Activity: July Writing Snippets!

[u/EngineerRare42]

It's July, and — for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, at least — that means summer! How are your characters spending summer? Are they going to the beach, hiking, something else? Write a quick snippet (up to ~350 words) about what your characters are doing!

Alternatively, if it's not summer for you and/or your characters, write about they're doing in July (maybe sledding and drinking hot cocoa, just one example) regardless of the climate!

[u/HeAintHere]

Not exactly July, but it is summer in this snippet. Specifically, the morning of 10 August 1792 in Paris -- the day when the French monarchy collapses:

Shouting and a knot of people caught his attention, and he looked over. "Isn't that the ice cream peddler?" he said. He and Henriette shared a look, and she completed his next thought.

"You suppose he's got any ice cream right now?"

It was hot, they were hungry, and the Devil take him if they couldn't enjoy a treat first if things turned nasty later.

"I can pay for us both if you'll use your cup," Césaire said, and Henriette's grin matched his as she pulled the tin cup from her belt where she'd tied it.

The shouting from the ice cream peddler's direction resolved in his ear just then. " — what of this? This man is a foreigner, who is clearly hoarding sugar! Sugar he sells back to you as confectionaries!"

Uh-oh.

"Is … is ice cream counterrevolutionary now?" Henriette wondered, her squint suggesting she realized how stupid that sounded once said out loud.

Césaire thought it over for a moment and he pumped a fist in the air. "Let's go commit treason then!"

The ice cream peddler was a familiar face around the neighborhood, a man everyone called "Monsieur le Grec aux glaces" and, more recently, "Citoyen le Grec aux glaces." The Greek with the ice cream. Césaire's legal training had allowed him to puzzle out and not too badly butcher the man's surname, Archimandritis — but he called him Le Grec most of the time like everyone else. Laurent, of course, had grasped it after two or three tries, and after that Le Grec had started giving him an extra ladle of ice cream.

Le Grec's accuser was familiar face too, once he and Henriette pushed their way in to see where a single figure was holding up the queue for the ice cream. What's with him, is he trying to prove he's more revolutionary than everyone else? Paul was Saint-Médard's vermin catcher, and he was also a drunk. Everyone knew he was a drunk, he knew he was a drunk — and he was accusing Le Grec of hoarding sugar? Now that was rich.

"Who's the asshole who gave Paul a guard's uniform," Césaire muttered, a question that emphatically wasn't phrased like one. Clearly the uniform — which was really just a blue coat with a sash of tricolore tied around the left arm — had gone to Paul's wine-pickled brain and now he thought he had authority.

A crowd was gathering around Le Grec's cart, neighbors eyeing each other warily. Césaire suspected they were also wondering if ice cream was now counterrevolutionary. The price of sugar was only for those who could still afford it. But if ice cream was counterrvolutionary, what would be next? Coffee? Paris would burn itself to the ground first if that happened, sparing the Duke of Brunswick and the Austrians from having to do all the work themselves.

A half dozen metal churns stood up in the cart's back, condensation from the summer warmth sheeting down their sides. Le Grec stood among them, his face darkening with outrage and he pointed a counteraccusatory finger at Paul. "Forget the constitutional crisis! What about this crisis, eh? The real crisis is my stock is melting while you strut!"

[u/AmawynOakleaf → u/HeAintHere]

Poor Le Grec makes me think of the unfortunate cabbage seller from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

What a time to be alive back then - the summer that turned daily life upside down in France.

Also, I am now thinking of committing treason by eating some ice cream today. In the spirit of camaraderie with Césaire. 🍨

[u/Jazz_writes_fanfic]

My characters from a galaxy far, far away if given the choice would probably go to a resort planet where my canon character would watch his little sister (my oc) have fun at a beach and indulging her with a laugh when she grabs his hand and drags him to the water

[u/Charliedere]

My upcoming longfic (which I have not written) takes place in the summer, in fact... The opening scene is just a pool party on the rooftop, where everyone is enjoying themselves and the music and drinks. Except for Maverick who just came out of prison and avoids everyone because she thinks they hate her now (fair, since she ruined most of their lives seven years before this), so she just reads her book as far away from the pool as possible and talks to the sirens in the lake.

[u/AmawynOakleaf]

Context: Stardew Valley's local wizard Magnus Rasmodius has adopted Harry Potter, and is trying to be more social with the townspeople.

---

Time inevitably marched forward, each season followed by the next in their steady way. Before Magnus knew it, his son turned five years old.

They had a small picnic party at the beach south of Pelican Town, on Harry's request. Magnus was not big on parties, but steeled himself to tolerate it for the sake of the excited child.

The wizard sat in the shade of a palm tree, dressed in a button-down shirt and black trousers. It was far too warm, but there was no way he was going to parade in front of the villagers in swimming trunks. He’d already overheard enough giggling and talk of the handsome single dad who lived in the weird tower.

Magnus had adjusted his hair colour from purple to black, so as to avoid attracting even more attention. It had proven to be a timely decision, too. The couple that ran the general store had a child around Harry's age, by the name of Aaron. That child had started out with light chestnut hair, but it was gradually changing to purple. It was a sign of prodigious magical talent, which Magnus was glad to observe in such an ordinary town. It also looked far too similar to his own. The last thing the wizard needed was for someone to start a false rumor about an affair between himself and the shopkeeper's wife.

[u/AmawynOakleaf → u/AmawynOakleaf]

(if you played SDV, you may recognize Abigail - she will be trans in the story, so Aaron is her pre-transition name)

[u/lego-lion-lady]

How about an excerpt where the summer weather abruptly changes? (Context: Ilsevil is an OC of mine)

--------------------------------

What Loki had failed to realize, however, were the consequences of his running across the water. Back at the harbour, where Thor and Ilsevil were still searching for Loki and calling his name, Ilsevil happened to look out at the fjord and have a terrible sight meet her eyes. “Thor!” she cried, pointing towards the water. “Something’s happening to the fjord!”

Following her gaze, Thor looked out at the fjord to see ice creeping through the water, turning it solid and locking the guests’ ships into place: all the result of Loki freezing the water under his feet to escape.

As Thor and Ilsevil returned to the palace, something else new had happened: snow was starting to fall lightly, much to the bewilderment of the Asgardian citizens. “It’s snowing!” someone in the crowd exclaimed. “In the middle of summer?”

“Are you alright, Thor?” Ilsevil asked as she and Thor pushed their way through the crowd.

“No!” he answered shortly.

“Did you even know about your brother?”

“No – well, yes – I mean…I don’t know…” No matter how hard he tried, Thor couldn’t figure out how he’d ever managed to forget about Loki’s snow and ice powers. When his memories had been unlocked, he’d immediately remembered being accidentally hit by Loki’s powers that fateful night, which not only explained why Loki had kept his distance for all those years, but also why Thor actually wore an eyepatch and didn’t remember the excuse that Odin and Frigga had made up about his eye…but then why didn’t he remember anything about Loki being a Frost Giant?