The In Between Inn
Miko
Miko flopped down on the couch with one of Mikel’s gingerbread cookies. She didn’t feel bad per se. Akira deserved it! She was protecting herself from his…influence. He always took up all the space in the room and she couldn’t afford any distractions.
“How was Alice?” Penny asked, perching on the arm of the couch.
“Oh, she’s great,” Miko chirped. “Really excited about today’s bake.”
Penny scrunched up her face. “That doesn’t sound like her.”
“What about the search, how goes it?” Miko asked brightly, changing the subject.
“Ugh, it fucking doesn’t,” Penny sighed, crawling over to take a seat next Miko. “Sometimes I feel like I’m searching for something that’s just in my imagination. Like it’s a pattern only I can see because I made it up.”
Miko nodded, stuffing the cookie in her mouth to keep from saying more. Penny wasn’t imagining things. But in every timeline where Penny made real progress on her investigation, it led to Alice not handing over The Owl. So Miko…
…so Miko did whatever she could to stop Penny from getting too far.
“I don’t give a shit about a coven, or what other witches think of me,” she said softly. “But I do give a shit that those witches are legitimately missing. And fuck Vladislaus Straud, but I don’t believe he’s got a batch of them stored in his basement. It’s just not his brand of torture.”
It was an astute observation but Miko gave a noncommittal shrug. She told herself that it was okay to lie. That she would make it up to Penny when she got The Owl and removed all the circumstances that led to Penny’s suffering.
“Could you try to look into the future and see if you could find some clues?” Penny asked.
“Uh yeah…I mean…you know sometimes its unpredictable…”
What would Penny say if she knew that Miko didn’t see the future but instead, manipulated time to make the future what she needed it to be?
Penny switched on the TV and turned to the Cooking Channel. “God, that Dylan guy looks awful. Is that a black eye?”
Miko winced. Dylan did look bad. Although, every time a sim dropped out of the contest, Alice was one step closer to The Owl. Deacon leaving on his own was a stroke of luck—
“I thought you said Alice was fine!” Penny cried, her tone accusatory.
“She is!” Miko insisted, irritated at being pulled out of her train of thought. Had she been thinking or sleeping? Sometimes it was hard to tell—
“Then what the fuck is she doing baking side by side with Vladislaus Straud?”
Miko’s stomach dropped all the way to the basement. In all 999 timelines, this had never happened before.
“Well, shit,” she whispered.
Credits
Parasol Poses Male Version by Natalia-Auditore
Fight Poses (Get Your Hands Off My Girl) by JoanneBernice
Angry and Drunk Bar Poses by JoanneBernice
Couple Walking and Talking by JoanneBernice
Wanna Grab Coffee by Sim_plyreality
Elf Ears V1 & V2 by sikoi
Hangout Poses by Radioactive
Random Vampire Power Posepack by Natalia-Auditore
Roses Poses by Natalia-Auditore
Sephiroth Pose Pack by Natalia-Auditore
Sephiroth Costume and ACC by Natalia-Auditore
Rejection Kiss Posepack by JoanneBernice
Coffee Time by Simmerberlin
Coffee cup by StorybookSimblr
Stand Male Poses by Natalia-Auditore
Snuggle Party by Something Wicked Sims
From the Sims 4 Gallery
Up & Up Inn by Kulthero777
Mossy Lane Reno by Julie1112
Oh wow—when I wasn’t absorbed in this chapter, I was in a state of “how the heck did you get all that coordinated.” Akira alone had multiple prop changes… during the scene? Ooooof. But I’m digging everyone’s motivations that they’re not entirely revealing and little everyday things that they’re doing in between time-loop-defining events. This is the deconstruction I want: for someone who can’t watch superhero movies because they find the socioeconomic and environmental impact of collateral damage during a fight more interesting than the fight itself, Miko interrupting her own time-loop pontificating with “mmm, croissants—oh my god is that my asshole ex again” was just perfection. Waiting (or maybe you already did it? there are a lot of moving parts) for the scene where the person with fascinating time powers wrecks everything because they didn’t want to get out of bed and were groggily lying on their pillow looking at /r/birdswitharms instead.
Oh, so it’s not just Alice. Everyone’s normal-people powers are just as relevant as their magic powers. At least that’s what I got out of people who are pure magic or can fly trying to seduce major players at a coffeeshop.
Keeping my eyes open for hints about how the time loop affects people who aren’t aware of it. I can certainly see this becoming relevant in Vlad and Alice’s future, and maybe that’s why they’ve fallen for each other so quickly, because they’ve done so 999 times before. At least there’s the romance-is-epic-because-the-time-loop-is-centered-around-it feeling but there’s probably deeper levels to catch.
Deacon is giving me Josh Chan vibes and I will always treasure that class of vibe (for the uninitiated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3_NELleDYc). I’m naming Caleb’s college look “Daddy’s Porsche.” And WHO PUT VLAD IN THAT JACKET. How hard were you laughing when you put him in that jacket? Was falling out of the chair involved? Because it almost was for me, dammit.
And I see that “like” inserted in the middle of a sentence with no commas.
Ugh I wrote such a good reply to this and wordpress betrayed me. Let me see what I can replicate:
-Oh you saw that “like”? ::laughs maniacally::
-Have never seen My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend but OMG if Deacon was a person this would be it. Daddy’s Porsche LOLOOLOLOL yes.
-Burning down Vlad’s house and forcing him to dress like a college student is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as an author. I have many more outfits planned. I would like to stretch this torture out for as long as I can!
-How does a time loop affect people who aren’t aware of it, Miko?” ::stares directly into the camera:: Yeah, Alice/Vlad definitely have some fated-epic-love stuff because of the time loop, even if they don’t remember what happened, the emotional tracks are still there. Miko’s problem is that while the time loops sear in positive emotions (Alice and Vlad fall in love faster and faster with no problem) so do the negative emotions. Bloodvein, who might’ve been mildly threatening and capable of some small betrayal in time loop #1 becomes a psychopath bent on destroying his enemies at any cost by time loop #999. She’s isn’t solving problems by looping, she’s creating new ones.
– Yes! love that you caught the “supernatural powers are not the only tool” thing. Part of this is the limitation of the Sims (how may times can you really use the “cast spell” animation?) but the other part of it is that I think it’s way more interesting if supernatural power is not the first thing they reach for. Also, I’m trying REAL HARD not to write myself into a corner by making such overpowered characters that it’s unbelievable that they could ever lose.
-Coordinating the scene was a beast. An attach on myself, perpetrated by myself. I actually had to write to sketch it out to figure out where everyone needed to be standing. It was insane.
– Ummm I had something so smart about your superhero movies comment! But yes! Like I love a fight scene, but that’s not always the most interesting thing. Plus, all the characters in this story are long-lived and hard to kill, actually trying to deal with everyday life is way more challenging for them.
Oh P.S. – only pure magic itself is good enough for my William.
Ok, from the top:
Morgyn – So I haven’t mentioned, but the untamed magic sage is basically my ultimate sim crush so I find it difficult to comment on anything that happens in an unbiased way. I shall reserve judgement 😆(Sidenote – so many people do things in this universe do things “for love” – if only they weren’t so desperately at odds woth each other. All those misunderstandings alone can blow up the world with beings this powerful!)
Ok, this is where my organised commentary reached the not so organise WTF is going on 😂 I sure did not expect Miko’s commotion and Morgyn apoearing at the same time. I have to say, while we only get a tiny sliver of Miko and Akira I feel like their love story is even beyond Vlad and Alice (gasp). I’m not sure why I feel that way. Like I said I don’t normally even like them as townies, but you’ve turned them into something else. Maybe I like the doomed ones.
And lol for the ending! Miko tries so hard to be in control. It gives me the vibes of trying so hard to actually manage to do a job that you totally lied on your resume to get 😆
“White wine told me this was “totally doable” and would work out fine. White wine was wrong”
Bwahaha isn’t it always 😂 Sleep deprivation and rum told me that using 40+ sims in the same screenshots was totally okay and not at all problematic, too. The things we do for our stories 🤣
Ooooh, I like the little bit of insight we get into Morgyn and how they were one of the ones that created the owl. So Morgyn and Miko can both mess with time at will. That must be a real headache to deal with in the long term – so many variables and things that can change because of very small actions. Oops, and Miko lost track of Alice. I want to feel bad for her, but so far everyone has been trying to use Alice for their own gain like some go-to marionette. At least Vlad feels conflicted about it.
Bwahaha, yes William, go make some moves on someone 😂 clearly preparing for one hell of a fight, infiltrating a basilisk lair, making Vlad sign paperwork and finding someone to get laid with are all equally crucially important 🤣
THANK YOU FOR FEELING MY PAIN! HAHAAHHA. Okay I gotta see this 40+ sims in the same screenshots. Tales of Camelot is on my list.
:: edit :: I already started reading it an omfg it’s good.
Ummm, you’ve got good insight! People treat Alice like she is a tool they can use for their own means. Vlad feels conflicted about it because they think of him in much the same way.
Ooohh boy, these characters all delude themselves about their motives. William is no exception…
Naww, thank you <3 I made it to season 3 of chaotic bakie, woo! (I mean Baking By Death, lol) We're playing D&D this weekend but with a bit of luck next week is slow at work, and I can get caught up fully! 😁
WOW THE REVEAL IS LIKE A STRIP SHOW IN THIS CHAPTER. Everything is getting removed. Meoooowza.
Morgyn isn’t just a sage. They are magic. They are (what’s bigger than a god?)… a titan? Like Morgyn and L. Faba are a duo. LMAO at Simeon only being a member of the magic club, in name only.
And then Morgyn, in one of the many time loops, had a romance with William. OKAY HOLY SHIT.
LOL at Vlad having to suffer in College clothes but also enjoying Alice wearing them. Vlad is all over the place. lolol
William the doubtful, or maybe he just doesn’t like that he isn’t needed by Vlad, now that Alice has been given the reigns. For real, William and Caleb need to work out their codependence issues with Vlad because they don’t know everything even though they act like they do.
Wow. Valet Caleb is less codependent and ragging on William. Okay, maybe he is applying the therapy to his life. Maaaybe. We’ll see…
William, please get laid. Before the invention of cars?!?! SERIOUSLY?!?!?!
I will have to comment the rest later.
LOL I don’t know why I hate Simeon so much, but he deserves to be part of the no magic club. I’m so glad you enjoyed this chapter! It was such a bitch to shoot, and this was before I knew all the tricks I know now!
I think what you’re seeing is William trying to work through his codependency issues in real time. And I think it’s fair to say that when Vlad needs him, he is there. But when vlad starts healing and moving on, he discards him and meanwhile, William has built his life around taking care of Vlad.
But he does need to get laid. Maybe by a certain magic hottie…
Simeon has a face that looks like it needs to be punched ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It *almost* seems like a dick move on Vlads part to just toss William to the side, but he might not realize what he’s doing or how William feels. Miscommunication makes it really hard to assign “blame” to a side 😅
100% you are correct! I mean, all these characters are in their feelings and they aren’t wrong, per see. Clearly, I just love making everything complicated!
Hahahaha. But you know, life is full of complications. Sometimes nobody is right, sometimes everyone is write. It’s complicated. You write about real life so there will be complications <3
There is a theme about plants and getting freaky-deeky in your stories, Ferosh. First you have Ana in the garden sucking ghost pecker (not to be confused with ghost peppers), and now you have Akira entertaining the thought of sticking a rose up his pooper, if Akira so wishes lol.
LMAO at Akira pulling out his sword and Miko liking it. Yeah girl, I bet you do.
Okay, okay, okay, okay…. Morgyn making sure the dweeb in the glasses got into the fight, was THAT intentional b/c they know William has a …. “type” ?!?!?! And HOW CONVENIENT that Morgyn JUST ORDERED William a coffee. And, was it magic that Morgyn knew what to order for William (William’s thoughts) or was it ACTUALLY b/c in some version of this world, they dated, so most likely Morgyn KNEW how William liked his coffee? 😀
Do you think Vladislaus wants to be an imitation of his darker self? Do you think he would applaud your interference or see it as a betrayal? Did you consider that it would drive a wedge between you?”
OH FUCK, MIC DROP. Two points for Sage House!
Hahaha Morgyn asking William on a date. Morgyn is thirsting to rekindle what they had in a lifetime ago, but will they be disappointed when the version of who they had is not necessarily the same version as William is here? They DO seem content with the William they have in The Strauds. Hmmm.
On the next episode of The God of Death and The God of Fear Bake Off, the contestants will stuff Jimena into an oven, close the door, and burn that witch to a crisp. Teehee.
Be honest, who doesn’t love Akira holding that sword. YASSSSS!!!!!
Oh gosh, now I am trying not to give too much away. It’s hard to comment on a story that’s already done because I sometimes forget what reveals will happen later. All I’ll say is that William and Morgyn have the most epic love story, though it is not without complication. Morgyn has loved William in every universe, and that’s all I’ll say about that for now.
LOLOLOL SHOVING JIMENA INTO THE OVEN.
(ummm get ready for Morgyn dropping mics left and right, btw)
Yo Akira holding a sword is my swooooon.
OH. FUCK. that’s hot.