Hannah Flynn
Administrator
Posts: 491
8/27/2015
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Delicious friends, September's Exceptional Story is here!
Visions of a moonlit city. A disturbance among London's criminals. Mirrorcatch Boxes, stamped with a sun.
Navigate the perils and profits of London's forbidden sunlight trade in this tale of lunacy, ambition and addiction.
Play An Exceptional Story: an Unlikely Assassin to begin.
Please remember to be liberal with your use of spoiler tags when discussing this story. If you're unsure whether something is a spoiler, use the tag! Here's a reminder of our position on spoilers and guidance.
In addition to a new, substantial, stand-alone story every month, Exceptional Friends enjoy:
- Access to the House of Chimes: an exclusive private member's club on the Stolen River, packed with content!
- An expanded opportunity deck: of ten cards instead of six!
- A second candle: Twice the actions! 40 at once!
(To retain this story for playing at a later date, you must play through the related storylet in the House of Chimes. This will save it from the monthly changeover. Changeover is on the last Thursday of the month.)
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Wields the news canon, aboard the hype train.
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Chris Gardiner
Administrator
Posts: 539
8/28/2015
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We've added options to buy Sun-Stamped Mirrorcatch Boxes for those people who have completed Cut with Moonlight.
Depending on your final choice in the story, you'll find the new option either on the Park and Palace: Society opportunity card, or the Alleys of London: the Criminals card.
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Chris Gardiner
Administrator
Posts: 539
8/27/2015
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metasynthie wrote:
Boxes that can hold dangerous sunlight, or perhaps very angry dream-snakes? Too good to let dwindle away into the vaults.
This. Hardly anyone had a Mirrorcatch Box, and most (maybe all?) of the characters who did were isolated alts. In the meantime, the boxes have developed into a significant and fun part of Neathy lore. They deserved some spotlight.
Plus the new implementation opens some cool possibilities should the mood take us in the future.
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Chris Gardiner
Administrator
Posts: 539
8/28/2015
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Sara Hysaro wrote:
Probably all of them. It doesn't sound like it's exclusive to any particular ending, just that the ending you pick determines which card your option will be on.
That's right - we didn't want to create the impression that there's "right" and "wrong" endings, so all grant you an option to buy more boxes. Which ending you chose determines which card the branch is on, though.
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
8/28/2015
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Kylestien wrote:
I really don't want to sound ungreatful. I really don't, especaily since I fear the option will be taken out if I do say this, but that still makes me not want to complete it so much, because the odds of me getting one of the two cards I need to buy one is less likely then it is for me to keep it as it is, and get as many as I want for (probably) a lower cost. To me it seens like competing the story gets you a worse deal on them whereas keeping it about gets you a major supply.
Depending on one's available grinds, the post-conclusion cost is actually (probably) slightly lower. Also, completing the story gets you the story's conclusions and rewards. If you'd rather have convenient sunlight than completed stories, well, that's your prerogative.
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Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron.
Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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deadcrystal
Posts: 125
8/27/2015
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I take pride in that I predicted the content of this particular Exceptional Story in advance. That said I need to resume my continual wild screaming.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Alice~Darkmoor
A determined Dolphin - Alexis
Great Grind Empress, and Knife and Candle Queen
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metasynthie
Posts: 645
8/27/2015
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Anyone who wants one can now get one for the next month at the low cost of one action. (The two options that don't give a box involve the Constables, or tossing stuff into the river.) Anyone who really wants to hold onto a box they've gotten this month could stash them on an alt and deep-six the alt. And any Exceptional Friend can buy as many Mirrorcatch Boxes as they want this month, for 1 Echo apiece. Combined with the fact that stealing a box costs a Favour in High Places, I think it'll be a little while before Mirrorcatch Boxes are rare enough to worry about them being stolen.
Plus, limited time only: if you don't have an alt, I'll offer you Mirrorcatch Insurance at the low cost 1 "Gift of the Unexpected" surprise package. At some point in the future, if your box gets stolen, I'll tell you (one time only) the name of an alt that you can steal a Mirrorcatch Box from.
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Positively antique
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/metasynthie
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PStrange
Posts: 18
8/28/2015
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I feel kind of conflicted about this month's story. The writing was top-notch, as ever, and I enjoyed the chance to delve deeper into London's seamy under-underbelly as a morally ambiguous/ambiguously moral character myself. It felt nicely balanced to play through, too, with the centralised location as the focus and the odd jaunts elsewhere (out and about, and Upstairs).
However, *Spoilered for story details*
[spoiler]having gone through everything required to reach the end point - ingratiating myself into the blithe fellow's company; carrying out his scut-work; earning his trust; saving his business, etc. I was disappointed to find that upon successfully negotiating the path of peace, cooperation, and (purely coincidentally) grotesquely lucrative criminal enterprise between my new best friends, they saw fit to reward my pivotal role in the founding of this new entrepreneurial empire with... a moderate amount of cash-money.[/spoiler]
This was, for me, the crime equivalent of getting an unexpected Valentine's gift from your one true love, only to find that it's a gift voucher, "But you can spend it in ALL the high-street shops."
I'm not complaining, mind, but I'd much prefer receiving kinda/not-really rare items or something mechnically-useless-but-colourful as a final reward, to give the sense of having done something uncommon.
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marcmagus
Posts: 168
8/27/2015
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I am hunting down and echoing Upstairs successes for posterity.
[spoiler]Moonlit Hillside: Explore the ruins http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6449859
Moonlit Hillside: Hunt the Pale Dogs http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6449866
Moonlit Arch: Console the grieving http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6453004
Moonlit Arch: Join the crowd http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6456425
Moonlit Market: Head towards the gunshots http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6457343
Moonlit Market: Take cover http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6457709
Moonlit Parade: Join the marchers http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6458116
Moonlit Parade: Heckle the march http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/marcmagus?fromEchoId=6462513
[/spoiler]
...and complete, unless there are more than the 8.
edited by marcmagus on 8/28/2015
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marcmagus, a scholar of the Correspondence of some minor note and bold explorer of the new Unterzee.
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metasynthie
Posts: 645
8/27/2015
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Any player, even a newly registered account, can get a Mirrorcatch Box this month by choosing two of the four options in the very first storylet, which doesn't require Exceptional Friendship.
I'm sure quite a few Mirrorcatch Boxes before this were locked out of circulation due to being stashed away on unattackable accounts or just being in possession of inactive players. So this does make the item less rare, and doing "Mirrorsnatch!" now might be a little silly (since it costs an expensive item, perhaps that cost should be removed). However... it's worth it for story purposes if you ask me! Boxes that can hold dangerous sunlight, or perhaps very angry dream-snakes? Too good to let dwindle away into the vaults.
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Positively antique
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/metasynthie
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Jaqueline_Maxwell
Posts: 3
8/27/2015
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What I would like to see is the option to buy them re-opened, for those that made certain choices. From the ending I got, it seemed like I would be able to, and that's really the only reason I ended the story. And it's not like there aren't other fatelocked storylets that have lasting content after the fact...
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An Individual
Posts: 589
8/28/2015
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Kylestien wrote:
I really don't want to sound ungreatful. I really don't, especaily since I fear the option will be taken out if I do say this, but that still makes me not want to complete it so much, because the odds of me getting one of the two cards I need to buy one is less likely then it is for me to keep it as it is, and get as many as I want for (probably) a lower cost. To me it seens like competing the story gets you a worse deal on them whereas keeping it about gets you a major supply.
I'm still in a holding pattern but with the change I suspect I'll end up completing the story once I've checked out all the Upstairs content. I like having the option to buy sunlight but being able to do it on a whim versus on a card isn't really a big deal. There isn't an efficient echo grind or hidden content to find here and it sounds like mirror catch boxes are a lot safer now so they're really just there for kicks.
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An Individual's Profile
The RNG giveth and the RNG taketh away.
Goat Farming or Cider Brewing? This browser extension may help.
Want a Cider sip? Please refer to this guide before requesting.
Scholaring the Correspondence? A Brief Guide to Courier's Footprint.
Contemplating Oblivion? First Steps on the Seeking Road.
Gone NORTH? Opened the gate? Throw your character in a well.
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Fhoenix
Posts: 602
8/29/2015
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Well, well, it looks like it's time for me to come out of the closet. I had a box all this time! Not on an alt, but on the main account too. People tried to rob me a couple of times, but nobody succeeded. Oh and I tried to rob myself at least five times but never succeeded either. My alt wasn't all that rich with Favors in High Places, so I just gave up and the box sat on the main account.
I have been wondering what "Trap a little sunlight in a Mirrorcatch Box!" does for ages, but since Sunlight event never came back and original owners kept quite I never found out. It has been eating me for some time. But then Sunless Sea happened and it became less important seeing as how people shipped ships full of boxes. And now we have a flood of boxes in London. Ah, not so special anymore.
I know that most of the famous/active forum players got mugged of their boxes. But I am wondering, who kept theirs intact? Anybody else wants to confess?
edited by Fhoenix on 8/29/2015
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My Character
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metasynthie
Posts: 645
9/3/2015
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Yes:
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Akashi?fromEchoId=6462624
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Positively antique
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/metasynthie
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
9/3/2015
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Thank you! Aw, that is sweet, and rather sad. Definitely going to go for that one when we can fate-reset. Plus, he'll be my neighbour - I can keep an eye on his recovery.
--
Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron.
Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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marcmagus
Posts: 168
8/29/2015
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TheThirdPolice wrote:
MissCrumpet wrote:
Thank you - I was a bit confused by an earlier mention of catching snakes in them. I don't know all of the lore so I want to make sure I'm not missing something significant.
That's a reference to a story in Sunless Sea, Failbetter's other game in the same setting.
I was less well-versed in FL lore the last time I played that story in Sunless Sea, but it occurs to me now that this was an incredibly clever and incredibly dangerous plan. The sort of idea an RPG player would come up with leaving the GM dumbstruck.
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marcmagus, a scholar of the Correspondence of some minor note and bold explorer of the new Unterzee.
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Sara Hysaro
Moderator
Posts: 4514
8/27/2015
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I think the introduction storylet that everyone got a chance to play would be fine.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Sara%20Hysaro
Please do not send SMEN, cat boxes, or Affluent Reporter requests. All other social actions are welcome.
Are you a Scarlet Saint? Send a message my way to be added to the list.
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Ian Hart
Posts: 437
8/27/2015
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Is there any way to protect a box other than putting it on an alt and exiling them from London? There doesn't seem to be any other way to hold onto one (except secrecy, of course. But security through obscurity is no security at all.)
I'm looking forward to getting one, but I don't use alts, and I'd hate to have to spend the rest of the game on a boat...
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Antifinity
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deadcrystal
Posts: 125
8/27/2015
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Boxes are a lot safer than they used to be anyway, since they can only be stolen from someone with a knife and candle form.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Alice~Darkmoor
A determined Dolphin - Alexis
Great Grind Empress, and Knife and Candle Queen
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Ian Hart
Posts: 437
8/27/2015
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metasynthie, I like the way you think.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Antifinity
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Kade Carrion (an_ocelot)
Posts: 1372
8/27/2015
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deadcrystal wrote:
Boxes are a lot safer than they used to be anyway, since they can only be stolen from someone with a knife and candle form.
Not true, unless that is a recent change.
--
Social Actions: send them to Kade Carrion (she/her; no Tournament of Lilies, please). an_ocelot has gone NORTH and cannot benefit from social actions!
Possibly-Useful Things: Spreadsheets and hints and link collections, oh my.
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Blaine Davidson
Posts: 388
8/28/2015
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Having completed this story I was a bit disappointed that despite [spoiler]saving the Meridian House and stopping the Graduate's assassin[/spoiler] I no longer have access to the Meridian House.
Had I known earlier I would have stockpiled more Sun-Stamped Mirrorcatch boxes. I'll have to make due with the 2 I have left I guess.
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Blaine Davidson, a reserved and sensible woman with a fondness of collecting rarities.
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Ian Hart
Posts: 437
8/27/2015
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Ah, well that explains why no one has shared their choice for the public storylet. No one wants to give away the fact they now have a Mirrorcatch box. Does anyone want to at least share the 2 options that don't give a box, to prove they don't have one?
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Antifinity
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RandomWalker
Posts: 948
8/27/2015
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Balefire Phoenix wrote:
The elephant in the room here is the fact that tons of Mirrorcatch boxes were just handed out to nearly every player.
This kind of messes with the idea of that Iron League attack, and the fact the things are supposed to be a super rare relic.
Well, for 'nearly every player', read 'nearly every Exceptional Friend', which probably translates to somewhere between ten percent and five percent of the player base (and I'd guess it's closer to five).
Anyway, they were a super-rare relic for a long time, and I understand that most of them were squirrelled away out of circulation. They had no impact on the game for the vast majority of the player base because they wouldn't know who had one, or have a chance of holding on to it if they did. Or else it sat in the inventory of an otherwise idle alt out of fear of theft. Having more in circulation, and reducing their relative value, means that they're suddenly accessible to a lot more people.
This has improved the depth of the game for lots of people, and made a possession less valuable for a small handful. Seems reasonable to me (but then I never had one in the first place).
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Kade Carrion (an_ocelot)
Posts: 1372
8/27/2015
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Started echoing here; note that (minor spoiler, vaguely worded, about early stages)
[spoiler]it's possible to lose a unique item you acquire in the House of Chimes, but the quality you obtain in return is certainly new to me
edit: not unique! there will be other opportunities to acquire one[/spoiler]
edited by an_ocelot on 8/27/2015
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Social Actions: send them to Kade Carrion (she/her; no Tournament of Lilies, please). an_ocelot has gone NORTH and cannot benefit from social actions!
Possibly-Useful Things: Spreadsheets and hints and link collections, oh my.
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IHNIWTR
Posts: 346
8/27/2015
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Well. That was sort of amazing.
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Daniel%20Vaise
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Cotton Dee
Posts: 76
8/27/2015
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[spoiler]For those whom have come by their own sun-stamped Mirrorcatch Boxes, and have peered at their contents; your new quality isn't harmful, but it does unlock some opportunities, most of them luck based. Failing the challenge removes this quality. It can, however, be regained through the use of another Mirrorcatch Box.
And yes, that was wonderful to play through. I have a whole new set of questions regarding the nature of light, and I fear none of them are easily answered.[/spoiler]
edited by Cotton Dee on 8/27/2015
--
Henry Lamperouge may be found here...
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Henry~Lamperouge
Current Grind: 1/42 Presumptious Little Opportunites
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Dry Fish
Posts: 7
8/27/2015
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Why oh WHY did this have to come early?
I was planning on doing August's story this very night as I hadn't gotten around to it.
Does this mean there's no way I can complete it now?
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Romulus Arcana
Posts: 23
8/29/2015
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Fhoenix wrote:
I know that most of the famous/active forum players got mugged of their boxes. But I am wondering, who kept theirs intact? Anybody else wants to confess?
edited by Fhoenix on 8/29/2015
I confess! I stole one a couple of months ago. I saw someone with their box equipped on their profile and took it from them. It was very mean of me. Now it seems kind of petty given that almost every character in London has a box of their own.
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Romulus Arcana
Will accept all social actions except Affluent Photographer
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Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
8/30/2015
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There needs to be a reason for them to make a special area though. As it stands, The primary setting of this story is "A nice house located in Veilgarden that is easily accessible" for the simple reason of "they are selling stuff".
Kind of like how if the Cheesemonger storyline would not make sense if they are locked to an area called "An ugly cheesy townhouse"...
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Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady.
I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
9/1/2015
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Sara Hysaro wrote:
Fhoenix wrote:
I know that most of the famous/active forum players got mugged of their boxes. But I am wondering, who kept theirs intact? Anybody else wants to confess?
I had a box on my main account for quite a while. I did end up moving it to an alt (Madison Lavery) when a mirrorsnatch attempt scared me, but that was only about a year ago if memory serves me correctly.
Well, while we're confessing... Fred and Hubris both had one. And both got it stolen. And both tirelessly hunted down the thief and stole it back. Multiple times.
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Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron.
Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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Nepeta
Posts: 31
9/3/2015
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Angus Turner wrote:
Has anyone echoed the result of the second option in "The man on the doorstep" storylet? I chose the first option and echoed the result, but I'm really curious about it.
Let's see if this works: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Nepeta?fromEcho=10
Now that I think about it, I had two different choices in my epilogue than you did! If you go backward through the chain, you can see that I made a different choice at the four-choice climax, so my encounter with the Diffident Gentleman on the doorstep was very different.
I love this game.
edited by Nepeta on 9/3/2015
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Nepeta
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Nigel Overstreet
Posts: 1220
9/4/2015
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I was kind of hoping I could use some of my sunlight in a box to change my Dark Carapaced Crustacean into a Gilded Crustacean.
Maybe in a future sotrylet?
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The Romantic Egotist: Most Hedonistic Man in All of Fallen London
Are you or someone you know Overgoated? Please, let me know!
Cider Club
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Guest
9/7/2015
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This is the first Exceptional Story I've played through, and I quite enjoyed it! I'm sitting on the final choice right now while stockpiling boxes, because there's nothing like a sunlight addiction amirite. I would just like to say, though, that I am moderately disappointed that "Boxes of Aunt" are not an item for those who selected a certain choice. That would've gone straight onto my mantlepiece out of sheer amusement.
edited by nightday on 9/7/2015
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Gangvann
Posts: 9
8/28/2015
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Oh my. This was delicious indeed.
Now I am filled with a queer maudlin for times that never were, for what could have been, ought have been?
Thank you, Mr. Failbetter, dearest Si-, er, Mad-, er, yes, for your exceptional friendship.
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Betwixt the form and the content, there lies the utter murk
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