Nigel Overstreet
Posts: 1220
2/22/2012
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Which animals in the Neath are sentient and which can talk?
Obviously the Rattus Faber are as sentient as any man, though not on par in the way of class with men, but which other species would it be, for instance, rude to kill for their meat?
Yes, yes; we have all eaten urchin meat from time to time, but it is still considered impolite. Especially to do so before the fish course. To eat goose, on the other hand, is not even blinked at by the most demure of society.
Do bats have souls? Do they have dreams and thoughts and feeling and a way to express them? Can they speak? What about Lizards or Stallions? Who can give an answer and who can wager a guess?
--
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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artsieaspie
Posts: 16
2/23/2012
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Urthdigger wrote:
Something I've been wondering... just what does L.B. stand for?
I'm of vulgar peasant stock, so I assumed it was little bastard.
These days, I consider everything in the Neath to be sentient until satisfied that it isn't. Sentient and probably out to get me.
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Passionario
Posts: 777
2/25/2012
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Kaesa wrote:
And here I thought that was only the case in Polythreme.
In Polythreme the bed I slept on was a baroness. The room where I slept was lovingly carved from joyous singing stone. The water I drank begged me to never stop. They paid me in coin that predicted my greatness. The memories are soothing. This place is duller.
--
Passionario: Profile, Story, Ending
Passion: Profile, Appearance
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Martin Hopfield
Posts: 21
2/27/2012
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Malt Jones wrote:
Martin Hopfield wrote:
I'm not sure what you mean by animal? Something that doesn't walk on two legs? Are we not animals too?
Oh my, if I didn't any know better I'd mistake you for one of those darwinists.
What are you implying, Sir? Although I have a scientific outlook, I don't follow every whimsy that scientists come up with.
Besides, Aristotle regarded humans as having an animal aspect to their souls, so the idea is hardly new. He also thought that humans and animals had a plant aspect to the soul. What would he have thought of the Exceptional Rose?
I prefer well established scientific facts, and you may occasionally find me around Wolfstack Docks rehabilitating criminals through phrenological adjustments. If someone attempts to rob me, a carefully judged blow to the head can set them on the path to becoming a useful member of society. As far as I can tell I have had significant success as I have yet to meet any of these individuals attempting to rob me a second time.
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Lily Fox
Posts: 346
3/5/2012
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All of this riveting discussion causes myself to wonder... what precisely does Devil taste like? (Sulpherous, most likely.) Not, of course, that I would ask them in polite company but I would be surprised if there were not someone in the City - most like of the infernal persuasion themselves - who does not know.
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@LilyLayer4
Fallen London character: Lilith B.
Author of Maelstrom - Play - Discuss
Author of City of Phire - Play - Discuss
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Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
3/7/2012
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Lily Banyard-Fox wrote:
All of this riveting discussion causes myself to wonder... what precisely does Devil taste like? (Sulpherous, most likely.) Not, of course, that I would ask them in polite company but I would be surprised if there were not someone in the City - most like of the infernal persuasion themselves - who does not know.
I am more interested in the taste of the Overgoat. When I get rich enough, that is. Probably wash it down with a serving of that damnably expensive cider, too.
--
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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Owlor
Posts: 152
2/23/2012
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Oh lord, EVERYTHING is sentient down here!
 Nightmares is increasing.
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"He never really loved her. Or her money. He wanted her secrets."
Jack Owlfisher's profile (@Owlor on twitter)
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Kaesa
Posts: 33
2/23/2012
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And here I thought that was only the case in Polythreme.
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UneasyRiderNC
Posts: 9
2/23/2012
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This is from the "Song of the Mandrake" card: "The things it sings when it's this cheerful still eat through your protective silk, but they are well worth catching." Seems to imply that even the mandrakes can speak (well, sing) understandably.
Whether they know what they are singing, or are just parroting, is questionable since they are "happy little tuber"s singing apparently horrifying songs.
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Diptych
Administrator
Posts: 3493
2/22/2012
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Excellent questions all - on the Surface and in the Neath. Our own Surface-elephants, for example, seem to be of an intelligence comparable to humans - self-aware, social and empathic. What would Neathy elephants be like?
As you say, we know for sure about Rattus Faber, and I don't believe I've ever met a cat - big or small - who wasn't capable of sarcasm. The bats -seem- rational, but it's easy to project such qualities, as the Doctor Schlomo might put it. Spiders seem able of speech in great enough numbers... personally, I avoid all kinds of meat, but even then, the more mobile species of fungus - the ones capable of pettiness and bad language - are rather worrying.
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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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Zyxx
Posts: 45
2/22/2012
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Here's a list I cooked up based on my personal experience and memories: feel free to chip in with your own and to correct me.
Definitely vocal/sentient
Rattus Faber
Most cats
Spider-Councils
Vocal, possibly sentient:
Ravens
Lizards
Bats (Questionable - is "Where's my sodding crickets?" an actual quote from a bat or simply what his gaze conveys?)
Not known to talk:
Ordinary rats
Individual Sorrow-Spiders
Dogs
Goldfish
Seals
Mandrake
Hyenas
Snakes
Weasels
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Truezyxx on Twitter
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Urthdigger
Posts: 939
2/23/2012
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Something I've been wondering... just what does L.B. stand for?
--
Looking for second chances to maximize your loot output from those troublesome storylets? Check out our handy gang of volunteers in this thread, or even volunteer yourself!
@Urthdigger on twitter
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