#free him!!! pay actors fairly and free him

[winepresswrath]

I'm sad Michael Sheen didn't get to tweet his way through GO2 however the Bowie reference has me wondering if we would have survived it. the chaos this man foments.

[inbarfink]

So the AA Fandom has no shortage of jokes about how our favorite Anime Laywers generally prioritize stuff like the Power of Friendship above more mundane concerns like 'getting paid for doing their job' but...seriously now, how often do they actually get paid for lawyering?

Well, welcome to...

The Big Overview of WAA Lawyers and Actually Getting Paid!!

The vast majority of AA Cases do not discuss payments for legal services explictly, so I will be Ranking how probable I feel it is the Lawyers got Paid. With a 0 standing for 'explictly and unambigiously did not get paid' and 1 standing for 'explictly and unambigiously did get paid'

The First Turnabout

That's an easy one, it is actually explicitly mentioned that no, Larry did not pay Phoenix for his services as a Lawyer.

And so, my first trial came to a close. Larry slapped me on the back and said, "Gee, Nick, it's good to have friends!" But I'm pretty sure he's not going to pay us. Unless you count the clock he gave Mia.

Which is brought up again months later during 'Turnabout Goodbyes'

Butz: Whoa… Nick. S-so, is that why you helped me out for free? Phoenix: Uh… yes. I helped you because I believed in you. (Except I don't remember saying I'd do it for free…)

So Phoenix expected and wanted to get paid, but he’s just, like, not assertive enough to get his money off Larry. And thus a long legacy of Not Getting Money was born!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0

Turnabout Sisters

Okay, so the subject of money does not come up directly in ‘Turnabout Sisters’ but like… Maya does not seem to have a lot of liquid funds on her at this point. For most of the games she generally relays on Phoenix to pay for things for her. At best right now she is semi-dependent on Morgan for cash - and considering her motivations, she probably came out with some excuse like ‘oooh Mystic Maya must prove her independence in such a dire situation or something, the whole Fey Family is broke we can’t afford to give you any more money I feel so bad ooooh’.

So I think if Phoenix got paid for defending her that was mostly a token symbolic gesture of gratitude more than actually anything that’ll help him pay the rent. And obviously Phoenix wouldn’t gain anything if he paid himself for that second trial of the case lol

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.1

Turnabout Samurai

Okay, so this is the first case where I think it is more likely than not Phoenix Actually Got Paid. There’s nothing textual, but I think with the implications of Phoenix starting the case fretting over how to pay the rent:

Phoenix: A month has passed since my trial. Mia's murder was the talk of the town for some time… But no one paid any attention to the Wright & Co. Law Offices… How am I going to pay the rent this month? Maya: It'll be okay. I'm sure some big client is just around the corner! Phoenix: Hmph.

And THEN his new Client is Will Powers who is:

a fairly sucessful actor whose life and career seems to be unglamorous but financially stable.

the first cilent Phoenix has who isn't a friend, a relative-of-a-friend or Literally Himself

generally just a really nice and wholesome guy.

It seems pretty likely to me that Phoenix and Maya got paid for this one!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.8

Turnabout Goodbyes

OKAY so, I've seen folks say that Phoenix would've probably done this for free cause he sees this whole thing as repaying a debt for Being Nice to Him in Fourth Grade because as we all know, Phoenix is a Certified Ridiculous Human Being.

Phoenix: This is my chance to finally pay you back. Maya: Pay him back…? Edgeworth: Pay me back? For what? I don't remember ever doing anything for you. Phoenix: Never mind… I guess you don't really need to know.

Buuuuut... Larry at the time was also part of that Class Trial Bestie Pact and Phoenix did expect him to pay I mean Larry is not the Love of His Life but still.

And more important, this case ALSO established that Miles has a problem expressing gratitude and overcompensate using financial gifts.

Phoenix: Thank you. Oh, wait! Umm… I was wondering, how much is bail going to be? Gumshoe: Don't worry about that. Mr. Edgeworth is posting the whole amount. Phoenix: What? Edgeworth…? Gumshoe: Didn't I tell you? He's grateful to her for what she did. Alright, pal. Well don't forget to go pick her up, okay? Phoenix: (Hmm… Maybe I can get Edgeworth to pay this month's rent, too…)

So I feel, like, regardless of what Phoenix wanted - at the end of this trial - Miles IS going to make sure he is GETTING PAID. Dude was probably shoving checks into his mailbox like a full month after the trial concluded.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.9

Rise from the Ashes

So... the person who initially hires Phoenix to the case is Ema Skye, a 16 year old girl whose main funds are her allowance. And Phoenix was kinda willfully ignoring his financial situation at the start and only took this case for sentimental reasons. (just more evidence that Miles was STILL sending him payments for 'Goodbyes' lol)

It's been two months since Maya left the office… Two months without a single trial. I've had offers… But none I took. That is… until the day that girl showed up.

However he does get 'formally requested' by her probably-well-off-considering-prosecutors-in-this-series older sister shortly thereafter.

Lana: … Mr. Wright? Phoenix: Y-yes? Lana: I believe our discussion here is ended. The rest… I leave to you. Phoenix: …! Um… you mean, you're requesting my services as your defense? Lana: Don't lose any sleep over it. Your client has confessed, after all. The case is over. Phoenix: Right… I'll do what I can to get to the bottom of this. Lana: …

And after a very long and harrowing journey of being in-conflict with his own client, Lana did end up being very grateful for what he did. And again, this case espacially emphasizes that 'prosecutors make the big bucks' - so she had both the means and will to pay him.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.6

The Lost Turnabout

Alrighty, so, Maggey is generally a nice girl and also a fangirl of Phoenix Wright and that gives her an incentive to support him financially...

Actually, I really love to watch court proceedings, and I always root for you to win! When I'm off duty, I like to come here and…

But with how unlucky she is, that might imply that she could have Money Troubles. Although on the other hand she at least has a stable job at the moment... But on the other OTHER hand she does mention how all the other lawyers 'laughed her off'

Just when I thought all hope was lost; when all the other lawyers had laughed me off… "Leave it to me!" you said! You! The one and only Phoenix Wright came to save the day! And just like that, I was moved to tears, sir! I'll never forget what you're doing for me, EVER!

Which usually I wouldn't note as a financial thing. Usually when an AA Defendant is like 'oooh I have no one else to turn too, all the other lawyers turned me down......" this is because the case is considered too impossible to win or Unbearably Wacky (or some sort of conspiracy like with Maya in 'Sisters'). But, like, this is a Tutorial Case. Phoenix won that one with Fucking Amnesia. The 'impossibility' of the case was not the issue, so, yeah, it might legitimately be the money?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.4

Reunion, and Turnabout

It's Maya Murder Trial Time Again! Pretty much the same as before with the two added factors being:

Maya is now officially employed in the Wright & Co. Law Offices during the duration of the trial.

AFTER the Trial, when Morgan is like, in jail - Maya might have a bit more acess to her family funds. Although they are established to Not Be Doing Well Financially in general....

A piece of cloth with a ton of finely-written characters jammed onto it. Probably esoteric knowledge only mediums should know. …Hmm, let's see… Here's one in English… It says… "100 Ways to Save Money". … Being a medium sounds like a rough way of life…

I think all in all these kinda even out to the same Chances of Getting Paid at last time??

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.1

Turnabout Big Top

So if you ever start discussing how pointless the AA 'middle cases' are - just remember this one crucial detail; they are the most reliable way Phoenix Wright gets food on his plate! We once again have a stranger (that Phoenix won't feel obligated to defend for free) that is very explictly Fabulously Wealthy.

He's not as nicey-nice as Will Powers is but I feel like paying Phoenix's legal fees is not something Max will bet an eye at.

Phoenix: It's a table for guests… There are some papers scattered on top. Maya: Ah! Look at this! Max's salary is written on this piece of paper. YIKES! Phoenix: W-What is it? Maya: I didn't know a magician… This salary is incredible! Phoenix: (She looks like she's about ready to pass out from shock…) How much is it!? How much is it!? T-T-THAT MUCH!? Maya: Incredible, huh? Phoenix: You can say that again.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Farewell, My Turnabout

Okay so this is the Big One. This one’s a really complicated one to determine.

Let’s just get the first thing out of the way, the fact that Phoenix “”lost”” the case does not matter one way or another. Criminal Defense Lawyers, as a general rule, do not work on a Contingency Fee Basis. That means they are paid regardless of the result of the trial. So if this was a normal trial, Phoenix would probably be paid.

But this was not a normal trial, was it?

Phoenix was FORCED to work as a Defense Attorney due to a KIDNAPPER. And, like, my first instinct is ‘if you are already forcing someone to work via criminal means, why the hell would you also pay them??’ 

Buuuuut….. This is MY instinct, not the instinct of goddam Shelly De Killer. 

Since Shelly’s whole thing is being the Honorable Assassin, and he has some level of respect towards Phoenix as like a Fellow Professional. I can see him thinking maybe wanting Phoenix to get paid for the work he is Coercing Him To Do Under Threat of Murdering His Best Friend for the sake of Honor. 

But also also, Phoenix’s terms are not officially with De Killer, it’s with This Asshole!

And Matt Engarde is absolutely the kind of guy to casually take advantage of Phoenix’s frantic ‘please please just let me be your lawyer or my Friend is gonna Die!’ thing where, like, obviously getting paid is NOT gonna cross through Phoenix’s head atm in order to not pay/severely underpay the guy even though he can obviously afford it.

All in all, things are not looking good for this case’s probability, which is a shame considering how it ends.

Powers: Um, anyway… So, who's paying for this lovely dinner party? Maya: As if you need to ask! Everyone say, "Thank you" to Nick! Phoenix: Huh? Gumshoe: Ah, yeah… I'm kinda at the point where I can't even buy instant noodles, pal. So I kinda already put your name on the bill.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.3

Turnabout Memories

First time covering a Lawyer that’s not Phoenix!

Now, Mia’s client in this case is a college student who probably doesn't have tons of personal funds, and considering her own motivations for taking on the case she probably would’ve done it for free but…

At the time she was employed at the Grossberg Law Offices, and Phoenix hired just the office in general and then Mia took over the case just last night.

Grossberg: Still, you surprised me… What, with your earnest request last night… "Let me handle this case!" you suddenly said. And quite forcefully, too! Mia: I just found out yesterday. About the case, I mean.

So... really this is just the Vibes I get from the Grossberg Law Offices, being generally the more professional and by-the-book law offices compared to the utter chaotic energy of Wright and Co, that makes me assume that they usually reliably charge their clients and pay their lawyers.

There’s some evidence further down the line (which we’ll get to soon) that some of their lawyers do some pro-bono work - but I dunno if Phoenix’s case was extreme enough to necessitate that (I mean he might be a broke college student but his family would probably help him with the legal funds although that assumes they even exist) . So my assumption is that Mia probably did get paid. Probably?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.75

The Stolen Turnabout

So, Ron DeLite used to really financially struggle to keep up with his wife’s shopaholic habits - but that seems to have stabilized ever since his ‘benefactor’ showed up. So I’d assume he still has some funds left to pay his lawyer. I mean I guess it won’t be totally implausible if Desiree did manage to blow through them all…. Or maybe being a a high-spending shopaholic means that she’d want to pay extravagantly for her lawyer as well?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Recipe for Turnabout

It’s Maggey again! And now she’s:

Closer to a friend, or at least a friend-of-friend. Rather than Just Another Client.

Is probably in a more dire financial state than before, on account of being unemployed and also in jail for the last two months.

Also being a waitress isn’t that prestigious a job anyways 

And if anyone is gonna help her cover her legal fees it could only be Gumshoe which… does not bode well to anyone involved!

Pissed at Phoenix cause it took her some time to realize that no, that guy who got her found guilty two months ago is not him

So basically everything that changed since her last trial makes it less likely that Phoenix charged for his legal services. I'm sure she'd try her best by the end, but Phoenix might just wave it off to save everyone a headache.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.3

Turnabout Beginnings

So first things first I want to reiterate that Criminal Defense Attorneys generally get paid regardless of if they ‘win’ and while I couldn’t find any concrete statements about the matter - I believe they get paid even if their clients die mid-trial??? I mean, the legal fees just get added to their posthumous debts? So the lawyer would hypothetically be able to claim their due payment from the deceased’s remaining funds and possessions. If they wanted to, that is…

Cause, well, this is why I said the Grossberg Law Offices might do some pro-bono cases. Terry Fawles was, like, a part-time tutor who has been incarcerated for the last five years. If he has any family or friends outside that could help him with his legal fees, he never mentions them. 

So I’m really not sure if he bought Mia services or if she volunteered to do this pro-bono after hearing he had no options for legal representations out of concern for, like, prisoners rights. 

And even if he was supposed to pay Mia for her service, after the grim ending of the case - I’m not sure if she would’ve even tried to pursue getting her legal fees from Fawles’ posthumously/from his next of kin. From how deeply traumatized she was by that trial, I think that would’ve only made her feel worse about the whole situation. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.05

Bridge to the Turnabout

Iris is a nun from a small temple that is mentioned to not-be-doing-so-hot (cause it’s tied with the Kurain Channeling Technique and it’s been on a downturn since DL-6), but she does have at least enough personal funds to have her own cell-phone and occasionally go into town. So it’s not a lot, but I think it’s enough to get Phoenix at least a a symbolic token-of-gratitude payment.

Also, it might be possible Phoenix will wave off the fees due to the Personal Connection to the case. You know, he was doing this primarily to Uncover the Truth and get some personal closure for the Dahlia mess.... Or maybe not, cause he did still get paid (or tried to get paid, or forced to get paid) to save his two Fourth-Grade-Life-Debt Childhood Best Friends in court?

(And I do mean just Phoenix, Miles probably would never charge for his services as ‘acting defense attorney’, we don’t need that farce to get any farcier)

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.3

Turnabout Trump

Now this is a complicated one, let us list the factors here one-by-one:

1. As per Apollo’s comment in the next episode, the Gavin Law Offices probably operated strictly quid pro quo.

(Good-bye, quid pro quo. Hello pro bono. sigh)

2. Phoenix is supposedly friends with the boss of the Agency. And in reality, Kritoph Gavin has a very VERY vested interest in making sure the trial goes According to Plan. Incentivising him to at least give Phoenix a discount.

3. Phoenix is also not doing that great financially right now. 

4. Oh right, that entire law agency disbanded once the boss got arrested at the end of the trial!

…Speaking of which, I may be out of a job. I work for Gavin Law Offices, after all. (I still can't believe I just saw Mr. Gavin get led away in handcuffs…)

I think it is most likely that Phoenix got some sort of “”Friend”” Discount from Kristoph. But I really don’t know what happens if an entire law firm gets disbanded right after the trial cause the owner got arrested as a result of it. It probably depends on whether Phoenix was in agreement with the Gavin Law Offices who then assigned Apollo on the case or if Phoenix had an agreement with Apollo directly.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.5

Turnabout Corner

Oh hey, look! Another rare case of an Ace Attorney that actually discusses the issue of money directly!

Well, I mean we know how much Apollo got paid for solving the case of Phoenix’s accident and Trucy’s panties (nothing) and for solving Eldoon’s Noodle Cart Theft (a free bowl of ramen). We don’t see them directly discuss the subject of payment regarding Apollo’s Actual Job…

Apollo: Your request… let me guess, something's been stolen? Alita: Um, your flyer… It says "now defending" so I thought… Apollo: Whaaaat!? You mean, you mean you want me to defend you? Me? Trucy: Maybe you can tell us what happened? Were you hit by a car? Did someone steal your stand? Or your panties? Alita: No! No… I'm not the client, actually. The client would be my… well, my fiancé, I suppose you'd call him. Apollo: Fiancé…? What happened to him, then? Alita: He was arrested this morning. The charge… was murder.

But as he was complaining before about not only being pigeonholed as some sort of a detective, but also not getting paid for anything…

Um… I was wondering when I get paid? We solved the case of your accident, and um, found a missing article of clothing.

And then getting this job and being so happy about it...

Trucy: Polly! You look as happy as a clam in its shell. Apollo: For a lawyer this is it, the place where the battle begins!

Implies that He’s Getting Paid - just as much as with Phoenix’s rent stuff in ‘Turnabout Samurai’ if not more. 

Also, I don’t think the fact that the person who hired him wanted him to fail and is now going to prison is a factor here.

As I already mentioned, Defense Attorneys get paid regardless of the outcome of a trial and logically that would apply both when they lose and when they win. Plus, I am pretty sure Alita filed her request officially through Wocky’s name or the Kitaki family in general and they were obviously very grateful for what Apollo did, and they had both the wins and wills to pay him.

So let’s give a big round of applause for Apollo Justice, the WAA Lawyer most likely to get paid!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.99

Turnabout Serenade

These kind of showbiz-focused Middle Cases are generally pretty good for Getting Paid Probabilities, but this case is a bit more complicated.

Cause the plot of this case hinges on Machi being so desperate for money that he was willing to risk death via cocoon smuggling,

Situation… I cannot explain. But money. I needed. Very much money.

That doesn’t necessarily mean he was unable to afford a lawyer - without details of why exactly he needed that Sweet, Sweet Cocoon Money we can’t be sure.  But it’s plausible that hiring Apollo was not out of his price range but he was desperate for something far more expensive. 

Considering his young age and… you know, until the final day of the trial he pretended to not understand a word of English, it’s also possible hiring Apollo was a matter handled by Lamirior and/or the duo’s agency. Both of which will probably feel committed to Actually Paying, each from their own angle. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Turnabout Succession

Now, HERE’S a complicated one! 

Going generally over the usual stuff, Vera is a pretty nice person and she’s clearly grateful for what Apollo and Trucy did for her. And while the Misham Family was driven into forgeries by financial desperation, at the present-time they seem stable enough that Vera could at least afford the rates of the WAA. If this was just another case, it’ll get like a solid 0.7 at minimum. Pretty typical stuff by now.

But this isn’t just one more ordinary case. This a weird sort of ‘Test Trial’ for the Jurist System with every factor - including the Defendant and the Attorney - arranged by Phoenix’s weird little committee.

Well, for one, I'll be chair of the Jurist System Simulated Court Committee. The chair constructs the ideal situation… choosing the case, the jurist candidates… …even the judge and the courtroom.

Apollo: So… what kind of case is the trial simulation about? Phoenix: Well, since it is the first run through of a new system, I wanted something simple. Trucy: Good thinking! No sense wearing yourself out on something too serious! Phoenix: True. The case is a murder. Apollo: That's not simple at all!! Trucy: By "simple", did you mean that the defendant is… Phoenix: …Guilty. Yes. Most likely. …So, good luck, Apollo. Apollo: Um… with what? Phoenix: With the trial tomorrow. You're defending, of course. Recall that I said it had something to do with you.

So I guess the question here, did Phoenix basically make Vera officially hire Apollo? Did the committee hire Apollo and they’re the one paying him? Is this another case of Phoenix trolling Apollo into doing Free Volunteer Work for him?

Honestly I wouldn’t put that past the AA4 version of Phoenix..............but also if he did that I doubt he would’ve missed a chance to crack a joke at Apollo’s expense about that. 

...You know, I started this thread of thought with the thought I’m arguing for a lower Getting Paid score for this case but I think I just talked myself into increasing the probability.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.8

Also bonus round: THE TRIAL OF SHADI ENIGMAR!

Zero fucking chances Phoenix got paid on this one. HIS CLIENT DISAPPEARED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COURT PROCEEDING! And even if Phoenix gets paid before a trial is concluded (unlikely, since he didn’t know Larry wasn’t paying him until after the case was closed), he was his attorney for like half-a-day before he disappeared so wouldn’t have much of a chance either way.  And considering Zak’s character (and how he also tried to sabotage Phoenix’s current Poker-based career seven years after that), I doubt he put that much thought into Phoenix and his financial considerations to give him a down payment in case he had to to do his disappearnce act or whatever. The only thing Zak left Phoenix with when he left was his goddam abandoned child and ONE LESS BADGE!

So I think this case deserves a very special score!

Probability of Getting Paid: -1

Turnabout Countdown

It’s time for Athena’s first case! Or second case, depending on how you look at it.

Now, one of the major ways that Dual Destinies is gonna shake this Deep Serious Analysis up is that before we had, like, one Active Full-Time Lawyer at any time (maybe with a backup lawyer for Flashback Cases), and we now have Three Different Lawyers actively working together on the same cases. My main concern is primarily not which WAA Lawyers get paid for these cases, but IF any of them got paid at all. Still, shenanigans of cases changing hands officially and unofficially are gonna play a factor in my analysis as well.

And it’s here right from the start! We once again have a Lawyer defending their bestest friend in the whole world, and while some people’s instincts might suggest that means that Defense was for free, well… First things first, we already established Precedence for that back in the first trial of the first game with Larry (not for Lawyers getting paid by their friends, but at least expecting payment) and Juniper’s family is probably doing Just Fine considering she attends this super-fancy-pant prestigious Lawyer High School - so she would want to financially support Athena I would think.

And ALSO, Juniper technically didn’t hire Athena, Apollo was the one supposed to defend Junie in court at first. And although Juniper is… growing closer to Apollo at this point in canon, I don't think it's quite the ‘defend me in court for Free’ point of their relationship, compared to where Juniper and Athena are at. So this is just, like, one extra point to the Final Score!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

The Monstrous Turnabout

So in this episode, we actually have two different jobs we need to make sure if Apollo actually got paid for. We have the actual criminal defense case, and we also have Babysitting Trucy.

Trucy: Oh, we'd better hurry. Doesn't look Daddy's going to make it, so let's get going. Apollo: Huh? Where are we going? What about the job he mentioned? Trucy: This IS the job, Polly! You're supposed to keep me company today! Now, come on! Apollo: Another day of not being a lawyer. Should've seen this coming. Trucy: Well, this is the "Wright ANYTHING Agency," y'know. And there's no law-related work at the moment, so… Apollo: (Tell me again why I chose to "work" here?) Where is Mr. Wright, anyway?

That being said, Phoenix might still be a bit of a troll but the WAA is doing a lot better financially now that Trucy has those Sweet Gramarye rights and he’s not quite as mean to Apollo as he was back in Hobomode. So I get a feeling that even with this little runaround, Apollo is probably at least getting paid for chaperoning Trucy around?? Probably?

The actual case is actually a lot more clear cut. It is directly mentioned that Damian Tenma could probably afford lawyers much more prestigious than the WAA, it’s just a matter of the WAA being the only ones crazy enough to take on this ‘doomed’ case. 

Trucy: Apollo! Maybe this is your chance. Apollo: Chance for what? Trucy: To do the right thing and defend Jinxie's dad in court! Apollo: Who, me? Wouldn't a man like Mayor Tenma have access to more experienced lawyers? Jinxie: Umm… You wanna know what the detectives said? They doubted there was a lawyer who could get a not-guilty verdict in this one.

And with Mayor Tenma’s personality being based around being almost overly-generous and grateful…

Tenma: How… incredibly… RUDE! Apollo: Umm, sorry. Did I do something to offend you? Tenma: A visitor when all others shun me like a common criminal! And here I am with nothing to offer! I am the epitome of rude! Apollo: (………Wait, so he wasn't mad at me?)

I feel like it is almost a certainty that Apollo and Athena did get paid for this case! 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.85

Turnabout Academy

Okay so, it’s Junie again! Or Junie for the first time depending on how you look at it!

So all of the points I already brought up about Juniper from ‘Countdown’ still apply (save for the stuff about Apollo, of course) but ALSO this is right when Athena and Juniper reunited and their whole emotional arc in this case is about Athena feeling Juniper is being Uncharacteristically Cold and Distant towards her. So defending her on a Friend Discount would be a bit strange at this point. Maybe I can see Athena trying to insist she’d do it for free but Juniper refused?

Although I think that IS a bit weird that they had this big whole scene with Professor ScaryStatue taking over Juniper’s case and the issue of payment doesn’t even come up in passing. I mean, yes obviously, the issues of Trust and Truth and Aristotle Means being Sus as Fuck are the important things in this narrative but I’m suprised there’s not even a mention in passing. Like Means accusing Athena and Apollo of wanting this case back for the Money but they refute him???

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.8

The Cosmic Turnabout

Okay, look, I know I keep bringing up the Larry Precedence but it really IS quite relevant. If Actual Overly-Sentimental Human Disaster Phoenix Wright tried to charge a rate for his childhood best friend who was drifting through life doing weird odd jobs at that time. - Then Apollo, who is generally more practical minded, is probably going to charge a rate for his older acquaintance with the stable Astronaut Job. And while Solomon is a bit of a Space Larry, I don’t think he’d try and avoid the payment in quite the same way. Probably.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Turnabout for Tomorrow

This trial has Phoenix defending one of his own employees in a trial forced on by a hostage situation. I feel silly even extending this paragraph any longer. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.01

Turnabout Reclaimed

First things first, yes, an Orca cannot pay for an attorney - but I assume that the person who hired Phoenix is officially Sasha Buckler. Who IS a human being with her own funds capable of hiring a lawyer. Especially as we know that other lawyers turned her down specifically because her case is ridiculous (and not for financial reasons). 

Phoenix: What's the real reason you picked me, Sasha? Buckler: …Well, to be honest, I asked a whole slew of lawyers, but they all refused. They said stuff like, "There's no merit to taking your case," or "I'm not sure I can help." They're all as cruel as sharks, with hearts punier than whitebait!

She does mention doing a performance as thanks at the ending of the trial but that’s probably no replacement for Actual Money.

But I think most notable for our analysis about this case, is not actually any of the Orca stuff - it’s this exchange right here.

Blackquill: Today, the orca. Tomorrow, Sasha Buckler. You intend to save them both? Hmph. You say you "believe" in your clients, but isn't money really your true motivation? Why not admit you're only doing this for your own benefit? I could understand that much more readily than your empty, righteous talk. Athena: Our own benefit?! That's not why we're doing it! Phoenix: Now, Athena. Try not to let him get to you.

Yet another rare case of the game Acknowledging Lawyers Are Paid As a General Rule! And notably, when Phoenix and Athena deny it, they don’t deny the fact that they are getting paid - just that it’s not why they’re doing this. This is not exactly an explicit confirmation of Getting Paid to get the score up to a full 1, but it’s probably as close as we’re gonna get. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.95

The Foreign Turnabout

Okay, so Phoenix basically just bursted into the Courtroom and bluffed his way onto the empty defense bench despite the protests of his own so-called Client. Said client also only started unlearning his Defense-Attorney-Hate during that same trial. And is ALSO a tiny little child who has to work part time as a tour-guide to make end’s meet. I highly doubt Phoenix asked for anything more than, like, a very token rate or maybe a discount on his next tour. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.1

The Magical Turnabout

Considering how this case has a WAA Lawyer defending the actual CEO of the WAA, I highly doubt the WAA got any money from it. But maybe Trucy could give him some of her personal funds as a token of gratitude?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.2

The Rite of Turnabout

It’s MAYA TIME again! And while some consideration has to go to her bond with Phoenix or the possibility of some sort of Frequent Accused card the WAA issued for her - the fact that she is not currently a Coworker at the law office and has been an Actual Independent Adult for quite some time now means it is actually a lot more likely she’s able to pay Phoenix now than in any case in the Original Trilogy!

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.5

Turnabout Storyteller

This one’s a pretty average case. The Defendant is not a total stranger, but he is more of a friend-of-a-friend (and Simon was originally planning to get Apollo or Phoenix into the courtroom so the connection was even more distant when he contacted the WAA). He seems to be doing alright financially with his own noodle business, and he’s a pretty alright kinda guy. The only possible concern is that he’s too totally slushed to remember he’s supposed to pay his attorney. But then again, Simon might be ‘officially’ the one who hired the lawyer for the case.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.6

Turnabout Revolution

It’s time for the THREE CASES IN ONE SPECIAL!! Because we don’t just need to consider Dhurke’s trial, I think it’s only appropriate that we take into account both Apollo and Phoenix’s side of the civil case. They are both WAA Lawyers, after all.

On Apollo’s side, he is defending Datz Are'bal, an escaped prisoner/wanted revolutionary criminal in his own country hiding away in an abandoned building and making homemade lizard skewers for food- but Datz did apparently enter Japanifornia legally via legitimate means.

Apollo: What are the charges this time? Datz: Unauthorized entry, or something like that. They think I'm an illegal alien! And I can't prove otherwise ‘cause I lost my passport! Trucy: Is there any way they'd let you go? Datz: Not without my passport… If only I had it! Dhurke, AJ! You gotta find my passport! Apollo: …All right, we'll find it. (One more thing to add to our to-do list. Now, where might Datz's passport be?)

So he presumably has some sort of funds to pay Apollo for his legal services, at least a little bit. 

And with him being Dhurke’s best friend and knowing that he also struggled financially to make end’s meet as a defense attorney at first - I would like to think that’ll incentivise him to support Apollo financially if he can?

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Meanwhile on Phoenix’s side, while Phoenix uses the word ‘hire’ when talking about working for Atishon. Phoenix was once again coerced via kidnapping into the position of attorney. 

And THIS time, there is no Assassin with a Code of Honor who might consider paying Phoenix a fair rate. Both Atishon and his ‘benefactor’ are sleazeballs who would not pay Phoenix a dime if they can get away with it. Plus, with this being a civil case, there might actually be a Contingency Basis going on when Phoenix basically quit and then they lose.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.001

And finally, the grand event of this case - the Trial of Dhurke! 

So… Can a summoned undead spirit pay for an attorney? I suppose it’s probably easier in Khura'in than in other places. And it’ll mostly work the same as if the client died before the case finished, right? It’ll be considered a debt to be carried by their next of kin. Who in this case will be Nahyuta… but also maybe Apollo? Still, considering all of Dhurke’s living family ranges between ‘wealthy and well-respected’ and ‘Literal Royalty’ - I’m going to assume they’d be more than happy then to pay their Weird Brother for his help. 

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.75

Turnabout Time Traveler

And here we are! The last case, and a relatively straightforward one at that - at least compared to the last one lol!

Ellen herself does not have many funds as a housemaid, it seems - but since she literally just married one of the richest inventors in the world, I assume her husband is gonna cover the legal fees. The WAA Legal Team and Also Edgeworth and Ema also got an invite to the Wedding but I assume this is not instead of actual payment?

That is, of course, unless it’s technically Larry who hired Phoenix actually.

Then he’s never getting the goddam money he deserves for his labor.

Probability of Getting Paid: 0.7

Average Probability Score for All Cases (not counting the Zak Bonus Round): 0.51721875

So what have we learned today? I think that while the WAA’s reputation for basically giving away legal services for free is not entirely unearned, it is perhaps somewhat exaggerated. While there’s certainly a lot of Shennanigans and their rates are probably not high (especially not for people they know), they still get paid for a decent amount of high-profile cases. I mean, this Getting Paid Probability Score is over the 50% mark at least....

And… the odd thing is that the First Turnabout really is the only time the subject of the lawyer getting paid is really brought up directly. I get that it might, y’know, ruin the Drama if we acknowledge that our Brave Heroes are getting paid to save people from being convicted of a crime they didn’t commit - or on the other hand of the equation, that they should get paid cause They Need Money to Live. But still…

Is the fact that the only time payment is brought up directly is when Larry isn’t paying Phoenix a bad sign for the general financial situation of our Anime Lawyers? Or is it actually a good sign? Like, that they only mention Larry not paying implying that every time it is not mentioned that means the client did pay them?

[reallyromealone]

Title: tattoo dates

Pairing: dabi x keigo

Fandom My hero Academia

Warnings: baby reader, single dad Dabi, no quirk au, fluff

☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️🐟☁️

Don't be the step dad, be the dad who stepped up.

The sound of summer could be heard in the early morning of Tokyo, the cool air refreshing for Keigo as he stepped into the small tattoo parlor and taking in all the art on the walls. It was actually quite nice... The parlors he looked at online seemed to try and look more badass but this one was organised and incredibly clean "you're my 8:30, right? Keigo Takami?" What he wasn't expecting based on the aesthetic of the parlor was a black haired man covered head to toe with tattoos and piercings, a loose fitting worn tank top that looked intentionally worn out and a pair of black cargo pants and god Keigo was thankful he was wearing sunglasses as he noticed a feint outline.

"That's me~ thanks for fitting me in so early!"

"Yeah, whatever... You wanted a back tattoo right? Do you have a picture?" Dabi was tired, his kid was sleeping in the other room as it was too early to take him to daycare today and the little guy wasn't feeling well so he didn't want him far away "so serious ~ trying to be all tough for me?" Keigos charm was not working as Dabi rolled his eyes "get on the table and take off your shirt" the black haired man said as Keigo pouted but sent him the reference as their phones touched, hopping on the table and removing his shirt.

"Wings?"

"Red ones" hawks said as he rested his cheek on his fore arm, arms crossed over one another relaxed as he felt the other prepare the tattoo and sanitize his back "what shade?" Dabi asked softly as he prepared the tattoo pen "a bright red...crimson almost"

Dabi was focused, the mirror infront of the table, full length and clean as crystal thus giving Keigo a full view of his tattoos arms flexing under the florescent lights "your parlor is much different the others" Keigo said breaking the silence as the needle hit his skin "yeah, gotta keep things clean..." He said simply, Keigo noting how everything was kept at least 3 feet off the floor or locked away.

Music played softly in the background as Dabi worked away "so what do you do for fun?"

"Don't have much time for hobbies" Dabi said simply, the detail he was putting into it was impressive especially the price the other was paying "really? How come?" Keigo asked curiously and the black haired man looked at him from the mirror "being a dad doesn't give much free time"

"You're a dad?"

"Yeah, eight month old... He's sleeping in the other room right now" it was rather early Keigo thought, having booked out of hours for security reasons "I see..."

The two worked for another hour and a half till Keigo was given a break, looking at the work so far he was quite impressed as Dabi went to the other room to check on the kid "hope you don't mind, he's pretty chill so he won't cause issue"

Ok, why was this man so attractive holding a kid? What the fuck.

Keigo tried not to look flustered as the tiny baby looked back sleepily, drinking his bottle calmly before being set in his play pen that was off to the side "normally I don't keep kid stuff here..." (Name) babbled softly as he played with his toys, fully content doing his own thing as dad was fairly close "you ready to continue?"

By the end of the session, Keigo smiled at the babe who was vibing "your total will be 900" the detail on the wings were insane, best work the other has done as Keigo smiled "thanks for being normal... Most places freaked out when they met me"

"Who are you?" Dabi asked blankly and Keigo looked startled but smiled "just an actor, ya know?" Dabi shrugged as the actor paid for his tattoo, (name) snuggling into his dad's arms as the actor left.

But that wouldn't be for long.

Keigo showed up for another tattoo, though this one would have to be in phases as (name) had a doctor's appointment "yeah, he has teeth growing in... So gotta make sure it's going alright" (name) was chewing on a cold teething ring as Keigo booped his forehead, the babe looking confused but didn't do much else.

"A date?" Dabi raised an eyebrow as Keigo leaned over the counter "yeah, I found a good restaurant and it has a kids menu... Maybe mashed potatoes for the big guy over there" (name) looked up as he was chewing on his dad's fingers "you know what a date means right? Were a package deal, he comes first" dabi was deathly serious and Keigo smiled "absolutely"

"Then wine and dine me pretty boy"

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

I still haven't seen mutch of the RSA characters, mind asking of Yan Neign and Yan Rielle getting jelly

As say Crewel!Reader say visit only to see Vil after his shoot as they both are child hood friends and both are comfortable together to be themselves, and with Azul she came to see the Coral reefs with the octotrio by using potion to change form and she is the most prettiest siren and have zero interest with the prince and enjoy being with the octotrio

Neige Leblanche vs Vil Schoenheit

Its the party after the modeling shoot 

Vil is trying his best to find you past the various sponsors and guests of the party

All to find that you are talking to none other than Neige Leblanche

And if Vil had known you for less he’d be discouraged 

But he knows your searching eyes behind your glasses

He knows the sexy+ shift of your hips 

And the scrunching of your nose as Neige keeps talking

He almost wants to wait until you totally put him down

But already your calling him over

“Ah Vil-chan, you know (Y/n)-san?”

“Know them? We’ve known each other since we were children!” 

“Ah..I see.”

Vil flaunts a little because the unfamiliar flush on the pale actor’s cheeks gives him life

“Well (Y/n)-darling, did you see my work? Which one was your favorite?”

“Obviously the one you kept so hidden. It truly is the magnum opus for your entire collection.”

Neige is saddled with that awful feeling 

He’ll smile and dismiss himself 

But when he gets alone he cries

He’s never felt aggression or jealousy on such a level

So he decides he’ll just cook a pie

Smiling to his dwarf family as he cuts apples

Pretending its Vil’s face

Rielle vs Octotrio

It wasn’t your first time transforming to a mer form, especially for your friends in the coral sea

But either way, they still swoon when they see you swim over to them

They’re working diligently preparing for the grand opening of a Monstro-Lounge sister location

And during a fairly light flow, they see you begin to swim over 

only for you to be stopped by the red-headed prince

“Hi! You’re so pretty! What’s your name? I’m Rielle! Wanna eat at that restaurant with me?”

You swim over him 

Casually answering questions as you make your way to the doorway

“Sorry…Relle, was it? I plan to eat alone for my friends have reserved a table for me. I doubt they’d feel free to let you join in on that.”

“Don’t worry I probably know them! I’m sure they won’t mind if I pay for the both of us-”

In that moment Floyd and Jade appear at your side as you say your parting words

“I don’t think you're hearing me, Rill. I’m eating with someone dear to me. Not with you, excuse me.”

Swimming with them you finally link arms with Azul who leads you to the reserved table

Rielle is still watching how the eels and octopus mer have you smiling beautifully

“Wow they’re really popular…guess I’ll just have to invite them on my own next time!”

He’s optimistic and his jealousy hides behind delusion

So maybe he didn’t get you this time

But he will soon

Just you wait

He’s willing to sign it all away if it means you’ll be in his arms one day

[hawkland]

SciFi Valley Con, what a weekend!

I need to share this somewhere because it was all so amazing, I'm still a bit dazed .

First, behold this set up, because holy shit was it a lot of work!

So, on to the details. Back in Charlotte, I'd promised both DJ and Ruth tote bags with my Garth & Rowena art, respectively (they'd seen other people carrying them around but I'd sold out before they stopped by looking for one.) Didn't know if they'd actually remember BUT Friday at SFVC was fairly slow so I went to get my autographs and hunt them down. First I went up to DJ who, as soon as he saw the tote bag, came rushing out from behind his table to give me a big hug. "I don't care if it's egotistical I'm carrying this around all weekend!" All Friday he had it out on his table, too, so that it ended up in one of the con's promo videos on Instagram.

Next up was Rick...who was just a doll, taking his time with each and every person! I was just going to get an autograph for myself but as soon as I showed him the painting he was just literally speechless for a while, came around to give me a hug, asked his handler to take that picture he posted on Instagram, I gave him a print and we chatted a bit but I felt bad taking up too much time. (I did go back on Sunday to get an autograph for Mr. Hawkland's office and totally cracked him up with my/our usual request for something mentioning feet, since the hubster is a podiatrist.)

Then I saw Ruth briefly had no line so I dashed over and handed her her bag and she was immediately all "Oh! Oh! Emily, come over here!" (Emily Swallow was signing the next station over.) "This is the artist who has that lovely painting of the two of us I was showing you!"

I'm now like....wait a minute...they're showing each other MY ART?!?!?! I knew Ruth liked the piece — it was the one I did for the femmeslash bang claimed by @father-salmon — Emily immediately slips out from her table where she had a long line and was like, "Hi I'm Emily" to shake my hand and I'm like OMFG I KNOW YOU ARE and they were just both being so sweet I could've cried. Ruth was asking if it would be ok if they made copies of that piece available for signing (like, absolutely?!?! I'M the one skirting the edge selling these prints...) Anyway, Ruth let me pick out a picture to get signed for free, I ran back to my table to get the new Amara piece I'd done signed by Emily and to print her prints of each. And she wouldn't even let me pay for getting it autographed either, just was being so kind, I mentioned how Season 11 is my favorite and how much I've come to enjoy Amara every time I rewatch and then she wouldn't let me leave without a hug. *sob* Saturday morning she even stopped by the table to look at more of my stuff up close and tell me how Ruth was carrying her bag around everywhere.

Oh and Sunday morning before we opened for the day, I'd just set up and stepped out to get something to drink, come back in and Mark Sheppard is at my table by my Crowley prints and postcards talking with his handler. He was like "Yeah I've signed a lot of these" and was surprised the big banner print hadn't sold yet (so was I). He actually remembered signing the original paintings back in Pittsburg 2-3 years ago, I do not know how he remembers these things.

Anyway. Sales were kind of meh since the crowd was only very partially an SPN crowd BUT I cannot remember having such wonderful interactions with guests/actors ever like this. It's a little freaky because it hit that the Creation con regulars (DJ, Ruth, Mark) definitely know & remember me. And I guess that's a good thing? I suppose we'll see how it all unfolds next year as this was my last con for 2024 (next year I'm planning on doing SPN Boston, New Jersey, Novi, Philly and maybe Chicago too.)

[ouroborosman]

Actor!Wally AU Story Lore!

Okay!!! I've been sitting on a bunch of unfinished images but I wanna share this now! I'll update the pics as they get finished~

Here's the story lore for Jay in the Actor Wally AU!

Wally actor AU created by @frillsand!

Jay is a 20-something that moved to a larger city about a year or two ago. She was born and raised in a pretty small town, and being the oldest of her two other siblings, was set to inherit the farm her family owned. She really hated how secluded she was from everything, and decided to set off to a nearby city to make something of herself. She might even go to college, she told them!

The learning curve was really harsh to this formerly-sheltered girl. She brought some money with her she saved up, but that was gone before she knew it. She luckily managed to get a job and apartment before actually becoming homeless.

 One thing she had always liked was crafting and sewing and found herself doing such in her free time. She got fairly good at it. It was one day she ran into one of her puppet neighbors that had managed to get a pretty large tear in their arm. She offered to fix them up! Word spread around and soon enough Jay had a little community of puppets around her asking for repairs and she happily obliged.

This actually worked out well for Jay. Eventually she had puppets asking for cosmetic things, like decorative embroidery and such on their bodies. Jay charged a small fee for these services. Word got around enough that Jay actually got accepted for temporary jobs that she applied for, and she basically became an independent contractor of sorts. Along with her cosmetic services and selling her plushies she began making, she made an okay living.

Later she gets accepted to a ‘floater’ position for Welcome Home Productions, covering for people that call in. Normally she would probably bounce from how stressful the set is, but the better pay and more reliable work opportunities keeps her there for now. Plus, she enjoys her tasks at work! She often makes props, consults for costume designing, and other things alike.

THE MEET~~

Jay of course knew of Wally Darling before, often passing him by or watching as he worked on set. His reputation and behavior toward staff kept her pretty wary of him and she steered clear.

Too bad that she was covering for his seamstress one day! And how unfortunate that she needed to fix up an outfit he was currently wearing! Lmao. She really did expect him to bite her head off, but much to her surprise he wasn’t too bad. Small talk between them led to her explaining the other odd jobs and commissions she takes, as well as an off-hand mention about mending puppet injuries. Wally takes a bit of interest in that, how strange that a human chooses to do that? As soon as she’s done with the costume fix up she skitters off because he still intimidates her lol.

Seeing that he wasn’t as bad as his reputation said, Jay forms a little crush on him throughout her time on set. She jumped at the opportunity of a blind date with him! He’s awkward and she finds it cute and flirts with him a bit. Probably after this date, they became somewhat friendlier towards each other and chat at work when they get the chance.

(pic soon to come maybe!)

Aaand that’s the base story in my head! I think leaving it open-ended makes it fun to imagine different scenarios! Thanks for listening to my brainrot if you made it this far!! <3

~~~

Other little factoids that will probably never be relevant to the main story:

Jay freaking loves bugs!! She’d become an entomologist if given the opportunity. School is expensive, though!

Jay keeps a few pet insects and has a cat

Though she has a little community of puppet neighbors for company, Jay lives alone. She gets really lonely sometimes, as her best friends became long distance when she moved

Maybe her loneliness is why she has so many plushies. She basically is surrounded by them when she sleeps.

She is quiet and polite to associates. To friends, she indulges in strange humor and is pretty goofy. She’s a bit too sensitive for her own good and will get pretty sad if she thinks her friends are upset with her.

Jay’s clothing style is a mishmash of cutesy-pastel and punkish. She likes fem and androgynous clothes best. She can’t afford many outfits anyways tho-

Jay loves biology and nature. She spends most of her time inside doing work and hobby stuff, though

[asmallmoon333]

What do you think Light would be if not a detective?

I like to think Light would become an idol after getting scouted, then go into acting with the goal of using his newfound fame for activism. Very, ah, unlikely, I know. But its a fun thought 🙈

What's your non-detective career for Light?

Okay!! This is a fun question and I've been turning it around in my head for a couple days lol. Apologies in advance, my brain took this not as "what do I think/like" but as "how would I write this" and boom, I ended up overthinking it and making a couple of AUs....again. Hope it's at least amusing!

Actor AU. I actually really like this AU, entertainment-industry!Light sounds really fun, and I don't think your idea is unlikely! Now I don't see him as the sing-and-dance type of idol, but a model and then actor? Yup, I can see this, and I think it would be really fun to explore Light's propensity to live in an act, and make that not only his daily life, but also his career. So the way this AU would start is fairly simple: he'd be walking, and some famous person, probably Misa, would be doing a public shoot. The male lead doesn't show, so she'd point Light out in the crowd and make the crew add him to the shoot as her boyfriend. The photographer wouldn't protest cause Light is handsome, and MisaMisa is a beloved idol, so why not play along? Light would be annoyed but would also play along cause he's a 'nice guy' (and also cause they'd pay him, so easy money.) Plus they would promise not to reveal his face, which is key here. In Light's mind, it's an ego boost, so why not? But, of course, the pictures do get out, showing his face and 'devoted boyfriend act,' they're well received by the public. So now Misa won't shut up about him in interviews, starts to insist they're dating, and Light gets some small fame. He's the 'prince type,' and when Misa moves into acting movies, she wants him to have a role, and they give him something small. Light kinda doesn't want to, kinda does, but is mostly annoyed by the 'small role' thing and wants to show them he can do any 'stupid acting job.' And so he does do it, and plays the role very very well, and from there he gets popular. Light starts an acting career, he does it part-time alongside Uni (which is too easy for him, so he'd bored and has free time lol). The acting jobs also pay very well which is his main concern, since they'd help him get his own place. He also finds he doesn't hate it; it's more interesting than tutoring jobs at least. By this point, he's been typecast as the romantic male lead character or the second male lead, a prince type. Acting is easy for him, he knows what emotions to put on, and so the jobs are pretty easy for him while also building his fame. Eventually, he does this more full time as the roles get bigger, and as you said he also always speaks up for Just Causes in interviews. (to both build his reputation, but also to justify it to himself that he's going this for a 'good reason'). Light developed got a very clean public image, while in the background he's experienced enough shady things in the industry that he learns how to handle it and gets good at buring his opponents. He sees it as an interesting bonus to acting, lol. Now, here's where the AU gets fun; Light grows bored of generic romance movies, and eventually picks up more complicated scrips. Historical dramas, thrillers, etc. These are more challenging, more interesting, and he soon realizes he can slowly start letting his 'real' self out for the first time in his life, shocking the viewers with his 'realistic acting' in much darker media and roles. Then he'd revert to his good-and-humble prince self in public. He'll be known as a genius actor with a great personality. While internally, he'll also get catharsis by playing darker roles and exploring the emotions he was never able to in his daily life. The act becomes the truth, and the truth the act. It's a cool reversal! (Bonus points if L one day sees a darker movie of his and is watching very intently and goes "......he's not acting." And gets interested in Light. Boom, I shoved lawlight in there too!)

Politician AU Okay, now for a darker career path for Light, another AU that I really like to think about: Politician Light Yagami. But this one is actually not a 'If Light wasn't a detective' AU, it's one that takes place years in the future, after the detective bits. In this AU, Light did go to the NPA, climbed the ranks, and eventually he achieved his canon goal of being Director of the NPA. Probably in his 30s, a stupid young age, and everyone is in awe. And Light likes it for a while, he enjoys the power, but then he stats to slowly come to terms with the fact that crime is not the real enemy, its politics. That he can't fix the real problems just by getting rid of the symptoms (criminals) but that it's the sickness itself he has to eradicate. Light gets jaded over the years here, his 17-year-old naivety is gone, and he finds even the Director of the NPA has to bow down to other people (which he hates). But he tells himself it's cause he still doesn't have the power to enact real change. But, most characteristic of all? Light is bored, probably gets there within 3-5 years as the Director. It's boring now, he's reached the top, found it to be unsatisfying, so...now what? Another 20 years of this? Nope! Now, I don't know anything about the Japanese political system, but I know that Light Yagami, using his position as a political basis, would then run for some type of public office. He'd hand the NPA to a puppet he cultivated, and move on to more powerful positions, climbing higher and higher. His hands would get so dirty, and he'd do some truly horrific things, but in true Light fashion, he'd justify it as being 'for the greater good.' After all, the system is corrupt, and Light is "the only one who can fix it," and only by temporarily playing by their rules can he take charge. Or so he tells himself. But really, Light just lives for the thrill; the political enemies to outsmart, the people to set up, the 'bodies' to climb over, he lives on it, even while always telling himself it's for the greater good. And to his credit, he does make positive social changes (he needs social support in politics, after all) and he develops a great reputation in both his offices, and as his stint as head of the NPA (since crime went down in his hands.) People trust him, voters like him, and he looks great on a newspaper or magazine cover. He's also very clean politically, because no one can pin him down for anything. Only his fallen opponents know the truth, but even they doubt it sometimes. In this AU Light Yagami would climb to the greatest social position he could get in Japan....only to eventually realize that the victory of that bores him, too. So he'd have to come up with new goals, new methods, and maybe he'd even turn his eyes on neighbouring countries that are "chaotic" and "ruining his perfect vision of the world." (Let's squeeze L into the AU here, cause someone has to stop Light from starting World War 3.) Not sure how this would all end, but history would remember him as either a revolutionary, or a terrible dictator. The type of politician no one ever wants to see again.

And, well, there you go!! Two career paths that I can see Light pursuing, and best of all two stories that I think would be interesting to see unfold! Thank you for the fun question!

[laf-outloud]

https://www.tumblr.com/laf-outloud/743807030266036224/did-you-get-the-ce-email-jensen-is-now-already

Okay, so I’m going to move past me knee-jerk annoyance over CE being passive aggressive about Jared by calling Jensen THE Headliner in a few emails now. I mean, jared is only at half, or less of the cons this year, and maybe he even stipulated that this is the last year with them. Eithe way, Jared distancing himself is clearly his decision, seeing how many other cons he’s signing up for.

So, moving on from that … I find it absolutely insane that CE is doubling down on the Jensen only cons (as headliner) for 2025 when it’s barely 2024. CE hasn’t even done a single con yet this year, and the ones without Jared are largely not selling well as it is. Why do they think this is enticing to anyone but AAs? I’m not sure how late in the year J2 cons are comparing because they are so far off, but the ones up until August are selling out, or pretty well. At least they seemed to learn their lesson on trying to make Misha a headliner, or banking on cockles panels to appeal to the majority of fans. But, not having J2 takes away almost all the appeal of a CE con, because if your only getting one, you might as well go to a comic con or something, where it’s considerably cheaper.

Anyway, I looked at the 2025 con, and the Gold Pass prices are still similar to the ones this year, include J2 cons, and Jensen' Photo Op prices have gone up. This is wild to me in what will be 5 years after the last season of the show. I get that they must be getting desperate, but that just doesn’t even make sense to me. People are still trying to scrape money together for cons later this year, never mind 2025. There can only be so many rich women with free time to go to the ever-more-extensive CE cons, and who need to get close to Jensen that badly. Even if Jensen has a significant part on Season 5 of the Boys, I still don’t see him selling out cons with him alone as headliner. I don’t see him doing anything to bring in new fans, especially the type to want to pay big money to go to cons.

I’ve already seen friends on SM talking about being glad they already have cons booked for this year, because they were already unhappy with changes CE is making in cons, their greed, and now this development. Lots of people look like they will be opting out of CE cons after this year, and that’s from people who go fairly regularly.

I want to go to one last con this year, but I’m debating if I want to give CE my money any more at all. But, this might be among the last chances to see J2 together (which I enjoy), so I’m still considering it.

I think we have reached the end of an era in the SPN fandom, or we are at least in the final gasp.

You're laying down facts, anon!

It appears that Burbank is the weakest of the non-Jared cons this year, so I suppose the others could pull out better numbers, but you are definitely right that this feels like the last desperate gasp of a dying tradition, especially if, as you say, even regular con-goers are giving up.

I still think Jared will attend some CE cons (possibly one a quarter), especially if they do another in Austin, but mainly to maintain his SPN legacy.

This will be a very telling year for Creation and I suspect that as the year progresses, we'll see more discounted tickets (MinnCon 2025 tickets are already on sale), and likely a reduction in the number of cons for 2025 (no matter how much certain actors rely on them... CE can't keep paying the actors' attendance fees if the ticket sales won't cover them.)

[thehamletdiaries]

Hamlet, in the park, in the pouring rain.

So, Stratford-Upon-Avon has this open air theatre called the Dell, where it puts on plays throughout the summer; they are free for anyone to go watch and they are mostly amateur productions or youth groups or the like. I’d never seen a production there before and didn’t really understand…what it was…which sounds silly but the only open air theatres I’d been to were very much full, built up theatres with seating and a stage and the only difference to any other theatre is they didn’t have a roof.

But I had been to the park that the Dell is in, and I knew it couldn’t be that.

And it isn’t…it’s just a small raised platform, with two tents either side as the wings, and people can bring their own chairs, or sit on the grass, or stand. 

Now, the day I’m headed up there to see this production of Hamlet it was raining. And they had meant to be performing at 12pm and 3pm, but the 12pm performance was cancelled because of the rain. And as we are getting closer and closer to 3pm…it is still very much raining, and pretty heavily. So, I’m checking the website, it’s not saying it’s cancelled…so I head to the park (it’s still very much raining), and I’m walking over wondering if this production is even going ahead - and it did! And with a fairly decent sized audience, all of us sheltering under a tree, many with umbrellas and raincoats (I had neither), and whilst I cannot imagine for a moment it was what the cast would have chosen, the reality of watching it like this was actually sort of wonderful - it was this very communal experience…a way of experiencing Hamlet, together, in this very unique way.

The nature of the theatre also has other quirks; a dog nearly ran on stage at one point, and it’s a public park so people are just walking past having conversations…but you quickly end up embracing that as part of the nature of this kind of performance. People were also taking photos - something I would normally never do during a play - but it felt very natural in this environment and I ended up taking photos too.

The company that put on the production is called Necessary Cat Limited…and other than a facebook page I genuinely cannot find any information about them anywhere, except that they are doing the same production of Hamlet at the Edinburgh Fringe. I don’t really understand whether they are a fully amateur company or sort of semi-professional...I got a programme but it really didn’t give me much more information; all of the actors seemed to have backgrounds that were sort of “semi-professional or somewhat around the theatre world but not quite” - and I couldn’t find any of them on social media either; so really that remains something of a mystery.

The production certainly had an amateur dramatics flavour - which I don’t mean in a negative way *at all*; there is something quite wonderful about that style of performance that I really enjoyed.

All of the actors embodied their roles well, I thought (and a couple were notably impressive…I’ll come to that in a second)...except for Colin Povey as Hamlet. He was…not great, to say the least. I don’t think he was a bad actor, but he was bad at playing the character of Hamlet. The problem was, I think, that he seemed incredibly pleased to be playing Hamlet, which came across as him being incredibly pleased to be Hamlet, and if Hamlet is anything it is not pleased to be himself. There was a slight smirk on his face for almost the whole play - and not in the “Hamlet is roguishly charming sometimes” way, but in a “I am just having a great time and enjoying my life and am very pleased with myself” way - and at times, particularly when he was alone on stage (watching to be or not to be when the performer doesn’t even seem remotely sad is…an odd experience), this…version…of Hamlet was so grating I found myself actively paying attention to the dogs and the passers by and things around me to distract myself because it was just such a grating performance. And honestly, I sort of feel bad talking about this guy who gave us a whole one hour and 45mins long performance in the rain but he was just so wrong for the part.

However, it says something about the pace and the energy of the rest of the cast, and about how this performance was constructed, that I still had a really good time watching a version of Hamlet with a very poorly performed Hamlet.

Because everything else was really quite good.

Firstly, the cutting was excellent; it only ran for an hour and 45mins and somehow did not feel choppy or oddly cut; I noticed a couple of cuts here and there but only because I know the script so well and mostly I couldn’t tell which lines they had gotten rid of at all. They cut the whole Fortinbras plot, which was a sensible move in a version that needed to be shorter and more contained.

The Ophelia actress, Amber Lipman, was wonderful - she brought an intelligence to the role that I feel Ophelia often does not get afforded, whilst also feeling very young, and very used, and very much the victim in a way that made you so angry for her.

The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern actor and actress - Alan Sunter and Caitlin Carter (they played them as two men, just one of the performers happened to be a woman) were also really good; they very much felt like real characters that mattered in their own right and not just as plot devices…which often happens with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; their individual humanities as well as the relationship between the two of them and between them and Horatio was all very evident and really well done.

Also, a fun reality of the stage set up is one of the tents that acted as a wing was completely open; so you could see the actors “backstage” and Sunter and Carter fist bumped after they exited from doing their first scene and it was adorable.

Now, James Scott as Horatio. The thing is…I don’t really see a lot of Horatios that feel like my Horatio. Of course this is a character I am wedded to far more than probably makes rational sense and of course this is going to mean I am far pickier than is particularly reasonable about how Horatio is played…and I really, really loved James Scott’s performance. He captured that Horatio is complicated; that Horatio is a human caught in this absolutely mad situation; he captured how much Horatio cares…not just about Hamlet, but about Ophelia too, and about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He captured how Horatio is trying to do the right thing and to help and feels so out of place at court and just doesn’t quite know what to do but also can’t really quite bring himself to try and stop Hamlet because he loves and trusts him too much not to follow him…until it’s too late.

He understood all of that.

And he managed to perform all of that whilst acting opposite a Hamlet who, not to repeat the point, was not a good Hamlet at all. I would love to be able to see Scott play Horatio again opposite a Hamlet actor who was worthy of his performance.

There were also some really nice aspects to how Horatio was included in the play; for a start he was just included in a lot of it…he’s there for the whole of the Ophelia madness scene, not just the first part, they had him delivering letters from Hamlet to other characters in place of the side character who normally does it, which I liked; he generally felt very present and I’m always here for more Horatio.

Without being too heavy handed about it, they weaved in far more of a relationship between Horatio and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern than you get to see in most productions; little details like them talking together before and during the Mousetrap play…but then having Horatio immediately go to Hamlet’s side as soon as it moved into the play upon my pipe scene; that reality that these four were all friends, and Horatio was still going to hold those relationships in his heart in some way…but also was never going to side with anyone but Hamlet when it came down to it; I loved how that was done.

And I loved the care he showed Ophelia and that dynamic was just so well played.

There was this beautiful moment, after Ophelia has first come on stage and is mad, when she had gone off stage, followed by Horatio, and the two actors were sorting out the flowers for her to come back on with (they also had Horatio come on with a flower in his hair which was a nice touch), and they were doing this in the tent where you could see everything and they were talking and clearly joking with each other and for a moment I basically stopped watching the play because instead I was watching what felt like this beautiful tableau of Horatio and Ophelia just hanging out and having a nice time and it was lovely and sweet and beautiful…I had a lot of emotions in that moment.

They rather strangely cut Horatio trying to kill himself at the end; genuinely not sure why.

They did, however, have Osric (the Guildenstern actress doubled as Osric and she played them differently enough to make that work) hold Laertes in his arms as he died so…here are some pictures for all you Osric/Laertes shippers out there.

At the end I went up to James Scott and said something along the lines of “I just wanted to say that Horatio is a character that means so much to me and I so rarely get to see him in a way that feels true to him and you really did that and thank you”...or something along those lines; this sounds very silly but I was amazed I managed to get through saying that to him without crying because at that point I genuinely was so moved and had so many feelings about everything he brought to and embodied about my Horatio.

[samijey]

Jey was aggressive, and Sami was gentle because they were feeling too much but handled it differently

That's just the thing about them though isn't it? Sami always had a fairly straightforward way out of the Bloodline - he wasn't tied down by the same things Jey was, so when it became too much, he was able to break himself free (at the expense of multiple beatdowns, of course), while Jey came so close to following him but was ultimately dragged back when Roman threatened to make Jimmy pay for Jey's continuous absence.

For Jey, Sami was supposed to finally be the person he could share the burden of protecting his family with (a responsibility he admitted to feeling since a very young age), so losing that so soon after finally accepting and embracing it post-WarGames must've felt soul crushing. A point that has been completely brushed aside by WWE's writing is that Jey was struggling for weeks after the Rumble, giving every indication that he wanted to jump ship too - he admitted in a promo that he did not want to attack Sami but felt forced to (something NO ONE has ever acknowledged in canon). So when it became clear that he was once again tied down to the Bloodline, the need arose to go all out when it came to beating Sami down - just go back and watch the way Jey acted at Backlash - the aggressiveness is so clearly tainted with denial (continuously shouting about how everything was Sami's fault?? Even shouting it at the crowd?? Nah, he was trying to convince himself at that point.) He needed to prove a point not just to Roman but to himself in what I think was an attempt to minimize the frustration of coming so close to breaking away only to go back to carrying the weight of protecting his family by himself.

Violence had been the Bloodline's bread and butter from the start (not just against others but crucially within the group itself), so it makes complete sense that Jey would be overly aggressive in his matches with Sami. However, something about Jey's character is that he's a bad actor - conflict and dread were constantly clear in his face. It made it clear to us the viewers how much he was acting against his will, but it also confirmed Sami's accusation of how he wasn't truly mad at Sami, but at himself for the situation he was in and how powerless it made him feel, despite it never being his fault in the first place.

[richardsphere]

Leverage Log: The Blue Line Job

I read the name of this episode and let me say in advance, the reference to a (thin?) blue line immediately after an episode where the villain referenced 9/11 has me significantly worried about this show's direction. --- Oh its an episode about how one of america's 4 favourite pasttimes (hockey, baseball, Handegg and WWE) is legitimately bad for the participants brains due to the repeated concussions. (note: That description covers 3 of the four. Only baseball is not a contact sport) Im gonna be honest, i don't know how this ties into the Blue Line, but its an important message that US audiences need to be more aware of. --- So we have extreme electromagnets getting seeded, and Parker is starting to get the psychological profiling references (in creepy Cold War ways)

Everyone gets really confused for a sec when Sophie turns out to know a lot about hockey. (turns out she stole the Stanley Cup. Not to be confused with the shitty Stanley Cups that for some reason became FOMO Fashion last year.) --- Ok, if you are ever in the same room as any of these people: Dont eat, Dont drink dont even breathe. --- Cheating the guy with magnets. Anticlimactic use of them tbh. --- Elliot is loving it on the ice. I wonder what its like for an actor being told they have to suddenly learn how to do fightscenes on ice. --- Guys been putting a hit out on his own man to prevent having to pay his bonus. (by which i mean paying people to start fights with him, to avoid paying a bonus which prerequisites him fighting every game of the season. Its a terrible plan for avoiding the payout. Unless he dies but the bribes are not hitmen level of money for murder.) --- Nate is really frustrated that Sophie apparently lost the stanley cup. (not in the "lost the tournament" sense, but in the "lost the trophy".) --- Elliot decides to cut the knot: Just tell the guy his medical paperwork is being rigged and that he's dying of brainbash. Unfortunately it seems he knows and is trying to do it for his kid. --- Ok so it turns out that Sophie's old partner is a Celebrity Cameo. (Im not american and i dont like sports so i dont know shit about this guy) --- Ok so Sophie is pretending to be an eccentric billionaire (with a turtle) --- Oh Clients Dad just attacked Elliot? "you dont know anything about me" *proceeds to diagnose* Elliot keeps trying the "convince him not to kill himself" play (a respectable play) but it just doesnt work. --- OMG he just counterconned them by accident? "I know the industry, you guys are the bigger fish. Im out, feel free to buy my company if you want it" Im fairly certain this might be the one case where the downturn wasnt a part of the con. Honestly, amazing on the writers to have this such a natural way for the con to fall apart. "oops Hardison's too good at his job" --- Ok, so goodbye to Cameoman, it was nice to see him and nate not have a dick-measuring contest over Sophie's affections. (I was worried it was gonna be one of those jealousy episodes) --- Final game just started and Elliot is tackling white-shirts like there's no tomorrow. Cant actually see what he's saying to them but I suspect he's going into step 2 of his plan: If Clients Dad wont get off the ice, warn everyone else he's got a bad case of "the Dyings". Honestly, Elliot is great at just cutting through the complexities. None of this treasurehunt nonsense just tell them. --- Elliot is taken out of the game and put on the bench. --- Dad tries to start a fight but it seems im right, Elliot has just been playing the simple game of: trust humans not to want to murder a guy. Return of the electromagnets. (good, puck-tricking was boring). Remember, checkov's gun can be loaded with more then a single bullet --- Sophie still doesn't know where the cup is. (and I still dont know where the blue line is)

[average-guy-reviews]

65 (2023)

"After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills quickly discovers he's actually stranded on Earth -- 65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at a rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa, must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures."

A long time ago, in a galaxy not very far away, Adam Driver crashed a spaceship into prehistoric Earth. From the first trailer I wanted to see this film. It looked like an interesting take on a dinosaur movie, with some sci-fi flavour. I went into it with my expectations set at a clear level. I firmly believed I'd enjoy it, but wasn't expecting a cinematic masterpiece. I'm very happy to say that these expectations were solidly met.

The directors, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, give us as close to a real look at a prehistoric Earth as it may be possible, while still giving us an action film with some heart. The sets for the ship, and the locations for filming were great and I felt immersed in the world, for the most part.

The cinematography was definitely top notch. The dinosaur effects looked really good, at times better than the recent Jurassic World film if I'm honest. Now, I will say this, far from being a Dino expert I have to admit to only recognising a couple of the species in the film. I suspect some free rein was given to the designers of the creatures when creating them. Still it didn't detract from the movie, and some.of the monsters were genuinely quite creepy.

For the vast majority of the film this was a two-hander. Adam Driver, as Commander Mills, and Ariana Greenblatt, as Koa, give us a standard pairing of hero and rescuee. With a language barrier they struggle to communicate with each other, but over time come to a level of understanding that let's them work together. It's a trope that has been used in sci-fi so many times and, while this wasn't done badly, two immediately better versions come to mind...Enemy Mine from the 80s and Star Trek TNG episode 'Darmok'.

Ariana Greenblatt is a young actress, with a fairly solid catalogue already, most notable as the young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War. This was a solid run as a crash survivor on a dangerous planet, who can't talk properly to her rescuer. She was better in the short scenes with Thanos, but she was far from bad here. I think we are going to see a lot from her in the coming years.

Adam Driver.......I'm not his biggest fan, but I will freely admit to not having seen a lot of his movies. What I have seen so far is an actor that fits in the mold of a lot of actors. He is himself in movies, and what you see in the films is a variation of that self. I'm not disparaging him at all. Some of the most successful actors ever have been exactly the same. What it says to me is that if Adam Driver is in a film then I'll probably really enjoy it, and surely that's got to be a good thing.

Overall it's a solid film. I came out of it feeling thoroughly satisfied. I used my monthly subscription to Odeon to buy the ticket, but I wouldn't have objected to paying for it separately. It's a film that has a decent mix of danger, heart, dinos and sci-fi, and who couldn't love that combo. There are a couple of gross out moments, so be prepared. It gets a really solid 7.5/10, and a recommendation to give it a go if you like dinos and Adam Driver.

[seewetter]

But it's hard to convey this message if the reason given for representation in art is how the audience "sees themselves in the characters".

If we say "I watch media because I'm starved to see people like myself and that's why stereotypes and bad representation are wrong" then we have to be prepared for people who say "I watch media that way too and when you objectify the character, you take away from me the deep connection I developed with these characters I connect to my experience and connect with".

The solution is easy: we want better representation not so that no fan will ever be hurt again while consuming art -- art is meant to challenge and even hurt -- we want better representation because it reflects the diverse perspectives of people who do art for a living. Where are our indigenous, our queer, our disabled or female or non-white or proletarian voices and how much attention and money are they given for their hard work?

But without that shift in perspective, people end up glorifying the consumer. When you glorify the consumer, the black guy dying first in the horror movie is not upsetting because that means the black guy actor got a tiny paycheck compared to all who survived him -- no, the black guy dying first is upsetting due to how the vigilant audience looking for affirmation of being progressive don't get the art to play out exactly as they imagine. Rather than an issue about how the industry maintains racism as part of the general aim of not paying its workers fairly, it becomes an issue about how the consumers love the industry and won't criticize it's practices as long as the stories are all stereotype-free and "affirming".

That's what a generation of people taught themselves to think on this very website. When Junot Díaz compared the experience of being deprived of representation to being a vampire, he may have been speaking to a real response to racial trauma (?) but I don't think, overall, that we can understand the current puritanism, the current moral crusading against impurity, without being a bit critical of the attitude: Like a vampire? Like a mythic being without a reflection in the mirror? Perhaps I'm odd for thinking this, but it seems exaggerated.

People talk about moral purity because they were told that the moral cause was when the "vampires" get beautiful reflections again. They talk in terms of moral purity because they feel like vampires in a world of bestselling "problematic" fiction -- that's why the moral purity we see on tumblr feels a bit odd. It's moral purity coming from people who want to see kink in fiction, for example. I mean to say: these people are champions of some kinds of "problematic" fiction and become proverbial vampire-hunters towards "the wrong kind of problematic" stuff.

I'm aware there's lots of reasons for these vanquishers of immorality. They're not a monolith and some of them are just sheltered and easily offended or have bad intentions.

But the response from nope-the-weeb was telling: "I can tell this has good intentions". If I assume in good faith that nope-the-weeb is being sincere, then clearly there is some interesting common ground with our friend named...uh...nope, since nope acknowledges the value of defending artistic freedom. That might be an example of how our own communities, our own emancipatory discourse is producing these contradictory attitudes: no to censorship but yes to possessiveness ("connection") towards characters.

We say "you do not need to be careful" (quote by OP) how characters are treated after years of telling everyone to be very careful with how they handle these topics.

I agree there's no need for care. Fiction doesn't become real. The few instances of fiction "inspiring" violence (My Way murders, Jaws and its effects on shark killings) are not sufficient to prove fiction has any effect (all examples are shortlived and geographically specific even though the works of art spread far and wide and have endured decades). Fiction also doesn't speak to the author's character. You sometimes, knowing an author's politics, understand their impact on the author's fiction (you know, Ayn Rand's Fountainhead) and sometimes a work of fiction is a clear product of a certain outlook (Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman star in 2011's Season of the Witch which I think is a film devoid of any awareness of racist biases). But you can't look at a work of fiction and more-than-guess the author's politics just from the fiction. It will always be a guess. Let alone guessing a person's morality, unless we are talking Turner Diaries-style incitement to violence.

But artistic freedom used to be seen (by me & most of my tumblr dashboard circa 2011-2014) as a misguided form of centrist fence-sitting. As a way to both-sides oppression. As a way of regimenting marginalized voices struggling to assert their perspectives (by censoring art) by equating them to Nazi book burners and the like.

To talk to people like nope-the-weeb who end up trying to put a moral blemish on "problematic content" means to first understand where they're coming from. And they're not always coming from a place of trying to create moral conformity and "inoffensive art", even if that is often what they end up doing by accident.

I really think everyone needs to truly internalize this:

Fictional characters are objects.

They are not people. You cannot "objectify" them, because they have no personhood to be deprived of. They have no humanity to be erased. You cannot "disrespect" them, because they are not real.

[halfagone]

What would Danny do for work?

I have a quick question to my fellow Danny Phantom fans... When you imagine Danny picking a career/job, what do you headcanon for him? And this is if he can't- for whatever reason- be an astronaut. This is a hypothetical question, it's not- like, going to affect any of my stories in the future or anything *chuckles nervously*

For me, it's always depended on the headcanon I choose for any particular story/AU. But that gets complicated when I have multiple headcanons that could offer opportunities for him.

For example:

Astrophysicist/Aerospace Engineer - He can't be an astronaut, but that doesn't mean he can't still do some kind of work that involves his love for space.

Engineer - In a similar vein, he could be a regular engineer. Especially if he takes after his dad, Jack, more and maybe even creates his own prototypes and inventions.

In a subset to engineer, in my story weekend wonders, Danny is majoring in biomedical engineering. This is because in this AU, the accident gave him chronic pain, and that's how he gained an interest in this field. This could also work great if he gets attention from the Justice League in a DP x DC crossover, or the Avengers in a DP x Marvel crossover; Danny could just as easily work with heroes who have disabilities or chronic pain from many decades of work as heroes. It helps that he personal experience with the same struggles, after all.

Translator - If you headcanon that Danny can understand a lot of languages (or maybe even them all) due to ghost speak, then Danny could totally use this to his advantage with work. Plus!! This offers many different avenues that could be used to your advantage. Want Danny to be connected to the UN in some way before debuting as Ghost King? Have him be a translator that works there. Want Danny to be busy often with his royal responsibilities/ghost fighting? Have him be a translator; he can work remotely or stay self-employed/on contracts.

Teacher - Danny doesn't have great experience with educational staff, so I could imagine him going into this field of work due to nothing but spite. And! He could teach ectobiology, or just ghosts in general. He could do so many topics: Biology, government, history, hell he could do a whole semester on how physics work in the Ghost Zone.

Blacksmith/Ironsmith - Okay, this one is more self-indulgent, but imagine if Pandora teaches him how to fight with a sword and then he gets obsessed with the sword itself that he wants to make one that's perfectly suited for him and this just dominos into going full-blown into this field. (Trade skills are still important, and sadly, don't get as much attention even when they can usually offer fairly decent pay without the thousands of dollars worth in student debt.)

Writer/Author - If you wanted him to be more artistic, he could be a freelance author/novelist or something similar. I feel like being an author would be one of the better choices for him because, again, if you were writing a story where Danny would be busy with a lot of other responsibilities, then he could largely work on his own schedule. Plus! I can totally imagine him hanging out in Long Now with Clockwork when his head is just full of ideas for a story but he wouldn't have the time to write it otherwise. So he kind of uses Long Now to get that time, but he can promise it's for a good cause, stop laughing, Clockwork!

Actor - I really love the concept of Danny being an actor, just for the laughs if nothing else. While this could be a pain if Danny does actually get famous, since that's a lot of media he would probably prefer not to deal with, the concept alone offers a great deal of shenanigans. And... if he does get a good movie deal, he could very well be set for life afterwards. He could be one of those one-hit wonders in television or something.

If anyone has other possibilities, feel free to add! My head is constantly spinning with even more ideas, I might just add some myself.

[nealcassatiel]

Supernatural and Russia and the mess of Television Legal Contracts

One of the most important aspects of a television series’ life cycle is its distribution. It is in the stage of distribution when the production companies/studio recoup the largest amount of costs.

By looking at who distributes the show, as well as which companies stand to gain the most from distribution profits, we can gain greater understanding of the various complex agreements and finances at play.

Viewing Statistics in the USA, Russia, and other International Territories

Let’s take a look at where Supernatural is distributed, and it’s popularity in the countries in which it airs. 

After the US, in the past 30 days, Supernatural’s next biggest market is in Russia. The next is in Brazil. 

This got long - more under the cut (I’ll be talking about cuts shortly)

In Russia, Supernatural has been in the top 0.2% watched shows in Russia (link) . This is also the case in Brazil. 

In 2019, a modest survey was done on urban and rural Russians asking them what foreign television they watch. Supernatural was the 6th most mentioned foreign television show (link).

In 2017, Supernatural was three times more popular in Russia than it was in the US (link - this article has just a whole other host of information about it being popular amongst urban and rural US residents, as well as popular amongst both Republics and Democrats, however i haven’t looked further into that data so not going to discuss it much here)

So selling Supernatural to Russia and airing it in Russia is going to bring in a lot of revenue for The C*W and the production companies. That is a lucrative distribution territory and of a huge amount of importance to the network. Russia will air both new episodes, and reruns. Of course, if Supernatural made a queer love story a central premise, then execs are going to get scared that not only will the finale may not be aired in one of their biggest, if not their biggest market: Russia, but that the broadcasters who distribute the show in Russia might also pull the rest of the show and stop broadcasting reruns too. That’s a shit tonne fo distribution profits gone for The C*W, and who knows, maybe their relationship with Russian broadcasters who air their other shows will be on the rocks. After all, trying to sell gay tv to Russians right now is, sadly, never going to happen. This is not an indictment on the Russian viewers, but me saying that the show won’t be sellable to Russian broadcasters if it is too queer.

A huge huge majority of US Supernatural fans are progressive and wanted the more queer focused and found family ending. But the C*W and Warner believes that there are still enough US fans who don’t want something that progressive to be shown. They also know that one of their biggest markets is Russia, and Dean being shown to be bi will not go down well there. I’m just speculating, but The C*W may have looked at those chunks of audience who give them money and decide that they only care about those profits. 

The frustrating thing however, is that no matter the power of Russian Supernatural audiences, looking at the other progressive countries and the popularity of Supernatural there - these numbers as a collective outshine those of Russia. So maybe Russia isn’t that important. Or maybe all The C*W needed to think was ‘we don’t want to stop profits from our biggest international viewership’ and so they never even went further and thought about the collective viewership of the audiences from progressive countries. As I said at the start, distribution is where the companies who invested into making a show recoup the most costs. All the money that comes from distribution is incredibly important.

DISTRIBUTION AND CO-PRODUCTION AGREEMENTS

The writers, the crew, the actors, don’t really get the distribution profits. They may get small cuts of things or bonuses here and there, but they’re all essentially employed by the production company. It is the production company and studio who has sunken money into making the show who will get a cut of the distribution profits. So the production companies and co-production companies, the creator (maybe still if they had a good agent when they first sold the pitch), the network are all going to be the ones to care about how much a finale will matter to profits from showing reruns in less progressive countries. Dabb is an employee - he personally will be paid a fixed sum which is given to him by the production company. He does not care if SPN can’t be aired in Russia - that has no personal affect on him. He was paid to showrun the series and he’ll get nothing more even if it becomes the most watched anti-gay homophobic celebrated show in Moscow. He has no financial reason to cater to anyone. He’s just an employee. 

But if information like this, the knowledge that for multiple years TPTB have wanted Supernatural to cater to a non-progressive international and national audience for the sake of distribution profits, then the show should have never have taken the narrative to a place whose ending could not be green-lit.

If for the sake of these pofits and other secondary rights, for the sake of appeasing rural/southern USA viewers, and trying to keep an audience for Walker, The C*W derailed the final two episodes, then I still don’t fully understand why the ending was heading towards destiel when all of this distribution finance information has been known for many many years. 

It makes sense why such a terrible finale would happen, but it doesn’t make sense why up until episode 18, the entire narrative of the show was leading somewhere completely different? Why were the writers of SPN heading straight towards one thing, if they knew they always knew that they’d have to have a completely different ending? 

The Right of Final Cut / Final Cut Privilege

The answer may lie in the fact that The C*W wasn’t really paying that much attention to SPN, they couldn’t really see all the subtext, but suddenly the subtext all was going to become text and they were all twiddling their thumbs and looking for something to do during COVID when the industry shut down, so they suddenly got way more involved. 

Let’s quickly clear up who The C*W is and how they relate to SPN as a company. Supernatural lists The C*W as one of it’s distributers, but lists Warner Bros Television as a production company. When SPN started it was made by The WB (which is now The C*W). It’s all under Warner Media anyway, but we can basically say that Warner Bros Television (listed as a co-producer of SPN) is the sam as The C*W who is listed as a distributer of SPN. They’re essentially the same so The C*W is both producing and distributing SPN, as well as owning the format rights to the show - sorry that’s all complicated anyway The C*W are the big dogs who own Supernatural and have done from the beginning back when they were called The WB)

Essentially, The C*W have a co-production and distribution agreement for SPN. The power they have from that first agreement when they bought the show off Kripke is almost certainly still MASSIVE today. They are not only the ultimate distributers, but the ultimate producers with all the agreements and all the rights. 

Anyway, back to that first agreement: This was Kripke’s first big deal, and he almost certainly gave Warner Bros/The C*W a whole host of creative control in exchange for them sinking a shit tonne of money into making the show. Which makes me wonder if The C*W has something in entertainment law called “the right of final cut/final cut privilege”. If a studio or distributer has sunken a heck tonne of costs into making the series and are the ones who most need to recoup the distribution costs, then in their contract they may try to give themselves the ‘final cut privilege’ - essentially, this is the final edit. There’s the Director’s Cut, but then after that there is the Final Cut. The Final Cut is what is broadcast. Nowadays, most series and films don’t allow the directors to have final cut privilege anyway - it’s fairly rare from my understanding (one of my hats is a television legal contracts assistant, and all of these contracts still confuse me even though it’s an element of my job - I’m not trained in this outside of work so i apologise if this isn’t clear). The studio or distributer doesn’t even need to clear their final cut with the writer/director/producer. They can just do it. Cut it up and broadcast it, because they’re allowed to in their contract.

So with the finale episode being so short, a mess of montages, Carry on My Wayward Son versions back to back, a narrative mess, the pacing completely off, some scenes way too short and others way too long - this really could insinuate that the stupid clause of ‘the right of final cut’ was utilised by The C*W and without the need to get the permission or allowance of Dabb or even the other production companies, they edited everything they didn’t like out of the finale, citing their contract and the fact that they’re the ones who need to recoup distribution costs, and they don’t want to piss off large swathes of their national and international audience.

In Conclusion

So positives? Well, now that SPN is done and dusted, if there is a spin-off then this shouldn't affect distribution deals in Russia or Brazil. If whoever buys the format rights for Supernatural, allows The C*W to still sell the old series distribution rights, then market the new season of SPN not as a new season but a spin-off, then this will give them more freedom to not cater to the conservative international and national audiences SPN was beholden to due to distribution profits. What I’m saying is - a spin-off could free itself from catering to anyone who isn’t progressive. The old audiences can carry on showing reruns of SPN and completely ignore the new ‘fake’ gay spin-off. They can say that it’s a different production company, a different network - and therefore not the legitimate show. Great. Free SPN. 

A new format agreement could also mean that the new producers could ensure that not the distributer, but the director, or the new trusted production company themselves gets the Right of Final Cut. If another agreement is made, please please please take that right away from The C*W/Warner. 

The difficulty in getting the SPN rights would be caused by the mess of a Format Agreement to even get those rights... Supernatural is co-produced by Kripke Enterprises, Warner Bros. Television, Supernatural Films, and Wonderland Sound and Vision. I’m assuming Kripke Enterprises and Supernatural Films may be under Warner Media (as Warner Bros and The C*W itself is). If Jensen wanted to produce the new spin-off then his new production company is under WB/Warner Media too... so. Disentangling meddling and shitty Warner Media execs from a spin-off would be difficult because they own everyone. 

All in all, it’s easy to see now with that mess of a finale that this was caused with whoever has “The Right Of Final Cut/Final Cut Privilege’. And I HIGHLY doubt Singer or Dabb or any mere employee on the show has it. It’s more and more obvious to me that this power lies in the hands of The C*W/Warner and they didn’t even try to loop Dabb or the main cast in when making the final edits. I’m sure the C*W started to get involved at episode 19 and in the development stage of episode 20, but i’m certain they had a hand in the disastrous final cut. 

I hope we’re able to pry our beloved show out of the hands of those who don’t care about its narratives, but have more power than anyone to change the show’s narratives. Thanks for coming with me on this essay/me working out this complicated mess. It’s 00:50 and I'm super tired so I hope all this makes sense. Television contracts confuse me and I work with them so i dunno how clear any of this is. 

Anyway - I hope it was totally boring.  

[laf-outloud]

https://www.tumblr.com/laf-outloud/744966830492434432/its-funny-that-its-always-hellersaascockles

To be fair, some of those who are complaining about Mark P going to the con are con-goers, and some fairly frequent. But, that still doesn’t give them the right to try dictate who a con hires. Also, unless the guys is actually hurting people, him having different politics than them does not actually make him a criminal. There is too much entitlement to the notion that “if you don’t believe exactly what I’d do, you’re mean, bad, evil.” If you don’t want to see a specific actor at a con, for whatever reason, you have 2 simple options, don’t go to that con, or don’t go to any of that actors panels/activities. It’s really that simple.

I also think people are free to make their complaints, but trying to rally people to pile on is just .. borderline creepy to me. It’s very much the idea that it’s okay to have mob mentality and railroad people as long as they are the “right” people to hate. That’s never been a bad thing historically, right?

Anyway, any actor who brings in good money, will be welcomed back, barring legal action or wide-spread negative press (not write-ups on Screen Rant or, like, Fan Girl’s Weekly).

I don’t even really like Mark P, but I’m more indifferent to him than anything else. But I have a feeling his “bullying” was probably provoked by the brave kind of fan girls who feel justified in hating on people they don’t agree with, and then running and crying when they get slapped for it (metaphorically). It was easy to just not go to his panels. I strongly dislike misha, but I haven’t written to CE asking them to can him.

Also, if anyone should be banned from anything it’s Emmie. She went to like every Jake and Chill, so she thinks she’s his friend or something. And she kept adding her opinions and trying to monopolize Jake’s attention in the event I went to. I didn’t actually pay to hear a childish fan girl talk, thanks.

You make some excellent points, anon! And yes, people do have the right to contact Creation and let them know about their personal wants for cons, but they also have to be careful because if they make claims that get an actor dismissed from cons, and those claims turn out to be false, then the actor may have a legal case for slander, especially if it hurts their reputation/income.

And to add, ugh... I can't imagine being at an event where someone takes over like that and basically ruins it for everyone else, including the actor, who I'm sure would like to pay attention to the other attendees. (I also recall she's the same one who went crying to Jim and the other cast when she was bullied out of Jai's group. That kind of attention-seeking is toxic and unhealthy for all involved.)