《Wot you sayin'?》Fortune Favours the Bold
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I gave Zoe a sideways glance and saw her doing the same to me. She gave me a smile that was really similar to the one Joe has—charming but cheeky. A Sugg smile. "Hashtag Joanne forever," she whispered, watching Joe cuddle Dianne from behind. I was so close to laughing out loud, but disguised it as a cough. Being in a world of their own, they didn't hear it.
When Dianne said she wanted the sloth from the game you hit the cans with and thought about names Zoe suggested a name that was to do with shells, one that reminded them of Brighton pier.
"Joe and I are going to live here, so I won't need reminding of it."
"Oh. Thanks for deciding that for me, Dianne. Do I get a say in any of this?"
"No," Zoe, Dianne and I said at the same time. Joe looked like he was miles away.
"Back to the subject of winning the sloth, how do you even know anyone will win it for you?"
"Mate," I looked shocked. "You've just issued a challenge." So I had the idea of taking in turns and give Dianne the sloth.
Joe, being competitive, asked, "That's fine and everything, but what does the winner get?"
Zoe came up with the prize that the winner gets all their money back and the loser has to pay for it all. I could see the look of glee on Joe's face as he shouted, "Deal!" Well, fortune favours the bold, doesn't it?
"I don't think this is our game, guys."
"No, it's not," Joe said.
After what felt like hours I was surprised to hear Joe say, "Come on, Alfie!" and Zoe was just as surprised.
We looked at each other as if to say, Hang on a minute. Did he say what I thought he said? But they started acting all couply again and Zoe and I gave them a fond look... which they couldn't even see.
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Honestly, the world could be crashing around them, but they'd be completely oblivious to it.
"I throw in the towel."
Their relationship was great because they could tease each other without hard feelings.
"Yes! Go on, Alfie!" I heard Zoe cheer. I'd got rid of most of the cans and just had the bottom two to go.
"Drum roll, please."
"Can you imagine if I don't get these two." I hit them! I was absolutely gobsmacked that I'd actually got them.
"Finally!" Joe said. "The sloth, please."
"I reckon Alfie should say it."
"I reckon you just want it." Dianne had a certain look on her face and Joe, looking chastised, said, "Go on Alfie. Do the honours."
"Joe, you're whipped." I laughed at him then requested the sloth for Dianne. Oh god! I feel so embarrassed for him. I hope I haven't started an argument.
"Oh my God, we need a name!" Dianne said, holding the sloth like a baby.
"How about something you're obsessed with?" Joe suggested.
"But also something that links with Strictly."
"COFFEE!" both Joe and Dianne said at the same time.
"Americano, for American smooth. That's perfect, Joe."
"It comes full circle. Boom!" They fist bumped what we call their Strictly fist bump.
"Last week we had an American smooth. Which is not a coffee."
"Ayyy, Alfie!" He high fived me. "Well remembered. You did watch our reaction videos."
I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. "OUR reaction videos, huh?" I nudged him in the side as we walked out to the pier. I laughed more when he blushed scarlet.
I walked ahead a little hoping Zoe would get the picture whilst Joe took out his vlogging camera and filmed for a little while.
Joe, bless him, gave credit to me saying I got Americano for her. I could tell she was gonna tease the hell out of him because I won it for her.
😅🤦♀️
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- In Serial261 Chapters
Lineage Saga (Kingdom Building Fantasy)
[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] The continent of Erdenia is in flux, nations large and small move to swallow their neighbors. Roving bands of marauders pillage the countryside, and the seas are choked with piracy. Against this backdrop upon the central island of Syroneika exists the Mercan League, an alliance of city states ruled by the Archon from his seat in the Capital, Merlabria. Yet all is not well beneath the surface. The Archon’s health is waning, while the House of Mercan appears on the verge of conflict. Both princes vie for the Archonship, with the aristocracy close behind looking to settle old scores. In the immediate west the Althai Federation is in a state of civil war, the conflict spilling over the border into the League, while nobles’ squabble over petty slights. In this time of growing conflict, the Archon has summoned the warlord of the southern frontier, bulwark against the horrors of the dark forest, and former Grand Scholar of the court. Behind the scenes pieces are in play, and the Scholar possesses numerous enemies, many still envious of his meteoric rise to power. A simple trip to the capital may be more than it appears. However, the branches of fate are fickle things, a single encounter could change the course of history. Or perhaps that is simply the will of fate, and nothing has changed at all, who could know? Could the meeting between a simple slave and a warlord truly be fate’s bough? And if so, where could that lead? Read this if you like: Army Building Rational Combat War and Strategy Gritty Violence in a Dark unforgiving world Realistic and engaging characters Medieval/Classical Economics and R&D Do not read if: Looking for OP MC (power gain is gradual) Last minute Deus Ex Machina moments Want Evil enemies who are evil just to be villains Can't stand Slow Development and extensive world building You can join the Discord here: Lineage Discord Channel Cover Art created by: Illusstation Check out their work: Illusstation's page Updates Monday-Thursday (Guaranteed) [more chapter releases per week are possible depending on buffer and as rewards for events I announce]
8 289 - In Serial75 Chapters
The Remedy: Catalyst; Static
How can anyone escape, when time is held in your enemy’s grasp? Stalked by a monstrous bird-like wizard, with the power to manipulate time, fifteen year old Phynley Okie has never known safety. Staying alive only because of the warnings of a strange brown eyed boy and an extraordinary ability of her own, she has lived on the run. Caught in the crime life of Tetrad, Phynley delivers a letter that has her stumbling onto a brewing conflict. Talk of impending doom and secret alliances; the world is never quite what it seems. As the dark forces move she is caught in the cross hairs. Thrown into a fight she isn’t ready for and a destiny she doesn't want, Phynley has to decide if she will run away once more or face the very thing she fears the most. Becoming a hero is a difficult thing. After all, picking up that sword means you might die by it…. (Book 1) Catalyst: Complete (Book 2) Static: Complete
8 84 - In Serial6 Chapters
The Curio Shoppe
Kellan Klein is an ordinary college student with an average, if traumatic and painful past. Everyone grows up grappling with depression and anxiety that seem to be genetic in a house with parents that, while loving, fight all the time and have weird ideas about what kids should and shouldn't do, right? Everyone deals with bullying, racism, judgement on their romantic inclinations and their family's economic status and just general shittiness, right? All of Kellan's friends sure did, and for all of them, entertaiment media were a welcome escape from their painful, dreary lives. After all, who wouldn't want to sail the seas with Monkey D. Luffy and the Strawhats, or help Meng Hao con increasingly powerful and influential people, or join Cecil Harvey and his friends on their weird journey to save the world, or make friends with Peter Parker while pretending to not know he was everyone's favorite wall-crawling superhero? Kellan certainly wanted to, and while he pursued college to seek out a career he saw himself enjoying, something felt inexplicably empty about his life. So when a decidely sinister force kidnaps him and the prettiest man he's ever seen saves his life and offers him his wildest dreams, Kellan becomes the shopkeeper of a mysterious, dimension hopping shop, complete with a system that helps him acquire items. abilities, materials, and other cool shit to stock it with, as well as some other neat perks. Will Kellan become a boring overpowered MC, like the kind from web fiction that he reads to sate his boredom? Will he keep his generally kind, sweet nature despite the shit he's gone through and will go through, or will he inexplicably become a scary, violent, irrational arrogant douchebag? Will he use his newfound abilities to explore the multiverse and improve the lives of himself and others, or will he become his own antithesis, a purely mercantile jerk obsessed with money and profit, with no concern for anything that doesn't help or hurt his business? Find out in The Curio Shoppe! Author's note: Please suggest possible setting he could visit in the comments. I'll gather ones i'm familiar with, and at the end of every arc, a poll will be held to decide the next location he visits. There will be polls for other purposes, and I might not always go with the poll winner if I feel one of the other options is more fun to read/write about. I will not use the settings of other RRL writers without their permission.Do not ask for that, unless the author in question gives permission. Most settings he visits will be slightly AU in some way or another, but please remind me if I drift too far from canon unintentionally or characterize a character wrongly. This work will eventually fit all tags I selected once he visits universes suited to those tags, so don't ask when or where a given tag is coming. I do not own the cover art, it belongs to Nicholas Belanger Thiel, and I will stop using it if he asks me to. Kellan doesn't look like the old man on the cover, though once he acquires a disguise-type ability he may occasionally use that appearance. The tapir, however, will be a thing, as despite looking like a failed attempt at an elephant, tapirs are cool and this dragon finds them to be kinda cute. The art, along with more of Nicholas's pieces, can be found at https://www.artstation.com/artwork/51bXz
8 196 - In Serial33 Chapters
Beyond Tomorrow
The galactic war has shaken the galaxy since prehistory, but mankind knew nothing of it. Like most of the truths of the universe, it was kept secret. Among the travelers arriving in New Westminster in 1879 is Cylas Renford of Indiana, a man seeking his fortune after trying a long string of trades. His new friend and companion, Morninghawk, warns him of strange occurrences in the wilderness and the myth of a secret people, but Cylas fails to heed the warnings. An innocent walk in the woods and a series of coincidences will bring Cylas face to face with criminals, monsters, startling weapons, the secret people, and will culminate in being propelled Beyond Tomorrow. Written in the tradition of American dime novels of the 19th century and the planetary fantasies of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Beyond Tomorrow is a pulpy first person tale of adventure in a future where the world itself has become an alien place. This LGBTQ adventure has a gay male protagonist and is non-explicit, in keeping with 19th century pulp writing. This work has been broken into sub-chapters for its posting here and will be updated regularly.
8 87 - In Serial9 Chapters
Adam & Eve: A Romantic Sci-Fi
After hundreds of years traversing the vastness of interstellar space, the ship's artificial intelligence begins gestating frozen embryos. It will raise and educate the men and women who will colonize a new world. Unfortunately, the gestation chamber fails after only two children are birthed. With questions to homeworld requiring years for an answer, the AI is uncertain how to continue the mission as their destination looms closer. Meanwhile, alone on the ship, the two children grow into adults under the watchful eye of the AI and its robotic avatars. ------------ Release Dates Prologue — 2022 June 24 Chapter 1 — 2022 June 24 Chapter 2 — 2022 July 01 Chapter 3 — 2022 July 07 Chapter 4 — 2022 July 14 Chapter 5 — 2022 July 21 Chapter 6 — 2022 July 28 Epilogue — 2022 August 04 [end] STEM Puzzles — 2022 August 04 Copyright © 2021, Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, psychic, copying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Published by MarkWilx, MarkWilx and the MarkWilx logo are trademarks owned by Mark Wilkinson. Cover image: Composition by Mark Wilkinson via Affinity Designer by Serif; background, “GOODS/ERS2 FIELD,” by Hubble Space Telescope; public domain; credits: NASA, ESA, R. Windhorst, S. Cohen, M. Mechtley, and M. Rutkowski (Arizona State University, Tempe), R. O’Connell (University of Virginia), P. McCarthy (Carnegie Observatories), N. Hathi (University of California, Riverside), R. Ryan (University of California, Davis), H. Yan (Ohio State University), and A. Koekemoer (Space Telescope Science Institute). Text: Title text is Edwardian Script by International Typeface Corporation. Header text is Myriad Pro (sans-serif) by Carol Twombly and Robert Slimbach, Adobe. Body text is Minion Pro (serif) by Robert Slimbach, Adobe; and Courier (fixed-width) by Howard “Bud” Kettler, IBM. Font appearance may vary in electronic presentations. Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The author does not imply an interpretation of, nor does he contest, the account of Adam & Eve contained in Genesis, The Holy Bible, which can be found at the website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or other Christian faiths. He invites all to read and ponder this book of scripture, and to seek divine inspiration in discovering its teachings. Disclaimer: This book is also available for purchase as a DRM-free ePub or Mobi from Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Drive-Thru Fiction, Google Play, and Rakuten Kobo.
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Write Better: Tips and tricks
The guide for aspiring fiction writers who want to improve, sharpen, review, and/or learn. Warning! This book encourages editing and contains many tips that often require revision. Practice makes perfect, and it's good to workout your mental muscles. The more you do now, the better your writing will be later (because you'll correct yourself *before* you get it on paper). If you think your writing is perfect or you're lazy or unwilling to try new shoes on your baby, just turn away now. You'll find this guide about as useful as hoarding frozen peas.
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