#so-vits

[tomatetoro]

a test of haru ai on sovits! he's at 24k steps,, he's able to stretch out longer notes now which is rlly cool >:3 i think i wanna train him more tho in my freetime

[delicourse]

fall but blue

[wistaliia]

i dusted off my chat noir drawing skills to make this for u

[vitaecryptid]

When I think about how Ratio shows affection, I think it's quiet. There are no grand gestures or sappy, traditional signs of affection. While Veritas Ratio won't necessarily buy someone roses, he will do a thousand small things for them. For instance, when inviting a partner over, he would take their coat and hang it up for them. He would adjust the temperature of they needed. As they talked about, he would be attentive. Perhaps he would run them a hot bath or make them food if they're hungry. When this meets Aventurine, I feel like it is the same, however some things need to be more obvious. Gentle kisses to his knuckles, a warm, reassuring hand on the back of his neck, a palm on his lower back. Veritas Ratio is private, but within his privacy he is gentle, attentive, and provides affection in his own, quiet ways.

[knuts-and-bolts]

MAJOR Arcane s2 spoilers!!!

IM SORRY KING PRINCESS WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE???? KING PRINCESS SONG IN THE CAITVI SESBIAN LEX SCENE HELLO IM FUCKING LOSING IT!!!!! CAITVI ENDGAME THERE IS A GOD AND SHE IS MERCIFUL

[leezuhh]

it's crazy to me that there are people out there who still think that media and fiction do not affect how people think at all

[ghostvalley2]

i already feel the seasonal affective disorder so bad. nothing has felt enjoyable today, even my fav ever video game and my freshly ground coffee. i'm ashamed that i feel so bad when it's only been autumn for ONE week. idk what to do with the rest of it this sucks

[tchaikovskym]

*Giggling under blankets* they don't know vitamin D is a catalyst in serotonin synthesis, that's why standing under the sun can make you feel better

*giggling intensifies* they also don't know melatonin is synthesised from serotonin. Therefore, you can sleep a bit better if you stand under the sun for some time

*evil laughter* they also don't know that this whole serotonin-metabolism chain starts with tryptophan and that you should eat protein not only to build muscle mass but also to just feel like an okay human being

*villain theme music starts* they also don't know that most of serotonin and melatonin is actually in the gut and if you're low on protein or vitamin D you can have tummy problems because of that

*epic chorus* vitamin D dissolves in fat therefore if you're taking supplements you might notice that a lot of them are somehow mixed with oil. But you can do the trick of adding fat to your diet to make it dissolve better

*the end*

[slova-the-necromancer]

a dive into the symbolism in "forged in fog"

exactly how the title of the post sounds, i have this so insanely on the mind and i wanted it in a slightly easier format than google docs to have accessible. while i'm at it, too, i'd like to share my thoughts and possibly hear others on the matter. more specifically, this is about tome 14, so..yappening under the cut.

SO. when i was in between classes today, i was looking at tarhos's tome armor/the rift outfit that you got for that tome. most notably, taking a magnifying glass to the symbolic concept of "hear no evil/see no evil" represented in the helmet, and looking a lot at the in-game description saying something along the lines of how he was made to wear that by his lord. see below, looking at the hands over the ears and the eyes.

this led me down a REALLY deep rabbit hole in regards to the origins of this old western proverb that we are all so familiar with, and most notably at first, i found 2.

the four wise monks from buddhism, dating back to ancient china. practicing right mindfulness, right speech, right action, and right livelihood.

from that concept in buddhism came another interpretation from 14th century japan, the three wise monkeys. mizaru, roughly meaning "does not see," kikazaru, or "does not hear," and iwazaru, or "does not speak.

the problem i found with trying to link these interpretations back to the tome is that neither of these have any relation to the italian renaissance. the italian renaissance was, obviously, a christian/catholic renaissance. at this point in history, buddhism was very largely untouched by the west, and this held true until around the 19th century. this isn't even BEGINNING to count the isolationist policies of 14th century southeast asia. apologies if some stuff here is wrong, this is NOT my field of study!

this is a problem because, as we know, tarhos and vittorio are dated from 1391, and historians pretty generally agree that the renaissance has its origins in the 14th century. it's really more...the span of the renaissance that's argued. there's some pretty blatant symbolism here that doesn't make MUCH sense to have reached 14th century italy, even for a nobleman such as vittorio who, like most, was probably a sponsor in the arts and exploration. by this point in my research, i really just started bitching about the historical accuracy-- or rather, inaccuracy-- and how BHVR really seems to prioritize aesthetics over period-relevance.

BUT!!! a little bit more reading brought me to look further into confucius and his teachings!

according to national geographic, "The main idea of Confucianism is the importance of having a good moral character, which can affect the world around a person through the idea of cosmic harmony. This moral character is achieved through the virtue of ren, or 'humanity,' which leads to more virtuous behaviors, such as respect, altruism and humility." so huh! just based on that, it really kind of feels like we're onto something based on the characterization of vittorio that BHVR gives us. (from what i'm aware of, i'm more of a tarhos guy)

confucius writes in The Analects in chapter 12, "Yen Yuan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "To subdue one's self and return to propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day subdue himself and return to propriety, an under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice of perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from others?' Yen Yuan said, 'I beg to ask the steps of that process.' The Master replied, 'Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety.' Yen Yuan then said, 'Though I am deficient in intelligence and vigor, I will make it my business to practice this lesson.'" i feel like this in and of itself can be seen as symbolic of best-case scenario tarhos and vittorio, because it is ABUNDANTLY clear that this path to enlightenment is virtually nonexistent for the former-- tarhos is more the one prattling on and on about foolishness towards vittorio, not himself. but here we see the roots that buddhism and, by extension, japanese philosophy both pull from, confucius defining propriety as "proper behavior and interactions."

from here, i made an effort to link this idea back to the italian renaissance. it's all speculation of whether or not there was really any confucian influence in the italian/european renaissance-- we're looking at a time about 400-ish years before deistic teachings emerged (god as the secondary driving force, morality and humanity first and foremost as the number one influence. think martin luther and voltaire). here, we're looking more at very early/preliminary enlightenment, so very philosophical, less scientific. i won't say objective because NOTHING in history is objective. here's what we know in regards to possible relevance:

confucian's teachings weren't really translated until the 17th century by the jesuits.

in the later half of the 13th century, the polos returned to venice after a few excursions to china, reaching as far as what is known now as modern day beijing.

in the mid-to-late-ish 14th century, there was a cessation of european roman-catholic missionaries and merchants from china after establishment of the ming dynasty, and reestablishment of ethnic han rule.

it feels a little bit like a big nothing burger here, so at this point, i'm kind of about ready to throw my hands up and say whatever, i'm putting more thought into this than BHVR has.

now, i'll run through the actual interpretations of the proverb, much less "how did they even KNOW about this??"

the proverb has multiple meanings, as many ideas in philosophy do.

from a glass half full standpoint, we can look at it like...this is the peak of spiritual consciousness. living with an awareness of what we take in, what we see, what we hear, how we act, and what we say. we have the power, as the individual, to choose to see what is right with people, as opposed to what is wrong with them.

from a glass half empty standpoint, this can all be taken the exact same way but sort of flipped on its head a little bit. instead of the active choice being made by the individual to do all of these things, it can be seen as practicing willful ignorance. seeing the bad in making the choice to not acknowledge wrongdoing, to ignore the world around us, to pick and choose the things and ideas that confirm our biases of human nature and the "inherent goodness" of people.

both of these interpretations for SURE apply greatly to the forged in fog lore in general. again, not a vittorio guy, but i see him more as the former, seeking enlightenment and knowledge and doing so peacefully, while tarhos's criticisms of him and of noble society is the latter.

tarhos views the nobles and the knights as cowards that are shielding themselves from and wrapping themselves in the security of this idea of justice, choosing only to see and hear the good when their actions and legacies are just absolutely...bathed in blood. a bloody legacy that they are choosing to ignore. people who practice willful ignorance being so far up on their own high horse that they just can't look down and see the people that they are trampling into the ground. tarhos as this superior moral being-- how he KNOWS he's evil and he doesn't deny it, but it's the fact that these same exact people pick and choose what to praise him for. this begs the questions from him...what makes the atrocities he commits righteous and honorable? is it only worthy of praise when he's receiving a paycheck for them?

FINALLY getting into the design of the armor now holy shittt.

all of those ideas, ultimately leading up to THIS, is why BHVR's choice of depicting the physical representation of this proverb onto tarhos-- the exact OPPOSITE of someone that would willingly uphold these ideals-- is so unbelievably interesting to me. the personification of see no evil and hear no evil forced onto him by his employer, who he views as some...self-righteous douchebag, and what to him, feels like just downright ignorance and foolishness.

in the video, too, we see tarhos committing these atrocities that are outlined in the tome lore. he's killing, pillaging, thieving, what have you, and by the end of it?

a VERY VERY nice and up close and personal shot of that helmet, of that symbol of good morals and proper conduct, of propriety. we see the streaks on the hands covering the eyes, honestly probably dripping blood but also looks veiny and reminiscent of like...corruption and how that's depicted in art, or maybe some cracks in the visage we see. and then, the zoom out shot of him stabbing the sword into the man, giving us a pretty clear juxtaposition of just absolutely bastardizing and twisting this ideal that stems from good faith.

the final shot that we see at the end of the video gives us a good view of the cape, too. on it is what is universally know as the scales of justice, but we can see that the scales are tipped-- and i know that's not just the cape moving because you can see it earlier on in the video, too, this is just a more clear shot of him walking away from the scene. i unfortunately got a not great screenshot of the cape being a little straighter ough. justice in a literal representation of the ideals of vittorio, yes, but also, perhaps a new, metaphorical representation of the scales of justice tipped in favor of tarhos's idea of what it means? of the way that he views himself as the judge, jury, and executioner? like this decision of his is what weighs the scales down in his favor.

fin.

if anyone made it this far, i'd be happy to hear any other thoughts! of course, this is non-exhaustive-- again, in regards to the history of it, not my circus, not my monkeys, i'm just a guy that likes the knight a little bit too much. plus i myself might expand on this some more and edit it a little, too, because in my lots and lots of searching, i saw arguments that the "virtue politics" of the italian renaissance have some striking similarities to confucianism. my school library has a book on that that i'm planning on taking out later this week.

TLDR; i crave historical accuracy, and pieces of lore that i can put together like a puzzle. in regards to accuracy, it feels like BHVR took 3 different puzzles together in a box and just shook it up. historical accuracy aside though, the symbolism is SO GOOD. yum yum yum BHVR please release the knight cosmetic in the shop already.

[ponku-po]

SWEETIE BOT - HELLO WORLD - Makaryo

[puckpocketed]

9/08/2024 - SWE vs CZE - Hlinka Gretzky Cup Semi-Final #1

Adam Benák dishes through traffic over the goalie's pads -> Vít Záhejský scores a goal for team Czechia.

[ID: a series of gifs. Team Czechia vs Team Sweden in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup 2024. Czechia is on the power play. Adam Benák (CZE #17) stands on the goal line down low and handles the puck several times. Malte Vass (SWE #6) stands guard in front of the crease with his stick ready to intercept a pass. Love Härenstam (SWE #30) seals the post, expecting a shot. Benák passes the puck with force, lifting it over Härenstam's pad and sending it across the crease to Vít Záhejský (CZE #8). Vít Záhejský wastes no time, shooting the puck at the net blocker-side. Team Czechia scores a goal. /. End ID]

[toucansafari]

I slept for 7 hours and I'm still sleepy ://

[gintrinsic-writing]

The brown paper bag was small and nondescript. It crinkled in Legend’s fist. 

“So?” Sky asked quietly. “What did the doctor say?”

“It’s not bad,” Legend answered with a shrug. He sounded calm despite the tension in his shoulders. Sky was immediately on edge. 

“Meaning?”

“I’m deficient in vitamin B.”

“And?”

“That’s it,” Legend assured him. “Everything else checked out.”

“Everything? Because Hyrule said—”

“I know what he said, I was there,” Legend muttered dryly. “It’s hard to forget words like ‘degenerative neuropathy’ when you’re falling asleep.”

Sky winced. “Sorry.”

Legend waved his apology aside. “Don’t be. The doctor mentioned similar possibilities, but no, it’s just a vitamin issue.”

It sounded almost too good to be true. “And that can cause…?”

“The tingling, numbness and tiredness?” Legend snorted. “Apparently.”

Sky slouched forward in relief. “Thank Hylia.” They’d been so worried the past few weeks. Legend already dealt with chronic pain issues, but lately he’d been having sensory problems even when sitting, standing, or holding a weapon. Sky had been the one to suggest that they stop in a city to find someone trained in modern medicine when potions hadn’t improved anything. “I take it there’s a medication?” he asked, nodding to the brown paper bag.

Some of the tension returned to Legend’s shoulders. “Yeah.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Legend.”

“Sky.” Legend mimicked his tone. 

“What’s the issue? Does it taste bad?”

Legend turned the bag over and dumped its contents on one of the inn’s beds. Sky spotted several small vials and syringes. “It’s a monthly injection, since my gut apparently isn’t absorbing vitamins properly.”

“Oh. Is that… bad?”

“Of course not,” Legend said quickly. “It’ll take two seconds. It’s more of a minor inconvenience than anything else.”

Sky pursed his lips. “Do you want me to give you the first one?”

This time, Legend blushed. “No. It’s just a needle. I’ve had much worse.”

“I know.”

“I know you know,” Legend griped, still blushing. He suddenly reached over to fill one of the syringes. The liquid was a pleasant cherry red. When he lifted one side of his tunic to expose his hip, Sky glanced away to be polite. Seconds passed, and Sky waited… 

And waited.

Legend abruptly giggled, and Sky glanced up just in time to see him slap his free hand over his mouth. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Don’t look!” Legend blurted. 

Sky immediately glanced away again. “Are you sure…?”

“I’m,” Legend stopped to giggle once more. “F-fine!” He cleared his throat, though his voice remained just shy of laughter. “I’m fine. It’s just a needle. I’m. fine.”

“You’re fine,” Sky repeated pleasantly. 

“It’s just a needle.”

“Right, you said that.”

Legend laughed. “In my leg.”

“Yes...”

“This is my leg.”

“Goddess, Legend, are you sure you don’t want me to do it?” Sky asked, finally looking over.

Legend’s cheeks were flushed pink, and his expression kept ping-ponging between a frown and a nervous grin. The needle hovered just millimeters over his skin. “No! I’m doing it!” 

Sky raised his hands slowly. “Okay, how about—Don’t do it blind!”

“Too late!” Legend exclaimed, staring at an ugly portrait on the wall as he jabbed the needle into his hip. He sighed in relief as soon as it was done, then calmly glanced down as he finished sliding the hub against his skin. After drawing back on the syringe to make sure he wasn’t in a vessel, he injected himself and withdrew the needle. “Din’s fiery balls,” he grumbled. “That sucked.”

Sky felt like he had whiplash. “She doesn't—You—”

“Glad that’s done with,” Legend said as if he hadn't made the entire experience as dramatic as possible. He capped the used needle and set it aside. “Where are the others? Is there a plan for dinner yet?”

Sky shook his head at him. “Why did you look away?”

“That was my leg.”

“Yes,” Sky groaned, “so you said.”

“I just can’t watch it go in. Gives me the heebs,” Legend told him seriously. “Once the needle’s broken through the skin, I’m good.”

“Just… let one of us inject you next month.”

“That sounds worse.”

“But then you don’t have to watch,” Sky pointed out. 

“Yeah, true…”

“You’re not going to let us, are you?”

“No chance in hell,” Legend confirmed with a nod. 

[daisychainsandbowties]

rescued small kitten today from a farm. they think she toppled out of some hay and got separated from her siblings 🥺🥺

found her covered in mud and very very very cold but now she has a hot water bottle and four people arguing over what we should call her

[castielsprostate]

im like. super worried about my health rn and i dont know why (ignore the very weird spot(??) i have on my finger, the way my hair feels thinner and FEELS like it falls out more, the insane stomach thing i have/had, my consistent headaches, the feeling i constantly have to throw up, and my aching joints and cramps). im fine probably

[breadsticksandcheese]

also also i had the worst depressive period of my life this year so i decided to actually go to the gp and get that sorted and jm not on therapy or anything yet bUT i did get a vit D injeftion (i was really low 😭😭😭) and i havent had an oopsy thought since!!! insane tjay i jusy had to go outside more