Election 1896: The Jovial Contrarian

Fallen London
101

The soul trade is unfortunately legal, but there are many soul takers who find it more profitable to break what few laws London has on the matter. The Constables hunt those villains down, while also spying on the Devils to make sure the Brass Embassy stays within the letter of the law. In this way the Constables play an important role opposing the soul trade, hence why you earn Constable’s favor when working for the Restitution Committee.

The Constables might not touch the Cheery Man himself, but they keep his people in check.

What would the Dockers do the city’s Clay workers if the Constables weren’t around?

Their violence would be far worse if the Constables didn’t keep them in check.

The Flit is home to all sorts of unsavory characters, many of them far less civilized then the Topsy King or the Urchin gangs.

Then there is all the undramatic petty crime the Constables battle. The Velocipede Squad might be a bunch of short tempered brutes, but they protect drunks, chase down thieves, keep tabs on the Devils, and battle arson.

Maybe they could, but it would be against the explicit expectations of the Contrarian.

What would February do without the Special Constables breathing down her neck?

102

[quote=Sir Frederick]Let’s not have any comparisons to present real-world political figures - that’s a powder keg we can refuse delivery of.

D’you know, it strikes me the Contrarian is running… almost a parody of a political campaign. Or, like past political pranksters have done, he’s running with half sensible policies and half satirical ones, and daring people to vote for him anyway. It’s all a little Standing At The Back Dressed Stupidly And Looking Stupid Party… and I can’t say I disapprove.[/quote]

As a shameless Princess voter, can I just say-this is actually the more significant reason why I’m NOT voting for the Contrarian? He might enjoy the game, but he does seem like he’s more familiar with playing it than, say, Feducci is. He’s actively thrilled if you choose to debate him during his own campaign.

I think there’s an angle here, with an endgame where actually getting elected is a trifling bonus at best and not as planned at worst. The easy answer is he’s doing it for a lark, but arguably moreso than any other candidate at the time there was a lot of intrigue going on between the Anarchists and the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem and him behind scenes in the last election he ran for. I think if the flash lay secrets change like they did before we’ll get a sense of the picture he’s operating in, instead of the one he’s publically advocating.

Addendum: Having just read echoes of a more in-depth, one on one explaination of his purpose I admit my theory is…shaken somewhat. But still the smart bet for me.

A constant ambition: The one I feel supports the hidden angle theory the most. Ominously talking about dismantling tools while looking at the Bazaar? A dead ringer for revolutionary sympathies.

Dual purpose: The second damning comment. An apparatus purpose-tailored to blindside constables while ostensibly working on their behalf? Combine that with the flash lay revealing the spy network at his disposal gathering all conceivable information on the Constables-with particular notice to which of them are Ministry men-and it just smacks of a backstab in the making.

A victory yet to be run: Despite affirming his ire against the Revolutionaries, this one makes me doubt my position the most. What if he’s playing the exact opposite game? What if he’s playing at acting as the anarchists’ stooge, when in fact he wants to equip the Constables well enough to &quotwin the argument&quot? In fact if he were inclined to sponsor a sub-Liberation made of rogue Constables becoming mayor would be an ideal platform to start making new friends. And minions.

But that just raises the question of why there is at least one confused Revolutionary still supporting him at the moment. As a whole, I do think his words and actions are pointing to some ulterior endgame yet to be fully revealed.

[li][/li][li]
edited by Hattington on 6/26/2018

103

Oh, that is delightful!

104

Why, did you never play the Affluent Photographer storylets? The Contrarian has always been willing too side with the forces of order when the alternative appears worse.

I also find it interesting that, in the spirit of preserving London’s order, he wants to take the Special Constables out of the control of the Ministry of Public Decency (which largely is controlled by Mr. Pages).

105

It’s a tricky issue. Who are London’s police answerable to? As it stands, the Ministry, and, one assumes, Parliament in general - in other words, to the Masters. Whether one’s goal is to make the police honest and accountable or to weaken the Masters, bringing the police out from under their control is clearly desirable. But the constabulary can’t be a law unto themselves - they have to have some authority overseeing and regulating their actions. The mayor’s office isn’t what I’d consider ideal for that purpose, but damned if I can think of an alternative.

106

Yet he proposes to make them self-governing. As was his first campaign, aimed at a London that would &quotmaster itself&quot.

So here’s the kicker question - is the Contrarian really running a different platform, or the same platform argued in an entirely different way?

107

Referency stuff that may be useful to people without years of Echo Bazaar history:

Jovial Contrarian Confession: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/J.%20Ward%20Dunn?fromEchoId=12858609

Jovial Contrarian Calendar Code entry: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/J.%20Ward%20Dunn?fromEchoId=9201172

Afffluent Photographer: http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/J.%20Ward%20Dunn?fromEchoId=9177140

Investigation notes from Election 1894:
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/J.%20Ward%20Dunn?fromEchoId=9001886
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/J.%20Ward%20Dunn?fromEchoId=9019535
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/J.%20Ward%20Dunn?fromEchoId=9013521
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/J.%20Ward%20Dunn?fromEchoId=9021934

108

Thank you so much! I’ve been curious about the past election and couldn’t find it anywhere.

109

[quote=Sinnouk]
Wonder if it changes with each subsequent visit like Slowcake’s.
[/quote]

Anyone happen to have tested this? I’ve had fearful bad luck with cards today.

110

This actually… makes sense. A revolutionary would want to make the Constables independent from centralized power. What if he is more akin to surface revolutionaries, wanting to overthrow the Masters’ power but not necessarily plunge us in darkness? So, he plays at having no fixed ideology so that his fellow revolutionaries will not ‘fix’ him out of the picture.

Or he might be Cthulhu. One never knows.
edited by Jolanda Swan on 6/26/2018

111

I am also wondering Sir Frederick, if I draw the card I will give it a try!

112

Unfortunately, it does not - at least, the equivalent 10 Reputation option on his card doesn’t.

113

I haven’t drawn the Contrarian’s card since Saturday and I can’t seem to view people’s journals.

Is there an alternative way to view the updated snippets?

114

The Contrarian isn’t really a reformer - it would be more accurate to describe him as a gradual revolutionary seeking to use the system against itself. Contrast his sabotage approach with last years reform candidates: the Dauntless Temperance Campaigner and the Implacable Detective.

The Campaigner wanted to enact regulations that would make it harder for the Masters and businesses leaders of London to exploit people (people in her case including Clays and Rubberies), while also establishing a social safety to aid alcoholics and honey addicts. These reforms would have weakened the Masters, in particular Wine and Spices. The Detective wanted to make the Constables far more effective at policing London, to an absolutely terrifying degree, which would have presumably weakened the criminal and revolutionary elements. In neither case was there a secret agenda contrary to the official platform.

Unfortunately Feducci won, so we got a gambling hall in the Mayor’s residence :P

115

Hey now, you also signed over a huge amount of valuable blackmail material and (potentially) control of your military to a rogue agent of an unfriendly foreign government.

116

[quote=Anne Auclair]
Unfortunately Feducci won, so we got a gambling hall in the Mayor’s residence :P[/quote]
And a suspicion free way to get favors with revolutionaries, and a simple way to get small amounts making waves without going out of your way to get that little bit. Also blackjack.

117

Hey now, you also signed over a huge amount of valuable blackmail material and (potentially) control of your military to a rogue agent of an unfriendly foreign government.[/quote]
Ah, incorrect Gul. Two unfriendly foreign governments.[/li]

118

(in-character election plea II -
an Outlandish leaflet, distributed in the Flit, in some Dockside taverns, and in some hidden radical cafès in Veilgarden.
Do you know if there is a way to write a Political Edition for a Newspaper ?)

&quotElections: the sensible, far-sighted and kind-hearted choice: the Jovial Contrarian&quot

Good Ladies and Gentlemen,
in the epic debate of authority against freedom,
the Jovial Contrarian has managed to produce the best position:
As Hegel said, when you have a thesis, and an anti-thesis, the best solution is synthesis!
The Constables would get more resources and a dedicated system! Rumormongers worry that they could also lose some effectiveness deriving from the current centralization… and even if that outlandish claim were true, it would be but a small price to pay: to make them less of a tool of the Masters!
Which means, in fewer words: the Constables would actually work on the side of the people, for a change!

And since the Contrarian has the wisdom to see both sides of an argument, he can see the limits of any position: so you would never end up in simplistic pitfalls like ‘absolute anarchy’ or ‘absolute authority’.

Honestly, why would anyone vote for the shiny self-centered Princess? It makes no sense. Are you rich and careless enough characters not to care? Do you consider yourself to be a part of the aristocracy, that would certainly benefit even more from her government? Can you claim to know the depths behind her charming, silly (and authoritarian) self? Dark snippets of intelligence from under the palace say she is &quotbeyond human&quot, and partakes of human flesh…
Or why would anyone vote for a menagerie of soul-stealers that are busy spying and collecting information on the citizens? The deception of Slowcake is clever as it is chilling to the bone! The so-called &quotSlowcake&quot promises a bunch of dreams, while having a total lack of transparency.
The Jovial Contrarian is a good, old, human Londoner that cares for his fellow citizens. Given the alternatives, he is the obvious best choice.

&quotNext issue: In the Southern Archipelago, are the lights on the coastline always out because the inhabitants seek the way SOUTH?&quot

119

Voting Contrarian with both my characters this election. Not a big fan of the monarchy or hell but revolutionaries I can dig.

120

Anyone willing to increase a fellow contrarians reputation?