#Darkest Power Trilogy

[tomorrow-is-the-better-today]

Hi Yall,

Working on my long-forgotten AO3 fanfic of Chloe and Derek. Here's some art. You can find the story here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49364617

Jump Start (10660 words) by Clad_in_Sparkling_Red Chapters: 5/? Fandom: Darkest Powers - Kelley Armstrong Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Chloe Saunders/Derek Souza Characters: Chloe Saunders, Derek Souza, Simon Bae, Victoria "Tori" Enright, Rachelle "Rae" Rodgers Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s) Summary: "Jump Start" follows a slow-burn romance between Chloe, a 25-year-old necromancer, and Derek, her friend’s brooding brother. When Simon and Derek move in with Chloe and Tori, sparks quickly fly. Their connection ignites when Chloe rescues Derek at his lowest, determined to help him face his inner demons and heal. As they navigate inner struggles and supernatural challenges together, their bond deepens, transforming their initial spark into a powerful and unbreakable relationship that changes both of their lives forever. Though this was written back in 2016 and is unfinished, the chapters will follow similar plots but will NOT be identical nor will it follow the same scenarios. Treat the stories as spin-offs of each other. (This story was originally posted on my fanfic account back in 2016: https://m.fanfiction.net/u/2503700/?a=s for mobile or https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2503700/ on PC)

[fandomcen]

Derek X Chloe—Darkest Powers aesthetic

[waiting-for-motivation]

inside out

summary: Carlos is there for his girlfriend when her darkest insecurities take ahold of her.

pairing: Carlos Sainz x Reader

warnings: insecurities, angst, fluff

words: 1129

a/n: thanks to tumblr for being my unpaid therapist, I guess <33

MASTERLIST REQUEST RULES

Having some time off feels relieving as well as overwhelming at the same time. Carlos fears not valuing his free time enough, although he does everything in his power to experience a lot. With his girlfriend, he visits museums, aquariums, exciting cities and breathtaking landscapes.

Other times, they share some quality time, cuddled up on the couch, watching a movie or cooking together. When Carlos is gaming, (Y/n) is always in the same room reading. They exist in silence, still savoring the shared moments with their partner.

Today is no different, relaxing after yesterdays hiking tour, Carlos plays a new game he had been yearning to have a look at. His girl sits next to him on the couch, so close their thighs touch, scrolling through social media. From time to time, she shares some memes, also calming him whenever the game is getting too rough.

“Car?“, (Y/n) breathes, discarding her phone on the side table. Not knowing if Carlos even heard her over the sound of his gaming, she throws a cautious glance towards him. His brown eyes are already on her, concerned about the serious tone. Carlos even places his controller aside.

“Do you think I‘m pretty?“, (Y/n) asks with an unsteady voice, avoiding her boyfriend's eyes. Her heart feels like it might break her rips apart, and her breathing keeps getting tougher. Right away, (Y/n) regrets expressing her insecure mind.

Subconsciously, she starts fumbling around with her fingers, pressing her nails into the palm of her hand. It might be a bad habit, but the pain is what distracts her from her depressing thoughts. What even works better is Carlos taking care of her. He grabs her hands, warm touch halting her nervous fiddling.

“Of course, mi corazón“, Carlos answers, almost at a loss of words. Her question caught him of guard. Watching (Y/n) shrink in front of him, her insecurities heavy on her shoulders cause him to feel rather guilty. Maybe he did not show her his appreciation enough. Maybe he tells her how much he adores her too seldom.

If (Y/n) could see herself through the eyes of Carlos, she would have no doubts about her appearance. The word perfection is not enough to describe the way Carlos perceives her. He might not be an artist nor a writer, but he would use only the brightest colors for her portrait and could write an entire trilogy about everything he loves about (Y/n).

“You are my gorgeous girl“, Carlos adds and places a hand on her cheek, forcing her eyes on him. Pressing her lips to a tight line, (Y/n) regrets exposing her thoughts at the sight of her concerned boyfriend. “Where is this coming from?“

“Forget about it“, (Y/n) says in a rush, already jumping to her feet and leaving Carlos alone on the couch. But she can't escape her boyfriend, who quickly follows her and wraps his strong arms around her from behind, lifting her up.

“I‘m going to show you how much I actually admire you“, Carlos announces as he throws (Y/n) onto the couch. Her screaming turns to soft giggles because of Carlos decorating her face in kisses. His lips wander from her forehead over the frown between her eyebrows to her nose and lead eventually to her neck. Over and over again, he whispers how much he loves her, how pretty she is.

“You are all I need, mi corazón, all I want. Without you, I feel like I can't breathe“, Carlos declares his deep-rooted love to his girlfriend, kissing a trail down her arms. What causes him to halt his fondling is a quiet sob leaving (Y/n)s throat. Quickly, she places both her hands on top of her mouth, but the tears streaming over her cheeks reveal enough.

“No, please don’t cry“, Carlos whimpers in shock, watching his girl sit up with a shaking body. Out of instinct, (Y/n) turns away from her boyfriend, not wanting him to see her so vulnerable, though Carlos won't simply accept that. He hugs her tightly to his chest. Her tears quickly dampen his shirt, but he couldn't care less at the moment. “Tell me what darkens your mind.“

“I feel like I will never be enough, not for anyone, not for you in particular. Comparing myself to the other girlfriends on the paddock, I realize how plain I must be. They are naturally so magnificent, know how to handle all this attention, and treat their partners perfectly. I will never be like that. I‘m not good enough“, (Y/n) manages to say between her sobs, now wearing her heart on the sleeve, revealing her worst thoughts.

“You are enough, mi corazón. Those other girls are nothing compared to you. I would not want you any other way because I see you as you are: wholeheartedly kind and breathtakingly beautiful. You are all I want and having you here with me makes me so happy“, Carlos tries to encourage his girlfriend, caressing her back and placing soft kisses on the top of her head. Bit by bit, (Y/n) seems to calm down, though she keeps her arms wrapped around her boyfriend.

“I just believe that neither my appearance nor my personality are what you deserve“, she whispers against his chest. Having heard enough, Carlos forces (Y/n) to face him, placing both his hands on her cheeks. Their eyes meet, both glinting with tears.

“Stop right there! If I have to say it over and over again, then I will: You are what I want. I love everything you might hate about yourself. I love seeing the brightness in your eyes whenever you see a dog. I love your passion for things you appreciate. I love the little scrunch on your face when you are reading. I love the way you hide behind me when a camera is near. I love you, (Y/n), and nothing you will do or say will ever change that because my affection is unconditional.“

At a loss for words, (Y/n) just stares at Carlos with wide eyes. This sweet monolog was the deepest profession of love she ever witnessed. Her heart felt like it was falling apart moments ago, but with every word that came over his lips, the pieces found shape again.

“Thank you“, she says with a rough voice, all that crying took a toll on her throat. After wiping all the tears from her face, Carlos leans down and captures her lips in a short yet tender kiss. His smile is bright, lightening her mood greatly.

“Don‘t worry, I will always be there when you are too deep in your own head, mi vida.“

[comicaurora]

top three changes to the star wars franchise?

Like, top three things I would change if I was in charge of the franchise top to bottom?

This is Big Cheating calling it "one change", but scrap the prequels. The original trilogy already implied an incredibly simple by-the-numbers dark fantasy origin story for Obi-Wan and Anakin and if we strip away the space veneer we can easily see that Anakin's original backstory was implied to be "prodigy warrior-wizard is tempted by dark magic (and an established evil sorcerer-emperor who has clearly been in power for more than a scant 18 years by the time of the original trilogy) which slowly corrupts and twists him into a monster who eventually has a fight with obi-wan that he loses, also he has a relationship with a woman who survives to raise Leia for at least a few years". Those are the only points you need to hit, and you could tell a very compelling simple-meal-well-made sword and sorcery adventure with a guaranteed tragic ending. The original prequels fail at holding to the ONLY points of canon they needed to hit - the innately corruptive power of the dark side SLOWLY leading to Anakin's downfall, the empire being an existing threat for a long time and the jedi correspondingly being an ANCIENT religion rather than being less ancient than 9/11, and Padme being alive enough for Leia to remember her a little bit. Close your eyes, clear your mind, let the tropes flow through you - a By-The-Numbers Story will come to you and you will see the completely inoffensive prequel tragedy we could've had. Also, never show Yoda, preserve the fun twist in the original movies.

Easy change for this one. Finn's a force-user with a plot about inspiring a stormtrooper rebellion, another plot that literally writes itself, also let the sequel trio actually all hang out for more than five fuckin minutes because the only thing that ever made Star Wars work was the raw charisma of the actors having a good time and the chemistry was really solid for the only time in the final movie they were allowed to share screentime.

And while we're gutting the sequels, how about letting the hero's victories actually fucking matter. Luke gets to actually reinvigorate the jedi way and doesn't have all his victories ripped away in the name of sequel bait, and can serve as an extremely powerful but very busy Jedi Ex Machina who turns up in the darkest hour to save the day, Mandalorian-s1-finale style. The Empire doesn't just get magically replaced with Empire 2, Now With Less Charisma, let the threat be something actually new or a natural consequence of a newly liberated galaxy in sudden turmoil - feudal tyrants ruling over planetary fiefdoms squabbling to fill the Emperor's power-vacuum, more sith lords coming out of the woodwork now that their greatest rival is gone. Leia and the other rebel leaders struggling to reinstate some semblance of democracy in a scarred and shattered galaxy too accustomed to the crushing totalitarianism of the empire. How goddamn unoriginal to start a sequel by undoing every happy ending from the original series for retreaded drama, as if the universe could only ever hold three problems in it.

[werecreature-addicted]

Omg but what werewolf romance book is it that ur reading tho?👀

calling it a romance is maybe an exaggeration on my part. it's a YA fantasy series where the main character happens to date a werewolf after a will-they-won't-they-love triangle and it's kind of a spoiler that he's a werewolf but!!! it's a good read if you still want to try it out it's called The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelly Armstrong.

[raphaellight]

The mindset of Light Side in Star Wars

This frame is possibly the clearest image of how Jedi win their fights.

But lets start from the beggining.

Recently it hit me how little of the actual force is in the Original trilogy of Star Wars. Let's see first movie:

Ben firstly makes his iconic "These aren't the droids you are looking for"

Luke stops the bolts while covering eyes

Vader chokes snarky admiral

Ben feels the destruction of Alderran

Ben's body dissappears

Luke shots down the death star

No flashy effects. No jumping, no pushing people around. Up until a finale, it seems Force is nothing special, trickery of sort, something to overlook. Until it proves Vader right: "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force." and destroys the said Death Star, exploiting the very weakness that, althought the weakness in theory (planted intentionally according to new canon) shouldn't really be an issue, as it required miracle to work. And Force brought the miracle.

That's how Luke destroyed the Death Star, marking his first highlight of his road to become the Greatest Jedi in the Galaxy. But how would Sith come about destroying the Death Star?

Well, I say, if there was another Sith in the Galaxy, that dude would probably gather resorces and slaves and build his own Death Star, but bigger and deadlier. Or looked around Sith teaching and spells to become strong enough to crush it with his mind. Because that's how Sith mind works. "Unlimited POWER!!!" is their goal. When they see someone opposing them, they thing how to overpower them.

The Dark Side is "easier, quicker, more tempting". Because it's natural. Because Luke does exacly that, when he trains. He focuses on his strenght. Because his goal is to defeat the powerfull Empire. So he needs to become powerfull himself. And that is an invitation for dark side to enter the mind. The same way it entered the mind of his father.

Anakin wanted to gather enough power to save those he loves. And because he was also wronged by Jedi enough times not to trust them with his pet parrot if he had one, he was open to other advice. Don't get me wrong, power is sometimes an answer. But it should never be a goal.

That's the mindset Luke enters his fight with Vader. And he can't do a crap. The Dark Lord is to powerfull to overcome with strenght.

Jedi don't do that. Jedi deals with issues. Jedi helps others out. And in the process they learn and make friends. That's what Jedi wins with. Patience, wisdom and allies, not with power.

Every greatest victory of Jedi over Sith or any other villain is about Jedi bringing the miracules to life. Jedi always win when dark seems the darkest. Because that's when pride of villains comes full circle. Small things left behind gather together, teaching of mentors, friends and happy coincidences combined create the victory for good guys.

When Obi-Wan cut's Maul with a sword Sith forgot was lying there.

When He cuts his former apprentice legs off, because Anakin couldn't accept, that even he isn't all-powerfull.

When Ezra brings Purgils to fight, the one thing all-knowing, genius strategist had no way of predicting.

When Luke managed to break thru the mask of hate, inspiring his father to do the right thing in the most crucial moment in Star Wars history.

When on Endor, army of Empire fall under the invasion of literall teddy bears.

When Kanan, with no fear to cloud his mind, focused on simple tast of defeating Inquisitor, realised the sword that striked so much fear for how inventive it seemed, turned out to be extremely vulnerable.

Jedi don't gather strenght. And Jedi story is definitelly not about gathering the power of spirits or whatever to enhance the hero into overpowering the villain in the final showdown. Jedi win by performing small miracles here and there, patiently waiting for evil to dig it's own grave and then giving it just a little push with help of friends they made on their way.

That is the story of The Jedi, the greatest heroes Galaxy Far Away ever saw.

[devalius]

Reflecting on the story of Unslaad tonight and I just find it so interesting that both overarching antagonists of the Vicn Trilogy, Molag Bal and Hermaeus Mora, and by extension Hoholaugh and the Black Owls in regards to the latter, each manage to be so horrifyingly villainous while also being the most pathetic characters in the whole story. Each of them is desperately attempting to force you to give them what they need to escape their own destruction, trying with everything in their power to beat you into submission with the worst horrors imaginable, only for them to be practically crawling and clinging onto your ankle while desperately pleading for you to stop and help them by the end. Each seems like an impossible foe at the darkest moments of the story, but when you look back after it's all over you can see just how pitiful they always were.

"Laugh at such matters, Dragonborn. For the Prisoner holds the reins of fate in their hands."

I also think of it as a nice callback to Vigilant that you can defeat Hoholaugh by offering him forgiveness, but with a very different outcome compared to the souls you grant peace in that story, and honestly I think it's the most damning option of all for him. He looks out upon the world and the understanding of what he's done, how he's been used, and all that he was never and will never be able to be part of hits him all at once. That's the key thing, too. I think Hoholaugh doesn't just know in this moment, he understands. Molag Bal will never understand, and neither will Hermaeus Mora. The Prince of Fate is too stuck with his head buried in all his stolen words and, even moreso, his own fear to have any capacity to look at the world and truly comprehend the magnificence of it all. But in the moment after he's freed, Hoholaugh understands, and it destroys him.

"The more I think about it, the more I feel... I could have been a part of this world if only my Lord Herma-Mora participated in its creation..."

The greatest revenge you can have against the Black Owl is to take none at all, and I think there's something brilliant to that.

[jamesshawgames]

Relics 3 Release Announcement!

Relics 3: Ashes for Gold has been released!

In Europe’s darkest hour, an even deeper darkness is stirring. One hero stands against the triumph of absolute evil. You.

It’s 1940, and the long-feared war has broken out in Europe. Our intrepid archaeologist is working as a spy for the British, undertaking daring operations to strike at Nazi interests across Europe. But soon a new threat emerges. The Nazis have obtained a stockpile of a devastating ancient weapon, and in order to activate it they are scouring the world in pursuit of long-lost Archives which can teach them how to use it. You must get there first, overcoming the odds to beat the forces of evil and prevent them from unlocking powers with which they can sweep aside any opposition and conquer the world. Can you beat the odds stacked so heavily against you, or will you fail and plunge the world into a thousand years of darkness?

Relics 3: Ashes for Gold is the epic final instalment in the Relics Trilogy, and the sequel to Relics of the Lost Age and Relics 2: The Crusader’s Tomb. It is an exhilarating 580,000 word interactive adventure novel by James Shaw, where your choices control the story.

Step into the weathered boots of a swashbuckling 1940s archaeologist-turned-spy and travel widely in a painstakingly-reconstructed vision of the world at war, facing overwhelming odds at every turn, armed only with your fists, your wits and your motley collective of memorable friends and allies. Do you have what it takes to save the world again, one last time?

Play as male, female, or non-binary; gay, straight, bi, poly, asexual, or aromantic.

Continue to develop your romance from Relics of the Lost Age or Relics 2: The Crusader’s Tomb, or embark on a new relationship with any of the seven ROs in the series.

Fight memorable villains in a race against time to prevent the forces of evil from conquering the world, against the terrifying backdrop of world war.

Ride out into the Nevada desert in the footsteps of a legendary Old West outlaw, scour the sands of Egypt for the secrets of the pharaohs, investigate occult mysteries and Nazi traitors amid the dreaming spires of Oxford, search for sunken pirate treasure in the Caribbean Sea, unearth Inca enigmas in the wild Andes, and go deep into enemy territory in wartime Japan.

Experience epic gunfights, visceral brawls, and wild stunts in vintage vehicles.

Make choices that will determine the future of the world as you close in on an ancient weapon of unimaginable power.

The game is FREELY AVAILABLE on Itch.io, at the following link: https://jamesshawgames.itch.io/relics-3-ashes-for-gold

If you want to play Relics 1 and 2 to get up to speed, they are currently available through Hosted Games.

[aroaessidhe]

okay I was asked about fey books I’ve read that Do stick to folklore a bit more than certain popular books - and actually looking at what fey books I’ve read  it’s a bit like.... books that stick to folklore closely I sometimes Don’t Love, and there are others that don’t stick to it as much but I like the overall narrative more? or some mix of that. 

so here’s a list of a few - a range of how much they stick to folklore (which of course is an amorphous thing) and how much I like them, but it’s something!

YA

That Self-Same Metal - literally just read this, it’s about a Black girl who’s the stage blade expert for shakespeare’s company and can see fey, and they’re appearing more and more in the city. explores a bit of the midsummer night’s dream fey but also like “shakespeare was wrong” and general folklore. definitely the start of a series and has a lot going on but I thought it has some cool ideas!

all Holly Black’s books deal with them well! the Modern Faerie Tales companion/trilogy has maybe aged a bit by now, and I hate way the romance ended up together in The Folk of the Air (and the way the fandom is about it) but otherwise I do really like how it deals with fey and politics! also enjoyed The Darkest Part of the Forest. these are all intertwined/same world

The Buried And The Bound - a hedgewitch girl keeps fey away from her town, and gets caught up with two boys who are cursed. mostly deals with minor fey and a powerful hag

An Enchantment of Ravens - it’s been quite a few years since I read this, but I do remember enjoying it. It is a bit more of a romance focused story also, an artist stolen into the fey realm for painting a fey prince as if he was human(iirc?)

The Bone Houses - not directly dealing with fey, but like the aftermath of the ancient fey’s curses? welsh myth inspired. which I think is cool.

At The Edge of The Woods - about a girl in a religious/patriarchial village who starts to have strange dreams about a fey boy luring her into the woods. it’s not super focused on them, but they’re very much the classic ‘dangerous fey stealing people away for entertainment’ kind of thing

Adult

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries - I sort of have mixed feelings about this - I really enjoy how it dealt with fey and the creepier folklore creatures side of it! the handling of the changeling was a bit iffy and not sure about the romance

The Wolf Among the Wild Hunt - dark fantasy novella about a wolf-shifter made to join the wild hunt to save his qpr. focused on the unseelie/wild hunt area

Silver in the Wood - gaslamp fantasy novella about the keeper of a magical forest, dryads and dangerous fey

The Wind City - a bit of a mashup of fey folklore and Māori atua in a modern NZ setting

Sinners/Veiled - very classic but also with the element of a modern setting where human pollution is like a drug to fey (and the MC is a drug lord.) (so kind of dark but also not dark in the sexy way bc the MC is aroace)

Under The Pendulum Sun - this is a gothic fantasy that has a bit of a new take on a fey world, but also definitely has some of those creepy folklore vibes.

Siren Queen - this only partly involves fey but I thought the way that it mashed up old hollywood and fey (aka shady deals for fame themes) was interesting!

Sorcerer to the Crown/The True Queen - my memory on this is hazy, but I believe it’s regency fantasy, with its own take on a fey world/magic (moreso the 2nd book)

Malice/Misrule - adult high fantasy lesbian sleeping beauty reimagining, this is kind of doing it’s own thing I guess (I don’t remember if they’re even called fey?) but definitely has a bit of the creepy creature/court vibes in book 2 especially

In The Jaded Grove - I was just looking up books to see if there was anything I missed and found this, which seems interesting to me!

I also haven’t read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (but I watched the show ages ago) and I believe that has the vibe too

[samasmith23]

Why Revenge of the Sith remains my personal favorite Star Wars movie

I think one of the main reasons I have such a fondness for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in particular amongst the entire saga (controversial opinion I know, but ROTS is my personal favorite Star Wars film period...) is because of the experience I had with this movie as a kid growing up!

This film came out in 2005 when I still would have been in the 3rd Grade, and I had already grown up loving the Star Wars franchise, watching the unaltered VHS copies of the Original Trilogy, as well as Episodes I & II on DVD constantly as a child. So when I started seeing tons of trailers and promotions for Episode III popping up, you'd better believe that I was incredibly huped about this film! I still remember seeing the initial teaser trailer for Revenge of the Sith when I first saw Pixar's The Incredibles back in 2004, and you'd better believe that little kid me was excited as all heck!

I personally remember the build-up and anticipation for Episode III being wild back in the day, since not only was this being promoted as the "final entry in the Star Wars saga" since George Lucas stated his intentions to not make an Episode VII at the time (hindsight can be funny sometimes... lol!), but this would be the film that finally answered the question of how exactly Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader! Episode III was also promoted as the darkest film in the entire franchise since it was the first to ever receive a PG-13 rating (all the previous movies were rated PG here in the US…). Heck, I remember the PG-13 rating causing a lot of caution and concern among both parents and teachers, since not only did one of my teachers state that my 3rd Grade class was "too young to watch Star Wars Episode III," but when my Dad and I finally saw in cinemas, he calmed my Mom down by telling her he would cover my eyes if any scene got overly violent. Fortunately, my Dad did not end up not having to shield my eyes... although funnily enough he almost did so during the scene when Anakin ignited his lightsaber in front of the younglings before it immediately cut away (so their deaths occurred offscreen...). It wasn't until I was much older that I later learned that the primary reason Episode III was given the PG-13 rating was that in addition to Lucas’ personal recommendation due to the film’s darker tone, the rating was specifically aimed at the immolation scene on Mustafar when Anakin is burned alive by the lava after losing his duel with Obi-Wan.

When I finally saw Revenge of the Sith in theaters in May of 2005, to say that I was completely blown away by the film would be a massive understatement! Not only was I completely immersed in the sheer epic scale of the space and lightsaber duels, but the aesthetics of the planets like Utapau & Mustafar, as well as creatures & droids like General Grievous, captured my imagination to entirely new levels that surpassed even the previous Star Wars films. Heck, General Grievous in particular was a character that I became completely obsessed with as a kid in a similar manner to how countless other Star Wars fans are completely enamored by Boba Fett (both for his badass character design, as well as his status as a Jedi-killing cyborg who wields 4 lightsabers simultaneously while also foreshadowing Anakin's similar future transformation into a being "more machine than man")!

However, the elements of Revenge of the Sith that especially captivated my young mind in the theater were the portrayal of Anakin Skywalker's turn to the Dark Side, as well as Chancellor Palpatine's rise to power as the Emperor. Before the movie's release, I would constantly speculate about what exactly would cause Anakin to become Darth Vader (little kid me came up with wild theories such as him being mind-controlled into being evil via Sith lightning or some such bullcrap... lol!) and the revelation that Anakin turned to the Dark Side primarily out of fear of his wife Padmé dying at childbirth was certainly not what I was expecting back then. At the same time though, this plot point made perfect sense to me and I couldn't help but be engrossed in the whole Greek/Shakespearean tragedy portrayal of Anakin's descent into darkness being motivated primarily out of love. Additionally, as I continued to rewatch Revenge of the Sith on DVD and Blu-Ray as I grew older, I began noticing more of Anakin's growing frustration and distrust with the Jedi council, and how it heavily correlated with the political themes about the corruption of democracy and the rise of fascism (which makes both the Order 66 montage and Padmé’s line, “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause,” hit even harder)! Furthermore, Palpatine himself made for such a phenomenal main antagonist & master manipulator, with scenes such as him telling Anakin the legend of Darth Plagueis story at the Coruscant opera house as well as his reveal as Darth Sidious being particularly chilling standouts for me!

While some of those more complex themes went over my head as a 3rd grader, Revenge of the Sith was probably one of my earliest exposures to darker forms of storytelling dealing with flawed characters & complex themes. Elements that I now actively search for in my consumption of media, ranging to films, comics, TV, and video games. Additionally, as a child these aforementioned elements made me rewatch Episodes I & II with an even greater appreciation and attention to Anakin’s gradual downfall and Palpatine’s manipulations which all culminated in Episode III. As a kid, I used to primarily focus on the action scenes in Star Wars films above all else, but as an adult elements such as the corruption of bureaucracy with the Jedi Order, the downfall of democracy & the rise of fascism with the Old Republic's devolving into the Galactic Empire, and the Shakespearean tragedy of Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader are the elements of the Prequels that continue with stick with me!

It's for this reason that despite whatever flaws Revenge of the Sith might have along with the rest of the Prequel Trilogy, it honestly still remains my personal favorite Star Wars film in the entire saga, followed closely by both Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi (which means that my Top 3 Star Wars films include one from each trilogy! Lol!)! And for the longest time I thought that Episode III would have been the ONLY Star Wars movie I'd ever get the chance to see in theaters... thank goodness I was wrong with the release of the Sequel Trilogy a decade later! Still though... I will forever cherish that initial hype of Revenge of the Sith as my first-ever theatrical Star Wars experience!

[radashes]

Book recommendations with 'Powerful Male Lead X sweet soft Female lead' dynamic

You know how some readers are into those Cold ML X Soft FML dark romance stories? Well, count me in! I have some recommendations for you. Please let me know if you have any recommendations as well.

Let's get into characters.

Male lead: I'm all about those tales where the guy's got this intense, possessive streak, loaded with cash and power. He's got this whole vibe, this aura that screams power. Everyone's shaking in their boots around him. But here's the twist: he's icy to everyone except for this one girl.

Female lead: She's the complete opposite—soft, sweet, not into playing the tough card. And you know what? I'm not into it when she tries those cringey, embarrassing stunts to outsmart him. No thanks. I'm more into the submissive kink, where she's polite but definitely not stupid. Smart, knows when to use her brain.

It's like this delicate balance between power and innocence, dominance and submission. Alright, for all my fellow readers of the "Cold Powerful Male Lead X Sweet Female Lead" trope:

When She Unravels by Gabrielle Sands (My favourite female lead. Mafia romances can feel repetitive/overdone. This felt fresh and different to me. The plot was interesting and I enjoyed Vale. She’s exactly how I like my fmc in a Mafia romance. Sure, she was a caged princess but she had a backbone and stood up for herself.)

The Mafia And His Angel series by Lylah James (Mafia X Runway fml ends up working as maiden in his house)

Hooked by Emily McIntire (Club owner X Enemy's daughter. Female lead was surely sweet)

Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark

Stolen Beauty by T.O. Smith

Broken Whispers (Perfectly Imperfect, #2) by Neva Altaj (This Russian mob is addicting and devilishly good. Age gap. Single Dad. “Touch her and I’ll kill you.” Damaged, unloveable hero and a mute heroine.)

Hidden Truths (Perfectly Imperfect #3) by Neva Altaj

Stolen Touches (Perfectly Imperfect, #5) by Neva Altaj

Burned Dreams (Perfectly Imperfect, #7) by Neva Altaj

Silent Lies (Perfectly Imperfect, #8) by Neva Altaj

Darkest Sins (Perfectly Imperfect, #9) by Neva Altaj (Female lead is the most understanding character. She stumbles upon a stranger with a gunshot wound and saves his life, thinking she'll never see him again. He stalks her for months, then cuts his forearm open just so he can have a reason to go talk to her again.)

Tempted by the Devil (Kings of Mafia #1) by Michelle Heard

Craving Danger (Kings Of Mafia #2) by Michelle Heard

Hunted by a Shadow (Kings of Mafia #3) by Michelle Heard

Beauty and the Assassin by Nadia Lee

An Improper Deal (Elliot and Annabelle #1) by Nadia Lee

The Darkest Temptation (Made, #3) by Danielle Lori

The Maddest Obsession (Made, #2) by Danielle Lori

Twist Me: The Complete Trilogy by Anna Zaires

Once You're Mine duet by Morgan Bridges

The Sordid Duet (Sordid, #1-2) by Nikki Sloane

The Annihilator (Dark Verse, #5) by RuNyx (It's somehow little bit like Hunting Adeline. I'll admit this was different, but the similarities.. Shadow man, Roses, Stalking, Human trafficking, Heterochromia. It just feels TOO similar.. Granted, this was way lessss dark compared to Hunting Adeline.)

The Finisher (Dark Verse, #4) by RuNyx

The Predator (Dark Verse, #1) by RuNyx

Beautifully Cruel #1 by JT Geissinger

Lorenzo by Sadie Kincaid

His Pretty Little Burden by Nicci Harris

Deadly Vows by Haley Stuart

Captured by a Sinner (Sinners, #5) by Michelle Heard

Stolen by a Sinner (Sinners, #3) by Michelle Heard

That's all that's on my mind right now. I'll add more later if anything else pops up. And, if you've got any recommendations for books with that "Cold Powerful Male Lead X Sweet Female Lead" vibe, hit me up!

[loneberry]

September 11, 1973: On the 50th Anniversary of the Coup in Chile 

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the coup d’état in Chile, when a fascist junta led by dictator Augusto Pinochet overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende. For those of us who are on the left, the story should be familiar by now: Allende had charted a ‘Chilean way to socialism' ("La vía chilena al socialismo") quite distinct from the Soviet Union and communist China, a peaceful path to socialism that was fundamentally anti-authoritarian, combining worker power with respect for civil liberties, freedom of the press, and a principled commitment to democratic process. For leftists who had become disillusioned with the Soviet drift into authoritarianism, Chile was a bright spot on an otherwise gloomy Cold War map.

What happened in Chile was one of the darkest chapters in the history of US interventionism. In August 1970, Henry Kissinger, who was then Nixon’s national security adviser, commissioned a study on the consequences of a possible Allende victory in the upcoming Chilean presidential election. Kissinger, Nixon, and the CIA—all under the spell of Cold War derangement syndrome—determined the US should pursue a policy of blocking the ascent of Allende, lest a socialist Chile generate a “domino effect” in the region. 

When Allende won the presidency, the US did everything in their power to destroy his government: they meddled in Chilean elections, leveraged their control of the international financial system to destroy the economy of Chile (which they also did through an economic boycott), and sowed social chaos through sponsoring terrorism and a shutdown of the transportation sector, bringing the country to the brink of civil war. Particularly infuriating to the Americans was Allende’s nationalization of the copper mining industry, which was around 70% of Chile’s economy at the time and was controlled by US mining companies like Anaconda, Kennecott and the Cerro Corporation. When the CIA’s campaign of sabotage failed to destroy the socialist experiment in Chile, they resorted to assisting general Augusto Pinochet's plot to overthrow the democratically elected government. What followed was a gruesome campaign of repression against workers, leftists, poets, activists, students, and ordinary Chileans—stadiums were turned into concentration camps where supporters of Allende’s Popular Unity government were tortured and murdered. During Pinochet’s 17-year reign of terror, 3,200 people were executed and 40,000 people were detained, tortured, or disappeared, 1,469 of whom remain unaccounted for. Chile was then used as a laboratory for neoliberal economic policies, where the Chicago boys and their ilk tested out their terrible ideas on a population forced to live under a military dictatorship.

It shatters my heart, thinking about this history. I feel a personal attachment to Chile, not only because my partner is Chilean (his father left during the dictatorship), but because I’ve always considered Chile to be a world capital of poetry and anti-authoritarian leftism. The filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky asks, “In how many countries does a real poetic atmosphere exist? Without a doubt, ancient China was a land of poetry. But I think, in the 1950s in Chile, we lived poetically like in no other country in the world.” (Poetry left China long ago — oh how I wish I’d been around to witness the poetic flowering of the Tang era!) Chile has one of the greatest literary traditions of the twentieth century, producing such giants as Bolaño and Neruda, and more recently, Cecilia Vicuña and Raúl Zurita, among others. 

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the coup, the Harvard Film Archive has been  screening Patricio Guzmán’s magisterial trilogy, The Battle of Chile, along with a program of Chilean cinema. I watched part I and II the last two nights and will watch part III tonight. It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Guzmán’s work, and even quoted his beautiful film Nostalgia for the Light in the conclusion of my book Carceral Capitalism, when I wrote about the Chilean political prisoners who studied astronomy while incarcerated in the Atacama Desert. Bless Patricio Guzmán. This man has devoted his life and filmmaking career to the excavation of the Chilean soul. 

Parts I and II utterly destroyed me. I left the theater last night shaken to my core, my face covered in tears. 

The films are all the more remarkable when you consider it was made by a scrappy team of six people using film stock provided by the great documentarian Chris Marker. After the coup, four of the filmmakers were arrested. The footage was smuggled out of Chile and the exiled filmmakers completed the films in Cuba. Sadly, in 1974, the Pinochet regime disappeared cameraman Jorge Müller Silva, who is assumed dead. 

It’s one thing to know the macro-story of what happened in Chile and quite another to see the view from the ground: the footage of the upswell of support for radical transformation, the marches, the street battles, the internal debates on the left about how to stop the fascist creep, the descent into chaos, the face of the military officer as he aims his pistol at the Argentine cameraman Leonard Hendrickson during the failed putsch of June 1973 (an ominous prelude to the September coup), the audio recordings of Allende on the morning of September 11, the bombing of Palacio de La Moneda—the military is closing in. Allende is dead. The crumbling edifice of the presidential palace becomes the rubble of revolutionary dreams—the bombs, a dirge for what was never even given a chance to live.

[thedrunkenreadersreviews]

A Review on The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black (SPOILERS)

*Sip, sip* And we're back at it again with that faerie wine!

Now, I know. It has been a hot minute since I posted. The new year has been hectic but I got 2 book reviews coming at you. Let's start with this one.

*Sip, sip*

I knew they would be back and that is why I went to a midnight launch to get my hands on this book. To see the return of my High King and Queen ... ahhhhhh ... but we must have patience and so we shall.

Let's examine this in plot and characters first.

*Sip, sip*

Firstly, let me say that the plot felt a little ... perhaps not as organized as previous plots. For example, the first book focused on the theft of Mab's bones and the creation of these stick creatures which I thought was pretty awesome and enjoyed. Here, that plot goes no further. I wished it was explored a bit more; the power of Mab's bones and the connections it has to the land of Elfhame as a whole. We know Mab was the first High Queen and essentially created Elfhame, so I wanted to see just how interwoven Mab was with the land because, as was explored in The Folk of the Air trilogy, the High King/Queen is immensely connected to the land. That entire part of the mythos kind of fell away to make room for Wren.

*Sip, sip*

Speaking of the whole storyline with Wren ... I'm sorry guys, for the most part, I did not care for it. It's not that I necessarily found it lacking but rather, I found myself disappointed. I had mentioned in a previous post of mine how Holly Black is one of those authors who does not sacrifice the importance or power of one character for another, typically in the case of taking from a male to distribute to a female character. For example, in her novel The Darkest Part of the Forest (which is my favorite standalone faerie book thus far and not just a Holly Black fairy book), never is Severin's status or power diminished for the sake of building up Hazel. It makes perfect sense how, during the climax, Hazel is able to fight as she is. Likewise, in The Folk of the Air, it makes sense that Jude is more strategically inclined while Cardan is more magically inclined, and I LOVED it! I loved how Jude did not possess anywhere near the same magical abilities as Cardan but was rather spectacular for everything she earned. Cardan is a faerie, a descendent of Mab, and the blood High King. It is understandable how he is more connected to the land and thus able to wield it more absolutely than Jude. Jude, on the other hand, taught herself the ways of spying, learned to fight from a vicious redcap, and had to learn to play the game of the folk as she lived in Faerie most of her life. They complement each other incredibly.

*Sip, sip*

Wren, to me, was a bit much. This whole concept of her being able to unmake things made me twist my lips. I understand that hags are the supreme beings of Faerie and how Wren has hag-blood. This manipulation of magic, of being able to unmake things took away, I think, from Cardan, Jude, Oak, and yes, even Mab.

Why? Well, Mab, in a way, is like Jude. She learned how to play the game, she played it well, and Bogdona was upset she got fooled. But, to me, Mab won the Faerie Game fair and square. The land, Elfhame, the crown, all of it belongs to Mab and her bloodline. And Mab gained the ability to create, to bring life. That is the whole Greenbriar thing.

Now, I could work with Wren having the ability to unmake things if it contributed more to the plot of this Greenbriar = Creation, Bogdona/Wren = Destruction. But it doesn't. It just creates a hurtle for Jude. What I think would have been great was to bring this question of Creation vs. Destruction to the forefront. Mab's bones can make things because they are imbued with her power. Great! Can they cure Wren? Can the remark what Wren unmakes? Could Cardan and Jude's power to create block Wren's power to destroy? Could Mab's bones and Cardan and Jude's powers protect Elfhame from Wren's? There are so many questions I wished would be explored but they were never touched on. Could Cardan deflect Wren's spell of unmaking? Could Wren unmake something that Cardan made?

Now to some of you, it may seem obvious ("Well, duh, she can. She has the blood of a hag.") And, you know what, fair. But we should not underestimate the abilities of Mab (who tricked a hag and gained the power of one) and I would have loved it if it played out more.

*Sip, sip*

As for Oak ... oh no.

Readers ... this book made me dislike him. Not hate him, no. And I did not always find myself annoyed with him. Most of the time, throughout the book, I enjoyed Oak but when he annoyed me, my goodness did he annoy me.

*Sip, sip*

As someone who personally detests the whole "ghosting" trend, beating around the bush, talking in circles, and not being direct, I DESPISE the miscommunication/ no communication trope to no end. Anytime Oak even thought about Cardan I slammed my head into the book and seethed past gritted "Just fucking tell him!".

Truly, I had some theories on why Oak may be reluctant to tell Cardan anything. I found no reason besides him being afraid Cardan would tell Jude. Again, fair, but something as simple as saying point blank because faeries cannot lie, "Listen, Cardan, I am not going to ever try to take the throne from you. You do not have to worry about that." Oak's guilt about what he made his sisters endure for him, fine, I understand. But I don't remember a time of him lamenting what he put Cardan through (as I hoped he would) or what he took from Cardan. Rather, he mentions it briefly in passing but does not elaborate. This whole concept of him thinking Cardan wants him dead seems a bit much, even with what he overheard Jude and Cardan talking about in the beginning.

*Sip, sip*

As suspected, though, Cardan is not an idiot.

*Sip, sip*

Jumping back to the plot, the whole ending seemed a little like "Wait, what?" Why is the Ghost done so dirty? Randalian's flip-flop seemed a little Fallout meme "hold on, now." Nacassia and the Undersea were just sort of there (I know she is setting up for an Undersea storyline but as someone who hates cheaters, sorry, I feel nothing for Nicassia so I couldn't care less), Madoc is kind of just pardoned, the falcons who betrayed Elfhame are sort of okay now, someone who literally tried to assassinate Cardan (I think it was twice now) is just sort of free to go. Like, what?

But anyway ... On to the main points.

*Sip, sip*

Oak and Wren.

As much as I found myself annoyed by Oak, I did not necessarily dislike Wren (as I tend to favor villains in books) but found her unforgivable at times. Some of her actions had me pondering, "Oak, how could you have romantic feelings for this girl?" I understand why Wren did most of the things she did. But the way she treated Oak the whole time he was at the citadel, uh, no. Freezing him, starving him, having him in solitary, humiliating him, like ... lying by omission as Oak did, yeah, not cool. Torture via neglect---not cool either.

*Sip, sip*

Do I ship them? I mean ... I don't oppose it but I wasn't really rooting for them through the book. I did not feel the same chemistry as I did with other faerie romances that Black has written. Some characters with great chemistry are Kaye and Roiben, Severin and Ben, Cardan and Jude especially, even Hazel and Jack I felt more pull to. Hell, even Val and Ravius. Why is that? Well, I'll keep this in the Elfhame part of Faerie for those who haven't read the other books. So comparing Cardan and Jude to Oak and Wren as both can be considered enemies to lovers:

Cardan and Jude start off with a mutual hatred.

Oak and Wren do not.

Cardan inflicts his hatred upon Jude and Jude does it right back to him. It is mutual, shared, and practiced on both sides up until they both cave and when they both cave they both cave at the same time.

That's not what happens to Wren and Oak. Their hatred, or rather cruelty, is one-sided. Wren is far more, I guess, negative towards Oak than Oak is towards Wren. Neglect is still a form of abuse; even if the person is not actively being physically, verbally, or mentally abusive, they are still abusing the person via their lack of attention and mindfulness. So when Oak was Wren's prisoner, she was being neglectful and tormenting. Which, hey, he lied and it was a big lie too. So I could fully understand Wren wanting to humiliate Oak because she felt humiliated too. But humiliation is one thing. Neglectful abuse for several weeks is another. Yet, since book one, Oak has had feelings for Wren, whereas Wren harbored a lot of resentment for Oak in the beginning of book 2.

*Sip, sip*

So, do I ship it? As I said before, it is not in my fleet. However, I am not opposed to it. I think Oak does a lot more for Wren than she does for him positively, and I think Wren inflicts a lot more negative things upon Oak than vice versa. Honestly, for this one, I feel as though Wren and Oak would have been better if they ended as friends with the possibility of romance in their future. I think they jumped it too quickly, especially after everything they put each other through. I think having the time to explore being friends again would have been better for their relationship with Black leaving us with a nugget of but you know, they are going to be together in the future.

*Sip, sip*

And now, for the main event.

*Lifts glass*

CUE THE HOMELANDER MEME!

It was perfect. Perfect. Everything. Down to the last minute details.

*Sip, sip*

Yes, my High King and Queen were as fabulous as ever and stole the show every time they were on the page. They were just as in love as ever, still as badass as ever, and both have even matured but not entirely.

Cardan commanding everyone to be killed had me cackling like a Disney witch. Jude's sword fighting is still top-tier. And the fact that Cardan and Taryn still don't like each other had me crying even though Cardan dots upon her son.

Confirmed! Cardan is great with kids as we all suspected.

Him completely ignoring Oriana and her opinions on decorum because he is the High King had me nodding in agreement, one hundred percent. Throwing food into people's wine goblets as a game with Leander, splendid.

Jude resting her head on his shoulder, well done. Jude "threatening" Oak to die for the High King, badass. Jude calling for her good sword, sick! The fact that the sword Severin gave her was not destroyed, big relief (like I was actually sweating when I saw it return, beginning Wren not to touch it).

Them agreeing to Nicassia's stupid little party to keep their people safe, major flex.

Cardan walking off getting stabbed in the chest, giving the order to have people executed to then escorting his people to safety by making a deal with his cheating ex is an I'm him moment.

"Liar," gave me chills and flashbacks to The Wicked King, chapter 15 (hehe ¬‿¬).

Jude acting just like her "dad," put some respect on her name.

Like, if this book was worth reading for any reason, it was them. They did not take up most of the book but when they were there, they were THERE. I loved Jude and Oak's fight at the end, and I loved Oak and Cardan's conversation. I wish they had spent some time talking about how Oak was part of the original plot to put the crown on Cardan's head or how they both fell for vicious women, but the ending was great.

*Sip, sip*

So, was it a good book? Yes, it was. It was an enjoyable read and had that whimsy that all of Black's faerie books have. It was great to see old characters, discover new ones, and expand even more on the realm of Faerie. You know Holly Black loves these characters, especially because of how frequently she keeps returning to them in recent years. It is understandable. These characters are spectacular.

All of the books set in Faerie written by Black so far, for me, from most favored to least, are as follows:

The Wicked King, The Cruel Prince, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, The Darkest Part of the Forest, The Queen of Nothing, The Prisoner's Throne, The Stolen Heir, Tithe, Ironside, Valiant.

Also, another review is being posted soon to make up for my absence. If you have a book you'd like to recommend for me to read, I'm all ears (or, eyes, I guess lol). I am also on Goodreads (same name: thedrunkenreaderreviews).

Anyway, thank you for your time, enjoy the faerie wine, and with the weather growing warmer, why not go for a swim with the nixies?

Till next time, cheers.

*Sip, sip*

[demifiendrsa]

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered - Announce Trailer

Tomb Raider IV-V-VI Remastered will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG) on February 14, 2025 for $29.99 / £24.99 / €29.99.

Title logo

Key visual

Screenshots

About

Tomb Raider IV-V-VI Remastered will bring the “Darkness Trilogy” of beloved, globe-trotting Tomb Raider adventures, originally developed by Core Design, to modern platforms with a variety of improvements for players to relive or experience for the very first time.

Discover remastered visuals that bring new life to environments, characters, and artifacts, with the option to toggle between classic and modern graphics on the fly! Choose between new modern controls inspired by later entries in the series for smoother movement and camera capability, or opt for the original tank-style controls. Photo Mode is also back with all poses from Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered included, along with brand-new ones to commemorate the adventure! Players will also find quality-of-life updates like boss health bars, plus new trophies and achievements* nodding to iconic moments from the series.

Included Game Titles

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999) – Lara Croft uncovers the lost tomb of the Egyptian God Set, unwittingly unleashing him and fulfilling an ancient prophecy—one that plunges mankind into darkness. Pursued at every turn by her arch-rival, the unscrupulous archaeologist Werner Von Croy, Lara embarks on a journey of discovery across Egypt, where she must overcome the most ingenious puzzles and infernal traps ever devised while facing terrifying evil from beyond the grave.

Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000) – Following the events of The Last Revelation, Lara Croft is buried in an Egyptian tomb and presumed dead. At her memorial, those closest to her reminisce about secrets from her past. Travel back and experience Lara’s untold adventures, introducing new gameplay mechanics like stealth and tightrope balancing!

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness – Accused of murder, Lara becomes a fugitive on the run, uncovering a sinister conspiracy involving alchemical experiments and the search for ancient artifacts. It’s up to Lara to stop this unholy alliance from unleashing its incredible powers on the world.

Key Features

See the Classic and Remastered Visuals – Play with the original polygonal models or swap to the remastered graphics at any time.

Travel the Globe – Follow Lara Croft around iconic locales including Cairo, Rome, Paris, and many more.

Experience Lara’s Darkest Adventures – Uncover the secrets of Lara Croft’s past and shed light on the mystery of her disappearance.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hiiii!!! I love your recs especially your historical romance stuff but I was wondering if you had any dark romances recs?? Like contemporary? I want to read some more darker stuff but the stuff booktok is on is mediocre at best.

Yes! Not as many as I'd like, tbh, but that's because a) time management issues b) me being excessively picky. Unfortunately, the flooding of the dark romance market means that a lot of them... are not good. Mediocre at best, as you say.

Soooo I would recommend Sierra Simone. Not just because she's one of my favorites, but because, if you're looking for something on the darker end but not like, "WELCOME TO MY TWISTED MIND" shit... Yeah. Would recommend her.

Her darkest series is her Thornchapel books, which does have some mysticism and magic to it, but not enough for me to properly call it paranormal (though I do sometimes). It's like gothic-toned. And it has one thing that even a lot of dark romances I read don't do. An extreme taboo, shall we say.

Basically, the plot (it's 4 books, all must be read in order) is that six childhood friends come back together as adults, with various issues with each other, etc. They find out about these bacchanalian rituals their parents used to do (think... orgies lol) and decide to take part on a lark, which opens some really fucked up, insane shit. There are two main relationships, one of which is MMF and one of which is FF. It's very kinky (think BDSM, free use, again a lot of group sex). It's very intense. Everyone does have sex with each other at some point lol.

If you want NO magic, her Lyonesse series is billed as dark romance, and while there is darker stuff out there, it's still dark. It's a retelling of the Tristan and Isolde myth, MMF, kinky. Basically: a banking heiress who wants to be a nun and enjoys killing people (for God) is betrothed to a powerful, cold kink club owner/former CIA killer man as a power trade. (This is contemporary, though.) Shit happens, and during their engagement (during which they're living in separate countries) he also begins a relationship with his sad-eyed 'd, beautiful bodyguard. Said bodyguard is heartbroken when he finds out Mr. Boss is engaged, and is sent to fetch her... and they begin something too. And also there are secrets. And murder. Some torture. Loooots of sadomasochism. Moral gray-to-charcoal behavior. One of my favorite endings in recent memory. Lots of mindfuckery.

It's GREAT. start with the prequel novella, Salt in the Wound, and go from there (must be read in order). I would also recommend reading her New Camelot trilogy first, which... Like, less murder happens? I guess? It's more political. But I still consider it on the darker end, tbh. There's kidnapping, there's war, there's betrayal, there's that taboo shit again, there's fucking while one of you has open, poorly patched bullet wounds and the blood is slicking between your bodies... Basically, this one of my holy grail series and I think it's perfect. MMF, very kinky, hot hot hot, cry cry cry, based on Arthurian legend.

King's Captive by Amber Bardan is BONKERS and a great dark romance (I need to read more by her, but again, time management problems). The heroine's father is killed by the hero in the beginning, and the hero sweeps her off to his private island. Flash to years later, and she's been there the whole time. And he hasn't touched her (not really). But things are boiling.... Very twisty-turny, and again, WILD. There's some good, weird shit in here.

On the mafia end, I'd recommend Mila Finelli's Kings of Italy (Italian mafia) which is super hot and has some good kink. On the "violence is all around us" kidnapping/biiiig age gap (no underage shit, but think 18 and 38) end. Mafia Madman is my favorite (and the darkest—he keeps her in a cage lol), but I'd recommend reading them in order. Kresley Cole's Game Maker series is a bit darker, Russian mafia, has a lot of murder, kidnapping, some wacky shit. Really well-done, especially the latter two books.

Run, Posy Run by Cate C. Well is a good Italian-American mafia romance, definitely darker, in which the heroine's boyfriend (who's like... kind of emotionless lol) finds out she was cheating on him. Except she wasn't. She goes on the run, he chases her, there's a lot of threatening shit, etc. It's great.

If you want to read some legit fucked up shit that's more on the erotica end of the spectrum (though there is still a pretty amazing central romance) then Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners series is right there. This has some MESSED. UP. SHIT. Dubcon, noncon, underage activity, seriously risky kink (bloodplay, cutting, choking with a belt and with hands, lots of pain play—our main "hero" is a Catholic priest who can't get it up without inflicting pain, even though he doesn't want to like... legit hurt the heroine). Femdom, pegging, group sex, free use... you'll find it all here.

Not all of this series ages well. I don't love the underage stuff. I really don't love the way the author handles POC (there's like... one main character of color from what I remember, and she's basically a white guy's love interest, and she's great in theory, but boy do I dislike a lot of the way Reisz talks about her on the page). But it is fascinating in many aspects, and I do love the main three characters.

Catch: if you want it to have an HEA, just stop on book 8.... She revived the series after years with book 9. It sucks. It leaves you on a sort of open situation with no sign of when the next book will come out, and I'm not sure how that'll all... end up. It's really not good.

BUT the original series is over, and if you stop there the ending is great. And that's the only ending I acknowledge.

[gnomescarfcomics]

Rings of Power: Episode 5 - Partings

Rewatch mini review. Chaotic and out of order.

Harfoots/Harfeet: They continue to be incredibly charming. Poppy's song and the accompanying traveling montage is one of my favorite things from the series. Nori and Definitely-Not-Gandalf's relationship is great. I love the juxtaposition of a hobbit teaching and encouraging a wizard, while he struggles with his own fear and darkness slowly consuming him. Whether intentional or not, their arc feels like an echo of one of the best scenes of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy (and a quote that is often misattributed to Tolkien himself):

"Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Because perhaps it is because I'm afraid, and he gives me courage."

The harshness of the Harfoot laws still holds things back a bit though and could have been handled better. I can see why it sucks some of the warmth out of the storyline for so many people.

Southlands: Arondir and Theo's bonding scene is especially great. Even with all the darkness around them, Arondir is trying so hard to keep everyone's spirits up and see their worth as people. And I really appreciate Theo showing them the evil sword-key rather than just keeping it secret for forced prolonged drama. That's something this series is actually pretty good at avoiding most of the time.

Waldreg is still one of my favorites (I really hope he shows up in season 2). The evil of his character is done in a very believable way. So many of the bad choices the characters make throughout the series are done out of misguided senses of righteousness, being trapped in a cycle of tradition, or simply not having all the information they need. But the darkest decisions are always done out of complete despair and desperation.

Numenor: Some of the momentum is lost after the end of the previous episode, not that what they're doing doesn't make sense. They need to prepare. Drama needs to happen first. But I think the ship sabotage, while a nice visual, was ultimately unnecessary. The time could have been better spent elsewhere. Galadriel's insistence on Halbrand being a king could have been expanded on a little bit more. I get that she basically just has a "feeling" about him (almost similar and contrasting Gandalf's about Bilbo), and this season is about the danger of assumptions. But it still felt a little underdeveloped.

Even with his limited screen time, I think Pharazon really comes into his own in this episode. His true intentions and what drives him comes into focus, and he's shown as misguided rather than outright evil. Earien and Kemen's relationship could have been given a little more time. But it's a rather insignificant aspect of the story, so if anything can survive being stripped down to the bare minimum, it's them.

But that brings me back to my main issue with Numenor. There's just too much going on. This series really should have had ten episode seasons, which apparently was the original intention. Hopefully season 2's structure ends up being more accommodating to the episode count.

Galadriel and Sauron's little heart to heart is fantastic. The ambiguity of just how sorry he is makes everything extra interesting. Bringing the Lord of the Rings himself to the forefront of things could have gone very poorly, but I think that, despite some bumps along the way, it's one of the strongest parts of the series. He's a tragic and charismatic character rather than a mustache twirling villain. There's plenty of time to focus on just how evil he is later on, but I appreciate they went for a more unexpected and complex telling of his story from the beginning. And it's all very rooted in Tolkien's descriptions of him.

Lindon: This is where the big problem makes its appearance. That darn mithril. It's hard to judge it completely until we know for sure what's going on. How much of the story is a lie? How does the mithril actually work? Was a Silmaril actually involved? Whatever the truth ends up being, they took a big swing with this lore invention, and I think it's mostly a miss. I appreciate the idea of a legend within the story that not even the characters know to be true or not. That feels very Tolkien and just a good use of myth and storytelling in general. But doing that with such a vital aspect of the overall story's core may have taken things too far.

And then there's Elrond's oath. I think it was poorly handled. The "rules" of his oath feel very vague. Based on his conversation with Celebrimbor, who he tells and what exactly he reveals don't seem to have concrete lines that can or cannot be crossed.

I assume Celebrimbor already knew there was at least some mithril around. Otherwise why would they specifically be looking for it with the dwarves? So are we to assume Elrond just didn't tell him how much the dwarves actually found? When did Celebrimbor test it? Did he mean he tested a piece they already found, which sparked their mission to find more? Did he test the little piece Elrond had after dinner. All of this could have been (and should have been) cleared up rather easily. I have to wonder how much of this is a result of the Celebrimbor recast, but that excuse can only go so far.

Elrond and Durin's friendship continues to be one of highlights of the series. Their chemistry and honesty with each other is refreshing. No matter how many political expectations or awkward racial differences attempt to keep them at odds with each other, it never takes long for them to just get to the raw meat of things.

Overall, some of the best individual scenes in the series only held back a bit by some truncated writing and a loss of momentum from the previous episode.