zamin
The Watcher in the Dark
It's fine with me.
Don't Miss Your Deadline! (Manga Editor Quest)
- Thread starter zamin
- Start date
- Original Modern
It's fine with me.
ConfusedCanuck
Where did it all go wrong?
- Location
- Neverland
[X] Overtime Cadre Building
- Location
- Italy
yeah, it's really just a matter of "build your reputation before making requests" or "try to stop this trainwreck as soon as you can".
I'm mostly worried about going to the board now because we have NO IDEA how high the favour cost will be (it will likely depend on our request. it's one thing to ask for them to lighten our workload, another to make requests about the same for, say, Masaru, or our new colleagues), we already have Shion that will certainly take at least 1 or 2 points, and... I kinda hoped to first talk to the Editor in Chief, again, preferably in a more calm manner without John making him just more hostile.
I get the impression that he's just the messenger, and doesn't like the situation just as we do, but has his hands tied. Maybe it could be possible to join our "favour pool", so to speak, and have our favour backup HIS requests for more reasonable workloads.
overmind
Ruler of the Swarm
Awesome! Alright then, I'm voting for both.
[X] Overtime Cadre Building
[X] plan preparations
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
Officially Japan rules a work week as 40 hours.You know, I'm sure that Japanese law has an old, dusty tome somewhere that no one has ever once read in which it describes a specific rule where people can't be overworked like this? Like, sure, Japanese culture would rather gouge its eyes out before it ever once complained about this, but our guy seems like just the sort of person to be the very first to call the labour board.
From the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare website, the upper limit of overtime is 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year. But special dispensation can be granted if both worker and employer agree to work more overtime hours.
But even if there is an agreement, there are still maximums.
- No more than 720 hours of overtime a year
- The average of multiple months cannot exceed 80 hours
- A single month cannot have more than 100 hours of overtime
80 hours of overtime a month means you are working 4 hours of overtime every day.
If a company is found in violation of these laws the penalty is 6 months in prison or a fine of 300,000 yen (currently $2333) to be levied again the company or whoever gave approval for the employee in question to work that long.
A recent survey found that 37% of 24,000 investigated companies routinely violate these laws.
And this is actually Japan's recent revision to the labor law from back in 2019. Before then there was no limit at all on how much overtime a person could do.
While this reform was aimed at limiting Japan's overtime culture, one of the other aims was to ensure its aging population could keep working. Because I guess their bodies can't handle immense hours of overtime but can handle some overtime.
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Mechasaurian
Big Bossu
- Location
- Lost among fields of history
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Plan Get the Gang Together
[X] [Overtime] Yes
We need the extra action.
[X] Networking (Masaru-senpai): It's probably a good idea to butter up your direct superior before your other riva- I mean, editors arrive.
-[X] Learning the Ropes: With the sudden increase in the number of series you're expected to work with, it might be a good idea to ask Masaru for advice. Perhaps he has a few tips or tricks that he can show you?
We need to know a bit more about how to do the job.
[X] Networking (Coworkers): It's probably a good idea to stay on the good side of the people that you're going to be working with regularly.
-[X] Shion (IT Issues): Okay, this is ridiculous. If Shion gets fired because of this insane computer issue, you're the one who'll have to take over her workload. Fortunately, you happen to know someone in the IT Department. Surely they've got a spare laptop they could lend her?
-[X] John (Anime and Chill): John seemed absolutely appalled when he realized that you were serious about not knowing the character he was cosplaying as. He's invited you to his "crib" so that you could both watch "the best superhero animated show since Spiderman!" together.
@Tinkerer has convinced me that we need to get together with Shion and John so our strengths can compliment each other.
[X] Networking (Mangaka): Paying a visit to one of your current mangakas might be a good idea, if only to ensure that they aren't having any problems meeting the deadline.
-[X] Aoki Akira: You have to admit, you might be developing a bit of a soft spot for Aoki. Unfortunately, his manga is currently the weakest compared to the other series you're handling. Perhaps a little last minute advice would give him the edge he needs?
Aoki, because I will acknowledge I do have a soft spot for him.
[X] Talent Searching: Despite being a relatively small publication, the Sunday Star still receives dozens of manuscripts from wannabe mangakas every week. Take a look through the pile and see if there are any interesting new series that you can pick up.
If we're going to be managing more manga, we need to make a start.
[X] [Overtime] Yes
We need the extra action.
[X] Networking (Masaru-senpai): It's probably a good idea to butter up your direct superior before your other riva- I mean, editors arrive.
-[X] Learning the Ropes: With the sudden increase in the number of series you're expected to work with, it might be a good idea to ask Masaru for advice. Perhaps he has a few tips or tricks that he can show you?
We need to know a bit more about how to do the job.
[X] Networking (Coworkers): It's probably a good idea to stay on the good side of the people that you're going to be working with regularly.
-[X] Shion (IT Issues): Okay, this is ridiculous. If Shion gets fired because of this insane computer issue, you're the one who'll have to take over her workload. Fortunately, you happen to know someone in the IT Department. Surely they've got a spare laptop they could lend her?
-[X] John (Anime and Chill): John seemed absolutely appalled when he realized that you were serious about not knowing the character he was cosplaying as. He's invited you to his "crib" so that you could both watch "the best superhero animated show since Spiderman!" together.
@Tinkerer has convinced me that we need to get together with Shion and John so our strengths can compliment each other.
[X] Networking (Mangaka): Paying a visit to one of your current mangakas might be a good idea, if only to ensure that they aren't having any problems meeting the deadline.
-[X] Aoki Akira: You have to admit, you might be developing a bit of a soft spot for Aoki. Unfortunately, his manga is currently the weakest compared to the other series you're handling. Perhaps a little last minute advice would give him the edge he needs?
Aoki, because I will acknowledge I do have a soft spot for him.
[X] Talent Searching: Despite being a relatively small publication, the Sunday Star still receives dozens of manuscripts from wannabe mangakas every week. Take a look through the pile and see if there are any interesting new series that you can pick up.
If we're going to be managing more manga, we need to make a start.
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It's time to really utilize John and Chill to learn how to properly Karen for the sake of our fellow workers! We must learn how to use I'll Sue (and then get smeared in the media (double smeared if you deserve getting sued))!
I kinda regret not going all in on in company networking tbh. But that's half the fun of this event. A real swerve into a more serious storyline. So, should we just fucking go balls to the walls full networking turn? Literally every networking opt we can? I'm not going to vote for it right now but lemme see,
[] Plan Beautiful Social Butterfly
-[ ] [Overtime] Yes
-[ ] Networking (Masaru-senpai): It's probably a good idea to butter up your direct superior before your other riva- I mean, editors arrive.
--[ ] Learning the Ropes: With the sudden increase in the number of series you're expected to work with, it might be a good idea to ask Masaru for advice. Perhaps he has a few tips or tricks that he can show you?
-[] Networking (Coworkers): It's probably a good idea to stay on the good side of the people that you're going to be working with regularly
--[ ] Shion (IT Issues): Okay, this is ridiculous. If Shion gets fired because of this insane computer issue, you're the one who'll have to take over her workload. Fortunately, you happen to know someone in the IT Department. Surely they've got a spare laptop they could lend her?
-[ ] John (Anime and Chill): John seemed absolutely appalled when he realized that you were serious about not knowing the character he was cosplaying as. He's invited you to his "crib" so that you could both watch "the best superhero animated show since Spiderman!" together.
-[ ] Networking (Assistant Editor in Chief): Ah, shit. Who decided to give such an important position to your idiot cousin? Meeting with him isn't going to be pleasant, but you should see if you can do some damage control before things get out of hand.
-[ ] Networking (Editor in Chief): Good news, you've finally met your Editor in Chief. Bad news, he's an asshole. Still, you're sure that he'll be willing to reconsider his attitude if you butter him up a little.
And there.
So Maeda would more or less be going all in on his networking bonus. If nothing else, I think it would be a good idea to try and get a better idea of what's going on in the company. I had the board listed but exchanged it for John due to better synergy with other coworker options. While I'd love to switch out cousin for anime... I think we really need insight on office and board politics. Adding John in instead of direct contact is mainly me not wanting to piss off Kyo- I mean the Editor in Chief. The implications of going to our uncle aren't ones that seem to be deescalation.
I also went with getting tips from Masaru because we're doing overtime anyway. We'll probably help the guy out indirectly just by working more.
- Location
- Italy
this is a good nuclear option, I suppose. but first it might be wiser to instead go to our uncle and warn him that we've found out the company is violating the law and if this got reported by a grumpy worker (not us, NEVER us, but we heard rumours from stressed colleagues we will NOT name
) This might actually be the final straw for the company.
Mechasaurian
Big Bossu
- Location
- Lost among fields of history
- Pronouns
- They/Them
You might want to put the Xs in so that the automatic vote counter will see your plan?
- Location
- Italy
he just said he's not going to vote for it right now.
And really, it's not a good plan, because if we REALLY want to go for Maeda's specialty over everything else, then that plan NEEDS to include the board. Definitely much more important than the cousin assistant
Mechasaurian
Big Bossu
- Location
- Lost among fields of history
- Pronouns
- They/Them
blah, I'm made of error.
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Not really. Our Cousin is a living mystery fuck up button, and it's looking like the Editor in Chief is projecting him onto us. Knowing the full details on that isn't going to happen unless we go right to the source: the idiot himself. He'll also be someone that works with the Editor. We'll probably have to translate what he says into reality, but that's the price of information.
It would also give us a better footing on how to make the Editor stop riding our ass. Going straight to the board and cashing in a favor, imo, isn't going to look good to anyone. It'll just prove we're an asshat like our cousin. They might not even give a shit too. Worst case, it'll result in our uncle being unhappy with us as well. One bad twist and we run to uncle? I can't see it making the Editor feel like lightening up on us later. He's clearly serious about this company and his job.
We can also go to the board and our after we talk to them. At least then we'll have a more comprehensive idea about what to talk about.
Ofc we could leave John for later but... John and Chill 🥺
Hyacinthium
Writing about sad cannibals as we speak.
- Location
- Bedroom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Anyway actual vote time
[X] Overtime Cadre Building
[X] plan preparations
[X] Overtime Cadre Building
[X] plan preparations
[X] Overtime Cadre Building
-[X] [Overtime] Yes
-[X] Networking (Masaru-senpai): It's probably a good idea to butter up your direct superior before your other riva- I mean, editors arrive.
--[X] Let Me Help! (Special): It looks like your senpai has been doing a lot of overtime lately. By putting in a little extra effort, you can score some serious brownie points by helping to clear some of his more repetitive and annoying work. (Gain +1 Favor)
-[X] Networking (Coworkers): It's probably a good idea to stay on the good side of the people that you're going to be working with regularly.
--[X] Shion (IT Issues): Okay, this is ridiculous. If Shion gets fired because of this insane computer issue, you're the one who'll have to take over her workload. Fortunately, you happen to know someone in the IT Department. Surely they've got a spare laptop they could lend her?
--[X] John (Anime and Chill): John seemed absolutely appalled when he realized that you were serious about not knowing the character he was cosplaying as. He's invited you to his "crib" so that you could both watch "the best superhero animated show since Spiderman!" together.
-[X] Networking (Board of Directors): Alternatively, you can take his advice and just go directly to the Board. Calling on your Uncle Taishi for a favor might be a little overkill, but what's a little blatant nepotism between workmates?
-[X] Research: It's probably a good idea to make sure that you're not totally ignorant about your job anymore. (Progress towards removing Maeda's "Complete Newbie" trait)
--[X] Shonen '20s Hits: My Hero Academia. Jujutsu Kaisen. Demon Slayer. Even though most of them are long over, the 2020s was filled with hit shonen series that many fans still remember fondly even to this day.
-[X] [Overtime] Yes
-[X] Networking (Masaru-senpai): It's probably a good idea to butter up your direct superior before your other riva- I mean, editors arrive.
--[X] Let Me Help! (Special): It looks like your senpai has been doing a lot of overtime lately. By putting in a little extra effort, you can score some serious brownie points by helping to clear some of his more repetitive and annoying work. (Gain +1 Favor)
-[X] Networking (Coworkers): It's probably a good idea to stay on the good side of the people that you're going to be working with regularly.
--[X] Shion (IT Issues): Okay, this is ridiculous. If Shion gets fired because of this insane computer issue, you're the one who'll have to take over her workload. Fortunately, you happen to know someone in the IT Department. Surely they've got a spare laptop they could lend her?
--[X] John (Anime and Chill): John seemed absolutely appalled when he realized that you were serious about not knowing the character he was cosplaying as. He's invited you to his "crib" so that you could both watch "the best superhero animated show since Spiderman!" together.
-[X] Networking (Board of Directors): Alternatively, you can take his advice and just go directly to the Board. Calling on your Uncle Taishi for a favor might be a little overkill, but what's a little blatant nepotism between workmates?
-[X] Research: It's probably a good idea to make sure that you're not totally ignorant about your job anymore. (Progress towards removing Maeda's "Complete Newbie" trait)
--[X] Shonen '20s Hits: My Hero Academia. Jujutsu Kaisen. Demon Slayer. Even though most of them are long over, the 2020s was filled with hit shonen series that many fans still remember fondly even to this day.
[X] Overtime Cadre Building
- Location
- Italy
not going to the board before talking to editor and maybe cousin is a decent argument, but in that case we just can't afford to ONLY focus on the networking aspect of our job. We also really need to continue our manga studies, and we even have a synergistic option with John!
So... well, I think more plan preparations and overtime cadre building are better balanced.
mh... I wonder... could we sent an anonymous tip to some kind to whoever's supposed to check on overtime problems in companies?
Not right now, it would be wiser to let a few more weeks pass, and only do that IF and only IF we can't find a better way to promote some change... but it might be a good nuclear option. or if John doesn't care about his rep at all, we could just have him notice these laws if he's not already aware of them. All it would take is an anonymous e-mail.
...on that note an anonymous e-mail could, worst case, also be used to "threaten" members of the board this way. It shouldn't even be hard. just go to a random internet point in Tokyo, make a throwaway account, and send the mail, and then never use it again, just in case.
...I might be thinking about this in the wrong way though
- Location
- Italy
well, it seems like the winner has already been decided, really.
I'm mostly fine with it.
Assuming the 1 favour we get from Masara will likely be consumed to get Shion her laptop, that leaves 7 favours (or maybe 6, if Shion ends up taking more effort than expected) that we can hopefully use, in conjunction with our family connection, to improve things a bit.
But what are our requests going to be? Are we just going to ask for less series given to us? a Gradual addition instead of all at once?
These should be relatively cheap requests, though it will single us out even MORE as the "nepotist hire unfit for his job and hated by his colleagues".
and... I don't think we have enough favour to ask for something more widespread, like actually reducing overtime for everyone or maybe pushing for some reorganization that would actually make things more efficient (though if by some miracle we can we definitely should!)
I'm mostly fine with it.
Assuming the 1 favour we get from Masara will likely be consumed to get Shion her laptop, that leaves 7 favours (or maybe 6, if Shion ends up taking more effort than expected) that we can hopefully use, in conjunction with our family connection, to improve things a bit.
But what are our requests going to be? Are we just going to ask for less series given to us? a Gradual addition instead of all at once?
These should be relatively cheap requests, though it will single us out even MORE as the "nepotist hire unfit for his job and hated by his colleagues".
and... I don't think we have enough favour to ask for something more widespread, like actually reducing overtime for everyone or maybe pushing for some reorganization that would actually make things more efficient (though if by some miracle we can we definitely should!)
overmind
Ruler of the Swarm
I think we should ask for something realistic. Let's say, three series for each of us, with the caveat that more will be added at the end of the year/6 Month period (negotiable) when the new hires will have more experience and can handle the workload rathe rthan just throwing them at the deep end of the pool from the beginning.
- Location
- Italy
If we're going to be realistic, I think that 3 it's actually too little. WE already have 3, and even as a total noob we CAN deal with more of these.
I'd say... maybe argue for gradual additions, like start with 3 and get 1 extra series each week from the most burdened editor (presumably Masaru), up to... maybe 6?
That's still a lot, but it sounds doable, and as we get more results we might be able to renegotiate later on.
Or we just ask for them to give us 3 series and +1 each week, and let us see how much we can actually take care of, and once we reach 5 or 6 we come here and admit "if you give us more the quality of these 5 will suffer".
IF we're delivering results on these 3-4-5 series in the meantime, that argument should have at least a bit of weight.
Hopefully our editor points will start to go up in these few weeks, so that we can actually start to deliver on these improvements.
...on a secondary note, this turn we'll have only 10 points. hopefully a bit more if john's anime watching + trending study raises it, but otherwise... we really have to hope for good rolls. If we get <40 values that's a problem, and as we already went for crunch time last turn doing it again would be a bit risky (and also unkind to our mangakas)
- Location
- Poland
Honestly, my worry about 8 mangas per week is less about the in character concern if Madea can do it, but OOC concern if such a quota is not going to ruin the flow of the quest, as we will be either forced to make a veeeeeeeery long plan where we list our suggestions, and that can be very tedious to write down and makes most people just vote on the first plan that gets 2 votes because not everyone has energy to write a paragraph long plan discussing storylines of 8 seperate stories.
or
we will have to analyse the mangas case by case, one by one, plan by plan, which will make even a short running 10 chapter manga that forever to make in IRL time.
That being said I am ok with let's say 4/5 mangas going on, as that is still managable in my opinion.
or
we will have to analyse the mangas case by case, one by one, plan by plan, which will make even a short running 10 chapter manga that forever to make in IRL time.
That being said I am ok with let's say 4/5 mangas going on, as that is still managable in my opinion.
Bakkasama
There is always a greater fool
- Location
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Pronouns
- He/his
I have similar concerns, though mostly coming from the other end. Like, we can maybe handle the voting be assigning "captains" in charge of managing the vote/suggestions for a particular series (like, I collect the suggestions for the ninja manga in a single plan and people vote for it, Jester does for vampire, someone else for subaru, etc) but that also leaves thinking up the pitch for chapters of 8 mangas, the personalities and specialties for their mangakas, all the rolls... It is certainly doable but it will also likely slow down things quite a bit. Plus longer voting periods so that we can actually discuss the series