I doubt there’s any candidate I’d vote for faster than the Barrister, considering all those I’d rank above her are former candidates.
Regardless, she’s someone the vast majority of long-term players have met, who also had a largely positive influence on them.
The most compelling reason, however?
She’s horribly ambitious.
Of course, as others have already pointed out in another thread, we might be looking for candidates who follow the three different martial traditions.
(Similarly to how last year the candidates represented the three artistic schools (Nocturnals, Bazaarines, Celestials), and this year the three philosophies (Anchoress, Unconfined, Implacable)).
If so, we look for candidates who follow:
I personally thought that 1894’s candidates mapped to the three K&C qualities (Savage, Elusive and Baroque).
Mr. Slowcake for Mayor
Mr. Slowcake is the secret lawgiver and dictator of London Society. It is his weekly editorial judgments in Slowcake’s Exceptionals that raise and lower the Notability of the city’s truly important people. He’s also the purported author of a well-studied book of etiquette, Slowcake’s Etiquette. Yet despite this high profile role in determining both acceptable behavior and social visibility, Mr. Slowcake is a “slippery character” who is impossible to contact:
Of course, this is because Mr. Slowcake does not actually exist.
Questions, it’s worth pointing out, which have yet to be answered.
Mr. Slowcake for Mayor is a proposal to, among other things, answer some of these Infernal questions by taking the Brass Embassy’s literary creation to the next level.
London is really due for an immoral Society candidate. The last two elections have shown off Society’s angelic side in its support of the Bishop and the Dauntless Campaigner. You know, the side of Church picnics, afternoon teas, scriptural charades, respectable parties, temperance, and noblesse oblige. But Society also has a side that smells very much of brimstone: parties at the Brass Embassy, fashionable abstraction, hiding your decrepit relatives in the attic, Great Game intrigues, mistreated servants, red honey…oh god, red honey. After the Bishop and Campaigner, another good, moralistic Society candidate would simply feel old hat. I think it’s about time we flipped the script on Society and saw their darker side come to the fore. And who better to flip the script than a renowned man invented by Devils for the expressed purpose of manipulating London’s social scene?
Of course, nonexistence might seem a pretty significant barrier for any mayoral candidate to overcome. But in a city of veteran spies, face tailors, and Elusive Countesses, is it really that much of an obstacle? Becoming Closest to the Great Game involves inventing a fictional retired spy/diplomat named Jebediah Crope and pretending to be him for months:
This leads to the third and most interesting group that Mr. Slowcake’s candidacy would involve: the players of the Great Game. In particular, the spies that serve the Surface Powers, which in turn hunger for the deepest secrets of the Neath and the contents of the Masters’ vaults.
The Great Game is the one faction that has yet to have any role or involvement in a London election. True, Feducci is a spy for the Presbyterate and had “Game” in his slogan, but there was very little, if anything, of the Great Game about him. None of the Wilmot’s End crowd was involved with him, he didn’t have any spies explicitly campaigning for him by being spies, Saint Joshua wasn’t anywhere to be seen, there were no contacts with the Old Man in Vienna, and Feducci’s platform had clear dueling theme as opposed to a chess theme (chess being the universal symbol of the Game). More importantly, the Great Game is rather selfless, in the sense that its devotees repeatedly sacrifice their identities, memories and individual selves for its collective realization (whatever that is). Feducci plays dress up with bandages, but he works solely for himself and clearly does not conceive of himself as a mere piece on a board. Nor has the false Tomb Colonist sacrificed his larger-than-life identity/self to fit his cover (quite the opposite really – his ego regularly renders his disguise paper-thin).
But then, a character who has “Great Game” as his primary identity would normally make a very tricky candidate, because if Mr. Spy is running for mayor as Mr. Spy then he’s doing it wrong. The ideal Great Game candidate would rather be someone who has, in their pursuit of the Game, completely subsumed themselves into a role, a deep cover, a persona - just like your character subsumed themselves into Jebediah Crope. So instead of the spy being the candidate, their cover would be the candidate. They’re not Mr. Spy, they’re Mr. Slowcake, revered master of London’s social scene.
The agent playing Slowcake, in perfectly maintaining his cover, would be doing everything expected of a master spy and everything expected of Mr Slowcake. We’d therefore be seeing Mr. Slowcake as his Devilish creators and his Society fans have imagined him. He would be a pure simulacra, a copy without an original, a map creating the territory. As a successful spy-actor would not let slip his true identity, he could therefore be anyone, and his own character would be of minor importance compared to the greater character he is playing. We could therefore have our Slowcake and eat it too.
Mr. Slowcake, the creation of Hell, would fit perfectly with Slowcake the master spy, because Hell and the Surface nations are already narratively intertwined by a mutual interest in each other. In the yet to be completed story of The Spirifer and the Pianist, the conflict centers on an unnamed spy for the Surface Powers who managed to infiltrate Hell as one of the damned.
[quote=Helping the Pianist]You pass on the message, and ask who she’s trying to smuggle out of Hell.
“A spy. Damnation is the deepest cover. The crowns of Europe are hungry for news of Hell, and I intend to oblige them. Even the old feller in Rome.”[/quote]
So the Surface nations are interested in Hell, and Hell is interested in exploiting that interest. Furthermore, at least one Surface Power has already formed a secret alliance with Hell in order to one-up its rivals.
[quote="Rumours of war"]
A surface power – she names it, and you blink in shock – intends to mint its currency with infernal brass! They hope to harness their economy thereby to the driving engines of Hell. There have been arrangements made at ministerial level.[/quote]
Taken together, this is one of Fallen London’s more curious, yet unexplored storylines: Hell’s growing influence on, and complicated relationship with, certain ambitious Surface Powers. And Mr. Slowcake would be the perfect candidate to bring this storyline from background to foreground.
Lastly, as an aside, if Slowcake’s spy-actor requires some sort of identity or history to fully round things out, I’d suggest the unnamed Surface Spy who willingly damned himself. He is obviously a masterful actor, he is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, he has the highest of connections on the Surface and in Hell, and it’s no longer clear who he is actually working for.
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edited by Anne Auclair on 7/31/2017
I would love The Dark-Spectacled Admiral. We need a patriot, and I always found him to be charming. He really seems to be treated terribly in the shuttered palace and must feel misirable the poor dear.
Then again, The Voracious Diplomat would be fun. Imagine and agent of the dawn machine!
edited by Jack Blackstone on 7/27/2017
The Topsy King! His would make for a most interesting campaign and his agenda could bring some needed ridiculousness to the political scene, especially after all of the vitriol coming from those dissatisfied with the 1895 election results…
Dr. Schlomo - he understands the psychological needs of the people, and wants a London that can sleep well at night under his watch. But he also might have a secret reason for running, connected to his foreign origins…
Mrs. Plenty - a businesswoman/entertainer, she wants to run London more efficiently while providing for the general well-being. But while some characters may know the broad contours of her past, more skeletons may be creeping out of her closet…
Ooh. Widow, Duchess, Manager would be quite an election. I could see the Manager entering politics as a way to go back to his roots, but doing things right this time.
[quote=Churno]The four major acquaintances, all at the same time. If you want a close race, that’s how.[/quote]Some players offed their Repentant Forger via Uncovering Secrets Framed in Gold. The other three would make for interesting candidates.
For some players who played Flint, some of these Acquaintances (e.g. the Regretful Soldier) might now be a stone statue on the Elder Continent.
Wait, do they all become stone statues of you don’t talk them out of it? I was never sure if that story played out with all of them or just the soldier.
The Wry Functionary turning himself to stone out of despair breaks my heart. He’s so timid and sweet.
Sorry to be ‘that gentleman’ but would people mind spoiler tagging explicit Flint content; I know it’s old but I’ve been meaning to play it when I have 120 Fate money. Sorry.
Anyway, I second (or third or whatever) the proposal of Slowcake. All the reasons Anne gave are, obviously, but mostly because I think London arguing vehemently over the merits and demerits of a non-person would be hilarious and potentially fairly satirical. Also, there are so many possibilities with the person portraying them; a snuffer, a spy, a devil amused by the charade and barely trying to hide it, the poor Amanuensis confused and struggling with their sudden ‘promotion’ or any number of other possibilities. They’d should also have name recognition even to players very early in the game, from the entry available in the bazaar if not the watchful or persuasive paths, whilst not being too enticing due to limited interaction.
A Rubbery Man, a Clay Man and a Rat should make for a reasonably open race.
Pretty sure the Rubbery Man would get 50% of the votes in that one, because they’re more ‘Fallen London’ than golems and talking animals.
EDIT: Though maybe a really boring Rubbery Man vs really exciting Clay Man and a really cool Rat?
edited by Gillsing on 7/28/2017
Don’t count your tentacles before they’re elected. I get an impression that Rubbery Men aren’t actually all that universally-loved outside the forum.
A rat, on the other hand… who doesn’t love those charming L.B.s? Or like, maybe not a rat- but 120 rats in a trenchcoat? 120 little Mayors ready to do whatever is that mayors do. Or a Rat King perhaps? One-up that. It’s fair time these little citiziens had their government representative, I say!
The Pirate Poet?
edited by Gillsing on 7/28/2017[/quote]
This is the start of a joke, right?
An L.B., a Clayman, and a Rubbery Man run for mayor. A reporter gets them all together and asks each one, why should people vote for you?
The L.B. says, "I’m a Working Rat, I know how to work hard, and I’ll work hard for everyone in London."
The Clayman says, "I can work even harder."
And the Rubbery Man says …
[spoiler]"SSSSSFFFFROOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!"
:roflmao:
[/spoiler]
[quote=Anchovies]
2. Sardonic Music-Hall Singer. Practical, realistic, accustomed to criticism, and familiar with the struggles of average Londoners. Good at looking after herself, but no experience with managing large organizations. Bohemians, Criminals.[/quote]
She’s not really my cup of tea, but last year’s Hallowmas meeting comes to mind. When you traded her the Kashmiri Princesses confession for a Sinning Jenny’s confession, she had this to say (emphasis added):
Was she joking or is she actually thinking about it?
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edited by Anne Auclair on 7/28/2017
I base my evaluation of their popularity on the amount of Fate it requires to get really, really close to them. Surely FBG wouldn’t price them so high if there wasn’t a demand? Also, they’re more or less unique to Fallen London, and for people who instead prefer golems or rats, there are quite possibly other games to play that better cater to such tastes. Not so for Rubbery Men, although tentacles in general are quite popular.
[quote=Gillsing]Pretty sure the Rubbery Man would get 50% of the votes in that one, because they’re more ‘Fallen London’ than golems and talking animals.
[/quote]
I made a poll to see what the forum actually thinks in this regard. I thought it would be nice to have a little better idea that mere assumptions.
http://community.failbettergames.com/topic24845-poll--would-you-vote-for-rubbery-man-as-mayor.aspx
I just don’t think a Rubbery Man as Mayor makes sense from a world-building prospective. Merely shaking their hand gives you scandal, mobs regularly attack them for petty reasons, and you can whimsically murder them with impunity. The candidate who campaigned for Rubbery Rights just came in third. So, I just don’t see Londoners electing a Rubbery Mayor. The fact a Rubbery candidate would be the overwhelming favorite in a three way race only further shatters the willing suspension of disbelief.
How about a halfway option - a Rubbery candidate who can’t actually win? You know, like a monster-raving loony sort of candidate? You’d have the three electable candidates + the loony. You can’t actually campaign for him, but you could secretly write his name on the ballot (which would subtract one vote from your vote totals). It wouldn’t be hard to make Squidley Johnson a reoccurring part of the election.
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edited by Anne Auclair on 7/29/2017
As much as I love Squidley, I’m not sure a comedy-candidate like a Londoner version of Vermin Supreme is where I want failbetter to put their efforts. It just seems like adding unnecessary work for them, and people who aren’t on forum won’t be “in” on the joke. Better to keep this (highly entertaining) parody out of main game, perhaps?
That’s them squids, they’re the sort of alien guys who have a slim chance to win (do they even have London citizienship?). A tomb-colonist, however…- how about Bandage-entwined Dog-breeder? Best things; bandages (of a a genuine tomb-colonist, unlike some other people) and dogs combined, this is peak aesthetic. (I’m so shallow.) And if he’s got enough responsibility to look after big dogs, he could probably handle a pack of Londoners.