#Vaughan the silt verses

[sybilius]

Got reminded of this again today but bears saying again: the decision to never have Paige and Carpenter realize that Vaughan was a shared and significant presence in their history was so incredibly good to me personally. It's a love letter to all the ways that we as humans are connected to each other that we will never know about. And yes that is tragic in its own right -- but it's also inevitable. How much more softly would you treat everyone you met if you knew they loved someone you also loved? That you were changed by the same person but you'd never speak of it?

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Also I somehow completely forgot to mention in my last post but like Vaughan just in general!! Was so!!!

Like first we meet them they are clearly such a hopeful person, just casually being genuine friends with Carpenter aka the most asocial person in this podcast uptil now (maybe it's also because Carpenter is young here but still). They want to make it Big in the city and have a great life and even though they know it can be unlikely they still want to give take that chance.

And then the next episode and it's just. Idk if it was just me but Vaughan to me sounded extremely tired, from their very first lines they sounded so exhausted but hiding it behind a playful mask. It was like their upbeat optimistic personality had been gutted and only a shell was left but enough of it to still convince others that they are ok. Which is especially jarring because by all means they have achieved their dream. They are in the creative team of a big company. They did make it big!

And then more of the chapter goes on and the more the bleak reality of this world is revealed the more it becomes that Vaughan won't survive this. They realized that as soon as Paige showed them that email, that the company will sacrifice it's employees and it will include them.

And they still tried to fight it! They went kicking and screaming and completely hopeless but they still tried to fight it even though they knew it was pointless they still tried. And yet it meant nothing. All of their hardwork, their dreams, their friendships, nothing saved them as the dream they worked so hard to achieve literally killed them brutally

And just!!! One of their first lines was "Isn’t this great? We each get to choose the thing that eats us." Except they didn't! They didn't get to choose! They fought and it was for nothing and they didn't even get to choose what would eat them

[avdmai]

the repetition of "my friend, Vaughan" is so weirdly eerie in a setting like the silt verses, it sounds almost like a title, a chant, an invocation, something that gets bound to them and follows them from their friendship with Carpenter to their friendship with Paige––like yeah ok it's just a little phrase, a normal thing to call someone, but Paige and Carpenter say it with exactly the same inflection. In addition to the analysis I've seen around of "everyone Mallory Glass has loved has died", there's an element of being relegated to "friend," having your story serve to drive the stories of others. They leave for the CLS and their absence drives Carpenter to turn towards the Parish. They... leave... the marketing job, which is what drives Paige's loss of "faith" in her corporate life. Doomed by the narrative as fuck

[brakish-tea]

My Silt Verses hyperfixation is not leaving me and I realize I have to figure out who I relate to more; Sister Carpenter or Brother Faulkner because I relate heavily to both of them. Also I miss Vaughan.

[go-to-the-mirror]

There probably are valid things to be said about all the dead enbys, but also I don’t know what to tell you, it’s a horror podcast, the nonbinary characters are going to suffer and/or die horribly.

[sobecomesomethingelse]

maybe paige’s god’s name should be vaughan, since one could make the argument that vaughan was the seed of the wound tree

[dragonofeternal]

yooooooo extremely glad to see someone else in the danmei sphere who also listens to the silt verses!! it's such a good show!!!

LOL THAT WAS BASICALLY MY REACTION WHEN I SAW YOU POSTING ABOUT IT! I've been following Silt Verses since a few eps into season one and just. MMM! I love me some folk horror, and the way TSV gradually pulls back to reveal just how deep the rot of exploitation, dehumanization, and fucked up body horror saints goes is really well executed. Easily the podcast I have been MOST annoying about trying to get people to listen to for the last couple years.

Carpenter is my precious meow meow. I love how haggard and snarky and wise and stupid she is. (Also Maebh Brun's voice is just so good augh)

[slightlyspooky]

The Crawling In Ecstasy

not exactly a god

(artfight attack for @jellielover I LOOOVE BUGS)

[valtsv]

silt verses tarot assignments:

i. the fool - hembry / sid wright

ii. the magician - VAL

iii. the high priestess - nana glass

iv. the empress - the trawlerman & the promised bride

v. the emperor - katabasian mason

vi. the hierophant - hayward

vii. the lovers - mercer and gage* / devereaux and sebastian if you insist on a romantic couple. this podcast doesn't have many options lol.

viii. the chariot - faulkner

ix. strength - brother wharfing

x. the hermit - roake

xi. the wheel of fortune - katabasian roemont

xii. justice - adjudicator shrue

xiii. the hanged man - the children of the woundtree / the many below & dennis duplass

xiv. death - the cairn maiden & stewardess acantha

xv. temperance - sister thurrocks

xvi. the devil - press secretary carson

xvii. the tower - the wither mark

xviii. the star - carpenter

xix. the moon - sibling rane

xx. the sun - vaughan

xxi. judgement - paige

xxii. the world - the god of penda's slake & charity

(*the lovers is not an inherently romantic card, it symbolises unity)

[the-librarians-study]

Isn’t this great? We each get to choose the thing that eats us.

— Vaughan, The Silt Verses, Season 1, Chapter 6

If we must be devoured, at least we can negotiate the seasoning.

— Katabasian Greve, The Silt Verses, Season 3, Chapter 4

[ipsl0re]

At least, if it consumes me, it’ll be of my own volition. After all, “We each get to choose what eats us.���

I decided to just listen to The Silt Verses on a whim, because it’s not too long and I can put it on while I get some of my more relaxed work done and all that:

And now I’ve finished season 1 and it’s practically rewritten my brain chemistry. Just. How is it this good.

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Tsv chapter 7- aka the "Companies will always priorities profits over it's workers and will absolutely abuse you if given a chance" The chapter

Ok but honestly this was really hard episode to listen to. In a good way. In an excellent way even. First of all Sid!!! To be honest I didn't really care about Sid before (nothing against him) but HOLY SHIT!!!! GOOD GOD!!! HE DIDN'T FUCKING DESERVE THAT WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!

And then Vaughan!!!! Why Vaughan?!?!? Why kill my friend Vaughan :(?!?!?? I miss them already!!!

Honestly the entire Paige's section was just absolutely..... Upsetting. I don't even know why it unsettled me as much as it did, cause there were hints everywhere before this episode that even the government approved corporate divinity demanded sacrifices and was mist likely even worse, but actually listening to it was just. God.

I think the horror isn't just in people being violently and horrifically transformed into these monster, but also the fact that it is so completely normalized in this world. It's the fact that everyone is letting this happen, even encouraging and exploiting this. They don't care that the person who drives their trains has literally been fused to the seat all miserable and in pain, or the fact that the popular radio jockey that everyone listens is forced to stay awake for days and locked up in his studio as he dies painfully, or the fact that their co-workers! Their friends! Are literally sacrificed to mold into a grotesque God and then killed so the company can keep making profits it doesn't need. They don't care or if they do they don't speak up, and it's just!! God!!

Also the parallels between Paige's father and the company. How they both just keep taking and taking and taking. Give out sweet nothings and false promises and what not if you do exactly what they want you to do but will curse you if you don't do it or manage to live up to their high standards. Never actually giving a shit about you, only abuses you. And just God!

With all that said i love that scene at the end where Paige just leaves everything behind only to get kidnapped by Carpenter and Faulkner after catching them trying to jack her car. Carpenter you truly are love of my life

Overall great episode and excellent worldbuilding!!!! I wanted to punch Hopper so fucking bad!!!! Rip Vaughan, unionizing could have saved you

[words-and-threads]

I know I'm not far enough in yet to know where they're going with the plot, but Silt Verses is making me Feel Some Things about power and how people should be treated.

When the Trawlerman tells the promised bride that she is only a vessel and shouldn't expect any better, when Vaughan says "we get to choose what eats us," every time someone is unwillingly sacrificed, it makes me angry. It makes me start wondering how you kill a god.

[manyofnine]

It's fascinating how in the silt verses with all their talk about Gods and Religion, not once does it actually fulfill the role of Religion?

People form religion, form the power of the belief, shape the gods, shape the sacrifices, Saints and Miracles, yes, i understand and follow all that. But also it should be... Aspirable to be a Saint?

Like, yes it's horrid and horrible and a different word for "we will do unspeakable torture on you :)" but Sainthood is supposed to be fullfilling. Not the God's will, but your own? And you can make someone else a Saint, especially not against their will.

And you can't collectively as Society look down on Saints, make them mundane, sad or pityful. That's not how it's supposed to work.

What bleak worldview the Creators have if there is no God capable of actually giving the people what they want, instead of taking taking taking in a twisted game of "if you don't give me what i asked for i will take more and this will hurt worse" like some weird bully. God's should be feared yes, but also capable of being loved?

You can't just decide for someone else, "you will be a Saint" because to be a Saint you need to love your God and be loved in turn. And not the love that takes possessively either. I mean the one that gives. Gives endlessly.

What, How, Why is there nothing like that in that world. How can you actually worship if it's fear and death and roiling disgust that hits you everytime you think of it. If you need to hide your Saints behind paint. If you have them begging for mercy before their ascension. That's not how it's supposed to be. What were you thinking when you created it in the first place? What world were you trying to create?

And i know i am stomping my foot and throwing a tantrum here because that form of religion isn't how i understand mine, but I always saw practising religion as something soothing. Something strengthening, empowering, Something that helps you through the long day. That keeps you safe at night. I don't see any of that in any God in the Silt Verses.

The closest we get, are people who found and forged an actual connection to their God of choice, but honestly these God's are also mostly just using that connection to ask for more sacrifices. It's just wrong.

I don't know if my view of religion is simply naive or untainted by cults but, that right there in that podcast ain't Gods my love. They are demons that befell on Earth and convinced them to make more of the same.

How can a child's God be cruel? How can a birds God inspire torture? Why is the bridge Goddess that was worshipped for love taking and killing cats? That's not. How can someone like Vaughan not survive a ritual killing? Don't they have Gods of their own? Don't they know how to keep themself save from turning? Don't they have power of their own? Aren't Gods supposed to give you power not to take it away? Why-

Yes i know it's capitalism. Let me have my existential spiral first before i advocate for the whole system to be shut down and renewed in Kindness and Consideration.

This fucking false politeness of the city people in the Silt Verses is killing me btw.

[mabi-lune]

The Silt Verses- chapter 6

[Start image ID: a watercolor drawing of large waves, both light and dark blue, with a white border. Three small pieces of papers are glued onto the drawing and read: Isn’t this great? We each get to choose the thing that eats us. End image ID]