Section 15: Dailies

This has been an amazing experience.

Yeah, never figured filming a movie could be just as fun as fighting, though in a different sorta way.

There you are.

Great news! Murasaki's awake now!

Really!?

Come on Senpai, let's go see her!

I'm so sorry for making you all worry about me.

Sure, but next time you go taking medicine, read the damn instructions, will you? I don't give a shit how tired you are, you should know what it does!

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S-so, how is the production going right now?

As a matter of fact, we managed to finish it ourselves while you were sleeping.

Oh my! You actually finished it!?

We did. Our editor at Chaldea is working furiously on the footage as we speak.

But we do have the rough cut here if you'd like to see it.

...Yes, I would love to.

Oh my... I can't believe it...

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Oh no! Not at all!

I can't possibly thank you all enough for finishing the film while I was indisposed.

All I've done this whole time is make trouble for the rest of you...

Are you sure that's all you wish to say, Murasaki? If there's anything else, best you spit it out now.

I-I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Lord Shakespeare...

Then permit me to elaborate in your stead, Ms. Murasaki, since time is of the essence in this Singularity.

Your original idea for this movie was to make it a variation on The Tale of Genji. Am I correct?

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I'm afraid I only know a little bit about that story myself, but now that you mention it, I can see the similarities...

...It's embarrassing to explain this now, but you're exactly right, Lord Holmes.

I based Miguel and Gabriela's relationship on the one between Genji and Murasaki.

I wanted to try simulating what would happen...

...if a young girl who was taken in by an older man, and raised to be a lady of high society...

...was suddenly set free to lead her own life.

I also planned to include a large cast of varied characters: the former prince and his attendant, a doctor, an artistic genius, mysterious detectives, a faithful servant, and a mean-spirited singer...

...and have them all take part in a series of melodramas that revolved around Gabriela.

That would make Antonio Ariwara-no-Narihira, and Elise Sei Shounagon.

...Sei Shounagon, huh...

If there's something you wanna say to me, playwright, how 'bout you say it to my face? I'll even be nice and listen, seeing as they'll be the last words you ever freakin' speak.

(And the Meihousou itself must be based on Byodoin's Phoenix Hall... Though I suppose that hardly matters now.)

Gabriela and Salazar would then grow close...

...only for her to realize he's actually her brother, Daizou, who lost his memory during the war. So they don't end up together.

(Hmm, so she threw in elements of General Kaoru and Ukifune too. I knew she was greedier than she looked.)

Hey, how 'bout that. Guess my idea wasn't so far from yours, after all.

I was actually originally planning to have Lord Izo play Salazar as well.

Yeah... You made the right call, swapping him out for Bartholomew.

So who were you planning on having Gabriela end up with, anyway? I at least gotta know that, or it's gonna bug the shit out of me.

I'm so sorry to disappoint you, but, well...Gabriela doesn't end up with anyone.

Huh?

Miguel and Gabriela only appeared to be married. In truth, Gabriela was Miguel's adopted daughter.

Then why bother making their relationship so goddamn complicated!?

Because men approach an adoptive daughter differently than they do a widow...

I see. So he actually pretended to marry his adopted daughter out of concern for her well-being.

It would take nerves of steel to try and woo the widow of the nation's founding president, after all.

So the rest of the story involved the different male characters approaching Gabriela, each with different motives.

For her part, she keeps trying to ascertain how much these men genuinely care for her...

...but at one point, she realizes Miguel was the only one who loved her unconditionally.

Ahh, so that's why you gave Hokusai those instructions while she was painting our portrait.

If that's the sort of conclusion you had in mind, it makes perfect sense that you would want the portrait to make us seem like father and daughter instead of husband and wife.

That story sounds like it would have made for a lovely movie...

Maybe if we started now, and really hurried, we could still film it...?

Sorry, no can do, Mash. More than half of your set is going to fall apart in about three hours.

We have a little more time until the Singularity disappears, but that's still not enough to shoot that many scenes.

Honestly, the only one who still needs to be there for now is Fujimaru. The rest of you can come back if you like.

Da Vinci's editing the film as we speak. All that's left now is to play it once it's done, and collect the magical energy.

...Um, Doctor?

What if we just reshot the ending? Would that be okay?

If there's a better ending to be had...I know I would like to see it. We all would.

...

It's all right, Lady Mash. Please, just forget about my plot.

I'm overjoyed to know that you all worked together to finish the film even without me. I truly am.

Back when I was alive...I never would have had the chance to collaborate with so many people like this.

Now, I'll finally get to see the fruits of such a labor for myself.

But...

Murasaki herself is saying she's fine with it. If you have any regrets, you can make up for them in another movie.

We writers can't help but write, after all. In that sense, Murasaki is an unstoppable juggernaut!

I'm sorry. I know I just said most of you could come back now, but on second thought, would you mind staying there a little longer?

I want to take just a little more time getting the Rayshift ready. Don't worry, I won't be too long.

There's a party hall on set, right? Why don't you hang out there and chat amongst yourselves?

Senpai... Are we sure this is what we want to do?

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I'm very happy with the ending we all chose to go with. I have no issue with that.

But now that I know what sort of ending Murasaki had in mind all along, I can't help but feel...dissatisfied.

If it's at all possible, I'd really like to shoot an ending that Murasaki would be happy with.

Though, of course...that would also mean giving up on the version everyone worked so hard to come up with...

It feels like, if we go with the ending Murasaki wants, it would invalidate everything we worked to accomplish...

I don't want to think that all our effort was wasted just because we didn't end the film correctly...

...I know this is a lot to ask, since the film can only have one ending...

...but is there anything we can do that would make everyone happy?

Well now, this is a surprise. Is there something secret you wished to discuss with me, Doctor?

There sure is, General Cortés. I suppose it would be best described as a get rich quick scheme?

We've already collected the Singularity's magical energy...but I feel like we can do better.

See, the movie's just about done, but that Singularity is obviously still there.

So I figure there must still be a little something left for us to acquire.

This Singularity was born from a movie director's lingering regrets, so it only stands to reason that he wouldn't be truly satisfied with anything less than a best picture award, right?

Indeed. I can't see your face well over the transmission, but you seem to be quite the villain yourself.

So, what exactly did you have in mind for me, Doctor?

You were one of the models for that portrait, so I know you knew how this movie was supposed to go from the beginning.

So I wanted to run this suggestion...this idea I had past you.

Would you be willing to hear me out? But I suppose me trying to give you an evil scheme is like teaching a fish to swim, isn't it?

Hmm... I suppose everything that's happened in the story thus far would be the mystery act.

And much as I loathe to agree with anything that detective says, you can't have a mystery story without someone suspecting something is amiss...

As such, I had resolved to hold my tongue until the rest of you began to suspect... But it seems I need not hold it any longer.

There is but one puzzle left to resolve in this story:

How can we go about allaying Mash's concerns?

No matter how many ideas one may have, a story can only have one conclusion. There is no getting around that.

But what if there were a way to integrate both Murasaki's wishes and everyone's hard work without diminishing either?

Naturally, as the good doctor said, we may not be able to reshoot any vital scenes...

...but that does not mean our hands are completely tied.

Of course, you won't have to wait long for the denouement to start and see what I mean...but you may just find it interesting to try coming up with the answer for yourself.