“What?” Zari’s head snaps towards her agent, studying Ava with a suspicious eye. “I thought my brand was in the toilet.”
Not one known for shying away from her hot takes, Zari Tarazi is going through her latest round of being canceled. Not for anything overly serious—she made an offhanded comment about an upcoming movie and brought down the wrath of that movie’s star upon her, but enough that she’s wanted to stay out of her Twitter and Instagram mentions for the past few days. A stream of reaction videos have already made themselves known over the last few days.
“Are you intending to make any kind of apology?”
“Absolutely not. Even your wife agrees it wasn’t her best work.”
“Then yes, your brand is still in the toilet.” Ava seems exasperated with her client’s antics, but it’s nothing new. Zari moves from from agent to agent at the Waverider Talent Agency, each citing her increasingly difficult behavior. Having been an influencer since an accidental viral CatChat video at twelve, Zari’s gone through image after image revamp, having eventually settled in the fashion/lifestyle vlogger arena. Known for her brutal opinions on everything, they occasionally got her into trouble when she spoke about the wrong person, but things usually bounced back eventually.
She doesn’t enjoy what she’s doing, and that only makes it all the harder. Part of her wishes she could get out, find something better to do with her life, but given that this job is paying her parents' mortgage and her brother’s tuition, she can’t see herself stepping away from what works soon.
Still, regardless of the numbers she could pull in, the offer for a collab is a surprise. Most of the bigger names involve burned bridges and story-time videos she doesn’t want to commit to, while the younger set really wants nothing to do with her. But a collab is a collab, and she’s ready to use anything that could help her image at the moment.
“Who requested it?”
“Nate Heywood.”
Zari blinks because she doesn’t recognize the name. Then, her eyes widen as it clicks into place. “The ‘History Tube’ guy? He does collabs?”
“It’s a new series on his channel that he’s planning. He wants to do the pitch himself.” Ava turns and looks at her curiously. “Are you interested?”
Zari purses her lips, weighing the pros and cons. “I’m not not interested.”
“So I’ll set up a meeting. Say you’re uncommitted until you hear the full pitch, but you’ll still hear him out.”
“Good.” Zari lets silence fill the sedan as their driver continues to weave them through LA. “Do you think this is a good opportunity?”
Ava considers, before shrugging. “I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.” Which is neither a yes, nor a no. “I think it’s all going to depend on the angle. Which is why listening to the pitch is a good idea.”
Zari nods, before turning her attention back to her phone and scrolling through CatChat. One of Nate’s thumbnails pops up on her feed, almost as though her phone truly is spying on her, and she sighs.
If she has to step into a weird collab with someone, at least he has a sense of production value.
And it doesn’t hurt that he’s kind of cute.
* * * * *
Nate Heywood turns out to be even more handsome in person than he is in his high production videos. Slicked back dark hair, bright eyes, strong jaw—if Zari had a type, he would probably be it. He walks her through his pitch, determined.
“So what we’re thinking,” Nate begins as he and his partner Wally sit in the room's front. While Nate is clearly the charm and face of the channel, Wally handles a lot of the behind-the-scenes action—set building, costume design and other engineering feats. “Is that while, yes, I could do an incredible amount of research on a topic? The authenticity goes in the toilet if I’m talking about topics not related to my lived experience in any kind of meaningful way. I can quote studies and signal boost other people’s stories, but it’s not really going to resonate.”
“That’s why we’re expanding outside the box,” Wally grins. “Starting with CatChat creators that are famous enough to bring in the eyeballs and then hopefully if the series gains traction, we can work down to more academics and experts.”
“So what’s the angle with me?” Zari tips her head to the side curiously. “I mean, I get that. I’ve got the following, but I’m not exactly a historian.”
“That’s what we would try to figure out,” Nate replies, moving to lean against the edge of the table. “We’ll have some meetings to decide on a topic. We were thinking something in Persian or Muslim history, but I’m open to whatever vibes with you. You, me and my researchers will put together a script and then we’ll get to the set, stage costumes, all of that and put together the video.”
Her stomach twists—scripted content isn’t normally her thing. She has more off-the-cuff curated moments. Trying something new is never a bad thing, but ever since Ava had set up the meeting, she had been binging through Nate’s content, and she doesn’t know if she’s good enough for this.
Her ego is well known. She doesn’t want to make a fool of herself. This isn’t her brand and after so long of being stuck in one silo, she’s terrified of trying something new. She doesn’t want to voice those insecurities aloud, however, so she glances at Ava and Ava nods.
“This is a very interesting pitch. Can we talk it over and get back to you?”
Wally opens his mouth to protest, but Nate puts his hand over his partner’s before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”
“Great. We’ll be in touch.”
They get up and make their way towards the door. Nate gently steps in front of Zari, not attempting to touch her, but definitely attempting to hold her attention. “Are you going to the S’More Money launch party tonight?” A beat. “Never mind, that’s a dumb—”
“Not a dumb question.” She admits, because S’more intended to announce the end of their relationship tonight. In a very amicable, we’re still going to be friends kind of way, but some had heard the rumors. “We’re not—”
Ava places a hand on her shoulder, because those aren’t details she should spill yet, and Zari closes her mouth before beginning again.
“I’ll be there, yeah.”
Something on Nate’s face shifts, curiosity warring with something that might just be compassion, but he breezes past it and moves on. “Great. Then maybe Wally and I can put a few topic ideas together and I’ll see you there.”
“Yeah,” Zari nods. “See you there.”
It might be the only enjoyable part of this evening.
* * * * *
Tonight is one night that Zari wishes she could drink.
She can’t even eat her feelings because the food isn’t that good. Or halal. What an asshole.
But what’s done is done, and the party has moved on from their sad announcement. She’s already done with it and trying to see if there’s a way for her to escape when she hears a voice next to her.
“I really hope you knew that was coming before he made that big announcement.”
She turns and finds Nate leaning against a wall nearby. She offers him a small smile and nods. “Yeah, we ended things months ago, but he didn’t want to distract from the hype he was trying to build for the launch. I'm over it.”
She’s not over it, but her life is in the public eye, so she has to be. Nate nods before glancing over his shoulder. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Zari blinks. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. I mean, you already did your part, right? Do you actually want to be here?”
The answer to that question was no. Without conferring with her agent, only sending her a quick text message letting her know where they’re going and who she’s with, she lets Nate sneak her out the back door and into his car, where they head off for somewhere more acceptable. He asks her what she’s in the mood for and there’s only one answer to the question.
Gourmet doughnuts.
They find a place still open at this time of night and pile into a booth after placing their orders. She’s two doughnuts deep. Nate has just finished telling her the history of the dessert when she looks up at him.
“Okay, I have to ask. Why me?”
Nate looks up at her, confused. “Why not you?”
“…I don’t follow.”
“You’ve been in this game for so long, and you’re still pulling consistent numbers. Aside from the offhand comment or two that gets you into trouble, everyone who’s actually worked with you can only talk about how professional and polished you are. And…I don’t know, I’ve always admired you.”
Zari blinks in surprise. “Really?”
“Really.” He pulls apart one of the remaining doughnuts and offers her half. “You’re a badass. And everyone thinks they know you, but I would really love to help you give them something new. To … help you talk about the parts that maybe you don’t feel are sellable, because fuck how the rest of the industry works.”
“Easy for you to say,” she retorts, and he grins.
“Maybe it is. But I would still really love for you to be a part of this.”
She doesn’t comment on it further, but now the wheels in her head are spinning.
* * * * *
Early the next morning, she sends a text to Nate for him to come over. He arrives about an hour later and tells him the door’s open. Her kitchen is an aromatic blend of saffron and curcuma, and when he arrives, his eyes wide at the spread of Persian dishes laid out in front of him.
“Oh, my god.”
“I want to do food.” Zari pauses. “For my topic. For our video. I want to do Persian cuisine.”
Nate blinks up at her before making his way closer. “I didn’t even know you cooked.”
“I’m full of surprises,” she retorts, before holding up the bowl of albaloo polo for him to try. “I was thinking maybe we could base the set off a cooking competition. I’m not sure if the high energy of MasterChef would work—”
She’s cut off as Nate lets out a pleased groan before digging into the food. “Oh, my god.”
“—and then interspersed in between the reality TV sketches we could go into the history, the spices, what dishes became famous for what and when—all of that.” She watches him as he shovels the food into his mouth and, when he continues to eat without responding, she hesitates. “What do you think?”
“I think this is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.” He glances up at her, surprised. “Why didn’t you become a food influencer?”
“They weren’t really a thing,” she shrugs. “They were looking to capitalize on me as I was then, not where I am now. But if I want to shake things up and really change and feel good about the content I’m producing again. Maybe it’s worth a shot.” She pauses, letting that sink in before looking up at him hopefully. “So—you like my idea?”
“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” he grins, before placing the plate down. “And it’s exactly what I’m looking for. So thank you.”
“Good,” she smiles softly, before leaning in closer. “And just so you know, I am quite the perfectionist, so it’s going to be a lot of long days and a lot of food.”
Nate grins as he meets her in that lean, staying close as he can. “I think I’m up to the challenge.”
in a hundred worlds | dctv | 2000
“You’ve had a request for a collab.”
“What?” Zari’s head snaps towards her agent, studying Ava with a suspicious eye. “I thought my brand was in the toilet.”
Not one known for shying away from her hot takes, Zari Tarazi is going through her latest round of being canceled. Not for anything overly serious—she made an offhanded comment about an upcoming movie and brought down the wrath of that movie’s star upon her, but enough that she’s wanted to stay out of her Twitter and Instagram mentions for the past few days. A stream of reaction videos have already made themselves known over the last few days.
“Are you intending to make any kind of apology?”
“Absolutely not. Even your wife agrees it wasn’t her best work.”
“Then yes, your brand is still in the toilet.” Ava seems exasperated with her client’s antics, but it’s nothing new. Zari moves from from agent to agent at the Waverider Talent Agency, each citing her increasingly difficult behavior. Having been an influencer since an accidental viral CatChat video at twelve, Zari’s gone through image after image revamp, having eventually settled in the fashion/lifestyle vlogger arena. Known for her brutal opinions on everything, they occasionally got her into trouble when she spoke about the wrong person, but things usually bounced back eventually.
She doesn’t enjoy what she’s doing, and that only makes it all the harder. Part of her wishes she could get out, find something better to do with her life, but given that this job is paying her parents' mortgage and her brother’s tuition, she can’t see herself stepping away from what works soon.
Still, regardless of the numbers she could pull in, the offer for a collab is a surprise. Most of the bigger names involve burned bridges and story-time videos she doesn’t want to commit to, while the younger set really wants nothing to do with her. But a collab is a collab, and she’s ready to use anything that could help her image at the moment.
“Who requested it?”
“Nate Heywood.”
Zari blinks because she doesn’t recognize the name. Then, her eyes widen as it clicks into place. “The ‘History Tube’ guy? He does collabs?”
“It’s a new series on his channel that he’s planning. He wants to do the pitch himself.” Ava turns and looks at her curiously. “Are you interested?”
Zari purses her lips, weighing the pros and cons. “I’m not not interested.”
“So I’ll set up a meeting. Say you’re uncommitted until you hear the full pitch, but you’ll still hear him out.”
“Good.” Zari lets silence fill the sedan as their driver continues to weave them through LA. “Do you think this is a good opportunity?”
Ava considers, before shrugging. “I don’t think it’s a terrible idea.” Which is neither a yes, nor a no. “I think it’s all going to depend on the angle. Which is why listening to the pitch is a good idea.”
Zari nods, before turning her attention back to her phone and scrolling through CatChat. One of Nate’s thumbnails pops up on her feed, almost as though her phone truly is spying on her, and she sighs.
If she has to step into a weird collab with someone, at least he has a sense of production value.
And it doesn’t hurt that he’s kind of cute.
Nate Heywood turns out to be even more handsome in person than he is in his high production videos. Slicked back dark hair, bright eyes, strong jaw—if Zari had a type, he would probably be it. He walks her through his pitch, determined.
“So what we’re thinking,” Nate begins as he and his partner Wally sit in the room's front. While Nate is clearly the charm and face of the channel, Wally handles a lot of the behind-the-scenes action—set building, costume design and other engineering feats. “Is that while, yes, I could do an incredible amount of research on a topic? The authenticity goes in the toilet if I’m talking about topics not related to my lived experience in any kind of meaningful way. I can quote studies and signal boost other people’s stories, but it’s not really going to resonate.”
“That’s why we’re expanding outside the box,” Wally grins. “Starting with CatChat creators that are famous enough to bring in the eyeballs and then hopefully if the series gains traction, we can work down to more academics and experts.”
“So what’s the angle with me?” Zari tips her head to the side curiously. “I mean, I get that. I’ve got the following, but I’m not exactly a historian.”
“That’s what we would try to figure out,” Nate replies, moving to lean against the edge of the table. “We’ll have some meetings to decide on a topic. We were thinking something in Persian or Muslim history, but I’m open to whatever vibes with you. You, me and my researchers will put together a script and then we’ll get to the set, stage costumes, all of that and put together the video.”
Her stomach twists—scripted content isn’t normally her thing. She has more off-the-cuff curated moments. Trying something new is never a bad thing, but ever since Ava had set up the meeting, she had been binging through Nate’s content, and she doesn’t know if she’s good enough for this.
Her ego is well known. She doesn’t want to make a fool of herself. This isn’t her brand and after so long of being stuck in one silo, she’s terrified of trying something new. She doesn’t want to voice those insecurities aloud, however, so she glances at Ava and Ava nods.
“This is a very interesting pitch. Can we talk it over and get back to you?”
Wally opens his mouth to protest, but Nate puts his hand over his partner’s before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”
“Great. We’ll be in touch.”
They get up and make their way towards the door. Nate gently steps in front of Zari, not attempting to touch her, but definitely attempting to hold her attention. “Are you going to the S’More Money launch party tonight?” A beat. “Never mind, that’s a dumb—”
“Not a dumb question.” She admits, because S’more intended to announce the end of their relationship tonight. In a very amicable, we’re still going to be friends kind of way, but some had heard the rumors. “We’re not—”
Ava places a hand on her shoulder, because those aren’t details she should spill yet, and Zari closes her mouth before beginning again.
“I’ll be there, yeah.”
Something on Nate’s face shifts, curiosity warring with something that might just be compassion, but he breezes past it and moves on. “Great. Then maybe Wally and I can put a few topic ideas together and I’ll see you there.”
“Yeah,” Zari nods. “See you there.”
It might be the only enjoyable part of this evening.
Tonight is one night that Zari wishes she could drink.
She can’t even eat her feelings because the food isn’t that good. Or halal. What an asshole.
But what’s done is done, and the party has moved on from their sad announcement. She’s already done with it and trying to see if there’s a way for her to escape when she hears a voice next to her.
“I really hope you knew that was coming before he made that big announcement.”
She turns and finds Nate leaning against a wall nearby. She offers him a small smile and nods. “Yeah, we ended things months ago, but he didn’t want to distract from the hype he was trying to build for the launch. I'm over it.”
She’s not over it, but her life is in the public eye, so she has to be. Nate nods before glancing over his shoulder. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Zari blinks. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. I mean, you already did your part, right? Do you actually want to be here?”
The answer to that question was no. Without conferring with her agent, only sending her a quick text message letting her know where they’re going and who she’s with, she lets Nate sneak her out the back door and into his car, where they head off for somewhere more acceptable. He asks her what she’s in the mood for and there’s only one answer to the question.
Gourmet doughnuts.
They find a place still open at this time of night and pile into a booth after placing their orders. She’s two doughnuts deep. Nate has just finished telling her the history of the dessert when she looks up at him.
“Okay, I have to ask. Why me?”
Nate looks up at her, confused. “Why not you?”
“…I don’t follow.”
“You’ve been in this game for so long, and you’re still pulling consistent numbers. Aside from the offhand comment or two that gets you into trouble, everyone who’s actually worked with you can only talk about how professional and polished you are. And…I don’t know, I’ve always admired you.”
Zari blinks in surprise. “Really?”
“Really.” He pulls apart one of the remaining doughnuts and offers her half. “You’re a badass. And everyone thinks they know you, but I would really love to help you give them something new. To … help you talk about the parts that maybe you don’t feel are sellable, because fuck how the rest of the industry works.”
“Easy for you to say,” she retorts, and he grins.
“Maybe it is. But I would still really love for you to be a part of this.”
She doesn’t comment on it further, but now the wheels in her head are spinning.
Early the next morning, she sends a text to Nate for him to come over. He arrives about an hour later and tells him the door’s open. Her kitchen is an aromatic blend of saffron and curcuma, and when he arrives, his eyes wide at the spread of Persian dishes laid out in front of him.
“Oh, my god.”
“I want to do food.” Zari pauses. “For my topic. For our video. I want to do Persian cuisine.”
Nate blinks up at her before making his way closer. “I didn’t even know you cooked.”
“I’m full of surprises,” she retorts, before holding up the bowl of albaloo polo for him to try. “I was thinking maybe we could base the set off a cooking competition. I’m not sure if the high energy of MasterChef would work—”
She’s cut off as Nate lets out a pleased groan before digging into the food. “Oh, my god.”
“—and then interspersed in between the reality TV sketches we could go into the history, the spices, what dishes became famous for what and when—all of that.” She watches him as he shovels the food into his mouth and, when he continues to eat without responding, she hesitates. “What do you think?”
“I think this is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.” He glances up at her, surprised. “Why didn’t you become a food influencer?”
“They weren’t really a thing,” she shrugs. “They were looking to capitalize on me as I was then, not where I am now. But if I want to shake things up and really change and feel good about the content I’m producing again. Maybe it’s worth a shot.” She pauses, letting that sink in before looking up at him hopefully. “So—you like my idea?”
“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” he grins, before placing the plate down. “And it’s exactly what I’m looking for. So thank you.”
“Good,” she smiles softly, before leaning in closer. “And just so you know, I am quite the perfectionist, so it’s going to be a lot of long days and a lot of food.”
Nate grins as he meets her in that lean, staying close as he can. “I think I’m up to the challenge.”