bruno
@bruno

It's fairly frequently that we don't use or mention something that is historically in-period for Fallen London because players would think it's anachronistic. Examples of such things include semi-automatic pistols (definitely a thing you could buy in Europe in 1899). There's one bit in FL where you run into a saxophonist and the only reason that flies is because he's a Devil, and Devils in the FL setting are culturally unstuck in time (even though saxophones had existed for a long time in the period). This phenomenon is a byproduct of the simplified and often incorrect way people conceptualize history.

But one thing that falls under this rule that I am often sad I can't use is the word 'dude' (first attested in English in 1877).


MrMandolino
@MrMandolino

Extremely good lesson in how writing stuff set in the past is often about conforming to audience expectations rather than reality, in that post up there

The past is rarely what we picture it to be



You must log in to comment.

in reply to @bruno's post:

Funny enough, the English (and Europe in general) treated cowboys and their revolvers in the 1890s like we treat samurai and their katanas in modern America. Bram Stoker putting a cowboy in Dracula is like a modern author putting a samurai in modern western fiction.

in reply to @MrMandolino's post:

only barely related but i am always so quick to share the 1961 "Car 54 Where Are You?" episode where they frequently use the phrase "gaslight" in the precise same way we do today, whenever people claim its use in media is inaccurate.

Pinned Tags