#the bishop of st fiacres or something

[thegreatyin]

my god. that really is the middest man in the universe. my condolences

my personal joke conspiracy theory with zero basis in reality is that every single horny reader insert imagines blog in existence hasn't actually read any of their source materials and they just. have a template they copy-paste character names into whenever people request yandere headcanons and whatnot. i am entirely joking with this statement but also i believe it wholeheartedly

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

Just a quick Evolution moodboard.

Processing the Youthful Naturalist's story (in addition to all that) also motivates me to write/draw/make something in memory of all my relatives who passed away, especially my father who took his life last year.

Plus the involvement of the Bishop of St Fiacre's makes me remember Heart’s Desire -> the Manager (not like I ever forget him, huh) -> despair of wishing to save a dying loved one, and inability to get over it long after, and depression (theirs too, in my latter case), and so on.

Though I don't know exactly what. Yet. But I guess I really need to think about it.

[warabola]

2, 10, 12, 25!

Ask game time!

2. How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?

Maybe this is just me, but have you ever met that person that says your name regularly in conversation, or uses endearments, or finds small chances for respectful physical touch (a pat on the shoulder, back, etc) and somehow makes you feel incredibly seen, heard, or like the center of the world when you talk to them? That's the Director. Specc'd fully into emotional/social intelligence and uses it entirely to get away with being a menace or to find things that annoy their acquaintances. Joking aside, networking is their livelihood, and they use 'friend' fairly freely (and sometimes pointedly). They "know a guy", they "have a friend in that business", they "would be willing to help a friend out".

The Silvered Assistant, meanwhile, is the exact opposite, and reacts to calling someone a friend the same way someone else might receiving a heartfelt confession.

10. What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?

Oh boy. While it doesn't really count as a fact, The Silvered Assistant, when not working for the Director or attending to her business as an Oneirotect, is a researcher and adjunct professor at the University for Glasswork Studies. She tempers her excitement and interest around most folk out of habit, but has a hard time containing herself if the subject of advanced applications comes up. If in the presence of other academics or experts in the field, she will launch into a dissemination of glasswork applied to their field, the application of palindromes in Red Science, anything she's been working on recently. The Stalwart Scholar receives most of this enthusiasm.

The Indefatigable Doctor loves to bring up that one of their rubbery companions overdosed when partaking in amber. Opposite of a fun fact. They'll often have a medical fact pertaining to the limits of the body to share as well. It's best they don't talk.

12. What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

The Heedless Novice loves when people try to come at her or her reputation only to fail miserably, or to fall into a pit of blackmail and politics. There's a reason why she fixated so strongly on the Bishop of St Fiacres after their round in the Marvellous– the moment he started to realize what she did to him was, in essence, pure delight for her.

The Director laughs easily, but you can guarantee a genuine smile from them by: riling up the Bishop of Southwark (particularly embarrassment or harmless things that get him heated); catching the Stalwart Scholar off guard or managing to give him a good case of fuckor; or teasing their newest victim, the naive himbo Uranist Sybarite. That said, all of the above need to be in good humour.

(He's so easy to tease.)

25. What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?

The Director: Very dependent on what you'd consider useless. They tend not to get into things excessively unless it's for a purpose, and there's a whole lot of things they've researched that might seem entirely inane to a bystander, while actually building a very specific identity in the Cabinet Noir. If asked however, they'd likely insist any in-depth knowledge they have regarding Christianity and the workings of the Anglican clergy to be useless and learned largely against their will. The Bishop of Southwark would probably burst a blood vessel to hear his envoy say it.

The Heedless Novice is, unsurprisingly, rather versed in all things ecclesiastical, but particularly the politics of Anglican circles on the surface, as well as the workings and broader politics of other Christian denominations. With how often the scripture is adapted and interpreted in the Neath to account for their... unique situation, however, she rarely has to rely on this expertise in order to perform her work as a Crooked Cross. Memorization and recitation does not serve her purposes as well as mithridacy or being underestimated would; she finds being adaptable and personalizing the methodology to the listener goes much further. She still keeps up with the politics for fun, however.

The Silvered Assistant doesn't have a remarkable singing voice, but does know quite a few sea shanties, urchin chants, and drownie songs, as well as how to emulate the warbling of the latter. She's also by osmosis quite knowledgeable about the trends, artists, and art forms of all the popular artistic movements in London.

[writ-in-violant]

The Sharp-Eyed Stormwatcher meets a friend for tea, as they approach the second phase of the Marvellous:

“Professor,” the Lily greets. He pulls out a chair for Vivian, as though they were some society belle -- he always has. Vivian has stopped giving him shit for it. “How -- ah. I suppose it is foolish to ask how you are faring, as of late.” 

Vivian is aware they probably look…disreputable. Their cravat is askew and untucked. Their vest’s buttons may be mismatched. They’ve pushed up their sleeves, which helps them cool off but bares their scarred forearms to the world. Their hair might still be singed. They’ve never felt more alive. 

“I’m fine, Terry,” Vivian says, hoping their smile looks reassuring and not deranged. “I’m -- it’s close. I placed in the middle in the Honour -- you don’t need to know the details. I’m not even sure I can tell you,” they admit. The Lily -- Terry Leirion, their once-roommate whilst he was paying other bills and Vivian needed help making rent -- narrows his eyes at them. His past, checkered as it is, has given him a fine eye for someone who is bullshitting. 

“Word on the street is that you’re in and out of the Bazaar all the time, lately. Buying up secrets and rumours like nothing else, and selling even your Enigmata. What’s happening, Vivian?” His eyes are serious. He knows how carefully they saved every Searing Enigma they could find, the caution they always treated their hoard of London’s secrets with. Of course he would be the one who caught their behavior, who wasn’t willing to brush it off as the half-mad Professor off on another wild tear. Vivian sighs. 

“Terry. I’m fine. This is -- this is what I gathered everything for,” they admit. “This is it. Everything on the line. Everything on the line in every game. That’s what it’s all about, you see? A prize at the end and a challenge around every corner. My opponent -- no, I’ll not be saying who it is, you can guess if you wish to -- spread my secrets across London.” They smile again. They don’t know how it looks on them. “Now that I’ve dealt with that, I have to cut off his options before we meet for a match. That’s all. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t try something like this, honestly.” They would. They always considered the Bishop of St. Fiacre’s an intelligent, canny man; part of the joy of the Marvellous is testing themself against people such as him. 

“Well. God knows I can’t stop you, Vivian,” The Lily sighs, leaning back. “What else is happening in your life? I heard there was something about you returning to the Royal Beth recently--” 

It’s a mark of how long the Lily has known them, Vivian thinks, that he doesn’t seem too concerned by their return to a state of some confusion and what others term “insanity.” They smile and indulge him in some of their stories, and ask after his theater and his husband. They’re at an outside table at Beatrice’s; Vivian does their best to pay attention to the Lily’s speech, but their eyes keep drifting up, following the tall spires of the Bazaar into the dark. The tea with the Lily is good. Keeps them grounded, keeps them sharp, and they’ll need that for their next few weeks. 

“Vivian,” the Lily says, as they both collect their coats and begin to leave. His eyes are kind, which is never a great sign when someone is about to ask Vivian a question. “What are you looking for? Is it -- will it be worth it?” 

…what was Vivian looking for, huh. Their eyes drifted back along to the spires reaching up in the Bazaar. There were so many answers they could give: when I first came here, I listened to the drownies sing, and learned I was destined for Authority. When I was younger than that, I lived my life entirely at the whims of others’ kindness or lack thereof, and I refuse to do that again. There is a science down here that lets you become greater than what you were born as. There is power at the end of the game. There is a path to Authority. I do not know what it will make me but I would take so, so much to never again be who I was. 

But all of that, even to the Lily, is too much to admit into the stale air of the Neath, so Vivian only smiles. This one, they’re almost sure, is reassuring. “It will be worth it.” 

They’ll make it worth it.

[peligin-eyed]

Ambrose would be such an annoying board member lol. His opinions change regularly depending on what he finds most amusing in the moment, he never shuts up, and he will start vicious gossip campaigns outside of meetings if things don’t go his way. He votes in support of Financial Interests, Preservation, the University, and against the Status Quo. He can be bribed. He will argue with the Jovial Contrarian, engage with Cornelius on anything to do with bones, flirt with September (…or the Jovial Contrarian), and make playful jabs about His Amused Lordship.

Emery doesn’t like meetings and spends the whole time looking bored and annoyed, possibly straight up working on something else while the other board members talk. They vote in support of Revolutionary Interests, the LoN, Hell, Urchins and against Society and the Bazaar. They can be swayed by Obfuscation. They will try to have side conversations with Sinning Jenny or April, threaten to duel Feducci mid-meeting if he disagrees with them, start to doze off if anyone goes into a long-winded speech, and they have some kind of interaction with September and January.

Henry supports a Scientific charter. He tends to take a pessimistic outlook on any issue he disagrees with and will point out its potential flaws or worst-case scenarios. He votes in support of the University, Preservation, the Status Quo, and against Hell, Criminals, and the LoN. He can be swayed by Respectability and interacts with the Dean of Xenotheology, Cornelius, January, and the Implacable Detective.

Liam is trying his best but is in a little bit over his head with the amount of decision-making and responsibility. He can be influenced fairly easily by Obfuscation. She votes in support of Labour, Rubbery Interests, the Church, the University, and against Hell and Society. She interacts with the Tentacled Entrepreneur, the Dean of Xenotheology, the Bishop of Southwark, Furnace, has negative interactions with Virginia, and reacts to the Bishop of St Fiacre’s with a sort of long-running weariness.

Railway players, what would OCs be like in the board room? Whose interests would they be for and against? Would they be ripe for bribery, or would they be swayed with obfuscation or Respectability? Would they have any unique interactions with other members of the board?

Betty would be very disinterested in the board, but would feel obliged to come along because of the players' acquaintance with her. She would mostly be for Urchin, Labour and Revolutionary interests, voting in favour of a charity charter and basic necessities like benches and access in the train cart. Anything promoting Hell or Society would be an instantenous challenge for her.

Betty would be easily swayed with obfuscation, taking it at face value after a moment of uneasy consideration. No amount of respect would get her to agree with you; it might have the opposite effect.

If she is on the same board as Sinning Jenny, she might be seen whispering to her and engaging in an entirely unrelated conversation. With the Contrarian, she sends him a death stare if he comments after being unconvinced. With the Commissioner, the two might share a knowing glance if both of them agree on a matter brought forth.

[demansiabites]

Bishop of St. Fiacre’s runs on autopilot, says something unrelated

[incorrectfallenlondonquotes]

How To Start A Railway Line

The Player: This year’s been a bit stressful with all the mysterious eggs and machinations of greater beings. Maybe we should do something nice this year. Let’s go build a railway to Hell and cause problems for everyone and make people think they’re gonna die and stuff.

Sinning Jenny: Or we invest in a therapist.

The Player: Okay, everybody, hold on, I just lost my cane.

His Amused Lordship: Oh, Jenny, that’s lovely.

Jenny: Or we stop dealing with the devils.

The Efficient Commissioner: Yeah.

Jenny: Or sex ed.

The Bishop of St Fiacres: Dang, Jenny, those are some good ideas.

The Player: Everybody calm down, I found it.

Jenny: Excuse—

The Player: It was up Jenny's ass the entire time.

Jenny: You just hid it behind your back again.

The Player: Railway it is.

[sekarjoget]

The Mayor of London, everyone.

Someone in the forum once theorized that the 7th city would be Moscow (because Metro 2033) and I couldn’t really get that idea out of my mind. If that happens, Feducci might forgo his signature trench coat into something more relevant.

Also, the boys surprisingly bond well over a shared hobby: pestering the Bishop of St. Fiacre.

[irrigos]

ive been looking at a google doc with all the text lmao.

It doesn't say anything about Parabola... the only mention of the council is in this line:

"You’ve become something of a leader almost by accident - to Devils, Rubberies, criminals, trade unionists, revolutionaries. The five remaining members of the Calendar Council (that you know of) and the Bishop of St Fiacre’s."

October would probably be safe from the machinations of the Dawn Machine and the threat of sunlight.... I wonder if there are mirrors enough for her to be in easy contact? It also doesn't really say how the Hinterlands have been effected by things, so I wonder if Balmoral (and by extension, September) is alright... much to think about!!!!!

obviously still thinking about the 5 remaining members of the Calendar Council in the Bright Future. admittedly, it says there's 5 that you know of, so its very possible the rest are still alive, and just in hiding or have quit the council... anyway the ones i think are still around are:

December (not a human) May (already immortal) February (it says they're hiding out near the cave of the Nadir, and you can sell her the location after you find it, so I think she would be safe) January??? (the destiny you get here is called The Mask, and she's always wearing that Janus mask, so that might be fun) August (can't get rid of him)

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

Re-reading Evolution, and it's even better as a whole with some things from the final chapter in hindsight.

These enigmatic metaphors go too well with the Calendar Council's inspiration from "The Man Who Was Thursday" and what its author said: "You ask me who Sunday is? Well, you may call him Nature, if you like. But you will note that I hold that when the mask of Nature is lifted you find God behind."

My mind is passionately gnawing on an AU (NOT meant to be a theory, just a purely self-indulgent fantasy): what if "Death's twin" is literally Life – which makes December the Creator – and the Judgements are merely usurpers (very befitting their usual role of a flawed and cruel Gnostic demiurge who only pretends to be the highest authority) who deposed December just like they banished the Black King of the Adulterine Castle?

Or, if December isn't a deity, simply a rebellious servant (because the Boatman says "we both served the same table once"), what if it was a forced reduction from the former to the latter as a first-warning punishment?

What if this original god of life-and-death truly cared about all creatures equally, but then the likes of the Sapphir'd King decided to devour souls for more power instead of guiding them through rebirth (which Devils reclaimed + which somehow-December-connected frost moths represent) and devised the Great Chain to justify the right of "greater" beings to prey on "lesser" ones?

What if the Liberation of Night isn't an overthrow of natural order but is a return to what it should always have been (before "then the light came") and it's no coincidence that the Anchoress managed to behold god's love and true design only in the darkness? (High-fiving this @gant-eyed-warden’s post.)

What if the Bishop of St Fiacre’s knows it all – and that’s where his hopeful religious devotion comes from despite being a Neathy creature that would never be forgiven and accepted by the Judgements?

...I definitely want to write something about it, but I already have two WIPs, ooooh...

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

My potential Mayors: January. After the Railway, I want to see more of her. And for those who haven’t started it yet, it would be a chance to get to know her in advance. Of course, she will have to conceal her identity and true allegiances with some exterior goals like the Jovial Contrarian, but even as a "mere" ex-Dean of Benthic and curator of the Museum of Injustices she still may have convincing reasons. There’s no shortage of injustices to fight, and plenty of scientific projects that the University doesn’t dare to touch (but players gladly will). The Manager. Maybe his experience and charisma would be enough, but there’s so much more. The Council’s (or his personal) secret agenda. Emancipation of Clay Men. Preservation of Fallen Cities’ history (would go nicely with Monographs and Expeditions). An attempt to save London from the Bazaar's clutches as much as possible, delaying the dreadful destruction that he has seen so many times and lost his own city to. Mental health care (that we all need after Hurlers). A promise to deal with the menace of the Creditor (half-done already, but still). An expansion of the Parabolan War (with something outside of fighting, like Oneiropomp and Hunter’s Instinct for Nightmares – both are definitely his things, and both unfinished), or keeping sleeping Londoners safe from it. After all, if he promises to watch over the citizens, oh dear, he will. Literally and personally. The Bishop of St Fiacre’s. Southwark didn’t succeed, but now Londoners may be concerned that we’re going straight to Hell. Also a good choice if we need a representative of an inhuman species like in recent years. And a feeble hope that Zeefaring will bring back the Dilmun Club. The Honey-Addled Detective. What the Implacable failed to accomplish, only with more Parabolan drugs. And a couple of predictions: ✦ With the upcoming Zeefaring, we’re very likely to get a related candidate. Even more chances since no one represented Docks yet. ✦ An ally of Fingerkings as a counterweight to the Viscountess. Or, alternatively, an avatar of the Chess monarchs, because they’re connected with politics of the Is.

[jane-d-ankh-veos]

The Calendar Board (Balmoral spoilers)

So now we can invite January, April, July, August and September to the Board. Almost half of the Council. Just imagine the sheer hilarity of watching them sit in order out of habit and pretend that they see each other for the first time (especially if the Board Secretary is the only unaware person in the room). My excitement as a CC fan is immeasurable, but the incompleteness is not our way, so let me propose some more: May ✦ can explain what’s the matter with the Debt in the First City as an eyewitness ✦ is already up to something in the Hinterlands ✦ loves checking in and out, and thus will never tire of reinviting the Entrepreneur ✦ Virginia and the Bishop of St. Fiacre’s will be happy to see him again... probably March ✦ one word: coffee ✦ when voted out, will be only thankful because we might have done it another way ✦ no business meeting is complete without coffee ✦ we have plenty of working men, surely they need a friend ✦ have I mentioned coffee? December ✦ has cookies (fresh from the dark side of the High Wilderness), though I’m not sure if I want to try them ever again ✦ we may find out that we have accidentally ventured South instead of West, but hey, everybody loves the wondrous surprises of exploration

[superoffbatter]

Them both being uhhh peckish also helps I think. She's not a Seeker- not anymore- but she Knows.

out of character I keep Unnacountably Peckish at 1 so I can take advantage of a card at zee lol, so I like to slot that into the character. Feels appropriate for someone so obsessed with not wasting time (me, being optimization obsessed and slapping that into the character I'm playing to expose herself to The Horrors to make better use of hers

A lot of the Silverer is uhhh just stuff I do in gameplay and make into a part of the character?

I started the game during Feducci's mandate, got one (1) docks favours and didn't play for like half a decade, eventually losing the account to an email switch = the Silverer got into Fallen London at that time and became a dockswoman, doing nothing of note for years

I log into a new account in the year of the Prelapsarian Exhibition, die and leave the game again = Ushabti Attack kills her during a shift and she dies her first death to a stone sarcophagi, crushed to paste and ruining her fingers trying to claw her way out of its grasp

I play again in the Hallowmas afterward: she hears of the Marvellous from overhearing a confession and decides it's finally time to make something of her life. She lost her job after her fingers were damaged seemingly beyond repair. Becomes a player.

I really become ACTIVE during Estival 2023: The Horticultural Show is her waking up where she becomes frantically obsessed with making the most out of her dwindling time after a brush with something more horrifying then death pushes her out of her depression and lethargy

I get Involved With Seeking but leave to get focused on Completing My Ambition: The Bishop of St. Fiacre's pushes her out of Seeking and this leads her to play the game to the end

Sorry for the OC rambling if that's an issue!

masterly stooge... hilarious. i wonder what's the most offensive part

(hey did I miss some part of the scoundrels arc tho when did this happen?)

the scoundrel was apprenticed to @superoffbatter 's silverer for dangerous training! who then proceeded to climb into their spire, call them a stooge upon discovering they weren't home that day, and immediately beeline for apprenticing their roommate instead. this was all during in-game interactions and dms so don't worry you didn't miss any chapters of the scoundrel's Magical Marvellous Neathly Adventures™©. this is just the first time ive brought it up