October Exceptional Story: Say it With Flowers

Fallen London
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[color=#0033ff]The Exceptional Story for October is here![/color]

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[color=rgb(0, 51, 255)]London is awash with fresh flowers! Is it a passing floral fad, or does something rotten lurk beneath the petals? Intercept coded bouquets, spy on spies, and investigate intrigue along the Cumaean Canal.[/color]
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[color=#0033ff]Say it With Flowers is the second story in the Season of Propinquity, and was written by [/color]Olivia Wood[color=rgb(0, 51, 255)]. In this season you will experience three stories of affinity, proximity (for good or ill), and the ties that bind.[/color]

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Begin with the Season of Propinquity card available throughout London.

Editing and QA: James Chew
Art: Paul Arendt

Exceptional Friendship

In addition to a new, substantial, stand-alone story every month, Exceptional Friends enjoy:

[/color][/font][ul][li][color=rgb(0, 51, 255)]Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private members’ club on the Stolen River, packed with content[/color][/li][li][color=rgb(0, 51, 255)]An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six![/color][/li][li][color=rgb(0, 51, 255)]A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once![/color][/li][/ul][font=facitweb-1, facitweb-2, &quotLucida Sans Unicode&quot, &quotLucida Grande&quot, sans-serif][color=rgb(0, 51, 255)]
Finishing all three stories in the Season of Bargains will make you eligible for an additional opportunity, to follow.

If you want to keep an Exceptional Story beyond its release month, you must complete the related storylet in the current Season’s card. This will save it for you to return to another time.[/color][/font]

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Lovely new art, just lovely! :)
Because I am very far behind with ES, I kindly ask people to bump the items and quality requirements thread.
Trying to avoid spoilers, thank you!

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Lovely art, ovely writing so far!

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Enjoying it so far and this is right along Caroline’s street so to speak.

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The story is great, so much so that I am getting cold feet! I am going to wait so others have played it and can spoiler some things for me, even if it means wasting some actions.

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You can’t do that that is my plan!

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I’m so torn about which bouquet to give to Mary! Any advice?

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Okay I give up. Just someone please tell me what I need to be sure to do Save the lovers

ETA: See my answer below
edited by Lady Karnstein on 9/27/2019

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I too am interested in the answer to this.

1 Like
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I’ll keep this as vague as possible, but this was a very enjoyable exceptional story. I enjoyed the premise, interacting with the characters, and got to see more interesting sights and places that may not have been explored in depth in a certain other failbetter game. And when the story led me to make a clear choice with clear consequences, it took me a long awhile to make it. Kudos, Olivia Wood and the failbettergames team! I had a good read and a good time. My only regret was not having a good cup of tea while reading it hehe.
edited by The Ambivalent Dynamo on 9/26/2019

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This story was rather light on any real revelations, but it did finally confirm without a doubt a common theory among the player base.

[color=#ff0000]WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW!!![/color]

The Captivating Princess is a colossal bitch.

1 Like
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I’d say they do at least establish more world building in the settings from sunless sea (at the canal) with the things you can see and do there, and the royal enforcers. That is good enough for me.

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It seems no matter what you do, someone ends up losing, either our couple, or the workers of the Canal.

Such is the Game.

Also, did anyone disobey a certain warning?
edited by Ixc on 9/27/2019

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This is the answer to my own question

To save the Couple, Caroline gave Mary flowers suggesting remaining together, then gave the message to the Brooding Captain’s agent. I am unsure if other combinations result in them agreeing to stay together or not

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I missed the teaser (forgot to do it before unlocking the story); does anyone have a link to the content?

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Does anyone have info on any ending that results in the real information being sent to the Surface (either Mary or the Spinster going)? I made a decision IC but my inner utilitarian would rest easier at night knowing the alternative.

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I do want to add perhaps it is because I am such a sucker for Sapphic Love Stories but I (and Caroline) got very emotionally invested this time, much more than usual. I would like to say I agonized over the ending, but I did not hesitate.

Well done.

1 Like
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Great story, lots of lore and truly touching love story. Maby I missed it, but what exactly are workers doing there?

I personally sent both lovers to the surface, up up and away from Princes’s wicked clutch, they may die, but they at least will be together in it.

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Here’s my ending with sending Mary to the Surface: Fallen London to the end of the ES.

[spoiler]I felt like the key to this entire ES for me were these two Echoes: Fallen London
Fallen London

I was pretty happy with my ending. The Shadow Empress got the real message and shut down the staging point. The workers from the surface aren’t trapped in the Neath. Mary is on the Surface. And the Spinster is back playing the Great Game and messing with the Princess’ plans. All in all, about as well as things can go when you have three royal siblings involved.[/spoiler]

1 Like
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I chose to take the message myself.

The last thing I remember is the Lady in Lilac before finding myself back on a ship to London. The Princess was thwarted, the message was switched with her none the wiser, and presumably the workers continue to suffer. At least the couple didn’t go to the Surface. Hopefully the Princess won’t find them. What have I lost?