Cambridge Dictionary says "admiration felt or shown for someone or something that you believe has good ideas or qualities".
                   I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but your question got me thinking.
And I guess that is what Bodie is trying to brew within Vine:   That Vine (and, due to this 'infectious' nature of the Gift, those she comes into contact with)  will feel a deeper admiration for Bodie, and will view Bodie's ideas and qualities in higher esteem than others.

I guess Bodie/I wish Vine to consider her a 'better option' than any other political candidate.  I do not expect her to 'give up her race' and throw her support behind Bodie (although that would be fine, also), but that she will likely do so IF she doesn't progress.
As it is infectious, I hope that it will influence others she infects with this 'great respect for Bodie Queen' ... maybe even causing them to see Bodie in higher esteem than Vine even.

Does that make sense?
Does that answer your question?

Cool, just wanted to establish the parameters of what behavior rather than emotion Bodie was going for. Vine is fierce for a mortal but functionally has no chance of resisting you.

Debated calling for a quick Wisdom Check but egh, no need. Bodie suspects that (without Gifts or Effort) in two weeks Vine will fall in line without so much as a grumble, she'd like the other Democrats to cave and back her so that the general election is her and Bodie but half a loaf. Popping the Effort is going to make her zealous and she's known for putting her foot in her mouth already. You can still totally do it but if you'd like to hold onto the Effort from the context that's fine.

How granular with her are you wanting to be? Do they hash out specific planks of the platforms or should I move onto the next guest of honor's arrival?

I am happy for the narrative to have the two ladies continue chatting.
Bodie is simply attempting to ‘thaw the ice Queen’ out some with general Charisma (and associated rolls), and feed the effect she has created with her Gift.   

Getting Vine properly primed isn't terribly hard. Her main policy drive in terms of cost can be folded in pretty easily, although locating enough lawyers interested in the jobs could be tricky. Hard agreements elude but Bodie knows she has her hooks in.

Graff's arrival half an hour later is presaged by a text from Lucinda.

Boring incoming, boring incoming.

Brown skin, brown hair, brown eyes, brown suit, about the only other color on Graff is his stark white teeth and dark blue tie. He looks about the cafe for a moment, even after spotting the roped off section. After he makes his way over and takes a seat his order is a coffee so complex it's closer to a science experiment.

"So, I take it you'd be upset if I try to hire Ms. Fare away from you?" he asks Bodie in BBC perfect English.

"You are absolutely welcome to try, good sir", Bodie replied to Graff as he joined them.
"I must admit to being curious what it would take".


Bodie has both these folk here for networking purposes;  to 'get her hooks into them' (as she had been doing with Vine, before Graff's arrival.
She was using her Political leverage, her personal charm, and her supernatural abilities to sway their Passions.

While she had used 'Infectious Passion' to influence Vine (and the people she'd have strong contact with in the hours after she left this meeting),  Bodie wanted to influence Graff more directly.
So, during their meeting*, she will Fashion a Friend.
        *I don't need to role-play this out in detail, unless you feel we should

Fashioning a Friend
Commit Effort for the scene to beguile a visible creature, inspiring it to feelings of friendship and cooperativeness towards you. It will not question these feelings, however irrational, and they will persist until you obviously betray it or do it blatant harm. Lesser foes have no resistance against this power, while worthy foes can save versus Spirit to avoid the enchantment.

Bodie had invited both these folk to the table today, so it was her shout, and she was paying for whatever they had from the cafe.

"I have. It was the most endearing rejection I've seen."

Graff's mind is a very pretty and intricate vessel but he's about as rugged as a ski lodge with wagyu beef and a movie theater. Influencing him is a far easier task than Vine, to the point that she might get most of the extra votes she needed to be sure from him within the day. If she presses him to concede at least.

The tab is pretty minor, neither of them came here expecting and meal and even with local prices the total was a matter for campaign petty cash.

Bodie would be, even though they gathered at a cafe, the perfect host.  She worked with wit and charm to make both her guests feel comfortable, while diplomatically and delicately working towards drawing their individual support.

Vine, Bodie simply wanted to impress enough that she would, later on, speak highly of Bodie to those who would need to shift their voting allegiance in a few weeks.
But Graff, Bodie worked gently but inexorably on: helping him to 'realise' the potential of his own longterm desires lay with Bodie Queen ... and the best thing he could do, as soon as possible, would be to throw his own weight in behind her.

Vine realized what Bodie was doing to Graff but seemed more amused than anything. Her opinion of the woman was high, her opinion of the man was not. Given what Lucinda had said about Ayers there is pretty much no chance of Vines building a successful coalition now.

Graff was very fine material but malleable as putty. It would probably take a few days, his backers really prefer in person meetings over paper trails, but the establishment candidate would be throwing in behind the renegade. One might feel bad about the bridges he'll have burned by the end of the week but such was the nature of having political masters.

Lucinda sent a text to Bodie after roughly an hour.

'This is your excuse to wrap things up. Pretend someone important is looking for you.'

“Excuse me”, Bodie said to her companions, “This may or may not be important”.

Txting back to Lucinda, she asked,  ‘When is the music concert; tonight, or tomorrow”.

“Yeap, duty calls, I am afraid”.   With a smile, to said goodbye to Vine and Graff;  “Thank you both for coming, I feel we have many positive prospects ahead of us.
Please call me, if you’d like to chat further on anything”.

Unless something kept her, now, Bodie was joining back up with Lucinda, and headed for the office.

Bodie managed to make her excuses and they departed as amicably as one could expect. She spotted several people snapping photographs and videos on their phones, this would be all over local news shortly.

Lucinda was waiting half a block away in a powder-blue BMW sedan, she'd decided to play chauffeur today.

"Hey boss. Concert is tomorrow, I'm kind of against double booking a day with important events," she said cheerfully, "Everything go well?"

This was true, and inevitable.   And Bodie Queen wasn't inclined to let the inevitable go by without making the most of it.


"As well as can be expected, Lucinda.  Thank you.
Excuse me a moment, though".
Bodie made a phone call.

People's Champion
Your contacts are tremendously useful ... You can always find a local contact appropriate to your background if it's remotely plausible, and this contact will always be able to offer as much help as a normal human in an important position could offer.
Vanessa McCall was an old friend of Bodie's from the proverbial 'way back'.  Now, Vanessa was 'in an important position' within the news media; and always willing to lend her good friend any help she could.
"Vanessa, its Bodie.   Listen, theres going to be public footage available of me meeting Vine and Graff today.   Could you please make an effort to snag me the best you can, and arrange for it to be on the hotline tonight?
But ... before it goes to air, can I come over and see it, please.   I'd like to see what it looks like before you broadcast it"
Assuming that Vanessa was able and willing to do all this, Bodie thanked her profusely, and said, "I'll swing by Bernies Beans and bring you a late afternoon pick-you-up along the way".

Then, taking her 'work hat' off, Bodie sighed and relaxed into the seat of the BMW.  She lolled her head towards Lucinda and said, "Dinner tonight?"
It was ALWAYS Bodie's shout ... one of her many little ways of showing her Personal Assistant her appreciation for everything Lucinda did.
They also had a rule at 'Dinner tonight':   no shop talk.

Vanessa McCall went back and forth for a few minutes. Ultimately she agreed to a two hour preview after they had a finalized version. Letting a candidate green light would open up all sorts of criticisms for the station and Bodie. Still, it'd give a good head start to her staff.

"I've got some recording to do," Lucinda warned, "But that should only be an hour or so. Late dinner okay with you?"

Lucinda had, long ago, earned Bodie's respect:  and Bodie never needed to question Lucinda regarding her 'work hours' ... and Lucinda had autonomy when it came to her own time off.
Bodie smiled when Lucinda talked about there 'recording'.   Her music as important to her, and Bodie was always happy for Lucinda to focus on that, or any other form of self-care:  knowing that Lucinda was always just as focused on her job as she was on her private life.
"I'll call.  Lets say 10.30?"
The two were well known and taken care of at their usual haunt:  'The Thoughtful Pig', a small family run business who appreciated their regular business, and always made a private table available when requested.

In both cases, Lucinda and 'The Thoughtful Pig', Bodie knew loyalty went both ways.
"Can you please drop me on Steiner Court, and I'll see you at The Pig for dinner?

************

She made her way back to the office and got some paperwork done, before getting to her meeting with Vanessa.
Bodie didn't comment on any of it, but simply watched the footage that Vanessa had chosen for the broadcast.  Bodie didn't even want to see the rest of the article:  just which 'publicly provided footage' would air.


The reason being, as Bodie watched the piece, she willed upon that visual piece 'A Song Buried Deep' within its very essence.    A lot of people were going to see this piece:  even, and especially, if it  went controversial and viral.
Bodie buried deep in this image, to be 'consumed' by any who saw this footage (whether it be on the News Feed, social media or whatever), a deep admiration for Bodie Queen.
edit:  argh, damnit.    I screwed up my plans when I got creative ... and now don't have the Effort for last part of my plan.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:15, Tue 05 Oct 2021.

"Okay boss," Lucinda agreed easily. She dropped Bodie and the car off back at the campaign office. A few last minute bits of paperwork attended to and she was gone.

*************************************

The footage is about as fair as could be expected. They somehow got just enough audio on Vine for the poor woman to have a new set of faux-paus to explain. Still, meeting competitors on roughly the same ideological side comes across as more civility than conspiracy for the most part. If they'd been donors there might be a scandal cooked up.

*************************************

The Thoughtful Pig is doing brisk trade but makes a reasonably discreet booth available for Bodie when she arrived. Lucinda came in dressed in some sort of gothic regalia; long backless dress, choker, shrug, high heels all in black with her hair gathered into a braided bun in the back. She looked like the front person for a goth-metal band and drew more than a few eyes as she made her way to the booth.

Granted, she seemed far less regal when she settled into her seat with a groan and leaned bonelessly back against the seat's cushion.

"I am getting too old for these monstrosities dreamed up by twenty year-olds on stimulants," she announced.

Yeah, the effort economy is really rough early on.

Bodie laughed at Lucinda'  her arrival, her image, and her self-commentary.
They enjoyed a dinner together, chatting, and allowing themselves to unwind.

The next day, Bodie was back at work, sorting this and signing that.


The next evening, Bodie arrived at the concert.
She'd given herself a few hours to relax and get ready.

Lucinda wasn't joining Bodie tonight, but Nalisha was.   Nalisha was Bodie's casual bodyguard:  a trained security specialist.
Normally, Nalisha was temp-contracted for 'work events', such as official political business.   But Bodie liked the girl's moxie, and had asked her to come along tonight and 'watch my back'.

As the two entered the location, Bodie let her own political and situational awarenesses juice up.
Bodie has served in the armed forces, of course, before being honourably discharged after loosing her left hand in that explosive attack.     And so crowded fields with possible 'trouble' was something she was accustomed (if not completely 'comfortable' with).

Smiling at Nalisha, she headed for the bar ... on the lookout for 'Madame Shark' (Mrs Lawson).    Bodie hoped that she could prompt an interaction ... hopefully positive.  But even a less that beneficial interaction would do.

Serena Lawson was in her early forties, petite, and had gone full flapper on this occasion from her brunette bob to the sequined dress and tasteful purse. Judging by her flats the woman planned to do some real dancing tonight, no surprise as half her movie roles were focused on ballet or modern dance. She'd been a solid B to C lister for decades on the big and small screen. Her bread a butter was Musical Theater, with two Tonys to show for it.

The concert had enough VIPs to warrant venue security and checks at the door. Bodie spotted a few people her experience deemed potentially dangerous but most of those were like Nalisha, professionals meant to keep an eye on their own charges. Her presence is noted but starting business too early would be gauche.

Serena is practically mobbed by media types and is good naturedly refusing to answer questions.

Bodie allowed herself to enjoy the evening.  She kept a peripheral eye on Serena Lawson, as well as others of note/threat int he place, but trusted in Nalisha to watch her back.

Starting business too early would be gauche: but Bodie would likely sense when the time was right. In the meantime, she 'prep'ed both the crowd, and Serena, by gently playing on their emotions.
two uses of  Infectious Passion:  one at the crowd in general, one directed at Serena herself ...   to to plant a seed of strong admiration towards herself.

Bodie will then 'work the crowd' with smiles, hitting the dance floor, and chatting with folk around the place.
using 1 Influence to create a plausible effect among the crowd, to help that Infectious Passion spread throughout the club that night.


Bodie wasn't going to force, or even initiate, a contact with Serena Lawson ... but she did hope (maybe with the influence of the infectious passion) that the woman would find a way to start a conversation.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:11, Wed 20 Oct 2021.

The party alternated between social mixing, food, and dancing in the usual intervals. Bodie was clearly the queen bee but Serena had her share of attention. Two hours in there had been seven different conversations about politics, mostly people preemptively congratulating her.

At least the musicians knew their work and someone had decided to spend real money on the bubbly and wine selections.

Despite the somewhat sedate quality of events Bodie still knew who tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

"Ms. Queen," Serena greeted her, "I think the only privacy we're likely to enjoy is on the floor. Do you prefer to lead or follow?"

"Of course," Bodie replied, with a genuine smile.

Please, to clarify:      when Serena speaks of 'leading'
- is this because we are 'formal dancing' here tonight (I had imagined more of a nightclub, but I could be wrong).
- or is this a euphemism that she is using?
- alternately, is she suggesting our dancing be a little more 'intimate' on the dance floor (slower and closer, where we can actually speak quietly into each others ears)?


Bodie gestured with her left arm stump towards the dance floor, gesturing and inviting Serena to 'lead the way'.

Bodie realized three things in short order. First, jazz was not the easiest genre to have a conversation during. Second, jazz dancing at least insured no one else would get terribly close. Third? Serena has honed this particular skill as monomaniacally as any Olympic medal winner.

"You know the gossip rags are going to run with this," she told her husband's competition, "What brings you here this late in the campaign?"

Maybe all three! Although in seriousness it is clear she is at least nominally referring to which of them will lead while dancing.

I had missed that this was a jazz concert;  I'd imagined more of a nightclub or pop/rock concert setting.

As they began dancing, Bodie did indeed allow Serena to take the lead.  She wanted to let the woman get comfortable with 'being in charge' initially, and give her confidence to move into whatever she'd drawn Bodie out here to do.
"Of course they will, I'm look forward to reading all about our sordid affair in on the front pages tomorrow".

"I am here to enjoy myself for the evening, without any apparent agenda for the night.
Maybe meet some interesting people," she shrugged.

"I hadn't imagined that some interesting persons might come to meet me.
Why is that, Mrs Lawson?  Why might I have this opportunity to enjoy your ... VERY graceful ... attentions?
I have something of a curiosity whether I have been invited into the parlour of this spider, if you take my meaning", she concluded, with a smirk.

"I've had these tickets for weeks and it would send the wrong message for my husband to be distracted in the middle of the race. According to the focus groups," she said, the last sounding like she considers them particularly surly teenagers, "And we can hardly ignore each other. As soon hang for a sheep as a lamb the saying goes."

The band moved to slow jazz and Serena dragged Bodie into a modified waltz, holding each other closer.

"Afraid interesting people are going to prove harder for you to find as time goes on. You're trying to enter a bureaucracy, the big cogs have to be a certain shape to fit."

"Sure", Bodie nodded, but didn't bother exploring the context further ... instead, she danced.   And along the way, at some point, she will switch from allowing Serena to lead, to doing so herself.

The effect meant that Bodie's left hand-stump went from Serena's hip (as Serena led) to held high where Serena would need to grasp it.
The woman could refuse, of course, or resist the switch ... but that would make for a very awkward situation.

Serena playfully fought Bodie for the lead for a split second, expression entirely cat post canary disappearance, before she yielded the lead with grace.

"Some might call it dirty pool to go after the family members who haven't involved themselves in the campaign," she observed, "You're quite good, by the by. Does Westpoint include dancing lessons for junior officers these days?"

Bodie smiled at the compliment; dancing, after all, wasn't so acrobatically different from fighting.

And she made no comment in reply to Serena's bemused accusation.   After all, it was seen by all present, that Serena had come to Bodie, offering to dance:  had led the way to the floor, then took the lead initially.

But she did ask, "I am sorry for what happened to your son.   My understanding of 'manslaughter' is that it was unintentional ... a terrible accident that has changed his life, along with others.
How is he doing, rebuilding his life?"