FAKE Fic: Schmoozing - Follows ‘Fall Guys’
Title: Schmoozing - Follows ‘ Fall Guys’
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: Stuntman AU.
Summary: Dee drags Ryo to a Hollywood party in the hopes that a bit of schmoozing might help them land something better than doing stunts on commercials.
Word Count: 1040
Written For: Theme Prompt: 070 - Networking at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“C’mon!” Dee tugged a reluctant Ryo along by the arm. “You jump off tall buildings for a livin’; how can you be scared of attendin’ a party?”
“I’m not scared, I’ve just never much liked this kind of thing, crowds of people getting drunk and saying a lot of insincere things to each other, making promises they won’t even remember in the morning, never mind keep.”
“It’s not all like that, ya just gotta know who to avoid. Look, networkin’ is where it’s at these days. It’s not enough to let your work be seen, ya gotta put yourself out there, meet the right people, make an impression. Events like this attract everyone: the directors, producers, and investors, big stars, new faces hopin’ to get noticed… Ya can’t just rely on word of mouth anymore, ya gotta schmooze, let folks know you’re available, so when an actor’s lookin’ for someone to double for them in their next blockbuster, they’ll remember you.”
Ryo wasn’t convinced. “Right, because Hollywood A-listers are gonna remember the name of a stuntman they ran into one time at a party when they were already hammered or high on drugs.”
“For every dozen who don’t there might be one who does; sometimes that’s all it takes. It’s how I got the gig doublin’ for the bad guy in the first Devon Hall movie I worked on. Speakin’ of whom…” Dee raised his hand to wave at their host.
Grinning, the star himself abandoned his other guests and made his way over to the two stuntmen.
“Hey, glad you guys could make it!” He shook their hands warmly. “Early indications are, the movie’s gonna be a big hit. Everybody’s talking about that water stunt, and how cool that whole sequence looked. Let me get you both a drink, then there’s some people I want you to meet.”
Devon steered them over to the bar, where to Dee’s relief there were several kinds of beer on tap, less likely to leave him with a hangover come morning than drinking wine all night since he was more accustomed to downing pints.
Ryo opted for white wine. Although they’d only known each other a few months Dee had already noticed his fellow stuntman seldom got hung over. Whether that was because he was better than Dee at pacing himself or because he had a better head for booze was anybody’s guess. Either way, Ryo wasn’t a heavy drinker and seldom got more than a little tipsy.
They stopped by the buffet to grab a bite to eat before letting Devon steer them over to a table at the back, occupied by an assortment of highly respected movie and TV people, where he introduced Dee and Ryo to them as, “The guys responsible for the awesome stunt on my last movie, the one everybody’s talking about.”
Taking the seats they were offered, the two stuntmen sipped their drinks and fielded questions about that particular stunt, and other aspects of their chosen careers. Despite his initial apprehension, Ryo found the experience relatively painless, and he gradually relaxed.
The wine and the food no doubt helped; both men had missed lunch earlier due to technical problems holding up the shooting of a chocolate commercial they’d been working on. They’d hung around for almost six hours until the director had finally decided they wouldn’t be needed after all, then barely ten minutes after they’d left, they’d been called back. Filming had taken up the rest of the afternoon and they’d had barely enough time to go home to their respective apartments, get showered and changed before heading across town to Devon’s place for the party.
Later in the evening, they mingled with the other guests, Devon popping up now and then to introduce them to this actor, or that producer, impressing upon them how important it was on any action movie or TV show to have the right people handling the stunts.
“I’ve already gotten these two pencilled in for my next movie, subject to availability, and if they’re not available I plan on delaying filming until they are. Dee’s been the villain on my last three movies, and Ryo made me look so good on the last one I can’t imagine having anyone else as my stunt double.”
Devon definitely wasn’t your average big Hollywood star; he liked to get to know all the people he worked with and made sure they knew their hard work was appreciated.
Leaving the party just after midnight, because there was still filming to be done on the commercial meaning they’d have to get up early, Dee bumped his shoulder against Ryo’s. “Wasn’t so bad, was it? Good music, free booze great food… Did ya try those mini cheesecakes?”
“I think you ate most of them.”
“Probably.” Dee laughed. “I could’a done without gettin’ hit on every five minutes, but I noticed you didn’t seem to mind.”
“Huh?” Ryo frowned at his friend.
“You had that one girl practically hangin’ all over ya.”
“She was bored and lonely; the people she came with sort of abandoned her and she didn’t know anyone else.”
Dee snorted. “Thought any minute she’d be draggin’ you away for a quickie. She was givin’ ya enough hints.”
Ryo blinked. “She was flirting with me? Are you sure?”
“’Course I’m sure! How could ya not know?”
“I thought she was just being friendly.”
“Yeah, well she was lookin’ to get a whole lot friendlier.”
“But I don’t… I didn’t…” Ryo was flustered now.
“Man, you really don’t get it, do ya? Half the women there had the hots for ya, and some of the guys too. I was gettin’ jealous.”
“Sorry if I was taking attention away from you; it wasn’t intentional.”
Dee huffed, exasperated. “That’s not what I meant, dumbass! I was…” He shook his head. “Ah, forget it, doesn’t matter.” He’d been dropping hints of his own since the day they’d met, but although they’d become close friends it seemed Ryo wasn’t interested in anything more. “With any luck our names fell on the right ears tonight and some good, payin’ work might come our way, somethin’ a bit more substantial than a commercial.”
Ryo relaxed, smiling agreement. “That would be good.”
The End
Sequel: ' Unpredictable'
Fandom: FAKE
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Dee, Ryo, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: Stuntman AU.
Summary: Dee drags Ryo to a Hollywood party in the hopes that a bit of schmoozing might help them land something better than doing stunts on commercials.
Word Count: 1040
Written For: Theme Prompt: 070 - Networking at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
“C’mon!” Dee tugged a reluctant Ryo along by the arm. “You jump off tall buildings for a livin’; how can you be scared of attendin’ a party?”
“I’m not scared, I’ve just never much liked this kind of thing, crowds of people getting drunk and saying a lot of insincere things to each other, making promises they won’t even remember in the morning, never mind keep.”
“It’s not all like that, ya just gotta know who to avoid. Look, networkin’ is where it’s at these days. It’s not enough to let your work be seen, ya gotta put yourself out there, meet the right people, make an impression. Events like this attract everyone: the directors, producers, and investors, big stars, new faces hopin’ to get noticed… Ya can’t just rely on word of mouth anymore, ya gotta schmooze, let folks know you’re available, so when an actor’s lookin’ for someone to double for them in their next blockbuster, they’ll remember you.”
Ryo wasn’t convinced. “Right, because Hollywood A-listers are gonna remember the name of a stuntman they ran into one time at a party when they were already hammered or high on drugs.”
“For every dozen who don’t there might be one who does; sometimes that’s all it takes. It’s how I got the gig doublin’ for the bad guy in the first Devon Hall movie I worked on. Speakin’ of whom…” Dee raised his hand to wave at their host.
Grinning, the star himself abandoned his other guests and made his way over to the two stuntmen.
“Hey, glad you guys could make it!” He shook their hands warmly. “Early indications are, the movie’s gonna be a big hit. Everybody’s talking about that water stunt, and how cool that whole sequence looked. Let me get you both a drink, then there’s some people I want you to meet.”
Devon steered them over to the bar, where to Dee’s relief there were several kinds of beer on tap, less likely to leave him with a hangover come morning than drinking wine all night since he was more accustomed to downing pints.
Ryo opted for white wine. Although they’d only known each other a few months Dee had already noticed his fellow stuntman seldom got hung over. Whether that was because he was better than Dee at pacing himself or because he had a better head for booze was anybody’s guess. Either way, Ryo wasn’t a heavy drinker and seldom got more than a little tipsy.
They stopped by the buffet to grab a bite to eat before letting Devon steer them over to a table at the back, occupied by an assortment of highly respected movie and TV people, where he introduced Dee and Ryo to them as, “The guys responsible for the awesome stunt on my last movie, the one everybody’s talking about.”
Taking the seats they were offered, the two stuntmen sipped their drinks and fielded questions about that particular stunt, and other aspects of their chosen careers. Despite his initial apprehension, Ryo found the experience relatively painless, and he gradually relaxed.
The wine and the food no doubt helped; both men had missed lunch earlier due to technical problems holding up the shooting of a chocolate commercial they’d been working on. They’d hung around for almost six hours until the director had finally decided they wouldn’t be needed after all, then barely ten minutes after they’d left, they’d been called back. Filming had taken up the rest of the afternoon and they’d had barely enough time to go home to their respective apartments, get showered and changed before heading across town to Devon’s place for the party.
Later in the evening, they mingled with the other guests, Devon popping up now and then to introduce them to this actor, or that producer, impressing upon them how important it was on any action movie or TV show to have the right people handling the stunts.
“I’ve already gotten these two pencilled in for my next movie, subject to availability, and if they’re not available I plan on delaying filming until they are. Dee’s been the villain on my last three movies, and Ryo made me look so good on the last one I can’t imagine having anyone else as my stunt double.”
Devon definitely wasn’t your average big Hollywood star; he liked to get to know all the people he worked with and made sure they knew their hard work was appreciated.
Leaving the party just after midnight, because there was still filming to be done on the commercial meaning they’d have to get up early, Dee bumped his shoulder against Ryo’s. “Wasn’t so bad, was it? Good music, free booze great food… Did ya try those mini cheesecakes?”
“I think you ate most of them.”
“Probably.” Dee laughed. “I could’a done without gettin’ hit on every five minutes, but I noticed you didn’t seem to mind.”
“Huh?” Ryo frowned at his friend.
“You had that one girl practically hangin’ all over ya.”
“She was bored and lonely; the people she came with sort of abandoned her and she didn’t know anyone else.”
Dee snorted. “Thought any minute she’d be draggin’ you away for a quickie. She was givin’ ya enough hints.”
Ryo blinked. “She was flirting with me? Are you sure?”
“’Course I’m sure! How could ya not know?”
“I thought she was just being friendly.”
“Yeah, well she was lookin’ to get a whole lot friendlier.”
“But I don’t… I didn’t…” Ryo was flustered now.
“Man, you really don’t get it, do ya? Half the women there had the hots for ya, and some of the guys too. I was gettin’ jealous.”
“Sorry if I was taking attention away from you; it wasn’t intentional.”
Dee huffed, exasperated. “That’s not what I meant, dumbass! I was…” He shook his head. “Ah, forget it, doesn’t matter.” He’d been dropping hints of his own since the day they’d met, but although they’d become close friends it seemed Ryo wasn’t interested in anything more. “With any luck our names fell on the right ears tonight and some good, payin’ work might come our way, somethin’ a bit more substantial than a commercial.”
Ryo relaxed, smiling agreement. “That would be good.”
The End
Sequel: ' Unpredictable'