#The Death of Your Nemesis

[psalmsofpsychosis]

so i've been thinking about this

panel for awhile and, it's not even the first time Batman has threatened to beat Joker up with the precise intention of putting him in a full body cast but not kill him.

You know, that threat actually takes a rather maticulous amount of mental planning and physical control. Gettint someone within 3 inches of death but not kill them takes conscious read on the opponent's body language cues, their physical capacity and their thresholds, their highest pain point before their body gives in, and technically a rather comprehensive intimate knowledge on their internal organs and their medical history. Knowing how to bring someone close to collapse but not straight up flatline is actually a rather intricate controlled process that is subject to each individual's physical state at the moment, especially for the fact that we see Batman getting really really really close to the killing line and very much flirting with it, but never crossing it.

And honestly the presence of that threat —which he keeps telling Joker— is so bizarre and fascinating to me. Pray tell Bruce, how much time have you exactly spent mapping out Joker's body and cataloguing each and every point of it inside and out, enough that would enable you to read his minute physical responses in order to know when to pull a punch and how much?

[thegreatyin]

And thus, with the passing of 24 hours, Caeru's ambition truly comes to an end. Major Nemesis spoilers below the cut- we're talking endgame ambition business here. Mostly on a character RP front.

The Doomed Scientist made quite a few... choice decisions, in the end. Killing Cups once and for all, recording his story as one of grief-

And sparing what little remained of Mr Mirrors, leaving it free to roam Parabola as it sees fit.

Some of them, he can explain. Others, he's still left to feel... discontent.

Cups needed to die. That much was certain from the start. It was a tyrant, as all Masters are, and complicit in the bargaining and eventual destruction of four (potentially five) cities, as all Masters are. It was an obstacle. A murderer. A petty monster that felt no remorse even on its deathbed, and it went out of its way to ruin multiple lives just because it felt owed its own sick and twisted idea of revenge.

It killed his first love. It looked him in the eyes and he knew what it had done and he knew from the start it was going to die.

Perhaps, in the end, it knew too. And yet it still pleaded, and wanted to live, and-

It made a bargain.

A bargain Caeru didn't take.

Not because he didn't want to. Gods, he wanted to. He wanted it. He wanted it more than anything else in the world. To have Greylu back, to give him the gift of life, of love, to show him the wonders of the Neath and the beauty of the correspondence and all of the people Caeru has met and loved and found home with along the way-

But. He couldn't.

Because Cups was a monster. And no matter what, it deserved to die. And he could not, in good conscience, allow it to live.

Even if sparing it meant everything he's ever wanted.

So he's left here, now. With a bloodied traveling coat, and a bloodsoaked knife, and a favor finally fulfilled.

And nothing to live for. No resurrected lover, no charming visits to Helicon, no slow dances in the living room, no memories to rebuild and lives to live and he won't live again-

Nothing. All he has is a coat born of obligation, not to his love, but to people he's never even met. To lives he's never even touched. To a paramour, still alive, with hair of rose-pink, who doesn't even remember her own brother's existence.

Cups didn't die for Caeru's sake. Cups died for the sake of all who wanted it dead. For the revenger's court, and the ghost screaming in his ear, and the reckoning that will not be postponed indefinitely.

And Caeru, who acted as a tool to carry out their wills? Who all but betrayed his own lover, just to satisfy a cause he never knew existed?

All Caeru is left with, is regret. Regret-

-And grief.

[gaytwirights]

I feel like Michelle Marlon, behind the perfect child mask that she puts on for everyone else, was just like Light Yagami but before he got the death note. Like I think she really idolized her parents' work and I think she was really under a lot of pressure to always be the best and I think she was depressed and while her parents loved her I don't think they could see past her perfect child facade and I don't think she would've ever gotten the help she needed. I think Ma was the first adult who ever truly saw her true self and I think that's because the part of Ma that could remember the life of 'Levia' had seen the former millennium prodigy in her and I think Michelle saw that and latched onto her even though anyone could see that Ma had ulterior motives. Because she desperately needed someone to understand her and Ma was the first person to do that. And this is the main force behind my characterization of Michelle in my Nemesis Twiright AU. It's because she reminds me of Light fucking Yagami (not in a bad way btw)

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

this post got me to go find a recording of devin's voicelines and god. they truly go so hard. the best part of them to me isn't even the long speech to godwyn/fia but the part AFTER when you actually interact with him. the fucking. audible smile in his voice when he says "hello! the rotten witch is dead :) " the way it borders on an almost delirious giggle. the whole thing is like, the va did such a good job selling the simultaneous grief and rage and disgust and vindictive joy it's sooo delicious to me. they could never make me hate you devin you will always be iconic in my heart

[happyvalkyrieofdoom]

I had a dream that tumblr implemented a new feature where blog descriptions were supposed to be auto-generated based on the blog content and, of course, the descriptions were incorrect af and everyone was complaining about it

and i remember that i went on my blog (which had a blue layout instead of yellow for some reason?? and i wanted to make a post "WHY IS MY BLOG BLUE" asdfghdgshsfs) and in my blog description it said that my name was Matthew, I was 31 and I was really interested in Warhammer and World War 2 lmao

[gender-luster]

just watched aquaman 2 and all i could think through the whole movie was "isn't this just the plot of yugioh season 4?"

[supercantaloupe]

also i Refuse to believe that aelwyn is moved out already. after what? three, four months? That girl's got cptsd and is physically disabled come on now

[tvrningout]

“  who  did  this  to  you  ?!  ” for chiyo, maybe after caspian's visit :)c

send " who did this to you? " to find my muse injured | @vonerde finds chiyo!

when gaia walks into her bathroom, chiyo is clumsily dabbing salve onto a cut just beneath her eye. her hands won't stop shaking -- a side effect of the adrenaline leaving her system and the knowledge that she got snarky with someone who could have killed her. and she was ready for it. if that had been her fate tonight, chiyo would have faced it with every bit of defiance and spirit she could muster. she meets gaia's eyes, feels the tension begin to ease.

( funny how you can be ready to die for someone yet cower at the thought of uttering why. how long will you continue to willfully choke on this silence? )

" i'm okay, i promise! " chiyo smiles at gaia through her mirror. she looks worse for wear, she knows. a bruise is just beginning to blossom on the right side of her jaw, and she's sure more will form along her arms given enough time. a few cuts are scattered along her skin, too; still, it's not all that bad. she's alright. chiyo looks down at her trembling hands and sets the salve down, lays her palms against the counter.

she's alright, but meeting caspian wasn't pleasant. she still wishes she'd turn around and hug gaia, find comfort in her friend's embrace. but she can't. she's weak enough as it is, is cause for concern as it is, even more so after tonight, she's sure. so chiyo turns around, leaning back against the counter and putting on a familiar mask. everything's fine. i'm alright. you don't need to worry.

" i didn't tell you over the phone 'cause i was worried y'might freak out. like i said, i'm alright even if i look kinda rough. but, uh, " chiyo pauses, unsure of how to say it other than just saying it. her eyes stray elsewhere to escape gaia's gaze.

" i met caspian. "

[maulfucker]

song: [is about sex]

me: this will make a fine obimaul art idea

[e-b-reads]

As I ended up choosing three mysteries, I think this is a good time to ask what's your top 5 favorite mysteries you've read this year? ✨️

Thanks for asking, and happy new year! Sorry it took a little while, it's hard to choose!

I've narrowed it down to 5, with 2 additional honorable mentions. (Maybe this is cheating, but oh well!) In no particular order:

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke - I enjoyed this contemporary mystery set on a Louisiana plantation with a Black protagonist; aside from being a good mystery, it dove into the protagonist's complicated feelings about her family's historical relationship with the plantation.

The Peaceful Valley Crime Wave by Bill Pronzini - Not sure exactly why I liked this so much, maybe I just enjoyed the main character's narration! A western-set mystery with, as it suggests, several crimes to solve, some more serious than others.

Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd - I guess this whole series kind of counts as cozy historical? Set in Regency England. I enjoyed that the series doesn't go on forever, and I also enjoyed the romance (across the books) between the practical rector's daughter and the wounded (recovering) soldier with PTSD. He's a lord of some sort, but he's all for abolishing the aristocracy.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, tr. Antonia Lloyd-Jones - I'm putting this on the list mainly because it's different, and it kept me thinking for a while. The narrator is charismatic and fascinating.

Nemesis by Agatha Christie - Of course I need to include something by Christie! This was a reread but I still think it's a favorite. It's Miss Marple, and I usually like the books with her, and also it's about a mystery that's several years old, and I enjoy those kinds of gradual uncoverings.

And then my two honorable mentions:

I started several contemporary cozy mystery series and liked some more than others: Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron is the first in a series that did manage to hold my attention for a while!

Death and Hard Cider by Barbara Hambly is book 19 in a series I love, so it's not necessarily the best mystery I read on it's own merit, but it has a cast of characters I adore.

[badolmen]

Love me a character that at their core is selfish. Even when they do good things it’s selfish and personal but still genuine because they believe in what they’re doing even if they’re only doing it for themself.

Anyways I failed to make a charismatic and likable BBEG he’s a lower tier villain who gets semi-domesticated instead.

[transfem-tomboy-oni]

Fuck I reached 30 tags I guess that got us rambling

For full context I guess read those first cuz I'm not putting all that here again

We got started on mythology and bitch were not close to being done

What I was about to put in another tag was:

I'm interested but I'm not gonna read scientific papers on mythology sorry Africa and Oceania...

European is just the easiest to come by and most relatable mythology. Being. A filthy European.

Although I'd love to hear more shit about mythologies that are more exotic to us

And no. I don't mean japanese. That's barely exotic at this point.

No I'm not reading journey to the west again either.

I could go on for so long honestly I fucking love mythology with a passion I wish I had more energy and patience to get deeper into it

But yeah no I'm not sitting down reading research papers or ancient texts that aged horribly for hundreds of hours

At least not with these mental illnesses I'm not

i made a character uquiz. i 100% promise you that you will get a character you know AND like

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

mooooore estrels. working out some more of her design

[vastiitas]

damn, might be time for that every-other-week violence call,

[vagueiish]

anyone happen to know what nutrients you’re lacking if your body is craving death?

[lifetimeoftired]

there's a lot of (extremely good and hilarious) prompts where Danny has to leave his home dimension and finds his way into the dcu. What I'd like to see is the reverse though. Like, the goth furries who don't care for magic and have a lot of aliens friends being tossed into 'only ghosts are real and everything works on comedy rules' universe.

Batman: So these 'ghosts', they come through a portal and attack people and you, a 14 are the only person stopping them? Danny: I mean, it's kind of my fault? I did turn the thing on when I died death. Batman: -concerned grunting- Danny: I'm fine! Really! Being half dead isn't as weird as you'd think. It'd be easier if I could finish high school without being attacked but it's a living. Batman: Why not contact your world's justice league? Danny: What's a justice league? Batman: -distressed grunting-

-

Nightwing: So how do you handle normal criminals? Danny: What d'ya mean? Nightwing: You know, people who commit crimes? Danny: You mean like a purse snatcher or something? Nightwing: Not exact- You know what? Sure. How do you handle purse snatchers? Danny: -shrugs while making a I dunno noise- I guess the police handle that kind of stuff? I'm usually fighting the personification of sleep or my arch nemesis Plasmius. Which would be less annoying if he stopped trying to adopt me. But yeah, no. I don't usually see a lot of 'crime-crime' stuff outside of the 6 o'clock news every other week or so. There's just not that much of it I guess. Nightwing: Okay. So. Follow up questions-