mist opportunity (Silver Flames ch. 54-62)

Kate (0:18)

I'm Kate, I'm Elle, we are Down To Fae, and just a little reminder with everything in the news right now, consent can be withdrawn at any point. Saying yes before does not mean yes forever, and saying yes to one thing does not mean yes to everything. And if someone is intoxicated, they cannot consent, you're not confused, you're a fucking rapist. I just need to get that out. That was a little bit of an aggressive start, but I wanted to get that out there.

Elle (0:43)

It feels insane that we need to say that in 2026, but apparently we do.

Kate (0:48)

Apparently we do. We're continuing our Silver Flames deep dive this week with chapters 54 through 62, but first I have a short spoiler free review of Floricentia by Ivy Ophelia.

Elle (0:59)

If you don't give a shit, skip to the deep dive using chapters or timestamps in the show notes.

Kate (1:03)

Floricentia is honestly hard to explain. It is a gothic monster romance, but it's also steampunk and celestial and dystopian. It's very atmospheric, occasionally confusing if you can't tell. And it is also very weird, in a good way, like a good weird. But also underneath all of that, there is this really interesting depiction of grief that I was not expecting to get from a book where the love interest has a tongue like venom and a dick that opens like a flower.

Elle (1:41)

You're like, oh, we're actually getting emotional here.

Kate (1:45)

And the setting is this alternate bioluminescent, celestial version of New York City, because it's Victorian 1800s, like they're in horse-drawn carriages. But then there's kind of this like steampunk vibe, and the stars are a huge part of the religion and mythology of the world. There's also magic, although I never totally understood how much the average person knows about it, because as far as Lucia, the FMC knows, nobody knows about the other side, the capital O other side, or what she's doing. Our FMC, Lucia, is an inventor and an occultist, and she has these creatures. I pictured little shadow cats, because they're always like skittering around. Like I pictured a little shadow, skinny Pete and Badger. And she uses them to open a void into this place called the other side by performing a ritual and saying, Florescentia. That's how she opens it. And when she wants to close it, she says, Obscura.

And they come from the other side, these little shadow cats.

And then there are other, so they're like small versions, but then there are bigger versions. And this is like how the book opens. They take care of her from the other side, if you know what I mean? Like they come through this little hole and they have like tentacles and they feed on her arousal and like the sensations and emotions that she gives off, and in exchange, she gets luck. So it's like an energy, does any of that make sense? It's like they're exchanging energy, like she is giving them her arousal, and then the other side is giving her luck.

Elle (3:34)

Okay.

Kate (3:35)

And because Lucia has been doing these rituals, she and her husband Dorian are doing, I was picturing baby girl Dorian, they're doing really well, like they have money, and they're able to take care of their families, including Lucia's father, who is sick.

Elle (3:51)

Wait, does Dorian know why they're so lucky?

Kate (3:53)

No, Dorian doesn't know any of this is going on. As far as Lucia knows, nobody knows what she is doing or that the other side even exists. It's just something she kind of like developed over time, like as a child, she would start to see these shadows, and then started figuring out that she could like farm luck.

But she also never really thinks of the sexual part of these rituals as cheating. To her, it is part of the ritual and transactional, but they are just like coming through with their tentacles, because at first, chapter one, that is how it opens is with a ritual, and you're like, what is happening?

Elle (4:33)

Like tentacles just coming out of nowhere?

Kate (4:35)

Yeah, like coming out of this like void, but then one night, one of the rituals goes wrong, and then Dorian dies as a result of that.

And that is in the description. That's not like a spoiler. His death is the catalyst for the entire book. And without going into exactly what happens, Lucia does have responsibility, some responsibility for it. So she becomes desperate, because it goes wrong, and then she's unable to get to the other side to get luck. And so all of her luck is running out.