The Tanakas (B) - Round 7

Starring:

Stella Terrano, Adult Knowledge Sim, LTW Become Mad Scientist

Mariko Tanaka, Adult Popularity Sim, LTW Become The Law

Cosmo Tanaka, Child Popularity Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

~*~*~*~*~

Last time we saw the Tanakas, Cosmo aged from an infant to a toddler to a child. Stella achieved her second LTW of becoming a mad scientist, and Mariko tried to work her way through promotions in the law field. We're back in their happy home for round 7.

Cosmo turned out to be a supremely pleasant boy who overcame his strange skin tone with hardly any effort at all. The other kids enjoyed him so much as a friend that they hardly noticed the obvious fact that he was green, instead of brown or peach or some other variation thereof.



Mariko continued to excel in her newly chosen profession, even though a jump from journalism to law seemed a bit strange to her contemporaries.



And her love life with Stella continued to be as spectacular as it ever was. Both of them were getting on in age and didn't worry so much with things like birth control anymore. It was kind of nice to be able to enjoy one another without concerns like that.



The three family members got along so well that there was rarely, if any, discord in the house. They ate family meals together, played games and watched tv together, and frequently talked about what was going on in their lives. For a green kid with two lesbian parents who weren't married, Cosmo had the most "normal" home in the neighborhood.



Their bank accounts were getting fairly fat at this point thanks to all the promotions and high dollar salaries, so they outfitted the basement with some amusements for the whole family. Stella finally had time to get back into her tinkering and managed to maximize her interest in tinkering, earning her a plaque.


Cosmo enjoyed playing with the train set that Mariko and Stella splurged buying him. It was really supposed to be for children much older than he was, but he was so bright that he managed it with no problem.



With her newly sharpened skills in tinkering and a fat wad of cash still in the bank, Stella decided to do something she'd always dreamed of: open her own business, where she could sell the little gadgets she made on her tinkering bench. Thus, Stella's Servos and Stuff was born - the first business in Rosebud to be owned by one of the townspeople.




She had plenty of money to hire an architect to build her new shop, which was rich with mahogany wood and expensive displays.


She even put in a little apartment for herself in the back where she could refresh herself if she needed to be at the store for long periods of time. [And dumb me didn't realize sims can't sleep on community lots, so this room now has a tiny shower area instead.]


Stella was so excited to open up shop that she had a special grand opening at midnight, and it was a pleasant surprise to her that Stephen Tinker was her first customer. It only seemed fitting, and it was a thrill for Stella to get to talk to him about turning her hobby into a business venture.



Stella thought it a good sign too that one of her first customers in the morning was a good witch who bathed the lot in golden sunlight. It seemed like she was meant to have this shop.



When she got her first good review, she was more confident than ever, and she closed up shop that night with a lighthearted feeling that she was on to the next great adventure in her life.



Back at home, Mari and Stella decided that it was finally time for them to look into getting Cosmo into Rosebud Academy. They all got dressed up in their finest clothes (including a new suit for Cosmo) and invited the headmaster for dinner that night.



It went great. Between their beautiful cottage house and the scrumptious meals Stella was able to make, Cosmo was a shoe-in for the Academy. Mari and Stella were worried about him having to change schools, but Cosmo was excited. "Now I'll get to meet even more friends!" he exclaimed excitedly to them, and they knew he would be fine.



Mariko was making great decisions at work and impressing her superiors and clients. She knew it was only a matter of time before she could make the final jump to being the top in her field. This late in her life, being a lawyer felt more satisfying than anything else she could imagine. Lawyers had a bad rep, but Mari felt like she could do good for these people.



Sure enough, over the next few weeks, Mariko shot through the ranks at her job, not crawling her way to the top but railroading toward her goal, driven in a way that Stella had never seen before.



Mariko's determination encouraged Stella, and she was soon achieving goals all over the place.



Back at the shop, she earned badges like crazy, one after another, starting with a desperately needed cash register badge.


She earned a sales badge too, finding that she had rather a knack for helping people find things that struck their fancy.



As her skills increased, so did the popularity of her business. Before she knew it, she was at rank 4.


And the better she did, the more she wanted to be at the store, working hard to improve it. Soon, she'd gotten a silver talent badge.


And soon after that, her business began to get more and more local fame, raising it to a level 6! It helped that Stella was a local - many of her friends came in to support her, and once they got in there, they found they were delighted with all the little contraptions she could make.


She sold so much inventory that she was able to get a bronze stocking talent badge. It was important for her to know all the parts of the business, and she was beginning to feel like a pretty well-rounded businesswoman.


Meanwhile, back at home, Cosmo was doing extremely well in his new school. He had an A+ report card and was making friends quickly.



Some of his favorite playmates were the Vinci twins, Conor and Liam, whom Cosmo brought home almost every day until Mariko had to make him promise to ask first before he simply had the boys get off at his bus stop.


At work, Stella was meeting new and different people every day...including a mesmerizing woman who claimed to be a witch, following the path of the light. After spending hours and hours talking to her, Stella made an impulsive decision to do it. She wanted to learn the ways of the light.



At her request, Stella was brought into the path of the light, swearing to do good and be pure. Sounded good to Stella.



Whether it was the rejuvenation from her new path or simply her excitement at having so many new adventures in her life lately, Stella achieved her next talent badge (a silver one for sales) and her next rank up in business. In one single season, Stella had managed to get her business to rank 7, and she couldn't have been more proud.


When she closed up shop that night, it only seemed right that she could gleefully fly away home, the wind joyously whipping through her hair.



[[Author's Notes: WOW, this was a busy round! I loved every second of it, though. For most of the five-day cycle, Stella stayed home and made stuff for the shop, and then at the end of the round, I had her go to the store and spend another five days there, so basically this was ten days worth of stuff for the price of only five days of Stella's life. This is my first business, and I find it to be superfun. It's a little bit insane trying to get things restocked and made and hiring employees and whatnot, but I'm really getting into it. I can't wait to have other simmies open up businesses in the little center of town. Perhaps a restaurant next... Anyway, as for the witch thing, this is simply the first time any of my sims have been good enough friends with a witch to learn the ways of the light. Also, I think I was a little drunk when I played this round and was like COOL, WITCHIFY HER, YEAH!!! :D But you know, no harm, no foul. She can always take the potion after witchifying someone else who is better suited to witchery. Mariko has been studying studying studying her little butt off to get her promotions, and I thought that she'd achieved her second LTW this round, but I don't have a snapshot, so I guess not. Guess that'll happen round 8. Both of them are getting near elderhood, so I suspect that will happen next round. Maybe little popularity sim Cosmo will want to take over the family business when they go. Speaking of Cosmo? Sooooo adorable. He's already got a million friends, the cute little dude. This house is a blast.

Bloopers:
Don't ask me why he qualifies as a guest that doesn't need to be invited...he just walked in because he decided he wanted to spin, I guess.]]