He truly loved her, too, but he feared that the Thief would use his love for her against him: end of wife, end of problem!

Seeing as how my character is presumed dead on the Surface, I'd really rather the game not assume I have Surface friends still.

Unfortunately I didn't screenshot any of Waltz, so I've just gone on a tangent rereading Flint instead.

I don't think it's possible for the protagonist to be the Thief of Faces:
* I cannot think of any implication that the Thief is ever unaware of his identity. He seems to keep his motivations in any form.
* You meet many characters on the lookout for the Thief, and none of them suspect you. Snuffers identify you as human. The Pilgrim-Wakers think the Thief follows you, but only on one of your meetings — so that doesn't seem like a clue.
* It seems unlikely that the Thief has a soul, let alone one unrecognized by devils.
* Going meta, this storytelling decision would repel many players.

On the other hand, it is fun to speculate:
* A handwavy explanation about the Thief possessing people rather than imitating them could remove some of the objections above.
* Alternatively, we could read willfully too much into the Thief changing its "self" as well as its shape.
* The Art of Murder ending makes more sense if you're the Thief. (The ritual succeeds.)
* The player recognizes part of the Thief of Face ritual map in Art of Murder, for no clear reason.
* The player's face can change in Unwell Flint. This follows a draught supposedly similar to cherty griswine... but it doesn't seem so. The Thiefy revelations could be memories.

Does anyone have any theories on
...questions...

Unless I missed something, it appears quite unnecesary.

edited by Juno on 1/29/2016

No, indeed, I still have my cup of Griswine. I am wondering how one gets to use it.

The Duke of Waltham wrote:

Hey! She's holding on pretty well for a sixty-five-year-old Austrian... pauper? Probably not, but it is true that we know next to nothing about this woman. We've come to know the Waltzing Duke fairly well, but the Resolute Aesthete is a cipher; even the fact that we refer to her as an aesthete has no obvious justification other than her appreciation of a particular piece of music—and popular music, at that. I suppose that bothers me a little. Still, not knowing more than the barest of outlines about her life does make some sense in the context of the story, and it might even be besides the point. It is the Duke and his actions that form the heart of the story, and death in the hands of his daughter is merely one of the choices we have in responding to what we have learned about him. For some it would be poetic justice; for others, a family tragedy we have no business preventing, having already played our assigned part in this affair. Either way, her part is secondary. The focus is not on whether we want to see the Aesthete kill her father, but on whether we want to see him die by her blade.

True, but things could be more interesting if Resolute Aesthete is an old friend of ours, that's what I meant by connection.
edited by Lomias on 2/3/2016

I'm a bit confused by one thing . . .

[spoiler] I chose an option to go after him, without telling the daughter . . . now - as I await actions to refresh - she just followed him into his cab. The only option I have to pick is 'reunion', even though I never intended (and never picked) to reunite them . . . I don't think I even mentioned her to him! Is this intentional?[/spoiler]

TheThirdPolice wrote:

Perhaps more useful to stay within the Fallen London world. It sounds like the Old Man is testing many people (presumably young spies), and perhaps sending them to the Neath to worm their way to the vaults of the Bazaar, or to gather secrets such as the Duke found. Do we have any guesses for other agents of the Old Man (the Clathermonts?), or — since we've been spiralling down this well — evidence that the protagonist is an unwitting agent itself?

It's quite possible. I think the key connection Cash tweeted about may indeed be the 'Woods in Winter' card found in the Nadir. The text for the different storylets on the card suggest to me that the player was sent/manipulated into travelling to London, at the behest of the Old Man.

For example, the minor text differences between the two versions of 'The Dance Goes On' storylet on this card (one available if you've reached Entwined in the Intrigues of the Clathermont Family 30, one if you haven't) suggest that a) the woman you're talking to is Millicent Clathermont, a.k.a. The Lady in Lilac, and b) You received some sort of aid from her regarding your Ambition, aid which was subsequently forgotten thanks to Lilac's irrigomancy.

Furthermore, the Old Man wants, more than anything, to know the secrets of the Bazaar, as seen on the 'Fortune's Page' storylet on the Woods in Winter card. Lilac is privy to some of these secrets, so it makes sense that she is somehow involved with the Old Man.

So perhaps the Old Man orchestrated the player being sent down to the Neath by manipulating their Ambition, with the player either unaware of it or having forgotten it due to irrigo? This would mean that the player's beginnings might be eerily similar to those of the Duke...

All these justifications for the daughter-agent's actions aren't obviously wrong, but they're aren't obviously right either. I could just as easily say the daughter is angry because the protagonist took away her chance for revenge. Occam's Razor suggests this is more likely, since it doesn't require any additional speculation on the value of hiding the secret (then why not have you killed?) or the intimidating profile of the protagonist (in a story with no Dangerous requirement, iirc).
edited by TheThirdPolice on 5/11/2016

Uh - this piece of SMEN content I just played seems to be a pretty big, not-very-subtle hint at the identity of the Thief-of-Faces.

Any ideas on the missed detail? I'm trying to decide if I need to replay this a few times after the election ends.

Kylestien wrote:

So, question: what is the third item for the thing later on? I have the blood vial, and the essenses, but I don't think I got anything from this story.

[spoiler]id reconciling them lock me ot of it? Did I need his secret?[/spoiler]

Blood-soaked handkerchief . . . should be in your inventory with the others

(Am I the only one with Griswine left?) XD

http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Gemma~Hawley

Well, I found the ending nobody's taken yet, but they haven't said anything about the reward. For the lore-fiends out there.

what have you chosen robin?

Well, that's exactly why I was making that supposition, really.

I didn't get the impression of similarity between the two; given a couple lines and His Amused Lordship's bet, The Boatman came more to mind for me.

--
Optimatum, a ruthless and merciful gentleman. No plant battles, Affluent Photographer requests, or healing offers; all other social actions welcome.

Want a sip of Cider? Just say hi!

PM me for information enigmatic or Fated. Though the forum please, not FL itself.

Hey! She's holding on pretty well for a sixty-five-year-old Austrian... pauper? Probably not, but it is true that we know next to nothing about this woman. We've come to know the Waltzing Duke fairly well, but the Resolute Aesthete is a cipher; even the fact that we refer to her as an aesthete has no obvious justification other than her appreciation of a particular piece of music—and popular music, at that. I suppose that bothers me a little. Still, not knowing more than the barest of outlines about her life does make some sense in the context of the story, and it might even be besides the point. It is the Duke and his actions that form the heart of the story, and death in the hands of his daughter is merely one of the choices we have in responding to what we have learned about him. For some it would be poetic justice; for others, a family tragedy we have no business preventing, having already played our assigned part in this affair. Either way, her part is secondary. The focus is not on whether we want to see the Aesthete kill her father, but on whether we want to see him die by her blade.

OK, I'm freaking out a bit here.

See, Passionario is an avid player of the Great Game (and was one before he descended to the Neath), an enthusiastic fan of Sinning Jenny, a regular visitor at Clathermont's and an old acquaintance of his Amused Lordship. He also spent an entire year in the Cave of the Nadir once (because I took a break from the game and logged off there).

A few days ago, I created a character who is meant to represent his daughter, descending into the Neath to find him.

Then, just this morning, I changed his destiny to the one in which he ends up essentially sightless.

And now that I've met the Waltzing Duke, I know exactly what a Dread Surmise feels like.

...

It's me. It was me all along. And now it's too late.