Strangetown: Chapter One

[strangetomato]

Warning: some strong language



Chapter One





Ripp Grunt considered himself the most unhappy person in Strangetown.

Strangetown. It sounded a lot more interesting than it was. Boredom beat down on you almost as hard as the merciless sun. Who could explain why sims would choose to live there, in the harsh desert? It certainly seemed to attract a host of deviants and weirdos, and now the Grunts were among them.




Buzz Grunt had moved the family there shortly after his promotion to General. That was normal enough. The Grunt boys were typical military brats, so they were well used to moving. This time, though, they stayed longer than usual. In fact, Buzz had no intention of ever leaving Strangetown. His new area of work, dealing with "the alien situation", required him to remain there.

Moving around so much, the Grunt boys rarely made close friends. Tank didn't seem to be capable of making them at all. Ripp usually made a couple of easy, throwaway friendships, but never got too close. Buck, still a child, didn't have the same teenage issues to deal with as his older brothers, so it didn't bother him yet. However, This lack of outside friends had failed to create any sort of comradery between Tank and Ripp.

Put simply, they hated each other. The truth was much more complicated than that, but to a casual observer, they couldn't have been more different, or more contemptuous of each other.




Tank Grunt. Tank, Tank, Tank. The firstborn. The favourite. He was being groomed to follow in the General's footsteps. He accepted this fact, not without a certain amount of joy, but very rationally and seriously. Tank couldn't possibly be any more serious than he already was. He really was his father's son. Neat and tidy, punctual, and distrustful of anything outside of his worldview. He spent a lot of time training with Buzz, and had already begun working with the military part-time.




On top of this, he got straight A's in school.




Ripp was failing most of his courses at school.




Ripp Grunt was everything that Tank was not, and nothing that he was. Lazy, messy, lacking in focus or motivation, but also charismatic and sensitive, and, in his opinion, much better looking too.




He also had a part-time job, because the General insisted on it. Not that Buzz thought much of what Ripp had chosen for employment. He'd applied for a job at the gas station with the sorriest excuse for a resume that the world had ever seen, but had somehow been hired. He hated his McJob with a passion, but he was glad to make some money of his own. The General would never give him a single simoleon, at least not to buy anything he would actually want.

What he wanted more than anything was a guitar. He'd always been musical, and had played in the school band forever, but he needed his very own guitar. A cool guitar. A sexy guitar. He was going to become a rock star, become rich and famous, and get the hell out of Strangetown forever.

He wouldn't even look back.




Buck fell outside of this rivalry. As the baby of the family, he was able to do more or less what he wanted. What he wanted to do included baking, playing with dolls, and leafing through the Holy Simoly design catalogue, which, after some insistance from Ripp, he had the sense to hide from Buzz.




"What you readin', there, Buck?"

"Oh, nuthin'... just one of mom's old design catalogues."

"Better not let the General see it."

"Why not?"

"Because he'll throw it in the fucking trash can, that's why."

"Oh, yeah... right. I'll hide it under my bed." The Grunt boys hid lots of things under their beds.




Buck was too naive to realize the danger in displaying such interests at first, but he quickly caught on. Buzz mostly ignored him, but he occasionally worried about his youngest son being too soft. Both Tank and Ripp spent time with Buck, and each hoped he would be an ally to them, though Ripp was doing a much better job.




Buck thought Ripp was cooler than cool, and Ripp loved his younger brother very much.




Buzz Grunt went about his life with military precision, and dealt with his sons the same way he dealt with his troops. "If someone has a better way to raise three boys, I'd like to hear it." he was known to say. For Tank, this approach worked well, but the other two really suffered as a result.

It hadn't been so bad when Lyla was still around.

Lyla had been the consummate army wife, at least on the surface. Behind that outward image, was a very different story. The love had gone out of their marriage somewhere between Ripp and Buck, and Lyla had gone looking for it elsewhere. After months of cold silence, followed by weeks of shouting, Lyla finally left him. That wasn't surprising, in itself, except she never came back. At all. She didn't even call.

Months later, General Buzz was questioned about her disappearance by the Strangetown Police Department (SPD), but, of course, he knew nothing. A missing person's report was filed, and Buzz didn't think too much about it afterwards, except to suggest that she'd probably run off with some asshole, or had gotten abducted by "those damn aliens". To this day, her whereabouts were officially unknown.






The loss of their mother was hard on all of the Grunt boys, but they each learned to cope with it in their own way.




Buzz had no time for dwelling on it, so they dealt with their grief in private. Some took it much harder than others.

Ripp viewed his father with nothing but contempt. His list of the General's crimes against him included naming him Ripp, chasing his mother away, and, in his own words, being a "complete fucking asshole."




An early attempt at molding Ripp in his own image had gone sour for the General.




It had occurred in the wake of Ripp's teen transition, when he so boldly rejected his father's aspiration for that of his mother, which was simply unacceptable in the eyes of the General. His retaliation, the haircut, resulted in one of the biggest flare ups in family history, and had created an endless supply of bad blood between him and Ripp. Ripp had sworn that he'd never cut his hair again, and, to date, he hadn't. "Over my dead body... you can cut it for my funeral," he had said, and prayed that the General would die before him.




Ripp based his life around what would anger the General the most, it seemed. He watched TV all day, ate poorly, took long lazy baths, and swore constantly. He wore the same pair of jeans every day for weeks without washing them, and used tape on his bedroom walls instead of the designated putty. He kept his own schedule and it wasn't even remotely based on military time.




His sole military practice was short-sheeting Tank's perfectly hospital-cornered bed, and he fooled him almost every time. That was the one piece of information that he gladly retained from all of the General's long-winded army rants.




Seeing the rage of Tank as he sputtered and fumed was well worth the effort. It's not like Tank treated him any better.




Ripp also often cried alone in his bedroom, or any room that was out of earshot of the General and Tank. This was more of a necessity than an attempt to garner disapproval, though that would be guaranteed if he was ever discovered. Tears were not an option for any proper Grunt man, or any man period, in the General's opinion. Knowing that he would be scolded or mocked rather than consoled always seemed to make the tears come even harder and faster.

Ripp's crowning achievement in getting back at the General, however, was his best friend, Johnny Smith.




Not that the friendship had been his idea. It had been Johnny who first approached Ripp, that summer the Grunts had moved to Strangetown.




Ripp had never met anyone quite like Johnny. Sunny and warm, just like his golden blond hair, Johnny always exhibited a comfortably assured presence, as if he never doubted the validity of his existence. If Johnny ever cared that his skin was green, Ripp never noticed. This fascinated Ripp.




"I'm Johnny," he had said with a smile, "John Smith. I'm guessing that you're one of the General's sons."

"Yeah... the normal one. My name's Ripp Grunt - don't laugh."




"Why would I laugh?" It didn't occur to Johnny that someone would find the name odd. "Welcome to Stangetown! I've lived here all my life. I'm the 4th generation of Strangetowner on my mom's side. Dad's from out of town, obviously." That much was as plain as the nose on his face.




"Strangetown's not such a bad place to live. It's a bit boring, at times, but you can make your own fun..."

Ripp tried not to stare, but even Johnny's fingernails were green!




The two became fast friends. For a while, it was just the two of them, and Ripp couldn't have been happier. He didn't even mind playing second fiddle to Johnny, who seemed to be a born all-star at life, even though he detested this role in his own family. Johnny never rubbed it in his face, unless it was beating him at videogames, which he always did.




Then Ophelia arrived.




A mysterious, quiet girl, with intense eyes. Johnny, of course, was quick to chat her up. Ripp liked Ophelia. She had a certain way of making you feel like the most important person in the world when she spoke with you. They quickly became a trio, and did almost everything together.




Yes, Ripp had the best friends anyone could ask for.




Then they fell in love.

Ripp tried not to resent them for it, but it was hard.




It's not like he was jealous, though he wondered how Ophelia could think Johnny was more attractive than he was, or why Johnny found Ophelia's company preferable to his. No, he wasn't jealous at all. There were plenty of fish in the sea, and if he had been born with any talent at all, aside from music, it was "fishing".




His reputation preceded him.














General Grunt worried about his middle child. Ripp's resemblance to his mother, both physically and mentally, disturbed him greatly. Ripp's eyes bore judgement down on him like they were Lyla's own. Indeed, they had the very same eyes. When he finally noticed that Ripp was burning his way through every girl in Strangetown, without so much as a second glance, that was the last straw. It was like a slap in the face.

The Grunts were enjoying their daily exercise in awkwardness and tension, the family meal, when Buzz brought up the subject of college.




"So, Tank... you really need to get to work on that college application soon." The General started, "You'll be going to LFT too, right, Ripp?"

"Ummm, I dunno... " With the caliber of his grades, it hadn't exactly occurred to him.

"Well, you ought to at least attempt to make something of yourself. I'll pay for your first year's tuition, you know."

"You will?! ... what's the catch?"

"No catch, son."


"You mean, I won't have to study military assholism like Tank?"

"Watch your mouth, Ripp!"




"Sorry."

"Sorry, what?"

"Sorry... sir." He thought about it. "So I can actually study whatever I want?"

"As long as you study something, anything, other than T&A and the inside of a toilet bowl, I couldn't care less. As long as your lazy ass is off of my couch and out the door..."

"Not a problem."




There it was. His ticket out of Strangetown, out of that house, but first, he would have to pass high school. It wasn't impossible, but it was definitely daunting. Still, he could find a way. He had to find a way. Ripp, despite his terrible grades, considered himself smarter than most other sims. There was one thing, however, that he was dead wrong about...




He was definitely not the most unhappy person in Strangetown.












Continue to Chapter Two...

 

Comments

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

Oh cool! I enjoyed reading this very much!

You created such a great backstory to the Grunts that you just made them 10 times more interesting to me! You really brought them to life! :)

You are the second person I've seen that implies something about Buck's feminine ways, though. Is it something that Maxis' mentioned too?

Ripp's awesome! Now I understand why so many people are fond of him. Thank you so much for sharing this with us! ^^

Oh... and that last house... is that Nervous Subject's house? I still can't recognize all of them :S.

[jessicus.livejournal.com]

His list of the General's crimes against him included naming him Ripp, chasing his mother away, and, in his own words, being a "complete fucking asshole."

I lol'd.

I love what you're doing and can't wait till we get to see Nervous!

[katsuko]

I so loved this part. Then again, I love Ripp to bits and pieces. So glad to see he's working the romance angle well in your game! At least I have Buck the Love Machine to take on that role in my Strangetown, even if all his romance focus is on one particular lady! I'm tempted to post a minor spoiler pic just for you of his pimp strut every time I tell him yeah, go mac on your woman...

[simfulacts.livejournal.com]

Ooooh! I love a good Strangetown story! Yours is shaping up to be very interesting! I'll be watching this with interest!

[sims-gone.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love this! I've been playing Strangetown myself, as a break from my pre-scripted sims story, and I'm really getting into it. I'm very impressed with your pictures and the story you've got set up.

[kin-thalas.livejournal.com]

Aww, poor Ripp. I like your introduction of the Grunt family.
And I like the last sentence ver much, even with the picture!

[franwi.livejournal.com]

Catching up. This installment was awesome!! I adore Ripp, and you portrayed his story so wonderfully. This visit with the Grunts was very entertaining! :)

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

Oh this is so cool. :D Ripp is so awesome when he's all described by you!! ;D Now I want to play him. :D (I only played them a little when I first got the game as I usually just play Pleasantview)

[amaryssobellus.livejournal.com]

I love Ripp and I'm so glad that you made him out to be more than some mindless woohoo crazed romance sim! YAY!

He looks good with the long pony tail too... (since he's never going to cut it an all...)

Yes, Buck is gay in my eyes. :P Great job of putting that in there.

[aledstrange.livejournal.com]

*loves* I just love your description of the family ... is so GRUNT! :D It's just 'them'. Period. :D AMAZING!
Can't wait to know what Buck will be. I play all sims one way or another at least once ;) (specially Johnny, he's so 'versatile' lol)

:D

[smilehostage.livejournal.com]

wow. i stumbled on your LJ through a fellow boolpropian and i just have to tell you that you've completely engaged me. i know a lot of people who use the Strangetown premades in various stories [two of my closest friends have used Ophelia and Nervous] but what you're doing here is really bringing these characters to life. i'm really enjoying it. and now, on to read the rest. :P

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

Wow, these stories are great! Its nice to see I'm not the only one entering late into the commenting arena. *points at Kendra* But yeah, this story is really good, I love how you characterize your Sims! They're so... real. Anyway, I'm already loving the story, I'm off to read more! (and RANDOM: I'm also from the Boolprop forums, if you're curious.)

[thestoryofoh.livejournal.com]

I never play any maxis sims. I'm kind of pretentious that way in that I only want to play with my own families and have them friends with other custom sims. But for some reason, I'm especially fond of reading about maxis families. I guess that's just my way of getting to experience them in all the different ways that doesn't involve me being in control. I've always been more voyeuristic than a control freak.

I'm especially drawn to this story because one of my favorite families ended up becoming best friends with General Grunt and this sort of gives me an idea of what he's really like. I'm reading this and thinking, Wow, I can't believe Frank is best friends with such an asshole. You made that sort of thing convincing for me. Like whenever a really good actor gets people turned against him for playing a bad guy just a little too well.

[simantics.livejournal.com]

Wow, you're a really good writer babe, I wish I'd hopped on this train earlier. I'm not worth to be any sort of inspiration to this sort of serious dedication. I can tell you're laying a lot of pre-planned groundwork for some amazing plot earthquakes up ahead. I'm very excited to see how this all goes, and in a way, glad that I have so much to catch up with!

[foxy-princess.livejournal.com]

Ripp is such a player!!! :D

I really like your writing style!!

[missgan.livejournal.com]

I really liked how you described the relationships that exist among the Grunt family members. Ripp and Buck are favourites, of course, but I think that perhaps you've got a lot more planned for Tank than what you've written so far? From what I've read, it seems like he's got a lot more hidden depths than what's immediately obvious right now...

Take this line, for example, about Tank's and Ripp's individual relationships with Buck:
Both Tank and Ripp spent time with Buck, and each hoped he would be an ally to them, though Ripp was doing a much better job.

Sounds like Tank's lonely, & hoping to have someone on his side while he strives to become like his father. It's kinda sad that none of his brothers are like him and that he's the one designated to follow as closely as possible in his father's footsteps, and I can't wait to see how this situation will turn out. :)

[pnkpnthr334.livejournal.com]

Amazing! I love the more detailed back stories and personalities that you came up with for Ripp and Buck. Ripp is my favorite Strangetown resident, so I'll be excited to see what happens to him. :)

[simstate.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

And your 1st chapter lives up to the promise of the prologue! I love Ripp - I think of him like he's this caged nightingale :-)

[(Anonymous)]

I just found this... And wow, it's excellent. Thanks for sharing. :D

[olivethegreat.livejournal.com]

I've always thought that Ripp was adorable, but even so, I can certainly see why Ophelia would pick Johnny over him as he probably wouldn't be faithful to her.

[nonikk63.livejournal.com]

I just found this and if the rest is as great as the beginning, I have some nice reading time before me. I haven't been playing Strangetown that much, but fortunately I am familiar enough with the characters. I love to see what journeys of fate the simmies get to travel by in the imaginations of other people. It's amazing to see how many different angles this can take.

You're very good at making them into real and complex people. I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of it.

[(Anonymous)]

Another awesome entry! I love seeing other people's views on Strangetown! :D

[ericnewbie.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love this story so far and your way of writing. IN FACT, it's what convinced me to go and write a Strangetown story of my own! I know the Sims 2 is about a decade old, and this story was written starting over 6 years ago but really, The Sims 2 has such whimsical charm, especially Strangetown which I too, was always drawn to. (Of course, living in a small town desert myself, maybe I related to it somewhat) Awesome work