strangetomato | Drabble+: Pascal discovers the secret of the Tricou family

Prompt: Pascal discovers the secret of the Tricou family
Character: Pascal Curious (and mentions of other members of the Smith/Curious family)
Wordcount: 616
Imagecount: 0
Warnings: none

This is one of those prompts that I didn't think I would ever write a drabble for, mostly because it seemed to impose a whole other story on top of S,HWC that didn't currently exist there, but lo and behold! It happened. The reasons for this will become clear later, and maybe not in the way you might think (it's a surprise). ;) It also gives me a chance to elaborate on some Curious family history that I've had worked out (complete with sim recreations) for quite some time now, but haven't had a reason to mention.

Pascal lifted the attic door open and pulled himself inside. He had been happy to volunteer go up there for some old photo albums for Jenny, because it had been years, and it was also a relief to get away from the noise and chaos of his family for a moment. Even in such a solemn time as this, they were a lot to take.

He settled into the corner and opened a familiar box, removing a stack of letters addressed to his father. The return address varied, but all had been sent to him by G. Curious.

His sister, Glabe. Their aunt.

It was not the first time Pascal had examined the contents of this forbidden box, but he hadn't trespassed there since he was a teen. Now, with a job search looming in his future, he was once again reminded of his Aunt Glabe, the paranormal investigator. Perhaps he would also be best suited out in the field, directly investigating UFO sightings and alien abductions, rather than working behind closed doors as a researcher. He could work for himself, and have that freedom, just as Glabe had. Growing up, she’d always seemed so much more interesting than his mother. More interesting than his father, even.

He poured over the dusty letters, which told tales of her many adventures. In the end, Glabe's focus had been on exorcism.

Dear Glarn,

I'm sending you my notes, because I'm beginning to fear for my safety. There's something wrong with this place. The House of Fallen Trees is most certainly haunted, but there's something more than that, something much worse. Ms. Neengia is terrified and with good reason. I sense an unspeakable evil here.

Please give my love to the children, especially Chloe and Lola. I miss them, but it is only right that they are with you now and with their brothers and sister. You made the right choice, though I know it wasn't easy. I'm proud of you. It's Kitty's loss, not yours.

I hope to see you again very soon. You are always in my thoughts.

Glabe

That was her last letter before she disappeared completely. Attached to the letter were some photographs and pieces of her crumpled notes.

He noticed a photo that seemed familiar to him. It was a very old picture, of a handsome young man. He had a sudden recollection of a young Jenny carrying it around with her, until Vidcund had found it and teased her for it. He flipped it over and read the name on the back.

Jonathan (Jon) Smith-Tricou, as a young adult

It was one of those rare moments when something suddenly dawns on you. He smiled.

Pascal examined another image. This one featured a beautiful old woman, and was labeled, Jennicor Tricou, the matriarch. There was a number scrawled on the back of the photo, a foreign phone number, and a name—Titania. There were no other notes on the matter, just a sticky note that read:

~~Who~~ What were the Tricous?

And another that read:

What did Jon do?

Pascal placed the materials back into the envelope. It wasn't his mystery to solve. If Glabe’s experience was anything to go by, they were all better off leaving well enough alone in this case.

There were other things, mysteries, which did concern him, however. Things concerning the aliens and the recent crash of another spacecraft. He didn’t believe it to be coincidence, and neither did PT No. 9. With the old alien dying, maybe it was time for them all begin seeking answers.

Pascal pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind for another time, and headed back down to join his family once more.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ooh, this sounds so promising! I've been waiting for someone to tell the story of the Tricous and explain the mysteries that surround them. I can't wait to find out what happened in your version.

Thank you. I won't be going into too much detail on this in S,HWC, since it really is a story in itself, but you never know what could happen. ;) I won't say too much more than that for now.

I think I might have some ideas as to what the Tricous were if Titania was involved. But it's still bizarre; why does Glabe think Jon did anything? Why did Jenny carry that photo around? (...unless she just thought he was cute, which is always a possibility. :P). Lots of questions, and even more when you wonder how they tie into the main story.

It sounds like Kitty left Glarn for keeping Chloe and Lola. That makes me sad. :(

I love getting little glimpses into the lives of the characters we don't see as much in S,HWC, and you do the drabble very well. ^.^

So many mysteries, so little time. ;)

I will answer the question of the Jon photo, though. It was just a childish crush, but it was significant enough that she quite possibly named her firstborn after him.

Or maybe it's just an everyname and there's no connection at all. Take your pic.

Yeah, that's the idea. I've hinted at that before (that Kitty was unhappy about the alien children), and I probably will go into a little further detail on that situation at some point. Keeping consistent with the Maxis photos, Glarn kept it all a secret from Kitty and hid out with Glabe until he gave birth, and she raised them until they were children. (I may have to retcon it, but that way, the twins wouldn't even have to be older than Jenny.)

Thank you. ^_^ I do love touching on a lot of the Maxis folks that way, so I try to include them in these little sidestories, or just as backdrop to the main story. I think I'd really enjoy doing a series of unrelated short stories on Maxis characters, though finding ways to connect them is half the fun.

This was great. I don't even know who the Tricous are or what they're about- they're all dead, right? Or something?

They're the dead family in Downtown. They're buried in the cemetery and, apparently, haunt one of the houses.

(I didn't know either. I had to Google them. :x)

I don't always trust the wiki (they called Ripp a hippy, afterall, when he's clear just a cut-and-dry teenage rebel), but they seem to have everything more ot less in order on the Tricous.

Glabe, on the other hand, is listed as Glarn's wife when there is no evidence that this is true. They even mentioned them divorcing (based on game logic, as a reason he left and she kept them), though Glarn has no memories if you ressurect him. Sister works just as well (better, if you ask me), even though she isn't in the family tree.

I don't entirely trust it either, but it was the closet thing I could find to a brief summary; it seemed pretty harmless. :p Mostly, there were just a lot of explanations on how to resurrect them. And a story that didn't seem to have gone anywhere, which was a shame.

I gathered that there seems to be a lot of that, taking assumptions and naming them as facts.

Thanks. I've been looking into the Tricou family lately, though I can't say why just yet. ;)

Yeah, they're all dead, and some by violient or mysterious situations, and they haunt The House of Fallen Trees and the graveyard in Sim City. It's an interesting story.

As a House of Fallen Trees aficionado, I salute any and all who do this prompt. :D

Thanks. In that case, you might be happy to know what my plans for this are. I won't say anything just yet, though...

The House of Fallen Trees is a great little mystery, isn't it? It's up there with the stories they included in Strangetown, like Nervous and Olive.

Absolutely! 90% of the fun of this game is in the storytelling for me. Trying to reconcile the many open-ended Maxis plots is a fantastic exercise that has thus far provided me with *gulp* 81,398 words worth of story (and counting).

I can't wait to see where you go with this! It amazes me just how many possible interpretations can be had here.

*points to avatar* Kvornan Tricou!

Very nice. I also like that you made Glabe his sister- Maxis' timing seemed wonky for her to be the first wife to me. :D

Thanks. ^_^

I couldn't agree more on Glabe. The wife thing did not sit well with me at all. If they were married, why did they split up, and why on Sim Earth did she keep the babies, especially since Garn continued to be obsessed with aliens (he's shown at the telescope again in another photo).

It makes better sense to me that his sister would raise his secret alien children in an attempt to keep peace with his wife. There's no evidence of Kitty taking off, but there's nothing to say she didn't either.

Well, I think the game implies that Glarn ditched her with the twins after they were born. But in my head, Jenny shows up WAY too soon for that. I was playing around with Glabe still being an ex-wife, but the marriage being btw best friends (like say she's an immigrant or something). Your explanation is way neater.

Great story! Really interesting! I can't wait to see where it goes?

Would you mind posting the latest chapters of Strangetown, Here ... on the directory? It's so much easier to access them from the list, so then if I forgot recent plot, I can just go back and check! I really appreciate it. Thank you for your wonderful writing!

Thank you. ^_^

I will try to update the story directory as soon as possible. I had the last couple of chapters pre-outlined, but then I changed it, so an update is definitely in order. Thanks for the nudge.

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

I think I know where you're going with Jennicor and Titania. Along with both being matriarchs, there's a similarity I also noticed while doing the Tricou makeovers.

I don't know if you knew (or if anyone else did) but one of the songs from The Sims Superstar is called "Glabe Glarn."

Also, here's the hack to brighten up Body Shop, in case you didn't find it already :)

Drabble+: Pascal discovers the secret of the Tricou family

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