Chapter 2.1: Building Families

Years 5-6

As winter came, the temperature dropped, and Lennon took to operating his robotics store in some warmer clothes, sacrificing professionalism for being able to feel his arms.  Some of the locals swore that it snowed here in winter, though that didn't fit with anything Lennon knew about how deserts worked; however, it wouldn't be the most surprising thing about this strange land.  One day, as he'd just finished unloading his big ticket item for the day(a robotic cleaner), a woman walked up his path.  Her name was Christy, and she was beautiful.

He finished up business that day and closed his store before calling her up and asking her out on a date to the hottest - well, the only - nightclub in town.  It turned out that she wasn't just beautiful, she was intelligent too.  They hit it off, and Christy agreed to a committed relationship with him - moving in, of course, to help him with the store.  As she was moving her possessions inside, the first snowflakes of the season began to fall.  She told him that this was normal, and one of the reasons she wanted to be a scientist was to study the peculiarly un-desert-like weather patterns of the canyon.  Unfortunately, they wouldn't allow her into the profession until she'd gotten to the pinnacle of scientific knowledge, which was why she wanted to set up a telescope in his backyard.  Lennon relented, resigning himself to running the shop solo, just as before.

Ji had a somewhat rocky recovery from his lightning strike.  Somehow he managed to continue dragging himself to work every day, and so he wasn't fired.  He had finally made up his mind to start the search for a wife when, one day, he stepped out of the carpool from work and found himself face to face with a gorgeous woman.

Her name was Lilly Do, and she was everything he could ever have wanted in a girl.  He couldn't believe that he'd been about to just go ask the first thing in a skirt that would have him to marry him.  This was what he'd been holding out for!  Their relationship progressed quickly; first they agreed to a committed relationship, then Lilly moved in, and then, one night, she agreed to marry him, on one condition.  He had to move the bedroom out of the living room.

With the baby on the way, Tanya and Komei thought it best to get married as soon as possible.  They rushed through an engagement and had a private ceremony in their living room, not having any money to spare on a party, thereby becoming Mr and Mrs Tellerman.

Having a woman around the house was doing wonders for Lennon's bachelor pad.  Christy wasn't impressed at all with his workshop, but, with the addition of a few counters, a sink for washing up and a hot chocolate machine, he would be cosy out there all winter long.

She also suggested a few changes to his merchandise.  Looking through the wholesale catalog, she showed him some remote-controlled toys, not unlike his own toy robots, which could be sold alongside his hand-crafted goods for a greater profit.  As reluctant as he was to let his old business model go, he agreed that he would be able to bring in much more profit each day if the number of items he was selling wasn't limited by the number of items he could build.

Despite the night's snowfall, customers still came to the shop, and Christy's new idea worked.  Tinkering in the workshop late that night, Lennon figured out how to build hoverbots, which he wouldn't be selling in the shop yet, though he intended to build one for use on his own lot.

Ji and Lilly were settling in to their engagement nicely.  He received a promotion to a record store clerk, with the associated bonus and salary bump, which made Lilly realize that they were ready, even after their short engagement period, to start a family together.  The news of Tanya and Komei's shotgun wedding was still echoing through the small community, so they kept the event private and low-key, accepting congratulations only from their closest friends.  And so the Won family gained a new member.  Eager to begin building her new family, Lilly wanted a baby right away.  With some misgivings, Ji agreed to try, as their financial situation was relatively stable.  Lilly wasn't sure whether or not she'd conceived, but she knew she'd find out soon enough.

Things at the Tellerman's apartment weren't going so great.  Komei continued to struggle as an artist, always falling short of that masterpiece he strove to paint, slipping deeper into his frustrated depression with every stroke of the brush.  Tanya's pregnancy was not an easy one, forcing her to stay confined to the sofa or bed almost all of the time.  They'd managed to scrape together some cash, but it was hardly enough to afford everything they would need for the baby, on top of the rent.  And then, just as things couldn't get any more complicated, there was a scream from the bedrooom; Tanya's labor had begun.

((Yeah, we've lost the Webster family name.  Oh well, I figured it would probably happen.  Tellerman isn't a bad name.  Somehow she lost a day on her pregnancy visuals, which was really weird.  When I left her rotation she had the first bump, and when I came to her again she'd gotten the second bump.  But she didn't spawn that day, so...very strange.  Also, yes, I'm totally going to leave you hanging there.))

Chapter 1.2: Early Years

Years 2-4

Life went on in No Man's Canyon.  Ji Won heard of a job opening in the slacker field as a golf caddy, and jumped on the opportunity to make some cash - and meet some ladies.  The only downside was that the carpool came for him at four in the morning.  It sure didn't feel like a slacker job, when he had to get up so early!

Unfortunately, his new job didn't do much for him in the way of finding hot women.  He decided to try Tanya's nightclub.  After all, he was employed now, right?  He could afford the price of admission.  Unfortunately, not a single woman he met that night struck his fancy, and he went home alone.

Tanya's relationship with Komei continued to deepen.  They decided to go steady, with Komei moving into Tanya's apartment, though they didn't consider marriage at this point.  They were, however, quick to celebrate their new relationship in the bedroom.

As thrilling as this love was, Tanya couldn't help but think how it would feel to be in love with two people at the same time.  Of course, she kept this idea to herself; while Komei shared her desire to be rich, he didn't seem to take as much pleasure in flirting with anything that moves.  He didn't bring much to the apartment, but having an extra pair of hands around the place would be priceless, especially since Komei was naturally more tidy than Tanya was.  Unfortunately, as he attempted to make dinner for her one night soon after he moved in, he managed to set the stove on fire.

Luckily he could extinguish the flames before they spread, and Tanya wasn't too angry at being woken up so rudely before her shift at the nightclub.  The Wrong Side of the Tracks Club was coming along nicely, with a new lounge area and a karaoke machine.

Lennon's robot business was coming along nicely...or it would be, if he ever sold anything.  He'd built up quite the stock of toy robots, but hadn't spent much time trying to sell them.  However, to make room for the CleanBots and HydroBots that he now had the ability to create, he needed to sell off his existing stock of toys.

As a result of this sale, Lennon's business reached level 1.  He also found himself getting better at selling things to people, even if his cash register skills were still abysmal.

Ji's life wasn't entirely a mess, it turned out.  Following insightful golf advice ("I dunno...") given to the rich businessman he was caddying for, he was given a bonus of $50.  And the client must have mentioned something to his employers, because Ji was quickly promoted to a gas station attendant.  Unfortunately, this cut his nightclub time short, as it was a graveyard shift, but he hadn't had much luck there in any case.  So what was the loss?

Fortunately, he didn't have long to wait before he was promoted again, this time to a convenience store clerk.  The job wasn't much different, but at least the hours were better.  Maybe he could finally meet someone.

Money was still tight for Tanya and Komei.  Komei had taken up painting to bring in some extra money, but they were always worrying about the rent.  Businesses take time to start paying for themselves, and Tanya was worried that she'd jumped into all of this a little too quickly.  At least she wasn't in it alone.

At the end of the four-year-long season, taxes came due.  $150 for Lennon, $300 for Ji, and $200 for Tanya and Komei.  Taxes would be used to fund community improvements, such as a university.  Between the four of them, they decided to set the taxation rate at 10% of a household's savings, whatever wasn't tied up in investments, rounded up to the nearest $50.  Ji wondered why they couldn't just use the money and invest in a decent police force, as he was tired of picking up his trashcan whenever some hoodlum ran by and knocked it over.

Things were going well for the people of No Man's Canyon.  However, autumn still had two final tricks up its sleeve before letting them go into winter.  Ji was out at the Wrong Side of the Tracks Club when he was stuck by a sudden bolt of lightning.  He barely made it back to his house before he collapsed.  He took this as a sign that he was living his life the wrong way.  He just had to pick a girl, any girl, and stop holding out for the one.  He resolved that, as soon as he was recovered, he would go about doing this the right way.  On the other side of town, Tanya had been feeling nauseous, but put it down to poorly-cooked food and overwork.  However, one morning as she found that she could no longer button her pants over the bulge in her lower abdomen, she finally had to face the facts.  She was pregnant.

((I'm having a hard time finding a spouse for Ji.  His turn-ons are athletic and witch, and his turn-off is black hair.  I did see the good witch on an earlier rotation, but she's an elder.  No idea what age the evil witch is.  Maybe he's gay.  Way to contribute to the town population, Ji...now go find a chick to procreate with, I don't care how unattractive they all are!  Fire #2 happened, courtesy of Komei.  Oddly, though, firemen came, even though there wasn't a smoke alarm in the kitchen.  Is that automatic on apartment lots, I wonder?  Komei put it out on his own, so I'm not going to worry about it too much, but it was strange.  Yep, first pregnancy, in the household that can least afford it.  I blame my risky woohoo rules, that and how Komei and Tanya can't stop jumping each other.))

Chapter 1.1: New Beginnings

Year 1

Once upon a time, in a land where seasons last for years and technology so advanced that it's indistinguishable from magic is common in everyday life, three friends set out to make their fortunes in a remote desert valley.  They had been told that the land was good for almost nothing, but they felt that there was no place for them in the already-established civilization.

One was Lennon Henkes, an intelligent but introverted neat freak who desired money, power and love - but never for too long.  He moved into a small home and opened a robot shop.  Whether this was overly ambitious or not remains to be seen.

Another was Ji Won, an amicable and casual fellow who longed to settle down and form a family with someone special, though he wasn't averse to a few flings on the side.  Upon moving to town, he purchased the biggest house he could afford, before realizing that it came virtually unfurnished, and with no stairs to the attic.  Unfazed by this turn of events, he purchased a double bed and placed it in what was probably supposed to be the living room, declared his new house a home, and promptly set his oven on fire.

He extinguished the flames and rescued his burnt-to-a-crisp breakfast, before heading outside to meet some of the locals.  Unfortunately, neither of the two women he met were worth romancing.  Undeterred, he retired to his living room and studied fire safety before bed, becoming much more confident in methods to fight the flames if it ever happened again.

The lone woman of the trio was Tanya Webster, an enthusiastically playful party girl with dreams of being rich and famous, with men lining up around the block to beg to date her.  She moved into an old apartment complex, operated remotely by a landlord back in the city, but her sights were set outside the walls of the converted warehouse building she was living in.

She opened a dark and gritty club called the Wrong Side of the Tracks Club.  There wasn't much there, but she hoped to extend it in the future with a bar in addition to the dance floor.  The first night it was open, she met Komei Tellerman, immediately hitting it off with the man.

She left him to enjoy the club on his own, as she had other sales duties to tend to while it was open, but made sure to get his number before she moved on.  As the sun came up, she chased the last lingering sims from the club before closing the doors and heading back to her apartment.  All in all, a great opening day.  Now the only challenge is to make enough money from admission to pay the rent.

((So, I've got two male, one female.  Two fortune, one family, all with a secondary of romance.  This'll be fun.  All homes introduced in the town so far have been downloaded off Mod the Sims, with minimal edits, so if you see something in the screenshots that you think you'd like leave a comment and I'll try to track down where it came from.  If you see a lot in the distance with grass or something, that's because almost all lots from there have pretty extensive landscaping, and I haven't gotten around to removing the landscaping from any houses that aren't currently occupied.  It seems most people don't play desert neighborhoods.  I had my first fire, only two more before I get a law enforcement slot!  I found a few love interests for Tanya, Komei stood out but I built up a bit of relationship with two other men in case he goes off and dies.))