Strangetown: Chapter Thirteen

[strangetomato]

 

Warnings: language


Chapter 13





Jill Smith kept a diary, and she hid it very well, so nobody was privy to her private thoughts. If someone had managed to find it, however, and was able to decipher her scribbled handwriting, this is some of what it would say.




Dear Diary,

I love Ripp Grunt! There, I said it. He will be mine someday. I just know it. One day we will be together and it will be perfect, and then we''ll get married. Johnny says that I shouldn't get my hopes up because he's a player, but what does Johnny know? He doesn't know Ripp the way I do. He's so sweet.




Johnny's just jealous that Ripp likes me and likes spending time with me too. Johnny thinks he is so important! He always has to be the centre of attention, and he usually is. He's the oldest, the one that's good at everything, the one that's GREEN! It makes me so mad sometimes that he can't even bear to share a little bit of that with me.




He never lets me hang out with him and his friends, even though I really want to. I'm not some dumb little kid like Johnny thinks I am. I'm practically a teenager now too. I could hang out with them. His friends are so cool and interesting (especially RIPP!), and I wish I could spend more time with them.




Well, Ripp hangs out with me sometimes, even though it pisses Johnny off. He's so nice! Sometimes he would play dolls with me. I'd always imagine that it's our perfect house and the dolls are us, living inside it. Ripp always used to make the dolls kiss each other, and I'm pretty sure that he was trying to tell me something.

Ms. Jill Grunt-Smith, Ms. Jill Smith-Grunt, Mrs. Jill Grunt, Mrs. Ripp Grunt... sorry, just testing it out, diary.




Ripp is just so (this part is written in a secret code, created by Jill for this purpose, but it can be assumed that it is a more graphic depiction of his manly virtues).




Dear Diary,

Mom is pregnant again! Oh joy! Another brother or sister to compete with for attention. As if Johnny isn't enough on his own. At least he's away at college now. It's almost as if I get to be an only child for a while, with him out of the house. I don't know what to do with all the attention. Better enjoy it while I can, now that the baby is on the way, I guess.




I've kinda suspected that Mom was pregnant since the last time we had all of the family over for supper. She's been really emotional and sick, so that's pretty much a dead giveaway.




Oh, and Mom and Dad bought me a kitten! She's so sweet. I named her Pita, and she's a little white fluff ball. I'm so happy. I know that it's because of the new baby on the way, but it's still really cool. I just love her.




I'm not sure why my parents think I'm going to be jealous anyway. What's the big deal? It's just a baby. I've had to deal with bossy old Johnny all my life, so it will be great to be the older sister for a change. Johnny - ugh! Now that he's in university, he's an even bigger hero! I love him and all, but sometimes he really just pisses me off.




Dear Diary,

My transition came early, out of nowhere! Oh joy, right? I was just standing on the veranda, and this feeling came over me. I didn't even have time to call out for my parents to come see it, or anything.




It was pretty cool. In a way, I'm glad I was alone, because now it was this special private moment, and I didn't have to have a dumb party to celebrate it. So now I'm a teenager, at last. It's about time my body caught up with my mind!




It sure is great to finally be a woman! I'm kidding, of course. It's such a pain in the hole, and I've been having really bad cramps all day. Boys just have no idea, do they? They're so lucky!




Dear Diary,

Mom is as big as a whale, and she's so weird to be around lately. That is all. I don't know... nothing at all going on in my life. It is boring. My life is boring and it sucks.




Dear Diary,

I am so fucking mad! Pardon the language, but Mom, if you're reading this, then you deserve it. A bunch of assholes at school were giving Buck a hard time again, and one of them called him a fag and then shoved him up against the lockers!




I was so mad! I wanted to kill them all.




Of course, I didn't, but I did tell them right where to go.




I wish I had more of a backbone. I'd get suspended, but it would be so worth it. Those assholes need their asses kicked, and soon, and wouldn't it be so sweet if the little blond "fag hag" was the one to do it?




Why are people so stupid? Buck's not even really gay, or at least, he never said so to me.




I mean, come on, if he was, I think he'd tell me! We're basically the same person. I really don't think that he is, but he doesn't really ever talk about girls, so who knows?




If he is gay, I wish that he'd just come out already, so I can start picking up for him. God, some heads are really going to roll if those assholes try to do anything to him again.




Buck is too sweet. He's way too nice, really. He should have said something, or at least pushed the guy back, but he just turns the other cheek.

I keep telling him that we should just go with it and really show those guys. I wanted to print up some t-shirts with slogans on them, so we could wear them around, but Buck wouldn't even entertain the thought. They would have been awesome. Buck's could have been like "Real men wear pink", or something, and mine could be "Alien and proud - get used to it". Pink and green go so well together too.




Buck is way too shy to draw that sort of attention to himself. He gets enough of it anyway. It's so stupid! Just because he dresses a certain way and is interested in "girly" things, whatever that means! And he's not athletic - who cares? I don't know why they want to make it their business, since it's obviously not. If I ever start choosing my friends based on superficial shit like that, I hope someone smacks me in the face. Besides, I think Buck looks fine the way he is. He dresses way better than those assholes do. They don't have a clue. And so he's a little overweight. Big fucking deal!




Buck Grunt is the best friend I've ever had. He's the best one I'm ever likely to have too. I'd rather sit around and do nothing with Buck for hours than spend even a minute with any of those other guys.




Dear Diary,

Buck redecorated his bedroom and it's so cool! You should see it. I want my bedroom to be just like it. Mine is still stuck like a little girl's room, and Mom doesn't see the need to change it. I hate that yellow carpet so much I could scream. Maybe I could convince her and then get Buck to help me make it over. He's so awesome at it! He painted the walls purple. Yes, purple! It's a lavender. I'll bet his Dad just loved that.




The General is so uptight and strict about shit like that. He must have been surprised to see Buck doing something so bold, since Buck usually just does whatever he should. He'd expect it from Ripp - well, not that, but you know what I mean.

I LOVE RIPP! Love him!! Sorry... just had to write that again, in case you forgot.




Dear Diary,

The babies are here! Yes, babies, as in two! Mom had twins! My family is crazy.




The babies are so cute! I just can't believe there are two of them.




Of course, they both had to be green. Why am I the only one that has to be left out? I feel like I'm the real alien, not the rest of them. It's so unfair! When I tell people I'm half alien, they don't even believe me! I'm just as much an alien as Johnny is. It's like I'm not even allowed to take ownership of it because my skin is normal.

Anyway, enough ranting. The babies are beautiful, and I'm glad that they are green. I'm going to be a good big sister to them.




Jordan is the oldest. He's a blond like me, Mom, and Johnny. They both have Dad's eyes, just like Aunt Lola and Chloe. They were lucky enough to get Mom's nose, or should I say, a nose, period. Not that Mom's nose is all that big. Sometimes I feel like I don't even have a nose, it's so small and button-like. I know it's such a typical girl thing to whine about your nose, but I wish I'd grow into it, or it would grow into my face, or something. Not that I want Johnny's nose, or anything. That thing has it's own area code.




Jolene has red hair, like Dad and Aunt Chloe. She's so lucky! I love red hair, and it looks awesome with green skin. I'll bet she'll look so cute when she's old enough to grow it out.




Mom and Dad are thrilled. They'll be really busy for the next little while, and I will be too, I'm sure. It's going to be a lot of work for everyone.




I still haven't been able to fully get my head around it. Our family just got so much bigger, so quickly. I should be used to having a big family by now, I guess, but twins! It's crazy.




Speaking of twins, it seems to be something that runs in the family. Oh joy! I'm really looking forward to that, except I'm really not. Well, I don't have to think about having kids for quite some time, so I'll try not to worry about it. Imagine me having babies! Too weird.




I'm saying this, of course, because Uncle Vidcund had twins too! That's the third set in our family now. Uncle Pascal dropped in to see the babies, and he told us all about Uncle Vid's delivery.




He was cleaning the kitchen - no big surprise there! Uncle Vidcund is such a neat freak! There was nobody else around in the house, and the next thing he knows, he's in labour! Crazy, right? He just had to have them there in the kitchen, all by himself.




The firstborn was a boy, just like with Mom and Dad's twins, and Uncle Vid named him Orion. He looks a lot like Uncle Vidcund too. Well, except for the black eyes, black hair, and green skin. In the face, though, he seems very much the same.




Uncle Vid didn't even have time to take Orion to a crib before his little sister popped out too!




The younger twin is named Galaxy. Her eyes are so huge! She's really cute.




My cousin, Mint, also had her toddler transition a while back. She's so adorable! A real little terror, but so cute.




She looks so much like Uncle Pascal! She has different eyebrows, though, really curly hair, and these really sunken cheeks that make her look like she's sucking on a lemon. Too cute!




Those alien ears sure are strange, though. I sure am glad I didn't end up with those. It makes me feel a lot better about my nose, in comparison.




Mint is already showing how much she's like Uncle Pascal in personality too. She spends all of her time working on logic puzzles, even as a toddler! It's too cute.




Uncle Pascal is such a good father too. He's really sweet. Don't tell anyone, but he's totally my favourite uncle. He always asks me how things are going with school, and stuff like that. It makes me feel special. All of my uncles are pretty cool, really. That's why I decided to pursue knowledge just like them. One of these days, I'm going to do something really great.




Dear Diary,

Mom is going to invite Johnny and his friends over for dinner some evening in the next few weeks. I'm so excited because I know that Ripp will be coming for sure! (There is another short coded message here.)




I have to buy something new to wear. I hope Mom will give me some money for it, since I've already spent my allowance for this week. Oh, it's going to be so good! Ripp Grunt! He's so hot. I could just die! (There is another length of coded writing here.)






I was reading the Superstar Report (for the music reviews, of course), and I read about a new way to wear makeup so guys think you look like you've just had sex, and that makes them think about having sex with you. I'm totally going to try it. That should catch Ripp's attention. He's going to love it! There's no way he'll be able to resist me.




Johnny said that he's in a band now too. Could he be any more perfect? I wonder how long his hair is now. His beautiful hair. It's so shiny and soft, and when you lean close enough, you can smell the natural oils in it, and it's so sexy! (There is yet another passage of secret code here.)




Dear Diary,

I haven't seen Buck at school for a couple of days now, and when I call him, there's no answer. I went by his house a couple of times, and the van is there, but the door is locked and all the lights are off. What the fuck is going on? I'm really worried about him.




God, I'm going crazy! If the General grounded him, he has no right to keep him from school too, and if Buck is sick, then why didn't he call me? I have such a bad feeling about all of this.




I just hope everything is okay.








  (Continue to Chapter 14...)

Comments

[franwi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd love to do another family gathering too, but you can't bring toddlers over as guests anyway, can you?

Yes, you can - with InSim you can summon the toddlers to another house. When you say goodbye to everyone, the toddlers will walk/crawl home themselves as long as they can get to the sidewalk (it's pretty funny to see them leaving on their own.)

I'm kind of hoping Ripp will give Jill a taste, but I know it probably won't end well if he does. He's just broken enough right now to do that, though, so I can't wait to see what happens!! I do like his scuzzy, horny side. I also keep thinking of how sad/pathetic he was acting when Phi walked in on him with that random chick. He's so desperate to be loved, even fooling himself into feeling that way. So if Jill shows him some inkling of that sentiment, he might jump at it despite his misgivings. Eee, I want to see what he does!!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know... I never considered doing it with InSim. I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me. I use InSim all the time (obviously). I may just try that. Too bad toddlers don't seem to interact with each other at all (and how nice that their parents let them walk home alone! *snicker*).

I enjoy that side of Ripp too, and it will be interesting to see how he reacts to teenaged Jill showing interest in him. Of course, everything that you said is true. It would be very hard for Ripp to resist someone who worships the ground he walks on. He'd be transfixed by the idealized reflection of himself in her eyes.

Then there are Jill's plans to marry Ripp. Now that might scare him, just a little bit. We saw what he had to say about that in the last chapter, didn't we?

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

Johnny never hatched a green baby (at least for me).

Good lord he never Stopped hatching them for me!
First time I played him in Strangetown he and Ophelia had 4 kids. All green skinned, green eyed and blonde haired. I was hoping for at least one with her skin color but it was no-go.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

The problems with the Smith genetics were fixed with a later EP, so I assume you had one of the latter ones when you played that. Before that, you would have gotten a baby with the darkest skintone (and not just because of Ophelia). The Smiths, despite having either pale or green skin, had very dark skin in their genetics, which was bizarre, to say the least.

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

Ah, the teen girl's angsty diary! I love her secret code. Reminds me of one of my nieces who actually learned how to write in elvish (that's JRR Tolkien elvish, she got it from one of the appendices) and wrote all her journal entries that way so nobody could read them. And the teen crush on the older guy. I kind of think Jill might be in for a terrible let down. The fantasies are always so much better then the reality, especially when Ripp is going through so much himself at this time, things Jill knows nothing about. Or at least, I think she knows nothing about. I had to snicker over her wanting to wear make-up that makes you look like you just had sex to encourage someone to have sex with you. LOL! So, how do you apply this type of make-up? Put it on carefully then smear the crap out of it? :)

Babies, babies babies! Oh I just love all the babies! Twins are such fun, too, although they can run the family ragged until they grow up.
He was cleaning the kitchen - no big surprise there!
LOL! That is so much like Vidcund! Labor pains? I have time to clean the stove...and the sink...and the counter...and pick up the dirty dishes...or maybe not!
Mint is so sweet looking! I can't wait to see how all the babies look as they get bigger (older).

Ah, poor Buck. There's always something, isn't there? He can't get the attention he wants/needs at home from his father but he can get all kinds of negative attention from people he doesn't need it from. And with his sweet nature I can very well imagine him not fighting back at all. At least he does have Jill to fall back on.

The General has disappeared huh? YAHOOO! Oh, sorry, I mean, what a shame for the Grunt kids. I know Buck must be upset, Tank, I don't know...Tank has followed in his father's footsteps for so long what would he do if the General suddenly wasn't there? Flip out? Ripp, if he's sober, he might feel some remorse...eventually.

I love Jill's dig at her brother's nose and I have to agree, it is a bit long. Your comment about Buck's nose is true too. He has quite the beak on him when he becomes adult. The last time he graced most of his children with it, too. ANd speaking of noses, I noticed in one of the pictures Vidcund looks like he pierced one of the twin's cheek with his! LOL!

Great update as always and I look forward to the next one.
I just have one last word to say.....
Nervous? :)

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

Hmm I have to think now.
I think I had Uni in by then. That was the first EP I got after getting the base game. The next EP was nightlife but I'm sure I got that before they started popping out kids. I'm not sure though. I'm not sure how far I played the neighborhood before I started adding EPs. Yes, it would have been weird to get a dark-skinned baby from just the Smiths. I definitely wouldn't have expected it. But then, I never realized PT9 was a redhead until I aged him back into an adult this time (he's one of my favs and I want him around longer). Don't ask me why I just assumed he was black haired. Maybe because the majority of my alien kids always had black hair.

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

Mine was the complete opposite. He had 4 or 5 (one set of natural twins, too) and no green skin or black eyes.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

A diary written in elvish? Now that's cool. *smile*

You're right. An idealized crush is never the same as reality, and there is always that moment when you have to acknowledge that fact. That doesn't mean that it might not work out, but whatever happens, Jill will have to see the Ripp that actually exists outside of her mind. You're right too. Jill doesn't really know that much about Ripp. Johnny's probably mentioned a thing or two, but she just brushes that off or chooses to believe that she can somehow change him.

The sexy makeup is likely a lot like that, really. Just kinda smeared and dewy, and makes you looked flushed, with red lips, etc. I imagine something like that, and I'm sure I've seen fashion spreads featuring that exact thing. Notice that Jill is a lot less uptight about sex than Johnny is. She doesn't really sound like she plans to wait for marriage, does she?

That's so Vidcund. *snicker* "Wait, just one more dish..."

Yes, Buck can't really win with that scenario, can he? At least Jill has enough guts to tell the bullies off, and pick up for him. Buck is so softhearted.

Oh no. You're pleased that the General has disappeared? You might reconsider that idea, eventually. It isn't going to be easy on the Grunt boys. They've already lost their mother, so how do you think they'll feel if Buzz goes missing too? Actually, your ideas on the matter are fairly close.

Johnny has one pointy nose. Buck's is even huge as a child, so he doesn't have a prayer, really. Ripp and Tank both have prominent noses too. I happen to like a good strong nose, especially on a man, so it works for me. I find that every male sim I see, in legacies and such, usually have such wussy little noses, and I don't really get off on men with little button noses (plus I know that the female offspring will be getting zero nose action).

*snort* Vidcund is totally piercing that cheek.

Why yes, I am a little nervous... and you? ;)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I suspect that maybe it was Nightlife that brought the change. I have no idea. I arrived pretty late to the party, and my first EP was Pets.

[sim-insanity.livejournal.com]

8D I was so happy when I saw this (as to why I'm commenting now is beyond me)

on another somewhat off topic note: how do you get your sims to comfort each other? Cause try as I might I can't figure out how.

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

Actually, I only started playing the Sims last year. Well, Sims 2 anyway. Because I finally managed to save up enough money to get a computer to play it on. Before that I was playing on my PS2. So I was rather late to the pary too. :)

[indigoleo.livejournal.com]

Okay, I will say losing the General will be devastating to all three of the boys and I don't wish them anymore troubles. They each have enough of their own. But see, I can't stand The General. I tried, I truly tried to find something about him I liked and I couldn't. I never killed him outright (because that's not as much fun) but I definitely made his life miserable for him. He's not doing much better this time around for me, either. So feel free to ignore that whole "yahoo" thing. He just bugs me to no end. :)

I find that every male sim I see, in legacies and such, usually have such wussy little noses, and I don't really get off on men with little button noses Yeah, I guess I would have to agree. I don't mind some of the big noses. What I find most scary are the male sims that look like they have a nose when they are facing you straight on...then they turn to the side and it's like, totally flat! The blue-haired dormie in Uni is a good example. I'd rather have a sim with Vidcund's nose or Bucks then that! It looks like someone stomped on them when they were young. I am totally amazed at the number of legacies I've read where someone comments about how ugly the offspring is...and I'm going, I like him/her. But I guess I've always had a wider view then some people about what constitutes "good looking".

As for Jill waiting for marriage? Doesn't sound a lot like it.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

The comforting interaction is known as the "consolable cry", and can be achieved using the black box, a machinima production tool, found here. I believe that the interaction can also be made available using boolprop, though I've never done it that way. It's pretty easy to do. You instruct the first sim to do the consolable cry, and if the second sim has a high enough relationship with them, they will get the option to "console" when you click on the first sim.

It's such an essential tool when you have a cast of weepers like I do, and I find the game is just generally lacking in interactions where two sims touch each other in a non-romantic way (I wanna touch people, dammit! *ahem* Sorry...). I end up using those interactions for different reasons, and just angling them to hide the dumb grin, or whatever else would ruin it.

I'm glad to be able to bring a smile to your face. :) Cheers!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yes, please just think of the children! *grin* You're hardly the only person saying that, though. General Buzz seems to be the Strangetown sim most commonly killed off or sent to the bin. I actually quite like him.

The real deal breaker for me is a male sim with no chin. I just don't find that attractive. Gunnar Rogue, I'm looking at you. Oh, and let's not forget Ajay Loner in that discussion either. Yeah, I suppose that I can concede that he's "hot" in general (though he's never done anything for me), but his lack of a chin really bothers me. Luckily, Strangetown has plenty of good prominent chins.

Yeah, Jill didn't seem to buy into that like Johnny did. If her mother (and father) only knew...

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Better late than never, I say. *smile* I made up for it by becoming totally addicted (which is why I held off so long anyway, knowing what I was like with Sims 1).

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

Aww this entry was so cute! I love Jill! She's adorable. And I've already let on about my Ripp and Jill shipping. ;) I could really see him going for her once he's older (and so is she) and has his shit together better etc. I love the diary perspective and the coding stuff (such a preteen/teen thing to do!). And I love that you left us with a cliff hanger again. :D

Also, the babies are cute! :D

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree with what you said about Ripp and Jill...I just hope we get to see a bit of him "noticing" her...just to at least give the girl her moment to shine! ;D

I absolutely love the idea of Jill and Ripp together because I think there's so much room for angst there and suppressed sexual tension and all that good stuff. If written correctly (which of course you could do! :D) they could really be epic. :D But I have confidence that whatever you have in store will be amazing, so I'm along for the ride no matter what happens. :)

[sim-insanity.livejournal.com]

8D Thank you so much!

[ikichi.livejournal.com]

It was really fixed?! (Well, obviously, since 9 had green twins.) Ohhhh even MORE incentive for me to reset Strangetown (I'm looking into keeping my orginal borked ST as a custom 'hood). My original Johnny married a guy with s4, and their daughters are s3 and 4. I stuck alien contacts (Jack's, by pixel_and_bean) on Jill, Johnny and the girls in ST and on the kids who inherited J's eyes in my fake ST (legacy hood).

Some of the folks in the Curious tree looked to be s3, and Laz is def darker than the others.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

It really seems fixed to me. I don't really use SimPE (I'm making my first tentative steps with it), so I haven't checked to be sure. As for skintones, do they even keep recessive genes? I heard that it could be any skintone in the range between the skintones of the parents.

I love Pixel's alien eyes too! I use her defaults in my game. I never considered giving the contacts to Johnny (though I have been thinking that Jill might do it at some point to be more alien-like). His normal sim eyes may not make sense gentically, but neither do the rest of his features, so I like keeping him as he is.

[ikichi.livejournal.com]

I'm on a mac, so I've done very, very little with SimPe (at a friend's- I've really just cloned in-game born sims). I wish I had thought to give the real Johnny and Jill alien eyes (or at least Jill). I've noticed it legacies a sim will be born with a grandparent's eye or hair color, but I doubt any of the premade families have "real" genetics. I love it when sims are a blend of their parents, and giving J the contacts makes it feel more "50/50". But I see what you mean about his features.

I'm excited! I love the brown aliens 9 threw, but the idea of Johnny having green kids is to much! ::squee!:: (unless they fixed it with Seasons, then T_T).

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Actually, I have heard that some of the Maxis families in Strangetown do have recessive genetics now too. The Grunts seem to have them, which is exciting.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, I have no doubt that Ripp will at least "notice" Jill. Not too many things pass by his notice in that way.

*grin* You're right, there are a lot of things surrounding Ripp and Jill that could make it very interesting to watch. There is Johnny and Buck to consider, and also just Ripp's approach to dating and sex vs. what Jill may want from him.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh no... now I have shippers to deal with? *grin* Actually, that is just perfect. I love it when people are getting into the relationships. It makes it so much better when things actually happen in the story. I definitely have plenty of things planned surrounding this crush of Jill's.

Who knows where it will go? Jill and Ripp don't seem like they would be such a bad match, do they? Waiting for Ripp to get his shit together might be a bit of an uphill struggle though... and don't hold your breath expecting his aspiration to change (since I have no intention of ever doing so). We'll always have that to deal with. ;)

I love all the little green babies! So cute! And they have some really nice extreme alien personalities too.

[80sfiend.livejournal.com]

Yes you have a shipper. :P I can't help it, they're adorable. :D (Or they would be I mean :P)

About his aspiration, I never thought you'd change it anyways! ;) Romance Sims CAN be monogamous (really they can!) so I'm not worried. :D I can see Ripp settling down eventually if the right woman was "there" for him enough (if you know what I mean! :D). And I think Jill could handle that. ;)