simscognito

28 | simLit writer of action fantasy with romance | the occasional poster of incorrect quotes | A mythology nerd in real life

[simscognito]

THE TIDES OF POWER: AN ONGOING SIMLIT

A kingdom ruled by a deadly siren. A court overrun with enemies. If Melody wants to keep her throne, she'll have to rely on the one human who doesn’t die at the sound of her singing.

The Tides of Power is an action fantasy love story following the new Queen of Simsland as she struggles alongside her human confidant, Diego Suárez, to keep her throne from gangs, vampires and witches vying for her position, as well as from her niece, the late King's eldest daughter, who is supposed to be dead.

Warnings: contains violence, death and mild sexual themes.

Updates are every Saturday on Tumblr (photo-narrative until Chapter 15, then traditional prose with screenshots) and Friday on WordPress (traditional prose with screenshots).

To read the prologue, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP). To view the chapter index, click here. To view the character bios, click here. To view the out-of-story skits with the siren Queen Melody and her human confidant, Diego, click here.

FRIENDS OF FOES: A COMPLETED SIMLIT

If you’re looking for a simLit full of action, humour, and an enemies-to-lovers central storyline, you’ve come to the right place.

Friends of Foes is an epic love story between the new king of Simsland and the son of a hitman who was involved in the murder of the king’s parents.

To read the synopsis and content warnings, click here. To read the first chapter, click here.

[simscognito]

Time for a Friday chapter teaser!

Diego asks Nilsson who he thinks might have tricked Melody into signing the papers that support the shutting down of the human sciences. And Miguel talks to his papa about something rather important.

If you missed last week's chapter, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

To read from the beginning, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

[nova-kim]

Crow: CAW!! Phee: “Crow! My heart just clipped through my ribs! Warn me before you go full jump scare!”

Phee: “…Really? So who knocked it over—ghost, draft, or my Bad Luck moodlet?” Crow (vibes only): I told you, mortal.

Phee: "Don’t look so pleased, featherbutt. But… thanks for the heads-up, I guess. Wish you could tell me what you see that I can’t.”

[perolesims]

Previous & Next Gen 10 Start

image transcript (pt-br):

“Ah, ótimo. Que bom que vocês estão aqui para presenciar a maior bronca de todos os tempos…”

Cherry: Forest, eu pedi… eu praticamente implorei para você se comportar. Como você teve coragem de fugir daquele jeito? Forest: Ninguém se machucou. Você tá exagerando… Cherry: Exagerando? Você tem ideia do susto que eu levei? Nós estamos falando dos filhos de líderes mundiais! E se alguma coisa tivesse acontecido? Você faz ideia do que estava em risco? Nós estamos falando de incidentes diplomáticos, retaliações, consequências internacionais! Forest: Eu vi os irmãos mais velhos da Sayu. A gente não tava sozinho… Cherry: Eles também são crianças! Por que é tão difícil você entender isso? Eu só queria que você me escutasse! Pelo amor de Deus, custava me obedecer uma vez? Eu estou aqui representando milhões de vidas. Estou representando todo o povo de San Myshuno e- Forest: QUEM NÃO ESCUTA É VOCÊ! Cherry: Forest?! Forest: Eu nunca pedi nada disso! Eu nunca quis representar ninguém! Eu não escolhi essa vida! Ninguém perguntou o que eu queria! Cherry: … Forest: Você disse que essas seriam nossas férias em família! E tudo o que você fez foi trabalhar! Eu mal consegui ver a neve…. Cherry: Você podia ter ido com o papai e- Forest: Por que você se preocupa mais com as famílias dos outros do que com a sua? Eu sou seu filho. Enquanto todos os pais estavam abraçando seus filhos porque estavam preocupados, você só parecia estar com raiva. Como se tivesse vergonha de mim. Cherry: Forest, não. Jamais isso. Nunca. Forest: Então por que parece que você está sempre decepcionada comigo? Cherry: … Forest: Eu não quero ser o filho da Cherry Presidente. Eu só quero ser filho da Cherry e do Echo. Só isso. Por que é tão difícil você entender isso? Cherry: Desde quando você cresceu tanto? E começou a falar desse jeito? Forest: Talvez eu passe tempo demais te observando. Ou esperando você me notar. Cherry: …Me desculpa. Me desculpa por colocar responsabilidades nos seus ombros que nunca foram suas para carregar. Você tem razão. Você não escolheu nada disso. E às vezes eu esqueço disso… Eu vou tentar mais ser apenas a sua Cherry. Forest: Foi mal pela confusão de hoje também… Eu não queria machucar ninguém. Eu só estava entediado. Aquela festa era muito chata. Cherry: Pra ser sincera? Eu também estava entediada. Forest: Sério? Cherry: Sério. Só não conta pra ninguém. Forest: Fechado. Cherry: Amanhã nós vamos nos divertir de verdade. Eu prometo. Forest: Eu te amo… Cherry: Mais que ontem. Forest: Menos que amanhã.

[mochiibearrsims]

It was a recurring thing for Chelsey, once she got that phone call from her best friend Krystle she knew what the reason was. Take care of Yasmin while Krystle runs off to her “job” but at least something good comes out of it this time. Virginia got herself a little friend to play with.

[simscognito]

Time for a Friday chapter teaser!

Diego asks Nilsson who he thinks might have tricked Melody into signing the papers that support the shutting down of the human sciences. And Miguel talks to his papa about something rather important.

If you missed last week's chapter, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

To read from the beginning, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

[simscognito]

Chapter 41: Small Changes

WINDENBURG PALACE, 2052

Diego, if he admitted it, was beginning to enjoy his lessons with Melody. She was like a breath of fresh air – with her opinions…

And her peculiar mannerisms…

And while she was still irritating, still a challenge at times, she was also strangely endearing.

‘We’ll stop here for today,’ he said, rising from the silk sofa in the state room. The scent of sea salt emanating from Melody followed him as he stood, sending an unsolicited tingle through his body. 

He peered down at her sitting poised, in her long turquoise dress peppered with white flowers. She stared back, a glint in her shimmering eyes. ‘Now that I understand the proper function of a toothbrush, I declare this lesson a success.’

Diego laughed. ‘You’re getting there,’ he said. ‘Just try not to lose focus.’

‘How do you mean?’ enquired Melody. ‘You tell me to focus on you, so I do. Perhaps if you were a little more specific as to which parts of you, I’m supposed to focus on.’

‘My words, Your Majesty.’

‘Please, call me Melody.’ 

‘Melody,’ said Diego, his tone softer than he expected. 

He gazed at her dolphin-shaped nose, how it defined her face like the centrepiece of a masterpiece. 

‘We continue lessons tomorrow,’ he muttered, somewhat flustered.

‘Looking forward to it.’

And with that, Diego left, confusion building inside him. She, the Queen of Simsland, wanted him to call her by her first name. Sure, he’d called her Melody before – mostly to snap at her. But this was different. She had asked him to. What did that mean?

Perhaps she saw him as a friend. She probably didn’t have many of those. An ache settled in his chest. No wonder Miguel understood her in a way he didn’t. 

His phone buzzed, and he checked it, rolling his eyes at The Simsland Times notification on the screen. He clicked into the article as he headed back to his private quarters, scanning his eyes over the headline.

He paused in his tracks, heart pounding. 

A MOMENT LATER...

‘What is the meaning of this?’ snapped Diego as he stormed towards the state room where Melody was just leaving.

‘What is the meaning of what?’ she asked.

‘You’re shutting down the Human Sciences!’

Melody frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘It’s in the Simsland Times.’

‘It may be, but I still don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Melody folded her arms, annoyance spreading across her face.

Diego opened his mouth to toss her a sharp accusation, when he recalled Her Majesty’s words during their first dag-mál together.

‘You really are clueless aren’t you,’ he said, with exasperation. Then spun on his heels and began striding away.

‘Where are you going?’ Melody called after him.

‘To find someone who actually knows what’s going on in this palace.’

START | PREVIOUS | NEXT

To read the full chapter, click here.

[simscognito]

Chapter 41: Small Changes

WINDENBURG PALACE, 2052

Diego, if he admitted it, was beginning to enjoy his lessons with Melody. She was like a breath of fresh air – with her opinions…

And her peculiar mannerisms…

And while she was still irritating, still a challenge at times, she was also strangely endearing.

‘We’ll stop here for today,’ he said, rising from the silk sofa in the state room. The scent of sea salt emanating from Melody followed him as he stood, sending an unsolicited tingle through his body. 

He peered down at her sitting poised, in her long turquoise dress peppered with white flowers. She stared back, a glint in her shimmering eyes. ‘Now that I understand the proper function of a toothbrush, I declare this lesson a success.’

Diego laughed. ‘You’re getting there,’ he said. ‘Just try not to lose focus.’

‘How do you mean?’ enquired Melody. ‘You tell me to focus on you, so I do. Perhaps if you were a little more specific as to which parts of you, I’m supposed to focus on.’

‘My words, Your Majesty.’

‘Please, call me Melody.’ 

‘Melody,’ said Diego, his tone softer than he expected. 

He gazed at her dolphin-shaped nose, how it defined her face like the centrepiece of a masterpiece. 

‘We continue lessons tomorrow,’ he muttered, somewhat flustered.

‘Looking forward to it.’

And with that, Diego left, confusion building inside him. She, the Queen of Simsland, wanted him to call her by her first name. Sure, he’d called her Melody before – mostly to snap at her. But this was different. She had asked him to. What did that mean?

Perhaps she saw him as a friend. She probably didn’t have many of those. An ache settled in his chest. No wonder Miguel understood her in a way he didn’t. 

His phone buzzed, and he checked it, rolling his eyes at The Simsland Times notification on the screen. He clicked into the article as he headed back to his private quarters, scanning his eyes over the headline.

He paused in his tracks, heart pounding. 

A MOMENT LATER...

‘What is the meaning of this?’ snapped Diego as he stormed towards the state room where Melody was just leaving.

‘What is the meaning of what?’ she asked.

‘You’re shutting down the Human Sciences!’

Melody frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘It’s in the Simsland Times.’

‘It may be, but I still don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Melody folded her arms, annoyance spreading across her face.

Diego opened his mouth to toss her a sharp accusation, when he recalled Her Majesty’s words during their first dag-mál together.

‘You really are clueless aren’t you,’ he said, with exasperation. Then spun on his heels and began striding away.

‘Where are you going?’ Melody called after him.

‘To find someone who actually knows what’s going on in this palace.’

START | PREVIOUS | NEXT

To read the full chapter, click here.

[simscognito]

Chapter 41 of The Tides of Power is live on WordPress.

You can read it here.

Tomorrow it'll air on Tumblr!

If you missed last week's chapter, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

To read from the beginning, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

[simscognito]

Chapter 41: Small Changes

WINDENBURG PALACE, 2052 Diego, if he admitted it, was beginning to enjoy his lessons with Melody. She was like a breath of fresh air – with her opinions… And her peculiar mannerisms… And while she was still irritating, still a challenge at times, she was also strangely endearing. ‘We’ll stop here for today,’ he said, rising from the silk sofa in the state room. The scent of sea salt emanating…

View On WordPress

[moodycowplant]

They met as kids online and became important to each other before they even knew who stood on the other side of the screen. They lost each other, found each other and spent years unknowingly circling back.

Because that's what soulmates do. They get lost or take the long road. But against all logic, they still end up together.

And now after all those years and all the distance, Valerio and Gabriela are finally here... together, exactly where they were always meant to be, promising forever… 🤍

Previous | Mobile Navigation | Next

[perolesims]

Previous & Next Gen 10 Start

image transcript (pt-br):

“O evento era algum tipo de encontro com vários figurões da política... como era o nome mesmo? Ah, tanto faz, eu não lembro. Mas a Cherry estava super nervosa porque era o primeiro evento dela como representante de San Myshuno. Tinha uma área pros adultos e outra pras crianças, graças a Deus. Imagina ficar ouvindo político falar a noite inteira? Tô fora."

"Como o homem da família, eu cuidei do networking.”

Forest: Boa noite, eu sou o Forest Herr e a minha m... Cherry é a Presidente de San Myshuno. Nicholas: Você fala engraçado haha. Eu sou o Nicholas Vretos. Meu pai é o Presidente de Tartosa.

“Eu também fiz amizade com a Alicia, mas eu já conhecia ela meio que de antes... ela é filha do Louis. Durante a campanha da Cherry, o Louis voltou pra cidade natal dele e também entrou para a política. Agora ele representa Windenburg. Se a Cherry ficou chocada com a notícia da Alicia, imagina eu!”

“Como vocês podem imaginar... os adultos tinham MUITA coisa pra conversar... Logo todas as crianças já estavam distraídas brincando..."

"Eu já tinha brincado de tudo... já tinha comido... Eu estava entediado pra carambaaaa.”

Forest: O meu sofrimento... ele nunca acaba. Essa é a minha vida agora. ???: Esse é o seu primeiro evento político, né? Forest: Deu tão na cara assim? Eu não consegui me apresentar antes. Eu sou o Forest. ???: Sayuri. Forest: Você gosta bastante de conversar, né. Sayuri: Só com quem eu conheço. Forest: Ah, entendi. Você é daqui, né? Não tem nada melhor pra gente fazer? Sayuri: Nós estamos na parte de baixo, certo? Acho que tem um parquinho aqui perto. Forest: ISSO É PERFEITO! Você vai levar a gente até lá, Sayu. E assim, vai virar a grande heroína da noite! Sayuri: Desculpa? Acho que eu não entendi. Forest: Você disse que é perto. Ninguém vai sentir nossa falta. A gente vai rapidinho e volta. Vamos, vive um pouco! Sayuri: Otōsan me mataria se eu fizesse isso. Você entendeu errado. Eu não posso fazer isso.

“Mas eu já tinha parado de ouvir. Aquela seria a melhor missão de fuga de todas. Um plano incrível já estava se formando na minha cabeça.”

Sayuri: Por que eu fui falar justamente com o garoto mais estranho daqui...? Forest: Vamos, Sayu, vamos chamar os outros.

Forest: Rápido! Ninguém nem vai perceber! Sayuri: A gente realmente não deveria estar fazendo isso, garoto.

[igglemouse]

Magdalena A Little Modesty (Episode 17)

The main string in this episode was the return of Eliana to Mags circle of friends. For those who might not remember, she was a good friend of Mags before she joined Onlyfans basically and that offended Mags since she was falling more into her religion. Funny story, Eliana actually had sex with Mags brother at her wedding lol. This wasn't cannon in my head but hey, may as well mention it now! I did think it could be a potential storyline, especially with Eliana trying the onlyfans thing and in my mind Mags brother, Iker, is living a pretty wild life over in Windenberg...but that has been a problem with this way I've been writing, the siblings don't get enough shine and are basically just advanced for the plot. Any ways, some pictures for this episode!

So as you can see in these pictures, we see a lot of Mags circle talking with Eliana, basically pulling her out of the road she was going down, the whole onlyfans thing. This episode ends with Magdalena finally looking through a new house, a mansion in the hills like she always dreamed, and of course Yesenia and Eliana come along.

Santa is brought along too because the thing with Santa and Mags was about her continuing the cycle. Her mother (as we have seen) was hard on her and she planned on being harder on Santa. Whether Santa would have followed that path, who knows, because she did have Fernanda as her godmother...

And speaking of Fernanda, this is also the start of Fernanda sort of being iced out of the friend group, since Yessie gets Eliana's ear and Eliana starts to hang out with Yessie moreso than anyone else. Yessie even starts trying to play cupid for her as well...

ALSO, I did include pictures of Mags drinking coffee because at this point she was a coffee addict! Not a major plot line but if I had continued you would have seen her constantly drinking it since she was spending so much of her time taking care of the twins!

[simscognito]

Chapter 41: Small Changes

WINDENBURG PALACE, 2052 Diego, if he admitted it, was beginning to enjoy his lessons with Melody. She was like a breath of fresh air – with her opinions… And her peculiar mannerisms… And while she was still irritating, still a challenge at times, she was also strangely endearing. ‘We’ll stop here for today,’ he said, rising from the silk sofa in the state room. The scent of sea salt emanating…

View On WordPress

[simscognito]

Time for a Friday chapter teaser!

Melody and Diego continue their lessons, and Diego starts to rather enjoy them.

If you missed last week's chapter, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

To read from the beginning, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP).

[simscognito]

The Tides of Power Extras (36 – 40)

Hi everyone, I can’t believe we’ve reached 40 chapters. And Melody and Diego have only JUST begun to warm to each other. Taking them long enough! I’ve also updated the summary to include chapters 31 to 40, which you can check out here. Below is a collection of edits I have posted over the last five weeks on Tumblr and Bluesky. Thanks so much for sticking around. You’re all appreciated! 💖

View On WordPress

[simscognito]

For anyone wishing to read from chapter 41, airing this Friday (WordPress) | Saturday (Tumblr).

To read the recap: chapters 1 – 10, click here. To read the recap: chapters 11 – 20, click here. To read the recap: chapters 21 – 30, click here.

To read from the beginning, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP) To view the chapter index, click here (Tumblr) | here (WP)

Summary below the cut:

There was a protest at the University of Britechester led by one of Diego’s former students. Miguel attended alongside Dorothy, but the noise and chaos quickly became overwhelming for him. During the protest, he admitted to Dorothy that he was autistic and struggled with loud, crowded environments. So, Dorothy suggested they continue their conversation somewhere quieter, and the two relocated to the library. However, when Miguel began asking questions about her past, Dorothy froze and fled the library without explanation.

Back in Ravenwood, Grim continued pressuring Dorothy to open up to Miguel about her past. Though he refused to explain his reasons, he insisted there was something Miguel needed to know. When Dorothy challenged him, Grim simply replied, “You’ll see,” before laughing darkly. But Dorothy remained unwilling to share the fragmented memories she carried, especially the recurring image of a green-skinned woman in a black dress and pointed hat reaching out toward her.

Later, when Miguel confronted Dorothy about her growing distance, she finally admitted that she hated revisiting her past. Miguel sympathised, revealing that he too carried painful memories, particularly the death of his best friend, Princess Gema, and the disappearance of another close friend, Olivia. The meeting ended with him asking her to meet his dad.

Meanwhile, the palace welcomed a new arrival: Miguel’s psychiatrist, Dr Henry Jekyll. Melody had arranged for him to stay permanently at court as the official palace psychiatrist. The decision deeply unsettled Melody’s lady-in-waiting, Miss Fothergill, who reacted with visible fear and outrage at the prospect of Jekyll’s presence in the palace.

On his way to a session with Dr Jekyll, Miguel overheard Spellman and Nox arguing in one of the state rooms. It was obvious the two had taken an interest in each other’s affairs, though Miguel seemed unconvinced that they were lovers, like Nilsson believed.

Diego and Melody began their lessons together, though their first attempts went terribly. Both grew increasingly frustrated as they struggled to understand each other. After Miguel and Nilsson encouraged Diego to stop being so hard on Melody, he decided to change his method. Rather than forcing the lessons, he began by asking Melody what she thought humans and fish had in common. This approach was a success, and from there the two slowly began to find common ground.