strangetomato | Updates and rambling on about various things

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Updates and rambling on about various things

It's a grab bag of topics, folks...

So, what is this... Wednesday? *scratches head* Could I post the next chapter by the end of the week? I haven't actually taken any photos for it yet, but maybe I could put it together in a couple of days.

I'm thinking of taking a different approach to some of the upcoming chapters, and making them more centrally focused on one character or group of characters. The next chapter will have two parts (was originally going to be one, but I thought I'd add a little look at Erin and Circe before I got to Nervous - that side of the plot needs to catch up with itself). After that, I'm going to take all the college kids up to graduation (well, not Buck, Jill, etc.), but I think I'm going to tackle them seperately. There'll be a chapter on the trio, one just about Frances, one about Tank (yeah, I could combine those, but maybe not...). There'll be some overlap there with events in those sections, but I think this will work. I'll probably send Vidcund to Veronaville in there somewhere too.

So... it's good to have a plan of action. Next up: get some momentum back.

Oh, and squirrel_tamer has been feeding my creativity in a big way with some new drawings, and she REALLY outdid herself on the latest one. (Seriously, I'd like to print this out and frame it... and maybe I will.) It really captures the whole J/R/O thing so well for me, and it's a gorgeous drawing. Scroll up for some other sketches, and she posted this set recently too - also very cool. (I'm pretty sure those are the only ones I haven't linked to yet.)

Thanks a BILLION for these, ST (hey, we have the same initials. How... confusing). ^_^ You're super cool. I liked your suggested soundtrack for that latest drawing, but I'd also like to suggest Illuminated by Weird War. Have a listen (it's on Youtube)... I think it really works. *adjusts nerdly glasses*

Speaking of nerds, If you'll allow me to nerd out about characterization a little here, I love how she's drawn their bodies in this one. It really exaggerates the differences in heights and builds in the way I imagine they differ. Ophelia is so cute and pear-shaped. And short... or, at least, she's short compared to Johnny. Johnny is tall (I think of PT as being tall too, so perhaps it's an alien thing) and thin. He's athletic, and not really underweight, but maybe bordering on it. Ripp probably tells him that he needs to eat more meat. *snicker* I really like the image of Johnny as this willowy, green, vegan athlete. It's pretty kickass to me.

Ripp is physically average, but has a hint of those solid "army guy" genetics, and you can tell he could be really well built, like Tank is, if he bothered to try (though, of course, he doesn't). He's somewhat broad-shouldered and it all looks pretty good, but get closer and he feels... kinda flabby.

I told you this would be nerdy. ;)

I also sometimes think about how their voices would sound, and I've made reference to it here and there in the story (same goes for those body types too - I've mentioned it a couple of times). Some characters give off really definite "voices" like that when I'm writing their dialogue. I'll spare you the details for now... unless you're really interested.

I've been playing with Apartment Life a little, and I do enjoy a lot of the new features. There are some issues with it, of course, but MATY has provided some fixes (be sure to get the critical fix and the updated notownieregen - that fixes an NPC spawning issue similar to the one from BV - both hacks are in the updated Director's Cut). I'm happy to have the Director's Cut again, since there are some real sanity-savers in there, though I always spend some time weeding out all the hacks I don't like. Traditional Marriage? Umm, no thanks... I can decide who's name gets taken myself.

Speaking of the Director's Cut, there are always a number of hacks that are unlisted in the hack description thread. Does anyone know how to find information on those? I know it's part of the whole "director's cut" thing and I don't get to know what they do because I'm not "awesome" enough, but most actual director's cut dvds come with hours of commentary that over-explain the movie in question. I don't see why we can't get a simple one-liner about what those mystery hacks do.

But anyway... I'm lucky to have the Director's Cut at all, aren't I? I shouldn't complain.

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Yep, my drabble was a little 'out there', to say the least. It's good to have these little 'distractions' to keep your creative juices a-flowing.

I do imagine Johnny as being pretty muscular for his body type. I just don't picture him as a large guy. What's there is toned, but he's not bulky. I went to highschool with a guy like that, who was on all the sports teams, and we called him "Legs". It's a certain type.

I really couldn't picture any of the Grunts as being skinny (I see them more as robust military stock), but that's an interesting angle. I'd see Ripp's poor eating habits (he has a preference for "street meat" like hotdogs) and general inactivity as something that might cause him to be less than svelte.

Don't worry... you're preaching to the choir about veganism and making assumptions about people based on things like that. I really didn't intend to imply any correlation between Johnny's build and his diet. Those are just two facts about him. I try not to play into stereotypes most of the time, though I suppose I can't please every opinion on the matter. I think it's interesting to have Johnny as an athletic guy and also a vegan. That sort of goes against the stereotype of the weak, anemic vegan, doesn't it?

(But I do believe it is a pretty well-established fact that vegans tend to have, on average, a lower BMI than non-vegans.)

And yeah, Ripp would totally say something stupid like that. :P

Character details are like a fine spice added to a story!

The group dynamics of three is always going to be challenging; peoples' roles constantly change, and a lot of the time there's going to be one who feels left out.

Out of curiosity: do you know how intimate Johnny and Ripp are going to get? Will it always be platonic, or is there going to be some room for greater romantic intimacy between them? I'm really drawn to stories that have characters not so much question their sexuality but think about accepting things they wouldn't with other people or prior relationships. Not some internal crisis, but a mature examining of feelings. It doesn't even have to be sexual.

LOL like I said, the dynamics of three fascinate me!

Your drabble request was the bread crust one, right? I really liked that one.

I was reminded of this funny thing my grandmother used to scare us with as kids about eating our crusts. If you didn't eat your crust, the Crust Man (sort of like the Boogie Man, or maybe the Milk Man) would come and "get you". It was terrifying. *snicker*

I'm sure I can make good use of that drabble. I even have some potential characters in mind for it already.

What strangetown likers are in the minority? But I love strangetown!

Yeah, there's definitely something to the trio thing. I'm really drawn to it. Intensity is a major factor, like you said. There's so much potential for something to go wrong.

Thank you so much. :) That means a lot to me.

Squinge is what?!?!? O.o
I knew Dizzy had reworked some of Squinge's hacks for FT & AL but WOW! Awesome!!

Those pictures are fantastic! She has a brilliant style =D

I wouldn't say you're being too nerdy. In depth characterisation like that is what keeps a story strong. Likely one of the reasons yours is so damn good =)

Well, that's nice to hear. :) It's been such a long time coming... I've had things written for it for ages.

It's nice to know I'm not alone in my obsession with character detail. I often wonder if I take things too seriously, since I don't want the story to get weighed down by these things, but I don't think it ever hurts to have your characters well thought out. I like it when writers take their characters seriously. It's up there with respect and love for their creations. It's important for me to feel that the author cares deeply for their characters. I even want to see sympathy (or at least understanding) for the villains.

Character stories appeal to me more than other types of stories. The events in the plot, the world-building, and the overall concepts... none of those things are as important to me as the characters. Not everyone would agree, of course, but that's the reason I read things.

So, yeah... I don't think you're creepy at all. ;) I'd say you're a good writer.

I've always imagined Ophelia like that too. It's funny how, even though the game doesn't allow for much actual variation (though I suppose I could just use the fat morph for more curves), we can see things in the characters, based on overall impressions or styling.

That's a great assessment of Johnny's character. I do think there is an element of that in how Ripp relates to him. He's something like an older brother too, but in the household, Johnny falls into a parent-like role more than the other two do.

From what we've seen so far, it doesn't seem like any of the characters will be carried over. They might just make a clean break, and that would be okay too. If anything, I'd put my money on Pleasantview, since that carried on from the first game. It will be interesting to see what they do with it.

I guess the combined hood has pretty long loading times in general with so many characters in it, right? From the description, your next computer should be able to handle it. That's so exciting. :)

Pescado really is hilarious. I get a huge kick out of him and his way with words.

As for the pet thing, maybe I can get Florence Delarosa a cat and try it out. She has snapdragons in her flower shop. It's a great strategy for a business, since you can take advantage of the effects while they're on display, and still sell them too. If only the flower business brought in much actual money...

I'm starting to sell flower paintings too. That should bring in more cash.

It's tempting to stay in college indefinitely (and I could do that), but the passage of time allows for some big payoffs in character development, and I'd miss out on that if I went with that sort of "Degrassi High" route.

Sometimes I'd love to do a large time jump, since I do have some things planned for much further down the line, but I'd pass over a couple of things I really want to do before that. I just hope I can keep going long enough to get to the things I want to do in the future of the story. If I ever feel like I'm going to drop the story (for whatever reason), I think I'll at least try to do a last chapter that spells it all out. Not ideal, but it would be sort of funny too.

There are things I like about the romance mod, like the adjustments to jealousy. I don't like how family sims are programmed to be super jealous though. That's probably mostly true, but I don't think it works for everyone (just like some romance sims would be jealous types too). I'm going to love the way Sims 3 works. Jealousy will probably just be a character trait that some sims will have, but not all. At least, I hope it works that way.

It was the bisexual thing that turned me off from the romance mod most of all. It's hard enough to have bisexual sims as it is. Too many interactions in either direction, and they drift from the centre (and bisexuals shouldn't have to be 50/50 anyway). I wish there was a sexuality meter in the personality profile. Ranging preference from gay to straight on a scale of 1 to 10 would be almost perfect.

I suppose you could say that Johny goes against stereotypes because he isn't like a "hippie".

Also very true. He isn't a straight-edge hardcore punk either, though I suppose he has some straight-edge tendencies.

I couldn't agree more.

As for the nature of Johnny and Ripp's relationship, I can't say too much about that right now. Or, rather, I won't. It's one of the areas of the story I've deliberated over more than most. On one hand, they really could go past a platonic level in their relationship. Like you said, those things can happen, even when someone didn't know they had it in their sexual/romantic programming. Sexuality is such a mystery. It's very hard to argue hard and fast rules on what can or cannot happen between people, and even those who seem very set in a certain way (I can hear the Tank/Frances supporters getting their hopes up).

Then again, they might remain (I won't say "only") friends. The line between romance and an intimate friendship is pretty fine to me, though. There's also the concept of "romantic friendship", which has the intimacy, but draws the line at sexual contact (but where's the line for that? *snicker* kiss? hug? backrub?). I do like the idea of them as friends who can be that close too. The intimacy might be more of a familial sort.

They might also have differing opinions about their relationship, or what they would like it to be. There's also that. It could always be a changing and undefined thing too. They aren't required to declare anything, unless they want to.

You're right. This is pretty fascinating to think about.

But, as I said, I'm not going to reveal my plans. ;) I do have plans, but they've been known to change.

I'm going to need to come to you for more Buck paintings at some point too. I'm thinking... (yeah, I'll just say it out here where people can read it)... I'd like some paintings where Jill is posing nude. They'd do figure studies in class, but I think Buck would do some on his own time too. Jill wouldn't have any issues with being a model.

Well, a shout-out is the least I can do. It's so awesome that you make these artworks. I get so excited over them. They're gorgeous, and I hope you're inspired to draw many more. ^_^

I love how the body types look in that drawing. It's very much like what we discussed before. I love being able to see them with those differences from the game.

Did we talk about the hair thing before too? If not, you're being a psychic again. :D Though maybe you remember it from the story (it was pretty obscure, though)... Ripp made fun of Johnny at one point and told him to "grow some facial hair" and Johnny defended himself by saying it was "an alien thing". It's part of the whole androgyny of the (full) aliens, and it carries over to the half aliens too. They don't have much body hair, and they never have facial hair.

The Grunts would have manly arm hair, I agree. And manly chest hair. All sorts of hair, I'd imagine. Probably even some *gasp* back hair. :P

I haven't isolated any specific voice actors, but I could think about it. I've been imagining Ripp's singing voice as being similar to the main singer of Animal Collective, if that tells you anything. It has a slightly nasal quality to it, and it's not overly deep. I always hear Johnny's dialogue with a voice that's similar to one of my close friends (from whom I borrow a lot of Johnny's high-strung tendencies and dramatics). He's kind of musical and dramatic when he's "up" and clear and level when he's "down". Both Johnny and Ripp would have this way of talking like they're on stage, especially if they're carrying on, or a third party is listening. Ophelia would be soft-spoken, of course.

Thank you. That's a useful suggestion for getting those extra hack descriptions. I've never thought of it. (

leaths also linked to a full list in a comment here.)

I don't ever use the DC as-is either, but it does have most of the hacks I use in it, so it's a good starting point for getting the hacks set up again.

Edited 2008-09-04 18:21 (UTC)

Oh, don't feel awkward. :) It's very nice to meet you! Thanks for following the story.

Thank you for that link. That's very useful.

Yeah, it seems Squinge is back in action, which can only be a good thing.

An updated Hula mod would rock so hard. :D

According to a poll on the official Sims 2 site, Strangetown was one of the least favourite neighbourhoods. Seems funny when you're involved in the livejournal sims community. I guess ALL the Strangetown fans congregate here.

Totally understand you not wanting to reveal your plans! Plotting is hard. It's one big reason I haven't tried a story format Sims thing myself.

What's great about sexuality is how flexible it can be. For example, I'm about as straight a female as they come, but I've had a couple secret crushes on girls and I'm not even sure how far they might have gone in different circumstances.

The way I see your version of Johnny and Ripp is they would be really comfortable with a more intimate physical relationship but draw the line at sexual contact. That drawing of them in bed sticks in my mind. Imagine a threesome with the sexual energy focused on Ophelia but the boys being comfortable with each other nude. *sigh* I think that's one of my kinks.

The more important part of the whole relationship is the emotions. Even with what little I've read, I can tell these three are really close emotionally. It's amazing how much thought we put into fictional people. Humans tend to react to fictional characters as though they are real, it's an interesting psychological thing.

It really is. ^_^ She's getting better all the time, and that's very exciting. I really look forward to seeing her work.

It will definitely make it easier to shoot and write those chapters, though I'll miss out on some of the interesting things you can do with paralleling the scenes. It will provide a nice opportunity to show things from a variety of different points of view, though. I can mention something with one set of characters, then some it from another viewpoint in the next chapter. That has potential.

The chapters have been getting really long, and I'll be happy to shorten them a little. They do take a while to do, and I don't want them to become onerous chores to read too.

I have a number of things in store for Nervous, but much of it has to coast along in the background for a while. The clones will link us back to other parts of the plot. You'll see what I mean soon enough. ;)

(Hint: It's the Beakers. It's always the Beakers.)

I do hope to give most of those side characters a little chance to shine. I don't want to have too many balls in the air, but the nice thing about doing a serial story like this, as opposed to a coherent novel, is you can do a little tangent story about a minor character.

The Curiouses aren't really minor characters, anyway. My focus is on how the younger generation has to grow up with the situation that has been created by those earlier generations (particularly that "alien vs. normal" tension that has been created between the Smiths and the Grunts), but that whole family plays into main storyline.

I say all that like I have a really coherent plan for this. :P

I agree. It's a great style. I love the contrast between that and the version my SO did too. Such very different takes on them, but still "right" in different ways for me.

Well, I'm not saying that being nerdy is a bad thing. ;) But it's nerdy all the same to be so intensely devoted to pursuing one thing. I just wanted to make a fair warning to those who might not want to hear me ramble on about my writerly activities.

And thank you. :)

She's very talented, isn't she? :) I'm so lucky to have her drawing my characters like that.

I really hope they include height differences in Sims 3. It doesn't seem to be the case so far, but maybe that will change.

So you're a tall girl? My cousin (who is like a sister) is really tall too. She was my maid of honour at the wedding and the best man is really short, so that was a little funny. Not that we were too concerned about aesthetics. My cousin in the wheelchair seemed pretty short too (we joked that about our "diversity" wedding party so much).

I'd love to hear what you think about the heights of the Brokes. :)

I agree. A change of pace is a good thing. (And I don't believe I commented on your last post, with the future scene. I'm terribly behind on your story, so I feel like I miss half of the plot details, but I did intend to comment on that.)

The hacks did update pretty quickly this time. If InSim and SimPE get updated soon, we're laughing. I've been using the objects version of InSim anyway, but I haven't made any changes that I actually save.

I remove a lot of the same hacks from the DC.

You *seem* to have a coherent plan, and that's what matters. :)

Yeah, I know the Curiouses aren't minor, but they're not in the limelight as much. Some of them obviously have important roles to play, like Pascal with Nervous, and Vidcund with Circe. But even as a die-hard Lazlo fan, I'm okay with him not getting a lot of face time. It's like the whole story is a pattern you're weaving into a length of fabric, and some threads are more showy, while others are part of the support... if that makes sense.

Interesting hint about the clones leading back to other parts! I wonder... no, I'll let you tell it in your own time. :)

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Updates and rambling on about various things

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