For my next chapter, I’m going to need to redo some of the gameplay, but I’m super excited about it! I ended up getting Growing Together finally! I also got a few other packs while I was at it!
I also figured out one of my biggest problems with mods. My computer was auto syncing my mods… meaning, my computer was saving old versions of mods to the cloud and redownloading them to my mods folder. It took me way too long to figure out how to make that stop. Lol. Anyways, I redownloaded all my mods and cc to make sure it was current, and hopefully, I won’t have mods I deleted redownloaded unintentionally.
I’m so excited about continuing the story and exploring new content from the new pack!
@Metior_Ice, went back and read it again now that I don't have a blinding headache. I love it.
I love that Evil Alex was so obsessed with the merfolk that he missed or forget that Ember wasn't one of them.
I think the mermen reconciling and planning for the future was great. They're pretty wise when the get their pride out of the way.
Naturally, I love that love was what pulled Mer-Alex back from Davy Jones' Locker. Love is the strongest magic there is (and the most dangerous).
Of course, love corrupted is hate and Evil Alex has that in abundance. His pride and hate have brought him into a deal that he ought to know better than to consider. He's doomed... but how many will he bring down with him? I look forward to seeing where things go.
Fate is a riddle and we choose our own answer.Wyrd Girls
@luciusstorm I wish Good-Alex was in a position to keep his voice, but I couldn’t come up with a scenario where someone didn’t lose their voice. One of these days, I’ll find a solution to that problem. For now, Damion won’t let go of it that easily.
And we both know that only Good-Alex would be willing to make that sacrifice, especially since it will prevent Evil-Alex from hurting anyone he cares about.
Evil-Alex could just give Damion his voice and have his revenge handed to him, but Evil-Alex is too Selfish and Proud to Sacrifice anything to achieve his goal. No, Evil-Alex will definitely try to steal Good-Alex’s voice instead.
Either way, Damion gets Alex’s Voice, and I felt like him winning no matter what fit his character and the kind of deals he makes.
Great job Ember! She freed them😃 Good to see Reef settle the fight from earlier between Kemps and Calum. Haha, Kemps questions made me laugh🤣”"What does a school of fish have to do with land?” Good stuff. I was beginning to wonder what happened with Alexander, but you’ve got him covered😁 And he’s made a deal with Damion, very interesting development.
@Metior_Ice I don't know if you've ever seen the movie 'Hot Fuzz' but your storytelling is very much like that. That movie is in my top 2 or 3 all-time favorites.
You get the reader believing one thing is about to happen, you build to it, we're absolutely sure what's going to happen, and then just as we think we're about to get that resolution you spring the surprise. In hindsight though the title is a hint but one my mind glossed over. Arihi's talk with Ember about emotions was beautifully done and very true. I feel like there are definitely still some unresolved issues between Callum, Reef, and Kemps. Stubbornness and male pride, smh. It was a nice refresher on the rules that the pod is expected to live by.
Right around the time you posted chapter 9 I had an idea that Alexander's shadow would be the key to him regaining his voice. I held my tongue because I didn't want to risk spoiling your surprise. And even at that it was still a surprise to me when it happened.😁
@DaniRose2143 Thank you, it definitely makes me happy that I did a good job writing twists in the story!
I’m actually extremely grateful for the feedback. I’m planning on revisiting my chapters from the book I want to write this month. Some of these twists are me taking risk writing. It’s good to know that I can make some enjoyable surprises!
Edit: I haven’t seen ‘Hot Fuzz’ but I might check it out. I’m curious about the connections you’re making.
@Metior_Ice You have done a wonderful job with risk taking. I feel like you have good instincts in that part of your writing.
'Hot Fuzz' is a British comedy with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost among others. It's a spoof on buddy cop movies but it's also a murder mystery. Unlike spoofs like 'Airplane!' it doesn't rely on over the top gags and puns to get laughs. It doesn't spoon feed the jokes to you, it makes the audience engage their minds to get a lot of the humor. Almost 15 years later I still find subtle jokes and references I missed the first 10,000 times I watched it.
@DaniRose2143 I don’t know if you noticed but you have a spoiler inside your spoiler. I was half expecting another response or quote.
I forgot to put the '/' in front of the last spoiler tag.🤣 I guess the final spoiler tag really isn't necessary unless you plan to add something below that you don't want hidden.
@DaniRose2143 Sounds like something I need to see. I have watched Airplane, and I understand what you mean by making jokes obvious. I still like the first airplane movie. There are some jokes that aren’t obvious though.
Like, the couple arguing over the P.A. System in the Airport at the beginning of the movie. There are lots of visual jokes that make it easy to miss the Audio Jokes, and there are a lot of jokes to hear while seeing the other jokes play out.
Actually, I’m more audio oriented in real life. While most people focus on visuals, I focus on sound. So, there is a little bit of a different way I engage in social interaction.
Maybe the way I prefer listening over eye contact and comfort over trying to look super polished gives me a different perspective on things? I do know that most people are more focused on visuals in communication. That’s simply not the case for me. Visuals just don’t make the same impression as sound.
@Metior_Ice One of the things Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and the producer Edgar Wright did so well was to spoof the way Hollywood telegraphs the plot and leads the viewer by the hand towards the ending. The writers on this one do that and right when they bring you to each of the big reveals they hit you something you never saw coming. It's easily once of the best written comedies ever. It has elements of another comedy Simon, Nick, and Edgar did, 'Shaun Of The Dead'.
Actually, I’m more audio oriented in real life. While most people focus on visuals, I focus on sound. So, there is a little bit of a different way I engage in social interaction.
Maybe the way I prefer listening over eye contact and comfort over trying to look super polished gives me a different perspective on things? I do know that most people are more focused on visuals in communication. That’s simply not the case for me. Visuals just don’t make the same impression as sound.
You would enjoy that movie then. What the characters say is even more important than what they do to set up the surprises and jokes. There are a couple of small twists that are setup by the actions, but even those have wonderful elements of word play that are important to the build up and reveal.
@DaniRose2143 I’ll definitely check that movie out as soon as I can! Sounds like it would be fun to watch!
On a side note, when it comes to Alex getting his voice back…
I realized, after a long time thinking about it, Damion is the only one that can return Alex’s Voice, and I currently have no scenarios where Damion would willingly do that.
At the end of the day, Alex made a deal with Damion and gave him ownership of his voice. It’s unfortunate, but the terms of the contract give Damion the freedom to do whatever he wants with Alex’s voice. And in a way, Damion’s temporary lease of Alex’s voice is just him doing that.
I mean, considering how he’s seeking revenge against Evil-Alexander for stealing what is his…. It’s hard to say if Damion will ever be in a situation where he would let go of anything he obtains through a deal.
I love those movies... Shaun of the Dead is probably my favorite, through I think The World's End (third in the so-called Cornetto trilogy) has the best "well, I didn't see that coming" moments.
Fate is a riddle and we choose our own answer.Wyrd Girls
@pacer1965 I’m glad you are enjoying the story! Definitely expect more twists and turns in the future.
———————
I finally found a good name for the kind of Villain Damion is, and it might be my personal favorite type of Villain.
Damion is an Anti-Villain.
Damion enjoys a Xanatos Gambit.
Damion has a Morality Pet.
Damion is a Pragmatic Villain.
Damion has standards that can make him less evil than other villains.
Damion is a Noble Demon, his standards also give him a certain degree of a code of honor. One of his more honorable codes is how he doesn’t steal and his adversity to theft. Doesn’t stop him from being a villain. He just doesn’t steal from others.
Even if Good-Alexander lost ownership of his voice, it was still part of a fair exchange that didn’t break any laws. Even if Damion could take whatever he wants, he doesn’t do that.
I would also say that his deals are never impossible for both parties to fulfill. And most importantly, he always fulfills his end of a deal even if that deal includes protecting someone else from harm. If nothing else, he honors every transaction with his customers. The fine print and small details are usually how he handles things.
Along with the realization that Damion has been an Anti-Villain.
“An Anti-Villain is the opposite of an Anti-Hero — a character with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues who is ultimately the villain. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there range from evil to undesirable. Alternatively, their goals may be selfish or have long-term consequences they don't care about, but they're good people who might even team up with the hero if their goals don't conflict.” - TV Tropes
I took a step back from gameplay and writing to think about how this can help Alex get ownership of his voice again. For now, Damion only seems willing to return Alex’s voice when it suits his needs, but maybe, there might come a time when Damion decides to return his voice to him. Such a development would be a very long ways off, but it might be possible.
I think there might be a pattern of Alex occasionally getting his voice back, but spending most of his time without it. At least, that might be how things will work until a time comes that Damion returns it.
Because of the terms of Alex’s Contract, there are a few things to consider…
Damion’s Deal With Alexander
"So, you're saying that if I sign this, I'll get a chance to get know her, my Uncle won't be able to stop me, and I won't be putting my little brothers in danger by exposing them to humans."
"That's what I can do for you, but hold on, you can't get something for nothing. All magic comes with a price."
"We are talking about an enchantment that will guarantee that you get your chance with this girl and ensure the safety of your little brothers. Any magic that does that can't be free."
Alex had his chance to get to know Ember. Kemps didn’t stop him. Dylan and Zeph remain safe from humans. All terms and conditions have played out as promised.
And if you think about it, there was never a promise for more than a chance to meet Ember under those terms and conditions.
For those who don’t mind spoilers, more info in the spoiler.
The question I’m trying to answer is how will Alex get to speak again while also ensuring that Damion remains the owner of Alexander’s Voice. Because the deal Alexander made with Damion is permanent.
The one detail I haven’t completely figured out that is a loose end is how Alex’s Deal with Damion protects the twins, Dylan and Zeph, from humans.
That’s a difficult thing to sort out. There may be a future arc that involves more humans, and the fact that Alexander exchanged his voice for both a chance to get to know Ember without his uncle’s interference AND for magical protection against human for his little brothers… that opens up all kinds of possibilities as long as Damion remains the owner of Alex’s Voice.
Even if none of the characters are technically 100% human, that doesn’t mean a human villain won’t appear.
Edit: Because of the Contract that Alex signed, no human can harm his little brothers. The cost is his voice though. Returning Alex’s voice means removing the magical protection…
Correction to the above statement: Ember and Evil-Alexander are technically still humans, but they can use magic.
Edit: it might be an unpopular opinion or up for debate, but I do feel like spellcaster sims are still humans… I don’t think they are as different as Vampires, Werewolves, and Merfolk.
Finally up to date!
I apologise for not commenting earlier, I had to leave your story for later reading to make sure I get all right way.. So I left it until now, when I had really time to read I felt rushing thru fast won't be fair or do the story justice
Anyway, I have enjoyed very much , both, your writing and pictures. You use all the potential of the mod very well!
My love, my love, my fearless love, I will not say goodbye..
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@Ellupelluellu thank you so much! It means a lot to hear that. I’m still following all the updates from other stories, so I understand wanting to take the time to read a story when you fall behind. Even a short, easy-to-read chapter deserves taking the time to read it.
I’m a little behind on gameplay, but I think I have a plan for what I want to do moving forward. So, I’m hoping to get another update before the end of the week. Depends on how things work out.
@Metior_Ice I totally agree with you on Spellcasters. My main sim is a Spellcaster and I often forget she's a Spellcaster until I need her to use magic.
@Metior_Ice I totally agree with you on Spellcasters. My main sim is a Spellcaster and I often forget she's a Spellcaster until I need her to use magic.
@simgirl1010 exactly! They don’t even have different motives!
Merfolk have the hydration need.
Vampires have the thirst need.
And werewolves transform during a full moon.
With Spinning Plumbobs Expanded Mermaids mod, merfolk can end up flopping their fins around on land if they get too wet for too long. Of course they need the sensitive scales weakness first.
Comments
I also figured out one of my biggest problems with mods. My computer was auto syncing my mods… meaning, my computer was saving old versions of mods to the cloud and redownloading them to my mods folder. It took me way too long to figure out how to make that stop. Lol. Anyways, I redownloaded all my mods and cc to make sure it was current, and hopefully, I won’t have mods I deleted redownloaded unintentionally.
I’m so excited about continuing the story and exploring new content from the new pack!
I think the mermen reconciling and planning for the future was great. They're pretty wise when the get their pride out of the way.
Naturally, I love that love was what pulled Mer-Alex back from Davy Jones' Locker. Love is the strongest magic there is (and the most dangerous).
Of course, love corrupted is hate and Evil Alex has that in abundance. His pride and hate have brought him into a deal that he ought to know better than to consider. He's doomed... but how many will he bring down with him? I look forward to seeing where things go.
Evil-Alex could just give Damion his voice and have his revenge handed to him, but Evil-Alex is too Selfish and Proud to Sacrifice anything to achieve his goal. No, Evil-Alex will definitely try to steal Good-Alex’s voice instead.
Either way, Damion gets Alex’s Voice, and I felt like him winning no matter what fit his character and the kind of deals he makes.
Right around the time you posted chapter 9 I had an idea that Alexander's shadow would be the key to him regaining his voice. I held my tongue because I didn't want to risk spoiling your surprise. And even at that it was still a surprise to me when it happened.😁
I’m actually extremely grateful for the feedback. I’m planning on revisiting my chapters from the book I want to write this month. Some of these twists are me taking risk writing. It’s good to know that I can make some enjoyable surprises!
Edit: I haven’t seen ‘Hot Fuzz’ but I might check it out. I’m curious about the connections you’re making.
'Hot Fuzz' is a British comedy with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost among others. It's a spoof on buddy cop movies but it's also a murder mystery. Unlike spoofs like 'Airplane!' it doesn't rely on over the top gags and puns to get laughs. It doesn't spoon feed the jokes to you, it makes the audience engage their minds to get a lot of the humor. Almost 15 years later I still find subtle jokes and references I missed the first 10,000 times I watched it.
I forgot to put the '/' in front of the last spoiler tag.🤣 I guess the final spoiler tag really isn't necessary unless you plan to add something below that you don't want hidden.
Like, the couple arguing over the P.A. System in the Airport at the beginning of the movie. There are lots of visual jokes that make it easy to miss the Audio Jokes, and there are a lot of jokes to hear while seeing the other jokes play out.
Maybe the way I prefer listening over eye contact and comfort over trying to look super polished gives me a different perspective on things? I do know that most people are more focused on visuals in communication. That’s simply not the case for me. Visuals just don’t make the same impression as sound.
You would enjoy that movie then. What the characters say is even more important than what they do to set up the surprises and jokes. There are a couple of small twists that are setup by the actions, but even those have wonderful elements of word play that are important to the build up and reveal.
On a side note, when it comes to Alex getting his voice back…
I realized, after a long time thinking about it, Damion is the only one that can return Alex’s Voice, and I currently have no scenarios where Damion would willingly do that.
At the end of the day, Alex made a deal with Damion and gave him ownership of his voice. It’s unfortunate, but the terms of the contract give Damion the freedom to do whatever he wants with Alex’s voice. And in a way, Damion’s temporary lease of Alex’s voice is just him doing that.
I mean, considering how he’s seeking revenge against Evil-Alexander for stealing what is his…. It’s hard to say if Damion will ever be in a situation where he would let go of anything he obtains through a deal.
———————
I finally found a good name for the kind of Villain Damion is, and it might be my personal favorite type of Villain.
Damion is an Anti-Villain.
Damion has a Morality Pet.
Damion is a Pragmatic Villain.
Damion has standards that can make him less evil than other villains.
Damion is a Noble Demon, his standards also give him a certain degree of a code of honor. One of his more honorable codes is how he doesn’t steal and his adversity to theft. Doesn’t stop him from being a villain. He just doesn’t steal from others.
Even if Good-Alexander lost ownership of his voice, it was still part of a fair exchange that didn’t break any laws. Even if Damion could take whatever he wants, he doesn’t do that.
I would also say that his deals are never impossible for both parties to fulfill. And most importantly, he always fulfills his end of a deal even if that deal includes protecting someone else from harm. If nothing else, he honors every transaction with his customers. The fine print and small details are usually how he handles things.
“An Anti-Villain is the opposite of an Anti-Hero — a character with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues who is ultimately the villain. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there range from evil to undesirable. Alternatively, their goals may be selfish or have long-term consequences they don't care about, but they're good people who might even team up with the hero if their goals don't conflict.” - TV Tropes
I took a step back from gameplay and writing to think about how this can help Alex get ownership of his voice again. For now, Damion only seems willing to return Alex’s voice when it suits his needs, but maybe, there might come a time when Damion decides to return his voice to him. Such a development would be a very long ways off, but it might be possible.
I think there might be a pattern of Alex occasionally getting his voice back, but spending most of his time without it. At least, that might be how things will work until a time comes that Damion returns it.
Because of the terms of Alex’s Contract, there are a few things to consider…
Damion’s Deal With Alexander
"That's what I can do for you, but hold on, you can't get something for nothing. All magic comes with a price."
"We are talking about an enchantment that will guarantee that you get your chance with this girl and ensure the safety of your little brothers. Any magic that does that can't be free."
Alex had his chance to get to know Ember. Kemps didn’t stop him. Dylan and Zeph remain safe from humans. All terms and conditions have played out as promised.
And if you think about it, there was never a promise for more than a chance to meet Ember under those terms and conditions.
For those who don’t mind spoilers, more info in the spoiler.
The one detail I haven’t completely figured out that is a loose end is how Alex’s Deal with Damion protects the twins, Dylan and Zeph, from humans.
That’s a difficult thing to sort out. There may be a future arc that involves more humans, and the fact that Alexander exchanged his voice for both a chance to get to know Ember without his uncle’s interference AND for magical protection against human for his little brothers… that opens up all kinds of possibilities as long as Damion remains the owner of Alex’s Voice.
Even if none of the characters are technically 100% human, that doesn’t mean a human villain won’t appear.
Edit: Because of the Contract that Alex signed, no human can harm his little brothers. The cost is his voice though. Returning Alex’s voice means removing the magical protection…
Edit: it might be an unpopular opinion or up for debate, but I do feel like spellcaster sims are still humans… I don’t think they are as different as Vampires, Werewolves, and Merfolk.
I apologise for not commenting earlier, I had to leave your story for later reading to make sure I get all right way.. So I left it until now, when I had really time to read
Anyway, I have enjoyed very much , both, your writing and pictures. You use all the potential of the mod very well!
Sea may rise, sky may fall, My love will never die..
My heart, my heart, My drowning heart, Oh all the tears I've cried
Oh I may weep forevermore, My love will never die..
@simgirl1010 exactly! They don’t even have different motives!
Merfolk have the hydration need.
Vampires have the thirst need.
And werewolves transform during a full moon.
With Spinning Plumbobs Expanded Mermaids mod, merfolk can end up flopping their fins around on land if they get too wet for too long. Of course they need the sensitive scales weakness first.