not my idea

June 2082 - Chad and Riley Hathe are 30, Liza is 13, Shaun is 4. (Phoenix McCullough is 42, Fiona is 14, Robbie is 11. Hayden Phoenix is 32.) Last update, February 2079.

*** Part gameplay notes on the Bluewater Animal Shelter ***

(quick note, just to set everybody straight, lol: these names get confusing, I would imagine - I have a Phoenix McCullough, friends with Hayden Phoenix, whose brother is Jackson Phoenix, and whose daughter is dating one of the Jackson boys, lol - half of those are Maxis names, so it couldn't be helped. I don't even know how I'm going to narrate this scene, but I'll try, lol ;) In the narration they'll be called by their first names, Chad, Hayden, and Phoenix, though Chad calls Phoenix "McCullough" in dialogue. Anyway...)

Chad is fully enjoying his work as the owner of this cozy little gaming club. The Gamer's Den is ranked 4 now, and he enjoys the company of his favorite regulars. Funds have been running low lately, which might be because his wife's animal shelter is housing SIX animals right now, and those dogs eat a lot!

Another hundred bucks will help, but unfortunately that means cleaning Hayden out. "I'm done, Hayden says. "You guys ran me dry."

"McCullough, aren't you broke too?" Chad says.

"Not that broke," he says.

So they're hungry, and they want some burgers. Problem is there's nowhere in Bluewater open this time of night. Hayden says, "Can we pick up Piper?"

"Why," Chad says, "So I can tag along on your date?"

"No, it's not a date," he says. "She just might be hungry, you know, she might want a burger."

"Nope, can't do it," Phoenix says. "Brooke would kill me."

"I can't believe Riley lets you out of the house," Hayden says.

"What? Why?"

"How many women have you been with?"

"One!" Chad says. "My wife!"

"One? Oh, I figured maybe you slipped up at least a few times."

"What the hell? Why would you think that?"

"I don't know know, you guys had problems, and I guess you just seem like the type."

"Dude, I'm married and I don't freaking cheat on my wife!"

"So are you serious then?" Chad says to Phoenix. "Are you coming or what?"

"Brooke would be pissed," he says.

Chad says, "For crying out loud, McCullough, grow some damn balls!"

But he means it. She'd kill him DEAD!

***

There's nowhere to get food out in Bluewater at this time of night, so they drive into the city for hamburgers at Midnight Flows. And they do pick up Piper, but what Chad didn't know is that she called up ALL of her mostly single, attractive, young girlfriends.

Chad says, "McCullough was right. Riley would NOT be okay with this! I'm definitely going to die! She's going to kill me dead!"

"She's my cousin," Hayden yells across the table. "It's just a night out with friends, we're just eating hamburgers, don't worry about it!"

Chad feels inclined to close his eyes...

Because Good Lord, have you ever seen Amelia's cleavage??? Bursting out of her TINY excuse for a shirt in all of its plump glory??? It's not a freaking wonder they call them headlights! They're blinding! He's trying, really he is, but he just can't look away!

Just hamburgers, with some beautiful, supple, single young friends. For the record, this was not his idea!

Then there is Riley's brother, Patrick! And he says, "Hey what's up guys? Chad, where's my sister?"

"Oh, I invited her, for sure," Chad lies. "She was feeling a little under the weather, you know?"

So Chad changes the topic and asks about the new baby, which gets Patrick talking for about twenty-five minutes about poopy diapers and acid reflux, but that's about a thousand times better than the wrath of Riley Hathe!!! He just might get out of this alive. He just might.

This dude isn't impressed by Amelia's air guitar, or her cleavage.

Nope, not a date at all ;) Hayden is making Piper blush telling her how pretty she looks. He's glad she was hungry enough for a hamburger.

By the end of the night, and after a few drinks, Chad is feeling a bit better about his ten new beautiful young friends. Hey, Charlotte's married too! See, there's no harm in it!

Jodie musters up the most sincere smile she can for this guy.

But no luck. She says, "Well screw you too!"

Carly is thinking it's not a wonder she can't get a date. She says, "Why don't you try a little sunshine with your smile?"

Jodie says, "You can stuff your damn sunshine up your ass."

***

It's June, school is out for summer, and what else is there to do for a bunch of Bluewater teenagers than to hang out at "the field," throwing rocks into the water? Fiona can drive next summer and then they'll get into all kinds of trouble, but for now, there's really limited amounts of trouble to get into around here.

Liza doesn't think much of Fiona's brief and passionate young love affair. In fact, Liza Hathe doesn't think much of young love at all. Robbie is wondering if maybe she just doesn't like boys?

He says, "Are you gay?"

"What?"

"I wouldn't think any less of you if you were, and you'd totally still be my best friend."

She says, "I'm not!"

Liza says, "Hey, I dare you to go ventrilo-fart on that dude!"

"No way," he says.

Fiona's whirlwind romance with Eli is over, and he's heading out with his family to another state. Fiona sighs as he walks away and says, "I loved him."

"You didn't love him," Liza says. "You only knew him for six weeks."

Fiona says, "What do you know, lesby?"

Liza says, "I'm not freaking gay!"

Robbie says, "So what do you guys want to do?"

"Not this!" Liza says.

Yeah, that bites too. Why do they hang out with Fiona?

But there must be something to do in this God-awful place! They go to the community center next. Fiona says, "Do I look like I play basketball? It's hot enough already. I don't want to get sweaty. I know what we need. Boys."

Liza says, "I thought you were heartbroken."

"Yeah, I am," Fiona says. "That's why I need a new boyfriend."

Robbie and Liza shoot some hoops...

Fiona had to find the nearest mirror. You know, there could be boys here at any minute!

Don't talk to strangers, Robbie! I think this guy is stalking them!

They sit down for some lunch, and Fiona says, "Awww, Robbie's on a date."

"No he's not," Liza says. "Can you hear what they're saying?"

"He's telling her about his failing report card."

"That's not a date," Liza says.

"It might be a bad one," Fiona says.

Fiona finds her next boyfriend (watch out, dude!), and she also thinks some girls should learn to shop at different stores.

Liza is so bored she falls asleep, and Robbie is trying to figure out how to convince his parents to let him get a dog. But then it starts to rain, and Fiona's hair gets frizzy, but it's okay, because she got that dude's phone number and he's going to be her next boyfriend whether he knows it yet or not.

***

What do Riley and Chad talk about during sex? It shouldn't be a surprise that these two aren't big on the whispering of sweet nothings into each others' ears, but how's this for a mood-setter? Chad nags her, "We have to unload some of these animals!" And he means, animals, literally.

They have six at the moment, and it's quite a bit to handle. One of them is their own though, Dexter, whom Riley has had since he was a kitten. It would break her heart to give him away, even if it would make for more room.

They run the shelter from the basement of their home.

(They adopt strays with the teleporter's "add to family," because in real life, you don't have to be friends with an animal to take them into a shelter, lol.)

There are three doggy beds, an outdoor dog house, a kitty condo, and two baths, as well as assorted toys and pet supplies.

There is a minimal amount of training to be done before they're placed in a home. They like to make sure the animals are at least housebroken, and know how to "come here."

Liza is more inclined to help out than Shaun is, but Riley doesn't make either of them help if they don't want to. Gotta let them be kids, you know. So otherwise, she and Chad do all the training and cleaning. They do have a maid come in to help clean in the days.

Luke and Jim come to pick out a dog (the teleporter is used to bring in the Sims planning to adopt animals). They're thinking small since they live in a tiny little townhouse in the city. But Luke didn't expect them to be so expensive! He didn't bring enough money.

Little Elliot Miller falls in love with a friendly and energetic dog named Tiffany. Blake is thinking, Man, do these things bite?

Liza is going to be heartbroken, Tiffany was her favorite. But Riley tells her they can't get too attached to them. The whole point is to find them loving homes.

(Note that the shop is actually closed, because they don't want customers walking by all the time. They do open up for "open house" kind of adoptions too sometimes. Though, I have no idea where an animal goes if you sell to a townie. They have done that before. Does it just become a stray again?)

Luke comes back with some money. He says, "I borrowed it from my dad."

Yay, new doggy!

And Robbie comes over to pick out a dog too. He's been wanting one for a long time.

Shiro is part wolf, and they have a nice big yard for him to run around in, which is good, because this dog is a little wild!

They bank almost $5000 this month from three adoptions, and it's not a bad living. It more than makes up for the costs of caring for the animals with a little left to live on.

It's not a very hard life they have. Nope, not hard at all! Chad always dreamed of being a space pirate, but since he never figured out how to do that, he'll just pretend, and be content in his life as a part-time humanitarian and games club owner.

And this is a very defining moment in their lives, the moment they realize that for the first time they're actually glad they had a senior prom baby! Because Liza is coming up on fourteen this summer, which means they have a free babysitter called a teenage daughter, and they're young, and alive, and are they still in love with each other? Yes! Yes, it looks like they are!

Riley says, "He's not bad."

Chad says, "I want to take you out."

You don't realize until you've been away how much it smells like dogs around here!

And doesn't she clean up so pretty?

There's only one place to go in Bluewater Township, which is Club Dante, and the only property the Landgrabb family owns anymore. Riley is a generally uptight kind of woman, but after a few drinks and some dancing, they have a really good time.

Neither of them are very good at this, but that's not the point. They're letting loose, and geez, you'd think they hadn't been out of the house together in fourteen years or something...

While they're away, Liza has an idea. And Robbie would like to state, for the record, that this is NOT his idea. She looks at him with pure mischief in her eyes and says, "We should totally climb that water tower!"

***

notes: I felt so bored for those poor, poor kids! To keep with realism, since Fiona can't drive until next summer, the kids were only allowed to go anywhere they could walk to in Bluewater, which meant they were bored! It's not a wonder Liza has to get inventive with things to do, because as Fiona would say, there's nothing to freaking do in that God-awful place! ;)

I grew up in the country and I was never at a loss for things to do, but unfortunately, all the things I really wanted them to do were just not possible in the game - why can't you prank the unsavory charlatan? I think it's only fair! ;) And they can't climb trees, or ride dirt bikes, or wade in the ponds. Poor country kids! I'll have to try to stage some of these things for them - actually, I think I remember seeing a four-wheeler download once, maybe I'll try to find that.

This is what the guys were really talking about, and that two loves speech bubble from Hayden intrigued me, so I went checking memories, and ugh! BREAK MY HEART! When Hayden fell in love with Piper, he got the memory "had two loves at once," which I can only imagine means Piper and Rhianna - I guess they don't fall out of love when a spouse dies, do they? I guess that makes for a very realistic and tragic gameplay detail :(

This is the workout attire Robbie grew up into, lol! And Liza likes it!!!

Fiona says, "Are you serious? Are you actually looking at him?"

So, I tried and tried to hold this off, but I suppose it was inevitable. It was a full time job trying to cancel out flirts and hugs between these two. Even with their ACR tokens turned off, they were still autonomously trying to hold hands and hug every five seconds or so. I finally missed one of them, and I think it was a romantic hug that finally did it - with their relationship level, of course, one romantic hug means full-blown love in this game.

As far as the story goes though, they're still too young to be romantic yet - and Liza, lol, she doesn't like that lovey-dovey business! Maybe she'll change her mind some day.

I don't like them to fall in love this early, because really, who falls in real love at twelve or thirteen? But who knows, maybe it is possible that on some subconscious level they already know they're soul mates ;)

ETA: and after the fact, I realize that I didn't include one single picture of poor little Shaun, lol! So here he is, with his bird, Bob. They don't sell birds at the shelter, but he just wanted one, as if all the dogs weren't enough ;)