(maybe)Looking for my first ES

So, I’m thinking about buying an individual ES sometime-not necessarily now, but sometime-and been given a tip to open a new thread for it, which is here! Thanks you ninelions!

So, prefences, yes:

-anything heavily involving the masters would be nice, I would like to learn more about them-rn they’re mostly enigmatic except maybe pages for HD reasons.

-i love parabola, although not that much-i just find dream realms in general very interesting.

-politics is fun to play with-being governor was fun, and I’d like to do something like it again, but being governor again is not something I want.

Where I’m at: I’m at, like…the middle point of my ambition(I really should continue it…), more or less, and have my first station built. I would consider myself pretty far into the mid-game.

Thanks you to everyone who suggested ESs previously and everyone who would suggest some now!

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You may like Lost in Reflections, it is very Parabola heavy and from what I remember it also has a fair bit about the Masters, especially Wines. The Crocodile who would be King also has a Master doing things with Parabola. I also recommend Homecoming for an in-depth look into the rivalry between two Masters and the reason they hate the Second City so much.

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I have played 2 years worth of ESes and generally do not recommend them. They are overpriced, do not use most of game mechanics and rarely have effect on outside game world. Other Fate stories are on average much better.
I also recommend surveys (like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/fallenlondon/comments/1125b7g/results_of_our_fatelocked_stories_survey_january/) to make your choice between the best stories.

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That said, the ESs written by Chandler Groover usually do play with game mechanics relatively heavily, sometimes in ways not done elsewhere in the game, so if that interests you, you could look for those ESs specifically (I’m assuming here there’s a way to tell who’s written which story).

The one I remember for sure by Groover is the relatively recent (January, maybe? December?) “The Bloody Wallpaper”, which is pretty long for an ES, on top of everything else.

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Interesting…this is the second time someone recommend it to me. I’ll put a little star next to it on my list.

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This post lists the writers.

https://community.failbettergames.com/t/exceptional-stories-archive/20366/2

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Last August. This one is, I think, possibly the most universally beloved ES

EDIT:
It is, by a landslide.

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Well damn, then I know which ES I’m buying (assuming I end up buying one). Thanks, everyone!