92 90. Trying To Save A Doomed Industry. (III)
Disclaimer: The story takes place in an Alternate Earth with a slightly different timeline of events. So people may be born early, some may be born a few years later or maybe not at all.
This gives me more freedom to write characters as I want, also the characters in my story are obviously not an accurate portrayal of their characters.
Please remember that this story is a wish fulfillment story set in Urban Hollywood with some Fantasy elements because of the system's shenanigans so please don't take it too seriously.
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Opening Author's Note: There is a really important author's note and suggestion box at the end of this chapter. Like really, really important, so I would would go through it and give me your suggestions. The note will tell you guys why I couldn't upload new chapters, I am really sorry for that, anyways lets start this chapter.
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Recap of the Previous Chapter –
Mark talked with Johnny, gave him an incentive to stop his excessive drinking while giving him the culprit behind River's hospitalization. After which he came back to his room and rocked Salma's world.
Salma realized that Mark was stressed about something, so she asked him to share and Mark told her about his plan to try and save the anime industry and also how it got into this problem in the first place.
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– Quotes of the Chapter –
I'm not going to make movies that tell children, "You should despair and run away".
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When asked if [hand-drawn animation] is a dying craft.
He replied: We can't do anything about it. Civilization moves on. Where are all the fresco painters now? Where are the landscape artists? What are they doing now? The world is changing. I have been very fortunate to be able to do the same job for 40 years. That's rare in any era.
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Actually I think CGI has the potential to equal or even surpass what the human hand can do. But it is far too late for me to try it.
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Well, yes. I believe that children's souls are the inheritors of historical memory from previous generations. It's just that as they grow older and experience the everyday world that memory sinks lower and lower. I feel I need to make a film that reaches down to that level. If I could do that I would die happy.
— Hayao Miyazaki.
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Second Day of the Japan Tour.
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~ Mr. Kim's POV ~
(Mark's Head of Security)
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Date: Wednesday, 26th September, 1990.
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Time: 06:25 am
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His boss, Mark Spencer or Marc Spector as he was known to the public, was a benevolent man. He held his employees and associates to a high standard but he was a man who led by example and as such he held himself to an even higher standard.
When he was first offered this job by an old friend to work as a driver/bodyguard for a 20 year old multi-millionaire Hollywood celebrity, he thought it would be a pain in the ass. As most of them were too arrogant and thought that the world owed them something.
During the few months he had been working for the man, Mark had proved his assumptions wrong and even though he would never say it in front of him. He had come to respect the young man, for he didn't hide or fake his true self.
Mark was famous amongst his fans for his skills in various forms of art as a writer, director, singer, musician, illustrator and now even a dancer after his performance in Paris. There wasn't much Mark couldn't do if he put his mind to it.
They called him a "genius" in the news article, a word that his boss hated from the bottom of heart, because it diminished the amount of work one put into their craft. But with the recent developments he felt even calling him genius wouldn't justify his talent.
Just a few days ago while they were in Europe, Mark had approached him with a request, an odd one. He wanted to practice sparring with them, "them" being the members of his security team.
At first he thought that his boss was joking, but looked dead serious when he repeated himself. Another thing that endeared his boss to his team, he was always courteous and respectful, never talking down to those that he ever interacted with.
It was why he was just requesting, willing to pay them extra to serve as his sparring partners. As it was something outside of their job profile and wasn't something that he could just order them to do. They were his security team after all, not hired muscles or goons.
After contemplating for a while, he agreed but with some conditions. He first checked to see if Mark had some basic training or not and where he was skillswise. He found that his boss was at the amateur level in a few martial arts.
He knew the "katas," or moves but he didn't have proper experience in a fight so he was pretty green and fell prey to feint attacks that they used in their spars.
One thing he did notice was that Mark was far far stronger than he looked but looks were always deceptive, he could tell that their boss would always refrain from using his full strength.
But the truly abnormal thing was his ability to learn and adapt, he never made the same mistake twice. His skill level was rising so fast that in just a few days he got so good that he felt like Mark had been fighting for his life in underground rings for months.
His growth was monstrous, his ability to seamlessly swap mid movement from one martial art to another made it impossible to predict his next move. He even carefully observed his most recent bouts and found that Mark had no habits or patterns in his attacks like most people did.
He had been able to find a dojo to rent out in the mornings close to the hotel where they could spar, currently they were stretching and warming up their bodies.
Mark was doing the same in a corner quietly, internally, he was thinking about his insane growth in Martial arts. As he got more used to his peak human body and mind, Mark realized that his powers definitely didn't follow real world logic.
A man of his build and size shouldn't be this strong, or fast or this limber. He had to hold back a lot in his spars, putting mental limiters on his strength and speed. After all, he wanted to practice and improve his techniques rather than overwhelm them with his strength and speed.
The thing that gave him the edge in spars though was his superhuman level reflexes and perception. To him they might as well have been moving in slow-motion, this gave him the time to analyze and dissect their fighting style and attack patterns and learn what worked and what didn't.
It had been just 3 days since he started sparring but he had already experienced a huge improvement in his Martial Arts skill, this boost was all thanks to the martial arts perk of the HK skill. It said that all he needed to do was train and spar for the muscle memory to properly integrate.
"It's time, sir." Tom broke him out of his thoughts, he stopped stretching and stood up.
"Who's first today? Is it you Tom?" He asked glancing between the four, it was his idea to take full advantage of his inhuman stamina and endurance.
Even them being trained fighters couldn't fight on full throttle for more than 10 minutes without stopping to catch their breaths. So, Mark came up with the idea of fighting them 1 by 1 in rotations with him being able to take a break.
He had already tried to test the limits of his sexual stamina after gaining the HK skill but found that he could easily go all night without any difficulties. Now he was trying to test his physical stamina while being in a drawn out fight. His current best time was 21 minutes and 24 seconds.
He could last against the others for the agreed 10 minutes but Mr. Kim was a different beast, at his current skill level he could only delay his defeat for a minute or two. If he used his strength or speed, he could easily win but that would defeat the purpose of training his Martial Arts.
"Yes, sir. I will be going first. Then its leader, then Jack and Bob's going last." He replied respectfully being the youngest among the group, except for Mark obviously.
"Cool, I'm ready when you are." he said, wearing the protective gear, it was something that Rose had insisted on after finding out about his new morning routine.
Thinking about trying something new, Mark took a stance they hadn't seen before. He just stood on his toes with his hands facing the ground.
"Tom, you're wearing the mouth guard right?" he asked in his pose, flexing his muscles, thinking about how much to hold back on his speed, because this martial art was a bit special.
It was an ancient Chinese Martial Art whose name was now lost in the pages of history. No, it wasn't something like those bullshit chinese cultivation techniques but it was powerful enough that normal humans are able to achieve superhuman level feats using it even if temporarily.
His perk allowed him mastery over all forms of Martial Arts known to mankind, armed or unarmed. As he progressed further he realized just how powerful he could actually become.
If this martial art allowed a normal human to fight at the level of "super" then he couldn't imagine how far it would take him. Just thinking about it, accelerated his heart beat, he had gotten into fights before and enjoyed his fair share of street fights
Was he becoming a battle junkie? No it wasn't the thirst to fight or to prove himself. Rather he wanted the pleasure of beating the shit out of his opponent, physically dominating them in the ring, it was a good way to relieve stress like sex but just more visceral and bloody.
Kim moved between them to officiate the start of the spar. Mark decided to only use 25% of his speed and strength, not wanting to take off Tom's head with a single blow.
"Start!" Mr. Kim bellowed and moved back.
Tom was in a kickboxing stance, he was constantly shifting by bouncing on the balls of his feet, not wanting to be hit by Mark whose attacks hit like a truck despite the padded gloves.
Mark said in a serious tone, "Tom! Don't blink." After finishing his piece he leaned forward falling towards the floor and then it happened.
It all happened in the blink one moment Mark was falling towards the floor and then *BAM* he closed the 3 meters gap between them in less than a second.
The sound was so loud that it felt like someone shot a gun.
Tom, following Mark's word, didn't blink, so he was barely able to see how Mark manipulated the heel of his foot and struck the ground like a spring to close the gap so quickly.
He tried to punch Mark, the moment he got in his range but didn't put much weight behind his attack, as it was just a faint, his actual attack was the heel he would launch when Mark tried to block his attack.
Unfortunately for him, Mark paid zero attention to the attack, Chinese martial arts always followed a belief or philosophy. The one Mark was currently using believed in two things -
1. The strongest offense is the best defense.
2. The fastest fist rules supreme.
As such Mark paid no heed to any attacks, let only blocked he didn't even bother to dodge as it would slow down by a second or two and that was unacceptable. He drew his right fist back, as if to do a straight punch.
And then it happened for the second time, *BAM* he stepped on the floor hard and immediately got inside Tom's personal space, ready to violate him.
He threw a textbook straight uppercut transferring all the kinetic energy in his body from kicking the floor, it was so fast that Tom didn't even see it coming. His years of life and death experiences saved his skin as put on a hasty defense that Mark's fist broke through like a hot knife through butter.
But it did help absorb the force of the blow and redirect the hit to shoulder rather than his face. He braced himself for impact but still flew almost two meters and hit the ground, he was able roll off the excess force and stood up immediately.
He felt a dull ache in his left shoulder, a numbness started to spread and he couldn't move his left arm properly as it flopped to the side uselessly.
"Stop." Mr. Kim called out, after guessing the extent of Tom's injury, which he was surprised because it happened even with Mark holding back and Tom successfully intercepting the strike.
"Tom, step down, you're out."
"Yes, sir!" He exclaimed and stepped out, removing his shirt to see the damage, his eyes widened as he saw a reddened fist imprint. The pain wasn't that bad though because of the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Bob hurried towards him with a first aid kit. Being a retired combat medic, he was the one incharge of patching them up for the small stuff that didn't warrant a visit to the hospital.
"Good lord!" he said, taking a look at the bruise. He immediately gave him a weak pain killer and started patching him up.
"the boss didn't have to hit you that hard." he said, feeling bad for his friend.
"It's not his fault, Bob. The boss was in fact holding back as usual. It was the weird technique that he used, the moment he closed the gap and was about to punch me."
"It felt like I was going to die. The pressure felt like I was trying to hold up a mountain, it felt like an armed gun was pressed to my head and then.. then his fist just disappeared."
"It was just too fast, I didn't blink, I swear, but my eyes still couldn't keep up. I have never felt so helpless before man." he sounded defeated and a little frustrated.
"Thankfully my instincts kicked in and blocked it at the last second."
"Wait, if you couldn't see it then how did you block it?" Bob asked feeling a bit confused.
He chuckled dryly and asked back, "remember what the boss asked me before the fight started?"
"He asked.. if you were wearing your mouth guard."
"You figured out his target just from that?.." Bob's eyes widened at Tom's feat.
"It's not as impressive as it sounds, also I feel like the boss deliberately said it so I could block his attack." Tom replied, analyzing Mark's intention.
"Don't sell yourself too short, Tom." Mark called out to him as he came over to apologize for causing the injury.
"Most people in your place wouldn't even have been able to defend, their minds would shut down from the fear. You overcame the instinctual fear that shackles the minds of every human being alive."
"I remember reading this line somewhere – Danger is real, but the fear is all just in our minds."
"Also, I am really sorry, Tom, for testing this move on you." Mark bowed his head and sincerely apologized.
"I didn't know how powerful the strike would be so I held back, but I guess not enough by looking the damage to your shoulder."
"It's alright, boss. You already pay us top dollar for the job. Wait, does this count as a workplace hazard?" he asked excited.
"It does, the compensation will be transferred to your account by the end of today." Mark replied and turned around to continue the rounds.
"Sweet, I was a little behind on ma sister's tuition fees. Wait a minute.." his eyes narrowed as he turned and asked Mark wanting to see if his suspicion was correct.
"Boss, did'ya know about it? And planned all this because I wouldn't take it for free if you offered."
"Seriously?! What do you guys even think of me? I ain't all knowing! You know." He tried to deflect the accusation.
"You aren't?" Bob asked jokingly.
"Not funny, Bob." Mark replied in a deadpan tone.
"Boss."
"Tom, you are an important member of my team. I really don't wanna lie to you.. So, yes, I knew your circumstances."
"Yes, this was pre-planned. But, the part about testing that dangerous move was real. I wanted to see just how powerful it is against a trained fighter. Think of it as a compensation for being my test dummy."
"So, don't say no to the money, Tom. You deserve that money, as you have earned it by putting your life on the line." Mark said earnestly.
"Okay, boss. Thanks for looking out for me."
"Don't sweat it, you are one the guys who's responsible for protecting my life. I try to always look out for my people." Mark said with a nod and then turned to Mr. Kim.
"Hmm, I definitely won't be using that technique again soon, it's too powerful to be used just for sparring. Maybe later on when I have better control over my strength."
"Also please find a stress test machine, I can buy after go back to the states. I want to check the force behind my punch when I am going all out."
"Just let Rose know about it, she will relay it on to Eva later.. For now lets continue the rounds."
"Understood, sir." he said to Mark and turned as he barked out orders, "You heard the Boss. We're continuing the round's."
"Bob will 15 minutes be enough to patch up Tom? You will be going after me and Jack."
"I need only 6, sir." Bob replied smoothly, still focused on wrapping up the bruise, he didn't want Tom to worsen the injury with too much movement.
"Good. Let's continue." Mr. Kim said, and then got on the mat.
Mark drew in a deep breath from his mouth and slowly released it. Putting his full focus on the fight, he always gave his best mentally, trying to find ways to improve, to strip away his flaws, to become better, to become Eidolon.
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~ Hayao Miyazaki's POV ~
(Co-owner of Studio Ghibli)
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Date: Wednesday, 26th September, 1990.
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Time: 09:50 am
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It was almost time for him to meet with the young prodigy, only 20 years old but he had already started making a name for himself. Meeting him for the first time yesterday was eye opening.
He was very different from what he had expected - humble yet prideful of his work, respectful yet not patronizing and sincere in his effort to build relations with them.
It would be a lie if he said he wasn't looking forward to his meeting with the young man. He had done well to form a good image of himself in the roundtable discussion, but he wanted to see what his intentions were.
He wanted to see if he was worth working together with, if he was someone who would honor their end of the deal and not backstab him in the face of greater profits.
Mr. Miyazaki wasn't like this before, but after facing many ups and downs in the industry. He had learned how to handle "business", how to have his bases covered so he wasn't screwed later due to something he missed in the contract.
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'Hayao Miyazaki.'
Mark was lounging in his car, relaxing after that satisfying burn that came with pounding fists on mortal flesh. After a quick introspection while showering he realized why he liked sparring so much.
It was because sparring or fighting was something he was not good at currently. It wasn't difficult per say but it was definitely more challenging than anything he had tried in a while.
He felt like he understood why people tried climbing the Himalayas, it was to challenge themselves to see if they were capable of such a feat.
Mark found that he was the same, he wanted to do things that seemed impossible to others because those felt like worthy challenges to him. He wanted his name to be remembered for centuries like Shakespeare.
He wanted a harem to satisfy his hedonist and selfish desire as a man, he wanted to create an empire of his own, to leave behind a legacy that people would look up to, admire and maybe even worship as devout believers in him and his cause.
And for this he knew that he couldn't just follow the previous timeline to the T. No, he had already done a lot to build-up his starting capital. All so that he could have enough money to play around with when the Asian financial market crisis happens.
As he made bigger and bigger splashes in the world, Mark could see that the world's events were also shifting in response. But instead of whining or worrying about the changing timeline, Mark felt happy that he was powerful enough to make an impact.
This meant if he could save River, help Johnny have a better marriage and fall in the clutches of an "evil witch whose dog stepped on a bee", help Keanu, save Emma from being sexually harassed as an under-aged teen, stop Epstein before he got too big, put Harvey whalestein to jail and more.
The world events had already diverged or in the process of it, most of these were just the events taking place before their time in PLT (past life's timeline), he analyzed. The Batman films by Mr. Burton came out almost a decade early and so did Marvel's bankruptcy.
Just yesterday after his romp with Salma, he got his usual call from Kevin telling him about the recent developments in Hollywood. He was a bit surprised to hear that RDJ was sentenced to 3 years in jail.
He knew this sentencing would be reduced due to his good behavior, community service and father's connections and "donations." what he remembered very well, was reading about this incident happening in the later half of 1999.
The memories from his past life were engraved on his mind, his genius intellect allowed him to remember it all as if it had happened just yesterday. He was glad that he remembered his past, after it made him who he was now as a person.
His mother's loving hugs, her belief in his dreams, the taste of the masala chai she used to make for him after learning it from a neighbor, the time he spent working on film sets as an assistant director trying to learn the skills of the trade and more.
It instantly brought a smile on his face, he felt his eyes get wet but before it could roll down his cheeks, he wiped them off with his palms.
He grew even more determined as he remembered his mother's dream, a better MCU, he needed to do better, he couldn't stop here, after all this was just the beginning.
As he recalled his past memories, he thought about the man he was going to meet today – Hayao Miyazaki, a legend in the animation industry from his past life. A man who later on came to regret his own dream and chosen path in life.
He remembered watching it "on dreams" where Miyazaki-san was being interviewed and in the middle of it he was asked a question that brought out the emotions he was holding back.
Mark remembered his eye's getting wet with emotions when he heard that part of the interview for the first time.
Hayao Miyazaki's words that Mark was reminiscing about –
"You know this "anime" thing…
is it even worthwhile anymore?"
"It's a cursed dream."
"If you think about it, isn't anime just a glorified hobby."
"And it's not about being rich or famous, not even close."
"I mean look at it, its fucking hopeless."
"Maybe there was a time where all this mattered. But now?..."
"What a s*** world."
"It's so hard for some of us to even survive while making anime."
He felt bad for the old man, to be driven into regretting doing the thing he loved, into hating his dream, this industry had failed its people, he would need to change things from the ground up.
It would be quite a risky business for him for he would be making some powerful enemies and stepping on some big toes. But as they say you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs first.
He wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart though, it was the same with Hollywood. He wasn't trying to save these industries because he cared about the exploited people who worked there or the trash product that was being sold.
He did care.. but not enough to act like a hero and save them out of the goodness of his heart. He was doing this because it would earn him a lot of money and a whole lot of power, because it will help him in making his dreams come true.
"Sir, we have arrived." Kim said, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Great, I can't wait to get started."
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*Knock* x2
"Sir, Mr. Spector's here, for your 10 am meeting." his secretary called out from behind the door of his office.
He drew a breath and prepared himself, for some reason his gut felt like it would be a very important one. "Send him in and prepare some tea for our guest, please."
"Yes, sir." she replied and then he heard the sounds of her footsteps as she left.
He looked at his watch and saw it was 9:57. 'Right on time', he thought to himself.
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"Please follow me, Mr. Spector." the kind looking lady called out to him and gestured to follow her with a small bow.
"Sure." He said as he discreetly checked out her front and back profile, he wondered to himself.
'Since when did Asian women get so curvy.' The secretary had to have at least an E cup bra and around a 104 or 106 cm sized bust.
He took one more appreciative glance making sure to not be caught and then took a deep breath emptying his mind.
'Amitabha' he whispered jokingly to himself, as he smiled and thought about his upcoming meeting.
"Please enter, Mr. Spector." she bowed again as requested him to head in, it did something beautiful to her breasts as he was able to see a hint of cleavage.
Mark smirked as he realized her purpose, 'heh, that Miyazaki is quite smart, using a buxom woman as distraction. Not bad.'
'Well, I'll be approaching him with sincerity. Hopefully he doesn't turn me down because of me being a foreigner, or because he feels distrustful of me, or my intentions.'
'Hmm, I should just be straightforward with my intentions, only hiding the expansion plans from him as it's still too far away in future.'
Done with deciding his game plan, Mark entered as the secretary held the door open for him.
He had decided to speak in Japanese as this was a more 1 on 1 conversation and hearing him speak his native tongue might put Miyazaki-san at ease.
He was carrying a small bag containing the tapes of Halo and DOOM to show Hayao how far Hollywood's animation had come along.
It would be one of the incentives he would provide to him, helping him advance the Japanese animation style to arrive at the golden age of anime earlier and to not be bound by the regret of being too old for trying to adapt to CGI made anime.
"Good morning, Mr. Miyazaki. Thanks for agreeing to this meeting." he said, entering the room and sat down as Miyazaki-san gestured for him to take seat.
"I'm always up to talk with the youth in my line of work, they're always just brimming with enthusiasm and their minds are just filled with ideas." His face bloomed into a smile as chuckled accepting Mark's gratitude.
His lips pursed and his expressions became more serious as he asked, "So Mark, tell me what did you want to talk to me about."
Mark took a deep breath again and steadied himself, "Miyazaki-san, there's a lot to talk about, many proposals and requests that I will be making of you."
"I would appreciate it if you listen to the end and not take offense if something I say irks you, I apologize for that advance." he bowed his head a bit as he finished his sentence.
"Mark, you are a rare gem in the entertainment industry of today, you're so young but you've already achieved so much. But you don't let it get to your head, you remain humble and treat your elders and seniors with due respect and sincerity."
"I don't think you'll say anything that will offend, but even if you do I promise not to take it to heart. So tell me, what is it you want to talk about?"
Mark nodded his head, and began explaining how he needed his help with promoting his new established animation studio – Eidolon Animation Japan.
He explained how he wanted to raise the bar of animation in Japan and so provide better working opportunities to the workers in the animation industry while still living in Japan.
Miyazaki's heart trembled a bit when he heard this because he could feel the sincerity in Mark's words and voice. After being lied to back stabbed for years in the industry he could instinctively tell lies from the truth.
His gut told him that Mark meant every single word he said, but he still couldn't help but ask, his voice filled with disbelief and bewilderment.
"You really mean what you say?"
"Absolutely." Came the reply, it was innocent as if Mark didn't even think lying and making fake promises to get his help.
"Miyazaki-san, I might look young, but I have done business for nearly a decade now and I've learnt that if you want to build strong relationships that last a long time."
"Then trust is very important, it can be enforced by contractual agreements and clauses but if you don't believe in me and trust me to work in both of our best interests then why should we even waste both our time trying to work together."
Hearing that raised Mark's image in Miyazaki's heart, he understood his philosophy a bit more. Mark apologized if he offended him with his words, but Miyazaki just waved it off saying he felt happy that Mark was so forthcoming with him.
They shared a smile and Mark was gonna continue the speech when they both heard a knock, followed by a request to enter from the secretary.
"Tea, sir?" She asked, turning towards Mark.
"Sure. No sugar please."
"Mark, you like tea as well?"
"I wouldn't consider myself an aficionado but I do enjoy sipping on a warm cup of tea in the evenings after a stressful day."
"It soothes me and serves as a good alternative to coffee as the caffeine in it messes up my sleep cycle."
"So tea's like Hibiscus, echinacea and elderberry are my go to."
"Wow, you really know your tea, Mark. I thought Americans didn't like tea." he asked, interested in making some small talk before continuing business.
"Most Americans don't, so please consider me an exception to the rule."
"You are quite the exceptional man, you look like you take great care of your health." he said, asking a question without actually asking one.
Mark blushed lightly at the praise, as he replied, "of course, after all a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. It's a quote I read somewhere, asked my dad bout it and he agreed."
"It's something that has driven me to pursue a healthy lifestyle from a very young age. I have been exercising for over a decade now."
"It started with just swimming and jogging to train my endurance and stamina but later on I started doing weight training as well. It's a great way to relieve stress as well."
Seeing that the secretary left after serving him tea, Mark took off his mask in show of trust.
"It is, I personally love hiking with my friends." Mark gave an appreciative nod on hearing that.
"Thanks for trusting me with your identity, Mark. I promise no matter what happens with our meeting here, I won't disclose it to anyone else."
Mark smiled hearing that and said, "I know you won't Miyazaki-san. You're a man of integrity and unless I do something to betray your trust, I know you won't betray mine."
"This tea is really good." he took another sip saying that, while following proper tea drinking etiquettes.
"Thank you, it's from my prized collection. A friend of mine sends me his own product every few years." he replied proudly accepting the praise.
After a few minutes of silence spent enjoying some tea, Miyazaki decided to move things along. This silence whilst drinking was just a small test to observe Mark's patience and
Miyazaki leisurely took the last sip of tea and gently placed the porcelain tea cup on the plate as he broke the silence.
"Mark thanks for indulging with me in some tea time, please continue your proposal. Forgive this old man for the delay."
"Not at all Miyazaki-san, in my rushed and restless work life, being able to take a few minutes to peacefully drink some good quality tea, especially in the company of a man like you is a pleasure. So please don't apologize."
Mark remained completely unbothered and relaxed, but he had an apologetic smile on face as he said the next sentence.
"Though the next thing I might say is something you might not like, I only request that you hear me completely until the end."
Miyazaki just nodded and gestured for him to speak his mind.
"I want to buy Studio Ghibli from you, Miyazaki-san, preferably with you still working in the same position you currently are at if you accept the offer. This offer comes with some incentives and stipulations."
Miyazaki's face fell, as he looked a bit offended at his words and rightfully so but he still didn't interrupt his speech after remembering Mark's previous respect and sincerity.
"The main stipulation is that you can't quit the company for at least 10 years. Please don't be alarmed, I will obviously provide you with a salary well above someone of your reputation and skill would need to be paid."
"You will be enjoying creator royalties of work as well, all I need is the majority stake of ownership of the studio. It will give me control of the adaptation rights, copyright and distribution rights of everything that Ghibli creates."
Miyazaki nodded, understanding what Mark wanted from them, but he was a bit perplexed as they had only been in operation for a few years now and had only had a few successful films to the studio's name.
"In return, I will fund 50% of the production cost of all Ghibli operations, salary, utilities and all. The ones who sell me a part of their stake in the studio will so be generously compensated."
Miyazaki's eyes widened when he heard this, as even Toho and Toei company couldn't match this generous offer.
"I will even aid in the international release of your films, that is if they pass our quality check, but of course you being you that is a near guarantee."
His eyes lit up a bit in excitement, as being able to get their film released internationally had been a dream of his, but the way it was finally realized left a bad taste in his mouth.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the name he had given to his movie with so much love and care after many nights spent thinking of a good movie title had changed so casually with no input from them into – Warriors of the Wind.
He still remembered the release date — June 14, 1985 by New World Pictures. The voice actors and actresses weren't even credited, and the film was heavily edited to give it a faster pace, stated to be done to make it suit the western palate.
What they really did was butcher his work into something that even he could barely recognise. They removed several of the longer dialogue scenes, some of the environmentalist themes were simplified, as was the main subplot of the Ohmu, altered to remove Nausicaä's childhood connection to them.
Most of the characters' names were changed, including the titular character who he worked so hard on. The North American poster and VHS cover featured a group of male characters who weren't even in the film, riding the resurrected God Warrior; including a still-living Warrior shown briefly in a flashback.
Overall, approximately 22 minutes were cut for the North American release. Remembering those made him frustrated at his helplessness, unable to fight for his works. But maybe Mark and Eidolon could help, after all they were backed up by Universal, one of the biggest studios in Hollywood.
"This is the first offer for Studio Ghibli from us, Mr. Miyazaki. I am not saying this as Mark Spector but instead as the owner and representative of Eidolon."
"I personally didn't want to approach you with this offer, as I think it's insulting of me to just ask you to hand over your studio and work for me."
"But it's something my business advisory and management team cooked up and strongly advised me to inform you about all your options."
Miyazaki nodded, understanding Mark's position, it released any of the negative thoughts that remained.
"Thank you for not interrupting me. Please hear the second offer, Miyazaki-san. It is the offer I personally came up with."
His eyes lit up upon hearing that, hoping that Mark would give a good proposition, after all he had put in his blood, sweat and living savings into creating Ghibli. It wasn't something that he could let go, something that he could sell off so easily.
"I wish to buy a stake of ownership in Studio Ghibli, not necessarily an absolute majority. But at least sizable enough to consider me one of the owners of the studio. Doing so will allow me to enter into partnership with you and the studio."
"This gives me almost the same privileges as owning the company but you guys will still remain co-owners of the studio and earn profits. Of Course, I will need a signed contract that gives me the adaptation and distribution rights as well as the copyrights of all Ghibli projects."
"It basically comes with the same incentives as the previous offer except for a few differences like the funding being lowered from 50% to 25% for the Studio Ghibli projects."
"Of course, if it's your personal project Mr. Miyazaki then we are willing to fund the full cost."
"But it comes with a few contingencies as well that the studio will have to follow if you accept my offer."
Miyazaki looked more at ease after hearing the second offer and even looked thoughtful as it was a very good one. He will have to talk with Takahata and Suzuki about it, and they will be ecstatic to hear such a generous offer.
"If I am to become one of the co-owners of Ghibli then it needs to follow a better work culture."
He stopped thinking about his partners and focused back on Mark's words.
"We humans aren't machines, Miyazaki-san, even we need proper rest and breaks in between our work to keep the mind working properly."
"In the US, nowadays we follow a ″5 working days a week″ rule, so the employees get to enjoy Saturday and Sunday as an off day."
"I know Japan has a ″6 working days a week″ rule, but we both know it isn't really followed to the letter most times. The workers being asked to work on their off days, made to stay back even after their agreed upon working hours to keep working so normalized that people don't even look at it as a problem now."
"And this is something that most employers exploit making their employees work long and harder, basically doing the job of 2 or 3 people just so the employer can save money by only having to hire 1 person for the job."
"Now I am not accusing Studio Ghibli of doing such things. I am just letting you know that workplace exploitation like this will not be allowed to happen in the future if my name is connected with the studio."
"Overtime will be duly paid, with proper bonus compensation if the worker is asked to work on their off days."
"Mr. Miyazaki you chose the Ghibli for your studio because of your love for planes and flying; and also because when you started this studio you dreamt of it becoming a studio that would blow a new wind through the anime industry."
He couldn't believe that Mark even knew this, it was something he only blurted out once by mistake in an interview. He was a little drunk after celebrating the success of Castle in the Sky and just said it in an interview.
But he regretted saying it later because of how childish and impossible it seemed after all he was but one old man, barely holding up his own studio with his movies, let alone bringing a change to the animation industry.
"Is that dream still alive?" Mark asked with a hopeful smile.
He felt his heart skip a beat in excitement but then he sighed and looked at his fist, as much as he wanted to say yes to this young man that was trying to reignite his passion.
He was hesitant as he had a good thing going with his small studio and didn't want to go out poking the bear.
Seeing Mr. Miyazaki, still hesitant, Mark decided to try again, sitting up straight, he projected his earnest feelings.
"Miyazaki-san I always held the belief that it's better to have tried and failed, than to have never tried in the fear of failure, because at least doing the former will leave you with no regrets…
Because a life filled with regrets, is a life half lived." with that he ended his peace and hoped that it was enough to sway the old man.
"Bah, I'm already so old, if you, a young man with your whole life ahead of you, is willing to bet on my dreams then how can I be a coward and back off."
"Let's do it, I'll talk to Takahata and Suzuki, I am sure they'll come around. After all, they had the same dreams as mine when we started this studio." his eyes blazed with a newfound determination and hope.
"But even I have a condition." he said at the end, to which Mark just nodded in agreement and gestured for him to speak his mind.
"You aren't allowed to alter my work to fit in with the western tastes. I already had that bitter experience with.."
"New World Pictures that cut over 20 minutes of your movie – Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind."
"You know about it?" He was stunned as it was an obscure fact.
"Miyazaki-san, I'm very serious about creating a good long term working relationship with Studio Ghibli. So, it's given that research about its operations thoroughly.
"I see, that puts my heart at ease. I just don't want to experience a repeat of that."
"Ofcourse, sir. It's also why I created my own studio, I didn't want anyone tampering with my work. So, how could I do that to you? I promise you of that now, you have a word. I'll even include it in the paperwork."
Miyazaki had a pleased smile on his face as he said, "Legal contracts can be exploited and worked around with a good lawyer. Your word holds more value to me, Mark."
This time it was Mark's turn to blush and it was so out of left field that he didn't react fast enough to reign it in. When Miyazaki saw Mark blush in embarrassment at his words he chuckled softly.
Mark cleared his throat and thought of the perfect distraction to shift the topic. He leaned down and picked up the bag he had brought in with him before.
"Miyazaki, I have no problem with your content and I don't think I will have any in the future as well. Maybe I will give you my thoughts or suggestions on the film while it's being made but whether you use them will totally be left up to you."
"What I want to change and improve is the animation quality and style. Hand-drawn animations are good but as the computer generated animation technology gets better we need to be flexible enough to pivot into the changing times."
"I know those big words coming from someone who doesn't even have a single animated movie or series to their name. But I do have this." He said, handing him the tapes for Halo and DOOM.
"These are two animated short films we made based on my books and comics." Mark explained as Miyazaki got up, inserted the tapes and came back.
"They were made with the collaborative efforts of two studio's - HB being more traditional still opting to use hand drawn art and the other called Pixar which has a more progressive approach using CGI for animation."
"Interesting, a very risky endeavor but by looking at your confidence I guess it paid off." he said, with a smile.
"Let me know if it did." Mark replied and turned to face the large television screen, though he kept a look out at Miyazaki from the corner of his eyes.
Miyazaki hit play and watched both the short films, he didn't say anything in between, just seriously watched both the videos and asked Mark how long did it take for him to make these and the cost of production.
Mark honestly gave him the numbers but said that it was the first collaboration between the two studio's so after some experience they will be able to make even better works, even faster.
He asked if it was made at a higher frame rate, to which Mark just grinned and chuckled after a few seconds he told him that he knew that a person on Miyazaki's capability would be able to spot the difference.
Miyazaki felt pleased with the praise and Mark told him that it was made at 24 fps which was 3 times faster than the current industry standard.
Miyazaki's eyes widened on hearing that as he realized what Mark meant when he said that he wanted to revolutionize the way anime was made.
They shook hands in agreement to the second proposal and Mark told him some of his plans in Japan and even invited him to his live performance to advertise the movie and his newly established studio.
— To be continued…
In the next episode of Solo Lev–
*Cough* *Cough*
I meant in the next chapter of Hollywood: Head-Hunting System.
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Important Author's Note: Hello my reader's and fellow men of culture, we meet again. I'm sorry for the delay in updating this chapter but I am visit my relatives and they live in a place where the internet doesn't exist. I know, such a place does exist lol and anyone of you guessed it being in the middle of a jungle well here's a cookie because you guys right.
I have been trapped here for almost a week. Thankfully I will be going to my home tomorrow where I have my wifi. I am crying in happiness as I am typing this ( ≧Д≦) FINALLY!!! FREEDOM.
Sorry for my rant and emotional outburst. So, I know she hasn't been featured in any of the recent chapters but I do hope you guys remember there being a Hinata in our story. She is Mark's from middle school, works as the illustrator of Naruto - her Americanized name is Heather Brown but I prefer to call her Hinata in this story.
She is a regular human not a ninja its just that her looks are that of Hinata from Naruto. She thinks that Mark based of the character of Hinata in Naruto from her, with both being shy, social awkward and looking just like each other. She is basically an OC (original character I created that looks just like Hinata and she has a huge crush on Mark)
Now comes the ISSUE I am introducing another OC here and I want to base on a fictional character just like I did with Hinata. And I want you guys to recommend me a fictional character to use. Now here is the description of my OC - She is of Asian descent and has long black hair.
Rest is upto you guys. So please, recommend me a beautiful raven haired women who I can throw at Mark. It will make for a really interesting plot later down the line (in my humble opinion).
Criteria: Asian women with black hair.
Examples from Anime – kurenai from Naruto, Yaoyorozu Momo from BnHa, Shiba Miyuki from IMHS, Nico Robin from One Piece, Maki Oze from Fire Force, Sango from Inuyasha, etc.
It can be any fictional fandom doesn't necessarily have to be from an anime. But she has to be an ASIAN AND HAVE BLACK HAIR. SO PLEASE HELP YOUR POOR AUTHOR AND RECOMMEND ME SOME BEAUTYS IN THE COMMENT. IF YOU CAN ATTACH THE PICTURE WITH THE COMMENT THEN I WILL REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
Have a beautiful day guys or maybe good night depending on when you read this.
