strangetomato | Drabble+: Nightmare

There's nothing quite like breaking your own rules, is there? I'm contrary like that, so actually coming out and saying I'm not going to post much will obviously make me want to write something. So here it is... a drabble+.

Prompt: A character wakes from a nightmare in the middle of the night to the person they least want to see at that moment.
Characters: Tank Grunt (and others, but you'll have to read it to see)
Wordcount: 400
Warnings: language, violence

Then Johnny stopped moving. Tank held his neck in his hands, and Johnny looked back at him with lifeless eyes.

He was dead, and Tank had killed him.

Finally.

Goddamned alien piece of shit.

But why did he feel so empty?

Oh, god. He had killed him.

"Johnny... Johnny?!" Tank shook him. "Shit... I didn't mean it. Wake up, you asshole!"

Frantically, he tried to revive him, but it was too late.

Then Ripp was there, wailing. He fell onto the corpse in despair. "Johnny! You've killed him. You've killed my Johnny!"

"Stop it!" Tank yelled, "Stop crying!"

"You killed him. My brother... you killed my brother."

"I'M your brother."

Why, Ripp? Why him? Why not me?

"I hate you."

Had he said the words, or had Ripp?

Then he was choking him, pressing Ripp to the floor, and feeling the life go out of him too.

Why not me?

He was killing him.

He wanted to stop, but couldn't.

He tried to break out of it, but couldn't.

He tried to scream, but nothing came out.

"Tank?" Frances was on him, shaking him. "TANK!"

Tank still couldn't move or say anything. He couldn't even catch his breath. He could see the room around him, and Frances reaching down at him, but he couldn't move. Frances had his hands reaching out towards his neck, and he thought he must be trying to kill him too. He tried to yell, "Get the fuck off of me!" but nothing came out.

"Tank?! What's wrong with you? Stop it! Wake up! You're scaring me." Frances felt his panic rising, and the next thing he knew, he had slapped Tank squarely across the face. "WAKE UP!"

Tank woke up.

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Tank wanted to escape, to shove Frances aside and get out of there, but he felt a strange comfort in having him there too.

He didn't want to be comforted.

He didn't need it.

How much of that had Frances been able to witness? Had he cried out in his sleep? Dreams were blurring into reality, and he didn't want Frances to see that... to see what he had done. He didn't want Frances on his bed either.

"You... hit me."

"I'm sorry." Frances bit his quivering lip, and tried not to cry, but the panic and relief were too much for him.

"God... don't cry."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I always get mad plot bunnies when I shouldn't be, too. :D

See, stuff like this is why I love Tank. He's just so sad and lost and awkward. But when he comes out the other side, when he's finally feeling safe and happy? It's the best. (I mean autonomously. Autonomous Tank in love is the best thing ever.)

I'm getting to far ahead of your story. He might not even get his happy ending. But I love how in your version, he's so recognizable to me. I mean... I haven't played with all your premade characters, but he's the one (of yours) I "know" the best. Does that make sense? And it's amazing, because they're lives are so different, but it's still essentially him. :D

Completely agree. Tank's a very interesting character to work with, and he's already given me tons of ideas. I accidentally put him in the wrong room, but I find it interesting that, despite his macho outer shell, he's the one with the flower painting in his room.

I also love Ripp to pieces :D He's such a sad character when you start the game, all this stuff that he's had to put up with. I just wanna give him a big hug and tell him it'll be alright :(

Believe it or not though, I'm also thoroughly enjoying working with Buzz. That guy has so much potential despite his lack of nice points - no one's completely bad, after all, and I've had great fun diving into his mind :D

*is feeling strong urge to add drabble request post to her own journal*

Ever realized what that flower is called? The Lone Daisy. It just made me so sad for Tank when I went into the house to play the Grunts for the first time.

Ophelia has the same painting in her bedroom. It seems to suit both characters very well to me.

(Though, if that had been Ripp's room, it would play into my theory that Ripp and Ophelia were meant to be involved with each other on some level... but there's only one Grunt who'd own those angsty band posters and the green lamp.)

Hmm... So was Maxis trying to tell us something? :P

Nah, I think that the painting really does fit those two. And you are so right about those angsty band posters. To tell you the truth I don't really think those fit Ripp. They just seem like another reason why so many people depict him as a whiny emo little brat.

Well, probably not, but having Tank steal his enemy's girlfriend is an interesting way to go with their story, I've always thought. Not really the one I feel is "the right outcome" (if such a thing exists), but I think it would be an interesting angle, and it works for me.

And actually, I've always looked at Tank's painting as probably being something that belonged to his mother, since it seems odd for a teenage boy to hang something like that in his bedroom, and I can't imagine Buzz being cool with it otherwise.

Nah, I always saw the posters as just Ripp's interest in music (and, for me, that all started with his LTW - to become a rock god, which I think suits him perfectly), and a way to rebel against his father, who probably wouldn't like posters tacked all over the walls. The rest of the house is pretty standard-issue and austere.

Yeah, Ripp gets portrayed that way quite frequently, doesn't he? Or just as being very sad and very "sweet". I can see that, on one hand, but I couldn't imagine him not being a bold, carefree, dirty minded wiseass at the same time. For me, Ripp is many things. :P

Oh, and my other theory on the flower painting is just lack of paintings that come with the basegame. :P

But he is very sad and very sweet..! He's also a bold, carefree, dirty-minded wisearse ;) Hehe, well, I actually didn't notice the posters for a while since I play with walls down so much, but his whole image etc. just screams "wannabe rock star" ^_^ I got him on the drums though, more 'cause I miss them ;)

Good point about the painting. I'd always thought though; it's Ripp who takes after Lyla more - including the outgoing. I've done a lot of digging while planning ahead, and have come to the conclusion that Tank actually takes most after Chip, his granddad. Not only does he have his eyes, he also has his quiet streak as well as nice points. And Buck is the spitting image of him (Chip), save for the hair and jaw - creepy o_o

This is why I love that family so much - all this hidden depth and complicated mentality just waiting to be explored... and that's just the living members ;)

Which makes your Ophelia have an interesting parallel with Shakespeare's Ophelia. When Ophelia has her breakdown in Hamlet, she becomes obsessed with flowers and is picking them when she falls into the river. She is seen laughing and playing in the cold river as her skirt billows up around her, keeping her buoyant for a time. Suddenly, the skirt becomes too soaked in water to keep her afloat and causes her to drown.

In your story, Ophelia has fallen in love with two men. This new sensation of polygamous love that she's being allowed to feel with both of them is the metaphorical skirt in the river (the situation). Now, the love keeps her afloat and she feels the exhileration of it all. Eventually, the complexities of the situation will soak into the skirt and destroy the relationship.

I'm way too analytical about things sometimes.

Gotta hop in here and totally agree with: Autonomous Tank in love is the best thing ever

It's like he's been freed from something. I <3 Tank in love.

So you recognize that Tank (or any number of characters) might not have a happy ending? It's true... but I do like the idea of things turning out "okay" in the end, and most of them will be alright for that reason, I think.

Maybe that's just something about Tank as a sim. He really has a lot of little habits and mannerisms (like that thing where he's thinking and tapping his head, or how often he takes out the trash) that paint a very clear picture of him for me. Or maybe we're just on the same page with him. (Well, not the Johnny-loving page. :P I don't think I'd ever go there, though I have enjoyed that storyline as a spectator.)

Honestly? I'm not even sure why I put them together. I know part of it was that I was pissed at Johnny and the matchmaker causing a generation's worth of @sspain for me. I wanted to play with Tank and I guess I was trying to keep Johnny distracted (it only sort of worked. :\). If I were to stick him Padres, I wouldn't pair him with Johnny. Simantics set a great stage for them, but it'd be hard to make it work.

As bad as I am with being too-indulgent, I can't expect everyone's life to end up puppies and sunshine. Actually, a comic I read for years ended that way (for all but 1 character) and it felt so fake it really put me off (especially since it felt so damn rushed).

Drabble+: Nightmare

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