(A/N) Hi guys, NicKenny here to announce the début of our new companion fic to Grifball: Running Rampant! Was approached with this idea by Baldore, the writer of our Grifball journalist, Desmond Danhar, a few months back, and immediately green-lit it. Basically, Baldore has Desmond pose questions to the writer of another Grifball character, who reply as their characters would, simulating an interview! We have several of these written, which will come out each week on Tuesday nights, along with our Grifball: Running Rampant update. Welcome, our dear readers, to Symptoms of Rampancy!
*Disclaimer* Any and all swearing present within this chapter will have been due to the editing process, and not the original words of Baldore. The work of other writers may contain swearing which was originally attached, other than that which the editor adds.
Enjoy!
Interview with Jackson Rothe
Day After the Commissioner's Announcement
Written by Baldore and Lili-Hunter
Desmond walked into the room taking a seat across from the Rampancy captain and smiled. It's always better to stay on the player's good side. "So, Mr. Rothe, how are you today? Everything going well?"
Jackson forced a smile, and reached over the table to shake Desmond's hand. He knew of the guy, a little - Alex had done a few interviews about his "scandals" with him. "Fine," he replied, remembering to be polite. "How are you?"
"I'm great! I'm assuming you've heard the news?" Jackson nodded and Desmond continued, shuffling through his notes. "So, where you when you first heard the news? About women being able to play?"
Jackson fought the urge to scowl at the memory. "I was in my apartment," he told Desmond, "the Grifball segment had just ended, and I nearly missed the announcement, actually."
Desmond noted that Jackson tensed slightly but pushed the fact to the back of his mind for future consideration; it was probably nothing. "And how'd you react? Throw a party? Start throwing things? Not even care about it?"
Jackson snorted. Yeah, right - as though he'd have thrown a party over that news. And, well, he had thrown his phone into a wall... but he sure as heck wasn't going to mention it. "Nah," he said with a shake of his head. "Alex called pretty much straight away. I spoke to him, and then organised a team meeting for later that night. It was a whirlwind of activity after that announcement. There wasn't that much time to react, only prepare," he lied smoothly.
"Prepare? Are you hoping to get some women to replace your old players? Speaking of which, how is Anthony?" Desmond felt bad for using a slightly loaded question about replacing players and cracked a joke to lighten the mood. After all, when in doubt, crack a joke. "And I think we all know how Mr Cross feels about getting women on the team."
Jackson forced another grin. Actually, he was hoping for the exact opposite - the less women on his team, the happier he'd be. How the heck was he supposed to answer the question? Jackson knew he wasn't the best of liars - compared to Alex, he was practically transparent. He decided to ignore it entirely. "Anthony's doing fine," he replied. "Doc says that he'll be out of hospital in, uh, a couple of months, I think." As he moved onto the next question, Jackson chuckled. Obviously, Desmond knew Alex and his ways pretty well. "Alex is being Alex," he said with a smirk. "He's excited, no matter who we get on our team for the next season."
"I'm going to just assume that as a 'Yes Desmond, I'd love that!' since you didn't answer. And I'm glad about Anthony. He's was a good player." Desmond smirked. "That's probably true. Alex did always seem pretty excited. Let's seeeee," the reporter flipped through his notes, frowned deeply and then chucked his notes in the trash. "How's your off season going? Still training?"
Jackson smirked again. Desmond could assume whatever he wanted - at least it painted Jackson in a slightly better light than his answer would've. He raised an eyebrow as Desmond threw his notes in the trash, looking up only when he asked the next question. "What? Oh, right. Yeah, we're still training - gotta keep in shape, and everything. At the moment it's not particularly heavy stuff - but Coach'll probably pick up the routine as we get closer to the new season."
"Coach Anderson, right? He's been fighting for this for women for quite a while right? Do you know how he feels about the announcement?" Desmond hasn't been able to catch up to him at the announcement.
"That's him," Jackson confirmed. "Yeah, he's always thought that professional-league Grifball should be open to everyone, not just the men." He barely contained an eye roll as he spoke. "I haven't really spoken to him about it, either, but I imagine he's feeling pretty pleased."
"Well, that's good. It's a big step for Grifball and not all the teams are as accepting as Rampancy." Desmond said, staring at Jackson before continuing. "How do you think this will affect the games, if at all?"
Jackson glanced away, a little uncomfortable with Desmond's piercing glare. He stared at the table for a moment, thinking over his words, before continuing. "I definitely think it'll affect the games," he said slowly. "As for the actual gameplay, men are physically stronger, so the girls will probably rely more on speed - which means the energy sword'll be more popular - to take us down. That'll mix up the dynamic, I think, even though Grifball rounds are pretty fast and intense." A little too late, Jackson realized his words might be considered a little offensive. Then he shrugged away the thought - who cared if they were? "And outside of the field... well, I don't know. Guess we'll just have to see."
Desmond nodded. "Are you saying that women are going to have an advantage of speed during the games? How about Tanks and Defenders?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Jackson agreed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "As for Tanks and Defenders... well, they'll be at a disadvantage if they insist on using grav hammers, definitely."
"Hmmm, I honestly hadn't thought about it this way, Mr. Rothe. I guess that's why you're the pro and I'm just a reporter, eh?" Desmond joked, still trying to lighten the mood with the Grifball captain. "Okay, last question unless I get some glorious random inspiration, if you get women on the team, how is your rules for the team going to change? Are you worried about the women's work ethics or possible romances? Or are you going to keep running everything the same?"
Jackson laughed, eyeing the reporter. At least this one joked around, a little. Most of the ones he'd met with were all doom and gloom. "Uh, well, I don't really see why we'd have to change the rules. As for work ethic... well, I always expect the best from my team, and I'm not going to be making any exceptions. They'll have to work just as hard as we do. And I s'pose there's no way to completely prevent relationships, but I'd say it'll definitely be discouraged. I'd like to see them tell Alex that, though," he added with another chuckle.
"Well, I'm sure they'll appreciate the equality. I'm looking forward to Rampancy's next season." Desmond smiled again and raised a camera. "Oh, and could I possible get a picture? I'd have Sam, my partner and photographer, do it but she's on vacation so I apologize if it's not the best." Jackson obliged and the reporter clicked the shutter. "Well, thanks for the interview, if you want to read it'll be in my column in Grifball weekly for the AGLoA.
Desmond stood, and shook Jackson's hand. "Oh, and tell Cross that my offer for a pickup Grifball game still stands or if you want to." Desmond paused and started for the door. "And Mr. Rothe, I would try to hide your disdain for the women Grifball players a little better, not all reporters will ignore it like me."
As soon as Desmond's back was turned, Jackson scowled. And here, he'd thought that the guy wasn't half-bad. He resisted the urge to make a rude gesture at his disappearing form, and instead ran a hand through his hair. Damn it. He'd have to read Desmond's column as soon as it came out - and make sure that he really did ignore Jackson's "disdain". In the meantime... well, Jackson should probably work on how to hide it for the next time Coach forced him to talk to one of these morons.
