Chapter 27

[simtopi]

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27: Mortality

 

Warnings: dead sims, non-explicit nudity (boy nipples though O_o), adult situations, coarse/mature language, lots of pics, conversations

Once in a while there are accidents. And unfortunately those accidents sometimes takes the lives of those too young.


Otherwise healthy, physically able sims who could have contributed much to their little world if the powers that be didn't see it fit to end their normal lives.


However, it didn't necessarily mean that they had completely met their purposes. In fact, these sims were ideal. Strong. Intact...


Not many know that for some, death isn't always final.


The incantation wasn't necessarily difficult on paper. But it required an abundance of resources and it wasn't a very pleasant experience.


Clara was a little tired of smelling like ash and brimstone after each summoning. She was bored of her neighbours banging on her doors demanding for her to keep the noise down. In retrospect, her tiny condo may not have made the most ideal witch's haven. Even if it did have it's own underground secret chamber.


Every creature was unique. In a way, it was like artwork. Bringing them back to something that could resemble "life".


Though she never got used to the stench. And the constant moaning and wailing. She never expected the undead to be this whiny.


She couldn't stand back and admire her work for too long. She had to bind them to her immediately.


But she still wasn't accustomed to how fast they could be.


She hated when they touched her. She could take a dozen baths and still couldn't get the stink of rot off of her. But it was a work hazard.


And as fun as this was, it was work.


A job she hoped would have a very generous payout when she was done.








After the binding, she immediately teleported the creature to where it needed to be. Hopefully it will find the others. Hopefully, it won't cause too much havok before she could send her orders.

Clara grasped for air as if she had just sprinted a marathon. The summoning not only required resources, it was also physically and mentally draining.


She collapsed to the cold concrete floor, fighting to stay conscious, coughing and wheezing.

It was unfair that this should take so much from her. That she had to be this weak while all that idiot young witch, the one they labelled the Heir, was given the potential for more power than she'd know what to do with... If she even cared to use it at all.


For now, Clara rested. It would be a while until she could create more, but what she had for the moment was all she needed. She knew all too well that this would have been far easier if Wesley still served her. But her vampire was no where to be found. He could be dead for all she knew.


It didn't matter anyway. He had broken the pact once and for all and she was sick of dealing with it.


Wesley dragged himself out of the coffin, breathing deeply stale air that smelled like sour dirt. There was a little pain across his chest, sore muscles fighting against the expansion of his lungs. It was a normal sensation for one who had not breathed in days.


It took a moment for him to determine where he was. Vampires could see well in the dark, but not in the complete absence of light. Knowing this, his host had left a candle burning, anticipating his awakening.

She made no sound across the stone floor, but Wesley knew she was here.


Sibyll: How do you feel, love?
Wesley: Sore. But I'm alive.
Sibyll: And that surprises you?


Wesley: Did you hurt Willow?
Sibyll smiled.


Wesley: Countess...
Sibyll: Your little witch friend is safe. A tad wiser, but she's well and good.
Wesley: How long have I been asleep for?
Sibyll: A few days, love. I expected you to be awake much later than this. That spell very nearly killed you.


Wesley: I've survived it before.
Though it was because of Clara's protective magics that he survived. The first time he encountered that particular spell still hurt him greatly.


Sibyll: I do not think you'll survive it another time, Wesley. Is she really worth dying for?
Wesley: I didn't expect to be dying for anyone that night.


Wesley: What did you tell her?
Sibyll: I told her what she needed to know. That the Coven has great interest in her.
Wesley: They've been trying to take her since she was a child.
Sibyll: But she had to come to them willingly. And I suppose failing that they tried to educate her instead. Goodness, I can't imagine how much this tests their patience.


Sibyll: I worried for you, Wesley. When you came to me, you were near death.


Wesley raised his head slightly as she lowered herself down to him. Her lips moved closer to his.
Sibyll: Though not quite as close as you'd wish?
Wesley: Sibyll...
Sibyll: I know of Clara's pact, my love.

Wesley drew a deep breath.


Sibyll: How could you, Wesley? I give you life and you go to her to give you back mortality?


Sibyll: A dark witch of all people... one of those that have sought to destroy our kind. How many of us have died because of them? If you wanted death, I would have given it to you rather than let her...why would you do this...?


"Because I never chose to be this way." he said softly against her cold skin. "I'll never be like you, Sibyll."

---

The bed was small, and the window was drafty. But tonight, Willow never felt more comfortable, and never more warm. She had never felt anything like she did this moment just by being in his arms.


She fell asleep to the sound of his gentle snoring and his heartbeat against her skin. She woke with his arms around her, holding her close.


No, it wasn't a dream, she thought with a smile. He was still there, still deeply asleep and from the look on his face, fairly pleased with himself.


And he should be.


There were so many words going through Willow's mind to describe the night before. She was a biology major, so she knew in the most clinical terms what she should be expecting.

Willow: Be careful, it's not like I've done this before...
Gabriel: What... really?
Willow: How many guys do you think I've been with?
Gabriel: I dunno... I guess I never gave it all that much thought.


Gabriel: Great. Perfect time for performance anxiety.
Willow: What? Do you need to stop...?
Gabriel: It's okay... over it now. Where were we..?


He was a little over-enthusiastic, though she couldn't really blame him in this situation. And despite the initial awkwardness, overcoming her shyness and some discomfort, they were soon able to find their rhythm. Everything that happened afterwards was beautiful.


No text book could describe exactly just how beautiful this was.


She didn't want to get up, but she had an exam to get to. She knew Gabriel was a late sleeper, so she didn't want to disturb him. She wasn't exactly sure what the exact protocol was in this sort of situation, but she couldn't worry about it too much either. She threw on her pyjamas and hurried to the shower.


She felt happy. If only everything could be as simple as this. She didn't want to think about anything else... or anyone else.


She threw herself across her bed for a moment, thinking again of the night before. She didn't know if she felt any different... anymore mature, or anymore of a woman. She just hoped it wasn't a mistake.


Willow had been in her little reverie too long. She suddenly realized what time it was, pulled on her clothes and ran out the door.








She heard the loud knocking against the old doors just as she got to the bottom of the stairs.


Willow: Hello?


Melody: Hi. Are you Willow Marlen?


Willow had no idea who the younger girl was and why she'd be looking for her. She stepped back, a little defensively.
Willow: What can I help you with?
Melody: Are you Willow or not?
Willow: Who wants to know?


Melody: Ugh. Whatever. Listen, my mother would like to speak to you.
Willow: Your mother?
Melody: Yeah. I know it's kinda weird.


Willow looked over and noticed the older woman standing on the sidewalk in front of the house, looking at her calmly.


Willow: I'm sorry... I have an exam I need to get to right now, I don't really have time... wait a minute. Why is she standing over there? Why doesn't she come ask me herself?


Melody: I don't know. Something about the place being "charmed against all other magical entities".
Willow: What?
She hadn't expected to hear that.
Melody: Pssht. There's a spell on your mansion that keeps other witches from coming in. God, why am I explaining this to you?


Willow looked at the girl who was talking so nonchalantly about witchcraft, and then back at her mother, who was now glowing brightly even against the winter backdrop. She didn't realize that she was holding in her breath.


Willow: I... kinda do have to get to my exam. Tell her I'd like to meet her afterwards though.

---

Jasmine paused for a minute, unable to help looking over. Adrian had just come up from the gym just as she was getting ready to head to class. He stopped and looked over at her, too. It was a brief connection and she was the first to break it.


He watched, unable to think of what to say as she plugged in her ear buds.


She had every intention of ignoring him. He guessed he should have expected that.


Aside from that first glance, she did nothing to acknowledge him before she ran out the dorm into the snow.

---

Willow felt a lot better about visiting the library during the day. Everything seemed normal around here. Students were still milling around. None seemed any wiser to what had happened only a few days before. The old building kept it's secrets fairly well.


Willow was still a little apprehensive about coming here though. Not just because of what had happened earlier, but who she was about to meet now. Her exam went well, and she didn't have anything else to worry about for the rest of the day. But she still couldn't feel relaxed.


Wanda: Why hello, Willow Marlen. It's good to finally be able to meet you.
Willow: Uh... same I guess.
Wanda: I guess my daughter told you. My name is Wanda Tinker. I'm a Officer of the Circle of the Nine.


Willow: Circle of the Nine... what does that mean anyway?
Wanda: I'm not sure to be honest. Something about the original founders of our little coven. But all that is lost in myth and history now.
Willow: It's a little weird. This whole thing is. I never thought of witches in the way of being organized.
Wanda: We've been around forever, Willow. How else would we be?
Willow: I guess you're here about Miss Cordial... Samantha.
Wanda: Right. Samantha.
Willow: Is she alright?
Wanda: Her pride is a little hurt. But she'll get over that.


Willow: I knew her sister... Kimberly. She was my mentor.
Wanda: Yes, I know of her. She's the one that probably put the charm on your dorm. Though that is a bit of overkill, if you ask me.
Willow: I was going to ask you about that. I didn't even know.
Wanda: Well, some people are just overprotective. And maybe Kimberly had a reason to be. But I'll keep my mouth shut about her for now because I doubt you'd enjoy anything I had to say about her.
Willow: She wasn't a member of the Circle...?
Wanda: No, Willow. She was part of the Coven. I suspect you at least know who they are.
Willow: I... do now.

Willow tried to keep calm, remembering everything that Sibyll had told her about the Circle and the Coven. And how anything that the Coven had taken interest in couldn't be good for everyone else. She didn't know what to think about Wanda telling her that her Miss Cordial was part of them.


Willow: You have to excuse me, Mrs. Tinker. All this is a bit of a shock for me.
It was an understatement.
Wanda: I'm not here to hurt you. Samantha wasn't there to hurt you either.
Willow: No, but she tried to kill my friend.
Wanda: You do understand that your "friend" was responsible for the death of Kimberly Cordial.
Willow: I don't know. I don't really know what's going on. But he said he was...
Wanda: Oathbound. I see you know what that means.
Willow: Could it mean he's innocent?
Wanda: Maybe. That's why we need to find him and talk to him.
Willow: Talk? Or try to kill him again?


Wanda: I don't intend to hurt him Willow. But we do need to see him and find out the truth. Wouldn't you want that?
Willow: I do. But I don't necessarily want to see him hurt.
Wanda: There's a great many things you're going to need to understand, child.


Willow: And that's the thing... I don't get a lot of the things that's going on. Miss Cordial.. Kimberly left me with an old book and everything I know I've gotten out of there.
Wanda: Well, that's one thing we're happy to help you with, Willow. Lord only knows we can use a good new recruit.
Willow: There aren't many of you are there?
Wanda: Not many of us in the Circle, no.


Wanda: We used to get our strength from passing down our magical legacies throughout the generations. But there aren't many natural witches being born anymore. And learned witchcraft takes time.
Willow: Your daughter's not a witch? Why don't you recruit her?
Wanda: Melody? Well, she's a bright young lady. But she's never been all that interested in the family business.


Wanda: Think about what I just said. The Circle can help you train, possibly better than Kimberly did.
Willow: I don't know. Not if you guys intend to hurt Wesley. But I don't know about that too. I just can't imagine Wesley being directly responsible for killing her. But then again, I haven't seen him since that night.
Wanda: He is alive though.



Willow paused for a moment before she nodded.
Wanda: Willow. I'm going to ask you something that might be difficult. But listen carefully. You're dealing with something that is quite frankly over your head. There are very dangerous elements surrounding this entire case and it would be best if you came under our protection. But I do need you to talk to your friend if you can. If he did what he did under a magical oath, there are things we can do to help him. But most of all, we just have to know why and who he is working for.


Wanda: I have no love lost for Kimberly to be honest. But I can't have vampires running around willy nilly all over the city killing the rest of our people. Do you understand?
Wanda's voice was gentle, but there was a commanding sternness about the way she spoke.
Willow: Yeah, I understand.
Wanda: I can't let you think about it too long.
There was a lapse of silence between the two women. Willow wished she had ordered a cup of tea or something to mask how uncomfortable she was feeling right now. She looked over to the barista and noticed Cecilia Baird there.


Wanda: A friend of yours?
Willow: No. Not really.
Wanda: Well she looks like she could really use one. She's practically dead on her feet.
Willow: She's been seeing ghosts. She asked me to help her with that.
She didn't know why she felt the need to let Wanda know that. It was something to talk about other than herself or Wesley.
Wanda: I'm not surprised.


Willow: You aren't?
Wanda: No I'm not. Some people... well, put it this way. They're closer to the dead than the rest of us.


Wanda: I can see quite clearly that girl is one of them. You should help her, even if she isn't a friend. It's good for the soul.


Willow: How do you know that about her? You haven't even met her?
Wanda: Well, after a while, you sort of just get better at learning how to read people, hon. You'll catch it in time.


Wanda: I'm going to get going, but it was nice finally meeting you, Miss Marlen. One sec. Let me give you something that can help you reach me...
Willow: A talisman?


Wanda: Uh... no. My business card. Call me anytime, Willow. But don't dawdle.

---

Adrian: Hey. Didn't expect to see you here.


Jasmine: What'd you think? That I'd sit in my room all winter and be all emo about it?


Adrian: Well you've been pretty good at avoiding me.
Jasmine: Did we have anything to talk about?


Adrian: Listen... I'll look for a new place.


Jasmine: Why would you do that?


Adrian: I just thought... well with everything going on, our situation might be a little... I don't know...


Jasmine: Do whatever you want. But not on account of me.
Adrian: I just didn't want to make things uncomfortable for you. That's all.


Jasmine: Oh please. I'm not going to turn your life over just because you jostled mine. Get over yourself, Adrian, you're just another boy.




He couldn't help but grin, though he didn't know why.
Adrian: Jasmine, hang on...


Jasmine: You don't have to walk with me.
Adrian: You're going my way anyway.
Jasmine: You don't know that.

---

Willow didn't know why she was here. The Tri-Var mansion wasn't far from her dorm and she walked by it every day. But as it got dark, she found herself hesitating in front of it this time, thinking about seeing Cecilia that day and what Wanda told her.

If this was one of Cecilia's pranks...


If Wanda hadn't had said what she did about Cecilia, Willow doubted she'd be here knocking at their door. She was nervous. She didn't know what to expect. These were the type of people that had laughed at her her entire life and she wasn't in the mood for it tonight.


Cecilia opened the door, her eyes wide with surprise.
Cecilia: Willow. Hi. Come in.


Cecilia brought her to their common room and handed her the photo album right away. She was surprisingly talkative and friendly for someone who had only been distant if not outright mean to her all their lives.
Cecilia: Her name is Brittany. Brittany Upsnott and she used to be Tri-Var. I think she died right before my Aunt Jessie pledged. I've been trying to find as much information about her as I could.


Cecilia: The thing is, I found her obituary and some memorial type of articles in old papers and yearbooks. But nothing mentioned how she actually died.


Willow: Hmm. That's kinda weird. I'm sure it's on record somewhere.
Cecilia: I know. I just hadn't had time to dig that deep yet.
Willow: It's really hard to see... but I think that's the Landgrabb Society emblem on the blazer she's wearing in this last picture.
Cecilia went a little tense when she heard the name.
Cecilia: The who?


Willow: The secret society?
Cecilia: There's a society I don't know about?
Willow: That's why it's a "secret".
Cecilia: Well... whatever. Do you think that's important?
Willow: I don't know, Cecilia. To be honest, I don't even know what I'm doing here or how I can help you.
Cecilia: I guess it's helpful that someone's actually listening to me for once.


Willow closed the photo album and sighed. Cecilia did look honest, and a little sad right now.
Willow: Well, let's go up to the attic you were talking about.
Cecilia: Right now?
Willow: Yes. See if there's anything up there that the ghost might think is important.
Cecilia: Okay, I guess.


Cecilia lead her to the ladder in the closet leading up to the attic. Willow peered upwards cautiously. It was dark up there. Even she was beginning to feel a little nervous.
What are you worried about, you're a witch. Willow told herself. She's dealt with zombies, vampires and other witches at this point, she could deal with things that go bump in the night.


Willow: I guess I'll go first.
Cecilia: Be careful, Willow.
Willow: I'm sure there's nothing up there to worry about.


Cecilia watched as she climbed into the attic.


The seconds just seemed to be getting longer. She could hear Willow's footsteps up there, but they seemed to be fading as she walked further away from the hatch.
Cecilia: Willow?
There was no answer.


Cecilia: Willow???
What was she doing up there? The quiet was driving her insane. It didn't take that long to just look around and come back down. Finally, Willow's muffled voice hollered down.

Willow: Come on up.


Cecilia climbed up the ladder and through the hatch. It took a minute to adjust to the lack of light up here. A window let in light from the street outside, dimly outlining piles of old boxes, suitcases and junk leftover by previous sorority sisters. But nothing looked out of the ordinary.


Cecilia wasn't tall, but her head nearly grazed the ceiling. The space was far too small to turn into another real floor. It was only really good for storage here.

Willow: There's nothing up here, Cecilia. Well... except for whatever's in these boxes. It's too dark to look through them all right now.
Cecilia: She said she wanted to open up the third floor.
Willow: Well it looks pretty open to me.


Cecilia: I don't get it. I don't understand what she wants?
Willow: We can go through all this another time. When we have light, maybe.


Cecilia wasn't sure what to expect, but she didn't think that she'd be this disappointed. They headed back down the ladder into the closet and resignedly, Cecilia watched as Willow began to leave.


Her breath caught tightly in her throat as they walked through the closet door into the hallway.


Cecilia's eyes transfixed on the ghost standing in its uniform at the end of the hall, simply staring back quietly at her.


Cecilia: Willow... she's here.


Willow took a few steps forward, slowly and cautiously.


She turned around back towards Cecilia.
Willow: Cecilia... I don't see anything.


"I don't see anything". Cecilia felt like she had just been slapped.
Cecilia: She's right behind you, Willow. Can't you see her???
Willow: There's nothing there.


Cecilia: You seriously have to be blind to not see her. She's right fucking there, Willow. Turn around and look! I'm not crazy!!!


Willow: I didn't say you were... but I don't see anything, Cecilia.


Cecilia: Don't you bullshit me, Willow. Just leave if you're not going to help me.
Willow narrowed her eyes. How did she expect that things would end up like this?
Willow: Alright.
She hurried down the stairs, grabbed her coat and headed back outside. Maybe Cecilia did see something, but Willow didn't appreciate being yelled at. She really didn't need this.


Cecilia watched her go, too angry to break down and cry right now. She had hoped that Willow could help her. She had hoped anyone could help her. But it was useless. She wasn't willing to believe that this was all in her head. What she saw... everything she experienced was real.


It had to be.


"You better apologize to her. She's the closest you'll ever get to anyone believing you. Even if you are completely insane."
Cecilia: Go to hell, Brittany.


Forcing down her pride, she ran outside into the snow.
Cecilia: Willow... Look... I'm sorry.


Willow: I was only trying to help you. Now I just want to go home. You're not the only one with problems.
Cecilia: I know, and I'm sorry I was a bitch. But she really was up there. I'm not seeing things. I know I can't be.


Cecilia: For the past week or two she's been haunting the house. Me, maybe, I don't know. But I can't sleep. I can't do my schoolwork. And no one will believe me.


Cecilia: Not even Jasmine believes me. My own fucking sister won't believe me.


Cecilia: What am I supposed to do?
Willow: Fine. Just calm down. And get your coat.


Cecilia: Where are we going?
Willow: This goes against my better judgement Cecilia. It seriously does. But if you want information about Brittany, then the only place I could think of to start would probably be the Secret Society.
Cecilia: Tonight?


Willow: Why not? I just don't know how to get there. But I think Gabriel does though.

---

They walked in silence for the most part down the empty streets. Everyone else was staying in, avoiding the cold. Jasmine didn't let the cold affect her. She was too busy trying to keep herself from outright yelling at Adrian, asking him why he had to walk home with her as if everything was just normal.


Adrian: You're going to have to say something to me at a point.
Jasmine: I don't have anything to say, Adrian.


Jasmine: Look. This entire thing is just embarassing enough for me, it's not helping that you have to hang around and rub it in.
Adrian: It's not like that...
Jasmine: What is it with you? Do you really need to be Mr. Popularity all the time that you can't stand to have one person not completely adore you?


Adrian: I don't think that's fair...


Jasmine shushed him suddenly.
Jasmine: Wait... do you hear something?


She yelled and ducked just as she saw the trash can flying at them. Adrian dodged quickly, the can narrowly missing him.


Adrian: What the...?


They both whirled around as soon as they heard the dragging of feet against the icy asphalt. Blood drained completely from Jasmine's face as she saw what was approaching them.


Jasmine: Oh hell no.


next » [ Chapter 28: The Mission ]

------------------------------------
Notes:
* red headed undead type guy is Harper Fox created by telectroscope for "The Person Below Me Challenge" on pixel_trade many moons ago. Finally got around to using him :D
* and yes, moar zombies to come!
* speaking of, the Casting Call is still open. I'm ambitious. I like hordes. Some of you guys will most likely see your sims in the next chapter. :D
* as a refresher for why Wesley makes the decisions he does, go all the way back to Chapter 1.
* the romance writing is still killing me. But Willow and Gabe have wanted to woohoo for ages, I figure I'd finally let them. O_o
* thank you always for reading and for your support. As always, criticism is more than welcome here. :D

Comments

[niki1988.livejournal.com]

YAY! Wesley's back! Hope to see him again.

Wow, how did you get Willow and Gabriel in the bed like that? I only thought that 1 sim could be in that bed. Can't believe they took the big step.

So Adrian and Jasmine are somewhat talking, but now who's going to save them from the Zombies?

And what is Wesley going to do when he has to face Cecilia?

Can't wait for the next chapter!!

[simtopi]

Yes, Wesley is back, we're definitely not done with him. :D

The scenes with Willow and Gabriel were created with various pose boxes, romantic interactions and a gratuitous use of OMSPs. Unfortunately I haven't seen a hack yet that allowed sims to wohoo in a single bed. >_>

I have a feeling Adrian and Jasmine may be on their own with the zombies. ;)

[niki1988.livejournal.com]

Sweet! So where do he and Sybil stand now?

I wish they would've put that setting in the sims game, and the bed itself looks big enough for two.

Hopefully not, they still need to talk things through and they can't be Zombie dinner!

[dicaprioangel.livejournal.com]

I loved this chapter! :-) I can't wait to read more!

[simtopi]

Thank you kindly! Definitely more to come, hopefully soon(ish).

[budgie-budgie.livejournal.com]

Oh no, a cliffhanger, just when I was starting to bite my nails! :D. Great, great chapter!
(and the pleased smile on Willow's face in the shower - need no words for that ;))

[simtopi]

MMm, I gotta love cliffhangers. :) I just hope they're as effective as I'd like them to be. I'm glad you liked this chapter. :)

[dgjamie.livejournal.com]

EEE! I was so excited to wake up to this that I had to do the non mature thing and read it right away rather than go on a meds run. Totally worth it, awesome as always and now I am all flaily and grinny over that last cliffhanger for the rest of the morning!

Loved Willow and Gabriel in this one, very sweet, and I loved how you handled the scene with them without going X Rated, which is no mean feat.
But I have to say:
"What'd you think? That I'd sit in my room all winter and be emo about it?"
With that line Jasmine may have just claimed the "most awesome character" spot. She's always been one my favourites, but her doing the tough girl thing this chapter made me love her even more, and seeing her interact with Adrian just reiterates what an awesome BAMF that girl can be when she wants to. I should have guessed it would only be a matter of time before she and Adrian got to fight Zombies together (and have more fighting sexual tension perhaps?). I seriously can't wait to see this!

I also can't yet decide if I trust Wanda Tinker or not, at least with the bad guys you know where you stand, I'm wary of people who may or may not have agendas for Willow that we don't know about yet. *keeps eye on Wanda*

Anyway, totally Loved it, cannot wait for next chapter :)

[simtopi]

Awww thank you. :) I've done that... put off what I needed to do or places I needed to be to catch someone's update they just posted. LOL.

Willow and Gabriel's scene was sort of interesting for me to pose and write. I definitely didn't want to go X-rated, and I wanted to keep it simple, but I'm such a fan of details. I hope it came across all right.

As for Jasmine, yeah I wanted people to sympathize with her but without feeling too sorry for her. She isn't naive and she can handle herself to some extent. And although it's planned out somewhat in my head, I hope to gawd that I can pull off the zombie fight scene the way I want. This will be maddening, but hopefully fun.

And Wanda, I honestly love the Tinkers. When I envisioned Wanda's character, I did want a matronly, family type older woman who definitely looked more innocent than she seemed. So we'll see yet what she has in store for Willow.

[galialady.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this chapter a lot. I liked the little suspence on the "ghostbuster" scene and I'm anxious to know what will happen next - What's the story of Brittany Upsnott :P

Oh, and why Jasmine always "attracts" troubles?! :P

I can't wait for the next chapter!

Have a nice day :)

[simtopi]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. We'll certainly see what had happened to Brittany in later chapters. And Jasmine does seem to be getting into a lot of trouble lately, lol.

[harlowstories.livejournal.com]

This will be short and sweet.

I did NOT expect you to delve into Willow and Gabriel's... evening. The scenario was fairly self-explanation, so details could have been avoided. Not that they should be, but the choice was there. I can feel your discomfort with writing "romance" (though personally, I consider there to be a difference between a sexual encounter and romance). The writing was a little stilted in that passage.

Adrian and Jasmine better be getting together. The more scenes the two share, the more the chemistry grows. I expect Adrian will start sensing it if he hasn't already. I just hope that it will be genuine if he does. Of course, you'd also have to pull some stops to make it believable for him to reject her and then suddenly want her.

Wesley looks fabulous in a different top. I know, small detail, but I really hate that black knit sweater. I've seen it sooo many times in sooo many stories and I just HATE it.

All in all, I felt like this chapter pulled a lot of pieces together. Almost every plot line is tucked in here without seeming too stuffed or strained.

P.S. I would LOVE to offer some sims for you, but my situation is a bit unusual at the moment. I have the .package files for my sims, so you could drop them in your SavedSims folder, but I have no idea which file is which, so I wouldn't know who I was giving you. Of course, if you don't mind completely random sims, then let me know ;)

[simtopi]

You know, I'll be completely honest here and say that I was pretty conflicted on how to portray Willow and Gabriel's scene. On one hand, you're absolutely right I could have kept things simple. But on the other, I did feel at this point it might have been safe to include more detail, particularly from Willow's point of view. I didn't want to go overboard, but I didn't want to necessarily wash over this particular moment. So I'm not sure if I took the right approach or not, but in the end, I decided on a balance and thought I'd hopefully get honest reader feedback from it. So I'm totally glad that you offered it. :)

It's strange, I don't necessarily shy away from sex scenes but I was particularly conflicted because this was the main character I'm dealing with. I could go on about the merits and the disadvantages of scenes like this but I think this would be a huge discussion that probably wouldn't be suitable for the comments section of this chapter. ;) Definitely a topic I wouldn't mind discussing. I love how you make me think about writing, but I think I've mentioned that before. :D

Anyway, moving on. Adrian, yes. No, I don't think Adrian is going to do a blatant 180° and start wanting Jasmine. But he is like 9 or 10 nice points and I do want to capture that aspect of his sim personality in his story self. And Jasmine is right to some extent... he is a Popularity sim so he has constant fears of people falling out of friendship with him and such so I figure he doesn't necessarily want to see anyone hate him because of something he can't help. I hope that made sense.

As for offering sims up... I've only ever installed sims with clean installer or through the sim installer, so I don't know if that would work or do anything adverse. But since I will be needed extras for lots of different things in the future, I don't mind waiting for you to sort things out if you'r still interested in sharing your sims. ;)

Thank you so much for the comment. Sorry my reply was so long!

Oh and P.S. About Wesley's sweater, lol. It's okay that you hate it. I made Wesley a while before I even envisioned him in this story and at the time, I thought the outfit that I just found on MTS looked pretty cool. Now, it's a part of his personality almost (at least in my mind). you'll see it again, because Wesley isn't the type that changes very much. Personally, I'm tired of seeing it too, but I've put him in a number of different outfits, I just haven't found anything that suits him for this story.

[spyroeldragon.livejournal.com]

It's kind of funny how most of the boys have been all out of the loop about this whole thing - and by boys I mean Gabriel and Adrian... because Linden and Rowan know about all this stuff. It seems like next chapter things will be a bit different. Holy cow. I don't see how Willow is going to ask for directions without telling Gabriel what's going on.
Have I mentioned that I love Sibyll yet? I don't think I have. But her character is awesome, she just kicks all kinds of ass. And Wesley, too. I really feel bad for him. Poor guy.
The scene with Willow and Gabriel was so cute. It always bothered me that sims couldn't woohoo in a single bed. As sex-crazed as most of them seem to be (i.e., rolling up wants to woohoo EVERYWHERE like five seconds after they fall in love on a date), they'd be able to work something out.
And man, Cecelia. I still feel so bad for Cecelia. I guess her personality and the way she's acted finally caught up with her. I hope Willow can help her though.
Oh! The opening shots! Those were cool. Like, really, really cool. And I love what you've done with Wanda Tinker! Most people kind of ignore the Tinkers, but your take on them is awesome.
So my thoughts are scrambled and I say 'awesome' too much - that's what happens when I read this! I absolutely love this story and I cannot wait for more. :]

[simtopi]

Adrian and Jasmine (and Rowan) were always intended to be the "warriors" of my story, so yeah Adrian will probably have to be involved in the fun eventually. I think there are ways around Willow having to tell Gabriel everything in regards to visiting the Secret Society.

LOL, you're so right about sims wanting to woohoo everywhere. I wish at least ACR made it so they could woohoo in a single bed. It would make dorm life more realistic (seriously who ever had a double bed in a typical college dorm???).

I'm glad you like the Tinkers. I know what I've done with Wanda is a bit of a departure than the Maxis story, but that's the fun thing with Maxis characters, they are quite open ended.

Thank you for the comment I'm always happy that you like. :D

[selenaq13.livejournal.com]

Yesssss, what an incredible ride! Amazing chapter. Ohhhhh, what a cliffhanger! I'm already excited about the next chapter! Now I have even more questions, why are the zombies after Jasmine, unless . . . Oh gosh!

[simtopi]

Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. It's the posing that will probably do me in for that one. I hope it will answer some of your questions though. Thank you :D

[natsumi82.livejournal.com]

Hi! I discovered your story two weeks ago, I read it all at once, and now I can say I just ADORE it. Pics, plot development and characters are simply amazing and you're a very talented storyteller: I like the way you tell this story, it's such a graphic novel with sims pictures instead of drawings. I appreciate also the wise use of the pose boxes, sims seem so natural even when they do actions that don't even exist in the game. Last but not least, the direction of the every single shot of this story is perfect!IMHO SimTopi is one of the best sim story ever!
Speaking about chapter 27...Just beautiful. Awww Willow and Gabe, they are so cute <3 Glad to see Wesley again, poor thing, I feel so sad for him :( (and Sibyll is a great character too).
I don't like Cecilia, it's the kind of girl that I can't stand, but the story in which she's involved intrigues me...I hope Willow and Gabriel will help her (I was almost forgetting that he's in the secret society!)
Adrian and Jasmine, oh, they're my favourite characters: I have a little...ok, a BIG crush on him, and I think she's simply awesome, I am sad that things get worse for them...but who knows in the future ;)
Great chapter, I cannot wait for the next one!

PS: May I add you to my friends? I don't want to miss your updates anymore!

[simtopi]

Of course you can add me to your friends list. I don't mind at all. I'm really happy you're enjoying the story and thank you for commenting. :)

Willow and Gabe, I agree, they are cute together. Poor Wesley he's stuck in his situation but he'll still have choices to make.

I couldn't imagine anyone liking Cecilia, which is fine, but you're right she is involved in something huge. We'll see what happens in the next chapter. Same with Adrian and Jasmine. :)

[mimiwiggles.livejournal.com]

I'm screaming at you through my computer right now! HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO SLEEP WITH SUCH AN INTENSE CLIFFHANGER?!?!?! Ok, I don't know who the bad guys are and who the good guys are because Wanda is mysterious and I liked Kimberly but she was part of the Coven... The fact that Wesley wanted to be mortal made me like him ten times more than I did before. I really want to know what killed Brittany. My heart was genuinely racing when they were walking up into the attic.
About the romance...
Ok I love Willow and Gabriel's relationship but I was actually a little shocked by that. I'm 14 and I have a reputation at school for being really naive so i guess that's why...
This was still an AMAZING chapter and I can't wait until the next one! :) :) :)

[simtopi]

Awww I hope you got some sleep. ;) Don't worry I'll have an update hopefully in a couple of weeks. It's the posing that will take a lot of time for that one, as the story is already planned out.

I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. I know I have a few people around your age reading, but it's one of the reasons I post advisories. I guess those advisories are for all ages. In any case, as I wrote to Harlowstories above it was a bit weird for me to write that scene, but at the same time I decided to write the details in. It wasn't meant to be gratuitous though, and i'm not sure what to say -- i didn't mean to shock anyone. Thank you for your input though. :)

[redfox-2.livejournal.com]

Because I'm always long winded, I'll keep this short.
I absolutely love your story. And this is.. Well I'll just say that, its practically awesome enough for the Nobel prize for writing?
I also have to say that I liked how you handled the scene with Gab and Willow. Sweet and simple. X rated it just a bit much for me any way.

[simtopi]

Aww... thanks, that's extremely kind of you to say. :D I doubt this little story deserves a prize for anything, but thank you for the sentiment. ^_^

[simtopi]

I'm very glad you liked it, thank you. :)

I'm happy that I've so far been getting a decent response to Willow and Gabriel's scene, but I was pretty conflicted with it, and I wasn't sure how to write it. But the reason why I went with this direction was because it was an important part of her life. As for why she slept with him, well all I can say I guess is that you may be right... her motives weren't exactly pure.

Jasmine and Adrian, I do love the two together whenever I play them. I just couldn't have Jasmine wallow in an emotional mess for any length of time, really. It would have been totally unfair to her.

Willow had never met Wanda before this chapter. Wanda's first appearance was in Chapter 21, and she meets Jasmine there for the first time.

Again, thank you for the comment. Hopefully I'll be able to keep entertaining. :)

[starling-1.livejournal.com]

I love the way you dealt with Willow and Gabriel. It is definitely hard to describe a first sexual encounter, particularly when you're trying to ride the line between over the top romance, graphic detail, and sweet discovery. I thought you hit it perfectly.

Fantastic cliffhanger!! And stunning STUNNING shots! When I clicked on this and saw you had over a hundred shots, I thought well ok this will take me a week to read, but it sure did not!

[simtopi]

Thank you very much. I had a lot of angst about the Gabe/Willow sequence so I'm glad you thought it was decent. :) I still feel like I have a lot of learning in regards to writing relationships and such.

And yeah... I use a ton of pictures for my chapters, I know. Some days I feel guilty about it (I know it eats up bandwidth and it can be slow to load), but most of the time I feel more confident telling the story more in pictures. I don't think I'd do as well if I had a bigger text to pics ratio. I will admit, I'm happy with the pics I used here.

Thank you for everything you've said. :)

[starling-1.livejournal.com]

Oh I agree! Definitely don't start using text walls! I love the way you tell your story with images!

[simtopi]

Hehe, I couldn't even if I TRIED. And believe me I did. As an excercise, I tried to actually write out an entire chapter with proper paragraphs, etc. I was so stuck. It's easier for me to envision it visually than with words. I envy sim story writers who can strike a balance.

[medleymisty.livejournal.com]

I started writing a post and then it disappeared, but oh well.

I am getting caught up - you've improved a lot since the beginning.

Great cliffhanger, btw. :)

I can also see where you had trouble with the shippy stuff, but I think it works and fits in with the tone of the story. You can always just say it's characterization and that Willow was uncomfortable with it.

Hmm, so if I put a note up saying criticism was welcome would I actually get honest responses? *takes notes*

I am personally a fan of more pics and less words in Sims stories, so I like that about your story. :) Also, your pics are really well done - I never used poseboxes or OMSPs or anything but I can see that you use them with more skill than most people - posed Sims can seem so awkward. But yours are all natural and the poses are perfect for the emotions and actions that you're trying to get across.

Jasmine rocks. She's my favorite. :)

[simtopi]

Hey! ^_^ Thank you so much for saying so. I still feel like I'm learning a lot along the way. It's fun trying to incorporate new tips and tricks and such. For example, when I started this story, I never expected to go into detail about anyone's relationships. So yeah, it's still tricky for me.

And thanks about the posing and pics and such. :) I do try to make everything look natural whether through posing or composition.

I'm always open to criticism. Don't get me wrong, I completely appreciate the nice comments, but I also like learning and knowing if something doesn't come across so well.

[the_mctavishams.livejournal.com]

gaahhhh this was amazing!! "Oh Hell NO!" is sure right!! omggg I can't wait for the next one!! ::three cheers::

Your graphics are stunning, btw. <33

[simtopi]

I'm so happy you liked this (and that you're reading at all, woooot). Thank you so much. :)

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter soon. The posing I need to do is a little ambitious.

[bananaqueen1.livejournal.com]

i'm a new reader, and I've loved it so far. I've read it all in aobut a week, ad loved it. It doesn't feel like a story, more like this awesome television show with a plot and everything, and real developed characters.

I loved thiis chapter. Willow and Gabe are so good for each other, not that I don't like the chemistry between Willow and Adrian xD

oh, Jasmine. She's got to be my favorite. I love her spunk and sarcasam, and her line on how "she wouldn't sulk in her room and be emo all winter" I'm rooting for Jasmine and Adrian, because, dang it, there so freakin' aweosme together.

Zombies make for a very romantic setting, don't you think :P

I can't wait for the next chapter, and hope to be an extra, if you got my PM (hopefully) in this wonderful story.

P.S Cecilia seeing ghosts? So cliche, sorority girl :)

[simtopi]

Thank you so much for leaving this note! :) I did get your message, and I left a note in your LJ about it, but yes, I'd be happy to use your sim, thank you!

I do agree with you about Willow and Gabe, they are adorable for eachother. As for her and Adrian, well we'll have to see what happens there as well.

You're right, nothing like a nice romantic stroll down the street being serenaded by moaning zombies. I'm going to agree with you as well about Adrian and Jasmine. I like them together too. ;)

I'm glad you like my story!

[simsinthecity.livejournal.com]

AUGH, zombies! They don't seem to make anyone happy, ever, other than that they serve a certain purpose to Clara. You'd think that she could figure out a spell to get rid of that smell, though :P And Jasmine's none-too-pleased reaction is just what one should expect from someone with her experiences with those things.

I like the way you're explaining how witches operate. I'm thinking up story-bits in my spare time now, and the parts that each of the supernaturals will take are one of those things I'm getting into. This is giving me some nice ideas!

The same with ghosts, since I like the idea of having access to them and making them characters. I hadn't really thought about making them as visible to some and invisible to others in my stories, but I have seen it other places and it is making sense depending on where they'll be used.

[simtopi]

LOL, zombies! Yeah, no one wants them on their lawn.

I like to think I take a simple approach to the supernaturals. A lot of it really does come from being inspired by the Sims gameplay, and though I've added a bit of depth, I still didn't want it to be overly complicated and I didn't want to stray *too* far from the Sims. It is fun coming up with the hows and whys of the sim supernatural world though.

For the ghosts, a lot of that was also inspired by the game... you know how knowledge sims always roll the want to see a ghost but when there actually is a ghost in the house, they don't seem to want to see them and the ghost doesn't seem to want to reveal themselves. At least in my game. >.< But for the story, we'll definitely learn more about Britanny's ghost in a while.

[jerzibot.livejournal.com]

Oh, Clara, why must you cause resurrected mischief? Probably for the sake of an amazing story.

It's nice to (finally) know where all those undead mayhem causers are coming from. Inexplicable zombies frolicking about is unnerving. Zombies frolicking about is unnerving.

I shall now commend you for taking on the arduous task of romantic writing. You're doing well with it for one who feels like it may be the cause of their untimely demise. I, for one, am horrible at composing the lovey dovey mushfests. Everytime one comes up in something I'm writing, I'll do whatever I can to omit - if only until later.

Poor Cecilia, seeing ghosts. Brittany's not exactly the nicest apparition to be pestering someone, eh? Though, I'm sure she has her reasons (which I'm dying to know).

Another lovely chapter. ♥

[simtopi]

Yes, Clara, always causing problems for everyone. ;) She certainly seems to like to hang around the undead for some reason. :P

Thank you so much... romantic writing, as much as I like the romancey stuff, I just struggle at it and not just in the recent chapters too. It's hard to find the words to say without it sounding overly mushy.

Brittany's reasons, hopefully we'll discover them soon. Or maybe she doesn't have any reasons and she's just a bitch. We'll see. ;)

[just-jasper.livejournal.com]

ZOMBIES. Where's a shotgun-toting maniac when you need one?

[simtopi]

LOL! Yes!!!

Maybe it was shortsighted of me to have a sims universe without guns. This kind of situation sort of just calls for it. >.

[dinuriel.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to read this story for a while now, and I'm so glad I finally got around to it. I read this in maybe three or four sittings--so many instances of "Just one more chapter" or "Just until the next multiple of five". Literally could not stop reading. Died a little inside when I reached the bottom of Chapter Twenty-Seven only to find that there was no link to Chapter Twenty-Eight.

I love this whole world you've got here. You've taken the Maxis elements and put your own creative spins on them, and it's absolutely brilliant. And I love your characters. They're not the cookie-cutter archetypes that show up all the time. They're the sort of people you might meet in class, in a bar, on the street, wherever, only with that extra little spark that makes them endearing. Well done :)

Can't wait for the next chapter! There are so many things going on and I'm really excited to see how they all tie together. Keep up the great work :D

[simtopi]

Wow thank you so much for this comment. You mentioned you were reading this on eshuff's blogger, I didn't realize you got this far. I'm incredibly flattered. It's always great to see new readers here. :)

Thanks! I'm furiously working on chapter 28 right now so hopefully we'll see that soon. :D

[collidingwithme.livejournal.com]

You know, when I was reading the previous chapter, I actually felt kinda angry with Willow and Adrian. I don't like how their indecisive ways (may or may not but most probably will) end up hurting people who care about them. And this chapter Willow suddenly decides to take this step with Gabriel? :\ I don't know man *sigh* It didn't sit very nicely with me.

And Jasmine remains as my favourite character in SimTopi! ^^ Kicks asses verbally even when she's got so many holes in her heart, lol. *thumbs up* I only hope Wesley or someone else comes to her and Adrian's rescue. Hmm.. the casting call made me suspicious. Is there gonna be a huge showdown? :P

As for Cecilia, what can I say? She's finally learning something, eh? ;) And the wheel of luck/fortune continues to spin, haha. What Wanda said about her was a little creepy, though. :S

[simtopi]

I know I mentioned this before, Ning, but I love the way you read this story. You really do pick up on things that I might have left too subtle. ;) I will say that though Willow may be acting selfishly here, that Adrian really is just trying to be honest with Jasmine.

As for the huge showdown? I'll certainly as heck will try. ^_^

As always, thank you for leaving a comment! :D