Fallen London Memories Competition

Fallen London
61

Best Headcanon of the Decade: What’s clearly true, according to you?

I looked up to the character Nitebrite and often read their blog, following their escapades and theorizing on Fallen London. One thing that no one had never confirmed was the existence of the Crystal Lodgings, supposedly only accessible to those who had gathered 50 Fabulous Diamonds.

I was immediately intrigued and set about hoarding the precious gems. Nitebrite had been right about the the Heptagoat, and as a hoarder of rare and unusual items I was eager to get my hands on my next trophy.

But halfway through my latest quest I became a backer for Cultist Simulator. I had the chance to email Alexis Kennedy a question in hopes of an answer and so I wanted to know if these lodgings existed while he was still with Failbetter.

He told me it didn’t exist so far as he was aware.

Deflated, I prematurely ended my diamond grind. But now that I’ve shared this story publicly I’m optimistic that someone will add it. Or perhaps add a number of end-game grinds for useless but shiny trophies to add to my mantle. They added a little snippet for anyone who purchased over 500 weasels, surely there will be a Crystal Lodgings somewhere, somehow.

Or, as I want to believe, the Crystal Lodgings have always existed. I just need to grind the right number of items first and the way will open itself up to me.

62

Co-Operative Play of the Decade: What has another player done for you that’s made your day?

I’d like to nominate Dov for this award, and not so much my day, but for my end-game experience.

Unfortunately many of my contacts within London have disappeared. Or perhaps are too unreliable for consistent assistance with various events in a timely manner. However, I can always count on Dov for a spot of Cider anytime I fall victim to a strange sort of prank.

If their count is accurate, I have imbibed nearly 100 times which is more than generous. Surely I’ll have attained immortality through association by now?

63

Worst Idea of the Decade: What’s the foolhardiest thing your character has ever done?

Back when I was grinding the necessary resources for the Heptagoat I initially started by using Archeological digs in hopes of getting Nightwhispers to sell for Echoes.

I can assure you that it was very inefficient, slow, and unreliable. Thank goodness that some kind soul eventually shared with me the Fidgeting Writer grind which I can I will assure you is much more optimal. Despite the risk of bad RNG, the higher resource and action cost, overall it was worth it and had it not been for all the Coruscating Souls I likely would not have made met my timeline for getting my beloved Goat.

64

Most Characterful Affectation: What’s unusual about your character and their lifestyle?


Despite my character having been around in London for years she is fairly oblivious, maybe even ignorant of the various factions, conflicts, and lore of the Fallen London universe.

She’s more of a bystander amongst the chaos of all the supernatural and mind-rending as she bumbles her way to her next fancy trinket. What’s this? A mural depicting the Calendar Council is seen as just a curious painting. Encountering the Dawn Machine was just a big, glowing thing that she had no idea what it actually did. And it’s a good thing that no one really knows what goes on in the Iron Republic.

I take this interpretation because myself I’m a touch oblivious to some of the more subtle nuances and references in the game and often have to seek out wikis or the forum posts of other players. So while my real world counterpart is now enlightened, my neathy version is still ignorant to all the madness.

65

Most Characterful Affectation:

Silas journeyed to Fallen London to hunt down those responsible for the murder of his wife. Since arriving, he has carefully cultivated an aura of menace and dread, becoming quite possibly the most ruthless and heartless citizen of Fallen London, stockpiling alarming amounts of rostygold (traditionally, it is what you are paid with when you kill something), and writing a dozen gothic romance novels. It appears that there are no depths to which he will not sink in order to further his mission of revenge. He even used his Zubmarine to look for deeper depths to which he might sink, but could not find any.

Except…even though there is advantage to be gained in London society by marrying again, it is something he will not consider. Even a sham marriage would be beneficial, but such a thing is unthinkable. Silas will never again speak those vows.
edited by silasilent on 1/29/2020

66

“Real Life Memory of the Decade: How has the Neath had an effect on your Surface life?”

I went to college for two years with a thought to go into graphic design, I hated it, but i’m an artist, and that’s how artists make money right? It wasn’t until the second semester of my second year that I had enough, I did not like graphic design, I did not like my classes, there was no creativity behind it, only formulas.

Where does Fallen London come into this you ask? 2 years prior to that, going into college, I started playing, I loved the game, it helped me through a lot, a tough move, a surgery, and a future I did not think I would enjoy. I thought back to listening to the development podcasts they used to release. I remember one of the developers saying something such as “everyone can make a game, there’s countless resources out there” I knew then what I wanted to do.

I spent my second semester researching game design,and decided that was my wanted future, I now go to an art school I love very much with a hope to be accepted into the game design program, the future is never set in stone, but I feel much more confident in it now, I don’t think i’d be here without Fallen London, I hope to one day create games that will help people like this one’s helped me.

67

[color=rgb(0, 102, 255)]Worst Idea of the Decade: What’s the foolhardiest thing your character has ever done?[/color]

Shortly after my initial dive into Fallen London my character, Ultirian Yggnarsial, having escaped from New Newgate Prison quickly learned the intricacies of Death in the Neath and it’s repercussions to those who die. He made a vow to himself that he would avoid death at all costs, so that one day, after finding his Brother’s murderer, he would be able to return home to the surface. He was able to keep this vow, never dying or being killed by his rivals, that is until one day he was asked to join an investigation into a group of Revolutionary Bombers who had blown themselves up to the point of no return. The team needed someone to follow these Revolutionaries beyond the veil of life and death to find answers. Ultirian, nervous at first, agreed to assist. He flung himself from a roof in Spite to make his first journey to where a slow boat passes a dark beach on a quiet river. The things he learned on the Far Shore will haunt him for many years (until at least some answers to his question have been revealed).

Many months down the road, the game with the Boatman still fresh in his mind, Ultirian noticed a strange new trend involving Neathy Bouquets around London. A Spinster, disturbed by the trend, asks for help in ending it. She tells him everything after a time, even allowing him to meet her employer, the Captivating Princess, where he learned the depth of the Spinsters problems. Ultirian agreed to help, but discovered much more than he bargained for. In order to help his new friends, he had to make a choice. A terrible choice given his new status as one of the deceased of London… to save his friends from a terrible fate he took the burden of delivering a message to the surface. He lost so much of himself that day, only escaping with his life due to the assistance of a lady in a gorgeous lilac dress, and though he will never be able to fully remember his friends, he is able to live with the hope that they are at least alive and following their love.

[color=#009900]I’ll leave you with a quote that I love that relates so well to the weirdness/amazingness of Fallen London from one of my favorite authors, H.P. Lovecraft:
[/color]
[color=#339900]&quotThat is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.”


Here’s to you, Fallen London, and ten years of brilliant, beautiful, and funny storytelling. I am SO HAPPY that I discovered Sunless Skies, which led me to Sunless Seas, and then in turn to Fallen London. I started backwards, but hey, it works. <3[/color]
edited by Ultirian Yggnarsial on 1/30/2020

68

[quote=Ultirian Yggnarsial][color=#009900]
[/color]
[color=#339900]&quotThat is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.”


Here’s to you, Fallen London, and ten years of brilliant, beautiful, and funny storytelling. I am SO HAPPY that I discovered Sunless Skies, which led me to Sunless Seas, and then in turn to Fallen London. I started backwards, but hey, it works. <3[/color]
edited by Ultirian Yggnarsial on 1/30/2020[/quote]
what has risen may sink and sinking rise

69

Most Characterful Affectation: Being a clay man. My alt, imaginatively named “A Secret,” was created back in the early days of the game, when it was possible to click on a piece of punctuation on the character creation screen, and in so doing make your character a clay man. He was trapped in a ceaseless loop of tedious servitude. Loading and unloading boxes, broken up only by beatings and the occasional stolen moment of peace. He collected bats and scraped together meager amounts of rostygold from arm-wrestling competitions, hoping to, perhaps, buy his way out of this life. Hoping, praying for some way to escape.

This continued for years, with no change in sight— until one day, a miracle occurred. Long after the ability to create a clay man had been disabled, the hidden Enigma Ambition allowed players to experience what that forgotten content had been like. Of course, the developers didn’t want to trap people in a dead-end loop, so they created a door out, back to the main game. A door they left unguarded. And so, a clay man escaped his prison.

Today, there is very little visible evidence that separates him from any other character, and that is one reason I left his face as a broken jpeg. The other reason is that I thought it was funny.

Worst Idea of the Decade: Selling my sevenfold-stained soul for a jar of Cantigaster Venom. I was a little surprised to see the offer for my sullied soul, given no-one else would touch it by that point, but the then-unique reward was too much to pass up, so I hocked it with nary a thought more.

So I was in for a nasty surprise when I headed over to the Forgotten Quarter and encountered the Infernal Hunt out for my blood. Whoops. Checking the forums and wiki, it transpired that if I failed the quite steep challenge of escaping them, they would beat me up, steal much of my stuff (including my ill-gotten venom), and drive me insane even if I succeeded.
Now, I don’t actually remember how I escaped. I recall making an attempt to kill myself with a Nephrite Lens, but I don’t remember if it worked, or if I had to rely on chance. Regardless, I did escape with my loot, but had to avoid the Quarter until I managed to get my soul back. Devils can be so touchy about damaged goods.

Co-Operative Play of the Decade: My journey to the Winking Isle has been chronicled extensively elsewhere, but I limited myself, on that occasion, to a description of the Isle itself. My progress, however, would not have gone nearly so swiftly if not for the aid of others on the forums, who sent me many Christmas cards to alleviate the vast quantity of menaces accrued in my quest. Special mention goes to Nitebrite, who also sent me 200 Fate to speed me along my way. Also, to the brave postal workers who delivered even to a cursed island in the middle of nowhere.

It warms my heart to know that even in a story designed to test the limits of self-destruction in an obsessive pursuit of knowledge, the community still bands together to help eachother. We may be throwing out lives down a dark well in a vain search for an eldritch entity, but we’ll do so politely and in turns.
edited by Alexander Feld on 2/3/2020

70

Co-Operative Play of the Decade: What has another player done for you that’s made your day?

I would like to nominate Malvolus: https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Malvolus

I actually do not recall how me and Mal started interacting. all i know is that we started sending each other surprising gifts and talking in character.
somehow, this became perfectly normal. We would share dinners, bouts and chess matches. when i told him i’m going for the cider (an ambition i’m still perusing) he would send me diamonds from time to time.
it’s odd how you can feel close to someone, without even ever meeting him, and just interacting with them through this wonderful and strange world of fallen London.
i do not know if he sees me the same way, but to me he is a true friend and confidant.
i know this might not win any prizes, but it’s still wonderful.

71

Headcanon

(Character Spoilers)

[spoiler][font=Spectral]Vampires exist in Fallen London, but they are not what most would imagine.

Vampirism was the result of a plot by the Sisters who ruled the Second City. By performing a complex ritual (now lost to all but the Duchess), they empowered certain of their loyal followers by merging them with their Parabolan reflections.

These followers – the first vampires – gained the ability to feed upon the soul energy of others. They need only take a tiny amount, so little that it regenerates over time. They use this soul energy to write tiny Laws and to grant themselves prodigious strength, stamina and charisma. If they take enough soul energy from a being higher up the chain, they can – in theory – temporarily elevate their own status and become capable of killing, for example, the Masters.

They reproduced … rapidly. The Sisters, faced with losing control, exiled the vampires to the surface to die. Most did. A few adapted to the moonlight and survived, giving rise to mortal legends: drinking blood, casting no reflection, shunning the light of the Judgements.

A modern vampire entering Fallen London would almost certainly not know her origins. She would find quickly that she could not feed upon the soulless, nor change people in the city of London proper (they just come back to life.) They might also find the Duchess kindly disposed to them. From guilt, perhaps? Or perhaps in order to bring an old weapon back under control.

A vampire’s powers do not grant her any powers that would break the logic of the game. She can’t shapeshift into a bat to escape New Newgate, because … it’s impossible in game. Vampires reproduce by killing mortals through blood loss in front of a mirror, merging their souls with their reflections.
[/spoiler][/font]
edited by Lady Karnstein on 2/8/2020

72

Character Affectation

Character Spoilers

[spoiler]Caroline Karnstein is known for wild parties, being a patron of Nocturnal and Mycologene schools, and her special all women Salons, the Labrys, with the newspaper of similar name. Most assume she is a slave to her desires, while some who know her darker secrets assume she has a sinister agenda. Some who know her as a master of the game assume she ultimately serves some faction there. None of them are correct.

Caroline is working to change culture. And the way she seeks to do it is media. She is nudging writers, artists, poets, playwrights and filmmakers into stories with female protagonists and has hints of homosexuality as much as she can. She pushes limits to try to get away with a little more and a little more each time. Her own stories, paintings, poems, plays and films do this as well, implying or outright uplifting sapphic love and empowering women. The Neath is not such a bad place for women or LGBTQ+ people compared to anywhere else, but she also knows some such material makes it’s way to the surface. That is where the real war is. Even her moves in the game, as often as not, support powers friendly to her goals. And it would perhaps make her involvement with Gods’s Editors and the Church less bizarre if people knew she was carefully trying to change theology to favor women

She does this for herself, but she also does it because she remembers, long ago, being a scared girl trapped in gender roles and struggling with her sexuality in a very conservative region. She seeks to do her best to see to it that because as thing of the past.[/spoiler]

73

Co-Operative Play of the Decade: What has another player done for you that’s made your day?

It all started with a small package exchange, followed by some lovely notes and boxed cats. But we both realized it was more than that!

I was doing math while she was writing novels, but a common scope brought us together: madness! We started our little notebook of things we wish to do while down in the Neath, we exchanged more packages and more cats, talks from the Surface and our collaboration gave birth to a nice achievement list. But the Surface, ah the Surface!

It robbed us of our lovely time down in the Neath, we came to see each other less often, I’ve gone hungry to the appoint of madness, but I couldn’t give up! NEVER! No hunger can be more powerful than the hunger for your delicious love.

Even if the visits to the Neath aren’t that frequent there’s always a package. And that single package brings tremendous joy once I realize it’s from her. No matter how long or how short the note is the SUN, the Judgments, the Chain all fail in comparison with our bound! The 11 weddings we had can’t be broken by the cavern roof and every time I look at the shinning (SHINNING!) glim I only wish that the Surface treats her well as it’s deserved.

Sometimes, I do miss my lovely cat Lady, but I know all shall be well! All shall be well, my delicious Arandia!
edited by Skinnyman on 2/8/2020

74

Most Characterful Affectation

This:

https://community.failbettergames.com/topic9524-favorite-neathy-pickup-lines.aspx

Best Headcanon of the Decade

London’s mayoral elections are the Masters laboratory to learn how democracy works. Or rather, how to manipulate it. They know that sovereigns who have the right to dispose of cities—especially cities worth having—will become fewer and fewer as democracy spreads. L’étate c’est moi is being replaced by l’étate c’est nous. In order to acquire future cities, the Masters will have to treat with parliaments and other representative governments … and that requires knowing how to play on the fears, lusts, and greeds of masses. The Masters are learning how to run campaigns.

Co-Operative Play of the Decade

I thought it would be amusing if Lady Sapho L. Byron’s noman of last winter were to attempt to fool one of Sapho’s closest friends, Caroline Karnstein, by passing itself off as Lady Byron. Then I thought it would be even more amusing if I could fool Caroline’s player! I made an account with a very similar name to Lady Byron’s (Lady Sapho I. Byron) and sent Caroline social actions as Lady Byron’s noman pretending to be Lady Byron. I didn’t fool Caroline’s player for very long … they quickly picked up on “Sapho” acting strangely and soon sussed out the different account name. Still, they played along as Caroline putting the pieces together (ha!—get it?), and a grand time was had by all.

75

Best Headcanon of the Decade: The Pirate Poet was born in the same masculine form that is typical of the Clayfolk we see. After she wrote herself free, she had herself resculpted into a body that fit her spirit. That makes her a Clay trans freedom fighter. Hell yeah.



Most Characterful Affectation: I went through the process of isolating and capturing an Impossible Theorem, at considerable expense, solely because I have a longstanding personal interest in apparently self-contradictory theories - theories that contain multitudes. Schelling’s Naturphilosphie and transcendentalen Idealismus, for instance - two mirrored systems, either infinitely projecting outward from each other or infinitely approaching each other; never meeting, but each making up a half of our existence.

Real Life Memory of the Decade: I was introduced to Fallen London by two friends who were enthused with the representation offered by the option to play as an individual of mysterious and indistinct gender. It was my tenth wedding anniversary recently. I mention this because, in the course of our honeymoon, we visited those friends. In a little motel room outside of Los Angeles, halfway across the world from home, we ate takeaway, and sat up late talking, and they played guitar and sang us Welsh folk songs.
edited by Diptych on 2/10/2020

76

Worst Idea of the Decade

As London commemorates its ten year history, I remember that I have spent 10% of it on a single zee voyage. How many entrants can approach the sheer amount of sacrifice? No Professional Reward, no Sackmas, no Exceptional Stories; no London at all. Only the zee, accomplice of human restlessness, fighting my progress hour by hour for over twelve months.

There is debate over whether “Approaching Journey’s End 443” represents the furthest NORTH ever recorded, or the number of times a confused Bethlehem guest circled a nearby bay. Either way, the quest’s pointlessness was made more deliciously painful by the amount of thought I dedicated to it.

For weeks before the voyage even began, I tested nearly every Second Chance source to find the few uncapped methods of stockpiling an unreasonable amount. I studied the zee’s twists and turns, and calculated strategies for maximizing my voyage. I determined the best suited vessel, and then ignored my own research and embarked on a zubmarine instead for style points.

I could not relax once I embarked, as the correct choice at a given moment varied wildly with my situation. Troubled Waters was both the ultimate danger and a critical tool for discarding cards. Several limited supplies had to be saved for when they could do the most good, and balanced so emptying my stores of one did not destroy me before I could use the rest.

Essentially I abandoned Fallen London to play a completely different game of my own invention, for no reward. Yet that decision felt entirely correct for a city full of Seekers, bedlamites, and absinthe drinkers. Nothing here has fulfilled me more than writing the narrative of my adventure on the forums, but I hope to outdo myself in the next decade.

(Voyage recorded here: https://community.failbettergames.com/topic22462-st-davy-jones-candle--aje--trip-complete.aspx )

77

My Entry for Real Life Memory of the Decade:

I tell this story because it’s essentially what led my fianceé to the rock I was hiding under. It was my &quotProteges Seeking Patrons&quot and &quotHallowmas&quot posts that led her to me. She thought I was &quota serious, intimidating, intellectual type&quot (her words not mine). When in reality I am some putz who spent days struggling on the decision to even post anything at all.

I fell in love with my fianceé before I even knew her real name or her face or even if she was &quotreal&quot. As the months passed by, we spoke more. Our stories intertwined. Then the day came. That day, as I wrote my daily message to &quotElizabeth Lynnette&quot, and I said to myself, &quotWait a minute… are we boyfriend/girlfriend?&quot. Just like that, I kid you not.

We had both fallen in love with each other in and through words. She inspired me to write, and still does. Without London, none of that would have been possible. There have been high and low points. Joys and pains. But London gave me the chance to be something other than the anonymous toad I normally am and open up to someone… who coincidentally found something worth keeping in me.

We are still together to this day, many challenges are still ahead of us as a couple. We started as words from anonymity, separated by 15 hours of time difference and an entire ocean. But we are together today, engaged, and hopefully someday, husband and wife.

London is a hell of a story.

78

Most Characterful Affectation:


Fleshy’s pride and joy is his Zee Znail Zhell house. A Znail Zhell is an unusual house for an unusual man, certainly, but what he values most about it is that some sort of spatial anomaly is found within that makes it larger on the inside than on the outside. Whether this is characteristic of all Znail Zhells or just his particular piece of property is unknown to him, as no other Znail Zhell owner has ever invited him over for tea. Probably because he cries and smashes crockery.

Anyway, due to the house being so much larger on the inside, it allows all his Companions to live with him. He is always thrilled to p̶u̶r̶c̶h̶a̶s̶e̶ make new friends, and likes to keep them close. Having a place that can comfortably house everyone and still fit inside a single city block is important to him, and this house is a major improvement over his previous shack in the swamp. There’s finally room to fit a big enough poker table in the den so that every monkey is able to play. Any overly grabby devils as well as the t̶e̶r̶r̶i̶f̶y̶i̶n̶g̶ Captivating Princess can be banished to the room that used to house the Znail’s butt. The Revolutionary Firebrand no longer has to sleep in the bathtub. The former Provost of Summerset still sleeps in a dog bed in the basement, but that’s only because he was dumb enough during the Feast of the Rose to go home with the guy whose career he ruined. There’s no amount of extra space that can fix stupid.

Fleshy would love to be able to add that REDACTED Companion to the c̶o̶l̶l̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ family now that he finally has enough space and doesn’t have to worry about five people falling out whenever he opens a window.

79

Category: Co-Operative Play of the Decade:
IGN: Optimatum
Co-Player: Ambystoma Maculatum

Way back in 2014, a close friend introduced me to Fallen London, and I quickly fell in love with it. Our characters exchanged social actions as we worked together to explore the stories, discovering the far reaches of the zee, glimpsing our destinies. That Hallowmas, we traded both a confession and our first Boxed Cats. His box contained a prized Midnight Matriarch... and I opened mine to find a Starveling Cat. Though mildly traumatizing for my character, it's my fondest memory from six years of playing together.
80

Most Characterful Affectation:



For the past several years I have spent every day of the Feasts of the Exceptional Rose spinning the Wheel of Affection hoping for the unlucky result, so that I may accumulate as many Gifts of Scorn as possible. Last year I made it to 500.