Lilac shouldn’t be November, despite both of them favoring purple. Any and all resentment she has towards the Bazaar should have been left at the Cave of the Nadir, leading Seekers onwards towards the Reckoning, not the Liberation of Night.
My thoughts exactly! Whoever told him I was a likely reliable agent for the Ministry must have been having a laugh at the Minister’s expense. I really wish there was an option to make it absolutely clear to him that everything I did, I did because I was a Revolutionary myself.
[spoiler]Yes, Lilac’s portrait has been used here as well. It’s one of the rarely used portraits, but the filename is rather generic too on hindsight…
As for your proposed timeline, I can’t help but doubt it since the November we see here seems to be a revolutionary thorough and thorough, that even when she’s merely enjoying herself and has trouble remembering what she did in the past, she still bears the title of Revolutionary, expresses her distrust in the Ministry, and shows connection with the lost cell. It’s even implied that after the event of this story, she’s willing to go back in action. That kind of clashes with the Lilac we know who is Bazaar Lover #1 and even went as far as ditching the part of her that couldn’t love the Bazaar in the Nadir.
The various quirks November has, like her fondness of fruits and her nail decoration, also makes me inclined to believe that she’s a new character entirely.[/spoiler]
That makes a whole lot of sense - I must say it was a pretty large surprise to run into that image there! If the normal Accomplice/Artist’s Model image is in that place now, then I guess that settles that.
edited by Barse on 10/29/2018
Re: November and Lilac, the sketchbook is a metaphor.
Remember, her description of this sketchbook is answering why these Revolutionaries know her. November isn’t an artist; she doesn’t have sketches framed in a gallery. She’s explaining that she sketched out plots to pass the time, and now she’s discovered that these Revolutionaries took this plan seriously, figured out the details, and are executing it in front of you.
Also, while I quite liked the latter portion of this story, the beginning was disappointingly linear. I would have loved options to explore my own character’s motives in working with the minister, even if it wasn’t mechanically relevant. Instead of just accepting his assignment without reason, why not options to accept with intent to sabotage, or with a personal vendetta against the Revolutionaries?
By the same token - I’d have liked to have been able to at least try to convince the Minister that this whole event was actually a roaring success. For all the unexpected happened, there’s an argument that letting everyone ‘blow off steam’ with a pageant and effigy, is actually a good way to improve Decency across the city.
Lilac gave up the part of her that couldn’t love the Bazaar to better serve it. What remains of her is loyal to the Bazaar; the part that isn’t is immaterial.
Unless… what makes a better double agent than one you can’t remember?
The sketchbook is a metaphor, sure, but we’re talking about someone who dresses all in purple and paints little pictures on their fingernails. There’s no way she’s not some sort of artist.
Yeah, you’re not going to catch me out that way. I know so many artists. Also, nail art in 1896? Modern coloured nail polish hadn’t been invented then. She is committed to her art.
I just finished the Epilogue where it said that I got two deliveries-- a thin envelope and a package. The package was from November. The thin envelope, however, was a nearly written letter thanking me for helping revolutionaries (although I did not really help them at all during the Main Event), out of which slips a folded note, written in the same hand. That note is from the Minister, telling me more about what he found about the lost cell. This made no sense to me-- it left the impression that the Minister was with the revolutionaries? Is this a bug or had anyone else the same thing? Unfortunately I did not echo any of the messages.
edited by Desirée on 10/29/2018
[quote=Desirée]I just finished the Epilogue where it said that I got two deliveries-- a thin envelope and a package. The package was from November. The thin envelope, however, was a nearly written letter thanking me for helping revolutionaries (although I did not really help them at all during the Main Event), out of which slips a folded note, written in the same hand. That note is from the Minister, telling me more about what he found about the lost cell. This made no sense to me-- it left the impression that the Minister was with the revolutionaries? Is this a bug or had anyone else the same thing? Unfortunately I did not echo any of the messages.
edited by Desirée on 10/29/2018[/quote]
It’s a bug. Looking at people’s echoes, it seems the first option is determined by whether you supported the Revolutionaries with the fireworks or effigy, while the second checks who you supported during the parade, which leads to some interesting mixed messages.
Thank you! Will send in a report, then!
I loved this story, although it was not as nerve-wracking and frayed with indecision as others, as I knew from the start I wanted to go with the Revolutionaries.
I really loved the intimate moment between November and the masked guy… I think the real theme here is how hard it is to let go of ideals, to move on and accept that you’ve changed.
November still dislikes the Minister, so yes, she’s tecnically still a revolutionary - but you can sense the Liberation of Night has lost all meaning for her. For the masked guy too, probably, but he’s the kind of person who lived and breathed for a cause, and letting go of it would be terrifying to him - he and November clearly shared something, maybe it was love but even so, it was the love that stems from a common goal. And November can’t find it in herself to tell him that she doesn’t really care anymore - I thought that moment was incredibly touching and sad.
In the end, she’s prepared to be potentially arrested for a cause that is not even hers anymore, rather than disappoint an old friend. I think her letter in the epilogue might mean that she resigned from the Council, although that’s not clear… well, anyway, I found her really interesting.
That was one of the most touching elements of the story, along with the everyday family, and the noble making fun of the fop. Small moments all, and yet so real in themselves.
I, and Caroline, really enjoyed this one. I felt a bit pressed to action at the end (Caroline would have preferred, for the most part, to watch it play out once the parade arrived) but still it was very good, the writing was top notch, and all those little details coming up was just marvelous. It was an absolute joy to play.
On November’s fingernails:
[spoiler] At one point, the leader of the masked parade says "For plans have been set in motion, and laid to the fingernail." This leads me to suspect that the stars painted on November’s nails are actually some elaborate code, possibly about her future plans. Although it is entirely possible that I am reading too much into this. [\spoiler]
[quote=Phèdre Delaunay]I really loved the intimate moment between November and the masked guy… I think the real theme here is how hard it is to let go of ideals, to move on and accept that you’ve changed.
November still dislikes the Minister, so yes, she’s tecnically still a revolutionary - but you can sense the Liberation of Night has lost all meaning for her. For the masked guy too, probably, but he’s the kind of person who lived and breathed for a cause, and letting go of it would be terrifying to him - he and November clearly shared something, maybe it was love but even so, it was the love that stems from a common goal. And November can’t find it in herself to tell him that she doesn’t really care anymore - I thought that moment was incredibly touching and sad.
In the end, she’s prepared to be potentially arrested for a cause that is not even hers anymore, rather than disappoint an old friend. I think her letter in the epilogue might mean that she resigned from the Council, although that’s not clear… well, anyway, I found her really interesting.[/quote]
I personally interpreted that moment a little differently.
[spoiler] Going back to November’s sketchbook metaphor, the "Beautiful drawings in the centre of pages" would be her actual plans, possibly related to the Liberation. The little sketches in the margins would be her little ideas that she had no intention of actually carrying out. Like, for instance, wouldn’t it be fun to stage a mini-Liberation in the middle of a public celebration? However, when she became a revolutionary leader who clearly inspired many people, some people took those ides seriously. And when she finds out, she decides to go along with it, rather than telling the truth and letting down all of the people whom she has inspired. I personally saw that more as a reflection on how leaders of movements can be held up as symbols, to the point where they can’t even have ordinary human flaws (such as, say, forgetfulness), as many people will be willing to follow even their least thought-through ideas.
While she clearly has been out of action for a while (possibly relating to memory problems?), I’m not sure if that means that she has given up her cause. I didn’t really see anything in her letter that indicated to me that she was resigning from the Council. The fact that she sends you one of the masks could be seen as a passing of the torch, but it could also be seen as her re-committing to her cause.
Of course, I could be entirely wrong about all of this. [\spoiler]
That’s how I read it as well.
Maybe this has been mentioned before but if I remember correctly the mask we were sent had the attachment points for the strap snapped off, so it could not be actually worn anymore. I’m sure this has some significance, but I’m not sure what yet.
Edit:
This is the part I was referring to:
So it’s definitely to prevent the mask from being worn again, but why send it to us?
edited by Monara on 10/31/2018
[quote=Monara][quote]I personally interpreted that moment a little differently.[/quote]So it’s definitely to prevent the mask from being worn again, but why send it to us?
edited by Monara on 10/31/2018[/quote]
Yep. And, she sends the list of names, which she most definitely wouldn’t do as an active leader of a cell. I think she looks so very tired - I don’t remember the story mentioning how old she is, but I’d be curious to know…
[quote=Phèdre Delaunay]
Yep. And, she sends the list of names, which she most definitely wouldn’t do as an active leader of a cell.[/quote]
The list of names was in the first package, sent by an unknown revolutionary, not in the box sent by November. I am still a bit confused as to why any revolutionary would send someone such a list. Maybe it’s a sign of trust.