The Negotiation
One by one, they strolled back into the room, carrying food, settling into their seats.
“Emi… did you want something to eat?” Ruth offered.
Emi nodded, accepting a sandwich from a platter. Given all that she’d had to drink, she needed some solid food in her stomach. Something besides fear and worry about losing the deal or being forced to be a mailgirl.
Bandy looked like she couldn’t wait any longer. “Emi certainly you can get over your fear of real-world testing of a smartwatch app. You are a professional, are you not?”
Emi ignored her. With a mouth full of food, she couldn’t speak, regardless. Finally, she swallowed. “Just show me the contract. I want to know what I’m getting into,” Emi said, bits of food still in her mouth, deciding that trusting Brandy’s words was unlikely to serve her well.
Reluctantly, Brandy gathered the contract from Ruth’s printer and handed it to Emi.
“I need an hour with this. Please go enjoy yourselves again,” Emi said, sitting down at Ruth’s desk as if she owned the place.
Everyone left.
Emi started taking notes. Essentially, this was the meat of the contract. Or the preliminary version, as she liked to think of it. There was no way in hell she was going to agree to all of this.
- After two months, starting around the new year, Emi must pass a two-week real-world mailgirl test, with full-time office hours. This is to set the bar high, to help daily journal efforts and the big launch. A perfect mailgirl performance is required. Any failure in this test will require a reset and the two weeks will begin again. Success of this test and Jake will invest a million into Su-Ning’s resort to help development and marketing of the app.
- Sarah is to enforce and train Emi to be a perfect mailgirl (for authentic testing).
- At the end of each day, Emi is to give both a developer progress update and a personal and candid account of her mailgirl app testing. Brandy will ask questions with the help of a polygraph. The journal will have some embarrassing aspects to it, and full disclosure is mandatory.
- Upon successful completion of the app, if the expected growth with Brandy’s mailgirl community occurs, Jake will begin development upon a new multi-million dollar cruise ship port for the island and will agree to land cruise ships there every month. He will own and control the ports since he is paying for them.
- The signing of the contract is binding and all provisions need to be enforced. Backing out will cause Su-Ning’s resort to not only lose the million, but instead owe a million to be split between, and payable to, Brandy and Jake. Likewise, backing out forfeits the development of the cruise ship landing port and the agreed-upon monthly cruise ship visits.
- If Wang breaks her agreement with the newspaper requirements, she will lose access to the patrons of the cruise ship (if it happens) and also have to donate a million to Su-Nings resort and give her a year of free, full-page advertising.
- Emi will continue to test the mailgirl app until the development of the app has concluded. This will require three hours a day of ‘authentic’ mailgirl testing. Using all the mailgirl functions. Emi is to practice and perfect these ‘mailgirl training motions’ immediately, even before the app is functioning. This is to help marketing efforts and better guide the daily development of the app with practical knowledge.
Emi took a deep breath, and… just for the mental exercise, she imagined trying to negotiate with these ridiculous terms. Imagining that she didn’t just walk out right now. She took another sheet of paper and carefully wrote down how she would ‘negotiate’ with these terms, if she didn’t just outright tell them all to go fuck a cow.
After Emi had finished, she turned the revised paper over and slumped down over it. Her chin sitting on her fist, which was resting on the paper. She wanted to say something. Something about how there was no way she could ever agree to a deal like this, but the weight of her head was too much for her jaw and so she remained silent. Waiting for that dreaded moment… where she would tell them all… to go to hell.
But could she do that to Su-Ning? She needed to at least try to save the deal, excluding the testing component. She had to trust that Su-Ning had been straight with her. The woman obviously knew that this deal could be well past Emi’s red line. All people have red lines, and this was simply that. It wasn’t complicated.
Soon Ho would come in and threaten her with the extra year. Emi would say do your worst kiddo. And that would be it. Life goes back to normal. She wouldn’t have to go down in history as the world’s first real mailgirl. Sure one could argue that she’s just testing a cosplay app, but this contract is all about the mailgirl aspect and obviously, Brandy is getting off on it, regardless of her financial motivations.
More than all that, it was the principle. She didn’t want Evan’s mailgirl story to win. The idea that him passing her those stories could have resulted in her actually becoming one was just too outrageous and insulting to both her intelligence and integrity as a person that she just had to simply say – no. The big N and O. Put them together and you get NO. Two letters. One word. And that was what it was going to be.
She had to remain strong, vigilant, defiant, unflappable. Because while she was thinking of all this, there was a hurricane of guilt assaulting her from every angle. Images, memories of Su-Ning, her father, on the beach… when Su-Nig asked her about how hard it was to become a software developer. It was these memories that haunted her. Most potent of all was the car ride from the prison to the resort. How she felt when Su-Ning had saved her… riding in the very car that she had to lend to her cousin for half a year, not to mention all the money that Su-Ning paid to have her released. Going up against Wang couldn’t have been easy for the young CEO, and she did it all for Emi. Su-Ning still didn’t have access to her favorite car that her father had given her. Emi knew that she was a great deal in debt to Su-Ning. But was this asking too much in return?
The battle within herself continued at a fever pitch. It sucked out all of her energy. And so she lay slumped upon the desk, her chin firmly on her fist… resting on the turned over deal notes… that could seal her fate, making her potentially famous as the world’s first real mailgirl.
Despite telling Su-Ning she wouldn’t lose the deal, Brandy said repeatedly that everything hinged on her testing the app personally. Emi knew that this deal was likely all or nothing. She felt trapped.
The stakes were simply too high. On both sides. She needed to decide. Sitting up, she pulled open Ruth’s desk drawer and rooted around for some loose change. She found a dime and lifted it up, marveling at its design. Heads on one side, tails on the other.
She could sign the deal and make history. Or narrowly avoid history but know that she donated her dignity, her freedoms, her body, her soul, for what? For a nudist resort? For Su-Ning? But Su-Ning saved her… but did Su-Ning actually give this much of herself? No, this was returning the favor of saving her life, saving her from prison… with well… her very life. Or was it? Was she overreacting? Was she already naked in an office? Was this really not that big of a deal? It was just a part-time mailgirl deal, only a few hours a day… for just a few months.
She imagined herself testing the app. There she was, delivering a message to someone on the third floor perhaps… everyone watching her. But she didn’t know them. This was a foreign country. Hell if it was Becca she might even enjoy it a little. Isn’t there a form of enjoyment from being submissive? What did Su-Ning say? Strong people sometimes enjoy being submissive? Was that her? Did she enjoy this? Was that why she was naked here and now? A smarter woman wouldn’t have been in this situation to begin with. Regardless, these were the cards that she had been dealt and now she had to play them. But what was it going to be? Heads or tails? She took the coin, like some shiny gem, and leaned back in Ruth’s chair, way back as she triggered the chair to extend back further as she held it up above her. It was bright with the ceiling’s light sparking around it as she turned it over and over in her fingers.
Ruth and Ho walked in, both looking a little frazzled. Were they stressing out as well? Ho had some white powder rubbed off around her mouth, sort of like a homeless clown face. She looked pathetic. But her demeanor seemed unaffected. Her demeanor looked different… she seemed to be… friendly?
Hah… Emi thought. Was she going to try the ol ‘good cop’ routine on her in an effort to gallantly save the resort, her own job, and all the jobs of all the staff and Su-Ning’s family while she was at it… by simply being nice to her? Was that her plan? What a fool.
Ho took a chair and turned it to face Emi. Ruth did the same.
Emi ignored them as she continued to hold the dime up, letting it sparkle against the light through her squinted eyes.
“What’s that in your hand Emi?” Ruth asked.
“Salvation,” Emi replied.
“Emi?” Ho asked, tentatively.
Emi sat back up, putting Ruth’s dime back into the drawer. “Yes Ho?”
“Did you read the contract?”
“I did.”
“Was it understandable?”
“Absolutely.”
“Are you ready then?”
“I am.”
“Then… I guess… we can resume. Ruth, can you gather everyone?”
Eventually, they all returned.
“Can we get someone else to do the mailgirl testing?” Emi suggested, hoping that she could lead with that.
As expected, Brandy dived right in. “Absolutely not Emi. The whole point of the contract is for your participation. Without you, all this would be pointless.”
It was worth a try, Emi thought. “I took notes of all the major points in the contract. There is a lot that I don’t agree with. I’m not sure this can happen.”
“Well, this is a ‘negotiation’ Emi. Let’s talk about the items, one by one. And see where we settle on things.
“Alright,” Emi said. The least she could do was give them some time. Act as if she was really considering all this. Besides, it might be interesting to see what she can score when negotiating with Brandy. It could be like a game.
“Let’s start with your notes. Let’s see where you stand on things Emi. Sarah, if anything changes, please amend the contract on the fly.”
Sarah nodded, opening her laptop.
“Ahh… okay… ummm… think I will start with my biggest concern. The thing that bothers me the most is the idea that my name gets out and I am somehow associated with this project. I think the only way I can even consider this contract is if Brandy personally buys me an apartment nearby and gives me ownership. When I leave this island, or 5 years later at the latest, if my good name is still un-famous, unsullied and undiminished… then I will return the property ownership back to Brandy.”
Brandy stepped back in surprise. “Emi… that’s a little personal. My own finances?”
“Personal? I’m naked. It doesn’t get any more personal than that. If you want to continue, this is how we start.”
“Alright, I’ll seriously consider it. Let’s move on to the next point.”
“Sorry, I need a full agreement on that point Brandy,” Emi said, curious how she was going to respond to that one.
“So you want to lock me into protecting you. Okay, then I want to lock you into this deal as well. If you back out or don’t do exactly as the contract specifies, then we get to publish your name and images. We can call this the mutual assured destruction clause,” Brandy laughed.
Emi thought about it, feeling that she’d succeeded in getting enough of Brandy’s skin in the game to protect herself. Besides if she actually ended up signing this ridiculous contract, she had no illusions about how tough this was going to be. She had no plan to back out if she miraculously signed at the end of this gong show. “Okay, that point is resolved,” Emi said, taking a deep breath.
“I want Jake to pay one million right off the bat to Su-Ning, just to kick-start this. With no strings attached. If we complete the project, then an additional million will be expected as well,” Emi said, looking nervously at Jake.
“I’ll leave this to Brandy,” he said, showing a poker face.
Brandy pulled out her pen and started making notes. “That sounds reasonable, but it’s only fair to have that go both ways. If you cannot satisfy the contract, then both you and Su-Ning are liable for a million each.”
“No… I said, no strings attached on the first million. But I accept your suggestion that the second million we would be liable for, but only if it was first paid. Which it will not be unless we complete the app satisfactorily. So your counteroffer simply has no merit… Brandy.”
Brandy was taken aback. “Ahh…”
Jake laughed. “That’s fine Emi… let’s move on to the next point.”
“I really dislike the idea of Sarah being in charge of me. That’s a non-starter.”
“Sorry, that’s not negotiable. Sarah is next to you with development, she’s the only one in a position to do this and she seems to have knowledge of the subject matter. Plus we are only talking about the brief mailgirl training, for the vast majority of each day, you will be entirely in charge of your teams. How about you ask for something in return?”
“Fine, I get to wear sunglasses. THAT is non-negotiable. I’ll trade you that for allowing Sarah to be in control.”
“I’ll accept that, but not in the building. A major part of being a mailgirl is to look down, acting submissively. If we can’t see your eyes, then you won’t be testing the app properly.”
“That has little value for me, as I’m not planning on going outside much. Then I can wear them on my head for safety and if anyone looks like they are planning to take my photo then I can put them on and run away.”
“We plan to have strict rules protecting your environment, Emi. That will not be an issue. But if you require this so terribly, then you must agree to the polygraph after each testing session.”
“You’re getting greedy, that’s a separate item,” Emi complained.
“Your request is that huge, it requires more on the table to balance it out,” Brandy explained.
“Whatever, I don’t lie,” Emi shrugged.
“Wonderful. What is your next point Emi?”
“Three hours testing a day is too much. I will be unable to develop the app. You have way too much work in a short amount of time. I think 30 min a day is sufficient.”
“You can remove an hour if you promise to completely obey Sarah’s training. So two hours.”
Emi folded her arms. No doubt Sarah was going to make this hard on her. “I’ll agree to that at 60 minutes a day.”
“Let’s split the difference. 90 min a day and move on to the next point.”
Emi hated this, but she was glad to cut three hours in half. She was making progress. “Lastly, on the continued development of the app. I require 3 months max on that provision. Otherwise you might simply keep adding features, trapping me indefinitely.
“Emi you said yourself that it was bare-bones just for 2 months. We need the fully featured app next, followed by the ACE features after that. I think you should commit to at least a year on this.”
“Six months.”
“Look Emi, I don’t want to endanger the project by putting that much pressure on you. I think you need at least 9 months to comfortably develop this project, don’t you agree?”
Emi thought about this. The mailgirl training was only for two months plus the final test run. It was a complex app, and would it help to have less time pressure. “Fine.”
“Next point. There was something about a test run after two months, just before launch, ‘there will be a full-time mailgirl presentation for a period of two weeks to fully test the system’. Well, two weeks is way too long. Two days is fine,” Emi insisted.
“I’ll knock that down to one week if, and only if, you comply with Sarah’s training to the T, following anything in Seahawk’s story as if it were a training manual or bible.”
Emi considered that. While she hadn’t read the full story, she knew from Hannah that the story was indeed the most humane and safest of all the mailgirl stories. Still, this was a big ask. But for some reason, she had been expecting this. It was probably unwise to make such a big decision after drinking so much. But then she pretty much already agreed to this in an earlier point. This was practically a redundant point. “Alright…” she agreed. She was probably going to regret this in the morning, assuming she was actually going to sign.
After another hour of talking out boring little points, and it appeared as if they were at the end of all the negotiations, everyone took a moment, looking at each other. The anticipation was in the air. Everyone seemed as if they expected Emi to sign, but it wasn’t yet 100% certain.
Emi felt trapped. “Brandy, just tell me one thing. What’s in it for you?”
“I thought it was obvious. Well, you see… I pretty much started this whole mailgirls cosplay thing. I get a decent slice of the profits from ACE events. But, well… after 2 or 3 events at any particular resort, things slow down for my events as the mailgirls thing tends to perpetuate on its own after that. I maintain some control via online forums and such, but financially, it’s the resorts that keep benefiting from them while I’m mostly left out in the cold. I think the app that you make will strengthen my grip on the mailgirl community. It will help me shape and grow it, and hopefully, eventually, help share some of the profits with me. I am the founder of the mailgirl movement after all. Without my guidance, this movement could very well fade away, which would hurt nudist resorts around the world.”
Emi nodded. It sounded like an honest answer. It was all about power and money.
Emi took a deep breath. Ho was watching her carefully. Letting out her breath, Emi subtly nodded to her.
Looking relieved, Ho took the modified contract and signed for Su-Ning. Wang also signed. Sarah signed on as the mailgirl authenticity trainer. Brandy signed as well.
The only remaining signatures were for Emi and Jake to sign.
Jake shook Emi’s hand. “You’re a hard bargainer!”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Emi grimaced.
Everyone watched Emi as Brandy passed her the pen. Emi picked up the contract and brought it around to Ruth’s desk and fished out that dime from her drawer. “Heads I walk, tails you have my ass.” And with that she flicked the coin high into the air, spinning, and it came clattering down on Ruth’s desk. Everyone watched… as it fell… finally… on tails.
Emi picked up the pen and signed. Fuck it, like as if she wasn’t going to sign. She just couldn’t do that to Su-Ning, no matter the result of that coin toss. She just wanted to prove a point… that fate, destiny… was out to get her. And the coin toss confirmed it.
“Jake, you haven’t signed the contract yet,” Brandy said.
“Don’t worry, we have an agreement in principle. I’ll have my people look it over tomorrow, and hash out the finer details. Make sure there is a good location that we can build the port at. Cross all the T’s and dot the ‘I’s. Tonight I want to have a good sleep. Ho, do you have a couple rooms for us at your resort? I wouldn’t mind trying the place out for a day in the meantime.”
Ho nodded. “Yes, of course! It would be our pleasure.”
“Brandy, would you mind joining me?” Jake asked.
Bandy looked at him with some side-eye. “I suppose you are insisting that I come along with you to a… nudist resort?”
“Absolutely. This whole thing was your idea and Ruth did say that nothing embarrasses you.”
“That’s true,” she laughed… her patented full-throated laugh. “Lead on Jake!”
Emi, still holding the very heavy pen, marveling at its power over her life, saw Jake turn to face her. She looked up at him.
Jake moved a chair out of the way. “Ahh… one favor, you see… after seeing that picture of you pulling the rickshaw… well, I’ve been dying to get a ride in one from the legendary mailgirl herself. Would that be okay, Emi?”
Emi blinked a few times.
Ho stepped up immediately. “That would be absolutely fine. It’s very late out and nobody will be around,” she added, quickly looking at Emi with a warning glance.
“I’d prefer to hear it from Emi herself,” Jake insisted.
Emi put Ruth’s pen back into its fancy marble holder on her desk. “Ahh… well, I’m sorry Jake. But it’s illegal for me. You see… I’m ahh… waiting for a travel permit,” Emi explained, glad for the delay.
“Actually, Wang and I got that covered before the meeting Emi,” Sarah said, pulling out a tag permit with a string. “This was very difficult to get. Here let me put it on you,” Sarah offered. It looked like a shiny metal army dog-tag dangling from a cheap piece of string.
Emi froze awkwardly as Sarah began tying the string around her neck. Emi could smell her weak scented perfume, as her gut lurched, realizing that soon she would be outside pulling a rickshaw, naked. She didn’t see how she could get out of it, especially considering it was dark out.
Sarah took her time, seemingly enjoying her task.
Emi felt that she was entirely too close. Was that a smirk on her face?
Finally, Sarah finished, stepping back. “There you are Emi… off you go now.”
I just wanted to write down some thoughts on this chapters, but it turned out to become quite lengthy. I am absolutely enthusiastic about the story; I haven’t been so enthralled with a story since I was following the chapter wise publication of Seahawks “Confessions of a Mailgirl”!
I hope I don’t bore you too much.
–
The negotiations
This was cool. Emi showed her other side, that she can also be tough as nails. For at least one point she had the better of Brandy by forcing her to buy her an apartment to make sure her name doesn’t get out. For Emi’s future this is a key point. If this gets out, she can forget her career as software developer/team leader. However, if she quits than they have the right to publish her name and photos. Emi can’t allow this to happen. And also, with Brandy’s counteroffer with this one million payment, which Emi was able to refuse.
–
However, she was not able to get rid of the clause that Sarah will be in charge of her mailgirl training. This I am sure will have some very tough consequences for Emi.
–
And Emi accepted the polygraph for the “personal and candid account of her mailgirl app testing” with the resulting “journal will have some embarrassing aspects to it, and full disclosure is mandatory”.
–
Emi was able to reduce the daily app testing to 90 minutes if she promises to completely obey Sarah’s training. Emi was also able to reduce the two-week real-world full day mailgirl test run after the first two-month development to one week, but only if she complies with Sarah’s training to the smallest detail, following anything in Seahawk’s story as if it were a training manual or bible. However, the contract stipulates that “any failure in this test will require a reset and the real-world test will begin again”. With this clause of “any failure” it is basically up to Ruth, Brandy or Sarah to extend this as the like.
–
All in all, I don’t really think Emi gained too much in the negotiations apart from the part about her anonymity. Her opponents gave her the feeling she achieved something, but in the end, they got everything they wanted. With the additional strict emphasis on Sarah’s training and Seahawk’s story as training manual. I don’t think Emi was a match for them.
–
Once again, very convincingly written the way Emi thinks she can get anything out of the negotiations, but is no match for them.
–
Motivations of Ruth and Brandy
–
If they want an app, they of course could test it in the normal way and if it is necessary to have a saucy developers and testing journal, they could write some fake journals. So, this whole real mailgirl testing wouldn’t be necessary to make a lot of money. But that is not the motivation especially for Brandy. She obviously gets off on controlling a naked mailgirl. This is clearly shown in the language of the contract, like
• a perfect mailgirl performance is required
• Sarah is to enforce and train Emi to be a perfect mailgirl
• a personal and candid account of her mailgirl app testing
• the journal will have some embarrassing aspects to it, and full disclosure is mandatory
• Emi is to practice and perfect these ‘mailgirl training motions’ immediately, even before the app is functioning
• a major part of being a mailgirl is to look down, acting submissively
• you comply with Sarah’s training to the T, following anything in Seahawk’s story as if it were a training manual or bible
–
Embarrassment, humiliation and total control for Emi is the goal! They use it as an opportunity to have their own mailgirl. Brandy is the driving force but Sarah apparently is strongly in it as well. I am not sure about Ruth.
–
With this introduction of the Brandy character and the interspersed remarks by her make her actions and motivations comprehensible.
Not much get’s past you arthwys. This is a very enjoyable and comprehensible analysis of the negotiation. I loved every sentence. It does appear that Brandy seems obsessed with pushing this mailgirl thing to the max, and she seems to be delighted that she has trapped an unwilling subject. But this isn’t your normal MBA mailgirl subject. This is Emi Yoshida.
What a wonderful little paragraph: The battle within herself continued at a fever pitch. It sucked out all of her energy. And so she lay slumped upon the desk, her chin firmly on her fist… resting on the turned over deal notes… that could seal her fate, making her potentially famous as the world’s first real mailgirl. What a nice little set-up. And we know Emi so well. She’s truly trapped by the circumstances … and by who she is. I bow to you, ReaderMan. What a wonderful set up. It’s now clear how much you put into engineering all this. And the amazing part … it seemed all so organic … almost as if the story were drifting aimlessly along. Hardly! You knew right where you were going from Chapter 1. You took forever to get here, that’s true, but the journey has been fun. And now it seems as if the destination is going to be funner.
Wait, so BLAIR is saying to another writer, “you took forever to get here?”
Exactly! He’s one to talk! Haha…
Hey, I have to call foul! This is ReaderMan’s story. Shouldn’t it be his turn to be whipping boy!?
That said, I’m so glad you’re back, Molly. I saw the Hooked6 comment a few days ago. Boy did that bring back memories. He sure dealt this writer a quick kick to the you-you-whats that day.
But anyway, focus on ReaderMan … plenty of fodder here (and just ahead) for your flamethrower.
And, in case you are wondering, you’ll get another chance at me in a few weeks. I’ve been writing an enf “short” story — short by my standards anyway. It looks as if I’m settling on “Jessa Meets Her Match” for a title. Yes, JMHM. I spent a lot of time on that acronym. It’s right up there with WAGWDFL, I imagine.
Your friend, Blair
I take credit for engineering way too much plot setup. And also for the long long meandering path to this destination. Why did I take my time so much? Well… I was learning to write. Training if you will. I wanted to to have a certain level of ability once I got to this area. Plus I was having fun along the way. So the story setup has been completed, pretty much. Now we can finally start!
I don’t think the story is over-engineered. I prefer it if a story develops in a logical and convincing way based on cause and effect and the motivations of the characters involved. Especially, if their motivations are described or hinted at, the reader can put himself in their shoes and see if their actions are convincing.
For example, trying to understand Ho’s recent decisions. Banning the developers to the marketing building was a necessary thing to do because they interfered with the running of the nudist resort (if I remember correctly, some guests were complaining). Then it is also logical to have Emi there as well, because from a business point of view it is sensible to have marketing, development and the head of development (Emi) at the same location. Now with the mailgirl app, the testing obviously has to take place in an office environment. So another reason to base Emi at the marketing building. Because mailgirls are nude, Ho probably came to the conclusion that it would help the whole thing to have Emi permanently in the nude.
I don’t think Ho acted out of malice, because her future depends on Emi to succeed. So there is no point to put Emi under unnecessary pressure; she might break and quit. Then everyone has lost. However, Ho doesn’t like Emi too much on a personal level, so I think she still enjoys it a little bit to put Emi in humiliating positions.
As far as the nude travel permit and the Resort Ambassador Duty outside the resort is concerned, I think this was mainly Wang’s doing. During Emi’s trial in court it was Wang who wanted her nude, because she wanted a more serious punishment after what Emi did to the shrine of Wang’s dead daughter. Just nude inside the Resort wasn’t enough for Wang but the judge didn’t go along with her demands. Now she got what she wanted. And although Ho wants the new Resort Ambassador duties to be light so it doesn’t interfere with the app development, Wang might insist on it. For example, the chance to have cruise ships stop at the island will surely require public relations (involving Emi!) with the local business community. And Wang is on the council.
So everyone is behaving quite rational:
– Wang’s behavior is based on the events with the shrine of her daughter and the trial.
– Ho must run the resort now that Su-Ning is away and make sure everything runs smoothly (like removing the development team from the resort and concentrate all efforts at the marketing building).
So very well “engineered” and that’s why it is convincing.
Thanks for the positive in-depth analysis arthwys! I’m glad that you think all the cause – effect stuff makes sense. You seem to be bang on about Ho and Wang.
You say, the setup for your story is complete and now you can really start? So this means we can expect at least 18 more chapters about Emi’s trials as a mailgirl? I mean, the main part has to be longer than the introduction, right?
That’s the best news I have heard in a while! :-))
It’s just app testing… lol. Isn’t it? Or is it Emi testing?
The length of the story depends upon you guys. If interest wanes, I can always start hop-skipping to the finish line with time jumps. Right? If Confessions of a Mailgirl can do that then…
The only criticism I have of “Confessions of a Mailgirl” is the time jump near the end. I don’t know why Seahawk did this, maybe he lost interest or was worried that his story will become repetitive.
So, I really hope you don’t start “hop-skipping”. You have developed a scenario with so many different aspects and different plot possibilities, that it would be a waste to jump towards the end. I don’t see any danger of repetition in your setup.
No time jumps scheduled at the moment.
But I understand Seahawk’s need to time jump. His writing was so good because he was tight with his ideas and scenes. He deeply encapsulated a section and then polished it relentlessly, until every aspect was just right. He didn’t let his ideas out to loosely grow like most writers. He chose which moments to highlight and focused on those specifically. He’s just very strict, disciplined and tactical with his writing. The old quality vs quantity debate. And it worked. Those strong scenes stuck with us.
And yet, I remember when he was first posting Confessions to Indian Outlaw’s ASN site, when he did a time jump from the first day to six weeks in (now from Chapter 3 to Chapter 4), some people complained bitterly. Turns out he knew what he was doing, but it didn’t stop some of his readers from second-guessing him.
I can just imagine, William Shakespeare sitting in a pub, reading the first draft of Hamlet to his drinking buddies. After he finishes, one of them slurs out, “I dunno, Bill. Seems kinda wordy…”
I remember that. I also wasn’t a fan of time jumps. I distinctly remember biting my tongue. Still, he nailed his goal and stuck to his guns. To be fair, people often have limited time to write. If he had x number of scenes in mind, spaced at different times in her two year contract, then that’s just how it goes.
As to Emi time jumps. It depends upon my time and reader interest. So far we got around 5-6 people commenting, super fans. But I wonder if the change of direction turned off some who were enjoying the previous lighter direction.
I don’t think it would’ve turned off anyone, at least not anyone familiar with Seahawk’s story and the earlier Mailgirl stories. His sort of reset the genre. I go back and re-read some of the earliest ones and they’re a little cringe-worthy. They were definitely a sub-genre of BDSM & focused a lot more on the degradation of the women.
Seahawk instead made its focus on the power struggle between the mailgirls and the people running the program, and the internal struggle the mailgirls go through. I expected you were doing a slow build to something similar, making sure your readers got to know Emi and cared what happened to her, before watching things go south. I’m sure at some point I’ll think, “Oh, poor Emi.” and then “I wonder how she’s going to deal with this?”
The two post above (March 12, 2021 at 8:22 pm and 8:26 pm) were by me, arthwys. I forgot to log in.
Okay, so now we see the terms of the contract and again there is still no mention of compensation. If people will be investing and/or losing millions of dollars, then how much does Emi get? How can it be a contract without this detail?
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Also, although I realize what the author is trying to establish for the sake of the story, I’m not sure it is entirely convincing why the first clause insists on “a perfect mailgirl performance” when the supposed actual customers of the app only want to cosplay in the first place. I’m pretty sure most of those cosplaying chicks would quit in a huff if pushed too far to meet a pretend goal.
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“Your request is that huge,” Brandy says at one point, but it is unclear what she is referring to. Emi’s most recent point was only that she wear sunglasses and avoid getting her picture taken. What is “huge” about that?
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The High Exalted Seahawk (rumor has it Readerman has a shrine to him in his home ) is specifically cited and we are told that while Emi has not read his story she was told it was “the most humane and safest of all the mailgirl stories.” Too bad she didn’t read the part where the heroine gets bound and gagged and locked in a closet for hours. Oh yes, so very “humane.” I hear Seahawk is up for the f#cking Nobel Peace prize. Personally, I have not read those OTHER mailgirl stories, but if Seahawk’s is supposedly the shining example of humane treatment of women, then I have to conclude that all of you mailgirl-lovers are truly some sick and twisted individuals (no offense). I am tempted to write a vigilante/revenge story in which an ex-mailgirl not only takes vengeance on her tormentors but then tracks down all of you devoted readers and . . . shows your girlfriends your browser history.
Classic!
I am slowly starting to suspect that mailgirl stories are not generally liked by everyone…
I would love to read such a story. But let me first clean my browser history…
I completely agree. I would LOVE to read that story! Especially with a slow start where the ex-mailgirl is still a mailgirl for a while. Can you imagine that?! Molly writing a bona fide mailgirl story. That would blow my mind!
But serious folks. Let’s not jest… in case we all forgot, Evan in Seattle lost the love of his life in a similar manner, and so this is not something to play trivial with. Always clear your browser history no matter what!
My dear Molly. Please have a little faith. This is in the real world and literally anything can happen. Not everything is as dire as it seems at first blush. How things seem and how they pan out can be dramatically different.
In the meantime. Please buckle your seatbelt. There is more turbulence ahead. But please, have faith! (Also hold on to your bootstraps!) Have lots of faith in your friend.
ReaderMan (the writer you inspired who sometimes likes drama and intensity, at points in the story).
Sorry ReaderMan. That’s not going to cut it. That’s not the real world, this is. And in this world, you don’t get to script eveyone’s reactions … only on your little island.
It’s totally fine to not enjoy Seahawk’s story after that brief bdms foreplay scene. It was consential, between two women, who later enjoyed each other’s pussies. But if one has a fear of being locked up it would totally ruin the vibe – I get that. Every story redefines mailgirls and even though this story isn’t technically a mailgirl story, it’s pretty close and will certainly choose it’s own path. I don’t have everything figured out yet, but there will certainly be parts that even Molly will like and other parts that will have my bum stinging. But that is to be expected. So I will humbly take my punishments (and praise) with a brave face.
A million was slated for development and marketing. Some will go to Brandy and Ruth for marketing, but most of it will go to Su-Ning. Su-Ning will extend the contract and I hope she damn well that she (and Becca) pays out some bonuses for Emi. Especially considering Emi’s risks and the fact that she managed negotiate an extra million, making it two million. A side bonus is the apartment, free rent for sure or potentially ownership. But outside of that Emi get’s her regular 220k salary as per usual from Becca. Remember they are an elite specialist team to begin with. Hired contractors. At first blush, this is more or less a contract extension. But good point, I’ll think on this more in upcoming chapters.
A great question. The deal is essentially a complex marketing push. It’s a ‘hype the mailgirl fanbase’ project with 3 equally important ingredients:
1 mailgirl software developer, 1 mailgirl app, and 1 mailgirl developer journal.
But the real question is… is Brandy out of her stupid mind? That’s the real question. But for now, for better or worse, this is the deal that Emi signed.
Brandy, the self proclaimed queen of mailgirls, doesn’t like the idea of a mailgirl running around with sunglasses on her head like it’s a day a the beach. Since she takes this mailgirl stuff so seriously, it was a big deal for her personally.
I can only interpret this strongly worded comment to mean that you care for Emi and for that I am deeply grateful. It was my goal to make a touching story that could make us feel something, and I’m honoured that this dramatic moment in the story has managed to garner some emotion from a writer that once pushed for ReaderMan to become WriterMan. I worked really hard to make the story good, and the drama in this scene intense, and have us all feel something – strong.
As to mailgirls in general. There lots of female fans of the genre as well and I don’t think any of them are misandrists. It’s just a fun genre minus the handcuffs and spankings found in more serious stories. I am very proud to say that our very own esteemed sbjdanials is kicking ass on the site with her ‘Mailgirl Six Blog’. Lizstanton wrote about a PhD student first day researching life amongst the mailgirls, and her story is amazing. Plus Kinsey herself, the creator of this site, the writer of ‘Jennifer Naked at the Oscars’ is slowly writing multiple groundbreaking stories around mailgirls or that environment in general.
My point, is I know that one line touched a nerve. You were in the middle of reading my super intense scene and so you’re flamethrower finger clenched there for a bit. I think you might have scared a few of my fans but other than that it’s all fine. Blair was laughing because finally it was my turn to get some choice words. But umm… just remember that we are friends and this is just words and fiction, and we are all having fun, and that this is my first story and I’m just doing my best. (Showing puppy-dog eyes) And umm… just remember one thing – if you see something that you don’t like in the next chapters – it’s all Blair’s fault! He made me write it all. I swear!
ReaderMan! We both know that Molly is not going to buy that line. Truthfully, I think the puppy-dog eyes represents your best shot … go with that.
If you got anything from me, it might be that your story is growing and growing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s not necessarily a good thing either. I’m still trying to cure myself … making some progress, actually. But I’m not encouraging you to give any of what you have planned short shrift. The would invite the ire of all your fans … not something I’m willing to do.
I was just kidding, and she knows it. Blair, you have been enjoying my roasting a little too much! Yes, the puppy dog eyes. I’ll work on it.
But seriously, I am a little worried about some aspects that she’s about to read. I think I need to invest in some flame retardant. Does anyone have any spare fireproof shields?
You know what… it’s going to be fine. Just relax everyone. Molly has toyed with minor bdsm elements in her stories, and so have others. It’s all good.
I don’t want to lose any readers from a simple misunderstanding in a comment. This message is not for my friend Molly.
So for the record. When it is said that Seahawks story is the most humane of the mailgirl stories. What we are talking about, are the HR rules around mailgirls in a corporate setting.
We are not talking about what two consenting adults do behind closed closet doors in some side storyline. That side-scene (very good btw) was not what was referred to when the word humane was invoked. That was just some relatively standard BDSM between two women that were hot for each other.
In Seahawk’s story, if even a high powered executive (male or female) did ‘anything‘ that was deemed harassment, they were instantly let go. Some mailgirl stories tend to tolerate abuses to women like random groping, verbal abuse, touching and other things. None of that was tolerated in Seahawk’s story. The HR was super powerful – because it was needed – to convey a level of realism that women would even attempt such a job. What was wanted, was a job, that could potentially be fun, for an exhibitionist. So a strict – look, don’t touch – policy was firmly in place in that story. They needed to be careful because there were protesters and lobbyists trying to shut them down and so they needed a squeaky clean image. Plus they were trying to spread the culture to other companies and needed to be a shining example.
It was my fault to not explain this difference very well. (I need to fix that in the story, obviosly) And so Molly understandably got upset. She likes Emi and doesn’t want hard stuff like that closet scene to happen to Emi. Totally understandable. What I should have said was that the corporate mailgirl protections in that story were the best compared to other stories.
This is exactly the reason, Seahawk’s story is legendary and enjoyed by so many women. And also, I do not, have a shrine to Seahawk in my home. It’s a Lizstanton8181 shrine! Because her mailgirl stories rock (but are a little too intense for our Emi here).
Goodness, I suppose I shall need to start checking back on the site more promptly after making my comments. Since I was so far behind in my reading I really didn’t expect anyone to notice except Readerman (whom I assumed would be sufficiently accustomed to my style of expression without reading too much into it).
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So, to be clear, I was not “upset,” and I don’t even consider that comment of mine to be a “rant.” Heck, I barely powered up Lucile for those few sentences. As you may know, a high-end flamethrower like Lucile needs to be used now and then to keep it in good operation. Also, I do have to admit I love the scent of gasoline and smoke hanging in the air afterwards. Smells like victory.
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(Here, Molly frets a bit — worried that some readers may not understand that she is merely making a semi-clever movie reference and shall interpret her bon mots too literally. And yet, she soldiers on).
Of course I’m all good. And that’s a good point. Likely only those that commented got pinged on your late comments. Which is why (ladies and gentlemen) you should always leave at least ONE comment. Or you could totally miss out on Molly and her flame thrower.
Ahh. It’s been a while. I’ve almost forgotten the smell of gasoline and smoke in the air. Good thing you warmed up Lucile. The next chapter’s feeling a little frosty.