#tgws cast

[regardstosoulandromance]

Christine Baranski for V Magazine (July 29th, 2021)

[mika-meowz]

Pst. Jash fandom. What's the opinion on Gothic Whore self inserts. Because I mighta made one

[djkerr]

The Good Wife 4x2 Promo "And the Law Won" ft. Maura Tierney

[likeadevils]

Midnights Timeline

This is a very long post that puts all the songs on Midnights in order of Taylor creating them. I’ve also included a few other songs she worked on while writing Midnights and quotes from Taylor and her collaborators talking about her process.

If you don't want to read all that, check out this playlist of the album in order, or this playlist of her entire discography. WARNING: there is a very large chunk on the playlists that I have no information on (Maroon-Dear Reader).

I’ve also added this color coded scale of how sure I am of the date: 

Confirmed: There is some type of official source for the date

Inferring: Nobody has officially said “This is when we wrote it,” but all available evidence points to that date

Speculation: This date is based off pure vibes and guesswork and is highly likely to change.

Unknown: All that is known is the year (from the US Copyright Offices

Renegade: March 7-15, 2021 (Confirmed)

Aaron: “I wrote the music [for Renegade] at some point after we finished [evermore], and sent it to her, because she was inspired by a llot of the Big Red Machine stuff we were working on. And she had already sung on Birch, a song that hasn't come out yet but is one of the major ones on the record. And I think she wanted to write a song for Big Red Machine. She very much feels like part of this community to me. So I wrote Renegade, the music, and sent it to her. And not unlike a lot of the things we've done together, one day I woke up to a voice memo from her and she had written this incredible song about how anxiety and fear get in the way of loving or being loved. And she was clearly thinking about Big Red Machine. And then we recorded her vocals and everything the week of the Grammys, when I was there in LA, and it was really nice to have something to think about that wasn't related to the Grammys - just to make music because you feel like making it." (transcript from jaimie)

High Infidelity and Would've Could've Should've: March 7-15, 2021 (Confirmed)

Aaron: [Would've Could've Should've], we wrote that song together, and recorded it while we were together in LA for the folklore Grammys. It goes back that far. And the same with High Infidelity. Those songs, we actually recorded in her house, the vocals, we recorded them then. And I just kept making music, and it was kind, after we had made folklore and evermore, I started to have ideas which I would share. And eventually, she obviously made most of Midnights with Jack, and it became something different. But High Infidelity, and Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve, and The Great War, and we made Hits Different with Jack and Taylor and I also, and it was great to be part of that record in that way. (transcript from @cages-boxes-hunters-foxes)

The Great War and Hits Different: between April-October 2021 (Speculation)

In the above quote talking about his songs on Midnights, Aaron says "Eventually, she obviously made most of Midnights with Jack, and it became something different," implying his stuff was written before the bulk of midnights in fall. He also says High Infidelity and Would've Could've Should've "[go] back that far," which implies they were some of the earliest stuff on Midnights, so it's safe to assume TGW and Hits Different come sometime afterwards.

Summer 2021: Jack has a session with Sounwave, Sam Dew, and Zoe Kravitz, where the instrumentals for Lavender Haze and likely Glitch are written

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: Before Antonoff began to work on Swift’s tenth album, he was cooking up tracks with Spears, Dew, and Zoë Kravitz [...] During a brainstorming session, the quartet put together a track that would eventually become “Lavender Haze.”

November 3 2021: It was announced that Joe has been cast in Stars at Noon, alongside Margaret Qualley, Jack Antonoff's then girlfriend now wife. Since Joe was parachuted into the film last minute, filming had already started, making it likely he left as soon as possible.

Taylor: We’d been toying with ideas and had written a few things we loved, but Midnights actually really coalesced and flowed out of us when our partners (both actors) did a film together in Panama. Jack and I found ourselves back in New York, alone, recording every night, staying up late and exploring old memories and midnights past.

November 8: Jack gets back from touring with Bleachers. Let the games begin.

Vigilante Shit: November 2021 (Speculation)

Vigilante Shit is the sole solo writing credit on the album, which implies it was written before her and Jack were holed up together 24/7. Also Scooter and his wife divorced in July. Beyond that there's no evidence this is early in the process, besides it making sense that Taylor wrote this alone, brought it to Jack, and then fell into a creative inferno.

Maroon, Anti-Hero, You're on Your Own Kid, Midnight Rain, Bejeweled, Labyrinth, Mastermind, Paris, and Dear Reader: November/December 2021 (Inferring)

I don't have enough info on the making of any of these songs to give them each their own little blurb, but if anything pops up I will update this post and reblog it letting y’all know.

Question..?: After November 21, 2021 (Inferring)

We know Rachel Antonoff, Dylan O'Brien, and Austin Swift were there the day they recorded it thanks to this behind the scenes footage of them recording the cheering vocals. Dylan was filming The Vanishings at Caddo Lake in Louisiana sometime between October 5 and November 20. I don't know exactly which dates he was filming-- he was in New York for All Too Well filming in late October and to attend the premiere on November 12, but since we know for sure he was in Louisiana on the 20th, I'm just gonna Occam's Razor it and say Question was written sometime after he got back from that.

You're Losing Me: December 5, 2021 (Confirmed)

December 17, 2021: Filming wraps on Stars at Noon, and with it the bulk of recording for Midnights.

Lavender Haze: Early 2022 (Speculation)

Lavender Haze, Snow on the Beach, and Karma are the only songs to have Henson Recording Studios credited (I can't find studio credits for the 3am tracks so there is possibly more on there). This could point to them all being recorded around the same time time, or it could be in reference to Jack and Sounwave's original recording sessions taking place at Hensen. I lean towards the former, since 1) it seems like the Winter 2021 sessions were mostly between Taylor and Jack, and the spring sessions have other collaborators, and 2) the tabloid rumors about Taylor and Joe getting engaged really started heating up in February 2022. On the other hand, Sounwave implies that there was a notable stretch of time between Lavender Haze and Karma, so I totally understand if you want to put it with the rest of the Winter 2021 sessions. Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: A few months [after Jack and Sounwave wrote the instrumentals], Antonoff reached out to Spears, Dew, and Kravitz to see if he could pitch [Lavender Haze] to Swift, who loved it immediately. She wrote lyrics inspired by a Mad Men scene, numerous tabloid rumors and online gossip about her relationship status, and “1950s expectations.” “When Jack brought us in the hear for the first time, all our mouths dropped. She took it to a whole new world and made it her own. She created different pockets we did not hear.”

Glitch: Early 2022 (Speculation)

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: "Glitch,” one of the bonus songs on the Midnights (3am) edition, was born from the same studio session as “Lavender Haze.” I don't know if this means the instrumentals to Lavender Haze and Glitch were done in the same session, Taylor wrote the lyrics in the same session, or both. For the same reason as Lavender Haze, I lean towards this coming later in the process, as well as Glitch mentioning being together for six years, and in November 2021 Taylor and Joe had been together for a little over 5 years. That being said, Taylor could've assume the album was going to come out in 2022, and that she would stay with Joe until then, and bump up that date a bit. It's still very up in the air.

February 5, 2022: Taylor is photographed leaving Jack's house holding a keyboard.

Sweet Nothing: Spring 2022 (Inferring)

Joe is a co-write on this, meaning they likely wrote it after he got back from filming. It also mentions their trip to Ireland in 2021 and refers to it as "last July", implying it was written in 2022. While I was writing this timeline Taylor liked this post on twitter, implying that at least the second verse is in reference to Paul and Linda McCartney. The quote is from his poem Blessed, which you can read in this interview (TWs for death and cancer)

Bigger Than The Whole Sky: March 2022 (Inferring)

Claire Winter, a close friend of Taylor's, posts on Instagram that she miscarried. (I toyed with whether or not to add this, but seeing as Claire Winter made the information public herself, I decided to put it in. If she ever takes that Instagram post down, let me know and I'll delete this part.)

Snow on the Beach: April 1, 2022 (Inferring)

On April 1, Lana Del Rey posts a video on Instagram of Jack in the studio with an unidentified female voice in the background. Two days later she posts this photo, which Taylor and Jack both include in posts about Midnights/Snow on the Beach. Lana: Well, first of all, I had no idea I was the only feature [on that song]. Had I known, I would have sung the entire second verse like she wanted. My job as a feature on a big artist’s album is to make sure I help add to the production of the song, so I was more focused on the production. She was very adamant that she wanted me to be on the album, and I really liked that song. I thought it was nice to be able to bridge that world, since Jack [Antonoff] and I work together and so do Jack and Taylor. Taylor: And with Snow On The Beach, which features the genius Lana Del Rey, very lucky to have collaborated with her on that. And Dylan [O’Brien] was actually in the studio with me and Jack, because a lot of the time we record at his place, and Dylan was just hanging out, drinking wine with us, and listening to stuff, and he was just trying out the drum kit there. He wasn't serious. But we were drinking wine, and we were sort of like, 'We haven't recorded the drums for this one yet! See if you want to...' and he played the drums on the song. Sometimes it just happens like that. (transcript once again from jaimie)

Karma: Spring 2022 (Speculation)

Rolling Stone interview with Sounwave: The bubbly “Karma” came later [than Lavender Haze and Glitch], when Antonoff reached out to Spears for any other ideas he may have to contribute to the album and its synth-pop vision. “‘Karma’ was just a last-minute Hail Mary,” Spears says. “I remembered I was working with my guy Keanu [Beats] and had something that was too perfect not to send to her. As soon as I sent it, Jack was instantly like ‘This is the one. Playing it for Taylor now. We’re going in on it.’ The next day, I heard the final product with her vocals on it.”

April 19, 2022: Elle's interview with the Conversations with Friends cast is released, and when Joe is "asked if he hopes to continue writing songs, Alwyn simply says, “It’s not a plan of mine, no.”" It's possible this means Sweet Nothing was yet to be written, but I think it's more likely Joe was just denying in order to not create hype around a song that wasn't officially announced yet.

May 2022: Taylor teases Labyrinth lyrics in her NYU Commencement Speech and says m i d n i g h t very prominently on this instagram post, meaning by early summer she was likely confident in the album's name and which songs would make the tracklist.

And that's all for this timeline! Check out my others:

TIMELINES: debut • fearless • speak now • red • 1989 • rep • lover • folklore • evermore • midnights PLAYLISTS: debut • fearless • speak now • red • 1989 • rep • lover • folklore • evermore • midnights • entire discography GENERAL: tag

[thehours2002]

Elsbeth Tascioni Fact-Finding Mission

Part 4

Elsbeth S01E01

She's come to New York to be an outside observer because of a consent decree issued because of a history of wrongful arrest lawsuits. (Or at least that's her cover story.)

She goes to open houses on Sundays to see how other people live.

She's a Wicked stan! (Also she said cast album, not soundtrack. Queen of knowing her musical theatre terminology.)

She loves The Lion King movie. (I'm assuming the animated one...)

She took the job because she wanted to find the truth instead of defending people in court who she sometimes knew were guilty. The DOJ agent who recruited her is Celetano.

She's kooky when she drinks! This makes it sound like she doesn't drink at all unlike in TGW when she said that she only dances when she "drinks a lot."

She's an amateur baker... The phrase "I found this book on baking and I thought I'd give it a try" is so funny to me. As if she's like, "Oh, yeah, baking exists. Maybe I could get into that."

[djkerr]

TGW 05x17 A Material World

Kalinda finds this picture among Will's things...

Thought this picture looked familiar

[personinthepalace]

Hey. Hey. How old do you think Lucy is. In the goes wrong stuff. I’m haunted by this I genuinely don’t know how old she’s supposed to be.

haha I am also not sure! But I am going to try to reason it out: We know that Lucy is younger than the rest of the Cornley cast. And during Play That Goes Wrong, most of the cast were taking classes in Cornley Polytechnic, which from what I understand is like uni. I'm American so my best guess is that people would start uni/college around 17 or 18. Let's round up a bit and say that as of Peter Pan Goes Wrong (BBC 2016), most of the cornley cast were around 20 years old.

We are operating under the assumption that as of ppgw, Lucy hasn't started uni or polytechnic yet (I believe there is a play program somewhere that says that she is part of a youth program??). I am going to assume that she is at least 5 years younger than most of the cast, making her 15 years old during ppgw.

Now we are going to fast forward to The Goes Wrong Show series 2, which came out in 2021. That is 5 years later so we can assume that as 2021, Lucy was at least 19 or 20 years old

Hope that helps! So basically I think that Lucy was 15 years old during ppgw (2016) and 19 or 20 years old during There Is No Escape (tgws series 2) (2021)

But this is just my own speculations! I am curious to hear what other people think :)

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

mischief cast in the hatchetfield series (version 2)

hello. in january, i did a series of "mischief members cast in starkid shows" posts, which i did for most of their shows. i did a casting of hatchetfield during this series, but i only based the castings on the guy who didn't like musicals and black friday, as at this point in time, it had been a while since i had watched nightmare time season 1, i hadn't yet watched nightmare time season 2, and nerdy prudes must die hadn't come out yet. but now that i've watched everything, i figured i should update my casting. quite a few of these roles have been switched around from how i originally had them, because of how additional roles changed my perspective.

some notes that i made in the original series but will reiterate now, plus an extra one:

vocals did not play a part in the castings because i didn't want to limit myself and also because i can't tell what vocal types people are. so this is purely based on acting abilities.

i only used cast members from filmed shows because they're who i'm familiar with. so basically tgws and mmni cast members only. (there is a single exception to this).

now the extra note. i have cast all of them as if they're taking over a starkid members parts (aka someone will be playing all of jon matteson's parts, etc). however, if two different starkid people play a character during different shows (most notably the recasting of r*bert m*nion's roles in nmt2) i have changed it so that only one mischief actor plays that part. for which actor i gave these doubled up roles to, i gave priority to the stage shows over nightmare time. a good example of this is the lords in black - i have counted their actors as the person who played them in npmd, no matter who played them in nmt. the only character that this is a little complicated for is peter spankoffski, as he's been played by three different people, but i've put him as joey's character over r*bert's, as he has a more prominent role in npmd than in tgwdlm. hopefully that makes sense!

also you can see my original casting here. just so you can see what's changed. i would recommend reading this one first because the ones i kept the same are mostly just "see previous explanation".

casting under the readmore!

paul matthews / wiggly / gary goldstein / paul 23 / roman murray / boy jerry / daniel / richie lipshitz: jonathan sayer

this was hard because i moved my first choice for this role to a different character, but i think jono could do it! dennis has the awkward vibes paul does, and i feel like from what we see of him in mmni, jono is unhinged enough to play every other character /lh. my personal favourite character for jono to play is richie though.

emma perkins / donna daggit / linda monroe / madame iris / emdroid / mary / courtney / ruth fleming / blinky: nancy zamit

listen. nancy as linda monroe could fix me. okay. i just think she'd smash any and all of these characters.

bill woodward / frank pricely / solomon lauter / jason jepson / pokey: harry kershaw

this one is the same as my old casting, so i won't spend much explanation on it, but it's perfect, okay?

charlotte sweetly / nora / deb / colonel schaffer / sherman young / jane perkins / pamela foster / sheila young / marco: charlie russell

this is also the same as before, but the addition of sheila is the one that solidified this for me. we know she can play sexy villains. we've seen it in mmni. the prime minister in star paws, madame castaway in a dice with death (i know she isn't the villain in that one but she's got the same vibe). this also goes for jane. charlie russell playing villains for the win.

ted spankoffski / dan reynolds / wilbur cross / cineplex teen / malone / ezekiel / thrash / peter spankoffski: dave hearn

although he wasn't who i landed on previously, i had already strongly considered him for this role, and i eventually decided that he did fit this role better after all. i mean, we love villain dave in this house, so wilbur and ezekiel are covered. i also think he has the range to play pete as well, as we've seen him play those awkward kind of characters in mmni. i think he's definitely right for the part.

professor hidgens / ethan green / tony green: joshua elliott

same as previous casting and not much to add.

mr davidson / sam sweetly / general macnamara / barry swift / chumby the ape-man / papa sniggle / andy kilgore / gabe / skud: henry lewis

okay hear me out on this one. the initial reason i considered him for this role is because mcnamara's voice in tgwdlm reminded me of his chesney hawkes voice in light over the rocks. then i thought about it some more and i feel like he could really rock all of these roles? idk i just think he could do it.

alice woodward / greenpeace girl / melissa / zoey chambers / stephanie lauter / webby: rhyanna alexander-davis

same as previous. i think the added characters are really great for her as well. like rhyanna as steph??? come onnnn.

tom houston / gerald monroe / bob metzger: chris leask

okay listen. chris leask has that rugged dad kind of vibe that tom has. i said what i said. it works sooo well. you cannot tell me you don't see where i'm coming from on this one.

becky barnes / sylvia / jenny / miss holloway / girl jeri / karen chasity / miss mullberry / stacy / nibbly: lauren shearing

this was perfect casting the first time and i stand by that!!!

lex foster / lucy stockworth / snigglette / willabella muckwab / hailey / grace chasity: ellie morris

i also stand by this one! i feel like once again, she isn't the obvious choice for any of these, but i think she has a range that i want to see explored.

hannah foster / tim houston: susan harrison

idk how to explain it i just think it's a role i'd love to see her in.

howard goodman / jonathan brisby / duke keane / zach chambers / lumber-axe / eddie chiplucky / mark chasity / officer bailey / kyle clauger / tinky: greg tannahill

once again another example of perfect casting the first time. i am a genius /j. the most notable addition to me is duke, and i think he absolutely has the heart to play him.

xander lee / bob morris / watcher world barker / river monroe / noah / charles: niall ransome

it still fits. not much to add tbh.

rose / sophia / detective shapiro / brenda: bryony corrigan

okay, of all of these the only one i struggle to imagine her as is rose, but even then i don't think that's beyond her capabilities? like idk i just could really see her as shapiro tbh.

ziggs / kale: scott hunter

i did say there was a single exception to the "only tgws or mmni rule"! because ofc i have to cast non-binary icon scott hunter as non-binary icon jae hughes.

max jägerman: henry shields

this role was super hard to cast. partially because will branner hasn't played any other characters yet so i haven't seen his range, and also because will brings such a specific energy to this character that i think is hard to replicate? he's an excellent addition to starkid. anyway i thought shields was probably the best bet for casting this role, purely because max reminds me very slightly of kyle from primary cape crusader. there's just a specific vibe and shields was the only one i felt could fit that.

[glorf1ndel]

WIP game

Saw this on my dash and thought it'd be fun! 😄

Rules:

In a new post, post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post.

Five WIP filenames:

Finarfin Eonwë

Glorestor Strange Bedfellows

Samfro

TGW

Thuringwethil

Really creative file names, as you can see. XD

Here's a snippet from TGW: Maedhros takes a step forward; Lúthien's granddaughter steps back. Standing on the precipice of the cliff, Elwing casts a brief glance at the sea. She clutches the Silmaril to her chest, unwilling to let go.

I'll tag @shirebarbie @lady-of-imladris @polutrope and anyone who wants to join! No pressure, of course.

[djkerr]

TGW 03x12 Alienation of Affection

The Good Wife 3x12 “Alienation of Affection”

[djkerr]

Diane Lockhart, David Lee and introducing new cast member Lucca Quinn

TGW 07x01 Bond

[laufire]

the good wife for the fandom ask!

I checked and the last ask meme I (self-)reblogged was this one:

feel like doing the one where you send me a fandom and I’ll tell you my top 3/5 favourite characters (depending on the size of the cast) and my singular most hated one.

If you meant something else feel free to send out another ask :P

But honestly? I have no idea what my Top 5 for this show would be lol. I really like Kalinda, but her storylines could let me down and it meant I never really got overly invested. Peter is... Peter, but my GOD are his plots entertaining xD. Eli Gold is a treasure. Alicia as a person is... well, Alicia, but I love following her plot and she's very, VERY hot. Diane is plainly amazing in everything except her choice of husband, but it didn't get as bad in TGW yet. Lucca Quinn is great. Elsbeth Tascioni? Pure, distilled perfection. I have a soft spot for Grace. And Marisa Gold (although for both her and Lucca, The Good Fight is part of why I like them). The show also had the most delightful array of guest stars I've ever encountered (all the annoying rival layers and weirdo judges and irksome clients añsdlkfjaf. Very realistic!).

So idk. Pick anyone from that list. In any order. It fluctuated.

As for least favourite... idk either. In a different show it would've 100% being Will, but circumstances conspired and I'm actually fond of the guy LOL. Hmm... that blonde layer that liked to play the ingenue got on my nerves... Nancy? Nancy Crozier. My reaction to her was exactly the same as Alicia's xD

[jakeowen]

i don’t think a spinoff over a decade later has to make casting decisions beholden to the original show but meg & i just hit season four in our tgw watch and clark hayden is throwing me for a loop after the elsbeth season premiere

[cornley-amateur-drama-society]

I'm gnawing upon this like that video of the tiny dog with that bigass stick

Under the cut because we know how I am a;ldksfja;ld

Post-writing edit: Jesus I really went in with this one, aye? Hope you enjoy it anyway 😅😅😅

---《||》---

So I'm picturing this as a situation where it's just him and Nessa at A&E still. Everyone else was cleared to sleep off the tranquillizers, but due to her past with being knocked about on the head, the doctor wanted to keep her overnight for observation. Trevor had to act as the rest of the cast's personal cabbie, driving them home. Chris doesn't know how the rest of the night went, back at the Theatre, and his phone had been on silent the entire time until now because he was backstage, and then he was talking with the doctors and nurses, and trying to coordinate with Trev about everyone else. He is not wearing the Prince of Wales getup, having managed at least get his trou back on and toss off the elaborate coat, leaving him in a pair of navy slacks and a plain white T-shirt.

Also, because this is me we're talking about, there's also some ChrisNessa in here, in part because of my personal headcanons about both of their parents.

“She's fine,” Doctor Samander “Sam” Aarons reassured him. “Like Erika said, we're jus' keeping her overnight for observation.”

“Right, right,” Chris agreed weakly, trying to keep his eyes from darting over to Vanessa again and again and again. “Because of her history with head injuries.”

Doctor Sam smiled sympathetically at him. Zyr brown eyes were understanding as ze said, “She'll be righ' as rain, Chris. We both know how resilient she is.” Doctor Sam joked lightly. Zyrself, Nurse Erika Rodgers, and the Nurse at Reception Nerys Bogman were the three of the five members of staff at Cornley A&E who regularly saw to the Cast when they came in.

Zyr pager beeped, and Doctor Sam pat Chris on the shoulder—his good one—a few times before ze reminded him, “Nerys'll come check up on you and Ness in a bit. You know where to find her or Erika if something happens.”

“Thanks, Sam,” he said, a wan smile somehow making it to his face. Ze gave him one last glance as they left the room, the shadows from the dimmed lights making zyr expression difficult to read. Zyr pager beeped once more, and like a ghost, ze vanished.

Chris let out a deep sigh, going to the chairs next to the bed where Vanessa was unconscious, hooked up to a few machines. He ought to see how Trevor was doing, or maybe see how the end of the filming went with Jonathan's ensemble piece. What he really wanted to do was collapse into bed with his weighted blanket, Vanessa curled up next to him, and her fluffy cat Othello at their knees.

He collapsed into one of the chairs and, after staring at Vanessa for some unknown to him amount of time, he pulled out his phone. He didn't even bother to look at any notifications at first, his phone unlocking to show the text message chain he had with Trevor. The arrow to the main screen—that is, the screen which shows all of his text messages—was highlighted, letting him know that he had more unopened and unseen texts to look through. He hoped that they would just be messages from the techies or some of his and Vanessa's friends, perhaps even Mrs. Bennett or Mrs. Twilloil checking in on them. But he knew, even before looking, who the messages were probably from.

He'd barely managed to hit send on a text asking Trevor if everyone got home safe before his screen was lighting up with “INCOMING CALL FROM Mum”.

He swallowed, standing up and moving away to the far corner of the room before answering the call.

“Hello?” He greeted quietly, not wanting to disturb Vanessa.

“Hello? Hello? That's how you greet me after two hours of ignoring my worried calls and messages?” The voice of his Mum immediately kicks off in his ear.

“I'm at hospital, Mum,” Chris tried to explain, “and the rest of the Cast were incapacitated. Only Trevor and I were able to coordinate with the staff.”

“I am aware you are at A&E,” she said, her tone even and measured. “I watched tonight's, tonight's disaster.”

The slight joy he felt at hearing that his Mum had watched the show was immediately cut by her summation of it.

“How could you be so reckless,” she asked, and for the briefest of moments, he thought that she was talking about the mix-up with the tranquillizers. But she continued, “wearing the outfit of the Prince of Wales and prancing around like that! Violet watches your plays, you know, and now Raymond—your father—will have to answer to her husband Mark why you were in your pants on national television. And with the Union Jack printed on them, no less.”

Chris clenches his jaw, trying to remember what Sandra had told him about letting his Mum's criticisms get to him. But this time… This time, she'd watched their performances! It was different, right now, to what Sandra had said to him about their other showings. It was!

“It was a farce, Mum,” he said quietly, “from nineteen seventy-nine. It was supposed to be a comical, sort of, play.”

“And laughing at, making fun of the Royal Family? Is that what passes for comedy nowadays? Is that what your Father and I raised you to do? Spit on our National Heritage?”

“I,” he tried, “I'm sorry, Mum. Annie picked the show, the roles. It wasn't my choice.” He hated that he could feel tears start to build under his skin.

“At least the radio play you did didn't involve anyone getting hurt,” Mum said after a few moments of silence, her voice softer now. More like the Mum he distantly remembered from his early childhood.

But what she said was wrong. Wasn't it? Sure, Trevor didn't get himself while drumming with hammers or throwing bricks around or shooting a gun into the air. But Sandra got hurt. Granted, it wasn't as serious as some Cornley injuries could be, but she must've got hurt by breathing in Dennis' deodorant spray. Right?

“But wouldn't Sandra have got hurt by the wrong spray?” He couldn't stop himself from asking his Mum. He bit at the inside of his lower lip.

“… She seemed to be speaking perfectly fine during the farce,” Mum replied, the chill in her voice rising some.

“Right, of course,” he said quickly, wanting to appease her in any way he could.

Silence fell on the line again, and Chris started digging his nails into the palm of his free hand. He daren't look back at Vanessa, sure that seeing her looking so unnaturally calm would make an already poor moment turn worse.

“I just,” Mum started, then stopped, unusually hesitant. Chris tilted his head in concerned confusion, though he was aware, somewhere in the back of his mind, that it wouldn't matter. She wasn't here to see him.

“Mum?” He prompted when she didn't continue speaking after a few seconds. He was tempted to pull his phone away from his ear to see if the call had dropped, when she started speaking again.

“I just wonder why you keep that man in black on the payroll,” she finally said, “he doesn't seem to do all that well at his job. Just look at poor Vanessa,” she sighed loud enough on her end of the line that he could hear it.

“What,” he stopped himself when his voice cracked. Swallowing, he tried to ask again, “What about Vanessa?”

“Well, if you would've been stronger in talking to the cast after their shoddy attempt to take the role of Director from you like your Father had said,” Mum's voice was kind, her words wrapping around him the way her arms rarely did. “This wouldn't have happened.”

Chris felt more ice in his veins start to appear. He could barely muster out a questioning hum, his mind was so focused on what she was telling him.

“Vanessa getting shot with a tranquillizer gun, her not having any actual role in that radio drama,” Mum listed off seemingly carelessly, “Vanessa wouldn't be in hospital if you had put your foot down like Raymond's been telling you to all these years.” Her voice had grown stiff and harsh again, and Chris wasn't sure where the anger in her voice was directed: at himself for not being strong enough, or at the perceived failings of the Cast.

“It's not your fault, of course, Chris, dear,” Mum said, her voice back to being the sweet and gentle sound he always strived to hear from her, “but… No. No, I shouldn't say anything more.”

“No, Mum, it's alright,” he said, part of him screaming at himself that he should've hung up the phone on her ages ago. “What were you going to say?”

“Oh, dear,” she laughed—the way he'd heard her laugh at gatherings in the evenings growing up with the other women in her sewing circle. It had always sounded slightly off to him, and he could never quite figure out why. “I, well, I was just going to say that it wasn't your fault that this happened to Vanessa, but… It also was, a little bit, don't you agree?”

His breath caught at her words, and his doubts and insecurities about everything that had happened over that night, over the past several months after the coup, took her words as Truth. It was his fault that Nessa is hurt, wasn't it? If he had done better at getting on Trevor about stage safety, making sure that the window box from Summer, Once Again and the Royal Crest from The Most Lamentable were secured to the walls of the set properly, maybe Vanessa wouldn't have to be here right now. Maybe the two of them could be back at her flat—a place that's nearly become synonymous with home to him—curled up under the covers, a cat purring away happily on the bed with them. Maybe he really did get Vanessa hurt. He didn't pull the trigger of the tranquillizer gun, not physically, but in a way, he did. Didn't he?

He felt fingers carefully grasping his hand and wrist, pulling the phone away from his ear. Glazed eyes lighted upon someone familiar—Nerys, his mind makes the connection a few beats later, as if he was thinking in sludge—puts the phone up to her face.

“Sorry,” Nerys' gentle voice said after she took the phone away from his frozen self, “Chris has sustained a concussion, and it is the Doctor's order that he not be on any sort of electronic device for the next few days as he heals.”

Chris can see, in a vague sort of sense, how the corners of Nerys' eyes tighten, how her smile becomes even more plastered on than before.

“Thank you for understanding that no one, not even the Director of the Cornley Drama Society, can disobey Doctor's orders. Have a good night.” She said, evidently bowling right over whatever it was Mum was saying to her.

After she hung up, the tension on Nerys' face seemed to melt away, and she turned to face Chris more fully. “Sam said that you are not to use any electronic devices until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Ze've already told Trev, and he knows to text me any updates about the rest of the Cast if anything happens overnight.”

Chris blinks several times, mind still working overtime to catch up to the current proceedings. His physical awareness starts to come back in pieces, the feeling of the floor solidly under his feet, the chill in his limbs as the numbness begins to leave them. The way he felt clammy all over, yet still too warm.

Nerys set his phone down on top of the cabinet next to Vanessa's bed before helping him to the chairs next to her. She was awake now, eyes still slightly hazy from the ketamine—which, honestly, could only be expected—and those hazy eyes were watching him, a frown on Vanessa's face accompanying the look.

His own brow wrinkled in return, though his look was one of confusion. Did he miss her waking up? When did it happen? Another thought struck. How much did she see? Did she hear?

Nerys rubbed his shoulder gently as he took Vanessa's free hand, the one without the IV or blood pressure moniter attached. The nurse puttered about the couple in silence, only the steady beeps from the moniters interrupting. She finished her check-up, wrote the results on the clipboard at the end of Nessa's bed, and left them with a small, polite smile.

As her footsteps faded away, Chris allowed himself to fully collapse against the bed, against Vanessa. His head leaned heavily into her thigh, near where it met her hip, and her grip on his hand tightened. Her other hand comes to rest on his head, her thumb stroking back and forth through his hair. He knew that once he was feeling better—once he'd slept some, gotten out of the costume, and washed his face—that they'd talk about this. He was starting to put the pieces together in his mind for how, exactly, Nerys had known to come to the room.

He knew that tomorrow would be filled with soft words, murmured reassurances, and the sound of a cat meowing behind the door to a flat. He knew the day after would be full of talks with Sandra and Max and Jonathan, even, about boundaries again. How to tell his parents when to stop, how to tell himself not to pick up their calls.

But for now, Chris falls into the sleep one only gets when they're emotionally and physically drained, the sounds of steady beeping and fingers brushing through hair accompanying him to the Land of Nod.

*shakes you by the shoulders* HOW DO YOU THINK CHRIS' PARENTS REACTED TO SEEING HIM WEARING THE UNION JACK ON HIS PANTS AND FLOUNCING AROUND WITH A "WEH HEH HEUH" LAUGH IN A UNIFORM AT THE END OF ANNIE'S PLAY FOR THIRTY SECONDS???

HOW LONG WAS IT THAT THE SHOW WAS AIRED THAT CELIA AND RAYMOND WERE ON THE PHONE TO TALK TO HIM ABOUT HOW NOT ONLY DID HE DISGRACE THEM BY DOING THAT, BUT HE DISGRACED THE COUNTRY AS WELL?

HOW MANY TIMES DID THEY USE NESSA'S GETTING KNOCKED OUT AND CARRIED OUT AS ANOTHER PART TO THEIR GUILT TRIPS AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH

[personinthepalace]

70s family portrait

[the-irrelevant-trumpeter]

mischief members cast in starkid shows part 3: holy musical batman

batman: niall ransome

struggled with this one, but i think niall could commit to being as silly but dramatic as this role is. also the batman and robin duo would be iconic.

superman: henry shields

i think he could get the boastful arrogant side down, but also the kind of self-conscious and people pleasing element. if you want a specific line, i can hear him saying “that’s because i do my damn job” SO CLEARLY.

alfred: chris leask

i don’t know don’t look at me

robin: jonathan sayer

maybe it’s because of the nightmare on bone street duo of him and niall. maybe it’s because he and nick lang are both short. who knows. he simply fits the vibe.

sweet tooth: joshua elliott

i see an absolutely unhinged character and think “oh josh should play this part”. trevor noun vibes.

green lantern / scarecrow: greg tannahill

i know i’m mainly basing this off tgws or mmni, but also green lantern made me think of cooper from tcaabr. i think he could do the friendly but unhelpful energy. i haven’t thought about scarecrow or the narrator but i trust him with the role.

commissioner gordon: susan harrison

my mind immediately jumped to penelope in joffrey’s body from over the henge. i simply think she’d be great as an old man. also she could smash calendar man, just saying.

candy / poison ivy: charlie russell

charlie likes making things not family friendly. candy makes innuendos. i think it fits.

penguin / ensemble: harry kershaw

specifically him as the commissioner’s second in command/officer guy (whatever the fuck he’s called).

mr freeze / ensemble: henry lewis

he simply fits the vibe

sherlock holmes / ensemble: matt cavendish

ngl i forgot this part existed and then couldn’t remember a single thing about it (it’s been a while since i’ve watched hmb). so honestly i’m just hoping that this works. apologies if not, there were only two people left i could cast in this one and i landed on matt.

vikki vale / ensemble: nancy zamit

has she played a reporter before? if not she should.

catwoman/ ensemble: ellie morris

if i’m being honest, it was imagining her as the pizza lady that convinced me. like obviously she’d smash all of it but. idk i just really vividly saw her as the pizza lady.

riddler / ensemble: bryony corrigan

not to cast based on a very minor character again, but i really saw her as the tgi friday’s worker. sue me.