> Budget: $67.900
> Date: May 4, 2015 (Monday, Week 19)
>
> A new month as arrived!
> You have to pay Kaiba’s salary! (-$5.000)
> You have to pay Enatsu’s salary! (-$2.500)
> You have to pay Chigusa's salary! (-$2.500)
>
> Budget: $57.900
> Date: May 4, 2015 (Monday, Week 19)
>
> Time ticks forever onwards.
> What’s your plan for the next week?
>
> Every week an idol’s stress is automatically reduced by 30.
>
> Manager Task: Nagata Miho
> >1 - Write-in
>
> Idol Task: Kaiba Aoi (60 Stress)
> >1 - Have Kaiba work on her SKILL_HERE using the office’s in-house tools (40 stress)
> >2 - Ask Matsui to find some work appropriate for Kaiba Aoi
> >3 - Tell her to take a week off (-50 stress)
> >3 - Write-in
>
> Idol Task: Enatsu Mari (0 Stress)
> >1 - Have Enatsu work on her SKILL_HERE using the office’s in-house tools (40 stress)
> >2 - Ask Matsui to find some work appropriate for Enatsu Mari
> >3 - Write-in
>
> Idol Task: Chigusa Iki (0 Stress)
> >1 - Have Chigusa work on her SKILL_HERE using the office’s in-house tools (40 stress)
> >2 - Ask Matsui to find some work appropriate for Chigusa Iki
> >3 - Write-in
>
> Winner
> >2 - Ask Matsui to find some work appropriate for Enatsu Mari
> >2 - Ask Matsui to find some work appropriate for Chigusa Iki
> >2 - Ask Matsui to find some work appropriate for Kaiba Aoi
> >0 - (Write-in) Try and get Kaiba and Nagata some friends
You think back to that moment two weeks ago when you picked up your cat, Asuki, from Kitabayashi.
What a great thing that was that absolutely happened and you certainly didn’t forget about.
Can you imagine? That’d be terrible if you did. Good thing you didn’t forget.
You sit and your computer and go over this week’s planning.
As much as you’d like to have your idols practice all kinds of skills until they’re as good as they can be, it’s not possible.
Reality isn’t so kind. Your budget is dwindling.
Neatly tucked away in a binder on your desk are some suggestions for Chigusa and Enatsu’s idol personas.
There’ll be another performance review on August 1st and you have an inkling that they’ll probably expect something more than lofty promises and songs of untapped potential.
Luckily, there’s plenty of time until then, but the sooner you get all your idols out there – the better.
You send a quick message to Matsui for a chat and she appears in your office, clipboard in hand.
“Nagata-san,” says Matsui, closing the door behind herself, “How can I help?”
“Our budget is draining fast, our only idol which had some renown has been knocked off her throne, and I have absolutely nothing to show at the next performance review,” you say, “I think it’s time we debut both Chigusa and Enatsu and find jobs all three of the girls, including Kaiba.”
Matsui grimaces and making a note on her clipboard, “You’re not wrong,” she says, “This is a business after all. If we had to deduct both your and my salary from the budget, then we might’ve already hit zero.”
“What kind of income can we expect from the three of them?” you ask.
“Right now,” says Matsui, “Not much. Two of them are completely unknown and Kaiba is still a bit radioactive until she proves herself once more.”
“But it’s not all bad,” adds Matsui.
Oooh! Positivity. Latch onto that with both hands!
“How so?” you say, working in a quick smile.
“My job is a lot easier since they’re all basically starting from the same point,” says Matsui, returning your smile, “No need to negotiate higher wages on account of popularity.”
Geh.
“So,” says Matsui, tapping her clipboard with a pen, “Here’s what I’m going to do: I’ll find ten jobs total for all of them and you can decide who you send where? Okay?”
That’s fair.
None of your idols are popular enough that they warrant a curated list of jobs tailored to them.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“That’s fine,” you say, “We need to get them out there. The sooner they build up some fame, the better.”
You open the binder on your desk.
“Marketing dropped these off,” you say, raising some papers to show them off to Matsui, “They’re some personas that fit well with the new idols and they highly with focus groups.”
As you glance over the suggestion you remember something Watase Yoko told you.
That she spent such a long time acting as her persona that her previous personality basically withered away.
Actually, the same kind of happened to Kitabayashi Yui.
Her cheerful demeanour and somewhat childish behaviour are a direct legacy of her time as an idol.
Kaiba however hasn’t displayed many traits of her intended motherly image.
Perhaps it’s because she was only required to act that way during her stream.
That’s a stark difference from Watase Yoko who was expected to act like her persona around the clock.
> Decision: Enatsu Mari’s Idol Persona
> - Happy, sporty girl. Very similar to her current self.
> - Bratty younger sister image.
> - Deredere younger sister. Airheaded and very affectionate.
Sporty Bratty Airheaded & Affectionate [https://assets.legendkeeper.com/6e3248d2-11b9-4008-8c4f-b0f5a54bc432.jpg]
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/3c22137a-1d38-40f5-ab17-bc7f748f2906.jpg]
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/da4fb1fa-16c3-49f5-822a-49d6b24ab483.jpg]
> Winner
> >1 - Happy, energetic, sporty girl. Very similar to her current self.
You show off the idol personas to Matsui.
“I have no doubt that they’re all popular,” says Matsui, “But some might not be a good fit for Entasu-san. You’d need some serious acting chops to pull off a character with a personality so different from your own.”
You nod, “Probably best to simply go with the ‘Sporty' type. That’s basically just her being herself.”
Matsui makes a note of it, “Seems fair,” she says, “What about Chigusa-san?”
It would’ve been great if Chigusa Iki was some kind of star actor.
Her own hard-working, but cold personality might not be attractive to fans.
Nevertheless, marketing come up with some ideas.
First of which is that of a cold and isolated princess type.
Chigusa’s usual distant demeanour would be in character.
The kind of idol that should only be appreciated from afar.
The second suggested persona is much the same, but catered towards a female audience.
In the absence of cutesy behaviour, marketing felt like it might be worth it to double down on Chigusa’s stoic and masculine traits.
Last type is that of a smart, but stern childhood friend.
The type that might stick around to point out your faults and nudge you in the right direction.
These kinds of characters come with the underlying assumption that they secretly really like you and that’s why they go out of their way to help you.
> Decision: Chigusa Iki's Idol Persona
> - Princess type. Cold and condescending.
> - Prince type. Like princess, but favouring male clothing and targeted towards a female audience.
> - Stern childhood friend type.
Princess
Prince
Stern Childhood Friend
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/4b19a758-3072-4617-8606-f788be7e4578.png] [https://assets.legendkeeper.com/8d95e7dd-a334-40c0-a782-8ef8d8b14374.png] [https://assets.legendkeeper.com/1cb75fb0-32b2-4ddd-9747-ef28880c3314.png]
> Winner
> >3 - Stern Childhood Friend type
You consider your options for a moment.
Although the current Chigusa is a shoo-in for either the prince or princess personas, both roles have a shared, fatal flaw.
Both personas centre around being distant and unapproachable.
This fits the current Chigusa perfectly.
However, if you understand her correctly – she doesn’t actually want to be isolated.
Having grown up with grandparents in a town full of elderly, she simply hasn’t had the opportunity to make many (or any) friends.
Surrounded by nothing but adults, a child will quickly adjust and turn into a smaller adult themselves.
A transformation all too common, started by innocent compliments like ‘Oh, she’s so mature for her age'.
Eager to please, a child will continue behaving in ways the adults approve.
Robbing a young girl of her childhood one compliment at a time.
Rather than cementing her in a role that suits the current Chigusa, you decide to give her a chance to grow into a role that more aligns with the kind of person you think she wants to be.
One that is made to be surrounded by people, but at the same time not a persona far removed from Chigusa’s current self and thus still within reach.
“Let’s go with the childhood friend one for Chigusa,” you say, then closing the binder.
“Sure thing,” says Matsui, making a note.
“With those personas in mind, do you think you can find them some work?” you ask.
“I’ll do my best,” says Matsui with a smile.