It'd been about two weeks since her rise to Hoenn's council, and since then, Penelope had been working her ass off to shake every hand, smile at every coworker, and generally acquaint herself with the entire facility. So far, she had already hit a few names on her extensive list, including two out of the three remaining elite 4 members.
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MATIAS SILPH , Katherine Fairburne , one way or another, the woman already had the pleasure of introducing herself to the other two. Melody was the last on her list, which was why she sent a friendly invitation earlier that morning.
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Let's eat lunch together :) meet me in the conference room at 1:00pm.
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When the woman arrived, Penelope was immediate with her movements, shooting up from her seat and moving around the table over toward the door.
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"Don't worry about it, there's plenty to go around." Mostly because Penelope carried her habit of overordering with her to the league. No matter. Smiling, she reached out her hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Melody. As you assumed, I'm PENELOPE LIVY , the newest councilwoman-- man, I can't wait to stop saying that," she let out an easy chuckle. This had been, what, the 20th introduction that week? It was enough to make anyone grow mad. "C'mon, take a seat."
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With one hand wave, she gestured over to the unoccupied space before slipping herself into one of the chairs. "If I didn't get what you like, I'm sorry. I ordered a bit of everything just to be safe."
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[attr="class","ooc"] Melody Miro [break]


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The councilwoman's eyes softened to her words. Among the piles and piles of onboarding, she already had the pleasure of sifting through, Melody's revealed backstory was tucked between random council meeting notes and a recipe for smoked Slowpoke Tail. Penelope, more than the others within the council, she assumed, understood what it was like to live under a restrictive mother's thumb. For years, she felt like a prisoner within her own body, dancing and moving to the beat of her mother's whims, never once asking herself if this was what SHE wanted. The shadows of those shackles sometimes solidify in her own mind, like deep scars scattered across her mind. They might've been physically free from their tormentors, but how far did that freedom extend to?
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Penelope swallowed down these unchecked emotions with a smile. "Of course. More than anyone else, we'll be the ones having each other's backs." Through war against sea!hoenn, the media, and rocket themselves -- without some level of trust, the league would whither into nothing. Both fortunately and unfortunately, Penelope wasn't naïve enough to extend this arm of trust to everyone. Not everyone could be trusted, not even Melody to some extent. But, from what she's seen and read, this elite 4 member were one of the few pillars of justice left.
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"More than anything else, I want us to be able to trust each other." Her hands slowly move toward her empty plate, pushing it up to the bowl of rice and beans. A spoon full of each was plopped into it, as well as a handful of corn, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. "So! Lets start wit--" Introductions. Fuck. That wouldn't work, would it? How do you even get to know someone who doesn't know themselves? "So how's work coming along? I'm not too familiar with the standard workday of an elite 4 member, but I'm sure it's interesting enough, right?"
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Talking about work wasn't typically her go-to during lunch, but alas, it was the easiest, causal topic her brain could come up with.
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[attr="class","ooc"] Melody Miro [break]


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Penelope's lips naturally fell to a frown. She couldn't blame the woman -- even as an outsider, she could always smell the constant bullshit the league was cooking up. With natural destruction upon the horizon, these matters only seem to worsen, especially as competing egos take it upon themselves to figure out a "solution."


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"Ah, my work is much more bureaucratic." She fixed her lips into a smile. "I typically start my days with the massive amount of onboarding I'm still expected to get through, then I move onto current events, then meetings like these." The list could go on and on. "And now, with valor already being put into progress, I'm trying to squeeze in time to visit our ranger bases and gyms. I don't want to give off the impression that I'm just sending people off to work, while I hide behind my desk, y'know?"


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She wanted to be the people's voice. The person they could reach out to when worry wrung up inside their stomachs. Without going out, without building that foundational level of trust, how could she ever expect them to take those steps? Sighing, she sets down her fork, suddenly feeling a little less hungry.



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"Melody," she began, amber eyes flicking upward to reach hers. They were softened by the genuineness of her words. "From your perspective, how could I help the league regain your trust. " It was a heavy question to ask -- especially now. She knew that. But... "I understand things have been shaky lately-- believe me, I've read the reports -- but I want to change that."


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[attr="class","ooc"] @charname [break]


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Penelope couldn't blame Melody for how she felt. From everything she's read, and from everything the gym leader had just sputtered out, it was clear there was a general disconnect between the praises the organization sang and the actions they truly ended up rewarding. Even as an outsider, far before her ascend to the council, Penelope could see glimpses of this, through the inconsistencies and lies and constant diversions their PR would toss-up.
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Back then, she sought to discover those glimpses of instability and tear them open for the public to see. Then, the change would be mandatory. A requirement to keep the public's trust. Now, she had to do the opposite. Starting now, in this room, between herself and one of the league's last pillars of hope.
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"I understand that, I really do." She nodded, brows furrowed, lips turned downward, "Honestly, I hold similar sentiments."
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"I've just never been a ends justify the means kinda girl, though. "
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It was something she once said to CIAN MAHER while chasing after that mask-wearing rocket. She wondered if that still held true, and if so, hard far was she willing to go to protect those moralities. Not that she could afford to divulge those doubts right now.
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"But that's why I joined Council: to ensure accountability for the league." The leak, MATIAS SILPH , everything. "Without it -- like you said -- we're no different than Rocket."

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[attr="class","ooc"] Melody Miro[break]


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Shoveling a scoop of rice and beans into her mouth, the woman could only muster up a smile as she chewed. Only after Melody aired out her thoughts did she swallow it all down, brows now furrowed and lips twitched downward.
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"You? Problematic?"
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The thought nearly evoked a chuckle from the woman.
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It was indisputable that councilman FERNANDO SILPH knew Melody Miro far longer than Penelope has. And, of course, those shared experiences would far triumph the research she'd done prior to her appointment.
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But still...
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"From my perspective, you're far from the 'problematic one' within the league."
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From AQUA to the ranger's rambunctious meeting, it was clear the organization had more than a few personalities to worry about. While Melody might've had a hand in the most recent reports, out of everyone Penelope had come in contact with, shewas one of the few pillars the councilwoman felt that she could return to if something were to happen. That's why she was even here, after all.
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"Actually, if I'm being honest, before my appointment I was highly critical of the league. I still am, in some ways."
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She took a brief pause, lips settling back into a smile.
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"But you were one of the few people that kept my faith in the league alive."
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Greyson Connors .
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Eva Morales .
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noah faber .
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Throughout her time spent reporting on Hoenn's crazy ups and downs, those were the names she'd always relied on to display a positive image for the organization. To provide hope to those without any. Without people like them, even she might've succumb to the blanket notion that the league was corrupt from the inside out.
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"I'm passionate about helping you because it's obvious you care so much. More than anything else, I want to use my position to ensure people like you -- people who actually care about the citizens of hoenn -- aren't snuffed out by the constant storm of bad news slamming this region."

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[attr="class","ooc"] Melody Miro[break]


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