3.9 Golden heart

     The few guests were doing their very best beeing considerate in the familys situation; quietly talking and walking. Everyone weighed their words, desperately hoping not using saying that might trigger any painful memories: How are you, considering the circumstances. It was a question she was used to getting by now. Every time she answered "fine" with sad eyes and a longing, tired sigh: Is there anything you need? Just let me know. That was another one that often came. The mood was rather somber.

     The new house was a lot bigger then the old one, and so much more fitting for someone of her standard and taste. Every inch of sympathy she got was even better, it had never been easier manipulating sims before. But she had to take care when she did; like she had when she'd gotten dad to buy her that giant tv for instance. That way she didn't have to buy it herself.
     It was a good thing Ians insurance was good, or else this might not have happened. A large house with many rooms, and a big cellar for all her potions. It was best for them when their surroundings were cool.

     Pretending that she was struggeling with sadness, whilst feeling triumphant was tough. Usually the police looking for a male serialkiller would've offended her, especially since she'd gotten her own nickname; the KG killer. But she was smart enough to know it was to the best for her. When she'd gained immortality, she could extract her revenge on the idiots that had claimed the KG killer was a man. She'd just wished they'd given her a better name; like the Surgeon; because of the wounds they kept claiming she put in everyone. Instead they named her after the river, because that's where they fished up stupid Wilma. Wondered what they would have called her if they knew how she'd killed the rest of them?

     Jarl sends his thoughts, Lucky said it like she was supposed to care: But he had to stay home with the baby. Telling the grieving woman that Jarl had just outright refused to meet her again, was probably best avoid mentioning. Not that Lucky knew why, he refused telling her why: Is there anything we can do? Another question Skuld got often, but this time she answered: No, but thanks for offering. Eventually she'd find something they could buy, but she was getting a bit out if ideas at the moment. She wanted a new car, but that was probably a bit pricey for them.

     Dad had gotten even older- looking, loosing every bit of blond hair he'd had left. Didn't he dread getting older at all? Skuld really tried focusing on what he said, trying not to panic about the possible future she could see. What if she wasn't able to stop the horrible aging? Dad had been so strong and handsome, and look at him now; he was a twig! Not even that way to young girlfriend kept him any younger, but thankfully he'd left that golddigger at home.

     Even her younger brother was a grown man, and he'd gotten married to. But it was yet another sign of age creeping up on her. Because when he got older, so did she. And he was the younger brother! Swallowing deeply, she tried focusing again: I'm sorry about Ian. He'd said that already hadn't he?
     Doing her very best at looking sad, she thanked him. He had to have quite a bit of simoleons right? Doctors weren't exactely underpaid. Maybe he could get her a new car? Or maybe not, now that he was married. She hadn't even met his wife, she was probably some golddigging skank. Why else would anyone want to marry him?

     I can take another look at him if you want, maybe run some more tests?

     Thanks Odin, but there's nothing more to test for. After she'd defused Ian, she'd made sure to take a longer break. Skuld had found information about all the social insurances she could apply for, and Ians health insurance to calculate what would be more economical beneficial. Ofcourse, contrary to his lifeinsurance. Then she'd had to estimate how long this would take, and how high his insurance would be by the time she succeeded and would kill him off.

     Turned out that keeping him in a coma was the best financial choice for her at the moment. now Ian had a lovely little room in the giant new house. As long as he kept getting fed her special little brew, he wasn't going to wake up again. The city had accepted that she took care of him herself, since she had the education of a doctor. But they sent some nurse to bathe him a few times a week.

     Now that Aino was getting older, she could start taking care of Ian instead so Skuld didn't have to. Finally! The little brat should be thankful she'd let her help. That way she'd never have to look at him or his giant nose again! It was a grand day to be Skuld, and she was so close to her dream right now. With Ian out of the way and Aino growing, she'd never have to get as old as dad was. That's why the family was present ofcourse, to celebrate the girls age- up. That way they could entertain her so she didn't have to.

     As Marco saw another generation of young girls grow up, he realized he needed a new shotgun. Or atleast to make sure the ones he already had still worked: So Aino, you know how dangerous ponds are right? Shouldn't go near them. Especially if there's men with cameras there.
     I can swim grandpa, Aino assured him, dad had tought her that as a toddler. She could swim alright, she was possibly the best swimmer in the entire city. And why would she be afraid of sims with cameras? That didn't make any sense. Unless they could catch your soul with it! Which would've been awesome.

      Thank you so much for arranging a birthday party for me mum. Aino politely thanked the rest of the guests to. She wanted them to come visiting again, that would be nice. But if she said anything mum might get mad, and she didn't want mum to think she wasn't enough. Skuld on her side, just wondered how many calories the cake contained. She was going to have to run to the moon and back to get it off her thighs.

     Thanks for the outfit aunt Marea. It wasn't just clothes after all, it was fancy ones that cost a lot of simoleons. Atleast that's what auntie Lucrecia said. She'd thank uncle Efraim again to, but his job had phoned after him, so he'd left. Then it was just Marea left to thank.

     You're welcome, she said calmy: I got help from Lucky to pick it out though. The two of them were fashion disasters, but the girl seemed more than happy with it.

     Then Aino thanked Lucrecia again: You're welcome. She thought it was a bit odd that the girl kept thanking so much for so little; it was just clothes. By the way she kept thanking them, one could think she wasn't used to getting anything. It was good beeing polite, but this was a bit much. She seemed like a pretty nice kid though, and it was good to be a bit away from her own baby: You're such a pretty girl, that we figured you needed some pretty clothes to.

     The girl looked strangely at them before thoughtfully eating more cake. Fine, she was a bit strange, but with a dad in coma it might not be that odd: And your hair is so thick, Marea said: It was difficult braiding it.

     Yeah, Lucky nodded: I've never seen anyone other than you and your dad with that shade of red either. Most sims have to buy that at the store.        

     Red hair is so pretty, Marea was talking more to Lucky than with Aino now: I've always wished I had that when I was younger. 

     You are very pretty Aino, Lucky said to her: I bet the boys aren't going to leave you alone. Aino didn't get why boys wouldn't want to leave her alone, that was just strange. And why would she care if boys talked to her anyway?

     Skuld didn't understand what they were talking about. Her daughter was ugly, red hair was ugly and she looked like her ugly father. Didn't they see that large nose? Or those fat lips? The only pretty one was her. She was the prettiest one in the family, she always had been and she always would be. Aino was fat and ugly, and she'd get even fatter with the way she kept eating cake. Skuld wasn't sure about that outfit Marea and Lucky had gifted. And the girls hair wasn't thick, her hair was thick. She had to do something before the kid got some confidence.

     Aino was happy that she'd finally meet the family, even if she'd met them before. But she couldn't remember it very well: Is it true that you're a doctor? You don't look very doctory... She wasn't sure what to think about uncle. He looked cool, but not like a real doctor. He smelled doctorclean though, like handspirit and he looked clean to. There were probably no bacterias on him. But doctors didn't have tattoos: Are you like a real doctor, or is it more a doctor degree in something that doesn't have anything to do with anything doctory at all? And doctors always were bald and old, and he wasn't that old. He was younger than mum.

     Atleast it was clear the girl didn't take after his side of the family. The way she stumbled with words and didn't look straight at him gave that off. Poor kid, couldn't be easy with her dad needing all that care. Skuld didn't want him to look at the guy though, so he respected that; I'm the type that operates on sims. Not a bookworm. Okay, he was a bookworm, but that wasn't the point. 

     Doesn't all the blood make you sick?! The girl asked quickly, and revelead beeing as grotesque as a lot of kids were at a certain age.

    No, not really. But the first time I witnessed an authopsy I threw up on the floor. Just missed the table by a heartbeat. Odin sometimes forgot that not everyone got doctor-humour, and was slightly disappointed when the girl didn't giggle.

     An authopsy? Wasn't that when they cut in dead sims? Aino wasn't really scared of dead sims, but she'd never seen one before. Wondered how they looked: Did your mum get mad at you then? Mum was mad at her a lot, even if she didn't throw up on the floor.

     Uhm... No. It was during my internship. The doctor, she just laughed at me... and at all the other ones that did the same thing.

     That was strange: So your mum didn't get mad? All mums got mad at their kids when they weren't good. That's what her mum said, and mum was always right.

     I haven't met my mum, so I don't know what she'd think about it. He was calm as he said it: It was just the interns and some doctors there. 

     Uncle Odin didn't know his mum? Even her mum had met her own mum, atleast she'd though she'd said it. That was so sad. Aino loved her mum, and hoped she'd be a great daughter for her one day. That way mum would be happy. Aino was always happy when mum was happy.

     Nothing was better than when Aino realized that grandpa was alright to. He even let her make funnyfaces without getting mad. Not that she'd ever made a face at mum, she didn't want her getting angry. But this was still fun. Dad had let her make funnyfaces, but he was ill now and noone knew what was wrong with him. But she would take care of him and mum.

     The party had also left a lot of dishes. She should wash them so mum didn't have to. Aino really wanter mum to be happy, and to be the best daughter. It had to be difficult for her now that dad was unconscious all the time. Or whatever it was called in doctor- language.   

     She almost missed grandpa talking: How is your mum doing? Does she have moodswings? Was he serious? Everyone had moodswings didn't they? Mum changed her temper in a few seconds, so Aino felt like she was always walking on eggshells. But she loved mum and wanted to make her happy.

     Everyone had it like that at home, so she knew that everyone lied about it. And she didn't want mum to get disappointed in her: If mum has moodswings? Not really. Hey, is beeing a cop like in the movies? Aino just changed the subject, because she was sure that grandpa had given her a strange stare. Or maybe he hadn't? Maybe she was just imagining it.

     No, not at all. He sounded a bit off when he said it, like all air had been sucked out of him. But atleast he didn't ask more about mums mood. Grandpa was fun, but a bit strange.

     One thing that Aino had noticed, was that her family was kind of pretty. She didn't mind beeing the only one that wasn't, she was just glad other sims were pretty and happy. Aunt Lucrecia was very pretty to, even if mum was a lot prettier: You're very pretty! The woman jumped when she talked, maybe she hadn't heard her entering the room: Is your husband pretty to? Bet he was, but she'd never met him. Wonder why?

     Taking a deep breath, quietly collecting herself after the sudden startle, Lucky had to admit the girl was really weird. She was way to obsessed with this whole "pretty" thing. On the other hand, she herself had told the girl that she was pretty. Maybe it wasn't a good idea, after all; she hadn't been that obsessed with it as a kid: Uhm, yeah. Yeah, he is. Jarl's very pretty. And green, he's very green.    

    He's green! Is he an alien? That was so awesome. Aino had never seen a green sim before. 

    No, he's a plantsim. My mum did some experiment, and he was the result. We lived in the same house our entire lives actually. For some reason things like that was easier to explain to kids than adults. They just took these things so naturally.

     Oh... Was your parents pretty to? Aunt Lucrecias parents had to have been pretty.

     Sheesh, this was starting to rank high up on odd talks: Well, yes.

     Aino knew what type of relationship all the grownups had; Luckys mum was grandpas sister. But she couldn't remember seenh a picture of her or anything: Was your mum as pretty as my mum? It was always mums that were pretty: Do you look like her? The little face that aunt Lucrecias colours was far different from the rest of the family, was just a little detail in her young mind. Her husband was green after all, so who knew what else could happen? Ainp wished she looked like her own mum sometimes, but she was a lot prettier than she could ever hope to be. But she looked so up to her, and her pretty blonde hair. Dark hair was pretty to though.

     For some reason aunt Lucrecia didn't look straight at her, and fumbled a bit for words before talking: I look a lot more like my dad.. We have the same colours and... yeah. We look alike. She took a long break before talking more: He died a good while ago. Just never got over mum after she passed away

     Aino knew a lot about that to. Grandpa had just told her, and mum and dad had mentioned it a few times. She felt a bit sorry for Lucrecia and her mum. And now for her dad to. Mum and uncle Odin had grown up without a mum, and so had her dad. Even aunt Lucrecia and Efraim had. And Marea had no parents at all! She was so lucky that she had a mum, and a dad even if might as well have been asleed all the time.

     Was it your dad that was pretty? Maybe it wasn't that strange. Uncle Odin was kind of pretty to, even if he had a lot of tattoos. She liked the tattoos though, it was like having pictures on your own skin.

    Really, what was wrong with this girl: Yes, he was handsome. The ladies liked him a lot. Not that he'd been interested in anyone else but her mum. Aino nodded and smiled. She was going to take good care of her own mum. And dad ofcourse.  That way, she wouldn't have to be without a mum like so many of the others had.

     Quickly changing the subject before it got any weirder, Lucky tried beein a good grown up: How are you holding up then? With your dad beeing ill and all?

     The girl still had that strange look on her face, like she didn't understand what she was talking about. Maybe she had trouble processing what had happened: I want mum to be happy. That was it, the only answer she got. It was kind of sweet, so typical for kids to think about the parents when she should have thought about herself: Well, if you ever want to talk about it, or anything else. Just come and visit us, okay? And you can go to your grandpa and uncle Odin to. And Marea and Efraim ofcourse. The girl had that short look of confusion again. Poor thing. It was probably difficult for her.

     Aino behaved pretty well during the gathering, but talked a bit to much. Children were to be seen, not heard. Skuld didn't really like that outfit om her. Tilting her head, looking at her daughter, it was time to have a little chat now that the guests had finally left: Aino. Instantly the girl looked up: That is not a good look for you. You don't want the other kids to laugh at you. Do you? She didn't even answer; just payed attention to her every word: You are to fat to wear a tight outfit, and you look like a whore. Are you a whore Aino? Then she paused for a long while, keeping the eyecontact.

     It took ages before the kid said anything: no... She wasn't sure what a whore was, but it was probably something bad.

     Smiling coldly Skuld said: Did I say you could talk? Why do you always interrupt me? You're so rude. And that even after I fixed a birthday party for you. You're so ungrateful.

     Skuld knew just how to treat sims, to get the effect needed. The girl looked guilty and insecure, followed by a deepfelt appology: I'm sorry mum. I didn't mean to. You're so kind for doing all of this for me. I don't deserve it mum, I'm not worth it. I'm so sorry.   
     Hearing the girl saying the same things she'd told her as a toddler, was all music to Skulds ears. What a great idea it had been to start so early. Aino probably didn't even have any idea where the thoughts were coming from: So now you're sorry? You've made me sad Aino. 

     She whispered, so low that it was near impossible to decipher: I'm sorry mum... I love you... Aino felt terrible, she'd just wanted mum to smile and be happy. She hadn't meant to seem ungrateful. But she was ungrateful. She could've thanker her more, and mum just shouldn't have gone through all that trouble for her. She just wasn't worth it.

     Making sure that the girl wouldn't feel any closure, Skuld changed the subject: We have to do something about the way you look. Your hair is ugly, and you're fat. Lucrecia and Marea just bought you that outfit so others would make fun of you.

     Aino was caught by surprise, they had seemed so nice: They did? Mum was definitly right, why else would they have bought her leather- lookalike trousers and a tight shirt? And hadn't they said they wanted to get the hair away from her face? She'd just thought they meant it was annoying to get in her eyes. 

     Ofcourse they did. They always do things like this. Skuld pretended she cared about her daughter: When your hair is like that, your ugly face is easy to see. And with that outfit everyone will see how fat you are. You don't want the kids at school teasing you, do you? Kids now adays were to sensitive, couldn't even handle a bit of bullying.

     Aino was really nervous about starting school. Not just because then she'd have to leave mum and dad alone, but also because she'd be without mum. Now she was even more scared; she didn't want to be teased: No I don't.

     You see Aino, Skuld continued soothing her daughter: You won't make any friends anyway, so it'll be better if no one notice you. Don't you agree?   

     Quickly nodding Aino couldn't have agreed more. Hanging to every word she said, because mum was always right about things. She was right this time to. Aino wasn't going to be any prettier and only pretty girls had friends: But what do I do mum? I'm not getting prettier. She wasn't, mum said she got uglier every day.

     Don't worry Aino! Skuld was such a good mother at times, it was surprising she hadn't won an award yet: We'll just get some wide clothes to hide your weight, and cut your hair in a way that covers your face. The less ugly red hair it is to notice, the better. And the more face you hide, the better. We just need to find something that makes that big nose of yours less obvious. 

     Mum always took care of her every needs. Aino thought she was the luckiest girl in the world to have such a great mother.

     Looking up at her with admiration, Aino knew her mum was the smartest and most beautiful in simnation. She was like one of those fairytale princesses she'd seen on tv: You're the best mum. I love you! What would she ever do without her?!
     Smiling back, Skuld answered: Ofcourse you do. I'm pretty, so I deserve love. Skuld felt so good when the girl looked at her like she was perfect. Which she was, and the whole point of other sims beeing alive, was to make Skuld feel good about herself.

     The mix of dirt and garbage wasn't the best of change from her cellar. Not that she didn't love the smell around her workshop, but it could get a bit sickening at times. It might come as a surprise to sims, but for all the strange things they contained, it often smelled quite sweet. But it was also a sickening sweetness when stuck in it for long. This stench of rotting food that emerged from the recycling bin didn't do wonders for her mood. Why on earth didn't they use lids? Atleast that might contain the alarming ammount of flies that buzzed around the old garbage.

     Skuld didn't bother trying the door this time, it was better just doing it the oldfashioned way. Knocking on the backdoor wasn't as suspect as it might seem. It was common practice, especially between aquaintances. And she wore a common brand of sneakers, incase someone noticed the footprints. Merete and her was almost family, so she should be thrilled to see her. But her facialexpression showed another feeling.

     Skuld was still a bit surprised that Merete invited her inside, but maybe she didn't want anyone to hear what they had to say to eachother. Ofcourse she wasn't a complete idiot, she'd made sure that they were alone. Her halfsister had gotten married, and no longer lived with the sister. And her ancient crust of a mum was dead. If she was to believe official records, Merete had been married several times, and was divorced again. With daughters and a son that lived with her dad to, none the less. There was no way that a horrible old hag like that had any other man in her life, and she hadn't seen any specific sims coming back the times she'd surveilled the place. Lets just face it, Merete was a horrible woman. Besides she'd already made sure the neighbours wasn't at home. Had to learn sims habits after all.

     Merete should also be happy just to be given the opportunity to speak with someone as superior as Skuld, but the old hag didn't agree with that either: What do you want this time? Inheritance after your mother? She hadn't even thought about that! She was the dead womans daughter after all, so why hadn't anyone informed her? Unfortunately Merete continued before the dream of a fat inheritance came true: Because she signed away custody of you. There's nothing for you to fetch here.   
     And just like that, Skulds sweet dreams disappeared. Ofcourse she earned a lot of simoleons due to her potions. She didn't use all of them to harm sims, but sold them to. But she just wanted more simoleons. It wasn't like she could just buy everything she wanted in life.

     Tilting her head, Skuld studied the much older woman. She couldn't be far away from beeing an elderly. Her own mum couldn't have been that much older than her. But that was a time of life that Merete would never experience. As much as she wanted to cause the woman pain, she wasn't dumb enough to pick a fight with a fairy. Especially the ones with way to sweet voices. That didn't mean she was going to let her get away easily: I disagree Merete. There's a lot for me to fetch her. 
     Like what? She sure didn't sound to have a lot of patient, but what did she care.
    Well, I can fetch your essence.

      What? What on simplanet do you want that for? Skuld was just surprised Merete even knew what it was. It was far from the most known thing in simnation. On the other hand, she'd been the one telling her that tale all that time ago.
     I'll use it for a potion that can make me live forever. She said it, even if she wanted to keep a low profile. It wasn't like Merete could do anything about her outcome anyway.
     How are you going to do that? Are you going to turn them into liquid.. what?

     Skuld could have sworn she'd known exactely what do with it. Fine, she'd had that stupid dream all those years ago. But dreams weren't real. She'd just assume she'd know what to do, or figure it out in the end. She hadn't. It was a strange thing to think about, but she'd been so busy getting what she needed instead of researching more directly. This was unheard of! She was supposed to be a genious.
    Merete luckily wasn't. As she continued to talk before Skuld answered: And how are you going to get my essence anyway? Then an all familiar look on her face, that showed Skuld that her victim realized her imminent death was at hand.

     It was by far on the top three most expensive potion she'd ever made. It contained gold. It was also the only potion she'd used on herself, instead of the victim. Atleast it hadn't turned her into a fully fledged king Midas, so for a second she worried how well it had actually worked.

     Merete didn't have any chance to stand against it. Skuld was the best thing that had ever happened to simnation, but even she was baffled by her own superiority. The fairy had turned into solid gold in the blink of an eye. She got so shocked by the effect that the essence nearly escaped her. After all, getting turned into gold inside and outside, made things like the longue, heart and brain stop working to.

     The gold effect would disappear in a few hours, and whoever found her would be none the wiser. For once she didn't feel like looking inside a sim. Meretes words had gotten a grip in her mind. What was she supposed to do with all those essences? She couldn't use them for anything in their current state.
     Even worse was that she was horny as hell, even if this thing hadn't been that exciting. She was pretty certain that Ian couldn't still get a hard on atleast. So how difficult could it be getting a man to screw on a regular basis?

     A short stop home to cure the midas- touch, a shower and a new layer of makeup; Skuld found herself at a place she'd never been before: A danceclub for ordinary sims. As usual she was the most beautiful one there, but she was used to that.

     Simply walking up to the first guy she saw, Skuld barely even talked to him before asking if he wanted sex.

     She'd never expected it to be that easy. Okay, the guy was a lot older than her, but what did she care? She had an itch that needed to be scratched and Ian was indisposed at the moment. What did she care about the bartender that gave her some judgmental look? Old hag was just jealouse of her anyway. Who wouldn't be? Skuld was quite the sight.

     Usually she wouldn't allow some gross stranger entering her perfect body, but this was about her needs; not this idiot. The fool even gave her his number and asked to call him whenever she felt the urge again. What an idiot....
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If you didn't get it, Ian is still alive and kicking ;)

I had Skuld go to a club and just hump the first guy she saw, which was this idiot. If anyone remember Jonny from generation 2, I'm sure you can see the resemblance. They are a huge family and they all look the same. And I mean they are pretty much all clones of eachother. I thought I'd gotten rid of all of them, but on closer inspection this guy alone has 7 kids. And like five brothers, whom look pretty much the same as this one, with almost equally many kids each. No wonder they are everywhere.

Aino really loves her mum and worships her quite the bit. She also think she's perfect and always right.

Thanks for reading

3.3 Bring me unlife

warning: nudity, NSFW, language

     For the first time in ages, Skuld felt lighearted. She'd made a list in her mind of who should be the lucky ones that got to give her what she wanted; eternal beauty and youth. Why wouldn't anyone want to give her everything she wanted? Even Ian seemed a lot happier now that she was happy, and why shouldn't he? He wasn't allowed to be in a good mood unless she was. It was the natural order of things.
     And as much as she usually hated when he put his arms arpund her, she let him get away with it for a little while. He didn't just smell like a fish, his stupid, fat arms made her neck ache. But for now her mood was just to good to be ruined, and soon she'd start her quest.

     As it often did, the tv was making a small noise in the background, but when the anchor started talking Skuld seized the opportunity sneaking away from Ians arm. Tv- man had one of those random dull voices, and she swore his ugly face was grinning as the tune from the tv kept on: The brutal murder of a mother of two, has seemingly left Jericho policedepartment without any usable clues. According to our source, the victims wounds were surgical; making it a possibility the murderer were a doctor. The police are currently not answering any questions, but will be holding a pressconferance tomorrow.

 Skuld had never been happier about her father beeing retired, and Lucrecia was still in school, so she'd never seen this case at all. It was so good beeing a genious. That made sure she could study more subjects than most sims in university.... like medicine for instance.
     A witness supposedly heard the voices of two women in an alleyway leading to the site. The police are looking for a woman named Diana Summerset, who alledgedly fled town after the murder though her status is still unknown.    
     This was music to her ears- but really what was going on with that anchorman? He had to be so full of botox that he looked more like some creepy doll than a sim. Wondered how many times he'd been under the knife?

     Ian tilted his head a bit at the womans name: Didn't she go to school with us? He gave her a short look before turning his attention to the tv again.
     Uhm... I don't know. Maybe? Ofcourse Skuld remembered her, why else would she make sure that's the name she gave to the woman. She'd been pretty certain someone would hear it and the police name her a suspect.Unabrow should never had insulted her to begin with. Skuld had been waiting for the day where she could get even with her. It was never to late claiming justice for herself.

     She wasn't a fool ofcourse, and knew well that the police wouldn't hold Diana Summerset. And they were looking for her, or else there's no way the news would have gotten a hold of that name. But it didn't matter if she didn't go to jail either way, because the civilian sims judgment were so much more terrible than anything in prison anyway. The jails in Jericho was a joke. She'd loose friends, family would turn their back against her, loose her job and make it hard to find another. She'd be a pariah of society, just as she deserved. And sims rarely forgot things like this.
     Skuld kept listening in fascination as the anchor had given the screen to some on- place reporter. She laid out the gruesome details that their source told them of. They were pretty accurate, but why did they depict it as so brutal? They made her sound like some common butcher!! She'd spent a lot of time looking inside the womans corpse. What an insult.
     Ofcourse the presse was supposed to decide for themselves what was moraly right to do. But they always cared more about viewer- ratings than anything. Now it was just to wait for the what-ifs and the sims that had been in the area a week earlier and all that stuff.

     The chances of the police thinking about her insulting someone once as a teenager, that waited for years to set someone up for some uncomfort, wouldn't cross them. And no matter how you put it, Skuld was still a copsdaughter. It wasn't like they had any register of DNA from cops, because of privacy protection. They were still battling if it should be legal keeping DNA samples from known criminals. Sims were such cattle. So if they found anything from her, there wouldn't be anything to check it up against.
     I can't believe there's been a murder... and such a young woman to.She hadn't really been that young, why did he call her young?

     There's murders here all the time. That wasn't exactely true, but they were frequent enough, rising again as her dad had retired: The only difference is that this woman wasn't some lowlife scum, so they just make it into the news. She could pretend that she cared. Which she did, she kind of wanted to know what the police knew. Though she had already gotten one thing clear. She had to check the voluenteers better and to hide them. The longer time before they were found, the harder it was to find something that could connect with her. She'd been careless and that was unheard of.

     That's kind of a shame isn't it? Ian said. He thought it was terrible atleast: I mean, not that it makes it bad that this poor girl is in the news, but that the others aren't seen as good enough. And it was a bit harsh of his wife calling them lowlives and scum. But he didn't have it in him to correct her, she didn't mean anything by it. It was just a poor choice of words.
     Smiling at him, with that little grimace she knew he would notice, but not enough to mentioning anything about she said: Probably. But then we wouldn't have seen anything else than murder would we? And we don't care as much about more unfortunate sims as those more fortunate. She could pretend she cared to. It was good knowing what to say all the time.

     He added some herbs from their little garden to the meal. He liked experimenting with food, even if it wasn't always successful. Like adding cinnamon to spaghetti for instance, even if everything in him said it was a terrible idea. Ian was a good cook, and he took care of the house to. Skuld did a little here and there, but all in all it wasn't a lot. Her experiments were timeconsuming, but the ammount of simoleons her potions had started bringing in was otherwordly. Which was good, because he didn't make a lot. But he defenitly contributed. Not that it stopped Skuld from claiming they had pretty little, but he thought it was a bit odd. They had little, yet they had a nice house even if it was a bit run down, ate good food and had pretty clothings and a car. But she probably knew what she was talking about. Maybe it was just her that thought they had little, her family was filthy rich so making a good living probably felt equal to beeing poor.
     He heard her from a distance, those high heels clacking against the hard floor gave off a very distinct sound.

     He stopped her as she was walking out the door: Where are you going?
     What do you mean? She gave him a confused look. what was the problem.
     Where are you going after dark? A woman's just been murdered!
     She looked so hurt, it made his heart bleed: Don't you trust me Ian? Is that it? Are you afraid I'll leave you like your father did?

     Where had that come from, it hurt when she said thing slike that. She didn't mean anything by it: No... I'm worried about you leaving after dark, when there's been a murder of a woman in a secluded spot. Besides, why are you just leaving? Weren't you planning on telling me? It wasn't common that sims just left without telling was it?
     Skuld looked at him again: Ian, sweetheart.... did her voice just sound a bit condescending: Nothing's going to happen. I'll come back you know.  
     It was probably just his mind playing tricks on him, she looked so sincere: But I'm making supper... Spaghetti with cinnamon, it was probably good.
     I can eat when I get back. Then she just got in the car and left. Wasn't that a bit rude? Well, she was probably used to different things from home than he was. They needed to talk about this.

     She was still in a good mood even after Ians nagging. Now she'd have a warm meal to come home to afterwards, and she wouldn't have to pretend that she actually wanted to talk with him. The only things he talked about was boring either way. She wasn't interested in the same things he was. He was a cheapscate anyway, always looking for a bargain. And he was actually proud of getting things on a discount. As long as it wasn't for her she didn't care that much though. After all, spending simoleons on Ian was a waste. Spending them on her was an investment, but she was pretty and smart, and Ian wasn't.

     Searching for bugs, always made her leave her thoughts behing. Not even Ian could annoy her then. She made sure that she used them whilst beeing alive in her potions. They weren't more potent that way, she just liked the thought about them beeing in pain. Even if it was silly, as bugs felt nothing.

     This time however it also made her thing about other stuff. She hadn't had any more weird dreams lately, but that didn't mean that the whole bottling essences didn't toy in her mind a lot. The hardest part was the whole bottling the essence of the dead thing. Skuld vaguely remembered Bashir working as a ghosthunter for a short while, probably hoping he'd find Orianas soul or something, the weirdo. But that wasn't the same thing, their spirits couldn't be bottled, they were to strong and feisty.

     The essence of life was what kept the spirit and body together, and when the sim died, that essence left the body, so it had to be harvested at the time of death. So it was a matter of timing really. It didn't disappear like in a nanosecond, it tended to linger a bit incase someone wanted to give them life back. Gathering essence from sims weren't a problem, but how was she supposed to gather an essence from a ghost, when they were already dead and didn't have an essence?

     A lot of sims wondered where bugs went in the wintertime for some reason. Some avoided the cold, some died, however some hibernated. Simply said they froze almost solid in wintertime, shutting down bodilyfunctions thus beeing almost dead, but still alive enough. Ofcourse not all bugs did it the same way, but it was still interesting.

     They were almost dead, but not really. Kind of like how she was almost supernatural, but not really. Not that it was anything to be proud of, but it was so far apart, that it didn't make her filthy and lesser like they were.
     However, her supernatural ancestors made sure she was a great alchemist, even better than most supernaturals. She knew that her grandfather was a vampire, her great- grandfather a witch, and ofcourse she'd heard of aunt Oriana and dad torching things on a whim.. So something was amiss from her great- grandmother on dads side to. She didn't know alot about her own mum, other than the fact that she was egyptian. But she had been married to a fairy, which meant that if he'd put a spell on her it might have tainted her or something? It didn't matter.

     The point was that she could do things that was for supernaturals, even if she wasn't one. She was but she wasn't. And the bugs were dead, but they weren't.
     Did that mean that if someone had a child with someone that was dead, the child would technically be dead? And then it would have an essence of life but still be dead? So if someone that was the child of a spirit and a sim, would have the flesh of the sim and the soul of the dead. But still the essence that made the soul and flesh stay together?

     That actually sounded logical. How come she hadn't thought about that before, but how would one have a child with a spirit? They didn't have intestinse, semen or eggs and all that stuff? And how would she find one? They didn't exactely write that on birthcertificats, and if someone froze for instance semen, and the sim that had given it died and the semen was defrosted and inserted into a living sim... it would still be from when the sim was alive.

     Which made the only option that someone had sex with a sim, and then kill the male at the same time he ejaculated..... Ofcourse she could have kidnapped some women, and locked them up and get some guys raping them. Finding men willing to commit rape was the easiest thing on simplanet, and then she could kill the guy when he came. But that was a lot of work and where would she keep them? She'd have to rent a space which mean payment, which meant it was possible to trace to her, and so on.
      But, she was a woman and that made it possible for herself to get pregnant. Which meant that she could have sex with a man, then kill him as he ejaculated in her and carry the fetus herself.

     However, men were gross and disgusting, and why would she give some random stranger the gift of entering her precious body? Even if would kill him? Then ofcourse it was the problem of Ian realizing she'd cheated and leave her; leaving her pregnant to fend for herself. She could cry rape, but that didn't mean he'd stay with her. And then she'd have to act like it had happened. But there was a better option, atleast for someone with her skills.

     Damn washingmaching, he swore when they'd gotten enough simoleons he was buying a new one! One that didn't run over the floor chasing him! And that was more enviromentalfriendly than this one. If it was going to run all over the house, the least thing it could do was to hang the laundry to dry, but no.... It wasn't that helpful!

     The entire house had the sweet scent of cinnamon after he'd seasoned the meal. Shaking the though off, he wasn't really worried about the spaghetti; he was still dreading talking to Skuld about what had happened. He tried his best beeing sensitive with her, but it was hard at times. Sometimes it felt like he just gave and gave, but never recieved anything back. Other times again, she was all sweet and loving, making him feel terrible for thinking like that about her to begin with.

     He just didn't know what to do at times. She'd had a hard life, he knew that and wanted to understand. But she never told him anything. There were times she seemed so emotionless that it was impossible reasoning with her, but he'd heard that could happen that sims just zoned out. Maybe that's what she did? He remembered Efraim doing it from time to time, but it still hadn't been like it was with her. He'd just zoned out, and keep to himself and usually felt embarassed and bad when he de- zoned. Skuld was just... well, not doing it the same way.

     Ian could hear her rummaing in her den. When had she come home? He knew she tried beeing considerate, but come on! She'd had to sneak behind his back, litterally! Probably when he'd been fighting that evil machine! Was she trying to avoid him? He swallowed the little irritation that tingled at the back of his mind. He didn't want to raise his voice at her, it was best to keep it calm. There was no reason taking a serious discussion when irritated, and he'd already decided it was better taking it tomorrow. Then they'd both have slept, and he'd be less emotional. For now he just leaned back on the desk and took a deep breath.

     Skuld had an epiphany whilst searching for bugs: the most obvious solution to her little problem was to have sex with her husband. Then kill him with one of her many poisons as he ejaculated in her, and then quickly give him life back with another potion. She already knew how to raise the dead, atleast if she did it immediately after death. Before the essence had time to leave, and grim reaped the soul. It was brilliant! That way she'd keep her loyal dogs help and get a child with an unlife at the same time: Do you think I'm desirable Ian?

     He was pretty certain he had just been annoyed at something. But he couldn't remember what it was: You're a goddess.... She even smiled at him, seeming happier than she had in ages. It was something lovely about the entire situation: his wife casually undressed with a big, happy smile on her face. Ian still found himself wondering why on earth she'd wanted to marry him in the first place, she was out of his league. Not that he was complaining in any way, but sometimes he found himself wondering what others thought when they saw them together. Or what she was really thinking about him. It was a terrible thing of him to wonder about ofcourse, because she wouldn't have married him if she was repulsed by him.

     With an inviting smile over her shoulder as she turned around, she said: Come here then, little red ridinghood. Only Skuld could say that name to him and make it sound hot. But when he realized where she was taking him he couldn't avoid saying anything: Really? There? They were on their way down to her den in the cellar. He was barely ever there. But she nodded at him before walking down the stairs. As much as he wanted to be a strong man, he quickly followed. He had to be dreaming or something.

     What the fuck is that thing?! Ian jumped at the sight of that.... what the hell was it? This suddenly didn't seem so hot anymore. Skuld actually laughed sweetly at him: It's just a doll. 
      It's creepy.. yuck. Was that thing going to come to life or something? Looked like it's eyes were following them around the room. For some reason she kept giggling at him. He could have sworn she said they didn't have the simoleons to waste right now, and she'd bought some childsized doll? That just didn't seem right. Whatever they were doing he was going to have his back turned against that thing. Maybe it would come to life and try stabbing him in the back or something.

     How about you take your clothes off, it'll probably make this a lot easier... Skuld teased in between kisses. Trying not to show how grossed out she got by his scaly legs, she kept her act up. He should be thankful she ever allowed him to touch her. 
     I refuse having to see that.... thing there.. Ofcourse she knew it'd creep him out, she wouldn't have put it there if it hadn't. He didn't want to turn his back against that doll, but the option was looking at it. So better to take the chance of having it stabbing him in the back.

     Skuld was pretty good at keeping an act up when she needed something, even when it took forever. It was a bit entertaining seeing how much power she held over him. How could this even be a big deal to him? It was just putting that thing inside her, and that was pretty much it. Well, not that he didn't try doing other things to, but there was no way that gross mouth was getting anywhere near her ladybits, thank you very much. That was just sick, and probably had something to do with him beeing a fish.

     It wasn't that she didn't remember Ian always using a long time finishing, it was just that she kept forgetting the extent of the time it took before he even got started. Which just added to the time it took overall. And it wasn't that fun to begin with. But for once she had a pretty good cause to endure, and it made it easier for her to keep track of his pleasure. She'd been sure to place the bottles needed within arms reach, having it all planned out. To think it had taken her so long to figure out, it was embarassing. The best part was still that he wouldn't remember her doing it, since he'd be dead. And the dead don't remember, atleast when they get back to life.

     Men were so stupid!! Was he trying to prove something by holding her up so her feet didn't touch the floor? Why hadn't she thought about that?! Skuld wasn't a complete moron either, she'd make sure to have a pair of bottles on the floor, and on the shelf. But if he held her up, it meant she'd fall when he did! That was bad, she could loose that little time she had to bring him back from the dead. She could hurt herself!! Though she had to admit it held a certain fun to it.
      Slapping him lightly on the back, she tried getting in touch with him: Ian.... Ian.... Eventually she got a grunt back: Put me down... I can't do it this way, I have to have my feet on the floor...

     I won't drop you, he assured her. Ofcourse he wouldn't drop his wife, what did she think of him. 
     It's not that, I just...
     I won't drop you.... 
     But what about when you...
     Don't worry, he breathed, I won't be able to hold you like this then. Mainly he just hadn't wanted to sit with that ugly doll staring at his butt. What if it came to life of something?
     It was still good news for Skuld, because it meant it would be easier for her to calculate her killing him.

     Was he ever going to finish? Was it even supposed to take this long, she couldn't really remember. Come on, she was eager to try out her little experiment. She kept on looking at him, trying to find the perfect timing. Ofcourse there was a chance that he wouldn't make it right the first time, but then she'd just had to try again. He couldn't fail every single time after all. And why did he keep looking back at her? Didn't he understand that she wasn't doing it for his pleasure? She didn't care about his pleasure at all.
     She could see the potiong that would end it for him in the corner of her eye, moving her hand to grab the already open bottle.

     He fell straight down, like a rag that she'd dropped to the floor. No fighting, no surprised looks, he was instantly killed. No one could come here and claim her potions weren't the best you could get. There was no way he could have fought that off. And she'd timed it perfectly to ofcourse, now she just had to hope that she got pregnant by it.

     But she couldn't linger on her amazing success, she had to work before grim came visiting, and he was fast! She forced the liquid into his mouth, down his throat, to bring him back from the dead.

     What was happening? Why wasn't he waking up? Her potions worked, they always did. She hadn't tried it before ofcourse, or even sold any. Why would she help other sims overcoming death? They'd just die in the end anyway. And she wanted to be the only one that could decided if sims were allowed to carry on living: Ian? He was breathing, wasn't he? But why wasn't he waking up quickly, he was supposed to.

     Ian? She was getting agitatet. It was so typical of him not beeing able to do anything right. She checked his pulse and heartbeat, and they sounded pretty okay. But his breathing was a bit shallow. Skuld had studied medicine amongst others, but that didn't mean she wanted to help other sims with her skills. But if she was pregnant, she'd need help when she got bigger. And who would run her errands if not Ian? Unlike what the stories often told, the essence of younger sims weren't usually stronger than the ones of the older. Their essence was young and inexperienced. The strongest ones usually belonged to adults, when they were at the peak of their lives.

     Adult sims would generally fight harder to avoid death then the younger ones, so their essence was stronger. Sometimes childrens, teenagers and even the elderlys essence was strongest, but generally it was the one of the adult ones. Ofcourse there wasn't a guarantee that stronger essences made a better potion for her to stay young and everliving, but it was best to be on the safe side.
All in all, it meant that if she'd gotten pregnant now, she needed to keep the baby atleast until it was a child. And she didn't want to take care of a child on her own! Ian had to do it for her! She didn't even like kids! Irritated she shouted at him: Ian! Wake up already! He was still breathing, she could see it.

     Sighing heavily Skuld came to a realization. She did have most of the education to become a doctor, but that didn't mean that she wanted to. Or that she had the instruments to make him better. She had to get some help for this. She sighed heavily again. This was so typical of Ian, now she had to get dressed. But the worst time was dressing his half- dead carcass to. His fat arse weighed a ton. She swore he just did this to spite her, he couldn't even die the right way!

     The ambulance came quicker than she had anticipated, but not before Ian had woken up coldsweating. She didn't like hospitals, they smelled and there were sick and injured sims there, and elderly. She didn't like them, they were a waste of valuable resources and a burden to society. The nurse had taken some samples of his blood and now she was waiting for testresults. She wasnt't worried about them finding anything that could incriminate her ofcourse. She wasn't dumb enough to make poison that was tracable. Atleast not the most dangerous parts of it. Not that she thought they would run a toxicologytest either way, atleast not for what she used. But it was better to be safe.
Working on him until the sun had risen, one could wonder why he hadn't woken up yet? No one had told her anything either.

     She heard the heavy door opening, revealing them to be able to withstand fire for a while. Most hospitals had those anyway, so did schools. It was probably the nurse with the testresults, so Skuld stayed put pretending to be to preoccupied with thoughts about her husband. Which she was, but mainly because it was so typical of him beeing this selfish.
     Everything looks good so far. That voice didn't belong to a nurse.

     Was that her littlebrother in a doctoroutfit? Why was he here? Oh, wait that's right. He'd probably finished the internship by now. Her kidbrother was a doctor. That was just so strange, did he perform surgery on sims to? Odin? Who in their right mind let him operate them?
     Skulds face must have revealed more than she'd like as he continued: Don't look so shocked, you knew I'm a doctor. 
     I just wasn't... She hadn't been expecting him.
     Just pretend you don't know me... As I said his vitals looks pretty good so far. His breathing is better, and he should be waking up soon enough. We gave him something to sleep on
.

     No one had told her that? Had she been sitting here oogling because they'd given him something to sleep on? When had they done that? What a waste of her time!
     Nurse didn't tell you? She tried not to sound irritated: No he didn't. 
     Well, he gave Ian something to sleep on after the treatment was done. Guy was a mess, but in pretty okay shape. I have some concerns though...
     Concerns? What concerns? She kept her face away from her brother, just in case she'd underestimated his intellect: What concerns? Will he be fine or not?

     We ran some test on his bloodsamples, due to the symptoms.
     And... she didn't like where this was going.
     And, he sounded very doctory: there were traces of muscimol in his system. What the actual fuck was he talking about, but if he was hinting at something Odin didn't give her the chance to speak: It's a psychoactive substance that effects the sentral nerval system found in...
     Amanita Muscaria, I know. Skuld interrupted him: Are you trying to tell me that Ian ate mushrooms?

     Well, maybe it was an accident or he did it on purpose. Believe it or not, we get a larger portion of sims drugged on that than you'd believe. That was strange, it wasn't exactely a pleasant drug to use. Which ofcourse Skuld had tried, had to figure out what she was working with after all.
     You really think Ian got high on fungi on purpose? Well, it was better than him expecting her to have anything to do with it. But she hadn't actually used any amanita in the two portions she'd used.
Maybe he was trying to impress you, with your name and all? You know who got drugged on amanita right? Was her brother actually trying to be funny with her husband laying in hospital? Even if he said he was fine?

     Not that Skuld actually cared that Ian was in the hospital, it was really just irritating: There's no proof of berserkers using that. There were certain siberian tribes that did, but....
     Well, they had tons of names for magical potions and amanita didn't have the same name then. It might be hidden in galdrasmidja or lyr or... or taufr.... And you know who the vikings worshipped right? He gave her a clever grin and wiggled his eyebrows.
     Odin, Skuld looked at him: My husband is in the hospital. What are you trying to do here? 
     He actually looked a bit guilty: Sorry, I just haven't spoken with you in ages. I just.. I'm sorry.... I was just trying to lighten the mood abit for the rest.

     The rest? What "the rest"? There's more? 
     He grimased: We found lappaconitin, sepentrionalin and cynoktonin in his system, it's found in the aconitum lycoctonum. Fuck, she hadn't thought they'd run any tests for that: Trollhatt, she said. There wasn't any point in her trying to pretend she didn't know what it was. Odin knew she knew anyway: Well, he can't be poisoned by it, he's not conscious after all. And if he'd had been trollhatt poisoning, wouldn't you be giving him coal and made him vomit?

     We did... He said to her: and I was under the impression that he was awake when the ambulance got to your place. 
     But... ofcourse there was trollhat in the potions she's used, but just one of them: if he'd been poisoned, he'd be conscious all the time. And wouldn't he have been in for a longer time before getting better? He collapsed first, and I wasn't able to get in touch with him.
     He's a meresim. Odin said it like is should mean something.
    So?

     I've never seen it myself, but we've learned about it. Meresims and other... supernaturals... tend to be a bit more resilient than usual sims. They can just handle a bit more of everything. Kind of lies in the name "super". Not that he wouldn't have died pretty quickly without treatment, but his body just takes a bit longer before the poison kicked in like it should. Most likely the uncousnciousness was a result of his body trying to fight it off, or some other form of shock.
     What? Why had she never heard about this before? I've never heard about that before. Meresims weren't real supernaturals anyway. Atleast that's what she'd dreamt. She couldn't even be bothered trying to explain it to him.
     Because it's not really that big of a different, they still die pretty quickly and the results are pretty few and not really verified. But the question still remains in how he ended up consuming it.

     She really had to stop making mistakes like this. She was a genious, she was supposed to do better than this- she had to be better than this. Good thing she was a decent liar and did her best to suddenly have an epiphany. Well, she actually had but more in the sense of getting a good idea: Oh... well... you know we have planters in the house with trollhatt in it. 
      Yea.. I'd never ask them to run tests for that for an adult, but since I knew you had that stuff around the house. You have a lisence to have that by the way? Nevermind, dad probably fixed you one.
     She tried not to get to irritated, so that's why they'd tested him for something so obscure? And ofcourse she had all her papers in order: But Ian has taken up this little herbgarden that he uses as seasoning. You know he loves to cook.... Maybe he got the wrong one without really noticing? I can't really imagining there beeing any other way if he actually ingested it.

     Then why aren't you sick? 
     What was with the third degree he was giving her? She didn't have an interest in answering all those questions. But she didn't want to make him suspicious either. Ofcourse there was only one thing to do if he got to nosy, but it was risky. Mainly because police always looked at friends and family first: Because I had to leave before he'd finished cooking. He'd eaten by the time I got home.
     From where?

      What do you want to know really, Odin? Are you trying to tell me this is my fault? Skuld turned around to avoid him seeing the lack of tears, but still keeping her voice sad and pretended that she blamed herself: Don't you think I know that already? If I hadn't had those plants in the house, Ian wouldn't ended up beeing poisoned... she sobbed a bit more until she finally hearing Odin letting out a sigh. The type a conquered man gives: I'm sorry. It's just not a common poisoning for adults. I need to ask questions to determine if I should contact the police.

     Say what?! What? She didn't turn towards him, just incase he could see how nervous she actually was: You want to call the police? For what?
     He kept still for a very long time, before finally answering: In case there's suspicion about deliberate poisoning. It's attempted murder at worst. 
     You think I tried to kill Ian? I'm your sister! She did her best to make him feel a lot worse about himself. And he should! To think of accusing her of something like that? It wasn't an attempt, she had killed him, but she was so god-like she brought him back to the living!Odin shouldn't ask her questions about how he'd been poisoned, he should worship the ground she walked on because he wasn't dead anymore!
     No, no.. I don't, really I don't. It's just standard, I have to ask. I know you wouldn't poison anyone!

     He continued: I know you wouldn't poison anyone! I'm sorry. He even wiped tears away from his eyes.
     Oh he knew that now, did he? And she hadn't actually meant for him to get this injured. It took time, and she had to pretend she was worried about him. Which she wasn't, because it should be fine now after all. But she really had to stop beeing so careless! This was ridiculous! First the woman, and now Ian. Skuld was disappointed in herself, she had to do better. She had to. Good thing that Odin believed her, or she could have been in trouble right now. That also meant that if the baby- thing hadn't worked, she'd just had to get rid of Ian in the usual way the next time around.  
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 poses: imho, k2m1too, annely sims, mary36jony, traelia, AG, k2m1too, extraordinair,

The doll is because of the misc fun roll for the record.

So, just ignore the clear and obvious illogical and silly things here. And if anyone wonderes how Skuld is supposed to know if she's succeded, even if she did get pregnant; she hasn't thought about it. Because in her mind it will either fail as in not getting knocked up, or it's a success.

And no, Skuld will never, ever, ever even consider selling any reviving the dead potions, because she wants them all to herself. That, and there aren't any ;) Other than removing occult state, and since ghost is one I figured that was close enough. And I know nothing about poisoning or hospitalwork; just mentioning it.

Thanks for reading