[Okay, she deserves that, and she can't help but tease a little.]

I thought they were a big hit myself, but if you're sure. [Heheh. White shakes her head, pushing a finger into Silver's chest, prodding every now and then as she speaks.]

No, no, I'm here today to ask you something not just as my friend, [which is surprisingly nice to say, especially since there's no strings attached like with Leo,] but as a citizen of Verens and an Otherworlder!

[Sounds pretty important.]

[Silver...]

As long as you reside in a city, you're a citizen. Anyway! I've got really, really good news!

[A moment's pause, for the dramatics. Her excitement comes out just like her voice: a burst of electricity.]

I'm running for rep! [!!!!] I mean, I haven't actually put it out to the public or anything yet, but I've been thinking it since our one and only representative put out the announcement of needing two spots filled and I decided to Elle Woods it.

[Not that it means anything to him. Or most of the people here.]

[...

A long, long sigh. Figures. Why are boys so dumb?]

I wanted to know if you'd support my bid! Every vote counts! Though honestly, I don't even know if I'm running against anyone at all and if I am who it is, so they might be better at this than me... which makes you all the more important! You're popular, aren't you?

The amount of people who advised me on things to get you certainly says so.

I don't follow your logic on that one, but I'd agree anyway if they weren't all more or less your friends and people who knew you in general. For a quiet guy you sure have a following.

[Of serial killers, trainers, and various JRPG heroes.]

... Kind of sorry about the telling everyone about your birthday, by the way, but no one's gonna remember it come next year. Probably. Too much happens here.

[He's so cute. That's her professional opinion, Silver is cute.]

That's all this visit's for, uh huh. So? Do I have it?

That's fair. I wouldn't ask you to do it just because we're friends or anything, as nice as that'd be. Super easy.

[So she'll. Let herself in? Yeah. Let herself in.]

I bet you guys battle for leadership positions anyway, so let's have one of our own.

[She figured. Pokémon's always been so big on that, after all.

The Arehtei though.....]

Well, that's a question to start off with... Um, as a whole, I think they need all the help they can get, even the ones that've hurt people in the past [like Sosyne] and the ones we haven't met yet. The fact this world's a barren wasteland below us is proof of that.

... On the other hand, I don't feel totally comfortable with interacting with Sosyne, and I don't know how I'll feel about the other two either, but that doesn't mean I hate them, you know? I just don't see things working out in the moment for negotiations with those three when we've got four nice ones all willing to help us as we do them right now. The fact we're not taking more advantage of that bothers me, especially when we've got some neat stuff at our disposal that benefits us both.

[Satisfactory?]

... Actually...

[And White knows she might definitely get flax for this, but her voice is firm.]

I kind of like the idea of using apathy to help out a lot, as long as people consent to it. Doctor Kirishima mentioned that they've been able to depress negative emotions while leaving the positive ones untouched, so I'd like to continue looking into that and maybe seeing if some of the Arehtei would be willing to test it out to see if it'll get rid of the black on them.

[She figures this topic in particular might be one of the more controversial ones, so it's just best to be out with it. And honest too.]

But it definitely all rides on their consent to it through and through, and I honestly think that if we use it right then it can help all of us. Especially people who can't help how they feel or intentionally cause it. Any poison can be a medicine if you use the right dosage.

[The relief is so palpable.]

I can definitely say no on the first one, because that's like the opposite of what we need, but I don't know about the second. It could save lives if we hit a rampaging one with something like that, but a weapon that harnesses pure calmness or their opposite emotion might work just as well...

I gotta say though, I must've not caught the apathy juicer thing. Can you really do that?

Sounds good. I mean, I know what it's like, so. You know.

[A shrug. Moving on--]

What's your next question, anchorman?

People on TV who run news segments. You're missing the camera and co-host, but they ask candidates questions too.