Kapitel 14: Interesting Dubbing Stage 2
St. Freya's Island was suddenly packed with newcomers. Himeko, Theresa, and the other girls had their hands full.
So, it wasn't until the trio of protag dubs were all pretty much dubbed that the two of them came over to the company in a million reluctant ways.
Luo Mo had each of the actors record their lines separately. This wasn't ideal, but it helped with the busy schedule. Plus, Luo Mo was overseeing it all himself, so it wasn't a major issue.
He wanted the voice actors to get a feel for the game's story. Breaking up their lines into smaller chunks helped with that, even if it wasn't the most efficient way of doing things.
First things first, Himeko and I only have one day to play house with you." Theresa tilted her head angrily at Luo Mo, her hands clasping her chest in majesty.
"Don't worry," Luo Mo assured her. He had a sudden urge to reach out and touch her, but fought it back. "That's enough for now. You two don't have many scenes at the beginning anyway."
Theresa stared at him, confused. "Wait... 'Us'? You mean there's more to this than just a few lines?"
Luo Mo couldn't resist any longer. Her short, silky white hair looked so soft and inviting. The scent of milk wafted from her, and she was just the right height.
This had to be destiny!
Taking advantage of the moment when Theresa froze, he extended his claws towards Theresa's hair.
As it turned out, even if it was just an A-class launcher, it was impossible for Luo Mo to run into Theresa at normal human speed.
He didn't have a single stigma with him right now, being completely ordinary, and Theresa took hold of his wrist as soon as she could.
Icy cold sensation, Luo Mo's first feeling, then pain, a huge force as if to pinch the wrist flat.
"Ow! Let go! I'm sorry, Headmistress!" Luo Mo pleaded, gritting his teeth against the pain.
Theresa glared at Luo Mo. He'd dared to touch her head during their first meeting! If she didn't need to cooperate with him, she would have... Well, she wouldn't have killed him.
But she would have definitely taught him a lesson.
"Mr. Luo Mo," Himeko giggled, "you can't just go around touching the Headmistress like that!" She turned to Theresa. "And Theresa, go easy on him!"
"Ugh!" Theresa shook Luo Mo's hand away. "If you ever do that again, you're in big trouble!"
"Yes, yes, my fault," Luo Mo replied quickly. "It won't happen again."
He thought to himself, 'Next time? Oh, there will definitely be a next time!'
....
"Ugh, just thinking about you becoming a Valkyrie to fight Honkai makes me worry for the world." Himeko tried to sound as despairing and disgusted as possible, but she couldn't quite nail it. After a few tries, she turned to Luo Mo.
"Who am I even saying this to?" she asked. "I can't imagine talking to one of my students like this." It dawned on them that the game was based on their own lives. Theresa was shocked at first, but she finally accepted it after talking to her grandma.
Luo Mo handed them scripts with only their own lines. This was to prevent them from accidentally revealing too much and to make the voice acting experience easier.
The younger girls adjusted to the situation quickly. To them, it was like reliving old memories. But the adults had a lot more to think about.
"That line is actually for Kiana," Luo Mo explained, watching Theresa record her lines.
"That makes a lot more sense," Himeko sighed in relief. Even though she'd only taught Kiana for a short time, the girl had left a strong impression on all her teachers.
That's probably what makes the protagonist so unforgettable (you stubborn mule).
"This lady seems…risky…makes me want to summon Judas," Theresa commented in her usual sprightly tone.
Then she paused. "Why is Rita's character in the game so similar to the real Rita?"
Luo Mo simply smiled; it's because reality mirrors the game!
As Himeko and Theresa continued recording, they both showed off their amazing voice acting skills. They could change their voices in all sorts of ways to fit the characters.
Luo Mo was a bit worried about Rita's voice, though. Rita wasn't around to record her lines, so they decided to use her voice from the Schicksal database and improve it with technology. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too noticeable.
Soon, they reached Chapter 3, "Poem of the Wind Colors." It told the story of Wendy, the Herrscher, and the Honkai Reactor. Even without seeing the visuals, Theresa could feel the drama of the story just from reading the script.
Theresa's voice shifted with the different emotions of the character.
"Damn it!" she exclaimed. "What kind of crazy experiments are those guys in Oceania doing? Wendy? No, it can't be her. It's just a game! Go back and call her yourself." Without any pictures to guide her, Theresa had no idea what was happening. She was just guessing based on the lines.
After finishing the chapter, Theresa turned to Luo Mo. "Do you know something about Wendy?" she asked. "Something we don't know?"
Luo Mo stayed quiet. He wasn't sure what had happened to Wendy in this world, but he guessed that the timeline was mostly the same. Just like when Theresa started the academy, or when Kiana and Mei joined St. Freya. So something must have happened to Wendy too.
But according to the timeline, Wendy shouldn't be in any serious danger yet. She just had to deal with Bronya issue on her own, and then have Fu Hua follow her... There was no need to cause unnecessary trouble!
Luo Mo shrugged. "I don't know. It's just a game, isn't it?"
Theresa didn't respond. She decided to talk to Wendy later and focused on her lines, wanting to get them done quickly. But then she came across this:
"Yo, Kiana-chan~ The ME Corp is right ahead…"
"That's not cute enough," Luo Mo said. "It doesn't have that playful charm."
A '#' sign appeared on Theresa's head, but she ignored it. She tried to say it in a softer tone.
"Yo, Kiana-chan~"
"Still not mischievous enough." Luo Mo tilted his head and crossed his arms, as if picturing the scene in his mind.
Theresa ignored him, her grip on the script tightening.
"Yo, Kiana~."
"That's even worse than the first one." Luo Mo was relentless.
Theresa said nothing, her eyes fixed on the script. Luo Mo couldn't see her expression clearly, so he asked, "Why are you so quiet?"
He nudged the script with his hand, trying to get a better look. Then he saw her.
Theresa was glaring at him from behind the script with pure hatred in her eyes. It was as if she wanted to eat him alive. Normally, her cute face would melt his heart, but now it seemed somewhat repulsive.
'Must be my imagination,' Luo Mo thought, shaking his head to clear his mind. When he looked again, he saw even more '#' signs floating above Theresa's head. He wondered what that was all about.
Something white flashed in front of Luo Mo's face.
"Bang!" It hit him square in the face, making his head spin. He was relieved to see it was just the script.
"You're asking for it!" Theresa yelled, her white hair covering her face. Luo Mo was one of the few people who'd ever seen her this angry.
He wished he could capture the moment, but it was over in a flash.
Himeko stopped her recording and looked over. She burst into laughter when she saw what was happening.
....
Luo Mo watched as Himeko and Theresa got better and better at recording their lines. He then checked on the other departments to make sure everything was going smoothly. It looked like all the preparations they'd made were paying off.
"Boss, there's something I need to ask you," Su Lu, the lead game designer, said, approaching Luo Mo.
"What is it?" Luo Mo wondered if he'd forgotten something important.
"How are we going to handle Otto's voice?" Su Lu asked, worried. "The first few chapters aren't a big deal, but we need a really good voice actor for him later on."
As the lead designer, Su Lu knew a lot about the game's story. It was her job to find and fix any problems with the game.
Luo Mo felt a shiver run down his spine. How could he have forgotten about this? Otto was the main villain, and they couldn't just use a computer-generated voice for him throughout the entire game. That would lower the game's rating with the system.
But who could possibly play Theresa's grandfather?
Luo Mo stroked his chin, thinking.
'Why not do it myself?' He glanced at the system's buff bar.
[Buff Bar: 1. Game Crafting Buff: When you craft a game your energy will be increased and the efficiency of learning related skills will be greatly enhanced (lasts for 1 year)]
'With this buff, voice acting shouldn't be too hard.' He'd already seen how powerful it was.
After just a few days of watching and teaching the artist, he was able to draw some graphics that matched his vision for the game. They weren't perfect, but they were good enough.
"I'll take care of it," Luo Mo said. He'd practice voice acting in his free time.
He couldn't wait to surprise Theresa when the game came out!
'And maybe Otto too,' he thought with a chuckle, imagining Otto's reaction to hearing his own voice in the game.
.....
As the sun went down, the two women finished their work for the day.
On their walk back to the academy, Theresa broke the silence. "Himeko, do you think this is all real, or is it just a game?"
"I honestly don't know, Theresa," Himeko sighed. "It doesn't match up with what I remember from playing it. I never said those things in the game..."
"Good," Theresa said, relieved. The thought of Wendy becoming a Herrscher was still too much for her to process.
"But listen, Theresa," Himeko said, her voice serious. "If, and I mean if, something like that actually happened, I would have felt like those words were forced out of me."
"Like what?" Theresa asked, confused.
"The higher-ups went to a lot of trouble to bring that guy here," Himeko explained. "And I did some digging. The people who work here signed a contract to keep everything secret. They can't tell anyone about the game, they can't leave the island for three years, and their communication with the outside world is being watched."
Theresa stopped walking, her eyes wide. "Do you know what that means, Theresa?"
Theresa froze. She hadn't taken the company seriously before. She thought it was all a big joke.
She was even angry at her grandmother for overestimating her and St. Freya. How could a silly game be more important than all the Valkyries? Than her academy?
Why couldn't they have sent someone from a different branch? Was St. Freya really that low on their list? But today, she realized there was more to this game than she'd thought.
Maybe it wasn't headquarters who pushed this on Luo Mo. Maybe he chose St. Freya himself.
Theresa's mind was racing. Could the game really predict the future?
Or was Luo Mo playing some kind of trick? Maybe he was laughing at them behind their backs.
Theresa felt a wave of anger and distrust wash over her. She decided to confront Luo Mo the next day and get some answers.
And maybe show him what Judas could do, just to be safe.
.....
The sun dipped below the horizon as Luo Mo left the company, heading home. His mind raced through a checklist of completed tasks: animation, voice acting, coding, the official website... Everything was in place.
He stretched his arms up, feeling the day's stress melt away. A quiet laugh escaped his lips as he thought about what was next.
"Tomorrow," he said to himself, "we start the official launch. The game is finally ready!"
-----
edited, thank you for reading this fanfiction.
(●ˇ∀ˇ●)
Load failed, please RETRY
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein