1. Is the story different from what you expected to see? If so, how?
I didn’t go in with expectations, but nothing was as expected, and it was a surprise at every turn!
2. What part of the story do you like the most? What's your least favorite part?
Part I liked most: I really enjoyed all the screenshots. They were expressive and colourful, and supported the text well. I also liked how you took the time to show off various locations in the sims world. I love Sulani!
Least favourite part: Though I liked how Zelda had her weak moments, she had to be rescued by her boyfriend at many crucial moments, and I feel like we could have seen her develop more if she was given the chance to save herself.
Characters
3. Were you able to connect with the characters on some level? Were they believable?
Yup, the characters were multifaceted and well-rounded. Each character had more than one defining trait and faults, which interacted well during the story. I am particularly drawn to repentant or misunderstood antagonists, so I quite liked Meredith. I felt pretty bad for her too.
A thing that hindered my connection with the characters was how little they reacted to so much. For example, Zelda witnesses her father murdering her mother, and she just walks away calmly and packs her bags. Later, when she sees Mark while shopping with Ayame, she understandably avoids him. But I didn’t get the feeling she was scared or angry- it read like she ‘didn’t really feel like talking to him that day’. As someone who reacts rather emotionally to a lot of things, this was hard to understand.
4. Do they feel similar in terms of personalities and dialogue? Or are they different?
They didn’t have different ways of talking or anything, but I never got confused between two characters so I’d say yeah, they were pretty distinct. They had traits that set them apart from one other. There are some characters for whom I wish their traits were explored more, but I understand that they aren’t important to the plot.
5. Which character do you relate to the most?
Like I said above, I quite like Meredith, and even if I would never grow as bitter and vengeful as her, I do understand why she became that way.
Writing
6. Do any parts of the story feel too quick or too slow? What do you think of the story's pace in general?
It flowed along at a nice brisk pace which I enjoy. There was no dawdling around between events. Even relaxing chapters like the Sulani vacation introduced new things to the story. I really like the pacing.
7. How do you view the wordless parts/scenes? Were they hard to understand, or did the pictures speak for themselves?
I am a big fan of these parts, no words are needed as the screenshots tell the story adequately by themselves.
8. What do you think of the flashback scenes? Did they help you understand the characters a little more, or were they unnecessary to the plot?
They held important information to the characters’ backstories so they helped develop those characters more. Even if they didn’t necessarily move the plot forward, they added extra depth to the story. I am a big fan of backstory, so it could also be fun to explore other ways of integrating past events into the story too!
Miscallaneous
9. Season 2 is coming up soon. What are your predictions for the upcoming season?
Zelda and Braeden have kids, one of them gets together with Ayame and Kalani’s child and another gets together with Ragnar and Ciara’s child. Speaking of Ragnar’s child he is an antagonist like his father but then meets Zelda and Braden’s youngest daughter and falls in love, leading to his redemption.
Ragnar dies again.
10. Which characters do you hope to see more of?
Kalani, for sure. I don’t really know him at all, he didn’t get much screen time and we saw none of his friends or family. I also would be interested to see what mermaid culture is like too!
1. Is the story different from what you expected to see? If so, how?
I didn’t go in with expectations, but nothing was as expected, and it was a surprise at every turn!
2. What part of the story do you like the most? What's your least favorite part?
Part I liked most: I really enjoyed all the screenshots. They were expressive and colourful, and supported the text well. I also liked how you took the time to show off various locations in the sims world. I love Sulani!
Least favourite part: Though I liked how Zelda had her weak moments, she had to be rescued by her boyfriend at many crucial moments, and I feel like we could have seen her develop more if she was given the chance to save herself.
Thanks for your comments on the screenshots. Sulani is one of my favorite worlds, too.
I've thought about those crucial moments, too. Well, I'll try not to use the damsel trope too often. I'll probably give Zelda a chance to develop more.
Characters
3. Were you able to connect with the characters on some level? Were they believable?
Yup, the characters were multifaceted and well-rounded. Each character had more than one defining trait and faults, which interacted well during the story. I am particularly drawn to repentant or misunderstood antagonists, so I quite liked Meredith. I felt pretty bad for her too.
A thing that hindered my connection with the characters was how little they reacted to so much. For example, Zelda witnesses her father murdering her mother, and she just walks away calmly and packs her bags. Later, when she sees Mark while shopping with Ayame, she understandably avoids him. But I didn’t get the feeling she was scared or angry- it read like she ‘didn’t really feel like talking to him that day’. As someone who reacts rather emotionally to a lot of things, this was hard to understand.
I'll think more about the characters' reactions in the next story.
4. Do they feel similar in terms of personalities and dialogue? Or are they different?
They didn’t have different ways of talking or anything, but I never got confused between two characters so I’d say yeah, they were pretty distinct. They had traits that set them apart from one other. There are some characters for whom I wish their traits were explored more, but I understand that they aren’t important to the plot.
I prefer my characters to be distinct. Sometimes others don't play as much of a part in the story.
5. Which character do you relate to the most?
Like I said above, I quite like Meredith, and even if I would never grow as bitter and vengeful as her, I do understand why she became that way.
Writing
6. Do any parts of the story feel too quick or too slow? What do you think of the story's pace in general?
It flowed along at a nice brisk pace which I enjoy. There was no dawdling around between events. Even relaxing chapters like the Sulani vacation introduced new things to the story. I really like the pacing.
That's what I thought, too.
7. How do you view the wordless parts/scenes? Were they hard to understand, or did the pictures speak for themselves?
I am a big fan of these parts, no words are needed as the screenshots tell the story adequately by themselves.
8. What do you think of the flashback scenes? Did they help you understand the characters a little more, or were they unnecessary to the plot?
They held important information to the characters’ backstories so they helped develop those characters more. Even if they didn’t necessarily move the plot forward, they added extra depth to the story. I am a big fan of backstory, so it could also be fun to explore other ways of integrating past events into the story too!
I like backstories, too.
Miscallaneous
9. Season 2 is coming up soon. What are your predictions for the upcoming season?
Zelda and Braeden have kids, one of them gets together with Ayame and Kalani’s child and another gets together with Ragnar and Ciara’s child. Speaking of Ragnar’s child he is an antagonist like his father but then meets Zelda and Braden’s youngest daughter and falls in love, leading to his redemption.
Ragnar dies again.
Those were interesting predictions, but the next story might surprise you.
10. Which characters do you hope to see more of?
Kalani, for sure. I don’t really know him at all, he didn’t get much screen time and we saw none of his friends or family. I also would be interested to see what mermaid culture is like too!
I'm not sure my comment went through on the blog, so I'll comment here-
Yay! It's back! So excited for this gen.
I gotta ask, what has Wardon and Lucian done to deserve jail, other than trip girls and be Ragnar's son/stepson?
Hi DeafSimmer. I can tell you my impressions of Ragnar based on how I chose to interpret his actions. So if they aren’t how you imagined them to be, or that my impression is profoundly skewed, feel free to nudge me in the right direction. (Or don’t, the fun part is finding out through the story and go "Oh...! So that's what's going on!")
Ragnar speaks to me a more subdued and wiser version of himself from 15 years ago. Still as misguided and prejudiced, but has become more of a thinker than always acting out in emotion. I like how multi-faceted you’ve presented him to be. He sounds like a protective father with capacity to see reason, but seems to wrestle between his desire for justice (for himself) and showing understanding to his son. Given all his growth, he doesn’t show remorse at all for what he did to Ciara, and I’m intrigued to find out why in the future as you unravel the story.
Oh I just scrolled up and realised that you've explained what kind of villain you're trying to have Ragnar be. It's okay to keep those a secret. I like finding out through the story. It's fun to guess and be surprised.
He is certainly multi-faceted. As for Wardon lashing out at Rosalinda, I think he was looking for an outlet and happened to bump into Rosalinda after leaving the dungeon.
This is one heck of an opener, I really like the way you've described it. It didn't feel over-dramatic at all which just makes it even more chilling. I already feel utterly awful for Zelda and her family situation. It's really, really good that you write how Zelda's life has affected her as well, with the terrible memories coming back now and again, and her standoffish attitude against other guys. There's a moment's peace when she finally gets away, but the mental scars will follow her wherever she goes. Let's hope she can make a new life now.
This has me pretty hooked so I'll try to read more soon, excellent work : )
they/them or she/her - remember to only support ethical CC creators! -
I love your story! I just binged all of it today. Will you ever put your sims on the gallery? I think they are quite nice but I completely understand if you aren't comfortable to. Can't wait for your next update!
Meredith ought to pipe down! It's so relatable though because I definitely knew a Meredith type or two in high school...possessive of the boy that actually wants very little to do with her : P Braeden telling her to be quiet was brilliant, fair play to him for standing up for Zelda.
they/them or she/her - remember to only support ethical CC creators! -
I'm so excited to see my poses appear in your story! Thank you for using them! I'm glad they are useful to you! 🥰 Knowing that my poses are useful to others makes me feel less shy and more inspired to share them. Tyvm again! 🙈🙊
At this point in the story, it seems like a romance between Wardon and Eilonwy could be more likely. I had thought about how incompatible Wardon and Rosalinda would be, so there's that. Lucian makes me mad, too.
Interesting choice with Meredith; people who were bullied can sometimes grow up to become bullies themselves, I know plenty who have done, but this is rarely something covered in stories- so it's cool you went with that. Sad about Braeden's father though, poor guy, but hopefully their date will go well!
they/them or she/her - remember to only support ethical CC creators! -
Comments
I didn’t go in with expectations, but nothing was as expected, and it was a surprise at every turn!
2. What part of the story do you like the most? What's your least favorite part?
Part I liked most: I really enjoyed all the screenshots. They were expressive and colourful, and supported the text well. I also liked how you took the time to show off various locations in the sims world. I love Sulani!
Least favourite part: Though I liked how Zelda had her weak moments, she had to be rescued by her boyfriend at many crucial moments, and I feel like we could have seen her develop more if she was given the chance to save herself.
Characters
3. Were you able to connect with the characters on some level? Were they believable?
Yup, the characters were multifaceted and well-rounded. Each character had more than one defining trait and faults, which interacted well during the story. I am particularly drawn to repentant or misunderstood antagonists, so I quite liked Meredith. I felt pretty bad for her too.
A thing that hindered my connection with the characters was how little they reacted to so much. For example, Zelda witnesses her father murdering her mother, and she just walks away calmly and packs her bags. Later, when she sees Mark while shopping with Ayame, she understandably avoids him. But I didn’t get the feeling she was scared or angry- it read like she ‘didn’t really feel like talking to him that day’. As someone who reacts rather emotionally to a lot of things, this was hard to understand.
4. Do they feel similar in terms of personalities and dialogue? Or are they different?
They didn’t have different ways of talking or anything, but I never got confused between two characters so I’d say yeah, they were pretty distinct. They had traits that set them apart from one other. There are some characters for whom I wish their traits were explored more, but I understand that they aren’t important to the plot.
5. Which character do you relate to the most?
Like I said above, I quite like Meredith, and even if I would never grow as bitter and vengeful as her, I do understand why she became that way.
Writing
6. Do any parts of the story feel too quick or too slow? What do you think of the story's pace in general?
It flowed along at a nice brisk pace which I enjoy. There was no dawdling around between events. Even relaxing chapters like the Sulani vacation introduced new things to the story. I really like the pacing.
7. How do you view the wordless parts/scenes? Were they hard to understand, or did the pictures speak for themselves?
I am a big fan of these parts, no words are needed as the screenshots tell the story adequately by themselves.
8. What do you think of the flashback scenes? Did they help you understand the characters a little more, or were they unnecessary to the plot?
They held important information to the characters’ backstories so they helped develop those characters more. Even if they didn’t necessarily move the plot forward, they added extra depth to the story. I am a big fan of backstory, so it could also be fun to explore other ways of integrating past events into the story too!
Miscallaneous
9. Season 2 is coming up soon. What are your predictions for the upcoming season?
Zelda and Braeden have kids, one of them gets together with Ayame and Kalani’s child and another gets together with Ragnar and Ciara’s child. Speaking of Ragnar’s child he is an antagonist like his father but then meets Zelda and Braden’s youngest daughter and falls in love, leading to his redemption.
Ragnar dies again.
10. Which characters do you hope to see more of?
Kalani, for sure. I don’t really know him at all, he didn’t get much screen time and we saw none of his friends or family. I also would be interested to see what mermaid culture is like too!
Winter's Alchemy | Britechester After Dark - Forum thread
Yay I've been looking forward to this!! Will comment after work...
Winter's Alchemy | Britechester After Dark - Forum thread
I gotta ask, what has Wardon and Lucian done to deserve jail, other than trip girls and be Ragnar's son/stepson?
Winter's Alchemy | Britechester After Dark - Forum thread
Oh I just scrolled up and realised that you've explained what kind of villain you're trying to have Ragnar be. It's okay to keep those a secret. I like finding out through the story. It's fun to guess and be surprised.
This has me pretty hooked so I'll try to read more soon, excellent work : )
At this point in the story, it seems like a romance between Wardon and Eilonwy could be more likely. I had thought about how incompatible Wardon and Rosalinda would be, so there's that. Lucian makes me mad, too.