[Video | Filtered to Legionnaires Only] Technically, Parody Is Fair Use

[unrecovered]

[Wash looks a bit better than he did a week ago; turns out a successful mission and a plan for the future really do help.]

We've all seen the Legionnaire Legacies, and I'm pretty sure we're all tired of them. Well, Mirage is a genius, and she had an idea: we'll make fake ones. Use our Anywhere Machine to pull real footage, create fake footage to supplement it, write our own narratives, and broadcast them. It'll discredit the press, and it might keep them off our backs, because there's no reason to broadcast someone's past if it's already been done by someone else.

So. Who's in?

Comments

[unrecovered]

[There's a moment of Guilt, because there's a little part of Wash that will always quail in the face of disapproval from higher-ups he actually respects-]

[But it's just a moment, and it passes. He's not in the wrong here.]

Not the entire press - just the assholes who think our pasts are their property.

We can do charity work too - I mean, we just did the calendar - but that's not going to solve the problem of discrediting the Legionnaire Legacies. Making our own and releasing them anonymously should take care of that.

[Both. Both is good.]

[rokketmann]

That's probably most of the press. They're used to being able to find records and interview neighbors. The new Legionnaires get more privacy than I'm used to.

[ Rokk isn't thinking in terms of wrong or right, but, although misleading - lying to - the general populace doesn't sit well with him, he doesn't think anyone's life should have to be laid bare for the holovids. ]

Why wouldn't it discredit the Legionnaire Legacies if you did both? The technology's worth a fortune. Distributing the holovids you make for free would probably make more people think they were faked than if the show was presented as a money-making competitor.

[unrecovered]

Okay, the assholes with the stolen Anywhere Machine, then.

[He pauses and grins as Cos' idea sinks in.]

Sell the videos anonymously and donate the money anonymously. I like it.

[It's devious...for charity.]

[superscholar]

Actually, if I can jump in here. Why not just... make a better version of the Legionnaire Legacies, instead of faking it anonymously?

[ Gohan's not really super confident about this, because this isn't his wheel house. But Videl has plenty of experience with the media, and he's trying to come up with a not-dishonest alternative. ]

The problem is mostly that Legionnaire Legacies airs our history without our consent, and spins it into whatever they want, right? Then why not just... compete with them, instead of discredit them? We can use our own Anywhere Machine to show our memories, provide our own commentary, hold interviews to provide more insight, and even include character witnesses if we really need them.

Our show could get popular enough that no one would... really keep watching Legionnaire Legacies.

[ A pause. ]

... I don't know how viable that is, but I know some things about TV from my father-in-law.

[wherenoonegoes]

Y'know, I'd actually be interested in that. There's a lot of things that happened to me that look really bad out of context that Legion Watch would probably play up for drama. I don't mind people knowing more about me, I'd just like some control over how they learn it.

[wherenoonegoes]

...actually, now that I'm thinkimg about it, why not do both? Show the blatant lies the exact same way as the true stories.

[superscholar]

Well, I'm not... really interested in lying to the public. I just wanted to provide an alternative that lets us have control over what we feel like sharing.

[rokketmann]

That’s more along the lines of my thinking. I don’t think we should put ourselves in the position of lying.

I know I’m new to the problem and it’s unlikely they'll profile me, but the Legion has to be better than what we’re against. Telling the good stories, that the Legionnaire is willing to share – if that’s not enough to beat them at their own game, I wouldn’t want the Legion's credibility on the line for my pride.

[ Rokk gets momentarily pissed. ]

Then again, I don’t like Legionnaires being victimized by Brainy's own tech.

[ But it fades back to quiet concern. He’s not trying to incite more than he has. ]

Doing it anonymously, like Wash wants, is still a good idea. It wouldn’t be seen as curated, but the interviews couldn’t be a part of it. I don’t know which way would be successful.

[superscholar]

I'm not sure which way would be successful, but I'm less interested in being dishonest and more interested in just... having more control over what I share with the public. There are some things I'm not comfortable sharing, and I've made that clear in the past, back when I was a teenager... [ Which is a conversation for another time. ] ... but I'm willing to share if I can provide context. And I think it'd be good for everyone if we were all on the same page, and supporting each other through this, which we can't do if we don't trust each other enough to share even the darkest parts of our lives.

... Having said that, I think the interviews would help a lot. If there's one thing I've learned from Videl's side of the family, is that the public loves being able to see their heroes.

[rokketmann]

I'd hope no one does anything without having a majority of Legionnaires in agreement. All is the ideal, but getting this many sentient beings to come to a consensus on anything is hard. Unanimity gets more difficult as things gets ... ethically murky.

[ He's trying to not use the word 'questionable.' ]

Videl's side of the family is right. [ He laughs to himself and shakes his head slightly. ] I don't think that's going to change. If I wasn't here, I'd be out there with them.

[superscholar]

Maybe someone just has to throw themselves out there. Prove that there's a better, more respectful way of handling Legion Watch.

[ A pause, as a thought crossed Gohan's mind. ]

... I'm gonna talk to them. In person.

[rokketmann]

The fans, or the Legion Watch staff?

[ Cos is interested, either way, but he's curious about which direction this will take. ]

[superscholar]

[ Gohan actually blinks at that. He never really considered approaching the fans directly. ]

Um, I was actually thinking the Legion Watch staff, but... I guess talking to the fans wouldn't be a bad idea either, when I think about it.

[rokketmann]

I think they're both good ideas. Legionnaires working with the show would give the others breathing room.

[ A pause, and then. ]

If you're going to do a big event with the fans, keep in mind that things can get ... inappropriate.

[ They pinch. ]

[superscholar]

Y-Yeah, I... I've been to LegionCon...

[ Which was all he needed to say on that. ]

But I think right now, it'd probably be better to focus on trying to work with Legion Watch. I'm not good at organizing my own events.

[rokketmann]

Oh. Well... then you know.

[ Rokk is 100% on board with getting so far away from that topic. ]

It sounds like you've got it all planned out. You should try and recruit some volunteers for interviews. I wouldn't mind, but I don't know how helpful I'd be. I just got here.

[superscholar]

Well, it's a rough idea, but... I was thinking, if we don't have the resources to make our own version of Legionnaire Legacies, then maybe we can try and fix the one airing right now. Which would involve approaching them, letting them interview us, but laying down hard lines for them to not cross.

Granted, we can't really enforce these lines, so if they cross them, it's out of our hands. But if we make it clear during the interview what we're willing to talk about and what we'd like to avoid, well... they wouldn't look good crossing that line.

And I know they care about their appearance. [ I mean, look at Mr. Satan. ]

[rokketmann]

[ Rokk is confused by Gohan's phrasing. ]

Did Mr. Brande say we didn't have the resources to make our own?

[ The Legion of Superheroes occupies a base the size of a moon. 'Not enough resources' is an unfamiliar phrase. ]

You should put a rider in the contract about the Legion - and yourself - getting a final say over how the video is edited if you want that to really stick. Then, put in another rider about wanting to be served something strange and specific when you arrive at the studio to make sure they've read it.

[unrecovered]

[It's a bit before Wash replies. He's given himself time to think and weigh the pros and cons of this one.]

It's not a bad idea.

The thing is, the way Legacies are now, they have the edge of telling the whole story, or as much of the whole story that they think is fit to print. Releasing ours anonymously in the same format keeps that edge, that "guarantee" that the audience is getting just about everything. If we release our own versions with our names on them, they become...sanitized, I guess.

For example, there's parts of my past that I'm not talking about. If we do one of me with an interview format and I skip over them, it becomes obvious that there's something missing, but if we do one anonymously and fill in the gaps with something believable, it still looks like the whole story and people are less likely to question it.

[superscholar]

[ Gohan furrows his brow, because this is absolutely not the approach he wants to condone. But he only has so much knowledge about how TV works, so he's limited in his approach. ]

I'm personally not a fan of being dishonest, if only because it'd make it worse if it were to somehow backfire on us. But even without that, I think I can argue some of these points.

The benefit of telling the whole story only lasts as long as it takes for us to refute that. I've seen this before, where everything is cleverly edited to make it look like a complete story, when it's really not. [ See: Cell Games. ] If we attach our faces to our version of Legionnaire Legacies, we can say that they're not telling the complete story, make our version something more real. And if some of us don't want to share parts of those stories, then we can share why, or just... I dunno, maybe provide some backstory as to why those parts are off limits. Something respectful.

Either way, we'd come across as the real story, not the sensationalized one. And if Legion Watch tries to air our darker pasts, they'll look irresponsible in the process, like they're just fishing for ratings. Granted, this would only work if we all trusted each other with our pasts, but...

Whatever we end up going with, I think a version hosted by the heroes everyone loves and respects would be infinitely better received than an anonymous one.

[unrecovered]

[...oh hell, Gohan's an optimist. That explains a lot.]

...you're assuming they'll respect us, and our wishes.

They won't. They don't. Even the fans that think Legionnaire Legacies are wrong still watch them, because information is information and that's what they really want. If there are gaps in our stories that we don't want to talk about, they'll want to know why and they'll go digging. Maybe some of them will actually respect our privacy, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't prepare for the assholes of the galaxy.

Honestly, I think Hiccup has the right idea. We do both: official versions for the fans who actually do care, and anonymous versions to throw off the assholes.

[superscholar]

[ Gohan really doesn't wanna resort to dishonesty, but he could also be pragmatic. He could absolutely see that this was a good middle ground, he just didn't like the idea of lying to people that trusted them. ]

I don't really condone the anonymous one, but I can't really stop you. I would just rather put my energy into being honest, and continuing to protect everyone, than making something false, and having it blow up in my face and make protecting people harder.

[ Finally, a sigh. ]

I realize I'm being too optimistic for my own good here, but I can sleep better at night knowing I was honest. I'd rather do that than go to sleep wondering if tomorrow will be the day we get found out and discredited.