To start out a completely random Danvers update, Justin has gotten very fond of Olivia Langerak, and vice-versa.
A friendly goodbye.
Note that this is not a kiss, this is just a goodbye. Neither Justin nor Olivia have yet had a First Kiss.
And (difficult as it was to leave Olivia) he has escaped the chaos of the house by heading off to college.
Grampa John sees him off.
I think that's his Mom Georgia coming home in the limo in the background; I don't know where his Mom Jane is. The "come see off the new college student" motive doesn't seem to be very reliable.
He took over the old Raptor place at SSU from Damion Cormier (see "Sleeping Through College"), and now has a big Want for Olivia to come join him. If she moves right in with him, they'll probably have to make up some good story for the parents (there's only one bed in the house, after all).
For whatever reason (mostly I think that Jane constantly wants to invite people over, and also that it's just in character that they tend to grab anyone who passes by and invite them in, and also that their front door opens right onto the sidewalk) the Danvers place is generally full of friends (and casual acquaintances).
A typical lunch party.
Let's see, besides the residents we have the Headmaster guy (currently offduty; I think Jean invited him over), and Joan in the hat visiting from college, and Sandy Bruty (who Jane constantly wants to interact with, and is extremely good although completely platonic friends with), and in the background Taylor who must have been just passing by or something talking to John about the mythical "rain".
Having the house so full of people sometimes leads to little incidents.
Jane forgot to lock the bathroom door.
A day that that kid, whoever he is, will long remember. (Edit: I think that's Aaron Almassizadeh; sorry again, Aaron!)
But in general it's a popular place to meet and greet.
Gabriel tells his gramma about his potty training.
It was a complete coincidence that the two of them happened to be over at the same time. Just goes to show how busy the place is.
And amid all this chaos, Jean was patiently working on her Lifetime Want...
One day Jean came home triumphant (she had to walk half a block, because her limo was blocked by various school buses and things milling about in front of the house).
The big two-five.
She maxed all her skills a long time ago, but after I installed University and she decided to switch from Mad Science to more direct World Domination it for some reason took her quite awhile to get there. Maybe because the house is so busy that time passes slowly there. (In the background, Jane the infinitely sociable talks to Sophie whatsername the teen townie.)
It was some days later when she finally got to wear the costume.
Emerging from the bathroom into the usual mayhem.
Visitors today, Sally Raptor again (whose arm is doing that strange arm thing), and Kaylynn from the mansion across the street, talking to Jane about someone's graduation from college.
John found it her irresistable in it (as, I have to admit, do I, if not in quite the same way; she's just so cute!).
Or vice-versa.
And elsewhere in the house, the twins were gradually growing up...
But before we get to the twins, a great little glimpse into the minds of Georgia and Jane their Moms.
Sitting down to a game of chess.
Guess which one's Fortune and which one's Family! Georgia needs the logic skills to continue her climb up the corporate ladder; Jane just likes being around her.
(Through the lefthand window, one of the twins stands mesmerized by the haunted dartboard. I really ought to just moveObjects-delete it, but it has a certain scary charm.)
And speaking of the twins...
One afternoon, suddenly and without fanfare, Jan was no longer a child.
Whoa!
It happened in the bathroom, which would be entirely appropriate for a human woman; but Sims don't have cycles, so it was just a coincidence. I'd lost track of time, so there wasn't a cake or anything. (Jan's top has the mysterious blurriness that's been puzzling me lately; odd.)
Jen didn't mature at the same time; even though they're twins, Jan's visit to The Other Place that time where she met Sally Raptor had advanced her clock by a day (or something).
Noogie noogie!
They get along very well, but this was just irresistable.
Once was enough for Jen. Who needs an extra day of childhood?
I've got a new favorite color!
I'd never even noticed that teen outfit before. It has a certain appeal.
What was that about noogies?
I love Georgia's fond expression here, watching her daughters tussling.
Both of the girls liked their teen clothes (so no more confusing people about which one is which, except maybe on special occasions). Jan was fine with her hair, too, but Jen had other ideas.
Yeah.
Maybe not exactly the same color. But the same spirit.
Around the same time, the family finally settled on a design for some expansion of the house (which is as chaotic as the social life: a series of different-sized and randomly-connected rooms). So here are the twins in the new music and culture room (the instruments got moved in from the lawn).
Jen and Jan in their default clothes.
Wall art from Sim City Gallery, as usual. Jen (in green) is a Family Sim like Jane her mom and John her grampa. Jan is Knowledge like her Gramma Jean.
And here they are in the same room, in their individually-modified Danvers Family outfits (they found some old stuff their Aunt Joan left behind when she went off to college, and got out the fabric dyes).
Jen and Jan in their Danversish clothes.
Jen (unlike her stay-at-home Family ancestors) wants someday to be Captain Hero; Jan wants to be a Mad Scientist, just like her Gramma used to be.
Jan found the nearest Thinking Cap and immediately began skilling. Jen invited over a childhood friend.
Jen and Gabriel
He's going to be a teen soon himself. (All the sooner if she keeps hugging him like that.)
Grampa John has lots of big Wants about relatives getting engaged and married, and having more grandchildren, but he also spins up enough plain old sociable Talks and Entertains (and the occasional amorous combination with Jean) to keep him happy. Here he is of an evening, out bringing some order to the newly-enclosed garden.
What a lot of weeds.
Now that there's an outside door to the master bedroom, people keep deciding to like go from the kitchen to the bedroom by way of the side garden; silly Sims.
And that pretty much brings the Danverses up to date.
No houseguests for a change!
Or at least these Danverses. Joan's been up to things over at Rooms to Let, and Justin will no doubt start to be out at SSU, but those are other stories...