#1000-5000 words

[written-from-stardust]

As Stones In A Riverbed

please enjoy some short fantasy about a probably-magic forest! I don’t know where this came from

—

Everyone knows the Old Forest is more dangerous in the spring. It’s the time when things awake, things that have forgotten why they were supposed to sleep in the first place. 

Kai sees it in the water. 

The moment things change, something in the melting ponds shifts and a loud crack fractures the ice into dozens of pieces. The sound, which was so loud that it scared birds from their trees, rings out into the morning air and hangs there, slowly fading after a minute. 

Pushing down a sudden spike of fear, Kai turns to look at the Old Forest, the aspen trees that mark its border standing tall in the distance. The Forest is completely motionless, without even a solitary hawk whirling high in the air above its crowns. 

That was something new. 

The ones that regularly awake come spring, the light sleepers Kai calls them, all usually have a pattern they follow, calling up the same creatures or creating the same effects to announce their presence. 

The Banshee in the oak grove always summons a storm so fierce that it pours thunder and lightning for three days until it lifts enough that Kai can coax her back into peaceability with the promise of jazz on the old radio that’s nestled between two roots. Sometimes the problem is that the thing’s batteries has died, something that he can tell from the way two trees always catch fire the first day of the storm. Other times it’s not playing the kind of music that she wants, which is how he knows that she likes him enough to see him again, or really hates him, because he’s taught her how to use it multiple times before. 

The dryads cause flowers to bloom out of season in everyone’s window boxes. It’s one of the more harmless habits for the creatures of the Old Forest, particularly given it’s not something that actually does anything. There’s a group of fauns that finds it hilarious to have a revel every night. The Morrigan who’s taken up residence in the north corner of the woods likes summoning up hundreds of crows every few years to terrify the village.

This is something—new.

Kai makes the decision to trek into the Old Forest a few days later once it becomes clear that this is something that can’t be ignored. Every half melted lake has the same fracture pattern on the ice as the first one, and there’s a low rumble in the background that is slowly growing louder. 

The trees, once he enters the Forest, backpack of random tchotchkes from kids games to old batteries in tow, are completely silent. Even the pixies, which normally buzz brightly through the air like floating lanterns, are almost hesitant in a way that he can only describe as reverent. 

The changes become more pronounced the more he walks. The group of kelpies that hide in the pond under the fallen log who always try to trip him as he goes past are completely quiet, without even a single splash his way. There’s no jackalopes darting across the path, the Great Whitehorn with its massive antlers isn’t standing in his way, staring him down and daring him to make the first move; instead, he can feel their eyes peeking out of the underbrush. Waiting. 

The Will o’ Wisps are by far acting the strangest. Instead of the sprites dancing in between the trees, attempting to coax him onto a new, unbeaten path, they sway gently in the middle of the path in a line so straight he could use it as a ruler.

With nothing better to do than follow them, given that he was already going to follow the path–and that’s the first rule of the Old Forest, never step off of the beaten path, or a fate worse than death may await you–he continues deep into the Forest.

He passes the Banshee’s cave roughly half an hour later, given the position of the sun in the sky, but that means little in a place where time doesn’t work normally and weeks can pass in the place of a day in the outside world. She’s poking at her radio, subdued.

When she sees him, she hisses at him half-heartedly, before going back to fiddling with the volume controls with one long claw. It never clicks above a four.

He keeps going.

Simultaneously, the further he gets into the Old Forest, the more it seems that life both fades away and becomes more present. There’s nothing living, not like he is, not even a beetle or a vole, but the trees feel stronger, taller, and wildflowers and fairy circles blanket the ground in a dizzying array of color. The damp smell of wet moss and lichen grows, mixing with the scent of fungi, flowers, and decomposing leaves.

He’s forgotten how long he's been walking for–a genuine danger in the Old Forest, though he’s never yet truly lost his way–when he comes upon the massive stone cairn that marks the center of the forest. It might not be the true geographical center, but in terms of power, in terms of presence, it is undeniable.  

The stones, rough hewn like a long-ago giant plucked them out of the earth and threw them in a pile–not completely impossible given his surroundings–tower above his head, at least two stories in height. More than a few of the massive boulders are bigger than his sister’s van. 

He doesn't notice it, not at first, while he's wondering what he’s supposed to do here. The Will o’ Wisps have vanished, and don’t go further than the cairn. Kai would go around it, following the path to the other side of the forest, yet it doesn't appear as if it exists anymore. 

It's only when he sinks on the forest floor in a defeated slump that he feels it. His right foot, from where it’s crossed over the other in front of him, is rising and falling very slightly. Dead leaves mingling with dirt crunch under his hands as he shifts, staring. Slowly, ever so slowly, he notices he’s not the only thing in the forest experiencing this. The trees, the plants, the flowers, even the rocks and stones strewn about, are slowly heaving up and down as if some massive creature is taking a breath and the forest is experiencing the echoes.

There’s an abrupt grinding sound, as if someone is trying to flatten two rocks together. A moment later, a series of loud crcks rings out, like the sound of nails on a chalkboard except with flint and the very earth’s memory of iron.

A slow growing hunch that starts deep in his bones and ends with his stomach dropping to the center of the earth, makes him look up

There, towering above, the trees a leafy crown and lit brilliant with golden light, is a massive face shaped into the cairn.

There’s a nose, what could be closed eyes, and even a mouth that’s slowly shifting, moving against itself and creating the sound of rock being pulverized.

Large cracks that he’d call eyelids on a human person slowly twitch, pulling back to reveal gaping empty sockets that are filled with brilliant lightning-bright fire a moment later.

The Old Forest itself is alive, and it wants everyone to know that it’s finally awake.

[extraordinaryrosie]

Here’s some Jeddy again. The next two weeks’ recs will be mostly Jeddy or Deamus recs.

Teddy and James are at odds with each other. Harry and Ginny try to sort it out. 

I love James and Ginny’s relationship. Also, the parallels drawn between Hinny and Jeddy are nice. Also Albus’ small part in the end is everything.

[twink-zuko]

prince “doing the absolute most to show off during an escape mission from a maximum security prison” zuko on that one scene in the boiling rock:

sokka:

[migran666]

i don’t smoke by migran

tommy’s brothers left for college seven months ago, and it’s been almost five since he’s had a proper dinner with his father. whenever the train arrives to take him to tubbo’s on weekends, he breaths in the harmful chemicals and almost feels like he’s home.

(or, the remains of a family.)

[deforest]

if i have to see another post about content creators i will actually scream

[sluttyten]

I just finished writing the Mark smut I’m probably gonna post later tonight, and I just checked the word count....... 

[bolkonskaya]

pierre bezukhov... ultimate comfort character

[cordeliaflyte]

i AM going to finish this essay today so help me god. i'm 700 words in and none of them make sense xxx

[arianagrandre]

NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL! (2019)

Lana Del Rey’s long-awaited sixth album produced by Jack Antonoff will be released on August 30, 2019. It will feature 14 tracks, with videos directed by Chuck Grant & Rich Lee. 

[madbug]

I have written 5000 words and these dum dums are still in the antagonistic phase of enemies to friends to lovers, so yeah this is going to be wayygy longer than I originally thought.

[ethannkurama]

Author: yekijan Word Count: 4119 Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Naruto Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto Characters: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura Additional Tags: Literal Sleeping Together, Nightmares, naruto's emotional trauma

Summary: 

they’ve shared an apartment for almost two years. their cohabitance is commonplace now. it used to be the kind of dream considered only when naruto was too exhausted to keep his box of sasuke-related impossibilities shut, and it is so routine now that if naruto shows up to ichiraku alone, teuchi-san packs up an extra order to-go even when naruto forgets to ask.

there are a lot of sasuke-related impossibilities coming true, lately.

Notes:

just. really cute. domestic feels. oblivious naruto. this is pre-slash sort of, their relationship isn’t explicitly mentioned, but still the feels are there. also cohabitation is my favourite sns prompt so... yeah i love this fic.

[rejisol]

The kids, as i imagine them

[extraordinaryrosie]

It’s been quite some time I didn’t rec anything and I can’t find my list of Wolfstar fics I have yet to rec so here is some Pavender for your entertainment. 

The Yule Ball is great and everything Parvati could have dreamt of, but couldn’t it get even better ? 

A little angsty at first, but soft and very sweet generally speaking. 

[bi-writes]

my professor asks me to write a 750-word essay about innovation, and i almost throw up in my mouth but then im writing fanfiction and if its not 8,000 words of !!!!! then what am i doing here

[aspiringhorrorauthor]

I just feel so sorry for everyone that’s ever tried to impose a word limit on me. Like RIP

[agentsix606]

Flashpoint Paradox oneshot sneak peak.

“-Uncle Barry, what did you do this time?”

“Hey, not my fault!”

“Yeah I say it’s Lucy’s fault!” Adrien yelled out, hanging upside down from a support beam.

“How!” Lucy threw her arms in the air, copying Addy’s position, “I blame Jade!”

“I blame Wren.”

“I blame Wal-!” Wren paused for a second, remembering the events of a few weeks ago before gathering her thoughts before pointing her finger towards Zoom, “wait, I blame the banana over there.” she tapped her forehead repeatedly, nodding. “Wait, why me?”

“Because you were the only person left…”

“Addy wasn’t mentioned!”

“‘Cause everyone knows that I can totally do that.”

“Then why did you blame me!” Lucy shrieked.

“‘Cause you’re crazy as shit!”