Death and Disaster: Part II

Hey, gang...welcome back to our unusually morbid and disastrous series of posts here at MonkeeSims! For the past couple entries, we've been following the deterioration of the Jackson family, and things got pretty bad last time. I think the worst of it was probably when Parrot Jackson died, and the family left him hanging upside down on his perch so he would always be remembered. Well, it gets worse.

The only one who hasn't really suffered as a result of the Jackson family dysfunction is Chester, though he has gotten the short end of the stick attention wise. When we rejoin the family, we find him preparing to engage the evil El Bandito, who apparently escaped his enclosure at Clint Cartwright's place to invade the Jackson's property.

Chester: "You feel lucky, punk? Well...do ya'?"

I laughed as the pair had it out in a vicious free for all, and I snapped a lot of pics of the battle, but I couldn't justify having a series of dumb "Chester vs. El Bandito" shots for which I wouldn't have been able to come up with original captions anyway. Instead, I just kept one of Chester kicking dust on El Bandito after the fight was over, which also made me laugh. Chester didn't seem quite so amused.

Chester: "Next time I'm gonna' bury you, fool!"

Back in the house, Leon was playing with the chemistry set, mixing up some of that nasty green potion that Kevin Wilson seemed to hate so much. Come to think of it, I never actually saw Steve mix the green potion that appeared in that post, so maybe it was Leon's doing. Whatever the case, he was mixing up another batch of it for reasons unknown. If you want to assume the worst of Leon, you might think he was...no...I don't want to go there. It's just too devious.

Leon: "I'd sure hate it if Steve drank this potion and forgot about Doris for a while..."

Well, believe it or not, Steve did wander into the rec room and notice the potion sitting and the table, and sure enough, he chugged it right down. You would think that with all the time Steve spends with the chemistry set, he would learn to recognize the good potions from the bad, but you'd be wrong if did think so. The results were pretty much what you'd expect, and Steve became grouchier and crankier than ever.

Steve: "What the...suddenly, I feel grouchier and crankier than ever...!"

In his current bad mood, Steve seemed to be having a hard time figuring out which need to address first. He kept complaining about stuff, and I kept ignoring him, because hey...that's what I have "free will" turned on for. He did manage to figure out how to go to the bathroom just in time to avoid peeing the floor, but that was about it. After that, he stood in the kitchen and complained about being hungry, but Doris was hogging the fridge, so there was no relief to be found there.

Steve: "What's a guy got to do to get a friggin' burger around here?"

Steve headed out back to the barbecue he'd purchased with the money from the TV the genie had given him. He started grilling up some burgers, but he managed to overlook two important things. The first is that he has absolutely no cooking skills. The second is that the barbecue was situated right next to the train set the genie had given Leon way back when. When those two factors were combined, the results were disastrous...especially for the really tiny people living in the train set!

Steve: "Looks like I got the burgers off there just in time!"

Well, before Steve could even sit down to eat his chow, the fire spread from the train set to the barbecue grill. Steve wasn't about to let the one thing in the house that was truly his go up in smoke, and so he made a brave (or foolish) effort to extinguish the flames surrounding the grill. It was a nice try, but all he really managed to do was catch himself on fire as well. Meanwhile, "Moon Dawg" stood amidst the flames, apparently oblivious to the danger all around him.

Kareem: "Hey, mon...you need a little help there...?"

Doris was making a valiant attempt at putting out the fire on the grill, and it seemed to be working. At this point, someone thought to call the fire department, which was a bit overdue, but who am I to judge? As determined as she was to save the barbecue grill, Doris managed to totally forget (or not notice in the first place) that Steve was in peril, and by then, it was too late. Steve was little more than a flaming ball sitting in front of the barbecue. It's lucky for him I have the expansions now, or he'd have been nothing but an urn a long time ago.

Doris: "Hey, Steve...I saved the barbecue grill! Steve...?"

It wasn't long before the grim reaper showed up on the property, coming to claim what was left of Steve. Chester was playing around with some other dog who had wandered into the yard, and gave no notice to the mysterious skeletal figure. He chases the paper girl and barks at friendly visitors, but doesn't give a darn about a creepy hooded skeleton walking around on the property. Now there's a well trained dog for you...

Reaper: "Just look at this house...I'll be doing this guy a favor..."

For a moment, it looked like the reaper would be taking Steve without a fight. Seeing as how he's been at odds with most of his house mates lately, it seemed like having Steve out of the picture would solve a lot of problems. However, at the last minute, Doris decided she had to do something, and rushed in to plead for Steve's life. Something about seeing Steve reduced to a pathetic smoldering heap must have caused something inside her to snap, and she realized she couldn't be without him.

Doris: "Please don't take Steve! Take these burgers instead!"

After all that's happened, here at the end, perhaps the love between Doris and Steve still has a chance, assuming the reaper doesn't take Steve. First Parrot Jackson, and now this! Will the reaper decide to spare Steve's life? Will anyone besides Doris care if he doesn't? Will the Jacksons lose the hot tub they can barely afford to replace? Will things get worse from here, or finally start getting better? Well, answers to all of those questions will just have to wait until our next installment, "Death and Disaster: Part III". Don't miss it!