Chapter 17

[simtopi]

[ ch 14 ] [ ch 15 ] [ ch 16 ] « previous chapters || [ All ]

17: Shadows

Warnings: Coarse/mature language. Vampires, witches and ghosts. Happy Hallowe'en!

He sat by himself, not minding that the sun had set and the rest of the students milling around the library had things other than their studies in mind. He paid little attention to what was going on around him. It was a warm evening and his book held his interest. At the least, it kept his mind off of the mild twinge of hunger he was feeling, serving to remind him that he had been too busy to have lunch that day. And he wasn't looking forward to another night of cheap student dinner.


If she were any other person, he wouldn't have noticed her at all, even if she had stood in front of him and sang an aria. However, she didn't need to do a thing to suddenly become a distraction. He caught the gentle scent of her perfume, and as she approached, a dark silhouette at the corner of his eye, she became difficult for him to ignore.


"Good evening," she said, her voice lilting and melodic, with a touch of an accent he'd never heard before. "I certainly hope this seat isn't taken. May I?"
"Go right ahead, ma'am." he replied, glancing up briefly. He wanted to stare, but he was too conscious of being impolite.


"That book must be mighty engaging if you're sitting here by yourself reading it well into the night."
"I never noticed the time, to be honest."
"You must have noticed it getting dark. A handsome young man such as yourself surely must have other plans than to just sit here in front of the library with a book of boring poetry."


"So far, this is all I have to do tonight, ma'am."
She grinned and glanced over. "The Works of Sir Alfred Tennyson, hmm?"
"Yes... are you familiar with it?" He was a little surprised that she was able to read the fine text with just a glance.
"Do I look like a scholar to you, love?" she replied.
"I... uh..." He wasn't sure how to answer that without insulting her. In fact, with how she was dressed, with her perfume and heavy makeup, she didn't look like a student at all. "Well to be honest, you certainly aren't dressed like one."


She smiled at his awkwardness. "I was just making idle conversation, dear. I can't really pass up that chance with a handsome young man such as yourself."
"Um... I appreciate the compliment." He lowered his head further so she wouldn't see his face redden.


"But in her web she still delights
To weave the Mirror's magic sights,
For often through the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot..."


"Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
'I am half sick of shadows,' said
The Lady of Shalott."


He looked at her, a little surprised. "So you do know Tennyson."
"I know what it is you're reading." she answered, a touch of melancholy in her voice.
"It's one of my favourite poems." he admitted.
She clicked her tongue. "If you like that sort of romantic gaudiness. Are you a romantic, dearie? Is there someone out there for you?"


"A young lady perhaps that you've left behind while you flew off for college. To see the world. To learn everything new under the sun. I know the story, I understand the compulsion."
"With all due respect, ma'am, it really isn't any of your business." He was beginning to be a little annoyed with her presumptuousness.


"Don't be so shy. You're as open as that book you're reading. I'll admit I have my eye on you... you are quite something to die for. But if she's worth going back to, then I'll behave like the gentlewoman I'm supposed to be."


Not knowing how else to respond, he closed his book gently. "It is getting late. I think I'll be heading home."


"Did I scare you off?" she laughed.
"Maybe a little." he smiled. "It was nice to meet you..."


"Sibyll, love," she filled in the questioning pause. "Countess Alexandria Sibyll Tremaine. Dear me, I haven't used my full name in a while."
"A Countess, huh?" he was genuinely curious.
"In another place and time, but yes." she said. "And now you know my name, care to return the favour?"


"It's Wesley, ma'am. Wesley Vaughn."


"Wesley," she said, a hint of teasing. "Such a sweet name. It suits you."
She looked up at him and for the first time since she had sat down next to him, he was able to see her eyes under her wide brimmed hat.
"Have a good evening, Mr. Wesley Vaughn." she said, her mysterious scarlet eyes twinkling in the lamp light. "I hope to see you again."


That night was the first night he had met her. He had seen several generations pass since that moment, but there would be nothing he could do that could make him forget the first glimpse of those eyes. So many of his memories seemed disjointed but there were a few that he held on to like precious treasures.


One thing he had forgotten was what his life was like before. He could barely remember that young man that Sibyll had met so long ago. Things had been so different then. So much has changed.


Sibyll: You're off again, dear.


Wesley: I told you I wouldn't stay.
Sibyll: And I told you that you were welcome to. Your friend however, wasn't.


Sibyll: But I kept my promise. No harm came to her today.
Wesley: I thank you for that. And I'm sorry for any inconvenience.
Sibyll: Never mind, love. Where will you go now?


Wesley was silent for a moment. He didn't have to say a word.
Sibyll: I can't believe this. You're going back to Clara aren't you.


Wesley: There's unfinished business.
Sibyll: Indeed. I don't know what appeal that woman has for you... and you certainly do have strange taste in them. But I'll remind you she's a witch, and a dark one at that. You can't trust them.
Wesley: I know.
He said nothing after that, avoiding her stare. She was right and he knew it. More so after he realized who Clara had him try to kill the night before. And Sibyll knew that there would be nothing she could do at this moment to stop him from leaving. She never could.


Quickly, she reached up and kissed him. It was a memory she had waited too long to relive.


Sibyll: Are you sorry that you came here?


Wesley: No. I'm not sorry.
Sibyll: You really do need to come by more often. love. But I will see you again.


She stepped back as he left without another word. Once again, she was alone.


She knew the reason he was returning to the witch. Sibyll knew Wesley too well. Whatever pact he made with her will hold, but the real reason was because of that young woman he was protecting.


It didn't take long for Sibyll to realize who the girl was. And because of her, Wesley was in far more danger than either of them knew.

Willow: I forgot you were coming over, Jasmine. Sorry...
Gabriel: Uh yeah, didn't think we were expecting you.


Jasmine: Uh huh. We've only had the most insane night last night ever. Are you kidding me, Willow? You think this stuff could wait?
Willow: No, you're right. We can talk upstairs.
Jasmine didn't miss Gabriel's sharp, annoyed glare just then.


Jasmine: Or you know, maybe it can wait. Clearly I was interrupting something...
Willow: Really, Jasmine, it's fine. We need to talk.


Jasmine: Okay... but I did just see what I thought I saw, right?
Gabriel shot her another angry look as Willow simply grinned and blushed.
Jasmine: Thought so.


Gabriel: So I guess whatever you have to talk about with Jasmine is pretty important?
Willow: It's just about all the stuff that happened last night. I didn't get a chance to talk to her about any of it yet.


Gabriel: I suppose I'll allow this. Just this once.
Willow: I'm really sorry... but it's not like I'm going anywhere.
Gabriel: Willow I'm joking. Just go ahead and do whatever it is you girls do. I guess I just sorta wished I had you to myself tonight.
Willow: I'll see you in the morning. Promise.

He stood there and watched her follow Jasmine towards the building. He sighed, shaking his head. He didn't care what Jasmine thought, he just had to finish what he had wanted to do for a long time.


He skipped forward and pulled her back gently.
Gabriel: Give us two minutes, Jasmine.


He kissed her softly and passionately, taking her by surprise. Willow's head began to spin in a wonderful kind of dizziness as she kissed him back, holding him closer.


It was nothing like their first kiss at all.


Jasmine rolled her eyes back, and sighed, half amused, half annoyed.
Jasmine: Guys, I'm right here.


But they kept at it, ignoring her. Smiling to herself, she turned around and decided she'd just leave them at it for a while. Despite everything that was going on lately, she was honestly glad to see that two people she cared a lot for were happy. And with each other.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was all of fifteen minutes before Willow showed up at her room. Willow stood at the door, fidgeting a little nervously unsure how to tell Jasmine about everything that just happened downstairs.
Jasmine: And how long has this been going on?
Willow: Just tonight.
Jasmine: Bullshit. You don't go from nothing to that kind of kissy face in a night. Especially not with Gabe. I know him too well... I know you too well.


Willow: Ok well something sort of happened the night of your mom's show.
Jasmine: And it took you this long to tell me?


Willow: Honestly, I wasn't sure anything was going to go further than that. And nothing did. Tonight... just happened.


Jasmine: I'm just a little surprised that neither of you mentioned anything at all.
Willow: Like I said, I wasn't sure anything was going to happen.
Jasmine: Do you like him?
Willow: Of course I do.


Jasmine: Well good. You guys really do deserve eachother. I mean that.
Willow: Thank you. I just never realized how sweet and funny and cute he was...
Jasmine: Okay, let's not go too far now. This is Gabe we're talking about so don't mind me if it kinda freaks me out a bit. He's practically my big brother.


Willow: What about you? Are you okay... I mean after last night. That scratch looks kind of bad.
Jasmine: It looks worse than it is. You know I didn't get that in the accident.
Willow: What happened?
Jasmine: Maybe I should be asking you that.
Willow: You go first.


It took a while to recount the details. And she didn't quite know how to say that what attacked her wasn't quite normal. Willow listened quietly. Other than the concern on her face, Jasmine couldn't quite tell what she was thinking about all of this.


Willow: Something came after me too.
Jasmine: You didn't say anything about that. You told everyone you just got up and got lost.
Willow: Yes, well it's sort of difficult to explain that I was being chased around the city by the living dead.


Jasmine coughed up in surprise at what Willow just said.
Jasmine: Did you just say the "living dead"?
Willow: Yes I did. And you wanted to say it too.
Jasmine: I know... but I was sort of hoping that you'd just try and convince me that that guy that nearly killed me was just some kind of psycho with bad breath and a skin condition.
Willow: No... he wasn't alive. Neither was the one that nearly got me.


Jasmine: Willow, you are going to have to give me a better explanation than that.
Willow: Why didn't you tell anyone else about this, Jasmine? You don't want to believe it because you know I'm right.
Jasmine: I don't know, I guess it's just not in my nature to believe in zombies, Willow. That's fucked up.


Willow: There's a lot you don't know.
Jasmine: About the paranormal crap you keep going on about? We went over this before.
Willow: I know we did, but I didn't tell you everything. Those things were after me. They wanted to kill me.


Jasmine: What? Willow are you serious? Why would they want to kill you? You of all people.
Willow: Honestly I don't know.


Jasmine: I'm serious, Willow. Whoever those were, they crashed my truck, they nearly broke my neck and now you're saying they're trying to kill you. How do you know this shit? And more importantly what are we going to do about it? We're going to have to tell the police eventually...


Willow: Those two that attacked us last night...they're not going to hurt anyone anymore.
Jasmine: And how do you know that?
Willow didn't exactly want to revisit the details of how those two zombies finally met their end. She shuddered thinking about it and wished she didn't have the memory to begin with.
Willow: You know all that "paranormal stuff I keep going on about?"


She stood up and took a deep breath. No one could know of what you can do, said Miss Cordial's voice in her head. But she had known Jasmine for a long time; even before she became a witch. At a point she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from her for much longer. She needed Jasmine to know.




Jasmine watched in disbelief as Willow made that book fly through the air towards her. She was always one to seek out easy explanations in life, but what she was seeing just now from her friend defied any of those explanations.


Jasmine: Okay, how the hell did you do that?


Willow: It's a spell. A simple locomotion spell. I'm really getting the hang of it.
Jasmine: A spell. Like magic and stuff.
Willow: Magic.
Jasmine: My mind has sufficiently exploded.


Jasmine: So all of a sudden you're dating my cousin, and you can do crazy magic stuff like making books fly through the air and zombies want to fucking kill you. Is there anything else you need to tell me Willow? God, it's bad enough that Cecilia is seeing ghosts...


Willow: Well, I did want to tell you that your Dad is probably under a spell...
Jasmine: Of course. That explains a ton.
At this point, Jasmine couldn't help being sarcastic. She still wasn't sure how to take any of this in.
Willow: But wait a minute, what did you just say? Cecilia is seeing ghosts?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cecilia was back at the Tri-Var mansion that night. Even though her sorority sisters were in the rooms next door, she couldn't help feel alone and a little scared. All day, she couldn't help but feel depressed about Morrison, and her dad was no where around that day. She nearly forgot about the reason why she had come to stay with him that night to begin with.


The day was already weird enough. She didn't get a chance to see Jasmine at the hospital, but she called her later at her dorm just to see if she needed anything. In a way, she was sort of annoyed at Jasmine for getting in the accident to begin with. Cecilia desperately wanted her around to tell her about Morrison and she just didn't feel right about telling her unless it was face to face. Her Aunt Jessie called to make sure things were alright and when she learned that her dad hadn't been around all day, she insisted on dropping Cecilia back to the Tri-Var mansion herself.


Cecilia always thought her father's sister was sort of odd and she never knew how to relate to her. Jessie, who was also a Tri-Var alumni like her mother, always liked to remind them that if it weren't for her, her parents would never have met, though that wasn't something she had been boasting about lately.

Jessie: Well here's a place I haven't seen in a while. I can't believe how long it's been since I've lived here. And it's still pretty pink.
Cecilia: Yeah. They should repaint I guess.


Jessie: Listen, hon, I know a lot has happened today. And I feel bad about poor little Morrison, but he was older than you, you know.
Cecilia: It still doesn't make me feel better.
Jessie: I know, sweetie.


Cecilia: Aunt Jessie... while you were staying here... did you notice anything weird? About the house in general?
Jessie: Other than the fact that it was very pink, no I didn't. Why do you ask?


Cecilia: It's not important, I guess. Thanks for the ride.
Jessie: Of course, honey. And keep in touch. You and Jasmine, both.


Cecilia barely spoke to anyone for the rest of the day and she purposefully skipped out on class. She shut herself away in her room all day, never realizing how lonely this place suddenly felt.


After sitting in bed for a while, Cecilia finally tried to get some sleep. She didn't want to think about what she had seen the night before. It seemed really unimportant at this point and maybe Jasmine was right. Maybe she had been seeing things. She didn't tell any of her sorority sisters. She didn't really need them thinking she was crazy. She had already asked... no one had seen the books littered all over the hallway last night. She even went so far as to call the cleaning service to ask if they had to clean up any messes there. They mentioned nothing like that.




She didn't know how long she had been asleep for when she heard the gentle muttering in her room beside her.


She sat up, wondering if she had been dreaming. She could faintly hear the muttering voice, but it didn't sound like it was coming from someone else's room. Half asleep, she got up to check on who must have been talking. Maybe someone was awake...


Opening the door, she heard the muttering more clearly. Whatever it was was in the halls, talking to itself. And she could finally see what it was. It was like a mist against the wallpaper, but its outline began to form and make itself clearly apparent. Cecilia gasped aloud, holding a terrified shriek in her throat.


The ghost floated obliviously down the unlit hallway away from Cecilia's room. It kept muttering to itself, it's tone ranging from worry to annoyance. Cecilia couldn't help but watch as it rounded the corner toward the study.


She felt compelled to follow. It was strange. She should have been afraid, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something she needed to know.


Everyone in the mansion was asleep. There was complete silence all around her. Cautiously, Cecilia opened the door to the study.




She was transfixed by what she was seeing.


"What do you mean I haven't finished my assignment? I've been working on it for twenty years, when is it good enough to hand in? These people are complete idiots! I'm not going to get a chance to catch up. i'm never going to finish this! It's never going to be good enough... "


"There's no way I'm going to let her beat me. It's not fair, she gets all the guys, she gets to fuck her way to great grades, she gets to graduate and I get to be stuck here doing this fucking assignment. All I wanted to do was open up the third floor. And to get rid of all the fucking pink. Why wouldn't they let me open up the third floor??? "


There was pure anger and sadness all at once in the ghost's muttering voice. Cecilia felt it all strongly now and she couldn't help but sympathize suddenly. For just a moment, her fear subsided.


"Are you getting all that? Do you need to take a picture, lady?"
It took a few seconds for Cecilia to realize that the ghost was talking to her.


"Oh GOD why do I even bother. You're just like her. You even look like her. The world's never gonna be rid of people like you. You just have to be the center of attention. Well take a good look, bitch. Are you fucking happy?"

She stammered because she wasn't sure what to say. The pure anger emanating from the ghost was so real that it was almost tangible. Cecilia shrank back in fear.


"You are so fucking pathetic. No... you know what's pathetic? FAILING COLLEGE BECAUSE YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD. THAT'S PATHETIC!"


Cecilia: I'm sorry, I'm sorry!! I didn't do anything!!! I'm sorry!!!
Cecilia covered her face and crouched low, shivering furiously as the wave of sadness and anger passed over her. She didn't know how long she stood there cowering before the ghost went away.


When it was over, there was nothing left. No ghost. No books. No emotions. Just Cecilia's feeling of fear.


She ran back to her room and shut the door, sinking down onto the floor as if anything she could do would bar any ghosts from coming back into her room. This was more horrifying than just seeing the books in the hall the night before.


And even more so because she could remember distinctly not only seeing the ghost, but feeling whatever it was it was remembering. She knew she wasn't crazy, but she didn't know what to do or who she could tell. Cecilia had never felt more terrified... and more alone... than she did this moment.

next »[ Chapter 18: Distractions ]

Comments

[simsinthecity.livejournal.com]

Uh oh! Your pictures are super-thin. I can't concentrate on a Sims story if I don't have pictures!

[simtopi]

Yikes you're quick. I was just editting. Refresh, refresh!!! D:

[simsinthecity.livejournal.com]

Yees, I have a tendency of being at the computer right when something is posted but not actually commenting until a day later :/

I had never thought of Wesley that way! I'd always thought "always has, always will be." I guess I never really thought about his days before he became a vampire. (and would I be right to guess that he became one shortly after that encounter?) He was such a nice boy, too!

Part of Cecilia's scene made me think "whoa, maybe she's hallucinating? maybe a spell is doing that?" But I hope not.

[simtopi]

Hehe... everyone has an origin, and it was fun for me to begin to tell Wesley's. You're right, there is more to his story to come. And he still is a nice guy, just caught up in some bad stuff. And of course, there will be more on Cecilia later too. :)

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

That was awesome.

I liked the little glimpse into Wesley's past. It took me until you had him say his name to realize that's exactly what we were seeing. So... Wesley was a book nerd. :)

I love the blossoming relationship between Willow and Gabe. The kiss was masterfully done.

Ooh... and a Brittney ghost. She was a bitch while living, I can't imagine she's any more pleasant as a ghost. D'oh!

I wanted to ask you, what post-processing do you do to your pictures? I seem to remember reading that you do some sharpening on them, but I'm curious what exact steps you take. :)

Good stuff as always. I gave a squeal of delight when I saw that you'd updated.

[simtopi]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed this chapter. :)

Wesley was indeed a book nerd. He's always been a knowledge sim, so I guess that's why he has a particular affinity with Willow. I'm glad you caught on that was Brittany's ghost. I killed her off a long time ago I felt like I sort of owed it to her to make it part of the plot, lol.

As for post processing, to be honest I don't do much. I use Photoshop 7, crop and shrink the images, then add a sharpen filter and a border to it. I have a photoshop action that does the whole thing for me. Sometimes, I adjust the levels and hue saturation if it calls for it for some shots (there are a couple like that in this chapter), but usually it is just the sharpen filter.

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

Are your screenshots actual base-game screenshots or do you use an external program to capture them? I think I'm most curious about how much you might sharpen. I haven't been sharpening mine at all, but I'm wondering if it might be worth starting. :)

I actually use Photoshop 7.0 too. I have a whole bunch of actions pre-set up for a variety of automated steps, but nothing that does any major changes to the images themselves.

[simtopi]

Oh right.. yes I use Screenhunter and take the shots as JPGs. I also save them at Maximum Quality. I just do one sharpen filter pass after the image has been shrunk down, it does the trick. I personally like how crisp and "cartoony" it tends to make the image. You can always try to experiment with a few pics.

Hi orikes13!!!

[mimiwiggles.livejournal.com]

Hi orikes13, I just wanted to thank you for requesting this story in one of your blog posts. It really is amazing! I just wanted to tell you that I've been reading your Pseudo Legacy since before you started posting them on livejournal (I think I've been reading them for 2 years now! maybe more! I've been reading them since you were writing the begining of the second generation if that tells you anything... yikes! time flies!!) I'm really enjoying both of these stories and can't wait to read more!!! I'm a huge fan!!!

[leapsbarnes.livejournal.com]

So, Wesley likes Tennyson eh? Aww, I really do adore him. I like Sibyl too I think. She's clever and sarcastic and I like that in a vampire. lol! Also, she seems really fond of Wesley in a not "You're mine" kinda way.

HOMG I LOVED THEIR KISS!! The reach around, grab the arm. Damn *I* want to be kissed like that. I mean, my time for romantic first kisses is kinda passed what with the, committed relationship thing, but hey, I can dream. lol!

I'm curious to see what happens with Cecilia. Aaaannnnddd Clara. I totally haven't forgotten her :) Awesome update Mela!

[simtopi]

I really enjoyed writing/posing Sibyll and Wesley so I'm glad you liked them. She really is fond of Wesley and you're right, she isn't possessive about him either. As for being kissed like that, I guess I have two words for you two: role-playing. O_o

Thank you!

[leapsbarnes.livejournal.com]

Ha! Yea, that's true but you know there's something special about that first kiss. Like, an honest to goodness first kiss ;)

I loved her hat. I loved that we only saw her face once and yea, it was really great :) And Wesley, so shy and booky, very cute.

[dicaprioangel.livejournal.com]

:-( I can't see any other picture aside from the title picture and I've refreshed about ten times :-(

[morbidsuccubi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me too.

:'(

[simtopi]

Thanks for letting me know. I fixed the issue, I think.

[simtopi]

Sorry, I guess I must have screwed up the HTML when editting (though I'm going to go right ahead and blame LJ..LOL). I didn't see the problem on Firefox, but it shows up in Internet Explorer. :p Give it a shot now, it should work.

Awesome update!!!

[mimiwiggles.livejournal.com]

This update was so amazing!!!! I've been reading your generation 3 for a while now and I'm so excited about the way that your writing it!! I'm spellbound!!! I loooooovvve Wesley and I love how you made him a book nerd. I'm also so excited to see what happens with Cecilla and her ghost! It's awesome that you used Brittany as the ghost... she's such a... i don't want to say. I can't wait for the next update!! How long does it usually take you to make updates? when do you think the next one will be? sorry i've never commented before. You have to make an account before you can comment and i've just been too lazy! Can't wait to read the next update!! happy halloween!

Re: Awesome update!!!

[simtopi]

Well thank you so much for leaving a comment. I really do appreciate it and I'm happy you're liking the story. I'm always so honoured to see new people commenting here. :)

So far, I think I've been fairly okay updating at least once every two weeks. I'm not on any set schedule, but I usually prefer to have something ready by weekends. The next chapter is actually outlined in my head already so it's just a matter of me sitting down and playing the game to pose so I can imagine a new update next week if I'm not too busy. If not then it'll be the week after.

Re: Awesome update!!!

[mimiwiggles.livejournal.com]

That's awesome! I remember making stories (that is before my game crashed and I can't afford to get a new one at the moment) and it takes a long time... I can't believe how on top of things you are! This story is so awesome though... I read the first chapter and then proceeded to obsessively read the rest of the chapters. :) This story is addicting!

[simnovoris.livejournal.com]

What a perfect way to celebrate Halloween. :) I really liked this, the part about young Wes and the ghost! I love ghosts. (I'll be shooting some photos with ghosts myself pretty soon.)

As always, I adore your posing and your sets!

[simtopi]

Yeah I thought this was a neat little update for hallowe'en. I've been wanting to get to Wesley's story for a while but I just kept overthinking where in the "flow" to throw it in. I love ghosts and ghost stories too, though in my head it's always creepier than Sim ghosts. I can't wait to see your ghost update. I love it when you get all supernatural, lol.

[dicaprioangel.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this chapter :-) It's good to know a bit more of Wesley and I still love Gabriel and Willow together :-) Can't wait for more!!

[simtopi]

Thank you! Like I said to simnovoris, I couldn't wait to write more about Wesley's past. ^_^

[juri-anne.livejournal.com]

This won't be a con crit reply right now cause I'm so tired I'm about to pass out on my keyboard, but I wanted to tell you this one thing: I am officially OBSESSED with this story. :D Willow/Gabe FTW! <3

[simtopi]

I'm really happy you're enjoying this story, and I appreciate you leaving a note when you're dead tired, lol. Thank you so much!

[dinoshad2brains.livejournal.com]

Hi! I've just caught up reading this story (well, generation 3 at least) and I know you get this a lot, but WOW! Aside from your pictures being breathtaking, your characters are great. In particular Willow seems more like a knowledge sim than most writing I see for knowledge sims, she's introverted but not boring. And I love Gabe sarcasm but soft center. Really, all of the characters are great without being simplistic stereotypes, and I can't wait to see what happens next, but I'll probably be entertained for a little bit reading the previous generations and trying to figure out who this ghost is.

[simtopi]

I know it sounds hokey, but I'm always very happy to see new readers/commenters here and I'm happy you're enjoying it. Trying to get into all the characters' heads are still a major challenge for me, so hopefully it's all working as intended. The previous generations have a special place in my heart just because of the background, but it's not really a big deal for the story. It isn't hard to find out who the ghost is from the history of the Tri-Var sorority, and if you really want to know you can just read through the comments here. I've made it no big secret. :)

[dinoshad2brains.livejournal.com]

Oh, I totally see who it is now! But I think I'll still go back and read the previous generations anyway.

[arithmeticdoll.livejournal.com]

awesome...I don't like gabriel for willow :( great job

[simtopi]

Aww that's too bad. I wasn't sure how they'd be at first too but I do think they're cute together. There's still a lot more to tell so maybe he'll warm up to you. ;)

[niki1988.livejournal.com]

I'm actually rooting for Wesley. Vampire/Witch couples can be fun like Willow & Angel BtVs or Damon from the Vampire Diaries.

When's the next chapter? I'm hooked.

[simtopi]

Hehe, I always think it's so neat that people have their favourites. :) I'm shooting a few scenes for the next chapter. I can see it being ready on schedule for later next week. Thank you for commenting. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Wow. Amazing update, as usual. You're just an awesome writer. I think Willow and Gabriel are SO cute. I love how Willow's able to open up and show at least one person her magical skills. :)
Btw, was that.....Brittany Upsnott? From Sim State Universary?

[simtopi]

Thank you so much for leaving a comment. :) I think Willow and Gabriel are cute together too. Willow, I think, has never been shy about her magic skills. She's happily accepted them and if anything I can imagine she'd want to tell more people, so telling Jasmine was a step. And yes that was indeed Brittany. We'll find out what happened to her in later chapters.

[simlili.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ! I hate grouchy Brittany too, but when you said a while ago you got rid of her because you didn't like her, you never mentioned getting rid of her THAT WAY..

[simtopi]

Oh yes. Brittany had to go. But back then I had no idea I'd be working her into the plot. ;)

I have to thank you... I got all your comments in my e-mail yesterday and it's awesome that you took the time to read my LJ! I hope I can keep entertaining. THANK YOU so much!