#fl lore spoilers

[the-dye-stained-socialite]

@fallenlondonficswap @alexis-royce I had a lot of fun writing up this fic for your secret swap!! I also had to trim it for the word limit

Mr Pages takes the Ex-Disgraced Academic out for a night at the theatre. Something is being planned.

Rating: Teen

No Warnings

Word count: 2,016(fic) + 398(oc credits) AO3 Link

It was later than typical when the letter arrived at the door. Mr. Cards had just changed out of its robe, and back into the Ex-Disgraced Academic. They were preparing to work on their Correspondence when it had slid through their mail slot. 

If neither the distinctive seal, nor name, had not indicated the sender, the address would. It was sent from the tower apartments directly above their own. Those which belonged to Mr Pages, Cards' greatest rival. The Academic broke the seal on the overstuffed envelope eagerly. Their good eye flew over the dense verbage contained therein. It posed no challenge to them, and they quickly deciphered the meaning of the letter. It was an invitation to a play. And yet, did the Academic not recall Mahogany Hall being closed that evening? Oh, something clicked. Rumors had been circulating in Bohemian circles for many years about a forbidden play, performed only with explicit permission from Mr. Wines, against direct order from the Ministry of Public Decency. So why would the Master of censorship, the very one who, if rumors were to be believed, tried to stamp this play out at every possibility, decide to take them along?

The best way to find out was to go. They would send confirmation in the morning, but through the night they would prepare for any likely schemes.

~

They agreed to arrive seperatly to avoid being seen together in public. A theatre box far above most was... still public, yes, but easier to mistake features in, or to not notice at all. So when the Academic arrived at their reserved box, Pages was already waiting. At least, they recognized it as Pages as soon as it opened its mouth to wish them an "Enjoyluminating" evening. The loquacious master was not wearing its usual ink-stained robes. It seemed to have even ditched its bandolier of pens and inks. Or, judging on the suspicious way the oversized robe fell, perhaps it was simple under the cloak. The cloak which, based on style and size alone, clearly did not belong to it. In fact, it looked as though it had stolen a spare robe from Mr Apples. It was ill-fitting on the current Master. Pages looked about to burst when the Academic did not immediately ask why it had shunned its typical robe. They took a seat to one side, and then took the bait.

"So, my eloquent acommpanyment, why the change in attire?"

Pages arranged its own chair. "You are possilikely aware of my disgustred for this... play. Thus, you are also aware of my multinumerous attemps to blot it from the history books. As such, the only actors that would perform in it at those with ireverice towards me."

"Ah, so if it were known that is was you... you would be rather unpopular for the night.

"Precisorrectly."

The red curtains raised up, and the audience turned their attentions towards the stage. 

An actor strutted onto the stage. Their costume was composed of deep blue and black feathers, contrasting nicely with hair the color of dark cinnamon. Flickering candles lit the stage. The light danced along the costume's wings to bring the iridescence to life. This was the role of the Raven.

Pages leaned over to whisper to its companion. "Jamie Awnings, a Poet-Laureate who writes the most horrendful poetry. How they were chosen I do not know, but I have had to step in many times to keep their work from the public."

The academic raised an eyebrow. One did not typically become Poet-Laureate while being horredful at the art. 

The actor's talent with words and meter became evident quickly however. The round Raven began to sing an aria, but the words had not matched entirely with the Academic's research. If it weren't for the research, they wouldn't know that any of the words had been changed. They had, however, but it was well keeping with the original intent, and far better suited to the rhythm and rhyme of the piece. 

Pages' attention was rapt and fixated. Pages was also clearly becoming inebriated by the music. Even the Academic was being affected. Still, now was the perfect opportunity to enact their plan. From a hidden pocket of a sleeve, they carefully slipped out a notepad, and a fountain pen preloaded with violant ink. The Academic has chosen their seat strategically, putting their writing side as far from Pages as they could, to hide their work. It was known for forbidding this play, and it was likely to try something tonight. Naturally, they could not be blamed for taking a transcript in shorthand.

The Raven continued their aria, setting the scene to fill in the minimal scenery. Something, however, caught the Academic's notice. Their box provided a good view of the stage, and importantly, the lightest of views into the wings to the side of the stage. The absence of visible stage crew told the steward that there was either a stage crew composed of only the actors, or that what crew there was knew well enough where to avoid walking to be seen. Perhaps both. So when someone in the Ministry uniform nearly stumbled onto stage partway through the song, it was an immediate tip off. Something was indeed going on behind scenes, something Pages had been planning. The rest of the song was performed without a hitch however. In fact, the Official seemed to be avoiding messing anything up as much as possible. Shouldn't he be trying to stop things? Still, perhaps the Academic's plans were compatible with Pages'. The music was working in their favor. It would addle the Curator's thinking, making it less likely to notice the gentle, soft scratching of pen on paper. They were a minute or so behind, but the Raven's personality had imprinted the details onto their mind quite nicely. It would make reconstruction easier later. A new character enters, their costume black and ragged. Tattered strips of cloth are woven into the spokes of their chair, and a shredded train follows behind them. Their stubble and bun were both intentionally left messy and unkempt. The overall effect was reminiscent of a wedding dress that has been dashed upon the zhoreline. A sense of love-sick duty weighed them down. The Messenger's sadness laid like Lacre on the stage. The Raven had been bragging about their singing not a moment ago, but as the raggedy Messenger approached, Raven deferred to the song of the Messenger. Pages scoffed. "That one has never been fond of me, always mooning for another. They have... circumvented my plans on multiple occasions." ~ The scene changed, with no sign of interference. ~ The play progressed, with no one noticing what had transpired, save one. Pages continued to interject comments at odd moments. The Academic continued to respond as well as they could while paying attention to the play and writing it all down. Suffice to say that it was rather difficult, and there were many unfortunate moments lost to Pages’ chattering. They wondered if it was deliberate, but that would require it to know what the Academic was hiding.

The Messenger, now played by a tall actress with manicured facial hair and a tattered groom’s suit, was holding council with the Owls. The Principal Owl had pale, tawny feathers that stood out from his dark brown skin. His head covering had baubles and trinkets that made a light sound as he trembled with fear.

Pages seemed particularly incensed by this scene.

“What do you do among my spires?” questioned the Messenger.

“Why, great master, we watch, we wait, we consume” he responded. “You watch, and wait, and consume, you say. And yet, is there not one who will consume you as prey?” On cue, another Owl stalks out from the shadows.Their hair is stark as fresh blood, the beak of the mask sharp. Their cane makes little noise as it lurks around the others. Their large feather tufts reveal their true nature. They are a Great Horned Owl Hunter. “Great Master, protect us so we will be free from their shrieks always, and we will serve you loyally the rest of our days!” She adjusts uncomfortably. There are many beats of conflicted silence, until she speaks again with a sigh “oh, were it only my unfettered choice. But alas, I owe them their hunts and the joys of their voice.” She left, and the Owls were left alone with the Hunter, who grinned behind their mask. Most of the actors were on stage at this point, distracted by the hunt. Another enforcer! Behind the curtains, nearly tripping on something, and carrying a large stack of papers. The Academic could not get a closer look however, for when they tried to shift closer, an ink-stained talon came to rest on their thigh. The intermission began, the curtain smothering any other chance. With its other hand, the Master made a sweeping gesture to the stage. Ice blue eyes turned towards their box from across the auditorium. Wines, who had bribed the Ministry to allow the play for the night. Their attention snapped back to Pages. “-these actors perform this play as an act of rebellion against me. They revel in this illegalbidden display. It is done to spite me, and undermine my authority”. It spat the sentence with less-than-figurative venom. “I will ensure they acknowledge my position as Paramost Poet and Auteur. And you” it turned towards them with luminescent eyes. They slid their writing out of sight. “You shall bow as well, Mr. Cards”. Was the blood rising to their face from anger? Or from the darker, more intense emotions that often defined the two of them. Those emotions had become so entangled of late. The Academic had been thinking of a clever retort when the brief intermission ended. With a personality that filled the stage and beyond, the Phoenix would not permit distraction from their soliloquy. The reflection of candle flames danced across their round lenses. Instead of the Phoenix's typical dress, this one opted for a tuxedo with the train of a peacock and the color of their fiery hair. “I am so very tired of flames, I will drown myself in snow and emerge in perfect serenity. Or not at all”. “What’s that? You have no more use for flame?” the Messenger reappeared and rolled towards the Phoenix. The scene went without hindrance. Even the final ‘immolation’ of the Phoenix in ice went as planned. It aroused the Academic’s suspicions. ~ When his cane made contact with the stage, it cracked like thunder, and reverberated against the proscenium arch. The gray streaks of his bright hair conjured to mind the storm clouds of the surface. His expression held little pity for the Messenger. Though she was taller by far, her presence was miniscule next to the Dragon. “You again,” she whimpered. “Yes. I remain the servant of you Master, as must you. He awaits the delivery.” “Do not! I beg you, do not! He cannot hear the message yet, he cannot hear what i have to say!” her voice turned frantic, fervent. The Dragon’s voice had little care. “You have a little time yet. Should this place fall, two will remain”. The booming of his cane grew distant as he left. She fell to her knees with a wail. ~

The play ended as it always must, message undelivered, crimes judged, and with Time devoured. The curtain fell, and then rose again for the final applause. “So, why did you invite me to see this play? Should you not have stopped it?” Pages stood to loom over them. It swayed slightly. “Have I not already stopped it? It would be rather difficult to perform without a script!” “The cast could perform-” “Oh certainly! Alone in their cells of New Newgate!” With gritted teeth, the academic stormed off. ~ They found Mr. Wines, and with pulled string, favours, and promises, convinced it to stop the Neddy Men from making arrests. The scripts however, were still missing. ~ Weeks later, new scripts of the Seventh Letter entered circulation. Lines and music had to be reconstructed from memory and missing gaps, but it was rather accurate. Most importantly though, Mr. Pages had not managed a score over Mr. Cards. ~~~~ OC CREDITS.

CURTAIN RISES. The last to ENTER is the PRINCIPAL OWL, with the MINOR OWLS FLOCKING behind him. He has dark brown skin, and near-black hair. He is still wearing his head covering. He is short and slight. He is The Theological Caregiver, created by @moonstruck-stormy. He bows with pride, then MOVES STAGE RIGHT.

The HUNTER ENTERS next. A step forward, ready to extend and ki- a pause. They had forgotten to leave character. A shift, and it is once more Harper Faraday. Light-olive skinned, with spectacles, and hazelnut shell hair. Their cane is light and practical. They were created by @the-insouciant-scientist. They bow, sheepish, MOVE STAGE LEFT. The PRINCIPAL DRAGON ENTERS with the presence of a rumbling Storm. His cane clicks are distinct and pronounced. He hais fair skin, large round glasses, and hair like a cloud rimmed sunset. The PRINCIPAL DRAGON is played by Orsinio Elderwood. He was created by @house-of-mirrors. The MINOR DRAGONS EMERGE from the WINGS to FLANK him. They bow together, then MOVE STAGE RIGHT.

The PHOENIX ENTERS from the East. At first look, they are similar to Orsinio. They share glasses and skin tone and hair color. On second look, they are different. The Partial Performer is taller, and has no cane. They were created by @thedandy-detective. Their bow has been practiced, with calculated flair. They MOVE STAGE LEFT. ENTER the RAVEN. Tonight, he is a stocky actor with russet hair and many freckles. They are short and fair-skinned. This is Poet-Laureate Jamie Awnings, created by @thedeafprophet. He makes a grand, sweeping bow, and MOVES STAGE RIGHT. The two halves of the MESSENGER STEP and ROLL to CENTER STAGE. They clasp hands. The MASCULINE HALF is tall, thin, and pale, with a well maintained mustache and goatee. Her hair is dark and short, and she wears glasses. She is Irving Merritt, created by @the-insouciant-scientist. The FEMININE HALF uses an elegant wheelchair. They have long hair, dark but greying, in a bun. They have stubble, and small glasses. They have fair skin, and are plump. They are Elias Leroux, created by @the-dye-stained-socialite. They bow with much drama. The CAST MOVES towards CENTER STAGE and form a solid line. They JOIN HANDS where possible, and raise them together. They swing forward into a final bow, then slowly raise back up to applause. CURTAIN FALLS.

[thegreatyin]

current fallen london fandom experience feels like im standing at the corner of a party holding a sippy cup going. i thought firmament has been pretty fun and intriguing so far

[house-of-mirrors]

Charm told me to go look at the Rat Market and whoa... can't believe they did nothing while we were out to zee hunting lifebergs

They made the freakin... three witches from Shakespeare into rats akshkshdjdj

Three aspects of Hecate... three fates, three furies... the number 3 in fairy tales... the rule of three (a motif appears and on the third time it is relevant)... Hunter's Keep... three sevens... the number nine in the discordance and the inferno... so interesting. Three bodies, the sun, earth, and moon, aligned for an eclipse.

Detailed analysis under the cut!

The Absent Rat references something from Irem (which also to me suggests this was written by Bruno... we do talk about Bruno)

Revisionist history, of course. Well, we know from Mr Menagerie in skies that there was a world before the Judgements. I wonder what that was. The colonization theme, and also the theme from cosmic horror that "there is always something greater."

The Erased Rat.

The Sequence - The Great Chain. And it was at this moment I fully realized what the name New Sequence implies, as if I didn't already know the theme: it's just a new tyrant.

Also the watchdog line is doing things to me

The Hollow Rat of course references parabola. Storm-toss'd kin, I wonder if that references The Prophet Exile in the Well of Wonders. And surely there are other wells with parabolan criminals.

Iambic Pentameter <3

[szilverer]

happy holidays flumblr. have a silly doodle that got out of hand

[asleepinawell]

I've seen a lot of back and forth about the latest chapter of firmament and the conclusion I've come to is that people who have a basic knowledge of some specific parts of fl lore are more likely to have enjoyed it. the problem here being that fl rarely outright tells you big lore things but instead tries to give you bits to piece together, some of which are in ES or the sunless games. and then the lore continues to build on top of that lore. and you end up at lore point 5 where you don't know anything about lore points 1-4 and are hopelessly lost

you then have people who haven't played the other games or gone through the wiki or reddit not having a solid foundation to start from in terms of understanding not only what is going on but why it's important and what the implications of it are

i rambled about it before once somewhere but i think fl would greatly benefit from having a codex that filled in as you went through the main story. something that's an optional storylet at your lodgings with a disclaimer that you can safely skip it if you prefer not to use it. the codex would only give you very basic info (the great chain 101) and could even say things like hey if this lore point seems cool check out the sunless games or these specific ES for more story about it (obligatory statement that this is just wishful thinking and i know the devs are very busy and don't have time to implement everything)

i really enjoyed the latest chapter of firmament, but I've also done the wiki deep dive AND saw a spoiler about what certain things were before i hit the end of the chapter (and to be fair to the people claiming the writing was hard to follow, I'm not sure i would have put the pieces together on my own there) and it greatly increased my enjoyment of the big final conflict in it because i had some grasp of the stakes and the players involved. i don't know what will come of the decision i made (which is good!), but i do understand what decision i made. that's the key bit to me

like i was saying in the first paragraph, it feels like some of the frustration with firmament is partly coming from the fact that fl is a game that rarely outright explains big lore points and rather expects you to suss them out as you play (which probably worked great way back at the start), and that as the game has gotten bigger and longer, people are going to spend less time delving into things from the early game as they rush to get to the cool later stuff and get increasingly more confused when the game bases story off those lore points later on if they haven't stopped to research them. the more the end game lore expands, the more this becomes true. thus my codex idea, a 'here's what you need to know in order to be immersed in the next layer of mystery' guide

[thedeafprophet]

random thought. so like, the king with a hundred hearts is polythreme and all that, yea? But we see him still clearly capable of having a Self among it all and taking on an individual form while still being The City

but with the railway cities:tm:, they dont seem to function in that same way, re: the having the statue avatar of the self still, and only communicatable on an abstract level

sooooo does that imply with the level/amount/the how of the diamond heart replacement affect these matters in transformation 🤔🤔🤔

[esteemed-excellency]

[warabola]

Did you notice the Commodore just, casually mentioning The Nadirq

I missed this ask but YEAH! I SAW THIS!

Like, is that public knowledge amongst the Admiralty? How many men did you send down there, Commodore? The implications of this are wild too because somehow this insinuates the water isn't going into the Nadir naturally, and they'd have to redirect it in despite... well, allegedly the rest of the Neath also flooding?

Loving the mental picture of just flooding the Nadir as well. Get flooded, Lilac.

[house-of-mirrors]

Answers under the cut as well with major nemesis spoilers, minor spoilers from an ES and mask of the rose:

What's left of Mirrors is imprisoned before the player encounters it. Chained in the center of a starry moor called The Beggar's Wake. The prison is also populated by something called the Claiming Wind which feeds off memories. It was Mirrors' "pet" from the high wilderness at one time and now is a warden. The wind is pretty scary; if it grabs the player it tries to consume the memories of your loved one and to hold onto your memories you sacrifice another part of you (about a full level of one of your four base stats).

The writing is ambiguous as to how "alive" this remnant of Mirrors is. It refers to itself as "a dream, dreaming." Other text refers to it as a vestige. I interpret it as a dream ghost left when October killed it. This ghost of Mirrors has tattered robes, eyes that look like cracked mirrors, and is trying to shelter itself from the wind with its wings.

We see three versions/memories of how Mirrors saw itself. One as "the peddler king" where it imagined itself as a king in parabola, collecting trinkets. A king is charitable, it says when in a good mood (player passes check), and not charitable when it's in a bad mood (player fails check). One of its crimes was charity, which is a grievous transgression in the high wilderness. The second is a vision of the high wilderness called "a convocation of runts." We see the masters at a time shortly before they went to the Neath. Mirrors is asking to come with them. Here it's quiet and desperate and very beat up. We learn why in number three, "a court of honey and spice." In this one, Mirrors is crouched around a coil of snakes and is caught in the act of glasswhispering by other curators, who attack and punish the crime. It says it doesn't want to dream of this anymore.

I wouldn't necessarily call it self-pitying. Mirrors is portrayed as desperate. It's angry at the "perfidious revolutionary" who attacked it. It begs the player to make a deal. Throughout memories, it yells at the player to stop prodding, because memories are all it has left. It sounds sorrowful, afraid, and very small. Still, it tries to be helpful, guiding the player to the answers they need to escape this place and hopefully free it. "Let usss help. It won't cost you so very much. But there must be a price, always."

"To end a dream, wake the dreamer. To wake the dreamer, speak their name." We get multiple meanings for the Beggar's Wake. It's a clever location title. If you free the remnant, it thanks you, and the text is ambiguous as to whether this "dream shadow of a curator's vestige" will be a threat. It's only a dream; what harm can a dream cause? "The uncast reflection of a vast and winged thing stalks you in your dreams. Sometimes, it brings you gifts borne out of not-quite-gratitude." Nice friendly nightmare? It willingly helps the player act against the Bazaar, which Mirrors is angry and vengeful towards. Like all Masters, Mirrors has issues with the Bazaar.

If you don't free it and instead put an end it its misery, it growls and bares its teeth right before winking from existence. It was barely existing as it was. If you choose this, you receive a "dream shard of the mirror of knives" which is "a vestige of a vestige, of a vestige, drawn to you as its true owner, stained with the desperation of the Masters." Masters plural, not just Mirrors. Fascinating. The player is said to put the knife on their mantle, and it can be used to powerfully manipulate parabola.

Regardless of what you choose to do with Mirrors, after leaving, the player enters The Grave of Mirrors which is a valley in parabola full of broken mirrors, where the player can use one to enter the Bazaar to kill Cups. The player in the rewards of ambition text is said to still dream of a starry moor where a hungry wind roams, but it's only a dream.

In Mask of the Rose, we learn it was Mirrors' idea to pull parliament into dreams, and when they refused to cooperate, it left them to the waking world to drown. In "The Crocodile Who Would Be King," we learn it was experimenting on animals trying to find a way to merge Is and Is-Not. It kept a fingerking as a pet. Why did it have so many weird "pets." All this aside, Mirrors was still complicit in the capture, oppression, and slaughter of 4.5 cities worth of people. Mirrors is tragic and has sopping-wet-cat energy where it's trapped in parabola, and it is helpful to the player who frees it, but it's still a cunning and cruel master with an interest in bargaining and a strong desire for self preservation like its kin.

it's ME, back again with

lore questions for a fic i'm writing

ambition: nemesis edition!

spoilers for nemesis below!

i know the gist of what's up with mr mirrors, but what's its existence in parabola like before the pc rocks up?

also, what do we know about its personality? the impression i've got from snippets i've seen is that it's very melodramatic and self-pitying; is that accurate?

any mirrors info/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[starryeyed-seer]

(This is my friend telling me about someone else)

sicko voice: hahaha... yesssss

what's funny about the amount of people I've influenced towards fallen london because of my suncrab posting is that. as much as suncrab is a huge lore spoiler for fallen london, it does not goddamn prepare you for FL in the slightest.

it's an undercurrent and the inciting incident, but... the forbidden ship is one of the least notable things going on in that cave. by far

[yanderes-for-everyone]

Title: Side Characters Deserve Love Too

Status: Completed

Synopsis:

Geumja Kim is the biggest (and only) fan of Kyle du Vilteon, a side character in the fantasy novel King Maker. Her never-ending search for Kyle content is forever changed when she dies while rereading the book… and somehow awakens in Kyle’s bedroom to a new life within the novel’s pages! She is then shocked to learn that Kyle can also hear her thoughts—luckily, only if she thinks of his name. Still, there’s no time for this fangirl to daydream because Kyle is doomed to die. Can she save the apple of her eye... and in the process, become his? (Tapas)

My Thoughts (No Spoilers):

I love this one. It has a pretty classic premise, but the way it's executed makes it so fucking good. You get invested in almost every single character; you really like the characters you're supposed to like and you absolutely hate the ones you're supposed to hate lol (which imo is one of the most important factors to making a romance good)

The fl is absolutely obsessed with the ML (she channels the audience's energy lol). She's very funny and charismatic and is amazing at pulling people in. Watching her not give a fuck and be able to seamlessly bounce off of other people's energies is wildly entertaining.

The ML is equally great. He is suspicious of the fl at first (especially because he could read all of her pervy thoughts about him lol), but eventually warms up to her. I would say for the first arc he is mostly a Tsundere, but as the story progresses he becomes more unhinged (I will say that his jealousy and possessiveness are mostly played for laughs, but it definitely reaches yandere level imo.

Lastly, I think the author takes a unique spin on a pretty over done concept. We actually get to know how the Fl gets into the world and I think the lore gets to be pretty intresting.

Overall it's a pretty lighthearted read (mostly comedy), but I you like yandere's I think you'll be satisfied with Kyle.

Yandere Rating*:6.5/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

*meaning the yandere's intenseness

[thegreatyin]

i went digging for a bit and stumbled across the echoes for uncle archibald's legacy- it's an old (dated 2012) fallen london story that was only available to One Person as a reward for backing the original silver tree kickstarter, and it doesn't really have much beyond a few tidbits of seeing veils' perspective via red honey dreams. i think the most notable thing about it is that it was the original source for veils being the vake, way back before BaL was finished and that was all made very evident and very publicly accessible.

anyway. i say all of this because there is one (1) echo from this story that i'm mildly obsessed with:

divorce real.

[house-of-mirrors]

Maybe around the avid horizon if a solar flare from another star hit the doors? (Don't worry about it) Neathbow northern lights...

Would be cool if there were entangled particles in the earth's upper atmosphere and in the neath that reacted with the same colors but that's probably beyond the physics of the game's worldbuilding XD

And Wines mentions the auroras in cricket anyone 🤭

Oooooh what if something like moon pearls that reacted to geomagnetic storms instead of moon phases

The Creditor might even have insight because the rotation of the earth's core is what creates our magnetic field to protect us from solar radiation and produces auroras! Chthonosophy is increasing

i wonder if there's anything like the auroras in the neath with the neathbow colors....

[house-of-mirrors]

Hmm. Comparisons between Classical Mythology and Judgements. Keep in mind not everything is a direct parallel/not every detail matches, but: my thoughts.

The King Who Wars and the King Who Speaks: Ares and Athena. Different aspects of war with battle, strategy, and parley.

The King of Hours: Kronos. Associated with time, and he consumed his child's life to survive.

The Sapphir'd King: Hades. Domain of the dead, riches, and jewels. There are different regions of the Blue Kingdom/Underworld including The White Well/Tartarus.

The Merchant King: Dionysus, of course. From Skies we know the High Wilderness has dolphins... that would be a fun connection to make a headcanon with.

The Black: Janus. There are straightforward parallels in the text with two faces and doorways.

The White: A character symbolizing Old Europe deserves a parallel to a Germanic deity, I think. So, maybe Woden? Associated with wisdom, foretelling the future, wolves, appearing amongst mortals in disguise, and a winter holiday.

The Garden King: Demeter fits well enough, I suppose. However, I'm also thinking on vibes alone about the death of Baldur in a treachery which was a harbinger to Ragnarok (the Liberation of Night).

[szilverer]

bleeding heart, stormy eyes, teethy smile. the clawed captain of the Starlight.

me: damn reisz might get another bout of depression after all this... the delight made the orphanage seem cute, they're feeling That Weight again, and worst of all, they're the type of person that could get addicted to the rose-coloured vision the shattered mask gives & want to live wearing it....

storm himself, god of the zee (??): gotchu fam. worry not. thunder euphoria be upon ye.

me, who only stopped by london to read letters: :0

man. it feels so good when rng gives me major character developments at the most fitting points... finally reached stormy-eyed for the first time right after my ghostie Finally started zailing around & begun getting enamored with the danger of piracy (due to all the explosions, the fire, the chase making them feel their heart beat i.e. feel alive. which is what they crave the most)

So! Evolution.

Evolution has not been treating them well and i love it so much for it lmao. In many aspects it has been like reliving Light Fingers which was. Mildly traumatizing by the end, yeah. I don't think saying goodbye to the Naturalist is gonna hurt as much, but they can't deny they started to care about the guy & they'll be affected by it.

I need to emphasize: Reisz is, deep down, incredibly lonely. Good ol' "lonely in a crowd" syndrome. Ever since LF they were left with a boosted sense of alienation, losing the (already little) ability they had to relate to the average londoner. It's not everyone who goes through something Like That after all. There's like 3 people they can talk about it but they only feel comfortable bothering one.

they foresaw this, ofc, it's exactly why they kept edward alive. alas it's not like escapism bullying him in the nightmare castle instead of going to veilgarden or a pub is gonna fix their alienation issues. prob made them worse actually.

So?? To meet a guy that's going through some fucked up otherworldly shit?? To feel like they're not the only one constantly tossed around by events beyond their control, someone that in in-game terms seems to be playing through an ambition. Someone they can relate to. This is important to them. This friendship– they like to think they're close enough to call it that at least, after all they've been through– is surprisingly important to them & they genuinely want to help this guy instead of feeling forced to do so.

Looking forward to see how this is gonna end 🤭

[pruneunfair]

Women who deserve better, both in story and writting. *Spoiler warning*

Isabella de Mare

Shes who I think of when someone asks me which character has the most wasted potential. She's a horrible human being with no other qualities but that was fine because she was set up at first as this conniving mastermind behind it all, her whole monologe about not putting all your faith in men was pretty badass and she even knew Ceasre would fall out of love with her eventually, girl just wanted that power. Unfortunately authors didn't want her to be smarter or even as smart as the FL so they dumbed her down into a spoiled green tea bitch with a low intelligence stat.

Rhyse Sinclair

Honestly she's one of the better green tea women I've seen, I like that instead of her immediately trying to mess with Edith she's trying to be her friend and actually does a good job playing the role of the sweet saint while dropping hints of her new rotten nature. I think she was originally a sweet girl who wanted the best for Edith until the Author started to influence her more and more.

Iris Van Conrad

Correct me if I get something wrong cause i just started reading this one. While Iris is annoying and just the typical punching bag designed for the FL to basically say "I'm not like other girls." I kind of pity her, she's getting humiliated every which way. In the beginning the FL pours wine on her for insulting her dress and a comment said that was classy? That's literally the opposite of how to handle a situation with class, she's not hard to dislike but not hard to like either, I want to hope she'll become a real threat but it's unlikely

Rashta Ishka

Ah, the iconic Rashta and probably one of the most famous green tea bitches. This girl was done dirty by both the story and the writting. She's the anti-sue to Naviers Mary sue. She was a slave sold by her father, was taken advantage of by one of her masters and got pregnant, her child was then taken from her by her master and he gave her a dead baby he claimed was hers and that's only a slice of what she goes through.

Nobody really likes her, she's regarded as a stupid slave who barges in on the empress, Sovieshu happily takes advantage of her to try to make Navier jealous and her only friend is manipulating her into ruin, all while any chance at her being complex is destroyed by the writers who turn her from a smart grey character/Villainess to another wicked punching bag to be used as a stepping stone for Navier and Heinrey.

Aisha

Basically Rashta but even worse. She never succeeds in any of her plans or schemes and is always one step behind the girlboss protagonist Robelia. Aisha exists to be the "other girl" fans can make fun of. The moment the protagonist shows up, the ML (who I'd beg to differ is the sole conflict and not her) ditches her to be with Robelia now that's she's "interesting" leaving Aisha to basically throw childish tantrums as she fails to be better than the FL and worse yet, the writer justifies Alexandros cheating and is viewed as misunderstood while Aisha still a pick me concubine who's only personality is trying and failing to win over Alexandros.

Minthe

The only one who's not from a manhwa. Minthe is proof to me that no one on webtoon really cares if your a mistress just as long as your the protagonist. She is one of the few character in lore olympus written with acknowledged flaws and reasons to be upset, Hades gets in an emotional affair with Persephone and apparently she's evil for not sucking it up and being reasonably upset, she's often a victim of prejudice by the other characters and is literally called "nymph trash". Even the fans would ridicule her for being upset and getting in the way of the creepy ship between Hades and Persephone to the point of bodyshaming her and being overly happy when Persephone turned her into a plant. In the end Minthe gets a half-assed arc and leaves the story forever.

Diane Poitier

One of the other well written women in historical manhwas. She's treated pretty badly by everyone including her brother and the Emperor who she tries desperately to keep by her side and she wrongfully takes it out on the protagonist Adelheid but whats different between her and other concubines in other media, Diane was there before Adelheid so it gave a reason why she was defensive (not an excuse but a reason). Seeing her break down when Adelheid actually cared about her broke my heart and really showed just how little worth outside of the Emperor she really has for herself and makes some pretty nice character development for herself and died realizing she blamed her problems on the wrong person.