The Tanakas (B) - Round 8

Mariko Tanaka, Adult Popularity Sim, 2nd LTW Become The Law

Stella Terrano, Adult Knowledge Sim, 2nd LTW Become Mad Scientist

Cosmo Terrano, Child Popularity Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

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Last time at the Tanaka house, Stella purchased a community lot and started her own business: Stella's Servos and Stuff, getting it up to rank 7 by the end of the round. Mariko got into the law field in the hopes of fulfilling her 2nd LTW of Becoming The Law. Cosmo made loads of friends and got into private school, and at the very end of the round, Stella made an impulsive decision to learn the ways of the light. Let's see how they're getting on this round.



Mariko was NOT pleased when Stella came home in her new garb, setting up a big pot in their bedroom. "Is that a...a cauldron?!?" Mariko asked incredulously. "Seriously, Stella, I really don't like this. It's not you, and you've already got the business, and I don't think Cosmo should be around it. Magic can be really dangerous." And so, Stella, not being too married to the idea herself and agreeing with Mariko, conceeded and called up the matchmaker.



She guzzled down the horrible tasting stuff, and after a few moments of writhing discomfort that felt like worms crawling around in her belly, she felt different.



Sure enough, she was back to being plain old Stella: normal clothes, no sparkles, and best of all, no angry spouse. It was entertaining to ride a broom home from work anyway.




And Mariko came home with a double reason to be happy: she finally achieved her lifetime want of becoming The Law. That, paired with her wife's un-witchified appearance gave the Mari a lot to celebrate that night.



Mariko was so pleased at achieving her goal (who really got to have two totally different careers and reach the top of both, after all), that she decided it was finally time to focus on something more important: romancing her girl.



Cosmo wasn't too happy about the extra smooches going on in the house, but at least he could escape into the bathroom whenever they got too mushy.



Also fortunately for Cosmo, his moms had different schedules, which meant that a lot of the time, he got to hang with one or the other. Sometimes when the two of them were in a room together, it was impossible to get their full attention because they were still focused on each other. And on the up side for the parents, the two of them managed to bring home some pretty hefty and useful bonuses as well.





One thing Cosmo and Mariko particularly enjoyed doing was watching the stars. Cosmo liked to pontificate on what it must be like where his other mom's family came from.




Soon other concerns distracted him, though...like his birthday party. Stella called off sick just to be home for it. Her little boy was growing up so fast!



Cosmo stood and contemplated the candles on his cake while his moms cheered in the background. "I wish for a million friends!" he exclaimed inside his own head and blew the candles out.



He grew up looking every bit as handsome as Mari and Stella knew he would be, though it didn't stop them from getting a little misty-eyed about him.



Cosmo knew he wanted to be super-popular, just like his mom Mariko, and he'd work hard to be so.



As Cosmo headed out to get some new clothes and a new look for his new teenaged body, he rolled his eyes at his parents. "Can't you guys cut that out long enough to at least get through my birthday party?" he asked, heading out the front door. Mari and Stella laughed. "He's a teenager now for sure."



When he came back, he'd gotten himself a brand new outfit, a hat, and he decided to try to grow a beard. Of course, he still had too much of a baby face to get much more than peach fuzz, but Cosmo thought that made him look cool and much older.




His room got a makeover as well, and now he had an actual desk of his own where he could do homework. The bad thing about getting older was that the homework kept getting harder!



He was taking a political science class in school and decided he wanted to be the most popular man in town: the mayor of Rosebud. Stella and Mariko assured him he could be whatever he wanted so long as he put his mind to it.





So, he continued to study hard and make friends even harder. Despite his different appearance, other kids seemed to accept him just the way he was, for his personality was too pleasant not to.



Stella spent the end of the summer working hard on her business, getting it all the way up to rank 8. It was incredibly hard work, but she found the more time she spent at the store, the more she loved it.



She was getting good reviews in the paper and everything. Her only worry was that she simply couldn't seem to find someone skilled enough at making mechanical things to really be an aid in the production of goods to sell in the store.



Stella enjoyed being involved in all aspects of the business, from sales to the cash register to restocking and creating new products. It was a lot easier now that she was getting the hang of all those new tasks!




Everything wasn't sunshine and roses for the Tanaka house, though. One day, Mariko made a decision that was highly unpopular with the public, and they're so unhappy that the city had no choice but to fire her!




In all her life, she'd never been fired from anything. She was positively crushed when she got home from work that day.



With Cosmo set to head off to college in the not-too-distant future, Mariko had to take another job, so she simply took the one that paid the most, knowing that she would be retirement age before long anyway.



Indeed, in a few weeks it was time for both Mariko and Stella's birthdays. Gathering with the family in the kitchen, Mariko went first.



She aged into a very classy-looking elder, her black hair gone white and a little stoop finding her shoulders.



There wasn't much time to inspect the difference, as it was Stella's turn at the cake.



She too seemed to grow a little thicker about the hips, her face softening into elderhood and everything sliding a little closer to the floor. Mariko didn't care. She was as beautiful as ever.



They both got a new makeover, and they looked like a million bucks. It was strange for Cosmo to think of his parents getting older (and hard to imagine what life would be like without them), but he had to admit, they looked happy to have achieved so much in their lives.




Mariko decided that after lives filled with hard work, she and Stella were due for at least one big reward. For their anniversary, she purchased a brand new vacation house in Takemizu Village and presented it to Stella. In their lives, they had truly lived the Simerican dream.



[[Author's Notes: Man, Cosmo is soooooo cute as a teen, I love it! He's got a real baby face. Also really dig the way Mari looks after aging, though Stella's face has a bit of the melted ice cream look going on. It's okay, they still have three very strong bolts. :) Nothing else too interesting happened this round, and I'm looking forward to getting the store up to rank 10 (if I can) and sending them on vacation next round! Stay tuned for Kimi and Takeru...

Bloopers:
This animation always cracks me up. // Um, how 'bout no? ]]