#I’ve been pretty busy ripp so have this for now

[starscream-is-my-wife]

Bfs of the most influential brothers come to a horrifying discovery

[rhondafromhr]

Hey Sims 2 nation, who wants to hear about my super elaborate kinda unhinged AU involving the Grunt, Curious (mostly Vidcund), Smith and Specter (mostly Ophelia) households?? Some of this is inspired by the game and my own playthroughs, some of it kinda diverges, some of it’s stuff that’s plausible for the characters imo but can’t really be replicated in actual gameplay. Also partially inspired by this post. I’ll probably give in to the demons and turn this into a 100k longfic at some point, but for now here’s what I got. It’s not fully fleshed out yet but hope you enjoy! Also hope you see the vision for Vidcund/Buzz, I’ve never seen a single person put them together (understandable, it is very much a crackship) but I think they have the potential for SUCH a fun and interesting dynamic and could really push each other to change, for better for worse.

—The way I interpret Buzz is as a deeply flawed sim, but one who has room to improve and do better. He wasn’t the most involved parent, leaving most of the difficult work to Lyla (as seen in the in-game memories with her having taught most of their toddler skills), he obviously favors Tank, being harsher on Ripp and ignoring Buck, he puts a lot of pressure on all of them to live up to a very strict set of ideals. This impacts all of the kids negatively in different ways. Obviously not great, but I do believe that he does care about them and with the right catalyst, he could begin to see the error of his ways and make an effort to change. Like he’s not going to become the most open, accepting, emotionally available dad-of-the-year overnight, but I think he could sort of redeem himself over time. I see him as the type of sim who, once his mind sets on something, is all in, so I think once he realized how shitty he’s been, he’d throw himself into trying to be a better parent, although he would definitely not get it right on the first tries and would continually make mistakes. Of course there are going to be growing pains in an arc like this and he has some pretty skewed ideas of what good parenting looks like.

—I definitely get why he’s portrayed as straight-up abusive and virtually irredeemable in a lot of fanworks and that characterization is valid, but based the limited info we have from family and individual bios, memories, environmental storytelling, personality points, etc I think you could go in either direction and have a decently solid basis for it in canon. (Buzz in Division 47 in The Sims 2 PSP is a different story, but tbh I see that as an entirely different timeline and a lot of the characterizations are different.)

—So anyway, here’s how it starts: Buzz is spying on his neighbors with the telescope because he’s a fucking freak who can’t mind his own business; Vidcund comes over to yell at him for spying because he’s also a fucking freak and assumes Buzz is spying on his household specifically. Buzz keeps doing it to spite him because no one tells him what to do on his own watcher-damn property. This continues every day and although neither would ever admit it, they both start looking forward to it bc they’re both lonely. Neither has many close relationships and every close relationship they do have is strained—Buzz with his kids bc he hasn’t been a very good father, Vidcund with his brothers bc there’s always been tension with Pascal over the whole Circe thing and he hasn’t been getting along with Lazlo as well recently. (That bit is inspired by my playthroughs—every time I load up that household, Vidcund and Lazlo have a negative interaction that causes them to lose their status as best friends). Slowly but surely, they build up a rapport and eventually something akin to friendship.

—Buzz gets his demotion, just like in the game’s scripted events, and will soon struggle to pay his mortgage and keep up his family’s current standard of living on his new salary, but he would rather die than admit to failure so he needs to find a way to stay in that house and keep up appearances. Meanwhile, with Pascal’s new alien baby, the Curious household is always loud and chaotic. Vidcund resents the lack of quiet and alone time and the interruption to his routine. Oh, look at that, Buzz has a spare room, and there are no crying babies in his house, just two horribly maladjusted teenagers and an attention-starved tween. Cue the “And they were roommates.”

—At some point, Buzz decides to try and get Buck into private school and invites the headmaster over. He enlists Vidcund’s help and they pose as a married couple (if he wants to impress this snobby ass school he can’t let on that he needs a roommate, and he sees that as the most plausible explanation for why Vidcund lives there. Also at this point Vidcund’s a professor at La Fiesta Tech so that kind of helps make them look even more impressive.)

—Buzz forces Tank and Ripp to spend the weekend camping at Three Lakes because he doesn’t trust them to get along for the night and make a good impression (who’s fault is that, Buzz?? Who played favorites and pitted them against each other??). They have a side story bonding and overcoming some of their issues there.

—To really sell it, Buzz and Vidcund casually touch each other here and there (an arm around the waist, hand on the shoulder, etc.) Both of them are too emotionally constipated to show affection in any way, especially physical, so they’re both super touch starved and end up liking it a lot. Like, a lot.

—Even though dinner fully caught on fire and nearly burned the house down, they manage to get Buck in. Buzz is all giddy (although he tries to hide it and be his usual gruff self) and keeps giving Vidcund these soft looks when he thinks he’s not looking.

—They end up sleeping together (in the literal sense, not woohoo) but Buzz’s reaction to it makes it seem like more happened. He’s all stressed over it, wondering what does this mean?? What are they?? He can’t believe he allowed himself to receive slight physical intimacy and comfort. What’s gotten into him??

—Cue Buzz and Vidcund lounging in the kitchen in their boxers and undershirts sipping coffee when Tank and Ripp come home early. Buzz is mortified and stammers trying to explain himself, but the boys Do Not Care.

—The fucking family drama this would cause!!! Imagine the Curious family finally finding out who Vidcund’s seeing. Pascal would be furious. Lazlo would just be confused, and maybe concerned for Vidcund, but they all suck at feelings and communication so he doesn’t express it in the best way. Then Vidcund gets pissed at his brothers, causing even more tension in their already strained relationship.

—Jenny I think would be extremely weary of Buzz because of his and PT9’s history and make it clear that she’s not going to tolerate any bullshit, but would try and put her best foot forward. She’s happy to see Vidcund in a relationship that seems to be making him happy and isn’t just one-sided stalking on his part (RIP Circe Beaker).

—When Jenny tries to talk to the other brothers about this, they’re already fragile and take it to mean that she sees their arrangement of living and co-parenting Pascal’s kid together instead of with romantic partners as inferior (bc a part of this is that they feel like Vidcund abandoned them for the Grunt family). They also incorrectly assume that Jenny thinks she’s better than them for having a more traditional family. And there WAS a time when she worried about them staying single in Pascal’s case or unmarried/only seeing Crystal casually in Lazlo’s (when you load up the household in the game, she almost always rolls the want to have a baby, but by that point she’s too close to being an elder to be able to do so; I think she adores her husband and her family and wouldn’t change anything, but because she waited so long due to PT9 being gone on his assignment, she wasn’t able to have a large family like she always wanted. So at some point she would have worried about her brothers waiting until it’s “too late” like she did, in a sense, but once she realized they really didn’t want that, she supported them.)

—PT9 is the type of sim to always take the high ground and focus on his own life and the people he loves, so Buzz’s beef with him has always been kind of one-sided anyway (saw a post of them as that “when someone’s so hateful it inspires you to be kinder”/“when someone’s so kind it actually disgusts you” meme and like yeah. That’s their dynamic). Buzz clumsily tries to make amends, and they slowly bond and put the time they fought in a Waffle House parking lot behind them (yes that is where the fight happened, it’s 10000% canon, trust). PT9 or Jenny will often playfully remind him about how he got his ass handed to him, but by this point (shockingly) he’s actually grown a sense of humor and he doesn’t mind. I just love the idea of Buzz, Jenny and PT9 having a slowburn enemies to friends arc.

—This leads to Jenny and Vidcund reconnecting. Between being significantly older and not sharing a lot of the same interests that her brothers always bonded over, I think Jenny always felt a little alienated and left out. Almost like they were in an exclusive little club she didn’t get to be a part of. But now Vidcund’s kicked out of the club too because Pascal and Lazlo hate his ass (not really. They’re just hurt and need time to come around to the idea of him being with Buzz Grunt of all people). So they get to get to know each other as adults and discover what they do have in common. Both love botany and they start gardening together. Jenny minored in botany and she’s extremely knowledgeable. Both are elated to have someone they can share their passion with. Vidcund is shocked and scandalized to learn that she grew and sold her own weed back in high school and college. (She still does on the side but shhh don’t tell Buzz). Both love to read and they form a little book club. They start out only reading the classics and scientific literature, wanting to impress each other, but they both have a secret love of trashy, pulpy romance novels that they try desperately to hide out of embarrassment. Eventually, they realize this and add some of those books into the rotation.

—As his relationship with Buzz has gotten more serious, Vidcund’s kind of struggling with his new role as essentially a stepdad, and Jenny and PT9 are the go to people for parenting advice. One night PT9 is essentially like “my brother in Watcher, it’s good that you care but you worry too much, there’s no guidebook and none of us truly know what we’re doing, everybody fucks up sometimes.” And Jenny’s like “preach”. (They also may or may not be stoned off Jenny’s primo weed for this discussion).

—What are the kids up to during all this?? Well, Ophelia, tired of her anxieties ruling her life, decides to explore the mysteries and weird supernatural occurrences of Strangetown. Initially, her goal is simply to learn how to exorcise ghosts so she can finally have some peace and quiet at home and no longer be constantly scared by them, but deep down it’s about proving to herself that she can be brave and overcome her fears. Through the process, gaining an understanding of the town’s weirdness will also give her a sense of control and make it seem less unknowable and terrifying. She drags Ripp and Johnny into it (they’re a polycule btw; they’re such an inseparable trio to me. I have installed mods in my game to allow polyamory solely so they can be together) and they begin to spend all their free time exploring the town and uncovering its secrets.

—Now that Tank and Ripp are cool, Ripp wants to spend more time with his brother, so Tank attempts to make things right with Johnny and Johnny gives Tank a chance, mainly for Ripp’s sake. So Tank kind of fourth wheels them and tags along on their adventures, but he doesn’t mind. He’s vibing and actually having fun for once. They also have to sneak around a lot bc Olive is really strict, as is Buzz (although he has started to loosen up a little at this point) and Tank really loves the shenanigans and rebelling because he’s never allowed himself to do that.

—I think Tank and Ophelia could eventually become close. They’re both bundles of tension and anxiety and hold themselves to impossible standards (Ophelia channels this into trying to be the perfect student and obsessing over her grades). They both struggle to let go of control because neither has really had any in their home lives. Neither one has really gotten the chance to talk about the parents they lost or given themselves space to properly grieve (Ripp hasn’t either), always too focused on surviving the here and now, but would eventually come to allow themselves to do so. (Haven’t really fleshed it out yet but the catalyst for this is that one of the supernatural adventures they go on involves ghosts and the need to process things to be able to move on to the next plane. It’s, like, annoyingly on the nose and Not Subtle Whatsoever to the point where it actually irritates them.)

—Also Tank is aroace. I see a character that doesn't have a canonical love interest and I go, “It’s free real estate” and hit them upside the head with the aroace beam. He starts out deeply ashamed of it, feeling like he failed to live up to the standards of masculinity his dad used to put on him and that he continues to put on himself, but slowly comes around to be okay with it.

—Buck and Jill become besties. I think it starts out as sort of a “well our families spend like every second together now. You’re literally always around and we’re the only two kids around our age at the function. I guess we’re friends?” type of deal. Like they’ve always been chill and friendly with each other at school, but never super close. But Jill brings out Buck’s more playful and imaginative side and helps him to just be a kid, and in turn she gets a new partner in crime. He also helps her gain the confidence to stand up to a few little shits who have been making fun of her at school, and they get their revenge on them with some kind of epic prank. They get in trouble for it and Buck expects Buzz to either be mad at him or ignore him per usual, but instead Buzz is proud that he stood up for his friend and for what was right.

—One day Buck and Jill are left alone in the house with the dog (I always get the Smiths a big dog and name it something stupid like Floofmaster 5000) and decide to give it a bath, haircut and dye job after Buck tells her about his dreams of being a celebrity pet groomer. (Fun fact for those not familiar with the game, that’s canon. IIRC it says something about him wanting to become a pet groomer to the stars in his bio. Sadly there’s no such career path in game to my knowledge). The Smiths come home to a bright pink dog with a surprisingly well-done haircut and a pink-stained bathroom. Jenny and PT9 try to (gently) scold the kids but they can’t stop laughing. PT9 dyes his hair pink to match the dog (in my heart he’s the classic “was adamant about absolutely not wanting a dog but then got the most attached to it” dad). Jenny joins in too because she always used to dye her hair fun colors and she misses it.

—Maybe Buck and Jill get crushes on each other and eventually date when they get older?? I usually put them together after sending them off to college in my game. Typically I give them both the pleasure aspiration too, so they spend their days just living it up, having fun, doing whatever they feel like doing. They match each other’s whimsy and chaos.

—Back to Buzz and Vidcund: at some point before they’re officially together but when they’re definitely Becoming A Thing, Buzz decides he needs to work on himself and repair his relationship with his kids before anything else can take priority, so they break things off but remain friends (emotional maturity??? From Buzz Grunt??? Inspiring. People really can change.) They’re both really mopey about it but insist they’re fine.

—Around this time, certified trust fund jerk Malcolm Landgraab IV comes on the scene to open up some new locations for his electronics retailer downtown. He and Vidcund meet, hit it off and end up in a sort of situationship. Vid still lives with the Grunts, but spends a lot of time with Malcolm and is around a lot less.

—The boys are Not Happy with this development. They’re like uh hey, where the fuck is he?? They’ve gotten attached to Vidcund and sort of started to see him as another parental figure. They kinda assumed Buzz and Vidcund were already a thing, so they’re shocked that they’ve “broken up” and not even told them, and that Buzz is being so cavalier about it. Also Tank and Buck don’t cope super well with big changes so this isn’t great for them :( now it’s up to poor Ripp to comfort both his brothers and tbh he has no idea what he’s doing. Get my man some of that primo weed, he needs it.

—Still, anytime Buzz or one of the boys call him for literally anything, Vidcund will drop Malcolm like a hot potato. It’s obvious where his priorities lie and where his heart is. Eventually, Malcolm breaks up with Vidcund, stating that he’s caught actual feelings but he knows Vidcund can’t reciprocate because he’s hung up on somebody else.

—This will become a plot point later: Malcolm keeps doing increasingly unhinged things to try and impress Vidcund and prove how great he’s doing after their breakup, which eventually escalates to him running for mayor of Strangetown. His opponent is none other than Circe Beaker and now everyone has to rally behind her because holy crap would that rich dumbfuck run Strangetown right into the ground. This is genuinely not meant to be a commentary of any sort, I just think a mayoral race between Circe “I definitely don’t have a man trapped in my basement to run experiments on” Beaker and Malcolm Landgraab IV would be funny, especially the way I like to characterize him (chaotic dumbass with a huge ego who has WAY too much money and free time and makes it everyone else’s problem.)

—Immediately after ending things with Malcolm, Vidcund tells Buzz what happened and why. After like a year of tension, they finally kiss. Vidcund moves his stuff from his room into Buzz’s and that’s that.

—They bicker a lot, sometimes playfully, sometimes not. It dredges up some memories related to their parents’ divorce for the boys when it happens in front of them. Buzz is trying but he’s still the densest motherfucker on the planet so it takes him a LONG time to realize this. Eventually, he and Vidcund learn to reign it in and the boys get to a place where they trust that it’s not anything serious and Vid’s not going anywhere.

—They’re both pretty ambivalent about marriage. Buzz has already been there done that and he fucked it up pretty bad. Vidcund’s not opposed but he’s never really pictured himself getting married. Eventually, when it comes time for Tank to start thinking about college, Vidcund mentions that as a prof at La Fiesta Tech any dependents of his get free tuition (including stepchildren) and suggests they get married for that reason. Buzz is like, “yeah, I don’t see us ever not being together anyway, sure.”

—I think they’re the type of sims to wear black stainless steel wedding bands. Buzz has an African violet engraved in Vidcund’s.

—As a popularity sim, Buzz would absolutely want a huge wedding and reception, and now that he actually has people who like him and would show up it’s within reach! But he knows how much Vidcund hates crowds and big parties so he keeps it lowkey. (Being considerate and prioritizing others’ needs and wants, even above his own?? Who is he??) They just do it at a courthouse and have a little family get together. Pascal and Lazlo come to at least make an effort to reach out and show their support, and Vidcund is overjoyed to see them, even if he acts aloof about it. Their relationship is still never quite as close as it used to be, but things are better.

—Also they’re autistic4autistic. Neither is aware of this. Buzz because he was raised in A Different Time and his parents were Very Traditional, so they just harshly disciplined him whenever he acted “weird” and he learned to mask very quickly; Vidcund because basically the entire Curious family was neurodivergent and Glarn and Kitty didn’t see the need to seek out a diagnosis, they just sort of accommodated the kids as needed and let ‘em do their thing. Buzz masks so hard and so consistently that he doesn’t even know how not to and refuses to accommodate himself (like if the fabric of a shirt is making him want to crawl out of his skin, he just keeps wearing it because he feels like he “should” be able to tolerate it and also that deeply ingrained toxic masculine ideal that suffering through it without complaining is the “manly” thing to do.) Vidcund cannot fathom masking and when it comes to things that trigger his sensory issues he’s a very “if it sucks hit da bricks” type of sim. He eventually convinces Buzz to just change out of the shirt, stop eating the food with the texture he can’t stand, take the aspirin when he has a headache, use the damn heating pad when his bad back is acting up, and just stop making himself miserable in all these little ways when he literally doesn’t have to.

—Tank is also like that (he learned it from his father and continued practicing it in an effort to be more like him and not disappoint him). He learnt about the joys of “if it sucks hit the bricks” from Ripp, and now that he sees his dad and Vidcund doing it, he feels more okay about not forcing himself to do things that make him really distressed or set off his sensory issues.

—Meanwhile, Ripp learned the joys of not hitting the bricks every time it sucks from Ophelia and Tank; especially with his creative endeavors, he starts sticking them out even when they get challenging, and he enjoys the satisfaction and fulfillment it brings him and creates some music and poetry he’s really proud of.

—The Grunt family looks for a car at some point and Buzz is initially going to get one of those unnecessarily huge trucks that don’t even fit in a lane on the road because of fucking course he’d be one of those guys. Ripp, the resident hippie who’s a bit of an environmentalist, is against this. Buzz actually ends up buying a more reasonable sized sedan, and Ripp is touched that Buzz listened to him, took his input and opinion seriously and even factored it into his decision.

[danksimstho]

First | Previous | Next

General Buzz took himself and his children on a vacation to three lakes. He had a lot to talk about and wanted more time do it. Ripp however was already bored.

“This place is so dark and empty.” Ripp complained to himself as he explored the Hotel. “I really don’t want to share a bed with Buck. I need privacy.”

They quickly got hungry and Ripp ordered room service.

“How was your first semester at school?” Buzz asked Tank.

“It was good, I met a lot of friendly people.”

“How are your grades?”

“They’re pretty good. I have a study group and we all work pretty hard…”

“Are you still working out?”

Tank fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yeah, all the time, Dad.”

Ripp looked up from his sandwich. “You let him call you Dad?”

Buzz coughed. “Yes. Now that he’s flown the nest we have more of a father-son relationship. He’s the man of his own house now, and I respect that.”

Ripp narrowed his eyes. “Can I call you Dad?” he asked.

“Hmm… We’ll see. All that eyeliner doesn’t really help your case of being a man. Plus, you’re getting a little pudgy.”

“Muscle weighs more than fat.” Ripp said.

“I’m not talking about weight, I’m talking about muscle mass.”

“I like how I look. I don’t want to become buff like you guys.”

Tank spoke up. “I think as long as he’s healthy it’s fine.”

Ripp smiled. “Thanks, Tank. A semester of college has done a lot for your demeanor.”

Tank scoffed. “Maybe. I’ve made a lot more friends at college than I ever did in high school.”

Ripp chewed his food. “That’s good. It’s always good to have friends. After Ophelia and Johnny moved to college I’ve been pretty lonely.”

“I think it’s good that they can’t influence you as much.” Buzz said. “They’re too old to be hanging around a kid like you.”

Ripp grumbled. “Do you ever see them around campus?” Ripp asked Tank.

“No, I haven’t. I’ve seen some aliens though.”

“Really?” Remarked Buzz. “They aliens are trying to learn from us? Don’t they have their own schools?”

“I suppose they do. But isn’t it fun to explore a different culture?” Said Tank.

“Is that why we’re here?” Ripp asked.

“I was hoping all this nature would encourage you and Buck to work out more. And I wanted to talk to Tank.”

Tank finished his sandwich and stood up from the table. “I haven’t seen my littlest brother in a while. I’m going to go see if he’s alright.”

Tank spun Buck around as they both laughed. “I missed you!” Tank admitted.

“You did?” Buck said, grinning from ear to ear. “I was hoping I’d be missed!”

“I’m sorry I never called. I could never find the time outside of school hours.”

“That’s okay. I’m used to not receiving calls. The General bought Ripp a cell phone but I said I didn’t need one.”

“I don’t even have a cell phone.” Said Tank. “The landline suits me fine.”

“Ripp was always on the landline. The General couldn’t make any work calls!”

“Ripp? Hogging the phone? Perish the thought.”

Buck laughed.

“Has your big brother been good to you while I’ve been gone?”

“Yeah! He paints with me and plays with me sometimes. He’s usually doing his own thing in his room but he always has such deep conversations with me.”

“I’m glad you’re not too lonely. Have you made any friends at school yet?”

“Not really. I brought a few friends home from school but I was too busy with chores to spend time with them.”

“You’ll make friends, eventually. You’re a chatterbox on wheels..."

Buzz brought them to the park because they were filled with energy and excitement of vacation and needed something to do. Ripp was uncertain he would have any fun and messed with his hair nervously.

“This is our first family vacation since Lyla left. How are you feeling?” Buzz asked Tank.

“Oh I’m feeling okay. I haven’t really thought about Mom, I’m just enjoying my time with the family I have left. Ripp came up with me and started a conversation earlier, and it was a good one. That’s rare with him.” Tank replied.

“He’s not the best with social skills. He doesn’t like to fit in, I think. He’s the opposite of a sociopath, he feels so strongly and does not change his personality to suit a social situation.” Buzz responded.

“He likes to be himself. He’s got a strong identity, but I think it’s a very immature one. I don’t mean to speak badly of him though! I’m trying to change how I see him.” Tank continued.

“You’re right, It would do us both some good if I gave him more understanding. We’re family and I can’t just make him go away. I just wish he looked up to me like you do.”

Meanwhile inside the small giftshop Ripp was performing for an audience. He was bored to tears and he thought perhaps he could be the singer for Johnny and Ophelia’s band. The cashier seemed to fancy Ripp and his antics, but even with his charm on full blast she couldn’t be torn away from her work. By the time he went back to the hotel his tip Jar was empty. 

“Maybe this vacation isn’t so bad” Ripp thought, eyeing up the other guests in the lobby. The older woman was attractive but Ripp knew it was inappropriate for him to hit on her so instead he set his eyes on the boys his age.

He struck up conversation with the handsome stranger after he finished speaking to his friend. Turns out he was a local staying at the hotel because his house was being fumigated.

“Where are your parents?” Ripp asked.

“They’re staying in a different hotel, this place was booked.” Abjheet replied.

“Oh, so you’ve got a room all to yourself? That must be nice. I have to share my bed with my younger brother.”

“Who all did you come with?”

“My Dad and my two brothers. Don’t ask about my Mom. She’s not with us.”

Abjheet nodded his head in understanding. “What sights have you seen so far?”

“We only went to the park. There was a cool bear statue but… I’m much more interested in people. Like you.”

Abjheet smiled. “I’m interested in you too! Hey, do you wanna go for a swim?”

“Sure, let me get changed.”

Ripp got into the hot tub with Abjheet and his friends but was bored when they talked about money, crime, and politics. He tried to change the subject but they were resistant so he just got out of the hot tub and went to bed. 

Ripp fell asleep before he noticed Buck’s snoring so they both slept well into the morning with little complaint.

The next morning Ripp called Ophelia and Johnny, each of them trading off the phone before going to class. Ripp felt like he was thriving.

Ripp and Buck rolled around on the log and enjoyed the last few days of Buck’s childhood together.

“Hey Buck do you remember your makeup?”

“Mhm.”

“Would you ever want to put some makeup on me? I… Really want to try makeup, but I think you’re better at it than I am.”

“Makeup’s not too hard.” He took a bite of cereal. “You work with what you’ve got, accentuating the natural features. Kind of like a cartoon. You paint right?”

“Yeah,” he paused. “Well only when you’re not using the paint.”

“Well I’d just do it how I would do it for a drawing. You need to practice it to get good at it.”

“I’d love to practice but I feel like Dad wouldn’t look too kindly on that.”

Buck chewed his cereal in thought. “What’s his problem with makeup anyway? There’s nothing wrong with it… It’s just fun.”

“I agree entirely.” First | Previous | Next

[jessthewerewolf]

Let’s talk about DMC5

*So a little disclaimer before I start - I’m a fairly new fan of the DMC series. The first gameplay I’ve ever watched on youtube was DmC: Devil may Cry, and back then I thought it was awesome and really wanted to buy it. I still like it though, since it was what got me into games. But after watching gameplays of all DMC series (unfortunatelly I only have a laptop and it’s not suited for gaming) I got sucked into its glory and now i can proudly call myself a DMC fan. Also, I’ve seen the E3 trailer when it came out, but kinda forgot that DMC5 was a thing because I have to write my bachelor’s degree thesis and it’s been very busy these past 3 months. Then came Christmas and I finally got some time to catch up. Okay, I’m done explaining myself.*

THE CHARACTERS:

DANTE 

Yaaaaaas he’s back! I know som of the fans are not happy with his old look, but to me he looks very good. He’s got that sexy, cocky uncle-type guy that nobody  dares to ask how old he is. He slightly resembles his DMC4 design, but maybe it’s just me. 

As for his overall design: I love they went with the cowboy theme again (did you see that tiny demon flowing around him when he uses faust hat? SOOOO CUTE); I’m also pleased with the toned down color palette - this game goes with the more modernised look, so it’s understandable none of the characters wear flashy colours. I mean Dante does look like he’s got only like 3 or 4 identical shirts, and he’s been wearing that coat for a loooooong time (I mean it is $8000 and we all know he must’ve saved for at least 10 years to buy it. Ma’ poor boy ;_______;). I’m not down for his shorter hair, but still it’s incomparably better than Donte’s hair - pretty much everything is better than Donte. I’m a simple girl, I love male characters with longer hair. 

Good thing they changed his theme, ‘cause that was horrible. From what I’ve heard in the TGA trailer, it sounds way better. Not sure if this genre suits Dante, though. I thought he was more of a Nothing More/ Łydka Grubasa/ Nocny Kochanek type of guy (two last ones are polish rock? bands with very funny lyrics, I recomend you listen to them). 

Here’s an idea: WHAT IF THEY MADE A COUNTRY/HARD ROCK SONG AS HIS THEME??? OR BETTER YET - COUNTRY ROADS METAL COVER!!! OH THAT WOULD BE EVERYTHING!!!

NERO

My boy Nero... what can I say, I love this version of him. He looks more mature, and more defined (I mean look at his jaw) as opposed to his previous design where he looked like a generic anime boy version of Sparda twins. He felt bleak and not very interesting. And now? My boy’s got a character! Totally love the short hair - I legit believe he looks like Jack Frost after some hard life decisions, but still a badass character - and his coat. Also it’s a lovely little detail that he’s got the same eye color as Dante. His Devil Bringer design looks so much different than before, but with a more realistic touch. *It’s totally Vergil who ripps his arm off, no doubt. Honestly best father of the year* 

I’m afraid this will be the end of our beloved KYRIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! screams every second sentence. Hm. wonder what she’ll look like...

Ah, his theme. I cannot stress hard enough how awesome his theme is. I could listen to it for hours (and I have, for about 4h straight when I had to study for one of my kanji tests) and not be sick of it. Ughhhhh it’s just such a banger. 

V

Not gonna lie, he’s my favourite one of the three. Honestly, I’m a sucker for a mysterious dark character with tattoos. He looks younger than Nero, so I’m guessing he’s in early 20′s? I think he and maybe Trish were the least altered from their models. And his voice! Ughhhhh so erotic. His VA, whoever he may be (from what I know it’s his first VA job), he is doing it right! I hate poetry but please read me some Blake! I know most of people call him Kylo Ren, but I don’t really see the resemblance; he’s more like you put Byakuya (the later version) and Noctis into one person. Not sure about those sandals tho. Weird flex but what can we do, it’s not like he can fight for himself...

And while we’re at this topic - his familiars are all bosses/enemies from the original game, what’s up with that? I’ve seen countless theories on who V might be, but at this point it’s probably gonna be something nobody thought of and we’ll all lose our shit. *Also, his hair being originally white is some shady shit*

His theme is a banger, too; I only like it slightly less than Devil Trigger. It honestly suits him. Like, V does have a industrial/ etheric/ poetic vibe and it shows in his theme. Some people may think that the metal cover is better (and yes, it does sound very good), but V doesn’t look like he’d listen to this type of music. 

On the sidenote: I love how most people thought he had a corset under his coat. I thought it was something like a vest, but now that it was revealed it’s just there to close the coat and he’s practically half naked I’m so down for it. How confident you have to be to wear nothing but a coat, pants AND SANDALS TO A BATTLE!? That’s some Big Dick Energy right there.

And I think that’s it from me. I can’t wait for the premiere and I would gladly play this game if I had a chance.

[deathbysatellite]

Grunt Household: Week 1

Much like with the Pleasant household, we start off the Grunt household with one sibling repeatedly antagonizing the other.

Quit being mean, Ripp.

Intercept ended up being the correct choice, and General Buzz earned $20,000 doing so!

Interesting bug that happened: the school bus drove off after dropping off Tank, then a second school bus came by to drop off Ripp. Sitting on the opposite end of the bus isn’t enough to Ripp to avoid his brother. No, he needs to take a whole other bus home.

Both of them wanted to get some gadgets, then Tank decided he wanted to buy some jewelry. I bought a necklace for Ripp and a watch for Tank, but I forgot to put the watch on Tank before he aged up, so it ended up going to Ripp.

Ripp becomes fast friends with Tycho Curious, while Tank introduces himself to Puck Summerdream.

No offense, Tank, but you literally don’t have any friends to invite to a sports party (yet).

General Buzz brought Tristen Nott home with him from work.

And while Tristen busies herself with the fish, we end up with a rare sweet moment between Buzz and Ripp, as Buzz autonomously decides to push his son on the swing set.

Buck wanted some help with his homework, so I had the person with the highest relationship score do that. In this case, it was Ripp.

The tree out front briefly caught fire during a lightning storm.

Once again managed to pick the right choice, and Ripp won $500 in a sweepstake prize.

While hanging out with another coworker, this time Kimberly Cordial, Buzz found his passion for Sports.

Ew, Kimberly, that’s literally rotten.

Poor Buck ended up so tired, he passed out where he was standing in the dirty bathroom.

Ripp snuck out late at night with Ophelia Nigmos.

Somebody left a pile of trash in front of the house, and somebody else had the bright idea to try to squash the resulting roaches, so now Buzz has the flu.

Tank discovered his love of science via the telescope.

Buzz decided to introduce himself to Ophelia in an interesting fashion. Come on, what did Ophelia ever do to you??

Oh, look! Ripp and Tank are getting along for o-

Well, that didn’t last long.

I honestly don’t remember which brother brought home Nawwaf Jordan.

Come one, Tank! Puck gave you a sincere compliment and you rejected it? And now you’ve briefly lost your first friend!

Buzz seems to be getting popular, as he’s now brought home Matthew Picaso home with him. This is getting dangerously close to a party.

And just in time for Tank and Buck’s joint birthday, too!

Tank’s Lifetime Want is to have 20 pet best friends. His first attempt at befriending a pet didn’t go so well, as Scout rejected any interaction from Tank other than being fed a treat.

Buzz has much better luck making friends, as he pretty quickly ended up networking with Marylena Hamilton. I told you he was getting popular!

Well, damn! I did not expect that!

How come Scout is nice to you??

Randy London became another victim of Unsavory Charlaton.

Buzz decided to congratulate Tank for...not going to college. Y’know, that actually seems in-character for him.

Tank decided to break from the family’s long military tradition, and join the Athletic career instead.

Buck’s been wanting to get a kitten for a while, so I finally got him one as a birthday present. Meet Bonkers!

Meanwhile, Ripp brought Meadow Thayer home with him from work.

The weekend finally came, so I sent the family on a trip to Bluewater Village.

This is mostly for the purpose of getting them some clothes, now that Tank and Buck have aged up. If clothes shopping didn’t take so long, I would have had them do something afterwards.

Ripp met Ivy Copur, and most of his Wants rolled to be about her. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem very interested in him.

Tank took quite a liking to little Bonkers, quickly developing a friendship. Something I’ve noticed with Tank, is that he builds relationship score with other Sims very quickly. They’re often at about a 75-85 with him, before he’s even at a 50 with them.

Being the only person he has chemistry with, Ripp asked Meadow out on a date.

It went well enough for him to score his first kiss!

Uh-oh! Mrs. Crumplebottom’s here, which means things could go hilariously wrong, very quickly.

Luckily for the two of them, Mrs. C was too busy lecturing people for wearing their swimwear in public (at a public pool), so Ripp ended up having a dream date.

Tank managed to get promoted pretty quickly.

Rare Want? I’ve never seen it at least.

Ripp and Meadow hung out again the next day (along with Catherine Viejo, who tagged along with Meadow).

Despite having just bought clothes the day before, Buck decided he wanted to go clothes shopping again.

I gave Buck Popularity as his primary Aspiration, but Grilled Cheese as his secondary. He rolls Grilled Cheese Wants far more than Popularity Wants, and the constantly rerolling want to gain a cooking skill point has earned him enough enthusiasm in Cuisine to get a magazine subscription.

Tank, on the other hand, has Fortune as a secondary Aspiration, and he’s one of those shopaholic Fortune Sims. He’s constantly rolling Wants to buy really expensive stuff, like this $500 statue, or what I’m pretty sure is the most expensive stereo in the game. Well, something for him to hold onto for when he gets his own place.

Tank rolled Wants to invite someone over, become best friends with Puck, and play catch (another rare Want?), so I’m hitting three birds with one stone.

Thanks to Meadow, Ripp got promoted to the top of the Slacker Career, and became an overachiever!

Having neglected his homework all weekend, Ripp spent Monday morning rushing to get it done before school. I try to do Wants based gameplay, but since teens don’t typically roll Wants to do their homework unlike children and young adults (I actually have yet to see that Want appear for teens), I have them do their homework if they roll a Want that requires having good grades, like getting into private school, or getting a part-time job, or going to college. Ripp had been rolling the “Go to College” Want quite a bit.

This creates another similarity to my playthrough of the Pleasant household. In both cases, the teen that’s supoosed to be lazier ends up doing really well in school due to an abundance of “Go to College” Wants.

And we end the week with Tank leaving the nest to find his own place.

Bonus: Tank’s new home.

[ajaysims]

replies and answers to unasked questions

Replies under the cut along with some other random bits I’m gonna lump into this post about Sanctuary and Strangetown and stuff.

@didilysims - Thanks! I’ve been playing since April and so far haven’t come across many glitches - tbh I think the mac version was so glitchy and badly ported that I’m now like ‘omg this is running so well!’ TOUCH WOOD !!!

@crystaldollhouse - Thank you. Generally I’m pretty unimaginative with names, and use the same ones over and over haha. I’ve been trying to ‘match’ the baby names to the families though and Valeria kinds fitted in my head at least xD

I tend to go overkill with a colour theme haha

@twofee, @dramallamadingdang, @simper-fi. @jackssims -  Thanks folks. I’m still feeling pretty shitty, mainly because November is normally a really busy month for me and I’m having to miss a ton of important stuff.

Yesss! It ended up looking so romantic! Unlike their fountain-side date which Ripp photobombed. xD

Sanctuary

So... basically what happened is I started playing a PC version on an old vista laptop I borrowed. Simultaneously my mac started playing up. Took my mac to the repair shop and they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it (their answer was basically ‘it’s old’). I knew I needed a new computer, but I couldn’t afford another mac and as I’m using windows for work now and these days most of the leading design programs are available on PC, it made sense to get a windows laptop so I can use the same programs for both. Soooo... I ordered myself a nice shiny new laptop, and 2 days later, while still waiting, my mac died completely (RIP Eve, you served me for 7 wonderful years and will be missed <3). I did have back-ups of everything but it was all mac-formatted.

Now I probably could find a way to extract it all and convert and update all the things... but honestly it’s too much work for it to maybe not work out anyway. So effectively, Sanctuary is gone. I’m undecided if I will recreate it or start some other challenge (honestly I think my BaCCs are cursed, this is the 4th one I think that failed xDD I didn’t even get onto 3rd gen!)

Strangetown (Odd Things)

I’m enjoying playing Strangetown. Ok, there’s a small part of me that misses trees and grass (of all things haha) and is tempted to expand it into Veronaville or Pleasantview, but last time I tried that, I got overwhelmed by the amount of sims and stopped playing it. So for now I’m going to continue with Strangetown/La Fiesta Tech, probably add a Roaring Heights style downtown and maaaayybe add a shopping district or holiday hood for a change of scenery, but we’ll see.

I’ve gone through and tagged all the posts from this time around with ‘Odd Things’ so if you’re interested in reading back without getting confused from previous times I’ve played Strangetown, you can look at that tag.

I think that’s it for now. props if you read all this rambling haha