The In Between Inn
Penny
Penny waited exactly ten minutes before conjuring up her cauldron and heading out to the garden to gather herbs for a potion. She didn’t know why she had agreed to Miko’s plan so readily, but now that the pixie was gone, she felt a little more in control of herself.
Like any self-respecting witch, Penny kept her own herb garden and made sure it was full of every salve and poison she’d need to do her work. Most witches specialized in one form of magic but Camila Pizzazz had never aspired to mediocrity and so neither had Penny.
Mikel trekked after her. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Penny stood. “Potions.”
Mikel was like a puppy dog who was always after her. He was kind and caring and everything about him made Penny feel suffocated. She was not used to kind and caring and in fact, did not prefer it.
When she was twelve, her entire family disappeared along with a few other members of her coven. They went to the Realm of Magic for the annual Solstice Celebration and never returned.
Over the years, bounced from group home to magical orphanage, Penny had been told every excuse and story under the sun: they had been involved in dark magic or illegal dueling and likely killed each other, they ran off with stolen magical items, and her personal favorite, maybe they just didn’t want the responsibility of a child anymore.
Orphaned witches were bad luck, Penny had been taught, everyone knew they brought it on themselves.
“Penny, what is the potion for? We don’t need a potion to visit the dryads…” Mikel started, but Penny ignored him.
Instead, she added the ingredients to her cauldron, swirling the concoction and chanting words that other witches needed books for but Penny knew by heart.
“Penny!” Mikel called out, his voice sharp.
“Miko might want to spend the next few days going on adventures with her ex-husband and securing alliances for this much prophesied war, but I make my own prophecies and my own future. All this time, we’ve followed what she said, but if she was wrong about Alice then she can be wrong about the witches too. I’m onto something, and I’m not setting it aside for her crazy apocalyptic proclamations.”
She spat into the cauldron to cleanse it of spirits who meant her harm. “You have a choice to make, Mikel. You can help me with what I’m working on or you can run off and do Miko’s bidding. Don’t forget, that sweet talking harpy lied to you too.”
“Penny.”
She ignored him.
“Penny!” he repeated.
“Shit or get off the pot, Mikel.”
He sighed, “If you’re looking to draw this under the light of a full moon, it’s going to be 7.82 minutes late tonight.”
Penny smiled. She had no understanding of how Mikel’s brain worked. In fact, he’d done such a good job of blending in as a regular sim that she sometimes forgot he was an alien. But every once and awhile, he’d let something slip.
“She’s our friend,” he said quietly, as they watched the cauldron bubble.
“What?”
“Miko. We do her bidding because she’s our friend and we’re trying to help. It’s not bidding. It’s helping.”
Penny turned away. Mikel could call it whatever he wanted. She was done with it.
He grabbed her hand. “It’s okay to be scared.”
“Maybe your alien brain is broken. I’m not scared. I’m fucking pissed,” Penny snapped, but she couldn’t make herself let go of his hand.
“You only use the word harpy when you’re scared. We’ll do whatever you want to do right now and then we’ll go and talk to the dryads.”
Mikel was an alien. He didn’t know shit. Still, she didn’t let go of his hand until she needed to add some more ingredients.
“It’s a transmutation potion,” she explained, “You use it to disguise yourself.”
Credits
Hold Me Closer Poses 2 by Ratboysims
Walking and Talking by Simmerberlin
Emotions 8 by Simmerberlin
Emotions 9 by Simmerberlin
Male Stand Poses 04 by Natalia-Auditore
Stand Male Poses by Natalia-Auditore
Art of Arguing 2 by Something Wicked Sims
Facial Expressions by LeaIllai
Young Padawan Poses by Atashi77
Male Stand Pose 05 by Natalia-Auditore
Pose Pack 22 by Katverse
Expressive Animations Pack by Steven Studios
Phone Call Poses by Ratboysims
Parent Kid Poses by Ratboysims
Model Poses No. 1 by Atashi77
Pre-teen Body Preset by Redhead Sims
A Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Simmberlin
Mega Animation Talking Pack by FlowersSimFactory
Emotions for Kiddos by Simmerberlin
Hold the Phone by Quiddity-Jones
Sword Master 2 by Natalia-Auditore
Sword Accessory by Natalia-Auditore
From the Sims 4 Gallery
Up & Up Inn by Kulthero777
Ok, page by page comment time again, so hopefully this won’t turn into yet another wall of text.
I mean, Dylan is cute, but nowhere near the calibre needed to match either Tobias, the soulmate from another time, or Morgyn, the freaking sage of untamed magic. William is definitely in denial if he thinks he’d do the trick. Look at me, agreeing with Vlad lol. But of course, Vlad is a sappy romantic. My thinking is aim a bit higher. Especially after a 100 year dry spell. I mean, come on, William is a catch.
Lol Gwendolynn. I almost forgot about her, but she’s clearly still in top form. I also enjoyed that the part about Vlad killing her parents is the part where Alice suddenly decides to consult a relationship book or something (don’t discount your partner’s views as unreasonable, show that you’re listening and not making demands) and goes all “we should make decisions about killing people together” 😂
Akira and Miko… ok, not the strongest start, yikes. But maybe all the ugly needs to come out first. It’s tough, because Akira’s main stream of thought still seems to be “ah, if only I could just travel back in time to hit the delete button and wipe all of my mistakes out of existence” – which I have a problem with, but then at the same time, he does have a point, how can he really prove to Miko he is sorry after all this time? Quite a pickle, that.
Ok, back to Dylan and William… Dylan’s excitement when he cracked was kind of cute. But apparently not cute enough. That was cold, William. I stand by what I said above, but damn, let the guy down gently – he did just hand you a big piece of information. He’s gonna feel so used.
Vlad and Alice again – ah, I see the relationship self-help book has now been promptly binned and the bin was set on fire. Lol these two…
“like a llama speaking of tax evasion” Hahahaha just wanted to appreciate this for a moment…
Aww I did not expect Alice’s trip down the memory lane. Explains how things got so strained with her family over time. The parallel with Vlad reassuring little Gwen in his weirdass way was really sweet.
Penny and Miko may aswell be speaking a different language. I’m just waiting for Penny to completely flip the lid lol.
I wonder if the three witches line does really refer to the sages (they would probably not appreciate being called that, I’d imagine). But I’m not going to complain about William going to see Morgyn haha.
Oops. it is a wall of text after all. Oh well 😆
HAHAHA I mean, who can compete with Morgyn as a love interest? NO ONE, that’s who. I mean, Vlad has read one self-help book and now he’s tossing out advice, but yeah, he ain’t wrong. Vlad is definitely a true romantic. And William is a catch, but he’s also learning about himself. Vlad starting to get his shit together is leaving William and Caleb space to focus on themselves and it’ll be interesting to see how they both struggle with that…
Oh man, Gwendolyn is so fun to write. We are going to see more of her for sure over the next few chapters 🙂 Honestly, I think she might give Verena a run for her money!
Vlad and Alice…well, I’ll say this: new relationships are hard. They are especially hard with you are an all powerful god and your lover is a conceptual entity who is bound to your will. It’s going to be awkward for a bit while they figure out that dynamic. And um…they are gonna need to figure it out because the alternative is…well…spoilers.
I knew this was going to hit you! Akira and Miko have not really spent any time together for centuries so uh…yeah…things are a big rough to begin with lol!!! I’m so excited though, because that is exactly what I’m trying to point out about Akira! They both have some healing and growth to do…it will be interesting to see how they do it.
HAHAHAHA William always act so mature and wise but then he has a one-night stand and he does not have the cajoles to even talk to Dylan about it. “I’ll call you.” Pshaw. Will that come back to bite him? Who knows.
I’m having a blast writing the Vlad/Gwendolyn dynamic. In part because female characters are often the ones acting “maternal” and taking care of other people. But in this story, that’s really Vlad.
I want to say so much about Penny and Mikel but I can’t but oh man, things are going to get very interesting.
LOL, the Sages would definitely be pissed to know someone was calling them witches. But there was no way William was not going to see Morgyn. The heart wants what it wants…
I love the wall of text! It makes me feel better for the 10,000 comments I leave on your story hahahahaha!
“I mean, who can compete with Morgyn as a love interest? NO ONE, that’s who.” – Well, yes, obviously. I’m just trying really hard not to have my personal predetermined biases come into play so I thought I’d throw in something about how William probably also loved his husband or whatever 😛 (I’m kidding. I know William loved his husband. And trying very hard not to swoon over Morgyn, especially since Morgyn is still such a wildcard in your story as far as intentions go)
Yeah, surprisingly Vlad actually seems to be the one person that’s gone through the most growth in the story, when you think about it. Which is interesting, considering he was the one that started the most set in his ways out of all of them.
Haha I can handle Miko and Akira not being sunshine and daisies from the get go, it would be weird if they were. Like you said, even the fact they are actually talking at all is a huge milestone for them. And you know, if I were to be completely rational, they might not be the best for each other in the end, but hell I do want them to try because the irrational side of me is all over them <3 But yes, I think that side of Akira's flawed logic has always been present from the beginning. Maybe one day he'll understand that to learn a lesson you have to actually live through it.
Haha never apologise for mountains of comments, I loved them 🙂 And yeah, I have a tendency to leave long comments, but I don't want to gloss over anything, and this "writing my thoughts down as I go" approach means I don't forget by the time I get to the end – even if it means I end up repeating myself sometimes haha.
Oh man. Dammit dammit dammit. Now I usually just breeze on past romance tropes—lock eyes? Whatevs. Mutual blushing? Use sparingly, save it for tumblr—but my one weakness, despite having publicly called babies “screaming blood potatoes,” is watching someone get all domestic when they’re watching their partner/crush interact with a kid. Alice not getting outwardly sappy but reminiscing about her own father while watching Vlad with Gwendolyn… freaking catnip. More please! Especially after Penny’s comments, I’m with Vlad here. Steal. The. Child.
Maybe it’s my lack of short-term memory talking, but I can’t help but feel we’ve met Gwen’s parents before, even if we weren’t explicitly told they were Gwen’s parents. Anyone? Bingers? “She’s a demon” is also a p. suspect thing for Vlad to say.
William, dude, c’mon. That’s all I have to say.
Ooh, I’m loving the tiny bit of distancing language where we get Alice’s dad’s name several times but not her mom’s. Valeria, was it? I think it was Valeria. No essay today because my brain is fried and arghargharghargh steal the child.
::MANIACAL LAUGHTER:: YES TO THIS.
STEAL THE CHILD.
I am not even going to disguise my goals lol. Don’t worry. MORE IS COMING.
William. Ha. Like I said, all my characters are a hot mess. Even the ones who seem like they have it together.
Yes! Alice’s mom is Valeria 🙂 thank you for noticing
Ummmmmmmm……STEAL THE CHILD.
Gwendolyn’s birth parents are not people we’ve met, but Gwendolyn’s adoptive parents are the Bjerstens.
Vlad, Alice and Gwendolyn together is oddly adorable, in a heartwarming but disturbing sort of way. Something tells me that Gwendolyn probably would be better off with them than with the foster parents she’s living with now, especially with how doting Vlad seems to be.
Aww man, and that scene of Alice calling her parents. It tugged on my heartstrings, bad T.T Her mum telling her dad not to baby her and then immediately doing the same made me chuckle. I’ve clearly watched too many medieval movies and played too much D&D because the second I read “do you have enough mace”, my mind just instantly went to the weapon. 😂
Okay, your comments are proof I have to very careful with you because you have a sharp eye and I will end up accidentally giving you a spoiler LOL.
But man are you spot on.
Vlad, Alice & Gwendolyn, my sweet lil murder family. Vlad is the most doting of guardians. Gwendolyn has him wrapped around her lil finger.
Alice finally called home! It only took 32 chapters! Haha, her mom is a force of nature, right?
Man, I wish I would have written a mace joke. What a missed opportunity! Also, the amount of BBD inspiration I get from D&D is crazy. Every time I need inspiration about a supernatural creature, I flip open the monster manual lol
Hehee, by now I’m getting close to being all caught up, so not many spoilers left that you can accidentally give me in advance. Unless you mean spoilers of chapters that have yet to be published, in which case… gimme alllllll the snippets 😁 *grabby hands*
I know, right? It’s a fantastic source of inspiration, and sometimes it even works the other way around!
Lol poor William. If ever the letdown existed, it is to wait a whole century to get your fuck on only to realize it wasn’t worth the wait. LOL ouch. That’s like the harshest Yelp! review. Damn, Dyl, not only was your sex unimpressive, but William can’t get out of the library fast enough when Dylan suggests they head back to the hotel. Bruh. That’s so cold. And funny. And relatable. And damn.
William has it so bad for Morgyn it’s cute. It makes me all Hallmark-y warm and fuzzy thinking about them in The Strauds.
Alice meeting Gwen is classic. Alice freaking out over Vlad teaching Gwen to use a sword is hilarious. Look, life skills, Alice. I mean it wasn’t too long ago Alice was willing swords into Vlad’s hands. SOMETHING is coming. Better not to send the child to her slaughter.
Man the tension between Miko and Akira. Yikes and a half. Idk if I’m just a lovefool or wtf, but I’d give Akira a chance again. He seems to have repented and made actual attempts at redemption. He’s been sober. He’d do whatever it took to get into her good graces. Like man. He’s not all talk, and that’s a Pink kink.
idk why but Alice watching Vlad and Gwen sword fight near a pool conjures the image of Alice walking/dancing/strutting on a plank over a pool in The Strauds. Gracefulness and a pool. Which is kinda funny in sim world b/c pools are deadly, perhaps a ladderless pool and enclosed walls were the go-to kill method in sims once upon a time. the juxtaposition between beauty and death.
Ohhh, Penny’s potion is an undercover one. Interesting.
I knowwwwww but also, William chose to hold off for so long and build it up into something one night with a rando could not possibly fix. He can’t have great sex when he’s so busy lying to himself.
LOL Do you see why I could never let Gwendolyn go once she made her way into the story? Also yeah, ummm, everyone should be getting ready to fight.
Your Miko/Akira opinions are FASCINATING. I think this is about the moment that I fell in love with Akira too. Like he just has a lock on me, now.
Squee! It is a nice callback right? I never want to repeat scenes in my AU, but I do try to reference moments that happened in the other universe.
Hehe ladderless pools. Best way to get rid of anyone standing in your sim’s way…