After doing some investigation, it’s becoming somewhat clear that all the candidates have certain things going on beneath the surface (and in Fallen London, I’d be downright disappointed if they didn’t)
[spoiler]Sinning Jenny
Her campaign is ostensibly the most humanistic, which contributes strongly to her appeal. However, she started being bankrolled by Mr. Wines, but she seems to have broken ties, or at least traceable ties, to the Bazaar. Her connection to the nuns is interesting, as is her(their) amassing of secrets. Clearly, she is in a strong position to be a powerbroker, ostensibly with charitable intentions. Jenny is quite possibly the most compassionate soul in London, though she’s a survivor as well, and capable of being quite ruthless. Truth be told, though, in my experience in Fallen London, the choices I’ve made from the heart have been among the most dangerous, depraved, and vicious… and I consider the nuns an unknown angle (possibly more info from other Ambition paths I haven’t taken?) it’s clear they are something in the way of monster hunters, and they seem far more concerned with the state of the spirit than the flesh. While there’s plenty of horrors that go bump in the night in the neath, I have to wonder how many other factions comprise their enemies list.
The Jovial Contrarian
The Contrarian has an appealing byline of rationalism, though his allegiances and positions seem murky and changeable. He has links to high society, but also the anarchists, and was being bankrolled to some degree by the Calendar Council, though like Jenny he has apparently cut ties. More strangely, the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem seems heavily entrenched in his campaign, which raises some questions in itself… the manager has some links to not only Parabola, domain of the Fingerkings, but also some reasons to dislike the Bazaar and maybe some links to Polythreme (again, my knowledge is a bit spotty for not having chosen to pursue the Heart’s Desire Ambition). Is this implying the manager is willing to take the nuclear option for supporting the Council against the Bazaar? Or even stranger bedfellows? The Contrarian himself seems desperate to chart a more moderate path of his own choosing, if at all feasible.
The Bishop of Southwark
Is a well-known loony with an axe to grind against hell - well, he has good reason to hate the Devils, really… Anyone who invaded during the War does (though most, including the Regretful Soldier, would consider a second war the height of folly). But he doesn’t seem to have much vision beyond his Ahab-like obsession with conquering Hell, and has largely been played as a buffoon in the past. Despite apparent popular supports from the Oarsmen in the game setting, most of the player don’t consider him at all seriously. Given that Devils are at least partially bankrolling his campaign, it seems likely they don’t take him too seriously either. Or they’re actively courting a dust-up, and he’s something of a Manchurian Candidate (which seems like a popular theory currently, but I don’t think it makes a lot of sense in the context of the factitious natures of devils, and the general disorganization of Hell following the Season of Revolutions). I still need to do a flash lay to learn more secrets of the Bishop’s campaign. {Edit:} Less tawdry than the others - the Bishop lost someone who he loved, and that’s the greater cause for his enmity to the Devils than his religious convictions or his own suffering as a POW.
Updated 7/12
Sinning Jenny
Jenny’s campaign is flush with cash, and apparently the wine is flowing freely at donor luncheons. It appears in addition to collecting secrets and blackmail material, her campaign is engaged in actively compromising as many of their opponents as possible. She has a number of appointed positions planned for various persons who have likely in engaged in providing these secrets. Jenny is also engaged with something to the East (due East, Abbey Rock itself is SW of Wolfstack) - the Khanate? And she’s providing information to them… perhaps it’s not blackmail material for her campaign after all? There are other forces at work on London and the Admiralty, if you’ve played through the Wry Functionary’s story.
The Bishop
The Bishop’s campaign funding is dwindling, but it appears more focused and active than before, with apparent support coming from St Dunstan’s - in the form of secretly collected information. The Bishop plans to publish actual data on the soulless, which is likely the biggest bomb he could possibly drop on the devils in Fallen London. It seems he has at last cottoned onto the the infernal infleunces within his campaign, and his doing his d___dest to cast them all out. However, there remains the mystery of the poet and the Bishop’s lover…
The Jovial Contrarian
Appears to be running an efficient campaign, but has recently been making contributions to both the Bishop of Southwark and Sinning Jenny. Is he really trying not to win, or does this somehow play into the Contrarian’s ideas of democracy - or just his generally capricious nature? The Contrarian has reorganized his campaign staff. The Manager is now gone… mother of G_d… replaced by none other than February! It seems the Contrarian may now be something of a prisoner within his own offices. (Which would explain him trying to help his competitors win.)
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No matter who wins, the results seem likely to be interesting.
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edited by Pnakotic on 7/7/2016[li][/li]
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edited by Pnakotic on 7/13/2016