#and back to the subject matter: causing scenes at parties does not endear you to anyone either girlie

[tentacleplains]

more scenes that basically everyone sees but pointing out a specific detail i find interesting: "though i hope you don't cause a scene this time" does avery regularly cause scenes at parties?? lmao

[songtoyou]

Chapter 12: Switch - Part One

Tolerate It

Paring: Modern!Tommy Shelby x Original Female Character

Story Rating: R (No minors should read this fic).

Word Count: 3,791

Warnings: Swearing

Story Description: Tommy Shelby is the owner and CEO of Shelby Company Limited. Starting out as a Bookmaker, Tommy had big ideas to expand his riches. In the past ten years, the company has grown rapidly to expand its business ventures from bars to producing alcohol, manufacturing motor vehicle parts, and exporting. One of the richest men in Great Britain, Tommy Shelby, has it all. Unfortunately, the death of his wife, Grace, left the multi-millionaire mogul alone and depressed. He needed someone to fulfill his needs and deepest darkest desires.

Chapter Summary: Easter has arrived. Tommy is spending it with his family, while Rose is forced to spend time with her ex. We learn that Tommy does not always want to be in control. 

A/N: This chapter will have two parts.

I do not permit my work to be posted on any other site without my permission.

Tag list: @owenniasstars​

There was a part of Tommy that wished he did not have to be in control all of the time. It was understandable that he be the one in charge of his business as he had no other person to rely on to step up to the plate. Michael was still too young. Also, Tommy had been developing doubts and distrust towards his cousin. It didn’t help that Michael would schedule secret meetings with potential business partners and act as if he was doing it to help Tommy and the company. Tommy used to rely on and confide in his Aunt Polly. Yet, she began to distance herself more and more from the company, especially since getting remarried to Aberama Gold, a fellow business associate to Tommy. John and Arthur had their business deals to worry about, and Ada spent most of her time in the States.

He wished Grace was still alive. She was Tommy’s number one supporter. He shared almost everything with Grace (the legal side) and truly valued her advice and opinions. When Tommy was with Grace, he was able just to be himself. He was allowed to be calm and not have to overwork his mind. He didn’t have to be in control.

It was only with Grace that Tommy allowed another person to have total control over him in the bedroom. Both he and Grace shared characteristics of a dominant and submissive. They often switched roles, with Tommy as the dominant and Grace as the submissive, and vice versa. He loved it when Grace used to dominate him. No one would have suspected the sweet-natured blonde woman had an alpha personality behind closed doors, who was and controlling and overtly sexual.

With Grace gone, Tommy never allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of anyone. Lizzie tried to get Tommy to open that side of him up, but he denied her. He couldn’t do it. A part of Tommy felt as if it would be a betrayal to Grace. Both Ada and Polly constantly told Tommy that it was okay for him to move on from Grace.

“She gave you, on her deathbed, the permission to move on, Thomas. Respect your deceased wife’s wishes,” Aunt Polly would tell him. 

“Find someone to have a family with, Tommy. Charlie deserves to have a mother figure in his life and possible siblings if it were to happen. Let yourself be happy,” were Ada’s words of encouragement. 

No doubt Tommy would hear those exact words at his sister’s house this Sunday afternoon to celebrate Easter with the entire Shelby clan. Boy, it was going to be a long day. Charlie ended up spending the night at Ada’s with his cousins. Tommy was glad for that as indeed his sister would provide his son with an Easter basket. Tommy was not one for decorative or holiday pleasantries. That was all Grace. When Grace passed, Ada, Polly, or Esme would be the ones to step in and make sure Charlie celebrated his birthday with a party or invite him over for holiday festivities. Guilt would riddle Tommy at that notion that he could not provide his only child with a happy environment. Yes, Tommy loved Charlie dearly. However, Tommy could not deny that he lacked in other emotional departments. He was not one for sentiments or terms of endearment.

Another subject Tommy was not keen to have brought up was his “relationship” with Rose Turner. Unfortunately, he knew better than to expect his family members to rile him up about her and ask questions. None of them knew how Tommy met Rose. It was the same with Lizzie. While both Arthur and John were not faithful to their wives, neither were allowed to be members of Excelsior Club. He had mentioned Arthur and John to Tatiana to inquire if they could become members. Tatiana stated that they were both a liability. “Your brothers are too reckless and don’t fit the standards of our usual clientele. They are, how do I put this nicely? They are too ‘rough around the edges,’ so to speak,” Tatiana said dismissively when Tommy first started going to the Club.

It didn’t matter to Tommy either way; his brothers still managed to do fine all on their own. Besides, Arthur and John were not the faces of Shelby Company Limited; Tommy was and had an image to protect. If Tommy went down in disgrace, it would be for his business dealings, not that he kept himself in the company of whores.

However, Tommy could not help his growing feelings for Rose. There was an energy about her that was attractive to him that he could not quite understand why. Tommy was not sure if it was because Rose was able to adhere to his wicked desires. It amazed Tommy how she was keen on submitting and doing almost anything to please him. During scenes, Rose responded to Tommy as if he was the only man she needed, the only man she desired. And it felt genuine, not put on. There would be moments during aftercare where Rose would look at Tommy with such admiration and respect, that at first, it made him feel uneasy. But after a while, he came come to desire that look. That Tommy would do whatever it took to make sure Rose always looked at him in such away. Tommy found that he craved Rose’s respect, which caught him off guard. 

Tommy soon realized that he also respected Rose and how she would do anything for her son. He admired that notion about her. She willingly entered into a line of work that could be demanding, demeaning, and possibly dangerous to provide for her child was not something that Tommy took lightly or was flippant about it. He would never refer to Rose as a “hooker with a heart of gold.” No, she was much more than a trope. Tommy knew Rose did not need a knight and shining armor to save her. 

Lizzie wanted Tommy to save her. At the time, Tommy was in no position to be someone’s hero. He was too bruised, too shattered, too broken. 

Now, here Tommy was at his sister’s home celebrating Easter. He sat back and watched everyone. The laughter, the smiles, Tommy felt like he didn’t belong. Tommy felt like he couldn’t breathe, so he stepped out back to smoke a cigarette since Ada did not allow smoking in her home.

The inhale of nicotine helped soothe Tommy’s anxiety and calm his nerves. Often, he wished he was back on opium. It was his way of coping after coming home from Afghanistan. He was only able to get clean because of Grace and her support. He never touched the stuff after getting clean, but there were still cravings. The feelings that came with the high brought such bliss. The satisfaction that nothing could harm you. Those weren’t going to go away magically overnight. 

Tommy’s solitude was interrupted when his son, nephews, and nieces ran outside with their baskets to search for eggs. He looked at his watch and sighed. He was not sure how much longer he could stand this. 

As the children flittered around the yard, Tommy took out his phone. He opened the message from one of the Blinders he had assigned to watch over Rose that day. The text message Tommy received earlier unsettled him. It was a picture of Rose exiting her house with Louis and a man. The three got in a car and drove off. At first sight of the image, Tommy felt enraged. He immediately wanted to know who this man was and why he was with Rose. Tommy was livid. Fortunately, he calmed himself down when Rose sent him a text an hour later.

Rose: I know you have your guys watching over Louis and me. While I do appreciate that, it is a little much. The man I am with is Louis’s father, Nick. We are going out for an Easter brunch. Nothing for you to worry about, and Happy Easter. 

Tommy didn’t respond, but he was grateful that Rose cleared things up. He knew his reaction to the picture was ridiculous. The slight pang of jealously surprised Tommy. He didn’t quite know where it came from; it was the same feeling when Rose told him that Changretta contacted her. He was still unsure about what to do with Changretta. First, it was only business that Changretta was causing Tommy grief; now, the man was gearing up to steal his girl. Tommy realized that he must have been too lenient when dealing with the Changrettas now overstepping their boundaries. Tommy and the Peaky Blinders would have to put them in their place for good. 

Tommy would make sure that Rose was not a casualty if a war broke out. He was not going to lose her or the war.

“Mum! Come on!” Louis yelled. He was dressed and ready to go, but his mum was taking forever. “What is taking so long?”

“In a minute!” Rose shouted back. She was ready but was busy doing making an Easter basket for Louis. Rose placed the items strategically in the basket. She grabbed the basket and walked down the stairs. “Happy Easter, my little man.”

Rose handed the basket to Louis, who had a look of confusion and annoyance on his face. “What the Hell, Mum? Is this what you have been doing for the last thirty minutes?”

“Yes,” Rose said. “Don’t you like it?”

Louis sighed and placed the basket on the table. “I’m too old for an Easter basket,” he moaned but still looked through the basket to see what he got. “Holy shit! A new iPhone! AirPods!”

“Still want the basket?” Rose questioned sarcastically. “I mean, I’ll take it back if you don’t want it.”

“No, I want it. Mum, thank you,” Louis beamed with happiness and hugged Rose. 

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. You’re a good kid. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mum.”

Their tender moment was cut short when the doorbell rang. “Who the bloody Hell could that be?” Rose asked, confused.

“It is probably Dad. I told him it would be easier to pick us up,” Louis explained and went to open the door. “Dad! So good to see you.” 

Rose stood back, arms crossed, as Louis hugged his father. It was a sight that had Rose feel a pang in her chest. It reminded her that the three of them could have been a family, a typical family. That is what Louis deserved. Nick looked over at Rose and smiled at her. It was a warm and genuine smile. Rose felt like she was sixteen all over again.

“Rosie, you look…beautiful as always,” Nick complimented and went in for a hug but stopped himself. “We can hug, right?’

Rose scoffed, “Of course we can hug, weirdo.” The former lovers embraced, and Rose felt a familiarity, the feeling of being safe and uncertain. She pulled away. “Well, we better get going. Louis, where did you decide we go to eat?”

“Bella Roma. Can we stop by an Apple store after we’re done eating? I want to be able to switch over from my old iPhone to the new one. Mum, got me a new iPhone.” Louis held up his phone to his dad.

“Nice,” Nick admired. 

“We’ll see. Come, let’s get going,” Rose ordered and ushered everyone out of the house. Locking up, Rose turned around to see Louis and Nick walked towards a car. “Wow. Is this your car, Nick?”

“Don’t act so shocked. It is a used car, but yes, it is mine,” he told Rose. “It is a 2017 Hyundai Elantra. Got a pretty good price for it too.”

“Very nice,” Rose approved as she got inside, with Louis settling himself comfortably in the back seat. 

“Dad has a full-time job now. Isn’t that right, Dad,” Louis spoke up eagerly.

Nick started the car and drove away from the house. It would not be too long before they arrived at the restaurant. “Where do you work?” Rose asked, trying to hide the tone of suspicion in her voice. 

“My father took pity on me. I work at his insurance company. It took a while for him to trust me again. But Mum told Dad to give me a chance, especially when I got out of….”

“Prison,” Rose interrupted, and she noticed Nick straighten up in his seat. “That is good to hear. I’m glad your relationship with your parents is better. Better than mine, that is for sure,” she added under her breath. 

It was not long until Nick parked near Bella Roma. Once they entered the restaurant, the three were seated quickly. Rose sat on one side, while Nick and Louis sat together on the other side. Rose sat back and watched the interaction between father and son. It was sweet to watch Louis interact with his father. As Rose looked between the two, she was reminded how much they both looked so very much alike. It was eerie. Dark brown hair and brown eyes were two of the features they shared, along with a dimple on their chin. 

Soon, their waitress stopped by to get drink orders. “I’ll just have water, thank you,” said Rose. Truthfully, she would have liked a glass of wine to help take the edge off. However, Rose didn’t want anything to hinder her guard up around Nick.

They ended up ordering pizza to share and a plate of arancini as a starter. Louis was the one to dominate the conversation. He was desperately trying to get his parents to interact more. Louis kept praising his dad’s accomplishments to get his mum’s attention. “Mum, did you know dad volunteers to help underprivileged kids. It’s like, what did you refer to it as, a nice version of scared straight?”

Nick chuckled, “Something like that. I figured I could do something good and help guide kids to not make the same mistakes as me.”

Rose bit her tongue. For Louis’s sake, she would be nice. However, she wanted to bite back and ask Nick what he considers mistakes he has made throughout his life. Rose hoped he didn’t view Louis as some mistake. That would set her off. Rose picked at her pizza; she found herself not hungry all of a sudden. Nick and Louis continued to talk amongst themselves about mundane topics such as school, sports, music, etc.

At that moment, Rose’s thoughts drifted to Tommy. She wondered what he was doing, and kind of wished he was with her. That thought caught Rose off guard. She pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text. She wanted to let him know that she was out with Louis and Nick, along with wishing him a happy Easter. There were times where Rose wished she didn’t have to leave Tommy after their rendezvous in the hotel that Friday. She always felt safe with Tommy. There was a sense of security and a feeling of being protected. 

Rose found herself that the more she hung around Tommy, the more she began to trust him, and the more Rose began to like Tommy, which scared her. She was not supposed to develop feelings for him. He was a client, after all. He paid for her services. She willingly allowed him to do unspeakable sexual acts to her. Rose was willing to let Tommy do things she would never allow any other man to do to her. She wondered what made Tommy different compared to someone like Luca or Alfie. Probably because, in a weird sense, Tommy treated Rose like a human being and not some toy. Yes, she knew Tommy tended to be possessive, but he still respected Rose’s boundaries. Rose trusted Tommy not ever to cross them. 

“Rosie, are you still here?” Nick asked. He waved his hand in front of Rose’s face to get her attention.

“What?” Rose shook her head to clear her mind. “Sorry, what’s going on?”

“Dad asked you about the guy you are currently seeing,” Louis answered. He was frustrated that his dad brought up Tommy. 

“Oh yeah, what about Tommy?” 

“Just wondered how long you have been seeing this guy? How did you two meeting by the way?” Nick questioned. “I’ll be frank; I was stunned to find out that the mother of my child is dating the one and only Tommy Shelby. Isn’t he an OBE?”

Rose shrugged her shoulders at the question, “I guess he is an OBE. I don’t know; he has yet to show me his medal or whatever it is they get. You know, Tommy is just a guy I met, and we hit it off. Nothing too outrageous.”

“Is it serious?” Again, another question from Nick.

Louis sighed in annoyance, and Rose quickly picked up on her son’s discomfort on the subject of Tommy. “Let’s see if they have dessert,” Rose changed the subject and tried to wave over their waitress.

“Have you met him, Louis?” asked Nick turning towards his son.

Rolling her eyes, Rose interceded, “No, he has not met Tommy.”

“And I don’t want to,” Louis mumbled under his breath.

“Hey, here is an idea, how we don’t talk about Tommy, okay,” ordered Rose, and both guys agreed.

After sharing a tiramisu, Rose had enough and was ready to get back home. Nick offered to pay, and Rose didn’t fight him on it. She figured it was his way of showing he had his own money and could provide a meal for them. With their leftovers boxed up, Rose led the way back to Nick’s car. 

“Louis, did you still want to go to the Apple store?” Rose asked him. 

“Can we? I thought you wanted to get back home.”

“I do, but we can get the leftovers in the fridge, and I can take you,” replied Rose. Truthfully, she did not want to go. She had enough excitement for one day.

Suddenly, Nick piped in, “I can take him if you feel like staying home.”

Rose turned around to look at Louis, “Is that okay with you?”

“That’s fine,” answered Louis, happily. He was excited to get to spend some alone time with his dad.

Nick parked in front of the house. Rose and Louis and got out of the car. He handed the pizza boxes to Rose and got in the front seat. “I’ll see you late, sweetie. By Nick. Take care.”

“Bye, Rosie. Talk to you later.”

Rose waved them off and walked towards the house. She breathed a sigh of relief upon entry. She went upstairs to undress and put on a pair of comfortable sweats and sweater. All Rose wanted to do was relax. 

Looking at the clock, it was only 3:30 PM. Lunch with Nick felt like it went on longer. As Rose was about to settle herself on the couch to watch television, the doorbell rang. “Now, who the Hell is that?” 

“Fucking ‘ell, people. It’s Easter Sunday, for God’s sake.” She walked to the front door and opened it to find none other than Tommy Shelby. 

“Tommy, what are you doing here?” inquired Rose, totally not expecting it to be him. 

Clearing his throat, Tommy shuffled on his feet. He looked down, then up at Rose. “I…I needed to get out and away. It was all too much.” 

Rose was confused by what Tommy was telling her. She motioned for Tommy to come inside, and he obliged. “What do you mean it was all too much? Are you okay?”

Guiding Tommy to the couch, Rose sat down next to him. She was concerned since she had never seen Tommy like this before. It was as if he was lost.

Tommy sighed, “I was at my sister’s house. Everyone was there, my brothers, their wives and kids, Aunt Polly and her husband, his kids. Everyone had someone but me. I was alone. Charlie was there, of course, but it if feels like the bond we once had is dwindling. He doesn’t need me. I watched him play with his cousins and interact with his aunts and uncles and realized that my son is better off without me.”

Rose was shocked at Tommy’s words. She scooted closer to him and placed a supported hand on his knee. “Tommy, no. That is not true. Of course, your son needs you. You are his father. You’re his family.”

“He has other family members who can give him the love and attention he deserves. Maybe I should have listened to Grace’s parents and had Charlie live with them.”

“No. Tommy, listen to me,” Rose began and made Tommy look at her. “Charlie is your son. You love him. You told me that you love him. He is a part of you and Grace. If you give Charlie up, you will regret it. Then you truly will lose him.”

“It would be better for him….”

“No, it would not. It would only scar that child for the rest of his life. He will feel that you abandoned him,” Rose stated firmly. “You’re not thinking clearly. It’s a holiday. We all get weird when we are forced to hang around family members. Just stay here for a while and relax.”

Rose found that her hand moved from Tommy’s knee to his hand sitting back on the couch. He was holding on tight as if he was afraid Rose would disappear. She used her other hand to cover his. Rose wanted Tommy to know that she was not going anywhere. Taking in Tommy’s appearance, he was dressed in blue jeans, a black sweater, and black boots. It was the most casual look Rose had ever seen Tommy. She was always used to seeing him in suits. It was a nice change. However, the look on his face was one of sadness and defeat. 

“Tell me what you need, Tommy?” Rose asked. She pulled Tommy closer to her and wrapped an arm around him. “Tell me how I can make it better,” she crooned in his ear and ran her fingers through his hair. 

What did Tommy want? He was unsure. A part of Tommy didn’t want to feel always in control. That he could let go and be in the moment. That’s what he wanted; he wanted to be in the moment with Rose. Just the two of them, sitting together. “I just want to sit here, with you, Rose. That’s all I want right now. I don’t want to think about anything.”

Kissing the top of Tommy’s head, Rose leaned her head on his. “Okay, we can do that, Tommy. I’m here. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

[rusty-guitar-strings]

Sleep Schedule

or This Fic Switches from Fluff to Angst so Fast it Gave Me Whiplash and I’m the One Who Wrote It (Not Sponsored by Starbucks)

Summary: Someone can’t sleep. Two someones, actually, and neither of them want to do anything about it. They do want the other person to sleep though. How could this possibly be solved?

or

Logan has work to do. Remy has no work to do, but is staying up anyway, for some reason Logan can’t comprehend. Remy is hiding something. Logan intends to find out what.

Rating: G or T

Pairings: Losleep/Sleep Schedule (goin’ full RWBY on these ship names)

Word Count: 2,025

Warnings: cursing, playful arguing, two very slight sexual innuendos, use of an undesired name (not deadnaming but similar), crying, one mention of religion

Note: This was written on request/suggestion from @blinksinbewilderment. My first kind-of sort-of request. I do take them!! Anyway enjoy. Also I love Remy. (If you can find the nod to blink I crammed in there, you win a hat)

All-nighters were better when they weren’t ‘all-alone-nighters’ as Remy liked to call them. Luckily, Logan wasn’t currently dealing with loneliness. No, it was quite the opposite.

“Oi, Squid-nerd, check it.” Logan’s very important financing for props of an upcoming video was suddenly blocked by the Sleep aspect’s phone, which contained a meme of some sort. He squinted wearily and adjusted his glasses, leaning in to get a closer look. It appeared to be Winnie the Pooh (what was a ‘pooh’ anyway?) effectively mimicking Logan’s current expression. The top mentioned something about someone’s mom looking at memes, and it was all he could do not to sputter.

“That is not nearly as amusing as you seem to find it, Remigius, and it doesn’t- it’s not even accurate, I can’t- I’m not your mother, that’s impossible- stop laughing-“

Remy was rolling on the floor now, knees to his chest, absolutely weeping with laughter. He got far too giggly when he was sleep deprived, in addition to the sass, and it was as frustrating as it was endearing. “I can’t believe that worked! Girl, you are too much!” He shrieked and wiped his face, chest seizing with giggles.

“How do you expect anyone else to be asleep with all this pandemonium?” Logan couldn’t quite hide all the fondness from his voice. “Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring Thomas’ dream activity, anyhow?”

“Boring business,” the diva wheezed, waving Logan off dismissively. “Same old stuff, weird self-inserts he won’t even remember when he wakes up.”

“Remigi-“

“Remy.”

“Yes, fine, Remy. Your job is important, you should be taking every aspect of it seriously.” Logan lifted an eyebrow at him, managing to pull a serious enough expression for how late at night it was.

The figment in question was sitting up in the blink of an eye, grinning smugly. His shades obscured his eyes for the moment, but Logan knew they were gleaming with mischief.

“Ha. You said ‘Spec.’”

“Really? That’s what you went with?”

“The best jokes are unanticipated and take time to understand,” he stated matter-of-factly, in an infuriatingly accurate impression of Logic himself.

“You shut your mouth, sir.” Logan shoved a hand in Remy’s face in a feeble attempt to get him to stop.

Instead, he took Logan’s hand and, making eye contact over his shades for a split second, pressed a gentle kiss to the back of the side’s knuckles. “Like this?” He purred, lips curling into his usual smirk.

“That’s acceptable, yes.” Logan, determined not to be deterred from his signature stoic state, took back possession of his hand and patted Remy twice on the head before returning to his laptop. He bit the inside of his lip to avoid smiling at Remy’s obvious deflation. He continued his budgeting uninterrupted for a few blissful moments.

“Hey L, I have a proper- poorpro- a propsit-“

“Proposition?”

“Yes, a that. I have one of those for you.” Remy stared up at him through his shades, now kneeling next to Logan’s swivel chair. His arms were folded on one arm rest and he had his chin on them, successfully equating him to the puppies that Roman summoned so often.

“All right, Remig- Remy, what is it?”

“Get your ass in bed and go the fuck to sleep.”

“Profanity does not make one more appealing.” Logan didn’t stop typing. “And you should also be sleeping.”

“I don’t need sleep, honey, I am Sleep.” Remy stuck his tongue out teasingly.

“Falsehoods are not a good look on you, sweetie,” Logan deadpanned. Remy fell backward with a gasp.

“Who are you and what have you done with my Logan?” He demanded. At the end of his accusatory point, the side in question tried not to preen at the (admittedly over-dramatic) reaction to his outburst.

“I am still present.”

“Good. Go to sleep.”

“Why?” Logan waited patiently for his desired statement.

“Because you need it.”

That wasn’t quite it, so he tried again. “And why is that?” He asked evenly, adding Roman’s desperately important party poppers to the budget and scrawling a sticky note reminder to warn Virgil of the prince’s plans. The last thing they needed in a lighthearted video was an attack from him. Or on him. Logan added another sticky note directing future Logan to further explore Virgil’s role as anxiety, if he was the cause or effect, or if he could be both. He almost missed what Remy said, which would have been a disaster.

“Because sleep is important, Dumbo!”

“Ah ha!” Logan whirled in his chair triumphantly, the tip of his pen pointing directly at the figment’s nose. “So we are in agreement, then.”

Remy blinked in bewilderment. “What?”

“We both agree that you-“

“Stoppin’ ya right there, babes.” He waved a hand and conjured green tea in a Starbucks cup (not sponsored), a peculiar ability of his that Logan had yet to discover the reasoning behind. “I didn’t say nothin’ like that.”

“Why are you using double negatives? That is a disgusting misuse of the English language.” Logan, a certified nerd, gave Remy the dreaded Stare of Disappointment™️. Everyone in the Mindscape trembled in their figurative boots. But they were also asleep, so… figurative dream boots. Unless they weren’t wearing boots. They trembled in their figurative dream boots-or-other-footwear. Logan almost missed what Remy was saying for the third consecutive time.

“English is already disgusting, she doesn’t need my help.” He waved a hand. “End scene. Go to bed.”

“Roman appears to be rubbing off on you.” The creative side was the one to originate the habit of saying ‘end scene’ when he wanted to drop a conversation, and lately had begun to use it more and more seriously.

“Bitch, what did I say?” He pointed sternly at the bed, sitting with his legs crossed in the floor like toddler.

Logan tilted his chin upward defiantly. “Only if you sleep with me.” He was promptly hit in the face with a pillow.

“Ew! Nasty! No ma’am! Not in my good Christian household!” A multitude of other objects were thrown at him, luckily light and mostly harmless.

“Remigius, please- Remy! Let me rephrase, I did not intend to imply that we would, ah-“ he cleared his throat. “-have intercourse. If I am going to sleep, I want you to as well. Nothing more.” Logan adjusted his glasses awkwardly.

“Oh. Well, in that case, you’ve got a deal.” Remy looked around at the mess he’d made. “This looks like a problem for future me. I’m gonna get changed, see ya in a bit, boo.” He stood, winking. “Unless you want to join me.”

“No. I can change quite well on my own, thank you.” In a split second, Logan was wearing a science pun t-shirt (courtesy of Patton) and constellation pajama pants, and was idly removing his glasses to place them on his nightstand. He smirked to himself as Remy disappeared into the closet, complaining under his breath about how unfair his powers were and the fact that he had to change by hand.

About ten minutes later, Remy was in a tank top and shorts and his sunglasses still, lying next to Logan in bed and scrolling through his phone idly while the other attempted to sleep.

“Remy,” Logan whispered after a moment, harsh and sudden enough to make the figment jump and drop his phone. “Go to sleep.”

“Not until you do, wise guy.” He immediately regained a cool composure and reached for his device carefully.

“Are you always this hard-headed?” Logan sat up.

“Darling, have you met me?” Remy quirked an infuriatingly perfect eyebrow.

“Remigius-“

“Don’t call me that!” Sleep looked as stunned as Logan felt at his own outburst, then stiffened up and focused on his screen again instead. “Please.”

“Apologies. I wasn’t aware your proper name was a… sensitive… subject.” Logan rubbed one eye, staring downward. The other didn’t look up.

“It isn’t. I just don’t like how similar it is to… his.” He tapped his phone once with odd finality. “End scene.”

“I’m sorry, Remy, truly. I just believe that things should be called what they are, but I shouldn’t have applied that to-“

“End scene, Logan,” he persisted. “Please.” His voice broke a little, startling Logic, which was a rarity.

“Of course.” He fell silent and turned back to the blankets, rewinding the events in his mind and wondering what he’d done. It was unusual to see Sleep silent, still, and just… not causing general mischief. Where was the giggly figment he’d seen less than an hour ago? “Will you at least try and rest?”

“No rest for the wicked.” Remy smirked, typing something to someone, but it lacked the usual fire. “I meant what I said earlier. After you.”

“Remy…”

“It’s no biggie, Issac No-Fun. Go ahead and nod off, I’ll be here.”

“Rem-“

“I can hold down the fort, you know. My incredible humility prevents me from sharing my immense capability.”

“Remy. Look at me?”

“‘Course, I’d never complain about getting to- woah!” He jumped slightly when Logan took a light hold of his jaw, not daring to pull away.

“You mean that literally, don’t you?” Logan swallowed, all of his late nights or totally sleepless ones crashing back with a wave of a guilt to accompany them. “You are incapable of sleeping until everyone in the mind palace is no longer awake.”

Remy shrugged and opened his mouth, as if preparing a snarky comeback. Instead, what came out was, “It’s my job.”

Logan pushed Remy’s sunglasses up into his hair carefully, revealing dark, watery eyes shadowed by sleepless nights too numerous to count. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, “that you feel the need to use caffeine to stay awake.”

“I’m so goddamn tired, Logan,” the poorly named figment whispered, head falling forward to rest against Logan’s chest. “I can’t even take naps, it’s so fucking miserable…”

Logic softened, lifting his arms after a moment to wrap them around Remy. One hand cradled the back of his head as his body trembled against Logan’s and he let out a single, shuddering sob. “I know. We are- I am going to set a more steady sleep schedule. For all of us, including you. Would that be alright?”

Sleep nodded slightly against him, sitting up enough to try and rub his face. Logan lifted a tissue. “May I?” At another nod, he wiped Remy’s eyes, then handed it to him. “Blow. I will return with some water.” He pulled away slowly, then left the room after pausing to glance back.

Upon his return, Logan found Remy still sitting up smirking a little at something on his phone. He tried not to focus on how nice the figment’s eyes looked now that he could actually see them. He offered him the glass of water instead, then slid onto the bed next to him. “Drink at least half,” he advised.

Remy nodded, downed the water according to his orders, then wiped his mouth on the back of his arm. “Thanks, L.”

“No need. Lie back.”

“Dominant, are we?”

“Remy, lie back before I push you.”

“Okay, okay, I’m doing it. No need to get your tie in a twist.” He shifted to lay on his side, eyes still a bit teary. Logan reached out a hand to wipe them away gently. The tears. Remy’s eyes remained stationary. He tugged Remy’s shades from his hair and placed them on the nightstand next to his own glasses.

“Good. Relax, I am going to sleep so that you can. Please take advantage of it.” 

“I will.”

“Good.” Logan closed his eyes, lying down as well. He scooted a bit closer to Remy to wrap an arm over him from behind, no matter how it made his skin burn with heat. No one else was around to see.

“Night, babe,” Remy whispered, and that was the last thing Logan heard until morning.

The next day, the two would share knowing glances while going about their daily tasks. Logan would present his sleep schedule, Remy would deny everything that happened the previous night, and then eventually he would confess the nature of his powers. He would receive shock and some concern, and everyone would abide to Logan’s plan. And everything would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

[who-is-olivia]

Track 3. Carolina

Harry Styles x OC

Olivia travels to Jamaica to help Harry on his album but finds him with another girl. [6.9k]

Genre: smut, fluff

Warnings: sexual language

October 2017

  Harry’s freaking out. For the last three weeks he had been brainstorming and writing songs almost automatically, pushed by the presence of so many creative people and the relaxing environment of Jamaica. But these couple of days, he’s been stuck. No two words seem to combine and make a perfect verse no matter how hard he tries, and he’s trying.

  Mitch can’t stand his wallowing anymore. He’s grown to love Harry as he is, but if he could delete the relentless perfectionist, he would. They’re running out of time and inspiration, so Mitch pulls out his secret weapon, getting his phone and walking to a far away corner of the manor. He dials the number and waits for her to pick up.

“Hey Mitch! How’s Jamaica?” Olivia asks.

  Harry and Olivia grew apart. They were still dear friends and nobody could replace each other in their hearts, but they still weren’t able to tune in the same frequency. One moment they had big plans for their wedding, the other they were on a break. When he booked the tickets to Jamaica, Mitch thought Oli was coming along – as she worked with Harry more than anyone in the team and is a brilliant songwriter – but she wasn’t in the plans. In fact, they barely spoke for the whole trip because Harry supposedly wants to rid himself from every other influence. Mitch was the one checking in on her, and that has been going on since they first met.

  Mitch and Olivia were more than just good friends. When he met her through Frank, he was of course intrigued. But then, working on her third album became something that he cherished, she’s a grand spectacle when she’s in action and it’s a privilege to watch. He grew extremely fond of her, it was almost offensive when Harry didn’t bring her along but it was also an opportunity for him to make a move.

“Fucking hot” he replies and welcomes her giggle on the other end of the line, “how you doin’? Everything good?”

“Good, yeah, Frank and I got some work to do, writing, producing, stuff like that”

“Are you terribly busy?”

“Not really... why?” she lingers on the last word with suspicious.

“We need you, Harry can’t write songs anymore” he blurts, looking around to make sure nobody’s listening. On her end of the line he hears a sigh.

“Mitchie, he doesn’t want me there”

“I do” he replies with a vocal pout, “I miss you, Oli”

He knows she’s smiling when she talks. “You’re such a softie!”

“Can you make it or not?”

“Ugh... fine, I’ll pack my bags” he hears someone approaching.

“Great! Let me know when to pick you up, bye!” he quickly ends the call and hides the phone in his pocket. The estranged visitor is Harry, half naked and wet from the seawater, coming around to hug his shoulder and look at the landscape. “What’s up?”

“It’s fucking awful man, I lost it” Harry mumbles, pulling him closer. “I was doing so good now I don’t feel it”

“Just give it a day or two, it’ll come to you” he bites back a smirk and rejoices in his clever use of words.

“Can’t wait” he unlaces Mitch and taps his back playfully. “We’re going out tonight, you coming?”

“Hm...” he stops, if Olivia arrives tonight he might need to get to the airport. It’s actually good that he’s away from the manor, it’ll make for a bigger surprise. “No, I’ll stay”

“Alright, grandma!” Harry taunts and takes a leave.

  Night comes and, as predicted, Olivia arrives at the airport. Mitch waits until all the guys leave the house so he can call a cab and meet up with her. Harry takes a lifetime to get ready and leave, but when he does he looks stylish and fresh, his perfume leaving a trace of him wherever he passes.

“You look smart” Mitch regards and he makes a little twirl.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been out but I still got it”

“Harry! Let’s go!” Ryan calls and he paces up to meet them, making sure to hi-5 Mitch before leaving the room. Once he hears the door closing and the engines leaving, he gets up and calls the cab.

  Harry and the boys end up in a club that looks a lot like a pool party with a privileged view of the Jamaican coast. For the first time in months he feels a bit like an alien, not only for his skin color but for the over-the-top stylistic clothes, as everyone else seems to wear swimsuits and very relaxed t-shirts.

“Thought you said it was a club” he complains to Ryan.

“This is a club, fancy pants!” he laughs despite Harry’s uncomfortable antic.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m gonna get a drink”    

  Harry turns to the right and steps down the stairs, aiming for the bartender. The loud Caribbean music is enjoyable but he’s not in the mood to dance, after the first embarrassment of walking in he’s quite unwilling to be here. He asks for a strong Sangria and takes a stool, focusing on his smartphone for a while. Every time he checks his texts, he hopes Oli will talk to him. Everything went south when she announced a tour right after he got the hiatus, and all the months he planned to spend with her went down the drain. Maybe she misinterpreted the fact he didn’t bring her to Jamaica, she might feel as if he’s trying to get back at her but that’s not what happened at all. He just doesn’t want the distraction, and their imperfect relationship is too distracting, when they’re together he can’t think of anything other than their difficulty to communicate. So they’re on a break, and he doesn’t like how that feels.

“Hey” a random female voice calls him and he turns to find a beautiful blonde lady smiling at him, “you’re not from here, right?”

A grin creeps on his face as he puts the phone back in his pocket. “What gave it away?”

“Honestly? The whole set” she points at his outfit and laughs, he does look dramatically out of place. “Where are you from?”

“England”

“Where in England?” she insists, sipping on some orange-reddish drink. As his eyes divert to inspect the drink, he unconsciously diverts to the creek of her shirt where he can see a faint outline of her breasts.

“Cheshire. You?” he shifts his gaze back to her face and notices her eyes wandered too, and by her sly grin she likes what she sees.

“I’m currently living in L.A, but my family is from Carolina” he nods, something in her accent made him frown when she answered L.A. Not only that, but the way she speaks makes him feel very welcome, as if he could do no wrong in her eyes.

“I love L.A” His drink finally arrives and he sips on it while she messes with her honey-colored wavy strands of hair. It’s hard to look away from her and it shows when he almost lets the liquid spill.

“It’s nice... but it’s not home, you know?” she squints her eyes, almost trying to hide how homesick she really is. “I didn’t want to move, but there was not much to do in my hometown so my grandma gave me some money and sent me to the big city”

“I know how it feels, Holmes Chapel was quite small”

“Do you miss it?”

“Just my mum, really. I like being out and about”

“Out and about?” she tries to mimic his accent but it doesn’t sound accurate, just really endearing.

  Back at the manor, Mitch helps Oli inside with her bag while she takes in the luxurious place. She looks around the living room then goes straight to the kitchen, him following short with an amused smile. She takes some fruits from the fridge and makes a small dish for herself, taking a seat on the isle counter as she so fondly does.

“Honestly, this place is beautiful” she says, biting on a green grape. “And look at you! You even got a tan line!” she mocks, fiddling with the collar of his shirt.

“I told you, it’s fucking hot out here”

“Mitch, I’m from Rio. You don’t know what heat is unless you’ve been there in the summer” he giggles while nodding, she’s got a point. “Hey, do you have coconut oil here?”

“Probably” he turns to check the cabinets and finds a small pot with a coconut logo in it. “Is it this?”

“Let me see” he hands it to her and after reading through quickly, she opens the lid. “Yeah, this is it. Turn around”

He frowns. “Why?”

“‘Cause your hair is disgusting” she insists, holding his shoulders and forcefully turning him. To make him more comfortable, she slides backwards and make room for him to lean his back on the counter between her legs. At first he’s a bit stiff, but when she runs her fingers through his scalp he feels something he can’t quite name. Her oil-soaked hands run from the root to the ends, massaging the length of his hair gently. He closes his eyes, leaning into her touch until she makes him face her to adjust the small hairs that frame his face. She’s close, so close he can feel her breath fanning his eyelashes, but before he can say anything all the boys walk through the front door.

“Hello there Mitch” Ryan greets walking into the intimate scene. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Olivia” he helps her out of the counter and introduces her to the crew. “She came to help us with the writing”

“Oh! You’re the Olivia!” one of the guys points out. “Harry talks about you all the time”

“Really?” she smiles flattered.

“Where is he, by the way?” all the grins in the group fade a bit as they all stutter to find a decent answer that won’t offend her.

“He’s uh- he was with a few friends-“

“We didn’t want to take him, he was having fun”

  By their confusion, it’s clear they’re trying to tell a lie.

“Why don’t we settle you, huh? You can stay at Harry’s room, he won’t mind at all” Mitch tries clumsily to change the subject.

“I don’t think so” she shakes her head uncomfortably. He’s probably with a lady friend, judging by their embarrassment, and he doesn’t know she’s here. If he arrives with said lady friend and find his ex laying there, it’ll be so painfully awkward she can’t even fathom. “I’ll take the couch”

“Absolutely not! You’re a guest, take my room, I’ll share Derek’s” he suggests and Derek nods.

“Thanks Mitch” she smiles faintly and takes her bags.

  Down the coast, Harry and his lady friend – who’s called Townes – walk with their feet on the sand periodically being hit by small waves of seawater. She’s terribly sweet and captivating, he’s awfully kind and charming, they can see no other way for this night to end than with each other. At some given moment, Townes points a nice little bungalow with connection to the beach and walks them there.

“This is my place, do you wanna come inside?” she asks anxiously biting her lip.

“Sure” he nods and waits for her to make way. The place is clearly a summer house, there isn’t much furniture and the ones there are crumbling with rust due to the proximity to the ocean. Some of the rooms smell like mould and make him sneeze, but the overall charm of the house make it quite cozy. “This is nice” he plays with the shell lamps decorating the walls.

“You like it?” she leans on the same wall as he does, mere inches between their bodies.

He takes some time to answer, his head buzzing with alcohol and the desire to wrap an arm around her slim waist. “Yeah... I like it a lot” he opts to take a blonde strand of hair out of her eyes and she shies away, her eyes averting his. For a moment he wonders if he overstepped but then she moves, running her fingers over the open collar of his button shirt.

“Is this a butterfly?” she asks, trying to peak inside the fabric.

“It is... the other tattoos are just as stupid” he giggles embarrassedly.

“Can I?” she looks up at him, her pointer finger lingering over the next closed button and he nods. She tortuously opens them one by one, her eyes locked in his tanned stomach until she reaches the last one and pushes the fabric aside, gently leaning her touch against his warm skin. He tenses, urging to touch her in the same unapologetic way as she’s touching him. She slides her fingers to his ribcage, where some of the older tattoos are. Then, with one last subtle look at his eyes, she runs her finger down his stomach sparking a reaction wherever their skins meet until she reaches the vines on his v-line, tugging on the fabric of his trousers. He exhales sharply and she notices how... tense... he’s become.

  Instead of saying anything, Harry grips a handful of her hair and presses his lips on hers. She tastes of liquor and peach, her mouth warm and welcoming to his tongue. He regrets making it such an intense kiss at first, not taking the time to savor and please her, but the sensation of her curious touch worshiping his body loosens his reins. He presses her body against the wooden walls still with their lips attached, it’s his turn to feel her skin. She wears a orange shirt tugged inside her jeans, so he has to pull it up a bit clumsily before running his hands teasingly over her sides, the fabric clumping on his wrists, chilling hands sending goosebumps over warm skin. Just as a payback, he runs his touch over her stomach painfully slow, from her naval up to her bra and back down to the button of her trousers.

“Mhmm” she moans in his mouth and he smirks, having just confirmed she wants exactly what he does. He leaves the button there and slides to cup her ass, grabbing a nice handful of both cheeks and squeezing them apart.

“Townes” he parts the kiss momentarily but she plucks his lips.

“Yeah?”

He sighs, pulling her hips to crash against his. “I want you” she grins, breathing out a satisfied giggle.

“Come here” she pulls him to her bedroom, lights all down except for a window with a privileged view of the sea. She shuts the door and gets rid of her own shirt while Harry seats on the mattress still trying to process the situation. She cups his cheeks and kisses him intently, the strength unbalancing him for a moment as they almost fall backwards but get it right into a steamy make out. Aching for more, she takes his hands and presses their palms over the cup of her bra, urging for him to touch her. He squeezes them at first with her incentive, testing how they feel against his grasp, but then he digs into the fabric and looks for the two nubs throbbing inside the bra. He pinches her nipples curtly, sending tingles down to her core that immediately soaks. “Oh yeah...mhmm”

“You like that?” he pinches harder, wrenching a moan out of her. No one ever did that to her, she only ever had sex with her ex-boyfriend, and they barely experimented other than the missionary position. Although... there’s this one thing he always praised her for...

  She kisses him one last time before pulling his hands out of the way and getting on her knees. Harry’s breath quickens in anticipation as she undoes his button and zipper, struggling to reach the inside of his underwear and pull out his lean and long shaft. At first, she gives it teasing strokes from the base to the head, feeling his size, then she reaches to kiss his balls, earning a struggled groan.

“Right there... mhmm” he grasps a handful of her hair, trying to hold it out of the way. She makes her way up from his balls peppering his length with small kisses, his hardness doubling the length she has to take. He exhales sharply as she closes her mouth across the head, her soft tongue stroking the most sensitive parts of him. “Such a good girl... you’re gonna take it all in?” she looks up with his head on her mouth and smirks, slowly pulling him inside her hollow cheeks until her lips touch his base and all he can feel is the warm velvet of her mouth. “Fuck...”

  She bobs her head until she’s gasping for air, pulling him out and stroking his sticky shaft. The salty taste of precum is leaking and sliding over her tongue, so she recomposes quickly and hollows her cheeks once more, giving him the reins to thrust at will inside her throat, fucking her mouth until she pushes him away.

“You feel so fucking good” he strokes the hair he previously grasped, trying to provide at least some relief to her tension. He knew this night was going somewhere, and having her kneel between his legs was just the beginning for sure. She takes him inside her mouth again, and this time he thrusts her head faster, the warmth and the softness of her tongue against his stone hard shaft taking him closer and closer to an orgasm. “I won’t last long” he warns and she lets him out.

“You can come inside” she grins, putting him back in again in a haste so he won’t lose it. He humps inside her throat, she feels so good around him, so tight, he’s about to burst inside her delicious throat. With one final hard grip on her hair, he releases his thick cum inside her mouth and leaves it there for her to swallow. Taking his cock out feels sinful after such a good blowjob, he almost begs for another but it’s better to give her a break... and a reward.

“That was so good” he wipes the drool out of her chin and kisses her, tasting some of the salt he just dispersed. “Why don’t you climb over the bed and I’ll show you what I’m good at?”

  Back at the manor, Olivia lays awake in Mitch’s room with her earpods, listening to some of her favorite songs. The salmon bed sheets hug her body but give her no comfort, maybe it’s the jet lag, maybe it’s the anxiety of seeing Harry after a while, maybe it’s the fact that he’s probably getting some right now and it’s not with her. Sex with Harry is always wonderful, either when it’s flirtatious and exciting or when it’s passionate and calm, they never had troubles in their sex life. Maybe this is what they’re missing right now, a nice shag to remind them how connected they still are. Sadly, that seems like a distant prospect – for her, not so much for him.

  Right now, he has a beautiful woman on her fours screaming his name as he fucks her senseless. His grip on her waist tightens as her pulsing cunt throbs around him, showing the first signs of her orgasm. Townes reaches behind her, wrapping her fingers around his wrist as he violently thrusts inside her, skin slapping against skin, his long shaft reaching the perfect spot to make her gasp in pleasure.

“Harry, I-I... fuck I’m so close mhmm” she cries, leaning her head down but he pull it back up by the hair. Just a bit more, he’s close too, just a few more well placed thrusts and he cums, pushing all the way inside her. To help her get there, he humps in one more time, violently, making her lose balance. He keeps doing that and reaches between her legs to flick her pinky clit, causing her to scream in pleasure and tighten around him, her muscles tensing and twitching until she gives into her weight exhausted.

  Harry pulls out of her stretched cunt and removes the rubber, tying it on a knot before throwing it on the trashcan beneath the study. He turns to Townes, spread out in her bed and panting, the tingles of her orgasm still running through her veins. He climbs over her and strokes a few strands of hair out of her sweat drenched forehead, she eyes him and smiles tiredly.

“Hope you’re not passed out” he kisses her cheek and runs a teasing hand down her sides, “because I’m not done with you”

“Oh yeah?”

“I’m gonna fuck you all night” he whispers sensually on the shell of her ear. Olivia used to say a gentleman makes his lady cum three times before falling asleep beside her. Fuck... why did he remember her?

  He can recall vividly that time when she whispered those same words straddled across a fucked up post-orgasm version of him. The way her braids bounced on her shoulders while she rode him, her tongue sucking on his finger when she was about to cum, the way her dark skin rubbed against his fair one when fucked her from behind, hugging her warm body close, hearing her soft moans when he reaches that particular spot...

“Then we better get started” Townes replies, dragging him back to reality.

  At daybreak, Olivia wakes from her short nap with the sunlight creeping through the blinds Mitch forgot to close. She gets up a bit sore after playing with herself for most of the night to compensate for her loneliness, but she’s smiling nonetheless. Nothing like giving yourself some love to start the day with a bang. She hears knocks on the door and immediately try to lessen her grin.

“Come in” she yells and so Mitch walks in with swim shorts.

“Morning Oli” he greets.

“Good morning, Mitchie” she walks to hug his stiff self only to be reminded she’s only on her knickers and tank top. “We’re going swimming?” she tugs on his shorts.

“Yeah, we rented some stand up-paddles, do you wanna come?”

“Sure, but... aren’t we here to work?” she mocks, getting a bikini from her bag.

“We work after lunch, we’re not that lazy” he replies, walking back to where he came from as to let her change.

  Harry still hasn’t returned, confirming her theory that he got laid last night. Mitch says nothing and neither do the other guys, and she’s thankful for that. They’re on a break but it still stings that he’s getting some and she isn’t in anyway included in that.

  The party that walks to the beach takes lots of chairs, a cooler with foods and drinks, all that along with the stand up-paddle equipment. Back in her hometown – where beach outings are basically routine – things were simpler: she’d take only her bag and a silky towel to sit over, nothing more. While the guys establish themselves, she drops her bag with her silky towel and undresses.

“Harry just texted, he’s on his way” Ryan informs, “we better wait for him”

Oli and Mitch exchange an understanding look of tension, and she’s not in the mood for that. “Alright, I’ll just take a dip then. Mitch, you coming?”

“Yeah, he is” one of the men mock and the others tag along with laughter, messing with the tiny bikini she’s wearing.

“Very funny guys, can’t believe I’m stranded on this island with a bunch of 12-year-olds” he complains, walking along with Oli to the shoreline. She has no trouble walking in the sea but he refrains. “Too fucking cold”

She laughs at this stiffness. “I’ve got a trick for that...”

“Oh god...”

“You have to run and jump at once, no hesitation. Ready?”

“God no” he whimpers. She takes his hand anyways.

“On three. 1... 2... 3...” they run together until Mitch slips his hand out of her grasp and runs out of her reach, leaving her to play on the ocean alone. From a distance, he could mistake her for a mermaid, she’s just really at home swimming on the salty water. Thinking about it, this is the closest he’s ever seen her to her home, and that’s a privilege.

  On the sand, Harry walks in hand in hand with a blond girl none of the boys recognize. They smile and laugh in their bathing suits, carrying all the beach paraphernalia to join them. Instead of basking in his arrival, the men tense.

“Guys, this is Townes, she was in the club last night remember?” he introduces to the bunch, who stop preparing the paddles and boards to stand around awkwardly.

“Hi!” she waves shyly to the guys, who just nod embarrassedly.

“This is Mitch, he wasn’t in the club” he guides her to greet him and once again he’s also quite stiff.

“I love your hair” she comments, trying to break the ice.

“Thanks”

“It looks good, what did you put in there?” Harry strokes his hair and immediately the smell of coconut oil spreads in the air. It triggers him.

  He knows that smell, he would recognize it anywhere. How many nights did he fall asleep beside it and woke up to a pillow with that particular scent? It takes him back to nuzzling a silk sheet soaked with coconut oil, to sleepless nights when he would put her hair sheet back in place gently and pin it down so she wouldn’t wake up with messy roots – which made her very moody, as she turned out to be very vain. The smell brings everything about her back.

  Once he turns to the ocean his jaw falls agape. Few feet away from him is Olivia, the estranged love of his life, walking out of the ocean perfectly without even losing her balance, parading in a tiny and provocative bikini, twist rope braids framing her face beautifully. She smiles in his direction, not missing the presence of the other girl in the crew. The last thing she wants is to create an uncomfortable atmosphere where she wasn’t even invited, so she goes along with the ride. Who knows, the girl can be nice. She’s above letting a guy create discord between ladies.

“Oli... what are you doing here?” Harry rushes to close the distance and hug her wet body. This might be awkward but it doesn’t change the fact that he missed her. She laces his neck and squeezes him in a tight embrace before taking some distance to check him out.

“Mitch said you needed backup”

“Of course he did” he notices Mitch shrugging.  

“I guess I’m overstepping a bit” she comments between them while looking at Townes. Before he can think of a clumsy excuse, she makes a move to greet her. “Hi, I’m Olivia”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Townes” they smile at each other.

“Sorry, my hands are cold, the water is freezing” she plays a bit to break the ice while Harry shoots Mitch with a furious gaze.

“Don’t look at me like that, you were annoying me” Mitch crosses his arms over his chest, trying to keep his voice down.

“Then you though you could just call her here and be done with it?”

“That’s exactly what I though”

“Bloody hell...”

“Sorry, I didn’t think you’d find another girl in one night” he excuses, watching Oli and Townes at a distance. “Maybe I lacked imagination”

“You did”

“Or, you know, in my brilliant mind I knew that if you just talked to her that’d give you the spark” Harry shakes his head dismissively, but slowly cuts the movement thinking he might have a point. “And since you wouldn’t call her-“

“Let’s go everyone, before the tides stop helping” one of the guys calls out.

“Are you coming?” Oli asks.

“No, I’ve got a flight to catch tonight, better pack up” she replies looking behind her, at where Harry and Mitch are arguing. “It was nice to meet you”

“Nice to meet you too” she smiles, hugs her quickly and leaves to get her paddles while Townes walks up to Harry. Oli watches from the corner of her eye the way they say their goodbyes, exchanging phone numbers, giggling, whispering in each other’s ears... she looks away and sighs, missing the times when she used to do the same. When she realizes the party is heading for the water, she picks her board and tags along.

“Harry, you coming?” Ryan asks.

“In a minute” he replies. Mitch hurries a bit with his materials to meet up with her.

“That went alright” he drops with a hint of irony.

“Shut up” she dismisses lightly with a chuckle.

  She lands the board over the water and calmly paddles through small waves, the sea is very gentle. When they pass the shore break, it’s just a matter of standing up and paddling through. Underneath her, she can se the fish swimming in groups, taking cover under the reef, around her she can see distant islands, popping from the light blue surface. The sun is yet to reach it’s peak so the heat isn’t unbearable, when she sits on the board and closes her eyes, it feels like home. The other guys make a circle far from her and mess around with each other, but she enjoys a little private moment – that is, until her ears catch the sound of water breaking on another surface and look around to find Harry watching her from his board.

For a moment, they speak nothing, just look at each other with a bit of heartache. “You changed your braids”

She smiles fondly. “You grew a stubble, finally” he laughs, “it looks good”

“So do you. But then again, when did you ever look bad?”

“Not a day in my life” she taunts smugly and they return to a more cheerful quietness.

“I’m sorry about Townes, I didn’t know you were coming” Harry breaks the silence.

“It was meant to be a surprise”

“It was a nice surprise, I’m still happy to see you” she smiles bittersweetly and looks down.

“No, you’re not”

“I am” she still averts his eye, so he holds her board and climbs over it, making her almost lose her balance while exhaustedly shaking her head. “It was just a one-night-stand”

“Harry... you don’t need to explain yourself to me, we’re not together anymore” she replies gently, not willing to take a trip down memory lane and reevaluate their whole history.

“So what? You’re still important to me” he presses. They were together for 5 years, few months ago they were engaged, of course he owes her at least the decency of candor.

“I knew this was a bad idea” she grunts, burying her head on her hands, before recomposing. “Look... I’m not here to get you back or mess up your love life, I’m here because we work great together and you need help-”

“And while we’re at it, we could figure out what’s going on between us” she notices some of the boys can hear them from afar so she slides closer to him.

“What’s going on is that you can’t live with the fact that I also have a career!”

“What?!”

“You heard me!” she huffs angrily, “I’m not a huge popstar, I have to work to get myself out there, I can’t quit everything and play dollhouse when you finally get some time off!”

“That’s not true-“ he objects.

“Then why the fuck did you come here? Without even telling me? Do you know the mess I was when I finally got home and you weren’t there?”

“I told you I wanted to go!”

“Wanting and planning are very different things!”

He chuckles humorlessly, “Alright, that’s fair. But before you went on tour I though we planned on getting married, or was that also a wish?”

“Fuck off, I was going to marry you. Don’t get clever with me”

They stand at an impasse. “I thought we made decisions together, love. The fact we both worked so well is what made me want to marry you in the first place”

“Do you still think about that?”

“Of course I do!” he takes her hand to grab her attention, “I spent 5 years of my life with you, I made loads of plans, do you think I could just forget that?”

“It sure seems so” she raises a brow.

“Do I need to pull a ‘we were on a break’ moment right here in the middle of the ocean?” she tries to hold it but it’s stronger than her. She laughs hysterically as Harry takes advantage of her openness to get closer. “Also, am I supposed to believe you haven’t shagged anyone in three months?”

“That...” she lifts a finger, “is true-“

“Knew it!”

“I was sad and horny, leave me alone!” she raises her voice and pushes his shoulder lightly.

“Who was it?”

“I’m not gonna tell you”

“Was it Matty?” she raises an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

“Really? That’s your first guess?”

“Come on, I need to know for professional purposes” he insists mockingly, “so I know who to diss in the album”

“You’re such a child” she rolls her eyes, “It was Andy”

“Who?”

“Andy, Andrew?” it doesn’t ring a bell, “Hozier?”

“Fuck no” he chuckles, trying to picture the logistics of this exchange. “He’s twice as tall as you!”

“It doesn’t matter... horizontally speaking” she smirks fairly proud of herself.

“Can’t believe you fucked ‘Take Me to Church’ guy” they both snort at the title while they both let their short-lived laughter fade naturally.

“You know what? I’m really happy that you came here” her smile dies to a smirk. Despite getting caught in all of that relationship conundrum, she’s still the funniest, loveliest, most tantalizing person he’s ever known. “I missed you”

“I missed you too” she replies.

He leans closer to her, invading a bit of her personal space but she doesn’t back away, “Can’t we just pick up from where we left? Forget about the wedding, the tours and everything, just stay with me?”

“Do you think that could work?”

“It better work, ‘cause you’re all I can think about love. It’s ridiculous, I’m coming up with a whole album about you-“

“Oh, you didn’t...” she shakes her head in disbelief.

“I had this plan to reach out after we went back home, maybe pick up the wedding plans and then give this album made of a bunch of silly love songs-” he mocks himself, rejoicing in the feeling of breaking through her walls.

“You’re fucking ridiculous, you know that?” she replies, tired of fighting against his persistence.

“I know” he leans to kiss her and she doesn’t shy away, just welcomes his cold lips against hers. He cups her cheek in a way his hand seems to fit perfectly, and it feels like a punch in the guts how perfect she feels against him. Townes is good, all the other girls he ever hooked up with were incredible people in their own way, but Oli is extraordinary. A kiss is not just a kiss, a touch is not just a touch, being with her is an art even when they don’t see eye to eye.

Olivia is the first to break the kiss. “We’re getting so predictable, why do we keep breaking up just to get back?” he laughs.

“‘Cause we’re not boring, love”

“Alright, but we gotta fix this communication thing” he nods vehemently. “Because I don’t know how many more years I can go on with that messy ‘now I’m here, now I’m there’ thing”

“I was thinking the same thing” he pecks the corner of her mouth, “See? Totally connected” he licks her cheek and in a spasm she pushes him in the water.

  The rest of the morning they spend on the ocean, even when the other guys retire to the manor. She lays on her board, back flat against the harsh surface and Harry sprawled over her, head on her chest, her legs sunk in the seawater to make room for him. If he was mad at Mitch earlier, he’s not anymore. Nothing in the world feels as peaceful as the soft rumbling of the ocean and her fingers running against his scalp. It’s almost torture when they have to leave, paddling back to the house and walking in everyone else’s lunch.

“Thank god you’re back, we have to work on something, anything Harry!”

“Alright, I’ll just get a shower and meet you in the studio” he replies, leading Olivia with a hand on her waist. Mitch’s gaze on them lingers a bit longer, as he soon comes to realize he had no chance to make a move. “Where did they put you?”

“Mitch’s”

“Why don’t you bring your stuff to my room?”

“Because I’m fucking lazy, that’s why” she mocks. “I’ll be there in a minute” before she pulls away, he holds her close and presses a lingering kiss against her lips, brushing his stubble against her chin.

“Ok” he untangles from her and walks in the opposite direction.

  Few minutes later, she drops her bag on the bed and looks around the luxurious bedroom. She takes particular notice on how distinctly Harry makes a room his own, leaving few clothes scattered but not in a messy way: some are folded over the table, some are draped over the chair’s backboard, everything is organized except for one of them which is just thrown over the bed. She picks the flowery blouse and it is a bit wet – it’s the one he was wearing at the beach, he probably carried it with wet hands – but she dresses it anyway, checking herself out in the mirror with it. It looks great, as often his clothes do, that’s why they often wore each other’s clothes, but there’s something strange. Inside the pocket, there’s a piece of paper.

She’s got a family in Carolina

So far away but she says I remind her of home

She’s got a book for every situation

Gets sent to parties without invitation

There’s not a drink that I think could sink her

How would I tell her that she’s all I think about?

  Oli puts the paper back in the pocket and muffles a gasp. If she came to help him write songs, she’s awfully late. Something in her stomach turns and she feels like an alien in the room, in fact, an alien in the house. Completely out of place.

  She doesn’t mention the paper when he leaves the bathroom, nor at lunch, nor at the writing session where he also doesn’t bring that up. The tension of that unnamed subject plagues her all day as she fears the moment it will rise so much that she wants it to happen soon and be done with it. So, later in the evening, after they all retire to their chambers, she addresses it.

Harry is helping her to dry the braids with a towel, one by one, while they watch a silly romcom. With her cross-legged between his legs, he notices her mind isn’t really at it. “You’re strangely not-chatty today, what happened? Am I... rushing a bit?”

“No... That’s not it, it’s just... I’m sorry Harry, I wasn’t sneaking, I tried on your shirt and I found something...” she vaguely explains but recognition immediately dawns on his face.

“Right... about that-“

“You should take it to the guys” she interrupts, turning between his legs to face him. “It could be good”

“You’re not mad about it?”

“Who cares if I’m mad? It’s your album!”

“Yes, but are you mad about it?”

She huffs, opting for the truth. “I am, but it’s not what you’re probably thinking!”

“I’m thinking that it’d be awkward to help your fiancée write a song about another person” he argues, knowing better than to assume she’s jealous or petty or that she feels replaced. Olivia might have changed, but the foundations are still the same, and he knows her architecture by heart. She’s not jealous at all, she often taunts him about both of them being with other people, she never objected to his affairs with Victoria Secret models – she often participated on them –, so it’s quite far fetched to believe she’s jealous of Townes.

“Alright, it is what you’re probably thinking” he smiles smugly, leaning against the bed’s backboard. She picks on his hand earnestly. “Be honest with me”

“Always” he toys with their intertwined fingers.

“Do you want me to go home?” he ponders for a while, trying to examine his feelings and finding the perfect answer.

“I want a piece of you in the album” he explains, leaving the backboard and adjusting himself in the cushions until she’s on breathing distance. “I want to write that one song that, when I’m onstage about to perform it I have to give a bit of backstory about you, and about how this song was made” she smiles fondly, reaching to stroke his sweet cheeks while she drowns on his love drunk eyes. “After that, you pack your stuff and get the fuck out of here-“

She pushes his face away but he holds her close, trying to kiss her despite the resistance. “Yeah? And after I get the fuck out you can write about that pretty American girl you hooked up with”

“Deal”

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Masterlist

[wordsnstuff]

Guide To Writing Will-They-Won’t-They

This is also available on wordsnstuffblog.com!

– This subject has been highly requested and I get a lot of questions around it. Most romance writers have experience toying with this dynamic in character relationships, so I figured I’d create a guide for those who love the delicious tension of a will-they-won’t-they relationship, because they’re difficult to do correctly, and when they’re not done right, it can throw a whole story down the drain.

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When They Do End Up Together

Make sure it’s not too... convenient. It’s bad technique to build and build onto tension just to provide an easy, clean-wrapped resolution that makes the conflict seem insignificant. If people are hesitant to get together or stay together, there is a good reason, and that shouldn’t be glossed over by the ending.

When They Don’t End Up Together

Make your reader see that this isn’t a tragedy. If two people don’t end up together, there’s a reason, and it’s a valid one, and just because two couples really like each other or even love each other, doesn’t mean they’re right for each other, and at some point both of them will know that and let that stand. The message shouldn’t be “salvage every potential relationship because if you don’t your life is over”, it should be “some relationships just aren’t right, and love is a choice, not a feeling”.

When The Issue Is Constant Conflict

Constant conflict is a bad sign. Occasional disagreements and arguments are okay, and healthy in most cases, but they should always be resolved peacefully. If a couple can never seem to do that, and that’s the purpose for repetitive breaking up/getting back together, then they probably aren’t right for each other. Please don’t send a message to your readers that couples that constantly fight to the point of deciding they would rather be with someone else than work through it ever ends in a healthy and satisfying way for either party. 

When The Issue Is Lack of Communication

Lack of communication is applicable to most will-they-won’t-they relationships, and most relationship tension in general, but I want to specifically mention this because it’s not only lack of communication about initial feelings, but the lack of communication about how the relationship is going, what each partner wants out of the relationship, and what each partner does and does not enjoy in a relationship. These can all cause repetitive breakups because they seem more ambiguous a problem in the moment, and usually cause the “I just don’t think this relationship feels right”, which a character can forget easily once the relationship is over, making them return to their old partner immediately.

When The Issue Is An Existing Dynamic

(The specific request I’m addressing mentioned friends-with-benefits, but this is an SFW blog so I’ll be answering this generally; but yes that is what this section is.) If two characters have an unusual relationship, such as being best friends, which prevents them from trying to level up the relationship out of fear, this provides so many opportunities to build tension from the very beginning. Use this to your advantage, but be original with it. This is an extremely popular trope, and can put off an audience immediately if it shows signs of being completely cliche.

Pacing The Tension To Be Endearing Rather Than Stupid

The tension needs to be built up steadily, but it needs to be reasonable and each instance where the tension is demonstrated needs to be reasonable and fit into the context of each scene. If you avoid thinking about how your tension will come across, more likely than not, it will feel dumb and unnecessary rather than endearing.

Common Struggles

~ effectively writing moments of interrupted tension... Do it at the near-boiling point. This should be the climax of the tension, where they’re right near getting to the point of understanding each other, and they’re finally about to get together and someone or something, even themselves, gets in the way and brings them back to square one.

~ Balancing tension between characters... Moments of tension should be balanced with moments of genuine enjoyment of each other’s company. A lot of tension will be somewhat uncomfortable for the characters, and therefore uncomfortable for the reader, and you need to break that up with fluffy, romantic moments or it will be.. awkward.

~ At what point does tension become irritating rather than entertaining?... When the reasons for the tension become illogical or repetitive. If you’v written the same “we’re two loners at a party” scene three times with no variance in events, that’s irritating to the reader. New and unusual sources of tension through exciting instances of action and reaction between the characters that builds to a near boiling point where the reader and the characters share a longing for some resolution (due to genuine investment in the relationship growing) is entertaining. 

~ Avoiding predictability while keeping the trajectory... You can keep your story exciting and on the same track by using subplots to introduce conflicts that draw the reader’s attention away from the way the relationship is growing before delivering a major twist that affects, but doesn’t halt or change the way in which the relationship is growing.

~ Not making the characters’ reluctance unreasonable... Each character should have personal and logical reasons for avoiding addressing their feelings that the reader can empathize with and understand. It’s as simple as that.

~ Will-they-won’t they that spans large periods of time... If the will-they-won’t-they surrounds a relationship that spans huge amounts of time (such as one that is spanned over 50+ years) can be depicted very well as long as you choose the moments and events that you include in the actual storytelling very wisely, and sparingly. There should be a balance of events told from the present moment where the tension is at a near boiling point, and events that establish how the relationship has grown and continues to, and why it took so long to do so.

Resources

Resources For Describing Emotions

Resources For Plot Development

Resources For Romance Writers

Kiss Scenes 101: How to Write The Perfect Kiss

Novel Planning 101

How To Write A Good Plot Twist

How To Foreshadow

Commentary On Social Issues In Writing

How To Make A Scene More Heartfelt

20 Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Young Adult Fiction/Romance

Tips On Writing Skinny Love

How To Perfect The Tone In A Piece Of Writing

A Guide To Tension & Suspense In Your Writing

Writing Arguments Between Characters

Planning A Scene In A Story

Tips On Writing Intense Scenes

DISCLAIMER

I know that the primary audience of these articles write stories for young adults or a little bit older, and I don’t want to be preachy and tell you what you should and should not convey in your story. However, I want to remind all writers that no matter who your audience is, the manner in which you convey things does impact each individual readers’ mindset and views in some way.

Please be aware of the way your story frames things like potential abuse, unhealthy behavior, and toxic relationships, because it’s not the presence of these things that is harmful; it’s the way you frame them, glorify them, or romanticize them.

Support Wordsnstuff!

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If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon.

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[comicteaparty]

April 15th-April 21st, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from April 15th, 2019 to April 21st, 2019.  The chat focused on Synthetic Life by Eve Z.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Synthetic Life by Eve Z.~! (http://www.slwebcomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until April 21st to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. Why do you think Alinski is out to destroy any androids that have migrated into human society? What do you think his plans are exactly to take down Lundstrom?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. Do you think Crystal will come to accept Michelle? If you think Crystal can change, what do you think it will take? If not, do you think Crystal would resort to hurting Michelle? What will Michelle do in general in this case?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene so far is the one where nigel brings michelle to play volleyball. i was greatly satisfying to see michelle included cause up until that point nobody seemed to have consideration for how michelle might be feeling. i enjoyed seeing her getting to be innocent and just experience life a little and also being accepting for the first time. it was just all around adorable and touching. 2) I think Alinski is one of those sorts of people who hates the idea that mankind could make a better human than is biologically natural. so thus seeks to destroy this so he, and by association humans, can continue to believe they are perfect and can never be outdone. as for his plans, i think hes going to try and get close enough to lundstrom so lundstrom will inadventantly tell him where all the human posers are.

3) michelle is definitely my favorite character. shes just so sweet and innocent. and even her flaws are endearing since shes basically just a child who doesnt know any better. plus, being able to experience thsi sort of story from her perspective rather than a "humans" makes the whole experience all the more worthwhile

4) I am ardently cheering for Crystal to be redeemed where this is concerned, but honestly i dont think she will change at this point. I think Crystal has dug herself into a hole to the point that no matter what Michelle does, Crystal is gonna mental slap herself and remind herself to hate Michelle. All because I think at the end of the day, she's jealous of Michelle. Not just cause her husband is spending so much time with her, but just because Michelle doesn't have to deal with aging or addiction problems or jerk moms like Crystal does (at least in Crystal's mind). That being said, physically hurting Michelle? Nah probably not. I think it'll be mostly emotional scarring. As for what Michelle will do? Sadly keep trying over and over and over again until she runs out of options and becomes confident enough to realize that crystal shouldnt be allowed to make her feel bad.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. How do you think Nigel and Sean wound up working with the organization that is instructing Sean and providing Michelle’s software? What do you think their goal is in regards to integrating androids into human society?

RebelVampire

5) i really adore the last panel of this page http://www.slwebcomic.com/ch2pg22.html im a suck for nice backgrounds and i love balance of detail and simplicity in the city scape. i also really like how distance was handled with the colors becoming more blending together as the depth increases. i also think this was a great shot choice for the moment since it really expresses how large of a job sean has in front of him with finding michelle 6) i feel as though nigel must have met someone in the science field and he mentioned his son wanted to build a robot. and then some eavesdropping dude was like "orly" and then suddenly he was contacting sean and setting him up with an AI. and sean and nigel just went along with it cause theyre kind of...innocently gullible and dont seem to appreciate the full ramifications of what theyre doing. As for the goal, I think it's actually something like unlocking the true capabilities of AI and the joy of creating life from nothing. Or something like that. And if they can create life that is able to blend into humans, then its a benchmark where they can declare that yup, they can create true life and look at their godly powers or something.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. What do you think will happen in regards to Michelle’s school social life? Do you think she’ll get to see her friends more given her software breakdown? Also, will she remain hidden, or will suspicions about her being an android get her and Nigel exposed?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. What do you think Lundstrom’s goal is with the kidnapping and upgrades he’s doing of integrated androids? What risks do you think are involved with his activities, and why do you think he risks them?

RebelVampire

7) I think the characters i like seeing interact most are Michelle and Darlene. I like seeing how their genuine friendship blossoms in the face of Michelle's situation. And overall I think Darlene offers a good contrast to other ppl in Michelle's life. She isn't making a bit deal about Michelle being an android, and i think she offers a spirit of hope to the story that otherwise felt absent. 8) I think eventually Michelle will wind up going to the school in a guise to blend in with humans. Granted, after everyone develops some sympathy that if they leave her locked up all the time, that's going to leave her bored out of her mind is borderline abusive. If anybody exposes Michelle, I don't think it will be the girls at the school. Not that they won't try, but I don't think they're ahead of the game enough to make everyone believe them. That and I'd think after a point it'd become the boy who cried wolf situation where they tried saying she was an android so much everyone would just like "yeah yeah sure."

RebelVampire

9) I really like the subtle details in technology. Like the world doesnt seem more advanced then ares, but then theres these small things like the books that actually need to be plugged into the computers. I think it really helps separate the world just enough from our own to make an android as advanced as michelle and all the others feel completely plausible. 10) I mean the obvious assumption is that Lundstrom is part of the secret organization and is trying to increase android's ability to blend into society. But really I think he's just kind of just trying to create whatever he considers to be the true version of life from a machine. Which to a person obsessed with that, thats worth any risk usually. as for risks involved, well i mean, hes kidnapping. imagine if jade or onyx got caught in the middle of it. cause at that point they can a) go to jail or b) confess the person theyre kidnapping is an android. neither of which are good and honestly, they seem like they have a good chance of getting caught.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Do you think an A.I. could ever be considered to be a human? In other words, do you see Michelle as a human? Further, what moment in the story was your favorite in regards to this topic being explored?

keii4ii

I haven't had the time to read the whole archive, but can I just mention that I really like the covers? It's an approach that I don't see often in webcomics, portraying sceneries/ still life images with no characters. They are visually interesting, and convey an interesting vibe, especially when juxtaposed with the comic's themes about AI, androids, etc.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. In general, how do you think Alinski and Lundstrom’s plotlines will tie into Michelle’s? Is Michelle in danger, or will the two tie together in some other way?

thats very true @keii4ii . I really like how they kind of make the chapter mysterious and dont give away whats to be expected.

11) i think this come really does a great job in portraying its themes an conflicts about AI. Its honestly really refreshing to me because this is a subject i see covered in novels a lot but never webcomics. So it's really nice to see a webcomic tackle the topic about what it means to be human and if an AI can be one. It does it in a fascinating way too since its from the perspective of the AI, not a human. so it really opens your eyes up to the possibilities. 12) That is a loaded question that depends on how were defining human. If we're talk species, then no. an AI will always be a machine while a human will be a homo sapien. an AI will always be mechanical and a human will always be biological. Thats just set in stone facts. However, if we want to talk metaphorical human in the sense of loving, empathy, having human emotions in general, then yes. And I definitely see Michelle as that. Is she the most perfect AI in terms of human likeness? No. But do I empathize with her and wnat her to find equality and happiness in society regardless of what shes made of? then yes. as for my favorite moment in the story regarding this topic, i really enjoyed the library scene where michelle was exploring the human biological processes and trying to understand why she couldnt have a baby. cause that ties back to what im saying earlier is about how are we going to define a human and that always really complicates the topic in a fun way thats easy to discuss.

13) im really looking forward to seeing michelle with darlene more. cause while darlene is being super duper nice, i feel there could be interesting convos still to go. cause i severely doubt darlene is fully ready to accept michelle as "human." i also think that michelle will learn insightful information from darlene about being a human and come to accept how she is different from michelle. 14) i do think michelle is in danger and inevitably gonna get kidnapped by one of the two. though i also consider it a possibility that sean or nigel will have a convo with lundstrom somehow about michelle and about what lundstrom is trying to do. but down the line alinski is definitely gonna be coming for her

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Synthetic Life this week! Please also give a special thank you to Eve Z. for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Synthetic Life, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.slwebcomic.com/

[netunleashed-blog]

Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 It may not have been known at the time, but in July 2008, Japan received what would be remembered as one of the greatest role-playing games of all time. Over the course of a decade, Persona 4 has become more than just an incredibly fun RPG with a refined battle system and quirky characters, though. A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games. Our love for Persona 4 has kept it alive for so long with several fighting games, two anime adaptations, an adorable (and difficult) spin-off RPG, and even a rhythm game. And after 10 years, we're still seeing our good friends from Inaba in a new light.For the uninitiated, Persona 4's foundation closely resembles that of its predecessor, Persona 3. You're a transfer student new to a school surrounded by unusual circumstances; supernatural phenomena that endanger your new hometown is the crux to the overarching mystery. On a typical day, you go to class, do extracurricular activities, and try to grow closer to those around town and at school. Better yourself through hobbies or take on a part-time job, it's up to you how to pass the time. In particular, Persona 4 takes you to a fictional rural town of Inaba where the biggest thing to happen before your arrival was the opening of a Junes department store (think Super Walmart, but with an infectious jingle). Even your little cousin Nanako is utterly convinced that every day's great at your Junes, and begs you and her dad to take her there like it's the greatest place on earth.Sure sounds like all fun and games until you and your new friends become the centerpiece for a dark murder mystery and an absolutely perplexing world that lives behind TV screens. At first, it's not quite clear why outlandish versions of certain townsfolk inexplicably pop up on TV sets and go missing on rainy midnights. The one way to get to the bottom of this, to actually jump into a TV screen to enter the shadow world where the other half of Persona 4 comes into play.Aha! Is this our chance? It's time for an All-Out Attack!While dungeon crawling and sneaking up on shadows through randomly generated floors make up the exploration, an intricate turn-based combat system is where you'll find excellence in gameplay. Most enemies have elemental weaknesses which factor into how you construct your party and devise a tactical approach. Sounds par for the course in an RPG, but the unique press-turn system that Shin Megami Tensei is known for shines brighter than it had previously by giving you full control to pull off flashy, effective attacks. Receiving a bonus attack after targeting a weakness before enemies get a turn is endlessly satisfying, especially as dungeons become inhabited by trickier, stronger shadows.A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games.However, nothing in battle matches the joy of seeing your crew team up for the most adorable, yet devastating All-Out Attacks, a franchise staple. Everyone in the party piles on heavy damage that usually puts an end to the fight, and you sense their ferocity in character portraits that pop up just before everyone jumps in. A cloud of dust erupts as they whale on enemies, sometimes popping out of the chaos only to jump back in for another hit, and all you need to do is watch as they take care of business. If you're lucky, someone will offer a follow-up attack turn-free; and it should be taken as fact that nothing is as absurdly cute as Chie's galactic punt where she literally kicks an enemy into outer space (her kung fu DVDs really paid off). Even in battle, everyone's distinct personality isn't lost or put off to the side, which highlights Persona 4’s greatest accomplishment: its commitment to a relentless charm embodied by this cast of misfits.So effortlessly does Persona 4 merge the two pillars of a social simulation and traditional RPG; nothing feels disconnected, how days are spent matters. These two realities feed into each other, and Igor--the series-long, omniscient owner of the ethereal Velvet Room--alludes to this up front: true strength is born from the bonds you form. The power of friendship is a prevalent trope in similar stories, but to have that power manifest as a tangible benefit in combat gives us further reason to invest in relationships. I call back to how Rise came in clutch to buff the party or cast healing during tough boss fights, or when Yukiko dealt the final blow casting Agidyne using her final-form persona with the last bit of SP: moments like these solidify the feeling that my companions really do have my back in times of need.Gas up your scooter 'cause we're going on a road trip!From the mother who wishes for acceptance from her stepson to your basketball teammate who finds it impossible to live up to his adopted family's legacy, these vignettes serve to tell very human stories. We help Nanako open up to her dad about his lack of presence and break through Uncle Dojima's hard-boiled temperament to reveal an empathetic father who constantly struggles with his wife's death and his job as a detective. In the end, a heartwarming father-daughter scene results in a newfound commitment to family. Other social links struck a more personal nerve.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone.When Yosuke overlooks Inaba, the town he once hated, and realizes that what makes him happy is the people he's surrounded by rather than big city glamour, I felt that. Even though Kanji maintains the tough guy attitude, he eventually embraces his sewing skills and love for cute plushies--as he began to handcraft toys for kids around town, I sensed a big, cathartic middle finger to societal expectations for masculinity. Naoto's strive for justice, as the genius detective, makes a firm statement against workplace gender discrimination. Life as an idol sure sounds great, until Rise decides she needs to walk away from stardom for her own sanity. As endearing as Chie's and Yukiko's friendship, their dynamic evolved and reached new heights after confronting their shadow-selves, leading to more open and honest relationship.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone. The TV world and Midnight Channel work not just as metaphors for the fear of what you think everyone sees in you, but to illustrate the sense of imprisonment and helplessness that's born from it. And by navigating the maze-like dungeons and crushing enemies, the crew breaks through obstacles to finally support each other in overcoming their monumental insecurities. Many of the game's pieces sound silly on paper, but they all come together to inspire you before you know it.When spread across 100+ hours of play-time, spanning an in-game calendar year, you're given room to breathe and let events, big and small, sink in. Moments of levity work alongside the more heartfelt revelations, which creates an ingenious balancing act. To its benefit, the game never takes itself too serious. Persona 4's greatness lies in its execution and presentation; story, gameplay, visual style, and its soundtrack all complement each other to elevate beyond the sum of its parts.Persona 4 wouldn't be the same game without the masterful composition of series composer Shoji Meguro. A collection of J-pop, J-rock, and catchy instrumentals make for incredible tracks on their own, but the right song at the right time elevates the emotional impact. As soon as I hear the brass horns start up for the track that plays during social links, I can't help but smile and sense the fun being had between characters. The boss battle theme of "I'll Face Myself" instills a feeling of danger, but also the determination to defeat your worst enemies. And the emblematic battle theme "Reach Out To The Truth" is such an uplifting song that brings back all my memories of this game. Sometimes I look outside my own house and "Heartbeat, Heartbreak" pops into my head on cloudy days and "Your Affection" when the sun shines. Music isn't relegated to just the background, and it cannot be overstated how evocative its soundtrack has been throughout the years.For all Persona 4's inspirational moments and pushes for social progressivism, we can't turn a blind eye to where it gets things wrong; to truly love something is to also recognize its flaws. By no means is it perfect when it comes to the portrayal of certain social groups and character conduct. Teddie himself exhibits unscrupulous behavior that can easily be interpreted as harassment, and it's never really confronted. Despite the personally uplifting story of Kanji, his sexual ambiguity is occasionally used as a punchline, and his shadow self can be seen as too over-the-top. Certain insensitive decisions can be made in relation to Naoto's struggle with gender identity; the interpretation of her character continues to be a point of contention to this day. And as time has gone on, the less amusing the cross-dressing pageant scene has become. To its credit, a Japanese game from 2008 was willing to explore subjects often seen as taboo; it misses the mark in critical moments, but there's value in its earnest effort. Regardless, some jokes weren't necessary to be humorous and it would've been much better without them.Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing.The sheer number of games that spawned afterward speaks to the love we've shared for this game. A PS Vita exclusive remaster, Persona 4 Golden, launched in 2012 as the definitive version; it refines core mechanics and includes a slew of meaningful additions. Along with new songs that perfectly fit the original soundtrack, Chie's new voice actress (Erin Fitzgerald) brought a whole new life into an already-beloved character and truly captured the spirit of Persona 4's best girl. A whole extra dungeon, an important new character, additional social link events, and new tag-team attacks round out Golden as the definitive version.An anime adaptation premiered in 2011, and another based on the remastered game released in 2014. Although it's difficult to capture an RPG in a condensed format, the anime offered a new way to experience the journey. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth brought along our buddies from Persona 3 into the mix in a wonderfully executed dungeon crawler RPG on 3DS--it bursts with charm as chibi versions of these two beloved casts band together to fight evil and have a good time. I'd also say Q features the best introductory theme and video in all the franchise. If the fan service wasn't already good enough, Persona 4: Dancing All Night leveraged the beautiful soundtrack for a delightful (and admittedly ridiculous) rhythm game--hearing my favorite songs remastered and remixed is a real treat.BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle brings back our friends at Yasogami High to meet the casts of BlazBlue, Under Night, and RWBY.Persona lends itself so well to fighting games that Arc System Works took up creating a 2D fighter in Persona 4 Arena, which remained true to both the developer's fighting game philosophy and the spirit of the source material. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax built on that foundation even further. And just this year, ArcSys circled back on Persona 4 by crossing worlds with BlazBlue, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Each of these fighters introduced new characters and storylines, and were included in the fighting game community's biggest stages. Rarely, if ever, does a single entry in a larger franchise spin off in so many different directions, but thankfully, it's helped keep our Persona 4 love alive all these years later.After becoming personally invested in their journey that started it all and pouring all that time into seeing them grow, it was genuinely hard to say goodbye as the credits rolled and the ending theme "Never More" began to play. In the decade since the original game, we were fortunate to see the charming group of knuckleheads time and time again in so many different games. It's almost silly to think that a group of fictional Japanese high school students could empower us to be better, but Persona 4 has given me, and countless others, boundless joy and also an opportunity for self-reflection. Yes, I played an incredible RPG, but what I saw was a group of best friends pulling for each other to become stronger people and make the world a better place. Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing. Source link

[flourishedandsunkissed]

In Addition...

Part of the Gatsby project was writing our own poem and explicating our work.

And so…

“The Pru-phobic Epidemic” by Gabriella Nicole

Why is it written the way that it’s written? 

I find that quite important.

Why am I me,

Why am I so observant?

I’ll tell you what I am,

Cowardly.

I’ve never met anyone more afraid of the truth

Than me.

I stay behind so I don’t bother anyone.

But maybe I’m just overthinking

And missing all the fun.

And if anyone cares for it, the explication paper:

I chose the epigraph from one of Juliet’s many monologues in Romeo and Juliet (Act 3, Scene 2) because Juliet is speaking to two characters: the black of the night and her love, Romeo. In my poem, Myrtle is also speaking to two characters: Tom and Wilson. The modern English translation of this epigraph is:

Hide the wild blood fluttering in my cheeks

With your black robe until unfamiliar love grows bold

And believes that enjoying true love is really a modest act.

Come, night! Come, Romeo! You’re my light in the night.

You will lie on the wings of night

Even whiter than freshly fallen snow on a raven’s back.

Wilson could be compared to the black of the night because black is a negatively associated color and Wilson does not make Myrtle happy. Tom could be compared to Romeo because he is the one Myrtle truly loves, and he is her “light in the night”; he brightens up her life even though she is stuck with Wilson. Myrtle similar to Juliet in the way her love is forbidden and she dies.

Myrtle, as Juliet, could be saying, “I must hide my blushing cheeks until my relationship with Tom grows stronger and since true love is modest and Tom is the one I truly love, my actions are modest.” The line saying “you will lie on the wings of night” would mean that all of Tom’s actions would done close to Wilson; it’s actually ironic because white represents purity and there is nothing pure about his actions.

In the first stanza, Myrtle is speaking to Tom. She is telling him to come to the Valley of Ashes and take her away. “Like an addict and his drug” pertains Tom’s addiction to cheating, and Myrtle, his mistress, is his drug. The leather seats of his coupe “tell” Myrtle that she’ll have a good night, meaning that as long as she’s with Tom she’ll have a good night. Myrtle doesn’t want to return to Valley of Ashes though she has no choice; she sees it as a “penniless hell.” Boisterous means loud, unscrupulous means showing no morals, and revile means to criticize in an angry manner. These are characteristics of an untamed child; also, alcohol can cause the drinker to display these characteristics. Alcohol can also bring someone to an unfaithful feeling, causing them to cheat on their spouse. Myrtle tells Tom not to ask, “Who do you think we’ll see?” because in chapter two of The Great Gatsby, Tom and Myrtle sit in different train cars due to the “East Eggers” who ride the train.

The refrain of this poem is meant to be sexist. Because cars were a relatively new invention in the 20’s and racism and sexism were prevalent, it is a stereotype that women shouldn’t know anything about cars and that they are a virile subject.

The black fog that slithers through the road represents a melanistic (all-black) Ratsnake, and vice versa. I chose the color black because that would be the color of the smog that floats through the Valley of Ashes. It “coils its body atop the black of the moon” meaning that it rests above the moon at its new stage. The black fog delights in the struggle of its prey, the poor people who work the Valley of Ashes. It “condones the destruction in the construction” meaning that it accepts and supports the destruction of not only the earth that new buildings causes, but of the humans that construct it. Due to lack of safety regulations, many men died during the construction of cities. It slides by Michaelis’ place and bares its teeth because though he meets no demise, he is still a victim; it only bares its teeth, it doesn’t bite. The fog is made aware of the warm July night and settles upon the post of a porch.

Two words might stick out the next stanza: “honey” and “space.” In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” does not address anyone, he simply says “there will be time”; however, I wanted Myrtle to use the term of endearment because she is still speaking to Tom. I initially planned on using the word place but changed it to space because space indicates a time and a place. She tells Tom there will be a time and a place for the smog of the Valley of Ashes, to hide all the whiskey he’s not supposed to have in this time of prohibition—though those bottles have probably touched the lips of his colleagues because the rich had alcohol, and to destruct morals and relationships and build new ones, just like city buildings. She tells him there will be space for “all the trophies and flowers of East Egg”; these trophies and flowers not only represent the numerous trophies Tom has won the flowers that decorate the interior and exterior of his mansion, but Daisy, too. Daisy is basically Tom’s trophy wife; he uses her for display because if he truly loved her he would be faithful and, Daisy is named after a flower. Daisy holds and drops Tom’s heart just as he does hers because she is cheating on him, too and his heart has been chilled because he is selfish. “A million pieces of dough” represents Tom’s money. I chose “million” and “dough” because he is a millionaire and dough is a euphemism for money. The “blows” represent Tom’s insults and his abuse of Myrtle. Bordeaux is a French wine and while they might not have drunk this specific type of alcohol, it represents everything they did drink. She tells Tom there will be space for all these things before they leave for the cheap apartment party in the city.

Myrtle tells Tom there will be a time and a place to figure out how to leave Daisy and to untangle the web of lies they’ve both weaved. On page 167 of The Great Gatsby, Wilson tells Myrtle she can fool him but she can’t fool God because God sees everything; at this point he knows about her affair. On page 30, Nick describes Myrtle as wearing a “spotted dress of dark blue crêpe-de-chine” when he first sees her. “How do I leave to caress the face of happiness?” replaces Prufrock’s “Do I dare disturb the universe?” Myrtle is questioning how she leaves Wilson so she can “caress the face of happiness”—Tom. In the end, she does leave, but not by choice. And she ends up leaving both Wilson and Tom for Death. Space will condense blows and Bordeauxs because eventually there will be so much of the two that there will not be enough time or space which means they’ll have to be crowded together to make space for more.

Since Myrtle is the wife of a mechanic, she has seen all the terrible conditions a car can be in. She has measured out her life with gifts from Tom since she gets nothing from Wilson. She knows the “withering” faces—the faces of the poor. And their call for help withers away under the roaring of the machines and tools in the Valley of Ashes. Myrtle feels desolate when she’s at home and wants to know how to feel alive inside.

When Myrtle says she has known “the hands that nail me to a bed,” she means Tom’s, sexually, and Wilson’s when he locks her in the room. “Straggling on a wrench” means that Myrtle is spread out in an untidy way not upon a literal wrench, but a wrench in her heart. She wants to know how to end the dreadful power of stress and how to end her imprisonment in Wilson’s garage, the Valley of Ashes, and unhappiness.

Myrtle says she has known the muscular, peach, and hairy arms—characteristics that describe both Tom and Wilson. She says in the darkness their arms are “relentless and scary” referring to Tom’s breaking her nose and Wilson’s shoving her up against a window. She asks, “Is it oil from an engine that causes all my tension?” meaning is it Wilson’s work that causes her emotional strain. Arms that work a tool are Wilson’s and arms that swing a polo mallet are Tom’s.

In this three line stanza, Myrtle is speaking to Wilson. On page 30, Tom says: “He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive.” So Myrtle would have told the lie before that that is the reason for her ventures to the city. On page 166, after Myrtle’s death, Tom shows Michaelis the leather and braided silver dog leash she bought for the Airedale Tom let her have. She says Wilson “blindly trusts” Tom. Even after he figured out Myrtle was cheating on him, he never really found out with who, and still had a good relationship with Tom after Myrtle’s death (before he killed himself). She is also saying Wilson is dumb.

In the next stanza, Myrtle says that she wasn’t meant to be poor and that she should have been “a clad of gold and diamond jewelry” which represent wealth. So, instead of reducing herself like Prufrock does, she amplifies herself, saying she was meant to live in the Eggs and not in the Valley of Ashes.

The “violent dancing” of the moon parallels the drunken party that happened in Tom and Myrtle’s apartment and the saxophone music played by the Negroes makes it more beautiful. Myrtle asks if she should, after all the drinking, smoking, and gossiping, bring the energy down and tell Tom that he means the world to her even though their relationship might not truly express it. She says that even after she’s lied and cheated, she’s gotten to wear a chiffon afternoon dress (described on page 35) but even despite that, she’s no flower—which again is ambiguous for Daisy. She says, “I’m no flower—I’m the antithesis,” meaning that though she has gotten all these nice things she is still, in truth, the opposite of Daisy. Father Time represents reality because no matter where one’s mind is, time is passing. It cannot be turned back or forward.

Next, Myrtle asks if she had gone to great extents to make Tom love her more, enough to leave Daisy, if any of it would have meant anything if he just ended up saying she’s not what he wants at all. Semele was one of the many lovers of Zeus, she was tricked by Hera into telling Zeus to show her all his splendor after he said he would give her anything she wanted and she died.

Myrtle saying, “God, I feel so filthy!” is ironic because she never felt remorse before, cheating on her husband and helping someone else cheat on his wife; she doesn’t feel filthy until she feels Tom doesn’t love her anymore. “…as if a bar of soap had been my therapy” means physically cleansing herself might make her feel better on the inside.

On line 111, Myrtle finally directly addresses Daisy and uses a play on words—“I will never bloom to be,” nothing she ever does will make her like Daisy or better than Daisy. She says she is not Daisy, she is just an adulteress. Licentious means unprincipled in sexual matters. Myrtle describes herself as urban because she prefers the city. She ends giving herself the title “the Hedonist,” the lover of pleasure.

Myrtle says she grows tired; tired of Wilson, tired of her lifestyle, tired physically.

The angels Myrtle refers to are the rich. They grin because they have all they need, want and more; they show off their teeth because their teeth are worth showing off. She says they’ll never sincerely grin at her, meaning no matter how close she becomes to the wealthy, she will never be one of them. She has smelled their “green and white aroma,” green represents money and white represents purity and pearls, which wealthy women, and Daisy herself, own.

The “gates of heaven” represent the gates that often guard the rich’s homes and heaven is their mansions and all they hold. Destitute means poverty-stricken. The devastatingly poor awake people those who strive for riches.

“The Pru-phobic Epidemic” is a poem I wrote to convey my feelings and relate to the character of J. Alfred Prufrock. “Pru-phobic” to me means not being afraid of Prufrock but sharing his fears. It’s an epidemic because it is not only me who thinks this way. Prufrock himself might wonder why things are written the way they’re written, why he’s written the way that he’s written. I do. I think of all the things that have happened to me so far in this year of high school and wonder how they all affect my future and what they mean. Prufrock might wonder how the women talking of Michelangelo might affect his future or even his fear of eating a peach. We all wonder at some point why we are who we are and why we’re not someone else; we wonder why good things happen to people we know and not us, we wonder why they have the things we want. I’ve realized that I have some things my friends long for, maybe the one thing that’s keeping them from being truly happy. Prufrock might wonder why another man has the privilege of being with the woman he loves and he doesn’t—even if talking to her did make a difference. However Prufrock could see himself as cowardly for not talking to her and telling her how he feels; he’s afraid of being misunderstood and maybe even afraid of the truth. We’re all afraid of the truth sometimes. So instead of risking being misunderstood, he says and does nothing, to keep himself from getting hurt… just as I do.

“The Prohibition” by John Donne relates to Myrtle’s character in the way that Myrtle wants Tom to beware of loving her. She is already married and a bit high strung. “Then, lest thy love, by my death, frustrate be, if thou love me, take heed of loving me”; Myrtle’s death will frustrate Tom’s love for her, so he must beware of loving her. He must also beware of hating her or taking out his anger on her because she could perish by it. However, he must love and hate her, which isn’t necessarily her rule. He must love her enough to keep her as a mistress but hate her enough not to leave Daisy.