#capitanos goth wife | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cornyregans · 6 years ago

Text

The Beginning of the Feud

WARNING: This entry contains mentions of death and a variety of illnesses, some of which might be triggering to some people. As such, reader discretion is advised.

Obligatory Warning Word Count: 26 words Essay & Theory Word Count: 8,654 words Obligatory Thank You Word Count: 92 words Total Word Count: 8,772 words

The divide between the Capp and Monty families is clearly symbolized in Veronaville, with both sides separated down the middle by a canal. The Monty family lives on the more rural, Italian-inspired western side, more akin to the city of Verona where Romeo & Juliet is supposed to take place. Conversely, the Capp family is located on the more populated Tudor-inspired eastern side of the river, more akin to Shakespeare’s birthplace of Stratford-upon-Avon.

The clear contrast between the two sides was most likely intentional, as the vast differences between the east and the west sides of the canal perfectly mirror the inability to of the feuding families to come together. Though, while we are aware of the feud both consciously through the narrative and subconsciously through the neighborhood’s design, we still cannot be sure about other factors: like the how's, the why's, the when's, the who's. While we know bits and pieces, EAxis has not revealed the whole story behind this feud, and at this rate, they probably never will. So, it is up to us to determine what we believe to have happened.

When did the feud start?

The neighborhood biography for Veronaville states that the Capps and Montys have been feuding for “generations." From this statement alone, we cannot determine a concrete place in time, but it is possible to do so if we look deeper. Both the Capp family and the Monty family are currently in their fifth generation, a generation count not even the Goths of Pleasantview can boast about when first playing in The Sims 2. The longevity of both families brings up many possibilities for when this feud may have started; however, it is actually quite easy to pin down which of the five generations gave birth to this feud that has lasted for so long.

When first playing Veronaville, a look at both the Capp and Monty family trees will show that the oldest living generation in both families is the third. When the game starts, there are three living third generation members when you combine the elders in both the Capp and Monty families. That being said, only one of them, Patrizio, belongs to either family by blood; both Isabella and Consort married into the Monty and Capp families respectively. However, a look at two of these sims’ biographies, those belonging to Patrizio and Consort, confirm that the feud began in this generation. If so, then when, specifically, did this long-running feud start? To answer that question, the best place to look may well be in the memories of both Consort Capp and Patrizio Monty.

Looking at the memories of these two sims is not as easy as it sounds, as there are clear contradictions. According to Patrizio’s memories, he met Consort, became best friends with Consort, and lost Consort as a best friend after he became a teenager; meanwhile, Consort’s memories regarding these events all seem to happen in his childhood. At a glance, it looks like the feud probably started because Patrizio took Consort’s lunch money and never paid him back. However, there are two pieces of evidence revealing a contradiction in Consort’s memories.

The first discrepancy appears when we look at Consort’s biography where it states that he and Patrizio were once “associates." When using this word as a noun, it indicates that the two were partners or colleagues in a business or at work. If Consort was a child, then there is no way that he and Patrizio could have been associates when the feud began, as a sim must be a teen or older to have a job.

The second instance, and probably the most telling, is a picture of Patrizio and Consort at what is apparently some sort of farm (possibly the llama ranch alluded to in Patrizio’s biography). In this picture, the two young men, along with a blonde female sim, are clearly teenagers or older. This observation seems to confirm that, of the two, Patrizio’s memories of the events leading up to the feud seem to be the accurate ones, and that the feud likely began specifically when they both were teens.

Why did the feud start?

Now that we have a more specific timeframe, we can work on the next question: the why. Much like with the when, the why can partly be answered by looking at the memories of both sims alongside some storytelling images. In both Patrizio and Consort’s memories, there is another sim that links the two together: Contessa Capp.

A quick look at Consort’s family tree will show that he only became a Capp by marrying Contessa (his premarital surname was “Thebe”). Despite Contessa being Consort Capp’s wife, a look in Patrizio Monty’s memories will show that he had his first kiss with her. This is further backed up if we look at the storytelling image and combining that with the information found in both men’s memories. This leaves little doubt that the woman in the picture is Contessa Capp, and the man she is making out with is Patrizio Monty, not her future husband (who was instead standing off to the side).

Another look at the memories of both men shows their friendship fell apart after they met Contessa; in fact, Patrizio’s memories show their friendship breaking down after he kissed Contessa for the first time. If we disregard Consort’s misplaced “grew up well” memory, his next memory following the dissolution of his friendship with Patrizio would be of him having his first kiss with Contessa. Conversely, Patrizio’s first memory following the dissolution of his friendship with Consort involves him getting fired from his job in the business career.

While the memories seem to provide the bulk of the outline as to the why, we should probably also take a look at Patrizio’s biography, which asks whether he will “let his grudge against Consort Capp prevent him from enjoying his legacy.” This quote from Patrizio’s biography is rather interesting, specifically because Consort’s biography mentions nothing of the sort. As a result, the game seems to be hinting that Consort is most likely the aggressor of the feud. This is further backed up in the Monty family biography, where it is mentioned that Patrizio never forgot Consort’s “broken promise.” While neither biography provides a concrete answer to either question, they do give us a general idea of what could have caused their friendship to crumble.

Comparing and Contrasting Patrizio and Consort

Despite both being lovers of Contessa Capp during separate points in her life, there are quite a few differences between Patrizio and Consort. In fact, by looking closely at each of these differences, it is possible that some of the components might help in answering questions about the feud’s origins.

By looking at the naming themes for both men’s ancestors, there is already a clear divide. Most of Patrizio’s ancestors are named for characters from Shakespeare works set in Italy, fitting for a member of the Italian-inspired Monty family. His ancestors’ names are taken from plays such as The Merchant of Venice (his paternal grandparents Bassanio and Portia), Measure for Measure (his maternal grandparents Angelo and Mariana), and The Two Gentlemen of Verona (his parents Valentine and Silvia). While all of these characters are generally of the upper class, none of them seem to reach a rank higher than that of a duke, and even then, said duke (Angelo) is really a placeholder more than anything.

On the other hand, half of Consort’s ancestors are named after characters from Troilus & Cressida, a play set in what is meant to be the later years of the Trojan War; his paternal grandfather was named after the King of Troy (Priam), while his parents were named one of the Trojan princes (Hector) and his Theban wife (Andromache). The other half of Consort’s ancestors were instead named for mythological figures related to the other half in the original source material; specifically the Queen of Troy (Hecuba), the King of Thebe (Eetion), and the unnamed Theban queen.

As a result, the biggest takeaway concerning the differences between Patrizio and Consort’s heritage is Consort’s ancestors were all inspired by mythological royalty; this stands in contrast to Patrizio’s ancestors, who were mostly just regular old nobles in Shakespeare’s plays.

Another way that Consort and Patrizio differ is in how their lineage is passed down through generations. Most families in The Sims 2 are patrilineal, meaning surnames are passed down from father-to-child. The Monty family is a case of a patrilineal family, as a look at the Monty family tree will clearly show that it was Patrizio’s father who was born with the Monty name, while his mother possessed the surname “Capitano” before her marriage. Conversely, Consort’s family is matrilineal, meaning he inherited his surname from his mother.

Even their first names happen to reflect how both sim’s surnames are passed down from one generation to the next. Patrizio’s name sounds rather similar to “patriarch,” a title denoting a male head of a family. Consort, on the other hand, is a term used to define a spouse of a reigning monarch, which symbolizes that he is not the true head of the family, rather that he is (or was) married to her.

Taking Contessa into Account

Now that we’ve gone over Patrizio and Consort’s ancestry, heritage, and etymology, our next step is looking to see how well these components match up with those of Contessa Capp.

A look at the Capp family tree will show that all of Contessa’s ancestors were named after ancient royalty. Contessa’s maternal grandparents, Cleopatra and Antony Capp, were named after Cleopatra VII Philopater and Mark Antony, two historical figures whose romance inspired Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra. Cleopatra was one of the last two pharaohs of Egypt, ruling alongside her son Caesarion from 44 BC until her death. As for Mark Antony, he was both a Roman politician and one of Caesar’s general. Her paternal grandparents, Julius and Calpurnia Caesar, were named after Roman dictator Julius Caesar and his third wife, both of whom were portrayed in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Finally, Contessa’s parents, Octavius and Scribonia, were named after the first Roman emperor and his second wife.

Contessa’s name is the Italian word for “countess,” a noble title that is ranked below a marchioness but above a viscountess. While Patrizio and Consort’s names define their roles in their family’s dynamics, Contessa’s name is more of a middle ground. While her name is usually defined as being given to the wife of a count, the title of countess can also be hereditary in some cases. Given Contessa’s lineage, she would probably be more akin to a hereditary countess who rules in her own right, rather than one who obtained her title through marriage.

Comparing Contessa to Patrizio and Consort

While Patrizio and Contessa may have had more in common regarding their roles in continuing their family lines, Consort and Contessa would have been more compatible when taking their lineage, ancestry, and etymology into account.

Both Contessa and Consort’s ancestors were named for members of either ancient or mythological royalty; meanwhile, Patrizio’s ancestors were based on Shakespeare characters who were nobles, none of whom ran an ancient civilization. In terms of lineage, the Capps are and the Thebes are (or were) matrilineal, while the Monty family is patrilineal.

Finally, because she is a daughter in a matrilineal family, the etymology of Contessa’s name (”countess”) works better with Consort’s (”spouse of a reigning monarch”). While Contessa’s name could work well with Patrizio’s (whose name sounds similar to “patriarch”), their lineage (her family being matrilineal, his family being patrilineal) instead causes their names to conflict with one another.

Sign Compatibility and Chemistry

A look at both Patrizio and Consort’s zodiac signs tell us that the former is a Sagittarius (with the personality of a Cancer), while the latter is a Scorpio (with the personality of a Virgo). Patrizio’s personality shows that he has 8 neat points, 5 outgoing points, 4 active points, 4 playful points, and 4 nice points. As for Consort, he has 9 neat points, 4 outgoing points, 6 active points, 4 playful points, and 2 nice points. When comparing each man’s personality, Patrizio is shown to be nicer and more outgoing, while Consort is neater and also more active.

Like her husband, the late Contessa was also a Scorpio (except, unlike her husband, she had the personality of an Aries). Contessa’s personality shows that she had 6 neat points, 6 outgoing points, 6 active points, 3 playful points, and 4 nice points. By comparing her personality to that of her husband’s, Contessa was nicer and more outgoing than him, but he was neater and more playful than her. When comparing her personality to Patrizio, Contessa was the more outgoing and active, while Patrizio is neater and more playful.

A sim’s zodiac sign impacts both their compatibility with other signs and how much chemistry they have with other sims. As a Scorpio, Contessa, like her husband, would have been most compatible with either a Pisces or a Leo, and least compatible with a Libra and an Aquarius. While Consort shares a sign with Contessa, Patrizio is a Sagittarius instead, as such, he is most compatible with a Pisces or a Capricorn, but least compatible with a Libra or a Scorpio. By looking at these figures, this would mean that Patrizio would have actually been incompatible with Contessa.

From Nightlife onward, sims can also have chemistry with one another depending on their aspirations, personalities, zodiac signs, and turn-ons/offs. Since turn-ons and turn-offs vary from playthrough to playthrough for the base game and University premades, we will be ignoring them during this essay and instead focus on the other components.

By comparing Contessa’s aspiration to Patrizio’s aspiration, the two of them would be a Fortune-Family combination, which is given a score of +17.5. As for Contessa and Consort, two fortune sims, their score would be +35.

As for their zodiac signs, Contessa was a Scorpio while Patrizio was a Sagittarius, this combination would be given a score of -17.5. As for Contessa and Consort, two Scorpios, their score would be 0 due to having the same sign.

As for the personality component, determining the overall score requires solving a rather complex equation. Luckily, since it’s such a small part of the overall score, my math-inept self will pass in trying to calculate the result (that’s not to say I didn’t try though, I did, I simply can't understand it).

By combining the scores from the aspirations and zodiac signs of each pair, Patrizio and Contessa would have had an overall score of 0, while Consort and Contessa’s score would have been +35. Again, this is without the personality and turn-on/off components, so the scores here are only tentative. However, should we take these scores into account, it seems like Consort and Contessa may have had a higher score in both chemistry and compatibility than Patrizio and Contessa.

What can Shakespeare tell us?

Shakespeare has written many a play about love, and a few of his plays tend to use a love triangle as a plot device. Many of Shakespeare’s works that focus on romantic love tend to end happily, but there are also those that don’t, such as Romeo & Juliet.

The plot of Romeo & Juliet is at the heart of Veronaville. From the name of the neighborhood to the names of the feuding families to the names of the two teenage lovebirds. Heck, some pre-programmed events in this neighborhood can be seen as shout-outs to scenes from this play. However, unlike Romeo & Juliet, how your sims live their lives is your decision; you can choose to follow the script, or you can deviate from it instead.

With this in mind, let’s look at the beginning of this feud by using Shakespeare’s work as a reference. While Consort and Patrizio are clearly meant to be parallels to Lords Capulet and Montague respectively, The Sims 2 does something that Shakespeare’s play does not, it provides some background information about how the rivalry could have started. If we look at the beginning of the feud within the context of Romeo & Juliet, and combining it information already mentioned in this essay, it is possible that the Romeo and Juliet of this particular generation could have very well been Patrizio Monty and Contessa Capp.

So if Patrizio and Contessa are their generation’s Romeo and Juliet, then who is Consort supposed to be? For that, I believe we should look at Romeo & Juliet’s neutral family, the Royal House of Escalus. Like in Romeo & Juliet, Veronaville also has a third family of its own, that family being the Summerdreams. However, the Summerdream family is missing one key element found in Romeo & Juliet, and that is a character based on the third member of the R&J love triangle, Paris.

In Romeo & Juliet, Paris is Lord and Lady Capulet’s preferred choice for Juliet’s future husband; however, there is nary a Paris counterpart to be found in present-day Veronaville. There is no other premade sim, outside Romeo Monty, that is even hinted at having any romantic feelings for the fifth generation’s Juliette Capp, nor is there is a sim her grandfather would prefer as her potential partner. The decision to exclude a character who had such a large role in the original play’s plot without even so much of a parallel sim is quite baffling, especially since there are love triangles from other plays that remain intact. That being said, perhaps the Paris counterpart was not supposed to be a part of the fifth generation, but the third.

As I mentioned above, aside from receiving some suggestions upon first playing certain lots, The Sims 2 doesn’t really tell you what you’re supposed to do to progress. When performing any theatrical work, you have a script you must follow, you know how the whole thing will play out long before the first show. In Veronaville, you get to decide how this tale of two feuding families will play out. Will your Veronaville be a tragedy like the original play or a comedy where everything ends happily?

While there is still a generation of Romeo & Juliet yet to play out, it is possible that there was one that took place generations before in Veronaville that played out quite differently from the source material. Because unlike in Shakespeare and the current set-up, it was Paris, not Romeo, who ended up with Juliet.

As I said before, Shakespeare has written many a play revolving around romance. While there are potentially numerous parallels throughout various Shakespeare plays that can be used in identifying the origins of this feud, there is one play that I mentioned earlier in this essay, Troilus & Cressida, that I believe is worth looking at in greater detail.

Much like Romeo & Juliet, there are two rival factions in Troilus & Cressida: the Trojans and the Greeks. Troilus, one of the princes of Troy, is infatuated with Cressida, the daughter of a Trojan priest, and the two eventually profess their love and vow to remain faithful to one another. Meanwhile, Cressida’s father Calchas has become a turncoat, pledging his allegiance to the Greeks in order to be reunited with his estranged daughter. After negotiations between Calchas and the Greeks, they agree to exchange a captured Trojan commander named Antenor for Cressida. When news reaches Troilus and Cressida, neither are happy about it; however, both still vow to remain faithful to each other while apart.

Unfortunately for Troilus, the Greek prince Diomedes also has an interest in Cressida, and he begins courting her after she and Troilus are separated. Despite her vow to remain faithful to Troilus, Cressida acts coy and reciprocates his flirtations. Eventually, she briefly hands Diomedes a sleeve that was given to her by Troilus as a token of their love, only to exchange it for her body once she decides she wants it back. The suggestive banter ends with Cressida promising to wait for Diomedes to come and sleep with her later that night. After both Diomedes and Cressida leave the scene, Troilus, having witnessed their entire exchange from a nearby hiding place, vows to kill Diomedes in combat. Later when a letter from Cressida arrives, an enraged Troilus tears it up and proceeds into battle.

While a love triangle is present in both Romeo & Juliet and Troilus & Cressida, they both play out in strikingly different ways. Romeo and Juliet both honor the vows they made to one another, to the point where both of them would rather die before breaking them. While Paris has feelings for Juliet, she never once reciprocates, and when she acts as though she does, she is instead planning to get out of her arranged marriage. Like Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida also profess their undying love for one another, however, once she is alone with Diomedes, Cressida plays along with his advances, unaware that Troilus is privy to the whole thing.

That being said, the scene between Diomedes and Cressida can also be seen as the latter returning the former’s advances for her protection due to being a Trojan woman in a Greek military camp. As a result, her returning Diomedes’ advances could easily be seen as an act of self-preservation rather than being an act of treachery. However, even if this were the case, there is no way Troilus could have possibly known her intentions, as he witnesses the scene with absolutely no context, and has to trust the evidence before him.

Perhaps Cressida tried to tell Troilus her side of the story in her letter? Though, the fact that Troilus disregards it altogether leaves its contents up in the air.

Much like how Patrizio and Contessa can be seen as parallels to Romeo and Juliet, they also have a lot in common with Troilus and Cressida, with Consort acting as a stand-in for Diomedes. Given the ultimate resolution found in Troilus & Cressida, perhaps it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to suggest the feud began after Patrizio caught Contessa and Consort interacting in a romantic manner? Perhaps Consort’s broken promise had to do with him flirting with Contessa while Patrizio had feelings for her? However, while this scenario is certainly possible, neither Patrizio nor Consort possess any memories of an affair, though I can’t say I know whether the lack of memories on either side was intentional or not.

However, should we assume that Cressida went along with Diomedes’ advances for her protection, perhaps we can look at this from another angle? Should we assume that Cressida’s allegiance to Troilus never wavered in Troilus & Cressida, perhaps Contessa may have wanted to remain faithful to Patrizio, and her decision to move on with Consort may have been out of obligation.

A Closer Look at the Involved Parties

Patrizio, Contessa, and Consort are obviously the central figures of the Veronaville feud; however, much like a Shakespeare play dealing with similar conflicts, odds are this scenario also has a few secondary characters we might have missed. While Isabella Pantalone, Patrizio’s eventual wife, might be seen as a possible secondary character, the fact that Patrizio’s memories state their first meeting occurred after he lost his desk job makes me believe otherwise.

So, if Isabella’s role in the feud isn’t introduced until later, then where can we turn to find our answers? Well, a look at both Patrizio and Consort’s memories show that both men’s parents were still alive when their friendship ended. In addition, should we also assume that either one or both of Contessa’s parents were also alive at that point, it is possible that all the parents may have played a role as well.

Capps

Think back to Romeo & Juliet for a second. While Juliet is clearly infatuated with Romeo, her parents have other ideas and pursue a marriage between their daughter and Count Paris. The situation is somewhat different in Troilus & Cressida, as Calchas does not arrange a marriage between his daughter and Diomedes, but he is the catalyst of Troilus and Cressida's separation.

By looking at the scenarios found in both plays, it would not be too far-fetched to assume that either one or both of Contessa’s parents may have contributed to helping jumpstart the feud. In both Romeo & Juliet and Troilus & Cressida, it is the female title character’s parents who are the greatest obstacles to the titular couples. In Romeo & Juliet, the Capulets try to push Juliet into a marriage with Paris, while in Troilus & Cressida, Calchas is the one responsible for ultimately separating the two title characters. Since Contessa is the only female sim to be found in this love triangle, she is the most obvious counterpart to both Juliet and Cressida in this particular situation.

Now that we’re somewhat familiar with the roles Contessa’s parents could have played in the feud, it would probably be wise to look at their roles in Shakespeare’s plays. Unlike most sims, Octavius Capp’s Shakespearean counterpart appears in two separate historical tragedies: Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra. In Julius Caesar, Octavius is Caesar’s equally ambitious nephew/adopted son, though unlike Caesar, he was smart enough to hide just how ambitious he was. After his uncle-dad’s assassination, Octavius, along with Caesar’s friend Mark Antony, manage to persuade the public to sympathize with them after extolling Caesar’s virtues over his body. This results in the conspirators either committing suicide, being executed, mercy-killed, or hunted down by the angry mob who listened to Antony's speech.

Following the events of Julius Caesar, Antony and Octavius, along with another character called Lepidus, have formed the second triumvirate, though their loyalty to one-another weakened prior to the events of Antony & Cleopatra. In addition, Antony also agreed to marry Octavius’ sister, Octavia, in order to prevent future conflicts.

In Antony & Cleopatra, Octavius is portrayed in a more negative light. At the beginning of the play, Octavius and Antony, their relationship now strained, team up to fight against three pirates and cast their differences aside for the time being. However, after making a truce with one of the pirates, Octavius and Lepidus break it once Antony leaves. Though they worked together in breaking the truce, Octavius later betrays Lepidus and kicks him out of the triumvirate, leading him into a war against Antony and Cleopatra. In the end, Octavius ends up victorious and is eventually crowned as the first Roman emperor.

Unlike Octavius, whose Shakespeare counterpart appears in two separate plays, Scribonia is one of the few Veronaville sims to not share a name with any Shakespeare characters. Instead, she was named after the historical Octavius Caesar’s second wife and the only mother of his natural child. Their marriage was unhappy and ended in divorce the same day their daughter Julia the Elder was born. Scribonia ended up outliving her daughter by Octavius, though both the date and cause of Scribonia’s death are unknown.

Because Shakespeare never wrote about Scribonia, it is impossible to interpret her character traits through a Shakespearean lens. She was described as being “tiresome” and “morose” by her ex-husband, and “dignified and severe” by Seneca (a statesman and stoic philosopher). Despite these negative descriptors, Scribonia’s reputation has improved over time, as she is now seen as an “exemplary” Roman woman.

Since their daughter Contessa is already dead when TS2 begins, there isn’t much information about Scribonia and Octavius out there. However, given their historical counterparts, it is rather interesting that Octavius was the one who took Scribonia’s surname in TS2 and not the reverse. While this seems to be a thing men do when marrying into the Capp family, we cannot be sure whether the Caesars were a matrilineal or patrilineal family. Therefore, this leads me to believe that Scribonia Capp may have more importance to the overall Veronaville narrative than meets the eye. While I do plan to cover Scribonia (and Octavius) in more detail eventually, I thought it would be a good idea to point this out since it could come in handy when coming up with a theory.

In addition, neither sim appears in the memories of any living sims, meaning we cannot know which of the two predeceased the other. With this in mind, it is likely that the two were already dead before Contessa married Consort.

Finally, despite not knowing when Scribonia and Octavius died, we do know how they died. According to her ghost, Scribonia died of old age. Also, while an Octavius Capp is shown to have died of electrocution in TS3, this Octavius Capp’s cause of death in TS2 is also old age according to his ghost. While this may be a commentary on life-expectancy during Shakespeare’s time, Scribonia and Octavius dying of old age should be impossible in normal gameplay since both were adults when they died and death by old age is usually restricted for elders.

Since there is a contradiction between the ages of Scribonia and Octavius and their cause of death, this allows the simmer a little wiggle room in interpreting how they died. As for me, I tend to look at these two and classify their deaths as being due to natural causes. While this might sound similar to death by disease, I believe there is a distinction between the two. In TS2, the diseases that cause death tend to be contagious or acquired from external forces; however, the conditions that I believe could be in play for determining Scribonia and Octavius’ deaths would have been internal and non-communicable, like heart disease or cancer.

Montys

Unlike Lord and Lady Capulet, Lord and Lady Montague take a backseat in Romeo & Juliet’s narrative, as such, they aren’t really a threat to the teenage couple’s happiness. While Juliet’s separate scenes tend to occur at her family home, Romeo’s separate scenes instead focus on his friendship with Mercutio and Benvolio, at least until the former’s death and Romeo’s subsequent banishment. They’re more reactionary characters than anything, as they only seem to fight with the Capulets when provoked.

However, it gets a little weird when trying to find a similar counterpart in Troilus & Cressida. While it could be argued that Troilus’ parents might fit the mold given the role their son plays in the central romance, the king of Troy actually inspired the name of Consort’s paternal grandfather. However, in terms of Priam’s role in Troilus & Cressida, he seems to believe that continuing the war is pointless and tries to persuade his son not to fight.

Perhaps we should instead take a closer look at the characters who gave their names to Valentine and Silvia Monty. As I mentioned back when I was comparing and contrasting Consort and Patrizio, Valentine and Silvia are named after two characters from The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The titular gentlemen, Valentine and Proteus, have been sent by their fathers to Milan, both falling for the duke’s daughter Silvia upon their arrival. The duke later suspects Valentine and Silvia have feelings for one another and locks Silvia up in a tower every night to keep him away from her. Once Proteus learns of Silvia’s nightly house arrest, he informs the duke that Valentine and Silvia are planning to run off and elope. This leads to the duke banishing Valentine from court and Proteus later telling Silvia that he has most likely died. While Silvia initially mourns the potential loss of Valentine, she later goes searching for him. Valentine and Silvia don’t meet again until the end of the play when Valentine rescues her from Proteus. In the end, the duke approves of the couple, and Valentine and Silvia end the play as husband and wife.

Now that we have some knowledge of the Shakespeare play Valentine and Silvia originated from, perhaps we should see where they fit in their son’s memories. While Patrizio’s memories of when the feud started are reliable, the same cannot be said for any memories he has of his parents once the feud was underway. According to Patrizio, his father died after his son Claudio got engaged, while his mother died after Claudio got married. Since Claudio’s engagement and marriage occurred following Patrizio’s fourth “grew up” memory, this would mean that Patrizio was already an elder when his son was engaged and married to Olivia Dottore. With that in mind, Patrizio’s memories of both his parents’ are completely illogical since both of his parents died as adults.

So, if Patrizio’s memories of his parents’ deaths are unreliable, then where can we turn to find our answer? Well, I think a good place to look would be in the memories of his wife and their three children. However, similar to the case of Scribonia and Octavius Capp, neither Isabella Monty nor her children with Patrizio have any memory of either sim. With this in mind, perhaps the most logical conclusion regarding their deaths is that they, like Scribonia and Octavius, died before their child got married.

However, unlike Scribonia and Octavius, neither Valentine nor Silvia have any ghost in TS2 to help us narrow down any cause of death (Valentine does in TS3, but him dying from old age in Monte Vista contradicts what we know about him in TS2). In addition, Shakespeare's Valentine and Silvia are both alive at the end of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. That being said, Valentine is rumored to have died following his exile from court.

Thebes

When it comes to Consort’s family, there isn’t any parallel in Romeo & Juliet, but Troilus & Cressida is another story. As I mentioned above, Consort’s parents, Hector and Andromache, were named for one of the princes of Troy and his Theban wife. With this in mind, perhaps it would be a good idea to look at their roles in Shakespeare’s problem play.

In Troilus & Cressida, the two separate plots are the antitheses of one another. The A plot, revolving around the relationship between the two title characters, is the more comedic of the two. Conversely, the B plot is much more serious, building up to a dramatic battle between Hector and the Greek hero Achilles.

As a whole, Hector is portrayed as an honorable man who places his duty above all else, though he isn’t exactly the sharpest sword at the smithy. In fact, the scene that most encapsulates Hector’s fatal flaw occurs when he decides to try on the gold armor of an enemy soldier he just defeated. This disastrous error in judgment leads to him being unarmed when Achilles and the myrmidons enter the scene and kill him.

As for Andromache, she’s more of a minor character compared to her husband, especially since she only has six lines during the play, all of them occurring in the same scene. Each of Andromache’s lines consists of her telling Hector not go out and fight since she had dreams that he would die in battle. As stated above, her words end up falling on deaf ears and her prophetic nightmares come true.

By looking at Consort Capp’s memories, we can conclude that Hector Thebe died after Consort had his first kiss with Contessa. While Consort’s memories are often full of contradictions, he is the only sim who remembers the deaths of both Hector and Andromache. Given Hector’s death in battle in Troilus & Cressida, it would not be a stretch to say his sim counterpart may have died as a result of the feud. As for Andromache Thebe, her son’s memories state that she died before he fell in love with Contessa.

However, in between the deaths of his parents, Consort remembers getting a job. While this might not seem strange at first, Consort’s “got a job” memory occurs after his third “grew up” memory. Given the time frame provided by looking at Patrizio Monty’s memories, there is a clear contradiction since Patrizio’s “got fired” memory is placed immediately before he became an adult. Since Patrizio has lived more sim days than Consort when the game starts, their memories of their time together in the business career track don’t add up. However, should we compare their memories to the storytelling image, it is fairly obvious that Patrizio Monty’s memories of their time as associates are more reliable. However, should we remove Consort’s misplaced memory, then it seems as though Hector and Andromache’s deaths occurred one after the other.

Hector and Andromache are similar to Valentine and Silvia in that they too lack a concrete cause of death. Unlike either Valentine or Silvia, Hector does die near the conclusion of Troilus & Cressida, in his case being ambushed by the myrmidons while completely unarmed. The mythological Andromache, on the other hand, has been stated to have died of old age, which should be impossible in TS2 given she was an adult when she died. This leads me to believe she may have died of natural causes like Scribonia and Octavius.

Beyond piecing together their deaths, there is another peculiarity about Hector and Andromache. In Troilus & Cressida, Hector is clearly the one who wears the pants in their relationship; however, in The Sims 2, he was the one who ended up taking Andromache’s last name upon marriage. Much like in Troilus & Cressida, Andromache seems to take a backseat to Hector in mythology as well, with her only role being that of a wife. As such, this is something that always puzzled me, especially since, like the Caesars, it is unclear whether the Albions were meant to be patrilineal or matrilineal. If I had to guess, Hector taking Andromache’s surname in TS2 probably had something to do with either Troy’s ultimate defeat in the war (kind of a stretch given Thebe was sacked by the Greeks before Andromache was married), the plot of Homer’s The Iliad beginning in Cilician Thebe (again, another stretch), or so Consort and Contessa would be more compatible in a political sense (which is probably the case). However, since Andromache was the one who kept her surname upon marriage and not Hector, there may very well be some wiggle room, both in interpreting the marriage of the Thebes, and in expanding Andromache's importance to the Veronaville narrative.

The Beginning of the Feud

Much like my theory regarding the tragedies, my theory about the beginning of the feud is just my interpretation about how this whole thing went down. As such, it should go without saying that none of the information here is in any way canon to the overall neighborhood narrative.

With that little disclaimer out of the way, this is my theory on the beginning of the feud:

Though the younger generations of Veronaville may find it hard to believe, there was a time when the Capp and Monty patriarchs once called each other best friends. This short-lived friendship between Patrizio Monty and Consort Thebe began and ended during their days working as executive assistants at Capp & Daughters Corporation. The two were driven by a shared desire to succeed and often spent their breaks talking about common interests. However, little did they know, they would later find another common interest in the form of a girl named Contessa Capp.

Contessa Capp was an intelligent and popular student at the illustrious Veronaville Preparatory School. She was the student council president, a participant in several extracurricular activities, well on her way to becoming valedictorian, and the heiress to the large conglomerate where both men got their start. Given her both her appearance and her impressive resumé, it was no surprise that both Consort and Patrizio became infatuated with her. For her part, Contessa enjoyed their company and found herself interested to them both, but it was Patrizio, the more outgoing of the two, who was the one to ask her out.

Soon enough, the two teenage lovebirds formed a strong connection and would often sneak off to the Monty family’s llama ranch once their shifts ended. While there was some jealousy on Consort’s part since his best friend was going out with the girl he liked, he and Patrizio managed to remain on good terms, especially after Consort promised Patrizio that he wouldn’t tell the boss lady about them sneaking off to the llama ranch. However, Consort’s promise would later be broken once Capp family traditions got in the way.

The Capp family had been in the inner circle of Veronaville’s high society ever since they teamed up with the politically-inclined Caesars. In order to hold on to their high status and maintain control of the political sphere, the Capps and Caesars arranged a marriage between Scribonia, the only daughter of Cleopatra and Antony Capp, and Octavius, the only son of Julius and Calpurnia Caesar. While Scribonia and Octavius grew up together due to their family connections, neither was all that happy with the idea of marrying the other. As a result, their marriage was very unhappy, and the two were little more than strangers following Contessa’s birth. However, despite their differences, the two did maintain a professional relationship, with Octavius following in his father’s footsteps by becoming Veronaville’s mayor, and Scribonia taking over Capp & Daughters Corporation following the death of her mother.

Scribonia Capp became a widow after her estranged husband died from either a heart attack, or from being electrocuted when paramedics attempted to restart his heart (the coroner couldn’t figure out what killed him, and it's still a highly debated topic in Veronaville). In addition, Scribonia herself had recently been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. Not knowing how long she had left, Scribonia began looking for a suitable match for her daughter in order to ensure her business would continue for another generation. Eventually, she arranged a match that met her standards, though unfortunately for Patrizio, the suitable match for Contessa was Consort Thebe, the son of her best friend Andromache.

Like the Capps, the Thebes were a matrilineal family and members of Veronaville’s high society. As such, many of the traditions followed by the Capp family were followed by the Thebes as well. One of these shared traditions involves arranging suitable matches in order to keep their blood blue. In Scribonia’s eyes, a marriage between her daughter and Consort Thebe seemed like a perfect match, that being said, she was unaware that her daughter was already involved with Patrizio Monty.

Consort found out about his possible marriage into the Capp family while working overtime one afternoon. When he was called into Scribonia’s office, he feared the worst, but those fears were assuaged when he saw Andromache sitting in a chair in front of Scribonia’s desk. Upon sitting in the chair next to his mother, Scribonia asked one of the temps to fetch her daughter. However, Contessa was nowhere to be found in the building as she snuck out with Patrizio an hour earlier. Despite her daughter’s absence, Scribonia, ever the businesswoman, informed Consort of his potential future as a member of the Capp family. After learning he was selected as Contessa Capp’s husband-to-be, Consort told Scribonia that he had a good idea where her daughter might have been and that he would go and fetch her.

Knowing his best friend’s habits like the back of his hand, Consort set out for the Monty family’s llama ranch. Upon arriving, he began looking for Contessa and found her making out with his best friend in the middle of the ranch. Once the two teenagers ended their passionate kiss, Consort called Contessa away and brought her back to the office, leaving behind a confused Patrizio.

Upon entering Scribonia’s office, Contessa and Consort sat down in the chairs in front of her desk. Not long after they arrived, Scribonia broke the news to Contessa, who was at a loss for words. Having learned from her own loveless marriage, Scribonia told her daughter that she had time to think it over, as all potential matches must be agreed on by both parties before they can occur. After Contessa left, Scribonia asked Consort if he needed any more time to think it over as well. Five minutes had not even passed before Consort, whose infatuation with Contessa was just as strong as ever, agreed to the match.

There was no denying that Contessa and Patrizio had a strong connection, however, they spent much more time kissing than talking. Whereas Consort was much easier for Contessa to have a conversation with, he was a little on the stiff side. Contessa agonized over the decision for nearly five days, though in the end, she chose to follow her family’s traditions and agreed to the match with Consort, who she hoped she would learn to love with time. While she did have feelings for Patrizio, she would be lying if she said she could see herself marrying him. While she found him handsome and charming, they didn’t have a lot in common. In addition, Contessa couldn’t help but wonder whether her feelings for Patrizio were of love or lust.

The day she made her decision, Contessa pulled Patrizio aside before they were scheduled to sneak off to the ranch, and she told him that they couldn’t be together anymore. She apologized, stated that her decision was a family matter, and walked away, leaving Patrizio stunned and heartbroken. Patrizio did not learn why Contessa told him it was over until a party at the Capp Manor was held a few weeks later. While he and Consort were networking with some esteemed businessmen, Scribonia tapped her glass and announced that both Contessa and Consort agreed to the arranged marriage and would enter a courtship phase before finalizing the terms and agreements of the match.

Upon learning of his best friend’s courtship with his former flame, Patrizio felt betrayed. After arguing with Consort for a few minutes, their argument escalated into a screaming match. It was during this screaming match that Consort let it slip that Patrizio and Contessa used to sneak off to the llama ranch to make out, inadvertently breaking his promise to keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t long before the screaming match turned physical, Patrizio threw a glass of wine at Consort, Consort implied Patrizio’s mother was a llama, the insults went back-and-forth until Patrizio ended up shoving Consort into a chocolate fountain.

Both men were brought into Scribonia’s office following the party fiasco. Their boss did not hold back when she scolded them, pointing out how they made fools of themselves in front of several esteemed businesspeople and members of Veronaville’s high society. Consort ended up getting docked a week’s pay for his actions. Patrizio was not so lucky, as he found himself fired from his job, both for the damages he incurred by pushing Consort into an expensive chocolate fountain, and for sneaking off to make out with her daughter at his family’s llama ranch. After Patrizio and Consort poked each other for a while, Scribonia called security to escort Patrizio out of the building before any of her possessions could be damaged.

After he was escorted out, Patrizio ran into Contessa as she was on her way to see her mother, leading to an awkward conversation between the two. However, as soon as Contessa tried to explain her rationale in agreeing to marry Consort, Patrizio stormed off in a rage.

Patrizio’s firing did not go over well with the Monty family at all. Valentine and Silvia were already unhappy that Patrizio’s relationship with Contessa didn’t work out, as they both found her very charming. Valentine was also angered upon learning why Contessa stopped coming by the ranch and why Patrizio was out of a job. A few weeks later, Valentine and Silvia ran into Hector and Andromache while out at the Veronaville Market. Despite Silvia and Andromache’s pleas for them to stop, the two men soon engaged in a shouting match that quickly turned physical. Unlike the altercation between their sons, Hector and Valentine’s fight ended up turning especially ugly, and both men later died due to their injuries.

After the deaths of Hector and Valentine, the whole neighborhood started picking sides (usually depending on the side of the canal they inhabited). Valentine’s widow, Silvia, contracted a cold not long after her husband’s death that eventually turned into an awful case of pneumonia. She died ten days after her diagnosis. Hector’s widow, Andromache also did not live much longer after her husband’s death, as she ended up dying of respiratory failure. As for Scribonia Capp, she lost her battle with cancer before the marriage between Contessa and Consort was finalized.

Consort and Contessa, who found comfort in each other following the deaths of their mothers, eventually fell in love and agreed to the terms in their wedding contract, later marrying in a lavish ceremony at the Capp Manor. After becoming the new CEO of Capp & Daughters, Contessa ushered in a new golden age for her family’s company with Consort by her side.

While Patrizio didn’t succeed in the business track, he found much more success in the culinary career thanks to an aspiring chef named Isabella Pantalone. The two ended up forming a strong bond, eventually marrying and opening a restaurant together. Patrizio used the tools he learned from his time at Capp & Daughters to make the restaurant a financial success, while Isabella, a master chef in the making, created the finest menu Veronaville’s west side had ever seen.

The hostilities did not end with the third generation of both families, as the next two generations had their own share of Capp and Monty rivalries. That being said, most of the negative interactions between the families following the marriages of both couples were mostly restricted to verbal arguments and name calling. Thus, Veronaville had a reprieve from the violence that, until the tragedies, was referred to as the darkest period of the neighborhood’s history.

Final Thoughts

While my theory may not include every element we went over in the essay, I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. In all my years playing The Sims, I’ve realized that everyone’s interpretation will inevitably diverge at some point. With that in mind, I have a tendency to suggest alternative points-of-view in these entries in case you’re trying to come up with ideas of your own.

Much like my theory on the Veronaville tragedies, my theory about the beginning of the feud doesn’t completely follow in-game logic, though that’s probably inevitable given the lack of information EAxis provided us with. However, as I looked at some plays and some historical tidbits, I began to get a clearer picture of what I believed the catalyst of the feud could have been. Obviously, the love triangle played a part, but other than that there wasn’t really much to go off of, leading me to come up with scenarios inspired by Shakespeare’s plays and other relevant sources. While I could have only written about the feud by looking solely at the three central figures, I felt that it wouldn’t be right not to include some other relatives into the mix as well. After all, the neighborhood biography stated that the Capps and Montys had been feuding for generations, not just Consort and Patrizio.

This topic has been in the works for over than a year, and I’m glad that I am now able to share it with all of you. As usual, I try to look at this topic through a Shakespearean lens, and I try to incorporate other relevant sources (in this case, some history and mythology) when neither Shakespeare nor the game can answer all of my questions. Given the lack of any concrete answer on this subject, there are many interpretations out there, and yours may be completely different from mine as a result. But regardless of any differences, we might have in our interpretations, I hope that mine was at least enjoyable to you.

Thank you so much for reading this essay and theory! If this is your first time reading one of these, I hope you enjoyed and will consider coming back for more in the future. If you’ve read one of these before and if you’ve liked and/or reblogged any of the past entries, I seriously cannot thank you enough. The reception that this project has gotten so far, especially the essay on the tragedies, completely surpassed my expectations. Once again, thank you for reading, and I hope you’ll come back and read more of these.

#patrizio monty #contessa capp #consort capp #veronaville #sims 2 #sims #veronaville vault #scribonia capp #octavius capp #valentine monty #silvia monty #andromache thebe #hector thebe #isabella monty

41 notes · View notes