Granny Jackson Drops In

Well, my wife's birthday was on the 7th of this month, so if you're reading this post, that means I survived it. By survived, I mean that I'm horrible at celebrating holidays, and tend to get stressed out when I try to plan something "big" for the major ones (mainly Valentine's Day, anniversaries, and birthdays). I've got a plan this year, though, so I should be okay...I think (my fingers are crossed though)...

As I more or less gave away in the last post, this post will feature a "surprise" visitor. As I mentioned in the first post about the Jacksons, Leon inherited the house and a decent sum of money from his grandmother. Well, if you thought she was dead, you're wrong. Before she moved, Leon was living with her, and Steve and "Moon Dawg" were haunting the joint constantly. She eventually up and moved to Florida so she could finally get away from them all, leaving Leon with the house and a few thousand dollars to pay the bills for a few months (which he quickly wasted on other stuff like the bubble machine and jukebox).

Well, anyway, Granny decided to pay a visit to Leon and the house to see if he'd made anything of himself yet. Her first stop was the front lawn, where "Moon Dawg" was obliviously chiseling away, still making gnomes to support the family. She didn't seem too terribly impressed, but then again, "Moon Dawg" didn't seem too terribly concerned about her opinion of his work anyway.

Granny: "Back in my day, we had real jobs...none of this gnome making stuff...!"

Leon noticed they had a visitor out front (strange, since visitors are such a common sight around the Jackson place), and went out to see who it was. He was surprised to see it was his Granny, but was relieved to find out she wasn't planning on taking the house back. After all the "work" he's done to it, it would be a shame to have it decorated with normal furniture and wallpaper again.

Leon: "You drove here? Then where's your car?"

Granny's next stop was out back where the hot tub was. Steve was there at the moment, trying to relax (no doubt recovering from his rigorous schedule of doing nothing). He didn't seem to notice Granny standing there watching him...that, or he was trying to ignore her, hoping she would just go away on her own.

Granny: "Grrrarr! I always did love that hunk, Steve!"

Well, Granny revealed that she was conveniently wearing her bikini under her house dress thing, and proceeded to hop into the hot tub. I guess when you live in Florida, you have to be ready to hit the beach, pool, or hot tub at any moment. Steve apparently wasn't looking for company, and he got just as quickly as Granny got in...

Steve: "Er...yeah...I was just leaving!"

Driven from the hot tub in such an unceremonious way, Steve was forced to resort to his other hobby, chemistry. This time, he decided to invent a new flavor of potion, as the other kinds apparently hadn't caused enough trouble for his liking. That Steve...what a glutton for punishment. This time, he mixed up a purple brew. I'm sure most of you know where this is going...

Steve: "I shall call it 'artificially flavored grape drink'..."

Well, Steve's purple brew turned him into a monster, wearing a ripped up undershirt and suspenders (which is weird, because we all know Steve never wears a shirt). The monster was quick to bolt out of the rec room, and didn't even stop to break any of the electronic equipment on the way out. What does that say about the joint when even a demented monster can't stand to be in there?

Monster: "Room...ugly...me...no...like...!"

Actually, the reason monster Steve was so quick to leave the rec room was because he had fixated on the gnomes "Moon Dawg" was working on, and was determined to destroy them. Well, he never got his chance, because Granny was outside beating him to it. Poor "Moon Dawg"...all he wants is to make his gnomes in peace so he can make a buck, and he's got monsters and old ladies determined to ruin ruin his efforts.

Kareem: "Hey...that's gonna' cost you a hundred bucks!"

Monster Steve was still having issues adapting to his new look (and IQ), and just walked around the joint growling and stomping and waving his arms like a little kid throwing a tantrum. I'm not sure what his problem was, but nobody else really seemed to care. He sought out Doris as a last resort, but she was too busy with the parrot to pay him much attention.

Doris: "Steve, I wish you'd quit drinking...I hate it when you get like this!"

Everybody is pretty casual about having a monster around, especially since this is their first experience with the purple potion. It was my first experience too, and I honestly have no idea what the monster was supposed to be doing. He/it just kept going from room to room, throwing fits, and though sources say the monster likes to break stuff, monster Steve didn't even so much as clog a toilet. I guess he only does that when he's in his fully human form.

Monster Steve contemplates changing his clothes...until he remembers what kind of clothes are in Leon's dresser.

Despite Steve's rudeness in transforming into a monster while the family had company over, Granny didn't seem the least bit disturbed by it (except she wasn't able to chase that "hunk Steve" around anymore). The family had dinner in the dining room as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, while Steve threw a fit in the kitchen. Granny got a chance to discuss her views on the direction Leon's life had taken, somewhat to his dismay.

Granny: "Love? Romance? You're wastin' your time, sonny...you need to get a job!"

Granny may have been older than the rest of the gang, but she still knew how to party. After she'd criticized Leon for his romantic pursuits, she headed off to the rec room and took a turn at the bubble machine. This explains a little bit about why Leon is like he is...now maybe she'll guilty about refusing to buy one when she still lived in the house with Leon...though probably not.

Granny: "Man, I gotta' get me one of these babies!!"

Well, despite Granny's lack of admiration for Leon's ongoing pursuit of romance, he decided to give the genie a call, and see what damage could be done to his romantic life. You'd think that since Leon already has Brooke on the hook, and has her fully convinced they have something special, that he'd just give her a call, but he's too much of a pig for that. Well, the genie used his love spell, and it worked properly, but guess who got zapped over to Leon's place?

Brooke: "I love you, Leon, but can't you just use the phone like everyone else?"

Brooke didn't seem to care that the genie could just as easily have zapped anyone else over in response to Leon's wish. No, she went right ahead and started falling all over Leon as if he was the most romantic guy alive, not some swine who just tried to use magic to make any random woman fall in love with him. Maybe she is the perfect woman for Leon after all...

Granny: "Dang kids! They've got no sense of decency these days!"

Granny was starting to get a little tired of hanging out at Leon's pad. Apparently, her interests in what he has to offer extend only as far as the hot tub and the bubble machine. She started making plans to leave, but before she did, she made sure to find Leon. Not so she could tell him goodbye, mind you, but to give him her two cents on the obsessed fan who was wandering around their property.

Granny: "I don't want you hanging out with that young punk out there, Leon!"

Well, that was that. Moments later, Granny Jackson was off on her way back to Florida...on foot, apparently. Or maybe she's walking to the sim bus station. It's hard to say. Whatever the case, she apparently feels more comfortable walking wherever it is she's walking to after dark with no street lights. This is another one of those cases where it's a good thing there are no sim muggers or rabid stray dogs in the game. Ah, sugar coated sim world...

Granny: "That Leon...he's just like his Grandfather...!"

And so, with Steve back to his old self, Brooke and Leon together again, and Granny on her way back to Florida, things more or less return to normal. Don't worry, though...it won't be long before Leon screws things up again and gives everyone something to laugh about at his expense! Next post, we take a break from the Jacksons and drop in on...well, you'll see... :-)