Friday, August 5, 2011

Half Crazy

Round 8 - March 2041
Last update/ Next update
Slade Willis and Brian Johnson are 26 (Joss Willis is 2 months old, Mindi Mason, Kenny Coners, Kayla Coners, Tippy Dean, Casey Addler, and Joanna King are 26)

And my mind's gone half crazy, cuz I can't leave you alone
And I'm wondering if it's worth me holding on
Said my mind's gone half crazy, cuz I can't leave you alone
And I'm wondering if it's worth me holding on
Musiq Soulchild


Slade couldn't believe that he had a crib in his bedroom......totally not how he pictured his bachelor pad when he bought the place. He still had trouble sometimes.......it all seemed so surreal. But Joss was here and he was a father.......



And Brian made sure to remind Slade of that everyday. He didn't mind helping out with Joss when she was at the house. Slade had agreed to keep her for Meadow while she went out looking for a job. They moved their studio sessions to at night after Meadow came to pick her back up. She had yet to spend a night at their house, Brian was convinced Slade was afraid to keep her overnight. Big, bad Slade Willis, scared of an infant!


"Here you go, you and Daddy have fun today," Brian said handing her over to Slade.
"I'm sure we will. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean everyone knows I'm not a big fan of monogamy, but Kenny and Kayla I can see. You and Mindi? Just can't see you guys staying together," Slade said.


"You don't have to see it. I'm the one who'll be spending time with her. I miss her," Brian said.
"Yea? Then why did you just start missing her once Kenny and Kayla had their kid? I think you're just caught up in Kenny's little perfect world. Everyone's story doesn't end like that. I'm just saying, maybe you should think about this," Slade said.
"I'll worry about Mindi, you worry about Joss. Are you sure you can handle her on your own?"
"I'm not a child! Go make your mistake, I mean MAKE UP with Mindi. We'll be fine here," Slade said laughing.
"Whatever. That reporter is coming by after lunch to interview me so I'll be back for that."
"Why does she want to meet with you? Most women prefer me," Slade said.
"Yea.......I like her already," Brian said laughing.


"Ok kiddo, it's just me and you. You're gonna be a good girl for daddy aren't you? No need in proving your Uncle Brian right..........we'll be just fine until he comes back........"


"I'm really happy you agreed to come out with me," Brian said.
"Hey, no problem. I am a little curious at this sudden change in you," Mindi said.
"Well I'm going to explain all of that."


"This place is really nice. How did you find out about it?" Mindi asked.
"The recording studio is across the street. Order whatever you want," he said.
"I always do," she said with a laugh.


"I want to make peace with you. I know I could have handled our break up better......"
"Yes you could have," she interjected.
".....but I just couldn't give you what you wanted. But I think I'm ready to do that now," he said.
"Brian, what are you saying?"


"I want us to get back together and work on building something concrete," he said.
"The old Mindi would have jumped at this chance....."
"The old Mindi?" he asked.
"Yes. When you broke up with me, I was a mess. And then Kayla got engaged and then Tippy......it was a lot to take when that was the happily ever after I had pictured for myself," she said.
"Don't you want that anymore?"
"Yes. But I want it to be because me and the guy I'm with are so in love, we want to be together forever," she said.


"I'm offering you that! So what's the problem? Don't you love me anymore?" Brian asked.
"I'll always love you. But I'm not IN love with you anymore. It took me a while to let you go, but I did. And I think it was for the best. Not to mention the fact that this all seems like you're just envious of what Kenny has and I'm a convenient way to get that for yourself," she said.
"What, have you been talking to Slade? Because you sound just like him," Brian said.
"No I haven't spoken with him. Maybe we both just know that it's true," she said.
"Are you sure about this Mindi?"
"Yes, I think I am. But I would like for us to remain friends," she said.


"We'll always be friends Mindi. I'm sorry you feel this way, but I understand. It's my own fault," he said.
"Brian, you're a great guy. I'm sure you're going to find the woman who you're meant to be with. And I'm sure I'll find my guy," she said.
"I love you, Mindi."
"Love you too."


When Joss was napping, she was the most beautiful little girl in the world to Slade. He wanted to be her champion, her protector........


And then she'd wake up screaming for attention and reminded him of Meadow. Meadow..........that whole situation was a mess. They barely spoke when handing off Joss, only exchanged empty pleasantries.........and he didn't think that was going to get any better.


It amazed him, the way Joss had changed his perception. Before she arrived, he was totally against being a father. It was still kinda scary, but he was glad to be doing it.


He spent a little time shooting around outside after Meadow came to pick Joss up........Life just didn't turn out the way you expected it to sometimes.......He wondered what the reporter interviewing Brian would look like......she sounded hot on the phone........


"I'm surprised you wanted to do the interview with me. Most people like talking to Slade," Brian said.
"Yes, I'm sure they do. I've seen how Slade behaves, I thought I would have a better chance at professionalism with you," Joanna King said.
"You're probably right about that! What exactly is this for?"
"I've been at the Mayor for a while about having a city newspaper. He asked me to get together a mock issue to showcase stories that I would like to see done. A successful band that got it's start here would be perfect," she said.


"Oh ok, well that is a good idea."
"You guys recently did a tour right?" she asked.
"Yea, we did some shows on Twikki Island and at Three Lakes and we did a concert here where we opened for Aerial Bionic," Brian said.
"That sounds very exciting! I've always wanted to visit Three Lakes."
"It's beautiful there, you should definitely check it out," Brian said.


"I bet it is! Was this your first tour?"
"Hey lover boy, we have a studio session in half an hour. You might want to wrap it up. Although I'm sure it'll be hard to pull yourself away. You ma'am, are the finest reporter I've ever seen!" Slade said.
"This is why I chose you for this interview," she said laughing.
"How about you just go get dressed, huh?" Brian said to Slade.


"I apologize for him, he has a weakness for beautiful women," Brian said.
"It's okay. I still had a few questions for you though," she said.
"How about we grab some lunch tomorrow and you can finish the interview," he said.


"Are you asking me on a date? Because I'm sure that's a conflict of interests......." Joanna began.
"We don't have to think of it as a date. And I mean you're just interviewing me for an article, not a job," Brian said laughing.
"Yes, I know. I just thought.......of course I would love to get lunch with you......to discuss the article," she said.
"Yes, to discuss the article. So I'll see you tomorrow then?" he asked.
"Yes, tomorrow," Joanna said getting up to leave.


She must be out of her mind, thinking Brian Johnson was asking her on a date! Why would he want to date some nerdy journalist? He probably had just as many girls throwing themselves at him as Slade Willis........but he was cute......and she had to admit she was looking forward to seeing him again......those eyes and that voice........how was a girl supposed to stay focused?!


Joanna King was beautiful. He would have to be blind not to notice it. And in all honesty, he had been asking her on a date.......if Mindi wanted him to move on, that's just what he was going to do..........

************************************************************************************************************************************************************


He decided to take her to the Garden Top Cafe in the warehouse district the next day.
"I'm glad you agreed to have lunch with me," he said.
"Oh it's my pleasure. I'm really excited about finishing up the interview."
"And here I thought you would be excited to see me," he said laughing.
"Oh......well I mean of course that's nice too......" she said blushing.
"You're quite easily flustered aren't you?" he asked smiling.


"To completing what I'm sure will be a great article," Brian said smiling.
"Oh......well thank you, I'll do my best to ensure that it is."
"I'm sure you will......"


"So how long have you guys known each other?"
"Well, I've known Kenny since we were kids, and we met Slade when we were at LBU," he said.
"Where did you get the name Mellow Metal?"
"Well, all of us love rock and heavy metal music. But sometimes you want something a bit more....well mellow," he said laughing.
"That makes perfect sense. I know the guitar player, Kenny Coners, recently got married and had a kid. What about you and Slade?"
"Well Slade has a little girl and is unattached, which is something he plans to stay for his whole life," Brian said laughing.
"And what about you?"


"I'm single. I thought about getting back together with an ex-girlfriend, but she wanted no part of it," he said.
"Really? You must have done a number on her," Joanna said laughing.
"I guess......we met in college and she was my first serious girlfriend. After we graduated she was thinking marriage and babies and I was thinking music and tours."
"And now?"
"Now I think I would like to have someone stable in my life. You know, work to build something that maybe one day leads to marriage," Brian said.
"Well.........I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding a girl willing to go along with that! Any future touring plans?" she asked.
"Nah, we're really focused on finishing up our album right now. I'm sure we'll make some appearances around here though."
"What's the name of the album going to be?"
"Bittersweet. That's going to be the first song released."
"Cool. Any chance I could get a preview of some of the music?"
"Only if you'll go out with me, on a real date," Brian said.
"A date? Oh I don't know......." she said.
"Come on, what's one little date gonna hurt?"


"I suppose that would be alright," she said smiling.
"Great. We can discuss when would be best for both of our schedules. Then I can show you "date Brian". I think you're really going to like him," he said smiling. Heaven help her............


Slade realized that he hadn't invited everyone over to his new house yet. So he decided to have a little get together for everyone. He truly had some great friends......


Well......everyone but Tippy......
"So how's it going, Daddy?" she asked.
"Must you bust my balls every time you see me?" Slade asked.
"Of course. Isn't that what you love about me? Betcha never thought you'd have a female calling you daddy outside of the bedroom did ya?" Tippy asked laughing.
"Whatever. I shouldn't have even invited you over since you left me out of your stupid wedding," Slade said.
"Hey, I've only got two bridesmaids so I only need two groomsmen. Casey is adamant about inviting that douche Adam so that only left one slot. So since Kayla is in the wedding, it only made sense to ask Kenny."
"Blah, blah, blah. I don't want to be in another wedding anyway," he said.
"Then why are we even having this conversation?"
"I don't know.....I guess so I could bust your ovaries," Slade said laughing.


Casey never imagined the guys' band would take off the way it did. Now he was hanging out with all most stars. He had to admit that Slade had a nice house. But the business major in him didn't see how in the world Slade was going to pay it all off..........


"So are you ready to be Mrs. Addler?" Kenny asked with a laugh.
"Sure. The wedding isn't going to be until next year though, you should know that groomsman!"
"Sure, I know. I just can't see you married with kids," Kenny said laughing.
"Who said anything about kids? And we're not going to be as boring as you and Kayla," she said.
"How are we boring?"
"Please, the rocker and the school teacher? And I don't even know if it's fair to call you a rocker, what with how tame you are," she said laughing.
"We can't all be like you Tippy."
"I know. And it's a damn shame, isn't it?"


While the others were downstairs socializing, Slade was upstairs entertaining one of his fans. Her name was Calista something or other. All Slade knew was that she was cute and wanted to hook up.......and really, isn't that all that matters?


"So you had lunch with Mindi?" Kayla asked.
"You asking or telling? Because I'm sure she's already filled you and Tippy in on what happened," Brian said laughing.
"Yea, she did. You alright?"
"Yea. I knew there was a chance that she would turn me down. But it was worth a try."
"You don't sound too upset about it."
"Nah, me and Mindi.........we could be together and have a happy existence. But we would probably be much happier with other people. Hopefully, she finds a guy who can give her what she needs," he said.
"And you?"
"Well.......let's just say my story is beginning to look more interesting by the day," he said with a smile.


Slade finished up with Calista and returned downstairs with his guests. As he listened to Kenny tell one of his crazy stories, he realized that Joss hadn't ruined his life......she actually make it a little brighter.........

* Sorry it was so long :). These guys are truly my favorites to play. I'm going to be so sad once they're all tied down with kids......although I'm sure Slade will be entertaining me for sim years to come lol

* Speaking of Slade, that house is really biting him in the ass. I'm doing taxes this round and he and Brian owed $24,000 because of that house! He may have bit off more than he can chew where it's concerned. And as for my taxes, I've decided to stop trying to keep the money in game. Now I'm balancing the city budget outside of the game in my Evernote files. I still subtract taxes from my residents, but I do it using the family funds cheat. So Christian never actually receives the money. It was just too hard trying to transmit money into bank accounts and all that. Anyone who doesn't have their tax money takes out a loan to pay it and pays the loan back. I'm also subtracting fees this way too. It's easier to keep up with it outside the game. And since Meadow has custody of Joss, she and Ginger will get the deduction for her. 

* Joanna King walked by when Brian was outside and he heartfarted all over her :). She's a townie that I created and I can totally see them together. They have 2 bolts and their chemistry is higher than his with Mindi. Mindi wasn't rolling wants for Brian and I figured she was just finally over him. Hopefully she'll find her a guy soon :)

* Slade didn't roll any wants for Joss (I actually moved her in with him while she was there) but I can see him still caring a lot about her. So she'll have regular visits with her daddy :). Tippy's wedding is going to be the last post of this round, I'm still getting together how I want to do it. I mean, she's Tippy it has to be worthy of her lol. Plus, with all the drama of this round, I figure her wedding will be a good note to end on.

* I plan to actually make an album cover for them. I love dressing them up and posing them. I'm going to do some research on record sales. Slade won't make enough from this album to pay off that house, but I figure that should get a nice lump sum from it. I want them to end up being some of my richer sims. 

And just for kicks and giggle: I guess Christa is still a teen girl, no matter how emo she may be :)


And in her defense, Brian really is quite hot isn't he? I mean if I went into a restaurant and ran into him......well, you get the picture :)

EDIT - So I've been doing some research on record sells for artists and have found out that Slade will more than likely be able to pay off that house after all! According to my research, most artists get 10% of each album sold. So let's say their first album costs $15 in stores. Then they would receive $1.50 for each record sold. Now, to go gold (platinum seems unrealistic for a first album :)) they would need to sale at least 500,000 records. 500,000 * 1.5 = $750,000. Now they're a group so that would need to be split three ways which would give each guy $250,000. I also researched lump sum tax amounts and I found an average of about 35%. So after paying taxes, that would leave each guy with $162,500 dollars. Crazy huh? And honestly, given the inflated prices of sim items, the cds should probably cost more that just $15 lol. But, because he has the house, he won't be left with any money after paying off the house loan and his tax loan. Brian and Kenny on the other hand will be sitting pretty for a while! And Brian should be able to pay cash for a pretty nice house and decorate it quite lovely! And Jacob Ellison as their manager and record producer would get the rest of the money from sales, which would be $675,000 that would be $438,750 after he pays a 35% lump sum tax. So they will all get pretty rich from this! And imagine if they went platinum!!! I suppose I could adjust what is considered going gold in sim world......I don't know what do you think? If I cut it down to 250,000 record sales then they would only make half of that.......what do you guys think? Is that too much money for them? Keep in mind that Jake is already a former member of a very successful band with great connections so them going gold is a good possibility I think...........

6 comments:

  1. I'm glad Slade is adjusting to being a father and is taking care of Joss. I've been worried that he's gotten in way over his head with that house! They'd better start working on some more albums so he can pay it off. ;)

    I'm actually happy that Mindi moved on rather than keep wallowing in her misery over Brian. She deserves a chance to find someone who really wants the same things in life that she does and really wants to be with her.

    I'm eager to see what happens between Brian and Joanna!

    lol, Christa seems a bit starstruck! I probably would have checked him out too if I saw him in a restaurant. ;)

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  2. I agree, Brian is one hot, yummy, pixelated man :) I wanted Mindi to keep Brian waiting a bit, but I didn't expect that she would want no part with him. Wow, way to go. I am also curious about Joanna. Can't wait to see the album cover, I think I might have a new album cover for Aerial Bionic, it's a bit on the scandalous side as it shows a bit more of Trevor than most have seen, but I caught him and his lover in a great pose and worked with that.

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  3. Here come Math Girl! I'm coming to you when I need math help! Glad to see Slade adjusting to life as a dad. I hope he and Meadow can patch things up and become friends one day. Because a fighting mom and dad is never good for a child.

    Brian is HOTT! With two T's! LOL If he were in my game I'm sure many ladies would be falling over themselves to be with him. Hopefully things will work out for him as well.

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  4. Wow! Slade isn't doing such a bad job as a father after all! Sims really surprise us sometimes, don't they?

    Brian and Joanna make a cute couple. Are you going to show their date? Or am I just going to have to imagine it? ;)

    Great update, can't wait to see the album cover!

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  5. Aw, I'm a bit bummed Brian and Mindi aren't getting back together but maybe it's for the best. They're both at peace with it, especially seeing Brian seems to have his eye on Joanna now!

    Slade as a daddy! He's not actually doing so bad, which is great to see. I hope the poor guy doesn't end up destitute and unable to support her because of that house though!

    And that's an interesting way to do the taxes too. I might try that myself next time!

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  6. Shana - Slade isn't a terrible guy, he's just a bit self-centered. But that doesn't carry over into his relationship with Joss......yet lol. It'll be interesting to see how he reacts once his responsibilities as a dad stand in the way of him doing whatever he wants. Christa definitely seems a bit star struck :)

    Apple Valley - I think Mindi just got to a point where she realized she just had to move on. How could she have known Brian would eventually change his mind lol. I can't wait to see what you come up with for their album cover!

    Riverdale - That's about as mathematical as I ever get lol. So I don't know how much help I would be to anyone else :). I'm not sure how Slade and Meadow's relationship is going to end. I hope they'll be able to be friends one day too. And Brian is definitely hott!!

    Coolkat2 - Sims really do surprise us :). Brian and Joanna do look good together, I have my fingers crossed for them. I'm done with them for this round so you'll have to imagine their date :)

    Carla - It's been over a year since they broke up, and in that time I think Mindi just finally got the picture. Slade isn't doing too bad, but that house is definitely going to give him some financial issues. I just got tired of trying to make time during everyone's play session to have them transferring money to Christian. Plus money in his account earns interest and that was throwing me off a bit as well so this just seems easier.

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Thanks so much for reading and commenting! Awesomeness :)