Fanon:General Tank Grunt

General Tank Grunt is a well known resident in my player stories in The Sims 2 in Strangetown. He is the son to General Buzz and the late Lyla Grunt, the adopted son to Erin Beaker, the older brother to Ripp and Buck, the older half-brother of Rusty Grunt and the cousin to Xanton Beaker. Tank is 5 days from being an Adult. When he becomes an adult he will be voiced by David Boat.

Tank made his first appearance in my player stories at the local shopping center where he met Ajay Loner. As I became more familiar with the Strangetown characters, it became clear to me that Tank was more or less, a younger version of his father - an aggressive Sim who was prejudiced by scientists and Aliens. He was holding a brutal feud with Johnny Smith, the alien son to Pollination Technician Nine and Jenny Smith at the start of the game. This was a better example of an ruthless feud than the one sided grudge Buzz had towards PT9.

Tank's father took a military approach to raising him and his younger brother Ripp. There was absolutely nothing Tank wanted to do more than to become a General just like his father, but deep down he actually wanted to be more than that. Unlike Tank, Ripp couldn't have been less interested and as a result, he absolutely refused to train with his older brother, despite the risk of being lectured by Buzz or being threatened by Tank. Tank and his father usually overlooked Tank's youngest brother Buck. But like Ripp, Buck was not happy with the way their father would ineffectively try and force Ripp into joining his older brother in the Military Career. They were also fed up with the way their father treated the other Strangetown residents.

Tank's younger brothers called upon various neighbours to help them overthrow their father and Tank and make them see sense. They were soon backed up by 11 of their fellow neighbours. Ripp and Buck actually had tried to persuade Tank into siding with them but he flatly refused. Tank didn't bother to alert his father on what Ripp and Buck were doing, probably because he didn't want to show signs of weakness, or he underestimated his brothers' success at finding neighbours to aid them. So it came as a unpleasant surprise when Tank and Buzz saw Ripp, Buck and the 11 neighbours who'd agreed to help them, arrive at their house. Initially they minimized their signs of weakness - if any - and seemed deaf to any of the domineering threats that Vidcund, Loki and Chloe bombarded them with. But they were ultimately brought to their senses when PT9 persuaded Vidcund, Loki and Chloe to stop making threats and told the others to just let Buzz and Tank's respective Reputations collapse.

Being labelled as outcasts was the last thing that Tank and his father wanted as they both had the Popularity Aspiration. The still live military oriented lives but they have become much nicer and respectful towards their relatives Ripp and Buck and their Strangetown residents. Tank set aside his grudge against scientists and aliens. To show there were no hard feelings Tank offered to keep in touch with Johnny which eventually resulted in them becoming best friends. Tank has got a part time job in the Military career with the promise of an instant promotion to General when he becomes an Adult. He'd already recently developed all the skills needed for the top rank. They say General Tank had inherited the old military brilliance from his father at birth and is guaranteed to become just as good, if not a better general than his father. Buzz would gladly have coached his son to developing his skills, but Tank was sure he was more than capable of training himself.

Even though Tank used to be the last Sim to accept Aliens or alien hybrids, he and his brothers are all sexually attracted to Jill. Of course, Tank may not have remembered Jill from their last encounter before he reformed. Or he may have been unaware, or have become more accepting of Jill's alien heritage. Tank and Ripp are currently dating townies Tiffany Riley and Kendal Lawson respectively. However it would be better to have had Tank date Kendal, and Ripp, Tiffany, as they would have much more in common. Unfortunately Tank has started a bitter grudge on Ophelia Specter whom he falsely accuses for having had a part to play in his mother's death which Ophelia's late auntie Olive Specter was solely responsible for.

Trivia

 * I decided to remove Tank's face paint mainly because it is relatively uncommon to have people go round wearing face paint every day.
 * The headshot displayed above is sharper and less polygonal than the default.
 * The default Buzz seems to have quite a strict parental relation with his sons, while in my player stories, he and Tank seem like brothers or friends.
 * The fact that Tank trained himself contradicts with a picture I took earlier showing him being trained by his father.
 * Buzz's character became inactive after the first half of my Grunt story, so that I could focus the other half largely on Tank.
 * In my player stories Tank seems even more like his father than ever before, as evidence from his full interest in the army and showing no signs that he ever wanted a different lifestyle.