#silvershore

[bug-clan]

[echidnacht]

My designs for Lam and Tristan!

[ylvaslooks]

Silvershore

[pyske]

this second citadel season is all about sacrificing oneself to save the ones you love thaT I'M FREAKING SCAR3D FOR CAROLINE DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY STABHAPPY MOMMY

[doctorwhoisadhd]

WHAT. HELLO

[courtclover]

James: If you're looking to the west towards the sunset and you look right up here, you'll see Venus and Jupiter. They're very bright in the evening sky and they'll eventually go down towards the horizon as they set quite early in the evening. And if you look all the way up here, you'll find the moon way up here. And if you tilt your head this way and you draw a little line from the moon all the way down to the planets and down to the sun, this is where you'll find the sun below the horizon—that's called the ecliptic plane. All the planets lie along that plane. Pretty cool fun fact :)

Clover, already getting undressed: .....

[effervescentdragon]

The ending of The Penumbra Podcast's The Second Citadel is the most disappointing ending to me since Avengers Endgame. I'd probably compare it to Game of Thrones, if I'd watched that.

I got some things to say. Heavy spoilers ahead.

I genuinely haven't been this disappointed in writing in a long time. I don't know what happened - from season 3 or 4 or so onward both Second Citadel and Juno Steel seemed to change, and althought I haven't really been suoer excited about the path Juno's story has taken, I was actually pretty invested in the Second Citadel. I thought the whole war with the offworlders plotline was good. Even more, in the world we live in right now, seeing the way human-monster conflict was done was very inspiring. Humans finding out their legends of great victories are just massacres of monsters commited in the names of Saints who were actually standing for the exact opposite of what they've been made into, the way propaganda works, it was very dear to me ans it was something I was convinced was important to say. So many characters and their developments were written so well that I was enjoying the fifth and final season immensely. And then, that finale.

Despicable. Hollow. So badly written. Not honest for a moment. Underwhelming. Lazy. Nonsensical.

When you have a magic world in which anything can happen, you cannot use the excuse of "I wrote myself into a corner". When you make the Universe a deus ex machina capable of making a half human-half monster child, you do not have an excuse of not resolving the story in a way that's satisfactory and that makes sense for the characters. Whet the writers have done is lazy, and cheap, and so unsatisfying that for a whole day, I have been reeling from how much disappointment I feel.

Let me go one by one character and try to put my thoughts in order and explain why this finale falls short of everything I expected and everything that could have been done.

So the Universe needs more magic to defend itself, and it's spending too much on keeping Olala alive. Alright. You have a thirteen year old kid whose first home was torn apart by a warmongering zealot, who is the only one in the world of her kind, who is the Chosen One. Sometimes, the Chosen One needs to die for the story to make sense. But to have a thirteen year old commit suicide in sacrifice to save the world, after ripping her from one home, then giving her another (Silvershore), only to raze that one to the ground too with zero payoff, after giving her a parental father figure who promised her a life where she would be taken care of in the future (Sir Lamorak) and then killing him in front of her, which directly follows her parental (mother-ish but not rly, more of a mentor) figure of Caroline also dying in front of her, which drives Olala into despair of knowing both her caretakers are gone and then having the Saints Relics destroyed not be enough... the emotional toll of that has no payoff. The cheap card of "maybe someday Olala will come back" is unsatisfying and callous in a most horrifying way.

And since I already mentioned Lam and Caroline, let's delve into that. Lam's death was very neatly set up and it's the only one that makes sense, somewhat. He was a Knight of the Citadel who did horrible things, fell in love woth a mermaid and changed his ways. The conditions of his duel with the Tengu (not to pick up a weapon again lest the Tengu comes back and devours him) are a piece of very good writing, because how could a Knight with a child not pick up a weapon in the middle of the war to defend that child? That, I understand. (A deus ex machina of Universe asking him of he wanted to come back would not go amiss, and as his wife once said, she is your child, and you have responsibilities. But maybe that's just my wishful thinking.)

Caroline need not have died. Nor did Quanyii. Quanyii absorbed the Universe's magic, yes, but a sacrifice for her would be to live without magic anymore. One whole moment in the story was Quanyii lamenting how bad she is at healing magic. She could have given all the magic to heal Caroline, and they both could have lived, fundamentally changed by the experience. No, instead, they died. Pointlessly, pathetically, with some cheap reassurances that were supposed to sound deep and meaningful. All of Olala's caretakers taken away right before she goes to the heart of the Universe to kill herself.

The rest.. I don't even know where to start. Ale spouting some reassurances to a grieving Angelo felt completely dishonest after he spent years chasing his own revenge, whose unsstisfying conclusion he is now suddenly alright with. All the floscules about building a new future fall flat in the knowledge of what the sudden end of the war means. Queen Mira being absolved of all her incompetence and not being Queen but urging democracy now, as if she didn't hold as much responsibility as the bloodthirsty knights she enabled, ignoring all advice to the contrary. What a cop-out. Much like with Sir Mark, who actively participated in genocide and who has been miraculously absolved by his brother (without even properly apologizing, because Talfrin does it for him) and they ride off into sunset together. Despicable.

And Rilla... goddamn it. The worst piece of writing I've seen in a long time. A magical ot3 child for a woman who is, above all, a scientist. That line, "I don't even have time to go through my notes of the knowledge I lost because there is so much new magic", and then they use that magic to make a child, although Rilla has never indicated wanting one. What to do with a female character when you don't know how to handle her? Why, give her a child, of course! So disappointing, so cheap, so out of character.

The Universe in this story is a deus ex machina in itself. It could have brought Olala, this child everyone claims to care so much about, back. This story could have gone a million other ways. The characters could have stayed true to themselves and the message of the story could have been poignant and memorable. There are ways of writing a story rife with logical, necessary sacrifice while still giving the audience adequate payoff and giving them hope and belief in good things. While still completing the journey and staying true to your characters and your message.

This story did none of that. It relied on cliches, empty sayings and hollow moralising to justify a sacrifice of a child for some bigger cause. It betrayed all its female characters and either turned them into caricatures of themselves, or killed them. It absolved everyone of responsibility and closed its eyes from the gruesomness of its actions and pretended it cannot see, because look, the war is over and all is well! It disappointed so heavily with its hollowness that it soured everything, the whole story for me, and I won't ever relisten to it.

The most important thing to ask yourself when you're writing is "what story do I want to tell". And given that this was the story the writers chose to tell... well. That says enough, I think.

I shudder to think what Juno Steel finale is like. I don't think I want to listen to any it anymore, to be honest. And isn't that the most disappointing thing of all?

[iknikblackstonevarrick]

A Breakdown of the Thoughtstream

I wish we had gotten to see the full breadth of the thoughtstream, but as we didn't I've assembled all the canon information we have about it, and some person speculation:

Information on the Thoughtstream from canon: Suits: Wastes, Wilds, Frosts, Mirrors [and the secret Skulls suit, which only comes up for Olala] Ax, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Parapet Ax: "Warriors Hunters and Conquest" According to Tiilei, comes up for Galahad and Marc 2: Love/Relationships? Comes up for Pix and David. 3: No appearances 4: Nature, wilderness, beasts? Comes up for the King Tyrantlizard 5: No appearances 6: No appearances 7: No appearances 8: "Temples and Protectors" According to Tiilei, comes up for Tiilei and the Garden of Graves itself 9: Magic, mystery, crossroads? Comes up for the magic guitar that creates a doorway, and the magic effect replaying Pix and David's last moments Parapet: Borders, endings? Comes up for Fort Terminus

As a refresher, cards come up as predicting the presence of something associated with the meaning of the number, from a part of the world associated with the suit. So Marc came up as the Ax of Wilds, Caroline might come up as the Ax of Frosts, Quanyii might come up as the 9 of Wastes, Silvershore might come up as the Parapet of Mirrors, etc.

So we have no information on four of the numbers, 3, 5, 6, and 7. Now, the numbered cards from the minor arcana have some consistent themes among the numbers-- and so I've consolidated them into:

3: Companions, achievements, victors

5: Loss, defeat, loneliness

6: Leadership, order, wealth

7: Liars, fears, dreams [the ephemeral]

Which gives us:

Ax: Warriors, Hunters, and Conquest

2: Lovers and Relationships

3: Comradery, Achievement, and Victory

4: Nature, Wilderness, and Beasts

5: Loss, Defeat, and Loneliness

6: Leadership, Order, and Wealth

7: Liars, Fears, and Dreams

8: Temples and Protectors

9: Magic, Mystery, and Crossroads

Parapet: Borders and Endings

All of this for my fic where this may be relevant

[thesecondcitadel]

funny to me how the holiday specials have been becoming more and more plot relevant to both storylines but have retained the silliness levels of non canon joke episodes. echidnacht is absolutely necessary to the second citadel silvershore set of arcs and in it ale duels a monster named "the wolf" because he's always wanted to fight a werewolf but it turns out the wolf just called himself that cause he's a loner and he's actually a werebeaver, which totally messes with ale's dryad-based powers. the april fool is clearly doing some work to set up juno s5 and it's about juno having a multiverse hallucination where he's trying to catch a crook call the fucking april fool. the intended read for these episodes is probably meant to be "these events broadly happened but this is a sillyified version of what really went down in-universe" but I'm simply choosing to take them at face value.

[thepenumbrapodcast]

Secrets lie in the depths beneath Silvershore, and Sir Tristan is in search of one secret in particular... but the city may not survive if he finds it.

Part 2 is out now wherever you get your podcasts.

(And we'll see you on the 31st for our Second Citadel Halloween special!)

[bug-clan]

Conspiracies are taking over.

[blue-mood-blue]

Ale really wanted to fight a werewolf.

Ale really wanted to fight a werewolf to tell Angelo about it later.

I wonder how often that happens? Ale has an interesting fight in the ring, and part of the benefit is the challenge, of course, most of the benefit is the pay that keeps them afloat for however long they stay in Silvershore... but some of the benefit is the rapt attention on Angelo's face. Some part of every fight is Ale cataloging every step, the careful preservation of each moment, memorizing it down to the details so he can get it right when Angelo leans in with those bright eyes and that brighter smile - so he can keep that attention a little longer.

Maybe he doesn't realize he's doing it. Maybe he doesn't consider why, beyond the way Angelo lights up when Ale gets close, beyond the little delight of having someone to share his day with. It's just something they do - talk about the day they had - and it's nice, to have something to tell Angelo that he'll appreciate. It's nice to have Angelo listening to him. Angelo listens like no one else does, with all of him, with the expectation that whatever comes tumbling out of Ale's mouth is worth his entire focus - and when someone listens to you like that, you want to give them something worth hearing, right? 

So it's a routine. He collects fights to trade like coins for another stolen few minutes walking through the city. He trades them away by the second for whatever Angelo will give him in return. Whether he knows it or not, whether he allows the thought or banishes it to a place where he can deal with the repercusions later, he considers it a bargain for basking a little while longer in that smile.

[ylvaslooks]

[missyadventures]

So I got into Second Citadel *hard* over the last few days. I’ve just caught up and just…

*Spoilers for Second Citadel Season 5 finale ahead*

“something monstrous in his eyes”

Abnormally fast healing (for a human at any rate)

Miracles, as shown from Tristian’s words to the Silvershore spirit, are implied to be magic. The line “that which we call miracle” and Arum’s protests that “humans rename everything” line up a little too well.

Within this world poetry seems to have power. The shaping words of the petrichorus, Enoc’s prophecy, Tristian’s words to the Silvershore spirit, they’re all poetry. Further Tristian’s assertions that poetry and things of beauty are purely the purview of man seem rather meaningful in the context of the next scene.

Fair bit of knowledge about his father, nothing really on his second parent.

Something’s suss with Damien gang.

[eternal-flame]

screaming, crying, clawing at the walls about the Caroline-Olala dynamic this season

Olala betraying Caroline's trust by lying to her about Galahad being in Silvershore vs Caroline betraying Olala's trust by trying to get her out of Silvershore against her will........ Cinematic Parallels.............

[lacktastrophe]

I know it's been hinted at for a long time... but is it just me, or are Paulo's feelings for Daisy coming out of nowhere? I always thought their interactions prior to the current chapter were platonic at most with Daisy being the one developing romantic feelings for Paulo. Am I missing something? (1/2)

They've always been pining for one another but their insecurities and happenstance tend to keep them away and thinking the other is unattainable. They are absolutely compatible, they're both good friends who look out for each other.

Paulo acknowledged his interest in Daisy first back in Intervention when David persuaded him with a hypothetical where he had to choose between her or Tess. Despite all the running after Tess he'd been doing chapters before, the winner was Daisy, of whom he had never attempted to womanize once because of his belief she didn't deserve him at his worst. She's always been his main means of support and accepted him for all of his faults.

He likely would have gone ahead and spoke with Daisy afterwards once they returned from Silvershore, likely becoming a pair, had it not already been that during that period of his absense, Abbey had snuck in and denied us of potential.

We could be sure that Daisy had always had a thing for Paulo too which probably went back to when she first met him. There isn't anything that really makes that as clear but we can attest that Daisy has always liked boys, we saw interest and admiration building up over time quite a bit during the very early chapters and even more so once her relaitonship with Abbey was over when she could put more thought towards her best friend.

Admitting her interest might've taken comparitively longer because as far as she could tell, Paulo hasn't ever shown interest in her, only going after Lucy, which sheds this uneasy light that existed despite their amicable relationships.

Is it coming out from nowhere again? Not at all! All of the moments you're looking for is when Daisy's relationship with Abbey starts showing signs of trouble, the moments specifically are in Guest of Honour, Moments apart and Featured Attraction.

As far as Paulo's sexuality being explored...isn't that happening in this chapter? (Future LackLuster: Actually no, it's relationships. Should've given it more thought, past me.) Paulo has technically admitted that he doesn't see either James or Mike as potentials, so even though it's not happening, he's seriously considered it.

I think Paulo's done enough discovery of his sexuality, we've had chapters like Boy Toy, Golden Hour and Fair game where he either considered the possibility or gushed over Mike. I don't think there's anything more that could really be learned. He's accepting of this fact now though. He still has an eye out for Daisy, more so too since all the distractions, James, Mike, Lucy are all unattainable.

I'm finding myself mostly warmed up to Paulo x Daisy these days but I could imagine why people might hate it as well (Do give me your reason!). I have also reached the point where I feel like this needs to really hurry up and be a thing or die already. It's been dangled over the story's head like a carrot for such a long time and Paulo's constant "Nah, I'm not ready to admit my love for Daisy" has me all.

PLEASE HAVE THEM KISS.