#that charming irreverence of hers ���✨

[tato-acm]

gwyneth berdara - scenes (3/?): bonus chapter

>> fav gwyn fc: kennedy walsh (19/?)

He snorted. "Are you kicking me out?" Gwyn's teal eyes flashed with alarm. "No! I mean, I don't mind sharing the ring. I just... I know you like to be alone." Her mouth quirked to the side, crinkling the freckles on her nose. "Is that why you came up here?" Sort of. "I forgot something," he reminded her.

"At two in the morning?"

Pure amusement glittered in her stare. Better than the pain and grief he'd spied a moment before. So he offered her a crooked smile. "I can't sleep without my favorite dagger." 

"A comfort to every growing child."

Azriel’s lips twitched. He refrained from mentioning that he did indeed sleep with a dagger. Many daggers. Including one under his pillow. [...]

She angled her head, hair shining like molten metal. “Do you sing?”

He blinked. It wasn’t every day that people took him by surprise, but… “Why do you ask?”

“They call you shadowsinger. Is it because you sing?”

“I am a shadowsinger - it’s not a title that someone just made up.”

She shrugged again, irreverently. Az narrowed his eyes, studying her. “Do you, though?” she pressed. “Sing?”

Azriel couldn’t help his soft chuckle. “Yes.” - Azriel bonus chapter

[meldarkthrop]

"They call Azriel's behaviour as entitlement towards Elain, yet they ship him with Gwyn! Make it make sense."

Okay. Let's play 'Count the red flags' game!

• Azriel in BC part 1 with Elain:

- envious of his brothers having mates

- uses the 3x3 logic 🚩

- demands why he wasn't given the ' third one' 🚩🚩🚩 (take 3 flags, Az)

- shocks and makes even Rhys pale with his audacity

- dodged the question about Mor 🚩

- arrogantly speaks for Elain, trashes Lucien unnecessarily 🚩🚩

- admits in his thoughts that he hasn't thought of Elain beyond sexual fantasies 🚩

Red flag count: 8

Nearly every thought or action of Azriel that I've added a red flag emoji to, is a result of his obsession with wanting a mate.

Azriel views Elain with the 'mate obsessed' lens. Rhys once said that Azriel would've been asking the question why Mor wasn't his mate for centuries. It's safe to say that he had earlier hoped that Mor would be his mate. After he sees Cass and Rhys officially end up with two Archeron sisters as mates, he immediately jumps ship out of desperation. From mere physical attraction to Elain, to insisting she could be his mate. (Note how he ignored the Mor question from Rhys. A sign he's dodging. A sign he knows he's being irrational.)

• Azriel's BC part 2 with Gwyn:

Enter Gwyneth Berdara.

- They banter

- Something restless in him settles

- His shadows dance to her breath

- She makes him laugh and takes him by surprise

- He finds her irreverence charming

- He reveals he sings

- He visualizes her teal blue eyes lighting up and smiles

- His chest sparks at the image

- He buries the image down deep in his chest, where it glows

- A thing of secret, lovely beauty.

Count the red flags.

....That's right. There are none!

Because Azriel does NOT view Gwyn with the 'mate obsessed' lens. Every action or thought of his, flows naturally, with no inferiority complex or desperation. Therefore, Azriel's toxicity from the first half is glaringly absent.

And this is obvious. Because with Gwyn? He would not be obsessing whether or not she's his mate. He would get to know her (they've already laid the foundation), he would become friends with her, fall for her and be taken by surprise later. I think that's crucial to his arc as well, knowing that love comes before a mating bond.

That is one of the reasons we ship him with Gwyn. Because the glimpses we get of him during every single one of their interactions? It's wonderful.

Because I remember reading the BC and feeling uncomfortable with the first half. At how horrid Az sounded. Then came the second half where there was a drastic shift in tone.

That's where it clicked: This. This is what he is like when he isn't obsessing over something in an unhealthy way. Give us more of that!

It all makes sense. Combine it with all the Gwynriel moments and hints scattered here and there in ACOSF, you have the endgame. ✨

[gwynniethenymph]

So, there's a lot of discussion right now about the color of Gwyn's hair (???) so I wanted to give my thoughts on it.

Oh, just wanted to add, she's so insignificant that even her hair's color is subject for discussion, you see...

Now, to the point:

Apparently, not even SJM actually knows what her hair color is, since it's described like this:

"Rich coppery chestnut", "Coppery brown", "Copper" and apparently it looks like "strands of gold" in sunlight.

Now, if you search on pinterest, these terms are used for basically the same color:

It may be because I have the most brown hair to ever brown, but that looks a lot like red hair to me.

The thing is, why is it described as "strands of gold" in sunlight? Gold is the color used to describe Mor's hair, which is very very blonde. This perhaps indicates that lightning in the library is not the best and Gwyn's hair may be lighter than first described.

But then, why does anyone care??? She could be bald and would still be beautiful, funny, smart, brave and in possession of a ✨charming irreverence✨ that delights a certain Spymaster. Deal with it.

[bookishwithathought]

Day 7 | Through His Eyes

🩵 Withering stare

🩵 Teal eyes

🩵 Charming irreverence

🩵 Freckles crinkling on her nose

🩵 Hair shining like molten metal

🩵 Warrior

✨A thing of secrect, lovely beauty✨

It has been such a joy participating this year. Thank you for hosting @gwynweekofficial 🩵

Images: Pinterest

On the Playlist: Eyes Blue Like the Atlantic by Sista Prod, Subvrbs

🚫 No AI images were used in the making of this post.

[laufire]

yesterday I finally finished my ARC of ✨ "When The Stars Alight"✨, and I have now posted reviews in goodreads and storygraph ^-^

(c&p under the cut)

I had the honour to receive an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(this review might contain some very vague spoilers) 

The first thing that merits mentioning in this book is its prose. With an omniscient narrator and lush descriptions of the settings, the characters, and every grand or minute detail, reading it feels like being immersed in a vivid moving painting. I’d recommend the story to those of us who appreciate this kind of writing style; and to those who might be on the fence, I’d ask them to be open-minded, to take their time, and to welcome it in in order to enjoy everything else this story has to offer. I must also commend the artist that illustrated the beautiful cover, as well as the art inside the book, for aiding to the sensory experience. 

As for the book, I’m particularly enamoured with the worldbuilding. WTSA, and the universe it introduces us to as a first installment, can’t be called a typical fantasy story. If, like me, you both love this genre but tragically find yourself disappointed by how repetitive, superficial or conservative some of its examples can be, this book could be just what gets you out of that slump. The world it presents is utterly different from our own, with original fantasy species, each wonderfully distinctive. On the one hand you have Solarites: powerful star maidens fallen from the sky that benevolently rule over humans (some of them with magical abilities of their own) and other races like the sprites (another immortal race of monster slayers with a strong connection to nature); on the other you have the Occassi, a more demonic race in the artic. Here in particular the prose becomes indispensable, presenting two opposing races and their societies, constantly contrasting them with light/dark, life/death symbolism without falling into black and white thinking. From the matriarchal society lead by the Solarites, filled with more subtle (yet still dangerous) political power-plays, to the more patriarchal, militaristic Mortos; the luminosity and abundance of one setting and the more gothic, tenebrous and scarce environment of the other. As the lead travels from one to the other, we discover these differences with her. 

This leads me to the next point: this book puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to a matriarchal society, filling it with outstanding female characters and showing us women in power across all fields: diplomats, scientists, soldiers, etc. 

Laila, the protagonist, is the clear star. She’s delightful, curious, adventurous, with strong morals paired with a deep-seated insecurity. She’s also a political animal; charming, manipulative, with ambition that’s presented as a positive. Her optimism can be a sign of her youth and naivety, but born out of genuine compassion and want for progress. It all comes together into a lovely, complex lead character that I can’t wait to see grow and develop. 

Someone else I found unusual and fascinating was Amira, Laila’s mother. She’s powerful and seemingly untouchable, exacting, and the opposite of nurturing. Her influence over Laila is never-ending, both as her maternal figure and as her monarch, influencing all aspects of her life and looming over all of her relationships. 

Another one with key importance is Lyra, a sprite. She and Laila were past lovers, and in the present have a deep, sometimes difficult friendship that goes beyond most princess/lionheart dynamics. Lyra is irreverent, with a sturdy sense of justice that comes from sympathy for the underdog, and often the blunt warrior to Laila’s diplomat. 

Others that, while less prominent, still tell us a lot about the world are the Odakan scientists (whose part foreshadows what might come in future installments), full of excitement and purpose to change and explore the world; or Dr. Mielette, with a small part, but that offers insight into Solarite culture. We see less of the women in Mortos, so far, but they serve their purpose. In Vasilisa, the Regina, you can see the precarious, risky position of a woman who is ostensibly at the highest one of her kind can come in a misogynistic society. The looming absence of Serafina, the king’s former lover, or of Katerina, another blood sorcerer, both women who sought power outside society’s confines, contrasts with her. 

But Mortos’ most prominent representatives are the men in the Calantis family. Most significantly Darius, the male lead. He’s the king’s bastard and eldest son, resentful of his lesser position in court, and eager to retake the place he thinks he deserves. His more intellectual pursuits (he definitely incarnates the mad scientist archetype, a favourite of mine) haven’t always been of help among Occassi, who value brute force above all. He’s charming and sophisticated, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which can fool others, audience included, into not fearing his monstrous nature. 

The other members of the family are Lanius, the tyrannical father and king opposing Laila’s diplomatic efforts, a poison in the family and the kingdom; and Dominus, the younger son and reluctant heir. Both brothers do take part in a love triangle with Laila, but it’s not your typical, never-ending F/M/M triangle; as someone who sometimes side-eyes such trope, I must say I appreciated how this one develops, with Laila’s differences in approach, in chemistry, and in the emotional risk she incurs in each relationship. Related to the love story, because I know this will be of interest: the book’s sex scenes are delightfully written, just as beautiful and descriptive as any other, steamy and evocative. 

To finish off, I’ll say that this story was perfectly crafted to appeal to both my baser and higher interests. Its world and its characters have raised quickly in my list of favourites, it makes me think and wonder and speculate about what will come next, and it will stay with me for a long, long time. If you enjoy this book half as much as I did, I recommend checking out the author’s page for any other related stories or materials.

[yazthebookish]

You know what's canon:

Azriel finding Gwyneth's Irreverence charming ✨

"Gwyn nodded her farewell, again facing the ribbon. A warrior sizing up an opponent, all traces of that charming irreverence gone."