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Youthful Politics with iseult babineaux

A jolt shook the young man's shoulders as he was suddenly spoken to, his gaze shifting away from the screen and towards the voice.

"Huh?" He utters eloquently as his head turns, eyes falling on the speaker, his mind registering the question and supplying an answer before thinking about it. "Kalos. Easy mistake, though; stadium's new. The Galarian style's been popular overseas of late."

While his mouth ran free, he examined the woman across from him.

She was vaguely familiar. Had he seen her before? Well, that didn't matter.

"... I'm- John." He said after a moment, the pause in his words brief enough to miss. "Sorry if I disturbed ya earlier."

He turned his gaze back to the screen; the stadium had disappeared, a news set taking its place with mildly known Kalosian commentators going over the Pro Circuit's newly started season's stats.

His lip curled slightly at the sight.

"Why? You a fan?" He asked, forcing a grin as he leaned back on his seat.

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Youthful Politics with iseult babineaux

He managed to swallow his nerves at her words, his lips tugging into a bitter smile as he looked away.

"Yeah, me too." He didn't expect them to, but it was a nice sentiment.

Her name was pretty- heck of a lot more unique than John, too. Yet, he couldn't recall meeting anyone with that name... Her face still remained rather familiar, though...

And apparently, so did his.

"Guess ya really are a fan. Thank ya kindly! No, really, I appreciate it. 'Twas a lotta work and everyone forgot 'bout it like a week later." He said jokingly, chuckling as he scratched at his cheek, before pulling his hoodie off his head. "But jeez, guess the hoodie trick only works in film. Now I feel a lil' silly, haha."

Silly Doug, Life wasn't a movie... it was an anime.

"It's a pleasure to... meet'cha, Iseult?" He half said, half asked, giving her a grin and shrug. "Sorry, it's been bothering me for a while now. Could swear I've seen yer face somewhere 'fore."

He tapped his chin in thought, but nothing immediately came up.

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Youthful Politics with iseult babineaux

"That so? Guess I should just be happy 'bout that." He said through a short-lived chuckle, his grin quickly slipping off his face as he leaned back on his seat. "... Yeah. Even people outside of Hoenn remember, too. I was lucky to leave an impression on 'em as well... very lucky."

It was the only reason he could carry out his plans.

On the tv, as the camera pulled away from the victorious trainer's back, motion graphics filled the screen as the commentator's began speaking once again, the image of one John D. Sullivan appearing next to a battle record and several pro-circuit stats.

Winning the HsT was a pursuit he had only undertaken due to his youthful ego, but it had turned out more fruitful than he could ever have imagined.

But that wasn't important; he couldn't help but tilt his head ever so slightly as she mentioned her father...

"You are Ingolf Babineaux's daughter?" He asked, brows flying up.

Two years ago, the name would've meant precisely nothing to the then self-absorbed bugcatcher. Too much going on with his life for him to worry about politics.

Now, however, it was one of several names he oft came across while studying the past 10 years of Hoenn's political landscape. If memory served him right, not just him, but the family name in general was...

"Hoooh... Then that must mean... Hm." He uttered as he stared at her in a slightly different manner, tilting his head. "Say, do you happen to work at League HQ?"

The blanks in his memory were slowly filling in, the clues falling into place like puzzle pieces.

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Youthful Politics with iseult babineaux

"Aw shucks... yer pretty good with words, ain't cha?" He said, pulling onto his hood slightly as he grinned with slightly dusted cheeks. "I'll just take yer pretty word for it, then— Thank ya kindly!"

With the reveal of her job, everything made sense.

"I knew I had seen ya somewhere!" He said with a snap of the fingers, rather pleased to finally figure things out; it would've niggled at the back of his mind the whole time they spoke if he had just let it be. "So yer that guy's secretary, huh?"

He gave her an empathetic look, holding up a fist in a universal 'do your best' sort of gesture.

"My condolences. I dunno the man personally, but that's a face I wouldn't wanna see angry." He said with a shudder. If there was something he had learned while working this past year and a half, it was that your boss was always angry at you, whether you were at fault or not. "But... the inner workings, huh? That sounds interesting. Can I have yer phone number? I would like a heads-up text if they ever decide to gut our healthcare. I swear Silph's been planning it ever since I broke his arena, that petty git."

He was joking, of course.... Half joking, anyway.

He finished his words with a scratch of at his chin, brow furrowed; he wondered how much of the theory he had read was reflected in reality...

At her question, he paused mid-thought, blinking at her, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah; pretty sure that's how I first saw you! ... Hn. I mean, yes, but also, not really." He said, leaning back on his seat and letting his gaze drift up, scratching at his cheek as his lips pursed. "I'm called in plenty 'nuff, but rarely as Cptn. Sullivan. Usually, they want Doug, Mauville City's Gym Leader."

A position of somewhat dubious authority & influence; he would've had a hard time explaining to anyone who asked just what exactly his responsibilities and expectations truly were. On paper they were few- in practice...

"The military's busy for sure, but I'm just a Captn'. 3rd off the bottom of the barrel, Commissioned rank wise." He said with a shrug, dropping his chin atop his awaiting palm casually, masking his distaste. "I ain't 'qualified' to even sit at that particular table, let alone speak..."

Qualified shmollified. Bah! A lot of military rank came simply due to time and 'experience', as opposed any sort of qualification or merit.

Not that Doug could point fingers on that front- he had only been made a Captain at his age for appearances' sake, and he knew it better than anyone.

"Ya mentioned studying before?" He said, leaning back on his seat whilst looking at her, grinning. "College, yeah? Guessing a Politics Major?"

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Youthful Politics with iseult babineaux

He grinned, holding his chest as he faked a grimace.

"Ah, the ol' 'don't call us, we'll call you'. Rejection my old friend, yer sting smarts as ever." He said, faking a sigh before grinning cheekily. "Works for me! I'll keep an eye on m'mail box, then."

He waved his hand dismissively at her reassurances, though he looked quite happy to hear them all the same. With any luck, she was right, and a promotion was on the way.

When she brought up the possibility of staying in Hoenn, he could only tilt a brow at her, wondering why she would ever do that. In the end though, he wasn't one to tell someone he had just met what to do.

"Well... Not too bad an idea! Best place in the world if ya wanna build a career young, yeah?" Doug said with a laugh. "Provided you survive, anyway! Heck, I've heard one of the candidates doing well on the polls is only 'bout 23!"

One... Elinor Anderson, if he recalled right. She was family of Laurence Anderson and Bill Anderson, if his cursory research wasn't incorrerct, so she wasn't exactly starting from nothing, far as the people of Hoenn were concerned.

The Councilmen and women could be trusted to empty their seats every couple of months, provided their names wasn't FERNANDO SILPH. Be it through pressure, responsibility, or mortality rates, rarely did Hoenn's leadership last long, often disappearing into the night and becoming seemingly forgotten by the population at large.

Perhaps because of that, Hoenn was one of the rare countries in the world that enjoyed exceedingly young, successful politicians. Commissioner dahlia goode hadn't even been 30 years old yet when she was sworn in! Middle aged men like GABRIEL BLACK were actually a rarity in Hoenn's political scene.

There was also the fact that Hoenn's politics were exceedingly inclusive, allowing even people from other regions in with nary a peep from the population. Doug wasn't sure if it was because the people of Hoenn were extremely progressive or extremely apathetic, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Not until an openly Rocket candidate tried to run for office anyway.

"So, which college ya goin' to?" He asked, tilting his head slightly. "Do you actually go, all presential-like? Only 'round the end o' my second year of college, but I've never actually been to the grounds- online schoolin' n' all that; kinda curious if it's any different from high-school."

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Youthful Politics with iseult babineaux

The subtleness of her weariness was contrasted by Doug's immediate hiss and grimace, the words 'lots of writing' striking a nerve with lethal precision.

"Lele above, I can only imagine." He said in an almost whiny tone, head craned back dramatically.

He was only on his second year of a bachelors and it still felt as though the essays would kill him before Rocket or triads did. Lazy bastards should hurry up and get the job done before his next Logistics test!

"Me?" He grinned, before parroting. "Bulwark Hoenn Military Institute, Mauville branch. 'mIlItArY ScIeNcE MaJoR'... The art of murdering- no wait, what's the general always say...? Ah yes, protecting an entire nation, down to a science."

He wrinkled his nose, before rolling his eyes. He leaned over closer, looking around with excessive, exagerated furtiveness before speaking loudly and frankly.

"'tween you n' me? I've always been more interested in Enthomology— buuut I wasn't really given a choice in the matter. Military Program n' all." He said, sighing as he shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand in the air airily. "I've only ever stepped into the actual campus a couple times. Looked nice. Would be nice to swing by more often, I think."

He crossed his arms over his chest, pursing his lips.

"Digital classes really wear the shine off college life, huh?" He sighed. "I haven't made a single bestie in the past 2 years! It's been borin' as sin."

Classes could be fun, but logistics continued to whoop his ass, which wasn't very fun at all, and it really felt like he was missing out on a crucial part of the college experience.

Realizing these had to be the most first world problems to ever come out of his lips, the youth snorted in self-amusement before grinning at Iseult again.

"Sorry to suddenly ask, but... what'cha think 'bout Hoenn, right now?" He asked, tilting his head. "Wonderin' what picture a future politician sees."