Jul 12
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Jenny Smith and Lyla Grunt [:
I'm doing extensive research (kinda exaggerating tbh) on Strangetown by taking notes of all the personality/personal stuff of each premade in vanilla Strangetown. I have many thoughts that I'm probably going to turn into posts later, but I wanted to talk a bit about the Smith family, specifically Johnny's and Jill's relationship.
When I start the game, Johnny has a 20/20 relationship towards Jill, and a 45/45 towards both his parents. On the other hand, Jill has a 48/20 towards Johnny, which is similar to her daily relationship towards her parents (44/35 jenny and 45/35 pt9). That is a big difference. The only other canon interaction I could find is the Smith's thumbnail, in which Johnny is giving Jill a noogie. I'm not sure if this is scripted behavior or only happens in my game, but starting the game Jill tries to hug Johnny and he rejects the interaction.
Now, what does this mean? Maybe nothing. But I found that answer boring. One interpretation is simply that they are not that close because Johnny is quite a bit older than Jill. It's normal that siblings with a large age gap to be kinda distant, specially if Johnny is a teen who might see Jill as annoying while Jill may idolizes Johnny because he's her big brother.
Another interpretation that can complement the first one is that there might be a bit of jealousy going on. It's stated in the family bio that one of the central themes of the family is Johnny's social life and whether he will fit in or not. Johnny is clearly half alien, but Jill isn't. I wonder if Johnny might be a bit jealous of Jill. She can hide her ancestry, but he can't.
Another layer of the jealousy might be Jenny. We know by her bio that she wishes she had more time for her family, and she has a want to quit her job at the beginning of the game. Checking the family memories, Jenny was already working when Johnny was born, and she didn't teach him any skills. But she taught Jill how to walk. It seems to me that Jenny might be trying to compensate that she wasn't as present as she wanted in Johnny's childhood. She has 2 wants and 1 fear revolving around Johnny at the start of the game (Johnny grows well, hug Johnny, Johnny has a lousy party). And she might want to quit her job so she can focus on Jill (and the rest of her family). Maybe Johnny (even though he clearly doesn't seem to resent Jenny) can see that she's trying to be more present now, and wishes he could have his mom be more present as Jill is.
This is not to say that Johnny hates Jill or that Jenny is a bad mom. I think Johnny loves Jill and wishes her the best, but he might be a bit hurt that she has a more present mom and no clear alien traits. And Jenny is a wonderful mom doing her best to balance her career and family life. The Smith's still are the most wholesome family in Strangetown, but I think they're not as perfect as they appear at first sight (no family is perfect).
Smith, Day 19, Part 5
Pledging Gamma House didn't take long - her relationship with River is obviously already high enough, and it only took one high five to win over Woody too.
She's looking very grown up, all of a sudden!
Smith, Day 19, Part 4
And Jill's all grown up!
Smith, Day 19, Part 3
I don't know why PT's chosen to sit at the table to study...
The back porch gets plenty of use, especially since I widened it when widening Johnny's room.
It didn't take Jill long to hone in on her boyfriend and spend the rest of the party interacting with him.
Johnny repaired the stereo for them so they could dance. I turned it off soon after the want was filled, so the cops didn't show up.
The pizza PT#9 made earlier had all gone by this point, so Johnny grilled some sausages.
After the guests left, Jill had dinner with her parents and got some life advice.
Time for Jill's off-to-college party!
Smith, Day 19, Part 2
Ophelia: You must have enough of those to paper a room by now?
Johnny: *laughs* Nearly, maybe.
Ophelia: Straight back to yours? Or shall we get lunch first?
Johnny: Oh, I daresay we could do with some fuel.
That's not what Johnny had in mind!
That's better!
And home to woohoo!
Smith, Day 19, Part 1
Johnny found time to read to his little sister before she went off to school. He missed a big chunk of the twins' early life whilst he was at college, but he's home now and very into big-brothering.
PT#9 had a leisurely morning, making omelettes
Sigh.
Johnny: ... so would you mind if Ophelia and I got our own place after she's done with her military service?
PT#9: I won't deny it's nice having you around... but you young'uns have got to forge your own paths. Do what makes you happy, son.
At the Smith household, Johnny had the day off work, so he had a leisurely breakfast with his dad, and then called Ophelia for a date after she got off work.