Election 1897: Madame Shoshana

When one city falls, the other is crashed underneath it. This is why we find relics of the previous cities. So it doesn’t matter how healthy the city will be.
Now, as to what Shoshana can do to prevent this… she is aligned with factions fighting against the Masters, who are the ones trying to steal Paris and drop it on our heads. So there is that.

Of course, a much more mundane thing she could do is try to get as many people out of London as possible before said doom, but I suppose that would be admitting defeat wouldn’t it?

Would you say the Khanate has been defeated?

Miriam Plenty promises a rest for London - and while it’s eyes are closed will steal it’s wallet and hat. And shoes.

Virginia will administer calisthenics and a tonic, making sure our souls are fresh… and sweet… and plump…

Shosana sees the coming calamity and wants to avert it. If the 6th city is to be kept from our heads best we start talking about it. Now.

I hadn’t thought of that! Just talking about it IS a way to attempt to prevent it. As it is, very few people know of the Damocles sword hanging over their heads, which means less people can do something about it.

If you ask Shoshana about her plans, this is what she says: Fallen London

Focus on love means she most likely plans to prolong London through established means, giving enough love stories to the Masters that Bazaar stays satisfied with London for longer. Of course, some Masters want for the Sixth City to Fall as soon as possible, so it is not clear whether this would succeed. The meddling might also make stories worthless, like what had happened with Jack. Shoshana’s plan is not an outwardly Revolutionary one, but more time for London means that there is more time for all other plans. I don’t see real red flags with Madame Shoshana so far, but we will have to wait for the second week to get a full look.

[quote=Julius de Poisson]Miriam Plenty promises a rest for London - and while it’s eyes are closed will steal it’s wallet and hat. And shoes.

<snip>[/quote]
Mrs. Plenty hardly needs to steal anything from London; the success of her Carnival shows that Londoners are willing to give money generously, and quite willingly, to her. The same might even be said of Virginia, given how many Society ladies eagerly seek out &quotAbstraction&quot as the devils call it. Mme. Shoshana may be serious about attempting to prevent the coming of the Sixth City from destroying London, but it’s hard to see what she could do to stop it.

[quote=Catherine Raymond][quote=Julius de Poisson]Miriam Plenty promises a rest for London - and while it’s eyes are closed will steal it’s wallet and hat. And shoes.

<snip>[/quote]
Mrs. Plenty hardly needs to steal anything from London; the success of her Carnival shows that Londoners are willing to give money generously, and quite willingly, to her. The same might even be said of Virginia, given how many Society ladies eagerly seek out &quotAbstraction&quot as the devils call it. Mme. Shoshana may be serious about attempting to prevent the coming of the Sixth City from destroying London, but it’s hard to see what she could do to stop it.[/quote]

More than nothing. And it is pleasing to see this issue at the very least recognized. This is one of the reasons I voted for the Contrarian, God bless him.

I’m absolutely going to vote for Shoshana as she comes across as by far the most genuinely benevolent of the candidates and has the best motives if a shaky plan. Sadly, of course, we should never forget these immortal words:

&quotThe Fifth’s tales may exalt the Suns, but can never hope to halt what comes.&quot

Yet Lost in Reflections and various destinies show that it is not impossible.
And even if the Fall is entrenched in our Destiny, the Fingekings are not. Those, she can handle better.

Virginia thinks that Shoshana is telling the truth about the fortune telling btw. For her, what makes Shoshana a criminal is not fraud but trespass into things people should not know.

My trouble with Shoshana is not that she is a fortune teller; my trouble with her is that I can’t think of anything else ABOUT her. Her entire platform is this vision of calamity she warns us of, which can only be averted by her election. What a farce. What’s the connection? Why can’t she avert calamity without being mayor?

It just seems like another cash grab. Shoshana becomes mayor, uses her newfound power to put on bigger acts with bigger payouts - chief among them, an ostentatious “calamity-averting” seance - and does nothing substantial for the people of London. That’s my fortune cast.

[quote=Jolanda Swan]When one city falls, the other is crashed underneath it. This is why we find relics of the previous cities. So it doesn’t matter how healthy the city will be.
Now, as to what Shoshana can do to prevent this… she is aligned with factions fighting against the Masters, who are the ones trying to steal Paris and drop it on our heads. So there is that.[/quote]
Popping into this election discussion here to point out, we don’t know yet where Shoshana’s loyalty lies outside of the Shroud. Asking about her platform has her representative reveal that she plans to work with the Ministry, which might lead one to believe she’s with the Masters/Bazaar’s side, but perhaps not necessarily so (the Jovial Contrarian said hi to the constables). She works with Dr Schlomo, but we aren’t sure who Schlomo is with either aside of the many cats in his office (there are theories, but I’m speaking strictly of proven fact here). Her goal to &quotstave off the end&quot is in direct conflict with the interests of the powers that be, but her plan as we know it so far will aid them instead…

It’s all vague and confusing, just like her predictions. I’m looking forward to new information about her that will be revealed next week, I think whatever we will learn will potentially make or break my vote for her. She’s the most interesting candidate, if not the most competent.
edited by silurica on 7/21/2019

I also think that Failbetter should provide a clearer narrative on her - the clues are there, but you have to be a sleuth to put them all together.

Soshana is:
anti-Fingerking
anti-London’s imminent destruction.

She tries to provide solace to people by providing them with emotional closure after a tragic story. For that puprose she sometimes uses fraud, but the final goal is inner peace.

She works with Dr Schlomo to that end.

She can separate truth from fiction.

Cons: she appears to be too scattered to actually convey her message, which makes you wonder if she will be capable to actually put her plans into motion if she is elected.

Am I forgetting anything?

There’s one exception. Say hi to Mr. Fires next you’re at the Docks.

I don’t consider Mr Fires in that since he’s not the majority and neither he is the one holding upmost authority; that would be the Bazaar. But now you brought him up, that is another peculiarity about Shoshana’s plan. Her goal lines up with Fires, but her plan regarding love (stories) is the opposite of his.

I adore London and will do whatever is needed to keep it safe from Paris and the Night. That said, I’m not sure Madame Shoshana will be terribly effective in warding these off as a mayor. That said, I still support her, and for a reason that has received little or no comment: she would, undoubtedly, be the most entertaining mayor our fair city has yet elected.

I was barely aware of Shoshana but she seems to be a quite kind and nice old lady, even if she’s a fraud. She gets my tentative vote compared to our two other horrid choices.

Frankly, I could give a rat’s arse about the fate of London, my interests serve me and when my vote goes somewhere, I’d rather it be someone who can benefit me somehow.

Virginia just has that perfectly cliche look on her, even her slogan just screams it out, I say this is nothing less than a guise for some group of devils to further their own interests, and I’d rather they keep their pungent odours out of the Mayor’s office, which could be grounds for some right and proper under-the-table dealings, that of which benefits Londoners and not some blasted devils!

Miriam Plenty was a fair choice, but she’s awfully corrupt, is she not? She and her connections with the Masters don’t seem like my cup of tea either, and while I appreciate her exquisite appetite for rubberies, she’s got that look of a typical politician; how boring.

Madam Shoshana’s also just as corrupt and filthy, but you know what? It’s just the right sort of corruption London needs right about now, and through this, we can grow a little richer ourselves. It’s the underworld that gets it good, and the nobles who are connected to the underworld like me that get it the best! So I see this one vote to her as a hefty profit for meself.

Whoever said all corruption was bad for London?

Well isn’t Madame Shoshana connected with the constabulary? They say that trying to expose her as a fraud to the police gets the higher ups to immediately silence the matter.

Or maybe she has dirt on all of them. I dunnow.