strangetomato | Challenge 002: Drabble+: Death

Here's my response to the current challenge over at

simstorytellers . I thought I would post this now, since it's based on the Strangetown, Here We Come, and I won't be able to post the next chapter until Sunday at the earliest. I'm heading out of town tomorrow evening for a long weekend. This drabble+ (slightly longer than a regular drabble, which is exactly 100 words) is related to the next couple of chapters in the story, and is thus a slight spoiler, but I like to think of it as more of an appetizer. I hope the next installment will follow by early next week.

This week's challenge was to create a 150-200 word drabble+, using a maximum of two in-game pics, with "death" as the prompt.

CHALLENGE 002: Drabble+: Death

Prompt: death
Pic max: 2
Word count: 150-200
Expires: 4/16/08

Nervous Subject looked around the cemetery.

He was surrounded by death. This was his legacy. This is what his mother had left him with: a collection of dead people, each of them hand-picked to suit her various whims.

It was also his father's work. He performed his task thoroughly and carefully, leaving nobody behind. Death touched everyone.

Nervous didn't have to look far for examples of the impact that his parents had made on this little desert town. There was Ophelia, his cousin, who had lost her entire family to death at an early age. There was Ripp Grunt, whose parents had also been brutally murdered, though he didn't know that yet. There was Johnny Smith, who had, so far, been lucky, but his troubles would come. Death didn't spare anyone. Nervous knew that his father had an appointment with Johnny's family, and sooner than any of them expected.

There was Pascal.

Nervous hoped that somehow, despite logic, Death might decide to grant Pascal some special privilege to walk untouched and happy throughout his long life.

If Nervous asked, he could make it so, but asking favours of Death always came with a price.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Curses, I know PT has to buy off eventually but I just love that old fart so damn much.

I didn't realize Nervous knew about his mother's killing of the Grunt parents. But I suppose he's looked at the tombstones (though technically they don't have names on them and it would seem odd for a serial killer to put the names on them, but then again, that could be her trophy. . .but if he's in contact with his father. . .sorry, thinking out loud).

Have I mentioned how much I like that hair on Nervous? Very flattering (though I miss his mohawk).

Nobody can live forever... not even quirky old aliens (though they do have a longer lifespan than sims).

Nervous knows about all of the murders because he witnessed them in his dreams. He didn't understand who they were about at the time, but now that he's met some of the people connected to them, he has pieced it together. He knows that the General was Ripp's father because he recognizes Ripp from his dream of the General's death. The dreams get more vivid as the event draws nearer, until Nervous can even see some of the victim's own thoughts (which makes no sense, but neither does any of the "Death's son can see into people's deaths" angle - you'll have to just accept this as the "rules" of my fantasy logic, as weak as they may be).

So, with that being so, Nervous saw Ripp in the General's thoughts, and he's also made the connection between Buzz and Lyla. I'm thinking that Nervous can also hear what ghosts are saying (but not communicate back to them), while nobody else can. Does that make enough sense? If it doesn't, I might be able to make adjustments. I think I'm pretty safe as long as I stick to my own rules, though, right?

Nervous can't actually contact his father by his own choice, unless someone dies. (Though maybe I will bring that Grim phone into the picture at some point. I'm not sure yet.)

Yeah, you actually did mention that you liked that hair on him. I think it works pretty well, but I'll be changing it for the next time you see him, since he's growing it out (and I'm sure you know why *wink*).

Ahh, that makes perfect sense. I'd kind of forgotten about his dreams (how vivid they were/are). And the "seeing the victim's thoughts" makes sense too. He hears the clones voices in his head (which I always assumed was him reading their minds) so he's been established as sensitive to such things.

So Nervous could talk to his pop if one of the pets dies, too, right? (I don't know why I thought of that, it's kind of morbid, but. . .)

Okay, as long as it makes sense within its own logic, I'm happy. (I forgot to mention the clone thing, but that's a similar sensitivity too. He does hear their thoughts.) Nervous has a lot of powers, but their practical application is pretty limited. He mostly just gets knowledge, and not the ability to really "do" anything worthy of fear (though Loki suspected he might have more abilities, and just didn't know it, so we'll see if he was right).

That's a very interesting thought about the pets. It is a little morbid, but most things about Nervous are morbid. It would be pretty crazy to make a sort of animal sacrifice out of one of the pets, but who knows what someone might do in desperate times? I know that Nervous would never do such a thing (Now, Circe... there's a woman that would probably have no problem with it), but it might make a convenient occurrence if one of them dies of old age.

Or, if you wanted to explore the pet angle, you could have one die from sickness/car. Yes, it's not really a "sims" thing but you could take a liberty (we all do it, making sims a little more human than sim).

That's a good idea to keep in the back of my head. I could do that. I'm not sure why they didn't include a couple of accidental pet deaths, like they did for the sims. I know it's sad, but it's also pretty sad when a sim dies like that. Why are the pets so protected from harm?

I like adding some extra human details to the sim world, but it's fun to play up the sim-ness too (like the aspirations, transitions, etc.). I like a mix of both.

I wonder if the harm-free pets has something to do with the rating? Just like you can't burn a toddler/baby alive in a house fire.

I think I'm ok with not being able to kill baby/toddler/pets. A scrawny, decrepit pet would upset me (though a house fire taking out the whole family wouldn't as much *snicker*)

It seems odd that simulated animal death would effect the rating, while simulated human death does not, but I'm not the one who makes the ratings, now, am I? *snicker*

I agree with you about not wanting to see animals suffering, though. That always gets me. I used to volunteer for the local SPCA animal shelter (when there was one in the area where I lived), and it's so tough to see mistreated animals.

I volunteered at a no-kill shelter and only lasted a few weeks. Even though I knew none of the critters would get the "big shot" I just couldn't stand it (especially the dogs, when they bark and beg).

I used to work at an animal hospital, too. But the worste thing I ever saw were the owners who'd bring their pet in to be euthanised and not stay with them. Poor things would have to wait ALL day just to die.

I like the idea of a no-kill shelter, but I've seen how bad they can be in practice. There is one of those in my area right now, and I even considered helping out there, like I used to at the SPCA, but it was horrible. There are too many animals for the amount of space and money to run it. As much as I hate to see animals get put down, sometimes it's necessary. The no-kill place seems to keep them around, even if it would be kinder to euthanise them.

My mother had to do that with our last cat (which we had for 16 years), because they told her that it was the only way they'd do it. She had to leave the cat and they'd fit the shot in between their appointments (our cat had started the process of dying the hard way that morning, so there was no time to make an appointment). So she had to leave the cat, then try not to look like she was crying when she picked up my grandmother at the hospital (who has no time for crying over animals), then go back to pick up the remains. This sad tale ends with me driving home from the city for the evening to bury the cat in the garden, while our loud neighbours played "Love Hurts" on a shitty radio in their yard. It was an odd, yet appropriate soundtrack.

Aww, I didn't mean for it to seem like your mother was being heartless. That vet clinic should be ashamed. The one I worked at, you could do it either way (make an appointment for the "big shot" or just leave them). I'll admit, I always thought poorly of those who didn't stay with their pet (but I understand it's something some people either can't or won't experience).

Yeah, I know you didn't mean it like that. I would think similarly of people if they just seemed to drop the animal off like it was no big deal. It just reminded me of that situation, where we had no options. They didn't give my mother much of a choice, but I think she really couldn't handle it either, so she was relieved to go. I would have stayed anyway, since I'm like that. It still bothers me that I wasn't able to take the cat myself.

Challenge 002: Drabble+: Death

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