Enatsu Mari’s job at Kyoto Animation for 3D tracking dance choreography (Wednesday)
On this Wednesday you find yourself in a remote studio owned by Kyoto Animation.
Animation is incredibly labour intensive, so they’re always looking for ways to replace traditional animation to ease the workload on the animators.
…Is what they say, but everybody knows it’s all about cutting costs.
There are seven dancers here that receive brief instruction on the desired choreography.
Apparently, Kyoto Animation is toying with the idea of a show with song and dance, but doing all that with traditional animation would be too costly.
Thus, Enatsu Mari and six other girls are currently standing in the middle of sizeable studio.
Expensive motion tracking cameras peer down on them from every corner.
> Need one “Dancing” roll for Enatsu Mari.
> Please roll one 1d100+47 (DC 80)
>
> Result
> 49 + 47 = 96 (DC 80) -- Success
Enatsu performs her task with casual ease.
Judging by the smile on her face, she might not even consider this work to begin with.
Some of the other participants don’t share that opinion, they’re wheezing their way through the exercises.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/73e3d2d1-59ad-412d-a85b-91cae2915e9b.png]
After numerous rounds of intense dance routines, the instructor concludes the experiment.
The footage will be sent to a place that specializes in motion tracking.
Only time will tell if the footage instils enough confidence in Kyoto Animation for them to use it on their major productions.
You walk up towards Enatsu and hand her a towel, “Good work out there,” you say.
“Hehe, thanks,” says Enatsu, using the towel to wipe the sweat from her face, “I had a lot of fun.”
You glance off towards the side, where a pair of young girls are sprawled out on the floor.
Not so fun for some others. It seemed very taxing on the body.
A silver-haired man wearing a baseball cap approaches, holding an iPad, “Matsuno Inc, right?” he says.
“That’s right,” you reply, bowing, “I’m Nagata Miho and this is Enatsu Mari.”
“Hiramatsu Yuuji,” says the man, bowing in kind, “I’m with the motion cap team.”
He swipes away on his tablet for a moment.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/9d04f0e9-4c10-4999-8a7f-430eb3b1c959.jpg]
“Good work earlier,” he says, “During initial screening we noticed that the motion capture software seems to take Enatsu-san’s movement quite easily. We’re not sure why, to be honest. We’d like to invite you over again for another trial run – if you’re up for it.”
You look towards Enatsu, who nods eagerly.
“If you’ll have us then we’d like to work with you again,” you reply, bowing slightly.
“That’s good to hear,” he says, making a note on his tablet, “We’ll send the details to your agency. Do know that we’ll be testing the very limits of what motion cap can accomplish next time. So, make sure you’re fit and had a good night’s rest before that.”
“Thank you,” you say, “Though we’re willing, it will have to remain to be seen if that time and place works for us.”
“Understandable,” says Hiramatsu, “Things like date and time should be listed on the job offer sent to your agency.”
You say your goodbyes and leave with Enatsu Mari to return to the office.
Once there, you notice how Enatsu is slow to move and noticeably less energetic.
“You okay?” you ask.
“Um!” says Enatsu, smiling, “I’m gonna make use of the company showers. Bye, bye, Nagata-san!”
You go your separate ways and set off towards your office.
Upon arrival, Matsui Tomo, your assistant, informs you of the job offer from Kyoto Animation.
> Kyoto Animation - Motion Capture Experiment - 2nd Round (DC100, Rank D)
> Kyoto Animation wants you to swing by again for another set of motion capture.
> They’ve mentioned that this round will be more taxing than the previous one, so prepare accordingly.
>
> Stress: 80
> Payment: $22.500
> Skill: Dancing
> Date: June 15
>
> About:
> Kyoto Animation is known to be a company with a virtuous reputation.
You glance over the job specifications.
Another straining job, you’ll have to keep that in mind.
With today’s job completed, you spend the rest of the day preparing for Chigusa’s and Enatsu’s debut later this week.
Job completed.
Payment: +$11.500
New budget: $98.000
Enatsu’s fame has increased by 1 (1 -> 2)
----------------------------------------
Thursday, a busy day.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
You’ve got Kaiba Aoi’s sailing job in the morning and Enatsu Mari’s debut in the afternoon.
As Kaiba’s job is a little later in the morning, you went to the office first to take care of some errands, but you should probably get going soon.
You pull out your phone to send a message to Kaiba to meet you at the car.
Only find a message from Kaiba that you’ve missed.
@KaibaAoi: Manager-san, I noticed that you’ll be busy with Enatsu-san’s debut today, don’t worry about me. I can make my own way there. I’ll let you know how the job went, good luck with the debut.
She went without you…?
It’s not that strange for an idol to do that as some managers are spread so thin it’s impossible to attend all jobs, but a heads-up would’ve been nice…
> Need one “Acting” roll for Kaiba Aoi.
> Please roll one 1d100+58 (DC 60)
>
> Rolled 35 + 58 (1d100 + 58) – Succes
>
> Decision
> >1 - Let Kaiba work the job by herself, it'll be a good experience, and focus on the debuts of your other idols instead.
> >2 - Get in the car and drive the docks where the job will be taking place to meet up with Kaiba
> >3 - Stay at the office, but call Kaiba
> >4 - Write-in
>
> Winner
> >3 - Stay at the office, but call Kaiba
The sky was thick with dark clouds, the merest suggestion of sunlight able to poke through the dense gathering overhead like a lone man shouldering his way through the crowds at a boyband concert.
Kaiba Aoi gazed at the sky above, then smiled, “Good…” she said quietly.
This was to be the first job she’d take on without her manager beside her.
Truthfully, she missed Nagata’s supporting presence even despite what Nagata had done.
Weren’t she and Kitabayashi supposed to be friends? Why would she lie to Kitabayashi like that?
Nagata-san might be saying she’s not interested in women, but Kaiba was wide awake that night at the hot spring.
The unsteady footsteps on the old, wooden floor, the giggling, how both she and Watase Yoko entered the same room, and the heavy breathing and the moans that followed.
And then there were the things Watase-san said…
The sudden memory causes her to blush, bringing some warmth to her cheeks.
A short distance away, a distracted young dockworker injures his bank account as he accidentally drops a crate of supplies into the ocean.
If they don’t want to be together then that’s one thing, but Kitabayashi deserves better than being lied to, right?
So, maybe it’s good that she starts distancing herself from Nagata-san a bit.
Besides, things haven’t really worked out that well for the idol Kaiba Aoi.
She failed the job before this and the one before that was taken away.
Kaiba was going to have to go on jobs by herself sooner or later, either as an idol or otherwise.
She takes a deep breath in an effort to calm her nerves.
The wind carrying the cold spray of the sea sweeps over her, stealing away another few degrees of warmth on an already chilly day.
Kaiba shivers.
In the distance, she sees people from Yoshikawa Sailing preparing a boat.
Soon, she’ll have to move up and greet them.
Fishermen and other dockworkers move towards and past her, many of them throwing glances at the prettied-up girl that seems so very much out of place.
Kaiba mutters quietly to herself, practicing her introduction.
“…I’m Kaiba Aoi from the Matsuno Inc. Idol Agency, it’s a pleasur-- it’s nice to…?”
“Hello, Kaiba Aoi from Matsuno Inc…”
“Matsuno Inc. Idol Agency, I’m Kai- … Haaa….”
Her phone rings. It’s Nagata-san.
Kaiba swallows, regretting her actions.
She should’ve said something earlier.
Being mad is no excuse when you’re supposed to be a professional.
Ah. Confrontation.
Not something Kaiba has ever been good with.
She takes a deep breath, then answer the phone.
“Yes, this is Kaiba Aoi,” she says, defaulting to formal phone etiquette.
“Ah, Kaiba-san,” says the voice of Nagata.
Kaiba’s toes curl up in her boots as she braces herself.
When she acted out like this in the past her mother would gladly free up a half hour of her schedule to remind Kaiba who she was talking to and whose roof she slept under.
“Will you be okay be yourself?” asks the voice of Nagata, “I can still swing by if you like?”
“Eh?” says Kaiba, “No, ah, I’m fine… Please focus on Enatsu-san’s debut. I’ll be fine. I… ehm…. just wanted to push myself, yeah? …Yeah.”
“Hmm,” says the voice of Nagata, “I see. Well, that’s a good initiative. Just wanted to wish you good luck today! Bye bye.”
“Ah, thank you, Nagata-san,” says Kaiba, “Bye…bye…”
The call cuts off, Kaiba sighs in relief.
“Good morning,” calls a voice.
A man approaches wearing a life vest, he extends his hand – a western greeting.
Despite his obvious foreign origin, his Japanese is quite good.
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/8164c351-35ab-46fe-a59a-e7d091bad2fe.png]
Kaiba takes the hand and shakes it, while adding in a bow, “H-hello,” she says, “I’m Kaiba Aoi from Matsuno Inc. Agency for idols…”
“Kaiba, alright,” says the man, “I’m Lionel Taylor. Or I suppose, Taylor Lionel to you.”
“Taireru?” echoes Kaiba.
The foreign name is hard to pronounce.
“Close enough,” says the man, “I’m here to spearhead the Yoshikawa Sailing marketing campaign. The foreign investors weren’t impressed with the results thus far, so they send me.”
Kaiba nods, “Ah, we-ri imperesu!” she says in her best, broken English.
She will forever remember this moment, but not in a good way.
The man coughs, “Please, Japanese is fine,” he says, “I wanted to talk to you a bit before the shoot, discuss today’s schedule.”
“Thate isu fine wetehu mi,” says Kaiba, determined to ruin any prospect of sleep.
“Again. Japanese is fine,” says Lionel Taylor, now looking mildly concerned.
He looks over his shoulder as somebody calls out to him, shouts something in English that Kaiba doesn’t understand and returns to his attention to her.
“So, we’ll be taking that boat over there,” he says, pointing towards the yacht in the distance, “And we’ll be towing a smaller sailboat. Camera folks will be on the yacht, shooting pictures of you and other girls on the sailboat. We’ve got bikinis on board. You can change in the yacht.”
“Eh?” says Kaiba, growing flustered, making strange hand gestures as she speaks, “But the pictures online… special clothing…lifejackets?"
[https://assets.legendkeeper.com/e0b7b277-886b-401c-9d3c-a2c0d4d18ccb.png]
“Conventional marketing for sailing hasn’t resulted in notable conversion in terms of sales. People in full gear with a life jacket hanging from the side of a sailboat. It’s just not doing it,” replies Lionel.
“But… I’m not sure if I…” replies Kaiva, vaguely.
“Look. A/B testing has clearly proven that the western approach causes higher user retention on the site and conversion to orders. More skin, more sales. The age old saying hold true,” says the man, then switching to English, “Sex sells.”
Kaiba gasps, “S-sekesu?”
The man raises an eyebrow, then switches back to Japanese, “Suppose your people don’t have that saying?” he says, then shakes his head, “Anyway. All the other girls are fine with wearing bikinis. You don’t have to worry about anything, we’re all professionals here. So, ignore the implication.”
“Eh?” says Kaiba, then looks away, clearly uncomfortable, “…But…the weather…?”
“Ever heard of Photoshop?” says Lionel, then runs a hand over his face, clearly tiring of the hesitation, “If you don’t want to do then we can just call your agency and call it off, we’ve got plenty of other girls.“
That’d mean another failed job for Kaiba Aoi.
Nagata-san has been very kind and understanding, but surely there’s a limit?
A limit Kaiba must be fast approaching.
“No!” says Kaiba, alarm in her voice, then calms down a little, “No… I’ll wear it.”
“Good, you’ll do great,” he says, smiling as he eyes Kaiba over, then turns, “If you’ll follow me…”