End of the Line Dynasty (4x4)

[hazelnut]

Yes, I'd vaguely considered him.  He seems to have good traits, judging by his SimsWiki article.   Being old's against him but then Ellie's likely to be an adult by the time she's finished her requirements, so he wouldn't be much older.

[hazelnut]

Rock Music

Even the most timeless of childhoods must eventually come to an end.  Ellie was playing with Bobo and his friends one evening when she started feeling funny…



…and then the sparkles hit…



…and she was a teenager.



Now that she was older, the geology book wasn’t such a tough read and she’d finished it before the week was out.



JoAnn, delighted that her daughter was showing signs of having inherited her love of learning,  set up a small laboratory so that Ellie could apply her new knowledge (although with stern warnings that she mustn’t go too far in her pursuit of the science and logic skills).



Rocky, despite his size, turned out to be nothing special, at least to geologists.  Ellie, still sentimentally attached to her present, put him back in her bedroom and started analysing the rest of the family’s extensive rock collection.



With so much material to practise on, she had soon developed her skills to the point where the Simlish Geological Society was delighted to accept her as a junior member.

Not that rocks were her only interest.  Remembering how much she’d enjoyed her toy xylophone when she was little, she’d joined the school music club and was learning to play several instruments.  The guitar and bass were her favourites.



Even with schoolwork and her two hobbies, she still had plenty of spare time.  Since other teenagers were in short supply (her class consisted of herself and one boy, who was never seen out of school), she made her own entertainment.



Time passed relatively uneventfully.  The Geological Society, impressed by the sheer number of reports she sent in, first made her a full member and then recognised her as a world expert while she was still a teen.  The rest of the family kept alerting her to more meteorites that they’d spotted through their telescopes, leading to the greatest discovery of all a few days before her young adult birthday.



Thanks to Granddad Mark’s sports car, which she’d ‘borrowed’ for the occasion, she just made it home ahead of the curfew police  (but when she was telling her family about her new find she skated over little details like that.  Instead, she launched straight into, “Oh, I forgot!  It’s the music club recital tomorrow evening.  You’re all invited.”)



The concert was a great success, despite her parents.  Justin, who’d hurried over after a late finish to the day’s filming, turned up still in costume, much to Ellie’s dismay.  He looked good in military uniform, no doubt about it, but didn't he realise that parents were supposed to wear classics (you know, boring stuff), not fancy dress?  Her mum’s short skirt was borderline embarrassing, too.  Still, not even mutton-dressed-as-lamb parents could spoil the evening.  Performing was such a buzz.  She could see why Dad loved it.  The applause at the end of her solo at the recital had been amazing, even if she had been physically sick with nerves just before she went onstage.

And then she had another birthday.





Now what?  She’d put it off for as long as she possibly could but now she’d have to make the decision: what was she going to do with her life?  Much as she loved rocks, she wasn’t at all sure that she wanted to investigate them full-time – and anyway, were there any discoveries left to be made?  She remembered her mother’s suggestion of classical music but that wasn’t really her thing either.  She had to admit it, if only to herself: she was a show-off, just like her dad.  She wanted the applause and the limelight all to herself, not to be hidden away in the back row of an orchestra.

And so she decided.  She’d be a performer like her father.

The following morning, she looked in the paper and searched online at the library.  No singing jobs.  But then she remembered Dad saying something about applying in person.  She walked down the road to the park, found the proprietor and flung herself on his mercy.



Thankfully, he said yes.  He’d be prepared to give her a chance – but first she had to prove herself.  Prove she could make a living at the bottom of the musical food chain, playing for tips and delivering Sing-A-Grams.  It wasn’t exactly what she’d dreamed of but she gritted her teeth and agreed.  Everyone had to start somewhere.



As night fell over the park and she counted her pitiful first day’s takings, she gazed at the stage and vowed that one day she’d be a star.

[hazelnut]

The Show Must Go On

While Ellie was growing up, time was also passing for the rest of the family.  Justin aged up to elder while Ellie was gazing longingly at the stage.



The following day, it was JoAnn’s turn.



Justin carried on working until he’d reached the top of his second career and then retired to spend more time with his beloved wife.  After all, who knew how much longer they had left together?



This was brought home to them later that night when Grim came to fetch Mark.



He was happy to go – he’d lived a very long time and knew it wouldn’t be long now until they were all reunited – but Pearl was devastated.  Eating Ambrosia regularly so that she could catch more and more valuable fish for the museum had seemed such a good idea once but now, like India, she was having to face the consequences of prolonging her life.



Grace, who had also opted for semi-immortality, did her best to comfort her twin and, as the days and weeks passed, life in the household more or less settled back into its old pace.  Pearl fished, Dan studied the heavens and Justin and JoAnn cuddled in front of the TV.  (For an acrobat and marathon runner, Justin was remarkably keen on the shopping channel.)

Ellie, meanwhile, was progressing slowly through her chosen career.  The Sing-A-Gram jobs were still trickling in and she filled in the remaining hours of the day by playing for tips.

She was still hoping to be offered a gig but none of the proprietors seemed impressed by her act.  Not that she could really blame them: she had to admit that she wasn’t exactly a major draw.  Very few people turned up when she was playing for tips and even those who did often seemed to have better things to do than to stand and watch.



She also couldn’t help noticing that most of them were getting on a bit.  Where were all the young rock fans?  You couldn’t expect old people to go for Oogie Fever.

Her phone rang.  It was her agent.  Again.

“Look, love, what you need is some publicity.  Get yourself noticed.”
“Like making friends with that politician?  You know, the one who died just after I’d spent hours sucking up to her.”
“Well, yes, OK.  I admit that plan didn’t work out too well.  But I think this one might.  You’ve got a great bod, hon.  Why not go to the gym and show it off a bit?  I’ll tip off the paps – I think we can rely on a few pics in tomorrow’s papers.  As long as no dramatic news breaks to barge it out of the way, that is.  You haven’t heard of any wars brewing or anything…?”

Ellie often thought she’d be better off without an agent – or, at least, without that particular one.  Exercise wasn’t really her thing.  Growing up with a treadmill-obsessed father had kind of put her off the idea.  Still, she supposed she might as well give it a whirl.  She popped into the sports shop to buy some suitably revealing workout clothes and then made her way to the gym.

Um, so how did these machines actually work?  Dad made loping along on a treadmill look so easy.



When the photographer finally appeared, he seemed more amused by her struggles than impressed by her physique – but at least he let her shower and retouch her makeup before she posed for the pictures.



No wars broke out overnight and other exciting news also failed to happen.  Thank goodness for the silly season.  Most of the papers carried at least one photo of Ellie (although mostly buried in the ‘women’s interest’ or showbiz pages) and a couple of the more gossipy magazines ran whole features.  Being the daughter of a film star had its advantages, it seemed.

The following day, she achieved her dream.  The proprietor of the performance park offered her a gig.



It went well, she thought.  A varied set, mixing crowd-pleasers and new material and ending with a rousing chorus of ‘Ooogie oogie oo!’

Hang on!  Crowd-pleasers?  But where was the crowd?



Discounting the proprietor, that made an audience of exactly three.  But at least one of them was a reporter – and he loved the show.  Thanks to his glowing review, she was offered the chance to lead a sing-song at a team-building exercise at the business office…



…and a regular gig at the coffeeshop (not that the audience was any more impressive there).



She thanked the ‘crowd’ anyway for their loyal support, as her father had taught her to.



Finally, she must have been doing something right.  The proprietor at Mick’s offered her a one-off spot and then a regular gig.  Her confidence on stage grew accordingly.



And then, during her second show at the karaoke bar, reality made its presence felt again.  She aged up to full adulthood onstage at the end of her set.



And then, a few days later…



Ellie wasn’t at home.  She’d finally been given her big break – a gig at a bigger venue than coffee houses or parks.  She was in the limo when her mother died, on the way to the most important show of her life.

Like Mark, JoAnn was prepared to go.  She shook Grim’s hand and bowed to the inevitable.



For Pearl and Grace, it was another reminder that long life comes at a price – but for Justin, it was the end of everything.  How could he bear to carry on without Jo?



Grim didn’t leave him in torment for long.



By the time Ellie had finished setting up the stage, he was back.



Poor Ellie stood by the fountain in the entrance hall and sobbed.  How could she be expected to perform tonight?  How could anyone cope with this?



But then she remembered Justin’s dictum: The Show Must Go On.  Whatever happened.  Great joys, tragic bereavement: none of it mattered on stage.  The audience had come for their fix – a glimpse of life beyond the mundane nine to five – and it was her job to provide it.

She took few minutes at the start of her set to talk to the audience.  Without getting too maudlin, she simply said, “I would like to dedicate tonight’s performance to the memory of my parents, Justin and JoAnn Gold.”  And then she struck a soft chord and launched into the first number.



None of her previous shows had come close.  Tonight she was inspired.  The audience (a little more numerous than usual) hung on her every word.



The papers raved about their new star and suddenly there was barely enough space in her weekly diary for the gigs she was offered.

But in the early hours of the following morning, as she lay unsleeping in the bed she’d had since childhood, her mind wandered onto things other than showbiz.  Yes, her parents had gone – but they’d had such a full life together.  Could she ever find anything like that for herself?  She’d met people who were interested, of course, but they were all either proprietors, keen (at least in her eyes) to take any advantage in getting a good booking, or fans, who might have been perfectly decent people in other circumstances but didn’t really count in this setting.  She couldn’t lose the nagging feeling that they were only in it for the chance of WooHooing a celebrity.  Her parents’ relationship had been a marriage of equals.  Could she ever hope for anything like that for herself?




Next chapter


Ellie is named after another Legacy spare.  Eleanor Stone was a hit movie composer and I sincerely wish her namesake had followed the same route.  Given how easy promotion in a profession usually is in Sims, I was astonished by the slowness of Ellie’s career progress.  With the ambitious and workaholic traits (like so many of her ancestors), she could have zipped through the classical music career far more quickly, especially if I’d taken the risk of letting her go to Uni.

The first Ellie painted a few portraits, maxed her career with little trouble and then married Audra the repair Sim and moved out.  Audra, incidentally, was the best-value NPC ever.  She’d arrive at the house, fix all the broken appliances and then hang around for hours or even days, looking after the babies and toddlers and socialising with everyone else.  She outlived Ellie by a long time: I think her ageing must have glitched and she was, essentially, around in the neighbourhood until everyone who knew her had died.


Next chapter

[Shewolf13]

Oh poor Ellie!  That's awful, to loose both parents like that!  At least she used the grief to give a heck of a show.

[Malley]

I'm finally caught up, yay!  Another great story!  Poor Ellie.  She certainly deserves some credit for being able to put on a show immediately after losing both of her parents.  She is very lovely, too.

[hazelnut]

Oh poor Ellie!  That's awful, to loose both parents like that!  At least she used the grief to give a heck of a show.

Well, in terms of gameplay, I suppose it minimises the mourning.  It's hard to think of it like that, though - and the timing was the worst possible from Ellie's point of view.

And yet another devoted couple who died within hours of each other.  I've lost track of how many times that's happened in this game.  In fact, it was probably within an hour this time:  I wasn't watching the game clock but it felt as though I'd only just got the camera back on to Ellie when it panned across town again.

I'm finally caught up, yay!  Another great story!

Hello and thank you .

Poor Ellie.  She certainly deserves some credit for being able to put on a show immediately after losing both of her parents.

Ellie's really struggled with her career, for a variety of reasons.  The last thing she needed was a double bereavement immediately before her biggest show so far.  Poor girl.

She is very lovely, too.

I love the way she looks.  She's the first blonde heir and the combination of Mark's shape and JoAnn's colour makes for striking eyes.  With any luck, some of that will get passed down to the final generation.

[hazelnut]

Love and Marriage (Part 1)

Putting aside her dreams of romance, Ellie concentrated on her career.  After all, what choice did she have?  She still had some way to go before becoming a vocal legend and eligible men – people generally, in fact – weren’t exactly plentiful. Where was everyone?  Starlight Shores was beginning to feel like a ghost town.

Well, maybe she could travel in search of a husband once she’d dealt with her dynastic obligations.  For now, though, she had a gig to prepare for – her first show at the Binder Clips Centre.  She bought some new effects machines to complement the venue’s impressive lighting rigs – the little stage set she’d had since her early days in showbiz was looking rather dwarfed by comparison.  Still, she hung on to most of her old stuff – it had served her well and she was far too sentimental to throw everything out just because she was finally threatening to make it big.

Then she did her vocal exercises, had a nap and called for the limo.

Finally, she had a real audience.



More than she could count; more than she could see from the dazzle of the stage.  She could certainly hear them, though: the roars of appreciation; the sing-along to Oogie Fever; the repeated demands for an encore.

It was amazing.



In fact, if she wanted to make it to the top, maybe she’d better ditch the smaller venues and concentrate on places like Binder Clips and the Fine Fellows’ Hall.  After the show and before her better nature could pop up and point out that the coffeehouse proprietor had given her her very first regular gig and ‘Don’t you owe them a few hours every week, even if you are a star now?’ she asked the chauffeur to drop her off at Flying V’s.

Cancelling the appointment proved to be much harder than she’d expected.  It turned out that the coffeehouse now had three proprietors, not just one, and the one she needed to talk to was off sick.  Or something.  Certainly the two who were in attendance insisted that it wasn’t their problem, although both would have been happy to host extra concerts if she wanted to give them.

She most certainly did not!  Well, not unless they upped their fees considerably.

Then they started reading books and ignoring her.  How rude!  She had a good mind to…

Wait a minute!  Who was that?



Infuriating proprietors forgotten in an instant, she walked over and introduced herself to the tall, dark stranger.  Well, the normal-height, dark stranger.  You can’t have everything.

It was hard to stop herself babbling.  Who was he?  Where had he appeared from?  And how did he manage to have such good taste in clothes when most people looked as though they’d got dressed in the dark?

His name was Louis Amiot, it seemed, and he was French.  And he was also a musician!



She invited him home, worried that she was pushing their relationship too fast.  But he accepted – after all, a supper of perfect baked angel food cake with a rising pop star would be difficult to refuse.



They chatted far into the night.  Oh, he was wonderful!

But then, suddenly, he stood up, mid-sentence, muttered something-or-other (had he really said ‘Cinderella’s jeans?’) and disappeared.

Once she’d stopped panicking, Ellie checked her phone (fortunately, she’d had the sense to get his number) and found that he was back in Champs les Sims.  What had happened?  How had he got home so quickly?  And why?  Was it something she’d said?

She tried calling but just got a recording, saying that it was too late to talk now and did she want to leave a message or call back in a few hours?  Frustrated, she stomped off to her lonely bed.

In the morning, she phoned to invite him to stay.  That is, if he was still interested.  Or had it all been a dream?  Was there really a Louis Amiot?  And, if there was, was he as young and attractive as she’d thought?  In the cold light of day, it was easy to believe she’d imagined the whole thing,

The phone at the other end rang.  A newly-familiar voice answered.  Yes, he was real.  She still couldn’t work out why he’d left in such a hurry but there couldn’t have been much wrong – he sounded as eager to meet again as she was.  After a protracted series of goodbyes, he put the phone down, promising to book a last-minute flight and be in Starlight Shores the following day.

And he was.  Of course, he appeared at the worst possible moment: she’d not expected him until later and had been whiling away the time by trying on some of her old stage outfits and wondering whether she could do something with them or should just send the lot to a charity shop.  No, far too trashy.  Just get rid of them.

And there he was.  Oops!  Still, he didn’t seem to mind.  Quite the opposite.



Embarrassed none the less, Ellie invited him in, asked Grace to take care of her guest and rushed off to shower and change her clothes.  Then they settled down to an afternoon of getting to know one another, trying to ignore the other family members who’d suddenly discovered lots of important business within earshot.



First, Louis taught Ellie a French song.  A love song, at that.

She responded with a serenade on the guitar.



Then things got serious.





Before the day was over, she’d invited him to go steady…



…and even proposed.




Love changes everything.  With her fiancé living in the same household (however innocently, chaperoned as they were by elderly relatives), Ellie found the barriers that lay in the way of completing her tasks far less intimidating.  A few days after Louis joined the family, she achieved her lifetime wish.



Now all she had to do was to make sure of her best friends and then she could get on with the next bit.


Eleanor Gold and Louis Amiot were married in an informal ceremony on the beach.



It may have been lacking in pomp and circumstance but to them it was perfect.





They exchanged rings and vows, gazing into each other’s eyes and doing their best to ignore the eccentric behaviour of the bride’s ageing relatives.



“Well, Madame Amiot.  What do you think we should do now?”
“What d’you mean, ‘Madame Amiot’?  I proposed.  You’re Monsieur Gold!”
“D’accord, Madame Gold.  Que veux-tu faire maintenant?”



Ellie blushed.

And as her family found urgent things to do elsewhere, Ellie prepared to settle into married life.




Ellie’s reaction to meeting Louis was, of course, her watcher’s.  (I do believe in Sims 3 fairy godmothers.  I do!  I do!)



On investigation, it seems that story progression is alive and well and living in retirement in Champs les Sims.  Louis is Colette Bonnet’s grandson (although he also has random townie great-grandparents, so some odd ageing must have been going on).

His clothes remain a minor mystery (base game top and shoes, Showtime trousers – none of them in default colours).  I think it’s most likely that he visited the salon for a makeover before he met Ellie.  (He had another everyday outfit, made up of the usual random hodgepodge, as were his other clothes).  Other explanations are welcomed!

As you may have noticed from the wedding screenshots, I accidentally let Pearl age up to elder.  The game has stopped popping up with warnings of impending birthdays and I was concentrating so hard on trying to get Ellie through her career that Pearl’s last one sneaked up unnoticed.  I’ll let Grace age up to join her twin and then (hopefully) keep them both going with frequent doses of Ambrosia.

[Trip]

What a pleasant surprise! Travel worlds do fare better when it comes to keeping their populations, probably because they use separate mechanics from regular story progression. I don't know how to explain his clothes (stylist makeovers given to NPCs tend to stick to base-game clothing).

Congrats to Ellie on doing well with her requirements too.

[Shewolf13]

Wow!  That is certainly a bit odd about his clothing.  Do you have anything like that saved by any chance?  Also, loved the wedding!

[Malley]

Congrats to the happy couple! Can't wait to see the nooboos  And congrats to Ellie on completing her Lifetime Wish. That shot of her on stage after completing it was beautiful

[hazelnut]

What a pleasant surprise! Travel worlds do fare better when it comes to keeping their populations, probably because they use separate mechanics from regular story progression.

Louis was a wonderful surprise.  He arrived when I was seriously considering giving up, despite being so far through.  I was getting so fed up of the constant crashes and having to play from the same point over and over that I took a complete break from Sims for a while and then took to messing about with building experiments instead of playing an actual game.  Finally, I decided to give it another go and he appeared.  Instant mood change!  Suddenly it seemed well worth carrying on .

I don't know how to explain his clothes (stylist makeovers given to NPCs tend to stick to base-game clothing).

It occurred to me today that there was a similar example earlier in the game:



The woman in the oddly Christmassy outfit was also a French tourist.  Maybe Champs les Sims is now inhabited by Sims in custom clothing...

It was strange that Louis' clothes all matched, though - everything in black or blue.  (I don't think his shoes are visible in any of the screenshots but they're the base-game Converse-style trainers, recoloured to all black.)  I'll have to save the colours so that he can keep his style when he gets old.

Wow!  That is certainly a bit odd about his clothing.  Do you have anything like that saved by any chance?

No, nothing even vaguely similar.  I was desperate for him to move in so that I could pop hm into CAS and work out where his clothes came from.  I was vaguely wondering whether I'd somehow managed to unlock a special outfit.  I hadn't noticed before that the sleeves, collar and pockets of that jacket can be coloured differently from the body.

Congrats to Ellie on doing well with her requirements too.

She says thank you .

Also, loved the wedding!

Thanks .  I'd originally planned for the final wedding to be a huge party but the file was far too fragile to risk it.

Congrats to the happy couple! Can't wait to see the nooboos  And congrats to Ellie on completing her Lifetime Wish. That shot of her on stage after completing it was beautiful

Thank you.  That screenshot wasn't as good as I'd hoped (if you look closely, you can see that the walls are down) but the end of the show took me by surprise and those big numbers don't hang around for long .

[hazelnut]

Love and Marriage (Part 2)

As arranged, Donna moved in with the Silvermans towards the end of the summer holidays.



Matt, who’d happened to be visiting his parents when the taxi pulled up, hurried out to help with the luggage.

Then the ice cream van arrived and Belle rushed out into the road, yapping.  With reflexes honed by supervising a class of four-year-olds, Donna scooped the little dog up as she raced past her legs.



“You’re quick!  Thanks.  She gets so excited by that jingle. I can never decide whether she loves the tune or hates it.  Either way, she always tries to chase the van.  I usually keep her on her lead if she’s out at this time of day.”

As thanks and introductions turned into conversation (and Donna’s cases sat forgotten on the front lawn), Maddy watched her younger son and her new lodger.  Matt was very much a ‘love me, love my dog’ kind of guy.  Was she imagining it, or was there more than a hint of attraction between these two?



A couple of weeks into the new school year, she was sure of it.  Matt was a dutiful son but he didn’t usually pop round to his parents’ house this frequently.  There was always a good reason, of course – some local event that the new reception teacher might like to get involved in, another ‘For Sale’ sign he’d spotted – but usually, a phone call would have done just as well.

With the family’s help, Donna soon found a place of her own and moved in at half-term.  Matt (of course) walked around the corner after work every day to help her redecorate the living room.  Not that he was very good at it, bless him.



“That little brush is for the edges!  What are you doing?”
“You’d missed a bit.  The orange was showing though.”
“But it’s going to need at least one more coat.  All those little holes will get filled in then.”
“Tell you what.  Why don’t you show me how, Miss Expert, and I’ll put the kettle on.  I brought some biscuits.”



Matt had been doing some research and reckoned that chocolate digestives were the way to a former starvation ghost’s heart.



Even when the painting was finished, the habit of calling in after work stuck.  They’d sit on her re-covered sofa, discussing their jobs and dreams for the future.



Then Matt would cook tea while Donna planned the next day’s lessons.

Soon he started staying on after the washing-up was done, sitting in front of the TV together.  Somehow, his arm took to creeping around her shoulders as they watched.



“Donna?  Would you like to go steady?”
“I thought we already were, sort of.  But yes, of course.”

And she leaned in for a kiss.



And, on a misty morning not too long after that, Matt met Donna as she was collecting the post.  Unable to wait a moment longer, he knelt on the damp grass and pulled a box out of his pocket.



She said yes, of course.




As a little girl, Donna had dreamed of a big, traditional wedding with all the frills (especially on the dress).

Hearing that Chris was expected back soon, Emily decided to combine the occasion with the family reunion that hadn’t quite happened two years before.  Lou, realising that the congregation was going to be more than a little lopsided, claimed that she and Tavares should sit on the groom’s side.

“After all, we’re Sophia’s in-laws.  That makes us Matt’s relatives as well.”

Then Marabel, who had overheard the discussion, insisted that she also belonged with the Silvermans.

The plans grew and grew.  Maddy took charge of the catering.  Will offered his services as photographer.  Macy retrieved the Goole family tiara from storage and passed it on to Donna.

“Here you are.  Something old and something borrowed, all in one package.”

Apart from Davey, who thought the whole thing was revoltingly girly, all of the orphans were infected by wedding fever, especially after Donna asked them all to be bridesmaids.  They would be joined by Matt’s two nieces and Siobhan Google, who was practically part of the family.


At last, the long-anticipated day arrived and a radiant Donna walked down the aisle on Kid’s arm.



She handed her bouquet to Siobhan and joined Matt under the floral arch, watched by family and friends.



With all eyes on the happy couple, the two uninvited guests in the back row somehow managed to escape everyone’s attention.



“Oh, stop hiding your face, woman.  I thought you enjoyed weddings.  I told you, no-one will see us until I let them.”

The assembled family and friends watched as the bride and groom made their vows…



…kissed…



…and led the procession back down the aisle.

[hazelnut]

Grim was right.  He and his companion stood and watched as the photos were taken and nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary.



“I still don’t see why we couldn’t have waited a day or two.  Why spoil Matt and Donna’s big day?”
“Donna’s big day, you mean.  Matthew looks as though he’s been hit over the head.  It seems to be traditional for bridegrooms.



“And we’re here now because time is short and I rarely get the chance to attend weddings.  I’m making the most of this one.”

It took some time for Will to get all of the pictures composed to his satisfaction.











Grim initially found the process fascinating but then got bored.  He left his assistant to keep an eye on proceedings and set off on a trip around the town to collect a few things he needed.  He hoped Madeleine wouldn’t mind.

With the official wedding shots finished, Will handed over his precious camera to the best man.

“Paul?  I hear you’re a pretty decent photographer as well as an explorer.  Maybe we could have a chat later.  For now, could you take a family photo?  It’s been quite a while since we were all together.”



At this point, little Áine Google, who had happily slept through the ceremony in her carrycot, woke up...



..and, along with the Ezell twins, threatened to steal Donna’s thunder pretty thoroughly.



At least, until she announced that she was hungry.



Despite Maddy’s best efforts, the serving of the wedding breakfast was more than a little chaotic.  Everyone seemed to have their own ideas about what they wanted to eat and whom they wanted to eat it with.

Grim arrived back in the midst of the mayhem and found it funny…



…so much so that he headed off to the temporarily deserted bar.

“You know, I've always wanted to try my hand at cocktails.  Fancy a zombie?”



Paul stood up, looking faintly embarrassed.



But then, possibly thanks to several glasses of nectar, he warmed to his subject, crib-notes lying forgotten on the table.



“I expect most of you think of my little brother as a pretty good cook.  But do you know what happened the first time he tried to flip pancakes?  Well…”



Grim loved it.  He’d never realised humans were so good at embarrassing each other.  He'd have to make a serious study of it.  This wedding was turning out to be so much more fun than he’d expected.

At last, as the sun set, the bride and groom drove off to start their honeymoon, trailing ribbons, balloons and assorted tin cans from the rear bumper.  Everyone else prepared to either go home, stand around and rehash the events of the day or spend half the night propping up the bar, according to taste – until Grim finally decided that the moment was right.  He released the spell (or mind control or whatever else it was) and suddenly became visible.



“Christabel, William, Tina-Patricia, Joseph, Macy, Louisa, Tavares, Madeleine and Quinton… it is time.  Please come with me.”


Next chapter


Credits

The wedding screenshots owe a lot to other Simmers, so thanks to:

• cmomoney for Pose Player
• traelia, spladoum, Danzxncrd, Delight33, equiem and BubbleClouds Sims for the non-EA poses
• Daluved1, traelia and spladoum for accessories
• and, last but certainly not least, Twallan for the mods that allowed me to play a household of 30-odd Sims for this part of the story.

Apologies if I’ve missed anyone.

[Malley]

Those wedding photos were amazing! Who knew that Grim was a sucker for weddings and enjoyed mixology?    Also, I loved seeing the families, especially the Gooles

[Shewolf13]

That wedding was fabulous hazelnut!  The shots were just wonderful ^^