Moon-Misers: Difference between revisions

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== Morphology ==
== Morphology ==
{{Major spoiler small}}
{{Major spoiler small}}
''"'Not locals, the moon-misers. They don't share any biology with us worth speaking about. Internally, they're more like Rubbery Men. Now isn't that fascinating?"''<ref name = "eminently respectable">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}}</ref>
''"Not locals, the moon-misers. They don't share any biology with us worth speaking about. Internally, they're more like Rubbery Men. Now isn't that fascinating?"''<ref name = "eminently respectable">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}}</ref>


The moon-misers hail from the planet Axile, where they were apparently purposefully bred as mounts, apothecaries, and lighting fixtures.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/A_fellow_spirit_recognised|A fellow spirit recognised|Fallen London|}} ''"You mount the glistening carapace of your miser and ride forth."''</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"I've not got overwhelming evidence yet, but I think that they've been purposefully bred. Part apothecary shop, part mount, part light fitting."''</ref> Along with the [[Flukes]] and the [[Rubbery Men]], they were brought to the Neath by the [[Bazaar]] as part of some mysterious scheme.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles an Ambiguous Eolith
The moon-misers hail from the planet Axile, where they were apparently purposefully bred as mounts, apothecaries, and lighting fixtures.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/A_fellow_spirit_recognised|A fellow spirit recognised|Fallen London|}} ''"You mount the glistening carapace of your miser and ride forth."''</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"I've not got overwhelming evidence yet, but I think that they've been purposefully bred. Part apothecary shop, part mount, part light fitting."''</ref> Along with the [[Flukes]] and the [[Rubbery Men]], they were brought to the Neath by the [[Bazaar]] as part of some mysterious scheme.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/The_Pulse_of_the_Principles|Give the Principles an Ambiguous Eolith|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>  
|Sunless Sea|}}</ref>  


Moon-misers are also highly carnivorous, with a taste for human flesh, and the [[Starved Men]] on the roof tend to their appetites and pay handsomely for sacrifices, willing or unwiling.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Written_in_the_Glim|Written in the Glim|Fallen London|}}''"The Moon-misersh draw closhe," [The Starved Man] expectorates. "They musht be fed. You have the honour of shlaking their lust for flesh."''</ref>  
Moon-misers are also highly carnivorous, with a taste for human flesh, and the [[Starved Men]] on the roof tend to their appetites and pay handsomely for sacrifices, willing or unwiling.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Written_in_the_Glim|Written in the Glim|Fallen London|}}''"The Moon-misersh draw closhe," [The Starved Man] expectorates. "They musht be fed. You have the honour of shlaking their lust for flesh."''</ref>  
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''"Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale. You come across that?"''<ref name = "eminently respectable"/>
''"Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale. You come across that?"''<ref name = "eminently respectable"/>
[[File:Lightfingers.png|alt=A hand reaching for a sparkling speck.|thumb|Jewels in the far air.]]
[[File:Lightfingers.png|alt=A hand reaching for a sparkling speck.|thumb|Jewels in the far air.]]
The most valuable product produced by the moon-misers isn't glim, it's '''moon-milk''', a sickly yellow liquid that oozes from their bodies like a venom or plasma.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Sneak_your_way_in|Sneak your way in|Fallen London|}}</ref> This substance has a unique and dangerous property when someone is exposed to it: it causes the imbiber to fall madly in love with the first thing they see, be it a person, an object, or even a color.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale."''</ref> This obsession fades over years, though, and is shallow and obsessive in comparison to real love;<ref name = "ultimatum>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Draw_out_as_many_answers_as_you_can|Draw out as many answers as you can|Fallen London|}} ''"[Moon-milk] is not a convincing forgery; it creates only a shallow obsession that fades after a few years [...] [The Hybrid's] milk is more suited to human ingestion. It will be be able to create something indistinguishable in all meaningful ways from true love..."''</ref> however, if a person exposed to moon-milk is separated from their object of desire for too long, they may go insane, die, or suffer from "avulsion".<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Charm_offensive|Charm offensive|Fallen London|}} ''"Sometimes, this involves separating the test subjects from their passions until they are insane or dead, or 'avulsed',"''</ref>
The most valuable product produced by the moon-misers isn't glim, it's '''moon-milk''', a sickly yellow liquid that oozes from their bodies like a venom or plasma.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Sneak_your_way_in|Sneak your way in|Fallen London|}}</ref> This substance has a unique and dangerous property when a creature is exposed to it: it causes the imbiber to fall madly in love with the first thing they see, be it a person, an object, or even a color.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Eminently_respectable%3F|Eminently respectable?|Fallen London|}} ''"Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale."''</ref> This obsession fades over years, though, and is shallow and obsessive in comparison to real love;<ref name = "ultimatum>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Draw_out_as_many_answers_as_you_can|Draw out as many answers as you can|Fallen London|}} ''"[Moon-milk] is not a convincing forgery; it creates only a shallow obsession that fades after a few years [...] [The Hybrid's] milk is more suited to human ingestion. It will be be able to create something indistinguishable in all meaningful ways from true love..."''</ref> however, if a person exposed to moon-milk is separated from their object of desire for too long, they may go insane, die, or suffer from "avulsion".<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Charm_offensive|Charm offensive|Fallen London|}} ''"Sometimes, this involves separating the test subjects from their passions until they are insane or dead, or 'avulsed',"''</ref>


Moon-milk is actually used by the moon-misers to ensnare their prey when they embark on hunts. The moon-miser spits their moon-milk at their quarry,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Provide_something_writhing_and_alive|Provide something writhing and alive|Fallen London|}}</ref> and the poor target becomes infatuated with the moon-miser, leaving them vulnerable to their powerful jaws.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Hybrid%27s_Moon-Misery |The Hybrid's Moon-Misery |Fallen London|}}</ref>
Moon-milk is actually used by the moon-misers to ensnare their prey when they embark on hunts. The moon-miser spits its moon-milk at its quarry,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Provide_something_writhing_and_alive|Provide something writhing and alive|Fallen London|}}</ref> and the poor target becomes infatuated with the moon-miser, leaving them vulnerable to their powerful jaws.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Hybrid%27s_Moon-Misery |The Hybrid's Moon-Misery |Fallen London|}}</ref>


=== The Moon-Mother ===
=== The Moon-Mother ===
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''"-ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES-"''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Steel_yourself_for_entering_the_Holy_Passage|Steel yourself for entering the Holy Passage|Fallen London|}}</ref>
''"-ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES-"''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Steel_yourself_for_entering_the_Holy_Passage|Steel yourself for entering the Holy Passage|Fallen London|}}</ref>
[[File:Neathroof.png|alt=Large stalactites in a larger cave.|thumb|The roof of the Neath.]]
[[File:Neathroof.png|alt=Large stalactites in a larger cave.|thumb|The roof of the Neath.]]
Moon-misers have brood mothers, which are twice as large as their offspring and possess many more legs.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_list|The list|Fallen London|}} ''"You have to get up there somehow, and find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."''</ref> One matriarch of the moon-misers is the '''Moon-Mother''', also known as the '''Static Star'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Citadel|Light Fingers: The Citadel|Fallen London|}}</ref> She is so large as to be confused for a great stalactite, and her glim carapace is the shade of a dark mirror.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Citadel|Light Fingers: The Citadel|Fallen London|}}''"The Static Star is not a natural formation of stone, but of a darker, mirror-like glim. Indeed, it is not stone at all: it is the Moon-Mother."''</ref> [[Starved Men]] have hollowed out her insides, practicing their Shapeling Arts within the '''Amber Chamber''' inside her using her amber secretions,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Peer_in_the_Amber_Chamber|Peer in the Amber Chamber|Fallen London|}}</ref> and also act as servants of the Moon-Mother to tend to her well-being, revering the Moon-Mother as a highly sacred deity of sorts.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Bring_the_Starved_Men_what_they_need|Bring the Starved Men what they need|Fallen London|}}</ref> The Moon-Mother is also capable of unfurling her carapace into a pair of gorgeous mirror-wings, and when those wings beat, a gateway to [[Parabola]] opens.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Bring_the_Starved_Men_what_they_need|Bring the Starved Men what they need|Fallen London|}} ''"The moon-mother's carapace unfolds [...] you find yourself gazing upon a pair of mirror-wings [...] The wings beat. Between them opens a sliver of shining light. A gap thin enough to pass through [...]"'''</ref>
Moon-misers have brood mothers, which are twice as large as their offspring and possess many more legs.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_list|The list|Fallen London|}} ''"You have to get up there somehow, and find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."''</ref> One matriarch of the moon-misers is the '''Moon-Mother''', also known as the '''Static Star'''.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Citadel|Light Fingers: The Citadel|Fallen London|}}</ref> She is so large as to be confused for a great stalactite, and her glim carapace is the shade of a dark mirror.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_The_Citadel|Light Fingers: The Citadel|Fallen London|}}''"The Static Star is not a natural formation of stone, but of a darker, mirror-like glim. Indeed, it is not stone at all: it is the Moon-Mother."''</ref> [[Starved Men]] have hollowed out her insides, practicing their Shapeling Arts within the '''Amber Chamber''' using her amber secretions,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Peer_in_the_Amber_Chamber|Peer in the Amber Chamber|Fallen London|}}</ref> and also act as servants of the Moon-Mother to tend to her well-being, revering the Moon-Mother as a highly sacred deity of sorts.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Bring_the_Starved_Men_what_they_need|Bring the Starved Men what they need|Fallen London|}}</ref> The Moon-Mother is also capable of unfurling her carapace into a pair of gorgeous mirror-wings, and when those wings beat, a gateway to [[Parabola]] may open.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Bring_the_Starved_Men_what_they_need|Bring the Starved Men what they need|Fallen London|}} ''"The moon-mother's carapace unfolds [...] you find yourself gazing upon a pair of mirror-wings [...] The wings beat. Between them opens a sliver of shining light. A gap thin enough to pass through [...]"'''</ref>


The Moon-Mother exudes a mysterious red strain of moon-milk in the chamber of the '''Holy Passage''', a place of horror and madness that claims, asserts, ''insists'' that the Mother accepts all children and only wishes for them to be happy,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Steel_yourself_for_entering_the_Holy_Passage|Steel yourself for entering the Holy Passage|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Mother_Star|Light Fingers: Mother Star|Fallen London|}}</ref> and this substance can ensure that newly-born moon-misers are smaller than usual for the safety of the parent, though its exact properties and true purpose are currently unknown.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_list|The list|Fallen London|}} ''"There's a chemical they secrete. Red stuff. [...] we can convince that thing that it needs to be a lot smaller than it is now."''</ref>  
The Moon-Mother exudes a mysterious red strain of moon-milk in the chamber of the '''Holy Passage''', a place of horror and madness that claims, asserts, ''insists'' that the Mother accepts all children and only wishes for them to be happy.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Steel_yourself_for_entering_the_Holy_Passage|Steel yourself for entering the Holy Passage|Fallen London|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Fingers:_Mother_Star|Light Fingers: Mother Star|Fallen London|}}</ref> This substance can ensure that a newly-born moon-miser is smaller than usual for the safety of its parent, though its exact properties and true purpose are currently unknown.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_list|The list|Fallen London|}} ''"There's a chemical they secrete. Red stuff. [...] we can convince that thing that it needs to be a lot smaller than it is now."''</ref>  


=== The Birthing Ceremony ===
=== The Birthing Ceremony ===

Revision as of 01:06, 21 February 2021

"There are some things we were not meant to know, they say. But you wouldn't be down here if you took that seriously."

Beyond this point lie spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include midgame or minor Fate-locked content. Proceed with caution.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


"You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."[1]

Moon-misers, or simply misers, are insectoid creatures that reside on the roof of the Neath. Their bioluminescence is visible from London, which has led Londoners to call them false-stars.

Glim-Bugs

"A moon-miser! They live on the roof – you know, the false-stars. Shed their carapaces and glim falls. And on the roof they stay. Even the Masters understand that."[2]

A beautiful, white telescope.
A White Glim Telescope.

Moon-misers are crustacean-like creatures with several pairs of legs, hundreds of dark eyes, and blue, chitinous exoskeletons.[3] Their legs can dig into the hard stone of the Neath, allowing them to walk across the cavern roof,[4] and the blueish glow the misers produce is known as moonish light, which turns apocyan when reflected off the crests of the waves of the Unterzee.[5]

Moon-misers shed their chitinous exoskeletons regularly,[2] which then fall into the Unterzee in a process called glim-fall, heralded by an enthralling purple haze. The pieces they shed are called glim,[6] which is used in crafts and as a currency,[7][8] or is burned as a light source to create glimmering-lamps, which unfortunately also emit noxious fumes.[9] Glim that is sourced directly from moon-misers is called skyfire glim,[10] and is notable for its high quality, and white glim is highly sought-after and is used in telescopes to reveal strange hidden sights.[11][12]

Morphology

"Are you quite sure you want to know this?"

Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

You can find out more about our spoiler policy here.


"Not locals, the moon-misers. They don't share any biology with us worth speaking about. Internally, they're more like Rubbery Men. Now isn't that fascinating?"[13]

The moon-misers hail from the planet Axile, where they were apparently purposefully bred as mounts, apothecaries, and lighting fixtures.[14][15] Along with the Flukes and the Rubbery Men, they were brought to the Neath by the Bazaar as part of some mysterious scheme.[16]

Moon-misers are also highly carnivorous, with a taste for human flesh, and the Starved Men on the roof tend to their appetites and pay handsomely for sacrifices, willing or unwiling.[17]

Moon-milk

"Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale. You come across that?"[13]

A hand reaching for a sparkling speck.
Jewels in the far air.

The most valuable product produced by the moon-misers isn't glim, it's moon-milk, a sickly yellow liquid that oozes from their bodies like a venom or plasma.[18] This substance has a unique and dangerous property when a creature is exposed to it: it causes the imbiber to fall madly in love with the first thing they see, be it a person, an object, or even a color.[19] This obsession fades over years, though, and is shallow and obsessive in comparison to real love;[20] however, if a person exposed to moon-milk is separated from their object of desire for too long, they may go insane, die, or suffer from "avulsion".[21]

Moon-milk is actually used by the moon-misers to ensnare their prey when they embark on hunts. The moon-miser spits its moon-milk at its quarry,[22] and the poor target becomes infatuated with the moon-miser, leaving them vulnerable to their powerful jaws.[23]

The Moon-Mother

"You need to go up to the roof. Yes, the roof. I've been there before, but I'm not going back. You have to get up there somehow, and find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."[24]

"-ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES ALL CHILDREN SHE EMBRACES-"[25]

Large stalactites in a larger cave.
The roof of the Neath.

Moon-misers have brood mothers, which are twice as large as their offspring and possess many more legs.[26] One matriarch of the moon-misers is the Moon-Mother, also known as the Static Star.[27] She is so large as to be confused for a great stalactite, and her glim carapace is the shade of a dark mirror.[28] Starved Men have hollowed out her insides, practicing their Shapeling Arts within the Amber Chamber using her amber secretions,[29] and also act as servants of the Moon-Mother to tend to her well-being, revering the Moon-Mother as a highly sacred deity of sorts.[30] The Moon-Mother is also capable of unfurling her carapace into a pair of gorgeous mirror-wings, and when those wings beat, a gateway to Parabola may open.[31]

The Moon-Mother exudes a mysterious red strain of moon-milk in the chamber of the Holy Passage, a place of horror and madness that claims, asserts, insists that the Mother accepts all children and only wishes for them to be happy.[32][33] This substance can ensure that a newly-born moon-miser is smaller than usual for the safety of its parent, though its exact properties and true purpose are currently unknown.[34]

The Birthing Ceremony

"A Moon-Miser can only be born when the stars align. It must also be coaxed from the womb with a Song of Birthing. Customarily sung by the Moon-Mother, of course."[35]

"Once the baby is born, we must have something to feed it and something in which to wrap it. Otherwise it will not survive."[36]

The reproductive cycle of the moon-misers is as strange as everything else about them. One is born each decade or so, and to herald their birth, the false-stars align in a particular arrangement called the Counterfeit Constellation.[37] The child is then coaxed from the womb using the Song of Birthing, customarily sung by the Moon-Mother and highly dangerous for human throats.[38] The infant then feeds on a strange substance from the roof, the jellied remains of some burrowing ceiling creature called Stalactite Nectar,[39] usually extracted by its father,[40] and must then be swaddled in its mother's silk, called Moon-Silk, while its carapace develops.[41]

The Masters and the Misers

"...and Mr Stones is furious that its box has gone missing again. The Clay twins are tearing the place up looking for it. No box means no moon-milk. And that means our exiled captain won't provide it with the troops it wants. It'll just have to wait for its blessed Sixth City."[42]

A dark, scary building.
The Orphanage

The value of the moon-misers and their myriad secretions has not escaped the attention of powerful parties in the Neath, including the Masters of the Bazaar. There are those among them who seek to use the power of moon-milk to further their own goals for London, and those who would work to oppose them.

Among them, the Mr Fires has a particular use in mind for the moon-misers. As part of its many schemes to ensure that London remains in the Neath indefinitely, it plans to use moon-milk to taint London’s supply of love stories with artificial love, so that the Bazaar cannot extract any more usable stories from it.[20]

Nevertheless, its plan is doomed to failure, as the effect of moon-milk is more akin to a shallow obsession than to real love. For its plans to work, it requires a more potent strain of the milk, so it set up the Orphanage as a testing ground for the effects of the milk by trapping an unfortunate moon-miser in a barbaric contraption that restrains its limbs and brutally extracts its secretions,[43] while exposing many unfortunate prisoners in the Orphanage to moon-milk, driving them to near-madness as a result.[44] It has also attempted to breed the moon-miser with a human host,[45] and it hopes that the resulting Hybrid will produce a more potent milk, with an effect indistinguishable from true love.[20]

A tightly locked metal box.
A Heavy Iron Box.

Another Master, however, has seen a different potential use for the moon-milk. An Exiled Captain from Hell is willing to trade the use of their army in exchange for a sample of moon-milk,[46][47] so Mr Stones abducted a small moon-miser from the roof and locked it inside a heavy iron box, along with a collection of Fourth City love letters from the Gracious Widow it stole from Mr Fires.[46][48][49] If this scheme comes to fruition, London will be razed to the ground by devils, forcing the Bazaar to steal a Sixth City ahead of time, bringing Stones one step closer to its ultimate objective: presumably returning to the High Wilderness. However, this has brought Stones in conflict with Mr Fires, who works tirelessly to sabotage its wicked plan.[46]

Astrology?

"Surface astrologers believe that celestial bodies exert forces great enough to affect people's lives. That's why events can be predicted by observing their movements. Moon-misers must be doing something similar, but I'm not sure what. Perhaps they secrete something into the air?"[50]

A stern-looking woman with glasses.
The Entomological Astrologer

The Counterfeit Constellation is only one of the many peculiar arrangements that the moon-misers can take on. The newly-developed field of entomological astrology revolves around identifying these patterns, and using them to divine the future.[51] The Entomological Astrologer has identified four such patterns, which repeat in a regular cycle.[52] She believes that the stage of the cycle a person is born under can determine aspects of their personality, and that the movements of the false stars can reflect present and future events.[53] Despite any apparent effectiveness of the method. It enjoys little credibility and is treated with outright hostility by more established fortune-tellers, such as Madame Shoshana.[54]

It turns out that the moon-misers can form colonies, which operate as a hive-mind as sorts. Each stage of the moon-misers life-cycle has a role in these colonies, and they all form individual constellations containing members of similar development.[55]

The entomological signs the Astrologer observed correspond with the stages of the moon-misers' life-cycles.[56] They are, in order:

  • Eggs are laid in large quantities by the colony's brood mother, and tended to by the adult members.[57] Their constellations take on the form of a cluster, and the Astrologist describes those with the sign of the Egg as austere loners who can't live in the moment, as all of their focus and time goes into thinking about the future.[58]
  • Larvae are large enough to be viewed from a telescope on the ground. They apparently do little else than eat, and they do not produce phosphorescent light.[59] Their constellations take on the form of a line, and according to the Astrologist, those with the Larva sign enjoy life, enjoy company and new experiences, and leave themselves open and vulnerable to others.[60]
  • Pupae are larvae who cocooned themselves and are waiting to emerge as an adult.[61] Their constellations take on the form of a circle, and according to the Astrologist, those with the Pupa sign are austere, but forward-thinking and ripe with potential for growth.[62]
  • Imagoes are the adult forms of the moon-misers, and are what is commonly observed as a "false-star". They form hive-minded colonies with each other, and tend to the colonies' eggs.[63] Their constellations take on the form of a cross, and according to the Astrologist, those with the Imago sign are collaborative and utilitarian, and can achieve great things together, but often cannot enjoy life very much.[64]

Other known constellations the moon-misers can form include:[65]

A gleaming glow.
A false-star in the distance...
  • The Cedar Tree
  • The Beehive
  • The Rose
  • The Eating Bear
  • The Forked Tree
  • The Cask of False Drugs
  • The Prison Gate
  • The Debtor Asleep
  • The Khan's Stallion
  • The Cantigaster
  • The King of Ways

References

Original by NotaWalrus

  1. Open up, Fallen London
  2. 2.0 2.1 An authority on the matter, Fallen London
  3. Talk your way in, Fallen London "[...] coated in [...] armour the colour of smoked sapphires. [...] You count a dozen clawed legs [...] dotted with hundreds of tiny black eyes."
  4. Light Fingers: Lonely as a Cloud, Fallen London "A moon-miser crawls ahead, all gleaming glim, its powerful legs splitting into the roof to keep it from falling."
  5. Echo Bazaar Facebook, Facebook
  6. Glim-fall!, Fallen London
  7. The Keen-Eyed Lapidary returns, Fallen London
  8. Shard of Glim, Fallen London
  9. What is a glimmering-lamp?, Fallen London
  10. Open up, Fallen London "Some of it is cracked and pitted, but the quality is extraordinary – what they call 'skyfire glim'."
  11. Snow in the Neath?, Fallen London
  12. White Glim Telescope, Fallen London
  13. 13.0 13.1 Eminently respectable?, Fallen London
  14. A fellow spirit recognised, Fallen London "You mount the glistening carapace of your miser and ride forth."
  15. Eminently respectable?, Fallen London "I've not got overwhelming evidence yet, but I think that they've been purposefully bred. Part apothecary shop, part mount, part light fitting."
  16. Give the Principles an Ambiguous Eolith, Sunless Sea
  17. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The Moon-misersh draw closhe," [The Starved Man] expectorates. "They musht be fed. You have the honour of shlaking their lust for flesh."
  18. Sneak your way in, Fallen London
  19. Eminently respectable?, Fallen London "Anyway, the moon-misers exude this stuff. Moon-milk. Acts like one of those love potions out of a silly romance tale."
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 Draw out as many answers as you can, Fallen London "[Moon-milk] is not a convincing forgery; it creates only a shallow obsession that fades after a few years [...] [The Hybrid's] milk is more suited to human ingestion. It will be be able to create something indistinguishable in all meaningful ways from true love..." Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "ultimatum" defined multiple times with different content
  21. Charm offensive, Fallen London "Sometimes, this involves separating the test subjects from their passions until they are insane or dead, or 'avulsed',"
  22. Provide something writhing and alive, Fallen London
  23. The Hybrid's Moon-Misery , Fallen London
  24. The list, Fallen London
  25. Steel yourself for entering the Holy Passage, Fallen London
  26. The list, Fallen London "You have to get up there somehow, and find a moon-miser brood mother. They're easy enough to spot, twice the size of the others and more legs."
  27. Light Fingers: The Citadel, Fallen London
  28. Light Fingers: The Citadel, Fallen London "The Static Star is not a natural formation of stone, but of a darker, mirror-like glim. Indeed, it is not stone at all: it is the Moon-Mother."
  29. Peer in the Amber Chamber, Fallen London
  30. Bring the Starved Men what they need, Fallen London
  31. Bring the Starved Men what they need, Fallen London "The moon-mother's carapace unfolds [...] you find yourself gazing upon a pair of mirror-wings [...] The wings beat. Between them opens a sliver of shining light. A gap thin enough to pass through [...]"'
  32. Steel yourself for entering the Holy Passage, Fallen London
  33. Light Fingers: Mother Star, Fallen London
  34. The list, Fallen London "There's a chemical they secrete. Red stuff. [...] we can convince that thing that it needs to be a lot smaller than it is now."
  35. Ask what she's found in her old research, Fallen London
  36. Ask what she's found in her old research, Fallen London
  37. What does she mean about the stars aligning?, Fallen London
  38. Ask about the Song of Birthing, Fallen London "The Moon-Mother sings the Song of Birthing to induce the larva to emerge. An otherworldly sound. I doubt a human throat could ever reproduce it."
  39. Rush to investigate (Rubbery Crew), Fallen London
  40. Something to feed it?, Fallen London
  41. Something to wrap it in?, Fallen London "Unfortunately, Moon-Silk is only produced at the moment of birth,"
  42. The devil you don't know, Fallen London
  43. Sneak your way in, Fallen London
  44. Charm offensive, Fallen London "Everyone here is in love with something. Their obsessions are generally violent, and the object of desire can be anything – a person, a piece of furniture, a tramp steamer."
  45. Ambition: Light Fingers! - Meeting Doctor Vaughan, Fallen London
  46. 46.0 46.1 46.2 The devil you don't know, Fallen London "No box means no moon-milk. And that means our exiled captain won't provide it with the troops it wants." Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "devils" defined multiple times with different content
  47. Fires' next move, Fallen London "So. Box is opened. Our box. No more. Disappointed. Didn't need glim. Needed moon-milk. Devils interested. Valuable trade opportunity lost."
  48. Open up, Fallen London "You open the box, and something climbs out. Something has a glistening carapace the colour of smoked sapphires. Something is made almost entirely of legs. Too many legs."
  49. Fires' next move, Fallen London
  50. Written in the Glim, Fallen London
  51. Written in the Glim, Fallen London ""They're false-star charts," [...] "Entomological astrology is a new study..." [...] "This is not a parlour trick. My predictions really work...""
  52. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "The Entomological Astrologer passes you a drink. [...] As they move, the false-stars on the cavern ceiling repeatedly form these four constellations. Each reflects one of the entomological signs."
  53. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "Surface astrologers believe that celestial bodies exert forces great enough to affect people's lives. That's why events can be predicted by observing their movements. Moon-misers must be doing something similar, but I'm not sure what. Perhaps they secrete something into the air? [...] Everyone's [...] birth corresponds to one of the signs, [...] I've only been tracking them for two years, I can't determine the sign of anyone older than that without a personality test."
  54. Written in the Glim, Fallen London ""I am not afraid," Shoshana says [...] "just concerned for those seeking an accurate prediction. Mrs Plenty won't have them led astray.""
  55. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "A circle-shaped pupa constellation moves haphazardly [...] they share certain traits with terrestrial insects. Their life-cycles, for one, and their societies for another. A colony, like this one, operates as a single organism..."
  56. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "There are two kinds of entomological sign," [...] "Those which are associated with the more solitary phases of an insect's life-cycle, and [...] the sociable ones."
  57. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "I believe moon-miser eggs are laid in great quantities by the colony's brood mother, and tended to by the imagoes"
  58. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "Eggs are prudent, restrained and solitary. All their energy is channelled into preparing for the future, so they seldom enjoy the experience of being alive. [...] Its constellation is a cluster."
  59. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "Larvae are big enough to see through my telescope, [...] they don't emit a phosphorescent glow. [...] they do little more than eat."
  60. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "Larvae revel in the sheer sensation of being alive, and feel uneasy on their own. [...] The larval constellation is a line."
  61. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "All the evidence points to a process by which larvae cocoon themselves and later emerge as an imago."
  62. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "Pupae are restrained and solitary, but forward-looking and alive with potential. [...] Its constellation is a circle."
  63. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "I believe moon-miser eggs are [...] tended to by the imagoes. [...] The Entomological Astrologer holds out a drawing of an adult insect. [...] The imago is [...] what we see when we look at the false-stars. [...] I believe they share a kind of hive mind."
  64. Written in the Glim, Fallen London "An imago's defining characteristic is their incredible ability to co-operate with others to accomplish things they would never have achieved alone. They're utilitarian, and seldom savour life. [...] Its constellation is a cross."
  65. Map the constellations, Fallen London