District 4 - Public Opinion Rolls

don't you pray?
don't you pray?
to a cocaine jesus

#1: 50% of the Public approves of you: dice=3
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[1 : clear]

The numbers look good. Ravi has his best people keeping an eye on it: his accountant, his actuary, his bookie. A census worker he keeps on his payroll. Clearing 50% approval was a snap. Ravi La Torre has business with damn near half the district, anyhow. For what the 70th Hunger Games had cost him, they'd certainly been paying dividends in public opinion and brand recognition ever since.


#2: Kiss a baby and it doesn’t cry: dice=5
1-5
[2 : clear]

He's never known what to do with kids. What they want, how they act, why — for the love of all his money can buy — is it making that infernal screeching? This is the only part of politics that puts Mr. La Torre out of his comfort zone. What was the point of holding a stranger's baby, anyhow? To prove that his bloodstained hands are deft enough to con an infant into giving him its trust?


#3: Meet secretly with your rival candidates and spin the media to your side: dice = 7
1-7
1-7
[4 : clear]

One great perk of wealth is having people to do things for you. For someone as important as Ravi La Torre, sending someone else as a proxy for things like collusion and bribery was more than just convenience — it was protection. From boredom more than anything else.

#4: Pass a thorough physical inspection from the Peackeepers: dice=9
1-9
[5 : clear]

At fifty, Ravi La Torre is still a picture of perfect health. Relying too heavily on hired help, on hired muscle, had threatened to render him soft once upon his twenties. Never again. A man could still be frightening even if he wasn't physically imposing, but Ravi sees no reason to take the chance. When it comes down to it, man who can snap necks, smash skulls for himself has more power than one who cannot.

#5: Print your speech in the local paper to rave reviews: dice=11
1-11
[1 : clear]

His speech had been direct and subversive, challenging the constituency to draw Ravi's conclusions for themselves. Trusting the voters to think critically had forced the shipping magnate to put more faith in the population of District Four than he had for them, but the risk paid off. In the weeks that followed, his words were widely talked about, widely shared.

#6: Avoid a scandal implicating you with a local beauty: dice=22
1-22
1-22
[3 : clear]

Some punk with five freshly broken fingers had the great idea to snap a picture of Ravi La Torre exiting a strip club, in an attempt to sell scandal to the press. In truth, it had been a business call that Ravi was making — perhaps a worse implication than the spun story. He'd learned long ago that the press, the public were easy puppets: nothing was improper so long as he did not feign regret for his actions.

#7: Successfully raise $1,000 in campaign funds: Peacekeeper informant disappears; last seen alive in public altercation with campaign staff: dice=21
1-21
1-21
1-21
[fail]

This was nothing Ravi couldn't make disappear with a wave of his wallet. A few well-placed bribes here, an official to disgrace, a scapegoat to recruit — his people had made dozens of bigger problems disappear before; this one would be no different.

[6/15 cleared; new character +2 = 8/15]