I haven’t been around too long (since July), but this is my favorite Exceptional Story yet. Both the relaxed opening act in which you simply wander the spectacle making conversation and the climax were enthralling in their own ways. I ended up siding with the revolutionaries, though I think their statement could have been made with a little less overt rudeness. I felt terrible for the minister, seeing the state he was left in at the end of things.
[quote=The Curious Watcher]Does anyone have an echo to the Autumn Room from the Calendar Code? I’m curious about what it stated about November now that she is finally introduced.
So how many other Calendar Council members are still in hiding? September, October, and December?[/quote]
Here is the echo itself (No further context, as it is fate-locked) :
I accidentally chose the same option twice and missed out on a particular part of the parade.
Does anyone have an echo for the part just before the final choice regarding the Purple-clad Revolutionary? Namely the choice regarding observing the parade (as opposed to asking the Revolutionary why the parade-goers know her)?
edited by Raihan on 10/26/2018
I should also add that I loved this story, the build-up, the choices, everything. This Season has been stellar in general.
So many pawns of the system! I sided with the Revolutionaries all the way, Closest to them that I am, and was happy to do so for the most part, despite my resistance towards the actual Liberation of Night. The choice of the effigy was pitch-perfect; it figures that the Minister behind the Specials’ depredations is a self-important nervous wreck. It’s always that sort you have to watch out for.
I very much enjoyed this story! I loved the fact that it all took place on one night and almost completely in one overall location, which is very difficult to do from a writing standpoint. It’s a nice changeup from October’s Magicians and September’s For All the Saints, although those were very good and brilliant, respectively.
This is also the first FL story where I’ve gotten a thrill just from the reveal of the identity of a character.
I probably would have been more amicable to the Minister if he compensated me upfront with anything. I also found him very rude, constantly reminding me that I was not officially apart of anything.
Well if I’m not officially with you, I have no loyalties now do I?
That being said, I wish there was an option to turn the fireworks in after repeatedly called a “dog” by the Revolutionaries. Am I being petty?
Probably.
So I’m confused by the Disturbance at the Gate. The presence of the dog seems to suggest that they’re just bohemians, rather than revolutionaries, and therefore I’m inclined to let them in. But am I reading too much into it? Is she just a bohemian revolutionary?
I am fairly certain that the parade includes Bohemians, Aristocrats (namely the Skeptic) and either the eldest son or both the parents of the family we meet. Possibly some devils too, given what happens at the end.
This was super fun! I don’t know if I’m projecting because I knew going in that this was by a new writer, but it really did feel like a breath of fresh air. The first half of the story did a fantastic job creating an atmosphere and sense of place, letting you hang out with the attendees and explore the Spectacle, taking actions that were unrelated to your purpose and allowing you to enjoy the event. It really did a great job of evoking (at least my personal experience of) the real social warmness of a bonfire in a field on a chilly night.
[spoiler] Then the fact that these incidental social interactions actually did matter, giving you little clues into the identities of the masked revolutionaries, allowing you piece the backstory of the Lost Cell together for yourself, was extremely rewarding. Being able to watch a dog tear around a picnic was endearing and fun; for that same dog to then come back at an unexpected juncture and put a whole new spin on the masked intruders (and likewise for the child, deviless, etc.) was a delight!
Plus, I’ve wanted to meet November ever since I learned of the Calendar Council (possibly only because November is my birth month, but shh), so to finally meet her and find out she’s such an interesting character was great. I very much hope November returns in the future.[/spoiler]
This story was well-paced, obviously extremely considered in its plotting, and managed to present an authentic and enjoyable Neathy Bonfire Night Spectacle while balancing some extremely significant lore on its tail end. (If I had just one gripe: a four-action epilogue, really? I thought I was nearly done than had to wait about an hour to actually finish, grumble grumble.) I hope Jack comes back to write another story!
edited by Barse on 10/28/2018
Very interesting story. Really liked it overall, and didn’t expect the masked people overall. It did re-cement desires to make sure the revolutionaries never succeed overall. Out of curiosity can someone link me the echo of who the effigy is? I stopped it from being assembled.
This was a great ES. I liked how it lulled you into a false sense of “oh, I guess this is just a meh ES about bonfires held by the Ministry” only to become much more serious and exciting and end with a zing of lore. I will say that I am an anti-Revolutionary at heart and man… was I glad I stuck with that all the way though. I definetly had a good chuckle at the Minister telling me I was far too useful to stick behind a desk at the end.
Hoo boy. Lilac is November. No wonder she wanted that infusion of Irrigo. The way this turns how I regard her on it’s head is very interesting. It also makes me very, very glad that I haven’t sold the location of the Nadir yet. I’ve yet to come across and ES that causes me to change how I think about characters this much in a while.
About November’s real identity.
[spoiler]The text specifically calls her the Purple-Clad Revolutionary and one of the masked parader/revolutionaries asks the Purple-Clad Revolutionary if she remembers them and she tells all the revolutionaries that she does, all the time in fact. To top it all off, November’s book in the Calendar Council is blank, like the person it was about was forgotten. And then Novembers specifically mentions she will remember you in her note at the end…
Remembering things is mentioned too often for me to think it’s a coincidence. Combine it with the specific color November wears and I find it’s easier to assume she is Lilac then that she isn’.[/spoiler]
Purple, or a certain neathy color with similar shade, isn’t exclusive to one character. It shouldn’t be.
I interpreted the blank book in the Calendar Code as an indication November has been absent for a while. It would fit with how November has apparently lost herself to irrigo in this story, and the event here initiated by the lost cell of revolutionaries seem to have been set up to jog her memory.
[quote=0bsidian Fire]About November’s real identity.
[spoiler]The text specifically calls her the Purple-Clad Revolutionary and one of the masked parader/revolutionaries asks the Purple-Clad Revolutionary if she remembers them and she tells all the revolutionaries that she does, all the time in fact. To top it all off, November’s book in the Calendar Council is blank, like the person it was about was forgotten. And then Novembers specifically mentions she will remember you in her note at the end…
Remembering things is mentioned too often for me to think it’s a coincidence. Combine it with the specific color November wears and I find it’s easier to assume she is Lilac then that she isn’.[/spoiler][/quote]
In light of the spoiler which I did not come across, would you happen to have a echo of this?
Thanks either way.
I’m not saying there’s no resemblance, but I don’t think they’re actually the same person.
I just realized that no in-game portrait showed up for me in the story. Huh.
This one had a bit of a slow start. Now that I think about it, I think that’s because what would normally be the hook for a story like this, the mystery of what’s going on with these masked revelers and what they’re planning, isn’t introduced until a considerable way into the story. At first, it seems like the stakes for the story are only whether some unauthorized fireworks are going to be set off, and whether an unauthorized effigy will be burned, which isn’t exactly super engaging. However, as the mystery is slowly introduced, there’s a real sense of anticipation that builds. And when things get going, they really get going. In the end, I enjoyed this story far more than I thought I would after playing the first little bit.
I’m still not entirely clear on why those masked revelers did what they did. Why the effigies, why the masks, bells and horns, and why that box? There’s a clear connection to the Liberation (side note: why no Advancing the LoN for helping the revolutionaries?), but I’m still not clear on why. I did feel the stirrings of an ancient hunger when one of the revelers mentioned a "reckoning", but that seems to have been a coincidence. I was kind of hoping to get some clearer answers by the end, but this wouldn’t be Fallen London if all of our questions were answered.
Also, the Ministry must be even more incompetent than I thought if they believed that I would be a trustworthy unofficial agent for them, given my clear allegiances.
I love everything to do with the Calendar Council, so this one was for me. :) Very atmospheric story in general, I enjoyed imagining myself surrounded by bonfires while playing this on such a gloomy Sunday. ;)
Two issues I have to mention: first, the typos. People have brought it up already, both here and in the Hallowmas thread: recently, FL’s new content seems to fairly seethe with them. Especially punctuation, spacing, and case distinction are sorely lacking. Is everyone so caught up with SSkies that nobody proofreads for FL anymore? Surely not. ;)
Secondly, I was really missing an option to laugh into the minister’s face at the end of the Spectacle, telling him how I never intended to stop any revolutionary goings-on in the first place. The way the story was written, it seemed as if my char made the decision not to interfere on the spur of a moment; and to the Minister it seemed as if they were just totally incapable. I would have loved to make things entirely clear to him :P
[spoiler]As to Lilac being November: it’s possible. I was struck when her portrait suddenly appeared (exactly once in the whole story) as I had absolutely not been thinking of her until then. She would’ve left the Council when she fell in love with the Bazaar. As a tattooist, her keeping a sketchbook wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, and the sketchbook seems important since she used this roundabout way of explaining her connection to the masked revellers. I agree that her mannerisms seemed different, but we’ve only ever seen Lilac at FotER, when she’s on official Bazaar business. Here she was just privately enjoying herself.
Has Lilac’s portrait ever been used for anyone but her up to now?[/spoiler]
Something that’s still nagging at me is that awful dog. To whom did it belong now?
Oh, I almost forgot: absolutely loved the Solitary Sceptic! My kind of person and now probably my fav NPC in the whole game. :P
edited by phryne on 10/28/2018
Lilac’s portrait did show up at least once, although possibly not depending on which path you took:
I do agree though, I rather think they are someone entirely new.
edited by Barse on 10/28/2018
Begging your collective pardon; I tried to edit my earlier post and it got all messed up, so I’ve removed it.
I assumed that the artistic lady who claimed it during the early stages of the night later slipped away to join the parade - as did representatives of the other bonfires.
I’m fairly certain that when I reached that part of the story, I saw the generic portrait, not the Lilac one. I’m guessing this was some sort of glitch, and the generic portrait was the intended one.