Welcome to my little corner of Simblr! I'm L, she/her, French Canadian, elder millenial. I'm here to reignite my creative spark and have fun in the process.
Random stuff
Get to know me Posts about the person behind the simblr 😜
Reblogs Post from others, shared because it was just too good to keep for myself ❤️
My stories
Currently have just the one. It started as a gameplay mixed with story following The Fatal Flaws Legacy Challenge, but I quickly switched to a fully scripted story, that doesn't really follow the challenge anymore. So the beginning of season 1 follows the gameplay rules... Am I going to redo it at some ploint for a consistent style? I don't think so... It's part of the journey, just like my overall style has also evolved. I'm here for creative and self-discovery.
Max, a runaway teenager, finds himself in the small coastal town of Brindleton Bay in search of a new start and with intents to lie low until his 18th birthday. But new starts and secrets confront each other, especially when the past keeps creeping in.
Themes: Love, Family, Friendship, Trust
Trigger warnings: Abuse, Death, Drugs, Alcohol, Guns.
Character Post: Season 1, Season 2 (to come)
Extras
Status: Completed
Beginning | End
Status: starts January 13th 2026
Beginning | Latest Post
Chapter 1 : Where It Begins
Chapter 2: When Parents Aren't Around
Chapter 3: What?! No Birthday?
Chapter 4: Knock, knock
Chapter 5: Have we been here before?
Chapter 6: What's going on here?
Miles: Y'know, it's funny. Hunter would talk about life on other planets. I didn't know whether to believe it or not. I wanted to because there's gotta be something more out there. It'd be stupid to think there isn't.
Threx: You would be surprised how many lifeforms exist up there. In my travels, I have seen a plethora of planets and species—all with their own customs, languages and rituals. I am sure there are things out there that not even I have seen.
Miles: That must've been fun, seeing how other planets live.
Threx: I should have had fun—excited to see things beyond my imagination. However, I was not allowed to be.
Miles: What do you mean you weren't allowed to be?
Threx: From birth, I was Father's soldier. I lived to serve him. I was not allowed to be excited, happy, angry, even. I could not even take time to grieve the subordinates whose lives were lost in battle.
Miles: [stunned] You were under so much control, you weren't even allowed to feel?
Threx: [voice matter-of-fact] Yes. He sees all emotion as weak—things only felt by birth-givers.
Miles: Birth-givers?
Threx: On Aguaterra, anyone born with the ability to give birth, we call “birth-givers,” sex and gender do not matter. My birth-giver is male, although I do not know much about him.
Miles: Oh, I see. [laughs] Duh. Kind of like me and Hunter? We're Omegas and can carry children.
Threx: [smiles] Exactly.
Miles: So, wait. To your dad, all emotions are only felt by birth-givers? And birth-givers are weak? I'd like to see him push a baby out. [rolls eyes]
Threx: Raxil says Father is pathetic. After many years, I happen to finally agree.
Miles: [scoffs] Pathetic sounds like a good word to describe him. Everyone feels. No one should be ashamed to express how they feel; whether it's happiness, sadness, grief. No one should have to suffer in silence. [climbs on top of Threx, looking into his eyes] Threx, I want you to know that you never have to pretend with me. You can be yourself. If you're sad, tell me. I'll be sad with you. I'll support you. I'll take care of you.
Threx: [brushes Miles' hair from his eyes] You would do that for me?
Miles: Of course! Threx, I'd do anything for you. I love you and... that's what mates do, right?
Threx: [sighs happily, wrapping his arms around Miles] It is so incredible that I have found you. I never could have pictured myself this... happy.
Miles: [teases] Does that mean you love me, too?
Threx: That is possible.
Miles: [pushes Threx, getting off of him] You fuck!
Threx: [chuckles, snuggles Miles' back tight to his chest, whispering in his ear] Yes, Miles. I do love you. Very much. More than you will ever know. [kisses Miles' temple]
Casa Gilardi
- a cc shell by moonwoodhollow
Who doesn't dream of a gorgeous pink house?
A huge thank you to @misotrait for getting me out of my building slump and suggesting I'd try building a house by Luis Barragán.
More screenshots, info + download link under the cut!
Building Background
The Gilardi House was commissioned by advertising executive Pancho Gilardi to be built on a plot in a densely populated area of Mexico City in 1975, when Luis Barragán (1902-1988), the architect, was already "retired". The first thing Barragán focused on was the Jacaranda tree (pictured in the middle of the courtyard), and he told Gilardi that it shouldn't be felled, since the house would be built around it.
With this commission - the last house he designed - Barragán was completely free to do what he wanted, and the result is a colourful modernist building with a very unique interior pool, which I couldn't really do justice in the Sims, so I compromised and created a semi-outdoor indoor pool. The original building has a much broader colour palette than I used, and I wish I could have found an adequate version of the gorgeous yellow windows.
Barragán is also known for the Torres de Satélite (1957), a group of large sculptures and the Cuadra San Cristóbal (1966-1968).
Sources:
great short film of the house, Spanish with English subtitles
photos from a house tour in 2023
Barragán Foundation page for the Gilardi House
So what do you get?
Casa Gilardi is a 30x20 residential lot that is best placed in Ciudad Enamorada, but could potentially also work in Tomarang, Oasis Springs or Ondarion. I’ve placed the lot on the “Mansión de la Pasión" lot in the Vista Hermosa neighbourhood, but the Casita del Amor lot in the same neighbourhood would work as well.
The lot consists of 3 floors. There are 2-3 bedrooms, depending on how you'll use the rooms. If you don't need/want the garage on the first floor, you can simply make the kitchen & dining room bigger like this:
Uses items from the following packs: pretty much all expansion packs and a few GP packs. No stuff packs or kits // a tip; take a look at the build in the gallery and click on the pack icons to see what items I used.
Download: gallery ID: aeromantica (but you’ll need the CC from the SFS folder): SFS (150mb)
Is the CC included? Yes, everything’s included.
TOU: Please don’t claim it as your own or put it behind a paywall. If you find any issues (wrong/missing files) please let me know + tag me if you’ll use the build, I’d absolutely love to see it in your games!
If you like what I do and want to show your appreciation, I have a ko-fi!
Oh hey, it's been a couple months! But we're so back :)
Where we left off: Sorella, Envy, and Axel living their best life in the city! Summer has just gotten hitched. Cordy welcomed 3 new little terrors to her life. Gemma escaped the hell she was living in. and our favorite rock band, Mystress has released their first album and is looking to tour 👀
Sorella: Hey Joey! Am I too early?
Joey: Not at all. Justin Welsh, Simone Montes, this is Sorella Cortes.
Sorella: So nice to meet you.
Justin: Likewise. Is there anything else we need to do or can we get to work?
Joey: Nothing else. The studio is yours every week at this time. If you need more time in it, let me know.
Justin: Thanks, Joey. The album isn't nearly as done as I'd like it, but getting you to work should help. There's only a couple of songs I don't think need piano… But I'm not entirely sure.
Simone: You'll learn quick, Sorella. He's got no time for pleasantries. Only business.
Justin: Hey!
Simone: Dude, you didn't even ask her how she was!
Justin: I assume fine! She's here to work, right?
Sorella: [laughs] I am. It's ok. I get it! When you're this close to finishing an album it's all you can think about.
Justin: See? She gets me.
Sorella: [nods] My roommates are in a band. They just finished their album this year so this is all familiar to me.
Simone: Which band?
Sorella: Mystress. I live with their singer and guitarist.
Justin: Oh yeah... Envy's the singer, right? She reached out to work together.
Sorella: Mhmm. She says Blue Romance will make it big.
Justin: Oh I like her. Course, we need to find our own guitarist first.
Simone: Noel said he knows someone.
Justin: Yeah, but that's so unknown. I don't suppose you play guitar too?
Sorella: I do, but I don't really want to be in a rock band.
Justin: Fair enough. Anyway. Far too much small talk, thanks Simone.
Simone: Anytime.
Justin: I have one song in particular that I want piano on. I've got a pretty decent idea of how I want it to go, too. After that it's a bit fuzzier.
Step aside, Lilith. There's a new head vampire bitch in town.
Previous / Next
Miss Hell: What are you hollow-eyed wretches doing hanging around here?
Markus: [hisses] Traitors! You’re a disgrace to your own kind.
Miss Hell: And we thought we told you not to shill your snake oil on our turf.
Demetrius: [patronizingly] This is a public venue, not your turf, you degenerate murderous scum.
Kat: We’re the degenerates? At least we aren’t living in delusion.
Miss Hell: One must be truly pathetic to deny one’s nature. But, well… Like attracts like, I suppose. [raising voice] Isn’t that right, Lilith? It’s unlike you to hide. You wouldn’t want your dear brother to get caught in the wrong crowd, would you?
Lilith: They’re not worth our time, Mary-
Miss Hell: That’s not what I asked.
Markus: I’d like to see how you bloodless freaks handle yourselves in a fight.
Kat: All that rancid fruit can’t be good for you. Let’s see what it takes to turn you to dust.
Miss Hell: Rip their fucking heads off!
[Lilith and Caleb exchange a loaded, meaningful look]
Lilith: [forcefully] Prepare to die, cowards!
Caleb, narrating: I didn’t see what happened next, but I could imagine it vividly enough. Lilith wouldn’t speak of her part in it, and I never saw those vampires again. I only knew I couldn’t squander the strange gift they had given me.
I was tagged by the lovely @feroshgirlsims and @dandylion240. Thank you so much to both of you! I thought your answers as well as many of those that tagged you very interesting.
I'm not really into tropes specifically. I'm more into the characters, the transformation... and how an artist uses the trope to tell their story. I've always LOVED to analyze storytelling, after letting the story carry me first. Let's see where this goes.
N.B.: I'm really yapping here. It's gonna be a long one.
I'm tagging @sims4sanity @hannahssimblr @matchalovertrait @weirdosalike @tikay21 @madebycoffee @nimzywilder if you're into it, no pressure.
Slow burn or love at first sight?
Both. But I need to feel it's character driven and not plot driven.
A slowburn that fits with the characters choices, reactions, beliefs feels so deserved when they finally get together, having learned and transformed into being ready to welcome it, making all the angst and tension worth while. But I get really annoyed when I feel like things are getting dragged out with nothing really justifying it, usually just to fill some drama content.
Same with love at first sight. You can't just shove two characters together and say it was love at first sight. Maybe this is really personal, but to me, love at first sight is a tingle, some kind of energy passing between two people, of recognition on a subconscious level that there's something special going on here. And it builds everytime they are together and get to know each other.
Where the slow burn is set in resistance, love at first sight is set in acceptance.
Fake dating or secret dating?
I think it depends on the story and how it's done. I think I'll go with secret dating because I think it has more potential to tell a great story. I agree with many of you who said it's often linked to some kind of discrimination or shame, but I think those stories need to be told to confront our biases, to awaken our sensibilities, to mobilize us against what social construct has led us to believe. I don't know about you but a beautiful, often sad, moving love story that has to live in the shadows AND that brings forth a whole conversation on a social injustice in the real world is one of the best catharsis. Society has great influence over cultural creations, but cultural creations can also encourage societal changes, in good, and bad (think propaganda), ways. But I digress...
Enemies to lovers or best friends to lovers?
It's a hard choice, because I'm not too keen on either, but I guess enemies to lovers. The confrontation, the tension... I do love when it's not easy-- in work of fiction-- but the power dynamic needs to be similar and they need to have some points of convergence in order for me to really believe it. They have to enjoy their interactions on some level, even when it's mostly unpleasant. At the end, I have to wonder if these two were ever really enemies at all. Best friends to lovers is... not often done to my liking. Give me some complexity around why those characters have not decided to be lovers before, real baggage that prevent them from being together, so they choose to be best friends before they can't anymore. Show me they both really long for each other before they decide to cross that line.
Hurt/comfort or amnesia?
Hurt/comfort. How someone acts around another person in a time of great vulnerability is much more appealing to me than having one person holding on to who a person was with them and trying to convince them to come back. Both have a power unbalance, but I think a physical vulnerability is less critical than a knowledge vulnerability. Now @dandylion240 made me think of hurt/comfort when both characters may be hurting and comforting each other... and that's very appealing to me.
Fantasy AU or modern AU?
I think my favorite is when fantasy gets thrown into modern AU. Give me real-world with references, social norms and issues I already know, than destabilize everything. But really, I like both, depends on my mood.
Mutual pining or domestic bliss?
Domestic bliss. Well, both actually, but I feel like we don't see enough domestic bliss that drives the plot. Okay, I know, it goes a bit against it. But I'd like to see a blissful couple that show us what great partnership can overcome, together, as the main plot, more often.
Smut or fluff?
Both. I LOVE FLUFF. Smut is more hit or miss on me. I want my smut to be telling a story. It needs to be triggered by something happening to the characters and have consequences. It needs to give more information about each character and their relationship. It has to be weaved into the story in a way I can't take it out without affecting my understanding of events and characters. When it feels like I just jumped into corn all of a sudden, I'm out.
Reincarnation or character death?
I just love @changingplumbob's answer to this. I want to believe great love will always find each other, beyond death. Reincarnation, it is.
One-shot or multi-chapter?
Multi-chapter. I get obsessed by characters and I love when it keeps going. BUT I also love a good ending to a serie.
Kid fic or road trip fic?
Kid fic still bring on a lot of nostalgia. But I lean more toward road trip fic right now. Especially if it'd be done in video form. You can have colors, landscapes, cityscapes adding layers to the story. Quebec cinema uses landscapes, especially winter landscapes, often as part of our cultural identity. I have a fondness in my heart for how road trips shape identity, both in the plot and symbolically.
Arranged marriage or accidental marriage?
Arranged marriage. I've only seen accidental marriages with unbelievable premisces. They put me off. Arranged marriage can be very interesting on many fronts, for different kinds of stories.
High school romance or middle-age romance?
Well... I'm currently writing a high school romance so I can't say I'm against it. I find them really endearing: so much angst, eagerness, emotional intensity, impulsivity, so many mistakes and learning opportunities. What I don't like is that many of them have their teenagers acting like 25 y.o. They are babies who think they're aldults. You have to show them at least a little clumsy and self-centered, and if they don't, there needs to be good reason for it.
I am middle-aged and I don't recognize myself in many romances. I'd love to see more and more varieties of them too. Give me middle-age romances!!
Time travel or isolated together?
Both have their their ups and downs... I'll say time travel. I feel isolated together often brings out the worst in people, and in romances, it feels like settling. Time travel just sparks my imagination as to what could happen.
Neighbors or roommates?
Roommates. It's messy. I love messy in my fiction.
Sci-fi AU or magic AU?
I like both. I like them mixed together, i like them mixed with modern.
Body swap or genderbent?
@dandylion240 added the idea of possession too to the body swap idea, and I really like that perspective. I'm not really into either. Maybe I haven't fallen upon the right pieces to make me like them. Most body swaps I've seen follow the same predictable pattern that's more focused on stereotypes than how freaked out, and careful, the characters should be. As for genderbent, I haven't read any fanfic, so I don't know.
Angst or crack?
Angst. Of course. But I like when they lead to healing and bettering one's life conditions. I like when there's hope.
Apocalyptic or mundane?
Okay, so... I like to see end of the world scenarios when they show the good in humanity, not just how good we are at destroying each other to gain power. But I much prefer mundane. Bring me magic emanating from ordinary everyday life. And by magic I mean emotions, connections, perspectives.
Elio lay on the bed completely drained. Since graduation Molly had been even more demanding. Slowly she had had him cut back on how often he met up with his old basketball teammates, until now he was lucky if they answered his texts. Plus since he had ended things with Dylan Molly wanted to screen everyone he was thinking of sleeping with. Few made the cut, and those that did often wound up in Molly’s bed the week after being with Elio. But again and again Molly swore she loved him, that she was doing everything she did to keep them together.
The bubble had eventually burst that morning. He had come back from a half day of release teaching to a familiar barrage of insults. He hadn’t cleaned up breakfast properly because he was a slob. He had forgotten to put the laundry on because he was an imbecile. She was having mood issues because he didn’t know how to woohoo her properly, and his skill should be better considering he’d slept with half the city. The normal. But Molly had also found where Elio had tucked the necklace chain Dylan had bought for him and flew into a rage. She demanded he throw it away and when he said no she just marched him out to the trash chute and threw it away anyway.
So he cracked. He couldn’t take it any more. He had no idea what to do except reach out to the one person he hoped would still be there. Unblocking Dylan from his phone, he text her, left the front door unlocked, and hopped on his bed and cried until no more tears could form.
As they approach, Luna prays for some kind of calamity. Maybe the skeleton is just luring them closer before she leaps down and stabs them with her bones.
Or maybe she has dark magic, and she can conjure some kind of hideous creature to eat them. Oh gods, were they in Nyx’s realm? Max said the Goddess of Night had a sick realm, which had to mean it was a horror show if her brother liked it.
The skeleton raises her hand, and for a minute, Luna hopes it's to try and strike them down, but instead, she just waves.
Sofia, the idiot, waves back.
“Stop,” Luna hisses. “She could be dangerous! She might think we’re enemies!”
“Oh. I got you.” And worryingly, Sofia winks at Luna before calling out to the skeleton. “I’m Sofia. I just want to say for the record that I don’t engage in bone-based cosplay for Spooky Day, and I really don’t want to be eaten because I still need to convince Gunther to be my boyfriend.”
“Who’s Gunther?” the skeleton calls out.
“He’s really great. Kind of boring sometimes, but I think you would like him.”
The skeleton has no facial features, and yet, Luna swears she looks confused. “Wait, why would I like him?”
Luna rolls her eyes. At least weird creatures in alternate realms also thought Sofia’s crush was unnatural.
“Sofia’s deluded. Sort of. But we support women’s rights and wrongs here. Normally, I’d ask who the fuck you are, but since you’re playing our patron saint, Olivia Bailey-Moon, I’m going to omit the ‘fuck.’”
Luna stares in shock. This is the nicest she has seen Sioban act in…well…ever.
“It really is a great album. When Thorne dies, I can't wait to ask him why he cheated on the perfect woman. Anyway, I’m Lizzy. Come on up to the house so we can stop shouting at each other.”
There’s no stopping Sofia and Siobhan this time. Against her will, Luna is forced to follow them up the stairs and onto the porch. As cozy as this spot looks, it's deceptive. The weather doesn’t make any sense; the magic is practically humming from the walls.
Luna stays silent while Siobhan makes introductions and, for reasons Luna can’t understand, gushes over Lizzy’s bow.
Luna tried to wear a bow last week, and Siobhan told her she looked like a try-hard.
“So, how did you all get here?” Lizzy asks. “The Charon Express?”
“Excuse me?” Luna narrows her eyes.
“The Charon Express, like the train line for the dead? You’re in the Netherworld.”
“Oh shit,” Sofia gasps, “We’re dead?”
“No way,” Siobhan shakes her head, “I didn’t choose that.”
“Oh, dear. I don't mean to confuse you. Things are a bit messy at the moment. Ghost God is back, and my mum said to expect visitors. Well, she said to make sure she knew about all the visitors, because some of the living aren't welcome but...”
Luna holds her breath. This is where Lizzy tells her she’s going to throw them into a pit because of all the realms they could have gotten stuck in; this was the worst one. The God of Death hadn’t been seen in ages. And according to her brother's book, which was boring as heck but informative, Death was the most ruthless of all the gods.
“...But what she don’t know won’t hurt her. So what brings you to the land of the dead?” Lizzy finishes.
Siobhan and Sofia don’t even take a breath before they start filling Lizzy in on the whole night, including every detail from Siobhan’s argument with Wes over the waivers to the first time Sofia laid eyes on the love of her life.
It was pathetic, really.
“So, how many witches are down here? Luna's a witch, but she's new, so we figured we'd ask you," Sofia grins at the skeleton.
“I’m not a witch!" Luna exclaims. "I’m normal. I have a crush! I mean, I have a boyfriend, kind of.”
Luna bites her lip as they all stare at her. This wasn’t the distraction she wanted to employ, and frankly, she was hoping not to talk to her friends about JJ at all. They were immature, and they wouldn’t get it. “I have a boyfriend. Well, sort of. We’ve been hanging out. He’s been teaching me to fight. And other stuff. That’s why I didn’t want to have a crush on anyone on the tour.”
“Okay," Siobhan points at her, "We need details."
“Agreed,” Lizzy claps her hands.
“Now?” Luna shoots the skeleton a dirty look because she was still suspicious, and frankly, who the hell was she to demand details about Luna’s private life?
“Do you need a mimosa? My sister, Emerson, never wants to give me the real gossip until she’s had at least 2 glasses.”
“Smart woman,” Siobhan replies.
Luna sighs, “His name is JJ. He works for my dad, and we just really connected. He’s super nice, and he realized I didn’t know how to fight, so we’ve been meeting at the gym for him to teach me.”
“So he’s your teacher?” Sofia’s brows are practically at her hairline.
“No!” Luna growls. “I just said he works for my dad.”
“I don’t understand how you met,” Siobhan says.
“It was a coincidence. Kind of funny, really. He, uh, drove me to the carnival.”
Even in her worst dreams, the response is not what Luna expected. Both Sofia and Siobhan look horrified. “YOU’RE DATING YOUR CHAPERONE?!?!?!??!
No one ever listened to Luna. That was the problem. She’d read all the self-help books about how to be more assertive, and even when she managed to assert herself, she was still shot down.
“Well, this isn’t Windenburg…” Sofia murmurs as she glances around.
Luna clenches her fists and tries not to scream. Sofia was sweet and extremely pretty, but she was also as dumb as a box of rocks. Why would she think running into an obviously haunted mausoleum would lead them back to the city?
“Everyone okay?” Siobhan glances around, her gaze skirting over both of them like she’s checking for injuries. She’d been the leader of their friend group ever since one of the older kids tried to kick them off the swings on the playground, and Siobhan called them an “idiotic little cunt” and made them cry.
“I’m trying. I might be alright to try and stand on my own,” Luna says weakly.
“I’m okay. Did you get hurt? You were the first one through,” Sofia points out.
See? Nice. Incredibly dumb, but very nice.
“I'm fine,” Siobhan pulls away from Luna and brushes an invisible piece of lint off her sleeves, “This looks like Ravenwood gone bad.”
It’s true. Luna looks around them. The field they are standing in is huge, but the sky is wrong. And then there’s the strange statues and cracks in the surface of the ground where magic is leaking through.
“Oh, no, this is bad. This is very bad. We have to go back.” Instinctively, she lunges for the mausoleum, choking in surprise when Siobhan catches her arm and hauls her back.
“Are you crazy? There are zombies out there waiting to eat us!”
“Are you crazy?” Luna fires back. “This place is way bigger on the inside than it should be. You’re worried about zombies? The magic careening all over the place is what’s going to kill us.”
“How do you know?”
Luna snaps her mouth shut. She hated thinking about magic, it made her nauseous. She knew it was an unavoidable part of life, her dad was who he was after all, but she didn’t like seeing it. Maybe if the world were full of good witches like her mom had been, instead of monsters like Jacques Villareal, she’d feel differently.
“I…I didn’t want to say it, but my dad is the head of a supernatural organization,” she mumbles, looking away.
Sofia frowns. “Luna, your dad is the head of the mob. Or like crime club. Did you forget?”
“Yes, I know what my dad does,” she snaps, trying hard not to lose her patience completely. Sofia was sweet, and that was the sort of thing Luna liked to reward. She was drawn to it even in the worst of circumstances. That’s why she liked JJ, even though he technically he was a monster too. “It’s the same thing,” she sighs, “he’s the head of a supernatural criminal organization.”
“And you’re just now telling us this? Luna, what the fuck?” Siobhan scowls and puts her hands on her hips.
Gods, she was such a self-righteous bitch. Worried about Luna keeping secrets when she should be worried about whose realm they were trapped in! “Siobhan, please—”
“Wait, what is your dad?” Sofia interrupts. Suddenly, her eyes light up. “A vampire? Are you immortal? Will you always have great skin?”
Luna bites down on her cheek. She didn’t like to think about what she was. In fact, she’d spent most of her life pretending it wasn’t the case and keeping herself as normal as possible. Only when the fortune-teller hinted that there might be danger for her and her friends in San Myshuno did she bother to get her brothers to teach her a little about the gods and magic.
“Forget your dad,” Siobhan hisses, “What’s going on with your mom? Was she a monster? Are we in danger?”
“No!” Luna scrubs a hand over her face and tries to cry. Usually, a few tears were enough to get Siobhan off the warpath. “Just stop!” she sniffs, her face disappointingly still dry. “I’m just like you! Okay? You know me.”
"We know you can sense magic which makes you like, some kind of magic sim," Sofia replies confidently.
“Sure. Luna's a witch. That's obvious. The real question is if she cursed my ex-girlfriend." Siobhan's eyes narrow at Luna. "Did you curse my ex-girlfriend? Is that why she broke up with me?”
Luna swallows hard. First of all, Siobhan’s girlfriend broke up with her because she was literally the meanest, bitchiest sim on the planet.
And second of all, the curse hadn’t worked. At least, not the way Luna intended.
Gods, she was desperate to end this conversation. If she could just convince them to get back in the mausoleum and go home, this would all be fine.
She's in the middle of making herself sick with worry when out of the corner of her eye, she spots it: salvation.
It was a universal law, one Luna learned in middle school and never forgot. If everyone thought you were a freak and you wanted to shift their attention, all you had to do was find a bigger freak.
She turns and points out the skeleton who has just walked out on the front porch of the house. “Guys, look, I think we have bigger problems to worry about. We should go.”
“Is…is that a whole ass skeleton?” Siobhan’s jaw drops. “How?”
Luna can sense her anxiety and Sofia looks worried, too. Finally! they can get the hell out of here. “I’m pretty sure we can go back through the door,” she tells them confidently, even though she isn’t sure of that at all.
They are on the verge of following her when disaster strikes.
Instead of screaming at them or creepily rattling her bones, the skeleton simply adjusts the bow on her head and kneels to put on a record. The sounds of Octavia Moon fill the field.
Sofia freezes. “That’s a great song. We should ask for help.”
Luna looks on in horror. “What? No! Be serious! She’s a monster!”
“You be serious,” Siobhan shoots back, already linking arms with Sofia and heading towards the house. “No one monstrous loves Octavia Moon in her 'My Husband Cheated On Me With Some Random Filmmaker And Men Ain't Shit' era. The music is just too good.”
“Yeah,” Sofia says, “She’s finally speaking her truth after years of being silent. The song is a sign, Luna. We’re totally safe here.”
Evan follows Toni through a series of doors until they end up in a field. In the distance, he can see an old farmhouse.
It shouldn’t be beautiful here.
The grass sways like it’s alive, whispering secrets he can’t quite hear. His thoughts drift to Jayden and how he would have loved to paint the muted colors. The fields seem to go on forever.
He feels small.
Lost.
Determined—like this place was meant to break his resolve. He squares his shoulders, reminding himself he didn’t come here to die but to save Jayden. To bring him home alive.
“Careful now,” Toni warns, her tone low. “Let’s just see what we’re working with. It’s a Harper-Strange Family motto: Don’t rush where the wands won’t carry.”
They creep through the field, keeping to the tall grass so they stay hidden. Suddenly, Toni flings out her hand, bringing them to a stop.
Evan looks over to see what caught her attention and has to swallow a scream as Toni yanks him down to the ground. Three women, their eyes alarmingly blank, disembodied hands holding their hair in every direction, lounge by the well as a skeleton approaches. Despite the cheerful design of their clothing, they are covered in blood.
“Darling Lizzy, is your father about?” They ask, their voices acting as a chorus.
The skeleton stiffens. “He’s training his army today.”
“His?” They all tilt their head at the same time. The effect is eerie. “What a curious choice of words.”
The skeleton folds her arm and lifts her chin. “Well, like I said, he's not here. But if you want to talk to my mum—”
The three women lurch back, a hiss on their lips. “We don’t deal with Bonehilda. Tell your mother to send word to Algea. He is needed at the Apparitional Baths. Rumor has it, The Determined is coming, and we are eager to start the ritual.”
“You’re eager to eat,” Lizzy huffs.
“Same difference.”
“And don’t you call him Algea. That name is for family and friends. He’s Agony to you.”
“All the same, pass on our message,” the women say.
The three of them set off down the path. They pass by the grass, seemingly engrossed in their conversation, but their heads swivel every which way, the hands in their twisting and twirling as if petting them.
Oh God, they’re close. Too close.
Evan presses himself flat against the ground. Toni’s fingers are steady—his are shaking.
How is she calm? How is she not screaming? He swallows hard.
I can’t die here. Not before I save Jayden.
He squeezes his eyes shut. I'm doing this for you, Jayden.
They stay still, listening to the sound of footsteps retreating.
“You can come out now,” Lizzy calls. “They’re gone.”
For a moment, Evan can’t make his limbs work. Every blade of grass felt like a warning.
Every shadow felt like a hand reaching for him. Everything within him was shouting at him that he shouldn’t be there. That he wasn't meant to be there. But then—he’d walk through worse if it meant saving Jayden.
But Toni, seemingly fearless, steps out. “You knew we were here, huh? Why not mention it?”
Lizzy frowns, at least as much as a skeleton can frown. “I don’t trust the Erinyes even a little. They are their own creature. And mum said we should be prepared for strange visitors when Ghost God returns.”
Evan clears his throat. “Is that the God of Death?”
Lizzy nods. “That’s the name you call her. But to the Dead and the denizens of the Netherworld, she’s Ghost God.”
Evan debates asking his next question because it’s undoubtedly risky. But then again, nothing risked, nothing gained. “What do you know about the ritual?”
“For The Determined?” Lizzy shakes her head. “Not much. Last time the God of Death passed such a judgment was before I was born.”
“Anything you know might be helpful,” Evan presses. “You said you weren’t born yet. But you didn’t say you hadn’t heard stories. I have kids. I know they listen when they aren’t supposed to. Please… even a half-heard story could help.”
Lizzy glances toward the house. “I…I did hear some things. Once The Determined arrives, the ritual has to start. No one can stop it, not even the God of Death herself. Either way, it’s clear who you are. You can’t outrun the judgment, and I can’t help you any further.”
“There’s really nothin’ else you can tell us?” Toni raises a brow. “Is that how your mama raised you?”
At the mention of her mother, Lizzy sighs. Her hollow gaze finds Evan. “Are you an honest man?”
If I tell her the truth, will she turn away? Will she see me as selfish? Desperate? Foolish?
He swallowed hard. What was the right answer? All he knew was that he was honest in his love for his husband. That he would do anything to save him, and that was a truth he could stand on. “Yes, I believe I am.”
“Good. Stay that way. There is nothing the Erinyes hate more than a liar. And if you fail, you’ll become their next meal.”
Evan falters. “What? What am I supposed to do then?”
A voice calls for Lizzy. She runs for the steps, but pauses before ascending. “Get yourself a good lawyer. That’s my best advice. My brother Bryan knows more. He’s working today, but you might find him at the River Styx Station.”
Rolling her shoulders, she hurries the rest of the way up the stairs and disappears into the house.
“We’ll do that,” Toni calls back and motions to Evan. “Come on. I know where that is. Let’s go.”
For a minute, Evan is consumed by doubt.
I’m so in over my head.
Is this place going to eat me alive before I even get a chance to save him?
“Okay, back up, let’s try this again.” Wes pinches his brow. “Did the zombies bring you?”
The man blinks. He looks utterly confused and scared. And yes, this was a confusing and scary situation, but they didn’t really have time for this guy to be losing his mind. If there was some sort of mix-up, they needed to figure it out fast. And if he was a threat, they needed to figure that out faster.
Wes tries again to get some sort of answer out of the man. “Alright, so Alice sent some zombies into the world of the living and—”
Kiki clears her throat. “Raised the dead, you mean.”
“Uh, right,” Wes frowns. That was an unsettling thought to deal with later. Hopefully, it was just a few dead and not like an army.
“Alice raised the dead to bring her friends to the Netherworld. And I guess her murder boyfriends,” he pauses to roll his eyes. “Even though the only thing Akira and Vlad are going to do when they get here is boss everyone around and try to solve every problem with violence.”
If possible, the man shrinks further back into the corner. Wes curses silently. He was being sarcastic, and maybe a bit flippant, but he wasn’t trying to actually scare him. “Sorry, bro. Let’s start again. Do you know Alice?”
“I don’t think he does,” Kiki whispers. Or she attempts to, but the effect is lost because she’s standing right in front of the guy and makes absolutely no attempt to cover her mouth. “He looks scared.”
“He can hear you,” Wes murmurs. “I swear I’m not trying to embarrass you, it’s just…uh…whispering only works if you’re like doing it directly in my ear. And we’re standing far away from whoever we’re whispering about.” He inclines his head towards the man.
Kiki opens her mouth and then closes it again. “Shit. I’m sorry. I’m not used to having a body! It’s so different.” She looks down at her hands in horror. “Maybe I was meant to be stuck as a ghost. Oh gods, maybe I can’t handle having a body.”
“You can,” Wes says firmly. “This is just day one. Give it some time. I guarantee you’ll believe that you’re better off here and not stuck in some record store where some evil witch can keep spying on you. Plus,” he adds with a small chuckle, “They are definitely gonna close down Annie Jo’s after they discover all the blood and Blaze’s body, so it would be even more lonely.”
“I think the plant ate Blaze, but I get your point,” Kiki joins in on his laugh. She takes a deep breath and shakes out her limbs. “Whew! Alright, I’m good. I was just having a little crisis of embodiment. Could you…” she bites her lip and trails off, looking shy for a minute.
“Oh yeah, totally.” Wes hugs her tightly. “You’re fine. Everyone’s losing their shit tonight. I’m sure that’s why the skeletons didn’t want us to say anything about Vlad being a monster. Alice probably lost her shit and devoured another soul.”
Behind them, the man lets out a yelp. Wes didn’t realize how close he’d crept to the stairs, but now he was standing with his foot hovering over the first step, poised to bolt.
“Whoa, bro, don’t freak out. Alice only ate Blaze’s soul because he was making demands, and he was determined to—“
Wes doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before the man is running up the stairs.
“That’s a bad idea!” Kiki calls after him, “The stairs are going down, not up! You’ll end up in the…” She sighs as the man slips out of sight at the top of the stairs. “You’ll end up in The Long Dark.”
“What’s that?” Wes asks.
“A ghost story for ghosts. Edith told me to avoid it at all costs.” Her shoulders slump. “We were just trying to help. I mean, I know it’s a lot to take in but he’s in the Netherworld. What did he expect?”
“Yeah, but it is kind of a mindfuck. I think you and I are just used to it now.” As he says it, Wes wonders if this is what Akira felt like all the time.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever heard you really cuss,” she laughs. “You’re kind of different from you were at the beginning of the night.”
“Different bad?”
“No,” she grins. “I like it. Should we tell Alice about the guy in the stairwell?”
“So she can flip out and maybe douse the room in holy fire before devouring us?” Wes shakes his head. “No way. I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that we need to go back to the waiting room and mind our business.”
MEANWHILE...
Oh God! I’m not alone down here.
Oh God. Oh God, they're going to eat me. What am I doing? I can’t do this. I can’t…
Evan backs up, his internal panic turning his thinking into a jumble.
Jayden… I did this for you. I hope—God, I hope I don’t die before I have a chance to save you. I would walk through hell for you. I just didn’t think it’d be like this.
Evan screams as if he hopes someone would come to his rescue, which is ridiculous. No one was coming to rescue him. Not here. Not now. Surveying the ground, he snatched up whatever he thought he could use to protect himself. After the first two or three swings, he’d bolt and run for all he was worth.
“Help!” Evan shouts as a woman in a red dress pulls open the door. She grabs his hand and they half-tumble, half-run down the winding staircase. They make it to the ground safely, both panting.
“I’m Toni,” she says, introducing herself. “And you’re…alive.” Her expression tightens. “Baby, this ain’t a place for the living. I heard the God of Death is back. You should see if she can send you home.”
Evan forces a thin, brittle smile. “Thank you,” he murmurs, “I thought I was a gonner for sure.” He falls silent, considering his next words carefully. “I’m… not here by accident,” he says, “But I’m not exactly eager to advertise why.”
Not if it meant having his soul ripped from him.
“Yeah, you don’t get to a place like this by accident. The living don’t come to the Land of the Dead unless they’re called. And they aren’t called unless there’s trouble.”
Evan edges away from her, his eyes darting in all directions, alert and wary. “I’ve seen more than my fair share of trouble,” he says quietly. “But I’m not here to cause any. I just need to… find something.”
He’s careful not to say he’s there to find someone. He wasn’t sure if he could trust her. He wasn’t sure if he could trust anyone.
“You must know some fae to be as tight-lipped as you are.” She folds her arms. Then, as if coming to some decision, she straightens. “Well, fine. A truth for a truth. That’s how they do it, right? I finally had a husband I liked and grandkids who I wanted to see go on. Took me damn near 300 years to do it, and what do I get for my trouble? Stabbed in the back by that bitch, Melisandre Starks. If she’s the trouble you’re running from, then let me offer some advice: keep going.”
Evan lets out a humorless chuckle. “I’ve had my fair share of warnings,” he murmurs. “One of my closest friends is a dragon. Another is a reaper. They both told me to stay away from this place.” He lifts his eyes to hers, raw and unguarded. “And yet… here I am.”
He was beginning to believe that if he was going to accomplish what he came to do, he was going to have to trust someone. Maybe he’d begin with Toni.
“Dragons love to tell others what to do. Although they are usually right, technically,” Toni laughs. “Rhygo told me ages ago to leave Melisandre alone. I should’ve listened. Anyway, forget what I said about the God of Death then. Your Reaper friend might be right. Gods are mercurial in the best of times. And if the rumors are true, Alice is an old god reawakening. She’ll be full up and half foolish.”
Just as he was beginning to think he could trust her, the weight of her words settled like a cold stone in his stomach. “I’m not afraid of gods,” he says softly, even though he knows that isn’t exactly true. If he wasn’t afraid, he wouldn’t have run. “I’m afraid of losing the person I came here for.” His voice cracks on the last word, but he doesn’t look away.
“You should be afraid of gods. Imagine having enough power coursing through your veins to flatten a planet, and not having any idea how to use it.” Her smile is grim. “But you should also be hopeful. Hopefully, she figures it out. Hopefully, you find who you’re looking for. Speaking of which, you haven’t seen a box around here, have you? I swore I brought it with me, but I don’t see it.”
Evan shakes his head. “No box. just…fog. And shadows.” He rubs the back of his neck as the feeling of time running out comes over him.
“A lot of that down here. Something ain’t quite right. Ain’t no reason for this place to be this empty. Try not to let anyone catch you. The living don’t blend here.”
Evan nods, his jaw tight. “I’ll be careful,” he promises.
But as she walks away, he lets out a shaky breath. “Careful” isn’t why he came here. “Careful” won’t bring Jayden back.
“Wait,” he calls, “Come back!”
Yay! Shout out to @dandylion240 for all the co-writing she's been doing on this arc. Hope you enjoyed Evan's POV. I'm sure all of this is going to be just...fine. 😈
Something tells me this encounter is about to be rudely interrupted.
Previous / Next
Demetrius: And so the damned descend upon the doomed, like wolves dragging sheep to the slaughter.
Caleb: [suspiciously] Very eloquent. You don’t care to join them?
Demetrius: Nor do you, as it appears. I have seen you with your sister. She relishes the hunt. You do not. Indeed, I suspect you do not care to uphold many of our kind’s expected customs.
Caleb: I don’t appreciate strangers remarking on my private habits.
Demetrius: We pass no judgment, friend, and you cannot blame us for our caution in approaching. It is a rare privilege to encounter a truly open-minded creature of the night.
Samantha: [with a slight twang] Forgive Demetrius for his endless speechifyin’. He died afflicted with Romantic poetry and never recovered. I’m Sam. That’s Brandy. Point is we’ve noticed you’re different from the others.
Caleb: And how is it any of your business if I am?
Demetrius: Imagine I told you I stand before you now with not a single drop of blood infecting my veins?
Caleb: Impossible! [doubting himself] Isn’t it?
Brandy: It’s true. We all do.
Sam: Though we don’t exactly go shoutin’ it from rooftops, ‘specially in this crowd.
Brandy: But we thought we could trust you.
Demetrius: And even lighten the burden of your existential load, if you wish.
Caleb: [dumbfounded] But… how?
Demetrius: With this, a single humble fruit.
Caleb: Is this a joke?
Demetrius: Not at all. See how it glows at the core? That, my friend, is plasma — to put it plainly, essence, life — encapsulated in its purest form.
Brandy: It’s not really blood that keeps us going but what’s in blood. That stuff’s in here too.
Sam: It tastes like shit and never quite sates your thirst, but it will sustain you.
Caleb: How can something like this exist?
Demetrius: The tree bearing this fruit comes from the Old World, though I cannot say its true origin. My maker chanced upon a withered husk in dusty Tartosan soil and coaxed from it new growth. I aimed to spread the good news of its existence, but this ilk has proven largely uninterested, too crazed with bloodlust to revere this gift of nature. Still, I have encountered enough like-minded individuals to make the effort worthwhile. Now, how would you like to experience enlightenment?
Caleb: [visibly hesitates]
Demetrius: Go on. Take it. Consume it, and plant the seeds. You will be astonished how quickly it grows.
