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 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:27 pm
Niter had been called to Jet's office. He had no recollection of doing anything wrong — he kept up with his quota like he was supposed to, did what he was told, even cut back on his game time — but that didn't fill the ever-growing pit of dread for each step he took toward the appointed place. What if he forgot some crucial extra step that made him look like a total failure? What if they expected more than just following orders ad Jet was going to tell him that Niter disappointed him? As he walked, Niter's mind fabricated a million ways the impending conversation could go badly.
By the time he got to the door, he had sufficiently convinced himself that he was going to end up a starseed in a bell jar, labeled "subordinates that failed me", and kept as a warning to all future subordinates that showed up at his office. That was simply what would happen, and it didn't matter if he had no reason to think this conversation was anything but rudimentary.
He knew rudimentary conversations happened. He also knew that sometimes people got blindsided with getting fired, and he was reasonably sure that getting his starseed evicted from his body was the Negaverse version of getting fired. After all, he'd never heard of Metallia sucking her chaos back out of someone's body and spitting their civilian self back out into Destiny City. That sounded like a security hazard, anyway. Not that they didn't already have enough of those.
Niter dragged his feet to the door, faced the door, made a fist at the door, brought the fist as close to the door as he possibly could, but he couldn't make himself knock. Maybe he'd just get skewed through the door and that would be that.
He was getting so tired of his own nerves. Swallowing carefully, Niter greeted in a small voice: "Um, Jet? Can I come in?" And hoped the Sovereign couldn't hear him, or was busy with Aqua, or would tell him never mind and send him on his way.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:30 pm
Even if he hadn’t heard him, he could feel Niter’s aura through the door. Even with all the auras being muddled from the number of people in the castle, when someone was so close, it was difficult to let it go unnoticed.
“Come in, Niter. I want to talk to you,” Jet said. He was already standing and leaning against his desk, but gestured to the array of snacks he had available -- they mostly came from Axinite’s office, but he’d added some of his own. They were all set up at a small table next to the door, along with a station for tea and coffee. It was easier that way. Kept things neat and organized.
“Help yourself. Take a seat if you’d like. I can sit down too if that will make you more comfortable. You’ve been through a lot since you’ve joined the Negaverse,” Jet jumped into things, but then again, Niter should already know Jet wasn’t really a fan of small talk. He could, but he didn’t really think about it.
He at least waited until Niter stepped inside the office and shut the door behind him before continuing.
“The battle on the hilltop, having to deal with that Saturn Knight. You were one of the few who brought me a gift to congratulate me on my promotion.” Not that this meeting was because of that, but he appreciated it more than being slapped for something that happened months prior.
“How do you feel about being in the Negaverse?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 5:01 pm
Oh. Jet wanted to talk to him. Niter hoped it wouldn't entail more work.
Or punishment. It was probably punishment, though. Jet was probably preparing to erase him from existence —
Swallowing, Niter opened the door as quietly as he could. He shut it behind him, flattening himself against it until Jet invited him into the space proper. That was basically a command, right? Niter took it as one, taking up a bag of white cheddar popcorn, and made his way further into the room to seat himself at the desk. The bag crinkled in his hand as he walked, which led to his immediate regret for picking that of all the treats on offer.
This was fine, he told himself. It's fine. Everything's fine. Jet wouldn't feed him and then erase him from existence because that was a waste of a good snack. Or maybe he'd do that just to give Niter a false sense of security, then erase him from existence anyway —
"Oh, um," Niter felt all the blood rush to his face on being called out about the gift, though he didn't know what to say in response. Was you're welcome polite enough, or was it presumptuous?
Luckily, he didn't have to respond; Jet wound his way to a different topic, and Niter stared at the bag in his hands. "It's okay." Niter didn't have any complaints, really, aside from having to do work. "Everyone's been nice. And it's not hard, but… I just wish there was an easier way to drain energy? Like," and he couldn't think of a better way to frame it. Video games had all sorts of micromanagement set-and-forgets like dispatching a character on an expedition for 20 hours on Genshin, or all the missions in Assassin's Creed…
"If I had something I could just put somewhere, and it would drain a little bit of energy from anyone who passed it, then I could just stop by later and pick it up. That'd be nice." Then he wouldn't have to go out half as much.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2022 7:47 am
“It gets easier,” Jet promised as he watched Niter. He hadn’t picked the young man for his adventurousness or daring. Sometimes it was better to have someone who stood back and thought about all the scenarios in a situation before acting on them. Jet had been almost certain that Niter would have declined his offer to join the Negaverse, had they not had the hospital and health care at their disposal.
“Easier with practice, easier when you’re promoted,” he gave a couple examples. He didn’t seem frustrated or upset about anything Niter was doing or saying. He’d offered him snacks, asked his opinion. Although he couldn’t help but wonder who Niter had dealt with in his life to make him, well… jumpy. Not that he was being obviously timid, but something in the way he held himself and spoke.
“Same with weapons. Those who have been with the Negaverse the shortest amount of time get the weakest weapons to give them a chance to prove themselves. They’d be most susceptible to being tricked into turning traitors, for one. But the Chaos also needs time to develop inside us. Believe me, I know how difficult it can be. My first set of weapons was a pair of butter knives. Plastic butter knives,” he shared with a weary grin.
“I can make it so you can collect energy from father away. Less often, too. Your quotas will be reduced as you pick up tasks elsewhere. Not so much doing work as keeping an eye on others. Doing your part in missions. Things like that. What do you say?”
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 6:54 am
[Imagining Jet with a pair of plastic butter knives was… a trip. And Niter tried with all of his being not to laugh — chewed his tongue, turned purple in his chair as he tried not to breathe, but — plastic butter knives. On a battlefield. It was tragic, in a hilarious way. Senshi, at least, got magic, and even if his magic was pretty useless, it was shown to be marginally less useless than plastic butter knives. unless Jet was trying to cut and butter an english muffin, Niter was sure he'd have a hard time on the field.
Once he reminded himself enough times to focus on energy draining, Niter let his breath out and returned to his normal color after a few respirations. When he was sure he wasn't going to laugh, he let himself speak again.
"I won't have to touch people to drain them anymore?" He asked for certainty. "That'd be — I'd like that a lot. Um, it's… Yeah, I'd really like to not have to touch anyone to drain them." He nodded a couple times.
The rest, well — it was more work. And Niter wasn't happy about work, but if his work changed from drain a whole bunch of people each week to watch someone else and make sure they don't die, he figured that was a better pace for him. It wasn't as much physical labor, and if he just had to watch without doing anything? Yeah, he could do that. He could get good at that. He might even take notes, too, if he had to look like he was doing his job well.
And missions… Well. Those were kinda always there, weren't they? So he'd have to do one eventually.
"So, um, yeah. Whatever you can do."
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 8:28 am
Whatever you can do seemed like permission enough. So Jet stepped forward and placed his hand against Niter’s chest, over the crack that was already there. He held out his other hand, ready to catch the young man in case the energy was too much, but by now Jet was well practiced. Like playing a piano, the flow of Chaos could be either forced into a starseed like a crescendo, or an easy going tempo to introduce the change in energy flow a little more gently.
There was no stopping the pain that came from the introduction of more Chaos, but there was at least a way to make it less of a shock to someone’s body.
It didn’t take long, and Jet watched as Niter’s outfit changed and morphed as he was given more energy. Finally when the transformation was complete, he withdrew his hand, but immediately reached out to offer it to Niter for balance.
“Congratulations on your promotion, then,” he said, waiting to make sure Niter was okay and if he needed to sit down before offering him anything to eat or drink. “We’ll find out what your magic has grown to later if you’d like. Once you’re rested.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2023 7:13 pm
Niter had heard that promotions were like being taken into the Negaverse the first time, but worse. Knowing that, if Niter had read between the lines of what Jet was offering, he might have declined the gift. Instead, he sat still and compliant and increasingly suspicious of where this was going until he felt that familiar, full-bodied pain that bit down to his bones. His muscles tightened for it and Niter tried to hold back any vocalizations. They weren't polite when someone was giving him a gift.
They weren't acceptable either, though Niter never fully understood why. He simply had to wait it out as his hair got longer and his outfit evolved into something more ostentatious and obnoxious than what it once was.
Once the pain and chaos had subsided, Niter was felt feeling a little lightheaded. If he looked around, the room took just a second longer to catch up to where his eyes were at, just like it did when he stayed up for too long. Jet was speaking, too, and Niter had to concentrate on what he was saying. Jet was super kind for congratulating him (best superior Niter ever had), but Niter didn't quite have enough breath left in him for a thank you that didn't sound strained or squeaky, so he put his hands together and inclined his head instead.
He was tired. Pain always made him tired. He could've laid on the ground right then, just fallen out of his chair, and taken a nap. It would've felt like the best nap of his life, too. He loved sleep anyway, and pain was another excuse to sleep.
Once he was sure he could talk without sounding like he was in the throes of Second Puberty, Niter gave a lethargic response. "Yeah, um. I'll definitely need a nap first."
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