hour slideshow seminar?”
Qerik did not reply immediately, and Keoki felt his heart sink.
“The latter,” Qerik answered.
“Oh, goody,” Keoki said, his voice monotone.

As the door opened, Melia said loudly and firmly, “Parley!”
Several of the Senator's troops pointed their weapons at her. It was an interesting thing to see. The Kireet had two sets of weapons; the first was a rifle, which they aimed by sitting down and aiming the gun with their hind limbs, now unburned by walking. It made the Kireet vulnerable, but their biology limited them; they could not stand upright.
The second was a pair of V.I.-assisted automatic weapons hanging from a harness, meaning the Kireet could lay down considerable firepower.
Luckily the Kireet had sat down before reaching the caltrops, they were well hidden in the gloom, and Melia tried to avoid looking at them, doing her best not to draw the Kireets’ attention.
“Captain Melia,” one of the Kireet said, lowering the weapons of their compatriots.
“Who are you?” Melia asked, her tone neutral, neither aggressive nor compassionate.
“I am Captain Utreka Nor Bar Ioban, of the Grestu Company,” the Kireet explained.
“You’re a mercenary,” Melia said.
“Partially true; I prefer private defence contractor,” Utreka replied.
Melia did not comment on that; call yourself whatever you wanted; a merc was still a merc.
“Well, Captain, could you please explain what you’re doing here after the Senator said you were leaving?” Melia asked.
“Let’s not dance around the trunk Melia; you know why we’re here, now give them to us, and you’ll get to see your home again,” Utreka explained, dropping the facade of civility.
Melia was not too surprised; the mercs were not being paid by the hour and were incentivised to get it done as quickly as possible.
“I have a counter offer surrender, face justice, give up your employer, and you’ll get out of this alive,” Melia stated.
Utreka spoke, and the Kireet raised their weapons. Keoki sighed; they needed to lure them into a trap, not have them fire on Melia immediately.
Keoki came out of hiding and shouted, “time out!” forming the letter T with his hands.
The Kireet paused what they were doing; they were so astounded at the sight of a new alien that they momentarily forgot themselves.
Utreka received a command from the Senator and asked, “who and what are you?”
“I am Keoki, and I am a human,” Keoki replied, looking at Melia. He could only imagine how upset she was with him, but he knew this was the best way to spring their trap.
Utreka got another command and asked Keoki, “what are you doing here?”
“There was an accident with my ship, and I was flung far off course,” Keoki replied, hoping the bastard in charge would get what he was saying and take the bait.
“Why aren’t you wearing a mask like the rest of us?” asked Utreka, instinctively checking his own to be sure it was fitted correctly.
“I am from a world called Earth; I believe you people would designate it a class J planet,” Keoki explained, taking in a lungful of air to emphasise the point.
The Kireet knew that the biohazard was genuine; they had checked it themselves. Another private conversation between the mercenary and the Senator occurred before Utreka said, “The Senator would love to meet with you, Keoki.”
“I’m sure he would,” Keoki said, tapping his head.
“I am inclined to accept the offer, but before I do, they’re something I want to show you all behind those containers,” Keoki added, pointing to the large stack of crates that concealed his macabre art piece.
To the Kireets’ credit, they did not fall for the obvious trap and held their position. As their attention was focused on Keoki, Melia swallowed her pride and slowly made her way to a dark corridor.
“We will have to decline, Keoki; please come with us,” Utreka stated.
Keoki just smiled and began to walk away slowly, his demeanour utterly at odds with the panic he felt.
The Kireet aimed their weapons at Keoki, and Utreka ordered him to stop, but Keoki ignored them.
However, the Gretsu Company did not fire, and Keoki did not doubt that The Senator was giving them orders not to hurt him.
Keoki supposed the Senator already imagined the fantastic enclosure he would build for him.

As he disappeared, Basof demanded that Utreka and his soldier follow after Keoki and bring him back.
Utreka argued, but Basof just offered the man more money, and the mercenary Captian could not argue with that.
Utreka ordered his soldiers to advance with the three on point, backed up by the fourteen behind, with a further thirty in reserve waiting in the corridor.
They did not know how many vo’rul there were, and the human’s capabilities were unknown. So Utreka was playing this safe; he needed enough people to round up the choloshe; the Senator was willing to pay one hundred thousand Pitre for each one brought in alive.
Greed, as usual, got the better of common sense, and as the first three Kireet turned the corner, they froze in their tracks.
“Why are you just standing there?” asked Utreka.
He received no reply.
“Turick, I asked you a question!” Utreka shouted.
Again he received no reply.
Utreka tried to get an answer five more times, but when one of his troops collapsed, Utreka decided that whatever it was, he needed to see it for himself.
In an instant, Utreka understood. The Grestu Company were not good people, and Utreka had ordered more than a few war crimes in his time, but this! This was on a whole other level.
The Zeforo’s crew had never been a concern for them. The uren were just nobodies; their testimony could be easily swept under the rug. Not that Utreka would have spared them, he had a good deal going with the Senator and would not risk for a bunch of smugglers. Utreka would not seek them out, however.
He realised that would not be necessary; the uren were displayed in a grizzly display, broken, eviscerated, flayed and a dozen other synonyms for mutilated.
Sat underneath them, their teeth displayed in a way that could only be described as deranged, was Keoki.
“Do you like my work, mercenary?” Keoki asked.
“Go!” Keoki commanded.
Utreka was inclined to obey; the Senator paid well but not enough to deal with this.
“Bring me that alien, Captain!” Basof ordered; he may have had to endure the delay in his choloshe, but this human was a fine bonus and more than made up for it.
“Grab him!” Utreka ordered.
“YA!” Keoki shouted, and every Kireet halted; they had no idea how such a small person could make a noise so loud.
The Kireet had just raised their weapons when two containers flattened three of them.

Those three Grestu company were probably the lucky ones; their deaths had been swift, almost instantaneous. As the vo’rul opened fire, a few more were brought down by shots to the arms and legs; one was struck in the head, while a second took three plasma rounds to the chests.
As the Kireet scattered for cover, they inevitably ran into the shrapnel, their boots protected them from most of the damage, but a few unlucky sods tripped and were perforated.
One Kireet took cover behind a container before hearing a noise to their right. She had just enough time to look and register a snarling face filled with sharp teeth before her neck snapped and her head torn from her body.
“Ho’opa’i,” Nor said as he retreated to the shadows, his old joints complaining.
Another container fell to the floor, this one did not injure anyone, but it did limit the Kireets’ movement.
Utreka might have been an honorless soldier, but he was not incompetent; he would not have been able to charge the high rates he did if that were the case. He ordered his mercs into a defensible position and signalled the reinforcements to begin flanking the enemy.
Moreover, the Kireet also noticed the other containers suspended in the air and began to shoot at them, bringing them down ahead of schedule and blowing a massive hole in Keoki’s plan.
Though one Kireet did not get an opportunity to celebrate as Keoki emerged from the dark, shot them in the head and retreated.
The tide was turning against the vo’rul, obed and Keoki. Qerik and Melia had both taken a few shots and were forced to fall back. Meanwhile, Keoki and the obed were unable to find any opening to pick off the Grestu.
“Keoki, we need to pull back,” Melia ordered.
“On it,” Keoki replied as he rounded up his friends and told them to retreat to a more defensible position.
As they retreated, they were peppered by fire, but none of them were hit.
“How are we doing?” Melia asked as they sealed the door to the cargo bay.
“Boh took a hit, but her crappy armour sucked up most of it, just a minor burn,” Keoki explained.
“We need a plan B, and we need it fast,” Qerik said, pulling a cabinet from an adjoining room and placing it up against the door. Not that it would do much, but as Keoki had said, "every little helps."
“We can do a fighting retreat, using the corridors as killing fields,” Polumnus suggested.
“Good enough; take positions at the end of the corridor and fire on my mark!” Melia ordered.
They stood there for four minutes without so much as a peep from the door ahead. At which point, Eik tapped Keoki's shoulder and said, “What about other doors?”
“Oh shit!” Keoki said as they were struck by laser fire from the right.

So, you’re at your house during the apocalypse of 1979 where the world has gone to shit, and your mom wants you to come visit her. Luckily, you have your work cut out for you! There’s a massive road right in front of your house that should take you directly to her, but who knows how long that will take? You must prepare for the wasteland to make it to your mom’s house. In this survival guide I’ll show you how to survive The Long Drive, so put on your seatbelt!

Preparation

Step 1: Personal protection

Before you begin your journey, you must bring supplies. I’m sure you’ve looked around and seen the mess that is your home, which can be a bit overwhelming. The first thing I would do is get a weapon. There are killer bunnies and zombie mutant things out there that want your organs, so you need some protection. Luckily, this is America.
First option: The moment you enter the garage, you'll see a wooden gun on the desk to your left. This is the BB gun; a single-shot gun that shoots tiny BBs. Not the most effective, but ammo is plentiful. I would only use that as a last resort.
Second option: go outside to the back of the house and go up the stairs. Across the room, you’ll see a katana. It’s a great weapon and will kill everything in one or two swings. A few issues with that though: 1, you need to get close to your enemies, which can be quite dangerous. 2, swinging that blade of death around can be hazardous in tight spaces since you could accidentally hit something explosive or break the nice base you built on your vehicle. Still a viable option, but not the best one to start with.
Third and final option: The old revolver. Like most American citizens, you have a gun hidden in your chimney. It’s a bit tricky to get to, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. Near your bed, there’s an old stove thing. Behind that is a brick pillar. If you stand on your bed and look at the space between the stove and the pillar, you’ll see a tiny trapdoor. Open it, and squeeze your way into the gap. Now you must be a bit careful since you can get stuck in the chimney. Press “Q” or whatever your lean key bind is, and move your mouse to the side while looking down. Once you see the revolver, grab it and move your mouse back quickly.
Now there are two possible outcomes: 1, you made it out with the gun. 2, you didn’t move fast enough and got stuck in the chimney. If you got the first one, skip this paragraph. If you got the second, I’m sorry you need to read this. To get unstuck, you need to do exactly what you did to get in there. Precise crouch with the scroll wheel, and lean out of the trapdoor. It might take a bit, but it’s better than pointing the revolver at your head.
The revolver is a great starting weapon, as it can one-hit most of the time. You only get 6 shots until you find ammo, so it’s good to have a backup.

Step 2: Vehicular maintenance

Now that you’re armed, you can start working on your vehicle. The first thing you should do is find the gas cap. Once you find it, take a look at what’s already in it. If it’s just gasoline, you got a good car, and you can just put some gas in it. (Gas can is located under the bench to the left of the door you use to enter the garage) If it has gas AND oil, then you have a tricky one. Not all two-stroke cars are bad, (I’m talking about the camper van-looking thing, or the pickup truck one) but most are. They’re a pain in the ass. You need to have a mixture of 95% gasoline, and 5% oil. (Oil can be found on top/in a barrel straight across from the door you use to enter the garage.) I highly recommend looking for a different engine on your journey that has a spot for the oil. Lastly, the tank could have diesel in it. If it does, you got lucky. Diesel is, in my opinion, the best fuel in the game. (PRO TIP: If you’re not satisfied with the vehicle you got, return to the main menu, wait 10 minutes, and then start a new game. The vehicle you get changes every 10 minutes.)
Gasoline is much more abundant than diesel, but not as efficient. As a bonus, there’s a barrel of diesel in the basement, so you start with more diesel than gasoline.
Once you’re fueled up, make sure you put oil in the engine, if you have a gas/diesel engine. Lift the hood and open the oil cap! Next, find the radiator. It’s a metal plate right in front of the engine. If your vehicle doesn’t have a radiator, that means it’s air-cooled. Fill the radiator up with water, which can be found in the sink, or barrels/jerry cans all over the house (even outside!) Next, you need to take care of your tires. Since the garage is already really cramped, I recommend driving your car outside. Don’t forget to engage the parking brake (space) and turn the engine off! (“I” for ignition) Once you’re out there, remove the hubcaps from the wheels so that you can take them off. Next, remove the wheels. Once you have the wheels removed, take off the rubber tires. I like to put them all in one place, so I can make sure they’re all in the same condition. Depending on what vehicle you have, you can use the spare tires from the garage, if they’re in better condition. Use sponges or Jizz-O-Nit to make the tires squeaky clean! Do NOT use a wire brush. It will worsen the condition of the tires. Make sure to keep them all in the same condition, or it will decrease driving performance! Finally, re-assemble the wheels.
Any spare cleaning tools can be used to make the vehicle look a bit nicer. If your car has any removable seats, you should get rid of ‘em. Every bit of space helps. If you’re using a gasoline engine, you can still bring the barrel of diesel just in case. You might decide to upgrade to one of the IFV variants or the bus! Food-wise, I only bring meat. It’s the best food in the game. Lots of meat can be found in the attic. Next, fill up as many containers as you can with water. Gotta stay hydrated! PRO TIP: Don’t fill barrels up all the way; you won’t be able to move them! Lastly, you can grab anything you want to bring with you on the trip. It’s gonna be a long one! Now, you’re ready to begin THE LONG DRIVE!

The Long Drive

Navigation

Unless you plan on leaving the road (which I don’t recommend,) it’s easy to stay on track. Just make sure the powerline poles are on the right side of the road. Rocks and trees can spawn on the road, so pay attention! A collision won’t be fatal the first time, but crashing a second time while there’s still blood on the dashboard will be. Cacti will break on impact, but sometimes it registers as a collision, so don’t take that chance. If you happen to see an interesting building that’s far from the road, try and use a compass. The best method is to point the compass at the place you want to go and set the arrow to point in the opposite direction (behind you.) If you don’t have a compass, try and keep the road in sight.

Looting

If you’re like me, you’ll want to take every item you find. That’s fine, but always prioritize the safety of yourself, your car, and your Rubber Wife or other companions. Only take meat, unless you’re desperate. Remember, they’re the best food source! If you need to boost your health, drink some alcohol or blood. Blood is preferable because alcohol makes you thirsty. Always grab fuel and water; you can never have too much! If you need a new weapon, the legendary AK is the best choice. It has high ammo capacity, and it’s full auto. (It also one-hits!) If you find a shovel or a metal detector, grab ‘em. They can help you find items buried in the sand. Sunglasses don’t just look cool, they reduce glare from that damn sun. Try and keep your vehicle balanced, otherwise, you’ll lose control!

Grand theft auto

If you have a shitty car, or you’re just sick of the one you have, stealing a car is the best option for you! There are only a few cars that can only be found in the wild:

• The bus - This vehicle has two variants; one main section, or two sections connected. The latter of the two is fun, but a bit harder to operate. The bus has lots of space for storage, and has an amazing diesel engine!
• The IFV - This truck has 3 variants, which all use the same diesel engine. For now, I’ll be talking about the pickup variant. As you might have guessed, this one has a big wooden bed for storage. To the left of the driver’s seat, there’s a lever that can be used to raise/lower the bed, like a dump truck! (Note: the engine has to be on for it to work.)
• The IFV (tanker variant) - This one has a giant fuel tank instead of a truck bed. It can hold 3000 liters of any fluid. (Yes, even piss.) This tank usually has fluids in it when you find it, which can be anything (gas, diesel, oil, water, blood, piss, and alcohol.) This tank has a few neat features. The faucet on the side can be positioned right over the IFV’s fuel tank, for easy refuel! (Don’t try it while moving.) On the top, there’s a big opening that allows you to refill it almost instantly. Just make sure to close it when you’re done; it will spill!
• The IFV (military variant) - This is a personal favorite of mine. The bed of the truck is replaced with a metal tent-looking thing. Sometimes it has all of the flaps and doors, sometimes it doesn’t. The back has an opening that can have a door, so you can get inside. A small panel on the roof can be removed, letting in that beautiful sun. The flaps on the side can open and close too. Above the passenger seat, there’s a “turret hole” thing. It opens, and you can press “E” to get out/stand on the roof of the cabin. This is exclusive to the military variant.
• The car carrier - remember that two-stroke car carrier I mentioned earlier? Yeah, this is it. It can hold a small car pretty well, but the physics lock doesn’t work so it can fall off. It’s also really hard to get a car on there in the first place, but it looks cool when you do! This vehicle is great for transporting a custom car that you’re working on.
• The Plymouth Fury - This thing is a force of nature. It’s the fastest (and coolest) vehicle in the game. Not the most fuel-efficient, but the abundance of gasoline makes up for it. This is the rarest car in the game. It has two possible color schemes: a gold and black one, and a silver one. This car can also have tinted windows. One of the few downsides to this vehicle is the radio. It has one, but it only plays AM stations. Besides that, this car is the fastest, and one of the most stable, vehicles in the game.

Conclusion

Finally, we reach the end. It’s been fun folks, but now you’re ready to see your mom. Take care, and have fun!

Dog is 18 months old, had him since he was six months old, was hospitalised for severe neurological issues 30 days after we got him and suffered respiratory arrest. Spent 3 or so months rehabilitating him - teaching him how to walk again and do all basic functions (e.g, how to go to the toilet). We saved his life and have put EVERYTHING into him, majorly impacting our financial situation, career progression and mental health.
He’s now “recovered” from a spinal implant but is still ataxic (can’t do slippy surfaces), requires extensive pain medication on a daily basis and is left with reactivity issues. We’ve had multiple behaviourists and finally found a great one, he’s now able to go for two walks a day without barking at humans, but remains highly reactive to all other animals. He is also somewhat intolerant to exercise - he excessively pants immediately. Vets/neurologists don’t know why.
Today he bit me for the first time. It was my fault, I was rushing around and missed his warning sings. I’m not worried about the bite risk but it’s just got us questioning why we are even doing this anymore for the following reasons:

• he’s had over 15k of treatment (a lot through insurance), scans and surgery but his life is still limited. We were lied to about the long-term impact of surgery; if we had known it was like this we wouldn’t have proceeded for everyone’s sake. We were told that once recovered he would be “normal” physically. It was a lie.
  
• behaviourists have said he has permanent puppy regression, essentially meaning that he can’t ever interact with another dog: he tries to nip at other dogs and acts like a puppy but doesn’t have his puppy pass. He does this with people as well - he nibbles on their clothing and barks for attention. We’ve been told it’s highly unlikely he can be trained out of this and we’ve missed the socialisation window because of his crate rest.
  
• the relentlessness: it’s been over a year of every hour dedicated to him when not at work. We get a maximum of 30 mins a day to ourselves away from him. We are in our mid 20s and we can’t go anywhere far, have people over, go outside a lot. We are prisoners. I’ve had to drop all hobbies and don’t have meaningful friendships now - there isn’t time or space.
  
• cost: if he lives for another 10 years, the medication that he will need to take forever comes to around £13,000, which is money away from a house and children.
  
• the end result: he will never play with a dog, go for a long walk, be able to walk on surfaces inside that aren’t rugs, climb stairs, jump on furniture, go to a cafe, go in a car. His life is literally sleep inside and go for two 20 min walks in a loop each day. He’s a happy dog because he doesn’t know any different but to me that’s just not a life. It’s going to impact our ability to buy a house or progress with careers as we can only work remotely.
  
• unable to rehome him: the organisation previously blanked all messages from us, there’s ongoing legal issues with them. All other organisations, including specialist sanctuaries, say no - he’s too complex and a home to cater to his needs doesn’t exist. They called it a “unicorn” home.
  
• incessant barking: he can’t get to what he wants so he barks, and this behaviour has spread to his automatic reaction. If he hears a noise, bark; sees something he isn’t sure of, bark. Have tried multiple solutions from behaviourists and none of them make a difference.
  
• there is no scope for new medication: he’s maxed out on what he can take. He’s limited on what can be introduced because of cost but also his ataxia.
  
• partner’s mental health: she has said she can’t take anymore of it and wants to exit the situation, it’s really impacting our relationship. I love him but was for euthanasia when suggested before but she didn’t want to, so now we’ve put in a year of hard work to get to this point. She is still saying she isn’t sure about euthanasia but the situation is making her unwell. It’s making me unwell as well.
  
• talk of further scans to check everything is fine and no other neurological conditions. We’re exhausted.
  

We adopted him knowing the challenges of a rescue, we were fine with regular dog sacrifices, but our lives and the entirety of our discussions is dedicated to him. He’s a full-time job and we didn’t sign up for this. It’s not an exaggeration to say we’ve given everything to rehabilitate him (changed jobs, stopped hobbies, spent thousands on him, stopped seeing others) but now we’re asking for what? It’s not like he has an amazing quality of life and likely never will. Every week it’s a vet visit, sorting out his meds, a new physical health question or he’s started doing something weird, like right now he pants for most of the night (vet and behaviourist don’t know why). We’re like a military operation - I get the camera, partner Google’s and we start a symptom tracker. It’s sad that we have forgotten what it was like to not have this stress.
My dog is my life and I thought if I kept giving and sacrificing it would be worth it, but he’s taking my 20s away and I’m a shell of the person compared to who I used to be. I’m scared it won’t come back. I know it’s not his fault and he’s a lovely dog in many ways.
Sorry for the long post I just wanted to know what other people’s views were about euthanasia for a non-aggressive dog. Please please please don’t say to rehome him - it isn’t possible, we’ve explored that option. Thanks for reading and would appreciate any views.

Certain stages of the video creation process may seem of negligible importance, but when you try to cut costs on them, you either wind up with a video of noticeably lower quality, or else you end up complicating and delaying the project. What's more, omitting these stages ultimately will not save you significant time or money. Here are the stages we're referring to.

5 things it doesn't pay to skimp on:

1. The script. A video without a script is like a project without terms of reference. To avoid endless reworkings in the process and a garbled end result, give the script your utmost attention. First decide what exactly you want to convey to the viewer. Then think about what visual media you'll employ to bring your idea to life, and coordinate each of your ideas with the resources at your disposal, whether live gameplay or the game's source graphics. Develop your theme consistently, proceeding logically from one idea to the next.If you plan for the video to include voice-over, refine how the text of the narration is formulated.
2. Quality translation. If your native language is English, but you need a video in a foreign language — German, for example — hire an English-speaking translator whose native language is German. Ask them to translate text box inscriptions, CTAs, and the voiceover text. A native speaker will not make unpardonable errors or produce stylistic wrinkles that you yourself would never notice — but that your target audience will pick up on immediately.
3. Voice-over by a native speaker. If you want to save money, better to do without narration in the video altogether than to have voice-over done by a non-native speaker. If voice-over for your video is a must (sometimes the narrator's voice is a "load-bearing element" of the video), choose a narrator who is a native speaker of the target language.Regarding when a game video requires narration and when it can be omitted, we discussed the issue in this article.
4. Storyboarding. This is a question of saving time, rather than money. For text boxes, come up with a design and typeface. For the closing screen, think through the composition, embellishing it with the game logo, store badges, and a CTA. The most convenient method is to create and certify these elements while they are static, to decrease the number of iterations during animation.Storyboarding is especially important for videos with animated graphics (more on that below), as it is at this stage that isolated assets combine into cohesive scenes. If while preparing your materials you forget to include certain art in the source archive, at the storyboarding stage this error is easily pinpointed and corrected.
5. Sound design. As we see it, whether or not the user watches the video with sound is their affair. The creator's job is to make the video ideal in both cases. For those who watch with no sound, text boxes will prove helpful (we designed them at the storyboarding stage, remember?), while for those who leave sound enabled, the video should include sound design.

These, then, are the five stages that aren't worth skimping on. What's left? Strangely enough, the animation itself. A given idea can be conveyed by different visual means. And since compiling animation is the most labor-intensive stage of creating a video, when optimizing expenses it makes sense to consider this particular stage.

How to save on the video sequence

To watch game video examples that illustrate each of the following points, check out the full edition of the article on our blog.
Naturally, videos with 3D or CGI look impressive, but when your budget is limited it makes more sense to explore other options.

Option 1: Video with animated graphics in 2D

Here's when it makes sense to consider this particular option:

1. You need a video that will not lose relevance in the foreseeable future — for example, if at the time of the video's release or shortly thereafter the actual features will look different than they do at the time of the video's production.
2. You're planning to show the video to viewers from various countries and you want to simplify the process of adapting the video for foreign markets.
3. You don't need a trailer for a store, but rather a teaser or advertising video with an interesting theme, which requires more than just gameplay video.

In order to simplify bringing this option to life, come up with a selection of graphic files ahead of time that you plan to use in the video. Follow the script and compile your assets for each scene, leaving no details out. In the archive, for each scene don't forget to include a high-resolution background image, the proper characters from the proper angles, location elements, and other gameplay objects.

However, if you decide to use this kind of video on the game page in an app store, there's no guarantee that a video with animated graphics will pass the App Store's moderation.

Option 2: Combining gameplay and animated scenes

Animating graphics, even in 2D, is a fairly laborious affair — especially when it comes to character animation or highly detailed environments. But it's entirely possible that your video's subject matter does not require compiling all the scenes from source graphics. It may be possible to convey part of the ideas using gameplay scenes, which can be used to break up the animated video sequence. When properly employed, this approach will not compromise the video's visual cohesiveness. You can even combine gameplay and graphics in a single scene.

If you're on a limited budget, use as much actual gameplay as possible, resorting to animated graphics only when absolutely necessary — for example, when an aspect of the game simply cannot be conveyed by captured gameplay.

Examples of this might include features such as quests, which in the recorded gameplay will appear too drawn out or too detail-heavy. Just imagine the dialog windows when accepting, questing, and completing: the viewer will have little interest in learning about the specific scenario or in reading the mission description. It's best to describe this game feature schematically or symbolically, conveying the idea figuratively, and this is where animated graphics are your friend.

Option 3: Gameplay video

The most economical option is to record gameplay, select the best fragments, and set the captured video to the rhythm of the music.
For this option to work, carefully check whether the gameplay depicts what you envisioned in the script. If you want to get by with minimal expense, your video has to show what is already in the game, without embellishments such as custom unit placement or changes to the UI.
For example, if you have a space shooter and you want the video to depict a spectacular scene of a spaceship flying over an aerial armada of opponents, the game must already include this animation. If it has not yet been created, it can of course be made specifically for the video, using the game's source graphics. But this will cost more than a gameplay montage. So if cost-cutting is your priority, try to use only animations your game already contains.

If your video includes voice-over, any gameplay montage must be synced to it. That is, the video sequence must be matched to the narrator, not vice versa.

This will allow you to keep the voice-over to a natural pace and avoid a situation where the video sequence has moved on to the next scene while the narrator is still reading the text for the one preceding. In general, when a video contains speech, it is the speech that determines how long each scene lasts.
To keep the gameplay video from appearing monotonous or from bogging down, don't be afraid to speed up the recorded fragments a little, switch from one to the next, or even show several fragments on screen at once.
Credits: The article is written at Alconost, a game video production studio with over 10 years of experience and over 150 game trailers, teasers, and cutscenes in their portfolio.
You can contact the author of the article on Reddit.

Hi so here’s a lightning rounds of held items I’ve made up on the spot and I’m curious what’s your opinion about theme if their competitively viable or not and how they could be improved or changed to be more balance.

(Poké-Armor)
Cuts speed in half but doubles Defense, think like how Pure-Power doubles attack but Defense instead.

(Ability-Charger)
Allow the user to use all of its abilities, it’s most likely to be banned to Ubers or AG.

(Boxing-Gloves)
The user is protected from negative contact abilities like Flame-Body, Rough-Skin & Iron-Barb’s
Now you can freely Ice-Punch the Garchomp and Fire-Punch the Ferrothorn without worrying about their ability hurting your Physical Attacking Pokémon.

(Bunny-Ears)
Doubles the user physical attack stats if it’s Attack is 60 or lower, doesn’t work if the Attack is 65 and above.
Pokémon like Alakazam could use it since he has a Attack stat of 50 but Xatu and Gardevoir has an Attack stat of 75 and 65 respectfully, therefore you can’t use this to a Pokémon with High Attack stat, it’s essentially Huge-Power, this item would probably be banned in Little-Cup.

(Camera-Photo) Another signature held item for Ditto.
When Ditto transforms manually or with the ability Imposter it’ll Transform with full PP instead of only having 5 in all of its movesets, even stay transformed when you switch it out.

(Neutralizer)
Neutralize the user Ability, Watch out for Knock-Off that give bring back the ability.
You would obviously give this to Slaking, Regigigas and Archtops but you still need to watch out for Knock-Off as that’ll bring back the ability that’s holding them back.

(Umbrella)
Protect the user from weather damage of Hail & Sandstorms.

(Plastic-Remoraid) When held by of Mantyke/Mantine its Special Attack doubles.
A signature held item for Mantine that doubles its special attack like how Thick-Club doubles Marowak’s Physical Attack stats.

(Thunder-Orb) An item that’s always trying to paralyze the user.
Like the Flame-Orb & Toxic-Orb this item will always try to paralyze the user unless the user is a Ground & Electric Type, same for Pokémon with the ability Limber, Volt-Absorb & Lighting-Rod, could hypothetically work like Leftovers for Pokémon with the Volt-Absorb Ability.
And if a Pokémon with the Lighting-Rod ability has the Thunder-Orb it’s Special Attack is raised by one stage every turn like Speed Boost, the only Pokémon I see that could take advantage of this are Raichu, Manectric, Plusle, Zebstrika & Pincurchin, the rest have either very low Special Attack so it wouldn’t helped much or requires another item like Mega-Sceptile.

That’s all the items I could think of, what do you think about theme? Let me know down in the comments, love to know what you’re opinions are and how they could be changed? Thanks.

2 Job offers, conflicted on which one to take.
Context: International candidate (will be moving to the UK no matter what).
Job 1: UK based, prominent in my sector (international affairs), good reputation. The people I met were great, I truly felt like they were genuine and nice. Workplace is progressive for sure. Salary good (both are managerial positions so I will make enough in any case). Starts as fixed term but can be extended (good history of extensions). And I am very likely to go to law school next year so one year mark is not a big deterrent. 4 day work-week. Low turnover at company.
Job 2: Fast growing health tech startup. New in international dev space but good funding and reputed funders. Working in regions of interest (Africa, Asia). Fully remote with satellite office in London if I need. Full-time. They seem to like me – I was interviewing for a lower position and they were impressed so offered me a managerial position. I didn't interact with anyone apart from the Founder so unsure about culture but founder seemed great and impressive. Pay is great because they are US based and US salaries are just better than UK ones imo. Potential cons: since they are US based, they can't help me in my move to the UK (things like banking, renting, etc). Benefits are just stocks, pension (half of what job 1 offers) and health insurance (but pay bump potentially would cover everything else). Payment in USD so quite dependent on USD/GBP exchange rate (if GBP drops, I will no longer have that "bump"). Tax implications – quite unsure abt this.
Why I am confused:
- FTC vs full time
- benefits
- UK based vs non-UK based when I will be moving to the UK on my own
- start-up vs old reputed company
What I am thinking about is taking the UK based position and negotiating to start part-time as an independent consultant (common in international affairs type jobs) and just get the best of both worlds (I have previously jugged a consultancy (30h/w) while working 50h/w in corporate America so I know I can do it). If anyone has ever worked out this sort of arrangement, any advice would be great.

I have my lap in 19 days. I’m supposed to be moved in 20. I have been suffering for 10 years, with the last two robbing me of any good quality of life. I am so excited I FINALLY found a specialist that is covered by insurance for the lap & excision and he REALLY listened to me. My partner and I looked him up and all his reviews and it’s all 5 stars and above and beyond. I’ve been so gaslit by others this whole time, fighting for just an MRI, or even some sort of treatment plan besides for birth control. I have tried every method 😞🥲 The surgery should be great news. The fact I just got engaged to my partner this year should be a happy thought, but I’ve been this shell of a human so long they’ve seen the worse of it all and still stuck around and now I don’t know where we are gonna go😩🫤 We have to be moved out the SAME week as surgery. Like…no. I’m not doing that, I’ll be out before. Probably outside the dr’s office begging for a sooner surgery. I’ve already been calling 🤣 It’s a good thing we don’t have anything wild to move but our fur babies (two are service trained but are mixed breed and two kitties). Also, because I’ve been sick, I’ve had 0 income so applying for a place is next to impossible. The place I live in is such a toxic, negative, and unsafe environment that I am ready to just book a hotel until my surgery and after it (my parents said they would come help) but don’t have the exact funds yet. Working on it. Any ideas welcome.
I guess we all wanna know each others symptoms to see if there’s any similarities, but deep down, I think I just need some friends. (CoULd tHaT bE u?!) 🤗 I miss my life. It’s weird to grieve the person I was most of it. I was in the height of my career, and performing for thousands of people, and yet there’s no one I recognize who has stayed around. This is a lot for anyone, which is why I’ve avoided having any other type of relationships in my life because I feel like such a burden. Everyone is pretty much gone by now…😶‍🌫️ I’ve started recording videos of my flare ups and episodes to convince myself my pain is real, and that this surgery is going to help and is necessary. I’m looking forward to creating my career post surgery with a chronic pain specialist approach to fitness that is HELPFUL FOR WOMEN to recover and gain strength back after trauma or surgery with the lower body. 💪🏻 I am already a certified personal trainer and never got to start because my pain kept me from stepping into a gym. When I help, I am whole. And my anxiety isn’t as bad. So I hope I get back to that point. 👐🏻 When you have loss, and pain, and anxiety, what do you do? This community has pulled me out of flare ups and I just wanna say thank you for reading and anything you say 💕

What should I do if my mom makes me feel guilty?
Hi guys. I’m 24F. So here is the thing. My mom is 48 years old. She doesn’t work, she stays at home and she is obsessed with it. She keeps it clean like a palace. She is cleaning etc and in the afternoons she goes shopping or cafe etc. I wanted a dog since I was 4 years old. They always refused and I never got one because I didn’t want to make them sad or don’t listen to them. Last year I found a dog at an abandoned house nearby that neighbours left in the yard. It was alone 24/7, with snow, rain, extreme temperatures . They fed her only and gave her water. After many conversations and tries I finally adopted/rescued her. She is a 6 year old caniche/griffon. Before I took her, I had lot of convos with my parents, they were positive because they loved this dog and felt bad for her. They were also hesitant and I told them if you don’t want her we will find her a home. After all they agreed and made me promise that I will take care of her exclusively.
We have her almost 2 weeks now and I’m so so sad. It was my dream, I really take care of her, I changed my whole schedule just to be with her and take care of her. I also help on home chores and look after my dogs things. My mom makes me feel guilty all day. She tells me that she can’t take it, that she feels hopeless and that she doesn’t feel free in her own house. That we changed the place of some furnitures, that her toy leaves hair on the ground and that drops of water are all over the floor. I’m in a really bad place mentally because I got diagnosed with Hashimoto and hypothyroidism two months ago, I feel depressed and anxious, I told her that and that I understand that it’s new to her but she tells me that she also feels sad etc and she has feelings too even tho I told her that I really understand her feelings but I don’t know what to do and it’s like a psychological war all day. I told her to wait for 5 months so I can make money and move to a house but she took it personally as I want to leave her as a punishment Our convos go like.. mom I’m sad Yeah but I’m sad too Mom I can’t take it all this pressure Yeah but do you think about how pressured I feel?? What should I do???? I’m not the mom in this relationship Of course she has feelings and I show so much empathy I try to solve EVERYTHING but it just never enough she just can’t get used to it.

It's Wednesday and you would be surprised how long it took me to realize that the majority of watches released yesterday were actually Swatch Group. That Tissot has me spending money.

What's new

1/
Tissot Releases The Best Summer Watch Of The Year, The Forged Carbon Sideral
The late 60s and 70s are arguably the golden age of watch design. It’s the time when watches stopped being elegant personal timekeeping devices and became tools. Or, at least, gave the illusion of being a tool watch so you could look like a badass on the beach. It gave us luxury sports watches like the Nautilus and Royal Oak, gorgeous chronographs from Heuer and dive watches from the likes of Blancpain and Rolex. It was also the the time of experimenting with materials and Tissot used their Sideral to do so. Since it’s supremely cool today to revive funky vintage watches, Tissot is now bringing back the Sideral, also experimenting with new materials, but this time with forged carbon.
The late 60s version of the Sideral was the first watch to ever use a monobloc fibreglass case. Two years later, the Sideral S was introduced, a sportier take on the concept with a now famous yellow rubber strap and different fastening system.
The new version retains a lot of the aspects of the original, but updating it for the age it’s made in. It retains the barrel shape of the case made of forged carbon fibre and stainless steel that measures 41mm in width and 46.5mm in length. You can get the watch in three colors, and while the black & yellow and black & grey models show the natural colours and pattern of the forged carbon fibre, the black & blue one comes with blue flakes embedded into the material. The unidirectional rotating bezel on top is fitted with a black insert and a graduated regatta scale in white. The screw-down crown ensures it is water-resistant to 300m.
The dial is predominantly black, with either a grey, blue or yellow minute track. This segmented track is accompanied by a green and red regatta countdown section between 12 and 2 o’clock. Tissot is a Swatch company, so it’s just natural that it gets the Powermatic 80 automatic movement. This is Swatch Group’s go-to automatic for several brands and is essentially a heavily modified ETA 2824 which has gotten decent reviews and has an 80 hour power reserve.
The watch comes on three perforated rubber straps in yellow, red or blue, inspired by the original yellow one. Additional coloured straps are said to be available too.
Each of the watches, available now, will retail for EUR 1,075. Looks like Tissot has another hit on their hands.
2/
The New Certina DS Action Diver 43mm Is Pitch Black
Cartina has had a long stretch of being neglected by owners and undermined by the public. But boy, are they back. In the past couple of years they have regrouped and boy, are they on a bender. Vintage reissues, fantastic affordable divers… they even have a modular watch system which is… meh. However, the latest release form the Swiss watchmaker is not meh. In fact, it’s pretty bold. The new Certina DS Action Diver is super black.
It’s a big diver, there’s no denying it. 43mm wide, 51mm lug-to-lug and 13.1mm thick. It’s a stainless steel case with a matte black PVD coating, as well as a matte black ceramic insert within the coin-edge bezel. The blackness of the insert is broken up with a single bright white lume pip at 12. The NATO strap it comes on is also black and made out of recycled plastic. The one downside of the case is the fact that it has a 21mm lug width, so good luck finding a different strap.
The dial is just as black, with contrasting crisp white makers that glow like crazy. The triangles at the quarters and the arrowhead hour hand do help to lend an extra sense of aggression to the dial. There’s a date window at three o’clock. Certina, like Tissot, is owned by the Swatch group, so no surprises on what’s inside - it’s the Powermatic 80.
The Certina DS Action Diver in black is now available from all Certina authorised retailers. Price: CHF895
3/
Mido Introduces Stylish Multifort Powerwind Collection
Here’s another brand from the Swatch Group that has been kicking ass in the past few years - Mido. It might be controversial, but the Mido Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer is one of my favorite watches of the past few years. Mido does vintage fantastically, just like they did last year when they introduced a limited edition, COSC-certified, revival of the 1954 Multifort Powerwind. Now, Mido is introducing three new variations of the Multifort Powerwind that will be part of the brand’s permanent collection.
The Multifort is Mido’s most important watch. Born in the 1930s, this automatic, anti-magnetic, water-and shock-resistant watch has become its bestseller. The concept was drastically updated in 1954 with an innovative automatic movement and renamed the Powerwind. Developed in collaboration with partner A. Schild SA, the automatic part of the movement reduced the components from the standard 16 to just seven, making it easier to build and service while enhancing durability and reliability.
The new models retain the same elegantly designed case with its thin, twisted lugs, box-shaped sapphire crystal and overall retro style as the limited edition released last year. Compared to the 1954 watch, it has grown quite a bit and is now 40mm wide and 12mm thick. What changes most regarding the design, compared to the limited edition of last year, are the dials.
The permanent collection is no longer a day-date model, but rather just a time and date watch, with reworked markers that are a combination of applied triangular indices and printed Arabic numerals. You can get it in three versions: steel with black dial, steel with blue dial, yellow gold PVD-coated steel with champagne dial.
Perhaps the biggest change happens on the inside - while the limited edition last year had a chronometer-certified ETA 2836-2 movement, the permanent collection gets, you guessed it, the Powermatic 80, here named the Caliber 80. The watch comes on a 3-link stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp and quick-release spring bars.
You can get the watches now, priced at EUR 970 (black and blue) or EUR 1,160 (PVD gold).
4/
Rado Adds Three Ceramic Watches to their Great Gardens of the World Series
Rado is a polarizing brand. Some love it, others almost detest it. But there’s no denying that Rado has done impressive things with the use of ceramic, be it their retro sports watches in the Captain Cook line, the super minimalist watches in the Designer line or the dressier models like the True Thinline. This is Rado’s slim ceramic watch intorduced in 2011 that is now getting three new models with textured dials inspired by endangered plant species in partnership with the Great Gardens o the World organisation.
This is not the first time that Rado is working with Great Gardens of the World, a network of gardens across 20 countries. They have made seven watches prior, making these Chapters 8 through 10. All three of the new watches have the same 40mm high-tech ceramic monobloc case that’s only 9mm thick, with ceramic bracelets that have a triple-folding titanium clasp. Inside the watch is the Rado 766 movement, based on the ETA 2892.
The major differences of the three come from the looks of the watches. Chapter 8 is housed in a black polished ceramic case, with the dial recreating the pleated leaves of the Hawaiian Luolu lelo palm tree. The hands and brand name are golden coloured. Chapter 9 is dedicated to the Chilean Araucaria, or monkey puzzle tree, and comes in a glossy, white high-tech ceramic case. The sharp, scale-like leaves of the tree are replicated on the dial with a composition of engraved triangles in opalescent mother-of-pearl. Chapter 10 is dedicated to the Dragon Blood Tree in a grey ceramic case and a two layer dial. The top layer is a skeletonised plate cut out in organic shapes to evoke the thick, entangled branches of the Dragon Blood Tree, revealing the lower layer in a pink gold colour.
The trilogy – Chapters 8, 9 and 10 of the Rado True Thinline Great Gardens of the World – is available in a collector’s box, limited to 99 units. Alternatively, each model can be purchased individually for EUR 2,900.
5/
The New Edox SkyDiver 38 Date Automatic Is A Vintage Inspired Skin Diver For You If You Want A Smaller Watch
The Edox SkyDiver has an interesting story. The brand claims that a mysterious drawing was found in their archives which turned out to be “the sketch of a long-lost timepiece, the SkyDiver”. Along with the sketch, there was a scrawled note reading: 1973. Special production in strictly limited edition“ According to a retired Edox watchmaker, the SkyDiver was rumoured to be a secret project for a mysterious, wealthy Swiss colonel. The anonymous colonel wanted an exclusive timepiece for elite mountain paratroopers under his command. It had to combine the no-nonsense functionality of a dive watch with the style and aesthetics of a precision pilot’s watch.
So Edox took these sketches and remade it in modern times with a bronze version that followed. In 2021, the SkyDiver was entirely revamped with new looks and upgraded materials, yet a solid vintage touch, in a case of 42mm. To fix the biggest complaint they got, they are now releasing a new version - the 38mm SkyDiver.
It’s basically the same watch, but smaller. It’s a traditional skin-diver watch, with a straight case, unprotected oversized crown, rather slim case profile topped by a heavily domed crystal. The screw down crown gives you 300m of water resistance and the domed crystal brings the thickness to 13.7mm. You can have it with two dial colors - black or blue, with a matching ceramic insert on the bezel, and it has a glossy vintage finish with applied markers with orange highlights.
Inside is the Selita SW200-1 automatic movement with 4Hz frequency and 38h power reserve. Both colors come on a 3-link brushed and polished steel bracelet closed by a triple folding clasp.
The watch is available now and is priced at EUR 1,575 (excl. taxes).
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On hand - a selection of reviews

1/
Hands on with the Q Timex Three Time Zone Chronograph
2/
A review of the updated mint green Rolex Sky-Dweller
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Watch Worthy - A look at an offbeat, less known watch you might actually like

How time shaped the Type 20 chronograph, and the brands that keep the legend alive
Watches and military history have an unbreakable bond. You only need to think back to the very beginnings of the wristwatch as a tool. During the Anglo-Burma War and First Boer War, soldiers began to strap pocket watch cases with primitive soldered lugs to their wrists, which opened the door for a new market. Fast-forward some 70 years, and you’ll find yourself in a new world, free from the shackles of World War II. Despite it being a time of peace, the French government found itself in need of accurate, reliable timepieces, resulting in the Type 20 chronograph that took inspiration from the designs of German pilot’s chronographs of the 1930s and 1940s, and applied it to the set of regulations outlined by the French. Today, original Type 20 pieces remain highly sought-after, spawning many re-editions and homages, with one brand in particular making the most of the design.
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