Betterblog

[rampant speculation alert]

...

Identity aside, I want to know where the Scarred Naturalist got his piece of (presumably) Hesperidean apple.  And, more importantly, where I can find one!

We had shrooms, we had grief,
We had Seasons in the Neath.
But the stars we could reach
Were just chitin on the beach.

I love this game!

Is it wrong to be entirely too excited about experimental blank verse?

SO excited for new parts of the game. I've been trying to restrain myself from playing, as I'm up to 85+ in most areas now, and I'm running out of things to do. I would love to see you guys update the Light Fingers storyline, too, as I'm sitting waiting to begin the second part of my journey. In short, wah wah where is my content. (Just kidding. Although not really. No, really, I am. GIVE ME MORE.) You guys are awesome, and have dented my debit card many a time, but I'm really happy to provide for such a well thought out, cerebrally-snuggling game.

Terrific news.  This and all the other recent announcements about appearing on Facebook (I can get my non-Twitter friends involved) and the tantalising spreadsheet of secrets are very exciting indeed.  I hope it's a big success and you can all make some money from it eventually

It just makes me unbelievably happy to be able to flirt with the devil who keeps sending me flowers back.  Thank you for finally doing that!  (Besides, maybe he really likes me, like the one that ran off with that music-hall singer!  A boy can dream...)  It's not like I'm not casing the Embassy warehouse all the time.  

Now stop trying to make me choose between frankincense and brimstone; I'm already a shepherd of souls, so it ought to be obvious that I am a spy, even if I don't intend to tip my hand this early by helping the constables raid the warehouse!

*is very amused*

The only things that could make me happier are no special content for failbook, which won't happen, I know, and the option to seduce the wry functionary :p

also, there's nothing wrong with calling them seasons.

I kind of liked the "accept the flowers without a response" option.

"He's sending me flowers? Er. How peculiar...?"

@Fairlight - I totally hear you re: not choosing between Frankincense and Brimstone. Although at this point I've established such a contrary reputation for myself that nobody knows which side I'm on (Shepherd of Souls who betrayed the Constables to Hell, but wound up robbing the Brass Embassy several times...before helping the devils out with their pranks...)

Actually, <i>I</i> don't know which side I'm on, come to think of it. The Church is irritating, the Devils are malevolent, and the Constables work with the Masters. Most awkward.

Frankincense, brimstone, Shepherd: it's interesting to hear folks' internal responses to this stuff. Upcoming blog post on penumbral play where I want to talk more about this.

More content: we are back on a war footing. Content is now what we do, until we run out of money.

@pericat: hat tip, sir er madam er.

The fun thing is that you can just not play the opportunity card in question and keep sweet with both devils and church. But it's so much fun to choose sides anyway.

It will be good to get all that Cheese into the wild. There's a great deal of it. I can no longer find the cat.

Nigel, have you checked the oubliette? Or is that strictly a ket-based phenomenon?

@Allandaros Well, I have chosen for myself, but I see no need to play that card and tell both sides which one I'm on.  Ahem!  I'm gay, and so is my character, which may seem like TMI but let's think about it; part of the reason he's down here is that surface life became intolerable for him in the Victorian world.  So down here, people are a lot freer, which is a plus, but Hell and devils are real, which...is kind of a minus, since everything he's heard about them is that that's where he's going.  And then he had to go and sleep with that Curate.  I have always assumed, since there's no further connection after the storylet ends, that his thoughts on the matter were that the sister was a little too involved and there was no way he could handle that; it's not so much a judgement on their personal lives as the fact that he doesn't want to sleep with her because she's a woman, and if he could do that he would have stayed on the surface where he could see the sun.

...so.  Being involved with/working for the Church is a new thing for Endymion.  He doesn't like this business of stealing people's souls a bit, and he'll save them if he can.  But if he's going to end up in Hell when he finally dies for real, he's also going to want to make sure he ends up in a good place there.  Endymion is all about finding the most comfortable place for himself that he can, but he has more compassion than he likes to admit.

I think what bothers him the most is that his friend Tiphaine (who is really really in with the Constables) has secretly become a revolutionary because the Masters are involved with the soul trade.  He's afraid he's going to have to follow her and he doesn't like the idea of losing his place at the Shuttered Palace, where he spends more time than he does at home.  Tiphaine of course is fond of reminding him that the Duchess is a radical...

It would be interesting if our characters were to meet each other.  What's yours' reasons for his actions?

Excellent to hear about Nemesis, especially since I have had access to the Forgotten Quarter and the Shuttered Palace and every other place now.

Also, does the Merchant of Souls storyline stop at 5? Where you exchange Souls for the Slivers? Or will there be more?

@Fairlight: Heh, you remind me that I need to come up with a better name for my character than Allandaros (which is just my 'net handle, doesn't really fit Fallen London well). Regardless...

At this point he sees the Brass Embassy as less Hell Hell and more kinda-sorta-Hell. Just another player in the Byzantine politics of Fallen London, you see. Except for that whole soul-stealing business. That's just rude.

The real threat is the Masters. Nobody knows what they've been doing, why they've been doing it. He's very much a patriot, and is rather put out by the fact that the Masters now control London. Therefore, anything which vexes the Masters can't be that bad. But of course, one wouldn't want to intrigue against the Masters openly. It's vital to keep a low profile, take covert action when possible.

As for the Church, he doesn't particularly care for them, but winds up helping them more than he would probably like. The brutishness of the soul trade means that he works with the Committee to restore souls, which means that the clergy think highly of him - a trait which is reinforced when he's seen in church in sudden bouts of devotion. (The fact that these sudden bouts often happen after something particularly scandalous has apparently not occurred to aforementioned clergy.)

Just wondering if you know that Neath is a town in South Wales?

Consequently, I read any reference to the Neath in a Welsh accented head-voice. Ta.

@misskathryncox We do, thank you. Extraordinary numbers of us are, in fact, Welsh. We applaud your accent.