Series 1; Episode 3: Don's Depressing Downfall

1.
Changes

Don Lothario had begun eating and drinking heavily. His head was buzzing with complicated thoughts, which it didn't normally do. He wanted to drown it all out with TV dinners, pizza, chips, soda and nectar. But despite that, his thoughts did not escape him. He knew he would have to answer to them, sooner or later.

Don's life had made several drastic turns recently, and he wasn't too happy about that. He had been single, he loved to mingle, he had a condo and girls all around him. He didn't want things to change one bit.

But things seemed to have changed, ever since he tried to make a move on Bella Goth, and he regretted it. After all, Bella was the wife of Mortimer Goth – the richest and most powerful man in Pleasantview. He didn't even stop to think that Mortimer was feared and admired by all, wielding more influence than anyone else in Pleasantview.

Not only that, but Bella was going to be his Mother in-law. He had somehow found himself engaged to their daughter, Cassandra. The reason he had decided to marry her in the first place, he didn't know.

After that, his lady-friend, Dina Caliente, went and ditched him to go and date Mortimer. She still met with Don after that, but she wasn't the same woman anymore. Dina was no longer interested in nectar and WooHooing, rather love; death and "relationships". Don guessed that she had been brainwashed or lobotomized by Mortimer.

Don continued to make desperate advances on her, but she continued to refuse. Soon enough she stopped calling him, and when Dina and Mortimer's engagement was announced, Don had to mark one girl off his little black book.

Desperate, Don turned to Dina's sister, Nina. If he couldn't have one girl, he wanted to keep the other.

But things had changed between them as well. Don had tried to keep it going, but the juicy orange of their relationship had gone all rotten ever since Dina slapped him. Gone was the excitement of youth, and Nina just didn't seem interested in him anymore.


Don became more and more confused. Why did Nina not want him either? Did it have something to do with Dina moving out? Don had heard that many twin sisters are inseparable. By losing Dina, had Nina lost the spark inside her that had made Don appeal to them both? He didn't know. All he knew is that neither of the girls liked him any more, and he didn't like that. He didn't like not getting what he wanted. 

Don Lothario was not used to changes.

2.
Growing Pains

As if things weren't bad enough for Don, he constantly had to deal with Cassandra, who had begun crying like mad ever since her grandmother died in a fire.

Don Lothario, Kennedy Cox and Alex Goth

She had gone to Don for support, but he wasn't good with emotional, clingy women. She would often stay for days on end, bringing her young brother Alex. 

With an impressionable young boy around, Don found that living his regular social life was much more difficult. He couldn't screw around with his buddies and bring home babes anymore. He felt  more like a Dad, rather than his old womanizing self.

Cassandra announces she's leaving and taking Alex with her

Meanwhile, at Goth Manor, Cassandra couldn't take it anymore, living with Dina, her new stepmother. She decided to move out from Goth Manor and in with Don permanently, taking Alex with her. Mortimer had no objections to this new deal. He was happy enough to rid Goth Manor of the lot of them, although Don wasn't too pleased.

At first Don tried to look on the bright side. The idea of mad scientist's daughter and autistic little brother moving in to live with a playboy after somehow getting engaged would make a solid sitcom plot, until he realized that this wasn't a TV show but it was actually real life.

Don was having enough trouble with Cassandra living with him, let alone Alex. It was very awkward for him to be even in the same room as the boy, because he couldn't help but feel like he was now some sort of a father figure.

He didn't want to teach the boy anything. He couldn't even approach him, let alone teach him things. Alex was interested in mathematics and science, and Don was interested in pick-up art and different varieties of nectar. He had lived his life carelessly and happily, yet without any real experience to give to the young kid. He just wanted to be alone and single. Was that really too much to ask?

Occasionally Don would walk in on Alexander, wanting to communicate with him, but all he accomplished was interrupting young Alex from some strange intellectual activity relating to science or numbers that Don knew nothing about. He didn't know Alexander Goth, and he didn't understand him. They were two completely separate people, and it was Don who felt like the younger one. He didn't like any of this fathering business, and he could only put up with it for so long.

He could put up with not understanding the confusing things Alex studied...

He could put up with the confusing books he read....

or even the confusing toys he played with...

But picking out clothes was the straw that broke the camels' back. He didn't want anything to do with Alex, and probably not Cassandra for that matter, but he knew that, given the circumstances with Mortimer and Cassandra, he couldn't end the relationship. Cassandra had nothing else in life but him. 

He knew he was in trouble.

3.
The First Fire

Don and Cassandra were relaxing in the pool. He was so frustrated with his life that he commanded that she cook dinner.

Cassandra wasn't a very good cook, but she wanted to make Don happy. If she could prove that it would be worthwhile to have a wife, maybe everything could work out. 

So, she went straight to the kitchen.

But she had tried too hard, and just like her father, she let the food burn, A great fire spread across the kitchen, igniting the counter and the microwave.

Instead of calling the firefighters, Don ran straight down to extinguish it himself.

After the fire, Don, who was panting and exhausted, said,

'I guess not all women can cook!' 

Rather than feeling hurt, Cassandra smiled and hugged Don, so happy that he had finally stopped being sexist and assuming all women could cook. 

It may have been the fire, the heat or the adrenalin, but the two held each other close like they had never before...

And they went to bed together that night, with Cassandra ready for a whole new experience because they so totally did it right there.

Don should've been over the moon. He would normally be shouting 'WooHoo' at the top of his lungs right now, but something had bugged him throughout the entire event.

He felt as though he had forgotten something extreme of vital everyday importance, and in all the commotion of the fire, it would be hours later, waking up to a peacefully sleeping Cassandra, that he would remember.

...he had forgotten to wear protection.

A little stunned, he climbed out of bed and stepped out into the balcony for some fresh air, only to find somebody he really didn't feel like seeing right now. His housemaid, Kaylynn, was sitting in the tub, wanting to spend some time together. Don felt quite sapped after all the excitement with Cassandra, yet he tried to get the atmosphere started.

But he just couldn't manage it. He was troubled by his thoughts, grasping the concept that he may be a Dad. Confused, he stepped out of the spa, leaving her alone for the first time. It was now time for Don to do some serious thinking.

The Next Day... but that's another story!

Ever since his housemaid attacked him, he tried to get out from the house as much as possible. He needed to get away from all his soapy household dramas in order to clear his mind and arrange his thoughts. He began focusing more on his internship, working extra hours at Sim State hospital. 

Eventually Don became a resident doctor. He had also spent a few days trying to speak to Nina, to rekindle at least friendship, but nothing worked.

Don had a choice. Go on through life with his new 'family', or go on it alone. Perhaps this is what maturity looked like, arriving in the form of a medical suit, pregnant fiancee, and a geeky brother in-law...

Things had changed for Don Lothario.

4.
The Final Fire

Mortimer and Dina had made much progress down at Goth Manor - Dina had become an emergency medical technician and Mortimer shared much knowledge with her. 

They had even decided to take Alex's old empty room,..







 ...and turn it into a laboratory.













But, Mortimer continued to keep his eye on Don at all times, waiting for the perfect time to finish what he had started.

And that time had finally come. He still hadn't taken his revenge – revenge on the man he knew had stolen his wife and his children, everything he'd ever had. Mortimer was now without a true heir.

Fortunately, he had married Dina, who was now carrying what would become Mortimer's third child. He had consulted her much over the decision about what to do with Don Lothario. Now that Don was no longer cared about by the people of Pleasantview, they knew the town could "do without him".

Mortimer lit a fire, and stared into its endless depths. Fire, he thought. Incredible Fire. Fire had driven him out of his old home, and had driven Cassandra into the arms of Don. It had taken the life of his mother, and it had taken the life of his father. Mortimer knew his own days were numbered, but the fire inside his heart was still burning, yet to be extinguished...

\

He called up Don Lothario, and told him that he was sorry. Sorry for slandering him and accusing him of kidnapping his wife; sorry for persecuting him because of Cassandra; and that he wanted to show his appreciation for having turned his life around. He invited him over to the Goth Manor, where Dina could also show her apologies and they could have some Caliente cake and all be friends.

Wanting as many friends as he could get, Don accepted the invite and came over to the Goth Manor. 

Mortimer greeted him, asking him to sit down in the study and to wait by the fireplace. Mortimer withdrew from the room, closing the door behind him and leaving Don to stand by himself. 

The study was shadowy and haunting. He noticed that heaps of chairs were put next to the fireplace for some stupid reason. He waited for a few seconds before noticing strange, heavy cluttering noises coming from outside.

The long silence following gave him the creeps, almost as if there had been a ghost. He wanted to find out what had happened. He headed for the exit; pulling the knob, but it wouldn't budge. 

He realized, he was trapped! The exits for the study had been barricaded shut! He tried to find a way out, but there was no option. The windows wouldn't move either. 

Don didn't know how long he spent inside the study, he figured it had been at least a day. Samples of the security footage show that he had been waiting there for a very long time.


He soon passed out, and Mortimer would occasionally enter the room to ensure the fire was still burning.

When Don woke, he found that the fire had become so hot, that it was even burning the water. Unless he could find his way out, he was most certainly doomed.











 When Mortimer and Dina finally heard the sounds of pain and misery subside, they decided it was now safe to remove the barricades and hire a cleaner to sweep up the mess.

Don's remains never left the manor, but Dina and Mortimer had already forgotten about him. They had left to start a new life for themselves, leaving the past behind them as a few shattered fragments in their wake.

The fate of Mortimer Goth was sealed, forever.

Thus ends the final chapter in the first volume of this season of Doug's Declassified History of Pleasantview.

The fires in the hearts of Mortimer Goth and Don Lothario have been extinguished, and Mortimer can now accept his own passing with peace of mind. Although this marks the end of an era, it has left scars that will resonate throughout the generations to come. Both Don and Mortimer have left offspring, and the Caliente sisters will remain strong independent women. But the real legacy shall be left to Mortimer's original children – Cassandra and Alex. With the heirs of the Goth fortune scattered and divided, what will become of the greatest dynasty of Pleasantview? Only time, and meticulous research will tell.

Remember, the story of Pleasantview's history shall not only focus on a select few people. Pleasantview is a town filled with all sorts of people, all with their own stories!

That is why, next volume we shall focus on a whole new group of Pleasantview's quirky denizens, and how their own personal dramas intertwine with those of the tragic heroes and villains of this first volume.

If you liked this first volume of Season 1 of the Unauthorized Declassified History of Pleasantview, be sure to check in next time for Volume 2, and get ready to explore a whole new side of Pleasantview... if you dare!

S1E2 "Don's Depressing Downfall" Credits:

Characters are original creations of Maxis

Blog written by Douglas Wingate