#I’m trying to get better at drawing human Scarab

[starry-mang0s]

Just some little doodles 💙 these two be taking up all of my waking thoughts.

[darksiders-scenarios]

What would the horsemen do if they came across a tiny human? Like doll sized?

~I will submit War and Fury soon :) For Death, I tried to imagine him in a similar scenario with Hunter.

Update: Part 2 (link)

Strife

It was getting closer. Quickening his pace and throwing caution into the wind, Strife’s armoured boots splashed into puddles of muddy slush as he approached the creature. This was no Scarab, he reasoned. Nor was it a demon of any kind he’s ever encountered.

The tiny creature shot its head up, whipping its body around till it was facing the looming, approaching monster. Strife frowned behind his mask. It was almost as big as the span of his hand.

The tiny being yelped as it stumbled back to escape the giant but the horseman had already planted a large boot behind it, crushing something that instantly released a repugnant, sickening odour that vapourised throughout the area. The tremor caused the creature to collapse against his boot, coughing and gagging through the hazy green mist that enveloped them.

A gruff voice resounded from above before the creature felt itself being hoisted into the air by the back of its shirt, away from the mist and stench.

Strife brought the being close to his face and examined it. Its eyes were screwed shut and its mouth was gaped open, as though screaming silently. He gave it a gentle shake. “Helloooo?” he called out, causing the creature to cry out and snapping its eyes open.

“Oh my God,” it whimpered, eyes roving up and down the colossal horseman, its voice barely above the whisper of a normal sized being.

“Never seen the likes of ya before,” Strife boomed, not quite so mindful of their contrasting voice level. “What are you?”

“I-I’m human,” it replied, voice quavering.

“Eh?” the rider drew it closer to eye level. “How come? I thought humans were bigger than that.”

The human squirmed under his intense scrutiny. “Well yeah,” they started but then trailed off, as though unable to continue. Strife cocked his head slightly. “What happened?”

“I-I can’t remember,” they relented, soft voice laced with defeat and sadness.

“Hmph,” Strife grunted, “Must be one of them Shadowcaster’s tricks,” he mused aloud, taking note of how the human glanced at his visor like mask. “Memory loss is one of the side effects.”

The colour drained from their face. “What?” they squeaked. “The hell is a Shadowcaster? What’s gonna happen to me? What did I-?”

Strife interrupted their outburst by pinching the shirt fabric tighter, causing the cloth to contract against their shoulders and chest. “Easy now, tiny,” he muttered, “These spells don’t normally last. I don’t know for how long, but what I do know is that it puts your life at major risk,” he gestured a free hand to the crushed Scarab at his feet. “If I didn’t get here in time, you’d av’ been paste.”

Gaze following his finger to the dead demon, the human felt their heart drop to their stomach. ‘Just a few more seconds and that would’ve been it’, the realisation was as alarming as it was horrifying.

“A-Are you…?” they stammered hesitantly, drawing Strife’s attention back to them.

“Am I…?”

“Are you going to k-kill me?” they finished lamely, drawing further into themself, avoiding his face.

There was a moment of pause when Strife simply stared at them, expression indiscernible through the mask. “What’s yer name?” he asked at length.

The unexpectedness of the question made them jump. “Y/N,” they mumbled, wincing at how low and weak their voice sounded even to them.

“OK, Y/N,” the horseman carried on, “If I wanted to let ya die, I wouldn’t ave’ wasted my time savin’ ya.”

When he didn’t elaborate further, Y/N gawped at the horseman. ‘But why?’ They wanted to ask but was too fearful that they may be pushing their luck. Better be safe and go along with the strange demon for now, they thought. It can’t be any worse than surviving on their own for so long.

Their analysis was interrupted when they felt themself being lowered. Instinctively, they reached up to grip the metal fingers, clenching so tight that blood started to ooze out from the punctured skin from the sharp prongs. “Don’t drop me!” they pleaded, panic and fear evident in their high-pitched tone.

The rider felt his heart clench slightly at their pitiful, vulnerable form,  literally clinging onto dear life. And yet they still felt that they could trust him enough to not hurt them.

“Oi,” he grunted. When they opened their eyes, they saw his free hand hovering under their feet. Heart pounding wildly against their chest, Y/N sucked in a breath before letting go. Landing with a soft thud in the cold palm, Y/N covered their mouth with a trembling hand, squeezing tightly at the thought that perhaps, they may yet live to see tomorrow after all.

Strife nodded as he cupped his hands, lightly cradling them, his long fingers forming a barrier for them to lean their body against.

“What are you gonna do to me?” they finally asked the important question.

“At least yer smart enough to know that you’d be stickin’ with me for a while,” he grinned, eyes roaming over the doll size human huddled against his fingers. “You’re a sorta lucky  human, being alive after all that.” ‘That’ of course meaning the premature Apocalypse. “An’ I intend to keep it tha’ way.”

Y/N frowned. That made no sense. If this demon assisted in slaughtering everyone and more or less caused them into that state, then why the hell did he want to keep them alive? The more plausible reasoning would either be for a keepsake, trinket, or a plaything.

As much as they wanted to raise the question, they decided it was more prudent to try a different tactic. “What’s your name?”

“Name’s Strife,” the giant exclaimed, his voice suddenly exuding buoyancy, his stance straightening and he jabbed a finger to his chest.

“Strange name for a demon,” they remarked, doing their best to keep heir voice as innocent and casual as possible.

Strife almost choked at the assumption but then snorted. “Really kid, a demon? Devilishly handsome is one thing but comparing me to those second kingdom runts?” he shook his head. “Kid, if I were a demon then no way we’d be havin’ this conversation.”

When Y/N didn’t respond, as if mulling over the new knowledge, given by their deepened frown lines, Strife proceeded, “Listen ere’,” he raised his hands closer to his face. “I’m the good guy here.”

There was something different about this gigantic being, Y/N thought. The way he spoke, the way he seemed to be trying to convince them that they weren’t going to hurt them. It almost seemed human. He was threatening in sight yes, but in speech, he was rather approachable.

“Plus,” he continued, curling a finger the width of an armchair in your direction. “You gotta eat somethin’ to keep yer strength up,” straightening his finger, he lightly poked your stomach. “You look like shit. A tiny, near non-existent shit. But shit nonetheless.”

You were about to retort that he wasn’t quite the looker himself but as if on cue and to your absolute mortification, your stomach decided to let out an undignified rumble.

“Eh? What was that?” Strife tilted his head sideways and downwards at you, the closeness shrouding you in complete shadow. “Didn’t quite catch that over them butterflies you humans like to keep in there.”

Huffing in exasperation and failing to conceal a chortle, you swiped at his finger, to which he politely withdrew. “Yeah and they’re starving too!” you joked.

Strife tutted. “Better feed em’ ‘fore they claw their way out and have my head then.”

You shook your head and allowed yourself this rare moment of joy. The sound of your laughter was foreign to your ears and you reveled in it. At the same time, the distant trill sounds of scarabs fast approaching the area cruelly sucked away your newfound happiness. You scrambled back as far as you could, curling onto yourself as your back pressed into the bottom creases of his fingers.

Strife felt the low reverberation emitted from your quivering form through his palm and felt his anger and concern surge at once. “Hey hey, it’s OK, it’s OK,” he tried to reassure. “You’re safe with me.”

You peeked over your arm. Although you couldn’t see his face, the tone of his voice was enough to make your panic dissipate from your body. You slowly sat up and did your best to smile and nod reassuringly at the horseman.

“I like ya already!” Strife beamed, ruffling your hair with an enormous finger which you didn’t swat away this time.

Death

“What is it now, bird?” Death grouched, hands shooting to the hilts of the twin Scythes at his waist, battle stance ready as he scanned the area for hidden demons. When he found none, he threw an exasperated glare at the crow as it flew into the shattered window of a demolished apartment. Unless it was hungry again or its age was catching up to it, Death was already mentally fatigued from the constant wild goose chases the wretched bird was constantly giving him.  

He was about to turn around to make his leave when the sudden shrill cawing from Dust, coupled with another series of piercing screams rebounded against the decrepit walls of the old architecture.  

Alarm coursing through him, Death dashed forwards, leaping over the gate and wall-running along the length of the wall until he was grasping the ledge of the window, legs dangling with a hand on the hilt of Harvester. At this proximity, the clamour of screams rattled painfully against his eardrums, heightening the gnawing concern that he desperately tried to suppress. Hauling himself through the window and landing onto tiled flooring, he quickly scoured the expanse of the room.

Dust was struggling against a storage container in one corner, cawing and flapping its wings frantically against the plastic barrier, as though trying to claw its way through. There was a moving critter within. ‘Ah’, Death suppressed a tired sigh, ‘So it was hungry’.

However, upon closer inspection, the rider noted that the critter seemed to be larger than average. It wasn’t of demon nature either. And the trilling screams didn’t stop. In fact, it almost sounded human, albeit a very faint and piercing one.

He stepped forwards, and his suspicion was confirmed. This was no critter, he concluded, eyeing the living doll armed with a fork trying to shoo away his crow, a look of absolute terror on its face.

This was no doll either.

“Enough!” he bellowed. Immediately, Dust fluttered away, back onto his master’s shoulder but Death lightly brushed it away with the back of his hand. With an offended squawk, the undead bird perched on the window sill, throwing his master the equivalent of a glare.  

With slow, long strides, the rider brushed past the scattered debris and splintered furniture until he was in front of the container. The lid was half ripped open, but it was not big enough to allow the size of Dust to fit through. The back of the container was cleaved open but it was fitted against the wall. Death grasped the edge of the box, intending to bring it forth to allow the being to come out but he was halted.

“Stay back!” came the high-pitched squeak from within. Although the human was small, it was almost the height of Dust. And they were pressed against the far corner, chest heaving from exertion and their face was twisted in apparent pain.

“You’ve neither the look of a demon nor an angel,” Death stated through the opening of the lid. “But a human, albeit a rather diminutive one.”

The human jumped. It just spoke to them! What the hell was that thing?

Death crouched in front of the plastic box, providing them with the complete display of his appearance. Tall, imposing, powerful. And that ivory skull mask… it was almost like staring in the face of death itself.

“I-If you want to kill me, then just get it over and done with!” they blurted suddenly, hysteria and panic evident in their trembling voice and quaking body. “J-Just stop toying with me like that.”

Death dipped his head. If normal sized humans were fearful of his appearance, there was no doubt this was even more daunting for someone as minuscule as them. But he had to speak to them.

“Peace, child,” he murmured, doing his best to lower his tone. “No harm will befall onto you.”

The human flinched. Was this a trick? But his amber eyes were soft, almost… gentle.

They slowly leaned forward but froze in place, peering anxiously at the window.

“He won’t harm you,” the horseman assured them. “Not in my presence.”

Hesitating briefly, they finally pushed themself to stand, head barely touching the lid.

Death remained motionless. “What is your name, human?”

The human gulped and fixated their attention on his neck. “Y/N.”

“I understand this must be overwhelming for you, Y/N,” he sympathised. “But it is important that I should ask, how did you end up in this state?”

“You mean my size?” Y/N clenched a fist. “I can’t remember to be fair. There was a fight I think. A demon and another thing with wings, I guess it was an angel. I just happened to be there. There was a flash of white light, and the next thing I know,” Y/N gestured weakly to themself. “Well, this happened.”

“I see. And you sought shelter here,” he concluded.

“That’s my home.”

Silence greeted the pair, safe for the howling of the wind and clinking of broken shards that rattled against each other. For the first time since he stepped inside, Death let his gaze hover over the broken furniture; from the singular bed that was strewn in one corner to the dusty picture frame on the floor. On it, was the unmistakable face of Y/N with two taller humans behind them. He could only assume that they were their parents.

“Y/N,” he tried. “How did you survive for this long?”

Y/N snorted. “I wouldn’t say long, nor would I say survive for that matter. I pretty much just stayed here, hidden. I guess I’m too small and insignificant, even to angels and demons,” they added with a dry laugh. “It’s not gonna last though.”

“And even less so the longer you remain here,” Death added.

They shrugged and turned their face to the side.

‘Given up’, Death remarked darkly. Learned helplessness, resigning to a fate they’ve conjured for themself. ‘Lies.’

“This can be remedied,” he declared calmly.

Y/N whipped their head up, holding the steady gaze of the ethereal being as he slowly pushed his index and forefinger through the space in the lid. They stared at the enormous digits; they were almost as large and wide as a bed.

This was a creature that can no doubt become an unstoppable force of nature at will, possessing power beyond imagination. And yet here he was, waiting for a puny human to grant them permission to reach out to them.

“Why?” they whispered, tears generating at the corner of their eyes.

“Because I am neither angel nor demon,” Death responded, the sides of his jaw widening slightly, signifying a smile.

Y/N ducked their head and clenched their fists. The decision was theirs. Either stay low and wait till death take them away, or literally allow death to take them away. The latter seemed the better option as they looked up and realised that Death was waiting patiently for them.

They obliged by pressing their much smaller hands against his fingers. Death’s fingers curled underneath them and they were gently lifted out of their self-made prison.

As they watched the container shrinking in perspective the higher up they went, for the first time in a long time, Y/N felt something foreign bloom from the deepest pit of their guts.

Hope.

[injusticetwofanportfolios]

Injustice 2 Toriel Clash Quotes

Clashing stance: Toriel leans forward while holding out both hands wreathed in flames to hold her opponent back.

Clash win animation: Toriel summons a vortex of fire to lift up and spin her opponent mid-air before charging up a flaming fist and punching her opponent across the stage.

Clash Quotes

Vs. Aquaman

Toriel: There’s no shame in surrendering.

Aquaman: By Neptune, I will not yield!

---------

Aquaman: Should I summon the shark?

Toriel: I’d rather not cook live fish.

Vs. Batman

Toriel: I’m impressed.

Batman: So far I held back.

--------

Batman: I hope this isn’t your best.

Toriel: I’m just pre-heating.

--------

Batman: So THIS is what Frisk endured?

Toriel: Not my proudest moment, Batman.

Vs. Atrocitus

Atrocitus: You’d make a perfect Red Lantern.

Toriel: I won’t burn for you!

----------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Atrocitus: I live to burn!

Vs. Bane

Bane:I will cherish this memory.

Toriel: Cherish a Venom detox instead.

---------

Toriel: Stop or I’ll be the ‘Bane’ of your life.

Bane: Cheap pun, Cabra.

Vs. Black Adam

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Black Adam: Feel the Wizard’s power!

--------

Black Adam: I'll douse your fire.

Toriel: I’ll just have to go hotter!

Vs. Black Canary

Black Canary: After this, first round’s on me.

Toriel: Sounds pleasant, thank you.

---------

Toriel: How would you grade this performance?

Black Canary: Worth a song if you don’t focus.

Vs. Blue Beetle

Blue Beatle: Not bad for a rookie, huh?

Toriel: I have to agree.

------------------

Toriel:  I could tell Batman we ended in a draw…

Blue Beatle: Nah, Scarab’s got this.

Vs. Brainiac

Toriel: You waste your talents!

Brainiac: I am Colu's greatest mind.

-------------

Brainiac: I will collect your magic.

Toriel: You won’t like how this ends.

-----------

Brainiac: Resistance is pointless

Toriel: No, your atrocities are!

----------

Brainiac: I’ll look forward to collecting Frisk.

Toriel: Touch them and I’ll melt your hands!

Vs. Captain Cold

Toriel: You waste your talents!

Captain Cold: Not what my bank account says.

---------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Captain Cold: I don’t answer to you.

---------

Captain Cold: I might’ve underestimated you.

Toriel: No shame in admitting that.

-------

Captain Cold: I’ll freeze your face off!

Toriel: You won’t like how this ends.

----------

 Vs. Mr. Freeze

Mr. Freeze: I’ll do anything to save Nora.

Toriel: How far did crime help you save her?

-----------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Mr. Freeze: You can’t stop my research!

 Vs. Catwoman

Catwoman: This is going purrrfectly

Toriel: Keep telling yourself that.

------------

Toriel: Not how I wanted my day to go.

Catwoman: You’ll get used to it.

Vs. Cheetah

Toriel: Leave Frisk alone!

Cheetah: My hunger will be stated!

---------

Cheetah: I should’ve brought an urn for your dust.

Toriel: I’ll make that the least of your worries!

Vs. Vixen

Vixen: Guess which animal comes next?

Toriel: Uh.. not your namesake?

----------

Toriel: Your magic is fascinating.

Vixen: Same to you, Toriel.

Vs. Cyborg

Cyborg: Promised Superman I’d stop you.

Toriel: “You’re the one who need to stop, Victor!” or “Adding more victims won’t help your cause.”

---------

Toriel: You lost the right to call yourself a hero.

Cyborg: Not by a longshot!

------

Cyborg: The Regime’s back for good.

Toriel: I promise I’ll break you out of this delusion.

-------

Toriel: (sternly) Abandon. The. Regime!

Cyborg: We’re needed more than ever!

Vs. Grid

Toriel: Let’s see if your circuits can overheat.

Grid: My systems cannot fail.

---------

Grid: Your death will not stir me.

Toriel: Should’ve thought that before attacking.

Vs. Deadshot

Deadshot: You’re in my sights.

Toriel: You should’ve retired.

------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Deadshot: Eat lead, sucker.

 Vs. Doctor Fate

Doctor Fate: Order must triumph!

Toriel: I see no order in Brainiac’s evil.

-------

Toriel: You waste your talents!

Doctor Fate: Nabu does not seek your approval.

-------

Vs. Firestorm

Toriel: I can tell Batman we ended in a draw.

Firestorm: The professor says ‘no.’

---------

Firestorm: I’ll go nuclear!

Toriel: Don’t like the sound of that.

Vs. The Flash (Barry Allen)

Toriel: Still think speed is enough?

The Flash: Flash Fact; Frisk doesn’t have the Speed Force.

-------

The Flash: Need a timeout?

Toriel: I’m just pre-heating.

-------

Vs. Jay Garrick

Toriel: Still think speed is enough?

Jay Garrick: I’ll run circles around you.

-----

Jay Garrick: Let’s keep this friendly, chum.

Toriel: If that’s how you want it…

Vs. Reverse-Flash

Reverse-Flash: There’s no way to beat me.

Toriel: Your track record with Barry says otherwise.

---------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Reverse-Flash: I’ll never, ever stop!

--------

Toriel: You waste your talents!

Reverse-Flash: Not too quick, are you?

Vs. Gorilla Grodd

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Gorilla Grodd: And lose the chance to kill you?

---------

Gorilla Grodd: I will vanquish humanity.

Toriel: I won’t let you get that chance.

--------

Vs. Green Arrow

Green Arrow: I wouldn’t quit your day job.

Toriel: I’ll just have to go hotter.

---------

Toriel: So where are those ‘well-placed shots’?

Green Arrow: Quiver’s not empty yet.

Vs. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

Hal Jordan: Just admit it, you’re impressed.

Toriel: Who said I wasn’t?

---------

Toriel: So you expect Frisk to wield this power?

Hal Jordon: why not?

Vs. Green Lantern (John Stewart)

John Stewart: I’m hard to kill.

Toriel: Good thing that’s not my plan.

--------

Toriel: How would you grade this performance?

John Stewart: You belong in boot camp!

-----

Toriel: So you expect Frisk to wield this power?

John Stewart: Let me show you why.

Vs. Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn: You can tap out if you wanna.

Toriel: I’m just pre-heating.

---------

Toriel: I think I see why Batman trusts you, Quinn.

Harley Quinn: You’re sweet, hon!

-----

Harley Quinn: So, you’re in?

Toriel: Everything considered, I can’t afford to say no.

-------

Harley Quinn: You’d make a darn good plushie!

Toriel: Funny, Frisk once said the same thing.

-------

Toriel: Did I go too far?

Harley Quinn: You singed my pigtails!

------

Vs. The Joker

The Joker: You’re taking the fun out of this!

Toriel: That just means I’m doing something right.

------------

The Joker: You’ve got no sense of humor.

Toriel: I know mine’s better than yours at least.

---------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

The Joker: I’ll show you funny!

------

The Joker: Maybe Frisk would make a better foil.

Toriel: Touch them and I’ll melt your hands!

Vs. Poison Ivy

Toriel: You waste your talents!

Poison Ivy: That well’s been poisoned.

------

Poison Ivy: My jungle will consume your kingdom!

Toriel: Good thing Asgore and I know how to prune.

Vs. Robin

Robin: Last chance to fall in line!

Toriel: “For Frisk’s safety, I won’t let you win!” or “It’s time I taught you manners, Damian!”

-------

Toriel: (sternly) Abandon. The. Regime!

Robin: Fear isn’t in my genes.

Vs. Scarecrow

Toriel: You waste your talents!

Scarecrow: Your composure says otherwise, Toriel.

------

Scarecrow: My toxin affects you.

Toriel: Doesn’t mean you’re winning.

-------

Scarecrow: Now I wonder what Frisk fears…

Toriel: I won’t let you find out, Crane!

Vs. Supergirl

Toriel: I know magic hurts you.

Supergirl: But not my resolve!

-----

Supergirl: I don’t wanna hurt you.

Toriel: I really wish you said that sooner.

Vs. Power Girl

Power Girl: You’ll beg for mercy soon.

Toriel: Keep telling yourself that.

---------

Toriel: I know magic hurts you.

Power Girl: That just means I’m ticked off!

--------

Power Girl: We make a good pair!

Toriel: “(feeling slightly awkward) You mean…. professionally, right?” or “Power Girl and Toriel?  Frisk wouldn’t believe it.”

Vs. Superman

Superman: I’ll never stop fighting.

Toriel: Let’s see if I can change that.

--------

Toriel: (sternly) Abandon. The. Regime!

Superman: This world needs my protection.

-------

Vs. Bizarro

Bizarro: It time to help you!

Toriel: You won’t like how this ends!

----------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Bizarro: Bizarro love you!

 Vs. Swamp Thing

Toriel: Did I go too far?

Swamp Thing: I shall endure.

------

Swamp Thing: You cannot beat nature.

Toriel: Apparently I can, Swamp Thing!

Vs. Wonder Woman

Toriel: (sternly) Abandon. The. Regime!

Wonder Woman: Not in a thousand years!

-------

Wonder Woman: Surrender while you can!

Toriel: For Frisk’s safety, I won’t let you win!

--------

Wonder Woman: I’ve tamed monsters before.

Toriel: “Now let’s see if I can tame your bloodlust!” or “Don’t even bother, Diana!”

Vs. Darkseid

Darkseid: You dare lay hand on Darkseid?

Toriel: For Frisk’s safety, I won’t let you win!

----------

Darkseid: Why should Darkseid fear you?

Toriel: You won’t like how this ends.

-------

Darkseid: Grow tired of war spectacle?

Toriel: More like I’m tired of you, Darkseid!

-------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Darkseid: You try my patience.

Vs. Red Hood

Red Hood: Now we do things my way!

Toriel: Don’t count on it, Jason!

----------

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Red Hood: I’m standing my ground!

Vs. Starfire

Toriel: I’m impressed.

Starfire: Even Trigon couldn’t take my heat.

------

Starfire: Feel the burn.

Toriel: I’ll just have to burn hotter!

 Vs. Sub-Zero

Toriel: I know magic hurts you.

Sub-Zero: of that I am painfully aware.

------

Sub-Zero: Can you take the cold?

Toriel: I’ll just have to burn hotter!

Vs. Black Manta

Toriel: Cease this foolishness!

Black Manta: Choke on a harpoon!

------

Black Manta: Why don’t you just give up?

Toriel: For Frisk’s safety, I won’t let you win!

Vs Raiden

Toriel: Did I go too far?

Raiden: I cannot be defeated.

--------

Raiden: You will yield!

Toriel: You won’t like how this ends.

 Vs. Black Lightning

Toriel: How would you grade this performance?

Black Lightning: I’d give you a failing grade.

-----

Black Lightning: Ready for a few gigawatts?

Toriel: Don’t like the sound of that.

Vs. Hellboy

Toriel: Did I go too far?

Hellboy: Do your worst!

------

Hellboy: God damn it, impress me!

Toriel: I’ll just have to go hotter!

Vs. Atom

Toriel: I could tell Batman we ended in a draw.

Atom: I got more than this belt to fight with.

-----

Atom: I’ll take you down to micro-town.

Toriel: And I thought I was good with puns.

Vs. Enchantress

Toriel: You waste your talents!

Enchantress: I am darkness incarnate!

----

Enchantress: June can’t come to the phone right now.

Toriel: She’ll be free of you soon enough!

Vs. Leonardo

Toriel: I could tell Batman we ended in a draw.

Leonardo: I doubt he’d buy it, Toriel.

---------

Leonardo: Can quit if you need to.

Toriel: I’ll just have to burn hotter!

Vs. Michelangelo

Toriel: I’m impressed.

Michelangelo: Next time try a combo.

-------

Michelangelo: Looking a little shell-shocked.

Toriel: Who said I wasn’t?

Vs. Raphael

Toriel: I was hoping to calm you down.

Raphael: (scoffs) whatever, dude.

-------

Raphael: You know you suck, right?

Toriel: I’ll just have to burn hotter!

Vs. Donatello

Toriel: I’m impressed.

Donatello: There’s no denying turtle power.

-------

Donatello: You’re better than I predicted.

Toriel: That’s kind of you to say.

Mirror Match Clashes

Player 1 Toriel: I could tell Batman we ended in a draw.

Player 2 Toriel: I’m just pre-heating.

------

Player 2 Toriel: Not how I wanted my day to go.

Player 1 Toriel: Yet we’re here fighting each other.

[edh-a-to-z]

Amonkhet - My EDH picks, Part 1

Sup m’dudes. 

I haven’t done a “set review” for anything yet (blog’s still pretty new), so I figure I get around to that. So I’d like to take the chance to do one for EDH now.

I’ll include some that I think will have an impact in EDH, and what/where they’ll be. If I don’t include something, I think it doesn’t really offer anything new to EDH, or was too vanilla/reprint/underpowered, or completely missed it (eh, I’m human). If you think it’s the last one, let me know - I’d love to add more to this.

I’ll be doing White, Black, and Blue here, with two more for the rest of the colors and a commander overview. Without further ado, here we go!

WHITE

Angel of Sanctions

Banisher Priest with flying, or 2/3rds of Angel of Serenity over time.

Oblivion Ring-style removal is a fave of mine in EDH, and I run a couple in every deck that has white in it. 

Embalm is a new mechanic - to refresh, it allows for the creature to return to the battlefield in token form from the GY. A nice touch of extra value, and allows you to mill/discard these guys and still get use out of them. Basically flashback for creatures.

Sanctions here has a fair body for EDH, and a powerful effect. It makes a good addition to any deck that wants to pay more for Oblivion Ring for more value.

Score: B

Anointed Procession

Another token doubler! I love token decks, especially Trostani, so another token doubler is amazing! Essentially a white-shifted Parallel Lives, it adds to the trio of token doubling enchantments, so it will see some work in Selesnya token decks, like Rhys and Trostani.

Without green and token strategy (like a white token strategy), it’s less useful (less multiplicative), but so long as you run white enchantment tutors, you’ll be fine.

Score: A (I’m weak for Doubling Season)

Approach of the Second Sun

I like gimmicky win-cons. With tutors, infinite mana, and other fun tools, this is pretty easy to abuse.

Score: C

Vizier of Deferment

I don’t know what I’m doing with this yet, but I think it has some combat trick/experimental value. Maybe messing with opponent’s combat. 

Score: D 

Dusk to Dawn

Wrath and recursion is always fun to add to White decks. I especially love the new split cards that makes even more value. I love value.

Score: A

BLUE

As Foretold

This card was born for EDH. Once you get 2-3 counters, you can spam counterspells on your opponent turns for free. And spell flinger synergies abound.

Score: Probably C, but A in a dedicated Baral/Talrand deck that can really abuse it.

Cryptic Serpent

Spellslinger value. You can have a 6/5 for 2 mana a couple turns in if you fire enough spells, which is enough value for me to run it in a deck that’s half spells. Probably gonna try it in my Mizzix deck.

Score: C- (It’s a solid body, that can be cheap, but I don’t need it)

Curator of Mysteries

I’m not to hot on cycling, but there’s plenty of Discard effects in blue to use the Scry effectively. Repetitive looting effects become even better with repeated scrying. It’s a good body for the price, and you can cycle it

Score: B (it’s a solid Sphix, you can have it and be happy, but cutting it doesn’t hurt)

Drake Haven

Again, for the discard part. It’s less useful than the sphinx, but is a really useful card for decks that have a good third of their cards involve discard, discard & draw, cycle, etc. 

Score: B- in a dedicated deck.

Pull from Tomorrow

Sphinx’s revelation that nets you the same amount of cards, lets you see one more, and is in mono blue. Loses the lifegame, but it’s not a deal breaker. I’d use it as a backup revelation.

Score: A- (drawing is always good)

Commit to Memory

A soft counter/removal, plus a hand refill later in the game (as well as GY hate), this is gonna be a great tool for blue.

Score: A

BLACK

Archfiend of Ilfnir

I love -1/-1 counters. Scaring your opponents creatures is fun.

Again, I see this from the discard side more that the cycling (a less common effect). Hazoret is gonna love it.

Score: C

Dread Wanderer

Another Gravecrawler. Heckbent makes it more problematic than the Sorcery speed. Interesting, but less efficient. Play it in standard, not EDH.

Score: D-

Liliana’s Mastery and Lord of the Accursed

ZOMBIE TRIBAL!!! I don’t know where this’ll go yet, but they’re both amazing at what they do. Get 4 Lords before they go.

Score: A- for both

Nest of Scarabs

Black. Sun’s. Zenith.

Score: A+

Plague Belcher

Getting this early is great, but it can’t win games. Some zombie synergy, so if you have something like Goblin Bombardment and a hundred tokens, this is a win-more guy.

Score: C-

Never to Return

Kill something and remove something nasty in the grave.

Score: B+

[disregardcanon]

the great plot recycler is back with a short version of bereft with the S2 crew 

 Jaime wakes up with a major headache. He's groggy, confused. 

 Wake up, Jaime Reyes, the scarab shouts in his mind. 

He opens his eyes, and sees a blurry yellow blob. It's vibrating something above Jaime's chest. The scarab draws his cannons, and shoots the blur off of him. 

 "¿Qué mierda?" Jaime asks. 

 The Kid Flash was trying to kill us, he replies. Jaime looks closer, and realizes the scarab is right, at least about the Kid Flash part. The kid is in Kid Flash's costume. 

 "Kid Flash?" The kid asks, and he looks around the room, frantically. It's a little funny, considering that he's the one in the Kid Flash costume, who apparently wants to kill Jaime. The kid looks down at his hands, and smiles as he moves them around to look at his gloves better. 

“Crash.” 

“What’s going on?” Jaime asks. The boy seems like he’s woken from a trance, and he becomes a yellow blur. 

Then he slams Jaime against the wall. 

"Why did you bring me here," Kid Flash demands, "what does the Reach want?" Jaime pushes him off. 

 "Look," Jaime says, "I don't even know what the "Reach" is. Scarab, any help on this?" Kid Flash looks more confused by that. 

 "The Reach," Bart says, "the evil overlords you betrayed humanity for. The bugs that built your scarab. That Reach." 

 "Uh, yeah," Jaime says, laughing awkwardly, "that's not ringing any bells here. Scarab, you know anything about that?" 

 "There are gaps in my artificial memory," 

 "Meaning?" 

 "It has been tampered with." 

 "Great," Jaime says, "I've got amnesia, and I'm stuck with some kid that thinks I'm a supervillian. Can this get any better?" 

 "What game are you playing?" Kid Flash says, "the Reach doesn't work like this. Why don't you just drag me away?" 

 "Look, I work for the Justice League," Jaime says, "truth, justice, saving people. I don't work for evil overlords, ese." Unless there's something sketchy going on with the League he doesn't know about, he thinks he's good in the "working for evil overlords" department. 

 "Yeah right," Kid flash says sarcastically, "that's why you have for forty years." 

"I'm only fifteen?" Kid Flash's eyes widen. 

 "It's 2052. You have to be like, 55 or something." 

 "It's 2016. What are you on?" He only half means it rhetorically. 

 "Look, I don't know what game you're playing, but I won't let you fool me. Just because you're cute and act like a human doesn't mean you're not a bugfucker." 

 "Did you just say I fuck bugs?" Jaime asks, his face scrunching up in confusion. Beast Boy appears on the horizon and Jaime lets out a sigh of relief. Beast Boy looks just as relieved to see him. He shifts into a cheetah, and runs over to meet them. 

 "Blue!" Beast Boy says, "thank god. M'gann's trying to figure out what the heck happened." 

 "Garfield Logan?" Kid Flash asks. 

 "How do you know my name? And who are you? You're not Kid Flash." 

 "Flash Lite here says he's from the future," Jaime says, pointing his thumb at the weird guy beside him. 

 "Noted," Beast Boy says, "weird, but noted." 

 "Alright," Kid Flash says, "I guess it's 2016." "I must have finished my time machine. It must have worked." His voice goes from defeated to elated in the course of a few sentences. 

“Uh, congrats?” Jaime says. Kid Flash glares at him. 

 "I'm keeping my eye on you," Kid Flash says, doing the watching you gesture.

NOT WRITTEN IN FIC FORMAT

 Eventually they get their memories back and both Jaime and bart are really weird about it and Bart's like dude I'm sorry for trying to kill you and Jaime's like sorry for scaring the shit out of you and the rest of them are like guys we're in the middle of a battle can we have a heart to heart later?

[musicprincess655]

“Recognize: Blue Beetle, B22. Recognize: Impulse, B23.”

Haruichi let out a sigh of relief. Bart and Jaime had left the Cave hours ago, claiming a need for some fresh air. While he couldn’t blame them, Haruichi also couldn’t leave, not when he had to be on top of so many different things.

But when they hadn’t returned when he’d expected them, he’d started to worry. Not even Ryou assuring him they were fine had calmed him.

“Left them in the dust!” Bart was saying, laughing triumphantly.

“Left who in the dust?” Haruichi asked. “And what do you have?”

Bart held up some kind of device, grinning.

“Souvenir!” he said proudly.

“Souvenirs are kind of Kid Flash’s thing,” Jaime said, before he seemed to realize what he’d said. Haruichi kept his face impassive, but he knew his lip was jutting out in a pout. He missed Kuramochi.

“What happened?” Ryou asked, voice just a little too silky to be trusted.

“Aqualad attacked us with Icicle Junior, the Terror Twins, and a ninja girl I didn’t recognize,” Jaime explained. “Blonde hair, dressed in all black, kicked enough ass to put this guy on his ass.”

“Hey!”

“She got you down twice, ese,” Jaime continued. “Your whole thing is supposed to be avoiding traps with speed.”

“She was good!” Bart protested.

“Focus,” Haruichi tried to bring them back in. Jaime and Bart were both American, and both could be a lot on their own, which meant they were even more to handle together. “What is that thing?”

“They were using it to track Jaime,” Bart explained, still looking completely pleased with himself. “Not anymore, though!”

And that. That right there was why speedsters weren’t supposed to be out on their own. They tended to make impulsive decisions without thinking things through. It was why Ryou had assigned himself as Kuramochi’s partner so early on, although not why he’d kept the designation. Haruichi made a mental note that Jaime no longer counted as supervision for Bart.

“So you brought foreign, alien tech into the Cave?” Ryou asked before Haruichi could, voice no longer silky but hard as steel. “Give it here.”

Wakana and An both could’ve done a better job of analyzing the device, but he also didn’t want to wait to call either of them in to check out whatever Jaime and Bart had dragged back. Wakana would be deep into her work in Gotham, and knowing An, she was probably in the lab. The Cave could check the device for threats well enough for now.

Ryou had only just put it up for analysis when an alarm went off, and Haruichi realized their mistake.

“Get ready!” he shouted, but not before something crashed into his back, sending him sprawling. Haruichi sat up to see Furuya hunched in on himself, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

Pain?

Furuya was nearly indestructible. Most hits didn’t even scratch him. There was precious little that could hurt him. That is, as long as he had all his powers intact.

The inhibitor collar around his neck could take all of that away.

Haruichi pulled out his bo staff, extending it to full length and standing protectively over Furuya. This wasn’t ideal, but he could do it. He could defend his teammate.

He barely jerked the staff up in time to block a flying kick. Whoever had kicked him swept his legs out from under him, and it wasn’t until a collar was settled around his neck that he got a good look at his attacker.

It was the new mysterious ninja girl, looking triumphant.

“This doesn’t work on me,” he said, just a touch smug. “No superpowers to begin with.”

He kicked his legs up, just long enough to wrap around her neck and twist her off him. Haruichi sprang to his feet, trying to see how Ryou, Bart, and Jaime were fairing, when a jolt of electricity brought him to his knees.

“That’s not all the collars are for,” the ninja girl said, smirk obvious in her voice.

“Enough! Stand down!”

Haruichi recognized that voice, and wished he didn’t. Seto was here too, and obviously in charge.

“Traitor!” Jaime accused, pointing both laser guns at him. He was the only one still without an inhibitor collar on. Ryou crouched nearby, looking murderous.

“Stand down, Beetle,” Seto said, sounding almost bored.

“How about no?”

“This is a bomb,” Seto said, shrugging. He opened the duffle bag he was holding, revealing a bomb bigger than his torso. “And this is a dead man’s switch.” He held up his hand. “You’re familiar with the concept? My finger comes off this trigger, for any reason, and this bomb goes off. Mount Justice gets blown to dust.”

Haruichi glared, furious and frustrated. In a fair fight, Jaime could win. He was older and more experienced. But not with a bomb in the mix.

Furuya made a small sound, drawing Haruichi’s attention. Without thinking, Haruichi reached out, resting a hand on Furuya’s shoulder, trying to reassure him. Trying to reassure himself.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Jaime descended from where he’d flown, laser guns disappearing. He held his hands up, face twisted in anger. One of the Terror Twins clapped an inhibitor collar around his neck.

“Wise choice,” Seto said. “Everyone, take samples from Blue Beetle and Impulse.”

“What about these three?” Ninja girl asked.

“Leave them, Diana,” Seto told her. “As Robin already said, he has no powers, and neither does his brother. Superboy is a human-Kryptonian hybrid. Neither of those is of any interest to our partner.”

“I’ll make you regret this, Aqualad.” Ryou pulled himself to his feet, staring Seto down. Haruichi leaned even further over Furuya. If he knew that look on Ryou’s face, everything was about to go to shit, and Haruichi could only get to one of his teammates right this second.

Seto stalked closer to Ryou, standing taller than Ryou and looking down his nose. Without any warning, he drove his fist into Ryou’s stomach.

“Hey!” Haruichi protested as Ryou doubled over, coughing.

“I think I’ve outgrown the name ‘Aqualad’,” Seto sneered as he walked away, Diana in his wake. “As well as anything resembling regret. The bomb is your souvenir. Treasure it fondly or don’t, it makes no difference to me. Just remember that the dead man’s switch has a five mile range. I wouldn’t pursue, but then, I guess it’s your call.”

Haruichi watched in helpless frustration as needles were shoved into his teammates necks. Furuya tried to stand, but Haruichi held him back. With the inhibitor collar, he wouldn’t have his powers, and experience dictated that it made him less than useless. He’d grown too used to being indestructible, and he threw himself at enemies whether he was actually indestructible or not.

“Move,” Ryou said, arms still wrapped around his stomach in pain.

Haruichi stared curiously. Even if there had been no getting out of taking that punch, Ryou knew how to take a hit without getting hurt. Had he really believed Seto wouldn’t actually hurt him? But that didn’t make sense, either. Ryou believed the worst of people, and he always had.

“What?” Furuya asked.

“Move, now,” Ryou growled. “We don’t wanna be here when that bomb goes off.”

“But he said the dead man’s switch had a five mile range,” Furuya said, eyebrows scrunching in. “He left.”

“And you believed him?” Ryou asked, snorting derisively. Haruichi narrowed his eyes. If Ryou knew how to evade punches, and Ryou definitely didn’t believe Seto wouldn’t hurt him...he’d let Seto hit him at full strength on purpose.

Why?

Or...was he actually in pain? He wasn’t hunched. He just hadn’t moved his hands from his stomach.

“Robin, we need to go!” Ryou shouted. Haruichi shook his head. Ryou was definitely right about one thing. The bomb was probably going off, and he didn’t want to be here when it did.

Haruichi hit the alarm on his way out, syncing up the Cave’s intercom with his comm.

“Everybody get out!” he called. “We have a bomb. Get to the nearest evacuation point.”

There weren’t many people in the Cave tonight, everyone out taking care of all the problems they were trying to fix. Haruichi never thought he’d see the bright side to the Justice League leaving them all in the lurch.

He’d just felt the first kiss of fresh air on his cheeks when the explosion sounded behind him. It threw him forward, sending him reeling hard onto his hands and knees, but he was alive.

He’d made it out in time.

A hand descended on his shoulder, and Haruichi didn’t even bother trying to fight. He just scrambled away, trying not to scream. He couldn’t, not now, he couldn’t defend himself now.

But it was only Nori, holding up his hands and backing away. His mouth moved, but Haruichi couldn’t track the words. His ears were ringing too hard.

Nori tried again, reaching out, and this time, Haruichi let him.

“Are you okay?” Nori asked. Haruichi nodded mutely. “I saw the explosion from town. What happened?”

Haruichi felt like crying.

I trusted the wrong person, and now my team is homeless.

Haruichi could return to the manor. He did it all the time. But Furuya, Okumura, Chris...plenty of his teammates didn’t have other homes to go to.

He’d promised them a place they could be safe, and he’d failed.

“Nightwing, Superboy!” Nori seemed to have realized that he wasn’t going to get an answer out of Haruichi, so instead, he’d turned to Ryou and Furuya. “Are you both okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ryou said. “I got Superboy out of that inhibitor collar, so if he’s not fine now, he will be soon.”

“I got Bart,” Jaime said, hauling himself to his feet. “Turns out the scarab could deactivate the collar the whole time. It conveniently forgot to mention that.”

“We need to get you all out of the open,” Nori said. “Somewhere safe, somewhere defensible.”

“The Hall of Justice has some openings, I hear.” Haruichi didn’t know how Ryou could even joke about that.

Nori turned back to Haruichi, helping him to his feet, but Haruichi moved away immediately. He could walk on his own.

It wasn’t until they got to the Hall of Justice, tucked away in the section reserved for living quarters, finally safe in the only way they could be right now, that Haruichi put together all the pieces that had been bothering him about Ryou.

His brother had found himself a vantage point where he could watch all the video feeds monitoring the entrances. Haruichi just hoped that Furuya wasn’t listening, or if he was, he wouldn’t understand.

“What did Seto give you?” Haruichi demanded. His voice was pitched low, almost calm, but Haruichi felt anything but.

“What do you-?”

“Don’t.” Haruichi took a deep breath. “Maybe the Cave was just a place to you. Maybe it was worth sacrificing to you. But it wasn’t to me. So I want to know if what you got out of it was worth losing a home.”

Ryou had the decency to look guilty.

“I can’t tell you yet,” he said. Haruichi felt his mouth twist into a snarl. “It’s not because I don’t trust you. I just can’t, yet. Believe me, I will soon.”

Haruichi squeezed his hands into fists. If this was some kind of backwards protective thing, he was going to find a way to kick Ryou’s ass. Everyone in his family tried to protect him. His mother had focused so hard on self-defense in her training that he couldn’t help but panic when he got stuck in a real fight. Even Sanada tried to keep the worst of his villains away.

But Haruichi was a hero too.

“I want an honest answer from you, then,” Haruichi said. “Whatever you and Seto are doing...are you sure he’s really on your side?”

“This is Seto we’re talking about,” Ryou said softly. Haruichi felt a thrill of victory. Ryou would admit this much. But it was overshadowed by his sudden fear.

“I know that,” he said. “But he went through a lot. He lost Aquagirl and found out his father is Black Manta in a few months. Isn’t it possible that he’s really a traitor? A triple agent?”

Ryou looked down at his hands.

“He took samples from us,” Haruichi continued. “Members of my team. My friends. And he destroyed the Cave. We could have died.”

“Had to make it look good, right?”

“I’m just saying.” Haruichi sighed. “A lot of my teammates lived in the Cave. The Hall of Justice can hold them for now, but they’re homeless.”

“We can rebuild the Cave when this is all over.” It was an olive branch, but not one Haruichi felt particularly inclined to take.

“No it can’t,” he said. “It was supposed to be the one place we were safe. Now we know it can be taken away from us. So whatever you sacrificed it for, you better make that worth it.”

“Haruichi.” Haruichi started. Ryou had never called him by name when they were in masks. “I’m trying to do the right thing. Believe that.”

“I have to,” Haruichi said. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Haruichi went to find the members of his team. He could at least try to get them settled in. It looked like for the foreseeable future, this was home. Whatever Ryou was trying to do, it would have to wait.

For now, they just had to lay low and recover, and pray nothing else was coming for them.  

[kbrown78]

My Thoughts: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

I was disappointed with Days of Blood and Starlight, and was worried that Dreams of Gods and Monsters would continue on that downhill slide. Fortunately it did improve but not as much as I hoped. This review will contain spoilers for DoGaM as well as DoBaS The pacing felt off for this book, with plot points randomly dropped and everything important was resolved to quickly. I do think Karou and Akiva grew individually and as partners, but there was still so much Insta Love. There was also a little more world building, but again a lot of that was put off until the end of the book. This was an okay finale, but definitely not my favorite.

World building: On Earth, the reader gets a little bit of information as to how humans are reacting to the angel invasion, but the most fascinating aspect comes from Eliza, a human who was raised in a cult that worshiped a specific angel, with it's own holy text and chosen women who displayed some supernatural ability. It is revealed that this cult is actually descended from the angel they worship and Eliza's dreams are memories that the angel Elazel stored. I thought this was cool, but turns into more of a plot device to solve the tearing of the veils between the worlds. In Eretz, we see the caves where Karou originally came from, the storm hunters (enormous beasts that Mik and Zuzanna eventually ride), and the Stelians. The Stelians have an almost fae like aspect to them, because there morality is unclear and they are the one set of angels that are in tune with magic. They basically protect the veils and are strongly linked to the origin of the angels. So the angels are not originally from Eretz, they had to leave their homelands because they became too greedy for knowledge, and were only able to escape because the Stelians foresaw this and made an opening possible. This also ties into the angel cult, because one of the angels that was sent on missions that attracted the beasts that destroyed the angels original world, fell to Earth, and created that cult. This book gave some real development and history, but I felt like most of it was just added in for convenient Deus Ex Machina at the end, so it overall felt more like plot devices instead of actual world building.

Characters: Karou definitely improved from DoBaS. She's not constantly walking around ashamed of her relationship with Akiva and finally acknowledges the power that she wields among the chimera. It's also hinted at a few times in the beginning, whenever Ziri approaches her, that she seems to be suffering from PTSD because of Thiago trying to rape her, and I appreciated that part of the narrative. She still didn't quite reach the level of love that I had for her in the first book because a lot of her narrative was just focused on Akiva. Akiva was okay in this book. He takes on a sort of leadership role, and is proud that they aren't showing any signs of violence toward the chimera during the first meeting, but that is a stupid choice because within minutes they are attacking each other. Like how did you think this was going to go? Akiva also gets tied into the Stelians and helping heal the veils, but I wasn't really invested in that part of the story. I think Zuzanna and Liraz got the most development in this book, and Zuzanna is still my favorite character. Zuzanna is struggling with finding purpose and fulfillment in life because she has seem real magic and doesn't want to go back to the ordinary world. Liraz reflects on her own morality and mortality, which makes her an understandable and more human character. There were two new characters introduced, Eliza and Scarab, neither of whom I was particularly fond of. Eliza works in the scientific community, and is plagued by visions for most of the novel and once she heals she sets out to help the Stelians. That was about it. The fact that she is related to an angel is no surprise to me, I guessed that right after she had her first dream. Scarab is the queen of the Stelians, and despite being an ancient race, she is only 18 years old, so there was that juxtaposition that didn't make a lot of sense to me. She is prone to violence and obsessed with a mythical harp made from the life strings of your enemy's. For me, she was an unlikable character and I never enjoyed reading from her perspective. There were 2 new villains introduced, one we've already met just not as a villain. The first one that I'll talk about real quickly is Morgan Toth. I hated him because he fit the exact same mold that Jael and Thiago fit, just not as bloodthirsty. I don't know if that is how Laini Taylor prefers writing villains because so many are exactly the same, but I really hated it. Then there was Esther, Karou's god mother, who is a bit different than the others. She is completely out for herself, lies and sells out people to get on top, and admits that she was a Nazi collabrator which demonstrates just how morally bankrupt she is. Her betrayal of Karou was suprising, which made her role slightly more enjoyable, even though she is an awful person.  

Relationship: So the miscommunication from the second book continued into this one. I could not understand why Karou didn't tell Akiva that Thiago was really Ziri, and why Akiva didn't pick up on how different “Thiago” was acting. It was insufferable. Karou eventually tells Akiva the truth after they have some stiff encounters. Karou and Akiva are finally together and no one challenges it, but Akiva makes a point to say that he spent only a month with Madgrial (only at nights), and Karou for 2 months, which put it into perspective that this is Insta Love. And ALL relationships are founded because of Insta Love. Ziri and Liraz looked at each other once then suddenly had a connection, same for Eliza and Scarab, even Issa. I was willing to forgive the Insta Love in the first book, but all relationships being founded on Insta Love is ridiculous and I just can't support it. Mik and Zuzanna's relationship was the best, because there was more than forbidden lust between them and they spent all their time together. In fact any relationship with Zuzanna in it, like her friendship with Karou, is a good relationship. I know that Karou and Akiva's relationship is supposed to be forbidden and passionate, but I could just never get fully behind it.

Writing: Most of the writing discussion I will put in the dislike section, but here are a few things I would like to point out here. The symbolism of the angels drawing the closed eyes then Chimera touching them to prove that they won't be harmed. Was this a convenient solution that came out of nowhere? Yes. But the message seems to be sent that generations of war can be healed through physical contact. It's a good start, but all problems being suddenly healed is a bit of stretch. The other thing was at the end, Scarab is delivering a crisis of faith speech, like the whole world is doomed to die and the godstars aren't real, but Eliza arrives and says that the godstars are actually a prophecy about everyone involved in the trilogy. I like this kind of conflict and ending that implies that the story just told will become legend, but I feel like the series was overall to long to fit the format of that kind of story, particularly with Laini Taylor's style of writing.

Dislike: So while this book did recover from the previous book, there was still a lot I didn't like about it. I've already talked about the Insta Love and how much I hated that. I've talked about how I don't like the villain archetype in this book. I wasn't crazy about any of the new characters introduced. I was also pretty done with Karou and Akiva's relationship, which is the main feature of this entire trilogy, but I found it to be more contrived than passionate. The pacing of this book was really off too. The beginning just dragged, the middle of the plot became very confusing, and Jael was defeated way too quickly with almost no effort which didn't make a lot of sense. With Jael being defeated then all attention was turned toward the Stelians and tearing veils, and I felt like this plot point was just randomly dropped in, when it should have been something that the author was building up to.

Final Thoughts: I do believe that the characters, themes, and world building were better executed in this book than in the previous book, but I clearly still had a lot of problems with this book. I do think Laini Taylor is a good author and is excellent at purple prose, but I don't think her style of writing works in a 3 book fantasy series, with each book increasing in length. My preference would be to see Laini Taylor write a magical realism or urban fantasy standalone, because it's quick and offers more wiggle room for the kind of tropes she likes to write. I'm so conflicted on my opinion of this series overall because I still love Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I strongly disliked the last 2 books and they're needed to give the complete story. I'll still probably keep the series with me, just because of the first book.