Since this story has grown so much bigger than I ever imagined I feel like its time to borrow a page from some of my favorite SimLit writers and offer you a synopsis of the characters and my thoughts on where to start for first time readers. With that said lets meet the cast shall we...
The Main Cast
Danielle and Londyn Huntley
Danielle(L) is a romance novelist. She was born and raised in Willow Creek with her lifelong friends Summer Holiday and Liberty Lee. She moved to Tartosa searching for her muse. She had seen all the stories about how romantic Tartosa is and she felt there could be no better place to inspire her to write thrilling romances. So she packed up and moved. Tartosa has been all that she had hoped for and so much more. It was where she met Londyn Huntley, at the time an actress from Sulani, and the love of her life. They live on the little island lot at the southern tip of Tartosa. Both are Starlight Accolades winners and their careers are really taking off, even though Danielle is currently searching for a new publisher.
Summer Holiday and Darian LaRue
Summer grew up next door to the Chabert's and Lee's. She has been friends with both as long as they can remember. Summer is a talented chef and with some coaxing from Danielle she joined her friend in Tartosa. Since she's arrived her career has taken off and she met her lover Darian. Darian was a Dotcom wonder boy along with some buddies in college. They decided to sell their lucrative Dotcom business to a larger tech company, pocket the money and take a break for a while. He arrived in Tartosa planning for it to only be stop number one on a globe hopping journey, but after falling in love with Summer he's decided to stay right here with her. They are about to launch their own web based cooking show that they plan to film in their home.
Liberty and Matteo Rossi
The third member of the Willow Creek expats. Her life was turned upside down by Travis Scott. He tried to take advantage of her and then lied to try and focus blame all on her. The fallout from that saw Travis booted out of the house, Summer finally answering Danielle calls to join her in Tartosa and left Liberty by herself in Willow Creek. She realized her dreams of being an astronaut were never going to happen so with a little nudge from Bella Goth she became a secret agent. On a trip to visit her friends in Tartosa she met Matteo and her life really changed. He was a hard partying play boy, or so he pretended. That lifestyle put him on the outs with his family and was threatening to wreck his dreams. He was instantly taken by Liberty and she saved him. They are now engaged and live in a lovely home overlooking the bay in Tartosa. Liberty is a star at S.I.M.S. where she is one of their lead investigators, and Matteo is back on track to realize his dream of owning his own restaurant.
The Supporting Cast
Allegra Rossi
Matteo's younger sister. She is fiery, feisty, sassy, and stylish. She lives in Windenburg and is a singer with the local opera company. She knows how to play Matteo like violin to get him to do things he should do but doesn't always want to. She is ready to slap sense into him if need be. Don't take that the wrong way, she adores her big brother and his fiancé. She has gone out of her way to welcome Liberty into the Rossi family. She currently lives in Windenburg and is a singer with the local opera company there. She dreams of one day coming home to sing with the Tartosa opera.
Izabella Bernard
Izabella is an aspiring businesswoman. She has plans to create her own line of clothing and makeup. She has worked as both a model and an actress to earn some money and make contacts to help her reach her goals. She also has a business degree so she is more than just a pretty face. She used her education to turn the money she made from modeling and acting into the seed money for a good life and to get her business going. She had a brief fling with Leonardo not long ago when she was in Windenburg, and later Tartosa, on business. She was unaware of his dating Summer at the time and she also thought she had seen the last of him when she returned home. Izabella is no fool but she admits she has a habit of making and choices in men, a trait she got from her mother.
Leonardo Ricci
A former friend and roommate of Matteo's who briefly dated Summer until she realized he was more interested in himself than her. He is a first class weasel and a raging misogynist who had his former friends in Tartosa fooled. After Matteo fell in love with Liberty they asked him to move out so that they could be alone together as they started their life together. Liberty had broken Leonardo's spell over Matteo when she rescued him from the party crowd. Quietly seething at Liberty and Matteo for ending his free ride on their dime he sought out an easy mark he could con into supporting him, Izabella. He turned up at her door recently full of charm and lies. He thinks because he got in good with Izabella once before that she will easily fall for his con. She took him in, but he's in for a shock. She's not the dummy he thinks she is. She has every reason to believe he's conned other women and she wants to put an end to it before he does it to her or another unsuspecting woman.
Hannah Taylor
A 5 Star chef who recently beat out Summer for the job of host of a new Foodie Network cooking Show. Hannah is Summer's shero and she works hard to open doors for other women to follow in her footsteps. She is going to mentor Summer and help her reach the same heights.
S.I.M.S. Director Shantel Bridges
Liberty's boss and a tough but fair one. She has a reputation around S.I.M.S. Headquarters as the Dragon Lady. It is a carefully crafted facade that keeps certain troublemakers in line or at a distance. The agents who work under her see a different side, but make no mistake she expects nothing less than their absolute best. If they give her that she will do anything for them.
Venessa Jeong
Londyn's friend and fellow actress. She is quite the comedienne and famously caused merry chaos when she officiated Londyn and Danielle's wedding. She later admitted to Londyn, that she intentionally, and hilariously, flubbed her part.
If you are new to this story after reading the bios above you can jump in anywhere really and not feel too lost. I will offer my list of chapters I think will help get you into the story and I will include the page number where it can be found.
I would suggest starting with Chapter 6 (page 2) where we see Danielle reveal the depth of her love for Londyn. Next I would suggest Chapter Fourteen Parts One and Two (page 6), this explains the rift that used to exist between Londyn and her parents and their reconciliation after learning of her engagement to Danielle. It is a wonderful story of mending relationships and acknowledging wrongs and coming back together in the spirit of love and understanding.
After that if you're interested in Venessa's virtuoso comedy wedding officiating you will need to read Chapter 20 (page 8). It's not something you have to read to get into the story but as time goes by I think her part gets funnier and funnier.
The next chapter you should read is Chapter 22 (page 10), where you get a glimpse into Matteo's wayward period and how Liberty pulls him back from the brink and then I you can carry on with the remaining 9 or 10 chapters that will catch you up to where the story is as we prepare to ring in 2023.
Thank you all so much for reading. I say this a lot, but it's true, I never could have imagined when I sat down back in April to start this that it would grow to become what it is. I owe it all to you the readers. You inspire me, and as you will see as you read through that inspiration has done so much to make me a better writer and storyteller.❤️
I did say this next episode wouldn't be a tearjerker. I might not be able to keep that promise. Not because it's deep and emotional, but because I'm getting the moms together along with the ladies to go dress shopping. If there are tears they should be from laughter.
@luciusstorm It's not Danielle that's meddling, it's me. Wait, Danielle is my name too...so Danielle is meddling.? This could get all sorts of trippy and Twilight Zone-y if I keep chasing that thought down the rabbit hole.
Welcome back dear readers. We are getting very close to the big day. As usual, I got carried away and this turned into a longer episode than I had planned. I do apologize for that and if you would like shorter episodes please feel free to say so. I promise if you make it on the end there are laughs galore! With that, on with the show...
With Londyn and Danielle's big day approaching there are lots of little tasks left to do. They have been busy picking out a wedding venue to host their happily ever after. It didn't take long for them to settle on having the wedding in Sulani, but the question was where exactly. Most people think of Tartosa when they think of destination weddings. Sulani is a close second for the number of wedding venues, and with its year-round tropical weather and stunning backdrops it's guaranteed to be a fairy tale event. Summer was the first to get a peek during one of the frequent planning sessions. https://i.imgur.com/c5GKyMM.png
"This is the place that Danielle and I picked out for our wedding" said Londyn, "it's in Sulani and it's almost in my parents backyard!" https://i.imgur.com/qJ20okz.png
"Oh it's gorgeous! I would so love to have a wedding in a place like that if only..." Summer said with an air of wistfulness. https://i.imgur.com/0bgprQc.png https://i.imgur.com/ue6DcJV.png https://i.imgur.com/uAotuIH.png https://i.imgur.com/GaYSNYF.png https://i.imgur.com/2OBBHjW.png https://i.imgur.com/fBxbAD4.png
"And" Londyn added as she continued to swipe through the pictures "they can even hold the ceremony and the party afterwards after the sun goes down. It's just as stunning lit up entirely by candlelight." Londyn was quick to point out that the venue has an onsite kitchen to handle food prep, a fact that was of interest to Summer who had offered to handle wedding cake duties. https://i.imgur.com/E8sZvJd.png https://i.imgur.com/EBXMVO0.png https://i.imgur.com/Eu5akfO.png
Liberty showed up the following evening to help with the planning and got her first look and the venue. "It's so beautiful! I can't think of a better setting! she said. "The ocean, the palm trees, it's all so breathtaking!" https://i.imgur.com/7LdNfpW.png
At this point, with the wedding getting ever closer, the planning sessions are a daily thing. Summer has been stopping by to discuss menus. The venue offers the kitchen and a caterer if the party wants it but they are free to supply their own and Summer jumped at the idea and was off and running. Summer has been busy learning and testing new recipes. "Londyn, by any chance does the venue have a barbecue pit?" she asked out of nowhere one night.
"I didn't think to ask, but almost everyone in Sulani has one. Even if they don't it takes almost no time at all to dig one" Londyn added.
"I need one" Summer added sounding almost possessed. Summer has always been excitable, but now she was practically electrified with excitement for the job. "I've been learning recipes from Sulani to pair with the ones I've learned here and the ones Danielle and I grew up with in Willow Creek." Summer quickly added, "You should start working out now, because if you don't my menu is going to add two dress sizes. Just reading it will add one." This statement was met with gales of laughter. Summer knows how fitness obsessed Londyn and Danielle are, not to her degree though. "That reminds me, someday I have to tell you about my mom's crazy theory of the "curse of the Barrett women'" Summer said. https://i.imgur.com/eQrew96.png
Liberty was getting into the fun and excitement too, but in her usual way, more restrained than Summer. Liberty has been working with Danielle to plan a bachelorette party and looking at dresses. Liberty is really getting into the wedding planning since it's feeling inevitable that Matteo is going to pop the question at some point. Liberty isn't trying to hijack the planning for her own gain. She's fully committed to helping her friends plan their wedding. Danielle can sense things are happening with Liberty and Matteo and she's been encouraging Liberty to take notes. https://i.imgur.com/1ayreSL.png
The moms stopped by too. It was their first meeting and they hit it off from the start. https://i.imgur.com/VQaHhPt.png
For Danielle's mom Jennifer it was her first time meeting Londyn in person. They had met a couple of times on video chat, when Jennifer and Danielle had spoken recently. "Londyn, it is such a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Come here and give me a hug young lady" she said.
"My pleasure, mom" Londyn chuckled.
"I'm so happy you came into my little girl's life. She's always been a happy go lucky child" Jennifer said with heartfelt gratitude, "but I've never seen her as happy as she's been since you two met" https://i.imgur.com/mVSB9RV.png
As the conversation continued inside, Ebony and Jennifer learned of their common bond beyond their daughters relationship. They learned they both shared a love of painting and that they made their living with their artwork. https://i.imgur.com/lSMtLKP.png
They also got their first look at the wedding venue, which was a hit. Ebony was really happy to learn the girls had chosen a spot so close to home. That day five years ago when Londyn stormed off after their fight, Ebony's last glimpse of her daughter that day was near the very spot where she was about to get married. Back then it was just a beach. The universe definitely has an odd sense of humor, as well as irony, Ebony thought to herself. https://i.imgur.com/8dzUIBM.png
They did spend time going over details like menus, entertainment, and Londyn let the moms know that she had arranged for a dress shopping excursion for the following Friday. https://i.imgur.com/eZVdyjI.png
The final bit of wedding talk came around to the subjects of names. "We've talked that over and I will be taking Londyn's name" Danielle said.
"I think it's really sweet. If that's what you want, I'm all for it. You're still my little Dani no matter what name comes after" mom added.
"That won't hurt your career will it?" Ebony asked. "I'm touched that you want to take the name Huntley, but dear I don't want you hurting your career just for that."
"No, it won't hurt anything. Quite a few big name authors write under more than one name" Danielle was quick to point out, and giving a few examples. "And even if it did, it's still what I want to do". https://i.imgur.com/0CXX7aC.png
This next bit of the story, dear readers, is going to require your imagination. I couldn't get more than one of the friends and moms to even look like they were mildly interested in what was happening. So I wrote this part as if they were paying attention, but they were behind the camera and not in the shot. Sims and their short attention spans!
Next up on the agenda was the trip to Siobhan's Bridal Boutique in Del Sol Valley. Siobhan had lined up a selection of stunning gowns for the ladies, and with some help from Londyn's friends in the prop department at Plumbob Pictures, helped them set up a couple of pranks. The first to strut her stuff was Londyn... https://i.imgur.com/CtciZaV.png
Followed by Danielle... https://i.imgur.com/aRDSCcX.png
Londyn and Danielle decided each of them would do two in-a-row to buy the prank team time extra time. https://i.imgur.com/jtcJwvz.png https://i.imgur.com/jCk3ynf.png https://i.imgur.com/cL10D1p.png https://i.imgur.com/uu8W9PY.png
Then they came out with their second choice gowns... https://i.imgur.com/SmfyFCD.png https://i.imgur.com/LLwIotk.png
And their favorites... https://i.imgur.com/JeRCSNA.png https://i.imgur.com/b5fCuNr.png
As the pranks were being setup, Siobhan asked the gathered friends and family what they thought of the dresses. None of them knew for sure which dresses Londyn and Danielle preferred.
"I loved Danielle in that second to last gown" her mom exclaimed! "It looks like something out of a fairy tale". Ebony said "I thought that first one Londyn had on was gorgeous!" "I totally agree with Ebony about Londyn's first gown! And if she doesn't want it can you set it aside" Summer asked? "If I ever get married I'm so wanting that dress!" "I really loved that bohemian one Londyn had on, Liberty said "and Danielle's last dress was amazing!" "I really wasn't impressed by Danielle's first gown" said Summer. "It reminded me more of a nightgown, not a wedding dress". "For me the one I like the least was Londyn's mermaid gown" Liberty added. Ebony was right behind her with "Me too child, me too. It's not the cut, it's just so plain. This is your special day, your dress should be more elaborate".
Londyn signaled Siobhan, the pranks were ready. Siobhan stepped up and let everyone know that the ladies were ready to show off their favorite dresses. Londyn led off... https://i.imgur.com/3hL8agL.png
"Londyn Michelle Huntley! Have you lost your mind!"
catcalls and one rather robust, but still feminine aw-ooooo issue from the back
"That's my daughter you're whistling at back there! You wanna walk back to Tartosa? Keep it up!"
"What are you saying mom? You don't like this one? I thought why wait until I get Danielle back to the honeymoon suite, I'd just get her love motor revved up right there in the aisle!"
"You know what I said about setting aside that one dress" Summer said, "Forget that, I'll take one of those! Right! Now! Do you take Visa?"
"Oh Lord!" said Jennifer with her hands over her mouth, "I know Danielle. She's going to try and top that I'm pretty sure there are laws against what my girl is about to do."
"Londyn Michelle, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!?! I should have known you'd pull a stunt like this. It's a good thing I'm only 25. If I was an old lady the shock of that dress would have killed me!"
"Ow! My neck!" exclaimed Jennifer who was seated next to Ebony.
"Now what are you on about?" said Ebony turning to look at Jennifer.
"Your crack about being 25 made me do a double take so fast I got whiplash!"
"I'm surrounded by comediennes" said Ebony as she rolled her eyes
"Wait! What the heck is that godawful racket?" Liberty asked
"What. The. Plum?"
Just as the words escaped Summer's mouth the curtain parted and Danielle emerged... https://i.imgur.com/CKQ5eMI.png
Summer was once again the first one to find her voice. "I may be single, and I'm not the one about to get married, but I'm pretty sure with that outfit in the room there won't be any revving love motors."
"Where was that armor when Travis was around" said Liberty
Summer weighed in, "With Travis a sword might be more useful, certainly more satisfying"
"Yeah, cut him off at the..."
"LIBERTY!!!" said everyone in unison.
"I was going to say knees! What did you think I was going to say?"
"Something about a foot or so higher" replied Summer.
"I'm so relieved you came out wearing that getup. I was terrified you were going to try and one up Londyn and strut out here naked as the day you were born" said a very relieved Jennifer. "Now take that silly thing off so we can talk about dresses.
A few minutes later Londyn and Danielle re-emerge with photos in hand that Siobhan took of them in their favorite dresses...(WARNING huge photos under the tag)
@DaniRose2143, wedding planning... that takes me back. I love how excited everyone is. Summer's menu planning cracks me up. I love the contrast between Summer and Liberty. They balance each other so well.
I know you didn't get the shots you wanted for the dress shopping, but I thought you handled it really well with the shots you did have. They're going to look great. One thing I've found, when trying to handle large groups of sims - don't. :) Break them down into smaller groups, get the shots you want and then post them so that the audience can fill in the gaps.
I also thought the length was fine. If it were me, and I wanted to break it into smaller parts, I might have split the dress shopping off into it's own episode, but honestly I don't think you needed to.
All in all, a wonderful chapter - lots of fun, friendship and love.
Thank you @luciusstorm. I sometimes get too detailed, or bogged down in the details. That's been a bit worse it feels like as I try to work in the mothers. On the fun side, the next time Danielle and Londyn feature it will be the bachelorette party and the wedding. I want to spend an episode with Summer and one with Liberty. Lib still has that background check to do on the mysterious Izabella that I had completely forgotten about at some point.
@Ellupelluellu Thank you very much. The scene at the dress shop was fun to write, even if the pictures didn't work out. I knew it was probably not going to work, but it was worth a try. I even had two alternate endings for the suit of armor. In one she was going to take it off to reveal she was disguised as a man and the other she was disguised as a little old lady. I decided to just go with the jokes because the story was long enough.?
Ahh i'm so enjoying this - they're both so happy together T_T My favourite dresses are Danielle's second one and Londyn's first, but I'll be so curious to see what they choose. I'm DYING for this wedding, I know you're going to do such a great job writing about it!
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