Behind the Scenes: Belladonna Cove | Episode 6.5

Gabriel juggling cups instead of facing his newborn son ...

So. Yes. I decided to ditch the thumbnail style I had been experimenting with. I think that style - black and white background with the focal point in colour - worked really well for the thumbnail for episode 6.4, but it just wasn't working for the other episodes. I liked the style, and when I created the thumbnail for episode 6.4, I thought it worked well. I thought it could stand out. But, in the end, the screenshot of Kimberly reacting to the ghost of Fabio Green suited my experiment … everything else didn’t.

Then, back to the Cordial sisters, I did consider changing Samantha’s LTW to Become a Cult Leader. She has a degree, so she could aim for that position, since that career requires a university education - however, she has a Biology degree, and the Psychology, Philosophy* and Physics degrees would be more helpful for the Paranormal career. (Though, on the other hand, a sim can roll a Want for a job that doesn’t relate to their degree.) But Kimberly has a higher interest in Paranormal than Samantha. I do still want a member of the Cordial family to become a Cult Leader, but if it does happen, then I think that I’ll have to force it to happen.

*Actually … Gabriel has the Philosophy degree. Perhaps, he becomes a Cult Leader???

I like looking at a sim’s Wants when I give them a job. That’s why I’m waiting on Kimberly to tell me what she wants. (But she isn’t … and how long should I wait on her, you know?) Hopefully, Liam Cordial will attend university - I also hope that he won’t roll the Fear of majoring in a degree related to the Paranormal career - and then graduate. Maybe I’ll wait on him to roll a Want concerning work, but I’ll probably have him get a job in the Paranormal career. I like to focus on my sims’ Wants, but I’m also crafting a story. And the story I’m aiming for, right now, is to have a Patel become a Mayor and then a Cordial become a Cult Leader.

I have this idea, nothing set in stone, but it’s a simple storyline that just popped in my head. Charu Patel goes into Politics because of Ramir, because of his dreams, because he’s … a bit demanding and he has expectations. He expects her to do well, to elevate the family name, and to walk in the other direction if a Cordial is around. But he doesn’t know that her team leader at work knows a Tarot Card Reader. And that Tarot Card Reader happens to be Liam Cordial’s co-worker – and her team leader happens to be a superstitious old man who wants to be reassured about his decisions. Charu Patel, you see, doesn’t mind accompanying her team leader when he visits the Tarot Card Reader …

I’m going to play with the townies after season 1. And I hope I’ll eventually craft a connection between townies that will end up linking a Cordial and a Patel. What do I mean? A townie in the Paranormal career will become friends with a townie in the Political career. A Patel (this doesn’t have to be Charu because Charu doesn’t have an interest in Politics) will get close to a townie in the Political career, and a Cordial will get close to a townie in the Paranormal career. But, like I said earlier, you need a degree for the Paranormal career. So, if I want an actual link between a Cordial and a Patel using townies … well, that might take a while. A long while, if I want it to happen naturally, so I'll have to upgrade the townie and give said townie a degree.

Then, let’s talk about the other Cordial family members and the people close to them.

But first, a warning: the ideas below will or won’t be incorporated in the next season/next round, so if you don't want to be spoiled, then you can stop reading now.

.

.

.

Gabriel rolled the Want to become a witch. I can see him becoming close to Kimberly because he wants to understand what it was that he saw when Kimberly had her transformation. So, they get close, and then Kimberly introduces him to Frances. And then Frances introduces Gabriel to the Dark Side (of the Force). Also, I think when Samantha and Gabriel roll romantic Wants for each other again, they’re going to share a bedroom – and when you’re living intimately like that, you start to notice things.

Samantha should react to Kimberly’s cackling, you know, but she probably thinks that it’s one of her quirks. But what if Gabriel starts doing the same? I feel that she would investigate, that she would stumble across Kimberly’s cauldron and spell book. And Gabriel’s cauldron and spell book would be kept with Kimberly - Kimberly loves her sister, but she’s still envious of Samantha, as her bio states. I feel that Kimberly wants to savour her magic, wants to believe that she has it and not Samantha, and that it’s something she’s good at. That pleases her.

Also, I feel that Frances won’t keep Kimberly in the dark concerning their dark magic – she wants a companion, someone who will respect her and serve her. She’ll summon Kimberly, ask her what she thinks of magic so far, and then she’ll explain the various branches of magic. I feel that Phoebe will do the same for Samantha. So, I’m going with the idea that the Head Witches introduces an ordinary human to magic, allows them to get a feel for magic by themselves – so that the Head Witches don’t influence them, so that they can make up their mind by themselves – and then sits down with them. Like, the red pill or blue pill situation in the Matrix. You’ve been exposed to the truth … do you want to continue? This introduction is something that both Head Witches must do. It's law. Transform the human, give them space (because everyone reacts differently to the transformation), and then guide them if they want to continue practicing witchcraft.

I think I want to go with that. Start their second round by having them visit (for story purposes, summoned by) the Head Witches. They then understand that there’s different branches of magic. Phoebe tells Samantha how magic can change you – how dark magic changes you. And after that, Samantha starts to notice Kimberly’s cackling … and then Gabriel’s.

I think I prefer this storyline instead of having them talk about the Paranormal, having them share an office. I do think I’ll tweak the story a bit more before the Cordial family’s second round, if I feel that it’s necessary, but I already like this version of their story more than the one I was hoping for in this first round.