#wormgameplay

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Rotation 4: Devir (Oliver)

Lester is back home! How exciting! (...in theory)

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CATCH UP: Lester Devir has returned from Homeland with an unpleasant secret that is bound to get revealed very quickly. Some things at home have changed, but some haven't - will Lester discover that the place they left won't accept the darkness they carried in? Are their husband Oliver's (he/they) feelings even still the same? ...honestly, most of this round is spent on the teens doing teen things anyway. Is Orfeus going to get with Quinn, or not? (that's the real plot here)

At the beginning of the round, Orfeus rolls the want to get serious with Quinn. He invites him out to grab something to eat. (even if he's grabbing it from his plate) The atmosphere is perfect. Orfeus really enjoys Quinn's sharp wit and his dignified, yet warm way of speaking. It feels like his rich friend genuinely cares about him. Orfeus might have found himself sincerely falling for Quinn Hanson.

The only thing making Orfie a bit tense is that in the next booth, there is some awkward company – Victor Beldine, his parent's enemy, and his teenage son Fabian.

They seem to be deep in conversation, when the waiter brings them their food. After he leaves, they continue.

Victor: "No, do not even think of it! You know that's not what she wants."

Fabian: "But I can't leave mom when she's this... sick.

Fabian: "And... I guess I can always do college later, like Mr Anora."

Victor: "There is an almost guaranteed chance she will be cured before the day of your departure anyway. You can and should go, carefree."

Fabian: "But you keep saying how much I'm helping you."

Victor smiles. "You are, but I will still manage."

Victor: "Ever since you have been little, you wanted to go to college. Now that the decision is almost upon you, it's unthinkable that you wouldn't. I want you to go, no matter what."

Fabian: "..."

Fabian: "Thank you..."

Fabian: "Honestly, I didn't really wanna stay home and sacrifice myself to support mom. I would, but it wasn't what I wanted. Like, I want to support her, but-"

Victor interrupts him. "Fabian, I know. I could tell from the start." He gives him a playful smirk.

Victor: "And I agree! You want to support her, but now it is not your place to stay with her. You must go out in the world."

Victor: "I am going to stay with 'Ranni, she'll never be alone. And, frankly, if you even mentioned skipping college for her in front of her, she'd probably drag you to La Fiesta with her bare teeth."

Fabian: "Thank you... I'm really hyped to go!"

Victor grins. But Fabian doesn't seem all that happy after all. He stops smiling and looks down into his plate.

Fabian: "I guess I was just really hoping the stupid war's gonna end soon."

Victor: "You were not alone in that..."

Orfeus waits until the Beldines leave his immediate proximity before getting to the most important point.

Orfeus: "Actually, I have... something to ask you."

Quinn: "Yes."

Orfeus: "Wait, what?" He laughs.

Quinn: "It's statistically probable that whatever you want to ask, the answer is going to be 'yes'."

Orfeus laughs. "You're saying that just to make me even more nervous."

Quinn smiles innocently. "No, never! Anyway, are you really going to ask me?"

Orfeus: "I've been wanting to ask you for a long time."

Quinn takes a step closer to him.

Orfeus: "Um..."

Orfeus: "Would you like to be... to be my boyfriend? Officially?"

Quinn smiles again. "The answer is still yes."

They embrace.

Quinn: "I've been waiting for this for so long..."

Orfeus: "I'm sorry, I just didn't know if I was good enough... why didn't you ask?"

Quinn: "Because I didn't know whether you really liked me, or just flirted with me for fun..."

Orfeus: "I would never play with your feelings like that!"

Quinn smiles as he kisses him. "I love you, Orfie..."

At home, Oliver is experiencing more of what his newly acquired plant form can do. Being in the sunlight feels amazing, euphoric. Fellow plants hum pleasant melodies and if he focuses, he can detect their meanings. He attempts several conversations with various crops, but communicating with them on his Sim level yields no results. Still, it's amusing to him.

Later the same day, Oliver is visited by their twin brother Nico. At first, it makes them feel better, not knowing yet that the Priest has far more somber reasons for stopping by than wanting to catch up.

Nico: "I'm so sorry, but I think you should know I will be investigating Lester."

Oliver: "Wait. Why?"

Nico: "There's a very high probability they have committed necromancy."

Oliver: "..."

Oliver: "No, they..."

He laughs awkwardly.

Oliver: "That's ridiculous. Yeah, Leslie is obsessed with death, but... it's really based in respect. They're probably the most anti-necromancy person I know!"

Nico: "It's not about their attitude."

Nico: "Aranni Beldine is under a necromantic curse and has only a fifty-fifty chance she survives the next few days."

Nico: "Lester is the only person in Wormville with the power and motive to do that to her. And..."

Nico: "We don't know what happened to them in Homeland. The evils of that place could've pushed them."

Oliver: "No..."

Oliver: "I'm sorry, but I can't believe that. The Lester I know... they would never cast any spell that could seriously hurt or kill another Sim, even if they hated them."

Nico: "I want to believe that, too. But the details point to someone who knows Aranni and Victor on a personal level and harbors a deep grudge towards them. And Lester fits that description, especially since their hatred is justified. Mages have been known to use dark magic for way less than avenging their beloved brother."

Oliver: "Have you considered it could've been Victor? That man's a violent nutjob."

Nico: "I have, actually, but it wouldn't make any sense. And the distress I've seen from him last night was genuine."

Nico: "Plus, Victor... isn't this bloodthirsty loose cannon you think he is. I've spent enough time with him to vouch for his current stability and deep remorse for Balthazar's death. I won't try to convince you that he's a good person, but..."

Nico: "I personally believe in the good in him."

Oliver sighs. "I personally think he's playing you like a fiddle. And honestly? I'm just afraid that being friends with them, both him and Aranni, is really dangerous and bad for you. As the Priest, you should be impartial, and being buddy buddy with-"

Nico: "As the Priest, I am to be the one who unites. I'll be friends with any member of my community. With Serenity, and with Victor. With the Hansons, and the Anoras. With witches, and with werewolves."

Nico: "I know my place better than you think."

Oliver: "I know, and I don't want to school you, but... People are already talking, Nico. They say you're in love with Aranni. They say you'd let Victor get away with anything."

Nico: "Wait. So, if I am in love with Aranni, why am I protecting her husband? Am I in love with Victor, too? Woah. That's a lot to take in."

Oliver: "Please, I'm not joking around!"

Oliver: "I'm worried about you."

Nico: "There's no reason. I'll do what I must, when I must."

After that conversation, Nico seems to truly go visit Lester, who is working at their store.

Balthazarium, the magic supplies outlet they've started after college and subsequently renamed in their dead brother's honor, isn't doing very well this round. When Lester clocks in, they find most stock sold out without the money or time to restock, and they themselves... let's just say, are way more of a sorcerer than a salesperson.

However, that doesn't mean they're ready to accept business coming from filth.

Fabian: "Is it true, uncle Lester? Have you cursed mom?"

On the other hand, whether Fabian Beldine even brings any "business" is highly questionable.

Lester: "Was that the stupidest question you could think of?"

Lester: "And calling random adults 'uncle' doesn't make you sound cute and innocent, by the way. It's just embarrassing."

Fabian: "I-"

Fabian: "I wasn't trying to sound like a kid, I meant that you are married to my father's brother..."

Lester: "Don't sully Zachary's name by calling him your father. Aren't you already disowned?"

Fabian: "You're such a dickhead!"

Lester: "Yes, yes, don't forget to cry to your beloved Victor about it."

Fabian: "I just wanted to ask you-"

Lester: "And I don't remember allowing you to come to my store. Get out, before I remove you."

Fabian: "..."

Fabian: "You know what? Fuck off!"

Nico doesn't confront Lester in any way... yet, but that doesn't mean they don't talk to any other Devir that work day.

Lester: "Marlon, right?"

Marlon: "Yes."

Lester: "Well, I don't know what Nico does with you, but it's working. You're looking much less like a drowned spirit than in Homeland. Welcome to Wormville, lad."

Marlon: "...thank you."

Lester: "Are you looking for something to buy?"

Marlon: "No, I'm just here with Nico."

Lester: "I see. Good. I wouldn't pick up magic, if I were you. I think it's safer for your and all of us if you stay away from it."

Returning to the children for a bit, Orfeus gets invited to the art gallery/museum Downtown by a mysterious old man (in green shirt). This grandpa has been inviting young Orfie places ever since last rotation (I didn't include it in highlights for lack of space), and naturally, it smells suspicious, reaching to an unknown teenage boy like that, but so far, nothing that would confirm any creepy vibes happened, and Orfeus always makes sure to bring more people along. This time, he took his sister Audrey and their cousin Resi, who in turn took her brother and mom. He's becoming decently good friends with the mysterious gramps, though.

After exploring the museum, it's time for a movie night with the Elaho-Inipps!

(I genuinely had no idea this venue was even in the game, or that it had a cinema-esque part. I'm frankly impressed and I want to lovingly rebuild it as soon as I have time.)

Audrey in particular finds the hang out with her Elaho-Inipp relatives very enriching.

Speaking of enriching, Quinn Hanson sneaks by with a little gift for his new boyfriend. Just a small trinket of affection. <3

He deposits the §5,800 Florid Font in front of the door and goes about his business. It's a rich people thing, don't ask.

(The fountain becomes a permanent fixture of the farm. I don't want Quinn's extravagant gestures to impact the family's financial struggles in any meaningful way, or at least not yet, so I'm not selling it.)

Lester misses the commotion completely. They spend a lot of time in their laboratory, honing their skill even further. Something tells them this might be the last opportunity for them to do so, and that they will need everything they've got in the near future.

Quinn makes another appearance, this time called in by Orfie for a "sleepover". The two have been planning this encounter ever since they were still just flirting. It genuinely had nothing to do with the expensive gift, although Quinn lowkey thinks it did. (and pats himself on the back for choosing the right fountain)

By the way...

Too soon, WAY too soon!

...and that's enough, ACR. I didn't even know I had autonomous teenage TFB on, but, well, I don't anymore. Also, I'm putting all teens who are in-character responsible enough on birth control.

Lester's relationship with Květen is a bit awkward and uneasy. They remember her well and love her, even though they were a bit on edge about her existence when she was born. Květen, however, was too little when they left for Homeland, and now regards Lester almost as a stranger. Lester tries to help her with school and interact with her as much as they can, but it's a slow and difficult process.

Speaking of difficult...

Oliver: "I spoke to Nico. It's... concerning."

Lester smirks. "He often concerns me, too."

Oliver: "No- It's serious. He said something about you and necromancy."

Lester: "Ah. I... see."

Lester: "Well, it's... it's what it is. It's about time."

Oliver: "What...?"

Oliver: "What do you mean?"

Lester: "I'm so sorry, Ollie."

Oliver: "You actually did it?!"

Lester: "It would be stupid to deny it. Yes, in Homeland, I had the opportunity to harness energy for a grand necromantic curse. It was the wrong move, yes, but at the moment, nothing felt more right."

Oliver: "But..."

Lester: "I'd love to tell you that I'm sorry. But... I'm not. I'm not happy I did it, and I know it's going to fuck me over, but I'm not sorry for giving those two pieces of shit some real consequences."

Oliver: "What did you even do?"

Lester: "I've taken over Aranni's 'soul' - or at least, whatever she has instead of it - and turned her into my vampire. I can't control her directly, but she's wired now to fullfil the purpose I gave her."

Oliver: "..."

Lester smiles. "Which is, of course, to off Victor. When she does, she'll immediatelly die, too. Or maybe Cousinfucker kills her in self-defense. We'll see."

Oliver: "..."

Lester: "It wasn't my idea, it's an ancient spell, but I think it fits them like a glove. They'll tear each other apart. Or, maybe they won't. Maybe Nico lifts the curse."

Lester: "Still, maybe now they finally realize that Balthazar's death can't just be made up for with smiles and empty charity gestures."

Oliver: "You can't be serious!"

Lester: "They killed him for no good reason! I'll never not be serious about that."

Oliver: "But this is-"

Lester: "What? Just as bad as murdering a young mentally ill man just when he was finally beginning to get his life together?"

Lester: "Just as bad as murdering an infant girl's father?! Just as bad as killing him only to prove a stupid point?!"

Oliver: "No-"

Lester: "Victor didn't even have a reason beyond wanting to look strong! That's how little Balthy's life was worth to him!"

Oliver: "But-"

Lester: "I'm targeting my brother's murderers. I don't care whether what I did was good or bad, I'm their justice!"

Oliver: "If... if it was a quick death, I'd be with you, but this... isn't this too much? You've violated death, just like you-"

Lester: "Oh, really? REALLY? My existence is a violation of death! I might as well be a necromancer, who cares!"

Oliver: "No! You're not a necromancer, you're just-"

Lester: "Stop infan-"

Oliver: "Stop interrupting me!"

Lester: "..."

Oliver: "You're just a traumatized person mourning their brother. You're not evil, you're not meant to embrace evil. You wouldn't stoop to their level!"

Lester: "..."

Lester: "Oliver... I hoped you'd understand..."

Oliver: "..."

Lester: "But you clearly don't."

Lester turns back and walks away. Oliver starts crying.

The mysterious old man invites the teens out again! This time, Orfeus takes Quinn and Winter along for a bit of pool and bowling.

That allows for a grand vampire to spawn. Oh. Fabian?

Fabian: "Hey! Uh. Greetings?"

Countess: "Are you perchance speaking to me, childe?"

Fabian: "Yeah. Excuse me, but-"

Countess: "My time is very precious and the amount of excuses I can make for poor manners is little. Introduce yourself and address me on a level befitting a lady."

Fabian: "I'm sorry. I'm... I'm Fabian of the Beldines, the heir to... much industrial wealth and some land in Wormville. Can I talk to-"

Fabian: "Eh..."

Fabian: "Could I prove myself worthy of an audience with you?"

Countess: "You're adorable, young Fabian. Of course you may."

Fabian: "Thank you. It's about-"

Countess: "I like this lowly establishment, for the art of bowling amuses me, but it's way too inappropriate for a serious conversation. Walk with me, Fabian. We may stroll the night city and talk freely."

Fabian: "I'm sorry, but I don't think that's a good idea. You're a vampire, right?"

The countess frowns, but then... she laughs. "Oh, young, handsome, and so adept in the occult! Indeed, I am. And you're worried I will dine on your little neck once we're alone."

Fabian: "No!"

Fabian: "..."

Fabian: "I mean, yeah? Wouldn't you?"

Countess: "I cannot promise you I wouldn't indulge a little sip. But your lack of manners and trust hurts and offends me."

Fabian: "Ma'am, I-"

Fabian: "I just wanted you to help my mom... She's a vampire, like you. But she's really new at it, and she's so hungry-"

Countess: "Oh. I see. Too bad, then."

Fabian: "She-"

Countess: "Away with you, little boy! I care not for your damned mother!"

At home, Květen's growup milestone is imminent, and the family throws a party. The entire family is invited. Serenity, who is Květen's aunt on Lester's side, and Cyrus, who is Květen's uncle on Oliver's, talk a little bit when they arrive. Serenity can't help but notice how happy she feels with her Anora friend, and how much she enjoys Cyrus' voice, mannerism, his style of speech... and how all of that points to her being desperately in love with him.

She's not pleased with that realization at all.

Unfortunately, Serenity doesn't get to do much else at the party, since she starts exhibiting infected behavior (!) and urgently leaves as not to spread whatever she has. In general, she seems pale and weakened.

Cyrus sticks around for Květen until she actually ages up and then quickly runs off, too.

But there's no time to worry about Serenity's life or a possible disease outbreak now, Květen has just grown up!

She's a teenager now, a Knowledge/Popularity Sim and her 4th trait is Family-Oriented. Her LTW is to throw 20 great parties! Given that Květen has inborn magic in her, I want her appearance to reflect that, so I gave her some facial markings. I presume that she'll be getting new outfits next rotation, and I plan to go for something green for her.

As a bit of a highlight from the party, I bring you this picture. It's Percy making Marlon blush and Audrey, who was kinda half talking to them, reacting to her parent passing by. However, her previous interaction, that I was unfortunately too slow to screenshot, was the "disapprove" reaction at Percy flirting with Marlon!

It's true, that despite being cousins nominally, Audrey isn't related to Marlon at all and hasn't grown up with him as her cousin, and she has been spending some time with him during this rotation (it unfortunately didn't make into the hightlight posts)... However, it's just as possible that the target of her jealousy is Percy! To my knowledge, they've never interacted directly, but she might've been admiring him from afar...

Or she's not attracted to either of the boys and just finds their flirting annoying.

Next to Oliver, who is usually unwell when the sun isn't shining, it's Audrey and Květen who tend the fields. Both of them already have a silver gardening badge! At the end of the round, the family manages to sell the crops for an okay profit, however... they all know winter is going to be rough. And it's coming quick.

And not being able to rely on their harvest isn't nearly the only thing they need to be wary of. Oliver has quickly been discovering the darker sides of being a plantsim and without a growlight to keep him from collapsing at night, he starts every day waking up from an unintentional full-body shutdown, heart racing, breathing only with difficulties. The sunlight soon makes him feel better, but will it be enough to beat the cold that will soon threaten him as he's forced to spend the entire daytime outside?

And his marriage with Lester feels more strained by the minute...

Whose side would you take?

Lester's

Oliver's

Voting ended onNov 27, 2025

I apologize for the week and something gap between posts, I was travelling. Now I'm back... eviler than ever!

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Rotation 4: Anora Part 1

CW: descriptions of violence

< PREVIOUS ROTATION

PART 2 OF THE CURRENT ROTATION >

CATCH UP: The Anoras say goodbye to their matriarch Mina, as Cyrus finally returns from the Homeland expedition. After the grim start, the family does the best they can to finally get their toy store running. These are very difficult days for Cyrus, full of big life changes, and even harder days for his children, having to navigate the grief and the hard work along with the usual chaos of their teenage lives. Is this rotation when it finally starts looking up for this clan?

...please, ignore Aranni and Gillian. Agent Gillian doesn't have any reason to attend Mina's funeral, but I used him to faciliate the photoshoot, so when he decided to stand in the frame, I let him. Aranni, on the other hand, has no excuse whatsoever. She simply crashed the funeral.

Alas, onto happier things! This is the Anora Residence. It's a small house, with the more expensive furniture mostly inherited all the way from Aileen and Adora (Mina's moms). Given that the family desperately needs more space and that they got various financial injections lately, I've rebuilt it at the start of this round.

This is what the Anora Residence looks like now! It's considerably bigger, so each of the remaining children has their own room, and the shared spaces are a bit roomier, too, to accommodate 5+ Sims using them often at the same time.

Plus, Io finally gets a car to restore! (Cedric wanted to buy her a car outright, but he could only afford the wreck. Little did he know that it was exactly what she wanted!)

Cyrus begins painting for a living. It's not much, but for the first time in his life, he can at least say it's honest work.

He's interrupted by a phone call. It's Iulius Fiera, who for some reason expresses concern for Cyrus in the wake of Mina's loss, and invites him for a night out. He makes it clear that it's NOT a date, since he also invited some other people. Oliver, for example. Cyrus agrees to go.

Wait. Is that... Genevieve? Well, it's Downtown, so technically, she's allowed to be there...

It's not a date bro, trust me. Also, nevermind the wolves.

Cyrus: "Excuse me for a moment."

He does mind a wolf.

Cyrus: “Genevieve.”

Genevieve: “What? Oh… it's you. Daring, aren't we?”

Cyrus: “Can we talk?”

Genevieve: “What about? I did it, but I didn't mean to. You won't get any sappy explanations out of me.”

Cyrus: “I don't want that. I… just wanted to see…”

Genevieve: “What? Cyrus, I know I'm asking a lot, but can you express yourself in complete sentences?”

Cyrus: “I wanted to see that you're sorry.”

Genevieve raises her eyebrows. “So you're bothering me just to stare at the monster from the woods and make sure she's miserable?”

Cyrus: “No. I think it would be... closure to know that you're mourning her, too. That you miss her, too.”

Genevieve: “Mina was family to me.”

Cyrus: “I know.”

Genevieve: “She was my first friend. One of the closest people in my life.”

Cyrus: “I know.”

Genevieve: “And you dare come to me and ask whether I missed her and whether I was sorry I killed her? Are you that stupid?!”

Cyrus: “I'm-”

Genevieve: “No. Sorry. To be honest, how would you know how it feels? I loved Mina. You fucked her sometimes, in between fucking half the town. You and I are not the same.”

Cyrus: “Now you're just trying to get a reaction out of me. I loved Mina just as much as you did. I thought we could bond over it.”

Genevieve: “I don't need to bond with you, Cyrus. I already own a vibrator.”

Cyrus: “I don't need to listen to this. Goodbye, Genevieve. Go fuck yourself.”

Genevieve: "Wait."

Cyrus: "..."

Genevieve: "You want to punch me. I can smell that rage, I hear that heartbeat..."

Cyrus sneers. “You killed my wife.”

Genevieve laughs again. “You don't even deny it? Here comes Mr Nice Guy…”

Cyrus: “And when I wanted to talk like people, you started insulting me for no fucking reason.”

Genevieve: “I insult everyone. Have you never read the news?”

Cyrus: "..."

Cyrus: “So yeah, I do want to punch you. But…”

Genevieve: “But?”

Cyrus: “That's not what I do.”

Genevieve: "Mhm..."

Genevieve: “You're scared to go toe to toe with a werewolf.”

Cyrus: "Spare me your taunts. I'm leaving."

Genevieve: "Alright. I thought you might've wanted to avenge Mina, but apparently not. Well, if you ever change your mind, visit the woods. You wouldn't believe how much I'm itching for a good fight."

Genevieve: "And Cyrus?"

Genevieve: "Bring your lucky knife. It's gonna be a fairer fight that way."

It seems that after that, Genevieve leaves. Cyrus follows her with his eyes, frowning. He wants to go after her and give her the fight she wants. He wants her to cry in pain for Mina. And... for him, for the sorrow and humiliation she has just made him feel. But he doesn't. It's not... it's not what he does. It's not what he's supposed to do.

Being level-headed has always been Cyrus' point of pride. He won't let himself get provoked into anything stupid and violent. He closes his eyes, counts to ten.

Iulius: "The audacity she has to show her face outside the woods! If this wasn't neutral ground, I would've showed her what's for after what she did to Mina!"

Iulius: "How did you even manage to speak to her?"

Cyrus: "...barely."

Cyrus: "Let's forget her. Let's think of... better things."

Iulius: "..."

Iulius: "What- What do you mean?"

Cyrus smiles. "I know why you've invited me here, Iuly."

Iulius: "Don't call me that!"

He's blushing. That makes Cyrus feel much better. This is his safe ground. This is what he does.

Cyrus: "The signals are impossible to miss. But you don't have to be ashamed. It's okay."

Cyrus gently takes Iulius' hand and leans in to him. "I'll gladly show you the world you want to see tonight."

Iulius: "..."

Iulius: "Just... be discreet about this..."

Don't blame me! Cyrus has had this in the back of his mind for a while.

It's then when Genevieve returns and attacks Iulius, not holding her fangs back. She catches him unaware while he is distracted with Cyrus, but it very soon becomes clear that it doesn't even matter. The fight isn't equal in the slightest.

Cyrus has seen Iulius Fiera fight before.

Cyrus has seen Iulius Fiera pulverize undead.

Cyrus has seen Iulius Fiera throw poor Krystal Celwitch around like a ball.

He has never seen him look so terrified, weak and slow.

Genevieve doesn't fight like Sim, she fights like an enraged wolf, but one that has the size and awarness of weaponry of a person. Iulius fails to even reciprocate her attacks in any meaningful way, and instead of that, he just tries his best to shield his face and vitals.

Unsuccessfully. Iulius screams. He's not the only one - the club turns into a cacophony of yells and screeches as the frightened onlookers fall into panic.

Cyrus wants to help Iulius, but he can't make himself get closer to Genevieve now, his Sim brain won't let him. She has the aura of an apex predator and Cyrus' insticts don't let him engage.

Cyrus: "Feli! FELICIA! HELP!"

He's seen her here tonight! And if anybody can stop Genevieve, it's her!

But Felicia Gere isn't there anymore. She must've left. And even if she came now and tore her mate away from Iulius, it wouldn't have changed a thing. Cyrus realizes Iulius has stopped screaming a while ago. Genevieve steps away. Her eyes are unreadable. The fur on her face is matted together with blood. Cyrus looks at her, unable to recognize the journalist anymore.

Death Himself appears to collect the soldier's soul. Cyrus lets Genevieve go without a word and drops down on his knees. He makes a plea.

And he succeeds! Iulius lives! Death Himself wills his flesh back together.

What did die, though, is the mood. There is going to be no date tonight. Cyrus was looking forward to everything he could do to a man so repressed and insecure as Iulius, but after having just barely saved him from dying a very sudden gory death, all he wants to do is just give him a hug. Iulius holds onto him for a while, like clinging to his dear life.

Iulius: "I was the biggest clown!"

Iulius: "The worst idiot!"

Iulius: "I feel so stupid for giving them the benefit of doubt!"

Cyrus: "Iulius, please, just follow me out. You're shaking. You shouldn't be in a night club-"

Iulius: "I'm going to eradicate lycantrophy like the plague that it is!"

Cyrus: "Sure you are, but not now. Let me take you home. You need some fucking quiet and rest."

Iulius: "She will pay for this!"

Cyrus: "Yeah, Nico is going to hold her accountable. You'll report it to him tomorrow, after getting some sleep."

Unfortunately, after the flop outing, the misfortune only continues. Hellene returns from work with Lee... and the flu. Oh no.

Ione, the household's sole Family Sim, gets out of bed to make the soup for her sick sister. Unfortunately, the cook of the family is Hellene (with extremely impressive Cooking level 6), and Io with her Cooking... level 0 manages to burn the soup in the process. Oh well.

But she takes it in stride, feeling like a good head of the clan for having helped in crisis. Hellene also doesn't mind. Healing soup is healing soup, no matter that it tastes like clay.

Cyrus doesn't know they have the flu in the house yet, so when he sees Wynn Fiera, his enemy, walk by (to steal the newspaper), he accosts them and invites them in. His intentions?

Set things straight.

Wynn is a bit distrustful at first, but then Cyrus tell them the news. He has retired from the business. He will no longer stand in their way or meddle with their clients. There is zero need for them to fight anymore.

They get a drink and end up talking for several more hours. It turns out they have more in common than they've thought, and can trade many stories about the underworld and the triumphs they achieved and moreso the mistreatment they've endured. Cyrus doesn't mention that he tried to seduce their husband, though.

In the meantime, after they both eat the soup (...Io contracted the flu as well), Hellene offers to do her sister's makeup in gratitude, so they have a bit of a girls' night in Hellene's new room. The family was finally able to afford the makeover chair Hellene's been dreaming about.

Next day, Hellene has recovered from the flu, but Io hasn't yet. Cyrus is very worried for her, but after she already had the healing soup, there is not much he can do for her (aside from just existing nearby to plead in case she dies), so he at least spends the afternoon tutoring Hellene in Mechanics.

Hellene: "So, Xavier was-"

It's no fun to recount her fun dating experience when her sister keeps interrupting her with coughing and choking, so she leaves it for later.

Edward befriends Trudy Beldine. Or... Frieda. He has honestly no idea which one. Let's just hope that she didn't catch the flu in the house.

Luckily, soon after the notification finally arrives that Io has defeated the illness, and a big relief washes over everybody. It's even safe to throw a birthday party for little Trevor!

This is him. He's a Popularity/Pleasure Sim now and his LTW is to be the perfect business owner with all the related badges. His fourth trait is Angler, and I've taken the liberty of deleting his Loves the Heat one as well, for which he rolled Cat Lover as a replacement. Given how often he was rolling wants about interacting with the family cats as a child, it fits great!

Melody Devir arrives at the party, and so does Sophia Jilleni. Sophia has been avoiding Melody and vice versa ever since it became public knowledge that Melody and Jacqueline Fiera have started dating, but now they autonomously play together. It's definitely not what it used to before Homeland, thought... and a lot of things between them are still hanging in the air unaddressed.

Melody also takes the time to bully Hellene. Or... to get bullied by Hellene. It's hard to tell who started it, they're both generally out for violence.

And, of course, Melody doesn't come alone. She takes her new brother Marlon to experience his first party, but since she has so much catching up to do and she knows he is a decent dancer, she just tells him to go dance with somebody, believing he's gonna manage. Marlon takes it as a task to fullfil and invites the nearest standing person, Yearning Elaho-Inipp. Despite her saying yes, it has a very "why are we doing this?" vibe on both sides.

It's not a bad party overall. Nobody dies at least!

Should Cyrus accept Genevieve's challenge?

Yes. He should face her and avenge Mina.

No. It's the stupidest decision he could make.

Voting ended onNov 10, 2025

Next part I want to dedicate more to the teens and the toystore! I realize this one was a little bit heavy on life-and-death drama. None of that was planned, by the way. Genevieve just apparently really doesn't want to run out of enemies, or make the situation of her fellow werewolves any easier.

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Rotation 4: Devir (Nico) Part 1

Let's collectively pretend this rotation is still in the neat alphabetical order, I just don't know the alphabet.

CW: This gameplay update has portions where my Sims discuss child abuse and neglect. There's nothing graphic, but be warned.

< PREVIOUS ROTATION

PART 2 OF THE CURRENT ROTATION >

CATCH UP: Nico the Priest is going through the most turbolent times once again. His beloved daughter Melody has returned alive, and for a great cost he managed to also resurrect her sister Winter, but his conscience is heavy and his loneliness is overwhelming, especially after the death of his girlfriend Quincy. Luckily, Nico has plenty of work to distract him from all that. He adopts Marlon, a confused teenage survivor of untold horrors of Homeland, and dedicates most of his time helping him get back on his feet and establish himself in Wormville. How is Marlon's first round in the town going to look like? Where is Melody going to take her life after returning and getting her safe loving home turned into chaos by the virtue Winter's resurrection and Marlon's sudden appearance?

Nico: "Good morning, Marlon!"

Marlon: "G-good morning, Mr Priest..."

Nico: "You don't have to call me that. It's just Nico."

Marlon: "...okay."

Nico: "Anyway, how was the first night in your new bed?"

Marlon: "Comfortable."

Nico: "I see. I'm glad. Do you want breakfast? I'll go make you some breakfast."

Marlon: "I'm not hungry."

Nico nods. "Okay, then not. Tell me when you are."

Marlon: "...okay."

Marlon: "I... I'm sorry. What is his name?"

Nico: "What?"

The priest stops playing the piano and turns around, to see the boy petting one of the cats. He smiles.

Nico: "Oh. That's Malice. The other one's Broomer. You can tell them apart by their body shape. Broomer is round, Malice is long."

Marlon: "Malice? Doesn't that mean... evil?"

Nico: "Yes. But it's a joke name. She's not evil, and nobody thinks she is."

Marlon: "She's kind and soft."

Nico: "Right? They're wonderful creatures, both of them!"

Suddenly, they see somebody else coming down the stairs. It's Melody. She's frowning.

Melody: "Marlon, go somewhere else. I need to speak with father alone."

Nico sighs. He knows very well what's going on. He knew it even before she called him "father" instead of "dad". He turns back to the piano and starts playing again. He might as well provide some soundtrack.

...

In the meantime, Marlon sits in the hallway, unsure of what he even is allowed to do. He thought the Priest would tell him, but now the Priest's daughter doesn't want him in the room, so he can't ask anymore. This house unnerves him. He's never been to such a large house as anything other than an invader before.

Maybe that's what he is even now, an invader. Victor and the Priest let him be here and sleep in a bed and play with the cats, but what if they expect him to be a normal Sim and not a monster?

???: "I don't know you."

A child's voice behind him makes Marlon jolt. He jumps to his feet and turns to see a little girl in the door to one of the rooms.

Marlon: "..."

???: "Are you Mel's friend?"

Marlon: "No."

As far as he knows, Melody doesn't see him as her friend.

???: "..."

???: "What are you doing in our house, then?"

Marlon just stares at her. The girl is strange. Her skin glistens uncomfortably and her eyes are peculiar, with pale irises that look cracked.

Marlon: "The priest said I live here."

???: "Okay? Dad knows best."

She seems to think for a second. Then she grins at him.

Winter: "I'm Winter!"

Marlon: "I'm... Marlon."

Winter: "You look strong!"

Marlon: "..."

Does he? He used to be. His father wouldn't have it any other way. But Marlon doesn't feel strong anymore. He feels weak and sick. He also has no idea about the strange child's intentions.

Winter: "Can you swing me around? Pleeeease!"

Yes, Winter's first interaction with Marlon was her autonomously coming up to him and asking to be swung around. And he said yes.

Melody might've disagreed with Winter's resurrection and fought with Nico about it, but in the end, she has to admit feeling relieved to see her little sister alive again. Even if she looks... different, now. In some way, though, it's easier than making peace with suddenly obtaining a similar-age brother.

He's not doing anything wrong, he's just... there, and given how he came to be in that place, he automatically wins all the attention without even competing.

Her dad - no, their dad - dedicates most of his time to talking to Marlon and helping him acclimatize. He even teaches him how to cook. Even food in their home had to adapt for that boy. Every time Melody opens the fridge, she sees a box in there with her new brother's name on it. He can take things from the shared space, but nobody can touch the things in his box. Nico explained to the girls that because Marlon used to have nothing to eat very often, he could get anxious about something like that happening to him again, so having his own reserve stash that nobody can take from him will make him feel safer. Melody understands that it's a good thing, and she's genuinely happy the Church is trying to rehabilitate the poor guy, but sometimes...

Sometimes she misses the days when she could just talk to her dad about stuff and her life anytime, not just in between his Marlon-sitting duties and his actual job as the priest. Sometimes she misses the days when she could just open her fridge without being reminded that her pain doesn't really matter next to somebody else's.

But still, she tries.

Melody: "Hey. Can you dance?"

Marlon: "..."

Marlon: "No."

Melody: "That's a problem. You see, worms dance all the time. Not all of us are good at it, but everybody at least knows the steps."

Marlon: "..."

Melody turns the radio on.

Melody: "Come here. I'll teach you the basics."

She shows him some of the most popular moves people of Wormville do at almost all social occassions. To her surprise, the boy is able to repeat them after her almost immediately.

Melody: "You're a natural. Did you dance a lot in the forest?"

Marlon: "No." He laughs.

She raises her eyebrows and sighs. He still doesn't elaborate, but he puts on that strange direct glare again.

Melody: "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Marlon: "You talked at me when I couldn't respond."

Melody freezes. She awkwardly turns the music off.

Melody: "I... didn't mean anything. You looked so scared and lonely and most adults just wanted to kill you, so I thought you'd get better if at least someone was nice to you."

Melody: "But you don't need that anymore. Everybody's nice to you now."

Marlon looks into the ground. "You were right. You were the only good thing in the Nightmare. You were the good bird I was always looking forward to."

Melody: "The good... bird?"

He smiles. "I remember you as a bird. I recognized you because of your voice."

Melody looks confused for a bit, but then she bursts out laughing. "Yeah, I see. I was wearing a plague doctor mask. It kinda looks like a bird."

Marlon laughs, too. "So it was half-real? I was thinking I only remembered you as a bird because I was... mad."

Melody: "Okay, and now you know. You can stop with the staring. It creeps me out, honestly."

Marlon: "I...I'm sorry. I just wanted to thank you and respond to... to your questions. But I don't know how. I don't even remember them all."

Melody: "Take it easy. It's the past. The Nightmare, you called it? You're awake now. Just... don't look at me like you wanted to kill me anymore, okay?"

The same evening, a municipal police car from Downtown comes for Nico, takes him away for uncomfortably many hours, and then brings him back home.

Winter: "Dad! Are you okay?"

Nico: "Yes, honey. I knew they were going to want to talk to me. And it was nice of them to give me a lift, hey?"

Winter: "Why did they want to talk to you?"

Nico: "They're missing a guy from the city and he was last seen going to Wormville, so they wanted to ask me some questions."

Winter: "Aw, I hope they find him!"

Nico: "Yes, so do I..."

In truth, Nico knows very well that they will only find his remains, Serenity already informed him. He assured her he would handle the Downtown authorities. It leaves a major sour aftertaste in his mouth, but he doesn't think about turning the Elaho-Inipps in even for a second. He's going to deal with Serenity and her irresponsible gardening venture locally. Their way. No outsider laws necessary, or wanted.

Marlon is slow to open about his father, but as he talks to Nico and Victor Beldine (who spends a lot of time hanging out in the Priest's Home this round), he begins to confide in them.

Marlon: "He never hurt me."

Victor: "Marlie, he isolated you from the rest of the world and treated you like an extension of himself. That is 'hurting'."

Marlon: "No..."

Marlon: "It wasn't like that. He never hit me, even when I was being bad. My father loves me."

Victor: "Listen. You do not have to defend him. He is not here. Your father's actions were selfish and wicked."

Marlon: "..."

Nico: "Vic... Don't press him."

Victor: "What? I'm not doing anything!"

Victor: "Why shouldn't we help him understand he was abused? He was! Do not tell me you don't think so."

Nico: "I do, but that's just not how it works. You won't convince him with facts. He has to see it himself. His father was the most important person to him for most of his life, and that feeling is stronger than anything you say."

Victor: "That is why I am so worried. I do not want him to live a lie, to miss the man who did all those horrible things to him."

Nico: "But if you take every mention of Marlon's father as an invitation to debate, you'll only make it worse. He already sees you as a paternal authority. If you impose yourself upon him and try to overwrite his love for his father, he'll start being too afraid to talk about it and see you as the aggressive force and the memories of his father as safety."

Victor: "..."

Victor: "Very well. I can see your logic, even though it infuriates me. If I could think of one reason to ever return to Homeland, it would be to find Marlon's father and strangle that excuse for a Sim."

Nico: "I know. It upsets me, too, to hear what Marlon went through and to know that he can't even see it was wrong yet. But I believe that if we show him a different world, he's going to naturally understand in time."

Victor smirks. "I guess we just have to be better fathers than he had before, and... well, the bar is very low."

Not all the conversations Nico has with Victor this round concern Marlon or any other serious matter. Both of the Beldines actually visit very frequently to just talk to him and have a good time. Pictured: Nico, having rolled the want to pull a prank on Victor and carrying it out successfully, is about to get his water baloon comeuppance. (he ends up finding it extremely funny)

Nico doesn't neglect Winter and Melody, or at least tries his best not to. It's not their fault there's only one of him and his day only has 24 hours. But once again, trying to balance being a caring attentive dad and the spiritual and executive leader of the village takes a huge toll on his physical and mental health.

But this time, it's noone's fault but his, and Nico knows that. He adopted Marlon because he believed he was the best suited to give the boy the care and safety he needs, and while he doesn't regret it, he realizes that it was an impulsive, irresponsible act. At the same time, the attention he gives Marlon isn't by far the only thing overwhelming him now, and all the other things, the spilled blood everywhere around, the werewolves, the funerals, the police, they're all his problems by choice. He didn't have to be the Priest. If he surrendered the power when he was young, he could've lived a much easier life.

Maybe Quincy wouldn't even have left if he wasn't the Priest. But who's to say? Thoughts of Quincy hang over Nico's head like a veil. She's gone, she's dead. He'll be giving her departure rites and a funeral soon. It's a numbing reality, the opening of a perfect Quincy-shaped void in his life. But one thing tears through the melacholy. It terrifies Nico.

Does he really mourn Quincy, or does he mourn his own expectations of their love? Does he miss her, or the idealized version that only lived in his mind?

Sometimes, the only time Nico can really sleep, be it from having no time to do so otherwise or his thoughts keeping him forcefully awake, is when he takes a nap in a chair he brought to Marlon's room, so he had a comfortable place to sit while he tries to comfort the boy who slipped into a panic attack in the dark or woke up crying in terror from a bad dream. Nico sits with Marlon, talks to him and keeps him company until the teenager falls asleep.

Marlon: "...where are we going?"

Melody: "I've already told you, I'm taking you out tonight. But first, we have to go shopping."

Marlon: "I have no money."

Melody: "I'm paying. You just try to relax and don't think about material things."

Melody: "Think about what colors you like. And patterns. You can't just wear Victor's gross hand-me-down coat, dad's old tracksuit and my pyjamas. We're getting you your own clothes."

Entering Beatrice's shop, Melody looks at Marlon and realizes painfully clearly that this is his first time actually shopping. And everybody's staring at them. She immediately directs her... brother to the appropriate section and tells him to pick something. She tries to advise him on fashion, but being honest, she's not very invested in Marlon actually looking good.

When they finish picking his new clothes, Melody gives him some money and unceremoniously pushes him in front of the cash register, so that he learns how to buy things by himself.

Ione: "Oh, hi! You're the wild kid from Homeland?"

Marlon: "..."

Ione: "I'm Io. Be seeing you around!"

Melody: "So, this is the school."

Marlon: "..."

Melody: "Folks hang out in there a lot in the evening. You'll meet some people!"

Melody: "Are you scared?"

Marlon: "No."

Melody: "Right, you have nothing to be scared of. Everybody loves creepy guys who communicate in grunts and one-syllable sentences."

Marlon: "..."

Melody opens the gate, but Marlon suddenly jumps over the fence and positions himself in her way. She scoffs.

Marlon: "Why do you hate me so much?"

Melody: "What? I don't hate you."

Marlon: "..."

Melody: "Do you think I'd be walking you around Wormville and trying to help you fit in if I hated you?"

Marlon: "I don't know your customs. Maybe you have no choice."

Melody: "Okay. Let me tell you something about me that you've probably missed."

Melody: "I'm the future High Priestess of the Entity. That means that people are one day going to listen to every word I say. I always have a choice."

Marlon: "I didn't know that. I'm sorry."

Melody: "And I'm hanging out with you because..."

Marlon: "..."

Melody: "It's what a good servant of the Entity would do. C'mon. Don't take it so personally. I'm not gonna baby you, but I am on your side."

Marlon nods and moves out of the way, following Melody inside.

As much as Melody worries about Marlon crumbling down under the pressure of suddenly being in a building full of strangers (all of whom are his peers and are very curious about him), it turns out he stays perfectly calm. She watches him introduce himself and shake hands with several worms, even cracking a slight smile here and there. She doesn't know why she feels so relieved.

That relief is cut short when she sees Percy Celwitch enter the school building. She has always found him sort of pitiful, as he always seems like he tries way too hard to be cool and tough. But what worries her is Percy's presence on the expedition. Even if she didn't see him and speak to him there, she would know. There is something heavy, dark about his soul now that she picks up on as an acolyte, and his eyes just don't have the same sparkle as those of the other kids who weren't in Homeland do.

Melody thinks of warning Marlon. She doesn't know Percy's opinion on his survival and integration in Wormville, but she's sure it's more likely to be negative. But Marlon is standing in a circle of people and she'd look weird if she just waltzed in there now, so she just hovers in the distance, ready to protect her brother if things go south.

Hellene: "Here comes the dweeb brigade. I'm out."

Percy: "Go fuck yourself."

He pushes past her and smiles at Marlon.

Percy: "Hey. Good to see you alive. I was on the expedition, too."

Marlon: "I don't remember you."

Percy: "Uh... I only saw you when the adults were fighting about killing you or taking you with us."

Marlon: "..."

Percy: "..."

Marlon: "Why did Hellene Anora call you 'the dweeb brigade'?"

Percy: "Because she's an ass."

Marlon: "The insult sounds like you alone were enough to count for a brigade. It doesn't make you look like a 'dweeb'."

Percy: "..."

He starts laughing. Marlon just smiles, a bit apologetically. What he said must've been really stupid. But Percy smiles back at him.

Percy: "I'm sorry, it's just funny you'd... you'd just say it like that. But it's also really nice, huh? Thanks."

Marlon notices the boy blush a little. It makes him feel good inside.

Percy: "The name's Percy, by the way. Percy Celwitch."

Even as the onlookers chilling nearby and listening to their introduction disperse, Marlon continues talking to Percy. The Celwitch boy has questions about his past, and even though it might seem like Marlon would loathe to share it with his peers, he actually doesn't mind. It's just that Percy is the first fellow teenager brazen enough to ask.

Percy: "Man, your father sounds like a lot."

Marlon: "He's remarkable."

Percy: "I've actually never met mine."

Marlon: "Is he dead?"

Percy: "I don't know. I think so, but... I can't be sure. I have a crazy stepfather, though. He's fine, but..."

Percy: "I mean, right now he's just gone missing. He hasn't come home for days now. Ehm..."

Percy: "Sorry. Didn't wanna bring that up."

Marlon: "It's alright! I will listen."

Seeing that Percy doesn't have any hostile intentions towards Marlon, Melody relaxes. Actually, there is something she wants to try to accomplish here tonight. She wants to stop thinking about her failure and about mother's death, at least for one stupid evening. She wants to try to enjoy a first date with someone cute!

Jackie Fiera is a big dork, but Melody deems her plenty cute. She has always found her funny!

First date ideas: Pillow fight in the empty school cafeteria.

Jackie agrees to spending the evening with Melody, both being on the same page that they might kiss at the end.

Unfortunately, Melody stops rolling Jackie-related wants midway (so I don't force her to progress), and they also tend to fight quite a bunch, as Melody develops an obsession with giving Jacqueline one noogie after another. The date is sort a flop.

Jacqueline: "I mean, I've done some experiments before, and I'm pretty sure I'm about 78% resistant to romance. You're just not good enough to cross the treshold. But the pillow fight was fun."

Melody: "Actually, I have some more data for you. You're also about 100% resistant to jokes, if you thought I seriously meant to date you. If I did, you'd be begging to be my girlfriend."

Jacqueline blushes. Melody finds herself blushing, too.

Jacqueline: "Okay, I dare you. Let's go out again soon. If I fall for you, I'm a loser. If I don't, you're a clown!"

Melody: "..."

Melody: "...fine. I'll let you know when I'm free."

And finally, later that evening, the family gathers and little Winter gets to grow up into a teenager, too! She's a Popularity/Knowledge Sim just like her dad, and her 4th trait is Daredevil. So far, she dreams about becoming an architect.

And yes, there's a visual elephant in the room.

(I later changed Winter's hair and I think it made a huge positive difference, but for in the screenshots for the rest of this rotation, she'll have the hairstyle in the first picture.)

To both signify Winter's unique touch of the great beyond (she's not only resurrected, she's the first resurrected Sim whose life was volunarily traded for by a willing sacrifice) and to utilize a few things out of my big horde of fantasy cc, I gave her a sparkly skin and pale winter-y eyes. It's way less subtle than I have hoped, but I think it has its charm. She sticks out like a sore thumb given how uncanny valley her alpha cc is in an otherwise Maxis Match-esque game, but that does give her the unnatural appearance effect I wanted, so...

Victor: "So, how do people treat you around here?"

Marlon: "Good."

Victor: "How secure do you feel in Wormville? You can rate it on the scale from one to ten."

Marlon: "..."

Victor: "Or not, that is okay too. Do you like Nico so far?"

Marlon: "Yes."

Victor: "Tomorrow, you are going to school for the first time, correct? How do you feel about that?"

Marlon: "Complicated."

Victor: "Yes, indeed... Well, I am certain it is going to turn out well. They do not expect you to immediately catch up with your peers, and will have an individual program for you. But even integrating yourself in and building a new sense of being normal will do you good."

Marlon: "And Percy Celwitch is going to tutor me in the afternoon."

Victor: "Oh? You have already befriended Percy? Good. I do not know the lad almost at all, but he gives me the impression of a very sad and lonely young man."

Marlon: "..."

Victor sighs.

Victor: "Alright, I will leave you alone. When you want to talk to me, you know I am always available."

Do you like Marlon as a character so far?

Yes.

No.

Passionate no, I hate that kid's guts. (Iulius option)

Voting ended onOct 30, 2025

This time, I've purposefully centered Marlon and sidelined the rest of the Devirs, especially Nico, while the next part I plan to focus on what Nico was doing while the children were in school and out. I'm so sorry if it's chaotic or if the pacing makes no sense, I'm not perfectly confident in how I made it work out XD

By the way, the big funeral is going to take place either during the Anora round or the Fiera round.

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Rotation 4: Anora Part 2

CW: pregnancy, talks about abortion, all what's associated with alien abductions (and my interpretation of them as an act of violence) If you're sensitive to these themes, you can still enjoy most of this post, but stop reading after the sentence "The party ends and it seems like the house would calm down, but nobody's that tired yet." which I've bolded and colored red for convenience. Also, in the context of alien abductions, the word "rape" is used once.

< PART 1 OF THIS ROTATION

NEXT ROTATION >

Anyway, the Anora clan has a toystore, which has long been one of the poorest-performing businesses in Wormville. The store becoming successful was Mina's life-long dream, and Cyrus and her kids are determined to make it happen for her even post-mortem. Plus, with the Beldines, the Celwitches and the Hansons raking in cash from their business ventures, it would be stupid for the poorer clans not to want a piece of that pie as well.

So, Cyrus tries to make some merchandise. He's not very good at it, but his Mechanical skill is decently high. Later into this round, Trevor takes over. Hellene, the official owner of the store, has exactly 0 interest in toys or tinkering, so she's just glad someone's doing it instead.

And finally, this is Wonderland Toy Store! (you can stop clapping now) It's breathtaking, indeed.

Even though the rest of the clan's money only turned out to be enough to only buy the walls, a door and two glass panels for windows (+ some shelves for the inside), my mean commentary isn't actually fully sarcastic. This is a breathtaking achievement for the clan Anora. This business has existed since rotation 6 in my internal count (on the blog, I count the rotations since posting, which means we're on the 4th, but in my internal spreadsheet, we're in rotation 13 now). Mina has established it when she was a teenager. It's so old, the Priest that okay-ed her business venture was Nico's father. And throught the 7 rotations, the store had been just a cash register on a rock in front of which Mina or sometimes Cyrus would unload the merchandise and stand there until someone bought it. Now, finally, it's an actual building!

...even though it's an empty shell on the outside AND an empty shell on the inside. Baby steps.

Hellene manages to impress the reviewer. The problem with that guy is that he has no standards, so even a bored, uninterested teenager in a dingy empty store is a "best of the best award" material to him. I don't even know whether you can get a bad review from him without intentionally trying, honestly.

Hellene: "I'm afraid we don't have the kind of toys that could help you, hehe."

Fabian: "Tss! How about being grateful for my patronage, you jerk?" He playfully gives her a gentle shove that she immediately returns.

Fabian: "Actually, I'm not just here to support your broke ass, but also to get something cool for the triplets."

Hellene: "Well, what you see is what you get. But you could check out the aisle in the back, that's where the homemade stuff is."

Fabian: "...you mean the pet bricks."

Hellene: "Yeah. Think logically. It's the perfect toy. They have faces on them, kids like that. It's cute. They'll have fun having a pet brick, and when they grow out of it, they can use it to break someone's windows."

Hellene: "Timeless classic."

Fabian: "You know what? That works for me. I'll take three."

Leaving Fabian alone to browse, Hellene moves on to Melody and proceeds to give her a noogie, then yells at her.

Hellene: "What do you need toys for? Have you had an 'accident' with someone?" She laughs.

Cedric: "Woah, don't even say that! I just bought something random to support the fam, and to check out how are you handling the store."

Hellene: "I'm doing good even without you or anybody else, that's for sure!"

That was, by the way, the last day Hellene manned the store. She doesn't like the job. She hates having to be nice to people, she hates their cluelessness, she hates selling something so lame as toys for kids. But that's not the main reason. The reason Ione and Trevor take over for the rest of the round is that Hellene sucks at this. She keeps autonomously bullying costumers, especially the teenage ones, and it doesn't help the sales in the slightest.

In the meantime, Trevor visits the school in the evening to meet more people. He dreams about scoring a date and getting his first kiss, but... It's easier said than done.

He talks to Zoanthus a lot. He likes the alien boy. He thinks he's so stylish and pretty... But Zo has to go home early and nothing comes off it, except for a budding crush on Trevor's side. He doesn't take it very seriously, though. He sees very little potential for something real here.

He's an Anora, which might as well be THE least glamorous, least respected, least influential and the poorest clan in Wormville. An Elaho-Inipp decked out in accessories and designer clothes might talk to an Anora, might even be friends with one if cards are played right (just like his dad is friends with Dr Serenity), but would definitely NOT ever, never ever, kiss one. It's a prince and pauper situation, and Trevor knows his place.

Still, when Zoanthus says, "May you dream of me tonight..."

...Trevor has a feeling that he actually will.

Jacqueline: "I'm just saying, don't trust him. I don't know what yet, but something is off about that guy."

Brianna: "Is there, or do you just hate popular people because you're alone and bitter?"

Jacqueline: "He's not popular. He's new. The moment everyone get used to him being here, they'll stop caring about him."

Jacqueline: "I hope. I mean. I hope he didn't hypnotize anyone, or something..."

Brianna: "Maybe Marlon's just a cool guy. He knows how to survive in a forest alone, and that's kinda Fiera of him. I approve."

Jacqueline: "That's the thing, though! Don't you see it? He's supposed to be a 'wildling', but it doesn't line up with the way he talks! Like, I'm not saying that he's evil or something."

Jacqueline: "He might be. He might be evil. It would be really fun if he was."

Jacqueline: "But I have no proof."

Brianna: "You have no proof of anything, actually. You're judging him because he doesn't sound stupid enough for you."

Jacqueline sighs. "All I'm saying is that I'm sure he's lying about himself, that there's more to him than he's saying. And it probably has something to do with magic. Or with the gods. Something really fucked up and forbidden..."

Jacqueline: "That's why he wouldn't say it!"

Brianna: "Whatever. Tell me when he actually does something bad. Something that's not just in your head."

Ione uses all of her free time working on her car. She's locked in.

Cyrus teaches Edward to paint. Ed is determined to help dad make more money.

Still in his house clothes, Cyrus assists Trevor in the store the next day. Ione goes often, too. A few times, Hellene joined as well, but she was more of a noogie nuisance than any actual help.

But then finally, a cause for celebration arises! Trevor gets tutored by Fabian Beldine. It's Edward's grow up milestone!

This is him! He's so... Mina. While Trevor and the girls are mostly Cyrus in the face, Edward inherited Mina's features and I'm irrationally happy about the variety. Anyway, Edward is a Pleasure/Fortune Sim with having a mansion as his LTW. His 4th trait is Natural Cook.

His birthday party is a bit on the wilder side, though. First, to nobody's surprise, Hellene sneaks out with Kaidan Celwitch for some night-sky romance...

Mhm, rats...

It works on him.

But Elphie Celwitch takes Ione to privacy as well! Unscrupulously using Cyrus' bed. Disappointing.

Although the setting of their encounter definitely doesn't redefine romance, Ione cannot be happier with her first experience. She loves Elphie. She's deeply in love with the older girl and wishes she would be willing to commit and actually become her girlfriend.

Outside of the bedroom, her twin sister has already finished her business in the hot tub and begun fighting with Edward. (Pictured Edward bullying Hellene, but the first mean interaction was initiated by her.)

The party ends and it seems like the house would calm down, but nobody's that tired yet.

Io and Hellene have been taking turns at the telescope lately, trying to make some extra cash, and...

Oh no. Oh no.

I actually think that this horrifying cutscene of a teenage girl being abducted to become an unwilling host of an interspecies fetus played out rather "sweetly" this time, because usually when it happens in my game, the abductee is all alone, but in Ione's case, her father and brother ran to the roof, panicking, and I can imagine that her family was trying to save her.

Cyrus: "FUCK! FUCK EVERYTHING! FUCK MY LIFE!"

Cyrus: "I can't take this! IONEEE! GIVE HER BACK!"

His shouts turn into sobs. Edward is in the other corner of the roof, autonomously grabbing the telescope, searching for his poor sister. Hellene finally gets on the rooftop, too.

She approaches her father. "Io... She's... she's gone?"

Cyrus: "No, no, they have to bring her back."

Cyrus: "They have to bring her back..."

Cyrus: "But they're hurting her. Raping her. As we speak..."

Hellene: "..."

Hellene: "Entity, that's so awful..."

Hellene: "But Io is strong. She's gonna make it through."

Cyrus gives her a faint smile. "You don't have to comfort me, girl. Save it for Io. She's going to need us all when she returns."

Resistance: "I see, I see... You poor thing..."

Ione: "Doctor Regina said she doesn't have the tools to take it out."

Resistance: "..."

Resistance: "I... I don't know what to say, Io... I'm so sorry about what you're going through."

Resistance: "Just know that we're going to be here for you. Your family, Elphie, and me. I'll help you as much as I can with... the technicals."

Ione: "The... technicals...?"

Resistance: "The labor. And the child itself after that."

Ione: "Oh my Entity, I'm going to have to give birth to it..."

Ione: "How? I don't have a... a... you know!"

Resistance: "You don't need that for pollination labor. I'll send you some resources with diagrams, okay?"

Resistance: "Also, get in touch with Victor Beldine. He's been through it, he's the only one here who knows how it actually feels."

Trevor: "Um... I know this is not a good time..."

Ione: "..."

Trevor: "I know dad invited her to help you with, with... with the stuff..."

Trevor: "But do you know if Resi's single?"

Ione: "Trevor! Entity almighty! No, she's not."

Trevor: "Uh. Hi. Hello."

Victor: "Hello. No, you cannot help me with anything, I'm just browsing. On your way, lad."

Trevor: "No-"

Trevor: "I need to talk to you and it has nothing to do with the shop."

Victor: "Oh? I am all ears, then."

Ione... takes it way better than expected actually. She is not a Knowledge Sim, but she is a Family one. That of course doesn't make her okay with her extremely sudden and violating extraterrestrial pregnancy, but it helps her cope a little better. Plus, in her specific situation and point in her transition, the body horror she experiences does come with a small consolation prize of bodily feminization, which she finds a bit of comfort in, too. She's being very brave.

Having received tips from Victor on how to minimize the pain of the further body horror of post-pollination labor, she's looking forward to being able to put this entire nightmare behind her.

Elphie: "Oh, Io..."

Ione can't hold back tears. "I can't ask you when I look like this... when I am like this..."

Elphie: "Hush now..."

Elphie: "Of course you can, you silly. Yes..."

Elphie: "I will be your girlfriend! I love you so much..."

Elphie: "And I'll be with you through all of this."

Ione: "T-thank you... I love you, too!"

At the very end of the round, Ione goes through the dreaded moment. She gives birth to a little Sixamese boy she names Orion. She has very mixed feelings about him. She is not ready to raise a child and she doesn't know if she wants to, given the circumstances of his conception. But... she feels like she doesn't want him to disappear from her life, either. There is a bond she feels towards the infant, and she can't stomach the thought of not knowing what happens to him next.

For now, Orion Anora is going to be raised in the Anora household, primarily by Cyrus who adopts him, with Ione in the role of his older sister. He's the first member of gen 3 and the start of his life has been pretty rough, but hopefully things turn out better for him and his poor mom in the future.

I wouldn't hesitate to put Orion for adoption through Nico or to have him and Resistance try to contact Sixam and have them take the baby, but Io rolled a really high starting relationship to him, and I figured it means she doesn't want him to go.

Here's a better look at little Orion, by the way! Not gonna lie, I'm a fan. I'm already excited to do his character design when he's older.

Do you think less of me for letting that storyline play out?

No, it's fiction.

Yes. Even though it's fiction, you don't handle it sensitively.*

Voting ended onNov 10, 2025

*Even though I'm rationally of the opinion that nothing's a big deal in the Sims, as it's basically just play pretend with digital dolls, I do acknowledge and respect that not preventing a teenager (a black gender-minority teenager specificaly) from being forcibly impregnated (or having a mod in that includes teenagers in the pregnancy system at all) might be a major ick in the eyes of many readers, even if you wouldn't necessarily think it makes me a bad person. Somebody whose opinions and input I value greatly was horrified to see the comedic approach the game has to reproductive freedom violations and the concept of men being victims of forcible impregnation (...horror which I do share, so I modify it heavily in my storytelling by not treating it as a joke like the game does), and since I still wanted to play with him by my side and make the game accessible to him, I used to have alien abductions completely modded off. Nowdays I don't, because my storytelling modification is enough for me to make it bearable and I like surprise Sims babies and having aliens. (It's not like I don't care about that friend anymore or don't want to play the Sims with him. He passed away.) However, since I'm now sharing my worms with you, I'm mindful of your opinions, and it's important for me to know whether storylines like Ione's are still in the realm of fantasy, or hit way too close for your comfort. In that case I would refrain from them in the future.

Anyway, that's all for the Anoras! If you're disappointed you didn't see any Serenity content, that's because I plan to have her interact with Cyrus during her round instead!

And next... after making profiles for Hellene and Ione, we're going to take a break from playing and I'm going to drop a long-prewritten dramatic wormwriting from the Lester curse storyline that will hopefully entertain you! <3 (it's gonna have pictures) Thank you for your patience.

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Rotation 3: Devir 2 Part 1

Devir, the farm edition! ...also, I've just realized that I switched my Devir households around. Devir (Oliver+Lester) were supposed to be Devir 3, and Devir 2 were supposed to be Devir-Jillenis, which means Felicia. Oh well. Now I can't do anything about it other than plead for forgiveness.

< PREVIOUS ROTATION

PART 2 OF THE CURRENT ROTATION >

CATCH UP: Oliver and Lester Devir have a small farm. However, Lester is now away on the dangerous Homeland expedition, so it all falls down on Oliver and Oliver alone, who is not taking both his spouse and his girlfriend (Xenia) risking their lives well at all. Apart from having a farm to run, Oliver also has 3 children to take care of, with the youngest being only a toddler. And last but not least, they might still be one of the poorest households in Wormville and money is definitely going to be a problem once again.

Oliver Devir works at the local clinic as the nurse. But this round, he mostly stays home, so that there's someone to raise little Květen.

...and work in the fields with the children's help.

Sweet! I think that might be the highest gardening badge in current Wormville. Shortly after, Oliver also rolls the want to join the Garden Club. We'll see about that...

Garden Club Lady: "So, you are the farmer who wishes to enter our association."

Oliver: "Oliver Archibald Devir, at your service."

Oliver: "Our farm is only in its infancy, and we don't have a lot, but I hope you'll like it."

Garden Club Lady: "Nice to meet you, Mr Devir. Would you kindly give me a tour?"

Oliver: "...excuse me. I need to go have a breakdown first."

Oliver really isn't handling it well. He has two partners, and both of them are gone and might never come back. He's a Fortune Sim, but he has no money.

...being a Fortune Sim doesn't help.

...and neither does Orfie, who invites Vincent Fiera home from school and subsequently gives him all money the family had in tips when the Watcher isn't looking.

But it's the Garden Club, not the "Mental Well-being Club", and they're here to evaluate the plants, not Oliver's psyche. They seem to like what they see!

...when there is something to see, that is. They criticise the empty plots (unfertilized, even!), the lack of decor and one (1) patch of weeds the Devirs forgot to dispose of. In the end, Oliver makes the club, but only barely. Still, success is success!

In the meantime, Elphie comes by to pillowfight with Orfeus. Just like more or less every teenager in Wormville so far, Orfie is very fond of the Celwitch heiress. They're good friends!

The cats return from work and Oliver receives his pay for his day off, so he visits the grocery store to buy more seeds.

Cyan: "Is something the matter, Mr Devir?"

Oliver: "..."

Oliver: "No, sorry. It's just weird to shop without getting insulted."

Oliver: "I've gotten so used to it."

Cyan: "...I see."

Cyan: "That's going to be 340 simoleons!"

Oliver: "Here you go."

Cyan: "Thank you! I mean- Um. I hate your shirt."

Cyan: "Have a nice day and come again soon!"

Oliver returns exactly at the right moment to witness Fabian Beldine dastardly stealing the newspaper. But despite pointing at him vigorously, neither Elphie or the Devirs manage to stop the villain.

Orfeus helps with Květen a lot. Despite his expression in the picture, he seems not to mind, and has a very high relationship to both of his little sisters.

It's the day when the family expects Květen to have her grow up milestone, so Orfeus goes downtown to get her a gift. He unfortunately has almost no money at all, so he ends up failing to find anything suitable that he could afford. He runs into Quinn Hanson, though!

Quinn Hanson, a member of one of the richest clans in Wormville (if not currently THE richest fullstop), could definitely buy the plushie Orfie wants for Květen without even feeling it, but Orfeus doesn't want to ask. He's too proud.

In the end, he does end up asking for something else...

It's a shy and chaste kiss, but neither of the boys is ready to take things further. Orfeus doesn't even ask Quinn to be his official boyfriend, unsure whether his friend even feels the same way.

(He also doesn't roll any further romantic wants, aside from getting his first kiss. Romance doesn't rank very high in his priorities, and he focuses on his hobbies, school and helping with the farm and his siblings first and foremost.)

Jacqueline: "It's plain and simple. Just catch her a bug. Bugs are for free."

Orfeus: "Do you know how many bugs do we have at home?"

Jacqueline: "If your farm has too many bugs, then your sister's birthday is the least of your problems."

Unfortunately I forgot to take a good picture of Květen after growing up to a child, so here she is with her older sister! Květen's 3rd 3t2 trait is Loner!

Anyway, let's go back in time to her birthday party.

...during which Květen asks her brother's almost-not-really-boyfriend to help her with school, and he for some reason accepts, despite not knowing her before that at all. Oh, Family Sims...

Edward: "Your mom still lets you go to parties after you ran away from mine?"

Yearning: "I don't have a mom, stupid."

Edward: "I- don't either... She's just died..."

Yearning: "..."

Yearning: "Are you gonna go be dumb somewhere else?"

Yearning: "I wanna watch the cat. Alone."

Yearning: "It's the most fun thing to do at this stupid party for stupid people."

Yearning can, indeed, still go whereever she wants, but not unchaperoned. Her guardian is not big on loud parties, though, so he waits for her outside.

Květen enjoys her childhood quite unbothered by her other parent being absent for the larger part of it. She barely remembers Lester in the first place. She spends a lot of time with her big brother, who plays and reads with her.

...and with her dad and sister in the field. She even manages to get a bronze gardening badge before Audrey!

Being deeply connected to the Entity as a priest clan, the Devirs always enjoy visiting the Temple.

Having a graveyard dance lesson.

Zachary's out! He's been very reclusive lately, still battling his grief, and it's very possible Květen meets him for the first time that evening. Orfie knows uncle Zach well, though, and immediatelly runs up to him to catch up.

Zachary, in his full white outfit, finds it smart to get on all fours to sniff some flowers. Living with Serenity must be rubbing off on him.

Květen: "I knew uncle Zachary existed, but... I've never seen him before..."

Orfeus: "Why so sad? Don't like him?"

Květen: "..."

Květen: "He's nice, I guess."

Květen: "I'm scared. Of meeting our other dad..."

Orfeus: "..."

Květen: "What if I'm already grown up when they return?"

Květen: "What if they don't recognize me? What if they're a stranger, like uncle Zachary?"

Orfeus: "It's okay... It's gonna be alright. Maybe it's gonna feel weird at first, but then they start living with us again and it's going to be fine. They will always recognize you. They love you."

Oliver: "Zach! Hi!"

Zachary: "Long time no see, Ollie. I missed you."

The brothers hug. After that, Orfeus speaks again.

Orfeus: "Actually, I was hoping we'd meet a ghost tonight!"

Orfeus: "Do you think there are any right now?"

Zachary: "No."

Oliver: "Yeah, I don't think so..."

Květen: "How do you know?"

Oliver: "Zach and I used to be acolytes when we were Orfie's age. Neither of us can do or sense much, but we can sense a little more than normal Sims."

Květen: "What's an 'acolyte'?"

Zachary: "That's a young person who trains to be a priest. Most acolytes will never be priests, though."

Květen: "I see... That sucks."

Květen: "I think you should all be priests, not just uncle Nico!"

Meanwhile on a different side of the Temple...

Jacqueline: "Hey, Resi..."

Resistance: "Oh, hey. Need something?"

Jacqueline: "Um... Your sweater looks good."

Resistance: "Thanks? It's just the school uniform."

Jacqueline: "I know. But! But... it looks good."

Jacqueline: "It would look. It would look even better-"

Jackie checks the writing on her palm.

Jacqueline: "Neatly folded on the dresser in my bedroom. It was supposed to be 'on my bedroom floor' but I don't really want your clothes on the floor, sorry. I'm trying to keep it tidy in there."

Resistance: "..."

Resistance: "What? You want my sweater?"

Jacqueline: "..."

Resistance: "Or did you just pull the worst, most cringe pick up line ever?"

Jacqueline: "But- but it was one of the best rated ones!"

Resistance: "Either way, Fiera, the answer is no."

Featuring: Aranni II. Beldine making random enemies in the background.

Audrey misses out on the reunion with Zachary, but she doesn't complain. She has a ton of fun playing wet balloon with Lee and Resistance. She'll be soon joining them in being a teenager...

Who's your favorite former Devir acolyte?

Cyrus

Felicia

Nico

Oliver

Zachary

Voting ended onSep 29, 2025

This round is fun to write, and it's nice that it's going to be just a two-parter. See you in part 2!

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Rotation 3: Celwitch Part 2

I've gotten defaults of the werewolf overlay that tie to hair color instead of skin tone, so they work with custom skins. (which I do use plently of in my game) I however DID NOT have it for this round, sadly. So, with that disclaimer...

< PART 1 OF THE CURRENT ROTATION

NEXT ROTATION >

It's happening! Genevieve feels a sharp pang of heat and pain travel through her body, and then her muscles tense and contort on their own as she transforms for the first time!

Genevieve Celwitch has met the destiny waiting for her in the night. She becomes Wormville's very first werewolf!

Even though this is a monumental milestone, I unfortunately did not take a lot of screenshots, due to the custom skin mishap. What happened is that Genevieve transformed, but only mentally, and the only thing that changed about her apperance was her walkstyle. I was confused and disappointed, so I wasn't screenshoting a lot, hoping the werewolf look would pop eventually. It didn't, obviously, because custom skins just break werewolves reliably unless you have the overlays connect to hair color instead. Well.

...so, anyway, I accidentally added an in-between stage to the game's werewolf progression, during which the Sim isn't a full werewolf yet, but is getting there. ...which gives me an idea for an extra story post after this one! (one man's glitch truly is another's storytelling prompt, indeed)

Still not having transformed fully, Genevieve feels strange. There's a hunger in her, an awful, searing hunger. Something in her craves... and she follows her nose, lets the feeling of pain and emptiness in her stomach carry her where she can feast.

...until she finds herself standing in the door of Lee's room, saliva pooling in her mouth as she stares at the sleeping boy, breathing heavily. She immediately steps back and closes the door behind herself. She hides her face in her hands. What is happening to her?

I have a mod that makes werewolves autonomously deadly. I thought that it cannot target teenagers, but unfortunately, it can. Genevieve already had killing Lee queued, but he was sleeping, so the interaction didn't come through. If I understand it correctly, the mod doesn't push werewolves to kill others unless their hunger reaches a certain low, so if I watch Vivi's needs closely, she should be safe to be around, right...?

In the morning, there's no trace of the killer beast. Genevieve tries to keep calm and prevent panic, but she has to tell the children. Hopefully it's gonna get them lock their rooms at night. Even without knowing that she has already almost killed one of them, the rest of the household unanimously rolls wants for her to get cured of lycanthropy and fears of wolfing up themselves.

There might be different things to worry about for the young Celwitches. Knowing very well that Genevieve is busy with her newspaper and also utterly uninterested in the store, Krystal didn't leave the family business with her, but with young Elphie to take care of in his absence. Elphie takes little Cyan with her as moral support.

She starts by speaking to her father's one employee, a garden club NPC, whom Krystal keeps consistently underpaid, and raises his wage.

Then she tries to somehow manage the store itself. She's not having the greatest time. The townie pictured is a reviewer, but luckily for Elphie, the review must've gotten scapped, and the business doesn't receive any. (maybe because it has already received one when Krystal was young?)

Cyan is doing whatever he can to help. It unfortunately isn't much, so he ends up socializing and playing with Audrey and Resistance.

It's not the most successful day for the store, and they don't make much money at all, but! The building is still standing and it hasn't burned down!

Orfeus Devir swings by for a dinner with his friend Elphie, ends up listening to Genevieve gleefully ranting about the economics. The word "werewolf" isn't said once during the day.

And finally, Cyan manages to age up by the end of the round, too! He's a Fortune/Family Sim and his 4th trait is Born Salesman! Him and the store are meant to be.

(I also decided to give him back his fluffy hair he used to have when he was really small.)

Cyan: "So? What do you think?"

Jacqueline: "About what?"

Cyan: "Me! We're finally the same age again!"

Jacqueline: "Yay. Congratulations."

Cyan: "We can hang out again!"

Jacqueline: "Wait. We couldn't before?"

Cyan: "I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me when you've already had your growstone and I haven't..."

Jacqueline: "Cyan, you're such a dumbass."

While Cyan updates Jackie on everything that happened (especially in the store) since they've last seen each other, Kaidan and Hellene leave the party for the relative quiet and privacy of the master bedroom.

Hellene is unfortunately NOT helping Kaidan with homework.

Elphie: "So..."

Cyan: "It's alright, just give me the store."

Elphie: "Wow. That was quick."

Cyan: "I swear, if something happens, you can tell dad it was my fault."

Elphie: "Honestly, I think he only gave the store to me because you were still too small when he was leaving. It was meant to go to you in the first place."

Elphie: "Enjoy."

Cyan is now the safekeeper of Krystal's Groceries!

Jacqueline: "Watch out for the wolf. There's been so much howling yesterday night."

Fabian: "Yeah, yeah, the wolf. That old mutt is harmless."

Jacqueline: "I'm not saying you should watch out so he doesn't maim you, but so you don't miss out on him! He's so big and shiny!"

Jacqueline: "And can you imagine what it would mean if the forests around Wormville became the habitat of an entire pack? That would be so awesome!"

Fabian: "I don't want to ruin it for you, but I don't even think it's a real wolf-"

Jacqueline: "No, it is! Just a different subspecies! Tonight, when I get home, I'm gonna try to find it with the telescope again! Maybe I'll see the others that howled as well!"

...indeed, she might.

Did you still enjoy this round?

Yes.

No.

Voting ended onSep 21, 2025

Context for the poll is that I've struggled a bit with writing the Celwitch gameplay update as a whole, so I want to know whether it shows for the readers, too. I hope not!

Alright! Before we'll do Elphie's character profile (only Elphie's, her brothers are still too young to get one) and move on to the Priest's household, there is a story segment about Genevieve for me to pose and write, so that's going to be the next article <3

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Homeland: Day 1 (EV): Fiera Barracks

CW: drowning, unsanitary descriptions, weapons (swords)

Xenia: "Ugly, but majestic."

Quincy and Iulius both seem to brighten up, as the group arrives at the fortress that used to serve as the headquarters of the guardian clan. It's like they can't see the holes in the windows and walls, nor the trash around the building. They are home - and it's ugly, but majestic.

During the travel, Sophia scratches her arm against a sharp wall. -2 points for another teenage injury.

Victor: "It is locked, perhaps even barred! And nobody responds!"

Victor: "...which, now that I'm thinking about it, makes me look very stupid."

Iulius: "Let me open it."

Victor steps aside, thinking Iulius must have some kind of a key that has been passed down in the Fiera family from generation to generation, but-

Iulius just tries to yank on the door handle harder.

Quincy: "You're both lost causes..."

Quincy: "Have you forgotten everything mom told us about this place, Iuly?"

Iulius: "The emergency lockdown measures..."

Quincy: "It makes sense, doesn't it? The Tragedy starts. Everyone who was in the barracks runs out to defend the streets. The general activates lockdown to prevent the enemy from seizing the fortress and taking away the last place for worms to eventually retreat into!"

Victor: "But given that they never return, they all get slaughtered in the open, the house never gets the command to unlock and stays in the emergency mode until today."

Quincy: "Yep. Except for the 'slaughtered in the open' part! Put some respect on the Fiera name!"

Iulius: "Exactly! You should know the best, historian! The clan Fiera didn't get defeated! It sacrificed itself on purpose, charging the enemy that outnumbered them by hundreds, to open an escape path for our grandparents!"

Victor: "...so, in other words, it got slaughtered in the open."

Iulius: "And what did the Beldines do, hm?!"

Victor: "Can you be any louder? I am afraid there might be a zombie or a cultist that hasn't heard you yet!"

Bennett: "Calm down, everybody! Quincy, Iulius, is there a way to disable the lockdown and get inside?"

Quincy: "Of course. One button is inside. The other... must be in the maze! Let's go to the back to find the maze! I wanna see the maze!"

Victor: "The maze?"

Iulius: "Before we had obstacle courses, we used to train our young in the maze. It improves the body, mind and soul!"

Bennett: "Is it supposed to... smell like that?"

Iulius: "No... I think not..."

Quincy: "I must admit, I didn't imagine it so... rank."

The pool hasn't been cleaned for decades. There's a see-through film of something on the water, and underneath... it's hard to tell. The pool is of an ominous brown color, and it's impossible to see its floor.

Victor: "Well, one thing is for certain. I will not, under any circumstances, get in."

Quincy: "Rock, paper, scissors, Iuly?"

Iulius just growls affirmatively.

Quincy loses.

Quincy: "Goodbye, skin. Goodbye, hair. Goodbye, general health."

Iulius: "I'm sure you can make it."

Quincy: "I can hear in your voice you're glad you don't have to do it."

Iulius: "I'll jump in for you if you start drowning."

Quincy: "You and I both know that won't happen."

Quincy: "YUCK!"

Melody: "Please, be careful, mom..."

Victor: "This is a completely Fiera-fabricated problem. It is only fair a Fiera sacrifices herself to solve it."

Sophia: "She might die in there."

Victor: "Might, but will not. Is Quincy not the best swimmer in Wormville?"

Bennett: "I'll still try to follow the walls and climb over in case she was drowning."

Victor: "I would avoid that if I were you. If she spies you and Iulius howering around waiting for her to run out of strength, she'll be humiliated."

Victor: "If they trained children on this and were supposed to get to the other side quickly in emergencies, it must be trivial anyway."

Meanwhile, The Trivial Water Maze:

In one thing Victor is right - Quincy is no stranger to swimming and her fitness is unrivaled. If this was a normal, clean pool, she would barely break a sweat.

But she finds it difficult to keep above water like never before. First of all, she refuses to submerge her head, afraid of the foul water getting inside of her skull through the ears or nostrils, which complicates swimming immensely and puts a lot more strain on her neck. She feels like she was in a sewer - the noxious, overpowering smell of rot and feces makes it hard for her to breathe, and she has to push back vomiting several times.

Her feet brush against something. Once, Quincy makes the mistake of trying to see what it was. She is almost sure there is a body, at least one, old enough to sink back down. She feels panic taking over, but tries to cling to sanity as strongly as she can.

As she's pushing through the horrible water, a stray thought flashes through Quincy's mind.

Maybe Iulius isn't the one who deserves to be the head of the clan. Maybe he's not the one who should be the general.

Suddenly she hears splashing that isn't hers. Someone else is in the pool! And it's none of her companions...

When she sees him, he is floating in the water, blocking her way in the narrow maze corridor.

Quincy: "Hey! Move aside!"

But instead of that, he swims right at her. One look into his eyes tells Quincy what she should've known a moment ago - this man is one of them. There is nothing in his eyes, just the sickly purple light of eldritch magic.

He's disgusting. He appears to be fully naked and his skin is shiny with some kind of nasty slime, and it covers his many fresh wounds. He's very underweight and small in general. A better look at his face hints that he's most probably nowhere near grown yet - a child probably Melody's age, if not even a bit younger.

He doesn't say anything. He doesn't open his mouth. He just breathes heavily and grabs at Quincy.

She is not letting him touch her and immediately wrestles him away. It should be easy! He's so skinny and obviously sick! But something in his blood god madness gives his emaciated body much larger strength. Quincy can't push him off herself.

And pushing, pushing is what he does - she feels him trying to grasp her shoulders or even her head and push it under water.

Suddenly, all the remains and all the human waste make sense.

Quincy: "HELP!"

She hears her companions scream back her name. Splashing, as someone jumps into water.

Melody: "MOM!"

The discordant, unintellegible words of Victor's chanting.

Splashing. Splashing. More splashing.

She struggles.

But suddenly - she manages to grab the cultist's face. She holds him tight, burying her nails into his skin. With all her remaining force, she sharply pushes his head into the wall next to them.

He slides underwater like a rock.

Quincy: "I'm... I'M FINE!"

Shaken, exhausted and filthy, Quincy finishes the maze and stands on the button. It makes a loud click.

Xenia: "Quincy! What happened?!"

Quincy: "There was a... there was a motherfucking cultist!"

Xenia: "What? I can't hear you!"

Victor: "I will teleport for her, like I originally intended."

Xenia: "You could've teleported there this whole time?!"

Victor: "To the goal? No, only now, when Quincy indicated its position. But I wanted to teleport around to locate her when she was calling for help."

Victor uses Magivestigium to get to the island in the maze. Quincy immediatelly hugs him. Half out of knowing that otherwise he wouldn't be able to teleport them both, and half... just out being so out of it she was just that happy to see a friendly face. Victor jolts in disgust, but only pushes her away after they're both standing at the maze's beginning again.

Quincy: "Cultist! There was a cultist! It was a fucking cannibal kid!"

Iulius: "Did you kill him?"

Quincy: "No, just knocked him out. But I guess he drowned."

Victor: "Death Himself is nowhere to be seen, though."

Iulius: "So he's still alive..."

Victor: "And he has seen Quincy. No, most probably, he knows about all of us."

Iulius: "Fuck, I'll have to go in there and finish the job."

Victor: "No, try to pull him on the dry ground. It will be easier for us to be in control of the situation if we are out of the awful water."

Iulius: "There you go. I don't understand how can he be still breathing. Even if I didn't find him underwater, just look at him! He looks like he should've died of hunger or infection a week ago!"

Victor: "He is young. And there is a strange substance all over him."

Iulius: "And on my hands, disgusting!"

Quincy: "You're the one to complain! I have that shit in my HAIR!"

Melody: "I can feel him..."

Everyone looks at her.

Melody: "He's behind a wall of... evil."

Xenia: "He is the evil, darling. This is what you get if you worship evil gods."

Victor: "I might be picking up something as well. There is definitely magic at play in the... slime. Perhaps in his other abilities that helped him live in the pool and breathe underwater, too. The rest seems to be blood god madness. Look at his eyes."

Victor forcibly opens one of the boy's eyes to confirm that it is, indeed, purple and glowing.

Iulius: "Okay. This doesn't make me happy, but we have to end this lad. He's seen us. And... Xenia is right. His filth has no place in this world."

He pulls his sleeves up.

Xenia: "Here. That's for sure quicker."

Xenia hands him a sword.

Iulius: "Where did you get it?"

Xenia: "I took it from home as emotional support. I bought it on a vacation long ago. It's a decoration, would break immediately in combat, but you can stab a fucker with it just right, if he's not putting any resistance."

Bennett: "Wait! Are you both serious? You can't just kill a possessed kid!"

Iulius: "No? Watch me."

Xenia chuckles. Quincy shows him a thumbs up, still trembling.

Victor: "No, Bennett is right. We have to hold onto our principles."

Iulius: "My principles say kill the bastard that tried to drown my sister! Kill all blood cultists!"

Melody: "Then what..."

Melody: "Then what makes you better than him, uncle Iulius?"

Quincy: "You don't mean that, Mel. Apologize!"

Xenia facepalms.

Victor: "No, I agree. As far as we know, this boy did not commit any crime except for getting possessed. Hatred fuels this place! If we kill him, we only hurt ourselves in the long run."

Iulius: "Do I have to be a docent, too, to get your logic, or do you just not make any sense?"

Victor: "Iulius... This would be your first kill, right?"

Victor: "I can assure you, it does not feel good!"

Lola: "Are you going to stand here and fight? Should I fetch myself coffee?"

Everyone falls silent.

Lola: "I don't know, vote about it!"

Victor: "Actually, that is a good idea. Alright. Raise your hand who votes for taking this boy to Wormville with us, removing him from the influence of the blood gods."

Melody and Bennett raise their hands. Victor sighs and does as well.

Victor: "Now... who votes for mercykilling him."

Iulius, Xenia and Quincy raise their hands.

Victor: "Sophia, you must vote."

Sophia: "..."

Bennett: "No, you don't have to. These aren't decisions a teen should have to make!"

Victor: "She is on an adult expedition, she will be treated accordingly. Sophia, vote. That is an order."

Sophia: "I think... I think he should die. He's dangerous and almost killed Melody's mom."

Iulius: "Wisdom from the mouth of youth!"

Xenia: "Voting concluded. It's 4 on 3. Iulius?"

Victor: "Wait! I veto this! This is MY expedition, and I have the last word!"

Xenia cracks her knuckles. "Maybe it's gonna be three on one, then. We'll see who has the last word when we're done!"

Iulius: "Shut up, Xenia! We won't turn on each other! Victor is... unfortunately... the leader. And we will listen to him."

Victor: "Splendid. Now, let's take our child captive to the hideout, and return for the weapons."

+ the group gains 7 points for this encounter, 3 for Quincy defeating the cultist (it was a roll and there was a chance she'd lose, but she actually won by a lot) and 4 for the group deciding to try to help the boy instead of killing him. It loses -1 point due to Quincy getting nastily scratched and gaining an injury.

Even though these were mostly "scripted" and the random factors were wants and fears, injuries, the Jilleni zombie and other dice rolls, and I've been moving my Sims in a big group (much smaller chance they get picked off by zombies), after depositing (and tying up) the child (and after Quincy took a shower), a zombie actually grabbed Victor!

Luckily, he was able to defend himself. The group gains 4 points for a defeated zombie. Unfortunately, due to not being a guard, Victor gains 1 injury and the group loses -1 point because of that.

(I'm so good at taking screenshots)

The same crowd of zombies also got Iulius!

Iulius: "RUN!"

Everyone else made it behind the fences in time.

And finally, Iulius caught up to them.

Iulius: "What? You thought I'd die?"

+ for another defeated zombie, this time by a proper guard, the group gets 5 more points.

Time to return to the Fiera Barracks and finally enter the fortress.

Iulius: "The armory! It's almost untouched! Someone left trash around, but didn't take anything!"

Iulius reaches out for one of the swords. Victor slaps his hand away.

Victor: "Probably for a reason! Do not touch anything!"

Victor: "There is a curse in the air. I can feel it."

Melody: "Me too..."

Iulius: "Quiet!"

Quincy: "It's true. There's definitely a curse. They wouldn't leave their stuff without any protection."

Bennett: "So the huge locked door wasn't the 'protection'?"

Iulius: "Can you break the curse? Di...dispell it?"

Victor: "I do think so. I will need time, though. It will also take a lot of energy."

Melody: "I could do it faster... but nobody wants to hear it..."

Quincy: "No, Melody, speak!"

Victor: "Yes. I am sorry. We want to hear your suggestion."

Melody: "Curses are just misunderstood tools. They teach us something. If you listen close, you can hear what this one wants from us."

Victor: "I'm afraid you are the only one who hears it, because you are-"

Xenia: "Tired and, or insane?"

Victor: "...trained as a future priestess."

Melody: "It's okay, really. I can tell you. And when we do that, it won't hurt us. We have to prove ourselves."

Iulius: "Bullshit."

Melody: "I thought that you'd be happy to prove that you're the heir to this house."

Iulius: "I am the heir to this house!"

Quincy looks away.

Melody: "But the house doesn't know you. You have to prove it. It has to see that the Fieras are back, and that the treasures it protects are rightfully theirs!"

Little do they know that shortly after they passed, the door became barred once again. This time, from the inside.

Iulius: "Alright, you priestling. What do I need to do?"

Melody: "I'll show you, uncle Iuly. And mom, you too. You're also a Fiera!"

Quincy: "That I am... even though it only tends to be acknowledged when convenient..."

She looks at Iulius harshly. He scoffs.

Melody: "A droplet of blood from your finger..."

Melody: "We'll draw the sigil of your clan!"

Melody: "And it's done! Ta-da!"

Suddenly, the temperature noticeably drops. The sound of very heavy boots fills the hallway leading to the room Melody chose for her ritual circle.

Melody: "Oopsie... must be the guardian."

Quincy: "The guardian?!"

Melody: "Of course you have to defeat the guardian. It's a Fiera house. It wants to see your strength."

Iulius: "Fine! Let him come!"

The guardian walks through the arch. Whatever it is - doubtless NOT a fellow Sim - it's massive. Iulius, the tallest and the most ripped man in Wormville, suddenly looks puny.

Iulius: "Have at you!"

The rest of the company just watches wordlessly. Bennett pulls Melody away from the circle.

Iulius: "I... prevailed!"

He says, and loses balance. He's growling in pain.

His opponent, though, disolves to nothing. A very warm, soothing feeling envelops Iulius and Quincy.

Quincy: "We're home... It recognizes us now..."

Victor: "Bravo! That was a hell of a fight!"

Bennett: "That's our Iulius! Invincible!"

Quincy: "..."

Iulius: "Arms and armor... from our ancestors... the past will protect our future... It's so beautiful..."

Quincy: "Aww, are you gonna start crying?"

Melody: "I think I will have a dagger. The swords are too heavy for me!"

Sophia: "I can hold a sword, but I want a dagger, too! It's handy! And we can have the same ones!"

Iulius: "Bonk, haha!"

Victor: "Did you just hit me in the head with the horizontal side of your sword?"

Iulius: "A gentle reminder to never turn your back to your enemy in battle!"

Victor: "We are not in battle, I was only trying out some postures-"

Iulius: "Life is a battle! En garde, Mister Victor! Sparring match!"

+ for lifting the curse, the group gains 5 points. However, it loses -2 for Iulius gaining 2 injuries from the fight with the guardian.

Was taking the boy with them the right decision?

Yes, it would be too cruel to kill him.

No, should've put him out of his misery.

Voting ended onJul 18, 2025

Part 2/3! The third one will just document the evening, and it's going to be very dialogue-based. (as if this one wasn't) I hope you're enjoying this expedition as much as I am!

[simmingwormly]

Wormville: Homeland: Day 4 (EV): Evening

(3/3)

Bennett Jilleni, or more accurately what remains of him, regards his almost-brother with a direct glare. The eyes, which Victor knew to be so kindly, are unfocused and distant. Yet, there is what seems like a spark of recognition in there. Seeing Victor, the corners of the corpse's mouth rise into one last smile, one last breath of Bennett's warmth.

Victor cannot make himself engage Bennett's zombie in combat, although he knows he has to do something. In the corner of his eye, he recognizes the body of Quincy, floating in the water slowly turning red. This cannot be real. It's hard for him to even believe. He backs away, as the naked bleeding corpse of the man he saw as his brother starts moving towards him.

Victor: "Forgive me..."

The rest is a blur. Victor remembers Lola's palm slapping his face and their voice telling him to snap out of it. He remembers carrying Quincy in his arms out of the estate. He remembers the sobs of Melody when she saw her. He remembers Deborah telling him something about Xenia, and dragging him back in, only to lead him where she was also - also dead, and Victor just lifted her body up and carried her to Quincy. He remembers the others watching over the two fallen, Melody kneeling on the ground with her mother's head in her lap, petting her hair softly.

He remembers the basement again, the abyssal hot-tub. Bennett, dead and charred by his spell, on the ground. Victor probably vomited at the sight, he's not sure. He had to collect Ben's body, too, but he was muscular and heavy, and Victor didn't have the strength to lift him and carry him like the others – even Xenia and Quincy were almost too much already on his tired body. Everything was so much. He remembers calling on Lola for help, but they were disgusted with the corpse and didn't want to touch it. In the end, Victor recalls, he managed to somehow pull Bennett's remains onto his back, and he carried him... no, he crawled, too weak to stand up, upstairs and outside. The memory itself makes Victor dry heave and cry.

In the end, they managed to get all three bodies back to their camp, Victor remembers. Serenity, Cyrus, Iulius and Percy were there, too, for some reason. It seems that Deborah ran alone from the Villa to the camps to solicit the help of the other expedition, and they returned with them to the Villa Beldine and carried the corpses to safety. Victor doesn't remember any details. Someone hugged him. He doesn't know who. When he tries to recall, he just hears Sophia's wails. He hears Melody excitedly talking at dead Quincy in Iulius's arms, trying to promise to nurse her back to health and make a lot of grilled cheese for them to eat.

After the bodies are burnt, Serenity's expedition returns back to their camp, leaving Victor's to their devices. Victor himself slowly recovers from his third consecutive aspiration failure.

(Please, ignore the stuck bubbles SFX on Sophia. Her grief was just so hygienic.)

Sophia is not doing any better. She was spared seeing her father die, but that doesn't make it any easier for her. Witnessing his body be carried and burned felt like she herself was engulfed by the flames. It was just so wrong. The world doesn't make sense anymore with Bennett suddenly not in it.

Melody also cries. She cries for her mother first and foremost. But she also cries for Mr Jilleni, so cheerful and nice, and even for mom's shady girlfriend, Xenia. Is this the salvation she brought them all? She was supposed to save them, damn it!

She failed them. She failed the Entity.

A useless daughter. A useless priestess.

Sophia: "Mel... I'm..."

Melody: "Sorry? Yeah. You are. People like you and my mom and your dad and Xenia only came here to be sorry."

Sophia: "What do you mean? I don't get what you're saying!"

Melody: "You're useless and pathetic as a guard... but I'm... I'm worse as the servant of the Entity."

Sophia: "Stop... I can't listen to that now! Please-"

Without much thinking Melody slaps her best friend across the face. Sophia freezes in shock.

Melody and Sophia aren't furious with each other and haven't had any relationship dip prior to this, Melody is just breaking down and she is now a very low Nice points Sim. Attacking their loved ones while on extremely low aspiration is a known behavior.

(fuck, I can now see a random tourist child in the picture. I usually just clear them off with Sim Blender when I spot them, but I didn't notice this one. Apologies. Imagine it out of the screenshot, please. The random children are fully non-canon.)

Melody's attack leaves Sophia in a complete spiral. She doesn't even register Verity approaching her, until the witch gently takes her by the shoulders and hugs her tightly.

Verity: "Be strong, Sophia..."

Sophia: "I'm sorry, I just- just can't..."

Verity: "Yes, you can. Let yourself grieve, let it out, but don't lose sight of reality."

Sophia: "..."

Verity: "I need you now."

Sophia: "..."

Verity: "Look at me. Right at me. Forget everything else. Just focus on me."

Verity: "I'll give you a task. It will distract you from the pain, just carry it out."

Sophia: "O-okay..."

Verity: "Alright. I knew you could do it."

Verity: "Tell me everything you know about Deborah Anora."

Sophia: "We were never... close..."

Verity: "But you knew them at least by name and appearance. You probably know much more."

Sophia: "They are... they are the oldest kid in our generation, together with their brother Cedric. He's- he's my sister's boyfriend."

Verity: "A twin brother, I see."

Sophia: "Their mom is Mina, and she had them when she was still a teen."

Verity: "And their father is that... Iulius Fiera. Biologically. But socially, their father is Cyrus Anora."

Sophia: "Y-yeah."

Verity: "Is that all you know about Deborah?"

Sophia: "Uh-um..."

Verity: "That is less than ideal, but it is something. Listen. I will have more questions, about people, events, politics. I need you to help me."

Sophia: "I... I'll always help you..."

Verity: "Good. I can see great brightness in you, Sophia. You will achieve monumental things. And it's an honor for me to be helping you back."

Despite the tears, despite it all, Sophia blushes at the compliment.

Verity might be the only member of the company who is having a good time. They don't have any emotional bonds to any of the fallen, and gaining an actual ally to help them navigate the world of today's Wormville and pass for Deborah Anora is a tremendous advantage.

Losing Bennett occupies Victor's mind as well. He finds himself caring about Quincy's death only because it will impact his wife negatively, and he just cannot force himself to feel anything but a slight relief and a bit malicious glee at Xenia dying. But Bennett...

He was probably the closest to a best friend that Victor ever had, not counting Aranni. He helped raise him. He was... always there. It is difficult for Victor to even fully comprehend how much Bennett Jilleni meant to him. And now he's gone. Just like that.

Victor: "So, it is only the four of us, worm-wise."

Verity: "We should go home early."

Melody: "No. The Entity wants us here for a reason. If we die, too, it's for a reason!"

Victor: "Melody, calm down! We... are not going to retreat early. Not that I do not want to. But we only have one more location to visit - the Inipp Compound. After that, we can leave as scheduled."

Sophia: "..."

Victor: "Participation tomorrow is fully optional. I will not judge any of you for staying back in this camp, and, should I be honest, I would appreciate it should all three of you choose to do so."

Verity: "I'm going. I'm okay. Actually, I've already been to the Compound with Serenity's group, so I can guide you."

Sophia: "I just... I just want to go home."

Sophia: "Did it hurt dad when he was dying?"

The sudden change of topic seems to catch Victor unguarded, and the flimsy mask of relative calm he is trying to keep on for the children slips a bit.

Victor: "...I do not know. I presume... yes."

Sophia just looks down.

Victor: "That is because he was covered in injuries. It is not a bad thing, Sophia. It hurt, because he fought to the very end. It hurt, because he did not give up. I am certain he would not have it any other way. It is a reason to be proud of him."

Sophia doesn't say anything. Tears keep running down her face.

Victor's eyes are getting wet again, too. "There are many more reasons, though. Reasons to be proud of Bennett. To be proud of having been his family."

Victor: "He was exceptionally kind and patient. He was very responsible and reliable, and also very talented in... sports."

Melody: "...that's how you say he was stupid and useful."

Victor: "That is not true!"

Sophia starts sobbing uncontrollably.

Melody: "It is. We're all stupid to believe in ourselves. And Mr Bennett was exceptionally... clueless."

Sophia stands up. "You take that back!"

Melody: "Or what? What can you do to me?"

Sophia: "I..."

Melody: "Hit me!"

Victor: "Stop it! You will not brawl!"

Sophia tries. She clenches her fist and tries to hit Melody, but she cannot. She stops herself.

Melody: "Pathetic."

The petite acolyte hits her instead.

(In game, Melody interrupted the dinner by autonomously queuing "Attack" on Sophia. Oh well.)

Sophia: "Let me go!"

Victor: "Stop immediately!"

Sophia curls up on the ground, shielding her face with her hands.

Victor: "Melody! STOP!"

Verity continues having a good time.

Victor has to break the fight by force, pulling Melody off her friend.

Victor: "I said stop!"

Victor: "What has got into you, Melody? What do you think you have just accomplished?!"

Melody: "I don't feel the need to explain myself."

Victor: "Well, you should! In any case, you will not assault Sophia any further, do you understand?"

Melody: "..."

Victor: "..."

Melody: "I won't. But not for you. You've let my mom die."

Melody: "You didn't even make the grilled cheese for me."

Victor: "It is going to be okay, Sophia."

Sophia: "How- how can you say that? He's dead!"

Victor: "I know... It is awful. But he would want you to go on."

Sophia just sobs.

Victor: "And remember, you are not alone. You are never alone. I will never be able to replace your dad... but a strange uncle is better than nothing, right?"

Sophia leans into Victor and hides her face in his vest. He lets her cry into it, stroking her hair.

Sophia: "A-and Melody, she... She hates me now! Why?"

Victor: "I am certain she doesn't actually hate you. I think this place is just really getting into her head. She is scared and sad and grieving and she... turned against those she loves in confusion."

Sophia: "I know! I know she's scared... I know she doesn't mean it... But it still hurts so much..."

Victor: "I understand. It does not mean that you have to just accept it. You can be mad at her, you can demand she apologizes, you have the right to."

Victor: "I used to tolerate someone whom I love mistreating me constantly, because she explained afterwards and I understood why she did what she did and said what she said. And it was okay to just forgive and let go the first several times... But then she would never stop, and never ever take any consideration not to hurt me."

Sophia: "..."

Victor: "So one day, I told her she had to stop treating me like that, otherwise I would just leave. And she... listened. She started trying and found different ways to vent her pain than to hurt me. And our lives got so much better for it. You have to let Melody know that you understand her, and you will forgive her, but she cannot do this to you if she still wants you to be her friend."

Sophia: "It feels... like I don't even care anymore. Hannah's dead. Dad's dead. I want to be dead, too."

Victor: "I know... You have to weather the pain. It is going to hurt less and less with time, I promise."

In the basement, the captive boy still rages at the cage that holds him.

But feeling a different spell in the air, he cowers.

Verity: "So you're the rescue. A former looter, I presume. Not a blood cultist. But... that matters very little when dark magic puts holes in your brain..."

He growls something in the ancient tongue.

Verity: "May your veins explode, too. Heh. See you soon."

In the end, Victor takes the watch once again. He teleports on the roof, just like before. Last time he stood there, he pontificated on how successful his mission was. How he managed to go through the first day without losing anybody. So... naive.

Tonight, he knows better. And he cannot wait to end this nightmare and return home...

The willpower roll of the night took place. Luckily, everyone passed.

Choose the worst person for Sophia to slowly develop a crush on:

Verity

Verity

Verity

Voting ended onSep 2, 2025

We're almost home, folks! Just half a day more!