⊂（♡⌂♡）⊃

They left knit-happy Lavender to watch Roan and Iris with the pets, heading down the hill to Fisherman's Wharf where Scotti lived with her family. She was home with her father, Travis, and grandmother, Ivana, but mother Summer was out with Scotti's younger siblings.

According to Travis, newborn Jaimie cried so much that the family looked for any reason these days to leave the house.

Scotti led Ash and his family upstairs to see the baby, chattering excitedly about the test results that had been emailed to Scotti, too. "I just knew the results would say she's yours, Ashy. She's our destiny! Kinda like we're destiny, too."

Ash nodded quietly, looking away while Scotti fed her daughter. "I figure we can file the paperwork to change her last name while you're here, and then maybe...maybe we can talk about us," Scotti said.

"We can talk," he said, making himself comfortable on the bed next to baby Jaimie's bassinet. "We can talk about the second paternity test."

"What second test?"

"The paternity test results my family sent away for, once my grandmother realized your grandma was fired as a nurse twenty years ago for tampering with patient test results. She avoided jail time with a plea deal, but my family found the sealed files."

"Ash, I don't know what you're talking about," Scotti stammered. He handed her the paperwork from the Landgraabs' own test results, and she read with a confused and shocked expression that made his blood run cold.

"Of course you know what I'm talking about. The results we left with St. Sims came back exactly as you thought they would, but the test you and your grandmother didn't know about told the real truth."

"You ran a secret second test on my baby without my consent?"

"They always take more than one swab, Scotti. My grandmother made one call and her lab got their hands on the second set. She needed to make sure you weren't trying to use me for my family's money - but you were."

The new mother was aghast, but smart enough to process what was really going on with the Gordons' visit in trio. "Is your stepdad here to...arrest my grandmother?"

Ash couldn't tell if Scotti loved the idea or hated it, and every last inch of attraction he'd ever had for her melted through her cold, soulless eyes. "He's here to make sure this conversation goes as painlessly as possible. Landgraab court cases get too much attention and we're not interested in the publicity associated with your lies."

Heather found Ivana inside the Holidays' bathroom. Suddenly cornered, the old woman pretended to tidy up as Heather stared her down.

"You tried to take advantage of my son," she said, sparing Ivana Holiday any pleasantries in their greeting. "We don't know how you did it, but we know you switched the test results. His grandmother and I rarely agree on anything, but if you force us to prove in court that you tampered with medical test results again, you'll lose. It'll get messy and everyone's names will be smeared in the press."

"Hm," Ivana sniffed. "Scotti swore you and your husband were nothing like the Landgraabs, but that's not what I'm hearing."

"Do you think it's easy to face off against the Landgraabs? I've had to do it for decades to save my business, my family - but I'll be damned if I let anyone try to use my son to get that family's money. Stay away from him," she growled, as Ash and Scotti joined them in the tiny bathroom (ugh!). "You and Scotti both. If you so much as talk to Ash on the street, we'll make a restraining order official."

"Ash, are you serious?!" Scotti tried to plead. "We've known each other since we were kids! I really did think you were the father at first, and I didn't mean for any of this to go so far."

"Shut the hell up, Scotti. I'm not interested." Ash spit her name with venom on his lips, his green eyes narrowed and angry as he realized he'd been used. "I thought I loved you. We have known each other a long time, but you grew into one of the worst people I've ever met. I wish you luck with Caiden and Jaimie, but I want nothing from you. If I never see you again, I'll thank the Watcher."

Scotti wanted to say more in protest, but her grandmother understood the gravity of what they were facing. Conniving Ivana Holiday threw up her hands in defeat.

"Don't punish my granddaughter. I pushed Scotti and her idiot paramour to convince Ash the baby was his for the money. A life married to your son would've been a better fate for my granddaughter than the one she'd signed up for with the Huntington boy."

Outside the bathroom, Travis was admitting the same to Conrad while Jaimie slept in her bassinet. Scotti Holiday's game was up, and her chances with the boy who once worshipped the ground at her feet had dissolved into dust.

The heir to the Landgraabs' vast fortune returned home to Sable Square feeling the weight of his latest revelation. He'd trusted his feelings for Scotti so inherently from such a young age, and that blew up in his face with a vengeance that threatened to tear a hole through his soul.

Finally, he understood just how Landgraabs could be so jaded and fierce. How could he trust whether anyone in his life, outside his family, were there for him or their proximity to his family?

He called the one person he hoped wasn't in it for his money, and Pearl picked up after a few rings. "What's up, Ash? I'm just about to leave for ballet practice."

"Scotti's baby isn't mine. She lied, and I had to trick her just to get the truth."

Pearl stopped in her tracks on her way out the door. "Are you okay?"

"Not really. I mean, you know I didn't want the baby to be mine, but she lied for months. Left me standing around in a holding pattern just waiting for months! I should've been taking you out in the city ages ago, I should've graduated early, should've spent a lot more time with you."

"Should've?"

"I'm tired of holding back, Pearl. I like you, and when I go to sleep I dream about you. I've been so damn afraid of ruining our friendship, and when I haven't been afraid something's gotten in the way. The next time I'm in the city, I want to see you. No, I want to take you on a date."

Pearl smiled, her heart beating fast as she let herself get excited at the thought. "Okay. Yeah, let's do it. I've got rehearsals every night for The Nutcracker with shows opening soon, but maybe after rehearsal some time, we could get a late dinner?"

"Let's do it. You pick the restaurant."

He hung up with Pearl with renewed clarity. Things would be a lot worse without her in his life, but there were some things he just didn't need anymore - and not just Scotti. After a night working at the pet store and getting promoted to Customer Support, this Goal-Oriented Landgraab knew there was one thing in his life he was done with, once and for all.

Sitting down in front of his computer, he emailed the school registrar to announce his intention to graduate early. He didn't want to go back to school to see all his friends, who knew all his business with Scotti and Caiden and their kid. He'd already accumulated enough credits to graduate and was ready to get out of there.

But while he planned to go to university, he wasn't ready to go just yet. He needed a break from studying and grinding with double-fisted cups of caffeine. (The way sims autonomously make endless cups they rarely drink drives me nuts! At least drink what you poured and what you're holding in your hand before pouring another one GOSH!)

He wanted to get through the winter holidays with his family, work on his relationship with Pearl, and make sure he was sending the best application possible when he was finally ready to go to university.

Both sides of his family supported him, and Ash finished high school with straight A's and a great GPA. He'd have no graduation ceremony, but he saw no need for one with certain people he'd rather forget.

With the paternity drama complete, Conrad could spend his days at work with less worry for the state of things at home. Then one afternoon, he happened upon a paternity case logged into the system from Oasis Springs.

A woman named Brandi Broke was looking for her estranged husband, Skip, for back child support, claiming he'd skipped town on her and their sons while she was pregnant with their third child. And one of the children, Dustin, had a name that sounded a lot like the 'Justin' recalled by Lex Mattingly's wife, Jacqueline, in Del Sol Valley.

Conrad's instincts told him this was connected to his search for Broke Farms in the puppy mill case, and with the support of his chief of police, he resolved to dig a whole lot deeper. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary | Gen 2.2 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

NOTE: Welp. Scotti's out of the picture, leaving him with the kind of complex that has impacted Landgraabs' romantic relationships for centuries. But the Landgraabs' aren't cursed, and he's got a tentative date with Pearl when he's next in the city! Things are looking up!

The plan now is to have Ash on 'gap year' time through the Winterfest holidays/new year, both of which I want to get past before hopefully following Ash and Nyon to university as roommates in January. Once he's graduated uni, I'll be ready to switch over to Lavender's gen 3!

ELSEWHERE IN THE BUILDING...

Just thinking about all the possible ways either of his partners could be scared, hurt, or overwhelmed sends everything Akira ate earlier rushing back up. He speeds over to a trash can and empties the contents of his stomach.

“I hate this,” he rasps, “Why am I like this?”

“Here,” JJ offers him a bottle of water. 

As Akira takes it to rinse out his mouth, he gets a whiff of his sweater. It's enough to make him feel like he might need to puke all over again. Quickly, he tears it off and tosses it in the trash. 

“Came prepared?” he asks after taking another huge gulp of water.  

“After eight years, I’m pretty good at knowing your tells.”

“I have a puking tell?” 

“You have anxiety. And besides, you need to be fussing over someone like you need ‌air to breathe, so I know this whole thing is freaking you out.”

Akira snorts as he wipes his mouth. “The only thing I need is a cigarette. And a glass of McDillan's.”

He chucks the water bottle as they leave the cafeteria. What the fuck was he thinking coming to Alice’s dorm to murder someone? Gods, he was off his game. 

In the front hall, he spots a woman on the stairs using a lighter and decides it's worth the glamour to settle his nerves. “You didn’t see me,” he murmurs, snatching the cigarette and sending the sim on her way. 

Outside, Akira leans on the railing and lights up. Smoking always calmed him. Cigarettes made a convenient cover for the little bits of fire he liked to conjure from his fingertips and inhale.

Flames in. Flames out. 

“Fate is really fuckin’ testing me.” He blows out a stream of smoke. “This is what I get for letting it guide me.”

“Please,” JJ scoffs. “I have seen you in action. You don’t give in to fate. You plow over any obstacle between you and what you want, up to and including the very creatures you say you love.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“You know what it means!” The wolf waves a hand, exasperated. “They are out there unprepared for everything because you are a control freak who spent weeks stalking them instead of taking your time to introduce them to this fucked up world.”

Akira throws the cigarette to the ground and stamps it out. “Fuck you. So I didn’t sit by and wait for fate to happen to me; I chose it.”

“No, you had a panic attack because you’ve got weird relationship trauma and you make it everyone else’s problem.”

“I do not,” Akira growls, but the back of his neck is hot. “And if you mention the word ‘therapy’ to me again, I swear to the gods we are gonna fight.”

“You do need therapy! You’re a fuckin’ lunatic!”

“Please. I don’t need some pretend oracle sitting across from me trying to analyze my godsdamned childhood and tell me I’m wrong.”

“Then talk to your friends, and we’ll tell you that you’re wrong for fuckin’ free!” JJ shouts.

“Friends?” Akira lurches back. “Do not say that word.”

“Bro.” JJ’s tone is soft in a way that raises Akira’s hackles.

“No, don’t ‘bro’ me,” Akira bites out, panic clogging his throat as he pushes past his roommate. “We have talked about this. You are here because you owe me a favor. That’s how this works. Say it!”

“Not this time." The wolf sighs, "I’m not asking you to unpack all your shit tonight. But I’m not gonna keep supporting it. You do not need a deal with your friends to be safe; that’s why we’re your friends.”

Akira’s chest tightens so much that he can’t breathe. “My magic needs—”

“It’s not magic,” JJ gently cuts him off. “You ain’t the only fae I know. You can’t lie with your words or imply that you owe something to someone without putting yourself in their debt. And yeah, if we put ourselves in your debt, you can choose to do something with that. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have friends.”

JJ is wrong. Akira watches as a thread stretches from him to his roommate and begins to vibrate. If he wanted, he could follow it to the end, which was usually how he found out if he was about to get screwed over and needed to intervene.

When he didn't have a deal, the thread gave off a thrum of energy that set his teeth on edge. He wasn’t just stalking Vlad and Alice. He was trying to get accustomed to that feeling so he wouldn’t have to manage their every interaction with trades and favors.

“It has to be an exchange,” he cries, frantically swiping at the thread. “Or else I don’t know what’s gonna happen and you’re just there!”

He doesn’t realize how badly he’s shaking until the wolf hugs him. 

He tries to draw a breath, but it comes out as a sob. And then he’s crying so hard he can’t stop himself. The night has been shit. His exhaustion is bone deep. Every problem he’s facing feels virtually insurmountable. The collateral damage? The clean-up? His head aches just thinking about getting to the Netherworld, and that’s before he’s even figured out what the fuck Vladislaus has been up to. 

To his credit, JJ lets him fall apart without comment. After a few more minutes of self-pity, Akira pulls back, sniffing. “Okay, I’m good.” He wipes his face. “And you can say ‘friends’ all you want, but I’m pretty sure Cora wants to kill me, and Wes and Kiki are mostly in it for Alice.”

“I mean, yeah,” the wolf laughs, putting an arm around him and mussing his hair. “Alice probably doesn’t start every conversation by informing the other creature that they’re a piece of shit.”

Akira tries to squirm out of JJ’s grip, but truthfully, it was nice that werewolves were so physically affectionate. Maybe he was imagining it, but the thread seemed a little quieter. 

“Your Thorne Bailey album is under Ly’s toy box. I hid it because I was tired of hearing that fuckin’ ‘Judith Got Back’ song.”

JJ howls with laughter. “Apology accepted. Now, Cora has a lead on your boyfriend, and we need to get to Ravenwood, so no more dickin’ around.”

MEANWHILE, BACK IN RAVENWOOD...

The man doesn’t strike out with ‌magic. It’s almost as if he knows that would send Vlad into a frenzy.

Instead, he simply chants, light dancing from his fingers, words knocking against Vlad’s skull…er—skulls. It’s a spell meant to bind, but Vlad finds it calming. In fact, spreading the sensation across his three bodies sort of tickles. His giggle starts in one throat and ends in another. 

Between the waves of fear coming off of Gunther and this delightful spellcasting, Vlad could have stood here for hours.

But then tragedy strikes. 

Well shit. There goes dinner.

footnotes: Willow says that's how you get a stepdad // remember he got a soft "okay" from the boys already, too

Is this a happy place to pause for a little Christmas break?

We'll pick back up on Friday with Lou and Jamie in part 12. Wow, my story and RL timeline are never in sync like this, so it's pretty cool timing and nothing that I ever could made happen by plan.

Hope you all have a warm and happy holiday, whatever holidays you celebrate this time of year. If you have any family gatherings, I hope they are enjoyable and stress-free and nobody gets somebody knocked up and makes their mom cry? 😂🤣😂

Everybody always forgot about Leo, so Jordan clung to him in hopes that everyone would forget about him, too, but that didn’t happen. Maria saw them talking together and squealed with delight to know how they were getting along. She waved them both across the room to join her. And everyone.

Of all the twenty-somethings in attendance tonight, there was one girl missing. And her absence was obvious since she was usually the loudest voice in the room. Dom asked, “What is Ingrid up to? Anyone know?”

Lou turned to Jordan—with what felt like malice, he would say, and it wouldn’t have been the first time. “Yeah, where is she, Jordan? Aren’t you guys besties or something?”

“Besties? Uh, no. I haven’t spoken to her since the day I dropped her in California.”

But that got their father’s attention. Dom looked horrified. “You took Ingrid to California? Why would you take an innocent young lady and drop her all alone in California with the drug addicts and the vagrants?”

Suddenly Jordan felt like he was in trouble for Ingrid’s whole life. “Because... she asked me to?”

And, no, that was not a good enough answer.

Everyone knew that Ingrid had gone to explore California, but the fact that Jordan had left her there, alone, an innocent young lady, added a layer of distaste in his someday father-in-law’s eyes.

“Dad, she’s twenty-five,” Maria argued. “He doesn’t need to babysit her.” 

Jordan appreciated the support, but it didn’t convince her father much. Dom shook his head at it all. “Ian, haven’t you heard from your twin sister?”

Ian shrugged. “She texted me a couple weeks ago. I think she’s not dead. She’s—I don’t know—doing what she does.”

Everybody nodded then, like that made perfect sense. Jordan was glad that someone had heard from her. At least she was probably not dead. Because if she was, Jordan figured it would somehow be all his fault. 

Thankfully, Judith’s theatrical cooing broke the tension and everyone looked over at her, holding the puppy to her face. “Who’s a good good girl? Yes, you are! Oh, yes, you are!”

And then, tying the night for cuteness overload, with cake smeared all over her little face, Johanna ran past her mother and aunt and absolutely everyone to tackle Jordan with a hug. “Jordan, I was trying to find you for so long!”

“I’m right here, kiddo.”

“Do you wanna play hide and seek? This house has so many good places to hide. I need to show you them all!”

“Yes! Absolutely!”

Jordan had never wanted to play hide and seek more in his whole life! Hopefully he got to be the one to hide.

— "bad girlfriend" part 11.2/18

previous // bad girlfriend start // index // next ->

footnotes: how Dom feels about the drug addicts and vagrants

Please pardon everyone’s yellow faces in that living room, I think it’s because of the fireplace? They all look like they’re trying to be in The Simpsons. 😂

An outtake of how Jordan really feels about being here tonight:

PREV |  NAVIGATION | NEXT

[TRANSCRIPT]

(Cora and JJ arrive at Annie Jo’s)

[CORA]: You would think after having this job for so long I’d be immune to seeing fucked up shit. 

[JJ]: Yeah, whatever went down here was brutal. And the scents…there are way too many. Too much blood. There were a bunch of murders here. And vampires.

[CORA]: Great. Vampires are the worst. And yes, that includes Santiago. Why Jacques has some teenage kid on our crew still escapes me. Where are you putting that?

[JJ]: The cowplant? By the body, those nutrients will feed it first. Blood alone will make it sick.

[CORA]: Seriously? How the hell do you know that?

[JJ]: I mean, I live with Akira. He’s a plant lunatic. 

[JJ]: He lost a baby cowplant once and cried for a week. When he finally got another one, he sat me and Ly down and lectured us about plant safety for an hour. 

[CORA]: That’s kind of sweet but he’s still a dick.

[JJ]: If it makes you feel better, Ly was a toddler at the time and couldn’t sit still. Akira held him so he would listen but an hour was way too long so Ly peed all over him. 

[CORA]: Okay, that is legitimately funny and you’re right, it does make me feel better. He is such a jackass, I swear he needs more patience. 

(JJ and Cora make their way over to Blaze’s body)

[JJ]: Hey, can I just apologize again?

[CORA]: It’s fine; it was an emergency. I just read the room wrong…like always.

[JJ]: No, you didn’t. I have fun with you. Ly has fun with you and I like you a lot. I always have. If it wasn’t for Akira all these years, I would have said something sooner. I wish I was coming over tonight just to hang out. And then you could kick my ass at Oneironaut.

[CORA]: It’s not really that type of game. It’s more like a story where you uncover a mystery in your dreams, but the clues you find kind of parallel your waking life. I think it's more introspective.

[JJ]: Hey, I can be introspective!

[CORA]: I’m not doubting that, I’m just saying—

[JJ]: I’m teasing you. It sounds awesome, and I’d watch you play anytime. My point is that I am not trying to use you. You don’t just exist to do fuckin’ favors. Akira is an asshole.

[CORA]: Tell me something I don’t know. I am very familiar with how he operates. Everyone owes him favors.

[JJ]: No, I mean, yeah, but that’s not why I did it. The favors I owe him aren’t even real.

[CORA]: Wait, do you think Akira is your friend?

[JJ]: He would never use that word and yes.

[CORA]: Like for real? Are we talking about the same guy?

[JJ]:  I agree to the favors because he needs them to feel safe. It’s just the way he’s wired. I don’t think he could change the instinct anymore than I could stop howling at the moon.

[JJ]: Alright, once I drop this, we should probably run. 

[CORA]: Why?

[JJ]: You’ll see. 

(JJ and Cora are standing outside of Annie Jo’s which has been completely taken over by plants)

[JJ]: You good?

[CORA]: Yeah. You know we have more efficient ways of cleaning a crime scene.

(JJ and Cora start walking up the street to the record store)

[JJ]: There are. But Akira always tells me to bring one when we’re running lean, so it’s kind of a habit. And besides, the fae believe in consigning the body back to Mother Nature. If you are worthy, you’ll be rooted in the ground and reborn as a fairy.

[CORA]: So he was trying to save this kid's soul?

[JJ]: Souls are the purview of Death; it’s up to her and Mother Nature to hash it out. And besides, Akira thinks fairies are assholes, so I’m not sure he was being nice.

[CORA]: Definitely not. Do you really believe his girlfriend is a god?

[JJ]: Yeah, I don’t see why they’d lie. I mean…wait…do you hear that?

[CORA]: No, I—

(The door flings open. Wes comes running out. Kiki is using magic to keep Akira from chasing him)

[KIKI]: Wes, run! I can’t hold him much longer.