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1Okay, you know [[CastCalculus how many characters you want in your cast]], [[CastSpeciation what roles they'll play]], and even [[ColourCodedCharacters picked out a color scheme for each]]! But how do you gather them into a cast? Here's a few ways writers use to bring together their diverse cast:
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3* '''AvengersAssemble:''' The lead has a mission, and purposely goes about assembling a team to get it done.
4** Seen in: ''Film/OceansEleven'', ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', and, of course Marvel's ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''.
5* '''[[RecruitmentByRescue Daring Rescue]]:''' The hero gets TheCall when a PursuedProtagonist and/or DamselInDistress crashes into their life and asks for help. This method tends to combine well with the others listed here, with the PursuedProtagonist crashing into a classroom, or TheHero using AvengersAssemble to gather a rescue party.
6** Seen in: ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'', ''Literature/TheHobbit'', ''Sorcerer's Kingdom''.
7* '''ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive''': As above, but the hero is initially the person in danger rather than the rescuer.
8** Seen in: ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}''
9* '''DebutQueue:''' Each character is met and run into separately and consecutively in the [[MagneticHero Magnetic]] [[TheHerosJourney Hero's Journey]]. Sometimes each new character brings more into the fray because it's a CharacterMagneticTeam, leading to a CastOfSnowflakes. Sometimes it happens because DefeatMeansFriendship as the hero is just that sympathetic.
10** Seen in: ''Film/{{Krull}}'', ''Film/SevenSamurai'', ''Manga/DragonBall'', ''Manga/OnePiece'', ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', ''Franchise/MassEffect''.
11* '''EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether:''' The characters are all classmates, part of the same military unit, or [[EveryoneIsRelated are a family]] and knew each other well before the events of the story. So when one of them gets TheCall, they all choose to make it a conference call. However, it's not uncommon for them all to share the same fate/destiny and get the call simultaneously, something an older character may have wanted to ensure by putting the future protagonists together for this purpose... when it isn't [[YouALLShareMyStory some vague force of fate doing it]], that is.
12** Seen in: ''Literature/HarryPotter'', ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', ''Franchise/XMen'', ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''.
13* '''Geographical Convenience:''' All the cast meets in a single location, be it an [[YouAllMeetInAnInn inn]], [[YouAllMeetInACell prison cell]] or a [[ClosedCircle deserted island]], having never seen or met each other before. Normally, they may never have chosen or considered working together, but are forced to by circumstance. This one shows up a lot in [=TTRPGs=] where the GM wants to introduce the player characters to each other as fast as possible.
14** Seen in: ''Film/{{Cube}}'', ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'', ''Series/{{Lost}}'', ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' for at least the first two movies, ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' during the actual games, many ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' games.
15* '''WelcomeEpisode:''' Sometimes most of the team has already been assembled by one or more of the above factors, and the remaining character(s) enter the storyline in their own special episode (or just in the very first episode).
16** Seen in: ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', ''Series/{{ER}}'', ''Film/Hellboy2004'', ''Literature/TheHobbit''.
17* '''SealedCastInAMultipack:''' Have the cast put itself together by finding and unsealing characters who were [[SealedEvilInACan sealed]] [[SealedGoodInACan away]].
18** Seen in: ''Film/{{Alien}}'' and ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'', ''Manga/SailorMoon'', Music/BackstreetBoys' video for "Larger Than Life"
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20Contrast YouALLShareMyStory which actually avoids this for the most part, as you'll rarely see more than two POV characters meet per episode until the finale, when they tend to congregate en masse.

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