Strangetown: outtakes and reflection
Jan. 10th, 2008 10:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strangetomatoThis seemed like a good time to post some outtakes, since I'm in the middle of some serious rising (and falling) action in the plot and need to stall for more time. I had a lot of extra photos piling up, and some of them are pretty amusing, at least to me.
Warnings: language, sexual situations (The usual stuff, but I'll warn anyway, just in case you're new)
Welcome to the second batch of Strangetown outtakes, dealing with Chapters 10-16. If you could hand Kristen a little change there on your way in, that would be great.
After that zombie bride pizza service delivered to Johnny, Ripp, and Ophelia's apartment, I remembered seeing a couple of other examples of that unlock all skin tones hack, and here's one of them.
This maid replaced Genesis Lam, once I made her playable, and thus, became the new maid at the Grunt household. I'm sure that General Buzz really loved that. He didn't sleep with this maid, that's for sure.
She has the Melissa Fancey face template, right?
Next, we shall take a look at Mr. Frances J. Worthington III. The man with expensive tastes, a puppy dog face, and a serious crush on Tank Grunt.
Hmmm, is Frances gay? I think we can safely say yes.
I wasn't 100% sure that I'd go with that for him until I moved Tank in. I did think it would be an interesting story for Frances, but I thought I'd give him a little say in the matter. I had him check Tank out, and boy, did he approve! And so, we have our story...
Chemistry-wise, it's a good match. Frances is a fortune sim ( that shouldn't really be a surprise), which goes well with popularity (Poor Tank isn't very good at what he wants in life, is he?). They have two bolts together (or Frances has them for Tank, anyway), in case you were wondering.
Shall we take a little look at the the Shifting Paradymes too?
Jaxy: Ugh! Breeders!
The post-sex cheering squad comes to visit Jaxy and Zoe.
I just love all the silly drop-ins you get in the college towns. It makes things interesting.
The coach came to encourage exercising, but found that Ripp was already coaching someone in sexercise instead.
From here, we can take a closer look at Ripp's slutty, slutty ways. Some of you may be wondering just how promiscuous Ripp really is, and the answer will be revealed in the story (someone actually asks him), but you can safety assume that he gets around campus.
I aged up all of his high school relationships, so he could nail them in college (they already had high relationships, so it would be easy). Most of them transitioned in to fairly normal outfits, but I did get these gems:
I never understood those aqua track pants with the heels, and the beige doesn't go with it at all (and you may have noticed that I'm not exactly one who even cares about colour "rules").
While I actually don't mind these colours (well, maybe not in an outfit, but still), this look is pretty dumbass. I love how the top is all sporty and cut-away, while the bottom is bohemian and covers all. Makes sense.
Do you recognize Kendall? She was Tank's first kiss (and Ripp's sixth make-out partner).
Since the girls were automatically grouped into one household, I just placed them on all the same lot, and invited Ripp over.
Oh yeah, and I turned jealousy off. That goes without saying...
Ripp (the sim, not the character) must love me. I keep putting him in situations like this. Notice the streaker. If there is a streaker nearby, they always end up near Ripp. Always. I'm sure he doesn't mind at all.
Lots of girls start getting very hot and bothered. Food gets dropped. Things get a bit out of hand.
That's right, ladies, form a line.
I just love how sims want other sims to leave the room when they woohoo in a bed, but don't mind spectators for the hot tub woohoo. What a bunch of voyeurs!
(The blond he's getting lucky with was also his first kiss. How sentimental!)
Ripp: Dear Penthouse...
Girl: Hey Ripp, that was some nice work you did back there!
Ripp: Why, thank you!
So... moving on... we have a scant handful of extras from the dinner with Buzz.
Ripp decided to share tips on his technique with Buzz, and Buzz is thinking about how he'll use that information later. (I never take pictures with the walls down, but that was the only way to get this one.)
I think Ripp is about to reject this admire, which is rare for him, but I can't be sure. He doesn't have any relationship point with Elise, so that might be why. He does, however, have one bolt of attraction for her. *sigh* Someone mentioned that Elise had a certain resemblance to Lyla, and yes, I did seek out a blond for that very reason. It makes the situation a little more painful for everyone. Buzz did have two bolts of attraction for her, though. She is a popularity sim.
In comparison, Genesis Lam had two bolts for Buzz and one bolt for Ripp too (she is also a popularity sim - my Strangetown is infested with them). At one point she rolled wants to get engaged to Ripp AND Buzz, at the same time! *snicker* Dream on, Genny. Just polish the hardware, and then get out.
More importantly, check out Buck! He's just blissing out over there. Maybe he's imagining how great it would be if only his family was as nice as the one he imagines in his head. Sweet little Buck!
Buzz: I saw this chick downtown, and she was SO hot!
Ripp: You might not believe it, but I actually do have something very important to say right now.
Poor Ripp was totally ignored. Just look at his face. It's pretty bad when you can't even keep your father's attention during a moment like that. No wonder he lost it.
Then we have Ripp's montage of debauchery, which ends with him overstepping his boundaries in Ophelia's bed. Did you wonder who the faceless lady was? Probably not, and she was faceless because that was the whole point, but here she is:
They were waving Ophelia out of the room. *snicker* (I was trying to get the right reaction for Ripp, which I eventually achieved when I made her reject him.)
On to the party!
Ripp: Hi Johnny!
Johnny: Hi Ripp!
They do this ALL of the time! Even after being in the room together for hours. They're a little odd.
Ripp: Drink up, Johnny! WAY up!
Johnny: Is it supposed to go through your lip like that, Ripp?
Oh yeah!
Time to party!
Johnny and Ripp really did get hammered at the bar, I think. How else can you explain Ripp autonomously clearing the tables in the restaurant section, and then washing the dishes?
Ripp: I may be completely lazy and sloppy, but I'm SO fucking nice, that I just have to help out!
What a darling. Ripp actually picks up dishes and washes them all of the time, against all logic. It's the nice points, I figure.
Ripp: I'm way fucking hotter than this legacy "sperm donor" guy! I could do that too... but I don't wanna! Nobody will have my sperm. Nobody! Now, can I PLEASE have your fucking plate?!
Johnny: I need to get Ripp out of here before something really bad happens.
Ripp: Hmmm, how did Nervous Subject escape? The Beakers must let him out for a drink every now and then. That seems fair.
Nervous: I've never met you, but I instantly hate you.
Ripp: Is that Johnny's Dad? I probably shouldn't talk to him right now...
Johnny: My Mom is here too!
Jenny: Pillow fight!
Nervous: Drinking eases my pain.
Ripp: No shit! Dude! That IS your Mom! *extends perfectly straight arm*
Ripp: Let me take that for you, P.T.
P.T.: What a nice young man!
Ripp: Johnny? You look... different.
Johnny: I'm over here, Ripp!
Bartender: Okay, you're cut off. Now kindly put those dishes back and get out from behind my bar.
Once Ripp clues this up, we can move on...
Jill is buying a video game during her trip to look for a dress. She has no idea that the shop girl used to make out with Ripp ALL of the time.*snicker*
A pretty cool photo of Jolene Smith's transition that I couldn't really use.
Cute, but it is a continuity ERROR! (See: Jill as child on far right)
Buck: Ripp's not the only pensive bather in this family, you know.
At this point I decided to create my own Lyla Grunt to add to the game, making her genetically plausible for the family (the sim in Olive's graveyard doesn't look anything like them). I had few more photos from that to share.
I wonder if Ripp turns after his mother...
Lyla: Now that your father is away at work, we can discuss all the forbidden topics.
Well, that explains a lot.
Awww! *heart explodes* Ripp loves little Buck.
The section of my brain that registers cuteness just broke. Look at Buck's face!
Ripp, you are so very, very lazy. (Have you noticed that Ripp's eyes are so big that they never really fully close?) And yes, he's breathing through his mouth again.
And then we move on to the death of General Buzz. There were clues, there really were, but they were far too subtle, I guess. Here's one of them:
A scene from Nervous Subject's dream. I thought that keen eyes might recognize the General's khakis, even in black and white. Luckily, it slipped by.
There was also this scene from Chapter Nine (which used the line, "I'm on the hunt, I'm after you", from Hungry Like the Wolf), with Buzz downtown.
Well this isn't the pic that I used, but it's funnier. May I draw your attention to Olive Specter up there in the background (and Elise too, at the bar!). The phrase I used about his single status was:
"He had certainly caught the attention of most every women in Strangetown who was interested in such things."
One of those women was Olive Specter, and she was very interested in single men who might be convinced to marry her. (Way too subtle, I know, but I feared giving it away.)
Anyway, Buzz died by "playing with scissors", which is a Maxis download from the official sims site. Olive didn't have that one in her graveyard already, so it seemed like a good choice.
madame_ugly was curious about how it actually looked, so here are a few shots that I grabbed.
Nothing really special about it. They just run around, and then they check their pulse, and then die. Now, you must remember that this can happen the next time you want to run around with giant children's craft scissors, okay?
I wanted to keep the General's death respectful and tasteful, so I avoided any blood, or really showing all that much detail. I didn't want to glorify it. I'm sure you picked up on Olive's suggestion when she said, "There are plenty of things I'd love for us to do if we had more time." She wanted to marry him, so you can imagine what she meant. I wasn't about to go THERE, but I can't imagine that Olive is above that sort of thing.
Then we have Tank beating up Ripp. The actual animation for losing a fight is pretty goofy, so I needed Ripp to be a lot more broken and nearly dead. The solution was to make him actually dead.
The tools required to make this scene: various InSIM objects, the black box, and a dollhouse (to use with moveobjects for Tank kicking Ripp when he's down). The grim reaper was pretty eager, so I picked him up with moveobjects too, and tossed him aside for a minute, but he always comes back.
Let's take a look at Ripp here. Crying? Check. Self pitying? Check. I'm not just making this stuff up, you know.
Yet also easily amused...
I really cannot express how inappropriate this is. Ripp just seems to draw streakers to him somehow., even when dead. Tank is like, "Do you MIND?"
For curiosity's sake, I had Tank plead for Ripp's life.
He lost. (They had a negative relationship score, but only just below zero.)
Tank: Meh. I hated him anyway!
Nice, Tank. Real nice.
So, next there was the bathroom scene with Johnny and Ripp, which, you may have guessed, did veer into homoerotic territory at times. Like this:
Johnny: Let me help you with that...
Ripp: Johnny, I don't need help with THAT... or do I? Keep going...
Johnny: Anything to help a friend in need.
That's right, Ripp enjoys being dirty.
I made use of moveobjects again for this scene, and there were two identical bathtubs. I started Johnny cleaning the first, and then moved him to Ripp's bath once he started cleaning. It worked out perfectly. The tub would be dirty after Ripp was in it for a while (I used InSIM to keep lowering his hygeine, and he's messy anyway, so it gets dirty faster), so then I'd switch tubs. I had to do it three or four times to get the right shots.
Ooooh, I just had a great idea, and I suppose I'll share it now instead of hoarding it all to myself. I might be able to use this same trick to put two people in the tub at the same time! Unless I get that thing where they just stack on top of each other. Hmmm. I'll have to test it. I know exactly where I could use a scene like that already. *grin*
Ripp: Can we stick to the task at hand, Johnny?
Johnny: Hang on... I just have to throw this out there. *hearts over Phi*
Johnny: Oh dear god, you're actually naked!
Johnny kept forgetting that Ripp was naked and then got shocked all over again! Ripp kept "forgetting" to put his clothes back on.
Ripp: Well, you've already seen it, now, haven't you, Johnny? You may as well take a good long look. You're impressed, I can tell...
Ripp broke the bathtub, and true to his character, Johnny told him off.
Don't you have a heart, Johnny? Just look at that face!
Ripp finds some fault with Johnny's mechanical skills, and bitches about it for a while.
Ripp: I'll just supervise, okay?
Johnny: *grumbles*
Could you look more dejected, please? (I think this face was a reaction to cleaning the toilet.)
Ripp: I really don't know why I love eggs so much! I just do.
And Johnny was totally lying about hating the smell of eggs. He seems to like it well enough here!
Johnny: Errrrr, we might have to take Ripp back to the hospital. He seems "confused".
Ophelia: There must have been some sort of head trauma.
Ripp: Sucking up to Johnny now will insure that I get more omelettes in the future.
Next we have the dream sequence, which I don't have very many extra photos of at all. It was shot in two locations: the Scepter estate (for the open desert at night, and the pool), and the Grunt home (for the wedding in the backyard, and the scenes inside the house). The rose bushes and trees helped to disguise the location of the wedding pretty well.
Of course, the first thing that happened when I InSIMed the characters onto the lot was this:
No, that's not inappropriate at all, Ripp! I know that Freud would have a thing or two to say about this dream as it is, so do you have to make it that much worse?
(Well, he's not actually related to that Lyla, and she is a romance sim, so what did I expect?)
I used InSIM to make all the costume changes too (the wardrobe adjuster). It's really useful. I made Ripp a General with the career adjuster, since that was the only way to access the uniform. Thankfully, all is erased when you exit without saving.
What were Ophelia and Ripp (as Buzz and Lyla) actually arguing about? Well, it was perfect.
She's sick of all this military bullshit!
We also had one incident of love/hate here.
Ripp: I hate you, and you're a whore, but you're SO fucking HOT that I can't resist you!
Ophelia: Hey! Get your finger out of my cleavage!
Ripp: I can't. It's stuck! Now you can never leave me! My plan is perfect!
Oh look! Another streaker comes to see Ripp! Is it because of his slutty reputation?
Ripp: I'm just that good. Naked women (and men) just come to me. I don't even have to go looking for it.
Ummm, yeah.
Frances and Tank have a lot in common, including the inability to tolerate Ripp most of the time.
Ripp: I totally scored with that blond cheerleader! She goes ALL the way! There's nothing she won't do.
Frances: *exes Ripp*
Ripp: I'm soooo awesome... *does a special dance*
Frances: Make him go away, please.
The feeling is very mutual.
Ripp: You want to talk about WORK? Fuck that.
When the freewill was turned back on, the brothers decide to prank each other for a while.
So, do you think that Ripp was mad?
Or did he find it funny?
At this point, a cheerleader shows up. You know, to cheer the Grunts on after their big moment. That's pretty good timing! You might just recognize this particular gal as one of Ripp's conquests (the one he was just bragging about). It's not exactly hard to run into one of those.
Ripp doesn't let that stop him from pranking Tank (in the grossest possible way).
Tank: No way! I did not do that! You believe me, right? Yeah, YOU. The reader.
Cheerleader: That smells foul.
The cheering section moves on to Frances. He seemed very uncomfortable. I wonder why.
Ripp comes to rescue him, while Tank regrets throwing that water balloon.
Ripp: Well, that's how I deal with cheerleaders, Frances! Ummm, are you okay?
Frances: Yes, yes I am. VERY okay.
That can't be a good thing. When sims like the Grunts, they REALLY like the Grunts.
You may have noticed a lot of hearts flying for Ophelia. This is because the boys both have a double bolt attraction with her. Considering their aspirations, that's pretty impressive - I don't think there is any added chemistry between family/popularity, and family/romance definitely has a negative chemistry effect. So... wow! They really like her.
Here's a little sampling of a typical day for Ophelia with Johnny and Ripp:
(Ophelia goes all out when she tells a joke, by the way.)
(They decided to throw a little wave in there too, I see.)
Not to be left out, Ophelia joins in too.
I have not encountered very many sims that Ripp has negative chemistry with. He routinely has bolts with knowledge sims and other odd things like that too. I think it's mostly due to his zodiac sign, Sagittarius, which is not disliked by any of the other signs, making it ideal for a romance sim. Ripp did good.
I also mentioned somewhere before that Ripp doesn't turn down any romantic interactions, even those weird ones like "sweet talk", which never seem to pass. If you're not controlling him, he's dead easy to seduce. I played the female sorority house to get some shots of Ripp with different gals from there, and with the jealousy turned off, I just passed him around from girl to girl. Several days passed, and he made no motion to go home. Typical Ripp stuff.
Now finally, I will end with the long lost images of the teens when they transitioned to college. I forgot these the last time around.
Yes, that's a shirt tucked into nothing! With pants that are too low to meet them. Ophelia seems dressed for a different climate.
Don't all laugh at once, now.
This was passable, but I changed her outfit anyway.
Johnny is, well, Johnny. It seemed to work just fine.
Thanks for reading!
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 03:13 pm (UTC)Yes, I actually went to test that on one of my test families in another neighbourhood too. I have a few of those tucked away to test out some "possibilities" for my story in the future. I've very pleased about removing jealously for children. It's nice to be able to control that.
Oh, it's dirty alright! *wink* I'll be showing it off in the next chapter.
Good idea! I'd love to see another post from your Strangetown.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 03:48 pm (UTC)But who?
I have one really obvious thought and a few fun ones that would also fulfill my need to see Curiouses, too.
Looking forward to seeing it.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 03:51 pm (UTC)I'm thinking of doing something really casual to include some Curious in the next chapter. Just a drop by to the Smith house, or something like that. I really hate neglecting them so much. But the scales should tip soon anyway.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 06:40 pm (UTC)Are you pairing Lazlo up with Crystal (at least for now)? That was also one of my thoughts.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 06:49 pm (UTC)Yeah, Lazlo moved out to live with Crystal. That was briefly mentioned in a past chapter. I'm not really putting together how you might think that relates to the moveobjects thing. Hmmm. Now I'm really thinking.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 06:58 pm (UTC)As for dirty dreams, yeah, I think we're on the same page there.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 07:13 pm (UTC)I have another pair of sims in mind to share that bath. But the shower thing is good too. I'll have to try that as well. (Soon, all of my sims couples will be bathing at the same time. I can see it coming.)
Lazlo and Crystal already have a bit of a plot played out, which I've been forced to hide away for now. What was I thinking? I wasn't. I just moved them in to a nice little place and went nuts, with no thought about continuity issues. They'll get to reappear soon.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 07:22 pm (UTC)I've thought about the shower thing, too. You can get the animations from the black box (I think). There's also those dirty showers at the adult insim site.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 07:29 pm (UTC)I've seen those showers, but it's too explicit for me (no pixel penis, thanks). I just want to play around with what I can imply from the game as-is. I don't even really desire to have a nudity hack or anything like that. I mean, I'd LOVE drawing attention to the fact that they have no genitals to speak of, but no...
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 08:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 07:11 pm (UTC)http://sims2graveyard.com/download.html
I couldn't get the Squinge page to load, but that's probably just a temporary server problem, or something. I don't know what version I have -- definitely pre-Seasons -- but if the graveyard doesn't work out, I can email you my Hula mod.
Dirty? *ears perk up*
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 07:14 pm (UTC)Yes, it's pretty dirty. You'll want to pay close attention, I'm sure. *wink*
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 07:14 pm (UTC)http://www.machinima.com/article/view&id=490
There are some more mods for poses that I've never seen before. I haven't followed all those links yet, so I don't know if it's up to date, but I thought I'd share!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-11 07:16 pm (UTC)