#teaser story

[aeon-of-cultivation]

Teaser: A New Beginning

An androgynous-looking boy stretched and turned over on the cold ground. He groaned as he massaged his side, grumbling about how he'd definitely get the bed next time.

He reached out to the bioship to say good morning, only to stop dead in his psychic tracks.

The ship he's on is nothing but cold metal. And much, much larger than his bioship. He can't hear his crewmate say "Sawyer, bacon!" nor his kitten paw at him.

Someone started shaking his shoulder, saying something about concussions. Sawyer tried shaking the hand off, hoping that this was all just a bad dream. He's had those before. The kind of dreams where you feel completely isolated from everything.....even though he could normally reach out and still feel his family's presence in those dreams.

Now, he just feels a lonely emptiness.

As the person, a boy, started growing more desperate in waking him up, Sawyer finally opened his eyes. He was met with the sight of a blond boy with shining, golden eyes.

Unfortunately, nothing could stop the unholy screech that ripped from Sawyer's throat as reality settled in.

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Sawyer and the new boy, Yanqing as he had introduced himself, sat at a table in the middle of a plaza-like area. Sawyer was eating a sweet treat on a stick (Yanqing called it a Pheasantberry Skewer) while the other was massaging his temple.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer muttered.

"It's fine," Yanqing assured him. "You said you just woke up here , right? Can't imagine that’s too fun.” Yanqing leaned on the table. “So, just so I have this straight, you aren’t from here and don’t know how you got here? What’s the last thing you remember?”

Sawyer turned the skewer treat in his hand. “Well, I went to sleep on my bioship, something my family uses to travel through space, and that was it. Nothing out of the usual. Next thing I know, I wake up on the ground of a completely different ship.”

He reached into his bag over the chair behind him, hoping he at least had something useful in there. All he feels are some papers and his notebook, which only worried him more. Where was all his stuff???

Sawyer quickly dumped his bag out onto the table, startling Yanqing. As Sawyer watches his staff come tumbling out, he breathes a sigh of relief. At least he won’t be completely defenseless here. As Sawyer picks up his staff to put it away, Yanqing picks up a file filled with papers Sawyer doesn’t remember.

“Here,” he shows Sawyer. “Are you sure you don’t belong here? This building is a condo in a pretty rich district. Looks like it has your name on it.”

Yanqing handed Sawyer the file, though the androgynous boy had never heard of the building before. It must have been obvious on his face, because Yanqing narrows his eyes and regards him with caution. Sawyer didn’t blame him; this was rather suspicious after all.

“Thanks for your help, but I think I’m gonna check this out,” Sawyer grabs the rest of his stuff and gets up to leave. He isn’t surprised when Yanqing gets up in a hurry and offered to help him get there. “You sure? Doesn’t a lieutenant have more important things to do?”

“It’s fine. Just another part of the job,” Yanqing assures him.

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After a thirty minute walk that should have taken ten minutes, Sawyer and Yanqing finally arrive at the complex building. Sawyer is far too absorbed in admiring the architecture to notice Yanqing taking the file from him again.

“Looks like yours is on the top floor. Let’s go,” Yanqing sighs before pulling Sawyer inside. If he didn’t, Sawyer would have wandered off again to see the other buildings.

As the boys ride the elevator up, Yanqing determines that Sawyer isn’t dangerous. Or at least, he isn’t an active threat to the Luofu. Not with how engrossed he is on studying every little detail of the buildings as if it were something new.

But it is new to Sawyer. Otherwise, he wouldn’t look like a kid in a candy store as he meandered from place to place, drawing sketches of the building in his little notebook.

When they reach the top floor, Sawyer runs out of the elevator to find whichever room was his complex.

Looking at the numbers on each door, he sheepishly turns to Yanqing. “Do you know what these say?” Sawyer asks with a slight blush.

Yeah.

Sawyer definitely can’t be a threat.

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Yanqing helps Sawyer get settled in his new home. Not that there’s much they can do since Sawyer barely has anything with him.

“I’ll probably go shopping tomorrow or something,” Sawyer grumbles as he stifles a yawn. “Anyways, thanks for helping me out.”

Yanqing just waves him off, but Sawyer knows that there’s more to it.

“At least I don’t have to worry about being on some watchlist or something,” Sawyer thinks to himself.

Soon, Yanqing leaves and Sawyer collapses onto the couch. He knows he’ll have to figure life out, but he’s too sleepy to do that now.

Everything will still be here tomorrow, so he can deal with it then.

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Author’s note: Wanted to post this in time for Sawyer’s birthday (6-21), but don’t have much motivation recently. Curse writer’s block.

Status: Unedited

[kathaynesart]

REPLICA PLAYLIST

MUSIC UNDER CUT

I have been receiving requests for any songs that inspired Replica, so here, have my personal playlist. Sorry it’s not Spotify/Soundcloud but they don’t have some of these songs available so uh… guess you’re stuck with YouTube vids. For fun I'll include my personal titles for them (which might give a few hints of what to expect in the future/end).

Replica Main Theme - “Die for You” by Grabbitz Like Father Like Son Like Brother (Omega and Shelldon) - "As Above So Below" by Alistair Lindsay Mikey's Theme / The 1st Vision - "Suzume no Tojimari" by Nanoka Hara Military (Mad) Dogs / Central Park Colony - "Imperium" by Madeon Shanghai - "Icarus" by Madeon Boom Goes the Donnie-mite (Mikey/Donnie vs the Sweeper) - "The Red Zone" by Mitsuoto Suzuki The Day the Sky Bled Red - "7 Seconds Till the End" by Nobuo Uematsu Going Out Like a Boss (Raph and Leo) - "Agape" by Nicholas Britell Remembering the Right Way (Mikey and Leo) - "The Souls of Many" - by Alistair Lindsay Mystic Hands / The 2nd Vision - "Am I Dreaming" by Metro Boomin x A$AP Book 2 Trailer - "Sea Dragon" by Covet 7 Years Later - "Iron" by Woodkid Leo's Theme / Attack on the Labor Camp - "Ego Death" by Polyphia Omega's Theme - "Touch" by Daft Punk Flat Lines (Omega Alone) - "Die Toteninsel Emptiness" by 1000 Eyes Spear - "Monsters" by Tommee Profitt Final Protocol - "The Kraken" by Katie Dey Rise / Epilogue - "Close in the Distance" by Masayoshi Soken & Tom Mills

I will admit, it's a little embarrassing since you can easily see the patterns of what I've been listening to for the past year or two. I swear I listen to more than just videogame OSTs, these songs just jive well with the story and I often find lyrics distracting when brainstorming scenes. Regardless, the music I listen to is such an important part of my creative process and some of these songs really defined the scenes I now have locked in my head. So I figured it was only fair to give them the credit they're due.

I will continue to add to this playlist, and will note in comic updates when one of these songs is applicable!

[aimseytv]

i never cared for it anyway

[lululawrence]

You Should Be Here With Me

A 2024 Advent Fic by lululawrence

Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson | 34k | 26 Chapters

The festive period is a traditionally hectic one in the world of Premier League football, and this year is no different. A lot is riding on how Manchester United is able to come through the fixtures in the coming weeks.

Louis and his teammates know all too well the pressure that is on their shoulders. They need to prove, not just to fans of the club but the entire league, that they still have what it takes to be a team worthy of fighting for the top of the table.

Throw in the fact that Louis is all too aware that he's not getting any younger in a profession that demands your peak physical fitness year round and the incredibly fit Harry Styles, who is part of the club's social media team, and this year's festive period might just be the most important one yet.

🎄1 🎄 2 🎄 3 🎄 4 🎄 5 🎄 6 🎄 7 🎄 8 🎄 9 🎄 10 🎄 11 🎄 12 🎄 13 🎄 14 🎄 15 🎄 16 🎄 17 🎄 18 🎄 19 🎄 20 🎄 21 🎄 22 🎄 23 🎄 24 🎄 25 🎄 26 🎄

NOW COMPLETE!

[xulips]

🌻🥀 you weren't supposed to be here

[circlesuponcircles]

Out of bounds.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Ballerina B-Roll in a New Studio!

First, this is a janky video and I am no director. It's just b-roll because I was kinda desperate to show off the Ballet mod animations during skilling. Hopefully this adds a little something to tomorrow's Sims in Bloom episode (9AM PST), which takes place at the SanMy Ballet School's old studio, not this lot (but what's happening in this lil' teaser, and why there's a deco sim cameraman in the corner, is explained in tomorrow's installment featuring ballerinas!) Also there will be only stills, no janky vids. That's a promise!

This promo and tomorrow's post were made entirely possible thanks to collaboration with @changingplumbob (who had originally collaborated with @paracosmic-sims, @simmerbeans and @bloomingkyras to create these sims!)

Many of you may recognize this trio from her Struck By Love legacy - the incredible Sierra Prairies, Natasha Lobo, and Elyse Rockwell will be crossing over, in the pixels, to Sims In Bloom! And yes, they will come face-to-face with the most powerful member of the SanMy Ballet Company's board of directors - Nancy Landgraab herself, and a classroom full of little ballerinas!

More ballet stills and a lot tour after the cut...

(I wasn't smart enough to equip the room with music before rolling video, but with sound on you can hear Nancy sounding impressed by the new digs in the background.)

The fresh looking studio is by @oimygiblets! His Barre Raized lot on the Sims 4 Gallery (userID CTstephen) is absolutely beautiful. It's a small spa with a yoga studio, small gym, lockers, showers, men's and women's toilets, an indoor hot spring, and a ballet studio. Legitimately gorgeous lot, functional, and the girls all enjoy it!

We'll end this with Natasha, who skills so hard. When she was ready to pee and fall over from exhaustion, she kept going (Elyse got fatigued first so she got to be the model for the lot tour, mostly). AND! This screenshot is a mod animation, not a pose. 😍 This ambitious ballerina and her friends will see you tomorrow in Sims In Bloom!

In order to film this in peace, I made it residential and added a mini fridge so they wouldn't start to die, added the ballet barre and combination spots from the mod, but everything else is exactly as downloaded from the Gallery! WCIF details here:

[zu-is-here]

A young actor ends up on the street following a family dispute. In a bid to avoid publicity, he finds shelter with an older co-star, and this play without a script opens up new roles for them.

[nights-at-crystarium]

Fragments Friday tomorrow!

[welcome-to-ratterrock]

Ratterrock Teaser: Pretty Lips Pt 2

Padraic Regal is the boss and Sage Locke is a brat. There’s reprimanding an insubordinate employee, and then there’s adding fuel for some very frustrated feelings…

Part 1 / 2

Art: @bajingoarts

Story: @suzie-guru

See early pages, spicy stuff, concept art, and enter raffles on Patreon!

Here's part two of the teaser! >:)

[anyfire]

If you are crazy enough anything can be s3 tour photographer louis foreshadowing

[doumadono]

TEASER 𖥸 SANGREAL - chapter I (to be added) 𖥸 MY HERO ACADEMIA MASTERLIST - PART II

The balcony jutted out like a jagged precipice, a sinister ledge hanging over the vast expanse of the Deadlands below. The ruins of the world stretched endlessly, their twisted remnants clawing toward the ash-choked sky as storms of soot churned violently through the wasteland. Far beyond the desolation, Musutafu — the largest of the Dregs — flickered weakly on the horizon, its faint glow barely piercing the gloom, like the final gasp of a dying ember. From this vantage point, the world looked utterly forsaken — an expanse of shadows and echoes, hollow and forgotten, a graveyard of what once was.

You hadn’t wanted to follow Shigaraki here, but you hadn’t been given a choice. His hand lingered on the small of your back, cold and commanding, a silent threat that pushed you forward through the dim, sprawling halls of the Sangreal’s fortress. When the heavy doors to the balcony creaked shut behind you, the chill of the open air hit you like a knife, cutting through the thin, half-translucent black dress his maids had forced you into.

You’d seen the hollow emptiness in those women’s eyes — undoubtedly human, their bodies trembling, their fragile minds dulled by the narcotics Overhaul pumped into their veins, rendering them docile and compliant for Shigaraki’s every whim. They moved like puppets on broken strings, their pale faces devoid of anything human. You’d heard the whispers, the sickening truths that once Shigaraki grew bored of them, they would become his feast. Their blood drained to the last drop, their lifeless bodies discarded without a second thought. And yet, even through their dazed haze, you’d felt their pity as they tied the ribbons around your waist and adjusted the lace at your shoulders.

His dark cloak billowed slightly in the ashen wind, revealing the jagged edges of his form. His shoulders were sharp, his pale skin stretched too tight over his bones, and his crimson eyes burned like dying coals in a face that was almost too hollow to be alive. He stopped at the railing, the cracked stone pressing against his palms, and tilted his head toward the horizon as if presenting a masterpiece only he could understand.

“This,” he rasped, his voice scraping like gravel against the silence, “is the world your kind left behind. All of it. Rotting. Forgotten.” His head turned slightly, just enough for you to catch the flicker of a smile — sharp, jagged, and devoid of warmth. “Tell me, doesn’t it make you wonder? What would it take to fix it?”

When you didn’t immediately move, he turned to you, his lips curling in a dangerous smirk. His hand reached out, and before you could recoil, his fingers cupped your chin. He handled you with surprising care, his grip just firm enough to hold you in place. His index finger hovered, careful not to touch, an ever-present reminder of the destruction he could unleash with a single mistake. The fragility of the moment — the closeness of death itself — made your throat tighten.

“Look,” he ordered, tilting your face toward the sprawling wasteland below. His sharp nails grazed your jaw, sending a cold shiver through you. 

The world stretched out before you, endless in its desolation. Twisted skeletons of buildings jutted out of the earth like ribs, the Deadlands smothered under layers of ash and soot. The faint orange glow of fires burned in Musutafu Dreg in the distance, a mocking parody of life.

“This could all change,” Tomura uttered, his voice soft but filled with an unrelenting edge. His eyes glinted with something you couldn’t name — obsession, hunger, perhaps madness. “It could all end.”

Your lips parted, but no sound came. 

Shigaraki’s breath brushed against your ear as he whispered, “Your blood.” He said the word like it was sacred, his voice trembling with reverence and rage. “You could be the cure. The answer to everything.”

His hand tightened slightly, forcing your gaze back to him. “Do you even understand what that means? You could fix this— fix me. Fix all of it. But instead, you want to refuse me?” His tone cracked on the last word, his fury bubbling beneath the surface. The thin veneer of calm he wore threatened to splinter entirely. “I’ve offered you everything,” he continued, his voice rising. The ash-filled wind stirred, swirling around the balcony like the world itself was reacting to his anger. “Power. Protection. Purpose. And you want to throw it away? For what?” Shigaraki’s tone was venomous now, each word a lash. “A rebellion that’s already dying? A life you can’t even call your own? Or maybe—” His lips twisted into a sneer, his voice dipping into something dangerously low, “—it’s for him. The traitor who thinks he loves you.”

Your heart stuttered at the mention of Dabi, the faintest flutter betraying you, and Shigaraki saw it. Of course he did.

His smile widened, sharp and cruel. “Oh, I see it now,” he breathed, his voice like a blade sliding through silk as he leant closer, his breath ghosting over your ear. “Dabi’s embers flicker for you, don’t they? A pathetic little flame, desperately clinging to life.” His laugh was low and venomous, rattling your nerves. “Embers always die out.” He tilted your head roughly, forcing you to look out over the Deadlands below and the Dreg on the horizon. “And when his flame finally burns away,” he uttered, his voice dripping with cruel satisfaction, “this will be all that’s left. Ash. Dust. Ruin.” 

His tongue darted out, dragging a slow, long stripe across your cheek. The motion was agonizingly unhurried, his breath hot against your skin. 

Revulsion churned in your stomach as the slick trail of his saliva clung to your flesh, cold and sticky in its wake. The nausea rose sharp and sudden, clawing at your throat as your body recoiled from the grotesque intimacy of the gesture. You wanted to vomit, to scrub away the violation, but his presence pinned you in place, suffocating and inescapable.

You jerked your head back, trying to escape his grip, but his other hand shot forward, fingers hovering near your throat. All five of them — so dangerously close to touching your flesh — stilled you instantly. 

“He’ll fail you,” Shigaraki stated matter-of-factly, his tone softening, but not with kindness. It dripped with mockery, each word a needle pressing deeper into your chest. His thumb traced the edge of your jaw as his long, pale index finger ghosted over your cheek. “Like he failed Sangreal. Like he failed me. It’s in his nature. And when he does,” the vampire prince whispered, his lips brushing the corner of your mouth, “you’ll come crawling back. Because no one else can give you what you need. Not him. Not the rebellion. Just me.”

You swallowed hard, willing your voice to stay steady. “I don’t want to be your queen, Shigaraki.”

“You don’t understand yet. But you will,” his lips twitched into a sharp, jagged grin that didn’t reach his eyes. 

Before you could react, his lips collided with yours, a brutal, forceful act that left no room for tenderness. It wasn’t a kiss — it was an invasion, his sharp teeth clicking against yours as his fangs scraped along your bottom lip, slow and deliberate, until the skin gave way. A bead of blood welled up, its coppery tang mingling with the icy, metallic chill of his breath. His grip on your chin tightened, unyielding and cruel, as you stood frozen in place. 

He broke the kiss abruptly, his lips pulling away with a sharp, wet sound, and you stumbled back, your knees trembling beneath you. The faint sting on your lip told you he’d drawn blood, and the way his tongue darted out to drag across his lips made your stomach churn. His crimson eyes gleamed with something feral, something unhinged, as he savored the taste.

“For the Night of Ash’s sake,” Shigaraki hissed, his voice trembling with barely-contained hunger, “your blood drives me insane.”

His hand hovered near your face for a moment, as though he were considering dragging you back into his grasp, but instead, he turned abruptly, his gaze cutting toward the horizon. The meager lights of Musutafu flickered in the distance, like dying embers fighting for survival.

“When the world tears you apart for refusing me,” the vampire prince stated, his voice dropping into a rasp that oozed malice, “you’ll understand. You’ll understand everything.”

The ash-laden wind roared again, and the faint glow of the Dreg in the distance flickered weakly as though the light itself was suffocating under Shigaraki’s rule.

Hello Everyone,

I'm excited to share a teaser for my new series, Sangreal. The story narrates the tale of vampire Dabi, who is enlisted as a Hunter in the prestigious vampire guild, Sangreal; a female protagonist whose unique blood is the world's sole hope following the catastrophic Night of Ash; Aizawa's insurrection against a tyrannical vampire regime, and the rise of vampire prince Shigaraki - a powerful vampire created by AFO's virus that annihilated humanity.

The series will incorporate a blend of horror and thriller elements, along with some smut and plenty of dark content. The first chapter is scheduled to be published in the first half of February, or possibly a little earlier if I can manage (this is just an estimated timeframe).

Over the past few weeks, I've been working hard to develop the concept for Sangreal, and I sincerely hope you'll enjoy the story. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the wonderful people who not only read through the initial concept but also shared their constructive feedback, helping me shape the story to its current form: @crystalwolfblog @lura-valentine @unhinged-bratty-boy @scary-grace & @within-eyesight

If you'd like to be tagged in the series, please send me an ask, DM me, or comment below. Please also reblog to help spread the word!

Thank you for your support!

[genshinimpactresources]

Story Teaser: Honor | Genshin Impact

EN | CN | JP | KR

[medusalith-amaquelin]

—JOHAN X NORTH · FOUREVER YOU ·

[jasminesilk]

"The Charm family has produced generations of distinguished Spellcasters, as Minerva often reminds her children. Gemma resents her family's high expectations even though she secretly wants to make them proud. Darrel is an aspiring duelist who just got engaged to Emilia, a newly ascended Spellcaster who has a lot to live up to."

...story coming soon...

[larissa-the-scribe]

Tell Me About This Time Loop, Again?

And so it begins... @inklings-challenge

Day 12

In Zo's mind, it never felt like the day was properly begun until Lyn woke up, looked around at the room they'd been staying in, frowned, and said—

Day 13

"Where are we? And why does it feel so... familiar?"

"Well you see," Zo replied, as he always did, peeking at the underside of the egg he was frying, "we're stuck in a time loop."

Day 14

"A time loop?" Lyn swung her feet over the side of the bed, seeming to realize for the first time that she was in one.

"Don't worry, it's clean." After confirming they were, indeed, in a time loop, one of the first things he had suggested was finding a comfortable place to set up camp. Somehow it had worked, and they had ended up there every time things reset. "And there doesn't seem to be anyone around, so I don't think we're stealing or trespassing." 

Lyn raised an eyebrow. 

Day 15

"Well, we might be, but no one minds. It's a ghost town. Everyone seems to have disappeared." And since it was a time loop, they never ran out of cooking gas. Or food supplies. That, at least, was convenient. 

"Disappeared?" Lyn stood up, adjusting her shirt from how it had gotten scrunched up in the night. Despite her attempts to look bright-eyed and alert, he could see the sleepiness that still hung from her eyes. 

Day 16

"Our best guess so far is that it's connected to the time loop." Zo flipped the eggs. If this all persisted, he could open up a fried-egg restaurant once they got out; he was getting an absurd amount of practice flipping eggs.

"That makes sense." Lyn padded over to the window, still barefoot, and pushed the shutters open. "Do we have any evidence, or is that just, well, a guess?" 

Her gaze swept the view, which he knew without looking was nothing more than the empty lines of blocky, one-story buildings and the too-smooth black-top of the streets. The neighborhood was pressed together as if sheltering from the plains beyond the town, with such a veneer of newness covering it all that each house might have been churned out of a factory yesterday. They hadn't been, though, considering the subtle signs of wear and tear inside the houses. 

"Eh, a bit of both. Something weird is clearly going on with the area, and we know time is affected, too, so it's a logical guess that the two are connected. Whether that means some psycho wiped the town out before setting up their experiment, or just that their timey-wimey dealybob messed up physics in general is still up for debate. Do you want toast?"

"Yes, please."

Day 17

"Good. We have to finish the bread before it goes stale." Zo left the 'in case we get to the next day' implicit.

"I'm surprised we still have butter. I thought it would have gone bad in your pack."

"It smells a bit odd, but so far we haven't been affected by it."

Day 18

"Okay, but how do you know we're in a time loop?" Lyn asked, setting the table. 

They were in a ground-level studio apartment, so the dining room, kitchen, and bed were all in the same space. No couch, which Zo took to mean that the owner was either poor or a cheapskate. Either way, it was disappointing. Still, the carpet wasn't bad. He'd slept on worse.

"Because you've asked me that so many times I've lost track of the number," Zo said, "and you seem thoughtful every time, like you're not as surprised as you thought you'd be." 

She nodded and set a fork down carefully, wearing the expression she always did just then, brows squeezing down over far-away eyes.

"In all fairness, though," Zo clarified, "I mostly lost track because I wasn't really counting, and then it seemed pointless to start. It's been over two weeks, though, I'm fairly certain."

Day 19

She smiled, and the tension in her brows eased a bit. "This all does feels familiar. Like, I don't remember the other days, but all of this feels like I should, somehow, know what happens next. But I don't."

"I do know," Zo replied, "and it's getting a bit tiresome."

"Fair."

Zo nodded, slotting toast into the toaster. "Very. Whoever owned this place pretty much only had eggs in their fridge. I'm not sure how many more days in a row I can eat those without losing my mind."

Lyn looked up sharply.

Day 20

"Relax," he said, waving his spatula, "they respawn every day, so I don't think it's even technically stealing. If it is, we can pay them back later. There's a fully-stocked but unmanned convenience store down the road, one which we have very nobly not taken anything from, every single day."

"Good," Lyn sighed. "After all, if we get out today, we wouldn't want to be rewarded by jail for petty theft." She tacked on a fierce look at the end of the sentence.

Zo shrugged, and let Lyn interpret the gesture as she would. "Eggs are almost done."

Day 21

"Good. I'm weirdly hungry. Also, thank you for breakfast."

"Don't mention it," Zo smiled. "It's nothing I haven't done many times before."