#don't need 4 discs or however it is

[icyg4l]

PAC: September 2024 Predictions

Hello beautiful people! I am finally back and I feel wonderful! I hope you all do too! I am just getting settled into school and I feel very confident about what's to come! It has been a long time coming but I feel ready to launch into this new fall era! I hope you all are too! My booking site is officially open so I will link it here in order for you all to have access to it. I will be taking readings starting Friday. So without further ado, please select the photo that aligns with you and don't forget to tell your friends about me! I hope that you all enjoy!

Top Left-to-Bottom Right: (1-4)

Pile One: You are in a bit of a pickle, I can tell. Just remember this: the choice is always yours. You can choose what reality you want to make yours. I am channeling the movie ‘Look Both Ways’ starring Lili Reinhart and Danny Ramirez. You will have difficulties coming to a decision. Watching this movie can help with your indecision quite a bit. It also feels as though you need to cut certain things out. I am especially picking up on overspending and overeating. You also need to cut down on screen time and any other distractions that may be capturing your attention. For those of you that are attracted to men, you should stop hooking up with them. A potential pregnancy/STD scare could occur. Overall, it seems that you should be working on improving your health. Virgo energy is significant. By the end of October, you should see the results that you want to see. I am also channeling the movie ‘The Princess Diaries’ starring Anne Hathaway. You are on the brink of transformation. There is a reason why your body is not digesting foods properly at this time. There is a reason why you feel out of place at the moment socially. Your body is rejecting your current environment because you are being prepared for a new one. You may meet someone who you aspire to be like. They will help you get aligned with your goals (personal, career, financial, etc). Do not be afraid to use your connections. Networking will be helpful for you to do. Remember, a closed mouth never gets fed and plan accordingly for your upcoming journey. You know what to do. 

Cards Used: Page of Swords, 7 of Cups, 2 of Discs, The Hanged Man, Queen of Swords, 9 of Swords, The Magician, The Chariot, Princess of Discs 

extras: cutting out certain foods. resisting temptation. random dancing. struggling with internalized fatphobia/homophobia. halloween costume. myriad.

PIle Two: I feel like this pile works with older women or have the tendency to surround themselves with older women. Perhaps, you get along with them better? You are wise beyond your years. Seeking knowledge from them about a situation that deeply concerns you will not hurt. This month will be all about retribution. Some of you want to learn more about casting spells. Others of you could be trying to seek justice in the courts. Some of you want to perform street justice. However, you should weigh out the pros and cons. Does your idea of punishment match the actions of the person that has harmed you? This is exactly why you will need to reach out to someone older than you. This month, you may be spending more time with a mother figure especially if she is sick. During this time, you may find that your support system isn’t as supportive as you thought they were. It’s time to cut them loose. Also, if you’ve been lurking on their page hoping for an apology, you will not get it. It is best that you move forward so that you do not go crazy. Be prepared to take extra precautions this month so that you don’t get sick. Hydrate and moisturize. Take Vitamin C. Go for a light jog or a walk after you eat so that you can avoid throwing up. Also, you should go out to the city more often to admire the sights. Lastly, some of you will be getting pulled over by the police this month. I also heard “search warrant”. If you’re doing something that is questionable, nothing will be found. If you just get pulled over, you will be free to go. I suggest paying off any parking tickets like now though, just to be safe. 

Cards Used: The Empress, 10 of Cups, The Moon, The Hermit, 6 of Discs, 8 of Cups, Princess of Swords, 6 of Cups, 4 of Discs 

extras: fast track. appreciation day. MLK boulevard. sweet sixteen. i declare thumb war. swear jar. every kiss begins with kay. beauty queen. travesty. marshawn lynch. salty cravings. that time of the month.

Pile Three: Smiling through the pain, huh, lovely? You might not understand the significance of what you’re going through right now but you will get it later. For those of you who are in on/off again situations/romantic relationships in general, you need to know that communication is key! It’s so cliche to say but knowing that you have someone to depend on when things get rough can be what grounds us. You need to trust that whatever you are going through, you will get through this; the both of you. For those of you that are single, you have to be open to the process of getting to know other people. You are about to be in a soulmate connection but in order for you to meet them, you have to let them in! There is a reason why you are meeting them now. They will serve their purpose. No time will be wasted here. You are a very logical/analytical person, but there is no reason why you should be locking yourself in your room all the time. You need to be out with other humans. It’s a very good time for you to go out to clubs, restaurants, bars, clubs, jazz lounges, sip and paints, speakeasies, poetry slams, etc. Allow yourself to exist in the moment so that you don’t have to think about your problems. Be an escapist for once, and this brings me to my last point! You need to balance out your realism and your imagination. There is something that you have wanted since you were a child, but you are suppressing it. It could be wanting to try out a certain food, wanting to go to a different country, wanting to go to a specific artist’s concert, but you have been too busy to do so. You need to spoil yourself! Allow your inner child to be healed by actually listening to them. You can get your work done while also being fun! What’s the point in living if you don’t actually live, babe?

Cards Used: 6 of Cups, 3 of Cups, The Tower, The Lovers, The Star, The Hierophant, The Hanged Man, The Chariot, 8 of Pentacles 

extras: kitchen salon. ass-kisser. por favor. typing up papers. graphs. mathematics major. public health/public relations/humanities major. sour candy.

Pile Four: There are so many opportunities for you to market yourself, Pile Four. If you’ve been trying to expand your market/business, there will be plenty of opportunities coming toward you. If you have been trying to get a fellowship/grant/scholarship/loan, there will be an opportunity that fits you perfectly. But before you get involved with anyone, be sure that you read any contracts fully before signing so that you do not get involved in anything you don’t want to. I feel like right now, you may be experiencing boredom or a “cool down” period. That is fine, but prepare yourself to actually get up and take action. You will not be sitting for much longer. If there is a situation where you are looking for the resolution to play out in your favor, it will. It could be a familial/friend fight. It could be someone admitting to their wrongdoings. It could be a simple miscommunication being resolved in person instead of over the phone. Make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row so that no one can call you out on being neglectful. I feel like this pile needs to spend more time with their family members as well, lol. September will be the month for you to do that especially if it’s Grandma’s birthday. If you wish to quit your job, don’t. It will set you up for the future. You could potentially meet a client or a business partner at your job, so don’t blow it off just yet. You could also connect with someone who you will look forward to seeing everyday as well very soon. 

Cards Used: The Magician, 2 of Wands, 10 of Discs, Princess of Discs, 4 of Cups, Justice, Temperance, 8 of Wands, King of Cups, The Hermit.

extras: resistance. princess diana. dragonfruit. time tables. shifting gears. gta 6. pomegranate. pizza. oopsie daisy. thin veil. rising gas prices. california.

[ladyaldhelm]

Making Gifs Part 1 - Capturing Video

I am making this for @errruvande but I thought maybe others could use this guide to. This is my own personal workflow on how I make my gifs. Everyone has their own way of doing it, and there is no right or wrong way, but I have found this works best for me, with my limited tools and since I do not have photoshop.

Please note I am not an expert lol! There are people out there making far better gifs than me, and many other gifmaking resouces on Tumblr that are probably better than mine.

Keep reading below >>>

So there are two ways that I have found that work for capturing video. If you have the discs like I do, using a program like Videobyte BD-DVD Ripper works really well to grab video clips from Blu-Rays and DVD's. I recommend only using Blu-Rays if you have them. since DVD's are much lower quality.

However I have noticed the videos I captured with this program tend to be dark and have some compression artifacts, even when rip to an MKV with high quality settings. So I use a different method which I feel produces higher quality video captures.

I use Windows Screen Recorder (I have Win11 but this will work for all versions of Windows) with the quality settings set to High. In order to do this, go to Settings > Gaming > Captures and set the following:

Make sure the Video Quality is set to High, set your Screenshots folder, turn off Audio (you don't need it), and keep the frame rate to 30 fps.

For Windows 11 press WIN + ALT + R to activate the screen recorder. There is usually a bit of a delay so make sure you start a few seconds before the scene you want to capture. And try to keep the length of the capture below about 90 seconds; the shorter the better.

______________________________________________________________

Capturing Sequential Caps

So, for those of you with Photoshop, you can import your video directly into the program and make your gif from there. But I found that Photopea really does not like videos, and will stall and crash if I load a video directly. So I have to capture sequential screencaps to make my gifs.

I use VLC Media Player. There are a few others out there that take sequential caps, but I have not been able to get them to work myself.

Download and install the latest version. Then go to your settings to set up the Sequential Caps function. They have a great guide on their website here but I will reiterate it in this post.

Go To Tools > Preferences and then at the bottom of the screen select the All radio button to show all settings.

Select Video from the left menu. Scroll down about halfway until you see the Snapshot section. Choose the folder where you want the caps to go.

3. Then, under Video on the left, expand the Filters list.

4. Check the "Scene Video Filter" from the list.

5. Then scroll down on the left menu under Filters and click on Scene Filter. This will open up the settings for that particular filter.

6. Set the Image Format to PNG.

7. Then for the Recording Ratio, change to "1". The Recording Ratio is the frame interval. So for example, if it was set to "300" (with a 30fps video), then it would take one cap every 10 seconds. Setting it to "1" will make it take a cap once per frame.

8. None of the other settings need to be changed.

9. One more important setting, otherwise this will not work! Close the menu, and go back to Tools > Settings and leave it on Simple. Go to the Video section and MAKE SURE the output is set to "Automatic". This is important because if it is not on Automatic the Scene Filter won't work!

Then just open your video with VLC. VLC will automatically take the screencaps while the video is playing. If you pause the video, it will stop taking caps.

NOTE: For smoother gifs, change your playback speed to be slower. Go to the top menu > Playback > Speed > Slower (fine). The more you click this the slower the video will playback, and that means more caps will be taken over that time frame. I usually set it to 0.75x, but if you want even smoother gifs for really short clips, you can set it even slower than that.

Your screenshot folder will look like this:

Then we are done with this part and onto Photopea! Which I will go into detail in another post: PART 2

[thejessc0de]

Do you have any tips for someone who is trying a more realistic aproach for their art style? your painting and lighting are so good that I had to ask 🤠

Thank you!

So this question is actually pretty hard to answer, mostly because I still consider myself a beginner/hobbyist, and I'm pretty sure a lot of my technique comes from the ~5 years of classical art training I received in middle school and high school, and that's so fuzzy I can't tell what's intuition or muscle memory! I can go over some of my workflow/thoughts though and hopefully some of it is useful!

The first thing is that for realism, You. Need. References. It is impossible to replicate the level of detail in a realistic painting without a reference. I usually pick a reference, try to draw that reference exactly, and once I have the proportions correct, I'll change it to match the character/scene I'm drawing (move an arm, tilt the head, add a hand, make the eyes bigger, add anime hair etc. haha). Over time you'll get more comfortable moving away from a specific reference and piecing together a bunch of references into something more unique.

Here is an example of a recent post that was fairly simple. I take the reference image (link to reference here) and try to match it, and then I change it to match the character details, in this case, Kashimo.

As for the lighting, when I first started, my colors were a mess! I already know basic color theory which helps, but it didn't help enough haha. What I think helped me learn the quickest was color picking - in krita you can select a color directly from an imported reference figure. So I'd find a reference that I really liked the lighting on, and color picked from it while paying attention to the actual color I was grabbing (how warm it was, gray it was, what the typical skin tones were, etc).

Later on as I started to learn what types of color palettes I really liked working with, I'd open the reference photo in Krita and tweak the image's contrast and sometimes completely change the lighting and colors. However, at some point I started using it as a crutch and my skills stagnated, so you need to be careful! However, now I've progressed to the point of doing a painting in black and white and adding the colors later (with no color picking!), sometimes even without a reference for the color. This was a slow and painful process, so don't expect things to make sense overnight!

Also, don't forget that you don't have to make the colors perfect in one shot. Usually I'll color things using a color layer with minimal detail and basic color tone (Itadori's hair is soft pink, his hoodie is bright red, etc), and then create shadows and lighting with multiply and overlay layers (blues and purples for night, etc.). Eventually I'll build up the color and merge all the layers together, and then add details in full color. I can color pick from other parts of the painting to maintain consistency. Then to finish things off, I almost always tweak the colors and contrast using filter layers.

Here is an example from that same Kashimo painting, going from black and white to full colors using color, multiply, and overlay layers, and then ending with full color details.

As a side note, starting out in black and white can make things so much easier. When you're only worried about values, you can really focus on shadow depth and the shapes of things. It's so much easier to explore rendering when you're not trying to do color on top of everything! Don't try to do everything at once.

The rendering style I use is based heavily on trying to replicate the feeling of actual oil painting. I use the (free!) art program Krita, and my favorite, most used brush is from a free pack I downloaded from deviant art (here). I use the brush called R T Masked4 (shown below) for basically 90% of any painting I do. I use about 4 brushes total on a typical painting (R T Masked4, that same brush but tweaked to be narrower for hair details, a smudge brush that I discovered maybe 10 days ago that I'm now obsessed with, and sometimes a scratchy brush for additional texture).

One last thing - don't be afraid to use tracing! Block in a reference photo to get the head and shoulders in the right place!! Trace a few hands to see how it feels!!! Obviously don't trace somebody's art and present it as your own, and it should only be rough approximations of shapes so you learn how to break down the body into parts. Otherwise, it won't be helpful at all. I only use photographs for tracing, including pictures I've taken of myself. One of the more helpful things I'll do is free hand my drawing and try to make it match the reference as closely as possible. Then, on a separate layer, I'll trace the reference photo (again, no details, just general positioning/shapes), and compare it to my original drawing. I can immediately see the issues, and I'll use the liquify tool to get things in the right place. I've learned that my horizontal spacing is usually pretty good, but I struggle with vertical spacing, especially on faces. So now I triple check my work for those specific things!

This kinda turned into a book, I'm sorry! I hope some of this is helpful and doesn't sound like the 10:30pm ramblings of someone who didn't get enough sleep haha.

[mathematical-cheese]

Why Straws Have One Hole: An Introduction to Homology Part 1

The question of how many holes does a straw have is quite a popular one on the internet and makes for a good starting point to introduce an important construction from Algebraic Topology: Homology. My goal for these post is to motivate and give intuition for some of the ideas from topology that will let us answer this question! This won't be completely rigorous and more serves as an overview of the ideas. The details that make this all rigorous are quite complex and require quite a few prequisites but I will still include some of the key details!

This got quite long whilst writing it so I've decided to split this into three parts! This part will lay the ground work for the problem. Part 2 will be about simplicial complexes and simplicial homology and part 3 will be about using homology to answer the question.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

First we need to figure out how we represent a straw mathematically. If we cut a straw vertically so that we still had one object, we could flatten out the straw to get something rectangular. To reconstruct the straw, we'd need to glue back along the cut. We can represent this as the following diagram:

Here the arrows show which sides are to be glued together and the gluing must be down such that the arrows line up. If we reversed one of the arrows, we'd get a Möbius strip! If you have some paper to hand, I highly recommend verifying that this makes sense (though it probably won't make a very practical straw!)

In topology, we'd call this a cylinder or in notation: S¹×[0,1]. Notice that we don't actually care about the radius or height of the straw, we only care that they all can be constructed in the same way. And I think you would all agree that regardless of the number of holes a straw has, it doesn't depend on these factors. In more precise langauge, we say they are all homeomorphic. Loosely this means we can continuously transform one into the other by methods like stretching without making any new cuts or glues. This is the notion of "sameness" that topologists use and is the source of the most well known topology joke about mugs and doughnuts.

What is a hole?

We all have a general idea of what a hole is but to actually do maths we need a rigorous definition. We need to bare in mind that only care about spaces up to homoemorphism, i.e. spaces that can be continuously morphed into each other. The hole that you might dig in your garden doesn't really exist in topology! Imagine instead of soil, the ground was made of some sort of material that could be morphed however we wanted. Then we could get rid of this hole by stretching and warping the ground, so it wasn't really a feature that we see topologically. With a straw on the other hand, we can't get rid of the void without gluing an end or cutting the straw like we did earlier. So we want to develop a way of identifying these holes in a way that also lets us count them.

Before we get to how we test for holes, I would like to introduce the notion of the boundary. You can think of this as the edge of a shape. For example, if we draw a solid square, i.e. a square where we include the inside of the shape, it's boundary is the 4 edges that you'd typically call a square. If you draw a line instead, the boundary would be its two end points. Lastly, the boundary of a straw is the union of the circles at either end of the straw. Something that doesn't have a boundary is a loop; there aren't any points that are on the "edge" of a loop because it starts and ends at the same place.

We shall start by considering a space that we agree doesn't have any holes: a plane. We shall imagine this as an infinite piece of paper. If we draw a loop that doesn't intersect itself on the page we would be able to find a bounded solid shape (a shape of finite area) that whose boundary is that loop. For example, if we drew a circle, the shape whose boundary is that circle is a disc.

But what does that have to do with holes? Well now imagine cutting a hole in this infinite piece of paper and drawing a loop that goes around it. The problem we now have is that this hole has made the paper itself have a boundary so if the loop doesn't contain this loop, the loop won't be the entire boundary of any solid shape we make around the hole!

Why don't we talk about curves, why must it be loops? Does it make sense for a line to bound a shape? There isn't such a thing as a one sided polygon on a plane so there isn't a shape which a single line would bound! It turns out that the important thing about loops is the fact that they don't have a boundary themselves. This is particularly important later on!

To summarise what we have so far, we have found that holes in a plane can be detected by finding loops in our space that aren't the (entire) boundary of any (bounded) shape in the plane.

But what about other spaces? It would seem reasonable to define a space as having a hole if we can find a loop that isn't the boundary of a solid shape in our space!

Now imagine drawing a loop that goes around a straw. This loop isn't the (entire) boundary of the straw and the only other shape it might bound would be a disc that lies inside the hole of the straw but this disc isn't a part of the straw! So our test also detects a hole in the straw!

But we haven't yet got a way to count how many holes a space has. One issue is that we have uncountably infinitely many loops that we would draw on a space so how could we ever possibly hope to count anything with them? This will be the topic of the next post!

[hirocimacruiser]

SUBARU.

High performance belongs to everyone.

Car performance is rapidly increasing. Our New 4WD RX also received OHC and turbo flat four, making it a high-performance car that was even equipped with a speed limiter. However, we don't want to recommend this RX to everyone. That's why I didn't even consider power steering or automatic transmission for easy driving. “It seems to be going against the era of high-performance cars, but I believe this is the developer's conscience.The same goes for the 4WD RX, but contemporary high-performance cars are extremely easy to handle. What's more, they're fun.They're far more expensive than in the past. Everyone can reach the breaking point without any reason. Just because you like cars doesn't qualify you to drive a high-performance car. You should narrow down the list of riders. High-speed 4WD/RX. Select "4WD/low range". When starting off, tuck your chin in and prepare for the intense G-forces. ``When exiting a high-speed corner in 4WD and high range, don't let the strong lateral G-forces hit you aimlessly. When braking before a tight corner, pay attention to the vehicle behind you. This is because the braking performance of 4WD is incomparable to that of 2WD, and it makes the vehicles behind you panic. When extracting the full potential of a flat-four that revs up like a twin cam all the way to the red zone, you need to take care to match the revs and downshift. Although it is a flat four that is well suited for safari riding, riders who are insensitive to the engine will not like it. Above all, you must be aware of the pointlessness of going full throttle. In any case, I would like to hand over the keys to this new era sports car to someone with a wonderful heart, manners, and technique. Something Sports, 4WD is twice as fun as 2WD.

LEONE AWD RX TURBO

●Total displacement 1781cc ▶OHC horizontally opposed, EGI (electronic fuel injection) turbo ●Maximum output 135ps/5600r.pm, maximum torque 20.0kg-m/2800r.pm. ●Competitive suspension Limited slip differential (rear ) ●Front ventilated 4-wheel disc brake F&R stabilizer

●Air dam skirt, air fluff, rear spoiler ●Tires 185-60R14 82H *The aero parts aluminum wheels in the photo are dealer options.

[kiddotarot]

Hi! I'm here to participate in your exchange game, it sounds like fun lol.

I love learning vedic astrology through your blog, I feel like it's more interesting learning from someone who speaks the native language of the practice you know? They notice things that you don't!

I'm going for the tarot reading option. So here is your reading!

Decks used: True heart Intuitive tarot, sacred earth oracle, blue bird lenormard & astrological oracle

Cards that I got: Wheel of fortune, 6 of discs, king of swords, 2 of cups, king of cups & the hermit

Oracles I got: Anchor, Tower, Fox, Absence & specialisation

Your future spouse to me is someone very mature. They could most likely be your age or just around your age, if they are older however I don't see them being that much older than you ( 2-4 years max).

They give me the impression of an introverted soul, someone very wise and knowledgeable. He is a very patient person as well. Emotionally stable and calculating.

He could have grown up in a low income family when he was younger. His parents may have had financial struggles. His parents have put a lot of effort ensuring your future spouse gets proper education, and never submitted to any obstacles. His home life growing up was also relatively harmonious, his parents are very kind and loving to him. From this, I feel like he grew up with a lot of love and respect for them.

He may have been a great student, he probably has a very good or at the very least stable job that allows him to live comfortably. He is also very generous to other people with his wealth and knowledge. The type to help others without expecting anything in return. He could also have accumulated a lot of good karma in his life.

Your love life will be very harmonious. With the two of cups I feel like both of you will be soulmates who are understanding and kind to each other. In the deck I'm using, the two of cups depicts two lovers exchanging cups in front of the Taj Mahal!

Perhaps you'll meet him there? Or you will meet him while travelling. He could live in a different state/country than you. He may have gone through the dark night of the soul, may have went through a period of isolation during his youth.

Maybe he didn't have that many friends in school? He is the type to be protective of his energy. He may also be into esoteric knowledge with the 'specialisation' card. Could be religious or spiritual.

He could be a teacher, a lecturer or an IT specialist, any career that has to do with communication and intellect.

In terms of astrological signs, I'm getting Leo, Virgo, Capricorn and Libra. Libra was very persistent tho, the card kept flying out even after I put it back in the deck lol.

This is all I'm getting at the moment. I hope you enjoyed your reading! ♡

Oh, and here is my D9 chart. I'm not very accustomed to vedic astrology as I am to western astrology so I'd like to see what you think. I read somewhere that my dk is Saturn. Just ask me if you feel like something is missing!

Hi Thank you so much for participating and for exchange is really amazing 👏 💖 . You can tell me if i need to add for length. i am open for any suggestions.

Your future spouse can be famous or they can have leadership qualities they can be a person who hold authority and may be guide a lot of people can be famous can shine like a sun and may be main character energy . They can be into money making or can look like person who have comfortable living. They can be emotionally present for you when you need them or they can look very young and charming . There can be chances that you may be face some problems in case of emotion compatibility or there can be delay to understand it . The main focus of the marriage can be related to home may be they or you both focus on bringing or building a home where you both can be happy in your life . They can be fortunate for you or moving with them can be fortunate for you may be your travel a lot or shift abroad after marriage. They can own a lot of property or money . Chances can be some people can harm the reputation of marriage but it won't last long may be because work place or peoples but it won't lastlong cause yiur future spouse it determined to make a safe home for you there can be a lot of love in marriage and luck because of them . There work can be related to logical thing and communication where they can use there will power may be medicaland psychology. Over all people view your marriage as this is basically depends or communication and you deal with it with intelligent and there can be some secretive about it but you guys don't give to much attention or other people view cause you know how you make your home . Your expenses can be go into health related problems it important you to take care of there health problems. There can be gain into marriage fom medical feild or they lesson or hardships you are going to face . Just don't give up sure you both are power couple.

Feedback is required for my improvement

[20dollarlolita]

This little gizmo here is a thread net. It's on a miniking spool of metallic gold thread, on a horizontal spool pin.

I once heard someone give this bullshit answer about how horizontal spool pins were awful because when you pull toilet paper off the top of a roll of toilet paper it's less good at wiping your ass with .

So don't wipe your ass with you thread and don't compare two things that are not the same, and you'll be good.

The versions of thread pins where the thread is kept stationary and the thread feeds off it—horizontal spool pin, and the vertical pin with antenna—are the superior forms of spool pin. The side-pulling pin, where the spool of thread spins on a little felt disc, is inferior. This is because it is important to give your sewing machine the fullest control of tension that it can. If you have to turn the spool to feed the thread, then the weight of the spool, the weight of the thread on the spool, and the coefficient of friction between the spool and the felt disc and the surface of the machine will all impact the tension. Because different thread spools weigh different amounts, the amount of force needed to turn a spool of thread differs between spools. Because the thread is used as you sew, the force needed to turn a spool changes as you’re using the spool.

I work in a sewing machine shop, where we sell machines ranging from $150 to $24,000, and vertical turn-the-spool-as-you-pull thread spools are exclusive to the very cheapest of sewing machines. Many machines will have a backup or secondary spool pin that’s vertical, but the primary one is horizontal. Especially with modern sewing machines, which are very precise, having the thread feed off the spool with little to no tension allows the machine to control the tension entirely, getting you a good stitch, even with different threads.

So why’s my little spool of metallic thread in jail right now? The thread spool net doesn’t add any force or weight to the experience of pulling the thread off the spool. However, it does hold any extra thread next to the spool itself. Metallic thread generally has a mind of its own. When you unwind a little bit, the metal wrapping around the thread is springy, and more than you unwound will come off. This extra thread can get twisted or kinked up, and then when the machine needs to use it, it doesn’t feed evenly.

The thread net allows the thread of unwind as freely as it would unwind without the net. However, it holds the excess thread that unwinds next to the main spool. This stops the thread from tangling, and allows the machine to run at a higher speed without worrying about thread breaking.

You can also use thread nets on regular spools, or any time you find that too much thread is coming off your spool. If the thread is only barely held on the spool and keeps falling off and puddling or wrapping around the spool caps, you can also benefit from one. Because of the size of the gap between my spool pin and my machine’s pre-tension, I use them on a lot of polyester embroidery threads, as well. It gives the thread a little more space to stretch out properly before going through the tension. Thread nets are usually something like 30 for $4 and they are very useful. I actually tired several different ways to use this thread without it breaking before giving up, going into the other room, and actually getting a thread net.

[doppel-drop-distance]

The Dubiously Needed, Unnecessarily Extensive Magia Record Stat Sheet Guide (Magia)

Ahem...

Don't ramble about Doppels, don't ramble about Doppels, don't ramble about Doppels, don't ramble about Doppels, don't-

A Magia is a unit’s “super move”, reached when they generate 100 MP. Magia attacks are usually (but not always) more powerful than a basic disc attack. They also grant a variety of buffs dependent on the unit, similar to Connects.  

The first thing to talk about with Magias is their target preference. Each Magia has a different targeting range with its own damage scaling. Your unit’s Magia can choose from the following:

Damage One Enemy: Deal a large amount of damage to a single target. 

Damage All Enemies: Deal damage to all targets. 

Damage A Vertical Line: Deal damage to targets in a vertical line. 

Damage A Horizontal Line: Deal damage to targets in a horizontal line. 

Damage - Random Enemies: Deal damage to targets at random. This preference can be specified to include up to five random enemies. 

There are three additional modifiers you may want to consider when determining your character’s Magia: conditional bonuses. Some Magias deal additional damage based on the condition of the target or the unit. As of writing, there are three bonuses in this category:

Attribute Strengthened Damage: Double damage is dealt to targets that have an elemental weakness to the unit. 

Status Ailment Bonus: Bonus damage is dealt to the target per each distinct status ailment. 

Low HP Bonus: The lower the user’s HP is, the more damage is dealt to the target. 

When a Magia has one of these conditional bonuses, their base damage is lowered to compensate for that increase. 

Speaking of base damage, the damage percentage of a targeting scheme is usually consistent between units. Here they are for your balancing pleasure:

Damage One Enemy: 1152% (2763.2% on Doppel)

Attribute Strengthened Damage One Enemy: 928% (2270.4% on Doppel)

Damage All Enemies: 360% (902% on Doppel)

Attribute Strengthened Damage All Enemies: 335% (869% on Doppel)

Damage All Enemies (Status Ailment Bonus): 335% (831% on Doppel)

Damage 4 Random Enemies: 297%

Attribute Strengthened Damage 4 Random Enemies: 299.7%

Damage 5 Random Enemies: 237.6% (622.2% on Doppel)

Attribute Strengthened 5 Random Enemies: 252.7% (676% on Doppel)

It doesn’t really matter what your character’s targeting preference is. This is especially so for offensive characters like Blast units that will barely have the MP generation to use their Magia in the first place. If it matters for anyone, it’s definitely Magia-focused units that are intended to use their Magia as much as possible. 

All this is to say, you can really pick any targeting preference you want. What I like to do is consider the in-character super move of my unit, like Mami’s “Tiro Finale”. What happens when they use that super move? If they were attacking a huge group of enemies, where would it hit? 

The effects of a Magia are the same effects you can choose for your Connect. However, these effects are broader than just single ally support. Connects are always one turn long, but a Magia’s effects can last for longer. Additionally, a Magia’s effects can impact a single ally or the whole team (or one target/all targets, for debuffs and ailments). Therefore, when considering the effects to give your Magia, you should consider not only the effect but its target and turn duration. 

Let’s use Tsuruno Yui as an example this time. 

Tsuruno’s Magia: Flame Waltz

Damage All Enemies [VIII] (370%)

Blast Damage Up (Allies / 3 turns / 45%)

Accele MP Gain Up (Allies / 3 turns / 25%)

Guaranteed Evade (Self / 1 turn)

Tsuruno is a Magia-type character, meaning she has a powerful Magia that she will want to use more often. However, Tsuruno can also do plenty of damage with her Blast discs. Her Magia plays into that, buffing both her Accele MP gain (for Magia use) and her Blast damage (for Blast use). It feeds into however you play her, whether it’s spamming more Magia or dealing damage with Blast discs. These buffs apply to Tsuruno’s allies as well, giving extra incentive to use her Magia frequently. 

Just like Connects, Magias have two to three effects, with the occasional four seen here and there. 

Your character may or may not be based around using their Magia. Either way, they have one, so you should base its effects around your character’s playstyle. An offensive character could buff themselves or debuff the defenses of their target to deal more damage the following turn. A healer could heal a large amount of HP in one turn, or regenerate HP over multiple turns. Have fun with it! It’s your character’s big, flashy super move, after all. 

There aren’t as many consistent percentages for effects as there are with Connects. Turn duration and targeting all play a different role in those numbers. I’d highly suggest referencing the wiki for effects you want to include. There is usually a character somewhere with the effect you’re looking for. 

Doppel

The Doppel is an advanced form of a Magia you can only unlock after reaching maximum upgrades in a character’s awakening, episode level, and Magia level. It can only be used at 150 MP and is the super move beyond the super move, so to speak. 

Gameplay-wise, Doppels are not much different from their Magia counterparts. Most of the time, they have higher damage scaling and larger percentages on their effects. Occasionally, they might extend the turn duration on an effect or change the attack’s target preference. In some cases you may get an additional effect, but it is very rarely more than one or two. We can use Tsuruno’s Doppel as an example:

Tsuruno’s Doppel: Yu Hong

Damage All Enemies [X] (898%)

Blast Damage Up (Allies / 3 turns / 65%)

Accele MP Gain Up (Allies / 3 turns / 40%)

Guaranteed Evade (Self / 1 turn)

As you can see, there is very little new on display here. Tsuruno’s Doppel is nigh indistinguishable from her Magia outside of larger damage and enhanced effects. But don’t take my commentary as naysaying. Doppels rarely need more than increased damage and percentages to be significantly better than their Magia counterparts. Any bonus effects or turn increases are just icing on the cake. 

But character-wise is where the Doppel gets really fun. (Come on, don’t act like you didn’t know this was coming.)

In Kamihama City, magical girls don’t become Witches. When impurities bottle up in their Soul Gem, they are released as Doppels. These are still manifestations of their despair, but without the barrier, Familiars and massive monster attack. It’s like an “adolescent” form of their Witch. 

Many (but not all) Doppels emerge as an extension of their host. Iroha’s Doppel, Giovanna, appears from her hair. Tsuruno’s Doppel, Yu Hong, is attached to her back. The longer someone has been a magical girl, the more their Doppel fuses with their body. Homura Akemi is the most obvious example of this. As someone who’s been looping time for years, her Doppel form looks closer to a Witch than others. 

All this is to say: if you have a Witch form in mind for your character, you can get really creative with the design and attack concept. There’s quite a bit to consider: where the Doppel emerges from, how it looks in its “adolescent” state, how it attacks…yes, this means absolutely nothing in gameplay, but you can’t tell me it’s not cool, come on!

Also, if you really want to lay on the flavor, every Witch-based Doppel in-game has its own description you can read in-game. The description usually goes into the Doppel’s appearance and abilities, as well as how the unit themselves (often referred to as the “master”) feels about their Doppel. Some Doppels have drastic effects on their host’s psyche, while others do not. Again, have fun with it! If you’re like me and you love the symbolism and aesthetic of it all, this can be a really entertaining exercise in character building.

And yes, I say “Witch-based” Doppel because…not all units have Doppels. Most units do, but some special units - super-empowered magical girls, holiday alts, duo units, etc. - have a second Magia instead. A second Magia means absolutely nothing gameplay-wise and is exactly the same as a Doppel. Character-wise it is a super special super move, just like the Magia. In my opinion Doppels are far cooler conceptually, but the second Magia can be just as flashy and awesome if you want it to be. Choose what you think is most fitting for your character!

[mrgan]

The best home-oven pizza

I like dozens of different pizza styles—sometimes it's nice to mix things up, other times a particular style fits your circumstances best. I most commonly make sourdough pizza, mixed with a stand mixer, fermented in the fridge for a few days, and baked in an Ooni Koda.

But what if I don't have access to a mixer; I want to eat pizza the next day; and it's too wet and windy outside to fire up the Ooni? Thanks to my friend Adam who originally developed this dough recipe, I also have the makings of an incredible indoor-oven pizza in my back pocket. It's bubbly, light, and crunchy.

The best home-oven Pizza

Servings: two 14” pizzas. Time: 3 hours (mix and proof) + 1 to 2 days (fridge-ferment) + 4 hours (final proof) + 10 to 20 minutes (shape, top, and bake)

INGREDIENTS:

400 g white flour (high-gluten, bread-, or all-purpose flour)

20 g (5%) whole wheat or rye flour (or any flour, really)

12 g (3%) salt

.85 g (1/4 tsp, .2%) instant yeast

320 g (76%) water

DIRECTIONS:

Put the flours and the salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir with a spatula or fork to mix evenly. Add the yeast and stir again. Pour in the water and stir with a spatula, scraping down the sides and the bottom of the bowl. After 30-60 s of this, you should have a cohesive, shaggy mass of dough in the middle of the bowl. You're not looking for a smooth ball; you just want to work in all the dry flour. Gently knead this ball for a minute with your hands, folding and turning it to make it just a little more even; it'll still be a bit of a mess, which is fine.

Pick up the dough and spray or wipe a tiny bit of oil into the bowl, then put the dough back in. Cover with a shower cap, a large plate, or a tea towel and let the dough rest in a warm spot (70–74°F?) for 3 hours. Every 30 minutes or so, perform a stretch-and-fold. This video shows the process; it uses a different dough, but the principle is the same.

Stretching and folding every 30 minutes is ideal, but the timeline is forgiving. Just try to give it at least 3 folds during the 3 hours of proof time. By the end, you should have a fairly smooth and uniform dough.

After the 3 hours are up, cover the bowl again and pop it in the back of the fridge for 1-3 days. If you go past a day and a half, check to make sure the dough isn't overproofing and exploding out of the bowl.

The day you plan to make pizza, remove the dough from the fridge 3-4 hours before baking. (3 hours on a hot day, 4 on a cold one.) Cut into two pieces of the same size and roll each one into a ball.

Note that this is high-hydration dough, so it'll feel pretty loose and lively. Balling it up when cold will make that easier. Here's a video showing how to ball:

Grab two deep, round bowls or containers and oil them lightly. Place one dough ball in each, smooth side up, and cover. If the containers have well-fitting lids that won't crush the expanding dough, use them. Rest for 3-4 hours as described above.

1 hour before baking, get your home oven ready. Pop a baking stone or baking steel or upside-down pan on a rack 6-8" from the top broiler. Crank it up to 550ºF (or however high your oven goes) and leave it there.

To stretch the dough: hold the container upside down and wiggle the dough out of it gently; dont worry about whether it stays a perfect ball. Place it directly into a shallow, wide bowl of flour, and make sure the wet end and the sides get some flour (not too much) on them. Place the dough ball on your wooden peel with the dry (previously the top) side down and press gently around the inside of the rim to make a little ringed pizza-prototype. Drape the disc over your knuckles, then rotate around gently, letting gravity droop the dough to grow it. There should be no need to tug and stretch it with your fingers. Here's a video again:

My topping strategy for a standard cheese pizza: layer the dough with sliced mozzarella cheese, then add dabs of sauce, then your toppings (including torn fresh mozzarella). Now gently tug under the rim all around to stretch to 14″; the weight of the toppings will help prevent pullback. 

Redistribute the toppings if needed. Shimmy again. Expertly slide onto the steel/stone/pan in the oven.

Once the pizza is in, set a timer for 3 minutes. Then, open the oven door and check the underside of your pizza. Rotate the pizza 180º to get even baking from back to front. Set a timer for another 3 minutes. During that time, rotate the pie 90º every 30 seconds or so. If it looks done after the total 6 minutes of bake time, pull it out; it might still need 1-2 minutes more.

You may need to shift between "bake" (bottom heat) and "broil" modes of your oven. Every oven is different, so use your judgment, checking to see if it's the top or the bottom of your pie that need more heat.

When the pizza is gorgeous, slide it out with a metal pizza peel or a large flat spatula or a cookie sheet or whatever. (Don’t use your wooden peel—that’s for shaping and launching only.) Rest it on a cooling rack for 1-2 minutes to dry out the bottom. Then move to a cutting board or plate and slice. (Please don't slice on your wooden peel.)

Since we're making two pizzas with this recipe, you'll need to repeat the process now. It's best to give your baking surface 5-7 minutes to recover the lost heat; don't forget to set it bake to "bake" mode during this time.

And there you go—tremendous pizza, made in your regular-ass home oven. It's possible, and it's delicious.

P.S. I have a bunch more pizza recipes on my website. Even if you don't plan to make any of the other styles, they could be instructive, as every recipe has helpful steps and notes of its own.

[despair-to-future-arcs]

Meanwhile!

Date: September 23rd, 2017

Time: 7:45 AM

*At the cafeteria, everyone is gather as Nagi and Hajime spoke*

So Hiyoko will be waking up at around 8 PM...?

Yes, which will start to get prepared around dinner and remember that she won't remember much of the killing game or Hope's Peak.

And Nagi put the memories into disc so Hiyoko will see them if she ask about it?

Indeed and soon after that, will start working on Mikan which is going to take at least a day since her memories of the killing game and Hope's Peak are linked.

Wait so her memories of Hope's Peak and the killing game were linked?

Yes, meaning that I would need to remove both so meaning she won't remember what she did, the only thing she'll remember is her entering the school gates of Hope's Peak Academy.

Which means that those remember how Mikan acted in the 3rd trial, she won't be like that so please treat her before then.

...That's gonna be hard, given we saw how crazy she got.

I mean, if her memories were remove; she'll likely return to her old self before Junko started to influence her, correct?

Guys, c'mon - Mikan only ended up that crazy because she got her memories back and if Nagi remove it that means Mikan will act pretty normal... for the most part.

Oh... you think so Kazuichi?

Well yeah no duh, if Nagi say that her memories are remove then she won't remember much meaning we should be okay since all of us acted like that.

...Kazuichi? That seem weirdly calm of you to say, I was expecting you to scream and freak out. What happen?

Oh uh, I'm starting to take these meds that Nagi gave me, things have started to clear up my head a bit.

I mean, I'm still jumpy but it isn't as bad...

Well that's good to hear, at least one of us won't be as jumpy, huh?

Yeah well anyway, just figure we inform you all about this and then will have only 4 left to do.

...

Hotaru? You okay...?

I'm fine, just not looking forward to Miss. Saionji waking up is all, don't mind me.

You sure? You don't seem too happy from the looks of it...

Don't mind Hotaru, let's say me and Hotaru weren't exactly fond of Miss Saionji's treatment of our older brother among other reasons, will still help however.

[sortanonymous]

Sorta's CD/DVD/Blu-Ray Collection

Tons of notes under the cut

The Beatles Red and Blue albums are the 2023 remixed and expanded versions, not the 2010 remasters with practically the exact same packaging.

The Bad 25 case has been jammed since I got it in 2019, so despite it having a bonus disc inside, I've only ever been able to use the first disc. Yeah, that's nice.

I do have the slipcover on Echoes in a drawer, but not on the case because the case is kind of busted and can't fit it.

The tiny replacement case is for Running with Scissors by "Weird Al" Yankovic.

I don't actually have Rio or Surf's Up (at least not the discs anymore) but I'm using them as replacement cases for the Snow White 2001 cases, since that case wasn't in great shape. Prepare to see something like that a lot.

The Tangled DVD case has disc 1 of the Atlantis DVD due to a bad disc holder in that case (disc 2 isn't too bad though)

The copy of Iron Man on the third shelf was one I bought from a record store in 2020 that somehow didn't have the bonus Blu-Ray, but instead a DVD copy, and for some reason I didn't think to get a refund (it was the same visit actually when I got Echoes and its bad case).

I put the discs for the Steven Universe box set in those four clear cases due to how bad the sleeves were. However, I also keep the original Season 1 DVD there (which I got a couple years earlier in 2018) because the identical S1 discs in that specific box set might have been particularly ruined. (Now do you see why I want disc sleeves in box sets banned?)

I do have Angry Birds Toons S2, Vol. 1 on DVD, but due to, wait for it, another bad case, I have the disc in the Lion King 2011 Blu-Ray case, which conveniently was missing the DVD. (Same story actually for Finding Dory as I moved my Kirby's Dream Collection case into there from a bad GameStop case, although nowadays at least it's backed up through USB Loader GX.)

The Star Trek Compendium steelbook version on the 2nd shelf (which was also from that visit to that record store that I swear was way better than I'm making it out to be) was such a nightmare packaging-wise that I just ordered the case version of it.

The version of Star Trek Beyond I have is the Target 2-disc Blu-Ray, with the DVD thrown into the Snow White 2001 case.

The Cartoon Saloon box set's weird disc holders were bad (especially for Song of the Sea, which had to spend a few days after Christmas '21 in an empty Wii U case) so I have those 4 discs in a plain case.

The Arrested Development S1 DVD I bought in 2023 had a broken disc spindle, so the 3 discs are spread across an empty Minecraft Xbox case, a LEGO Star Wars Force Awakens PS4 case, and the actual case.

I also have a VERY old DVD of Batman (1989) via a Wii copy of LEGI Batman: The Videogame.

Ftr, I still haven't mentioned that I'll probably need replacement cases, for varying reasons, for Encanto, A Bug's Life, every 2018-present Pixar movie with 2 Blu-Ray discs, MCU Phase 3b (and 3a if I ever get that in 4K), Holy Grail Extraordinarily Deluxe edition, SpongeBob 100 Episodes, and especially del Toro's Pinocchio.

Tl;dr: my tastes might be a bit limited and weird and apparently making a reliable case is 100 times harder than you think. Viva La Disque!

[icyg4l]

How to Prepare for Halloween 🎃

hello beautiful people! the theme of this month is ask and you shall receive! i asked you all how you would feel about a halloween series & this is just the beginning! today’s pick a pile is all about what you should do in order to prepare for your halloween plans. if you are interested in booking a reading with me after reading this, please go to either my guidelines or my booking website to book a reading! 😸 if you have any questions, please dm me! without further ado, please select the pile that resonates with you!

top left to bottom right: (1-4)

pile one: save your money!!! it is imperative that throughout the next four weeks, you make better financial decisions. right now, you could be a broke college student, but once that refund check hits you'll have plans to celebrate halloween the right way! if you plan on drinking/going out in between then, make sure that you don't drink too much. you could burn yourself out that way. and for those who are underaged, please for the love of god, dress up with your family! some of you may have a tradition where you have a family group halloween costume. you might think it's lame but years down the line, what will you have to show for it? the 'it' being your dedication to family. it's better to cringe than to be regretful.

cards used: 5 of discs. 10 of cups. 4 of discs. king of swords.

pile two: this is my introverted pile for sure. boredom sucks, doesn't it? it's time to find peace in that though. be grateful for your current circumstances because things are about to start looking up for you. it's about the little things that will lead to the big things, even if it means being uncomfortable. if there is a chance for you to go party, then do that. you will meet someone at this party who is well-connected with someone that will invite you to their halloween party. if you're more into small-gatherings/quieter settings, attend a movie/poetry night at your school if that exists. the outcome will be the same. you don't try hard enough. an object in motion stays in motion. let's get the ball rolling, shall we?

cards used: 4 of cups. 9 of cups. death. princess of discs. 9 of discs. prince of cups.

pile three: you have wayyy too much on your plate. it's time to start breaking things into sections. some of you could be contemplating your next hairstyle, get something that will last past halloween! get a hairstyle that is low maintenance and versatile, preferably something that is not in your face. it is best that you take a tolerance break right now. find some more productive things to do. the best thing for you to do is to stay sober at this time. you could be prone to psychotic/mental breakdowns + episodes. some of you have nightmares around halloween annually. try not to overstimulate yourself by multitasking. just do one thing at a time. lastly, if you hold a leadership position, don't be afraid to try a new method or let someone else take the lead. it is okay to be a student.

cards used: king of discs. temperance. 9 of swords. princess of swords.

pile four: embrace escapism! you are so uptight, pile four. you just need a night on the town to help with that. your friends may clown you for doing things that would be considered "ladylike" or "mature". that's just your prerogative. however, you are the only one stopping you from letting loose. a good pregame session would do you something good! some of you may attend church on halloween, but this year you may want to do something different. it's okay to want to explore. you're the antithesis to pile three. it is best for you to just go with the flow this halloween season. do something out of the ordinary.

cards used: 8 of wands. 5 of wands. the moon. the hanged man.

[inspiringgrowth]

We Men Are Wired for Strength

Part of what it means to be male and to be a man in general involves strength; being strong and using the strength to do things. It gets even better when we do things that benefit not only ourselves but others as well. And as we get stronger, we naturally want to do more of this being a constructive part of people's lives. It's a great feeling when we engage in this process. I saw it in my father and as I get stronger and more upright, I'm seeing it in myself.

As I get stronger people around me seem to be taking notice. Not only in my looks but also in my helpful, loving and positive actions.

I'm psyched; however, I wasn't always this way. In fact, my life started off lacking strength and health. I was frequently sick, weak and in pain. I became depressed and others around me not seeing what they expected, behaved badly toward me. There were times when I returned home from school with blood streaming down my face as my peers would hit me with their books and even rocks. Not everyone was like this. There were compassionate people I could connect with, and I am grateful for them. They gave me hope.

On an aside, to this day I don't know for sure why other kids wanted to hurt me. Did my having a different ethnic background bother them? Was it my physical weakness? Was it because I was traumatized by the violence around me? Or was it just meant to be. . . I know one thing; it drew me close to God.

Even so, four years ago, it all came to a head and in a burst of anger. I through a very large heavy object. The movement ended up herniating one of the discs in my back. The pain was unbearable. I kept pressing on though hoping and believing that God would get me through it. It was very difficult to do my work but my work at the time was all I had going for me, so I pressed on through the pain.

I also went to physical therapy and did the exercises prescribed. At first it was minimally helpful. Then 6 months ago the PT said she was moving to another state. She said to me that even though my core was much stronger after 4 years of doing the exercises, I still had pain and perhaps it would benefit me to go to a gym and start lifting weights and maybe even start a bodybuilding program. It was her idea that the muscles around my core needed to be built up. She gave me strict guidelines to prevent aggravating the disc. I agreed and got started. Within 3 months of consistent diet and exercise as prescribed, all the pain receded.

This was a huge turning point for me. I am now stronger and healthier than I have ever been. I am so happy to not only do things for myself without pain, but I can also help others with this newfound strength and energy. I feel great!

We men are wired for strength and the more we get stronger and use our strength to help others the more we are who we were made to be. We get this strength by keeping our eyes on God and working consistently on ourselves while helping others.

[skyboxeye]

Capturing the ambience of 007: Quantum of Solace (2008)

This James Bond adventure built on the Call of Duty engine also visits the major locales of Casino Royale. Many of the game's settings are presented with bonus atmosphere compared to their silver screen counterparts.

This guide will explore the PC and Xbox 360 releases.

Running the game

Obtain a valid DVD copy of QoS on eBay or another secondary seller. If this is impossible you can try your luck on trusted "Abandonware" download sites. According to the Project: Consolation community, Flatout keys can be used to activate QoS.

QoS uses the antiquated Games for Windows platform. You may need to set that up independently of the game before first run. There is also a 1.1 patch you should install - as always check PCGamingWiki for information on these, and other concerns.

Extracting PC sounds

You can decompress the PC version's FF ("fast file") archives with offzip.

offzip.exe -a common.ff 0

When opening and searching the results with a hex editor, you'll notice the names of level-specific sound effects e.g. vibrating_rattle.wav. These mark the starting point for the relevant asset's data.

You can copy-paste that data into a file, but of course the file will also need a proper header to become playable. According to the same guide, we can then use Audacity's "raw data" import, followed by an export, to give it one.

Another approach to adding headers is vgmstream's TXTH system. These files tell vgmstream how to interpret headerless binary data as audio. Here is the best TXTH I came up with for PC:

codec = IMA sample_rate = 44100 channels = 1 interleave = 0 num_samples = data_size

This almost works but it's not quite right - there's obvious clipping. Perhaps our decoding bit-depth is off. I suspect this has something to do with IMA being a 4-bit specification but couldn't figure it out. It's definitely some kind of ADPCM though. The Xbox 360 equivalent may use XMA2 - more investigation is needed.

Exploring CoD Tools

Reverse-engineering legend ID-Daemon created tools for extracting models from this game, but not sounds.

There's also a tool called Greyhound, which is a continuation of Wraith, a well-known Call of Duty asset extractor. From what I can tell, it's capable of recognizing models and animations from QoS but not sounds.

Tom Crowley's tool is a popular extractor for FF archives. He also offers a Black Ops Sound tool, but neither of these does anything when QoS's FF archives are dragged into it.

Another tool I found, Chronic's Black Ops WAV Extractor, is no longer available. There's no indication that it supports QoS anyway.

Extracting 360 sounds

Let's turn our attention to the 360 version's sounds. Fortuitously, we can find XMA ambient streams in the disc's amb folder. The game's common sound effects (e.g. impacts and footsteps) are also located here, in their respective directories.

However, *some* per-mission sounds are kept inside each zone's FF archive (example: while passenger_walla_01 from Montenegro Train is present, the martini rattling is not). FF tools written for Call of Duty games don't seem to be able to open 360's FFs, either (even after decompressing with offzip).

Since we only had most of the audio assets extracted, it arguably makes sense to record sound in-game, to make sure we don't miss something. If nothing else, the amb assets are still useful to help identify loop points - for example we know the Science Center rooftop is about 3mins of rain.

Capturing footage

Speedrun.com hosts a few tools that are useful for modifying camera parameters and position. Download CabooseSayzWTF's Mod Menu and use its noclip command to capture footage from any position on the map. Its somewhat unintuitive controls are documented in the archive's README file.

You should also use the FoV and FPS unlocker tool. Presumably this is the same one hosted on PCGamingWiki.

To hide the UI, press Tab to open Bond's phone and capture the first frame afterwards (easiest to do with a video capture). You can use portions of this HUD-less frame as an overlay to your footage. Of course this only works if the picture is static underneath.

This overlay trick can also be used to address flickering windows e.g. on White's Estate and Casino.

Alternatively, we can use the Reshade ShaderToggler add-on to disable the HUD shader from drawing. However, this seems to interfere with some shadow renders as well.

Because of these complexities and drawbacks, you may simply choose to crop out the HUD.

Putting it all together

Combine Xbox 360 ambient assets, image overlays, and captured footage as desired.

Appendix 1: Other notable QoS mods

There are other projects in-progress to improve the game.

Appendix 2: Other FF extraction tools

iw_ff_extract recognizes the mission scripts and some other files inside deflated FFs, but not sounds.

[magiamemoriareview]

The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything

Obtainability: This memoria is limited to the Ranked Mirrors memoria gacha.

Single Effect: Attack Down [20%] & MP Gain Down [45%] (All Enemies / 1 Turn)

MLB Effect: Attack Down [25%] & MP Gain Down [50%] (All Enemies / 1 Turn)

Effect Definitions:

Attack Down is a Debuff that will decrease the target’s base attack.

MP Gain Down will decrease the target’s MP Gain when using discs, when they’re attacked, or when they activate a skill that gives them MP Restore.

TLDR: "The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything" is a very specialized memoria that is excellent for Ranked Mirrors, but only if you're in for a prolonged fight. If you don't care about Ranked then you should feel no pressure to roll for this memoria.

Review: Apologies ahead of time, this will be a long review.

This is yet another good Ranked memoria. It qualifies as a stat stick with its high def passive stats, it offers a decent amount of Attack Down, and it will decrease the amount of MP gained by the enemy's team-- all things you want when trying to protect your team and prevent enemy magia/doppels.

Before going further, we need to compare this memoria to other memos in the game to examine why this is so good for Ranked, especially as we'll see that some memoria are better than it in other areas.

First we should note that this isn't the highest Attack Down memoria in the game, nor does it come close to being so:

(Limited 4*) “Even Games Are Serious” Attack Down [65%] (One / 1 Turn) & Defense Up [52.5%] (Self / 1 Turn)  

(Limited 4*) “The True Gift Was the Smile” Attack Down [65%] & Dazzle [100%] (One / 1 Turn)

(Limited 4*) “For This Fine Day” Attack Down [50%] & Damage Down [45%] (One / 1 Turn)

(4*) “The Way Home after the Rain (Mito)” Attack Down [50%] & Defense Down [45%] (All / 1 Turn)

(4*) “Hiding the Real Me” Attack Down [50%] (One / 1 Turn) & Skill Quicken [100%] (Self / 1 Turn)

(Limited 4*) “Ascending Cherry Blossom Front” Attack Down [35%] & Magia Seal [100%] (One / 1 turn)

(Limited 3*) “Light Attributed Characters” Attack Down [35%] & Dazzle [45%] (One / 1 turn)

(3*) “The Way Home after the Rain (Leila)” Attack Down [35%] & Darkness [100%] (One / 1 Turn)

(4*) “An Inhabitant from Another World” Attack Down [30%] & Charm [42.5%] (All / 1 turn)

(Limited 3*) “Keep Promises in the Heart” Attack Down [30%] & Defense Down [30%] (One / 1 Turn)

(Limited 3*) “A Place of Ease” Attack Down [30%] (All / 1 Turn)

(2*) “Busy After School” Attack Down [30%] (One / 1 Turn)

(Limited 4*) “The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything” Attack Down [25%] & MP Gain Down [50%] (All Enemies / 1 Turn)

(Limited 4*) “The End of an Ordinary Day” Attack Down [25%] & Magia Damage Down [50%] (All Enemies / 1 Turn)

(Limited 4*) “Lively Summer (Momoko/Mitama)” Attack Down [25%] & Magia Damage Down [30%] (All / 1 Turn)

(Limited 3*) “Floating in the Starry Sky” Attack Down [25%] (One / 1 Turn) & Defense Up [15%] (Self / 1 Turn)

(Limited 3*) “Changing into Swimsuits” Attack Down [25%] & Charm [35%] (All / 1 Turn)

(Limited 3*) “It Seems I Wasn't Good Enough” Attack Down [20%] & MP Gain Down [25%] (All / 1 Turn)

(2*) “Towards the End” Attack Down [20%] (Target / 3 Turns)

(Limited 3*) “Passing Dreams” Attack Down [10%] & Damage Down [10%] (One / 3 Turns)

There are many memoria that offer more Attack Down than this one does, including the ever-popular Mito Rain. However, what makes this memoria so good is that inclusion of MP Gain Down, where it tops the list:

(Limited 4*) “The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything” MP Gain Down [50%] & Attack Down [25%] (All Enemies / 1 Turn)

(4*) “What Flavor Is Break Time (Touka)” MP Gain Down [50%] (All / 1 Turn)

(Limited 4*) “Wishing for the Final Act” MP Gain Down [40%] (One / 3 turns)

(Limited 4*) “The Beginning Is Here” MP Gain Down [40%] (One / 3 turns)

(Limited 3*) “It Seems I Wasn't Good Enough” MP Gain Down [25%] & Attack Down [20%] (All / 1 Turn)

(3*) “The One Who Waits” MP Gain Down [25%] (All / 3 turns)

Notably, "What Flavor is Break Time (Touka)" (which we will just refer to now as "Touka Tea") has the same amount of MP Gain Down offered. Obviously, "The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything" is going to be better than "Touka Tea" given that it has the same exact effect at the same percentage with a higher passive DEF stat and an additional secondary buff with a lower cooldown to boot, but you should consider that "Touka Tea" is unlimited. That means, for most players, it's more probable that one will have it max-awakened, and a max-awakened "Touka Tea" will have better stats and effects than a single copy of "The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything". However, even a non max-awakened copy of "The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything" is still good, having 45% MP Gain Down.

Put together, owe have a memoria that is a decent way of making the enemy team deal less damage for one turn and gain less mp. There are other memoria in the game that offer way more Attack Down, including the very accessible "Mito Rain" and the newly released "I'll Have You Cooperate," but the amount of Attack Down offered by "The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything" isn't necessarily bad. What really stands out is its amount of MP Gain Down, sharing the top spot with the unlimited "Touka Tea" but with the addition of its Attack Down and a shorter cooldown.

With that, we can see that the true draw of this memoria is its MP Gain Down, not the Attack Down. The Attack Down is an excellent bonus, but that MP Gain Down is what really makes it shine.

This makes it an excellent memoria for content like the Hundred Evils, where you'll want to prevent enemies from gaining Magia. It also makes it perfect for Ranked Mirrors.

Note that for Ranked Mirrors, you need this memoria to be max-awakened and max-leveled. You need that short cooldown for it to work properly and you're going to want those stats as high as possible so that it can work as a stat stick.

Stat Sticks are Active memoria that beef up a character’s passive DEF through its stats, not its effects. These kind of memoria are helpful in Mirrors, where some Actives serve little more than, well, “stat sticks.” This blog considers anything about 2200 DEF a Stat Stick. Note that the memoria needs to be Max Awakened to qualify as a Stat Stick.

A cooldown at five turns means that the memoria will be usable at the start of round three in mirrors (or even less than that if used on a character with Skill Quicken in their Spirit Enhancement). In prolonged fights, that means you can continue to debuff the enemy's mp gain along with debuffing their attack power.

This is especially notable as many units with debuffs on their active Spirit Enhancement will only last between 1 - 3 turns. This includes characters such as Darkness Mitama, Mitsuru Inami, Akuma Homura-chan, and Amaryllis; all who see popular play in Ranked. You don't want their debuffs on the enemy team to run out with nothing to back them up afterwards if you're in for a prolonged fight. You need to be able to follow up with something that will keep your characters safe.

Of course that doesn't mean you can't also use this memoria before round 3-- you can, especially in emergencies. But it's excellent to have on hand for when your potential debuffs run out.

Of course, as you're reading this memoria review you can also probably see how this memoria is tightly made for one area of the game in particular. Meaning: if you are not using a very specific strategy for a very specific part of the game (Ranked Mirrors) then this memoria is not necessary to acquire. Using "The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything" assumes that you:

Care About Ranked Mirrors

Are using a gameplay strategy that will extend how many rounds you fight

Have the slots necessary to consider even getting this memoria

Are whale enough to care about having the best possible memoria on your team

Are whale enough to max-awaken this extremely niche memoria so it's actually usable.

If none of that applies to you... then there's no point to grabbing this memo.

There are better Attack Down (and Damage Down) memoria you can acquire, and "Touka Tea" will work just fine if you need MP Gain Down in PVE content such as Hundred Evils.

Overall, this is a very good but very specific memoria. Unless you are a hyper-whale who is aiming for S3 with Ranked Mirrors and you can guarantee max-awakening "The Scenery of the Hospital Room is Everything," you shouldn't feel the urge to roll for it.

[horse-girl-anthy]

okay, done with the liveblog for the night. I will probably finish the game tomorrow. if you want to watch a playthrough, click here. beneath the cut is the instructions my friend Marsh put together for how to play the game. he's the only reason I'm able to right now! I will say, however, that I had additional tech issues with getting the game set up. if you run into an error, you can message me and I'll see if I can help with it. I had to download new software from the Microsoft store.

This guide is for Windows. I have no experience with Macs, so I cannot help.

You need to download multiple files to run the Utena game. I included links to the downloads I used:

1. Utena game files (https://www.dropbox.com/s/s9kjp7smf1izh6g/Utena_Sega1.rar?dl=0, https://www.dropbox.com/s/6llr2tcsaybmysh/Utena_Sega2.rar?dl=0)

                The original Utena game was split into two discs, so the downloadable files available on the internet are also split in two. You will need to download both. There might be downloads where people have managed to combine the two disks into one, but I don't know how trustworthy they are.

2. Virtual Clonedrive (https://www.elby.ch/en/products/vcd.html)

                This software takes game isos and "mounts" them into a virtual drive. This is how you trick your computer into thinking that you have inserted the game disk.

3. SSF 0.12 beta R3 (https://emutopia.com/index.php/emulators/item/297-sega-saturn/416-ssf scroll and select SFF 0.12 beta R3)

                This is the emulator. You can use other versions of this emulator but I have heard that this one is most reliable for this game.

4. Translator (https://mega.nz/file/ywtDzDza#ZXNxaD4q2V-PBY4w126FHCqOkVmnWzGWeIOJQkbrzz4)

                Translates game into english. Really easy to use, and comes with instructions that can help guide you through the emulation process. Note: I cannot get the name portion to work and this doesn't translate everything, just the most important parts.

5. Winrar (https://www.win-rar.com/start.html?&L=0)

                Several files download as .rar and will not open correctly without this.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.            Virtual Clonedrive downloads as an .exe file. Open file and finish the install and it will be done.

2.            Translator files and game files are .rar format. Make a folder somewhere on computer, with a name that is easy for you to find or remember. Extract the Utena game files, and translator files to this folder. Translator will not work if all these files are not in same folder.

3.            Emulator files are in a zip folder. Extract to somewhere easy to find. Doesn't need to be in same location as translator and game files.

4. Open folder with game and translator files. There is a word file called Instructions. Open that and follow what is written there to translate the game. If done correctly, you will have two files that say Utena_English1 and Utena_English2.

5.            Right click Utena_English1 and click "Mount".

6.            Go to the extracted emulator files. Double click SSF application. The Utena game should start playing once this application is opened.

7.            The controls are kinda weird. The arrow keys move the cursor around, enter is the start/menu button, and z is the select button.