Hermia Capp - Freshman Year

This will be last stint for a while at Casteroff Dorms, part of Veronaville's Académie Le Tour, I promise! 

We're of course here for Hermia Capp, who has just arrived and for some reason decided to make a rather grand entrance in a princess-like gown, as if the Capp family name wasn't enough to make folks at uni aware of her social standing. 

The others here are her sister Juliette, one year ahead of her and now a Sophomore; cousin Miranda and her boyfriend Jace Lee, both Juniors; Puck Summerdream who is now the only resident Senior and last but not least Mercutio Monty. He has just graduated Magna Cum Laude in Political Sciences and will only be around long enough to throw a graduation party before moving back to the Monty Ranch in Veronaville. 

Before Hermia can claim her room at the dorm she is off to class. When she returns, she finds that she's been assigned the room next to her sister - that's fine by her. What's not fine is the furnishing, and she immediately has it changed more to her liking. 

It looks much better now, and once she'll have the computer she brought from home installed, she'll feel almost at home here. 

She also decides that the long gown is really impractical, and changes into something more suitable for the beginning of spring. 

Then, very much Consort Capp's granddaughter when it comes to diligence and sense of duty, she sits down to get started on her Term Paper right away.

The next day, Hermia relaxes over a game of chess with cousin Miranda who assures her that she'll have her name on the Dean's List if she keeps up her diligent work and always arrives at class on time. 

Mercutio has just invited family and friends over for his graduation party. 

Of course his girlfriend Roxie is there, too, and the two of them enjoy some energetic dancing.

Everyone lines up to say good-bye to Mercutio when his taxi pulls up in front of the dorm, even the dorm cook! Tybalt took time off his shop so that he could be at the party, too, and Romeo Monty got a glimpse at college life along with cousin Benedick and Grandma Isabel.

Hermia now starts to meet her other dorm mates. Here she is talking to Jace, wondering whether he could beome a best friend for life.

Juliette visits her little sister in her room the next morning. 

She has been wanting to invite Romeo over since he's been at Mercutio's graduation party - a sign that they should rekindle their teenage romance eventually? Of course he is still only a teenager, and so she can have no romantic interaction with him, but it's nice to see that she rolls wishes about him, I guess. 

Delilah O'Feefe has come visiting and enjoys a meal at the cafeteria for a change (she lives in a rented house and usually has to provide for her own meals).

There is this NPC student at the dorm who for unknown reasons has taken a dislike to Hermia. I have caught her poking and shoving her, but things have not gone far enough yet for them to engage in a proper fight and become enemies. 

Because I hate an enemy situation at a dorm, I try to prevent things from getting worse by directing Hermia to play chess and have the girl join her. "I wish we could be friends," is indeed one of the first things Hermia says. Unfortunately, she has to leave for her end-of-term exam before the two of them can become friends.

As expected, Hermia makes it to the Dean's List along with everybody else. For Puck, it is the start of his last semester!

Some skilling is in order before the students can think of starting on their Term Papers. 

Summer arrives, and the students change into outfits better suited to the warmer weather. (They have to make do with what they find in the wardrobe, as I am still not sending anyone to a community lot. This dress looks quite nice on Hermia, doesn't it?)

The recently acquired chess table proves very popular. 

Hermia spots the aggressive girl alone in the cafeteria and sits with her. "I've been thinking about what you said yesterday," the girl admits. "I'd like for us to become friends, too. You know, I saw you arrive in that ridiculous gown and thought, here comes yet another rich Capp girl who thinks she's better than the rest of us... but then I realised that you aren't like that at all, and neither is your sister, or Miranda, who actually is not a rich girl anyway..." 

Hermia laughs and admits that "that gown" really was one of her worst ideas. They become friends, and I need not to worry about an endless series of poke-and-shove scenes any more. 

By now, she is also friends with Jace. They like to play darts in the upstairs common room. 

Summer also means thunderstorms, and the telescope is hit by ligthning. Thankfully, the rain puts out the flames before anyone can come to any harm.

Now that Mercutio has left, the Campus Coach focuses on Jace and makes the young man work out every time he "happens to" pass by the dorm. 

Hermia's Freshman Year ends with A+ grades etc. for her as well as the others here. 

Puck has graduated; Miranda and Jace are about to start their Senior Year, and Juliette is now a Junior while Hermia embarks on her Sophomore Year. 

Hermia has done well, and the Capp sisters and cousins have become even closer than before. I was expecting some Sim or other falling in love during this spring, but nothing happened.

I have now spent so much time playing at this dorm that I am really looking forward to a family household again; the Contrarys are next on my list.

Juliette Capp - Freshmann Year

Juliette Capp has just arrived at Casteroff Dorms, probably her home for the next four years while she studies at Veronaville's Académie Le Tour. She appears to have age-transitioned in her younger sister Hermia's outfit, and since it is winter, she'll need something warmer anyway.

To remind you of the four playable students already here: There's Miranda Capp, a Sophomore like Jace Lee, former NPC townie. Puck Summerdream has just started his Junior Year, while Mercutio Monty is the oldest student at the dorm and the only Senior.

Juliette has to wait until one of the NPC students moves out and then claims her room on the upper floor. There is no wardrobe, only a cheap and rather uncomfortable bed, a desk, a chair and a wall lamp.

With the scholarships she collected while still at home, Juliette can afford a much better bed, a bedside table and lamp as well as a wardrobe. 

She is then off to class and only afterwards can sit down in the cafeteria for her first meal. Jace Lee joins her at the table.

Miranda had to leave for class the moment Juliette arrived, but now the two cousins and good friends can catch up. 

Juliette discovers the arcade game in the upstairs common room and has some fun at it.

The next day, she has a chat with Mercutio Monty, older brother of Romeo, who was her teenage sweetheart. 

Romeo is still a teenager, living at the family home in Veronaville and waiting for his turn on the alphabetical list before he can join Juliette at college - by then, unfortunately Juliette will be quite a bit ahead of him.

It will be interesting to see whether the two are going to pick up where their teenage romance left off. For now, it seems that Mercutio is quite pleased with Juliette's company - he keeps rolling wishes for her, such as play with, entertain and admire her.

Just like last year, it seems the Campus Coach has it in for Mercutio. Never mind, the young man can always do with another body skill. 

Juliette as the new girl observes and learns: That's the school cheer... 

...and this is the Smustle. 

The visiting student here is of course Roxie Sharpe - I forgot that she and Mercutio are together, it's been so long since I last played them. 

The Campus Coach seems to despair over Mercutio's seeming inability to follow his instructions (or should I say commands). 

This first semester just flew by, and before she knows it, Juliette is sitting her exam along with the others. All five return with A+ grades, their names on the Dean's List and the full grants, bringing their joint account up to over 27,500 Simoleons. 

It is the second half of Juliette's Freshman Year, and I find her looking at Mercutio here with a fond expression. So far, the two of them are good friends but not show any romantic tendencies towards each other, and I hope it stays that way. 

Miranda is hugely popular with the boys, as is obvious the next morning when both Puck and Mercutio visit her in her room... 

...while Jace, her boyfriend, is patiently watching them from the hallway doing the school cheer. 

Winter is in full swing, and enough snow has fallen for the students to build a snowman outside the dorm. The streaker is apparently not stopped by the cold! 

Juliette shows herself to be a true Family Sim, thinking of getting engaged... but a) it's still only her first year at college and b) she does not seem to have anyone particular in mind. 

Puck joins her at her table at the cafeteria and talks about scholarships. 

I am always glad to see Roxie; she comes by on her own accord, visiting her boyfriend Mercutio. 

The second half of Juliette's Freshman Year went by very quickly (last but not least because I played it almost entirely on fast forward). 

All five students end the year with A+ grades, their names on the Dean's List and the full grants. Mercutio has just graduated, Puck is now starting his Senior Year. Miranda and Jace have just become Juniors, while Juliette is now a Sophomore.

Again, I didn't send the students to a community lot; their classes are all at different hours and it would have upset everyone's schedules, not going for their exams all so neatly at the same time.

It is unfortunate that Romeo won't start college for a while yet, and with my way of playing Juliette might very well already have graduated by the time he arrives. Or I could have him skip college entirely (I know this usually give a Sim a bad memory) and catch up with his teenage love when she returns home.

Consort Capp's Family: Week 2

The family's first week is here.

After it was impossible to play Capp Manor until I finally installed The Sims 2 Legacy Edition and stopped uselessly trying to fix my "Ultimate Collection" game, I am now returning to Consort Capp's family. 

It is a snowy Saturday in winter as we arrive.

Inside, Juliette and her granddad Consort are enjoying bowls of hot vegetable soup, the perfect food on a day like this. With Juliette's big brother Tybalt recently having graduated from college and returned to the manor, she'll be next to go, and Consort expresses his confidence in that she'll do as well as he did, with her name on the Dean's List every semester. No pressure...!

Upstairs in Tybalt's bedroom, he has hung his college diploma on the wall, and there is something else next to it: The deed to his first business! 

His lifetime want is to have 5 top level businesses, and it is clear that he'll be the one to take over from Consort who has been running the Capp clan and the family business (whatever it is) for decades. Granddad is only 63, but the dramas and diffulties within the Capp clan have exhausted him greatly, and he feels old and tired before his time. Tybalt's first business is at 431 Globe Steet, and we'll accompany him there tomorrow. 

Here are Tybalt and Juliette relaxing over a game of chess and discussing friendships - even those with members of the Monty family. Last round, Tybalt made a real effort to overcome the old family feud, and to his surprise he discovered that Romeo, his sister's boyfriend, is actually a decent bloke.

That night, the three siblings' ghostly parents Antony and Cordelia appear in the grounds. They think of their children but don't approach them. 

Tybalt is up bright and early on Sunday morning, heading to his first day at his first own business at 431 Globe Street. The building is less of a shop and more of a kind of community centre for Sims to hang out at, with a row of four pinball machines at one end, toilets in the middle and a large TV screen as well as shelves with magazines and video games for sale.

Tybalt is happy to see former co-student Phineaus Furley among the first three visitors - he can hardly call them customers, since they don't buy anything, and he can not sell them anything. 

This is a little frustrating, and so I install a ticket machine outside the front door so that Tybalt can at least start to learn how to make sales and collect a bit of money from the venue. Still, he can't learn to use the cash register or to restock here, and so I suppose he'll end up hiring one or two youngsters to man the shop while he will open a new business - or maybe he'll start to offer sellable products right here.

Meanwhile at home, the girls spend a few hours diligently pulling weeds, and manage to get on top of the gardening for a change - good job the snow-covered flower beds don't need watering, or they'll never finish! 

Juliette is just telling her little sister how there will be one last ride on the school bus for her tomorrow, and then she'll be off to college, when Chaz Whippler walks past, deep in thought (pining for Marla Biggs, I assume). He steals the paper and runs away, with the girls both shouting after him. (This was actually quite funny to watch, as they were perfectly in sync with their finger-pointing and shouting, like some weird variety of the Smustle Dance.)

On Monday, Tybalt's business reaches Rank 1. And stupid me finally remembers that I have to click on the shelves with the magazines and video games and "set price" to make them sellable! It doesn't take Tybalt long after that to earn his Silver Badge in sales. 

Back home, that afternoon Consort waves good-bye to Juliette - she has just boarded the taxi that takes her to college, where of course we'll catch up with her soon.

But someone else catches up with Consort shortly after Juliette has left: Mr. Reaper appears out of nowhere, as is his habit. Consort is reluctant to leave; he has not achieved his lifetime want and feels that his grandchildren still need him. "But you're tired, old man, I can see it in your eyes," Mr Reaper says gently. "I offer you eternal rest... no more worries, and you can still visit and check in on your grandchildren..." and finally, Consort goes. 

Hermia is very sad; today, she had to say good-bye to her big sister (but of course she'll see her again) and now also to her Granddad, who raised her since the early death of her parents. 

The house now really feels way too big and empty for just herself and her big brother. 

Consort has joined the rest of the Capp clan on the family cemetery. The ghost of Anthony, the children's father, is out unusually early that night. 

Tybalt is now head of the main branch of the Capp clan - a responsibility he never asked for. He misses his Granddad very much. Who shall he turn to now for business advice and everything else? 

It is still dark very early on Tuesday morning when Tybalt is on his way to 431 Globe Street and suddenly is stopped by his great-grandmother Scribonia's ghost. 

This is the first time one of the ghosts has actively approached one of their living family members here at Capp Manor. It takes Tybalt only a short while to recover, and he is off to his shop. 

And who should his first actual customer be - the first to patiently wait for him to figure out the cash register - but Bianca Monty. Yes, the Montys shop at a Capp's business; another sign that the old family feud is finally coming to an end. 

Tybalt goes home for a late lunch with Hermia... 

...and then returns to the shop for some restocking and a few more sales at the ticket machine. The business is now at Rank 3, and Tybalt has the Gold Sales Badge. 

During his morning shift on Wednesday, a reporter pretending to be a customer visits 431 Globe Street. Tybalt is his usual diligent self, and the reporter is impressed enough with what she sees to write a great review. The shop receives the "Best of the Best" award, reaching rank 4 in the process. 

The evening shift brings Tybalt's favourite visitor: Marla Biggs. Spring has begun, and he has been wanting to flirt all day - now he can fulfill this wish with her. Look how fondly she looks at him while he is making a sale to Uncle Cornwall, his Aunt Regan's husband. 

He wants to keep the place spic and span but is hindered by Maxis' careless building: The shrubs around the tree in front of the shop can not be trimmed. I guess I'll have to take the low wall off that surrounds the tree. 

At home, Tybalt and Hermia have their tea, and Tybalt knows that it will be the last time in a long time that they sit together like this - tomorrow, his little sister will leave for college, where she's going to join Juliette. 

That evening, Consort's ghost appears - the first of the many ghosts roaming the grounds to actually enter the Manor. His grandchildren are unaware of his presence, though, and he does nothing to make himself heard or seen.

By Thursday, nothing is left of the snow that has been covering Veronaville almost all winter. The sorry state of the flower beds in front of the manor is revealed; hopefully, the gardener will deal with it, because Tybalt won't! 

He dedicates nearly every waking hour to his shop, and just about manages to handle the bills and do small things such as making his own bed or clean the toilet.

Today, 431 Globe Street achieves Rank 5, while Aunt Regan and Uncle Cornwall are visiting. I don't know what exactly Regan is telling Tybalt here, but it's something about his cousin Ariel.

Tybalt makes sure to be home when Hermia returns from school. As a good-bye treat for her before she boards the taxi to college he makes Grilled Cheese sandwiches; then has Capp Manor all to himself.

Friday is the last day here, since the week started on a Saturday. 

The gardener appears and duly waters the much reduced flower beds. He also does some weeding and trimming of shrubs but leaves without disposing of the dead flowers on the other side of the path. 

Tybalt is of course too busy at 431 Globe Street to do any gardening. After he has made a sale to former co-student Ellen Frost, the business reaches Rank 6.

Exhausted after his usual two shifts at the shop, Tybalt closes up for the night and spends most of the evening doing the necessary admin work. (What he actually did was start a gaming competition, but let's pretend he worked.) 

The house may be very quiet now with just Tybalt living there, but the garden at night is anything but: As usual, at least two ghostly ancestors appear and roam the grounds, but apart from Consort during that one night, none of them ever enter the house. 

It was good seeing Tybalt (and me!!) finally getting the hang of running a shop. It must be hard on him without being able to consult his Granddad, who knew everything about business. 

His sisters are both at college now, and his girlfriend Marla didn't feature much. Maybe next round the two of them will move in together. Next we'll see Hermia through her first year at college, since she did not have a complete week here.