🐾 The Sims 3: Pets 🐾

*This post is intended to provide a brief preview of the video series, so you can determine whether you'd like to tune in and watch. It's also intended to provide a lot of background for the characters if you want to truly immerse yourself into the story line. :)*

Click the image above to be directed to the Let's Play's playlist.

Hello all!

I began a brand new "Let's Play" on my channel regarding the "Pets" expansion pack for The Sims 3. Just as the title says, this expansion provides the user with all the things they need to satisfy their animal sheltering needs. From minor pets like birds and snakes to exotic animals like unicorns, this expansion's got a lot to offer for all you animal-lovers out there (or if you're like me and are just obsessed with The Sims 3 and want more realistic content ;)). If you'd like to read a more in-depth explanation of this expansion, click the link here, or if you'd prefer a thoroughly entertaining video review, click here.

- INTRODUCING THE CHARACTERS -

Name: Anthony DeMarco
Traits: Loves the Outdoors, Kleptomaniac, Athletic, Shy, Equestrian
Lifetime Wish: The Jockey

Backstory
Anthony DeMarco grew up in upstate Queens, New York. The low income and high crime rate of the area would pave the direction of his youth. As a young boy, Anthony was quite the troublemaker. He was involved in gang activity and participated in vandalism, crime, drug abuse, and many other unlawful endeavors. Him and his friends lived off of the swift pace, pleasure, and abundance of possession which crime had offered them.

After having several accounts with the police and many legal issues, law enforcement decided it'd be best to enroll Anthony and his friends into an anti-crime program designed for troubled children. They spent a month on a farm in an isolated town by the name of "Appaloosa Plains." Little did Anthony know, this program would reshape the course of his life forever.

Anthony appreciated the new change of pace and developed a new-found love for nature. Months later as Anthony had returned home, his friends could tell that something was different about him. His buddies were unimpacted by the experience and went back to living their normal lives, but Anthony wanted something different for himself and his future.

His “friends” would yell vulgar terms at him in the streets as they pounded their fists in the air. They purposely turned their backs, excluding Anthony from their group outings. Every time they saw his face in public, their expression turned into a grimace and looked away.

His “friends’” pretentious behavior eventually drove Anthony away from life. He didn’t fit in anywhere. Months later, Anthony eventually tried to get back into criminal activity to win over his old friends’ acceptance, but even that didn't satisfy the gang Anthony had once been apart of. During this point in his life, Anthony was often left by his lonesome in somber. His mind turned to ruins.

As he reached the age of eighteen, Anthony entered community college, but his mental condition of deep despair and melancholy led him to fail class after class. He was expelled from the school as he hadn’t passed a single class the entire semester. He truly now thought that this was the end.

One morning, Anthony woke up to an epiphany, an indescribable sense of hope. He recalled the  time he spent in Appaloosa Plains at the rehabilitation center. He was now determined to center his life around what nourished him, encouraged him to grow, and most importantly, what made him want change the direction of his life. The rehabilitating qualities of nature became the source of Anthony’s joy and the place he wanted to rebuild his life. For the first time ever, he wanted to truly live.
This was his goal, however, money was scarce, he had a very low education, and that dream seemed far from possible. How will he muster up the funds to take him where he wants to be; where he needs to be? Will Anthony have the determination to reach the stars or will his dream remain just as a figment of his imagination?

Name: Sheree Davis

Traits: Ambitious, Commitment Issues, Hot-Headed, Natural Born Performer, Social Butterfly

Lifetime Wish: Vocal Legend

Present Day

Anthony’s mother, Sheree, had never really present in her son’s life. She worked several odd jobs just to pay the bills and to make ends meet, but her time and efforts were certainly not invested in her family. Ever since she was a young girl, Sheree had a passion for theater and the fine arts. Her heart was where the stage was. Being able to perform in front of rows of applauding fans has always been her biggest dream. That is until she became pregnant – the breaking point of her life. In her eyes, becoming a teen mother ruined all the opportunities she had to become successful. Her whole life was now dedicated to caring for a child. She now didn’t have the time, energy, or money to live her wildest dreams.

Eighteen years after the birth of her baby, Anthony is expelled from college. Sheree had now lost all sense of hope. It boggled her mind when her son informed her of his plans to go off to another town. “You and what money?” she argued. “What about searching for a sustainable job, so you’re not broke and living here the rest of your life.”

Backstory

Sheree’s family resides in Detroit, Michigan, but she ran off to live with her highschool boyfriend in New York at age sixteen. Her highschool lover, Julian DeMarco, was moving to New York with his eldest brother, and with eyes full of lust and a heart full of ambition, Sheree decided to follow him. At age 17, Sheree found out that she was pregnant and from that point on, Sheree’s life had gradually began to decimate. Her infatuation with Julian vanished in what seemed like a blink of an eye and the DeMarco household locked their doors to Sheree’s entry. From that point on, their doors never re-opened. Feeling crushed and betrayed, Sheree crashed her pregnant days sleeping in various friends’ homes. She dropped out of high school and took on several part-time jobs just to be able to provide for her child.

Sheree’s baby came early and she gave him the name “Anthony” – she was now eighteen years old. The unanticipated birth of her son urged the need for money even more. She tried returning to Julian’s home, thinking the birth of their child would make him feel differently, but their doors remained shut. Sheree was desperate. She needed money, fast. Sheree knew it wasn’t right, but she got into prostitution, thinking it was her only option. She managed to muster up some cash that way and was able to purchase her own little shack of a house for her and her child. She continued this immoral work many months after the move, but once public speculation began to kick in, she dropped her voluntary sexual work at all charges. Sheree then picked up several odd jobs as her primary source of income. With her life shattered to pieces, Sheree came to terms that this was her new reality.

Name: Julian DeMarco

Traits: Inappropriate, Dislikes Children, Flirty, Slob, Couch Potato

Lifetime Wish: Heartbreaker

Present-Day

Julian hasn’t seen his son since the day Sheree came by begging for help with the baby, but again, Julian had refused to re-open his doors to her. In his eyes, Sheree had caused enough disruption living with them and he wasn’t going to take on any sort of lifelong responsibility anytime soon. He grew lazier and cold-hearted as each day passed.

Backstory

Julian DeMarco was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were constantly bickering back and forth until one day his mother fell ill. She was diagnosed with cancer, but her family couldn’t afford to pay for all of the proper treatment and medication she needed to survive. Their family came to terms with the fact that their mother, Maria, was slowly dying. That summer was very cold for the DeMarco family.

Four years after the diagnosis, Maria DeMarco passed on. Their family was never close and this moment distanced them further. Julian’s father, not knowing how to deal with his wife’s death, committed suicide shortly after her passing. Communication was foreign to the DeMarco family, so from that point onward, the household fell silent; their souls were as empty as a hollow shell.

After their parents had been deceased, all that was left was Julian and his three brothers.

The DeMarco siblings had never really gotten along during their childhood and they had their greatest falling out as they reached their early adulthood. Each brother went their own separate path and they never kept in touch.

Money had always been scarce in the DeMarco household, but one calm summer morning, Julian’s eldest brother, David, received a job opportunity in New York City. He accepted the job offer and told Julian he had to come along. Since Julian was the youngest of the four siblings, David didn’t trust him to be left alone with his other mischievous siblings. Them three together made quite the troublesome bunch and David wanted to avoid more trouble at all costs. Julian refused to come along unless he could bring his girlfriend, Sheree. After weeks of bickering, David eventually agreed to letting Sheree come along, since it was the only way Julian would compromise. “As long as she doesn’t draw attention to herself or start up anything,” David instructed. “Who do you think she is?,” Julian replied.

A year after the move, Sheree informed Julian that she was pregnant. Knowing his brother would be outraged, Julian kicked her out of the house. He knew that if his brother found out, he would’ve sent them both out of the house to be on their own. Julian and Sheree exchanged repulsive remarks as he took a forceful blow at her face. Sheree dodged the swing while continuing the argument. After what seemed like hours of heated words and vulgar threats, Sheree left. From that moment onward, the DeMarco doors were shut out from Sheree’s presence.

Later that evening, when David asked where Sheree had gone, Julian just said that she had decided to leave during the night and he hadn’t heard from her since. David didn’t question it. Julian’s dissembling hardened his heart and that household fell silent day by day, as the constant lies set into their reality.