THE BLUFFS
WINDENBURG COUNTRYSIDE
ALICE
It was hard to shed a story about yourself, even if you were trying to write a new one. Alice had always been a “hot mess.” She ran when life got overwhelming, practiced avoidance like it was her religion, and generally accepted that her heart’s impulsive decisions would eventually ruin her life.
She didn’t realize how much that story was core to her very being until she tried to change it.
Her life was settling into something she liked before it veered off course.
The arrest wasn’t supposed to wreck her, but it did.
Lilith’s tales about witches weren’t supposed to rattle her, but they did.
Magic eats you from the inside out. Witches will covet it. Other creatures will kill you for it. Ghosts are just the beginning for you and Gwendolyn.
Alice couldn’t stop thinking about those words. They became another part of her old story about herself—a tale that hurt the ones she loved and put so much pressure on Vlad that she thought he would snap.
She could see him retreating. He cut his hair and donned expensive clothing like armor. He’d crafted this studiously blank expression whenever they talked. He was careful with her, and she let him because she was too scared to face anything head-on.
Today was the last straw. He was in the playroom with Gwendolyn, where she was pretending to serve him from her toddler-sized food truck.
He kept knocking his plate to the ground and demanding increasingly strange additions until Gwendolyn squealed with laughter. After a few cries of “Monster, eat!” she tried to tackle him, which he used as an opportunity to toss her into the air and spin her around.
It was adorable, and Alice was caught up in the cuteness of the moment until he turned around. And then she saw him.
Really saw him.
He stood there, eyes cloudy with dark circles, skin stretched tight over his bones as if something had been consuming him.
And in her heart, she understood. The thing consuming him was her. “Hot Mess” Alice was eating him alive. Numbly, she made an excuse about picking up more boxes and stumbled out of the house.
Sitting by the water helped her clear her head. Yes, Vlad was a monster who would chase away all her demons, but he was also her partner, and she had to meet him halfway. And she would—just as soon as she got this damn truck out of the sand.
Another “hot mess” decision: driving on soft sand so you can stand by the water and pout.
Alice pinched herself to stop the nasty thought. You’re not stupid; you just made a mistake. It’s not the end of the world, and you can call for help. She dialed Vlad, who picked up on the first ring.
“Do you need help with the boxes?”
Alice grimaced, “Yeah, I didn’t get boxes. I drove out the cliffs to think, but now the truck is stuck because I made a mistake, and I can’t figure it out.”
“I’ll come get you.”
“Okay, thanks. And I know I’ve been putting a lot on you, and I’m sorry I’ve been…uh…not my best self. I want to—”
A flash of bright light hit the mirror. Suddenly, a ghostly figure appeared, shouting and waving its arms. But it looked all wrong. Ghosts weren’t supposed to be glowing and transparent, they looked like sims! What the hell was going on?
“Alice? What’s happening?” Vlad barked.
“Nothing,” her hand flew to her chest. “Nothing, I just…it was a ghost, but it was weird. I’m sorry I screamed.”
“Never apologize for being frightened. Stay in the truck. I’m coming to pick you up.”
“Okay. I’ll—“
Something whistled and whizzed right by her ear. Instinctively, Alice covered her head and dropped flat on the ground.
LITS I LOVE
Need another story? Check out these other SimLits. May you find something else deliciously bonkers to fall in love with.
OTHER STORIES
Want to read more of this unhinged, interconnected universe? Catch up with Baking By Death and Underworld Family Values interlude.
Credits
In addition to the CC I regularly use in the game and buildings from the Fleuralia Save File, I used the following builds and custom content. This story takes a ton of mods and cc, so if you see your work and I failed to tag it somewhere, please message me.
POSES & ANIMATIONS
Living Chair Poses by YaniSim
At The Bar Posepack by Natalia-Auditore
Reactions Over the Shoulder by SamsSims
Toddler Food Truck by Pandasama
Airport Deco Sims by lazysimmies (collab w/ starrysimsie and insanitytrait)
CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES
March 2023 Collection by Sentate (Erica Dress)
November 2022 Collection by Sentate (Evelyn Dress)
June 2021 Collection by Sentate (Victoria Dress, Dana Dress)
BUILDS
Airport
Underground Vampire Bar
Woods
MACHINIMA CREDITS
Pack #9 by Sinnora Sims 4
Sniper Animation by UTOPYA cc
Pack #35 Phone Animations by SovaSims
Phone Talking Pack #1 by Steven Studios
Phone Animations by Sinnora Sims 4
Action Jumps by Steven Studios
Canary Cry by FlowersSimFactory
Justice | Sims 4 Animation Pack #22 by Sinnora Sims 4
Pack #27 by Sinnora Sims 4
Suspicious Idles by Steven Studios
Animation Pack #2 by Sinnora Sims 4
The Forest Animation by UTOPYA cc
Justice | Sims 4 Animation Pack #22 by Sinnora Sims 4
Animation Pack #9 by Sinnora Sims 4
Combo Punches Animation by Ideal Sims 4
The Curse of Onryo by Sinnora Sims 4
Witch, Raven, and Dragon Animation by Sinnora Sims 4
Spell Fight 2 by Steven Studios
Pack #11 by Sinnora Sims 4
Superhero Arrivals by Steven Studios
Turning Animation by Steven Studios
Animation Pack #112 by sovushkaxxx
Additional VFX and SFX from Envato Elements & Footagecrate.
I was meant to mention this last chapter, but I forgot- about the weigh-up between Alice and Gwendolyn, and Caleb and Lilith. Does he opt to help out his own children who, though are both grown up at this point, didn’t get what they needed from him back in the day and therefore he should try to be a better father now? Or does he help Alice and Gwendolyn, one just a toddler, and the other with a (almost) power that might get her killed if she doesn’t possibly learn to control it later?
I felt kind of bad for Ana during the talk with Lilith. The reminder that she doesn’t hve any friends, but also that she keeps a lot of distance from most people. Which I get, because most people aren’t worth even attempting getting to know in any sense. XD And the whole ‘enduring cruelty’ thing, and how even if she used to come across as quite disturbing in the earlier chapters you can really see why Ana is like she is. She can either open up and maybe get lucky enough to feel again, or keep closed-off and vicious and protect herself, and honestly, I think the latter is safer- but she and Penny still need to try and sort things out.
I’m wondering who that ghost was now… HOOOLY SHIT THE MACHINIMA WAS SO GOOD. Esp Vlad sneaking up on the military woman. AND THE ANIMATED WINGS HOLY SHIT. The fight animations are so good. And the zombies immediately gave me the best RE vibes ever, I loved it so much. I noticed one of Alice’s eyes were a different colour, I’m not sure if that’s smth that’s already happened and I forgot or… maybe magic stuff coming through : O BTW I cannot wait for Morgyn to come back.
Oof, when you put Vlad’s options like that, it makes me feel like I’ve put him in an even more impossible position. I’ll hold in the evil laughter, but just know I’m doing it. LOL, seriously though, he does have a lot of competing priorities. And it’s also hard to know what is true: is he a terrible father? Or is he plagued by guilt? Did Caleb and Lilith really not get what they needed? Or do they have outsized expectations? I’m not saying yes or no, just that this family has a narrative about themselves that may or may not be true. And I’m excited to see how people react to that 🙂
I am going to try not to tell you everything about Ana and spoil the story but gahhhhhh screaming at these observations. I’ll just say that after so many centuries, its hard to know what’s trauma and what’s just their personality. I’m not sure that Ana would consider the way she is to be a protective feature. We meet her at like age 10, and at that point she is already mystified by emotions, and learning how she is supposed to answer questions about her feelings vs how she really feels. Idk what Penny could do to meet her on that field and understand her experience. Idk if Penny even wants to do that. As you pointed out, homegirl has A LOT going on at the moment.
Hehe who is the ghost? WHO INDEED? Stay tuned.
::sob:: glad you loved the machinima. It was my first time really trying to do some combat scenes and let me tell you, fights are hard to stage and film lol.
Alice’s eyes are only just now a different color. The fight seems to have unlocked something in her. I’m sure it’s not a terrifying magic that will destroy the world tho hehe
Yes, put on that Morgyn Appreciation t-shirt. IT IS THEIR TIME TO SHINE!
Oh my gods, Lilith told her those things on purpose just to get to Vlad, didn’t she? Ah, yup. Seems like Vlad and Latimer agree with me on that. Gods. I get that she’s hurt about Ethren but that is just being cruel when she does not need to be. Vlad is really caught between a rock and a hard place here; both of his kids want him to do what they want. But they are adults, immensely powerful and can handle themselves. Alice and Gwendolyn are truly in need. And now Vlad is stuck.
And now we have Ana going after Bella for (perceived, at least) messing with Penny’s psyche. I wonder why Ana hasn’t tried going after Penny directly. Maybe she’s afraid of what she’ll find. Maybe she doesn’t want to think about getting rejected, and there’s no chance of rejection if she lets Penny come back on her own.
Ooof, speaking of Bella, she doesn’t look too great. She can tell herself she’s steeled herself and is unaffected all she wants, but her face is betraying her big time. Oh gods, I hope her prophecy of Salim going to murder Alice doesn’t come true… o.o
Ah, so she is going after Penny! Just… not the way I thought she would 😆 I agree with Ana there. Lilith means it. She seems to delight in being awful to people and hitting them where it hurts. I’d have forgiven her for that if she only did it to people that she had a history with, like Vlad and Ana. But she did it to Alice. Her magic doesn’t make her a monster, but that deliberate cruelty certainly does.
Aww, Ana is bonding with Luna. She’s so stand-offish but she really does bond with anyone that shows her some affection, doesn’t she?
OMG that ending! The combat scenes were amazing! Shoutout to Vlad casually hitting them with a log 😮 Looks like Alice awakened something in the heat of it all…
But what did Alice awaken? Cue evil laughter!
Seriously, I’m so glad you enjoyed this chapter and the machinima which of course, took me way more time than I planned because fight scenes are SO HARD.
This was a real beast of a chapter. I wish I could tell you not to worry and that everything was going to be fine but…uh…yeah, even I can’t say that right now.
“Her magic doesn’t make her a monster, but that deliberate cruelty certainly does.” – 😳 oh dear, you are so right, and Lilith is just getting started.
“I wonder why Ana hasn’t tried going after Penny directly.” – oh just you wait. I think Ana is going to fast come to that conclusion. Now, is going after Penny directly a good idea? I mean, no. But is it the sort of idea that will at least allow her to have a healthy conversation with her? Also no.
#everyoneinthisstoryneedstherapyok