《I Became the Manager of the First Galactical Idols》#125: …Are Real Today
Advertisement
Although work on the fourth album had already begun before the conference, it accelerated after that. Half of the team focused on it, while the other half focused on the rest of the projects.
Two developers were hired to start working with the people in charge of the QTubers project—Aya and Tomokazu—and with Jun, who was the designer. The developers could also work on other projects related to the QNet or even Humas, if GIMA ever decided to make them.
Prior to opening our studios to other artists, GIMA invested a considerable amount of money in renovating the buildings on the street where HQ was located, while keeping their antique architecture. However, we didn't expect the government to acknowledge our actions and even commit to allocating more resources to the Trading District over the following years.
In the middle of work, a TV channel invited Blostars to act in a TV drama that hadn't even come out yet. Despite the unique opportunity, the pay was quite low for a show with an unknown reception by the public, so we asked for a little more money and they accepted.
Only I accompanied the girls since I was their manager and needed to make sure they were comfortable. Not only that, but I was also going to be in the scene.
We met some of the most popular actors and actresses as soon as we stepped into the studio, which was built to replicate a fancy restaurant. All of them kindly greeted us and even chatted with the girls for a couple of minutes.
Then, we were led to our dressing room. There was no need to change clothes because the show producers had asked us to come dressed in something we would wear to a fancy restaurant, so we chose something not too formal. Instead, the makeup artists started doing their work.
The girls reviewed the few lines each of them had in the meantime. Since I didn't have any lines, I just chatted.
It was time for the shoot. We were led into the fake restaurant, passing between a few cameras and several people, to get to our table. We sat down and the director approached us to carefully describe the scene, probably using concepts that professionals like him wouldn't use. He even answered our questions patiently.
Finally, the cameras began to roll.
The protagonist, an aspiring musician, stepped into the restaurant and looked for someone in all directions. His brow furrowed when he didn't find the person he was looking for, but his eyes sparkled when he saw Blostars eating at one of the tables.
The receptionist tried to stop him, but he ignored her and approached us. We needed to act surprised yet not shocked, so the six of us stared at him with our eyes wide open.
"You're Blostars!" the protagonist burst in excitement. "I'm sorry for my bad manners but, could you give me a tip on how to be a successful musician?"
Advertisement
We frowned in confusion when he asked that, instead of asking for a picture or a signature.
A waiter approached him from behind.
"Excuse me, sir, but we'll kindly ask you to refrain from bothering the guests."
"It's alright," replied Sanae. "What do you think a good tip will be?"
Risa answered, "Work hard."
"Practice every day," said Astra.
Aki smiled, "Don't aim high from the beginning. Start at the bottom to gain experience."
"Have talent," added Umi.
"All of them are good," Sanae said, "but you should focus on surrounding yourself with good people. That'll be a good start."
The protagonist opened his eyes wide as if he just had a huge revelation.
"Thank you!"
Then he sprinted out of the restaurant.
The director cut the scene and everyone in the studio clapped. I thought we had done a good job, and the director said that as well, but he believed the scene could be better. So, we recorded the same scene another eight times before going back home.
Overall, it was a fun and interesting experience, and it was nice to see the acting lessons coming to fruition, but the next experience was nothing short of interesting as well.
Three of the songs in the album had an orchestra. We could've cheaply used a computer-generated one as we had done for the past albums, but we had money this time.
We rented an orchestra hall in another country for a day to record the three songs, since it was offensively expensive. There was no need for anyone else other than Miki and the producer to come, but I flew the girls and myself out on a whim.
The girls and I watched how Miki and the producer discussed the songs with the orchestra conductor before starting to record. Even I noticed how perfectly the sound bounced off the walls of the hall.
Computer-generated orchestras could replicate real ones perfectly, even the imperfections, but there still was something missing from them, and it was a feeling I couldn't describe.
The recording session lasted eight hours. I was tired despite not doing anything, I couldn't imagine how the one hundred people in the orchestra felt. It wasn't necessary, but the eight of us thanked them for their hard work.
We returned home and the album was practically done, but there was one thing left to do. The producer wanted a deeper voice to sing the background choir of Galaxy Horizons along with the girls. We could've easily hired a professional singer to do so, but Aki suggested that I sing out of nowhere.
Although she had been teaching me how to sing better for several months, I never expected her to suggest such a big thing. To my surprise, everyone agreed with the idea despite them not knowing that I had been practicing.
Advertisement
The recording session was planned to last thirty minutes. I stepped into the recording booth for the first time since it had been built, put the headphones on, and looked at Miki and the producer through the window. To make matters worse, the girls were in the studio too.
I listened to the girls' recordings a few times first, then it was time to sing. The fact that only Aki had heard me sing sent shivers down my spine, so I closed my eyes and sang from memory.
Even though I had to sing for less than ten seconds, it felt like an eternity. When I finished and opened my eyes, everyone stared at me with their eyes wide open. I was expecting them to say something, but they merely glanced at each other. I thought my singing was horrible.
Miki and the producer exchanged a few words I couldn't hear, then Miki looked at me as if he was finally going to say something. However, Aki interrupted him. They talked for a moment before Miki told me that the recording was perfect, but they wanted a few more takes just in case.
So, I kept singing for another twenty-five minutes. No one laughed and no one left the studio after hearing me sing, making me feel good about myself. The girls even praised me after the session. Only then did I confess that I had been practicing.
With that, the fourth album was done.
Day After Night, the song the kid had named, set the mood for it, and even though it didn't fit the album's theme, it was the perfect bonus track.
The opening track of the album was called It All Ends, a song about the death of the stars, and how it eventually arrived for all of them despite how long their lives were. Every journey had an end, which was never forgotten.
Stellae Novae lifted the mood a little by remarking on the fact that new stars were born every second, and they all had their moment to shine.
Momentum Of A Singularity, the third song of the album, started to dig into the main theme of the album by referencing bands from a thousand years ago and how their decisions were able to create eternal momentum.
The next song, Virtuality, completely changed the mood with its energetic rhythm. It was different enough to make people think that the song didn't belong on this album at first, but that changed thanks to the references made to the first-ever real and virtual idols, and also thanks to some parts of the song that were made to match the sound of the rest of the album.
Everybody's Rhythm had a similar energy to Virtuality. However, more than half of the song didn't have lyrics as the focus was on the choreography.
Then, the mood was shattered by The Darkness Of Light, which talked about many stars in the past that seemed innocent and to have good intentions but ended up doing horrible things.
We decided to put Day After Night, the bonus track, seventh on the list.
Unique, the eighth song, prepared the listener for the last section of the album. It explained that, even if we could be replaced on some things, our mark would stay forever, just as people kept listening to bands a thousand years after they were gone.
Although it wasn't the last song, the next one was the title track of the album: Dreams Of Yesterday. It was made to tell Blostars' story, and how our dreams became a reality with hard work, perseverance, and luck.
Finally, Galaxy Horizons finished the album with a cliffhanger. Blostars had already lit one galaxy, but infinite galaxies awaited on the horizon.
The last step was to design the new costume. After going through several versions, we agreed on a design with a similar concept, but it was the most colorful and detailed one we'd had so far in order to pay homage to the first era of idols.
We were ready to officially announce the album, but there was a short trip we needed to make before that.
A private intergalactic ship waited for us and other business people at the spaceport. The flight was also a test since there were going to be dedicated ships on the four planets to take the spectators to the Galaktix Stadium every time there was a show.
We landed on the biggest spaceport I had ever seen. It had to be since it needed to fit the forty colossal ships dispersed through the four planets. It could've easily been the beginning of the first space city.
All of GIMA and TOTOT were invited to the first tour through the stadium. It wasn't as big as the spaceport next to it and it was incomplete, but it still was massive.
I couldn't help but stare out of the transparent walls of the spaceport as we walked into the stadium.
We arrived at the field and I couldn't believe my eyes. The walls were so far away from us when we stood in the center, making me feel insignificant like never before, but in a good way. I could only imagine how Aeryx and the girls felt, knowing they were going to be the focus of a hundred thousand spectators, plus the viewers from the live stream.
Despite that, we couldn't wait for the tour to begin and to perform in a venue destined to become legendary, but we also didn't want the journey to end.
Advertisement
- In Serial119 Chapters
The Fate of a villain (But not really)
But to be honest, he doesn't really want to be one. Assigned that role by a bored god looking for entertainment, he struggles with the past. Seriously, how much of an asshole could a dead man have been? As an imposter, the new soul possessing the body of a certain Francis Rayleigh, he tries his best to change that past image of his. Its not all simple though. Just because of his pretty face, it doesn't mean that life bows down to him. And to top it all off, a god, no matter how bored they were, is still by most definitions a god. Ultimately, on the grand stage of the world, will the fate forced upon him prevail? Without burning any villages, and trying to be as peaceful as possible, he hopes to avoid those hands of fate. No evil empires dancing on his palm, no conspiracy to rid the world of intelligent life. Not even a superweapon to turn the world's lives into his slaves. Just a man, found on the weaker side of life, trying to live. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: CONTAINS CROSSDRESSING, LGBT ELEMENTS It starts off really slowly, so take your time. Mostly just fluff, with plot sprinkled in. The action picks up in chapters 20+! Its somewhat episodic, but also a serial, if that makes sense. Word counts per chapter from 2000 - 3000 Photo by Dorothe form PxHere Releases weekly(?)
8 80 - In Serial8 Chapters
The last tales of Arun-Val
In a world where magic is fading, the valley of Arun is one of the last corners where ancient powers still exist. Without wanting to, our protagonists will be involved in different adventures that threaten the survival of magic itself. For the reader The last tales of Arun are four self-concluding short stories of YA high fantasy, based on the mythology of the Pyrenees mountains, Europe. There is no strong language and no sexual content. Violence is mild. Each story is around 8k words, and they will be split into two parts each.
8 174 - In Serial41 Chapters
The Thaumatist Incident
The towers fell over a century ago, and the Good King united the land. Under his voice the Thaumatists took the knee or took the sword. The University still stands, but for how long? This story is broken up into two parts. Chronologically, the two parts overlap. Part One Emile, a girl with a Talent not seen since the good king's war as she tries to find help to save her beloved father from a cruel accident. Julie, raised in a small farming village on her quest to become someone people will sing about. Part Two Wendel, a recent graduate of the University, an intense school that functions first as a police force to control the use of magic and secondly as an educational institution. Demetrius, a servant at the school who loses his home and his safety. Edits are ongoing. Reviews and comments will only help the editing the process, and I am grateful for any and all input. So, if you have been reading already, Jericho has been removed. It's been brought to my attention that his chapters detract from the flow of the narrative. They still exist, and are still going to be made available at some point in some way shape or form, but for the time being what happens with him and the king in Puissant city will be off camera so to speak.
8 84 - In Serial22 Chapters
Darkborn
The Unbinding series Arc: The Dark Spiral Book: Darkborn Shae is broken. Deeply hurt by life, unable to fit in and without the perspective to understand what the people around her mean by their actions. Her only link to the world around her, a pet cat, dies, and her world is turned upside down. When an opportunity presents itself, she grabs onto it, unaware of the part she is made to play in plots that may well determine the fate of mankind. Forum post: https://forum.royalroadl.com/showthread.php?tid=100419 *** 03-May-2018 For all intents and purposes, this book is now finished. At least the second pass. Editing a book is soo much slower than writing it in the first place :( Book 2 of the Unbinding series, chapter 1 has been submitted, and should be readable any moment now. Please check it out, read it, enjoy it and maybe even comment on it. Join me on twitter to get updates on my progress, @mroysson *** Cover background Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash Cover design by Al Pearce (https://twitter.com/alpearcedev)
8 197 - In Serial11 Chapters
Aeternalis
One born of nothingness. A world born of everything. To return all to nothing. Or surrender to everything. A man born into an infinite world, trying to find his path to the top. Trials and tribulations come from friends and foes alike until all bow before him. ------------------------------------- Author here! This is my 3rd story on RoyalRoad, the other two having long since been dropped years ago. They were a mess of ideas and had no real substanence to them, leading me to begin hating writing them and eventually just stop writing altogether for about a year and a half. Finally, after reading hundreds of thousands of pages of novels, from low fantasy to sci-fi litrpg's to thousands of pages long xianxias, I finally feel ready to write a real story that isn't a cesspool of ideas blended together. I plan to see this out to the end, as I already have the first few major arcs planned out unlike my other stories where I thought of ideas as I wrote. This story takes place in a world with a litrpg system, as per tags. This isn't a VRMMO or Reincarnation story. The main character exists in and is from said world. There are some differences from other litrpg's which will be explained in author notes in the few few chapters. I plan to publich 6-7 chapters a week, each 2-3k words long. If i fail to do so I will create a back-log I have to eventually make up but as of writing this it's the summer for me so I'll have plenty of time to write. Enjoy, and welcome to the world of Aeternalis.
8 178 - In Serial37 Chapters
Skinny (Cameron Dallas fanfic)
Fat. Is what I see myself as every time I look into the mirror. There's no escaping it. All I see is an over weight girl standing in front of a mirror. These thoughts have been clouding my mind ever sense I entered high school. I see all these people looking at me, judging me on everything I do. My weights never going to be good enough, not until I'm Skinny.
8 155