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 Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2023 7:53 am
Aquamarine didn’t make a habit out of being invited to the Queen’s office. As a General, he’d taken to keeping his head down when it came to the higher ups. He did his work with dedication and efficiency, and he generally only shared his complaints with Jet. Aquamarine might make no secret about being a hateful b***h with a bad temper, but as far as he was aware, no one had ever filed an official complaint against him, which meant any reprimands he received tended to come from Jet, too. Whatever his doubts or opinions concerning the Negaverse as a whole, Aquamarine was loyal, hard-working, and reliable, which tended to mean he was left to his own devices. The Queen had no reason to concern herself with him.
Yet here he was, standing just outside her office, schooling his features and putting his uniform in order so as to ensure he made the best impression possible. For any of the Sovereigns, he wouldn’t have bothered; he may not be of their rank, but being married to one had a way of dulling their shine a bit, making them all seem a bit less grand, a bit more human.
But the Queen was the Queen. She had not always been the Queen, but Aquamarine had been around long enough to witness her near death and subsequent rise. He certainly wasn’t stupid enough not to extend her the respect she deserved.
So he tugged the sleeves of his jacket straight, made sure his cape hung from his shoulders just so, glanced down at his boots to ensure they were free of dirt, and smoothed his hair so less of it fell into his face. A foul mouth and general disdain for people didn’t preclude him from occasionally having some class.
Once he deemed himself ready, Aquamarine knocked politely on the door. He didn’t stalk into the Queen’s office the way he’d stalked into Lepidolite’s office, nor did he drop stacks of files onto her desk in an unnecessary demonstration. He entered when invited to, walked in calmly, and bowed — perhaps not as low as Jet would have, but certainly low enough to show sufficient respect.
“Your Majesty,” Aquamarine greeted her. He stood at attention once he’d straightened. Jet might have fumbled through a compliment or said something about how honored he was to have been invited, but Aquamarine didn’t share Jet’s habit of becoming googly eyed in the Queen’s presence. “You wished to speak with me?”
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 5:20 pm
“General Aquamarine.” Laurelite sat at her desk with a single tablet before her. Around her sat an array of paperwork, but it seemed she’d put her work away already. She had just finished squaring up a stack of papers, but it would have been easy for her to prepare her desk while Aqua was preparing himself. As he could sense her presence, so could she sense his. A single chair rested before her desk and she gestured for him to take a seat. Her office had neither the loudness of Lepidolite’s, nor the warmth of Axinite’s; it was simply a place to do work. She did not often entertain guests, and meetings here were few and far between, and more often than not it was best not to have any distractions. “I’ve been looking forward to taking a moment of your time. Lepidolite’s been talking my ear off, crunching numbers and giving me proposals. You gave him quite a lot of paperwork, no? It seemed to inspire him, I only see him get like that when he’s passionate about something. Here, I wanted you to see this first.” She turned the tablet to face him; it was already open to a wall of text–information and procedures. She didn’t expect him to read it all now, but she figured some of the key words–’salary’ and ‘bonus’, in particular–would clue him in to the purpose of this meeting. “We’re rolling it out soon. Maybe today. I wanted to thank you.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 7:12 pm
Aquamarine sat. Though he’d once sprawled in Axinite’s office with a drink in hand, and barged his way into Lepidolite’s as if he owned the place, Aquamarine treated his audience with the Queen, and the surroundings that her office provided, with a bit more consideration. He strived to appear at ease without seeming too relaxed, and deferential without seeming as if he were trying to curry favor, his posture precise, respectable, but not rigid, his expression as mild as he could possibly make a perpetual case of resting b***h face.
He took the offered tablet and glanced over the contents briefly before his attention was once again on the Queen.
“I don’t know that I deserve thanks,” he said, then paused, unable to completely abandon his usual streak of arrogance. “Not from you, at least. Maybe from everyone else…”
Aquamarine waved a hand as if to dismiss this thought. He’d demand that appreciation from all the peons later, probably lord it over some of them, remind them who it was that pushed for fair compensation, who it was that ultimately opened a long-needed opportunity to better their miserable lives, but he thought it better to make a play at modesty in front of the Queen.
That image was not an easy one for Aquamarine to project. It was an effort not to pepper his side of the conversation with curses. Not that he had any reason to curse at the Queen, he simply wasn’t used to being so careful about what he said.
“This is more than I expected,” Aquamarine admitted, looking down at the tablet again. He scrolled through, reading what he could without taking up too much of her time. “With this, and with our medical needs already taken care of, I think a lot of our agents might be able to see to their duties more effectively.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2023 8:20 pm
Perhaps Laurelite was convinced by this attempt at humility. She wore a convincing mask, herself. Her smile never faltered. Though it was almost permanently in place, mirth in her eyes implied sincerity. “I can only hope as much. Your drive sparked a fire. We’ve had a lot of discussions lately. A few projects were moved around. We’re still recouping some significant losses, but I think any investment in our people will be met with great return. I appreciate your passion on the subject, it’s something we should have looked into a long time ago. I suppose it’s easy to lose sight of some things when your eyes are on the bigger picture. But if our goal is to protect and save this world, of course our agents should be our priority. I confess, I’ve been so focused on trying to stop the spread of all these Senshi that I let myself get distracted. So, yes. You deserve thanks. Even a Queen has blind spots. We’re lucky to have you, General Aquamarine.” Again, beneath the sugary sweet words and smile, sincerity. Her demeanor never faltered, but it was as if she chose to let him in on a slightly more private side of herself. She spoke with no falseness; there was pride and gratitude in her voice. She delivered this praise with honesty. “I hope you won’t be offended when I say I have come to expect great things from you.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 7:27 am
Aquamarine held himself still, wary of exposing too much of himself. Perhaps there wasn’t a point in doing so; he’d always been of the opinion that the Queen knew more about her agents than she let on. If she did, she’d never given any indication that she was displeased about anything she knew about him. She looked sincere. She sounded sincere. Even without a reason, she could have framed her expectations as a thinly-veiled threat, but she didn’t.
Aquamarine didn’t see the Queen the way Jet saw her. Her origins couldn’t have been that much different than their own. She wasn’t like Beryl, who Aquamarine had never known. Laurelite was Queen because she’d proven herself worthy.
“I used to aspire to greatness,” Aquamarine admitted.
He’d been so young when he’d joined. In retrospect, he hadn’t had a clue what he was getting himself into. To an overindulged fifteen year old, power could be seductive. Then his eyes, clouded by the promise of prestige, had opened, and he understood that power demanded sacrifice.
At the heart of all this, Aquamarine wished someone had made that sacrifice easier for him.
“My aspirations now are survival,” he continued. “I admit I’ve often been dissatisfied, but I’ve realized that sitting around waiting for things to change isn’t going to accomplish anything. If we allow the things that make us unhappy to continue, then we’re at least partially responsible for our own frustrations. The only thing stopping me from proposing this sooner was resentment, and a misguided belief that there was nothing I could do to improve anything. I was complacent, even if I didn’t think I was.”
Complacency was half the problem with their forces, in his opinion. That, and the idiocy which ran rampant, but Aquamarine didn’t think it advisable to mention the latter. Not now, anyway.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” he said, returning her sincerity. “This project has inspired me to continue finding ways to improve the circumstances of our agents. I might have other proposals in the future.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 6:36 pm
“Then know that I look forward to them. Your insight is appreciated, and respected. I am glad you have found inspiration, but remember that greatness comes in all forms, Aquamarine. I suspect what you have done here will change lives. We’ll see what the future brings, but you have created a momentum that would not exist without you. Resentment, anger. They are powerful tools. As long as they don’t consume you.” She had seen it before, even if the polite smile on her face teased no stories or lessons. Laurelite had seen bright flames burn themselves out, and incinerate others on their way. Ambition was a dangerous thing, in the wrong hands. In the right hands, all could benefit. And tonight, they would. Quote: Thanks to the efforts of General Aquamarine working with General King Lepidolite and Queen Laurelite, the Negaverse is implementing a new program! Negaverse characters are eligible for financial compensation to incentivize and reward them for their efforts. The information below has been updated into the Negaverse Tools and Resources thread for Negaverse Agents and Corrupted Senshi. Youma may be eligible for some sort of salary as well, however this can be discussed through PMs. More information can be found here. Please make sure to read through to see how it affects your character! Staff will work with players to ensure this doesn’t negatively impact any plots they currently have or are planning to have, but our hope is that this will open more roleplay opportunities and allow Negaverse characters to reach their full potential. Thank you to Sunshine Alouette for submitting the proposal and working with staff! Negaverse players are always welcome to submit ideas to the mule so if you have any ideas you would like your characters to be involved with, please PM The Space Cauldron! SalarySalary determination requires taking into account a character’s rank, length of service, standing with the Negaverse. Salary is typically expected to be supplemental pay, but agents who also have a Negaverse sponsored job (as is common in the Infiltration branch, where the Negaverse can set them up with a job that will aid them in branch duties) may have this bonus tacked onto their typical salary for that position.
Salary is determined by meeting certain benchmark goals as well as a flat base pay. A first stage character will get a base pay of $1600 per month, a second stage character can get $2000, a third stage character can get $2500, and a fourth stage character can get $3000+. This salary will increase depending on years served, especially in the case of agents who have shown consistent and thorough performance while meeting quota. This can be assumed to be +$100 per month for years served. Time spent where the character did not power up for personal reasons will not accrue any bonuses unless OOCly approved.
This is a loose parameter for what to expect and we will work with players who want to earn more or less, so please PM to work out specifics if you want to use more than the basic parameters above! Players who want their character to be eligible to earn a higher salary can be easily approved for this; if your character has projects or events they are working on for the Negaverse, have accumulated at least ten medals, or regularly spends (or is willing to spend) their ‘35 hour work week’ doing Negaverse aligned duties (such as Infiltration positions in Destiny City, Negaverse tasks or paperwork around the castle, or training themselves/others/etc.) they will be eligible for higher pay.
If a character is younger than 18 years old, their salary may be put into a bank account owned by the Negaverse to be transferred to them upon their 18th birthday; until then, they will have a bank card to use but may need to work with a superior officer to access large sums of money. Financial aid classes and guidance are available. Due to Mauvians’ technological skills, they can leave a clean trail to avoid any tax or audit issues. If a character chooses to forego their salary, the Negaverse can pay the amount of their salary in the form of a donation of their choice, or do some other goodwill for the city in their honor (such as setting up scholarships or investing the money back into the Negaverse and its projects). One Time Bonuses
Upon reaching second stage, all Negaverse characters are eligible for a one time $500 bonus. Upon reaching third stage, all Negaverse characters are eligible for a one time $1000 bonus. This can only be granted once; if a character does multiple side swaps and returns to the Negaverse, they do not get an additional bonus for regaining lost ranks. If a character has reached a rank prior to this release, they will be compensated with their bonus with their first paycheck.
Recurring Bonuses
These can be distributed based on need/player desire. If a character has ICly been going above and beyond in such a way that is documented in RP (shown in RP, not just handwaved or headcanoned off screen), they might be spotlighted/rewarded for their dedication. There might be bonuses for gathering starseeds, draining energy, taking down enemy combatants, running successful missions, etc; players interested in this option should reach out to the mule to discuss what they are hoping for/what fair compensation they are seeking. Bonuses can be treated as accomplishing certain tasks that go above and beyond, or as ‘overtime’ for work already expected of them.
OOC Exemptions from Salary
If a player wants to avoid changing their character’s living situation or has plots that require their character to remain within a certain pay bracket, there are some ways to ICly navigate this and we can work with players OOCly to find a plot explanation that satisfies them. Some explanations might be sudden and unexpected bills (home repair/increased living expenses/auto accidents/family emergencies/etc.) that constantly drain any extra funds they might have been eligible for. In some rare cases, there may be some issue within the Negaverse that would limit funds reaching them, such as a Captain/General redirected funds that should go to them elsewhere, but this is not commonplace and would require a plot. We are willing to work with players to ensure this doesn’t disrupt plots or character types they want to play, but we do want to open up the doors for the Negaverse to begin to adequately compensating their workers.
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