John lived quietly in his stone cottage on the rolling hills of Wales. His days were simple—tending his garden, walking the forest paths, and watching the evening mist rise from the valleys. Yet within his heart burned a secret dream: to one day meet King Felipe of Spain, the man he admired not only for his dignity but for the kindness that seemed to shine through his every gesture. For John, the thought of even the briefest touch, a kiss upon the lips, was like imagining heaven itself.
One late afternoon, as the sky blushed with the colors of dusk, John heard a knock at his door. Surprised—since few ever came this far—he opened it to find a tall, distinguished man in a simple coat, his dark hair slightly tousled by the wind.
“I’m terribly sorry to trouble you,” the stranger said in a gentle Spanish accent. “My car has broken down on the road nearby. Might I ask for some help?”
John blinked, his breath catching in his chest. He knew that face—though here it was without crown, without ceremony. It was him. King Felipe, standing on his doorstep as though fate itself had led him there.
Trying to steady his voice, John invited him in. “Of course. Please, come inside, Your—” He stopped himself. The king smiled knowingly.
“Tonight, I am only Felipe,” he said warmly.
They sat by the fire as John made tea, the glow of the flames flickering between them. Conversation flowed easily—Felipe speaking of his travels, John of the quiet beauty of the Welsh countryside. There was laughter, gentle silences, and the unmistakable sense of two souls finding one another in the unlikeliest of places.
When the hour grew late, Felipe rose to leave, but paused by the door. He looked at John, his gaze soft, searching. “You have given me more than shelter tonight,” he said quietly. “You’ve given me peace.”
And before John could find words, Felipe leaned closer. The kiss was tender, unhurried, a promise sealed in warmth and wonder. For John, it was as though the world stopped, leaving only that perfect, impossible moment.
Weird eh
AI is indeed weird.
ReplyDeleteThe sentence structure is a little awkward and the prose stilted. AI needs a person to proofread it, so it's not really worth the time? IKD
XOXO
I remember letting AI design my Going Gently book cover and it looked ok until I realised that likeness had 6 fingers
DeleteAI steals original art and writing to reuse without attribution. Not recommended here. But for simple searches it's useful.
ReplyDeleteI worry where it will lead
DeleteAh, sweet little Felipe. I remember watching TV footage of him as a young teen with his family when we lived in Tenerife in the 80s.
ReplyDeleteIsn’t he lovely ?
DeleteWeird indeed ... but I can see the great big grin on your face from here. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know, it tickled me
DeleteNot as well written as you would have done, but I was with you all the way. I think I can guess what your dreams will be like over the next few nights - enjoy! xx
ReplyDeleteI would not have dared to pen such a story
DeleteHorrifying. I work for a medical publisher; they are slowly phasing out the editors/writers (that would be me) and replacing us with a proprietary AI program. It is the way of the future, yes, but I don't have to like it. (Although I am a fan of the beautiful King Felipe.)
ReplyDeleteGood point Elle xx good point
DeleteI worry about the consequences of AI, but I did enjoy this story -- but not as much you, I’ll bet!
ReplyDeleteI was frothing at the mouth
DeleteThe premise is cute tho I find the writing stodgy and overly embellished. It does create a sweet scene, a day dream. Needs a good human rewrite/ editor. I think it could be a great basis for the panto show tho, good idea.
ReplyDeleteIt’s heavy handed , but may be useful when wanting a pantomime writing
DeletePerhaps there's a market for personalised Mills & Boon?
ReplyDeleteGawd help us
DeleteIf anything John, it’s given you some additional fantasy thoughts! 🤣 L
ReplyDeleteI feel younger
DeleteYou write far better than this.
ReplyDeleteThank you dearHeart x
DeleteOh, wow! It could happen ... but perhaps there's no cause to hold your breath!
ReplyDeleteI must agree you're the better writer by far!
Hugs!
Thank you babs
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ReplyDeleteA poet, Penelope Notes ,asked Artificial Intelligence how it compared itself to humans. This was an instant response. Impressive methinks and scary ! Poets have noticed lately an increase of numbers visiting their sites. It is suspected that it is AI bots ( I have no idea what that is) gleaning their poems.
Deletehttps://rallentanda.blogspot.com/2025/09/ai-instant-response-to-how-it-compares.html
DeleteAnd I hope comments here aren’t AI generated
DeleteInteresting...
ReplyDeleteI was reading recently about AI use by students at uni to prepare coursework, and their lecturers in turn using AI tools to spot the original work amongst the AI generated rubbish. Set a thief to catch a thief?
Yes we were told that the first day at college
DeleteI wonder why King Felipe was driving around North Wales. Perhaps he was also searching for The Fairy Glen near Betws-y-Coed.
ReplyDeleteIt could happen xxx
DeleteHere is the problem with all the AI in the world. It uses so much electricity and water that it is taking away from people and animals. I read some article that a family with a disabled son was suffering because Meta built a huge data center by their house and it was taking their water supply. They cannot sell because their house is worth nothing and Meta takes no responsibility. I think for that reason and other articles I have read will keep me away from it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that x
DeleteIt's a nice enough little story, but for me the soul is missing. There are no 'feels' that your writing gives us.
ReplyDeleteI agree I’m all soul ( asshole according to my troll)
DeleteThe story paints a nice picture.
ReplyDeleteI hear lots of text will be generated by AI and then require some tweaking. Uni students are using AI broadly.
I wish they use it not at all
DeleteLove it ! So Mills and Boon’ The Prince and Villager’ starring Johnny G and Felipe B. Music by the Lisping Choir .
ReplyDeleteA hit
DeleteOh my GAWD! That's it -- I'm FINISHED with my Captain America/Winter Soldier fanfiction obsession! From now on, I will read ONLY John Gray/King Felipe fanfics! This one is outstanding, although it would be tagged "T" for "Teen and Up Audiences" on the Archive of Our Own website since it just features a chaste but romantic kiss. The fics tagged "E" for "Explicit, only suitable for adult audiences" are undoubtedly queuing up on the site already IN DROVES.
ReplyDeleteOne day I would love to meet him, I think he’s a dish
DeleteAI has perfected the trashy romance novel!
ReplyDeleteIt's a sweet story. Perfect and irresistable.
You could see the other stories my friend generated, bloody xrated
DeleteI find AI quite frightening. Even the ChatGPT on my laptop worries me; it knows far more than I ever will.
ReplyDeleteThings are going to change for us old boys cro
DeleteAI to me is both alarming and exciting. Am reading an interesting book about how humans can live with and use it best.
ReplyDeleteThe story is strange. A kind of odd mixture of style and content but with no feeling. Fun though.
Yes no feeling , that’s how you spot it
DeleteA poor second to your prose, John. But I expected that. Not long ago, a good friend who is an up and coming artist asked my help writing an Artist’s Statement for an exhibition. Afterwards she asked AI to try, and we wept laughing at the flowery bollocks it produced!
ReplyDeleteMy story would be incredulous
DeleteMy daughter is an external assessor for FE colleges. She recently had to send back a student's work because it was written by AI. The student had literally copied from AI, didn't even rewrite any sentences. It is a shame that AI encourages young people not to learn for themselves but copy.
ReplyDeleteI did however like your story, and the happy ending.
Carole R.
I agree with Virginia - a poor second to your prose indeed. AI lacks heart, warmth, feeling. When you describe something John, I am THERE, in it, seeing it and feeling it. That's the gift. Having said that, my niece used Google Gemini (which is an AI app) yesterday, to craft a picture of me as I look today, holding me as a little girl. I bawled my eyes out. My counselor has taught me to visualize me holding and comforting my inner little girl, saying the words to her that she needed and never heard. And now I have a picture for that. Something healed inside of me. And AI did that. So yes, it can be helpful.
ReplyDeleteOh, Karla, that is a lovely thing for your niece to do. I hope your healing continues. xx
DeleteKarla, a lovely comment , I’m an empath, and I suspect you are ….
DeleteAs somebody who was made redundant this week as a result of the organisation thinking AI can do the job just as well, I'm not particularly impressed - Bel Ami...
ReplyDeleteOh John , I will call you tomorrow
DeleteAI is something that I haven't dabbled in. I know some teacher friends of mine use it to make up quizzes, etc. I wouldn't even know how to begin to use it. I guess that shows my age.
ReplyDeleteIs AI reading your mind and your blog?
ReplyDeleteI fucking well hope not
DeleteWhile AI lets uncreative people play at being creative, in the end all they can take credit for is a shortly worded concept. This is coming from a writer 😎😎😎
ReplyDeleteIt a worrying concept despite the frivolity of the post
DeleteI'm not comfortable with AI. I think it will ruin future creativity if students use it instead of finding their own words.
ReplyDeleteI think that was the message the university gave to us
DeleteLOVE.
ReplyDelete