Archive of Our Own

I'm a big believer in escapism. I like being insulated from reality, because reality tends to be boring and awful. And depressing. Also, don't think I can't see you guys fucking out of this fic because it's in the first person and you think it's 'weird' and 'not cute' and 'a part of you dies when you see a fic in first person'. I'll have you know, first person is a great way to tell a story. Especially if the story you're telling really happened to you, like the events that I'm about to narrate which are a 100% true and really, definitely happened to me.^[1]  

My own story starts in my house on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I'm an absolute couch potato, and the idea of curling up on the sofa with my dog Muffin (we call him Muffy) and remaining mostly motionless while playing a video game is more appealing than an eternity in Paradise. The game of choice for the afternoon was Dishonored, and it would be my fifth time playing it. That's how Dishonored came into my story.  

My story is about how I literally fell into the story of Dishonored. 

 I'm not actually crystal-clear on the details of how it happened but I do remember the drawing room sort of glitching, like reality was stuttering. This happened just as I started up a new game. And then it was as if reality had frozen or something. Everything had stopped. Even Muffy's fur wasn't moving. Suddenly, everything went black.  

It was really, really dark and there was absolutely nothing. I wasn't scared because I seemed to not have the ability to feel. There were no thoughts in my head.  

Faintly, I could hear a sound. It was like a crank, maybe? A second or so later, vision was fading in too. I seemed to be on a boat in a tower.  And the boat was going up. The waterlock. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realised.^[2]  I was scared pretty fucking shitless, to say the least. The little boat reached all the way up and I marveled at how real it was, for about half a nanosecond, also finding the time to take in all the little details: the guards patrolling further off near the exit (the Wall Of Light one) who didn't so much as glance in my direction, even though the metal bridge plank fell onto the boat with an echoing clang, the rectangular opening in the high roof above me, the balcony behind me, with the guard leaning on the railing, the roof that had been so easy to climb... 

Weak at the knees, I tentatively walked across the plank, my footsteps resounding loudly in my ears, and found a Lower Watch Guard in my path.  

"Right this way, miss. Jenkins is waiting for you just outside."  the Lower Watch Guard said to me before I could react. I nodded and moved past him. Who the fuck is Jenkins? I wondered.  I walked past two men tinkering with the waterlock mechanism and heard them discussing something in low voices as I walked past. After what felt like an eternity of walking (because my footsteps sounded really loud to me), I reached the wide door at the end of the structure Dunwall Tower loomed over the surroundings, standing proud, bathed in the sunlight. I glanced around. A Watch Officer waved me over from the right. 

I approached him and tried to keep my pace normal. I sincerely hoped I wouldn't regret meeting him, although it felt unlikely. I seemed to be wearing a long grey jacket and beige trousers with black boots. I probably looked very drab. And very unarmed. The guard disappeared around the corner and I followed him. I turned at the corner and moved from warm sunlight to cool shade. I could see the river through the grills. It was a glorious sunny morning, a gentle breeze blew through my hair and I could smell the river. Gulls were wailing loudly. 

"Good. You're here." The guard called Jenkins said.  There wasn't a whale oil receptacle behind him, yet. "Finally." he added. He was dressed like a Watch Officer, but he didn't look exactly like one, nor did he sound like one. The world would probably be broken if everyone looked and sounded exactly like the same four people. 

I didn't know what to say in response, so I said nothing. Overhead, the gulls swooped onto the roof of the building. 

"Listen to me carefully, I'm not going to repeat this again. In an hour from now, exactly one hour, go turn off the arc pylon, OK? The one in the waterlock. And then get the fuck out of there. They'll kill you if they find you there. Got it? One hour." He walked past me, making his way along the waterlock exit and up to the tower. Bastard must have not wanted any inconvenient questions. 

I was probably in the prologue, but 'probably' wasn't enough for me. I wanted to be sure. I went back to the waterlock exit. There were two guards on either side of the path, but they didn't seem to notice that I was there, facing them, staring right past them. I could see the gazebo. The guards appeared to be patrolling the area. The Empress was definitely still alive.  

I was certain that I had to disable the arc pylon for Daud and the Whalers^[3]. That meant that they were going to arrive in an hour. As was Corvo, I realised, he'd come (heh heh) a little earlier than the assassins. It was as if a lightbulb flickered on over my head. I walked past the guards. 

Since I didn't seem to be arousing suspicion even though I had stood in the same position for almost half a minute now, I assumed that I appear to be some sort of servant at the tower. And Jenkins the guard who believed that the Arc Pylon was attuned to me...I was a favour. Daud had paid for me to disable the Arc Pylon. The idea should have made me blush and feel fluttery, but instead I felt a literal chill go through my heart. If I fucked this up... 

Past a set of stairs a maid setting up an easel near a table. Up and up the stairs I went, my heart pounding. I glanced towards the gazebo. It was empty. I crossed paths with another guard. He inclined his head to me politely but I simply strode ahead. Through a little gate and I was past the fence, and in front of the tower. I tried to slow my pace and I reached the bottom of the penultimate set of stairs. I wasn't sure I'd be able to enter the building. I didn't know where the Empress was. I wasn't sure what I'd say if I did meet her. Steeling myself, I put a foot on the first step.  

And instantly, a few uncertainties vanished, because at the top of the stairs, with Dunwall Tower serving as an imposing backdrop, was Empress Jessamine Kaldwin.^[5]