Strangetown: Chapter Twenty-Five - part one

[strangetomato]

 

Warnings: language, sexual situations



Chapter Twenty-Five

Part One






"Your lunch is getting cold, P.T." Jenny stepped out onto the porch, where her husband was sitting.

"My appetite just isn't there, Jenny."

"You need to eat something."

"Okay. Give me a another minute, and then I'll come in."

Jenny knew what was bothering him. "Look, I know this hasn't been going the way we hoped it would, but that doesn't mean we should give up."




"They've both given me a pretty firm no."

"I know. Why aren't they seeing what we're trying to tell them? It's for their own good."

"Perhaps we should have set them up for this at a younger age."

"Yes, maybe..."

"But you wanted them to have a normal childhood."




He wasn't blaming her, but she understood his meaning. They had done things her way, postponing the inevitable, and trying to keep the dream alive. The dream of the perfect family, with the beautiful lawn, and the white picket fence. She had wanted that for them and she had convinced herself that they could have it, but sooner or later the bubble had to burst. And, clearly, it should have happened sooner.

"Yes, I wanted that, I know. Well, as normal as could be expected." Jenny frowned. "Maybe it was selfish of me, but would it have really made so much of a difference? It was never going to be an easy sell. They live here, in this world, and that's the way they know. It's unavoidable. And it's not like we would have forced them..."




"We shouldn't have to. That's just the way things work."

"Well, yes, but that's not the way it works here."




Jenny thought about her family. The Curiouses were doing this for the aliens, but they were also doing it for themselves. The aliens would live on in the new hybrid species, and so would the Curious family. No matter how bad things got, they had that hope.

The sim species might need to adapt to survive too. Her father always insisted that this might be so. People had considered Glarn Curious an eccentric, but he had always insisted that he was just ahead of his time. She hoped that he has been right about that. She also hoped that he had been wrong about a lot of things, but ultimately, she believed that he had known what he was talking about. He had been right about the aliens. If he was right about everything else, then they were doing the right thing.




They were putting themselves in danger with this plan. Those who distrusted the aliens were growing in numbers, and they couldn't help but feel that trouble was brewing.




Jenny wanted her children to be safe. She wanted them to be happy. It seemed like they would make choices that allowed them to be one, but maybe not the other. How could she tolerate them allowing themselves to fall into harm's way? If they were happy, was it a risk worth taking? Their happiness was very important to her.








She wanted what any mother wants.








To see her children grow up safe and happy.




She had been dreading her elder transition. She could barely conceive of the fact that she was growing so old. Time just slipped by, almost imperceptibly, and now Johnny was a man, and Jill had just left for college. He could remember holding them in her arms as infants. It seemed like it could have happened yesterday.




The had all been together for her transition, and that made it easier to bear. All of her children were under one roof. Everyone was happy, cheering her on. She had no choice but to grow old, so she made a wish, hoped for the best, and then blew out the candles.




After they had finished their cake, P.T. had taken Johnny aside.

"Johnny, I wish you would reconsider."

"I can't. I've told you already, Dad. I want to be with Ophelia. She's "the one". She's the one I want to be with."

"It's not the right thing for you, Johnny. Or for us. You have to consider the bigger picture."




"Dad, please. I've made up my mind." The old alien frowned. "Why can't you just accept my choice? I thought you liked Ophelia."

"I do. She's a very nice girl..."

"But..."

"But she's not like you."




"You married Mom, and she's not an alien, Dad."

"I know that, Johnny, but it's different. I did that to create you. I did it for the same reasons that you should marry another half alien, like yourself."

"But what about Mom? Why did she do it?"

"The same reasons. And other things too. Your mother has her reasons."

"So it wasn't actually about love, like I always assumed? How nice... and here I was, thinking it was some sort of touching example of love winning out over the differences between the two species."

"Johnny, of course it was about love. But love isn't always something you just find. It is something you have to grow."

Johnny sat on the porch and thought about everything his father had said. His thoughts were interrupted by a little girl.




"Why are you sitting out here all alone?"

"I don't know. I just want to, I guess."

"You're weird."

Johnny looked at her.




"No, I'm not. I'm not weird. And it's not nice to call people weird, okay, Jo?"

"Okay, Uncle Johnny."

"I'm not your uncle, I'm your brother."




"Really? But you're so OLD!"

"Yeah, well, it happens, okay? You're going to have to just trust me on this one."




Johnny was still thinking about all of this while he was sitting outside the Cactus Cafe, waiting to meet the new student that he had agreed to show around campus. As if he wasn't already busy enough, he had signed up to be part of the mentoring program that welcomed new students to La Fiesta Tech. He was so caught up in his thoughts, he barely noticed as she approached his table.




"Hi. Sorry I'm late. The lines at the student union were atrocious."

"Don't worry about it." He extended his hand, and she took it. "I'm Johnny Smith."

She sat herself down next to him.




"Yeah, they told me your name, and you're not exactly hard to spot. So I guess you're one of those half alien sims?"

"No, I just like to dye my skin because it looks cool." He said it kindly, and offered a green smile.




She quickly realized that he wasn't really a very intimidating guy, despite his strange looks.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I seem to have forgotten your name. I have a lot on my mind today."




"No problem. I totally understand. It's hard to keep up with all of the new names. I'm Lucy Burb."




"Well, it's nice to meet you, Lucy. That's an interesting accent you have."

"Really? I didn't know I had one. I would have said the same to you. Where are you from?"

"Strangetown."




"Oh." She wondered if she had made a face. "That's... interesting."

"No, it's not. Not really. It's hot and dry, and pretty much always the same." She'd heard otherwise, but she figured that someone who was as green as Johnny might not even blink at such odd happenings. He turned the conversation back to her. "So where are you from, Lucy?"

"Pleasantview."




"Like the soap opera?"

"Oh... that." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like the soap opera."

"My friend watches it every day. I think he may have even joined the fan club, even though he denies it. He loves those twins... what are their names..."

"Angela and Lilith."

"Right."




"They're my cousins, you know."

"Really? That's wild. Ripp would completely lose his shit if he were here."

"Maybe I can get him an autograph."




"So you're studying art? I know a girl in that program, and Ripp's brother will be taking art too, so I guess you'll meet him. Have you always been interested in art?"

"Yeah. I thought about literature too, but art won out. That's why I came to this campus."

"Literature, you say? Well, maybe I'll have to pick your brain a little, once we're finished our little tour. I'm trying to convert a novel into a script and it's really giving me grief."




"Yeah, one of my friends tried that once, in high school. It didn't work out." Johnny frowned, and she quickly continued. "Now, that doesn't mean that your's won't. I'll see if I can help you. I know what not to do, at least."




"Sounds like a plan." He started to get up from his chair. "Well, I'm ready when you are. Where do you want to go first?"

"I hear the bar is pretty cool."

"Alright. Just for a quick stop, though. We don't want to tour to get permanently stalled, now, do we?" She laughed, and they continued walking.




"My sister just started university too. I was just helping her to move some of her things into her new apartment."

"Ooh, an apartment? That's fancy. My parents wouldn't spring for it, even though they could easily afford it. Mom wanted to renovate the house instead."




"Yeah, well, we can just barely afford it. Jill is spoiled rotten."

"So she's green too?"

"Actually... no. She's not, oddly enough. She has green hair right now, though. Nearly gave our mother a heart attack too."




"Oh, then I've seen her! The hair is hard to miss. She seems pretty cool."

Johnny shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." That was never a word he would use to describe Jill. His bratty little sister was not cool. In his head, she was still an annoying little girl, complete with pigtails. He wondered what words Jill would use to describe him. Cool wasn't the first one that came to mind.

Across town, Buck was busy getting the apartment in order.




"I can't believe you even brought the fucking fish tank, Buck." Ripp was helping him to move some of his stuff, and they were setting up the tank. "Did you leave anything?"

"Not much." He shot his brother a smile. "And I couldn't very well leave them, could I? Who would feed them?"

"I'm sure the Smiths would have been happy to help."

"Okay, so I just wanted the fish with me. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yup."

"I love the fish."

"They're good fish."




"Okay, let's get this straightened up against the wall before Jill gets here with her stuff."

"You're living with JILL?"

"Ripp, I did tell you that. A couple of times. You need to learn how to pay attention."

"Buck, Buck, Buck... you can't live with Jill! How the fuck are you supposed to get any if you're living with a girl?"

"Ummm..." Buck struggled to stifle a giggle, since the question seemed pretty ridiculous from where he was standing.




"That's like the worst cock block I've ever heard of."

"Well..."

"Chicks are going to think you have a girlfriend, and I guess that might make some of them want to fuck you even more, but -"

"She kinda is my girlfriend."

"What?"




"Jill is sort of like my girlfriend now."

"Sort of?"

"It's complicated."




Ripp could see that it might be, considering that he'd gotten in on a small piece of the Jill action too. Did Buck know that? Buck could see the gears turning in Ripp's head. His brother had the most readable face in the universe.

"Yeah, I know about that."

"Shit, Buck. I wouldn't have done it if I had known."

"No, that was before..."

"Oh." He was obviously very relieved. "Well, good for you, Buck." He smiled. "She's a nice girl."




"She is."

"Fucking hotter than hell too."

Buck smiled. "Yeah."




"Well, as much as I'd like to stick around and chat, I have to go and pick up my guitar from last night."

"How did that go?"

"The same as always. You know..." Buck could imagine it perfectly, since Ripp had shared plenty of stories with him. He imagined that some of them were probably embellished a little, but knowing Ripp, maybe not.

"Jill keeps saying that she wants to go check out a show."




The door flew open and Jill stepped inside.




"Oh." She paused, taken aback.




"Hi, Jill."




"Hi, Ripp."

Ripp quickly turned his attention back to his brother. "Well, I'll see you later, Buck. Try to stay out of trouble, okay?" He chuckled to himself at the how hypocritical the line was. He took another once-over at Jill, who had definitely continued on her trajectory of hotness. "Transition treated you well, I see."

She shrugged. "I guess so."

"I like your hair."

"Thanks."




She watched him leave.












"So, if you keep that in mind, you should be fine."

"Thanks, Lucy. That's very helpful."

A couple of students that Johnny didn't recognize approached their table.




"Hey, Lucy! It is Lucy, right? It's so hard to juggle all of these names..."

"Oh, hi, Bottom." Lucy was sure that she'd never forget Bottom's name. Who the hell named a kid Bottom, anyway?

"We were thinking of ordering some pizza, me and Hal, and we wanted to see if you'd join us?"

"Sure." Lucy turned to Johnny.




"That's okay, you go right ahead. I've kept you here long enough. I'll just stay and pick away at this. As usual." She nodded, then turned back to her new friends.

"Oh, this is Johnny, by the way. He was just giving me a tour of the campus."




"Pleased to meet you, Johnny." Bottom smiled.




"Hi, Bottom." Johnny nodded to her, and then to her friend. "Hal."

"Hello, Johnny."

"You must be from Veronaville, am I right?" Johnny said.

"It's the bloody accent, isn't it?" Bottom said. "It makes me feel like I'm from outer space or something... no offense."




"None taken. I'm not actually from outer space."

"You could have fooled me," Hal said.

Johnny shrugged, and saw them off. As they were leaving, Jayne Doe noticed him from across the room, and headed towards him.




"Johnny Smith!"

"Oh... hi, Jayne."




"Don't sound so excited, Johnny."

"Sorry. I'm just a bit out of it." He indicated his notebook. "I'm working on the script again."




"You're still working on that? Wow. That's dedication. Well, you shouldn't mind if I kidnap you for a little while. For a break" She smiled, expectantly.

"Well, actually..."




"Oh, come on, Johnny! We never get to talk anymore."

"Well, I think you know why..."

"So Ophelia doesn't let you have friends? Come on! I just want to chat with you."




"Okay, but just for a little while. I really should be getting home soon."

"I won't keep you too long."

"Yeah, okay." He got to his feet and they left the library together.






The apartment was empty when Ophelia arrived to meet up with the boys. They were supposed to get groceries together, but there was no sign of Johnny or Ripp, except for the note on the counter. It was Johnny's note, she could tell immediately. The tiny, tightly-formed handwriting gave him away. In perfectly neat lines, it read:

I'll be late. I have to finish up some work on the script. Go ahead without me. I'm sorry.

love,
Johnny




So that was Johnny, but where was Ripp? She remembered that Ripp had played at the Wasteland Lounge the previous night, so he could have dropped by there to pick up his equipment. If he ran into Jaxy or Zoe, he might have stopped to get a drink with them, and then lost track of the time. That sounded like something Ripp would do.

She decided to head over there to see. They desperately needed those groceries, and it was going to be a huge task. The only thing in the fridge at that moment was empty space.






She didn't see Ripp when she entered the bar, so she asked the bartender about him.




"Yeah, he was here. Maybe he went upstairs."




That's where she found him, giggling like a fool at the bubble blower. She frowned.




"Phi!" He jumped to his feet when he saw her, stumbling a little. He was grinning from ear to ear. "Hi!"




Then he realized that she wasn't happy to see him. "Oh shit. I was supposed to - shit. Fuck. I'm sorry, Phi."

"Don't you have any self control, Ripp?"




His bubble blowing partners laughed at him, and one of them made a snide comment at his expense: "Who's that? Your wife or your mom?" They all started to crack up, but he ignored them. His attention was only on Ophelia.

"I'm sorry. I said I was sorry."




"You can't just do these things over and over again and then just expect to apologize it away, Ripp." She frowned, and he felt his heart sink. He had never intended to upset her. "This is so frustrating. Johnny's busy, and you're just a mess. We were supposed to get the groceries."




"I can still do it."

"In this state?"

"I'm not that bad." She rolled her eyes, since his were very red.

"This is hopeless. We need to get a lot of things."




"I'm so sorry, Phi. I'll go do it all by myself, if you want."

"No. We can both do it."




She sighed and looked down at the bubble blower. "So what's so great about that stuff, anyway? That makes you prefer it to doing the things that you're supposed to do?"

"I don't know. It's just nice... it's fun. You can just forget about everything."

"Obviously."




"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I don't prefer it to being with you... not at all. I'd much rather be with you." They said nothing for a minute.




"Can I try it?"

"What?"

"I want to try it. To see what all the fuss is about."




"Really? Err, I don't know, Phi..."

"I'm not a child, Ripp."

"Well, no, but... well, okay. If you really want to, then be my guest."




So she did.




Ophelia coughed violently after the first puff, but soon got the hang of it, and looked like she’d been blowing bubbles all her life.




"Too bad Johnny isn't here. He's missing out on a good time."

"Johnny'd never do this," Ripp said.

She laughed. "No. He'd lecture me, and tell you what a baaaaad influence you are."




"Ooooh. Are we going to get in trouble?" Ripp mockingly looked over his shoulder for an imaginary Johnny.

"Screw Johnny."

Ripp fell back to the floor with laughter. "What did you say?"




"Screw him."




"Well, maybe I would, if he ever put out!"

"You're terrible!" She laughed so hard, that she ended up snorting like a pig.

"Careful, Phi. You're shooting snot all over me."

"Oh, shit! I am? I'm sorry."




"It's okay. I needed a shower anyway." He ran his hands over his face as if he was rubbing it in and washing his face with it.

"You're soooo gross!"

"You love it."








"I can't believe you've never been up here before," Jayne said.

"I didn't even know it existed. I mean, I've seen it, but I didn't really know if there was anything to it."

"Yeah, it's an observation tower. They have a really great telescope up there. And you can see the whole campus. It's such a great view. You're going to love it."

They climbed the stairs to the top of the tower.




"Have you ever worked one of these?"

"Yes, of course I have."

"Well, I don't know... you might not have."

"My uncles have like two or three of them, just like this."

"Wow. That's a bit excessive."

"They're a bit excessive... in some ways, anyway." He thought about his uncles. "In other ways, they're really not."




Jayne placed her hand on the telescope. "My father has one of these too. He really likes to look up at the stars. He finds it inspiring."

"I can see that."

"He's a still little shaken up by the latest pregnancy, though."

"Yeah, that's so crazy. When is he due?"

"Pretty soon."

"So, that's not really normal, right? That abduction? That's what Stella said..."




"Yeah, she said that some of the pollinators are getting a little desperate. There seems to have been some disagreement about their strategy, and some of the P.T.s have decided to just go off and do things their own way. There are some rumours... some bad things are happening. This is serious stuff, you know, Johnny."

"Yes, I've been told."

"Well, are you listening? Does it mean anything to you?" Her eyes shifted, and she grew more serious. "It means something to me, and I wasn't even raised by an alien father, like you were." Johnny was quiet, and Jayne could see that he clearly wasn't going to entertain a lecture from her. She looked back at the telescope. "Well, since we're here, we may as well wait a couple of minutes, and take a look, don't you think? It's nearly dark."

"Yeah, I suppose we should." Johnny turned and wandered across the platform.






"They're going to wonder where I am." He looked across campus to his apartment in the distance.

"This won't take very long, Johnny. It'll be dark in a minute. You can go home right after we have a little look. It won't be that late."

"I wonder if they got the groceries..."




"Oh my god! I can't move my legs. They're like jelly. Oh my god, Ripp. I can't move. What am I going to do?"

"I'll carry you home."




"You can't do that. I'm too heavy."




"Oh yeah? Just watch me."






So he did.

He picked her up and headed for their apartment, sticking to the sidewalk in an attempt to avoid slipping, even though he could save himself some distance by crossing over the sand. He didn't want to drop her, and it was talking his full concentration, and every ounce of his strength, to carry her at all.

Ophelia felt like she was flying through the air. She was being carried like a little child who was too tired to walk by herself. In fact, the last person to ever carry her like that had been her father. For a minute she let herself drift into the past, where she was young, and carefree, and completely safe. Then she looked down, and the ground seemed so far away, and Ripp seemed to be quite shaky on his feet.




"Don't drop me, Ripp. You're going to drop me."

"No, I won't, Phi. I promise. I'm not going to drop you."

"Don't do it if it's too hard. I'm too heavy."




"I can do it, okay?" He struggled to keep her held up. "Nobody ever has any faith in me."

"I do have faith in you, Ripp, but it's too hard. You're going to hurt yourself. I can hear you panting... and grunting."

"Grunting, huh? That's what us Grunts do best." They both started to giggle.








"Fuck."

The laughter had thrown him off, and they both tumbled to the ground. He managed to flip himself around so he would take the brunt of the fall, so she landed gently onto her back beside him, in an impossibly graceful motion.

"Wheeeee." She laughed as they went down. "I told you..."






"Sorry, Phi." He clumsily scrambled back to his feet, to inspect for damage. He picked a couple of tiny rocks from his elbows, but that seemed to be the worst of it. "That wasn't my fault, though. You made me laugh."




Ophelia said nothing. She just lay there, with the world spinning around her. Ripp looked down at her, so serene and beautiful, and he smiled. He thought about how nice it would be to just lower himself on top of her and let nature take its course. Just pure, raw instinct, there in the sand. How dirty and frantic and delicious it would be. How tender. He didn't hesitate to pick her up again.




Once they were safely home, Ripp helped Ophelia to climb into her bed. The bubble blowing had really knocked her out. It was always like that the first time you did it.

She smiled. "Thanks for helping me." She had completely forgotten about the whole thing with the groceries. In fact, they had both completely forgotten about getting the groceries at all.




He was going to say something, but she had already fallen asleep. He turned off the lights and began to leave the room, then went back and observed her, as she slept peacefully. Her face had relaxed into a calm smile. Her lips were like two soft pillows. She looked so beautiful that Ripp felt like he might weep. It was almost unfair that she was so perfect.




He leaned in towards her face. He could do it, so easily. He could just touch her lips, to see how it felt. Nobody was watching him. Nobody would ever have to know. He moved his face closer, and hovered over her lips, until he could feel her breath.




Then he kissed her cheek instead.




One day, maybe, he would kiss her, but she should know about it. He wanted her to be fully aware of how he felt, and to have her kiss him back. He wanted to look into her eyes. Would he ever be able to do that? It was her decision to make. He hoped that somehow, despite Johnny and everything else, she would find her way to him. He'd be waiting.




"Sweet dreams, Phi."








Then he went downstairs and ate a whole bag of chips. It was the last piece of food in the apartment, and he ate it as if someone was threatening to take it from him at any second.




"That's the last of the light. So, Johnny. Are we going to do this or not?" "Yeah, sure."




"You know which one is our planet right?"

Johnny felt a little chill go up his spine when she said it. Our planet. He thought that his planet was the one he was standing on, not some tiny dot out there in space. "Yeah, of course I do. Let's see if we can find it."

"You're aiming it in the wrong direction."

"No, I'm not."

"Okay, wise guy. Well, we'll see how long it takes you that way..."

He continued to adjust the telescope, until he was stopped in his tracks. He was being engulfed in a bright light.






"What the... Jayne, is this what I think it is?" He was surprisingly calm.

"Yes, Johnny. It is. What else could it be?"

"They're going to abduct ME?"

"Yes."




"WHAT? Why? They can't do that! Why would they do that?!"

"Johnny, please just stay calm. Struggling isn't going to help you. Just calm down."

"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?! How can I calm down?! I don't want to be abducted! They CAN'T abduct me! YOU! You bitch! How can you just stand there? You have to help me! HELP ME! Make it STOP!"

"It's the only way..."




Johnny's screaming became more and more incoherent. Jayne stepped away from the telescope and looked out over the platform.




Behind her, he continued to scream. She addressed him, though it was obvious that he wouldn't hear her.

"I'm sorry, Johnny."








Johnny watched the earth as it fell out from under him. His helplessness enraged him, but he had screamed himself out, so he quietly accepted his fate.




Jayne stepped out of the lowest level of the tower. "So, he's gone."

"Yes, I saw the light," Stella said.

"Poor Johnny. Do you think we went too far?"




"No, I do not. And we don't have the luxury of regret. He has to be convinced."

"I hope it doesn't backfire."

"It won't. He'll be upset, but they will talk to him, and make him understand. He has to see it our way. He's the son of P.T. No. 9. How could he even consider turning his back on our mission?"




"He's in love with her."

"Another luxury that we do not have."

Jayne turned and looked at her, with an expression of deep sadness. Stella noticed it, but remained stoic, and turned away again.

"John Smith needs to realize that, as one of us, his destiny is chosen for him. He's obligated to pass those genetics down to his hybrid children. He's a breeder. That's his role in our society."










"If Johnny doesn't want to accept his true nature, he's denying a part of himself."



 

 

"And if he doesn't accept his role in our mission, he's dooming us to failure. We all do our part. If one fails, we all fail."
















'"Ripp? Can you hear me? Wake up..."




He opened his eyes to find her standing by his bed. “Phi? What's wrong?” He recognized the look on her face. He had first seen it on that night, back when they were teens, when she called him to the Specter estate.

“I had a bad dream,” she said, hesitantly. “I…”




She didn’t have to explain. “It’s okay, Phi.” He reached out for her and pulled her close. “Come here.”




Just as she had promised, she had come to him in her moment of darkness. She was there, in his arms, and he could comfort her. Again, he was reminded of that night at the Specter estate. That same question returned.




“Where’s Johnny?”

“I don’t know.”

They continued to stand there, in silence, just holding each other. Minutes passed.




Ripp didn't want to release Ophelia from his grasp, but how long was too long? At what point would his feelings be obvious? He wanted to just stay that way. He wanted to kiss her, and let her know just how much she meant to him. It didn't have to be more than that. Just a kiss. He could stop himself. He knew that she was Johnny's girl, but surely one kiss wouldn't hurt. A kiss between friends. No. He couldn't let himself do that. It wasn't a good idea. He wouldn't be the one to do it. But it was all he really wanted. The only thing in the whole world that he truly desired.




"Phi?" He murmured in her ear, then pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Yes, Ripp?"

"I want to kiss you." He was surprise at how easily the words came out, and how honest and direct they were.

"You do?"

"I'm sorry. I just -"




She answered him with her lips, covering his delicately, and he eagerly returned the gesture. It was like taking a large gasp of air after resurfacing from under a great depth of water. Relief washed over him, as years of longing finally found release. Ophelia kissed him with as much care and thought as she put into everything, but there was nothing tentative about it. She kissed him deeply, without reservation. She wanted to explore him and know him, to taste him and feel him, and Ripp would never refuse her. If she wanted it, he would give it to her. He'd give her anything he had to give.




He held her tightly, as he slowly, carefully, explored her mouth. It was just a kiss. Just an extension of that hug. A way to comfort her, reassure her, and let her know how he felt about her. He wouldn't let anything harm her, or frighten her, or make her sad. He never would. He'd never leave her. It seemed like a kiss was the only way to really let her know. She might be Johnny's girl, but, right or wrong, she was his girl, too.




Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't, but I can't help it."

"It's okay."

"I'm not going to..."

"I know." She knew that Ripp would never push for something if she didn't make the first move. He'd obviously held back this long. He had more willpower than they gave him credit for.

"I really care about you, Phi."

"I know. I care about you, too."




She knew that it was probably wrong, and that it would hurt Johnny. Johnny wouldn't see it as anything but a betrayal, but it wasn't just that. She loved Johnny, and she wanted to be with him. She didn't want that to change. She didn't want to do anything to hurt him. That was the last thing she wanted to do. She loved Johnny, but she felt something for Ripp, too. Was it possible to love them both?




"We shouldn't do this," she said.

"I know. We don't have to. We won't." Again, he added, "I'm sorry."

"It happened. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"I tried not to."

"So did I."

He wanted to kiss her again. To comfort her, and reassure her, about the first kiss. It didn't make any sense. "I've wanted to kiss you for a long time."




She reached up and brushed back his hair, tucking it behind his ear, but said nothing. The silence propelled him to keep talking.

"Obviously, with you and Johnny being together, I didn't want to do anything to fuck that up, but I guess I always do that eventually, given enough time. I don't want to ruin things for you. I care about you. Both of you." He swallowed, thinking it over. "But I can't help the way I feel."




"You are so beautiful."




"So beautiful..." He kissed her again, to emphasize the point.




"Ripp?"

"Yes, Phi?"

"Will you sleep with me?"

"What?"

"Not like that. Just sleep. In my bed. With me."

"I don't know..."




"I won't be able to get back to sleep now. Not alone."

"What about Johnny?"

"Johnny isn't here."




Ripp just stood there, frozen. Could he really do that? Could he sleep with Ophelia without actually sleeping with her? There was no doubt that he wanted to, but faced with it, he felt paralyzed.

"You told me to come to you when I needed someone," she continued.

"Yes. I meant it."

"Then, please..."




She took his hand. "I need you right now."

"Okay."




He followed her into her bedroom. It felt like he was walking into a dream. It wasn't quite real.




He was nervous, but he could be out of there before Johnny came home. He'd just wait until Ophelia fell asleep, and then he'd go back to his own room.




They pulled back the covers and slipped under the sheets. Ripp thought that staying away from Ophelia, on his own side, would be the safest thing to do. He shouldn't tempt himself further. He could resist her. He had to.




He didn't want to press his luck, but lying there, next to her, he was compelled to get closer. That's all he really wanted. To be close to Ophelia.




He reached out for her, instinctively. He wrapped his arms around her body, and pulled himself closer. Her hand found his, and she nudged herself back into the nook of his body. Was that what she had wanted all along? She wanted to be close to him too. As he curled into her, he felt consumed by love for Ophelia. He was on fire, yet he wanted to burn more. If he could have pulled her directly into his body, he would have.




Ophelia felt him relax into her, and he let out a deep sigh. He was content. She knew that he had wanted this, and it was good for him. He wanted someone to love him. Ripp needed to be loved, and she needed him too. He wasn't just a replacement for Johnny. He was different. He understood her in ways that Johnny did not, and his love for her might be different, but it was just as sincere. She knew it wasn't safe to feel that way, but she wanted to be with him too.

She also wondered what it would be like to have his skillful hands moving over her, and to feel the weight of his body. To yield to him. She shouldn't even think about that, with him so close to her. It would be so easy to invite Ripp's touch, and if she initiated it, she had no doubt that he would give her exactly what she wanted. Instead, she focused on the feeling of his arms around her, the heat that his body gave off, the sound of his breath, and the way he smelled. She could hear his heart beating. She could feel it too.




Ripp held Ophelia close, and quickly forgot his plan to leave for his own room. Removing himself from the warmth of her body seemed like a cruel punishment, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. He wanted to prolong that feeling for as long as he could, so he stayed. He held her, just like that, until they both fell asleep.




Neither of them had any nightmares that night.








 

Comments

[godzilla-flies.livejournal.com]

AAAH! First off, I want to say hello! I've been lurking around for a long time, and I finally feel like I have enough guts to break the silence! XD

This is a really great chapter! I totally wasn't expecting Jayne to do that. To be honest, I didn't think that she was capable of doing that sort of trickery. :( But I'm really interested in exactly why it's so crucial for Johnny and Jill to remain with alien counterparts. What exactly does PT know?

Ripp and Phi! About time! I seriously love those two. The bubble blower scene was hilarious! :D

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Well, hello there. Nice to meet you. ^_^ Nothing wrong with all little lurking (I'm sure we all do it at times), but I'm glad you decided to say hi. Thanks for reading.

Thank you. Jayne gave a little hint of her plans to do whatever it takes at the sorority party. Her intense commitment to the cause comes from her relationship with Stella. She can't be with Stella, but she can help her in her mission. Stella is making sacrifices, so she will too. If it means that she has to be involved in some trickery, she's willing to do that too. Stella is risking life and limb, when it comes down to it, so Jayne feels that it's the least she can do.

The Smiths and Stella know certain things that we won't know for a while, but as you can see, there's more at stake than it it seems. There are rumours and predictions about the safety of all involved. This will all become clearer later (once I've thought it through... I have a lot of it worked out, but not all).

It was really only a matter of time with those two, wasn't it? I had a lot of fun with the bubble blower thing.

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Oh my god


:D

[hidden-kitten.livejournal.com]

I totally agree.

[xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com]

Johnny got abducted! Wow, that was a twist.
Hmm... Makes me wonder if HE was the one you were going to have be pregnant and drop out of school! Wasn't expecting that what so ever!

Oh, and Phi and Ripp... SO CUTE! Seriously, every moment with them I just wanted to go "aww."

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

OMG I just remembered that!

:D

[orikes13.livejournal.com]

Excellent, as always.

Whenever I read your updates, I feel as if I need to pause and take a deep breath. There's always so much nuance each little bit, it makes me need to pause and think about all the implications.

Poor Johnny. Up until now, I'd felt sorry for Jayne. She wanted to do the right thing and it wasn't her fault that he was in love with someone else. But now she's gone too far. Way too far. Stella I could almost understand it from, she is completely alien after all. But not Jayne. To a certain degree, I really do hope this backfires in their face.

And then there's Ripp and Ophelia. From the cover, I thought things might go further than they did. On one hand, they kept things relatively innocent on a physical sense, but emotionally they've gone quite a bit further than I think they expected. This would change things between the trio even if Johnny's abduction didn't.

I do wonder how you get some of your shots. You do a really great job of combining the various animations to get the sense of what you want. The one that really got me was Ripp tucking Ophelia in. That was great.

Oh! And I love the addition of sims from the other neighborhoods. It's good to see Lucy and Bottom, though I'm not sure who Hal is.

Thank you for another lovely installment in your story. :)

[pixelcurious.livejournal.com]

You can tell that Jayne already feels regrets, though. Or at least, she isn't sure they did the right thing.

"He's in love with her."

"Another luxury that we do not have."

Jayne turned and looked at her, with an expression of deep sadness. Stella noticed it, but remained stoic, and turned away again.

[redqueenofevil.livejournal.com]

What a riveting chapter!

It's neat to see the new students coming in, and just how nicely Lucy grew up in your game. I'm not familiar with the Summerdream family, but Bottom is rather pretty.

I understand the reasons behind manipulating Johnny like that, but I can't help but think it's rather cruel of Stella and Jayne to do so.

On the other hand, it's exciting to see Phi and Ripp take their friendship to a different level. Ophelia exploring the bubbles, and admitting to herself that she adores Ripp, and Ripp confessing some of his feelings to her. This final scene was quite touching (emotionally, of course), and gave me an "Aww," moment.

I can't wait for the next update!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

It's funny about Lucy, now that you mention how nicely she grew up. My significant other came into the room while I was shooting the scene with her and Johnny, and he said, "That's your hottest sim yet." It made me laugh. I think Bottom is very pretty too, and Hal and Bottom both have those angry looking brows, which makes them interesting to look at.

It was a cruel thing, and you can see that Jayne realizes this a little when she does it. She's probably never witnessed an abduction before, so it had to be upsetting to see how scared he was. They considered this a necessary evil, in their opinion, but you can see that Jayne isn't completely comfortable with it.

Ripp and Ophelia both try out something new, don't they? Ophelia with the bubbles, and Ripp actually opens his heart to someone. He really puts himself out there for Ophelia, and she knows that. She knows what he's really saying to her. It's a big step for him.

[muslemura.livejournal.com]

All I ever imagined and more.

Wonderful.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear it. :) Thank you.

[hcraig480.livejournal.com]

Holy crapp that was amazing...

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Oh my Lord... they took Johnny! YIKES!!

But it's just to *discuss* things with him, am I right? He's not going to come back pregnant... or is he, lol?

And am I right in assuming Jayne and Stella set it up? I want to be mad at them, but you know... they have their reasons, and I'm thinking those reasons are valid, even if Johnny may not agree with them or understand them quite yet.

Loved the scenes with Johnny in space... so simple, but they get the point across!!

And I loved that scene with Jill confronting Ripp. Hopefully they'll be able to put that little... indiscretion... behind them and move forward. It appears Buck has, so maybe they can take their cue from him. ((loves Buck))

And Ripp and Phi... Whooooo!!!!!!

I don't know how I want that to turn out (I mean, I'll love it however you write it but I'm sitting here wondering what I'm hoping for them) Part of me hopes Johnny realizes what he has to do for his people, and gives his blessing for Ripp and Phi to be together, but part of me also wants the drama. And, let's face it, part of me wants a threesome. (giggles madly)

Wonderful update!! (bows to the master)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Okay... back to replying to these. *is neglectful*

Didn't see that one coming, did you? It's probably because I didn't see it coming either. That idea came up quick recently, so I didn't have any time to add any heavy-handed foreshadowing.

Yes, they're going to discuss things with him. I won't say anything about what else they may or may not do. ;)

Yes, it was completely set up by Jayne and Stella, and they do have their reasons. I like how you say that Johnny doesn't understand them... yet. He really might see their side of it a little better if he's faced with it so directly.

Thank you. They're simple because I wanted to avoid details about the spaceship at this point, but I also liked how stark and simple that looked. I'm glad it worked to get the point across.

That was an awkward moment for them because they really haven't even seen each other once since that evening when they made out on the balcony. Buck has accepted it, so he'll be able to smooth out the rough edges on that situation. Buck has a level head.

It's nice to see that you support all three options for the situation with Ripp and Phi. That means you'll be less likely to be disappointed. I'll say one thing... a certain amount of drama is inevitable.

Thank you. :)

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

Oh. Em. Geeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

I agree with Orikes, Jayne went WAY too far. The Aliens... I feel so bad for Johnny, trouble on this front, and then Ophelia and Ripp...

While I do understand where its coming from, I still do not approve. Sure, they both need each other, in "that" way,(the loss of family members, tragic childhood connection) but still. How could they do this to their friend? How could they?????

I love Buck, but wow. He sure looks chubby in that picture that he's talking to Ripp.

LUCY! I always had a soft spot for her. I also like how they have accents based on where they're from. I'm assuming Veronaville is kind of British? (I remember Frances' sister, Edie, when she said Football, and the Veronaville accent.)

This was an excellent update. I missed Francs though. :)

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Now I'm wondering what the Strangetown accent sounds like. :D Hmmm... American Southwest? (dies)

[saylee.livejournal.com]

What a spectacular chapter! I want to say all kinds of intelligent things about it, but I'm speechless.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I knew that the telescope was going to give it away before it happened. We all know what telescopes do, don't we? Nobody guessed Johnny when the pregnancy thing came up, did they? But was that who I intended it for? Only time will tell.

It really was only a matter of time before something happened between Ripp and Ophelia. They're all so close, so they were trying to stay away from each other for Johnny's sake, but when feelings are that strong, it's hard to fight them. We'll have to see how Johnny reacts to the whole situation. He does want things to stay the same, with all three of them together, but was this what he had in mind?

Thanks. I've had that old hag dream several times in my life, and it really is the scariest thing you can possibly imagine, and it would be about ten times scarier if it were Olive Specter trying to strangle you. I don't blame Ophelia for been scared after that.

Yeah, I was a little surprised when I aged up the Hal Capp clone. He looked so different as a child. Hal has 10 points for outgoing, which should be fun to play with. :D Naked hot tubbing!

Thank you.

[simplode.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just....wow.

Love, love, LOVE the photography in this one. Even the totally black frame at the end of Ripp's nightmare. Very well done. As for the drama...well. Amazing.

I'll confess to hoping that Ripp and Ophelia won't be overcome with guilt and remorse when they find out what kept Johnny. They've got nothing to apologize for. And I love the fact that we're seeing more students at LFT. The times, they are a-changin' all right. Hopefully for the better, at least in some respects. There's still going to be plenty of drama to go around.

Wow. :-)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm really liking the camera mod that I'm using now, and I have to give it credit for allowing me to do a lot more with the photography than I was able to before. It's really wonderful to work with. I'm glad you liked that black screen. I don't often use images that aren't sim photos directly from the game, but that seemed like it would work there.

So, I take it from your comments that you're on the more positive side of the reactions to Ripp and Ophelia's actions. I see what you're saying about them not doing anything to feel regret over. On one hand, many people would argue that a kiss is no big deal, but on the other hand, they've exchanged some pretty intense feelings for each too. I can see how the nature of what was keeping Johnny would make them feel worse.

Yeah, the times they are a-changing at LTF. These new students will interact with Buck and Jill more than the older kids, but they'll all work their way into the story. I have some long-term plans... but we'll see what happens. A lot of things can change as this story moves along. My plans have been known to change.

[jessicus.livejournal.com]

wow, just wow. You always give us so many things to chew over. Things really came to a head in this chapter. I wonder if Johnny's attitude will change much? It was a big intervention on Stella and Jayne's part but I wonder if it will work. I loved the last Ripp/Ophelia sequence of pictures. Finally. Was that a bit of coolness I detected from Jill towards Ripp hmmM?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks. A lot of the plots that have been brewing for a while do reach a turning point here, which is good. It's nice to get to finally deal with some of this stuff.

You're right about Johnny the difficulty in changing Johnny's mind. It was a very extreme maneuver for Stella and Jayne, and the intensity of the experience will have to have an effect of Johnny, but which way will it push him? Anything that someone is willing to go that far over must be pretty important, right? We know that Johnny doesn't make hasty decisions. He'll give it some careful thought.

I love when sims cuddle in bed like that (and Ripp and Ophelia do it even without a crush/love marker, I've noticed).

Yes, there was a little coolness and awkwardness in the Ripp/Jill exchange. They haven't even seen each other since the night on the balcony, so it has to be a little weird for both of them.

This comment got a little long!

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

AAAAAHHHHHHH! Goooooooood update!

BUCK AND JILL ARE SO DAMN ADORABLE! Is Jill a little pissed off at Ripp or something? I think it was just me, but she seemed to have some resentment against him. (The crossed arms kind of gave me the impression..)

I definitely knew Jayne could do something like that, especially with Stella's encouragement. Johnny being abducted, poor Johnny, he won't be pollinated, right? When uni students are abducted, they aren't pregnant, like teenagers, unless you have a hack. Aw, I really feel bad for Johnny in this one.

I'm in the minority, I'm sure, but I really don't like Ripp and Phi together. I saw the whole scene as Johnny would have saw it, betrayal. How could they do that to Johnny? Especially since he went against his parents' wishes just for Ophelia. He was abducted and fooled by someone he thought was his friend, now he's going to come home to the two people he's closest to and he doesn't even know what went on.

I know Ripp wouldn't have done anything if Ophelia didn't give him an okay, but for some reason, I'm a little bit more upset with Ripp. I kept thinking about that time when he was a teenager and he immediately made out with Kendal after Tank kissed her.

Also, Yay! More crossovers! Bottom is adorable is definitely going to be my favorite. She's so adorable.

Re: This comment got a little long!

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

Bottom is definitely going to be my favorite. She's so adorable.**

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

...........................

I don't even know where to start..............

I'll come back later once my mind has flies back into my head. :P

.......................wow.........................

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I guess your mind never came back... *snicker* Now I have "Where is my mind?" by the Pixies stuck in my head.

I'm glad to see that all my teasers about this one seemed to be worth it. ;)

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

Ooh, you crafty little minx.

I'm LOVING the sinister Jayne and Stella. LOVE IT! And damn you to hell, I'm planning an alien snatching myself. You beat me to the punch. *snicker* SEE, I beat you to Blossom the crunchy granola freakazoid and you counter with this. Well played. Well played indeed.

AND, seeing Ripp and Ophelia in bed together. . .well, I may just have to write a little faster so you don't steal ALL the good ideas. . .

OK, enough of my kvetching about the "good idea" race.

The Smith twins are made of cute. Jordan (sorry, I can't remember his name and I'm too lazy to look it up) has the best look. And Jolene is a chip off the old block. LOVE IT.

And speaking of good looks, that Hal looks dead on like a sim from Nocheat. His name is Alphonse Bendett and he's the leader of a love cult (I recently got pics of an orgy he participated in but have yet to write that up). He sports the open shirt/hat look Hal's rocking AND has that beard. When I first saw him I thought, "how did Alphonse get in Strangetwown"

ANYWHOOOO. . .

Johnny comes across as rather. . .brusque in this update? Like he's just not amused by most things. I like it. It's not assholism just a kind of uptightness/gruffness. Very PT-ish.

When you telegraphed the abduction. . .man, it was so hard for me not to scroll right to that part.

Your pics are, as always, great, too. The spooning one is particularly nice(and Ophelia's hallucination/nightmare). And I've been looking forward to seeing the "tuck in" pics, too. They came out great. (oh and I like how you mention Ophelia's "graceful" landing *snicker* I do that to, try to explain weird things in pics--it's like a great little inside joke).

Question: In the one pic, Jill looks taller than Ripp. Just a trick of the eye or are Jill and Buck really adults and you're just leading us to believe their in college?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

YES! I finally win a round. *snicker* The alien snatching idea came up on me all of a sudden, so maybe I was reading your mind. Now I'm really wondering about your "seeing them in bed together" comment. Who might you be applying that to? Hmmm... *goes off to think*

I knew you'd like the more sinister side of Jayne and Stella. Stella's other side has always been peeking out from beneath the surface. She's very serious about her job. Both sides of the alien debate are capable of taking extreme measures.

Yeah, it's Jordan. He has such a different look, doesn't he? Orion is the same way (just thinking out loud here that everyone seems to use that name for one of the Curious podlings and I should try to be more creative in the future... but I like how it sounds like Ryan too). Jolene is a little female P.T. So sweet.

That's weird about Hal. I guess we style sims the same way too. *snicker* Let's start a club. A club for ~special~ people (have you seen Welcome to the Dollhouse? That's one of my favourite parts of that movie). The shirt I used on Hal was that special download for the 100 million copies of the game being sold.

Johnny seems to be developing in that direction as he matures. Brusque is a good word. He's just pretty much down to business most of the time (and he doesn't like to take crap about the alien thing, even though he tries to be nice about it). Yeah, he's a little like his father like that.

It was hard to conceal the abduction once the telescope showed up, wasn't it? There wasn't a lot I could do about that, so I had to leave it that way, with the promise of abduction looming.

Thanks. The camera mod was very helpful for a lot of those pics. I would never have been able to get the spooning one otherwise (I know because I tried it). The tuck in pics worked out just the way I hoped they would, once I messed around with shifting him off the grid. Yeah... too true about the graceful landing thing. Why not just mention it and join in on what everyone is probably thinking anyway? That was the closest I could get to what I wanted, and it wasn't that bad (so we can just chuckle and say that Ophelia is just THAT graceful.).

That's a trick of the eye. Ripp is just being a slouchy YA. They walk like that. They walk really slowly too, have you ever noticed?

[akanwa.livejournal.com]

This is one of the things that drew me to read all the chapters in this series (after picking up only the Nervous Subject ones on the first pass); the quality of the pictures is wonderful. You do a great job of capturing the characters and bringing them to life through the various angles and closeups you do.

I'm curious, how many pictures have you taken so far in total for these 25 chapters? Do you snap a lot for each scene and pick the best or how do you approach this? I'm doing only Nervous Subject's story, not the multiple families of Strangetown the way you're doing and I'm up to 1300+. Yikes. It's a lot, but thank goodness iPhoto is helping me get a handle on them. I gave up on the in-game Story Album a long time ago but never stopped writing the story in my head as I played.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I really love experimenting with the image side of it. The use of photos in a sim story can make a lot of difference to how it comes across, and I really like to try new things to make it more cinematic and things like that. I'm really loving the camera mod that I'm using now. It's made a big difference in the photos already, and I'm still figuring it out. You can get such great angles and close ups with it.

I checked the properties of my folder for this story (which is divided into countless sub-categories), and there are 10,581 files in there right now, and 141 folders. Wow. Is that a lot? The way I take photos really varies. For some scenes I take way more than I end up using, and sometimes I re-shoot scenes completely, if I'm not completely happy with it. Other times, I set up fairly elaborate scenes and only shoot the one or two shots that I need. It depends on how well I'm working that day, I guess (or how lucky I am).

I write in my head as I play too, when I'm letting the gameplay lead the writing.

[thelesserfaith.livejournal.com]

Awww poor Johnny.

And nooo, Phi! Don't YOU have any self control?

><

Thanks again for the wonderful chapter.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

It's just not Johnny's day (or night), is it?

Ophelia does have a lot of self control, usually, but she just didn't have enough to prevent that from happening. Some things are just impossible to resist.

Thank you.

[http://users.livejournal.com/fileg_/]

Great update on all fronts - but what surprised me most was Jenny Smith! I've been waiting, especially since the last chapter, to see her with Johnny and Jill. I was surprised that Jill, especially, didn't talk to the mother after learing about "the plan." Wow, was I wrong - I wouldn't have guessed she was in on not telling them until this late, especially after watching them grow close to serious partners.

And it's only that Johnny *is* Johnny that kept me from expecting him to tell Jill once he knew. He talks the solidarity line, but he's quite self-absorbed.

(And yes, I do personally suffer from anti-Gandalf syndrome - I can never understand why people don't share important information!)


(edited to add:)

I'm expecting from the bit with Jenny that Johnny is going to learn that the pollinators are trying to do some version of "save the Earth" as well as "save the Aliens." That's the kind of guilt I expect he *would* shoulder. Now, if it was me - I wouldn't be inclined to believe/trust a story (especially a moral one) told to me by the faction that just abused my trust by kidnapping me. But John doesn't seem to have the problem with politicking/authority that I have. (Hey, he didn't grow up in the '60's...)


Great story!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

What you're reacting too is mostly just a flaw in the story, and I'm just trying to patch it up after the fact because I can't go back and change it. The arranged marriage idea was originally introduced to Johnny at that point in the story because I had to deal with the fact that he was already dating Ophelia, so I obviously didn't think the whole thing through very well before I set out on it. Now I just have to find a way to try to make it make sense. Maybe that's how the aliens have always done it, but I think that Jenny's desire to have the children be normal would be the best way to explain it now.

I imagine that The Smiths didn't see a problem with their children getting attached to serious partners, because it wasn't really visible. They didn't know about Jill and Buck, and they still don't. They also didn't think that Johnny and Ophelia were that serious, and, at the time, they really weren't. So they might not have seen that problem developing, but it was still a mistake of judgement for them.

Johnny does keep a lot of his troubles to himself like that. I guess he really is a little self-absorbed that way. I also think he probably didn't expect the same thing to apply to Jill, since she escapes most other alien things.

I don't know... I think that there are a variety of reasons why someone would keep information to themselves, including the fact that they just didn't think there was a reason to share it. Personally, I might do it myself, just by forgetting to bring it up. Maybe Johnny didn't view it as something that had such significant consequences beyond himself. It was more of an issue about his own life, and that's how it was presented to him.

The thing that Jenny is hinting at might be something like that, but I don't think it's ever going to be a "save the earth" type of situation. And it might not be true. I'm still debating whether I should even bring that idea into the story, since I'll probably be getting in way over my head if I do.

I have to admit my insecurities about you picking apart this side of my story (the sci-fi and plotty side) so closely, since it does have major flaws. I don't expect it will hold up to close scrutiny, to be perfectly honest.

Thank you. I'm glad you liked it, despite those issues.

[smoothiesims.livejournal.com]

Um. O_O

I had this story recommended to me by friends and just finished it. I love it so much. You are a talented writer and your shots always look amazing. It was a really enjoyable read for me. ^_^

This latest installment was so crazy. Every time I think your plot twists can't get more cracktastic (but in a good way!) they do. Sadly for Johnny, I'm pulling for Ripp/Phi. I also love Jill and Buck together.

I could see Stella stooping that low. I wasn't sure Jayne could, but I guess she just proved me wrong...either way, I really didn't see the abduction coming and I'm afraid for what's going to happen to Johnny on board the ship and what it'll do to him when he gets back.

I hope you update soon! You have me hooked ^_^

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It's very nice to meet you. I'm always happy to hear from a new reader.

Cracktastic is such a good word, and I'm very pleased that you think the plot twists are worthy of it. I try not to go too crazy most of the time, but being a sims story, it's hard to resist. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far.

So you're in favour of Ripp and Ophelia being together? It's interesting how divided the reactions are. Whether it's right or wrong, I think they would have to get together at some point.

It's hard not to love Jill and Buck together.

The abduction will surely have an impact on Johnny. The whole situation has the potential to be very life-altering for him.

Thanks. :) I'll try my best. The second half has been difficult to put together, for a variety of reasons. It's going to bring about some significant events, so I want to be sure I do it right.

[ndainye.livejournal.com]

Wonderful update as usual :)

Bit of an awkward moment there for Ripp and Jill. But it didn't seem to bother Buck one bit, which makes me wonder if Buck really knows all or only knows what was said during his and Jill's true confessions moment. But between Buck and Johnny, Ripps pretty much blocked from taking advantage of Jill's crush on him.

When I saw Bottom with Hal I thought he was Alexander Goth even though you'd said previously that Alex wasn't going to be going to LFT. I've never grown Hal up so I didn't know he would look that much like Alex grown up. Hal's got the gangster look going for him a bit, it's cute :)

Add another one that was a bit surprised by Jayne's actions. I actually wouldn't have thought of Stella being that ruthless either. But then maybe Johnny's not going for a probing, just a 'discussion'.

I'm not really sure what I think about Ripp and Phi. Personality wise, I don't think they'd be all that great a match. I think Phi would be setting herself up to be hurt. Long term friendship with occasional benefits maybe but long term commitment? I don't really see that from Ripp. But I'm not a huge fan of Phi with Johnny either, she and Johnny each need someone that's going to shake them up on occasion; but I don't think Ripps the best option to be doing the shaking.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

Buck does know about Jill and Ripp - both the long-term crush and the kiss on the balcony (though I didn't "show" that conversation). I'm sure that it did bother him, at first, but he's had time to deal with it, and Buck is just the type to accept that sort of thing. What reason does he have to hold that against Ripp? You're right about Ripp being unlikely to go after Jill, given the situation. Knowing that Buck is dating her is enough to keep him away, but he also doesn't want to upset Johnny again (though, then he goes and kisses Ophelia, despite this plan).

I have never seen Alexander Goth as an adult. Do they look similar? I think the whole Veronaville thing has a sort of gangster/mafia vibe to it, so it's fun to play around with that for Hal.

The aliens have their reasons for being desperate. They feel that Johnny's cooperation is essential, so they are willing to make a bold move like that.

It's interesting to see your thoughts about Ripp and Ophelia being a bad match, even though I don't agree with you. I think that Ripp and Phi's personalities are quite different, but not incompatible. They have a nice rapport between them, or at least I try to convey that, and they do care deeply for each other. They make each other smile. That's enough to make them a good match in my books. As for Ripp's issues with commitment, that could definitely be a problem, but I think that it's something he'd be willing to put some effort into, for the right person. Again, these are things that I've been trying to convey in the story, so I hope that it comes across.

I'm curious to know why you don't think that Ripp is the best option for being the one to shake Johnny and Ophelia up. I agree with you that they probably do need a wild card element in their life (though they could also work perfectly fine on their own, I think, as long as they communicate with each other - they might be a little serious, but they'd be fine), and I think that Ripp fills that role quite well as a friend. Right now he might be shaking things up a bit too much at times, but that comes with the difficult situation in his life. At his best, he brings a lot of fun to the equation.

[abbycat900.livejournal.com]

xD :D D: :( :) :o
I'm not sure how to feel! So much... excitement! I love Ripp, but.. not with Ophelia! I'm mad at her now! Grr.... The 'I'm not your uncle, I'm your brother' part really made me laugh. Wah! Lucy Burb! She's like my favorite person in all of Pleasantview.
Oh, and I finally got started on a story of my own. The tips you gave me a while ago really helped, thanks!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked that "I'm not your uncle..." line. In the Smith family, it seems like it would be easy to get confused at times.

Lucy Burb is pretty new to me, so it will be fun to work with her.

It's great to hear that you've started your own story. It's a lot of fun. You should check out the simstorytellers community, if you haven't already.

[silentsteel.livejournal.com]

It seems like the Pollinators are trying to establish themselves as a secondary race within humanity.

And DAYUMN, Jayne is far more determined than I expected . . . she must love Stella quite intensely. She's utterly screwed the pooch on having a chance at Johnny with this.

And with things with Ophelia and Ripp . . . I think it's a good thing Johnny had that dream. This is Not Going To Be Your Average Scenario.

Although, it makes me wonder why these half-blood children are so very, very key. On one hand, I can definitely see why . . . wait, is the majority of the Pollinator race sterile?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

The aliens are actually working to create another entirely different species, which is a hybrid of the both sim and alien. It is this halfness that they wish to maintain. This way they will retain a part of their own species, but also include the necessary genetic diversity to combat the virus that is killing them. Chapter twenty, which introduces Stella, gives more details.

You got it exactly right. Jayne does really love Stella, and that's why she acted this way. As for Johnny, she's hoping that he'll understand her actions, but you might be right. It's going to be a bitter pill to swallow.

Indeed. Not your average scenario at all. At least Johnny has given the possibility some thought, so he won't be taken completely by surprise. Even considering that, and their close relationship all around, it's going to be a bit of a tense situation.

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

I saw this last night but didn't read it since I was surfing and watching TV at the same time and a movie came on I hadn't seen before. The movie won out. I had to wait until after work today so I could really pay attention to it. Now, onto the story.

Youngest PT spawn. EEEP! Oh they are so cute!!
Jill gave Ripp the cold shoulder there, didn't she? And I just love the fact that Buck brought the fish with him. he, he, he.

LOL! Ophelia on the bubble blower! Oh, Ripp is such a bad influence, isn't he? I do like Ripp and Ophelia together. I think they'd be nice together. Maybe she could even tame him down some. I love him carrying her home, too.

Holy crap! What a nightmare! I love the way Olive looks so sweet...right before the last picture that is. *brrrrr!*

So Johnny got abducted, huh? That's going to be interesting. I wonder if it's going to make a difference. And I wonder what's going to happen when Johnny finds out about Ophelia and Ripp? Although if he did it would solve a problem or too. I can't wait to see where all this leads.

I always love the faces on sims when they get abducted, too. So funny.

Great update, as usual. :)


Oh, and the guy with the mohawk on the bubble blower? He cleans up real nice.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

What? You mean you'd rather watch a movie than read my story? Next time, I will try harder and win out over the movie! :P But seriously, I would have watched the movie too. It's not like the internet goes anywhere.

Yeah, the Smith twins are piles of cute. Jolene is a mini PT, and Jordan has such an odd look. He transitioned into one of those Seasons scarf sweater outfits, and it matches his hair perfectly. So cute.

Jill was a little stand-offish to Ripp, which is understandable. She figured that he would at least call her afterwards, and maybe he would have, if he wasn't trying to keep his distance because of Johnny.

The fish had to go along, of course. The poor Grunt brothers and their fish. That's all they have left of their family, really. Well, besides each other.

Ophelia finally lets loose. :P Ripp is very much a bad influence, but it's not like he begged her to do it. He was going to try to stop her for about a minute, and then he was like, "Okay, cool!"

I really like the idea of him carrying her home. It's such a concrete example of how he wants to carry her along in her time of need. I love Ripp and Ophelia together too, which must be obvious. I don't think they'd be without their share of problems, but I think that overall, they would be good for each other.

Yeah, Olive gets all sweet and motherly for a second there. That's probably the creepiest part. Olive is frightening.

You'll see how Johnny reacts soon enough. This won't remain a secret for very long.

I agree. Those abduction faces are great, and it's so fun to see Johnny losing his shit like that.

Thank you.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

All right, I'm finally done with this update.

Oh my Goodness! So much happened! No wonder you were eager to reach this part of the story! I don't even know where to start.

Although I already knew that Johnny was gonna be abducted, I spent the whole update hoping it'd be an accident and not part of Jayne's plans. She must have really strong reasons to do that to Johnny, who might even trust her less after this episode.

I guess the Smith's perfect family life is finally falling appart. It's a bit sad how everything Johnny and Jill experienced through their lives was just a mask. The perfect little garden, the perfect parents... it was just an illusion, or something to at least give them a sense of normalcy before being "forced" (perhaps?) to become "Breeders".

It makes me sad for Jenny and PT 9. They both know that their children are gonna suffer one way or another. And now I wonder who are those against the aliens... that doesn't look good at all.

WHat's gonna happen inside the spaceship? I also wonder if Johnny's "breeding" career is gonna start right now or if he'll just be taught a thing or two about being an alien. I was amused at seeing those PT replacements as characters, like Helena's "mommy" (the red-haired one, aka 14). The blonde one (59, but I got confused and called him 56 instead) had zero nice points in my game (I made it that way).

Yikes! ANd what's gonna happen to Jill? Is she going to be abducted too? And soon? Or is she gonna be able to live a few years with Buck? That's so sad :(. Speaking of, come on, Buck! Share the details with Ripp! I'm sure he'd enjoy them :P

And more Maxis characters officialy join the story. Like Lucy Burb (been a while since I last saw her) and Bottom Summerdream. Hal is the little boy from that large bin family, right? The one who has a teen sister, Miranda? I couldn't recognize him at first! Can't wait to see what you're gonna do with them!

And finally, I was already seeing Phi and Ripp getting together. Now things are gonna get awkard at that house. It shows that Ripp cares for Ophelia, how he's eager to wait for the "right" moment to be intimate with her, if that ever happens.

In general, it seems that the story had finally reached a "Point of no return". Sweet!

I see you are working out the camera mod pretty well! Those shots of Ripp and Phi asleep, the nightmare, the different angles when they were blowing bubbles (I like the pic where Ophelia is standing beehind a curtain of bubbles), the one where Ripp is about to kiss Phi (sort of like Sleeping Beauty, so romantic!). And of course, the shots of Johnny's abduction!

Really, really awesome update. Such a treat to find this now that I'm home! ^^

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

It's fun to get to the part of the story where things really start to happen, but it can be a little unsettling to reach the point of no return too. (Like right now, I'm struggling to commit to the choices I'm making in the second half. It's going to be full of drama.)

Johnny is not going to be pleased with Jayne, so she must expect that he'll understand shy she did it. Those aliens are going to have to be very convincing.

I feel sorry for the Smiths too. The perfect life was an illusion to them all. They wanted the best for their family, but either way, there are going to be sacrifices. They can't live a completely happy normal life, and also a safe one. One of the enemies of the aliens is the military, who are trying to stop the invasion from happening.

We'll learn a little of what happened to Johnny in the spaceship in the next chapter, but not too much. Some of it will remain a mystery for a while longer. I gave those default replacement PTs extreme personalities too (all 10s or 0s), to match the way that alien children turn out.

Like Johnny, Jill is going to try to keep living her life normally, ignoring the issue. That was how Johnny dealt with it. Trying to keep it to himself, and hoping it would go away. They're more alike than they realize. (And, I agree, Ripp probably would love to hear about it.)

Yeah, Hal is from the large Capp family in the bin. I forget all of the names, but they will be mentioned in the story, I'm sure. I have some good plans for the "out of towners" (that's what I named that household), but mostly, I'm going to take it as it comes. That's what works the best for writing this way, I now realize. My plans always end up changing, anyway.

That's a very important point that you bring up. Ripp does want things to be special with Ophelia. He doesn't want to make a mess of it, like he fears that he will. Johnny is only part of his worries, and it's not the only thing that he fears about that situation. There's a reason that he has chosen to not get serious with anyone, as we all know. He's watched a supposedly happy marriage fall apart right before his eyes.

The next chapter is very much the point of no return on a couple of fronts. I'm still trying to brace myself for it, but it's time to start moving forward. I've stalled long enough.

Thank you. I'm really enjoying the camera mod, and I'm glad that you can see the difference. :)