Sim_mania challenge entry + simsecret

[strangetomato]

I posted an entry for the latest challenge at sim_mania, if you want to check it out.

Also, check this out... Someone made a simsecret about me. That's pretty cool, but also way less fun than I imagined it would be. That's always the way, isn't it? There's a certain giddy thrill to realizing that someone has written your name on the wall of the highschool washroom, but then you realize that the rest of the sentence says, "...is a slut." (This may or may not relate to an actual event in my life.) Well, what are you going to do? I probably am too obsessed with these characters. I won't deny that. I think I have gotten too caught up in it all, really. It's probably unhealthy. (I'm also feeling that the fact that I've been posted about in a sim secret community might be a sign that I need to return to the real world. I really have fallen down a nerdy rabbit hole, haven't I?)

As for the second part... they must have started reading a different story, since both Jaxy and Ripp still swear like sailors. I don't think I really cut back on that much, if at all. *shrugs* They swear. Some people do. It's not all about them being "bad ass" (though that is a factor, for sure).

I keep intending to submit a simsecret, but I always forget or have trouble coming up with an idea. I considered making a joke secret about the simstorytellers comm, since it's so drama-free, but it never really came together. Maybe next time, I'll think of something.

ETA: I probably won't respond to any of these comments for a while. I have a busy day ahead of me.

Comments

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I think it's pretty neat, despite it being kind of negative. I do think it's a bit ridiculous to call you obsessed while admitting to crying over Cosmo Broke. The way I see it, for ytou it's less about being attached to the sim itself as it is being attached to the characters. Which I completely understand. It's easy to really get lost in your characters, and that's basically what these sims are. Even though maxis made them and gave them the bare bones of backstories, YOU'RE the one who has developed them this far.

These versions of Ripp, Ophelia, Johnny, etc. are YOURS and it's perfectly okay to get attached to the characters you've created (and you have). It's just a fuzzier line than when somebody writes or makes something with completely original characters, because we all have a Ripp, Ophelia, Johnny, etc.

But I think it's cool that you've been secreted. It means somebody cares enough about your story to take time out of their day to think about it.

Also, I've never really seen the swearing as a badass thing. It's just a habit of those characters. I've gotten used to it by this point.

Just, don't let it get ya down, 'kay?

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I agree. I do think it's quite cool to have someone make a simsecret about me. It makes me feel sort of famous in a really insular kind of way (famous to fifteen people? Probably not even that many *snicker*). I guess I'm just bummed out that I didn't get one of those glowing "I'm totally gay for your legacy/story/whatever" secrets that other people seem to get.

I think that's why I sometimes feel that it's an unhealthy obsession. If they were completely my own characters, then maybe devoting so much thought to it might be a bit more productive? It is a little bit of a grey area. They are mine, but, of course, they are also not.

As for being obsessed, I really couldn't be bothered to write a story and not put this much thought into it. Anything worth doing is worth doing whole-heartedly. That's just how I am. I do plan to move on to other, completely original ventures one of these days. For now, this is good practice. I've been out of the writing game for a while, so it's been great to have an interactive venue for feedback like this. Everyone reading this has been great for offering advice and feedback, and I really like to dissect everything as I'm writing it. It's hard to be detached when it's so much fun to sort through all the details with everyone here.

With Jaxy, more than Ripp, I see it as something of a badass thing. She does it for shock value and to be funny and harsh. Neither of them really realizes that they do it anymore. I just base that on actual people I know. Some people just swear like that. I actually put a lot of thought (LOL - I'm obsessed) into where I do include the cursing and where to place the f-bombs in the structure of the sentence. *snicker* I study cursing to make it more natural in my writing.

I'm not going to let it get to me. My initial reaction was to feel bummed out (just like I was with those nasty messages written in the dirt on the side of the schoolbus), but really... why should I let it concern me?

[simantics.livejournal.com]

If it helps, I am totally gay for your Strangetown!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Awesome. ^_^ That makes me feel so much better. You have no idea.

(And, the feeling is mutual, so that really does sound like some sort of gay Strangetown lovefest, doesn't it?)

[simantics.livejournal.com]

Good. You deserve to feel better. And "Gay Strangetown Lovefest" would make an excellent sidestory to any Strangetown tale, imho.

I know how much it sucks to be talked that kind of bitchy high school smack about. So I sympathize with you lots.

Maybe it's good that I'm inactive right now, because back in the day I'm sure my name would have shown up on simsecrets and I'd have been upset for days. :/ I was upset enough when someone made a post about thesims2 mods, and I've been inactive as a mod for ages.

Anyway, I send you much love and admiration ♥