Wyrd Tales (updated Mar 6, '24)

Chapter 30 - Date With A Vampire

"Xander! I wasn't sure you'd come," Morgan was secretly embarrassed how happy she was to see him. He was... well, maybe alive wasn't the right word but he looked a lot closer to it than he had when Lilith took him away after that horrible night.
https://i.imgur.com/cSkA1qN.png



Sitting the club, listening to Xander explain at least some of his new life, Morgan wondered if she could really handle this.
https://i.imgur.com/7KN10qk.png



The door wasn't a barrier.

She didn't hear him come in...
https://i.imgur.com/ehrsr6E.png

Chapter 31 - The Journal

The Journal of Greggorius Lunvik... Beth was fascinated. It was hard to remember that the troubled man whose thoughts she was reading was the monster in the woods her parents had warned her about since she was little.
https://i.imgur.com/k6Z1rwA.png

Miranda was enthralled by the history Beth was discovering...
https://i.imgur.com/QzM8w11.png


Beth encouraged Jake to read the Journal as well. There was, she felt, so much in there that would help him in his journey toward becoming the leader she knew he was going to be.
https://i.imgur.com/2QHezgM.png



Nick really didn't do books and studying. Even school made his head pound. It was all he could do not to howl some days. He felt better when he could do something physical. Kristopher had let him set up a workout area in the yard and he used it.
https://i.imgur.com/8DLqPVL.png



Still, thinking and worrying just wasn't Nick's thing.

Dancing... Dancing was Nick's thing!
https://i.imgur.com/4s1cVzB.png



"Miranda," Kristopher approached her quietly. "I need to talk to you."

Chapter 32 - Investigations

Ever since Cassandra's disappearance, Mortimer had reached out into the spirit world to find her.
https://i.imgur.com/bZAvho5.png



Bella used her own methods to investigate.
https://i.imgur.com/RYWwZ08.png



"Oooo spirits, hear me!"
https://i.imgur.com/RIQPc2l.png



He just needed more time...
https://i.imgur.com/VRQNOMv.png



"Mr. Briggs..."

I'm loving this story. I still have 5 more to go to get fully caught up. I find it interesting to see the different takes on Vlad. I've always had him as evil but more in a Dr. Evil way, a comically inept bad guy. The way he keeps popping up as a bartender, or my favorite, a masseuse at a spa I built in San Myshuno, lends itself to that narrative. Now that the lore in the werewolf pack sets him up as truly evil I wonder if he will continue to spawn in those jobs? As a hopeless romantic I'm curious what happens with Miranda, Beth, and Jake. Nick gives me Don Lothario vibes. That will be a fun one to watch what happens. In a way, Lilith turning Xander dud him the obvious favor of saving his life, but it also means now he doesn't have to worry about lack of sleep keeping up with his two lovers. It does complicate his days with Morgan though, at least until he gets sun resistance...if he gets sun resistance. And will Lilith and Morgan always feel like sharing him? So many storylines to look forward too!!

@DaniRose2143, I'm glad your enjoying it.

I've seen Vlad pop up in random jobs in some saves too, but not this one (might be due to a mod I'm running to keep people in their home regions). Still, to quote Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I like my evil like I like my men - evil. (Even though Joss turned out to be evil himself, I still think the show was great and highly quotable.)

As a hopeless romantic myself, I'm curious what happens with Miranda, Beth and Jake. The good/bad thing about the Sims as a storytelling vehicle is the characters really do have minds of their own sometimes. Like Nick. He's turned into a much more interesting character than I originally planned... but yeah, he's definitely a got some of Don's vibes.

Xander is also one whose story has gone in unexpected directions. I had honestly planned to keep him and Elsa together but it really didn't work out for them. As I am personally a consensually non-monogamous hopeless romantic, I find jealousy and illicit affairs strange and different... and thus an interesting writing challenge. If I have a hope for the new Orientation system, it's that it can eventually be expanded to encompass polyamory. (For now I get there via mods...) We'll just have to see how Xander juggles his relationships, his new life as a vampire and the growing Occult conflict. What's Cassie going to do when she finds out her little brother is a vampire?!? So many stories to tell...

Every time I go back and read older chapters then read new chapters, I’m impressed by Vlad’s body count. He’s taken down a lot of sims, but I think the ghosts might come back to bite him, pun intended.

@luciusstorm I have had some surprises too with how sims personalities have developed. Matteo was a surprise that, leaving him to his own devices, he really enjoys more intellectual pursuits. When I created him and Leonardo I envisioned them both as love 'em and leave 'em, shallow party boys. That's part of why I never really played them when they were roommates. My interactions with them were when they were around Summer, Danielle, and Liberty. Leonardo truly turned out as I envisioned him, he really only cares about himself and having a good time. But watching Matteo now that Liberty is living with him it has been fascinating how different he turned out to be.

Liberty with a couple of new traits, genius instead of geek, romantic instead of clumsy, has created such a new and wonderfully different Lib. In the past when I've had her in active households she is sweetly innocent and even a little bit childlike. This version is assertive in a romantic and sexual way, and very mature acting. I have thought about completing the trifecta and replacing her bookworm trait with self-assured. She hasn't lost any of the lovability in her character, she's even more lovable and relatable as a self-actualized woman. She's still sweet and friendly, but she isn't taking crap off anybody either. The implosion of the BFF household and her career change set her free.

After I get my housework done I'll jump in and finish catching up.

@Metior_Ice Vlad's past evil deeds are piling up as are the dead sims who have all eternity to plan their revenge. They have the added benefit of already being dead so what do they really have to lose that he hasn't already taken from them? Even if they aren't the agents of his demise they will be there to torment him in the afterlife.

@Metior_Ice and @DaniRose2143 ... we're just looking at the people he's killed, or had killed, on screen in pursuit of his current goal. Consider the ones this ancient evil vampire has killed just because he was hungry, the lives he's ruined because he was bored... until he got so jaded that even that wasn't enough to hold his interest anymore. Why does a creature who deals death so casually care about a few lives - like Jacques and Mortimer? Does his contempt for Lilith's "sentimentality" mask his own? I love asking myself questions like these... it's what makes writing so much fun.

I am finally caught up and ready for more.?

@luciusstorm @Metior_Ice

I think it's a common trait or quirk with those of us who do this. I don't see how you can even get around asking yourself questions about a sim even when you're in CAS creating them. As I'm making them I'm thinking about who they are, what are they going to be and do? The only one I have right now that I seldom ask myself what is she going to do is Danielle. She has been with me through various saves and stories, in various different forms, for just over three years so I pretty much know how she's going to react based on the traits that version has. Even then she still possesses the power to surprise me.