CW: Strong language, adult situations, gore, sexual innuendo
Vlad’s House, Henford-on-Bagley
VLAD
“Are you insane?” Vlad asked as he nudged one of the wooden planks dubiously with his foot. They were standing in his backyard by the pool; two thin boards stretched across it like balance beams.
“No,” Alice replied with an ominously calm smile. “This is our bet. Double or nothing, remember?”
Truthfully, Vlad had thought they were talking about sex. He told her as much, which she brushed off.
“It’s a simple matter of coordination and balance,” she explained, “We just use the boards to walk across to the other side of the pool. Whoever makes it without falling in wins.”
“Wins what?” They’d been over this, but Vlad was still hoping to find a loophole.
“If you win, we spend the afternoon being entertained” —she made mock quotation marks— “at the Chalet Gardens Home Show. And if I win, we spend a totally normal and fun afternoon doing hot yoga.”
“You don’t want to do hot yoga. You just want to torture me.”
“You don’t have any proof of that.” She arched an eyebrow, “You just met me. You don’t know; maybe I love hot yoga.”
And maybe Vlad was actually a Tartosian settee. He resented her implication about the Home Show. It was one of the few things he’d brave the presence of mortals to attend.
He picked a piece of lint off his suit. “And we’re wearing formal clothing because…?”
She tilted her head and gave him another one of those calm smiles. “A double or nothing bet is always a formal occasion.”
Elmyra’s Boxing Gym
BELLA
Werewolves were hard to pin down, even if you knew exactly where they were supposed to be.
“I’m back again for Nina. I know she’s not here,” Bella held up her hands in placating gesture, “How about just giving me a heads up when she comes by?”
Baako Jang, the boxing gym owner, gave her a resigned look. “Lady—”
“Detective.”
“Detective. I don’t got nothing for you.” He jiggled his keys and pushed the door open. Bella followed behind him, watching as he flipped on the lights.
“Why am I gonna tell you when one of my patrons comes by? You either want her because she caused trouble, or you want to cause her trouble.”
“There’s another possibility you didn’t consider.” Bella handed him her card and 500 simoleons. “Maybe she’s the one in trouble, and I’m here to help. There’s another 500 in it if you call me.”
Alice looks so pretty in that first shot ohoh my fgofodshshsshhshss
Ahhh I feel you Caleb, that urge to please is impossible to hold off. Especially when you’re used to people hating you, and then you’re desperate to please the 1.4 people who are willing to tolerate you. I like that we see a little progress from the past though; no longer apologising or begging, just kinda saying ‘okay thanks.’ He’s at least tried to set boundaries, but damn it’s hard work.
I love the lore touch of the allure of the dark form. I know I’d never want to leave it either : P Ohh I wonder what that note refers to? Some kind of potion or spell? And what kind of ritual was going on there? I know Beltane is when the veil between worlds is supposed to be thin, so part of me wonders if it was some kind of deathly or resurrection magic maybe…
Ohhh no, Bella’s had to become a prep-mum for a day just to get info out of Nancy! What fun! ‘Inside, Bella was immediately reminded of why she hated having to play nice with all these rich assholes.’ This sums up exactly what I was going to say next XD but the plus side is once she gets the info she needs, she’ll have something over on them and the tables turn just a little!
Yikes, that was about the reaction I expected from Malcolm on Johnny. Typical ‘if you made better life choices’ response that often comes from rich people whose pockets were lined the moment they slid out the womb. I forget sexting is DEFINITELY nothing new, but also I didn’t expect Vlad to have been with Ethren. I love that shot of them together though < 3 Having so many memories of past loves and such, I often wonder if they make Vlad sometimes take a mental step back from Alice and his feelings for her. Of course for him it'd be good to allow himself to be sort of vulnerable in the sense of letting someone love him again, but he still has so many people in his past he likely still thinks about in that sense…if that makes any sense at all.
I love that Vlad lost the game purely he was distracted by Alice…though I also don't blame him XD Now I wonder if this was just an excuse to see him strip out of wet clothes Alice : P Alice's dad's behaviour sounds similar to Penny's situation with her job and her family, never seemingly being enough. Vlad is right when he talks about hate atrophying; it's different to forgiveness. Some people even when you are over them, you can't forgive them for various reasons. I am really loving this heart to heart here especially between an eventual couple. Nothing is off the table in this discussion and they seem almost fully comfortable around each other, and it's good to see that kind of dynamic. It seems both of them have a lot they've likely not spoken about outside of this conversation at all. If he's talking about Faba, then yeah he's right. Mischief caster? Chill? Nope : P
Your machinimas are always so good! I love the animation of Anastastia (I think it was Anastasia) doing the throat-slit gesture. Absolutely loved the vampire V werewolf fight, and when the spellcasters + Akira + Caleb, as well as Bella and Deacon all arrive at the same time, very awkward timing right next to a dead body…What fun!
Loved this chapter as always < 3
Hello! Things have been crazy so I’m just now getting to read my comments.
Caleb from The Strauds could use some therapy tips from Caleb from BBD. You’re right, that urge to please is hard to fight. I think he’s also just got a lot going on because he’s estranged from his family and was hoping the witches and MIU would be kind of a replacement family.
We see how well that worked out.
Ah, the dark form, I can’t wait for you to see how that lore plays out more. I cannot comment on the rest of your question because spoilers but whew, you are on the right path…
Bella is not a Smuggleworth Prep kind of person in general. Makes you wonder how she ended up in this life?
VLAD AND ETHREN COUPLE GOALS ::maniacal laughter:: I cannot wait for some flashbacks to them and to see them in the future. Vlad’s poor relationship is not just relegated to Anastasia and Faba 😂
I think you’re right about Vlad and vulnerability. He has no problem falling in love or being in a relationship (clearly) but I don’t know if he’s ever been truly vulnerable. Makes his journey with Alice a real adventure.
Ahhh so many things about this scene—you are spot on about Penny and Alice and their families. I think Vlad and Anastasia have layers of complication in their relationship, especially since it’s last centuries.
(We have not even gotten into Faba yet lolololol)
Thank you! This one was fun to make 🙂 though I can’t wait to make a machinima with the new werewolves!
Yo this comment is going to be 30% Vlad undressing. 30% Chauffer Deacon. 99.9% Etheren and Etheren’s hair (and it should have its own Twitter account, cuz I would send it THIRST-DMs). Ahem.
VLAD & ALICE: Hahaha I like how Vlad caught onto Alice’s “Mutual acquaintances” term and used it (I kinda wanna state how very white man of him to take from a POC, but Vlad touching the button to his pants has me forgiving). Alice dancing, twirling, and ARABESQUING on the plank won my heart (mostly the arabesque…), and I hope Vlad take’s that woman’s flexibility into accountability and uses it in the way the Good Lord intended! Vlad, o Vlad, showing off. Check your Hubris at the door next time, Vlad, you’re washed up! We all knew Alice was gonna win that round, and WE ALL WON with shirtless-Vlad. So, uh… maybe don’t check your hubris.
Also… SHIRTLESS.VLAD.UNDRESSING.TOUCHING THE PANTS BUTTON.
Chauffer Deacon : DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS. When Bella asked if he had his gun, I was hoping he was gonna unholster ….. Yeah, you know what I was thinking. BANG ME! bang-bang-bang ….. Also, how f’ing dare that pretentious ham hock refer to him as “the help.”
Ugh. Malcolm Landgraab. His bitch-mom removed that stick from up her butt long enough to smack him ugly.
Caleb is such a sweet soul that I just can’t with him. Dear Goodness he has that awful file as a reminder of his failure?! Caleb needs a thousand hugs and like puppy-dog kisses. I don’t get why he wants so hard to be accepted into this bitch-witch society. It’s not good for his self-worth. WHAT is he getting from it?!
Goodness. Vlad is into dudes in corsets (and I know the CC for that if you need).
AND ETHEREN. A god amongst men. I am just gonna cry off in a corner that there was only ONLY ONE photo of them together. Unacceptable, Ferosh. Unacceptable. Hahaha about Vlad wanting to push him off a cliff. Sigh. STOP TEMPTING US WITH THESE SEXY VLAD 1-PHOTOS. We need chapter-long stories. You know, scratch that. I DEMAND a Machinima of only Vlad throughout time. Just Vlad and his relationships. I need to go through EACH ONE METICULOUSLY to better understand him. Research. Please?!?!?!?!!?!?!? AND FINE-COMB-DETAIL of Etheren.
THE VIDEO.
HOLY.FUCKING.SHIT.
I’m gonna have to return to drop that comment b/c I just can’t. Not after all those thirst traps I’ve fallen into.
Only 30% Vlad undressing? Must create stronger thirst traps 😂
I cannot wait for you to catch the next glimpse of Ethren because he is giving stern brunch daddy and I will not apologize for it.
Alice is a queen, never underestimate her. The only way she and Vlad can work is if she has the ability to hand him his ass. Speaking of which, “Vlad’s hands hovering over his pants button” was a very important pose for ummm…plot reasons. Yeah. Plot.
The Deacon thirst traps have only just begun. I’m sorry I failed to have him in enough states undress 😁 God, the Landgraabs are the worst and it was so much fun to write them.
Yeah, Caleb has a lot of emotions going on in this story. He definitely needs therapy which might help him stop trying to create surrogate families from people who hate him. Sigh.
I do need that make corset CC because getting Vlad into a corset is 100% goals for this story. Don’t worry, there will be a Vlad and his exes montage. And he and Ethren have some v good flashback scenes coming up 😉
Glad you liked the video😊 Moral of the story: don’t turn the woman Anastasia is obsessed with into a werewolf.
1) PLEASE DO NOT CREATE STRONGER THIRST TRAPS. I don’t think I have enough energy to hydrate to support the habit.
2) Vlad undressing SHOULD be higher in percentage but then there is ETHREN with his elvish-sounding name who I wanna give ALL OF MY PERCENTAGE to. And that’s not the only thing but ……… sigh. Chapter/part 2 is going to make the new year happy indeed.
WHEN YOU SAY COMING UP (for Ethren and Vlad) do you mean BEFORE 2023?????
Cheese and crackers, keep ya dirty paws off my woman, fleabag or I’ll cut a bitch….er I mean…. cut a bitch’s heart out and eat it.
SECONDING PINKSEX ON THE VIDEO IS HOLYFUCKING SHIT
Other than that, she leads in anything sex, sex and sex related, so I’ll try to fill in the gaps.
SHOES: What vampire doesn’t wear expensive shoes? Alice draws attention to Vlad’s shoes being expensive, but I’m sure this is a misdirection. Caleb omits any other details besides the shoes’ cost (how does he know??? Does he recognize brands? Does some ultra-rich vampire have a pair of mud-stained Louboutins in their closet?), and as Pink noticed, he would’ve recognized Vlad’s scent. None of the other shoes were as cute as the ones the werewolf had a few chapters ago. Or maybe I have no taste and/or am too butch.
(Is Caleb wearing Docs?!?!)
LONG COATS: I do love all the dusters on the MIU and friends. Very subtle way to add some edge to the look. Especially that—long vest?—that Akira is wearing. Like, shit, I have the yoga-girl version of that, but his looks professional? How?
MIMSY: Why in the name of all hell is a portrait of Mimsy in the Landgraab’s house?! Distant relation? They’re not descendants, because Mimsy had no children. But you’re making damn sure the audience sees it. Hmm.
ALICE: Oooh—her reveal as a dancer reminded me of our conversation about, in a world where nearly every character is developed and complex, what justifies the protagonist’s role as protagonist. In just that one part we’ve gotten the quintessential Millennial experience of getting a taste of pursuing a variety of interests in childhood, then looking back and thinking, how’d we fall off? But then we see she still retains the muscle memory, still enjoys it, and it’s helped shape who she is. So much of Alice’s character has to do with forging her own path and grappling with her own untapped potential.
Also I’m guessing she learned about Sims Tok from Gwendolyn (but found the NSFW stuff herself).
CALEB: And speaking of generation-defining mass trauma, Caleb having to grapple with his vampirism as a type of addictive wallowing. “They fell into darkness and enjoyed the feeling too much.” Stop attacking Dolly from five years ago, Caleb!
DEACON: YOWWW WHY DID YOU PUT HIM IN AN ALL-BLACK OUTFIT I AM BROKEN. Age of the Himbo! Here he is again with his extremely high emotional intelligence, rightfully calling Bella out for using her kids as props, and his big head-exploding angry moment is calling her not chill. Shots. Fired.
MALCOLM: Sent here to cool us down after the Deacon thirst trap warmed us up in Penny’s absence. Seriously. Also ‘Young Republican’ is for sure the name of a rapper I either don’t want to listen to or want to listen to at a sleepover at 4 AM w/ drunk friends so we can roast it.
ETHEREN: perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect
BAAKO: He’s one of my favorite townies because you can just feel him coming, from two screens away you’re like “I feel it, Baako’s approaching,” and then THE BLAZER trots up and slaps you in the face. Glad this iteration of him kept the yellow.
Hahaha dead!!! I’m glad you like it.
You are asking top tier shoe questions. Misdirection? Me?
The thing to keep in mind is that Caleb and Bella have linked cases. Last chapter Deacon identifies the fancy shoes by the imprint on the sole (SK). They are Spencer-Kims—so now you just need to know which vampire wears that brand. Caleb wears docs mostly (haha father and son have traded shoes) and Vlad wears…well…I’ll leave that to the shoe detectives.
I like that you are trying to decide if they are male or female shoes. That shall be made clear soon.
The MIU might be struggling to solve a werewolf slaughter, but damn it if they don’t look good doing it. I think Akira could wear a paper bag and make it work.
So they are at Smugglesworth Prep, not the Landgraab’s house but, yes, there is a very good plot reason her painting is hanging there…
Awww 🥰 thank you. I think this is Alice characterization to a tee. I know I have so many other character faves that I prolly talk about more, but Alice really has my heart.
Yeah, leave it to Alice and Vlad to immediately locate the thirst traps on the internet.
WHAT HAVE I WROUGHT?
Whew. Sometimes Caleb is an attack on all of us, right?!!?!?
I’m not sorry for this Deacon thirst trap. I have to get him ready for Kicks, okay? Yeah, Deacon’s most extreme insult is: you are not chill.
If ever Malcolm Landgraab ends up on a character page, this will be his description. LOL.
Ethren: We all Stan.
Baako Jang is the best! He made a brief appearance in BBD too and I just feel like he deserves a life as a hustler/witch who owns a boxing gym and still rocks the color yellow 😂
“Other than that, she leads in anything sex, sex and sex related, so I’ll try to fill in the gaps.”
Do I get a gold star or some kinda award, Dolly? I want a penis-shaped Oscar for my sex, sex, and sex related remarks. Unless they have a penis-shaped Gerald. I WANT THAT.
I have a gap you can fill in, Dolls! BOOM!
Remind me—was the Bella vs. Mort bikini cage fight scheduled for next Saturday, or did we settle on two Saturdays after instead?
Sorry I was paying so much attention to bikini cage fight that I forgot the date/time/channel to tune into *sobs*
But just think, when it does happen it’ll be a happy surprise!
I’m beginning to think that your idea of a “happy surprise” is killing your audience, either literally or with thirst traps.
::dramatically gestures at myself:: Who me? ::evil grin::
LMAO!!! Who you, indeed! Bat those pretty eyelashes, Ferosh!
Ooohh, I ordered the octagon for next Sunday…I hope you can both make it!
I’m there…. you know I’ll cum.
Excuse me, it says on my contract that if the cage has more than six sides, I get to put on a clear raincoat and walk out to”Tryouts” by Dream Doll.
Hexagons are fine though.
J’approve. This song should be a machinima lol
I have finally caught up with all the chapters.
I recently saw a thread on theSimsForum where people discussed the game’s families and reasons why they always deleted them and made their own Sims.
I actually love that you go the opposite way.
I love that you give the game’s characters new life and unknown depths. It makes them much more interesting and captivating that on one level you think you know them and yet not at all.
It always makes me want to come back to see what’s hiding under the surface.
Awww! Hooray! First off, thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Gah, I really love a premade! I just think it’s so much fun to take the scraps of lore from the game and give them new life.
Stay tuned for more 😂😂😂🥰🥰🥰😉😉😉
I wholeheartedly agree with Alice. Double or nothing bets (and all or nothing bets, for that matter) are always a formal occasion. I’d pick walking around in chalet gardens over hot yoga any day, though, lol.
Bella’s on the case again. I want to praise her for being such a tenacious cop, but I’m too busy still being huffy with her for forgetting and dismissing Alexandra.
Caleb, you guys didn’t notice a piece of paper with writing on it and a wine glass the first time around? I mean, I guess it’s not first priority, with the bodies and all, but dang, you guys supposed to be good at this 🤣 Just give it over to Bella, lol. She’ll solve it way before they do, I bet.
Oooh, Beltane, hey? That’s a good day to do a lot of things, though my first thought would not be “grisly murder”. A male vampire that wore really nice shoes.. well we know a number of those, don’t we? I wonder who it was…
Oh, sure, Bella. You’re too busy to pay attention to your kids when they want it, but when it plays into your detective work, suddenly they exist again. Undercover cop-mom this time around, huh? And Mortimer isn’t here too because.. oh, because she kept the whole thing from him. That won’t bite her in the bum later, surely 😆 Whoa, Bella didn’t slip out of character, she crash-landed on the ground spectacularily. With fire. She’s not doing well, is she?
Hahaha, well-played, Alice 😂 well played. Aww, they’re bonding despite Alice’s hesitation. Vlad is just as intense and wanting to get serious as last time around, it seems. My prediction is that her insistence on keeping things casual is not going to hold up for long.
I already fangirled to you about the video so I won’t do that again but OMG IT LOOKS AMAZING HOW DO YOU KEEP MAKING SUCH AMAZING THINGS
*cough *
Woops. Can’t help it.
I really wanted them to be wearing suits in this scene for some reason so I’m glad you agree!
Why in the world would Alice choose hot yoga? Is her desire to torture Vlad really that strong? Lolol
Ah, you noticed that with Alexander? I thought it would be too subtle…
Listen, a lot was happening at that crime scene that first night! I’m not saying that Bella is a better detective but…
Hehe, Beltane…I wonder what that could have been used for?
I love everyone on the shoe-related clues. I cannot wait until all is revealed!
Okay, thank you for getting on the Bella is a little bit bullshit train! I love her, but she is a bit of a hot mess.
Thank you for the video compliments! This one was so fun to make. I can’t wait until my next werewolf video so I can actually use the new game pack ♥️😂👏