Consort Capp's Family: Week 1

The Capp Mansion in Veronaville - who does not know this huge place? The house itself isn't all that big, but the park-like garden is massive, making for long walks from the front door to the school bus, car pool, mail box etc. We'll see who lives here in a minute, but first let's have a look at the three Maxis-made pictures for this household.

I can only assume that the man on the left is a younger Consort Capp, current owner of Capp Manor and head of the Capp clan. The lady must be his wife, Contessa Capp - but who is kissing her so passionately? Most likely, the dark-haired man is supposed to be Patrizio Monty, which would answer the first of the two questions asked in Consort's Maxis-written biography: "Consort Capp was once associates with Patrizio Monty. What led to the end of their relationship, and can it now be salvaged?"

We see the next generaion of Capps here, (I guess) with Tybalt as a little boy and Juliette and Hermia as toddlers in their cribs. The parents are Cordelia, Consort and Contessa's daughter, and her husband Caliban, both deceased by the time we meet the family for the first time.

With the girls grown to school age, we find Hermia dreaming of a barbeque while her sister Juliette is quietly playing with a little boy who is probably Romeo Monty. This means that Tybalt is having it out with Mercutio, Romeo's older brother. There - the Capp/Monty story in a nutshell, with Tybalt being stupid enough to carry on the family feud started by his grandfather. 

The ground floor of Capp Manor has a generous kitchen and dining area plus a toilet to the right. The master bedroom - obviously Consort's - is on the left side and has an en-suite bathroom. A comfortably furnished hall with a fire place completes the ground floor. 

Upstairs are three single bedrooms for Consort's three grandchildren. The one to the far left is probably meant to be Tybalt's. A bathroom separates it from a bedroom I have decided to give to Hermia, while Juliette is going to have the room at the far end of the top floor. Money is no problem for this branch of the Capps - there are more than 81,000 Simoleons on Consort's account.

And here is the man himself. He looks much older than the 56 his age bar shows, but then he has not exactly had an easy time: His wife dead, one of his four children Cordelia dead (Cordelia; the others are Goneril, Regan and Kent), and trying to raise three of his many grandchildren on his own while working as CEO of the family business and being head of the family at the same time. His lifetime want is to earn 100,000 Simoleons, fitting for a Fortune Sim. By the way, he is not a Capp by blood - only by marriage. Nonetheless, he feels the weight of responsibility for the clan on his shoulders. The family bio says: "Juliette Capp has fallen for Romeo, golden child of the rival Monty clan. Can the Capps set aside their grudge and put Juliette's happiness first?"

Tybalt is the oldest of the three orphaned kids living with their granddad - he will be an adult in five days. His aspiration is Popularity, though you wouldn't guess it from his grumpy face. But, quite fittingly, his lifetime want is to own 5 Top Level Businesses - i.e. to take over the Capp family business and enlarge it. His bio reads: "Outspoken but surly, Tybalt is proud to carry the Capp name. Will his pride and hatred of the Montys ruin his sister Juliette's chance for happiness with Romeo?" Hermia is the youngest, still 12 days from adulthood. She is a Family Sim who dreams of becoming Captain Hero. Interestingly, she has a crush on both Mercutio Monty and Puck Summerdream. Maxis say about her: "Hermia is smart, but on the shy side. She often wonders what rock her brother Tybalt crawled out from under." 

And Juliette? The middle child (9 days from adulthood), we find her on this Saturday early evening with no other than Romeo in front of the house. She shares both her aspiration and her lifetime want with her sister. According to Maxis, she loves her family and wants to please them, but her feelings for Romeo are undeniable. Can she make her family proud and make herself happy as well?. 

A closer look at Consort's bedroom reveals that he has been keeping the ashes of both his deceased wife Contessa and his daughter Cordelia here. Maybe it's time to move the urns out to the small family cemetery outside.

Doesn't Tybalt look positively relieved when I remove his weird make-up?

Next, I have him try to end the enmity with Romeo. At first, Romeo does not seem convinced, but I have the two boys talk for a while, and the "enemy" icon disappears. 

They even sit down for a serious conversation in Tybalt's room! "You can't really know what it's like, Rom, but seriously - it's not nice seeing someone kissing your younger sister," Tybalt explains.

In the end, the siblings and their granddad have Mac & Cheese together, and Romeo is asked to stay for dinner. A start!

On Sunday, Regan and Kent (Consort's children, and aunt and uncle to the three teenagers) are invited over - and of course Regan's husband Cornwall comes along.

Regan happily joins her niece for a dancing session in her bedroom while Cornwall and Kent are at one of their poking matches again (still don't know what the story is there). 

Hermia has spotted this lady walking by and greets her - it is Vyn Scott, a townie I made playable by moving her in when I was still playing New Max, because of her surname being the same as a playable Sim's in TS4. Much to my delight, she and Consort show two bolts for each other. 

The school bus and Consort's limousine pull up in front of the manor at the same time on Monday morning. I make everybody run instead of walk to cover the distance, so that they won't be late.

The children (all three of them attend Private School) come home with homework in hand, but before they never place it anywhere - it just disappears. Hopefully, this bug won't affect their grades. Consort has earned more than 2,000 Simoleons today - at this rate, it would still take him around 48 working days to achieve his lifetime want. Hermia makes Hamburgers, and the family enjoy a quiet dinner.

Juliette and her granddad end the evening on a game of chess. (I put the chess table at the previously empty end of the long upstairs hallway, since Consort wanted a logic point, and it won't harm the teenagers to learn to play chess, either.) 

That night, for the first time some of the Capps' ancestors make a ghostly appearance. Octavius and Antony remain in the grounds, though, not waking anybody up.

I need not have worried about the disappearing homework affecting their grades - on Tuesday, all three of them return from school with an A+ (and the homework disappears again). The afternoon is spent skilling (it is autumn, after all!), cleaning, eating and making phonecalls to maintain or establish friendships. 

The gardener works nearly all day on Wednesday, but the grounds are simply too large for him to finish everything. Also, as most of you will know from your own games, the hedges around the house can not be clipped - they are placed on slopes or otherwise inaccessible. 

It is Consort's day off, and after some housework in the morning, he deserves a nap.

The children return from school with - once again - no homework, but they have obviously worked hard enough at school, what with all three of them now firmly at A+ level. Consort rewards them by taking them to Sims Gone Wired. Typically, they all wanted mobile phones or mobile game consoles, but as soon as they step off the taxi, they wish for entirely different things.

No Sims of interest appear on the lot while they are there, with one exception: Isabella Monty. Tybalt has already been making an effort with Romeo, and now he walks up to Isabella to greet her. They shake hands, but before a conversation is possible, she walks off the lot. 

Back home, the teenagers' parents appear for the first time (well, their ghosts, obviously). Cordelia and Caliban are in the house and grounds nearly all night but never approach their children.

The girls say good-bye to their big brother on Thursday morning: Tybalt leaves for college (he would have turned into an adult that same afternoon).

Consort returns from work with his last promotion ever: He is now Veronaville's first (and so far only) Business Tycoon. With the money he has earned today plus the promotion bonus, he is somewhat nearer his lifetime want, but I still doubt he will make it. Strangely enough, the friend he brings home from work is a paper girl - maybe he thinks his two granddaughters could do with some company after their brother has left for college.

The paper girl is sent home, and it's only Juliette, Hermia and Consort at the dinner table that evening. 

There is a definite winter chill in the air on Friday morning, and Juliette lights the fire in the dining room. (Warmer clothes would be a good idea, too.)

Consort does not work today, and I leave him to his own devices for a while. He starts on disposing of the dead flower beds - the gardener really has not been doing a very good job, has he. 

After school, Hermia joins her granddad on her own initiave. You can see the state of the grounds - something has to be done, but not this round - it ends today, since the week at this household started on a Saturday. 

How is Tybalt doing in college? Will Juliette roll wishes about Romeo? (She has not done so all week.) Is Hermia going to decide on either Puck Summerdream or Mercutio Monty - or neither of the two? What about Consort - is a late romance in the air for him with Vyn Scott? (He did receive a late night phone call from her, but they are not even friends yet.)