4.3 Everyone's a critic

warning: seethrough outfit so maybe nsfw? It's not real nudity though.. oh, and language

     Their footsteps echoed as they walked down the empty streets: The garden is quite lovely at this time. 
     Why it certainly is James. This was wrong. It was the wrong feelings. She was married! Married to a man she didn't love.

     Not nearly as lovely as you, Margaret. She laughed lightly as the summerbreeze. Butterflies fluttering in her belly... Wow, this is so boring. Where's the action at? It was probably okay to flip a bit...

     Really?! Still walking?! Blurgh... Action damnit!!! Oh, James. The flowers are beautiful. Thank you so much for taking me here. Blah blah blah...
     It is always a pleasure to accompany you, Margaret. Sheesh, did they actually talk like that? Could probably flip a bit a more... it wasn't cheating...

     Grabbing her gently, James pulled her close: I cannot deny it anymore. Her lips trembled as his gaze met hers: Margaret. I love you.
     Oh James. I am a married woman. My husband... 
     To the cliffs with him! You must feel the same as I, Margaret. We are meant to be. 
     But James...
     Run away with me! Let us live in sin.Was about damned time already. Aaaand action!

     Leaning her head on his broad shoulder, she answered: I will James. I will run away with you. She knew he would make her happy. Wait what? He had broad shoulders? Well, he should've had narrow ones! You have made me the happiest man alive...

      What is this treachery? John stood before them, an angry glare upon his face: My wife, and my best friend in warm embrace? Oooh! This was getting good....
     There you are! Did you forget our appointment?

      Oh no, it was Dave with the wrinkled balls... I tried phoning you, but it kept saying you were out of reach. He stared a bit over the water, giving her a chance to make up an excuse. She knew the operator would say that, since she'd turned the phone off: Really? Battery must be dead or something. Wonder if he believed it; no one ever listened to her anyway.

      Well, he leaned down trying to pull a flirty grin: I figured you'd be on the beach with this temperature. Nice swimsuit, he winked at her; gross: I really like how you don't care about your looks. Drives a man crazy. It was so typical that nothing ever worked out the way she wanted: Uhm.. thanks? She hadn't really thought her panties were actually cursed, but...
     Why make it sound like a question? Learn how to take a compliment. Daves tone was still flirty, whilst Aino just wanted to go back to her book. Not that she liked romance- books in particular, it was just... well written and stuff. And she wanted Margaret and James to get to the good part; or what if James and John got to the good part! Now that would be something.

     Is something wrong? Dave sounded concerned: You don't seem happy to see me. She felt terribly guilty, but she really wanted to get to the sex- part in the book. It was making her kind of horny, just not for Dave. She might have another sim in mind: I'm sorry, I'm not unhappy, I was just a bit lost in the story
     I had no idea you were such a sucker for the romantic stuff. It's so typical for you females...    
     Women...
     ...Females. Romance isn't real litterature, that's why men don't read it. You probably don't read any man- litterature do you? Then he managed to smile. What was wrong with light litterature. And what was man- litterature anyway? Soft- porn magazines? They were hardly well- written, and their sexnovels were terrible.. she'd heard...

     Keeping her book under hold, Aino made sure he didn't take it. It was old, and had been in the family for generations. She loved it, not just because she hoped for a steaming sexscene... okay, maybe a bit.
     Now, he pulled another flirty grin: how about we put that book away, babygirl. gross, and take a little trip back to my place.  
     Taking a deep, quiet breath, the lump in her stomach came back. She didn't want to, but she didn't have a good reason. He was wealthy, handsome and hadn't harmed her or anything. She should be grateful that a guy like that was even interested. Still, something was just not right: I don't...
     Come on, you wanted last time. You're such a freaky little girl. No she wasn't, she kind of liked it slow and sweet, but guys never listened to her: Come on, baby. You know you want to. Right now, she just wanted to vomit. What if he got mad? What if he harmed her? It was just so much easier to say yes, because a "no" was so hard to get into their heads. It was like she hadn't said anything at all: Uhm... I don't know... maybe..
     Come on, he smiled again.

     Dave managed to get up before falling over, as he was given a rough nug: What? You think I'm afraid of an ugly mutt? A large dog had bumped into him, forcing him to stand up, then it nudged him yet again: Where did you come from anyway? Why aren't you on a leash? Did he think the dog was going to answer? Can you believe this? He turned to Aino: Why aren't sims keeping their dogs on a leash?

     A menacing growl from the depth of it's throat made Dave rethink wether he was scared of dogs or not: Nice doggie. It walked closer with lowered head, making Dave stiffening from the feet up: Nice doggie... His voice lost all power as he started backing away from it, until he eventually started running: Max! No!

     You got to stop running blondie. Even if the dog still ran, Dave stopped dead in his tracks. Aino was a bit unhappy to see that the dog stopped, and didn't maul him. No, what was she thinking? She'd actually seen a sim beeing beaten to death, but it could've bitten him a bit between the legs... But just to be on the safe side, she crawled a bit further away from the dogs.

     With the dog firmly under control; or as much as a happy dog can be kept under control, Dave changed back to his old self: You can't keep that mutt under control?!
     Max just wanted to play. When you start running, he thinks you're in on it. It was always a bit of a surprise that sims didn't know anything there was to know about dogs. Dogs were the best.
     That animal is dangerous, he should be euthanized! Especially since it made him embarassed.
     No, he's not dangerous, he's just a bit dumb.

     Daniel continued without a break: Though you definitely know how that is already.
     What did you say? Still embarassed about beeing chased by a dog, Dave didn't get any happier.
     I said: you probably know how it is beeing a bit dumb. 
     And what exactely is that supposed to mean?! This really wasn't the best day he'd had.
     It's supposed to mean that your a bit dumb. Duh: If Max wanted to kill you, you think you'll be able to run from a dog? Running just makes their huntinginstincts go off. He was really good at pointing out the obvious. Come on, a dog had four legs and blondie only had two.

     Dave was almost snorting fire now: I'm going to call the police and press charges against you. Then I'll have them shoot the damned mutt! Then, I'll sue you for all you got! He was wealthy! And he was not standing for this treatment!
     You do that. I own about two dogs, so.... You're gonna spend a lot of simoleons on dogfood. It wasn't even remotely possible for suing anyone for having a dog barking at you in this city.
     Releasing an irritated grunt, Dave eyed the guy with a sneer: Come on, Aino. We're going! Then this little boy can stay here with his dogs.
     I'm taller than you. Completely pointless to add ofcourse.

     Turning to her, Daves voice was irritated and arrogant: Come on Aino. Let's go back to my place. She didn't really like angry sims, or dogs for that matter. Feeling their warm, stinking breath she was certain they also drooled as possessed. Whispering in fear of their sensitive ears, she answered: I think I'm staying here. No way was she moving with those two monsters that close. What were they sniffing about! And why was Max checking out her rack? It was a dog! Just breath slowly... slow...

     Get your dogs off my girlfriend! No! They weren't a couple! Please, don't think they were a couple! But she really didn't want to say anything, because then either the dogs or Dave would attack her.
     Nah.
     What? Are you going to hold her hostage? It was good that their voices didn't raise to high, because then all the sims would've been staring at them. On the other hands, sims yelling at eachother wasn't a rare event.
    I'm not doing anything, the dogs are just standing there. If you want her to go with you, why don't you just get her? They were just like furry babies. Daves gaze kept darting between Daniel and Aino, all the time getting more redfaced. At some point he must have figured that his own safety was more important than hers: This isn't over! Dave hissed, but still left her alone with the dogs. A part of her was glad he left, the other was busy trying not to think about the possibility beeing mauled by dogs.

     Watching Daves back as he stomped away, the dogs found something better to do. They were a bit cute to, especially when they rubbed eachothers snouts like they were in love. Aino bet they were boy and girlfriend. Daniel on his hand actually plopped down on the towel next to her. She got butterflies in her stomach, just like Margaret. She hoped she wasn't coming down with something, it was probably some germs or something. It was so typical that she got ill, whilst others stayed well..,

     Sorry about that. Daniel said, just to be interrupted by the dogs. They were either going to eat eachother, or play: You looked really uncomfortable.
     Wait, how did he notice that? Was he actually her doll? No, that was just silly: It's okay. I didn't want to leave with him.
     Good, then I didn't screw something up. It wasn't an accident.. I told Max to go and play.
     I thought you said he wasn't trained. Hadn't he, or was she just imagining that?
     He isn't. Kind of, he can't do any tricks- but he understands "play". Which made Aino giggle for some odd reason. Maybe if he were her doll, he'd have special powers to make her laugh often? Not that she actually believed it, but still...

      I'm glad I ran in to you though...
      Screw butterflies, there was a rabid eagle in her stomach right now, clawing the abdomen apart: Really? She tried not to blush, but giggled another time instead just to keep it classy
     Yeah, you never showed up at the fortunetellers cart, so...
     Oh. I didn't think you meant it. The rabid eagle went away for a nap, and her stomach calmed down again. Her palms were still sweaty though, but with the temperature that wasn't shocking.
     Why would I say it, if I didn't mean it? A valid point, she'd give him that: Well, it's your job and most sims doesn't like beeing interrupted at work. He'd actually wanted her to stop by his job? Could it really be that he was her doll? No, no. She had to stop doing that
    In my work that's not really a big problem. Maybe in your line of work....

     She hadn't mentioned anything about what she worked with. That was so embarassing. She just didn't have common antennas when it came to talking to other sims: I'm in training to be an artcritic, so I can't have visitors at work. 
     How do you critique art?
     I don't know, that's why I'm in training. But it's not just critiquing, it's analyzing and checking if the artwork isn't a copy to. Her clothes was pretty much seethrough, and he couldn't even take one little look? That was such a bummer. Not that she wanted him to! It was just a bit strange, usually guys thought it meant she automatically wanted what was down their trousers. Instead he kept an eye on those stupid dogs. Couldn't he atleast look at her?

     It's a great job, but the pay is terrible. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to keep her house, because the loan was so high compared to what she  was beeing payed. But she couldn't say that to anyone, even if he'd been her doll.Which she didn't really think
     Yeah, I bet. Internships usually does. I'm still in training down at the caravan to... 
     You need training to be a psychic? Wow, she had no idea: I thought psychichs were born that way..
     What? He took one short look at her before turning his attention to the dogs again: Oh, it's just a hoax. No one can read your fortune. You just say something generic, ask some questions and look for bodylanguage. It's really easy.

     Really?! Aino was sure that he didn't mean that when it came to her, because that had been to similar to be a coincidence. He probably just thought it hadn't been real, and she kept all her feelings under control!
    Yeah. It's just a hoax. But don't tell anyone I told you. We like to make the audience keep guessing. If he was waiting for some critique, he had to wait longer
     It probably helps a lot of sims that have a crisis. She'd rather go to a psychic instead of a doctor.
     I tell myself that to. I'm hoping to get so good that I can start getting some wealthier clientell, that way I wouldn't feel so bad taking their simoleons. He didn't feel that bad, but it didn't really feel good either.
     Mmm. They could part with some of it without any bigger problems. Like her mum could have for instance. But she never did.

     It was really getting hot outside now, bet it was all because of the weather: Definitly. Great, now he was looking at her when she was getting all sweaty and gross. Not that it meant anything ofcourse, she really just wanted to be bestfriends. And if he was her doll, they had to become bestfriends. "If", that was, just "if". Aino knew it was possible, because that's what mum had said. And mum was always right.
     So if they became friends, and he wasn't her doll, that meant that mum was wrong. And if mum was wrong about that, she had to be wrong about more; and then how was Aino to know what was real of everything she'd learned??

      I guess this means you haven't had any luck in the boyfriend department yet? 
     No. No I haven't. But I really don't care about that, she quickly added: What I really want is a friend. I don't have the interest in a boyfriend. Like, I don't ever want a boyfriend! Never, ever, ever! Why had she said that? It sounded a bit desperat: Oh... okay then. I get that.
     Yeah. having friends beats having a boyfriend anytime! Just so he'd know that she still wanted to be friends. It wasn't like she wanted to see him naked or wrap herself around him or anything. Her panties stayed on! Just incase he wasn't her doll, because if he'd been he shouldn't care what she did.

      Kind of makes you wonder why there aren't any sites online when you can look for friends... Aino said thoughtfully. That would've been a good idea for a business. If she'd known anything about programming, she'd make that.
    Think you can specify that on one of those datingapps, can't you? Daniel had no idea, he'd never been on one.
     I've tried that, but I still just get contacted by guys sending me pictures of their thingies. Which was gross. And why she'd closed her account on the datingsite. Well, that and because Dave couldn't contact her.
     ...okay... Get why you don't want to try that anymore.

     Almost simultaniously, the dogs lifted their heads, pointing their ears forwards. Not that it was anything surprising at that, Aino noticed they did that from time to time. They really weren't that scary, especially when they lay down: Who's that Bella? Who's that? Daniel said to the dog, Bella. But that was probably because she looked the most alert. Aino kind of wanted to know who it was to, but it was a bit rude to ask. And she was afraid to look as eager as the dogs: Go say hello. With a deep bark, Bella sat of to greet whoever it was. Personally she didn't see anyone, or actually she saw to many. If she'd just put on her sunglasses, it probably would've been easier to notice.

     Hi Bellababy! The dog ran up to some woman and started slobbering all over her face. Poor lady. Wonder who that was. It was probably a friend of his. That was most likely, wasn't it? He'd just lived here for a few weeks, so what were the odds that it was his girlfriend?

     Hey babe. The odds were pretty high it seemed. Not that Aino was unhappy in any way, nope, not at all. It wasn't like she wanted to rip her light auburn hair out and stuff it down her throat.
     Oh! Hello. She seemed a bit startled at the sight of her. But so did the dog. Did she know? Did this woman know who she was? Because she couldn't remember her from school, but that didn't mean she didn't know. It had been on the news, and even if her firstname weren't mentioned, it wasn't difficult to figure out as mum had belonged to a highprofile family. Not that it should matter, because if Daniel were her doll, then he shouldn't care. But, she didn't actually believe he was. Or did she?
      Maren, this is Aino. Aino, Maren. Daniel didn't stand up to greet her. So then she bet they weren't boy and girlfriend.

     Or maybe they were a couple, and Aino was just an idiot for thinking otherwise. Not that she was jealouse in any way. She just wasn't comfortable with seeing sims beeing affectionat towards eachother. Yeah, that was definitly it. Then why did she feel like a mix wanting to strangle Maren with her top, slap Daniel and crawl into a corner and cry. Since it felt like she had a stone in her stomach, it was a sign she was coming down with something.

     Atleast Bella had the decency to dig a hole that Aino could crawl into. The worst was she didn't even have a reason to feel this way. She just really wanted a friend, and was probably just jealouse because now he had someone else to spend his time on. That was it. Ah well, atleast he'd taken his shirt off. Not if just stupid Maren could move so she could take a better look. Not for any other reason than... than.... ehm... to check out the tattoos.... on his arms.... because she wanted more tattoos.

     She was the third wheel. Even if there was no reason to stay, it could come off as a bit suspicious since Maren had just showed up. All she longed for was to run off as quickly as possible. How much longer did she have to stay so it didn't get to obvious? She could pretend that she got a text or something, but then she'd have to turn her phone on. And she was worried that Dave still tried getting a hold of her. It was also a bit early using the cats as an excuse. That only worked on sims that didn't have pets themselves.

     She hated sims that were in love. Good thing she wasn't all into romantic litterature and movies and stuff; because she wasn't! It was just a coincidence that she read a romantic book now. Styding her nails, Aino figured they'd be great to claw Marens superblue eyes out with. Aino wished she had clear blue eyes that reminded of the sky. Hers was just watered out diharrea brown. 
     Why was she even so upset. Poor woman seemed nice, she had hot thighs, and Daniel liked her. Even the dogs loved her. That thought made her want to cry to. Even the dogs loved her. Why did she have to be so lovable?! She wished she was lovable to. But she wasn't; she was selfish and terrible. Just look at her now. She'd visited her mum one time. One. And dad had lost the right to visit her when they'd divorced, and uncle Odin never visited either. Mum only had her now.

     Maybe she should visit mum again; be a good daughter, or atleast try to be one. Not that she'd ever been a good daughter, but it was time she did something about it. After all, what else should she do? Mum was who she was, and she was the only one mum had. Wondered if she missed her? Sometimes she missed mum like crazy, even today. Sometimes she forgot all about her, then she always felt guilty afterwards. She should. She should visit mum. And she could ask her if she knew anything else about dolls coming to life. Maybe she knew what to make of Daniel. Maybe, if she asked him to go with her, she could show him the book she'd read as a teenager, and it would make a difference somehow.

     How about you beeing a complete doll, and give my dogs some water? Aino was to busy obsessing to pay to much attention to the other two: How about you do it yourself. Maren stared at him with intense blue eyes. Ofcourse she started paying attention now, because maybe she could leave then without it getting awkward: Or maybe Aino would do it for us? Maren smiled, but he interrupted her: She's a bit afraid of them. Oh, so she was trying to get rid of her to? Great, then she could leave and go home to her cats and cry into their fur! Not that she had a reason to.
     They're still your dogs.       
     It was worth a try. He grinned at her, before pecking her lips. Gross.

     Maren smiled after him when he took the dogs and left. They kept a tray with water outside the back, for dogs to drink from so they didn't die of thirst. Aino thought it was sweet, because wildlife could drink from it to: Isn't he the sweetest? It's just something about guys that loves dogs, isn't it?
     Sure... Aino wasn't sure if it was a trap or not. It just didn't feel genuine. But she was just imagening things again.
     He's never mentioned you before.
     We just met a few days ago. Kind of just bumped into eachother today again. Aino explained
     Well, he was supposed to meet me here. I wanted to plan a romantic day, but those dogs keep getting in the way. She smiled a bit again, before talking: That's quite a killers outfit you got there...

     What? Why use a word like "killer" for that? Her entire body and brain stopped working normally. It was just that she never knew what came later on: It's a good way of describing an outfit, when it's on the body of a killers daughter, isn't it? Where was this coming from: Listen. I'm sure that skanky outfit gives you lots of attention from men. She didn't dress to impress men, she'd just thought it was cute. But the answer got stuck in her head: But Daniel's my boyfriend. He likes women that has a bit of taste and class. You know, sexy women, not sluts. What? Like she dressed to steal boyfriends? If a woman stole a man, it was called kidnapping.

      Go home. You're just making a fool of yourself. You look like a skank, and you're your mothers daughter. You'll just end up getting hurt. Trust me. He's not interested. No one in their right mind wants you over me. It doesn't matter how slutty you dress, you're still the daughter of a murderer. I hope you get raped. That's the least you deserve. Just go home. You probably have a million cats waiting for you. Why was always having cats used as an insult? Cats were the best. They loved you no matter what.

     Okay... Well, she wanted to go home anyway.
     Don't worry, I might, or might not tell him who your mother is. Maren said before laying down again. She was probably going to get a tan today anyway. Why did she have to get this angry over a man? It was such a cliche, even if her legs were hot.

     After freshening up, Aino visited her dad. She wasn't surprised to find him indoors in the heat. He was strangely terrified of burning his skin: Hi dad. She visited dad often, but she'd gotten an instant wish to check up on him, especially since she'd been thinking about mum
     Hi Aino. Have you been at the beach today by any chance? You've gotten a tan. Maybe one day he'd understand that he could use sunscreen.
    Yeah. Have you ever thought about getting one? You know, the sun wasn't that strong today. She knew that Maya and him were happy, but she still worried about him. Sometime she wondered how mum had really affected him.

     Wow, she'd never noticed how short dad was before. Especially when she wore those monsterheels: You have your mothers complexion, I just end up looking like a boiled lobster. Maybe he worried about beeing outside after he'd been locked inside for so many years. No, she had to stop overthinking things, he'd been outside a lot when she was younger. But then she'd usually been with him. Maybe he didn't like beeing outside alone.

     Don't you want to enjoy the last official summerday? 
     I am enjoying it. I'm not going to work so... Yeah, she knew that, he'd gotten a more common job after him and Maya moved in together. Wonder how he'd feel if she told him she wanted to meet mum again? Remembering last time, it was probably best not to say anything. She knew what she was doing. What was the worst that could happen?

     Then dad asked that one question she hoped he wouldn't: So how did that date you talked about earlier go? Did you have fun?
     Oh.... Ehm... sure. I don't think I'll meet him again though. He didn't like cats.... Smooth lie Aino, smooth. She just didn't want dad to worry about her.
     That's a shame Aino- I though everyone liked cats.
     I know right? But no, he didn't.... atleast dad bought it. She just couldn't handle having to tell him that she was clearly really picky. How could she say no to someone with so many simoleons, just because she didn't feel great about it.

     She had hoped that she'd feel a lot better after visiting dad. Instead she started thinking about why she didn't want to keep dating Dave again. He hadn't really been that bad. It wasn't like she'd rather date some other guy or anything... stupid Maren and her sexy legs...
     As crappy as this day could've been, Aino was up for a little surprise when she got home.

     A cat was sleeping in her yard. It looked well- fed and healthy, with groomed fur. It probably didn't have a owner, because cats that looked that well usually didn't? Right?

     Welcome home sweetheart!An angry yeti couldn't have stopped her right now. She'd be so good to her. She was going to feed her, and groom her, and love her and pet her and... well, the cat would be well treated.

     Ptah likes what he sees, and Aurora, which she's named; seems to take a liking to Ptah and his tiny tail to.
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poses: addie,simul8er, ag, mochi, pnmai, imho, traelia, blams, tinu, fyachii,

Aino has never really been scared of dogs, it's more what they remind her of. It's a bit based on someone I know; who's afraid of dogs and especially their eagerness. But is no longer scared if the owner is there; probably beacuse then the dogs are more interested in them. And ofcourse when they get to know the dog.

About the start: She's reading a book that was written by the generation 1 heir, Iva. So I just tried to imagine how she'd write a book that she'd absolutely hated writing; making charactes she'd assume someone else would love to read about whilst rolling her eyes.

The part with Ian was just pointless to add, but she rolled a wish to hang out with him. And she's over at his place a lot, so it seemed fitting. She's still a daddys girl. Actually this chapter was pretty pointless in general, but it's meant to be a "push- point". Which doesn't make any sense, so I'll just stop now

Thanks for reading