Lilith found a certain joy in conducting job interviews. She’d had three bright-eyed hopefuls in the hot seat so far today, being grilled all round until they were blabbering incoherently and weeping. Some might call her interrogation methods harsh, but she needed a specific kind of person to be entrusted with her personal paperwork.
Someone who would not snap under her heavy pressure.
“Marshall Law,” Lilith called to the waiting room.
“Sup doc?” came the response. Lilith gently bit her tongue, eyeing this man with disdain. Who in hell would rock up for a job interview wearing pool shoes?
Usually, being able to see a candidate’s toes would be enough to send them straight out the door, let alone his overtly casual greeting to his potential future employer.
However, his mind was quiet, he was remarkably calm and he was wonderfully well-proportioned, a fact not missed by Gertrude and Penelope who were both watching with interest.
“Right this way, Marshall.”
—
It’s for your mother’s own good, Jessica.
—
Ralf sighed as Wilbur hung up abruptly from their one-sided phone call. Ralf’s new deputy would be arriving imminently and Wangshaft expected the transition to be as seamless and discreet as possible. Ever paranoid, Wilbur would not disclose who it was on the phone, but it was someone who had ‘years of experience’ and could be ‘trusted implicitly’.
Translation; someone else completely corrupt.
Ralf dared to turn his phone to silent now that it was unlikely that Wilbur would call again; he couldn’t handle the constant trill of messages from his sister and concerned friends. How he longed to grab his jacket and walk out, leaving behind the WBPD, the Wangshafts and the shitstorm he and his unwilling nephew had slowly been caught up in.
As if that could ever happen.
Everyone is disposable.
Was that Wilbur hinting at Chase? Had Chase found out what Wilbur was hiding in his precious tower?
Shit. Ralf had no idea what secrets that building held, but he knew one thing for certain; it’s worth killing over.
Ralf gulped. He turned his attentions to the open case file before him; the hotel manager assault. The hotel had finally gotten round to sending him the CCTV he’d requested, but he wasn’t sure if staring at hours of footage from the reception of the Glimmerbrook Grand would provide enough distraction from the heavy sense of hopelessness.
Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never.
He heard the main station door open and the soft pad of feet across the carpet tiles towards his office and waited with bated breath to see who exactly Wilbur deemed suitable to fill Chase’s shoes.
No.
Oh no, no, no.
Wilbur’s daughter-in-law herself. Long-suffering wife. New mum. Tornado in trainers.
“I can see you’re about as happy as I am to have to work together in this craphole, under Saggy Balls’s thumb, Widdlefinkle,” Beth scoffed. “Just don’t expect me to be your skivvy and we might both survive this thing.”
—
“So then, Marshall. I’ve been looking over your resume—“
“My what now?” Marshall asked as Lilith held up a piece of paper. “Oh! Is that what it’s called?”
Lilith blinked a few times as she fought to contain her irritation, but continued smoothly, “It says you have eight years experience working in administration for a swimwear company. Tell me about that.”
“Yeah, so basically I was, like, admin for eight years for a swimwear company.”
“Can you elaborate?”
“Can I what?”
Lilith sighed. “What sort of administration did the job involve?”
“Um,” Marshall looked around, his eyes landing on Lilith’s filing cabinet. “I filed stuff.”
“Filed stuff,” Lilith repeated. “This role calls for a little more than filing stuff. What other duties did you have? Expenses? Ordering? Payroll?”
“I dunno what any of that is, but Penny reckons I can do it, so how hard can it be?” Marshall smiled. “To be honest with you, I just did modelling in that job, but that’s probably obvious, right?”
“Modelling,” Lilith repeated. “Right well I think I’ve heard enough. Thank you for your time, Mr. Law. Let me see you—“
“Duh, of course,” Marshall responded, starting to unbutton his shirt from the bottom. “Do you want everything off or just the top half?”
Lilith had seen an awful lot in her three hundred and twenty-one years and was rarely rendered speechless, but watching Marshall’s midriff suddenly appearing before her certainly almost did that. “What in hell’s name do you think you’re doing?!” she managed.
Marshall paused, his shirt half undone. “Showing you the goods. I was gonna come here just in board shorts, but Penny said I should probably wear, like, clothes.”
“Why – what?” Lilith spluttered.
“Like, I don’t wanna insult your interference, but I saw the previous guy you got in here and, well, you don’t wanna be hiring any mingers, you get me? Bad advertising.” Marshall shrugged. “And you did just say ‘let me see you’.”
“Out, you moron! Let me see you out! Get out of my sight before I- can I help you?!”
“Nah, I can fasten my own shirt,” Marshall replied but Lilith did not respond. She was glaring at the space behind him where three humans had appeared, uninvited, in her office.
The three serious-looking, darkly-dressed figures were an amplified void against the bright pistachio walls. The woman at the front stepped forward, shadowed by the surly suits she was flanked by. When she spoke there was no question in her voice and no emotion. “Marshall Leonardo Law. Come with us.”
“Damn, Doc. I was already gonna leave, you didn’t need to get your bodyguards in.”
Lilith ignored Marshall, focusing instead on the woman who had commanded him. “I demand an explanation, Ms…”
“Dudley, Sigrid. SBI,” the woman said, flashing a badge that caused Lilith’s words to dry up in her throat. “Mr. Law, we wish to speak to you about the disappearance of one Chase Crooks.”
“Yeah, he’s been missing for days,” Marshall replied. “But I don’t know nothing.”
So you do know something, Lilith heard Sigrid think. Instead she simply repeated again. “Come with us.”
Marshall got to his feet without argument – a level of compliance that would have certainly worked in his favour for getting this job, had he had half a brain – and was escorted from the room.
As the door opened, Lilith realised that Penelope was not at her usual station, the pieces fitting together swiftly in her keen mind.
Chase Crooks? He was Penelope’s ex-boyfriend, I’m sure – she whined about him enough – and didn’t Marshall mention that ‘Penny’ told him to wear clothes? Add in that, according to Sigrid’s current thoughts, Chase had apparently been… drained of blood and thrown in the river?
“Why have you taken Penelope?” Lilith asked trying to remain calm. “You can’t just burst in here and arrest my staff without consulting me.”
“I think you’ll find that I can, Dr. Vatore,” Sigrid sneered. “But who said anything about arrest?”
Lilith faltered. “I simply assumed.”
“Once a con, always a con?” Sigrid replied coolly. “I must say that it’s admirable of you to offer Ms. Spender an opportunity. I’m sure she is very grateful for your employment; that it perhaps offered… opportunities.”
“She’s efficient. Trustworthy,” Lilith lied, unsure why she was defending the girl when it might be implicating herself.
“And easy to keep quiet, I do imagine.” Sigrid nodded at Lilith’s silence and headed towards the door. “That is all for now, Dr. Vatore. I’ll see myself out.”
Lilith stood alone in the office, reeling. Drained of blood and thrown in the river.
Seth? No, that was not his style. Possibly Caleb; although he wouldn’t ever choose to feed from a man, not after Nathaniel. Had it been one of the three girls? A combination of the three?
Someone else entirely?
Having the SBI involved in an investigation for her receptionist’s ex-boyfriend seemed like overkill. Those guys usually dealt with very high-profile crime, terrorism, security threats. So this meant that either Chase had been someone secretly significant or there was more to it. Either way, Lilith probably wasn’t getting Penelope back any time soon and it was likely only a matter time before Sigrid would be back to talk to her or to search her surgery.
She’d only managed three years this time. Three bloody years and here she was, once again, needing to start over.
Maybe it was time to just give up.
Lilith didn’t get any deeper into that depressing thought; it was drowned out by the sound of screaming.
“What the heck was that?” Gertrude gasped. “I didn’t know that the Watcher made people that ugly! She needs the works, starting with that nose! Oh my goodness!”
Lilith tried to laugh over the searing rage. “Indeed. So, how are feeling, Ms. Bapflap? It’s normal to feel a little light-headed after the blood-letting procedure, but I must be closing up now.” She thought for a second, best not to arouse suspicion. “Shall I pencil you in for another appointment?”
“I’m fine, but,” Gertrude shook her head. “I didn’t expect Penelope to be dragged away by men in suits!” She motioned towards the scene outside where Penelope was being wrestled into a waiting car as onlookers filmed on their mobile phones. “I demand discretion, Lilith.” Gertrude explained, “I don’t want the world knowing that I have surgery! How am I supposed to leave here now? I can’t just stroll out of the door in front of those cameras!”
I’ll throw you through the window, if you wish, Lilith thought. “I can offer you an empty cardboard box to wear over your head?”
Gertrude tutted. “You know, Lilith, your work is top-notch but your people skills are sorely lacking. I think I might be better at Caliente’s after all.”
The door slammed behind the over-inflated bimbo leaving Lilith alone in the room with only the ringing phone and her simmering anger for company.
She was seriously considering smashing the place to smithereens, devouring all the bags of O-neg and rampaging down the street, but was distracted by a beep from her pocket that completely dissolved her ire and replaced it with a buzzing, nervous energy.
It was a message, from Chuck.
Please tell me vegetarians eat fish.
< Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter >
Almost Eternal 
Errr… Lilith, I love you, but making someone cry during a job interview is not cool. Ever. There are other ways of finding out if a person is suitable for the position than turning them into a blubbering mess.
It took me a moment to recognize Jessica even though I knew it was her by the stuffed animals staring at her bed. Seems like I was wrong about her not being affected by Chase’s death as much – maybe she just threw herself into the case so she wouldn’t have to think about it, and now that she’s stuck at home, she’s forced into it.
Gah, so that’s what happened to Jessica’s mother. That is horrible. I wonder what happened to Jess after she was taken away. Did she go with social services, did they place her in a foster home, with other family, leave her to her fate? Gaaaahhhh Wilbur is looking way too smug to have this just be a family visit for her. He’s throwing her in the mental asylum, isn’t he? I need to relocate some of those exploding potatoes that I originally scheduled for Seth. New location: Wangshaft’s bum.
“Heavy sense of hopelessness” describes almost everyone in this chapter pretty well, Ralf. You. Jessica. Lilith in the next bit. And Melinda, April, Faith and Caleb pretty well, too, actually.
Lilith’s expression when Marshall started taking his clothes off made me laugh so much, lol. I actually forgot all about him being Chase’s roommate and Penelope’s sorta boyfriend until Lilith made the “Pelly” connection. Man, for a second there I thought those men in suits and Ms Ostrich face were there for Lilith, but this is terrible, too. Now she has no administrator, no receptionist, a murder that may or may not lead to her, and she lost a tasty client, too-
“I don’t want the world knowing that I have surgery!”
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. *wheeze* Ow. My sides. HAHAHAHA. Oh Bapflap. You are fantastic.
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She’s all bad cop sometimes.
Poor Jessica. Shock makes people do strange things. “He’s throwing her in the mental asylum, isn’t he?” He’s taking her to The Tower, yes. Ooh exploding bum potatoes! That’s quite some visual. Especially as Plumbob’s going on about bigger assholes in her comment. 🤣
“Heavy sense of hopelessness” could also be a tagline for the whole story. Yay. Check me out, bringing the sunshine.
Ostrich face. 😆 Sometimes random rolling in CAS throws up some absolute beauties, doesn’t it? Hey, had a to throw in a little (probably inappropriate) funny or we would have all been rampaging down the street.
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Job interview or job interrogation, toh-may-to or toh-mah-to… or potato. Eye roll. Right. Valentines card. Wholesome Plumbob. Moving on.
Oh wait, wasn’t Marshall Chase’s cousin or brother or something? Did he find out about the vacancy from Penelope? And with this being AE… what is he hiding? 😀
Ok, the wordless segment with Jessica was quite the emotional rollecrocoaster in only a few images, hit me right in the feels, feeling sad for poor Jessica mourning in her absurdly bright rainbow cloud kitchen, and then switched straight into effing rage. Needless no valentines cards are on the… err, cards *bah doom tss* for Mr Wangshaft. But I see this is why they wanted her to have a day off work. ArghTgsjfh!#^^$£!!! [Censored]
Huh, Ralf is actully doing some work? No, never mind, he isn’t, lol. In fairness, it’s not like he’s see much in the CCTV footage, apart from what would look like a posessed lady. Unless Ralf knows way more about vampires than he’s letting on. I’d imagine not. Perhaps someone else might get more out of the footage, though.
Oh my. Will’s wife? Interressting. I guess it will be fun to learn more about her. Using the term *fun* loosely, lol.
So Marshall is that same Marshall, ok, I haven’t lost the plot entirely, yay! I do enjoy it when somebody throws Lilith off, haha. Oh boy, I did not expect the SBI to rock up. They actually think Marshall and Penelope are behind Chase’s disappearance? Like a petty lovelife triangle motive? Surely the SBI wouldn’t be investigating that kind of crime. I’d think it has something to do with the Wangshafts again, but we do get a confirmation from Lilith that agent whatsherface does think Marshall knows something… hmm.
“although he wouldn’t ever choose to feed from a man, not after Nathaniel” Aaaah. Well that’s got all kinds of implications. Man. Binding be messy.
“Having the SBI involved in an investigation for her receptionist’s ex-boyfriend seemed like overkill.” My thoughts exactly, Lilith. Maybe we’ll be friends in the end after all. Even if it is through the power of the “bigger asshole” phenomenon 😀 Oh ghee you really are really going for it with alternating between laughing out loud and chilling in this chapter, aren’t you? Casually throwing in a statement like that that and then promptly having Ms Baflap shove it under the rug. I saw that. Pants.
Oh yay, at least we have dinner with Chuck and Babs to look forward to…
This incoherent mess of a comment has been brought to you by Pixie, the local loon.
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This comment is awesome. I think Pixie the local loon has a bright career in commentary.
Right, so what did you actually say. Marshall is/was Chase’s roommate, yes. What do you mean what is he hiding? The guy’s got his feet out and tries to take his shirt off; he’s clearly got nothing to hide (and no brain to hide it in). 😆
Jessica’s house is my favourite house in my whole game. This scene originally had words, but I took most of them out as I think Wangshaft speaks for himself. Yimi is selling some very fine exploding potatoes, complete with angry little faces, should you wish to purchase any. All proceeds go to the charity ‘Sims Safe at Home’ founded by the late Sandy Moss.
Yes, nothing to see on the CCTV. Hee hee heeeeeeee.
Will’s wife. She’s just thrilled to be here.
Gah, I’m sorry. We have a few threads going right now, but I’ll be combining and snipping some soon and the plot should be easier to follow. 😅 The SBI think something, yes.
Implications indeed.
Yay! Let the unity against the bigger assholes bring you together. It was originally all chilling, but that depressed me so… in went Bapflap.
I’m sure dinner will be a lovely, light-hearted affair so do look forward to it. ❤
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Obviously I had to re-profile since you said motivational speaking was a no-go for me, so barely comprehensible commentary it is 😆
I have seen Yimi’s potatoes! Seems like the perfect timing, hah. If anything, it means there will be something edible at the dinner party with the Buckets.
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It strikes me every time how beautiful Lilith is after you give her a makeover 😍
I do not have much more to add. Most is said by the others.
Except I really do not like Wangshaft. He makes it run cold down my spine. He has threads in way too many puppets.
I think that now that he has got Jessica in custody, he has a free path to search her apartment. What is he looking for? 🤨
Lilith can look forward to a violent nausea. Maybe she’s finding an excuse to avoid dinner … or maybe Chuck’s too hard to resist 😏
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What is Wangshaft looking for? Maybe he just wants to steal a few teddy bears; Jessica certainly has a lot of those. 😁
Lilith is finding a lot of excuses to avoid a lot of things lately. Maybe dinner with Chuck will give her some focus.
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LOL! Now I imagine the sight of Wangschaft cuddling with a big teddy bear 😵
Stop it! … I can not stand it😂🤣
Hm! To me, it seems like Chuck is making Lilith a little unfocused 😏
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Oof… Lilith needs someone who doesn’t snap under heavy pressure? Hence she grills them until they cry? Wow.. That makes some sort of a skewed sense but if you know what kind of boss you are, why not change that. Unless she likes being harsh and barbed. Or that it’s needed for the environment they work it, which doesn’t seem like it. Or is it an aspect she cant control so she’s preparing for an inevitable?
Ugh. Jessica is only reminiscing the good parts of Chase. That’s what people do isn’t it? When a person dies, suddenly they seem absolved from all sins and Jess forgets that they were once a mean bully who used her in so many ways. Now I’m wondering if Chase suffered from Ralf’s hand-tied syndrome too, and hence maybe he’s not messed up in the nasty way I think he is, but that his treatment of Jess is his form of coping. Still, I don’t approve Dx !!!!!
Omg. Are they taking her to the tower!? Did Wilbur purposely misconvey Ralf’s words and made Jess out to seem like she’s suffering from whatever her mother had?! GAHHHH I can’t believe I can hate this man even more than I have!! I know what I’ll be doing the next 10 minutes. Punching a pillow with Wilbur’s face on it. Dx
Wow I did not expect Beth to be the next deputy at all… Is this how people get promoted at WAPD?! This makes me wonder who did choose Beth to be Will’s bride. Is she a mole for Wilbur when she and Will wed?
Marshall is so… dense….. I can’t.. halp.. I don’t know to laugh or cry at his responses. Lilith’s face is gold ahhahaha! What is Penny thinking though? She’s hilarious to ask Marshall to come work for Lilith. xD Amg the big guns are in here and they’re taking Marshall away. Jesus Wilbur has so much authority. Gah. Wow Sigrid. Cons are people too. UGH. I think you now know why my comment was heavily delayed.
I get it Gertrude, but if you get yourself out there now, you’d still be in front of cameras… xDDD
Daww. I’m so glad this chapter ended with Chuck ❤ Hahaha can’t wait to see what Bab’s cook up this time. Though I can’t help but see ill intent in her ingredient of choice.
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Ah, well her clientele include the likes of Sandy Moss, so she probably needs someone resilient and… no, who am I kidding, that’s not it at all.
Yes, reflecting the good parts is a grief thing. Especially for Jessica who always tries to see the best in everyone. It’s a fair assumption that Chase also had his hands tied but no, that doesn’t excuse anything. Yeah… all your assumptions there are correct. 😓
Beth is boring. Nothing to see there.
I forget who it was, but someone said to me at the start of the story that all my female characters were dumb. So I made Marshall the dumbest of the lot for no reason other than to address this gender inequality that I had created. Yes, cons are people too, I get you.
I wanted to do a bonus bit where Gertrude dons one of those paper bags from Eco Lifestyle to cover her head, but that body isn’t really inconspicuous either. 🤣
Babs is preparing that dinner party favourite; ‘Fishy Delight’. I’ve asked her to set you a place. Dinner is served at 7.
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Lol Maybe that someone’s name was Marshall. XDD
Sorry. Babs gets my potato. Even Seth hasn’t had a potato from me. She’s that special.
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Where do I even start? Lilith for Queen. GET OUT OF THERE BABES. THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU! I mean listen, I want Ralf to get justice and I like Jessica but if justice comes from the SBI I am not here for it.
Ralf – do you have any family members who are not beautiful dummies?
I have a feeling this entire set-up is going to bite Wangshaft in the ass. First of all, I don’t think his daughter-in-law is going to end up being that loyal.
Also, is my sweet Jessica being taken away? Quick! Someone call the Truth Society! Save her!
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I have notified the truth society! They’re a few chapters away, on a call-out about blob-shaped ghosts, but they’ll be here as soon as they can.
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…Hi! I… err… now that I´m feeling a bit more human and less robotic again, I´m ba-ack! XD Now, let´s see how much I´d forgotten about all those amazing, tangled plot threads, shall we? X´D
And we´re starting on the wrong foot. Or is it the right foot? Marshall isn´t one to snap, I don´t think, ever. And well… he might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but… maybe that is a point in his favor? I mean, if you have sensitive paperwork, then maybe it´s good if the guy who handles it can´t understand a thing?
Oh, heck. Heck, heckity heck. Now I was about to say how sad it was that Jess misses that no-good, not-even-boyfriend of hers but we´ve got bigger fish to fry, don´t we? I hope I´m reading this wrong and she didn´t just end up locked in the Tower, but… then, I have to think, she really is quite capable. Maybe being locked up wouldn´t be as bad as crossing paths with Seth… especially while trying to arrest the fledgelings he took interest in.
Oooooh, haven´t I said I´d seen something in Beth? I´m sure I´d said that. XD Everyone´s disposable. Even Wilbur´s son, especially if his daughter-in-law is more capable. Yep, yep. Also, I´d like to think Caleb knows what he can afford to do because he remembers he can´t be seen on camera, but I do realize it´s probably just sheer dumb luck with that poor soul.
*giggles* Can you tell I´m reading this and commenting in sections? Okay, so I guess the cluelessness was a bit much on Marshall´s part. Well-p. But eeeep, the black suits are creepy. Can´t decide if I´d rather they went away and never came back, or if I´d like one of them to meet Seth. I guess it would depend a lot on whether or not they´re ordinary Sims. Like… if they have some extra abilities, that´d be bad. If not, I´m still more scared of the witches.
And pfffft, Lilith isn´t well off, is she? Needing to go underground again would be bad, considering not trying to build a new proper identity would be worse… but this thing with Chuck… there´s something there. And it´s strangely strong. dunno what it is, but it couldn´t have chosen a less opportune time to manifest, could it?
Also, to address one of the comments… that thing about all your female characters being dumb is so not fair. Lilith is self-righteous, not stupid. Faith has a ton of issues, but she can be more than sharp when it comes to other people. Even Sandy wasn´t a fool, objectively horrible as she was. And excuse me? Whoever calls officer Spoon dumb to my face is the one to earn my first thrown potato. Also, on the other side, we have Caleb who /is/ dumb. So, I don´t think Marshall was at all necessary, not that I´m complaining about him being there, mind. Having just a simple character who isn´t trying to pretend anything is not bad at all.
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You’re baaaaaaack! You picked a good time to catch up too as I’m currently on a pause, working on book 3. How much have you forgotten? How much have I forgotten? We’re about to find out!
“if you have sensitive paperwork, then maybe it´s good if the guy who handles it can´t understand a thing?” That’s a very positive way to look at it. 😆 Not sure Lilith agrees with you, but when does she ever?
Oof. Ooof. Yep, Jessica is headed to the Tower. But, as you say, might be a blessing in disguise. Or might be a huge bump in the road.
What do you see in Beth? Just a regular woman, nothing to see there. 😉
Ah, seeing something beneath the surface with Chuck and Lilith are we? Well, you never know. She likes a soft-hearted man…
Haha! That reader comment was waaaaay back near the start of the story – that’s how far in advance I am planning, here. It was an email about how much I clearly hated women. Nowadays I mostly get emails about how much I clearly hate men. Perhaps therefore I just hate everyone? I haven’t quite figured that out. I also like a simple character; his profile is so basic that he’s refreshing to write, you get me?
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…I did notice you haven´t mentioned vampire-avoidance in relation to the Tower. It might not mean anything, but knowing you, I shall just quietly file that away. I do still have my suspicions about Seth and getting out of there, no matter how long ago that was. I have this funny feeling like the Wangshafts are a very… traditional family, if you get me. The sort that doesn´t change their ways much.
What do I see in Beth? A very capable, very efficient woman with possibly a good dose of ruthlessness in there somewhere, that´s what. 😉 Also, I most definitely remember the first impression she gave me, when she was sleep-deprived and angry and with that hair of hers reminded me very strongly of one Bella Black, if you´d ever met that particular witch. ;D (Had I mentioned that at the time? That, I do not remember.)
Yep, I sure see something. Chuck still seems to eat okay, doesn´t he, so that´s a relief at least but still… there´s something creepy about that whole situation.
Hahaha, yeah… looks like you do hate everyone. Or just like writing a dumpster fire. ;D Some people, honestly. And yep, I do feel the refreshing part. There is lots of complications as it is, lots and lots of twists and turns and secrets. Throw a very straightforward character in there, and it has a nice contrast.
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I can neither confirm nor deny your suspicions about the Tower, but I can tell you that you learn more about Seth being in there soon(ish). You’re not wrong though, the Wangshafts are traditional. They also see something in Beth which you all will, eventually. Aw Chuck, imagine if he is forever bound to do Lilith’s bidding. Would I be so cruel? I guess so, not many more categories of people I can be accused of hating now, right? 😉
Spot on – I do very, very much like writing a dumpster fire. 😁
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