In the Dawg House

I hope you all enjoyed the extremely long 100th Monkeesims post. A little on the cheesy side? Perhaps, but that was sort of the goal there. It was fun to put together, and sort of reminded me of our final post from Sims 1 with the Stu Miller band, as in I had to prepare a bunch of things beforehand before setting my sims in motion. Glad to be back to entries chronicling totally random behavior again (well, almost random).

Those of you who are Jackson fans (Leon, not Michael) will remember that back in the day, when he lived in his hideously ugly "pimp pad", he had two buddies who lived with him, Steve, and "Moon Dawg". Well, since the final post featuring him, Steve parted ways with Leon and took his wife, Doris, with him. Steve and Leon started drifting apart after Leon had a genie-induced romance with Steve's wife, and their friendship never really recovered. As for Kareem "Moon Dawg" Marley (formerly Jackson, but he needed a last name of his own now since he and Leon aren't related), nobody knows what became of him. One day, he was out on the front lawn making gnomes, the next, he and his gnomes were gone, and Leon hasn't heard from him in years.

Fast forward to the future. Leon is still living on his boat at "Pimp Harbor", and still involved with his former maid, Debbie Kearney, who recently saved Leon's life, solidifying their relationship more than ever. As of late, Leon has begun to realize that he can't be a ladies man forever, and for every woman he dates then dumps, his prospects for future romance grow worse. Leon was pondering making something more of he and Debbie's relationship, when seemingly out of nowhere, his old pal, Moon Dawg showed up. Leon was jazzed to say the least, and the two rapidly caught up on events since they last parted ways. Poor Debbie just looks really, really confused.


Moon Dawg: "Yeah, mon, I just got out of the joint…"
See, Moon Dawg used to support Leon and the family by selling gnomes he made at his gnome stand on the front lawn for $100 each. A clever plan to be sure, but when Uncle Sim came for its share of the money Moon Dawg had been raking in with his unlicensed business venture, he had none to give, and he was quickly carted off to jail, and the gnomes were sold to partly pay off his debt. Moon Dawg used his one phone call to order a pizza, not realizing he wouldn't get another right away, and by the time he had a chance to call Leon again, Leon had moved out of the old home and was unreachable. Thankfully, Moon Dawg was able to use his unerring "house guest" radar to track Leon down after being released from prison. Leon and Moon Dawg decided to celebrate their reunion by heading to "Da Tiki Hut" coffee bar. Oh, and Debbie was allowed to tag along too.


"Da best place to go for tiki and Joe…"
Am…I mean Captain Hero made a visit to "Da Tiki Hut" in our last post, but I didn't show much of it then, and for good reason. It's just too hip, and it would have distracted from the story of the last post (okay, maybe not…lol). It does have some seriously special atmosphere, though, if you can appreciate the central hot tubs, twin bars, colorful lights, coffee stations, indoor chaises, and tiki décor. Oh, and did I mention that the floor is made of sand? That means folks get into water balloon fights without even having to go outside. Of course, if you prefer a nice, quiet cup of coffee in a relaxing atmosphere, "Da Tiki Hut" is probably not for you (or sim likenesses of you).


The only place in town you can get more sand in your shoes indoors than outdoors.
Moon Dawg had one primary goal after having found Leon again, and that was to make friends. As in the days of old, Moon Dawg is still all about peace and love and friendship, and in order to have friendships, you have to meet people (wow, if that isn't the most profound observation I've ever made here, I don't know what is). Chatting in a hot tub is a great way for folks to interact, since most "tubbers" tend to stay put hour after hour with nothing to do but chat with each other. Moon Dawg was no stranger to this concept, having had plenty of experience with Leon's heart-shaped hot tub at his old house, and started chatting with people right away. Granted, one of the first people was Rinoa Hartman, discussing her favorite hobby…


Rinoa: "I just love kissing guys…it doesn't matter who!"
As an aside, someone asked me recently something about Leon and Rinoa having something to do with one of the Final Fantasy games, and I'm afraid you're mistaken. Leon Jackson has never appeared in Final Fantasy, and probably doesn't even know what it is (I dread to know what his interpretation of that title would be). Leon may not know anything about video games, but he does know a lot about love (or his interpretation of it) and ladies and hot tubs. In a flash, he and Debbie had joined Moon Dawg and Rinoa, and picked up the discussion right where they'd left off.


Leon: "I just love kissing the ladies…oops...I mean, I love kissing Debbie..."
At some juncture, despite her not being terribly forthcoming about it, Moon Dawg realized Rinoa was already in a serious relationship, and decided to take a look around for slightly more available women. See, Moon Dawg is about the peace and love, and part of being peaceful and loving involves not messing around with other guys' girls. How he and Leon ever became friends I'll never know. He took a look around, and spotted Charlie Stevens (that's a girl, not a guy, you sicko). He probably noticed her because of her subtle natural beauty, or maybe it was because of the intense, angelic glowing aura around her. Hard to say.


Moon Dawg: "Woo wee…I found me an angel, mon!"
Either all the talk about smooching had taken it's toll on Leon, or he just really wanted to prove his point about how he loved kissing Debbie, but it wasn't long before he'd jumped out of the hot tub and planted a big smackaroo on her. Tiki and indoor sand does have that affect (you'll just have to take my word for it if you have no experience of your own). It's good that Leon is spending so much time showering Debbie with attention. If you can recall that far back, he had issues with neglecting his previous girlfriend, Brooke, and when it came time to discuss their feelings for one another, he didn't really have any. Maybe things will be different for he and Debbie (remember, I'm technically living in the future, so I already know what happens with who far, far off…mwahah…)


Debbie: "Oh, Leon…I just love your gratuitous public displays of affection!"
Honestly, it's great that Leon is able to stay focused and committed to just one woman for the moment, but there are still consequences to be dealt with for his past actions. Consequences that, if he was smart, probably could still have been avoided (I didn't see them coming either). See, despite all her talk about kissing, Rinoa never mentioned anything about having kissed Leon, but apparently they had a romantic relationship at one point that I forgot about (you might think that his picture up on Rinoa's wall would have reminded me). Rinoa promptly jumped out of the hot tub and smacked Leon silly for kissing Debbie.


Rinoa: "You swine! How dare you kiss your girlfriend!"
Oops. That was scary. However, Leon is nothing if not an unlucky bastard, and that was only the first half of the abuse he was destined for. See, in his efforts to fulfill his romantic aspirations when he first came to the new neighborhood, Leon also had a relationship with a girl named Chloe something-or-other who was just one of the random local sims. The two haven't been in contact in ages, and it was never meant to be anything serious, but that's not the way she saw it apparently. Yes, Chloe was at the coffee bar, and waiting her turn in line to abuse Leon.


Chloe: "Let's see if you feel like kissing anyone now, pig!"
Well, the good news is that no more jilted former romantic interests revealed themselves, and the ones who had got mad and left. Leon was able to once again focus his attentions on Debbie. And if you thought getting slapped silly by two different people back to back would have any effect on his interest in smooching, you'd be wrong. Leon's been slapped more than any sim I've ever known, and probably has no sensation left in his face anyway. Leon and Debbie got in the hot tub this time before any further romantic interaction, presumably to make themselves a little less conspicuous. Do note the woman sitting right there in the hot tub with them, though, and the disturbing figure of Ali Thunder watching them from outside the hot tub. Classy.


Leon: "Why don't you guys take a picture? It will last longer..."
Oh, don't worry, Leon…I did. You might have seen the picture of Ali Thunder at the Wilson trailer a couple of posts ago, and noticed he's not the most ordinary looking fellow. I might also have mentioned that I wasn't the one who created him, that was the work of my younger brother. If you think he's weird looking, though, you haven't seen anything yet. Ali has a roommate named Jimmy Thunder, who has the distinction of having the biggest nose in town. So big, in fact, that it totally eclipses his mouth, and it looks like he eats and drinks with his nose.


Jimmy: "Eat your heart out, Jack Daniels…I am the schnoz king!"
Usually Jimmy and Ali are also accompanied by their green cat, Shartfield, but he was nowhere to be seen this time (thankfully). There was actually a pretty wide range of folks coming and going at "Da Tiki Hut", and most of them made use of the hot tubs, while others just stood around looking bored. Uh, if it's that boring guys, go somewhere else. I know nowhere else in town can boast a floor made of sand, but they can't all be winners. For some patrons, just standing around thinking about other people was enough…like Elmer Fultz and Reeve Madrox are doing below.


Reeve: "It is most disturbing that Justin is more evil than I..!"
I'm being rude here, though…Moon Dawg just returned to the Monkeesim fold, and here I am focusing on the local weirdoes. Well, he really wasn't doing too much at the moment besides chilling (which is what Moon Dawg is all about anyway), and despite having had a nice chat with Charlie Stevens, nothing much really became of their interaction. Mainly, he just sat in the hot tub for most of the visit, and I eventually pulled him out so he wouldn't burst into flames. While Moon Dawg and Leon waited for their little individual thermometers to cool down, they went over to the juke box and made fun of Armando Cox busting a move on the floor (or sand, rather).


Moon Dawg: "I don't know what that is, mon, but it ain't dancing!"
Well, Leon basically just laughed at Armando a lot, and left it at that. Moon Dawg was different, though. While he may have gotten some amusement out of watching the train wreck of a dance, he felt it was his duty to educate a brother in need of some serious "coolification" (try using that word next time you play Scrabble). Armando eventually gave it up, and while Leon went looking for Debbie again, Moon Dawg and Armando had a little heart to heart…or maybe "stomach to face" would be more appropriate…


Moon Dawg: "Real dancing comes from deep inside, mon…like this belch!"
Armando truly appreciated Moon Dawg's heartfelt "words" because they exchanged double plus signs after Moon Dawg belched in his face a couple more times. Weird. Feeling his work was done, Moon Dawg decided to engage in a little indoor water balloon fighting. This always cracks me up, and I'm glad that the bartenders are such good sports about having water balloons splattering near the bar or over by the juke box or any of the other equipment that's either electronic or just plain shouldn't get wet. I guess when you have a sand floor, you've sort of thrown concern for the condition of your furniture out the window, but still…


Moon Dawg: "Ooh...right in the Jimmys, mon!"
After a couple hours of water balloon fighting, Moon Dawg decided he was pretty much tired out for the evening. I think he and Leon had explored most of the points of interest at "Da Tiki Hut" already, and Moon Dawg wanted to make sure he had proper accommodations if he was to be living on Leon's boat (oh, and he wanted to make sure Leon realized he was going to be living there). Leon was more than happy to give Moon Dawg an old recliner to sleep on in the kitchen, and thus, the two were once again united as roommates. Of course, Moon Dawg needed more than just a place to lay his head…he needed room for a couple of his own personal effects as well…


Moon Dawg: "We're home now, boys! It's all good!"
So yes, Moon Dawg is back, and it looks like he's here to stay. Not the most terribly intriguing first night out perhaps, but Leon and Moon Dawg's adventures were just beginning, take it from a guy who knows! What does destiny have in store for the two long lost compadres? What's in store for Debbie, having a third person living on a boat that can barely accommodate two? Will we witness a return of the chaos that was once the Jackson household, after the relative peace that has been Leon's life recently? Maybe…I'm not gonna' tell!

Coming up next, Tommy Wolf has had some serious bad luck in the romance department lately. I don't know about you, but I personally feel bad for the guy. We'll drop in and see how he's coping with a life without Rinoa. Don't miss it!