Series 1; Episode 2: Cutting the Caliente Cake

Chapter One

Preparatory Matters

Nina and Dina Caliente, the twin sisters of Main Street, were enjoying the good life in their luxury 3 story condo. They were single, living through an inheritance, and searching for new thrills in life.

However, the twins really loved buying things and hosting fabulous parties, so it wasn't long before their inheritance money dried up, and they needed to find someone who could supply them with cash. Soon enough they set their sights on their neighbor, Don Lothario, bleeding him dry of whatever money he made working on his internship. He wasn't ideal, but he would have to do for now.

One uneventful day, the twins decided to pick up the phone and give him a call.

'Come play with us, Lothario,' Dina cooed, 'forever and ever,'


'and ever and ever....' Nina finished.

'That's so neat,' Don said, 'twins really do finish off each other's sentences! Well, I'd love to see you two right now, but I'm with Cassandra Goth at the moment and-.'

'Why are you with Cassandra Goth?' Nina bellowed at the mouthpiece.

'Well, it's just-' he replied,

'But she's like –' Dina cut in, 'oh my god, she's so ugs-'

 'That's not the point,' he broke through. 'Bella Goth has been missing for days, and-'

But before he could finish, Dina let out an extremely high-pitched scream of joy.

'Bella's gone?' she asked ecstatically,

'Yes, and I'm a prime suspect. The Sim State Police are outside my house right now, so-'
But Dina cut him off, 'Real sorry about that Don, but I can't talk anymore. Gotta go,' and she slammed the phone onto the receiver, and immediately began getting dressed.

'What are you-' Nina began

'No time to explain,' Dina responded. 'We have to go see Bella's husband. We should console him for his loss. Give him emotional support, don't you think?'

Nina decided she would play along, for now. After getting dressed, the twins went to the bakery, bought a cake and headed towards Goth manor. Just like her sister, Nina was smiling and excited, until she was struck with a prod of intuition. She had the strangest feeling that history was ready to repeat itself.

Chapter Two

Dina's Past

Mortimer Goth answered the door looking somber, and the twins presented him with a cake.

'This cake is for you,' Dina said. 'It's called Caliente Cake. We made it specifically for you, so you can feel better!'

'Dina? Oh, hello,' Mortimer said, as they barged inside. 'How are you? How have things been for you since Michael's death?' he said the last word with a sort of dreamy relish.

'Yeah, alright,', she said in a dry voice, looking around at Mortimer's expensive furnishings. 'things have been pretty good,' but after noticing the way Nina was looking at her, she rephrased 'Oh - I mean, oh how tough things have been since Michael's death! How could I possibly go on!'

'I understand how it feels,' Mortimer said. 'Losing a loved one is very hard, just as I have,..' and before Nina knew what was going on, the two embraced each other with hysterical sobs.

Nina felt very awkward, still holding the cake, feeling like she was watching a poor Shakespeare rehearsal. She had the feeling she was in for a long night, and she was right. Mortimer kept them up for hours talking about death and loss, and Dina sat, wide eyed, feigning interest in the topic, with Nina saying nothing. The two sat down and began talking about Bella and Michael Bachelor. 

Michael Bachelor

Michael Bachelor was Mortimer's brother in-law, and Dina's husband for a short amount of time. Michael had been much older than Dina, and he had been very rich. Nina suspected her sister had only married Michael for his money, although she could never be sure of this, and didn't want to make such accusations. It was hard for anyone to make accusations towards Dina, because she's so good at denying them, or making you feel bad about making them. Especially if you're her twin sister.

They pulled out Bella's old family album and looked at the photograph of Michael and Dina on their wedding day, a period of time in which Dina Caliente had become Dina Bachelor. 

Michael and Dina's wedding day

Nina liked to look back and reminisce on this moment, until she noticed something on the photo that made her think. She could see the shot of herself, on the far left of the photo, obviously upset about something. It took seeing the photograph to remember just how upset she had been on the night of Dina and Michael's marriage, and she couldn't help but ask herself, why had she behaved like that at her sister's wedding? Had she been sad? worried? jealous? She wasn't sure, but the photograph stayed in her mind, circling about her like one of the ghosts in the Goth Manor.

Chapter Three

Separate Ways

Her head buzzing with thoughts, Nina didn't speak to Dina on the trip back home. Things suddenly felt very detached between the twins now, which happened the last time Dina found some guy she needed 'exclusive' control over. Whenever the twins were single, they were close to each other, like twins should be. When Dina found someone to keep to herself, she became independent, self absorbed and pompous, almost forgetting that she had a sister.



Dina visited Goth Manor again later on, but Nina didn't come along this time. While Nina paced alone about the condo, pouring herself drinks, Dina and Mortimer were wining and dining away in the secrecy of the Goth estate.

As Dina began seeing Mortimer more frequently, Nina started to see changes in her behavior. She couldn't tell if she was genuinely interested in Mortimer's money, or Mortimer himself. Simply judging by the way she dressed; the way she spoke, the way she smiled, Nina knew something huge was going on between the two down at Goth Manor, but she didn't want to find out with her own eyes.

Before long, Mortimer offered Dina a glistening golden engagement ring, which was more than enough for Dina. She accepted.

Mortimer and Dina's wedding day

There was an old chapel set up in the courtyard of Goth Manor, next to the graveyard. It was built for the purpose of marrying Cassandra and Don Lothario, but ever since Bella Goth disappeared, Don had not been allowed anywhere near the Goth's property, and the marriage was postponed. Mortimer decided to use it for a private marriage. Nobody was invited.

Nina became just as hysterical as she was on Dina and Michael's wedding day. Her twin sister was no longer a constant part of her life, and that was like losing a part of herself. But what she feared the most was that Dina would somehow fall in love with Mortimer. That would be truly losing her. She tried to convince herself that the relationship would help Dina mature into a more solemn, well-rounded person.

Getting married didn't stop Dina from paying visits to Don Lothario, and Nina came along to make sure Dina didn't go doing anything stupid.

But Don appeared to enjoy Dina's company less and less. Not because she was now married, but because she talked rarely about anything except heartbreak and death, which he didn't find to be very good Sunshine 'n Spas conversation.

'Dina, you've become so dark,' he said, 'You're turning into such a... goth.'

'Maybe I am, Don,' she replied, 'maybe I am.'

Wanting a brighter life, Don began to spend more and more time with Nina alone, and the two got along very well, enjoying many activities together. It was a nice break for him. After all, he had to put up with 'goths' every day. He was being hunted by one, he was having an affair with one, and he was engaged to one. Nina was a light in the endless darkness of Don's life.

But for Don, things couldn't last this way forever. Nina didn't know he was engaged to Cassandra, and the storm brewing between the two sisters would have to unleash itself one day. 

As Don and Nina became closer, Dina just became more and more jealous, even though she herself was married to the richest man in Pleasantview. That wasn't enough for her. She didn't want Nina to have anything that she couldn't have.

One sunny day, Nina and Don arrived back at his condo after a particularly long exercise session, and they instantly began making out.

Dina, who was going for a walk, noticed them, and screamed with shock. She didn't want her sister having Don Lothario to herself!


Don turned around and saw Dina standing there, watching them, which made him panic. He didn't want to lose any of his girls, so in a desperate effort to make it up with her, Don jumped forward and tried to kiss her, but Dina pulled him off. 

That's when Nina started getting angry, and she said it was over between them. Dina then slapped Don and told them that she would be moving in with Mortimer, and Nina could keep their old condo, as well as its possessions.

Although she didn't know it, Dina had made the smart decision for once. By slapping Don Lothario in the face, she had secured her fate forever. She was now Mortimer's woman only, and she had found someone at last. Both girls had found their own paths, and Don was left without either of them, all alone except geeky Cassandra Goth for a fiancee.

Chapter Four

Epilogue/Old Demons

There was a long period of silence between the sisters after Dina moved into the Goth manor. Both girls were busy adjusting to their new lives. Dina was being taught how to live like a true Goth lady inside the mansion, which involved learning the piano. But with all of Dina's new responsibilities and training, it was nothing compared to the struggle of Nina, who was having to accept life without her twin sister.

One day, the sense of detachment became too much, and Nina decided that she should at least give Dina a call. She had never been as angry toward Dina as much as she was right now, but she missed her all the same. No matter what had happened between the two, Nina simply couldn't let go of her like that. 

She picked up the phone and dialed the number of the Goth manor. She was relieved to hear Dina answer, because she didn't want to have to talk to Mortimer.

'Hello, Dina Goth speaking.' she said

'...Hello,' Nina said.

'Hello, Nina' she responded, recognizing her voice. 'How is it going?'

But Nina couldn't summon up any words. She had a thousand things she had wanted to say to her, but she couldn't remember them. She wanted to ask her how seriously, if at all, her marriage to Mortimer was, but she couldn't do it. She couldn't ask something so blatant, not to Dina. Instead, she had a more realistic question for her:

'Dina, do you realize that Bella has disappeared?'

'Of course,' Dina said casually.

'She hasn't died,' Nina elaborated, 'she's disappeared.'

'I know.'

'So what if they found her tomorrow, and she came back to the Goth manor?' she said firmly,

'What about it?'

'What would you do?'

Dina froze, as if she suddenly understood the question.

'...She won't be coming back,' she responded bluntly.

Nina's heart leapt at the confidence with how Dina said it. Did Dina know something about Bella's disappearance? Perhaps Don had confided something in her?

'How do you know?' Nina said,

'You should know. Both of us should know.' Dina said. Nina was stunned, because she had a million ideas of what she was talking about, but not sure which was the right one.

'What are you talking about?' she stammered

'Come on Nina, don't play dumb!' she said. 'Didn't you read the newspaper? Didn't you hear what Bella was doing before she disappeared? ''Looking through Don's telescope...' she said. Dina didn't normally read the newspaper. 'And can you guess what Mortimer has been doing ever since we started dating? He's been looking through his telescope. If he's not with me, he's with his telescope. He doesn't pay any attention to his kids, Alex or Cassandra. He just stares into the skies, all night.'

Nina's heart was racing. 

'That's because he's psycho,' she said, 'everyone knows Mortimer's a psycho.'

'Oh, is he really?' Dina said with confidence, 'when will you stop being stupid, Nina? We all know about our own family's history - about our father's. We knew what kind of risk we were taking by coming here! We've endangered all of Pleasantview. They took Bella, and they will take others, but I'm not going to be persecuted the minute they suspect something's not right. If I'm Mortimer's woman, I'm safe.'

'That's a lie.' Nina said, her voice rising. 'You're only marrying Mortimer because he's the richest man in all of Pleasantview. It has nothing to do with our family.'

'Think what you want, that won't change what happened to Bella.'

Nina couldn't think up a response to this, and she couldn't think up any other possible explanation of what happened to Bella. She knew full well that Don Lothario would have to be madder than Mortimer to do anything to Bella Goth, but Dina's explanation was one she couldn't handle. How could they be involved? For what reason would they want to take Bella? She didn't want to imagine the possibilities.

'In that case,' Nina croaked, 'why don't you explain to Mortimer that Don had nothing to do with it?'

Dina laughed.

'Do you really think Mortimer would want to believe he didn't do it? Mortimer shouldn't have to worry about that now, he's old and he's sick, but he isn't through with Don. He has guaranteed that he will take revenge on Don before he dies, which will happen soon enough – with myself being the recipient of his vast fortune!'

'Take revenge on Don!!?' Nina shouted, 'but there's no proof Don had anything to do with Bella's disappearance!'

'You think that matters?' Dina smirked, 'No, Mortimer doesn't want to avenge Bella. He has a personal vendetta against Don.'

'Why!?'

'Why shouldn't he? Don is a triple-timing playboy. He's a sleazebag. He's engaged Mortimer's daughter, yet he's still getting with people like his housemaid... and with you! I've grown past that, but he hasn't!'

Nina paused.

'You still like him,' she said, even though she knew it was a weak rebuttal, 'you got jealous when you saw him with me. '

'That's what you call it?' she said, sneering, 'Jealousy? No, I just realized at that point that Don Lothario is scum. It took Mortimer to make me realize it, because Mortimer is a wonderful, brilliant man. Don Lothario is going to get what he deserves, mark my words. What goes around comes around.'

And she hung up the phone, leaving Nina alone, stunned and fearful. She had never felt so vulnerable, only half of a woman, now that her twin was gone from her life. She felt afraid of the future, and the secrets that it might reveal; but even more afraid of the past, and the forgotten facts that might be uncovered. 

Thus ends the second issue of the Declassified History of Pleasantview. We have learned of another story, involving different people, tied together by nothing but the cruel directions of fate. What will Dina and Mortimer do, now they are alone? How will Mortimer's children react? And what will become of Nina, only half the woman she once was? What on earth happened to Bella Goth?

And most of all, what will happen to Don Lothario, now that he's lost everyone in his life except Cassandra? This is the question that will be fully answered in next weeks' episode. You don't wanna miss it, because the drama has only just begun! Follow today or subscribe by e-mail.

Don't think, just do it!

S1E2 "Cutting the Caliente Cake" Credits:

Characters are original creations of Maxis

Blog written by Douglas Wingate

Snow Globe Mod photo courtesy of Numenor - the Modfather

Series 1; Episode 1: The Tragedy of Mad Mortimer

Chapter One

The Prologue

Down in the sunny green valleys of SimNation, there lived a rich young man named Mortimer; the only child and heir of the noble Goth family.

The Goths were the founders of the settlement of Neighborhood One, a town where everyone lived in peace and happiness. Mortimer was son of the governor, Gunther Goth, and he couldn't wait for the day that the massive fortune would be passed down to him. But that wouldn't be until his father passed away.

Until that day, Mortimer needed a job, but he had difficulty finding one. His father refused to pull any strings or give him any money, insisting that he make his own way up, like a true Goth. 
Unemployed and desperate, he handed himself into a local kinetics lab, where he survived days of electrical prodding and poking as a human guinea pig. Mortimer began to lose his sanity, but he didn't lose his professionalism, holding onto the pride of his heritage. The scientists were so impressed with his endurance that they soon let him assist in the lab, and before long, he became the man doing all the electrical prodding and poking. He also raked in extra simoleons as an actor in B-movies.

It was a long road for Mortimer, but his hard work paid off soon enough, when he married his high school sweetheart, the beautiful Bella Bachelor.

Bella and Mortimer began dating in their teens and she had stuck by his side ever since. She never had a job, but she looked pretty with her tan and good dress sense. She knew how to cook Mortimer's favorite meals and play the piano whenever he needed to relax. Mortimer said that you couldn't be a Goth if you didn't play piano. They loved each other so much, that together, they had a child – a girl named Cassandra.

Now that he was Chairman of the Science Department at Sim State University, Mortimer had enough money to buy his own house, and they settled down in one of the founding Goth estates on 5 Sim Lane. Things were going well for the new family.

Cassandra grew up to be a wonderful child. She had inherited her Mother's olive skin; piano skills, and Mortimer's intelligence. Her grades were always excellent, and her piano playing brought a tear to his eye. He couldn't have asked for a better daughter.

Unlike her father, Cassandra was very shy. Mortimer was too busy with top-secret research to spend time with her, so she visited her grandmother, Cornelia, to have tea parties and talk about the founding of Neighborhood One. She even began wearing the same glasses as Grandma – round and horn rimmed, and she became very interested in her family's history. She would often cry at the tombstones of her dead relatives, and this, above everything else, swelled Mortimer with Goth pride. You couldn't be a Goth if you didn't cry at the grave of your ancestors.

But Mortimer wasn't entirely happy with just a girl, and he wanted a boy, because of his high position. His aspiration was met when Bella gave birth to a son, and they named him Alexander. they named him Alexander because it means 'Protector of Men'. Mortimer would one day pass the fortune down to his son, who would defend it during his own lifetime.

Mortimer was potty training Alex before hearing the news that Gunther had died in a fire, so Mortimer was ready to inherit the illustrious Goth fortune. If that wasn't good enough, he was raking in money from his top-secret research, prodding and poking more test subjects; and no longer having to appear in cheap B-flicks. Like all Goths, Cassandra was accepted into a private school; Mortimer had a young son of his own to inherit his legacy, and he was the new Mayor of Neighborhood One, which he renamed Pleasantview. Nothing could go wrong for the Goth family.

But then things started to go wrong. Mortimer foolishly decided that he would cook dinner himself instead of leaving it to his wife. As a result, dinner burnt, and the fire ignited a large part of their precious house. Instead of bothering to fix the damages, Mortimer decided to move into a new home. He didn't think the current home was big enough to accommodate their growing family. 

Eventually they settled down in another colonial Goth home, the manor of 165 Sim Lane. After looking at the house, Mortimer immediately fell in love with it. He had this strange premonition, as he stared into the tall, ominous windows, that he would live in this home until his death.

The new Goth home, 165 Sim lane, Pleasantview

Chapter Two

The Mysterious Newcomer

As time passed by, Mortimer's dark thoughts didn't stop at just thoughts of his death. Ever since moving into 165, he felt like things kept going wrong for him and the family. His father's death should have been a good thing, if only it didn't mean that Cassandra began crying twice as much as normal. He was also uncomfortable by the way his father died – in a fire, just like the one he had caused which burned their old house down.

Alexander

Alexander grew up, and was making Mortimer proud, showing a lot of intelligence, just like his father. Just like Cassandra, Alex kept to himself a lot, becoming obsessed with number theory and optometry. But it was Cassandra's behavior that worried Mortimer the most. She had become increasingly withdrawn, and Mortimer suspected she had become involved with some the boys about town. 

As Mortimer grew into his middle-ages, he decided to retire, spending all his time at home, conducting experiments in his room. He soon became watchful over Cassandra, spying on her with his telescope, suspicious that he would find her groping some strange man. But in the end, much of his paranoia was answered for when he discovered her making out with a man in the Goth living room.

Mortimer discovers Cassandra with a stranger

At first, the mysterious newcomer tried to keep the relationship with Cassandra silenced, but she knew this wasn't a good idea. Mortimer only became more curious and frustrated whenever the man would awkwardly vacate the room to avoid speaking to him. He soon became keen to learn everything he could about this mysterious newcomer named Don Lothario. Although Cassandra was old enough to make her own decisions, Mortimer wanted her to be more honest about who she was dating, especially since she was living under her father's roof.

Mortimer began digging up all the information he could on Don Lothario; with his telescope aimed at his windows 24 hours a day. His suspicions were reassured when he discovered that Don was hooking up with other women, including a young blonde from across town, and even his own housemaid.




Mortimer was so enraged that he wanted to murder him. He couldn't believe that he would have the cheek to cheat on a member of the Goth family. What made it all worse was that Cassandra actually liked him.

To top it off, Mortimer learned that Don had even tried to make a move on his wife when they first met. This guy was trying to get with every girl in Pleasantview!

Mortimer hadn't learned this from Bella, and it seems that she kept it a secret. She didn't seem to think it was worth mentioning, which made Mortimer even angrier. He guessed Don was planning to get a hold of his fortune, and he would do that by marrying his way in. More likely he was just very horny, but Mortimer didn't truly know. People were always after his fortune, and not only was Don planning to steal that, he wanted to steal his wife and his daughter, too.

Cassandra never found out about what Don was doing. She had stopped listening to her parents' warnings a long time ago. The two continued to date, and eventually, Don and Cassandra got engaged.

Mortimer couldn't understand his daughter anymore, but maybe he never had. Maybe he deserved this for favoring his career over his family. Was she not happy? Hadn't he given her everything she could need? He couldn't make sense of her choices, but he knew for sure that Don Lothario was bad news, and Bella knew this as well. The problem was that nobody else knew Don Lothario, because he had only recently moved to Pleasantview. Nobody else could make a testimony to his personality. Perhaps if more people knew him, there would be more awareness. But Mortimer knew this wouldn't make a difference. Cassandra was the kind of girl who wouldn't notice things like that, because she never cared about what other people thought. At the end of the day, Mortimer was just another grouchy parent out to destroy his daughters happiness.

Don was prepared for Mortimer. Like him, Don was a smart guy. He needed good instincts to balance so many relationships at once, and he knew the Goth parents were on to him like cats on a mouse. He had to make sure he was accepted by the whole family, because Don was frightened of the Goths, especially Mortimer. He wanted their approval - he needed anyone's approval. He knew he was all alone in Pleasantview apart from a few air-headed ladyfriends. If he was going to make it, perhaps even get a slice of the Goth pie for himself, he would need to get on the right foot with them.

But could he really convince the Mayor of Pleasantview that he was alright after all? Even after cheating on his daughter and making a move on his wife? 

Don Lothario was in a sticky situation.

Chapter Three

Through The Looking Glass

One starry evening, Mortimer had set up his telescope for his usual night-time routine of spying on Don. It was a special occasion, because Don had invited the Goth family over for dinner as a token of good will, and also to take another shot at getting with Bella. Cassandra and Bella agreed to go, but Mortimer refused, thinking instead that he could use this as an opportunity to learn some valuable information from a distance. He could find out how Don acted when he was not around. 

Mortimer had focused the scope on Lothario's deck, and there he could see him, standing on his condo's deck, next to a telescope of his own. However, there was someone else using it.

He could see Bella peering into the eyepiece, and Don seemed to be very happy about something. It was a striking image that Mortimer would never forget, seeing his beautiful, sought-after wife actually having the cheek to enjoy herself next to that scumbag. Don had even lit candles for the occasion.

Bella watching the stars

 Feeling frustrated and murderous, Mortimer closed the scope up, slammed the lens cap back on and hesitantly went to bed, although he couldn't sleep. He would frequently wake up and go downstairs to pace the kitchen. The poking intuition that constantly hassled him had come back. The image of Don and Bella on the deck cut through his closed eyes. Eventually he dozed off into a troubled, trying to let go of his gnawing instincts that something was wrong. 

Mortimer was full of paranoid thoughts which always proved to be reliable, and that night was no exception. He was soon woken up by Cassandra, who had told him that Mom had gone missing.

What happened to Bella, neither Don nor Cassandra had any answers. According to them, Don left her to look through the scope and when they returned, she was gone. Her disappearance made the front page, but nobody could come up with an explanation.

Mortimer insisted that Don was behind it, but there was nothing he could do. His own daughter stood by Don, backing up his claim of innocence. Mortimer was left to his own suspicions, but Bella remained on his mind, endlessly lingering about him. Through the narrow lens of his telescope, that was the last that Mortimer ever saw of his beautiful wife. That striking image of Don's glowing face staring down at Bella was an image that would never leave his mind, haunting him like one of the ghosts circling the grounds of Goth Manor.

And so, the tragedy of Mortimer has been told, but this is only the beginning of his long descent into madness that will resonate through the ages, and it is only the beginning of a series of questions that may or may not be answered in the future. Who is Don Lothario? What happened to Bella? How will Mortimer retaliate? What will the Goth children do without a mother? All these questions and more will be addressed in episodes to come.

So without further ado, Click the follow button and tune in next time, because the truth is out there.

...or is it?

S1E1 "The Tragedy of Mad Mortimer" Credits:

Characters are original creations of Maxis

Blog written by Douglas Wingate

Snow Globe Mod photo courtesy of Numenor - the Modfather