#mod and ambrose have become the same person

[headmaster-merle-ambrose]

oh my god dasein means everything to me they are learning how to Be

[antisocialxconstruct]

PLEASE WRITE AN ESSAY ABOUT SRHK IT SOUNDS GREAT

gfdsg OKAY WELL... it's a topic I've got stashed away for a possible video for the Hypothetical YT Channel but I can give sort of an overview 👀 These games are kinda old by now but spoilers for individual character arcs (not the central plots) in both Shadowrun: Dragonfall and Shadowrun: Hong Kong, for anyone who's concerned about that.

Basically in my opinion one of the most poorly aged and problematic elements of Shadowrun lore is the concept of "essence." From a game mechanics standpoint it makes perfect sense, the more cyberware you have and the more specialized you are for decking/rigging or combat, the less magic you can do. It's just a way to balance things so no single character can do too much of everything. What I don't like is how this is canonized by tying essence to a concept of someone's ~soul~ and humanity, so what you end up with is pretty much cut-and-dry "the more your body is changed the less human you are." The fact that it's also associated with psychosis and the risk of becoming violent is uuhh... a Bad Look. It's just ableism and saneism any which way you slice it, and it's especially frustrating because it would have been so easy to make it just... Not That.

But! I feel like someone (or multiple someones) on the Harebrained Schemes writing team must have had a personal vendetta against essence because there are at least three characters between Dragonfall and SRHK that feel like they were explicitly and specifically written to challenge that idea and then explore it further.

The first one is one of the main teammates, Glory, in Dragonfall. When you first meet her she's presented as exactly the stereotype you might expect of a "burnout" who sacrificed all their essence and ability to do magic for mods. She's cold and distant, doesn't seem emotionally invested in anything, and more or less comes off like little more than a killing machine. But then this crazy thing happens... you can talk to her, check in with her after runs, ask her about herself, and pretty quickly she starts to light up. She emotes more, expresses stronger opinions about things, and eventually opens up to you about her (pretty devastating) past. In my opinion it seems fairly evident after a while that the thing making her come off distant and unattached wasn't her cyberware, it was good ol' fashioned unresolved trauma. She came from multiple environments where her emotions, both positive and negative, were punished or weaponized to hurt her or others around her, while she was made to feel like she was already less than human because of her magical affinity. So when she eventually got away and made the decision to cut herself off from her own power, she attached her emotions to that process, and convinced herself she had cut them out as well, that she didn't need to be human anymore. But she still feels, and she feels strongly, once she realizes she's being given a space where she can do that safely and without punishment.

Then in Hong Kong we have two characters who interestingly contrast each other but I think touch on the same idea: Ambrose, the local street doc, and Racter, another teammate. Glory elected to have her mods installed, but both Ambrose and Racter received theirs out of necessity. They're mobility aids. Ambrose is a lot more visibly so than Racter, but they are both disabled. Right from the start Ambrose seems to go directly against the stereotype: after a disastrous accident he's more machine than man at this point, and at one point even describes his own remaining essence as "a shred," and yet he's boisterous, personable, and shows remarkable respect and compassion for all his patients. While deeper talks with him reveal that he carries a lot of trauma from that experience, it seems as if he's had time to work through it, find his own coping mechanisms, and build a community around himself that keeps him connected to his sense of self. On the other hand, Racter also eventually discloses that he has extensive cyberware as the result of an accident, but believes he avoided the psychological impact of losing his essence because of his clinical diagnosis of psychopathy. Throughout his life he has never experienced affective empathy, he doesn't really connect with people on an emotional level, and he has no strong attachment to the concept of his own "humanity"--essentially, he had none of the things most people fear losing during the modding process, and so he lost nothing and stayed himself.

All of these character concepts taken together seem to present an interesting angle on the concept of essence: the loss of humanity is psychosomatic. For whatever reason, people believe that extensive cyberware impairs your ability to feel and to connect with others, and so they withdraw, lock down their emotions, and stop trying to connect with others. But it's not an inherent consequence of the mods themselves. This is speculation on my part, but it seems to me you could argue that this is a cultural artifact. If the world that eventually becomes the Shadowrun universe is at least as ableist as ours (and why wouldn't it be), I have no doubt that as cybernetic enhancements and prosthetics became more widespread, they would be met with prejudice. It's easy to fear someone who paid a lot of money to have knives or a gun put inside their arm, and isn't is suspicious? Who would want to be a finely tuned killing machine, anyway? Someone crazy, right? Someone less than human. And it's not hard to imagine people extending that fear to anyone with mods, because hey, you never know how extensive they are or what all they can do! If enough people who need or want cyberware hear that kind of rhetoric, for enough generations, of course they would start to believe it, internalize it, and replicate it, and the popular conception that essence loss is also loss of humanity would become common knowledge.

[dyinglightroleplay]

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒.

NAME : James Ahmad Potter RELATIONSHIP TO THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX : Member ( active - duty ) AGE / BIRTHDATE : 19 Years Old / born 27 March 1960 at 6:27am GMT ZODIAC SIGN : Aries ( sun ), Aries ( moon ), Aries ( rising ) EDUCATION : Hogwarts Graduate ( Gryffindor House ) BLOOD STATUS : Pureblood

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

✧     Ambrose Thomas ( platonic ) ✧     Marlene McKinnon ( antagonistic ) ✧     Caradoc Dearborn ( wild card ) ✧     Lily Evans ( fiancée )

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐍.

Entering the Shrieking Shack following the Battle of Hogwarts.  It is unknown if he was accompanied.

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 : 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍.

PLAYER : Mod Rivka FACECLAIM : Fady Elsayed URL : @marautyr

𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: NONE

ZERO / RISING. * How is your character perceived by others?  What mask do they wear, and is there more than one?

ARIES, TRIPLED.  Beginnings, always, love or light or success or birth, a sharing of progress both inward and OUTWARD.  Rising, it’s heart - magic : effusive affection, agape love, deep wells of empathy and compassion, boundless creativity and warmth, sunlight, a space made and a space kept / SUN RISES and turn inward, toward the everlasting conversation of a well - cultivated inner life full of opposites, intuition blocked by repression, emotion tempered by fear of rejection, pre - dawn or twilight, half - light, somewhere in - between.  Always rendered as overflowing, Aries is more beginnings than endings ––––––– or perhaps even ONLY beginnings, in spite of the possibility for endings.  They live in that moment, in the sunrise of opportunity, of love, of closeness, not quite caring about the eventual necessity of sundown.

At this level of blinding brightness, James is an easy person to misread, in a lot of ways : he can seem to be a relatively quick study, he can seem simple, he can seem one - dimensional in his loud, intrusive, high - flying way.  ( James has never been able to not run toward the flames, the danger, the anger, the fear, the unknowable, the unknown : one day, they very well may rise up to meet him. )  And maybe that’s what everyone’s just telling themselves, now, that all this is bravery.  Because all bravery is grown up out of foolishness, some way, isn’t it ?  And it’s easy to write him off as moody, hot - headed, childish, impulsive, aggressive, particularly when it becomes as obvious as it seemingly does that he doesn’t care.  And that’s what is so singular about James Potter : he is, largely, unremarkable except in his AUTHENTICITY.   For better or worse, James doesn’t wear a mask, in fact he couldn’t even if it was required of him ; he’s a lover and a fighter, a man of emotions at volume regardless of their temperature, with his heart irrevocably attached to his sleeve.  To those that don’t know him, this is easily misinterpreted --- --- or truly, just interpreted --- --- as overwhelming, obnoxious, invasive.  If anything, the mask he wears is the subversion of others’ perception, it’s a dogged refusal to do anything but exist precisely how he means to, how he’d like to, regardless of expectation or consequence or outside judgement or input.  What you see is what you get, and he is unbothered about whether or not you like it.

ONE / THE SUN. * Choose one to explore : what about their personality, general preferences, sense of self / ego, or fundamental traits attracted you to them?

I’ve always had a very specific Type ™ of character that pulls me in, and James dovetails right in there so easily ––––––– he’s a man of extremes, a character that’s easily reduced to two or three obvious traits ( especially by fandom ), but also one that carries so many layers that I’d love to peel away and explore.  He’s brash, loud, egotistical, but all of that comes from a place of boyish authenticity, and it lies beside equal empathy, loyalty, and steadfastness, even if some of those manage to eclipse the others, especially when he was younger.  He’s a polarizing figure ; he’s not necessarily easy to like, or easy to get to know, and he definitely makes enemies as easily as he makes friends.  He’s been an unrepentant bully and an equally fiercely loyal friend.  He’s determined at the same time he’s arrogant, he’s conceited, he’s passionate and reckless in equal measure.

( You can hardly discount James’ stubborn determination when it comes to his friends.  After all, he did spend three years teaching himself to become an Animagus just so one of his closest friends wouldn’t have to feel alone.  However, that’s not just stubbornness, and it’s not just some crazy disregard for rules.  The root of James’ determination, always, is outward facing : he wants to take care of his own, he wants to make himself indispensable, he wants to shield people and stand in the gap.  Yes, especially when he was younger, there was a major element of ‘ look at me ’ at play, but as James has gotten older, his determination hasn’t ever waned, but simply shifted.  The young man who at twelve or thirteen was so determined to help is friend has become the young adult who is equally determined to fight Lord Voldemort, to expose his corruption, to track down Dark Wizards to his detriment.  James’ determination is all-consuming ; he burns bright, and hot, and has no problem allowing himself to be consumed if he thinks the end result will be ultimately beneficial. )

Alongside, James’ arrogance is almost cartoonish.  He’s cocky, self - assured in the extreme, and really, there’s little stopping him.  All of this comes from a very deep desire to be needed, to be the best, to be the one at the center of everything ––––––– he was raised as the apple of his parents’ eyes, told that could do anything, be anything, and he holds that so close to his chest that it’s become compulsive, almost defensive.  James doesn’t need approval from anyone to know that he’s good at what he does, or so he thinks, when in reality his own arrogance has built up as a way to ensure that he doesn’t.  James is arrogant so that he doesn’t have to be needy ; if he can convince himself he’s the best, he doesn’t need to live or die by someone else’s opinion, or worry that it may not match his own.  It’s a very self - fulfilling situation, and one he certainly needs to unlearn ( but likely won’t without a major event or loss to help him ).

Particularly now, involved in the Order, the duality of James’ passion but lack of focus will come under heavy scrutiny.  To be blunt, James has spent the majority of his life relatively charmed ; he’s taken a million risks, but never had the bill come due, always managing to escape from punishment or consequences at the last moment.  But there’s a marked difference between breaking Hogwarts rules to sneak out of unmarked passageways and fighting a war, and I don’t think the magnanimity of that difference has quite dawned on him, yet.  He’s still riding very high on the thrill of the subterfuge, the excitement of War and of involvement in the Order, and he hasn’t yet really had a taste for the reality of it yet.  Sure, the Battle will certainly give him a little perspective, but even that will likely do little to dispel his nearly lifelong belief in his own ability to bounce back from nearly everything ; to hear James tell it, he just has good luck.  That will not always be the case.  But he’s invested, he’s so passionate that he’ll let it consume him ––––––– the problem is, he won’t ever see the obvious pitfall until it’s too late.

All of these qualities --- --- and their existence inside duality --- --- is what drew me to James, is what keeps me fascinated with him.

TWO / THE MOON. * Which color would you associate most strongly with them and the emotions that dominate them?  Describe however you’d like.

GOLD.  The indestructible tomb of the Pharaohs, Ra appearing as a mountain of gold, the skin of the Gcds, wealth and security indescribable all bound up in one of the softest metals known to man.  Something divine, ceremonial, certainly, but beautiful, playful, glimmering and winking in firelight --- --- Mamma’s musical bracelets and the ring on Lilah’s finger, the blazing - brilliance of a sunset seen as it sinks into the Mediterranean Sea --- --- warm, enveloping, unforgettable even behind closed eyes.  The hottest heart of a flame, the snap of a gilded - scarlet banner, the elusive shimmer of the Snitch as it flirts its way across the pitch ; something that refuses to dull, but shows its wear, showing scratches and scrapes and buffed - out engraving as a past un - erasable.

THREE / MERCURY. * What is this character’s area of expertise? Where do they excel?

In school, James took to Transfiguration like a natural, because he was ––––––– he was one of the few Hogwarts students to excel in the subject so quickly that he was invited to attend more advanced lectures ahead of his year.  However, much to his professor’s chagrin, James refused, choosing instead to keep behind so that he could continue studying alongside his friends.  ( His increasing boredom became more evident in class disruptions, but once James found himself in pursuit of a new project — — a.k.a. animagus study — — his natural talent and studious nature took over once more. )

As illustrated by the creation of the Marauders’ Map, James also has an eidetic memory, put to use more for secret passages and pranks than much else, but an area of expertise all the same !

[esotheria-sims]

Replies, pt.2 :)

In which I drabble with @skyburned about my latest rotation. Made it into its own text post for easier tracking, and also because I would’ve ran out of characters if I tried to add these with the comment option.

skyburned replied to your photoset “Dinner time. The same crowd from this afternoon is gathered at the...”

All that hotness at one table and there's poor Ambrose relegated once again to bussing the table. What a sad face. ACR may prevent any romantic interactions between teens and adults, and your own preferences of course, but Phillip needs to take a second look at Marcus. He's not going to be a teen for long and the Queen seems breathless when he's near. What a backstory! Are you going to try to go there again or just let it happen and maybe lose it?

“Poor Ambrose" has become a bit of a chorus around here. xD As for Teen/Adult romance, the only thing keeping it from escalating right now is my own vigilant micro-managing. I forgot which mod it is that enables ACR interactions for Teen sims (some sort of ACR plug-in, I think?), but it was exactly around the time I took those pics that I added it to my game... and sure enough, immediate results. It’s funny (and even sort of ironic in a way) that it was her who developed a crush on him first, because I kind of imagined it happening the other way around... so yes, Phillip absolutely needs to take a better look at Marcus (and maybe try to be a little more supportive of his friend, even when he thinks that what he’s after is off-limits...or heck, especially then! I’m not saying that Phillip’s harsh words might have come from a place of lowkey jealousy, but I’m not saying it’s impossible, either). 

And since you brought up backstories and old times, I coincidentally happened upon this old post of mine just today. It contains the full Blackbird-Moonfeather family tree the way it was back in 2013, and gosh, does looking at it give me nostalgia! Which brings me to your next question (that also happens to be The Gretchenfrage of my entire BaCC): am I going to try and go down the same route as before or do something different this time? Well... I’m going to be a tease and say - stick around and find out for yourself! ;)

skyburned replied to your photoset “We have a full house, and someone’s gotta feed all those hungry sims....”

Aruena is so pretty, she needs to take a more personal interest in the persons doing the cooking or table clearing. Marcus outshines everybody. Rosalind and Feanor never slow down!

Say it louder for the people in the back! I wouldn't say that Aruena completely ignores the help (or those offering help), but she's definitely not as close with them as she could be, given a chance. Pity, she's missing out. But hey, she might change her mind - you never know! Can't ignore that cloud of tousled silver hair for too long. ;) As for Feanor and Rosalind, they've been at it for Two. Entire. Rotations! So yeah, ‘never slowing down’ is an accurate way to put it.

skyburned replied to your photoset “As a great lover of the Arts, Aruena was delighted to find out that...”

Yeah...Phillip and Rosalind...if he hangs around long enough he's bound to see something embarrassing! Is Aruena's interest in Marcus confined to the easel? He is so gorgeous.

Knowing Rosalind's track record, it probably wouldn't be the first time poor Phillip walks in on something he absolutely didn't need to see. xD It's fortunate the bedroom is all the way up on the 4th floor, it significantly lowers the chances of him accidentally stumbling upon the lovers... unless he goes out of his way to look for trouble, but that's another matter entirely. And if you've been following my latest posts, you probably already know that it isn't just Marcus' love for art that Aruena admires about him... ;) (I tried to take it slowly with the two of them, but apparently ACR was having none of my bull. xD) 

skyburned replied to your photoset “Don’t be fooled by Ambrose’s stern exterior, he’s actually a pretty...”

The way Aruena was watching Ambrose, I wondered if she was admiring more than his maid performance. Feanor and Rosalind look so good together! Love the photo by the stairs with her dress all spread out - just lovely shot.

Are you a psychic? Because sometimes it seems like you’re able to read deeper into my game than what I care to show on the screen! :D It’s true, I caught Aruena heartfarting over Ambrose a couple of times, though I choose to ignore it for the most part. He plays for the other team, they’re not exactly compatible in status... and besides, it’d be really awkward for both siblings to share a lover. Ambrose may be cute, but he’s no Don Lothario! :P As if Feanor bedding his sister’s best friend wasn’t bad enough already, lol! And speaking of the two sweethearts - I love how the pic by the stairs turned out as well! I don’t tend to pay much attention to how my pics are coming out as I shoot them, but that’s not to say that I can’t revisit them at a later time and admire them in retrospect. :) Thank you for your lovely comment(s), seeing you in my notes never fails to lift my spirits!

skyburned replied to your photoset “@thepathofnevermore and @blackswan-sims tagged me for the Flashback...”

Just gorgeous. Your work is luminous. Marcus glows but what you manage to do with him, to keep him the way he IS while still making the changes you want so he fits with the environment, well I'm in awe. Also, thank you for all the support you've given me...

You’re too good to me. ♥ ‘Luminous’ is hardly the word I’d pick to describe my 2010-era sims (looking at them always gives me a pretty bad case of The Cringe xD), but I AM happy with how Marcus ended up looking, all things considered. The 2010 version may have been bad, but you could say it served its purpose. :) And you're very, very welcome! You know it's all from the heart.♥

[mortia]

Sooo many replies

For @klmt1, @esotheria-sims, @theatticbox, @niamh-sims, @julsfels, @scribblessims, @meryses, @scibirg, @dramallamadingdang

Omg I love the job description.

Same here, I think Morganna’s Default Replacement careers are just the cutest. And considering how MUCH text is required to make even a single custom career...it’s very impressive that they are all fun and unique. 

esotheria-sims replied to your photo “Lol, this household keeps me guessing, that’s for sure. ”

So Ambrose has a thing for ladies of a certain age, huh?

I’m not sure if it’s ladies of a certain age or just ladies in general, lol! He still wolf-whistles every time he sees Joan, but this is the first time I’ve seen hearts appear for him! Hey, I’m down. She’s a widow and they could both use love ;)

theatticbox replied to your photoset “Paying respects to the god of warriors and to those lost in battle. ”

I adore your church building. You did an amazing job with it!

niamh-sims replied to your photoset “Finally adding our final place of worship in Dallùbach, the Cathedral...”

Beautiful build! When I first saw it, I thought it looked a bit like my ‘Church of the Watcher’, but not quite! At last your higher classes will have somewhere to mingle!

Thanks guys! Yes, I wasn’t aware until I saw them all starting to appear on Sunday how much I had wanted to see my Gentry and Nobility actually mingling. It was very satisfying. 

niamh-sims replied to your photoset “Lol as much as I love Margery commandeering the dinner table, I do...”

Margery looks like a little firecracker!

She really is, I am quite fond of her character :)

niamh-sims replied to your photo “AWKWARD. Hahahaha. It’s OK though, I’d always intended Joan to marry...”

They would make an awesome couple. Their kids would be super cute!

They would BUT I do intend to keep Nobility in the same circle. She’s just not high status enough for him, so we will have to wait until some appropriate Nobles move into town! 

julsfels replied to your photo “I’ve realized that I need to start thinking about family portraits now...”

Beautiful portrait! But the story is so sad. :(

It is, isn’t it? When I rolled the dice for this family, it was for 3 females only so I had to come up with some reason why there were no male heads of the family in my patriarchal knightly household...but it wasn’t until I gave those “missing”characters faces and names and personalities that I felt sad about never meeting them. 

esotheria-sims replied to your photoset “There are some days that are pretty easy for Ambrose, and some where I...”

This is kind of becoming a refrain with this household, but... poor guy! XD

Yeah pretty much, lol. He had days where he could chat with Gertrude and have a bit more leisure time, but he was mostly on his feet from dawn till dusk looking after the house and its inhabitants. And this was a small manor house. Woe be unto the servant who has to look after a castle >.<.

dramallamadingdang replied to your quote “I’m curious as to how you managed this - is he set as a repairman NPC?...”

That's what I do, too, but I've heard other people saying they use Sim Surgery to make their nannies/repairpeople/maids look like their playables who have those "jobs." I've always thought that was a great idea, but I've never actually done it...

Yeah, I heard about that method too but tbh, the less time I have to spend fussing in SimPE the better for me. Plus, I actually enjoy having the actual Sim come out to these households and meet people he ordinarily might not get to see. I can live with that :)

scribblessims reblogged your post and added:

IIRC, Moi’s water mod has a ‘deep green’ color...

meryses replied to your post “WCIF”

I only know of these two buyable overlays, hopefully they're what you're looking for: http://modthesims.info/d/328098 http://gardenofshadows.org.uk/gardenofshadows/index.php?PHPSESSID=r7h42s8bad0sthbfeognchg7n5&topic=19887.msg512251#msg512251

scibirg replied to your post “WCIF”

There is an overlay mod for that. I think perhaps made by iCad/dramallamadingdang?

Thank you all for your suggestions! In the end I decided to go with a “square pond” (which I’ll probably post pics of in the near future) but definitely keeping all these cool overlays in my back pocket. Swimming in blood would be cool as hell!