Leveraging Force A X formerly Twitter Reversal
"So why'd you turn them down?" Avery asked casually.
Maya pursed her lips. "I know my limits. I mean, I look decent, but in the entertainment industry? I'm just average. Zenith is huge, they have a ton of artists, and only a few ever really break through. They can't even manage the talent they've already got,
so what makes me think they'd give me the time of day? If I signed, I'd probably just get benched or stuck filming these little online dramas forever."
She let out a small sigh. "Besides, I'm already a familiar face in the short-drama world. I have my own connections here, and I don't need their resources. Why would I sign with a huge company just to give them a cut of my earnings? The company I'm with now is great.
It's focused on our little corner of the industry, the profit split is fair, and the vibe is awesome. We're all in the same boat, so no one's looking down on anyone. The boss even hooks us up with supporting roles in mainstream shows every now and then."
Avery nodded. "Yeah, the atmosphere in the short-drama industry is definitely better than in the mainstream."
She'd gotten a taste of that on the set of the period drama earlier that day.
The lead actress was a girl Caleb Sterling was pushing, but on set, everyone was far more deferential to the male lead and the second female lead.
Even though those two weren't famous, they'd had small roles in bigger productions, so the crew treated them with a respect Avery didn't get.
When Avery was filming her scene, the second female lead had deliberately blocked her light, forcing take after take.
The director only yelled at Avery, never at the other actress.
The lighting tech didn't even bother to adjust the lights for her.
If she hadn't gone over and spoken to him herself, God knows how much longer they would have been stuck on that one scene.
The two of them chatted as they walked upstairs, where Owen Bowen and Leo Foster had already cleaned up the living room. The four of them settled onto the couch, ready to watch the premiere. Just before it started, Owen and Maya pulled out their phones to post about the show on X.
"Holy crap, Avery," Maya swore, holding her phone up so Avery could see the screen. "That Felicia Moss woman is calling you out."
Avery glanced at the screen, not looking the least bit surprised. She pulled out her own phone. "Let me see."
She found Felicia's profile, and the first thing she saw was a long, passive-aggressive post complaining about her day, complete with the hashtags #WorkplaceDrama and #SetLifeStruggles.
The comments were already filled with sympathetic followers and wannabe detectives trying to piece together the story.
Felicia wasn't a huge star, but she had a few hundred thousand followers, and by the end of the afternoon, her fans had already figured out which production she was on.
They were just one step away from naming Avery as the one who'd supposedly played dirty.
Of course, only Avery knew her move wasn't dirty at all, it was exactly what the script called for.
Even the camera operator and the lighting tech wouldn't have thought she'd done anything but follow the director's lead.
But Felicia was milking the victim act, letting the comments trashing the production pile up without a single clarifying word.
All her followers saw were the photos she'd posted of some bruises, taken at an angle that made them look incredibly dramatic.
"What's going on? Is this about Avery?" Leo and Owen had no idea what had happened on set and were completely lost. But from Maya's reaction, they could guess the post was aimed at Avery.
Maya angrily filled them in on the day's events.
Leo frowned, turning to Avery. "Do you want me to have the company's PR team handle this?"
Avery looked completely unfazed. "It's no big deal. We don't need to get them involved."
She knew when she'd made her move that Felicia would try to retaliate.
This post was exactly what she'd expected, she just hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
They weren't even done filming, and Felicia was already starting a fight that could easily turn public opinion against the whole show.
"Our drama drops tonight," Avery said, a glint in her eye.
"Since Felicia basically handed me a spotlight, it would be rude not to use the free publicity."
She switched her phone over to Messenger and fired off a quick text to Caleb Sterling.
The cool light of the screen illuminated her calm face, but a determined fire was burning in her eyes.
As she sent the message, she told the others, "Don't worry about it. Maya, Owen, after the show, could you guys tag me in your posts?"
"No problem," Maya said. "You're the second lead. Of course we'll tag you."
Seeing how calm Avery was, the others decided to let it go. They all gathered around the sofa and started the show.
It was Avery's first time watching something she'd acted in.
It wasn't embarrassing, just... curious.
But when the intimate scenes between Maya and Owen came on, she couldn't feel any of the romance.
All she could remember was standing on the sidelines with Leo, whispering about how awkward their kissing looked.
It completely ruined the moment. She forced herself to watch the whole thing, but by the end, she just felt numb.
There was nothing to say. Every scene just brought back a memory from the set, and the second she thought about being there, she lost all interest in watching.
She wondered if this was how all actors felt watching themselves.
It was getting late. After the show, Maya and Owen tagged Avery in their posts as promised, and everyone got ready to turn in.
Maya decided to stay over instead of going back to the crew housing, so Avery gave her the guest room.
Owen headed back to his own production. As for the drama Felicia had stirred up, the four of them didn't give it another thought.
They might not have been paying attention, but the right people were.
The newly released short drama was already starting to get some buzz.
Avery was stunning on screen, and her performance was impressive.
Her calm, collected demeanor made her portrayal of an elite doctor utterly convincing.
Viewers who finished the series immediately started talking about her in the comments, asking if she was a newcomer and why they'd never seen her before.
That's when Maya and Owen's posts came in handy, sending a flood of curious viewers straight to Avery's profile.
Her comments section blew up.
"Whoa, wait, this actress is a real doctor?"
"Read the replies, people. She quit to become a lawyer."
"A lawyer? Then what's she doing in a short drama?"
"Damn, that resume. I'm speechless."
"Is the short-drama industry this competitive now? I love her bio: #A scalpel saves the body, the law punishes the soul#"
"@Surgeon_Avery, since when are you filming dramas?!"
This last comment came from a former colleague at Yunchuan Hospital.
The doctor had actually gone to Avery's profile to find a case study she'd shared.
She had a surgery the next day, and the patient's condition was similar to a case Avery had documented for her master's thesis.
Her attending physician had told her to check Avery's old posts for reference.
But the second she landed on the page, she was completely stunned by what she found.