Chapter Text
Coming Up on Grim Speaks:
“You said what to the headmage?!”
“Okay- no, no no no—“
“Shit, I think imma need some popcorn for this”
“Wait so why did you call it ‘Grim Speaks’?”
“WHY ARE WE INTERROGATING THE INTERVIEWER?”
“Da-dada-da-dada-da Macerna!”
“Ending the rumors now, we are not together—”
“OH, OH, THEY KISSED! THEY KISSED ON CAMERA!”
“Well I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I hate every single person here—”
“I fear I’ve lost control of this interview…”
˙✧˖°🎬 ༘ ⋆｡˚
The light shone brightly on Yuu, her bangs tickling her cheeks slightly. They had already gotten some shots of her “getting ready” to put as the intro of this episode. Now she was focused on making sure her desk looked orderly, mindlessly fixing up a pile of useless papers that just made her look important.
It helps with the visual.
People scuffled back and forth in the production area, cameras being hosted up and actually useful papers being flipped over and over. A teleprompter sat next to the main camera, the only actually important thing she would be reading throughout the entirety of today. Someone sat behind it, hastily typing on a keyboard what she assumed was meant to be her introduction. They had already finalized the actual interview questions earlier that week.
“You don’t need to fuss so much over that.” Yuu said, in what she had hoped was a calming voice. “I’ve done this introduction so many times now, if I need to come up with one off the top of my head I’m sure I could.”
It wasn’t really as if she was lying, Yuu had this job for years now. Every intro was relatively the same, minus explaining just who she was interviewing. The good thing was however, she was very well aware of the guests on the show today. Besides, she knew the person furiously typing was their new intern. The last one quit so quickly, and Yuu frankly didn’t want to go through the whole hiring process again. She liked this one.
Apparently one of her staff members disagreed, clicking her tongue as she stood over the shoulder of the intern. “With all due respect, Miss Yuu, this one should absolutely be stressing. This is a high value interview, and we were generous enough to give the introduction to an intern. It should have been completed hours ago, not right before we are meant to start recording.”
The poor intern practically squeaked, the typing speed increasing tenfold. Yuu just shook her head, feeling sorry for the poor thing. She remembers being the new hire, scared of everyone around her and desperate to not lose the chance that she got. Poor guy just needed a little encouragement, that’s all.
“I finished! I— ahem, I finished Ma’am.” Yuu laughed lightly to herself, watching the intern tamper his excitement on completing his task. He probably shouldn’t be shining in glee upon completing his literal job, but Yuu felt proud of him. She felt this kind of motherly proud towards all her staff.
“Finally, good. Hurry up and put it into the teleprompter, I don’t have time to grammar check it.” The staffer rushed around, clearly relieved they finally had a script. She might have had a point earlier in saying the intro should’ve been completed already, but all’s well that ends well. “Miss Yuu, are you reading to start rolling?”
“All clear here!”
“Is everybody ready to begin?” A chorus of yes’s echoed throughout the lot, everyone more than happy to finally being recording. “Alright places then! In three…two…one…”
A bright red light fluttered on from the camera, a click signifying that the on air sign on Yuu’s desk also brightly shined red. The teleprompter flickered to life, words quickly running across the screen, giving Yuu the exact words to say.
“Hello everyone and welcome back to Grim Speaks, your favorite interview show that acts like it’s live, even though it’s not.” Yuu giggled slightly at that, after all it’s true. The only thing they’re missing from being live is the live audience. “What can we say, we like our editing.”
People still shuffled behind the camera, attempting to remain as quiet as possible. “My name is Yuure Mama, but just call me Yuu, and I’ll be your host! Afterall, I’m everybody’s favorite, hehe.
“Recently, there’s been a lotta buzz about a new series coming to Disknee. It’s got a lotta main characters, many of them played by some of your favorite actors. I’ve seen so many people complain about the lack of anything shared from this series. Well, do I have special treat for you all~”
In the back, a large metal door creaked open, people filling in while mindlessly chattering, quickly being silenced and ushered off to have any bits of makeup finished. “We here at Grim Speaks have been lucky enough to be chosen as the first spot on the press tour for the new series Night Raven College! Woohoo!” Yuu started clapping, as she felt was right, and the crew from behind the camera joined in as well, cheering lightly. “See, even the crew gets it!
“And get this,” she leans forward on her desk, mimicking telling a secret, as the camera zooms in as well. “We got every single main cast member.” The camera zoomed out as more cheering and clapping occurred. “That’s right! Instead of all of them being split apart, like what’s bound to happen later in the tour, we managed to get all twenty-two main cast members to sit down for an interview with us in just a moment!
“Now, that’s a lot of people, even for us. So they’re gonna be split into three groups, all with questions tailored to them! That just means all of you watching will have to stay tuned for the whole thing, I promise you it’s gonna be a fun time. But first, as always, we gotta go over a few things. Plus this gives our guests some time to finish their makeup, so win win!”
Yuu sat up straighter, holding out her hand to count on her fingers. “Number one! We are respectful to every single guest we have on this show, we make sure that anything we ask them they are okay with being asked. So yes, all of our questions have been screened and approved, we like our guests coming back. We give our audience the option to submit some possible interview questions, so when doing so, please be respectful and try not to ask anything too private. They are celebrities, but people first.
“Two, as said before we like having a live-style interview show, but without the live audience. So we try to keep everything as little edited as possible. We do like having some edited moments though, even if we only film these a week in advance. So, don’t be surprised if you see some interesting things.
“Three! This is an interview of the cast of Disknee’s Night Raven College, a brand new show releasing soon. Def show them some love when it does release. If you don’t know it, it’s a super awesome show about a magical college and its students, all coming across what are seemingly mundane problems. These students struggle with undiscussed traumas and learn how to overcome real struggles. And of course, there’s a ton of magic! If that doesn’t interest you, that’s fine. I’ve got tons of other interviews with tons of other really cool people, all episodes of Grim Speaks are online! Go watch those too!
“And last but not least, I like to have fun with my guests. I become friends with many of the people that come on to this show, I also encourage everyone to be themselves! So things can definitely get a bit crazy! We get loud and yes, we curse. So any little kiddos watching with their parents right now, it might be time for you to head to bed anyway! Sweet dreams!” Yuu waved her hand at the camera, same as she always did at this part. She knew it likely wasn’t to actually dissuade children from watching, but she had no plans to be held accountable for such a thing.
“With all that being said, I think we’re ready to move onto the show. So hold onto your hats everyone, and let’s get into some Grim Speaks.” At that, the red light from the camera flickered off as someone yell cut in the back. Suddenly people started running around, moving chairs and sofas to accommodate the large amount of people about to flood the set.
Yuu realized by the way the intern was scrambling without any clear direction that he wasn’t really prepared for what was about to happen. “Hey! You over there!” She called out.
“Me?” He pointed a finger to his chest, absolutely confused while still looking around, surely thinking she was talking to anyone else. He looked a bit like that one TikTok meme.
“Yeah, you, c’mere.” He shuffled over to Yuu, clearly looking uncertain, something that made her just laugh internally. So shy. “So hey, clearly you’re new around here.”
“Oh no, is it that obvious?”
“Hm, well to me, I’d hope so. I did hire you after all.” The poor intern just smacked his forehead, obviously having forgotten that fact. “You also look a bit like a lost lamb.”
“I’m so so sorry Miss for my poor performance—"
“No no, really you have been doing fine. I think some of the more senior members of my team just have high expectations is all. I called you over here though because I have a task for you.”
“Really?”
“Mhm.” Yuu smiled sweetly, tilting her head to the side. “I see a lot of potential in you. It’s why you’re interning here in the first place, and that intro was honestly really good. Like you’ve been doin’ it for years. However, you’re not so good with the quick-paced stuff.”
“Ma’am I’m so sorry—“
“I want you to watch what happens in this interview today, like really really watch what goes on. You keep your eyes on me and my guests the whole time. If something goes wrong or we need anything directly from the crew, you’re on it. If today goes well, I think I have an actual position with your name on it.”
The intern was completely gobsmacked. “Are…are you being serious right now?”
“Dead. Think of today as a test of sorts. I’ll take care of notifying everyone about this change of plans, so don’t worry about that front. Just do what you believe you are meant to.”
“This is…such an incredible opportunity Ma’am, thank you so much—“
“Make no mistake though, this is still a test. I’ve met just about all the guests today, and woah are you in for a treat. They are insane, things will get loud and I don’t think I’ll stay in control of the interview for very long. So, be prepared for that.” Yuu nodded her head towards people walking out of the hallway for dressing rooms, around six proudly walking out and chattering loudly. Different members of the crew tried to corral them together and towards the set, but all efforts fell on deaf ears.
It took until Yuu called them over, one of them by name, that they actually started heading in the right direction. A red-head was leading the pack, clearly talking the loudest out of everyone and very unceremoniously dropping himself on the couch. Next to Yuu, the intern gulped nervously. “Should uhm, should I be scared?”
A devilish smile overtook her features. “Oh, definitely.” She watched as the rest of the first group took their seats on the couch, settling around the redhead. She vaguely recognized another group walking through the large metal doors and making their way, far quieter, into the hallway for makeup. She turned fully back towards the inter. “Well, what are you still doing here? Go take a seat, the shows about to start!”