Strangetown: Chapter Twenty-Seven - part two

[strangetomato]

 

Warnings: language, sexual situations, evil doings



Chapter Twenty-Seven

Part Two




Pascal suggested that I write down all the things I didn't feel comfortable saying, at least for now. He said it would be better to talk about them, but I can't see that happening just yet. He says he'd like to hear all about it, but he really doesn't understand what that means. There's no way he could guess what my problem is, so it's going to come as a shock to him when he finds out. I don't want to upset him. He's been so nice to me. If it wasn't for him, I'd be in an even bigger mess.




Nobody's going to read this, and even if they tried, I doubt they would be able to read my handwriting, with all the shaking. I can barely read this, and I'm writing it. Well, if I'm doing this to get it off of my chest, I may as well see if it works...

I see people's deaths.

I'm Death's son.

My mother was Olive Specter, and she killed a lot of people.

There. That about sums it all up.




I don't feel any better.

There's not a whole lot more I can say about myself without becoming completely depressed, so I'm just going to try to stick to a record of what's been happening around here.




Pascal has been here, day in day out, since I regained consciousness.






It's nice. I really like having him here.




We decided to renovate the house. It was something to do to pass the time, and also a way to wipe away what this place used to be, and all the negative feelings associated with it. It makes sense to me.




















I have more money than I know what to do with, so we've spared no expense. We've put in a garden, and changed all of the rooms.




There's even a little pool in the orchard area, where the graveyard used to be. Now I can rest out there in the evenings, when things cool down, and it's really nice to look up at the stars.








It hardly seems like the same building at all anymore. We kept some of the old furniture, but we refinished or painted most of it. We've even plastered and painted in all the old stone walls. Its seems warmer now, and less foreboding. It's nice to wipe the place clean and just start over, even if I didn't even really live here long enough to remember it.




I think it's more for the girl than it is for me. She was the one who used to live here. She's the one with the awful memories of this place.




Her name is Ophelia Nigmos, and she's related to me. Her mother was Olive's sister, so that makes us cousins. That makes her family, which makes me happy. It's not something I've had much of, but I've always wanted to be part of a family. I feel like Ophelia understands me, the death in me, because she knows about it. She has a lot of the same darkness. Her parents were both killed by Olive. Her mother's very own sister was the one to take her life, in cold blood. How awful.




Ophelia used to live here with Olive, so really, this house should be hers. I told her that. She seemed really touched, even though you would think that she expected that anyway. But not her. Ophelia expects nothing, so anything that comes her way always seems like a wonderful gift. She should have good things happening to her, to even out all the bad things.




I want her to move back here after she graduates, to live with me. I like having her around. She's patient, and not pushy about talking to me. She don't seem like she judges me, and she's helpful and understanding when I make a mess of things. It's sort of a motherly thing, I guess. Not that I'd know...






She doesn't get angry when I'm just pacing around, looking for things to do. When I'm reading a line or two out of a book, and then picking another one, leaving them to pile up around the room. Things like that.

One day, she showed me how to arrange some flowers in a vase, but I broken the stems off when I tried to do it myself. I got frustrated and my hands are too shaky anyway. She didn't even say anything when I lost my temper and knocked the vase over and smashed it. She helped me to clean it up.




I told her that, like I said, so she's going to keep her bedroom. She seemed really happy about it, not that she makes a big show of it. Just a little smile. I like that.




I have a lot of her flowers around the house now. The snapdragons are very unusual. She didn't come out and say anything about them, but she said it might be a good idea to keep them by my bed, and I've noticed an improvement in my mood. There's something special about those flowers.




Her two friends are usually with her, Johnny and Ripp.

They seem nice enough, but they make me nervous. Even more than usual. They're really loud, and they're always saying mean things to each other, which they seem to find funny, but I wouldn't really know how to make a joke like that. What's the difference between saying it in a mean way and saying it as a joke? I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to make it work. Nobody ever found me funny.






They're pretty helpful. They do more or less anything Ophelia wants them to. They helped us with a lot of the renovations, like when we painted the walls. Well, Johnny, Ophelia and Pascal did most of the work. I can't paint without making a mess, and Ripp usually just pretended to paint, and spent his time talking and carrying on.




Johnny carries on too, but only when all the work is done. He's really into sports, and he talked me into setting up a net to play soccer in the yard.

It's fun. Everyone else watches and cheers us on. We have a good time, I think.






But no matter how hard I try, I can't ever seem to score a goal on Johnny. He's really good at it. He said he'd love to do it for a living. Imagine that! Playing games for a living. It doesn't sound too bad. I'm sure it's still a lot of work, though. Most things are.

It's fun to try to score a goal on him, though. I like playing soccer with him.








He doesn't rub it in too badly, but you can tell he's really pleased about it. He has this smug little smile that he does, and it can be pretty enraging.

Johnny is part alien, like Pascal's daughter, Mint, who is here sometimes too.








Mint wasn't supposed to come down here, since Pascal's trying to keep my existence quiet (and Mint is anything but quiet), but she followed him down here one day.

Pascal was angry with her for disobeying him, but she made a good point about him sneaking around, so why shouldn't she? They came to an agreement about it, and she's allowed to visit, as long as she's sworn to secrecy too. It would probably be okay for him to tell his family about it at this point, anyway. There are a lot of them, though, and if each of them told a friend... the word could get out pretty fast.

But really, who would even care besides Circe? She can't do anything to me anyway. Not that I care to test that... with Circe, you never know.




The alien thing is really interesting to me. Pascal has told me a little about the aliens and why they're pollinating people, and how merging the species is probably a good thing for sim genetics too. He's pretty devoted to the cause, but there are many people who disagree, and view the pollinations as a hostile attack on us.

I guess your opinion would depend on your willingness to go along with it. If it's a choice, then it's probably not so bad, but if they're forced into it...

Well, that's not much better than what the Beakers did to me.




I overheard Johnny and Pascal talking about them being aliens, and Pascal asked Johnny if he was sure he could trust him. Him meaning Ripp, I think. From what I can gather, there was some issue between the Grunts and the Smiths. The General wasn't fond of the aliens.




That might be true, but I doubt Ripp has any of the same feelings. He seems pretty close to Johnny.

Really close.




That expression about being attached at the hip is almost literally true in their case. It's a little odd.

Sometimes they say really random things that only they understand, using these different voices. Ophelia explained that they're acting, because it's what they do in school, but it's still weird. I hardly ever know what they're talking about, with all the acting and inside jokes.






All that touching makes me really nervous too.

Like Ripp... he's always trying to touch me. Not in an aggressive way, but just coming into my space. I don't like people to touch me. It makes me uncomfortable.

Well, Pascal does it sometimes, and I don't mind that as much. I usually see it coming, and he doesn't do it very often. But that's Pascal. I'm used to him.




It was probably the wrong thing to do, but Ripp was talking to me the other day, about my hair growing out, and tried mess it up with his fingers, so I pushed him. I pushed him a lot harder than I meant to. He seemed really shocked and taken aback, and turned away and didn't say anything to me again all day. I might have just been imagining it, but he almost seemed like he was going to cry. He can be really touchy. I feel bad now, but I don't really know what to do about it.

I don't think he meant it to upset me. He does it to everyone. Especially Johnny and Ophelia. It's like he has to touch them, or he wouldn't feel right. Maybe it reassures him.




I've also noticed that they are always just looking at each other. Sometimes directly, and sometimes they do it when the other person isn't even looking back.

Do people ever watch me like that?

I usually don't look people in the eyes, like they do. And Pascal doesn't look at me like that either. If I meet his eyes, we usually just look away.






Sometimes I forgot which one of them is her boyfriend. It's hard to tell at times.




It's probably just me. It can be difficult for me to read people. I don't really know what's normal a lot of the time, especially with social things like that.




Especially love.






I don't really understand it. I've never felt it, as far as I can tell. And who has ever loved me?

Why would they?






My only experience has been, quite literally, puppy love.




The dogs are a great help to me. They keep me company, even if they are a lot of work.








I don't mind. It's something to do to pass the time.




Playing with them and running around really helps me to burn off steam. I don't know why, but I have trouble sitting still. I guess it's from the testing, or maybe it's a side effect from whatever it was that Circe was giving me.

I think my heart actually beats faster than other people's hearts. Is that possible?




There are couple of things like that about me. The other is the coldness of my body, and not just my hands and feet. I'm cold, like that creeping, cold feeling you get sometimes, and people say it's because someone walked over your grave.




I guess it makes sense. Someone's always walking over someone's grave. It probably all ends up in me.

I'm not normal.




I have a lot of anger inside me.








Who would want me around? Who would choose to put up with me?




Pascal.






Pascal is so nice.

Why couldn't I have found a foster parent that was half as nice as Pascal? It may have saved me from half the things I ended up doing, or having done to me. I wouldn't have been tested on. I wouldn't have the weird voices in my head, that sound like me, but not really. I wouldn't have gotten addicted to drugs, on my own, and then with Circe's help.




I'm still taking something, but Pascal made sure that it was a low dosage, and nothing nearly as potent as what Circe was giving me. Just something to keep me calm. He's hoping that I will be able to eventually come off that too, but I doubt it. How am I supposed to keep from shaking apart? How will I keep myself from flying into a rage and knocking things over?




Pascal is working on some things. He has this helmet that he uses on some other clients, and he thinks in might work for me. It will give him a chance to improve on the design, with my recommendations.

That makes it seem like I'm a test subject again, doesn't it?

Fuck.

I don't usually swear, but sometimes I think it might be interesting to try it. Ripp does it all of the time, and after about five minutes in a room with him, you hardly even notice it anymore. Isn't that odd? The words seem to lose all meaning. I wish that would happen with my dreams, but no matter how often I see them, they're always just as upsetting. They might even get worse with repetition.




The dreams. That's another thing. I know what happened to them, even though they don't. They don't know that my mother killed their parents. Both of them. Olive killed Ophelia's parents, and she also killed Ripp's parents.

She killed them all.




She didn't just kill them. She destroyed them. Brutally, and without any hint of mercy. She enjoyed it. She destroyed their entire families, and she enjoyed every second of it.




That was my mother.




I can't tell them that. How would I bring it up? How would I deal with their reactions? I couldn't do that. They would be so sad. So devastated. They're sad already, I can tell. They both are. Very sad. But they try to hide it. If they knew what really happened, it would just flood out. It would engulf them, and us too, and how would I be able to deal with that?




No, it's best not to bring it up.

It would be best not to know.




Pascal tells me about his brothers sometimes. I remember meeting them that one time, when Mint was born, not that I actually spoke to them. The youngest one said a couple of things to me, but the other one, the blond one, seemed almost as shy as I am.




He has alien children now too. How lucky.




The youngest brother, I think his name was Lazlo, is living with a girl now. Pascal seemed really worried about him for a while. I heard him talking to him on the phone, and he could tell I was interested, so he told me a little about it.




I can understand her side of it, on one hand, but I guess it's a lot easier for me to sympathize with Lazlo. I hope things work out for them.




Pascal didn't seem so hopeful, but he let go of his initial reaction, and decided that there really isn't anything to be done about it. It's her choice, and Lazlo will have to deal with it, but he does hope that things work out for his brother. Maybe she'll change her mind, even just a little bit. Or maybe there are no halfways in that sort of thing.

I don't know... I'd be so happy about a baby. It seems wrong not to want it, but who am I to judge anyone?

Pascal's other brother is pretty busy with his research and the children, much like Pascal is. Pascal doesn't see a whole lot of him. He worries about him a little.

He has sisters too. Three of them. It's a big family. Pascal is very lucky that way.




Two of the them are aliens, and I think they're the oldest. They seem younger than they are, though, and Pascal says this has something to do with them being half alien. The aliens have longer life spans than sims do, and this has a little bit of an effect of how they age too. I guess they're somewhere in between.

Pascal said that one of them is a chef, and she recently bought a property on the Road to Nowhere, which she plans to turn into her own restaurant.




I've seen the place. It was just an empty box, at first. I think it was used by the military as storage, perhaps. Pascal said that they're rennovating it now. They had some people come in to do landscaping and put in some new windows to brighten the place up.

I wonder what it looks like now?






It must be exciting to take on a big project like that. We did the house, but that's different. She's going to have a business, with people coming in to see it. I couldn't imagine doing that. I guess some people are just better suited for dealing with people.

I think I'll go there, when they open it. By that time, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I went out in public. Pascal's going to have to tell his family at some point, if Mint hasn't already. People will eventually know I'm still alive, and living here. They'll know about me, or as much as they ever knew, which wasn't much.




Jenny (that's Johnny's mother) has her family, and a full-time job, so that takes up a lot of her time.




Pascal says he should visit her more. He feels guilty like that about all of his sisters. I guess that's the other side of having a large family. It's an obligation, but I think I'd find it to be a welcome one.

Otherwise, what do you really have? In the end, who'll be there for you? That's what family is.




Lately, I've been dreaming about the Smith family.

I've been dreaming about them for a while now, but the dreams are becoming more frequent. They're getting clearer, and more detailed. I know what that means.




It's going to happen soon.




Johnny has no idea what's going to happen. None of them do. I could tell them. Just tell Pascal, perhaps, but what good would that do? It doesn't stop it from happening. And finding out today is no better than finding out tomorrow.

It will still happen.

It wasn't supposed to happen. I get the feeling it wasn't supposed to happen that way, but it does anyway. It will happen.




It's getting closer. I know this because the dreams are getting clearer. I know it involves Johnny, because he is there when my father appears. He's begging him not to take his father away. He swears hatred on the cruel figure of Death, and how unfair it is, but that isn't really true. My father is very fair.

It's life that isn't fair.

Death is easy. Life is hard.




It's the people who live who have to deal with the pain of death. Those who die find an end to their suffering. It's a relief, a release. An ending isn't always happy, or satisfying, or fair, but there is something so simple and easy about things coming to a definite end. Going on is much harder.














Johnny will have to go on living, just like the rest of his family. His father's death will be just another bump in the road for him. A significant one, and perhaps an unfair one, but it will still be just another day.








That's all that life is. We live, day after day. One day at a time. Every day, the same routine. It's not even anything all that remarkable, and usually it's pretty mundane, but we get to live. We are the privilidged. Life is a privilidge, because it's all there really is.




The other option is death, and death is just an endless nothing.








Life is hard, but at least it's something.






The only choice is to live.








I can live.






I will.


...




Nervous Subject put down his journal and went to find something to eat in the fridge.




In Sim City, at the Mercy Hospital, Jenny Smith was getting ready to go home from work for the night.








"On your way out, Jenny?"

"Yes, I'm heading home, Erica."

"Have a good night."

"You too."




Jenny would be retiring in a couple of weeks, and she was counting the days. It had been a long and tiring career. One that she had enjoyed, and felt fulfilled by, but she wouldn't be sad to see it end. Her old bones were ready for a rest.




As she was was walking to the side entrance, Circe Beaker came out of her office.

"Oh, Hello Dr. Beaker." Jenny felt uncomfortable around Circe, but kept a civil and pleasant working relationship with her, out of necessity. "Another late night?"




"No rest for the wicked, Jenny."




"No, I guess not. I'm ready for a rest soon, though."

"That's right. You're retiring aren't you? Congratulations."

"Thank you."




Circe reached out and placed her hand on the sleeve of Jenny's shirt. "I wish you all the best. All good things must come to an end, as they say."

"Yes..." A chill went over her body. Jenny had always found Circe to be an intense and unsettling woman. "I've enjoyed my time here, but I'll be happy to spend more time with my family."










"Your family..." Circe smiled. "Yes, that will be nice for you. Make the most of it. We never know how long we have with our loved ones."




Jenny felt sorry for thinking so poorly of Circe over the years. She was just a sim like her, who loved her family, and here she was with this horrible loss of her husband. Who had ever felt sorry for Circe? She deserved sympathy like any other.

She was about to say something consoling, but Circe cut her off.

"But enough about that. You need to get home to your family now. Why don't you give them my warmest regards? We really should be more neighbourly. Strangetown is a small town."

"Yes. It really is. A very small town. Thank you, Circe." She turned to leave.




"Have a good night."

"Goodnight, Jenny."




Circe watched her leave, with a smile spreading deeply across her face.













(Continue to Chapter 28)

---

Notes:

You have no idea how good it feels to finally post this. It's a huge relief to get this out of my system after being creatively constipated for over a month. Yes, this metaphor is disgusting, but it's really the most accurate way to describe it. I hope the product is a little better than a turd, though. (Although, that would be funny.) Then, with the computer issues, it was like having the toilet break just as you were finally ready to use it. Pretty enraging stuff. I hope I figure out what the problem is. Thanks for the suggestions. I tried most of them, but no luck. Everything has slowed to a crawl too. *does worry hands* Come on, compy!

The cut-text song is instrumental. That's why the link text is simply "..." or "dot dot dot." There's something very "Nervous" about this song for me. I really like it. It's Daft Punk, so most people do (with good reason).

I actually made three different teaser pics for this. Can you believe it? Sure was worth it for the final product, though, right? So worth it. *snicker* I often pose and shoot something really intentionally off-center for the teaser image, because I have to fit that big ol' title in there, but sometimes a shot I took for the story works okay as-is (not this time, though).

The hospital set is Mercy Hospital from MTS2. It was murder to work with (lots of lag, crashing, the works, and I was ready to give up), but I really like how it looks. I figure that most sims leave Strangetown proper for work, and I also think they'd go to the city for medical stuff. I have to travel an hour from my hometown to go to the hospital, and there are a lot of places far more isolated than that here on the island, so I think Strangetown is probably a lot like that. In my mind, the only thing that's out there in the desert, near the town, is the military base.



 

Comments

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

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

LONG COMMENT, SORRY. :( Banana icon for justification.

[dothesmustle.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh an update! I've been waiting for this one for quite some time. ~All about Nervous~ Well, not all, but fjdkdkfjdkfj I love Nervous way too much for words. (*cough*I remember when you were nervous_subject and read your journal a bit, because he was my favorite maxis sim, and then one day I randomly checked your lj thinking, "What happened to her?" [I was a reaaaaaaaal stalker then, I just lurked around with my personal journal] and that's how I found your story. I FEEL LIKE A CREEPER, SORRY. D:)

I love reading Nervous' perspective. You write him SO WELL. Exactly how I'd think he'd be. He's so weird, and...kind of "childish" in a way, but not really childish, but kjdfkfjd I can't explain. he is just too great. He's very direct in a way, he just says what he sees, but then not really. HE BREAKS ALL THE RULES WHEN IT COMES TO PERSONALITY. He's very inteligent, too.(to me, at least.) I guess when you're alone most of the time, all you can do is think about life, death, everything. He analyzes people very well, I think he knows himself quite well, too. He just has a hard time since his life seems hard to think about. (It usually is when you think about it..) I loved how he described the J/R/O relationship. Johnny is such a smug little dickfacehead (yes, I have worked that into my voabulary. :P)

I've always been kind of iffy on the pollinator thing. You never know which side to choose, because both sides are pretty wrong. It's unnerving to think that maybe the aliens DO want to take over the "human" world, and when we read that chapter with Stella's view of it..it's hard to not think of it that way. Though, General Buzz's way of seeing was pretty harsh, as well. ...I get confused ;___;

Haha, hanging around with J/R/O would seem pretty aggravating! All of their inside jokes, that no one ever gets will just drive me insane, I think. XD Oh, Ripp, touching people. (I hope it's not the potato chip hand ;]) Aw, Ripp being rejected by Nervous. Poor baby. NO ONE SHOULD REJECT HIM EVER IT IS AGAINST THE LAW.

TOO. MANY. AWS. Grunt + Fish tank = LOVE. FOREVER

It makes sense that Nervous had gotten addicted to drugs, being bounced from horrible foster parent to horrible foster parent would probably do that to you. Which is probably why he ended up with the Beakers, they were the only ones that would take him, and for awful reasons.

Well, we all know PT 9's time was going to come to an end eventually. (You lengthened his life with thre exilir pretty often, right?) I'm definitely going to be upset to see him go, Circe most likely has something to do with this. She seems as if she never takes interest in other people if she doesn't want something out of them/is going to DO something with them. I think she's "crazier" then Nervous. I feel sorry for her child the most. You know he doesn't deserve the evilness he will become. :(

ALSO "No rest for the wicked, Jenny." YEAH WE KNOW, CIRCE. :P

ALSO ALSO: Creative constipation is about the best metaphor in the world, not gonna lie, haha. It's really a funny thing with teaser pics, too. I never put much thought into mine, "Whichever looks funny." It must be much more difficult for you, since you try to capture something that "represents" the chapter in a way. It's really awesome that you put so much thought into the littlest things like the song of the update and the teaser.

Anyway, another great update, as usual. (It's like a treat! :D) I hope you have some innovative laxatives for future chapters. ;)

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

YESSSSSSS!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

:D Is it just me or does your font get bigger every time?

[hidden-kitten.livejournal.com]

I'm in love with the worried profile shot of Johnny and the OH SO CUTE picture of Jenny smiling into PT's face as he twirls her. Those two pictures made such statements; I love them.
LOVING all this deep, internal stuff about Nervous. Interesting to find out how he feels about everything that goes on around him.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I love the "new" classic dance that came with AL, because, unlike the Nightlife version, they actually spin quite regularly. I've only ever seen it once before in regular play pre-AL, with Ripp and Ophelia. At the time, I couldn't use it, but I'm sure I'll use it again, now that it's easier to achieve.

I love it when an image just works out and gives you that special little something you need in it. When I'm moving around and trying out different angles and poses, it's always the greatest thing when something clicks like that. I'm glad they work for you.

It was interesting to try to get into his head. Since he doesn't say much, this is the only way to show how he feels about things.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

SHIT ITS THE DEATH RAY ISN'T IT? ITS GONNA KILL PT9 AND CIRCE KNOWS OMG FUCKING DEATH RAY.

uhh...anyway.

This update was so pretty! I love the house's makeover - it looks great! And I love all the Ophelia and Nervous bonding moments, its so good to have them find one another. They both deserve to make that connection and regain a little piece of family.

Johnny and Nervous playing soccer! OMG SO CUTE. Johnny is a smug little prick and I love him. And Nervous agreeing that aliens getting forceful is WRONG is just... OH BB I LOVE YOU - you GET it!

Awwwwwww, they all look at one another. Oh gosh, you guys just melt my heart even more - go on.

Nervous and Wheezy! :3 I smiled like a nut through that whole bit. It's just too cute!

I'm really fond of Nervous and Pascal's relationship. Maybe one day it could be romantic, but not anytime soon. It's very familial. Pascal is more of a father or a brother and Nervous is just too emotionally and mentally stunted it seems. Plus, he's got all these other side issues of being Death's son. But I'm glad that Pascal and Phi are there for him. It's a good start.

It's PT! He's dying! It's unfair! Johnny is going to plead with Death! OMG DEATH RAY. DEATH RAY PROGRAMMED TO DESTROY ONLY ALIEN LIFE FORMS. OH GOD WHY. D:

Is this what's going to turn Johnny towards the alien cause (maybe)??? D: D: D:

I'm worried.

Nervous gets his mojohawk back! Glee!

I love the shot of PT and Jenny dancing and the family together - so cute!

FUCK YOU CIRCE AND YOUR GODDAMN FUCKING DEATH RAY. >:(

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

You and your death ray. :P There is a weapon at work here... I'll give you that much (since it was also mentioned already).

That house took me forever to make over, believe it or not. I was really obsessed with making it look homey and not too fancy or perfect. I'm pretty happy with most of it, especially all the little nick-nacks and stuff.

Johnny is a smug little prick. That's one of the (many) reasons that Tank hates his guts. Johnny's not just better at things, but he's KNOWS IT too, and he loves it.

I think, as a former test subject, Nervous would understand how awful it is to be forced into something against your will. While he's more sympathetic to the idea of the aliens than many are, and he'd like to have a family (and probably wouldn't mind having an alien baby, even), I doubt he'd want to be abducted. It would be a pretty upsetting thing.

It was fun to show a little more of their closeness from an outside perspective. Nervous has even picked up on the fact that it's really not very easy to tell which one is her boyfriend anymore. He might not know much about relationships, but any fool could see that, if they were looking very closely.

The Wheezy stuff is very cute. Nervous actually has four dogs now. He takes in strays all the time.

That's how I feel about them too, at this point. It is more familial, and Nervous is quite a ways away from being intimate with anyone. Whether or not that ends up being Pascal, we'll see. I have any idea of how things will be there, but I'm feeling it out as I go along.

Yeah, it's his dad, as many have suspected. But it's not old age, like it should be, based on the game. That's to serve the story, and I already said that about the aliens living longer, with Stella too. This event will give Johnny something to think about, for sure.

Again, hair as metaphor. I can't help myself. :P But it's always so satisfying for me. I don't know why. (His mowhawk is a baby one - did you notice?)

I love that dancing animation, and it's easier to get now, so I'm very happy (time to overuse it - heeheee). The family shot was a bit of work. I had to actually take out a wall to get enough room to shoot it, but I liked how it came out (and it's in front of the fireplace, like their old one from the Maxis shots, which I'm going to redo to look more like them - a lot of those shots use older, working versions of those sims, and they seem odd).

Careful... it's best not to make her angry. ;)

[drx4000.livejournal.com]

Finally!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I know, right? It seemed like I'd never get this one finished, and I've had bits of it written for ages. It feels good to finally post it. :)

[cambritariatale.livejournal.com]

Uh oh. One really has a reason to be worried if Circe is smiling. =0

Excellent chapter!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed. You'd think she maybe has something devious up her sleeve, perhaps...

Thank you. :)

[amaryssobellus.livejournal.com]

I don't trust Circe AT ALL! I kept looking for double meaning to everything that she was saying. :P

This update was very well done. Very well done, indeed. I like seeing the other relationships and sims from another sims' perspective.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I'd be worried if you DID trust Circe at this point. She's given you many reasons not to trust her, and a couple of hints about what she might be doing too, so it's a good idea to pay attention to the hidden meaning in her words and actions. (You just know she's the type of person who would enjoy alomost telling you what she was up to, but in a way that you wouldn't be able to understand. :P)

Thank you. I like doing that too. Different characters would have very different opinions of each other, and it helps to paint a more complete picture of them. It wil be interesting to show Nervous from more of an outside point of view too, and I'll get to do that later. (Like, after this, I imagine that Ripp probably just finds him kind of creepy.)

[foxy-princess.livejournal.com]

YAY you did it!! *Applauds*

Awesome chapter! I love the Smith Family Portrait!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

*takes a bow* Way to update, me! Really, I'm so happy to finally get this finished, so I appreciate that applause very much. :) Thank you.

I love making family portraits and customizing the photos (you'll see a couple more of them in this update, in Nervous' place), and now that I've figured out how to do it more easily, you'll be seeing them crop up from time to time.

[aftertheteacups.livejournal.com]

so bloody good! you can write such a good yarn. i also loved all the photos of the house! :) thank you for this installment.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much. :) Spinning (or knitting) a good yarn is what I aspire to, so I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed it.

Yeah, after going through all that trouble to renovate the house, I thought I'd do a very play-by-play showing of it. I always like looking at things like that when other people do it. I'm glad you liked it.

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

OH YES STRANGETOWN HERE WE COME OH YESSSS!

Epic Comment TIEM:

I'm going to start off by saying that your take on Nervous is the most delicious one EVER. I've been planning some Strangetown stuff for a couple of months now, and I feel like a fraud for playing with "your" neighborhood. I guess you've just done things with these characters that's pretty hard to match, and it's always wonderful to see an update.

/awkward praise

The house looks AMAZING. You really changed into an unrecognizable place, it looks freaking AMAZINGLY delicious. I love the dining room and the bedrooms and the bathrooms- the whole thing is just wonderful.

(Side note, where did you get the painting on the outside of the dining room? The one with all the Sims in it? I've seen it pop up in a couple of stories, and I WANT IT. *flails*)

I almost forgot about Nervous! Reading about his PoV is always haunting to me, because of the simple fact that he's not a normal Sim. He's different, and the fact that you gave him this horrible "gift" is just proving that fact. Poor Nervous. I just want to pet him.

MINT! I have some serious love for Mint. I always giggle when you write for her, she's so hilarious.

I enjoyed that part where Nervous mentioned Ripp's affinity for touching people. He is reassuring himself, isn't he? Making sure that they're still there? Poor Ripp. *pets Ripp and Nervous*

I kind of want Pascal to just grab Nervous and sweep him off his feet, but the sensible part of me knows that this will never happen. :( Poor Nervous is so scarred and fragile. He doesn't understand Love! *pets Nervous MOAR* (I love him, can't you tell? :P)

It was nice seeing you catch up with the Curious Clan. ^_^ I C U WAT U DID with Chloe and Lola and Jill and the receptionist's hairs. PHOBIA FTW. *fangirl squee* I have all those hairs as well, and it was wonderful seeing them in action. PHOBIA PHOBIA PHOBIA!

Aww, Poor PT9. Like Doey said, I assume you've given him generous helpings of elixir. But if it's his time to go, it's his time. (Although I do wonder about THAT WITCH'S intentions, especially with her creepy smile.)

I totally squeed when I saw PT9 and Jenny twirling, and the picture on the wall and the family photo. It's so wonderful seeing them all together as a family. ^_^

Wonderful update!

PS. I lol'ed at Creative Constipation. It's been the composite for me, I've been having Creative Diarrhea. (I filled a journal with ~plot plans~ after staying up until 2 AM EVERY NIGHT writing.) :P

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah... *pelvic thrust* Ummm, I mean... yes. XD

Aww, thanks. That's nice to hear. It's certainly not my neighbourhood, as much as I often feel that way after getting so deeply into it. It makes me happy that I've made an impression on how you see the characters, and I'm glad you like this version of Nervous.

(Thanks for the awkward praise... sometimes it really IS awkward, isn't it? I feel that way too sometimes, and especially with replying to praise. I hope I don't sound like too much of a tit, and I'm often afraid that I do. I try not to.)

Oh, I'm glad. I don't think I have great sim builing/decorating skills, and I tend to make things really eclectic and colourful, like I would personally decorate, but I really tried to make this look like Nervous (and Pascal, Ophelia, etc.) decorated it.

Do you mean the frame with five photos in it? That's from Ikea Stuff. I really like it, even if you have to use teeny tiny images to recolour it (I used snapshots that I thought Nervous would frame... or maybe Ophelia framed for him, more likely).

Yeah, I haven't shown much Nervous lately, but he's not really out there, doing much. Most of his action is internal. It can be difficult to get into his head, since some of it requires going into that deep, dark corner of my mind that I try not to pay much attention to (though my dark corner resembles Ophelia's more than Nervous').

Yeah, Mint is very fun. I hope to eventually give her some more attention, but she'll remain a side character. There's just so MANY to deal with anyway. Even just the main cast of the "teens" is hard to juggle at times. Mint is great, though. I think she needs a spin-off story of her own, or something.

I think that's part of it with Ripp, for sure. It's pretty sad. (The other part is just him being sensuous/sensual and overly familiar, which is less sad and more pervy. :P)

I feel the same way about Nervous/Pascal. Part of me really likes it, but the more I think about it, the more unlikely it actually seems, especially at this point in time. I think, maybe, Nervous will come to understand love in one way or another, though.

Yeah, love of PHOBIA LOVE! ^_^ I do love those hairs something fierce. I believe the one on Jill was done by Neena, though (Phobia uses the same textures, so they look the same), and the one on the receptionist is actually something from Maxis dreams. They have great Maxis-match hair too. I've been using it a lot.

(And I'm OBSESSED with that rockabilly hair. It looks awesome on so many sims. I tried it on Jill too, and she'd look so great with that at some point. Maybe she'll grow it out a bit later and copy her cool Aunt's look.)

It is PT's time to go, but he won't be going the way he's supposed to go. :( Jenny's going to be so heartbroken. She's even seen without her (crazy thick) makeup while she's mourning, so you know she's just devastated.

Thanks. :) Creative Diarrhea is so much better to have. I used to fill journals with ideas too. It's a good place to be, so make the most of it and plan now.

[sims-gone.livejournal.com]

Very nice! I very much liked what you did with Nervous. The journal entry to try to get his feelings on paper was SO spot on - I know, because I have that entry, the one where you just finally put into words what you can't say out loud to anyone. I even wrote something very similar to "I don't feel any better" after the initial statement of facts. Of course my big revelation wasn't anything like "I see people's deaths", haha.

Nervous comes across as a bit Asperger's-ish, with the aversion to eye contact and dislike of touching and being slow to pick up social norms. I wonder if he's just naturally that way or if his scarring life experiences have more to do with it.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to jump in here for a second to say that I also noticed that I've been writing him like someone with Asperger's. I was going to mention that at some point, but then it slipped my mind. I didn't set out to do that intentionally, but it ended up that way. I just wanted him to have those social difficulties and such because of his condition (and some of it was based on how he reacts to things in the game too). The more I wrote about the social stuff, though, the more it came out like he has Asperger's Syndrome.

I know why. One of my very close family members is an aspy (which is what she calls it, when she does talk about it), and we grew up together, like sisters. I guess that's where my mind naturally went when I started thinking about someone who has difficulty dealing with other people.

I don't think of Nervous as HAVING the syndrome, but he experiences something similar to it, perhaps.

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

What is a witch Circe planning to do? She is gonna be partly responsible for P.T. 9's death, right? What an evil bitch! I guess his death will be a huge trauma for Johnny and it may be the beginning of the "big mess" that's been threatening to fall over Strangetown.

Anyway, this was an awesome chapter! I can see why it could be difficult to finish, though, between the many characters involved (complete with updates to their lives up to this point), the "makeover" of the Specter house (it looks amazing, I love all the little details that talk about the characters that live in there) and of course, telling the story from the perspective of someone as disturbed as Nervous.

Poor guy, between the terrible secrets he has to keep from everyone (including Ophelia and Pascal nonetheless) and the awful trauma from a life filled with torment and fear!

No wonder he's so ummm... incapable of relating to most people. He just has NO idea about so many things, his perspective about life has been so limited until his rescue from the Beakers. And with so much suffering, anyone could have trouble trusting the human race in general. He's like a little kid in a sense, just learning the most elemental things like human contact and the complexities of most human relationships, no wonder he seems to feel more at ease with his dog.

Dude, it was incredibly touching to see this side of Nervous. It sort of "hit home" with me, considering my life and work experience (he sort of reminds me of the children I work with, but that could just my normal bias). And how come, despite everything, he's chosen to live and be himself.

Great job, really :).

BTW, I noticed how much work you put in the new house's details, complete with portraits and everything.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I wonder how much I should agree with that, for fear of giving it away, but the suggestion is there that Circe is involved, yes. Paired with a couple of her earlier scenes, you might be able to figure out what she's up to, but I'm not going to say too much more about it just yet. The next chapter will explain what happens to PT, so then it might start to become clearer.

Thank you. It did involve some jumping around (and the photo recolours took some work too), and the makeover took WAY too long. It was fun, though. I'm glad it does say something about the characters, since I was really hoping it would. You're also right about getting into Nervous' head. It can be fairly draining (but it's worth it, though, I think.)

It is hard for him, and he's taken on that difficulty of not relating his trouble to anyone, just to spare them the pain of knowing. I think Nervous is a very brave person that way, even if he has little "power" to speak of, and he's not what you think of as a hero.

That's a good way of describing him. He has to learn how to live a normal life, and he can probably get there, but it will take some work, I think.

That's really nice to hear. I mentioned in another comment that I realized that I based his experiences partly on my cousin, who has Asperger's syndrome, so you probably see a connection there. I don't think of Nervous as having that synrdrome, specifically, but he has a lot of the same issues with relating to people.

Thank you. :)

Oh, so you noticed that? I put a lot of work into something that only appeared for a second, but I really wanted that frame of photos of them. I can imagine Ophelia helping him to frame them (and convincing him to put that one of her and her boys in there too).

[ownsimscorner.livejournal.com]

This was an amazing chapter. Your portrayal of Nervous was incredible and touched me deeply, being someone who also has trouble dealing and relating to other people in everyday life (though I have pretty normal parents).

Also, you have a gift for detail and scenery. I loved everything you did with the decoration.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I don't think people necessarily need to have Nervous-type troubles to find themselves in his shoes. Many people have trouble dealing with things or relating to people at times, without any extreme situation in their life. I like having him as a character, because it's an opportunity to take some of those things head-on.

Thanks. :) I'm happy to hear that, because I did put a decent amount of thought into those decorations.

[vega-pleiades.livejournal.com]

I am consistently amazed by the quality of your writing. From a literary perspective, this is really rich and layered with all sorts of lovely themes. I can't wait to see this whole thing play out.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Wow. Thank you. That's so nice of you to say. I do think of certain things as loose themes in the story, whether or not it's very literary (I think it's too melodramatic and overblown to be compared to serious literature, but I do appreciate that you'd think to compare it to that). I really hope I can play it out and resolve it a way that is satisfying. I've had my doubts, but I'm going to try.

It will be fun either way. :) Thank you for reading.

[themorganlegacy.livejournal.com]

Yay update!!

Having this part in the form of a diary entry worked really well. I liked seeing things from Nervous's eyes, and getting a closer look at how he sees himself. His observations of the trio were especially fun, of course- are you answering our cries for more Johnny/Ripp? :P And seeing Nervous get his mohawk back made me smile. Yaaay, Nervous! ^_^

I'm very worried about that ending scene with Circe, though. She'd better not hurt PT.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

[a-gates.livejournal.com]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!! What An AWESOME update!!!! I'm going to read it again!! and AGAIN!!!

[a-gates.livejournal.com]

and you capture the three way relationship perfectly! :)"Sometimes I forgot which one of them is her boyfriend." WOW. WHy can't they be like that forever? Splendid Job!! I love it, love it,

[akatonbo.livejournal.com]

I must have good timing -- here I finally read the thing just in time for you to post the first update in a while. :) I was really looking forward to this one, too, because I just adore Nervous (and want Pascal to hug him to smithereens, whether they hook up or not), and I find your take on him very interesting.

[naughtydolphin.livejournal.com]

ohhhh you mean queen of cliffhangers!!!

[silvainsims.livejournal.com]

I love the way you write Nervous. He's lovely and I just want to give him a hug (more than I usually do, which is saying something, because I adore him and want him uber-happy all the time)- though I doubt he'd accept my hugs at this stage, or hugs from much of anyone really.

Also, Circe is seriously creepy.

[catladymeow.livejournal.com]

Yay, update! I love Nervous from your eyes. It was very touching reading his diary. Circe is scary smiling like she did in that last picture.
Looking forward to the next update!

[me-emma-me.livejournal.com]

Big understatement, but this chapter was fantastic! I loved seeing the story through Nervous' eyes. Can't wait for next time!

[tanathir.livejournal.com]

It's good to see this story back! It's definitely not a turd.

I like the change in point of view for this chapter; getting into Nervous' mind a little deeper is pretty cool, and it's also nice to see the J/R/O relationship from an outsider's perspective. As for Circe...I highly suspect she's done more than extend a hand of friendship to Jenny.

But the biggest reaction to this chapter: NOOOO NOT PT! There's going to be so much sadness when he's gone. And the emotional fallout afterward...oh boy.

Damn you're good.

Only when I lose myself in someone else (do I find myself)

[(Anonymous)]

I can't thank you enough for this. I was so excited to read it. Two in the bloody morning here, my tea weak and cold and body ready for bed, and I simply had to stay up to read this.

Normally, I read rather fast. But your story always forces me to slow down, enjoy it, really take it in. You have such an amazing way for breathing life into the written word. A little bit of savagry, beauty + humor. It turns a computer game into living, breathing humanity.

It's strange. I identify a great deal with your version of Nervous Subject, odd as that may sound. The inner monologue, at the very least. I found it peaceful to read.

Christ, I desperately need to update my computer. Graphics card has gone the way of Old Yeller. Precisely why I haven't started on my Pleasantview story yet. But every time I read something you post, I desperately want to.

Best,
Sara (aka, serial anon-encourager)

[oxxnicolexxo.livejournal.com]

this is great :D i've waited for this for a loooooooooooong time. MORE PLEASE!