#edit: 442 words

[eastwindmlk]

For day 8 of @jilytoberfest we are getting a little look into an newspaper AU. Prompt: “Maybe we can find out what the hell your problem is over dinner sometime” Word count: 442

Lily had started to work at the Godric’s Hollow Globe around the same time as James had. Yet, he had risen to make it to columnist and investigative reporter in a matter of two short years. Something she attributed to nepotism and a good amount of schmoozing with the Editor-in-Chief. It did help that his writing was witty and clever. But so was hers! Just because she did not prance around the office in tailor-made robes and a million-galleon grin did not make her less of an asset.

Though instead of getting the chance she had been vying for she was stuck being a copy editor. Something she had excelled at, sure but it was not what she wanted. Though whenever she submitted a piece or an idea Margritte, their Editor-in-Chief passed it along to someone else and she would be left to run copy on it.

Lily did her best to take it like a good sport but it was difficult not to feel bitter every time James journalist-extraordinaire Potter swanned into her office with a request for her to edit his work with barely a sneeze before the deadline for tomorrow's paper left.

Today it was seven past four when he marched in, an apologetic smile on his usually smug, stunning face. “Evans! Who is the most brilliant, beautiful, most talented, amazing editor in the whole wide world?” he asked, his pleading look meeting her deadpan expression.

“Absolutely not, Potter,” she snipped, bending herself back over the article she had tried to submit for herself only to be rebuffed. When he placed his elegant, ink-stained fingers in her field of vision, her eyes travelled up to meet his sparkling eyes with her own tired look.

Lily let out a long-suffering sigh and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before shaking her head. “Deadline is four, which was seven minutes ago. Go charm someone else into bending over backwards for Margritte’s Golden Boy,” she said dismissively a sharp edge to her tone.

She did not mean to let her frustration with the job out on him, but he was here and he was thriving where she was stuck paying her dues. She regretted it the moment that she watched a flicker of shock pass over her features. His jaw tightened while he gave her a stiff nod.

“Alright,” he said in a measured tone the discerning look in his eyes making her feel seen in an uncomfortable way.

The discomfort settled in her chest and her lips morphed into a thin line. "Potter, I-"

He just shook his head and retreated to the doorway. "No, no I get it. Deadline's a deadline, I should respect that," he told her the way his brows pinched together making his glasses slide forward on his one. “I’ll ask Maude and maybe we can find out whatever the hell your problem is over dinner sometime.”

[meeshrox]

2024 Fic Rundown

tagged by the lovely @bloodinwine 💕

words posted: 82,666 (niiiiiice)

additional words written: 19,485

grand total of words: 102,151 (woohoo)

fandoms: BG3 only and forever. This is the longest a hyperfixation has ever lasted, so maybe it’s not just a phase.

highest kudos: All It Cost Me currently at 98

highest hit oneshot: To Find Your Heart at 442

new things I tried: all of it, this was the first time I attempted any creative writing since college composition class and to be honest I didn’t feel like I was any good at it back then. But, I'm having a blast now!

fic I spent the most time on: All It Cost Me

fic I spent the least time on: none, but I wish I could say I had others planned. I have a one-track mind lol.

favorite thing I wrote: since I only have the one fic, I’ll say my favorite chapter of AICM so far was one that hasn’t been posted yet. It’s 5k of HydiexAstarionxHalsin smut and it’s only half-drafted. 😅

favorite thing(s) I read: I mentioned A Crooked Touch in another post but I also love so many other stories by some of my writing buds.

Until You by @bloodinwine

Elegy to Benevolent Hearts by @njuta

I Wish by @anacdoce

writing goals for 2025:

Get better at writing non-smut as well as I write smut on the first draft. You wouldn’t believe how much more work goes into editing the non-smut!

new works:

A one-shot called Welcome Inside for one of my longest writing friendships so far in this fandom. @songbirdoftherogue, my love, we will be reunited soon. I haven’t forgotten your request! You still stir my blood at the thought of our wordplay, darling. 👠⛓️

[kittonafoxgirl]

[gently pushes door open] hiiiii <3 🎱🍬 🦴!

Hello and thank you for the ask!

Soooo my AO3 total stats are lies. *Especially* the word count. There's I think five big bang fics I'm co-creator on because we posted the art and fic together. And then there's been a lot of multivoice podfics where I had like. Two lines. So I'll post my totals, but then I'll try and give you more accurate numbers.

User Subscriptions:47 Kudos:5,644 Comment Threads:1,144 Bookmarks:1,574 Subscriptions:442 Word Count:175,657 Hits:101,625 So my actual word count is 10,911. Which is honestly a lot higher than I thought it was going to be.

The thing with the most hits that I have (3994) is the Podfic of 'Of Queens Knights and Pawns'. It's a 600k fic that 27 of us have been taking turns doing sections of. When it's done, I think my contribution will be around 90k (so 9ish hours) The thing with most kudos that I feel like I did enough work on to count is my fic 'When You're Gone' with 173 (there's three podfics that have more than that, but I had very small parts in them)

The most comment threads (56) is my podfic of 'When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place' It's my longest finished podfic at just a bit over 11 hours.

The one with the most bookmarks that I had a decently large part in is the podfic of 'Face the Music'. It's a multivoice and I did Anakin. My friend @flowerparrish did a phenomenal job editing it (if you aren't familiar the premise is Anakin starts hearing a soundtrack for his life. So there's a bunch of different music in it).

Subscriptions is also 'Of Queens Knights and Pawns' with 39

Total number of works: Drawing: 3 Writing: 9 Multivoice Podfics: 87 Solo Podfics: 119

An unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character. Hmmm the first thing that comes to mind is that I think Mace Windu is a good person and is at least begrudgingly fond of Anakin.

Is there a piece of media that inspires my writing? Hmm I think books like 'In the Forests of the Night' by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Things that are fairly short and light on details but still tell a fantastic story.

[hockeyspiral23]

I’m gonna be real: I think Violet manifesting her signet in Iron Flame is complete bullshit because they would’ve made a big deal out of it just like her first one. The only thing that actually hints at a signet is her Venin dreams which is a little soured when you realize she was supposed to turn at the end of the book.

This also implies that it’s possible for some riders to have manifested their signets already and just didn’t know until it was too late (Like what if a schizophrenic rider was an inntinnsic? How would they know the difference?).

... I have THOUGHTS on this (... as do probably most of us 🤣). Tbh, I actually do think it IS plausible that she has manifested her signet in Iron Flame, and not just because RY told us so, AND that she doesn't know what it is because she's already been channeling. Her having two dragons is literally the only thing that makes sense here because she's not necessarily looking for her signet. In FW, she was so she didn't explode in flames from not manifesting it.

That being said, the rest of my second signet thoughts below the cut.

Even disregarding the (probable) editing error that the venin dreams were supposed to be foreshadowing for Violet to turn, I still don't believe they're her second signet manifesting. Why? For one of the same reasons that I don't believe she can see the dead (Liam) - she was having the dreams in part one ... when Andarna was in the Dreamless Sleep. Violet can't get a second signet until Andarna becomes her sassy, snarky, amazing self (okay, grows up). Andarna does not wake from that until part two.

(the other reason re: the dead thing is the obvious fact that she was blocked from her dragons and therefore had no access to magic.)

Going through the page-by-page notes I made ... the first possible non-dream use of a second signet is during the whole Cordyn venin fight scene in terms of timing. While I like the idea of a slowing down time signet - particularly in terms of Andarna because of her feathertail gift - I highly doubt it's manifested here because Violet can't even sense Andarna that far away from her; I doubt she'd be able to channel from her, either.

I don't think the signet manifests until after p.442, which is the rune lesson with the fliers, and the first conscious time Violet reaches for Andarna's power, and is the first time we see it described. Sawyer also (probably but maybe not - who the fuck knows at this point!) coincidentally flies backward at the same time.

There are options galore with everything with Cat at the end of ch.45/beginning of 46 - during the fight, Violet mentions power searing her veins and lifting the hair on the back of her neck - given Andarna and her bloodlust (gods I love her), I could plausibly see her working through Violet here to "kill the ally." (this is out there, but funny to me)

The throne scene gives one of the best options, when Xaden (unintentionally) pushes his thoughts into Violet. Right after that, when she comes - "... coming apart at the seams of what I think is me but might be him." (IF, p.462). All of this is extremely similar to what happens in the wardstone scene when she feels Xaden's anguish on the battlefield. The explanation AGAINST this is that Xaden's shields are fucking toast during that fight, so that's why she feels all of his emotions when she lets down her own.

Next option is on p.491 ... after she's figured out how to raise the wards, but wants to tell Xaden ... but she in theory doesn't see him until right before the rune hunt ... and it says she falls asleep curled up next to him. Which this could be a MASSIVE editing error (... plausible), or she's somehow a distance wielder (which is a signet that RY has been hinting at in random interviews and it could be Violet and NOT Cam/Aaric like some have theorized). Truthfully, I think this one is more editing error, but I will happily eat my words if not.

SPEAKING OF THAT RUNE HUNT, there's a seemingly casual conversation between Violet and Andarna on p.501 when talking about second signets - "'I don't know,' I answer, glancing back at Andarna ... 'Will I?' 'Why are you asking me?"" Dragon is awfully casual with this response. I also don't buy the Violet-as-amplifier theory given Sloane's signet manifestation in this whole sequence either because signets have canonically manifested under stress (and, the other example, with Rhi and the dagger, was in part one when Andarna was snoozing).

Next option: p.519, after the Aretian wards go up - "I shift my weight, energy tingling in my fingers, slowly filling my cells, saturating me in preparation instead of drowning me as usual." - subtle signal of channeling from Andarna? A sign of Violet FINALLY GAINING SOME FUCKING CONTROL? Or the second signet helping with that? If anything, I'm going with options A and B.

Personal thought that part of the reason Violet never realizes she's even manifested a second signet yet is due to the fact that she always goes for her Archives door (p.533, example), which we know is for Tairn's power, as opposed to the window (p.442) she uses for Andarna's power. Does she completely forget that the window is right there?

There's my personal, out-there belief that has to do with her actually being able to talk to more dragons than just her own, since canonically you shouldn't approach/talk to ones that you haven't bonded with, but she does it MULTIPLE times during the Battle of Basgiath - on p.590 with Silseag, p.605 with Codagh ... arguably ordering her OWN dragons around on p.618 (which I feel like would normally be a bad idea). Plus the girl NEEDS information (p.544), and who has the most information in the *~Empyrean*~ series? Oh right, the FUCKING DRAGONS.

... but also, there's the time seemingly slowing down scene during the Battle of Basgiath when she watches her squad work together perfectly in slow motion. But I don't think that slowing time is it, tbh.

...

In conclusion, I don't fucking know. Do I believe that Violet's second signet has manifested? Yes. Do I have any idea what the fuck it actually is? No. Will anything surprise me at this point? Probably not. Do I hope and pray that Onyx Storm is better edited? OH PLEASE GOD YES. Am I going to enjoy this ride regardless? Obviously.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, and bless you if you've actually read this far. 🤣❤️

[homicidols]

Your Homicidols Weekender #441

Baner image: lonlium. It’s always rough putting together the final touches on these weekly digests of alt, indie, and underground idol happenings as the news and new releases never stop. Just as I was sitting here wrapping it all up and about to hit “Publish,” word of a notable reboot and graduation have both dropped. Ah well. They will have to wait for edition #442.  Of course, if you want the…

[jovenshires]

AO3 Wrapped for Writers 2023

no one tagged me, i just wanted to do this so i found a format and added to it a little bit. anybody who wants to do this is welcome to say i tagged them <3<3<3 or don't just do it bc its fun and silly <3<3<3

EDIT: i saw like yesterday (days after i drafted this) that @lilac-hecox did this first so MAJOR credit to lilac for doing it first!!

Works Published: 12

Word Count: 144,428

Hits: 7,769

Bookmarks: 111

Most Popular by Kudos: right where you left me (damien/shayne, rated teen and up, 24k words, 141 kudos)

Most Hits: the right side of my neck (still smells like you) (spencer/tommy, rated teen and up, 3k words, 1k hits)

Longest: if we keep score (spencer/tommy soccer au, rated mature, 52k words)

Shortest: he said baby (that's what he called me) (spencer/tommy, rated general audiences, 2k words)

Most Comments: right where you left me with 42 comments

Most Memorable Comment: honestly every comment i got was insanely sweet and everything to me but. i have to give it to my fave fic analyst, @wallpaper-inside-my-heart for every comment she has ever left, but especially the one about the hands. i won't post it all here but here's a snippet:

so… how long does it take katie to mention hands in each of her fics? Well, let’s get right into it 1.) the moon and the stars: first mention roughly 1k words in, handholding ensues (relatively mild stuff) total hand count : 12 2.) the right side of my neck hand mention right in the description, we are starting of strong! and only 571 words until the first hand grab! total hand count: 20, 5 of those include hand to hand contact with eachother 3.) baby, you’re a haunted house ah, I forgot that I also contributed to the hand agenda aka mentioned directly in the prompt 33 words until hand mention in the fic!! your personal record, I believe <3 in total 19 hand mentions, 8 of which directly related to hand holding 😹💕 4.) baby, that’s what he called me 927 words until the first hand mention, I would say you are holding back again; but it does include tommy soothing spencer so only 8 hand mentions?? however most of them include skin contact and comfort so… my point still stands 5.) they lost their minds 442 words until first hand mention, we are getting lower again! 16 hand mentions, half of which include skin contact 🫶 6.) i could be the reason 824 words until amengela get their first hand mention! 15 hand mentions, 6 of which include contact! definitely much less hand focused than your prior fics, but it’s still there! 7.) ‘til our fingers decompose, keep my hand in yours I mean… it’s literally in the title this time 😹 it does take almost 2222 words until the first actual hand mention; however, it is once again the initiation of hand-holding! said handholding makes up 80% of the hand mentions in this fic, with the remaining two including skin contact as well 8.) rwylm I open this fic, search for “hand” and then just stare at that 58 for a little while 😹😹💕 now it does take 914 words until the first one is mentioned and upon further inspection, the lack of physical contact in those hand mention reflects the loneliness Shayne feels in this fic so well! tho I love that a couple of them are ppl reaching out to Shayne as comfort! 🥹 and then the 9 hand touches initiated by Damien + the single one by Shayne!! → feeling slightly insane about this rn 💜 9.) sunflower 384 words until hands make their first appearance! 26 hand mentions; out of those only 5 of those include direct contact between our heroes, which feels very fitting for a secret identity fic! <3 10.) domo katie… idk how to tell you this… but there are 70 hand mentions in this (53, excluding verbs that contain the word, etc.) and you know full well that the first one makes an appearance in the second sentence of this (absolutely amazing) fanfic now how many of those mentions are spencer just thinking about tommy’s hands, you may ask? 30 mentions or rather 57% of the total count! → the last mention is literally even more HEARTBREAKING in this context!!, I feel the need to underline that again!

Fic that made me cry: oh.... right where you left me AND dancing on my own (spencer/tommy, rated teen and up, 21k words)

Fic that made me smile: sunflower (spencer/tommy spiderman au, rated teen and up, 12k words) got some good chuckles outta me!

Main character I wrote: spencer agnew (9 works) followed by tommy bowe (8 works) and shayne topp (6 works)

Top tropes: first kiss (6 works), established relationship (4 works), and pining (4 works)

Gifts: blue christmas for nat and we can leave the christmas lights up 'til january for stella (technically baby, you're a haunted house was Also for stella though i didn't know it at the time xoxo)

Collaborations: none this year..... maybe 2024? haha jk.............. unless?

Events: also none this year. maybe ill organize an event in 2024. once again haha jk...................................... unless?

thank you for coming along on my fic renaissance!! see you next year,,,, ive got BIG things planned <3<3<3

[naavscolors]

Taxes, Tea And Why We Celebrate American Independence Day On July 4

Bright burning sparklers against American flag, closeup

getty

My son came downstairs this morning to wish me very happy on George Washington's birthday. He knows, of course, that's not today—Washington was born on February 22, and we celebrate on the third Monday of February—but the joke was still funny. Many people don't know why we celebrate on July 4, only that it has something to do with our break from Great Britain. Officially a federal holiday, July 4, 1776, marks the day that the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is exactly what it sounds like—an announcement that the United States of America was declaring independence from King George III and Great Britain. There are six copies still in existence, including the original rough draft with edits—you can see it up close in the Jefferson Papers at the National Library of Congress.

Interestingly, while Thomas Jefferson referred to the "thirteen united States of America" in the Declaration, the words "United Colonies" had generally been used as a descriptor before that time, including by Congress when it appointed Washington as Commander in Chief in June 1775.

LEXINGTON, MA - APRIL 17: Re-enactors of the Battle of Lexington dressed as British soldiers fire ... [+] their weapons as they battle with the Lexington militia April 17, 2006 in Lexington, Massachusetts. The Battle of Lexington, which took place in 1775, was the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The printing of the declaration came more than a year (442 days) after shots were first fired at Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775, considered the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. And the Declaration of Independence did not mark the end of the Revolutionary War. It was quite the opposite—it signaled that the United States no longer wished to accept British rule.

MORE FOR YOU

Background

The British had ruled the colonies since the early 17th century when the Virginia Company became the Virginia Colony in 1624, the first of the original thirteen British colonies. The United States wasn't the only part of the world—or even the only part of the Americas—subject to British colonization. The British had also exerted control over parts of Canada, the Caribbean, and South America.

But ruling the world gets expensive. Guarding colonies and occasionally invading new lands takes money. And not everyone agrees as to who owns which lands, so fighting occasionally breaks out. That's precisely what happened in the mid-18th century when Great Britain was battling several countries, primarily France, in the Seven Years' War. When the war ended in 1763, Great Britain could declare a win against France. Still, the years of fighting had come at a significant cost, as the British government was nearly bankrupt.

King George III needed to raise revenue and quickly. What better way than a series of taxes and tariffs? And who better to tax than subjects who were far enough away, like the American colonists, to stifle the complaining? There was just one problem with this plan: The King underestimated exactly how loudly the colonists would react.

Stamp Act

The first significant post-war tax imposed on the colonists was the Stamp Act of 1765. Stamps, as they apply to taxes, don't have anything to do with postage. Rather, stamps are an official confirmation of compliance with a certain rule or requirement. In this case, materials printed and used in the colonies, like magazines and newspapers, were required to be produced on stamped paper and embossed with a revenue stamp, showing that tax had been paid. Colonists, of course, didn't like the tax, and many refused to pay. Some tax collectors even quit their jobs rather than collect. As a result, the Stamp Act was repealed the following year.

Declaratory Act

It wasn't a good look for Britain—the colonists had asserted their authority and won. In response, Parliament immediately passed the Declaratory Act stating that it had the right to pass laws in the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

Townshend Acts

Shortly afterward, there were additional attempts to raise revenue in the colonies through a series of acts called the Townshend Acts of 1767. The Townshend Acts were a little bit different than the Stamp Act since they were indirect taxes on imports. Since the colonists didn't directly bear the costs, King George III assumed they would be less offensive to the colonists. He was wrong.

The colonists weren't happy—a tax was a tax. They were spurred on by Philadelphia lawyer John Dickinson, who wrote a series of essays called "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania," arguing against taxation without representation. In the letters, he asked, "[W]hat signifies the repeal of the Stamp Act, if these colonies are to lose their other privileges, by not tamely surrendering that of taxation?" He later questioned whether the British had the right to impose any tax to raise revenue without consulting with the colonists, writing, "I answer, with a total denial of the power of parliament to lay upon these colonies any "tax" whatever."

Tea Act

The Townshend Acts were partially repealed in 1770. The partially repealed bit is important. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. It was the last straw for many colonists, even though it wasn't a new tax—it kept the tax on imported tea that wasn't repealed under the Townshend Act. But it did something more: it gave the East India Tea Company a trade advantage, cutting out the ability of the colonists to do business on their terms. Tax or not, the colonists viewed the Tea Act as another way they were being controlled.

The colonists figured that the best way to stand up to the Tea Act was to turn away ships carrying tea headed for the colonies. The colonists were able to do so in Philadelphia and New York but not in Boston. The Governor of Massachusetts wouldn't allow the ships to be turned back, and the colonists would not let the ships unload in the harbor. It was a stand-off. To end it, colonists snuck onto the ships and dumped out the tea—the event that you and I call the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party did not immediately lead to the Declaration of Independence or the Revolutionary War, even though we like to link them as though they happened in quick succession. The Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, long before the shots at Lexington and the Declaration of Independence. What the Boston Tea Party did do quickly, however, was annoy Parliament. In response, the British attempted to punish the Americans through a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. Under the Coercive Acts, among other things, Boston Harbor was closed to merchant shipping, town meetings were banned, and the British commander of North American forces was appointed the governor of Massachusetts.

United States. American Revolution (1765-1783). First Continental Congress. September 22, 1774. ... [+] Philadelphia. Manifest to request the merchants of the federal colonies, not to send to Great Britain any goods, for the preservation of the liberties of America. From the Minutes. Secretary Charles Thomson. Printed by W. and T. Bradford. (Photo by: PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The colonists had enough. They convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, to consider their next steps. Resistance against the British increased, leading to those first shots in Massachusetts triggering the Revolutionary War.

Drafting Of The Declaration

The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia two years later. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to separate from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 12 of the 13 colonies formally adopted the Declaration of Independence—the one holdout, New York, approved it on July 9.

On July 19, the document got a new title, "the unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and a new look after being "engrossed" on parchment. It was intended to be signed by every member of Congress, but a few opted out, including Dickinson, who hoped the colonies could reconcile with Britain.

Grievances

The Declaration of Independence was drafted as a letter to the King. The most extensive section of the Declaration—after the lines we memorized in elementary school—is a list of grievances. Of course, taxes were included, notably "...[f]or imposing Taxes on us without our Consent."

'Signing the Declaration of Independence, 28th June 1776' - painting by John Trumbull, commissioned ... [+] 1817. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The word "Consent" was important. Under the British Constitution, British subjects could not be taxed without the consent of their representatives in Parliament. The colonies didn't elect representatives to Parliament, but they were being taxed. The colonists considered the constant imposition of taxes without a vote unconstitutional, just as Dickinson had written years earlier. It was famously "taxation without representation."

Response

Initially, the British response was to chide the "misguided Americans" and "their extravagant and inadmissable Claim of Independency." But the declaration was more than just a document—it had set the United States down the road to independence.

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the United States formally became an independent nation. But the date that we most associate with our independence is when those in the Continental Congress were brave enough to officially declare it to the world—July 4, 1776.

Happy Independence Day!

Read more here https://yg1.z1.web.core.windows.net/TaxWise/freelancer-taxes/Optimizing-Tax-Efficiency-Strategies-for-US-Expats-Living-in-Singapore.html

[artemxmendacium]

Taxes, Tea And Why We Celebrate American Independence Day On July 4

Bright burning sparklers against American flag, closeup

getty

My son came downstairs this morning to wish me very happy on George Washington's birthday. He knows, of course, that's not today—Washington was born on February 22, and we celebrate on the third Monday of February—but the joke was still funny. Many people don't know why we celebrate on July 4, only that it has something to do with our break from Great Britain. Officially a federal holiday, July 4, 1776, marks the day that the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is exactly what it sounds like—an announcement that the United States of America was declaring independence from King George III and Great Britain. There are six copies still in existence, including the original rough draft with edits—you can see it up close in the Jefferson Papers at the National Library of Congress.

Interestingly, while Thomas Jefferson referred to the "thirteen united States of America" in the Declaration, the words "United Colonies" had generally been used as a descriptor before that time, including by Congress when it appointed Washington as Commander in Chief in June 1775.

LEXINGTON, MA - APRIL 17: Re-enactors of the Battle of Lexington dressed as British soldiers fire ... [+] their weapons as they battle with the Lexington militia April 17, 2006 in Lexington, Massachusetts. The Battle of Lexington, which took place in 1775, was the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The printing of the declaration came more than a year (442 days) after shots were first fired at Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775, considered the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. And the Declaration of Independence did not mark the end of the Revolutionary War. It was quite the opposite—it signaled that the United States no longer wished to accept British rule.

MORE FOR YOU

Background

The British had ruled the colonies since the early 17th century when the Virginia Company became the Virginia Colony in 1624, the first of the original thirteen British colonies. The United States wasn't the only part of the world—or even the only part of the Americas—subject to British colonization. The British had also exerted control over parts of Canada, the Caribbean, and South America.

But ruling the world gets expensive. Guarding colonies and occasionally invading new lands takes money. And not everyone agrees as to who owns which lands, so fighting occasionally breaks out. That's precisely what happened in the mid-18th century when Great Britain was battling several countries, primarily France, in the Seven Years' War. When the war ended in 1763, Great Britain could declare a win against France. Still, the years of fighting had come at a significant cost, as the British government was nearly bankrupt.

King George III needed to raise revenue and quickly. What better way than a series of taxes and tariffs? And who better to tax than subjects who were far enough away, like the American colonists, to stifle the complaining? There was just one problem with this plan: The King underestimated exactly how loudly the colonists would react.

Stamp Act

The first significant post-war tax imposed on the colonists was the Stamp Act of 1765. Stamps, as they apply to taxes, don't have anything to do with postage. Rather, stamps are an official confirmation of compliance with a certain rule or requirement. In this case, materials printed and used in the colonies, like magazines and newspapers, were required to be produced on stamped paper and embossed with a revenue stamp, showing that tax had been paid. Colonists, of course, didn't like the tax, and many refused to pay. Some tax collectors even quit their jobs rather than collect. As a result, the Stamp Act was repealed the following year.

Declaratory Act

It wasn't a good look for Britain—the colonists had asserted their authority and won. In response, Parliament immediately passed the Declaratory Act stating that it had the right to pass laws in the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

Townshend Acts

Shortly afterward, there were additional attempts to raise revenue in the colonies through a series of acts called the Townshend Acts of 1767. The Townshend Acts were a little bit different than the Stamp Act since they were indirect taxes on imports. Since the colonists didn't directly bear the costs, King George III assumed they would be less offensive to the colonists. He was wrong.

The colonists weren't happy—a tax was a tax. They were spurred on by Philadelphia lawyer John Dickinson, who wrote a series of essays called "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania," arguing against taxation without representation. In the letters, he asked, "[W]hat signifies the repeal of the Stamp Act, if these colonies are to lose their other privileges, by not tamely surrendering that of taxation?" He later questioned whether the British had the right to impose any tax to raise revenue without consulting with the colonists, writing, "I answer, with a total denial of the power of parliament to lay upon these colonies any "tax" whatever."

Tea Act

The Townshend Acts were partially repealed in 1770. The partially repealed bit is important. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. It was the last straw for many colonists, even though it wasn't a new tax—it kept the tax on imported tea that wasn't repealed under the Townshend Act. But it did something more: it gave the East India Tea Company a trade advantage, cutting out the ability of the colonists to do business on their terms. Tax or not, the colonists viewed the Tea Act as another way they were being controlled.

The colonists figured that the best way to stand up to the Tea Act was to turn away ships carrying tea headed for the colonies. The colonists were able to do so in Philadelphia and New York but not in Boston. The Governor of Massachusetts wouldn't allow the ships to be turned back, and the colonists would not let the ships unload in the harbor. It was a stand-off. To end it, colonists snuck onto the ships and dumped out the tea—the event that you and I call the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party did not immediately lead to the Declaration of Independence or the Revolutionary War, even though we like to link them as though they happened in quick succession. The Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, long before the shots at Lexington and the Declaration of Independence. What the Boston Tea Party did do quickly, however, was annoy Parliament. In response, the British attempted to punish the Americans through a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. Under the Coercive Acts, among other things, Boston Harbor was closed to merchant shipping, town meetings were banned, and the British commander of North American forces was appointed the governor of Massachusetts.

United States. American Revolution (1765-1783). First Continental Congress. September 22, 1774. ... [+] Philadelphia. Manifest to request the merchants of the federal colonies, not to send to Great Britain any goods, for the preservation of the liberties of America. From the Minutes. Secretary Charles Thomson. Printed by W. and T. Bradford. (Photo by: PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The colonists had enough. They convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, to consider their next steps. Resistance against the British increased, leading to those first shots in Massachusetts triggering the Revolutionary War.

Drafting Of The Declaration

The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia two years later. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to separate from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 12 of the 13 colonies formally adopted the Declaration of Independence—the one holdout, New York, approved it on July 9.

On July 19, the document got a new title, "the unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and a new look after being "engrossed" on parchment. It was intended to be signed by every member of Congress, but a few opted out, including Dickinson, who hoped the colonies could reconcile with Britain.

Grievances

The Declaration of Independence was drafted as a letter to the King. The most extensive section of the Declaration—after the lines we memorized in elementary school—is a list of grievances. Of course, taxes were included, notably "...[f]or imposing Taxes on us without our Consent."

'Signing the Declaration of Independence, 28th June 1776' - painting by John Trumbull, commissioned ... [+] 1817. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The word "Consent" was important. Under the British Constitution, British subjects could not be taxed without the consent of their representatives in Parliament. The colonies didn't elect representatives to Parliament, but they were being taxed. The colonists considered the constant imposition of taxes without a vote unconstitutional, just as Dickinson had written years earlier. It was famously "taxation without representation."

Response

Initially, the British response was to chide the "misguided Americans" and "their extravagant and inadmissable Claim of Independency." But the declaration was more than just a document—it had set the United States down the road to independence.

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the United States formally became an independent nation. But the date that we most associate with our independence is when those in the Continental Congress were brave enough to officially declare it to the world—July 4, 1776.

Happy Independence Day!

Read more here https://yg1.z1.web.core.windows.net/TaxWise/freelancer-taxes/Optimizing-Tax-Efficiency-Strategies-for-US-Expats-Living-in-Singapore.html

[stylized-theme121]

Taxes, Tea And Why We Celebrate American Independence Day On July 4

Bright burning sparklers against American flag, closeup

getty

My son came downstairs this morning to wish me very happy on George Washington's birthday. He knows, of course, that's not today—Washington was born on February 22, and we celebrate on the third Monday of February—but the joke was still funny. Many people don't know why we celebrate on July 4, only that it has something to do with our break from Great Britain. Officially a federal holiday, July 4, 1776, marks the day that the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is exactly what it sounds like—an announcement that the United States of America was declaring independence from King George III and Great Britain. There are six copies still in existence, including the original rough draft with edits—you can see it up close in the Jefferson Papers at the National Library of Congress.

Interestingly, while Thomas Jefferson referred to the "thirteen united States of America" in the Declaration, the words "United Colonies" had generally been used as a descriptor before that time, including by Congress when it appointed Washington as Commander in Chief in June 1775.

LEXINGTON, MA - APRIL 17: Re-enactors of the Battle of Lexington dressed as British soldiers fire ... [+] their weapons as they battle with the Lexington militia April 17, 2006 in Lexington, Massachusetts. The Battle of Lexington, which took place in 1775, was the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The printing of the declaration came more than a year (442 days) after shots were first fired at Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775, considered the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. And the Declaration of Independence did not mark the end of the Revolutionary War. It was quite the opposite—it signaled that the United States no longer wished to accept British rule.

MORE FOR YOU

Background

The British had ruled the colonies since the early 17th century when the Virginia Company became the Virginia Colony in 1624, the first of the original thirteen British colonies. The United States wasn't the only part of the world—or even the only part of the Americas—subject to British colonization. The British had also exerted control over parts of Canada, the Caribbean, and South America.

But ruling the world gets expensive. Guarding colonies and occasionally invading new lands takes money. And not everyone agrees as to who owns which lands, so fighting occasionally breaks out. That's precisely what happened in the mid-18th century when Great Britain was battling several countries, primarily France, in the Seven Years' War. When the war ended in 1763, Great Britain could declare a win against France. Still, the years of fighting had come at a significant cost, as the British government was nearly bankrupt.

King George III needed to raise revenue and quickly. What better way than a series of taxes and tariffs? And who better to tax than subjects who were far enough away, like the American colonists, to stifle the complaining? There was just one problem with this plan: The King underestimated exactly how loudly the colonists would react.

Stamp Act

The first significant post-war tax imposed on the colonists was the Stamp Act of 1765. Stamps, as they apply to taxes, don't have anything to do with postage. Rather, stamps are an official confirmation of compliance with a certain rule or requirement. In this case, materials printed and used in the colonies, like magazines and newspapers, were required to be produced on stamped paper and embossed with a revenue stamp, showing that tax had been paid. Colonists, of course, didn't like the tax, and many refused to pay. Some tax collectors even quit their jobs rather than collect. As a result, the Stamp Act was repealed the following year.

Declaratory Act

It wasn't a good look for Britain—the colonists had asserted their authority and won. In response, Parliament immediately passed the Declaratory Act stating that it had the right to pass laws in the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

Townshend Acts

Shortly afterward, there were additional attempts to raise revenue in the colonies through a series of acts called the Townshend Acts of 1767. The Townshend Acts were a little bit different than the Stamp Act since they were indirect taxes on imports. Since the colonists didn't directly bear the costs, King George III assumed they would be less offensive to the colonists. He was wrong.

The colonists weren't happy—a tax was a tax. They were spurred on by Philadelphia lawyer John Dickinson, who wrote a series of essays called "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania," arguing against taxation without representation. In the letters, he asked, "[W]hat signifies the repeal of the Stamp Act, if these colonies are to lose their other privileges, by not tamely surrendering that of taxation?" He later questioned whether the British had the right to impose any tax to raise revenue without consulting with the colonists, writing, "I answer, with a total denial of the power of parliament to lay upon these colonies any "tax" whatever."

Tea Act

The Townshend Acts were partially repealed in 1770. The partially repealed bit is important. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. It was the last straw for many colonists, even though it wasn't a new tax—it kept the tax on imported tea that wasn't repealed under the Townshend Act. But it did something more: it gave the East India Tea Company a trade advantage, cutting out the ability of the colonists to do business on their terms. Tax or not, the colonists viewed the Tea Act as another way they were being controlled.

The colonists figured that the best way to stand up to the Tea Act was to turn away ships carrying tea headed for the colonies. The colonists were able to do so in Philadelphia and New York but not in Boston. The Governor of Massachusetts wouldn't allow the ships to be turned back, and the colonists would not let the ships unload in the harbor. It was a stand-off. To end it, colonists snuck onto the ships and dumped out the tea—the event that you and I call the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party did not immediately lead to the Declaration of Independence or the Revolutionary War, even though we like to link them as though they happened in quick succession. The Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, long before the shots at Lexington and the Declaration of Independence. What the Boston Tea Party did do quickly, however, was annoy Parliament. In response, the British attempted to punish the Americans through a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. Under the Coercive Acts, among other things, Boston Harbor was closed to merchant shipping, town meetings were banned, and the British commander of North American forces was appointed the governor of Massachusetts.

United States. American Revolution (1765-1783). First Continental Congress. September 22, 1774. ... [+] Philadelphia. Manifest to request the merchants of the federal colonies, not to send to Great Britain any goods, for the preservation of the liberties of America. From the Minutes. Secretary Charles Thomson. Printed by W. and T. Bradford. (Photo by: PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The colonists had enough. They convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, to consider their next steps. Resistance against the British increased, leading to those first shots in Massachusetts triggering the Revolutionary War.

Drafting Of The Declaration

The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia two years later. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to separate from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 12 of the 13 colonies formally adopted the Declaration of Independence—the one holdout, New York, approved it on July 9.

On July 19, the document got a new title, "the unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and a new look after being "engrossed" on parchment. It was intended to be signed by every member of Congress, but a few opted out, including Dickinson, who hoped the colonies could reconcile with Britain.

Grievances

The Declaration of Independence was drafted as a letter to the King. The most extensive section of the Declaration—after the lines we memorized in elementary school—is a list of grievances. Of course, taxes were included, notably "...[f]or imposing Taxes on us without our Consent."

'Signing the Declaration of Independence, 28th June 1776' - painting by John Trumbull, commissioned ... [+] 1817. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The word "Consent" was important. Under the British Constitution, British subjects could not be taxed without the consent of their representatives in Parliament. The colonies didn't elect representatives to Parliament, but they were being taxed. The colonists considered the constant imposition of taxes without a vote unconstitutional, just as Dickinson had written years earlier. It was famously "taxation without representation."

Response

Initially, the British response was to chide the "misguided Americans" and "their extravagant and inadmissable Claim of Independency." But the declaration was more than just a document—it had set the United States down the road to independence.

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the United States formally became an independent nation. But the date that we most associate with our independence is when those in the Continental Congress were brave enough to officially declare it to the world—July 4, 1776.

Happy Independence Day!

Read more here https://yg1.z1.web.core.windows.net/TaxWise/freelancer-taxes/Optimizing-Tax-Efficiency-Strategies-for-US-Expats-Living-in-Singapore.html

[twatoo]

Taxes, Tea And Why We Celebrate American Independence Day On July 4

Bright burning sparklers against American flag, closeup

getty

My son came downstairs this morning to wish me very happy on George Washington's birthday. He knows, of course, that's not today—Washington was born on February 22, and we celebrate on the third Monday of February—but the joke was still funny. Many people don't know why we celebrate on July 4, only that it has something to do with our break from Great Britain. Officially a federal holiday, July 4, 1776, marks the day that the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is exactly what it sounds like—an announcement that the United States of America was declaring independence from King George III and Great Britain. There are six copies still in existence, including the original rough draft with edits—you can see it up close in the Jefferson Papers at the National Library of Congress.

Interestingly, while Thomas Jefferson referred to the "thirteen united States of America" in the Declaration, the words "United Colonies" had generally been used as a descriptor before that time, including by Congress when it appointed Washington as Commander in Chief in June 1775.

LEXINGTON, MA - APRIL 17: Re-enactors of the Battle of Lexington dressed as British soldiers fire ... [+] their weapons as they battle with the Lexington militia April 17, 2006 in Lexington, Massachusetts. The Battle of Lexington, which took place in 1775, was the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The printing of the declaration came more than a year (442 days) after shots were first fired at Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775, considered the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. And the Declaration of Independence did not mark the end of the Revolutionary War. It was quite the opposite—it signaled that the United States no longer wished to accept British rule.

MORE FOR YOU

Background

The British had ruled the colonies since the early 17th century when the Virginia Company became the Virginia Colony in 1624, the first of the original thirteen British colonies. The United States wasn't the only part of the world—or even the only part of the Americas—subject to British colonization. The British had also exerted control over parts of Canada, the Caribbean, and South America.

But ruling the world gets expensive. Guarding colonies and occasionally invading new lands takes money. And not everyone agrees as to who owns which lands, so fighting occasionally breaks out. That's precisely what happened in the mid-18th century when Great Britain was battling several countries, primarily France, in the Seven Years' War. When the war ended in 1763, Great Britain could declare a win against France. Still, the years of fighting had come at a significant cost, as the British government was nearly bankrupt.

King George III needed to raise revenue and quickly. What better way than a series of taxes and tariffs? And who better to tax than subjects who were far enough away, like the American colonists, to stifle the complaining? There was just one problem with this plan: The King underestimated exactly how loudly the colonists would react.

Stamp Act

The first significant post-war tax imposed on the colonists was the Stamp Act of 1765. Stamps, as they apply to taxes, don't have anything to do with postage. Rather, stamps are an official confirmation of compliance with a certain rule or requirement. In this case, materials printed and used in the colonies, like magazines and newspapers, were required to be produced on stamped paper and embossed with a revenue stamp, showing that tax had been paid. Colonists, of course, didn't like the tax, and many refused to pay. Some tax collectors even quit their jobs rather than collect. As a result, the Stamp Act was repealed the following year.

Declaratory Act

It wasn't a good look for Britain—the colonists had asserted their authority and won. In response, Parliament immediately passed the Declaratory Act stating that it had the right to pass laws in the colonies "in all cases whatsoever."

Townshend Acts

Shortly afterward, there were additional attempts to raise revenue in the colonies through a series of acts called the Townshend Acts of 1767. The Townshend Acts were a little bit different than the Stamp Act since they were indirect taxes on imports. Since the colonists didn't directly bear the costs, King George III assumed they would be less offensive to the colonists. He was wrong.

The colonists weren't happy—a tax was a tax. They were spurred on by Philadelphia lawyer John Dickinson, who wrote a series of essays called "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania," arguing against taxation without representation. In the letters, he asked, "[W]hat signifies the repeal of the Stamp Act, if these colonies are to lose their other privileges, by not tamely surrendering that of taxation?" He later questioned whether the British had the right to impose any tax to raise revenue without consulting with the colonists, writing, "I answer, with a total denial of the power of parliament to lay upon these colonies any "tax" whatever."

Tea Act

The Townshend Acts were partially repealed in 1770. The partially repealed bit is important. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. It was the last straw for many colonists, even though it wasn't a new tax—it kept the tax on imported tea that wasn't repealed under the Townshend Act. But it did something more: it gave the East India Tea Company a trade advantage, cutting out the ability of the colonists to do business on their terms. Tax or not, the colonists viewed the Tea Act as another way they were being controlled.

The colonists figured that the best way to stand up to the Tea Act was to turn away ships carrying tea headed for the colonies. The colonists were able to do so in Philadelphia and New York but not in Boston. The Governor of Massachusetts wouldn't allow the ships to be turned back, and the colonists would not let the ships unload in the harbor. It was a stand-off. To end it, colonists snuck onto the ships and dumped out the tea—the event that you and I call the Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Tea Party did not immediately lead to the Declaration of Independence or the Revolutionary War, even though we like to link them as though they happened in quick succession. The Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, long before the shots at Lexington and the Declaration of Independence. What the Boston Tea Party did do quickly, however, was annoy Parliament. In response, the British attempted to punish the Americans through a series of laws called the Coercive Acts. Under the Coercive Acts, among other things, Boston Harbor was closed to merchant shipping, town meetings were banned, and the British commander of North American forces was appointed the governor of Massachusetts.

United States. American Revolution (1765-1783). First Continental Congress. September 22, 1774. ... [+] Philadelphia. Manifest to request the merchants of the federal colonies, not to send to Great Britain any goods, for the preservation of the liberties of America. From the Minutes. Secretary Charles Thomson. Printed by W. and T. Bradford. (Photo by: PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The colonists had enough. They convened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, to consider their next steps. Resistance against the British increased, leading to those first shots in Massachusetts triggering the Revolutionary War.

Drafting Of The Declaration

The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia two years later. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to separate from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 12 of the 13 colonies formally adopted the Declaration of Independence—the one holdout, New York, approved it on July 9.

On July 19, the document got a new title, "the unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America," and a new look after being "engrossed" on parchment. It was intended to be signed by every member of Congress, but a few opted out, including Dickinson, who hoped the colonies could reconcile with Britain.

Grievances

The Declaration of Independence was drafted as a letter to the King. The most extensive section of the Declaration—after the lines we memorized in elementary school—is a list of grievances. Of course, taxes were included, notably "...[f]or imposing Taxes on us without our Consent."

'Signing the Declaration of Independence, 28th June 1776' - painting by John Trumbull, commissioned ... [+] 1817. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The word "Consent" was important. Under the British Constitution, British subjects could not be taxed without the consent of their representatives in Parliament. The colonies didn't elect representatives to Parliament, but they were being taxed. The colonists considered the constant imposition of taxes without a vote unconstitutional, just as Dickinson had written years earlier. It was famously "taxation without representation."

Response

Initially, the British response was to chide the "misguided Americans" and "their extravagant and inadmissable Claim of Independency." But the declaration was more than just a document—it had set the United States down the road to independence.

In 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the United States formally became an independent nation. But the date that we most associate with our independence is when those in the Continental Congress were brave enough to officially declare it to the world—July 4, 1776.

Happy Independence Day!

Read more here https://yg1.z1.web.core.windows.net/TaxWise/freelancer-taxes/Optimizing-Tax-Efficiency-Strategies-for-US-Expats-Living-in-Singapore.html

[oscquinn]

What I See || Llewyn Davis

Pairing: Llewyn Davis x gn!reader

Summary: Llewyn feels like he isn’t good enough for you, you tell him exactly what you see in him.

Warnings: Swearing, alcohol (llewyn is like halfway to drunk, and crying. he’s precious and i love him)

Rating: Teen

A/N: the target audience for this fic is me and @tinyphantomsalad bc we both have a multitude of Llewyn Feels.

Tagging: @softly-sad and @gottalovethefandom because they were both interested in my previous Llewyn fic (Five Minutes to Midnight) and I couldn’t quite tag them in time for that one.

Wordcount: 442 lmao this is a drabble

xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

"Why do you stay with me?" The question passes softly through Llewyn's lips as you're running your hands through his hair, raven black curls like silk under your fingers.

"Why would I not?" you murmur in response, peering down at Llewyn. His head rests on you, cheek smushed cutely against your chest. He's more than a little tipsy, bordering on the edge of flat out drunk. He's always extra cuddly like this, crawling into your lap and tracing the lines of you with gentle reverence.

He shrugs, spending a moment more tracing the shadow of your collarbone, the curve of your shoulder, the slope of your neck. "It's just- you deserve the fuckin world," he tells you, sitting up to look you in the eye. He looks at you, soft and pleading, his dark brown eyes conveying something you can't quite name. "You deserve the moon and the sun and all the fuckin' stars, and I can't give 'em to you. I can't give you fancy clothes or an apartment in Manhattan."

"Aw, honey, I don't need any of that stuff." You lean up to kiss him gently, tasting whiskey on his lips. 

He shakes his head, breaking your kiss abruptly. "You're so fuckin' perfect baby, you could land anyone you wanted. And I'm… no one. I can't even pay the goddamn rent." Tears come to his eyes as he goes on, and you can't help but pull him a little closer. "You deserve so much better than me."

"Do you know what I see when I look at you?" you ask softly, brushing stray curls away from his watery eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again, afraid he'll say the wrong thing. "I see someone who has been kicked down by the world, time after time, and still manages to have the purest heart I've ever known." 

"I'm not-"

"I'm not finished," you say firmly. His eyes go a little wide and he sits back, leaving room for you to speak. You reach out to him, taking both his hands in your own. "Life has dealt you a shitty hand, but through it all you still love. I see it in the way you bare your soul when you sing, I feel it in your touch. I hear it in your voice when you whisper to me at night. You love with every single part of you, Llewyn. With your whole being. That's why I stay with you. That's why I love you."

You run your thumb over the back of his hands, searching his eyes for some form of reaction. All you see is love.

[ramonag-if]

The public-access demo has been updated to include Chapter Four!

Play the game HERE. Please RESTART the game as old saves will not work.

New to this update:

Edited version of Part One - around 20K words of extra content in Part One;

Chapter Four;

Dealing with the aftermath of Virion's arrival;

Making plans to secure your safety;

Saying goodbye to your family;

Boarding a ship;

Dealing with conflict;

More conflict?;

Spending time with your chosen RO or friend;

Lock in your romance with Prince Irus;

Smooch your chosen RO;

Discover the Nomad Tribe;

Escape a sinking ship;

Reunite with your old friends.

Chapter Four Word Count: 46 909 words. Total Word Count: 246 442 words.

Other things of note:

New, fancy chapter header font and accompanying adornments;

Removed the passive/aggressive stat;

The game will be extended to twelve chapters - instead of three parts, there will now be four parts of three chapters each;

There is an apk version of the game available for android users;

Chapter Four is very bare bones at the moment. I will be going back to add extra content when I start edits.

Thank you for being so patient and I hope you enjoy the game!

Remember to report bugs to me via the bug form in the game or you can report them to me here on Tumblr.

[fastcardotmp3]

here we go again

for @steddiemicrofic July 2023 prompt: POOL | words: 442 | rated: T | no warnings

"Hey, batter-batter, hey, batter-batter, swing!"

"Jesus Christ, Rob," Steve laments as his fingers, so deftly gripped around the pool cue in hand, slips and sends his aim off and one of Robin's balls sinking into the corner pocket. “Am I not handicapped enough as is?”

He motions to the thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose with one hand, setting down the cue and picking up his drink to down the last mouthful of beer with the other, but Robin just waves her own empty glass in his direction with a sly grin.

“Loser's round, Popeye, you know the rules."

And he does, because this is sort of tradition at this point, knowing that when they play pool Steve will be buying, but when they play darts Robin will. They've had the same system in place for years, since even before they gave their stint on the west coast the boot and decided to become Midwestern kids once again, Windy City edition.

Steve is paying today, because they're playing pool, because Robin just finished writing her thesis and deserves a few free beers on her best friend's dime, so he grumbles to keep up appearances, bumps her shoulder as he passes, and makes his way up to the bar.

It should be obvious sooner than it is, that their usual bartender isn't waiting with Steve's open tab, already filling two glasses at the sight of his approach, but bad vision, right? The mere act of not expecting what's actually waiting there for him, right?

The last time Steve saw Eddie Munson, his hair was longer, he had fewer hoops in his ears, and he was still pulling on his shirt as he walked out the door and let is slam closed behind him.

The last time Eddie saw him, Steve was spitting vitriol about being too coward to stick around.

Both of their breath freezes when their eyes meet across the bar under low light and hazy memory. This is not part of the system.

“You don't work here.”

It's not the most elegant of openings, but at least it's concise.

“Started last week,” Eddie clears his throat, and Steve goes stupid, the way he can't help the spark of youthful want burning in his chest over top time-soothed heartache.

Want for something new amidst the old; want for something he never really stopped wanting.

“I can feel Robin looking at us,” Eddie says with a glance towards the pool table.

“Yeah.”

Steve doesn't have to look, just has to breathe through the sight of Eddie Munson, laughing drily on an exhale.

“Well, Harrington,” he shakes his head, “here we go again, huh?”

[cranberrymoons]

walking on sunshine

prompt: pool (@steddiemicrofic) word count: 442 rating: m to be safe notes: hi! i was doing some writing exercises and ended up with an accidental second entry for the july prompt 😅 no promises on if I'll edit it down further, but enjoy! (cw - drinking)

[also on ao3]

Steve surfaces, skin gleaming bronze and dotted with so many moles and freckles that Eddie feels like his molars are aching with how badly he wants to sink his teeth into him. He shakes off the water then smooths a hand through his hair and down over his face, wiping the chlorine from his eyes as he paddles to the edge of the pool and folds an arm against the baked surface of the patio. He gives Eddie a slow, easy smile, using a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

“Hey,” he says, squinting into the glare. “Pass me a beer?”

Eddie blinks, mouth dry. When he doesn’t respond, Steve gives him a weird look and uses both arms to hoist himself out of the deep end. This, of course, is astronomically worse: Eddie’s eyes are fixed on the flex of his triceps, the arch of his back, the tiny… tiny shorts.

Steve pads toward him, bare feet slapping against hot concrete, and he bends to flip the top off the cooler. He bends to flip the top off the cooler. And then he gives Eddie a look over his shoulder– Eddie, who is definitely not staring at his ass in those tiny, tiny shorts– and he smirks. 

Evil. 

Like a demon.

“You want it?”

Eddie releases a sharp breath. He casts a look around the pool deck, where the kids are taking turns on the diving board. 

“Do I want…”

“It,” Steve says again. He bends over further, rummaging through the cooler. “A beer.”

“A beer,” Eddie repeats, voice faint. “Right.”

“Yeah, what did you think I meant?”

Steve straightens up with two cans in hand then tosses one to Eddie, who barely manages to catch it as he watches Steve pop the tab on the other. His throat bobs as he drinks, and Eddie’s eyes track a bead of water that’s sliding down his neck and into the little puddle in his collar bone. 

Bite, lick, suck. God, Eddie just wants to get his mouth on him.

“You okay?” Steve asks with an amused arch to his smile. “You look a little…” He makes a vague motion with his hand, fluttering through the air.

Eddie clears his throat, sitting up straighter. 

“Hey Buckley,” he calls, raising his voice slightly to be heard from where she’s laying out under the sun a few paces away. “We’re going inside for some... snacks. Be back in a few, okay?”

She squints over at them, sunglasses pushed up on her forehead, then rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, sure you are,” she says, waving a hand at them before dropping back down. “Horny bastards.”

[steddiemicrofic]

snip snip babies bc it’s time for a

✂️bonus round✂️

here’s how it works: i’m gonna roll a random number between 150-300, and then you’re going to take the microfic you already submitted for this month and whittle it down to an even smaller word count without losing the plot points or emotional beats of the longer version. bust out those editing shears! your bonus round challenge for july is…

pool | wc: 273

you can submit it as a new post or a reblog off of your original 442 word story, just be sure to tag us either way so we can find it (and please check your word count on wordcounter.net before submitting) 💜

[redlegumes]

Pool - Steddie MicroFic

Written for ‘Pool’ wc: 600 | rated: e | AO3 Link

Edit: Misread the challenge rules! This month's cap was 442 words. So instead of pairing this down I'll just try to do better next time!

Steve and the kids change the way Eddie gets tattoos. 

Before they were scratchers, done in kitchens and back rooms by 'friends of friends,' paid for in drugs. But after the Upside Down, after the long hospital nights, after the slow recovery, caring about his body had finally wormed its way into Eddie's brain. He couldn't imagine getting some of his unscarred skin inked only to get an infection.

One of Eddie's newer goals in life was never to disappoint Steve Harrington. With the exception of bad punchlines. When he was in and out of consciousness in the hospital Eddie heard everything Steve whispered at his bedside. How he was Steve's hero, how Steve needed to see Eddie’s smile, needed his eyes to open. Eddie vowed that he wouldn’t make Steve worry like that again.

So he saved tips from gigs and barback work. He started his sleeve with Max. A busted skateboard lovingly taped back together, high up on his left shoulder. 

"You wanna keep it black and white?"

Eddie thought about Max, her recovery, and all he could see were bright pops of color.

"Nah man, make it loud. Pale skin makes for a good canvas."

He kept going, adding dice, a walkie, a spear... Each piece in bright colors. Everytime he went back to Hawkins for D&D or movie nights the kids would praise what he'd gotten and speculate about the next one.

Even when he was in town to see Wayne or smoke with Jonathan, he’d end up at Steve’s, swimming in the pool. It was their thing, a relaxing ritual. Heated water, low lights. Steve couldn’t swim alone anymore. Too much trauma, but with Eddie… Sometimes they would strip down and just float.

After Eddie started the sleeve, he’d wrap his new ink or sit with just his legs in the water. When he dived back in, he told Steve to touch the healed pieces.

Steve hesitantly reached his hand out. His hot fingers lightly ran over Eddie's skin making him want to melt as they both treaded water.

"They feel… raised?"

"Yeah, my artist is good but heavy handed. All the outline work is like etched in."

Eddie's breath caught in his throat as Steve's fingers reached up and ran over the faded scar on his neck.

"You’re incredible. You carved in something new. Something good."

"You could too Steve." Eddie reached out and touched Steve’s neck. "Add new memories. Better ones."

Eddie caught sight of Steve's eyes, darting from his scar to his lips. "I don't think I'm as brave as you Eds,” he said before pulling back.

That night Eddie sketched out his next tattoo.

He slapped the lined paper down on the counter as soon as his shop opened the next morning. He'd drawn the nail bat. The nails to be in neon blue, sunlight in oranges and yellow streaming behind. The bat in a wood grain. “Think a brunette with natural highlights,” Eddie said casually. “And,” he added, “you've been a little light handed, make sure this one’s deep.”

He spent a lot of the next month poolside with flimsy excuses not to jump in. Until the day he brought out the stereo and played Steve his new demo tape.

"You're doing such amazing things,” Steve said before he submerged most of his body under water. “Everyone is and… I'm here, just scraping by.”

Eddie stripped and dove in. He swam up to Steve and guided his hand to the new ink.

In the pool with that tattoo, Steve said that was the first time he realized Eddie loved him.