The City in Silver

Fallen London
53

I know I’m basically playing the game wrong, but it’s strange to be among so many romantics in the community and still having not having found a love interest I’m truly committed to. The only reason the Platonic Eminence Grise has remained in blissfully faithful matrimony(?) is because that extra Player of Chess bump is useful for supporting my Inculcating Kraken’s financial activities. And I’ve simply never found any other available character I’m invested enough to prioritise over stats.

…when I put it like that, the rationale makes it sound like I’m more in a marriage with the Inculcating Kraken and the Eminence Grise just happens to be a middlewoman to enable it.

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54

It’s a little unorthodox, but the Bazaar needs all sorts of love stories nonetheless.

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No I don’t. I hate both the city, and everyone in it. I’ve made that clear every chance I could.

Why exactly did FBG assume that after characterizing the TLU & CiS as independent entities with no respect for the player that we would all just instantly fall in love with both?

How well do things typically turn out for independent entities that don’t respect us in FL? There are literal graveyards full of said people.

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56

I’m fairly certain Jeff Bezos is personally behind all of these weirdly anti-union accounts that keep mysteriously popping up on Fallen London discussion places. They all use exactly the same rhetoric, not a one of them was active or even present in either this forum or the FL Subreddit before the City in Silver, and they all have weirdly generic names. Of course, I also have a weirdly generic name, but I’ve been here a while and also don’t hate unions.

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57

I have yet to actually use the word union, beyond the U in “TLU” but the fact that criticism of CiS is automatically interpreted as some kind of insidious fascist conspiracy doesn’t paint a flattering picture of this particular community.

Which as you managed to determine, I just now took steps to join. Because until this update? I didn’t actually have any complaints I felt were worth sharing. But this bizarre:

‘Why aren’t you more eager to solve the problems of people who actively ignore and belittle you?’

Thing? Yeah. It left a bad taste in my mouth. As did your gatekeeping.

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58

I like to assume that all criticism is made in good faith, but when you have so many people joining just to say “the TLU doesn’t respect me enough” thing, one gets a little jaded. Being made to do the same thing that everyone else has to do isn’t a lack of respect. If anything, it’s a sign that they do respect you enough to treat you like anyone else instead of refusing you entrance at all, which they are perfectly within their rights to do. The Union had a very clear deal with the GHR, which was that they would do the work of laying track, then they would get land to build a city on, free of interference from entities like The Bazaar, London, and yes, even the FLPC. Wealthy railway barons not being kowtowed to is the whole point behind the founding of the Tracklayer’s city, as is no one getting special treatment. Equality is not a lack of respect. I have no idea where the “everyone belittles and ignores you” narrative comes from, considering that the leader of the entire city can and will take valuable time out of their day to treat your wounds or sit with you to make your nightmares go away, and the average citizen, from my experience, is actually rather polite to you, unless you go out of your way to increase Tracklayer’s Displeasure.

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59

“The first time someone calls you a horse? You punch 'em on the nose. The second time someone calls you a horse? You call him a jerk. But the third time someone calls you a horse? Well, perhaps its time to start shopping for a saddle.”

If it keeps coming up, it’s probably because a lot of people feel strongly about it.

And having read through your rationale? I still feel exactly the same way I did before.

Which means your interpretation of the story is completely incompatible with mine, and therefore irrelevant to my experience (and a lot of other people’s according to you.)

So now you’ve got two options:

Tell everyone with a contrary viewpoint that they’re wrong to feel how they feel, and that they should correct their opinions to align with yours (which are inherently right).

OR…

You accept that CiS isn’t actually a slam dunk, and that there are legitimate and obvious causes to dislike it.

60

Lies! We are but an insignificant speck in the grand scheme of things-a relatively powerful spec with connections and such, but I, for one, certainly don’t have “a graveyard of said people”.

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61

There are certainly reasons to dislike the CiS. I myself think that turning the City into a Complacently Unrevolutionary city wasn’t handled very well, (I would have preferred it if that wasn’t treated as objectively bad and was instead treated more like the other “evil” options in the game, still not great but at least fun and profitable) and the assumption that all players hate London was a bad mistake in my book. However, I still believe that the narrative that the player wasn’t “respected” enough (which, and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, seems more like being mad that the player wasn’t treated with the same worshipesque adoration that they are in much of London) is absurd.

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62

Better question: why should they respect you? You are, in universe, some guy-some rich, powerful guy, but the neath is full of rich powerful people on your scale, not to mention the numerus beings that blindsided you in terms of power and influence. So why should they automatically respect you?

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63

Why are you jumping immediately from ‘any amount of respect’ directly to ‘worship’?

I have yet to hear even a single expression of gratitude, or admiration. I tried to indignantly outline all the work I myself did when I showed up to CiS, and what I got back was a shrug and a handwave.

You understand it’s possible to show someone due deference for their accomplishments and abilities – such as: giving birth to a living city with their own hands without idol worship, correct?

You just treat them as though you’re aware of what they’ve done (and by extension what they can do) because ignoring those things is not only incredibly insulting… it’s dumb.

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Equivalent people include: the Calendar Council.

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…which means nothing to me, but I was going to go more with examples like, say, the duchess or the implacable detective. Don’t know what happens later on that can lead to you being on a higher level then that, haven’t done the railway yet, but I doubt it would reach, I don’t know, the masters or the countess of thorns.

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66

…I should probably step down from this argument, ah? :sweat_smile:

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67

You got a shrug and a handwave when you showed up to the City that was never meant for you. Could they have welcomed you with more ceremony and celebration? Probably. But you know what you got outside of the city? Hundreds of echoes worth of dividends, more profitable opportunities than you could imagine, and quite probably a few statues of yourself.

You get plenty of respect! As I said, they respect you by letting you in the City in the first place, and allowing you to contribute, and to take what you earned from your work with the City. They could have let you build up Prosperity and Efficiency but not use it to your own benefit, or shove you in an office somewhere, but instead they allow you, the symbol of everything the City is against, to work hand-in-hand with them, and eventually even become a true citizen! What measure of respect could be greater than that?

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68

What have we said about feeding the trolls guys?

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69

Quote me one expression of: gratitude, admiration, or even fear from a single person in the entire city over the course of the entire plotline. For anything you have done in the past, or are actively doing now.

If you can’t? Then all those gameplay features (which are wholly divorced from the tonality of the story) ring completely hollow.

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Who’s we?

You got an L.B. in your pocket?

(It’s considered rude to discuss someone as though they’re not present. FYI.)

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71

Fiiiiinneeeee, I’ll stop.

EDIT: except for this one last little quote.

“At first it’s a friendly recognition. You’re the new heir! Everyone loves the new heir!”
It took me thirty seconds to find that

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72

You could’ve just admitted that this stumped you:

“Quote me one expression of: gratitude, admiration, or even fear from a single person in the entire city over the course of the entire plotline.”

But I suppose pigeonholing me as a bad actor is less self-effacing.

That’s ambition dependent, and one of the least popular ambition rewards to boot.

Besides which? You cut off that quote really early.

“But there was another business you were involved in – ah. You’re on the board of the b____y GHR! They have one or two little matters to settle with you”

Your one (half) of a quote that expresses respect is cancelled out by the second half of the same quote. After which you get jumped by randos (who aren’t at all afraid to try it).

…And the only way to even draw the card in question is to cap out tracklayers’ displeasure.

Meaning? The one example you came up with of a CiS native talking nicely to the PC was them mentioning in passing that they used to think you were cool right before pulling knives on you.
And less than 1/10 players even got that consolation prize.

Alright.

If the thing I’m being accused of is sharing a negative viewpoint with someone who took unscrupulous measures to share a similar viewpoint?

What am I meant to do to allay suspicions? Dox myself? Or just recant the viewpoint?

The second option would certainly be easier, but that would defeat the entire purpose of my having made an account in the first place.

I guess option 3 is just say no more and leave any criticisms of anything I’ve said unchallenged?

I suppose I can do that.

Pleasure meeting all of you. Really.

EDIT: I REALLY don’t care if you don’t like that I don’t like CiS. That doesn’t make criticism of it offensive it just makes you very touchy vis-a-vis your own opinions. Nor does it give you cause to arbitrarily flag me. You are not the internet’s Human Resources department.