Chapter Text
— You are my playthings, and I get joy out of making you suffer! I'm the one who causes pain for fun!
He tried to exaggerate his expression further, hands clutched into fists and wild gaze fixed on the woman before him.
— If I led you on, it was just to make this part hurt you more.
Her shocked expression never left his face.
They both existed in stillness for another few moments, sharp breathing filling in the silence.
— CUT!
Main lights flickered back to full brightness, washing away the tense atmosphere in an instant, and the busy work of production crew quickly filled in the quiet scene. Cameras rolled away on dollies, microphones were lowered, and someone from makeup hurried over to Pomni with a powder brush.
Jax let out a breath and rolled his shoulders, shaking off the last of his performance.
— May I suggest we add a few lines at the end? — He asked, glancing toward the showrunner. — It'd probably hit harder if my character broke for just a second.
Pomni pushed herself off the floor, dusting off her costume as she listened.
The tired woman with classes and perpetually messy brown hair looked up from her script.
— What did you have in mind?
Jax thought for a moment.
— Maybe something like... — He scratched the back of his neck. — "There's nothing more to me, so stop trying"?
She considered it for a second before scribbling a note in the margin.
— Yeah. That fits the character.
— Thanks, Goose! — He saluted with a grin, and then pointed a finger gun at Pomni. — Good job, by the way! Almost believed you!
Pomni laughed quietly.
— Thanks. You were convincing too. — She tilted her head. — How do you make it sound so real?
He only shrugged, the grin never leaving his face.
— Trade secret.
She rolled her eyes with a smile.
Just another day filming The Amazing Digital Circus.
And just another shoot done and forgotten.
Jax stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie as he wandered down the familiar studio hallway, trying to stay out of the way of
The walls were lined with concept art, old promotional posters, and taped-up shooting schedules that nobody bothered taking down.
He didn't hate the cast.
Actually, he got along with most of them.
Sure, he could only ever chat with Gangle about anime, and Zooble's personality annoyed the fuck out of him, but still.
He didn't even slightly dislike anyone, but it was always obvious they all kind of had their own "clicks" in the group. Someone who would probably stick together even if the friend group feel apart.
What he did dislike was the studio's obsession with "method acting".
They were voice actors. Technically, all they had to do was record dialogue — and then everyone can go home.
Instead, every scene had to be physically acted out first — every fight, every breakdown, every emotional confession. Goose insisted it made the performances feel genuine, and judging by the final product...
Well.
She wasn't actually wrong.
It did make the scenes feel far more real and personal.
And he made friends — only because they all spend too much time together. Not close friends. But more than acquaintances.
There was another tradition, too.
Inside the studio, everyone called each other by their characters' names.
Not a rule. Nobody would get in trouble for slipping.
It was just... what everyone did?
Apparently it helped sell the relationships.
Outside these walls, things were different, of course. Jax had heard Pomni and Ragatha use each other's real names when discussing how they bumped into one another at a cafe once.
Inside the studio, though?
They were always Pomni, Ragatha, Gangle, Zooble, Kinger, Caine...
...and Jax.
But maybe tomorrow things will get interesting
The recording date for Episode 9 had finally been announced, which meant the producers had to finalize the actress for the mysterious "Ribbit" character he'd been hearing about for weeks now.
Apparently, she was supposed to become Jax's closest friend.
Which is kind of ironic, considering he wouldn't even meet her until tomorrow.
What if they couldn't stand each other?
It happened. Not often, but it happened.
And if their dynamic won't work on camera?
And if that was the case, they'd have to fake an entire friendship from scratch. Every joke, every casual conversation, every important moment that was supposed to make the audience think "these two have known each other forever."
That was the job, though. Can't get away from it.
And Jax wasn't worried.
If anything, he liked the challenge.
Playing "Jax" was already exhausting enough, with the constant switching between sarcastic comic relief and someone completely horrible traumatized moron wasn't exactly easy.
Judging by the audience's reaction, though...
He must be doing a great job.