#lily bar

[belsasim]

Dirk took his family to the Lily Bar, where Heather still was the reigning karaoke queen. As it was a holiday, the Lily Bar was empty and closed, so Heather, Jade and Damian looked at Dirk with questions in their eyes. 

Dirk (smiling, taking a key from his pocket): “So, my dearest fam... I may have pulled some strings and profited from my celebrity status and Heather’s impeccable reputation as the Lily Bar’s karaoke queen... But my gift to you, my amazing wife, is a private (so don’t worry, Jade, no strangers) karaoke day with me and our wonderful children.”

Heather (smiling from ear to ear): “...”

Dirk (winking at her): “Great idea, Babe, sparing your beautiful voice for the karaoke machine...”

The Dreamers went inside the Lily Bar and turned on the lights and the karaoke machine and they took turns singing duets with Heather. Heather’s heart was warmed by the precious moments she spent with her family, seeing Jade enjoy to sing without any fear of strangers and having Damian put on a real karaoke show. She enjoyed gazing in Dirk’s eyes while they sang their duets, seeing the love in his eyes and feeling the butterflies in her stomach that had never left in all the time they had been together. 

On their way back home, she took his arm and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment, whispering “Thank you.” Dirk planted a kiss on her hair. 

[belsasim]

Heather’s promotion wasn’t the only thing worth celebrating. Miko and Akira had decided they didn’t want a big wedding party, but they invited their closest friends for a small and intimate ceremony at, of course, the Lily Bar. 

One of the karaoke machines was replaced by a wedding arch, just for this special occasion. The both of them were trembling with excitement and emotion when they were exchanging their vows and the rings, sealing their marriage with a long kiss. They continued to stare in each other’s eyes for another few minutes while the guests were throwing confetti upon the newly wed couple.

Heather rushed up to them to give them the biggest hugs, her own heart almost bursting of happiness seeing her friends’ love for each other. 

Heather (whispering): “I’m so happy for you two, Miko. You two are made for each other! And you look absolutely stunning by the way.”

Miko (giggling): “Thanks, sweetie! I’m so happy you’re here with us! (giving her a wink as they pulled out of the hug) Just don’t outshine us at the karaoke machine, just for tonight.”

No first dance for this karaoke couple, oh no... They sang the first karaoke duet together and everyone listened to their ballad without making one sound. The rest of the evening was spent singing and having the greatest time together.

[belsasim]

The next day, Miko and Akira invited Heather to the Lily Bar to sing some karaoke of course, but also to hear her out about her second evening with Dirk Dreamer...

Heather’s head had been in the clouds all day. This time, they had exchanged numbers and Dirk had actually sent her a text message in the afternoon, thanking her for a great evening and asking her to be his guide for all the other festivals. They had been sending text messages back and forth and Heather was enjoying every second. 

At the Lily Bar, it was karaoke contest night and after having missed so many of these nights, Heather could barely wait until the contestant before her had ended her song, to grab the microphone and sing. With a near perfect score, she showed everyone she was the karaoke queen of the Lily Bar.

[belsasim]

Knowing that once the baby would be born, it would be harder to meet up with their friends, Dirk and Heather took some time to gather with their friends at the Lily Bar. Being the celebrities they were, they could meet before the actual opening hours, to have a chance to actually talk to each other.

Once the Lily Bar opened for the evening, it didn’t take long before fans started to chat to their idols, hoping for a hug or a selfie. Heather loved the extra attention her baby bump got her and happily posed for some pictures. 

But they weren't at the Lily Bar just for chats and photo shoots. There was karaoke to be sung and Heather could never refuse when Miko invited her to sing a duet with her. Fame or no fame, baby on the way or not, Heather enjoyed every second of any karaoke duet with her friends. 

[belsasim]

In the break between terms, Heather wanted to do something she hadn’t done in ages: sing karaoke with her friends.

So she invited Miko, Akira and Darling and she also asked her new friend and coworker Joaquin Le Chien to the Lily Bar. As soon as Heather set foot in the karaoke bar, she felt revitalised and happy. Seeing her friends made her chest feel even more warm and fuzzy, while it was already a heat wave in San Myshuno. Yup, it was summer and Heather was relieved to be able to get refreshed at the Lily Bar.

She sang with everyone and she had the best time she’d had in months.

[belsasim]

Heather had caught the karaoke bug. Whenever she could, she’d go to the Lily Bar for that blissful karaoke therapy. Often Akira and/or Miko would join her and Heather enjoyed spending time with them, chatting and singing. 

Every time she’d sing with them, her confidence was building up. They both repeatedly told her she had a great voice and she started to notice other sims watching her sing with approval. 

A few times a week, the Lily Bar held a Karaoke Contest. Of course, Akira and Miko tried to convince her to enter the contest, she had the voice and stage appeal to win. Heather secretly wanted to compete, but every time she’d just chicken out. Getting praise from her friends was one thing, competing against other sims was a whole other thing.

Until one evening both Akira and Miko simply announced they had entered her to sing in the contest that night, no excuses any more. Heather was annoyed at first and even briefly thought about going home. But then she saw how Akira and Miko looked at her, with some kind of adoration she hadn’t seen before. And that made her feel good. Great even... She didn’t want to disappoint them.

So when her turn was announced, she took a very deep breath, chose her favourite jazz song and sang. As she sang, she forgot about her annoyance earlier and the stress she felt about competing. Her body moved along with the rhythm and melody and she felt a starry brightness warming her very soul. Her audience applauded when she put the microphone away and she realised that this felt incredibly good. 

Later that evening, Heather was announced as the winner of the contest. She won a whopping 500 simoleons! Akira and Miko cheered and winked at her: “We knew it, you’re a great singer!” Once again, she returned home with the biggest smile on her face.

[belsasim]

When the song ended, Heather felt sad and happy at the same time. That was the best time she had had since she could remember (ok, that’s a pretty short while in Heather’s case, but still, it felt great). Akira cheered, visibly enjoying the karaoke with her. Suddenly, his gaze turned to the entrance, his face lit up even more and he waved at the girl that just had come in. Heather thought she was pretty, with pink hair done up in two space buns and a sweet face. The girl walked over to them. 

Akira (smiling from ear to ear): “There you are, I thought you would’ve been here already”

Girl: “Hey you! Yeah, boss needed some help with a speech for a fancy charity event tonight.”

Akira (pointing towards Heather and then the girl): “Miko, meet Heather. Heather, meet Miko, one of my roommates.”

Akira (at Miko): “I met Heather at the Flea Market. She’s got some severe amnesia and I just had to introduce her to karaoke. And what do you know, she’s got a great voice!”

Miko (taking in Heather’s appearance and smiling warmly): “Nice to meet you, Heather. So Akira thinks you’ve got a great voice? Let’s check that out, shall we? We can chat later, I really, really need some karaoke therapy, like, right now!”

Just like Akira earlier that evening, Miko winked at her. And just like with Akira, Heather felt that warm and happy feeling of making a new friend. She spent the rest of the evening singing and chatting with Miko and Akira. Not once did she think of her problems and she returned home way past midnight with the biggest smile on her face.

[belsasim]

Akira and Heather had been chatting for a while now and Akira had just told her that he worked in the tech career, but didn’t like that too much. It wasn’t his passion for sure.

Heather (curious): “Then what is your passion?”

Akira (with sparkly eyes): “Karaoke, of course!”

Heather (puzzled): “Ka-ra-oke?”

Akira (overacting surprise and disbelief): “Seriously? You don’t remember karaoke? Oh girl, what a dark and sad existence you lead!”

Heather (suddenly feeling sad indeed): “...”

Akira (seeing her mood drop): “Oh no sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad! I just can’t imagine a life without karaoke. You know what, let’s go!”

And with that, Akira took her by the hand and led her to the nearby subway station. A short while later, Heather found herself in a brightly lit and very pink karaoke venue, called the Lily Bar, in the Fashion District. Before she could take in her new environment, Akira led her to a large tv display surrounded by lights. He handed her a microphone, made a selection on the console, winked at her and said: “Come on, don’t worry, just go with the flow. You’re blue.”

When the music started playing, Heather recognised the song that had been playing at the Flea Market earlier that day. On the console display, she saw words appearing and Akira started singing. He had a nice voice, she noticed and she enjoyed listening to his singing. Suddenly, blue words appeared and Akira nodded to her. It took her a few seconds to realise that she was supposed to sing now. She quickly cleared her voice and hesitantly started singing the words that appeared on the screen. 

The first lines didn’t come out right, but Heather quickly found the right tone and sang. Akira looked at her with approval and that warm happy feeling she had felt earlier that night, filled her chest once again. She felt her fears and self-doubt disappear and let the music and Akira’s voice guide her. She closed her eyes and sang her heart out... 

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Lily bar by @peacemaker-ic