Spoilers ish for breeding monsters for the Bishop, but…
"You hear the Wings-of-Thunder bat sniff the air, hungrily. Your creature is pushed into the darkness. The sounds that follow are of consumption rather than consummation, ending in cries of victory that become screams of birth. Some time later, the trap door opens and something appears, slithering on a midnight blue belly."
You know what this means? Masters are capable of giving birth.
DEAR GOD WHERE IS THE LAUDANUM
Oh. And Mr. Hearts just gave birth to a cobra. The smallest adult cobra is 4 feet long, while a King Cobra can reach 18 feet in length. In comparison, a baby reaches about 20 inches (1 1/3) feet. So he gives birth to a creature at least 2.5 times the size of a normal baby. With no help, alone in a dirty barn. He probably needs the Hesperidean Cider.
Well, the Masters are taller than most humans are, so it’s not quite that terrible in terms of birth weight. Almost all of the rest of the situation however is awful.
It’s a birth in the sense that it’s a creation of new life. I imagine that Mr Hearts’s activities in the barn are closer to magic or mad science than to maternity.
Edit: another perspective is that it’s akin to the Shapeling arts of Axile, with a slightly different goal. The shapeling arts can, at least in theory, move a being up or down the Chain, while Mr Hearts takes a being and shuffles it around into a different being on the same level of the Chain. edited by Anchovies on 9/3/2017 edited by Anchovies on 9/3/2017
[quote=al2o3cr]A space bat giving birth to a critter is orders of magnitude less weird than a space crab birthing a MOUNTAIN. Just sayin’. :)[/quote] well it was between him and star and since stars have reality shaping power I don’t imagine the crab literally gave birth organically.
what I imagine happened was that the star made stone from vision and they treated her like a daughter out of affection.
also hearts can well…em mould the flesh of other creature to his will?
that’s freaking weird why Is he doing it in the equivalent of an obscure basement? it just seems very random to me.
Mr. Hearts shows up on your doorstep, potentially complaining about the crunchiness of your monsters. He does state "he and his brethren" though. Though giving birth to a cobra might cause catastrophic organ damage which only Mr. Hearts would survive due to Hesperidean Cider.
[quote=A Visit from a Cloaked Stranger]We commend your work. My brethren and I have enjoyed your creatures greatly. Juicy and well-spiced and delicious. We smack our lips and lick our fangs at the thought of the next creation. We grow a little weary of hyaenas, though.[/quote]Mr Hearts knows of the player’s work in the Fourth Coil, in a manner which strongly suggests that Mr Hearts has been eating the player’s creations.
[quote=Breed the Tomb-Lion: Pulling out the stops]It glides on silent, unmoving wings towards you, passing just over your head. As you duck, you see that the shape contains tiny pin-pricks of light, like distant stars. No wind marks its passing.[/quote](edit: a small detail worth noting is that this breeding option pays out in Identites Uncovered)
It’s a space-bat! A space-bat described in uncannily similar terms to another creature in Fallen London, who is confirmed by overwhelming evidence to be one of the Masters.
[quote=Coffee and candles]Where there should be roof and the glim-lights, there is a winged blackness. The shape of an absence. But look closer, and you can make out tiny pinpricks of light, as if the thing is made of the night sky, far away on the Surface.[/quote]So either the wings-of-thunder bat is capable of churning out new Masters, or the wings-of-thunder bat is itself a Master. The latter is much more plausible, especially in light of the fact that one of the Masters is definitely involved in theological husbandry: Mr Hearts. edited by Anchovies on 9/4/2017
I’m intrigued that it’s the cobra that provokes this concern in you, and not the giant fire-breathing lobster or the full-size adult human… or the horse… or, well, any of the others. In any case, I suspect that whatever’s going on in that barn is something beyond the ken of mortal midwifery. Organ damage need not apply, unless one of the critters gets out of control in the Cathedral.
[quote=Addis Rook]and there will still be people even after this that want to bed a Master
maybe even a few because of this.
every day we stray further from the light.
[/quote]
That’s why we’re in Fallen London!
I’m intrigued that it’s the cobra that provokes this concern in you, and not the giant fire-breathing lobster or the full-size adult human… or the horse… or, well, any of the others. In any case, I suspect that whatever’s going on in that barn is something beyond the ken of mortal midwifery. Organ damage need not apply, unless one of the critters gets out of control in the Cathedral.[/quote]
Ah. I mainly stick to breeding Plated Seals. Mr. Hearts is truly crazy.
The wings-of-thunder bat also occasionally emits a blast of icy cold air and a sound almost too high-pitched to hear, both things associated with the Vake.
besides, the bat being Mr Hearts (or a friend) is a much neater answer than "there are two completely different giant bats in there"
Well, the bishop says "I’ve got a wings-of-thunder bat from the Elder Country." as if there are many wing-of-thunder bats in the Elder Country …
… also, I think birthing and eating are two different things? edited by xKiv on 9/5/2017
The bishop also claims that the crunching and chewing you hear is "the sounds of fornication", and the "birthing" is accompanied by a pool of mucous. Space bats are weird!
(plus, during last season’s exceptional story conclusion, Mr Hearts responds to your question about offspring with "continuity through the melding of disparate flesh" or something along those lines. I always forget to echo things.)
edit: also, one of the mysteries is "what is in the barn?" which would be a bit too easy if it was exactly what the bishop says it is! edited by a Nice Friend on 9/5/2017
[quote=a Nice Friend]The bishop also claims that the crunching and chewing you hear is "the sounds of fornication", and the "birthing" is accompanied by a pool of mucous. Space bats are weird!
(plus, during last season’s exceptional story conclusion, Mr Hearts responds to your question about offspring with "continuity through the melding of disparate flesh" or something along those lines. I always forget to echo things.)
edit: also, one of the mysteries is "what is in the barn?" which would be a bit too easy if it was exactly what the bishop says it is! edited by a Nice Friend on 9/5/2017[/quote]
And he probably recieved the Wings-Of-Thunder Bat as a serendipitous gift from a Bazaar-Master’s accomplice, I presume.
[quote=xKiv]Well, the bishop says "I’ve got a wings-of-thunder bat from the Elder Country." as if there are many wing-of-thunder bats in the Elder Country …
… also, I think birthing and eating are two different things?[/quote]
True, but then the Elder Continent is the sort of place you can say anything about. Who’s to tell you you’re wrong? It therefore makes an excellent cover if the Bishop is hiding something.
I have to admit, however, the whole barn situation makes me think of playing Insaniquarium back in college. You feed the fish, it poops out gold! Well, wriggly things, but the basic principle’s the same.