Long-Distance Love Has A New Stand-In For The In-Between
Anyone who has lived through a long-distance relationship knows the problem is rarely the big moments. It is the in-between hours that wear you down, the stretches between calls when there is simply no one to narrate your day to. That gap is exactly where AI companion platforms have quietly found their footing, and where SweetDream has built something worth noticing.
On sweetdream.ai, the appeal is less about novelty and more about presence. You design a companion whose personality and voice feel right to you, then talk to them the way you would talk to anyone you miss. The conversations are emotionally intelligent and remember context, so the relationship has a thread running through it. There are voice messages for the morning, real-time phone calls that sound genuinely human for the lonelier nights, and AI-generated photos and even video that give the companion a face you recognize.
It is worth saying plainly: this is not a replacement for the person you are waiting to see again. But as a way to soften the distance, an AI girlfriend that actually keeps up with your life is a meaningful thing. And the privacy is total, which, for anyone navigating a relationship across time zones, matters more than most companies admit.
#ISWEMASS2018 WT #SHERRE-ANNNOEL N FIREERASS ...IS NOT YOUR MAS ...IS WE MASS.....----- Still a vibes. With this chune... #noworries #justvibes #kinkydredi #Risexx (at Saint George, Grenada)
Sherri i plotë për “përgjimet”, degjeneron fjalori në Kuvend. Dogjani përplaset me Ndreun
Sherri i plotë për “përgjimet”, degjeneron fjalori në Kuvend. Dogjani përplaset me Ndreun
Mbledhja e Komisionit Hetimor për zbardhjen e së vërtetës së përgjimit me pajisjen “IMSI Catcher” ka degraduar në fyerje personale mes deputetëve të maxhorancës dhe opozitës. Deputeti i PD-së, Asllan Dogjani, dhe deputeti i PSsë, Pjerin Ndreu, kanë shkëmbyer replika të forta dhe fyerje me njëritjetrin, raporton “Panorama”.
Shkak për konfliktin u bë ndërhyrja nga deputeti i PS-së për pyetjet…
I tried to write PTSD in at least a semi-accurate way. I know I have a ways to go, though, so if anyone actually reads this and has suggestions please let me know!
She grabbed the wheelbarrow and turned roll it out of the stable. The sun was just beginning to set. Danayla would probably be close to done cooking dinner by now. Magpie smiled. There was nothing more satisfying than sitting down to her older sister’s cooking after a long day of work.
The grin dropped from Magpie’s face when she noticed two people walking toward the stable. Her younger sister Jocelyn was leading man Magpie hadn’t seen in quite some time. He was just a bit taller than she. His hair pulled back in a low tail. He was dressed in simple travelers’ garb rather than his usual arcane regalia, but the smartass look on Sherre’s face was exactly as she remembered. Magpie’s grip on the wheelbarrow tightened so much her knuckles were white. Her breath caught in her chest. She had to actively fight the urge to bolt.
“What the shit are you doing here?” The words burst from her lips before she could think enough to restrain them. Jocelyn’s jaw dropped.
“Magdalene! How dare you say that to our guest!” Jocelyn whirled around to face Sherre. “I apologize for her manners, Sir. Please don’t take offense.
“It’s quite all right, Miss.” Sherre gave the young woman a gentle smile. “Magdalene,” he quirked and eyebrow and smirked a little bit at her full name, “and I have something of a history. I’m used to her frankness.”
“Oh! You must be one of the heroes who vanquished the Shadow King with her!” Jocelyn clapped her hands together. Her already large eyes widened even further as she gazed almost adoringly at Sherre. “You must have such stories to tell!”
“Some, I suppose. But you’ve probably heard most of them already.”
Jocelyn continued to pester him for a tale. Magpie was glad of it. She wasn’t sure what to say to Sherre. On one hand, she was glad to see him again. On the other, memories from their mutual quest still haunted her. It wasn’t a time she was eager to dwell on. Even if she was, when she’d last seen Sherre he was wearing a king’s crown. And here she was, stinking of horse shit and piss. Magpie cautiously backed up the wheelbarrow and started to steer it away.
“I’m just gonna go dump this…. Jocelyn, bring Sherre indoors and get him a drink.” Magpie didn’t wait for them to respond. She ran off with the dirty bedding at near breakneck speed.
By the time she finished dumping the bedding, washing up, and getting changed, Magpie’s sisters had already made Sherre quite at home with a warm meal and a cold drink. She sent up a silent prayer thanking the gods for giving her such socially competent sisters as she entered the inn’s dining room. Sherre was regaling them with the tale of how their companions fought off the Shadow Inquisition atop a burning airship. Jocelyn listened in awe as Danayla cleared away Sherre’s dirty dishes.
“And what happened next?”
“We all jumped to relative safety atop the trees in the surrounding forest. It wasn’t the most graceful of our victories.”
“But it wasn’t the clumsiest either.” Magpie plopped down on a seat next to Jocelyn. She realized a moment later that her tone had been terser than normal, almost hostile. She tried to make her next words more good natured. “That would have been when our dumbass wizard collapsed some poor elf’s inn when he turned into a hydra.”
“That ‘dumbass wizard’ is sitting right here, you know.” Sherre smirked. “And has yet to receive an actual greeting from the smartass knight he came here to see.”
Magpie huffed and crossed her arms. “You startled me, is all. I wasn’t expecting company.” She took a long, deep breath and reminded herself to stay calm.
“Magdalene, we run an inn.” Danayla walked up behind Magpie and cuffed her on the back of the head. “You should always expect company.”
“That’s right… Magdalene.” Sherre snickered. “It’s in your job description.”
“Find my name funny, do you?” Magpie glared at Sherre. The prince grinned in the exact same snarky way she remembered. For a moment she felt like she had before their quest went to hell, when their adventures still brought more laughter than fear.
“It’s a rather elaborate name for someone who beats things up for a living.” His smile took on a bit more honesty. “I’ll admit, Magpie suits you better.”
“Our brother gave it to her,” Jocelyn said. “We thought he was the only one who called her that.”
“Interesting.” Sherre quirked an eyebrow. “I hope he’s doing well. Your brother, I mean.”
“Just as well as he ever has.” Magpie leaned back in her chair. “Now what brings the great King Sherre so far away from his throne room?”
“He’s a king?” Jocelyn stared at Sherre in shock.
“Don’t bother treating him like one. It’ll get to his head.”
Sherre turned his nervous gaze to Magpie. “Perhaps we could have a moment alone to talk?”
Magpie sighed. “I suppose. I need to put down fresh bedding and bring in the horses. You can help with that. Jocelyn, get the moons out of your eyes and make up a room for my friend.” She got up from her chair and started for the door. She trusted Sherre would follow without prompting.
Magpie stayed silent as she led Sherre back to the stable. There was fresh hay piled outside and a pitchfork leaning on the stable wall. She grabbed it and started moving hay into the stall nearest the stable door. She didn’t bother asking about Sherre’s purpose in visiting. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She wasn’t sure she wanted him there in the first place.
“You seem awfully tense tonight.” Sherre leaned up against the stable door. “Did I pick a bad time?”
“You sure didn’t bother to pick a good one.” Magpie walked past him and forked up another wad of hay, perhaps with a bit more force than she should have. “But it doesn’t matter, since you’re here anyway.”
“Apologies for the inconvenience…”
“Don’t bother. So what are you here for anway?”
“You didn’t respond to my founding day invitation.”
“Your what?” Magpie paused what she was doing and thought. At first she didn’t remember, but after a moment it came back to her; a letter inviting her to some holiday in Sherre’s homeland earlier that summer. She hadn’t bothered to read the details before tossing it in the trash. “Oh yeah. That thing.” Things were kind of hectic here. I couldn’t spare the time.”
“Not even to write me back declining?” Magpie couldn’t tell if the hurt in Sherre’s voice was real or a deliberate guilt trip.
“Sorry.” Magpie shrugged and tried to go back to her work, but Sherre gently grabbed her by the shoulder. Her entire body froze. It was all she could do not to whip around and push Sherre away from her. Sherre took his hand away almost immediately.
“Are you okay?” He sounded concerned.
“Peachy.” Magpie forced herself to smile.
“Clearly not.” Sherre shook his head. He stepped away from the door. “Perhaps I should give you a moment. I seem to have made you uncomfortable.”
“No, wait!” This time Magpie was the one grabbing Sherre. “I mean, I’m sorry. For snapping and stuff. It’s been a… long year. For what it’s worth, I am glad to see you.” She smiled at him again. This time it was more sincere. Or at least Magpie felt it was.
“That is good to hear. I really don’t want to cause you any distress. That would be, counterproductive, shall we say, to my reason for coming here.”
"It’s about more than the invite isn’t it?”
“Yes and no. I invited you to the founding day celebration for a reason. I felt the festivities would be a good backdrop.”
Magpie raised an eyebrow. “Backdrop for what?”
Sherre glanced around the darkening stable and sighed. “This isn’t exactly an ideal spot, but I suppose I can’t really hope for better.” He stepped directly in front of Magpie. He placed his hands softly on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. “Magpie Rowe, will you be my queen?”
Magpie stepped backward and shoved the pitchfork handle toward Sherre. “Go tell Jocelyn she can deal with the horses. I’ll be out back by the duck pond if you need me.”
“What?”
Magpie didn’t bother responding. Of all the things she wanted or expected Sherre to say to her, that didn’t come close to any of them. She didn’t even want to think about it. She wasn’t going to allow herself to think about it. She was going to sit by the pond and breathe and think about her chores for the next day. Then she was going to go the bed and wake up and do those chores.
Magpie sat on a log by the pond. She was there for nearly an hour. The sun had long since set and the stars were starting to blink to life. She stared up at them, trying to drown her anxiety in their gentle light. She almost didn’t notice when Sherre came and sat beside her. Even then, she didn’t bother acknowledging him.
The silence beside them was stiff, almost loud in its awkwardness. Magpie certainly didn’t have the guts to break it. She stole several glances at Sherre. His gaze was also turned to the stars, and his expression was oddly calm for the situation. Did he not feel the same level of discomfort she did?
“Are you better now?” Apparently Sherre had the guts. His tone was surprisingly soft. Magpie was grateful for that.
“Define better. You just dropped a love confession on me. It’s kind of a big deal.”
“It’s not a matter of love, Magpie.” Sherre’s eyes didn’t move from the stars. “When you get right down to it, it’s a matter of practicality.”
“Bullshit.”
“Heh. Perhaps it is a little bit. About love, I mean.” Sherre turned his eyes to his lap. He clasped his hands tight together. Perhaps he wasn’t as calm as Magpie first thought. “I would not have asked you if I didn’t care about you in some respect.”
Magpie nodded, though she didn’t know why. She really didn’t know what reactions the situation warranted. Should she be happy Sherre said he cared about her? Magpie never doubted he did. Nor would she try to hide the fact that she cared about him. But she was battle-weary in the worst of ways, and battle-forged bonds were not as appealing to her as they might once have been.
“And the practicality bit?” Magpie’s heart pounded against her ribs. Could Sherre tell how tense she was through the darkness?
Sherre shrugged. “My country can’t have just any dainty waif on the throne. It needs someone strong, someone worthy of respect, a ruler who can defend herself and her people in battle and in court.” He looked intently at Magpie. “I’m not looking for a romance. I’m looking for a queen.”
“There’s got to be plenty of capable ladies waiting for you back at your court.” Magpie deliberately avoided meeting Sherre’s eyes. “Maybe not great fighters, but capable all the same. And lot more qualified blood-wise than a stable girl, I bet.”
“None of those women have proven their worth to my country the way you have.” Sherre’s voiced lowered just a bit. Magpie glanced quickly up at him. His eyes were narrowed. “You showed your ‘qualifications’ when you helped rescue my sister and win back my throne. I doubt any of the soldiers in my army or personal guard could say half as much.”
Sherre reached out and grabbed one of Magpie’s hands. He shifted his entire body toward her and lowered his head, almost as though he were bowing. Magpie finally brought herself to actually look at him. It was easier now that she didn’t have to meet his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. He was a king. It wasn’t right for him to be lowering himself before her.
“If I must choose someone else I will.” Sherre’s voice was soft, almost humble. “But no one has my trust or my respect as you do. Please, Magpie. Consider my request.”
Magpie pulled her hands away and clenched them into fists. “I don’t need another big adventure right now. What I need,” she gestured back toward the inn, “is this.”
“I offer you a kingdom and you choose a stable.” Sherre laughed. “That is just like you.”
“You don’t understand!” Magpie tilted her head down and hunched her shoulders up. “You probably never will, either. You left before the worst of it. I have nightmares about the things the rest of us saw. The mutilated bodies of people we couldn’t save. Minerva covered head to toe in Nathan’s blood. Gods, I can still see him going through that grinder when I close my eyes!” She felt herself starting to shake.
Sherre started to wrap his arm gently around her shoulders. “May I?”
