Chapter Text
“Korra! Please!” The green-eyed man was absolutely begging the woman in front of him. “I don’t want to go alone to the casting call. You don’t need to actually do anything. You just need to keep me from running away.”
Korra sighed, and crossed her arms, one hand covering the armband wrapped snugly around her bicep, and the other wedged against her side. She huffed, thinking it over. Bolin, the imploring young man sitting across the table from her, was one of her best friends. This could be his big break. And besides, maybe there’d be free food.
“Fine.” She said at last, and picked up her chopsticks, shoveling some noodles into her mouth before they could get cold. “I’ll go with you, since Mako’s busy.”
Bolin almost launched himself across the kitchen table in his efforts to hug her, before deciding to just stand up and go around. Korra could feel her ribs being crushed slightly by the force of his embrace as he wailed his thanks. He never did know his own strength, she thought.
“Ok, ok.” she said, and feebly patted his back, such as she could reach. “Ok.” This last was much more forceful, with the last of her breath. Bolin let her go finally, green eyes glistening with unshed tears of joy. She joking pushed him back and pointed with her chopsticks, “Now finish your food. You’re a growing boy, as you often say.”
He grinned and picked up his own set of chopsticks from where they had fallen askew on the table, and started devouring his own food with renewed gusto.
____
The casting itself had gone well. Bolin had snagged the role of a minor supporting character. With lines and everything. Korra had had to fend him off to prevent more ribs from being bruised by his embrace. But they also apparently needed several extras for a restaurant scene, and Bolin had apparently written her name down on the list.
“I thought ‘Extras’ meant, you know, the extra people you bring to support you, so they know not to call you by accident.” He had explained.
Korra had buried her face in her palm at that, but it was at least a paying gig. All she had to do was sit in a chair for hours and pretend to talk to whoever else was there. No big deal, a few extra bucks, some free food, and then she was in the clear, and apparently, in a movie.
____
So several months later she arrived at the restaurant where shooting was to take place, in her very favorite denim jeans and black tank top. After being shuttled around from set directors to hair and makeup and then back to the set director, she was finally sitting in her chair, waiting for her forced conversational partner for the day.
Looking around at the other extras gathered around with her, she started taking stock of the kinds of people. A lot of these people were obviously pros at being extras, and were talking animatedly about past film experiences, and the like. Their occasional laughter helped calm the uncomfortable lump in her stomach. Nerves were not something she was accustomed to, but the idea that she was going to be on film forever, even in the background, was starting to get to her. What if she was making weird faces? Or suddenly sneezed mid-scene and ruined everything? Or somehow upstaged the actors and got yelled at and told to leave? Or…
“Hi.”
The sudden voice snapped Korra back to reality, and she looked up to see long black hair framing the most stunning face she had ever seen. Was she the star of the movie?
“Hah! Thank you, but I’m just an extra.”
Oh Spirits, she had said that out loud. Today was going to be one of those days, apparently.
Korra blinked and turned away, a sudden flush coming to her cheeks, turning them an even darker shade of brown. She finally managed to look again at the person sitting down across the table from her, and accomplished not voicing her thoughts out loud this time. Her face was lean, elegant, and her eyes were probably the most excellent shade of green she had even seen. How someone had greener eyes than Bolin (who previously held that title until this moment), Korra wasn’t sure, but that was alright.
Her gaze drifted to the hand being extended towards her to shake, and Korra took it firmly in her own, her few lessons in first impressions from her father coming back to her. Firm handshake. Not painful, but enough to show you respect them, and mean business.
“I’m Korra,” She finally managed, and smiled slightly, “I guess we’re stuck with each other for today?” Her scene-partner’s hand was rougher than Korra had anticipated. Apparently she worked with her hands.
“It seems so, I’m Asami.” The woman across from her smiled back and took her hand back by this point. A few moments later, the set director, on Zhu-Li Moon arrived, and gave a brief description of things that needed to happen during the scene:
“Ok, this is a romantic scene, so nothing super over the top, casual conversation wallah. No breakup arguments!” A titter of laughter passed through the crowd. “Ok, and when Ginger gets to her line ‘No one is more important to me,’ … Table 4B, Korra, I’d like you to go to the counter to get your meal. The blocking is marked in red, take a look at it before we start shooting.”
Blocking? Oh Spirits, she had no idea what to do. Her eyes must have told the tale, because at that moment Asami smiled at her, like she was sharing a secret. Zhu-Li was explaining other queues and blocking to the rest of the assembled folks, who nodded or gave a thumbs-up.
“Just walk over and stand on the tape, get whatever they hand you, and walk back. It’ll be fine.” she offered, and Korra nodded, eyes still a bit wide.
She quickly checked where the red tape was attached to the floor. There was also a dotted line of red she was supposed to follow. Oh, good. Her path had been laid out. Ok. She could do this. No problem.
She was close enough to the table that she could clearly hear the conversation happening at Ginger’s table, so hearing the line would be easy. She just needed to make sure she didn’t miss it. But there was one other thing…
“Hey, Asami… This is going to sound like a really silly question.” She hoped Asami was experienced enough at being an extra to know the answer.
“Ok. I promise not to laugh.”
“What is wallah?”
Asami repressed a small giggle, and brought one elegant hand to her lips.
“Hey!”
“Sorry. It does sound silly, but that’s just the word.” She collected herself, and with a precision borne from obvious knowledge, she explained: “Wallah is fake conversation, gibberish. Usually things like ‘Raddish raddish raddish’” She said, placing a different emphasis each time she said the word. “It all blends together in crowd sets like this, so that nothing overshadows the lines being spoken.”
Korra nodded, face contorting into a serious expression. She was about to respond, when Zhu-Li shouted for everyone to be quiet on the set. Apparently they were going to start filming. The knot was starting to form in Korra’s stomach again.
By the time the lights were checked, the makeup re-touched, and the cameras rolled, the knot was absolutely Gordian in nature, unable to be removed except by slicing through with a sword. Or so it seemed. She could feel sweat starting to collect on the nape of her neck, and her whole body was tense.
But then Varrick yelled “Action!”.
And Asami flashed Korra a warm smile, and started to speak.
“Raddish raddish, raddishraddish raddish?”
And suddenly that tension was gone. Because that was probably the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. She chuckled, and her shoulders shook, the muscles relaxing.
“Raddish raddish. Raddish.” She moved her arms dismissively. Apparently, in her mind, whatever question Asami had just asked her had a ridiculously obvious answer.
They went back and forth for a few more seconds, gibberish questions followed by gibberish answers, but the flow was established now.
“No one is more important to me.” Ginger said, and Korra almost groaned aloud with how corny the line sounded.
“Raddish raddish.” Korra said, Excuse me, the food’s ready, the obvious implication, before standing up and walking over to the counter. She was handed a plate with some fries and a burger, and walked back to her seat, taking care to follow the red line, in fact, so intent on following the line that she stared at the red tape all the way back.
“Raddish.” Asami said, and as Korra set the plate down, Asami picked up one of the fries, and popped it in her mouth.
“Cut!” Varrick shouted. “Ginger, you’re colder than an elephant seal in January! Come on! Let’s do this again.”
“You should bring the plate back.” Asami said, leaning back in her chair, and checking her phone for a moment before returning it to her purse. “Otherwise they’ll just start to pile up.”
“Oh, yeah. Good call.” Korra swiftly returned the plate to the counter, and then slid back into her seat. This wasn’t so bad. Lights were re-checked, make-up re-retouched, and cameras rolled.
Varrick yelled for Action again, and once again, Asami quickly lead them off in conversation.
“So, what made you sign up for this scene?”
Raddish? She was supposed to say raddish. Was this a test?
“Raddish.”
Asami shook her head slightly, an amused, tight-lipped smile on her lips, and she leaned forward.
“Seriously, what made you sign up for this scene?”
“No one is more important to me.” The line came up suddenly, and Korra flinched.
“I guess the food is done.” Korra said, and stood up to retrieve her lunch.
This time, when she returned, she popped a fry into her own mouth to give them a shot, and immediately regretted that decision. Asami had made no such indication that these were terrible. That was just unfair. Apparently the look on her face said as much.
“I probably should have warned you about that... “ the raven-haired woman said, and flipped her hair over her shoulder with a deft turn on her head. “But tell me, what made you want to get on set?”
Korra grimaced, and picked up another horrible fry, gesturing with it like a pointer. “My buddy Bolin went to audition for this movie, but didn’t want to go alone, so I was moral support. He accidentally signed me up for this because his reading comprehension level is, I guess, really low.”
“CUT!” Varrick yelled again, “Alright Romeo, seriously, you’re supposed to be looking at her tenderly, not like she’s your estranged cousin with four heads and a pet Sabertooth Moose-Lion! Again!”
Korra sighed and brought the cold, grainy, in general disgusting plate of food back to the counter.
“So how about you?” Korra asked when the scene started up again.
“I like being around movie sets.” Asami replied, but Korra felt like that was only half of an answer. But she kept her thoughts to herself, and dutifully went and retrieved her plate from the counter at the correct time.
The scene repeated several times, and with each, Varrick grew more and more impatient, it seemed. Sometimes they didn’t even get to Korra’s queue before re-starting.
“Alright, let’s break for lunch. One hour!” He cried, and the buzzer sounded.
A wave of relief passed over the crowd, and Korra stood from her chair. Asami followed suit. The Water Tribe girl realized at that moment that while she was certainly not short, her table-partner was absolutely statuesque, and towered over her. Wow.
“So, lunch?” Asami asked, “We can at least wash out the taste of those awful fries.”
“I’ll follow you, since I don’t even know where the catering table is.” Korra looked around, making a show of being lost.
“Of course, my young apprentice, we’ll turn you into an expert extra in no time.” Asami laughed, and waved a hand vaguely in the direction away from hair and makeup, “It’s usually right over here.”
___
The line was long, but at last, Korra had filled up her plate: two hot dogs, a cheeseburger, a bottle of water, and some salad. She noted that Asami seemed to favor the burgers to the hot dogs, and had what appeared to be a surprising appetite, going for the fries rather than the salad.
“Huh.”
“What?” Asami asked when they found a seat.
“Nothing, you just struck me as a salad kinda girl.” Korra said, shrugging as she devoured one of the hot dogs in front of her.
“Oh. Well, I do like salad sometimes, but honestly, a good cheeseburger is my biggest weakness.”
“Yeah? Where do you usually get your burgers from?” She sounded the words out around the bite of hot-dog in her mouth, making it sound muffled and slurred, but Asami apparently understood.
“There’s a food truck that hangs out near my day job that I usually get. They make the best burger I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot.”
“Cool. Where do you work, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Asami shrugged, but Korra could see a slight amount of tension in her shoulders, like she was afraid of answering for some reason.
“I’m an engineer at Future Industries.”
Well, that probably helped explain the rough hands then, probably had to get her hands dirty fitting all those cars together. Korra wasn’t quite sure what the issue was, Future Industries was a huge company, and probably employed more people than any other place in the city.
“Cool. My friend Mako used to work as a welder at their factory, but he never mentioned an amazing burger truck. I may have to swing by some time and see for myself.”
Asami’s shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.
“The truck only started staying there about a year ago, so if he doesn’t work there anymore, he might have missed it, but you definitely should. I’ve had to really buckle down at the gym to make up for these burgers. But it’s so worth it.”
___
The buzzer signifying the end of lunch rang sooner than Korra had expected it to, but when she checked her phone, it did seem like a full hour had passed, so apparently she had just lost track of time. They settled back down into their seats, and the shooting began again. This time with the cameras in a different setup.
“Cross coverage.” Asami offered as explanation, “To get the other side of the conversation.”
“Oh, cool.”
They continued chatting over the table, with Korra getting up like clockwork to go get that same plate of burger and fries.
___
“Ok, favorite movie as a kid.” Korra asked, gesturing with a french fry.
“Love Amongst the Dragons”
“Seriously?”
“My mom loved it. She showed it to me when I was five. I’m pretty sure I can still recite it from memory, I watched it so many times.”
“Twenty Yuans says you can’t.”
“You’re on.”
___
“And lo, the commandments did these becomes passed down, and so above all, the love of dragons be maintained.” Asami finished with a small bow of her head, smiling widely.
“Ok. You win. I honestly haven’t met anyone that could recite the whole movie.” Korra said, checking the screen of her phone for accuracy.
“Pay up.” Asami said, and wagged her outstretched hand in front of her. Korra begrudgingly grabbed her wallet and slapped a twenty Yuan note into her palm.
“How long do these shooting days even go?” Korra asked, checking the time quickly before putting her phone away. “I still gotta hit the gym at some point tonight.”
“We should be wrapping up soon, I think.” Asami looked at her own phone for a moment, “The lighting guys will probably walk off before Varrick wraps for today.”
“Can they do that?”
“They’re union.” Asami as though that answered all of the possible questions Korra could have.
“Cut!” Varrick yelled, and looked over angrilly at Korra and Asami’s table. “4B, you missed your queue!”
Both women gaped at each other. Had they? Oh no. Her nightmare was coming true. She was going to get kicked off set.
“Varrick, I’m sorry about that. Why don’t we wrap for tonight anyway. It’s getting late.” Asami smiled at him warmly while she said that, but Korra just stared at her. Was she… talking back to the director? Oh man, they were going to be in deep.
Varrick looked taken aback, and then checked the time himself.
“Oh man! Asami, you’re so right. I’m late for my thing.” He turned sharply, “Zhu-Li! Get the car. We need to go.” he turned back around, and stood up on a podium, “Alright, we’ll start shooting again at nine AM! So that means all extras… Be here at seven, and bring the same clothes from today. And Ginger, Romeo, I’ll need you two at six.”
The buzzer rang for the end of the day. Korra didn’t get up though, she just was in shock over what had just happened. She wasn’t in trouble. Varrick knew Asami by name. Asami was checking her face in a compact mirror like nothing had just happened. What had just happened?
“So… I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Asami asked, extending her hand to Korra again.
“Oh… sure!” Korra shook her hand again, “Nice to meet you.”
“You too.” And Asami walked away, flipping her hair again for good measure. For most people, the gesture would have been condescending, rude. But to Korra’s eyes, it seemed to just be to get her hair over her shoulder, and spirits knew, she had enough hair to make learning a move like that worthwhile. Korra tugged at her own wolftails. Today had just been so weird… and long.
She yawned. Yeah, it had been a long day. And she did still need to hit the gym. So Korra levered herself up, and started the walk home.