I think the egos are supposed to be a way to kind of psychoanalyze the sinners; what do you think it means for Hong Lu to have Roseate Desire?
Ok so. Here's the thing about analyzing Hong Lu based on Roseate Desire. A Sinner having a specific E.G.O is one thing. A Sinner sharing an E.G.O with someone else while also showing distinct difference between each other is another.
Under cut because I got rambly again.
First of all, Pink Shoes is an abberration of Red Shoes, which is an abnormality that exploits one's primal desires.
Pink shoes appears to be similarly exploiting desires, according to the in-battle event, though not much is known about Pink Shoes as an abnormality, as all Abno Logs are more focused on its wearers rather than the abnormality itself (reasonably enough, I doubt the Sinners would have a reason to worry about the shoes specifically when they're being beaten to shit by ribbons and people wearing those shoes).
Based on the fact that Hong Lu shares the E.G.O with Ishmael, we can deduce that that is exactly what Roseate Desire signifies, that a Sinner using it is in some way bound (literally in this case) by their desires. With Ishmael it's implied to be the same compulsion that drives her to search for "That bastard" that is still alive, as her Roseate Desire attack very implicitly mimics that of Snagharpoon.
This is actually the first interesting thing I want to note. While for both Hong Lu and Ishmael the weapons they use in Roseate Desire are unique, there is a notable difference to How they are used.
With Ishmael, the anchor and shield are used almost exactly like the weapons we see her use in her base E.G.O.
With Hong Lu however, not only are his clawed gauntlets not resembling of anything else he uses in either E.G.Os nor IDs, they aren't even used as weapons by him.
Which, actually, brings me to my next point. Ishmael, even when corroded, is very notably In Control of Roseate Desire's ribbons. She's using them to swing the anchor around, and pulling on them to do damage. Though swaying, she's standing on her own two feet.
Notably, this is the opposite of how the ribbons treat Hong Lu. His attack animations are notably stilted, with almost doll-like movements, making it unclear if he's the one controlling the ribbons, or if the ribbons are controlling him. Add to that how his idle pose is reminiscent of a puppet, and it becomes very clear how this E.G.O further ties back to Hong Lu's themes of freedom, or lack thereof.
You could say this is further reflected in what Sin Resources the E.G.Os use. While both of them use a lot of Lust, it's notable that Ishmael's uses Wrath, a Sin associated with direct action, while Hong Lu's uses Envy, a Sin more so associated with reacting to the actions of others.
Some other small details that I'd like to note that aren't like. Major factors. But still corroberate what my final verdict is:
The amount of the pink tint singifying Pink Shoes's control over its posessee is noticeably larger on Hong Lu than on Ishmael, in both Awakening and Corrosion sprites.
Ishmael's Awakening dialogue line very explicitly has her trying to resist the Pink Shoes, with a tone of voice that is similar to her usual, while her Corroded one has seemingly given in into the temptation and completely changed how she sounds. Notably, Hong Lu has the same tone of voice across both his dialogue lines for this E.G.O, is already seemingly taken over in his Awakening line, and his Corroded line sounds more like something the shoes themselves would say rather than what someone taken over by them would.
An interesting design detail for this E.G.O is that, in both the illustration and Corroded sprites, Ishmael and Hong Lu have a different part of their face covered, that imo is symbolizing something. Ishmael has one of her eyes covered up, tying back to her one-track obsession that the Pink Shoes are exploiting by seemingly blinding her to everything that isn't her desire. Hong Lu, on the other hand, has his mouth covered up, fitting with his seeming lack of his own will when using this E.G.O.
So uh, my final Verdict? If it were just Hong Lu that had Roseate Desire, I would say that he's easily controlled by his own whims and say that we can't get a better read on him than that because we don't have enough information about him.
HOWEVER! This isn't the case. In fact, being able to compare his Roseate Desire to Ishmael's completely changes the context here. The desires that are controlling him aren't his own, they're what other people want of him. That's why he's moving like a puppet, that's why his version uses Envy, that's why his Corroded sprite has a covered up mouth and has him speak for the Shoes themselves.
Hong Lu's Roseate Desire implies he's the type to buckle and follow whatever other people tell him to do. Which, well, isn't that far off from what we know about him. Hell, even Kurokumo Hong Lu, who very explicitly does not like to follow orders, still notably follows them anyway and is said to be good at doing so when push comes to shove.
It all ties back to Hong Lu's themes of freedom and control over his life, doesn't it?
good morning morning, it's a bright new day and I need to skeedaddle but first! dragons!! for sale!!! this week sees the return of drowned atlantis abberrations, burning candy banescales, baby shark sandsurges, and mardi gras mantis sandsurges! find them all on my For Sale tab HERE and take one or several home today!!!
1000 followers gift, part 4: morning dove reshade and teeny tots collection part 2! [download - sfs | mf folder]
it's finally here: the final gift for my 1000 followers weekend! and it's a two in one deal!
over the last year i have come to realise that i really like making two things: reshades, and toddler stuff. it's so satisfying watching the environment my sims are in, and the whole mood of the game, change with the click and drag of a few buttons. also, toddlers are really cute and there isn't nearly enough stuff out there for them.
part 4 has two things: my second reshade preset ever, morning dove, as well as my first every clothing conversions--and for toddlers too! i have received many, many questions about what reshade preset i use, so this is it!
update 10-4-23: fixed issue with weird squares/rectangles on ep05 dress holiday and ep05 vest bowtie, please redownload and replace the original meshes!
credits
@kindlespice for the dove 2.0 preset i used as a base for morning dove!
ea/maxis for the original meshes & textures of the toddler formalwear
@skittlessims for helping me with all of the errors and confusion i encountered while converting the clothing, and also for just being an amazing friend and mentor in general. love ya anna 💕
for more info, on both the downloads and the future of this blog, please keep reading 😊
part 4a: morning dove
previews feature all effects except fog, artistic vignette, & chromatic abberation. these effects however are present in most of my cc posts, so if you look at my previews i believe you can see them 😅
if you've been following my builds/gameplay for awhile, then you probably recognise this preset. i use it in almost every screenshot of mine, and many people have asked for it, so here it finally is! it is based on @kindlespice's dove 2.0 preset but with a lot of tweaking to make it more versatile in ts2.
this preset comes with a number of different shortcuts to enable/disable certain effects:
Alt + 4 -> mxao
Alt + 6 -> adaptive fog + canvas fog
Shift + 2 -> ring dof and gdof
Alt + 5 -> artistic vignette
Alt + 7 -> marty mcfly dof
Alt + 8 -> chromatic abberration
Alt + 9 -> directional anti-aliasing
the basic goal of morning dove is a preset that looks good in any style--maxis match, realistic, or clay!
part 4b: teeny tots part 2
this particular download just makes me very happy. i love ts2 toddlers, they'll always be the best in the franchise in my eyes, and just look at those happy lil faces! also, milo stylo is being milo stylo and looking so damn cute. there never seems to be enough toddler formalwear (imo) so it just makes me really happy that i was able to make my own.
these are my first ever clothing conversions, i did my best but they're not perfect, so there may be clipping and gaps especially around the shoulders of gp11 dress flower. i apologise for this, i really tried but didn't manage to fix it 😔
EP05 Dress Holiday
- PU only, 14 colors, casual & formal, 3.7k polys [swatch]
- paired with @skittlessims' base game mary-jane shoes from their lunar dress💕
GP11 Bowtie Shirt
- PU only, 10 colors, casual & formal, 3.8k polys [swatch]
- paired with base game sneakers taken from @lucilla-sims' ep11 suspenders 💞
GP11 Dress Flower
- PU only, 10 colors, casual & formal, 5.3k polys [swatch]
- paired with @skittlessims' base game mary-jane shoes from their lunar dress💕
EP05 Vest Bowtie
- PU only, 9 colors, casual & formal, 4.0k polys [swatch]
- paired with base game sneakers taken from @lucilla-sims' ep11 suspenders 💞
final words
well, i guess that's it then! it's the end of a long gift-filled weekend. and also, the start of a very long break.
my final exams will be starting in about two weeks and ending around november; they are the most important ones i have ever faced and i cannot afford to lose focus. after that will be exam after exam, as i enter tertiary education.
if you still wanna chat with me/hear how i'm doing you could probably join the simscord by @skittlessims, i'm a junior moderator on there now so i will still be semi-active on my break. also, if i do find the time to post cc anymore, it will probably be on there lol.
the sims has always been a sort of escapism for me, a way to pretend that the trials of real life don't exist. but in the last few months i've felt myself drifting farther and farther from it. i need to focus on my studies and stay focused on my life goals.
the future of this blog is still uncertain. i have cc queued up until june--leftovers from my original break, stuff i finished up, requests i got during my holidays--but after that, there probably won't be any more until i come back... which could be anywhere from 9 months to 9 years, tbh, with my current mood. until then, consider this blog on semi-permanent hiatus.
there are so many of you who have supported this blog from day one, who have always stuck with me even when i'm not at my best or when misunderstandings occur. i cannot thank you enough for your continued support and love. the last year has been a difficult time for me: losing pets, friends, and in general, my mental health. this extra-long gift weekend is for you--a thank you for the over 365 days of kindness you have shown me.
i am sorry for this, but for now, i am going to have to leave you again. thank you for the love, and i hope you enjoy the cc while it lasts. until next time,
Is it just me or is the Abberration breed changes never available in the marketplace? Bc I have everything I need for a fan dragon but the breed change. And it’s more on the AH, so I don’t want to spend all my tr/g for it. Especially since I like having money for the fest skins every month just in case.