#I love ciffhangers

[lavendermin]

my enemy dearest 『2』 | childe

pairing | childe/reader

word count | 1.2k

genre | angst, enemies with benefits

warnings | liyue archon quest spoilers

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“We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you that’s nice right now,” you quickly seethe, the clack of your heels on the floor punctuating the tense silence.

You easily step over scattered papers and shattered decor— a haunting reminder of the frantic state everyone in the city was left in with the emergency evacuation when Osial was unsealed.

Childe, ever taller in height, easily catches up to you in effortless strides. And maybe, just maybe, if things had transpired differently, you would feel some kind of pride in seeing his eyes hold a twinge of desperation in them.

If he wasn’t with those godforsaken Fatui.

“Just— Listen,” he practically pleads, stepping in front of you. It halts you in your steps, your eyes cold like the Vision you bear. What he hoped to be an opportunity quickly turns south.

“If you do not move out of my way in the next instant, I will hurt you, Tartaglia. And that is not a threat, that is a promise.”

The calm in your tone is a stark contrast to the venom that drips from your words. And his official codename as a Harbinger… He hasn’t heard you use such a formality in a while. It makes Childe feel more distant than ever.

Maybe he was more irked that he cared— that it bothered him.

He goes easily when you shove him out of the way. And without a second thought he grabs your wrist when you’re barely past him.

“Hurt me, then,” he challenges. “You think I can’t take it? That’s an insult to everything I’ve trained for.”

The bitter laugh that escapes you echoes in the empty halls just outside your office.

“Tell me then, Tartaglia, did you train all your life just to kill Rex Lapis? Train day and night to awaken the wrath of a god that’s been dormant for eons? What do you gain from disrupting the peace of a nation?”

“I didn’t kill Rex Lapis, for archon’s sake— would you just— listen to me for 5 minutes,” Childe all but shouts.

His heart is pounding in his ears, frustration and adrenaline coursing through his veins. You were nothing significant to him, and the same you would say about him if asked. So then, why did he feel the need to clear things up with you?

You pull your wrist out of his grasp, and for a second he swears he sees a deep hurt swirl in your eyes.

“You’ve shattered the thin ice we walked on.” The seething rage consumed you, and for a second you considered the Vision around your neck.

No… No, you would still cling onto the shred of self-control you desperately held onto… Your patience was slowly dwindling—thin as morning frost— and with your mind in a dark place, it wouldn’t end pretty.

“What happened at the Golden House— let me explain—“ Childe is quickly cut off.

The change in your expression is enough of a sign. Childe is royally screwed—he knows this. The entirety of Liyue has him down as a ruthless villain, much to his annoyance. But nothing could prepare him for how you decide to hurt him. At this point, he would have much preferred to be hurt by you in battle, defeated by your icy dagger at his throat. Your words left his throat dry, his fists clenched in a bubbling toil of anger and disbelief.

“Forget me. Forget me and never come looking for me again. I don’t ever want to see you near my office and if you don’t leave now, I’ll have you escorted out by the millelith.” Your words are commanding, forceful. Enraged, yet you held back your tongue to keep from saying something you would regret. You wave him away, picking up a few scattered files here and there, “I have a city to try and restore. Dismissed.”

Childe wishes there was more hurt, more pain in your words so he wouldn’t be the only one. But you were in a state of confusion and inconsolable anger. Nothing made sense in your head right now, or rather you didn’t want to believe it.

“I’m not letting this go,” he grits. Childe was starting to lose his patience now, too.

“It’s best you do,” you reply coldly, back facing him as you unlock your office doors. And with a deep sigh you can only laugh at the idea you voice, “Or, what? You’ll say you love me? Keep this stupid make-believe game going on? I’m tired, Childe. I’m so fucking tired of you—of those people that use you like a war-machine.”

And though he wanted to feel angry, he just couldn’t. Childe knew this line of work was what his reputation would undoubtedly reflect.

There’s no more fight in him, and all he can do is watch as the door of your office slams shut. The halls are empty and echo into his mind the events that just transpired. Not even a ‘goodbye’. Perhaps because there was nothing ‘good’ about this parting—or about the entire past few days.

What does this mean for him, he wonders. Why is this even a problem? He should be rejoicing, in fact. Months ago, all he wanted was you off his back so he could run operations in Liyue seamlessly. And now that you’ve willingly cut ties…

Childe shoves the thoughts elsewhere. If he could drink to forget, then that’s what he would do. Without another word, he leaves the building and saunters off to look for Zhongli—

No.

No, no. That option was out of the question right now. Left without the only two people he was most often around, Childe retreats back to his rented living quarters. He needed to be alone— to think and regret alone.

Mouth bitter with unsaid words, he was left with a sour feeling festering in his chest. Guilt? The crushing weight of his actions? There’s one he hasn’t felt in a while. He wouldn’t quite call it that either. Who knows? Whatever it was, he didn’t want to feel. He preferred the numbing feeling of battle.

But his mind can only flash back to the Golden House fiasco. From there everything plays in a loop leading up to you, again and again.

It would be okay. I’ll be okay.

Like any fresh wound, it would just take time to heal and then be another forgotten scar. However, if he had somehow developed feelings… Well, then he was in for a very lengthy healing process.

Childe would forget you, like he did the faces of all those he defeated in battle before. This he hoped, at least.

It was harder to forget the feeling of your body under his rough hands, hard to forget the many ways he used you to forget his stress. Perhaps that was temporary relief and all that same stress was coming back ten-fold.

‘I’m not the bad guy,’ he would always say, trying to convince himself more so than others. And yet now, with how he had betrayed your trust beyond repair— beyond the excusable— he was the bad guy. Perhaps this was his price to pay.

[geocait0815]

Demons Grasp - Chapter 10

Another chapter before is disappear for a long week-end travelling. Because I did not want to leave my lovely readers hanging on a ciffhanger for that long. Or did I?

In any case, rest assured that I will use my time offline for plotting. ;)

I am being dragged backwards. Think, MC! What can I do? I consider to just let myself slump against my attacker to get him off balance and maybe get away. But there is still the matter of the gun barrel being pressed against my back.

As we reach the corner of a side alley, he gives me a push forward and then guides me into the alley. The stench here is almost overwhelming. In the dark I can not see much, but I do sense several dumpster containers lining the house walls. As we keep walking ahead, my foot catches on something on the floor and I stumble. But he pulls me right back up and pushes me along.

When the light of the street lamps does not reach us anymore, he kicks into my popliteal area, causing my knees to bend and me to fall forward. I land hard on my knees and hands. He walks around me and takes position right in front of me. I try to get up again, but a backhanded slap hits me. “Stay down, Bitch.” He really needs to work on his vocabulary. “Do you remember me?”

I look up. There is not much light here in the far corner of the alley with high rising houses around us. But I still can make out his features. It is the face that haunted me in my nightmare. An eyepatch is now covering his left eye. Right, that is my doing. Scenes from our struggle flash through my head. He had knocked me out and just left me lying on the living room floor, while he took Jake. I guess he came to tie up loose ends.

“Weren’t you that one guy from Pirates of the Caribbean?” He hits me again with the back of his hand holding the gun. My head flies around. I feel something snap in my neck. As I straighten again, I spit out some blood. He takes a step forward and places the muzzle of his pistol right in the center of my forehead.

“I should have ended you the other night.” “Why didn’t you?” I ask. His expression tenses and the pressure on my forehead increases. “You are not the one calling the shots, are you?” I realize. “Who do you work for?” He looks confused for a second and then bursts into bellowing laughter. “Are you telling me that you don’t even know who you and your lover are up against? This is pure comedic gold!”

The sudden sound of a ringtone distracts him. He reaches into the inner pocket of his black coat and retrieves a mobile. The pale light of the device makes him look like a ghost as he looks down at it. Then he answers the call. “Yes? … Hmmm. Yes, I got her. What are your orders? … I understand. … I will.” He clicks off the call and puts the phone away. “Looks like this is my lucky day.” A devilish grin contorts his features.

“What do you want from me?” I ask, ignoring his previous statement.  He scoffs. “I have been sent to snuff out you pathetic little light. When I’m done, I will go for your friend, that little redhead.” My blood turns to ice. “So, if you are about to kill me, then you can also tell me who sent you. Who ordered my death?” He hesitates, then shakes his head. “I am not some second grade Bond villain. There will not be a lengthy monologue where I lay out all the plans to take over world domination.” “It was worth the shot,” I reply.

“Speaking of shots… Any last words?” I shake my head. Now, in my final moments a strange calm washes over me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. ‘I am sorry, Jake,’ I think. ‘I really tried. Maybe Tess and the others will manage to find and rescue you. I really hope so. I love you.’ 

Then I hear a gunshot.

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[theblueandgoldriverdale-blog]

The Town That Dreaded Sundown - S02 E04

One of my biggest questions this episode is - will Archie ever stop making stupid decisions?

And I can appreciate the loyalty that Veronica has to Archie but is she going to stop encouraging these stupid decisions at some point?

Okay, I have a lot of thoughts on this episode and I’m going to try and go in order. 

Hiram Lodge is wayyy too excited about the confusion and chaos taking a hold of Riverdale. Creepily so. (See my theory on that here)

Yep...There Archie goes making stupid decisions again. That boy really needs to learn to think through his actions before jumping in head first. 

And Veronica...oh poor naive little Veronica. I find it ironic that she talks to her dad about how she loves the eager naivety of Archie and yet believes her dad and makes t-shirts when Archie’s more concerned with fist fighting the serpents in the rain because he PULLED A GUN ON THEM. I always thought Veronica was supposed to be this badass who took nothing from nobody. Little Miss Upper East Side is out of her depth and I’m hoping she catches up to the dark turn the town has taken. 

Kevin. Oh Kevin. You know, I wasn’t really a fan of Kevin until more so this episode. When I saw Kevin sit down and tell Betty that he’d sorted his life out, I was so proud of him. Then, unlike a certain half of a couple I’m mad at right now, he actually asked what was wrong and listened to her in her time of need. 

I think Betty makes a stupidly smart decision with the letter. I can understand her horror, her shame. I can see where she’s coming from, not wanting people to find out, thinking that it’s a test for her. It makes sense. I mean, objectively, you give the letter to the police and let the proper authorities deal with it. But without Betty’s decision, the cipher would not have been solved. With the cipher being from Betty’s favourite childhood book, he’s even more clearly a psychopath and you never know what he would have done if someone other than his chosen one had solved the cipher. 

Heck, with the ciffhanger this episode leaves us on, we don’t even know what he’s done when it was his chosen one who cracked the code. 

But Archie. Archie, Archie, Archie. Why all the stupid decisions, Archie? Who in their right mind believes it’s a good idea to go into the south side, on their own, to spray paint red circles around the place. 

Speaking of Archie’s jaunt to the southside, wouldn’t it be nice if there was someone who knew that the serpents were targeting Archie and could have helped him avoid the whole situation. 

Say, a best friend?

Oh wait, I forgot that Jughead decided that no one except stupid TONI TOPAZ matters anymore. 

I mean, the girl very, very clearly has a chip on her shoulder and the look she gave Jughead when he was trying to defend Archie shows that she’s not happy with him having those ties to the north side. 

Like girl, I appreciate that you’ve had it hard but STOP MESSING WITH JUGGY! He’s messed up already and we like him like that. 

But I digress...

Dilton, you little psycho, STOP ENCOURAGING HIM! I mean, at the same time I appreciate the fact that you made him get a Kevlar vest but STILL. 

Okay, now on to Toni freaking Topaz. 

THAT GIRL! I swear. 

I mean, I know Jug is adorable and has this whole ‘tortured artist soul’ thing going on. But he has a girlfriend. Take those feelings and destroy them with a flamethrower because Bughead is forever. 

When she made the comment about Betty and her adorable, iconic ponytail, I was ready to snap. She looks around all innocent and says ‘guys, it was just a joke’. Nuh uh! Nuh uh! I know that technique, I invented that technique, I perfected it!

That was a damn well serious dig at my little cinnamon roll so don’t you dare say ‘it was just a joke’! Because we know, Toni Topaz, we know!

And okay, I can appreciate that she feel uncomfortable around a northsider but Betty is one of the only people who has been consistent in not really taking a side. I bet if you counted up the prejudice, Betty would be one of the least. With parents like the Coopers, it’s strange that Betty isn’t super racist to the southsiders and sure, she’s made a couple comments and that makes sense. She’s been a bit wary but that makes sense, it’s what she’s grown up learning but she’s made an effort to get rid of those biases. 

But nooooo...In comes Toni freaking Topaz to judge Betty without getting to know her just because she has a thing for Jughead. 

Like Betty didn’t even say that Black Hood is from the southside, she just said that they’ve targeted northside people. HE HAS! He’s targeted northside people but they have just as much reason to target each other. 

Then off she goes after throwing around her accusations and a wrench in Betty’s mind because she’s starting to lose Jughead, even just slightly. It’s the small things. 

And sure, they fell asleep together but that doesn’t discredit the communication issues. 

When Archie got called out and Veronica stood up and defended the t-shirts, that just made me groan. Veronica! Come on girl! Where is that fire?!

Can I just say, I LOVED that conversation between Hermione and Veronica. It makes me wonder if there’s more behind the warnings that Hermione keeps giving Veronica. Personally, I feel like there’s a lot more subtext. 

Hermione followed Hiram. She was pulled down this dark path because of her blind faith, her blind loyalty in husband, the man she loved. She felt the pains of that and she doesn’t want Veronica to fall into the same traps. Not with Archie, and not with Hiram. 

I love that Jughead was getting annoyed with Betty’s silence on the subject. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Um, maybe because you dodged her calls for Toni??? Did you think about that???

Also, can we appreciate the hilarity of Alice suggesting they close the ‘drug ridden South Side High’ when we already know that Riverdale High is also being overrun by Jingle Jangle. 

I think they’re making to too obvious about Hiram and Hermione. I don’t think they’ll be the big bads of the season, I don’t think they’d make it that obvious. 

My favourite thing is that Archie and Veronica threw away the gun and yet Jughead tells us that their efforts to end the cycle of violence were in vain because it’s going to get worse. 

WHY TO THEY LEAVE US ON SUCH CLIFFHANGERS?! I NEED TO HEAR THIS PHONECALL! WHY RIVERDALE?! WHY????!!!!

Anyway, they’re my thoughts on this episode. I seriously enjoyed this one, it’s got me desperate for next week!

[romeo-oh-nomeo]

RIP SyFy’s Dark Matter.

It’s been a while since a SyFy show reeled me in from the beginning.  In the void left behind from Warehouse 13 and Defiance ending, 12 Monkeys and Dominion came close.  But Dark Matter had the same Stuff™ as W13 and Defiance.

I was expecting a campy sci-fi show, but it was more than that.  It was a show that did right by women, POC, and, in the end, the LGBT community. The plot perfectly blended all the goodies of science-fiction, from the perils of space travel, to alliances, to parallel universes, to time travel, to a crew as family.  The storylines remained fresh and unpredictable, complex and intriguing.  And the characters. Oh, the characters. Every episode felt like I was hanging out with lovable, quirky family members. The chemistry between the crew is so raw and rare, and each character felt so real.  Their flaws and weaknesses never felt forced, and their strengths complemented each other and reverberated with the purist of humanity. Last but not least, I have so much appreciation to the show’s cast and crew, who have always respected fans, and made watching this show feel warm and inviting.

And to my lovely fellow members of the Raza Crew, thank you for being a small but amazing fandom.  The jokes, the post-ciffhanger freak-outs, and the mutual respect even in the face of differing opinions.  

From start to end, I loved Dark Matter.  Every part of it.  Thanks for an amazing three seasons <3

Edit: Check out the petition for SYFY to Renew Dark Matter for Season 4 if you want :)