#because it’s a show with a large ensemble cast

[viminoo]

What are your thoughts on speirs? I think he’d bite <3

he’s so fascinating to me. as in i wanna dissect him under an electron microscope

he’s a character i lowkey didn’t gaf about at first but i liked how they built up his reputation as this seemingly ruthless killer crazy guy and then. we get to know him a little and he’s way more complex than what i initially thought,, he ends up caring a lot more than he thinks,, so now i care a lot about him. i really like reading how people interpret his character! so cool

[normalbrothers]

is there really such a shift in peaky blinders where people went in believing it's a show with an ensemble cast just to be disappointed further down the line that it "became" the tommy shelby show?

[simptasia]

do i have any right to call buffy a cringe show when im currently browsing old heroes sylar/peter fanfiction?

yeah

[legumeofknowledge]

Nifty is Eve in disguise

This theory adds onto to a few other popular ones, that being Eve is Alastor's dealmaker under the guise of Lilith, and Eve is the cryptic "Roo." What I propose alongside that, is that she's hiding in plain sight among the hotel guests, and that disguise is Nifty.

Spoilers up to the season 1 finale below:

Evidence:

When you think about her in conjunction with the show's established themes it falls into place: Adam, the s1 antagonist is a misogynist who wanted Lilith's obedience. Eve will foil Lilith; while she's all about hating subservience and breaking chains, Nifty is a parody of the stereotypical 50s housewife, 'likes being forced' and spends her time cooking, cleaning, and obsessing over men. Eve was created from Adam's rib to ensure his next wife would lack the autonomy to rebel. Designed to be the epitome of Adam's submissive ideal, it makes sense Eve would choose a 50s housewife as her disguise, they resonate with her.

The old logo is her face / her and Lucifer's placement on the prime cover.

She collects little pieces of men because that's what she was made from / is enamoured with Pentious in particular because he's a snake. "never leave me again" <- double meaning alert. / "HATED THAT SONG" because she was never offered forgiveness so easily. Not even Charlie catching her in the trust fall is foreshadowing; unlike Lilith who had Lucifer, no one came to her side when she committed the original sin.

The all-female exorcists were made by Adam to serve him. Their masks have horns like Lilith and a missing eye like a cyclops. They're hybrid clones of the two wives that left him. Eve is the only character in the intro whose eyes we haven't seen.

Every large ensemble show has a mole arc and she's the only one with no established goals. It's always the one-note gag characters you should look out for.

There's no confirmation if Nifty made a deal with Alastor. I think Eve is the one who's got him 'on a leash' though he thinks it's Lilith. He lets Nifty follow him around and she plays up the fangirl persona to keep a close eye on him.

It's the perfect refuge in audacity disguise. Acting innocent in hell in suspect. Being an unhinged stalker raises no questions. Alastor himself says he has no idea what tf her deal is.

I made this theory a few days ago but I was delighted to see more evidence in the final episode. See this?

It's elaborate foreshadowing disguised as a gag. She's not just doing this for the funsies she is MAD mad. Vengeance!

Conclusion:

Whether this means she's the big bad or unlikely ally, I can't say. If it's the former, her goal is to be redeemed with the other guests and enter heaven so she can get revenge on everyone else. S1 leans heavily into heaven vs hell so it would make sense for the final antag to be a 3rd party wildcard who wants to burn both sides to the ground for failing her. Heaven casted her out, hell unintentionally doomed her to an eternity of suffering with the fruit of knowledge, then left her.

Nifty be Shifty.

[queerly-autistic]

Right, I think it's time for some positivity, and also a reality check (and I mean that in the most loving way possible) regarding the campaign to save OFMD. I've seen a lot of people saying 'it's been nearly a month, we should have been picked up by now', and whilst, yes, some cancelled shows have received very quick movement to other streamers, it's absolutely not the story for all of them. We've seen numerous shows follow different journeys from cancellation to pick-up, and there's no way of knowing what journey we might be going on.

Are we in the fast lane where we get picked up the next month (lookin' at you, Lucifer and The Expanse)? The middling lane where it takes months for a pick-up deal to be hashed out (lookin' at you, One Day At A Time, The Tourist, and Warrior)? The slow lane where we keep pushing for years and then eventually crowdfund a film (lookin' at you Veronica Mars)?

I think we have to consider the fact that OFMD being cancelled was a last minute thing that blindsided the cast and crew (and shocked people across the industry). So we're going into it in a different position to other shows that had maybe had a hint/suggestion that cancellation was coming before it happened. This is because if there are rumours of cancellation circling, it gives a chance for feelers to be put out to other networks/by other networks before the actual cancellation is confirmed. That didn't happen here. Which is important.

It's not just wham bam thank you ma'am and now you've been picked up by Netflix (or insert streamer of your choice). It's a negotiation. It's a process. It takes time. There is a very good reason that people heavily suspect that Brooklyn 99 had already been picked up before the cancellation was officially announced, and that the cancelled-to-new-home-in-24-hours thing was pretty much just a marketing stunt. No way was that all negotiated to the point of announcement within a day,

There are many reasons why any potential pick-up elsewhere might take a bit more time. For example, if David is (hopefully) juggling interest from multiple different networks, then that has to be hashed out and negotiated to make sure the best deal is reached for everyone. Also, OFMD is potentially a more complicated show to negotiate than we imagine: at a very basic level, it has a large ensemble (a large international ensemble), which would need to be discussed and negotiated, and it's filmed in New Zealand, which would need to be discussed and negotiated. That doesn't work against it in terms of 'it's more complicated, so it won't be picked up' but it could very well mean that the time needed to negotiate a pick-up is longer.

Remember: One Day At A Time had a much smaller cast (which wasn't an international cast) and it basically had one single studio set (being a sitcom), and that took three months to be saved.

I chatted with my friend, also a fan, who has worked in television production previously and is currently working as a screenwriter, and she confirmed just how much time, discussion and negotiation this stuff takes. She basically said: yep, this all takes time and this is very normal. And this is coming from someone who is very firmly in the 'I am refusing to get my hopes up because I can't bear to get hurt again' camp of trying to save the show.

On that note, I think it's important to address David's silence, because I've seen a few people panicking about that. There's a very good chance that if he is in negotiations right now (and I do not know if he is, he might not be!) then there would be a lot he wouldn't be able to talk about. And he knows that we dissect every single syllable of his posts, so posting anything would be risky. Negotiations are tricky things that involve juggling multiple balls (and torches and knives and chainsaws), and a lot of push-and-pull, back-and-forth, variables-upon-variables, and so going silent on social media would be absolutely what I would expect from him if that was happening.

It's eerie for us because we had a burst of activity from David, a lot of noise and a lot of confidence, and then...nothing. That's jarring, and anxiety-inducing. But I want us to think of it this way: David did a big post about being back in New York, about things looking up, and then he went uncharacteristically silent, which is what would happen if things were going on that he couldn't talk about. I have no idea what, if anything, might be going on, but it's important not to see this as a bad thing.

As someone on Twitter, who also works in the industry (they work as an actor) said the other day: in this business, no news is good news.

(also important to note: if he suddenly reappears on social media, that also doesn't mean that any negotiations have fallen through, and we should all panic; anything could be happening, and I know we're little anxiety gremlins - me included, bigly - but until we are definitively told that this is over and there's no hope, then it's not over and there is hope)

There's no way of knowing what is going on, or how long whatever is (or isn't) going on might take. This might be a sprint, but it could just as easily be a marathon. The show not being picked up immediately does not mean there is no hope, as we have seen with numerous other shows. Look at fandoms like Shadow and Bone, who are still fighting tooth and nail for their show because they refuse to give up on it. They haven't given up, and neither should we.

We need to decide if we love OFMD enough to fight for it long-term, to settle in for a long battle, and keep pushing for as long as it takes. And I think, as difficult as it might be, we all know that this show, and its cast and crew, is worth it.

[seeingivy]

the ensemble cast

actor!eren x f!reader

**part of my method acting fic, masterlist here

content: eren being possessive for no reason, cherry + coke slushies, reader gets criticized online, good old teasing, reader mentions feeling anxious/having anxiety

an: lalalalalallalala lights camera action babes pls enjoy :D

previous part linked here

--

The set that Attack on Titan is filming on was originally from a previously scrapped project. Three weeks ago, when you and Eren first moved in, the two of you had pilfered from the leftover set dressings and props to see what you could find. 

That’s where you find the tandem bike. The breaks don’t work that well, and the seat in the back is really uncomfortable, but it works well for you and Eren’s purposes, which is running away from set on lunch breaks to get slushies at the convenience store two blocks down. 

As Hange said, you and Eren wouldn’t really have to do any method acting to become best friends. He’s literally the only other person on set besides Levi and Hange, who are usually too busy workshopping the set and the scripts to talk to you.

You guys eat breakfast together, go to class, and spend hours talking at night when you’re both too bored to do anything else. 

You’re both leaning against the bike, two straws poked into the extra large slushie that you and Eren got. The cashier, Michael, gives you guys the slushie for free, but only one since he’s “not made of money.” 

Hence, sharing. You guys always split the slushie in half - the right side is Coke for you, and the left is Cherry for Eren. It always swirls together halfway through when it starts melting, which is when you and Eren start playing with the straws - smacking yours into Eren’s and vice versa. 

“Do you think it’ll be weird when everyone comes tomorrow, Eren?” 

“Maybe a little bit. There’s a lot of them coming. And we’re used to having the place to ourselves.” 

Tomorrow is the first official day of filming. 

You and Eren have been filming scenes for the past three weeks. But tomorrow, the rest of the ensemble cast arrives, and you start really filming. And you can’t even lie - some part of the entire ordeal fills you up with anxiety. 

Because the rest of the cast knows know each other already. Because they’re better actors than you. Because you’re kind of a fraud. 

Eren mentioned that most of the people on the ensemble cast were great people because they were part of his class when he went to the SHWA. Meaning he already knew them. Meaning they all knew each other - that they had spent two years going to boarding school together and socializing within the same cohort. 

Eren has already co-starred with Mikasa, and he and Jean used to do cameos on a different show together. He used to room with Reiner when he lived at the SHWA, and they’re all still really close. 

Eren said it was kind of like a cult at times, how the industry seemed to function in that way. You just think he’s trying to make you feel better for being the sore thumb of the group. 

But even beyond just meeting the cast, this entire week is a big deal. The ensemble cast is supposed to attend a panel that WIT hosts every year to answer questions and play the teaser trailer. Hange and Levi are panicking because first impressions can mean everything to a start-up show like this. 

Eren tells you that there’s really big advertising company called the Elms that posts reviews of shows before they come out. They have no connections in the fields since they’re advertisers, but their opinions and reviews are basically written law once posted. 

They’re the industry equivalent of a Michelin Star.

That’s why the pressure is on for this week - for the cast to get along, for us to finish filming and taking pictures for the promo, and to do great at the panel at the end of the week. 

There’s so much to mess up you can’t even fixate on what to worry abo-

“Y/N. Stop it.” 

You look over to find Eren glaring at you, shuffling his straw through the bottom of the ice at the cup. His lips and tongue are tinted pink from the drink, his expression annoyed. 

“Stop what?” 

“Thinking so hard. They’ll all like you, even if you didn’t go to SHWA.” 

“I don’t know. I feel like you’ll all have inside jokes without me or something and leave me out. I don’t want to feel like a loser.” 

He takes the cup from your hand, now empty, and swishes it into the trash can a few feet away from you. And then his ice-cold hand is in yours, squeezing. 

You learn quickly that Eren isn’t the best with his words, but he’s always touching you in some way when a situation like this arises. He squeezed your shoulder when you forgot to bring your harness to set, delaying the entire crew for twenty minutes. And when you didn’t do so well on the French test you had last week, he put his hand in your hair but didn’t really say anything. 

If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t work. But it’s Eren, and for some reason, it just does. It’s almost comforting now that you can rely on his hands to be on yours whenever you feel awkward. 

“You’re not a loser, Y/N. And if someone thinks you’re a loser, I’ll just tell them they’re wrong about you.” 

“Okay.” 

“Plus. When they see us act, they’ll change their minds. You’re electric on the screen.” 

Eren yanks the tandem bike off of the stand and pulls you up by the hand, the two of you lazily biking back to set. You try to ignore Eren’s comment and how it makes your entire body buzz. 

- 

You and Eren make ramen every morning. Because Levi said that the first time he did, it was a one-time occurrence, and he can’t feed you guys daily. He leaves out all the stuff for you, even going as far as cutting up all the vegetables that you like to put in your bowl. 

“Eren.”

“Hm.” 

“Try to catch the extra carrots in your mouth.” 

You’re both playing the game a little bit too competitively as you start racing around the kitchen, trying to throw them so far that you both have to chase after them. And when Eren throws it all the way into the foyer, you go running. 

That’s when you bump into him. 

There’s a guy in the walkway who you accidentally knock into the ground from running so fast. He has short brown hair, the strands closer to his hair darker. And now that you’ve fallen on top of him, his hands are secured around your waist, both of your cheeks burning red. 

You quickly scramble off, awkwardly running your hands through your hair. 

“S-sorry. Me and Eren were playing a game.” 

“No problem. I’m Jean.” 

“Y/N.” 

He smiles, his eyes glinting at you. 

“Jean.” 

“You said that already,” Eren grumbles from the kitchen. 

You can see Jean’s cheeks burning red as the rest of them pile into the room, the quiet house suddenly bustling loud. You can’t help but get overstimulated by everyone you’re meeting, trying your best to remember names - Armin, Sasha, Bertholdt, Annie, Connie, Reiner - as they all start milling around the kitchen, sitting at the table. 

“So, when are we eating?” 

“Sasha shut the fuck up. All you’re worried about is eating.” Connie responds, smacking her across the forehead. 

You walk over to the side of the table, tapping Sasha on the shoulder. 

“They’re catering since you all flew in. They should be here in twenty minutes.” 

She gives you a gleaming smile, returning to arguing with Connie. You can feel a hand tugging on your wrist, the guy from earlier yanking on your arm. 

“So if they’re catering, why are you making ramen?” he asks, his cheeks pressed in his palms.

“Ah. Eren and I are kind of in the habit of making it. We kind of forgot they were supposed to cater today.” 

“Well, it smells really good.” 

“Did you want it, Jean? I don’t mind because Eren and I kind of ate before.” 

“Oh, no. I couldn’t-” 

You march over to the kitchen, where your steaming bowl of food is, much to Eren’s dismay, and return to place it in front of Jean. And when you return to the kitchen, you watch chaos ensue.

Connie and Sasha claim that Jean should share because they’re best friends. Jean says that Sasha’s asking for too much. Then Ymir says that Jean’s face is asking for too much, and now everyone’s arguing with each other. 

You lean over, whispering in Eren’s ear as you talk. 

“Are they always like this, Eren?” 

“Unfortunately.” 

He pushes his own bowl of ramen to your side, placing the chopsticks in your hand. 

“Oh. It’s okay. I was the one who willingly gave my breakfast away and started World War Three, so.” 

“Don’t be stupid, Y/N. Let’s just share.” 

You and Eren shuffle the chopsticks in between your hands, taking turns eating from the bowl.  And you’re so distracted because Eren’s asking you about Falco and Colt that you don’t realize it when it happens. 

Connie taking a picture of you two. 

And suddenly, they all stopped arguing with each other and started teasing Eren. 

“So this is why you didn’t tell us anything about her? Trying to keep her all for yourself, huh?” Connie says first, smirking at Eren. 

You can see the tips of Eren’s ears turn red as he denies it vehemently, only goading the rest of them on more. 

“Eren. Do you think Y/N is pretty? Do you love her?” Ymir asks, swinging her arm around your shoulder. 

“Where do you get off, you little bitch? Why would you even ask me that? Do you think Historia is pretty?” 

“Yes. I do think Historia is pretty.” 

You crane your neck over to Historia, whose sitting at the table, her cheeks glowing pink in her hands. Mikasa and Armin are sitting right next to her, focused on typing away on their phones, but you can see the smile pressed on both of their faces. 

“You didn’t answer, Eren. Do you think Y/N is pretty? Do you guys kiss each other goodnight? ” asks Reiner, this time leaning even more forward. They’ve backed you and Eren into a corner, the six of them smiling bloody murder at Eren. 

Eren hates being put into a corner like this. But he hates it even more when you’re looking over at him, your eyes boring into his, expectantly waiting for an answer.  

“Yes. I think Y/N is pretty. No, we don’t kiss each other goodnight.” he murmurs, his cheeks burning red. 

You can feel your own cheeks heating up as Levi comes by, dragging the rest of the new people to set with the promise of food. Sasha’s the first one to leave.

Leaving you and Eren alone in the kitchen again, the half-finished bowl of ramen between you. 

“Eren.” 

“They’re always like that. It’s so embarrassing. Now I’m never going to hear the end of it. Especially from Connie and Reiner, they’re so fucking annoying sometimes it’s-” 

You place your hand on Eren’s shoulder, stopping his rant in his tracks. 

“I think you’re cute.” 

“Huh? What?” 

“You told me that you think I’m pretty. Just thought you should know I think you’re cute,” you say, shrugging your hand off and grabbing your harness from the ground as you walk off to the set. 

Eren joins twenty minutes later. 

He needed the extra time to get his heart to stop violently thumping in his chest. 

- 

Armin is the only one brave enough to ask. He leans over, straight into Levi’s headspace, and asks. 

“Levi. What are they doing?” 

The eleven of them have been watching you and Eren do this for the past few minutes. You’re both…standing there, staring at each other. You’re not exactly talking, though you do whisper something to each other a few times. You’re just kind of…standing there together. 

“They do this before they shoot scenes. Y/N said it’s not really a thing for her, but Eren says he needs to feel some… tingle before he can shoot.” Levi responds, yanking his headphones partially off. 

“Tingle?” Armin repeats. 

“Tingle.” 

“That’s not a tingle. He’s just excited to see Y/N.” Reiner responds, the rest of them chuckling. 

You’ve asked Eren to explain it to you maybe a hundred times. And he always says the same thing. That he needs a second before he can shoot to stop being him, Eren, and being the character, Eren. And he knows he’s thought about it hard enough when he can feel this… writhing in his chest. 

Most of the time, it’s not bad. He usually just stands there for a few seconds, looking at the ground or the set, and he’s ready. But today, the entire thing is making your cheeks burn. Because not only are the rest of them watching you, but he’s staring at you - green eyes, all soft and warm. He never really looks at you like that, straight on. 

“Are you nervous, Y/N?” 

“A little bit. They’re all watching, and it’s kind of a hard scene.” 

“You’ll be fine.” 

“Why are you taking so long today? You’re literally just supposed to look all passed out in my arms.” 

“For you. You’re like nervously twitching and have to stop before we can start.” 

The scene isn’t too bad. You’re just supposed to get suspended in the air and then grab Eren when he comes out of his titan. Levi and Hange said it was preferable if you could try to cry, which Eren has been trying to coach you on for the past few days. 

It’s supposed to be an emotional scene. You’re supposed to think Eren’s dead and that he’s returned to life. That your best friend, the only person whose been with you since you were little, will still get to be by your side.

(Hange’s really dramatic when they explain scenes). 

And when you do it, you can feel your hands shaking. They’re blowing a lot of steam onto the set as you and Eren stick out of the prop titan, making your hair stick to your forehead and your skin sizzle under the lights.

You’re sure Eren feels the same way. You place your hands around Eren’s face as he starts wobbling in the air in your hold. 

You’re not supposed to say anything. You’re just supposed to feel it. 

That’s what Hange wrote on your script, next to the blocking for this scene. You place your hands around Eren’s face and take the sight in. The red marks streaking down the side of his face, the way his eyes are closed, and you’re not sure what makes it happen, but you really want to hug him. 

Because if this were really true, if you really did think Eren was gone, you would want to hug him. You would want to hold him in your arms, press yourself into his skin to make sure that you can feel him, so that you knew he was really there. 

So you do. It wasn’t in the script or what Hange and Levi wanted you to do, but it just felt right. To hold him like this. Some part of your stomach is burning because Eren isn’t really wearing a shirt and even Eren awkwardly shuffles when you do it. You whisper down into his ear. 

“Sorry. Felt right.” 

And when Levi yells cut and they pull you and Eren down, Annie is the first one to say something. 

“I get it now.” 

“Get what, Annie?” Eren asks, yanking his own harnesses off. 

“You’re not a good actor, Eren. I was really confused when they picked you as the lead. But I get it now. You guys have really good chemistry.” she replies, milling off. 

You apologize to Levi for not following the script. He, in turn, tells you to do it more often. 

-  

After four days of filming, Eren’s more pissed than ever. Because he figured that his jealousy or possessiveness would wear off by now, that it was just because he was used to it being just him and you for the past three weeks. 

And he gets why everyone wants to talk to you because they’ve all known each other for years, and you’re the shiny new toy, but do they really have to talk to you all the time? 

He can’t eat ramen with you in the mornings because Sasha always begs you to make her some too. Then she’s milling around in the kitchen, asking you mindless questions while you make some for her. 

He can’t do homework with you in your room because Reiner always joins - and he gets that Reiner is really bad at French, but does he always have to ask for your help with the assignments? 

And he can’t even talk to you at night when he’s bored anymore. Because Mikasa’s always there too - teaching you how to braid your hair, the two of you giggle about things he doesn’t understand. 

He loathes it, which is why he has the outburst that he does. 

He invited you to go for slushies with him on Friday before you fly out to Cannes for the panel. But when he yanks out the tandem bike and Jean asks to go along, he can’t help but get irritated at him. So he yells at him . Like bloody murder yells at him. Which is why you and Eren quietly bike, awkwardly sharing the slushie on the bench. 

“So.” 

“I wasn’t going to let him come, you know? Slushies are our thing, Eren.” you respond, swirling the brown and red ice together. 

“Oh. Really?” 

“Well, yeah. Some things should be just ours. And I can’t help it for other things - like when Sasha asks for food, or Annie wants help with the props - but I can for this.” 

Relief floods through Eren’s chest, and he smiles for the first time in five days. Thank god. 

“Okay. Good.” 

“Were you feeling… bad about it or something? Like I wasn’t really talking to you?” you ask, Eren not meeting your gaze and instead focusing on the geese walking across the street. 

“I know you’re not like supposed to talk to me or whatever, but like. I just kind of missed you, that’s all.” 

You smile, leaning your head against Eren’s shoulder. 

“I missed you too, Eren.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You and Eren bike back, matching pink lips, which is just asking to get teased at this point. Ymir asks how long you and Eren were sucking your face to get lips that pink, which just pisses Eren off to no extent. Levi makes them both sit on separate sides of the plane. 

“Each person answers the panel questions in sets of two or three. There are three panels, so ensure you’re with the right person for each part.” 

Your first panel is with Ymir, which you lucked out on. Because the second they start asking questions, your face is burning, your throat is itching, and you can’t answer even a single one they ask you. 

You’ve never really been the anxious type. You’ve acted in school plays before and performed for big crowds. But that was always low stakes in your mind. The only people in the audience were people that you grew up with, their older sisters that always compliment you on their hair, and their parents that love to take pictures with you. 

This crowd is something different altogether. They’re all wildly unfamiliar, with big cameras and notepads in their hands as they scribble down every little detail they can. Before you and Ymir could even introduce yourselves, even give them something to write down or take a picture of, they were already going hard. 

That’s why you feel petrified on the stage. One of the questions is literally what your name is, but for some reason, this crowd of adults with shiny cameras and notepads makes you choke. Ymir saves the day. She’s charming enough to woo them all on her own, with a few comments from you here and there throughout the panel. Every word out of your mouth feels like balmy chalk running down your throat. 

Your second panel is with Mikasa and Connie, who are surprisingly a really comedic duo. They’re both so different that they complement each other really well, providing funny anecdotes from set and talking about what it’s been like to film.

Connie, much to your dismay, tells the audience that you and Eren are inseparable - so much so that he’s caught you cuddling together on set before. 

That was an accident. You were just tired from shooting on set for eleven hours. You can sneak by with another comment here and there for this panel too. 

But the third panel is just you and Eren. And you know you can’t choke here because you and Eren are the leads. And granted, you haven’t really been acting like a lead this entire time by squeaking once like a mouse, but it’s infinitely worse to do it now. 

“What’s wrong?” 

You can feel the tears welling in your eyes as Eren looks over, concern washing over his face. 

“I-I can’t do this.” 

“What? Why not?” 

“I don’t know. I already messed it up. My entire panels I- I didn’t even say anything because I felt so weird and like- I don’t know, I just can’t be a lead role. I’m not cut out to-” 

He shakes his head, yanking you forward to push you into his embrace, his arms warm. His mouth is hovering by your ear, his voice so soft that it sends shivers down your spine. 

“You’re going to be fine. You’re literally everyone’s favorite person on set because you’re just the best to be around. And it’s the same thing out there, just with people you don’t know.” 

“You guys…you guys have to like me. And it’s hard when they’re all looking at me.” 

“Don’t look at them. Just look at me. Just pretend you and I are sitting there, and the person asking the question is me, not them.” 

You shake your head, burying it deeper into his shoulder. You can feel your panic subsiding, but there’s still a bubble of anxiety right in your throat.

You and Eren walk out, Eren’s hand pressed in yours, as you sit at the table, your hands still locked together under the fabric. 

He squeezes three times before starting, introducing the two of you. The first question is for you. 

“Who is your favorite person on set?” asks the lady in the front.  

“Um. Maybe Hange. I’ve always looked up to them for a really long time, and getting to work with them has been re-really cool.” you mumble straight into the microphone. 

You look over at Eren, who feigns shock as he talks into his. 

“I’m offended, Y/N. My favorite person on set is you but your favorite person on set isn’t me?” he says, the crowd laughing. 

“What? You’re so full of it, Eren. If they asked you, you probably would have said Levi because he did your laundry once.”

The crowd laughs again, and Eren smiles, his eyes warm as he looks into yours. 

“You’re annoying, Y/N. I’ve literally said you’re my favorite person on set on every panel. You think you’re special to someone and find out they don’t even like you that much.” 

“Oh, be quiet Eren. You’re so irritating. You know I like you.” 

“What was that? Say it louder for me, I didn’t really hear you.” 

“I like you.” 

“One more time, Y/N. Use your big girl voice.” 

“I hate you, Eren. You’re not funny and you’re not cool.” 

The entire crowd laughs, Eren squeezing your hand under the table as they ask him questions next. You’re doing it. 

And for some reason, you’re really in awe of this side of Eren. You never figured that he was the type of guy to be really good at press since he seems so awkward and stumbly when he’s around you, but he’s…really charming when it comes to this. He’s cracking jokes, poking fun at you while answering all the questions. 

“Last question. For Eren. What was your favorite scene to film?” 

“There’s this scene that we filmed a few weeks ago. Y/N did some really good improv in it, and when Hange and Levi showed it to us for the first time, we were just so excited for the show to start airing. Basically, you think my character is dead, but-” 

You feel your eyes widen as you clamp your hand over Eren’s mouth, stopping him from spoiling the show before it airs. And you forget that you’re on the microphone because you accidentally start berating him into the speakers. 

“Eren. You’re so full of shit. Stop spoiling the show before it can even come out.” 

For some reason, the entire cast finds the entire ordeal so funny that they’re clapping bloody murder for you and Eren as you deck out.

And when you get to the back of the stage, Hange’s applauding you both for doing so well and Levi’s threatening Eren with promises of masking tape on his mouth the next time he tries spoiling the show.  

You’re just thankful Eren held your hand through the entire thing. You wouldn’t have been able to stomach it if he wasn’t. 

- 

The review comes out early the next day. The eleven of you huddle around the computer, you and Eren sharing a chair as you wait for Hange and Levi to return with Erwin from the airport. The man of the hour himself has finally arrived to set, meaning you can watch the review. 

It’s two girls with short blonde hair on both of them as they dissect the teaser trailer Hange and Levi produced for the panels, and the individual speaks themselves. 

They introduce each actor and their character, commenting on past roles, character dynamics, and how they feel about the character overall. Almost everyone gets a glowing commendation except for Armin, who they feel doesn’t look the part. 

You can tell from the way Armin shifts uncomfortably in the seat that he’s a bit put off by the comment, but Jean and Marco are already coming to his defense, whispering reassurance in his ear. 

“Now, onto the leads.” 

You instinctively grab Eren’s hand under the table, the two of you leaning closer to the computer to listen. 

“The male and female leads for Attack on Titan are Eren Jaeger and F/N L/N. Eren Jeager was in the fourteenth SHWA cohort and already has a nice plethora of credits behind him - even going as far as to have already co-starred with major parts of the ensemble. We’re sure he will be a great lead for the show, a career-defining role if he does it right.” 

You squeeze Eren’s hand three times under the table, everyone patting him on the back and squeezing his shoulders in congratulations. 

“We’re unsure if the same can be said for female lead F/N L/N. Upon closer inspection, head casters Hange Zoe and Levi Ackerman have chosen something a bit untraditional by not picking an SHWA-affiliated actor. We’re unsure if she can hold her own on a show with big chops like this one since she could barely handle the panels themselves. Sure, everyone has been gushing over how cute the two leads are together, but Eren can’t really carry that part of the charm for her on screen. We’re unsure how it’ll play out, but it’s feeling pretty bleak for now.” 

Eren squeezes your hand under the table, but you let go altogether. And when you look back, they’re all awkwardly staring at you, Hange and Levi pinching the bridges of their nose. 

“Um. I’m not in the next few scenes, actually. So I’m just going to go eat dinner if that’s okay.” 

“We’ll come with you,” Mikasa responds, yanking Sasha up from her chair. 

“Oh, you guys have to stay on track with filming. You shouldn’t backlog the schedule. It’s okay.” 

Eren watches you walk off set alone, Hange and Levi already doing damage control on their side. Levi’s already screaming bloody murder that they have no right to say that when they have no experience in the field, and Hange’s getting ready to run off and comfort you. 

“Hange. Let me come, please.” 

Eren watches Hange's features contort as they shoot him down. 

“Sorry, Eren. I don’t think she really wants to talk to anyone right now. And I’m just going there to sit with her till she’s ready to talk.” 

“She’ll talk to me. I can sit with her, I do it all the time. We’re best friends. And I just want to come. Please, please let me go.”  

“Eren. These are all your scenes. You need to stay here. I’ll let you come check on her after, okay?” 

Eren watches Hange run off and angrily acts through the next seven scenes. 

- 

When he’s done on set, he basically all but sprints to your room, snatching the video camera from Levi and Hange’s office, and knocks on the door lightly. And when he sees it, he can’t tell which emotion he feels most strongly. Never mind, he’s almost positive it’s anger. 

You’re lying flat under your soft blanket, Hange’s hand in your hair. He can tell that you’ve probably been crying for a better part of the day, your eyes were all swollen and pink and your nose all runny. 

Eren climbs under the blanket with you, hand locking with yours under the sheets. He squeezes your hand three times, which you return as you wipe the excess liquid from your face. 

“Y/N.” 

“What, Hange?” 

“I’m going to call your mom and tell her that you have a boy in your bed.”

You and Eren laugh, rolling your eyes at Hange as you reach up to pull on their hair. Hange hops off the bed, retreating downstairs to get make the ramen that you asked for, as you and Eren shuffle under the blanket. 

“Y/N. You okay?” 

And at the sound of the question, you immediately start crying again, eyes burning as you lean your head into Eren’s shoulder. 

The entire thing - it’s just so fucking embarrassing above anything else. It’s already humiliating enough to get called out as one of the only bad actors in the cast. Sure, they really dug on Armin too but it wasn’t to the extent that they did it to you. And Hange said that was because you were a girl, and they’re always going to be more critical of you than him, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. 

You can’t act. You can’t do press. And for some goddamn reason, you’re the one leading the show with Eren instead of someone else. Maybe it should have been Mikasa or Historia or something, they’d surely be doing a better job at this than you. 

“Nothing you say is going to make me feel better, Eren. Hange’s been trying for the past few hours, but you’re all just lying to make me come back to set.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You guys just feel bad that they said that about me, even if it’s true. And now that you’re stuck with me, you have to make me do it. I’ve been telling Hange - I don’t know what they saw in me even to pick me in the first place. They clearly made a mistake.” 

“Hange and Levi didn’t pick you.”

“What?” 

“Well, they did. But, I picked you too.” 

He reaches over, grabbing the shiny black recording camera from your nightstand. He pulls his arm around yours, holding the camera a few feet away from your face as he holds the looks for the video. And when he plays it, you recognize the same soulless room you did your chemistry screening in, Eren sitting in the chair. 

“So Eren. We’re picking through the last few candidates for the lead. Is there anyone you want it to be in particular?” 

You can recognize Levi’s voice over the video, and you’re sure Hange has to be the one recording from how the videos wobble around so much. 

“You’re going to let me pick, Levi?” Eren from the video asks, eyes wide from shock. 

“We’re in between three and we can’t pick one. And this person is your co-star, you’re probably going to spend a better part of the next five to six years with them if things go well. Should be someone you like.” 

“Y/N.” 

Hange comes into the frame on the video, pinching Eren’s cheeks as they ask. 

“That was fast. Any particular reason?” 

“I don’t even remember the names of the other ones. That’s how lame they were in comparison.” 

“You sure, Eren? You really want it to be her?” 

“Positive. I’d even bet on it.” Eren responds, looking over to Hange. 

Hange smiles, circling a name on the clipboard, turning to the camera as they speak. 

“F/N L/N it is.” 

The video ends, the white screen glowing back on you and Eren’s faces. 

“You… you picked me?” 

“Yeah. And I’m not lying to you when I’m trying to make you feel better or tell you that you’re great. Maybe Hange and Levi are, but I’m not. I’ve always thought you were great.”

You and Eren lean back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. His hand is still in yours under the blanket, warm and sweaty, but you don’t really want to let go. Eren doesn’t say much after that, but when Hange comes with dinner and he has to go back, he says one thing which such confidence that you can’t help but believe him too. That you want it to be true. 

“You’re going to prove them wrong, Y/N."

--

next part here

taglist: @platrom @k0z3me @kayleegomez @yihona-san06 @bsenpai @sweetenertea @mykyoon @violetmatcha @daisynik7 @rebeccawinters @cutiejg @bokutosthings @bookwrmm @mblrrr @wheredidmycrowngo @somethinginyoureyes7 @bsenpai @chilichopsticks @okaystopwhore @you-always-made-me-blush @itzmeme @firelordazulaaaa @whoami-72 @g-ghostly @intimacywithceline @erensmoodygf @cocomellxn @squirrelspoetry

pls comment on this post or any of the chapters if you want to be added to the taglist <3

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

What are your favourite TSAMS AUs?

I love @emhm It really takes advantage of the Multiverse in a way I haven't seen done in many tsams fics before. Mainly because it's not restricted by the limitations of VRchat. So they cane get really wild with dimensional travel.

Like... Cringe Moon is an Alicorn and Cringe Solar is a transformer car and they are dating? .....Sure! why not!

Solar's Moon dies and his body is repurposed as a factory default Moon and is given as a gift to the Lonely Sun who was built without a Moon?

Ruin in EMHM is an entirely different character then Tsams Ruin and he's just......... Insane? He just wants to put on a show and torture and harm everyone in the process for complete control... maybe due to the lack of control he felt in his home dimension when his control was taken from him? ......Sure, why not!

Servant Sun and Lord Eclipse in EMHM are an iconic duo. Realizing their feelings really recently and are in a committed relationship. But overall live in a utopia with little problems. The Lord struggling with his own mental health and slowly starting to realize the pull and help he can be for Suns and Eclipses that suffer in the multiverse. Also discovering that in Lord Eclipse's Dimension, the Original Sun and Moon were FAR more hostile to him then even the Prime Dimension... which is why Lord is the way he is.

It takes advantage of Dimensions not being One for one copies of eachother that I just really appreciate.

Just be sure of the ratings. Because there is one chapter that is very non-consensual oral, but every other nsfw parts are consensual. And the tag "poorly justified robot sex" is there for a reason lol.

I just like all the different takes on different Suns and Eclipses through the multiverse.

It has a very large ensemble cast and it never feels too big to me. It puts the focus on exactly what they want to, and when the plot points converge it's very satisfying.

I also really love @kuuchaos Backstage Au. It is definitely a "four main characters" fic, but it keeps it very condensed and focused on the inner thoughts of the characters.

Because it REALLY picks apart Nexus's trauma and the hypocrisy of the family in a way that is lacking for me in canon tsams. (Just due to the nature of VR and having things explained to you rather then them actually happening. NMoon was imprisoned, treated like a criminal, shocked and violated before he actually did anything wrong and I will never that that go. I still like tsams as it is, but this will be something I will scream and yell at clouds for years to come to anyone who listens lol)

Also I am damn weak for SolarMoon you know me.

While "SolarNexus" is nice. I often miss the softness that came with New Moon.

Chill says "Why not both" XD

Nexus has his trauma and his family definitely left their scars. As well as the NSP that got extracted from him. Nexus is a changed person, but he still has that venerable soft side that I loved about NMoon as a character so much. If anything, Nexus is far softer because of his trauma and experiences and the personality disorders that developed due to how everything happened.

I absolutely love their softer take on Nexus.

I also like their take on Sunset. (darksun. I swear I prefer the name Sunset and I wish it was the default, because that's what a Dark Sun IS... the Sun setting. It's perfect)

Sunset is written as a canonical sociopath, but you can tell he has a weird fondness for Nexus. As his plans around him keep changing. He used him and manipulated him, obviously. But he keeps Nexus around just as a curiosity. Nexus is like a Moon he let in his home. He almost sees having Nexus around the same novelty as being an Exotic Pet owner and it's fascinating to me and I can't wait to see how Sunset develops throughout this thing.

I also read other fics. But I'm way behind but those are like the main two I am the most confident about.

[schrijverr]

Just curious, what do you think about the season 8b speculation that Buck is going to be kidnapped in addition to or instead of Maddie? I'm semi conflicted personally because I so want to see a Maddie lead storyline but don't want to see a pregnant woman get kidnapped idk

I'm pretty conflicted about it as well, because I love a good Buck getting hurt story line and I love him as a character, so seeing him go through that (especially with those people theorizing no one notices he's missing) would be delicious angst.

And I do also think it would suck if it was Maddie, because not only has she been kidnapped before, she currently has a happy storyline going for her for a change, so I'd hate if they forced her into this again, especially if the focus isn't going to be on her and what it means for her, but reactions to it, specifically Buck's.

However, it's that last bit that has me kind of ugh about it, because ever since moving to ABC the show has gotten more Buck-centric. Now, I love Buck - gestures vaguely at all my fics about him - but what makes 9-1-1 so fun to me is that it's an ensemble cast show. I personally adore Hen and Athena (out of the uniform) and Eddie is actually my favorite character, and Chimney and Bobby are very fun. So, seeing them get pushed to the background for Buck doesn't sit right to me.

If they do go the Buck gets kidnapped route and it's going to mostly focus on Buck, I'm a little worried for the future of the show, because I don't want it to be the Buck & co. show, I want it to be the 118 show. However, I'm down for it if they handle it well. Like, if they want to start the buddie route and focus on Eddie's reaction specifically, then it would serve a purpose, or if it was to kick start Buck's no one will care about me spiral (though both can be achieved by kidnapping Maddie, since Eddie can be in Texas so hate to not be there for Buck this time to get his head on straight causing him to spiral, or it can be Buck losing it bc Chris is gone, Eddie will leave and now he might not get Maddie back, so...)

If they go the Maddie gets kidnapped route, it better have a focus on her and what it means for her character to get kidnapped again, while pregnant and a mother, when she specifically never had kids with Doug, because she didn't feel safe. As well as Chimney breaking down, because he went through hell to get Maddie back during her post-partum depression and they had this whole discussion about how scared he was to do it without her and now he might be losing her. Of course Buck is going to feature heavily in this too, because it's his sister and he already lost her to this very thing before, but I would want it to have space for all the emotional reactions, not just his.

I saw someone theorize that they get kidnapped together, which would be fun, since that person mentioned having Chimney's and Eddie's reactions to it parallel, which could be buddie arc start. And I think it could be fun to see with Buck wanting to sacrifice himself for Maddie, because she's pregnant and has a family at home, while he has nothing anymore, which ties into his spiral that will start that is being mentioned in interviews. Plus, you can have Maddie who will always be his protector first, suddenly have to deal with wanting to sacrifice herself, but now having so much to lose and can she do that to Jee-Yun? To Chimney? As well as having the team collectively lose their minds because their Buckleys have been taken.

Anyway, this is a large ramble that doesn't really answer much, but I think in the end, it can be interesting if it's Buck, but I would prefer it not to be unless well executed and a part of me doesn't see that arc getting executed well. Though I also don't like the fact that Maddie is getting kidnapped to begin with. However, I know the fics are gonna be great regardless in this fandom, so I'm clinging to that lmao

[amyrlinegwene]

It’s become really apparent to me how TV has changed based on the shorter seasons.

I feel like so many TV shows want to tell really in-depth complicated plots, but they’re only given eight episodes (sometimes less). And this can work if you have a smaller cast, or you are very strict about who the core cast is, for example in succession, the core characters are the family unit and the secondary characters—the people who work at the company— are not given a similar level of focus, the actors do a really great job of conveying who those characters and what their motivations are, but they still leave you wanting more because ultimately, you know, you might get a hint of something in the script that you can’t go into in depth.

I think the problem is trying to fit a really complicated plot(s) in an eight episode season that also has an extremely large cast of characters that they want to focus on. I see this in Wheel of Time, I saw it in The Gilded Age too.

And one of the main ways I feel like the stories really suffer is that you don’t really get to sit with a story or the implication of things that happen like you do if there is a longer season. For example, there’s a lot of cutaways right after dramatic event instead of seeing peoples’ reactions and afterwards reactions are implied, or perhaps you skip an important scene altogether, and then just tell people that it happened. 

And I think there’s choices that you can maybe make as a writer or a director once or twice for a meaningful reason, but sometimes it happens so often it really feels like it’s only to save time. You didn’t want to see the character having in that emotional reaction for more than two seconds because you don’t have enough time the episode to focus on them, now you have to go to someone else’s plot. Or you skipped over that explanation/event to just have the character have already found out in the next scene because you know if they were to have that scene, it would take up at least a couple minutes because of course they would react to strongly to that news. But now they have known for hours/days etc so their reaction is stale and can be implied with a withering look or a long sigh and a quick mention to let the audience know that something happened.

When you have a large ensemble cast in a short season, there simply isn’t time to give everyone a meaningful plot all the time or there isn’t time to examine everyone’s deeper characterization as a result of their plot; this often ends up with audiences wanting more and writers relying slightly on stereotypes or character tropes to help round out the character in audiences minds.

I really hope the strike helps reverse the trend of shorter and shorter seasons for television shows, because while not every show needs to be more than eight episodes, many shows would benefit from the ability to have more time to tell their story. It is wild to me that a 12 or 13 episode season for a drama series is now a long season to me.

[oodlyenough]

arcane s2 act 2

so my main criticism of act 1 was that everything felt rushed. that has not gotten better lol

i knew going in that two seasons -- of nine episodes, and short 40 minute episodes at that -- was probably going to be too little. and it is. well. what can you do, i guess. i'm glad this isn't my number 1 fandom interest the way it was in 2022 because if it were i'd be much more bothered lol. many of the beats we're hitting are beats i like on paper but we are blitzing through them so fast they have no time to breathe or sink in before we're onto the next one.

also i respect the huge amount of effort that goes into creating an animated series that looks the way this looks, but these episodes are so short. the runtime is 40 minutes and five of that is credits and another five of that is our obligatory stylized music video. it's just too little time to dedicate to a large ensemble cast and a complex plot. it sucks to be watching the final season of a show and realize you haven't seen [Major Character] for entire episodes, or entire acts (!). outside of jinx and ambessa, it feels like everyone's fave is getting shortchanged on screentime, some more than others. with only three episodes left it's hard to imagine they'll manage to resolve everyone's arc and all the outstanding mysteries and bring everything to a satisfying conclusion. fans freaked out when they first accidentally let slip that after s2 they were moving away from these characters and fans were right. womp womp

more detailed spoiler stuff:

sevika. the hair. why :(

"jinx is a symbol of resistance" is one of those things that i didn't feel they entirely set up. sure, she has pushed back on piltover -- but every time she has, piltover has cracked down even harder on zaun. there's really no zaunites who resent her for that? hm

isha is a character i struggle with because i thought everything about her was too on the nose in act 1 and then we had open act 2 with jinx stating the thesis aloud to the camera. "gee you remind me of my old self powder. i wonder if this is how silco felt about me, powder." lol

i was DARING the show to have vi flashback to punching powder after she hit isha lmaooo. impressed they resisted

whatever tho i did enjoy the jinx-sevika-isha unit while it lasted

vander's werewolf self going back to the hideout he used to share with silco... their jackets hung together... bro...

i have to say i'm actually not sure i like the felicia stuff that much. i don't know. arcane isn't subtle ever and this felt like another sledgehammer. i think i also ... actually derive a bit less meaning from vander taking them in/silco raising jinx if actually vander and silco were besties with their mom and knew them growing up, too. not that it stopped silco from wanting to murk vi lmao so i guess it's no guarantee of his affection for jinx, but... yeah. idk. subtle as a brick: that's arcane

also was this telling me that vander saw felicia die during a rebellion they all incited, flipped out and blamed silco and tried to DROWN HIM ... like... jesus man that's pretty harsh lmao i'd start villain monologuing too

mel in the torture labyrinth was interesting, and i loved getting to meet a version of her sexy brother kino. as soon as [man's voice] appeared i was like omg is it her sexy brother... and it was! sort of! i'm assuming his look and personality and voice match real kino even if he was some kind of trick monster thing. i like the medarda family lore and i liked getting to see mel and kino interact, if briefly

on the other hand, mel being trapped in the torture labyrinth meaning that's her only 5 minutes of screentime for all of act 2 and the reveal is that she has magic powers which we already surmised from the s1 cliffhanger... i don't know... and an illegitimate baby plot? like... we have so many plots. please.

also she's totally pregnant and i hate that. lol.

i started this season ambessa's number 1 fan and i have enjoyed her but also there is a lot of her, when other major characters from s1 get little screentime. i had hoped seeing more ambessa would mean seeing more of ambessa and mel, bc their relationship with each other is very interesting, but... nope??? i mean, sure there's act 3, but we've had six episodes so far of little.

caitlyn's arc was such a disappointment to me. the end of act 1 with her was such a strong stark scene and by the time we pick up with her in act 2 we've already montaged past all her war crimes and into the part where she feels bad about them and is ready to turn a new leaf. like. come on man.

her reunion with vi was way too smooth. i would love vi to be angry with her for her bullshit. maybe they'll fight again next act, they fight all the time, but like... ugh. 2.1 was such a big falling out and then vi just shrugs it off and we're back to "cupcake". poor vi the writers dgaf about her

viktor's cult was not what i expected at all, i expected something more outwardly sinister lol. people on twitter are arguing back and forth about how obviously evil it was but i am not sure that's the case -- or like -- i mean i think as an audience member aware you're watching a tv show, it's easy to be like "this is clearly evil and will be revealed as such later", but just in terms of what the show is putting down in act 2 i think it's presented as this bastion of hope which is then destroyed. in act 3 we will find out why it was destroyed, i assume, and can retroactively decide if that was a good decision or not.

sky. sis. i wish they like. made you a person in s1. i have no frame of reference for if this feels like the real sky whose consciousness is now in the void (like viktor's seems to be?) or if she's like the hexcore's avatar for getting what it wants (which is what i feel act 1 implied), because they did not spend time in s1 to establish her

i joked in s1 a lot about salo getting a front row seat to jayce and viktor's weird gay thing over the years so it's nice he got to participate in their last conversation flkhghgl. but this was another scene where i felt the pacing was nerfing things -- i like the general exchange on paper, that there's been this time apart and viktor wants to show jayce what he's working on and jayce is all fucked up and bitter or whatever, but in real time their reunion, split, and then this scene happen in such a condensed time ... we haven't really seen either of them apart, we didn't see jayce's time growing bitter or whatever and even if we see it in act 3 it's belated?

i also thought it was odd how viktor was like "i was clouded by emotion" when honestly their breakup was the most emotionless he'd ever been to that point lol

it is very funny to think that jayce came out of s1 and the hell void and the lesson he learned was he should continue shooting first and asking questions never

i can think of several possible explanations for jayce's behaviour, ranging from "something i'd be super into" all the way to "i don't want to type it out in fear of invoking it into the universe". so i'm trying not to speculate all that much tbh, lest i grow attached to the former and get the latter

"peacock princes... an old family joke" and "you once told me every system has limits" are two great examples of stuff feeling rushed. these so clearly feel like they should be callbacks to scenes we actually *saw* but they just aren't. because we never got flashback kino, and viktor and sky never held a conversation until she died.

ekko and heimerdinger died on the way to their home planet...

this all sounds exceedingly negative listed out, when in reality i was mostly having a good time. it's just... the cracks are starting to show as the the show strains under the pressure of accomplishing all its goals in a measly 18 episodes. that crunch means any time someone's watching a scene about a plot or characters they like less they're going to start feeling impatient, any time a musical number doesn't hit (and i have to be honest, s2 is more misses than hits for me so far) they're going to feel impatient... i don't know. i find it difficult to see how they'll pull all of this off without leaving the audience thinking "jeeze that needed another season", or "why did they waste time on X when i wanted to see Y".

[maxwell-grant]

"porous and easy-to-transplant like Spidey's villains" is it just me does Marvel have more of these guys than DC? Like we can just have random buff list villains go after a a variety of different characters?

Oh yes, Marvel absolutely has the advantage when it comes to rogues gallery transplants, it's not even a contest. That's in large part because Marvel existed as a shared universe from the get-go: DC didn't quite jump on that wagon for a while. For most of the Silver Age, there was little to no cross-pollination between Superman and Batman, the existence of the Justice League not really mattering in their titles, where as Marvel was crossover town from day one. They each offer different kinds of narrative real state for their villains to exist in.

The DCU's defining figures, Superman and Batman, live in opposite cities with opposite tones and opposite casts and everybody else has to occupy the space between their two extremes, and most of the other bigger heroes have their own cities: your Star Cities and Central Cities and Hub Cities and Bludhavens and whatnot. Thus most of their villains and villain casts are centralized, and sometimes they even have formal agreements about this kind of stuff. There's almost like a Venture Bros-esque union thing going on sometimes in the DCU where most of their popular villains and heroes are fairly exclusive to one another, with characters like Killer Frost, Gentleman Ghost and Solomon Grundy who transcend this being mostly such due to their heroes being more absorbed and integrated into ensembles than their own adventures.

The major exceptions for these tend to be villains specifically made or set to menace the entire universe, like Superboy Prime or Perpetua or, Amanda Waller this month I guess, and Event Villains are kind of their own thing (and mostly not very good). DC doesn't have a Doctor Doom, in the sense of a big great iconic villain for the whole universe and specific heroes in it who also can and will fight anyone and it will pretty much always be great no matter who he's fighting. They try to make cosmic baddies like Brainiac into those kinds of figures and it never works as well, it always just makes them too generic, there's no spark to the ensuing dynamic. Vandal Savage is probably the closest to one that works and, love the guy, but he's sporadically great and simply not up to the standard this requires.

Marvel, in turn, has been in the business of regularly loaning out bad guys, maybe ever since Sandman joined up the Frightful Four? He wasn't just a one-off thing like that time Daredevil and Doctor Doom swapped bodies and fought, no he was regularly showing up as a villain in F4, in a new costume even. Marvel already started with all of their major defining characters living in the same sandbox, everybody is within a few blocks away from each other most of the time, and so everybody is everybody's problem most of the time, it's the bastardverse and they are all crammed together, and it's not terribly surprising why they fight all the goddamn time. All the major Marvel villains are shooting to rule the same city/planet and destroy more or less the same people and therefore they kinda have to be on a first-name basis with each other, and all the middle-leaguer/second-stringer baddies are getting beaten up by the same people in the same city. Reverse-Flash and Joker going after anyone other than their respective arch-enemies feels fake and perfunctory, but guys like Ultron and Norman Osborn, who also have specific arch-enemies, can transit between individual problems for different heroes and larger-scale problems for everybody just fine. A DC hero will rarely be in Lex Luthor's line of sight unless they are specifically doing something that will piss him off, where as if you are a Marvel hero, it's a fact that sometimes you'll just randomly orbit Wilson Fisk's business and thus you gotta dodge gunfire for it that day.

This especially applies for the smaller-scale villains, not too strongly attached to the hero they may have started out with to the point they become ensemble villains, the ones that easily and eventually become someone else's problem. Your Mr. Hydes and Absorbing Men and Arcades and High Evolutionaries and whatnot, Spider-Man is stuffed with these. Sometimes these characters will click so well with specific heroes they'll achieve wholly different kinds of stardom or characterization (Kingpin in Miller's Daredevil, Brain Drain and Kraven in Squirrel Girl, etc), and sometimes they'll graduate into the position of supporting character or even main character. The peak example of this is Taskmaster, because while the likes of Loki and Venom can claim greater stardom, they did so by becoming anti-heroes and are generally still attached at hip to their heroes of origin, where as Taskmaster is a midcard villain to the bone and it's extremely easy to forget he was an Avengers villain at first, he is just fully A Guy in his own right who will go anywhere and menace anyone for the right price (except Moon Knight, because he is too scary), he'll scale up and down and be everyone's problem until he's not being paid to do so and then it's cool. DC doesn't really have an equivalent to him (they kinda try with Deathstroke but, pfft, please, that guy is a diehard obsessive Teen Titans villain and that's not even the more embarassing thing about him). They have countless midcarders just picking dust within their respective rogues galleries that could easily be migrated elsewhere.

But on the other hand, Marvel doesn't quite have what you'd call a Legion of Doom/Injustice League, in the sense of being able to pair all of it's biggest villains from the biggest corners of the world together in a team-up and have it work. There's been attempts over the years to make things like the Masters of Evil and the Cabal land as such and they never really stuck, the closest you get to an iconic Big Villain Team is the likes of the Sinister Six and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, groups tailored to menace specific heroes or hero teams, or things like The Black Order and the Dark Avengers, ultimately extensions of bigger villains (the Thunderbolts are their own thing). Maybe it's because Marvel doesn't really have a major concentrated dominant heroic force on the level of the Justice League that would demand all their villains to put everything aside to try and stop it (although DC can't really justify the Legion of Doom/Injustice League as an ongoing thing most of the time, they don't exist as a regular thing). It might be a mismatch of priorities, that it doesn't have a Lex Luthor as a a clear-cut Union Chief to properly call in and command other arch-enemies who would be willing to pay union dues and work together to better destroy the specific guys they individually hate. Marvel's major villains are a clutch of arch-bastards all trying to be king of the world who hate each other as much, if not more, as they hate their heroes and the only one who could rise above them to the top leadership position is Doctor Doom, who has no need to be leading or participating in something like this. Loki had to put on a whole charade of pretending to be subservient to each of them in order to pull off the gathering he did in Acts of Vengeance, and that only worked once.

Another obvious immediate answer for why is that, as Acts of Vengeance and other stories have shown time and time again, you kinda can't gather all of Marvel's biggest villains in one place and not include the Red Skull, and thus other villains jumping over themselves to murder him the second he walks into the room. But they've done attempts without him or a significant Nazi villain in the room, and they still largely didn't land. It might be overall that, the point of the Legion of Doom is to force all the separate characters and domains of the DCU to join forces to oppose it and that's why they have to be a threat to the Justice League, with none of it's villains exactly meeting that standard on their own, but Marvel's heroes are already all crammed together in cliques on the same places and fighting/putting differences aside to tackle bigger threats all the time, and so there's not really a point of forcing that through a especially big villain gathering.

There isn't really a unity among the Marvel heroes comparable to the one that demands Lex Luthor to call in all the other arch-enemies to try and break, and the one time Norman Osborn attempted to call in one at the height of his power, it was repeteadly emphasized how stupid he was to expect to be able to gather and control and command said people (and when Namor tried to revive the Cabal for the sake of succeeding where the Illuminati failed, things went even worse for him). In the end, Marvel is just too chaotic for the villains to exist in a centralized ruling body like that, if the heroes can't agree on anything why would their villains be any different.

[unordinary-diary]

Ensemble and Intelligence

Everyone in the main cast is really smart, actually. Every last one of them. But it doesn’t feel repetitive or unrealistic because they’re all smart in different ways.

Seraphina: is probably the most obviously smart. She’s capable of perfect grades, she’s a skilled liar, good at reading people and puzzling information together, and she’s really really clever. The moment that sticks out to me most is when she used clever wording to trick Nadia, the lie detector, during her interrogation in chapter 28, without hesitation or breaking a sweat. I’d argue that she’s actually the smartest character in the cast.

Blyke: is mostly academically smart. He gets good grades in school and finds the work to be easy. Beyond that, he’s also good at reading people. He’s not as good as Seraphina is, but he’s able to read his two best friends like a book, and he has a much higher emotional intelligence than I initially gave him credit for. He also uses his ability very creatively, even before his power up. A moment that sticks out to me is when Remi was secretly going after EMBER, and Blyke was able to read her and piece together what was going on, meanwhile Isen had no idea anything was wrong.

Isen: is not a high achiever in school, but he excels in writing. He is proficient at gathering, piecing together, and expressing information. He’s also the only character except maybe Seraphina who consistently makes the smart decisions (as opposed to the reckless, emotional, hasty or ill informed/advised ones). Most characters make at least some stupid decisions and mistakes, but Isen is pretty much always focused on logic and foresight. Notable moments include: being able to track down John’s records, tracking down Claire, choosing not to publish the article on fake Jokers because he knew it would exacerbate the problem, tracking EMBER’s movements and basically anything he does on his computer.

John: initially seems like a total birdbrain. He acts like a dumbass, and he gets fairly bad grades. However, it’s clear from the beginning that he’s a good strategist. He thinks on his feet well, he’s good at sizing people up, and when he chooses to, he uses his ability with incredible creativity and tact. His intelligence is largely fighting centered. However, much later in the story, after John’s suspension, we see another side of him. It doesn’t show up much when he’s acting like silly old hair gel John, and definitely not much when he’s too buried in his anger to think straight, but John is really clever. This side of John is a lot like Seraphina’s smarts— he’s good at reading people, and he’s good at putting pieces together and thinking critically. Things that come to mind are when he read Arlo like a book, (something along the lines of “But you do need help. You wouldn’t have lost your cool if you had things under control.) and when he immediately sniffed out Sera’s lies (She said she was talking to Arlo about “Safe House stuff”, and John identifies that as a lie because if it were true she would have kept Remi in the room instead of asking for a private conversation with Arlo).

Arlo: is very cunning. He’s constantly scheming and thinking five steps ahead. He makes many misguided decisions due to his naïveté and misplaced trust, but he’s also very often the voice of reason. He’s a great leader and an even better manipulator. He’s always thinking analytically and connecting dots. An example is the fact that Arlo is the only person who suspected that John was actually a high tier, and looked deeper for more info. He also provided valuable insight in the Spectre investigation, and, like Isen, often encourages others on the side of caution (advising Seraphina not to meet with Spectre, involving John with the Spectre issue, telling Remi not to go after EMBER, etc.) Now, Arlo actually does give off the impression of being stupid at times, which is something I’d like to look at. He has many areas where he acts purely on his emotions and against common wisdom, but that is something that every person does. I think the reason why Arlo’s emotion-based decisions come off as stupidity moreso than other characters is because of the image he upholds: Arlo hides his emotions, pretends he doesn’t care about anything, and portrays himself as a person who acts on logic alone. Because of this, the emotions he acts upon aren’t always immediately obvious, or the audience doesn’t perceive them as being intense enough to make him behave the way he does. Therefore, Arlo’s mistakes (namely: targeting John because he feels abandoned and unfairly burdened, and refusing to believe the authorities are EMBER because he loves his aunt) — can be mistaken for a lack of critical thinking as opposed to a strong emotion.

Remi: is probably the least smart by conventional standards, but she sure as hell isn’t stupid. She has good critical thinking skills, she’s able to come to logical conclusions on her own, and she has good leadership. She was probably the first to put together that the authorities and EMBER are connected, and she was the one to realize that the writer of the Kovoro Mall article (Terrence) had been following them (Ch. 52). Not to mention that it was Remi who came up with the idea for the Safe House. However, the most notable facet of Remi’s smarts is her emotional intelligence. Remi is very good at navigating social situations, understanding herself and others, and she is excellent at communication. Highlights include the way she handled the situation with John (being understanding of him, hearing him out and offering to help him, but without compromising her own values), and the way she expressed to Blyke that she wasn’t mad at him but rather, scared for his safety, which was a clear, concise and honest way of explaining a very intense and complicated emotion, which is difficult to do in the heat of the moment.

[parachutingkitten]

Okay, new theory on my ninjago/dragons rising dissonance- I need would love to hear your thoughts:

Maybe it's their differing approaches to being an ensemble show?

Like, ninjago is an ensemble show in that the dynamic between the differing personalities on the team makes up a good chunk of the entertainment value. Dragons Rising is an ensemble show in that it has a large cast- but personality driven interactions between the core cast aren't really the meat of the show. It's more focused on individual character plots to keep things interesting.

I might just be hallucinating this difference out of nowhere- again it has been a while since I last watched DR, but this also feels plausible, because I also tend to dislike when ninjago would try and dial in on a focus ninja at the cost of the team stuff.

[olderthannetfic]

it's funny when people say "even in female-centric fandoms there's no F/F and people would rather pair up dudes!" both because I've been in several of those and that's never been the case - there's always a lot of it in any show where there are multiple relationships b/w women who matter, let alone a mostly-female cast - but i feel like the people who complain about this, you look at their fandoms and it's bunch a shows where there is technically more than one woman, and they interact somewhat, but the cast is still majority dudes. and their ships are all these rarepairs of women who barely interact. which is a totally legit way to do fandom, don't get me wrong, but it does make me wonder if some of these people are aware of what a female centric show really *is*. like you just want to lead them gently to the sailor moon or yellowjackets or madoka or killing eve or xena tags and be like, look, this is what we're talking about. and look how much of it is femslash, and how little of it is slash (even in sailor moon, with its canonical M/M couple, it's still femslash and het predominantly IME). like, i'm glad you're trying to make it happen for shows where the women are interesting but underexplored, or where they have brief glances of fascinating dynamics with women that we don't learn much of but could wonder what could have been. but when you have like 7 men in a main cast and only 2 women, you cannot be shocked when most of the fic is slash and/or het. like, avatar the last airbender is not a "female centric" show people just because it has women in it or doctor who (except mayyyyybe the seasons with a female doctor). that's not what we're talking about.

i mean, even in ensemble shows where there are women whose relationships with other women matter, even if it's not the focus and there are more men overall in the cast or an equal amount, you will get a substantial femslash fandom. it might not be the main event, but it will be there. glee was a badly-written mess of a show, but it had plot-relevant relationships between female characters. and so people were shipping rachel/quinn and santana/brittany even long before the latter couple was anywhere close to becoming canon. it was one of the biggest (and most drama-filled) femslash fandoms of the early 10s, even if the slash and het corners of glee fandom were bigger. but there was enough femslash that you absolutely could corral yourself in that corner of the fandom and ignore the rest of it. if you build it, they really will come (in more ways than one, heh)

--

Yup.

Glee literally had an offline con for one f/f ship. When canon provides, by and large, fans will respond.

People are terrible about going "But I love my blorbo! Surely, everyone else should!" in contexts where basic logic will tell you that ship or character is probably not going to launch a juggernaut fandom.

[the-muppets-present]

The Muppets Present: Chess the Musical

Chess the Musical is an underrated gem, and we absolutely love it. The concert version, considered by most to be the definitive version, can be found on youtube in this playlist, which has nearly the entire complete concert (part 12 has been removed, but the only song missing is "The Deal (No Deal)") and I highly recommend you give it a listen, because the music is honestly top tier. The concert version is what we will be referencing here, since all the various stage versions are so different from each other (this show really suffered from over workshopping). If you're new here, take a moment to review our rules for casting. NOW, onto the show.

The Show

Chess the Musical is the story of the chess world championship tournament in 1979. The cold war is raging, and the two world champions are from the US and Soviet Union respectively. The story focuses on these two players and their personal lives and dramas set against the backdrop of the political strife between the east and west, as they are unwillingly used as pawns in the conflict.

The show has a core cast of seven characters and an ensemble with a few interesting standouts who can be filled out by muppets and humans alike. These are the key players:

Anatoly Sergievsky - "The Russian": The champion from Soviet Russia—a troubled husband and father who despises the propaganda and politics of the tournament.

Freddie Trumper -"The American": The champion from the United States—a self-absorbed, fame-and-fortune-seeking, short-tempered bad boy.

Florence Vassy - Freddie's strong-willed second and possible paramour, who is strained by Freddie's brashness and begins to feel a pull towards Anatoly as the tournament progresses.

Alexander Molokov - Anatoly's conniving second who is also a manipulative KGB agent and a major force in the political games being played behind the scenes.

Walter - A financial administrator in Freddie's delegation and in some versions a secret CIA agent who serves as a political counterpart to Molokov.

The Arbiter - The coldly objective, no-nonsense referee of the championship tournament and also the president of the International Chess Federation. He is essentially the narrator, the Voice of the chorus.

Svetlana Sergievskaya - Anatoly's estranged wife who, under Molokov's machinations, must persuade Anatoly to return to his homeland and family in the second act.

The Cast

Anatoly = Kermit. Kermit usually isn't the protagonist in Muppet adaptations, because the type of character he is just doesn't fit that role as neatly, but he's the perfect fit for Anatoly. Anatoly is competent in his own work, but is really out of his depth in the situation at large, and struggles to be true to himself amidst what he feels to be his duty. An arc that Kermit himself has played out in many a muppet film. Really, the only muppet who could adequately pull Anatoly off is Kermit himself.

Freddie = Gonzo. Freddie is bombastic, abrasive, quick to speak and slow to apologize, and overall extremely selfish. He walks into a room and his personality demands the spotlight immediately. I don't think I really need to give any other reasons why Gonzo should play this character, but I'll give one anyway: imagine Gonzo banging out "One Night in Bangkok" with Camilla and the Hens as the backup singers bawking out the chorus.

Florence = Miss Piggy. Yes, she's the only female muppet of note (who can speak english, sorry Henrietta), but also she'd genuinely be a good Florence. Florence is driven, a strong independent woman who don't need no man, but that doesn't mean she don't want one, and the fact that Anatoly is played by Kermit....well, you see where I'm going with this. Also, she and Freddie have an increasingly antagonistic relationship through the show that would be great to watch with Miss Piggy and Gonzo. Again, imagine her singing "The Model of Decorum and Tranquility" and getting more and more frustrated and gravelly in her delivery. And don't forget to picture Kermit in place of Josh Groben in that scene too...again, the dynamics are top tier here.

Svetlana = Miss Piggy. I'm invoking rule 5, not only because again, the lack of other english speaking female muppets, but because I love the idea of two Miss Piggies both singing for Kermit's attention and lamenting that he'll never see her the way she sees him, that his attention will always go to his work first. "I Know Him So Well" is a duet between the two women about Anatoly, and imagine two Miss Piggies singing this in duet with each other, each knowing that the other has something to offer that she doesn't have, but also knowing that even that isn't enough, that Anatoly (Kermit) will never be able to commit to her the way she wants to to him.

Molokov = Uncle Deadly. Honestly I don't have a lot to say about this choice, it's just Perfect. Molokov already borders on cartoonishly evil, he is an immediately untrustworthy character and everyone knows it, he's the world's worst spy. Uncle Deadly is a shoe in for the role and I'll hear nothing else about it. (Also, while generally irrelevant in casting muppets in a musical, since you can re-key as needed, Uncle Deadly already fits Molokov's voice type)

Walter = Sam the Eagle. While Walter is not as overtly patriotic as Sam, in adaptation, there should be a muppet who is equally as enthusiastic for his country as Molokov is for the Soviet Union. Walter is in some ways the least emotionally complex character aside from the Arbiter, he exists to serve the plot and the ways the plot creates character conflict for Anatoly, Freddie, and Florence, so Sam (who is generally a one note patriot character) fits the role nicely. Also, just like Uncle Deadly, he fits the voice type perfectly.

The Arbiter = Daniel Craig. I call upon the power of the One Human Celebrity. Daniel Craig would be perfect for a muppet adaptation of The Arbiter, he is the type of human actor who could be surrounded by muppets and you'd 100% believe it. The Arbiter's songs require some gusto, but Craig can carry a tune and if you give him a vocal coach and 6 weeks (and re-key his solo), I think he'd be great. However, this casting ONLY works if there are NO OTHER HUMANS in the chess federation. Daniel Craig must be surrounded by muppets at all time. Just look at his solo, and tell me that it wouldn't be the best thing ever to watch Daniel Craig do this while flanked by dancing muppets.

Additional Bit Parts:

Statler and Waldorf as The Consulate. When Kermit's Anatoly is speaking to them about defecting to the UK, imagine them having this exchange. You could either rewrite the song to be a duet OR have two Statlers and two Waldorfs to fill out the quartet.

Non-Celebrity Human as The Soviet Machine. This must be a big, nondescript burly man who can sing one glorious falsetto note. He must stand stoically as evil muppets dance around and sing the Soviet Machine. Moopets can fill out the Soviet chorus line.

The Ensemble: Merano and Bangkok both have human backup dancers and chorus members as well as muppet, because these are location setting songs, and you want to establish that humans are here in this world. Mike Tyson can have a celebrity cameo in Bangkok for old time's sake.

Chess Dancers: the Hens and the Penguins supplement the human chess dancers that take stage during the two chess matches.

Reporters: a mix of humans and muppets, but no cameos during this scene, it's Gonzo's first big solo and the spotlight needs to be on him.

Fozzie Bear as the governer of Merano and as an authority figure in Bangkok: his presence in Bangkok is commented on and he loudly says "Oh no, you must be thinking of my brother!"

And that's The Muppets Present: Chess the Musical!

What other celebrity cameos would you add to the show? We'd love to read your thoughts! Also let us know if you have another musical or movie you'd like to see a muppet fancast of, we love doing these!

[optreee]

*Gyeongseong Creature spoilers*

Been really enjoying this series despite the sub-par CGI (but I’ve watched enough Korean content to know that their CGI is not great so I’ve accepted it).

Perhaps this was common knowledge already (I don’t read Korean entertainment news, so I don’t know), but the allegory of the “rape of Korea” through the symbolism of the creature has been interesting to think about. In the drama, the creature is created when a Japanese scientist forces Joseon women to consume/drink the Najin—a tiny, white organism (not unlike sperm/semen)—causing them to mutate into a terrifying, vicious creature that indiscriminately kills everyone and sucks out their brains.

The creature seems to symbolize the Korean idea of “Han”/한. “Han”/한 is a concept in Korean culture, when a group or an individual has internalized trauma, sorrow, resentment, and anger from unresolved injustice, brewing for generations without resolution or a chance for one to be at peace. It’s akin to the idea of vengeance—or the deep-seated angst that compels someone towards revenge/vengeance. The concept of “Han”/한 is said to have come about during the Japanese occupation period, so it seems that the creature is a symbol of how this deeply internalized resentment and anger of feeling wronged and taken advantage of can completely mutate a person towards vengeful, bloody hatred.

I’ve read that mentioning past Japanese atrocities can get Korean actors/actresses black-listed by the Japanese government and market, and I also heard that the two leads in this drama were fully prepared for that. I had wondered why they would be willing to risk so much for a fantasy drama, but now I’m starting to realize that it might be because they believed this was an important story to tell. (I haven’t watched any interviews or anything by the drama leads so I’m speculating…). Though the creature in the drama is a fantasy, the horrible things that people did to one another during the occupation period depicted in the show are largely true. And now with the added allegory/symbolism of the creature as the “Han”/한 of the Korean people, I’m very much convinced that this drama offers much more than meets the eye.

Regardless of the political messaging, it’s a really well-made show with an ensemble cast. I’m also so impressed by the all-Korean cast learning to act in Japanese so fluently. The show is very interesting, well-acted, and Park Seo-Joon as the male lead inserts just the right amount of levity to make it entertaining but without drawing attention away from the deeper message of the film.

Can’t wait for Jan 5th when the rest of the series comes out!