#it's from horror of our love by ludo

[yourdarlingyandere]

The awful edges where you end and I begin

[calamitydarcy]

i have a sketchbook, a pencil, a set of colorful ballpoint pens, and adhd in class and this is what happens

[mothpawbs]

i want you stuffed into my mouth hold you down and tear you open live inside you oh love, i'd never hurt you

would you let them bite you? no promise they wouldn't kill you 👀

[ladyofrosefire]

We begin with the story in general, moving from the bloody wreck that first stepped off the Nautiloid to a more hopeful ending. Then follow nine specific takes on the Dark Urge. I reached out to a few individuals who were kind enough to name songs that capture some of the essence of the characters they made. I strongly recommend asking them about what they made.

Listen to the playlist on spotify or on youtube

Song list below!

“Ptolomea” Ethel Cain 

“Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums”— A Perfect Circle

“No Light, No Light” - Florence + The Machine 

“In The Woods Somewhere” Hozier

“Ancestors, The Ancients” - Chelsea Wolfe 

“Gallows” - Cocorosie 

“Blood On My Name” - The Brothers Bright 

“Kill Of The Night” Gin Wigmore

“Monsters” - Ruelle

“Control” - Halsey 

“Autoclave”- Mountain Goats

"The Horror Of Our Love"- Ludo

“Eyes On Fire”- Blue Foundation

“Heavy In Your Arms”- Florence + the Machine

“Afraid Of The Dark” - Phildel 

“Human” - Daughter 

"Who We Are"- Hozier

“The Nothing: Part 2”- Lady Lamb

Featured Characters

Manva @mightymizora “Purge me O Lord”- Thomas Tallis

Mercy @vamppeach “My Favorite Stranger”- Depeche Mode

Elegy/Echo @ladyofrosefire “Mermaids"- Florence + The Machine

Promise @shadowcrow “Broken Crown”- Mumford and Sons

Cynbel @iodhadh “Dark Star”- Jaymes Young

Nox @ruushes “I Let Love In” Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

The Drow @meanbossart “What Is This?”- Swans

Rille @say-lene “Fuse (Liminal)”- Crywolf

Vivette @infernaldaydreams “Notre Dame”- Paris Paloma

And if you've read this far, hey! Thanks! I'd love it if you would reblog with a song for your Dark Urge! This list is in no way exhaustive, and I've enjoyed the hell about getting a look into everyone's characters through putting this playlist together.

[organsoutsidelovinglydescribed]

Body Horror Week Prompts Are Live!

Welcome to Trigun Body Horror Week 2024!

We’ve set up a week of fantastic flavors of bodily horrors for you, and here is our official post sharing the prompts for you to cook with.

Body Horror Week is going to run from Feb 11th, 2024 until Feb 17th, 2024

For each set of prompts, we have an organ, two different songs, and a quote to inspire you into making the best horrors you’ve got.

The official hashtag for the week is #trigunbodyhorrorweek, and we’ll do our best to reblog your submissions the day of and whatever we may have missed during the week, we’ll reblog after. Feel free to tag us as well!

An AO3 collection is forthcoming.

There’s a copy of the prompts list below the cut, as well as links to the A-Sides and B-Sides for the music.

The art for the graphic was done by the wonderful @hashtagcaneven

Link for the music A-Sides and the B-Sides as playlists. Spotify playlist here.

Feb 11th: Eyes | Mama – My Chemical Romance | Mask of My Own Face – Lemon Demon | I hate it when humans and augmented humans ruin things for no reason. Maybe because I was a thing before I was a person, and if I’m not careful, I could be a thing again. - Network Effect, Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries)

Feb 12th: Skin | This Body – The Dear Hunter | Hurt – Johnny Cash | Skin against skin, blood and bone / You’re all by yourself, but you’re not alone / You wanted in, and now you’re here / Driven by hate, consumed by fear – “Bodies”, Drowning Pool

Feb 13th: Lungs | Sin Eater – Penelope Scott | Between Two Lungs – Florence + the Machine | I remember seeing myself splayed across the floor of the kennel, a chimera split along a hundred seams, taking communion with a handful of dogs. - The Things, Peter Watts

Feb 14th: Heart | Love Me Dead – Ludo | Your Body, My Temple – Will Wood | The heart wants what it wants. What it wants is blood. - Welcome to Night Vale Twitter

Feb 15th: Limbs | Blood – My Chemical Romance | Body – Mother Mother | Pluck that crimson orb rusted package from the branches mother’s arms our tree you’ve chopped away at for too long with your mouth-bright ax pretty-teethed boy. - “A Brother Named Gethsemane”, Natalie Diaz

Feb 16th: Intestines | Void – Melanie Martinez | Blood on My Name – The Brothers Bright | It is a corpse rotting slowly from within while maggots writhe in its belly. - Warhammer 40k

Feb 17th: Alien | Roots – In This Moment | sprorgnsm – superorganism | To be trapped, unmoving, within the body that has betrayed her so often, feeling every sensation as it grows and warps and sprouts, never knowing what new mutation it will visit on her next. - The Magnus Archives, Episode 171, "The Gardener"

[nhothicket]

Silly old doodle I cleaned up, one of the many songs that reminds me of them

Ludo - Drunken Lament

There was originally going to be a whole sheet of songs from my ethdubs playlist that remind me of them, but I sorta lost all motivation. So, this is the sole survivor.

I'm sure I'll do more eventually, I know I really want to write or draw something inspired by The Horror of Our Love off the same album. Like 'You're Awful, I Love You'? What an album name, tell me that doesn't ring bells.

[cluster-b-culture-is]

i see a lot of "bpd culture is the horror of our love by ludo"

LET ME JUST SAY... never have yall been so right.

the entire album that song comes from ("you're awful, i love you") is just cluster b culture as fuck.

.

[osteogeneses]

oc ; gwyn blackburn - the perils of godhood

// wikipedia page for 'intravenous therapy' / 'the torture of prometheus', painting by giovanni andrea carlone / 'the horror of our love', lyrics by ludo / 'antique pliers' painting by vitaly borisenko / 'the hand that feeds', lyrics by the crane wives / art by porpentine charity heartscape, taken from twitter @xrafstar / 'african wild dog painting' painting by patricia donald / 'your body is a battleground', barbara kruger / 'vagina police', lyrics by dream nails / 'evil' lyrics by interpol //

[whumpsday]

Whumpdreaming: A Whump Playlist

hope you all enjoy this little playlist i made! i tried not to reuse songs from my Kane & Jim character playlists, since i already used a lot of whumpy songs on that (especially the kane playlist lol). you can give those a listen too if you wanna!

Listen Here ▶️

Bonus song here ▶️ (it's not on spotify)

CW: various songs on this playlist contain references to torture, death, and sexual assault. nothing graphic, but it is there.

Whumpmas in July Day 11: What songs/playlists are perfect for whumpy daydreaming?

tracklist and selected lyrics under the read-more

01. The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

So don't you squirm, don't you fret I'm not gonna hurt you... yet I just feel the need to be getting A little of you, a lot of blood-letting I know the sensation you're probably dreading But cutting you up will be so refreshing for me

02. God Help Me - Emilie Autumn

God help me Believe me, this wasn't what I wanted But no, I can't leave, he's got me Won't you shine in my direction and help me? Won't you lend me your protection and help me?

03. The Horror of Our Love - Ludo

I'm a killer Cold and wrathful, silent sleeper I've been inside your bedroom I've murdered half the town Left you love notes on their headstones I'll fill the graveyards, until I have you

04. Mother Mother - The Veronicas

I'm hungry, I'm dirty I'm losing my mind Everything's fine I'm freezing, I'm starving I'm bleeding to death Everything's fine

05. Shoot Him Down - Alice Francis

I want to choke him Want to maltreat him I want to squeeze him And break his neck, neck, neck, neck

06. Choke - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THE FOUND ME

Stop, drop And drag me into place And lock the fire escapes I'll break your pretty face

07. Animal Skin - Bryan Dunn

I know where you're vulnerable Wild things can't get comfortable Quiver and shake, quiver and shake Oh no, oh no, oh no! You were being kicked about Backed up, teeth and claws are out Covered in blood, covered in blood Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow

08. I Can't Decide - Scissor Sisters

I can't decide Whether you should live or die Oh, you'll probably go to heaven Please don't hang your head and cry

09. Shalott - Emilie Autumn

She says, "How long can I live this way Is there someone I can pay to let me go 'Cause I'm half sick of shadows I want to see the sky Everyone else can watch as the sun goes down So why can't I?"

10. Tomcat Disposables - Will Wood

Little heart racing and praying, "Something, keep me safe" I think it saw my face Okay, one hungry day Is nothing come what may But then winter came inside for three nights Left me grinding my teeth between my walls And gripping my dreams tight

11. Gay Pirates - Cosmo Jarvis

And they put glass on my sandals So my feet would bleed all day And they forced me to wear them Or they said they'd make you pay

12. Little Pistol - Mother Mother

Under the skin, against the skull They put a little chip so that they know it all I think I might be scared Of the world and the way it makes you feel afraid

13. Inside You - Newton Schottelkotte, Karim Kronfli, The Blasting Company

I’ll have you begging for my mercy Loud enough for all to hear And at last I’ll finally take you by surprise As I hold you close and in the throes of passion’s piercing cries I’ll see the light inside you As it leaves your eyes

@whumpmasinjuly

[the-modern-typewriter]

I can't stop thinking about the "desperate to keep them x has to stay but will never love them" and it's funny because I was going to say that "Starring Role" by Marina and the Diamonds reminded me of that snippet, but then I remembered I got that song from your "specific villain vibes" recommendations 😂 It fits so well though, so I was wondering if you wrote that snippet listening to that song??? Or if you write with music or prefer silence?

This playlist

I almost always have music on. I can't remember what specifically I was listening to when I wrote that one.

It might have been my villainous playlist, which includes songs from the previous playlist. It's just less specific. It's all my villain vibes.

The last song I wrote with specifically was Red Right Hand, originally by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, but I like the Karliene cover.

The two songs I'm currently obsessed with, not that you asked but hey ho that's why it's obsession, are: Labour by Paris Paloma and Escapism by Raye.

[idyllphile]

IntraVenous!

a lacho playlist from Lalo's perspective :)

Addicted - Simple Plan

Alright With Me - Kris Allen

An Unhealthy Obsession - The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra

Arms Tonite - Mother Mother

BAD LUCK! - Jhariah

Call Out My Name - The Weeknd

Cockiness - Rihanna

Dinner Is Not Over - Jack Stauber

Every Breath You Take - The Police

Evil Night Together - Jill Tracy

Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne

Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy - Queen

Hate Me - Nico Collins

HOLD ME TIGHT OR DON'T - Fall Out Boy

Hopelessly Devoted To You - Reinaeiry

I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE - Måneskin

Immolation - Jiinzo

IN MY MOUTH - Black Dresses

Judas - Lady Gaga

Love Taste - Moe Shop, Jamie Paige, Shiki-TMNS

ME! - Taylor Swift, Brendon Urie

Mx. Sinister - I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Never Ever Getting Rid of Me - Waitress (Original Broadway Cast Recording)

Nowhere To Run - Stegosaurus Rex

Obsessed With You - The Orion Experience

One Way Or Another - Blondie

Palace - Hayley Kiyoko

People Eater - Sodikken

Pretty Boy - Naethan Apollo

Rewrite The Stars - The Greatest Showman (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Romance Is Boring - Los Campesinos!

Sad Boy (feat. Ava Max & Kylie Cantrall) - R3HAB

spy? - WHOKILLEDXIX

Stalkers Tango - Autoheart

Super Psycho Love - Simon Curtis

The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

The Horror Of Our Love - Ludo

The Red Means I Love You - Madds Buckley

This Is Love - Air Traffic Controller

Tie Me Down - Gryffin, Elley Duhé

Under My Skin - Jukebox The Ghost

Villainous Thing - Shayfer James

Yandere - Jazmin Bean

Your Love Is My Drug - Kesha

[summerwritesfics]

🌎Love I’d Never Hurt You

Pairing: Shang Tsung/Kuai Liang Length: 5261 Words Rating: Mature Warnings: Serial Killer/Detective AU, Detective!Kuai Liang, Serial Killer!Shang Tsung, Detective!Bi-Han, Murder, Graphic Description of Corpses, Stalking, Death Threats, Minor Character Death, Gun Violence, Obsession, Obsessive Behaviour, Possessive Behaviour, Blood And Gore, Bombs (Except Not Really), Pinned Down, Abduction (Sorta I guess lmao even Kuai doesn’t know for sure if that’s what’s happening to him), NSFK (Not Safe For Kuai), Shang Tsung Is Very Creepy (Honestly he came out way creepier than I was intending)

Meanwhile In Another Universe Masterlist

Notes: NGL I debated posting this or not, but honestly don’t think it’s any darker than some other stuff I’ve posted so 🤷🏻 Like upon re-reading Shang Tsung did come out way creepier than I originally intended, but I mean… he’s a serial killer so it kinda works. Also tfw you dislike the police irl but love crime fiction. :’( I think the truly shocking thing about this fic is that I wrote a detective fic without Detective Hanzo Hasashi making an appearance, like tf. Title is from “The Horror Of Our Love” by Ludo.

Kuai was almost thankful to be called out of the office.

Granted, he was going to investigate a suspected homicide, and that should not have been something he was eager to attend. He felt even worse that such a thing was definitely a welcome distraction from whatever the hell was going on with Bi-Han right now.

The case Bi-Han was currently working on had seemed to consume his very being. Every waking hour was spent obsessing over a mysterious serial killer. The murders were almost clinical, like whoever was committing the acts was performing experimental medical procedures. Things like organ transplants, but twisted, like trying to move the heart to where the stomach should be and vice versa. There were usually drugs in the victim's system that didn’t correlate to any known drug used in medicine. It was very strange and so far there had been very few clues to attach even a solid suspect or two to the case.

And Bi-Han was completely losing his mind over it.

“Brother, maybe you should take a break,” Kuai had tried to gently suggest. He’d flinched at the murderous glare Bi-Han had shot his way. “Clearing your mind may help you look at this at a different angle, and you do have other cases you haven’t even touched since-“ 

“I don’t give a shit about the other cases,” Bi-Han hissed, slamming his hands on his desk. “I care about this case, and catching this fucking bastard!” 

“But Brother-“ 

“No!” Bi-han swept his hands across his desk, sending everything on it flying off onto the floor in a loud clatter. If anyone else in the station heard it, they didn’t come to intervene. “This case is the only one that matters. And if you can’t understand why, then you can get the fuck out of my office.” 

“Bi-Han-“ 

“Get the fuck out!” 

Kuai realised he was fighting a losing battle, and left the office with his head hung low. 

It was after that he had been requested to go and attend the site of the suspected homicide, and he’d practically jumped at the chance. Honestly anything to get away from his brother for a little while. He hoped maybe when he was done and returned to the office, Bi-Han would have calmed down a bit, realised Kuai was right and they could go out for dinner or something. Kuai was kind of craving sushi at this point, and quite frankly big brother owed him a big apology for the way he treated him.

He spotted a police car pulled up outside an abandoned warehouse. This was his destination, however, it was strange that neither of the attending officers were outside waiting for him. He hit the breaks and parked up, before quickly jumping out. This area was extremely cut off from the rest of the city. Combined with the eerie silence he was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his radio, clicking the button, “This is Detective Kuai Liang Song, currently on case 759. Could I request some back up? The initial police presence has not come to brief me, and I am currently in a very isolated spot. I believe it would be unwise of me to enter the building alone.”

There was a moment of silence, before a voice on the other end replied with “Sorry Detective, the majority of officers are attending a major incident on the other side of the city at this time. It could be hours before we can get someone to your location.”

“Major incident? How come I was not informed of this?” Usually something like that would have been alerted to all emergency services.

“I can’t say I know, the alert was sent out on all police radios.”

“Is there absolutely no one free?” He tried, slowly walking towards the door of the warehouse. He peered inside, but could see nothing.

“No, unfortunately all units are busy.” Dammit. Just his luck. It still seemed strange though, usually even when there was a major incident, a few officers were kept back to deal with smaller emergencies.

He looked around, the trees and foliage surrounding the warehouse were thick, so much so he couldn’t even see the city. He could, however, make out thick plumes of smoke just above the trees. It did look like it was quite a distance from where he was. At least it seemed the incident was somewhat real, although he wasn’t completely convinced this wasn’t someone hijacking the line to prank him.

“So, what do you recommend? That I stand down until I can receive back up?” He wasn’t completely defenceless. He had a gun, but he still felt it’d be preferable to have others who could raise the alarm depending on what he found inside.

“Are you sure the team already there just hasn't heard you turn up?” The voice asked. “Maybe you should go inside and look for them?”

“I-“ That was wrong. That advice was all wrong. No one at control would ever suggest he go in there alone. That bad feeling was getting worse. “I see. I will keep you informed of my progress.”

He slipped his radio back onto his belt, but stepped away from the entrance to the warehouse. As he did, he slipped his phone out of his pocket, only to curse when he found he had no signal here.

Instead of dwelling on that, he made his way over to the police car. Now he was looking, he could see the tires had all been slashed. Shit, I was right to be on high alert. He reached for the door handle, surprised to find the car unlocked. Another bad sign. He climbed into the driver's seat, hoping maybe to use that radio instead. Only he could see the cable to it had been cut.

“Shit.”

The sound of gunshots rang out and he instinctively ducked behind the dashboard. It went on for several seconds, before coming to a halt. He stayed hidden for as long as he could, before gingerly sticking his head out. Whoever had been shooting didn’t start again, and Kuai realised the police car seemed to be completely unscathed. That’s when he looked over to his own car.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He scrambled out the police car, walking over to his own. It was littered with bullet holes, most specifically in his tires. The shots weren’t trying to kill him, just take away any method of escape he had aside from on foot.

“I recommend you come inside now, Detective,” the radio suddenly sparked into life again. “I would advise against running. I’d really rather not harm you, if possible, but I will shoot your legs if you force me to.”

Kuai plucked the radio from his belt, turning to glare at the warehouse. He couldn’t even see where this person could be.

“Who the fuck are you?” He growled eyes darting around the building hoping he’d spot a shadow or something.

“You’re going to have to come inside if you really want to know,” the voice chuckled, “then we can be introduced properly.” Kuai didn’t dare move, not until he figured out how to proceed. “I’d suggest you don’t keep me waiting, Detective. Like I said, I would really rather not hurt you.”

Kuai didn’t exactly know what choice he had at this point. He slipped his radio back onto his belt, replacing it with his gun instead. He swallowed, taking a deep breath before slowly pushing forward towards the warehouse’s entrance.

Inside was dark and dingy, and every shadow on the wall had Kuai jumping at the slightest movement and sound, even when it was something he had caused. As he entered what looked like it had once been the main storage area, he couldn’t help but think how empty it looked. That meant the two humanoid figures sitting on chairs stood out a mile.

This is a trap. It was so obvious, and yet Kuai, for reasons he couldn’t fathom, still went towards them. He held the gun up. It was clearly the two officers who’d come in before him, but they looked lifeless. He hoped to god they were just unconscious.

“Hello?” He chanced, but got no reply. “Can you hear me?”

Still no reply. Even so, he pushed on, rounding to stand in front of the officers.

Only to find their guts spilling out of their abdomens and onto the floor.

He wretched, stumbling backwards, desperately turning his face to look away from the sight in front of him. It was never easy to find dead bodies, especially in such a brutalised state as this. The officers weren’t people he was particularly close to, but they were still people he’d worked with on a nearly daily basis.

“Ah, hello there Detective.”

Kuai spun on the spot from where the voice had come from. It was the same one that had been on the radio. Standing behind him, was a man with long hair wearing a suit and his hands behind his back. Kuai didn’t take much notice of any further details though, as he aimed his gun at the stranger.

“Now, Kuai Liang, is there really any need for that?” The man asked, laughing slightly as he did and tilting his head. “And after I put in all this effort to get you here.”

“What?” That made it sound like this had all been deliberate. A coordinated effort to get Kuai, specifically, here. But Kuai had never seen this man before, and he didn’t have any current cases that felt like they fit these methods. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Shang Tsung,” the man replied, taking a few steps forward but pausing when Kuai straightened his aim slightly. “I am the one your dear elder brother is looking for.”

“You…” He didn’t finish the sentence, letting what had been said sink in instead. This man was claiming to be the serial killer of Bi-Han’s case. But… Who would just admit that? Especially to a detective? Kuai tried to steady his hands, realising they had started to shake. “If that is true, then you’ll be coming with me.”

Shang Tsung chuckled, finally moving his hands from behind his back. Revealing he was holding something. Kuai prepared to shoot, until he realised it wasn’t a gun. It was a strange silver cylinder. Kuai’s eyes flicked between the item and Shang Tsung, looking for an explanation.

“Please. Put the gun down, Kuai Liang.” Shang Tsung held up the cylinder as if to let Kuai get a good look at it. “This is a trigger to a bomb that is set up inside your brothers office.” Kuai’s mouth went dry as his eyes widened. “Put the gun down, and I won’t have to press it.”

“You’re bluffing,” Kuai hissed, squeezing the trigger of his gun. Really he wasn’t as good a shot as his brother, and wasn’t entirely sure he could shoot before Shang Tsung could press the button.

“Is that really something you're willing to risk?” That was unfair. If there really was a bomb in Bi-Han’s office, then it wouldn’t just take out his brother, but a lot of other people who had nothing to do with this case and even those with nothing to do with the police. And Kuai had no way to warn anyone.

Reluctantly, he took his finger away from the trigger, slowly bending over to put the gun on the floor.

“Kick it away,” Shang Tsung ordered, and as much as he didn’t want to, Kuai did as he was told. The gun went skidding across the floor, far out of his reach. Shang Tsung was positively glowing at this turn of events. “Good boy.”

Kuai stayed stock-still, even as Shang Tsung began to approach him. He wasn’t even sure he was actually breathing, all he could feel was his heart beating so hard in his chest it felt like it was trying to break through his ribcage. He blinked and then he found himself looking directly into the other man's eyes. Looking to his side, he saw Shang Tsung was still holding the trigger, thumb dancing over the button.

“Don’t,” Kuai begged in a whisper, feeling sick at the twisted grin that came over Shang Tsung’s face. He pressed his finger down on the button. “No!”

Jerking into action, he grabbed Shang Tsung’s wrist with one hand, the other practically wrestling the trigger from his hand. Despite it having already been pushed, it felt the only thing he could do at this point.

Except… 

When he took hold of it, he realised that despite how it looked, the trigger wasn’t metal. It was plastic. He could also feel that it was hollow inside. The more he looked at it, the more he realised it looked like some sort of fidget toy. His gaze slowly trailed up to Shang Tsung, who looked far too pleased with himself.

“It seems you were correct,” he gleefully exclaimed, “I was bluffing after all.”

The hairs on the back of Kuai’s neck stood on end. He attempted to dive forward, towards where his gun still lay on the floor, but Shang Tsung quickly grabbed him. In one swift motion, Kuai felt something knock into the back of his legs, causing him to fall backwards. Thankfully, he managed to avoid slamming his head on the floor, but then he felt a pressure on his abdomen as Shang Tsung got on top of him, pinning him down. He threw a fist, only for Shang Tsung to easily catch his wrists, and push them above his head. The floor next to him was wet, liquid soaking into his shirt, and as the metallic smell hit him, Kuai came to the horrific realisation he was lying in the officer's blood.

“Stop struggling,” Shang Tsung softly whispered, making sure he gripped both of Kuai’s wrists with one hand, while the other trailed along Kuai’s jawline. “I already said, I do not want to hurt you.”

“That’d be a lot more believable if I wasn’t lying next to the corpses of my colleagues,” Kuai hissed, squirming slightly and hoping he could knock Shang Tsung off him. Unfortunately that did not happen, and Kuai was slowly beginning to run out of steam with which to struggle.

“They were just meaningless fodder, Kuai Liang.” It was sick how someone could talk so callously about human life. “Not like you.” Kuai finally stopped trying to fight. He’d just end up wearing himself out. His head fell back slightly, and Shang Tsung lent forward, making sure he was still in Kuai’s field of view. “There we go, that’s better, isn’t it?”

“What do you want?” Kuai sobbed, trying so desperately to keep his composure. “Why are you doing this?”

“I need to talk with you, and I figured a written invite would go unanswered.” Shang Tsung’s fingers still gently laced Kuai’s face. A softness that directly clashed with the otherwise brutality of the man's actions. “I’ve been watching you for some time now.”

“What?” Kuai’s stomach twisted, his gaze fixed on Shang Tsung’s face. He looked so indifferent, like he didn’t realise or care how much that statement terrified Kuai Liang.

“Well, it started with me watching your brother, he is the detective on my case, after all, it would be stupid of me to not keep an eye on what he’s doing.” Shang Tsung’s hand reached behind Kuai’s head, undoing the tie that kept his hair up in a bun. “But I couldn’t help but find myself captivated by you.” His fingers ran through Kuai’s hair, causing Kuai to shudder under him. “My interest in him is professional. My interest in you is personal.”

“Please.” Kuai had no idea where this was going, he had no idea what he was pleading for. He just knew that he wasn’t sure he was going to make it out of this situation alive.

“Unfortunately, my fascination with the pair of you hasn’t gone unnoticed by my higher ups.” Shang Tsung kept playing with Kuai’s hair, sighing wistfully to himself as he did. “They believe my obsession with you both is impacting my work.”

“Your work?” Kuai questioned, finally noticing the quiver in his own voice. “Are you an assassin?”

Shang Tsung burst out laughing, “oh no, my dear, not an assassin. I’m a scientist. Everything I do is in the pursuit of science.”

Killing people for science? It sounded so fucking bizarre to Kuai. Then again, it would explain the strangeness of the deaths, the almost experimental nature of them. His victims were his guinea pigs.

“Regardless, they are not happy with the way my attention has been diverted.” He finally let Kuai’s hair fall between his fingers, watching in fascination. “They have decided it would be in their best interests to eliminate you both. That’s why I lured you here today. I wish to save you and your brother from their wrath, Kuai Liang.”

“Why should I believe you?” Kuai asked, flinching slightly when Shang Tsung’s fingertips once more trailed his face, specifically following the edges of the scar that ran across his eye. “You haven’t exactly given me much reason to trust your word.”

“I understand your hesitation.” To Kuai’s surprise, Shang Tsung actually released his wrists. As Shang Tsung pulled back, still sitting on Kuai’s lower abdomen, Kuai used his now free arms to prop himself up slightly. Shang Tsung’s hand disappeared into his pocket, and Kuai flinched slightly, expecting a weapon of some kind. Instead he pulled out a phone. “Here is a video of them discussing their plans to bring about your demise.”

Shang Tsung twisted the phone so Kuai could see the screen. The image looked like it was from the security camera of an office somewhere. There were three men standing inside, including Shang Tsung himself. A finger tapped the screen, and the video began to play.

“You are getting far too attached to those detectives, Shang Tsung,” one of the men said, the largest actually, towering above the others. “Your little obsession is getting in the way of your work.” He began to pace back and forth. “The elder one, I understand why you would keep an eye on, but the younger one is irrelevant to your work.”

“My surveillance on Kuai Liang is purely for personal reasons,” the Shang Tsung on the video replied. It looked like he was about to open his mouth to add something but the large man snapped back.

“I do not want to hear about your fucked up wet dreams about that brat,” the man spat, slamming his fist down on a nearby desk. “You are spending too much time on them, if you do not start to produce more results for me, I may be forced to take drastic action.” The man tilted his head. “Do you understand?”

“Clear as day,” Shang Tsung replied, bowing at the man slightly. The man just pointed to the door, and Shang Tsung sauntered out.

“You know he’s not going to stop, right?” The other man chimed up as soon as Shang Tsung was out of earshot.

“I am fully aware.” The tall man walked around the desk taking a seat. “Reiko, I have a job for you.”

“Am I to assume you wish me to make a visit to the dear detectives?” Reiko asked, and even on the zoomed out footage, Kuai could see the sadistic grin at the mere idea.

“The only way Shang Tsung is going to learn where his priorities should be is by taking away the things that distract him.” The man lent forward on the desk, linking his fingers in front of him. “As the younger one is clearly his favourite, make sure to do something extra special with him. Just to make the point clear.”

“I could decapitate him and present his preserved head as a birthday gift.” Both men burst out into laughter at that, but Kuai couldn’t help the high pitched whine that came from the back of his throat.

The video ended there, with Shang Tsung replacing the phone back into his pocket. Once more, his hand reached over to Kuai’s face to cradle it.

“You see.” He stroked Kuai’s face, and Kuai hated that he almost lent into it. “I just want to keep you and your brother safe.”

“Why?” Kuai asked, changing his position slightly, his arms starting to ache slightly from the weight of keeping himself up. “I mean. I understand why you want to save me, you have some… weird crush on me. But why Bi-Han? He’s trying to catch and stop you, wouldn’t it be more advantageous for him to be out of the picture?”

“Hm, well I’m a little hurt you think my crush on you is weird.” Shang Tsung pouted, his other hand now slowly caressing Kuai’s side. “But to answer your question, I rather enjoy the chase.” He gave a sloppy smile. “Killing really isn’t fun when there isn’t someone on your tail trying to stop you.”

So he enjoys the thrill, go figure. Shang Tsung could claim his kills were in the name of science all he liked, but at the end of the day, he was like anyone else who killed people for their own sick enjoyment. Kuai wasn’t sure if he should feel honoured or disturbed that he was apparently worthy of being more than just an experiment.

“So why lure me here and not Bi-Han?” Really, how the fuck Kuai got involved in any of this was questionable. Bi-Han had requested Kuai’s assistance a few times, but he had very little to do with the case. “If you’ve really been watching us, you’d know Bi-Han will do anything to catch you. If you’d have called him here, he’d have come running.”

“Oh, I’m very aware of that. The problem is, as you said, he would do anything to catch me.” Shang Tsung sighed and rolled his eyes. “He’d have shot me the second I attempted the bomb trick on him, let alone giving me a chance to explain my intentions.” He looked Kuai up and down. “From my observations however, he does at least seem to listen to you most of the time. It seemed most logical to get you on my side first and then attempt to contact your brother.”

Well. He supposed that was true. Kuai had lost count of how many times he was called away from something he was working on to go and try to calm Bi-Han down when his temper got the best of him. It was a joke around the station that Kuai Liang was Bi-Han’s morality pet, the only thing preventing him from becoming a serial killer himself. Kuai didn’t find that joke particularly funny however, given how uncomfortably close to the truth it was.

“So… What exactly do you suggest?” He was cautious to do anything with this man, but at the very least, it seemed Shang Tsung was genuine in his word that he did not wish to harm Kuai. Given the situation, he could have easily killed Kuai if he really wanted to by now.

“Call your brother, ask him to meet us at another location…” Shang Tsung trailed off as his eyes drifted over to the corpses beside them. “Somewhere other than here, anyway. I think we should let someone else clean this mess up.”

He’s talking like I had involvement in that. He glanced down, the one side of his suit was practically stained red from the blood that had seeped through it.

“I don’t have any signal here,” Kuai quietly informed him, hoping to god Shang Tsung wouldn’t get mad that he’d tried to call for help before coming in here.

“Well, we’ll be leaving this location anyway. You can just ring as soon as your signal returns.” Right. Kuai’s gut twisted, he should have realised that he would not be leaving this place alone. 

Finally however, Shang Tsung stood up and off him, and Kuai rolled onto his side, having not realised how uncomfortable it had been. Shang Tsung walked over to where Kuai’s gun lay discarded on the floor, bending over to pick it up.

“I hope you don’t mind if I keep hold of this, rather than returning it to you,” Shang Tsung said as he slipped the gun into his pocket. “Not that I don’t trust you or anything darling, but I think I’ve had my fill of seeing you pointing a gun at my face for one day.”

Kuai didn’t reply to that. What could he even say? He’d have much preferred to have the gun, even if he didn’t really intend to use it on Shang Tsung.

Thankfully Shang Tsung took his silence as agreement, as he walked over and held his hand out. Kuai reached for it, feeling the other man haul him to his feet. He stumbled slightly, not realising how dizzy the adrenaline had made him. He was surprised when Shang Tsung snaked an arm around his waist and let him lean his weight against him.

It also seemed this position allowed Shang Tsung the benefit of leading Kuai exactly where he wanted them to go. It wasn’t long before they were going through a backdoor in the warehouse. Back outside, Kuai saw another car parked behind the building, having been hidden from sight when he’d pulled in. Dammit, I should have looked around the outside more thoroughly. 

Disappointment in himself aside, Shang Tsung unlocked the doors, opening one and guiding Kuai to sit down in the front passenger seat. The door slammed behind him, and Kuai looked up in time to see Shang Tsung make his way around the front. Seconds later he was getting in the driver's seat, and starting the ignition.

“Keep an eye on your signal,” he instructed as he began to back out into the pathway. “As soon as you get some, tell me, and I’ll pull over.”

Kuai nodded, reaching into his pocket and keeping an intent eye on his phone. Really, focusing on that was at least grounding. If he didn’t, he had a feeling he’d be zoning out from how mentally exhausted he felt. Was he being abducted right now? He’d gone pretty willingly, yet at the same time somewhat by force. What was even happening to him right now?

He looked up briefly to find they were just joining the main road again. Glancing down he saw his signal go from nothing up to 3 bars. Typical. 

“I have signal.”

Shang Tsung made an affirmative sound, pulling the car up on the side of the road.

“There are some abandoned storage units on the other side of town, down by the river, ask him to meet us there alone by 6pm.” Shang Tsung turned on his seat as if to keep a close eye on what Kuai was doing. “Feel free to mention me, I’m sure it’ll get his attention.” Kuai sighed, because yes, that would get Bi-Han’s attention. “Oh, and put it on speaker. I want to hear his reaction.”

Kuai just sighed, pulling up Bi-Han’s contact info, hitting both the buttons to call and for it to be on speaker phone. The phone rang out. Come on Bi-Han, please answer. 

The phone clicked to life and Bi-Han’s voice called out clear as day, “what?”

“We need to talk,” Kuai started, staring straight ahead so he didn’t have to acknowledge the way Shang Tsung watched him.

“We’ve been over this. I am not giving up on this case,” Bi-Han growled on the other side. Kuai closed his eyes and grimaced. He couldn’t believe his brother was still holding onto that.

“It’s the case we need to talk about. I have a lead for you,” he said quickly, hoping it’d stop his brother going on another tirade.

There was a moment of silence, before Bi-Han questioned “what kind of lead?”

“Someone who wants to talk to you,” Kuai replied. He didn’t want to outright say he was in a car with a serial killer. Bi-Han would go completely off the rails if he did.

“What? Like a witness?” Bi-Han sounded so confused and Kuai knew that he had to tell him.

Kuai finally looked across at Shang Tsung, expression as smug as ever. But there was something else there now, a strange possessiveness in his dark eyes. Kuai had the feeling that even when everything was over, that Shang Tsung wasn’t going to just let him walk away from all this. As if to emphasise the point, Shang Tsung reached his hand forward again, wiping away a tear rolling down Kuai’s cheek, and then tucking a strand of Kuai’s hair behind his ear.

“I found your killer,” Kuai whispered, hating how wrecked his voice sounded.

“Kuai Liang,” Bi-han growled, the alarm clear in his voice. “Kuai Liang, where are you right now?”

“He hasn’t hurt me,” Kuai assured him, although was that true? Kuai ached in various places and he was sure there were some bruises forming on various parts of his body from the struggle.

“Where are you?” Bi-Han asked again, and Kuai could hear him shuffling in the background, no doubt grabbing his coat and anything else he’d need to come to Kuai’s rescue.

“He wants to meet you,” Kuai continued, once again resisting the urge to lean into Shang Tsung’s hand as he stroked him. “There’s some abandoned storage units down by the river. He wants you there by 6pm, but don’t bring anyone else.”

“Can he hear me right now?” Bi-Han was breathing heavily, and all Kuai could do was make an affirmative sound. “Listen here, you son of a bitch, if you so much as lay a finger on my brother-“

“He’s already told you that I have not hurt him,” Shang Tsung interrupted, eyes never leaving Kuai, giving an enamoured sigh as he continued to gently pat him. Kuai finally gave in, nuzzling into the hand. “I’m trying to save both of you, it’d be counter productive for me to harm either of you.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Kuai heard someone in the background asking Bi-Han what he was doing, but given there was no reply it seemed Bi-Han was laser focused on getting to the storage units.

“I’ll explain everything when we meet,” Shang Tsung calmly replied. “Like I said, I have not hurt your brother, and I would rather not if I can avoid it. Just focus on getting to the location.”

“I’m okay Bi-Han,” Kuai reaffirmed, although he’d probably sound a little more convincing if he didn’t have tears in his eyes. “We’ll explain everything when we meet you.” He smiled slightly at the phone, adding a quick “I love you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I love you too.” Bi-Han sounded miserable, but in the background Kuai could hear the sound of an engine starting. “I’ll be there, just, stay safe.”

“You too.”

And with that Bi-Han put the phone down.

Before Kuai could do anything, Shang Tsung snatched the phone from Kuai’s hand. He opened his door, carelessly throwing the phone out, before slamming it shut again. If Kuai was to guess, it was to avoid him getting anyone else involved.

“Now,” Shang Tsung sighed, reaching to turn the key, “let’s go meet big brother, shall we?”

Kuai lent back in the seat, closing his eyes and hoping to god that this was all just a bad dream.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Steddie 2023 Music List collab

2023 is almost here and with that, I propose something for all of us Steddie lovers.

Please post a single song that you associate with Steddie and tag me/reblog this post so I can see it and add it to the Spotify playlist.

Include the lyrics and your reasoning, why do you see them in the song? Feel free to include a small drabble, a full fic, a fanart, a Christmas sweater, I don't care. The only requirements are 1 person 1 song and the post with reasoning. Let us see what you see in the song. Share your Steddie vision.

Let's build the ultimate Steddie music list together. All music genres are welcome, all headcanons, all versions (happy ending Steddie, one-sided, pining, AUs...).

Please tag as many people as you want and forward this, the more the merrier! I will try to update this list as much as possible with the links to your posts. And if you find the link to your post missing, please DM me, I will fix it ASAP!

The playlist is HERE!

Tagging my moots and people I follow to get this show started (the usual no pressure if you don't want to thingy here) @unclewaynemunson @strawberryspence @steveshairychest @willowworkswithwords @thefreakandthehair @thelastwalkingsoul @skeliiix @stevesbipanic @steviesbicrisis @henrystars @yournowheregirl @henderdads @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe @sidekick-hero @legitcookie @hoples (gimme that November Rain, I know you want to!) and anyone who wants to join, if I left you out I just forgot because I'm rushing to post this while I remember, I still love you all!

Oh and by the way. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE WRITERS/ARTISTS. You can just love the ship and that's it. *smooch*

If you want a tag, it's Steddie2023MusicList.

Go!

EDIT: I very much appreciate all the song comments/reblogs, but please create a post with the reasoning and tag me so I can add your song/reason to the list! It's not just a set of songs, but also the reasons why you chose them! I can't link comments so please, create posts, not just tags or comments. Thank you!

List of songs and posts under the cut:

@undreaming-fanfiction: Meat Loaf - All of Me

@daysarestranger: Journey - Faithfully

@steveshairychest: Chance Peña - In My Room

@frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe: The Chordettes - Eddie My Love

@asbealthgn: Ludo - The Horror Of Our Love

@reignofdreams: Adam Lambert - Whataya Want From Me

@hoples: Guns N' Roses - November Rain

@goddess-of-the-donut: Taylor Swift - Invisible String

@henderdads: Alex & Sierra - Little Do You Know

@mira-jadeamethyst: Beth Crowley - The Dark

@cinnamon-mushroomabomination: ABBA - Super Trouper

@steviesbicrisis: Maneskin - Coraline

@rogueangelshunter: Jóhan Jóhansson - Mandy Love Theme

@willowworkswithwords: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Almost Cut My Hair

@yellowsweater-bluevest: Cuarteto de nos - El innombrable

@sidekick-hero: Mehro - Chance With You

@lenythepillow: The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

[blindmagdalena]

hii, not extremely well versed in all your writing (yet), but so far w what ive seen w the cannibalism fic & how u write homer (lol), i must say i love how beautifully u intertwine his violence w romance, w how u write him, it's like his egotistical macabre nature & need for love r making out lmao! feel free to ignore this part bc praise shouldn't feel like you owe the praiser anything, but id love to see something from you, anything of any length, w homelander x a y/n who loves how creepy & macabre & scary he can be! like, they're gothic romantic sorta? like "oh, you can hear my heartbeat? tell me if the gushing in my arteries differs when i am around you! go into grave detail please! i want to peel the skin off your body and claw around inside of you too to see what makes you tick!" lol, maybe he sees them in black & is all "wowie, finally decided to kill me and you're getting prematurely ready for my funeral? well, nobody can say you're not a multitasker! how very feminine of you!" "no because if you died id want to be buried next to you!" "oh, i see!" "even if i was still alive! :D" "wow! well, morticia/gomez, you're... intense! i like your... prep! your... uncolourful enthusiasm!" lmfao. he tries to return it by trying to give them weird compliments in turn that fit w them; "don't you look like the most dolled up, prettiest corpse in the mausoleum in all that black make-up!", he sees them blushing or something & he's like "look atcha, blooming up likeeee... a bloodied bouquet of rose!trying to make my heart stop or something? least you'll be sittin real pretty on my grave huh?" he's like that meme that's like "my hot witch girlfriend" & him in a summoning circle like "me doing whatever tf she wants" but he's also a freak just a blonde one. dude is the star-spangled superman & a celeb who should be dating models and yet he's like hiding a heart shaped necklace under his suit that's like a preserved vial of their blood lol. i feel it'd stroke his ego in a different way where they also love how weird & freaky he is, yet in contrast they're not violent or harmful w their love for gore or whatever themselves, for them it just bubbles up into a deeper way to express love & their own self expression. i also wanna recommend "the horror of our love" by ludo if u dunno it, feels sort of fitting for how you write him! "i want you stuffed into my mouth, hold you down & tear you open, live inside you, love id never hurt you. but ill grind against your bones until our marrows mix, i will eat you slowly"/"the awful edges where you end & i begin, inside your mouth i cannot see, there's catastrophe in everything i am touching as i sweat & crush you. & i hold your beating chambers until they beat no more, you die like angels sing" :p 🖤

first of all. calling him homer made me scream. 😂 second, thank you! this is so many words and they are all very kind and fun. I think currently the fic I've written that's closest to this premise is Don't Fret, Precious (I'm Here) which features a reader that's ultimately pretty into his whole deal, and fairly deranged herself.

I definitely want to write more macabre readers though, and I love this gomez/morticia angle you're talking about. I've had a WIP in the wings for ages where the reader herself is a serial killer that Homelander catches, but ultimately decides to cover for because he's intrigued by her bloodlust. it's very much a yandere x yandere. it doesn't fit into the idea that the reader is harmless, but... fiction is fiction, right? no one's really hurt! lmao

also, Ludo is one of my favorite bands!!! I actually almost named this fic "The Horror Of Our Love" but ultimately decided "The Horror Was For Love" suited it a little bit better.

as you've accurately deduced I definitely love mixing elements of romance and horror. you have very much inspired me to step up my game and return to that serial killer fic, and maybe something new featuring more of an oddball reader that really throws Homelander off his game.

thanks again for the lovely message. 🖤

[would-they-listen-to-that]

May I have a fictionkin playlist for Elijah Volkov from the podcast Camp Here & There?? Thank you!! 💕

‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚🎧⊹♡ here you go, caller!

An Unhealthy Obsession - The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra

The Horror of Our Love - Ludo

Stalker's Tango - Autoheart

Mirror Man - Jack Stauber's Micropop

Bark Like a God - Sloppy Jane

Rattlesnake - Kabaret Sybarit

The Haunted Phonograph - Thoushaltnot

The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin

The Masochism Tango - Tom Lehrer

thanks for dialing in!

[xalatath]

119 and 133?

119. Favourite book?

THE SILMARILLION and all of its related works, so i guess I could just say the Tolkien Legendarium. I can't get enough of those toxic elves.

133. Favourite lyrics right now?

ALWAYSSS This from The Horror of Our Love by Ludo. "The Awful Edges" is my personal title for all of Uinen's weird relationships. Also side note but I had only heard this song and one other (Love Me Dead) and I was so disappointed to find out i don't like any of their other music nearly as much as those 2 songs. Sad!