Introduction
Hi, everyone! This is the beginning of the story within my Belladonna Cove-based uberhood, centered around Maxis premades, with a few familiar faces to anyone who's played any of the console releases. I'm going for canon compliance, but with several twists of my own. The goal of this story is to capture what playing The Sims is really about; putting your sims through the same crazy drama you'd make up for your Barbies when you were a kid, as an adult! Indeed, this story is filled to the brim with drama and mystery, with the supernatural being heavily involved. Why are the Caliente sisters so interested in Mortimer Goth? Is it coincidence that they showed up not long after his wife's disappearance? Who is Don Lothario? Is he really involved with Bella's disappearance? Is Bella Goth's disappearance at all connected to the multiple disappearances and deaths in Strangetown? Will the Monty and Capp families ever come to a truce? Why are the Roth and Goth families so suspiciously similar? There are many more questions to be asked in this story, and they will all be answered.

Though it is called Belladonna Blues, this story isn't going to be hugely focused on Belladonna Cove; I will try to spread out the focus equally to the best of my ability, but the main story beat is still focused primarily on the Pleasantview and Strangetown Sims. The double meaning behind the "Belladonna" in the title is another question that will surely be answered in the story, so look forward to it!

Before I begin, I'd like to give a special thanks to the following people:

• Tarlia (AKA meetme2theriver), for her cleaned up Maxis neighborhoods which made this possible!

• Zachjohnunlimited, for his version of Tarlia's Pleasantview that adds Joe and Jane from the Tutorial hood!

• Jawusa, for her empty Maxis neighborhoods which also made this possible, and for her Moon Base Apollo vacation destination that will be used in this story.

• Darku_Mage, for their Greenwood neighborhood that is also a part of this Uberhood!

With that out of the way, let the drama unfold!

Chapter 1: Not So Pleasant After All...
Summary: Cassandra Goth is ready to marry Don Lothario, and her father Mortimer is ready to propose to and marry Dina Caliente not long after. Meanwhile, Nina Caliente struggles with her newfound loneliness and with secrets she carries. Mary-Sue Pleasant discovers the truth about her husband Daniel, while Kaylynn Langerak questions if she will ever find "the one." Joe and Jane settle into Pleasantview and become parents.

GOTH

Cassandra Lothario pulls her newly-wed husband Don in for a sweet, passionate kiss under the wedding arch as rose petals fall around them. Her wedding was everything she ever dreamed of, if not more. Her brother Alexander and father Mortimer watched with smiles on their faces, happy just to see Cassandra happy. "Oh, I wish mom were here." She says.


"Yeah, it'd be nice if Bella were here, but are you ready? It's gonna get dark soon." Don points out, and that's when Cassandra Goth snaps back into reality. 'I was daydreaming again.' She scolds herself internally. Ever since their engagement, Cassandra couldn't help but continue to daydream of how perfectly her and Don's wedding could be, and it seems their wedding day was no exception. 'Maybe it's because I'm nervous?'

Still, she and Don walked up to the arch together, while Alex and Mortimer took their seats. Mortimer had been a bit suspicious of Don already, due to his potential involvement in his wife's abduction, but Cassandra kept pleading for him to give Don a second chance, and more than anything, Mortimer just wants what he has left of Bella to be happy.


'I'll show him, Don can change!' Cass thinks as she goes to place the ring on Don's finger, even as the man's hands shake nervously. Unfortunately, her dreams are shattered as Don suddenly backs away, yanking his hands away from hers. "I can't do this!" He shouts, "I'm just not ready for marriage! I can't do commitment! It doesn't suit me!" Cassandra's heart breaks in two, and she slowly walks away from the arch, instead falling to her knees on the ground and beginning to sob.

"I'm sorry..." Don still says quietly, under his breath. He starts to run back home, but...


...an angered Mortimer suddenly jumps on him from behind, starting a fight with him.

"N-not the hair!" Don shouts as he fights back, "Ooof, not my beautiful faaace!" he continues to yell, then his voice raises about two octaves as he practically squeaks out, "NOT THE MONEYMAKER!"

Alexander cries as he watches his dad fighting Don, and cries even harder when Mortimer loses the fight, no doubt thanks to his age. Even though Don won, he still takes the hint and gets out of there.


Later that night, Dina Caliente finally arrives at the Goth residence, hoping she's not too late for Cassandra's wedding. She happily struts down the sidewalk wearing her newly purchased little black dress and cute red pumps to match, an outfit that looks oddly familiar, to Mortimer.

"Dina, your dress, it's..." He's cut off by Dina as she excitedly shows it off.
"Cute, right? Or sexy? Both? Hehe." Dina's flirting almost immediately takes Mortimer's mind off of its similarities to his missing wife's iconic red dress.
"Sexy, I'd say." He says, ever the charmer, which makes Dina's heart pound.
"So, I'm not late for the wedding, am I?" Dina asks.
"Yes, but perhaps it's a good thing you missed it, poor Cassie was left at the altar." Mortimer answers with a frown.
"Oh, that's a shame." Dina says, frowning herself.
"However, it's not too late to make the day better, wouldn't you agree?" Mortimer asks with a knowing smirk, which Dina is curious about.


Mortimer then gets down on one knee, and Dina's heart skips a beat as she realizes what's about to happen. "Dina Caliente," Mortimer says with his usual romantic flair, "Will you marry me, and make this old man's fleeting life less lonely?"

Dina can't help but scream out in excitement. "Yes, Mortimer, oh my god, yes!" She shouts happily as she places the beautiful diamond ring on her finger.
"Oh, but that's not all." Mortimer says as he stands up and kisses his fiancée on her hand, now adorned with the ring he bought.
"What is it?" Dina asks curiously.
"Will you marry me now, while we still have the chairs and arch set out?" Mortimer asks.
"Oh, Mortimer..."


"...of course I will!"

Ever eager, the newly engaged couple stands under the wedding arch and say their vows as Mortimer's children watch with bright eyes and wide smiles, even Cassandra, who assures herself she needed a happy moment like this. Rose petals fall to the ground as Mortimer and Dina exchange rings, then embrace one another as they kiss passionately. On that night, Dina Caliente became Dina Goth, and she couldn't be happier.

CALIENTE

Back at Dina's former home, however, Nina recalls a conversation she had with her sister earlier that morning on the rooftop. "You're not coming to the wedding?" Dina asked, to which Nina shook her head and sighed. "Nope, you know me! Weddings aren't my thing, I'd rather just stay out here while the sun's still warm." She answered.

Of course though, Nina wasn't telling the complete truth. As Dina left, she closed her eyes and let out an elongated sigh, hoping that basking in the sun and preparing for her new job would be enough to take her mind off of things.


Unfortunately for her, it did not. Still dressed in her workout clothes, she called her friend, Brandi Broke, hoping that would help instead. "Hey Brandi," she said, "How're things going? I heard about Skip..."

"Things are rough," Brandi admitted from the other end of the phone, "But Dustin's been helping out the best he can, even if I do worry about how he's been making money. My brother and his wife also recently moved to town and are offering to help out when they can, so that's nice."
"Oh yeah? I hope I get to meet them soon. Maybe when that third baby of yours finally arrives!" Nina suggests, laughing a bit.
Brandi laughs too. "By the way, how are you doing now that you're on your own?"
Nina is confused. "What do you mean, on my own?"
"Wait..." Brandi sounds confused too, "...you didn't know Dina's a Goth now? She called me not long before you did and told me allll about it!"
"WHAT?!" Nina was shocked, not so much that Dina married Mortimer, but more by the fact that Dina told Brandi before she told her own sister.
"Yeah." Brandi also sounds surprised, and picks up on Nina's tone of voice, "Huh, I dunno why she told me and not you, maybe she was planning to tell you later?"
"Maybe? I don't know." Nina lets out a frustrated sigh.
And for that reason, Brandi changes the subject. "...so anyway, about the third baby, you told me you had name ideas?"
"Yeah, actually, let me go over those..." Admittedly, this does lift Nina's mood.


During the long phone call with Brandi, it ended up past Beau's bedtime, so the women had to tell one another goodnight. Even though it's late, Nina see no problem with making herself a nice, warm cup of espresso. She sits alone at the table, with no sister to talk to. 'It's quiet.' Nina thinks, letting out a sigh. "It's lonely. I'm alone now..." She thinks out loud, if only to hear any voice, even if it is just her own.

In the quiet, by her lonesome, all she really has is her thoughts, and they begin to spiral as she continues to talk to herself. "Dammit, she actually married Mortimer, she actually..." Nina's hands begin to tremble as she finishes her sentence, "...got rid of Bella." Indeed, Nina was all too aware of many of her sister's secrets, even if she didn't know all of them, and though it's not necessarily a secret, when the sisters' eyes give it away, their alien lineage is one that they share. What is a secret, however, is how Dina used this lineage to her advantage to not only set up Bella Goth for abduction, but also to frame Nina's childhood sweetheart, Don Lothario, as the perpetrator behind it.

Nina could, by all means, reveal this important information to the right people, but as always, she fears what exactly her sister may do in retaliation. Still, the guilt of knowing all of this but not saying anything burns away at her brain, and she's growing sick of it.


"I'll just make myself forget it all!" She says as she runs upstairs and brings out the ReNuYuSenso Orb, an object she's had kept away for a while now, said to be able to "reprogram" any sim who uses it, which she takes to mean that it can wipe her memories. While it does clear her mind to some extent, she unfortunately finds out that its true purpose is to change a sim's aspiration. Frustrated, but also satisfied with her new popularity aspiration, she heads back downstairs for another cup of espresso. "I'm going to get a caffeine addiction, at this rate." She jokes to herself.


...however, in her caffeine high, she doesn't notice the burglar just outside her home.


"Rise and shine, bitch!" Angela says with a smug look on her face as she pokes her very tired twin on the chest.
"Good morning to you too, Angie." Lilith grumbles, not amused by being called a "bitch" so early in the morning, just before school, and just after yet another restless night for Lilith, who stayed up too late again.


Oblivious to their daughters' bickering, Daniel pulls his wife, Mary-Sue, in for a kiss just before she has to head off for work. "Goodbye, sweetie." He says with a smile, "Good luck on getting that promotion!"
"Thank you, Daniel." Mary-Sue says with a smile, before very quickly leaving. Daniel's head hangs low, this was the first time he'd gotten any affection from Mary-Sue in quite a while.
'Still focused on work as always...' He thinks.


Of course though, even if Daniel can't find the passion he seeks from Mary-Sue, as a romance sim, he knows all too well how to get it elsewhere. Vyn Livingston is his most recent flame, but certainly not his favorite. In fact, he has to ask Vyn to come see him later instead, as he knows his favorite is showing up soon.


"Hello, Kaylynn..." He purrs into the beautiful maid's ear after kissing her up her arm, causing her to swoon.
"Hello, Danny." Kaylynn says with a wink.
"My, my..." Daniel continues to flirt, "...aren't you a bit too dirty to be a maid?" He teases.

However, this moment is briefly cut short as he realizes he has guests at his door. 'But why?' He asks internally, 'No one should be here right now, no one but Kaylynn!'


"Dina? Darren and Darleen? What, so we've got the D Trio over here? Go pester someone else!" Daniel shouts as he shoos them away.

"Now, where was I..." Wanting to get back with Kaylynn as soon as possible, he makes a quick run for the bed, realizing that it won't be long now until...


"Daddy! Daddy! Look! I got an A+ report card!" Angela excitedly shouts, flaunting the piece of paper around in her hand.
"That's fantastic, sweetie!" Daniel says, trying to sound enthusiastic despite his annoyance, "Now, why don't you get ready for work?"
"Okay, daddy!" Angela says before running off upstairs.

Daniel knows he doesn't have to worry about Lilith, she's always up in her room, he knows she won't bother him.


"Hey Vi," Lilith says to her guest, a friend from school, "You ever play this game before? It's called The Sims 3."
"Can't say I have, sorry Lil." The girl replies.


Finally, Daniel calls Kaylynn to bed, though not without her having at least noticing Lilith and Angela first. "You have kids, Danny? You never told me!"
Daniel starts to panic internally, but he's a quick thinker, he can surely smooth this over. "Heheh, yeah, sorry, I guess they never came up, usually you're gone before they get back from school." He notes.
Of course though, that was always intentional; usually maids come every day, but Daniel has Kaylynn on a strict schedule, only showing up on days where Mary-Sue is working and the twins are at school. This way, she can be blissfully unaware of his family. Though now, she at least knows about the twins.
"I guess, but, who's the other parent?" Kaylynn asks.
"My ex-wife. I loved her so much, but I found out she only married me for my money, she hated our kids, she didn't even love me, and that's why she abandoned us." Daniel lies.
"Oh, you poor thing..." Kaylynn immediately takes pity on him, which is exactly what he wanted, and of course, with their emotions on high, it takes no time at all for the woohooing to begin.

But as they're going at it, suddenly, Daniel hears the bedroom door swing wide open as a familiar voice calls out. "Daniel! I got the promo—"


Mary-Sue is appalled by what she sees. Her husband, who she thought only had eyes for herself, who she worked so hard to impress, being cradled in the arms of another woman, in their bed, under her roof.
"Daniel?! Who is she?!" Mary-Sue shouts in anger, causing Kaylynn to quickly get out of bed, bashfully trying to hide her half-naked body from Mary-Sue as she rushed to put her uniform back on.
"W-wait, Mary-Sue, I can explain!" Daniel insists, "T-this... this she-devil, she lied to me, she—"


Kaylynn was hearing none of it, quite literally, as she cried so hard she could hear nothing over her uncontrollable sobs. But "she-devil" in particular stuck out in her head. Kaylynn, being a transgender woman, often had difficulty trying to date others, often immediately being pushed away as soon as they discovered she isn't cisgender. Don Lothario and Daniel Pleasant, so far, were the only ones who didn't reject her for such reasons, and instead accepted her as she is. She thought that Daniel opening up to her about supposedly being ostracized by his family was him attempting to open up to her as she did to him, building mutual trust, but finding out this was only ever a lie, and that he considered her a "she-devil," made her realize he was only using her, that he didn't love her.


She snaps out of her depressive spiral and runs up to Daniel, slapping him across the face. "You asshole!" She shouts, "You lied to me! You used me! Had I known you were a married man, I never would've agreed to dating you like this! I never wanted to be a homewrecker!"


She then turns to Mary-Sue and apologizes profusely. Thankfully, the woman is quick to understand the circumstances and forgives Kaylynn. "Don't worry, honey, you didn't know. It's okay, I'm not mad at you." She assures Kaylynn.


"No, I'm mad at YOU!" Mary-Sue shouts as she turns back to Daniel, "I work my ass off trying to keep this family afloat, I hardly even get to see my own daughters, just so I can ensure our family can live in comfort, and THIS is what I get for it? To hell with that, and to hell with you! Pack up your clothes and leave, Daniel! Never show your face here again!"
Daniel starts to cry crocodile tears. "No, babe, you don't mean that, we can still work this out—"
"I SAID GET OUT!"

And so, Daniel does as he's told, packing his bags and leaving. 'I'll just crash at Jen's.' He thinks. Maybe this won't be so bad, even if Kaylynn and Mary-Sue both despise him, he can always reconnect with Vyn, or with anyone else he wants.

Probably the most devastated by this news, however, is Angela, who just came home from work to see her father leaving in a taxi and her mother yelling about how no-good and two-faced he is. As she starts to sob, however, she's consoled by the very last person she was expecting to console her...


"Hey, I know this 'bitch' is probably the last one you want to hear this from, but, hey, I'm here if you need me, Angie." Lilith says as she holds her twin tightly, managing to hold back her own tears.
Angela is absolutely shocked by this. Why would Lilith even want to comfort her? In truth, Lilith was always the actual nicer twin, so her kindness on its own is no surprise to Angela. Rather, what surprises her is that Lilith is being so kind to her. She doesn't deserve this kindness, when she's been so cruel, and yet...

...she returns her sister's embrace. "Thanks, Lily, I'm here for you too."


Joe and Jane Newbie recently moved back to Joe's hometown of Pleasantview after getting the word that his brother-in-law, Skip, had unfortunately passed away. Though they arrived to the neighborhood under rather depressing circumstances, they were still undoubtedly excited about moving into a new place; even if it was a fairly cheap trailer, it was cozy, it had everything they needed, it was perfect. And so, they find themselves ready to "celebrate" on the sofa.

Of course though, this celebration came with a surprise...


"Can you believe it, Jane?" Joe says with a laugh at the dinner table, "After all those times we tried for kids only to find no luck, we finally did it on accident? Just from our little celebration?"
Jane can't help but laugh too, hearing her husband put it that way. "I guess so! Hope you're ready to be a stay-at-home dad, because I'm going back to work as soon as I can.
"Of course I'm ready!" Joe insists, "I've been ready! Joe the Househusband, at your service!"
The couple continues to laugh and joke over the dinner table, both of them happy and excited about having a baby on the way.


A few months pass, and Jane looks like she's about to burst as she and Joe stand in the nursery they've put together.
"Hi there, baby Jimmy." Joe says with a wide grin as he rubs his wife's belly.
"Already decided it's a boy?" Jane teases, "Or is that the only name you've thought of?"
"Come on now, Jane, Jimmy's a great name for a girl, too!" Joe says with a laugh.


And just like that, a beautiful baby girl is born into the world. "Joe, she's beautiful!" Jane cries out in delight, holding their child high in the air.
"Let me hold her, let me hold her!" Joe says eagerly, his eyes lighting up like stars as he walks up next to his wife, who proceeds to hand him their baby.


"She looks so much like you, Jane." Joe says as he struggles to hold back tears, trying not to cry over how adorable this baby is.
Jane laughs. "She kinda does look almost exactly like me, huh? Don't worry, that probably just means she'll have her daddy's personality!"
Joe smiles as he holds his daughter close. "Welcome to Pleasantview, Jimmy." He says as he rocks Jimmy gently in his arms.


A mysterious woman gazes out into the cold desert landscape in front of her, trying to figure out her current whereabouts. She looks over the landmarks, and eventually spots a sign.
"Strangetown?" She reads it aloud, "What kind of place is this?"



Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave replies letting me know what you think of the story so far. Ch.2 is already about halfway done, so it can be expected soon!

EDIT, 08/21/24: Uh, so, about that... Ch.2 was done, and Ch.3 was in progress, last year, unfortunately I have lost this save file forever because of issues with the computer I was playing this on. That unfortunately all happened when I was still waiting for this story to get approved. Don't worry, though, I still intend to revisit Belladonna Blues, if there's any interest, but it's going to have to get a soft reboot of sorts in order to work. I don't want to just have one chapter up and nothing else to show for it, so consider this a... pilot, I guess? I'll see you next chapter... hopefully, probably, almost definitely!