#who played a large part in giving me 'distrust in my own perception of interactions' when that wasn't shit i had before that acquaintance?

[zoanzon]

You ever come across a mutual’s original post talking about something good in their life and you end up spiraling into a horrific mental state because of it? Not because a friend is happy, but the why - the who - referenced in the post, unbeknownst to said friend, hits a years-old wound, a years-old bitterness?

[nazm145]

This was supposed to be a mildly long rant but ended up a dissertation I’m so sorry

Ok, can we just talk about Juliette Durand for a moment?

Like, I know people hate her, but I don’t get it. And I just can’t.

Let’s consider the facts, shall we?

This is going to be hella long, just a warning, so please don’t hate me. I have many feelings.

(I haven’t read the books, so I’m basing almost everything off of the show’s version of the characters.  Tell me if I get anything wrong. Also, general spoilers below.)

Juliette was sired, abused (strong implications of rape), confined, and conditioned by a (white) man who used and trained her specifically to get close to another (white) man and get information from him for his own personal gain.

We see the dynamics of their toxic relationship and its effects on Juliette from the moment she and Gerbert are introduced, augmented by the dark, claustrophobic interiors of their Venetian home – which is strange because the house should be airy and well-lit considering how open and spacious it is. Definitely a metaphor, I think, for the dark and twisted nature of what is supposed to be a “father-daughter” relationship.

The scene in which Gerbert is seeing her off on the boat after allowing/ordering her to go find Matthew, the creepy cheek-kiss, and her look of relief and what seems to be almost a mixture of triumph and freedom as she turns around and gets farther away from him is a pretty decent summation of what things are like between them. Of course, we hardly need to analyze anything this deeply when Gerbert’s treatment of Juliette and her strange, toxic dependence on him is so grossly obvious.

Enter Domenico.

For me, Juliette and Domenico are the most intriguing characters on show. I don’t know how extensive their roles were in the book, but to me their subtle exchanges, as short as they were, are so impactful. I definitely think this is in large part because Elarica Gallacher and Gregg Chillin are amazing actors who pack so much depth and nuance into their scenes.

The whole Juliette/Domenico/Gerbert dynamic is so interesting to me (to reiterate, I fully loathe Gerbert and want him to choke). While the nature of Juliette and Gerbert’s relationship is tragically obvious, Domenico’s relationship with both of them is much more complex. From their very first scene, it’s clear that there is a mutual dislike, distrust, and tension between them all, and like Juliette, Domenico answers to Gerbert. But of course, his level of subjugation can’t even begin to compare to hers.

What first caught my attention was when Gerbert called Domenico a “nosy fucker” even though Domenico looking into the dead body and reporting to Gerbert was clearly in his favor. This strongly leads me to believe that Domenico has indeed fucked with Gerbert in the past, either intentionally or unintentionally. Not surprising – Domenico obviously has no love for Gerbert and given the constant descriptions of him as a manipulator and strategist, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s played his hand more than a few times in the past. He even tells Juliette that Venice is his home, so he does what he has to do in order to keep Baldwin and Gerbert happy. He is, in his own way, a victim of his situation - even though he holds a position of power, there is only so much he can do.

Which brings me to him and Juliette. God, I have so much to say about these two. So many of their scenes (both together and apart) force me to think about just what their feelings are towards each other and how much of that stems directly from the other and how much from their situations and the other people around them.

Like when Juliette tells Gerbert, “Domenico hates me.” It got me thinking – does he really hate her? Does she only think that he hates her? What has he said or done to make her feel that way? Or am I just thinking too much into this and it was really just a last-ditch effort on Juliette’s part to try and stop Gerbert from punishing her? Now, that last part is interesting – I’m positive Domenico knew what would happen to Juliette once he told Gerbert what happened. Everyone probably knows. But Domenico’s role in regards to both the Congregation and Gerbert seems to be that he’s the one who’s expected to keep everything in line on the Vampire front and report any problems, otherwise it’s his ass. And clearly, he’s under some sort of employment for Gerbert considering he reported the incident to him and not the Congregation, and it was him who was asked to fetch Gerbert when he didn’t show up at the meeting in episode 7. So I really believe he had no ill intentions towards Juliette when he ratted her out – it was more a fulfillment of duty, which in the world of ADoW, seems to be a necessity for survival.

Which brings me to The Scene. You know, the one where they unnecessarily angry-whisper-flirt with each other, have absolutely no regard for each other’s personal space and for two people who supposedly hate each other, look at each other’s lips a completely inappropriate number of times within a span of thirty seconds. This was the scene that made me complete trash for them, not in the very least because it was sinfully hotter than hell and had me feeling some type of way. There was so much to unpack here.

This didn’t occur to me until now, but when Domenico tells Juliette to not bother going home because Gerbert is disappointed, was he really mocking her? Or was it actually a subtle warning to wait until Gerbert cooled down so she wouldn’t have to go through what she did the last time she made a mistake? What leads me to believe the second option even more is that Juliette herself told Marcus that Gerbert will be angry with her if she doesn’t retrieve Matthew… so.

Next – Domenico shamelessly spilling the deets on how Matthew is in love with Diana, and goading Juliette to go to Sept Tours and confront them.  Here, I’d just like to take moment to appreciate Gregg’s delivery of “really” after Juliette tells him she can’t go without permission. It could easily be interpreted as “Really? Do you really need Gerbert’s permission, or are you just forcing yourself to believe that” OR “Oh really? You don’t say.” Like, I love how he could either be challenging her perception of the reality of her own confinement or just being a facetious asshole. But what really got to me was the look he was giving her as she walked away. It was both unreadable, and yet strangely… I don’t even know. Almost sympathetic? Dare I say longing?

And that’s what occupied my mind for an entire week until I saw episode 7. How genuine or underhanded were Domenico’s intentions when he tried to convince her to go to Matthew during the bar scene? Was he just trying to hurt her? Did he want her to go for her own sake? Or was it all a ploy to throw Gerbert in deep shit when his “daughter” showed up uninvited on ancestral De Clermont land? I honestly don’t believe that Domenico would be above grabbing any chance he could to fuck with Gerbert. And I absolutely don’t condone him using Juliette or manipulating her to accomplish that. Which got me thinking about another aspect of their relationship, until again, I saw episode 7.

Domenico obviously hates Gerbert, and he knows what he’s done to Juliette, possibly more so than anyone else considering the extent of their interactions. Why then, has he done nothing to help her? Why has he been, if not complicit in, then at the very least a bystander in her abuse? Now this bothered me a lot more until I saw the more recent episodes of ADoW (Don’t get me wrong, it still does. But I feel like I understand a lot more now.)

The magical world of ADoW works a lot differently than the mortal one. Law, intrigue, politics and revenge take precedence over even family and friends. Gillian sold Diana out because she thought it was her duty as a witch (although there was clearly some personal pettiness involved there). Sophie and Nathaniel wouldn’t tell Agatha that the baby might be a witch even though she’s the grandmother, and quite possibly the only genuinely kind, not insane member of the Congregation. And no one even questioned Baldwin’s claim that Knox had Diana and he himself didn’t know where she was because they never thought he would actually lie to protect his own brother (albeit only Vampire brother). So it’s not hard to believe that Domenico wouldn’t put his ass on the line to cross Gerbert that way, especially when, as we learned in episode 7, Juliette could have saved herself but chose not to.

You guys – their talk in 7 was so unexpected and touching to me. Not in a “Oh look how cute, he cares for her, aww” type of way. But in a “Wow. He really does realize her situation and is willing to help in whatever small way that he can so she can finally free herself – in whatever manner she chooses to do so.”

What really got to me was when Juliette asked him what he wanted in return for Diana’s file, and all he says is that she should finally free herself and just go anywhere. Just leave the horrible life she’s been living, while recognizing that in part it’s been her own choice because she either can’t or won’t forget Matthew. Contrast this with Baldwin asking Domenico what he wants in exchange for Satu, and Domenico saying “Someday… who knows?” Everyone knows how manipulative Domenico can be. But in that one instance with Juliette, we see him being genuinely kind and not asking her for anything in return. And his little smile after he sees her Power Walk out of that church like a Queen?

You guys. A girl is weak.

Coming back to Juliette, I’m so mad that all this likely won’t come to anything if the show stays true to her fate in the books. Which it looks like it will. As much as I felt her walking out on Gerbert, the fact that a black woman left her abuser only to put herself in a situation that her abuser conditioned her to be in is still so problematic. Not to mention the fact that that after years and years of being used by males (apparently she was a prostitute before she was sired, so even as a human?! Really?!?!) she is killed by the blonde-haired, blue-eyed lover of the white man she’s been obsessed with for centuries. Like. Ew. No thank you.

And honestly? I feel like she and Domenico could really be something if she would just try and get over Matthew. Again, not saying that her obsession with him is completely her fault. She is blatantly a victim of abuse, and so many of her actions stem from the violence, manipulation, and torture that she has suffered for centuries. Of course that would mess her up. And finally giving a black woman autonomy and power and the courage to stand up to her white abuser in one episode only to kill her off in the next in a situation that is indirectly the result of her abuse is just awful and unacceptable, especially in fucking 2018.

You know what I want to see? Juliette calling bullshit on the whole Matthew situation and finally becoming her own person.

Like, girl. First of all you don’t need no man. You are gorgeous, clever, resilient, and could probably seduce half the world’s population with one Look. And yes, I fully include myself in that. And even if you do want a man (eternity is a long time to spend alone tbh) Domenico is right there. I know their relationship is nowhere near healthy or good, but it is still light years better than the shitstorm that is the Diana/Matthew/Juliette triangle of a fucking toxic disaster fest.

Give Domenico and Juliette their own developed story where they do or do not get together (as long as they’re both happy tbh – I love my evil disasters, leave me alone), fucking rip Gerbert’s throat out, and then basically take over everything. Because – and I know I’m gonna get hate for this – Matthew and Diana’s story is sweet, and Goode and Palmer are lovely in their roles. But the whole “forbidden love/Person A not knowing about or repressing their powers only to find out they are SuperPowerful™ and now have to master their abilities with the help of Person B so they can fight the world together” is so overdone. Give me more magical world politics and intrigue with a concentration on Domenico and Juliette or give me death.

Also – more hate-bait, but whatever – Diana and Matthew may be cute and all, but this is what makes my heart beat.

 LOOK AT THEM

Domenico and Juliette are so fucking hot. Those curls. Those FACES. The adorably tiny height difference. His hand on her waist. The Looks being fucking Served. 

Don’t even try to tell me that they wouldn’t be That Power Couple

[thelastpilot]

The Monster in the Room- Chapter 8

It’s been awhile! So the journey restarts. I really hope people will give this story a shot again! I recommend skimming the end of chapter 7 again to rejog your memory

Kitsune

The Kitsune race are beings tied to and affected by the NeverNever as it is the spiritual realm, and inherently Kitsune are spirits by nature. In humanity, the form of kitsune is often referred to as ‘fox’ and more specifically the ‘red fox’. In the human realm there are many varieties of this mortal creature, and while varieties exist too among the Kitsune themselves their animal forms are seen most often with a red coat of fur. If a Kitsune lives beyond a hundred years, it becomes evident as a mark of power in their fur color, often changing to shades of white, silver, or gold; none of which are seen in Kitsunes younger than a century. The most obvious distinction between the creature ‘the fox’ and the animal form of the Kitsune is the number of tails, for while the animal has one tail the Kitsune can have anywhere from one to nine, depending on their age. A Kitsune is awarded their ninth tail on the day they reach a hundred years of age, as they have reached such age, wisdom, and power that they have transcended the ranks of those younger than them within their species.

Within the culture of the Kitsune these silver or gold coated foxes are revered as elders of great importance, and even within other cultures of creatures of magic it is not uncommon for these beings to be seen with great respect. The red coated Kitsune however are not viewed this way, as they can be any manner of age. Typically, the older and wiser a Kitsune becomes the more tails they are seen with. Their physical manifestations are influenced by their perception of reality since they are beings of spirit, so as they undergo hardships and achieved new understandings their physical form changes to reflect this. Upon the introduction of humanity to the realms at large the Kitsune were seen as one of the more accepting, and over time have developed human illusions as interchangeable as their animal forms. It is well known that the Kitsune possess powerful illusionary abilities, creating falsifications of people, places, or objects that they are almost entirely indiscernible from the real thing. In fact, should you not be highly trained in the dispelling of illusions it is extremely likely that you would be incapable of understanding that something was not truly there. You would be able to touch and feel the illusion as true as it were reality, and because of this many Kitsune use this ability instead of obtaining genuinely substantial things. The more Kitsune that participate in an illusion the grander and more elaborate it can be, and a Kitsune den that hosts an entire family of the spirits has been known to exist in a manufactured pocket of a realm, within which could exist an entire kingdom with its own weather and population created entirely by the Kitsune.

This grand ability is trained and harnessed in every young Kitsune, but supposedly it is only truly mastered upon reaching one hundred years of age. Deciding what ‘mastered’ means however is almost entirely dependent upon the leader of the family, as it changes between each elder asked. The power of illusion is not the only power they possess; however, it is by far the one they are greatest known for. They can also utilize elemental magic based on the element of their domains, as well as possession.

The Kitsune themselves are a relatively small population, existing primarily within the human realm and the FarLands, regardless of their connection to the NeverNever. When interacting with a Kitsune it is best to remember that almost the entirety of their culture is built upon respect, and to treat a Kitsune with kindness would result in positive and equal exchange, while disrespecting or wronging one would create a powerful enemy. An attempt upon their soul would mean immediate and irrefutable betrayal, and would likely enrage the whole of a family regardless of the individual’s standing within it.

A ‘soul’ of a Kitsune is a physical sphere, often worn around the neck as a charm while in human form or kept safely in their tails or teeth while manifested as a fox. Since they are beings of spirit, their soul is extremely precious to them, as losing it would cost them their life or at the very least control of it. It is crucial to know that an attempt upon their soul is a critical insult from which you cannot recover. So long as these powerful spirits are treated with respect the Kitsune are relatively safe. Many young ones have been reported to play tricks with their powers of illusion, and should often be regarded with care. To be frank, such behavior is evident in all creatures, though the Kitsune have received a more universal blame for it. They are often viewed with distrust because of their abilities, but as with all beings the worthiness of a creature is left up to the individual and the noble Kitsune is no exception.

 Nino stared at the page of his textbook, running his index finger over the embedded print of the last two sentences. While the rest of the book looked old and worn in, the last sentiment was added in by hand, seemingly somewhat recently. It made sense to him, to be completely honest the ‘academic text’ had been painting them in a somewhat bad light, dwelling on their illusions perhaps longer than necessary, even going so far as to straight up say they should be ‘regarded with care’ and branded ‘relatively safe’. That sucked.

His mind turned again to what it must say about him…

He let the text close without much thought, his mind turning over itself toxically as he started to drag his fingernail across its spine, cutting long lines into it as he stared at nothing.

It was probably littered with what he could see on some of the faces of his classmates. Distrust, danger. Approach with caution… regard with care.  Part of him wondered if it would paint him as cursed, or if it would write him like an animal. Or something else entirely.

What did this book say about all of them? What parts were true? And what parts were written in by hand, new information that might redeem them…

His fingernails dug deeper.

“Nino?”

 He jumped, Carter jolting too from his sudden movement though he himself had not picked up on his owner’s change in mood. Instead, it was Marinette who had noticed, as she seemed to do again and again. When he turned to look at her she was smiling gently.

“Do you have everything you need? Like paper and stuff? I have extras.”

Nino hesitated, snapped out of his thoughts so quickly that he wasn’t able to immediately reply, but after a moment he said “Uh, yeah. Yeah I’ve got stuff. Thanks.”

“Pens and your books too right? They’re all kind of… old fashioned, but the literature one is actually kind of interesting!” Marinette smiled at him, picking up her own copy of the book as she referenced it. The witch glanced down at it briefly, flipping through its pages as she badgered aimlessly. “There’s actually a Fae poet that is recorded in here, I can’t remember the name for the life of me but it’s really nice! It was my favorite to work through in the class, I’d like to know what you think of it! Let me just find it-,”

Nino blinked once, watching a little confused as she quickly sorted through the textbook. It was a little abrupt, but before even a few moments had passed he was suddenly being prompted to read through a series of poems. He wasn’t really a poem guy, but Marinette seemed excited about it, or at the very least intent. She insisted he pay it his full attention, and it was about halfway through the first poem that he realized she was doing that on purpose.

She was keeping him busy, forcing his thoughts to focus on something else. She was making a quick habit of that, monitoring his emotional state and engaging him or distracting him when she needed to. She had done it three or so times just since he was introduced to her, and while part of him briefly wondered if it was in her own best interest to keep him calm and together he came to the conclusion fairly quickly that it was for his own benefit.

She was being nice, and he scolded himself a little that he kept failing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt here. She didn’t need to be working an angle or treating him like a threat, maybe she was just a sweet person trying to help out someone who was clearly going through a hard time.

That was… cool of her.

He was still ‘reading’ the poem when he heard the door open again (honestly he wasn’t absorbing much of it, apparently the bouncy flowery prose of poetry did not change much from world to world, and remained about as uninteresting), and though the noise did catch his attention it was Carter that made him look away from the book, because quite abruptly the Shepherd was tense.

“Ah, Adrien!” Ms. Bustier’s voice called out, actually relieved he had made it to class but also a little put out at just how late he was. “It’s nice to know you intended on joining us today.”

“I’m sorry!” the boy immediately responded, actually sliding forward a little through the door as he quickly closed it behind him. His words were quick and slammed together, his rushed excuse giving Nino a chance to look at him.

Adrien was saying something like “I know you told me to be early today-,” but Nino tuned him out slightly, a bit thrown off by how… normal he looked. Well not normal, no one in here was normal, but human.

Lots of people had a humanoid appearance, everybody in class did though Chloe’s glamor gave him the impression that maybe hers was just for show like Ms. B’s had been, but he looked TOTALLY human. Even Marinette and Alya still looked a bit off, Marinette because of her clothing mostly and Alya because of… something. He couldn’t quite place it, something in the way she watched people and moved and looked at him. Everybody had a gimmick though, like how Max looked kind of evil what with his lab coat and Rose had a Glinda Goodwitch Necromancer sort of vibe, but Adrien just looked like… a dude.

He was about as tall as him he guessed, white, thin, blonde, and personable looking with a pretty cool outfit that was still normal and not out of place. He had a perfect glowing smile with perfectly even teeth, bright green eyes that were human as could be, two legs, no tail and not even a pair of cat ears to sell the image. Seriously if he hadn’t been told implicitly that this dude was supposed to be a cat something he wouldn’t have known.

Honestly he was a little disappointed. He had been preparing for a big anthropomorphic cat but… well it was probably easier for his sanity that that wasn’t the case. It was a little refreshing that his imagination had actually overshot for once.

He was about ready to maybe rationalize that this wasn’t the guy who was supposed to sit next to him, when he became aware again of Carter, if only because he was slowly scrabbling forward without actually raising his paws.

Nino looked down to see for sure but Carter was definitely moving forward, his eyes totally trained on the new guy whose back was currently towards their desk.

‘Cat.’ Carter confirmed, absolutely no hesitation in the statement whatsoever. ‘There he is. I got him Nino.’

“You do not,” Nino whispered harshly, ducking quickly to grab his dog by the collar. He ignored Alya’s sharp snicker behind him and focused on Carter, pulling him backwards and towards his left side. “I told you no, if you even move you’re in big trouble.”

‘Cat, cat,’ Carter repeated, looking back at Nino as if he wasn’t fully grasping the severity of the situation. But, to the dog’s credit, he had not barked, but it was clearly a great test of will.

“Carter,” Nino whispered seriously, rushing now that Adrien looked like he was about to come and sit down, “if you bark or sniff at him or harass him at all you will be a bad dog, do you understand? A Bad Dog.”

…That got him.

Carter gave the perfect dog equivalent of a gasp, his muzzle parting and his focus broken from the ‘cat’ completely. He looked genuinely upset.

‘I am not a bad dog!’ Carter growled, the first truly audible sound he had made though it was quiet. ‘I’m a good boy! I’m always a good boy!’

“Then prove it,” Nino whispered, but he was forced to look away and sat up quickly, Adrien now breaking his conversation with their teacher and turning around.

The boy turned to face him completely for the first time, their eyes meeting immediately since he was sitting where Adrien was accustomed to sitting alone. At first his expression seemed open, surprised he was there already but receptive to it, but then his focus slid down and locked on the large, rigid German Shepherd that was trained on him explicitly.

Adrien stopped, body tense and eyes widening somewhat when he noticed the dog. Internally Nino was swearing, his anxiety rocketing now that he knew everyone was looking at them. He was trying to figure out a game plan of what to do if either Adrien freaked out or if Carter broke away from him, but even as he planned things he felt his dog huff in defiant annoyance. After only a beat of the cat staring him down Carter turned, looking up at Nino once to check that he was seeing just how much he didn’t care about the cat as he settled facing the wall, nose in the air and back towards the class. Because he didn’t care about the cat at all, because he was a good boy. And the whole class started laughing.

Alya laughed the loudest, Chloe grumbling somewhere in annoyance at ‘whats so funny?’ and Marinette sighing in sudden relief. Nino sighed in relief as well, relaxing instantly and managing to take the laugh good naturedly. Honestly he was just sort of glad the only dog anyone thought might be a problem was Carter… and for the thousandth time since the loyal canine had found him he was grateful that he was there.

He probably owed him an apology for implying that in any way he could be less than a perfect dog.

People where still giggling over how Carter seemed intent on ignoring Adrien’s existence when the boy himself sat down, Nino looking over with an apologetic smile already prepared. Up close he still looked normal to him, but now that he was right there he could see what Carter was getting at. Even if he looked human this dude for whatever reason smelled like a cat.

“Uh, hey,” Adrien said simply, a little embarrassed to have been caught visibly reacting to a dog like that. It seemed especially insensitive considering the guy sitting next to him now… but actually the comparison was probably even less cool. Man he was botching this. “Um, I’m Adrien, you’re Nino right?”

Nino hesitated, surprised that he already knew his name but taking his hand when he extended it. “Yeah, nice to meet you. You know my name?”

“Ms. Bustier caught me in one of our last classes,” Adrien explained, trying his best to smile and really wanting to make a good impression, feeling like he had already kind of screwed up. “I had already known there was a new student from the principal but once she decided you were sitting next to me she wanted to ask me to help you out. She mentioned Carter too, that’s his name right?” Adrien checked, suddenly unsure and rubbing nervously at the back of his head as he laughed a little. “So I’d be ready, still caught me off guard though, I’m sorry about that...”

“Oh, no you’re good!” Nino assured him quickly, glancing once at Carter and seeing that he was still pointed dutifully at the wall, having angled himself to have Adrien fully towards his back now that he was sitting. “Um, I should be apologizing I didn’t know anyone might not uh… like dogs. He’s good though I promise, he won’t bother you.”

“He’s fine!” Adrien countered back, looking past Nino at the Shepherd facing the wall. He was aware of Alya still giggling behind him and tried to ignore her, already more than enough embarrassed about it.

“Wait so,” Nino paused, “Ms. B wanted to ask you to… help me?” He asked it hesitantly, curious but also wanting to divert attention away from his dog for a second. Mostly though he was caught on the idea that maybe Ms. B didn’t have as much faith in him as she said she did… he cut into the leather of his book again nervously.

Adrien’s expression looked, once again, caught out, and he hurried to clarify. “Yeah like, show you around and stuff! That’s all I meant. Like um, give you my notes and things and introduce you to other people in class. I was supposed to be here first thing to do that but… yeah sorry,” he grinned sheepishly. “I slept in.”

“Oh, that’s no problem, don’t worry about it. Honestly uh… meeting everyone at once might have been a little much anyways.” Nino’s smile was a little sour then and he looked down, focusing on the desk. He still had Marinette’s borrowed literature book open to one of the dumb poems, so after a moment he turned to return in, handing it back and adding, “I’m still sort of… adjusting.”

“You’re doing great though,” Marinette chimed in, taking the book as well as the opening to join the conversation. She said it genuinely, smiling at him sweetly until he smiled a little too. “Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do if I was in your shoes, but you’re still dealing with all this anyways.”

“Well… I don’t have too much of a choice,” Nino muttered, and he could see Adrien frowning out of the corner of his eye, but his attention as diverted by Alya now.

“Maybe not, but dealing with it the best you can is a choice, and not one everyone would make. Don’t sell yourself short, you’re barely getting started.”

Nino was stunned into silence, trying to respond but failing to. Alya watching him unflinchingly, once again forcing him to be the first to look away.

He didn’t find the words to answer her before Ms. Bustier called the class to attention, asked to turn back in his seat and absorb the weirdly jarring image of a Cervitaur dressed business casual calmly stepping towards the center of the room. In this space though she was not out of place, that’s what was jarring.

The clatter of her hooves was muffled by the carpeting, her stance and expression exactly indicative of her profession and ability to teach. He felt a weird and anxious emotion bubble in his chest as she folded her hands across her stomach, the weight of it settled just above the invisible seam of her two halves, his teacher calm and looking over her students. All of her students.

Which at that moment, and all foreseeable moments… included him.

“We have waited long enough then!” Ms. Bustier joked with a smile, shooting Adrien a stern but mostly playful look that had the boy ducking his head and laughing nervously. Her gaze flickered to Nino, her smile softening before continuing to address her newly completed class. “It’s about time we got started for the day. But first, I wanted to properly introduce our newest student.”

Oh… crap. Crap.

Nino’s heartrate doubled, instantly incredibly anxious, but before he could properly panic about having to stand up and introduce himself Ms. Bustier was doing it for him, and he sighed in relief.

“This is Nino Lahiffe, a few of you have met him already but he will be with us for the remainder of the school year. I ask that you all find the time to introduce yourself at some point throughout the day, but without any more stalling it’s time we started our lessons. I hope you all remember the start of your discussion yesterday with Mr. Damocles, because we will be continuing right where you left off. Can anyone tell me what that is?”

There was a small collection of voices as a few of the students rushed to beat out the others with the right answer. Nino didn’t really pay attention to what it was, knowing full well that he was going to be wildly lost with them starting in the middle of pretty much anything.

Just like that… class was starting. It had a weird feeling of finality to it, once again. Every step he took now it felt like there was never any way to take it back, living every second like it was all in was… incredibly draining, but what Alya had said seemed true in an intimidating way.

For better or for worse, he was just getting started.

[sportsminorityreport]

McMahon’s New XFL: Evaluating the Initial Press Conference.

As I noted in my last article, I have been a fan of leagues that compete against the NFL since the USFL days. I am, if not an "expert" on the usfl, at least very, very well versed in its history.... as well as other leagues that have tried to give the NFL the finger, like the original XFL.

I have deep-seated opinions as to why each individual league failed but I feel like the NFL is vulnerable today and has been vulnerable in different ways since the days of the USFL. I firmly believe these leagues failed because of failings of the leagues themselves, not because of the NFL.

Further, I've said that the one guy who I would happily put my career in neutral to go work for in a competitive league working against the NFL.... is Vince McMahon.

I think his XFL was vastly, vastly underrated. The structure and foundation of it was immensely solid, and if he ever decided to do it again, I have frequently said I think he could succeed.

So given that....What did I think of the initial press conference of the new xfl?

Well....honestly, I was very much underwhelmed with the press conference, but, overall, I do think the New XFL has a legitimate chance for success, unlike leagues like the UFL that was DOA or the new USFL that is unlikely to ever play. (Ever since Jaime Cuadra was thrown into jail, I have to believe the New USFL -NUSFL-  is just an NFL front to undermine other startup competitive leagues..... I freely admit I could be wrong on that one. )

If you missed the New XFL press conference you can watch it here or if you don't have 30 minutes of patience, these guys did a pretty fun and funny job of summing things up.

(Disclaimer: I will mention things in quotes below, but honestly I am being lazy and they are approximations of what was said, not true quotes. Ordinarily, I would watch the press conference again to confirm accurate quotes, but it’s 30 minutes long and I am just not feeling it tonight...)

The good

Let's be clear the new XFL slogan, "Reimagining Football", is not going to sell at all to the fans.

Wrong message for the wrong audience.

Football fans like football as is. It’s a little crazy to say that they don’t.

Sure they bitch about not liking this or that, but they still watch the NFL and college football. Length of games didn’t sink the original XFL.  

It's only a problem if there is football that fans just don't want to watch. That was more the issue with the original XFL. They didn’t like it at the time and just don't like what they remember about the original XFL.

While it was kind of silly to bring up that "Reimagining Football" slogan repeatedly in the press conference --- like they’re implying that the NFL is a broken media product --- I have this under “the good” because the concept is a strong one from a MANAGEMENT perspective and is exactly what is going to give the XFL the optimal chance to succeed.

I think it might be fair to say few fans truly enjoy watching 3 and 1/2 to 4 hour long football games. 

The networks like it because they have 4 hours to try and extract some of the money that they're paying the NFL from a captive audience.

America doesn't read books or newspapers; We like sound bites where people tell us what to think. 

Few seem to disagree that our attention span seems to be shrinking. That may be even more so among the cable cutting/never had cable, younger set.

Investing 2 hours or even two and a half hours into a football game sounds like something that might be an absolute winner with younger fans. (It will create a lot of huge problems for the league though.... many of those implications may have been glossed over by McMahon's advisors, but I digress.... in TV terms, it's a great differentiation idea for a league that doesn't need a huge amount of money from the networks in order to be successful and is chasing a younger audience.)

If this XFL makes it or fails, I think it's highly likely that in 10 years, all football games are going to be two and a half to three hours due to the influence of McMahon's New XFL.

I think it's fairly likely that by time the NFL's TV deals are concluding, that the NFL will be taking a hard look at major changes to attempt to cut their football games average length to 3 hours while insisting their payout remains the same. It will be fun watching them wrangle with their network partners.

Certainly if the XFL has any success in the first couple of seasons ---- and I think they will ---- the NFL will do what they have always done and steal the best ideas put forth by their competitors.

Likewise college football tends to follow the pro trends when rules changes are made. (Often they don't make the exact same changes, but the thought process parallels.)

Shorter games are on the way.

He also said that they would be looking into all different kinds of media options. This again is a great competitive advantage over the NFL, who are overpaid to stick with a dying platform (cable TV). 

The other impactful statements made by McMahon were those where he sheepishly acknowledged the "failings of the orininal xfl" most actively pointed at by the fans.

There will be no crossover of wrestling talent to cover the games.

He acknowledged that the perception of fans was that the level of play was lacking and came close to tacitly acknowledging that they rushed things in order to get a product on the field. He says with two years lead time that they will be able to have better quality of play.

The original XFL assumed they would pull heavily from wrestling and football audiences. His use of wrestling antics and wrestling personalities turned off a lot of traditional NFL football fans. 

It is very clear that he considers that a mistake and is now actively trying to pull a football audience. This press conference was largely a mia culpa to that crowd.

He said at one point that not only is football itself going to be reinvented but the XFL will be. He said that the original XFL brands are not necessarily going to come back and that the current thinking is to reimagine things from scratch....but nothing is off the table.

I think this to was a very deliberate intent to distance himself from the failures of the original XFL and to earn a second look from traditional football fans.

McMahon envisions starting with 8 teams with 40 players each on a team located mostly(/exclusively ?) in areas "where fans watch football". If you think about that statement, that probably is very bad news for USFL/XFL mid-major cities that do not have NFL teams like San Antonio, Birmingham, Orlando, and Memphis that have all struggled with attendance in some leagues and good news for mid-major cities that host major college football programs like Austin -University of Texas - and Columbus -Ohio State - that have historically been on the outside looking in.)

FINANCIAL OUTLAYS AND CITY SELECTIONS

As I mentioned in my last article, I do have my own Pie-in-the-Sky business plan to compete with the NFL for the day that I win the lottery and have $100 M to burn. My research for that lead me to a similar $100 million dollars investment capital sum (assuming a fairly significant TV Revenue contribution)  that the New XFL is using and that a starting point of 6-8 teams in specific nfl-caliber cities was optimal. 

I am not at all surprised that this is his plan.  This is why I've long thought McMahon was one of the few people with the means and guts to pull this off.

(In my research I concluded that really only about 10-11 cities should be legitimate candidates for those 6 to 8 initial teams. To me, those initial 10 or 11 are kind of no-brainers and I would argue should be fairly evident. My suspicion is that his list of potential initial sites is bigger than mine. That's disturbing. I am distrusting his advisors but I am still generally in on the fact that he's starting with 8 teams. I think the odds are he can still get enough of the cities right to have a shot at success.)

Football is a very expensive sport to put on, in part because the rosters are large and you need a lot of supporting personnel. From that angle, having small rosters is a financially sensible thing to do, especially as a start up league. (I took a different strategy that I still think offers better odds survival but.....It's legitimately hard to argue with keeping expenses as low as possible on a startup.)

One of the highlights of the question-and-answer of the press conference was when McMahon is asked whether he went to his wife Linda McMahon for advice on starting this new XFL. (You see Linda McMahon at one point apparently had some interaction with the legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi!!!)

The question tickled me on several levels. The first being that having conversations with Vince Lombardi ---- whose NFL career was over by the 1970s --- would give Linda McMahon ANY insight into running a pro football league in 2019.

Secondly the question is a little bit of a dig at Mr. McMahon....as it can be taken as "Hey Mr. McMahon....You did such a horrible job with the XFL that I have to ask, 'As your wife once spoke to somebody who knew something about the NFL and as such would certainly be much better qualified to start of another professional football league than you... Did she come up with the plan for this new XFL?' "

And finally the third way this cracked me up was based on my experience as a former business owner. Once you've had one business fail and you get married you will find that your wife is very eager to talk you out of EVER trying the same business again.

I think that's how McMahon took it, as you could almost hear him choke down a snort or chuckle as he responded, "No. She did not."

On the downside...

The press conference wasn't a homerun. It wasn't even a double. And it should have been.

Mr. McMahon look tired and somewhat beaten.... not a good look for the driving force behind a league that intends to compete with the NFL.

His presentation was not up to Vince McMahon standards, quite honestly. Very early in the presentation he mentions the idea of shortening games and presents it in a way where the implication is he's been told that by fans.

At the time it hit me as a somewhat disingenuous presentation. I think it would be far better if he had presented it in a way where he acknowledged that the concept came from business analysts who are working hard to improve upon his first effort.

My criticism along these lines is sort of the same criticisms I have when I'm listening to politicians who are not very polished  ---- “He needed a better writer.”

The way to present that, is to say that for 30 years fans have complained that football games are too long.

He's tasked football Consultants to put together a better product for football fans than what he delivered with the initial XFL.

One of the first goals of his league is to shorten football games to about 2 hours.

And then I think you throw in that there are two years before you open for play and you hope several other ideas will be suggested by fans and incorporated into the league that ultimately emerges.

The way it was worded came off as manipulative and dishonest ....and those are two words that Vince McMahon, who's made a ton of money playing a dishonest, morally bankrupt heel in the world of wrestling, cannot afford to have tied to his new endeavor.

Secondly, he frequently says something along the lines of," we want to know what you, the fans, think." This is a very good strategy to embrace but without following that up with an immediate site to go to where fans can put in their 2 cents....it again comes across as disingenuous.

This is like when your corporate bosses say they want opinions from everyone in your department and then don't follow ANY of them, pissing off all of your employees. You are frankly much better off not asking, if you aren't going to follow any of them.

I think the people who advised Vince McMahon on this press conference really blew it.

McMahon basically more or less said that he was going to be the silent investor into this operation and that experience football people were going to run the whole show. He even said that this was probably the most we would see of Vince McMahon from here on out with regards to the XFL.

This is like PT Barnum saying, "I'm going to open a new kind of circus but don't ask me to talk about it... "

I get the strategy, but it reeks of a bad decision.

This appears to be either a bad decision by McMahon or him following some heinously poor advice. What I see there is that McMahon was advised by some of his football advisers to entirely remove himself from the new XFL picture. Likely they told him that in order to win football fans he would have to fade into the background.

That was shity advice.

There has not been anyone who has worked for the NFL over the last 30 years who can communicate to fans in a passionate way at the level of Vince McMahon.

What that means is the XFL essentially has taken it’s best player off the field so they can start unproven rookie free agent.

Secondly, the very premise that football people hate Vince McMahon because the XFL failed and would never give Vince McMahon a second shot is ridiculous.

American public is nothing if not forgiving. Anyone who apologizes for mistakes and request a second chance he is generally given one. Fans cheered for Michael Vick!  McMahon's first XFL cost him like $70 million dollars. That also gives him a lot of sympathy.

It would be far more appropriate to say that football fans 16 years ago felt like McMahon drug too much wrestling crap into a real sport.

And that he promised them high-level football and then delivered I'm not ready for Primetime product. If McMahon owes football fans any type of apology, it's just for that... there was no reason to vote him off the island.

I have to wonder if someone's lust to be a high-profile figure led to this rather stupid arrangement.

This will again be a single owner Enterprise. Anyone who has studied the usfl understands how the league spent themselves out of business. This has given rise to a general assumption that the way you correct for that is to go with a single-owner setup.

Such a setup does allow salaries to be kept under control however it creates as many problems as it solves. To take this sort of endeavor requires an owner with the kind of wealth Vince McMahon has, so as far as that goes, everything's good.

The trouble is, the single owner model is ripe for failure because all the pressure is put on one person.

Additionally, because a lot of fans can't get over the single owner model, there will always be the presumption in some circles that things are stilted to favor the owner's personal interests. "New York vs LA for the title for the third year in a row, huh? Why should I follow Columbus if McMahon doesn't want them to win?"

Heaven forbid a good player accidentally gets traded to a good team.....

Few fans will crystallize that thought as concisely as I've shown it above, but it will be there. A single-owner Enterprise for many will be seen as a Mickey Mouse operation and as such you may see a portion of fans who just aren't willing to entertain following the XFL.

There was also a question put to McMahon about Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel, and Colin Kaepernick playing in the XFL. McMahon said anyone who keeps their nose clean was welcome and specifically said Tebow was welcome. His silence on Manziel and Kaepernick was telling.

A follow-up question was asked to try and clarify his position on Kaepernick and McMahon or less implied the Kaepernick MIGHT be eligible to play for the XFL, but the jist was everyone has to stand for the national anthem. It did sound like McMahon was not very excited about signing Kaepernick. I think this was a little foolish.

McMahon laid out the rules of conduct in a way that was optimal initially. He said if you want to play in the XFL you have to stand for the national anthem, but you can say whatever you want on social media. You can be political, just not at work.

That is exactly the right position to take. He should have stopped there. To me he muddied the waters with his "answers" on Manziel and Kaepernick.

I also think he blew some major opportunities there. Smart positioning would have been to be prepared to talk about the positive attributes of all three quarterbacks and then say we'd love to have them playing in our league but like all players they have to meet our behavioral guidelines.

This public admiration would do a lot to increase the chances of signing these guys. The only one of the three that McMahon seemed excited about was Tebow, and while I love Tebow and hope he shows up in the XFL, if memory serves Tebow has turned down both the Arena Football League and CFL and is frankly kind of old given his style of play. (He is a quarterback who runs for tough yards.  When you're pushing 30, that's not a great kind of quarterback to be.)

Again I would classify that under opportunities lost.

Johnny Manziel was probably the greatest Collegiate quarterback we've seen in the last 30 years. Why would you not float a carrot out to motivate him in getting his life back in order? (Manziel tweeted interest in the XFL anyway, but now McMahon has created his own baggage there to trip over by implying a lack of interest.)

Again, to me, I see one of two possible reasons behind all of this.

Either McMahon and his business advisors have become convinced that there is a sizable crowd of (please forgive the political description) "Trump-backing, Conservative Republican-type football fans" who are fed up with the ill-behaviour of football players and those fans will sign up in droves to support a much lesser caliber league where everyone behaves.

I think this line of thinking is bug nuts fucking crazy. 

That is chasing your flakiest potential audience ---one that will tune out if anything fails to please them. (McMahon sort of plays both sides of the fence here. He says players have to stand for the pledge and is lukewarm on Kaepernick, obvious attempts to lure that audience, but then says politics will not play a role in any way shape or form in this League....who knows.....)

The second possibility that jumps out is the idea that the football people McMahon has hired who are likely career-long NFL guys who are blackballing the same players the NFL is blackballing. 

That would be an example of importing the NFL's groupthink.

If that is what's going on then, the new XFL is doomed.

Many, if not most NFL execs, are constantly wrong.

Now if you had a cream-of-the-crop team of NFL execs  --- guys like Bill Polian, ....well then okay.... but the reality is those are almost certainly not the guys Vince McMahon has already hired.

The NFL is just like your shitty job. You may work for a highly respected company, but there are only four or five people you know in the company who are truly exceptional at their job. Everyone else is indistinguishable from the guy who sold you coffee this morning.

For the new XFL to succeed,  they need people of influence among the leadership advisory group who can present a well-argued contrary position to the NFL trained advisors. That, to me, is probably the thing that worries me the most about the new XFL, because I didn't see much of that in this press conference.

To challenge the NFL, a startup League will need quality quarterbacks. People mention Tebow, Kaepernick, and Manziel because they are all high-profile brands who have flashed sufficient, and at times, elite Talent. 

There is a good argument that if Tebow had been drafted by Jacksonville, Harbaugh had stayed in San Francisco with Kaepernick, and Manziel had been drafted by the Cowboys, all three of these quarterbacks might still be in the NFL.... very likely as starters.

There is a pretty good chance all three of them can play at a high level in the Pro game.

And these are high profile brands that people will watch. Fans may watch to boo Kaepernick and Manziel but they're still going to tune in. For a guy who played a heel in wrestling, passing on two natural heels seems very out of character.

To open business by looking down on two of the three easy sources for quality quarterback play is just not working in your best interest.

That's kind of an "NFL executive"-type decision.

If they've just got NFL execs running the show, the XFL would be likely to have a problem with quarterbacks any way, because the NFL ruins most quarterbacks.

If you think about the eleite collegiate QBs taken in the first 3 rounds of the NFL draft, how many of them are busts? 2/3?  The NFL is a sink or swim league for young QBs.  This is the environment in which these execs have learned to operate.

If your competitive leagues doesn't have quarterbacks, you will fail.

That’s what I got out of the press conference.