Chapter Text
SNAP! The sound rang through the air, and was followed by the soft thud of someone falling.
“And cut!” Himeko’s voice rang out over the sounds of screaming that followed.
“March, you can stop now.” Stelle nudged the pink-haired girl next to her. “No one actually died, see.”
“It feels like I did,” the person in question groaned as she sat up. “Can I take these ears off now? They’re kind of heavy.”
“Sure. Take five, everyone, and don’t wander too far,” Himeko called to the rest of the group.
The new indie show Honkai: Star Rail was in the middle of recording the ending of what would become their first season’s sixthepisode. Headed by the award-winning director Welt Yang, it was meant to be a sequel to Welt’s hit series Honkai: Impact 3rd. Welt claimed it was all based on actual events, but most people figured he was joking about that part.
At the moment, they were filming the final scenes of the episode where several of the main characters, from a group called “The Nameless”, had just watched their new ally reveal that she was a traitor. Fugue, an actress who had been personally scouted by a friend of Welt’s, was playing a fox girl named Tingyun who’d been body-napped by the evil mastermind Phantylia. Fugue had found the entire thing rather funny—while in the second season she was to play the actual Tingyun, in the first season she had to be Phantylia pretending to be Tingyun. And being a bit of a drama queen, she greatly enjoyed the fake neck snap she got to do at the end of her script.
Her co-stars found this specific skill rather unnerving. Particularly the easily-spooked March, who played the amnesiac photographer that was a member of the Nameless. Or, more precisely, the “Astral Express”, which was the Nameless’ transport.
Welt was very good at giving the lore theorists plenty to work with.
The only person who seemed to be more fascinated than horrified was Stelle. Part of a set of twins, Stelle was a young woman with shoulder-length gray hair, piercing gold eyes, and an interest in the less savory parts of life. Like how Fugue “snapped” her own neck.
“How did you do that? Can you show me?”
“Sure~ It’s super easy!”
“Don’t teach her,” Stelle’s brother, Caelus, begged. “I suffer enough at home already…oi! Daniel Heng! Please tell them not to do it!”
“Why did you call me that fan nickname?”
“Daniel Heeennnnngg—”
Dan Heng, or “The Nameless Guard”, as his character was called, was in the next scene to be filmed, but had finished prepping long before and was now trying to kill time by reading a book. Like his character, he had a rather dry sense of humour.
“Have fun, Stelle.”
“Noooo…” Caelus groaned dramatically, and draped himself over a nearby folding chair, next to the one Dan Heng was sitting on. Of course, it being a folding chair meant he went down with a crash onto the concrete floors. “Ow.”
“Everything good over here?” Himeko asked as she walked over. Caelus grimaced as he rubbed his head, but gave her a thumbs up. The assistant director chuckled. “Alright, then. Dan Heng. Jing Yuan and Ren are ready to go, so we can start whenever you’re ready.”
“How about Jing Yuan’s kid brother?” Dan Heng asked as he stood up. In the background, Caelus had gotten up and was watching Fugue demonstrate which angle one needed to be at for the effect of neck snapping to work the best.
“We’re all waiting for you, dude,” Yanqing yelled across the room. “Hurry up!”
“Manners,” Jing Yuan chided.
“Please!”
“I’m coming, don’t worry,” Dan Heng said as he carefully stepped over the wires connecting the cameras. “From the top?”
“Yep. Places, everyone! And…action!”
.
The Guard picked his way down the steps of the fake dock overlooking the set of the Alchemy Commission, one of the many locations that were needed for the Astral Express crew’s Xianzhou adventures. The wood creaked as he made his way down toward a waiting Jing Yuan.
As he walked across the platforms, ghostly “figures” made of see-through material rose up from between the cracks in the wooden planks. They were meant to reflect the past life of Dan Heng’s character, but Dan Heng claimed they looked more like really weird flags. Welt promised they would look better post-editing.
“General,” the Guard greeted the white-haired man, who played the leader of the Luofu. “What brings you here?”
The General raised his chin in acknowledgement. “Dan Feng.”
“I have no such name. I am simply the Guard.”
“I see.” A pause. “Well, Guard. I understand you received my message?”
“Of course I did, I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” the Guard replied evenly. The faux-ghosts continued to wave around the two, as if taunting the Guard. Neither he nor the General acknowledged them.
The General hummed. “Then you accept my proposal?”
“I am not the High Elder of the Luofu. I am a Nameless. Can you not call upon the rightful High Elder?”
“She is but a child.”
“As am I.”
“You have his abilities, don’t you?” There was a challenge beneath the words, an unspoken question. You and her are not much different, are you not?
The Guard took several long moments to ponder. “...Like I said, I am a Nameless. My role is to observe, and as the Express’ guard, my duty is to protect the passengers of my train. My goal on the Luofu is to find my friends, not to become entangled in politics.”
“I understand. Then, I will take you to your friends. But will you stay and provide your assistance?”
The words were spoken quickly, almost over the end of the Guard’s sentence. The General was a patient man, but he had his priorities.
“When all parties are present, we will vote. And then we will decide,” the Guard stated.
“Very well,” the General agreed, and the two stepped into the waiting starskiff—
.
“And cut! Great job, you two. Now, once more from the top, and with dramatics!” Himeko called. “Have more of a grudge, Dan Heng, and take your time, Jing Yuan. The General is a relaxed man—he’s called the Dozing General for a reason.”
“You cast the one guy who doesn’t sleep as the guy who sleeps the most,” Ren muttered from just behind the camera, where he was waiting for his turn in the scene. “What irony.”
“Okay, Mr. Revenge-Wanter who apologized profusely to a streetlamp this morning,” Jing Yuan replied with a grin. Ren grumbled, but didn’t deny the claim.
Dan Heng sighed. “Jing Yuan, please stop picking a fight with Ren, and get out of this box on wheels so I can climb back up the stairs.”
.
On the other side of the soundstage, Fugue had gone to take off her makeup, and the twins were left to their own devices. They were supposed to film a scene for the next episode, along with March and Welt, where they had to defeat the alchemist Dan Shu—who was being played by Serval Landau, a renowned musician who was also playing…herself.
There were a few double castings. Elio, being the creative writer he was, had wanted a large cast. Unfortunately, their budget didn’t really cover that, so it was a very lucky thing that Welt had many contacts and connections.
“How do I look?” Fugue asked the twins as she adjusted her headpiece. “Deranged enough?”
“Needs some blood,” Stelle replied.
“Looks great,” Caelus said.
“Heh, thanks, you two. Where’s the staging crew, by the way? I need to get into the harness before I put on the cloak,” Serval inquired. Since she would need to be in the air during that particular episode’s fight scene, a harness had been set up to create the illusion of flight.
Footsteps sounded, and the trio turned to see a short girl racing over with said harness. They could faintly hear the sound of Jing Yuan laughing as the girl skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. She thrust the harness at Fugue.
“Put it on,” she told her. “Once they stop horsing around on the other side, we gotta get you hooked up.”
“What’s the rush, Qingque?” Caelus asked as Fugue undid the straps.
“There’s a new episode of Clockie out, according to Mr. Yang, and I want to watch the premiere,” Qingque replied. “Speaking of which, you two need to go to makeup. Caelus is supposed to have a black eye, and Stelle doesn’t look sweaty enough.”
“Of course not. I’m supposed to have a 3D printed body,” Stelle muttered, but followed Caelus off to the touchup station in the corner.
.
The scene with the Nameless fighting Dan Shu was the final one to be shot that day. So while his friends did their best to show off for the cameras, the Nameless Express Guard went to change back into Dan Heng, the guy who worked the night shift at the 24-hour gas station on Seventh Street.
When he came out of the changing area, Ren was waiting for him.
“How the hell do you see without your glasses?” he asked. Dan Heng reached up instinctively to adjust the black frames on his face. Ren snickered, and Dan Heng immediately dropped his hand so he could swat at his co-star.
Ren dodged. Stupid football players.
“I have contacts,” he informed the smirking man. “Lenses. Contact lenses, do not—”
But Ren was already pulling out his phone. “So do I—”
Luckily for his kneecaps, Jing Yuan chose that moment to join them. The fluffy hair required of the General was tied back into a neat ponytail, though a patch of it still covered his eyes. Jing Yuan really liked his current look, even if it didn’t really go with the blue jeans and Rabbit-Kun shirt he was wearing.
“Are you two done flirting?” he asked. “Yanqing’s going to a friend’s place, so we can go anytime.”
“Where are we having dinner at?” Ren asked while Dan Heng sputtered about how on earth Jing Yuan could think they were flirting.
“Obviously Gallagher’s,” Jing Yuan replied. “Where else?”
Gallagher was a friend of Welt’s, and a fellow cast member, though he was only coming in during the filming of Season 2 to serve as the expert on bar drinks. He owned a diner just a couple of blocks away from where Honkai: Star Rail was doing most of their recording. It was a favorite place for many involved with the production, especially as it had nonalcoholic beverages, too. It was amazing what one could do with a bottle of soda when used right.
In terms of keeping one awake, however, it held nothing to the taste of a cup of coffee made by Himeko. Dan Heng never quite understood how the twins got so much energy from a single glass of Sweet Dream Soda.
Nor could he fathom how Jing Yuan managed to down so many of Gallagher’s and head bartender Siobhan’s cocktails. As soon as one of them placed a drink down, Jing Yuan was emptying the glass.
“He’s paying for himself,” Ren muttered, seeming to be in agreement with Dan Heng’s thoughts.
“Alright, that’s quite enough of that,” Siobhan said as Gallagher placed a final drink down on the counter. “You’ve had ten glasses of this stuff and I’m not having Goldilocks coming in here to question me on why you’re a mess tomorrow.”
“Even soda should be consumed in moderation,” Gallagher added with a wry smile. They all knew Jing Yuan would be back the next day unless something came up.
“Stressful day, huh?” Ren snarked. Jing Yuan shrugged, and Dan Heng could only sigh.
“Tomorrow’s the day,” he reminded Ren.
Ren frowned. “Of…? Someone's birthday? It’s Elio’s, isn’t it? I knew I was forgetting something…”
“I wish,” Jing Yuan sighed. “At least with Elio you can just buy some notebooks and he’ll be happy.”
“Then who…?”
“Ren, you get to stab me to life tomorrow,” Dan Heng said. Siobhan choked on a glass of SoulGlad soda she’d poured for herself, and Gallagher made a strange noise—neither had that particular part of the story in their scripts. “And Jing Yuan gets to watch.”
“The blood’s just ketchup,” Ren pointed out, quite confused by why Jing Yuan had gone silent.
Siobhan set her drink down. “Well, I’d sure be a bit shaken at the idea. Seems routine for one of Yang’s works, though.”
Jing Yuan made a face.
“Jing Yuan can’t even get through the intro to a horror movie,” Dan Heng explained helpfully.
“Ah,” Gallagher hummed. “In that case…”
“Gallagher—”
“He’ll need it,” Gallagher told an unconvinced-looking Siobhan. Jing Yuan thankfully took the drink.
“Thank you, Gallagher,” Jing Yuan told the man.
“Anytime,” Gallagher replied. “Get some sleep. I’m sure everything will go smoothly tomorrow.”
“I won’t even be facing you half the time. You’ll barely see anything,” Dan Heng said. Ren elbowed him. “What?”
Jing Yuan stood up, sliding his empty glass back across the counter. “Thank you, all of you. It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last…well, we should probably head out. Add everything to my tab, please.”
“My tab, you mean?” Ren muttered, even though he would be swiping his card at the end of the month anyways. “Don’t you get a better paycheck than me?”
Jing Yuan did in fact get a better paycheck. But unlike Ren, who freeloaded in Dan Heng’s attic for half of the year and then lived in Elio’s walls for the other half, Jing Yuan had his own apartment and paid for Yanqing’s frankly unhealthy skateboard obsession. And his cats. Jing uan was a cat dad, and proud of it.
“Have a good night, you three,” Gallagher called as they left. “Let me know how it goes, yeah?”
“Sure,” Dan Heng agreed, and off the three went to rest up for the next day’s events.
.
On the other side of town, Elio was staring at the script and muttering to himself. Kafka knocked once, before entering the office.
“Have you finished the revisions?” She asked. “I hate to bother, but some people are getting antsy.”
“You can tell Kakavasha to stop worrying,” Elio replied, eyes fixated on the pages of writing in front of him. Pages of notes and discarded pens lay strewn about the desk. “He’ll get his bit, and then some.”
Kafka leaned over to take a peak. Elio pushed her back, and she chuckled. “Alright, alright. I’ll leave you to it. But you know…you didn’t have to rewrite your whole storyline just to fit him in.”
“I have to,”
“No you don’t,”
“Kafka,” Elio finally looked up to meet her eyes. “Kafka, I have to.”
“But why?” Kafka asked. “He’s already one of the Stonehearts. You could fit that in anywhere. This show’s not going off the air for a long time, and you already have Jalena and her friend showing up.”
“That’s the whole reason why,” Elio stated. “I need to get them in a room. Together.”
“Who, Jalena and the Doctor? Please, he’s most certainly not her type.” Kafka rolled her eyes.
“No, not Jalena. Kakavasha. Two men, both persistent, ambitious workaholics who desperately need friends outside of work. They’d have amazing chemistry.” Elio waved his pen around, and Kafka stepped back slightly to avoid getting stabbed. “I got Ren and Dan Heng to pose for that promotional video, I got Caelus to convince his girlfriend to sign onto a whole arc with him in Season 2. I almost got the assistant director to kiss Seele–I have to get Kakavasha, aka our producer and top funder, to make out with Veritas Ratio, aka the hottest academic on the internet right now. Imagine it! The sales would top the charts faster than that time we got that one legendary biographer to bring his boyfriend to Honkai: Genshin's Oscar awarding and they kissed!”
Elio, who’d stood up at some point, sat down and went back to scribbling furiously at his notes. “Tell Mr. Moneybags he’ll have this by week’s end, will you?”
“When did I become your assistant?” Kafka asked, but went to deliver the message anyways, leaving Elio to continue with his work.