|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu May 06, 2021 7:39 am
“I looked you up online,” Cymophane said, hopping up onto Jet’s desk, not quite crowding him, but just on the edge of what he assumed a normal person’s personal bubble would be.
Jet was a good General, as far as Cymophane could tell. He didn’t exactly have much experience to speak from yet, but Jet made sure he had all the resources he needed to get up to speed and learn his place in the Negaverse. Cymophane was sure if he asked Jet a question, Jet would have the answer, or put in the effort to find one for him if he didn’t. He could go to Jet if he had a problem, and Jet would take it seriously. Jet wanted him to succeed, which said a lot about a guy who didn’t like Senshi.
Sure, Jet still put on the Dark and Mysterious act sometimes, but he seemed like a genuinely good guy beneath it.
At least as far as anyone in a shady organization like the Negaverse could be good.
“Ilian Jones,” Cymophane continued. “Do you really not have any social media? I could barely find anything about you, just some articles about piano competitions. At least I assumed that was you. Ilian isn’t exactly a common name around here. They were years ago, though. Do you still play the piano?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 09, 2021 4:26 pm
“I still play,” he answered, sparing a look up from the papers spread out on his desk, to his newest, and most vocal, recruit. So far he didn’t regret bringing Cymophane into the Negaverse. He was capable in many ways he hadn’t realized. He was talented with different languages and had a sort of fearlessness that was needed to be part of a shady organization.
Using his desk as a seat didn’t bother him. It wasn’t as though Aquamarine didn’t use his desk in a similar fashion. At least Cymophane wasn’t purposefully sitting on his paperwork to get him to stop working.
“I’ve never figured out social media. Don’t have time for it,” he admitted. He didn’t usually talk about himself, but his recruits were different. If they wanted to know more about him, he was more willing to tell them about himself. In his opinion it was important for them to know who they were working with as their commanding officer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 10, 2021 6:31 am
“You won some awards,” Cymophane observed, watching Jet work.
Cymophane didn’t do much paperwork himself. He was new and primarily focused on training and energy gathering, occasionally entering information into the database when he had something pertinent to include, but those instances were usually few and far between. Theoretically he’d have more work as he gained rank. Kamacite had plenty to keep him busy, and Jet always seemed to have something on his desk, whether that was stacks of papers or the computers and tablets that passed for technology in the Dark Kingdom.
“Is that what you do for a living then? Play the piano?” Cymophane continued. “Do you record music? Or tour? Play at weddings or something? You know, if you were on social media, you’d be able to network better.”
How did Jet get any work in this day and age without actively promoting himself? Most things happened online these days. Hell, everything about Cymophane’s life was out there for people to consume at their leisure.
Except this Negaverse stuff. He couldn’t exactly talk about that.
“I could help,” Cymophane offered. “Social media’s kind of my thing.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 1:53 pm
He had won awards, back in the day. Before he joined the Negaverse and had to work full time on top of being an agent. He was young and didn’t have the resources available to him to not work, so he ended up having to ditch the competitions in order to afford rent.
Lovely had suggested he set up a social media account before. Something about gaining attention from people. To discover him or however it worked. Thanks to Lovely’s new access to his trust fund, Ilian found himself switching his full time job to composing music again. Well, on top of the Negaverse of course.
“You’re… an influencer, right? Sorry, I’m not too familiar with the terms,” he admitted, not wanting to sound like he wasn’t interested in Cymophane’s life, because that wasn’t the case at all. He just had no idea how social media worked. Something about likes and tweets.
“I recently retired from having to work,” he decided to share. Once upon a time he’d been too embarrassed to tell his recruits that he worked flipping burgers or as a cashier in a department store, but saying he was retired meant he had more time for them and the Negaverse in general. “So I’ve been playing a lot more,” he continued. “I don’t think I would have time to play at weddings or events or go on tour, but it might be beneficial if I can get my music online, I guess.”
He really had no idea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 6:27 pm
Cymphone smiled brightly and nodded to indicate that Jet was correct about his career.
Being an influencer was… well, Cymophane had no delusions about it. Influencers were completely useless. Tons of people bought into it, though, so he went on pretending he thought it was a legitimate career choice. Truly, he thought it sort of laughable that so many people were interested, but he supposed there was something to be said for others living vicariously through people online.
“Social media’s not that hard,” he said. “I’m sure you’d get the hang of it pretty fast. If you want, I could help you set up your accounts. You can skip Facebook, but Twitter is a must. You definitely want to post your music on Youtube, and you’ve got a good face for Instagram. Super cute. Nice hair. People are into that.”--- The door opened at that moment, and Aquamarine stepped into the office, fresh off of a shift at work.
He stopped as soon as he noticed the second person in the room, gaze bouncing between Jet and what was clearly a Corrupt Senshi on his desk.
On his desk. What was that Senshi trash doing on Jet’s desk?
“What the <********>,” Aquamarine said, temporarily frozen by the door, which slowly creaked shut as soon as he released the handle.--- Cymophane turned at the intrusion. If possible, his smile grew even brighter.
It was the boyfriend! What good fortune!
“Hello there, General,” he said, wiggling his fingers in a little wave.
He did not remove himself from Jet’s desk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 7:18 am
Social media seemed like such a hassle. He would have to figure out how to record video of his playing, and then figure out how to post things, which was already sounding too tedious. If someone else was willing to help him with that, then he supposed it could be a good thing.
“Aqua,” he greeted and ignored the cursing since he was so used to it by now. Jet didn’t seem to realize there was any issue with having Cymophane on his desk. Aquamarine usually sat on his desk anyway, so what did it matter?
“This is Cymophane. I recruited him a few months ago,” he guesstimated. And although he didn’t catch on that the tension in the room was caused primarily by Aquamarine, he could tell by his expression that he was not happy.
Ah, great.
“Cymophane, General Aquamarine,” he introduced, hoping that would be enough to satisfy his partner.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 9:23 am
It mattered because this tramp was on Jet’s desk. This Senshi who shouldn’t have been corrupted in the first place. This cute little blond haired waste of time and effort, sitting there in his revealing cat suit, with a vapid, flirty smile on his face.
Flirty. He was flirting with Jet. Because Jet was attractive.
Yes, sadly, Lovely was very much still going through a crisis, and that crisis obviously extended to Aquamarine seeing as they were the exact same person.
“You recruited him?” Aquamarine said, like he couldn’t believe Jet would do something so vile.
Again.
“Why do you only ever corrupt Senshi?!”--- Cymophane continued to smile and wave as Jet made the introductions, not because it was polite, but because it clearly pissed Aquamarine off.
It didn’t take a very observant or uncommonly perceptive person to figure out what Aquamarine’s deal was, so Cymophane, being very perceptive, figured it out right away. The way Aquamarine looked between him and Jet was pretty telling in and of itself.
“It’s nice to meet you, General,” Cymophane said cheerfully, ignoring Aquamarine’s obvious outrage. “I’ve been dying to meet you ever since we rescued Feldspar. You’re even prettier up close.” He turned to Jet and asked, “How come you never told me you have a boyfriend?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 6:05 pm
It wasn’t as though Jet tried to corrupt only Senshi. If he had the choice he would find agents to corrupt, but that just hadn’t been his luck so far.
“Cymophane, I think you should leave for now,” Jet said after a few moments of weighing the options. He could let Cymophane rile Aquamarine up, or he could try to talk to Aquamarine and try to convince him that it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
“I don’t like mixing my duties in the Negaverse with my personal life,” he said in response to why he hadn’t mentioned having a boyfriend before. Or that Aquamarine was more than just his boyfriend. But unless that came from Aquamarine himself, Jet made it a point to not show any displays of affection if he could help it.
Almost dying in the Rift was different.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 7:21 pm
Figuring Jet’s “I think you should leave” amounted to an order, Cymophane gave an impish salute and hopped off the desk.
“I’ll have Kamacite take me Earthside,” Cymophane announced. “He should be finishing up soon. Oh, wait!”
He paused, scrounging around for a spare pen and a sheet of paper that didn’t look important, which he used to write his name — “Misha emotion_bigheart ” — and his phone number.
“So you can get in touch with me if you ever want to get your social media up and running,” he explained as he slid the paper toward Jet.
Cymophane approached the door with a spring in his step. He smiled at Aquamarine, who glared at him one second and stubbornly ignored him the next. Jealousy rolled off of him in waves. If only Cymophane could stick around longer. He had a feeling Aquamarine was a lot of fun to antagonize.
As he passed through the door, Cymophane turned to call over his shoulder, “See you around, Ilian!”
If he felt like pushing his luck, he would have stuck around to see Aquamarine’s reaction to the use of Jet’s civilian name. Since he’d already been encouraged to leave, Cymophane darted out instead, snickering to himself as he pranced down the hall.--- Aquamarine did not know what this Senshi intended by complimenting him, but he was sure that it was nothing good.
He crossed his arms while he waited for the Senshi to make himself scarce, tapping his foot impatiently. Blood boiling, he watched the Senshi slide a piece of paper toward Jet. Aquamarine was sure he knew what it was. The b***h.
By the time the Senshi was gone, Aquamarine’s brain had nearly blanked out with rage.
“He knows your name?” he said, voice little more than a horrified whisper.
Aquamarine had few virtues and many flaws, of which jealousy and possessiveness were but two. Annoying as it was that Jet kept corrupting Senshi, he could have gotten over it if the newest one wasn’t a blond with a pretty face — young and lively and nice.
The latter two of which Aquamarine was not.
Maybe he had some insecurities, newly forged but no less potent for it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 14, 2021 6:27 pm
“Thanks,” Jet said as Cymophane left him his phone number to contact later regarding the social media stuff, although he wasn’t as enthusiastic about their goodbyes as Cymophane was. He was already preparing himself for Aquamarine to have another of his overreactions.
Like the waitress that was definitely not flirting with him. And even if she had been, it wasn’t as though he cared.
“Yes, he knows my name,” Jet said, doing his best to keep himself from getting frustrated with Aquamarine’s possessiveness. Jet leaned back against his chair, figuring he wasn’t going to get anymore of his reports finished as long as Aquamarine was seething.
He wanted to tell Aquamarine right away that he was overreacting, but Jet had a feeling that would only make things worse.
“How was work?” he asked instead, because that seemed safe… As safe as it could be with Aquamarine obviously enraged.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 15, 2021 11:14 am
There were no words in any of the languages Aquamarine knew to adequately explain his rage.
So he didn’t speak. He glared at Jet for several long moments, allowing the silence to stretch on, awkward and uncomfortable. Then he sniffed imperiously and marched over to his own desk. With a dramatic huff, he plopped into the chair and pretended he had every intention of dealing with his own reports.
The number of which was significantly less than what Jet had. Even so, they existed and Aquamarine would file them.
Giving Jet the silent treatment was far from mature, and not Aquamarine’s usual course of action in these situations, but the shouting and the ranting never seemed to get his point across. Truly, he wasn’t angry, but paranoia and inadequacy were such difficult things to deal with, and so anger would have to do in their place.
“You didn’t tell me you had a new recruit,” he muttered to his desk when he could keep his silence no longer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 6:08 pm
“Sorry, I didn’t think to mention it,” he admitted, trying to recall any specific reason as to why he hadn’t told Aquamarine already. Other than the fact that he was prone to jealousy. Which was absolutely ridiculous, in Jet’s opinion.
“We kind of almost died in the Rift during that rescue mission. I planned on telling you around that time, but after everything that happened. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you in the dark about him. He apparently already knew another Corrupt Senshi. An Eternal. Came with him when he agreed to recruitment, so Cymophane’s been learning the ropes from him.”
Which was fine with Jet. He didn’t like to micromanage. He wanted everyone to have the resources they needed, but he hated when anyone hovered over him, so he refused to do that for his own recruits.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 17, 2021 6:52 pm
“Hmph.”
Aquamarine was unimpressed by the answer. Not that any answer would satisfy him. He could always find something to complain about, some way to pick apart Jet’s explanations to fuel his own anger. It was a talent, though certainly not the sort to boast about.
If anything, it made things endlessly complicated.
He shuffled some papers around, still trying to look busy even if he didn’t actually read anything. In the end, he couldn’t pretend for long. He abandoned his paperwork again, glanced up at Jet, glared irritably and said, “He’s cute.”
Too cute. And far too familiar with Jet, who should demand his respect, not his friendship.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 18, 2021 7:54 am
The comment on Cymophane being cute was enough for Jet to pause, his eyebrows drawing closer together in confusion. Aquamarine was now complimenting the corrupt? Jet thought he was mad.
Or was this just Aquamarine feeling as though he wasn’t cute, too…?
“So?” He asked as he stood from his chair and cautiously made his way over to Aqua’s desk to lean against it, looking down at him as he sat. “I found him wandering the city, looking for monsters. He seemed enthusiastic enough to be useful,” Jet shrugged, shifting his leg so he could purposefully bump it against Aquamarine’s, as though trying to convince him that it really wasn’t a big deal.
Because it wasn’t.
“You know I don’t try to recruit Senshi on purpose.” Why would he, when he was still iffy about their loyalties until they proved overwise. So far, his recruits were good agents.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 18, 2021 8:49 am
“Oh, yeah, I’m sure he’ll make himself very useful,” Aquamarine sneered.
It was a big deal, because the Senshi was cute and prancing around in an outfit like that. How was it possible that his attire was both modest and revealing? It should be one or the other, and by that, Aquamarine meant it should be modest, because this was a very serious organization they were in. Appearances mattered.
Or they did to Aquamarine, who was not quite vain, but… definitely concerned about Jet’s eye wandering elsewhere. Maybe not toward any random cute thing, but when it was a combination between cute and nice? How was a b***h like Aquamarine supposed to compete with that?
He was being ridiculous. Aquamarine knew he was being ridiculous, making things up in his head and exaggerating the situation well beyond reality, but he couldn’t help it. Jet was all he had.
“Obviously you don’t corrupt Senshi on purpose,” Aquamarine muttered, glancing down again so he could fiddle with a stray pen. “That’s not the point.”
The point was that this Cymophane was a nuisance. The very sight of him got on Aquamarine’s nerves.
“You know, I’ve had more than one person accuse me of sleeping my way up the ranks, but looking at that one, I think he’d actually do it.”
Which was the closest thing to “I’m worried you’ll find someone better than me because I’m really not that great of a partner” he could make himself say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
