Mr Cups

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"Work hard for the enrichment of the Bazaar, and us all. Shun seditionists. Practice courtesy & honesty."[1]

"'Crockery, pottery, sculpture.'"[2]

The distant and proper Mr Cups is in charge of trade in crockery, pottery, and sculpture. It is notorious for its formidable hoards of various odds-and-ends, such as First City Coins[3] and other knick-knacks,[4] and indeed, its parlor is filled to the brim.[5] It employs a group of rag-and-bone men known as Relickers, who pay Londoners for their junk and certifiable scraps.[6]

Mr Cups is also in charge of London's timekeeping systems, and is rather possessive over its monopoly.[7] This may be the reason why it and Mr Wines drove the Watchmaker's Daughter, a talented craftswoman whose toys came alive, to suicide.[8]

In the Sunless Skies timeline, Mr Cups is called the Saint of Chalices by the Cult of the Sanctified at Avid Horizon.[9]

Mr Mirrors?

Under the alias of Mr Mirrors, Mr Cups is in charge of trade in "the frangible and the fine;"[10] this includes fine or quality secrets, unlike the more affordable variety proffered by Mr Pages.[11] It also runs Mr Mirrors' Marquee of Mystification, a collection of past electoral memorabilia - though this has been shuttered since mayoral elections have been ceased.[12]

Mr Mirrors sides with Mr Wines in its dispute over dreams with Mr Spices,[13][14][15] and it sometimes acts as an arbiter for certain Parabolan matters.[16] According to Mr Cups' noman at Sacksmas, who is in turn pretending to be Sacks-Mirrors, Mr Mirrors wishes to reflect dreams, not rule them.[17]

The walls of Mr Mirrors' parlor are covered with mirrors, each one with a single shard missing.[18]

The original Mr Mirrors disappeared from the Neath sometime after the Fall of London, and Mr Cups took over its identity in its absence.[19]

An Eye for an Eye

"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.

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"The Bazaar's dream is a folly! Its message will be spurned, and when it is, its heart must not break, but ignite! For vengeance is hot as love! Let it suffer, and let the sun suffer – as I have suffered over the span of five cities!"[20]

A blade forged in your heart.

As part of a grand, mysterious scheme, Mr Cups hired an assassin named Scathewick to murder seven particular people on the Surface in a bid to lure their vengeful loved ones to the Neath. These Surface-dwellers would then either give up on their vengeance or die trying,[21] and their tragic tales would be etched into the spire of the Bazaar alongside its other stories by the Lady in Lilac, who was coerced into doing so by Mr Cups.[22]

Ironically, Cups' own motivation for this complicated scheme also happens to be revenge. It has grown tired of serving the Bazaar over the course of five Fallen Cities, and it now thinks that the Courier's mission of saving the Sun with its Message will fail. By tainting the Bazaar's collection of love stories with stories of vengeance, Mr Cups hopes that when the Bazaar's Message is inevitably spurned, its heart will "ignite" instead of break, causing both it and the Sun to suffer as Cups itself has suffered during its time in the Neath.[23] Mr Cups does not feel remorse or regret for what it has done, and it will certainly not apologize,[24] but its seventh story of vengeance still remains unfinished...[25]

References

  1. https://twitter.com/Mr_Cups/status/6858682481
  2. Mr Cups, Fallen London
  3. The Master's Voice, Fallen London
  4. Incarnadine Fur Robe, Fallen London "Mr Cups collects wares from across the Neath, almost indiscriminately. Almost."
  5. Incarnadine Fur Robe, Fallen London "The ceilings of Mr Cups' parlour soar high above you. The walls are lined with vast display cabinets, filled with crockery, pottery, and sculpture."
  6. The Shivering Relicker and Pinnock are Trundling By, Fallen London
  7. The trade in clocks, Fallen London
  8. Go back to the Albino Rat, Fallen London
  9. The crowning of the saints, Sunless Skies
  10. https://twitter.com/Mr_Mirrors
  11. https://twitter.com/Mr_Mirrors/status/7413027673
  12. Visit Mr Mirrors' Marquee of Mystification (free), Fallen London
  13. https://twitter.com/Mr_Mirrors/status/17503960300
  14. https://twitter.com/Mr_Mirrors/status/17505262391
  15. https://twitter.com/Mr_Mirrors/status/17506280497
  16. Lost in Reflections, Fallen London "A word in the right ear will soon reach Mr Mirrors. [...] 'Dear Friend: [...] Anarchy is quelled. [...] – MIRRORS."
  17. Day 5: Mr Sacks, purringly, Fallen London
  18. Incarnadine Fur Robe, Fallen London "The room is covered with a tessellation of mirrors. [...] all have one thing in common [...] a shard of glass has been removed."
  19. Hand over a multitude of scraps for a Rumourmonger's Network, Fallen London
  20. Demand an explanation (from Mr. Cups), Fallen London
  21. Demand an explanation (from Mr. Cups), Fallen London ""You were one of seven. You were to take your vengeance on Scathewick and be satisfied. But you weren't! You didn't stop! You never stopped!""
  22. Ask Mr Cups about Lilac, Fallen London "I commissioned her to ink seven stories upon the Bazaar. Of love; of vengeance. She resisted at first. I was forced to be persuasive."
  23. Demand an explanation (from Mr. Cups), Fallen London "The Bazaar's dream is a folly! Its message will be spurned, and when it is, its heart must not break, but ignite! For vengeance is hot as love! Let it suffer, and let the sun suffer – as I have suffered over the span of five cities!"
  24. Does it feel remorse?, Fallen London
  25. Ask Mr Cups about Lilac, Fallen London