Plot of Salt and the City

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
The entire plot of Salt and the City for those who don't give a rat's butt about my work, or for those that wish to use my work for inspiration, that works too.

## Chapter One

Penstubal describes his life in a lengthy monologue and his move to Wizzint in order to study at Wizzint University. He begins his adventure on a ship from the United Provinces and talks about his roommates for the night, whom he seems to loathe. He gets off the ship upon arrival at the Wizzint harbour. He angers his taxi driver by asking him about his job and is dumped in the middle of the ride.

He arrives at the university campus by bus, on which he angrily reminisces of his encounter with the taxi driver. He tours the university campus and then meets his friend Bobbie Wood, along with Jolly Timmy. He agrees to go to a party. At the party, he meets Snowstormer and Miron and they quickly become friends.

Penstubal meets Chill57181 and Penquino at the party as well. Penstubal is embarrassed after he compliments Penquino's hair out loud. Penstubal really likes the two, but is cautious about them because of how they talked meanly about some people who were at the party. Penstubal tries to find those two guys they were talking about, but they are ultimately gone.

## Chapter Two

Penstubal wakes up to head to school and recalls the birthday party he attended last night. He also briefly talks about his roommates, who ended up being the same group from the ship to Wizzint. He notices the two penguins from the corner at the party, but is too afraid to approach them.

At Morty's burger place, he meets up with Bobbie Wood and Jolly Timmy. At the place, he also has a conversation with Mr Morty, the owner of the burger place, during which he has a monologue about Penland and politics in the United Provinces. After getting carried away in his conversation, he heads to school where he meets Mironica, a friendly and attractive but dumb young lady.

First class is linguistics and his teacher, Dr Jenna Stewart, is incredibly strict and domineering. The whole class fears her. On the staircase, he drops his books and a person he recognizes but can't remember helps him. He returns home without doing anything substantial or meeting anybody he likes that day. Before the day finishes, however, he is beaten up by his three roommates who leave him bleeding on the floor. Miron welcomes Penstubal in his dormitory, and Miron and Snowstormer become Penstubal's new best friends.

## Chapter Three

Penstubal is depressed on New Year's and laments the celebrations and his loneliness that night. He goes on to have a monologue, a personal rant in which he attacks the system and swears to get revenge against his attackers he calls the 'gang of three', a criminal gang. He has the best sleep in his life thanks to his exhaustion that night. He dreamt of a land where everything is exactly as he wishes for it to be, and he recalls some scenes from the dream.

Penstubal then proceeds to express how Moon Island is his new home and how he is proud of the countrry and its achievements, and that he is happy to be part of Moon Island even as a non-citizen. He says his ultimate goal in life is living out the rest of his days on this beautiful island. Penstubal goes to Mironica's place to help her with her Latin, and eventually, after a few long hours of studying, they kiss.

Penstubal and Mironica's kiss, however, angers Miron, Mironica's former boyfriend who is not aware she is even in town, and he banishes Penstubal out of his dormitory. Snowstormer explains why Miron is frustrated, and so Penstubal tries to correct what he has done by telling Mironica they can't see each other anymore because somebody else loves her. Mironica falls on the floor and cries, but Penstubal runs away to Miron's dormitory, where Miron welcomes him back without any words said.

## Chapter Four

Penstubal graduates Wizzint University and describes his feeling following his graduation. He also talks about the tense political atmosphere in Shops Island and about how so many of his friends are mocking him and dislike him for hanging out with people like Miron and Snowstormer.

He is mocked and openly derided by Chill and CK for his friendship with Miron and Snowstormer, and he starts using the Penstubal Post, his newspaper, as a tool to get revenge at them. He forms an unlikely friendship with Quackerpingu thanks to the newspaper, something that gets him to drift further apart from Miron and Snowstormer.

The Penstubal Post gets international attention, to his surprise, and causes a fight in the Common Legislature. The President of Acadia, Brant Esser, is amused by the news and starts reading the Penstubal Post, and later contacts Penstubal, who is invited to Delphi for a dinner with the president.

He meets President Brant Esser in the presidential palace of Delphi and the President offers to give financial aid to the Penstubal Post to enable it to get a real headquarters and also get even more international following. Penstubal asks him if that would be against the Acadian law, to which Brant Esser jokingly replies "of course".

He spends the rest of the chapter describing his daily life in the years between graduation and the Shops Civil War. He describes his daily eating habits, his living habits, and the job he took as the professor of literature at Wizzint University. He describes the surroundings of his new home in the middle-class neighborhood in Wizzint.

## Chapter Five

Chill is now president of Shops Island and the country's collapse is accelerated. David Franklin is elected vice president, and quickly Penstubal realizes he must get out of the country before its too late. He bids farewell to Moon Island, and flies to Candvia where he has a beach estate.

On the bus to his beach estate in Litus Ventosum, he meets an elderly woman who reminisces of the past 15 years in Shops Island and talks about her daughter's dream. She cries, and Penstubal is touched by her story. Penstubal's worst nightmare is for Shops Island to be blown up with Squarium bombs, which in the end happens and marks the official fall of Shops Island.

He spends a year in Litus Ventosum, where he creates his own market and sells products to the locals, making a lot of money. His worries for Shops Island and Moon Island in particular rise over time, and rightly so as a motion to declare independence is proposed in the Moon Island Council, causing chaos inside the chamber and clashes between the members of the Council.

Penstubal is invited by Dps04 to serve in the government of the Republic of Moon Island. He agrees and is given Moon Island citizenship. He becomes the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Along with the President, he meets with Magonia's Emperor Slender, who promises a large investment into the Republic's economy. Slender also talks privately with Penstubal, to whom he expresses his admiration for the Penstubal Post.

Penstubal resigns afte two weeks on the job after being asked to do so by Dps04 because of his impulsiveness (he caused numerous national security issues including almost bringing Moon Island to war against Chill Island). Penstubal returns back to his job as a professor - later, he is visited by Jolly Timmy, who informs him Bobbie Wood is dead after fighting in the Shops Civil War. Jolly Timmy blames Penquino and Chill, which causes Penstubal to go on a tirade against the two, swearing to get his revenge and promising them they will never win.

## Chapter Six

Penstubal publishes an article in the Penstubal Post calling for an uprising against Penquino and Chill in order to avenge Bobbie Wood. He then has a minor monologue about his loneliness and how he has no more friends in his life, calling himself a saint compared to the penguins who have friends unlike him. He ultimately, despite promising not to get involved with politics ever again, decides to run for mayor of Wizzint.

Chill and Penquino are out to stop Penstubal from getting in the way of their international conquest agenda. Penstubal promises to stop them from enslaving penguinkind and Wizzint is the first stop in his mission. He assembles a team of anti-Chillists from all over the Republic, gathering endorsements even from foreign leaders like President Brant and Emperor Slender.

The first campaign meeting begins, and there they meet a person called Drawde Naf, a Pennese penguin with poor English language that is a big supporter of Penstubal's cause. He quickly finds out all their secrets - and in a scene right after the meeting it is shown that he is The Ed in disguise. He brought a sack filled with all their secrets and several tapes of them planning to commit a crime to his Da Illuminati masters on the other side of the city. Chill is very satisfied and promotes Ed to a higher rank, Colonel.

The tapes are published in the Froggy Times and the tapes cause a national outrage just three days before the mayoral election. Penstubal's campaign is thrown into chaos and his opponent gains a ten point lead in the polls. Penstubal refuses to address reporters but his campaign issues a statement in which he apologizes for the release of the tapes and documents in the Froggy Times - the statement is good enough in the eyes of many penguins and he continues his battle for Wizzint, now neck and neck with his opponent.

Penstubal's campaign team is gathered on election night to watch the election returns. Penstubal's opponent has an early lead due to the suburban wealthy-penguin vote, but once the inner city poor-penguin vote starts coming in Penstubal rises to the lead. Penstubal and his opponent switch the lead back and forth, only for Penstubal to prevail and win 50.9% of the vote. Penstubal's opponent refuses to concede, instead demanding a recount together with Chill, Penquino and Ed.

## Chapter Seven

Penstubal delivers his victory speech after the mayoral election. The Supreme Court refuses to consider a recount for the mayoral elections and Penstubal is officially certified as the winner of the mayoral election. Penstubal describes how his tenure as mayor went, the fall of PARNAS and the constant trolls by Chill and his minions, including Ed's victory in the 2034 mayoral elections and subsequent resignation in favor of Penstubal.

Penstubal and Jolly Timmy discuss Dps04's refusal to run for a third term as President of the Republic of Moon Island. Jolly Timmy asks Penstubal if he was considering running for President, to which Penstubal says he doesn't know and that he's still thinking about it.

Penstubal decides to run for president. He explains how he travelled all over Moon Island and met all kinds of penguins with different jobs and different lives, and decided he wants to live in the countryside once he becomes an elderly man. He wins the presidential election and talks about meeting Chill one day after the election.

Penstubal assumes the office of the presidency of the Republic of Moon Island. He manages to convince Jolly Timmy to serve as an advisor in his government. A few days later, Penstubal is shot in front of the Presidential Palace by a would-be assassin and is rushed to the hospital.

## Chapter Eight

Penstubal is angry at himself and believes he is the worst president ever and that he sinned. He cites public approval ratings and hate towards him as a result of his policies of spying on citizens to prevent another assassination attempt from happening. Penstubal is visited in the hospital by Chill57181, a visit that would change his whole life. He has a friendly and deep conversation with Chill.

Penstubal, after his visit, concludes that Chill isn't such a bad guy after all. He concludes that he has been a horrible person and that he has not been fair at all towards Chill and Penquino. He realizes that other people are flawed too, and notices he's always observed the world with a black and white view of it. His encounter with Chill changes how he understands life and those in it.

That episode ends with Penstubal visiting Bobbie Wood's tombstone. There he asks Jolly Timmy if Bobbie Wood would have reacted the same way had he died in the war, to which Jolly Timmy said that "he has no doubts about it". Penstubal is re-elected to a second term, but he fails to get re-elected for a third term. He retires to the Carmine House where he has a nice discussion with Slender, ending the story.

## Chapter Nine

Penstubal delivers remarks upon finishing the story and tells the reader never to change who he is, as well as numerous other things. He finishes the story by telling the reader to 'interpret the book as he wishes'.