Smooth Move, Leon

Well, hello again, everybody, and welcome back. I'm not feeling terribly chatty today (on a personal level, anyway), even after having a pretty good Easter and three day weekend. Depending on how much anyone looks forward to hearing me ramble on about myself, I guess that could be either good or bad. However you look at it, we'll just get straight to the good stuff for now...

Well, if you remember our last post at all, you'll recall that Leon Hartman was behaving in a manner not conducive to the survival of he and Rinoa's relationship. Fed up with Rinoa's short temper and less than supportive attitude toward his laziness, Leon had gone downtown in need of a break from her nagging, and wound up at Schroeder's Jam Land. There, he met the young, nubile Katrina Wilson, and he proceeded to "make time" with her (I'm not sure anybody but my dad uses that terminology anymore, but I could be wrong). After some PDA and a little smooching at Schroeder's, Leon and Katrina parted ways. Leon could have decided to just forget about Katrina and try to fix what was broken between he and Rinoa, but that wouldn't have been Leon. He followed his less admirable instincts instead, and tracked down Katrina at her place of work, Andrews Radio Shock.


Katrina: "Sure I remember you from yesterday, Larry..."
At this point, Katrina was still unaware of the fact that Leon was already involved with someone, and just figured he was a nice guy who was interested enough in her to pay a follow up visit (never mind the fact that she hadn't told him where she worked, and the fact that he was able to figure it out so quickly is a little creepy). Leon, on the other hand, was treading on dangerous turf, and while Rinoa paid little attention to what Leon did during the day while she was off trying to support them, it wouldn't be long before Rinoa figured out Leon was being unfaithful if he kept up the obvious public displays of interest in Katrina. Leon's no genius, but even he was smart enough to recognize the potential dangers in what he was doing. He decided rather than take the risk of someone seeing he and Katrina together in public and reporting it to Rinoa, he'd simply bring Katrina home instead…cause THAT's a lot smarter!


Leon: "I know Rinoa could break me in half, but it's so hard to care!"
Actually, while bringing Katrina home does sound like an incredibly stupid idea, thanks to the reliable nature of sim work schedules, and the fact that they never come home early from work, coupled with the fact that the sim world is exempt for tell-tale things like lipstick on coffee cups or the scent of another woman's perfume lingering in the air, there was zero chance that Rinoa would find out about the relationship if she didn't witness it first hand. That was the original plan, anyway. But wait…there's a twist to all this! See, before last post, we hadn't covered Leon and Rinoa for quite some time, so these events actually took place a while ago. Back before Katrina was even pregnant. As a matter of fact, these events have a lot to do with WHY Katrina was pregnant. When viewed in that light, things suddenly start to make a little more sense now, don't they?


Yep…there's definitely a resemblance...
Those of you who figured it out earlier can pat yourselves on the back. Seth Wilson is none other than the secret love-child of Leon Hartman and Katrina Wilson. Of course, Seth didn't come along right away. Leon decided that however poorly he felt Rinoa treated him, there had been something between them at one point or another, and she was a great household provider. It would be stupid to throw all of that away for someone he met during happy hour at Jam Land, no matter how good the chemistry between them had been. Leon started to feel a little guilty (that's a first) about his unfaithful behavior, and began manifesting this guilt in extremely suspicious ways, like cleaning around the house and gardening.


Rinoa: "I knew he'd been hoing around behind my back!"
Well, Leon is no Mensa candidate, and Rinoa didn't get so far in her military career by being stupid. Leon's odd behavior just screamed of him being guilty of something, and given his single minded interest in romance, the possible offenses he may have committed were narrowed down significantly in Rinoa's mind. Plus, she knew Leon could only go so long without getting a little lovin', and he sure wasn't getting it from her. Rinoa may not have actually witnessed Leon and Katrina together, but she knew…somehow she knew because shortly after Katrina turned preggers, Rinoa became "furious" with Leon and Katrina. If there was any question Leon was headed for the boiling water before, Rinoa decided to clear away any doubts by beating the crap out of him…


Leon: "Ouch! Where's Alfred Witte when I need him?"
Now, at first glance, it's easy to understand why Rinoa would be irritated with Leon (assuming she knew the extent of his misbehavior, and the fact that he got Katrina pregnant). However, when you consider the fact that she totally acted like "little miss slutty-slut" when she was dating Tommy Wolf and messed around with other guys not once but three different times, her behavior kind of reeks of hypocrisy. Maybe she's had time to get some perspective since those days, or maybe her time in the military has taught her a few things about ethical behavior. Or maybe she's just a big, fat hypocrite, who thinks it's okay for her to do whatever she pleases, but heaven forbid anyone ever do her wrong. Hard to say with Rinoa.


Rinoa: "See if I ever plead with the reaper for you again, dirt bag!"
If Leon was getting the cold shoulder from Rinoa before, it suddenly seemed like things were about to get a whole lot chillier. He continued living in the house with her, but when she was home from work, Leon's life revolved around avoiding being poked, slapped, insulted, or beaten up by Rinoa. While locking the door to his room so only he could enter or leave provided him a little bit of sanctuary, it certainly wasn't a very fun way to live. After Seth was finally born, and the Wilson family thoroughly wore themselves out trying to figure out who Seth's father was, Leon eventually decided he had nothing to lose by paying a visit to the son he'd never met. It beat the alternatives back home.


Leon: "He definitely has my boyish good looks..."
Though it had been some time since Leon and Katrina had last been around each other, Katrina still had a crush on Leon, so she wasn't opposed to having him around. Leon wasn't opposed to being around people who didn't beat him up, so incidentally it worked out pretty well for him too. The Wilson family was used to having all kinds of traffic, relatives or otherwise, so Leon's presence was hardly an inconvenience. Since Leon was nowhere to be found when Seth was originally born or during his time as an actual baby, he didn't have the advantage of the automatic relationship boost that's usually granted between parents and children. However, he and Seth got along pretty well, and becoming best of friends was an easy process (which can't be said of in regards to all of Leon's attempted friendships).


Leon: "I'm still not sure why you're dressed like a convict..."
Amazingly enough, the whole fatherhood thing seemed to agree with Leon pretty well. For all the things he's not interested in, not good at, or too lazy to do, it was a pretty unexpected and refreshing change. Even without any "outside intervention" (i.e.. controlling by yours truly), Leon spent a great deal of time with Seth, trying to teach him everything he knew (minus any education regarding women, which is the topic he thought he knew the most about). Well, as little as he actually knows about girls, Leon had the common sense to realize two things: his chances with Rinoa were pretty much shot, and he was in love with Katrina. Thus, when Katrina proposed that Leon move in, he accepted without hesitation, and without bothering to collect his meager belongings from he and Rinoa's house. Unexpectedly, Leon fired back with a little proposal of his own…


Katrina: "I just hope we actually get married some day, unlike Antonio and Aimee!"
Obviously Katrina accepted the engagement proposal (thus the rings over their heads), but unlike some couples in the neighborhood who've proceeded straight to the next step with an "insta-marriage", Leon wasn't in any rush to make that happen. Probably a good thing, because Aimee would have been really, really jealous. She was still waiting for Antonio to finally set a time, place, or date for their wedding, but he'd yet to show any signs that he intended to do so any time soon. Meanwhile, Aimee was spending a lot of her time playing with Seth and wondering when she would have some kids of her own. Poor Aimee. Antonio seemed oblivious to her anxiousness. He was too busy playing poker and talking to visitors about sum wrestling.


Aimee: "If I'd stayed a plant sim, I could have had kids on my own a long time ago!"
Well, Aimee and Antonio talked things over a little bit, and with Leon now living in the house with them, Katrina, Mia Kay, and Seth, things were starting to get just a little crowded. Two solutions presented themselves. The first would be to kick out everyone but themselves and have them find another place to stay, but considering the crappy wages everyone was making, that seemed a little harsh. The alternative was for Aimee and Antonio to move out and find a place big enough for the two of them, which seemed a little more practical. Thus, without bothering to take the meager furnishings, Aimee and Antonio said goodbye, called up a taxi, and moved out of the house they hated so badly when they first moved in. Incidentally, I still don't like it much.


Mia Kay: "Wait! Who's going to cook for us now?"
Having Aimee and Antonio gone was a big change for the household. While Antonio was much older than Katrina and Mia Kay, and especially Aimee, it was always Aimee who really directed and kept the household affairs in order (not affairs like the kind Leon and Katrina had, the other kind). She'd made the most money, was a master chef, and was the only one really prone to picking up after herself when needed. Katrina and Mia Kay are kind of slackers, and we all know where Leon's tendencies lie. Suddenly, the house was occupied only by people who didn't cook or clean, which doesn't sound like such a great arrangement. Their hearts were in the right place, though, and they made an effort to make sure that at least Seth was well cared for and not surrounded by piles of filth.


Mia Kay: "I could be watching the cooking channel, but then I'd miss Conan O'Brien!"
Well, a lot had happened in a short time, and to say that both Katrina and Leon's lives had changed radically would be an understatement. Just a short while ago, Leon thought he was destined to be with Rinoa, now he's engaged and has a kid with Katrina. Katrina has a baby, her fiancé living with her, and her long time room mates Aimee and Antonio are no longer around. Katrina and Leon both did their best to keep up with Seth, though it seemed at times that it took both of them and then some (i.e.. Mia Kay) to keep him happy and meet all his needs. The good thing about having Leon around was that he had no job to begin with, and didn't bother getting one after moving in with the Wilsons, so nobody had to take off work to watch Seth.


Come on guys…try to look happy!
All joking aside, Leon and Katrina seemed to be a much better match for each other than Leon and Rinoa had been. Neither one of them ever seems to take anything too seriously, aside from looking after Seth. Leon had finally found someone who liked him for who he was (whatever that may be), and Katrina was finally free of the rigors of dating and looking for love and the hazards that came with it (like getting into fights on blind dates). Sounds like it worked out pretty well for both of them, don't you think? Well, speaking of dating and looking for love, most of the folks living at Leon Jackson's "Pimp Harbor" residence have found love and freed themselves from the dating cycle, but not the recently arrived Steve Johnston. Join us next time here as we drop and witness his attempts to find that elusive, crazy little thing called "love". See you later!