Strangetown: outtakes and reflection

[strangetomato]

It's that time again!

We've come a long way, plotwise, since the last outtakes post. We've had a couple of deaths, Nervous is now free, and we're safe from Olive's reign of terror (while Circe's is just beginning). Then there are the clones, oh the clones! Jill kissed both Ripp and Buck (those Grunt boys are nothing but trouble, I tell you), and we finally see the truth about Buck's romantic leanings. And yes, we ended with Ripp taking one for the (opposing) team. I mean the aliens, of course (what sort of teams are you thinking about?).

Warnings: Language, sexual situations (the usual)


First things first...




Just had to make sure that we got that out of the way, so we can all relax. *grin*

I'm just going to launch into this with photos from a really funny example of the glitch which freezes a sim's face on one expression. This glitch has been plaguing some of my photo-shoots, like the Smith dinner party (which took a lot of effort to set up each time, adding to my annoyance). But really, it was all worth it for the day that Ripp's face got frozen in the most pissed off expression you're ever seen on him!




Ripp: If you don't laugh at this, I'm going to fucking KILL you!

He's SO angry!

So angry, that he can't even be brought around by a pillow fight with Buck. He's fighting to kill! I have no idea how his face even got like that, since he rarely gets angry during normal gameplay (almost all of the angry scenes in this story are forced with some tool or mod). It's usually either laughing or crying with Ripp, so this is really weird. Maybe he was arguing with Tank. That seems to be the only explanation. I took a bajillion photos of this, but they're all pretty funny, so let's do a montage.




Ripp: You're going down!

Buck: Oh yeah? We'll see about that...














And yeah, they sometimes use pink and purple pillows... you wanna make something of it?! (Don't mess with Ripp!)

Also, tickling is no laughing matter!








Ripp: I hate you.

Buck: It's funnier because you're so angry.




Clone sighting!




Hey... wait a MINUTE! The clones have no gender preferences. They shouldn't be set yet. What does Ripp DO to attract these sims, exactly?!

This next one is for those who who have suggested that there might be a "more than friends" thing developing for our trio:




Ripp, Ripp, Ripp...

I know that the Johnny thought balloon is a popularity sim thing, but I know what that LOOKS like, don't you? *snort*

Johnny and Ophelia consider some ways that they might make such an arrangement work out for them.

The hearts sure were flying in Strangetown, as usual.




Tsk tsk tsk... Dirty old men. (Or, in this case, a man-like creature.)




Ouch!

He's really checking out the situation there. *snicker* That "check armpits" thing that the slobs do always cracks me up anyway. Just take a shower, you dirtbag! Also, that's one limp wrist you have there, Ripp!

Okay, now take a deep breath...




*stares blankly*

No. Just no.




And this just became The Graduate, only far worse.

How does that ridiculous song go? "Johnny's mom has got it goin' on..."




Ripp quickly reminds me of his true preference in the room.

Ripp: I WANT!!! Givehertomenow!

Too late, Ripp! You have Jenny all worked up now.

And then we have Buck, who really wanted to spill the beans about his crush on Jill. Really, really badly.




Buck: Damn, woman! That is one HAWT dress!




*sigh* Does everyone have sims that are this horny? And watch out, there, Buck! You seem to be throwing your shoulder out. That's one serious pelvic thrust!

This next thing is so cute that I nearly died.




Awww! *smile* I didn't tell him to do this, either. He had just finished puking his guts up in the bathroom, and he headed next door to play dolls with the toddlers. I've come to find that Ripp is really good with babies, even as a romance sim, as long as you don't want him to change diapers. (But really, he just loves playing with dolls.)






Ripp: Come on, now, Jolene! Stay focused! This is serious business...

Jolene: *munch, munch, munch*

Toddler cuteness overload! Eating dolls! And Jordan strolling around in the background! Isn't Ripp sweet with the babies? Maybe he'll have some of his own one day in this story. Maybe. *wink*

Speaking of that puking scene...




This always struck me as one of the more reasonable fears in the game. I know that I really do fear throwing up! For the sims, it seems to be mostly a romance sim thing. Poor Ripp. What do I put him through... (He was InSIMed to have food poisoning.)

Ripp: This was a bad choice...

Wasn't that a gross toilet? It just happened to be clogged at the time, lending a nice filthy Trainspotting sort of vibe to this scene.

Remember how Ripp "noticed" Jill as she got up from the dinner table? Well, he wasn't the only one...




Yes, indeed. Buck really does like what he sees! Tank is even showing some mild interest. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I would suggest that you tell your daughter to put on some more clothing. Like a large sack that will cover her from these wandering Grunt eyes.

Nothing but trouble.

Next we visit the Beakers.




Circe: What are YOU looking at? Never saw an angry pregnant woman before?!




Yeah, I wonder what's wrong with her too. Hint: Her ass is on fire.




Pretty random, but I've never seen this happen before. The wolf gets sprayed! Teehee.

Now, let's see some clones! Just another little peek.




Meet the clone family! You know that I was just dying to get them out of the sim bin. And here they are after they arrived at the Beaker's place...






Everything seems pretty normal here, right? (The girl's hair was different because I deleted a download, and had to re-download it and fix it).




Yeah, Loki, you're right. You may be crazy and misguided, but for the clone thing, you are pretty cool.




But you might want to reconsider that one. Look at Circe back there. She did so much complaining about her aching back! And Olive is just here to kill them.

And no set of Beaker outtakes would be complete without...




A flying vehicle. (Just like their logo says!)




Nervous: I'm outta here! Later, Circe! Have a nice life.

Now, let's move on over to the Specter place in that cab with Nervous.




Nervous figures out who's calling all the shots.

I didn't know until recently that Nervous Subject begins the game with a preference for males, but clearly, it is true.




And Nervous thinks that Ripp Grunt is a pretty smoking hot romance sim. (And the maid likes him too. I just knew that no straight man would wear that outfit. *snicker*)

Now, I found this so amusing (and so very unlikely in both the story and the game, since they have almost completely opposite personalities), that I just had to get Nervous to make a pass at him to see what would happen. Ripp really SHOULD reject him, for a variety of reasons (including a low relationship score, at this point).




But, as you can see, Ripp never passes up an opportunity. Never.




I love that reaction. It's labeled the "sleazy" reaction in the hula mod, which I think is appropriate.

Ripp: Aaaaaaahhhhhh, YEAH!




Ripp: Okay, so I don't usually go for guys, but maybe just a little hug...

(This move was an autonomous one for Ripp, by the way.)




And Nervous clearly gives off mixed signals.

Nervous: Errr, no thank you.




Ripp: WTF, Nervous? Why you so... nervous?

Nervous: Just please... respect my boundaries! No means no, Ripp.

He's just confused, Nervous. Nobody ever says no. Nervous Subject: the unattainable holy grail of sims. Now, please wipe that entire fiasco from your mind. It really, really didn't happen. This, however, really did happen...




Ripp is SO useless. He spends all of his time doing crap like "talking through bear", pillow fighting, watching television, and taking baths.

Oh, and also making out with the random drop-ins at college. I think he may have even gone for the cow mascot, but I missed a photo op. Some sims will autonomously clean the house, or do things to build skills, but not Ripp. Well, he'll go to his guitar to play, but that's IT.




And he always finds the comfiest chair to relax in.

At one point, I let things get out of hand with the ghosts, and this happened.




And yes, Pascal is more concerned about Johnny's poor hygiene than the fact that he's dead. He's DEAD, Pascal! Your nephew just died, and that's what's bothering you?!




Even more innapropriate, Pascal! Please try again. (Poor smelly, grieving Ripp!)




Not that much better.

And Ophelia had sunstroke on top of it all. Needless to say, I did not hit save after any of this (I often don't after I do some of these shoots anyway, since I have to ignore things like having sims go to work for long periods of time and InSIM the time of day, etc.)

Ripp and Ophelia were just devastated by Johnny's death. It made me really sad. Ripp did give up crying to go take a shower, but other than that, he was doing it nonstop. And Ophelia lost her mind. Very sad.

Speaking of that shower, though...




Ahhh, yes... that cleanses the palate nicely after that awful scene.

Yeah, I'm objectifying you again, Ripp. I'm sorry.

Ripp: It's okay, just give everyone my number, and we're even. *makes "call me" gesture*




Nervous helps Pascal deal with this terrible tragedy, by giving him the most unique massage I have ever seen! Yikes. Glitches freak me out sometimes.




A penny for your thoughts, Ripp. What a weird expression! Someone has to think of a good caption for this. I'd imagine he was thinking about what Stella told him, but this happened before that. *snicker*




This is how I got those shots of Ripp whining at Johnny. I told him to go clean up the place.




Did you know how I got this expression and pose from Ripp? (I really thought this was quite a good one.)




Yes, a nice game of fetch with one of the many stray dogs. His own idea, of course. When I noticed the expressions, it was too good to pass up. You never know when something will work out for you like that with the freewill on.

Ripp and Pascal's first real conversation was priceless.




Ripp: So what's it like being abducted?




Pascal: Well, it's super! All of the fun, and none of the commitment!




Ripp: Sounds AWESOME!




Ripp: Almost as great as eating a big icecream sundae!




Pascal: Well, actually...






Pascal: I don't like icecream.

Ripp: WHAT?!




Ripp: What kind of deviant are you, Pascal? I just don't trust a guy who doesn't like icecream!

Pascal: I have sensitive teeth?




Pascal regains his "good uncle" status by congratulating Johnny on his good grades.




He's not really even paying attention, though.




Ripp wonders if all the icecream is going to his hips.

A little random one now, from Ajay Loner. To get a reaction from Ajay and Erin, I had her reject him for a make out on the couch. Have you ever seen this?




The sims being rejected gets their ass handed to them! Look at him flying through the air! *snort* Nice undies too.

Now a few more fairly random ones involving Jill and her fantasy(ies).




Yeah, she's likes that too.




I had a number of unused photos for Jill's Ripp fantasy, and this one turned out really sweet (which was obviously not what I was aiming for in that sequence). It makes a nice little gift for those of you who like the idea of Ripp and Jill together, though. (80sfiend - Does this work for you? Hmmm? *smile*)

So there you go.

On a seriously random note, while I was shooting this scene I also wondered who Ripp's perfect match really is from a chemistry point of view, so I called the matchmaker, just for a laugh. (I may try to do this again with a few other characters too.) I asked for a female.

This is who he got:




o_O

The look on his face says everything, really. They aren't related, of course, since she's not really there as a resident as much as just a storytelling tool (and, as his mother, there are personality and aspiration compatibilities), but still... YIKES! Ripp just crossed a serious Oedipal line.




I hope that's a goodbye handshake. (And don't worry, it soon was.) *snicker*

Back in college, here's a "hidden scene" with Tank and Frances. (This is especially for music_simbol)






I'm pretty sure that this took place in Frances' mind! *grin* Pajama pillow fight!

We also have plenty of crazy antics in the home of Johnny, Ripp, and Ophelia, but let's start with a truly frightening one.




These are the things that nightmares are truly made of. *shudder*




Ripp: HI JOHNNY!

Johnny: Oh hi, Ripp! I didn't see you standing right there in front of me. I made us some pancakes.

Yeah, they're still at it.




Yep. That`s them, alright.






Get a hold of yourself, Johnny! We get the idea, already. He is completely out of control.

But do not get the wrong idea...








Johnny: Excuse me, Mr. Cow, but NO. I don't think so!

It ain't quite that easy to get into Johnny's pants, as he was quick to point out to the cow mascot.

The message didn't quite get across, however, which eventually led to this...










That's what you get for messing with Johnny - Wait... WTF? Johnny has something like 9 body points! Who's in that cow suit, anyway?

They are always thrilled to see the cheerleaders, though.








Especially Ripp.




He's baaaack!

Johnny: Oh dear god! More nudity!

Llama mascot: I'd hit that.




Ophelia swoons over some sort of Johnny-Ripp hybrid. It's like Johnny with a Ripp mullet. The bubble was actually flipping back and forth between the two. Is this another sign? *snicker*

After our last outtakes post, there was some discussion in the comments about potential Johnny/Ripp chemistry, and I didn't think that they had any, since even when I had them fall in love temporarily to make a number of scenes possible (the bathrub scene, the "carrying Ripp" scene at the club), they showed no chemistry. It turns out that it is due to the number of hetero interactions that Ripp has performed, making him uber straight, at least in game terms.

I decided to check it out on a more even playing field, so I set their male and female attraction to maximum with InSIM. The result is a double bolt attraction, which is the same as Johnny/Ophelia and Ripp/Ophelia. There is a reason they all make such good friends. They have excellent chemistry.

My experiment led to an advanced version of the heartfest that I showed you last time, and it's definitely good for a little "alternate reality" giggle. This is what it COULD be like, if there really was more to this than friendship.

(With a wink and nudge to pixel_and_bean. Finally, a little Johnny/Ripp action for you, if only hypothetical.)




It all starts out as a typical dance contest, but watch how things progress.






















Did that seem familiar to you, madame_ugly? Like another trio that we know?

Next up we have Ripp's encounter with Stella. But first a little scene from the abduction at the beginning of the chapter.




Bella: Hi Genesis!

Genesis: Hi Bella!

Oh no, it's spreading...

Let's head to the Wasteland Lounge to see how Ripp and Stella are doing.




One of Ripp's lovers decided to come and congratulate him on the stellar job he did of taking her virginity. He has quite a few of those under his belt now.




Stella actually was talking about sex with Ripp, which amused me.

And wait a minute... who's that at the bar behind them, ordering a drink? Oh yes, that's ME! *snort* Seeing your simself as an uncontrolled sim is really funny. Of course, I only dropped her at LFT a couple of weeks ago, but she gets around. Went right for the bar too, I see. She's me alright.




Actually, I'm a pretty big nerd, as you can see here. (Why would I go to the bar to do my assignment?!) From this angle, and with the concerned, furrowed brow, she really looks quite a bit like me.

I was concerned that she might meddle in this scene, and she did do a little meddling.




For starters, she's just saying hi to one of her favourite sims. (And I think that Stella's considering her for her research too... score!)




Then she gets hot for Gunnar. Oh, come on, simself! I would so NOT do that. (Notice how platinum Ripp is back there! He gets around and he just loves it!)




Wait. What are you doing?! NO!!! Leave him alone!




Tsk tsk. Autonomously molesting Ripp. Am I surprised? Are you? Well, you can't argue with chemistry (2 bolts, baby!). And they did hang out, so they're pretty good friends. (Who am I kidding... my simself's as slutty as they come.)




I hang out with them sometimes, outside of the story, just for a laugh. This really brings me back to my time at university.




I was also way too cool to let this secret society girl admire me.




And so was Ripp. Poor girl couldn't get a break!




More sleazy Ripp. I thought this was funny, but it didn't make the final cut because it didn't match the mood of the scene.




Here we go!! Fasten your seat belts.






The next morning, a random professor drops in to dance like an idiot, so they laugh at him.

I really, really wanted to use this next one, but there was no way to make it work.




BAHAHA! This just cracks me up.

"Dear Stella,

I had a simply charming time on our date. Thank you for showing me your probe. I would just love it if you would allow me the honour of taking you out again sometime.

Yours truly,
Ripp."

Nice heart stationary, Ripp. Very pretty.

Lastly, someone correctly guessed the identity of the man on whom I have based Mr. Doe. Did you notice? (Probably not.) It's in the comments for of one of the chapters. Anyway, here he is.






(Now I'm thinking that maybe he needs sideburns too, but that's probably just this photo.)

You know who he is, right? That would be Stephen P. Morrissey, formerly the singer of the very influential band, The Smiths. And now you see the connection, right?

I'm also just a big fan of his, and I think that he has an interesting look (I would say he's quite sexy as well), so I figured that he'd make some neato alien offspring, and he delivered. Morrissey is known for his solitary ways, so the character of Mr. Doe is based off that too, and it works for the story. He's also very ambiguous about his sexuality, and has been quoted as saying, "I refuse to recognize the terms hetero-, bi-, and homo-sexual. Everybody has exactly the same sexual needs. People are just sexual, the prefix is immaterial."

An interesting figure in our discussions of love and sexuality, no? I consider that to be something of a theme in this story, or at least something that I like to examine a little in writing it. The genderless aliens are all a part of that too.

And Mr. Doe made it into the outtakes! This one is a little older, but I missed it when it happened.




Time to start running.



So, there you have it. Do you have any questions, comments, critiques, or gifts of baked goods for me? (I like oatcakes.)

Comments

[kristiann.livejournal.com]

I just LOL'd the whole way while reading this XD

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear it! :D I was blessed with some seriously good material this time, I think.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

I really love your outakes! They always make me laugh!

I'm glad the fish are still taken care of. Now that Buck and Jill are going to spend so much time there, they won't miss a meal! :P

Ow, that face glitch! I've never had a sim stuck at an angry face like Ripp (Mr. Pillow fights are SRS business!!), but I've had female sims with some sort of O_o face, and they often have their first kiss with that expression. It's hilarious!

Oh, my sims aren't as horny as yours. Actually, I haven't seen them act like that in a looong time. Your Grunts are quite special! :D.

I had no idea about how the sims' sexual preference influence the chemistry between them. The whole Johnny, Ophelia, Ripp pics were cute! And how they mourned Johnny when he "died" was sweet in a creepy, sad way.

Ewww at Ripp's date with his mother :P.

Oh, so that's Mr. Doe's alter-ego! To be honest, I've never heard about the Smiths, but I'll look for them. You made me curious!

Thanks for the pics and the comments!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I love doing these, because it's pretty quick and easy, and a lot of fun. I get to toss aside what restraint I may have in the story, and let them run a bit wide (not that they need that much help from me).

Oh, you can bet that the fish will be fed now. "Later, Mom! We have to go feed the fish... AGAIN." Oh, those crazy kids!

Heheh. I've seen the o_O face too. It's funny. I also had Johnny stuck in a really inconvenient dumb grin during a serious scene, but the Ripp one was the best. Can you imagine the scene with Jill on the balcony, if I hadn't exited the lot to try again? (Ripp, in general, always rules the outtakes. He just does the most random stuff.)

Your sims aren't that horny? What am I doing to encourage them, I wonder? Heheh. Don't you also have ACR in your game? If you have ACR, and your sims aren't as horny as mine, then I'm definitely not ever putting ACR in my game. Yes, those Grunt boys are a very special breed. *snicker* Bunch of trouble makers.

Yeah, the sexual preference thing is weird. I have a number of bisexual sims who show chemistry for both, but if you go too far in one direction, it seems to wipe out that attraction that they did have for the other sex. Not incredibly realistic, since it's not always that clear cut in real life (and attraction for one doesn't negate the other), but it makes sense for the game mechanics.

Yeah, I think their mourning of Johnny was even more telling of how close they all are. They really lost it. It was so sad. The three of them all have 100/100 relationships, so that has a lot to do with it. They never even have a bad conversation.

*snort* Whatever do you mean? You mean it's not cool to date your Mom?

Never heard of The Smiths? *gasp* That's almost like saying you've never heard of The Beatles to me (well, not really... they weren't a huge commercial success outside the UK). They're a very influential band, and they're also just a really good one. I recommend listening to the album, The Queen is Dead. In particular, the song, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out. Beautiful song. Oh, and if you read up on them, and their handful of albums, you might notice another thing that I've referenced in this story. (Yes, all these tiny references keep me amused.)

You're very welcome! Thanks for reading and commenting. :D

[zepheera.livejournal.com]

First of all, YAY! The fish got fed!

Yep, house guest is definitely having me committed. These outtakes are HILARIOUS. I could not stop laughing the entire time I was reading. You had some gold in these.

Wow, you do have tons of hearts getting blown around. Those Grunt boys are trouble I tells ya, all over those Smith women...and Ripp doesn't even stop with the women. *snort* Yeah, he'll try anything once.

I cannot WAIT for my new copy of Sims2 to arrive so I can get back into playing! Darn me for not making sure I could find ALL of my discs before I reformatted! Oh well, once it shows itself, at least I have a brand new video card to see the game with! *waits impatiently while throwing catbutt face at the empty mailbox* The Sims stories are the only thing keeping me from going through some serious withdrawal!!!!!

*waits (im)patiently for more*

[zepheera.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Pascal totally fails at being an uncle in the outtakes!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

We couldn't forget our fishy friends, could we? *snicker* They're becoming such an in-joke.

Thank you. I had some excellent material. My sims really delivered this time. They must know that I'm going to show this stuff off.

The Grunt and Smith families are pretty "connected", aren't they? *snicker* Just imagine if I let them act on all of those attractions... oh, what a tangled web.

Yeah, it's bad to be away from the game when you want to play it, but hooray for a new video card! That will be very exciting (I know it was for me). Heheh. Cat butt face.

How do you like Sims Stories? Do you have Castaway Stories? I wonder about that one.

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

I have to ask...what is a catbutt face? :P

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've gotten stuck faces before, but never an angry face. Ripp probably was fighting with Tank for a sec when it got stuck, but yay for outtakes!

And all those hearts a-blowing! Whoooooooo! You gotta wonder if you let ACR have free reign, who would be doing the deed?

OMG, Ripp playing dolls was soooooo cute!! It's interesting. If you look at a lot of legacies, especially ones where people let free will do a lot of the work, romance sims actually make good parents, while family sims lack a bit in that department. Romance sims may lost asp points for having kids, but when they have them, they take care of them very well. Therefore, I project that if Ripp has any children (and I'm 99% sure he will at some point in this story), he'll make a pretty decent father. (Not to mention the baby mama will be a very lucky woman!)

I knew EA made Nervous gay!! How can he not end up with Pascal?!?! Anyone who doesn't have those two end up together should be burned at the stake!!

Heh heh heh, Ripp's dating his mom! I can just hear Ripp's drunken story now! "Yo, Johnny, you'll never believe what happened! On a whim, I asked the matchmaker to hook me up, and you know who she gave me? My mother! I haven't seen the woman in years, and the freaking matchmaker finds her in like 2 seconds!"

Yeah, the pillow scene was nice, but not enough to satisfy my appetite. I need some hardcore action! SMUT SMUT SMUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ripp, Ophelia, and Johnny.....hmmm, I'll call them "ROJ!" The hottest threesome in all of Strangetown! Those would probably be having non-stop sex if you let them.

You totally want to have Ripp's babies. If there was someone who resembled him, you'd totally strip in like two seconds and jump on him. Don't deny it!!

Ripp would totally not leave a card. He'd leave behind his used condom, maybe, but that's about it. The game made him leave a card!

So, that's who he's based on. Pretty good looking sim. Who is Jayne's PT parent? Just wondering was recessive genes she's got going on. (Yes, I'm assuming we'll see her genes in action in the future. Read into that how you will).

Now that these outtakes are done, I assume another update should occur shortly? It would be pretty bad not to see one, cuz Strange and Buzz aren't officially married yet, and it would be a shame for something to happen at the wedding..........just saying......

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the angry face glitch was pretty good. It had to involve Tank. It's so funny to see him angry like that while playing, since grouchiness and seriousness are not two of the traits that he has. At ALL.

I have the horniest sims! There are hearts EVERYWHERE! I even left a few out, since I think the idea gets across anyway. I'm afraid of ACR for that very reason. I fear for Ophelia's wellbeing. *snicker* And if I had that "risky woohoo" thing, then the place would end up swamped with babies.

Yeah, it will be hard to resist putting Ripp's genes in circulation, so there will likely be something somewhere down the line for him, whether it's wanted or not (condoms can break, afterall). That's true about the romance sims, though. I think that a lot of it has to do with their personalities. For abduction babies, I find the male sims are generally good parents, regardless of aspiration. My Don Lothario made a good parent to an alien daughter too.

Yeah, Ripp's baby mama might be lucky... if she/he is not a P.T., making Ripp the "momma"! Heheheh....

Yeah, they did make Nervous gay in the game, though it's subtle (Circe is bisexual, in the same way). I've also heard that Pascal is perhaps "programmed" to fall in love easily, so that's another thing. Destiny? It might be. Kind of looks that way, doesn't it?

*snort* I can see the look on Johnny's face now. "Ripp, this is too much, even for you."

I can't post hardcore smut on here... what would people think?! *snicker* The pillow fight was cute, though, wasn't it? I didn't have a lot of extras for them that I could show at this point, but maybe next round, after they've had more screen time.

ROJ works, or JOR, or maybe even ORJ. I like ROJ. It sounds like a shortened version of Rojer (Wait... nobody is named Rojer). It's definitely faster than typing all their names out, isn't it? And yes, they would waste all their time doing that, if they were all allowed to be in love. Right now, they do dirty jokes and dancing, but they'd totally switch it up to making out if I let them.

Oh, I have never tried to deny my fondness for Ripp, have I? No, I have not. Heheheh. But as a person, I might take a step back and wonder why he has such HUGE eyes. Better suited to a sim than a person...

No, I can't imagine Ripp sending a card at all! For one thing, he's way too lazy. And the "dates" that he goes on are not that romantic (but for sims, they are, of course... they must all be in love). He MIGHT leave a used condom?! What else would he do? ... leave it on for the ride home? *snerk*

My reply was too long. To be continued...

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Mr. Doe is a sim-Morrissey. There are numerous tiny references in any chapter that involves him, if you know what to look for. I think he makes a pretty good looking sim! And he has those killer eyebrows, which set him apart from the Maxis sims. I'm glad I have those in the game now. So unique.

Jayne's pollinator was P.T. No. 14 from the multi P.T. replacement set. This one:



I had a little problem where I removed these P.T.s temporarily, while some other alien sims were born, and even when I replaced them, Jayne no longer had any information in her family tree for the P.T., just her father. So, while I have lost my proof, I'm pretty sure it was this one, given the shape of the eyes. (I do know that it was one of the female P.T.s, since I was curious to see which gender of alien Mr. Doe ended up with, given Morrissey's statements about it all being much the same to him.)

So that means that she has recessive red hair! *grin* And you're so right about her eventually breeding. I wouldn't have put that much thought into her design for nothing. You can safely assume that all the aliens will breed with someone. That's what they're invading Sim Earth for, afterall.

Yes, I'm going to get the next chapter out as quickly as I can, but it might be the weekend before that happens. Oooooh, are you threatening me? *snicker* Something happening at the wedding? Well, I do hope that something funny happens at the wedding! Watch out for my simself... she might flirt with her son-in-law! (I hear he likes dating his mother. *snort*)

[simpathology.livejournal.com]

*snrk* I love seeing my simself wandering as an uncontrolled sim, especially in my hybrid hood (I got it off MATY, all three hoods as main hood and "downtowns"... although how you have a desert downtown of P-view still makes no sense). Just last night, my heavily preggers simself (she wasted no time snagging a Curious boy on her own thanks to ACR and on a public lot, for shame!) was spotted at the LuLu Lounge, dancing badly and hitting the bar. Right after it was Cold Issue Clothing to argue with random sims and dance with her hubby. Yeah, really need to post up some of those pics in my sim journal, if not KatsukoSims...

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's weird to see her in the game, especially when she really does do things that I would do. I think I chose her personality spread pretty well. I'm sure she'll poke her nose into my storytelling business again before too long.

I'm definitely never putting ACR in my game. It frightens me to think what would happen.

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

Thank GOD! I've been up at night worrying about those fish. *snort* You're such a smartass (and I love it).

That clone's probably hot for Ripp becasue Ripp's such a successful romance sim. I get sims swooning for Jules Death Wang and they just met him. And my Nocheat self-sim swooned for romance sims long before I ever had to her "check out" anyone (and JL isn't easily won over).

PT hot for the maid! Old dudes STILL got it. I can see him getting Jenny to play a little dress up. But I picture more of a "June Cleaver" outfit than a naughty maid.

And SEE! Tank and Ripp would have no problem sharing a lover. They both want some of the sweet, sweet Jenny.

Poor Ripp. You gave him food poisoning? You know you can get the barf animations (complete with barf) by using the Hula Mod. Far less work.

The Circe on fire pic so looks like she lit a fart (you can see the green vapors on her). *snort* That so reminds me of my friend's sister (who has lit her farts).

I never knew the skunks would spray the wolves? I've made sims get sprayed. But to NPC type animals interacting like that? Hilarious.

You took the high route with the Pascal/Ripp icecream thing, especially with the last pic of Ripp shaking his ass. That's so begging for lactose intolerance jokes (especially since they're in the bathroom).

"Does that look familiar?" Hmmm, it does. Except Pascal, Albert and Percy don't eat fish (ok, Albert might have eaten it before, what with his former line of work). No offense, Ophelia.

That card? If you take the love notes out and display them is that what you get? Hmm, I have a few love notes in inventories. That'll be something fun to look at.

So, do you really PLAY this neighborhood? Like do you care what a sims lifetime want is and try to get them that job (then write it into the story) or is the story more important? I thought you had two different hoods, one where you played and one for weird shoots (like the dream sequences) so you wouldn't have random walkbys. Now I'm confused.

I love bonus pictures. So much fun (and now I'm totally thinking that stupid cheerleader chant. Gerbits, gerbits, gooooo gerbits!)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Me, a smartass? No.... *snicker* Those fish are very important to Strangetown.

Yeah, I guess that Ripp's skills have a lot to do with it. He has been very successful. I get a lot of swooning. Everyone swoons for romance sims anyway, but I've never seen it override a gender preference (or lack of one) like that before. Heheh. Jules Death Wang.

Yeah, P.T. keeps things interesting. Who knows what the Smiths do in the bedroom, especially considering his special parts.

Ripp and Tank do seem to agree on who they find hot most of the time, anyway. And Buzz did too. Now, as for sharing... *snort*

That food poisoning things was before I had the hula mod, which I would obviously choose over InSIM now. Like I said before, I don't often save after some of these complicated photos shoots where I have to mess around with relationships and stuff (I also didn't really change Jill to an independent teen - that was just for those couple of scenes).

*snort* Lit a fart! Totally. My aunt used to do that all the time too. Pretty silly. That's a good pic of Circe.

The wolf is actually a pet wolf. So are all of the dogs on the Specter lot. Nervous and Ophelia both adopt stray animals, which is mentioned briefly from time to time. It's all related to Ophelia's lifetime want: to raise 20 puppies or kittens, which I'm going to try to do.

Yeah, maybe. *snicker* I didn't even think of lactose intolerance. I love the faces in that argument about the sundae. They get pretty serious about it.

I'm sure Ophelia doesn't mind. As long as those two enjoy seafood. But wait, Johnny doesn't eat meat... *snicker* I'd say that he probably does now.

Yeah, the love notes become cards that you can put on a table. It's so funny with their photo on the front. It would be funny for a romance sim to have all of their different cards lined up on a shelf.

Yeah, I totally play it. Those special (or complicated) scenes are just done on the normal lots using InSIM and whatnot, and I just don't save them (if I did anything weird - but sometimes I do save). And I just delete random walk-bys if they get in the way (or usually just move them). But I play along normally too, and many of the photos are just taken during those times. Like Ripp and Stella actually did go on a date for that bedroom scene, and it was a dream date (no kidding).

I do intend to try for the lifetime wants, at least on some level, and a lot of it has influenced the plot (though I did alter a couple of them to suit my purposes better if they were really bad LTWs). The reason that Ripp is a musician is because he had that lifetime want, and Tank's LTW is to become General (I think it always is). All the other LTWs are listed on that character profile page that I did up.

Yeah, me too. I love seeing the extra pics. Silly sims.

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

Those were all so good! Everything from angry pillow fighting to ugly professors who can't dance. :D

And the clones all dancing around in the house. Excuse me, Loki, weren't they supposed to be a secret? LOL!
The picture of Nervous looking up at you. The first sim I had do that to me was Lazlo. It sort of freaked me out until I got used to it. He'd just stand there like, "Now what?" I always love when they moan at me when I make them do something they don't want to do.
Circe does not look at all happy to be pregnant, does she? *snort*
LOL at Pascal when you lost Johnny. From my nephew really stinks, to Ripp is hot and Ophelia's nuts. You're ruining your sweet image there, Pascal!
Cow mascots are the worst and I hate them. I'd rather deal with a burglar then them.
Some of the conversations sims have are just a riot. I've seen some doozies. Like the romance sim husband telling his wife that he had two lovers at the same time. Probably not the best thing to tell her. She in turn told him she had loads of money. Or the son telling his mother about his first woohoo. She probably didn't really need to know all the details.
So That's who Mr. Doe is based on. Pretty good. I remember The Smiths. Oh, and Olive hear-farting over Mr.Doe? I hope he's got his track shoes on because he needs to run away..now! LOL!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Hehehee... ugly professors. Yes, he surely is that, isn't he?

The clones weren't even in the house until I needed them for that chapter. There was no way I would be able to control them, and they have proven themselves to walk around town in a very inconvenient manner (as I expected them to). I see Lyla Grunt around town ALL the time too, but it makes me laugh. If it becomes really annoying, I suppose I can always send her to the bin for a vacation.

Yeah, the sims break the fourth wall from time to time, don't they? It can be a little unsettling, but I usually just smile back at them ("Hey Nervous! How's it going down there?").

How did Circe end up that angry when she popped? I'll never know, but I LOVED it! :D

Pascal didn't handle the tragedy well. He didn't know what he was doing, maybe? Consumed by grief to the point of confusion? I'm not surprised by the neat sim whining at the stink. He's famous for that.

The cow mascot is terrible, and I really wish that Johnny had won the fight. If she (I think it was a female) shows up again, I am not resting until Ripp seduces that cow. That should keep it occupied.

"The the son telling his mother about his first woohoo." *snort* Remember Ripp and Lyla? I love sim conversation bubbles.

Yeah, Mr. Doe is a decent resemblance, don't you think? I think Morrissey's eyebrows might be even thicker, though! Very impressive...

Yeah, Olive sees a new potential husband. Too bad he "Will Never Marry". *ba-dum-ching* (At least I amuse myself sometimes.)

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

LMAO. Oh I love the outtakes, I really do. :D And I even got a mention!!! :D I'm so proud. ;) Thanks for the Jill/Ripp pic, I DO really like it. :D My shipper heart is very happy. :)

I love your story so much and I love the outtakes cause they're amusing too. :D Just wanted to say keep up the great work. :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Heheh. Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the Ripp/Jill handout there. You've developed a reputation as a shipper around here, for sure. *grin*

Thank you. I appreciate it, and I'm working hard on the next chapter (after a minor period of lethargy). It has some really fun, if mostly pointless, scenes in it. Well, character development is never pointless, I guess... but still, I have some fun with it, since a lot of the action-based plot has died down.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Great outtakes! I did some serious much needed laughing, for sure! I'm so living vicariously through your Strangetown since I usually don't have any time (or hands) to play with mine these days, lol!

Yes it is very true that Nerv starts off the game with a slight preference for males. Like it's negative for females and neutral for males, I think... so one flirt or "check sim out" to a male will swing him that way, but it takes quite a bit more than just that to swing him hetero.

Interestingly enough, all the Curious brothers and all the Grunt boys are programmed to prefer females. Even little child Buck has already been pre-set!

Oh... tell me you didn't make Pascal gay! Yikes! ((Covers eyes and whimpers)) Hee hee... I'm just messin' with ya. I know lots of players make him gay, what with his programmed alien pregnancy and Nervous coming around as soon as the birth happens. I'll have to dig in my archives and find my "Pascal's treat" picture I did in response to that once (evil grin) Oh yes, it was a major orgy going on... lots of girlies waiting their turn in varous states of undress and a LizzLove's Waterbed in the center of it all. (giggle) I had some fun setting that one up, yessiree!

I had a SimSelf wandering around in my game for a while too. Like me, she was a Family Sim, and, like me at the time, she was pregnant. Well, I had wanted her to have a boy, like I did, so I had saved the game just before the birth. She had, like, TEN GIRLS IN A ROW... and I got tired of replaying the birth so I just didn't save and left her pregnant, intending to try again at a later time.

Well, I was playing another family at a Downtown restaurant and in waddles my SimSelf. She sits her wide arse down and ORDERS CHEESECAKE AUTONOMOUSLY. I wasn't controlling her... I just watched her scarf down that cheesecake all on her own, get up, and leave. Of course when I went back into the lot, she had twins! Crazy sim!

Oh wait... I just found my picture from Pascal's good time. I'll make it my userpic for this post. HAW HAW HAW.

Anyway, I really enjoy reading your story! Keep up the excellent work!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Nervous is actually negative for female and neutral for males? Weird. Really, would it have KILLED them to make it positive for males? Really? And he's not so much set, as made easier to set yourself. That's fairly lame, in my opinion. As you said, the Curious brothers and Grunts are programmed to prefer females. I know the world is rife with heterosexism, but they could have at least set Nervous too. The game has oodles of hetero characters in it by design. (Sorry, but things like that really bother me.)

Uh oh... I hope you are just messing with me, since you might not enjoy my story all that much if you're not okay with gay characters. There really are a number of them, not even mentioning the area in between the two extremes. And I don't think that I would be so much "making him gay" as following what think is right for the character (I can just see someone eventually using that exact statement about a future child of mine, if I ever have any).

For Pascal, the right thing for his character might be a romantic relationship with Nervous Subject. Pascal strikes me as a somewhat unsexual character, in the sense that I don't imagine him to have a lot of sex drive. He's mostly cerebral, and a very logical fellow. He might approach romance in a similar manner.

That pic is really funny, and so unlikely (given my thoughts on his character, anyway). Now Ripp, I could see... but Pascal? Yeah, it's good for a chuckle. Well done, also.

I have made a family sim versions of my simself too (even though it's not quite accurate), but it's so odd to see her pregnant. And breeding a simself can be... interesting. *snort* I had no idea that a sim could eat cheesecake as an uncontrolled character and still have twins. That's crazy!

Thank you. I'm working on getting the next chapter up this weekend.

[amaryssobellus.livejournal.com]

HAHA the fishes. :P

That picture of Johnny, Ripp and Ophelia's thought bubbles couldn't be any more perfect. That's all their personalities showing.

I would still like to see some Jill and Ripp action. Heck I may end up doing that.

Ajay's picture and Circe's cracked me up! That would make a great icon, Circe's.

Thanks for the laughs and can't wait for your next update.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Gotta love those fishies! Heehee.

I know. It's too good. Well, for Johnny and Ophelia, it is their default aspiration bubbles... Ripp, well he's doing something a little more "special". *snort*

Some Jill/Ripp action is not completely out of the question, but we'll have to wait and see. (And isn't that a great thing about sim stories set in premade neighbourhoods? You can always go and pair up the characters you want to after reading someone's story. I know I have.)

Yeah, it might be a good icon. One of these days, I'm going to make some.

You're quite welcome. It's good to hear that you did laugh. I'm preparing for the next as we speak...

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

This post cracked me up!

Ripp's "stuck angry face" was hilarious! My sims always do that, they usually get stuck with the "confused" dance face. Like they're telling me, "Do I even know this person enough to grind with them?"

When Ripp was mourning Johnny's grave he was probably saying:

"Now I can't ask him if he has BOTH OR NOT. It won't be very classy of me to check now that he's dead..but maybe..."

"Dear Stella,

I had a simply charming time on our date. Thank you for showing me your probe. I would just love it if you would allow me the honour of taking you out again sometime.

Yours truly,
Ripp."

Hahaha! I was dying of laughter. (in my mind..I don't want my sister to think I'm crazy, since she's already suspicious.)

Ripp getting Lyla as a blind date! o_O

I always love these outtake posts! :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you can get some seriously weird stuff for outtakes with sims. Crazy, crazy stuff, like dating your mother! o_O

I get that confused dance face stuck on my sims all the time too! My simself, especially. She has that furrowed brow stick there for hours. Even when making out with someone, which completely cracks me up.

"Do I even know this person well enough to grin with them?" *snort* Well, they do that with sims that they're only friends with, so maybe...

Ripp wondering if Johnny has both. *snicker* Oh, you know he's just waiting to catch him coming out of the shower, or peering under his bedsheets while he's asleep.

That love note really cracked me up too, in the context of the story. Whenever I get "probed", I always write a thank you note. That's the polite thing to do. It seems like Ripp was brought up to understand proper etiquette. Well done, General Buzz!

Ahhh, glad to hear it! They're a lot of fun to do.

[missgan.livejournal.com]

LOL at Ajay flying through the air! I've never had that happen before, so I'm definitely going to check that out!

My sims only have glitchy faces when it comes to dancing. You know that cocked eyebrow, slightly frowning look that both guys and girlsl get when they dance with each other? Most of my sims end up staying with that expression for a long while after they stop dancing. It's hilarious, especially when they kiss with that face! XD

I love Buck! And I'm glad that Jill blew hearts for him too. :D They deserve each other!

I wonder if Tank is gay? He doesn't seem to have any clue that Frances is. I'm waiting for his reaction when he does find out!

Heh, I envy your simself for getting to hang out with Ripp, Johnny and everyone else! :D

XD

[lovelythingsdie.livejournal.com]

Jeez I laughed the whole time while reading this.