The Tanakas (A) - Round 3

Starring:

Yuuna Tanaka, Elder Family Sim, LTW Marry Off Six Children

Jiro Tanaka, Adult Romance Sim, LTW Become Hall of Famer

Inari Tanaka, Teen Family Sim, LTW Become Education Minister

Aki Tanaka, Teen Popularity Sim, LTW Have 20 Simultaneous Pet Best Friends

Last round at the Tanakas, Aki and Inari got into private school and transitioned well into teens, Yuuna continued to work on her sewing skills, and Jiro moved back into the house following his graduation from university. How will the family adjust to the new member returning to their home, and how will Jiro get used to living with his Grandmother and two much younger siblings? We'll see.

~*~*~*~*~

Inari wasn't so sure she was glad to see Jiro back in the house. Frankly, even though he was her big brother, she didn't remember him very well, and based upon the way he talked about college, she wasn't sure that she'd like him very well either. She and Aki had a nice situation here with their grandmother, and Inari was afraid Jiro would mess it all up. She silently wished her sister Mariko had come home instead. Inari'd always liked her best.


At least having him in the house didn't disrupt their routines much. When Inari had turned into a teen, she'd saved allowance money to put a downpayment on a new guitar that she could hardly stand to put down. She was getting pretty good too.


Aki wasn't disrupted much either; he continued to excel at anything he put even a fraction of attention toward, like schoolwork and making friends. Inari thought Aki made living look easy.
Aki simply thought his sister was light years cooler than he was. He was probably right.


Jiro certainly didn't chance his patterns any. The first thing he did upon arriving home in Rosebud was to call up a pretty redhead he'd met at university [whose name I've forgotten]. Shortly after that on the agenda was buying a double bed. He had needs, after all.

But before the bed could get delivered, the photo booth would do. The poor girl didn't realize she was only a pleasant entertainment for Jiro, which was a shame. He was never the brightest bulb, and he didn't bother to really fill the girls he was with in on the fact that he wasn't interested in anything but a woohoo anywhere physically possible.


The one person who was actively happy that Jiro had come home was Yuuna. It was nice to have another adult in the house to take some responsibility, even if Jiro was only a theoretical responsibility-holder. Plus, he had graduated well from college (though she didn't realize part of that was due to his influence over the girls on campus), and he would no doubt get a job, which would bring in some much-needed funds to the house.


Sure, she entertained herself with her sewing, but still, she loved her grandchildren even if she was a touch oblivious as to the ins and outs of their personalities.


Inari, for one, was becoming more and more independent and aloof than she'd been even as a child. She took to spending full days in the local park with a fishing rod, talking to people and enjoying being outside.


She caught bass...

...and catfish...

...and she never hesitated to use her cooking skills to grill up her catches for impromptu picnics in the park. Her family knew she spent a lot of time there, but they had no idea how much she became a regular face, waving to the regulars and settling in for a quiet afternoon with her fishing pole.



Jiro did, in fact, get a job, though he didn't want to do much. He figured being a professional slacker would fit him perfectly. Besides, it was a great way to meet chicks.


One day, one of said hot chicks who he didn't even know showed up in front of his house and stopped him as he came home from work.


Apparently, she'd seen him around the clubs and had a friend who was very interested in him. She offered to set him up with her friend, and of course, Jiro was never one to turn down interaction of any sort with a female, so he said yes.


Unceremoniously, a hot little redhead plummeted to earth seemingly from outer space. Or perhaps thrown from a plane like Con Air.


Her name was Linda Mazza, and the hottie in the pink was right - this girl was definitely Jiro's type: sexy, fit, and fun-loving.


Jiro struck up a conversation with her. "So you're like...a cop or something?" Linda shook her head. "No. I just got back from a friend's bachelor party. I was the naughty cop." Jiro liked her even better.


It didn't take long, of course, before he got Linda relaxing on his new double bed. Sure, his grandmother was in her bedroom just a short distance away and his kid siblings were upstairs, but who cared? His grandmother was going deaf and probably wouldn't hear anyway, and the kids? They had to learn somehow.


As Jiro relaxed in bed afterwards, in the five seconds before he fell asleep, he thought about the conversation he'd had with Yuuna earlier in the week. She was convinced she wasn't going to be around long, and she wanted him to take over the house. To "continue the family line" as she put it. She also hinted that she'd like to see one of these great grandchildren before she went. He wasn't really big on kids, but he thought that maybe Linda wouldn't be so bad to have around, and to have kids with. After all, she was hot - their kids would be good looking little buggers.


So, without much thought (the way Jiro usually made decisions), he invited Linda to move in. "I don't want to marry you or anything," he commented. "But you know, we get along, you're good in bed. Let's have a kid, and then we can get my grandmother's inheritance and the house. As long as you don't care if I sleep with other people..." he said cautiously. The unemployed Linda readily agreed. It wasn't like she was planning on a monogamous relationship either, but she was eager to get out of the dumpy apartment downtown where she'd been living.

She brought along no job, a few thousand dollars in savings, but loads of physical skill and charisma. Jiro thought it wouldn't be bad having her around.


Inari, disgusted with Jiro, spent even more time at the lake once Linda moved in. Linda wasn't so bad, but Inari couldn't stand another day of hearing the sound of them bump uglies traveling up through the floorboards.


While at the park one day, she explained her annoyance to her sister Mariko, who happened to be strolling by. Mariko listened with an eyeroll to the escapades of her brother and gave Inari some advice. "Just deal until you can get into university, then you can do whatever you want. University was a blessing for all of us; I think it will be for you too." Inari thanked her sister and wandered home slowly in the rain, thoughts turned toward the future. I should hang out with Mariko more often, Inari thought admiringly.


Of course, Jiro was there when Inari got home, but she just sighed and made the best of it, sitting down for a meal with him and Yuuna.


And he wasn't always having sex with Linda. Sometimes she helped him work out so he could get fit for when he decided to go for his dream career: Hall of Famer. He was going to be a world-champion Beer Pong Star, he just knew it.


He also made important and influential contacts, with people like the rich guy from the shopping district, the one who the secret society was named after. Or maybe it was his dad or granddad who it was named after...the dude had a lot of numbers after his name.


Jiro wasn't the only one making "connections," though. Linda had also met Malcolm, while she was out shopping one day. Like Jiro, she was certainly charming enough, and it didn't take long before she was enjoying a bit of "landgrabbing" of her own in the photo booth of the Lost In Love Hedge Maze.



Later that night, when Linda discovered that Malcolm had dropped off a very nice present for her, a thought began to form in her head. Quite a nice thing to have a filthy rich boy toy...


Inari wasn't sure where the grill came from, but she wasted no time in getting to use it, roasting up some of the bass she'd caught at the lake earlier in the day. She was really turning out to be a well-rounded young lady.


Her interest in music and lack of interest in spending time at home led her downtown for more outings. She was spending more time away from home than home since Jiro had returned, and even when she was out, she felt apart from the rest of the people there. Frequently, she talked more to the dj than anyone else and even convinced him to let her spin a few tunes.


The club owners got to know her, and one of the bartenders who hit on her a little bit slipped her a drink here and there, even though she was underage.


It helped her loosen up so she could dance herself happy and exhausted in the swirling lights.



On her way out that night, she met an...interesting...woman named Vanessa McAuley. She was dressed as a witch and even had a black cat with her, whom the woman must have dusted with some kind of glow in the dark powder, for he seemed to sparkle and glow.


She made the acquaintance of the woman and even had a little round of water balloon fight before it was finally time for Inari to head home. After all, it couldn't be the weekend every night, and she had to get up early for school the next day.


Yuuna found herself with lots of free time on her hands, still, despite the fact that there were now two more people living in the house, filling it to capacity. One day while she was out getting the paper, she met a pretty older brunette, a woman named Florence Delarosa. Yuuna immediatly took to her and wanted very much to become this woman's closest friend.


She invited Florence in for tea, but Florence had to go, and Yuuna sadly hugged her goodbye, making the woman promise first to come back and visit soon. Florence promised.


That day at school, Inari got a chance to show off the mad guitar chops she'd been honing at home.


Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated her Jimi Hendrix-inspired shredding, and she came home dejected.


That is...until she saw her guitar. Determinedly, she decided that she simply needed to get even better, and she'd show those sticks-in-the-mud what she was really made of next time.



Even Linda - who was at least good for something and took to fixing things around the house - agreed that she was getting to sound almost like a pro. The compliment soothed Inari's bruised ego, and she thought maybe Linda wasn't awful after all.

Next up, we check in with the newly sprung university sweethearts, Mariko Tanaka and Stella Terrano.

~*~*~*~*~

Scoring:

New sim added to the neighborhood: +1

Net worth to be added to neighborhood total: $59,231

[[Author's notes: Hahahahahaaaaaaa, omg, this house is insane. Jiro just acts more and more oblivious and ridiculous as an adult, Inari is going off on her own all the time, Aki constantly has his head stuck in a book, and Yuuna is apparently turning lesbian in her old age. The decision to add Linda to my 'hood wasn't at all planned, and in fact, I made it spur of the moment after a cocktail and am still not sure it was the most brilliant plan. However, I do think that keeping Malcolm Landgrabb as a boy toy is the perfect way to keep the house well-furnished! Linda is another romance sim with the LTW to become a Hall of Famer, like Jiro. No wonder they get along so well. She came with no talent badges and no job, but tons of skill points, so that's alright then. Also I'm anxious for she and Jiro to have at least one kid because I think that would be nice, and I'm going kind of babycrazy lately. As for Florence, I think I'm going to let she and Yuuna be romantic, though I might not write it quite so blatantly. Maybe a subtext thing. I just think it would be nice for Yuuna to have a little lovins before she shoves off the mortal coil. The poor old bird has had it pretty rough in this game. I am dying to find a good love match for Inari because she is fast becoming my new favorite sim, but alas, no bolts with a SINGLE sim she's ever met. None. And I constantly had her scope rooms when she went out. Maybe college will do the trick. :( Anyway, I leave you with music and bloopers.

This Entry's MP3:
Imitosis by Andrew Bird (from the album Armchair Apocrypha)

Bloopers:
Now we know how he got so rich - petty theft! // I don't at all remember what this was about, I just think it's hilarious to see such a monumental bitchslap. // Sorry, Yuuna, I'll be taking that cooking skill now, but when we're done, watch me bust a move!!]]