#I have over 120 unanswered asks and I feel bad about it

[spittyfishy]

1A with mondo and ishimaru?

They deserve all the great big hugs!

[sfb123]

14 and 17 from the cute couple things prompts for Liam and Riley please 🥰💗

Thank you so much for this ask @gryffindordaughterofathena! I decided to combine both prompts into one story. I hope you like it!

I got this request so long ago that I can't find the list anymore, but the prompts she wanted were 'super long hugs' and 'taking care of the other while they're sick'.

Sick Day

All characters belong to Pixelberry

Word Count: 1,795

Warnings: None, pure and total fluff. 

Rating: PG 

A/N:  This will also be my submission to @wackydrabbles #120 How long am I supposed to wait? The prompt will be in bold below.

A/N 2: Still rolling pre-reader free, if it sucks, my bad!

Tags: Listed below. Let me know if you’d like to be added or removed. 

***

Liam knocked gently on Riley’s office door. When the knock went unanswered, he checked his watch. They were due at the council meeting in 10 minutes, he would always meet her in her office so they could walk to the meeting room together. It wasn’t like Riley to not be waiting for him.

He slowly opened the door, peeking through the crack. “Riley?” As he entered, he noticed his wife slumped over the desk, her forehead resting against the backs of her hands. He rushed to her, placing his hand on her back. “Riley, are you alright?” He started moving his hand in circles on her back.

Riley let out a loud snort and Liam chuckled, realizing that she had simply fallen asleep at her desk. “I’m up!” She sat straight up in her chair, immediately bringing her hand to her head, regretting sitting up as quickly as she did. “Sorry, I must have..” Riley interrupted herself with a sniffle that quickly transitioned into a cough. 

Liam’s amusement quickly turned to concern as he placed the back of his hand to her forehead. “Love, you’re burning up.” He knelt down to face her. “We need to get you to bed.” 

“Why your majesty, are you coming on to me?” Her voice was low and raspy, still recovering from her brief coughing fit. “We can’t go to bed now, we have our meeting. I was just resting a little so that I could be on my game.” She began coughing again, Liam handed her the glass of water that was sitting on her desk. 

“My love, you’re sick. You won’t be going to any meetings in this condition. I’m taking you upstairs to get some rest.” He stood up and held out his hand to help her out of her chair. 

“Liam I love how much you worry about me, but I’m fine. Honestly.” She took his hand and got to her feet. As soon as she was standing, she felt as if the room was spinning around her, she took her free hand and placed it on Liam’s shoulder to help her balance. “Oof, I stood up too fast.” 

“Alright, that’s quite enough of that. I’m taking you to bed.” He lifted her bridal style and walked toward the door. As he exited, he turned to Bastien and asked him to have Olivia run the meeting in their absence. 

“Liam?” Riley looked at him wide eyed. 

“Yes my love?” 

“I’m sick” 

He kissed her forehead and smiled softly at her. “I know, it’s all right. We’re going to get you to bed, and I’m going to get you everything you need to feel better.”

Riley rested her head on Liam’s shoulder, closing her eyes. She was asleep by the time he got to the grand staircase. When they arrived at their quarters, Liam opened the door and brought Riley straight to the bedroom, placing her down on the bed, her arms still wrapped around his neck. 

“Riley, we’re home. You can let go now.” He whispered softly in her ear. 

“No, not yet.” She pulled him closer. 

Liam smiled and wrapped his arms around his wife and held her for several moments. “As much as I love having you in my arms, you’re going to need to let go. You need your sleep, and I need to go get some supplies together for you.” Reluctantly, Riley removed her arms and Liam stood from the bed. “Do you need help changing?” Riley arched her brow and Liam laughed. “Riley…” He warned. 

Riley smirked. “I think I can manage. Are you going to come back to check on me?”

He leaned down, placing a hand on her cheek. “I am going to step out to cancel the rest of our meetings for today. I will be back here before you know it with some water, medicine, and hot chocolate for you. You just need to change into your pajamas and get comfortable in bed. Can you do that for me, love?” 

She nodded, smiling wide. “Best nurse ever.” 

Liam kissed her nose and walked out of the bedroom. He called his assistant and made sure that both of their meetings were cancelled for the next two days. He wanted to give Riley an extra day to recover. He moved to the kitchen, turning on the stove to prepare the hot chocolate. While that was heating up, he surveyed the contents of their kitchen to figure out what he would be making for dinner. He knew Riley would want one of her comfort meals, so he settled on grilled cheese sandwiches. She needed her rest, so he would worry about making those later. 

Once the hot chocolate was finished, he poured it into a mug, and grabbed a glass of water. When he returned to the bedroom, he found Riley fast asleep in bed. He placed her drinks down on her night table and went into the bathroom and pulled some aspirin from the medicine cabinet. He kissed her on the forehead and quietly walked to the door, leaving her in peace so she could rest. 

“Liam?” Riley’s voice was faint, but he heard her and rushed to her side.  

“Yes Riley, are you alright? Do you need anything else?” 

“You.”

“Riley, you need your rest, we can’t--” “No Liam, will you just lay with me for a while? I want you with me.” 

Liam smiled as he brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Of course, my love. Let me go change and I will be right back.” 

He kissed her on the forehead and moved into his closet where he quickly changed into a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He got into the bed next to her, she was laying on her side, her back facing him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her softly on her shoulder. Before long they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. 

A few hours later, Liam woke up, his arm still wrapped around Riley, who was sleeping soundly. He kissed her cheek and slipped out of the bed, careful not to disturb her. When he got to the kitchen, he began pulling the ingredients needed for dinner, and bringing them to the counter. He knew Riley was very particular about how she took her grilled cheese, so he paid special attention, making sure he did it just the way he had watched her do it in the time they had been together. 

“You left me all alone.” Riley’s voice pulled Liam’s attention from the stove. 

“Riley, love, you should be in bed.” 

“No I’m fine, I think the sleeping fixed me. I'm feeling much--” Before she could finish her sentence, she started coughing again.

Liam quickly turned down the heat on the burner he was using, and dropped the spatula on the counter and rushed to her side, guiding her to sit down at the table. “Riley, you shouldn't have gotten out of bed. You need to rest.” He walked over to the refrigerator and poured her a glass of water. “Did you take the aspirin I left for you?” She nodded in response as he handed her the glass. 

“Why did you leave me?”

He smiled as he leaned in, kissing her on the forehead. “I came out here to make dinner for us. You need to eat something.” 

“What are you making?” She asked as he returned to the stove, turning the heat back on before flipping the sandwiches. 

“Grilled ham and cheese.” He replied, turning just in time to see her head perk up, a smile quickly spreading across her face. 

“Have I mentioned you’re the best nurse ever?” He winked at her, and she responded by blowing him a kiss. “How long am I supposed to wait? Because I’m kind of hungry now.” 

“Well first you need to go back to bed.” Liam answered as he approached her again. “Go lay down, and I will bring it in in just a few minutes. It’s almost ready.” He lifted her hand, kissing the back of it. 

“Only if you promise to eat with me.” She looked up at him with her saddest puppy dog eyes.

“Of course my queen, that was my plan from the beginning.” He helped her out of the seat, making sure she took her time standing, so she wouldn’t get dizzy again. “Do you need help getting back?”

She shook her head and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek before making her way back to the bedroom.

Liam finished putting their dinner together, and carried the tray into the bedroom, where he found Riley sitting up in bed watching television. Riley’s attention turned to the door, smiling as he approached. He placed the tray across her lap and slipped into the bed beside her. 

He watched as she examined the sandwich. “Does it look alright? Did I do okay?” He asked hopefully.

“It looks perfect, thank you for making this.” She smiled at him, “Now for the real test.” She brought the halved sandwich to her lips and took a bite. Her eyes closed as she moaned in delight. “Liam, this is amazing.” 

He grinned triumphantly in response, picking up half of his sandwich and taking a bite, his eyes widening with the first taste. “I think I missed my calling. I should have been a chef!”

Riley burst into laughter, which quickly transitioned into more coughing. Liam looked to her in concern and she waived him off. She took a sip of water and cleared her throat before responding. “Yeah, that pesky line of succession thing really screwed you over, huh?” Liam chuckled, taking another bite of his sandwich. Riley’s expression turned more serious, “For real though Liam, thank you. You dropped your day of running an entire country, just to take care of me. I hope you know how much that means to me.”

Liam lifted his hand, cupping her cheek. “Riley, you are more important to me than anything in the world. Being here with you, taking care of you, it is the least I can do after everything you have given me.” 

“How dare you say such sweet things when I can’t even kiss you. The last thing you need is to get sick.”

He smiled softly, leaning in until their foreheads were pressed together. “Some things are worth the risk.” He whispered against her lips before pressing his lips to hers in a lingering kiss. He pulled away, brushing his nose against hers. “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? I get sick, and you have to stay home to take care of me?” 

Riley smirked, kissing him once more. “Doesn’t sound too bad to me.”

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Liam:

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One Shots:

@darley1101

[tatooedlaura-blog]

Maybe WE don’t believe in YOU!

It’s throwback Thursday time ... this is a goodie from 2009 (dragged kicking and screaming from Gossamer) ... oi, these things amuse me at times :)

any and all errors are from the original post and have not been changed to preserve giggles and chuckles :)

@today-in-fic​

&&&&&&&&&&

He saw her sitting halfway up the bleachers, amidst yelling parents and clapping children. He knew she'd gone outside a good 15 minutes ago but since she'd neglected to come back, he though he'd better go and collect her. He didn't move fast, more at his usual long-strided amble given there wasn't much to hurry about anymore. Since the police station was next to the elementary school fields, he didn't have far to walk; soon standing beside the rickety aluminum riser seats.

She didn’t notice him at first but when she did a general sweep of her surroundings, as was natural habit at this point, she lit on his face staring up at her and with a barely noticed head-tilt, she gave him a half smile.

Figuring this was an invite of the most discreet kind, he picked his way through the scattered crowd, settling next to her without a word. Silently, they sat together through the last minutes of the game as well as through the exodus of people, kids, strollers and family dogs.

It wasn't until the last person stepped off the field that Mulder turned to her, squinting against the late afternoon sun, "hi."

Pushing her hair back, only to have the light breeze ruffle it again, "hi."

"So, got a little tired of Sheriff Blowhard and his parade of blightless minions?"

"A little. There's only so much blowharding and blightlessness one can take. Besides,” nodding towards the now deserted field, "they looked like they needed another fan."

Knocking shoulders with her gently, "you know, if we get our paperwork done, we can get the hell out of Dodge."

Holding silent for a moment, "promise me our next case won't be like this. I don't think I can do this again anytime soon."

"Well, I'll try to order us up a nice, juicy monster but don't hold your breath."

"Just promise to try. That's all I ask."

One glance into her tired, dull eyes made him nod, "promise."

"All right then." Standing and holding her hand out to him, "let's, as you put it, get the hell out of Dodge."

"If only the place was actually called Dodge."

"Getting the hell out of Parson Village doesn't exactly have the same ring to it, does it?"

Finally down on the ground, they walked back across the parking lot, "not really."

&&&&&&&&&

Working through the last of the forms, they said good-bye and left, glad to be leaving the place behind them. The drive back to the hotel was quiet but a companionable quiet, one where Mulder left the radio off and Scully stared out the open window, enjoying the fresh air and the colors of the setting sun.

Back at the hotel, "do you still want to leave now or wait until the morning?"

He knew she would prefer to go than stay and since he wasn't tired, "now works for me." Checking out went by in a flash and once Mulder had made a not so secretive trip to the vending machines, they were off, "you sure you want to drive first? I'm awake."

Scully just turned the car on, "I'm good for now. I'll let you know when it's your turn."

"Fair enough." Putting his seat back to a decent incline, he settled in, "mind if we keep the windows open for awhile?"

She gave him a smile, "as long as you don't mind me having the wind blown look."

"Naw, you wear it well."

"Okay, now you're just buttering me up."

With a laugh, he rested one arm at his side, the other on the middle compartment, hand dangling by the shifter, "just say thanks, Scully."

"Thanks, Mulder."

He was feeling a bit mischievous but held off until they had been on the road for a few minutes. From his position, he could tell no one else was on the quiet country road and in a fairly nonchalant way, he made like he was turning on the radio but instead, pushed the shifter forward into neutral.

The engine revved, Scully looked around in panic, then saw Mulder's hand beside the stick, "what the hell?" Shoving it back in drive, she swung and hit him near full force in the chest, "are you insane?"

Now for the fun part.

Wincing, he curled his arms to his chest, pretending the blow had actually hurt him, "damn. I was just gonna turn the radio on. I bumped it on accident." Plastering an appropriate grimace on his face, "there's less painful ways to kill me, you know."

Her face scrunching in honest apology, "I'm so sorry. I thought you did it on purpose. I … I'm sorry."

Rubbing his chest for good measure, "remind me to ask before moving next time." The urge to laugh nearly won but he held it in, "I feel extremely sorry for any suspects on the receiving end of your fist."

Automatically reaching over, she wrapped her hand around his forearm, "I'm sorry."

"S'okay." Wondering how long she'd keep her hand there, "was kind of funny though, wasn't it?"

She shrugged, "maybe it will be later but right now, I just feel bad."

"No harm, no foul, right?"

Keeping her hand on him with no sign of letting go, "right."

&&&&&&&&&

They switched places a few hours later, Scully beginning to yawn and stretch to keep herself awake. Mulder, who'd managed a nap, readjusted the seat and mirrors before looking over at her, "all set?" Head already lolling on the seat and eyes closed, she only nodded.  As always amused by the swiftness she could fall asleep, he pulled the car out of the gas station and back on the freeway.She slept for about a half-hour, then woke again when he hit a bump in the road, "sorry."

Shaking the cobwebs from her brain, "no, it's okay." After re-positioning the seat back, she stared out the window for a minute before, "where are we, anyway?"

When he turned to look around, she swiftly reached over, flipping a small switch on the dash, "we're about 10 miles from the middle of nowhere."

"That's specific."

He gave her a lopsided grin before looking back through the windshield.

She wondered how long it would take for him to notice.

Not long, she soon discovered.

Taking a cursory glance at the speedometer, he slammed on the brakes, throwing them both forward slightly, "what the hell?" When he had looked, he saw in horror that he was doing 120. Still talking to himself, "there's no way in hell I was doing 120."

Playing along, "what?! You're going 120? I don't need to die tonight, Mulder."

"I didn't realize …"

"Just slow the hell down!!"

He shrank into the seat and heart pounding, he brought his speed back to 75 but when looking out the window, he would swear they were nearly crawling. She then watched him look from the speedometer to the road to the speedometer once again, then to the smile she couldn't contain, "why the hell are all the gauges in metrics now?"

Reaching over, she re-flipped the switch, turning everything back to normal, "did you really think I'd let the neutral thing go unanswered?"

Instead of being annoyed, he looked at her admirably, "nice."

&&&&&&&&&

She was sound asleep again an hour later when Mulder discovered he was contemplating how long he could shut his eyes before it got dangerous. Poking his finger into Scully's thigh, "hey, you awake?"

When she only mumbled, he knew they were both done for the night but with only an hour left to go, he debated pushing it.

Until he heard his tires running on the rumble strip.

Yeah, it was time to stop.

Especially when he saw it … a bright beacon of hope in the distance.

Wal-Mart.

24-hour, anyone can sleep in the damn parking lot, beautiful, shiny Wal-Mart.

He pulled off the exit ramp and soon, he stopped the car in the center of a vast expanse of parking lot. Cracking the windows so they wouldn’t suffocate, he put his seat back, stretched and promptly fell asleep.

A blissful sleep that lasted almost a full two hours, until, “what the hell?”

The sound of her voice jolted him upright and his hand caught the horn, beeping it obnoxiously as he blinked against the painfully bright light in his eyes, “huh?”

By now, she was rolling down the window and being the least polite he’d ever heard her, “what!?”

The flashlight lowered but all Mulder could see was the spot it had burned into his retinas. The spot spoke in a low, male voice, “evenin’ folks.”

Again, Scully rolled off with, “what!?!”

“Just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

He could feel Scully building rapidly towards some other, more improper phrases and heading her off with a hand on her arm, “we were tired and thought we’d take a nap instead of wrapping ourselves around a telephone pole.” As the spot began to fade, he could make out an older gentleman behind the lowered flashlight, “I thought people could park and sleep here for the night?”

“RVs can park but ya’ll aren’t in an RV so I thought maybe you were havin’ some trouble.”

Hearing Scully sigh resignedly through her nose, he spoke again, “no trouble, sir. Just tired.”

“Well, ya’ll be careful.”

As he turned and walked away, Mulder looked at her irate expression, “hi.”

“You’re coming with me.”

“Where?”

Unbuckling her belt, “I have to go to the bathroom and you’re coming with me.”

Opening his door, “why are you pissed at me? I didn’t scare the shit out of you with a flashlight.”

“Just come on.”

She stalked across the parking lot, Mulder trotting to catch up, then settling into an easy gait until they got to the store entrance, “are you gonna make me come in with you or do I get to wait outside the door?”

With eyes narrowed, she left him in the entryway and disappeared into the ladies room. Deciding to go himself, he still beat her back and was leaning on the wall when she came out drying her hands on her jeans. She seemed calmer and leaning next to him, “I’m hungry.”

Gesturing through the doors that led to the actual store, “I bet there’s something in there, if you’re willing to risk it.”

“Lead the way, partner.” Both were shocked by the amount of people in the store, “what time is it anyway?”

Finding her wrist with his hand, he twisted her watch around until he could read it, “um, 1:15.”

“Why are all these people here? Don’t they have homes and beds?”

“Insomniacs make the best shoppers.”

She let a small chuckle escape her nose, “just find me something to eat.”

Well, she should have known not to A) shop when she was hungry and 2) shop with Mulder. She should have also put her foot down when he suggested getting a cart.

An hour later, they were finally through the checkout.

Scully had found some sandwiches, drinks and chips for them both, then stupidly gave Mulder control of the cart. He immediately steered towards the entertainment section and was soon pawing through the $3.99 DVD bin.

That killed a half-hour right there. Damn those bins and their B-movie classics.

After he’d found several handfuls of movies, he veered through men’s clothing for socks, housewares for a new shower curtain (which Scully silently thanked God about), hardware to replace the two flashlights he’d left in their hotel rooms, back to menswear  for the underwear he’d forgot on the first trip (black boxer briefs, much to Scully’s amusement), then finally through women’s clothing, where he stopped in front of a rack of slogan t-shirts.

Standing for a moment, he studied them, then picked one up with an alien beside a spaceship who was pointing out and stating, “maybe WE don’t believe in you.” Holding it against her for a second, he tossed it in the cart and finally moved to the check-out.

She followed, dumbfounded by the last hour of her life, “Mulder … why …?”

“Shhhh, it’s too late to argue and too early to win.”

Whatever the hell that meant, she graciously allowed him to pay for their food, along with the industrial size Payday bar she tossed in at the last minute.

&&&&&&&&&&&

As they ate their makeshift dinner sitting in the car, “why did you buy me that t-shirt? Do you really think I’m gonna wear it?”

Grinning with a mouthful of half-chewed turkey, “you will. You’ll be getting dressed for something and you’ll just get the urge to put it on. So you will and you’ll realize you like it and that’ll be that.”

“Is this how you get your shopping done because I can see why your cupboards are bare.”

“Never ask about a man’s shopping habits.”

“Mulder?”

“Yeah?”

“Trade you sandwiches?”

He handed the rest of his sandwich to her immediately, taking her partially eaten roast beef in its place, “no dressing?”

“Nope.”

“So much to teach you, grasshopper.”

&&&&&&&&&

“I’ll drive if you want me to.”

Scully shook her head, “naw, I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not tired now so I’ll keep you awake.”

With a grin in his direction, “God help me.”

“God’s probably asleep Scully. All you got is me.”

“Again, God help me.”

&&&&&&&&&&

They were finally navigating Washington’s outskirts by 3:30. He watched her staring ahead and fought the demon lurking inside him.

He really shouldn’t.

He really, really shouldn’t.

It would be evil and wrong and cruel and more than likely funny as all hell … if she didn’t kill him afterwards.

 …

He’d risk it.

Waiting another minute or so, he spied a light blinking in the distance and as they approached it, he braced his feet against the floor. Once they were about 10 feet away, he yelled, gripping the dashboard and the doorframe, “blinking yellow!!!”

She locked up the brakes, as expected, and bought the car to a screeching halt. The stop flung both forward, then back against their seats, with Scully screaming in his ear, “son of a bitch … it’s yellow Mulder! I don’t have to stop for a blinking yellow!”

Looking at her with as much seriousness as he could muster, “I didn’t tell you to stop.”

“Then why the hell did you yell ‘blinking yellow’ in my ear!?”

“I didn’t know if you saw it.”

He had never witnessed her nostrils flaring before and though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, she looked kind of cute doing it but … “are you trying to get us killed?”

He was now smiling despite the fact she had steam shooting out her ears, “there was no one behind us. I checked.”

Another nostril flare came his way before she turned the car off, still sitting in the middle of the intersection, got out and moving to his side of the car, pulled open the door, “drive.”

Still grinning, he scrambled over the gearshift, Scully sliding smoothly into his seat, putting her head back and closing her eyes.

Silence, he had not expected. Yelling, hitting, yes but not quiet. Quiet from Scully meant planning, concocting, calculating, organizing … quiet meant bad things … quiet meant very deep piles of shit with him underneath.

“Scully …”

“Home.”

Suddenly sober, he restarted the car, “I was just playing.”

“Home,” she repeated, then, instead of returning to sleep, she dug some gum from the glove compartment and proceeded to chew a wad of it, very loudly.

Now, he could take bullets, he could take slime, he could take beratement of the highest degree and, as demonstrated, he could even take bile but he absolutely despised the cud-chewing noises she was making. He withstood it for a long as humanly possible before, “could you please get rid of that? You sound like a damn cow.”

“You want me to get rid of the gum?”

“Yes!”

“Where do you want me to put it?”

His mistake was answering too quickly, “anywhere. I don’t care. Just stop chewing it.”

“Okay then.” Undoing her seatbelt, she twisted so she faced him, and in a gracefully disgusting move, she rolled the gum in her fingers, then proceeded to push it up his nose.

He knew something was coming and completely powerless to stop it, he just sat there as a thumb-size chunk of grape Hubba-Bubba was fitted into his right nostril.

She then calmly sat back down and re-buckled herself in.

He left the gum there as he turned to her, “Scully?”

“Yes, Mulder.”

“I believe we’re even now.”

Her belly laugh echoed off the windows and he began laughing as well, slipping the gum from his nose and putting it in his mouth.

Through her laughter, she grimaced, “eww, that’s disgusting.”

“But it’s grape.”

&&&&&&&&&

They finally made it to Mulder’s apartment and since her brain had drifted completely, she didn’t really notice where they were until he stopped the car, “why are we here?”

“Literally or existentially because I don’t think I can take a metaphysical discussion at the moment?”

“Literal.”

“You drove. You drop me off then drive yourself home.”

“Where’s your car, Mulder?”

Pointing to where he always parked, he saw an empty spot, “your house.” His head dropped to the steering wheel, “damn.” Looking at her out of the corner of his eye, “I’ll take you home.”

“No. I want out of the damn car and I want to go to sleep. Right now.”

“Then grab the bags from the store … I’ll get the suitcases.” They managed to make it in his door before dropping everything simultaneously. Mulder then re-picked up her bag and set it in his bedroom, “I’ll take the couch.”

“No, I will. I shoved gum up your nose.”

“And I yelled ‘blinking yellow’.”

Contemplating for a half second, “you’re right.”

He gave her a grin, “just help me change the sheets first.” Nodding, she had the bed stripped by the time he came back with a clean set. They finished in no time and he stepped back, nodding his head, “two people make that way faster.”

“Anytime Mulder but for now, I’m using your bathroom then going to bed.”

“Aye, aye captain.”

Meeting him in the hall on the way back from the bathroom, “g’night, Mulder.”

“’Morning, Scully.”

Before going to the bedroom, she grabbed one last thing, then changed, crawled under the clean sheets and was out before her head hit the pillow.

&&&&&&&&&&

He woke up leisurely. The phone hadn’t rung, no one had knocked on his door, obnoxious garbage men hadn’t rattled the dumpsters … he had woken up because he had finally caught up on his sleep. Marveling at the idea, he stood and moved silently towards his bedroom to check to see if she was awake yet.

Finding her spread eagle on her stomach, covers twisted around her and bare leg sticking out, foot hanging off the side of the bed, he nearly laughed when he saw her wearing the neon green t-shirt he’d bought the night before.

Deciding to let her sleep, he went to the bathroom, then made himself a bowl of cereal. By the time he’d sat down with his second helping, he heard the creak of his bedroom door. Looking up, he saw her standing there, hair tousled, eyes partially open, wearing only the t-shirt, which fell to mid-thigh. Swallowing the frogs in her throat, “’morning.”

After a glance at the DVD player’s clock, “afternoon.” Without comment, she padded across the cool floor and dropped down next to him, curling her legs underneath her. Covering them with his blanket, she reached over, took the spoon and helped herself to a large spoonful of cereal. Shaking the milk off, she had it nearly to her mouth when he finally spoke, “I thought you said you’d never wear that shirt?”

As the cereal entered her mouth, her lips quivered in the slightest of smiles, “shut up, Mulder.”

[lightcomingthroughthedarkness]

I think people need to understand that it is 100% okay to still like Clarke (especially if she's been your fav character from like season 1 or something) BUT it is also 100% okay to NOT like Clarke. What is 100% not okay is the way Bellamy was treated this season, having Clarke be the one to kill Bellamy and Jason's treatment of Bellamy but most importantly Bob. Also I think the reason people are so adamant on defending Clarke is because 1) they feel like they aren't allowed to like her (1/2)

Anymore or 2) in a weird complicated way they might be concerned about hate towards Eliza for what Clarke did (we've all seen people's inability to seperate character from actor) if that makes sense. Ps - You don't know me but can we all appreciate me finally figuring out how to send asks (2/2)

That's fair. I have absolutely nothing against anyone who loves Clarke. I've shared that love with everyone for 6 seasons. But if people have a hard time with people disliking Clarke now, maybe don't interact with people that make you feel bad.

When I think about the fact that Clarke killed Bellamy, it literally breaks a little part of my heart every single time. So I don't need people to defend Clarke or explain her to me. I know Jason is at fault here. But Bellamy was my favorite character ever. Not only is he dead, the way he died is just soul crushing. And the person who did it, is Clarke.

So maybe if I make some of you feel bad, maybe don't interact with me. I just can't hide my feelings, betrayed, hurt and angry, while everyone else gets to share their feelings. I have over 120 unanswered asks, some of which dealing with all this. If anything, I completely understand people feeling hurt because Clarke was their favorite character. Bellamy was mine. So if you don't like my opinions, you guys are free to stop interacting with me. That's totally fair. But don't ask me not to be absolutely crushed over Bellamy's death.

[aion-rsa]

Is World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Pre-Patch Friendly to New Players?

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World of Warcraft‘s Shadowlands expansion may have been delayed until sometime later this year, but the expansion’s pre-patch is already live. While you won’t be able to explore Shadowlands‘ new zones, dungeons, bosses, gear, and other upcoming content as part of this patch, many of Shadowlands‘ core upcoming changes (including changes to the MMO’s leveling structure and classes) are already in the game.

It’s around this time that many people start wondering whether or not this is a good time to return to World of Warcraft or even start playing it for the first time. After all, there’s theoretically no better time to jump into an ongoing game than around the release of a new expansion when even veteran players are navigating new content.

At least that’s the question I found myself asking. As someone who never really played World of Warcraft until I spent hundreds of hours with World of Warcraft: Classic, the idea of jumping into the “Retail” version of the game was as appealing as it was daunting. After all, is it really possible to feel at home in a game that’s been growing and changing for the last 16 years?

To help answer that question, here’s a brief look at some of the key points new players need to know before they consider starting their World of Warcraft adventure with Shadowlands.

Shadowland’s New Starting Zone is Welcome but Underwhelming

Shadowlands introduces a new starting area called Exile’s Reach that is mandatory for new players (which, in this case, means you don’t have a World of Warcraft character at or above level 10 on your account) and optional for veteran players. It’s basically a glorified tutorial area that you’ll stay in until around the time your character reaches level 10.

While it’s nice that World of Warcraft now has a proper tutorial area that offers a (nearly) universal leveling experience for new players, the results leave something to be desired. This area will teach you the bare basics (accepting quests, attacking enemies, managing equipment, etc), but unless you’re entirely in the dark about how World of Warcraft and MMOs work, you may find yourself mindlessly jumping from quest to quest waiting for the real game to start.

Exile’s Reach is a better alternative to the old system (which dropped players into unevenly designed starting areas based on their chosen race) but it may still leave you with unanswered questions regarding the more meaningful basic mechanics of the game and how to really take advantage of the playstyle of your chosen class.

Leveling By Expansion Is an Acceptable Solution to A Bigger World of Warcraft Problem

What happens if you’re past the mandatory requirements for Shadowlands‘ new starting zone? Well, you’ll always have the option of starting a new character at Exile’s Reach, but veteran players are also able to essentially “jump” to any previous WoW expansion and level their characters to 50 by following that expansion’s storyline. 

It’s a cute idea, but the execution is a bit of a mixed bag. You’ll never really be able to truly recreate the process of leveling through each of these expansions (unless Blizzard releases “Classic” versions of each of them), so this option seemingly just exists to offer a little variety to veteran players leveling their character alts as well as a way for new players to experience the basic lore of old content. 

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So far as that goes, this mechanic really works best as a novelty implemented for variety’s sake. Not only would it take quite a while for new players to go through every previous expansion just to experience the lore, but the truncated versions of those leveling processes means that you’re still probably better off reading/listening to an explainer if you want an overview of what’s happening. This change doesn’t really address the problem of new players feeling like they’ve missed out on 16 years worth of content updates and storylines. Besides, those looking to level an alt character will likely stick to the newer expansions which offer much quicker leveling experiences. 

Shadowland’s Level Squish Makes Leveling Much More Enjoyable

While it’s easy to assume that Shadowlands offers less leveling content now that the level cap has been reduced from 120 to 50 (soon to be 60 with the full release of Shadowlands), the opposite quickly proves to be true. 

This new system ensures that reaching new levels in Shadowlands feels more meaningful. There are still some levels in the game that don’t reward you with anything more exciting than a passive ability or a skill that you’ll almost never use, this new leveling system at least sustains the illusion of role-playing progress. 

That being said, it’s entirely possible that new players will feel a little overwhelmed by the number of new skills they acquire throughout the course of this revamped leveling process. After all, Blizzard revived a lot of the skills and talents from the previous World of Warcraft expansions and incorporated them into the streamlined leveling process, so you actually end up with quite a few mechanics to manage. The good news is that “problem” is addressed somewhat by the next point we should discuss…

Reaching The Level Cap Really is Faster Than Ever

For the purposes of discussion, let’s say that first time players will go from 1-50 in the Shadowlands pre-patch in about 24 in-game hours. That number is going to vary wildly from player to player, but somewhere around that mark seems to be the average. 

Honestly, that’s not bad when you consider that the average journey from 1-60 in WoW Classic typically sets you back closer to 100 hours. More importantly, the game’s relatively quick leveling time makes it clearer than ever before that modern WoW is really all about the end-game. That means that new players shouldn’t necessarily fret over whether or not they feel like they’ve mastered their character by the time they reach the max level. The reduced leveling time also means that it’s easier than ever to level multiple characters to 50 (and eventually 60), which is great for those who want to explore different classes and find what works for them.

It’s entirely understandable if you miss the slower journey of the old leveling process and the adventures you have en route to the level cap, but so far as accomodating new players go, the much-improved leveling speed is a welcome addition.

Solo Play is Easy but Limits the “Massively Multiplayer” Aspects of Shadowlands

Aside from the new starting zone, one of the most noteworthy accommodations the Shadowlands pre-patch makes for new players is a “Newcomer Chat” system in which new players can talk amongst themselves and even ask approved veteran guides for help. 

It’s a neat idea that works well enough if you just want a basic answer to a simple question, but generally speaking, the community aspects of WoW’s early game still feel weak. You can fairly easily solo your way to the level cap, which means that you probably won’t find yourself really needing to work with other players until you get into raiding and other, deeper forms of end-game content. 

I wish I could tell you what the perfect solution to this problem is, but at the moment, World of Warcraft suffers from the fact that not all max level players are made equally. Some have been playing the game for 16 years and others just started. The idea is to find a group of players that match (or accommodate) your experience, but because the game doesn’t really encourage social play until the end game, learning to find and work with other players feels more complicated than it did in the early days of WoW Classic when social play was spread more evenly throughout. Hopefully, the early days of Shadowlands‘ full release will encourage people to group up and solve early challenges together.

Overall, it’s clear that Blizzard crafted Shadowlands with the new player experience in mind. You won’t have a hard time jumping into the game at this point, but whether or not you decide to stick with it is really going to come down to the strength of Shadowlands‘ proper debut and how much you enjoy the World of Warcraft experience once you’ve hit that level cap.

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