#gilded and cursed

[honeyxmonkey]

Them... I need more of them

Miss Marissa please give them another book

[iknowitwontwork]

MARRISA MEYER WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THIS HELLO?? IF NOT ENDGAME WHY SM CHEMISTRY??? WHY BEING VULNERABLE???

“His lips tilted to one side, but there was an unusual sadness as he peered back at her. “I want us to understand each other. I understand why you lied to me. Just as I understand you are more than your lies.”

At these words, the strangest warmth flooded through Serilda, spreading out until it reached her fingers and toes.

You are more than your lies.

The Erlking tipped his chair toward hers. “In the same way that you are not your god-gift … In the same way that you are not your mother or your father … We are not the vices that created us.”

She held his gaze a long time, debating whether or not to say the words that rose to the surface. In the end, she couldn’t help it. “So,” she said slowly, “you haven’t stabbed your arrows into the flesh of helpless mortals? And … you haven’t murdered children simply because they became inconvenient to you?” She shook her head. “Are you truly trying to convince me that you are not evil?”

She had not noticed that a wall between them had been opening up until it came crashing down once more. The Erlking slumped back in his chair and trailed his fingertip along the stem of his glass. “Forgive me for thinking you might understand.”

[nightfaeses]

land of lions (game concepts)

[starcurtain]

I guess it's because his Warp is called 'gilded imprisonment', and the phonecall with Jade where he says 'I don't wanna bet anything just to escape your clutches'.

Kinda makes him a foil to Robin and warped parallel to Sunday in a way I think if you see him as thinking of his job as a gilded cage. It may not really be true, maybe he can walk away anytime he wants I'm sure he has the power and ability to even if hed be up for silencing if he left the Stonehearts, but he has nowhere else to go so he may just be trapping himself there with his own apathy. Hope that made sense lol

Always enjoy reading your thoughts ty for the food 🙏

(Will answer the part about the character foils in a different post because that is a whole long thing of its own!!)

See, I definitely think this is the issue, because I have had people say that exact thing to me "Well his warp is called gilded imprisonment so that has to be referring to the IPC!" Like... Do people think the IPC has a monopoly on the word "gilded" or something? Or that "gilded" can only refer to literal gold coins and not any of the many, many metaphors for being a prisoner to destiny that are swirling around Aventurine?

"To gild" means to "cover thinly with gold." It doesn't mean to create wealth, to imply actual money, or even to relate at all to the concept of "golden handcuffs" (which is what people seem to be mistaking it for). Gilding could more accurately be described as a process of taking something cheap--like low-quality nickel--and plating it over with the thinnest layer of gold, to try to make the item seem much better than it is. Gilding something is often like dressing up a pig--you can make it look pretty on the outside, but on the inside, it's still a pig.

Just the thinnest layer of gold over a darker interior...

There's nothing about "gilded imprisonment" that automatically has anything to do with the IPC, unless you're already coming in with the impression that Aventurine is a prisoner of the IPC. If you start with a preconceived notion of what "imprisonment" means for Aventurine, then and only then do we make the jump to "Oh, this must be in reference to the IPC." Take that preconception out and there's zero connection lol.

Even the Chinese name of the warp, "囚石铸金" (lit. "Prison stones cast [in] gold") and other languages' translation of the banner name (like German's "Stein zu Gold," lit. "Stone to gold") imply that the most important element of the banner is "coating over something bad with something good"--i.e., turning prison walls into gold, turning the "stone" of his dark past into something shining. (This actually makes a nice irony in several languages, because he turned the rocky desert of his homeland and the stone walls of a prison into gold by... earning a Cornerstone and becoming a "Stoneheart"--or, that is, he himself is a "worthless" stone that has been thinly coated over in shiny wealth.)

But personally, if we really want to go by the English name of the banner, I would argue that it is much more likely Aventurine's banner name is a reference to his own troubled relationship with the concept of "blessings" and "destiny" than anything to do with the IPC.

From the beginning of his life, Kakavasha was told he was "blessed" and that he was the "chosen one." He was favored by a goddess, born on the day of her rebirth, and told that he will be the savior of his people. So, we can literally say he's the Avgin "golden child," which is further supported by the constant connection between Aventurine and gold colors (his golden-haired appearance, his mother's gold accessories with him since his birth, the word "Avgin" itself even meaning [golden] honey). So as the "golden child," we have this perception that his power of incredible luck, gifted to him by a goddess, must be a blessing, a good thing.

And yet that's not how it plays out for him. What his family tells him is a blessing ends up functioning more like a curse for Aventurine, when it becomes clear he can't use that luck of his to protect those who mean the most to him. He might be the goddess's golden child, the chosen one--but no one else is chosen with him. He's a failed savior, an incapable hero, and there is no escape from the destiny which has been decided for him.

There's a reason his lightcone is called "Inherently Unjust Destiny." His own destiny, decided when he was born favored of an aeon, makes him a prisoner of the suffering that he can survive but never avoid.

We see how much this haunts him constantly throughout his experiences in 2.1...

To me, I would interpret the English banner name "Gilded Imprisonment" as much more related to how Aventurine's blessing, which is supposed to make him the favored, lucky, golden child, is actually nothing more than a thin veneer over the terrible destiny that binds him, continually costing him everything and everyone he loves.

On to the other point entirely, I think people might also really be misinterpreting that sentence about "escaping Jade's clutches." Again, I think this relates a lot to the fact that people are coming into Aventurine's character with this preconception of him as a prisoner to the IPC, so they're interpreting this sentence in the most literal way possible ("I want to get away from you"), but that is actually not what Aventurine is saying at all there.

Jade's rank in the IPC is P46. If Aventurine is promoted to P46, he would no longer be her subordinate. Therefore, when he says "I don't want to bet anything just to escape your clutches," this is actually a (vaguely snarky, to be sure) compliment. Aventurine is saying "I don't want you to think I'm engaging in a bet [that I know I'll win] because I dislike working for you."

It's supposed to be flattery. He's saying "Don't think I'm trying to get away from you, oh great Madam Jade. I wouldn't try to make any bets just to get out of being your underling."

I think it's got a healthy dose of sarcasm to be sure, because Jade herself would have trained Aventurine to snatch every chance to get ahead. So now he's in the hilarious situation of having to balance the expected respect to his mentor ("Of course I would never want to leave you! You're the best boss!") with the fact that his own mentor wants him to be cut-throat at all costs lolol.

It's irony-laced flattery for sure.

That's why his next line is "Well, if it's just a friendly bet though, then sure, I'll engage." He's saying "So long as you know I'm not betting because I dislike working for you, sure, I'll play along." Because he knows that's what he's supposed to do--as a Stoneheart, he should be seizing every opportunity to advance. He virtually has to make this bet that he'll be promoted just to demonstrate the desirous personality that Jade would be expecting.

And honestly, it's supposed to be a callback to their first scene together too. They literally add that to text so people can't miss it. Kakavasha came to Jade as a person "hungry" to rise up the chain, to change his circumstances. He's making the same bet again to suggest to her that he hasn't changed in the slightest even after his experiences in Penacony.

(Now, why he's trying to act like he hasn't changed in front of Jade is another story, and "Aventurine is out to destroy the IPC" conspiracy theorists can run wild with this one for sure.)

But yeah. That line... really does not mean what people think it means, apparently.

Anddddd I'll get to the character foils in another post; this was already long enough as-is! 😂

[mmimilin]

yes i got my password back yes i like him no idk why i even like him in the first place

[originalaowrytheian]

I finished reading the Gilded/Cursed duology by Marissa Meyer a couple days ago and like... WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THESE BOOKS????!!

The Lunar Chronicles were absolutely fantastic and absolutely deserve all the attention they get, but those aren't her only books people!!

Please everyone go read Gilded and Cursed! They're a bit darker than the Lunar Chronicles and absolutely destroyed me emotionally multiple times, but they're SO GOOD!! Cannot recommend them enough!

[aroaessidhe]

2025 reads / storygraph

This Gilded Abyss

fantasy/thriller/romance, start of a series

gilded-age fantasy world where a rare magical substance is mined deep undersea

a sergeant struggling with grief and trauma of her best friend dying in a mine collapse, is asked by a young royal (…her ex girlfriend) to help her investigate a strange murder - on the luxury submersible heading exactly where she never wants to return to

when there’s another massacre, confirming their suspicions that it’s caused by an illness inducing a violence craze, they have to find a way to survive, trapped on the ship until it arrives at the undersea city

[writergracethepanda]

I just finished rereading The Gilded Duology by Marissa Meyer and oh my gosh. I loved it even more than the first time.

[imhereonthekitchenfloor]

So I'm reading this rumplestiltskin retelling and the vibes are very beauty and the beast and I am like "who would have thought these two fairytales had such similar vibes" and then I remembered them

[libinih28]

SOMEBODY GET GILD HIS SPOONS BACK

[honeyxmonkey]

[long sigh] I think I need to join a support group for people addicted to writing aus.

The bell over the door rang. Lorraine barely looked up from drying dishes, calling, "Welcome to the Wild Swann Inn, I'll be with you in a moment!"

The sound of heavy footsteps crossing the floor made her perk up. She looked up when a strange young man stopped in front of the bar. He looked nervous, eyes shifting about like he expected the shadows to leap out and attack him. A dark cloak covered most of his features, but she could just see his eyes. Shaded by the hood he was wearing, they were almost gold in the lowlight...

"Hello," she greeted kindly, smiling despite her initial unease. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm traveling with a group," he said quietly. He had a strange accent. She wondered what region he was from. "Three rooms, please?"

Lorraine slowly nodded, reaching below the counter for the room keys. "Alright then."

"And," he took in a breath, clearly nervous, but by what she didn't know. "I was wondering if you knew this girl. I'm looking for her."

He placed a hand sketched drawing in front of her. Lorraine gasped. The girl was clearly Serilda, right down to the details of her eyes.

She peered up at the stranger again, her eyes narrowing. "Serilda Moller?"

"... Yes," he confirmed after a moments hesitation. "I... I heard she moved here."

Lorraine regarded him suspiciously, unsure if she should tell him to go away. He was strange, that was clear enough. And while she didn't want to put Serilda in danger, she also knew that girl was very capable of handling herself.

"Mama," Leyna called, poking her head out from the backroom where Gild had set up a spinning wheel and a loom. Serilda was back there with him now, the three working on a special project. "Gild says we need another basket."

"In the kitchen," Lorraine said, watching her daughter skitter off to go fetch it. She turned back to the stranger, noticing the way he stared at the now ajar door, something strange lingering in the lines of his face. "What do you want with her?"

He slowly looked back at her, fingers twitching nervously against his cloak. "I'm an old friend of her mother's."

Lorraine stared back in confusion. She didn't know much about Serilda's mother, though she knew there was something Serilda herself had found out during her time with the Wild Hunt that she hadn't told anyone but Gild. And possibly Erlen. "If you wait at that table," she said, pointing. "I'll go fetch her."

A relieved look crossed his features. "Thank you."

[d-dantes]

Accursed Son of Aphrodite Gyuutaro thanking his mother mockingly for cursing you to love him

[roseate-pages]

bedtime gets a little lonely once you finish that book series you've been devouring for days so now it's just you and your emotions in the sheets 💔 and you can't even read a new book yet bc of book hangover

[themelodyofspring]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

July 01, 2023 - Currently Reading

[rabbitfaced]

I keep seeing posts about "overused plot twists" or whatever and one of them always is "unexpected pregnancy" and I'm like.. I've NEVER read a book with that plot. BUT THEN I read Gilded by Marissa Meyer and y'know what? first for everything. And minor spoilers for Cursed (the sequel) but

it doesn't even impact the story that much??? like ig we can't nerf our protag too much but having her be out of her body for the entirety of her pregnancy kinda feels convenient ',:/

[sydneyofalltrades]

oh my GOD why must marissa meyer terrify me so?