Flashing Lights

[BlackAkuma]

This was perfect. As a lover of fine set design, Prayuth simply could not have asked for more. He wanted an old-school boxing gym, and damn, did they deliver.

It had all the right trappings. The rusty lockers, worn from constant slamming. The heavy bags with cracks and indentations, beaten to a pulp after taking countless blows. The cracked wooden floors, the rusty nails, even the ceiling fans turning slightly out of sync with each other. Oh, and of course, who could forget the piece de resistance, a good, old-fashioned boxing ring, four-ropes, white canvas, with dirt smudges in all the right places. They’d even gone the extra mile and put water buckets in the opposite corners, and he wouldn’t be too surprised if the questionable liquid in side was real spit.

It was something out of a 80s boxing movie, it was picture perfect, he couldn't have asked for more. But there was one thing bothering him at the moment. A little fly in the ointment.

”What do you mean you haven’t seen Rocky?”

That question was directed at his agent, Aika, who had come with him to observe the set for their big scene today. Typically, getting her out of her dusty office was nigh-impossible feat, but he’d insisted on it this time - after all, she was the one who’d managed to set this ‘match’ up. Collabing with LAW for this match was a revolutionary idea, and a great way to link his status as a wrestler with his acting career. A match that wasn’t a match. He and the co-star for his upcoming Red Castle crossover movie, fighting in-character. Play acting, but real fighting, blending genres, peeling back the fourth wall. It was the sort of experimental stuff he lived for, and he couldn't wait to get started.

His agent didn't quite share the enthusiasm, though, and when he’d tried to figure out why she wasn’t getting hyped about this scene and it’s obvious Rocky 3 homage, he learned a terrible truth: She’d not seen Rocky 3. Or 2. Or even the first one.

”I don’t know what to tell you, Pray.” She sat about on the nearest bench with her long, lithe legs crossed. ”I’m big into sports movies.”

”It’s not even much of a sports movie.” He shook his head. ”In the first one, the fight itself only takes, like, ten minutes.”

”How long is the movie?”

”Two hours, give or take.”

”So the movies spends two hours getting to a ten minute fight scene?”

Prayuth ran his hands over his face, resisting the urge to facepalm. ”It’s not about the fight. It’s more about the drama. Rocky’s this bum, and he comes up from nothing, and he gets in a fight with the world champion, and it’s-” He raised his hands and winced, not wanting to get into spoiler territory. ”You need to see it. It’s a classic. It’s no joke one of the best movies ever made. Ever. At least see the first one.”

Aika finally bothered to look away from whatever she was tapping on her phone, and looked his way with her biggest, fakest smile. ”Okay, Pray. I’ll check it out. For you.” For some reason, she sounded like his mother. Kind of annoying. ”Are you ready? She’ll be here soon.”

Prayuth took a moment to look himself over in the mirror, making sure his makeup was on point in a grimy mirror off to the side of the room. The man looking back at him wasn’t Prayuth Sakda - it was Sagat Bannarasee, Thailand’s top cop, scourge of the underworld, and the man who had single-handedly stopped the Sun On Ye triad’s operations, first by destroying their headquarters in Red Castle, then going to China to cut the head off the snake in Red Castle 2. The remnants of the triad remained, however, and were not only gathering strength, but looking for revenge. To take them down this time, he would need help from an unlikely source, someone with as much skin in the game as he did…

Whoo. Already getting into camera. ”Yeah,” He bounced on his heels and threw a few practice punches. ”I’m ready.”

Lights, Camera…

[GoingBananas]

...Action

“Oh? You’re not into that idea? Last time I checked, you absolutely love vampires.”

Valentina’s tone was laced with sultry, peppery teasing, sounding quite amused as she walked towards the location. She had one hand holding her phone and another holding two pieces of paper. The Singaporean-American’s eyes darted from what was on the paper to her surroundings as she approached the building.

“I said that my ex-wife was a vampire!” The heavy Italian-American accent was still clear, even as they were thousands of miles apart. “And it’s not that I’m not into the idea, but we haven’t even finished the first crossover yet. I like this Prayuth guy, but it’s like we’re trying to do a marathon when we haven’t crawled yet.”

“Oh Leo.” He could just hear Valentina shaking her head, no doubt thinking she’s calling him a silly, little man. “After all this time we’ve worked with each other, have I let you down once? Besides, I had an epiphany on the way. LAW brings in a ton of people. Like a lot. And you don’t think among those people there wouldn’t be another actor or stunt person?”

“…Go on.”

“Just because I’m not doing movies anymore doesn’t mean I can’t be creative while I’m here. Like Sagat Bannarasee and Agent Scarlet? This is already big stuff. But why stop there? There’s plenty of talent in LAW that’s waiting to be found.”

“Even still, that doesn’t always mean these people have what it takes to do it like you. I’ve met loads who say they can act, and then prove they can’t act out of a paper bag, I tell ya.”


“I’m not looking for A listers, Leo.” Valentina interjected. “Besides, none of what I’ll be doing here will be hitting the big screen. All that I ask of you is that you vet the people that I find. If they aren’t absolute psychopaths or criminals, we make something work.”

“And you think these chicks called the Coti…Co-ti-e-rey…man, these French words drive me up the wall.”

“It’s Coterie, Leo.”

“Tomato, to-mah-toe. Anyway, you think they aren’t among the group of people you mentioned?”

“Last time I checked, they were only pretending to be vampires.” Valentina rolled her eyes. “But these ladies can fight. Like, some are ‘properly trained’ kind of legit. I can work with that. You just run a background check on them. If it all checks out, they shall hear from me real soon.”

“Val-”

“Oop, can’t talk, gotta go. Ciao~.”

She hung up the phone before Leonardo could come up with the umpteenth excuse to get out of not doing his job. Besides, the actress was nearing the entrance, so she better close the conversation quick. Despite the man’s apprehension, he’s a darling to set this crossover up with LAW. Judging from what she heard from his agent, Prayuth is ecstatic about this. An actor who shares her passion can be rare sometimes.

Even as she was wearing high heels, the sound of the clacks on the floor was subdued. Perhaps the actress is getting into character or she’s just used to it. Her fourth movie in the Agent Scarlet series included a stealth scene where she must move around in them, without getting detected. While the neoprene padding helps dampen the sound, Valentina has had extensive training in quietly walking in them. Oh, the advancements people made with sound design.

There were a lot of looks she could have chosen from, but she had a feeling that he’d appreciate this one. The vivid, deep red satin dress is iconic at this point. The dress is sleek and form-fitting, hugging her slim, athletic figure. A sleeveless cut, ideal for hand-to-hand combat and handling firearms. Such attire seems preposterous and ridiculous for a field mission, and yet, Valentina made it work.

From a distance, the Singaporean-American actress could overhear some parts of the conversation between what she assumes to be Prayuth and another person. Most likely his agent. And something about “needing to see the first Rocky movie.” An agent for an action movie star not knowing one of the well-known classic movies? That’s a first.

She would come to the entranceway, resting on the edge, her arms folded underneath her chest. Watching on as Prayuth…no, Sagat, doing a bit of shadow boxing. The secret agent wondered if he was getting ready for a different movie altogether. “Somebody’s got the eye of the tiger.” No doubt he would have gotten that reference. “Looks like you came to fight, not to sing and dance.”

[BlackAkuma]

Prayuth heard Valentina before he saw her, and he liked what he heard. As a sucker for a good movie reference, she instantly identified herself to him as a woman of exquisite taste, even if the callback was wasted on his Philistine of an agent.

When he finally spun around to see her, he liked her even more -she’d come dressed to play. He’d seen this particular outfit in her movies, but there was always a surreal edge to viewing things like this in real life that the silver screen couldn't catch. A body like hers would’ve looked sexy wearing a trashbag, but the sizzling red dress she wore did her all the favors, complimenting every dangerous curve and giving just enough of a hint to everything underneath to make the mind spin.

More than anything, she looked deadly. Movement was intent, and the fighter in him could already seen the lethality in her every step she took. Real recognized real.

And he’d be wrestling with her soon. Lucky day, lucky man.

While certain parts of his body were showing their excitement, Prayuth kept it cool from the neck up, throwing out one last, swift kick before he bounced around to look her way. ”Valentina! In the flesh, finally.” While this wasn’t their first time interacting, it had been mostly correspondence up to this point, as they hashed out the details with their agents. So much business was done over the internet these days, and he understood why, but he missed the personal touches of a face-to-face. ”And don’t sell me short. I can do all three.”

”That’s debatable.” Aika gave him the predictable snark, as she stood up and started gathering her materials, preparing to provide them with space to work.

”Pfft, like you’d know.” Prayuth waved her off and moved Valentina’s way with an arm extended, looking for a shake. ”Thanks for coming, thanks for coming. You look…” He gave her a good look over, head to toe, with a nod and a whistle, figuring that would get his point across. ”Ready for this?”

[GoingBananas]

“You’re asking if I look ready for this?”

Valentina didn’t misunderstand Prayuth there; she got the point. Those assessing eyes and wolf whistle told her all she needed to know what the actor thinks of her. Her time in the red carpet taught the actress the difference between respectable and lecherous. And so far, Prayuth falls towards the former.

However, there’s still time for things to change.

Valentina would shake his hand as he approached the actress in the doorway. Firm, but not crushing. Confident, respectful and warm. Her character may be quite the cunning femme fatale, but she can keep things pleasant. “A pleasure to meet you, Prayuth. I’ve been looking forward to this. And clearly, so have you.”

That didn’t stop Valentina from admiring what she sees. Prayuth has a dynamic presence, immediately noticeable through his athletic gait. Seeing Sagat on the screen was one thing, but it’s another being in the flesh. That spiky white hair constructed sharply against the tan skin and darker outfit. Fierce, untamed, adding to an aura of unpredictability. She remembered seeing the first movie of Red Castle, remembering the focused and determined expression of a young Sagat. Sharp, determined eyes that match his intense demeanor. The form-fitting black shirt allowed his muscular arms to be front and center, the pants never go past the line of being too baggy. It’s just the perfect blend for combat, lots of quick movements and feats of agility that Muay Thai demands.

If all of that is packaged with the ability to dance and sing, then millions of women would flock to be with him.

“I take it your all good with the rules set with your agent?” One of her feet slipped out of her high heel, letting the instep run along her calf a bit. The heels themselves accentuate just how shapely those legs of hers are, and the dress helped to show them all off. “Just want to make sure you don’t go into a musical suddenly.” Thankfully, it has never happened before.

Stranger things have happened though, especially in Japan.

[BlackAkuma]

It would’ve been easy - far too easy - to fall into the trap and slide into creepy territory with a woman like this, and Prayuth was careful not to cross that line. While he wouldn’t claim to be some paragon of feminism or anything, he’d come across more than a few outright pricks with his career, guys - and occasionally gals - who’d grown far too used to being able to buy themselves out of any bad situation. He wasn’t perfect, but he’d always strove never to get that bad about things.

It's not always the easiest line to avoid crossing, but he thought he was doing a decent job so far, with Valentina coming off as affable towards him. She already struck him as the fun co-star to work with, not one of those types that came on strong and blathered about their schedule and handed him a list of bullet points to keep in mind. Nothing was worse than being chained to the hip with a prima donna.

Then again, that sort of person wouldn’t have agreed to do this in the first place, so maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised.

It seemed like Valentina was already letting some of her characters slip in, as well. While they were still cordial, he could feel shades of the femme fatale coming out, evident in the way she moved, the subtle sway of the hips the way her foot slid along her calf and brought her attention to her curves. The man in him appreciated her figure, but the martial artist in him noted the edges in that form. There was real power in those thighs, he’d taken and delivered more than enough kicks to know it when he saw it. She had the tools to be dangerous, and the only question was whether or not she knew how to use them. He was eager to find out. Speaking of which…

”They can’t afford me singing and dancing, trust me. I’d want an extra zero on my check.” Joking, but not joking. They’d already tried to stiff him a bit with the name distribution before Aika caught them and called it out, no way was he letting them have any freebies. ”And I’m good with the rules as agreed, yeah. Made sure to get all the relevant tests beforehand, so no worries on that front. Aika’s got the paperwork, if you want to see it.”

Aika lifted up her briefcase as she approached, offering to show the required materials to Valentina if she needed. ”I do, and feel free to call if you have any questions afterward. Forgive me for not sticking around during the scene, but the last thing I want is to be a distraction.”

Prayuth strongly suspected that wasn’t the only reason, but he wasn’t about to press her on it.

[GoingBananas]

“You won’t find me being against an actor wanting to get paid.” Valentina knew all too well about that side of the business. It’s easy as a child and even a young, eager adult just starting in the world of acting to not know of the agendas of the fat cats at the top. The ones that had no involvement with what they do, or even have the acting chops to know talent. This is especially true regarding getting paid because of her stunt work and acting. In her mind, they were saving money by not bringing one too many stunt people. It took a lot of convincing on Leo’s and Val’s part to get the pay she deserves.

“May I?” Valentina would take the materials thanks to Aika. Leo would have definitely gone through all the legalese and would tell Val if he saw anything, but the Singaporean Actress never shied away from seeing the boring stuff. Sometimes that’s where these executives catch you. And Leo may have let Valentina know of a few things an agent would look out for. Not too much that he’d be without a job, mind you.

As Valentina skims through the documents, blood tests, injury reports, blah, blah, blah, the same leg that was massaging her calf would rise, and ever so carefully let her ankle rest upon Prayuth’s - or rather Sagat’s - shoulder. It would be one thing to be surprised by the act itself, but, if he was taking further notice, the simple ease with which she had done it. Her body remained steady without a wobble or shake, and she controlled her leg throughout its ascent to its resting point.

“I wouldn’t mind having an extra person to act as a referee, but seeing as you haven’t watched Rocky and you’re his agent…conflict of interest…~,” Valentina’s eyes never left the documents she’s just finishing up on. “…Oh, I hope you don’t mind. Just making sure I stay limber.” A smile thrown his way, leaving him to wonder if that is Valentina talking or her Agent Scarlet persona. There shouldn’t be any objections to this, right?

[BlackAkuma]

The longer this continued, the better the feeling that Pray was getting about this whole thing. It might’ve seemed premature, but in his experience, actors were some of the most ironically easiest people to read in the world - in general, the first impression he got was the most accurate one. Right away, he liked Valentina’s whole demeanor - fun, laidback, a little bit of whimsy. He could work some magic with a person like this.

Also flirty. Damned flirty. He could work with that, too.

Pray cocked an eyebrow as Valentina’s long, limber leg came up to rest on his shoulder, daintily placed there without a single care. Aside from that and the waning hint of a smile, he kept his face calm and placid, acted as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He knew he wasn’t about to take the bait so quickly when someone was playing games, but he admired both the effort and the view.

The fighter in him had to admire the flexibility, too. When he saw one, he knew a good set of legs, and hers had all the hallmarks: strong, sinewy, limber. He’d be looking out for them.

Aika just had a mirthless laugh and waved their way as she headed to the door. ”Tempting, but no. I’m not looking to get on-screen again anytime soon.” She between them and threw a quick, knowing look towards Valentina, as if there was an unspoken joke between them. ”Try not to mess his face up, okay?”

”She won’t!” He called back and threw his hands her way, before bringing his attention back to the leg that was resting on his shoulder like it belonged there. ”And no, I don’t mind. But I didn’t just come here to take in the view, Agent.” Might as well start getting in character, now that Aika was gone. The more they did, the more footage they could use for the final cut.