#I know it's learnable skills

[dkettchen]

My most male trait is the "ye I can do that" attitude abt stuff I have no means of actually knowing whether I can do

[amethystamanda]

The Culinary Librarian Aspiration by Keksdrache Updated

Another aspiration I was asked to update. This was last updated in 2020 and needed some updates to match the way the game does things now and to add some newer options. You can see the original here.

I made some changes. A decent amount of changes. Some were to make the mod work at all. Some were to remove overrides--there were many overrides, and now there are none. Some were because once I removed the overrides, parts no longer worked as I assume they did, and I don't understand how they did work then, because they shouldn't have. Keksdrache did a good job getting it to work, but it makes no sense to me that it did. As a side effect, I fixed an issue that existed in the aspiration from the start--it now works even if you already know the recipes.

From the original description (along with the picture at the top):

The Culinary Librarian Lifetime Wish in Sims 3 has always been one of my favourite, despite not beeing updated for all the expansions added recipes. I wanted something similar for the Sims 4 so I created this custom aspiration. To make it a bit more interesting I made objectives that require the player to cook certain dishes with either high skill requirements in different skills or special ingredients. And of course you will have to eat tons of food to learn all the recipes from San Myshuno, Brindleton Bay, the experimental dishes and Selvadora! Description: There is a vast array of recipes to prepare for hungry guests and famished family members. By mastering the cooking skills and perusing the food stalls for recipes, your Sim can become a walking library of culinary expertise. The aspiration can be found in the Food category and therefor gives the Essence of Flavor Bonus Trait.

Level 1: Grandma's Cookbook

Prepare a Honey Cake or a Signature Cake

Decorate Pastries 3 Times

Cook Emotional Meals 3 Times

Learn and cook all Recipes from Food Stalls in Brindleton Bay

Level 2: Culture Shock

Survive Pufferfish Nigiri

Learn and make the two bar drinks from Henford-on-Bagley

Learn and cook all Food and Bar Drink Recipes from Food Stalls in Selvadorada

Learn and cook the Indian, Moroccan, Vietnamese, and Filipino Recipes in San Myshuno

Level 3: Dine Out

Learn and cook the Japanese, Mexican, and Chinese Recipes in San Myshuno

Learn and cook all Experimental Food Recipes

Learn and make all of the Food and Bar Drink Recipes from Batuu

Cook Popcorn Crickets or Bombadier Beetle Stir Fry, or make Beetle Juice at a bar

Level 4: The Spice of Life

Prepare Plasma Fruit Salad or Superfood Salad

Bake Alien Fruit Tarts or Cowplant Essence Meringue Pie

Cook Ambrosia

Eat Boiling Death Frog Hot Pot

Important info:

See updates below for some info that was previously here.

Have to cook multi-serving meals when they're available, not single serving. 4 or 8 is fine, but not one.

The reason that it's now learn and cook is that it was originally done using a statistic, and that statistic would not work when done as an injection. It may have worked if I left it as an override and just updated that, but that's not a thing I can do. It would need constant updating and conflict with too many things. Learning is no longer tracked, just that you cook the unlocked recipe.

City Living learnable food stall recipes:

Indian Food Stall (Curry & naan picture): Bhel Puri, Curry, Samosa

Moroccan Food Stall (Tajine picture): Brochette, Merguez, Tajine

Vietnamese Food Stall (Pho picture): Banh Mi, Gui Cuon, Pho

Filipino Food Stall (Rolled food picture): Ensaymada, Lumpia, Pork Adobo, Siopao

Chinese Food Stall (Take-out container picture): Egg Rolls, Mapo Tofu with Pork, Sweet and Sour Eggplant, Sweet and Sour Pork

Japanese Food Stall (Ramen noodles picture): Dango, Nigiri, Pufferfish Nigiri, Ramen

Mexican Food Stall (Desert picture): Bean & Cheese Burrito, Chicken Burrito, Empanadas, Spinach-Wrapped Veggie Burrito, Taquitos, Tomato-Wrapped Veggie Burrito

Compatibility:

Probably compatible with mods that override food.

Maybe compatible with mods that add extra serving sizes.

Probably not compatible with mods that override food stall function, unless they leave the original foods intact.

All of that's a guess. I could be wrong. You're welcome to test in your game and let me know so I can make a note of it.

Updates:

Jan 31, 2025:

Have to cook the food instead of just learning the. This fixes some issues with updating, and also allows sims who already know the recipes to complete the aspiration.

Have to cook multi-serving meals when they're available, not single serving. 4 or 8 is fine, but not one.

Objective got changed around during the updates as a result of the changes.

String tables got altered beyond all recognition.

Added wants.

Pack requirements reduced due to EA starting to follow its own rules since the mod was last updated by Keksdrache.

Feb 7, 2025:

By request, added Batuu recipes, Cottage Living recipes, and Eco Lifestyle recipes.

By request, added Life and Death recipe. You have to eat the Boiling Death Frog Hot Pot, not cook it, because it's not a distinct recipe the way others are. What you get is based on the ingredients used, and the ingredient test I tried didn't work.

Re-organized objectives to accommodate the new recipes, because there is apparently a limit of four levels and four objectives per level.

New strings are added. Some strings are removed.

City Living is now required. Sorry.

Requires Dine Out, Vampires, Spa Day, and City Living.

Strongly encouraged: Cats and Dogs, Get to Work, Jungle Adventure, Seasons, Journey to Batuu, Eco Lifestyle, Cottage Living, and Life and Death, to get the full experience. Any or all of them will add things.

Download: https://www.patreon.com/posts/culinary-by-120354596

[a-s-levynn]

Are you.. planning to do what i think you are planning to do? Because if yes, sign me the fuck up as the most excited person on the planet at this very moment. For real. And don't you dare say you are not an artist. You already made art.

artist /ˈɑːtɪst/ noun noun: artist; plural noun: artists 1. a person who creates paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby.

May i direct your attention to the OR A HOBBY part? You are an artist my friend, either you like it or not.

A Series of Small Offerings

or a Sleep Token prompt list based on lyrics

A 4 part art challenge that can be an extensive several weeks long endeavour or you can pick and choose the part(s) that interest you the most.

Big or small, wonky or beyond artistic, just a scribble or a masterpiece; drawing, sculpture, drabble, full on fanfic or even a piece of music? Everything has a place here so long you enjoy creating it. No offering is too small to be a worthy one. 🫶🏻

Pick one (or even both) of the lines from the given song. Take it as literal or abstract as an inspiration as you feel fitting and let the creativity flow.

Worship. 🙏🏻

(edited version with Shelter added, a line switched for TMBTE, corrected Blood Sport lyrics)

PART I - ONE, TWO and the singles

Thread the Needle

You turn the lights down / Come on and find out or Just look at where we're lying / An invisible space

2. Fields of Elation

The daylight recedes in unison, this room / Buries the hours like death, in motion or And nobody else can pull me out / And the fields of elation, quiet and loamy

3. When the Bough Breaks

We could stay suspended / Even when the bough breaks or You don't really love, you just hate to be alone

4. Calcutta

I sweat and I ache for / Your eyes and the way you breathe or Melting skywards more than silence broken / I'm whole again for just a moment

5. Nazareth

Building you a kingdom / Dripping from the open mouth, [I'll show you] or Manifest pain at the core of pleasure / I'll see you when the wrath comes around

6. Jerico

Tread, ancient water salt / Like I sink, down like precious stones or My hands are not worthy

7. Jaws

The whites of your eyes burn / From across the room or Caged and always provoked / By prey left unattended

8. The Way That You Were

To tear that knife from what once / Would have been dead fingers or And you will no longer / Stand between collapsing walls

PART II - Sundowning

The Night Does Not Belong To God

The whites of your eyes / Turn black in the lowlight in turning divine or And the night comes down like heaven

2. The Offering

And you are a garden, entwined with all / You are the silence on sacred shores or So take a bite, I want to know

3. Levitate

And we imitate a story of perfect days / A ballad we fabricate or Will you levitate / Up where my love doesn't matter?

4. Dark Signs

And where we met, there must have been dark signs / Omens in your skies or And I hate who I have become (I might break and bend to my basic need to be loved and close to somebody)

5. Higher

And we are exhausted by all this pretending / We just can't resist the violence or When you're alone / I am granting you more than / The debt that I owe

6. Take Aim

And it sends me shivers / How you love like weapons kill or Call, won't you call out my name? / Like a curse on this world?

7. Give

I'll tear the fibre from the filament / I'll be the limit of your light again or Want to give you all that I can give / All my darkest impulses

8. Gods

No more teeth to bite with / No more smiling faces i am alone again or Like fire from the heavens / Tearing me asunder beside you

9. Sugar

We still know how to feed / We still know how to bleed or Let me wrap the chains / Addicted to the pain, oh

10. Say That You Will

Is that a glint in your eye? / Is that a blade in your palm? or In this light you are mine

11. Drag Me Under

And I know the gods will abandon the heavens just to find us or Hold me beneath the surface (And I know the angels tonight are as lost for words)

12. Blood Sport

Even if the sky cracks in mourning / And the heavens just won't open up for me or Tangled with what I never said / You say it doesn't matter

13. Shelter

When it rains, you don't take shelter / You don't take signs from God or And as you become part of my waking rituals, I can tell / You gather up all of my demons

PART III - This Place Will Become Your Tomb

Atlantic

Crumble like a temple built from future daughters / To wasteland when the oceans recede or So flood me like Atlantic, weather me to nothing / Wash away the blood on my hands

2. Hypnosis

Lift, oh, lift me out / Of my own skin or Split my skin, no / Just make me bleed

3. Mine

We balance fire in the earth we walk / Will never stop me reaching forth or With colors over all the wasted years / Eternity will bring you near

4. Like That

New weapons to snap those final strings / Just to watch me fall back or Push down into membranes and layers / Creating a slow dissection

5. The Love You Want

Too many swallowed keys / Will make you bleed internally someday, oh or Now keep the freakshow talk / To a careful minimum

6. Fall For Me

In a city of ice there are burning cathedrals / Turning the skies into glass or And I feel like I'm losing touch with what I am again / And slowly I remember why I cannot pretend

7. Alkaline

It's too late for me now, I am altered / There is something beneath or I see in a different light / The objects of my desire

8. Distraction

'Cause I am broken into fractions / Oh, and I am driven to distraction or Something much more than I could ask for

9. Descending

Create, release or My love withers and chokes in perfect awe

10. Telomeres

And we go beyond the farthest reaches / Where the light bends and wraps beneath us or Through death / My arms are open

11. High Water

When the mouth of infinity / Buries its teeth in me or Wash me clean again before I pull myself beneath the waves

12. Missing Limbs

The blessings rain on battles in the heaven's arms or 'Cause it still makes my blood run cold / To remember what I did before

PART IV - Take Me Back To Eden

Chokehold

A sacred guardian or Even if I can't sleep / Oh, and though we act out of our holy duty to be constantly awake

2. The Summoning

A taste of the divine or Take me past the edge / I want to see the other side

3. Granite

Between the second hand smoke and the glass on the street or Never mind the death threats / Parting at the door

4. Aqua Regia

Following a bloodtrail, frothing at the maw or Between the pain and the way you look / I'm stuck in a time where the mountains shook

5. Vore

You have become the voice in my head or Will we remain stuck in the throat of gods? / Will the pain stop if we go deeper?

6. Ascensionism

Your reflection, your bitter deception / Setting you free or With one eye on the door, other eye on a rail / Other, other eye following a scarlet trail

7. Are You Really Okay?

I was trying to hold back the darkness or But I, I don't believe you when you tell me you are fine

8. The Apparition

I wake up to a suicide frenzy / Loaded dreams still leave me empty or Just let me go or take me with you

9. DYWTYLM

Do you pull at the chains? / Or do you push into constant aching? or Do you ever believe / That we can turn into different people?

10. Rain

Refracted in light, reflected in sound or And I know, I know, I am what I am / The mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb

11. Take Me Back To Eden

We dive through crystal waters, perfect oceans / But no one told me not to breathe or I'm a waking hell and the gods grow tired / Reset my patient violence along both lines of a pathway higher

12. Euclid

The night belongs to you / This bough has broken through or The whites of your eyes / Turn black in the low light

Thank you so much if you took any part of this on or just read through it.

Never forget, that the most important thing is that no matter what,

Worship 🙏🏻

[mostrandomgallery]

And finally, rounding out the Cotton Candy Elephants...the pièce de résistance...Émilie LaChaise Gloucester!

Most of the students in the Cotton Candy Elephants can be read like open books, wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Émilie LaChaise Gloucester, however, is nearly impossible to read; she’s like a black hole or a blank, lacking any enthusiasm or motivation. Hard to believe she’s related to Lorenz. She’s just…there, I guess. One can imagine the mysteries of her seemingly unreadable, indifferent mind. Some believe she is devoid of emotion, some say she might have been experimented on (she's never spoken on these rumors); in truth, there is an emotion she's driven by, it's just hard to put into English. Just like Petra, Émilie is struggling to learn the standard language of Fódlan, but it adds to her charm and mystery; one could say it gives her a certain je ne sais quoi...

...Okay, she may not really care, but we need to list Émilie's battle stats:

Crest: Gloucester (major)

Heroes’ Relic/Sacred Weapon: Thyrsus, Axe of Ukonvasara

Strengths: Reason, Faith, Lance, Riding

Weaknesses: Authority, Heavy Armor, Flying

Hidden talent: Bow

Personal Skill: “C’est La Vie”—If unit takes no action, gains a 5+ boost to all stats and restores full HP

Ideal Classes: Soldier, Monk, Mage, Bishop, Warlock, Valkyrie, Dark Knight, Gremory

Learnable Magic: Miasma Δ, Swarm Ζ, Dark Spikes Τ, Banshee Θ, Luna Λ, Heal, Abraxas, Seraphim, Warp

Ideal Combat Arts: Tempest Lance, Knightkneeler, Hit and Run, Vengeance, Frozen Lance, Curved Shot, Waning Shot, Deadeye, Ward Arrow

Selection Quotes (Academy): "Who, moi?" (normal), "I could use a break…" (mid-health), "Le mort…" (critical health)

Émilie's best stats are Dex, Res, and Mag, and is best suited for the Valkyrie or Dark Knight classes, since she can just mount a horse and sleep on it until commanded to move on the battlefield. With neither a strength nor weakness in axes, she can wield the Axe of Ukonvasara, but her strengths lie in Reason (Dark), and she is surprisingly able to learn Abraxas and Seraphim without learning Nosferatu. Thyrsus, the Gloucester relic, is a perfect match for her in that 1) it's not a weapon she has to wield, so it seems useless, save for 2) boosting her magic power. She has a hidden talent in Bow, and can probably snipe out an enemy unit with a critical hit, just like Overwatch's Widowmaker. In spite of her weakness in Authority, she'd still equip a battalion to fight her battles for her.

Émilie is someone you probably need to prioritize a lot in activities and supports despite her general apathy, since her motivation is a little tricky to work with. She is hard to have a perfect tea time with even though her Cha is somewhat substantial. However, she would make an excellent candidate for the Dancer class (it'd be just as funny as making Tristesse the Dancer). For dining, Émilie likes Vegetable Pasta Salad, Small Fish Skewers, Onion Gratin Soup, Pheasant Roast with Berry Sauce, Cheesy Verona Stew, Peach Sorbet, and Gautier Cheese Gratin. She has unique dialogue with Anneliese. As for gifts, Émilie would appreciate Riding Boots, Tea Leaves, Legends of Chivalry, The History of Fódlan, Book of Crest Designs, Coffee Beans, Exotic Spices, Blue Cheese, Roses, and a Landscape Panting. While she has supports with everyone in the Cotton Candy Elephants, her inter-house supports are limited to: Lorenz, Claude, Petra, Linhardt, Lysithea, Mercedes, Cyril, Flayn, Seteth, and Hapi. As for S-Support, she is locked to Male Byleth.

A hilarious mental image I had of Émilie was if her critical activated with her cut-in portrait saying "Pardon, excusez-moi" (French is not my first language; if any French speakers are out there, correct me if the spelling/conjugation is wrong) and then landing the hit with Luna or Dark Spikes, obliterating the enemy unit, then cutting to her falling asleep on her horse saying, "You wouldn't know cool if it hit you in the face" as her stats level up. Also, her S-Support artwork should be her napping on Male Byleth's lap as she sighs "Ah, je t'aime!"

Fun Fact: Émilie's middle name, LaChaise, is derived from the French la chaise, meaning "the chair"; specifically, I had a lounging chaise in mind, since she loves reclining on something luxurious like this. Originally it was gonna be "Chantelle", but I thought "LaChaise" was a bit more fitting for this chill, serene queen.

DO NOT REPOST!!! Also on deviantART

[hatsunemimikyu]

Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition First Impressions

Started playing yesterday after having it sit on my Steam library for years and thought it would be fun to note down my first impressions of the game!

Tales Experience

For note, this is not my first game in the series. I've played a significant part/finished Symphonia, Abyss, Zestiria and Berseria, and also played a bit of Phantasia and Arise. My favourites are Abyss and Berseria!

The Plot

I've gone up to Shaikos Ruins by now, so I haven't seen muuch of the plot, but knowing Tales I can predict some conspiration of those in power that relates to the ancient technology lol

I don't mind most Tales games sticking to a tried and true formula as I think the best part of those stories is how they tie to the development of the characters. And talking about characters...

The Characters

I already like Yuri a lot tbh. I love how he's simultaneously too tired for this shit but also cares too deeply to not help others in need. Combat-wise he's your sword main character(tm) which I always appreciate since I'm not that good at combat to play with the more intensive chars lol. Cool dude 10/10.

Omg Estelle is another one I'm loving?? She's kind and sheltered but she's also funny and a book lover. I love her dynamic with Yuri, sheltered noble x world weary (ex-)military makes me think of Luke x Tear who I have always liked a lot. I also love her dress, it looks like a flower!

Extra notes on her and Yuri's relationship, I'm curious to see how Flynn will play into it but I'm already envisioning the "this is my boyfriend Yuri and this is my boyfriend's boyfriend Flynn" thing lol

Also she and Yuri already had the "would you still love me if I was a worm snake or frog?" conversation and I love that for them tbh

https://youtu.be/RIlLpX4fmVY?si=4kR0_lmSoKr9YEpS

Mechanically she's a healer so... sorry girl, probably not going to play as you so much :'D and please stop using sharpness on yourself!!! Still 10/10

Doggo/10, what's more to say?

Ok but Repede is really cool! The only part of his design I'm not a big fan of is the electric blue fur on his head. I'm pretty curious on what's his story with his previous owner and how he came to hang with Yuri (I'm pretty sure the pipe is a memento?)

Mechanically he's the faster but frailer guy which is... ok I guess lol

He's scared as fuck and he has a big ass tote so he's very relatable lol I'm pretty sure him knowing to lockpick will be significant somehow, maybe a hint of his past? 8/10 let's see what he has in store

Mechanically he's the big swing guy which I always enjoy playing as even tho I'm bad at it

Smartass ass lil lady/10. This is a "type" of character I always like in Tales so happy to see her there lol. Still have to finish the ruins to see how will she decide to tag along the party. Mechanically she's the offensive caster, found her nice to play at but I don't like to stay still for long so I don't play caster very much.

Now that I'm done with the characters for now, let's get to...

The Gameplay

This is one of the Tales with the lanes + free movement duo. I'm playing on normal bc I'm a scrub, but I still feel that blocking at the right time/free moving to reposition is pretty important as some enemies can hit quite hard. Usually it gets easier with time bc you get more characters/spells, but for now I'm feeling the difficulty is in a nice place. Skills being learnable from weapons adds some more levels of choice (do I equip every new stronger piece of equipment or do I wait to learn skill X?) which is interesting. I'm glad I'm playing on my Deck as I don't have to worry about save points since I can just put it to sleep.

Now for the last part...

The Visuals

As I've stated before, I'm playing this on a Steam Deck, so I can't comment on how this would look on a giant screen, but for the Deck at least, it looks pretty good! The art direction is pretty strong and all the environments I saw up to now have been distinctive and very nicely crafted. The characters also look pretty good, and the overrall effect is like you're playing an interactive anime. Really shows how a good art direction makes a game look good no matter how old it is.

Anyways having an overrall nice experience with this one! I'm curious to get more characters and see how they develop. Idk if I'll write any more of this but it has been fun to ramble about lol. If you read this all thanks for reading lol have you played this game?

[shiraishi--kanade]

I MEAN not that I know that much about choirs myself. I'd need to ask my friend who's in a more organised/professional one than mine. This one is more amateur-ish (good for me. Less stress)

Also I suck tremendously at making ocs 😭 that's the bigger issue

Making ocs is also a learnable skill 👍 unfortunately,

[buginacup]

I've been playing a lot of Turn Based Combat RPGs lately. Something I find interesting is the different ways they handle Skills / Resources and using those to punch above your regular attack's weight. Generating Ability Points to do cooler moves, natural regeneration of a static resource pool, just having all skills be on turn cooldowns, and how that plays against ones push and pull with The Low Level Encounter.

Do you have a specific preference for this kind of thing, or is there perhaps a concept in your mind you've never seen that you're willing to give out here?

This is something I've thought about a lot but so far it's still sort of a design blindspot for me. Since I didn't play RPGs growing up (Pokemon is devil worship after all) I kind of have to "lock in" in order to focus and get anything out of those kind of systems. I played Persona 5R for the first time last year and the baton pass mechanic really clicked for me - it was one of the rare RPGs where I was making sure to have every encounter because it was so fun trying to set up big chains.

I have a couple little backburner projects in RPG maker I toy with sometimes and I really struggle to wrap my head around Designing For Numbers. Like it seems impossible to anticipate how difficult something will be at various levels along a skill curve unless I do bulk playtesting. It's definitely a learnable skill but I really don't know where to start - so far I haven't had any luck finding broad theory work to onboard myself with either, search results are too clouded by people asking technical questions about implementation rather than broader theory questions.

My only "Take" about turn based combat is that I'm grateful the explosion of "Turn Based Combat but Good" game concepts post-UNDERTALE is on the out. Some of them were fun but the implied sentiment of the aesthetic really sours the more you think about it.

[cluedoenthusiast]

I know you’re busy with the big autism post that someone else asked for so don’t feel rushed to answer this but if you were to recommend Alex a stim toy, which one would you give him?

hi!!

ok listen to me listen to me… a big “the albums as stim toys” post

i havent been working on the autism post ive been too stressed about things but ill get there dont worry

also hmmm im not a stim toy user so im not sure what id recommend but i think if he got one he might get those thumb rubbing ones maybe but hed get a fancy wooden one. he likes to pick so maybe something small and pickable he can take around. he likes things that are a learnable skill and he can impress people with like yoyos and stuff so maybe hed like card tricks or the thing where you move across your knuckles with his fingers. maybe those little metallic puzzles where you have to get the pieces in/out. maybe the guitar is a giant stim toy for him where he fidgets with it at home when people talk to him

eycte al would definitely use flashy colourful “childrens” stim toys during interviews because miles got them for him and hes more comfortable with himself during that time

but if current al were to use toys whose sole purpose is fidgeting (not yoyos or coins), he would use something like these

[fandomobscura]

This is a really stupid rant but I am so TIRED of posting about art or my struggles with it and having old self-centered white ladies reply that they wish they had my ~talent~ GIRL ME TOO!! I know you think it's a compliment but it's not, actually!! I did not come out the womb holding an apple pencil believe it or not! My art skills have been one of my biggest insecurities my whole life because I was born into a creative family *but did not have a natural affinity for it.* My sister effortlessly churned out expressive paintings in preschool and everything I drew looked like the lifeless calculations of the world's most boring serial killer, okay?

I have reached my level of intermediate competence by clawing for every scrap of progress and practicing as much as my disease-ridden body would allow and studying techniques of artists far better than myself, and I didn't even get there until I was TWENTY SIX! I've only been "good" at art for less than three years and I still hate half of what I turn out but I keep going because everything in this world is learnable.

And this isn't even touching on the fact that I have face blindness and aphantasia!! By all accounts I SHOULDN'T be any good at art for physical, tangible reasons. But you know what I did instead? I got into character design because that's what I wanted to do and I'm one stubborn son of a gun who doesn't have the sense to know when I'm licked!

I'm not talented. You don't have to be talented. This isn't those freakin Tinkerbell movies. Even if you're a self-absorbed woman in late middle age who likes to blame all your problems on outside forces, I promise you with every fiber of my contrarian body, what you're born with doesn't have to dictate what you do.

[seaspaces27]

bfdi:tpot, powers, & infinite skill tree theory

skills trees usually show up in video games, they're a way of organising abilities; a path of skills that branch out onto other related paths of skills.

in battle for dream island:the power of two, two tells the contestants the the prize is, well, their 'limitless power', but im curious what that actually means

lets start simple by exploring what skills/powers/abilities are in the first place.

think of entities on earth; we are configured in many different ways and because of that, we can do many different things. for example, a fish would likely be more skilled in swimming in the water compared to a human, or, a tall person would find it easier to reach something up high compared to a short person, or how someone with poor-eyesight wouldn't usually see as well as someone without poor-eyesight. the point is, different configurations come with different abilities and restrictions. the restrictions are just the natural capping on how far your possible abilities reach out

in skill tree terms, it would mean that the skills of characters are locked to specific skills on a branch or branches. pie for example would likely never have the ability to set things on fire, or be immune to flames. firey, however (because of how he is configured), would be more attuned to fire-related skills on the tree. so, even across the 'object' species you get many different forms and ability configurations/possibilities, as you would for any type/group of entity.

where am i going with this?:

all entities in bfdi are restricted to certain skills on the skill tree

these skill restrictions are based on how the entity itself is configured

my big idea here is this: two's skill (limitless power) is a skill that removes this natural restriction from certain skills on the tree

what this means: two isn't omnipotent/all powerful, two just has the potential to become all powerful (i.e. to learn every skill on the skill tree)

if two wants to max out the skill tree, they got to work for it. all the limitless power does is fully open up the possibility space of learnable skills. if pie was given limitless power, maybe then -if she wanted to- she could learn fire-related abilities, for example. anyway, in this regard, 'limitless power' is more of a meta-type ability, as it has less to do with powers that relate to 'the world and its elements', and more to do with powers themselves/the skill tree

i like to imagine the bfdi power system as an infinite skill tree. a tree that goes all the way down and branches off into infinitely many branches. i imagine there are many different branches of power to learn from and master. two literally has access to the entire skill tree. they could learn it all - it would just take a lot time.

and that's infinite skill tree theory! thank you for reading! its been a while since i've done this. below will just be some extra notes and wondering about the theory and bfdi powers:

i wonder if twos learned abilities will disappear when they pass down their limitless power onto the winner. part of me thinks it would stay, as two would have the experiential knowledge of how to perform their abilities, but i don't know

while the entities of bfdi may be locked to certain skills (based on how they are configured), the restriction of the skill tree space can always be opened up with external tools, like how glasses can bring the ability for increased eyesight, or a ladder can provide the ability of increased verticality, or how a yoyleberry turns the user into a strong, heat-resistant metal. these magical tools give powers

i'd also like to point out the weird interactions you can set up when you get different abilities together. yoyleberry/yoylemetal give you immunity from fire and freeze juice, yellow tomatoes counter yoylemetal (im unsure if solely yellow tomatoes do this or if other fruits & veg are involved). with a few more types & interactions, you could set up some sort of bfdi trading card game!

anyways, the idea of tools opening up the natural restriction of abilities is interesting to me, because it feels like that's exactly how the limitless power im describing works. it kind of blurs the line between external tools and abilities that the user inherently has. perhaps, upon giving away their limitless power, the remaining abilities that two has is dependent on whether or not two developed the powers using that limitlessness or not

i feel like all the other algebraliens probably have this limitlessness skill as well. not just two! it makes sense to me that they all would. i mean, maths seems to be deeply embedded in the way the universe works, innit. look at the laws of physics or umm the cool mathematical stuff that nature finds itself making.. maths is wonderfully woven into things. it only makes sense to me that the power of these numerical characters would reflect that

thanks for reading!

[jabberwick]

Photo Reference

To the young or inexperienced artists who want to learn to not rely on photo reference when drawing: The way you achieve this is to first learn to draw with photo reference. You cannot draw something you haven’t first memorised and mapped out entirely though repeated photo study.

The way you get good at not relying on reference for something is by first spending a lot of time drawing it from reference. When not using reference, you tend to draw what you think things look like rather than how they actually look. Without using reference how else will you learn to draw it accurately?

To the experienced artists who are going to say “But Lúthien! even experienced artists use reference!” I know, I rarely draw without it. But wording it like that won't change their minds: they don't have the experience to understand why yet. If someone is not going to use reference because they don't want to "rely" on it, I’d rather explain why that is a bad idea toward their goal.

I think there's this idea that needing to draw from photos means you have less inherent talent than other artists, but you gotta undo that line of thinking. Art isn't an inherent talent bestowed at birth. It is a learnable skill. This is how you learn it.

[birdmenmanga]

see here's the thing. if you want people to invite you to things not only do you have to have reasonably good attendance... you also have to invite THEM to things as well. yes it is difficult but nobody was born on this earth knowing how to host events and so on and it is actually a learnable skill. contrary to popular belief I don't have an "easier time doing it" (my second language barrier??? hello???) and it is no longer enough that you are willing to go anywhere with me. Take me places sometimes too. biting you

[captaindibbzy]

Drowning a screenshot so I can have a bitch about this in private. Like, no shade to the OP, it's just something I see a lot of sometimes and this morning it hit a nerve. And I don't want to have a go at OP. But...

Nobody explains why small talk is important.

Like, yes, people complain about it and struggle with it. Teenagers especially. People with neurodivereity. People who are ostracised from society. People who aren't taught this very learnable skill. I struggle with it. I find it very difficult. But it took me to my 30's to figure out why people are doing it, and how I am supposed to interact with it. Nobody sat down and told me this, they just expected me to know it and got annoyed when I didn't.

People talk about skills you're not taught in schools, and this is one of them. Especially if you are isolated from your peers, or shoved off in to the special lessons away from everyone else. You have to interact with those above you in a very specific way. You don't have small talk with your teachers, and you get punished for it. You don't have small talk with your peers cause you get punished for it. Then you're dropped in a real world situation and someone's talking to you about the weather and you're on edge cause when does the other shoe drop? What do you want from me? People only talk to me when they want something and this is incredibly anxiety inducing so just tell me what you want so we can get on to it.

Small talk is a method of communication between two people who don't know each other well that is used to politely acknowledge the other person as someone you respect, and to test the waters on potential topics of conversation going forward. It's checking the wall for wires before you hammer a nail in and hit the mains. It's two dogs in the park wagging their tails and sniffing butts going "hello dog! I am also dog!"

"Hello human! I like sports. Do you like sports? Oh. No... Ok :( Weather? Do you like weather? How about show that was on? Do you like show?"

Cause we are inherently social animals.

But if I talk about what I want to talk about people get pissy at me. I get odd looks. The conversation stops. The respect dries up. What is the difference? Nobody can tell me what the difference is. Nobody has told me how to navigate this!

Some times we learn our of necessity that we are not allowed to be sociable except if it is under very specific circumstances, and we are so hungry for that circumstance we don't want to do the dance we just want to KNOW if it is safe to exist or not.

Some part of our brain is screaming DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! and it's very difficult to take in someone who is going "oh did you see the weather today? Rain again haha. Yeah. I saw a good show this weekend" while the alarm is going in your head and you're not actually interested, and you're trying to figure out what they want from you, etc. This person wants your resources, your energy, your attention, because they are a human person who wants acknowledgement and is probably trying to offer you the same thing. But that is limited to a very specific list of things that nobody has handed to you and if you deviate from that list the odds of that respect drying up vastly increases, the odds of mockery vastly increases, and the odds of being in danger vastly increase. Meanwhile you are burning through your resources at an alarming rate cause of all this extra stuff you're going through. And you just want to feel SAFE.

And that's why a lot of people, especially on this website full of neurodiverse and isolated individuals, detest small talk. And if you can do it I am glad for you, and if you get something out of it that is great. It was made for you, go forth and use it, and treat customer service workers with respect, and have light conversations to fill up your I am a human bar. But people aren't being deliberately obtuse and rude when they detest this shit. It is genuinely really REALLY difficult for us! And nobody ever explains it!

[rosabienfuerte]

do you know, how can someone gain more confidence in their art?

Wow... This is such a strong question, i will do my best to answer. I cannot say i *know*, but, this is what i think, and the conclusions i've arrived to over time:

I think it's about losing shame. To a degree, shame is necessary for our human growth, and is there to propel us towards change and betterment. But it can also prevent you from truly, fully living life in this world.

Confidence & shamelessness are learnable skills like anything else... It's important to always seek growth while also understanding that, ultimately, making art isnt something you should torture yourself with

Learning technical artistic skill can bring you confidence, i think. It is a tool to broaden your abilities. so you can make what you want to make. My thoughts on this have changed over the years. Skill is also not the ultimate goal. And it is also not possible to "reach" a final point in this, you always have more to learn , if the world didnt work this way nothing would make sense, it's what makes learning and curiosity so thrilling.

The reason why we make stuff is just to make it. Its a natural human behaviour. Singing, dancing, painting, talking, storytelling, etc etc etc , at the end of the day, this is to nurture our souls, it's something that's coming out directly out of your being , your skills, your relationships to the world, the things you see and experience , and is beautifully valuable in its own way no matter what..

it is possible to learn, practice and become better at 'LOOSENESS'. Being free with your hands and what youre making. The way to do this is to just make. Make a lot. And push yourself out towards what youre a little scared of. I don't know what art you make, or how, so this is something you can know yourself..

It also has to do with just, general confidence, in your day to day life. I'm still carrying a lot of shame myself, so i dont have at all an expert solution i can give you. I often feel terribly shameful even about just standing there in front of people. I really admire those who speak in public or act or do theatre or any kind of performance where you have to put your face-voice-body in such a vulnerable visible position. It's incredible. The same way someone can be at a party, dance terrible, but still be greatly charismatic because they just don't care, because theyre just having fun. As opposed to the effect of doing something shamefully.. it is possible to reach a point of seeking perfection that just becomes a joyless burden. We are always capable of more. Discomfort is a door to the endless possibilities of this world. And there should be joy in this. Not all the time, of course. But becoming too severe can backfire, you know? We should enjoy ourselves.

I'm sure putting yourself in those situations can be a way to just not care of how youre coming across. This is all just me assuming this is ask is about shame and self perception or fear.. if you meant it in some other way, let me know..

Like anything else, confidence can be learned, and as a human being you are fully capable of doing that, never convince yourself otherwise, none of your self is "FIXED" in place

I hope at least some of this helps you in some way, and i wish you the best. I've witnessed loved ones rid themselves of shame in such a beautiful transformation. A friend in highschool was so so overcome by fear and embarrassment and i watched her slowly become more and more comfortable with making art again after years of not doing so at all. It was so beautiful. At the end of the day we are all here to enjoy this life, so, have a good day, I love you, good luck 💗💗💗

[1892]

How difficult is the Strawberry stitch? I'm learning how to crochet but I only know a few stitches right now, the bag is so cute and I'd love to make one but I'm not sure about my skill level yet.

oh this is definitely learnable for a beginner (i think), i learned the stitch (which is just made up of double crochet and single crochet) by putting the youtube video on 0.5 speed. and the way i connected the bag together is completely basic single stitching lol. i believe in u!!!!

[queerasaurolophus]

I agree on most of this except sympathy is 100% a learnable skill. I’m autistic and had super high empathy but very low sympathy as a child. And now I’m an adult who’s gone to therapy and had some really good friendships develop, and I have the same high empathy but I’ve learned to actively listen in a way to understand how someone is feeling due to a given stimulus. And if I care about that person, I also care about their feelings, even if I don’t always succeed in parsing them.

If I don’t care about that person, sometimes the empathy will kick in and sometimes I don’t see their situation as relatable enough to feel anything, but I can at least figure out *their* emotions more than I used to. Sympathy is a hard skill to learn, but you can definitely make progress if you break it into composite parts! (the ‘caring about their feelings’ part is more an effect of other stuff than something you can change directly, but awareness and understanding can sometimes lead to caring—like how I care about football more now that I know the rules.)

Whatever you can develop of sympathy really helps in forming and maintaining healthy friendships. It’s not easy, and I’m still probably lower than average in the sympathy scale, but I’m super proud of the work I’ve done on my own awareness of the feelings of others.

Something doesn’t need to be innate in order to respect that we’re all at different places with it!

i've seen quite a bit of confusion about this, so let me attempt to clear things up :

empathy is the ability to feel somebody's emotions as though they are affecting you personally. for example, somebody tells you "my dog died last night!" -> you now feel as though you've lost a pet personally -> you feel grief and sadness just like the other person. not everyone has empathy. it's a trait some people develop and others don't. some have high empathy, some have low empathy, some (like me) have none.

sympathy is the ability to understand and care about somebody else's struggles, even if you don't feel them yourself. so, somebody tells you their dog died -> you realize how this affects them emotionally -> you care about this person, and are upset that they are suffering. not everyone has sympathy either! it's a scale, just like empathy.

compassion is doing something to relieve another person's suffering or make them feel better. somebody tells you their dog died -> you don't want them to remain upset -> you come up with ways to help them feel better, like offering comfort and distractions, or other forms of support. compassion is a learned trait, not something you can be born with like empathy or sympathy. anyone can learn to be compassionate, although some may struggle more with it than others; it's a skill, just like anything else.

however, none of these are required to be a good person. that's a choice you make on your own accord. i hope this clears things up!